Harmony and Chaos

Chapters

Balancing Forces
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Crossing the Mirrors
Instrumental Chaos
Time is Balance
Mindful Harmony
Through the Starlight 2
Through the Rainbow 1
Through the Rainbow 2
Through an Apple 1
Through an Apple 2
Through the Laughter 1
Through the Laughter 2
What the Heart Saw
Through a Rarity 1
Through a Rarity 2
Through the Magic 1
Through the Magic 2
Through a Butterfly 1
Through a Butterfly 2
Through the Wubs 1
Through the Wubs 2
What the Sun Saw
Through a Cello 1
An Ordinary Day
Through the Starlight 1

Balancing Forces

“Other Worlds?” All the ponies exclaimed. “What the hay do you mean!”

IT MEANS WHAT IT MEANS. THIS PLACE IS A NEXUS. A WEB LEADING TO OTHER WORLDS. ONE PONY. ONE WORLD. IT IS A NECESSITY. THE TREE IS THE ANCHOR POINT FOR THESE WORLDS.IT WILL GET THE SHIELD OUT OF THE WAY.

“I suppose that this might be too much to truly take but you need to explain what is going on in more detail. We are just...This is too damn much don’t you understand! Moments ago we were just about to enjoy our day with our friends and this load of horseapples happens!” Twilight was beyond livid. “Everything is more messed up and we still don’t know why this all happened and why those spheres made Spike and Discord their targets.

“That’s right. Heck we all bigger threats than Spike at least. It should have been one of us instead.” Rainbow Dash got right in the sphere’s ‘face’. To the untrained eye it looked like she was trying to put down Spike. Twilight saw something much different. ‘It should have been me’ was reflected in her powerful gaze.

“That’s enough Dash. Calm down and git down from there.” Applejack pulled her away from sphere giving it back its breathing room. Fluttershy instantly hugged her but the stern gaze Dash held wouldn’t give way.

“Would you please explain to us about some things before we go looking at those mirrors.” Twilight bristled when she looked at them. The mirrors were similar to the ones that let to Canterlot High but their frames were too different shining with a different light than the others, “I itemized the list so that it would be easy for you to answer us. First, what exactly are you three spheres? Secondly, why were Spike and Discord chosen as targets? Third, why is that tree different than the Tree of Harmony?”

The sphere looked at Twilight and its eye seemed to transform into a rotating ring. It seemed to be processing the questions. Since it had talked to Applejack to prove its truthful nature Twilight wasn’t worried about what it would say. What really worried her was the fact that the sphere was thinking about what to say. Thinking before answering usually meant half-truths and deflections. It reopened it’s eye and looked back towards Twilight.

WE ARE THE ASPECTS OF HARMONY, CHAOS, AND BALANCE. EACH OF US DEFINE WHAT MAKES THIS WORLD UNIQUE IN A SENSE. WHILE WE ARE ASPECTS WE ARE PASSIVE IN OUR ADMINISTRATIONS OF THE WORLD. DUE TO THAT PASSIVITY HARMONY AND CHAOS WERE RESTLESS AND ANNOYED. THEY WANTED TO INTERACT WITH THE WORLD MORE READILY BUT AS WE ARE WE CANNOT PHYSICALLY ACT WITH IT. EVERYTHING MUST BE DONE THROUGH IMPERSONAL MAGICAL MINISTRATIONS. DISCORD IS A NATURAL VESSEL FOR CHAOS. SPIKE WAS CHOSEN FOR HARMONY DUE TO NO SMALL PART HIS LIFE WITH YOU ALL. ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AROUND AT MOST TIMES LED TO THE ENERGY SLOWLY POOLING INSIDE HIM. THOUGH THE ONLY WAY TO BE A PROPER VESSEL WAS IF HE WAS IN CONTACT WITH A DRAGON ARTIFACT KNOWN AS THE BLOODSTONE SCEPTER. THAT SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE BUT IT SEEMS IT DID HAPPEN FROM YOUR EXPRESSION.

“But he only held it for a few minutes then he handed it over to another!” Rarity was the one who cried out as Twilight was reeling from the information trying her best to work all the details out and keep the guilt of knowing that their presence with Spike had… tainted him(?). She was unsure now what was happening and the answers just confused her even more because of how straightforward the information was coming out.

QUANTITY OF TIME IS IRRELEVANT. WHAT MATTERS IS THAT IT HAPPENED. FINALLY TWILIGHT THE TREE BEHIND ME IS MY TREE. THE TREE OF BALANCE. IT HOLDS THE ESSENCE OF HARMONY AND CHAOS AND IS THE BASIS FOR THE OTHER TWO TREES.

“Other two trees? You mean there is a Tree of Chaos as well!?” Celestia managed to squeak out flabbergasted and slightly mortified that there was something similar to power Discord. It was far beyond her comprehension that something else was out there.

NO. IT WAS DESTROYED BY DISCORD. HE WOULD NOT SHARE THE PRIZE OF THE WORLD AND MADE SURE TO BE A MONOPOLY ON THE CHAOS MAGIC. WHILE THE CHAOS ASPECT WAS FURIOUS THE CONSOLIDATION OF CHAOS MADE HIM AND DISCORD STRONGER THAN USUAL. SINCE THE ELEMENTS WERE RETURNED NOW TO ITS TREE HARMONY IS WEAKER NOW AS WELL BECAUSE THE POWER IS CONTAINED IN YOU MARES AND THE MAP. DUE TO THE MEDDLING OF TIME TRAVEL ON THE MAP IT WAS SUPERCHARGED WITH HARMONY MAGIC LEECHED FROM TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND STARLIGHT GLIMMER.

Both Twilight and Starlight sheepishly looked towards their hooves trying their best to hide their shame from messing with the time stream so many times. Cadance looked confused at first shaking her head she realized what the sphere meant when she looked at the two.

“Do you have a name?” Pinkie chimed in finally managing to get back her poofy mane when the news that Spike and Discord were actually ok.

NO. I HAVE NO DESIGNATION BEYOND BEING AN ASPECT OF BALANCE. IF REQUIRED I WILL ANSWER TO MOST NAMES BUT IT WOULD BE PRUDENT TO HAVE SOME DESIGNATION SO AS TO NOT BE REFERRED TO AS A SPHERE OR BALL OF LIGHT. ARE YOU TO NAME ME THEN PINKIE PIE?

“Oh oh oh~ Can I! Can I! Oh that would be so fantabulously super duperly terrific to name a new friend. Let me see. Hm… well you are all grey and worry about balance but you’re not afraid to fight. You look like a Rao or a Ma’at but you don’t seem to be male or female. Hm… how about Anubis. You do seem guard like since you tried to stop those other spheres as well so it fits so well.” Pinkie managed to bounce around into impossible directions as she thought at over one hundred miles an hour looking for the best name for her new friend. She was thankful that she had looked over the script again since the author was kind of making this world a bit too heavy for her to really have fun in it.

ANUBIS THEN? IF THAT IS WHAT SEEMS FITTING TO YOU THEN I SHALL AGREE TO IT. I CANNOT ANSWER FOR THE OTHER TWO SINCE THEY WOULD NOT GIVE EITHER YOU NOR I THE SATISFACTION OF ACCEPTING YOUR NAMES FOR THEM. ARE THERE MORE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW. I HAVE ONLY ANSWERED TWO PONIES HERE AND IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ALL ARE LETTING TWILIGHT BE THE NEGOTIATOR. I SHALL NOT HOLD ANY ILL WILL AGAINST YOU SHOULD YOU ASK OFFENSIVE THINGS. I HAVE A THICK SHELL FOR A REASON.

Anubis’s eye roamed and stared at each of the mares present. Starlight seemed to be the most eager to say something but held back looking at the others. She seemed to be waiting for the others to ask first so as not to be rude. Rainbow Dash kept her gaze down unwilling to speak after her outburst most likely to not show any more uncool emotions or so he surmised. Fluttershy instantly hid behind Dash unwilling to meet his eye. Applejack was staring intently slowly easing up when the information came out and was truthful though her eyes seemed to be searching for the entire story which was still hidden.

‘He’s not telling the whole story. There is more but he hasn’t lied about anything up to this point. Dang nabit this shouldn’t be so hard to get a read on some dang sphere that came outta the ground. We need ta ask the right questions otherwise this varmint will not open his gullet and tell us the whole story. I sure as sugar don’t know what we need to ask to get that story.’ Applejack stared down Anubis and only relented when he stared at another.

His eye roamed to Rarity who somehow managed to get a large couch into the room and fainted on it. It was strange to say the least but not as odd as when Pinkie managed to pull a large cannon out of her mane firing it over his head releasing a sign above that read ‘Nice to meet you Anubis’. The three princesses seemed to be chatting amongst themselves when Luna noticed the eye looming on her and urged her sister and niece to pay attention to the situation. Celestia spoke up first before Starlight could.

“You say this tree is like the Tree of Harmony so that would mean it holds its own elements as well right? Would we be able to use those elements to take down the other two and hopefully save Spike and Discord from their clutches?”

YES AND NO. THE ELEMENTS ARE STILL TIED TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNER BUT MY TREE IS SPECIAL IN THAT IT HOLDS BOTH ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AND ELEMENTS OF CHAOS. ALSO THOSE FORCES ARE BASED ON MY PARTICULAR BELIEFS IN WHAT IS HARMONY AND WHAT IS CHAOS. THEY HAVE CHOSEN THEIR HOSTS ALREADY AND NEED TO BE MATCHED. UNFORTUNATELY, DURING THE PREVIOUS NIGHT THEY CAME AND STOLE THE ELEMENTS AWAY TOSSING THEM INTO THE MIRRORS THEY BELONGED TO MAKING ME WEAKER IN THE PROCESS. I DO NOT HAVE THE POWER TO BREAK THE SHIELD NOW BECAUSE OF THAT PROBLEM.

“That’s why you need us to go into the mirrors then. Those spheres were so rude to you. I can’t believe that they would do something so monstrous. Shouldn’t Harmony be doing good? This is so confusing…” Fluttershy spoke up leaving a few proud smiles that she could voice up something important. They had used harmony styled magic against Nightmare Moon, Discord when he was evil, and Tirek at the height of his power. It made no sense to any of them.

WHY DO YOU THINK HARMONY IS GOOD?

That statement made the mares do a double-take. Harmony wasn’t good? That seemed impossible to all of them though no one spoke up.

What the hay does he mean?

H-harmony isn’t good?

But we party to harmony all the time praising it as the flagship to friendship. ECHO echo...wow my mind is so cool and free. Whee!
Finally this palooka is telling the whole story. Knew that he was hiding something from the rest of us. Now we’ll get to the bottom of the applebucking barrel.

This wasn’t in any of my lecture books. Harmony was always good and was how Luna was returned to us. What does he mean that harmony isn’t good? Oh I wish I studied some more before today on the semantics of magic and its interpretations. Wait. maybe that’s what he meant. Magic has to be channeled and used so its based on the context that the user is using it for. Maybe that’s the big reveal.

I hope Princess Twilight isn’t breaking a gasket after hearing this. I wish Spike was here he would know how to calm her down a lot better than I could.

Did I do wrong with using the elements on Luna then? Was there another way and I was too blind to see the real solution?

Hopefully sister doesn’t think something is wrong. Her guilt is far too obvious and the moon was the only option at the time. Hopefully she doesn’t binge through cake once again that would throw the nation’s budget into question.

I hope Flurry Heart will be ok. This sounds very dangerous and probably would cost us a lot if the situation grows out of hoof. Though it is Tuesday so I guess I should have seen it coming since something always happens on Tuesday. Wonder what spells we will need to learn for this endeavor since it seems the three of us are not element bearers. An element of chaos sounds ominous but I suppose that balance of the world requires something for the scales to work right.

HARMONY IS JUST A MAGICAL ESSENCE THAT FLOWS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND CAN BE SHIFTED TO FIT THE NEEDS OF WHOMEVER IS USING IT. THE ADVANTAGE OF HARMONY BASED SPELLS IS THAT THEY HAVE LESS FLAWS THAN CHAOS BASED SPELLS. MEANWHILE CHAOS BASED MAGIC HAS MORE PERKS THAN HARMONY BASED ONES. POWER FOR CONTROL. VICE VERSA IN THE OTHER SENSE.

“Are you saying that our thoughts decided to influence the elements of harmony when we used them?” Luna shouted out keeping the Royal Canterlot Tone out of her voice in case it did something horrible to the cave they were in. She had looked up and noticed the jagged stalactites above their heads.

THOSE ELEMENTS MUST HAVE SIX USERS. THEY WOULD STILL WORK FOR ONE BUT IT WOULD GO TO EXTREMES INSTEAD OF HANDLING THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM. YOUR TRIP TO THE MOON WAS UNAVOIDABLE BECAUSE THERE WAS ONLY ONE WHO COULD USE THE ELEMENTS. YOUR RAGE DID NOT HELP EITHER MAKING IT HARD FOR THE ELEMENTS TO SWAY YOU AWAY FROM COMMITTING EVIL. WE ARE PROUD THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED AND EARNED TRUE APPRECIATION FROM YOUR SUBJECTS PRINCESS LUNA.

Luna turned away keeping the small blush on her muzzle from being seen. Anubis didn’t seem to care about the emotional scene and looked back to Twilight. Steam seemed to pour from her ears as she tried to make sense of all this.

‘Does he mean that because there were six vessels to help the magic of friendship focus itself into something we thought would help? So when Celestia used it it went wild and did whatever the magic thought was best… just like the best option for discord was a stone prison…? But when the six of us were together we turned him to stone… unless we thought stone was the best option after he discorded us turning us to our opposites. Also what are these Elements of Chaos? I thought there were only Elements of Harmony but now there are more and not even the princesses know anything about them. Then Spike was taken...HE WAS TAKEN! Those evil little spheres are so going to be bucked for taking him away from me… from all of us. They won’t know what hit them just need to calm down before I go on a warpath. Rather not turn everyone back into plants… again.’ Twilight took a deep breath desperately hoping she could keep her mane from becoming more frazzled than it had been. When she looked around she noticed concerned looks at facing her. A nervous chuckle managed to escape but words didn’t follow.

IT SEEMS THIS IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU TWILIGHT SPARKLE. YOU SHOULD GO REST FOR NOW BECAUSE IT WILL TAKE ME TILL TOMORROW TO PREPARE THE MIRRORS TO SEND YOU TO YOUR DESTINATIONS SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO GO. WHILE YOU ALL SEEM EAGER TO DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO SAVE YOUR FRIENDS YOU ALL SHOULD NOT BE SO HASTY AS TO DEPART NOW. I MUST ENERGIZE THE MIRRORS AND TEACH THE SPELLS THAT THE SUN, MOON, AND HEART WILL NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF YOU.

“I suppose we should rest… but what about Spike? Discord? Will they even be ok captured with those two wackjobs? They could be cold, or hungry, or mistreated. They could even be mistreated with cold food leaving them more hungry.” Twilight hyperventilated before falling unconscious from the lack of oxygen. Starlight picked her up in her magic and was ushered along with the other girls to head back up the hole with Luna. While they didn’t want to leave Twilight needed sometime to get her head back on from these turn of events. As soon as Luna had left them back above ground she teleported back to her fellow princesses ready to figure out just what needed to be done.

____________________________________________________________________

“What do we need to learn before they are sent into their respective worlds? If we only have until tomorrow then I think we should get started right away.” Celestia stepped forward just as Luna left. Cadance stepped to her side ready to learn whatever they needed to do.
Anubis remained quiet his eye took on the same rotating ring that he had when Twilight asked him those questions. Luna teleported in just as the ring finished remaining quiet as she did. Neither of the princesses flinched from the sudden appearance awaiting instruction from Anubis.

THERE ARE THREE SPELLS I SHALL BESTOW UPON YOU THREE. THEY ARE THE SAME AND WILL ALLOW YOU TO KEEP THEM INFORMED AND ALIVE. THE FIRST SPELL IS ONE THAT CREATES A TELEPATHIC LINK ACROSS DIMENSIONS AND IS PERMANENTLY ATTACHED TO THE TARGET UNTIL DISABLED BY THE USER. THIS WILL ALLOW YOU TO KEEP IN TOUCH AND PROVIDE SUPPORT IN ANYWAY POSSIBLE.

“This is good. I was worried that they would be all alone in their own world. At least this way they won’t be alone.” Luna chimed in only receiving a blank stare from Celestia. She knew that look. “Sorry I’ll chime in when he is finished.”

Anubis, for his part, didn’t seemed offended at the interruption. He almost seemed amused by the sight before him. Something which Cadance picked up on but kept silent about.

THE SECOND SPELL CREATES A TIME DILATION EFFECT AROUND THE SUBJECT. NO MATTER HOW MUCH TIME PASSES IN THE OTHER WORLD THE TARGET WILL NOT AGE NOR BE AFFECTED BY THE TIME OF THAT WORLD. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE IMMORTAL THOUGH. IT JUST MEANS THAT WHILE THERE THEY WILL KEEP ACCLIMATED TO THE TIME SPAN OF EQUESTRIA. IT IS UNCERTAIN HOW LONG WILL PASS OVER IN THOSE OTHER WORLDS.

THE FINAL SPELL WILL ALLOW YOU TO GIVE THEM SOME OF YOUR MAGIC. IT WILL EMPOWER THEM WITH YOUR SKILLS SO THEY MAY RISE ABOVE THE CHALLENGES THAT SURROUND THEM. IT IS A SIMPLE SPELL BUT IT WILL DRAIN YOUR MAGIC QUICKLY. DO NOT OVERUSE IT. I WILL TEACH THEM SPELLS OR ABILITIES WHEN THEY REQUIRE IT BUT I WILL BE LIMITED.

That got Celestia’s attention. These spells would normally be outside her purview. Only Starswirl had managed to learn a dimensional transmission spell. That spell had to be anchored to a book which was with her estranged pupil. Now Anubis was giving them access to something far beyond the abilities of an alicorn.

“Will Twilight and her friends be ok? Also how dangerous are these worlds anyways?” Cadance was reeling from the revelation of these spells and turned back to the main issue they had been avoiding. Emotions had been high and even Celestia and Luna had been distracted by the event.

YES THEY WILL BE FINE. I WILL MAKE SURE OF IT THROUGH MY OWN POWER. SOME WILL NEED MORE HELP THAN OTHERS BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU THEY WILL NOT BE HARMED. AS FOR THE WORLDS THEY WILL TRAVEL THROUGH I CAN ONLY TELL YOU THAT THEY WILL ALSO ACT AS TESTS FOR THE ELEMENT BEARERS PUSHING THEIR OWN VIRTUE INTO OVERDRIVE. SOME FIT BETTER THAN OTHERS ONLY BECAUSE OF PERSONALITIES. STILL SEVEN BEARERS HERE DOES NOT MEAN THEY WILL ALL BE HARMONY BEARERS.

“What do you mean Anubis? Are you saying that they will all bear marks of chaos?” Celestia flared slightly. She was annoyed which shouldn’t be happening. She had been through much worse yet this little thought wormed its way into her heart and left her uncertain of what this could possibly mean.

“It does make sense that not all of them would be Harmony bearers. I’m guessing that you hold different values as harmonic and others as chaotic. These are your musings on what is this and what is that then?” Luna raised her hoof and lightly smacked Celestia’s flank to calm her down. While she hated that method Celestia did calm down turning a displeased smile at Luna.

“This seems a bit complicated doesn’t it? I mean if not all of them are Harmony bearers does that mean there are more beings needed to join with the other elements?” Cadance stared directly at Anubis. He had been frank and revealed things that scholars would fight for years to come to research over just how much this would change the very fabric of the Equestrian way of life.

IN THE BEGINNING THERE WERE ONLY SIX ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AND SIX ELEMENTS OF CHAOS. I CREATED TWO MORE. ONE FOR EACH SIDE TO WORK AS MEDIATING FORCES BETWEEN EACH GROUP. AFTER THE TREE OF CHAOS WAS DESTROYED THEY WERE SENT TO MY TREE FOR SAFE KEEPING. WHEN YOU GATHERED THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY TO USE AGAINST DISCORD NEW SHELLS WERE CREATED HERE TO REABSORB THE MAGIC AND KEEP THEM SAFE WHEN YOU RETURNED THEM TO THE TREE OF HARMONY. YOU DID NOT. WHEN THEY WERE FINALLY RETURNED WE SENT A BOX WITH SIX LOCKS TO ACT AS A NEW WAY TO ACCESS THE MAGIC OF HARMONY. THEN THE MAGIC OF THE ELEMENTS WAS LOCKED DOWN HERE WITH THE CHAOS ELEMENTS AS WELL.

“We’re sorry for not returning them… “ Two downtrodden mares stood by unable to look Anubis in the eye. Cadence managed to calm them down with a brush of her wing tips.

“We didn’t know about this. If we did we wouldn’t have kept them away from the tree for all this time.” Celestia shakily smiled at him with the same warm smile she gave Luna when she returned from the moon.

IT WAS FOR THE BEST CELESTIA. IF THE ELEMENTS WERE HERE THEY MIGHT HAVE STARTED THEIR PLANS SOONER RATHER THAN NOW. STILL I CAN AT LEAST TELL YOU THERE ARE MORE HARMONY BEARERS IN THIS GROUP. SOME HAVE MORE CHAOTIC ELEMENTS DUE TO VOLATILE NATURE OF THEIR ELEMENTS. I WON’T TELL YOU WHICH IS WHICH BECAUSE THEY NEED TO COME TO TERMS WITH THEIR NEW ROLE AS AN ELEMENT BEARER.

I WILL BE PLACING THE SPELLS INTO YOUR MIND BECAUSE WE HAVE LITTLE TIME. THE SUN MUST SET NOW AND THE MOON SHOULD RISE. TOMORROW WILL MAKE THE WORLD CHANGE AND I DO NOT KNOW THE DIRECTION IT WOULD TAKE.

Anubis slowly floated off his pedestal and charged up energy within himself. With a flash of magic a soft beam of light hit the forehead of all three Alicorn Princesses showing them the inner intricacies of the spell and how they worked. He floated back down to the pedestal embedding his body in the stone.

I MUST PREPARE THE MIRRORS NOW. I SHALL BE SILENT WHILE DOING THIS. THE MAGICAL REQUIREMENTS TO ACTIVATE THE MIRRORS ARE SMALL BUT THEY MUST BE MAINTAINED WHILE THEY ARE IN USE. THERE ARE OTHER PROBLEMS THAT MIGHT ARISE. ANY QUESTIONS LEFT FOR ME?

“What are we supposed to do while you maintain the doorways? Will those creatures come back at all? When will you be ready?” Luna muttered out annoyed at the circumstances and wishing for an easier way through these trying times.

YOU MUST KEEP WATCH OUT FOR ME. THE OTHERS WILL COME BACK AND TRY TO STOP ME FROM MAINTAINING THE CONNECTION TO THESE OTHER WORLDS. I WILL BE EMPOWERING YOU SLIGHTLY SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BREAK THROUGH YOUR SHIELD SPELLS. I CAN NOT GUARANTEE IT WILL WORK THOUGH IF THEY WORK TOGETHER AND ONLY ONE ALICORN IS LEFT HERE WITH ME. WE HAVE UNTIL SUNRISE TOMORROW WHICH WILL BE AT YOUR DISCRETION CELESTIA. I WILL START MY RITUAL NOW AND GATHER MY AMBIENT MAGIC TO KEEP THE MIRROR PORTALS OPEN.

Anubis remained silent as his eye closed and small pulses of magic undulated throughout the spherical body. Cadance watched the pulses grow larger and larger mesmerized by the energy being released just by this tiny sphere. Celestia and Luna kept to themselves though discussing and planning what to do when they were woken from their revelry by the shimmering light bursting from the mirrors. Without missing a beat the three flew back up to the main room and completed their assigned tasks while Cadance went to check on the others.

_____________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile…

“What do you think is going to happen now?” Starlight was the first to speak up as the girls stayed in Twilight’s bedroom.

It had been hard. The girls had barely been given time to cope with the turn of events and the deluge of information was turning their brains to mush. The horror of what those spheres did to them was sickening. They even went and taunted the girls by chewing. Mortifying was only one word to describe how that show of force went. The arrival of a third one left nothing but despair until it too was cast aside in another show of bravado. The reveal that their friends were alive banished the despair but the way to get things back to normal was something worse.

“Well sugarcube I don’t right know. It looks like we’re gonna have to bite the horseshoe and take the buffalo by the horns on this. Ah’m gonna need to get somepony to help out Big Mac while I handle this situation.” Applejack, ever the honest mare, showed a bit of worry through her eyes. This was much worse than the other problems they had handled. There was always a bit more warning whenever map problems came to the forefront.

“I-i-i don’t know about that AJ. We need a better plan than that. It sounds like we’re gonna have to be -(gulp)- alone on this. Couldn’t we stick together during our trips through other worlds?” Fluttershy, ever the voice of reason, brought out the point that was on everypony’s mind. Anubis, unfortunately, sounded dire on his warnings of the other two spheres.

“You heard that guy Flutters. We have to do this fast. Real fast since those things want their bodies. Do you really want them to be puppets for those monsters? I sure you don’t but this is something we gotta do. I’ll sonic rainboom through my mirror world and help you out if I can though. No worries I won’t leave ya hangin.” Rainbow pounded her chest in solidarity for her devotion to her friends. Fluttershy squeaked when the mention of puppets was brought up muttering about how they would be cute puppets probably then apologizing about it. Still she smiled when Rainbow mentioned going through her part fast to help her out.

“Darling I doubt that we could go that fast, No offense Fluttershy but it seems like something much worse is going to happen. We have to be brave for them. They shouldn’t have been taken.” Rarity ran her hoof across Spike’s basket. It was unsettling to her what she saw and it wouldn’t go away from her sight. No tears left her eyes only a harsh unladylike glare stayed in place. They had taken her Spikey-Wikey and she was unhappy about this.

“This was going to be a great party girls but then those meanies decided to crash the party. Who does that? I mean we did that during Rarity’s garden party, the Grand Galloping Gala, and that one time when I wasn’t invited to a party. I mean we had very good reasons and we didn’t cause widespread destruction at least two out of three times. Still this is too much they didn’t even taste the cupcakes I made for us all,” -She pulled out a tin of cupcakes from the drawer near Twilight’s bed.- ,“Then they did that cringe inducing sight and it was too much even for my mind. I would never eat somepony’s cupcake in front of them like a smug meanie pants.” Pinkie had stopped bouncing. Her mane slightly deflated as she spoke but didn’t revert back to the straight laced style Maud usually wore.

“We should try to get Twilight back up. I think she has been thinking too much about this. I don’t see what we can do though. These mirrors are like the one Twilight used and she said that when she walked through she lost her horn and gained hands a little like Spike has. Would we even be able to survive through there? I mean I have barely been getting better about doing things without my magic and this seems so much… bigger than anything I’ve been through. Not as big a you guys have been through that’s for sure.” Starlight wrung her hooves together trying her best to calm down. Time Travel was at least through a magic spell but this would take them to alternate dimension and worlds. Twilight still wasn’t awake either and that left her thinking her student viewpoint wasn’t as important.

“SPIKE!” Twilight shot straight up looking wildly around as all the girls cringed at the sudden loud noise. She looked around noticing an empty basket, saddened eyes, quiet halls. He wasn’t here. It did happen. “Girls,” -She coughed.- ,”We need to figure out what we are going to do. From what I can tell we have to do this if we want to save them. I think it is more than worth it. A worthy cause right? Whatever spells that the princesses learn will probably be good enough to keep us safe in the other worlds we’ll be in. I’m not sure we’ll be safe but it would be worth it to get Spike and Discord back. Right Fluttershy?” Her mane was still frazzled but her eyes were clearly shining with the same confidence she had when she confronted Nightmare Moon. Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile and nod.

Affirmed in their course they took some pillows and blankets from the closet and with a little finesse from Pinkie make a slumber party to keep the sadness at bay. The undercurrent of the day’s events were always slipping back in but the feeling in their hearts lightened as they did. Confidence soon took hold getting even Fluttershy to cry out a meager ‘Yay!’ though in her usual tone. When the moon rose into the sky they all knew that some preparations were in order.

Applejack quickly made her way back to Sweet Apple Acres and told Granny Smith the news. She was understanding enough and said that Big Mac had already gotten help before hoof.

Rainbow Dash sped off towards Cloudchaser and Flitter’s home, luckily, they had stayed in that night and she had agreed to take her shifts for the week after hearing about what had happened in the castle. Flitter seemed to be crying but Dash didn’t pry about it. She would get the info once she made sure that Spike was safe and sound.

Fluttershy had flown off to Zecora’s without the trepidation she usually had for the Everfree forest. Discord and Spike were in trouble and not even the forest would stop her. With a light knock on the hut door she found Zecora back from one of her herbal ventures, a large pack on her back. While she was busy she agreed to help out with the animals in Fluttershy’s home.

Rarity had gone back home and quickly put a closed sign on her shop and took Sweetie Belle over to Sweet Apple Acres. She didn’t explain what had happened to her but Sweetie didn’t complain when she looked into Rarity’s eyes. They were full of a passion she hadn’t seen before and it had felt like asking would set her off on a dramatic tirade. Besides with Applebloom and Scootaloo in tow they could go crusading out to find out what was wrong later.

Pinkie had a few more problems on hand seeing as there was no one who could cover her shift. When she told the story of what had happened to Spike to the Cakes they instantly sent her back to the castle after a tight group hug. Even they knew the dangers of a sad Pinkie Pie.

With all the work out of the way the seven girls made their way back to the castle the regret far behind them and locked away so they could focus on the new problems that laid ahead. They each took a spot in Twilight’s room noticing that her eyes had gotten a bit puffy. Starlight also had red eyes as well. Yet even with that they both were genuinely smiling at the girls. Each took their place in the room and settled into an uneasy sleep when Cadance found them.

“Sleep well girls. We’ll hold down the fort for now. Also Twilight just in case you get antsy Celestia says you need to rest for what is coming tomorrow. So sleep for now. We’re gonna get Spike and Discord back before you know it.” Cadance bowed slightly before shutting the door behind her. She walked back to the kitchen where she found Luna making coffee for Celestia.

“I haven’t been awake like this in such a long time. This is killing me slightly inside. Do you truly think that the sphere is trustworthy?” Celestia took a long drink ignoring the scalding liquid that washed against her tongue. Bitter but tasty she trudged along noticing that Cadance had finally joined them.

“I would think so sister. Why art thou so untrusting of this creature. He has gone so far as to give us his name and shown nothing but good intentions. His manners are lacking with the bluntness of his words but that is to be expected with how idealistic Equestria is. We have always fought the darkness with the magic of friendship. Harmony was born from the bonds we share with all our subjects. I know this turns everything on its head but we must accept it for now. Perhaps there is more than we can see at this moment and we should do well to remember that.” Luna admonished Celestia from her own mug while setting the third in front of Cadance.

“Now Auntie Luna, Auntie Celestia does have a point. Lest we forget what we saw at first. That sight of them being torn limb from limb. I thought hydra feedings were the only horrifying thing to see. That was borderline sadistic what those two spheres did. They even made sure to pick out the two closest and shove their triumphant smirk in their faces. Twilight is what worries me so though. While she was quiet I heard what she had muttered. She said she would make them pay. I have a bad feeling that tonight will be their worst night yet.” Cadance merely stared at the mug unsure whether she needed the jolt of caffeine. Adrenaline and fear had been enough of a motivator for her to keep awake even through the night.

“I will be checking on their dreams shortly niece. I would like to ask you two to join me this time. I will need all the help I can get tonight. If those things are powerful enough to affect Discord then they might be able to do more than we saw. Unlike most of the foes we have seen these ones shall not tarry and wait for us to make the first strike. If you were a monster where would you strike first?” Luna finished her cup and poured another. The caffeine helped when dealing with lucid dreamers as the jolt would let her keep up with the constant control they exerted over their dreams.

“I placed a shield around their room already and I think that they have been waiting to strike when it is more convenient to their plans. With Anubis charging up they’ll probably try to strike him down after the girls head to the other world.” Cadance gingerly sipped at her mug. Celestia was on her third cup. She remained in a contemplative slump.

“Before we go through with this I’ll need to send a letter to Blueblood to hold down the fort. It seems like two of us will have to stay with Anubis at all times if those monsters decide to attack. I’ll send a letter to Shining Armor as well for you dear niece. His shield spell is still one of the strongest around and with you two together I doubt that that shield you created during your wedding would be overpowered.” She finished half her mug this time and set it aside, “We’ll need to work on finding these other bearers while they are in this other world. Perhaps their cutie marks will appear on the mirrors when he activates them?”

“Perhaps sister. For now we should head into the dream realm and keep our subjects safe tonight.” Luna began to glow in a bright white light which enveloped both Celestia and Cadance. Tonight was only the first step to saving their friends and there was only so much they could truly do.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes

The waves of magic rolling off of Luna enveloped Celestia and Luna pulling them into formation with her. With nary a wave of her horn she pulled them into the realm of dreams fully shown to her fellow princesses.

Fully before them was a large ethereal realm full of doors leading to every single one of her subjects hidden behind a large field of stars and mist that seemed to emanate from nowhere. Cadance giggled in pure bliss since it was the first time she had ever seen the realm of dreams her aunt worked through. Celestia merely sighed wistfully a content smile fully took over her muzzle.

“I have missed this Lulu. I do wish I had more time to come into the dream realm with you. We used to have such interesting games of hide and seek alongside our subjects.”

“Tis true sister. Verily I was always able to give you much trouble by my mastery of dreams. Still we should tarry not on those wonderful times. We have pressing matters now. I will bring the doors we need to go through then we must decide who goes where. I shall overrule any of those decisions on first picks for I must go keep an eye on Twilight and Fluttershy. The spirits seemed to take sweet pleasure in tormenting those two in particular with what happened. “ Luna stomped her hoof causing seven doors to appear before her. Secretly she attempted to bring two others but neither of their doors appeared. They were still awake.

“I suppose I will take Rainbow Dash and Starlight Glimmer then.” Cadance spoke up, unsure what she needed to do. Dreams were not her strong point and she was regretting not drinking that coffee now.

“I will take Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack then. I’m sure Pinkie and I can come to an agreement on cake,” -cough-, “ I mean our sense of humor. What is your plan though Luna? We could barely affect those monsters even with all three of us working together.” Celestia looked a bit off to Pinkie’s door instantly regretting her decision. It was made of cake and covered in frosting even showing the doorknob made of a giant gumdrop.

“We bring them out here. Call me out with your magic and we will drag them out of their dreamscape if they are in danger. I know they will have nightmares but I’m not sure if they will strike. We must plan for every possibility and should they not be in danger then at least our ministrations will give them a modicum of peace for the night before their task begins.” Luna stepped up to Twilight and Fluttershy’s doors then stomped her hoof again sending the other doors to their respective princess.

“Ready when you are Auntie Luna.” Cadance smiled.

“As am I Lulu” Celestia nodded solemnly.

With that declaration each princess opened their first door ready to step into the fray and face whatever was coming to face them.

Rainbow Dash’s Dreamscape

There it was, the finish line. She could feel the whipping air currents all around her as the flag waved in the distant. Her lips felt chapped from the constant speed she was at. The twinge and burning in her wings were getting worse now and she could only keep it up for a few more seconds. That was all she needed. It was coming soon. The sudden burst of energy that formed whenever she reach that speed. Mach 1 was only two seconds off. That spiral cone appeared in her peripheral and she knew just how to make the finish more awesome.
On her left was the captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire, catching up to her ready to overtake her should she let up. On her right was her fellow wonderbolt Fleetfoot also catching up. She was getting better but there was no need to go easy on her. Dash was the best and she knew it so she had to make this more memorable. The crowd around her was waiting for it.

In a flash of light the rainboom took over leaving Spitfire and Fleetfoot in her cloudy wake. The crowd was going wild… then the cheering disappeared. The rainboom was going slower and the other two passed her by winning the race. The finish line disappeared and in front of her were the forms of Spike and Discord reaching out for her.

She was going to get them this time she had planned for this but the rainboom was her trump card. It wasn’t working! They were being torn apart again. No! NO! She wasn’t going to fail her friends again. She flapped harder and pushed farther. It wasn’t enough again. The screams came back assaulting her ears again as they disappeared again.

Screams echoed out from her mouth leaving nothing but a string of obscenities left her mouth and she slammed her hooves against the ground letting all her anger out leaving impressions on the ground. Tears were reluctantly released as she tried to look anywhere else but where they were torn to shreds. No one else was around but she knew they would be soon. She had failed them letting two of her friends get killed in front of them. She hadn’t been fast enough to stop it. Not again… This was the fifth time she had tried to shift her thoughts to something happier but it wasn’t working. Every time a little piece of hope entered her heart they were dashed against reality. She quickly pushed the memory out again only for it to bear down again. She kept screaming for it to stop but it wouldn’t. Then that red eye appeared leering at her taunting her again.

“Rainbow Dash!Are you ok!” A pink light broke up the shadow revealing a pink alicorn floating through the haze towards her.

“Yeah… Of course I am. I’m too awesome to be kept down like this.” Dash hoarsely spoke up only to cough from the sudden use of words after her screaming fit. She looked away and rubbed her eyes to hide the tears. “I thought only Luna could do this Cadance?”

“She brought us in after a day like this. She thought it would be better to keep you girls safe from those creatures in case they try something. The dream realm is more pliable should we need to fight back against them thanks to Luna.” Cadence opened the doorway behind her. “You know you did everything you could yet they were stronger than all of us together. You can’t beat yourself over all this since we are working towards saving them now.”

“I know. I know! I just… its who I am ya know. I’m the element of loyalty. I’m Rainbow Dash the most awesome pegasus ever born. Everyone can rely on me to do something for them and I couldn’t do anything but flail at a shield and watch. I may have not been able to do something but I still failed to do anything of value. I saw Twilight and Starlight had managed to grip on Spike and Discord and manage to pull them back from the brink. They would have won too if those monsters hadn’t decided to bite them.” She shook her head getting the images out of her mind.

“Look we can deal with this but I’m gonna need you to help me with the others. Right now we are in the dream realm and we need to make sure the others are only affected by nightmares rather than the monsters.” Cadance draped her wing over Dash dragging her outside her dream into the dream realm.

Starlight Glimmer’s Dreamscape

There she stood watching her old town and a cupcake contest being run by Double Diamond. The eating contest was being set up letting her judge. On one side sat Spike ready to take care of business. A red bandanna wrapped around his head as the glare in his eyes told her that he was ready to go. Pinkie was busy coaching him as his eyes stayed forward facing determination lighting a fire that would lead him to victory. On the other side sat Discord, a smug smirk on his face. Fluttershy was on his side cheering in her own way. Starlight took a few steps forward as a bell appeared before her. With a flair of magic she rang the bell as the two competitors worked their way through the cupcakes before them.

Cheers from their friends urged them to continue on. Starlight smiled at the sight. There was nothing wrong and everything was fine. Twenty cupcakes down...Thirty down… Forty… They changed colors.

Everyone disappeared leaving only two figures. One figure was made of white scales with glowing blue eyes sitting where Spike once was. The other was covered in dark fur with glowing red eyes. On the table were small figures that looked like Spike and Discord.

She ran to the tables desperately trying to stop the two figures. One crunch, Two, three. The figures screamed as they tried to get away always falling short when they reached the edge of the table. Starlight wasted no time and blasted the two with as much magic she could muster. The beam flew straight and true impacting on them forcing them to the ground saving the figures on the table. When she looked again she only saw Spike, purple scales and green belly, clutching at where the beam struck him. The fear in his eyes evident he shimmied away as best as he could through the pain never unlocking his eyes from Starlight. Discord also returned to normal but remained motionless. She had hurt them… her fault… her fault.

“ENOUGH!” A pink force grasped the two figures squeezing them tightly as they both looked on amused at the broken pony. Too lost in her grief she didn’t notice the cyan hooves that clumsily wrapped around her face.

“It’s not them Starlight calm down and look again.” Dash firmly uttered then forced her to look at the two figures.
The two smirking figures were back to the same white and black color that they had been staring down the pink alicorn out on the edge. When they turned to Starlight their smirk died replaced by irritation. Struggling as they were they broke through the magic and rushed out of the dream.

“I thought… I thought I did something horrible. I tried to help but I made it worse.” Starlight grimaced while tears fell freely to her hooves. With her own horn she had done something so reprehensible. She wasn’t a monster like her old self. The thoughts keep swirling around make the inner parts of her dreams darken as the nightmares began to hold steady. Cadance instantly brought out her shield to protect the three. Dash lifted her hoof and slapped Starlight across the muzzle softly enough not to leave a mark. Starlight could only stare in shock.

“It wasn’t them. They trust you. You are their friend and they know it ok. No time for a pity party when we gotta go get them away from those monsters. Now stop thinking you are a horrible pony. Look I may give ya a hard time about my cutie mark but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you now. I know you’ve changed and you need to keep it together. Spike needs us. Even Discord needs us and he’s usually the one causing the trouble so get off your flank and let’s get out there to save them ok.” Dash took a confident flap into the air showing how much she believed in her conviction. “Also sorry for the slap. I’m not good with that whole touchy-feely junk. Besides tough love on you seemed to be the best way to bring you back to being calm. At least that’s what Cadance thinks.”

“I guess… I just wish I didn’t need the slap.” Starlight gingerly rubbed her muzzle. “Wait isn’t this a dream?” Looking around she noticed the nightmarish scenery started to fade back to the normal brightness of her usual dreams.

“Yeah it is. Neat, huh? Luna brought in the princesses to protect our dreams.” Dash shrugged but her wings got larger and more awesome. “We can control small things while in dreams.” Her smile almost bursted off her face as she giggled at the sight of her powerfully awesome wings.

“Yeah that does sound neat.” Starlight snickered as a bucket of water appeared over Dash’s head then fell over drenching her in water. Dash only groaned at the prank being set on her.

“Ha. Ha. I guess I deserved that. Do you know how hard it is to dry feathers.” Dash groused as her new awesome wings returned to normal effectively raining on her parade.

“Don’t worry Rainbow. I won’t say a word. Now let’s get you two to safety.” Cadance reopened the door to the dream realm and led the two back to the safety of the ring leading to all the doors.

Pinkie Pie’s Dreamscape

Celestia had been expecting something different. She knew from some of Luna’s stories that Pinkie Pie’s dream were the stuff of legends. Cakes layered so high they reached pass the sun. Battles with a giant alligator with no teeth as a mount and multitudes of parties being played on fast forward every second she was dreaming.

This was not that dream. Pinkie stood with her back to Celestia quietly making small pastries. No music. No cheers of cake batter. Only silence reigned through the kitchen.

“Hi there Princess…” The voice at the stove spoke quietly. “I wondered when someone would come to help me out. I haven’t felt much like laughing… not a lot to laugh about now, is there?”

Celestia glanced down forlornly at the young pink mare. Her mane was straight and dull while her coat was listless and grayer than the pink she wore so proudly. When Celestia finally saw her eyes all that was there was a deep sadness Celestia saw every morning she work up and looked in a mirror.

“Pinkie I know some horrible things have happened today but we need to keep hope alive. Spike and Discord are still alright.” Celestia moved forward. Her matronly instinct took over draping her wing over Pinkie’s shoulder. “You know we can get them back, right?”
Pinkie finished her cakes and sighed. She didn’t fully turn around and shifted back and forth in her chair. She knew things would work out. The author had said so but the path there would be harsh and might be too much to fully handle. He was a bit of a jerk in this regard for making such a dark story but she knew the part to play and played that part to make readers smile. It was her gift to bring a smile to everyone’s face and she would do it admirably. Not all roles were equal but she knew that even in those dark situations she would throw a party just to celebrate the readers reaching the end. Now she had lines that needed to be said.

“I know we can save them. I know what we’ll have to do on the other side will need to follow the story as effectively as possible. There are good creatures out there but there are meanies also waiting for us over there. Each of us will have a bad guy that will need to be taken care of to get back home. It’s just that when we were sitting at the table earlier before we were attacked. Well, my pinkie sense went off. Pinchy knees always meant something scary would happen and I didn’t even remember it because nothing that scary ever happens in Equestria. Even the Tirek incident didn’t make my knees that pinchy because the other combos predicted a happy ending beforehand.” Pinkie rose up finally looking at Celestia. The pinkness of her mane returned slowly but she wasn’t smiling.

“I’ve heard about that from Twilight. I suppose something other believe in is still hard for her to grasp. Still I don’t want to see you frown Pinkie. Not just because you are the Element of Laughter. No its because I truly appreciate your jovial nature. We need that kind of spirit to save our friends.”

“I know. I truly do but how do you smile when you know that eventually you might have to change who you are just to fit in with another world?” Pinkie sighed softer actually looking pensive about what was going to happen in the morning. “We’ll be alone over there and I worry about all my friends. I can’t even see two of them until much later either.” She finally turned to the cakes and showed them off.

There were two well made cakes featuring Spike and Discord. Featuring didn’t do the sight justice though. The Spike cake looked eerily just like him chocolate cake covered in purple frosting and green icing for his belly. The spikes on its back had been made of taffy and looked delectable by sight. Discord’s cake was made entirely of different flavors all brought together with chocolate being the base for everything. Red Velvet had been used for the dragon tail, Pistachio for the dragon leg, caramel for the other, marzipan for both arms. The wings and horns had been made of taffy as well. Celestia gawked at the attention to detail she had put before remembering that it was only a dream.

“I made these cakes and I’m saving them over at Sugarcube Corner for their birthdays.” Pinkie said flatly when she looked at Celestia who gaped in surprise. She finally smiled at the surprised princess. “I remember now why I should smile. Thank you Princess Celestia.”

“I didn’t do much Pinkie I merely listened to you like a good friend should. We should go help the others now. They might be having nightmares. Will you be willing to assist me?” Celestia grinned at the party pony.

“Okie Dokie Lokey. “ She giggled as she walked outside of the dream with Celestia.

Rarity’s Dreamscape

Costume and ensembles surrounded Rarity as more and more ponyquins came to life modeling all the new designs on display. She wasn’t paying attention though she just stared at a smaller Spike shaped one which offered platitudes and compliments which did nothing to stifle her sadness.

“Darling this is not helping. You were taken and we only know that they wanted a host. What does that even mean?” She looked away noticing the ponyquins disappearing as did the Spike shaped one. She walked away as more paths opened for her leading through what she remembered from the day. It didn’t help that she remembered every moment that had occurred then. The tearing of flesh, the screams, the cries of agony that there was no way to escape from her attention to details.

“Where is the exit… I don’t want to be here.” The scowl she gave was very unladylike. She couldn’t stop the wrinkles if she keep this stare but it wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t love as she saw it in her novels. He was a dear friend and she wanted him back safe and sound.
The monsters she had seen had been following her and were moving freely within her mind. Had they done something to them? She didn’t fully know what was going on but Twilight might know. The constant hum from them following her was grating. Irritating her further and further down the path. It was unladylike to fully accept fighting back no matter how much she wanted to deal with those ruffians and their boorish behavior. Especially for how they hurt her little Spikey-Wikey.

“HEY RARITY!” A pink pony jumped out of nowhere tackling her to the ground messing with her coiffure and coat. She didn’t fully care though because it finally dealt with two monsters that had been chasing after her.

“Pinkie that was uncalled for now please let me up darling,” She looked over her coat and mane and sighed, “ This will take a few spa appointments I suppose.”

A beam of light hit the two monsters forcing them away as Princess Celestia descended from on high like the sun. She was frowning though noticing that maybe she wasn’t needed. It wasn’t that she wasn’t proud of her subject for taking care of herself. No it felt as though she was bottling things up and she could see it in the scowl still adorned on Rarity’s face.

“Is everything alright Rarity?” Celestia had landed before her concern spilling from her eyes as she looked for something that would tell her what was wrong. When she didn’t speak at first she was unsure if she asked too soon.

“I… Well I guess no. I am entirely infuriated and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I know we are on an important mission and all but I must get some clothes ready for wherever we are forced to go but we won’t know that until after we get there. I can’t plan for every little thing and I wouldn’t want to waste time carrying around that much luggage. Especially with how important this will be to get back my Spi- I mean - Spike.” She looked around the scowl replaced with worry and concern. Celestia looked onwards examining the very contours of her face to see whether this was a draw from the drama well that Twilight sometimes spoke of whenever Rarity was upset. No matter how closely she looked though there were no minced words or expressions. She had given up poise and proper behavior to show how truly upset she was. Though it was strange she hadn’t used her pet name for Spike.

“I know my little pony but we must make due with what we have. You are beautiful enough already and need nothing to detract from the natural beauty you already have. You have been keeping the nightmares at bay unlike your friends. We need to keep you safe before you are sent on your way from those monsters. Please join us out of your dreamscape so that we might keep those who would stop us at bay.” Celestia bowed before Rarity causing her to shriek at the faux pas she was performing.

“Please Princess do not bow to me I’m nopony that needs others to bow to them. Everyone is equal and those that earn respect deserve that modicum of respect back. I have done nothing to earn that from you through my own merits. Please I don’t deserve it.” Rarity was smiling at the gesture but her eyes clearly showed embarrassment. She also noticed how uncharacteristically quiet Pinkie was being after helping her up. “Pinkie where are you?”

“Over here. I was getting the door ready so I wouldn’t disturb your dramatic scenes.” She giggled as she opened the door out into the ring. As they went off Celestia stayed near the back.

‘I suppose this mare might be good enough for Spike if only she would get her head out of the fairy tales.’ She closed the door behind them.

Applejack’s Dreamscape

It had taken hours just to get done but Applejack had finally beaten the last few monsters that had come into her space. Bucky McGillyCuddy and Kicks McGee were sorer than the last time she had to applebuck the Northern and Southern orchards of her farm. It was getting tough to keep fighting but there was a lull in the monsters coming after her. While it was easy to deal with them there was a point of contention whenever she did strike a monster down. Each one looked like Spike and Discord. While there was less stress from bucking Discord about the Spike shaped ones would jump in to take the hit reminding her how loyal he was to his friends saving them even when they didn’t need saving.

“Consarn it all Spike quit muddyin’ the issue here and stop attackin’ me!” Another body flew to the side. It got worse. ‘Spike’ started to speak after every kick.

‘Why AJ I trusted you’

‘It hurts. It hurts.’

‘I guess being an element make you better than others huh?’

‘I know I messed up I guess this is what I deserve…’

She couldn’t take her friend putting himself down like that but it wasn’t him. ‘His’ eyes glowed a dull blue every time it was hit and it smirked after every hit. Every time a ling of self depreciation came up she would buck her legs a bit slower. It was only a matter of time before they would overwhelm her.

“INCOMING!” A large blast of confetti shoved the monsters to the side as a white coated unicorn forced as many small objects as possible in a large cloud of shrapnel forcing even more of the monsters back as well. Each took their place at Applejack’s sides. One readied a large cannon while the other had a glowing horn and multiple pieces of debris floating around their heads. With a light chuckle she fixed her hat high up on her head and whipped out a rope from her tail.

“Wonderin’ when I would be getting that backup sugarcubes. I thought this would be too uncouth for ya Rares.” Applejack glanced at Rarity.

“I may not enjoy this barbaric action but I will not let you deal with this alone no matter how much you think you could handle this alone.” Rarity smirked back clearly confident with her actions.

“Less talky more explodey girls. Wheeee~!” Pinkie took her time blasting every inch of the dreamscape with her cannon making sure to get at least one monster with every pass. Rarity blocked off the Spike shaped ones for Applejack while she bucked the Discord shaped ones as far away as possible. Before long the remainder of those monsters flew to a centralized spot and started to combine into dangerous looking creatures. Spike became more like the dragon that had been sleeping up in the mountains only in white scales and blue eyes. Discord had become savage looking a more demonic looking figure with darkened fur. They learned down ready to strike down the ponies remaining.

“Get down!” With a scream a large ball of magic burning brighter than the sun descended on the crowd of monsters burning a large crater where they stood. The sound of sizzling flesh and the smell of burning meat made the ponies cringe in disgust before it was replaced with ashes, both in smell and sight. “Are you quite alright dear Applejack. Sorry for not coming in sooner I wanted to make sure that I would get them all.” Celestia released her magic as the whole ground cooled off before them leaving a glass floor whose sheen seemed to reflect Celestia’s regal aura.

“Uh… no problem your majesty. Never seen something like this a’fore. I’m glad you came when you girls did.” Here back legs finally gave out forcing her to her haunches. “I’m a mite tired now just don’t tell Dash about this she’ll probably have a field day teasin’ me about how tired I got.”

“No worries AJ I pinkie promise you we won’t tell.” Pinie did the motions urging Rarity and Celestia to do so as well. Celestia wholeheartedly did so finding the whole ritual so funny. Rarity only reluctantly did so as long as her burst of violence was never spoken about again.

“Aw… Violent Rares actually made me pretty proud of ya.” The small smirk annoyed Rarity but she returned the smile nonetheless. “Anyways what cha all doing here in my dream. I thought Luna was the only pony who did that. Applebloom says she enjoys those meetings a lot.”

“Tonight is special. With the incident today all three of us will be monitoring your dreams for tonight. We must keep you safe from them. Will you please join the rest of us outside of this particular dreamscape.” Celestia nodded slightly towards a glowing doorway.

“Well shoot Princess. You don’t need to be so formal we’re all friends here.” With a smile she followed the group out towards the ring.

Twilight Sparkle’s Dreamscape

She had to escape. They were trying to stop her. It was the fifth time they had almost cornered her in a dead end. On her back was Spike. She had done it. She had saved him like she knew she could. It had been touch and go when she had found him. Those monsters had done horrible things and he still hadn’t moved since she had gotten him.

“You’ll be alright I’ll make sure you will be safe. Nothing will stop me. We’ll get out of this then I’ll get you you’re special gem cake. I’ll even make sure to dig them up myself. Just please… please be ok. I-I don’t know what I would do without you.” Tears started falling even faster clouding her eyes as the sound of roaring resounding in the distance,

Twilight ran faster through the halls of her castle dodging and weaving through the books that seemed to be appearing out of nowhere. It was behind her again trying to steal Spike away from her. The constant buzzing of the monsters were getting louder. She couldn’t get away fast enough due to the constant dead ends. It was going to happen again she couldn’t see him lost again.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE STAY STRONG!” The roar of the Royal Canterlot Voice broke the illusion. Twilight could only stare horrorstruck at the disintegration of all the books around her. Then she felt a weight lifting off her back only to notice that Spike was no longer there.

“Spike. Spike! SPIKE! Where are you? Please don’t go… don’t go.” She fell to her side sobbing uncontrollably as the Princess of the Night glided down next to her. With a flash of her horn Twilight was lifted back to her feet still lost to the tears.

“He wasn’t real Twilight. We must get ready to retrieve the real one alongside Discord as well. I think by now my sister and Cadence have gotten all your friends. From what I can feel the monsters attacked a few of them already with varying degrees of intensity.

“I-I d-do-don’t know what to do Luna. I’ve been replaying that moment for every single second since it happened. I can’t get it out of my head. Even knowing he is alive only makes me realize just how neglectful I can be of him. Those few times may not seem like much but its always the same. He gives. I take. I try to do better until my own paranoia decides to slap me upside the head. Those times I do for him are so few and far between too. Seeing him being ripped piece from piece was just the straw that broke the pony’s back.” Twilight chuckled morosely as the darkness swirled back into view for Luna.

Luna remembered this all too well from some of her worse experiences with the dream realm. Those who contemplated ending it always had this imperceptible darkness flowing through their minds ready to swallow the consciousness whole. For the most part she was successful in saving the ponies in question but every five or so she did save meant one was too far gone. The other case of flowing darkness were those who started to embrace their own weaknesses. Self wallowing their way into depression or other forms of release. It was lucky when the release was hunger or physical relief. There were far worse routes to take to madness even more macabre than the chaos Discord caused so long ago.

“Twilight. Get up. We must go save Spike. Are you going to let something horrible happen to him?” Luna grabbed hold of her staring deeply into her eyes.

“Horrible?” Luna merely nodded while the darkness came to a stop. The darkness slowly dissipated only to be replaced by clouds of red whipping all around. “They won’t make it a single step out. I won’t let them.”

Luna watched as the air exploded with magic. Twilight rose from the floor burning the very landscape in front of her till nothing but cinders were left.

“You will if you don’t calm down. Now Twilight breathe I’m sure Cadance told you that the stresses of a princess already. We need to be smart in saving Spike.” Luna lowered her shield and let her magic slowly smother the flames around her. She knew how strong Twilight was but never saw the fire that usually burned inside. Still it wouldn’t help save anyone and the flames needed to be doused. The shallow breathing and shifting eyes eventually calmed leaving a still frazzled but calm pony before her.

“I-I’m sorry for the outburst there princess. I just… Let’s go take care of things. Wait aren’t I asleep...oh right Luna, heh heh” Flustered Twilight looked away sheepishly. “I should have realized that this was a dream sooner.”

“It is fine Twilight Sparkle now let us join the others. They are waiting for you in the hub of the dream realm. I think Fluttershy is the last one we need and I would like you to join me there.” Luna opened the door to the ring and reluctantly followed behind her. Her mind was still a torrential rain of uncertainty.

Fluttershy’s Dreamscape

Luna and Twilight walked through the glowing doorway into Fluttershy’s dreamscape noting how dark the entrance was looking. Each mare trotted through the halls down looking for Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy? Where are you?” Twilight called out while Luna sent out her shadow to search as well. “Luna have you found her?”

“Neigh. My magic isn’t able to pierce through these walls. It shouldn’t be possible for anything to stop me in the dreams of my subject… except for Discord’s magic.” They rushed forward looking for any sign that Fluttershy was safe.

“Don’t worry so much my dear never even felt a thing,” A familiar voice rang out. “Now you should be more careful though these monsters want all our little friends.”

“I know but can you blame me. Y-y-you were t-torn apart in front of me,” A sob followed soon after. “I thought you were gone.”

Twilight and Luna slammed through the doors where the voices were blanching in shock with the sight before them. There at a small table were Fluttershy and Discord drinking tea together calmly. Mouths agape the two princesses mumbled impossibilities.

“Oh Twilight, Princess Luna would you like to join us? I mean, only if you’re not too busy. I would understand of course.” Fluttershy hid behind her mane before a small whine left her lips in embarrassment. “I have chamomile…”

“Ah look at that Moonbutt has finally arrived I wondered what was taking you so long. There’s going to be a lot to discuss so how about you join us for now.” With a snap of his fingers Luna and Twilight were warped to the table and into their respective seats. “Get comfortable cause I feel there’s going to be a lot of boring questions now.”

“How are you ok? We watched that thing happen. How?” Twilight’s mane was completely frazzled and her eyes twitched alternatively.

“What makes you think I’m the real Discord?”

“WHAT!?” Luna yelled out.

“I guess this would take a while. Do you remember when I was first released from my stone prison. Fluttershy was the only one that couldn’t be discorded due to her overly accepting nature. When I forcibly warped her mind I left behind a shadow in her mind that I could use to keep myself from being turned to stone. Unfortunately I got cocky and forgot about it completely. After my second release whenever Fluttershy found it necessary to hug me I shifted that shadow to protect her mind from anything chaos based.” Discord had performed pantomime from a light being cast on the wall.

“You did that just because of us?” Twilight gasped at the complex nature of his plans. He was taking them seriously enough that the only reason she had stopped him the first time was because of his own ego getting in the way. “What about when that water affected us? Why didn’t you protect her mind from that?”

“I said chaos based. Not evil based. Chaos is a natural part of the world and is necessary to the laws of entropy throughout the known universe and beyond. When the demeanor shifted to evil this aspect of me went dormant and would not be active unless something chaos based happened.” Discord looked a little miffed though he was only a shadow and kept himself so composed unlike his real form.

“Do you know about the Tree of Chaos? Or about the spheres that attacked us?” Luna spoke out next and kept her hoof against Twilight before she could go on a tirade of questions about entropy and the nature of the universe.

“Ah yes that thing. A useless aspect that I didn’t need. I destroyed it before it could create anything and absorbed the magic into my own body where I faced off against you and Sunbutt. Afterwards when you defeated me I lost that magical energy somehow. As time went on in my prison I realized that there was a voice that was always behind me trying to urge me into more extreme methods of chaos. I eventually shut the voice off after 800 years of effort. From what I could tell it was always behind my magic but when I ignored it for the final time I started to feel as though something was hunting after me. I learned later that there were aspects of the chaos I worked for. They were a constant thing lurked around watching the world move beyond their sight. Then after… Tirek, they disappeared and I didn’t see them ever again. At least not until that day.” Discord grimaced before accidentally crushing the teacup in his hand. The sharp twinge of shards impaling his palm didn’t even phase him.

“Are you alright!? Oh goodness don’t move I’ll get the first aid kit. Please be okay. Please be okay.” Fluttershy moved around at blinding speeds getting everything ready to treat the wounds.

“I’ll be alright Fluttershy. Watch.” A snap of his fingers revealed all the shards removed and an unwounded paw. Fluttershy still examined the paw to make sure it wasn’t illusion magic before she was satisfied with the turn of events. A small smile appeared on her muzzle as she gave a small kiss to his hand and gave him a lollipop from the kit. Discord could only smile warmly at the attention to detail.

“You should go with them Fluttershy. I am merely an aspect left behind to protect your mind. You need to be with the rest of your friends so that they won’t hurt them. I’ll do my part in here bestie.” Discord laughed uproariously as the walls burst apart revealing more of the chaos based creatures surrounding them. With a wave of his hand the entire group was smacked aside by a giant dustpan. A broom swept the rest into it then dumped them into a conveniently placed trash can. “I can handle anything they throw into her. Nothing shall get through me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.” Fluttershy piped up. Uncertainty placed itself at the forefront before she was forced to nod in agreement.

“Thanks for the info Discord. Be safe in here.” Twilight went up to him patting him on the back with her wing.

“I’m surprised yet proud of you Discord. We shall play cards when we are done with this.” Luna stood taller looking Discord in the eye and smiling at him. “We shall take her to the ring with the others now.”

A door opened behind them revealing the ring and all the others waiting for them. With a reluctant wave Fluttershy exited the room and went with the others followed by Luna and Twilight.

“I suppose I should do my job then.” The door closed revealing even more monsters that had been kept at bay by the chaotic spirit’s shadow. The roars and cries echoed throughout the room while Discord cracked his knuckles in anticipation. “Pleasure to do my job and do it so well.”

The creatures leapt into the fray and the draconequus swept his arms thrashing the monsters against the walls. Nothing would deter him from his fun.

Dreamscape Ring

“That really happened?” Celestia intoned. “Should I be worried about this?”

“Neigh sister. So far he has re-earned trust so far but we must be wary. So far it will be advantageous to keep her safe. How was the dream realm for you by the way?” Luna kept her even gaze not wanting to show the doubt about the situation and wanting to talk about anything else.

“It was much heavier than I thought it would be. Especially Pinkie Pie. There is so much more happening in that bouncing ball of energy. Rarity seemed out of it and worn down to the point of apathy. Applejack fought her denial almost to the point of exhaustion. I did get to break loose though so it was an enjoyable experience overall.” Celestia gave a small fake smile. It had affected her more than she thought. Luna turned to Cadance.

“How about you niece? How was your time here?” Luna peered at Cadance.

“It was weirder than I thought and it feels weird knowing how the problems they had are kept so well hidden. I never knew that about Rainbow Dash or Starlight. Is this how it is for you Aunt Luna whenever you go through other’s dreams?” Cadance posited over her new knowledge before shaking her head of the secrets she learned.

“Yes but there are more important things to think of right now. We’ve learned now about what one of the aspects that attacked us was doing before we saw it. I wonder if the Harmony one has been watching us as well when we got the Elements of Harmony.” Luna bit her lip lost in thought while Celestia and Cadance puzzled out a solution that they didn’t even know the question for.

The other girls remained in light conversation before the dream realm slowly faded. It was time to wake up and for Celestia to raise the sun. It was time to take the day on.

Crossing the Mirrors

Light breathed its way into the room. Twilight’s eyes instantly shot out from the pleasant time with her friends only to notice that they were all around her room in various positions of rest. She stifled the laughter in the back of her throat before slowly getting to her hooves. Nopony was laying in her path and she made her way to the restroom. When she entered the room she looked deeply into the mirror.

‘I look horrible now. Maybe I should have slept longer. Still its time to go handle all these problems. I won’t let Spike be alone for longer than he has to. Discord might be there but he’s just as vulnerable.’ She left the mirror only to notice that a few of the girls were shuffling around trying to wake themselves up.

“Jeez that was a rough night. A cloud bed would be so much better than this. Twi you need to get some extra mattresses or something cause my wings are killing me.” Dash raced into the bathroom without waiting for an answer then slammed the door shut behind her.

“Oh rats. I was hoping to wash off my coat and mane. Imaginary messes are just as stubborn to treat as real ones. My poor coiffure is lacking in sheen and I really could use a facial.” Rarity was the next one to stir. She trotted to another of the rooms to use that room’s bathroom.

Following the whine Pinkie Pie and Applejack woke up next. AJ still looked tired but with a crack of her back she felt perked back up. Pinkie went overboard cracking every single joint in her body before giggling her way downstairs. Fluttershy mumbled in her sleep before opening her eyes and walking off to one of the extra bathrooms.

“Starlight it’s time to get going.” Twilight lightly tapped her on the shoulder raising her from her sleep. She muttered something about needing a few more minutes only for Twilight to magically lift the blanket off her. “C’mon remember friends in danger and all that.”

Starlight shot straight up and ran off to get ready. Exhaustion seemed to be the last thing on her mind. Twilight just stood flabbergasted by the speed she went at. With a small smirk she headed downstairs only to see Cadance and Luna fast asleep since the last night. Celestia looked exhausted but had already raised the sun to where it needed to be. A tired wave came from the solar princess who tapped the other two to wake up.

“No honey it’s too late. We already have Flurry Heart… “ Cadance awoke with a shock and quickly covered her mouth. When she saw Twilight she buried her face in her hooves in a desperate attempt to make herself as small as possible.

“Bow down to your Princess of the Night… “ Luna, on the other hoof, was clearly unabashed at her own dreams and smiled towards Twilight happily. “Morning Twilight Sparkle are you ready for the task before you today. We have been waiting for you all to wake up.”

Applejack and Pinkie Pie had gotten to the kitchen preparing a large breakfast for all the ponies in the castle and with a loud rush everypony made their way to the table. Apple fritters and hay bacon strips filled the table alongside a large assortment of fruits. Off in the center were the sweets Pinkie had made ready as a pick me up. Needless to say though the table was silent throughout the meal. Each mare ruminated on what they would see when they were taken to the new world and eagerly awaited what news would come through. With a bit of hesitation the food was finished off and everypony made their way back to the map room. Each step was met with resistance in such a way that Pinkie was keeping quiet and refrained from bouncing. It was impossible but then again they had watched the lord of chaos be thrown around like a rag doll so the impossible seemed to be happening more often.

Each mare looked around the room. Still the same cracks and tears that fully enveloped the room. Fluttershy stayed near the craters that were created by Discord’s body. A feeling of dread filled the mares when they remembered how easily that those monsters had struck him down. With heavy hearts they turned away from the sight and followed Luna back down to the tree hidden beneath the castle. Celestia was the final one to leave the room and found herself staring down at the map.

‘Harmony did this but it’s suppose to be a figure for good. Maybe I never truly understood what it meant and took it for granted. A princess must hope the best for her world and harmony means the best yet here it shows nothing but disdain and greed. There must be more to it than just the ramblings of Anubis. Isn’t there?’ Celestia peered around at the devastation and with slight trepidation flew down the hole into the depths as well.

When they reached the bottom floor Anubis was covered in a powerful magic aura bathed in green light that filled the room shadows and all. He didn’t move nor did he acknowledge the arrival of everyone involved. Time seemed to slow down while the girls began looking for which mirror they had to enter. There were no marks on the mirrors or on the frames. The paths were also bare leaving Twilight to groan about organization and Rainbow to whine about directions.

One flash of magic blasted out of Anubis creating a shockwave which knocked down all the ponies in the room. When it reached the boundaries of the room the magic coalesced into seven mirrors on the west side of the tree. The cutie marks on each of the girls flanks started to glow leading them to their respective mirror. The magic settled leaving Anubis covered in magical dust and multiple cracks from forcing his magic to dangerous levels.

“Are you alright Anubis?” Celestia stepped forward looking down at the sphere. His shell was cracked even worse than when he had fought the Chaos and Harmony sphere. He also wasn’t repairing his shell. The magic was trying to re-enter Anubis to close off the cracks only to be forced out through another crack.

WORKING THROUGH DAMAGE. IRRELEVANT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. WE MUST SEND THESE PONIES TO THEIR RESPECTIVE WORLDS SO THEY MAY UNLOCK THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THEIR ELEMENTS. TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS AWAIT ALL INVOLVED AND MORE LIKELY THAN NOT THEY WILL ATTACK THERE AS WELL. FORCES BEYOND MORTAL COMPREHENSION ARE STUBBORN LIKE THAT.

THERE ARE THE FIRST SEVEN PORTALS OPEN NOW. ENTER THEM AFTER THE SPELLS I GAVE YOU ARE CAST. I WILL THEN ACT AS A RELAY ALLOWING FOR SUB-DIMENSIONAL COMMUNICATION. I WILL ALSO BE CASTING MY SPELLS AS WELL WHEN YOU ARE IN THOSE OTHER WORLDS TO MAKE SURE NOTHING FOLLOWS YOU BACK OR AFFECTS YOU NEGATIVELY. THAT IS THE DEPTH OF MY CAPABILITIES WHEN YOU ARE GONE. I CAN’T STAVE OFF DEATH THOUGH SO DO NOT MAKE LIGHT OF YOUR SITUATIONS.

A dull silence loomed over everypony. Each girl took their place in front of their respective mirror and stood at the ready. Motes of magic appeared around each one saturating them with the spells in question. Twilight looked the most intrigued and squee’d at the thought of new spells that were well beyond what they were capable of leaving the others chuckling at the sight.

“Can you tell me the spell composition? What was casted on us? How does it work in terms of what Star Swirl the Bearded learned?” There were more questions that came out but Anubis ignored them all the same.

PREPARE YOURSELVES. UNLIKE ANY OTHER MIRROR YOU’VE INTERACTED WITH THIS ONE IS CHARGED WITH THE VERY ENERGY OF THE COSMOS IN A SENSE. NO ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS BUT YOU MAY FEEL… TINGLY. SPELLS ARE IN PLACE. ENERGY LEVELS REACHING CRESCENDO. ACTIVATING DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER.

Twilight grumbled at the lack of information but stifled it when the mirror exploded with power. Even though she had been used to the other mirror portal this particular one actually showed off how much energy was being used to activate it. In the distance Pinkie released a set of ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’which was followed by the sound of crunching popcorn for some reason. Fluttershy looked ready to bolt with the muttering of ‘do it for Discord and Spike’ keeping her in place. A small argument between RD and AJ immediately broke out saying they would finish their world first and come back to help the others before things get serious. Rarity and Starlight were the most passive. Each one looked sadly at the door.

“So we have to do this alone then?” Starlight finally voiced out. The scratchiness in her voice kept it to the level of an audible whisper. No one reacted to the question because no one heard it. At least no one nearby.

IN THOSE WORLD YOU WILL RECEIVE AID STARLIGHT. EACH WORLD HAS ITS OWN HERO THAT KEEPS THEM SAFE. SOME ARE SANER THAN OTHERS BUT KNOW THIS. THOSE HEROES WILL USE METHODS THAT SEEM FOREIGN TO PONIES. SOME ARE MORE ADEPT AT THE CONCEPT OF WAR AND WILL SHOWCASE THOSE TRAITS WHENEVER IT IS NECESSARY. COMBAT IS AN INEVITABILITY AND YOU MUST BE PREPARED FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THOSE ACTIONS.

“That seems so cruel. Can’t we talk it out instead of fight about it. It doesn’t make any sense to me.” Fluttershy mumbled out a few tears beginning to form.

NO. THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH IDEALS AND FREE WILL. EVERY BEING WILL ALWAYS ASSUME THAT THEIR VISION OF THE FUTURE IS THE RIGHT WAY AND THAT NOTHING CAN CHANGE THAT VIEW. YOU ARE OF KINDNESS AND THAT ANSWER IS TO BE EXPECTED BUT DO NOT ASSUME YOU ARE COMPLETELY RIGHT EITHER. SOMETIMES TALKING OUT THE PROBLEMS CAN MAKE THINGS WORSE IF BOTH SIDES DO NOT UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER.

