Rise of the Element Gang, Book 3: Heroes United

Chapters

Chapter 1: Return of Chaos
Chapter 2: Path Through Everfree
Chapter 3: In the Flesh
Chapter 4: Witness to Harmony
Chapter 5: Dusk to Nightfall, Part 1
Chapter 6: Dusk to Nightfall, Part 2
Chapter 7: The Chaos and the Demon
Chapter 8: Night Fight
Chapter 9: Following the Light
Chapter 10: Path to Harmony
Chapter 11: Final Step
Chapter 12: Light and Shadow
Chapter 13: Magic Returns
Chapter 14: Return of the Mane 6, Part 1
Chapter 15: Return of the Mane 6, Part 2
Chapter 16: Battle Ready
Chapter 17: Positive Reinforcement
Chapter 18: Fight Against Chaos
Chapter 20: Return of Harmony
Chapter 21: Destiny in Unity
Chapter 22: Celebrations and Revelations
Chapter 23: A Prophecy Fulfilled
Chapter 24: Brought to Light
Prelude: Good Day of Training
Prologue
Chapter 19: Let There Be Light

Chapter 1: Return of Chaos

In my sanctuary, I was spending my time much like I have done for every morning: meditating and allowing myself to find inner peace. I could especially now find inner peace now that Luna was back with us, now freed from the corruption of which turned her into the tyrannical Nightmare Moon. After our long overdue reunion, I thought of this as a way for us to start over, mend the bond we once had in our past together. Somehow, Dusk had managed to help us take the first step in restoring our friendship at the Grand Galloping Gala and we had been making wonderful progress since then. In a way, Dusk helped us as much as we helped him that very night. Luna had finally ended her long seclusion and the two of us were able to spend more time together. Honestly, I find it amazing that I was able to continue my duties without seeing her warm and beautiful smile. Seeing how far we’ve come in restoring our relationship, I had a thought that maybe—just maybe—we could… be able to finish what we started, the one thing we had been wanting to do for a long time. Hoping for when the time will come, I continued my meditation. Though, suddenly, something had startled me, breaking my concentration as I gasped. I had felt a brief disturbance in the world, a surge in magical energy of which I hadn’t felt for a very long time. I wish it wasn’t really. But it was and I had felt it. I hoped that this day would not come to pass, but—as I feared—it seems that Luna’s own suspicions were correct and the prophecy of Fore Sight the Uncanny was coming to pass: After all these years, Discord was free!

Rising to my claws and hooves, I then rushed back towards the castle in order to inform the alicorn sisters. I went to Luna first, as to awaken her so we would both go to see Celestia and tell her of what had happened. Knowing Celestia, she would call on Twilight and her friends to use the Elements of Harmony once more as they are the only thing that stop that wretched draconequus. Though it would not be easy. There would be hardships to come, terrible deeds, and magic unlike any of them have seen before, but the girls would have to make it through this if Equestria is ever going to be safe. And I knew that Dusk and his fellow elemental stallions would be able to help them. But, upon arriving, I was briefly surprised to find both sisters present in Luna’s room. Though she usually rested during the day, I came to see Luna, wide awake, standing along her sister.

“I see you felt it too.” I said to them as I walked in.

“We did. And you felt it as well?” Celestia said to me.

“Yes.” I sighed before I looked towards Luna. “I had hoped that this day wouldn’t come—that the spell would hold him—but it seems you were right, Luna. The magic you and Celestia cast wore off now that the Elements have moved on.”

“Clearly.” Luna pointed out before she spoke to her sister. “So what course of action shall we take?”

“The same as we did last time. You know as well as I do the Elements are the only things that can stop Discord.”

“You think that Twilight Sparkle and her friends are ready to stand against him?”

“They will have to be. You know full well we are powerless compared to him.” Celestia reminded us.

“What of Dusk?” Luna asked.

“He isn’t one of the Elements. The best he can do is stay out of the way and try not to get hurt.” she answered immediately.

“Hold on, Tia.” I said to her. “Dusk might not be an Element of Harmony, but two members of his Element Gang are. I’m afraid that both him along with his stallion friends have already been involved in this fight. Those four are also elementals, descended from those who had managed to hold their own against Discord before. If Twilight and her friends are succeed, they will need all the help they can get.”

“I suppose you’re right, Dragonis.” She said to me. “They have proven themselves more than once that they are more than capable of taking to such a challenge. Very well, but I will only be summoning Twilight and the other wielders. If what you said is true, then Discord will undoubtedly go after Dusk and the others and strike Ponyville. To assure their victory, we must give them the Elements immediately.”

“Of course. And thank you.” I said to her. “Hopefully, both Dusk and Twilight will be able to defeat this wretched villain before he haves a chance to plunge Equestria into chaos again.”

“There may be a way that he can help.” Luna said, holding out a scroll.

Celestia and I both knew that scroll. It was one from the Archive of Prophecy, more specifically, one from Fore Sight the Uncanny. It was one of which Fore Sight had claimed would predict the very events of this day, but only Luna was the only one of us three who actually believed it. With what has happened, I had expected she would use this as her chance to make us believe it was true. Besides, after what she had done as Nightmare Moon, I also expected that she would see this as her chance to pay something back to Equestria. Though I do support her with much anything, I was afraid that—much like Tia—I did not believe that this specific prophecy from the unicorn prophet held anything that could be useful at this moment.

“Luna…” Celestia said warningly, but the Princess of the Night pressed on.

“Don’t try to deny it, Tia. You know full well what’s happening here is as detailed in the prophecy and you know what it means. Why do you still deny…?”

“Luna!” Luna recoiled from her sister's commanding tone. “We have had this discussion before. The Elements were sufficient last time, they will be this time. I admit you were right on this count, but how can the rest of it possibly be true?”

“He was right all of the other times, why not this time?”

“Because of his mental state at the time, that is why.” Celestia said, reminding her how Discord had broken Fore Sight’s sanity and sent him into turmoil in which he possibly used to write that prophecy. “You know how Discord tormented Fore Sight into madness, how he became convinced of its existence. But he never found it. Nopony will because it doesn’t exist and it never has.” She then turned to leave. “I must summon Twilight and her friends. While I will allow Dusk and his fellow elementals to help, you will see that we don’t need it…even if it were to exist.”

“Ooh! She may be my elder sister,” Luna fumed as Celestia left to write her letter, “but she can be so infuriating at times.”

“Calm down, Luna.” I said as Luna began to fume in frustration, Celestia leaving to write her letter. “You know that she is only going with what she knows and has seen. Tia isn’t one to give in such faith to what appears to have no sense.”

“You have done the same, Dragonis.” Luna retorted.

“Luna, I understand you’re scared. You always knew better, but we can’t placing so much faith in everything. Rest assured, Twilight and all her friends—elementals and wielders alike—will be able to rise to the challenge.”

“I know, Dragonis…” Luna said before she then grabbed a blank parchment, some ink, and a quill. “And I’ll assure that they will.”

“Luna, what are you doing?” I asked, confused as the princess used the ink and quill to write on the parchment.

“I am writing a letter to Dusk.” She answered. “If what Fore Sight said is true, then I am certain that Dusk will be able to find the only thing that can help the wielders. No doubt his fellow elementals will help him in the search.”

I was shocked by this. “Luna, are you insane? We don’t even know if something like that even exists! If Celestia finds out that you sent Dusk and the others on some wild goose chase…”

“Dragonis, please just trust me.” Luna told me, looking to me with an expression that showed me she was serious. “I know what I am doing. If the prophecy is true, then young Dusk might be the only pony in Equestria who can be able save Equestria from Discord. If we are to prevent chaos from reigning over this land again, we must take the risk.”

In that moment, I was absolutely conflicted with myself, my mind and heart in a great struggle with each other. My mind told me that I should tell her that this was nonsense and that I should put an end to this, but my heart told me that I should try to support her and hope that she is right by letting her sent that letter. In the end, my heart won and my decision made.

With a sigh of defeat, I then told her. “Once you’re done writing, don’t send the letter until I come back.”

“Come back? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to see if Celestia has sent her letter yet. If you are going to send a letter to Dusk, it would be safer if you did around some time after Celestia sends hers to Twilight. We don’t want Twilight informing her about what you are doing.”

“You’re right. Thank you, Dragonis.” She said with a grateful smile.

“You’re welcome… Lunes.” I said as I returned the smile, using the nickname I gave her and one I hadn’t used in a long, long time.

“‘Lunes’?” She was surprised by this, her cheeks aglow with a tint of crimson. But she instantly turned back and continued writing. “Has been a while since you called me by that.”

“Yeah, it has.” I said to her. “I just hope you’re right.”

“As do I, Dragonis. As do I.” After she finished, she then rolled up her letter and placed the seal upon it, gazing upon it as she spoke again. “Your time has come, Dusk Noir. It is time for the Elements… to unite.”

Shield’s view

As me and Dash flew through the sky, we took a moment to enjoy the clear skies on the awesome day we were having.

“Great job, Shield!” Dash said me, smiling proud by the awesome way we did our job. “Another clear sky for another awesome day in Ponyville.”

“You got that right, Dash.” I said to her, taking it all in and remember how much I love my job in helping with the weather. “Doesn’t get better than—Aah!” Just when I was gonna say “it didn’t get better that this”, something pink flew past Dash and rammed right into me. Recovering from that, I looked down to find myself floating in the air. But how was I…? That’s when I looked in front of me and saw what exactly hit me. It was this weird, pink cloud and I was actually underneath it. I tried to get myself on top, but I couldn’t move. It was like this cloud was made of glue. “Ugh! What is this?”

“Hey! Come back here, you!” Dash yelled out as I saw her flying right over.

“Dash, wait!” I tried to tell her, but it was too late as she got to the cloud and got stuck on it too.

“Eww! What is this?” Dash asked, confused just as much as me.

“Let’s see.” I said before managing to stretch one of my forehooves off, stretching some of the cloud too. I tasted it, thinking I would taste water or whatever, but instead got… “Cotton candy? This cloud’s made of cotton candy!”

“Wait, a cloud made of cotton candy?” Dash asked me, just as surprised. “How is there a cloud like that?”

“I don’t know.” I said before I looked around and saw more pink clouds like this one flying around. “And it looks like it’s not alone.” Just then, we heard a rumble and saw one of those clouds right above us, looking about ready to rain on us as it let out a single drop on Dash’s head.

“Wait a second!” Dash said, glaring at the cloud. “It’s not supposed to rain until tomorrow! You can’t just…” Before she finished, the cloud then started raining on us.

“And it did.” I said as we got soaked in rain.

On the bright side, the rain was washing off the cotton candy. On the other hoof, I was now going to fall. Before I got too far though, Dash managed to grab me by the back hoof and save me.

“Thanks, Dash.” I said as she got me onto her back.

“No problem.” She said, her smile soon fading away as we remembered the cloud was still raining on us.

“Hang on.” I then realized there was something weird about this rain. “Rain water isn’t brown.”

Dash then tasted some of it and we were even more confused by when she said “Chocolate milk?”

“Cotton candy clouds with chocolate rain?” I said before remembering that Dusk told us something like this. “Hey, didn’t Dusk talked about something like this?”

“Hey, you’re right!” Dash said before she then got me to the ground, where I then hopped off her back. “I’ll try and take care of these clouds, you go find Dusk and see if he knows anything about this!”

“You got it! Good luck!” I said before I then ran off to Dusk’s house. I really hoped he could tell us what was going on.

Dusk’s view

Enjoying my day-off from working in the library, I was lying on my couch, reading through one of my favorite Daring Do books. It was Sunday and I always had Sundays off. My mane was in its usual neat style, my hat resting on a hat stand near the door, and my good-luck charm around my neck with the different color stones glinting in the light. My Hoothoot Ophelia was out hunting, so I was alone in the house. I was perfectly content to remain there, though this didn’t last long.

I had just turned the next page when my pet returned, flying above my head and hooting frantically. I watched her flapping above me, knowing full well that something was wrong and she was trying to tell me something.

“Ophelia, calm down!” I ordered, gently but firmly. She did so and came to a rest on the arm of my couch. “Now, is there something wrong?” She nodded rapidly. “Okay, what exactly?” She shrugged, unable to tell me. It was just then that there was a sudden knock at the door. I opened it to find my fast-running friend Shield on the other side, looking like he just came out of a lake and having patches of some odd pink substance stuck on him. “Shield, what happened to you?” I then caught a whiff of something and found it coming from him. “And why do you smell like chocolate?”

“Dusk, we got a big problem!” Shield told me, being just as frantic as Ophelia. “Something weird is going on with the weather! Me and Dash just got chocolate milk rained on us by a cloud made of cotton candy!”

I was shocked by what he just said and dreaded the answer he would give to this question: “Did you just say… a cloud of cotton candy… with chocolate milk rain?”

“Yeah! Haven’t ya seen what’s going on out here?” I then looked past him and saw a bunch of pink clouds raining droplets of a brown liquid over Ponyville.

“Sweet mother of flames!” I said, shocked to find the town experiencing such chaotic weather before looking to Ophelia as she flew over to me. “That’s what you were trying to tell me, wasn’t it?” The Hoothoot nodded in confirmation.

“Dusk, do you know what’s going on?” Shield asked me.

“I do and, if this is happening here, then I’m afraid we’re in big trouble.” I said, levitating my hat onto my head, “Come on! Let’s go get Fluttershy and Leon before they run into some trouble!” With that, we let Ophelia fly ahead of us before we all then went off towards Fluttershy’s cottage before this disturbance got to them.

Dog’s view

It was a nice day today with me and AJ harvesting corn from the fields and putting them in our carts. All seems mighty peaceful until…

“Hey, I didn’t tell you to go anywhere!” We looked up and saw Rainbow chasing some weird, pink cloud before more of them came around behind her, the whole lot raining down on Sweet Apple Acres.

“Rainbow Dash, what’s goin’ on with this rain?” AJ said, getting the pegasus to come down.

“Yeah!” I said before I got a taste of the rain. “And why does it taste like chocolate milk?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out!” Rainbow said to us. “There’s crazy weather all over Equestria!”

“Crazier than this?” I asked as I didn’t think anything could top this.

“Oh, yeah.” She told me. “Cloudsdale’s getting hit by a major cola storm right now. Don’t worry. Me and Shield aren’t leaving you ‘till we get control of Ponyville.”

“Where is Shield?” I asked.

“Out to find Dusk. We think he might know what’s going on.”

“I’ll go find him too. We got to stop this rain before Ponyville’s flooded with chocolate milk!” I said before a corn stalk shot tons of popcorn at AJ, knocking her down before I looked around to find all the corn was popping and piling the farm with popcorn. “And before Sweet Apple Acres gets buried in popcorn!” With that, I then hoofed it to find Dusk as soon as possible.

Dusk’s view

When we got to the cottage, we ended up searching the place after Leon and Fluttershy didn’t answer the door. Ophelia and I searched inside while Shield checked out the backyard.

“Did you find them?” I asked Shield as we met up out front.

“No. I didn’t see any of their animals back there either.” He told me.

“Yeah, I didn’t find any animals in the cottage either.” I said as Ophelia sat on my head, feeling worried for our two caretakers. “Oh, where could they be?”

“Dusk!” Looking forward, we watched as Dog ran off to us, looking out of breath.

“Dog, what’s wrong?” I asked the cowpony.

“Dusk, we got a problem!” Dog said to us, giving me a sense of déjà vu from when Shield came to my door.

“Yeah, I already know.” I told him. “Shield already told me about the weather.”

“That ain’t the worst of it!” He said. “Sweet Apple Acres is gettin’ burried in popcorn!”

“Then let's get over there, fast!” I said, letting Ophelia fly ahead of all three of us as we then ran off to Sweet Apple Acres.

When we reached Sweet Apple Acres with my Hoothoot coming to land on a nearby tree and along with seeing all the girls there, we were all shocked to find the whole place in chaos! Corn was turning into popcorn and popping out of their stalks, the sky above was full of pink clouds raining chocolate milk, and apples swelled to a large size that caused the trees they were on to bend forward.

“Sweet Celestia! This is worse than I thought.” I said before we heard somepony shout…

“Dusk!” We all then watched as Leon then ran right over to us, stopping to catch his breath for a moment.

“Leon?” I asked him, concerned and confused by his presence. “What are you doing here?”

“Me and Flutters were just on a stroll when Angel ran off in here!” Leon said before we heard a rumble and saw a stamped of rabbits coming right at us, only these rabbits had suddenly gotten the legs of camels.

“Look out!” Dog yelled as the four of us jumped out of the way, avoiding getting trampled.

“That was close.” Shield said, giving a sigh of relief.

“Oh, no! No, no-no-no!” I said, my worst fears now realized. “This is bad! Really, really bad!”

“Dusk, what in Equestria is happening?” Leon asked me as they looked at me with worry.

“The worst thing that could ever happen.” I then sighed in despair of what was happening. “The day was so perfect. Why did it have to change like this?”

“Dusk, ya okay?” I whipped around to see Dog coming over to me with concern. “Ya look as white as a sheet sugarcube.”

I stared at him for a few moments. “No, I’m not okay. I’m very much not okay. In fact, to be quite frank… I’m absolutely terrified.” Suddenly, catching me by surprise, a huge wave of magic rushed over us. Though it didn’t do much anything to change what was happening, it did show me who had just arrived. Rushing over, standing next to Spike, I saw who I suspected. “Twilight?”

“Oh, there you are, Dusk!” She said as we walked over to her.

“Twilight, what are you doing here?” I asked her.

“I saw what was happening in Ponyville, so I thought I could try and fix it.” Twilight said, holding a book with her magic. “I found a failsafe spell that could fix everything, but—for some reason—it… failed.”

“Well, I’m afraid it doesn’t matter what spell is used.” I told her, speaking forlorn. “Your magic isn’t strong enough to undo something like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I’m saying is that what we’re dealing with here is much bigger than you think.” I said to her. “As such, we’re going to need a whole lot more than a failsafe spell to stop this.”

“Why would you want to stop it?” Pinkie said, enjoying herself as she swam through and ate some of the popcorn piles and drank some of the rain.

“Pinkie, this is no time for playing around!” I said as I used my metalbending to pull her out of the popcorn and got her over to me, using an expression that showed I was serious. “This is serious!” I then called out to everypony. “Everypony, gather around! Element Gang, code red! I repeat, code red! This is not a drill!”

“Oh, come on! It’s just cotton candy and popcorn and chocolate milk!” Pinkie said. “I mean, I’m a little scared that all the animals will eat before I can, but I’m not that scared. I’ll share some with you if you like.”

“Pinkie, knock it off with the eating and drinking!” I snapped at her. “We’re in the middle of a crisis here!”

“Darling, what has gotten into you?” Rarity asked, making me realized how I hurt Pinkie’s feelings, the pink pony looking down in embarrassment. Taking a soothing breath, I then spoke again.

“I’m sorry.” I apologized. “I’m just a little spooked from all this.”

“Dusk, what is going on?” Dog asked.

“Dog, remember what I said back during Magical Talent of Equestria?” I said to them as I explained.

“You mean how you told us you were nervous to get on stage?” Leon asked, taking a guess.

“No, not that.” I told him. “I mean, what I said at the sculpture garden.”

“The sculpture garden?” Shield spoke up, confused by this. “The only thing you talked about there was…” Shield then paused for a moment as his eyes widen in realization. “Wait… don’t tell me…”

“I’m afraid so, Shield.” I said as I went on to tell them about the cause of all this. “All these strange phenomena that are happening right now can only mean one thing… he’s back!” Dog, Shield, and Leon all gasped in shock and fear as they already realized what I meant.

“He?” Twilight asked. “Who?”

“The only being powerful enough to create such madness,” I told her, “Discord, the Lord of Chaos.” This news shocked the girls as they all spoke to each other in worry.

“You mean that overgrown collage of animal parts is causing all of this?” Shield asked me in disbelief.

“How in Equestria is he back?” Leon said to me. “I thought Princess Luna and Princess Celestia turned him to stone!”

“So did I, Leon.” I said to him. “Maybe the magic that contains him has worn off after all of these years, maybe somepony set him free for some reason. Right now, I don't know how to explain how such a thing could happen. What I do know is that only he has the power to do anything like this and that this is only the start of it.”

“You got that right.” Shield told me. “He’s already sent a cola storm to Cloudsdale!”

“His magic is spreading, everypony.” I said. “And things are only gonna get worse if it keeps spreading. If we don’t stop him, he’ll plunge Equestria into chaos!”

Everypony was struck silent by that. All except for Pinkie, who was giggling and edging her way to where the animals were feasting. Suddenly, Spike belched up a green flame and a letter materialized before them. Twilight unfolded it and read it quickly.

“Come on, girls! Princess Celestia wants to see us all in Canterlot immediately!” she ordered.

“Awesome! Looks like the Princess wants to take action! Come on!” Shield was about to Dash off until I stopped him by pulling on his tail.

“Hold it right there, Shield! You’re staying here.” I told him before looking to our fellow stallions. “So are you, Dog. You too, Leon.”

“What, why?” the three said to me in shock.

“Because somepony has to stay here and guard Ponyville.” I told them. “Discord can plan ahead of things, remember? He obviously knows that the Element Gang is here. That’s why he attacked Ponyville first, as part of his ploy to lure us out!”

“He’s got a point.” Dog said, backing me up.

“That still doesn’t mean we can’t go!” Shield retorted, still wanting to accompany the girls. “What? You gonna say the Princess said ‘no boys allowed’ to Twilight?”

“Well, that’s one way to put it.”

Shield was surprised by before he raised a brow at me. “Say what now?”

“Shield, Princess Celestia is only asking for the girls to come to Canterlot.” I then looked to Twilight to confirm my suspicion. “Right, Twilight?”

“Um… yes. That’s exactly what she said.” She told us, no wondered surprised by how I was taking charge like that.

“Seriously?” Shield said in disbelief, making turn back to him.

“Shield, she obviously called them because she wants them to use the Elements of Harmony against Discord.” I told him. “Just like she and Luna used the Elements to defeat him the first time.”

“But… but…”

“No buts.” I told him before he could argue, speaking as his friend and not as a leader. “Shield, I know you don’t want the girls to go alone, especially with someone like Discord on the loose. We all do. But they have to prepare to face Discord. They’re the only ones who can use the Elements. The least we can do is try and keep all this chaos under control as much as we can until they come back. You understand?” It took a moment as Shield looked like he was about to argue, but he then gave a sigh of defeat.

“Okay. I’ll stay here with you guys.” Shield didn’t really look much too happy when he said that.

“Good.” I said, smiling proudly at him. “You can start by getting back in the sky and corralling all those clouds into a single corner.”

“You got it, cap!” Now returning to his normal self, Shield then dashed off to do so.

“Dog, you think you can lasso those sugar-filled storm clouds down to Equis?” I asked the cowpony.

“I sure can!” Dog said, getting a lasso out.

“What can I do?” Leon asked as I looked to him.

“Leon, I need you to use your magic to take some of the apples off the trees and lure all the animals you can over here.” I told him.

“Okay!” Leon said as he then ran off to do so, quickly picking apples and using them to bring some animals behind me.

“Dusk, what are you…” Twilight said before I stopped her.

“Just watch and see, Miss Sparkle.” I told her. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Get over there, you floating balls of candy!” Looking to the sky, we watched as Shield rode in on a normal cloud, tossing a cotton candy cloud over to some others into one spot.

“Okay, Dog, get ready!” I said as Dog then got ready to lasso the clouds as Shield was getting the last of them together. “Wait for it…” Shield then began to rapidly circle them, forcing the clouds to come closer to each other. “Wait for it…” Shield finally managed to do the job as they were now a giant clump of pink. “Now!” Dog then tossed his lasso and managed to catch all the clouds, causing the rain they were making to stop before he began dragging them down to the ground.

“Hey, what happened?” Pinkie said in annoyance, her cheeks full of chocolate milk.

“Now to get rid of these clouds.” I said as Dog then tied the clouds to the fence. “Leon!”

Leon then came over and I began whispering what I wanted him to do. After I was done, Leon then went on to do the final part of the plan.

“Oh, no!” Leon said, pretending to sound worried. “I sure hope that no animals around see these chocolate-filled, cotton candy clouds over here! I hate to share them!”

“Oh! You and me both, brother!” Pinkie said, eating a chunk of the clouds before being shoved away by the approaching animals who began eating the clouds. “Hey!”

“And when y’all are done with that, feel free to have some popcorn for dessert!” Applejack said to the animals as she, the girls (except for Pinkie who glared at the animals while trying to squeeze past them to get to the clouds), and the guys gather around me, the girls looking impressed by our work while my fellow stallions and I had proud smiles by a job well done.

“Great job, boys!” I said to my fellow stallions. “That should keep everything dry for a while.”

“Yeah! High-hoof!” Leon said as the four of us did a group high-hoof.

“That’s was pretty impressive there, Dusk.” Twilight said to me, commenting on my coordination in the plan me and the guys just executed. “You are certainly full of surprises.”

“Oh, that?” I said, blushing at the compliment while scratching the back of my head with my claw. “It’s nothing. Just comes from years of cooperation and teamwork. Just reminds me how much I appreciate having ponies who’ll always have my back.”

“I see that, but still…”

“Oh, get a room!” Shield said in complaint, everypony else around us giving us smug smiles with some looking like they’re about to snicker. “Seriously, guys, come on!”

We both looked at each other for a moment before then looking away with nervous laughs, now Twilight having a blush of her own. We both recomposed ourselves, losing the crimson in our cheeks, before Twilight spoke again.

“Well, yes…” Twilight cleared her throat before speaking again. “I see what you mean. You should never give up. There is nothing we can’t overcome as long as we all work together.” She then lost her smile as she then looked at me, looking a little sad. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? You can still come with us if you want.”

“Princess Celestia asked you to see her, not me.” I said to her, trying to reassure. “You go on ahead. I’ll hold down the fort with Spike until you come back.”

“Dusk…”

“Twilight, please. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Besides, I got the guys here with me.” Hearing a hoot, it was then that Ophelia flew down and landed atop my hat. “Oh, and Ophelia. See? Nothing to worry about.”

For a moment there, Twilight was about to argue, but then sighed and gave me her best smile before she then said “Okay. If you’re okay with it.”

“Thanks, Twi.” I then returned the smile. “And don’t worry. Once you get back with the Elements, we’ll be there to help you with Discord. He’s not one to underestimate. Discord’s far more powerful than anything you’ve ever encountered before. He’s cunning and deceitful. You’ll need all the help you can get to defeat him. Our job is to protect Equestria, so this involves us as much as it does you.” I then gave a slight chuckle. “I mean, for crying out loud, you got two members of my team with you.”

“Yeah, so save some butt-kicking to Discord for us!” Shield added with a confident smile.

“Don’t worry, we will!” Rainbow said, speaking for them. “Just make sure Ponyville’s in one peace when we get back!”

“Don’t worry. Ponyville’s in safe hooves.” I said to the girls. “Just make sure you send Discord back to stone.”

“Have no fear, Dusk.” Rarity assured. “We shall trounce this fiend with the Elements and all be back home in time for tea.”

“Right you are.” I stood back. “Now go, quickly! The longer we wait, the more powerful he becomes.”

“Right! Come on, girls!” Twilight said before they all galloped away, my fellow librarian stopping to give me one last smile before running to the head of the group to the train station.

Once they were out of sight, I lost the smile I was holding and sighed, looking down at the ground while feeling completely awful to watch them go.

“Ya okay?” Dog asked me in concern.

“Yeah… I’ll be fine.” I said, trying my best to give him a smile. “Come on, let’s go and make sure Discord’s chaos doesn’t wreck Ponyville.” We all then back walked back into town, Spike following behind. “And to think, today’s supposed to be my day off.”

“Well, that’s the life of the Element Gang.” Leon said to me as we walked. “You never catch a break.”

Twilight’s view

Even as we approached the castle, I still felt twinges of regret for not letting Dusk come with us. He might not have shown it, but he was obviously disappointed at not being able to help us. So much, I was even hoping he’d say yes when I offered it. I also felt little fear that Dusk wasn’t here, that without his added knowledge and intelligence to my own, we were incomplete to fight Discord. But I quashed it. We’d beaten Nightmare Moon without Dusk, this was no different. Besides, he said that he would be fighting with us back in Ponyville, so I guess I have no worries. It was good thing I realized for things had changed a lot since then.

With that, I galloped to Canterlot Tower, my friends in tow. I had to stay in control for this. Upon entering, we saw the Princess waiting at the top of the stairs with Dragonis Maximus, an expression of dismay on her face.

“Princess Celestia, we came as fast as we could.” she said, as they halted.

The Princess nodded. “Thank you, Twilight. Thank you all.”

“We know why this is happening, Princess. The animal's weird behavior and the rain…” I followed up. “Discord’s free, isn’t he?”

“I’m guessing Dusk had seen the signs and revealed the culprit to this madness.” Dragonis said to us. “Good. That means we can get down to business quickly. Follow us.”

We did as he commanded as he and Celestia led us up the stairs into the marble halls of Canterlot Tower, decorated with flowers and the royal colors of gold and purple. Colored light streamed in through stained glass windows that depicted Discord, his rule of Equestria, the Princesses’ defeat of him—the Order Uprising, Dusk had called it. Not for the first time, I wished Dusk was here, but quickly suppressed it.

I couldn’t recall another time I’d seen my mentor so agitated. She hid it well beneath a visage of cold calmness, but (much like Dragonis) I could see it. The fear in her eyes, the way that she moved quickly. It made me feel a little scared as well to see her like this.

“As you may recall from Dusk’s performance,” Dragonis said as he explained, “Discord is the mischievous Spirit of Disharmony, who ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Such a reign was not one some ponies could stand by or allow others to live under. Even the Element Gang—the one of which two of you are descended from—rose up and tried to free Equestria from his rule. But Discord proved to be too powerful, even with all six working together. All hope seemed lost until Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came to help them. They saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike and decided to oppose Discord. After they discovered the Elements of Harmony, they used their power to turn Discord to stone. But it seems as though our old foe has now returned.”

“We know and we were told that the magic of the Elements would keep him imprisoned forever.” I added as we neared a large, jewel-encrusted door.

“We thought so too.” Celestia agreed. “But, since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken.”

“No longer connected?” The Princess didn’t elaborate further as she halted before the door.

“You see, Twilight,” Dragonis said, “the Element of Harmony are no ordinary items and they can’t be used by just anyone. Only those that they see as worthy can be able to use their power. Due to a certain change, the Elements have now moved on and the sisters can no longer use them.”

“Moved on?” This didn’t clear much anything of what Celestia just said.

“This is Canterlot Tower,” Celestia explained, more for the benefit of the others than myself, “where the Elements are kept inside since all of you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos.”

I then asked the question that had just come to mind. “But why us? Why don’t you…”

“Because she can’t.” Dragonis told us. “Like we said, the Elements have moved on.” He then motioned to the side. “You six should know, considering the last time they were used.”

“Hey, look! We’re famous!” Pinkie said as we all looked at where Dragonis was directing us to and saw a window, one which depicted the six of us unleashing the Elements upon Nightmare Moon. This must have been the window Dusk and the others were talking about. How long had that been there? I made a mental note to ask Dusk when I got back and all of this was over.

“Dragonis is correct.” Celestia told us. “You six showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe. Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power.”

“And, to ensure you are victorious, we are allowing Dusk and your stallion friends to help you combat Discord.” Dragonis said to us. “We truly believe that all of you, both wielders and elementals alike, working together will save all of Equestria. You are the only ones who can defeat Discord!”

Everypony looked to me for I had suspected this already, but I felt a little better to hear the determination in her voice. “Princess Celestia, you can count on…”

Pinkie then cut me off. “Hold on a second! Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys. Chocolate rain!”

“Miss Pie, may I remind you of what Discord had done to your grandfather and his teammates?” Dragonis said to her. “If he were here, he would tell you that Discord’s reign is nothing to enjoy.”

“Don't listen to her.” I dismissed. “We’d be honored to use the Elements of Harmony again.”

Celestia bestowed a smile and then turned to the door. I watched as she inserted her horn into a hole in the center of the door, a magical blue light spreading out through the grooves of the door to light up the gems that decorated the door and opening to reveal a purple box inside, one also covered in jewels.

Rarity’s eyes were as wide as saucers when she saw it. “Ooh! You can keep the Elements. I’ll take that case!”

“Dragonis, if you please.” Celestia asked kindly.

“Of course, Princess.” Dragonis said, using his own magic to bring the box over.

“Have no fear, ponies. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these!” Dragonis then opened it to reveal…

The Princess and the guardian gasped and he dropped the case with an echoing bang for there was nothing inside. The box was empty! The Elements of Harmony were… gone! I stared at it in utter disbelief, we all did. There was a deathly silence, until…

“Oh, well. If anyone needs me, I’ll be outside in the chocolate puddles with a giant swizzle straw.” I was snapped out of my reverie and dragged Pinkie back with magic before she could wander off. “Aw!”

The Princess and Dragonis were even more worried now.

“The Elements! They’re gone!” Dragonis said.

“Impossible! That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I or Luna can break! This doesn’t make sense!”

No sooner had Celestia said this, a deep, mocking laughter echoed throughout the hall that made my skin crawl. The voice that spoke seemed to slither its way into my ear like a snake. “Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?”

“Discord…” Dragonis whispered with hatred, then in a louder voice commanded. “Show yourself!”

My eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of him as his fiendish chuckles echoed once more. My eyes sought out one of the windows that depicted Discord playing with ponies like puppets. All of a sudden, the Discord started to move.

“Did you miss me, Dragonis? I missed you. You as well, Celestia.” Smiling sinisterly, he hovered over to the window next to it, resting on Fluttershy’s head. “It’s quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn’t know that, would you? Because I don’t turn ponies into stone.” He wrapped Fluttershy with his fist to make this point.

“Enough games, Discord!” Dragonis commanded again. “What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?”

“Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while.” He snapped his fingers and the Elements in the window vanished in a flash of light. I had never seen magic like this before, but I controlled my fear and stared defiantly at him.

The Princess stomped her hoof. “You’ll never get away with this, Discord!”

The spirit of chaos was idly examining his claws, as if they were vastly more interesting than her. “Oh, I’d forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It’s really quite boring.”

"Hey! Nopony insults the Princess!" Rainbow charged at the window that depicted him, but he vanished and she crashed into it. When he reappeared, he was much larger.

“Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent.”

“That’s right! I’ll always be loyal to the Princess!” she declared proudly before he vanished once more.

“We’ll see about that.” he said in a way that made my stomach clench.

“I can’t believe we’re wasting our time talking to a tacky window.” Rarity remarked as Discord appeared in the window behind her.

“The beautiful Rarity, representing the Element of Generosity, if I’m not mistaken.” Discord said to her. “Certainly living up to your family’s virtue as the newest air elemental of the Element Gang, aren’t we?”

“So ya know who we are. Big deal.” Applejack dismissed defiantly.

He grew larger again, towering over us in the window. “Oh, I know much more than that, Honest Applejack.”

“You seem to know our strengths too.” I stated.

I felt cold as his uneven eyes beheld me, like there was nothing I could hide from him. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle. And yours is the most powerful and elusive Element, Magic. Fluttershy’s is Kindness and Pinkie Pie’s, being much the virtue of the lightning elemental, is a personal favorite of mine: Laughter.”

I could hear Pinkie sniggering behind me as Discord chuckled and danced on my head in the window. “Pinkie!”

