The Elements of Discord

"Ah think this is crazy, Twi.  Just puttin' that out there."

"It's not crazy, AJ.  Well, okay, it's completely crazy," Twilight replied tiredly, "but its also brilliant!"

Pinkie's plan was a long shot, but Twilight was absolutely positive that it would work.  The Elements of Discord drew their power from the presence of their respective emotions in all beings in Equestria.  The reason Despair was so much more powerful than the rest is that the other four only had their own feelings to draw from; however, the damage they had dealt lasted in the hearts and minds of Equestria's citizens and served to fuel Despair's already formidable strength.

As soon as they had left their shelter, they had contacted the Celestial sisters and began to set things up.  Twilight had designed what she didn't doubt was the most complex spell in Equestrian history and Luna had executed it perfectly; in fact Twilight was sure she could feel some improvements to it.  After giving the Night Princess the instructions for the spell, Twilight had helped Princess Celestia gather as much magic as she could for the second part of the plan, which involved what was without a doubt the post powerful spell in Equestrian history.

Now, the six Element bearers stood with their back to Canterlot itself as the first snowflakes began to fall.  The still wounded Pinkie was being propped up by Fluttershy and Twilight, still exhausted from her efforts with Celestia, was being held up by Rainbow.

"I admit that its probably the best idea any of us have ever come up with, but I don't dare get my hopes up," Rarity mumbled just loud enough for all to hear.

"We can't lose hope, Rarity," Fluttershy replied, just as softly, "Hope is all we have left..."

"I know, Fluttershy, I'm just afraid."

"We all are, Rarity, but we have to try!  If we don't we lose everything!"

Rarity smiled and hugged her, "You always know just what to say."

"He's here," Pinkie injected solemnly.  Indeed the snow was falling harder now and the temperature had plunged.

"It's now or never," Twilight said, giving Rarity a nod.

The fashionista closed her eyes, focusing hard on the spell to signal Luna and Celestia.  She released the spell with a grunt and game a tired gasp.  "That's it, once this fiasco is over, you're teaching me how you can do all this so easily, Twi."

Twilight smirked to herself at the banter, and began to grin as she heard Princess Celestia's regal voice echo across the land, following along the rivers of magic Luna had so meticulously placed.

"Ponies of Equestria, hear my plea!  I know you are sorrowful and frightened, but you need not be!  As we speak, a group of brave ponies whom you all know stands in the face of danger, desiring only to protect all I hold dear, to protect you.  However, they are hurting and frightened themselves, they need your love and support in order to find the strength needed to stand victorious!"

"As eloquent as ever!" Rarity cheered with a wide grin.  The snow stopped falling altogether as Celestia continued her speech.

Fluttershy began cheering loudly as the snow stopped falling.  Everypony began to join in.  Everpony but Pinkie Pie; instead, she had her eyes locked on something down the road leading into the city.  It was then that Twilight noticed the living suit of bipedal armor standing not 30 hooves away watching their celebration, weapon in hand.  This was it.

"Well?" she said calmly, doing her best to suppress the familiar feeling of dread growing in her, "Nothing to say?"

"Do not think you have won yet," is all he responded with.  He raised his open hand to the sky and the clouds began to swirl and grow.  The sky blackened as the sun was blocked out by the storm.  It was darker than a moonless night and more than twice as sinister.  The snow began again, a torrent of stinging ice and the land became obscured as the snow lowered the visibility to the point where Twilight could just barely see Despair's outline against the wall of shadows.

It was time for phase two.

She nodded to her friends.  Rainbow passed her off to Rarity before chargin toward their enemy alongside Applejack.  Twilight wished that this part of the plan had involved more than just those two, but they were the only ones fast enough to dodge Despair's assault for long.  Her assessment was only verified when Despair brought down his mace on Dash in what would have been a bone-shattering blow had she remained still another moment.

The battle, if you could call it that, was tense.  None of the four who remained behind could see the fighting clearly and the falling snow dampened the sound.  The only thing that let them know the conflict was still raging was the frequent flashes of blue, blonde and silver in the darkness.

"Please, Celestia, hurry!" Twilight heard Pinkie moan softly as a sharp yelp reached their ears.  As if on cue, Twilight felt the magic of the world shift.  She could sense the familiar ring of the Princess' magic with traces of her own mixed in as she was blinded by a flash.