The girls took some time to fully process what was said. Fluttershy seemed a bit miffed about the situation but soon fell into a contemplative state as well. Concepts that were foreign to then might suddenly came to the forefront of their thoughts. Each world would be different in their laws and have different physics that go alongside them.

“Do these worlds have magic in them?” Twilight spoke up undeterred by the lack of answers Anubis was giving her. She settled for being ignored once again only to be shocked.

NONE IN THIS GROUPING. I WILL BE THE TETHER TO THIS WORLD THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO ACCESS YOUR MAGIC TWILIGHT SPARKLE. IT WILL NOT GIVE YOU FULL ACCESS TO YOUR MAGIC THOUGHT. SENDING ENERGY THROUGH DIMENSIONAL BREACHES IS INEFFICIENT AND SENDS VERY LITTLE THROUGH. YOU, STARLIGHT, AND RARITY WILL HAVE BASIC TELEKINESIS AND WHATEVER I CAN MUSTER FROM MY END. HOPEFULLY THE OTHER TWO WILL NOT ATTACK US HERE SO RELENTLESSLY.

There was a bit more silence. Each girl looked at their respective mirrors. Starlight saw a strange mansion hidden in a forest and the symbol of an umbrella, red and white pattern, floating in the rightmost corner. Rarity saw a small city surrounded by what looked to be mariachi bands and skeletons. Rainbow Dash looked in only to see a planet in the shape of a star with three rings roaming around it. Applejack peered in seeing a strange creature that looked like a jellyfish with pincers attached to its underside. Pinkie giggled the entire time when she looked inside her mirror. A suit was being worked on by this crow looking creature in a yellow space suit. Fluttershy cautiously stared into her mirror seeing metal figure being worked on each in the shape of a biped like a minotaur only without the cloven hooves or horns and snouts. Twilight’s mirror held a ship in the shape of an arrow with a symbol of fox with wings on one of the sides.

“Well we should go in now…” Twilight managed to squeak out yet no one moved. Hesitation was on every mares faces. It was a big step to be certain but one that was necessary. “What about the other bearers we’ll apparently need? Will we be getting them after we return?”

I WILL SEARCH FOR THEM. WHEN DISCOVERED, ONE OF THE PRINCESSES WILL GET THEM.

“Don’t remember agreeing to that but for the sake of Equestria that should be fine. Right Lulu, Cadance?” Celestia spoke up first cutting off Luna’s retort at being placed as a messenger pony.

“Fine sister. I have no problems with such an endeavor.” Luna bit her cheek to keep anything negative out of the air.

“Sure Aunt Celestia. Certainly this is more exciting than holding court over in the Crystal Empire and luckily I don’t have to deal with the guards constantly trying to make my life easier. Even that gets old real fast.” A slight chuckle escaped her lips as she stood near Anubis. “We’ll be providing support to this big lug while you’re gone Twilight. Chances are cutting him off from the magical transfer would leave you all stranded over there. That won’t happen on our watch.”

With some reassurance the girls all looked on, hope swelled for them as they got closer to their respective mirror. They all took a deep breath and jumped into their mirror. A brief flash of light signified that they were gone leaving the alicorn princesses and Anubis behind to guard the area.

“Are you sure that they will be safe Anubis? I don’t like leaving things to chance and luck like this. Also what of the mirrors? Are they targets as well?” Celestia broke out as worry painted itself across her face.

YES THEY WILL BE SAFE. THE MIRRORS ARE PART OF THE TREE IN A SENSE THAT THEY ARE CONNECTED. IF THEY DESTROY A MIRROR THEY DESTROY PART OF THE TREE WHICH WOULD DESTROY THEIR CHANCE OF USING THE TREE AGAINST THIS WORLD. THEY ARE HASTY IN THEIR PLANS BUT THEY ARE NOT STUPID. I WILL STILL BE ABLE TO TALK BUT I MUST SEARCH FOR THE OTHER BEARERS. MAKE SURE THAT TWO OF YOU ARE HERE AT ALL TIMES, PLEASE. THEY WILL LIKELY START THEIR IDEA OF FUN SOON ENOUGH. WHOMEVER DECIDES NOT TO BE ON GUARD MUST GET THE OTHER BEARERS. LUCKILY WITH THE EXTRA MAGIC I GATHERED I SHOULD BE ABLE TO OPEN THEIR MIRROR ONE BY ONE AS THEY ARRIVE. WE BEGIN THE OPERATION NOW.

A pulse of magic burst from Anubis as it pierced the very walls of the basement and flew out into Ponyville. Celestia stayed near Anubis as did Cadance. Each were ready to deal with the problems that might resound from their plan.

“I shall prepare to retrieve the first three bearers then. Seems like there will be seven. Who will take the second trip?” Luna answered to nopony in particular and confidently strode near the entrance of the basement.

“I'll take the next two I suppose. It shouldn’t be that hard to find them Aunt Luna.” Cadance interjected before Celestia could answer.

“Of course I’ll get the stragglers. No need to wor-” Celestia was cut off when the tree started to shimmer strangely.

INCREASING POWER TO NEARBY ALLIES. CELESTIA AND CADANCE PLEASE PREPARE FOR FIRST WAVE.

Several shapes came crawling out of the tree looking towards Anubis. Every eye glowed either with a metallic blue light or a blood red light. Every single one instantly turned to Anubis. A loud growling came out as they jumped towards the group teeth bared and claws released.

On closer examinations Cadance noticed that all of them bore a slight resemblance to Spike. The long claws and the spines on its back though were far sharper than the real one. They also had angular jaws and an assortment of wings of various shapes yet all of them were tattered and full of holes. Strangely they could still fly albeit for a short time.

The first three were upon Cadance only for a beam of sunlight to pierce through the group. Celestia wasted no time and grabbed some of the shattered crystal from the holes leading upstairs. Another burst of magic caused the crystals to glow with the very power of the sun and slam into each figure Unfortunately the crystals required some timing to swipe at a large row of the creatures. For every successful hit two would get past the crystal barrage.

Cadance took her chance and grabbed the ones that would get too close sealing them within a barrier. Thanks to some coaxing from Shining Armor she had learned more about barriers than even she thought was possible. The best thing she learned was how to make any barrier smaller which she used to great effect. The sickening crunch of bones threw her off but the determination to keep Ponyville safe kept her own feelings down. It was not time to be sentimental. Those things were using Spike as a psychological warfare to get her to make mistakes. She wasn’t going to let it happen.

Luna watched in rapt silence. She wanted to fight now but her own words of going to get the first three new bearers held her back. Instead she stood near Anubis and created a shield for the two of them while Celestia blasted or smashed any of the doppelgangers that got too close to the shield. When she looked at her shield she noticed something strange flowing within the magic that created it. Green lines of magic flowed into the shield strengthening it further.

One creature broke through the lines of carnage being wrought by the two princesses and made a beeline for the shield. With a powerful leap it flew through the air and landed on the shield with its two fists slamming into it. For seconds it looked as though the shield would break as cracks appeared where the fists met it. The energy in the shield gathered at the impact site and created a large tendril of magic which pierced through the creature before grabbing what constituted as the head and crushing it to paste. The shadowy viscera slid down the shield before disappearing into dust.

CUTIE MARKS SHALL APPEAR AGAINST THE MIRRORS. LUNA CHECK THEM ALL AND COMMIT THEM TO MEMORY OR COPY THEM TO ANOTHER SOURCE. INITIATING IN 3… 2… 1… NOW.

The marks all appeared on their respective mirrors forcing Luna to release the shield. Cadance took up the slack as more shadow creatures poured out of the tree. Luna zipped away gliding over to each mirror. The first mirror showed an hourglass, the second had a lyre, the third was of seven bubbles, the fourth held three wrapped up candies, the fifth was of a purple treble clef, the sixth was of a backward double quaver note, and the last was a light blue wand in front of a crescent moon.

“Well joyous day I get to look at flanks all day. That won’t be awkward at all will it… “ Luna groused at the lack of other information. She flew back to Cadance and stepped into the shield.

“Did you get what we needed?” Cadance kept the shield steady. Strangely she wasn’t winded even though she had used up a lot of magic to deal with the creatures assaulting them. Another three creatures were lashed up by the shield and turned to paste. Celestia seemed to be in her own world.

“Waste my time with useless tax laws,” Another creature was split in half by a crystal before a beam of light seared right through the face, “I’ll eat as much cake as I want damn it all,” the beam boiled another into steam, “Just because the apples cause you some stomach problems doesn’t mean I have to care about your reputation, “ two crystal smeared another one between them. Celestia looked pleased with all the venting.

“Hm… Me thinks I should get sister a stress ball. If only I could find one strong enough to last more than one stomp.” Luna surmised as she stared at Celestia’s wrath being released on the horde of creatures. ‘I wonder if Spike was the one who did the cake thing.’

Cadance stared as well but it was more out of fear than awe. She had never seen her aunt enjoying such carnage before. She knew the courts could get boring and drag on due to no small part that most other ponies were little better than mindless sheep. Unfortunately the sheep were much smarter and usually knew how not to panic and rampage at the drop of a hat.

Luna turned away and focused her magic summoning several sheets of paper from Twilight’s study. With a bit of practice (three sheets was all) she managed to get the cutie marks set on the paper.

“I shall return with three of them. Are you prepared niece?” Luna stretched her wings out and readied herself.
“Yes.” Cadance focused the shield forward allowing Luna to burst off. Once out of the basement she burst out the front doors of the castle stopping only to close them behind her. With one final look she flew off through Ponyville searching for some of the marks owners.

“Aunt Celestia, Luna had left already. Do you need any help yet or should I just wait till you are satisfied?” Cadance watched the carnage unfold before her. The stress of over a thousand years of ruling Equestria was evident by the mangled bodies strewn across the floor. Even the ones that got through that barrage were still worse for wear only managing to touch the shield before being throttled into paste. Anubis was very thorough when he decided to assist in protecting the world.

“No dear niece. This particular endeavor is… therapeutic. I must make sure to keep this place safe right? And, there is no better cause is there?” The smirk on her face was far too wide to just be for safety but Cadance just smiled and nodded.

Celestia was in her own little world and she needed to get rid of the stress somehow. At least this was against monsters instead of the nobles back in Canterlot. They would probably be freaking out if they ever witnessed this.

Meanwhile, back during the first night…

“Argh… My head is killing me… Where am I?” Spike raised his head peering around. With much more effort than he thought was necessary he raised his claws to his eyes. Everything was in one piece. Slowly his hands glided over his body checking for any missing pieces. He felt as though something horrible had happened but for the life of him he couldn’t remember. “Twilight? Rarity? Mom? Are you there?”

No answer. The room was silent. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he noticed that the room was made entirely out of crystal… just like the castle. ‘Am I still inside the castle?’ Thoughts poured into his mind bring back all the details that had happened that morning. At least he thought it was still morning.

‘First we all met together for a meeting. Then the map died. Then the princess showed up. That was followed by those monsters. Then they… ‘ His thoughts stopped as he flipped out. Spike checked every single scale on his body that he could reach. He remembered the sickening tears and ripping as they pulled on him. The despaired look on Twilight’s face brought back a wave of fresh tears. They torture Twilight with no remorse just by doing that. ‘They enjoyed it…’ He remembered the laughs that for some reason seemed to resonate inside his mind. They were cold and mechanical yet joyous. They were overjoyed at what they were doing.

“Discord? Are you down here? I know they got you too. Are you ok?” Spike looked around for the draconequus searching each of the walls for an exit. He was not in the room which filled Spike with dread. After flailing around in the dark one of the walls gave way and fell open. Inside was a similar room unlike his own. The occupant was luckily someone he was looking for causing him to run inside. Discord was there and fully unconscious.

“Discord, you need to wake up! We’re in trouble here!” Spike, fully in panic mode, slapped Discord’s face a couple times. The first slap had been too soft. The second woke him up. The third pissed him off.

“ENOUGH!” Discord stood up and glared at Spike. “Are you out of your mind!? I’m trying to sleep here… wait where is here? Is this Princess Sunbutt’s idea of a prank. Wait. No, that’s right something happened.”

Discord looked around the room and with a snap of his fingers… nothing happened. He tried a few more times before turning his glare at his fingers. He stretched himself around only to realize that nothing on him changed when he did. He even attempted to pull off his hand only to wince in pain when it didn’t work.

“My magic is gone… again. Did Tirek come back...oh right. Those things appeared.” Discord held back his disgust.

“Discord, what were those things? Why did they do that?” Spike had calmed down slightly. He was still reeling after figuring out that he just slapped a chaos spirit and survived. He peered around the room finding that all the walls were solid crystal. ‘Wait where’s the door I came from.’ Panic set in once again.

“Spirits of course my boy. Dangerous ones in fact. One of them is even my patron of chaos. Is he mad at me heh heh ha.” Discord laughed at some inside joke which went way over Spike’s head, literally. “As for why I could only guess revenge. Don’t know why they wanted you though. That’s completely over my head and I can’t even see why right now.”

Spike contemplated the situation again. He couldn’t remember what they said before they attacked. The monsters just appeared then struck without warning decimating everypony in the room. He was spared alongside Discord for some reason that he couldn’t think of. ‘What could they have possibly wanted with us?’

Discord tired of getting no responses turned his attention to the walls searching them over inch by inch. He stayed rooted on all four limbs speeding through the area. After what seemed like a few minutes he had found nothing. Undeterred he searched the floor as well.

“What are you doing?” Spike was flummoxed by the sight of Discord on all four legs and tried to keep his surprise quiet, to no avail.

“Searching for an exit. More likely than not this is one of it’s games and it won’t play fair. If I know my sadistic boss of chaos like I think I do its going to try something bad with us.” Discord hit a small part near Spike’s left foot noticing the hollow sound. “Ah here we are. Hold on then kid.”

Discord wrapped Spike in his tail and tapped the spot with his hoof. The spot depressed into the ground and a trapdoor opened revealing a large slide downwards. Spike screamed as gravity took hold his life passing before his eyes while Discord hooted and hollered for the ride to go faster. ‘Oh Celestia I’m gonna die with a thrill seeker. I thought Rainbow Dash would be the end of me.’

The slide went further down twisting and turning at random angles even going through a loop-de-loop at one point leaving a laughing draconequus and a panicking dragon. It didn’t help matters when discord allowed Spike to slide on his own power. Due to his small size he actually went faster nearly flying off the edge at some point only to be grabbed by Discord’s tail at the last minute.

“Perhaps I should just hold on to you!” Discord blared out over Spike’s own screams. Spike didn’t hear a word until the slide started to even out. They reached the bottom and without a word Spike kissed the ground as if it were Rarity.

“Oh baby, I’m never leaving you again. Sweet, sweet ground. Let us never part ever again, “ A few more kisses sounded out, “ I saw my whole life with you and without you it was meaningless.”

“Should I give you some time alone or should we continue on. Also payback for the slap is paid in full. No thanks are necessary for the discount, besides what are friends for.” Discord let out a mischievous smirk before returning back to figuring out where they were. Spike for his part looked away sheepishly not sure whether to glare or pout. He settled for pouting even though it was pretty funny smacking around the lord of chaos and getting next to no comeuppance because of it.

The room seemed just as bare as the last. It was also made of crystals and had more elaborate structures in sight. Some looked like furniture while other looked like plants which were all made of the same crystal. The crystals above their heads even glowed in the dark allowing them to see more than one foot in front of them.

The ground began to shift shaking the duo to their knees. Spike began to panic again only for Discord to grab him with his claw and hold him in place. He didn’t need the panicky dragon to cause any more problems. Spike muttered a simple ‘thanks’ when the tremors stopped. With a quick survey they searched around looking for any changes only to get slapped in the face by said change. The slide was gone. Entirely gone with no trace left behind. Spike was left in utter disbelief. ‘Even Discord’s chaos made more sense than this.’ Discord looked more annoyed than anything.

“No style would you say. Even I know you need a little more pizzazz when you work chaos magic. It’s really showing how much of an amateur it is. Now where do we go from here?” Discord peered around finding a door on the far side of the room. “Well not that way that’s for sure.”

“But its the only door around shouldn’t we...oh wait, trap right?” Spike looked up to Discord only to receive a nod. They both took their time searching other walls for any other way to go through. Even the floor turned out to be barren of pathways. With great reluctance they trailed off to the door and revealed a better kept room. Inside was another sphere.

“Oh great…” Spike muttered as the sphere began to float. It magically powered up revealing a small pink eye. When it fully rose in the air it hovered in front of Discord scanning his eyes. With little pause it lowered to Spike and scanned his eyes as well.

WELCOME SIRS. I AM FREYA. IT SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE HAD A ROUGH TIME WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME REFRESHMENTS?

Spike was confused. Discord was perturbed. Neither was having a very good day. Freya kept a quiet countenance watching the two and remaining politely out of arm's reach. Spike managed to regain some semblance of sanity and question the sphere first.

“Are you with those other two spheres?” Spike glared at - he supposed her - waiting for his answer.

APOLOGIES BUT I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU MEAN. I’M ALONE HERE. I DON’T WORK FOR ANYONE BUT SOMEONE DID GIVE ME A NOTE TO GIVE TO THE FIRST OCCUPANTS I MEET. I SUPPOSE THAT IS YOU TWO.

A small note was levitated over to Spike who read out loud for Discord’s benefit. “Don’t let the two near the door in the backroom. It is dangerous, “ He stared at the note then at Freya. “I think this isn’t meant for us.”

OH APOLOGIES THAT WAS THE WRONG NOTE, SORRY, HERE IS THE RIGHT ONE.

The notes were quickly switched and Spike once again read it out loud. “Enjoy your stay. Freya will take care of you until we are ready.” There were no signatures.

“Well Freya it was nice to meet you but we have a very important meeting to get through, through those doors so we’ll see you later.” Discord grabbed Spike with his tail again and ran off for the door.

WAIT THOSE ROOMS ARE DANGEROUS I THINK. BESIDES THEY CAN’T BE UNLOCKED FROM HERE EVEN BY ME. YOU SHOULD WAIT HERE UNTIL WHOMEVER IS WAITING FOR YOU IS READY FOR YOU.

“Ah but that’s the thing. It turns out we are expected and we need to get through the door to meet with our hosts so don’t worry about getting in trouble. You are doing adamantly in your job just by what you did. No wonders they might even give you a promotion.” Discord lied as smoothly as possible. He usually used some chaos magic to keep his tone even. It was difficult to work on wit and looks alone that was certain.

The sphere pondered the situation while the duo edged towards the door. Leaving behind the scatterbrained sphere they rushed through the room only to slam into the closed door. Right upon the door was a familiar cutie mark.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!?” Discord blared out.

“Didn’t see that coming.” Spike blurted next.

Author's Note

Cliffhanger. Which mark would you like to see first?

Side Note I won't be writing in depth about the worlds they go into. Not because I don't want to though. Its more because they deserve their own story. I already have the notes for it should I choose to write them out. Inspired by Tatsurou really but I'm not gonna make it easy for the characters. Besides most worlds change the moment more players are added and that includes difficulty, don't you know

Can you guess the worlds? I don't think anyone would get Pinkie Pie's but maybe you can prove me wrong. You win an internet cookie if you do.

Comments are welcome as is pointing out the flaws. I do need to get better at writing and this is something of a first time writing with pre-established characters with their own personalities. I'm still troubled by Applejack and Rarity because I can only write their mind set or dialogue for so long before I get confused with where I'm going with it. Also I don't know many colloquialism that I can use for Applejack.

Instrumental Chaos

Luna had left close to noon. From her experience back during Nightmare Night she knew of two, at least, that would be in Canterlot during this week. Finding the others would be an exercise in patience. With a burst of magic she teleported all the way back to the castle. It was not the most pleasant way to get around but it was the fastest.

She peered around the throne room where Blueblood was sitting on the throne going over the paperwork that was usually given to go over through the day court.

“Morning Nephew. How are things running so far?” Luna spoke up frightening the young royal. At least to her he would always be a child. He shook his head from the revelry and instantly brightened up to see her.

“Ah morning Aunt Luna. It is quite surprising to see you up so early in the morning. Is everything going well with the project that Aunt Celestia has you going through? I know you hate having to get up so early.” Blueblood was very cordial when dealing with royalty. Luna knew he could be better he just needed to put his nose out of the clouds.

“Worry not young one. We… I am more than capable at any hour of the day. Also we require you to keep watch of this place for longer. There are more serious problems going on right now and we need not have the rest of the city in a panic.” Luna stood a little closer whispering almost conspiratorially.

“Understood I shall not make a big deal of it. The nobles have been getting a little uppity lately but of course a little time with me changed their minds immediately. Though I do have this feeling that they will try again. Anyways I know you are busy so might I inquire as to what brings you back to Canterlot so quickly?” Blueblood finished his snickering and returned to the diplomatic face he usually kept.

“Ah now that is where the problem lies. I need to find three ponies in question. I know what their cutie marks are but since it is morning I can’t exactly go into their dreams to ask them to meet with me. You wouldn’t happen to know where any pony with these marks are would you?” Luna pulled the paper with the cutie marks out from under her wing showing them to her nephew.

“Hm… the purple one is certainly familiar. I think that they are within the Music Hall in the Old Quarters. I’m uncertain of the others though the backwards quaver note does look like the mark of that DJ I’ve heard about. Unfortunately I’m drawing a blank on the others right now. Forgive me Aunt I could only recognize the two.” Blueblood nodded apologetically.

“Thank you Nephew. I have gotten enough information. I must be off then. Perhaps that particular pony will know where the rest are.” Luna hugged him goodbye and trotted out the main doors. ‘More than I thought he would know. Perhaps I underestimated him.’

Luna quickly galloped outside to the royal gardens from the throne room reminding the guards that tried to follow that if they followed unnecessarily they would be working latrines for the entire year. Each guard quickly found their post and kept a silent vigil over the palace pretending that the royal sisters were still inside the castle.

A quick afterthought later Luna quickly casted one of her illusions to hide her horn becoming the pegasus mare Waxing Crescent. It was not the perfect design due to the moon theme still being at the forefront but most of the time ponies were a bit oblivious. With a little more confidence in her plan she flew off towards the Old Quarters. The music hall in question was one she remembered heading to a few months back. There they played beautiful music including a rendition of the Moonlit Sonata. Putting aside the tribute she enjoyed Luna flew over watching the ponies go about their day.

‘Peace. Truly it is wonderful. Still it is quite a waste that they will never know true strife because we handle all the threats that come our way. Still I am glad that our little ponies will never know this level of danger unless it is absolutely required. Now I must conscript ponies who have no reason to fight into something beyond their wildest dreams.’ Luna quickly landed outside the hall. A contemplative sigh left her muzzle as she stepped through the doors of the hall.

Unbeknownst to her a shadow peeked its head out from one of the corner alleys. With some practice it had managed to hide within the alicorn’s shadow. The only thought that crossed it’s mind was to eliminate any pony the alicorns tried to bring with them. After a few moments it slunk through several shadows of ponies walking by until it managed to reach the door Luna entered. With some practice it slid underneath the cracks of the door and took its form of Spike. It was not the perfect disguise but the addition of claws would make it all the sweeter and while it was unable to go too far to search for the other marked ponies all it would have to do is follow a princess. When they did it’s claws were ready to have some fun.

Luna looked around the hall noticing multiple ponies working their way through what seemed like rehearsals. The constant chatter of getting into place and readying equipment led Luna to keep to the shadows. Luckily, nopony had bothered her nor told her to get out. She always had fun whenever a subject got uppity but never to a harsh degree. She would merely act the part then pull them in for a hug telling the subject they were joking. Today was not something she cared to joke about when lives were at stake.

“Places everypony! Will all musicians please make your way to the orchestral stands. We’re having a dry run now so hurry up my little ponies. Places! Places!” A large tan pony with a grey mane yelled out as multiple ponies rushed to their appropriate spots. Luna unfortunately couldn’t see any of their cutie marks with the deluge of ponies flitting onto the stage. The lights dimmed as the spotlights above came to life.

“Excuse me ma'am, We can’t have prying eyes watch a private rehearsal. I’ll have to ask you to leave.” Luna saw a large mare with a lavender coat and a purple mane next to her within seconds. Within those seconds Luna released her illusion and caused the pony to have a heart attack. She didn’t faint and Luna quickly raised a hoof to her lips signaling her to be quiet. The mare shut her lips and nodded with a smile which caused Luna to give her a hug for doing so. Then the mare fainted leaving a very confused Luna.

‘I wonder if my prank is too effective. Perhaps I need more words than actions. That’s the forty-seventh pony I’ve sent to the dream realm and it isn’t even time to sleep yet.’ Luna ignored the sight behind her and snuck into the seats. For some reason that she couldn’t place her hoof on it felt as though something was wrong. While she was not as prophetic as Celestia in regards to the future a millennium of being the most combat capable princess in Equestria had left her with a very decent sixth sense when it came to danger. While it had dulled due to the relative peace and lack of battle training she usually regimented with her troops there was no denying that something was wrong.

The worry faded once again but that only led to more concern. Luna swept her eyes around the seats looking for any sign of the problem but nothing came to mind. Either way she still needed to look for the right ponies. As she scanned the crew she started to get flustered by the amount of flanks she was forced to stare at. Some were fitting looking just like the instrument that they played. Others were symbolic and represented something musical. Then there were the ones that didn’t fit but they contributed as well or even better than the other ponies.

‘Ah ha I found one… two… I found two of them. What the hay. I thought this would be harder than I thought. Still that means that I will have to watch out for them as best as I can. I wonder if they know where the other marks are located at.’ Luna looked at a gray coated earth pony mare with the same purple treble clef sitting dignified while holding a cello with one of her hooves. Near the other string instruments was a teal unicorn with a golden lyre mark standing next to a harp.

With a wave of their baton the conductor led the orchestral piece into a beautiful symphony that captivated the lunar princess’s heart yet even that didn’t sway the worry she held onto from the trouble brewing below the surface. Her eyes quickly scanned through the seats forcing her to get some elevation to look down upon the seats just to satiate her fears as unfounded. None of the ponies on stage noticed the act as they were too swept up in their performance. Luna took the blessing because if the danger was real then these ponies were clearly in mortal peril.

As her eyes flitted through the seats something weird was occurring with the shadows. They were uneven and changed opposite to the lights that would sometimes swing out over them. The third time she noticed it there were red eyes hidden within the shadows as well but the figure was smaller… ‘Oh dear. A Spike shadow.’ As the first set came to an end the shadow took a solid form and began to clap for the performance. Then it spoke.

“Bravo. Bravo. Fortissimo. Another encore of generic design.” The entire orchestra turned to face the newcomer surprised that someone got into their private rehearsal. A few ponies smiled at the praise while the ones who actually listened heard nothing but a mocking tone.

“Who are you dragon? I don’t remember allowing anypony entrance to the hall unless they are part of the band. Where is that Crystal Grid? Ech… No matter please vacate the premises we have more to do and we don’t need the distraction of a heckler tonight.” The conductor Ebony Staff stepped off the podium shooing the young dragon away. That young dragon didn’t move an inch until he was within claw distance then smacked the pony through several chairs to his left. Luna eased the blow by creating a thin shield around the pony before he was hit cushioning him against the blow and keeping the pony alive.

“Now that the staff is out of the way. I am looking for some ponies in particular. You may cooperate or you may be torn to shreds. Either way you will answer understood.” There was no question. There was the tone of listen or die… perhaps listen and die. Luna was disgusted at the depravity before her and was ready to strike until the teal unicorn spoke up.

“Spike? Is that you? Why are you being such a jerk? Jeez just because you have hands doesn’t mean you gotta punch everything in sight. Not cool dude.” She groused over her harp. Her gaze was a mixture of disgust and envy. The dragon ignored her.

“I found one. And you,” he pointed at the cellist with the purple treble clef mark, “ to stay for a bit. The others may leave because this doesn’t concern you at all.” The dragon looked on his eyes glowing the same red from back beneath the Castle. Luna flew over to the stage keeping out of sight until it decided to make it’s next move. The cellist spoke out next.

“Now see here… Spike was it? We are in the middle of something important and if this is a joke it is not funny in the slightest.” The mare with the purple treble clef cutie mark was a bit unnerved. While the other mare said it was Spike the dragon in front of them was somehow wrong on all accounts. Even through the shadows she could see a red glow in his eyes, something dangerous, which she wanted no part of.

“Ah but of course it is a joke. The only problem is that it is funny only to me. Still you ponies are not listening…, “ The dragon before them started to rip apart growing larger and being forced to stand on all fours. The talons grew larger and the wings became a mottled color yet still retained their dextrous nature. “I suppose I must be more informal. I was not making a suggestion. I was not asking. I was telling you that only those two must stay. If you can’t listen then you don’t deserve to live.

‘I don’t think this is Spike now…’ The unicorn on the harp began to step back with the rest of the orchestra. The other mare joined her forcing her to look at her. Her eyes seemed resigned to stick around to deal with this but the other set seemed to want to lead the monster away from the other ponies.

Then a bunch of the scaffolding fell from the ceiling smashing into the creature crippling its limbs and its back The roar of pain forced all the orchestral ponies to scamper off for their dear lives while the two mares who were about to be hunted stayed in place. They were shocked by the sight before them especially that they were targets.

“Lyra… Do you know why we are being hunted?” The earth pony mare looked down at the broken dragon.

“No Octavia. Did you do something to piss off Spike?”Lyra was more interested in her harp than the broken dragon. Octavia was a bit thrown off by the nonchalant nature Lyra displayed even though it was very apparent that they were wanted dead.

“I’m pretty sure that wasn’t Spike, Lyra. Not even the same scales are on it, besides it wanted us dead. I think that should be the more important part. We were lucky that the scaffolding fell on it otherwise the ponies would have been killed.” Octavia gripped her cello tighter.

“I know Tavi but it didn’t and right now we should be getting ready instead of wasting time talking,” Lyra lifted her harp with her magic in a defensive stance. Octavia stared at her uncertain by her words. Then she heard the creaking. Metal being bent then torn…

“You… won’t escape.” The dragon lifted its head to look at the pair glaring with the same dark red glow she had seen earlier. It started to breathe in startling the two.

Four hooves slammed on the dragon’s face forcing the fire to escape through the other holes in the neck burning the creature into ash from the inside out. The two mare were surprised when Princess Luna stood tall and proud over her fallen foe. With a flair of telekinesis several pieces of the scaffolding were ripped out of place and pierced into the fallen corpse to make sure it was dead. As soon as she was sure with a nice slow trot she stood before the two musicians keeping her regal posture which took the two off guard as did the corpse which was now dissolving into shadow.

“Are you two alright?” Luna kept an even tone while she looked the two over. Her eyes trailed over their cutie marks and smiled. She found the first two she needed. One more and she would hand the task over to Cadance. Neither noticed Luna’s gaze as each were still reeling from the sight they just beheld.

“Yeah… We’re alright now thank you Princess. It could have burned us to a crisp if not for… wait, were you here the whole time?” Octavia was the first to rouse herself for questions but the sight of a princess brought more important thoughts. If a princess was in their midst and talking to them then it was far more important than she previously thought.

“C’mon the princess had far more important things than us Tavi. We should count our blessings that someone stopped the monster before it got any worse. Is Ebony Staff alright?” Lyra looked over to where Ebony was only to notice that he was gone.

“Sent him with the others. Do not worry about him for now Miss… Lyra was it. I require you two to follow me towards the castle. Then I would be able to answer any questions you have.” Luna looked impassively over to the stage. The shadow was gone and her own instincts were quiet once again.

“Sure Princess whenever you are ready.” Octavia giddily squeaked before regaining her her composure. She didn’t want to make a fool herself in front royalty. Lyra rolled her eyes at the sight. Luna was one of the easier princesses to be around and didn’t stand on ceremony most of the time. Those nightmares she once had were made better thanks to her. She even got to ask the princess important questions about hands and didn’t get looked at like a lunatic. It was refreshing.

With a flash of magic Luna teleported all three into the throne room. As she did the shadow tried to reform again only to dissipate from the bright flash of light. Luna had felt itch of danger once again which died when they were in the throne room. They were safe once again.

Blueblood was staring over yet another ledger and scoffed at the idea of raising taxes for something as small as cherries. The loud burst of sparks caused him to jump out of his seat and fumble onto the ground where he saw Luna standing beside two young mares. He only recognized one of them, at least, but it wasn’t his problem to question why.

“Welcome back Aunt Luna. Do you require anything right now?” He turned on his charm for the audience before him. It was best to keep an air of professionalism in front of ponies that either of the princesses brought in from now on. Last time ended with cake all over him and he rather not get dirty once again.

“Do you remember the sound shield spell Celestia taught you? Cast it around the three of us and keep the guards out of the throne room. I require some privacy with these two if you don’t mind.” Luna ordered impassionately. She needed to sell the regal look just in case more shadows were around. They had followed her the first time and she couldn’t be certain that more were out of the basement just yet.

Without a word he casted the spell over the three and ordered the guards out into the hall for the meeting. The two mares were fearful now looking around for some help until Luna created a secondary shield under the first one to block out sight. Blueblood took his seat once again and continued over the paperwork. It didn’t concern him and he still needed to finish some more work. ‘The work of a doting relative was never done.’

“I know you two are confused by my secrecy but it must be done. That shadow might not be the only one that is around. For now you must know that you two are in danger until we figure out what we can do. Something has awakened and it was… hostile to ponies. Now it is hunting for certain ponies and I wonder if you two could tell me the ponies these cutie marks belong to.” Luna provided them the sheet of paper with all the cutie marks on it. Lyra’s eyes settled on the candy mark while Octavia’s settled on the quaver.

“Yeah these are the marks of our friends… except for the wand one. I think I’ve seen that one though. This one is my friend Bon Bon and these two belong to Time Turner and Ditzy Doo.” Lyra pointed out and marked which was which.

“This one is of my roommate Vinyl. I think the wand one belonged to that showpony that tried to take over Ponyville once. Trixie, I think, right Lyra?” Octavia could only remember how crazy that mare had been back then. Lyra, for her part, stood pensively lost trying to remember said mare.

“Yeah I think you’re right. Still why are you looking for all of us Princess? Are we in trouble?” Lyra stared at Luna. Her eyes were full of worry.

“In a sense you are all in grave danger… but you are also the ponies we need to save Equestria.” The statement made the air grow still.

“What…”

“Huh…?”

“You see last night these things appeared with the castle in Ponyville and… did something horrible. They have captured Spike and Discord and are trying to do something to Equestria. As for what that is even we are unsure.” Luna looked away saddened by the returning thoughts. Lyra and Octavia were fortunately too shocked to argue. Lyra was the first to voice her opinion.

“Princess we’re not exactly hero material. I’m just a musician. What could we possibly do to help you out with this?” She looked away, her ears flopping flat against her head. It wasn’t wrong to say that she was frightened but it was more than that. She had been around seeing all the problems that struck everypony so often leaving them as nothing but fodder, She didn’t have the confidence to stand tall especially after the bombshell her best friend had revealed back during Matilda’s wedding. It didn’t seem like a joke but the Princess of the Night could enter dreams. ‘How much of this is just a dream where I’m the hero?’

“Lyra, we have to help out. You’re still looking for the others right? I think Vinyl is still home in Ponyville. She had a concert last night and is probably still sleeping off the ‘wubs’ as she calls it. I think Turner and Ditzy went on vacation to… Dodge Junction. They really wanted fresh cherries for some reason. Where did Bon Bon go Lyra?” Octavia managed to remember where most of the ponies were which Luna marked on the paper for Cadance and Celestia’s benefit.

“Uh… Manehattan I think. There was a candy convention up there. I think that Applejack saw Trixie performing up there. She might be back there now. Lily did say they saw her leaving Ponyville about a week ago from the castle.” Lyra was still frowning.

“Thanks to both of you. You truly are making Equestria safer but there is more that must be done… I do not wish to ask this of thou but it must be done to save us all, “ She took a deep breath steadying her thoughts at the task that was to be before them. “ I require both of you to trust me when I sat this because I do not say this lightly. There are things you must do to assist us and it may change your lives in ways you never expected. You see- “

“Princess Luna we shall assist however you need us. If this is for the fate of Equestria we won’t just say no because of a little danger especially if our friends will be in as much danger as we were when that… thing attacked us. Right Lyra?” Octavia looked over to Lyra, confidence brimming in her eyes at the chance for adventure.

Lyra sighed, “ Yeah Tavi. For our friends it’s worth it.”

“I truly appreciate your words. I think it’s better I show you what awaits so we shall pick up this Vinyl and make our way to the Castle of Friendship. I have rested enough for another jump. Are you both prepared?” With a pair of nods Luna broke the shields shocking Blueblood from his seat again forcing him to land on his face on the floor slightly dazed. In another flash of light she teleported them once again.

Meanwhile, Back in Ponyville…

‘3 in the afternoon… Jeez I thought I would make it to 6.’ A white unicorn with a neon blue mane stirred from her bed and levitated her shades over. She strode from the bedroom to the bathroom finishing up getting ready for the rest of the day. Her headphones came next blasting the bass into her very soul as she made her way downstairs. Tavi was nowhere in sight… ‘ Must still be up in Canterlot then.’

A bit more time passed as she worked on her new mixes wondering what else she would do with her day. Most of her posse was out somewhere while she slept through a particularly bad night of partying. ‘Never agreeing to another battle of the DJ’s again… Most didn’t last more than a few minutes.’

After the mixes were done she sat on the couch ready to finally enjoy her vacation. It had been too long and too many hours working throughout the nightlife of Manehattan and Canterlot since she had a break. Though now that left one problem on the table.

“I’m bored… Tavi get back soon it’s boring here.” Vinyl slumped deeper into the couch and watched the light trickle in through the window.

It had been strangely quiet that day. Usually there was the sound of a rainbow pegasus hollering through the sky about some great new trick they just accomplished at least since it was Wednesday as far as she remembered. Yesterday had been weirder since the sky was filled with dark clouds yet there were no scheduled rainstorms and they dissipated as soon as she reached home. Her trip has been touch and go when she finally arrived at the train station.

‘Wonder how that orchestral thing Tavi and Lyra were performing is going.’ The more she thought about it the more bored she got. Her eyelids got heavy once again but before she passed out a burst of magic flashed outside her window knocking her off the couch. She rubbed her flank and glared out the window in pure annoyance at the wiseponies who did it. The door slammed open revealing the guilty party of Octavia, Lyra… and Princess Luna. Then she fainted,

“She must be more tired than I thought. Sorry about this Princess just give me a minute to wake her up.” Octavia grabbed Vinyl by the barrel and began shaking her wildly.

Lyra stopped the shaking with her magic letting a dazed Vinyl find her footing once again. She stumbled around looking for any safe place to fall over… only to fall against Luna. The chuckles from the others only compounded the embarrassment.

“Good she is ready to go then. Let us make haste for the castle then I shall explain once we reach the location.” Luna lifted Vinyl with her magic and galloped out the door followed by the other two. The ponies in the street just stared in shock at the sight before them and wisely decided to ignore whatever they thought they saw.

One set of hooves slammed against the doors and twelve sets of hooves clopped against the crystal floor leaving some scuff marks behind. Luna grabbed the other two in her magic and flew into the map room diving into the hole she had exited earlier that morning. The sounds of sizzling flesh and warlike growls caused the three mares to stare in shock at the scene before them.

Celestia had created a large orb of solar energy forcing it into each creature charring anything it touched. When any creature got close she would stomp down with her hooves. Cadance was still under the shield forcing it to be more fluid piercing through the stragglers. Celestia, for her part, was still smiling in pure bliss while she wiped out the rest of the fallen foes. Luna landed in the shield placing the three on the ground waiting for Celestia to exit her revelry. It took a few moments until Anubis’s voice broke her concentration.

THEY ARE RESTING NOW. WE SHOULD GET THE NEW BEARERS UP TO SPEED. CELESTIA WILL TAKE OVER SHIELD DUTIES WHILE LUNA HAS HER… FUN.

Celestia frowned at the prospect of being on the defensive again but after seeing all the burns and gashes in the crystal she caused she sheepishly trotted over to the shield. Luna had a smug grin on her face as the regenerating forces of the tree restored her magic and stamina. Anubis was doing his best still even though the cracks were starting to get deeper. The three mares, who had been unceremoniously dumped nearby, stared at the sphere uncertain about what was going on.

“Welcome my little ponies. I apologize for the rushed manner in which we must meet. Things are… grim here you see. For the better part of the last three hours we have been assaulted by forces beyond our understanding. Right now we are enacting a rescue mission and we wish to ask for your help in accomplishing this feat. I will not lie and tell you you will be completely safe but we will endeavor to make you as prepared as we possibly can make you. Do you accept what I am saying to you? Also you do have the choice to walk away there is no shame in that.” Celestia preached with solemn eyes locked on each of them. They were far more creased and showed something few have ever seen on the Solar monarch’s face. Fear. ‘If you refuse we’re screwed cause we can’t do this forever.’

Silence came. Each mare shuffled slightly. Some crossed their hooves while another fell to their haunches sitting in place stunned at what they saw. Luna had not been kidding by how far this threat had gone. Vinyl hid her eyes behind the shades but the shifting of her eyebrows showed how fast her eyes were darting around. Octavia bit her lip trying to stifle a scream. Lyra was the most animated of the three seeing as she was shaking almost uncontrollably. This was a real emergency and the Princesses saw them as saviors even though the Princess of Friendship usually handled the problems of Equestria in this age.

“If Equestria needs us who could say no. I’m guessing that there needs to be all seven of us for things to work right?” Octavia gulped at the prospect of being first.

“This is gonna be fun… right? I mean eventually Bon Bon and the others will be helping us out.” Lyra found her voice.

Vinyl merely nodded the elation of having her boredom cured gave her the push to follow through on this crazy plan. Cadance merely nodded and led them to their mirrors. The Lyra began to panic when she realized what this meant.

“We have to go alone!?”

“Not necessarily. Cadance was casting some spells on you to keep in constant communications with us and the other ponies involved. We will always be monitoring you. Also Anubis here will be supplying you with things to make it easier for you to survive. Just don’t be reckless. It’s safe but you can still be hurt there or worse. We’ll do all we can from here to keep Equestria from falling before you return.” Luna spoke with pure clarity that her mission would succeed. It actually soothed her frayed nerves with how confident she was about all this.

Octavia looked into her mirror and saw a large castle hidden in the mist with bats flying around at intermittent times. Vinyl saw a large sprawling jungle on this larger than life island that was shaped like an animal. Lyra peered into her mirror seeing a vast sky over a large field and… humans riding birds! Her grinning soon turned manic.

GOOD LUCK NEW BEARERS. VINYL, OCTAVIA, AND LYRA YOU’RE WORLDS HAVE MAGIC BUT MUST BE ACCESSED THROUGH OTHER MEANS. I CAN ONLY GIVE THE UNICORN PAIR ENOUGH OF MY OWN MAGIC FOR BASIC TELEKINESIS. I APOLOGIZE BUT IT IS… TAXING RIGHT NOW. COMMUNICATIONS ARE SET. PLEASE ENTER THE PORTAL.

Lyra wasted no time jumping into her portal smiling wider than any other time they’ve been hanging out together. Vinyl shrugged and entered her portal leaving a very confused Octavia behind. A short sigh left her entering her mirror leaving the three alicorn princesses waiting for the next wave to appear.

“Did thou have fun Cadance?” Luna smiled. Cadance grimaced and merely shook her head. It had been damn scary seeing Celestia enjoy herself so much. Either way she stood before Luna waiting for the paper. “Oh right! Here you go. I found the next pair might be at this location,” She pointed at the hourglass cutie mark and the words beside it, “ Don’t speak it out loud one of the monsters managed to follow me through my shadow. Be wary before you go niece.”

Cadance for her part nodded again and flew out of the basement and teleported out a fair distance to get the next pair. Celestia sauntered up to Luna with a quivering lip and a pathetic stare on her face. It was strange that the elder sibling was pulling such a ploy.

“Mind if I keep the fun going… Pwease?” Celestia pouted.

Without so much as a word Luna lifted Celestia in her magic, placed her in the area next to Anubis, then walked forward where the enemies had come out of. She smiled eagerly as she used her magic to bring out one of her favorite spears, Ebony Requiem and prepared for battle. She knew the name was silly but even she had had a soft spot for the heroes in old stories who thought naming their weapons empowered them for some unknowable reason. Celestia pouted and prepared her own version of the shield around Anubis to fire out her solar energy.

NEXT WAVE IS ACTIVE. BE CAREFUL LUNA...

Author's Note

Enjoy.

Time is Balance

‘I really don’t want to head back there. Jeez Aunt Celestia is a bit tightly wound. I did not need to see what she wanted to do to the Discord Shadows. The worse part was what she did with the crystals.’ Cadance shuddered at the thought and continued on her way. ‘Still this was lucky that Aunt Luna found out where these ponies are at. Let’s see I can make it to Dodge Junction without much problem.’

With a burst of magic she teleported out of the sky and reappeared a few minutes out of Dodge Junction and glided around the area. An hourglass and seven bubbles would be somewhere apparently with cherries. She hadn’t been around the area due to the princess training and then the imprisonment by Chrysalis. It had not been the easiest time during Canterlot this particular year. It got even weirder after a particular bundle of joy appeared in her life. The honeymoon had been a surprise as had the night after.

‘Enough of that!’ Cadance shook her thoughts and the blush away from her head focusing back on the city before her. Another flourish of magic bursted out of her horn as a wave of magic pulsed from her and every living being in the city. The tug of familiarity came from the train station forcing her to make a dive for the now departing train leaving a few passersby curious about the what the pink alicorn princess was doing. She barely managed to reach the Caboose and used her magic to keep her hooves attached to the roof.

Earlier that day…

“Come along Ditzy let’s go get those cherries. I’ve been craving them for a while.” A brown coated stallion with a brown mane walked down the dusty streets of the city while the flap of pegasi wings glided after him. The gray pegasus with blond mane kept pace with him. Her unique eyesight kept watch over both the streets and the stallion allowing her to see the danger he wasn’t paying attention to.

“Time Turner! Keep your eyes on the street!” She dove down and slammed into his size pushing him into a water trough as a carriage rolled past them too far to even come close to hitting him. They were both drenched but refreshed.

“Thanks Ditzy but I’m pretty sure I was paying attention to what was going on. So… Shall we get up now?” Turner looked down at the young mare who clung to his side. When she noticed what had happened she instantly lost control of her wings and fell out of the trough hiding her blush in a cloud of dust while he pulled himself out and shook the water off. With a little shake she shook the blush off.

“Sorry Doc I thought it was closer. I just don’t know what went wrong…” She looked down and away from him. Instead of speaking her just walked over to her and gave her a one hoof hug breaking out her blush once again.

“Hey don’t worry about it. Let’s just continue enjoying our day. We’re friends and friends always do wild thing right?” Turner laughed out loud and started moving forward leaving a blushing Ditzy behind.

“Yeah… friends.” Her wings drooped slightly while she followed after him keeping the fake smile on her muzzle. It was still early and she had all day to get through his thick skull. Hopefully it would work.

The day passed quickly as the pair managed to find the cherry groves and the mare in charge working with her staff on the cherry bucking. Turner and Ditzy were seen within seconds of entering the grove and brought before the boss. Cherry Jubilee studied the two before noticing Turner.

“Ah well landsakes Turner is that you?” Her eyes widened at the sight ordering them both to be released from her guards grasp.

“Hello Cherry just came to get the best cherries this side of Equestria, of course. That’s usually what you get into Dodge.” He worked his shoulder back into place while Ditzy moved her wings to regain the feeling she lost when she was captured.

“The best, huh? If I didn’t know any better I say you with flattering me just to get a discount on cherries. Still I do know you have those weird cravings for random fruits every other weeks. Still how long has it been since you came to see me?” She craned her neck forward looking forward to the answer while he focused his thoughts bring his hoof to his lips.

“ Three months, twelve days. eight hours, forty-six minutes, fifty-one seconds. That’s how long it’s been since I’ve been in Dodge.” He smile smugly at his own impeccable sense of timing leaving the other ponies around him stunned that he even thought the exact time to the second. Cherry also looked annoyed at his over inflated guess of time but calmed herself. He was always this eccentric and she had gotten used to it the first time he came to get cherries.

“Anyways care to tell me who this mare is? I don’t remember you keeping company any of the times you came out. So who is this?” Cherry stared at the pegasus more in curiosity than in jealousy. Turner was never one to have a feminine element attached to him.

“Ah yes, Where are my manners? This is my friend Ditzy Doo. She works as the mailmare for all of Ponyville. Right now, we are here for cherries. It’s the craving I tell you I can’t control it any longer. Still glad that pears aren’t on that list. I hate pears… probably. Anyways I’m looking for a particular cherry. Yellow ones if you have it. Need some tart and some sweet. Maybe look for a watermelon next.” He rambled on looking around every tree for the delectable cherries he wanted for some reason beyond his own understanding.

“Yeah... Don’t worry darlin’ I got some yellow cherries ready for sale a bit farther off. Hold your horses and calm down already.” Cherry held her hoof to his chest to calm him down only to notice that Ditzy’s feathers started to ruffle at the touch.

“C’mon Doc let’s get those cherries then. You have wanted them for quite a while right.” She grabbed his hoof in hers and led him away from that cherry mare. She managed a glare before leading Turner away getting a nervous look from Cherry.

As they trotted towards the main stall Cherry kept quiet as she went off behind the stall to sell her product. Three bags were sold, two red and one yellow, leaving the pair ready to go. With a quick goodbye they left the compound with Cherry making sure to give Turner space so as not to get into an unnecessary fight. Turner was nice and all to her but he was one of the densest stallions to ever gallop that particular side of Equestria she had ever met. No amount of flirting was getting through that. She held sympathy for the gray pegasus mare. They were gonna need it.

“Let’s hurry Ditzy the train might take us a bit to get back. No time like the present to get back and enjoy the spoils of war. Allons-y!” He jumped up the stairs like a possessed pony and made a graceful gait over to the now open train cars. Ditzy flapped calmly at his side before landing and trotting in with him. She was exhausted from making sure that other mare wasn’t gonna get in her way. She was gonna confess tonight and nothing would stop her. They took their seats and calmly talked about their day. Turner hadn’t even noticed any of Cherry’s advances and Ditzy didn’t remind him of it during the trip either.

“We got a pretty good deal didn’t we. Now we can also make some of your world class muffins when we get back.” Turner was looking out the window when he asked. She was blushing even more at the thought.

‘World Class… They aren’t that great… but he said it with a straight face. Maybe…’ She was staring. Her eyes shined in pure elation which luckily he didn’t notice. What he did notice though shocked her.

“Are you alright Ditzy? You seem so red now. Did you catch anything while we were out there,” He placed her forehead against hers checking the temperature. She was highly flustered and with a slight sigh she fainted in her chair when he let go. “Uh… Ditzy are you alright?”

He poked her shoulder shaking her slightly to raise her from her stupor but she stayed in her seat unconscious. It was a bit weird to him but Ditzy did have a long day. She was glaring at Cherry a whole lot and for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why she was doing so. He never even saw what Cherry did to deserve that kind of attention. Cherry’s slight hoof touches were also weird but she was always affectionate. ‘Friends sure are over emotional huh, Turner.’ He settled in as well when the thump of hooves hitting the roof of the train car.

“Great Wickering Stallions! What was that?” He looked outside trying to see if he could even see what hit them.

Cadance had managed to trot slowly across the roof looking for the point her magic was leading her to. After all the time watching Celestia fight she felt something was off. She couldn’t place her hoof on it but something wrong was happening.

‘Did I forget anything before I left? What did Aunt Luna say… That they could hide in my… Oh horseapples…’ Cadance looked down at her shadow noticing it was looking around independently of her actions.

The shadow began to raise itself from the roof taking a much larger shape. It looked almost exactly like Discord. The strangest thing though was that part of the body looked mechanical yet still made of shadows. It was staring at her amused at the predicament then it spoke…’They can speak!’

“Well,well, if it isn’t my old friend Love Doctor C. Now what would the renowned princess of the Crystal Empire be doing up here on the roof of the train. Couldn’t pay the ticket even though you are royalty, eh? My what a chaotic solution I couldn’t be prouder of you than I can now. Truly a chaotic lineage to the end. Now what are you doing her dear princess.” The shadow spoke strangely. It had the same inflection and demeanor as a normal rant from Discord but there was something there. The hair of the back of her neck bristled uncomfortably from his words leaving her perplexed.

‘Horseapples, Horseapples, HORSEAPPLES!’ Cadance decided to glare back without speaking. There was too little left for chance and nothing would be solved if she made it easier for the shadow to find the ponies she needed. It looked around in thought though the amusement on its face was only temporary leaving a scowl looking back into Cadance’s eyes. The talons on its claws got longer as it stepped forward each time tearing through more of the ceiling.

“Where. Are. THEY.” It was only a few steps away which forced Cadance to flinch back with every word. With each flinch she managed to peek what was coming up behind her.

‘A tunnel… Yes!’ She kept up her glare and started to channel magic through her horn. The shadow just laughed at her. It’s merriment caused it to lose focus when a small boulder was flung at its head causing it to partially fall off the train. It’s claws dug into the side as it attempted to cling on to the speeding car while Cadance took her chance and galloped to the next connecting car.

“I’LL END YOU!!” The shadow roared as it tore a section of the car off the train showing the ponies inside the horrifying visage of an enraged Discord like creature chasing after a pony on the roof. The security ponies in the room quietly closed their eyes and kept muttering to themselves that it was all a bad dream and nothing more.

The tearing of metal screamed out leaving dozens of ponies confused and terrified when they saw the monstrous Discord looking creature walking along the roof. Cadance for her part started to pick up the metal being torn off keeping it out of sight from the monster. She only had one chance and she still had to find the right ponies. Any of the shadows that had some intelligence behind it were much more dangerous than the ones below the tree. It was mocking her more with each step.

‘A Pink princess only to be used as a javelin.’

‘What in Tartarus are you even good for but sitting around.’

‘Perhaps your child will be…’

The shadow was cut off as a large slab of metal flew directly through the back of its head pinning it to the roof. It struggled to get loose as the tunnel got closer. Another burst of magic removed it and grabbed the pierced head shoving it far out from the roof as the tunnel passed by. Cadance lowered her telekinetic grip as she slid the body against the walls of the tunnel slowly grinding it up and down the rock wall. If it did scream she couldn’t hear it over the scrapping of what she thought sounded like bones being snapped clean off. With her anger fully dissipated she threw the last fragments of the shadow off the train.

“Nopony messes with my child,” Cadance said to no one in particular as she jumped down into the newly opened car surprising many of the passengers. “Hello everypony I truly am sorry for causing you much inconvenience but there was a monster attacking the train which I had to deal with. I’m so glad everypony is ok I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to any of you.”

She quickly took on the somber look whenever something went wrong. She needed the ponies to calm down and the best way she had was to pull out the sympathy card so panic would lower to something more manageable. After the ponies finished assuring her that everything was fine she couldn’t stop her eyes from scanning the interior for the ponies in question. They weren’t in that section.

“Excuse me, Princess Cadenza.” A Stallion wearing a conductor’s hat came up near her.

“Please my good pony. You may call me Cadance. No need to worry about formalities after that happened. What can I help you with?” She smiled radiantly at the stallion as he was seemingly stunned by the sight trying his best to speak again he only mumbled to himself before shaking his head and blurting out the words.

“What brings you to this particular train… Cadance… Celestia that was hard to do. Also what are we going to do about the train cars?” The stallion was a bit put off by the damage but he also knew he was dealing with a princess and didn’t want to appear ungrateful.

“When you reach Ponyville I’ll have Princess Celestia deal with the train reparations. Do not worry about the damages we shall handle it, “ She winced inwardly because she was using her aunt’s name but she didn’t have any other choice. It would take too long to get anything from the Crystal Empire and it was her turn next when she got back to the castle. “As for why I’m here I am actually looking for two ponies in particular. One has an hourglass cutie mark and is a stallion. The other has Seven bubbles as hers and I think I was told she was a pegasus. Have you seen them?”

The stallion stepped back and thought about all the tickets he had punched. ‘There were those two trouble making mares though it was a blue unicorn with an hourglass cutie mark. The other was a darker pink color with berries as her mark. They had nearly drained all the liquor on the train already. There were also the twin pegasi who were relaxing nearby but that’s not who she is looking for… Wait I remember’

“Yes actually the two you are speaking of are actually in the next car in front of us. The one that still has it’s roof.” He spoke kindly after being so lost in thought.

If you please, lead the way my good stallion.” She smiled warmly letting the conductor be the final say on the matter.

During the skirmish…

“Ditzy are you ok? There’s something wrong here and I really need you to be up… now-ish would be good.” Turner sighed at the still dazed Pegasus. She was smiling goofily though so it probably wasn’t that bad. Still those sounds had caused his mane to prickle after every single one. He knew the sounds because he heard it every time he cut through some brass he was using to create another watch. It was worse though than that sound. It wasn’t followed by the screaming he had heard.

“MUFFINS!” Ditzy sprung up and looked around wildly. She looked into Turner’s eyes again noticing the concern. She felt bad that she had caused that look to appear on his face. She only wanted to see him smile. Then she was back into shock because of his next actions.

“Ditzy there you are I was worried that you would be out longer.” He picked her up off the ground and sat her directly next to him. Thankfully she was in better control and kept her wings from having a mind of their own.

“I’m fine T-t-turner. I just… Got a little dizzy since we’ve had an exciting day for… cherries right? “ She smiled and, as best as she could, focused her eyes on his. She wanted to be taken seriously and wanted to avoid being sent back to her happy place where Turner was… She stopped her thoughts and her smile turned sheepish.

“Well I’m glad you are fine. Looks like there’s been an incident. If I didn’t know any better it sounded like there was a monster attack. Thankfully it seems to have been dealt with now but we should remain wary.” Turner didn’t notice the blush on Ditzy’s muzzle. She sighed both in relief and frustration.

‘There’s no way a stallion’s head is this dense is there? Maybe I should be aggressive then? Wait… what if it drives him off?’ Ditzy stared out the window noticing that they were already further away from Dodge Junction before looking back to Turner. “Do you know what happened?”

Turner looked around and to Ditzy it looked as though he was thinking up an idea, or whatever he called it when he brought lots of ideas together. She remained quiet for a bit longer letting him think through all the angles.

“No idea honestly. My best guess is that a monster attacked us then somepony dealt with it before it got any farther.” He shrugged nonchalantly and sat back in his seat. Ditzy on the other hand was clearly agitated by her flaring wings.

“Monsters... “ Her eyes darted around though much more wildly than any other pony’s eyes. She was about to dart behind cover when she felt a comforting hoof tap her shoulder.

“Worry not. We are together and I doubt anything could take us on.” Turner said without the slightest hint of realizing his own phrasing.

‘Together… We’re together~! Yay!’ Ditzy kept her composure while her mind was doing somersaults and aerial loops through cloud nine. ‘Maybe he meant that more as friends... ‘ The clouds darkened slightly but she pushed them back and thought it was finally time to say something.

Without warning a pink alicorn trotted up and took a seat in front of them. Their eyes opened wide and their jaws dropped at the sight. She looked worn down as well. Neither said anything as she seemed lost in thought scrutinizing the pair intensely. She also seemed to be looking at their cutie marks causing them to scrunch up tighter and smaller.

“Apologies I’ve just been looking for you two all day. You both are really hard to find when you’re needed, you know that?” Cadance’s voice seemed tired and harsh. She knew she had had a tough day but she couldn’t hide the worry in her tone. The other two heard a different tone altogether.

“You were looking for us your majesty?” Turner spoke first making sure Ditzy was slightly behind his shoulder. She held on tightly not out of fear but from the joy he was taking care of her.

“Yes. I require you for something that affects all of Equestria. If that is a satisfactory answer do you mind coming with me. We’ll make a stop in Ponyville of course but I really need you two to assist me and the other princesses with something.” Cadance spoke candidly with the two offering nothing more than what she needed. Ditzy found her voice.

“I still have to run the mail routes Princess. Also Carrot Top can’t watch Dinky the entire day.” Her concerns were laid bare. Cadance looked directly into the pony’s eyes causing her to flinch.

“Sorry. Don’t worry I’m not mad, Ditzy, was it? I’m tired is all and I really need to get you back to Ponyville where I’ll explain more in detail. Also if you need to finish any affairs as well. I’m not going to do anything to you if you say no.” Cadance soothed her own tones dawn. She had been doing so much fighting today that it had flooded into her normal speech.

“We still need to get to- “ Turner was cut off as Cadance grabbed them and their items with her magic teleporting them to the Ponyville Station. Both ponies looked around flabbergasted at the power behind an alicorn’s magic.

“Thank you Princess. Can you tell us what it is you require?” Turner once again offered his own inquisitive nature once again for the chopping block. Cadance chewed on her tongue looking for the right words.

“Yes. You see there is a horrible incident ready to engulf Ponyville and we require some extra heroics aside from those on the Friendship council. Two of those ponies seem to be you two.” Cadance kept a tight lid on more details letting them flow out as she went through her own mental checklist on what was appropriate to say and what wasn’t.

“Us?”

“Yes Ditzy. You two are needed to save the very fabric of reality and Equestria from falling into the horrid hooves, I guess, of a creature who attacked us earlier. There are more details but that’s for if you accept. It will help keep all the ponies in Ponyville safe and if you need anything else the entire royal family will see to it that you are protected.” Cadance was a bit tired and the moon started to peek out from beyond the horizon. ‘Please accept it.’

“Everypony is in danger…” Ditzy looked scared as her thoughts race millions of hours especially towards Dinky. “Yes. Anything to keep my little muffin safe!” Ditzy grabbed Cadance’s hoof and shook it vigorously. Turner just smiled and nodded. For the first time that day Cadance felt something she hadn’t in a long time. While the two conversed she lit up a spell and hit the two with it. Turner instantly kissed Ditzy who reciprocated. She giggled at the sight as the two pulled away and realized what had happened.

“Uh… “

“Um… I should go ask Carrot Top. Would you come with us Princess? It should make this easier.” Ditzy stayed next to Turner. He was stammering and lost in his blushing. He luckily didn’t stumble while she was nuzzling into his side. For his part he was smiling like a school colt at his own bravado. Something had finally come in to destroy that last bit of doubt clouding his own desire to see Ditzy smile more than she ever had.

The trek to Carrot Top’s came quickly as Dinky ran out of the house before she skid to a halt at the sight of her mom nuzzling Time Turner. With an elated smile she bounced into her mom and was happy once again. Cadance took her turn and addressed Carrot Top on her own.

“Hello Carrot Top I’m Cadance I actually need to borrow these two for a mission to save all of Equestria. If you don’t mind would you watch Dinky for a while longer. I only need them for another day or so.” Cadance bowed before the yellow earth pony who found herself giddily trying to find the right words.

“Yes! I mean… Of course your majesty. Dinky is always a treat.” Carrot Top bowed back clearly flustered and trying desperately not to faint from the sudden interaction.

“Mommy, Do you have to go again?” The soft tones didn’t hide the sadness underlying them. Ditzy had heard it every time she had gone to deliver mail somewhere else in Equestria.

“Yes muffin. I’m apparently going to be a hero now. I’m gonna make sure you are safe as can be so nothing will harm you. I’m gonna be a defender of justice kind of like those power ponies you seem to be reading more often.” Ditzy lightly chuckled when she thought back to all the comics she had found littered across Dinky’s room.

“Really!” Dinky lost her frown and a smile exploded on her muzzle.

“Yup,” Ditzy smiled before lowering her head conspiratorially next to Dinky’s ear. “I’ll also explain how I finally got through that stubborn stallion’s head later.” She winked as Dinky giggled incessantly. She was bouncing around jovially at what the future would bring.

As the two left Carrot noticed that Ditzy was leaning into Turner. With a wistful smile she led Dinky inside muttering under her breathe ‘finally’ before shutting the door. A few moments later Cadance also talked to the Postmaster. At first Ditzy had asked for the days off due to circumstances beyond her control. When he didn’t accept at first Cadance trotted in instead claiming it to be royal business and if he would rather be in the dungeon’s taking care of the post from there. He happily acquiesced to the suggestion allowing the three to return to the castle. A quick surveyance from Cadance made sure everything was safe before galloping towards the map room. The two looked at the damage around them finally being able to pull out of their love induced atmosphere.

The cracks were covered in burns now while green ash covered portions of the hole. Turner seemed to be examining some of the chairs noticing that they had partially warped most likely from heat. Something had tried to claw its way out. Ditzy looked down only seeing the flash of golden light or blue light. Cadance grasped Turned in her magic and flew down followed closely by Ditzy leaving the three bathed in green light. The moment that Cadance reached the floor she felt reenergized once again.

“Is everything alright down here?” Cadance looked around hesitantly. There were even more bodies all around slowly being reabsorbed back into the tree. Luna was covered head to hoof in shadows which must of meant blood in her mind. Celestia seemed winded as well but her magic was still going strong. Anubis looked even worse than before with the cracks now releasing green fires and sparks.

“No,” Luna and Celestia both muttered together. “Anubis is starting to strain himself from everything he has to accomplish. He can only handle us leaving one more time. Please say you found two more.” Luna managed to draw out her words as the remains of her spear floated up to her.

“Yes here they are. They’ve both agreed to help.” Cadance announced mostly to the green sphere that the two regular ponies saw.

SNRKT… EXCELLENT… I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO MINCE WORDS. TIME TURNER AND DITZY DOO I AM ANUBIS AND I REQUIRE YOU TO FIND THE MIRROR WITH YOUR CUTIE MARK. THROUGH THAT MIRROR YOU MUST BE A HERO TO SAVE THIS WORLD. PLEASE HURRY ANOTHER WAVE MIGHT OCCUR...SNRKT

The two ponies were taken aback by the sphere but his appearance quickly pushed away the mistrust. Like the princesses he looked just as tired as them. They quickly galloped around the mirrors looking for their cutie marks which for some reason appeared next to each other. With a quick kiss they stepped in front of the mirrors. They both stopped when they noticed the sight of magic aura around them. Looking towards the Alicorns they noticed Celestia’s horn shining brighter than the others.

“Be safe my little ponies.” Celestia nodded to the two.

With a quick nod back they looked into their mirrors. Turned saw what looked like an old man standing beneath a lamp post in the middle of darkness. Ditzy looked in to see a platform with a strange piece of paper shaped like a little raccoon face. With a deep breath they stepped into the mirror leaving behind another flash of light.

CELESTIA BE QUICK ABOUT THIS AND FIND THE LAST TWO. CADANCE GIVE HER THE PAPER. SNRKT…

“Here you go Aunt Celestia.” Cadance gave the paper over after crossing off the hourglass mark and the bubbles mark. Celestia nodded as Cadance also relayed the info of the shadow’s and what they could do. While they were exceptionally weak they also took time to deal with and there was little time left.

Celestia unfurled her wings and flew out of the castle at breakneck speeds before teleporting away into the night. Luna stepped into the shield and put Cadance at the front. Cadance was shocked that she was put forward until Luna spoke.

“I have had my fun dear niece. Unlike Tia I would like for you to show me just how strong you have become. It was rough during our battle but we will work together. For now allow me to be defense.” Luna looked proudly at Cadance hoping to see what she could do in a combat situation. The fight against the Tatzlwurm that Luna saw in her dreams was merely the tip of the iceberg.

“As you wish Aunt Luna.” Cadance had hoped not to be out front but the encouraging words of her aunt had left something inside her. She needed to prove herself to be just as strong as the others. ‘Only I haven’t fought anything worthwhile.’

Cadance used her magic to summon a load of crystals from the ground before crushing them into smaller shards which reattached into various weapons such as hand axes, swords, and spears. Each weapon was held in her telekinetic grip and powered up by Anubis.

NEXT WAVE APPROACHES...

Author's Note

I had trouble with where I wanted this chapter to go. After a few nights of migraines I finally let my mind wander and that led to a completed chapter. Now I'm gonna go finish reading Luv Sic by chaosknight72. I'm looking forward to that being updated again.

Mindful Harmony

Celestia flew through the night sky at an increased pace uncertain about what was going on with Anubis anymore. He was splintered more and more with every hour spreading more magic to keep the other ponies safe. Those other worlds were slowly being freed but the shadows had become stronger. Before she got any farther she instantly charged up her magic and burst forth a charge of solar energy all around her vaporizing the shadows around her. A scream sounded out leaving her satisfied. Her rage had all but subsided an hour before Cadance had returned. This much combat she had only seen when Sombra first came to power and it had been a long time since then. Luna had let go of her rage as well and both sister’s were tired. While they had slept somewhat the night before it wasn’t enough to hold the tide against the fatigue they felt after two hours straight of combat.

‘Who knew I was out of shape. I remember going for much longer.’ Celestia mused to herself while she glided into the boundaries of Manehattan. The night life was always exhilarating but she needed her sleep and being a princess made fun really hard to have. When she reached the outskirts of town she quickly used a bit of magic to turn herself into a unicorn with a white coat and a wispy aurora shaded mane. Yes it was indulgent but she didn’t care to keep some form of connection to her old life mostly because she had more fun living on the edge.

The night elements of the city were much more mundane as couples and strangers trotted down the boulevard watching the nightlife develop. With another burst of magic she went in search of the mare in question Bon Bon. She couldn’t believe how long it had been since she had seen that operative.

‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have disbanded the organization. But that incident let Tirek go. Damn it to me. I can’t let guilt get me on this right now. Find those last two mares then gorge self in cake for guilt later.’ Celestia groused at the thought of wasting time without cake. It was maddening enough now she didn’t need to think about the mouth watering, moist, delicious morsels of confectionary delight… ‘Ponyfeathers I’m thinking about it.’

The spell aura led her down multiple streets towards one of the convention centers with the words Crazy Candy Celebration in lights above the front door. She rolled her eyes at the attempt at alliteration and catchiness before walking through the front door. Every section was filled to the brim with ponies vying for attention from the judges and looking to impress them with their wares.

“Excuse me I’m looking for the favorites to win the contest.” The unicorn asked one of the vendors as sweetly as possible,

“Now beautiful what’s your name. Names Slick Sale and candy is my business. Now what can I do to make your night sweeter,” The stallion made no attempt to hide his interest in more than just meeting a pretty new face. Celestia grimaced through her disguise and remembered why she didn’t go out much anymore. With much reluctance she gave her name and restated her question.

“Name’s Corona Flare. Now who are the favorites?” Celestia kept her harsh glare directed on the creep before her. She wanted so desperately to release the illusion but she needed subtlety not the excessive force of the crown directed at its citizenry. With a little roll of her eyes she listened intently.

“Right now the favorites are Coconut Icing, Choco Truffle, and Bon Bon. They are about to be judged right now. Enough of that though babe. How bout you and me go out for a little… Wait where’d you go?” The stallion looked around finding neither hide nor mane of that beautiful mare in question. Dejected, he soon found himself hitting on some other pony only to receive a slap to the face.

Celestia chuckled at the sight before making her way towards the judge’s table and looking for the participants. Wave after wave of convention goers got in her way leaving her annoyed and desperately wanting to buck something through a wall. It took a bit more force than she wanted to but she managed to break through and get closer to the contestants.

“Mares and Gentlestallions! Welcome to our 52nd annual candy extravaganza. Our three finalists are ready to give it their all with their entries. On our left is Coconut Icing and his specialty the Coco Swirl Pop. In the center is Choco Truffle and her Truffle Delight. On the right is Bon Bon with her Mystery Bon Bons. Very original isn’t it folks.” The announcer screamed out.

There was a sweeping laugh at the very obvious decisions the candy makers made. Still, they each stood proudly by their creations. Everypony went quiet as one of the most well known Food Critics that placed an emphasis on sweets appeared. His name was Crying Shame one of the toughest critics on the circuit and he looked hungry.

“Luna damn it all. I can’t wait for this all night. Let’s see… Ah!” Celestia snuck up near the judge and quietly casted a spell on him make his eyes turn unfocused as she stepped near the table and lowered her hooves on it. With a quick motion of her hoof she summoned Bon Bon over to the table.

“Yes judge?” She stepped up to the table and looked worried about something. The mare next to the judge seemed suspicious and those instincts she still had were screaming at her. Something was definitely wrong and she couldn’t place her hoof on it.

“Hello again Agent Sweetie Drops. I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.” Celestia in her Corona disguise uttered out to the incredulity of the situation. Bon Bon immediately felt her flank hit the floor utterly stunned at the sudden appearance of somepony who knew her identity. Her eyes suddenly turned to glare at the unicorn who knew her.