She then burst out laughing and tried to talk between her laughs. “He’s dancing… on your… head!”

Discord did a spin and stopped, casting his eyes around the room. “Oh, hold on. I believe someponies are missing here, four of your six elementals to be exact. You know, Shield Steedor, the strong and ever-loyal earth elemental; Dog Fries, the agile ice elemental said to be the most honest pony in Equestria; Leon Aquilous, the quick water elemental that haves kindness to spare; and… Oh, bother. I seem to have forgotten about the most important one. What was his name? Trust? Dust? Something like that?”

Feeling riled by this, I spoke up. “Dusk has nothing to do with this!”

“Oh, yes! Dusk, that’s his name! Dusk Noir, the new Fire Dragon with a head full of useless facts and whirling thoughts.” He slapped his hand against his head and laughed. “I have to say, after hearing everything about him, I can see he’s good for more than just being arm candy. Or leg candy in your case.”

“You mean how he created the Element Squad and beat the Dark Gang here in Canterlot multiple times?” I already knew how famous El Dragon was around the city. “I’ve heard all about that.”

“Oh, that’s not all he’s done.” I then watched as he snapped his fingers, Discord disappear and the window he was on turning white. “From what I’ve heard, your little friend has done a lot more as both El Dragon and Dusk Noir.” Soon, I watched as a set images depicting Dusk, Shield, Dog, and Leon standing together with elemental forms standing in fighting stances right behind appeared followed by images of the Element Squad fighting against the Dark Gang. “While it is impressive how he managed to make a team of four and defeat a complete Dark Gang without any trouble, that is only the tip of the iceberg of what he has done.” The images then faded away, being replaced by groups of ponies I didn’t recognize (a group of four clad in white cloaks with one behind them and a group of what appeared to be three royal unicorns with a large black spade behind them) and one pony who’s appearance set chills up my body. Said pony looked like a pegasus, but had blood-red eyes, a malicious smile full of black fangs, a black body and mane, wings like a dragon, and a long, thin tail that with three black arrowheads stack on top of each other. “As the hero known as El Dragon, he has also come to best some of the worst threats that Equestria has come to know. He helped defeat the group known as the Eye of the Midnight Sun, overthrown the malicious trio of devil power-wielding Spade Mages, and even fought against some powerful devils.” The images then faded away and were replaced by a smiling Dusk as he is surrounded by Shield, Dog, Leon, and all sorts of other ponies, the Mystic King being one of them. “As the unicorn Dusk Noir, he has come to be very popular with Celestia’s little school and come to be known as the pony who makes friends with anyone he meets.”

“Dusk did all that?” Applejack said just as surprised as I was.

“Whoa! I knew Dusk was cool and all,” Rainbow Dash added, “but not this cool.”

“I… I didn’t know about any of this.” I was just in shock that Dusk didn’t tell us about this. Had he really done all this for Equestria? Was he really able to make friends with more than just one pony? Why didn’t he tell us? Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Yes, yes. He really is quite impressive.” Then, with a sudden flash, the window returned to normal and Discord reappeared. “But, besides all that, he’s got nothing else going for him and is no one of any importance. Not like you and the rest of your friends here.”

“Dusk may not be an Element of Harmony, but he’s still important to m—to us!” I defended, quickly covering my mistake and feeling my cheeks go red.

Discord’s eyes fixed on me like beams. “Oh, really, Twilight Sparkle? Then why isn’t he here?”

“The only reason he’s not here is because he’s making sure Ponyville is safe from you!”

“Yes, I guess that makes sense. But were both of you in agreement to let him stay there?”

I opened my mouth to speak, then shut it again when I realized I couldn’t answer Discord's question, not without revealing myself or provoking Discord to go after my friend. More than anything, I wanted him to be safe in all of this. The spirit of chaos gave me a contemptuous smile as I diverted my gaze.

“Don’t let him get to you.” Dragonis told me as he walked over. “He’s just trying to mess with you.”

“Stop stalling, Discord!” Celestia ordered. “What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?”

He sighed exasperatedly. “Oh, so boring, Celestia. Really? Fine. I’ll tell you, but I’ll only tell you my way.” As he spoke his riddle, he travelled around the windows in the hall, his eyes never leaving us once, the image freezing in its proper place when he’d done.

To retrieve them,
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.
But even if you find all six,
And get friends with fancy tricks,
This time, you’ll see,
It’ll take more than that,
To stop me.

Discord’s laughter echoed around the hall as his riddle finished, Fluttershy approaching timidly behind me. “Can we go home now?”

“What do ya reckon he meant? Twists and turns and endin' back where we started?”

“Twists and turns… twists and turns…” Thinking hard, I moved around the room, crossing to one of the windows, where I could see a high hedge maze outside. Then it hit me. “Twists and turns! That’s it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!”

Celestia touched each of my shoulders with her horn, like she was knighting me. “Good luck, my little ponies. The fate of Equestria is in your hooves.”

“Thanks, Princess. We won’t let you down.” As I and the others galloped off to find the Elements, I couldn’t help but wonder if Dusk would have come to the same conclusion I did if he was here… I hoped he was okay.

“You okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked as we ran.

“Oh, um…” I couldn’t answer and diverted my eyes away, even as Applejack smiled.

“Don’t ya worry. He’ll be fine. He’s El Dragon and got Dog and the fellas helping him out. After seein’ what they’ve done, I’m sure those boys can handle themselves.”

I conceded to that, knowing well Dusk will be fine, seeing how he has dealt with such great threats. “Yeah… yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I think it’s us who need to worry.” Applejack remarked lightly. “But we can beat him, so long as we stay together.”

“Sure we can.” I nodded, returning her smile. Sincerely wishing that Applejack would be right about this, I redoubled my galloping to get to the maze as quickly as possible.

The sooner we found the Elements, the sooner we could go back and Dusk and the others can help us defeat Discord… and I would do anything to keep him safe.

Dragonis’ view

Hearing Discord’s sinister laughter as we watched the girls go, I could tell Celestia was worried, especially when she let out a sigh.

“It seems as though Discord is yet again one step ahead.” She said to me.

“Indeed.” I agreed. “By stealing the Elements of Harmony, now he can easily go after them. Starting to regret not having Dusk come along?”

“Yes.” She admitted. “You were right, Dragonis. Twilight and her fellow wielders do need Dusk and the other elementals. Without them, I’m afraid they will all be deterred from their path by Discord’s influence.”

“Though there is nothing we can do now. It’s out of our hooves. If we attack Discord directly, it will only make things worse. We’re not strong enough to stop something like him. All we can do now is hope that the girls can find the Elements, rejoin with the others in Ponyville, and defeat Discord together.”

“I should have expected this from him. Discord does love his games.”

“Indeed, he does. But what’s done is done.” I then began to voice out my concerns. “Though the last part of his riddle concerns me. He said that it would take more than the Elements and the Element Gang to stop him. You know what that means.”

“You’re right, Dragonis. He knows and believes in Fore Sight’s prophecy, the very same that Luna insists on believing is true. If what he said does relate to it, then I’m afraid that the girls will be ill-equipped to defeat him.”

“It seems this will not be as straightforward as we first thought.” remarked the voice of Luna, who stood beside me.

“Is it ever straightforward where Discord is concerned?” I sighed and looked out to the maze.

“Let us pray that they find the Elements before it’s too late.” Celestia told us.

“Do you think they'll be able to stand up to him?”

“I can’t be sure of anything now, but it’s out of our hooves now. It’s up to them to succeed.”

“What of Dusk?” she asked.

I sighed, knowing that I had only one answer for this. “I suppose that we should try and place our hopes on him. Considering what has just happened, maybe he does hold the key to Discord’s defeat.”

“Dragonis, you know as well as I do that there’s nothing he can do beyond using his elemental powers.” Celestia said to me in disbelief. “Otherwise, he is as helpless as we are without the Elements.”

“And you know that isn’t true.” I told her. “You heard what Discord said. Whatever he haves planned now, it clearly must be connected to the prophecy.”

“I still have my doubts on it.” She said to me. “If we place our hopes on such a thing and it proves to be for nothing, what will we do then?”

“Sister!” Luna stomped her hoof angrily on the ground. “You know that what Dragonis says is the absolute truth! This proves more than ever that—if Discord is to be stopped—we need every asset we can get, no matter how small or slim. Dusk can give that if I only show him the way.”

“Luna…” she began, but her sister plowed on.

“I know you think to you know what is best, but I am as much a ruler of Equestria as you are, even if I am younger. I can make my own decisions and I choose to follow this up, whether you want me to or not. I know that he can find it, all I need to do is point him the way.” She held her sister’s defiant gaze before I spoke up.

“Tia… I believe that perhaps we had been too quick to dismiss it so easily.” I said to her. “If there is any chance Dusk can help in ensuring Discord’s defeat, then I think we should trust Luna and give the prophecy a chance.”

It was only for a moment until I saw Celestia smile at us, at our willingness to do this. “You’re right, Dragonis. I should trust my sister more than this.” She then turned her gaze to Luna. “I understand, Luna, and… I think you’re right.”

“You do?” Luna’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Of course. I don’t entirely believe what you do, but perhaps you are right. If there is some way that Dusk can help his friends, then he should.”

Luna looked at her suspiciously. “Why the change of heart?”

“It isn’t as such?” she verified. “I just don’t think we should exclude any opportunity or advantage we have any longer, especially in light of recent events. You heard that last part of his riddle?”

“That could only mean that he knows about it and takes it seriously.” Luna nodded, knowing what she meant.

“Exactly, which in itself is dangerous. If that’s the case, maybe it does merit some investigation.” She smiled apologetically. “As you say, you are as much a ruler as me and you have every right to follow up on your judgment without your big sister telling you what to do.”

“Indeed.” she giggled slightly. “So…you will let me try?”

She nodded slowly. “Do what you must, my sister. We’ll see if you and Fore Sight were right.”

Luna still appeared surprised that she had agreed with her, but she recovered herself. “I shall then. Thank you, Tia.”

“What are sisters for?” she chuckled. “What are you going to do?”

“We have already planned ahead of you.” I said before turning to Luna.

“After our last discussion, I went ahead and wrote a letter for Dusk that foretells of our situation.” The younger sister said as she held the letter she wrote earlier. “It also foretells exactly of where he can begin the search to where I believe he will find what is needed.”

“Then, by all means, go ahead and send it.” Celestia told her.

“There.” Luna said, magically send the letter to Dusk. “Now… we shall wait and see for what will happen.”

“I’m sure that Dusk will be able to find what he’s looking for, especially with his friends helping him.” I said, placing faith in Dusk and his friends.

“I hope you are right.” Celestia said, looking out the window in concern. “For the very fate of Equestria hangs in the balance.”

There, I understood what Celestia was feeling. She and I both knew her faith in her younger sibling wasn’t misplaced as much as I knew mine wasn’t misplaced. We didn’t fully believe in the prophecy, but it still showed as a chance, however small.

Hopefully, not too small.

Author's Note

With Equestria now under threat by the evil draconequus Discord, our heroes are now faced with their greatest challenge yet. Will the Mane 6 be able to find the Elements of Harmony? Is what Discord said is true? Will it take more than the Elements and our team of elementals to stop him? Where is Luna sending Dusk? What is this prophecy of the prophet Fore Sight and how is it connected to Dusk? Find out what will happen next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Looks like Discord has really planned ahead, huh? I bet you’re wondering on what Discord was talking about, right? Well, you’ll find out soon along with what else he has planned for all this as much what Luna has planned for Dusk. By the way, I bet you’re surprised that Twilight and the girls didn’t know what Dusk had done as leader of the Element Squad. For what Discord said, that’s just a bit of foreshadowing. For what exactly? Well… you’ll find out in time. Another thing, did you catch what Dragonis called Luna? Think you might got a clue of what he was talking about at the start of this chapter? :ajsmug: Don't worry. You're gonna get some more clues like that as we progress. In the next chapter, Dusk and his friends are going on a search on where it all began, to where the prophecy about the Mane 6’s first major victory had come true. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 2: Path Through Everfree

As I was watching out of the window of the library in Ponyville, a deep dread settling in my heart. Everything looked so normal with everypony going about their normal business like nothing had changed. They had no idea that the most powerful and malevolent being in all of Equestria’s history was out there right now. His chaos hadn’t spread too far yet, it seemed to have stopped for now. But I knew it was coming… especially if the girls couldn’t stop him. Right there, I was scolding myself for both not going with them and not being able to do more to help them.

“Dusk!” Spike’s voice snapped me out of my brooding and I turned to look at him and the others. “You okay, buddy?”

“Yeah, you’ve been staring into space for an hour.” Leon said to me.

“It’s nothing. I’m just… worried, I guess.” I told them.

“About the girls, ya mean?” Dog asked me.

“Yes.” I admitted. “I can’t help it. Discord is an extremely powerful being that just about nopony has been able to beat. Right now, I’m wishing I had more than elemental powers which he bested before along with this knowledge and color manipulation of mine. I just want them to come home safe.”

“We know how you feel, Dusk. And you shouldn’t worry so much.” Shield told me as he and the guys took me to a table. “Those girls beat Nightmare Moon. I’m sure they can beat this Discord guy.”

“I wish I had your confidence, Shield,” I sighed, “but Discord is quite a formidable foe, possibly more so than the corrupted Luna.”

“He’s that bad, huh?” Spike asked.

I nodded. “Think of how bad things could possibly get, and then add another suitcase full of bad…in simple terms.”

“How do you know so much?”

“I did a project on early history in Equestria from the Unification of the Three Sects.” I flushed a little at this. “I did quite a lot of extensive study on the subject.”

“Yeah, and he got an A-plus on it.” Shield said, making Spike chuckle a little.

“Boy, you and Twilight…” the little dragon said to me. “You could outsmart Albert Hoofstein from how much studying you both do.”

“I suppose so. Me? Bit of a stretch. Her? Definitely.” I conceded, chuckling along with him and the guys.

“What do you know about him then?” he inquired, leaning back on his chair.

“Only what any historian would know. He came to power not long after the Unification at Hearth’s Warming. He saw the potential for spreading misery and disharmony and he took it, reigning over them for a very long time.”

“Why does he do it though?"

I shrugged. “It’s in his nature, as much as eating gems is for you. He’s a spirit of chaos and he lives to spread it. Many ponies were tormented under his rule, my ancestor as one example.”

“You mean Fore Sight?”

“The same. Discord plagued him with visions that depicted his family and friends in danger and he was unable to save them. Soon, Fore Sight couldn’t distinguish between his own true visions and the ones that Discord tormented him with and he was driven mad.” I sighed bitterly. “That was how it was for everypony. He was just one who suffered from such a thing.”

“Until Celestia and Luna rose up against him?”

“Yes. But, even then, Fore Sight had trouble recovering from the torment Discord put him through. Then one day he just… left.”

“Left? Left where?”

I shrugged again. “Nopony knows, but he was gone for a very long time. In fact, everypony thought he was dead until he returned many years later, aged greatly and nearly exhausted. He died not long after. He was still quite deluded towards the end, records saying things how he’d failed to find the pieces that were scattered, how it was still broken…”

Spike raised an eye ridge. “How what was still broken?”

“Again, nopony knows. He never said and he took the secret to his grave.”

“You mean, he didn’t really share it with anypony?” Shield asked me.

“Well, not directly.” I answered. “I read in one of my predecessor’s journals who actually managed to get some information out of him from managing to have a few run-ins with him. Out of everypony, he was the one that wanted to know why he was wandering around all of Equestria.”

“Well, did that guy say anything to him?” Leon asked.

“Not much. From what I could find, what could be gathered were just from Fore Sight’s slight mumbles to himself. Every time, he would repeat the same thing: ‘find the light, unite the seven’. To what he meant, nopony’s really sure.” I shook my head. “What I wouldn’t give to know what he was searching for. It’s one of the most celebrated mysteries of historians today.”

“Well, everypony loves a good mystery.” Spike wrapped me on the arm encouragingly. “Maybe you’ll be the one who finds out.”

I laughed at this. “Perhaps, but I don’t think so.”

“Well, you never know. You mi…” He stopped and grabbed his mouth. A second later, he belched up a roll of parchment. “Hey, a letter!”

“Maybe it’s Princess Celestia telling us the girls are coming back.” Leon asked as I took a look at the letter.

“It’s not from Celestia.” I noted the black seal on it. “It’s from Princess Luna.”

“She sent you another letter?” Shield said with a arced brow. “Why?”

“Let’s find out.” I took the letter as Spike passed it to me and unrolled it. As I suspected, it was addressed to me. I read it out loud for the guys to hear.

Dusk Noir,

Doubtless thou already knows of what has been transpiring across our fair land. The spirit Discord has been freed and is once again wreaking chaos throughout Equestria. We know that thou must feel, as they say, like a fifth wheel at the moment, being unable to help thy friends in this dire time.

But there is something you can do, mine little pony, something that you can find that may give us an added edge to defeat our ancient foe. Doubtless, thou knows of the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters deep in the Everfree Forest, where the Elements were rediscovered. If we are right, what thy seeks lies there.

If thou wishes to help thy friends, go there and find it. If thou believe it would help, your fellow elementals can come and assist you. If we are right, thou will know when thou finds it. We wish you the best of luck for the Forest is a treacherous place as thy knows, but know also that your Princess has faith in thee and thou will succeed.

Good luck, Dusk, and be safe.

Princess Luna, Princess of the Night

I felt my fear grow as I read over the letter again, taking it all in. The thought of the Everfree Forest still sent shivers down my spine.

“Hold up!” Leon put it in disbelief. “Princess Luna wants you to go into the Everfree Forest? Is she insane?”

“And she wants us to go to her old castle?” Dog added, just as confused. “But nopony ever goes there.”

“Yeah, and what exactly does she want us to find?” Shield asked.

“It doesn’t say.” I answered, rolling up the letter. “But it wouldn’t hurt to go check it out.”

“Dusk, are you crazy?” Spike said in disbelief. “You can’t just go off into the Everfree Forest like that!”

“I know and I’m not exactly enthusiastic about it myself, but I have to try.” I said.

“But that forest is filled with all sort of dangerous and weird things, remember?” Leon said to me. “What if this thing she thinks you can find isn’t even there? You don’t even know what it is you’re looking for!”

“Guys, I agree what she’s telling us to do is crazy, considering our experience that adds up to a lifetime in there,” I said to my friends, “but if Luna’s right, where I have no reason to doubt her on that, then there might be something in that castle that could help us. Besides, I trust her. If there’s a chance for me to somehow help the girls, I’m willing to take it.”

“Well then… if you’re going we’re coming with you.” Shield told me, speaking for both Dog and Leon as much himself. “She did say we can help out and we know better than to just let our bud walk into danger alone like that.”

“Thanks, guys.” I said, giving them smiles of appreciation.

“I’m coming too.” Spike said to me.

“I’m sorry, Spike. But you’re gonna have to stay here.” I told him. “Somepony has to stay here and keep an eye on things. I appreciate your offer to help, but I’m afraid it’s too dangerous for you. I promise I’ll be right back as soon as I can. Just hold the fort until then, okay?”

Spike looked as if he were about to argue, but he sighed and gave up.

“I can see what Twilight means.” Spike said to me, making me raise a brow.

“Mean what?”

“That you can be both smart and stupid at the same time.”

“As compared to who, Spike?” I smiled at my friend. “Remember when you tried to see how many gems you could stuff in your mouth before you choked?”

“Hey, I thought we agreed to never talk about that!”

“With good reason, I’m the one who had to resuscitate you.” He accepted the claw that I offered to shake. “Keep an eye on things until we get back.”

“Will do. Good luck, bro. You’re gonna need it.”

“Don’t I know it?” I gave Spike one last smile before the others and I set off out of the library, going through Ponyville and beyond the town to the edge of the menacing trees.

Twilight’s view

“W-We have to go in there?” a nervous Fluttershy asked as we looked up at the imposing entrance of the maze. Even I had to admit, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to venturing inside the vast labyrinth myself.

“Nope! Dopey Discord forgot about these babies!” Rainbow Dash looked back at her wings then took off. “I’ll just do a quick flyover and we’ll have the Elements in no time!” Suddenly, in a white flash, her wings vanished and Rainbow crashed to the ground. “My wings!”

Another white flash came, followed by a scream and Fluttershy’s vanished too. The same again, only when I looked to Rarity’s and my own head, I saw our horns were gone.

“Your horn! My horn!” I couldn’t help but panic at the loss of such a vital part of myself, as much as my tail or legs.

Before us, a glowing ball of green light appeared, growing steadily brighter until the mismatched form of Discord appeared before them, the draconequus accompanied by claps of thunder and flashes of lightning as he laughed madly. His face was an expression of utter mirth and amusement.

“You–you should see the looks on your faces. Priceless!” As he fell about laughing again, I stepped forward.

“Give us our wings and horns back!”

“You’ll get them back in good time.” He vanished and reappeared behind Applejack. “I simply took them to ensure there’s no cheating. You see, this is the first rule of our game: no flying and no magic.” He traced his finger down the side of my face and I wished I still had my horn. I would like to have seen him turned into a swarm of butterflies.

Rainbow seemed afraid of this. “The first rule?”

“The second rule is everypony has to play or the game is over and I win. Good luck, everypony!” He vanished again, his sinister laughter echoing in our ears.

Seeing the others looking so demoralized, I knew it was my job to bolster their confidence. “Never fear, girls. We have each other!”

“Yeah! Like Twilight said, there’s nothing we can’t overcome if we all stick together!” Rainbow put in.

We all walked towards the entrance to the maze, even Fluttershy was looking fierce and determined. “All right, girls, let's do this!”

“Together!” We cried this in unison and stepped into the maze.

No sooner had we done this, we were all screaming as the walls of the maze suddenly rose up and separated us, trapping each of us in our own section of the labyrinth. This had to be Discord’s work. I thought to myself, moving to calm the others.

“Stay calm, girls! Everypony, head to the middle as fast as you can and we’ll regroup there!”

“Moving out!” Rainbow affirmed.

“See you in the center!” Rarity promised.

“Yee-haw!” Applejack sounded.

“See you guys there!” Pinkie added.

With that, I set off at a gallop into the maze. I heard Fluttershy cry out somewhere behind me, but there was nothing I could do. These hedges were too thick to push through and I was without my magic. We were on our own until we reached the middle of the maze, where the Elements would probably be. Then, seeing how he was already here, we would stop Discord.

I once again felt an ache of regret, wishing that Dusk were here. How would he be coping with all of this, robbed of his special magic and unable to track us? He might panic at first, but then I would calm him down gently and promise to meet him at the center of the maze as quickly as possible. I had a way of doing that. Then he would probably quote somepony a little nervously and set off bravely. He was like that, even though he had low confidence. I remembered something he’d read to me from a story, when the characters were in a similar maze…

In the maze, you’ll find no dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead, you’ll face something far more challenging. You see, ponies change in the maze. Oh, find the cup if you can, but be warned: you could just lose yourselves along the way.

Hoping that what he said was far from the truth, I carried on into the maze, praying I’d find the center soon.

Dusk’s view

Me and the guys made our way through the path in the trees, the grass brushing against our hooves and hands as we softly walked. I wondered how Twilight and the others were doing. I felt a pang of worry, along with a desire to see her…I hoped she was okay. Dog seemed to notice it.

“Hey, ya okay?” He asked as I looked at him.

“I’m fine.” I said. “Just worried about the girls.”

“Hey, they handled this before. They’ll be fine.” Dog reassured me.

Feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, I looked up at their wicked branches. I remembered the last time we stood at the entrance to the forest, on that cold winter's day. The girls were in danger and I looked to be the only one who could help them. My team came with me to help me find them. In a way, it was the same again, even if we had changed from last time. I gulped as I looked up. Even in summer, the forest didn’t look any less foreboding.

“Here we go again.” Leon said. “Feels like only yesterday we were running in here to save the girls.”

“Yeah, and the situation is just as dire.” Then I took a deep breath and said “Oh, well… onwards and upwards, as they say.”

With that, we stepped into the Everfree Forest, already me feeling my dread increase with every sound that my hooves and hands made. I remembered when I’d asked Twilight the route that she and her friends had taken through the forest when they were going to the castle. We had to follow the path until we reached a steep cliff face, a series of natural platforms providing a way down, as it was too far to fall. We followed the path deeper in until the trees become thicker, which would take us to a river shallow enough to wade through. Once on the other side, we had to find a rope bridge that would take us right across to the ancient castle. In theory, it sounded simple enough, in practice…

Quelling my fear, I lead my team as we followed the path as I remembered her telling me, reaching the steep cliff face she’d mentioned. By the looks of it, part of the rock had fallen away, possibly due to some natural event…or somepony had caused it. We all tried not to think about it as we slid down the grassy hill to the edge, where we dug our hooves (and my claws) in hard to stop ourselves. Well, most of us. Feeling my stomach jump, I spotted the platforms and we started to jump down onto them. Well, so far so…

CRACK!

I felt the platform shift beneath my hooves and claws, leaning forward in a precarious way at the foremost of it. I scrambled backward as the stone came loose, I had to get back. Hurry, hurry! It was going to fall! I was gonna fly, but some rock fell on my wing. I couldn’t use it, so I couldn’t fly. The others made it to the other side and were waiting for me.

“Dusk, come on!” Shield said.

“I can’t! My wing’s busted!” I told him.

“Then jump!” Dog said.

“What?” I said, shocked that he said that. “I don’t have enough distance. I won’t make it to the edge.”

“Not if I catch you.” Dog said as he held out his hand. “Come on, Dusk!”

“But…” I said, nervously.

“Trust me, I’ll catch you!” Dog said. I then gulped and then ran. After getting to the edge, I then jumped and reached out. I closed my eyes just as it seemed I was gonna fall to my doom.

Luckily, I heard the sound of the breaking rock just in time and I opened my eyes as Dog held onto me. The rock chunk tumbled away from my added weight. After being pulled up, my heart was now pounding against my chest, my breathing short and rapid, I waited a few moments to calm myself before I then hugged Dog.

“See? I was telling you the truth.” Dog said.

“Yeah. Once again, you proved to be a pony to have faith in, Dog Fries.” I said as we then broke the hug. “Thank you for reminding me.”

“Anytime.” He said to me. “Now let’s keep going.” We then started jumping down the rest of the way and I breathed a sigh of relief. We looked up to where we had been standing. If I had fallen there, I might have had broken my legs…or worse.

Shuddering and feeling a lot tenser, we carried on away from the cliff, thankful we wouldn't have to try that again anytime soon. Twilight had told me how they encountered a manticore on this part of the route. There were a few tracks around, but my magic told me that they were many days old and there wasn’t one close by. At first, we thought we wouldn’t have any trouble from the forest's many dangerous inhabitants. Until we reached the thicker trees…

Trying to ignore how much darker it was, I shone a light for good measure as the trunks closed in around us, like the forest itself was trying to trap us.

“Don’t be scared, guys.” I told the guys, as much as I was telling myself to stop thinking like that. “These trees aren’t alive… well, not all of them anyway.” I whipped my head around when I heard the sound of something behind us. The others noticed it too.

“What was that?” Leon asked as we looked around.

“Fear must be getting to us.” I said. “Let’s keep moving.”

We then walked on, until we heard the noise again. Our eyes darted from shadow to shadow, our ears raised to pick up any sound, our legs and arms tensed, ready to fight…or to run.

We waited. Had we imagined it? Were we just hearing things, being paranoid? Or was…

BAM!

Something hit me hard on the back of the head, a sharp pain rising from that area and my vision blurring. As it did, I could see two-clawed prints being formed seemingly from nowhere, until they suddenly stopped before one of the trees, claw marks appearing in the trunk. Shaking my head to clear my vision, I could see the odd set of prints appearing all over now. We were surrounded.

“What is that?” Leon asked fearfully.

“Chameleodemons.” I said, whirling around to try and see them, though I knew it was pointless.

“Chameleo-what?” Shield asked.

“Creatures of the Everfree Forest.” I answered. “Careful. These things have a superb natural camouflage that renders them near invisible to their prey. Usually, one doesn’t even know they were there…until it’s too late.”

“How do we fight something we can’t see?” Dog asked.

“I don’t know.” I said. “But we’ll have to try.”

SNICK!

We then watch as Dog felt a sharp pain erupting from his leg and I looked to see blood trickling from a three-clawed scratch that had appeared there. Shield punched the air, but it hit nothing, the creature already scurrying away. It was nothing serious…they were just toying with us. But we weren’t going down without a fight.

My sharp mind went to work, considering strategies. We couldn’t outrun them as they were fast enough through the trees, which they knew better, to catch up to us in seconds. They had the advantage of invisibility, but it didn’t seem like there were too many of them. They weren’t very strong either, it wouldn’t take much to knock one out. They needed concentration to maintain their camouflage…perhaps a distraction.

I quickly weaved a few color swirls, dancing them around the trees, giving a little more extra light. At first, it didn't seem like this would work…until, very briefly, I saw the outline of one nearby, a brief flash of red.

“Gotcha ya.” I whispered before I shouted “Shield, 12’o’clock!” Then Shield turned around and charged forward. Before it could run, his hoof made contact with it, sending a slight pain as we saw it appear suddenly out of thin air and fly backward, sprawling on the floor.

We didn’t have time to look at it, as we heard another close by, scuttling up to Leon. He used his powers to turn some dirt on the ground of his left hoof into a patch of mud and flung out in the general direction of the noise. A patch of brown gave one away, floating eerily in the air until a kick from Dog sent it flying backward into a tree.

No sooner had he done this, I felt a weight leave my head and looked up to see my hat, which was now floating mysteriously in the air, dancing away from me, a rasping cackle sounding from it. Even if it was just a piece of headwear, I was still annoyed at its theft. However, it did let me see my enemy, as it scampered away.

“Oh, boy.” Leon said worryingly.

“Big mistake, pal.” I growled and swiftly caught up to it, ramming a fist into the source of the sound, catching my hat, and putting it back on my head. “Nobody takes my hat!”

As it slumped to the floor, I had the chance to have a good look at it. It was rather small, no taller than my arm, with a pointed face and hooked nose and wicked small eyes. Its legs were thin and gangly, ending in two toes, and its arms ended in wicked black claws, which were stained a little red. The one that had scratched me, I thought with grim satisfaction. A vile-looking creature, but I still didn’t like having to fight it.

A screech snapped me out of my thoughts and I whirled to see one dart from a tree straight at me, claws red and yellow eyes alive with malice. It might have got me, were it not for my quick thinking. Luckily, it had made the mistake of letting me see it, which meant I could catch it with my magic, which was just what I did. I held it there in a dark blue aura, as it struggled furiously in the air trying to escape, hissing and spitting at me.

“Sorry about this.” I said to it and threw it at a tree, knocking it out along with its fellows.

We waited a few minutes to see if there was any more. But none came. It had just been those four. Wincing a little, from our pain and leaving our fallen foes behind us, we pressed on, knowing that we would soon reach the river.

When we did, we stopped at the bank, making time to clean our wounds with the cool clear water as well as to take a drink. I would just have to ignore my throbbing head for now. I remembered what Twilight told me about when she came through and the trouble that they had. Almost falling off a cliff, the manticores, being scared out of her wits… I wondered how they’d view our little adventure through the forest today… I wished they were here with us.

“Hey, Dusk.” Leon said to me, bringing me back to the world. “What do you think Princess Luna thinks we’re gonna find at her old castle?”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure.” I told him. “There’s not much about it that can be told, I’m afraid. All that it was once where Celestia and Luna resided and that the last known place to hold the Elements of Harmony at one point. Seeing how they’ve been stored away in Canterlot under lock and key, who knows what Luna wants us to find. Could be some other magical artifact that had been lost in myth and legend, some kind of power source, anything.”

“Well, whatever it is, I sure hope we find it.” Dog said as he and Shield came over.

“Yeah, that is if it’s even there at all.” Shield put in, giving out a sense of doubt.

“Excuse me, my good sirs. Is everything alright?” A voice from the river caught our attention.

Who it was surprised us for it was a huge water serpent, gazing at us with concern. His scales were a rich purple that looked like they were well cared for, as did his quaff of orange hair and rich orange mustache that was styled quite impressively. I let out a breath of relief and smiled up at him. River serpents were just as intelligent as ponies, though many were scared off at first glance. He seemed friendly at any rate.

“We’re fine, thank you.” I assured him. “Besides a bit of a headache I have, I mean.”

“What about you?” He asked as he looked at Dog.

“Just a scratch. Had worse.” Dog answered, showing his leg.

“Oh, that looks nasty.” He leaned in for a closer look and scowled. “Chameleodemon. I never could stand those horrible creatures.”

“Tell me about it.” Dog said to him, no doubt still feeling pain from that bite.

From there, now that the serpent was closer, I could see something else tucked into his hair: a strand of styled tail hair that looked very familiar.

“Pardon my asking, sir,” I said, wondering if my suspicions were correct, “but did a white unicorn mare give you that?"

“Oh, this?” He preened proudly at it, revealing it to be a piece of Rarity’s hair. “Oh, yes. A very generous soul, she was so understanding of my plight. My mustache had been sliced clean in half, can you imagine?”

“No, I… can’t.” I decided not to say anything else as he carried on.

“Anyway, she was kind enough to slice off her own fabulous tail in order to make my marvelous mustache complete again. After it grew back, it seemed like such a horrible shame to throw it away, so I kept it to remember her and her wonderful friends.” He looked down at me eagerly. “You don't know her by any chance, do you?”

We all then realized who this was now and knew we could get a chance for some help. “Yes, we do. And we’re close friends with her. In fact, she’s my cousin. Her name is Rarity, by the way. You’ll never meet a more generous pony anywhere.”

At this, he beamed and nodded. “Oh, I know. She’s marvelous! You’re all lucky to know her. Are you wishing to cross the river perchance, my little friends?”

“Indeed.” I affirmed. "We don’t want to impose, good sir, but we don’t suppose you’d oblige?”

“But of course! Anypony who’s a friend of the generous Rarity is a friend of mine.” Reaching out with massive clawed hands, surprisingly well-manicured to note, the serpent gently lifted us up and across to the other side. “There you go. Glad to help.”

“Thank you very much, Mister…” Leon said as we made it to the other side.

“Steven Magnet, but you call me Steve.” the serpent bowed. “And yourselves?”

“Dusk Noir, my good serpent.” I tipped my hat to him. “And this is Shield Steedor, Leon Aquilous, and Dog Fries. Thank you, Steve. And we’ll give Rarity your regards.”

“Would you? That would be fabulous! Safe travels, you four.” He smiled at me and turned to go. “Oh! And by the way, Dusk, I just love that hat!”

I glanced at it and beamed proudly. “Yes, I’m quite fond of it myself. Good day, Steve.” With one last wave, I sprinted off to the others, knowing we were close.

We were soon there. As we reached the rickety bridge, crossing over its rotting planks to the crumbling stone ruin, I felt a sense of triumph as we stood before the gate. We’d actually made it.

“Here we are.” I said to the guys. “Hard parts over. Now it’s time to see what we came for.”

Twilight’s view

I carried on through the maze, doing my best to stay calm and collected despite my growing fear. This maze was huge. With twists and turns and dead ends galore, it seemed endless. I wished the others were with me… I wished Dusk was here.

As I rounded another corner, I came across a strange sight. A wooden door stood before me with the sparkling star of my cutie mark emblazoned onto it. This door definitely looked like it wasn’t meant to be here. It could be one of Discord’s tricks…but I had nowhere else to go, other than back the way I came. Cautiously, I opened the door and stepped inside.