The snow stopped and the world was once again alight as the sun burned through the clouds, magically amplified by Celestia's wrath.

The fighting stopped immediately as the combatants all stared skyward.  Despair had Rainbow Dash by the throat, mace raised above his head to finish her off.  She took advantage of the momentary pause to kick herself free beckoning to Applejack who followed her back to their friends.

"A distraction.  A clever ruse..." Despair whispered audibly, turning his gaze at the ponies who not stood facing him in a defiant line.  "Delaying for time, and now the trap is to be spring."  Twilight gave him the smuggest grin she could pull of as he raised his mace before him in an attempt to ward off the coming attack.  "This is going to hurt..."

Twilight felt the magic of the Elements shoot through her body, stronger than she had ever felt before.  Concentrating on her feelings for Celestia, her family, and most of all, her friends, she simply allowed it to flow.  It blasted forth, striking Despair's weapon head-on.  He pushed back against it, but the ornate head of his weapon shattered and the full force of the Elements of Harmony struck him in the chest.  The blinding white glow enveloped the world.

When it was all over, Twilight was surprised once again to see him still standing there, but something was different this time around, he just didn't seem as threatening.

He emitted a gravelly gasp and began to cough.  Then, growling, he drew himself to his full height, standing proudly before them.  "It would seem I was mistaken..."

Twilight took a careful step forward, staring straight into his eye-holes.  "You've lost."

"Yes, but do not think that you have won..."  He raised a shaking arm and pointed at her.  "One day, we will return.  One day, Equestria will fall.  You will survive maybe for a year, maybe not for a thousand years, but you cannot escape your fate!"

Before Twilight could reply, the aqua flames inside his helm spouted out of every hole and join on his helmet, coalescing into a small orb above his head.  The flames then faded and the armor fell apart as if nothing had ever been inside them.  As she began to approach it, it combusted into the same blue fire, burning away to nothing.

For better or for worse, Despair was gone.

"Royal Guardian, huh?  That's a new one.  I like it!" Rainbow said, striking a pose in her shiney new gold armor.  In its gleam, she didn't look out of place against the stained glass of the throne room.

"Well, the Princess can't make us nobility or a royal guard and she's run out of titles to give us, so i guess she made a new one!" Twilight replied with a giggle.

"Yeah, but I believe that it was Luna who created this one."

"Indeed, she did, Rarity," Princess Celestia quipped as she entered the room.

"Oh!  Princess, I apologize for-"

"It's quite alright," Celestia said warmly, cutting her off, "I am well aware that my sister wishes you not to use her title.  Just because I prefer to use mine doesn't mean anything when it comes to her.  You are free to refer to her as she wishes."

"Oh, very well," Rarilty replied, blushing slightly.  "Though, Princess, I must say that while I don't normally like uniforms, these are certainly exquisite!  Beauty, comfort and functionality all combined into one!"

"That's because I had Sweetie Belle send me the notes you wrote up when you were making your designer dresses," Luna said as she too entered.

"Really?  I thought I had lost those, I must remember to thank her!"

"Thank her twice," Luna giggled, "I had originally only asked her for your collective measurements; it was her idea for the royal armorers to use the designs as references!"

"That would explain how they fit so well," Twilight said, stretching out to enjoy just how much freedom the armor allowed.  The sound of a scuffle out in the hall stopped her from saying anything further.  She looked at Princess Celestia, who only shrugged and toward the door.  It burst open and a pony collided with her, sending them both sprawling.  When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into Dash's, except it wasn't Dash.

"Vinyl?  What are you doing here?"

"Twilight, you've gotta help!  It's in Ponyville!"

"Calm down, little one," Celestia interjected, trying to calm the panicking white unicorn, "what's in Ponyville?"

"I don't know!  It hasn't hurt anyone yet, but it blew up the market!"

Twilight and Celestia exchanged glances as the latter used her magic to retrieve the thick tome that had caused them so much grief and turned to the final page in the once blank section.

"But, magic is...  what..?  how..?"

There was no tidy poem, no grand revelation.

Just one single word, scrawled along the bottom of the page by some being on their last breath.

One word smudged by an unmistakable drop of long-dried blood.

void