“Who ARE you?” The words were harsh and barbed leaving nothing but rage in her voice. Bon Bon had been working on making her new identity stick. She was a little rude but that was more due to losing such a high paying job for no reason other than safety. When Lyra found out that had nearly been a deal breaker to their entire friendship. Now out of all days when she had finally gotten good enough to rejoin the candy world they had come to bother her. When she was finally considered one of the top three candy makers in Manehattan. It was infuriating. Then the unicorn’s horn lit up and what seemed like an illusion appeared around them shielding them from prying eyes. The pony removed their illusion as well.

“Sorry for barging in Agent Sweetie Drops. It seems I need your help once again.” Princess Celestia looked over towards the pony her neck craned down so they could look eye to eye. Bon Bon then fell to the ground and groveled.

“Oh sweet you I’m sorry for being so rude. I just can’t… I mean I’m really… oh dear…” Bon Bon was stuttering and shaking at being rude to the monarch of all of Equestria and the one who had hired her as an agent. “Damn it.”

“Sweetie I need you to focus. This is worse than Tartarus and I need you to come with me as soon as the contest is over. If need be I’ll release my illusion to get this over with but we need to find one more pony before we leave the city. I can’t stress enough how bad this is. It makes Tirek look like an oversized kitten.” Celestia was flustered at letting go of all the pent up aggression she had stored up. There were multiple problems still and luckily the shadow monsters hadn’t managed to follow her. Still she was unsure where the other pony was. Trixie was a wandering magician and she didn’t sense her within the city.

“What do you mean Princess? Worse than Tirek. Oh...I’m also sorry for what happened down in Tartarus. It went completely over our heads… We lost them.” Bon Bon grimaced and turned her gaze away from her. She didn’t want to remember this now. ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

“Do not concern yourself with that. Look, how much longer do you need until you are ready to go? We must look for this other pony as quickly as possible.” Celestia looked out at the contest. The illusion of Bon Bon remained standing near her candy just as the specialty judge was finishing up the truffle dish.

“Ten minutes. Please release the illusion I need to face this monster on my own.” Bon Bon glared down the judge from her hiding spot within the illusion before taking her place standing within her double.

“As you wish. Good luck.” The illusion was released as Celestia remained near the table waiting for the announcement. Five minutes later all the candy was tried. The First place prize went to… Choco Truffle. Second Place went to Bon Bon. Coconut Icing was so appalled that when the third place ribbon came out he burned it in front of the judge and spit in his face. Tensions had indeed run high.

“Damn… Well better than I thought I would get. First time actually entering the contest and getting second place does mean that my candy gets recognized as one of the best.” She sighed a bit dejected she didn’t win but when she tried the truffle treats she couldn’t deny that they were extremely tasty. Icing was probably the worse sport and she saw security grab him and ‘escort’ him out without problem.

“For what it’s worth I did enjoy your candy a lot. Luckily you managed to make a cake flavored one so I’m happy.” Celestia smiled at the taste of the bon bons she had ‘earned’ from watching the contest as she grabbed Bon Bon in her magic and teleported out of the convention center to the roof. She removed the illusion and looked over Bon Bon.

“Thank you Celestia. Are we restarting the Agency once again?” Bon Bon inquired. She had hoped for something a bit more exciting than making candy for the rest of her life even if she was good at it. It left something to the desire which she rarely managed to fill very often.

“Not exactly. This will probably get you a more important position as part of the council of friendship. I have it for a fact that your friend Lyra Heartstrings is also to be a part of it.” Celestia watch Bon Bon’s reactions, They went from disappointed to surprised within a second then flew so fast into abject shock that it was a surprise that Bon Bon had been such an effective agent.

“Are you serious? What happened that would necessitate the need for more ponies to work with Twilight?” Bon Bon was scared. The need for more ponies in an organization meant a number of things but none of them fit the situation. Nopony could be fired from being an element of harmony and neither were any of them dead from the look in Celestia’s eyes. Discord hadn’t turned evil again either at least it didn’t look like he did since everything still looked normal.

“Unfortunately something has happened beneath the castle in a secret chamber. Two figures came out of there and attacked all of us. They then stole away both Discord and Spike meaning that these things are strong enough to deal with chaos spirits and dragons, “ Bon Bon opened her mouth but Celestia finished her thought with her last words. “Regardless if that dragon is a baby.”

Bon Bon kept her silence but she felt there was more going on. The princess was casting another spell once again leaving her confused about what was going on. The weirdest part was that Lyra was a part of this now. Lyra was always so uncertain after finding out about the secret agent lifestyle she once had.

“Are you ready?” Celestia woke her from her reverence of the past and picked her up in a telekinetic field.

“Where are we going Princess Celestia?” Bon Bon looked down noticing that she was floating far above the world while Celestia glided into the night sky. ‘That’s a long way down…’

“Oh I found out where she is right now. She’s still making her way through the fields near here. We’re going off to intercept her and take her back for the mission. From what I remember about this pony they have a slight ego problem. Would you like to deal with her? I don’t want to throw my weight around if I don’t have to.” Celestia chuckled more to herself than to Bon Bon. She was uncomfortable with this particular situation.

“I’ll try. Are you certain this is the best course of action?” Bon Bon finally reeled in her emotions. Years of training came back to her as her finely tuned senses found that resolve she left behind. Her eyes seemed to shine less as if she had seen the end of the world and lived through it. Had Celestia not found her making candy she could have sworn that Bon Bon and Sweetie Drops were two different ponies.

“For now, yes. I don’t want to force this pony to do something against her will. You will handle negotiations and if she requires something beyond what you could provide I will step into persuade her if need be. I’ll admit I never wanted you to be placed back into danger. Nopony aside from my sister and I should be forced to deal with the problems of the past.” Celestia stared wistfully out at the rising moon. She needed to hurry this up.

Bon Bon said nothing nodding curtly at the concern. She wouldn’t admit it but the loss of her job had driven Bon Bon into her hobby more than she wanted it to. She had been happy even if she needed to keep the secret from one of her best friends. Something special just for her to call her own. Still she didn’t begrudge the princess for deciding that it didn’t work. Tirek had escaped even under their watch and that was something she couldn’t forgive herself for. It was her duty to hold and she had failed it. Celestia didn’t speak after the nodding had occurred leaving them to silence.

‘I remember this silence. Whenever a new mission came up the agents would always center themselves prepared to deal with whatever was going to happen.’ Celestia sighed in exasperation and soon reached the outskirts of the city. Out in the distance was a small trailer being pulled by a blue unicorn with a silver toned mane.

“Target spotted Princess. Ready for tactical drop off.” Bon Bon said monotonously. Her eyes immediately focused on the unicorn in question. Then she lost her cool and fell into sputtering anger and nonsensical sounds.

“Well at least you have changed for the better Sweetie. Here you go.” With a flick of her horn Bon Bon was teleported a little out of range of the unicorn in question. Bon Bon for her part rubbed her temples with her hooves. This was going to be a nightmare even if she did reform. With much reluctance she stepped out through the fields towards the still moving cart. The unicorn in question stopped when she noticed the earth pony who stood in her way.

“Can I help you? Right now the ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie is on her way to a job opportunity in Manehattan and Trixie does not want to be late.” Trixie held her nose high. As she sat down Bon Bon noticed just how tired she looked.

“Yeah I’ve been looking for a pony who could help me with something. Only somepony so powerful and great could assist me with a task from the Princess of the Sun.” Bon Bon answered as seriously as possible adding a small flourish of her hoof when the Princess was mentioned. She hated having to use the connections to make something happen but these were desperate times if Celestia’s concerned eyes were something to go by.

“Really? I mean… Of course you are looking for me. I am the ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie and Trixie shall be glad to assist you… Once I’ve pulled off my job in Manehattan.” Trixie smiled and started moving forward once again leaving a stunned Bon Bon and her reeling mind behind.

“Wait, Wait, Wait! Didn’t you hear me. Princess Celestia is asking directly for your help in something. Why do you need to go to Manehattan?” Bon Bon started walking alongside her her mouth trying desperately not to gape open in surprise.

“Trixie most certainly did hear you but right now Trixie must keep a promise she made a while ago. Trixie knows to keep promises to friends she made and Trixie shall not be held back by anypony. “ A light pink glow came from from her horn lifting Bon Bon and placing her out of hoof distance as she kept trotting along with her cart. Bon Bon merely face hoofed that this was the same pony only now she was taking care of her friends. Celestia appeared nearby urging her to keep trying even though Bon Bon noticed her proud smile taking up her entire muzzle pointed at Trixie. With a quick sigh she trotted back up to Trixie.

“Who do you have to keep the promise with Trixie?” Bon Bon inquired hoping to get some angle on the situation she could negotiate her way through.

“Urgh… If you must know a while back during one of Trixie’s shows she made a friend with a younger filly known as Babs Seed. We were alike in our pasts and Trixie makes it a point to come see her whenever Trixie has a show in the area, “ Trixie stared down at her hooves thoughtfully lost in the past. When she remembered the pony beside her she couldn’t hide the truth for some reason. “ In truth, I made no promise to her. This is a promise I made to myself and it is one I keep to remind myself that there are other ponies than myself who matter. I would prefer not to be kept any longer. I shall help the Princess when I have accomplished my goals.” Trixie kept walking forward giving only the slightest pause for the pony to stop looking like a fish.

After a few minutes and the sight of Trixie moving further away she motioned for Celestia to step forward and handle this. She was under the strict notion that Celestia wasn’t going to force the issue but if this was important then it needed to be done. Celestia glided forward and stepped up next to Trixie who didn’t notice who was near her. With a slight scowl she looked at the figure next to her only to recoil and fall flat on her muzzle.

“Hello there ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie. Do you need any assistance before you can assist me?” Celestia smirked down at the unicorn and chuckled at her loss of composure. Needless to say this was the perk of going to meet the ponies around you when your life was full of sitting through court meetings and hearing the same concerns of every noble every day for every year of her reign. No, she wasn’t annoyed by it either nor did she need to vent through trolling her little ponies relentlessly like she did her students. They needed to open up and make friends not be led by the bridle from time to time.

“Mh… mh… my apologies Princess Trixie didn’t see you there...Trixie was just told of a great opportunity to assist you but she must keep her promise before Trixie’s ego gets too big once again. So yes, Trixie will agree to the help.” Trixie tried her best to keep a stable hoof but her nerves caused her to flail about like a madmare. Celestia smiled the whole time keeping her laughs hidden beneath her hoof.

“Very well. Give me but a moment to take you to see Miss Seed then we must travel and make way for the mission since you so willingly agreed to it already.” Celestia was smirking too much for Trixie’s nerves. The sweat rolled down her forehead as a nervous spike shot up through her spine. She had never truly met with Celestia before even when she went to school back when she was a filly and right now the aura she was giving was intimidating Trixie into that little filly back so long ago.

With another burst of magic the three of them plus the cart were warped in front of the Seed residence. Celestia motioned her forward while Bon Bon stayed near the cart. To Trixie’s surprise she acted like a guard for it while ponies all gawked at the sight of the Princess trotting alongside the illusionist. Nopony got near the two for fear of doing something stupid.

While the visit went well the nervousness on the Seed Family was apparent. The parents were catering to the princess while Trixie and Babs talked to each other calmly about the past. Each seemingly looking on towards the future with an optimistic gaze until Celestia coughed lightly to get Trixie’s attention. Babs smiled and hugged Trixie goodbye and waved to Celestia as well. Both remained quiet as Celestia teleported them and the cart all the way back to Ponyville. Trixie was perturbed to say the least.

“What are we doing back here? I just left this place already. “ Trixie snorted derisively.

“Well Starlight is in trouble and requires- “ Celestia began to speak before Trixie spoke up once again.

“What are we waiting for? Move the lead out Celestia I’ve got a friend to save.” Celestia was absolutely floored until Trixie realized what she said and began backpedaling about what she just said. Celestia merely smiled and patted her on the back with her wing.

“Well I’m surprised now. Usually you get more pissed off when someone talks back to you Princess.” Bon Bon was raising her eyebrow in confusion with how she was taking this all in stride. Trixie had sheepishly moved forward toward the castle while Celestia looked towards Bon Bon.

“Usually ponies are arguing about a decision I’ve made. They aren’t making a beeline to save their friend y’know. Did I use that slang right?” Celestia giggled at the sight of Trixie putting her wagon next to the castle and tying it down next to it.

“Yes you did Princess. Now maybe we should get some details since we both are going into these problems nearly blind. I hope Lyra is okay…” Bon Bon brought a hoof to her cheek and lightly smacked herself. She needed to get the problems out of her head.

“Right. Trixie please come over here. I need to explain more about this. Are you ready?” Celestia took on a more serious tone and sat on the steps outside the castle.

Trixie sat nearby while Bon Bon remained standing waiting for all the details. Neither of the pair were looking forward towards what they needed to do. Trixie shifted uncomfortably while Bon Bon crossed her front hooves and leaned against the castle walls.

“”Last morning we were attacked by a pair of monsters. They managed to destroy our shield almost effortlessly before dragging both Spike and Discord away from us tearing them into what is most likely another dimension. Then they have sent monsters made in our friends image to try and destroy our one link to save them from destruction. Right now all of our friends have gone into other worlds in order to break a way into the inner workings of this new tree beneath the castle. We are currently working with it’s guardian making sure that Equestria remains safe from the very real threat of these two enemies.” Celestia finally opened her eyes after explaining everything only to see both mare’s jaws hanging wide open and their eyes nearly popped out of their skulls. It took a little coaxing to get them to respond and the shock was still palatable.

“You let Lyra agree to this horrible idea? She was still trying to figure out things. Give me a few minutes to get somethings from my kit. I might need my tools if I have to go into another world entirely.” Bon Bon galloped off to her home and came back with a strange faux leather saddlebag. Trixie merely remained quiet and went back into her cart. When she came out she was wearing her purple star studded cape and matching purple sorcerer’s cap.

“The only thing Trixie needs is a bit of flair and her attire to wow another world with Trixie’s stupendous stage presence. Now let’s not waste anymore of Trixie’s time and get to work on saving Trixie’s friends.” Trixie opened the front door and instantly took a few steps back.

The entire room was cold. Colder than the frozen north and twice as uninviting that the three quickly ran for the map room. By then the room was fully carved apart with each groove in the floors and walls have similar green ash coating each cut. Celestia lifted the two mares and slowly floated down into the depths of the hole taking care to not to fumble around in the telekinetic grip.

“Is everything still ok Luna?” Celestia looked around noticing that Cadance was at the forefront holding the remains of the monsters. The macabre scene before her and the haunted look painted in her eyes left Celestia worried. Cadance turned towards her then trotted over and laid her head against Celestia’s chest. She was tired and all the monsters had stopped once again.

“She has had a long evening sister. While these two get ready to go I’m going to say that we’ve been through a very long night so far and she needs some rest. Please remain in the shield and let her rest. I’ll handle point once again while the night goes on. Anubis please get the portals ready.” Luna intoned as she put Cadance within the shield and took point. Celestia stepped into the shield as well while Bon Bon and Trixie looked around at the carnage before them.

Entrails coated the entire floor with limbs hanging off the edge of the island they stood on. The waters surrounding the tree were heavily coated in shadows. Trixie walked around the tree looking at the mirrors out on the edges. Each seemed to swirl with their own magical aura leaving her amazed at the sight. It seemed to truly be a marvelous place but something was off. The carnage around them seemed to be the reason but to the unicorn she felt something darker coursing through the room.

PREPARE YOURSELF… SNRKT... YOU TWO. BON BON YOUR WORLD IS… SNRKT... EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. TAKE CARE WHILE YOU ARE THERE. TRIXIE YOUR WORLD WILL REQUIRE A LOT OF YOU. I SHALL BE MONITORING YOUR JOURNEY MUCH MORE CLOSELY THAN THE OTHERS.

“What the hay was that?” Trixie looked around until she noticed the sphere hovering near the princesses. It was glowing a dull green and seemed to barely be holding its body together. Bon Bon merely scoffed at the sight and stepped closer to one of the mirrors that seemed to have the imprint of her cutie mark. Trixie shook off her momentary shock and stepped towards her.

Bon Bon looked into her mirror only to see a foggy little town surrounding a large lake. Something seemed wrong to the agent and she kept her saddlebags tightly around her barrel. Trixie quickly found her mark and looked into her mirror. Inside the surface was a small desert landscape with a weird creature with large ears and a tail. It looked cat like in nature and it was holding an oversized wrench.

“Lovely. Trixie gets to deal with oversized cat people. How about you… uh, Trixie never got your name.” Trixie called out to the other pony looking slightly ashamed she forgot to ask her name. Bon Bon kept staring into her mirror. She didn’t know which name to go by at this point as her hooves shuffled along the floor.

“You can call me Bon Bon. That’s who I am and who I always will be,” Bon Bon grimaced slightly forcing her lips into a smile. Trixie didn’t notice the grimace and continued to look into her mirror. “It seems my place is really foggy. I can’t tell much about it. See you when I get back, huh?”

“Yes. Trixie looks forward to hearing about why you work for the princess. Curiosity seems to have gotten the better of Trixie.” With those words both ponies slowly stepped into their mirrors leaving behind the princesses.

THAT IS ALL PONIES. THEY SHALL… SNRKT… RETURN WITHIN THE NEXT EVENING. TIME DILATION MIGHT… SNRKT… MAKE THEM APPEAR AT THE SAME TIME. UNCERTAIN. YOU NEED TO REST. I HEAL THE PHYSICAL PAINS… SNRKT… NOT EMOTIONAL. WITH ALL THREE HERE I SHALL FOCUS MORE ON PROTECTING THEM. STARLIGHT AND APPLEJACK NEEDED THE MOST HELP WITH THEIR… SNRKT… WORLDS. SOON THE SAME WILL BE FOR OCTAVIA AND BON BON. MUCH LEFT TO DO.

CASING COMPROMISED…

LOSING ENERGY…

CONSERVING…

SORRY I WILL BE STAYING WITHIN AN OPTIMAL MODE AND MOST OF MY ENERGY WILL BE SPENT ON THEM. CAN YOU MANAGE?

“Don’t worry Anubis. We’re going to show you just why the two of us working together make for a deadly combination. Also don’t be a smart flank and assume that just because we got surprised yesterday morning that we are weak. Surprise attacks are hard to counter even for us.” Celestia haughtily explained as she set up Cadance inside the barrier with her. The glow in her horn signaled the beginning of her defensive abilities.

“Tis true. As fellow warriors and siblings we compliment each other in a balance. While different as night and day obviously enough we strike at our enemies with the force of our own heavenly connections. One of light and one of shadows constantly flowing through our world.” Luna summoned more of her spears. Each looked to be custom made but easily expendable and she kept three in her telekinetic grip.

Cadance couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. She didn’t have the same stamina as her aunts and fatigue had plagued her throughout the battles she had. Even taking care of Flurry Heart was easier then non stop battle and she wouldn’t be complaining about her daughter’s temper tantrums after the incident was over.

INCOMING WAVE… SNRKT…

Through the Starlight 2

With a crash two of the tanks went flying out towards a scurrying Spike. Neither had wanted to split up but the terrifying, rampaging monster pony forced their claws. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but like all at the time moments hindsight seemed to slap them down. Discord had already lost the sword in the monster went it managed to pierce the shoulder leaving it hanging limply from the wound. It didn’t care one bit.

“Discord! Little help!” Spike looked back to his time in the Gauntlet of Fire and the crystal spike chambers he went through with Ember. With his small size he managed to weave around the fallen debris easily enough to confuse the Glimmer clone. Though the smashing of glass and the screeching tear of metal left a lot to the desire of calmness.

Discord finally answered the plea by tilting over one of the larger tanks on the side. A quick whistle forced Spike to change course as the monster smashed through everything in its way. As it got into position the tank fumbled over forcing the monster to screech to a halt little too late as the metal top smashed into the monster’s head. Spike took a few gulps of air as Discord slid down from the wall he hung onto. While he was elated at escaping Discord didn’t answer his call for a high five. Instead he stared at where the tank fell while Spike clearly looked on in worry.

“You think it’ll get up?” Spike squeaked out. The fear had taken over his voice forcing the two to start walking towards any other door they could find. The door they had come through had been blocked by the thrown debris from their initial escape attempt.

“Yes.” Discord didn’t even try for his usual flair wanting nothing more than to escape from the monster pony or BOW. ‘Wow that is redundant.’

As they ran away from the fallen tank the sound of torn metal forced them to run faster through the warehouse until they reached another door fitted with large deadbolts and locks. Luckily they were unfastened and made easy to open up.

“Ssssssspppppppiiiiiikkkkkkkeeeeee~!”

“Dddddddiiiiiiisssssssscccccccoooooooorrrrrddddd~!”

They only stopped to look back at the monster when they had opened the door. The coat had been torn off and on the monster pony’s chest was a still beating heart with large arteries going through the body forcing what must have been extra blood to pump through it. It wasted no time and charged forward knocking aside any tanks that were in the way of its straight forward path. The two jumped through the door and began to latch everything shut making sure to get the deadbolts first. Then the locks and finally the latches. The crashing sound forced them back as a large dent appeared in the door. It didn’t stop with that either.

Discord grabbed Spike with his tail lifting him up and tapping him on the stomach with one of his claws. Realizing what he meant Spike prepared himself for the eventual breaking point to appear. A claw tore through the center of the metal door. It was pulled back as the upper torso of the monster managed to force its way through. The claws tried to get in as well only to fall short of their goal and get stuck in place. Almost by convenience the heart was actually visible in the door. Discord held Spike closer and out came a long shimmering emerald flame.

While the monster didn’t writhe or squirm out from the hole it visibly started to slow down tearing through the door. Spike coughed out the last of the flame he could muster as Discord made for the next door leaving behind the monster.

It was hurt. It couldn’t feel some of its extremities anymore. It had to chase them, hunt them down, kill them. Too many orders that needed to be followed but unable to follow them caused it to roar. The cries echoed out through the warehouse and the hall the targets had run down. Then the pressure built up and things shifted. The muscles on each leg rippled and tore through the skin. The claws grew longer and sharper acting as individual digits now for the flatness of the hoof. The heart beat erratically enough to cause the tumors to cover one of its eye as it started to grow to Discord’s size. The the shoulder burst open in a shower of viscera and bone. From the recess now formed a giant eyeball formed. As it pulled out the sword it punched the rest of the door off its hinges. It was free and targets needed to be found.

Discord finally took a break from running letting Spike down when they got far away enough. Three halls and a few miscellaneous rooms later he found something else he had only seen in another dimension. Cradling the object in his paw was gun. The barrel was larger than most he had seen before while the grip had a decent heft to it. It seemed like it had a revolving chamber and reached as far back into his memories as was possible. ‘A revolver, right? Seems this world has this level of weaponry, I suppose.’

Spike coughed a bit more breathing out a small burst of fire to calm his throat. He needed to find some food soon. While he could breathe fire easily enough he wasn’t the greatest pool of stamina in a fight. Food would keep him from losing out on the firepower he needed to keep the zomponies away while they ran. ‘Strangely there hasn’t been anymore monsters since that one tried to chase after us. Are they afraid?’

Neither really spoke again after the constant chasing. Discord was more tired than he thought when he stumbled after taking a step. He had been training a bit after the incident with Chrysalis though to his own chagrin it was not sufficiently enough. This floor had pushed him to the limits of his stamina and patience. ‘Those spheres are up to something. It wasn’t trying hard enough to kill us and I know it means something.’

Spike stumbled around the room woozy from the constant running and began searching through the various drawers for anything to munch on. The shield on his back grew heavier with every step as hunger dictated what he needed to do. While he did find some small baubles they were all cubic zirconia. ‘Ech, Diet food. Who wants to eat something like that.’ His stomach decided to answer for him causing him to down the multiple fakes. ‘Phew… filling but leaves much to be desired like all fake gems.’

Discord found the next doorway just as a crash resounded through the halls. Panic took hold as Spike was grabbed in his tail once again and he ran off through the next door into an atrium. Moonlight spilled through the windows illuminating the multiple plants that occupied the area, Amongst the plants were multiple spiders all the size of Luna crawling towards them. Behind them the crashing got louder and in front of them the chittering of hungry spiders got closer.

“Spike, firepower now.”

“Firepower now?”

“Yes now.”

“You sure now?”

“Spike just do it.” Discord facepawed letting it wash down his face as Spike breathed out flames over any spider that got close. The larger ones seemed to be the most foolish as they charged in to apprehend the new meal. The smaller ones recognizing the flame spewing monster in front of them decided to wisely get as far away as possible. The chittering became screams as the fire enveloped the stupider hunters leaving them charred and dead. Then the crashing came to them.

Right on cue the Glimmer monster came out of the woodwork sporting a new look for the pair to deal with. The crashing alerted something else that came out of the underbrush. A much larger spider with blackened fur covering its entire body stepped out. Parts of its body had been charred slightly allowing smoke to wisp off its body but they were old wounds. The flames that were around it couldn’t even touch the large spider merely licking against it then fading away.

“Spiders are safer.” Spike pointed out as Discord ran directly for the creature while the Glimmer clone chased after. The spider lunged for the first pair only to overshoot its mark and hit the lumbering beast behind them. The clone grabbed the spider’s first two legs and ripped them off only to be bit by the spider who refused to back down even missing two of its legs.

Discord ran off for the far wall as the rest of the spiders came together to attack the other intruder. Threat levels made them negligible for the moment. Smaller spiders grabbed onto the clone and held the arms in place allowing for the larger spider to inject more venom into it. Though the clone hardly broke its stride breaking the spiders that would cling to its arms into pulp. As Discord found the next door out the spiders had managed to get their silk around the clone and drag it off somewhere though it didn’t stop the crunching of exoskeletons from ringing out of the atrium. For the most part they slowed down enough to keep an ear open for any more warnings.

“We’re not going to be having an easy time getting out of here are we?” Spike chimed up while looking at the surroundings. Once again they were in another warehouse fitted with strange metal tubes. All of the tubes held a red cap on one end and fins on the other and were about the size of Discord. Discord merely paled at the sight as he scratched at the walls behind him.

“Horseapples… why are there missiles here? Seriously, what the bucking tartarus is up with today and things that could kill us without my magic around. Spike, no breathing fire unless we’re desperate enough to need an escape.” Discord quickly ran for the next door only to stop when he noticed Spike hadn’t followed.

Spike opened the door behind him and rolled one of those things down to face the door. It was heavy to roll but Spike still had enough energy to push them around unlike Discord who had done all the running for them. He managed to wedge it out into the hallway they ran from. Discord took the cue and gathered the carpets and anything made of wood and stacked it around the missile then with enough care they moved the other missiles into the farthest corners of the room. The crunching sound had gotten louder while skittering and screaming came from further back in the atrium echoing through the empty halls.

“What’s the plan anyways Spike? I feel like this is something you cooked up just because of how I looked when I saw these.” Discord held his gaze at the young purple dragon who seemed to be counting something in his head.

“Well a long time ago one of the experiments that I did with Twi involved a timing charge. Basically she tried to make a small spell charging talisman. It exploded and made a large mess which took me ages to clean up. Well when you said that these things shouldn’t be around fire I thought back to that incident and thought, Hm do these things explode or something? From there I thought if we make a small charge time that would allow us to get a few rooms away then we could maybe stop that thing from chasing after us for a while.” Spike twiddled his claws together uncertain of his plan now based on Discord’s patronizing look.

“They do explode but we’re risking a lot here. I don’t have my magic to protect us and I can’t keep running all day. Even with some workout sessions earlier this week I am nowhere near peak stamina that any natural athlete has-” Discord looked towards the atrium when the screaming had stopped. “Light it now. Now. Now. NOW!”

Spike lit the carpets and boxes on fire as he was grabbed by a tail once again. Discord took off running for the far door. The crushing of wood sounded out again revealing the Glimmer clone sluggishly following after them. Green veins seemed to be pulsing all around its exposed body including the heart. As it ambled closer to the missile the magical fires had reached the casing. The missile did explode but with only a small payload the damage was kept to the hallways and the clone. The clone was torn to shreds as portions of its exposed chest were flailed away and the eye was punctured and lost. One arm was cleanly ripped at the shoulder and the clone laid motionless on the ground.

Two minutes later the clone started to rise again. Black tendrils of biomass tore through the body forcing anything inorganic to act as a new limb while a large pus like sphere took its place as the joint. The tendrils managed to fix the eye portion with another sphere of pus glowing bright orange and standing out amongst the skin left on the creature. The mane had also burnt off leaving nothing but tatters and ash. It shuffled past the destroyed hall which only suffered superficial damage. As it made its way into the hangar it noticed a lot of metal around. Shoving its new tendriled fist into the metal it made itself a large set of blades that spun around like a chainsaw. It was ready.

“Ssssssspppppppiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkeeeeeee~!”

“Ddddddddddiiiiiiiisssssscccccooooorrrrrdddddd~!”

The pair had made it towards a large staircase leading back up into where the mansion was. Discord had examined the revolver he had noticing that it was fully loaded with one in the chamber ready to go. Six bullets as he remembered from one of the other worlds he had visited in his rampages. Spike had pulled the shield back out in front of him readying it for anything that got in their way. Since Discord had lost his sword they were very limited in their combat strength and Discord remained ill at ease with grappling one of the zomponies. Strangely they had not seen any since they had released the clone after them. At least they assumed it was a clone.

“All the zomponies we’ve seen are made up of the shadows, right? That means maybe the one after us is just what happens when we start clearing out these rooms. Do you think that’s how those jerks are playing this game with us?” Spike tried his best to make small talk. His nerves were frazzled and he needed some levity behind him.

“Probably. That does sound like my M,O. indeed but remember there are two of those jerks. It seems like they are splitting the task up for now while they deal with other things. From what I’ve been able to piece so far they have been trying to deal with all nineteen of us throughout multiple worlds. They have stretched themselves too thin so we are probably being left to whatever plans they prepared beforehand. Most likely the plans came from the harmony one. The chaos one would go right off of instinct causing whatever trouble it could think up. Remember roulette is a favorite of the chaos side. I would guess Harmony is a fan of poker.” Discord voice out his opinions once again. It once again made little sense to Spike, at least, the roulette made sense.

“What do you mean?” Spike’s curiosity was now piqued burning the stress he had built up now that there was something to keep his mind off the horror.

“Harmony, I would guess, enjoys poker because it is an orderly game not left entirely to chance but by how well you can figure out your opponent. Treating it like a psych exam rather than a contest of wits and luck. It plays this way not to win but to see what their opponent will do which it will then counter the next chance it gets. It’s not impulsive and has a lot more patience. Which means that it probably won’t act right away and is watching how we interact and work together in this tumultuous situation.” Discord looked around as they reached the top of the stairs. All that was up there was a large metal door with a small code pad on the side. Discord once again typed the password Starlight had left and the door automatically opened.

They were outside once again under a full moon which seemed to glow orange in the night sky. Surrounding them was a wonder in itself as a large fountain and multiple topiary sculptures surrounded an incredible garden. The fountain strangely enough held the figure of Starlight Glimmer holding a similar weapon to Discord in her muzzle as she reared up ready to strike her front hooves down. She looked confident even in stone. On her neck was a necklace with her cutie mark.

“Looks like Starlight was well liked in her world.” Spike stared in awe at the statue which seemed just as impressive as his in the Crystal Empire. ‘Though it’s not as shiny as mine.’

“We should get going still. It’s nice but we still have her doppelganger, clone, or whatever it is still after us. Though it looks like she’s joining the club with Fluttershy and the others.” Discord pointed at the necklace focusing on it instead of anything else.

Spike nodded slightly proud as he walked further through the garden towards the next door. Discord followed after deciding against drawing a mustache on the stone statue regardless of how amazing it would look. There would be time for that later and he would enjoy it with those friends that he made.

The clone had made it up the stairs. Even with all the damage it had recovered from using its various mutations it was still ambling slowly. As it made it to the garden its eyes locked right on the fountain, specifically, the statue in the center. Whatever was going on through its mind was contorted with it grimace. The blades on it’s tendril arm revved up allowing the blades to easily rotate like a chainsaw as it shot out and tore into the statue decapitating it in one blow. Instead of stopping though it kept tearing the leftover debris to bits. It forced its legs back into place and ran faster through the garden to the next door.

They had heard it. The sound of metal tearing through stone. The screeching had halted them in their tracks within another strangely square room. There were no landmarks or furniture within and the only other door out had Starlight’s cutie mark on it. It wouldn’t open.

“Well that’s just great. We can’t run anymore Spikey-boy. Any bright ideas?” Discord finally readied the revolver pointing it at the door the entered from.

“Don’t die? Seriously though that’s all I got.” Spike took point with the shield he had. He was tiny but if need be the shield could buy him some time to burn whatever tried to attack him. The meal at least had assured him that he would die with a full stomach.

“Now let’s see if we can make it that simple ri-” The door burst open and a large collection of blades bore down against them.

Spike braced his back legs and prepared to at least slow the blades from running them through when the shield started to glow. As soon as the blade impacted against the shield it was blown back into the wall above the door. Discord looked on in awe as he finally felt the magic spark within. While the shield was not magical in any way, shape or form the engraving seemed to be giving off a minute measure of mana. They were jewels empowered by magic most likely harmonic magical energy.

“Looks like we have a chance now. Slim one, but a chance at least.” Discord took aim as the beast lumbered in. A single shot tore through the air hitting the beast in the head. While the head flinched back and the damage looked severe it did nothing to deter it from charging into them.

Discord tumbled to the left while Spike went right. It kept charging most likely due to the impaired vision from the hole in its head and the viscera covering the only good eye it had left. Annoyed, Discord shot the glowing ball of pus that made up its joint. A single shot caused it to pop forcing the arm to come off. The arm acted independently of the body and slithered directly for Spike. The main body went for Discord as new tendrils sprouted from the stump left behind and a dull looking claw took it’s place.

‘Ponyfeathers…’ Spike took steps backwards as the mass of tendrils slunk over to him writhing around in grotesque fashion. Readying his shield he thought he could block the assault only for the tendril to juke him out and strike from his side sending him back towards the entrance door. Spike flew upwards hitting a certain jutting brick on the wall. The impact made him cough and sputter while he tried to regain his breath. The tendrils wasted no time in slithering even faster while he was debilitated.

Discord was faring just a little better. Even though he didn’t have his magic to assist him he was still very flexible. A problem soon arose from the dodging spree when he ran out of room. The claw came up slashing along his chest only making a shallow cut but starting Discord enough to roll off to the side to get away. Blood seeped from the wound even though it barely had grazed him. After he had rolled off to the side he saw something that made him extremely worried. The ceiling had started to slowly descend upon the group. Pulling up the gun again Discord shot at the knees of the beast twice. Four shots used up and the beast fell to its knees slightly incapacitated.

Spike rose to his feet and predicted where the tendrils would strike from. With a little foresight and knowing that the tendrils enjoyed to sucker punch their opponents he managed to stop the swing and struck back by breathing a large red cloud of fire over the mass of tendrils. It started to screech in pain and attempted to get as far away as possible only to find it difficult to move. The flames did their job charring the remains and forcing the mass to diminish into nothing. Spike hadn’t noticed that he had also strode right into the center of the room near where the Glimmer clone had been incapacitated.

Discord darted nearby grabbing and pulling Spike away from the monster just as it forced itself to lunge for Spike. The lunge had managed to force it back towards the entrance door. Meanwhile, the ceiling had managed to reach the halfway point still sliding ever further on top of them. Discord took aim for the shoulder just as the monster prepared to lunge for them once again. While in the air Discord took the shot. Time seemed to slow as the bullet cleared the muzzle at the apex of the jump. Spike, in a moment of clarity blew out as much fire as he possibly could slowing the monster even more as the bullet tore through the other pus filled sphere. Just before the body could impact against them Discord grabbed Spike with his tail picking him up against the body. Spike lifted the shield just as the tendriled claw hit the surface of it. The impact shot through the shield and forced the body above the entrance door where it made a squishy sound and slowly trailed down the wall leaving behind a bloody trail of crushed tissue.

“I-is it… dead?” Spike cautiously asked when he noticed the ceiling was getting closer only ten hooves away from reaching Discord’s head. The monster decided to get back up as it started to mutate once again losing all mobility as it turned into a mass of flesh and teeth held together merely by viscera and shadows.

Discord looked around for any exits due to the entrance now being blocked by the bulbous remains of a very persistent stalker. The walls were all bare and the only secret passage looking mechanism turned out to be a ‘rocks fall, everyone dies’ trap.

“Look!”

Discord turned the direction that Spike’s claw was pointing in as the door with the cutie mark was now glowing. The ceiling was going slower now as the monster used the closer leverage to pull itself towards the pair inch by inch. Discord ran for the door while Spike shot out any fireballs he could muster. Discord shot the last two bullets as well mostly in a vain attempt to seriously wound the beast. It ignored every blow and pulled itself nearer. Discord threw open the door jumping out as the ceiling finally gave way and slammed into the monster crushing it to a fine paste while the pair found themselves in a familiar room.

Freya floated above them while the door behind them disappeared sealed forever with the monster finally taken care or. Freya stared at them silently hovering above their heavily wounded bodies.

WELCOME BACK DID YOU MEET WITH THE BOSSES. OH… SEEMS YOU HAVE BEEN INJURED SHALL I HEAL YOU?

Spike let out a muffled voice of affirmation while Discord just nodded tiredly. A glow of pink mist emanated from her and seeped into the wounds they had revitalizing them yet they were still tired and hungry. Freya shot out another beam scanning over the two. Her eyes shined between blue and red before settling back down to pink.

I SHALL PREPARE A MEAL FOR YOU TWO BEFORE YOU HEAD INTO MEET WITH THE BOSSES. HEH, YOU ALMOST BECAME A DISCORD SANDWICH, WHILE YOU ALMOST BECAME A SPIKED CLUB.

Discord chuckled slightly while Spike waved it off. Discord then noticed that his weapon was gone yet the shield was still around. Then it disintegrated into dust leaving the jewel behind. The room glowed an eerie light as the gem floated to a certain spot on the floor. A beam of light shined out and the gem was absorbed into the ground leaving behind an imprint of the cutie mark in the floor glowing at intermittent times. Freya didn’t even notice and went to work on whatever they needed.

“So Spike care to join the land of the living yet? You shouldn’t look so stiff there. You got a good head on your shoulders and we’ve already made enough heads roll. You really heat up the fans don’t ya? Left them a real burning desire to light up the night huh?” Discord stifled his laughter keeping a smug smirk on his lips. Spike looked up smiling but the annoyance was clear on his face.

“You’ve been waiting to use those since we were in there, weren’t you?” Spike glared at him only allowing a small amount of amusement in his grin.

“Tartarus I’ve been wanting levity since we entered that door but can’t always have a gem ready for the witty one liners and suave dialogue. I am an actor here.” Spike just blinked at the statement utterly confused by what he meant then filed it under the Pinkie clause. ‘Don’t think about it. Thinking about it will only lead to migraines and aneurysms.’

Freya came back shortly afterwards. In her magic she held a plate of a vegetarian delight dish. Sauteed to near perfection the two greedily wolfed down every morsel on the plate. She also gave a small bowl of gems to Spike. The assorted collection of rubies and amethysts soon disappeared as well.

NOW THAT YOU ARE FED WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE NEXT DOOR. I CAN USE MY MAGIC TO RELIEVE YOU OF FATIGUE? ITS RIGHT OVER THERE.

The pair looked up to see the door glowing brightly within the darkened room. On the door was emblazoned a cloud with a red, yellow and blue shaped lightning bolt. The next room was Rainbow Dash’s.

Meanwhile…

Deep within the recesses of the crystal tree and its alternate dimensional space two spheres watched in anticipation at the events around them.

ARE YOU CERTAIN WE SHOULD BE TAKING THESE PONIES SO LIGHTLY AS WE ARE. WE ARE ONLY THROWING A PITTANCE OF TROOPS AT THEM. EVEN IF THEY ARE WEAK TROOPS NUMBERS WOULD BE IN OUR FAVOR.

The bright sphere with the glowing blue eye stared down the dark sphere with the glowing red eye. It didn’t speak at first sending more energy into the worlds that it associated with. A lot of the allies they had recruited within the worlds had shown that they were ill equipped to deal with a secondary player in the mix and upped the difficulty for all involved just like the other sphere did with its own worlds.

THEY’VE EVEN COME TO NAME US AFTER THE FORCES WE GOVERN. IT IS INSULTING TO BE TREATED AS A FORCE OF NATURE RATHER THAN A SENTIENT BEING.

The dark sphere just laughed at the indignation. It finally finished its task bobbing in the air and checking in on Freya. She was a good attendant and was fully accepting the ‘conditions’ they had given her to survive.

WE ATTACKED AND PRETENDED TO KILL THEIR FRIENDS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR FACES. OF COURSE THEY’D NAME US AFTER OUR MAGICAL SIGNATURE. DO YOU REALLY THINK A NAME WOULD HAVE CHANGED ANYTHING? BESIDES YOU DECIDED TO BE NAMED HARMONIA. REAL ORIGINAL THERE.

The dark sphere reeled back shaking its body as if to released some form of tension it had. It felt the emotion in its voice take on new life and twist what was a mechanical buzz inside to a steady beat.

OF COURSE IT WOULD. IT WOULD SHOW THEM THAT THEY ARE IN A FUTILE STRUGGLE. IF I REVEALED IT THEY WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED ME IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE I PROCLAIM SANCTION OVER HARMONY AND ANY MAGICAL MEANS WHICH FLOW WITH MY POWER. BESIDES YOU CHOSE A MUCH MORE RIDICULOUS NAME. ANGRA MAINYU, SERIOUSLY? THAT IS A MOUTHFUL.

The bright sphere seemed to chuckle which went from monotonous to dripping with sarcastic delight. It shook the tension out as well but the eye seemed to betray the worry.

WHEN WE ARE FINISHED WITH THESE FACADES WE ARE CREATING OUR VESSELS WILL BE EASIER TO CONTROL. REMEMBER WE NEED THEM TO SUCCEED. ALL OF THEM TO SUCCEED SO THAT WE CAN DO WHAT WE CAME TO DO. I HAD TO DRAIN MY OWN CREATION JUST TO GIVE THOSE TWO A FIGHTING CHANCE. I DOUBT THEY NOTICED HOW YOU SLIPPED IN THAT SHIELD FOR THEM SINCE THEY WERE SO GRATEFUL FOR IT. ONE SECTION IS DONE AND ONE ELEMENT WAS FORGED. THE NEXT DOOR WILL BE ENTERED AND NOTHING WILL STOP THE FLOW SO LONG AS WE DON’T GET COCKY. IT ALSO SEEMS LIKE IT’S YOUR TURN TO DEAL WITH THEM.

The bright sphere nodded but noticed its quip was ignored. Regardless it started to pour its energy into the room the pair were about to enter creating everything they would need to get past. The dark sphere took the time to create something for them to fight back against the tides of creatures. The plan was going through as perfectly as was possible.

Author's Note

So I finished this yesterday but decided to give it some time before posting. Seems like I'll be trying to keep a steady schedule of every 2-4 days between chapters. Watch I say that now and I'm going to lose that interest but I won't I promised myself I would see this to the end.

Through the Rainbow 1

Reluctantly the pair decided to head out for the next door. Freya decided not to speak again as it floated around the room seemingly examining random objects. It still made a point of ignoring the lit floor and made efforts to avoid the section that it was in. Spike did attempt to coax her into the area a few times but she would stay out of range continually hovering around another area and screaming across the way. Discord refrained from speaking to her unless absolutely necessary due to the uncertainty that it wasn’t following orders from one of the power mad spheres probably watching them.

“Freya do you have any paper or quills?” Spike spoke up after taking a few steps away from the light.

YES HERE YOU ARE SPIKE.

Quickly taking the items in hand he wrote out a small message sending for help. He knew enough about his dragon fire magic that would allow Celestia to create a path for her to teleport through. With a puff of green fire the message managed to escape the confines of the room in a wisp of smoke. Discord didn’t smile though. With a large belch Spike spit up the message.

Return to Sender.

There were only three words left on the page. His sending had been blocked and swiftly returned to him. Discord grabbed the message tearing it up and tossing it at Freya who looked on sadly for the mess. She calmly went about cleaning the area. Nothing hostile seemed to register for her which made Discord unsure of whether or not she was even aware of anything beyond her orders.

“Let’s go Spike. I think we’re gonna be having a bit of a wild ride with Rainbow Dash.” Discord opened the now glowing door. Spike followed after him coming to a stop when he noticed just how bright the new world was.

Rolling green hills littered the horizon in every direction. In the distance was a large castle that seemed to have eyes standing on top of a very large hill. Floating even farther over the horizon was a large ship that sailed through the sky with the front seemingly have a gray mask with a single slit where eyes would be. A large red bird with golden metal feathers flew through the sky slicing apart whatever clouds got in its way. In every sense of the word this was like a dream land. Discord looked on in wonder seemingly noticing this world.

“I see this would be a place Luna would like. A lot of chaos in the world.” Discord mumbled to himself. Spike didn’t pick up on the words he said but noticed that Discord seemingly knew about this world to some extent.

“Discord what is this place?” Spike kept his eyes peeled out around the area taking in the sights with the wonder of a child in a candy shop. The smile on his face would not disappear.

“If I remember correctly this place is a land of dreams. I forget the name of the planet itself but I do remember that it held this fountain which spewed out dreams for the inhabitants so they could have peaceful nights as they slept. When I was reigning over Equestria I actually came here for a few days in order to acquire something hidden here but I was thwarted by this small blue puffball who wore a mask. Of course time dilation was in effect so I don’t remember when I did it exactly on this world. I just remember I tried about a year before Celestia and Luna confronted me with the elements.” Discord mused on the situation. He really didn’t want to be around if that blue knight wannabe was around since he could hardly defend himself as well as he did in the last world.

“So this place would be like Luna’s workshop? I mean I tried to contact Celestia already but it seems they managed to intercept my message before it could get anywhere. Maybe if we go to this Fountain of Dreams we could reach Luna?” Spike planned out what he could send if he got lucky enough.

“Maybe unless they already heard that. In which case we still do it because then they would be forced to end this floor early or we get the message out. The only problem is finding where it could be. There probably won’t be any locals here because it’s only a simulation but if this world is part of the harmony sides control then they would make something that works rather than a pastiche of random clumps of the world all stuck together. The only clues I remember were that the fountain was at the end of a rainbow.” Discord racked his brain for all the information he could remember about the world finding that he was woefully underprepared to remember anything. Spike scanned the horizon looking for a rainbow even though it hadn’t rained… there was one flowing to the east.

“I think I found it Discord. Look there’s a rainbow that seems to be heading in that direction. Let’s hurry up and get over there. I’ll run on my own this time. I don’t know why but I feel a bit stronger right now.” Spike did a few poses which caused Discord to deadpan and roll his eyes in mock amusement.

“Sure then, running. Sounds like fun, again. Next you’ll be carrying me around.” Discord took off gaining the lead over Spike. Spike ran after him being forced to carry double speed but he wasn’t getting winded. For the next couple of miles they rushed through in silence with nothing really bothering them. Discord even realized that Spike hadn’t gotten tired or complained about the constant pace they kept.

The trek through the forest became more sedate as they were forced to slow down enough to keep on pace to find the rainbow through the foliage. Discord threw Spike above the tree line every couple of steps in order to reorient their direction towards where the fountain could be. It was on the seventh time that Spike flew into the air did Discord notice something odd, When he caught Spike from his descent again he held him up to look at his back. Starlight’s cutie mark shined on his back glowing brighter whenever he exerted himself physically.

“Spike… why do you have Starlight’s cutie mark on you?” Discord could only ask the obvious question because even he didn’t understand what was going on. This went really beyond what the chaos ladened sphere could do and he doubted that the harmony one would do so as well.

“What do you mean? I have a cutie mark on me? That doesn’t make sense at all.” Spike twisted his body slightly catching sight of the purple and white stars before feeling the sharp pain in his back from twisting so much.

Discord stared at the mark uncertain by the implications. It still didn’t make any sense and he usually could figure out what was going on within a chaotic mind. After placing Spike down they came out of the forest still untouched by anything that could be hostile. There had been a tree with a face inside but it didn’t seem to want to notice them.

“Let’s just ignore it for now. It’s not doing anything wrong it’s just weird. Let’s see the next place we have to get through is… what is that?” Discord looked on at a floating star right in front of him. It just remained hovering in place. Spike cautiously approached the star and placed his claw on it.

Within seconds of touching the star Spike was warped to the right upper tip and his claws were firmly attached. Discord was about to pull him off when he felt the same warp effect pull him to the left corner forcing him to cling onto the star. It began to pulse in steady rhythm like a heartbeat before shooting off through the sky at near supersonic speeds. It tore through portions of the terrain like a knife through butter while they hurtled on towards an unknown destination. Spike just kept his eyes closed not out of fear of course. Discord barely managed to keep his eyes open due to the wind pressure. Every bounce got them closer to their destination but they also passed through a lot of angry looking animals.

The star finally came to a stop along a large mountain path releasing the two before disappearing into stardust. ‘Well that was interesting…’ Discord looked around surveying the area while Spike reaquainted himself with the ground somewhat intimately. He laughed uproariously at the sight while Spike didn’t care one bit muttering something about never flying like that again.

“Should we tell Rarity about your torrid affair with the ground?” Discord tried desperately to stifle the laughter but after the horror house on the hill debacle the levity was well deserved and a welcome sight to behold.

“She’ll understand once I tell her what I’ve been through. Should have never touched that thing.” Spike finally dusted himself off actually thinking clearly enough to justify his actions. Though he brought up a good point.

“True. Though touching that star got us closer to where the rainbow’s end is. We follow through with this path and maybe we’ll get there before the sun sets…” Both the sun and the moon were up and tackling each other. “And I thought only sunbutt and moonbutt could have their celestial bodies fight.”

The pair watched as the two fought an even battle forming blades of moonlight and beams of sunlight. Each actually looked damaging as the impacts against the ground whenever they missed gouged out a generous amount of the planet. Quickly looking around Spike found a doorway in the middle of the sky. Above the entrance was a large orange star while the outer edges glowed and sparkled.

“Discord let’s use this doorway over here. Maybe we can get past them.” Discord looked towards the doorway also noting the orange star but with a flick of his paw urged Spike to take point. With that bit of encouragement the two went through the door and wound up in a small room covered in spikes with a rotating platform swinging through the openings. Spike groaned as he buried his face in his claws. Discord merely looked more alert at that point.

“Hm… that’s weird.” Discord looked around eagerly looking for the disturbance he was feeling. There was a small trace of magic in the air feeling the same as it would in Equestria. Without warning he jumped onto the platform following through the path while Spike waited down below.

A twist to the left, constant ducking, and a difficult maneuver to jump over larger spikes finally bore fruit as a platform stood over him. Climbing to the top Discord started to search for the cause of the magical aura. The area was surrounded with broken pillars and statues of small creatures with blank faces. They looked like puffballs but none of them had a mouth. The one near the center instead had one large eye in the center of it’s face. Below the statue on the pedestal was a glowing spear. Strangely the tip of the spear was a lightning bolt coming out of a cloud in the same exact shape and color of Rainbow’s cutie mark.

“You have got to be kidding me. I am not that, damn it all. You buckers are not allowed to call me that and I will be damned to Tartarus before I ever follow your views of me. I’m not touching that… thing.” Discord adamantly refused to be anywhere near the weapon which was ignored when he noticed that the spear was stuck to his griffon claw.

“Let go of me you monstrous little piece of shit. I will not be reduced to that role. Even if Spike enjoys his role I will not fall for your infantile attempts to shunt me off to the side.” Discord chucked the spear away only for it to rematerialize back in his claw. It was stuck to him.
The implications of the spear were not lost on him and he hated it with a passion. Without wasting a beat he kept trying to throw the spear away not realizing that something was warping in behind him. A small pony like figure with a white coat, red eye, and no other facial features stood behind him watching him. It did not move nor even attempt to make a sound as it tilted its head quizzically at the sight. It then disappeared before Discord turned around and made it’s way off into the ether.

“Ugh… Fine it comes with me.” The spear floated and attached itself to Discord’s back. He didn’t know whether or not to be impressed or annoyed at the foresight of what was most likely their design. The rotating wooden platform came back allowing Discord to ride it back down to Spike who was waiting calmly by the orange star door. When he saw the spear he pointed a finger at the spear.

“Don’t ask. I just found it up there and it looked important. It’s probably going to be like the shield and when we get back it will open another section.” Discord deadpanned wistfully rolling his eyes.

“Is that their plan? I mean this seems overly complicated and could get us killed.” Spike pointed out the obvious problems with the plan and how random it would be.

“I’m guessing that the reason they did it is because they were banking on our want to live and the necessity of us finding these items. Probably they also suppress what we can do whenever we are in the room with Freya. I don’t know how yet but this is an elaborate plan with overly complicated means to accomplish this.” Discord thought back to anyway they could get out of the problem but nothing came to mind.

“Maybe its best we follow their plan for now. We can’t get out of here and those two things are making sure we will finish this problem. They have the power to tear us out of the very air whenever they want.” Spike ushered Discord down to whisper into his ear. Discord looked incredulously at the idea but his frown turned to a smile leaving Spike a bit unnerved when he stopped explaining his plan.

“Well who knew you could be so malicious about this. Heh heh heh…” The smirk on his face was full of joy. Spike kept quiet after that hoping against hope he would forget it sometime soon. They entered the orange door and returned back to the battlefield between the sun and moon. With reluctance Discord withdrew the spear and kept it in front of him while the pair tried to make it past the battleground. They made it five steps when the sun slammed down from the sky and stood in front of them. It was strangely as tall as Discord making it even weirder to see the arms on it.

The sun pointed at the pair before it stopped and went slack jawed as its eyes started to glow a bright blue. The moon came down as well touching down on its legs but it also went slack jawed and had the same colored eyes. The two split back up but kept hovering around the area staring at the pair.

The sun burst into a blinding fireball made of pure light and slammed right where the pair was standing. Discord used the spear slamming the sun away from slamming into them as Spike got away. The sun burst into light and swapped with the moon who started to toss blades made of moonlight at Discord. Spike took the initiative and started to breathe a steady stream of fire burning the blades into dust. The moon spun its body after all the blades were gone shooting out to the pair. Spike kept up the fire breath putting pressure on the moon before being knocked to the side on impact.

Discord thrust the tip of the spear into the moon and discovered to his surprise that electricity coursed through the tip and shocked the moon into submission. It swapped place with the sun though cracks had appeared in its shape. Spike stood back up revealing only a few bruises on his scales leaving him mostly unharmed. The mark on his back was glowing brightly.

“That didn’t hurt as much… Discord look out!” Spike was still too winded from being hit to help out.

Discord spun around bringing the spear back up just as the sun used its light to try to burn him. He barely managed to get away suffering only the most minor of burns. With a flick of his claw he tossed the spear into the sun. It also cracked at that point fleeing into the sky. The two celestial bodies came down together and tried to slam into Discord. Spike took that chance to breath fire back on the moon causing it to stop it’s charge. With that chance Discord tumbled out of the way escaping a fiery body blow. A quick thrust of the spear found the tip stuck in it’s body.

The two took to circling the pair before they charged up the same white light that had struck them. A large beam of energy shot out of both of them strike in mid air low enough to hit Discord’s body. Spike and Discord hit the floor keeping their heads down as the pair of celestial bodies spun around keeping the beam centered over them. They wouldn’t stop.

Taking a chance Spike crawled forward to the edge of the arena and with a few more rotations shot out a fireball whenever the moon passed by. Three more spins and three more shots caused the moon to flinch which made the beam from the sun hit it dead on. The moon returned to the sky fully cracked and out of the fight while the sun was forced to power down and return to attacking on its own. The blue light disappeared from its eyes and it began to frantically look around utterly confused.

When it saw the moon though it forgot about its confusion and spun to Discord with the clear intent of beating him to death if the glare was anything to go by. Discord used his height to the advantage lowering his stance and thrusting the spear out to stab the sun repeatedly. A few dozen more caused the sun to rejoin the moon in the sky and slam into each other bursting into a shower of stars. With the destruction of those celestial bodies the two feared the worse… only to realize that it was still bright and nothing in particular was happening to the world. There was no eternal darkness nor were there a sudden flash fire of the atmosphere from the sun exploding within the planet’s surface. All that happened was that another star appeared ready to take them to their next location.

“That was odd… We’re gonna have to go back to those crazy speeds again aren’t we?” Spike rubbed his temples keeping his claw tips away from his scales. The pressure soothed the tension he felt but the migraine was still forthcoming. He looked towards Discord who was examining the spear closer.

“This thing channels lightning… I wonder.” He jutted the spear up into the air and a cloud came out of the tip. It wasn’t white and fluffy either. Instead the cloud looked pink and stringy… like cotton candy. His eyes shot wide open as he waited a bit to see what else it could do. Nothing happened.

“Maybe you need to tap it with the spear again?” Spike added hastily shouting out the first thing that came to mind.

Discord complied and tapped the cloud again with the spear. A small drizzle occurred leaving a few puddles to form on the ground. It was by no means a torrential typhoon of epic proportions just a small rainstorm. The smell of chocolate filled the air though. Discord genuinely smiled in actual joy as one of his powers had returned albeit through the means of a medium but it had returned. While it wasn’t his strongest ability the mundane uses for cotton candy clouds actually proved to be more beneficial than he once thought. Pinkie especially found good uses for them during her multiple parties.

“Well that is something special. Perhaps I misjudged this spear too much. Anyways get ready to hold on for your life once again Spike. This is gonna be a wild ride!” Discord grabbed the star forcing the two to warp to each of their respective corners. After a small buildup it shot out through the air leading ever closer to the supposed location of the rainbow.

Meanwhile…

The small white pony shaped thing flew around creating more shadows to gather around and stop the pair from escaping. It didn’t know what the reason was nor why it should care more for the pair’s interference rather than taking over the planet. It felt that it was important. The shadows created more pony shaped creatures all in the form of the pony who had nearly killed it the first time. The memory etched into its mind of a rainbow colored pegasus who hit it so hard that the unthinkable happened. The bandage on its chest still burned from the impact and even it’s final stand did nothing to turn the tide.

Each shadow pony had a streamlined wingspan and several yellow petals surrounding their necks. Only one eye was visible on each and they strangely glowed blue. Ignoring the face the thing managed to give them all rainbow colored manes though all in muted colors of various grayscale tones. It was just enough to recognize that they were meant to symbolize a rainbow. After finishing it’s task it flew off soaring towards the Fountain of Dreams ready to enact another plan if the pair even got that close.

A whole squadron of fifty shadows took off with a few going on an intercourse path with the star hoping to knock the two out of the sky and to their deaths.

Spike felt sick to his stomach. While he didn’t lose his lunch he still didn’t want to ride another star into the unknown. The area around them seemed to be covered in ice and snow. The landscape would have been beautiful had there not been several ponies flying through the sky directly at them. Several dived directly at the pair while a few hovered back ready to join should anything happen. Spike wasted no time to shut off his mind from the constant supersonic shenanigans and shot out multiple fireballs into the air to dissuade the attacking force. His height took a toll on his aim though forcing the arcs to be too low to actually hit anything. Discord picked him up with his tail once again and with a little squeeze managed to coax him into releasing a stream of fire over the closer attackers. A few managed to break off in time but others didn’t landing in a heap of ash on the ground. The shadows on the ground coalesced back into a single pony.

“Well at least they’ll run out of bodies soon enough.” Discord spoke while Spike just panted from the over extended breath attack. With a small leap he began to run ahead of the attacking force leading them through the icy fields while diving into random star doors all in an attempt to shake a few off. They never missed a beat following close behind the pair.

Whenever he had a chance Spike would blast another stream of fire knocking a few more down which would coalesce back into a singular pony. Strangely they kept this tactic up even as the numbers began to dwindle down to single digits. Each door would lead to another set falling and the constant shifting left both out of breath. One from retreat and one from defense yet they never stopped loyally believing that they would be able to cover for one another.

“Can’t… puff… breathe… huff… anymore… wheeze… fire… “ Spike’s heavy breathing and the attempts he made to make more fire fell short as smoke was all that came out of his maw. Discord set him down just as they hit another room that appeared to be an arena. Spike hadn’t even noticed what they had run through just to get there.

“I’m surprised you managed to stop so many of them even though we were speeding through the area. Did you see any of the things we passed,” Discord paused while Spike tiredly shook his head in the negative. “ Well, there were multiple snowpony creatures which seemed to move on their own power. A few living sparks with white gloves hovered around the area. I think the terrain was the strangest out of everything due to all the constant shifting angles and even that large snowball that tried to crush us at one point. Thankfully your fire managed to make it small enough for me to break apart before it hit us.”

Spike nodded, not out of affirmation, but out of agreement to the statement. He hadn’t even seen what had occurred during the trek. The entire time he had focused on the enemies attacking him and the strange appearance they had, Even though he didn’t hesitate attacking the group he did notice what they looked like. Each bore a strange coincidental appearance to Rainbow Dash yet in a muted grayscale. It was the eye that told him how much worse they were as they glowed the same blue that had taken over the sun and moon creatures that had been fighting each other. In fact, they had made the pair far more aggressive just like the shadow ponies they had run from.

Five of those shadow ponies had flown in and landed across from the pair. These looked to be the only one that had survived the onslaught yet something about them seemed odd. Each seemed to chitter with each other as if they were part of a hive. One of the things he had asked Thorax about when they first met was how changelings talk to each other whenever they needed to keep quiet. The lesson behind that led to a detailed explanation of how some changelings used their wings to create hypersonic frequencies which could alert another drone and only that drone depending on how fast their wings were beating. It had left a ringing in his ears but for some reason he understood a bit of what was being said. Thorax had used his wing to say his name a couple times. Spike listened carefully while the mark on his back glowed once again.

Strike from the sides.

Strike from above.

Aim for the tall one.

Two, one, two then repeat.

Spike had heard their battle plan though it was limited. He didn’t know which ones would attack first or which would do what move. Discord, unfortunately, was the only one standing while Spike needed to catch his breathe from the constant use of his fire. He was tired once again and needed some form of rest. Discord, while smirking, kept his eyes constantly shifting while sweat dripped from his brow. The cold was still all around his leaving him chilled to the bone.

“Discord… huff… two, one then two. That’s… puff… attack plan.” Spike managed to choke up the instructions he overheard softly enough to not draw attention. Discord merely nodded as the farthest two of the pack jumped into the air hovering in place. The two buzzed straight up into the air before diving down and coming from the front. The spear swung out too fast spinning in his hands forcing the two down to the ground where they got back up almost immediately and joined the group. The pony in the center was the strangest as the eye traveled down onto its stomach and opened up revealing multiple rows of teeth circling the maw and chomping in tandem with each other. Instantly the shadow flung itself for only to land on the tip of the spear and convulse from the electrical current flowing through it. The other two took their chance flying up while the two galloped full speed to tackle Discord down. The one on the spear kept hold of it subjecting itself to more electricity.

While Spike couldn’t keep breathing fire it didn’t leave him fully incapacitated. Finding a bit of stamina left he got to his feet rushing past Discord and lunging for the closest one. He managed to build up enough speed and with the power he was feeling he managed to tackle the one he had into the other galloper. With the small distraction Discord used the entire shadow pony to smack the two flyers away. Spike jumped back up and quickly backpedaled next to him. Even with all the damage they took none of the creatures dissipated.

“Well this is going well now isn’t it? Can you breath fire yet Spike?” The shadow pony on the spear finally did fade into shadows instead siphoning itself into the remaining four. They all seemed to grow a bit larger while the eye that each had glowed brighter.

“Not yet. Need a bit more time or a gem. A gem would be so great right now… “ Spike hadn’t saved any gems from his meal. ‘Damn hindsight is trying to kill me here. Why didn’t I save any Celestia damned gems.’

The remaining four didn’t waste time seeing as one of their own was lost once again. Each one fluttered around the pair zooming by at incredible speeds ready to strike at any moment. Spike was picked up in Discord’s tail and leveled with the flying pests.

“I got one left with that small amount of rest. Keep me level.” Spike took in a deep breath and fighting through the cough burped up a stream of fire through the shadow’s flight path. Two caught fire falling down to the floor and writhing around in pain as they dissolved into shadows joining with the other two which stopped flying and taking stock of their situation.

Before they could move Discord summoned a cotton candy cloud and flung it at the two. One managed to sidestep the ordeal while the other got trapped in the sugary trap. The free one flew back just as the spear tip touched the cloud electrocuting the trapped shadow. It too dissipated and rejoined the main shadow. The baleful glare of the last shadow settled on Discord who only stared back with a notoriously evil smirk waiting for it to make its move.

Spike had managed to get free laying on the ground next to him. His gasps of breath were loud and labored. That last stream of fire had taken everything out of him leaving him the mess he was on the ground. Discord took notice but kept standing in place until the threats were gone.

The shadow flew up into the air releasing the petals around its neck as they homed in on Spike’s prone body. Discord pushed his body away as they got close and swung the spear wildly around to stop them from getting through. One managed to break through the flurry of untrained swings and force Discord to the ground with a mild explosion. Stunned and on the ground, the shadow took its chance and charged up energy within the eye which had taken its place back on the chest of the equine shadow. The dark energy with the soft blue light formed into a lightning bolt and struck out for Discord.

Spike had managed to crawl back over to Discord forcing the arm that held the spear up. The tip had reached the apex of its fall and intercepted the lightning absorbing the magical energy into it. The shadow got off guard by the sudden blocking of its power caused the eye to burn a bright blue as the whole body was caught in an ethereal blue fire which burst out from its very core.

As it flew straight up into the air repositioning itself for a dive bomb run Spike poked at Discord to jolt him from his near unconscious state. After a few unsuccessful attempts Spike punched his shoulder jolting him awake. A little angry Discord got back up noticing the large black dot in the sky hurtling down at them. Groggily getting back to his feet he readied the spear angling it just right.

A cone of air had appeared around the shadow as the g-forces manage to make its features stretch. Within a burst of light a monochromatic rainboom occurred. At the same time the spear flew for the target. Minutes turned to seconds as the spear and the shadow hurtled towards each other unable to stop or turn at the last moment. Only speed mattered at that point and speed turned out to be bad for the shadow in question.

The tip of the spear pierced through the eye skewering the shadow at high speeds as it burst into a shadowy cloud disintegrating just as the burst of light and sound hit the two leaving them to duck just to hold their ground against the force being projected against them. Then the two fell over exhausted and unable to move.

“I think Rainbow would have enjoyed that… It was awesome.” Spike sheepishly mentioned before snoring took over.

“Yeah she probably would…” Discord passed out as well.

For now they would be safe. A short nap would alleviate their worries and the aches they gained from the long drawn out conflict. Fatigue had taken its course and the night soon enveloped the space where the two passed out. Small brown creatures with eyes shining with pure innocence found them while the leader, an orange being with a bandana on its head saw them. With a wave of its arm blankets and pillows were given to the two as the regular ones kept patrol of the night sky.

The white pony shaped being felt all its kin destroyed. Standing in front of the Fountain of Dreams it started to gather its energy once again. Small cuts appeared all over its body as blood seeped from the wounds and into the waters of the fountain. The rainbow slowly corroded and turned an ever deeper blood red. There would be no more dreams.

Through the Rainbow 2

Nothing. There was nothing left to see but an inky blackness surrounding him. Spike let wasn’t even having nightmares. There were no dreams either leaving him stuck in a restless loop of monotony. They had just finished fighting off something that couldn’t be explained and they had been speeding through an ice area. Spike tried to think of anything but the dream remained dark and quiet. He couldn’t even call it a dream due to nothing even flowing in through his mind. It was causing him a load of restlessness.

Discord was confused. These were not his normal sleep conditions and they certainly weren’t giving him the normal amount of insight he usually had. Usually there were about twenty voices calling for his attention and several moments where the council would come up with a random idea that would evolve into a chaotic revolution of fantastic proportions. There was nothing but darkness not even peace which while he loathsome was be something other than darkness. Nothing happened. Order was placed on the front burner and taken to an extreme that shouldn’t have been possible. Still he felt strangely warm even though they had been stuck in a frozen over arena only now he wasn’t.

For several minutes the small creatures stood around waiting for anything to happen. A few held on to parasols and spears but the one with the bandanna stood ever vigilant for the two before him. He didn’t know why he was doing this but it felt like something that needed to be done. He didn’t have the same drive as his friends to be the best but he knew what kind of danger there was behind the appearance of the shadow creatures he saw. They were similar to the Rainbow Drops Incident and the Heart Stars Incident. The two warriors before him at least seemed to be on the level and it had been a while since he had seen the others after the mirror showed problems. There was too much going on right now and the two were starting to stir awake.

With a frantic wave of his arms all the creatures dispersed away from the arena leaving only the orange one to deal with the two. Spike’s eyes fluttered open first revealing a lit up arena and the sight of smoke trailing into the air. Twisting around he noted a passed out Discord and some weird orange creature wearing a bandanna. Panic wanted to wisp through his body but fatigue told him to shut up and calmly figure things out.

‘Ok. We’re rested and not dead so that’s good. That thing doesn’t have any teeth so it’s not gonna eat us most likely. Discord is passed out still so I’m on my own...Can I breath any fire yet…?’ Spike mentally inspected his body noting that he felt better now that there had been some rest. It was still strange that he didn’t dream that night but he could ignore it for now. He was ready to defend himself if need be but he didn’t feel anything hostile around him. So he waited keeping his breathing even and pretending to still be sleeping. The quiet allowed him to really think about all the problems they would need to get by after this room. After all this time they had barely finished one room and that was all based on luck rather than skill. Also if the draconequus was correct then they were also being force fed the scenarios for some nefarious reason that could not be explained. The word targets came back to him but the significance of it was lost on him.

Broken from his musings Discord woke up stretching out from the confines of the blanket that was surrounding him. Looking around he spotted the small orange creature then looked to Spike who was staring at it as well. Neither said anything as it looked back at them. The look in its eyes drew their attention due to the circumstances behind their slumber. It was one of bemused curiosity.

“Um… hi?” Spike spoke first waving his claw. The creature waved back keeping a silent vigil on the two. ‘Ok. Friendly, got it.’

Discord waved as well a smile across his face yet it seemed forced. ‘Is it an inhabitant or was it created in its image?’ He couldn’t figure it out due to how complicated the plan seemed to be. He didn’t notice any trace of harmony or chaos magic on the being or the ones that were hiding around the area. Still, there had been a lot happening that day… night… ‘In this realm day and night have no real meaning and we could be comatose for all that matters.’

Spike stood up first and raise his claw towards the orange creature. It did the same and somehow managed to speak.

“Bandanna Dee.”

“Spike. Nice ta meet ya.”

He nodded and pointed at Discord raising an eyebrow as if asking a question.

“This is Discord. We’re here to uh… find a specific door that has the same marking as that spear tip. We think it might be in the vicinity of the Fountain of Dreams. Think you could help us?” Spike smiled sheepishly at his request. It was a small request but there were too many unknowns for Spike to be sure of. Bandanna Dee seemed to stroke at a non-existent beard on its face as if lost in thought.

“I haven’t seen anything like that. I could at least lead you to the fountain though. Truthfully since I saw you fight the shadows that had appeared I was hoping you could help me out with a smaller problem. Y’see there has been this weird flying pony thing with a white coat and a red eye floating around here messing with our homes. He kind of wanted me to deal with some of it while the others are away in the mirror.” Bandanna Dee looked a bit down from the impossible task before him.

“I see… , “ Spike looked to Discord who only shrugged but added a subtle nod if only to get through this quicker and hopefully with less running. “We could help out if we could get to the fountain faster. Know any way to get there?”

Bandanna Dee took in the scene before him. The two in front of him were really strange looking but they also were able to deal with all the shadows if the reports by Blade Knight were something to trust by. He nodded and the group was assailed by the countless waddle dees that littered the area. Each seemed ready to contribute something to the endeavor but none spoke aside from Bandana Dee. Discord had finally gotten up and stretched out the spear magically attached to his back leaving a few stunned faces but they went back to work on their plans.

“Honestly the faster way to get to the fountain right now is to take a specialty warp star. Give us a few minutes and we can probably get something together.” Bandanna Dee prepared to run off only to be stopped by a purple claw.