In the middle of the grassy clearing was what looked like the makings of… a library? Two shelves laden with books, some of which were flapping about like birds, surrounded it, with a fireplace in the middle of it, in which burned multi-colored flames and pink smoke. Two plush armchairs were placed before it and in one of them was Discord, wearing reading glasses and peering down at a book open on his lap. I noticed the chair was floating.

He looked up as I entered, his red eyes fixing on me and beamed at the sight of me. “Twilight Sparkle, so nice of you to visit. Welcome! Pull up a chair, pick a book, and make yourself comfortable. Here, try this one.”

He tossed the book to me and I caught it with fumbling hooves. I hated being deprived of my horn. The book was completely illegible: some words were the right way round, others were sideways, long ways, mirrored, upside down. Some weren’t even words, just random squiggles and shapes on the page.

“Do you like it? I penned it myself.” he said proudly. “I call it A Study of Chaos. It’s really quite good, if I say so myself.”

I knew he was just trying to mess with my head, just like Dragonis said. I closed the book and tossed it back, remaining defiant. “I’ve read better.”

“Everypony's a critic.” he groaned and snatched it back up, letting it fly back onto the shelf.

Something just occurred to me as I watched him. As long as he was here, I might as well try and ask. “You said in your riddle that we’d need more than the Elements to beat you this time, even if we did find them.”

“Oh, sudden change of topic to catch me off-guard.” He grinned wickedly at her. “Won’t work, I’m afraid. I invented that trick.”

She ignored him and pressed on. “What did you mean by that?"

He just chuckled and wagged a finger at me. “Now, now, Twilight Sparkle. It’s not a good story if you read ahead to the end. I think your second assistant would agree with me in that respect, wouldn’t you say, Miss Sparkle?”

I flushed at the mention of me, a spark of worry beginning to form. “Why are you so interested in him? I know he’s El Dragon and all, but you seemed to be talking a lot about him. Seeing how his ancestors couldn’t beat you, I thought he’d be nothing to you.”

“Really, Twilight Sparkle? That’s not a very nice thing to say.” He hovered up behind me, still wearing that grin. “I just think it’s such a shame that he’s not here, missing out on all of this. I thought he was meant to be your friend.”

“He is!” she yelled in spite of herself. “He’s not your concern, we are! Just leave him out of this.”

He ignored me, facing me upside down. “You know, it really is a pity he’s missing out on all of the fun. I wonder what he’s doing right now.” He snapped his fingers and a book appeared, flicking to a page. “Let’s have a look, shall we?”

Unable to resist, I looked down at the page. In it was a moving picture depicting my best friend Dusk and Shield, Dog, and Leon? He seemed okay, but my eyes never left him regardless. Dusk and the guys were tentatively walking into the ruined halls of a very familiar location, one of mossy walls and crumbling stone.

“That’s the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.” I whispered, my hoof tracing over the image. “But…what’s he doing there?”

“You tell me. You’re the smart one.” I looked back up at Discord, who was glaring at me with malice. “What he would be doing there, I wonder. What do you think?”

“I… I don’t know.” I replied desperately. I didn’t like the way his eyes glowed like that.

“Aw! That’s a shame.” He went into a mock thinking pose and snapped his fingers. “Hey, why don’t I just go and ask him myself? I’ve been so looking forward to meeting him, so I can do that at the same time. Good thinking, Twilight Sparkle!”

“No! No! Leave him alone, he’s not…” He raised a hand to silence her.

“Don’t fret, I won't be gone long. Just a quick hello, that’s all… Who knows? I might have some fun with him.” He grinned once more, giving a little wave. “T.T.F.N.: Ta-ta for now!” With a snap of his fingers, he vanished again, leaving me alone.

Feeling very scared now, I gazed back down at the book, watching as Dusk and the boys step into the main hall. I wanted to warn him, to scream that Discord was coming for him. But I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was watch.

Author's Note

Now with Discord going after Dusk, now even more questions loom in the air. What is Discord’s diabolical plan? Will the Mane 6 be able to find each other and defeat Discord? And what waits Dusk and his friends at the Castle of the Two Pony Sister? The suspense continues to grow next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Things aren’t looking good now that Discord is going after Dusk and who knows what he will do to him. This is now getting really intense. In the next chapter, after reaching the old castle of the two rulers of Equestria, Dusk and his friends will now begin the search for what Luna had told them could help in defeating Discord. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 3: In the Flesh

I cautiously pushed open the wooden doors and ventured into the stone halls of the ancient castle, tensed and ready to act. Though we had made it out of the depths of the forest, any number of creatures could have claimed residence here during the thousand years it had been abandoned.

“Yeesh! This place could use a clean-up.” Leon said as he looked around. “It’s more of a mess than the Black Bulls’ hideout.”

“Well, nopony’s used this place since Nightmare Moon.” I said. I then looked to Dog and saw he was shaking like a leaf. “Hey, Dog, are you okay?”

“Nope.” Dog said with a terrified look and the same feeling in his voice. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve heard stories about this place.”

“We all know about Nightmare Moon, Dog.” I said.

“It’s not that.” Dog said. “I also heard that, when Nightmare Moon was trapped in the moon, not all of her magic went with her. They say that, at night, it lurks around this place as…the Pony of Shadows.”

“Seriously? That old legend?” I said with a snicker. “You can’t be serious. There’s no such thing as a Pony of Shadows. It’s nonsense. There has been no evidence of one even existing.”

“Yeah, and we’ve never ran into anything like that.” Shield said, backing me up.

“Exactly. Now come on. Let find what we came for.” We all then kept moving, looking for whatever Luna wanted us to find. Though when it came to the different halls, I had to say “We’ll need to split up. I’m not sure we’ll find what we’re looking for in the same place as the Elements we found. We’ll need to check everywhere to make sure. Shield, you’re with me. Leon, you take the hallway on the left. And Dog, take the right one. Use your communicators if you find anything.” We all then took to our designated halls and began our search.

Shield’s view

After splitting up, me and Dusk tried to stay together as we went through the halls. I thought nothing was gonna get us split up, until…

“Shield…” A voice said, one I knew anywhere. “Shield…”

“Dash?” I said as I stopped tried to find out where Dash was.

“Shield, what are you doing?” I asked him as he saw me looking around.

“Didn’t you hear that?” he asked.

“Hear what?”

“Rainbow Dash. I heard her. She was calling my name.”

“I didn’t hear her voice. You’re probably just hearing things due to being worried about Dash. Come on, we need to keep moving.”

Dusk had turned the corner and was out of sight. I was gonna catch up with him, but stopped when I heard Dash’s voice again.

“Shield…” She said.

“Rainbow Dash, is it really you?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s me.” She told me. “I know what you’re looking for. I think I found it.”

“Where are you?”

“Just follow my voice.”

There, I then decided to go look for her and followed her voice, going the opposite way Dusk was going.

Dusk’s view

After walking around, I soon came across a large room. The signs of aging certainly showed, but I could still see signs of the castle's former glory, could still picture the days it was complete. The pillars that lined either side of the room had mostly crumbled away, only leaving half of them behind, decorated with ivy and moss. Good thing Rarity was here to see all of this. She would be horrified by the sight. The walls had collapsed in places, exposing the castle to the elements outside and the ceiling had completely vanished, so you could see the sky above you, which was now covered with grey clouds. At the center of the room was a large pedestal, upon which there were five separate platforms surrounding a large stone orb at its core.

“The pedestal! We found it! Shield, we…” I said, but when I turned around, I saw that Shield was gone. “Shield? Shield?” I didn’t have time to look for him. I had to find the one thing that can help stop Discord.

Dog’s view

“For land’s sake.” I said to myself, still worried about being in this castle. “I know Dusk said there’s nothin’ to be afraid of, but this place is all gosh darn creepy. Would really like to know what the hay I was lookin’ for. Feels like lookin’ for a needle in a haystack.”

“Dog?” Looking over from hearing her voice, I saw AJ as her shadow appeared on the wall.

“AJ, is that you?” I was surprised to find her here. “What ya doin’ here?”

“Thank Discord.” She told me, not very happy. “Me and the others were gonna stop him, next thin’ I knew, I end up here.”

“Well, I’m glad y’all are alright.” I said with a smile. “Hey, by any chance, did ya see anythin’ weird or somethin’ like that?”

“I think I know what ya talkin’ about. Follow me!” I then watched as she ran off.

“Lead the way, AJ!” I then began to follow her, her shadow being the only thing telling me where to go.

Leon’s view

“Oh, geez!” I said as I still searching around, looking for whatever Luna wants us to find for the last ten minutes. “Couldn’t that Princess have been more specific as to what we’re looking for? A picture or something.” It was then that I felt a chill up my spine. Ever since I split up from the guys, I have been getting a creepy feeling from this place, like I was being watched. It wasn’t long until I heard screaming, one I knew too well. “Flutters?” Thinking Fluttershy was in trouble, I then started running towards it, up to where I found it in a room. I looked around, trying to see where Flutters was at as she had to be hiding. “Flutters? Fluttershy, where are you?”

“I’m right here.” I heard her say and turned to my right to see nothing. While I tried to figure out what was going on, I yelped as I heard the door slam behind me.

“Hey!” I said as I went to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked or something. “Who closed this door?”

“Sorry. Can’t let you leave just yet.” Flutters said as I then watched as the room turned into a tomb filled with spider webs and bones.

“Okay. Now I know you’re not Fluttershy.”

“He, he, he. Took you long enough.” The voice said and was starting to change.

“Okay, buddy. Stop hiding and face me!” I said as I looked around. I then watched as bones began to move around and created a creature I knew anywhere, though it was different. It looked like it, but it was now made of bones, having all of its tendrils, and dark green eyes. “The Paraserpent?”

“Not exactly.” The skeleton said. “I am Doom Cobra and I will swallow you whole and spit you out as a lifeless husk!” Then the skeleton went on the attack.

Dog’s view

After a while, I followed AJ into a room and looked around for her. “Okay, AJ. Show me what ya found.” Just when I said it, the door slammed behind me. Now I was starting to get worried. “AJ?”

“Oh, I found something, alright.” AJ said as I saw something coming out of the shadows, her voice changing to sounding a scruffy stallion as the room got all dark. “I found… you.”

Just then, fires started everywhere and showed me what was hiding. Even covered in fire, it all glowing red, and having some new white eyes, I knew it was that darn Paraserpent that trapped AJ before.

“You again!” I was not really happy to see this varmint again.

“Settle down. I’m not who you think I am.” It said to me. “My name is Blaze Mamba and I’m about to turn up the heat on you, ice boy!” it then began attacking me, shooting fire from its tendrils.

Shield’s view

After searching around, I found Dash’s voice coming from a room. I headed right in and looked for Dash.

“Dash, I’m here!” I looked around, but didn’t find Dash anywhere. “Dash?” Just then, the door slammed behind me. I tried to get it open, but it wouldn’t budge. “Hey, what’s going on here?”

“What’s the matter, Shield?” Dash said, her voice changing in a deep stallion’s. “Feeling scared?”

Though it had a new look with turning all purple, adding red spikes, and getting blue eyes, I knew the Paraserpent when I saw him.

“What the heck? What did you do with Dash?”

“Nothing. She’s fine… for now. Don’t worry. You can now play with me, Grim Viper!” the overgrown snake then came right at me.

Dusk’s view

Approaching the pedestal, I gently placed my claw upon it, knowing that this was the place where the Elements of Harmony had once rested. From there, I remembered Twilight had told me how: at first, the Elements were in the form of stone orbs with different shapes carved on them. It was only after Nightmare Moon had shattered these forms and that Twilight discovered the truth that they had taken on their true forms, the ones they had today. Not for the first time, I wished I could have been there… Even though I was meant to be here for an important mission, I still took the time to take in my surroundings, my fascination for history taking over. I was actually here, in one of the most ancient and least explored historical locations in Equestria's time. If only I could take the time to have a better exploration of the structure, who knows what I could find? Perhaps later, I thought, continue to search for whatever Luna had sent me here for.

“This really is… incredible.” I said to myself as I turned my back on the pedestal.

“You think so? I find it to be rather drab and dull myself. I can see why the Princesses left the place. Canterlot is so much flashier.”

I froze at the sound of that voice. Even before I turned around to see who was speaking, I already knew who it was. Only one being in Equestria could have a voice so enticing and yet so repulsive at the same time. I stood stock-still as I beheld Equestria’s ancient foe, a figure I’d seen encased in stone so many times. In the flesh however, he was truly chilling, even his eye pupils were uneven as they shined with malice. Swallowing my fear, I then tried to glare at him, getting into fighting stance as I revealed my tail

“Discord.” I coldly said to him

“The one and only.” He gave a bow, vanished, and reappeared in front of me, making me jump. “So you must be Dusk Noir, the new Fire Dragon.” He grinned and grabbed my claw, shaking it frantically. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’ve really been quite looking forward to it. I must say you're certainly…smaller than I expected.”

I examined my claw when Discord let go, afraid that he'd done something. “You…you wanted to meet me?”

“Of course, since your ‘friends’,” he said with sarcastic air quotes, “were too inconsiderate to bring you along with them, so I had to come to you. Rather annoying, but I’d say it was worth it. Ooh! I heard about what you did at Magical Talent of Equestria, including moil in the starring role. I’m quite flattered. Such talent, such pizazz! Could I have your autograph?”

He offered a notepad that was made of wood and a pencil made of paper. I stared at it for a bit and then finally collected myself. Recalling what I knew about Discord and knowing he was trying to manipulate me in some way, I did my best to glare defiantly at him, holding his wicked gaze.

“What do you want, Discord?” I demanded firmly, though he could still hear a quiver in my voice.

Discord gave an affected look of offense. “Oh, that’s just rude! I thought that was self-explanatory, my little friend. I expected you to be a little more polite.”

Be brave, Dusk. I told myself. Don’t give in to him. “You don’t deserve respect, Discord. Besides, you want an autograph from somepony who beat one of your loyal servants?”

“Who? Oh, right. The Paraserpent.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “They’re small fry, easily replaced. In fact, thank you for reminding me to create more of them once I win. Besides,” he retorted, “we both know that it wasn’t you who struck the final blow, now was it?”

I knew this was true, but didn’t deign to respond directly. I wasn't going to give Discord the satisfaction. “Still, I must ask why you’ve come to find me.”

“Why? I have simply come to offer my sympathies to you for your current situation. You must be so disappointed, so devastated.”

This confused me. Had something happened? “What are you talking about?”

He grinned even wider, but there was no warmth in his smile. “I’m talking about how you’ve been left behind. Abandoned by your so-called friends. Deep down, I think you knew this was coming, but it still must be a painful blow.”

“What? No, they haven’t abandoned me.” I said confidently. “I chose to stay behind because of you.”

“Which is exactly why they have abandoned you, among other things.” he added sinisterly. “They knew you were useless all the time and they’ve left you at the first opportunity, just waiting for the chance to leave you in the lurch. Again, very cruel after you tried so hard to fit in, all in vain.”

“No, no! That’s not true.” I knew Discord was trying to trick me, but…why did his words sound so true and my sound a little hollow?

“Oh, really? Here's what they were saying the instant that they left you.” Discord summoned a shimmering cloud of color, rather like the ones that I made. In it formed the images of the girls galloping away to Canterlot. For a moment, they stopped and let out sighs of relief.

“Whew, finally we got away from that geek.” Rainbow spoke up in an annoyed tone. “Honestly, I never thought we'd be able to ditch him.”

“I hear ya.” Applejack added. “You’d have thought he’d have gotten the message earlier that we don’t want him around, but that boy is just so wrapped up in it. Kinda sad, livin’ in a dream like that.”

“Ugh, I know right?” Pinkie fumed. “Even I don’t like him and I like everypony. The way I have to call him ‘psychic’ all the time, it just drives me nuts!”

“He is certainly quite irritating, to say the least.” Rarity added, flicking her mane with disdain. “Worst of all, he’s completely useless at this time. I know he is my cousin, but I simply do not understand why we’ve put up with him.”

“Twilight,” Fluttershy asked, “do you think, when we get to Canterlot, we can ask Princess Celestia to make him go away? I don’t like to pretend anymore.”

“I think we can.” she nodded. “Believe me, I’ve tried to put up with him, but I’ve had it up to here. Frankly, I’m surprised I managed this long.”

“Then it’s settled.” Rarity put in. “After today, no more Dusk. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” they all chorused. “Now come on, let’s go and get this over with.” Following Twilight, they all galloped away and faded, but I was still staring in utter disbelief about what he had seen.

Each of the girls’ words had felt like hammer blows to my heart. They struck me at my very core, realizing all of my worst fears when I first started being friends with them. It seems I was right all along…I was useless, stupid, pointless… Even worse, they found me to be annoying for even trying to fit in in the first place…how could I have been so stupid as to make myself believe I was actually making a difference…?

No. another side to this was saying. This is Discord trying to trick you. This is what he does, you know that. You have to fight him. These visions aren’t real, no matter how painful they may be. Just don't listen to him, don't trust him, he knows what can hurt you and he'll use it against you.

“You’re lying, that’s not true.” My voice sounded weak, powerless, that I was the one lying to myself. “They wouldn’t say that about me… I know it… not them, not Twilight…”

Discord actually burst out laughing. “Oh, that's priceless! You actually think that she’s any different, do you? Do you think she’s special? Believe me, Dusk, I haven’t shown you the worst part yet.”

He once again conjured up a color cloud, Twilight’s face forming inside it. She looked angry, distressed even. I didn’t want to look, didn't want to listen, but something kept me watching, which meant I couldn't tear my eyes away.

“I can’t feel about somepony…like that. Friendship is one thing, but romance? That’s just silly! Absolute nonsense!”

Somehow, this was even more destroying than the last vision. Me. She was talking about me and her romantic feelings. This was even worse, watching her dismiss it so angrily, so fiercely. I could actually feel my heart shatter as she continued on, still resolutely determined to deny it.

“It’s just silly. I mean, devoting all of your time trying to dote somepony, woo them, when they may not even feel the same way? That just doesn’t make any sense, it’s foolish!”

“No!” I actually screamed now, waving it away. “No, no! It’s not true, it can’t be!”

“It seems that what they say is right.” Discord commented casually. “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad. It hurts, doesn't it, Dusk? To know what they really think, what she really thinks?”

“But I know how you work, Discord!” I tried desperately to clutch at what little chances I had. “This is what you do, show ponies their deepest desires and fears and use them against them. This isn’t real, it’s a trick!”

“But you know yourself what Twilight thinks of romance, Dusk.” he countered, grinning with amusement. “Some of it may be tricks, some may not be. The question is how you can tell what is real…” He reached up to his face and pulled it away like a mask. “…and what is false?”

“I… I…” I simply couldn’t answer.

It was as if watching my worst, deepest fears had struck me dumb. I just hurt so much, felt so much pain, worse than any physical wound. Let it end, I thought desperately, just let it end. That voice telling me to resist had been silenced, Discord’s truth reigning over. He was right…he had been all along. Perhaps he had always known, but didn’t want to see it…

“Oh, but it’s even worse what's to come.” Discord’s words were bitterly enticing and entrancing, as I watched him hover around, tears in my eyes. “I’ve shown you the past, the present…let's see what the future has in store, shall we?”

Once again, I watched as the color cloud formed the scene. It depicted myself, standing before the library, silently begging the girls, who were all going off their separate ways and failing miserably. Soon, I was left alone, staring desperately after where they had all gone. I collapsed my head in my hooves and wept, wept to be so alone, alone after the lie that I had actually had friends and the cruel truth that had now come to light.

“They're gone.” my future-self wept. “They’re all gone… They left me… They promised they wouldn’t leave me…”

After a few seconds, Future Dusk stopped sobbing and just stared at the ground. His body was now shaking, not from weeping, but with rage. When he next spoke, his voice no longer sounded gentle and timid, but deeper and angrier.

“If my curse is to be alone… then this whole land, this entire realm… will suffer with me!”

He raised his head and opened his eyes. They were no longer hazel brown, but amethyst purple, becoming dragon eyes. He flung his trilby angrily to the floor as a wave of black fire washed over him, turning into his elemental form, only his body now the deepest black, a black unicorn horn curved upward with a large plume at the tip, a bone-white mane that was wild and untamed, and a spikeless tail. His expression was one of utter fury, mixed with deep pain and loss, truly terrifying to behold.

“None have ever accepted me.” He said in that anger-filled voice. “Now none ever will. They thought Discord was bad? Wait until I get started.”

Then, with an animal-like screech of rage, this hideous malformation of myself shone with dark power, creatures from the darkest crevices emerging to serve him in his rage, to share in his anger. A black hole of rage and pain, doom to all who stood before him…

“NO!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, tearing away my gaze and collapsing to the floor. “No! No, no, no, no… no…” Now I really did begin to cry, to weep for my loss, for what was to come that I had no hope of stopping…

“Aw, Dusk. The truth hurts, doesn’t it?” I felt Discord’s claw on my back, patting consolingly. “You see, things were better as they were, weren’t they? When the only one to disappoint was yourself. Who knows? If you go back now, it may not be too late.” I looked into his red eyes, the draconequus holding me in a hypnotic gaze. “Time to wake up from the dream, Dusk. You are alone and always will be. You may not be anything to anypony, but it’s better that way, don't you think?”

“Yes… No!” I desperately wrenched my gaze away, fighting back my tears. “No… No, it… it isn’t real! It isn’t… no.”

“Oh, stop fighting, little Dusk.” I felt something wrench away my hat and place a cold claw touch the top of my head, making me look into the eyes of Discord. “Just give in, like you know you want to.” In that instant, I could feel it: Discord’s Chaos Magic flowing through my body, trying to alter me. I could even feel it as my fur, mane, and tail were slowly beginning to lose color, becoming gray. “Now, tell me, Dusk? Am I right about you?”

After hearing those words, I was about to give in and tell him he was. Tell him that I would accept my fate as there was no way to escape it. But then… I heard a voice.

Is that it? It said, the voice turning out to be my own. Are you really going to give in?

Looking up, I found Discord was gone and I was in some kind of black void. Where was I? How did I get here? All sort of questions were coursing through my head for I had no idea what was happening.

Now that isn’t really you, is it? The voice said to me, but I wasn’t sure whether to listen or not. What’s wrong? Are you really going to listen to what a deceiver like him haves to say about you? Here, in this very moment, you would forsake the very friends who you care about so much? Just then, flying into my view from the side, I saw… a butterfly. It was unlike any butterfly I’ve ever seen before. It was glowing in pure white and was leaving a trail of what appeared to be rainbow stardust behind it. Do you really consider knowing them and they you a mistake? Right there, I then had flashes of memories, ones about the time I spent with the girls and even the guys. I remembered how happy I was, how much fun I had with them. Through both the good and the bad, I never felt sad or even shed a tear of that kind. Do you truly consider accepting friendship as making the wrong choice?

From there, I began remembering everything I’ve experienced with my friends, from my days as leader of the Element Squad to what had become part of my life in Ponyville. Moments like helping Rainbow and Shield with practice, spending time at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack and Dog, taking tea with Rarity, picking out a pet with Fluttershy and Leon, baking with Pinkie… even dancing with Twilight. All those moments I have experienced… not once did I ever think of them as lies and I wasn’t going to think like that now.

“No… I don’t.” I said, answering the questions while closing my eyes. “I do not regret for accepting friendship into my heart. Not one bit.”

Very good. Then take heed in your resolve and show this deceiver you are not so easily persuade. the voice told me as the butterfly then flew over to my horn, turning into light that was absorbed into my body, and allow the spark of rebellion to ignite! As it continued, I could feel myself becoming stronger, Discord words now feeling meaningless to me for I now saw them to be false. Thou who would accept blasphemy for the sake of thine own justice. Within thine own heart, both pure and good, unleash thine righteous rage. Reveal the strength of thine will to seek the truth on thine own, though thou be chained down… by Hades itself!

“Well, Dusk?” Discord said, making me open my eyes. “What’s your answer?”

Though he was feeling pretty proud for he thought he broke me, but he lost that smug when he gasped from seeing my eyes. They were not devoid of hope or even normal, but really now those of a Fire Dragon that burned brightly with rage, as I glared right at him.

“No… you’re wrong.” I responded, making sure he knew how much he ticked me off. “I know the girls. They would never say anything like that about me. You say I’m living some kind of dream? Looks more like to me you’re the one living the dream. So how about I wake you up instead?”

“What… what?!” Discord stuttered as I gripped my claws into fists. “What are you talking about?”

“What I’m saying is,” I then raised my right arm, reeling it back while opening my claw, heating up the palm while preparing to thrust it forward, “that you should take all this crud you’ve been giving me and SHUT UP!” With that, I then shoved my claw directly into Discord’s face, the burning sensation of my Thermal Touch causing Discord to scream in pain and lose his grip on me. Canceling it out and landing on my claws and hooves, I looked right at Discord as he held his face in pain, using both his claw and paw. “Nice try, Discord! You may have gotten my ancestor, but I’m not gonna let your Chaos Magic send me to the same fate!”

I then jumped at and punched Discord right in the torso, sending the draconequus straight to the wall. I landed to his side as he fell flat to the ground. “Just so you know, I consider myself lucky to have friends like the ones I have now. It’s because of them I know all you try to say to me is false. My loyalty to them makes sure I’ll never fall for your tricks. They are strengthen my hope that there will always be a better tomorrow. And the love I have for them of which they had given the same love back in return is what assures me that I will never become the monster you’re trying to create. You think I’m just a little angel who’s wings you can just clip? That might be what I look like on the surface and only seeing that was your mistake. Somebody who thinks of himself as a god? Well, pal, you’re in trouble now. Because you just ticked off a devil!”

Watching him pick himself up, I was then shocked to find—instead of being surprised—Discord was actually… laughing? I was even more shocked to find there wasn’t a burnt mark on his face and turned to me. It was like my Thermal Touch didn’t even happen.

“Whoa-ho-ho! Well done, Dusk! Bravo!” Discord said as he clapped in applause. “You certainly live up to your reputation. What a performance!” He then looked down at me. “Come now, dear boy! You honestly didn’t think it would be so easy to attack me, did you? I’ve dealt with your kind before. Though I’m a little confused her.” He then began to ponder, facing away from me while he had his paw on his chin. “As I recall, I don’t recall ever using my magic on any Fire Dragon like I had done with so many other ponies.” I watched as a sudden realization hit him, turning to me with a smug. “Unless… you’re talking about somepony else.” It was there I then gave him a glare. “Oh, of course! I should have realized it before. You’re related to that little unicorn I met ages ago. Fore Sight, am I correct?”

“Yeah, I’m his descendant.” I told the Lord of Chaos. “And I know what you did to him.”

“Well, don’t take it personally.” He told me. “I had to make sure that he didn’t do anything too… reckless. He sure was troublesome, especially with all that talk he had about you.”

From what he said, I was now confused. “Me? What are you talking about?”

“Uh-uh-uh! No spoilers!” Discord wiggled a finger at me. “Though I will give you a little reward. Let’s see how your honest friend in Canterlot is doing.” With a snap of his claws, a large mirror appeared right beside me. “Go on, take a peek.”

Though hesitant, I looked at the mirror and watched as an image from within it. Before long, I was watching as Applejack running along a path with walls of hedges. Seeing her hitting turns and either passing or taking different paths, I soon realized where she was.

“The palace labyrinth?” I was ultimately confused. “What in Equestria is Applejack doing in the labyrinth?”

After reaching one point, she backtracked herself and changed course to find three stray apples lying on the ground. In that instant, the apples started rolling away.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack said as she then followed where the apples were going, eventually coming to a grove full of apple trees. “Where am I?” Soon, the apples on the trees began to fall, one hitting her on the head while the others fell on the ground. Soon the apples rolled over to her and began circling her, form three piles of separate colors (the first red, the second being a lighter shade, and the third baring green). With suspicious laughter, the apples began rising and falling, forming faces with every rise and two leaves forming pupils. “Who are y’all?”

“The keepers of the grove of truth.” The red apple pile started. “You may ask us…”

“…one question…” the light red apple pile continued.

“…past, future, or present.” The green apple pile finished.

Looking towards Discord, I saw him holding a microphone and saying the same thing those apple piles were saying to Applejack. It didn’t take me long to realize that those apples were actually an illusion created by Discord as I looked back.

“But be warned…”

“…that the truth…”

“…may not always be pleasant.”

“Alright then.” Applejack said, believing what those apples were saying was true. “I don’t trust this place worth a hill of beans, but I’ve got a really bad feelin’ about this fella Discord. What’s gonna come of this mission we’re on?”

“For the answers you seek…” the apples then led her over to a nearby pond.

“…go ahead, take a peek.”

“Applejack, no!” I pleaded, knowing this was a trap. “Don’t look into that pool!”

It was already too late as Applejack looked into the pond, now shown a vision of all of us together and looking like we had an argument.

“I hope I never see you again!” the Rainbow Dash in the pond said.

“Me too!” the pond Fluttershy put in.

“Yeah, who needs you guys?” pond Leon added.

“This whole thing was a mistake!” said the pond Shield. “I don’t need no snob, or cowards, or an airhead, or even some country bumpkins tying me down! From here on out, whatever I do, I go out alone!”

“Fine!” the pond Pinkie told him, followed by the pond Rarity.

“Fine!”

“It’s settled then.” Pond Twilight said.

“Indeed. From now on, the Element Gang is disbanded and we are no longer friends!” the pond me said before everypony who spoke left, leaving only Pond Applejack with her Dog.

She tried to reach out to him, silently begging him not to leave, but he gave her a glare before he then turned and ran off too, the Pond Applejack now alone and without friends.

“No! Our friendship… over?!” Applejack said in disbelief as the vision came to an end. “It can’t be true! It just can’t be the truth!” It was then the apples began speaking to her again.

“When all the truth does…”

“is make your heart ache,” right there, I then watched as the eyes on the green apple pile gained that same hypnotic stare as the one Discord gave me, “sometimes a lie is easier to take.”

“Applejack, no! Don’t listen to them!” I said as both the grove and the apples disappeared, watching as my peach friend lose her color and was now gray. “It’s not real!” Hearing Discord laughing, I then directed a glare right at him, now realizing his true plan. “This was your game the whole time! You knew I wouldn’t fall for your tricks and you knew I could be able to help the girls not fall for them! All that chaos you created, that wasn’t to lure me and the others out! You were just trying to make me and the guys stay back here while you went after the girls! You tricked us into splitting up so everything went accordingly to your plan!”

“That’s right.” Discord said to me. “All I have done kept you four busy and set my master plan in motion. One pony down, five more to go. Soon, neither the Elements of Harmony or even your Element Gang will be able to stop me!”

“You won’t get away with this, Discord!” I told him in defiance. “You might make them forget who they are, but I’ll remind them of who they truly are. Somehow. And, together, we’ll take you down!”

“Oh, Dusk,” Discord looked at me with a smug, “while that is pretty noble of you, it is pointless to make a promise you can’t keep. If I were you, I would worry more about yourself than your friends.”

Before I could respond, something pounced from behind and wrapped around my entire body, leaving only my head free to move. Feeling a familiar tendril grip my head, I looked to see that find a Paraserpent that caught me. When I saw it had a singed tendril, I realized that it was the same Paraserpent I fought.

“You?” I was shocked to find it here.

“Misssssed me?” it said before it then pulled my head a bit and then dove and bit my neck, causing me to scream in pain from its fangs breaking the skin. After a moment, the snake then let me go, slithering away over to Discord as I fell and laid on the floor.

“Good work.” Discord said to it before leaned over to me as I struggled to get up. “Now doesn’t that feel better?”

“What was that?” I said, knowing something was wrong as I was feeling weak. “What did you do to me?”

“Well, you couldn’t listen to reason, so I had to take a different approach.” He told me, still keeping that smug of his. “You see, Dusk, I can’t have you spoiling the surprises I have in store for you and your friends. So I decided to have my own friend here give you a little something that will make you… see things my way. Found it while I was still on my throne. I think you might know what it is.”

I was then shocked as I realized what the Paraserpent put into me. “Black Blood!”

“Correct!” He told me. “You see, when I created my Paraserpents, I filled their fangs with some of this wonderful stuff. Any creature they bite will instantly have Black Blood coursing through their veins. Just, like, you.”

“Be happy.” the Paraserpent said to me, giving me a malicious grin. “You’re the firsssst pony I’ve ever introduced to Black Blood in over a century.”

“What?” I was shocked by this. Did that snake say it infected others with Black Blood? “You mean… there were other… victims?”

“Not victimsssss, victim.” It clarified before it explained. “You ssssee, after my masssster was imprissssoned, I tried to claim vengeance. It wasn’t much but I managed to infect one of thossssse responssssible for the extermination of my race.”

I then gasped as I realized who he was talking about and it explained everything. The victim he described was actually one of great power, one who’s own turning had led her to be imprisoned much like Discord, and who’s return was prophesized to bring nothing but plunge Equestria in eternal night: the younger sister of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. I was actually shocked by this. The reason why Luna refused to lower the moon, revolted against Celestia, and became the tyrant known as Nightmare Moon… was because she was infected with Black Blood!

“It was you?” I said to the Paraserpent in disbelief. “You turned Luna into Nightmare Moon?”

“That’ssss right.” it said to me. “It was only a drop of Black Blood that I gave. With her being an alicorn it took longer. But, since you took it directly from my fangs, you will suffer the same fate as she did much sooner.” I then groaned and screamed in pain as I felt the Black Blood taking root within me.

“It’s been fun, but now we better get going.” Discord said to me. “I have some appointments to keep. Farewell, little Dusk. See you… well, whenever.”

“No…” Vanishing in a flash of light, Discord and his Paraserpent vanished, leaving me alone to grovel in pain from being infected with Black Blood.

Twilight’s view

“Dusk, no!” I cried out in worry, looking down at the book in which I could see Dusk, who had now faded away from the pages, the look of pain upon his features, whatever Discord had done no doubt hurting him.

I don’t know what Discord had done, but seeing his pained expressions, hearing his helpless screams made me feel tortured enough. This was what I wanted to avoid, I didn’t want him to get hurt. Dusk wasn’t part of it, he didn’t deserve it. Now, he had been reduced to this state, weakened and suffering. I shouldn’t have left him behind. Dusk should have been here with us…with me.

“Now isn’t that quite the twist, isn’t it?” I heard Discord say, sounding amused. “Though I always do love a good plot twist. Thank you, Black Blood.”

My regret for leaving Dusk, my sadness at seeing him like this, was now replaced with anger at the Spirit of Chaos. I turned to face him, looking right into his eyes, wishing I could curse him into a million pieces.

“Why did you do that? He did nothing to you!"

“Hey, I’m the one who’s been trapped in stone for a thousand years.” He gave me his wicked grin. “Can you blame me for having a little fun?”

“Yes, I can! That’s not fun, that’s cruel beyond belief! And you did that to him!” She pointed up at him. “I don’t care how long it takes now. I’m gonna find the Elements of Harmony, I’m gonna find my friends, and then we’re gonna stop you. For good!”

“Big words, Twilight Sparkle, but let’s see if you’ll stand by them afterwards.” He didn’t elaborate further on these words but simply smiled even wider. “Well, time to be off. The game is still going and there are still other players I have yet to see. I suppose I’ll see you when it’s time for my ‘big end’, Twilight Sparkle.” he said with sarcastic air quotes. “So long!”