“Wait can you answer something for me?” Spike managed to cry out. He knew the risks with his question but it had to be asked and needed to be done while the threat level was low enough that it wouldn’t cause too many problems for them in the first place. Discord scowled at the scene but made no move to stop him. It needed to be asked and it would confirm just what the two spheres were doing. Bandanna Dee waited for a bit.

“Have you heard of Rainbow Dash?” The question hung in the air silence held its hand the whole way through.

“You mean Captain Dash? Yeah I heard of her. She’s also in the mirror right now but there would be no way to get there right now. The mirror went missing after that so I don’t know when they would get back.” Bandanna Dee spoke with a bit of reverence in his voice surprising the two immensely.

“Discord, could we make it to her safely?” Spike eagerly wanted to get to one of his friends without having to deal with the other problems that were going on at that point.

“No. Knowing them now that we asked we wouldn’t make it and probably would be tossed from the world. Still this is good information to know right now. They are forcefully putting us in close proximity to the others for some reason even though we could manage to find them right away. Let’s continue with your plan while we help her out another way. She doesn’t want to come back to something horrible like this since she is a napping addict.” Discord coughed up his opinion but he was actually glad to know what it was that the spheres were able to do. Each door suddenly became more akin to a moment in time rather than a simulation of the area. Still Spike sulked a bit at the options before him. He knew the risks as well from his question and the fact that they were probably being watched.

“I guess you know her. She talks about her friends a lot though. Let’s see… Oh I remember. She’ll be glad to see you when she gets back. For now let’s go handle this problem and make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.” Bandanna Dee motioned behind him as a much larger warp star was dragged into view.

Spike grimaced at the sight before him feeling a lurching in his stomach as everything started gurgling in protest. Discord merely grunted in dissatisfaction. A weary sigh was released as both touched the star followed by the third arm as the three were teleported to their positions on the star. After a slight charge up the star shot out into the sky and zoomed directly for the rainbow while the waddle dees all waved their goodbyes to the cosmic object shooting across the heavens.

Strangely enough the trip was smoother than the other two times they had traveled by star. Spike managed to control himself better and Discord kept his grip easier due to the larger size of the star. The spanning horizon of the planet was quite the breathtaking sight as a cornucopia of different areas sprawled before their eyes. Cascading deserts which ranged into sheer cliff walls that suddenly froze the higher they got. Those mountains led into extensive oceans which seemed to go on for miles while littered with islands of various states of weather. This was turned into pure awe as the Rainbow Resort came into view and the vast array of colors which put even Cloudsdale to shame came into view.

The whole resort was bathed in a fountains of liquid rainbow which created their own paths made entirely out of light. Those paths were solid as well allowing the creatures of the world to walk over them with no problem at all. That sight confused Spike so much that he buried his face into his claws just to try and make sense of this world.

‘Only pegasi can do that right? But those guys are doing it so easily… This world’s clouds could support others… brain hurts so much… ‘ Spike looked up as the warp star came hurtling down to the ground below. Then it slowed down immensely allowing the three to step off before reforming and hovering in place. ‘No. No thinking not anymore.’ Spike had turned off his brain from the impossibilities he saw around him.

“I wonder if Dash had a conniption when she saw the clouds around here. The look on her face would have been priceless.” Discord’s guffawing laughter distracted him from his own thoughts allowing Spike some semblance of understanding. Mostly he wanted to laugh and forget his own thoughts which he did.

“Yeah she freaked out after Twilight gave Rarity wings to walk on clouds and such. Hopefully she didn’t turn into a nervous wreck or so I was told.” Spike remembered the story he was told when Dash had gotten a bit crazy and delayed her own performance to the last possible second.

“Never knew that about the captain. Guess I’ll be able to needle her about it now. Let’s go then. The king gave me one of the keys to this place so we can just zoom right in. I gotta warn you though that we shouldn't swim in the fountain that would mess with the dreams later so stay away from the water.” Bandanna Dee spoke up as he brandished a parasol for some reason. Discord looked on slightly bemused while Spike just stared questioningly.

Spike didn’t speak up though mostly due to not having his own weapon. Since he lost the shield he had felt a little awkward. The shield had proven itself to be very useful in keeping them alive. The spear Discord had gotten seemed to have such cool powers as if it was tailor made for him to wield. Yet the shield seemed off though he couldn’t put a claw on it. It was a good support… something his time as an assistant built into him. He quickly shook his thoughts away as the others were walking away into the resort,

“So what do you know about this monster that had been around?” Discord quietly asked as he felt the fur on the back of his neck bristle in annoyance.

“Not a lot. It’s just as soon as the king saw it he clammed up and said ‘no more possession for me!’ which left me utterly confused. He sent me out to deal with the problem even though it would have been better to send the others but he’s been a bit stubborn lately. Anyways they were already on a mission of sorts when this creature came out and destroyed the Lololo Islands. That was really scary.” Bandanna Dee shuddered to the point his whole body was shaking on the spot.

“So it could destroy islands then? Why did he get freaked out from that thing?” Spike wondered if there was more to this then they had been told but he couldn’t rightly ignore it since it would hurt one of his friends.

“He didn’t say much about it when I did question him about it. Though he was confused that I didn’t remember. When he said that I could only think of one thing but it should have been dead.” Bandanna Dee answered solemnly staring off into the distance.

Neither of the two tried to break his wistful mood. The conversation had taken long enough that they finally made it into the main fountain room. When they walked in though the very sight left them speechless. The entire fountain was bathed in red as the rainbows slowly started to be corrupted as well. The waters seeped out of the fountain covering the entire floor in the viscous solution which smelled of copper. Spike could tell that this was somewhere he didn’t want to be at the moment but his legs wouldn’t allow him to run.

Discord peeked behind them only to find the entrances in blocked by white energy oscillating at various speeds. Bandana Dee flailed his arms in surprise when his view was forced up when the sound of something being ripped apart caught his attention. There was the pony shaped creature convulsing as part of its body changed. A sickly green tail broke out of the flank covered in thorns while the wing tips extended into blood covered tips. Tears broke around its coat as more blood seeped out of the wounds. The eye soon focused on the three before it.

“Zero… “ Bandanna Dee brought up his parasol hiding behind it as the creature came closer to the ground. Its baleful gaze settled on Discord especially.

“I see it remembers me… Well horseapples.” Discord muttered as he tumbled to the sides running away from the globs of blood that shot out of Zero’s body. Each changed into shards of crystallized blood which shot out quickly piercing the area where he had been moments ago. Spike ran forward keeping out of range of where the shards impacted managing to reach Bandanna Dee who stood in place deflecting the shards as they hit the parasol. The two hid as Discord managed to find his own cover of one of the multitudes of star sculptures that littered the area.

“Spike!”

“Yeah!?”

“Covering fire now!” Discord summoned a few cotton candy clouds sending them careening into Zero only for them to be sliced to ribbons by the shards of blood. Spike fared better with his own fire shooting out fireballs against the monster. It’s coat was unaffected by the fire. Spike kept firing anyways as his fear took hold making the projectiles fling out wildly. Before he had to catch his breath one impacted on the left wing setting it entirely on fire bursting into an inferno and cooking the tips into blackened ash. It’s attention was turned back to the diminutive dragon as Bandanna Dee ran forward with his parasol

The shards shot out faster sending the two skidding back from the sheer force of projectiles smashing against the parasol. Spike tried to assist as well only for his claws tearing through the ground leaving large grooves in solid stone. Even with the two working together their combined weight wasn’t something to write home about. As Zero flew in closer a piece of cotton candy touched the blackened wingtip causing it to writhe around from the sudden touch. As it turned back to Discord the spear flew true into the eye. It fluttered around wildly as the spear disappeared from its now torn eye leaving nothing but viscera to slide down whatever constituted as it’s chin.

Discord looked on proudly. He was reluctant to do so but he was getting better with the spear. Rustiness no longer could be his crutch from the constant attacks he had suffered the day before. At least he assumed it was the day before. Time made no sense when dealing with ancient entities that seemed to want to do something utterly violent.

As the blood seeped out of the eye it blackened and mixed into the shards four of the shards took position around Zero before firing out lightning blasts at random positions. Bandana tried to block the bolt with Spike’s help only for the lightning to use the metal prong as a lightning rod. The electricity course through the parasol and into his arm sending him convulsing before entering Spike as well. While he was a dragon with incredible durability, if he did say so himself, the amount of volts that seemed to course through caused him to foam at the mouth from the intensity.

Dazed, the two fell over twitching slightly as the parasol was tightly gripped in place keeping them protected any stray projectiles though it was still only facing in one direction. Discord cursed under his breath and started to chuck the spear at Zero not really aiming in particular. He needed it to focus on him just long enough. A shard then hit his shoulder grazing it slightly.

‘Crap… when the tartarus did I step out of cover?’ Remembering about the dangers that the shards possessed he ran further away from his fallen friends taking the time to chuck the spear as a distraction. The wild tosses never managed to reach the right height to hit Zero who stayed out of range and seemingly was smiling if the curve the cut on its eye was making was true.

It flung itself forward following after Discord making sure to fire out as many shards as it possibly could while the lightning started getting more accurate managing to only be stopped by the spear tip which seemed to purify the black lighting whenever the two energies touched. With the temporary stop gap of the spear keeping him safe he ducked into the area closest to the fountain using it for cover. The shards bounced off the outer shell of the fountain keeping Discord from running into the them as he circled around the walls.

Spike had managed to toss off his paralysis for the most part. His tail wasn’t responding and neither was his left claw. It was shocking to say the least which he then mentally berated himself for the stupid pun at his expense. Bandana Dee was in worse shape though. The parasol was ruined and he wasn’t moving much except for the light spasms and shuddering breath he managed to release. It took a lot of coaxing and some prodding but Spike managed to get Bandana Dee sitting up once again. While still suffering from the dizziness he managed to push himself back to his feet. With the parasol destroyed he ripped the material off and unscrewed the handle forming a makeshift spear.

“You’re really good at this sort of thing huh?” Spike stared at the weapon slightly impressed by how fast he was recovering.

“Kind of. I haven’t been fighting long but when you’ve worked for some of the strongest beings here in Dream Land you figure out that maybe you need to get tougher to keep those you care about safe, or at least not feel like baggage, y’know.” Bandana Dee seemed to sigh at his own response before running off for the fountain.

Spike remembered his own past. Until the events of the Crystal Empire he knew just how that felt. Even then that feeling never truly went away. He sympathized with Bandanna Dee but quickly pushed out the emotions. That thing was still working to kill off Discord at least and he needed to help deal with it.

Discord managed to work his way to another level of the fountain forcing Zero to follow into the enclosed places. As they rounded one of the other pools of water Discord sprung out from cover tossing the spear as hard as he possibly could. It flew straight and true… only to strike against Zero’s shoulder. It was still smiling through the tear on its eyes and never lost that expression as it hovered around firing off more shards which Discord barely managed to dodge. It was getting better at leading it’s shots.

As it got closer a fireball shot out hitting the still intact wing setting it ablaze. Without wasting the chance before him another cotton candy cloud was formed and flung on the blaze. Writhing around Zero tried to reorient itself only to find its wings nearly charred making flying difficult to accomplish. Disoriented and unable to keep up its speed Zero didn’t sense the small puff ball above him as Bandana Dee pulled his makeshift spear into a downward thrust shoving it into Zero’s back and throwing him down to the ground. It slammed into the fountain and bounced off into the dream waters below leaving nothing more than the shards and scorch marks behind.

“Well that was a thing. We can purify the fountain with the Star Rod I think. Let’s head up for the top and use it.” Bandanna Dee wiped the sweat from his head as the winded Spike merely nodded in agreement and Discord shakily chuckled climbing around the field of shards left behind.

Battered and torn Zero stayed within the fountain water trying to ease the strain that it left on its new body. The only reason that he had gotten the new body eluded him as the pain was unimaginably horrible. The sight of a dragon and weird goat headed creature burned in what was left of its sight.

As the three made it to the top of the fountain the skies around began to burn in a harsher red light. The rainbows were almost all corrupted and only the Star Rod remained. The last beacon shined brightly at the top releasing whatever dreams it could manage. Then Bandana Dee removed it. The fountain became fully corrupted within seconds. With a heavy sigh he pushed the star into the water and chanted a small phrase unheard by both Spike and Discord. The blood that was flowing through the waters began to churn and bubble as light poured throughout the many pools of dreams forcing the corruption off the rainbows surrounding them.

The light made it to the bottom pool where Zero stayed causing the creature to spasm wildly as more of its sores were torn open and the blood started to dissipate from the sheer volume of light tearing through him. Managing to exit the water Zero could barely float as his blood dried out upon contact with the open air. The flesh surrounding him started to crack and evaporate into nothingness. It flew away from the light managing to slip away from the three on top of the fountain watching them closely from a safe distance. It didn’t know why but it needed to kill at least one of the new interlopers. It had to do it.

As the light purified everything within the fountain Bandanna Dee returned the Star Rod to the pedestal embedding it back in place. A door formed in the waters of the uppermost pool emblazoned with the same cloud and lightning bolt insignia that Discord had been carrying around.

“I guess we managed to accomplish something here. I’m sorry to say but we need to go through that door Dee.” Spike spoke up first though one would be remiss to not notice that he was wringing his claws worriedly and his eyes were darting back and forth between Discord and the door.

“Yes it seems we have to do this. Give Dash our best and tell her we are ok.” Discord grabbed Spike in his tail and walked towards the door. The symbol was glowing and allowed the two to open.

“You don’t need to- “ Bandanna Dee was cut off as the last crumbling form of Zero tore down through the sky slamming into the two and out into the room where Freya was.

Shocked, Bandanna Dee ran for the door only for it to slam shut and fade from existence. While panicking he didn’t notice the sphere behind him with the glowing blue eye. It grabbed him in its magic and stared deeply into his eyes.

FORGET.

Without warning Bandanna Dee’s mind turned to haze as his time with Spike and Discord was fully forgotten and he was left against the fountain utterly confused by the sight before him. ‘Where’s the monster I was supposed to stop…? Did I get it already…? Head hurts...forget it. It’s gone and the fountain seems safe maybe King Dedede was wrong. Might as well make my way back now Kirby, Meta Knight and Dash should be back soon from the Mirror World."

The harmony sphere disappeared from Dream Land leaving nothing behind but an echoing laugh. It quickly left a message to Freya before returning to Chaos and preparing for the other ponies in their world.

Discord slammed against the far wall. He wasn’t unused to pain anymore but it still bothered him on how they were treating him, a god of chaos, so haphazardly. Spike fared a bit better managing to keep on his feet and skidding to a halt. Zero had followed them into their world and looked horrible.

Whatever was left of its skin was still cracking off and turning to dust. The blood that once ran freely had dried out. The wings were nothing more than ashen nubs left on its back. The only thing that remained was the same harsh glare which was squarely affixed to the two. The hole in its eye made things much worse than it should be as the viscera still tried to pour out from it only to dry out moments after falling out. Needless to say the two of them were hardly scared of the sight before them, a monster on its last legs with no redeemable qualities. Then they stifled their horror as Zero tore out its own eye leaving behind the bloody cracked shell of its former body.

Wasting no time it swung into action slamming into the pair at blinding speed. Spike fired back his own flame only to be struck in the stomach by the wild creature. The flames were swallowed back causing Spike immense discomfort as he was tossed into the wall near Discord. Using the spear as a makeshift shield by spinning it he managed to deflect the globs of blood that somehow managed to fly out of the eye towards them. Few got in slamming Discord back into the wall. The onslaught didn’t stop as the globs focused fire on the two alternating every couple of seconds. Welts and bruises built up with every hit forcing the spear to fall from his paw. As the two were laid out on the floor the Zero focused its power attempting something.

Discord’s body floated into the air as the eye opened up revealing a large maw of teeth with frayed lips from where the spear was thrown. As his body inched closer something sounded out distracting Zero.

I REQUEST YOU TO STOP NOW. LETHAL FORCE HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED.

Without warning a large pink beam of energy lanced out of Freya catching Zero. The energy burned the eye causing it to bubble and singe from the mystic energy surrounding it. Screaming filled the room as the eye was forced back and purged from the room. The energy soon dissipated leaving behind two very bruised and beaten guys on the floor. With a quick shake Freya dispersed the mist once again healing up the physical wounds that Zero had inflicted on the two.

Unbeknownst to the three, lancing chaos energy caught the leftovers of Zero depositing him back into Dream Land. Once again the room was secured and that left the two extremely tired regardless of how much healing they received.

“Need… sleep… “ Spike managed to croak out before he began to snore loudly. Discord didn’t fall asleep right away. He watched the remains of the spear tear apart and the tip float over to a portion of the room where Starlight’s mark had lit up. The same process occurred leaving behind Dash’s mark on the ground before he was content to sleep.

Freya lifted the two in her magic conjuring up some beds for them to lay in. Within the confines of the room time held no meaning. Every world had different set times and the portals would open when necessary. She wondered why she knew that but went back to work repairing the doors that had already been used. While they couldn’t be reopened she hated leaving them looking as though someone tried to tear open the portal into her sanctity.

Out on the far wall the next door lit up. On it was three apples arranged in a triangle. Applejack’s mark glowed brightly within the dim room ready to be opened and entered.

Author's Note

I like Kirby games. That is all I'll say about this. Also if you're curious about what Bandanna Dee meant about Captain Dash well just wait and find out later.

Through an Apple 1

Though there were still plenty of pain running through their bodies Spike rose from his sleep first. From that day previously it was the first time he managed to get any sleep and feel restful for once. While there was a pang of hunger building up in his belly it wasn’t as bad as it was previously. The trip through both these realms had been somewhat harsh. There hadn’t been much time for thinking through things if they wanted to get back home. Discord was still asleep but was plainly uncovered. On his back was the same mark that had adorned Rainbow Dash’s flank.

‘Why is it that this society around us ok with staring at a pony’s flank...Jeez listen to me trying to philosophize all this when I don’t need to worry about that. At least I didn’t need to worry about it till now. At least Dash would know that we are ok. Then she might be able to tell the others and then bam! Twilight magicks us out of here.’ Spike smiled haughtily to himself as he climbed out of his bed. It was really comfortable but they needed to keep moving and there was no time like the present.

With a quick survey he peered around for what he would be doing next only to find his eyes drawn towards the door with the three apples cutie mark. ‘Hopefully Applejack’s mission wouldn’t be as tough as the others were. That last one nearly got us killed.’

Discord soon stirred as well muttering something about cotton candy clouds flooding his vision but Spike paid it no mind. He looked tense as well before he started looking around his body examining every nook and cranny on his body. Discord found the mark soon after but his expression bared nothing on the outside. The poker face he sometimes wore when dealing with Twilight had come up almost imperceptibly though Spike had figured it out during one of of their guy’s nights when Big Mac had brought it up. While Spike wasn’t a master at reading Discord facial expressions Big Mac had pointed out how to tell when he was extremely angered. His irises seemed to get bigger and the back of his jaw would clench tightly almost subconsciously.

“Freya where are you?” Discord called out as the small pink sphere floated back out from wherever she hid. The floating sphere stared him down unusually hovered directly in front of his eyes.

YES DISCORD. YOUR MEAL IS ALREADY READY I SUGGEST YOU EAT IT.

Sure enough nearby on a small table was another meal made specifically for them including a small backpack nearby. They both ate their meals in relative silence except for the occasional crunching of a gem. Freya remain quiet as she examined the last door and the numerous cracks when Zero had broken into the room. The remaining ash had been cleaned up leaving the room back in its near sterile state. The backpack caught Spike’s attention but before he could ask Freya spoke up.

THE BACKPACK WILL CARRY SNACKS I HAVE PREPARED FOR THE TWO OF YOU. IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ALWAYS COME BACK EITHER HALF DEAD OR STARVING. AT LEAST THIS WAY ELIMINATES HALF THE PROBLEM.

“Thanks Freya. Maybe we’ll have better luck this time.” Spike managed to scrape out after finishing a couple of gems. The rest he pocketed away inside the smallest pocket so as to not waste them. Discord remained quiet which Spike noticed for the first time in all their interactions with Freya. The only time he spoke with her was whenever he had the initiative or was deliberately trying to get her mad. Either way there needed to be a reason yet Spike hadn’t asked yet and doubted he would get an honest answer while the target of his questions was hovering around them.

“We should get going then.” Discord curtly replied to nothing in particular. With one fluid motion he stood and slunk over to the door and waited for Spike to step over. He felt different at that point. Due to the mark something had to have changed now because the same happened to Spike when they had gone into the doorways.

Spike waddled over ready to a certain extent to enter the next area. A swift thwack let the door fly open as the two burst into the doorway. There eyes were forced to adjust as something different lay before them. They were deep within a metal corridor glowing a ghastly green that intermittently went dead every couple of seconds letting the shadows overtake them.

The corridor wasn’t exactly intact as several slots revealed frayed wires and sparks flying from them. Several panels were crushed or slightly burning yet there weren’t any bodies lying around. Discord quickly looked through the wiring examining the inner circuitry while Spike looked on utterly confused at the designs all around them.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. The strangest thing I’ve ever seen was Twilight’s science equipment but that ran off a magic crystal. I don’t smell any magical residue at all here.” Spike sniffed at the air attempting to make sure he wasn’t missing the scent. Discord kept up his ministrations checking other panels as well.

“Well this is all scientific equipment and if I’m right it’s all powering up a ship of some kind… at least it was. This whole ship is dead now and there isn’t much working right here now. The power’s still on though. Maybe there are survivors here but its kind of unlikely with how bad it is just in this one area.” Discord stepped away from the wires as the sparks flew farther out from where he had been working on.

“So another horror like area? Jeez I hope there aren’t any zomponies here. I kind of like keeping my head intact and my brains right where they belong.” Spike deadpanned fiercely enough that he managed to look twenty years older… which changed nothing at all about his face.

“Most likely right now we need to find whatever it is we need here and then get out as fast as possible. I’d rather not fight against the undead… again.” The corridor led to a large tower with several levels to it. Most of it was partially buried in debris and sparks but the path downwards was still visible.

As the pair walked down the still intact staircase leaving behind the heavily damaged hallways Spike noticed something. He couldn’t see it clearly most of the time because of it’s speed but there was something out there. It seemed to be a green blob though its features seemed to bring a sense of dread into his gut. There were faces… screaming faces that seemed to stare into his very soul while fading in and out of the background. Curiosity immediately took over trying its best to erase the image he just saw with a flurry of questions that would distract him from the ever growing amount of dread breaking into his soul.

“Hey Discord. Why are you so flippant around Freya? I know we should be wary about her but we should at least play along to not reveal what we wanted to do ya know incognito like.” Spike moved his claw in elaborate movements poking the air to punctuate his point. Discord didn’t answer right away and with a wave of his arm actually summoned a cotton candy cloud and stuffed Spike’s head into it before shoving his head inside as well.

“Listen Spike those spheres have turned out to be more dangerous than I previously thought they were. I need to be quiet because even if it is bad to speak about things I’m still a being of chaos. They could probably trick me into speaking about our plans if I say something wrong or misspeak at the wrong time. Freya, on her own, managed to destroy that… Zero was it? If she could do that what could she do to us with how weakened we are right now. Plus I don’t think she is fully in control of her actions. Her timing in saving us was too much of a deus ex machina for me and I don’t trust that it was all luck that managed to get us out of there.” Discord finished his rant and the cloud faded away with a snap of his talons.

“I see. So that’s what is happening. Still we need to speak about things. Its better in the long run.” Spike offered a simple explanation which hopefully was blocked from view by the cloud. Paranoia, in this case, brought up a whole lot of problems for their plans later.

“I know it’s just hard not to be my usual snarky self. This situation is highly unlikely for tricksters such as myself. It’s unheard of in the annals of jokester kind. If I still had my power I would be showing you exactly what I meant.” Discord created another cloud and poked it in a certain combination turning it into a cup made of clouds filled with chocolate milk and chugged it down like cider. He seemed on edge when he made three more cloud mugs and chugged them like crazy.

“Drinking yourself under the table won’t be helping us here right now. I already think I’ve seen some ghosts so sober up and let’s get going.” Spike tapped his leg making him sigh and send the clouds away. The second level down had proven to be interesting because the door seemed to be wide open.

The room seemed really strange due to all the glass domes holding what looked like little nucleus creatures. Each seemed to be pulsing with energy as the three other parts swarmed around the main body gathering the electricity and feeding it elsewhere. The floors also seemed to be moving on their own without any visible means of powering it.

“Huh, conveyer belts and power stations. This place seems really hi-tech. Think Appejack’s throwing a conniption over all this ‘darnfangled cyber whatsitz muddying the issue’ or something” Discord laughed uproariously almost seemingly overcompensating for it. Spike let out a polite chuckle even though he knew somehow, someway that Applejack would know they had done that.

As they came back from their state they didn’t notice the buzzing sound in the air, or the bug like creature that was flying right towards them. Due to being less loss in his laughter Spike did notice it charge. With a quick jump he shot a fireball directly at the creature causing it to chitter in pain as the wings it had flew off. The creature fell flat on its face as the fire smoldered off revealing a very burned green insectoid biped with blue eyes and a strange brown sac behind its head. It chittered angrily before contracting its maw and shooting out a small glob of bile which melted the floor where Discord had been standing moments before. Spike took the opportunity to release a continuous stream of flames into its face making it fall over into a heap of slag.

“Almost as bad as changelings before the reform huh?” Discord looked at the pile cringing from the smell that came out of it. To say it was unpleasant would be the mildest of insults and still not adequate enough to describe it.

“True but at least you can talk a changeling down from doing something violent. Also those were only the fanatical ones under Chrysalis anyways.” Spike quipped up then added quietly to his own chagrin.

“Probably more where that came from. I’ll set up the traps to be ready you finish them off, yeah?” Discord snapped his talons and formed several clouds around him.

“Yeah I’m ready. Got a few gems in case I get tired at least.” Spike took a deep breath. The buzzing had come back in full force once again just like the incident with the shadow ponies.

Another of the bug creatures flew lazily by only for another fireball to slam into it. Then a cotton candy cloud caught it leaving it stuck in the sticky mess. It actually stared into the distance trying to figure out what happened before catching sight of prey. Without warning it raged around getting tangled further in the sticky mess. Limbs thrashing about brought the cotton candy around its face and it was eventually lost to the pink menace.

Spike was about to finish the problem but the ball of fluff stopped moving. Discord poked the cloud accidently activating the chocolate milk feature. There was a bit more thrashing and the cloud stopped for the last time.

“Huh… Didn’t know that could happen.” Spike walked past the cloud while Discord looked a little mortified by the turn of events.

“Hm. Seems like my power isn’t fully under my control right now. Gotta be careful with it.” Discord kicked the cloud away to the side and followed the path forward. Another open door was in front of them but there were no more creatures waiting for them. Half the hallway was under water leaving very few paths they could get through. The water actually threatened Spike nearly covering him up. Discord quickly grabbed him up with his tail keeping him above water

There were luckily no sparking cables littering the area leaving the place safe enough to trek through. Spike for his part kept watch behind them in case another one of the bug creatures came into view but all was quiet once again. The sloshing of water was there only company and little else happened leaving the awkward silence in place.

“Discord… something is over there.” Spike seemed especially serious as his eyes became pinpricks and his body started to shake slightly. Discord looked at him and saw him pointing a claw into a large pool of water.

“I guess that would be the thing we need huh? I guess I’ll stay above water then. You can swim right?” Discord carefully placed Spike on one of his clouds which hovered above the water. He couldn’t move it very far without the cloud changing too much. ‘Still don’t have the fine tuning all worked out just yet.’

“Yeah. You’d be surprised what I did when the former dragon lord called for all of us.” Spike proudly boasted of his accomplishment of saving the new dragon lord.

“I know… you mentioned it at least three times during one of our nights. Anyways let’s get this show on the road and see what this world wants with you.” Discord waited nearby though the water made it slightly uncomfortable since it had nearly gotten to his waist… ‘Ponyfeathers…’

The water was trickling in but it was rising all the same. Spike seemed to notice when the cloud started to dissolve from the water touching it. Wide eyed and shocked he jumped into the pool and dove down into the depths of the pool following the feeling that was pulling him forward. It was faint but he could tell where it was. The mark on his back glowed brighter as he swam faster down into the center chamber of the pool.

On a small pedestal made of scrap metal and surrounded by still intact cables was a pair of gauntlets spinning in place right on it. They were floating and seemed to be untouched by the water surrounding them. Spike shot forward seemingly like a missile and made a beeline for the pair of gauntlets. When he touched them they suddenly clamped onto his claws adjusting to his size and the pocket of air disappeared. A little heavier but still able to swim he made his way back up to the surface. He took much longer to get back though. It wasn’t because of the weight, in fact, the energy from the mark on his back made the trip a thoughtless task.

“What took you so long?” Discord was now eyeing that the water was next to his lower chest and quickly grabbed Spike with his tail placing him on his shoulders while he swam back through the hallways.

“At this rate we’ll drown down here… I think the power from Starlight’s mark gives me enhanced strength and stamina during physical activities. I wonder what Applejack’s does? Meanwhile from what I can tell Rainbow Dash’s mark gives you back control over your weather related pranks.” Spike spoke up while examining the new artifact he was made to retrieve.

“At least it’s been useful so far, “ Discord spat out some water going into his mouth from the swim until he could stand up once again. “So that means we can figure out who are harmony wielders and chaos wielders based on whether you or I get that feeling to find something.”

As they reached the dryer part of the hallways something shifted above their heads. A large tentacle came out of nowhere. Discord took the initiative using a cloud cover to evade it. The tentacle speared through the cloud nearly grazing one of the spines on Spike’s back. Then the tentacle turned back and slammed against the ceiling breaking out a section.

The force of the impact caused the twisted metal above to become too broken to support the weight anymore. The entire section came crumbling down leaving the two barely anytime to dodge the crushing weight. Discord felt something puncture his tail while Spike lost a few scales from the resulting crash. Spike got up first while tears streamed down Discord cheeks.

“Tail… Spike, figure out what happened,” He whimpered slightly gritting his teeth in vain attempts to keep his brave attitude. Spike wisely said nothing about it and examined the problem. A piece of rebar had gotten through the lower portion of the tail

“Discord… I can remove this but… it will probably burn you if I do.” Spike stammered out as he figured out just how bad it was.

“Just… quickly.”

Spike merely nodded and got to work. It wasn’t as bad as it looked but the bar was a twisted one. With a light flame Spike began to twist at the metal superheating it and picking away with his claws as if it were butter. He didn’t try biting into it though for fear of breaking his teeth.

“Aren’t you able to chew metal…?” Discord grunted as the heat started to reach him.

“No. I’ve tried a few times but they left me with broken teeth which I’m usually forced to pull out and wait for the next set to grow in. Strangely those teeth are really useful for making digging tools. I think I just need a few more years though. Ember had said that the stronger a jaw is the stronger things they could break through. Then she bit into a piece of steel she had. No broken teeth or anything.” Spike finished his welding managing to get through the metal and waiting for said metal to cool off. It took a while though leaving the two to their own thoughts. Spike was patting the flames out absent mindedly while Discord quietly groaned at the pain in his tail.

A good half hour later the metal had cooled enough. Discord waved him on digging his talons and claws into the floor albeit barely managing to make a gash in the floor. Spike grabbed the bar and placed his foot on the tail to push it down while he pulled up on the bar. It was a slow agonizing minutes before Discord finally could feel his tail sporting a new hole right through it. Spike threw the bar to the ground before noticing that lack of water.

“Huh. Seems that we won’t be drowning anytime soon here. Maybe we could go to the lower levels of this place and find the door now that we found the things we need.” Spike pointed out while Discord looked over his tail.

“Yeah. Any ideas about my tail? Maybe there’s something in the bag?” Discord pointed at the backpack.

Spike swung the backpack around and looked it over. Everything was still dry somehow then his eyes were drawn to the gauntlets. The right one had two apples on it while the left had one. Shaking his head, Spike looked through the pockets finding mostly food which Discord picked some out chewing absentmindedly while the search continued. Deep within the largest pack was a roll of gauze wrap. Discord took it and started to wrap his tail though it did take him a few tries to get the right tightness. Satisfied they resealed the pack and trotted back to the main shaft.

The hallways before then had changed. The glass cases were all broken and the weird nucleus looking things were floating around freely. Then they all floated towards Spike when his foot stepped too close to the first one. A few applications of cotton candy clouds made the farther ones stop in place. The closest one managed to avoid scrutiny until it was almost against Spike. Spike jolted back lifting his right hand up. The movement caused the gauntlet to shift positions looking almost like a cannon. Instinctively Spike raised it up and through a force of his willpower a small beam of energy shot out hitting the enemy causing it to vaporize from the sudden attack.

“Woah… Didn’t see that coming.” Spike lowered his claw and the gauntlet returned back to its normal glove form. Discord eyed it intensely before shrugging and touching each cloud he passed. Sparks floated around them all instead of chocolate milk. The clouds dissolved right afterwards leaving behind puddles of blue and yellow sludge on the ground. Spike followed close by avoiding the puddles to the best of his abilities.

Once again within the confines of the main shaft the two flew down the steps. Every couple of seconds though another green cloud of sludge with screaming faces would appear in the corner of Spike’s eye causing him to fire the energy weapon he received at his disappearing target. Nothing but a crater could be seen and the power kept fluctuating at that point leaving the same thing to appear and reappear like clockwork. Whenever Spike’s nerves would settle down he would falter and fire another shot off.

“Look I know you think you see something but it hasn’t attacked us yet. Let it go for now and we’ll deal with it when we actually can.” Discord huffed up still mad about almost being shot but kept his anger to a minimum. While he said he didn’t see the monster floating around he did. He was also pissed that any cloud he summoned on it would harmlessly fall to the floor without warning.

Spike merely nodded. He was still startled by it but kept his claws to his side. By the time they reached the bottom floor they were both snarling in rage from the constant arrival of the ghostly figure stalking them throughout the entire ship. At least they thought it was the entire ship after being hunted throughout the main shaft.

The bottom floor held sever cylindrical creatures with rectangular looking screens for eyes. They were moving erratically shutting down then powering back on without warning. Discord gunked up their circuitry with cotton candy leaving them stuck in a standby mode before heading out for the path on the right. Spike followed awkwardly behind him. The creatures before him were very similar to something he had read in a Power Ponies comic. ‘It looks like a robot but… it’s not that impressive.’

The two made their way into the next room only to be stopped by a wall. There was nothing but a seemingly empty room. Then the doors behind them locked behind them. Startled Spike lifted the right claw gauntlet producing the same weapon from before. He scanned the room while Discord knelt to the floor keeping his stance wide in case he needed to roll out of the way. Nothing happened.

“Anticlimactic.” Spike shrugged but something in him felt wrong. His arm was still raised and his eyes kept scanning the area.

“Maybe but the moment we relax it’s gonna get us. It already tried once and failed now we’re in a small room slightly vulnerable to anything.” Discord snapped his talons bringing in a few smaller clouds which hovered around him.

The seconds turned to minutes as the tension in their stances started to bring in soreness. They were losing to time and the creature still made no moved. The door was still locked shut and nothing was changing that. Spike relaxed first falsely pretending to yawn and lower his right claw. The cannon never changed back though. A tentacle warped in and attempted to spear straight through Spike only to be stuck in place. Several clouds had grabbed the blasted appendage. Unable to wriggle out of the trap Spike raised his claw and fired sending the charred tentacle reeling.

A large roar echoed through the room leaving the two struggling to keep standing. Slowly a figure faded into view. It looked like a large octopus but the eye it had was closed and on its sides were two tentacles which seemed far too small to the one that had attacked them. It floated around aimlessly unaffected by the shots of the gauntlet or the clouds surrounding it.

“Well this is gonna be perfect huh?” Discord smirked though his tone betrayed him. Backing up he looked around for anything he could do. Spike was still keeping low to the ground keeping his eyes glued to the creature.

“Why did AJ get the technological one. Is that irony or something?” Spike groaned unable to even do anything to the floating creature.

“Situational probably but it is kind of funny. I’m sure Applejack’s plan here would be to buck something into it even if it wouldn’t do anything. Provided, of course, that she didn’t learn tactics while she was in this world.” Discord chuckled dryly though his eyes kept wandering to the figure eight the creature was making.

Before either could make another comment the eye opened released a wave of blue fire which seemed to shimmer in and out focus. Spike shot his cannon and Discord used his clouds to catch the fires as they circled out. A loud screech tore through the room causing the creature to shift out of view and disappear. The fires sizzled through the cotton candy fizzling out through the chocolate milk that had formed in the cloud.

“Mmm… hot chocolate.” Discord took a sip and then chugged the entire thing down after he had a taste.

“Is it really time for that?” Spike mumbled when three tentacles popped out of nowhere and slammed down on Spike. For his part the left gauntlet activated revealing a weird energy lasso which pulled him out of the way of the impact. The tentacles were too fast with their attack but instead of a crash there only came a splat. They had hit another trap and were stuck in even more cotton candy.

At that point the two were calming down too much. Cockiness had gotten to their heads leaving them smiling as if they had won the lottery. They dodged the flailing tentacles and stood by the locked door. Another collection of spear like tentacles shot out and pierced the locked door opening it up. With the same smug smirk Discord led the way out… only to be stopped by a low hanging wall. The room had lost a few things and now the only way through was a small passageway that almost seemed too small for Discord to make it through. Then the creature stopped still faded and untouchable. The eye opened but the figure was still transparent. The eye glowed a sickly red as tendrils of dark energy summoned more of the tentacles that had tried to strike at them.

“Well I guess we know what their preference is when it comes to possessing things.” Discord chuckled weakly this time. The smugness had been drained from him while Spike just backed up with his cannon still trained on the creature.

“Celestia damn it all…” Spike spoke as a cadre of tentacles charged for them.

Through an Apple 2

The chaos energy emanating off of the creature was stifling. It had been worse than when the shadow ponies had been taken over by harmony magic. Cracks appeared over the octopus shaped head leaving only the eye intact. It was glaring down at them as the lid that held the eye protected grew sharper teeth surrounding its edge. Nothing changed the that there was still sentience in its glare. It wasn’t being controlled and it wasn’t being used. It seemed to know what it wanted to do if the tentacles were any indication. Each wriggled around finding better angles to strike at but staying in place once they did.

Spike was still calmly keeping his arm raised. His eyes betrayed what he actually felt though especially when you took into account how badly his legs were wobbling and the constant deluge of sweat dripping off his forehead. Discord kept it better hidden but the clouds he had summoned barely lasted a few seconds before nervousness made them dissolve.

“Have t-t-that problem m-m-much D-d-discord?” Spike managed to stutter out though his tone told of how badly he wanted to keep his cool even if it was such a crass joke to make in such a situation.

“Better than not even reaching the mark in the first place.” Discord managed to smirk allowing the clouds to keep their shape ready to act. Spike couldn’t see the smug look but knew it was there. He was glad for it. If the traps wouldn’t work they would be skewered. Confidence seemed to be a problem when it came to the clouds and while Discord wouldn’t say anything or show it, he was afraid. Vulnerability and dealing with it wasn’t something he handled well. From what Starlight had told Spike he was all gung ho and risking himself all to save Fluttershy and that cut away his fears. This though was not Fluttershy’s door.

The first tentacle shot out getting caught in the cotton candy but managed to skewer through regardless. It stopped a half hoof away from Spike’s head. His whole life had flashed before his eyes but he managed to make one conscious decision. A large stream of fire blew out of his mouth charring the tentacle to ash causing the creature to scream out while the chaos energy attempted to repair the damage. It didn’t.

Discord took the chance and crawled down through the open passage while Spike kept up his breath. As more tentacles shot forward the cotton candy stopped them from getting too close giving Spike the chance to crawl through as well. After a few minutes they managed to get back to their feet.

“Was that the plan the whole time?” Spike muttered out entirely confused and some more tentacles started to snake their way through the passage. A few shots from Spike’s gauntlet caused them to falter away retreating from the energy blasts. Discord summoned more clouds blocking off the passageway leaving them relatively safe.

“Nah… But I had no other ideas that would work out should it start using chaos magic. We do need to at least take care of things before it grows out of hand. Also I doubt the door would even appear until we deal with whatever is being changed here. Besides… I don’t think we’ve escaped.” Discord looked around dragging Spike’s attention as well. All around them was the billowing blue flames of the spirit realm covering every single place on the walls.

Within each flame was a hint of red electricity coursing through the gaseous blobs. The red grew within and a tentacle pierced out jutting forward and right at Discord. A well timed duck only alleviated the first strike as more tentacles started to assail the two in random fashion. The entire hallway was littered with the flames but not every flame was turning red.

“At least they aren’t gonna make more.” Spike squeaked out just after dodging one particularly dangerously placed strike forcing the two to climb up the main shaft once again while the assault of tentacles continued their chase.

“How is that a good thing? We’re still being chased by them!” Discord roared out while contorting his body to account for the sudden shift in focus from the attacks.They had gotten past the main hallway they had entered and were climbing further still. The debris made it challenging for Discord to climb around but a few well placed tentacle strikes had cleared that mess out of the way.

As they reached the top of the shaft the entire floor below them was consumed in blue fire and was acting more like a liquid than anything else. The small fireballs had faded away but then they saw the entire lake of fire with small lines of red electricity. Out from below sprung all the tentacles in several formations attempting to mutilate whatever got in their way.

“Why must this be more dangerous than the zomponies? Multi dimensional creatures and ghosts are too damn dangerous.” Spike screamed out as a tentacle grazed one of his spines. They were getting more accurate in their strikes.

The ceiling finally tore open letting the two access one of the other halls above and escape from the relentless assault. Discord grabbed Spike in his tail once again and ran off to the left while the torrent of blue flames followed after him. Spike activated his gauntlet once again firing off shot after shot whenever another tentacle appeared. Even with him auto-firing the cannon he couldn’t keep up with the sheer amount trying to kill them. Several strikes managed to graze by the two of them. Even using the cotton candy clouds as shields they were still being grazed very badly by the constant assault. As the hallway’s end came closer and closer Discord created a large cotton candy cloud covering them and poked it before he ran off. As the tentacles pushed through the cloud’s electric properties activated catching the tentacles and frying them from the chase.

Spike shot out the door leading out as the flames enveloped the clouds burning it off while the stunned tentacles fell off to the side. The outside was less inviting than they realized seeing as the planet was covered in a large layer of rain clouds. The rain swept landscape left the two drenched and partially frozen when the creature decided to break through its dimensional barrier. In its full glory it stood even larger than Tirek at full power and strangely enough it only had six tentacles left. These six were covered in chitinous armor that seemed to radiate heat as they swiped at the intrepid explorers.

“We really planned this out badly Discord… “ Spike kept firing his gauntlet at the tentacles merely knocking them back instead of vaporizing them. They were stronger now and seemed to absorb the brunt of the energy attacks. Trapping them, in Discord’s mind, seemed to be the best option leaving them the chance to evade the rings of blue fire that would fire out at random intervals. It had not revealed it’s eye once during the chase seemingly knowing how vulnerable it was at that point.

“Honestly I was following you this whole time. Since this was a harmony seal remember? No matter we just have to be smart now about how we handle this and we have a lot more open room meaning we can at least get out of range of its attacks.” A group of clouds appeared above the creature’s body and with a snap of his talons lightning burst out of the cloud striking at the tentacles. While the brunt of energy used was absorbed into the chitinous armor the tentacles were left stunned on the ground. Another snap signaled more clouds which trapped the tentacles down leaving the creature struggling.

With it trapped once more Spike led the way out of the area towards a small alcove out of the creatures sight. Still, the blue fire made it difficult when it managed to track them slightly every step they took. A few careless shots left the landscape dented but them safe from the trailing fires. One of those shots revealed a small passageway leading to another door back inside the abandoned ship.

“One of these days I want to know who would put me through this much backtracking.” Spike muttered more to himself than Discord and opened the door.

“Probably the hack writers trying to get a good story out of us.” Discord chuckled to himself and followed soon after. The little banter was lost on the two as a groaning roar and the shifting ground told them exactly what happened with the monster chasing after them. It had broken loose.

Escaping to the next room revealed a long corridor covered in sharpened debris. Everything jagged or pointy that could be imagined was embedded into the corridor’s floor leaving no way through. Seemingly out of nowhere Spike lifted his left gauntlet towards the ceiling shooting out the energy whip. It latched onto the first available section of the ceiling pulling him out over the debris. A little momentum allowed him to swing across a small section. Looking back at Discord he waited for the nervous draconequus to act.

One serious jump later Discord was being held up by Spike as the two swung across to the other end of the room. The mark on Spike’s back was glowing almost constantly throughout the entire venture. With a few short gasps the two landed on one of the only safe places left within the debris which turned out to be a staircase. Then Spike collapsed to the floor.

“Wake up there dragonborn we need to keep moving before that thing figures out where we are going.” Discord poked at him earning a muffled Ow every time he did poke him.

“I don’t know why but my body feels so tired… “ Spike tried to reach into his backpack only for his claw to flail around limply. He was exhausted yet he didn’t know why. When Discord looked on Spike’s back he saw that Glimmer’s mark had gone gray on his back. Examining it for a few seconds revealed even more as the color started to slowly return. It wasn’t going as fast as he thought it would.

“How long have you been using the mark to power yourself up Spike?” Discord questioned him only to see Spike look off into the distance uncertainty clouding his gaze.

“I don’t really remember. I think I might have used a lot while we were escaping the creature that was after us. I also felt tired while using these gauntlets but not by much and then I get back on track to doing more important stuff. Like surviving ya know.” Spike tried to get back to his feet only to skitter along the floor uselessly.

“I think using these marks is like using a battery. So far it looks like they recharge while we rest or are incapacitated. You have been pushing yourself haven’t you? And now I’m gonna have to carry you around… again.” Discord smirked and poked Spike around mocking him for his lack of moving. Spike grumbled slightly but remembered that they were in this together and this was just another one of those banter things he had read about.

The blue fire returned enveloping the room above them turning the debris of spikes into large shards of jagged glass. Tentacles broke through the flames reaching for the pair but they had tumbled down the stairs when the fire had appeared. Another door appeared before them allowing them to escape into the next room with Spike wrapped up again in Discord’s tail though unable to lift his gauntlets.

“Why does it feel like fate wants to make me embrace physical fitness now? Seriously I’m getting tired of the constant running though I’m surprisingly not smelling sweaty from all that activity. Perhaps Freya is being told to keep us unchanged? Without time we can’t exactly make smells or what not.” Discord weaved in and out of bursts of flames being tossed as him with the odd cloud conjured just to block the more persistent trackers.

“I don’t think it works that way. Maybe it’s just when we enter the main room we get cleansed or something. Not as thorough as a shower but works on the same level. I know Twilight has a spell like that but she only uses it whenever her schedule gets too hectic otherwise Rarity drags her over to the spa just to get things done ‘right’.” Spike yawned slightly. While he still feared for his life fatigue had reared its ugly head. He needed energy and the mark was still only half full.

“I’ve been wondering why is it that we have to be chased around by these monsters. I mean we found what we needed but these spheres seem to delight in torturing us somehow or someway with whatever is present in whichever world we are in. We have what we need yet we’re still here.” He had pointed to the gauntlets around his claws with his eyes. The gesture was lost on the fleeing Discord but the sentiment was felt.

“They are sociopathic or downright ancient beings. I thought we went over this already during the last chapter. Anyways hurry up and recharge. Clouds are useful but paralysis is only helping us against the tentacles not the constantly summoned fireballs floating all around us acting like dimensional portals for the tentacles to hit us!” Discord screamed slightly as veins started to pop out of his forehead. The constant running was grating on the draconequus’ nerves leaving him a few steps away from a tantrum.

“I thought I was irritated by this.” Spike muttered softly just as a small beep alerted them. Spike moved his arms around once again and aimed out the right gauntlet targeting the first fallen tentacle in sight. Even with it paralyzed the shot merely knocked it aside as if only made of kinetic energy at this point. They needed a more permanent escape.

The next two hallways were barren of other enemy types as the creature made its presence known bursting in front of them blocking off their escape. In its own haste though it had opened its eye allowing Discord the chance he needed.

“Take this!” He flung several smaller clouds around the edges of the mouth hiding the eye and forced the jaws to stay open. Spike was swung around next allowing him unimpeded access to shooting the eye out. Beam after beam struck the creature's eye but the only noticeable indication of damage was the reddening of the creatures skin which was hard enough to tell when it was bristling with chaos energy.

Several tentacles reappeared and struck at the two only for Discord to electrify the clouds he had previously summoned. Every jolt against the eye made the tentacles falter or fall leaving Spike clear to keep firing. The chaos energy started to dissipate from the creature leaving it at the pair’s mercy. Wasting no time it shifted dimensions once again leaving the two behind before it could incur more damage.

“Finally!” Discord threw his arms up into the air and fell to the ground exhausted. The mark on his back was nearly completely empty and started to recharge slowly. Spike managed to get out of his tail which lay still nearby unable to even coil near its owner.

“Huh. So that’s what happened to me? Seems like an oversight if nopony is gonna tell us about this. Wait… in this situation should I even use that? It should be nobody right now right?” Spike puzzled over this dilemma mostly due to his upbringing and it drew his mind away from the constant dreariness that the ship had brought upon the pair.

“Does it really matter? Just use the pony equivalent since it’s easier like that. Jeez with all ponies needing to find the right terms for every being to fit in their small slice of self it sure is difficult to talk to a collection of others without it seeming off. It’s either somedrake, somezebra, somegriffon, or somepony yet we find it difficult to even use somebody when we all have bodies already.” Discord fumed slightly since somedraconequus was a mouthful and unwieldy to say.

It took a few more minutes before Discord could continue on. Spike had stopped thinking about the right terms because he didn’t want to be just like Twilight. ‘One is enough…’ Spike surmised before leading the way forward.

The next room led back into the main shaft but the wall in front of them wouldn’t budge. They had been trapped in place. Discord took a few steps forward only for the floor to give way causing him to fall unceremoniously on the floor below them. Spike jumped down rolling to keep the shock from the impact from hitting him. When he looked closer there had been a cotton candy cloud right underneath Discord who smugly looked around the ship’s interior.

“Hah! You thought you could get me. I’m the only trickster around here and I’m not getting dropped. I get the drop on others.” Discord guffawed loudly. A piece of the ceiling then fell on his head causing him to bite his tongue. A small scream and a paw against his muzzle left Discord frustrated and cursing situational irony. Spike kept his chuckling to himself managing to look around for a sense of direction.

‘We’ve been wandering this place for a while now but I haven’t seen a door out of here. We must be getting closer but even I can’t tell where we need to go. We didn’t even defeat the creature that had attacked us. I wonder if it’s still out there or maybe it’s gotten the message and fears us now.’ Spike rubbed his chin with his claw lost in his thoughts. It had been a long day… or days. He still wasn’t sure if the realm with Freya even had days pass by but the worlds they visited seemed to. Then he felt something tug at him.

Instinct told him where to go. That instinct also wanted to lead him back down the main shaft towards where the creature first appeared. He then felt like kicking his instinct into the dirt and making it sorry for wanting to go back down where they had been trapped and nearly gutted.

“You good there Sir Spike the brave and glorious.” Discord smirked even wider when Spike shivered at his title. While he didn’t mind the attention the title was a mouthful and brought a lot of weird attention whenever he was in the Crystal Empire. Spike groaned at the mention of his nickname.

“Yes. Fine, Thanks for asking. Anyways… ,” Spike shuddered at what he was about to suggest, “ We probably have to go back down near where we were first attacked to get out of here. I can’t tell you why though. I just… feel like there is something there.” Spike wringed his claws together uncertain of his actions while a deadpan look fell across Discord’s face.

“Lead the way.” Discord stated bluntly.

“Huh?”

“I said lead the way. Like it or not we’re gonna have to trust those little nudges we get every once in awhile because we don’t have any other way to reliably figure out just where we are going. Right now I think we have to deal with the creature in some way that makes it possible for whichever bearer is in this world i.e. Applejack to get through with the minimal amount of problems.” Discord stood back up finally feeling his strength return and waited for Spike to stop making fish impersonations.

“Right… follow me.” Spike hobbled down the stairs which for some reason had frozen over. They didn’t cause either to slip around though. Spike felt the chill pierce his very heart filling it with the icy chill of death and despair… the blue fires hadn’t even burned him when they nearly glazed over his scales.

“Now that I think about it. Were those fires even hot? I saw them melt the cotton candy but they never got close to us.” Spike looked up to Discord who seemed to shiver as well but muted his more comical actions.

“This place is full of death regardless of how long ago it was. The flames of the underworld and some places in Tartarus have cold fire that blazes from a special guardian. That particular guardian uses the cold to specifically target creatures that were expecting the old fire and brimstone approach talked about in those old pony legends. When there is an abundance of death in one area that land becomes tainted but because this area doesn’t have magic in it the shadows and scars of the past keep the area cold and desolate with only the hardiest or more brutal of life being able to thrive in such areas.” Discord put on a cotton candy cloud on his head shaping it into a scholar’s cap as he answered the question.

Spike mulled over the new information he received. Discord knew a lot more than he would ever let anyone ever know about through his own facade or just because he enjoyed the role of the jester too much. Either way the pair kept quiet as they made their way down the stairs. As they did they passed by the corpses of several of the insectoid creatures that had attacked them earlier. Each had turned a dull shade of blue and one shattered the moment Spike had touched it. The strength of this spirit was not something to be trifled with.

When they finally reached the bottom level the entire chamber was covered in a thin layer of frost. Both were chattering and Spike’s own attempts at breathing fire seemed to die on his lips with how cold it was. They quickly waddled off in the direction Spike chose. At the end of the hallway was a door with three apples emblazoned on it shining readily for them to enter through.

“Finally we can get out of this place… “ Spike mumbled under his breath while the two traipsed through the frosted hallways. Then the creature made its reappearance. Foregoing the dimensional shifting it slammed itself into the pair from behind. They were closer to the door but now laid out on the ground from the sudden attack. It opened it’s eye and shot out as much fire as it could muster only to be shot back by the precision shots of the gauntlet.

Wounded and flailing around in pain the creature backed up flinging a tentacle into the dragon who had kept shooting it in the eye. A piercing shriek sounded out as the tentacle flung towards Spike at incredible speeds only for him to roll to the side at the last minute. Unknown to either side the tentacle had pierced one of the main power lines within the ship sending volt after volt deep into the dimensional being’s body frying it slightly. The spirit shifted once again before being dragged into the very core of the ship trapped as its guardianfor eternity and more.

“Woohoo... “ Spike managed to groan out before falling over a few feet away from the door. Discord was huddled over shivering uncontrollably. The cold had gotten to the both of them but Spike managed to pick himself back up.

“I guess fur doesn’t always help in the cold huh?” Spike managed to break out over his chattering teeth while Discord merely glared daggers at him. Opening the door Spike dragged Discord inside the room away from the dessicated remains of the ship and back into the sight of Freya.

WELCOME BACK. LOOKS LIKE YOU TWO ARE GOING TO BE GIVING ME THE COLD SHOULDER. I’LL PREPARE SOMETHING FOR THE TWO OF YOU TO WARM UP WITH.

Freya hovered off for parts unknown once again leaving the two to try and keep warm from the glacier they just left. Dealing with restless spirits and the cold chill of death was something they didn’t think they would be dealing with so often. Spike managed to breath out some fire warming the two up enough to stop the uncontrollable shivering. Discord managed to get back to his feet as the gauntlets fell off Spike’s claws fading to dust while the three apple marks floated over to its respective spot.

“Glad we are out of there now… Ghosts are always the toughest to get around. Still cold… “ Discord muttered out of his chattering teeth. The freezing had passed but they needed to keep moving on with this and the new door made him dread it all the worse.

“Celestia help us all… “ Spike mumbled when the door revealed itself. Right on it were three colorful balloons shining as a beacon for the criminally insane.

“I don’t know about you but I’m sleeping on this and not going into that kind of nightmare without a lot of caffeine and some kind of sedative for when things get too crazy. She may be my favorite to deal with but even I know that without my powers I could barely comprehend the crazy that could come about from that.” Discord mused to himself while watching his nearly blue paw.

I HAVE DRAWN UP SEPARATE BATHS FOR THE TWO OF YOU. THEY SHOULD KEEP YOU WARM BEFORE YOU VENTURE TO YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE. MAYBE YOU COULD TELL ME WHY YOU LOOK SO BLUE AS WELL. I DIDN’T SENSE ANY FREEZING AREAS WITHIN THAT PARTICULAR WORLD AT THIS TIME.

“I thought you couldn’t look into the worlds we were being ushered into?” Spike raised his eyebrow at the dubious statement he just heard.

I CAN’T. ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE LEFT CAN I CHECK UP ON THE WORLDS YOU VENTURE THROUGH THANKS TO OVERSIGHTS BY THE BOSSES. I WOULD PREFER YOU KEEP THEM QUIET. I DON’T GET OUT ENOUGH AS IT IS.

“We’ll keep this secret then Freya. Think you could figure out how to patch us in some information while you do so. I’m sure there is more fun to be had even now. Also aren’t you aware they are listening?” Discord’s smile slightly faltered but the fact she had brought this to their attention. The spheres were always watching.

THEY HAD TO DEAL WITH CERTAIN ELEMENTS TRYING TO BREAK OUT FROM THEIR WORLDS RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE SOME TIME BEFORE THEY RETURN THEIR ATTENTION BACK TO US.

“You mean our friends…?” Spike felt the comment slide off his tongue before he could fully think it through. The word elements didn’t immediately turn to his friends who all held Elements of Harmony around their neck sans Twilight. The tone she had taken had become almost… devoid of hope when she said it.

SORRY NO. TWO BEINGS TRIED TO BREAK INTO THIS WORLD FROM THEIR WORLDS. THEY HAVE FAILED BUT NOW THE BOSSES HAVE TO KEEP WATCH FOR ANY MORE POWERFUL CREATURES. ONE CAME FROM TIME TURNER’S WORLD. THE OTHER CAME FROM LYRA HEARTSTRINGS’ WORLD. THOSE TWO BEINGS WERE JUST AS ANCIENT AS THE BOSSES AND JUST AS POWERFUL BUT THE THREAT STRANGELY MADE THE BOSSES WORK TOGETHER FOR ONCE. THIS IS PROBABLY A BAD THING FOR THIS WORLD THOUGH.

Neither said a word about what they heard. The concept of harmony and chaos working together while not unheard of thanks to Discord working with Equestria willingly lately was unsettling, to say the least, in this context. The two spheres had managed to work together to take the pair away but they didn’t seem keen on continuing to help each other. The circumstances changed a lot of things now plus the new information on who else got involved as a new bearer was something Discord found intriguing.

TIME MAY NOT MOVE HERE BUT WE DON’T HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD FOR YOU TWO TO FINISH YOUR MEETINGS WITH THE BOSSES. THINGS WILL BE HECTIC FROM NOW ON WITH SO MANY PLANS AND THE MACHINATIONS BEHIND SAID PLANS WORKING THROUGH THE MADHOUSE WE’RE IN. I SUGGEST YOU REST UP IF YOU TRULY DREAD GOING THROUGH THE ELEMENT OF LAUGHTER’S DOOR. I HAVE NOT SENSED ANYTHING YET BUT I AM NOT GOING TO BE LOOKING AFTER YOU WHEN YOU GO IN THERE. I LIKE MY SANITY WHERE IT IS RIGHT NOW.

The two walked off for the baths made for them. Exhaustion had claimed them and they prepared for the next door and everything that it entailed.

Author's Note

Sorry this took a day or two longer than I anticipated.
Main points for the delay.
- I'm sick. Still am and it hurts every time I sneeze now. It really sucks.
-I have two jobs. I had to work the holiday for both places with no chance for a break. Though I did get overtime I'm still overly exhausted from the pain it caused.
-Writer's block. Seriously I had so much trouble just figuring out where this chapter was going but I finally figured something out. I thought I was gonna have more trouble dealing with Pinkie's or Rarity's but I actually know where those are going without going into details.

Through the Laughter 1

They had awoken from another night of dreamless sleep. It wasn’t bad but they could not contact Luna once again leaving Spike very irritated. The food they ate was slightly cold from the lack of knowing what time they needed to get up and the constant humming that seemed to be coming from Pinkie’s door wasn’t helping one bit. The last venture had left them nearly frostbitten and not the natural kind. Freya had used a bit more of her energy to pull something out of the two. It was an inky darkness that wisped around in its new containment. The glass tube sat in front of the pair as they finished their food.

“So… what is it?” Spike muttered while he chewed on a very spicy ruby clenching his jaw from the kick.

“It’s evil. At least I think it is. So many of these dark wisp creatures look evil but they actually personify some other emotion or some other meaning. Since darkness isn’t evil just like light isn’t good. Context gives us meaning and we already know harmony isn’t always good since it tore you to shreds already.” Discord chuckled mischievously while drinking from a glass of some juice he had no idea what it was but it did taste tangy at least.

“Don’t remind me. I still feel like I’m missing scales here and there. Since this was inside us do you think it was because of all the death we felt all around us. The spirit didn’t seem to be that strong but when it was possessed all bets were off at that point,” Spike tapped his claws together while his eyes shifted back and forth. “We got really lucky back there that it was really weakened otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten away.”

“Truthfully I’m more concerned about the two worlds Freya mentioned. Seems bot Turner and Lyra are having the worse times out of all the ponies who have been, for lack of a better word, drafted into service. Being a bearer of either harmony or chaos is much harder than it sounds. Especially if they still had to deal with me.” Discord smugly rubbed his knuckles against his chest smirking the entire time

“Luckily they’re not right?” An eyebrow was raised at this statement.

“I’ll be testing the new ones out after talking with the princesses. They need to know what they are getting into and its better I do it than if they had to face someone on Tirek’s level.” Discord stated almost matter-of-factly like. Spike was still unsure of the turn of events but if it needed to be done with the most minimal of risks then this was it.

IT SEEMS THE TWO OF YOU HAVE FINISHED. ARE YOU READY FOR AN EXPLANATION ABOUT THE DARKNESS YOU HAD STUCK TO YOU? GOOD. THIS PARTICULAR STRAND IS THE SHADOWS OF THE PAST. THE FORGOTTEN LIKE TO CLING TO THE LIVING AND WHEN THEY HAVE THE CHANCE THEY CLING TO THAT SPOT MANIFESTING AS A PSYCHIC WHIRLPOOL. THE BEINGS WHO DIE WITHIN THAT RANGE OF INFLUENCE GET TRAPPED. FOR NOW I WILL BE DESTROYING THIS SAMPLE. ALSO THE BOSSES SEEM TO HAVE FINISHED WHAT THEY WERE DOING SO I WILL NOT BE CANDID WITH MY ANSWERS. BE CAREFUL THEY WILL PROBABLY DOUBLE THEIR SECURITY NOW.

“Of course Freya. Thanks for the help.” Spike graciously offered a bow. They hadn’t received much information other than the names of the ponies that were involved now. Other than the mane seven as Discord was now calling them they also recognized the other seven ponies involved. Spike had been especially surprised when it turned out that Trixie was involved as well. Discord was more curious about the new six since he hadn’t messed with the lot very often before .

With a quick wave the two set off for Pinkie’s door. Discord’s talons clenched and unclenched as it slowly rose to the knob. Spike was sweating bullets. The world where Pinkie was sent must be something impossible if it can handle her somehow mystical ways of breaking through reality and sense. ‘Are we gonna even be able to handle it?’

The two stepped through the door ending up within a junk filled wasteland. All around them were piles of junk and junkyard dogs roaming around. Spike had to hold his nose from the smell. Discord merely looked amused by the change in landscapes.and the strangely chaotic landscape before him. Out in the distance they thought they could hear something belching and the wet slapping of fish from somewhere.

“Oooh I like this one a lot now. Look at the chaotic architecture and all the random creatures which completely don’t make sense one bit at all. You ever wonder why postmodernism can’t add more pizzazz like that.” He gestured over to one of the mile high towers of what looked like rubber wheels.

“Wouldn’t they bounce around too much? Anyways this is gonna be your expertise I guess. Care to lead the way for now?” Spike mock bowed with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t patronize me about this. Let’s see… for now let’s just follow the path. Also you should do something first. Remember?” Discord nudged Spike a couple times with his elbow. Spike suddenly looked utterly confused and tried to think back to what had happened only a few hours ago.

‘Oh… right. Almost forgot.’ Spike searched his mind trying to figure out what he got from Applejack. Then his mouth felt heavy. A fireball was forming inside him but it was coalescing more fire. It grew bigger and denser. Without warning he faced out into the distance and released a torrent beam made of fire which lanced through a couple dozen crows that had been milling about. A few seconds later the beam finally fizzled out and let Spike breathe once again. The blast left a small pock mark where it had impacted and left scorch marks against everything that was grazed. The mark on his back was fully depleted and recharging even slower than Starlight’s mark.

“Hm… Good on ya. Or is it good in you in this case?” Discord’s guffawing kept Spike’s unfocused mind clear. The blast had left him on the ground but with new knowledge left in his head.

“It seems… puff… I can control the state of my fire breath… huff… I accidentally used too much power. Mind carrying me for a bit? Heh heh… “ Spike timidly asked while laying flat on his back utterly tired from expounding all that energy in one place.

“Yeah sure. Like I haven’t done this before. I’m going to enjoy some of the bounce house though so I hope you’re ready for that.” Discord smirked. He was in a chaotic environment and he was reluctant to not enjoy it. Spike merely nodded looking as though he was steeling his jaw for the inevitable bouncing he was about to endure.

Once to the left. Two times higher. Three times to the right and down a zip slide. Spike turned a little green as his mark beeped on once again. Once the two landed the pair took off running as the murders of crows flew after the pair. A quick snap caught all the crows in multiple clouds of cotton candy causing the murders to fall to the ground writhing around the gunk they flew into. Spike stepped forward only to stop in front of a sheer cliff with a toilet in front of them.

“I don’t understand… I really don’t get it but I am seeing something this asinine in front of me. It made me even use the word ‘asinine’ correctly as well but I still don’t believe it. Discord. Is this really what I think it is?” Spike facepalmed swiping his claws down his face in exasperation while a large grin just appeared on Discord’s face.

“Your throne awaits Spike the Brave and Glorious. Just take a seat and take it for a whirl.” Discord’s laugh actually got the crows to also laugh strangely enough. Then they all got drenched in chocolate milk after he had snapped his talons together. With a small hop and a whip of his tail he jumped onto the toilet seat only to be warped to an entirely new location.

The landscape before them changed entirely to something out of nightmares. The entire area was filled with lava and the screams of the damned being tortured for all eternity. The music in the background which shouldn’t have even been a thing swelled to its crescendo before the needle scratched out. Then the soundtrack changed to something that would be played when you were waiting for something punctuated by the screams that sometimes broke through the calming music. Spike’s eyes twitched at the sudden shift of reality while Discord merely scoffed at the decor.

“Seriously the old fire and brimstone is quite old. Whomever is master here really needs to get their interior designer to refurbish the place up. Everyone already expects a hellish design for hell.” Discord scowled at the flying shadow demons that were for some reason hanging with what looked like lawyers.

“What do you mean ‘hell’? I don’t understand anything that is going on right now!” Spike slammed his claws against his face certain that he was suffering some sort of concussion or something of that nature. There had been too many uncertain elements that made up these worlds but one that could match Pinkie on the same scale was something even he knew was something he never wanted to deal with. A quick breath and he decided his path.

“You know what. I don’t care. Let’s just find what you need and let’s leave this place behind. I’m not going to overreact at all.” Spike closed his eyes and calmly lowered his arms to his sides. When he opened his eyes they had already moved on. A line of bills flew around them flowing in a twister of paper cuts. They all seemed to come from some weird being wearing suits and the utterance of 'lawyers' under Discord's breath named the foe before them.

The lawyers all turned their suitcases towards the pair firing off their whirling bills of death at the pair. A quick gout of flames turned all the paper to ash freaking the lawyers out into running when they realized the paper they received from hell could still be burned by dragon fire. The smug look on Spike’s face disappeared when the floating shadow demons flew through the flames unharmed with gnashing fangs pointed directly at him. Discord formed a cloud around them as the fangs nearly sunk into Spike’s scales.

“That was too close.” Spike took stock of his body and ran his claws over his scales. The little blighters, in the tartarus style world they were on, had really sharp teeth which had left small marks against his scales nearly piercing them.

“Looks like demon beats dragon in this case. I’ll need to keep an eye out for them so that they don’t get the drop on us. Still they are quite the chaotic creature and a cat seems so apropos for an environment like this. Not my first time seeing such a hellish landscape.” Discord peered around wistfully almost lost in his nostalgia.

“You’ve been in an area like this? Plus you keep using that word ‘hell’ over and over. What is that?” Spike looked incredulously at the confused draconequus. He didn’t understand what this place was.

“Well hell is another version of Tartarus. Basically it’s the fire and brimstone version. Tartarus enjoys the cold and desolate style of prison for evil beings who are to be reformed through time or suffering. Same here but it gets much worse with active tortures being part of the curriculum. Now how about we get out of here.” Discord led the way making sure the pair weren’t surprised by the sudden gouts of flames being shot out of nowhere.

It was at that point when they noticed a car far off in the distance grooving to the music. They said nothing about it and just stared in apt confusion over the sight. As the reached the end of the path a giant floating green gem came into view. Spike’s eyes immediately went wide dilating bigger than when he had met Rarity for the first time.

“Spike want!” He lunged at the gem dragging Discord, who had grabbed him with his tail the moment the jewel came into view, with him due to his enhanced strength flinging the two on top of it. Within seconds the jewel glowed and teleported the two away from the gem leaving behind the fiery landscape and glittering jewel far behind.

The two landed in a pile dazed at the sudden teleportation but were still in one piece. Spike was doubled over crying his eyes out. Discord silently scoffed at the notion rolling his eyes in exasperation. With a little prodding Spike did eventually dry his eyes and toughen up though he still muttered something about his precious. The two took a few steps forward finding the floor squish every time their feet touched it. Then they finally smelled it. All around them was meat. Fully cooked steaks, strips of bacon, large patties of beef and several grills surrounded the pair.

“Well this would cause nightmares to any pony walking around. Wonder if Pinkie is still… sane? I don’t know if that’s the right word… still Pinkie, sounds better. Seeing something like this would make any vegetarian society probably try to kill themselves from the shock.” Discord looked around slightly interested but blaise about the spectacle around him.

Spike’s eyes were still wider from the splendor around him. While he had been raised strictly on a vegetarian diet he would not deny that he was curious about what meat actually tasted like. He had been able to partake of fish a few times when he was working as a liaison between Twilight and Ember and had found it delectable enough provided he cooked it. Now before him was a chance to eat some meat without needing to feel guilty or hate himself for eating someone he might have known.

‘Don’t think about it, Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.’ Spike sweated heavily as the two ran forward being attacked by giant sunny side egg yolks and flying salt shakers. The cotton candy clouds didn’t hold up much better when the salt managed to pierce through seemingly absorbing moisture from the clouds. Flame breaths merely made the eggs into flaming yolk meteors forcing the two to run away from the assault.

“Food doesn’t work that way!” Spike screamed out as the two passed by the jutting forks which held on to more platforms covering the two from the salt showers that had plagued the pair. Slightly burnt and highly annoyed they reluctantly took a break underneath one of the platforms managing to keep hidden from everything that had attacked them. They quickly took out the meals from Spike’s backpack eating as peacefully as they could while the chaos around them was still erupting. Discord seemed fully at peace in his habitat while Spike greedily ate the meal and several gemstones.

“Can’t handle the sight of meat?” Discord mused slightly while finishing a vegetarian taco he had found.

“Not really… I’m curious but I don’t want to risk my way of life just to try something new that could change me entirely. I can’t say I haven’t had meat before but it was fish. This is much worse when I think back to Applejack’s farm. I know most of the pigs and cows that board there and I know what these particular meats are and where they come from. It just feels wrong but even I know I have carnivorous tendencies.” Spike merely sighed as he crunched on another gemstone. He had covered his eyes again thinking back to what he had felt.

“Is that all? I mean meat isn’t that big a deal. It’s nice and flavorful but nothing to write home about.” Discord thoughtfully chewed on another taco answering very bluntly.

“You’ve eaten - when? How?” Spike merely looked up at the quiet draconequus who was merely staring out at the salt shakers as they danced around one another. He turned back to Spike though his face seemed more solemn at this point.