He vanished once again, taking his strange library with him and leaving me in the clearing of the maze. In front of me, a section of the maze fell away, leading back into its twisting labyrinth. Time to get back in the game. I thought, still with seething anger for what Discord had done.

I still had the question as to why Discord had targeted Dusk. I remembered him telling her that Discord enjoyed tormenting and toying with other ponies during his rule, so I supposed that was the purpose behind it. Simply because I wasn't here and I was close to her and her friends, that was why Discord had targeted Dusk. If he’d done it to try and dishearten me, to make me feel like giving up. That was where he had failed. I was now even more resolved to end his games.

Remembering the look of pain that Dusk had on his face when Discord was tormenting him and had that Paraserpent bite him, I let this drive me as I galloped through the twists and turns of the maze. Even more than ever, I was determined to stop Discord for all time, to find my friends and the Elements and to make him pay for what he’d done to Dusk. As long as we were together, nothing would stop us.

“I’ll show you, Discord.” I growled under my breath. “We’re gonna stop you and that’s a promise.”

As I galloped deeper into the maze, the minutes passing by, I suddenly heard a voice nearby, one with a familiar Southern accent. Applejack! Pushing myself further, I glanced to the side as a bit of the hedge opened up. I backed up and saw the Stetson-topped pony standing in the clearing.

“Applejack! Thank goodness! I thought I heard voices over here. Who were you talking to?” I asked as I approached her, only now realizing that her fur, her whole body, was duller in color than before.

“I was talkin’ to… uh… nopony! Nopony whatsoever!” she insisted, her eyes shifting from left to right. Her demeanor was more tense, less relaxed than normal. So was I, but this was…different.

“What?” I asked unsurely.

“Nothin’.” That shifty look came back as she walked past her. “Come on, uh… we best be goin’.”

Twilight watched as she left, a horrible thought occurring. “Did Applejack just…?” I then remembered what Discord showed Dusk and realized what was going on. “Oh, no! Discord really did corrupt her. Applejack would never lie. If Discord did this to her, then…” I then mentally slapped myself to my senses. “Come on, Twilight! You might not have been able to save Applejack, but you can still save everypony else!”

Confident that I would save my friends before Discord got to them, I followed Applejack out. Though I was too late, I was glad that I had found one of my friends, even though she was different. Hopefully, I can save the others before Discord finds them. I was also worried by what I just heard. What that Paraserpent did to Dusk, was it really how Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon? Does that mean that Dusk would…? Pushing those thoughts aside, I returned to the task at hoof and was now hoping that, whatever was happening to Dusk, he would be alright.

Dusk’s view

Once the pain had subsided, I raised my head and got myself back on my claws and hooves, now feeling like I had the worst headache.

“Oh, man!” I groaned in pain, rubbing my head with a single claw. “I feel like I just overindulged myself with Pinkie’s punch, but worse.” Remembering what just happened, I then moved my claw to my neck, hoping what I experienced was an illusion. That hope sunk like a rock in a lake when if felt the bite mark on my neck. “Oh, no. I was hoping that was just a trick.”

There was no mistaking it now: I, Dusk Noir, had been infected with Black Blood. The very same of which turned a few of my predecessors into vile monsters and even create Nightmare Moon. Now I saw what Luna had meant when she said I wouldn’t meet the same fate. She must have figured out that she was infected with Black Blood. Seems that her hopes for me for not suffering the same fate had been for nothing. Now, thanks to this infection, I would become something like Nightmare Moon, possibly something even worse. If I didn’t find a way to undo this, then I was afraid the story of my life would come to a close. What was I gonna do now? I couldn’t help the girls like this. I could turn at any moment. I was supposed to protect Equestria from evil like Discord, to be the symbol of peace and justice. But now… I wasn’t going to be able to full that part. I failed Equestria, I failed my ancestors. Worst of all… I failed my friends. Clutching at the necklace around my neck, I was now beginning to feel the sadness Discord tried to instill in me and was about ready to give up.

That is, until… suddenly, I felt something touch my shoulder. Looking over to it, I saw this black, three-digit claw. Looking beyond it, I was met by a single blue eye. Caught by surprise, I jumped as I backed away, the creature taking its claw off me as I got a full view of it. I was even more surprised when I saw what it was. Here, floating before me, was a black, hourglass-shaped creature who’s lower body resembled an old, ripped cloak. Its arms were skinny and had long, black tatters from its shoulders. Its small head bared white, fog-like, ghostly plume that covered the right side of its face, the plume resembling hair. Around its head, it haves a red, spiky growth surrounding its neck, the growth resembling the crimson fangs of a beast. What I was seeing was a Darkrai. Better known as the Dark Type Pitch-Black Pokémon, Darkrai lurks in the shadows and is said to have the ability to make people experience nightmares. I had no idea that it was even here. Did it occupy this castle?

“A Darkrai?” I said to myself as I wondered as to why the Pokémon had revealed itself before I saw it lift one arm, revealing it had my hat. “My hat!” Using my magic, I then took it back and placed it back on my head. Seeing as to how it wasn’t attacking when I did that, I realized that it was just giving me my hat back. “Thank you.” With a nod, I then watched as it turned and began to leave. After going a few feet away, it stopped and turned back to me, using one arm to give a beckoning motion. “You want me to follow you?” that provoked a nod from it. Though I was a little curious and feeling nervous as to what this Darkrai was doing, seeing the condition I was in, I thought I could at least try and see what it wanted from me. “Okay.”

Cautiously, I began to follow it as it then led me out of the Castle and back into the forest. As to where this Pokémon was taking me, I had no idea. After a while, we made it to a clearing and I was met by another surprise. In front of me, I gazed upon this dark-blue, dinosaur-like creature standing on all fours at the height of about seventeen feet. It had a long neck and appeared to be cover in silver body armor, such as its chest plate which bared a large diamond in its center. It also had something resembling a fin on its back and a crest on its head which also had two horns on top of it and two fang-like horns around its mouth. With three spines on the back of its neck, it also had three claws on each foot, all looking just as metallic as the chest plate. Seeing the faint cracks that exist across its body, I was in awe at what I was seeing, all while keeping my distance in respect.

“Dialga,” I said in disbelief that I was in the presence of the very Temporal Pokémon itself, “the Legendary of Time!”

Dusk Noir, Dialga said to me, using telepathy to speak to me. The voice it used sounded feminine, I have awaited your arrival. Please, come forward. Though I was confused and thought it was kidding, I walked over to it until I was standing in front of it, Dialga lowering its head so we were face to face. Dusk Noir, it is great pleasure that we finally meet.

“It’s an honor to meet you too, great Dialga.” I said, doing my best to show my respects to it. “Though I’m… kind of confused.”

You’re wondering why I am here instead of my own realm, correct? Dialga said, causing me to nod before it lift its head back up. Then allow me to elaborate. I am here for I have an important task for you. Which is why I asked of this Darkrai to bring you here.

“A task?”

Yes. One of which the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance.

“Well, I-I’m not sure I can be able to help you. I’m kind of already doing one already as an order for Princess Luna.”

Yes, I know, but fret not. The task I have for you is the same as to why she sent you here.

Now I was really confused. “What do you mean?”

Dusk, the search Princess Luna has sent you on is the very path that has led you to me and my task will help you find what you seek.

“You mean… you can help me find what she sent me here for?”

Yes. But, in order to fulfill the task I have for you, you will need to leave this place.

“What? But Luna told me that what I’m supposed to find was here. Are you saying it’s someplace else?”

Where are you going is someplace your friends cannot follow as this task can only be done by you and you alone.

“Alone? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Why ever not?

“Well…” I then placed a claw over the Paraserpent’s bite mark on my neck was before Dialga spoke again.

Ah, I see. The curse that Discord had inflicted on you. Fear not, Dusk. I am certain you can accomplish the task even with the madness building up within you.

“Well… I guess I can try my best.” It was then I began to ask it an important question. “If you don’t mind me asking, seeing as you know everything that has and will happen, do you know how I can be able to rid myself of the Black Blood? I already see where it’s heading if I don’t do something about it and I don’t want my friends to get hurt because of it.”

For that answer, young Dusk, I’m afraid you must discover on your own. I sighed, a bit depressed that I couldn’t get myself cured faster. If you are ready, I will send you where you need to be.

I gave it some thought as I looked back at the castle. I knew it would both be dangerous and wrong to leave the guys behind, but if I had to do this alone to ensure safety for them and all of Equestria, I had to do it.

After mentally saying goodbye to them and promising I’ll return, I then turned back to Dialga and said “Okay, Dialga. I’m ready.”

Good. Then I will send you at once. Once the task is complete, I shall bring you back. Just remember to follow the light.

From there, Dialga’s eyes began to glow blue as well as the rest of it and the diamond on its chest. It was then that I was surprised again from seeing myself glowing in that same light. Only the light that surrounded me was beating and pulsing as if it was alive, patterns of blue moving like an ocean. Looking back to Dialga, the Legendary then began to roar, the fin on its back expanding.

All of a sudden, I felt my body jerk, like I’d just been yanked by a length of rope, being pulled somewhere. I screamed, but couldn't hear my own voice. I tried to resist, but there was nothing to hold on to, it was too strong. In that moment, I was lifted off my feet, being dragged away by whatever strange force had taken me. Now covered head to hoof and claw in light, I watched as I was taken out of my place to wherever Dialga was sending me.

No one’s view

On the outside in the ancient ruin, the light surrounding Dusk faded away, the unicorn nowhere to be found as Dialga stopped roaring, its eyes and back fin returning to normal.

“The deed is done.”Dialga said to itself before looking to one of the windows and saw a dark shape leap and took off, only being seen by the very Legendary itself. “All has been set into motion. Dusk is now on the right path.” It then turned to look down at Darkrai. “The job is done. Now return to your master.” With that, Darkrai then took off into the night, flying to where its master was waiting. After it was out of sight, Dialga then looked up at the sky, towards the moon as its body began to glow again, this time it slowly starts to fade away. “Good luck, Dusk. We are all counting on you.”

With those final words, Dialga instantly vanished, leaving the forest still with only the sounds of the creatures, the Pokémon’s task had been completed.

Author's Note

It seems with each passing moment, the situation grows more and more dire. Not only does she need to find the Elements of Harmony as soon as possible, but Twilight must also find her friends and save them from the corrupting influence. And after an encounter with the Legendary Pokémon Dialga, Dusk has now been given another task, one that might lead him to what he had been searching to find. Can Twilight be able to save the rest of her friends from Discord’s corruption? Can Dusk be able to accomplish the task and discover what he needs to find? With Black Blood now coursing through him, what will become of the young Fire Dragon? The twisted game of Discord continues next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Pretty cool that Dusk got to meet one Legendary from the Origin Trio, huh? Don’t worry, you’re gonna be seeing more Legendaries like it as this story progresses. If you get the reference with Black Blood, then I can tell you that you’re gonna learn more about how this will relate to the story later on. By the way, when you read what goes on after the voice says "allow the spark of rebellion to ignite!", listen to the Awakening theme music for Persona 5. In the next chapter, Dusk had come to where everything all began, but now he will get more than this. Remember his little wish back at the pedestal? Well, he’s about to get it. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 4: Witness to Harmony

The Summer Sun Celebration, many months ago…

Twilight’s view

I crossed over the rope bridge that had been fixed by Rainbow Dash, approaching the crumbling ruin of the ancient castle, the last known resting place of the Elements of Harmony. The fate of Equestria depended on me and the others finding the Elements and using them to defeat Nightmare Moon. Reading hadn’t served me wrong before and I hoped it wouldn’t now. Feeling anticipation growing in my chest, I stepped through the wooden doors and joined the group.

“Whoa.” I heard Applejack’s awed voice echo in the chamber. “Come on, Twilight. Isn’t this what you’ve been waitin’ for?”

I felt a sort of special warmth at the kind invitation of the farm pony. Admittedly, I hadn’t been too enthusiastic about having these five mares accompany me into the forest to the castle. But now, considering all that had happened to us after we’d entered the Everfree Forest, I couldn’t contemplate doing it without them. They’d helped me and each other through the worst of dangers, sharing laughs and scares along the way. I was certainly going to miss them when I had to go back to Canterlot… though I wasn’t completely sure why.

I walked through the gap they made for me, approaching the multi-branched alter where five stone orbs, each with a different shape carved into them, sat waiting for us. Just like they had been in the reference guide.

“The Elements of Harmony! We’ve found them.” I watched as Rainbow and Fluttershy began to lift them up and carry them down. “Careful, careful!”

Pinkie counted them as they were laid on the stone floor at our hooves “There’s only five!”

“Where’s the sixth?” Rainbow asked.

“The book said when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.” I recited.

Applejack looked confused. “What in the hay is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back. I don’t know what will happen.” Closing my eyes and bowing my head, I knelt before the Elements and began to work my magic.

I was vaguely aware of the sound of hooves moving further away, no doubt the others leaving to allow me to concentrate. Silently grateful for their consideration, I returned my focus to attempt to infuse the Elements with my own magical power, hoping the resulting spark would make the sixth Element appear.

As I gritted my teeth and increased power, I felt a strong wind before me, heard a rushing in my ears. Opening my eyes, I yelled in fright at the sight of a blue tornado spinning before me, levitating the Elements high into the air. I realized it was Nightmare Moon and she was trying to stop us from beating her.

“The Elements!” Without thinking, knowing this was the only way, I jumped into the magical whirlwind. In an instant, I swept off my hooves and transported, carried wherever the Mare of Darkness took me.

Dusk’s view

Screaming from the bizarre experience, it was all I could as I aimlessly flew within a blue stream of light. I had no idea what was happening. I knew Dialga was sending me somewhere, but what I was going through didn’t feel much like teleportation. When I reached the end of the stream with a rushing feeling in my stomach, all I could see was just a bright, white void that made me shield my eyes to protect them as I floated within it. When the void faded away, I soon met with hard stone as I landed flat on a solid floor, pain shooting from my stomach from the impact. Rubbing it and wincing from the pain, I stood up and looked at my surroundings. It was there that I became confused by seeing the familiar structure of decaying stone.

“The Castle of the Two Sisters?” I said to myself as I saw I was placed back into the ruins, though it wasn’t the same room I was in before. This room looked to be grander, larger than the Element Altar Room and there was a throne at the very end, atop a platform with a large window open behind it, allowing the starlight to shine in. “Looks like I’ve been brought to the throne room. Looks pretty nice with all that starlight—wait!” that’s when I had a sudden realization. “How is there starlight in the afternoon?” For a horrible moment, I thought Discord had beaten the girls and he had begun his reign of chaos again, intermittently changing between night and day at random intervals. I was about to run down a nearby hallway to get back and find out when a bright flash and a cloud of purple smoke appeared. While I froze and waited to see what would come out, something rushed in and took me behind a rotting pillar. Surprised once again, I found out that it was Darkrai.

“Darkrai?”

Before I could ask any more, it held up one finger to tell me to be quiet before pointing to the other side of it. Looking over to see what it was trying to show me, my jaw drop when I saw what came out of the smoke. Or should I say who. The smoke cleared to reveal Twilight Sparkle, coughing from it and lying in a heap.

“Twilight?” I was confused by her presence here and how she even got here.

Before I could talk go out to talk to her, I was once again shocked by the appearance of another pony. Before the throne was an alicorn mare with feathers and fur as black as the night she bought, her mane and tail having that strange gaseous quality, decorated with twinkling stars. This was in contrast to a set of fierce battle armor she wore, glinting wickedly in the moonlight, as did her cat-like, pale blue eyes. All of this fitted the description of only one pony.

“Nightmare Moon?” It seemed impossible, but here was Nightmare Moon, laughing wickedly with stone orbs floating around her. “But… how?” It was then that I started to think, trying to figure out what was going on. None of this made any sense. The girls defeated Nightmare Moon and turned her back into Princess Luna. “How could she revert back to this? Did she get infected with Black Blood again?” I couldn’t make heads or tails of how this could be happening.

“I don’t understand. Dialga didn’t tell me about this. How—Wait a minute…” from remembering the Legendary, I soon realized what was going on and what Dialga had meant when it said Shield and the others couldn’t follow me. To be certain, I then looked to Darkrai. “Darkrai… do you… know me?” the Darkrai looked to me and shook its head, confirming my suspicion. “You were just trying to keep me safe from Nightmare Moon, weren’t you?” this provoked a nod. “Of course. If Nightmare Moon is here and you don’t know me, then that must mean… I’m in the past! Dialga must have used its Roar of Time to send me back to the day Nightmare Moon escaped. So maybe… what Luna wants me to find is lost to time! But why send me to this point? There’s no way I can search without messing up the timestream. If Nightmare Moon or Twilight or any of the girls see me…” Before I could think any more about it, I then realized something off about this scene. “Hold on, Twilight told me that she and the girls worked together to defeat Nightmare Moon. Why is she alone?” This wasn’t right. Twilight was by herself, yet she’d told me she was with all of her friends when they used the Elements. They had to be here or else they wouldn’t be able to stop Nightmare Moon.

At this point, Twilight bowed her head to charge, snorting from her nostrils. Nightmare Moon actually gave a smirk of amusement. “You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?”

Though worried for her, I didn’t watch what happened next for my attention was dragged away to sounds of ponies worrying outside. Rushing to the window, I followed them to the spot where I’d been in the present day, the structure built into the side of the cliff and the silhouettes of five ponies running around inside. Knowing that it was the girls, I soon realized that they had no idea that Twilight was up here, panicking as they searched for the unicorn.

“This is wrong.” I was now beginning to worry. “If those girls don’t get up here, Nightmare Moon will win.” From there, I knew that I had to get those girls to come up here. “I got to get them up here, but how? I can’t go right up to them and tell them to follow me. That’ll mess up everything. But if I don’t find a way to get them up here, Equestria will be plunged into eternal night!” at that moment, I was wishing I still wasn’t infected with Black Blood so I could be able to use my powers. As El Dragon, I could convince the girls to follow me easily. But using my elemental powers could ultimately speed up the corruption and that was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. It was there that I began to think, trying to figure out how I was gonna get the girls up here. “Come on, Dusk! Think! How do you get the attention of the girls who haven’t met you yet without being seen?”

At that moment, I remembered something, something that Dog had told me months ago, back when we were on our way to Appleloosa…

“Yeah. Oh, that reminds me. I’ve been meanin’ to talk to ya about somethin’.”

“What is it, Dog?”

“Me and AJ had a little talk and she told me the day she and the girls met. Ya see, AJ told me that your magic had been makin’ her think about that day.”

I raised a brow at that. “What does my magic have to do with that?”

“Well… she told me that it reminded her of somethin’ she saw that day, after Twilight was taken by Nightmare Moon.”

“Remind her of what?”

“She’s not actually sure, but she thinks she saw somepony with magic like yours.”

I was surprised by this. “You mean she saw somepony with magic like my own?”

“That’s what she told me.”

Anypony else would have said that this was just a coincidence, that it had to be something else instead. But I, who could be willing to believe the impossible, knew that there was no way this was a coincidence. Seeing how I am thanks to Discord, I can at least try and ensure we all had our future. Even if that means I won’t be in it. With that, I decided to put a hold on the search, I put my focus in helping the girls defeat Nightmare Moon.

“Hey, Darkrai!” I said, making sure Nightmare Moon and Twilight didn’t hear me, managed to get the Pokémon to come over before whispering my plan to it. After telling it all I had in mind, we nodded to each other and got to work. I just hoped it works.

Applejack’s view

“Twilight, where are you?” I called out, the others all running around and searching for her.

We’d heard her scream from outside and arrived to see her jump into the midst of some kind of tornado, which had disappeared an instant later with her and the Elements. Though I hadn’t known her all that long, I was still worried about my friend, as we all were and hoped that she wasn’t hurt.

“Oh, where could she have gone?” Rarity despaired. “She could be anywhere in this ghastly forest!”

“Come on, we gotta find her!” Rainbow declared. “We can’t let Nightmare win.”

“What she said!” Pinkie agreed. “Ooh, what’s that?”

“What's what?” Fluttershy gave a squeak of fear a second later as I turned to see what they were looking at.

I didn’t really know what to make of it. It looked like Twilight, had the same fur and mane color as her, and was the same size. But there were no eyes, no mouth, and it was sparkling, twinkling with a magical glow. It turned its head, looking around at us all, as if it recognized us. It was almost like the blue smoke Nightmare Moon became, only…not dangerous. At least, that was what my gut told me.

“What the hay is this? Some other trick from Nightmare?” Rainbow looked about ready to attack, but I held up a hoof.

“Wait a sec, I don’t think it means us harm.” I stood and watched it for a few moments, then it galloped away to a passageway. It stopped in the doorway and turned back to face us.

“W-w-what is it?” Fluttershy asked, all frightened.

“I think… it means for us to follow it.” Rarity suggested. “Perhaps it can lead us to Twilight.”

“Is that it?” Applejack asked this strange thing. “Can ya lead us to our friend?”

The thing didn’t say nothing, but it did nod its head. I looked in that direction to see another part of the castle, which was filled with a magical light, pulsating like a beating heart. I looked back at the glowing thing.

“Is that where she is?” Again, it didn’t say. Instead, it galloped silently away, no hoof marks being left behind it.

“Hey, come back!” Pinkie was about to run off, only to be held back by Rainbow.

“Now hold on a sec! This could be a trap.” Rainbow said suspiciously.

“Trap or not, it’s our best chance at findin’ her. Come on!” I took the lead and sprinted down the passage as fast as my legs would carry me, the others following swiftly behind.

I didn’t know exactly what that thing was or if it had been caused by something, but I knew—deep down—it was leading us to Twilight. I couldn’t explain it, I just knew. I was like that when it came to being honest.

No one’s view

Ahead, unknown to the group, Darkrai was watching the girls as they followed the apparition. It transformed into a shadow and went more ahead when it saw them closing the distance between it and them, going in the direction the glowing pony was going.

Dusk’s view

After doing it for a while, I had opened my eyes to see Darkrai appear before me.

“Did it work? Are they following it?” I asked, provoking a nod from the Pokémon before I looked to see the five of mares sprint off down the passage.

I kept my concentration, kept my focus on maintaining the color form. Luckily, thanks to Darkrai’s help, I could keep an eye on its progress as I led the girls through the castle over to the throne room. It was a good thing it was here because, as I expected, using my magic was causing the corruption of the Black Blood to accelerate. The veins on my claws had already become pitch black, cracking streaks of the same color already formed around the bite mark on my neck. Not only would using my elemental powers affected my condition, but using magic also increased the rate of my corruption. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take them long to get here and history would remain on track and I can be able to stop before the corruption got too far.

As I kept going, even with the Black Blood rapidly coursing through me, I could hear Twilight in the background along with hearing Nightmare’s cruel laughter of triumph.

“But… where’s the sixth Element?” She said in disbelief before I felt a small shiver in the ground as she stomped her hooves. I didn’t dare turn around, no matter how much I wanted to, combined with the urge to run out and help her. I had to keep my concentration, to make sure that the girls were on their way. No distractions, just this one last thing. I had to…

THUNK!

“Ow!” Just as I felt a sharp pain on the back of my skull, Darkrai grabbed me and pulled me away, hiding us before anypony could notice. Whatever hit me broke my concentration, ending the spell. I just hoped that it wasn’t before the girls knew exactly where to go. Looking back at what was going on, I saw my fears were realized with the sight of a defeated Twilight lying on the floor and Nightmare Moon with a triumphant smile as she was surrounded in shards of stone, no doubt the Elements.

“You little foal, thinking you can defeat me!” Nightmare said to Twilight. “Now you will never see your princess or your sun! The night will last forever!”

I feared that she was right, but that was then replaced with relief and hope as I heard the rest of the girls coming upstairs, their voices echoing from the staircase. Seeing now that plan worked, I couldn’t hold back the proud smile I had.

“I… I did it.” I said to myself, knowing now that I had saved the future. “I really did it!” From there, I then turned to Darkrai and gave it a grateful smile. “Thank you, Darkrai. I couldn’t have done it without you.” From there, I then watched as it held up a hand, showing me something in its palm.

I looked to find a fragment of stone lying in its palm. It must have been what hit me, becoming launched from when Nightmare Moon destroyed the Elements. It was strangely shaped, but that wasn’t what held my attention. It was black, except for a small segment of color on the black stone, which was a dark blue. The color of my fur. It was… just like the six that hung around my neck.

“For me?” I asked it, provoking a nod from it. Gently, like it was a precious diamond, I took the stone and held it in my claw.

My eyes traveled over it as I examined it. Something felt different about this stone. Maybe it was because it was a shard from the Elements? No, that can’t be it. I’ve seen them before and none of them had my color on them. Yet it felt… unique. For the first time, I thought about the significance of these stones. Why did I keep finding them? Why did I feel so compelled to keep them, like they were the most important things in the world? They were nothing, they were just pieces of rock…and yet, why did I feel like there was more to it than that?

Pushing that aside, I then looked to Darkrai and gave him another smile of gratitude. “Thank you, Darkrai. I promise I won’t lose it.”

I whipped my head up as Nightmare Moon let out another bout of laughter, once again hearing the calls of the girls assuring Twilight they were coming. Still feeling that sense of duty, I took this stone and added it to the six already around my neck. Peeking out for behind the pillars, Darkrai and I then watched to behold the events that were about to unfold.

“You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that?” Twilight said, smiling confidently as the girls joined her. “Well, you’re wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!”

“What?” I felt the beginning of a smile at Nightmare's disbelieving tone, the fragments of stone beginning to glow at her hooves. It was happening, the moment I had hoped and wish to see!

“Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the Spirit of… Honesty!” Some of the fragments, which were surrounded in an orange aura, flew to Applejack and began hovering around her. “Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the Spirit of… Kindness!” Another group that shined with pink light soared towards the timid pegasus. “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the Spirit of… Laughter!” Pinkie tingled with happiness as she was next with a set of fragments that gave off a light blue aura. “Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the Spirit of… Generosity!” Rarity looked down at the fragments that flocked to her, said stones glowing in purple. “And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, represents the Spirit of… Loyalty!” Rainbow smiled confidently as she received the last of them, this group giving off a bright red light. “The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us.”

Nightmare looked fearful, desperate for a reprieve. “You still don’t have the sixth Element! The spark didn’t work!”

“But it did! A different kind of spark.” Twilight turned around to face the five mares before her. Even from here, I could see the tears of happiness shining in her eyes as they passed over me, lingering for a fraction of a second. “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are… my friends!”

In that moment, a bright flash of light, one that made me squint from the brightness, appeared above her as did another stone orb that came to a stop near her head. Seeing this, Twilight turned back to face Nightmare, who was now terrified.

“You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the…” She paused, searching for the right words, “the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth Element: the Element of… Magic!”

As the fragments glowed brighter than ever before, gathering near the bases of their necks, I closed my eyes and bowed my head. Though I knew what was coming as Nightmare screamed in defiance of what was happening, I felt that I should do this. I added my wish, my hope, that the Elements would work, that they would free Nightmare Moon of her dark powers and return her to good…as she should be.

No one’s view

As Dusk closed his eyes, unknown to him or the other ponies present, the stones around his neck began to glow, becoming surrounded in a rainbow aura of lilac, pink, cyan, peach orange, indigo, cream yellow, and dark blue. While left in awe, Darkrai shields its eyes to protect them from the blinding light. Looking forward, it then watches as the light that surrounded Twilight and her friends unleashed a rainbow-colored beam at Nightmare Moon, the corrupted princess being caught in a rainbow spiral.

“Noooooo! Nooo!” Nightmare Moon screamed out as a rainbow tornado formed around her, the Elements of Harmony purifying her from her corrupted state. With one bright flash, the six mares gently floated back down to the ground, now wearing their respective Elements. At the same time, the stones around Dusk’s neck ceased to glow as well as all noise and movement seemed to stop.

Dusk’s view

When silence filled the room, I opened my eyes to see that deed was done and the prophecy was now fulfilled. Even with a slight headache and fatigue afflicting me now, I was a little bemused at how peaceful it all looked now. The girls were all on the floor, the Elements of Harmony sparkling around their necks. Well, in Twilight’s case, on the head. They were all unconscious from using the power of the Elements. I noted as well that Rarity’s cut tail had grown back to full length.

“So this is why Dialga sent me here.” I said to myself, coming out of hiding. “I was here from the beginning. If I didn’t help them, they never would have defeated Nightmare Moon. I helped the prophesized wielders find their destiny. How about that?”

Looking to the front of the throne, I also saw that Nightmare Moon was gone, leaving in her place Princess Luna, who was looking a little different from when I’d seen her the first time.

Slowly and softly, I approached Princess Luna. She was even smaller than when I’d met her and her mane didn’t have the same sparkling quality that it would later. It was strange, seeing her like this when before she’d been cackling with evil intentions, but was so much more right. I smiled down at her, still remembering when we’d shared those candy apples at the Gala, her warm smile and carefree laughter. That hadn’t even happened yet so…that was something for her to look forward to at least.

“Welcome back.” I whispered, flicking her fringe out of her face before Darkrai came over and hovered around Luna, looking much concerned. After a moment, I then realized why Darkrai was acting like this. “Now I get it. You’re her Pokémon, aren’t you?” this caused Darkrai to nod at me, for which I gave a smile of assurance. “Don’t worry. She’ll be just fine. I promise.”

Looking at my raised claw, I then remembered that my corruption and looked to see how much it had been increased. I sighed as I saw that almost half my torso was now covered in black cracks, losing my smile now that I knew that I closing to the complete corruption. Looking back at the girls, I gained a small smile as I was feeling the affection and gratitude for them. There they all were, the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, at the beginning of their friendship. I knew that, for them, this was only the start of many adventures, some I had even shared in. Seeing all this and knowing what might become of me if I didn’t find a cure, I thought this would my last chance something before I left, even though they wouldn’t hear me in their current state. And these words would not be for when I returned to the present, but also… possibly my last goodbye to them.

“Hello, girls.” I began, crossing over to them. “You haven’t even met me yet but…you will. It’s not a bad thing, that’s for sure. I don’t regret ever meeting any of you and I’ll never forget the time I spent with you.” I moved to the farm pony, straightening her Stetson as an apple-shaped jewel was around her neck. “I still don’t think my trilby ever truly rivaled to you, Applejack. When me and the guys first came, you spoke to me before you even knew me. In a way, you were my first friend when I first came to Ponyville. Much like I was and still am with Dog, I am proud to have known such a dependable and honest pony as you.” Going to Rainbow, I could see the ruby lightning bolt glinting around her neck as she lay there. “I admire you in so many ways. You’re brave, daring, confident… everything I’m not as just me and could only really hope to be. I did try, but I don't think I ever compared. With Shield joining with you, the Wonderbolts will improve ten-fold once they take you on, Rainbow Dash, as I know they will.” Somehow, she still looked happy, even in her sleep. “I barely knew what true laughter was until I met you, Pinkie Pie. Regardless of how random and unpredictable you are, you could always bring a smile to my face, no matter what my mood. Please know that I tried and…I hope you'll always remember me as Mr. Psychic Pony.”

Moving on Fluttershy, I noticed that even her breathing was gentle and quiet, lying peacefully on the stone. “You and I were alike in so many ways. I didn’t think that there was anypony who could be just as nervous and unsure of themselves as you, Fluttershy. But you have a kindness and compassion that makes you truly special. The same kind as Leon. Though he does annoy me at times, he sure knows when to be kind when it is needed. If I ever had a little sister, I would want her to be you.” Still as beautiful and stylish as the day I met her, I still bowed to Rarity as I had done before. “Rarity, my dear cousin, you’ve done so much for me: taught me to dance, gave me a chance at love, and supported me all the way. I do hope you achieve your dreams and become the best fashionista out there. I’ll never forget your generosity… and I’ll be keeping the hat, just so you know.” Lastly, there was her, the diadem shining in the stars and sparkling like her name. “And you… Twilight Sparkle… where do I begin? From the day we met, I always hoped you would be my friend. You gave me that friendship and so much more besides. I don’t know you had ever wanted to take it further, but that’s something I’ll hold onto anyway. I’ll never forget you.” I leaned in close and whispered in her ear. “Remember: together, you are unstoppable.”

With one kiss on her cheek, an action that she had once done with me, I tore myself away from them and proceeded slowly towards the passage. Knowing they would wake up at any moment, I was planning on going somewhere to avoid them seeing Dialga bringing me back to the present. It was a little ironic that, chronologically speaking, the first time I saw them—at the start of it all—would be the last time. It was then that I stopped for a moment and thought about the stones around my neck and began realizing it.

“These stones… I found them at certain points in time.” I said to myself. “Three of them, I found after I started working with Shield, Dog, and Leon; then I found the next three after the girls threw me that party after I got out of the hospital; and now I got this new one around here.” My eyes widen as I now had a theory about these stones. “Could this new stone… be what Luna wanted me to find?”

At that moment, I felt a sudden tingle. There was this blue energy darting from my leg, tingling throughout my whole body, and growing stronger with every passing second.

“Looks like Dialga’s bringing me back.” I said with a slight laugh. Well, at least I would be back in my own time and not be a stranger out of time. As the light swept over every inch of me, I turned back around, sure that I saw them beginning to stir. “Goodbye, my friends… and good luck.” Remembering something I’d once seen, I raised my claw in farewell. Placing two claws each together, leaving only my thumb, I was about to quote a wise man. “Live long and prosper.” With that, I watched as I re-entered the stream, going through time back to the present.

Though I found what we need, I would need to first take care of this corruption. If I don’t find a way to do so… well, let’s just hope everypony can be able to handle whatever I might become.

Twilight’s view

Never in my life had I felt so tired, so spent of energy. Moaning incoherently, I rubbed my head. I had a splitting headache and would need a good sleep, but I was sure I would be quite all right. Then I felt elation, a surge of triumph. We had done it! We’d rediscovered the Elements and defeated Nightmare Moon! With my friends…

“Ugh, my head…” I heard Rainbow groan.

“Everypony okay?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Rarity sighed with relief, looking at her tail, which was back as it was.

Fluttershy was looking in her direction in awe. “Why, Rarity. It’s so lovely.”

“I know! I’ll never part with it again.” Rarity said, wrapping a hoof around her tail, which has suddenly grown back to how it was before.

“No, your necklace.” she corrected. “It looks just like your cutie mark.”

“What? Ooh.” Rarity then noticed the necklace around her, the jewel resembling a diamond. “So does yours.”

Seeing the very jewels we were wearing, I had no doubt these were the Elements of Harmony, now taken new forms. While the girls all had necklaces, I had some sort of crown. As they all marveled over their individual Elements, I turned away from them, looking at the passage where we’d all arrived. Just before we’d used the Elements on Nightmare Moon, I could have sworn that I saw somepony there, watching the proceedings silently in the shadows. He—at least, I thought it was a he—had just stood there, watching the whole thing. I’d only seen him for an instant and hadn’t thought much on because of the moment, but now… who was he? Also, while I had the unconscious urge to rub it, why did my cheek feel warm?

“Twilight?” I turned to see Applejack looking at me with concern. “Ya okay, sugar cube?”

I looked at her, then back at the passage. There was nothing there and there wasn’t any sign anypony had been there in the first place. Maybe I’d just been seeing things, a trick of the light perhaps. There had been a lot going on.

“Nothing.” I finally said. “I just thought I saw something, that’s all.”

“Really? What?”

I thought for a moment. “Nothing, but… I think it was a friend.”