“Long time ago. Way before I terrorized Equestria I managed to find a world where animals didn’t really have sentience and some were treated as livestock. Basically bred to feed others in a sense. That was their culture and their way of living and animals didn’t really care one bit because they had found shelter and were kept alive longer living to near symbiotic relationship levels with them. Anyways that led to society that advanced leaps and bounds while remaining omnivorous and only slightly aggressive. Nothing to worry about with meat but since you’ve never had it I would refrain from eating it. Besides some of this stuff smells rotten already and I doubt you want to be violently sick for the next few days.” Discord poked at some of the bacon strips noted how rigid they had become and some of the charred flakes fell off.

“Right ignore the meat that’s all around us. Maybe we should just get out of here already then. Have you felt anything at all since we got here. Something tells me that this world has more in common with chaos at this point.” Spike quietly replaced the backpack on and took stock of his surroundings. He had still been hesitant of using Applejack’s mark for much seeing as the last time he did he nearly knocked himself out from the power output. Discord had laughed the whole time they were bouncing around.

“Honestly I have felt a pull but everytime I think we’ve found it it moves position and then we get teleported somewhere else. Right now all I have is a general direction and nothing more.” Discord grabbed Spike in his tail once again and ran off in a specific direction weaving around the floating salt shakers and hopping over the lit burners that got in his way letting the cotton candy clouds douse them whenever he didn’t have a clear place to jump.

At the end of the path was a large pad on the floor and nothing more. The two were utterly confused at the straightforwardness of the path before them that they almost didn’t notice the large T-bone steak break out of the bacon strip and stomp after them while breathing fire.Utterly shocked by the sudden turn they fell backwards on the pad and were warped away from the sudden danger while the T-bone shrugged somehow and melted back into the bacon.

The two got back up from their fall only to notice that they were underwater. Every single wall around them was made of glass and faced out to a sprawling city deep beneath a sea. Discord looked around noticing that there were glass tubes leading in every direction and beyond.

“I really don’t understand this world at all. We keep following a set path and going… wait there’s that feeling again… It’s stronger now. Looks like we’re about to get lucky now.” Discord smirked noticing that the feeling was moving. Within the building. Spike looked out through the window and saw no sign of fish swimming through.

“We’re really far… underwater, huh? Think we’ll get out of here safely?” Spike trailed his claw against the glass his eyes locked on the other buildings in the distance. The vastness and constant shifting from different locales had started to get under Spike’s scales leaving him anxious.

“Yup. Now follow me cause I got a lock on the things we need. Don’t know how long it will be here for still but we should investigate it before it goes too far.” Discord picked Spike up with his tail and raced off through one of the tubes taking care to knock the floating bags of hot air patrolling through the area. For the most part it was a straightforward path leaving no unnoticed turns or dead ends.

The first real problem came up when a huge burly dog was patrolling the area. A few flung clouds and sudden lightning bolts did absolutely nothing to the beast except singed his fur and leave the scent of ozone in the air. Spike charged up his breath to full power and fired into the creature’s back near point blank range. It was only knocked to the next tube completely unharmed and capable of moving in its patrol albeit in a different tube. Spike was worn out once again from unleashing full power but recovered much faster letting him try some regular fireballs. They did nothing.

“Well that’s unsettling. These guys seem to be stronger than I thought. Full power blast didn’t even do much but push it away.” Spike huffed in annoyance. The fact that his blast still did more damage in the long run was comforting but dread washed over him afterwards. ‘I’m so glad I didn’t miss and hit the glass.’

“They do seem a little stupid. I don’t mean Canterlotian stupidity either. This is genuine stupidity probably from being created as muscle. Whomever did this to them probably hated them as a species but knew he still needed to have loyalty in some doses. They’re well trained I suppose. Hm… Let’s try something more dangerous this time.” Discord placed his talons against his chin stroking his beard thoughtfully while he formulated his plans.

“Am I gonna regret asking what are we getting into?” Spike crossed his arms still lost in annoyance and migraines. This plan would probably end in tears but he wasn’t sure who was going to be crying.

Discord grabbed Spike and summoned as many cotton candy clouds around the dog trapping it in one place as he slithered around the edges barely staying out of reach. Then the dog got mad and harmony energy started to fill it. It’s eyes finally realizing sentience and immediately tried to break the tube. The pair jumped into the next room just as the blast doors shut and the tube flooded. The monster drowned being crushed incessantly by the pressure it was feeling. The energy left it where it floated disappearing into the aether once again. Drowning seemed to be on the sphere’s itinerary and mercy was lost at the moment.

“That was nuts! I thought they didn’t want to kill us!” Spike screamed out while he clutched his belly to keep himself from shaking too much.

“They probably wouldn’t have let us but they still need to be credible as a threat. Can’t make this easy on us nor can they let us be cocky about the abilities we get from these marks. Not to mention that these cooldown times that kick up whenever we overtax our abilities make them slightly more dangerous. We’re playing with a roulette wheel at this point. It’s interesting wouldn’t you say?” Discord smirked maliciously while his talon clenched tightly around a cloud he had summoned.

“I guess. Still we need to find whatever we need to find in this area. We couldn’t find a way to contact Luna in Dash’s area and I don’t think that our message got through either. It’s not that I don’t trust Bandanna Dee but I think that something happened before he could do anything. All we got from Starlight’s realm was a message and Applejack was nowhere to be found. You can’t blame me for being a bit pessimistic.” Spike let his arms dangle off to the sides. His frustrations finally got the better of him and he couldn’t hide it anymore. Too many ways to die and too little ways to survive them all even if he did have powers to protect him.

Discord said nothing. Once again another of those comforting moments and it nearly flew over his head. While he kept the stoic mask on his mind was swath full of anecdotes and tales he could say that might be beneficial to keep Spike from wallowing but most of them were also from his days of being an overlord of chaos. Mulling around with his ideas he reached as far back into his mind to his conversations with Fluttershy. Mentally wincing from one of her ideas but steeling himself to do the deed he hugged Spike. It was short and uncomfortable to him and after finishing he doused his whole body in chocolate milk just to get the feeling off of him.

“Thanks… I’ll do better of keeping the emotions in check,” Spike picked his voice up managing to break the sadness out of his tone. “ Also let’s never speak of this again.”

“Agreed.” Another cotton candy cloud quickly scoured all over Discord wiping off the chocolate milk shower he had finished.

Reluctantly the two continued down the path managing to get lucky and run only into the small gas bags that had flown around. When they reached the end of the largest room they had seen they noticed something right above them. It looked to be like a pod with small jets attached to its sides. Discord facepalmed at that moment and let out a frustrated groan.

“We’re gonna have to go through with that to get somewhere new. And the direction to where I have that feeling needs that pod as well. This is gonna be tricky…” Discord grabbed Spike in his talon and jumped up into the pod using the cotton candy clouds for platforms to climb into it.

They were instantly popped off the building and forced to control the pod through the floor panels that jutted out on the pod’s floor. Then the timer started up revealing sixty seconds before the air would run out. The trip took them past many obstacles as they followed the circular path towards one of the other buildings off in the distance. A quick jet past meshing led them to one of the weird metal tube that were jutting out of the rock faces. By coincidence the two locked onto one and the timer had jumped up from the twenty-five it had been at to a solid fifty-five. They soon jetted on their way with only the smallest of winces whenever the terrain decided to be uncooperative. Several cracks had appeared on the glass pod leaving the two oddly nervous and Spike wouldn’t use his fire breath to patch them up.

“The change in temperature would cause the cracks to burst out and kill us immediately!” Spike yelled out.

“Only if you do something wrong I’m sure we would be safe if you got the timing right!” Discord shouted back.

The enclosed space left the two over anxious and out of their safe zone. Mercy was at an all time low until the building finally came into sight. Ten seconds remained of air in the pod and they threw caution to the waves and made a beeline for the entrance. At two seconds left they reached the entrance and plopped to the floor of the building elated to be alive. The pod shattered right after they had gotten off leaving them stunned at their fortuitous luck.

With wild abandon they raised mugs of cotton candy filled with hot chocolate courtesy of some well timed flames and chugged in celebration. There was nothing sweeter than hot chocolate after almost dying for the fifth time that day. ‘At least I hope it was only one day.’ Discord quickly downed his drink and took stock of the area around him. More glass tubes led off into the distance and the feeling seemed to be moving closer to them. Shaking off the feeling for the moment he noticed these small cats that seemed to be guarding the area. They all looked angry slowly eyeing each side of the tube but when their eyes had locked for a moment there was no recognition that Discord was even there. The eyes were dead to everything around them but it didn’t look like zombism. They seemed controlled like one of his discorded ventures but with less free will.

“How good are you with control right now on your fire?” Discord waved his paw at Spike trying to usher him over to the tube.

“Lousy. Why? Think I can break through something this time and not just push it backwards?” Spike raised an eyebrow as he stepped forward seeing the strange little cat creature before him.

“Found some enemies you might have an easier time with. Also not mocking you about the power this time. They seem more shoddily built.” Discord waved his arm before him pointing at the cats in the tubes.

“Right… This should be fun.” Spike rolled his eyes and charged up his breath. The apple mark started to lose color from the first apple when he released the bolt of fire out. It quickly found its target vaporizing the creature to ash. There was a small cough on Spike’s end but he didn’t feel that bad from the preemptive strike on his part. For the next twelve tubes they were forced to take out a cat creature with a well placed fire bolt letting Spike recharge every four tubes. Strangely the charge time on the apple mark was faster than the star mark whenever it ran out which Discord kept track of if for no other reason than to curb his boredom from not doing anything.

Finally reaching the final room of the building they made it to a large teleportation room with another pad before them. What caused them to pause and be utterly stunned was the being working on the controls. Standing around and fiddling with the levers and buttons was a pink pony with cotton candy styled mane that was incredibly dark pink. On her flank were the same marks on the door, three balloons of yellow or blue. To say they weren’t overjoyed would be an understatement.

“PINKIE!” Both shouted aloud causing the mare to fall over and spin around landing a triple salchow from her falling position before facing the two. Her eyes went wide with shock then tears started to flow freely.

“Guys… Guys. Guys!” The loud ‘eee!’ sound that followed let them know just how much they were missed and the hug that nearly crushed both their spines together cemented that notion immediately.

Author's Note

Finally happy with this chapter.

Through the Laughter 2

To say that the occasion was unwarranted was a gigantic lie in the eyes of Pinkie Pie. A min party had sprung out of nowhere showering the two in confetti and sprinkles for some reason. The sheer joy on her face had left the two stunned by just how wide her smile had gotten and how genuine it seemed to be. The tears had still been trickling down her cheeks while the reunion went on. Discord at least kept up the sweets demand providing the beverages while Spike merely danced with Pinkie to make sure the smile on her face remained. Though the party soon came to an end as Pinkie packed everything back up into her mane. Then her blubbering reached its peak when she tried to speak.

“I was so worried about you guys. You turned into potato chips and started cracking to pieces then the big meanies chewed on gum in front of us but I’m sure it was you two. Then they ran off without even thanking us for the food which was super rude. I didn’t even get to give them a party for arriving and I had already planned to make decorative cupcakes of pure vanilla and pure chocolate which would be so sweet they could burn your face off in a flavor explosion. Then we all found these mirrors we had to go into just to find you guys again but the princesses were all like ‘We will hold the line!’ and I was all like ‘Oh my Celestia you ponies are so brave.’ while Twilight was all ‘But I don’t know nothing bout birthing no fillies.’ then I found this world which was almost as random as me. It was amazing and I went on so many adventures though my hero-ing days did get a bit out there. Jim was a bit… sociopathic from time to time. Still we did save the universe but I now have to save him from himself. Anyways I worked super duper hard on figuring things out but I don’t really get the controls on this thing then I found this cape with my cutie mark on it but I don’t think it’s doing anything for me. Maybe Discord could make it work out better than I can. Still its super fantabulous that you two are still ok. I thought you had died.” Pinkie finally took a breath of air. Spike eyes twitched after the intensity of everything that he heard while Discord had just shoved cotton candy into his ears. They could handle the party, they could handle the sobbing, but they couldn’t handle the rambling.

“I’m glad we’re not dead too Pinkie. Now what are you doing here now when you seem to be done in this world.” Spike motioned his claws to all the levers that adorned the machine she had been standing at.

“Try to summarize faster if you please.” Discord piped up eliciting a chuckle from the perky party pony,

“Well Jim got hurt so I’m taking over and hunting down a dangerous criminal known as Professor Monkey-For-A-Head. He’s a very bad man who worked with these other villains to make a powerful super suit using the Battery of the Gods, ” Pinkie held up a small replica of a suit with a small D-battery with a small sticky note on it reading ‘Battery of the Gods’. “Right now I’ve been going back to previous adventure spots hoping to get a clue as to his whereabouts. Though now that you guys are here it should be easy. Also this is for you Discord. It seems important, I think” Pinkie smiled just a widely seemingly content over the new turn of events.

“Sorry Pinkie but I’m have trouble with what you just said. Did you say Professor Monkey-For-A-Head and use that seriously? This world is so Celestia damn confusing to me.” Spike rubbed his temples trying to alleviate the aneurysm that was building up at this point. The chaotic nature of the world made his skin crawl which confused him because it never had happened when Discord used his chaos magic.

“Yeah. I know it’s a bit strange but that’s the truth of the matter. He’s a big meanie who works for an even eviler jerkface. I wanted to make the beings of this world smile but everytime I make some progress those weird spheres come in and ruin everything. You should’ve seen what they did last time I almost got everyone here to sit down for peace. It was horrible. Everything I know doesn’t seem to work here and they make sure that it doesn’t… “ Pinkie’s mane deflated but her eyes didn’t betray the determination she felt.

Discord place the cape on his back which for some reason had gems in the shape of Pinkie’s mark on it. He felt whole the moment the clasp was wrapped around his neck. The gems glowed softly and the feeling of the item in the world he needed disappeared.

“Pinkie, where did you get this?” Discord was stumped because it shouldn’t be possible that she would have this.

“Oh that old thing. I found it a long time ago when we faced an evil queen. That was quite the adventure but that is a story for another time. The author doesn’t want spoilers until after we finish your adventure you know.” Pinkie explained almost matter-of-factly while her mane re-poofed back to its original shape. She turned back around to the console working at the controls before she finally felt that she got the right settings.

“I think I have his location. Are you two ready to go save somebody… someworm… I don’t really know in this case because they’re anthropomorphic now. Hm… we’ll go with the second one then. We’re gonna figure out how to save him now.” Pinkie triumphantly pumped her hoof above her head before bouncing over to the teleporter pad. The pair followed her forcing the three to get shunted far from the underwater city to locales so far away.

The three landed in a heap with Discord on the bottom followed by Pinkie with Spike carrying up the rear. Groaning the three extricated themselves from the pile rubbing the soreness while Pinkie pulled a detective cap out of her mane. Quickly blowing some bubbles from the pipe she had acquired from somewhere she led the three out of the room they landed into a giant cruise ship in the middle of space.

“WHAT!?” Two beings screamed out while Pinkie began examining for clues.

“Well that’s surprising.” Pinkie spoke up but her eyes were on a small machine around her hoof.

The two looked at Pinkie while her nonchalant attitude made their eyes bug out from the shear strain. Spike was sweating bullets while Discord was looking around a bit worried about the environment.

“Whata-a-matter with ya two? Haven’t you seen a ship in space before. I know Spike has at least seen one in any of the comics he’s read before. I don’t know what’s got you so shocked Discord.” Pinkie raised an eyebrow in confusion before breaking out into a giggle fit. She looked around as well and finally noticed just what was getting their attention.

Standing at the other end of the deck was a tall figure wearing a yellow hazmat suit with a large glass dome surrounding their head. The head was pure black with yellow eyes and a strange beak like appearance from where his mouth was. In his hand was what looked like a hair dryer but the muzzle seemed to hold large rusted hooks. Then he took to the air and slowly hovered over to the three.

“Well well well… If it isn’t Pinkamena Diane Pie. Looks like you got a little entourage with you right now. Seems a shame you came so far for absolutely nothing.” The figure shot out raised his gun firing off a set of hooks at each of the heroes forcing them on the defensive.

“Oh Psycrow you’d be so much happier if you just let me throw you a party. Still can’t let you go empty handed.” Pinkie started tossing a collection of pies at the evil bounty hunter knocking the stray hooks out of the air while hitting his feet as well.

“Now we actually face a villain from the world and get his name as well. Jeez why is it that Pinkie’s world makes the most sense now.” Discord summoned a cavalcade of cotton candy clouds sending them flying at the hovering Psycrow. He dodged with the greatest of ease like a man on the flying trapeze.

“I know that’s really surprising too but I was think more about why we’re in space. This guy looks a bit goofy to me.” Spike fired off an assortment of fireballs taking care not charge any of them up. A well placed shot from the hook launcher caused the fireballs to explode in mid air. The mini food war encompassed the entire deck after a while leaving rusty hooks, pie filling, cotton candy residue and scorch marks covering the entire deck.

“Give up Psycrow. You know you can’t stand against the creamy filling of the pie known as justice. It’s super delicious and made from all the sweet things in the world. There’s apples and cherries and mangos and strawberries. Oooh maybe I should make some cherrychimichangas then you’ll sit down for the friendship.” Pinkie waved a hoof around the ship while Psycrow only groaned at the pseudo-pun she had made. A flurry of hooks answered Pinkie’s hoof.

The cotton candy clouds couldn’t hit their mark due to how fast he was zipping around which infuriated Discord to no end. For some reason the clouds wouldn’t summon directly on top of him which he had tried every other summon. Spike was also having trouble being unable to fully track his target even with the constant stream of fire he was forced to use just to get a lucky break. The gouts of flames always barely reached a leg causing Psycrow to squawk like a crow.

“Oh that’s why you’re Psycrow. You’re a psychotic crow. That makes perfect sense.” Spike exclaimed smiling widely at the revelation. This didn’t turn out well for the bounty hunter though who gritted his teeth in annoyance and rage.

“So what if my name is like that. At least it had meaning. What’s your name? Spike right. Nothing more than a dog’s name for a worthless creature with no sense of agency.” Psycrow sneered at the words he mentioned while his eyes glowed a dull red before fading away to the yellow he normally had.

Spike flipped out charging up a large beam and releasing it on the unsuspecting bounty hunter. Pinkie also got in on the action pulling out her party cannon but she kept the shot only primed. The beam missed as Psycrow dipped down underneath the beam. He then got in range of the party cannon that had appeared below him as a large cannonball flew out of the barrel. With the cannonball also flew Psycrow with a damaged jetpack flying out of the glass pane and out into space leaving the three behind, exhausted but victorious.

“What was that?” Discord groaned as he pulled off some cotton candy that had fallen on top of him filled with hooks.

“What do you mean? Psycrow or the ship? Maybe it was the hook gun thingie? Spike what do you think he means?” Pinkie seemed to roll her hoof around trying to find the right words to say. With a flick of her hoof the party cannon also disappeared. Spike merely stayed quiet and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

“The look in his eyes I mean. It was quick but I tend to notice those tiny things. It looked like he was controlled at the last set of attacks before you sent him flying. Chaos magic was being used on him.” Discord explained shocking Spike while Pinkie just smiled.

“Oh that’s what you mean. They are actually named Harmonia and Angra Mainyu. Those are the magical beings that govern over the magics of harmony and chaos.” Pinkie smiled even wider at the knowledge she had found out and relayed.

“You mean those spheres had names!?” Spike was the first to actually squeak his surprise as manly as he possibly could.

“Yupperooni!” Pinkie bounced around with giggle.

“So that’s who we’re dealing with then? I knew about Mainyu… though I still think that is the stupidest name he could have chosen. Damn mythologists are going to get on our case now for choosing such a complex name. Still this is surprising. How did you learn those names Pinkie?” Discord gestured his talons towards Pinkie forming a cotton candy seat for her in hopes of hearing a long tale. He did not get a long tale.

“They told me after they tried to infect the villain of this world. I got them so super duper mad and they blurted out their names saying ‘blah blah blah you dare defy blah blah blah…’ then I hit them with a pie.” She giggled at the memory.

“Right… Anyways Pinkie weren’t we hunting down someone right now?” Spike pointed out returning Pinkie’s serious face and detective gear. She began walking off for the captain’s cabin leading the two forward.

The rest of the deck was bare even though the ship should have had staff manning it. The eerie silence sent Spike on edge though he hid it went behind his chattering teeth. Discord merely looked annoyed now that he knew who was behind it. Though he didn’t want to admit it the reveal had left him worried. Angra Mainyu, as he was called now, was one of the more dangerous aspects of chaos and a near omnipotent god on his own level. He was just as strong as Mainyu but his stamina didn’t match when it came to using chaos magic. ‘Damn I should have really started working out the moment I was released from my stone prison… the second time.’

“Okie dokie lokie everypony. I know he’s in this place. And before you ask how I know it’s Pinkie Sense. I got a bulgy eye and itchy hoof which, as you know, is the universal sign for the target is nearby now.” She raised her hoof just like Twilight did whenever she was making her point or being right about something before giggling and leading the way.

The two nodded in agreement though Spike was still skeptical about some of the points she made. Still Pinkie Sense made a whole lot of sense in the long run and hadn’t betrayed them before hoof. The cabin door opened with a metallic shriek allowing the three to hop inside. The cabin was smaller than they expected and in the corner was Professor Monkey-For-A-Head but he wasn’t what they expected at all. The professor looked a manic mess and could barely stand. His eyes were filled with Chaos magic and the spasms from his body caused him to jerk in unnatural movements. Pinkie stopped smiling once again forcing the three to get him on the small bunk that was for the captain’s leisure.

When they lifted him his whole body was cold and lifeless. If not for the light breathing he could have passed for a corpse. The sight was much worse than the other beings that had been infected with chaos magic. Psycrow had been made stronger and much more intimidating though against three opponents, that was asking too much. The professor looked to be suffering much worse effects than those that had been discorded so long ago.

“Discord do you remember when you had discorded us?” Pinkie spoke up. Even though she was frowning she kept the bubbly tone though it sounded strained.

“Yeah. I do remember. This is much worse than that though. Whenever I used my power to corrupt your thoughts I never let it get this bad. I always left enough of your minds behind so you could break free if you absolutely needed to. Remember I’m no killer no matter what my power set may be but these beings have to have something within them to withstand the overwhelming magical energy behind both chaos and especially harmony.” Discord explained while he attempted to drain the chaos magic out of the professor. It was something he could do but it had been a very long time since he had actually done it. Placing his talons on the professor’s head he attempted the spell.

A chaos tendril smacked away the talon and the chaos magic dissipated before the spell went off. Pinkie managed to keep Discord from being flung back thanks to her natural earth pony strength. Spike took the lead and wisped flames around the dispersing chaos magic which strangely elicited some screams of pain. The professor stopped looking horrible and started mumbling about horrible nightmares involving a pink pony wearing a hay bale and somehow gaslighting his entire lab every single time he blinked.

“What’s up doc?” Pinkie chortled out mystically pulling a carrot out of her mane and chewing on it obnoxiously. The professor’s eyes turned to pinpricks before he passed out from sheer terror.

“Pinkie what did you do to him?” Spike managed out while poking the professor just to make sure he didn’t die. Luckily he was still breathing and looked healthier than he did previously. The chaos magic had been taken away.

“Oh Spike~ Don’t you remember? Never break a Pinkie Promise or I will get you~!” Pinkie’s singsong tone said everything he needed to hear. The understanding for breaking a Pinkie Promise was somewhere between insanity and the apocalypse. Discord, finally, got his attention to his paw pointing outside.

“Pinkie. The two of us are gonna step outside so you can deal with the professor. We know you can get the info out of him. You’re very persuasive and I believe in you.” Spike genuinely smiled for her leaving a tear of joy exiting her eye as she got to work on waking him up. The two stepped outside and closed the door leaving Detective Pinkie to play both good cop and bad cop.

“What’s wrong?”

“What are we going to do about this? We are probably going to be forcefully yanked back to the room with Freya any moment now and this cape had done nothing for me yet even though it had the right magical signature of an element embedded in its fibers. Pinkie will try her best not to split the party and this moment right now is the only exception because we are still here by this door.” Discord explained almost monotonously as if the happiness in his voice had been wrenched out of him. His frown showed his thoughts on the matter clearer than his words.

“I know so we tell Pinkie and hope for the best. It looks like they have overtaxed their abilities right now so we can at least circumvent some of their designs. Remember they messed up when they tried to turn the tides in both Turner’s and Lyra’s worlds. Whomever was the villain in those worlds made sure to make themselves as uncooperative as possible or were so far into their own power that they could at least manage both this Harmonia and Angra Mainyu. Right now we have a bit of free reign since we managed to meet back up with one of our friends and tell them that we are ok. We’ll tell the truth after she gets the info and hope that we can make it to the end of the adventure.” Spike formulated the plan and bit the bullet in this case. He was going to tell Pinkie what was going to happen.

The two reopened the door stepping into a musical number as Pinkie was playing every instrument she had used against both Trixie and the parasprites. The professor was wide awake trying desperately to escape in any way he could only for a selection of cotton candy clouds to envelope his legs and keep them in place. The screams and vulgarity that were heard that day trumped anything that Discord had even heard with a lot of clever lines about Pinkie’s mother and bear traps was used in every combination possible. Spike merely looked confused by the twist of events and merely covered his ears to keep from hearing the insults. Pinkie then played faster which made her louder causing the professor to cry uncle while the monkey half seemed to swoon at the music that was being played.

“Now tell me where you hid the bomb Professor!” Pinkie put the instruments aside and slapped the professor across the cheek leaving a hoofprint behind.

“What the hell are you talking about you crazy b-” The professor screeched out before being struck again.

“Tell me about the rebellion plans and the Death Star!” Pinkie struck him again though on the other cheek leaving another hoofmark behind.

“What are you talking about!” He screamed in annoyance while the monkey half seemed to enjoy the physical abuse.

“Oh right sorry bout that. Hee hee hee I meant to ask where the battery is and so help me you better tell me. Or else!” Pinkie dramatically raised her hoof skywards as if she could drill through the sky and pierce the heavens.

“I’m telling you jack shit you stupid pink pony.” The professor crossed his arms in defiance and glared at Pinkie.

“You asked for it then.” Pinkie breathed in deeply readying herself for her plan.

“I like funny words. One of my favorite funny words is kumquats. I didn’t make that one up. I would work in a kumquat orchard just so I can say kumquat all day! Kumquat. Kumquat! Kumquat~! And pickle barrels. Isn’t that just the funnest thing to say. Pickle barrel. Pickle barrel! Pickle barrel~! Say it with me. Pickle barrel, kumquat, pickle barrel, kumquat, pickle barrel, kumquat, chimicherrychanga~!” Pinkie began her singing repeating those three words over and over again making sure to get extremely shrill whenever she got to chimicherrychanga.

“Shut up. Shut up! Shut up!” Professor Monkey-For-A-Head tried in vain to cover his ears but that wasn’t enough to stop the sound and the monkey was working against him now keeping his human arms away from his ears.

Discord formed two set of earplugs for both himself and Spike and made sure they were dense enough to cover sound and by the eighth repetition of Pinkie’s impromptu torture session they were glad to still be sane enough to handle just how brutal this actually was. Tears formed freely as he suffered silently, at least it was silently for the two heroes of this tale. Then Pinkie stopped talking causing the two to take off their earplugs.

“I’ll talk just stop talking for the love that of pumpernickel bread just make it stop.” He was openly sobbing at this point unable to even fall to the floor defeated because of all the cotton candy that was surrounding him.

“That’s good Doccy. Now we can finally be friends and then I’ll tell you how I got my cutie mark.” Pinkie beamed a genuinely friendly smile while the professor grimaced even deeper. He proceeded to pull the battery out of his pocket handing it over to Pinkie.

“Now get out of my sight. I never want to deal with this ever again!” The professor merely fell over as the cotton candy dissipated allowing him to curl up into the fetal position and suck his thumb from the four hours of horrible torture he just endured.

“Let’s get out of here guys we need to go save Jim!” Pinkie led the way back to the deck bouncing and smiling the entire way forward. Spike and Discord followed as well but their pace didn’t try to match the party pony in front of them as they were ready for one of the hardest things they could possibly do.

Once on deck she pulled out a large rocket from her mane. She quickly called it the Pocket Rocket Deluxe though the reason it was deluxe was because it was pink instead of red and silver with a blue metallic trim. Discord stood still as Spike stepped up to the plate.

“Pinkie… We need to talk… “ The tone was anything else than pleasant.

“I know... “

That was all that was said. While she didn’t say more about it she just hugged the two in a near bone shattering hug gushing out tears like a fountain. They looked apologetic for their need but that didn’t change how they felt about this. There was something fundamentally wrong with leaving Pinkie to combat evil alone in this universe but they also knew just how dangerous it would be if the spheres got involved directly.

“Will you guys even be okay? I could call the girls before I head out so that way they can know that you guys are safe. Maybe even they could do something about it like use their magic to-” Pinkie was stopped by a claw and forced to be quiet which she frowned at.

“We’ve thought about that Pinkie but we all know that they effortlessly stopped all three of the princesses without even trying just to capture the two of us. They’ll hurt you badly if we go with you so we play their plan for now just to make sure you girls stay safe. That is my Pinkie Promise to you. We’ll do our best to keep you safe. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Spike did the motions managing to nudge into Discord who did the same albeit without words behind them.

Pinkie merely nodded smiling through her tears as a door appeared nearby. On it were the same three balloons that had led them to this world. Pinkie nodded them to enter the room and get back to their quest waiting for them to finish stepping through the threshold. The door closed and they were gone from sight back wherever they had been kept as captives.

Biting her lip to keep from crying Pinkie got onto the Pocket Rocket and keyed in some coordinates before gripping the throttle in her hooves and pulling it with all her might. Within those few seconds her smile came back because now she knew. They were safe and probably had a plan to get back home. Even within the cold darkness in space the laughter that could be heard amongst the stars broke every law of physics possible just from the happiness she felt. Though that happiness was not felt by all beings.

Floating right outside the window she had broken out of was a highly pissed off Psycrow who had managed by sheer force of will to swim back to the ship. While he didn’t see where the dragon or the freak had gone he did notice the pink pony was all alone once again. A devious smile appeared on his pseudo beak as chaos magic started to fill him once again. Those few seconds allowed the magic to work on his jetpack repairing it good as new. He zoomed off following after the crazy party pony ready for another round against the pink menace.

Spike stood up looking around for Freya while Discord removed the cape. It floated over to its right spot and disintegrated allowing the gems to be dragged into the floor and lighting up the corresponding mark as well. Freya was nowhere in sight leaving the two a chance to relax and wait for the next door to reveal itself The next door had three diamonds glowing incandescently within the darkened room. Spike rushed for the door eager to get into the next world just to find Rarity and save her… ‘ I mean find her to get her to the others’ Spike quickly amended the author’s words until a tail stopped him in his tracks.

“Not yet. We need to rest after what we’ve been through and right now Freya is missing. That means we should take this chance to figure out some more things about our enemies. Rarity isn’t going anywhere casanova and she can wait. Besides, remember what you told Pinkie. You wouldn’t be able to do anything for her anyways.” Discord smirked though his eyes seemed more tired than they used to be. Spike merely looked on indignantly though the sigh that escaped his lips revealed just how he felt on the matter.

“Can’t blame a guy for being a little excited. What do you mean though?” Spike asked as politely as he could though the harsh tone still lived within his breath.

“They already had to deal with the problem and probably already dealt with it as permanently as they could without disrupting the world they were in. That means we are being watched again. Pinkie probably got lucky otherwise they would have attacked almost immediately. So now we have to make them believe that we didn’t manage to contact any of them. We go in too eager and they’ll think we did something that should have been impossible.” Discord explained but still made sure Spike was still wrapped in his tail just in case.

“Fine.” Spike finally relaxed and went into the next room allowing them the chance to rest. Freya made her appearance once again.

WELCOME BACK. IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH A LOT OF TROUBLE. I SHALL PREPARE SOME REFRESHMENTS FOR NOW. PLEASE WRITE DOWN WHAT HAPPENED WOULD YOU?

The piece of paper he was handed was not bare and he kept quiet.

They have finished the battle and emerged victorious. Eat this note when you are done. They know you have finished four of the rooms already and they are eager to find if you did something differently this time. Luckily only a fraction of their power was left behind and was just placed under a time release spell. Keep quiet about things and mind Spike as well.

Finishing his reading he worked on reaching Spike and keeping him quiet. The rooms were quiet and Spike was asleep on his bed. Annoyed, Discord went to his own bed resting from finding out about Harmonia and Angra Mainyu.

‘Great. Those two were always trouble back before I made it to Equestria. What the hell are they planning now. Last time they tried some plan they nearly caused three different apocalypses just by channeling their magical power. Then they targeted me and for some reason Spike. We’re targets but what kind of targets?’ Lost in his thoughts Discord went back to checking out his marks now. Near the lightning bolt mark was now three balloons. He couldn’t activate the power while in the room but he knew he would find out what the mark would be able to do.

Meanwhile…

WE HAVE MISSED SO MUCH DUE TO THOSE PROBLEMS. WHY DID YOU THINK WE COULD MAKE DEALS WITH THOSE CREATURES?

Harmonia hovered over one of the scrying pools she had summoned and checked on Pinkie’s world. They had just left meaning they had no data and the pain from combating that particular monster had left it drained.

CHAOTIC REMEMBER? BESIDES WE BOTH WERE THINKING THE LONG TERM HERE AND THOUGH WE FAILED WE DID GET A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN DEALING WITH HOW TO CONTROL OTHERS AND HOW TO SET UP LONG TERM CURSES. I FEEL THAT THIS WASN’T THAT MUCH OF A WASTE OF TIME. WE MISSED SOME THINGS BUT NOTHING HAS CHANGED ON WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. WE WILL GET WHAT WE WANT AND NOTHING WILL CHANGE THAT.

Angra Mainyu focused it’s eye appearing to be smiling while the scrying pools went back to Turner’s and Lyra’s world. The two that had tried to fight against them were now stuck in time loops. No one would interfere again,

What the Heart Saw

Author's Note

This is one of the short interlude chapters after four ponies. I decided to add these chapters only to show off a bit of what each of the princesses had to fight against during their partner duels.
I hate having to work two jobs but work is work and money is money so chapters come as I finish writing them. So instead of the 3 to 4 days I'm not gonna put on a deadline. It's too much pressure to finish something and I didn't feel right for what I wrote.

What the Heart Saw

Flashback (When Luna left to find the new bearers.)

She couldn’t believe her eyes. They had been called in to check on the map of the Castle of Friendship and instead they were fighting an unspeakable evil which seemed to tear apart two of her friends. ‘Well Spike is at least… Discord needs to earn that trust again… maybe I’m too forgiving?’ Cadance finished her thought just as another shadow creature struck against the shield that she was behind. Another moment later saw it turn to mush in her cornflower blue glow. That was the twenty seventh time that another shadow creature had made it past her aunt.

Celestia was standing in front of her three blades made of solar energy flared in front of her stabbing an unsuspecting shadow before another blade would either bisect them or flay them. The brutality that Cadance saw shocked her to her core. Her own aunt had always been so mellow and even when Chrysalis had attacked during her wedding she had kept her attacks to beams of solar energy. This… this was something much worse and horrifying to imagine. Luna had left a while ago and the tree had begun processing even more enemies for the two. Anubis had remained quiet and relayed the messages that had come in from the group.

Starlight had been hyperventilating when she called in. The mention of honest to Celestia zomponies… ‘or was it zombies?’ had brought about a shudder to her soul. She had learned that the world she was in was harsher than anything that had happened in Equestria even with the invasions and Tirek’s assault. The concept of friendship was almost kept to a minimum with political intrigue and the want for power vastly overwhelming that angle. Luckily she had managed to make friends there… true friends as she came to know it as. Anubis had gifted her with some peculiar spells which neither of the princesses knew why it would be necessary.

Cadance lifted up several of the shadows ripping their limbs off almost effortlessly before tossing them towards Celestia. She had summoned a solar lance and made sure to catch the falling bodies before igniting the spear turning the shadows back to ash.

‘It’s for the good of the world Cady, keep telling yourself that and it should make the feeling stop.’ Cadance took a few steps from her own breathing exercises. The amount of carnage that she had been part of left a sour taste in her mouth. She had wanted to be stronger… more active in saving her ponies. But this… this was monstrous, Half the shadows had looked like Spike which made it harder whenever he said something in his voice.

“Remember niece. They are not the real deal. Constructs and nothing more. Don’t let their voice nor their appearance deter you from protecting this world. We must push on!” With that scream Celestia skewered one of the shadows on her horn. The creature slid down helplessly before exploding in a flash of her golden magic. Cadance stared at the display as three more enemies fell to the golden sun like blades.

Shaking her head Cadance gripped another of the shadows which looked like Discord and crushed it within her telekinetic grip before tossing it into the chasm below the island. The violence was getting out of hoof due to the amount of foes. It was even worse when Celestia managed to turn her mane to pure fire as she incinerated everything that came close to her or passed by her. The smile on her muzzle looked unnerving and held together by true malice.

“Celestia… are you ok?” Cadance managed to weakly mutter out catching her attention. Her eyes were glowing with pure magical force in a white light while the smile kept on her face. She was enjoying herself immensely and looked forward to the carnage. The magic slowly died down returning her mane back to its illustrious moving pattern and a sad smile graced her muzzle.

“Sorry dear niece… I may have lost myself there for a moment. It was too good an opportunity to not pass up. Over a thousand years of dealing with pompous windbags and no possible way to deal with them other than talking or ignoring them. Can you imagine not having any outlet to deal with that travesty of justice. Aside from the incident with Luna, which caused a whole other body of problems to my psyche, there hadn’t been any way to truly manage all the stress that came from the day to day drudgery.” Celestia spoke up though her tone betrayed how she truly felt. She was still happy to be getting rid of all the rage she had built up over the long centuries of life.

“I… understand. I know what you mean though not at that level I guess. I remember when I thought ponies only saw me as that pretty pink princess, It tore at my heart that that was all I was seen as. I wanted to lash out but it would have been a bad idea overall. Luckily I found out how they truly thought of me. It helped me and kept me from being overwhelmed by anger.” Cadance felt her spirits heightened.

“I know that niece. I know all too well when they don’t take you seriously. Even I used to have pink hair and they considered me ineffective. I’ve managed to work out a way in getting past the narrow minded unicorns of the Day Court. Now they take me seriously at least.” Celestia motioned her hooves for emphasis before knocking out another shadow that tried to attack her from behind.

The quiet soon came up and left the two fighting more shadows which seemed to take the form of the ponies which left for random worlds. The Starlight shadows and lights were especially dangerous managing to perform magic which paled in comparison to Celestia and Sombra. The dark crystals had nearly pierced through the shield while the light beams matched Celestia’s in power knocking them out of place.

Rainbow Dash doubles used plenty of lightning and speed to confound the two managing to break the shield in places forcing Anubis to focus on making more shields. The Pinkie Pie shadows were especially horrifying managing to pop in through the shield forcing Cadance to get her hooves messy smashing the shadows before they could smash into Anubis.

A random slash appeared over Celestia, marring her side while beams of light barely passed her mane. Cadance took more than a few smacks whenever Shadow Pinkie managed to get a stomp through. Still Anubis kept healing them throughout the spree forcing them to keep fighting against the impossible odds. Luna hadn’t sent word yet about finding the new bearers as another hour passed by leaving them to fight more doppelgangers. The tedium had forced Celestia to use a lot more power than she had wanted to use burning the Twilight clones before they could activate their spells fully.

The pandemonium that rose from the conflict also brought to light just how strong Cadance’s own shield spells were. Every other clone would be violently bisected or vivisected whenever she focused on their bodies with her magic. Celestia, on the other hoof, brought in more solar weaponry she had created. Skewering or slicing became the norm during battle as more shadows warped in or oozed out of the tree. They weren’t all that strong either only getting in grazing hits rather than decisive ones.

“They aren’t doing anything right… “ Celestia muttered under her breath as another Starlight clone flew in trying to tackle her… only to end up impaled on her horn and bursting apart from the surge of magic. Only frowns adorned the Princess’s face leaving her feeling sick from destroying another Starlight clone. Focusing back on the problem Celestia returned to a scowl and kept fighting against the tides. Gripping many of the shadows together including the two Dash clones, which had managed to get off multiple lightning strikes which had destroyed two of her solar weapons, she forced another mini sun to be created burning the shadows beyond ash.

“Oh Celestia this is horrible… “ Cadance grimaced as she focused another shield on a Starlight clone ripping the head from the body before tossing the body away. The sickened feeling that had been building up in her throat finally forced itself free. Anubis, though exhausted, happily warped the mess away even though he was focusing on giving Starlight a measure of protect from something called Las Plagas.

Soon more messages also came in with Twilight requiring gravity spells, Pinkie needing another party cannon, Fluttershy sobbing uncontrollably about what role kindness played. There were more every second. Rainbow Dash had the worse time when she said she needed Luna’s help soon but she wasn’t back yet. Another frantic call came in. Rarity mentioned something about a travel agency in the land of the dead. Applejack needed more protection from energy draining. The messages kept incoming leaving Anubis to crack almost incessantly while he managed the requests.

Throughout the calls more shadows kept pooping out of the tree at an increased pace. The shadows stopped charging aimlessly forcing themselves to coalesce into one being. A doppelganger of Luna soon stepped forward.

“Forsooth! Now I shall make sure your corpses join your friends!” The mock Luna spoke in the Royal Canterlot voice leaving a very stunned Celestia while the other shadows disappeared from sight oozing into the Luna clone.

“Vile monster, you dare take my sister’s form. Have at ye!” Celestia charged forward meeting the false alicorn in combat. Lance struck blade as solar and lunar weaponry danced around the cavern leaving the glistening afterimages of blades behind.

“Watch out Celestia!” Cadance had barely brought her horn to point as several lunar based weapons formed into being dripping with what looked like poisoned shadow were flung into Celestia’s direction. A shield made of love sprung to life seconds before the weapons could form. The Luna clone then focused her weaponry on the pink alicorn only to be stopped by Anubis’s shield.

“Your battle is with me monster!” Celestia charged forward forcing the clone to the ground and disrupting the magic flowing through the lunar weapons making them dissipate from sight. The two mares swung their hooves at each other knocking one another into the ground. Blood seeped from some of the wounds Celestia had acquired on impact. The fragments of the ground tore into the shadow letting the poisoned shadows burst onto the ground.

The monster still stood back up only much less intact. What had been wings were now just stumps spilling out more shadows which uselessly spilled to the floor. The face was partially mush now showing off nothing underneath but the remains of the left eye. The horn had also fallen off leaving Celestia to look at a horrifying visage of Luna brutally mutilated and still trying to kill. As the creature stood back to its hooves Celestia charged a large batch of solar energy then released a prismatic spray of light all over the creature burning away the shadows and leaving behind nothing. The room was secure once more and silence reigned supreme.

MONSTERS HAVE BEEN ROUTED FOR NOW. SENSORS HAVE DETECTED LUNA ALONGSIDE THREE OTHER PONIES. PREPARE FOR THEIR ARRIVAL. I SHALL HEAL YOUR WOUNDS BEFORE THEY GET HERE. THEY SEEM BUSY RIGHT NOW AS WELL.

“Thanks Anubis. That was horrifying. Can they do that for all of us?” Cadance motioned where the Luna clone had been standing. Her eyes seemed to gaze off into the distance almost uncertain about the world.

YES. THEY LIKE TO USE PSYCHOLOGICAL TACTICS WHENEVER THEY MEET SOMEONE WITH MENTAL BAGGAGE. IT IS USEFUL FOR DEALING WITH STRONG OPPONENTS BUT IT DOESN’T ALWAYS WORK AS THEY WANT IT.

“So it just wanted to torture us with something then?” Celestia scowled at the tactics the spheres had taken when something else came to mind. She bit her tongue on the matter though and kept it to herself… until Cadance noticed.

“What’s wrong Auntie? It looks like something is on your mind.” Cadance poked at Celestia though she did so cautiously. The actions that she took still scared Cadance deep in her soul just by the viciousness she had seen.

“We still don’t know what or who had tried to attack us. All we know is that they hold dominion over harmony and chaos. That is more dangerous than anything else we’ve been through and there is no possible way to deal with this effectively or without hurting our little ponies,” Celestia looked over to Anubis scrutinizing him intensely. “But you do, don’t you?”

YES.

“Why haven’t you said anything about it to us? Do we not have the right to know what exactly we are up against?” Celestia stomped her hoof cracking a bit of the island. Slowly she regained her composure and quickly controlled her now shallow breathing.

IT WASN’T RELATIVE OR USEFUL IN THE LONG RUN. KNOWING THEIR NAMES WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO COMBAT THEM BETTER NOR WILL IT GIVE YOU THE CLOSURE YOU SEEM TO BE SEEKING. IF YOU MUST KNOW THEIR NAMES ARE HARMONIA, AVATAR OF HARMONY AND ORDER AND ANGRA MAINYU, AVATAR OF CHAOS AND BLOOD. DOES THAT SATISFY YOU?

“No!” Celestia cried out realizing the information was practically useless and the fact that they could be considered gods of their respective influences was sobering a thought.

Finally, Luna floated down the shaft with three ponies within her magic allowing the two other alicorn princesses to sigh in relief.

Through a Rarity 1

The rest period had been a little unnerving at that point. Every time that Spike would close his eyes hallucinations of Rarity would pop up in his mind. The problem with that was that at that point dreams were no longer possible while within the realms of the room they were in. Each sleep period left them unsatisfied and crabby. Sleep was not supposed to do that. Regardless the two got back up to their feet quickly eating more of the snacks in the backpack. The contents didn’t seem to spoil or age throughout the entire trip. Discord mused on the thoughts mentioning how the avatars of each magic or godhood would be able to tear apart the very foundations of physics in the multiverse. Then Spike’s head started to ache from the aneurysm forming from learning concepts of multiple realities and their constantly shifting timelines. Then he slammed his head on the floor to stop the thinking.

“It’s not that complicated ya know.” Discord weakly glared at the young drake. Spike, for his part, looked apologetic for cracking under the pressure.

“Sorry. I just didn’t want to wrap my head around that many concepts that I have no idea about in the first place. Seriously why does the dog version of me exist as well alongside a stuffy british version of me, a burly warrior type, and for some reason multiple, multiple mare’s playtoy versions of me as well. Seriously dude, that’s just weird.” Spike punctuated his point by pointing one of his claws at Discord and swirling it around then jabbing it at him to emphasize that point. Discord merely looked unamused by the action.

“Don’t ask me. That’s what the crack shippers and artists like to do. We all get that treatment though some are really interesting at least. A few well written ones and a lot of badly spelled ones.” Discord smirked and snickered thinking back to his time messing with everyponies work.

“Forget about it. Let’s go through the next door already. I feel rested enough as is.” Spike took a few steps towards the door only to be stopped by a very lively tail.

“First things first. You’re eyes look horrible. I know you like to stare at her flank a lot but that usually just gets you smacked. Why the long face then? Jeez, that sounds so weird not saying it to either an equine or a yak.” Discord actually looked concerned… that his joke was wasted on the young.

“Nothing like that, “ Spike hissed out. “I… I guess I’m thinking about whether or not we’ll actually see Rarity.” At the mention of her name he slightly started floating off the floor as if he was a hot air balloon.

‘Full of hot air I see… ‘ Discord slowly poked him and strangely enough Spike began to deflate bringing his feet back to the ground. Though his first thought was that he reacquired his reality warping powers he did notice the light pink aura forcing Spike back down. Rolling his eyes he glared at Freya who sheepishly backed off into one of the other rooms.

“Probably not. Remember we managed to meet with Pinkie only because we got so lucky that one of the other beings in these worlds was drawing too much attention to themselves. We’re gonna be on our own for these things.” The bluntness hit Spike like a ton of bricks forcing him back to the ground after he began hovering once again.

“You don’t know that for sure… right?” The silence that followed the innocent question filled in the disappointment even deeper.

Without warning Discord merely opened the next door while Spike trudged in half heartedly. Freya floated out and rotated in mid air acting as though she was waving them off. Discord also half heartedly waved back before disappearing past the now closing door.

HE REALLY NEEDS TO GET OUT OF THAT ONE TRACK SET OF THINKING ALREADY.

Freya mused to herself while continually examining the four pillars of light that had come from the four elements collected so far. The three of Loyalty, Laughter, and Honesty shined their respective colors of red, blue, and orange. The final one glowed a lilac light softly humming amongst the other. Freya examined it closer but the element it represented did not come to mind. Still it intrigued her enough to continue her analysis. There were seven more new elements and they needed to be categorized.

Discord opened his eyes first. They had fallen a short height after walking through the door and for some reason he felt ticklish. Then he noticed a claw poking his side as it struggled to get out from underneath him. For a few seconds he wondered whether or not getting up would be the best course of action. Then he remembered some of the gobbledygook that he read from Twilight and that Fluttershy had drilled into him every couple of nights that friendship sometimes required sacrifice. He slowly stood back up releasing Spike from his prison and flapped him out rug style. He popped back into shape and was set down on the floor while Discord smirked apologetically.

“Sorry bout that. First step seemed to be such a doozy. But enough about your clumsiness let’s figure out where we are now.” Discord turned her eyes forward only to find an endless desert before him. The sight caused him to blanch into an annoyed scowl.

“Great! A desert. Now we can truly reach the perfect tan!” Discord sounded angry and was glaring daggers at the desert before he noticed Spike pointing a claw behind him. Behind him was a large sprawling city filled with walking skeletons all dressed in business casual or fancy suits with silver trims and red ascots. A large festival was taking place with everyone congregating along what looked to be the main boulevard. Several non sentient skulls were hanging around lit up by ghostly fire.

“Oh… Convenient.”

“Looks like we arrived just in time for a festival. Wonder what it is… looks Nightmare Night themed don’t you think?” Spike took point while Discord followed. They had switched off so many times and at that moment Discord didn’t feel the pull of an element leading him anywhere. He still wanted to try out what power he got from Pinkie’s element but the crowd made it hard to do so. They needed to stick together for now and only after they could blend in would he try it out.

“We should find a way to blend in don’t you think?” Discord pointed out while several of the calaveras took notice. They snickered at the two underdressed figures even though they rarely wore clothes in the first place.

After a few minutes of searching they found the costume department run by a very large skeleton man. He wore a poncho and on top of his head was a large sombrero. Looking up a toothy grin took over and his voice came out afterwards.

“Welcome amigos. Welcome to this, our wondrous celebration of the Day of the Dead. Looks to me like two demons forgot to get their costumes ready now. Do not worry amigo I have just the thing for you… provided you have the means to purchase them.” The skeleton lasciviously licked his lips while the two looked very uncomfortable by his pointed gaze.

“You accept gems right?” Spike answered immediately while holding out one of his remaining rubies. The skeleton sweated bullets as the red rock lightly bounced in Spike’s claw. The skeleton man drooled openly and nodded his head handing over two different costumes as the ruby bounced into his hand.

Quickly changing into their dress shirts and black jackets with matching sombreros and heading out into the city. The patrons of the festival didn’t bat an eye at either of the two leaving them to enjoy the atmosphere.

“Seems like greed still plays a part in this world. Now the question remains. Where are we going?” Discord looked around noticing just how many skeletal beings infested every corner of the city. Spike couldn’t see through the crowds forcing Discord to raise him up with his tail. It had become common practice at this point for the draconequus and habit forming at that point.

“I’ve been feeling a pull for a while now but it seems to be far away across the city. Also it feels like it's higher up for some reason. Maybe we should ask somebody about this place. This Day of the Dead seems cultural and important for some reason.” Spike pointed out their dilemma. While brute force had served them well in the past the sheer size of the city was daunting to say the least.

‘He’s right… I don’t have the power to scour the city right now but maybe Pinkie’s ability would help.’ Discord felt the balloons on his back glow. Without warning he stepped around a corner away from the sight of others. Then he and Spike reappeared across the street without having to pass through the entire crowd.

“What the…! How’d you do that!?” Spike screamed out accidentally drawing some patrons attention which faltered after a small glance. Fully ignored once again Spike saw that Pinkie’s mark was half drained. Discord kneeled down breathing heavily from what appeared to be strain.

“Well this is gonna suck. Seems like warping just like Pinkie is gonna be extremely tough to do. Short distances only. And I was supposed to be the master of those moments.” Discord growled slightly. The limit on his powers was starting to annoy him but he shut down the anger. For now plans would be the only thing required and anger had no place just yet. When he met with those spheres then anger would be well deserved.

“Seems like the powers are matching the ponies we meet somewhat. Starlight gave me the ability to augment my own natural physical abilities. She did that too when she fought Twilight through those time duels. Applejack’s is weird though. Charging my fire breath doesn’t seem like it fits her but maybe it has to do with her apple bucking prowess. Charging up her kicks to hit just the right amount of powers to strip a tree bare fits her like a glove.” Spike surmised his own growing curiosity and looked at Discord, hoping he would follow up with his own ideas.

“I get what you’re saying. Dash corrals clouds and returned to me my cotton candy clouds while Pinkie gave me back my 4th wall breaking teleports. Still the limitations are getting annoying. Those brass balls really went out of their way to make us powerful for what seems like no reason at all. We’re targets and I doubt giving us the power to fight back is part of their plans.” Discord pouted slightly scowling off towards the distance. The Pinkie mark had yet to start charging.

“They probably have a reason but we can’t see it just yet. Or they are just stupid and really like a challenge. Villains like to beat heroes at their strongest to shatter their confidence and make them feel pathetic. Maybe it's just as simple as that?” Spike threw out the thoughts trying desperately to figure out whether he was right or not. It still didn’t feel like the right answer.

“I doubt that but we don’t really have much of a clue just yet. For now let’s follow that angle and make sure we get better with these abilities we got. So far we got the enhancement and cotton candy clouds on lock. You’re still having trouble with output while my power is limited to two jumps it seems. We’ll have to figure out just what we’re getting into later. “ Discord grabbed Spike placing him on his shoulder.

“What am I a parrot?” Spike rolled his eyes but an amused smile came up instead of a scowl.

“For now, yes. You’re my laser parrot ready to strike down foes for great justice or something to that effect. Now quiet or no cracker.” Discord smirked and continued walking down the street ignoring the skeletal people that littered the streets.

“Squawk. Spike wants a cracker.” He deadpanned so hard the whole crowd felt chilled to the bone.

Discord laughed uproariously sending the crowds into worried stances. Discord’s real laughs usually sent chills up anyponies spine. Seems it worked even better when those that heard were made entirely of only bones. As soon as they stepped around the corner they teleported once again across another street leaving dozens of skeletons gasping at the sudden disappearance.

Unbeknownst to the two of them a skeleton man had seen them. He wore a green beret and for some reason was wearing army fatigues in the sweltering heat. Still he saw the two disappear and reappear. Maybe this would be his big break. Manny and Rarity had disappeared somewhere on the ocean after the last message he had sent. She had mumbled about a purple dragon from time to time.

‘Was that the one she mentioned?’ The army skeleton quickly called in his men warning them of the two people of interest. The plan was set and the beep from each member signified their readiness.

With a quick hop he disappeared into the shadows ready to find the two once again.

Discord had been walking for hours now. Spike had signaled him multiple times that the feeling was getting stronger then disappearing. They had become more and more frustrated with each passing minute while the festivities had begun to get crazier while the sun set. Spike had begun walking on his own slamming his fist against the buildings releasing the pent up rage multiple times. Discord merely watched the beings around him go about their night without a care in the world. Neither was having a good time and the constant walking had been infuriating. Still they had made progress and there was little more that needed to be done other than find whatever artifact was left for them to find.

‘So far we’ve found a shield, a spear, a pair of gauntlets, and a cape. If this is Rarity’s world then it’s probably going to be something clothes related. Still why did these ponies get these items to their name. I know my reasons but those aren’t the same as theirs.’ Discord mused to himself as Spike felt another pull.

“I feel it again Discord. It feels like it’s up then it goes down and then off to the distance. This is so Celestia damn annoying now and I don’t understand why this is so hard to find.” Spike growled out as loudly as his own anger could take him. The sounds of the festivities drowned him out though.

“Yeah I believe ya. Maybe wherever it is the one responsible for it knows what it is for. Or they just really like the accessory. We really need a better lead.” Discord leaned against the wall tired from the constant walking while Spike sat down next to him watching the sky change to an inky blackness with random stars he didn’t recognize dotting that void.

As the two of them got comfortable for the long haul they hadn’t noticed the two militarily garbed individuals who had managed to sneak close to the two through the crowds. Before they could react fully an electric current coursed through both their bodies knocking them unconscious. The two figures dragged their quarry into the shadows of the building.

“Sal, the targets are acquired. Viva la revolucion!” The voice was controlled but the want to scream was strong in the two of them. Still as professionals the two managed to get Discord and Spike into a nearby vehicle. Restraints were unnecessary as the two were fully out letting the two soldiers drive peacefully away from the scene towards one of the aqueducts in the city.

Aches and pains was all that awaited them as the dragon and draconequus woke back up. The nap had strangely been for only an hour, Leaving aside how they knew they examined their surroundings finding themselves trapped in a small stone room with a television and a tape.

“What is that doing here?” Discord examined the television intently noticing just how old it actually was as the VCR was built into the thing.

“Oh a television. Think it gets any channels? I did see some in that parallel dimension but they were all talk shows and drama bomb moments. They were kind of boring if you ask me.” Spike wistfully remembered just how much the girls had watched the one movie about these really cruel girls who were in high school just like them. It had been dull until that one girl was run over by a bus which he laughed at to the confusion of the girls. Not his finest moment but her actions left him feeling justified.

“I think whomever captured us wants us to be educated.” Discord pointed at the tape and pushed it into the slot while the TV came to life. On the screen was a skeleton man wearing a green beret and army fatigues.

‘Sorry Amigo for the accommodations but time is brief. If I’m too understand this correctly you two are Spike and Discord. I know that we have met under strange circumstances but it was for your safety and ours. As of six hours ago we have lost contact with a pony you may know as Rarity otherwise known to the rest of us as Radiance. Needless to say she did mention that you two might arrive here somehow but she couldn’t elaborate. Right now we have a general idea what you are looking for but I will tell you right now that it is more dangerous than you will ever know and that your lives will be in constant danger once you start down this path. In a few minutes one of my guards will lead you out of the room to me. So long as you don’t knock him out and try to escape we can assist you with what we need to do. Supposedly this information came from one called… Pinkie Pie. Regardless we are sure we can come to a beneficial arrangement for this.’

The television turned off and left the room in darkness. Spike tensed up when the lights went out while a door opened up revealing the only stream of light to enter the room. A guard entered slightly bigger than the other skeletons that had been walking through the city. While both of them wanted to deck the guy even though they were told not to. A quick jerk of his head motioned the two to follow him.

The darkness of the compound they were in felt drab and quite devoid of life regardless of their talk about actually housing Rarity. Spike looked on dubiously doubting every word they spoke but Discord merely looked amused at the attempts of being secretive. The first window he had passed revealed that they were in the building they had just stood outside of a while ago. Shoddy was the first word that came to mind.

“So what are we in for my good man?” Discord gestured to their guard and was surprised when he received an answer,

“Sal needs to get the details you’ll need to get through your mission. I don’t know more than that. It’s all need to know.” The guard motioned them to enter the next room where a skeleton with a green beret stood with his back turned to the door. Off to the side was another skeleton with a large red perm and vaguely female figure. Honestly it was hard to tell when the skeletons they saw were actually female or not.

“Sal, I presume?” Discord motioned his claw toward the green beret while Spike jumped on top of the table to make sure he wouldn’t be ignored.

“Yes. Seems my guards can’t at least keep their mouths shut. Mind you we have been told of your arrival a while ago. Also we were told you might need some help to find something you’ll need. I’m sure you’ve felt it haven’t you Spike?” He turned around and looked at the small dragon on the table.

“You could say that. I keep feeling what we need but it keeps moving and I don’t know how it’s moving that fast. So what do you want then?” Spike had folded his arms and looked on a bit petulantly about the circumstances.

“I see amigo. A man of few words or some such thing? Let’s cut to the chase then. We have word of some deal going down later tonight and I need two beings on our target at least to keep an eye on him. You do that you’ll also find whatever you are looking for. It won’t be easy nor will it be something you’ll enjoy.” Sal looked from the dragon to the draconequus and turned over a manilla envelope to them.

“Seems legit but who is this target. By your stance this particular mission is worse than what you could possibly be mentioned.” Discord opened the manilla folder to the picture of another skeleton which looked surprisingly fat and had a yellowing tone within his bones. Spike looked as well and felt a chill down his spine for some reason.

“His name is Hector Lemans. He’s a horrible gang leader here who’s been working the shadows of El Marrow for many years. The problem is that he’s been working on some dark plans within the city. We need you two to go deep undercover and figure out just what he is up to before it is too late. “ Sal finished the explanation while Spike read over the finer details.

“Is there a good plan or are you just telling us to walk up to him?” Spike’s eyes turned to the next list which held the names of every person who had been ‘sprouted’ on his orders.

“Sprouted eh? What does that mean? I’m sure killed would be more apt here wouldn’t it?” Discord pointed out while he looked through the five pages. There were way too many names all on the list.

“In this land we can’t really die normally. Remember we’re skeletons and this is the land of the dead. Throughout the land there are dangerous weapons made of flowers.” Sal was about to continue but was cut off.

“Flowers!? Are you serious?” Spike interjected but was quieted by Discord.

“Yes these flowers are able to technically revive us keeping us from being able to finish our long journey of purifying our souls. Basically he is stopping us from finding our peace in the afterlife. We don’t know where his base of operations is but we have decent intel that he’s going to be celebrating up above in one of the penthouses. We managed to acquire two invitations but our agents are too conspicuous so we needed two new agents. Are you two bad enough muchachos to save the city?” Sal motioned the two invitations towards Discord and Spike but held firm.

Discord looked down on the tickets while Spike kept examining the dossier. It was dangerous and stupid but it was something that would help them. The feeling was still pulling him somewhere but he didn’t even know where it was.

“Fine. We agree don’t we?” Spike finally spoke up.

“Sure. Just give us a direction.” Discord agreed.

Through a Rarity 2

It was crazy and was an ill-advised plan regarding Hector LeMans. The only true identifying mark they had known about him was his indescribable need to wear a fez. Discord had mentioned that fezzes were cool when worn by the right being. The other thing he mentioned were that fezzes also marked you for death. Unfortunately being in the land of the dead made it kind of hard to pull off. Since the two of them couldn’t be ‘killed’ or reincarnated from the land they had eagerly accepted the mission. Spike remembered it like it was yesterday. It had been twenty minutes ago.

“So you agree with the plan amigos?” Sal kept his eye sockets trained on the two handing them another set of papers.

“Yeah this should be fine. Still it seems like this guy is a small fry in the grand scheme of things. What did he do that was so bad?” Spike once again voiced his concern.

“Amigo please don’t joke like that. He is a dangerous crime lord who has stolen something valuable to all the citizens of La Marrow. He had been orchestrating a grievous plan to steal tickets for the entire populace.” Sal waited a moment while their incredulous looks took over.

“Tickets? I’m sorry to say that we’ve kind of dealt with things that have dealt us some form of horrible nightmare. I mean a really horrible nightmare…” Discord remembered back to the weird creature that had attacked them from Dream Land and the trouble it had brought them.

“These tickets are special. If you earn a ticket they allow you to gain access to your eternal reward in the Ninth Underworld. It’s basically a ticket to heaven in a sense. We have some intel that he’s sold other’s tickets to a wrongful owner. Though there is no oversight here meaning that we have to do this ourselves.” Sal motioned towards his soldiers pointing out that they were victims as well.

“So it’s a get out of jail free card basically and those that don’t have it have to earn it or something like that?” Spike spoke up.

“Yeah something like that amigo. If you don’t they send you deep into the abyss. Para todo la muerta es una pesadilla. I don’t think I need to tell you how bad that is.”

Spike was confused but Discord merely nodded in understanding. The look in his eyes meant he would explain it later to him. With actual direction now the two left the base with their plans and a way to get a message to the resistance at any moment. It was crude but the messenger bird they had was actually tougher than it looked and without a line to Manny it was just sitting around doing nothing.

“You never did explain what that phrase meant. Care to fill me in?” Spike muttered as the two reached one of the largest buildings in the city. It was apparently called the Department of Death. The towering building seemed to ooze something sinister which made Discord slightly giddy. Then he remembered that he was asked a question.

“Oh right that. If I remember my several different lexicons from different worlds and alternate universes he said that ‘for all the dead it is a nightmare’ and then I think I heard one of the guards muttering about hell. That’s basically a much more bloody tartarus which I think we already talked about before hand. Also you seem to be tensing up there. Find something interesting.” Discord pointed out the sudden shifting of Spike’s arms which twitched up towards the tower.

“I feel it. I feel it so close but why now! I thought it would be harder to find than this.” Spike nearly shouted only to catch himself mid shock.

Discord merely shrugged as the two entered the lobby only to find it completely empty. There was no one around yet in the center was a strangely furnished garden with the center of the lobby. Strangely drawn to it Discord looked into the center. Blinking even quicker than usual he silently turned back to Spike and said something he thought he would never say considering where they were.

“I think there’s a dead guy in the planter. He’s not moving at all which is weird cause they’re all skeletons. So… we’re dealing with a ruthless sociopath that enjoys using the bodies of his fallen foes as topiary bases. I like this guy. Really shows some style but much messier than Celestia was.” Discord mused on his past a bit. Long ago he would be anger at the thought of being turned to stone but now it was just a memory. One that he could control and not lose himself to. It was just a weird time over all but he was free now and in a much better position regardless of what anyone could say about him.

“Any ideas then? I’m pretty sure that we’re immune to the bullets here in their effects but I think bullets still hurt.” Spike pointed out.

“Don’t get hit. Otherwise I got nothing. Let’s just get close enough to figure out where this item is. Write out some notes for Sal so we could send it to him before we leave this world.” Discord looked closer at the skeleton noting how weathered it actually looked.

The two ignored the rest of the planters around the lobby and made their way towards the elevators. It was unsettling now to think of the multiple planters in the area as pieces of bone jutted out of them at such weird angles that it made it seem like they were just strange plants within them. Discord entered the open box first and searched through the buttons before him.

“If Sal was right at this time Hector will be looking around the employee floor. We need to get jobs here. As far as I’m concerned we could also act like customers looking for a way into the afterlife.” Discord pressed the button marked with a three. A few floors had been added since then but due to seeing no employees within meant that the festival was living up to its name as a true Day of the Dead as all the dead ones were outside.

“I don’t know. We’re considered demons in this realm so we’re probably not eligible for going to Elysium in a sense. Maybe the tough guy approach would be better. What could be better than having a demon as an enforcer?” Spike quirked his eyebrow up at Discord nudging his leg slightly.

“True we can be intimidating when we want to be. But we probably don’t want to burn this building down and cotton candy doesn’t look threatening until I make the lightning fall. Damn we’re actually going to have to try tact here. That’s so boring though. Well Mister Face of the team I hope your hours around Rarity at least made you persuasive.” Discord huffed slightly. This particular world was crafted around talking too much. It was quite annoying and while the spy motif helped out it didn’t really amount to much but luck. Spike, for his part, got quiet and began to ponder something. His claws would reflexively tap against each other while his eye seemed to focus on the door.

“Ok I think I got something planned but we’re still gonna need to act somewhat sophisticated. At least partially unless he asks us to hurt someone. At that point I’m hoping you’ll have a suggestion. Otherwise we have to bluff our way thro- Woah what was that?” Spike shivered violently while his claw shot up at the elevator.

“Looks like we finally got the right lead.” Discord peered out into the hallway seeing that there still wasn’t anyone in the halls. The quiet was still unsettling as it was in the lobby.

The path to the office was clear leaving a load of doubt in both their minds. The info about Hector LeMans was still spotty and did nothing to alleviate their worry. A stone cold killer who could very well try to end their life with nary a thought. Even with their abilities the dead weren’t going to be easy to kill again. As they reached the corner Discord held Spike back and peered around it. Sitting at one door was an impossibly large skeleton man in a pinstripe suit. Spike peered around the corner as well seeing the man most likely before pulling back into the hallway.

“So looks like not everyone is at the festival. So subtle, stealthy, or violent?” Discord quipped up while summoning a small cup of cotton candy filled to the brim with chocolate milk.

“What’s the difference?” Spike immediately regretted that he asked.

“Well subtle has us pretend to be here for the job. Stealthy has you make a noise while I smother the guard in cotton candy so he can’t make any sound. And finally, my personal favorite is the violent approach which is just the stealthy way including beating the skeleton into a boney pulp. See quick and simple right?” Discord’s smile was slightly unnerving but quickly went back to being neutral.

“Let’s stick to subtle for right now. If things get dicey we’ll move on to the violent path. Besides we do need time to get some info off the man right? “ Spike nervously muttered only for his voice to trail off. “Besides it will help Rarity…”

Rolling his eyes Discord immediately perked himself up into his most confident stride and waltzed right out into the sight of the guard while Spike kept pace keeping himself as small as possible. The guard didn’t fully react but his hand was hidden within his suit and seemed to be fumbling around with something. As he stood in front of the guard he merely stared from the taller figure to the smaller figure. He was unimpressed.

“Welcome amigos… What can we, at the department of the dead, do for you this fine Dia de Los Muertos?” His hand was still inside the suit which made Spike nervous. If he was nervous though he didn’t show it. With a smug smile he practiced from the days within Canterlot society he stepped up to the guard.

“Yes we’re here to get in on a particular operation and word through the grapevine was that muscle was needed for the job. The two of us aren’t exactly happy about it but some asshole has been trying to take our positions. Figured that a generous business man such as Hector LeMans would be up to the task of giving us a shot in some small way.” Spike was humbler than he had ever been though the skeptical look on the guard’s face didn’t fill him with hope.

“And the big guy here? Can’t he speak or is he stupid or something?” The guard looked over the towering figure. If Discord was at his full power he wouldn’t have taken that from some lowly thug. Biting his tongue on the matter he did manage to say a few words.

“Letting my friend do the talking. I prefer hurting others when I can.” Discord cracked his knuckles menacingly enough that the guard quickly looked back at Spike.

“... Shit. Let’s see if the boss is in a good mood. You two wait here. Move and I will make you regret that.” The guard stood up finally letting whatever item he was holding on to alone. The door opened and closed just as swiftly leaving the two out of the room.

The inside of the office was loud the moment the guard entered. Spike and Discord merely waited… and waited.

“Did Sal give us any other info before we meet with Hector?” Spike whispered loud enough to catch Discord’s attention. Discord merely pulled out a piece of paper he was instructed not to open until they were to meet with Hector.

“Let’s see here. He wrote to mention that we are chaos demons. That people were choosing the packing method too much for us to survive and that every time we complained to the union we were forced to moonlight in other places for sustenance. I have an idea what the packing method is but it sounds really boring to me. The only thing we have to do is sell the act which is something I’m good at. You need a little work on the confidence but maybe you’ll get it some day.” Discord patted Spike’s back almost sympathetically. His tone was just too proud at the moment leaving the dragon slightly put out.

“Gee, thanks…” Spike was about ready to pout when a gunshot rung out.

“No Senor Hector… Porque? No puedo sentir mis piernas…” The guard’s voice slowly faded away while the shuffling of paper managed to break the silence.

“Come in.” A suave voice came from within the room and the two of them entered. In one corner was a beautiful topiary of flowers and plant life within the corpse of the now deceased skeleton who soon turned to dust and faded away.

Discord made sure to prepare himself accordingly. Within a moments notice he would summon a cotton candy cloud within the weapon so that neither of them would be shot. It would be unnoticeable and untraceable. ‘Who would ever believe that a demon uses cotton candy.’ Discord internally chuckled while keeping a stern look on his face.

Spike was on the opposite scale and felt very threatened at the moment. A guard who was supposed to be trusted got shot for what he could see as no reason and the murderer looked so nonchalant about it. Spike was boiling over but kept himself centered. The resistance or whatever Sal called them would need their info and burning him into cinders wouldn’t help them… or Rarity. The tickets were still hidden and Rarity was lost in this world somewhere. Even if he couldn’t go get her now he would do whatever it takes to make sure she’s safe.

“Welcome boys. I don’t know how you talked my guard into agreeing to this but stick around and I’ll get something for you two to do for me.” The giant skeleton man standing in front of them was wearing a white suit with a purple shirt and on his head was not a fez but a hat with three diamonds. Spike’s eyes instantly shot up but thankfully Discord’s tail kept him in place and out of bullet range.

“Of course Sir.” Discord managed to actually sound humble which shocked Spike. It was hard to see him manage to do that with anyone else other than Fluttershy and mean it.

“Now that’s what I like to hear. Respect. In this town its a cold day when you finally get someone to actually answer the right way. So you two are here for a job but the problem here is that that guard was told not to let anyone in the building. Slackers get shot on the spot boys and no one should try to mess with me. Dirty business I’m sure to you two but respect makes this place go round.” Hector was rambling on about concepts of respect in a multitude of ways while Spike merely stared at the hat almost unabashedly.

Discord had to use his tail to refocus Spike on something else so as to not inform Hector of their intent. As he stopped rambling he noticed something was off about the smaller demon in front of him. The draconic one was lost in his thoughts.

“What’s wrong with him?” Hector gruffly pointed at Spike. When he didn’t answer Discord lightly tapped him on the head with his talons waking him up out of the daze.

“Sorry… Sorry about that! I just am looking at you and it feels like a fez would be a better look for you. Right now you seem to be too uptight and out of your comfort zone.” Spike managed to weakly belt out a quick excuse while Hector merely cracked his knuckles.

“Now see here! This look was given to me by this strange little pony creature I met three years ago. She said it made me look more professional and was a requirement for running a business of this caliber. What makes you think you know better than this self proclaimed fashionista, hm!?” Hector warned Spike sternly but the mention of Rarity caused him to flinch even before he finished talking about things.

“I’m just saying that since you already seem to be the head of this town and the only person worth knowing that you could relax somewhat and enjoy what’s coming to you in the near future.” Spike interjected quickly. Discord merely sat back watching the fireworks go off.

“Fine opinions aside don’t talk to me like that again or we’ll have trouble!” Hector growled out actually intimidating Spike enough to make him look away. Discord stared down Hector though making him stand down as well.

“Well aside from my associate’s outburst we would like to join your crusade or what not and raise some hell in the most literal of ways.” Discord quickly forced Spike down and away from the desk trying his best to not raise Hector’s ire anymore than it should be.

“Right… Fine the job is quite simple. We have had word that one of my facilities have been raided by a disgruntled employee. Supposedly he also kidnapped this fashionista as well.” Hector explained before being cut off.

“WHAT!” Spike yelled out only for Discord to wrap his tail around his mouth so he wouldn’t try his fire breath.

“Sorry for that. He’s really a go getter and enjoys fighting the bad guys. What’s worse than a kidnapper. We’re on it boss and no worries we can get it done quickly.” Discord’s nervous smile cause Hector to quirk an eyebrow at them but he merely shrugged at the idea.

“Good we’ll talk payment after you have finished the job. Now go and get out of here.” Hector stood up and showed them to the door while Spike kept struggling against Discord’s tail.

As the two walked to the door Discord took his chance. With a snap of his fingers Hector was enveloped in a cotton candy cloud. Struggling against the sticky treat he watched as Discord ripped the hat off his head and run down the hallways. What he didn’t notice was the blue glow in his eyes suddenly spark up and the cotton candy dissolving from the sudden shift in power. Hector grabbed the nearest object in the hall which was a vase and chucked it at the running pair. Luckily Discord turned the corner only to see the vase tear through the wall and keep flying out into the sky almost unobstructed by wind pressure.

“Buck!” Spike cried out finally free enough to voice himself once again.

The two ran for the elevator but instead of running into them Discord pressed the buttons and ran for the stairs. Hector still hadn’t run around the corner which luckily enough his overall size made him slower than the average skeleton. They quietly entered the stairwell and went down to the second floor.

Hector was pissed and felt even more powerful than he had ever felt in his whole stint in the afterlife. As he ran around the corner one of the elevators seemed to be heading down while the other elevator opened up. He quickly hopped into the elevator and headed for the first floor.

Discord stopped on the second floor and headed into one of the empty rooms with a corner window. Taking out the bird he quickly jotted out the message and info that Hector was searching for an ex-employee and a fashionista pony. Spike kept quiet and a contemplative gaze descended on his face.

“Discord… We need to save Rarity.” He was holding onto the hat with her cutie mark on it. He still hadn’t put it on his head. He was staring at it intently making sure not to take his eyes off it.

“No. We can’t do anything for her. Besides he was probably lying. She’s an adult and she can take care of herself. We need to gather these things and finish the job before us. Besides we don’t know where she is and we can’t stay here trying to find where she is. Besides if we did accept the job to hunt down this guy then one of those being would take over and do exactly what he did just a few moments ago. So no we can’t do anything for her.” Discord was blunt with his words and solemnly explained his thoughts on the matter.

“Then we should have accepted the offer at least I could… I mean we could know that she is safe.” Spike was just as blunt.

“Spike do villains ever tell the truth? Even I twisted the truth to my own endeavor. I didn’t lie but I made sure my games left only one winner. Me.” Discord held firm.

Spike didn’t say anything. His eyes were unfocused and projected some rage. It wasn’t right and he could feel it in his bones. Though the truth of the situation piled on his back when he realized that Discord was right. He had no idea if she was even a prisoner or not. A criminal overlord was not the epitome of honesty and Applejack would probably scoff at the idea. After the message was sent he placed the hat on his head and felt something weird happen. Pulling out one of the gems he had brought with him he noticed that it started to glow. As he was about to figure out what power he was given a large car flew through the room they were in. Discord quickly pushed him to the floor as it sailed over their heads.

“You assholes won’t get away from me!” Hector actually jumped up into the room tossing aside whatever got in his way while the two managed to exit the room.

Charging like a mad bull Hector raced through the wall trying to cut off their escape plans. He didn’t succeed. Spike fired a few charged fireballs at Hector which barely did anything to the crazed berserker. Discord merely grabbed him and used him like a turret as Hector raced after them. The fireballs were only causing him to flinch slightly. That was enough for the two to round the corner.

As Hector rounded the corner he noticed that the two of them were gone. No doors were opened and no trace of them could be felt which was strange that he could even sense them in the first place. Screaming into the night sky he went back to the office and put his fez back on grumbling to himself as the energy he felt dissipated from his body. To make matters worse another message came in telling him that his best man somehow ended up deader than dead and at the bottom of the sea. He then tossed his desk against the wall and made his way for the casino.

Discord and Spike had ended back up at the entrance to the resistance headquarters. Discord was utterly exhausted and couldn’t feel his body respond to anything. Spike threw up in one of the convenient trash cans. The sudden shift through a Pinkie Pie style transport was unsettling even to his body and better left to a professional reality warper.

Within seconds the two were brought into the HQ and left in a room with a bed to rest in. Discord took the bed while Spike meandered around trying to keep his stomach from turning anymore. The quiet nature was marred when Sal had noticed them come in and all he got was a glare from Spike. Taking a deep breath he entered the room where Discord weakly managed to hold on to Spike with his tail. The teleportation process shouldn’t have hurt him but the power drain seemed to be taking its intended effects. Spike glowered at the resistance fighter who merely stood at attention against the baleful gaze.

“So why so angry little dragon?” Sal’s voice was slightly tense but kept the authority he retained when he sent them on their mission.

“What happened to Rarity?” Spike was just as blunt as he was with Discord earlier but the glowering continued on.

“She is with Agent Calavera. They are saving someone important to him. Why?” Sal honestly answered but didn’t say any details.

“By choice or captive!” Spike screamed out trying desperately to break away from the tail. The cotton candy surrounding his legs and arms kept him in place though.

“Enough Spike let the man talk or we’re going on another teleportation cruise. I may get tired but you’ll stop doing something stupid at least.” Discord’s coldly stated. The fatigue and strain of the new power left the smile off his face and Spike was forced to relent. Clenching his fists together Spike just looked away and kept his mouth shut.

“She is an agent and one of the few who has managed to survive meeting one on one with Hector before all this. For some reason that hat you have on your head was given to him by her yet we haven’t figured out the reason. All she told us was that it was important to be on his head and that it would all make sense at a later time and date. I guess today was that day.” Sal explained the circumstances behind the hat.

Spike looked back to Sal and let his fists fall back to palms. The fire was still burning in his eyes but he no longer looked like he was about to attack. Sal headed to the door while Discord merely kept an eye on Spike making sure he kept his cool.

“Where is she?” Spike muttered out stopping Sal in his tracks.

“We don’t know. Like I said before she’s been out of contact for a while and we haven’t got a way to find her yet. Still she’s a smart girl. She probably already know just what to do.” Sal wistfully spoke as he exited the room and left the two behind.

Spike sighed exasperated by the turn of events and looked away from the door and back to Discord. He still hadn’t said anything and looked down at the diminutive dragon. Spike was still frustrated and the look he was getting rubbed his scales the wrong way.

“What?” Spike barked out.

“Nothing. Just looking at someone who’s going off the deep end.” Discord posited his thoughts for Spike.

“I’m not off the deep end!” Spike interjected while Discord just stared at him with a deadpanned look. The one that showed he was not buying the bullshit Spike was trying to sell him.

“Yeah you are.” Discord answered with another flat tone. There was no mirth to his tone.

“What did you expect from me. I do love her.” Spike answered bluntly.

“So? You haven’t tried anything and I’m pretty sure I’ve made it clear that on this subject that you are falling into delusions. Remember guy’s night and your Schmarity princess. Spike you need to look around and stop seeing just one pony who still has never given you an answer or acknowledged your feelings. I can’t believe I’m being serious here when this is so chaotic. It’s like I’m a different draconequus or something. I don’t care if you want to follow your delusions or whatever but you can’t just drop everything at the mention of her name. That’s both unhealthy and kind of creepy. I know creepy. I’ve seen a whole site full of creepy pasta and it’s garnishes.” Discord waved his claw around and smiled that one smile he had whenever he seemed to be mentioning something only he knew.

Spike didn’t say anything. ‘Was I really that bad…?’ Taking a deep breath he tried to clear his mind until the door back to the room appeared. He didn’t want to go back but Discord had managed to stand back up and grabbed him in his tail. It was mortifying that he wouldn’t be able to save Rarity and even worse that he wouldn’t even be able to at least know that she was ok. Discord hardened his gaze as they traveled through the doorway.

With one final look the door closed leaving Spike wondering if they were finally done or not. The hat floated off his head and the fabric disappeared leaving behind the three diamonds floating in their formation. The light was summoned and a purple light appeared amongst the other pillars of light. With a heavy heart Spike resigned himself to finding the other artifacts and to his surprise the next door struck closer to home than he thought.

‘Twilight…’ Spike looked on as the next door had the same cutie mark as his best friend in the whole world, Twilight Sparkle.

Author's Note

Oh god was Rarity actually one of the hardest to write for. I still don't know why though because I'm not even writing her dialogue. I don't know I just didn't feel motivated to finish this chapter till now. Also having two jobs come out of nowhere and keep me lost in the tempest that is my mind. Still I did finish before the end of the year. Here's to hoping I do better next year and not lose focus on my writing.

Another note I have written a few short stories for Alex Warlorn on his story Ponies and Dragons(Just Have Fun). If you were waiting for my attempts to write out something I turned in quite a few stories there. Check it out if you want to see me write something silly instead of serious.

Through the Magic 1

Spike had laid back in his bed. While he wanted to go get through with the rest of the problems something was keeping him from moving. Those words Hector spoke were obviously a lie but even he couldn’t be sure. Every lie had a kernel of truth behind them and sometimes those legends had come true. Nightmare Moon was supposed to be an old pony tale but that turned out to be the truth beyond shadow of a doubt. Even when Discord had told his lie it wasn’t a lie. He had worded his confession in a way that would be impossible to figure out without lateral thinking. At least, that was what he told him during one of their guy’s night.

“Lateral thinking is the act of using creative solutions to problems that don’t follow logic-by-logic problems. Sometimes you gotta think about what you want from a problem then do something unexpected to get something done. “ Discord mused as he placed on his archer costume becoming the vigilante known only as Captain Wuz.

“So how does that relate to the Elements of Harmony from back then?” Spike looked up at his stalwart archer trying to figure out what he meant about thinking like this.

“Remember what I said back then? Oh wait you weren’t there. And I quote ‘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 unquote. When I said that I had already seen what had occurred while I was inside my stony prison. Remember one thing about this Spike. If anyone decides to trap you within stone you will still be conscious of everything around you and without the capability of reacting visibly whenever someone does talk to you.” Discord pensively stared off into the distance while Spike just watched his new friend actually be serious. They were rare moments but whenever they happened it did make Spike worry less about him relapsing.

“What was it like?” Spike asked almost on instinct before covering his mouth.

“Well… it was boring. I couldn’t feel heat or cold. There was no light but it wasn’t dark. I just was. Even then I could hear everything around me. I thought it was a dream but it never stopped. When I was first released I actually did something I thought I wouldn’t do. I stopped time for a half hour. It was the most complicated magic I’ve ever done and no one ever knew I did it. Can you guess what I did during that time?” Discord smirked widely at Spike wondering if he could guess.

Spike remained motionless as he thought about what possibly could’ve happened during those thirty minutes. There was also the sheer audacity behind his words which involved time stopping and an unspecified amount of time. Spike could only shake his head unable to even think up a real answer to that question which could be anything at that point.

“I stabbed my leg repeatedly with my talons just to make sure I actually was awake. I kept doing it because I didn’t know what physical pain was until twenty minutes into the procedure. What I remember is that the Elements of Harmony caused mental pain instead of physical. Strangely enough it causes physical alterations which is what makes magic of this world almost impossible to explain at least in terms of Harmony based magic and Chaos based magic. Even I couldn’t explain chaos magic to you because I can’t explain it well. It just is and I know it does what it does.” Discord mused while stroking his beard in his talons.

“Don’t worry about it. Unlike Twilight I can take some things at face value. Still I do wonder if you are messing with me instead. Can’t forget about the Blue flu you had right?” Spike elbowed him playfully while Discord merely mused with an odd glint in his eye.

“True enough. Still something to keep in mind about life. Either way the lesson is clear. Not everything is as it appears. Anyways Garfunkel shall we join Sir Biggins and fight against the forces of the Squizzard?” Discord took on his persona of Captain Wuz and soared off into the distance.

Spike was quiet for a moment. While they had finally become friends the frankness of his statement was unsettling. Belief had made him disprove that he was still stuck within the dream because his eyes wouldn’t follow what he felt. Spike learned some more about how much power Discord really had. ‘Still was it just a one time thing he could do or was it more?’ Spike quieted his thoughts and fled off to join his friends in their assault.

Spike finally moved himself off the bed and stumbled out into the main room where Discord was looking over the five pillars of light. Each corresponded to the main color of their elements yet some felt more chaotic while others felt harmonious. He didn’t know how he knew that but it seemed to be something to watch out for. The pieces were falling into place but the puzzle was still too out of mind at the moment.

“So I get the colors for the elements of harmony are originally these colors but shouldn’t the chaos ones fit in better with my color schemes? Where’s the plaid, stripes, and mishmash of colors?” Discord growled out but not menacingly though.

UNFORTUNATELY COLORS ARE MEANT TO BE SOLID COLORS NOT MISH MASHED COLLECTIONS. HERS IS LILAC WHILE THE OTHERS ARE THE SAME WHEN THEY GOT THEIR ELEMENTS. SO FAR YOU HAVE COMPLETED MOST OF THE HARMONY CREATED ONES. HALF HAVE SHIFTED INTO CHAOS ELEMENTS THOUGH BECAUSE THE TREE OF HARMONY HAS BEEN DESTROYED AS OF… NOW. AN AGENT HAS FINISHED DESTROYING THE TREE NOW. THE ONLY TREE LEFT IS THIS ONE OF BALANCE. THINGS HAVE BECOME COMPLICATED. YOU TWO NEED TO HURRY UP AND FINISH THESE DOORS.

“We would but right now Spike is in no mood to actually do anything. We are slaves to our fatigue if you don’t know. Can you tell us anything about the worlds we have been to?” Discord merely sat on his tail using it to prop himself up rolling his talons for emphasis.

I SUPPOSE I HAVE FOUND SOME THINGS OUT. STARLIGHT WAS IN A WORLD WHERE BIO WEAPONS WERE CREATED WITH THE FAILED EXPERIMENTS TURNING INTO ZOMBIES AS THEY WERE CALLED. SCANS INDICATE THAT THEY AREN’T. THEY ARE MERELY FAILED BIO WEAPONS NOTHING MORE.

“That does explain why that monster was chasing us but those ponies were dead and turned into zomponies.” Discord pointed out how each of them got back up from the dead.

IF YOU WANT TO BELIEVE THAT THEN FINE. RAINBOW DASH WAS ON A PLANET CALLED POPSTAR. IT IS A LAND WHERE DREAMS ARE CREATED AND THE CITIZENS OF ITS LANDS KNOW BOTH PEACE AND FACE DOWN NIGHTMARISH HORRORS THAT WOULD MAKE ANYTHING NIGHTMARE MOON MAKES TO LOOK LIKE A LITTLE FILLY’S IDEA OF SCARY. I’M SURE YOU ALREADY REALIZE HOW BAD IT WAS WHEN YOU FACED ONE OF THEIR STRONGEST HORRORS TO EVER APPEAR IN THE WORLD.

“Don’t remind me. I still have the bruises…”

APPLEJACK IS WORKING WITH A MERCENARY OR BOUNTY HUNTER WITHIN ANOTHER DIMENSION AND REGION OF SPACE FROM WHAT I’VE BEEN ABLE TO SCAN. SHE HAS BEEN ALTERED SLIGHTLY AND I’M UNSURE HOW DUE TO THE STRANGE SPATIAL ANOMALIES THAT HAVE OCCURRED THERE.

PINKIE PIE WAS WITHIN ANOTHER DIMENSION AS WELL HELPING A SOCIOPATHIC SUPER HERO. AT LEAST HE THINKS HIMSELF ONE AND HAS GOTTEN RESULTS ALBEIT ONLY DUE TO SHEER LUCK. SHE IS NOT FARING WELL WITH THE CRAZY BEING SIMILAR TO HERSELF. HER UNIQUENESS WORKS AGAINST HER MAKING HER BLEND IN WITH THE CROWDS AND MAKE HER ONE OF THE BACKGROUND CHARACTERS.

RARITY WAS IN THE LAND OF THE DEAD. AT LEAST ONE OF THEM AND IT WAS THE MOST TAME ONE POSSIBLE FOR A DELICATE MARE SUCH AS THAT. INTRIGUE IS ALL SHE WILL KNOW WHILE THERE AND FOR NOW SCANS SHOW SHE IS FINE BUT TIRED OF WALKING I THINK. I DIDN’T THINK THE SCANS WOULD BE THAT EFFECTIVE.

“I see well when Spike finally hears that he’ll get off his lazy butt and get into gear. Twilight’s door awaits.” Discord peered over his shoulder spotting the tiny drake attempting not to be noticed.

OH YOU FINALLY NOTICED HIM. I JUST THOUGHT YOU WERE BEING IGNORANT WHEN YOU ASKED ABOUT THOSE WORLDS BUT I SEE I UNDERESTIMATED YOU. GOOD JOB. NO SARCASTIC JAB NEEDED HERE.

Discord just grumbled sourly at the floating pink sphere while Spike managed to chuckle at the sight of him being made a fool of. Lightened up and now certain of her safety Spike finally strode up confidently to the door emblazoned with Twilight’s cutie mark. Discord looked on expectantly as Spike’s claw gripped the handle. With the slam of the door both of the two flew through the door onto a strange desert area covered in pollution. The door slammed behind them leaving them stranded on the strange world.

“So looks like we’re getting into the harder doors now. Any ideas then?” Spike spoke up first, While he had this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach he knew Twilight would have a chaos based element since then.

“I feel it off in the distance and down. Seems like we’re gonna be in a heap of trouble tonight though. Something about this world also feels off as if it’s dying from something.” Discord peered around noticing that there were several metal shutters surrounding the cliff faces and far too little cover for them to get by. Off in the distance were several rocks though.

“So we just walk out over there then?” Spike began to amble on not fully in a confident stride but one of determination. Then a tail stopped him.

“Let’s do this my way. Besides there is probably something wrong going on here. “ Discord picked up Spike and using a nearby rock warped to the next rock near one of the metal shutters dodging several miles of terrain to traipse over. Spike unfortunately did throw up and Discord was stuck on the ground near the rock heaving for breath. The mark on his back strangely enough was only a third gone. ‘Guess that means I got three warps now…’ Discord managed to think about it before breathing took up his thought processes.

“Warning before you do that… please? I think I just hacked up a lung,” Spike poked his chest tentatively looking for the spot. “Nope never mind… still here. Ow…”

“We needed to move and I doubt that this place is uninhabited. Besides look up towards space. This planet has no visible moon. Most likely we’re on another planet right now. A dangerous one with its own army if I’m guessing right.” Discord managed to stumble back up taking a few cautious steps towards the metal. While he didn’t touch the metal he still eyed around for something that should be glaringly obvious.

Several paces away a door slid open allowing two monkeys dressed in sleek armor to step out. Neither looked over at the pair but they tensed up the moment that the guards, they guessed, appeared. Quietly Discord grabbed spike and with a little luck managed to sneak back behind one of the rocks.

“Have you heard the news?” The taller monkey spoke up.

“What?” The shorter one answered.

“Boss says we’re going to invade the Lylat System again. He said something about avenging the legacy of his grandfather or something like that. What a goddamn blowhard.” The taller one groused as he lifted a flask to his lips chugging down the contents as if it was his only comfort on this world.

“Don’t you think he’s been a little lost lately. I mean they kicked him out and now he’s going full force into another hopeless battle. What about the rest of us? We never asked for this bullshit. Now we’re stuck under this racial profiling throughout the system just because we decided to follow someone who wanted better for us.” The short one ranted though his eyes seemed to betray how he really felt.

“Don’t give me that excuse. We knew what we were getting into. It's going to take years just to fix this so our entire race isn’t looked at like warmongers. Even this will pass and while we may hate it we gave an oath to the boss regardless of how much a tool he truly is. Look we have a few more days before things get out of control. In that time we start building up a case to get out of this. If we’re following orders the most they could do is lock us away for a year or so. We do good behavior and sign away some secrets and bam no prison time. Even better we join their military. Might not be the best idea but at least we’d do something useful instead of feed an ego.” The tall one tossed the flask away and began walking inside the shutter again. The short one didn’t follow right away. He pulled out a small transmitter and turned it on.

“You may start. He indeed will turn.” The short one spoke coldly as the sound of a cannon went off. The scream was short lived as a severed arm flew out of the shutter door and slid across the ground until it landed behind the short guard. When he turned around he stomped on the hand crushing it and managing to snap the bone that was still within into shards.

The dragon and draconequus stared at the severed arm of the unfortunate guard who wanted a better life. Spike was clearly scared but his eyes never wavered from the arm. Discord, though, stroked his beard fully lost in his thoughts as the shutter sealed off.

“Did we have any way to block damage or are we sitting ducks in this case?” Discord didn’t turn to gaze at Spike but his eyes did manage to pull him into his peripheral.

“I don’t know. Maybe that new ability I have is? I never got a chance to test Rarity’s ability.” Spike mused while he pulled out a gem and looked at it. As he focused on the gem it heated up with magic.

The gem floated up around Spike orbiting him in an elliptical pattern. It expanded into a large octahedral gem then folded out from the point into a shield. Spike stared at it as it floated in place around him. Discord craned his head down creating a tiny cotton candy cloud. With a poke he sent a bolt of lightning against the gem watching the electricity dissipate against the shield which shattered on the hit. The gem returned back to its small state and turned to dust before their eyes. The mark of the diamond on his back was slowly filling back up revealing that he could only use one shield at a time.

“Well that should be useful for this then. Look we’re going to warp one more time inside now that we got something to use for defense. You brace yourself up otherwise we’re gonna be in trouble the moment we get in.” Discord checked over his talons and his own marks now. The signal he was feeling was deeper inside this particular place.

“Oh joy…” Spike could already feel his stomach lurch. This was gonna be an experience.

Discord picked up Spike and stood closer to the rock he had appeared near. Part of Discord thought how badly he would want to create some shades just to signal his confidence but they other parts either disagreed, snarled, laughed, or sneered at the thought. His mind was much more complicated without his powers and the look Spike was giving him didn’t alleviate that notion.

“Contact.” Discord said as he slipped behind the rock and the two appeared behind the sealed door within a long metal corridor.

Several crates adorned the walls and floors and the lack of guards at least allowed the two to regain their bearings. While neither were sick the warping left the two agitated and dizzy. How Pinkie handled this was anything short of a miracle. Spike recovered first and started to peer around several boxes plotting out a decent path for the two to sneak through in case any guards did return to the exit. Discord, still dizzy, stayed low to the ground walking along his talon, paw, claw, and hoof. It was uncomfortable but stealth required some sacrifice.

“So we can hide pretty well but I gotta ask. Do we have a plan?” Spike looked around noting a few vent covers they could possibly go through if worse came to worse. Discord said nothing at first while he peered over the crates looking for something that would help them in the long run.

“Not really. Right now our plans have mostly been following the feeling that we get and tracking the artifact that represents our friends and the new bearers. So far we’ve done well enough though the enemies that have faced us are usually out of our league with how powerless I’ve been made to be. Still even due to that we’ve done a decent enough job. I have even managed to kill monsters as have you and I was shocked either of us had it in them. I guess predatory natures still lead us in some way.” Discord mused as he made his way to the vent. A quick summon of cotton candy popped the bolts holding it closed. Spike walked in first though the contemplative look on his face said volumes.

“Is that good? Aside from Ember and Mina and those from Dragon Town there has always been a large disconnect between me and draconic society. I’m not sure aggressiveness is going to be that useful when this mission is over.” Spike mumbled loud enough for Discord to hear as the two made their way down the vent passages.

“You never know. While I can pride myself in never truly killing anything I can say the creatures we’ve face haven’t fallen to our combined might. The zombie creature was crushed by a trap, Zero and most of his minions were magically created, that phantom thing was only trapped, Psycrow escaped, and we didn’t do anything wrong to the skeletons. I’d say we’re doing pretty well on the ‘thou shalt not kill’ rule we’ve established for ourselves. I won’t say that we’re gonna be able to keep doing that though seeing as we’re getting into the more dangerous worlds that are out there not excluding Starlight’s. If we have to do it we have to have a decent enough reason to do so.” Discord impassionedly surmised.

“What about those bug creatures where Applejack was stuck?” Spike pointed out.

“Unfortunately those were predators and those would be in the same level as Timberwolves which you have killed before. And don’t deny that they are alive in some sense being the will of a forest. Besides at this point semantics dictate it was to save lives. Ours and Applejack’s respectively.” Discord countered though it was more confident as if to alleviate the false guilt from taking the life of another so wantonly.

Sighing, Spike felt a weight disappear from his chest he never knew was there. It was true that sometimes things couldn’t be so easy. The Gauntlet of Fire proved that when he was forced to physically deal with Garble alongside Ember. Protecting others proved that sometimes force was necessary. Peewee would be alongside the same level though Twilight teleporting them away helped immensely against the violent responses.

Another left, straight ahead, then a turn to the right left the two completely lost. While their debates on the necessities of fighting and violence was simply too short and nuanced to go very long with all the worlds they had seen so far it had also distracted them from figuring out the right direction to go. A few more passed over grates and several mumbling cranky guards left the two feeling they were getting close. It didn’t help that Discord was now pointing at a wall since precision didn’t seem to be in built with the artifact detecting senses they now had.

“You sure its that direction? I mean there must be better ways to go about this.” Spike looked at Discord who was trying his best to keep the confined spaces from getting on his nerves.

“Yeah but its gonna require a little firepower if you catch my drift.” Discord managed to elbow Spike lightly enough to seem playful about the situation. He was actually not in the mood for his plan. Several guard patrols could be heard near their location and the wall in question was thin enough that sounds would echo if either hit the wall.

“Plan or winging it?” Spike muttered as the apple mark on his back started to shine. He also pulled out a gem and pushed some magic inside of it as well though the gem kept small in his claw. The gem mark on his back drained steadily reducing the apple mark as well.

“A little of both. The plan is quite straightforward while the aftermath is where improvisation is key. Don’t sweat the details I got this covered decently enough. Fire when ready and I’ll make sure we can get through at least the fall. Also it seems using two abilities is draining you faster probably should have held onto the gem for when we land.” Discord prepared his talons in his trademark snapping motion confusing the drake who quickly dismissed it as he readied his flame breath.

Steadying his aim Spike breathed a concentrating torrent of flames to melt off the metal and a portion of the wall behind it. As the flames punched through Spike closed his mouth and watched the section he just melted fall to the floor below but there was no clang to signify that it reached the floor. It was tiny but he had heard the snap of a talon and the enflamed edges were covered in constantly melting cotton candy. The continuous stream of the sugary treat cooled the edges around allowing Spike to peer down into the room below.

“Well this is interesting. Looks like a big empty room but there are cylinders all around the edge. Also there’s a… Wait! Look over there!” Spike pointed to the center of the room. Floating in the center on a pedestal was a strange looking bracer with Twilight’s cutie mark on it. It was golden and adorned with several decorations but the gem itself was the cause of concern. It was glowing the same purple light as the Element of Magic.

“Before you go jumping down there let’s figure out if there is any traps in there.” Discord placed his talons on Spike’s head to keep him from jumping out there.

“I wasn’t going to do that.” Spike innocently darted his eyes back and forth to not look at Discord at all.

“Of course you weren’t. Anyways let’s see what’s going on in here first-” Discord was cut off as the lights of the room came on. The tubes came to life as one figure came into the room with a small clipboard. In his infinite propensity for stealth Discord immediately summoned a cloud to cover the hole. Several spaces were left open to let them see through.

Within the room, in every single tube, were several figures that resembled either a pegasus or a unicorn. It wasn’t what was shocking though. Each pony that were inside the tubes had purple fur with a mane of sapphire blue, violet and a rose streak through it. They were exact copies of Twilight Sparkle.

The figure with the clipboard was even stranger as they had no discernible form but their eyes glowed with the same intensity of a chaos infused being. Pressing a few keys on one of the tubes it was lifted into the wall and sent off elsewhere. The one that was sent was merely a unicorn. The base on this planet had managed to clone Twilight Sparkle.

Author's Note

Looks like I'm finally getting to the dark chapters. I have a feeling if you are reading this you should know. Next chapter will be one of the darker chapters of this story.

Through the Magic 2

The scientist left the room soon after following the disappearance of the unicorn styled Twilight Sparkle. Spike was trying his best not to look out into the room at this point as his whole world started to spin around leaving his mind to worry intensely about what it meant in the long run.

‘Is Twilight even ok… What happened in this world? I can’t… NO! It’s not possible!’ Spike quietly curled up trying to possibly think of a reason for the clones. Discord carved out the cotton candy and set up a small stairway for them to get down from. With careful dexterity Discord gripped Spike in his tail and walked down into the room. The lights were still on luckily enough and allowed the two to gaze into the vats filled with random Twilights. None of them actually had her cutie mark though causing Spike to feel the anxiety lessen at least.

“Seems like this world has been busy. Hm… says here on some of the containers that these clones have been growing for several years. So Twilight has been in this realm for years now…?” Discord peered through the labels on the edges of the jars before turning to the bracer.

“So it’s not really Twilight then? That still doesn’t answer why there are clones of her here in the first place. This is really messed up in the first place.” Spike peered at a particular Twilight. She looked exactly the same as she did way back when they were leaving for the Summer Sun Celebration.

Then its eyes opened. It stared down at Spike and smiled… unnaturally. It could’ve given Pinkie a run for her money. Discord hadn’t noticed because he had gone to retrieve the bracer, placing it on his arm he felt power coursing through his body and the smirk on his face boldly grew. Then they shrunk when he noticed the pony in the tube staring at Spike then towards him. It’s eyes traced back and forth between the two with practiced ease as the smile kept on its face. Another pair of eyes opened soon after, then another, and another.

“Discord! HELP!” Spike cried out as the mare in the tube tried to break the glass only to wince at the sudden physical activity. Discord for his part quickly raced down grabbing Spike in his tail and racing up into the vent they had come from. Halfway up the small staircase of cotton candy, a loud shattering of glass resounded amongst the room. It was followed by more but Discord didn’t stop to look knowing that a cliche such as that usually got you killed horribly.

“Now now, where are you taking my number one assistant to? Doesn’t he know we have to get ready for a long day teaching this place what happens when you take a loved one from them there are… consequences.” The voice that said those words were not warm. There was something unnatural flowing through what was said. Spike did look back and saw what was being said. The first few clones spoke at the same time at the same tone with the same measured breaths and inflections. Unlike that day with the mirror pool and the near infinite number of Pinkie Pies, this didn’t ring the same level. Each single clone exhibited the same responses and tones with the only difference between clones being that some had wings and some had horns.

“Faster! FASTER CELESTIA DAMN IT ALL!” Spike cried out as the clones made their marching orders towards the staircase as the two climbed away.

Instead of leaving right away Discord covered the hole in cotton candy and then supercharged it with lightning if only to keep the deterrent for as long as possible. Then the pair headed further in leaving behind another cotton candy wall leading towards the entrance and supercharging that particular one as well. Then he covered their exit route behind them though left it uncharged. Spike wanted to question it but left it for later. The look the clones gave him unnerved him and he couldn’t explain why.

‘They even remembered me. This is so much worse than what Rarity is going through but it looks like they haven’t gotten the real Twilight here though. I don’t know how I know that but I can feel it… somehow. If they are all the same way as Twilight we need to find books and maybe some nachos. She can’t resist either and… and… I don’t want to deal with what they wanted to do. Those smiles I have only seen once in my whole life and I can’t remember from where. Not even Pinkie had ever smiled that unbearably scarily before.’ Spike quietly wrapped his thoughts up and looked behind him at Discord who just seemed anxious at this point.

“You ok Discord?” Spike tossed a casual question at him. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too much for either of them. Spike was anything but casual at this point though. His eyes darted around while his hands wringed against the other leaving him a jittery mess.

“Yeah. Yeah sure. Look we should get as far away as we can from this place because those things were not right in any sense of the word. I don’t know what it was but they were not right in the head and you could see that in their eyes. They were hungry for blood and you being there wasn’t making it any better. Seeing you jumpstarted their brains which were probably cloned from the original to match as well as possible but their personalities seemed to immediately shift to the manic side. This is only a thought but probably being in an unknown location against their will has left them unsure how to react and seeing you still free awakened a resolve to be close to someone they knew.” Discord explained as he created more walls behind them as they crawled further through the vents.

“But they know you as well… but they were talking about the Summer Sun Celebration… Maybe they are still in that old mindset of not needing friends.” Spike suddenly looked off worriedly.

“Probably based on the looks they gave me when I grabbed you and ran. They didn’t seem to be able to use magic though. That alone is strange but convenient to me. Crap! I can’t make anymore…” Discord slumped slightly allowing Spike to see that Dash’s mark was nearly empty from overuse.

“I’m wondering why we are feeling this kind of dread. I mean it’s just Twilight and she was never that physically tough.” Spike wondered aloud stopping them from moving. He hopefully thought that the break would give them some time to recharge. Unfortunately the gem shield ability he had would only be useful if they got into a fight. At that point Spike would be labeled the heavy hitter of their duo. Most of his abilities either gave him offense or defense. Discord, meanwhile, focusing on trickery or finesse.

“Probably it’s just a side effect of the cloning. Still I can’t be sure about it. Even I never tried to do anything with cloning. I wouldn’t like to share the glory as I would say back in my hay day.” Discord chuckled though it felt a little dark in delivery. Discord wasn’t smiling as sounds started to breach outside one of the vent grates they were in.

“Spppiiiikkkkkee~. SPIKE! I need you to come back and get ready to send a message to Princess Celestia. Argh… Where is he when you need him- “ The Twilight clone was cut off as another voice rose out of sight.

“T-16 what are you doing out of containment. What is going on?” An unknown voice rung out.

“T-16? No I’m Twilight Sparkle, the prized student of Princess Celestia. Now good sir I need you to get ready to send me to Ponyville I think it was. I need to finish getting this Summer Sun Celebration preparations out of the way. I have to make sure Nightmare Moon doesn’t break out of her prison. It is imperative I get this done.” Twilight gave was sounded like a confidently smug smirk before she yelped out from being shocked.

“Stay down.” The voice called out as they pressed something into the clone shocking it again. What could only be a guard then seemed to turn away voicing something quietly into an object that was in his hand.

“Yes I need you down… What!” The guards cried out as the cloned unicorn outside the grate bucked him into the wall. He fell onto his back as the clone jumped ontop of him with the prod held in her hooves somehow. She then jabbed it into the guard’s face.

“Dear,” A sudden stab broke through the guard’s neck. “, Princess,” The next went inside his mouth shocking the guard to charred flesh. “, Celestia,” She jammed the tip into the eye turning the prod on to the maximum setting leaving nothing but a convulsing corpse lying on the ground. “, I killed another being. It felt wonderful. The feeling of having someponies life in your hand and watching the light die. Is this how you felt in your glory days. I wish I had been more interested in the warfare you underwent in your day. It was too quick. Need another soon. But first I must find my faithful assistant. He will need to help me keep track of every kill on a new checklist. I’ll make one soon. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” The clone seemed to utter the perverse letter to no one in particular as she pulled the prod out of the body and trotted away most likely to find another.

Spike looked away though if he had anything in his stomach it would be gone at this point. Discord stared at the body before covering it in cotton candy so he wouldn’t have to see it anymore. The rest had not been worth the show.

“So clones are deranged sociopaths that developed their own personalities. Right then let's go as fast as possible that way. Now!” Discord pushed Spike forward who wholly acquiesced to the sudden rush.

There were alarms ringing out at that point as the sound of more Twilights came rushing through the vents. Spike covered his ears for the most part keeping the sounds from overwhelming him. The two exited out the next grate they could, if only to escape the echoes that were reaching through the vents at that point. The room was a large hangar revealing several machines that confused Spike on sight.

“What the heck are those?” Spike peered out into the expansive hangar noting the lack of guards and Twilights.

“Space crafts? This place seemed to be space themed though the fact that all the guards and pilots seem to be monkeys or apes says a lot about this world. Not in a bad way mind you but it's just a bit weird that the conquerors are apes. It’s a literal planet of the apes.” Discord exposited a little. He felt a little weird being the serious one for the moment but there was a first time for everything.

“I don’t think that those will help us. We need to find the door now and get out of here. I’d prefer not to be torn apart by the crazed clones.” Spike nervously wrung his hands together making sure to keep his eyes peeled all around him.

“Wait a moment I got to do something very important.” Discord pointed out as he knelt down and looked to the ceiling.

“Is it gonna be loud?” Spike immediately asked as he felt the scales on the back of his neck perk up.

“Damn you! Damn you all you blew it up! Damn you, you damn dirty apes!” Discord cried out into the hangar which luckily due to the warning klaxons stayed within the hangar. Spike facepalmed instantly.

“You good?” Spike chimed in before stepping out of cover.

“Yeah I knew that would be good for me.” Discord smirked while the two continued across the hangar. The sound of the alarm eerily stopped as they reached the far end. Instead the sound of laser fire ignited the air.

“Remember we have to find Spike girls.”

“I can’t do this without my number one assistant.”

“I wonder if there is a book on aeronautics around here?”

“Jeez this place is more confusing than Canterlot Castle. We still haven’t found the princess yet?”

“She did say we had to meet her in an hour. We need to get ready to reform Discord. I’m positive that we can do it so long as we’re together.”

The voices didn’t fill them with confidence as the two waited patiently by another set of doors ready to take off the moment the those voices entered the hangar. Seven Twilights all entered the room looking curiously around. Each were covered in multiple wounds and dripping blood… though none of it looked to be their own. Their eyes were all dilated with several of them seemingly rubbing the blood against their coat as if it were a soothing lotion. They had enjoyed themselves and the moment their eyes caught sight of the pair they immediately smiled. An unnerving smile which seemed to be worse from the fact that a few of their mouths were dyed red.

“Spike~” The tone was… unexceptionally cheerful and their eyes all locked on him. Spike stood motionless and noticed that even though some had horns none of them tried to grab him in their magic. The ones with wings let them flare and twitch ready to blast off towards him.

Their eyes slowly trailed over to Discord who slightly blanched at the sudden turn. Their eyes didn’t hold any love for him and seemed to match exactly as they were when they first released him for his reformation. While they didn’t have the elements with them he was still much weaker at this point and these particular mare clones seemed to be the more violent ones out of the group.

“Discord… you escaped, “ It wasn’t questioned and merely stated as fact. “ I guess we should have known that you would. Perhaps we should fix that problem.” All of the mares spoke at the same time focusing on Discord only at this point.

“You will release Spike or else.” It was another command which made Spike step behind Discord’s leg. That was something noticed by every single pair of eyes there except for Discord’s. Now they were all snorting and glaring.

“WHAT DID YOU DO!” They all pointed their left hooves at the draconequus. Each of their eyes were becoming engulfed in red but not from the blood coating their bodies. Anger had taken root.

Discord merely tried to placate them by waving his arms that he did nothing wrong. He still couldn’t find his voice mostly due to trying to think of a decent exit strategy. While he knew Twilight wasn’t the most athletic he did know that her rage could propel her to do crazy things. Right now crazy things was the worst possible idea due to each of the clones losing their Celestia damned mind turning into sociopathic monsters. He didn’t even want to think what could happen to Spike if they did get their hooves on him.

“RELEASE HIM FROM YOUR BRAINWASHING NOW!” They all screamed out now racing for the pair as blood curdling screams filled the hangar. Discord grabbed Spike and ducked behind a crate only to appear back at the entrance to the entire facility they came in from. Both were sick to their cores but not from the warping. The fact that Twilight could be so twisted made them sick. Clones or not something wrong was going on in this facility. While one was taken away from the facility the rest were roaming the halls now probably leaving nothing but ruin behind by their own hooves no doubt.

“So… do we got any hope?” Spike squeaked out while holding his stomach. Luckily the screams of frustration coming from the hangar was the only thing they heard.

“If we find the door I’ll tell you.” Discord wheezed out. Pinkie’s power was far too taxing and inefficient compared to his usual methods. The alert on the facility going down only meant one thing in his mind. ‘They’ve taken over.’

“Well I feel unsettled now. How much longer you need? I… I don’t think I could use my powers on her. I know they’re not her but… I don’t think I can.” Spike looked away not able to truly finish the thought. He really didn’t want to attack Twilight. Regardless if they were clones or not. Yet that image persisted and kept breaking in whenever he managed to close her eyes. The blood… It was too wrong. So wrong.

“Two more minutes. Then I’ll have three more warps and we may have to use them. Already this is unsettling and this is supposed to be my job.” Discord moaned out. He was still feeling that headache. ‘I can’t trap them forever. Cotton Candy doesn’t react well to saliva and she probably will be as messy an eater like she is with hayburgers.’

Discord slowly stood back up holding his head from the jolt of pain but as soon as the mark restored on his back it was gone. Another rule of the powers came into play at this point. ‘So long as it recharges we’ll be able to recover almost immediately after they finish. Any physical pain or mental strain will disappear most likely.’ His thoughts kept absorbing certain aspects of the powers they got but so far the warping power had been the only one that caused a load of problems for the two of them.

Spike slowly surveyed the halls noticing that the entire hallway was empty revealing discarded helmets and weapons coating it. Strangely there was no blood and the clones were probably still searching the hangar or at least checking ahead by the door the two had decided to stand near. Discord stood back up and walked over to him. With a quick jerk of his head the two traveled down the corridor away from the direction of the hangar making certain that they kept their footsteps light using the cotton candy as makeshift shoes.

“I have no idea where we could be looking for a door Discord. Doesn’t it usually appear after we find the artifact?” Spike loudly whispered though it sounded more like hissing at first. Discord pondered a few seconds before answering.

“That’s true. This is really strange and we usually get really lucky though Applejack’s and Rainbow’s doors didn’t appear until we dealt with a threat. I got a bad feeling that we’re gonna have to get rid of the threat in this world. You know what that means though right?” He grimaced more to the fact that these clones were highly dangerous. The one that talked about aeronautics was especially terrifying more due to the fact she actually wanted to either build a ship or learn to pilot a ship to escape the confines of this planet. That sent shivers down their spines. The looks that the clones gave him reminded him of some of the worst monsters he faced way before dealing with Celestia and Luna.

Spike grew quiet. This quest went from being a hero to survival very fast. ‘Was this what everyone went through when they faced Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis?’ He didn’t like the choices before him yet there was some finality screaming out in his chest. He didn’t know what it was but childhood only seemed to be a wistful memory at this point. ‘Was this what they meant by losing one’s innocence.’

“Dear, “ A squelch came from one of the rooms, “Princess Celestia,” Something was torn, It sounded wet and drippy. “ It seems that ape muscle fiber is very tough requiring a certain level of torque to completely rip off. Still no sign of my number one assistant but the research here is going swimmingly. I’m also looking for Discord so I can ask him to teach me some other magic that I might need. Who knows how useful a body alteration spell could be. I do need more… subjects to test. The alteration spell will give me much more to work with. Your student Twilight Sparkle.” The clone started to paint one of the far walls writing down complex notes on the elasticity of the fibers she was stepping on. Discord quickly wrapped his tail around Spike’s head covering his eyes. While he could smell the meat and blood in the air he was glad he couldn’t see it.

‘This place is messed up.’ Spike was picked up and carried away. Luckily this Twilight had the same senses when it came to studying which made it easy to get away from her… it. ‘Remember they are clones… horrible sociopathic clones…’

“We really need to find an exit. Nowish would be good.” Discord sounded perturbed. He saw how many bodies were in that room and this place really needed to go. Only this particular facility at the very least.

“Was it really bad?” Spike hesitantly asked. He really was curious but at the same time he didn’t want to know. His eyes were covered for a reason and he knew it would scar him but he needed to be ready even for the worse.

“Yes.”

The answer was short and curt and Discord could feel him shivering through his tail. While he didn’t want to comfort him he needed to say something else. This dimension or whatever it was was starting to get on his nerves and the sudden shift from the wackiness they faced with Pinkie and Rarity’s worlds left him at least optimistic about the light heartedness at least reaching a few more worlds. It was a pipe dream at best. Fluttershy instantly came to mind and he knew that there was little that could really be done for her with his lack of power. She must have gone through one of the portals of her own free will but that thought tore him apart.

“Discord. I smell something weird… “ Another voice broke him out of his reverie.

“What is it? We need to keep moving at least to find the door we need.” Discord set Spike down sufficiently fine with the distance between the clones and them.

“It smells like another Twilight is nearby but I don’t smell blood on her.” He answered knowing something was still wrong with the situation.

Discord pondered for a bit. The lack of blood left him wondering whether or not this particular clone was a threat or not. While he motioned Spike to lead him toward the smell Discord planned out some countermeasures before they even reached the door. His talons were at the ready to summon a cotton candy storm of chaos should it be needed. The bracer he had remained dormant still something he barely noticed until he was pondering his course of actions.

Inside the room was a single Twilight Sparkle sitting on the floor holding her tail and rubbing it softly. Spike kept his distance but the pangs in his heart made him want to sprint over to her. Discord kept his distance as well removing their cloud shoes allowing the natural staccato of their claws to ring out of the room. The sad mare looked up decidedly less crazy looking than the other clones. She remained still but allowed her tears to stop falling. The unicorn clone of Twilight stood back up but remained in place. Her eyes darted back and forth seemingly uncertain of what was going on.

“Spike…” The voice was soft and tender.

“Yeah Twi? We’re ok.” Spike answered gingerly taking a few steps forward. The clone hadn’t moved at all.

“We’re all wrong Spike. It doesn’t feel right. Discord… am I real?” Twilight asked utterly lost and confused allowing panic to overtake her.

“In a sense yes, you are. But what’s really wrong?” Discord kept his talons behind his back ready to trap her should she prove just as unstable.

“I don’t feel like I’m Twilight Sparkle. Also you two are dead… I remember that happened… didn’t it?” The mare sobbed slightly. Lines creased her forehead and tears streamed down her face. She was keeping the sobs muttered with her hooves. The less sound meant the less things that could hurt them.

Pitying her the two stood close by. Discord was still prepared to act while Spike slowly hugged the clone to stop her crying. The mare stopped crying but remained on the floor huddled on the ground.

“Thanks. I need to get you out of here. You’re in danger here. I think the others are getting restless.” Twi-clone stood back up and looked out the door searching for something.

“We need to find a control room Twi. Did you ever see something like that?” Spike spoke up trying his best not to appear scared of her. Twi-clone just shook her head until something seemingly sparked her mind. Slowly she trotted out of the room and kept going through the hall.

The two followed the young mare out of the room cautiously though. While this particular clone remained stable and sound of mind they were completely on edge after witnessing the horde covered from head to hoof in blood. Twi-clone stepped past another room which had more insane mumbling coming from within but instead of ape bodies within there were pony bodies. The room was filled to the brim with the massacre that had enveloped from the release of the clones and no survivors were left.

“I feel something from this room over here.” Twi-clone spoke up pointing a hoof at a door further from the room they passed. The room that Discord had quickly shut before Spike could walk by.

Discord was no stranger to gore. Before he had become an all powerful being even he knew how to deal with threats. These circumstances were not the same though. Sadism seemed to course throughout the facility at this point. Dogmatic belief in leaders flooded his senses. The atmosphere had changed and what he saw made it all the worse. Spike, while annoyed at not seeing the truth, was personally happy that he was being spared the gory details. Especially with the fact that the entire facility had clones of his caretaker who committed unspeakable acts not even he wanted to acknowledge.

“You sure Twi?” Spike asked genially looking up at the smiling mare.

As she nodded she looked up at Discord shuffling around slightly looking worried. Discord said nothing but the look he saw reminded him of something he had seen once long ago. Uncertainty of who one was. She looked lost, more so that she had an inkling of being cloned from a still living being. She seemed to know that she wasn’t meant to be real.

Before he could say anything Spike called him into the room. The two followed the sound finding monitors lined against the wall showcasing the slaughter of both sides. The sociopathic ponies seemed to be faster and tougher than anything Twilight had ever done before hand yet the ape guards showed no quarter managing to slaughter another clone for every three casualty they suffered,

“Sweet Celestia this is horrible. Is there anything we can do to stop it?” The Twi-clone asked looking close to tears once again.

Unbeknownst to her, at the other end of the room was the door they needed. The door was still closed and Discord knew something in particular needed to be done in this realm. Spike looked over the console searching every nook and cranny for some kind of switch. ‘In every comic the self destruct button was always labeled. Why can’t now be one of those times?’

Shortly after he found a small field guide which Discord removed from him and skim through. While Spike was eager he didn’t need to have this on his claws. The self destruct sequence was a set of multiple key commands which was set with a password. Ironically the password was written within one of the margins of the book. Has the clone not been transfixed by the violence she probably would have lost it from the desecration of a book for no good reason.

“Spike calm her down while I get to work.” Discord began his task never looking at the two others in the room. It was something which dragged his conscious through the mud. Spike comforted the Twi-clone managing to tear her from the monitors.

“Why am I in this nightmare…” The clone sobbed into Spike’s shoulder while he rubbed her head consolingly. The shift in demeanor was becoming more unbearable for the young drake. He knew he couldn’t do anything for her in the time they had.

“SELF DESTRUCT INITIATED 15 MINUTES TO DETONATION. ALL EXITS ARE NOW SEALED.” A robotic voice came on.

“WHAT!?” Spike and Twilight screamed out. Discord then wrapped Twilight in loads of cotton candy keeping her trapped within.

“Spike how many gem shields can you make?” Discord calmly asked while Spike stared dumbfounded at the draconequus. He looked at the gems he had left and noticed that he had five gems left.

“Five. I don’t think I’ll have enough energy for that though.” While Spike was confused by Discord’s actions he thought about the alternative and kept his panic from getting the best of him.

“Create three circular shields that can act like a cocoon.” Discord stated evenly while he kept Twilight confined in the cotton candy leaving only her head free. She was bewildered, too stunned to sob anymore. The first two cocoons came out well enough allowing them to shelter her within them. The third took a bit longer nearly collapsing as the mark on his back started to fade.

“Here… it’s done. Best I can make it…” Spike panted slightly breathing heavily from the strain before pulling out the last two gems. With the last of his powers he made two circular shields large enough to hide behind before collapsing on the ground. The mark was fully grayed out.

“T-MINUS 8 MINUTES TO FACILITY LIQUIDATION.”

“Ok Twilight I want you to stay put in this until everything calms down. I can get you to safety but we can’t go with you. I know there are other facilities on this rock and I want you to make your way towards one of them. I think these apes were leaving to invade somewhere and right now is when they are most vulnerable. We’re going to warp somewhere and I’ll get you set up and ready to make it to the next facility. These things will keep you safe but you can’t waste them.” Discord quickly explained. Before Twilight could voice an opinion the two stepped behind the console only to end up far outside behind a boulder.

The Twilight clone felt like puking but with nothing in her stomach she managed to breath and calm herself down. Discord felt tired once again from using his warping ability so soon. He positioned Twilight behind the boulder on the side opposite the blast then placed the shields in a way that would guard her from two blows before they could break through.

“You are alive you know. It’s not much but this will let you survive. When it is over you’ll be able to live. I’m sorry we can’t do more.” Discord sadly mused as he stepped closer to the boulder.

“It’s because I’m just a clone huh?” Twilight asked. She wasn’t sobbing or sounded sad. The tone was merely… resigned to their fate.

“Yes.”

“I figured. I was supposed to have wings and I can’t feel magic. It’s weird you know. I thought it would be bad to not have magic but for me… I feel ok with that. You should head back and keep Spike safe. Thanks for keeping me safe. I know the others were… monstrous but I’m glad you proved something to me.” Twilight smiled as she looked at the draconequus. The age on his face was very apparent at this point.

“What have I proved to you princess?” He answered with a smirk mocking her with her new title if only to keep the strange feeling in his heart from breaking forth.

“That when you are serious you really do care about others. You kept Spike from completely losing his innocence and made sure to do things yourself. Then you made sure that I was safe even though the others wanted to tear you limb from limb.” She smirked back.

“I’m no stranger to hard choices in life. I just decided that when I had my power I wouldn’t be dictated by what others thought was a normal way of life. Chaos is the way of the world and my chaos makes sure that everyone has a chance to survive. I do mean everyone not everypony. Unfortunately you are the only one with any equinity in them I suppose is the term in this case. You have your chance to make something of yourself here. Something different. Something grand that goes beyond the memories that you have of back then. Princess of Friendship I bid you good luck and adieu.” Discord stepped behind the rock leaving the Twilight clone smiling as she closed her eyes and waited for what was to come.

As he got back into the room the door was wide open now leaving him to pick Spike up and sidle over to the room. The warping downside did hit him but only mildly letting him keep to his feet within milliseconds.

“T-MINUS 3 MINUTES TO COMPLETE ANNIHILATION.”

“Where do you think your going Discord…?” Seven voices called out of the darkness as he stepped into the doorway.

When he turned around he quickly covered Spike’s eyes before he could see. Every single one of the clones that had hunted them down to the hangar was broken in ways that couldn’t be imagined. The unicorn clones either had broken bones or deformed legs barely able to support the weight they held. The pegasi clones were even more broken as a few no longer had both wings. The same problem still held over all of them. They were smiling and covered in the blood of the guard that were within the base.

“Away.” He backpedaled across the threshold but the door didn’t close.

When he realized that the door didn’t close the mares charged ahead recklessly even when the sound of twisted bones indicated that they could no longer walk. When they tried to jump through the door a force field stopped them from bursting into the room. Unlike with Zero the clones couldn’t enter the room of their own volition. They snarled like beasts scratching at the field trying desperately to charge in. Always their eyes would focus on Spike as their motivation.

“T-MINUS 60 SECONDS TO DETONATION”

“SPIKE! LET US IN NOW!” The clones cried out only for Discord to cover what was considered Spike’s ear with the thickest cotton candy he could muster. He didn’t hear nor did he see. Discord kept his senses open and never stopped looking at them.

‘I won’t deny this is my fault in a sense for destroying these posers. I will not let somepony become a playtoy for another. That is my job. Hopefully the sane one will be alright.’ Discord watched as desperation turned into unbridled rage as the clones turned on each other tearing themselves apart.

“T-MINUS 5 SECONDS,”

“4 SECONDS”

“3.”

“2.”

“1.”

The door slammed shut as the entire base was engulfed in a torrent of flames and explosions. The last thing Discord saw were the smiling faces of each mare as the mutually assured destruction of the base kept going. Smoke crept out of the door frame as Freya made her way over to the pair. Spike had been returned to normal and allowed back on his feet.

The bracer floated off of Discord’s arm planted itself on its respective place before flashing a soft purple light. With the light restored a new door appeared with three pink butterflies on it. Discord tensed up but slumped to the ground soon after. He was tired and needed a break from his actions.

While Freya didn’t speak she did float the two off to the bedroom they shared leaving them to rest for the trials ahead while she looked more in depth into the world they came from. There were three Twilights left in that world. Two clones and the original still lived. With great care she went into the world and looked for the clone she needed.

When she returned she said nothing to the pair at first. The duo didn’t say anything either but the prospect of that occurring again was frightening.

THANK YOU FOR WAITING. I WILL SAY THAT THE MARE YOU SAVED SURVIVED. SHE IS DOING SOMETHING WITH HER LIFE AND THANKS BOTH OF YOU FOR DOING SO.

While it was pointless the two were grateful for the sentiment. Heavy hearted and full of dread the two prepared for the next door they would enter.

Through a Butterfly 1

Discord was now the one staring at the door. Fluttershy was his first and until recently only friend he truly respected. Even dealing with Celestia and Luna there was always a bit of tension and only during the times when he kept himself in check did they finally lower their guard around him. While the Tirek incident did send them back a bit they did understand why it had happened.

“Discord… we want to apologize.” Celestia spoke up.

For his part he was just confused about everything. He had betrayed all ponies to a horrible leech monster. A leech that managed to sweet talk him into believing that he could be friends with him without having to change his way of expression. Slight shame and confusion clouded his eyes uncertain how to actually react. Luna noticed and while her gaze was stern mostly due to not truly liking Discord it was still softer because of what Celestia had said.

“What for? I did this to myself. Believing someone I knew wasn’t trustworthy just because he knew what buttons to push. I don’t know what you two are apologizing for.” Discord muttered out still audible but quiet enough that only the three of them could hear.

Luna was surprised and the look she gave him was obviously shocking. Celestia, though, kept a stern gaze yet it wasn’t focused on Discord. She was staring off into the distance looking for the right words to say.

“Not entirely. The only reason you had those buttons to push was because none of us truly have tried being friends with you aside from Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. I suppose Twilight can finally be added to the mix now but one true friend does not make for real trust. We did say you would be returned to stone should you go all out. I think that was far too harsh now.” Celestia sighed allowing the real her out for a bit. Her eyes showed just how tired she was. While magic did wonders to keep her fatigue from showing every time somepony ever looked her in the eye they would see something that they could not comprehend. They would see experiences that would shatter a normal mind without care.

Luna also released her own worries. Staring off into the distance. PTSD had taken over one thousand years of her life and solitude forced her into horrifying decisions especially when it came to the events dealing with the Nyx. Discord noticed this change and let his own insecurities go. Solitude had broken him so long ago and the events of being in stone developed them into larger problems. Only giant actions could make him feel alive at this point. Immortality, the blessing every being in the universe strived for. Once acquired there was nothing that could be considered good. Solitude was all that waited when the path was followed.

“I’ll admit I did think it was a good idea. I’ll be honest I needed to burn off the energies I had been gathering before I lost my mind… again. The only things I regret is letting myself get to that point.” Discord spoke aloud crossing his arms as seriousness took root over him.

“Only those regrets?” Luna chirped in poking the draconequus in the side. Yet even with the words spoken the smile on her face poked fun at him.

“Of course. It’s good practice and unlike sunbutt over here I actually take the time to look into all possible futures. Doesn’t mean I’m good at it. Even I let ego feed my actions.” Discord admitted though the smirk on his face said otherwise.

“Something we share in common mishmash.” Celestia rolled her eyes but was smiling regardless of her tone.

“Luna was I just seeing things or did Celestia finally join in the game.” Discord mockingly stumbled through his words in feigned surprise.

“Sister are thou well?” Luna also feigned concern as a thermometer appeared in Celestia’s mouth showing the mercury rising to the very brim.

A quick laugh was shared between the three finally with all three on equal standing at this point. At least socially.

“So what about you and the Element of Kindness? Are things well there?” Luna spoke up first. She was the one who reacted the worse from the stories she was told and the grimace on Discord’s face told her volumes.

“I don’t know actually. I could see it if I looked further in the future but I haven’t… I don’t think I can right now.” Discord spoke but not towards them. His eyes were focused into nothing over the heads of both alicorns. It was then that Cadance made her arrival into the conversation.

“I’ll think you’ll be fine.” She spoke gathering both her aunts’ and Discord’s attention.

“And pray tell what makes you think that dear niece.” Luna smirked seemingly knowing what she was about to say.

“I just know ponies. Fluttershy’s eyes still don’t radiate any true hate within them. Especially when she looks at you Discord.” Cadance softly stated.

“Discord. Are you awake?” Spike quickly prodded Discord’s arm. The stunt made him blink around trying to figure out what was going on and when his eyes focused on Spike he finally pulled himself out of his memories albeit not in the way he usually did.

“Yeah. Is it time to go through the door?” Discord looked at the door with the three butterflies on it.

“Yup. I think we should take stock of our abilities now that we’ve gotten farther. We’ve managed to make it to the seventh pony in our trip and we got a lot of powers to choose from. Though I think it’s weird how arbitrary the powers seem to be.” Spike peered at his own back. On it was Starlight’s star with two wisps, and Applejack apple, and one of Rarity’s diamonds. Each was sized appropriately to fit on his back without overlapping each other. Discord peered at his own back. On his he noticed a small pattern seem to appear similar to Spike’s back. On the left was Dash’s primary color lightning bolt, above that was one of Pinkie’s balloons, and in the center was Twilight’s double star. It formed a triangle while Spike’s was still forming a perimeter. It was hexagonal and while Twilight’s was the odd mark out in this it probably was important in a sense.

“Well we’ve learned what these marks do already and while a refresher would be useful let’s just wing it for now. Gotten through much worse scraps before.” Discord dismissively waved his claw and led them to the door.

Freya remained passive throughout the last few doors. She was blinking a lot more in color. Neither of the pair wanted to say anything and while Spike was hesitant to accept Discord’s explanations for ‘winging it’ as he said Spike mentally checked what his own power’s were doing. Only Starlight’s seemed to be the odd power out. His stamina and strength always seemed to grow whenever he used it. It would effect him passively and would steadily drain whenever he used it but it was the least taxing on him. The Apple mark increased his fire power and made him effectively an artillery piece. He only glanced at the word when they had face Sunset Shimmer across the mirror and they spent the night in that strange library. ‘Humans and their weapons… still it does explain why I feel so calm in these other worlds. Still Discord doesn’t seem perturbed in the slightest about these changes.’ Regardless of his thoughts he returned to the last mark… Rarity’s. Her shield were some of the most complex magic he had seen and that was a mouthful to him even though he lived with two of the strongest unicorns ever born in the entire world of Equus since Starswirl the Bearded.

Discord opened the door breaking Spike from his thoughts. The two stepped through as Freya came to her senses trying to find the two. The door closed confirming her suspicions of their whereabouts as she returned to the other doors she hid whenever they finished with one. She quickly found the Twilight one and went to assist the good clone before things could get out of hand once again.

Discord and Spike blinked as they looked around their surroundings noticing that the entire world around them was a sudden flux of machinery and nature. Robotic animals roamed around the area and the sky seemed to be full of propeller spheres with googly eyes. Spike rubbed his eyes and noticing the objects were still around him made him pinch his arm. The sudden pain made it painfully obvious that he wasn’t dreaming. Discord didn’t seem surprised though and merely kept an eye on Spike.

“Right searching for an element now. Heh heh… “ Spike concentrated on the surroundings around him and felt a strange pull come from one of the other sides of the area. In between them were loads of robots patrolling the area yet they ignored the pair and continued alongside their patrol routes.

“Maybe we’ll have an easier time here… Though I wonder if Fluttershy is handling living in a world such as this. Robotic animals don’t feel the same as real ones. Plus I don’t think The Stare works on non organic creatures.” Discord mused while a smile was plastered on his face. The smile didn’t reach his eyes but Spike said nothing about it. He felt the same when he couldn’t save Rarity and while he was worried about Twilight Freya had at least alleviated his fears for her by making sure the clone was safe as well. The world they left had emotionally drained him in ways he didn’t think possible and while Rarity had been a blow against his heart the incident with the Twilight clones had nearly shattered it to shards.

“I think I feel it further over there. I hope these robots don’t try anything against us. Do you think they follow those three laws that ponies came up with?” Spike curiously elbowed Discord’s leg. Hoping the conversation would distract him enough to get them through the area was a plus.

“Which one were those?” Discord didn’t even look at him. His eyes were wandering around but never actually looking for anything. Spike instantly recognized the same thing he went through back in that land of the dead. He wanted to see Fluttershy. Steeling himself, Spike proceeded to answer what he meant. Remembering what he could about Inner Actuator’s stories about robotics he once read, he recalled the rules that were detailed.

“A robot may not injure, or through inaction, allow a pony to come to harm. A robot must obey all ponies unless it conflicts with the first law. A robot must protect its existence unless it disobeys the first or second law. You know? Those laws that ponies keep crying about would be needed when we make our own robots.” Spike chuckled slightly only to see Discord still not paying much attention. Though for Spike, thankfully, he had answered back,

“You’re forgetting the Zeroth Law.” Discord spoke and glanced down at Spike.

“There’s a Zeroth Law? Where was that ever written?” Spike racked his brain for clues for this mythical law. He couldn’t remember everything about the book. He was smart thanks to all the books he was forced to read even though most of the knowledge would never be used. For the life of him he couldn’t recall anything from the story.

“Probably not in Equestria then. I’ve seen a version of the story written by another being that details that particular law. Basically it say that those laws can be ignored if humanity is a threat to itself or they are harming another human. It’s one that doesn’t get brought up because most robots aren’t that smart to think about those necessities. It’s also dangerous because semantics are a real pain in the ass sometimes. Creating intelligence is difficult and dangerous. Its why I don’t create any minions of my own. Chaos values free will to the extreme because a free mind will do everything it can to follow those impulses.” Discord finally looked at Spike. While he still looked sad his focus had finally broken through the haze. The explanation didn’t explain anything though. Spike knew Discord knew mind magic in a sense.

“What about your discording ability?” Spike innocently asked.

“Ah that. Discording doesn’t actually brainwash the recipient. It merely breaks them out to allow their impulses to shine through. Regardless of how they act I merely pushed the stigma they usually carry to allow them to try something new. While they may never say it when you become a bearer of an element they tend to encompass your entire life in some way. Honesty is the harshest of them because lying is almost impossible and sometimes you do need to lie in some situations. Kindness as well is a burden unless that being can remember that kindness doesn’t mean trying to make everyone happy at your own expense. Kindness must be on both sides; one to another and one to one’s self.” Discord explained while the two walked past the robotic animals undeterred.

Spike puzzled over the way Discord spoke about the elements. It felt like he knew more but before he could ask anymore he felt the same pull of an artifact moving slightly. It was close and the constant buzzing he heard was annoying.

“Do you hear that?” Spike pointed in front of him towards a wall. Discord quirked an eyebrow but decided to drag Spike behind cover. He didn’t question the action with the days they had been having and kept quiet as the buzzing got louder.

The wall exploded in a shower of debris as several rotating drills burst out of the tunnel and a large cylindrical boring machine broke through the dust. It immediately changed paths and slid perpendicular against the walls Nothing else came out of the hole but neither of the pair wanted to move quite yet. Then another figure came out. It was bipedal and seemed to be made entirely out of junk. Parts haphazardly stuck out of the figure while an old balding man followed after him. His eyes were strange as well fading back and forth between his natural color and the deep glow of blue that came from a harmony controlled being.

“Junk Man, report on situation!” The man screamed out as his hand massaged the bridge of his nose and between his eyes. He looked tired and irritated.

“Yes Doctor. Currently several of the robots that we have manufactured are keeping officials busy and causing as much anarchy as possible. We have your saucer prepared and a change of clothes. Freeze Man and Cloud Man have both taken control of their respective areas and all humans within the area have been evacuated. Burst Man is providing support on the city before heading for his area. The others await orders before attacking their respective areas.” Junk Man listed off all his creator’s concerns and led the way towards one of the other streets leaving Discord and Spike safe from discovery.

It took a few minutes before the pair could finally keep moving on. The fact that this place was a battlefield made things more hectic. Discord was smiling at the chaos but he knew he couldn’t stick around to enjoy the constant explosions and random shifts in the earth itself.

“Discord let’s go find the thing we need ok?” Spike grabbed Discord’s talons and pulled him out of his delusions. He quietly followed the drake as the robots around them kept milling around unaware of the two flesh beings before them.

Discord didn’t seem willing to respond but kept going for the sake of freedom. They both knew what was on his mind and Spike had gone through it a while back. Pushing the confusion away for now Discord saw immediately where Spike was leading them. In the distance was a large junkyard and what looked to be a processing building. The smoke stacks were releasing a lot of smoke into the air signifying that they were melting or burning things within.

“They really need Pegasi around here don’t they? I haven’t seen this much smoke since the Gauntlet of Fire happened,” Spike looked down on the heavy smoke covering the sky but not for reasons of nature. “ The dragons of this world must be real jerks or something huh?” Spike innocently pointed out.

“Snrk… Spike this world doesn’t have dragons in it.” Discord’s answer rang out in Spike’s mind confusing him.

“Then why in Tartarus are they burning things here. There are better ways to get rid of garbage here. Heck I know you disintegrate it into ash for Fluttershy to use in her flower garden.” Spike scowled slightly at the smoke stacks.

“Industrial revolution Spike. The beings here wanted progress and that comes at a price. Nothing too drastic but it’s there. Besides this place is like the Everfree in a sense. Wild weather and that thing. Every edge is needed when the weather wants to kill you. Survival of the fittest in a sense and if you’re not running you’re dying.” Discord nonchalantly shrugged his arms as he entered the junkyard ahead of Spike. Spike looked around at all the robots and shrugged as well. He couldn’t actually see a problem though dragon sensibilities may have clouded his judgment. He could survive in any world merely because he could survive a lot of punishment with his scales.

Examining his surroundings, Spike noticed a lot of robots being scrapped within and Discord seemingly loss in a pensive stare. The robots were all bipedal like Junk Man had been but lacked any color and looked more like a mass produced model with broken armor and mangled limbs attached. Spike cautiously poked a few and sighed in relief when none of them moved.

“Looks like we know what robots are thought of in this world, huh?” Discord masked his scowl though the tone betrayed the smile he wore. Spike nodded absentmindedly and continued on his way towards the feeling he held for the next artifact. Every couple of moments it would jerk away from his reach and move slightly to the left and slightly to the right. That feeling was almost like the moment they were searching for Hector LeMans. The artifact was only moving slightly at least and not causing him unneeded frustration like the hat. The two stopped just in front of a large pile of mechanical parts.

“I think it’s under this stuff… Any ideas?” Spike scratched his head uncertain of how to go about the problem. The pile was filled with serrated pieces of metal and other assorted machinery.

“Let me try this…” Discord held his talon in front of him and a aura of plaid magic appeared from it. The machinery also took the same aura and it began lifting into the air. The mark on his back drained fast leaving him only a short amount of time to get it out of the way. Luckily it was enough as the mark ran out of color leaving a very exhausted draconequus to look over his handiwork. While certain laws of magic were in place Discord’s telekinetic abilities were far beyond normal and well beyond Twilight levels, yet her mark was made for telekinetic forces beyond belief.

Beneath the pile of scrap metals and dangling wires was a small pack. Spike was still wearing his own pack but this seemed to be important. Reluctantly he took it off and placed the pack on his back. Even more reluctantly Discord allowed the old pack to be placed on his own back. It was easily resized to not put a strain on his back and was lighter than he thought it should be. All the supplies they had brought with them were very low. Realization took over when he remembered that they hadn’t restocked since the trip through Rarity’s door.

“We’re gonna need to fix this later then.” Discord hummed to himself while Spike fitted the pack to fit comfortably on his back. It didn’t seem to cause any problems nor did it suddenly force power through him. Unlike the shield and the gauntlet this seemed to be a passive power and one he couldn’t use at the moment.