Applejack gave me a curious look, and then smiled reassuringly. “I’m sure it was, whatever it was ya saw.”

“Yeah…” I glanced back at the spot and smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Author's Note

Well, that was unexpected. With the help of both the Legendary Pokémon Dialga and Princess Luna’s personal Pokémon Darkrai, Dusk has not only managed to ensure Nightmare Moon’s defeat, but might just have found what he was said to find. As he safely returns to the present, questions still remain with answers yet to be found. Does this new stone Dusk had received hold the key to defeating Discord? Can Dusk find a way to avoid his fate set by the Black Blood? Find out what happens to Dusk next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? About that extra scene back there where you get to see what happened when the Elements were being used, I thought you guys would much appreciate seeing that, as well as the little foreshadowing that came with it. And it seems as though things aren’t really looking good for Dusk with the Black Blood spreading through him, huh? Well, hooves crossed to hoping he finds a way to stop it. In the next chapter, you’ll see what Dusk does when he goes back to the present. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 5: Dusk to Nightfall, Part 1

Discord’s view

Present day…

After biding my time for a while, I looked back to see how Dusk’s little stallion friends were doing with the little playmates I gave them. Using a hand mirror, I got to see some pretty entertaining stuff. Little spout Leon was blasting Doom Cobra to pieces constantly as my little bone boy did know how to pull himself together; the ice maker Dog tried to cool down both the flames and Blaze Mamba, but that flame really know how to heat things up; and muscle-head Shield did try to fight the whole time, but Grim Viper had him on the ropes. Of course, I didn’t expect them to win. This was just to give them a little taste of what’s about to come.

“Hmm… okay, that’s enough.” I said to myself, seeing how much time had passed since they began. “I think they’re pretty warmed up for the main event.” With one snap of my fingers, I then brought my little trio back to me, giving them all proud smiles. “Well done, boys. You did a great job keeping them busy.”

“Thank you, Master Discord.” The three of them said, bowing to me.

“Now head off to Ponyville.” I told them. “We got to get everything ready for the little heroes… and possibly our guest of honor.” With another snap, I then sent the three into Ponyville and put away the mirrors I had before going out to see the rest of Twilight’s friends. “Now that’s settled, I think it’s about time I finished this little game.”

No one’s view

After the three Paraserpents disappeared, the three stallions watched in confusion as the rooms they were in returned to normal. Walking over to their respect door, they all then opened them, the way they came in no longer locked. While all of them wondering on what was going on, they then remembered about their blue friend and had a feeling that he might be in trouble. Putting aside their questions of what they experienced, they all set off to find Dusk.

Dusk’s view

After readying the end of the stream and the white void disappeared, I snapped my eyes open as the whirling and tingling stopped and I felt my hooves and claws hit solid ground. I was no longer in the ruins of the castle, past or present, but looked to be at the edge of the Everfree Forest, on the very threshold of the trees. Quickly, I scurried away from the trees and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, that was wild.” I said to myself as I glanced down at my neck to see the stone fragment I had received from Darkrai hanging around my neck, the seventh along with others. “Hard to believe that, all this time, my destiny had been so intertwined with that of the girls. It’s… miraculous.”

“Dusk!” Looking up, I then watched as Shield and the others rushed over to me.

“Guys!” I said to them before noticing how injured they were (Shield with bruises, Dog with scorch marks, and Leon looking quite frazzled) as they came into view. “Whoa! What happened to you?”

“Just escaped Discord’s traps.” Leon told me. “A couple of Paraserpents lured us away and locked us in a room with them.”

“I see I’m not the only one who had a bad experience with something belonging to Discord.” I said, remembering how I became infected.

“Speakin’ of which, I’m guessin’ that black stuff all over ya has somethin’ to do with him?” Dog asked, now noticing the infected areas on my body.

“Yeah, and this is actually the worst of them all.” I said as I explained. “Discord infected me with Black Blood.”

“Black Blood?” Shield asked as he and the others looked at me with confusion.

“Black Blood is a very toxic substance.” I told them. “Those who are infected by it are inflicted with madness, similar to how Discord’s magic can induce insanity onto anypony. He decided to do this to me after he failed to use his own influence to turn me.”

“Wait, you resisted his magic?” Leon asked, surprised by this. “How?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Somehow, I was able to keep up my resilience.” I said before getting back to the task at hoof. “But that’s not important. What matters now is that we complete the task Luna set us to do.”

“Right.” Shield said, remembering why we were here. “Finding the thing that can help beat Discord!”

“So did ya find it?” Dog asked me.

“Sure did.” I said before using my claw to hold up my necklace, presenting the new stone. “Turns out it was this little guy.”

“A rock?” Leon was now giving me a nonchalant look. “That’s what she sent us here for? A rock?!”

“Hey, that one looks like the others around your neck.” Shield noticed how similar the newest addition to my necklace compared to the others. “And it’s got some of the same color as your fur! Where’d you get it?”

“It’s a long story, one I don’t really have time to tell.” I said before using my magic to take off my necklace. “Listen to me very carefully, I want you to take the stones and keep them out of Discord’s hands.”

“Why are you giving us your necklace?” Shield asked in confusion.

“Yeah, you found the rock.” Leon added.

“That is true, but there has been a change of plans.” I told them. “You three will have to guard the stones without me.”

“What? Why?” Dog asked as they were all shocked.

“Look, I know this is sudden, but what Discord has done to me could end up complicating things.” I explained. “If I’m ever gonna be able to help you and the girls, I need to get rid of this Black Blood.” After Shield then takes the necklace in his hoof, I then began walking away. “You guys head back to the library with the stones, I’m going back to my house. I have a book there that might hold the answer as to stop all of this.”

“You’re gonna look for a cure by yourself?” At Shield’s words of surprise, I stopped. “Dusk, if what Discord did to you is that bad, then we should try to work together to…”

“Shield, you don’t understand.” I told him before unveiling what I discovered. “What is happening to me… it happened to Princess Luna.”

“What are you talking about?” Shield asked.

“Guys… Nightmare Moon wasn’t something that came from having a cruel heart or jealousy. Luna became that way… because she had been infected with Black Blood.” This news caused the guys to gasp. “As such, if I don’t find a way to stop this, the Black Blood will turn me into something just as bad as Nightmare Moon. Possibly, something even worse.” I sighed before I continued. “In the event that I don’t find a cure and I do suffer this fate… I want you all to promise me that, whatever I become, you’ll do everything in your power to ensure nopony gets hurt. Even if you must take drastic measures.”

“Dusk…” Shield started.

“Just promise me that nothing will happen to anypony once I turn. The thought that my own claws will be used to bring harm to others is too much to bear.”

It took a moment before Shield sighed in defeat and said “Okay, Dusk. We’ll make sure everypony’s safe.”

“Thank you.” I said, turning my head to give them a smile. “Now make sure the girls get that necklace.”

“How’s your good luck charm gonna help us?” Leon asked with a raised brow.

“Just trust me. The girls will know what to do. Good luck!” I said as I then ran out of the castle, moving as quickly as possible towards Ponyville.

I felt pretty terrible having to leave my friends like that, but it was for their own safety. With the corruption spreading, I was just too dangerous to be around anypony. Upon entering Ponyville, I went past everypony and ignored every greeting and words they were trying to say to me. Reaching my house, I swiftly entered, closed the door, and locked it. Trying to catch my breath from all that running, I then slid against it while feeling relief.

“Was that really a smart idea?” said a voice, this one distorted and chilling. “You know as much as I do you aren’t going to find anything. Especially since…”

“Shut up.” I said, knowing exactly what this voice was. “I am going to find a cure. There haves to be one.”

“We’ll see.” It said, sounding pretty smug.

From there, I headed off and searched my books, looking for the one I needed.

Shield’s view

After leaving the castle and getting back to the library, me and the boys were all pretty much feeling grim since Dusk wasn’t around with us. Sure, we got what we were looking for, but it just didn’t feel the same without the cap around. It especially didn’t feel right when I was wearing his necklace. Speaking of which, I was wondering why he wanted us to get this to the girls. Didn’t Twilight made this for him a gift? Why give it back? Hopefully, she might give us an answer to all this. By the time we got to the library, we were met by Spike who was happy to see us.

“Welcome back, guys!” Spike said as we got into the library. “How’d it go? Did you find what Luna wanted?”

“Ee-yup.” Dog told him as I took the necklace off and tossed it over to the table where that statue was. None of us were really happy.

“Hey, where’s Dusk?” Spike asked, now noticing Dusk wasn’t around.

“He’s not here.” Leon told him. “He went off to do his own thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t want to talk about it.” I told the little dragon. “Let’s just say that… he might not be coming back.”

“What?” Spike said before Dog spoke up.

“Uh… fellas?” We all then looked over and saw him holding Dusk’s necklace with his magic. “Look!” We all came over and were shocked to see two of the stones slowly turned completely black, that little bit of color gone.

“What the…?” I asked as another one started turning black.

“Dusk’s stones…” Leon said, just as shocked as I was.

“What’s happening to them?” Spike said, looking just as worried as the rest of us.

“I don’t know, Spike.” I told him. “I don’t know.”

Dusk’s view

“Here you are!” I said, feeling great joy that I found the book I was looking for: the white book with the symbol of three eyes on the cover. The joy instantly disappeared when I felt something creeping along my body, looking over to see that corruption had progressed even more.

“Tick-tock, Dusk.” The voice said to me. “Time to test your luck.”

With that, I then got to my desk, using my magic to open the book and searched through the pages. After a brief moment, I managed to find the right section, the one about Black Blood.

“Finally!” I said, the joy I had returning to me. “Now let’s see if we can’t find a way to end all of this.” Scanning through the pages, I saw it talking much about Black Blood, like where it came from and how it affects those exposed to it. When I found a part about research towards a cure for Black Blood infections, I praised Heaven for giving me a chance to save both myself and all who I cared about. “Okay, here we go…” It was then that I read was written:

Due to creatures of all kinds becoming infected with Black Blood, either intentionally or by accident, many researchers and medical professionals began to work in finding a way to reverse the effects and undo the corruption that ensued the victims.

So far so good, I thought.

From undergoing procedures and experimentation, using all terms of modern medicine and developments of new medicine, those involved in the projects to cure Black Blood infections have come to a decisive conclusion.

While I was smiling in anticipation, from rereading that last part multiple times, my heart sunk like stone as I saw those very words: “As of far, there is no certain cure for the infection.”

“No…” I said as I closed the book with my claw in despair before tossing it aside in anger. “NO!” It was at that moment that I began to cry for I was now doomed, that there was no way to escape my fate.

“Oh, no cure. Too bad.” The voice said with sarcastic concern. “Guess you’re stuck with it then.” He then started sounding happy with himself. “Good. Means now I don’t have to wait until I get to play.”

Seeing now that I had no way to stop this, I knew what I had to do. From this point on, I now hoped that the guys can be able to stop me and they help the girls defeat Discord. I also hoped that they would keep their promise for, as I said, I couldn’t live with myself if I did anything that might hurt the ponies I loved. It was time to slip away from Ponyville again. This time, not back to Canterlot, but to where nopony will ever find me. I didn’t want anypony to see me once I go through the change. I remembered a series of rocky passages near Whitetail Wood. Perhaps there would be an empty cave there I could take refuge inside… and let the Black Blood do its work… a horrible thought, but a necessary one. It was for the best.

With a heavy heart, I set off towards the direction of the wood, passing the spot where Shield and I had once followed a certain cyan Pegasus pony… the memory flooded back to me, appearing as clearly as the day I had first been there…

“Here we are, boys.” Rainbow declared, descending to us again. “The edge of the Everfree Forest. Nopony ever comes near here. Unless you’re me, of course.”

“Of course.” I murmured, eyeing the forest warily.

“Yeah, what better place than a forest that nopony wants to go anywhere near?” Shield sarcastically said.

“Hey,” she said to us, raising an eyebrow, “you’re not scared, are you?”

“No way.” Shield said to her, making sure he kept his tough guy image.

“Um…well, er…” I hated looking so weak in front of her. “A little.”

“Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be scared of in…” She paused and, in a spooky voice, “the Everfree Forest!”

“Knock it off, Dash.” Shield said to her. “You’re freaking Dusk out.”

“Relax, Dusky, I’m only kidding.” She laughed at how ridiculous I no doubt looked. “I like you guys. You’re alright.”

Despite what had happened that day, I couldn’t help but smile fondly at it. Having just run away, thinking I’d made the stupidest mistake in my life, I’d met Rainbow Dash…and just ended up making another one. Even so, they had still forgiven me afterwards, though I went on to make another stupid mistake shortly afterwards.

That had been the first time I’d used my color puppetry for something useful, something that had helped somepony that needed. Even if it hadn’t quite gone as I had planned, I’d still done it rather than back down away from it. I’d always had headaches afterwards from the practice sessions that I did with her in future, especially after the Young Flyers Competition, but it had still been worth it…I was going to miss those days.

Stopping at the hill, I happened to look back at the town, with its thatched straw rooves and wooden houses… Ponyville, the place that had felt more like my true home than Canterlot ever had. Everypony was so much happier, so much more open… and I had lived out the best days of my life here. I wanted nothing more than to run back home, to just stay there forever. But it was better for me to never see it again than to see it in the flames of chaos, especially if I was causing them…

Walking on a little further, I came across a lake, again a place that held significance for me. I paused for a moment, then crossed over to one specific part of the water’s edge. Recalling how I had been, I lay down by it and stared down into the water, almost wishing that she would be here again. Jumping up out of the depths, wearing a snorkel and flippers, ready to try and cheer me up with some helpful advice…

“Dusk, I doubt that they would be angry with you.” She said to me. “Sure, you ruined the life of one friend, putting him in a wheelchair and making him hate you for the rest of his life.” She no doubt saw she made me feel worse as she took on an apologetic tone. “Oh, I’m not making this better, aren’t I?” after a while, she then spoke again. “Anyway, the girls aren’t gonna be as mad as they are worried for you. They’ll forgive you.”

“Why?” I asked as I looked up at her, my look of shame not even going away.

“Because they were just accidents.” she said with a bright smile. “Besides, they already have.”

“What?” I said, shocked by what she said. Had I misheard her? They'd…forgiven me? “What are you talking about?”

“Well, when I met your friends yesterday, the girls were helping them look for you. Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Ooh, you know so many of my friends. Anyway, they asked me if they’d seen you, they were really worried. I hadn’t though and I wanted to help, but I was really busy, so I couldn’t. Sorry.”

“The girls were with the guys…looking for me?” Was that why Dog and Applejack had come to my house, Dog showed Applejack where I lived and come looking for me there? Had the girls really been worried about me? “Why? I understand why the guys were doing it, but why were Twilight and the others looking for me?”

“ʹCause they’re your friends, silly! Friends look out for each other.”

“Yeah, that’s what the guys tell me just about every day. Though I doubt the girls consider me as a friend.” I insisted. “They’re just being nice to me because I’m new. They’re probably gonna scold me for what I did.”

“Dusk, what did I tell you?” I looked back up at her. “They’re not gonna hate you.”

“But what if they will?”

“Won’t.”

“I’m just saying…”

“Shush.” Okay, now I didn’t know what she was doing.

“But what if…”

“No! Got anything else to say?”

“Uh…” I tried to say something, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. I had nothing to say.

“Mmhmm!” she hummed in satisfaction. “Right, I gotta go. Lots to do and little time. See ya later, Dusk, remember what I told you!”

“I did remember what you told me.” I murmured, reaching out and touching the water with my claw, making the clear surface ripple. “That was the start of it…”

I left it for a few moments, then drew it back, viewing my reflection in the water, feeling like I was looking at a mostly cracked mirror with how far the corruption has gotten. It was ironic that the place where the pony with the most hope and joy I know helped me is where I was now stuck looking at one filled with nothing but despair.

Just for a moment, I witnessed a brief flash on the water's edge of that dark rage-filled face and burning eyes that may or may not become my own, I gazed out to the opposite end of the lake. There, at that spot, was where I’d first tried my hoof at being useful…and it had worked without any hitches…

“We did it.” Fluttershy said proudly. “Thank you for your help, boys. You all did a wonderful job.”

“Was ain’t no problem, sugar cube.” Dog said to her.

“Yeah, what do you expect from the Element Squad?” Shield said, proudly.

“We were glad we could help.” I said to her.

“Thank you so much for taking the time to.” She said to us. “You’re all really nice ponies.”

“Well, thanks, Fluttershy. That means a lot to me.” I said, sincerely.

“You’re welcome.” she said. Just seeing that grateful smile on her face made me glow inside.

Fluttershy… that had been the first time I’d seen her gentle kindness with animals. I wondered where that little family of ducks was now, if they would remember me at all. I shut my eyes, the surface of the water now being broken by the tears that rolled down my cheeks. The surface rippled again and I saw that horrible face, the dark fur, that painful grimace.

“Dusk…” In that chilling voice, it sent a shiver up my spine. “You cannot run from me. I am you and nothing can change that.”

“I know.” I replied. “But my friends will stop you. Even if I’m lost to madness, I know in my heart that they will never let somepony like you prevail.”

“Why try to innate the inevitable? Nopony cannot stop me nor are your friends safe by you running. I’ll get out, Dusk. Just you wait.”

“You’re not real. You’re just the Black Blood making a voice in my head.”

"You mean our head? I’m a part of you and always will be.”

“No… never.”

“Let me out, Dusk… give in to hate.”

“No!”

“Let me out NOW!”

“NO!” I slapped the water with my claw, my breathing heavy. Looking back, my reflection had returned to normal.

I stared at the spot where my darker self had appeared to me. This was now an even stronger reminder of why I had to leave. I couldn’t let that part of me take over, not now and not ever. For the ponies I loved… I had to do this. The pain now seeming even worse now, I stood up and walked away, back towards the wood.

I lifted my head up at the sound of flapping wings and felt a sudden jolt of joy when I saw my pet as she landed on my outstretched arm. “Hello, Ophelia.” She gave me a gentle hoot and an inquisitive tilt of her head. She wanted to know where I was going. “I’m leaving, Ophelia. I know it’s sad, but… it’s for the best.” I stroked her feathers with tender care. “You don’t have to come with me. You can just go, but… it’s what I need to do.” She stared at me for a few moments, then shook her head and nipped my cheek with her beak. “You… you’re coming with me?” She nodded, her amber eyes boring into me. Well, at least someone wanted me around. “Thank you… come on, let’s go.”

I let her take off and fly above me, watching after her. Though I was leaving to keep the girls safe and so they wouldn't have to put up with me, but there was no sense in leaving my pet behind. I just couldn’t stand the thought of it… I might as well keep a few memories of my once happy times.

Shield’s view

“This isn’t looking good.” Leon said, just as worried as I was.

Ever since we got back to the library we had been watching as the stones on Dusk’s necklace had been losing color. It had gotten to the point to where the only one left was the new he got today.

“I hope Dusk is okay.” Dog said, looking out the window.

“You and me both, Dog.” I said before looking back at the only stone that had color, wondering what was going on with the cap.

Dusk’s view

The two of us reached the trees of Whitetail Wood, its flowers still in bloom for summer, gracing me with a colorful beauty I didn't feel I deserved. I couldn’t help but remember the names of the ones I saw. Foxglove, snowdrop, lilies… and lilacs. Another memory flooded back to me, when I first contemplated romance…

“I thought so.” she said knowingly.

“W-w-what?”

“What you just said.” she clarified. “You and Twilight do have a lot in common, spend a lot of time together. I thought that, if anypony would have your affection, it would be her.” She smiled even more warmly.

"B-b-but…I’m not sure if I do…feel that way… about her.” I went on pathetically. “I mean… I don't know…”

“Well, let’s see then.” Rarity said. “Do you often find your thoughts drift to her?”

“Um…quite a bit, I guess…”

“Do you often pass glances at her, one might say, even stare?”

“Um…perhaps…”

“Do you enjoy her company, to the point that it's almost difficult to think of leaving her side?”

“…Yes…” I then stopped her and got to some important facts about my family. “But that doesn’t exactly prove as much of me having those kind of feelings for Twilight.”

“Really?” She asked, still smiling. “How so?”

“Well… Fire Dragons like me are kind of… complex.” I said before I got to explaining what I meant. “Looking to their experiences at finding love, I found out that there were some discrete signs that show a Fire Dragon is in love. Unless I was able to look at myself as it happens, there is no way to tell if I show those signs.”

“Well…” Rarity put her cup down as she looked at me with a knowing smile. “You might not, but it doesn’t mean somepony else sees it.”

“What do you mean?” I was confused by this. What did she mean by that?

“Actually, darling… I knew all about this situation you were having.”

“What?!” I was shocked. She actually knew that I was acting like this? How did she know? “How?”

“To tell you the truth, it was actually Spike who told me all that what was happening.” She then started to explain. “You see, you didn’t know it, but Spike had seen the way you’ve been acting with Twilight. Though he did not see what he saw, I knew what all this had meant.”

“Wait, are you saying that…” I was just shocked by this. I actually had all the signs? Then… I really did have feelings for Twilight.

“There is no doubt about it. You truly have feelings for her, Dusk.” she said confidently, still smiling. “Personally, I think that the two of you would make a very cute couple.”

“That’s, um…nice of you to say so. But…” I added sadly. “She thinks romance is a waste of time, that chasing after somepony who may not even return your feelings is nothing to get your hopes up. I don’t think I have much of a chance.”

“I don’t think so, dear. From what Twilight told us, she thought much the same of friendship once upon a time. Now look at her. I’m sure that, in time, she would start to look at romance in much the same light. It may take some time, but she will.”

“But…how will I know if she even feels the same way?”

“Most times, you can’t. But that’s the thrill of love, not quite knowing but that elation you feel when you realize they do feel the same…” She sighed again. “There's nothing else like it.”

I nodded at this. “So…you think I might…have a chance with her?”

“I don’t thinkyou will, I know you will.” she said confidently. “We’ll keep this between us, as I promised, but if there is any way I can help at all, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Okay. Thank you, Rarity.” There was one thing I felt he should ask. “Is there anything do you think I should do, you know…to show Twilight how I feel?”

“Dusk, quite frankly, you’ve been doing all of the right things so far.” she informed me. “You two are already close friends, you share much of the same interests. You seem to go out of your way for her, can make conversation easily—oh, and the flowers! That was a wonderful gesture. I’m sure she was grateful for those.”

“She was, yes…so, should I just…keep doing what I’m doing?”

“Yes, do. One thing that scares a girl off is moving too quickly. Take it nice and slowly, pay her the occasional compliment on her appearance or her work. You do that, I’m sure you’ll succeed. After all, you have me helping you.”

Feeling compelled to, I picked one of the lilacs and revolved it in the air before me. To think, I had been yearning all my endeavors would work, that I could ever hope to win the heart of Twilight Sparkle. To think that, at the end of it all, the two of us would possibly never see each other again.

“I didn’t even get to tell her how I truly feel.” I sighed, letting the flower fall onto the earth and trudging on. Was it some kind of torture, that I was being forced to be stripped of all that brought me happiness? Times I could wish to live again, now more than ever?

“What need have you of love? What purpose does it serve, but for pain? Pain that you can embrace to become stronger than you ever believed. Give in…” Ignoring my darker self, I shook my head and carried on my path.

It happened again when I reached a clearing, in a meadow filled with flowers with a shaded tree growing nearby. Wondering over, I soon found it. A little shoot, spouting from the ground. Certainly bigger than when I’d first planted it…

“Wait a sec…” Applejack picked up one of the cores, extracted the seeds with care and delicately planted them in a spacious patch of the meadow. I helped her dig a hole, covering it up a few seconds later. “There. Now there’ll soon be a nice new apple tree in this here spot.”

“New life in spring, a wonderful thing." I mused to myself, making Applejack smile. “Thanks for today, AJ. It was…memorable.”

“I sure hope so.” she chuckled. “No problem, Dusk. I had fun with y’all.”

“I suppose…it was rather fun." Allowing myself a smile, I gently nudged the shoot. “Keep growing, little one. You’ll certainly accomplish more than I ever could…”

“But you can, if you only let me out, my friend.” my darker self put in. I could picture him grinning. "Come on, try it…”

“Be quiet.” I ordered harshly.

“Am I getting to you? Good!” He laughed again and fell silent, but he was still there…I could feel him.

Setting back on the path, I reached the sign-posted spot that led up into the rocky caverns. Ophelia had landed on top of it and was patiently waiting for me, as I stopped at the fork. This was it. The last threshold to my life in exile.

Just before I ventured up, I stopped and turned my head around. I could still trace my hooves and claws over the path I had taken, when I had been conserving my energy to run part of a race, with the most wonderful pony I’d ever met…

“Oh, my! Dusk,” she sighed, bringing me out of my thoughts, “isn’t Whitetail Wood lovely?”

“Yes, it is.” I agreed, gazing around at the bare trees and feeling the leaves crunching beneath my claws and hooves. “The beauty of nature is truly one of the greatest things about the world, there can be no doubt.”

“Yeah.” she sighed again. “See, I told you this would be a great experience.”

“That you did.” I smiled my best smile. “Thanks for convincing me to come along, I’m really having a good time.”

“Me too.” she agreed.

“I truly wish I had more time with you… but I can’t share any more with you, Twilight.” I whispered, the tears starting afresh. Feeling a twinge of pain, I could feel it as the corruption reach the final step before it consumed me whole, my whole body now covered in darkened cracks, spare my cutie mark and my tail. When the pain subsided, I heard a cackle in that deep voice and was reminded again of why I was doing this.

“End of the line, Dusk.” that chilling voice spoke. “You know what happens next.”

“Yes…” I bowed my head. “Time to face my fate.”

“Good boy. Then let’s go.” Another sinister chuckle and there was silence once more. It was time to go.

“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle… Goodbye, everypony… I’ll miss you.” My tears splashing on the dirt below, I hung my head and walked this path, alone.

I didn't know what was worse: the fact that I would never again feel as happy as I had in all of those memories I’d experienced. I had still enjoyed myself at every moment I had spent with the girls. They had shown me so much. They showed me that I could do good things if I tried by just being myself, that I could be more than I had ever thought I would be. Looking back, I know they enjoyed it and I still had the memories of what they had done, along with whatever pride and accomplishments came with them. Those feelings certainly weren’t false and they were not something nopony could take away.

Feeling a little less badly, I came across a small section in the rocky paths, large enough for me to fit in. Well, it was as good a spot as any. Far enough where nopony would get hurt and see what will happen.

“Hm… yes. An excellent piece of cave real estate.” I jumped when I heard Discord’s manipulative voice and whipped around to see him grinning. “Look, it’s even up for sale!” He snapped his fingers and a “for sale” sign appeared in front of it, though the sign was upside down.

“What are you here for?” I asked bitterly.

“I’m just here looking for you. You just seemed to vanish and I was so worried about you.” he said in a mock concerned tone. “Tell me, where did you go off to?”

Knowing deep down that I shouldn’t tell him, I looked away. “What does it matter to you?”

“It does matter, especially with how I see you now.” He whipped his face in front of me, his eyes making contact with mine. “Tell me, where did you go?” I stared into those blood-red depths, glaring with nothing but pure hate.

“That's none of your business, my lord.” I gave a mock bow and turned away from Discord, determined not to let him have further satisfaction.

“Oh, really? You think you can just walk away?” I felt a pain in my skull as Discord grabbed my head, all composure and charisma gone. “Tell me, now!”

I could feel him, working his way into my mind. Yet he had still had trouble doing so. He was supposed to be powerful enough to where I could do nothing to stop him. That once Discord did this, there was no chance at resistance. Yet, every time Discord tried to access my memories, I could fend off his jabbing probe. I was strong, but something else was giving me strength, something that was keeping him out… but what exactly, I had no idea.

That trick won’t work on me, Discord. I mentally told him. I’m not gonna tell you anything! So… get… out of… my… HEAD! I pressed on a kind of weak offensive, nothing substantial, but it was enough to keep him out.

Eventually, I felt Discord's presence withdraw and I opened my eyes, feeling drained. The draconequus was staring at me with a curious expression and perhaps a hint of…fear?

“How are you doing that?” he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

“I… don’t know and… I don’t care.” I pulled myself up to my hooves and claws and turned away from him again. “Haven’t you tormented me enough?”

A moment of silence, then his mocking tone was back. “Tormented? A while ago, I had simply only tried to show you the truth and gave you something to show you things the way I do. Now I’m here to make sure you’re settling in nicely enough. Do you need anything? Pillows? A book perhaps? How about a hug?” Finally having enough of the spirit of chaos toying with me, I then decided to make him leave. It was a good thing Ophelia was here to help.

“Ophelia, use Peck.” Right there and then, my little Hoothoot then went over and started pecking Discord, surprising the draconequus as I turned away from him and returned to the cave. “Okay, Ophelia, that’s enough.” With that, Ophelia stopped her attack and went over to me. “Take a hint. What I need is for you to leave, Discord. Leave me alone. I don’t want the last face I see before I turn to be your ugly mug.”

There was a moment of silence, like Discord was contemplating what I said. I thought I heard him mumble something, but he then spoke louder.

“Oh, well that’s gratitude for you.” He said to me. “Don’t worry, if all goes well, I’ll never have to come looking for you again. Au revoir, little Dusk!” With that, he vanished again.

Yet, even while he was gone, I was starting to feel a bit suspicious. Why was he so determined to know where I had been? Did he know something that I didn’t? What further tricks did the spirit of chaos have in store for me? I didn’t have time to dwell on those questions for long as a surge of pain rushed through my body, causing me to collapse on the cold, hard earth as I wringed in complete agony. This was it, I was reaching the final stage. Now the Black Blood was going to consume me whole. As of now… the life of Dusk Noir had come to a close. I tried my best to make myself comfortable, calming my mind with the feelings of happiness I’d felt with the girls. Feeling my strength being zapped away, I remembered something I’d read that was rather appropriate for this: Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

No one’s view

Nestling on a rock nearby, Ophelia watched in concern as her master groveled in pain, his tail revealing its true form before—from the base to the tip—slowly turning from bright red to the darkest black. She had no idea what was happening and was horrified by what she was witnessing.

“Ophelia…” Dusk said to her, weakly raising a claw to her while trying is best to look at her. “R… ru… run!” After he said that one word, Dusk’s golden tail spike began to become sickly pale as they swelled like liquid sacks as something black filled them. From reaching the size of beach balls, the spikes then suddenly popped, turning into a black liquid that continued to spew from where the spikes were. Ophelia gave out a great hoot of concern as she flew into the air above the unicorn and the substance began to cover Dusk, its actions resembling something similar to a snake consuming its prey. “Don’t worry about me. Just get out of here! Fly away, save yourself!” With him losing his hat, Dusk’s whole body had been swallowed into a large, black blob, only his face remaining as his gaze was focused on the little Hoothoot. “Goodbye, Ophelia.” With one last smile give to her, Ophelia watched as Dusk’s face disappeared, the black substance now consumed her master completely.

Though her heavy heart was forcing her to stay, Ophelia did as her master told her and began flying away, tears flowing from her eyes as she left the cave and headed her way back towards the library.

Shield’s view

With all the stones now turned completely black, me and the guys all looked at each other while feeling the same thing: the worry, not what happened to Dusk’s necklace, but what exactly was now happening to our pal Dusk.

Dusk, wherever you are, I really hope you’re okay.

Discord’s view

Watching from outside and letting the little Pokémon fly past me, I allowed myself a victorious smile as I saw the black blob that the little stallion was trapped in lying on the cave floor. How could he have been what Fore Sight had once foretold? Sure, he was a Fire Dragon. But, other than that, he was nothing. Take away what makes him so special, he’s just as tiny and powerless as the rest of his little friends.

He may have resisted my power, but there is no way he can be able to break from the madness of Black Blood. Soon, Dusk’s mind will become dormant and the little black seed I planted in him will finally bear its fruit. Who knows? Maybe once he’s corrupted fully, the little fire-breather might make a good servant. The chaos he could wreak when he unlocks his full potential.

“Soon, Dusk, you’ll see things my way… once you give in to your dark side.” I gave a little spin in the air and with a flash, returned to the maze. Just one last thing to do…

Twilight’s view

Despite how heavy this stone was on my back, Rarity having long since abandoned me to carry it by myself and the strange behavior of her friends caused by Discord, I was still determined. The thought that we could find the Elements, stop Discord… save Dusk, all that was what kept me going, kept me fighting. We could still find Rainbow, brave and loyal Rainbow Dash.

“Must… find… Rainbow Dash.” I stopped to rest a moment. “As a team… we’re unstoppable. Rainbow Dash won’t let us down.”

Applejack’s voice, which hadn’t been as honest as before, made my head snap up. “Well, lookie there. Rainbow Dash is flyin’ away. She’s abandonin’ us.”

“Now I know that’s a lie.” I cast the stone aside and looked up…to see a Pegasus streak away up into the sky, feeling her heart sink. “How can it be?”

At that moment, the sky was darkened by grim clouds and thunder boomed in my ears. The walls of the maze fell away around us, sinking into the ground, leaving nothing but a dirt crater. Through the smoke, I could see one serpentine figure, his opposite wings flapping to clear away the smoke. When he spoke, his voice was dripping with gloating triumph.

“Well, well, well. Somepony broke the ‘no wings, no magic’ rule.” He snapped his fingers and with a flash, Fluttershy’s wings and mine and Rarity’s horns returned. That could mean only one thing… “Game’s over, my little ponies. You didn’t find your precious Elements.” He conjured up a pink umbrella, which he unfolded backwards and I felt a sense of loss and despair. “Looks like we might be due for a big old storm of chaos!”

As he laughed in triumph, I could only watch in horror. How could we ever hope to win this time? Now he was in power, what hope did we have to stop Discord from reigning chaos…forever?

Author's Note

Unable to find a way to undo the corruption, Dusk has now been consumed by Black Blood. To make matters worse, Twilight was too late to save her friends as they have now been corrupted by Discord. With our heroes reaching their darkest hour, is there still a chance they can defeat Discord? What will become of Dusk and can he be saved? See how our heroes come to face the dark day of Equestria next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? To be honest, I actually let loose some tears while writing in this chapter, mostly with the Dusk scenes. Looks like Dusk is in real trouble now that he fell into the pit of despair made by the Black Blood. Hopefully, Dusk can be able to find his way out. You know what a wise man once said about falling, right? In the next chapter, Dusk comes face to face with his dark self as a battle between them begins within Dusk’s mind. Who will win? Wait to find out. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 6: Dusk to Nightfall, Part 2

“Okay, maybe Dusk was on to something with these stones.” Leon said as I walked around the room, pacing back and forth while worrying about Dusk. “Did you see how they all turned black?”

“Ee-yep!” Dog told him. “But now that they changed, do we still give them to the girls?”

“Man, I wish Dusk was here.” what Leon said made me stop pacing.

“Well, he’s not here, is he?” I told him and Dog, now just angry that he brought that up. “He’s still out there, dealing with what Discord did to him! Until he gets back, we’re on our own, got that?”

“Whoa! Take it easy, Shield!” Spike told me. “Geez, are you guys always like this without Dusk?”

“What y’all expect?” Dog told him, pointing out the obvious. “Dusk’s our leader. He’s always known what to do at times like this.”

“Yeah. Even I have to admit that I feel pretty lost without him.” Leon added.

I sighed, knowing that I was much the same as those two. “Yeah, same here. Dusk should have been back by now. Really hope he got himself together.”

“You and me both.” Spike told me. “I just really hope Twilight and the others are doing better than we are.”