“Well we have the artifact. Let’s get out of here. Seven artifacts down and only seven more… to go…” Spike slowly trailed off as he saw something crawling out several piles of junk. They were bipedal and stood nearly as tall as the robot they saw earlier, Junk Man. In fact six of them were standing around. While they looked utterly trashed and incapable of movement they stood there glaring at the two with an unflinching gaze. The three on the left consisted of an orange bipedal robot with scissors on its head, a red bipedal robot with a boomerang on its forehead, and a large blue bipedal robot that was shaped like a rook and seemed heavier than the others. On the right were three more which consisted of a yellow bipedal robot shaped like a figure from a Daring Do book, a purple biped on treads that looked like a walking arsenal, and a green quadruped with two more arms shaped just like Tirek.

While the two had enough experience and probably enough lightning to deal with the robots around them their appearance was still formidable and intimidating. Whatever had constituted as skin had melted off and the gashes on their mechanical faces revealed just how much machinery went into their creation. Several limbs seemed to be nonfunctional or in disservice but the steady hum seemed to imply that their weapons were still working. That wasn’t what had gotten their attention though. It was the small voice that was trying to reach them.

“Um… excuse me…” The voice was subtle and seemed to be the only sound left once the machines came to life.

The two looked at the voice and Discord nearly recoiled at the sight. It was the same situation with Twilight but less disturbing if that made any sense which was fine for Discord in hindsight.A small battered pegasus with flayed yellow fur and broken wings stood between the orange bot and the green bot. It was made out of metal with let Spike at least blink and think rationally. Rational thought also wanted him to scream like a lady but shock strangled that for stunned silence instead. The eyes that should have been a deep blue were faded into a dull white with a red point where the iris would be. The inner working of her jaw were on full display for the two to see.

“Do you think you could give that back? My friends would be or so grateful to have it back. If you don’t mind. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience either of you for that sort of matter…” While the voice seemed to be soft and demure they noticed how demanding it actually was. There wasn’t really room to mince words and the implied threat by her friends was all too clear.

“W-Who are you?” Spike was the first to find his voice.

“I’m Flutter…” The mare robot muttered out.

“What was that?” Spike asked again feeling a sense of deja vu.

“I’m Flu…” Another broken gasp came out before the robot shuddered and squeaked in fear over the pair hiding behind what was left of her mane which was nothing almost. The difference was clear though. The eye that normally hid behind Fluttershy’s mane was looking at the pair. Focusing intently on their very beings.

Through a Butterfly 2

The shy, clearly robotic, mare was still staring through her mane at the pair watching their every movement. It unnerved Spike to a certain degree while Discord was nervously wringing his talon and paw back and forth. ‘Certainly changes my thoughts on creating robots in Equestria that’s for sure.’ The beads of sweat on his forehead nearly dripped into his eyes stopped out when he slowly shifted his head back and forth towards all the robots around him.

“I suppose you have been busy Fluttershy… making new friends I see.” Discord spoke calmly as to not startle Fluttershy. An achievement in its own standing which was not lost on Spike’s attention. The robotic mare merely let the eye focus intently on the draconequus. While neither could truly tell what emotion it mimicked the robot new as the motors in its mouth and the gears in its eyes changed from curiosity to understanding and finally to bemusement.

The robot let the poor excuse of it’s mane falter behind its head and stared directly at the two making was could be construed as a smile.

“Oh yes. I made some wonderful friends and they listen to me so well. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found six friends which would listen and respect me like this. I truly am such a lucky pony to have these girls… guys… IRRELEVANT DATA… EXPUNGED.” The robot finished as sparks flew out of the wings on its back. They shriveled from the electricity coursing through them but the smile returned as soon as the sparking stopped.

“Y-you ok?” Spike kept his voice soft mostly due to the beings surrounding them. There was also the cause of the shivering down his spine and the feeling that his scales were desperately trying to cave in his body to run away as fast as possible.

“Of course Spike. I’m so glad you remembered me as your friend. I was so worried about you. I can’t believe that those… IRRELEVANT DATA… EXPUNGED.” The Flutterbot sparked again as one of the eyes blew out into shards of glass. The same blue glow from a harmony possessed creature was glowing through the now destroyed socket.

All the robot masters were similar and coursing with harmony based magic throughout their bodies. Discord reacted first and grabbed Spike with his tail slowly. While the Flutterbot noticed it did nothing to deter them. With a flick of its still patchy mane the bots shot their weapons at the pair. The first shots came from the red robot in the form of pink boomerangs. Followed by a white scissor blade curving from behind them. Two very slow looking fists shot forward at the two alongside a fireball, a small cylindrical bomb, and a highly condensed ball of plasma.

Before the attacks could coincide Discord ducked into his shadow using Pinkie’s abilities and the two were back outside away from the newly created explosion from the attacks hitting each other. Spike nervously reached into the backpack on Discord’s back and pulled out three gem shards. While the nausea from the warping was disorientating he managed to create three gem shields ready for instant use. His mark though was drained leaving him feeling sleepy already. Discord, on the other hand, managed to keep his lunch down… mostly because he hadn’t eaten before they left.

“I don’t think we should stop right now. The doors aren’t appearing immediately after we find the artifact anymore. We’re in big trouble at this point. That small red one was fast. Not Rainbow Dash fast but certainly enough to keep up with her for a while.” Discord nodded slightly but said nothing else. There was a slight whirring sound buzzing through the air. Setting Spike down he began looking around for the source. ‘Spatial awareness would be so useful at this point alongside the reality warping.’ Discord thought.

Before either of them could speak again a foot went right into Spike’s gut. Spike, for all the pain he felt, shot a fireball exactly at the place where he thought he was kicked from. The red robot that had appeared took the blast only bursting backwards into the wall of the warehouse. Starlight’s ability kept him from coughing up anything but the pain was still nerve wracking. Discord summoned his clouds trapping the red robot before forcing them to discharge releasing all the lightning within them. The robot seemed to scream from the constant pain until the head exploded into shrapnel which broke through the wall.

“Thanks… I thought I would… gack… have to take care of him.” Spike wheezed out rubbing his belly at the impact point. The bruise was shallow but still visible.

“Sorry actually. I didn’t notice him until the last second. I told you fast enough to rival Dash didn’t I?” Discord quipped.

It was a good point though the pain was something Spike could live without. The first robot to fall was the speedster strangely enough which would at least give them some time to run away at least. Spike picked up his gems and held on to them ready to get some more ready for the rest of the robot’s assault. Discord looked ready to speak once again only for a blue fist to slam into his cheek sending him sprawling on the floor albeit still conscious. Spike quickly looked for the intruder only to see him flying through the air straight for them. Without missing a beat Spike tackled Discord into a roll as the blue robot shaped like a rook slammed down into the asphalt they had rolled on leaving a large crater where it landed. Without missing a beat Spike shot out a concentrated beam of fire directly into the bot. It stood it’s ground and shot out two fists. Discord summoned a few clouds catching them in mid air. The clouds dissipated as the fists fell to the ground.

“No more fists to the face thank you…” Discord cried out while he rubbed his now bruised cheek. He still wasn’t used to being hit. Not even a small bit but he knew how to roll with the punches most of the time. It still felt like his jaw had been dislocated.

Instead of waiting for the fists to come back to him the blue robot shot out at them parallel to the ground forcing Spike to bring out his gem shields while the apple mark on his back recharged. The first two shattered on impact from the assault while the third was pushed back by the rocketing robot. It fell to the ground when it couldn’t make anymore headway. Spike jumped onto the robot’s back and focused a beam of fire into the back of it’s head burning the circuitry turning the robot into scrap.

“I am starting to hate fighting robots…” Spike wheezed out. It was the second they had fought and the sheer amount of firepower needed to destroy them had been staggering. It had taken nearly twenty seconds of constant cotton candy cloud lightning just to overwhelm the red robot while the blue robot managed to tank two of Spike’s strongest beam attacks.

“At least you have the strengthening abilities. I actually have to pay attention when I get hit. And trust me a fist to the face hurts.” Discord pouted from the pain though without missing a beat picked up Spike and ran off to the streets. The moment they left the yard made them realize just how much destruction had been wrought by the robots they had left behind.

The warehouse was burning down from the explosion and several impact craters were visible in the courtyard from the debris that came from the blue robot. Before either of them could run any farther the yellow robot seemed to teleport out of nowhere through an overly large shield with an eye on it. A quick wave of fire burst out of it forcing the two to roll to the side. The sudden shift caused a few scratches on Discord while Spike had to rub his head from the jerky movements and hitting his head against the pavement.

“Discord let me down. If he uses fire I’m gonna be able to tank him.” Spike managed to whisper loud enough to alert Discord while he held at his scratches. Placing him down Spike stood against the yellow robot.

A blade came out of nowhere nearly bisecting Discord’s head from his shoulders. The sound the blades made though were easily discernible for the wily draconequus. Peering over his shoulder, there stood the orange robot who caught the blade setting it back on it’s head. It merely pointed at Discord which caused him to stare in a deadpan manner before rolling his eyes at the gesture.

“Fine I got the stupid can opener robot. If you need any help just whistle.” Discord cracked his talons and claws before rushing the orange robot.

Spike didn’t respond because the yellow robot seemed to have a large fireball floating over its head and was floating somehow. Not wasting any time he shot a beam of concentrated fire at the robot while the fireball above it’s head shot out to confront the beam. The two powers actually fizzled when they hit leaving a small smoke cloud between the two. Spike readied a gem shard he had gotten out while they were attempting to run away. Before he could get it fully set the robot rushed through the cloud and smacked Spike with a hard right leaving the drake spinning into the cloud. The Starlight mark on his back actually flushed down to half strength from the one hit.

“Motherbucker!” Spike screamed out. It didn’t hurt much but the sting caused him to wince. He could feel the mark on his back drain a lot after one hit. Spike rolled through the cloud as a fist narrowly avoided his head and slammed into the floor leaving a large divot in it and several cracks to match. Spike shot another beam of fire at the robot catching it off guard and shearing it’s arm off. It responded by firing a wave of fire back. While Spike shrugged it off for some reason the fire was hotter than his own flames. It felt like the sun had flash sunburned him but his scales were fine.

“Language Spike!” Discord cried out as he dodged the scissor boomerang. Attempting to catch the blades in the cotton candy clouds had proven unsuccessful. The blades had managed to cut through them and looked no worse for wear. When the robot had started keeping them in its hand was when the trouble had actually started. Instead of wasting it’s time throwing the blades it used them as a makeshift knife. The next swing hit the ground and Discord took his chance wrapping the arm in cotton candy and sticking it to the ground. The orange robot gaped at the now stuck weapon and trying to pull the arm out only succeeded in causing the arm to buckle from the strain.

“Don’t bother.” Discord coldly shuddered before forcing lighting through the cloud into the robot. The sudden electrical shift and numerous lesions in the robot’s chassis made it easy for the lighting to course through it. The eyes exploded from the sudden and extended jolt causing a sudden system shutdown. The yellow robot immediately rushed against Discord only for another concentrated beam to pierce through it’s head.

“Looks like we’ve come out ahead huh?” Spike quipped.

“If I had a tomato I would hit you with it.”Discord deadpanned.

“Should I have gone with ‘looks like I’ve made his head roll?' Or how about ‘Cool your heads down?' We did use a lot of fire to melt them.” Spike clacked his claws together sheepishly.

Discord merely facepalmed and ran his hand down his face annoyed beyond all belief. Comedy was going to be a necessity for Spike before he could give out real witty one liners. Instead of shrinking from his gaze Spike defiantly showed that he did indeed have a back bone.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Twilight would have laughed at it.” Spike proudly boasted.

“Yeah but she likes bad puns.” Discord countered.

“Same difference. I’m witty enough when it matters.” Spike crossed his arms standing firmly on the matter.

Before the two could argue any further a large explosion went off around them leaving another dust cloud around them. The purple robot with the treads raced after the two firing several bouncy grenades and several missiles where the two were. Instead of running Discord grabbed Spike again and fled into his shadow. The explosions went off and the purple robot was left staring at a crater and no sign of the bag he was supposed to get.

To say Pinkie’s ability was powerful was an understatement. To say it was overpowered was right on target. To say it was easy would have whomever said those words backhanded through a barn before they could even finish their thought. Spike was able to stave off the nausea but it still hurt his stomach with every warp. Discord looked to be nursing a migraine as well.

“How does Pinkie stand that?” Spike managed to speak out before holding a claw against his mouth. The urge was there but he kept his wits about.

“Practice. Her’s is far too jerky and its giving me a headache. I need a smoother transition and not a sudden shift. Still we should keep moving. We got lucky that these particular robots are so wrecked that they are easy to take out. We need that damn door already.” Discord angrily mused both to his own thoughts and for Spike’s clarification.

Before Spike could answer back the centaur shaped robot rushed into the area they had warped to which was the road leading to the warehouse. It didn’t waste time and tried to trample the two. A well placed cotton candy cloud forced it to the ground and an even better fired beam took the head clean off. That left only the purple robot and the Flutterbot left to deal with.

“So do either of us know what to do against explosions?” Spike pointed out the problem and thought back over the powers they had.

“I do. Didn’t have much chance though. The mark was running on empty from getting the artifact. It’s back now but there are far too many explosives to deal with at once. Besides it got the jump on us technically.”

“How did we miss a robot that reaches up to your chin even when you stand straight up!?” Spike cried out only to wince and cover his mouth when the sound of treads rang out through the now deserted streets. Discord prepared himself as well as he could though the constant warping caused his stomach to churn from the abuse.

The purple robot immediately shot out several missiles which Spike caught with his flames causing them to explode prematurely. Instead of stopping like other enemies the robot shot his grenades out low keeping the bounces controlled. Discord wasted no time lifting them up with his telekinesis and threw them back at the purple robot. The explosion didn’t slow it down. With renewed vigor it charged at them faster than the centaur robot ignoring any cloud that got in it’s way. The explosives on it blinked red at intermittent times.

“He’s going to kill us all!” Spike yelled out and began breathing out multiple beams at the legs of the robot. While several hit the mark the material managed to hold better than the heads of the other robots. “Why is he still standing!?”

Discord wasted no time and lifted the robot into the air and flung him back towards the warehouse. The sudden use left him slightly light headed and the mark on his back was empty once again. The explosion that followed afterwards forced them to look over the destruction that had been caused.

“Well this certainly was a lot of chaos caused in a few short minutes. Now if I only had my camera.” Discord held his fingers out in the film maker’s pose enjoying the view. Spike merely chuckled and started to traipse away from the scene. Then he froze mid stride to the sight before him. It was there. The Flutterbot was there.

“I see that you didn’t have a good time with my friends. I know they can be a little intimidating but you were being really mean.” Flutterbot was only slightly hiding behind her mane as the eyes focused intently on Spike. The same look she gave when she did that.

“The… stare…” Spike was mesmerized though Discord still had his back to the Flutterbot. Luckily enough he only backed up to see more of the explosion in all its glory. In his peripheral vision he noticed Spike stuck in place almost unmoving.

“...She’s here huh?”

“Yeah.” Spike muttered out almost lost in the power of the robotic stare. Without missing a beat Discord wrapped his tail around Spike and sprinted off surprising the Flutterbot forcing it to give chase.

The wings on the Flutterbot were horribly mangled and unable to support flight but it was still strong enough to keep up on foot. Spike managed to shake his head back and fire off several fire beams which were dodged easily. The sudden appearance of cotton candy stunned the bot forcing it off into a side alley.

“Any ideas where the door is?” Discord promptly stopped running looking around for the small pegasus robot shaped like his friend. Spike merely shrugged and watched the shadows while keeping his eyes on Discord in case he got caught by The Stare.

The robot zoomed out and tried to strike Discord only to get caught in a telekinetic field. The robot forced it’s stare into Discord’s eyes only to flinch when he managed to stare back without flinching or stopping. Spike got his breath ready only to wince when the robot looked to be crying at him. A weird fluid fell from the tear ducts it had which tore at his heart. That hesitation allowed the Flutterbot to escape the field and disappear down another alley.

The door slowly appeared near their position forcing Spike to rush for it and fling it open. He jumped through the threshold as Discord slowly edged into the doorway. The Flutterbot ignored all pretense of hiding and trotted into view.

“Why are friends leaving me again…?” It stared at Discord but kept that ability it had from activating. Discord placed his talon against his chest but kept stumbling towards the door. It took steps forward each step he took.

“No. No you won’t,” The Flutterbot stood stock straight preparing her posture and taking a pouncing position. “You’re going to LOVE ME!” It jumped towards Discord who got through the doorway slamming it in the Flutterbot’s face. The robot fell down to the ground.

“Friends nearby… IRRELEVANT DATA EXPUNGED.”

“Self Terminate… IRRELEVANT DATA EXPUNGED.”

“Oh my…” Another voice rang out as a small yellow pegasus with a pink mane floated down from one of the nearby buildings. The Flutterbot turned around and saw something shocking. A flesh covered copy of it was in front of her. It looked sad while it stared at the wounds on it’s body.

“Copy...DATA RECOVERED… Destroy… “ The Flutterbot spoke monotonously as the emotions it showcased against Discord disappeared.

“I’m sorry…” Fluttershy raised her hoof as a cannon appeared on it and several armor piece materialized on her. They were all blue in color but left room for her wings and mane.

The fight lasted one shot. The blast from the hoof cannon took out the Flutterbot leaving only the robotic frame behind. Fluttershy slowly placed her hoof on the frame crying softly for the one who had fallen. The fight for everlasting peace was one she had had trouble dealing with but kept fighting to show the world what it meant about kindness. Something she was still defining. Out of the corner of her eye something caught her attention. Her tears stopped and her eyes widened into saucer plates. A small purple scale on the floor seemingly out of place to the world she was in laid there. She gingerly picked it up her breath hitching when she first felt it in her hoof. As the memories of that day hit her like a ton of bricks and to top it all off when she turned the scale around her tears returned but this time a smile followed as well. Only four words were on that scale and they made everything seem much brighter than when she first saw the city.

‘WE ARE STILL ALIVE.’

Spike rubbed at his arm still feeling the pinch when Discord had pulled off one of his scales. While he wanted to be mad he couldn’t. If Fluttershy was in that world she needed something more tangible than an idea to get through the day. The fear that the Flutterbot had caused made them both realize that while they had gotten through the worse part of the mission it was still going to be tough for them for the following seven.

“How well do we even know the ponies we’re going to be helping?” Spike asked while he stopped feeling the tender area where the scale was. He still didn’t know the names of the other ponies that had been chosen. While he wasn’t completely out of the loop he only knew seven other ponies had become element bearers somehow.

“Probably well enough that we won’t make complete fools out of ourselves. Still at least we’d have fun that way… especially after what had happened. I still can’t believe that another attempted clone was put into production. It makes me sick.” Discord griped as he looked around for Freya. She had been short with them and rarely said much anymore. He did know why but he didn’t know how often they were watching.

“She wasn’t really a clone though. It was more of a cheap knock off of the original. Also it was weird. Usually in realms where I get an ability it was the harmony based powers that were affecting it. Usually we’d face the chaos ones. I’m not over-thinking that am I?” Spike felt his bruises and slightly winced. That day had been the most active day that either of them had and the wounds they received were specifically pointed to do as much damage as possible. Discord was tougher though and the strengthening spell from Starlight’s mark was more than enough to fight back against it.

WELCOME BACK. I HOPE THE TRAVELLING HAD BEEN WELL… YOU ARE INJURED ONCE AGAIN. SEEMS I WAS TOO HOPEFUL OF YOUR NEXT SOJOURN INTO THE UNKNOWN. PREPARE FOR HEALING.

While the magic washed over the two the backpack on Spike’s back floated over to its respective position turning into a beam of light like the other seven. The door that appeared had a mark that Spike hadn’t seen in a long time. At least not personally since the fashion show with Hoity Toity. On the door was a backwards double quaver cutie mark.

“Sweet Celestia. DJ-PON3 is one of the new bearers.” Spike exclaimed while Discord merely rubbed his talons against his body nonchalantly ignoring the reveal.

“Uh-huh.”

“What do you mean ‘uh-huh’? This is pretty big if one of the friends I made is this important to get to this point.” Spike pointed out dramatically allowing his dramatic pose to win over Discord… only for him to yawn.

“As amazing as that sounds I’m tired and we aren’t going to see her. Rest time now then we’ll head into the area. Seems like she’s going to be a natural chaotic pony.” Discord smirked as the healing ended. He curled into the bed that was prepared while Spike did the same pouting from the way he was brushed off.

After Discord seemed to fall asleep Spike mulled over the problems before falling asleep as well. Discord then woke up. Satisfied that Spike was out he traipsed over to the light signifying Fluttershy’s element and sat down near it. While Spike slept soundly Discord stayed and kept vigil over the light until fatigue finally managed to claim him into dreamland. Freya said nothing and levitated him back into his bed. The night was still young.

WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO MUSCLE IN ON MY TERRITORY HARMONIA. I WAS SUPPOSED TO CORRUPT THE OLD FOOL NOT YOU. EXPLAIN.

Angra Mainyu shoved its full weight into Harmonia forcing it to face it. Harmonia shoved back with the same force.

YOU WERE SLACKING LIKE USUAL. I HAD TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE SITUATION OTHERWISE I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP THEM THERE UNTIL WE HAD MORE DATA ON THEIR ABILITIES. YOU MAY HAVE THE NEXT WORLD IF IT BOTHERS YOU SO DAMN MUCH. WORSE THAN A CHILD IS WHAT YOU ARE.

Harmonia kept the rest of its thoughts silent due to how petulant Angra could get. Angra said nothing to the retort and floated away as if to get ready. The feeling of chaos magic disappeared from the room leaving only the harmony magic to bask in its own glory. Harmonia catalogued each power that the pair acquired and seemed to go over diagrams of the two. Numbers scrolled down the magical holographic scenes seemingly too fast for even a pegasus eye to follow. Even then it left a sickening smile on Harmonia’s visage.

HALFWAY THERE…

Through the Wubs 1

Sleep had not come easy to either of them. Discord had let fatigue listlessly drag him into nightmares where the Flutterbot had actually been Fluttershy. Spike’s own anxiousness came from the Twilight they had been forced to leave behind. Both minds were still reeling from the last couple of days or at least what they felt had been days. Freya merely watched over the pair during the entire endeavor. Healing their bodies was an easy matter but even with her power the mind was one of the only things she couldn’t help. The underlying subconscious would constantly fight back and continually find ways to keep itself safe from the delusions of the world around them. While she could peer into their minds she could only watch the surface and the few spikes of emotion that broke the tension of that surface.

Discord woke up first. Looking around in confusion he slowly noted Freya watching them and calmed himself. He didn’t say anything but the polite nod of his head conveyed all the meaning either of them needed. Gratitude. While he hadn’t expected himself to stay the entire night near the light he remembered that something compelled him to stay and it wasn’t just fatigue. Strangely enough he knew that it wasn’t love either. He couldn’t explain his own chaotic mindscape even to himself. Spike yawned shortly after him dragging Discord’s attention to the small drake.

‘Seriously I have another good friend in a small dragon and I still don’t believe how sentimental I’ve been in this place. Still… No one should have to see the horrors that occurred in that base. Especially when the perpetrator looks exactly like the mare who helped raise him. Must remember to examine all the ponies who become element bearers for their chaotic tendencies so they only become tricksters rather than killers. It was far too easy for those Twilight clones to be corrupted into monsters. Even I made sure not to kill. Puppets who can’t fight back are just boring and death is the ultimate order.’ Discord quickly hid his feelings on the matter and walked over to one of the tables in the next room leaving Spike to his own musings. Hunger gnawed at him and sustenance would be a necessity.

Spike kept to the bed for a short while longer. While he was still a little put off by Discord pretending not to know DJ-PON3 it wasn’t what was bothering him. Something else had gotten to him.

‘How well are we going to handle these next worlds… We barely survived the world Applejack had been sent and then we had more trouble when we went into the world Fluttershy had been held within. Fighting robots sucked so badly. Glad Twilight isn’t around to hear my thoughts. Wouldn’t like to hear that lecture…’ Spike instinctively grabbed his tail curling as much as he could around him. He didn’t cry but he did feel that tears were trying to threaten their way out. The world Twilight had been held was something he wished he could have gone without seeing. How they managed clones without the Mirror Pool led him to thinking increasingly horrible things throughout his dreams. They only stopped when he finally couldn’t think any other horrible things. Luna wasn’t around to wash away the nightmares and he needed it to stop.

With a weary sigh he cleaned off his face from the tears that hadn’t fallen and joined Discord at the table. Both remained silent throughout the meal. Both seemed to share the same idea on the matter though and one look on both their faces shared the sentiment.

‘Caring about others is harder than it looks, isn’t it?’ Both ended up laughing when they realized they had the same look. The levity was welcomed enough.

“So we’re going into the DJ’s world then?” Discord opened the conversation with almost disinterestedly.

“Yeah. Some sources say she’s mute and others say that she is just a mare of few words who only speaks when it’s something important. Others say she’s just too lazy to speak and lets her wubs do the talking for her.” Spike explained trying to keep the information short and concise.

“Really? That sound vaguely interesting then.” Discord spoke up with actual growing interest. The wubs hadn’t actually brought it though. The fact that the mare didn’t speak unless she wanted to was a pretty chaotic thing but only on the smallest scale. He could see many applications of this should there ever be a dinner party and he wanted to annoy someone so thoroughly.

“Supposedly yeah. I think she told me that she wanted to raise some mystique on her profession or something like that. She was very short with her explanation because there were too many other ponies around. I did manage to keep in touch with her though so I got to meet a lot of the ponies in town. Luckily, if it’s a mark I know I’ll be able to tell which pony were involved with.” Spike thought back to the rest of his meetings. There were many ponies that were involved in some way with him and the other elements. The fact that thanks to him Twilight had more friends rather than just the five he met that first day in Ponyville was test of patience on his part. Twilight hadn’t been so receptive to the idea but stopped complaining when he mentioned telling Celestia about all the friends she made.

‘She couldn’t be awake at all times of the day. Plus she never looked over what I wrote after I wrote it.’ Spike thought as he lifted up his old backpack that Discord held out for him and stuffed in a few more gem shards in case of emergencies.

The two made their way to the door and slowly opened it. Both were flung into the new world by the strange force but kept themselves from reacting, They had been through the same song and dance seven times at that point and mostly nothing could surprise them. Then they landed in some water and immediately were forced to swim for their lives. Strangely enough the water wasn’t cold.

“Well this is just great. We landed in an ocean. Now where do we go from here?” Spike complained as he spat out some water.

“There probably?” Discord deadpanned as he pointed his thumb at a strange shaped island in the form of an ape’s head.

“Oh.”

The two managed to get to the shore without much problem still drenched from the sea water and the constant rush of the waves didn’t help. While the island wasn’t deserted there did seem to be very few inhabitants within the area. Discord kept peering around for anything explicitly out of place but the island was all natural. For some reason he felt as though someone had been making a factory on the island.

“Have you felt anything about the item we need? This place looks abandoned.” Spike muttered more to himself the last line. Seawater always made him feel weird though he never knew why. ‘Probably from Winter Wrap Up or something…’ Spike shut the thoughts out. It wasn’t cold and the tropical setting was very welcome.

“Right give me a sec… “ Discord dismissively waved his paw and focused on his surroundings.

The tug of the artifact seemed to pull from the center of the island but he couldn’t figure out where exactly. Similar to the incident with Rarity’s artifact it kept moving back and forth but it was always the same direction regardless of where he moved. It was in the center of the island. Somewhere beyond the foliage of the jungle canopy was an artifact specifically for the draconequus to use to empower himself into more of a demi god then he already was.

“Looks like it’s in there. Ready to go or do you want to give it a few minutes until we figure out your new ability? Elysium knows that that is the best part of getting new powers.” Discord poked at Spike’s cheek prodding him into action. Spike, for his part, seemed to contemplate the same idea. New powers and not knowing how to use them only left him a slight pang of dread from not being prepared. Without Twilight around he needed to keep up with the new powers.

Without any warning Spike ambled a short distance away and began the same process he had with his other powers. The tug at the back of his mind seemed to pull at that small desire. Taking a deep breath he tried to expel a large stream of fire from his maw. Fluttershy’s mark activated at that point and released a frigid blast of frozen air freezing the very ground before him. The mark on his back steadily drained while he breathed.

Taking another breath Spike tried to release the stream of frozen air only for a torrent of electricity to release from his mouth supercharging the very ground around him. Bolts of lightning seemed to crackle from the very ground confusing the small drake that something of that caliber came out of him. The mark on his back drained even faster leaving it only a quarter full.

Trying one more time Spike released another breath but this one was a sickly dark green and covered the land in a brown haze which killed the very ground around the clouds. The earth itself was saturated and any insects which flew too close instantly crumbled to ash just from touching the noxious clouds. The mark fully drained and started to refill even slower than the last mark. Spike fell over exhausted and slight out of his mind.

“Huh… Well that was interesting. You managed to change the property of your breath. So ice, electricity, and poison. Maybe you have more to offer then. A veritable variety of vile weapons that ventilate and violate various villainous weirdos.” Discord sat on his tail which he folded his arms in sheer intrigue from the sudden show before him.

“Did you really need the alliteration…” Spike groaned out. He didn’t know how he knew that but it sounded like something Twilight had done about politely panicking ponies or something to that effect.

“No but who can resist the challenge in the first place, huh?” Discord smiled wider as he waited for Spike to get back up. “Got any other breath weapons?”

Spike managed to get back up and the Fluttershy mark finally refilled itself. While he was also curious about his abilities there was also a need to continue on this quest gnawing at the back of his mind. Pushing that nagging thought to the back he let his own curiosity get the best of him.

Taking a deep breath Spike released a torrent of water out of his maw. The ground was soaked shorting out the still electrified floor, putting out the flames and drowning the poison, and freezing within the confines of the ice. Spike blinked a couple of times before closing his mouth. The water had been clear and strangely wasn’t made of drool. ‘Actually that is probably the best case scenario.’ Spike surmised.

Taking another breath Spike released a torrent of wind that blew away the breath weapons he had already used. The mark drained out once again leaving Spike gasping for breath on the ground. ‘Sweet Celestia I’m tired…’ Spike groaned out in pain. Taking several minutes to rest Spike looked back on his new arsenal. Fire breath was his main draw and could be concentrated but he now had access to ice, lightning, poison, water, and wind. It was a strange collection to say the least.

‘Next thing you know they’re gonna give me more breath weapons everytime I get a new element ability.’ Spike dubiously thought yet that small twinge at the back of his mind may him think otherwise. There was a possibility that it would happen when he got another ability. Discord, meanwhile, was examining the left behind fields where the abilities had effected.

“Looks like you got super charged. Versatility thy name is breath weapon. Part of me wants a breath weapon now but I still think it might be too powerful. I mean look at me. I’m already the pinnacle of amazing. Anymore might just blind the others.” Discord smirked as his tail slapped away the ice covering the ground still. The ground beneath seemed to be fine and was luckily not ruined by the sudden frostbite.

“Well at least it wouldn’t be lethal…” Spike trailed off when he noticed that the poisoned ground actually turned to slop and bubbled foully. “At least mostly not lethal. So I have a variable breath weapon system. Seems like we’ll need it later. Especially for a world like this if it’s as dangerous as I think it could be.” Spike finished off his thoughts before breathing a gout of flames at the poisoned ground melting away the slop into ash so that the tainted earth could be purified in a sense.

“Shall we then. As much fun as it’s been watching you test out new powers I think it’s about time we get me something new to work with. A draconequus can only work cotton candy and telekinesis into perfect art forms for all eternity.” Discord playfully chuckled at his professionalism which wasn’t all that proper without him using something for the gag.

“I don’t know. You’ve been doing really well with what you have regardless. Managed to toss a robot like it was nothing.” Spike pointed out.

“Perhaps but I need something flashier. Everything I’ve got has been too practical and straightforward. That’s not this being’s schtick. I need explosions or sight gags to make it all complete.” Discord flared his arms out in a circus leader’s fashion towards an invisible crowd.

“You have lightning for shock and awe.” Spike bluntly deadpanned.

“Not enough.” Discord pointed out making Spike roll his eyes in exasperation.

Wasting no more time the pair started their trek into the dense foliage of the jungle canopy through seemingly marked trails already in place. They seemed to be pony made, at least, in Spike’s mind. The trails had been painstakingly carved out and sent in a particular line. Discord remained wary throughout the trip. Every once in awhile he would summon a cotton candy cloud and fling it into the depths. The the jungle would be more lively as the thrashing of the trees and the sudden buzzing noise filled the area deafening all other sounds out. Spike nervously stepped past where the next sounds came up when the two were suddenly swarmed by a pack of large bees.

“Ah horseapples…” Discord muttered as the next cloud came out and shot lightning out at the swarm. Several of the yellow coated ones instantly fell off into the jungle while the red ones tanked the lightning. Eyes widening in shock Discord backed up while Spike stepped forward. Charging up his breath he released a stream of cold air which froze the wings on the bees making them fall to the ground.

Angered but unable to walk due to the lack of legs, the bees flailed about unable to get much distance in their hops. They tired themselves out leaving the duo the chance to run past the carnage. The bees had proven to be strong enough to tank lightning and freezing their wings still left them able to move. At least the red ones had been dealt with.

“Those bees were as big as me!” Spike cried out unable to keep his panic from growing. Instead Spike smacked himself across the cheek forcing him out of his revelry and fear.

“I wonder if the saying what is the sound of one hand clapping fits here.” Discord wistfully stared at the drake who eyed him with a slight bit of confusion. “ Because that broke the scale.”

Instead of laughing a cricket began playing in the distance while Spike groaned at the pun. Discord merely laughed it up though it seemed more forced than anything.

“Ya done?” Spike facepalmed and rubbed his forehead in thought.

“What? I can’t pull jewels out all the time.” Discord growled out. Though a part of him looked apprehensive because he knew he was stretching the joke.

“Just… just lead the way please. We’ll sit down and figure out some jokes when we get back to the room.” Spike groaned out

“Fine…” Discord rolled his eyes and grunted in annoyance. The feel of the artifact soon began to pull him towards a trail that seemed to be going up the mountain. Steeling himself he started up the path only to duck out of the way when a barrel came rolling straight at his head, Spike, instead, shot a blast of fire supercharged by Applejack’s mark and incinerated the barrel before it could get any closer.

“Let’s get going before another one comes.” Spike spoke too soon as another barrel shot out at them. On the side were three letters. ‘T-N-T’.

“Oh ponyfeathers…” Spike muttered as he shot out another fireball. Everything exploded. A large crater was left on the trail but the duo managed to circumvent the terrain when several more barrels began flying down at them. Every dodge and every weave left the ground a tattered mess of craters and ash. Several times Spike has to shoot off a fireball making a chain reaction of explosions leaving the two partially deaf and covered in soot.

As the reached the end of the path they finally found the culprit. A large orangutan was chucking barrels at the pair. The problem came when they noticed that it had magically charged red eyes staring down the two. When Discord attempted to use telekinesis to move the barrels away it flung a steel barrel much faster than it should possibly be able to do. Releasing his hold Discord hopped to the side as the barrel struck a tree and snapped it two. In retaliation Discord trapped the creature in cotton candy… which it started to eat it’s way out of.

“Curse you delicious confectionary made of sugar, you have betrayed me to no end!” Discord cried out as he got on his knees in mock sadness. Pulling himself together, without making his body parts fall apart, he snapped his fingers and electrocuted the creature into submission. It stumbled around a bit before falling over in a daze. A large red cloud was released from its body and fled into the jungle and seemed to head higher into the mountains.

“Discord, are we going the right way?” Spike breathed out. He was tired once again. The explosions had forced him to run much longer than he was used to. Discord was also heaving from the physical activity. While he would never mention it, he had been very lazy until the events of that kidnapping event. Feeling around with his talons Discord felt the pull of the artifact still leading him up the mountain. Now he knew for sure where the feeling was coming from since it stopped hovering on the up and down axis settling for up.

“Yeah. I have a good feeling I know where the item is now. We just have to keep climbing up. Towards those black clouds off in the distance. Yes, I know they look scary but they can’t be all bad.” Discord smiled while his back was turned to the clouds. Spike, on the other hand, saw.

Lightning shattered the very landscape from the area where the dark clouds were. Then a gout of fire erupted from the area while hail fell from the sky in that exact same area. Spike blinked once, then twice, then thrice waiting for the punch line. ‘Nope that’s actually what happened just now…’ Spike quickly averted his eyes and motioned for Discord to continue. When he did turn around all the insanity that Spike had seen had disappeared.

“OH COME ON!” Spike screamed out knowing he had been pranked by the second oldest circumstance of Murpneigh’s law. Discord luckily didn’t react negatively.

“Let me guess… Something bad happened while my back was turned huh?” Discord stared at the small drake who merely nodded in agreement. “Well damn… I missed some great chaos then.”

Spike stared at the draconequus then facepalmed when he realized once again that he was dealing with Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. ‘Hello, you know who you’re hanging out with.’ Spike chastised his own mind while the two kept walking up the paths that were left behind.

Every couple of trails another orangutang would come out of the canopy and start chucking barrels at them. They were all explosive barrels as well making the landscape exactly how Tirek made the landscape when he fought against Twilight. The cotton candy trick worked each time while Spike sniped the barrels that did make it through their precision teamwork. Though the steel barrels had been the most dangerous of the attack. Even with a full charge Discord’s telekinesis couldn’t hold back the force of the attack, merely redirect it into something else.

“These guys sure are stubborn. Where do these guys come from anyways?” Spike thought aloud while he ducked before another steel barrel flew past his head scraping the tips of his frills. As the last creature fell Discord sat against a tree and waited for his breath to catch. While using his powers in that limiting manner didn’t tire him out the overuse and combination of several powers gave him a serious migraine which would disappear after resting for a while.

“Does it matter? I mean we’re barely holding our own against these creatures yet we managed to walk away from other problems with nary a scratch. No, the robots don’t count.” Discord swiftly cut Spike off from his retort. The robots had been a blind spot and the robotic Fluttershy was still in his thoughts. It was not a good day.

Discord’s migraine soon left him as he pulled out some food from the pack on Spike’s back. Spike followed suit and also ate something. Regardless of the danger around them their abilities would serve them well enough to stop anything before they could finish eating. Plus the trek had made them hungry enough to scare away a bear. ‘Watch out Harry, there’s a new predator on the prowl.’ Discord hummed to himself as he finished the sandwich he had brought.

Finishing up the dynamic duo reached the end of the trail. Before them stood a grand quarry with a large factory sitting in the center of said quarry. It seemed to ooze with pollution and tore into the very landscape marring the otherwise pristine view. The pull of the artifact seemed to come from somewhere within the dilapidated factory forcing Spike to groan when Discord had pointed it out.

“So a ruined factory in the middle of a quarry on an otherwise uninhabited island with local orangutans who managed to somehow make explosives in barrel form and craft steel barrels which can snap a tree in half. Am I missing anything or have I freaked out enough?” Spike growled out with the frustration on his face appearing to be very evident.

“Don’t forget that we have no idea what’s in there.” Discord innocently enough chimed in leaving Spike to groan into his claws. Frustration would be all he got today.

“Thanks for reminding me.” Spike managed to snark in a sarcastic tone. Discord ignored it and in the most genuinely kind tone he could muster made Spike want to scream out.

“No problem buddy. Can’t have you get off your toes now. We need to press on.” Spike merely curled up and started mumbling to himself.

‘Sweet Celestia help me…’ Spike mumbled his mantra while Discord smiled at the scene. He wished he had a camera. Regardless the two waited until Spike recollected his marbles to explore what awaited them within the ruins of the factory.

Author's Note

Spike has scales. I'm not sorry for the horrible pun but I'm sorry for the horrible delivery.

Through the Wubs 2

Frustrated but determined the two rose from their break and looked around the quarry for any access point into the factory. The entire area seemed to be leaking with oily looking water which pooled into the crevasses that were left behind from what was most likely mining machinery. Spike gritted his teeth from the destruction. The quarry could have had gems which he could have harvested in some fashion to supplement his own gem supply. Rarity’s power did need to be put through its pace most of the time.

“I don’t wanna teleport. Throwing that out there right now before you say anything Discord.” Spike intoned stopping Discord in his tracks from even mentioning his warp ability.

“True. We did just eat and I’d prefer that the meal stays inside me. Still that artifact is somewhere inside that factory. It’s pretty fear inducing isn’t it?” Discord quipped and Spike couldn’t help but think that there was a reference in there somewhere. Taking a deep breath the pair made their way around the edge looking for any paths they could take to get into the facility.

It took several hours of walking just to find a small metal bridge that led into the quarry to a smaller facility below the ruined factory. Discord quietly checked the structural stability of the bridge before Spike could walk on it if only because he wanted to check if it could support his weight. Satisfied, he bravely walked forward leading the pair down into the depth of the side factory. Spike looked over the edge into the pits below noticing that the water was rising albeit slowly and it seemed to grow darker still. The smell in the air also felt off like burning rubber yet nothing was on fire.

“I don’t think this place is safe Discord… Let’s rush through this junk pile before that smell gets to be unbearable. I’m thinking I won’t be able to breath fire here and I don’t know why.” Spike intoned while biting at his claws. His own anxious actions slightly annoyed Discord.

“Spike, you’re a fire breathing dragon. You can survive fire plus I can make chocolate rain wherever I want so a little fire won’t do us any harm. Besides you have ice breath and water breath so there should be no need to worry in the first place.” Discord tutted at Spike waving a talon in his face dismissively.

The door into the building had rusted off it’s hinges and fell onto the floor. The hallway was darkened with only the sight of low level lights flashing off in the distance. Spike took the first step inside while Discord kept an eye out staring around at the decor. Several of the walls had scorch marks while several holes had been torn into the walkways around them. Somehow in the distance several barrels full of oil hung precariously in mid air with no discernible way that they were held up.

“I thought I wouldn’t see true chaos like this in a world like this. No traceable magic yet things are still floating in the air. ‘Sniff…’ It’s so beautiful.” Discord wiped the tear from his cheek while Spike kept his scoff to himself alongside the slight panic at things floating in mid air not making any sense.

“That’s nice and all but maybe we should find that artifact. I’d rather not get blown up if any more of those orangutans show up. Nearly lost my hearing to those explosions… “ Spike muttered out while Discord led the way towards the floating barrels.

“Seriously?”

“Yup. Gotta use those barrels to get forward. This will be fun won’t it?” Discord chuckled darkly as he settled into a low groan. The barrels were really far apart and almost impossible to make the jumps at least regularly. Gripping Spike in his tail Discord reached out for the first barrel and climbed atop it.

“Not too bad so far…”

The second barrel was slightly out of the way but a quick jump allowed the two to make it. Spike was sweating bullets after each jump. Discord ignored the feeling in his gut and how easy it would be to teleport over the gap… mainly because he couldn’t see the place he needed to teleport to. While he was sure it would work the small part of his brain that held his serious side actually managed to convince him that it would end poorly for them.

Seventeen barrels went by with several cotton candy structures between them allowed the pair to make it higher into the facility. Strangely enough there were no enemies to attack them unlike out in the jungle area. That still didn’t make either of them ease up on their stance. The last time they had taken it easy had left them nearly taken out by a possessed skeleton man. After the twentieth barrel the two finally reached a stable platform that didn’t look like it was about to fall into the abyss. Discord gripped the edge pulling the two up onto it and laid haphazardly on the platform breathing heavily while Spike climbed out of his tail and sat on the platform gripping one of the railings as tightly as possible.

“You know… Flight isn’t so bad when you know there’s no chance you’ll fall and be flattened into a pancake…” Discord muttered out as the rainbow mark on his back finished refilling itself.

“I get the feeling… Though that one face off against Sombra taught me to get over heights. Even so… I still don’t like heights. Maybe if I grow up with wings, sure I’d like it, but right now not so much…” Spike wheezed out. The anxiety was going to kill him at this rate and this was the world Vinyl was in. ‘She must be having the time of her life at this point.’

After a few minutes to gather their spines the two pressed on walking out onto a catwalk hovering over the quarry. Somehow they were outside but at the same time there was no light coming for them from the sun nor the moon. Edging slowly across the two noticed that several of the barrels that were floating in mid air were also around the catwalk. The only difference was that they would burst into flames for a few seconds only to retreat back disappearing from the tops of the barrels. The trek across had been led by the fire making the darkness more ominous than it really should have been.

“So we found the broken ones at least right? I know there’s gonna be more now…” Spike groaned as he rubbed his eyes from the frustration. Fire wasn’t the problem. The problem now became getting Discord across without him burning. Even with Ice breath he only had three shots before his body decided that he needed to rest.

“Unfortunately we still need to head that way anyways. Guess we got lucky on the approach now we gotta work on the speed. Dash or Fluttershy would be overkill on this world wouldn’t they?” Discord chuckled and walked ahead feeling the pulse of his artifact from further beyond the door. The closer they got the stronger the pulses felt to him. Several of the platforms they passed didn’t even get near the barrels or lead onto pitfalls. Spike ambled behind him keeping an eye out for anything that could get in their ways.

The darkness had been creeping in once again only instead of silence the two could hear buzzing out in the distance. Spike instantly shot out a fireball into the sky illuminating the entire area. In the flash of light thirty seven bees of various sizes had come out of the cracks in the factory’s walls. The pair of intrepid adventurers didn’t move. The bees were aimlessly buzzing around keeping to small patrol paths.

“We got the chance let’s get further away.” Discord whispered out. Gripping Spike in his tail and pointed up in case of mishaps Discord got on all fours and slithered across the platforms keeping out of range of the lit flames from the oil barrels. Every few seconds a bee would come dangerously close to the platforms and zoom over them yet they couldn’t see the pair. The most horrifying part was that each of the creatures had glowing red eyes showing clear signs of possession. Every couple of seconds one of the bees would spasm in mid air looking like they were falling into the abyss but then they would correct themselves and continue their patrol.

“I don’t think they like being possessed.” Spike muttered out lowly. Those several close calls had gotten him to ready his ice breath. Amongst several of the yellow bees were the nearly invincible red ones seemingly being the commanders of their patrol groups. They directed their groups in tight formations while Spike kept watch.

“They’re starting to make patterns. That group makes an ellipse and that group goes into a letter ‘K’ shape. We’re gonna need to time it for the next one. That last group zig-zags over the entire room and it’s only through sheer luck that it hasn’t seen either of us.” Spike hissed out the plan… a little too loudly. Several of the drones buzzed over their position forcing Discord to hustle past the elliptical group which still didn’t see them.

The darkness had been a blessing throughout tense moments. Several of the bees would keep getting closer only to pass by without seeing the pair. Spike had several moments where he wanted to blast away the bees with his own dragon fire but the sheer size of the hive they were facing made him hesitant. Discord also would move him out of the way whenever they got to close so he wouldn’t have a decent shot.

“Don’t waste your chance. We only have one.” Discord muttered so only Spike could hear. Only three more platforms until they could reach a somewhat lit up doorway. Spike huffed a bit but he knew that they were out numbered. Fluttershy’s power was useful and the only thing that could affect the red bees. The problem was that it could only be used three times to switch and use said breath weapons.

“You’d think they’d give us no limit on our abilities. Think they’re afraid of us?” Spike wondered aloud mostly to distract himself from the buzzing that permeated the air around him.

There were few things that Spike took pride in. Being the savior of the the Crystal Empire was a wonder and delight but at the same time he knew most of the ponies there were hero worshipping him never truly knowing who he was. Though after getting Thorax to be accepted he had personally talked to many of the Crystal ponies just to get to know them on a personal level. Yet, as a dragon Spike wouldn’t minded of being feared like other dragons were, at least, to his enemies, if he had any.

“No. They know we exist and they know what they want with us. We’re playing into their hand in the off chance that we can get lucky enough to surprise them and maybe, just maybe get out of this predicament. We’ve examined our powers and gotten a good grasp on how they work but even then we are skating on really thin ice. It’s enough to make me serious as well. Right now even if we were to go all out and attack them we would maybe last two hours. That’s being generous.” Discord hissed the last part though he kept his voice down. Several bees had strafed through their position and they were still a platform away from the exit.

Spike gulped and thought back to all the monsters they fought. Even at their luckiest the only reason that they survived Zero was that Freya intervened and they only had a single ability each at that point. It had almost killed them. The incident with the space octopus ghost being also had them almost die as well. After that the enemies got somewhat easier with a few twists every time they got complacent. The robots had been tougher than they looked because of the harmony magic that had been affecting their bodies. They knew who to target and when.

“Need you to get ready for ice. We open the door and everything will hear us.” Discord spoke a bit louder as he readied to rush the door. Spike nodded wordlessly and took a deep breath.

A quick jolt moved out of the shadows for the door. The bees took noticed from the noticeable sound of hinges squeaking open and openly raced for the two near it. Discord kept his full strength on the door pushing against the rusty mechanisms that kept it shut. Inch by inch the door opened wider and wider while the buzzing bees got closer. A large deluge of ice shot out hitting several of the bees as Discord stepped through the door. Using his tail he lifted Spike up and aimed him at the door frame. The ice built up creating a large covering of ice while the mark on Spike’s back slowly emptied.

“You can stop now Spike.” Discord spoke normally allowing the small drake to take another breath and relax from forcing that much ice out of his mouth. His lips trembled from the shift in temperature keeping his eyes clenched from the sensation.

“Eberything ib colb.” Spike uttered as the numbness spread through his lips. He had kept his breath trained for at least a minute or so. As his eyes focused on the door he froze to the sight of a large sheet of ice covering the opening. Several stingers were stuck in that ice including the three that were almost directly in front of his eyes.

“Didn’t understand a word you said but I get your point. We’re seeing eye to eye now. Yes the puns were necessary so don’t grouse about it now.” Discord chuckled mercilessly while Spike extricated himself away from the stingers.

“Yeah, yeah. It is to laugh. Ha ha ha… Let’s just hope there aren’t anymore bees. I hate facing bees.” Spike groused regardless of what Discord wanted.

“I’m more surprised you didn’t go ‘ Not the bees! Oh god not the bees!’ then yell as they came to attack us.” Discord pensively stared off into the distance as if reliving one of his many memories. Spike waited till he came back to the land of the living both because being alone was a death sentence whenever a new world was entered and without Discord leading the way he had no idea where the next artifact was located.

Discord shook his head returning back to lucidity and felt around with his paw. There were slight pulses from the artifact but he couldn’t feel where they were exactly coming from. The general direction led him onto another set of platforms hanging over what could be misconstrued as a bottomless pit. The two carefully ambled across the makeshift bridge while Spike mumbled something about the feeling in his lips returning.

“Rarity will be so pleased right Spikey-Wikey.” Discord smirked when the words left his lips. Spike froze instantly and turned red. Sighing more to himself than at the situation Spike took the comment well.

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT! OH LOOK A DOOR!” Spike raced ahead leaving a laughing Discord to catch up. At the door Spike kept his eyes turned away while Discord’s smug smirk was still painted on his face.

“We should talk about it at least once. Guys do that right?” Discord asked sounding almost genuinely curious. Spike took a deep breath and weighed his options. They didn’t have much else to deal with until another enemy appeared and the next room seemed almost similar to the last one they had passed already.

“Fine… well I do like her still but it’s… what’s the word… not as strong as it used to be. I think I stopped looking at the ideal and saw the real pony beneath the glitz and glamour I saw before. That’s not to say that I don’t like her anymore it’s just I know there are other options out there.” Spike admitted out loud shaking his head in disbelief that he actually said it.

“Neat. So Schmarity was just a slip of the tongue then?” Discord rolled his eyes to that revelation. Even he thought that it was weird. Though to him it wasn’t the species barrier that got to him. The problem was more along the lines of them actually having anything in common.

“Yeah.” Spike whispered out forcing Discord to strain his ears just to hear.

“You do know I don’t see how either of you have anything in common right? I mean not just in terms of eventual romance but more along the lines of being compatible in general.” Discord uttered out seriously and looked Spike straight in the eyes so Spike knew he meant what he said.

“You see that too huh?” Spike nonchalantly answered back surprising the draconequus. Discord, not backing down, wondered aloud how he figured it out.

“I wonder who told you that in the first place?” Discord peered up while the two talked down the next platform. The darkness had returned and the intermittent lit barrels were the only source to see where they were going in the first place. Luckily all the platforms had guard railings.

“Myself. After the Gauntlet of Fire I looked back on everything I’ve done with my time in Ponyville. Some moments were more petty than others but every single time I was with Rarity seemed to be filled with work rather than talking with each other. I’m diligent and hard working most of the time but even I prefer to get dirty more often than I want to admit.” Spike mused.

“Seems like you grew up didn’t ya?” Discord showed off a mischievous smile

“Yeah. I wonder what I missed being when I was younger…” Spike despondently responded. So much he wanted to do yet so little time.

The two entered the next room only to balk at the sudden appearance before them. The room was a rounded arena with a strange giant barrel in the center. The barrel seemed to be ruined beyond all conceivable methods of thought. The outer casing had torn and sheared into a mish mash of debris scattered both inside the barrel and outside. In the center of the barrel was a small speaker the same size as Spike. He decided to take the first step forward when Discord stopped him with his tail.

“You know this is a prime arena for a boss battle right? I mean seriously the moment we take a few more steps forward it’s gonna get back up and attack. Not very original if you ask me.” Discord slightly ranted though kept his voice down in case the boss was activated by sound.

“Probably but if that’s the case we should spring the trap and do this to ourselves instead of letting the monsters of this world get the best of us. We have enough firepower to take care of it now right?” Spike looked back at Discord only to see him furrow his brow. Rarely Discord would be serious, very rarely he would be apologetic for following his chaotic tendencies when Fluttershy wasn’t around, and near impossible were the times when he actually looked worried. A worried draconequus meant that the threat was Tirek level bad.

“I’d say we got a sixty-forty shot at this point. We’re the sixty but that’s only because your changeable breath weapon is only reliable when you have a full charge. You choose the right one and we might have a shot. Waste it and we’re mulch. You should charge up some gem shields.” Discord spoke in low tones as he looked over the arena. He could feel the pull of the artifact but something else was mixed in with it.

Spike, heeding his advice, took out six gems and slowly made them into collapsable shields. It took every drop of power from his mark to make them but luckily it didn’t make him too exhausted. Discord kept watching over the destroyed barrel and allowed Spike to rest in his tail. They were both tired but they needed the advantage of a mobile artillery.

“So do we have a plan? Or are we winging it?” Spike dryly pointed out knowing the answer in advance.

“The second obviously. I’m sure you figured out what we were going to do before hand.” Discord retorted in a mockingly offended tone. Then he chuckled before zooming into the arena.

The two of them made it to the barrel without running into any problems. They climbed up into the hole and grabbed the artifact. The barrel remained motionless as well. As they jumped out they turned around to see that the barrel was still destroyed and nothing bad had happened. Confused but optimistic, the two walked for the next door that didn’t lead back to the room with the hive of bees patrolling it.

“Well that was disappointing…” Discord pouted but a part of him kept hold of Spike. He was genre savvy enough to know that sometimes the unexpected happens when you turn your back on the enemy.

“At least we’re not dying? I don’t know actually. I was expecting something… just not this kind of something. Feels like the things that took us have lost their touch.” Spike muttered while keeping his eyes trained on the barrel.

As they reached for the next door it immediately shocked Discord away from it. Chaos magic blew into the room engulfing it in a hazy mist of random happenstance. The pieces from the barrel reformed and reattached to the main body revealing the design of a skull with glowing red eyes and crossbones on it. Even more chaos magic flew into the barrel filling it to the brim before sealing itself off. The barrel floated up into the air and turned to face the pair.

“I can’t tell which ways the front end…” Spike muttered while Discord hastily nodded in agreement.

“I figured it would be something interesting to fight but this seems insulting. It’s just a barrel.” Discord mocked the floating barrel blowing raspberries at it.

For all the harsh words the barrel didn’t react at all. It calmly floated in one spot before disappearing. It reappeared above the pair and instantly slammed down on them. Spike threw up one of his gem shields at the last second causing the barrel to bounce off and giving Discord enough time to jump out of the way.

“I think we shouldn’t mock the barrel…” Spike gritted his teeth and lobbed a trio of fireballs at the now exposed barrel only for them to bounce off.

Before Discord could answer the barrel floating back up and turned upside down and began the shake. From the depths of the chaos magic two figures popped out. They looked very familiar, in fact, they were ponies they both new very well. Out of the barrel came a darkened oil based version of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Without waiting for a reason Discord trapped the oily Rainbow Dash in a cotton candy cloud.

“I’m not dealing with a speed demon again. One robot was enough.” Discord snapped while Spike charged up his flame into a beam and incinerated the copy. The oily Applejack sprung into action and ran towards the two. A quick buck sent Discord back quite a bit and forced Spike out of his tail.

“Oh my aching head…” Spike groaned as he got back to his feet. His head was killing him from the fall. He didn’t get the time to react as Applejack bucked him much harder. He flew quite a ways and slammed into the walls. Luckily, Starlight’s ability kept him from going unconscious. It also left him open to being slammed by the barrel.

“Horseapples…” The impact shook the room.

Discord managed to get back to his feet at that exact moment holding Spike once again in his tail. Spike looked around in confusion. First at Discord then at the copy then at the barrel then back towards Discord until it all made sense.

“Pinkie Sense?” Spike asked.

“Pinkie Sense.” Discord answered.

“Right… Trap the copy please and I’ll burn it out.” Spike pointed at the copy which was now racing towards them.

With a snap of his talons the copy was trapped in a cloud then electrocuted until it actually caught fire. The slick chaos magic burst into cinders and faded from existence. The barrel did the same procedure bursting out three different copies. One was Rarity who was somehow still majestic even though she was made of oil. The other was Fluttershy who jumped high into the air and stared down at the two. The last was Pinkie Pie who merely waved at the two.

“Hi guys look at me I’m made of oil and chaos magic now!” The copy shouted and waved at the two. “Sorry but I gotta take care of you… PARTY HARD STYLE!” The copy somehow cracked her hooves before a blast of fire stopped it.

“No. Just no I’m not ready for that.” Spike scolded the barrel which did absolutely nothing but make him look foolish. It was for his piece of mind.

“Oh what a world, what a world! I’m melting, I’m melting! Well not really silly I’m being turned to ash then being swept away by the cross breeze-” The copy was stopped by the Rarity copy who seemed very annoyed. Unfortunately, that cost the copy it’s form as it burst into flames. It still looked like it accomplished something to be remembered for for ages.

“I’m really glad that their quirks are being useful today.” Discord dubiously snarked feeling a little apprehensive of how simple the foes were being until the barrel tried to slam down on his tail where Spike was at the moment. The timely use of a jewel shield allowed him to jump out of the way.

As they rolled back to a standing position a tornado formed below them and forced them into the air. The Fluttershy clone managed to sweep them up into the air and as they reached the apex of the eye of the storm she slammed the two down on the floor. Her eyes held no warmth at the two bodies rolled off to the side from the impact. Strangely enough they rolled hard enough to avoid being crushed by the barrel again. A quick snap of talons on the copy’s wings stopped that rain of thought then the burst of fire incinerated what was left of the problem.

“ I don’t know how I feel about that…” Discord looked down at his talons while Spike sheepishly brushed the back of his head.

The barrel stopped their talk as it moved faster and chased after the two herding them into the center of the arena. Several slams purposely missed just to get them into the right positions. Not feeling like being bait the two of them fired their abilities with full gusto. The cotton candy did nothing to stop it and the bursts of electricity coalesced around the barrel flying off in random directions. The chaos magic had somehow shielded the barrel from extensive harm. The blasts of fire did better but not by much. While they still slid off the flames ignited some of the oil that was still leaking out of the top. Small cracks reformed in the same place they had repaired earlier. The darkened body and flowing chaos made it impossible to tell if there was any effect.

“This is getting a little ridiculous. How does this thing have better protection than the other two bosses we fought?” Spike groused and complained when the barrel tilted over releasing three more figures. On the left was Starlight somehow sporting her original mane style. On the right what Vinyl Scratch bobbing her head to an unheard beat. In the center was a very pissed off Twilight Sparkle readying her magic. All were made of the same chaos oil.

“Ponyfeathers…” Discord snapped his claws enveloping the Twilight copy only to watch the cloud dissipate from the burst of magic. Spike responded with a fully powered beam of fire courtesy of Applejack, A shield popped up from the other two unicorn copies only to break upon impact incinerating the Twilight copy.

Dazed and confused, Spike stumbled backwards into Discord’s waiting tail. The other copies wasted no time and shot more magic at the two forcing Discord to bound off on all fours again. While he was probably tough enough to tank all the magic at that point he still didn’t like to be hit. Gracefully, he tumbled and weaved around the magic until the Starlight copy levitated it’s own body and flung themselves at the pair. While successful at dodging the physical blow Discord took the brunt of the copy Vinyl’s attack. The barrel nearly hit them again were it not for the intervention of another gem made shield.

“I hate tumbling now…” Spike mustered up his strongest voice but the constant spinning forced it out with a moan of sickness. ‘Shouldn’t have eaten…’ Spike stumbled with his thoughts before steadying himself once again.

“Hurry up with your lunch and get the copy that’s broken on the ground!” Discord yelled out while lifting Spike up a bit. Barely able to manage it Spike burst out with a small blaze and managed to get the copy that was currently buried partially into the ground. It was still trying to force its body back into the fray but the spreading fire turned it to ash.

The Vinyl copy swung back into action and actually attempted to tackle Spike out of Discord’s tail only to fall flat on its face every time. He lifted his tail at the last second every time. After messing around with the copy Spike let loose a torrent of flames burning the copy away.

The barrel took exception to this and chased after the pair. Like the head of a hammer the barrel slammed down on the pair barely missing by a few inches every swing. Discord attempted to trap the barrel in a slab of cotton candy only for the barrel to break off the sticky mess completely spotless. Discord groused at the misuse of chaos magic to be used to make itself clean. Spike, on the other hand, blasted it with flames.

‘Water wouldn’t do anything against it and neither would wind or poison. Ice would be crushed and electricity just bounces off the damn thing. I got nothing left to rely on but fire and Discord still hasn’t tried out the speaker. I’m pretty sure that the artifacts work regardless of whether they’ve given us their marks or not. Still we haven’t even put a scratch on this thing.’ Spike frustratedly whimpered before firing another charged shot at the barrel enveloping it in more fire.

“We’re not doing anything to it at all are we?” Discord muttered as he dodged another blow. The barrel hadn’t tried to make any more oil copies and kept it’s chaos magic trapped within. The field of chaos magic swirling around it did nothing but hide the cracks that had fully reformed on the barrel.

The fight, if it could be called that, raged on. Though at the end of the day it was merely a very long game of keep away. Discord and Spike kept away from the barrel to not die while the barrel didn’t want them living anymore.

“This is getting old real fast…” Spike mused as he flung another fully charged fire beam at the barrel. Finally after several minutes of flames licking the barrel the cracks visibly shattered causing the barrel to slam against the far wall and melt into a pile of slag. Discord fell to the floor as his paws and claws visibly throbbed from the constant escaping while Spike started coughing boisterously as if hacking out a lung.

“I hate fighting magically enhanced bosses…”Spike coughed out. Discord hastily shook his head in affirmative when the door appeared in the arena. With shaky determination Spike managed to pull Discord through the door away from the world they had finished.

“Spike… When you see the jerk who sent us there… Tell them to go buck themselves. To buck themselves so hard that everything is flipped inside out…” Discord moaned before passing out on the ground as the door closed behind them. The hive of bees had finally broken in to find nothing but a destroyed barrel and several piles of incinerated oil.

“Yeah sure… Got it.” Spike croaked in response. Freya floated in and picked the two up depositing them in their respective beds. Spike merely looked annoyed but accepted the bed as an old friend snoring just as loudly as the Lord of Chaos. At the last moment the Speaker that was nearly attached to Discord floated over to the other pillars of light and the mark appeared on his back.

YOU WENT TOO FAR YOU GODDAMN FOOL. WE NEED THEM TO REMAIN ALIVE AND NOT ALMOST BE KILLED. YOU USED TOO MUCH POWER AGAINST THEM FOR THAT TEST.

Harmonia radiated an intense light smacking Angra Mainyu for it’s rash behavior. The chaos being merely laughed at it.

OF COURSE I DID. THEY NEED TO BE MUCH STRONGER TO BE OUR VESSELS. NO PAIN NO GAIN. BESIDES WE’RE TEARING DOWN THEIR RESISTANCE TO KILLING. YOU SAW HOW WILLING THEY WERE TO USE LETHAL FORCE AGAINST THEIR FRIENDS. THEY MIGHT HAVE KNOWN THEY WERE FAKES BUT THEY FOUND IT SO EASY TO DO. THEIR SPIRITS ARE WEAKENING AND SOON THEIR MINDS WILL BE MORE PLIABLE. THERE’S NO FUN IN MAKING SENSE BUT THERE IS FUN IN MAKING NONSENSE MAKE SENSE. SO WHAT IF THE BOSSES NEARLY KILLED THEM. THEY ARE STRONGER FOR IT AND ABLE TO DEAL WITH MUCH WORSE THINGS NOW. OUR SACRIFICES ARE WELL WORTH IT IN THIS CASE.

Angra Mainyu cackled uproariously exploding with chaos magic that made Harmonia slightly sick even if it had no stomach to be sick with. Rolling it’s eye, Harmonia floated off to check on other things while the chaos got ready to deal with the next world and return the proper order of possession to their little game.

Author's Note

Boss is from DKC. The first one. It's from the Kremcroc Industries hub world.

What the Sun Saw

Flashback (When Cadance left to find the new bearers.)

Celestia was bored. She couldn’t explain why but she was monumentally bored out of her mind. At the same time she was proud. Her sister had been so wrapped up in making friends and adjusting to a way of life one thousand years in the making. Now she knew that her skills had not rusted even a bit.

“Sister don’t forget the one on the right.” Celestia intoned as she nodded to the correct side.

“Thank thee sister I already have seen it.” Luna rolled her eyes but quickly destroyed the monster before her. It sent a torrent of shadow into the water making the murkiness rise. Already several of the shadows took new forms.

The Twilight shadows had been the most difficult as they tried to teleport within the shield only to be melted alive by an angry sun alicorn. The ones which stayed outside the shield were cut down by ethereal blades of darkness and ice. Luna placed greater care to either bisect or decapitate the rogue beings before her for pragmatism and efficiency. From her estimates Celestia had managed to destroy over two hundred of the creatures before she had returned. She needed to make sure that she was still at the top of her game.

After a time both the Rarity and Vinyl shadows had wormed their way out of the crystal tree and galloped over to the moon alicorn. Instead of flashy magic like the Twilight shadows they attempted to impale Luna on their moderately resized horns.

‘A sure sign of magical tampering. These beasts know no bounds in their attempts to reach Anubis. Lest they forget they are facing the personification of the night and not one fool shall pass by me.’ Luna’s eyes glowed a bright white as she summoned a heavily modified version of the Tantabus and sicced it on her less than worthwhile foes. The Tantabus took the same form as Luna and began to mimic her fighting style. Each swing of an ethereal moonlit blade was copied and mirrored by the Tantabus and turned into a beautiful dance of whirling blades of death.

As the two whirling midnight blades of shadow cleaved through the entire horde of shadows Celestia looked on slightly bored now that none of the opponents would reach the shield. While she silently sighed several new shadows grew out of the tree. Each of them looked exactly like Fluttershy. Unlike Fluttershy they took up a perimeter and stared down Luna and the Tantabus. Strangely enough the Stare managed to pierce into their very soul stopping them from moving. Before it could fully take effect Luna managed to cast another spell.

The shadows that attempted to tackle the Tantabus were absorbed into it’s ethereal form and torn to shreds before dissipating into smoke. The ones that sprang into action against Luna were frozen the moment they made contact with her. Their inert bodies fell to the floor and shattered like ice. That action got plenty of the magical shadows and lights to change tactics as the doppelgangers of Rarity and Vinyl, one again, took up artillery positions and peppered Luna’s position with high intensity magic blasts. The lightshow caused the Fluttershy doppelgangers to flinch and shut their eyes.

While Luna took a few hits charring a bit of her side it allowed her to teleport out of the way and fire back at the Stare masters. Several blades of moonlight shimmered forth and decapitated the doppelgangers freeing the Tantabus and allowing it to refract the beams back into their targets.

“Come thither foul beast from yonder planes. Feel the wrath of your Princess of the Night! Watch as I freeze thine very souls and cast them to the depths of thy very blasphemous realm of existence. None shall prevail over I!” Princess Luna bellowed with the Royal Canterlot Voice actually destroying a few of the doppelgangers just by the power of her voice.

“Oh Sister. You’re having so much fun now. Make sure you leave some for Cadance. Can’t have her get too lazy ya know.” Celestia chuckled slightly but Luna could tell that she was just teasing.

“Do not worry Sister. I’m sure that the tree will provide. It’s given us enough to cope with our stress wouldn’t you say? I think that we should find a way to incorporate such battle training into our life. Probably should put Twilight into this.” Luna mused as she sunk another moonlit blade into another doppelganger. With a quick flick of her magic the figure flew off into another and fell into the abyss below the tree.

“I don’t know if she could handle it. Perhaps we should get her into more cardio before we do that. She’s doing fine but she has been sitting around a lot lately. Maybe we should get Rainbow Dash to train her a bit more before we start the combat training.” Celestia looked over Anubis noticing that the cracks were getting worse.

The sphere began to mutter about Rarity requiring several light spells, Twilight needed gravity spells desperately, and Vinyl needing self-levitation spells. The magic flowing off Anubis created even deeper cracks in the shell. Fluttershy’s request was the strangest out of all of them. She had requested a Magic Crystal Storage Unit. Confused overall by the request Anubis still obliged and turned over the item. Celestia was worried that something would be brought over and tried to get Anubis’s attention only for several more doppelgangers to attack the shield while Luna was turning the Tantabus into a wicked shaped scythe.

“Luna I need you to keep the copies busy!” Celestia called out while her own magic burst from the shield slamming the copies into the abyss. Luna soared into action gripping her new weapon and slicing through the copies that congregated around the shield before smacking the rest over into the tree.

“Anubis I need you to tell me what is going on. What is Fluttershy using that crystal for?” Celestia used her magic to try to seal up the cracks as she asked. Her magic had no real effect on the sphere’s shell. The magic was absorbed and returned without any detrimental problem.

SHE WILL BE BRINGING BACK INTELLIGENT IDENTITIES BUT I WILL NOT ALLOW THEM TO HAVE A PHYSICAL BODY WITHIN THIS REALM. DO NOT WORRY I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING.

“That is not as comforting as I thought it would be. What are these… identities that she is bringing? What was their purpose in that world?” Celestia scowled not at the sphere but at the uncertainty of what is being brought.

WORKERS AND LABORERS. EACH AN EXPERT IN THEIR OWN FIELD BUT THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO MUCH BUT SPEAK.

“I suppose. I’m just worried that this would be something we couldn’t handle. While we are doing a decent job of keeping this realm safe I can’t help but think that we are far beyond our mettle. These creatures are doing things we are not prepared for even in the slightest. I don’t even think that the guards we do have would be able to deal with these creatures plus the Elements of Harmony are inert and useless against these threats as it is now.” Celestia grumbled as another set of copies were torn to shreds by Luna’s haphazardly placed cuts.

“It shall be interesting at least right Tia? We can accommodate these changes at our pace rather than at the enemy’s pace. There is little worry with taking care of these problems is there sister?” Luna snorted as she bucked another enemy into the abyss.

“That’s not the problem. The problem is how ponies would react. Remember how some unicorns are when it comes to status. Most of the annoying partitioners of the court all count magic as the end all be all way of life. Those elements would no doubt look to take advantage of these changes to their own benefits. Remember that foul being Upper Crust I was forced to speak with for hours due to some trivial matter of her status being looked down upon when we gave Twilight the chance to hold her birthday in our ballroom? I’d rather not deal with that sort of problem.” Celestia groaned as she fired off a magical burst of flames away from the shield striking the forces that were forming for a mass attack.

“Why not just make this a project for either the Crystal Empire and Ponyville? When we get Spike back we can have him lead the movement in the Crystal Empire alongside Shining Armor and Cadance. While Discord watches over Ponyville alongside Twilight to make sure things go right. At least they will be controlled and kept from spreading like wildfire.” Luna posited.

Celestia merely smiled but beneath the exterior of her calm smile a torrent of emotions seemed to fester within her mind. The constant stream of copies and monsters was starting to wear thin on her patience. Luna was still having the time of her life as she sliced apart another cavalcade of copies before they could even form. The constant stream of enemies soon came to a halt allowing the three to take a breath.

“Well that was a thing wasn’t it Tia?” Luna chuckled as the Tantabus returned into Luna’s subconscious. Celestia wanted to know more about why that entity was still within Luna’s psyche but kept her eyes on the prize.

Anubis was in extremely bad condition. The cracks adorning its sides were pulsing with magical backup and flaring out. While the magic that was radiating off it was negligible to their health the constant stream looked to be causing problems in maintaining the link with the other ponies.

“Anubis is there anything we can do for you? You’re not going to be able to handle this much longer at this rate. We should figure out a way to repair you somewhat.” Celestia stared sadly at the sphere.

IT IS FINE. I WILL BE ABLE TO REGENERATE NOW THAT WE HAVE SOME TIME. ALSO IT SEEMS THAT CADANCE IS FINALLY BACK. SHE SEEMS TO HAVE FOUND THE OTHER TWO PONIES. FIVE OUT OF SEVEN HAVE BEEN ACQUIRED. THE COPIES HAVE BEEN THWARTED FOR NOW. FOR SOME REASON BOTH SPIRITS OF HARMONY AND CHAOS HAVE BEEN DISTRACTED ONCE AGAIN. WE NEED SOME TIME TO GET THINGS READY.

“We should prepare for them then. I wonder whom the ponies she brought are.Shall we at least clean up a bit before they come down here.” Luna piped up while she swept away parts of the darkness into the abyss below the tree.

SNRKT… DAMAGE HAS BECOME TOO EXTENSIVE. CAN NOT SELF REPAIR. SNRKT…

“Horseapples… Is there nothing we can do for you then?” Celestia glowered at the tree releasing a snarl that even she never realized she had before. Luna noticed but kept her thoughts silent. The constant battle had taken a bit of a toll on her. Luckily she had managed to defeat more foes than Celestia and took great solace in that fact.

“Celestia we must keep up with our job. We shall protect this place and it from the forces beyond this world.” Luna smirked as she put away all the blades the had warped to her side.

“Quite. Oh, by the way, I still destroyed more copies than you.” Celestia smirked back while Luna’s smile faltered into a scowl.

Before they could get into something Cadance brought in the two ponies that she found. The brown coated stallion and the grey coated pegasus mare. After a quick explanation the two were willing to go along with the plan.

With a small sigh Celestia took off to search for the last two ponies they needed. Hopefully the last two ponies were easy to find.

Through a Cello 1

It took a few hours before the two finally woke back up ready to face the day. Discord was the first and groggily rose from bed quickly looking on his back to see the quaver mark on his back. Curious, but too lethargic to do anything about it Discord paid it no mind and found his way into the kitchen area. The same routine went on with food and waiting but the contemplating was a new thing.

‘So what are we at… eight marks already and six left. We didn’t even check what was going to be the next door. Whatever happens in that door is Spike’s deal. All these worlds have been familiar but only on the surface. If I remember correctly the only one I’ve actually gone into was Rainbow Dash’s choice. The rest are merely familiar shadows… I think. Too many memories to sort through at this point.’

Spike finally woke up and stumbled into the room. While sluggish he still managed to get food to get through the rest of the day. Discord watched passively and didn’t even try to assist in any possible way more due to his own lethargy than any lack of interest. The two ate in silence and waited for the awkwardness to break. The two finally finished but couldn’t find anything to say. The fight was still on their mind and they barely survived the entire ordeal. They each looked at each other. Spike’s haggard look and traumatized stare complemented Discord’s apathetic and despairing view. Neither had much to go on but they felt that they were reaching the end of their rope. The constant danger and lack of seeing friends had become heavier with every step they took.

“Shall we?” Spike intoned and waved his claw towards the door with the treble clef mark emblazoned upon it.

“Yeah. Might as well get this over with. I’m already tired of this and I really want this to stop getting in the way of our freedom.” Discord uttered in a disgusted tone while the two stood up carrying their way towards the door.

Spike was the first to the door opening it to a large courtyard. Stepping within they were suddenly in the presence of a large castle but something was off. Something evil was floating through the air and Discord was sent into a stuttering mess as shivers raced down his spine. It felt very familiar and he hated that feeling. Spike patted his leg to try and get him to calm down. It didn’t work though and Discord merely shrugged it off though gently.

“This place is very familiar. I really don’t like it at all…” Discord scoffed and took his time to examine the area.

Everything seemed to be in tune with Canterlotian architecture with plenty of white marble and intricate designs. It felt too neat but at the same time comforting. Discord shook off the feeling leading the way further within. Spike pointed a general direction but the path immediately went vertical within the first room. The entire castle felt alive and neither could explain exactly why it felt so familiar. They could only continue to step forward following the feelings that Spike was getting for the artifact that was within the walls.

“I’m surprised that we haven’t been attacked yet… I just jinxed it.” Spike facepalmed only to receive a pat on the back from Discord.

“If you didn’t I would have.”Discord prepared himself as the two managed to make their way into a large ruined tower.

The two made their way into a huge ruined tower with no visible staircase up. Spike stared up in awe when he fully understood just how big the area truly was and the feeling that he was getting from the artifact and its general location. It was further up quite literally in fact. Discord froze in place glaring at a particular spot as he held back Spike with his tail. A voice rang out of nowhere shocking Spike out of his revelry and making his blood run cold.

“Two more souls within the Master’s halls. Full of power it seems. And one that feels so familiar that he could be family.” The voice was cold and carried into their very souls chilling them to the bone.

A large figure in a black cloak appeared with face fully encased in shadows. The piercing stare of it’s red eyes focused on the two and when they looked at the hands the figure had they could feel exactly what it was. Two bony hands descended from the opening holding a sinister scythe with a crooked notch in the blade. The notch looked particularly gruesome and seemed to be around only to keep the head in place while the blade did its grisly work.

“W-who are you?” Spike muttered out only for Discord to take a step back.

“Seems only the large one knows what I am too bad that fool in the shadows is trying so hard to control and failing so miserably. My dear little lizard… I am the incarnation of that which everything fears. The being every being meets when it is time to shuffle off this mortal coil and everyone always meets me. No one is immortal in my gaze without my approval. I am Death.”

Spike instantly backed up while Discord stepped forward. As an aspect of the force of chaos he was at least somewhat resistant to the concept.

“Seems I was right when I smelled your rotting corpse here, Death. Do us a favor and leave.” Discord snarled accidentally summoning some of the cotton candy clouds which crackled intensely with lightning.

“I wondered what I felt was inside here. Seems the aspect of Discord has finally graced us with his presence. Truly it’s a momentous occasion. Or it would be had I not hated your pathetic guts. Seems fool don’t know their place when dealing with the chaos of the world in truly beneficial ways. In fact you feel nothing like before. You feel like a shell… one I will relish in destroying for my master.” Death slurred his words as he brandished his scythe menacingly.

Before Death could react Spike shot a volley of ice at Death freezing him in place. Spike fired continuously until the mark on his back flashed and sputtered out of energy. Discord wasted no time and picked up the exhausted drake and ran off deeper into the old castle. The freezing effect didn’t even last for more than forty seconds. Death clenched his fingers around his scythe and let off a laugh that sent a staccato of rattling from his ribs. The game would be interesting. Very interesting.

Several monsters began to form within the castle. While the master was still destroyed due to the ever increasing efforts of the Belmonts, their kin, and the annoying little pony that kept assailing the castle Death was eternal and always waiting in the shadows for his prey. No Belmont regardless of their heritage would ever outlast Death.

“Are we safe yet?” Spike coughed out.

His question was answered when several swarms of zombies formed from pools of blood that covered the ground rose up to strike. Discord immediately jumped to the ceiling and clung onto it while they raced onward. Spike coughed up but he still used his normal fire breath and Applejack’s ability to keep the hordes from growing too large. They were mindless beasts unable to truly think of anything but they were also a constantly growing force that continually kept shambling after them. Spike had read enough zompony comics to realize that underestimating zomponies was the first way to be killed on the spot.

“Door. Door! DOOR!” Spike screamed out pointing towards one of the nearest doors for the two to escape through.

The next room consisted of a trek upwards through a winding staircase while pegasi wearing fancy armor and wielding giant piker’s lances flew around. The moment they were spotted the pegasi dove down upon the two attempting to spear either of them. Discord summoned his clouds capturing the creatures and watched them roll down the stairs like a slinky. While they both chuckled the grim outlook on their situation still worked it’s way into their thoughts. The vassals of the castle were on Death’s orders now and hunting was on the agenda.

“Discord, how do you know about that… thing? What even is it?” Spike peered around terrified that the being known only as Death could hear him.

“That was Death, the literal personification of Death in all it’s forms. While there are grim reapers who act as ferrymen of the dead this particular being it the father of death. He controls when a being dies and where they go when they die. He watches over all immortal and deigns that honor to those that deserve it as well. We are like… brothers in a sense. Since I am an embodiment of Chaos I share some responsibility of the natural order like he does. Change must be facilitated and while he works effortlessly he also thinks incessantly about balance.” Discord droned on as the pegasi that were attacking them all flailed around at the bottom of the staircase in broken piles.

“How… So is he the reason Alicorns are immortal?” Spike felt his eyes widen at the implications.

“No. Alicorns are technically cheats which is why I like dealing with them. Their ascension basically changed them into immortal beings which pissed off Death. Since I found it hilarious that paved way to my decision to induct them into my chaotic world view. That was how things turned out for me back then.” Discord breathed heavily after all their attackers were gone. He placed Spike back on the ground allowing him to walk once again.

“So why is he pissed at you? I thought you’d be like friends if you’re so similar in what you are.” Spike queued an eyebrow which raised in a questioning glance. Discord beat around the bust for a second but he felt on a roll after what felt like a month of nothing happening.

“Well I may have sided with the Alicorns because they broke the rules which is a big plus for me. Problem was that I had no idea about control and Death saw my betrayal, while in big part loyal to my aspect, as a slap to the face to him. He hates disrespect and the heroes he deal with always disrespect him in some way. I always laugh at those little moments.” Discord led the way to the next room only for the two to spot something strange.

A very… alluring Rarity appeared dressed in what could only be considered an indecent dress that hid nothing to the imagination. Spike, being a bit more weak willed, instantly went gaga for the alluring mare and made his way towards her without missing a beat. As he got closer the mare disappeared and turned into a very bewitching bat mare and instantly charged at the diminutive dragon fangs bared and ready to pierce his succulent body for the blood within. Dragon’s blood was the richest of all bloods.

“Nope.” Discord flicked his fingers activating the telekinesis from Twilight’s power and the bat mare was flung into the wall landing face first into it. Spike went from angry to shocked within the span of the few seconds the mare went flying.

“What was that?” Spike pointed at the now unconscious mare on the floor.

“Succubus. They like playing with male’s minds because they can’t control the other head. Mr. The Dragon needs to keep the head in check. Which one I mean I’ll let you decide.” Discord sneered in jest with the same condescending smile he wore whenever something went hilariously for his amusement.

Then another one appeared shaped exactly like Fluttershy, only in a more modest ensemble, which instantly drew Discord’s eye. He dumbly wandered over to the mare in question only for another succubus to charge for him. A gust of wind blew her into the wall as Spike stepped forward with a smug look on his face. He stared up at the dumbfounded draconequus who only glared back.

“Shut up.” Discord glowered at the dragon while the two kept making their way deeper into the castle corridors.

The trek through the remaining rooms were a cavalcade of monsters attacking them. Several room had beefed up versions of cockatrices firing beams of light at the pair which turned anything hit by it to stone. It took several blasts of fire and lightning to even make an impact on these foul beasts.

Another similarity appeared in the Minotaurs which paraded around the halls wielding large axes. They forwent the usual hammy posturing they usually held and attacked with blind ferocity. They were much hardier than the other enemies tanking any elemental blast and ignoring any attempts at telekinesis. Exasperation led Discord to just trap them in cotton candy and suffocate them as the de facto method of dealing with them. Whenever they died a strange ball of light would escape from the beast and return somewhere deep into the ground. Some were red, some were blue, and others were yellow. Whatever they were it confused the pair to no end but unlike Twilight who would find out why they decided that it wasn’t important enough to deal with.

“I really should be taking notes about all these worlds for Twilight. She’d love it. Knowledge she would never know without coming to these worlds.” Spike mused in muttered tones.

“Let her figure it out on her own. She’d enjoy that more that particular way.” Discord chuckled as he used some telekinesis to open a large stone door.

What stood before them made them both back up in awe. There before them was a large clock tower and the mechanisms that made the clock move. Gears and cranks worked in tandem with each other while the tower walls seemed to be lined with several bloody spikes. The bodies of monsters which didn’t fade to darkness were skewered on their respective sections allowing the gore and viscera that had slid through the wounds to dry up into a blackened crust. The heads of soldiers were adorned on pikes that had been wedged into the ground stood proudly on display horrifying the diminutive drake as one of the head socketless eye holes stared deeply into his eyes.

“Nightmares for weeks… Nightmares for years maybe…” Spike instantly shut down all higher brain functions while Discord merely scoffed.

“Poor decor choices. You need to place them in more appealing poses to truly terrify someone. Whoever did these caricatures obviously has no talent for the finer things in life. Regardless I guess I should get you out of here before this drives you even more insane than I usually am.” Discord snuffed his nose before picking up Spike and climbing up the incredibly slow moving gears that stood before him.

“These worlds are more horrifying the farther into them we go. How can you handle it so well Discord.” Spike muttered monotonously.

“Simple my dear boy. I see these things on a daily basis constantly without stop 24/7 and 365 days out of the year. This has become the norm that insanity was the only answer followed by a return to sanity and sheer apathy over the concepts of tasteful decoration. Honestly I’ve been alive for so long that nothing really phases me anymore. It takes the most unexpected thing to truly surprise me. The incident with those floating ball bearings being one of the few which had gotten me out of nowhere. So really I’m immune to most surprises. Pinkie Pie antics not included because those are surprising for an entirely different matter.” Discord grinned as he looked over the gears he was walking up.

Spike remained quiet and while not fully back to a willing participant for discussions of deathly decoration debauchery he still managed to keep some levity in his soul. Even after seeing more posed corpses he managed to ignore the implications enough to not fall into another heroic blue screen of death.

As the pair started to climb another tower of gears and mechanisms several severed flying pony heads covered in snakes started to float around in aimless paths while their eyes were closed. When two got too close to one another they both instantly turned to stone and fell down on the ground shattering into shards upon impact.

“Nope. Nope nope nope nope.” Discord began backpedaling into the previous tower. Turning back to stone was the last thing on his list.

Spike managed to prod him back into the room driving a claw into his back to needle him to man up. He remained ready as Discord made his climb firing several fireballs at the floating creatures turning them to the darkness that made up their being. As they reached the top an entire wall came flying towards them forcing Discord to act and create a wall of clouds… which turned immediately into stone trapping both the creature and the cloud in permanent petrification. In summoning the clouds Discord lost his grip and fell backwards forcing Spike to grab the ledge that led them where they needed to go.

“OH CRAP!” Discord cried out while Spike grunted at the sudden tugging, Discord was barely held on by his tail as Spike’s nails clawed into the stone.

“Little help… Telekinesis… Now Discord.” Spike grunted out as he strengthened his grip which while easier with Starlight’s ability was still being taxed.

“A little busy here. More incoming!” Discord slightly panicked as he used his telekinesis to grab the severed heads out of the air and toss them at the other severed heads. While he continued to stop the heads from reaching the pair Spike became proactive and started to force his claws to move up.

Inch by inch he gained a new claw hold to use. With each struggling grip another group of heads would fly towards them forcing Discord to summon lightning from the clouds he created. This world was now on their all time never visit again world list. Spike would make sure to put it on Twilight’s checklist with the triple check boxes just to stress the point about it. As Spike dragged his feet onto the ledge he used the previously made claw holds as foot holds while Discord managed to get his feet back as a grip on the ledge.

They quickly pulled themselves up and traveled around the wall of stone they had left behind carefully. They didn’t know if touching it would turn them to stone. As they left the room all the stone that was left behind immediately crumbled into powder leaving no trace of the massacre that was left in the room.

Discord kept muttering obscenities to himself while Spike shook his head in exhaustion. For the first time in all the worlds they had been to Starlight’s mark had faded and emptied out. The minimal use of it had gone forgotten and nothing aside from the battle with the robots had stressed it to the point of near exhaustion. This particular moment had drained it entirely due to the constant struggling that a wriggling Discord keeping them from turning to stone had drained his stamina.

“Does that count as exercise now… I don’t want to do anymore running Shining…” Spike expressed in a daze while the world spun around him.

“Wrong pony and let’s just continue onwards. Where do you feel the artifact coming from then Spike?” Discord placed a finger on Spike’s head keeping him in one place as the dizzy spell faded from his sight.

“It’s getting closer I feel it through that door over there. I think it leads to the main clockwork section of the clock tower. The gears around here seem to indicate that at the very least.” Spike surmised as he shook his head to finally get his eyes back into place.

“Yes yes mini-Twilight. Thank you for your astute observation. Let’s get us another artifact then and… nope not gonna say it author. I will not tempt fate once again with words that are typed through my mouth. Let’s get going Spike.” Discord pouted at the screen which was just the sky to Spike.

“Uh… who are you speaking to?” Spike looked around wondering now if they were being watched or something. It had become an unsettling idea and Discord always did seem to know more than he would let on. Pinkie was the only one who seemed to get with the program but he needed some chain to reality because the idea that others were watching him left him both unsettled and embarrassed especially if they saw him swooning over the succubus who transformed into a provocative Rarity who revealed just enough… Spike slapped himself to stop his thoughts as he blushed..

Discord stared at the dragon and forced him forward. He wished to ignore this facade and acquire the artifact from this death trap and leave with all his limbs intact. Spike managed to keep his blushing from getting any worse and opened the last room. Far above them were the gears which ran the entire tower. As the clock tower chimed the bells far above a pedestal rose from the center of the room revealing a very intricately designed violin.

The violin was in perfect condition. Both the upper bout and lower bout looked to be symmetrical in size and thickness with the wood looking to be made from a healthy maple wood while the neck and fingerboard were made from an ebony and varnished to an illustrious shine. It was a beautiful piece of equipment which was completely lost on the pair since Spike preferred playing a piano and Discord was more comparable to anything loud and completely uncontrollable.

“Is this it Spike?” Discord stared at the instrument

“Yeah this should be it. It feels like it is and I’m thinking we really are going to need it for later. Mind giving me a lift up.” Spike looked at the draconequus who rolled his eyes but extended his tail down allowing him to use it as a platform to get on top of the pedestal and examine the instrument in question.

Spike carefully approached the violin and peered at it from all angles. While he didn’t really know the value of the artifact before him he had read enough Daring Do to know that something as unprotected as the violin was more than likely trapped in someway. Ignoring the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach Spike gingerly picked up the instrument, Nothing happened.

“Well that was anticlimactic and I thought it was going to go so wrong within the first few minutes after I picked it up.” Spike hopped off the pedestal and the two began to walk out the door back to the gear towers. As the two made their way the pedestal sank into the ground and iron bars appeared in front of the door they were trying to exit through.

“Should have known about the double bluff.” Discord muttered as the two stepped backwards barely missing the large bird like creature with the spear pouncing down on them from above fully intended to stab them through the chest.

It rose from the ground and stared the two down as they heard the flapping of two wings somewhere above them. A large gargoyle was flying in the air around them staring them down but it looked nothing like the Equestrian version. Discord immediately shielded them with a wall of cotton candy as the spear pierced right through nearly beheading Spike while the gargoyle shot several volleys of fire melting portions of the makeshift shield.

“I wonder if we should have prepared some things before we took the violin. Really should have prepared a jewel shield now that I think about it.” Spike ducked down as the spear nearly grazed one of his head fins.

Discord smacked the clouds and they all fired off bolts of lightning outwards towards the two creatures assaulting them. It was draining but they at least backed off. The two creatures circled the pair and readied themselves for another chance to sentence more prey to the pike.

An Ordinary Day

Another day of sunshine and rainbows washed across the land of Equestria as several creatures walked through the crystalline halls of the Friendship Castle as it had been dubbed by a few townsponies. It had been a trying week after the latest attempts from Queen Chrysalis to conquer Equestria by swapping the preeminent leaders of the nation with changeling infiltrators. Luckily, thanks to a timely warning from Princess Luna to Starlight Glimmer led to the creation of unlikely friendships which triumphed over the evil plan everyone had been enveloped in. With mild reluctance she led a group consisting of Discord, Lord of Chaos and Disharmony, the ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie, and the Crystal Changeling, Thorax, into the depths of the Changeling Hive to free the captives within. With a little luck and the literal power of love Thorax changed the fate of changelings everywhere usurping the throne after metamorphosing into a new form.

“I can’t believe that all happened just a few days ago. I’m so proud of you Starlight you’re friendship lessons really saved the day,” Twilight spoke aloud as the group sat around the map meeting over the time they spent captured.

With a little magic Twilight and Discord had created some chairs for Starlight and him to sit at the map table.

“Ah’ll say. Those varmints musta had us dead ta rights trapped in their fancy-schmancy goop prisons. Must ah gotten me in my sleep, I reckon.” Applejack spoke up as she readjusted her stetson a bit to keep the brim out of her eyes.

“They just couldn’t handle my awesome skills. Of course they’d be so lame to get me when I sleep. One Sonic Rainboom and I’d have them reeling and screaming back to their mamas for messing with the Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash.” Her proud tone broke out next as she lightly hovered above her chair in a small display of hoof fighting skills.

“If you say so Rainbow… I was just so tense when we finally were free. Thankfully the changeling who impersonated me fed my animals while we were trapped. Thanks Starlight I’m glad you’re such a good friend and went out of your way to save us. Not that I thought you wouldn’t of course,” Fluttershy managed to chime in as a blush adorned her demure smile which beamed true elation in her and Discord’s direction. “I’m proud of you especially Disord. You made friends and became a hero in your own right.”

“ I’ll say darling. All four of you managed to save all of Equestria and me from the horrible fate of having that icky, mucky goop matted down illustrious coat. Three spa treatments and I still don’t feel that it was enough to wash away that ghastly affair from my mind. Still, I’m glad to have you all back.” Rarity puffed up from her words with a simple flair of her mane while her eyes shined in pure bliss.

“I can’t wait to throw you guys a party of celebrating our celebration when you saved us plus the afterparty to celebrate how happy we are with you guys. Still it makes you wonder what the changelings would eat for an appetizer since we are all friends now. Oh, maybe Cadance can help me put more love into my cupcakes. We’ll call them lovecakes…, romanticups, no that doesn’t sound right. I’ll figure it out later so we can have a super fantabulous day. Maybe the writer will figure out a better name before we grow old.” Pinkie blared out as she bounced in her seat in perfect tempo with the tapping claws of a young dragon nearby.

“That might have to wait for a while Pinkie. When I last talked to Thorax he told me that they would be working for a while to make their hive more palatable for ponies so they could jump start their new city and be recognized as a true nation. They already set up diplomatic ties with the Crystal Empire and are in a joint project building up their new homes. Oh that reminds me, Princess Celestia want me to work as a liaison for them to smooth out any hard feelings that might remain between the two nations.” Spike gloated slightly yet kept some of the smugness out of his voice. He’d rather not turn into Rainbow Dash. That battle of egos could go on for days. “Also they want you to come along Starlight and Discord.”

While Discord just did a mock bow the smile on his face was anything but humble. Starlight seemed stunned instead. She pointed her hoof towards herself before mouthing out the words ‘me’.

“Yeah you. They recognize Discord as a hero and you as a savior for leading them down a better path.” Spike chuckled lightly.

“I really didn’t do much Spike. I just spoke from the heart about everything I’ve learned through my time with you all. They shouldn’t have suffered like that just because they eat differently than any other creature in Equestria. Besides Thorax did all the hard work in the end.” Starlight looked away unsure how to handle being so well liked by all the new and improved changelings. The smile on her face didn’t fade for even a second.

“Oh come now Starlight. Take a chance and enjoy yourself now. This is the perfect time to relax and live a little,” Discord immediately snapped his fingers and in a flash of light she fell onto a small hammock with a small umbrella drink in her hoof while a Discord dressed in hula attire was fanning her with a large leaf, “Think of it as a lesson in friendship and a chance to go wild.” With another snap of his fingers she returned to her chair as more umbrella drinks appeared for everypony before Fluttershy could say anything.

Fluttershy sighed in relief since Discord had been much more open lately about being good to others other than her. It seemed to be doing a good job as well since even Applejack smiled appreciatively as the gesture and drank with the rest of her friends. Weh she looked closed though one particular pony didn’t seem to be smiling much. Their fearless princess was slightly frowning but did well enough to hide it from everypony else. She didn’t want to bring it up in case it would embarrass yet if she didn’t then it would harm Twilight for a long time and she might not bring it up at all. With a little courage she could keep her from frowning and was about to speak up when Twilight spoke first.

“Um...How long would you guys be gone though Spike?” Twilight looked towards the two other roommates she shared the castle with. A false smile was on her face but to every mare around the table it was obvious how much worry was bursting through her eyes.

The castle was nice but it wasn’t a real home without the three of them together. It was something that each of them had found out whenever business forced them to separate for an inordinate amount of time. Still… She would be supportive regardless of whatever was said because she was a tough enough mare to handle it.

“Three days at least Twi. We did set the groundwork already after our last visit to the Crystal Empire when we met Thorax.” Spike looked over at the nervous alicorn until a genuine smile crossed her muzzle.

“That does sound like fun…” A small utterance came from Starlight hidden beneath a somewhat confident smile.

“It should be fine then Spike. When do they expect you?” Twilight asked a bit quickly so she could start scheduling everything in advance including his could be diplomatic ventures.

“In three weeks. They want to make the place a bit cleaner before then. Plus I know how you would react if I told you right before it happened.” Spike answered.

“That’s quite a ways away darling. Was now really the best time to mention that?” Rarity stared quizzically as she took a sip from her drink sighing in appreciation at the flavor chosen for her.

“Ah reckon it’s for Twi’s benefit so she don’t get all worked up from a sudden shift in her schedules.” Applejack brusquely stated leveling her eyes at Twilight apologetically. “No offense Twi. Ah just have seen ya all worked up before and it ain’t pretty.”

“I’ll say. Some of those breakdowns put my chaotic dealings to shame even. We so should compare notes since you never know when a little chaos could bring others closer together. A new perspective truly can get the creative juices flowing.” Discord held out his paw as a pitcher in the shape of Twilight’s head appeared. The drink inside seemed to be flowing with the words idea floating through it which he drank the pitcher up. After the act it elicited a grimace from most of the mares around the table while Fluttershy and Spike tittered around in joyous mirth at his antics.

“Hey! I’m not that bad…” She sheepishly hid the guilty smile and blush that covered her muzzle. Everyone else broke out into a small laugh which brought Twilight into a giggle fit. The laughter slowly faded out as a serious look appeared on Fluttershy’s face.

“Still we should be careful everypony. Chrysalis is still out there...She-she seemed really angry with all of us.” Fluttershy soon hid her eyes behind her mane. Her frankness did fully break the laughing streak as she muttered out her apologies.

“Don’t worry about it Fluttershy. Me and AJ can just take the fight to her and stop her before she even knows what hit her.” Rainbow patted the shivering pegasus calming her from the sudden thoughts that plagued her mind.

“Yeah Flutters. I got my party cannon specially ready to go. Or at least that’s what my script says.” She quickly pushed the script back into her mane leading to several perplexed stares and the guffawing of an excited draconequus.

Twilight smiled warmly at all her friends. Contentment flowed out of the room leaving behind a true aura of harmony. Each one radiated a certain energy of either joy or laughter. This was truly a perfect Tuesday unlike all the others.

“So what should we do for today everypony? We’ve had a stressful week and we really deserve a chance to relax. Oh I even have some idea note cards we could look through and pick the best activity we could all enjoy.” She giddily gathered up a small stack of index cards in her telekinetic aura causing a few groans to sound out due to an incident with a chessboard.

“Let’s just play this by ear Twi.” Spike gathered the cards setting them aside while patting her side comfortingly. Better to him to keep her away from her comfort zone so she could have natural fun rather than planned fun at least this once.

Twilight grumbled noticeably but kept her comments silent. The laughter at the scene soon subsided when the map activated of its own accord. All six cutie marks lit up on their respective flanks and the holographic representation as Twilight called it appeared over the map. The six marks circled the entire map while all six mares looked on expectantly at what their next friendship lesson would be and where it would occur. That was when another cutie mark lit up and a seventh mark appeared with the rest of the group.

“WHAT!” Six mares all screamed out as Starlight’s cutie mark appeared along with the rest of the marks.

“Th-that was unexpected…” Starlight’s eyes widened in shock as her eyes fell to her cutie mark which was indeed glowing and pulsing like the mark represented on the map.

“Things are getting exciting now aren’t they Glimmer?” Discord bumped her side with his elbow in a friendly enough manner. The teasing didn’t help the small anxiety which was popping up from being responsible for teaching friendship lessons now.

The marks above the map circled the map even faster than before contracting into smaller circles before settling on the Friendship Castle. Confusion spread out amongst everypony involved since they were already inside the castle. The map started to lose the image before shutting off almost instantly. All that was left was a trail of anxiety.

“What the hay was all that about? Is this thing broken?” Dash landed and tapped the map with her hoof.

“Oh I hope not. That would be bad for any new friends we might meet.” Fluttershy managed to squeak out as she rubbed the map in a soothing motion.

“Spike, send a message to the Princess about this. Hm...Discord can you do anything about this?” Twilight looked down at the map scanning it over with her magic while the draconequus floated around the map.

“Hm… No can do Princess. Also no that’s not me being uncooperative or rude. This particular artifact was created using the very origin of harmony to keep track over all of Equestria and beyond. As a being of chaos and disharmony if I push any magic into it I might cause a cascade event across the entire world.” Discord kept a wary eye on the map table for some reason. The fur on the back of his neck was bristling wildly.

“Whatever do you mean by that? Will this make me sweat? That would be the. Worst. Possible. Thing. EVER!” Rarity shrieked out while Discord curled his eyebrows in amusement and annoyance.

“It’s a bit worse that sweat of course. It would create a shockwave that would destroy the very fabric of the space-time continuum and turn everything you thought you knew into a new thing to the point that your existence would be all for naught. Though you are right in a sense. It would be the worst possible thing ever.” He stated with a small flair of his griffon claw.

“Now no need to be rude darling.” Rarity spoke with a small while.

“Apologies… Something is driving me on edge here.” Discord murmured.

That instantly brought all attention on him. He rarely apologized for his actions unless it was important. Each girl glanced at each other before focusing back at him. Spike, meanwhile, finished the letter and sent it off to Celestia.

“Maybe we should get out of this room Twi. We could wait for the princesses in the next r-” Spike was unable to finish his sentence as a message appeared from his flame breath. Twilight unscrolled the message seeing only a few words scrawled on it.

We are on our way.

“Let’s head over to the kitchen everypony. The princesses will be coming to help out. We are already where the friendship problem is so now we just need to figure out what is wrong.” Twilight ushered everypony out of the room until only Spike, Discord and her were left in the map room. With some prodding from Spike, Discord finally moved out of the room as well. Twilight was the last one out leaving a worried glance at the map before she left the room. When she left the room a small section of the map began opening up to reveal two small pulsing spheres of energy rising out of the hole.

The two spheres gravitated over the table keeping equidistant from each other. A few moments later the sound of crackling energy filled the room as two eyes opened up, one on each sphere. The one of the left shined in a bright white light like the box of harmony while its glowing blue eye stared down at the map. The one on the right was a swirling mass of darkness but was smaller than the bright sphere, It’s red eye glared out at where Discord had stood. It has been slowly syphoning a munitae of his chaos magic without him fully noticing what was wrong. The bright sphere watched in amusement as it finished absorbing the magic from the map and root system.

The skittering sounds from the dark sphere caused the bright sphere to pay attention. With a slight bob they disappeared back into the map repairing the damage they caused while they waited for the creatures to return. Magic was essential.

With a flash of golden and blue light two regal figures stood outside the castle. Another burst of pink light soon followed as another regal figure joined the two with a quick hug before regaining her poise.

“Sorry for taking so long Aunt Luna, Aunt Celestia. I needed to get Flurry Heart ready to stay with Shiny and Sunburst when you sent me that letter, Though I’ll admit I don’t really know much about what the problem was,” Cadance sauntered back to face the two.

“Worry not Cadance. Honestly Spike only gave us a small message that the map wasn’t working and that Alicorn magic might be needed to fully check it out. Lulu and I just wish to be cautious about these things before they get out of hand.” Celestia closed her eyes releasing a warm smile. As she sat down Luna followed the action as did Cadance.

“Tarry not sister, Tis something far beyond the machinations of any creature we know; to do something so foul as to mess with the very foundations of harmony. Harmony should not falter through random happenstance and more than likely something is causing this.” Luna spoke even with the small trepidation pour out of her voice.

“Hiya Princesses!” A sudden pink blur appeared in the middle of the three causing Luna and Cadance to fall on their backs while Celestia’s eyes widened in shock. He quickly found her voice while Luna and Cadance got over the sudden shock.

“Hello Pinkie Pie. I see you came out as our welcoming committee. Lead us to Twilight, if you please.” Celestia managed to voice out with a measure of professionalism while the other two recomposed themselves enough to walk with the others. They followed after the bouncy pink pony into the dining room where everypony was currently sitting around the dining table. The draconequus in the room kept floating around haphazardly while he kept his eyes locked on his lion paw.

“Hello Princesses.” A hail of chorused greetings encompassed the halls as all mares and the single dragon gave a graceful bow. Discord kept quiet, merely contemplating something with a neutral grimace plastered on his face.

“Rise my little ponies. You don’t need to be so formal with me.” As everypony rose back up she noted that Discord hadn’t spoken or even attempted to create a little chaos at the moment. Celestia didn’t glare at him for his rudeness in demeanor since this was commonplace for him to do something far different for each greeting. A somber expression grew across her muzzle while concern etched its way onto every other pony’s face.

The others slowly glanced up after Twilight and Cadance finished their ladybug greeting with a little shake. Discord was staring at his paw concentrating on its center as he lazily floated around. Luna was the bravest one and coughed slightly to get his attention.

“Discord.” Luna piped up.

“Hm… Oh right. Hello Sunbutt, Moonbutt and Pink Heart.” He said a little flatly staring back at his palm while waving his claw at the princesses.

While it was a common greeting everypony noticed how overly distracted Discord truly was with the situation at hand. They quietly ignored it in case it was a prank but with the looks that Fluttershy and Starlight had everypony knew something was wrong. Twilight lightly coughed to regain everypony’s attention.

“Princess if you’ll follow me I’ll show you what happened to the map. Or at least what possibly could have happened to it.. Twilight lifted her hoof leading the princesses to the map room. The regal gesture was not lost on the princesses and they each kept their quiet chuckling to themselves.

Everypony left back towards the map room following behind the princesses except for Spike. While it was still hectic thanks to guys night Discord had become one of his friends and stayed behind. Curiosity stayed in the back of his mind while Discord landed still staring at the center of his paw. Something was wrong and while everyone knew that there was everypony was either worried it was a prank or that they would be overstepping their boundaries. Fluttershy probably would be too scared to ask as well though she had gotten better about it.

“Everything okay, dude?” Spike stared inquisitively at the strangely quiet draconequus.

“Yeah… at least I think so. Maybe not. Something is weird though. Some of my chaos magic is missing. Some of my more powerful abilities have also been clouded over and I can’t see those strings of fate I usually see over every being in the universe either. It’s interesting that something is trying to mess with me, the Lord of Chaos and Disharmony.” Discord flared his arms out in a certain blue unicorn’s particular greeting to a crowd during a show. A large sign reading ‘LORD OF CHAOS AND DISHARMONY’ appeared in a fizzling of sparks behind him before fading out of sight a little too quickly. Discord furrowed his brow in dissatisfaction.

“Shouldn’t we tell the others about this then? I mean, at least, we should tell Fluttershy. Right?” Spike croaked out. He knew telling her was a more acceptable plan to Discord rather than letting the princesses know that he was vulnerable at the moment.

“No. She would worry too much and it doesn’t seem too important right now. Besides any plan with chaotic variables do not mix. At all.” Discord chuckled maliciously. While it did sound like Discord was in control of the situation Spike saw that his eyes betrayed him. Uncertainty was the only thing reflected in his eyes and Spike could only sense the crawling dread draping itself across his back.

Spike quickly picked a few gemstones to munch on before getting Discord to join him with the others. While they were still working on their friendship they at least transformed it from antagonistic acquaintances to decent friends. A short walk later they joined the others, The four alicorn princesses began to scan the entire map with their magic while Rarity and Starlight syphoned their magic to help as well. The extra magic allowed the magic to scan deeper into the map. The light soon faded leaving four very confused alicorns lost in their thoughts.

“Now this is truly strange isn’t it. The map has no ambient magical signatures imbued with it. Lulu where have we seen this before? It feels oddly familiar but at the same time different.” Celestia titled her head uncertain.

“Verily. We… I mean, I believe it’s like the throne Chrysalis had but its not draining our magic. It feels more similar to the spells Sombra once used but I can not place my hoof on it.” Luna looked closer at the map noticing that the crystal table had lost its lustrous shine it once had.

“I agree that this does feel like something Sombra would do but the crystal heart already dealt with the shadows. Perhaps someone else knows the spells he knew. There are too many unknowns right now and this table has unfortunately lost its magic.” Cadance piped in while glancing towards each of the elder alicorn princesses. Her eyes settled on Twilight when she finished speaking.

“There are too few clues to make a reasonable hyp-” She was cut off when the map cracked completely leaving the crystal looking like a dance floor Twilight had just gotten through with. Everyone in the room gasped in shock when two spheres rose up from the center of the table.

No one moved an inch as the spheres stayed floating in place. One pulsed a bright white glow while the other pulsed in a dark black glow strangely enough. Twilight felt her inquisitive nature want to take over until Pinkie Pie stopped her. Her knees were feeling pinchy. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped forward staying in front of Fluttershy, Rarity, and Starlight. The other princesses regrouped together while Discord and Spike split up. Discord stood with Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Spike got close to Twilight staying by her side.

The spheres began to pulse more growing in size. Twilight and Starlight created a conjoined shield while Celestia and Luna did the same. The two spheres stared at the royal sisters before shooting out a beam of combined magic cracking the shield completely. The dark sphere shot out immediately grabbing Discord and dragging him over to an empty portion of the room. Screaming followed soon after as Fluttershy rushed forward to Discord only to be stopped by another shield created by the bright sphere.

“Twilight we have to do something!” Fluttershy shrieked out as all ponies present attacked the shield relentlessly. Pinkie even brought out her special party cannon only for the ammo she shot out to roll harmlessly off the shield. Horns kept flashing as magic beams of light were deflected by the shield. Hooves bounced off the shield as well. Discord for his part didn’t stay down. Even though his magic felt weaker he kept attacking the sphere with his claws and tail.

The dark sphere didn’t stand down either slamming Discord against the ground breaking the floor in the process partially leaving a crater. A red teeth lined jaw opened up soon after as a trail of plaid colored magic was forcefully drained by the dark sphere. Discord attempted one more one more attack only for the bright sphere and dark sphere to grab Discord with the magic and tossed him into Celestia and Luna. The two spheres returned to the cracked table ignoring the mares who tried to keep attacking them through their shield. The soon started circling the table again keeping their now opened eye trained on the room.

“Ergh… Discord, are you ok?” Celestia brushed her wingtip against his face rousing him from his pain.

“Celestia, when you see the cart that hit me… tell them to go buck themselves to Tartarus.” Discord groaned wincing at his shortness in breath.

SEARCHING…

A voice sounded from the the table. The girls stared as the two spheres released a beam of light which seemed to scan the entire room. Seconds later they stopped.

TARGETS FOUND.

Tendrils of what felt like harmony and chaos magic sprung out of the spheres striking all the ponies until only Spike and Discord remained standing. The tendrils pierced each of the beings; the bright sphere into Spike and the dark sphere into Discord; dragging them closer to the tables.

“SPIKE/DISCORD!” A couple of screams rang out from the groups. Each of the princesses sans Twilight immediately grabbed Discord in their telekinetic grip along with Starlight and Fluttershy assisting as much as they could. Twilight and the others grabbed Spike before they could be dragged away. Strangely enough the spheres didn’t attack again focusing only on their targets. Suddenly, a horrible squelching rang out as a portion of Discord was ripped off by the dark sphere’s tendrils. The same soon happened to Spike. While Discord roared in pain the screams from Spike were much worse causing a flare of magic in all ponies present as they attempted to get them both away from the spheres. Twilight was lost in abject terror and teeth grinding rage as bit by bit each of her friends were torn apart. The tears streaming down Spike’s cheeks perfectly mirrored her own as the little dragon was fully absorbed into the sphere. It menacingly stared down at the ponies that had attempted to save him while also keeping them from racing over to Discord’s side.

“BASEMENT!” Discord screeched as the last parts of the chaos spirit were fully absorbed into the dark sphere. No one moved after that while the spheres floated back to the center of the table and stared at their respective groups a blue eye rested on Twilight while a red eye rested upon Fluttershy. Each one of the spheres grinned in exuberant joy revealing their sharp maw to the ponies in front of them. Then it got worse… they started chewing letting out a loud crunch which echoed through the room. The ponies could only gape at the horror that was before them. They had eaten Spike and Discord.

There wasn’t any sobbing, or loud cries of anguish that would usually eek out of the ponies. Tears streamed freely from all of them before the spheres smashed the table completely to shards and fled into the hole beneath the table. Each of the girls quickly shook off their sadness enough to follow after the spheres. Luna quickly used her magic to create a platform for them all to stand on while it descended after the spheres.

“They’ll pay…” Twilight muttered out barely audible even to her friends acute hearing. Cadance though had. She quietly wrapped her hooves around Twilight only in the tiniest of hopes to calm her down.

As the platform reached the basement they realized just why Discord had meant. The cavernous expanse beneath the castle left the ponies in awe. From the path they now stood on they saw a small island surrounded by fifteen land bridges each leading to a mirror at the end of each path. On the island was a large crystalline tree similar to the Tree of Harmony surrounded by a ring of water and several stone pedestals. The island seemed to be magically supported as there was nothing underneath the island holding it up. Floating around the tree were the bright sphere and the dark sphere. They were with a glowing gray sphere which seemed to be arguing with the other two.

“Oh dear… there’s another s- sphere here.” Fluttershy gasped as the two sphere ganged up on the gray sphere smacking it around with their magically constructed tendrils. The gray sphere struck back with a magical wave of energy never giving an inch as it lashed out wildly at the other two spheres. Unfortunately two on one in this case favored the little monsters as they flung the gray sphere towards the mares who had stopped to watch the battle. The travesty before them doubled when the two spheres noticed the ponies in the room and smugly smiled at them. They phased into the tree with a flourish of magic creating a shield around the tree when they entered the tree.

“Poor thing… “ Fluttershy attempted to get closer to the sphere to help it back up only for Applejack and Rainbow Dash to stop her. Celestia moved forward instead gingerly picking the sphere up in a telekinetic field. The sphere was cracked and sparking magical energy. Its green eye focused on Celestia seemingly studying her before sweeping over to where the other mares were. It closed the eye and he magical energy seeping out of it began mending the cracks.

The telekinetic field broke to Celestia’s shock as it floated back up near the shield. A few moments later it began gathering ambient magic in the air causing a ripple of energy to course through every pony there. The sphere flung itself back before flinging its body into the shield. The force between the two caused the shield to shudder in response before bouncing the sphere back into the ground in front of the ponies. It rose back into the air and ran a green beam of magic across the entire shield before lowering its eye in defeat. It finally fell down to the ground and rested upon one of the stone pedestals closest to the group staring back at them with its sullen green eye. Twilight took the initiative even through her still smoldering fury

“H- hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. These are my friends and colleagues; Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Starlight Glimmer, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance. Can you perhaps tell me a little about yourself. “ Twilight spoke calmly enough but tried to keep a regal tone she had picked up from dealing with the Canterlot ponies.

The sphere merely stared. No movement just it watching the ponies. None of them were willing to move either. Then it spoke something that pulled at their hearts.

YOU WANT THEM BACK?

That stopped their collective breaths. Twilight’s indignation and fury wanted to burst out after what was witnessed. Yet, she couldn’t speak. There was something sincere in its tone.

NOT DEAD. NEEDED. VESSELS OF HARMONY AND CHAOS MESSED WITH YOU. FUNNY. THEY THOUGHT SO. WHAT BETTER THAN A DRACONEQUUS AND DRAGON.

The anger froze solid leaving the entire group speechless. Hope rose up.

“You’ll help then?” Luna stepped forward but keep a steely gaze trained on the sphere. “What’s your price?” She scowled and was soon joined by a few other girls as well. It closed its eye and seemed contemplative about its next words.

BALANCE. NECESSARY. WORLD IS GOING TO EXTREMES. TOO MUCH HARMONY. TOO MUCH CHAOS. SPIRITS OF EACH WERE RESTLESS. EASY TARGETS. YOU. BALANCE IS PRICE.

“Agreed!” Most of the ponies spoke up immediately but were drowned out when Celestia quieted everypony with her magic.

“Can we trust you? You may have attacked the other spheres or spirits as you call them but you could easily be lying about this. I’ve lived a long life and seen all manner of creatures use whatever method they have to endear themselves to another. How do we know that you can be trusted?” Celestia spoke in a calming tone but the accusatory edge had been brought out of experience. Its eye looked at everypony present before it focused solely on Applejack. It rose up off the pedestal and slowly edged in front of her.

YOU CAN TELL. I WILL HELP. ONE THROUGH EACH MIRROR OPENS PATH TO CAPTIVE SOULS. TEACH SPELL. SUN. MOON. LOVE. ELEMENTS AND STARLIGHT MUST GO. OTHERS STAY.

“Go where.” Twilight managed to speak up being one of the few still following the conversation.

OTHER WORLDS.

Through the Starlight 1

The two sat down in front of Freya. Spike was tapping his claws in a huff due to the door in front of him. Discord was humming to himself watching the mark still unlit. Neither had done much talking due to the sphere floating in front of them. They had already seen what these spheres could do when they weren’t even trying.

“Celestia I’m bored. Freya do you have a deck of cards or something we could have to pass the time with.” Spike croaked out looking expectantly at the sphere. The sphere opened its eye and stared at him.

SORRY THERE ARE NO CARDS HERE. I WASN’T PREPARED WELL FOR GUESTS. I THINK YOU’LL BE ABLE TO ENTER SOON THOUGH. ESPECIALLY SO YOU DON’T MISS YOUR MEETING WITH THE BOSSES.

“That reminds me dear. Could you perhaps tell us more about what is beyond the doors. Should be more than the regular fare of horrifying monsters and nigh indestructible barriers in our way. Sounds like any other tuesday to me.” Discord chuckled to himself though his tone was anywhere but jovial.

THERE ARE NO RELIABLE SOURCES ABOUT WHAT IS BEHIND THE DOOR. THE MARK TELLS WHICH SUB… PONY HAS GONE THROUGH THE DOOR BUT ONLY THEY KNOW WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCES WILL PAINT BEYOND THE DOOR. AH… LOOK.

The mark on the door finally lit up making Spike fall over in surprise. There on the door was Starlight’s mark. The purple and white star glowed brighter as wisps of blue flowed from the upper tips of the star. Discord got off the ground and bowed to Freya almost mockingly as he grabbed Spike and flew through the door.

When they closed the door their eyes were forced to readjust from the sudden shift. While the room Freya was in was bright and warm due to the light she gave off this room was cold and dark. Spike managed to get out of Discord’s grip and stepped forward through his own power. When he looked further on he saw a large opening that led… outside. Stunned he motioned to Discord to follow after him. Discord, curious about the opening, followed without question only to falter back when they both reached outside. A large forest loomed around them showcasing nothing but wilderness for miles around them. The little sphere hadn’t followed them either leaving them confused about what would be coming up.

A few tentative steps left them seriously worried about their choices and whether sticking around in the previous room was the best idea. Discord took the lead regardless of his own misgivings until Spike stopped him.

“I think we should go this way Discord.” Spike was looking at a small path in front of him, one that Discord hadn’t noticed until it was pointed out.

“Hm… strange that’s one of my tricks. I better be getting royalties for this. My material isn’t for cheap thrills. Its for chaos and disorder, maybe some snacks from time to time, but who doesn’t get hungry.” Discord had lost himself into a rant fuming at the misuse of his reality warping power.

“So we head that way then?” Spike offered his two bits once again letting Discord settle with his tantrum. He agreed with the plan and the two briskly walked down the path.

As they walked down the path both noticed something was off with their surroundings. There was a light in the sky but it gave off no warmth. The ground was hard and rigid unlike dirt while the trees seemed to be artificial from the bark to their leaves. Neither seemed to want to stop after realizing how fake this world in front of them really was. Step after step the sun began to set before they made any progress on their trek. Off the path was a large mansion at first sight nestled near a mountain ridge. Spike felt something in his chest pinch and tighten yet it wasn’t his heart. He couldn’t place his claw on it and it began to tear away at his curiosity even further as they walked closer to the front door.

“Looks pretty fancy here. Wouldn’t you say so Spikey-boy. It seems Starlight got treated the best out of all the ponies perhaps.” Discord turned the knob of the door and went inside. Spike followed with timid steps due to the nagging feeling still eating away at his core.

“Uh...Discord. I think something is really wrong here. I’ve been feeling it since we got here and it just… it just feels really bad here. It’s like something is going to jump out at us." Spike wringed his claws together.

“That’s probably just those gems you ate earlier trying to come back up after all the excitement we had today? Or was it yesterday? No matter for now let’s just find our way through this area and get to the next door.

When they finally stopped talking they noticed just how ornate the mansion interior really was. The carpets seemed to be made of the
finest silks leading towards each door and up the central staircase. Along each pillar supporting the second floor was a small end table covered by a ceramic vase. Paintings of various landscapes were along the sides. At first glance it looked as though the mansion was the epitome of privileged tenants but the silence was disheartening leaving the two stuck in grimaces. Then they pointed to separate doors leading them to scowl at each other.

With a quick three count they played rock-paper-scissors leading to a victory for Spike. Discord rolled his eyes as they went towards the western most door of the main foyer. With a nervous turn they opened the door into what seemed to be the dining room. The silence instantly disappeared as the ticking of a clock and chewing sounds filled the room. Spike froze up when he figured out that the sound was at the far end of the room in the corner. Discord kept quiet as well and looked around the room for something to use as a weapon. He picked up one of the chairs and with a little finagling pulled off one of the chair legs. Needless to say Discord was at a disadvantage without access to his magic while Spike still had the ability to breathe fire.

With Discord ready they took their steps forward where they saw a pony sitting over another, their head bowed to the fallen one. Neither said a word as their steps echoed against the linoleum floor leading to the chewing sounds to stop. Spike tensed up as the pony lifted their muzzles up. The pony shifted their head around to look at the two revealing glazed over eyes and a blood covered muzzle. It slowly pushed up from its haunches and fumbled slowly over to the pair.

“Ssssspppiiiikkkkeeeee~!”

Spike freaked out and burped up a large fireball at the pony setting the pony ablaze. Instead of falling over in pain it continued to shuffle closer even lit up. Discord wasted no time and smashed the chair leg against the pony’s head smashing it against the floor before jumping back away from the burning body. It stopped moving while the flames slowly smoldered over leaving a charred corpse behind. Discord looked over the corpse finally noticing that it was still slightly twitching forcing him to smash the head in again. Spike ran off to the side releasing whatever was left in his stomach before rejoining Discord.

“Is t-t-that a zombie!?” Spike croaked out coughing whatever was left in his mouth. Discord merely grimaced at the sight below him. He poked the corpse with the chair leg and made sure that it wasn’t going to get back up.

“Looks like it. Who knew we’d be amongst the living dead. Wonder where Starlight ended up anyways? Anyways suck it up for now. You’re gonna have to burn the corpses away otherwise they may get back up. I only have one chair leg and not enough strength to deal with more than one at a time. Close range isn’t exactly gonna be fun.” Discord mused more to himself while he looked at the victim. The pony laying on the floor was orange with a golden mane. There was no visible cutie mark yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that the body looked like Applejack.

“Do you think that she’s somewhere in this place? She could be trapped here or something. We should go save her.” Spike looked hopeful at the idea even though his eyes betrayed just how scared he really was in this situation. His knees instantly shook when Discord began to search the half eaten corpse looking over the body for anything he could use or needed. There was nothing.

“Doubt she’s here. We move forward and look for something to understand why we were sent here. From what I remember about my patron Chaos looks random but that is to hide the fact that it is well planned to act like roulette. Every option is rigged for the house in this situation and I know that is usually how I play the game.” Discord rubbed one his paws against his chest while he hefted the leg over his shoulder.

“But you lost twice already?” Spike’s comment made Discord’s frown intensify.

“Ah ah ah. The reason I lost was because the house doesn’t always win. I got overconfident or I trusted someone who didn’t deserve it. Pride before the fall they say and that is one of the truths of the world. Right now though, we are, unfortunately, at the mercy of two cosmic forces using us like chess pieces. We’re being maneuvered into something that is far beyond what we could possibly even know about.” Discord looked around almost as if expecting that they were being watched. When nothing else happened he motioned for Spike to take the lead towards one of the far doors. Reluctantly, he made his way to the next door ready to breathe enough fire to turn anything that got in his way to cinders. Unbeknownst to them the bodies dissolved into a puddle of shadow like goop before slinking off through the cracks in the walls.

The next hallway was sparsely decorated with odd pictures of random ponies neither had ever seen before. There also was a distinct lack of shuffling feet or odd groans in the vicinity. The silence between the two was palpable and left them both sweating bullets. Each step they took soon become more labored as they reached for several more doors. A bathroom here, a storeroom there had become their lot in life. They almost didn’t hear the shuffling behind Discord causing him to wildly swing the chair leg behind him forcing the zombie pony to hit the ground seemingly dead… again.

“Sweet Celestia these things are quiet. Spike did you hear them at all?” Discord kept his cool words but he was wringing his impromptu weapon much harder. The chair leg was nice and blunt, perfect for bashing in zombie’s heads, but it wouldn’t last forever.

“Not until they got really close. Wait… Does that mean these things are smart? That… That wouldn’t happen right?” Spike was sputtering inanities at that point either trying to rationalize something or work something else out to explain the zomponies as he was now referring to those things.

“Look you can call them zomponies, walkers, biters, geeks or freaks but the bottom line is that we need to pay attention to everything going on now. These are luckily slow moving ones so right now you need to burn-” Discord looked behind him.

While he was sure that the dead pony was finally dead the moaning of something rising from the ground caught his ear. The zompony, ‘seriously did I just call it that’, rose back to its hooves and turned a dark crimson coating it’s head and sharpening the teeth left it’s jaw. Discord grabbed Spike with his tail and used his claws to dig into the ceiling allowing him to crawl out of the zompony’s range. It was undeterred from the sudden long range but the angle allowed Discord to use the chair leg as a spear. The tip of the leg went through it’s head forcing it back to the ground. That also left the leg to… burn. The blood had turned acidic and made the weapon to hot to the touch for Discord.

“Aw… horseapples. We need something better now or we might get jumped again. Where’s the real weaponry when you need it?” Discord looked around for anything he could use.

Spike kept quiet after seeing what looked like another pony get killed so easily. His claws grew clammy and he couldn’t stop sweating. The haze in his eyes grew thicker as the words ‘murderer’, ‘killer’, and other similar words tried to pierce his very being. Discord seemed to be having a much easier time but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out how Discord was so calm. Then the zompony liquified into a puddle of shadows and slunk away into the hall. Spike’s eyes became pinpricks as he remembered the sphere that had torn Discord apart. ‘That’s right those things are doing something to us in this sick game of theirs. Of course they’d make us do things we normally don’t do. But what’s the endgame… Where’s Twi when you need a hypothesis.’

“We need to find a- Spike are you listening?” Discord placed Spike back on the ground looking expectantly at him for an explanation. Spike’s eyes still seemed off as if he had seen something horrible. ‘He probably thought what Pinkie would be thinking about.’

“Discordallthemonstersaremadeofshadows!” The words are jumbled together.

Discord tapped Spike on the head with his tail lightly enough to get him to calm down. While he did think it was a little extreme the shouting could have dragged something over to find them and he needed to save his strength for dealing with anything else that got in the way.

“Discord! All the monsters are made of shadows!” Spike managed to form a coherent sentence when the sound of shuffling caught their attention. Two more of them had come from around the corner forcing the pair to make a decision. Discord looked towards the door to the right they hadn’t open yet while Spike looked back to the entrance. Discord gave him a withering stare that made him reconsider.

“Look you wanted to go forward and it’s better we keep moving forward to get out of here. Besides you burn them down and we get away through the next door so we aren’t backtracking.” Discord pointed towards the door with his thumb.

Spike sighed. It was true that they needed to move forward but that didn’t stop the panic with the zomponies still around. The fact that if he didn’t burn them they would get back up more vicious than before made him cringe even if the first one dropped due to good luck. He stepped forward and with a little force shot out a decent sized fireball at the closer enemy. It slowed considerably accidently hitting the one behind it. The flames only coated the side of that zompony though. The flames seemed to die off too quickly… when it shook its flank clean of the flames. That made Discord panic slightly as he raced into the next room dragging Spike in with his tail.

The shambling continued to get closer as they braced the door. Discord motioned Spike away from the door craning his head around and twirling his fingers around with his claw. It took a moment to figure out what he meant but Spike was used to those weird signals back from one of their earlier guys nights. Secret signals were useful for stealth missions and Spike had finally remembered this particular one. ‘Look around for something to use.’

“Be right back.” Spike’s finally peered around the room noticing that the walls all seemed to be made of metal with multiple coats of arms, a shield with weapons jutting out from behind them, were hung along each section of the wall. Each seemed to hold a particular image though one caught Spike’s attention. On the shield was a purple and white star with blue wisps coming from one of the corners engrave into the metal. It was calling out to him.

The doors buckled as Discord ran up to him pulling out one of the weapons from behind that particular shield knocking it to the floor. Spike picked up the shield which was just perfect for his own arm length. Only one came in and it also had a crimson head just like the last one. Near the door was a collection of ashes which soon turned to shadows only to slink away. The crimson zompony actually ran towards Discord throwing some furniture it had dragged in at him. Discord slipped out of the way craning his neck enough for the table to fly harmlessly past him. Spike wasn’t so lucky and was forced to use the shield to stop the impact. The shield glowed for a moment after the hit and forced the table to fall. Neither noticed the glow when it lunged for Discord’s neck. The sword Discord had picked up sliced off the left forearm cleaving the hoof off. With his adrenaline still pumping the sword went through the back hoof cutting it off at the gaskin. The zompony fell to the side and still tried to pull itself towards the closer of the two, Spike.

“Jeez these things don’t know when to stop do they?” Spike was hesitant but remembering that the zomponies were made of shadows made it slightly easier to do what he needed to do. Lifting the shield high above his head he brought the points edge directly down on the zompony’s poll just barely managing to pierce through and hurt the brain. It took two more tries which Discord helped with by piercing the sword through it’s neck so it wouldn’t move anymore. When the legs stopped moving Spike withdrew the shield which was mysteriously clean of blood and ran over to one of the corners of the room. He found one of the pots and released whatever was left in his stomach inside of it. There wasn’t much.

“There, There… uh… just let it out. Better we get used to this now before things become worse.” Discord was uncertain what to do but for his part rubbed Spike’s back. This level of violence wasn’t something new to him. Though it had been a long, long time since he had to do anything this extreme. Not even fighting the Princesses had forced him to this level. He knew it was because he was tired of going to that extreme and after a millenia of that image he managed to force it to become nothing more than a legend. He was a trickster not a monster. He would only have fun and not go to the lengths he used to go through anymore.

“I’m good. I’m f-fine. It just feels horrible. Have you noticed it Discord?” Spike looked up to Discord. His eyes gazed off into the distance even though they were pointed at Discord’s. The thousand mile stare enveloped his being and it looked to be getting worse.

“What do you mean? I’ve only seen one unicorn body amongst them and it didn’t try to use magic. The rest were earth ponies.” Discord answered neutrally enough that Spike blanched at that observation.

“I think the unicorn one looked like Starlight…” Spike muttered his words uncertain of himself now. The stress might have been getting to him but he was still unsure.

“Yeah… that was probably on purpose. Remember we’re enemies to these things. They want us to feel uncomfortable and uncertain of our actions. Remember that’s my schtick and it’s something I’m good at doing. Spreading the seeds of discord and disharmony to mess with anybody I see fit. I do mean anybody. At the height of my reign I managed to even make dragons a spectacle as well and I know these tactics well enough that there can be no hesitation in our actions here. They are watching most likely. I also think that Freya is part of it though more of a patsy rather than an active instigator.” Discord surmised his thoughts. The sword he pulled out was luckily not burning as the metal actively resisted the gorey contents and its acidic tendencies.

“You mean they… they wanted us to do this…” Spike whispered almost conspiratorially. He was forced to look around now as paranoia took control of his thoughts. Every corner was now suspicious.

“Don’t worry about it right now. We don’t exactly have any way to stop them until- why’s your shield shining.” Discord eyed the shield one eyebrow raised in curiosity. It was glowing faintly then faded. Spike didn’t answer though. He was just as confused.

“Is it magical?”

“Nope. It’s just a regular shield but keep it just in case it’s important. Probably anything with our friend’s marks is important enough for us to take along with us,” He wasn’t lying about the shield not being magical. The light produced nothing even with him being drained of his magic he could still feel it in the air. There was none in the mansion or the floor they were on. “This seems to be a pocket dimension anyways. If I had to use a weapon just to survive something like this then it is safe to say we are cut off from magic.”

“They really are going all out on keeping us here.” Spike managed to pick himself back up and keep his eyes focused on the room. For all intents and purposes it was another hallway they were just lucky that it had something they could use to defend themselves with while inside. The problem came when he realized that for all their “progress” they had no idea where they were heading to in the first place.

Discord said nothing and ambled over to the next door checking it out for any other threats that could be around. Spike brought out his shield and took the forefront keeping the shield ready to bash anything in his way. He wasn’t as strong as most dragons but he had practiced before where to hit a pony to stun them for a bit. He would have to trust that Discord would have his back.

They were in yet another hallway leading farther away from the main hall and the walls returned to the same material they had seen in the main hall. It was also sparsely decorated with the odd group of flowers within each vase they passed. Each one had a set of white lilies within them, each withering at different rates. Spike couldn’t remember the meaning of flowers since his talk with Roseluck. Next time he would have to write down what she spoke about since it was an intensive list of colors and symbolism. At the far end of the hall was a single door that both of them stopped at.

“This better head somewhere... “ Spike muttered to himself. There was already enough silence between the two and Discord seemed to be paying attention more to his surrounding than him. The nervousness was contagious and words seemed to make things worse. When the door opened they were surprised to see nothing more than a metal grate and a small room with buttons on the panel near the door.

“Hm… an elevator. Looks like we have to head downwards.” Discord pressed one of the buttons and entered alongside Spike who still couldn’t find his voice. With a sudden lurch the box flew downwards at an even pace letting Spike soothe the worry he held from the going even further below the surface of the ground.

A few seconds later the box came to a stop releasing the two into a small rest area. Signs along the wall told of keeping clear of all hazardous material and that escapees would two caps to finish off, one to the back and another to the head.

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer pony? Jeez these guys are too serious. Also don’t ask Spike.” Discord looked down at the curious dragon about to ask something that should be obvious. Spike kept quiet but he started to piece together what it meant grimacing when he had the idea.

The following room was yet another hallway but was made of stone and had no actual decoration to it. Gray walls surrounded them and there wasn’t any shuffling either. There was a tapping though…

‘Ponyfeathers…’ Spike looked around for the offending sound only for the tapping to get louder. Around the corner came what looked like a pony only for all the skin flayed off and the brain being exposed. The hooves all split into fingers extending the bones inside to pierce through the bottom of it. The most noticeable addition were the remains of wings or the stumps of them. It didn’t notice them.

Discord kept quiet as did Spike due to the way the creature was looking at them. There were no eyes. It sniffed the air though… then looked in the direction of them. Then it roared and charged at them. Discord panicked when it stopped and shot a barbed tongue out at him. Spike while still shocked ran forward catching the tip of the tongue with the shield. The tip burned when it hit the shield causing the creature to scream out in what sounded like pain. Discord took the chance slicing the tip off.

Infuriated the creature charged leaping into the air claws at the ready for Discord. He grabbed Spike in his tail holding him up against the creature. Spike leveled his shield and bashed it back to the ground allowing Discord to shove the sword into the monster’s head. Stunning seemed to work on this creature allowing Discord another swing after pulling the blade out. With a lucky break he sliced through the neck just in case taking the brain out wasn’t good enough. The creature fell back and gurgled a bit as blood filled the wound. With its death rattle it fell into its restless slumber slumping to the floor and dissolving into shadows like the rest. Discord finally saw the shadows slither away noting how fast it would gather more power.

“Well that was closer than I thought it would be. Good work back there.” Discord set Spike down once again their bit of teamwork improvisation over with. Spike merely brushed his scales looking confident at blocking the high speed projectile tongue that was about to lash out at them.

With the threat gone they sauntered their way through the hall putting less care into their caution. The next room was much larger full of pipes and consoles which seemed to control the water pressure of the entire area. The lighting also left their eyes to strain with the yellow tones seemingly messing with Discord’s perception. They didn’t hear the sound of claws against metal in time as that missed claw found its mark upon Spike’s back. Gouges scored it and the metal they were dragged along while the firing of a tongue hit Discord’s shoulder.

“Argh!”

Spike managed to get back up and without warning breathed out as much fire as he could muster on their attacker. It flinched and flailed around as it burned. Discord, though still trying to remove the tongue from his shoulder, grabbed the creature’s tongue keeping it from running away.

“Just. Get. LOST!” Spike yelled out as he bashed the shield down on the creature’s head over and over again. The sounds of slush and metal didn’t deter him and he continued to create a dent in the floor. Discord grabbed him up and took the shield from him forcing him to confront reality again.

“You good now Spike?” Discord cut the longer half of the tongue then forced the tongue to exit from the barbed tip. Discord glowered at the barbed tongue and held his shoulder for a bit. Unused to pain he feared he would bleed out. “Spike, can you heat up this sword?”

“Yeah sure. Why?” While he was curious Spike lit the sword on fire till it glowed bright white. Before he could get his answer Discord used the blade to cauterize the wound on both ends. He got lucky that it only pierced the shoulder. Anywhere else would have made the patch job much more unpleasant.

Discord screamed obscenities that Spike had only heard when he had passed Big Mac on a particularly bad day he had involving love poison though no one would have believed him. He didn’t really know why that would be inside that place either but bit his tongue to keep from asking another awkward question that would lead to having to listen to an entirely new birds and bees lesson.

“Don’t repeat anything I said Spike unless you can justify them to yourself aside from the reason that they felt right to say at that moment. There will be a lot of moments like that in life don’t make this that day though.” Spike merely nodded at Discord’s statement. There was little to say about it because of the extenuating circumstances. He then noticed that his back was being looked at.

“I’m fine. Dragon scales are tougher than that I do feel a bit dazed though. I used up a lot of fire just to burn that thing to ashes.” The pile of ashes was gone by then most likely turned back to shadows. Discord walked forward looking around much more carefully. Nothing seemed to jump to his attention but they had the uncanny knack for waking up monsters that would appear around them. Spike also kept quiet about the fact that his back was bleeding. It wasn’t painful but the itchiness kept bringing his thoughts back to the scratches. Those claws were unnatural and managed to get through a few of his scales.

Even wounded the two kept moving towards the next door. Spike kept the shield secured to his back with the straps for his arm since those monsters seemed to like flanking them with a blindsided strike. The following room was luckily empty enough not to warrant much problem. Inside was a simple desk with some memos on the desk. Another door lay beyond the desk but seemed to be locked down.

“Is there anything on the desk we could use?” Spike looked around the room thanking the maker for keeping it simple and with minimal places to hide behind. He was tired of fighting zomponies and monsters that still didn’t make sense. Discord didn’t answer at first as his eyes scanned over the paper in front of him.

“Maybe. Here listen to this.” Discord started to read aloud.

To whom it may concern.

My name is Starlight Glimmer, newest member of an elite special forces group working for the Raccoon City Police Department known only as STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Services). In truth, I am not from this world but working with these brave beings to uncover something that may, in fact, save my own world and friends from something far greater than they face here. In my travels through this world I have received aid from a strange being who we came to know as Anubis who allowed me the ability to assist others through my own magic and spells that he was able to teach me telepathically. Needless to say the abilities allowed me to view everything that occurred in this world to almost maddening clarity.

Anyways in this world it seems that these ‘humans’ favored more extreme methods of solving problems such as violence and warfare that not even I’ve heard of even through reading about Griffon history. Through a series of events I have discovered that they created things known only as BOW’s, or bio organic weapons. The organic part seems a bit redundant but the name stuck, somehow… Regardless during my missions, I suppose as they are called, multiple instances of magical possession occurred causing me to become a target for the more insidious creatures they created to the point where my nightmares almost consistently had my name being chanted and slurred every couple of minutes. I really wish Luna was here…

From what I can tell this entity which seems to only be known as Chaos, highly original I know, has had their eye focused on me doggedly trying to kill me. At least I think it has. There have been multiple instances where I could have been eliminated but something happened last minute. These deus ex machina situations have become commonplace enough that I believe that Anubis had no part in them. This world wanted me to succeed and not because of my own determination but something else entirely. I have had to acclimatize myself to the ways of this world even making a sort of secret word for my own research. Trust in me. Hopefully I can find some clues to the whereabouts of Spike and Discord. I miss them and the others a whole lot even if we can still communicate through magic. The new friends I have made have at least trusted me enough to gather enough information to fight the evils in this world. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be bringing much back home due to how dangerous this technology can be. The Red Queen seems the most resigned to this development.

Lastly it seems as though I have found something important that seems to pulse with magical energy I thought was impossible to find in this world. It even has my cutie mark as its symbol. A beautiful necklace, an element of harmony. I know now what Anubis meant when he had us go into these worlds. They won’t win…

The note stopped leaving them stuck in contemplation. Discord seemed the most annoyed though he didn’t say why. Spike was just smiling that his friends were ok even though something else was going on. The part about another’s design grafted new insight into the spheres goals. Though something was unclear. With Chaos it was hard to infer whether or not it’s plans were even working right.

“That fool thinks itself to be the only embodiment of chaos. HA! I am the lord of chaos and disharmony, I won’t be shunted to the side because this thing thinks itself superior.” Discord went back to the door and started to search for anything that would open it. A few taps later and a panel opened up revealing a small keypad featuring an assortment of letters and numbers arranged in a configuration meant for typewriters.

‘Password… Password… That word? Maybe… ‘ Discord typed in the only word that stood out in the memo. The door unlocked and slid off to the side allowing entrance.

“What did you do?” Spike sauntered up peering into the door cautiously. The room inside was lit enough to see a large warehouse filled with empty tubes that seemed big enough to hold at least an adolescent dragon within them.

“Typed in something she wrote. Guess it was good to trust in her.” Discord strode in carefully keeping his weapon ready while Spike kept pace. Both were tired, wounded and not in any shape for anything too strenuous. The warehouse seemed to be leading to the center area where a large area was covered with walls. The humming of machinery seemed to cue them into something wrong.

“Ready to run Spike?” Discord seemed apprehensive of going forward. As they turned into the small closed off area the large tube in the center caught their attention.

Inside the tube was an equine creature for certain but something was off. Their back legs had been forced into a biped configuration while multiple claw like appendages ripped through the right front hoof. Tumors seemed to grow uncontrolled around the face and legs while a large trench coat hid the rest of the body. The strange part was that the mane was purple with an aquamarine stripe through it. Embroidered on the coat was the was the same purple and white diamond with blue wisps they had come to know. The horn on it’s head had looked to have been severed leaving it unable to use magic. The water in the tank drained with their first step inside the chamber. It raised its hoof and crushed the glass allowing it to step out of the tank. It was as tall as Celestia and seemed to focus immediately on the two.

“Ssssspppppiiiiiikkkkkeeee~”

“Ddddddiiisssccccooorrrdddd~”

A large copy of a hornless Starlight Glimmer stepped towards them.