Though I didn’t admit it, I was hoping that too. Right now, I was wishing Dash would get here soon.

Twilight’s view

As Discord laughed with thunder booming all around him, I was still staring in horror as the draconequus rolled on the floor while clutching his sides. I was still trying to comprehend the fact that we had failed, that Discord was going to reign chaos across Equestria because we couldn't stop him. I was still trying to understand that we had failed our home, our families… Dusk… when an angry Pinkie spoke up.

“And what are you laughing at?” she demanded from Discord.

He paused to wipe a tear from his eye, still smiling away. “Ho! You ponies are just the most fun I’ve had in eons.”

“Well, quit it!” she ordered. “You’d better think before you laugh at the Pink…ie Pie!”

“Oh, yeah? Well, ha, ha.” Fluttershy laughed cruelly, further aggravating Pinkie.

"Quit it!”

“No. Ha, ha.”

“Quit it!”

“No. Ha, ha-ha, ha, ha.”

This was the worst part as I watched my friends began to squabble among themselves. Fluttershy continuing to aggravate Pinkie and Rarity fending off Applejack when she tried to take her “diamond”. Thanks to what Discord has done to them in this maze, Applejack had taken to lying, Fluttershy was behaving cruelly, Pinkie had become a cynic, and Rarity convinced that a huge boulder was a diamond.

Now I was really regretting leaving Dusk behind in Ponyville. Seeing how he resisted Discord like that, not only would have Dusk been able to help the girls snap out of it, he would have stuck by my side to find the Elements and stop our foe. Right now, I really wished he was here as I tried to calm my friends down.

“Girls, stop fighting! We need to stick together.” They ignored me and continued to fight and I felt that sense of hopelessness once more.

“It’s just too entertaining.” Discord had conjured up a row of seats and was laid back on them, eating popcorn from a tub.

Approaching where he sat, I glared at him angrily. “Stop it, Discord! You’re not playing fair!”

“I’m not playing fair? Perhaps we haven’t met.” He stood up and held out his lion's paw like they were just getting acquainted. “I’m Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony. Hello?”

“How are we supposed to find the Elements of Harmony when you took away the labyrinth before we could get to the end?” I demanded.

“Oh, wait, did you…?” He paused to laugh once more, as if I had said some kind of joke. “How funny! You thought the Elements were in the labyrinth?”

He snapped his fingers and transported me back to the Royal Canterlot Tower, when he had set us off on this whole wild goose chase. I heard again the riddle he recited and, once again, I wondered at the last verse. What was it we needed to stop Discord completely along with the Elements of Harmony? Something that is supposed be more even if Dusk and the others helped us? Was it some other kind of artifact we had missed? What were we meant to be looking for?

Before I could ponder this further, Discord transported them back, a self-satisfied smile on his twisted features.

“I never said they were in the labyrinth," he pointed out.

“But… but…” He cut me off and started to walk away.

“Keep trying, Twilight Sparkle. Maybe the magic of friendship can help you.” he added mockingly. “Or maybe your number one pony assistant. Hm?”

Anger flared inside me at the mention of Dusk. “If you’ve done anything else to him, I swear you’ll regret it!”

“Temper, temper, Miss Sparkle.” he tutted, wagging his finger. “You should be careful or it’ll get you into trouble. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some chaos to wreak.”

He snapped his fingers and vanished from sight, clouds of cotton candy darkening the sky above our heads and raining down chocolate upon us. I could feel it dripping over my mane and fur, as if it was some kind of cruel reminder that we had failed thus far and this was our punishment for it.

“Chocolate milk? I hate chocolate milk!”

I groaned at this and began to think about the riddle again, repeating the last line and rapping my skull with my hoof as if constant repetition and emphasis would make the answer more clear. “Back where you began”… “Back where you began”, that was the crucial part. But began where? Were they back at Canterlot tower again?

Dusk would be good at this with his imaginative thinking and sharp mind, like my own. Together, the two of us could have figured this out and thwart Discord, which would show him. I remembered when I’d been trying to figure out a different riddle and Dusk had helped me with it. He made it look so much easier…

“Something wrong, Twi?” Dusk asked as he walked by my desk.

“Nothing big.” I replied with a sigh. “It’s this riddle Applejack posed for me. I’m having trouble getting my head around it.”

Dusk examined it as I levitated it to him. “Hm, interesting. ‘Trapped in a tower with no door and no windows, with only an apple and a knife, how do you escape the tower using only what you have?”

“I’ve tried everything I can think of, but nothing I come up with seems to fit. Any ideas?” I asked.

Dusk stared at it for a few minutes. I could tell his mind was working furiously as he frowned at it thoughtfully. I couldn’t help but blush at the thought that I liked it when he did that. It reminded me of why I admired Dusk and respected his intelligence. He snapped me out of these thoughts when he suddenly smiled and levitated it back to me.

“Got it.” He simply said. “I have to say, that’s a good one.”

“What?” I found myself staring in disbelief. “I've spent about an hour trying to figure that out!”

“You're thinking about it too hard. Don’t try and look at it literally. You just need to think about the answer that'll make it whole.” Dusk advised, winking as he said the last word.

“What does that…” I thought about what he was getting at and smiled myself. “Oh, I see… Cut the apple in half, two halves make a whole and you just climb through the hole!”

“Exactly!”

“There's that creative thinking coming through again.” I remarked, eliciting a blush from Dusk.

“Well… you know how I think.” He mumbled, scraping the ground with his claw.

“How do you think about it so easily?” I asked admirably.

“I just do.” He shrugged. “A riddle can have more than one way than looking at it and most times the simplest answer isn’t the right one, a little bit like life. But you can always find the right one…with a little imagination.”

“Very profound.” she commented with a smile.

“I suppose.” I agreed modestly, returning the smile and setting back to work…

Once again, I wished Dusk was here. He’d be able to figure this out with some imagination and some creative thinking. Not that I couldn’t manage that either, but he just seemed so much more free in his thoughts and ideas… I liked that about him too.

But I shook my head and told myself to focus. This longing for Dusk wasn’t helping me come up with a solution nor was my friends’ bickering which was starting to grate on my nerves and patience.

“Ugh! I just want to go home… with you, Dusk…” In that instant, the solution came to me, almost like Dusk himself had inspired it. “Wait a minute… home! ‘Back where you began’! The Elements must be in Ponyville!” I turned around only to discover my friends were still fighting. “Hey, cut it out!” With that order, I used my magic to break them up and dump them on the ground.

“Hey, I was having fun.” Fluttershy snapped, glaring at her.

“Well, stop.” she retorted. “I’ve figured it out. The Elements are in Ponyville! We need to get back right now!”

“I knew that! I, uh… was just waitin’ to see if ya would.” Applejack informed falsely.

“Took you long enough.” Fluttershy added. “Not as smart as you think, are you?”

“I hate Ponyville!” Pinkie shrieked.

“Finally! Now I can get this big hunk of a diamond home.” Rarity crooned to her boulder, grabbing it possessively.

“Let's just go.” I groaned.

Leading the way out of the dirt crater that had once been the Canterlot Labyrinth, I knew we wouldn’t be able to get back on the train as Discord would have seen to that. Perhaps it would be an inflatable or something like that. So we took the path down from the mountains and across the meadows to where Ponyville was, our pace slowed somewhat due to the reluctance of the others and Rarity carrying her boulder.

As we trotted on the path, I paused as we neared the Everfree Forest, seeing the menacing trees with their wicked branches reaching out like clawed hands and felt that pang of longing again. I had seen Dusk in there, at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. What exactly he was doing there, I didn’t know, but I knew that I didn’t want him to be alone in that place. I needed to know if Dusk was okay, if I could help him in any way…

“Hold on, girls.” I said to them, heading towards the trees. “There’s somewhere else we gotta go first.”

“Great! ʹCause I really wanted to go to the Everfree Forest.” I heard Applejack say.

“But we need to go in there!” I said urgently.

“No! What I need to do is get my diamond home!” Rarity countered, shivering under the weight of her boulder.

“Look, are you coming with me or not?” I asked, beginning to lose my patience.

“No!” they all said in unison.

“Ugh, fine! Wait here! I won’t be long.” I told them and turned away.

A little afraid I would be alone, but secretly grateful I’d be able to get away from their negative attitudes, I set off towards the trees. Thinking about how negatively my friends were acting, I was now worrying what this… Black Blood was doing to Dusk. I prayed to Celestia that it wasn’t anything bad. I’m just hoping that it wasn’t making him think he wants to be alone, that he haves no real friends. I wouldn’t think to stand the sight of Dusk acting like that… He wasn’t like that anymore…

I headed to the path that Princess Celestia had shown me that was a safer route to the ruin. Taking elation that I would hopefully find my friend safe and well, especially after what Discord had done to him, I quickened my step and entered the trees, only vaguely noting Rarity’s labored grunts far and the others squabbling behind me.

Dusk’s view

After getting consumed by the Black Blood, what I found myself in wasn’t a surprise. I was all alone in a pitch-black void, one that had a cold and ominous atmosphere. Ever since I’d set mine down on the harsh, cold earth, I had been plagued by images and sounds that were played over and over again in my mind, those cruel visions that Discord showed me. Hearing the dismissive and annoyed tones of the girls as they talked about me…

“After today, no more Dusk…”

“You'd have thought he'd have gotten the message earlier that we don’t want him around…”

“Even I don't like him and I like everypony…”

“Honestly, I never thought we'd be able to ditch him…”

Do you think, when we get to Canterlot, we can ask Princess Celestia to make him go away…”

“That's just silly! Absolute nonsense!”

I tried clutching my ears and screwing my eyes shut to silence it, but if anything it just made it worse than it was before. It was like some tormenting reel of film that I was being forced to watch, something trying to make me think I was nothing, but a useless and pathetic stallion.

“ENOUGH!” I snapped, causing the area to be filled with silence.

Cautiously, I opened my eyes and took my claws away from my ears. At first, it seemed like I had reawakened in the cave I took refuge in. but I could tell, just instinctively, I was somewhere different, though it looked the same. The main indicator was that my hat was missing from my head, giving a sense of emptiness without it like my necklace, both objects of tender memories. I also noted Ophelia was absent, which made me feel even more alone.

However, it was when I turned around and saw that—instead of the cave wall at the back of the cave—there was a passage that had appeared, leading down into the rocky depths of the earth. That definitely hadn’t been there before and that little feeling was telling me I should venture down there to find something. At first, I wanted to ignore it, to remain up here where the sun was streaming in behind me, but… I knew I didn’t have a choice. I had to go down there.

So, with a large gulp and a few deep breaths, I conjured up a ball of light that would give me some visibility down there and I set slowly off, my hoofsteps echoing and resounding off of the rocky walls. The jagged rocks seemed to bear down on me like the sharp teeth of an animal and, where the light couldn’t illuminate, I had the feeling that something was watching me the dark. Trying to ignore that feeling, I pressed on, alert and ready.

As I ventured down, I noticed that the tunnel took many twists, turns, and bends throughout, enough that it would be easy to get lost. Bearing this in mind, I scraped arrows into the dirt at my claws, hoping I’d be able to find my way back… Was it my imagination or had I just heard a cold laughter, distant and echoing from the deeper recesses of the cave? I shook my head, knowing my fear was getting the better of me.

“Darkness is merely the absence of light. Shadows are nothing but an effect of the light.” I said to myself, trying to keep calm. “There’s nothing to fear in the dark, as there is nothing to fear from a shadow, for neither can harm us.”

“It is what waits in the shadows and the darkness that can harm us.” I felt a shiver up my spine at the sound of the echoing, cold voice, his laughter following minutes later.

Now I had a good idea of what was waiting for me down here in the depths of the darkness, what I would have to face when I reached the journey’s end. While I found it easy to ignore him, now he was here, prepared to fight and ready to end me so he might take over. Well, despite my usual views on violence, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight as I knew there wasn’t going to be any negotiation in this meeting of minds. If I couldn’t stop the corruption here, then I would try to delay what I would become to give my friends a fighting chance.

I was getting a strong sense of déjà vu as I took the path deeper down into the omnipresent darkness. It was like when I had traveled with the guys and the girls down into the Paraserpent’s lair to rescue Twilight from its clutches. Except, this time, I was alone, no friends here to help me and I got the feeling that it would be me in need of rescuing rather than Twilight. Whatever was down here would be far worse than the Paraserpent.

The shadows appeared to press down more on me the deeper I traveled, my light becoming less effective from the oppressive darkness…or was I just imagining it? Was that along with the dark shape I thought I sometimes saw, moving in the shadows at times? I thought I could see a flash of white, a hint of violet in the dark that just as quickly vanished, along with the cold laughter that came with it. My heart beating against my chest, I tried my best to tell myself that it was just my eyes playing tricks, just my mind plagued by the fear created by the Black Blood that was making my legs shake.

After what seemed to be an age, I emerged from the tunnels into a larger area. I sent my light up and increased the brightness to illuminate his surroundings. It was a huge cavern with a high ceiling and steep walls of rock, parts of it cloaked in shadows that seemed to follow me everywhere in here. At the center was a pit, large enough for somepony to fall in and appearing to have no end. I made a mental note not to fall in there and cast my gaze around the rest of the cavern. It looked like there was nothing here, but I could feel it: an unseen presence that had been watching me since I came down here.

“I know you’re here.” I called out to the darkness. “Show yourself!”

I sensed movement behind me and rounded slowly as the pony that stepped down of the darkness to meet a dark version of my elemental form, detaching from the shadows. His body was as black as a starless night with a spikeless tail, his wild and long mane as white as the bones of the dead. Upon his forehead was his curved horn with a plume in a shape similar to an almond eye at the top. Those horrible purple eyes were like my normal green, dragon-like, elemental eyes, but they held no warmth like the wicked smile filled with fangs that played on his lips. Despite this, I could still see the pain I had to endure in his eyes, the rage and hate that would never end.

My darker self, in the flesh at last.

“Finally… you’re here.” my darker self said in that chilling voice.

“I am.” I affirmed simply, controlling the fear I felt. “So I’m guessing you represent the Black Blood coursing through me, huh?”

“That is correct.” he replied with an empty smile. “You know what will happen and why?”

I nodded. Deep down, I knew this was coming. “I suppose that this won’t be resolved peacefully between us?”

“Not unless you wish to surrender and let me take over without a fight.”

“Never.” I growled, trying to be brave. “I won’t become like you. You’re not really me, you’re just something formed from Black Blood Madness, the illness that so many people experienced from exposure to Black Blood. You’re nothing more than the monster it’s trying to turn me into.”

“I suppose I am… Even so, it is so much better to embrace one’s true nature, wouldn’t you say, Dusk?”

“Not if that nature is that which would destroy it.” I countered. “I’m not somepony you can just claim as useless. I might have flaws, but I’m still capable of love and compassion, unlike you.”

“Such things are burdens that I do well without.” he replied coldly, though I noticed with a hint of regret.

“They’re not burdens, they help to make life better. You…” I pointed at my other self, glaring at him. “You can only hate and rage. You’re nothing but a black hole of despair, sucking in and bringing doom to all those who get too close.”

“Huh. A black hole of doom…” My darker self appeared thoughtful and smiled with a warped self-satisfaction. “Yes, that fits rather well. I was wondering what my title would be once I get out of here.”

“What title?”

“The one I’ll have as a Kishin, of course. While you don’t desire it, I plan on becoming one of the strongest Kishins in Equis. The Blackhole of Doom, it’s perfect! That is the title that everyone will know and fear at the utter mention of my name! When I am done, there will be no one left to even remember you or even know your ties to me.”

“So you already have a name for yourself.”

“Of course. I don’t want to be labeled with your pathetic excuse of a name.”

“My name is one of the things I’m proud of.” I shouted back. “I would be happy to keep my name and all I am rather to succumb to the darkness and pain that you offer.”

My darker self chuckled. “Well, that’s just how it is. If you’re trying to make a last stand or something, you’re in the wrong place. This is a place of darkness. You can’t contain darkness. It’s a force of nature… like me.”

“Force of nature? You’re a force of something, alright.”

“Always got jokes, huh? Do you not realize how powerful I am?”

“I know how dangerous you are. And, as a Fire Dragon, I cannot allow something like you to come into Equestria.”

“Ah, yes. The duty of the Fire Dragons. Equestria’s greatest protector. That’s practically what keeps you going, keep on fighting till the end. Well, what I got to keep me going is not some nonsense like that. It’s the one thing you never admit being what really got you where you are.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you know? What really keeps you going is your own instinct to fight. Every Fire Dragon haves it. The instinct to fight the strongest opponents they can find. You know it’s true. Don’t you remember the rush you felt while fighting strong fighters? The grin you flashed at them to show how much you enjoyed it?”

“I do, but I didn’t and never will act like that with every opponent I go against.” I countered. “Sure, I do feel a bit proud of myself for taking down a villain or two, but my real enjoyment in a good fight only comes from having it with friends close to me. Not only do I get to see how strong they’ve become, but I can help them to improve even further. And I liked doing it because I know they are great ponies who would only use their strength for the good of the world. And I already know what you’re gonna say. You’re gonna say that, unlike me, you would show enjoyment with whoever you fight. Whether they are good or bad. Am I wrong?”

“Nope. You’re spot on. And, as such, I will be searching for the opponents I want and crush anyone who dares get in my way.” he then gave me his cruel travesty of a smile. “You and I, I come to think of us as brothers.”

“Brothers?”

“Yes. Like brothers, we have different goals for what we want. I say we fit nicely together. You, a shining light of hope; me, the great shadow of despair. Once I get out of here, I’m going to kill the light of this land and put everyone in my shadow. That way, everypony in Equestria will learn how it feels to live in the world we truly live in: a world without hope. A world without mercy. A world without you… without El Dragon. And then all will see me for who I truly am.”

“And… who are you?”

“Still haven’t figured it out? You are the symbol of peace and justice, beloved by all. As such, I’ll become the force of chaos and destruction, who all will hate and despise. And who’s power they will all fear! You said it yourself, you’re a devil. And, in every devil, beats the heart of a demon. That’s what I am: the demon who you tried to hide, the one you reject as part of you. I am… Diablo Nightfall!” There was a moment of silence between us as I could feel the aura of fury around him and fill the area. After that, he then spoke to me again. “Now, my brother, we waste our time with words when we could settle this with action. With the weapons we possess to see which is truly superior: the light or the darkness.”

“Words are what win wars, not weapons.” I retorted as we began to circle each other, our eyes never leaving as hazel locked with violet.

“Words are the weapons of weaklings like you.” He stretched out his claw. “I ask you one last time: let me take over, let me become you. I could give you so much power, so much strength, if you would but let me.”

“I desire neither power nor strength, especially that of Black Blood. Power corrupts and strength can fail.”

“You’re half right, for it is your strength that will fail.”

“I’d be happy knowing I spent it trying to stop you.”

“Then you are nothing but a fool, a weak coward, and pathetic child.”

“That’s not how I see it.” We were both tensed, ready for the first move, to strike first. “I only desire that you should never set hoof in Equestria.”

“You would accept that when you could have so much more?”

“I would rather be a scholar dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.”

“As you wish." He smiled once more and then suddenly he pounced.

I reacted at this, ducking underneath the attack, but felt a sharp pain as Diablo aimed and landed a kick on the back of my head. I whipped around, knowing that my opponent would strike me in the back if I was given the chance, but I had gone. Melted into the shadows that surrounded me.

Trying my best to cast my light around as wide an area as possible, my eyes darted from every shadow, watched every movement that could be my dark foe. Diablo had the shadows as his allies, but I had the light to banish them. I could at least say that I tried my best. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted movement and whipped around, just as Blackhole bought his hoof down on my head.

Or he would have done if I hadn’t blocked it and countered with a punch to the gut. My doppelganger grunted from the strike as he sent another to my head, but Diablo blocked it impossibly fast and sent another blow to my own gut, making me double over in pain, followed by a kick to the head that made me skid across the jagged floor.

Despite my aching head, twinging from the pain, I ran to catch up with him as he tried to retreat into the shadows again and jumped on me, sending some punches to the back of his head. I thought I’d be able to keep him pinned, but I soon discovered Diablo was stronger than I was. Diablo then rolled over so he had me pinned, smacking me hard with his claws, blurring my vision and filling my mouth with the salty taste of blood. Grabbing me by the neck, Diablo flung me across the cave and I crashed into the cave wall, the pain filling every inch of me.

I tried to bring myself to my hooves claws while at the same doing my best to maintain my light orb, which was starting to flicker from my waning strength. While I had shown I could hold my own in a fight, as much as I didn’t like fighting, I wasn’t used to this kind of intense combat to such an extent, certainly not against a foe who was essentially myself who was with nothing holding him back and no moral code. I had barely recovered when another blow was sent to my skull and sent me to the floor.

I could see Diablo in the blurred vision I had to get used to. I tried to swing my claw at him, going for a nerve I knew would paralyze him, but Diablo blocked it, slapping it away and returning with one in kind. I barely had the chance to try again when I felt Diablo’s fist slam into my back, making me scream and convulse. With a strong, black claw around my neck, tightening my throat and restricting air, Diablo held me in place. His face was contorted with rage, sending punch after punch at me until he tossed me aside like yesterday’s garbage, additional pain coming from the rocky ground.

My usually sharp mind having trouble focusing, I noticed a pattern to his fighting after what seemed like hours of this brutal treatment. Every time I was knocked to the floor, Diablo gave me the opportunity to recover myself before engaging me in combat again. Then he would back off once more and let me recover, then wash, rinse, repeat. He knew he was stronger than I was, so why was he doing this. Then I realized it.

He was toying with me. He was letting me get up, just so he could smack me down again. Well, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction that easily. I could hear the sound of his hooves approaching again, when I—with what little was left of my strength—sent a punch that landed on his face. I saw Diablo flinch and cry out, reeling back away from me. At first, I tried to press my advantage, staggering to him and trying to send another one but Blackhole grabbed it and sent a paralyzing pain up my leg, making me fall again. Grunting, tears falling, I saw his face, a vision of rage and anger.

“That… hurt.” he growled down at me.

“I… know.” I coughed, reeling from the burning in my limbs. “I’ll try… better next time…”

“As will I!” Diablo screamed and punched me again. “You see now how weak you are?” SMACK! “You flinch at pain, I revel in it.” CRASH! “You suppress anger, I let it flow through me.” CRASH! “You cower in darkness, I embrace it.” WHACK! “You hide from your rage, but… I AM RAGE!”

Though I was at my limit, I tried to pick myself before Diablo smacked me back down with his tail.

“Stay down, Dusk.” He told me. “You’ve lost.” I tried to get back up, but collapsed with my strength now gone. “I’m done with this game.” The front of the plume on his horn began to glow as red as blood, the outlines within it revealing to make it look like a widened eye with a shrunk pupil. I felt a stab of fear when I saw black tentacles coming out of the pit before they rushed over and grabbed me, dragging me past Diablo and towards the pit.

“No… No, not there!” I tried to grip the ground and break free, but my strength was completely gone. My light flickered once more and died, plunged me into darkness, except for the glow of Diablo’s magic.

“You’ve had your fun, brother. Now it’s my turn." He suspended me above the pit, like the jaws of an animal about to consume. “I am thou… Thou art I. Let the light begin to fade and allow the darkness to grow. A hero’s brave heart now blackened by evil. Now let the demon arise and chaos reign!” With the tentacles now hold me over the pit, I saw that evil smile flash at me again. “Goodbye, Dusk Noir.”

The plume stopped glowing, I felt my stomach rush as the tentacles instantly pulled me down. All I could see was Diablo grinning down at me as I was pulled away. Pulled into the never-ending darkness, unable to stop, screaming at the dark at my loss… Endlessly falling into the depths of darkness.

No one’s view

Back within the cave, the black blob that consumed Dusk had suddenly jerked and began to shake, its surface rippling erratically. A short moment after it did, parts of it began to stick out, five portions being stretch out from it with two in front and three in the back. A minute of this stretching, the tips of three portions began to change and took shape with one in the back forming a reptilian tail and the two in front forming what looking like clawed hands.

After this occurs, the front portions slammed on ground, the hands they formed lying flat with the back portions doing the same. With the tail wagging around and the portions bending, the blob was lifted off the ground where it began to change shape. With the upper portions becoming built with muscle, a majority of the blob molded itself to where it now resembled a muscular pony stallion torso, the four parts supporting it revealed to be arms and legs.

The remaining part of the blob then began to mold itself, adding a bald pony head to the torso. Then, as hair spouted on it to form a long and wild mane, a horn spout out in a curve from the head’s forehead. While a plume formed at the tip, edges resembling that of closed eyes, a set of nostrils, and the curve of a mouth slowly formed on the head.

After the blob has fully taken on the appearance of a unicorn stallion, small areas on the back of the torso grow out before sprouting a large set of demonic dragon wings.

From this, the mouth on the stallion then curves to form a grin of one who suffered from insanity. With the front of the plume glowing purple and revealing it to resemble a wide eye with a shrunken pupil, the eyes of the stallion open as well to reveal them glowing purple as well.

The stallion gave off a demonic purr as I looked forward with a malicious grin.

Author's Note

Now consumed by the madness inflicted upon him by Black Blood, Dusk Noir has now fallen into darkness and transformed into monstrous Diablo Nightfall. With a new evil now on the rise, can our heroes be able to use the Elements and defeat Discord? Tune in next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Now you got to meet Dusk’s dark side: Diablo Nightfall the Blackhole of Doom. Hope you guys like the name. I really work hard on it. Looks like the Mane 6 are in trouble now. Hopefully, this won’t become Dusk’s ultimate fate. In the next chapter, Twilight and the girls are about to come face to face with Diablo Nightfall. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 7: The Chaos and the Demon

Heading back to the little town to see the welcome home party the boys were setting up for Twilight and her friends, I was still laughing at the thought of those ponies and what would happen when they failed. What I’d said was true: that this the most fun I’d had in a long time, but this wasn’t just for fun. Now that they’re no longer in harmony with each other, those girls won’t be able to use the Elements. Not that it would matter consider they were one missing anyway. Once they failed, Twilight Sparkle would succumb too, like her precious Dusk, who was about to…

I stopped laughing as I felt a sudden twinge in my head. I had felt the shift in chaotic, dark energy just when I was about to start experimenting with my powers again. Sensing how strong it was, I knew it had to be one thing that gave me immense satisfaction.

“Oh, goodie.” I said to myself. “It seems as though Dusk finally Kishinized. About time too. Well, I better go and see my new disciple of chaos.”

I transported myself to the cave where Dusk had exiled myself and snaked my head over the entrance. I couldn’t help but feel a little excited at the prospect of this, not to mention triumphant. Now there was no way Dusk would be able to discover that oh-so vital fact about himself that might foil my plans. Peering inside, I could see nothing but complete darkness, with not a soul moving inside. I was about to look closer in when the loudest roar I have heard in my life come out of the cave, sounding like a dragon mixed with a lion and a gorilla.

“Agh!” the roar was so strong that it blew me away from the cave. When it stopped, I got back up and dusted myself off. That roar did surprise. “Hm… Well, that was different.” I turned back to the cave. “Hello? Are you there, little Dusk? Knock-knock! Guess who’s come-a calling!”

At first, there was still an eerie silence. I was about to call out again when he heard a low, rumbling animal growl of suppressed rage. Suddenly, a trilby hat was flung angrily out, landing at my feet and gathering dirt. This was followed by a deep, threatening voice that gave me a small case of the chills.

“Dusk isn’t here.” Part of the shadow seemed to pull away as a dark stallion emerged from the cave, glowing purple eyes locked on me.

Discord beamed at the sight of him. “Oh, this is just perfect! This is quite an improvement, I must say.”

“I thought so too… master.” growled the stallion that had once been Dusk, bowing low before the lord of chaos.

“Excellent. I think this is the beginning of a wonderful partnership, my servant.” I hovered up to him and ran my eyes around his form, examining him from head to hoof to claw. “So, if you’re no longer Dusk Noir, what is your name?”

The pony raised his head, his face fixed in an angry grimace. “In saying I am no longer that weakling, you are right, master. I am Diablo Nightfall and I am your willing servant in chaos and disharmony.”

“Charmed.” I grinned before I then noticed Dusk’s necklace wasn’t on him. “I see you’ve gotten rid of that old pile of rocks.”

Diablo glanced down, snarling. “Right, I forgot.” He then looked up at me. “I’m afraid I didn’t get rid of it. Dusk handed it to the remaining three elementals in town. As much as I despise that reminder of what I used to be and how I used to live such a weak existence again, I need to get that necklace back!”

“Oh, don’t worry about that old thing. It’s nothing more than an old pile of rocks.” I told him. “Let’s go and have a little fun first. If we happen to come across Dusk’s old entourage, then you can go ahead and take it back from them.”

“Guess you’re right. I had just got out, so it would be a good time to take my powers out for a spin.” He said with an evil grin before grabbing Dusk’s hat off the ground. “And I’ll give the little trio this to show that their leader is gone and will not be coming back.”

“Oh, this is even better than I first thought!” I chuckled. “The chaos that you and I will wreak, Diablo… It will be beautiful!”

“I share your vision, master.” he replied. “The Black Blood running through my veins, I can feel the chaotic power and it is glorious. Thanks to your help, I now have powers I could never dream of.”

Diablo demonstrated this by shooting off a blast of magic at a nearby wall. It seems that the Black Blood had also altered his unique powers to where it was now as strong as my chaos magic. Instead of merely shaping color, he could shape objects and matter as well. Of course, not as much as his good self as he would need to be kept in line, but enough to let him have a little fun. I laughed with glee when I felt that the cave wall had been turned into a state of jelly.

“Ha-ha, brilliant!” I grinned with satisfaction at my new servant. “Give it a few centuries and you could achieve many things, my little pony.”

“I thought that might amuse you, my lord.” He bowed his head again. “What would you have me do first? I am anxious to begin the anarchy of your will.”

“All in good time.” I assured. “First, there’s somepony, or several somponies, I think would be very pleased to meet the new you. An old friend in particular, who’s now just coming home.”

“Twilight Sparkle…” At first, his expression looked pained, even tortured, but that changed in an instant. He let out a scream of rage and slammed his claw down on a rock, crushing it into dust. “She is no friend of mine! None of them are! Take me to them, my master, and I shall show them my power now!”

“My thoughts exactly. Come along then, Diablo Nightfall! We have much to do.” I flew up close and wrapped an arm around him. “You know, that name is so much more macho, don’t you think?”

“Whatever you say, my lord.” I gave him another evil smile and sinister chuckle as they vanished, Dusk’s hat in his claw, absent of its wearer.

Twilight’s view

Stepping through the wooden doors of the castle, I felt that strong sense of déjà vu. Had it really been a full year since that first time I’d been here, since I’d discovered the magic of friendship? I remembered the first time I’d been here, thinking that friendship had been a waste of time but having that mindset changed by the ponies who had accompanied me through the forest, no matter what danger that stood before us. Now I was back again, in a way, for the same purpose: searching for friendship, even if it was just one pony, but one pony that still meant a lot to me.

My heart fluttered again as I thought of Dusk. I discovered that I always did that when I thought of him. Months ago, my name was one that instilled pity that, even though he had a few friends, Dusk didn’t realize the wonders of the magic of friendship. Now though, it meant so much more. The things I’d done with Dusk since I’d met him: the discussions that we had, jumping from a hydra into a long gorge, dancing at the Grand Galloping Gala. All the things that we’d done that made his life better and also made mine that little bit more special as well.

As I walked through the doors of the castle and started my search in the room the Elements had been kept in, another memory came back to me, on the day I’d first used the Elements. When I’d turned around at the time and I realized the girls were my friends, I recalled seeing another pony at the entrance of the room, wearing a black hat with a faint glow illuminating his body. When I’d went to investigate closer, he had vanished and nopony else had seen him, so I had dismissed it. Now though, I couldn’t help but wonder… could it have really been the pony I was now searching for? Would that even be possible?

Deciding I would ask Dusk after she found him, I stopped in the room and looked around for any sign of him. It didn’t look like Dusk was anywhere nearby. Perhaps he was somewhere else in the castle, in another section.

“Dusk! Dusk, are you here?” I waited, but there was no reply. “It’s me, Twilight! Where are you?”

The only response I received was my voice echoing around the empty stone room. I was starting to get a little worried now. There was, of course, every chance that Dusk was no longer here and he had returned to the library and was there waiting for me right now. But what if something else had happened returning to Ponyville? There were a lot of fierce animals that lived in the forest. Could be possible he had been…? No, I refused to think that.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” I said to myself, though still fraught with worry. “He’s fine, I’m sure he is.”

“Sorry to rain on your parade then.” I jumped at the sound of Discord's voice and saw him levitating before me.

“What are you talking about, Discord?” I glared at him, but in truth, his words scared me.

“I mean what I say, Twilight Sparkle.” His face became somber and he bowed his head. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid little Dusk had a run-in with somepony not too friendly and now he is no longer with us."

“W…what?” my mouth fell open in shock at this news.

“Again, I’m truly sorry for your loss.” He raised his head and gave that wicked smile. “Looks like, in failing to find your Elements, you failed to protect him too, even though you said you would. That must be devastating.”

These words hit me like hammer blows and I felt weak at the knees, tears about to fall down my face, my gaze diverting to the ground and shaking her head. I couldn’t believe that this true, that Dusk could be… dead. Not Dusk… my number one pony assistant, my best friend… I’d never even got to tell him how I had felt about him, how I had always felt about him but never had the courage to say.

And it was all my fault. I had been the one who told Dusk to stay in Ponyville, thinking he would be safe if Discord tried to go after him. Even though Dusk said he didn’t mind, I knew how much he liked to be useful. Even though it would be dangerous, Dusk would try to do something, anything, to help, even if it meant coming here. Dusk should have come with us, at least then I would have known where Dusk was but now… Dusk was gone… and it was all my fault. But, remembering what I saw back in the labyrinth, I then thought that maybe there was a second chance.

“No… No, you’re lying!” she insisted. “You’re trying to trick me! Your Paraserpent said that it infected him with something, but he never said anything about killing him! So what you said can’t be true!”

“How pathetic. Denying the truth that is spoken to her.” I heard a deeper, crueler voice say. The speaker stepped out of the shadows behind Discord and I couldn’t help but gasp.

Nightmare Moon had been scary, but the appearance of this pony was truly terrifying. He kind of looked like El Dragon, but was taller as well as bigger, as I could see the muscles on his arms ripple dangerously. His body was a deep black, like the shadows that surrounded him, but his mane was stark white and pale as death. His eyes were a menacing violet, burning with pain and anger and the pupils were slits like a reptile, fixed on her and glaring. His horn was curved toward the back and had a plume that resembled a grey eye with a shrunk pupil. His cutie mark was a set of three eyes surrounded in a purple, raging fire, but there was certainly no warmth radiating from this stallion. Remembering what I was shown by Discord, I soon realized who this stallion was.

“D… Dusk?” I said, horrified by what my friend had become. “Is… is that you?”

“Not anymore.” He said, roughly planting something on my head. I used my magic to take it off and saw that it was Dusk’s hat.

“Allow me to do the introductions.” Discord put his arm around the pony and smiled proudly, like a father with his son. “Twilight Sparkle, this is Diablo Nightfall, Dusk’s bigger brother if you will. Diablo, you already know Twilight.”

“I do.” He continued to glare at me with those horrible purple eyes. “I extracted memories from my brother. And I can see that, out of all you girls, you’re the one who misled him the most. Honestly, friendship? Talk about something as pointless.”

Twilight was horrified at the harshness of his words. “Dusk, what happened to you?”

“My name is not Dusk.” He coldly told me. “I am Diablo Nightfall the Blackhole of Doom.”

“No… no…” She choked on a sob, trying to fight back tears as I then grabbed one of his claws. “Please, Dusk! This isn’t you! Remember who you are!”

“Get your hooves off me!” just like that, Diablo then tossed me to the floor. Looking back at him, I watched as he then snorted out black smoke before he held up the trilby hat.

“Dusk Noir is gone… and he’s never coming back.” With that, he then crushed it before throwing it to my hooves, my stomach plummeted and my heart shattered.

Taking the hat in a vice-like grip, the tears I tried to hold back began to flow as I looked at the stallion glaring down at me. To think that Dusk, the sweetest, most kind stallion I’ve ever met, had turned into somepony so cruel and heartless. I felt as if I’d had lost a great deal of strength in the moment that news had been given to me. I gripped the trilby hat tightly in my hooves and screwed up her eyes as a tear splashed onto the fabric. My best friend, the one I would have given anything to make sure he stayed safe, was now being controlled by Discord. I made her feel devastated, like now there was very little left to fight for. I cared deeply for Dusk but… I never would have thought I would be affected quite like this. Though, even with all this pain I was feeling, I refused to give up.

Using my magic to hold Dusk’s hat, I stood up, glared back at Diablo, and said “I don’t care who you are or what you say to me, Diablo Nightfall, I know it in my heart that Dusk is still alive and I’m going to bring him back!”

“Heh! Good luck with that.” He said with a scoff. “In the meantime, I shall show you the pain of which I used to bring the great El Dragon TO HIS KNEES!”

He screeched this last part, the plume on his horn glowing and his face contorted with rage. He tensed and sprang at me. I was prepared to fight him, but—just as he reached me though—he was yanked back by Discord, who conjured up a dog leash and collar around his throat and stopped him just in time.

“Down boy!” he chastised. “You can have all the fun you want with them, but only after I’m finished with them.”

Diablo seethed and breathed heavily, still glaring at me. At first, I thought he would struggle and he wouldn’t obey his master. Eventually, however, he stopped and sank his head in subservience.

“As you wish, my lord.” he growled obediently, but dangerously.

“Good boy.” Discord said, making the dog leash vanish and grinning again. “Well, since you two seemed to have hit it off well and seeing as how he needs to let off some steam, why don’t we go and see what the rest of your friends are up to?”

“No, no! You can’t!” I begged, knowing exactly what this would mean.

Discord just smiled again. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Twilight Sparkle. It’s no trouble at all. I’ll get us back the quick way.”

I knew I couldn’t stop him as he snapped his fingers and teleported them away. As they returned back to the dirt road I’d left the others at, I cast her gaze once more to Discord’s new servant…or slave rather. Diablo Nightfall was staring resolutely off into the middle distance with those terrible eyes of his. This calm state he was in was even more terrifying than when he had suddenly lost his temper. He put me in the mind of a powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark, with an inferno of anger and rage. It made him unpredictable at best, like his master and equally dangerous.

Discord had called him Dusk’s brother, but I could see he was just something that came from whatever Discord did to him. Dusk had been helpful, kind, sweet, and unsure of himself, qualities that I’d liked about him. Diablo seemed to know nothing but rage, anger, fury and—I noticed as well—pain. Underneath all of that anger, there seemed to be a great deal of pain and regret that fueled it. At first, it was enough to make me pity him, until I remembered what he had done and my anger towards him flared up again.

I returned her concentration to the others, all of whom were just lazing about by the road without a care in the world. I barely even acknowledged them as I walked back, still levitating the hat before me and trying to hold back tears.

“Pretty impressive, huh? If your brother were here to see them, his jaw would have dropped.” I heard Discord say to his dark servant. I ignored them and carried on, not even standing to look at them.

“Aw! Well, look whose back.” I heard the scornful voice. “What’s the matter? Couldn't find your boyfriend?”

“Fluttershy,” I said in a whisper, not looking up while pointing at Diablo. “That guy right there… that’s Dusk.”

“Really?” She replied before smiling at Diablo. “Hey, Dusk! Nice look! Trying an old man look?”

“I’m not Dusk. He was a loser.” He said to her with a nonchalant look.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” she replied without a hint of regret in her voice. “I was gonna steal his hat and necklace when I saw him again, just to see what he would do.”

“What? Why?” I asked her.

“Because he likes them so much and it would be fun to see him cry after I threw them into a patch of mud.”

“Fluttershy! How can you say that?” I asked incredulously.

“With my mouth, stupid.” She let out a cruel laugh and flew off, kicking Rarity's boulder as she did.

“Eh, who cares what happened to him? it’s not like we ever needed him.” Applejack said nonchalantly.

“Applejack! How could you?” I couldn’t believe that my friends say these horrible things about Dusk! “He was your friend, a friend to all of us, and you’re acting like he was nothing!”

“Well, he was, wasn’t he?” Fluttershy put in. “The useless, little nopony wasn’t even an Element of Harmony. I’m glad he's gone.”

“Me too!” Pinkie added. “He was laughing at me along with all of you too! Who needs him?”

“Unless he comes here to help carry my beautiful diamond, then I agree!” Rarity said. “Some gentlecolt he turned out to be.”

I had no response to any of these comments because I couldn’t believe I was hearing them. Dusk had become as much a part of their friendship as any of them had been, even if Dusk wasn’t an Element, that had never mattered in the past. Now though, my so-called friends were making all of these cruel statements about him and it was making me feel even worse, that maybe this wasn't worth fighting after all…

“Guess the wielders are not out of commission.” Diablo said with a satisfied grin. “May I?”

“Go ahead, Diablo! Have some fun.”

“Finally!” He suddenly jumped up into the sky and landed with an earth-shaking thud in the center of the group, sending them to the floor. “Right, which of you will be the first?”

“Look at you, you think you’re so big and tough.” Fluttershy kicked a hoofful of dirt in his face, making him splutter. “Who's tough now, tough guy?”

Diablo snarled and his horn glowed with purple magic, pointed at a herd of long-legged rabbits nearby. The mammals stopped, turned around again, and stampeded towards Fluttershy before she knew what had happened. Growling angrily, she tried to get back up only to be stampeded again and pressed down into the dirt, receiving the same treatment every time she tried to return to her hooves.

“Certainly not you.” he replied, laughing cruelly at her state.

“And what are you laughing? You laughing at me, huh?” Pinkie demanded, standing right up in his face with gray sparks coming from her. “Well, quit it!”

“I am not laughing at you…yet.” he said in a dangerously low voice. “I remember that you like to eat cupcakes, do you not?”

There was a flare of light and five cupcakes were hovering in the air around him. At first, they just floated eerily around his head until they opened up to reveal rows of sharp teeth inside frosting-filled mouths. Growling and snarling, they all swarmed at Pinkie Pie and began to gnaw and bite at her body and fur coat. She tried kicking them away, screaming at them angrily to stop, but they didn’t stop their attack and forced her back into the dirt.

“How ironic life can be.” Blackhole chortled at the sight of her. “Now I’m laughing at you!”

“Well, don’t even think of tryin’ any of your fancy magic on me.” Applejack warned. “It, uh… won’t work anyway."

“Let’s test that, shall we?” Two more blasts of magic were sent at a pair of trees which came to life, sprouting arms and uprooting themselves, marching over to him. “You’ve spent your whole life apple-bucking and kicking trees. Now they want some payback!”

He snapped two of his claws as a signal to them and the trees charged at Applejack, their barky limbs creaking in time with their movements, catching up before she could have the chance to run away. They grabbed her with their wooden hands and proceeded to throw and kick her in between them. She flailed and screamed, trying to stop herself from being tossed through the air like a ball between two fillies, but there was nothing she could do.

“You brute!” Rarity stood protectively backed up against her boulder. “Keep away from me and my diamond! Keep away, I said!”

“Very well, I shall. But can you keep away from your diamond?” He grinned and blasted it with a spell.

The instant he did, the surface of the stone bubbled like a liquid being boiled and Rarity began to sink into it. She tried to pull away, but the sinking grew all the more quickly until her whole body except her head was encased in the boulder. At this point, it stopped bubbling and became stone once more, leaving its prisoner straining to break free of her entrapment.

I had been standing in shock at all of the deeds he was performing. It caught me off-guard at how vindictive and malicious this pony was, willing to do these horrible things to them. But I snapped out of it when Diablo turned to face me, that horrible malformation of a smile on his angry, rage-filled face.

“Now…what will I do with you?” he asked me, stepping towards me.

“Please, just stop this!” I begged him, hoping to appeal to his better nature, trying to see if I could get through to Dusk. “You don’t have to do this to us.”

For a moment, he hesitated at my plea and seemed to consider following my request. “You’re right. I don’t have to…” I dared to hope that it had worked, but this was soon dashed. It was gone as soon as it arrived and he just glared at me. “But I want to.”

“Then you leave me no choice.” I sent a spell at him, one that would paralyze his body.

He ducked under it and snarled at her angrily. Now she had really disturbed the hornet’s nest. “You dare to attack me?”

“Yes, if you keep hurting me or my friends!” I sent another spell at him, which hit him and sent him reeling on the ground. “Sorry, Dusk! It’s for your own good!”

His body twitched for a moment and it looked like my spell had worked. He was moving jerkily around as the effects of the paralysis took hold on him. Suddenly, he sprang back to his hooves and came at me again, a visage of pure rage. How was that possible? He shouldn't be still moving.

“Your pathetic magic can’t stop me!” He strode up to me, his hooves and claws making small cracks in the ground. “You will pay for that!”

It seemed that through sheer power of will and anger he’d overcome my spell. Perhaps a few more would stop him for good. I sent three more at him, but this time—instead of dodging them—he blocked them with bursts of light, sending them ricocheting away in other directions. The last one he sent back at me and I didn’t have time to get out of the way. It hit me and I fell to the ground from the impact.

I could already feel my limbs seizing up from the effects of the spell. I tried to crawl away, to get back up and fight, but the spell was too strong. Even my ability to use magic was suspended and I was left frozen in a position of desperate terror. I could feel cold breathing down the back of my neck as my tormentor approached.

“Again, irony is a strange thing, isn’t it?” he growled. “Now that I have you in this state, I know just what to do with you.” I saw a magic aura surround my limbs and lift me up. “Now to make you look as foolish as worthless, little Dusk.”

Unable to control my limbs, unable to fight back in any way, I was forced to be humiliated witness as Diablo made me dance around like his puppet, laughing while he did. I had to endure this sick torment, feeling utterly defeated and hopeless. It was like a strange subversion of Dusk’s color talent, only now it was with an actual pony rather than one shaped by color and magic. All the while, I wondered how somepony I knew to be meek and mild could have a side to him so malicious, so cruel as to take joy in this…

I could glimpse Discord, also laughing and guffawing at the state of me and my friends as his servant acted out his sick game. All of this chaos, all of this suffering, it all stemmed from him. Along with my humiliation, I also felt the fire of anger that drove her to find the Elements, to turn him back into stone, and to make him face justice for what he'd done to me, my friends, my home… and Dusk.

“All right, all right! That’s enough for now.” Discord ordered, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

“But, master, I was just getting started.” Diablo insisted. “I only ask that you let me have a few more minutes with them…”

“You’ve had long enough and they still haven’t found their Elements. We need to give them a chance, don’t we?” He conjured up the collar and leash in his hand again. “Come on, Diablo. Don’t make me use this.”

The dark-furred, dark-hearted pony stared warily at the bright red collar in Discord’s hand, his gaze flicking around me and the girls. Again, it seemed like he would refuse to obey, that even Discord couldn’t control his blind rage. Eventually, he ceased and canceled the magic he had done, releasing me and the others from our individual torments, all of us falling to the ground in a heap.

“As you wish, my lord.” he rumbled, joining Discord at his side.

“Good boy.” Discord said satisfactorily, still sniggering at us. “Good work though. I’m proud of you, my lad.”

“Thank you, master.” he bowed, allowing himself a cruel smirk as he watched them struggle.

Trying to restore feeling to my joints, I still felt a little stiff in my limbs, pulling myself back to my hooves. The rest of my friends were in the same battered and dazed states from what they’d just been through. At first, I thought they might start to work together again and stop fighting each other…until Fluttershy, covered in bruises from the trampling rabbits, promptly kicked Pinkie back to the floor again with a cruel cackle.

I groaned and hung my head, picking up Dusk’s hat and holding it close. Once again, I felt a sense of hopelessness, of loss without his comforting, imaginative presence. The world just seemed a much bleaker place without Dusk. Add to that this black-hearted pony tormenting us just for the fun of it and the way my friends were acting and I was left with the thought that we couldn’t stop Discord… I just missed him so much.

But then I had a thought, an idea that gave me renewed hope. Dusk became Diablo Nightfall because of Discord. Maybe, if we could find the Elements of Harmony again, we could use them to turn him back to normal, just how we turned Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna. That was if Dusk’s “big brother” didn’t try and stop us. However, this idea still gave me a new determination and I urged my friends to get moving and get up as we still needed to find the Elements if we were to save Dusk.

“Come on, girls! We need to get moving!” I insisted, setting off back down the road. “Once we get to the library, I know a book that’ll give us a clue to the Elements.” With this statement fueling me, I pressed on.

Suddenly, the sun went down in seconds and up came the moon, plunging us all into darkness. This sudden change caught me off-guard. I could barely see a few feet in front of me as we were about to start off down the road again.

“Wow! I can see so much better now.” I heard Applejack suddenly yell in surprise and felt her smack into me and knock me to the ground. “I meant to do that.”

I tried to get up, but the road had become very slippery and I fell back to the ground. When the sun came back up again, I saw why. “Discord’s turned our dirt roads into soap!”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?" Discord slid by casually, his dark servant not too far behind. “This is the new and improved Ponyville and these are only my first of changes.”

“You have done splendid work, master.” Diablo praised, looking over it with a strange, twisted kind of happiness.

“Thank you, DN. Glad that you appreciate it.” he said to him, smiling with satisfaction. “There’s still much more to come, so don’t give your scores just yet.”

I looked over at the town which was now also in a state of nonsensical madness. The sky surrounding it was bright pink with clouds of cotton candy raining down chocolate on half of the town. The river water had changed from sparkling blue to a deep purple, glistening strangely in the sun. Several buildings and trees were now upside down or floating on chunks of earth in the sky, also either right side up or on their roofs. There were no longer lush fields of grass and flowers, but rolling hills of patchwork and tartan in blue and lilac. Nothing looked natural or right, it was a travesty compared to how beautiful it had been.

“This may look like fun, but it's not.” Pinkie said as she slid by on the soap, still covered in bite marks.

She glared at Diablo as she slid by, who only grinned and gave a growl and a snap. She shrieked at this and jumped back, shivering with fear while he chuckled. I felt similar anger towards him myself, just as Discord suddenly appeared beside me and lifted me up. I hated it when he put his hands on me, it made me feel sick.

“Picture it: the chaos capital of the world.” He held me before him just as darkness fell on us again, obscuring my vision.

“I can’t picture anything. It’s too dark.” I told him. He then dropped me back into the soap and I heard Diablo chuckle again.

“Well, wait a few minutes and you’ll see it in the beautiful light of day. Or not.” he shrugged, turning to his servant. “Come along, Diablo. We’ve got things to do, chaos to wreak and I’ll think you’ll like this next spot.”

“Yes, my lord.” He gave me one last cruel smile before he and Discord vanished in a flash of bright light.

“Ponyville, the chaos capital of the world?” I stood up defiantly and tried to bolster my own spirits. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t.” Fluttershy put in as she slid by, laughing as she did.

I groaned again and carried on down the road, trying my best not to slip and holding on to Dusk’s hat. I could only hope my hunch was right or… I couldn’t bear to think of the alternative. I could still hear Diablo’s cruel laughter, his cold angry eyes…

I had no wish to see them again.

Dragonis’ view

Clutching her head, I could tell Luna felt the shift in magical power that made her gasp and clutch her head.

“Luna!” I said as I went to her side.

“I’m fine.” She said to me. “It seems my power of the night is dwindling away. The only time I had felt like this was…”

“When Discord reign over Equestria.” I said, know our fears had been realized. Discord had won.

I then watched as Luna brought out and looked at the roll of parchment that she sincerely prayed had been guiding her and Dusk along the right path.

“Luna, I have sense another disturbance, a chaotic force that I have not sensed in a long time.” I told her, feeling energy I had not expect to appear. “A newborn Kishin. I’m afraid that Discord had inflicted Dusk to the madness of Black Blood, much like he had done to you. We have no choice now, we need to action.”

Luna then sighed before she then put the parchment down and looked to me. “I know, Dragonis. If something isn’t done, then I’m afraid all hope is lost. I do have a solution, but I will need some help.”

“Then let us go and ensure the safety of all of Equestria.” I said, both of us gathering strength before leaping off the balcony and taking flight towards Ponyville.

I knew what had to be done… but it wasn’t going to be easy.

Author's Note

With the cruel and vicious Diablo Nightfall now working with Discord, our heroes face an even greater foe. Can Twilight and her friends be able to use the Elements to defeat Discord and save Dusk? What exactly does Luna have planned? A royal intervention to come next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Diablo Nightfall sure is a jerk, isn’t he? Even though Dusk has gone to the dark side. Twilight is still determined to stop Discord and save her friend. Though something tells me that she’s gonna get a little surprise once she finds the Elements. And things have gone so bad that now Dragonis and Princess Luna are getting in on this. Speaking of which, in the next chapter, it’s gonna be the fight of the century: Princess Luna versus Diablo Nightfall! The Princess of the Night against the Blackhole of Doom! Who will win? Well, we’ll have to wait and see. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Serioiusly, guys! I would really appreciate at least one new comment.

Chapter 8: Night Fight

I was shaking with anticipation as my master transported us to the home of my weaker self. Performing those deeds of chaos on those pathetic mares had been immensely satisfying and I was looking forward to bringing my disharmonic Kishin powers to Dusk’s disgusting hovel of a home.

I, like my master, reveled in chaos. It was what I lived for since it was the fear that Dusk had developed of me coming to life. I had just been idea, a nightmare that Dusk had hoped would never come to pass. Discord had simply made that stronger, increased his fear of it with the power of Black Blood. Now, the idea had become reality and I—Diablo Nightfall—had been given life, though it filled me with disgust that I had been brought into being by one so pathetic, so weak…

I had not been merely taunting when I had referred to myself as Dusk’s brother. In a sense, I had all of his strengths, of what little they were, especially his sharp mind. But my master had been kind and granted me power, both strength in body and in magic, with Black Blood so that I was tougher and faster than Dusk. All of Dusk’s, my brother’s, negative emotions were increased tenfold within him. Rage, anger, hatred, deceit, cruelty, they were all of what made up me, with none of Dusk’s more useless ones, like compassion, love, hope, and empathy. In short, I was everything my useless former hadn’t been: strong with no weaknesses and no holding back. Except perhaps…

Every now and again, I felt an uncomfortable emotion I didn’t like and I tried to ignore it. It surfaced whenever I saw those mares or did something to them, a kind of urge that I should stop and I actually ended up feeling a little guilty afterward, regret for what I had done. Some small part of Dusk that still lingered in my mind, no doubt. Eventually, it would fade away and all that would be left would be my thoughts, my desires. Dusk Noir was gone and now it was my turn, my reign over his mind and body.

“Come along now, Diablo. I just know you’re going to enjoy this.” Discord prompted, floating in the air before me.

“Yes, master. As you wish.” I replied, following him to our destination.

The Spirit of Disharmony was the only being on this world that I would hold allegiance to. Everyone else, everything else, was worth nothing other than to be part of a world drenched in chaos. My master had been the one who had given me life, forming me from madness and Dusk’s fear, and giving me the strength to become real, to challenge my weaker self. Like my master, I too reveled in chaos and anarchy, tormenting all of the ponies I knew would never accept me and would revile me as a monster. That was what I was… and I was proud of it.

As I followed Discord through the town, I stopped when I noticed something. It was a rose growing out of the ground nearby, its delicate petals as white as snow, but the thorns were wicked and sharp. Thinking of those mares again, I thought bitterly to myself: How fitting. Once upon a time, Dusk might have found it beautiful, enchanting even. But I found it ugly, unfitting in my master’s and my own vision.

Selecting the appropriate spell, I cast my magic at it so that its petals became black and it writhed for a moment like a living animal before it stopped and became still again. Now, whenever anypony would try to pick it, it would wrap around their leg and trap them there. There. That’s much better. I thought to myself. Satisfied with my work, I continued on after my master.

“Ah, here we are!” Discord said as he rounded a corner.

I followed and felt my blood boil in anger. It looked to be any normal home in Ponyville: two floors, white walls held up by wooden struts, thatched roof, and surrounded by a garden fence with nothing too spectacular about it. But I knew from the memories I’d be examining in Dusk’s broken thoughts that this house was once his home. This had been where Dusk had resided, where he had lived out his pathetic little life.

“Why are we here, master?” I asked, trying my best not to explode in a fit of rage.

“We’re here so that you can have a little more fun, my partner in crime.” He gestured expansively to the house. “I take it you know who used to live here?”

“I do.” I growled again. “What of it?”

“Well, since he’s not around anymore, he won’t need it. So it’s yours now.” He stood back and patted me on the neck. “You can do whatever you want to it.”

I felt my excitement grow at this. “You mean… you will let me…?”

“Yes, my little pony.” he clarified with a grin. “Go nuts.”

“With pleasure!” In seconds, I was off to start my work.

It was immensely enjoyable, a task that I took on with utter reverence, using my great strength to commit to it. First, I went for the fence, tearing it out of the ground and tossing the wood into the air, disintegrating or shattering it with blasts of magic. Then I used magic to zap the flowers so grown around it, so that they withered and died in seconds, their petals rotting and leaves blackening. With almighty swings of his fists, I cracked and collapsed the walls on the left side so that half of the house fell on itself, crumbling with a wonderful sound of destruction.

Words couldn’t describe how much joy, or the closest approximation of it for one so despicable, I took in this task of destruction as I made the left side of the house sink into a chocolate syrup quagmire I conjured up. It was like when I had beaten Dusk’s mind into submission with my own powerful thoughts and desires, how glorious and wonderful it had been to revel in such destruction and pain and now to do it again! Destroying what I considered to be a symbol of my enemy was truly… spectacular.

“Having fun, are we?” Discord asked when I stopped to gather up my strength again.

“Very much so.” I replied, grinning up at him. “Thank you for this opportunity, my lord. You are good to me.”

“Call it a ‘job well done’ present for your wonderful deeds of chaos. I’m very proud of you so far.” he told him. “Keep this up and you’ve got a bright future indeed, Diablo.”

“I am most gratified by your praise, master.” I said, bowing my head. “May I continue?”

“Oh, please do! Don’t stop on my account.” he insisted, snapping his fingers. He conjured up a row of seats and sat on it with his popcorn and cola. “I must say, quite enjoy watching this myself.”

“I shall make it as entertaining as possible then.” I whipped around back to the house, about to cast another spell until…

“HALT! Thy princess commands thee to cease at once!” I felt no shock, only increased rage at the sound of this new voice.

Standing nearby, a midnight blue alicorn along with stood nearby, glaring at both myself and my master with an authority she certainly didn’t deserve. Her starlit mane was flared, her wings poised and ready to fly, her expression determined and her horn aglow with magic. Princess Luna, a name I mentally said in anger. Alongside her was a being that resembled El Dragon, my brother’s pathetic excuse of an elemental form. Though this individual held differences, said differences being that he held a more muscular frame and was slightly bigger than the princess. His horns were interconnected to resemble somewhat of a crested helmet with a triple-bladed weapon as the horn on top. He also bared more armor than El Dragon, being made of golden gauntlets over his claws, clawed boots on his hooves in the back, a row of golden slate armor plates on the top of his tail, and a golden chest plate. On the chest plate was a big, crystal blue diamond. With him looking at the two of us the same way as the princess, I knew that this was the great guardian of Equestria Dragonis Maximus, one who I despised just as much as the alicorn. Both looked ready for a fight and I was only more than willing to give them one.

Discord appeared a little shocked himself at the appearance of these new arrivals. However, he recovered swiftly and beamed wickedly at the sight of them, as if they were old friends rather than his mortal nemeses.

“Why, hello again, Dragonis!” He greeted, as if addressing to foals. “And I see Luna is with you. How lovely it is to see you again, my dear. How have you been keeping? Well, I hope?”

“Be silent, thy forked-tongued wretch!” she commanded. “We have not traveled here to bandy crooked words with thee!”

“Sounds like somepony hasn’t been keeping up with the times.” he remarked casually. “But then again, a thousand years trapped in the moon will do that to you. By the way, how was that? Lonely? Isolated? Scary?”

“What has passed has passed and we have no desire to speak of it again.” she responded harshly. “Certainly not with the likes of thee, Discord!”

“Just as grim as her sister.” he murmured to me, then to her. “I must say, I’m sorry I wasn’t around for your big change. Even more so that I wasn’t the cause of it. Well, not in a direct sense anyway.”

“She already knows about what happened, Discord.” Dragonis spoke up, dangerously. “What led to her banishment was because of your Paraserpent, which means it is all your fault!”

“Oh, yes. Black Fang, my only Paraserpent that ran to fight another day.” Discord remarked. “Well, he certainly did do well to get a little payback for me. Though what happened to the Black Blood he left, I wonder? Still crawling around inside your mind, is it, Luna?”

“The madness that thou’s beast left behind to infest my soul has been long since purged and we shall never succumb to such tyrannical thoughts again.” Luna told him.

“Come now, Luna. Don’t you ever miss it?” he asked temptingly. “All the power that you had, the idea of night eternal? All my ideas put into that single drop of black goo my Paraserpent spiked your drink with… Those thoughts not still in there?”

“Not one bit of them. Not now nor ever again.” she declared firmly.

“Really? Aw! That’s a shame, we could have made a great team.” He gestured his hands, so our names lit up in neon lights. “‘Discord, Diablo Nightfall, and Nightmare Moon: Agents of Chaos and Disharmony’!”

“Diablo Nightfall, huh?” Dragonis said as he and the princess turned their gaze to me, myself giving the two a seething glare of anger. “So it looks like we were right. You used Black Blood to twist Dusk’s mind with madness and Kishinize him.”

“Twisted? Dragonis, you make it sound like it’s a bad thing.” He gestured to me. “This is an improvement. Isn’t that right, Nightfall?”

“Yes.” I met the gaze of the two with a piercing glare. “I am more powerful and stronger. Not to mention have none of the weaknesses of that weakling Dusk.”

“You say that, but I highly doubt that is true.” Dragonis said, returning the glare.

“Oh, Dusk,” Luna said to me, seemingly not intimidated or even scared. Instead, she looked at me with pity and compassion which made me feel sick, “what has happened to thee?”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” I screeched at her. “I am not Dusk Noir for he is gone! I am DIABLO NIGHTFALL THE BLACKHOLE OF DOOM!”

“We don’t believe that.” Luna insisted. “He can still be saved from thy dark influence.”

“Then you are a fool!” I roared, my anger towards them raging like a fire. “I have defeated him, I have broken his mind, and dropped him into the darkest recesses of my own! He, is not, coming, BACK!”

“I think you’ve touched a nerve, my dear Luna.” Discord put in. “Tell you what, Diablo. Why don’t you have some stress relief? I’m sure the princess and her little boyfriend would be happy to oblige.”

“Thank you, master.” I said, letting my anger flow through me, my bitter hatred for the ponies in front of me focused on the fight. Though it all went away when I realized what Discord just said. “Wait, boyfriend?”

“Wait, do you not…” He said to me with exasperation before looking to Dragonis and Luna, a smile slowly forming on his face. “You two didn’t… Oh, this is too much!”

With a moment, Discord unleashed a burst of laughter as he fell and began rolling around on the ground. This pretty much confused me. Did my master know something about the two I didn’t? If so, what exactly was it that he found amusing.

“Oh-ho! I honestly still can’t believe it!” my master as he stood back up, his laughing slowly beginning to diseased. “You really didn’t tell anypony about you two? And I thought it was naughty enough with Luna not wearing her ring.”

“Ring? Master, what exactly are you talking about?” I asked, now curious as to what he knew.

“Well, you see, Diablo,” Discord answered me, “before she became Nightmare Moon, Luna had other plans besides being the ruler of the night.” What he whispered in my ear shocked me. “She was actually planning on becoming the first Mrs. Dragonis Maximus.”

“What?!” I still couldn’t believe what I heard. “You mean those two were engaged?”

“Correct! Dragonis proposed to little Luna before I even showed up.” He said while looking to the two. “They were still looking for a wedding date, one they had spent moons thinking about.”

“We nearly found the right date!” Dragonis spoke out to my master, furiously. “We would’ve been happily married by now if it weren’t for you!”

“Oh-ho!” Discord chuckled. “Seems like Luna isn’t the only one who touched a nerve.”

“Well…” I said, smiling in excitement at how much I’ll enjoy crushing the two. “This makes things even better. I’m going to enjoy crushing you both into the ground.”

“Well, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.” Dragonis said, looking ready to fight while Luna appeared to be surprised.

“You would order your minion to attack us? You would have such an audacity, Discord?”

“Well, you did trap me in stone and you did enrage him in the first place.” the spirit shrugged. “Consider this making us even.”

“Thou hast never killed, Discord.” she said to him. “This is quite a change of form.”

“Oh, he won’t kill you…” He paused and stroked his beard thoughtfully. “At least, I don’t think he will. He can be quite uncontrollable in these little fits he has, but I'm sure he won't snuff you out entirely.”

“I’ll try, at least for Luna.” I promised, intending to leave the princess in a pathetic enough state that she shouldn’t be able to defend herself. “I shall make sure there is enough of her left for you to make use of, my lord. I can’t say the same for Dragonis though.”

“Excuse me?” he sounded surprised by this as he raised a brow at me.

“Well, she is only one of the two ponies who actually defeated you.” I told him, keeping my gaze on Dragonis. “I can at least let you have the pleasure in finishing her off. But I’ve decided what the guardian’s fate will be.”

“And… what exactly is that?”

“What else? Death.” I then went on to explain. “I’m a Kishin, remember? But I’m not a complete one. In order to become a full-fledged Kishin, I need to absorb the life force of other ponies. I was planning on making some specific ponies my key to ascension, but Dragonis will do better than them. He’s lived for more than a thousand years, which means absorbing his life force will allow me to obtain my true form! Not only that, but I will accomplish two other things. I’ll both rid Equestria of its precious guardian and leave the Princess of the Night with the worst punishment of all: the loss of a loved one.”

“While I do see your motives for this, Diablo,” my master said to me, “I’m afraid I can’t let you kill Dragonis.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I have big plans for him, plans that are bound to make things more interesting. You can have all the ponies we can get once we take all of Equestria, just don’t kill Dragonis or Luna.”

“But…”

“Uh-uh! No buts.” Discord then brought out the leash again. “Do you want to fight them or not?”

“Yes…”

“Then promise me you won’t kill those two.”

Though I did want to tell him no and just do what I pleased, I simply growled and said “As you wish, master.”

“Very good, then have fun!” Discord then proceeded to sit back on his chair and pop another piece of corn into his mouth. “This should be fun.”

“Don’t do this, Diablo. You can still back out.” Dragonis told me as he and Luna locked eyes with me. “You know we are stronger and possess more power than you.”

“Once again, you are mistaken.” I growled. “I want to fight you more than anything and your power is nothing compared to mine, seeing as no doubt one of you had her strength diminished since my master has returned to power.”

“That doesn’t mean we cannot best thee.” Luna countered, tensing her body for a fight.

“We shall see about that.” I let her see my smile. Then, with a loud roar… I pounced!

Shield’s view

“Sweet spouts!” Leon said, looking out the back window of the library with shock. “It’s all topsy-turvey out there!”

“And Dusk still isn’t back yet.” Dog said, worried about our bud. “Really hope he hasn’t gotten lost in all that.”

“I hear ya, Dog.” Spike said to him. “I hate to be anypony stuck in that mess.”

“Okay, that’s it!” I said, slamming my hooves on the table before getting up and walking over to the door. “I’m going!”

“Where are ya goin’, Shield?” Dog asked me.

“Where else? I’m going to find Dusk!” I told him, stopping at the door. “He’s out there somewhere and he’s in trouble! Just as much as Ponyville!”

“I know that.” he said to me.

“Yeah?” I then turned to him. “And don’t you think we should do something about this?”

“What can we do about this? Dusk was the only one who knew how to deal with this. Until he comes back, it might be best to do what he told us.”

“Oh, you want that to be our plan? Sitting here on our butts while Discord makes a mess out of Equestria?”

“I’m just sayin’ that it’d be best to stick here than to go out there without a plan.”

“I already got a plan! I’m going to look for Dusk and I’m gonna bring him back here so he can tell us exactly what those stones are for!”

“Shield, that’s not a plan!”

“Better than what you want to do!” we glared at each other before Spike came over and pushed us away from each other.

“Guys! Guys! Take it easy!” he told us. “Look, none of us like having standing around do nothing, but fighting isn’t really gonna help anypony, is it?”

Me and Dog looked at each other before we saw that he was right.

“You’re right, Spike.” I said. “I’m sorry, Dog. I’m just worried about Dusk.”

“I’m sorry too, Shield.” The cowpony said to me. “I’m worried about him too.”

“So am I.” Leon said as he walked over. “For once, I’m really hoping nothing bad happened to him.”

“Man, I really wish Twilight were here.” Spike said before we heard some voices coming from outside.

Going out there, we were all pretty happy to see Dusk’s fellow egghead right there.

“Twilight!” I said as she turned to us. “Boy, are we glad to see you!”

“Not as much as I am to see you.” Twilight said, giving us a small smile.

“Um… did something happen?” Leon asked, noticing Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie who were looking really different. “What’s up with the pale quartet?”

He wasn’t wrong. Those girls did look different and it wasn’t just the pale color. They looked the same, but at the same time, didn’t. Wasn’t really sure about Applejack, but the others were pretty obvious: Pinkie Pie looked as down in the dumps as she did on when we ignored her, Fluttershy had this smile like one of Dusk’s old school bullies, and Rarity—weirdly enough—was holding onto a rock.

“Yeah.” I said before I noticed something else. “And where’s Rainbow Dash?”

“I don’t know, but that’s not important.” Twilight said to us before she looked to the girls. “Everyone, please, please, please just go inside. Please?”

“I absolutely refuse.” Applejack lied, walking past me and the guys and into the library as she suddenly turned gray.

“AJ?” Dog said, just as surprised as the rest of us to hear her lie.

“With pleasure.” Same thing happened to Fluttershy as she trampled on a bush of flowers before heading inside.

“Flutters?” Leon said, worried about her.

“I hate libraries!” Pinkie put in, also becoming gray. Confused by all this, me, Dog, and Leon went over to Twilight to see if she knew anything about this.

“Twilight, what the heck is going on?” I asked the only mare who still had her color.

“Yeah, what’s going on with Fluttershy?” Leon asked.

“AJ is actin’ weird too. She just told a lie.” Dog said, just as worried as the rest of us.

“Discord.” She told us. “I’m not sure what he did, but he’s changed them. It’s like he made them forget who they are.”

“Is that why Dash isn’t with you?” I asked.

“And why Rarity’s pushin’ that rock over here?” Dog asked as we looked at the fashionista in question, who was struggling against the weight of her boulder with sweat rolling down her face as she pushed against it.

“Yep. She thinks it’s a diamond.” Twilight told us before she talked to Rarity. “Rarity, pleeeease! We’ve gotta hurry!”

“Forget it, Twilight! I know what you’re up to.” Rarity said with a glare. “The second I go in, you’ll have Shield and your little minion Spike come and take Tom!”

“Did she really give that thing a name?” Leon asked as we couldn’t believe she actually gave a name to a rock.

“Well, it’s not going to work.” she said as if she hadn’t heard her, rubbing her boulder lovingly as her fur turned to gray as well.

“What the heck did Discord do to her?” I said, surprised by how Dusk’s cousin was acting. “I’ve never seen her act so… greedy.”

“Hang on a second!” Dog said, moving his hoof around like he was counting stuff. “Glum, mean, lyin’,” he then pointed at Rarity, “greedy. All these are the opposites of joy, kind, honest, and generous. Discord didn’t just make them forget who they are…”

“He’s made them the exact opposite of themselves!” Leon finished. “The opposite of their Elements of Harmony!”

“And I thought things were bad enough with what Discord did to Ponyville and what happened to the stones.” I said, making Twilight look to me.

“Stones? What stones?” she asked.

“We’ll explain once we’re inside.” I told her.

“Okay.” Twilight said before she looked to Rare. “You’re not going in without him, are you?” After Rarity shook her head, Twilight sighed and looked to Dog. “Fine! Dog, hold this!”

“Dusk’s hat!” Dog said as he held up our bud’s hat, which looked like it had seen better days. “Where’s you get this?”

“Long story.” Twilight said before took the boulder with her magic and put it on my back. “Shield, take ‘Tom’ inside.”

“On it.” I told her as I carried the boulder insider.

“Hm… you know, this is quite a nice hat.” Rarity added, looking over the hat with interest. “Once you wash off the dirt, sort out a few of the frayed bits, it’s still wearable…”

“Don’t even think about it!” Twilight growled as I moved the boulder in front of the door, Rarity saying nothing about it.

“Yeah, I don’t think this is gonna fit through the door.” I said before Twilight then used her magic and slammed through the wall of the library, creating a big hole and breaking the door. Seeing her panting, I knew Twilight did that to blow off some steam. “Feeling better?”

“A little, yes.” She said to me before Rarity rushed over to the rock.

“Careful, Twilight! You’ll ruin his beautiful finish.”

“Oh, for the love of…” Twilight didn’t even finish her sentence before Spike ran over to her.

“Twilight, what’s going on?” he asked her, a little bit of water dripping from his scales. “Why does everybody look so… gray?”

“Don’t ask.” She scooped him up onto her back. “I need you to help me find something.”

“Wait, you mean what Princess Luna told us to look for her?” I asked her.

“Princess Luna?” She said me. “Wait, did she send you and Dusk to the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters?”

“Yeah. How did you know we were there?” Leon asked, just surprised as the rest of us.

“Discord showed me.” Twilight paused for a moment, looking like she was trying not to cry. “So you said she sent you to look for something?”

“Ee-yep!” Dog told her. “She wanted Dusk to find somethin’ she thinks can help y’all beat Discord.”

“‘This time, you’ll see, it’ll take more than that to stop me’.” Twilight said before she gained a smile. “Of course! That’s what he meant!”

“What who meant?” I asked her, confused by this.

“When we went to Canterlot, Discord told us that we’d need more than the Elements of Harmony to defeat him.” Twilight explained. “It’s only until just now that I realized what he meant. Princess Luna must have known we needed more than the Elements to succeed and she sent you to find what we need!”

“Well, we found it.” I told her as we all found it hard to tell her what happened while she was gone. “Though we’re not sure if they can help us now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come see for yourself.” I said as we led Twilight over to the table before Dog used his magic to put Dusk’s hat on the table and lift Dusk’s necklace up to Twilight. “Dusk wanted us to give this to you, said that it might be able to help.”

“But… this is…” Twilight she began to sob, taking the necklace in her hooves. “Guys… what happened?”

“Twilight…”

“What happened?” She glared at me that time, surprising me.

I sighed before I explained everything. “When we were searching around the castle, Dusk had a run-in with Discord. We’re not exactly sure what he did, but Dusk told us that he wouldn’t be able to help us if he didn’t find a way to fix it.” it was there, knowing Twilight was out there, I asked the question that was on everypony’s mind here. “Twilight… Dusk… is he…?”

“No… no, he isn’t.” Twilight said to us, looking even more depressed than the rest of us as tears rolled down her face. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

“No…” me and the guys then realized what she was trying to say. “You mean… we lost him?”

“Yes…” She bowed her head, shutting her eyes shut.

“Lost him? What are you…?” Spike said before he then figured out what was going on. “No… Dusk is… No!”

“Well, now we know what the stones turning black mean.” Leon said as we all looked down in despair.

To think that our bud was now gone from our lives. How could any of us have hope to stop Discord when the only pony who gave us that was now gone? It was only a moment before Dog went up to me, putting a hoof on my shoulder.

“Shield…” he said to me. “Ya know what we’ve gotta do.”

“Yeah.” I said to him before pulling myself together and talking to everypony. “Come on. We can’t waste our time crying over it. We still got to beat Discord. It’s what Dusk would have wanted us to do.”

“You’re… you’re right, Shield.” Twilight sniffled as she got herself back up, putting on Dusk’s necklace. “Let’s do this, for Dusk.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” I said, smiling to her as me and the guys gathered around to her what she haves plan. “So, Twilight, got a plan?”

“Of course! But first, we need to find the Elements!” She told us.

“Find the Elements? Aren't they with you?” I asked her, confused by this.

“No, Discord took them, but I think I know where to find them.” Twilight said as she looked around the library. “Now where is that book?”

“Hey, Twilight! What’s soaking wet and clueless?” Fluttershy said as she picked up a bucket and smiled like a jerk.

“Fluttershy, I’ve had just about enough…” She was cut off as the pegasus pour water onto her head, soaking her mane and fur.

“Your face!”

“This is gonna be a long day.” Leon said as Twilight groaned with the bucket on her head.

Dragonis’ view

I knew fighting Dusk would be dangerous, especially since Discord turned him into a Kishin and how his dark half shared similarities to Nightmare Moon, but I wasn’t expecting anything like this. That ferocity he threw at us while roaring like some wild beast, I was actually afraid of him.

Flaring our wings, Luna and I took to the sky, avoiding his attack and keeping our eyes locked on him. To tell the truth, Diablo certain was stronger than we thought. With Luna’s powers weakened thanks to Discord, I was starting to think we might have some trouble dealing with what once the young Fire Dragon. I could see the ground crack around him as he landed, shaking the very earth he stood upon. There was nothing holding him back, he was pure rage and anger in pony form. Rather disconcerting, considering how shy and kind he had been before all of this…

But despite this, Luna was still an alicorn with the advantages of a Pegasus and a unicorn as well as the Princess of the Night and co-ruler of Equestria. And I was still the guardian of Equestria. She had defeated Discord with her sister before and, with me by her side, she would manage the same feat with Diablo Nightfall. All we had to do was catch him off-guard so I could give Luna an opening to hit him with her spell, which had to be in direct contact with his horn. For now, we would have to do our best to weaken him.

Calling upon the powers of the weather, I watched as Luna gathered storm clouds to her and commanded them to rain lightning down onto Diablo. I heard him scream out in pain as the bolts struck his body, lighting him up and making his skeleton visible. I watched him buckle from the impact of volts of electricity running through him, his body smoking from the heat. Perhaps this would be easier than we thought.

But the Kishin recovered from the attacks and snarled up at us. He then began to weave and dodge around the bolts, feinting in one direction and rolling to another, and making himself a very difficult target. Soon enough, he started to counter-attack, levitating or even heaving chunks of stone and debris the bolts blew out of the ground and hurling them at us with great strength and incredible speed.

Recognizing the danger of remaining stationary on Luna’s own cloud, we both ducked and dodged around the chunks of stone, Luna having some hit her. She was finding it difficult to dodge the attacks and still keep up her lightning bombardment on him, especially in her weakened state. She was about to try for a counter-strike herself, when Diablo appeared, flying down at her. I had to assume that he used the stones as cover while he snuck past the lightning. Seeing Luna had nowhere to go as Diablo raised a fist to strike, I rushed over and instantly tackled Diablo, sending both him and myself crashing to the ground. With him tossing me away from him, we both picked ourselves up and looked at each other, the two of us ready to fight.

“Seems as though you’re the only one with any fight, Dragonis.” Diablo sneered. “Luna’s powers are weak. Neither of you hope for victory in this fight.”

“Some of her power might’ve been taken away, but Luna is not weak.” I told him, glaring at him before gaining a smug. “Besides, she’s got a few more tricks up her sleeve.”

With a raised brow, Diablo barely had to react as a dark grey cloud appeared and consumed him. Before he had the chance to break out, Luna kicked it once more to stir up the lightning within. The Kishin roared out as the electricity coursed through his body once more. Every time she kicked the cloud, there was another flash, another exclamation of pain.

I thought this must hold him, but he suddenly burst out of the cloud, his claws sparking with power. Gazing in horror, I watched as he then dealt her a barrage of punches, said punches now added damage with sending small jolts of lightning into her as they made contact with her skin and sending shots of pain through her body. The strength, the ferocity! What was that motivated him, that drove him after receiving such punishment? Still having strength in her, I watched as Luna returned a punch, sending him away before he used his wings to stop him.

Still wincing from her injuries, she galloped straight towards him, using her wings to glide across the ground, the magic empowering her horn. She was out to end this fight quickly. I understood she didn’t like to think that she would be hurting Dusk somehow for that’s how I felt to. It had been incredible he was still standing now. She reached him, lowered her horn…

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” A blast of magic sent her flying backward, skidding across the ground.

She recovered herself and landed back on her hooves, turning to see Diablo with his horn glowing and his features alive with malice and rage.

“Thou are strong in thy body, Nightfall.” she said, preparing to catch him off-guard with a spell of her own. “We shall concede to that much.”

“I don’t care about your concessions, princess!” he shouted back. “All I want is to see you on your knees, begging for my mercy… like your little subject did. Quite pathetic and disappointing, I thought he would last a little longer, at any rate.”

“Then we shall try our best not to disappoint thee!” This last part, she yelled out and sent her spell at him as she did.

The spell managed to hit him, sending him to the ground and leaving a smoking spot on his fur. They were only meant to weaken him for even he couldn’t fight on forever. He stood back up, looked down at the wound, and gave a screech of fury. I was going to join in when…

“Dragonis, don’t!” She said to me with a serious look in her eyes. “I shall take things from here.” Seeing this, I back down and watched as the two entered into the magical duel.

They were both relatively well-matched in terms of their style of fighting. Diablo chose to simply bombard her with all manner of spells, apparently not having much in the way of a plan and guided by his uncontrollable anger. Luna chose to counter with defensive spells, leaping and dodging when required, Diablo’s violent attacks being enough to keep her on her hooves and occasionally sending a spell back, which either hit him or was blocked. It had been a long time since I’ve seen Luna fight like this and I was glad to see she wasn’t entirely out of practice.

One moment, she decided to become formless, dancing around as a cloud of purple smoke, much like she had done when she was Nightmare Moon. Diablo, not expecting this, was unable to hit her and didn’t have time to react when she sent more bolts of lightning at him, followed up with a quick kick to the head. She then backed away in case she hurt Dusk as well. I saw him buckle at the knees and grimace.

“Thou are weakening, Nightfall.” she told him. “Soon, thou shall have no more strength and will have to concede defeat to us.”

“While I breathe, I have strength. I…am not…WEAK!” he roared, sending more spells at her and returning to the duel.

Luna tried her best to block his spells and dodge them, but I could see she was starting to lose energy too. Becoming formless had taken a bit out of her as had the rest of her magical attacks along with Diablo’s relentless bombardment. If she didn’t bring this fight to a close and soon, he might end up winning and her fate wouldn’t be a good one.

At one point in the duel, he sent a spell to the ground below her hooves. She barely had time to react as the roots in the grass sprung to life and wrapped themselves tightly around her legs, fixing her in place. Attempting to struggle free, she was unable to dodge the next spell which caused her wings to move of their own accord. As a result, she was painfully stretched, enough to make her cry out in agony as she was being pulled both from below and from above.

Through the blinding pain, I wondered why Diablo hadn’t attacked her while she was in this vulnerable state. When I looked at him, he was standing still, laughing at her pain and discomfort. Feeling a flare of rage of my own, I realized that he was toying with her, enjoying the pains she was in. Looking to Luna, even though she didn’t want to hurt Dusk, I knew what was going to happen next. She saw that, right now, Diablo was in control and I knew he was about to learn the consequences of thinking of her as his sick plaything.

With a powerful blast of magic, she disintegrated the roots that held her in place and regained control of her wings, shooting upwards into the sky. Banking around, avoiding more blasts he sent her way, she shot more bolts of lightning towards him, each striking him. Before he could recover, she shot straight at him, her hoof before her, and smacked him right across the face. The blow sent him flying backward and skidding across the dirt himself.

She sprinted straight at him, not holding anything back now. Just as he returned to his hooves, she hit him with another bolt of magic that sent him down again. Levitating him up, she sent him crashing into a rock, which split on impact. A few more bolts of lightning and a punch sent him to the ground again, Luna now fighting just as ferociously as her opponent had been. She was about to strike again as he whipped around to face her, but he no longer looked angry, but scared. Luna raised her hoof to strike when…

“Luna! Please, stop!” Diablo said, speaking in a voice that made her stop when she recognized it. “Please, no more!”

“Dusk?” she whispered, still tensed and ready to strike.

“Yes, it’s me. Please stop… you’re hurting me…” He gazed up at her, tears glimmering in his eyes.

She gritted her teeth, still determined to strike him, to leave him in a weakened enough state to perform her magic. But then she then calmed down and offered her hoof to help him up.

“Dusk…I'm sorry.” She held out her hoof. “Here, let me help you.”

“Thank you, Luna.” he replied weakly, reaching out to take it.

“Luna, don’t!” I said as I began galloping over, but it was too late as Diablo grabbed her hoof with an insidious grin. Yanking her forward, he sent a punch straight into her face, followed by another that sent her staggering backward.

“You would resort to such… underhanded trickery?” she asked of him before as he grabbed her neck with his magic.

“It is simply further proof of how weak your compassion makes you.” he snorted, tightening his hold and raising his claw. “I have no such weakness!”

SMASH!

His hold on her neck released, but his attack certainly didn’t. She couldn’t counter as he kept up this physical attack, striking her wherever she might be vulnerable. Luna wasn’t as adept in hoof-to-hoof combat and certainly didn’t have the strength that he had. I wanted her to avoid getting too close, but now… he would show her no mercy.

Punch after punch after kick after blow after strike followed without end, sending waves of agony throughout her body. Whenever she tried to respond in kind, it was like he anticipated the move somehow, blocked it and returned it. A punch intended for him ended up with Luna being struck with her own hoof. Just when it seemed like she would black out from the pain, he stopped.

Her knees buckled, gave way, and she collapsed in a heap before him. She tried to fight, tried to get back up, but she had nothing left to give. She was beaten.

“Now…” He bent low and locked eyes with her. “Beg for mercy.”

“Never…” she spat, unable to believe the trickery he had steeped to.

“I said… BEG!” He raised his fist up and she was determined to look him in the eye, to show him she wasn’t afraid.

Looking to him, however, I was surprised to find his arm falter, his fist paused. Just for a second, she could have sworn his purple eyes became green, anger turned to pity.

No one’s view

Back at the library, unknown to anyone there, the seven stones on Dusk’s necklace flickered with colored light for a moment before the light faded away.

Dragonis’ view

Even though it was for a moment, I knew this had to mean something. Seeing Diablo hesitate and his eyes change color like that, I was starting to think that maybe he didn’t have as much control as he said he did. That deep down, Dusk was still in there, trying to break free from Diablo. This is what gave me hope that maybe… Dusk could still be saved.

Acting quickly, I then teleported myself over and punched Diablo away. Standing in front of Luna, I watched as he recovered and the two of entered our own fight, going hoof-to-hoof. Diablo tried to use his magic on me, but was shocked when nothing happened.

“What the…?” He said before I gave him a punch to his face, knocking him down.

“Feeling a little tuckered out, Diablo?” I asked him, giving the Kishin a smug as he picked himself up.

“What… what did you do?” He said, now having trouble standing up. “Why do I feel so weak?”

“Oh, that’s not us.” I told him as I explained. “What you’re experiencing is self-confliction: the state of where a pony becomes conflicted with themselves. With you, this is a conflict in power, control over the body of which you stole.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, evidence of a strain upon his features. “I’m the only one in control!”

“Doesn’t look like that to me.” I said to him. “Have you really forgotten about your brother?”

“Dusk?” Diablo soon realized what was happening. “No… you did something! There is no way that weakling could do this!”

“You may think that, but I think he begs to differ!”

“SHUT UP!” Diablo tried to throw a punch at me, but paused at the last second, like something had gotten a hold of his arm to stop him.

“Dusk, keep fighting!” I said, hoping my suspicions were right. “I know you’re still in there! Both Luna and I know you’re in a lot of pain! We can help you, but you need to keep Diablo still! Please, Dusk! We need you!”

Dusk’s view

Floating somewhere in that cold, dark, lifeless void Diablo left me in, I felt so weak, so helpless. My body was covered with bruises and cuts, from which blood trickled steadily. My chest rose and fell weakly with my breathing, but apart from this I was completely motionless, lifeless. Broken. It felt like I was just waiting for death, that being the only thing to do. It seemed like nothing would wake me from this slumber. Perhaps I had once had life, once had hopes, dreams, disappointments and failures. But they were gone now, for it seemed there was little of me left, no hope for me at all. At least, that what I thought until…

Dusk! With my sudden stir, I instantly recognized the voice. It was… Dragonis? Dusk, don’t give up! Keep fighting! Dusk! DUSK!

With that and a gasp, I instantly opened my eyes.

Dragonis’ view

From there, I watched in awe as the plume on Diablo’s horn suddenly started glowing blue. Seeing a blue aura that forced Diablo to lower his fist cover the Kishin, I smiled seeing my theory was true: Dusk was still alive and was now fighting against Diablo.

“What?!” Diablo was in absolute shock as he struggled to move, the aura keeping him still. “No… Impossible!”

“That’s it, Dusk! Keep it up! Don’t let him move!” I said before I turned to Luna, who had managed to pick herself up. “Luna, if you please?”

“It would be our pleasure.” She said as she started using her magic, walking over to Diablo.

“NO! Stay away from me!” He told her before she then pressed her horn against his, casting her spell on him.

Dusk’s view

As I fought against the black tentacles, Diablo trying to push me back down, I soon felt it. A surge of magic flowing through me, like a buzz from a defibrillator. Soon after, a light appeared below me, one so bright that it burned away the tentacles. Though I ended up screaming as I soon found myself falling, going straight into the light. I had no idea where it was taking me, but it was better than being stamped down by Diablo. Once more onto the brink…

Dragonis’ view

After a moment, the aura disappeared and Diablo then pushed Luna away. I managed to catch her as we watched Diablo enter a state of panic.

“What did you do to me?” he demanded angrily, looking a little scared.

“Why don’t… you tell me?” she asked weakly as I helped her to stand.

He waited a few moments, still looking fearful, and then grinned. “Whatever it was, it didn’t work. Your magic is useless.”

“Perhaps…” She let a smile form on her face. “We shall see. Dragonis?”

“With pleasure.” I returned the smile as I got ready to teleport us away.

Seeing what was happening, Diablo’s grin faltered and I heard him scream with rage and charge at us. But, by the time he’d reached the spot we had been, we had returned to the safety of Luna’s room in Canterlot, Luna feeling utterly spent of energy.

“You okay, Lunes?” I asked her, helping her to her bed.

“I’m fine. Even more so that we succeeded.” She said as she forced herself onto her bed. “Hopefully, the spell I cast will be enough to save him.”

“Let’s hope so.” I said, looking out in the hope Dusk was saved. “I believe Equestria will now need him more than ever.”

Dusk’s view

Feeling something cold and solid beneath me, I raised my head and tried to open my eyes, groaning as I felt like I had received a blast of Nightmare Moon’s magic. Rubbing my head, I was eventually able to open my eyes and got to look around my surroundings. I saw I was no longer in the void, but in this big room made with red walls and a floor of a black and red checker pattern. Floating around were these odd, little, white orbs of light floating around. I had to guess these were the only source of light that kept this room illuminated. Processing all of this, I only asked one question:

“Where… am I?” My voice echoed as I continued to look around.

Author's Note

While Twilight and her friends search for the Elements, Luna and Dragonis had taken a leap of fate in interfering with Discord’s plan. And hope has now returned as the two had reawakened the young Fire Dragon dwelling inside the Kishin. But what exactly has Luna done? Has the spell she cast help Dusk fight against the madness that has taken over him? Our hero’s journey through the madness of his mind begins next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Pretty cool, right? Thought having Dusk show off his rebellious side against creeps like Diablo might be nice to have. Also, if you’ve seen Soul Eater, then you’re probably familiar with the room Dusk is in right now. Don’t worry, he won’t be staying there for long. In the next chapter, Dusk is gonna start his way to breaking out of the madness and giving Diablo the boot! Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 9: Following the Light

As I looked around the room, I was in awe by where I was. It looked almost exactly like the Black Room of Soul Eater, except it was void of any furniture, the only other occupying the room besides me were these floating lights of color. It also felt different. Could be that this room was my own Black Room, which would explain the multicolored lights. Though awe wasn’t the only thing I was feeling. I was also confused for, a second ago, I was floating around in a void and was in such pain that couldn’t even move. Now I was here and I didn’t feel any pain. Then I remembered what Dragonis said to me. Was this what he meant? Was this him and Luna giving me a chance, a chance to fight back? It had to be. Seeing this, I wasn’t going to waste it and let their efforts be for nothing.

Diablo… he had to be stopped… Looking around, I found an exit: one entryway decorated with red curtains. I rushed over, but—from going past it, the floor beneath me disappeared. Turning back in an instant, I managed to grab the edge of the exit, saving myself from falling. Looking around, I saw that the whole room was in a familiar void. Pulling myself back into the room, I then tried to use my claw to feel around for anything, even going to the length of climbing the curtains to see if there was a surface above. But, from doing this, I was only met by nothing. There were no other floors, or walls, or even any ceilings beyond the room. I tried to get my Fire Dragon wings out, but it appeared that Diablo took most of my power when he took over. I couldn’t even use any of my powers in my regular form. Seeing all this, I went to the center of the room and slumped into a heap. Though Dragonis and Luna saved me from being consumed by the madness, it didn’t do much good in helping me get free from it. Right now, going back into the void didn’t seem like a bad idea. What could I do? Diablo had already won and taken over, now free to do whatever he wanted, while I was now stuck in a room with no way out.

“Diablo’s right.” I said with a sigh. “I really am pathetic.”

“Now is that really Dusk Noir?” Hearing that voice, that teasing yet encouraging voice, I gasped as I knew who it belonged to. Lifting my head, I looked to see two orbs of light circling me: one red with a golden glimmer and the other being blue with a light trail that resembled the night sky. “Giving up so soon after being given a chance?”

“Oh, Dusk, how far you've fallen.” Another voice… one that was soft and pitying… I knew that one too! But… it couldn’t be…

Standing up as the lights slightly ahead of me, I watched as they transformed. What they became were two ponies, one resembling my elemental form but with more muscle, layered with armor, and a top horn sheathed with a three-bladed weapon and the other a pony—an alicorn—with fur like the midnight sky and a mane as bright as starlight, gazing down on me with compassion and empathy. These were ponies I knew all too well.

“Dragonis? Luna?” I said with disbelief, the two looking at me with smiles as wonderful as Celestia’s. “But how?”

“We’re inside your mind, Dusk.” Dragonis explained. “This is a cognitive world, where anything you think of becomes real.”

“So you’re saying you’re not really here.” I said to them.

“Not exactly.” Dragonis told me. “You see, I’m something forged from your memories with Dragonis. The Luna you see here is a piece of her she has through a spell.”

“A spell? Was that the light brought me here?” I asked.

“That is correct, Dusk.” Luna told me. “Thanks to your help, I was able to cast the spell that can help you find your way back. I have done this in order to give you aid.”

“Luna, you’re… you’re not using the Royal ‘we’.” I couldn’t help but note.

“That is only to be used for formal address, not when addressing a friend or equal to a princess, such as her sister…or one for whom she cares for dearly.” she added, that smile shining like the moon she rose and lighting a small fire of pride in me.

“Then… then you…”

“Yes, I do.” Her smile faltered and her expression softened. “Oh, what has he done to you?”

“Diablo.” I said, remembering the state my “brother” left me in when he took over. “He really did a number on me.” It was then that I felt regret for not trying harder. “I’m… I’m sorry. I tried to fight back, but he was too strong.”

“No need to apologize, Dusk.” Dragonis said. “The past is the past.”

“He is right, my little pony.” Luna told me. “What matters now is that you must stop Diablo Nightfall. Only you can be able to defeat him.”

“Me? Defeat Nightfall?” Just saying his name made me feel afraid.

“His rage is untethered and his cruelty is tenfold. You must stop him before he can do any more damage, to your mind and your body.”

“Okay, but how can I do that? Besides this room, there’s nowhere else for me to go.”

“Yes, the path does seem to be shrouded in shadow.” Dragonis noted before he smiled at me. “Perhaps a little light can help.”

“Really? Light?” I knew that shining a light on the exit wouldn’t help. “Look, with all due respect, there’s no point in shining any light down there. There’s nothing for me to grab onto, I’ll just end up falling into the void again.”

“Dusk, have you really forgotten?” Luna gave me an amused smile. “You have more than one kind of light?”

“What?” I was confused for a moment until I realized what they were talking about. “Wait… you mean I should use one of my color puppets?”

“Well, they helped you find the right path before, right?” Dragonis said to me. “Certainly, they will be able to show you the way here.”

“Yeah, they have. But that was in the real world.” I pointed out. “I’ve only been able to use them to find other ponies. Plus, they only seem to work when I have positive emotions about the pony I’m looking for. The only pony I can track is Diablo and I only have negative emotions for him. I’m not sure if my puppets can even track anypony with that.”

“Well, I do believe the solution is simple.” I raised a brow at Luna. “If you cannot use the light to find Nightfall, then use it to find your way back.”

“But the only way back is to find Diablo. What else is there?”

“Well, you said your puppets will only work with positive emotions, right?” Dragonis spoke. “Then used the emotions of which helped you in the past to guide your way.”

“Dragonis, I can’t use a puppet of somepony in here.” I told him. “None of the girls or any of my friends are here. Not a single one of those puppets can be able to work in here.”

“Then make a new one.” He suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“I do believe what Dragonis is suggesting, if the puppets you have used before cannot aid you,” Luna spoke up, “then perhaps you can create a new puppet which can reveal your way back.”

“A new puppet?” Though I wasn’t sure it would work, I decided to give it a try. It was the only chance I got. “But what should I make?”

“Well, is there anything that has helped you before?” Dragonis asked me. “Anything of which helped face something like this?”

“Something that helped me? Wait…” I then remembered the butterfly I saw when Discord tried to use his magic on me. “The butterfly… When Discord tried to corrupt me with his chaos magic, I saw a butterfly. After that, I felt like I could be able to fight back.”

“Well, then use that.”

“But… I only saw that butterfly one time. I don’t even know where it came from.”

“Still doesn’t mean you can’t try.”

I thought for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. With the two smiling at me with encouragement, I then decided to do it, closing my eyes and recalling the memory of the butterfly. I felt like I almost had it until I lost it, feeling a little winded.

“Dang it!” I scolded myself.

“Don’t give up, Dusk. Try again.” Dragonis encouraged me.

I then tried to use my magic again, but it once again failed, tiring me out even more.

“Keep trying, Dusk.” With Luna’s encouragement, I then tried again to only be met with the same result.

“Oh, it’s no use! I can’t do it!” I was now feeling like giving up.

“Dusk, don’t quit now.” Dragonis told me. “If you just keep trying, I’m sure you…”

“Dragonis, I appreciate the encouragement, but it’s not really helping.” I then hang my head in shame. “The puppets I’ve made before we were that I had created with all that I experienced with my friends, the feelings I had in my memories of them. I only have one memory of that butterfly. That’s not enough to create what I need. It’s hopeless.” I then slumped down on the floor. “Just leave me here.”

“Dusk, I’m not gonna leave you here to waste away.” He said to me.

“Neither am I. You are my subject and my friend and I am going to help you.” Luna added as I felt something slip around my neck, though I ignored it as I looked up at her in surprise. “Now, get up.”

“But, Luna… I can’t…” I told her, still doubting myself.

“Yes, you can.”

“I’ve tried, it didn’t work…”

“Then try again, you must do it.”

“How? I told you, I only have one memory of that butterfly.”

Luna was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “Well… is there anything else about this memory?”

“What?”

“When you saw that butterfly, did anything else occur?”

I then looked back to when I saw that butterfly and remembered that that something did happen when I did see it.

“Yeah… I heard… a voice.” I told her.

“A voice?”

“Yeah… it sounded like my own, but… more confident. Encouraging, really. I’ve heard its tone before… back when I got caught by the Paraserpent.”

“And did this voice say anything to you?”

“Yeah… back then and recently… it reminded me about my friends, how much they mean to me and how much I mean to them.”

“So it reminded you of who you’re friends are.”

“Yeah.”

“Then I believe you have found your answer.” I then raised a brow at her. “If you can’t be able to create a butterfly from a simple memory, then use it as a symbol for which to place what can help you inside.”

“A symbol?”

“Yes, one of which will help you find your way. Much like the voice had reminded you of who your friends are, the butterfly will now guide you to where you want to go, where you need to be.”

I took a moment to think. Could it really be possible? Could I be able to create the puppet I need by doing this? Suddenly, I felt the flames of hope reignite within me, now believing that I could able to do this.

“Okay.” I said as I got back up on my claws and hooves. “Time to give it another try.”

“Excellent.” She said to me with a proud smile. “Now try and concentrate, imagine the butterfly within your head.” Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and began to concentrate, managing to get a clear image of the butterfly. “Good. Now, like you have done before, remember the ponies of which you would have done anything to save; the ponies you had helped and had helped you in return; the ponies of who had always stood by your side as you have done for them; the ponies who helped you find out who you truly are. Dusk… remember… your friends.”

From there, I then felt a rush of memories flow into me and I experienced the important moments of my life. While there were some that were bad and I had felt great pain, like losing my father and my brother being taken away from me, there were memories of where I had good come into my life. And those were the memories I cherished every day: growing up with Gold Star and Silver Blade; the day of which I met Shield, Dog, and Leon and the four of us became the Element Squad; my time with the Black Bulls, with all the Mystic Knights; all the battles I had as leader of the Element Squad, all of which I had my friends by my side, the adventures we all had.

I remembered the day Princess Celestia discovered me and send me and the guys to Ponyville where we met all the girls along the moment of which the Element Squad had now become a complete Element Gang. I also remembered the girls and how each of them had brought changes into my life, much like the guys. Faithful and honest Applejack, loyal and brave Rainbow Dash, timid but kind Fluttershy, my generous cousin Rarity, the happy and energetic Pinkie Pie, and… Twilight Sparkle, the mare who I had helped me open myself to friendship, who I hoped to become friends with, and care for most of all. Everypony I met on my journey, everything I learned up to this point, they all helped me discover the magic of friendship. They all helped me become the stallion I am today.

It was there and then I remembered why I need to stop Diablo, why I had to keep on fighting. It wasn’t just for my sake, but for the sake of Equestria. For my home, my family, and, most importantly… for my friends.

No one’s view

Within that moment, both Dragonis and Luna continued to smile as Dusk was surrounded by a shining, blue aura. As soon as the aura appeared, the part around his horn began to change. It then began dividing adding new strands of color, becoming a spiral of blue, violet, sky blue, white, yellow, orange, and pink. Gathering at the tip of his horn, a small orb of light began to form. A moment after it did, it gave a flash as it popped of Dusk’s horn, becoming a little white butterfly. After so, the aura disappeared as Dusk slowly began to open his eyes.

Dusk’s view

A moment after I poured my feelings into my magic, I looked and was filled with both awe and pride at the sight of a white butterfly with a trail of rainbow stardust behind it. I did it, I really did it!

“I did it!” I said, unable to hold back the smile from forming on my face. “I did it! Yes!” I then watched as the butterfly flew outside of the room, the sparkles that made its trail creating a path of clear white as it reached the level of the floor. “The path…”

“Way to go, Dusk.” Dragonis congratulated me.

“Indeed, well done, Dusk! I knew you had it in you.” Luna praised happily, watching me closely.

“So what now?”

“The battle is now partly won, but there is still a way to go.” she informed me grimly. “You must climb out of here, defeat Diablo Nightfall, and regain control of your mind.”

“She’s right.” Dragonis told me, speaking just as grim. “Only you can be able to put an end to his madness.”

“But how can I stop him?” I asked. “He’s stronger and faster than me, not to mention more ferocious. What chance do I have?”

“Part of it lies around your neck.” Luna said to me. “Look.”

I did so and, to my pleasant surprise, discovered that feeling on my neck I had earlier.

“My necklace!” I said as I saw the necklace that Twilight had made me, that good luck charm that had become as much a part of me as my heart. Though I noticed something was different about it. “Wait, it’s only got one stone on it.” While the band around my neck remained the same, there was only one stone hanging from it: the one with Twilight’s fur color in it, that sparkling shade of lilac. In a way, I had a small chunk of the magic left in me… I gripped it gently as spoke to the two before me. “Where’s the rest of it?”

“They’re out there, scattered all across the madness that has taken your mind.” Dragonis told me, motioning to the exit and I looked to see the butterfly I made hovering at the end of the path like it was waiting for me. “If you’re going to face Diablo, you’ll need the stones you once wore.”

“And as such, you must find and recover them as you make your way out. They shall give you the strength you need to stop your darker self.” Luna added.

“Really? Are you sure?” I asked.

“Well, this one just helped you find the way out, didn’t it?” Dragonis noted.

“They are symbols of your friendship with the Wielders, Dusk.” Luna added as she and Dragonis came over with the guardian placing a claw on one of my shoulders and the princess placing a hoof on the other. “They can grant you a power far stronger than anger and rage.”

“You really think I can win?”

“Of course. Just trust in yourself and I am certain you will succeed.” Luna told me. “Believe in yourself much like your friends believe in you.”

Though I wasn’t sure of myself, of what I should do. But then I looked to the stone I had and felt it, that spirit. It was like a light was there, contained in the little rock that dangled around my neck, in that little speck of color that was her… her silk fur like lilacs, her shining purple mane, her wonderful voice, and shining eyes. The thought of her—of all of my friends—added to my strength, my determination. It was there that I made my decision. I couldn’t give up on them, not without a fight first. Not until I had given it my all and come out on top…or fall trying.

“I do believe in my friends.” I said, giving that stone one last grip and quoting a warrior from the Dragon-verse. “And I also believe in the friends that believe in me.”

“Then are you ready to go?” Dragonis asked me.

“Yes.” I said, smiling with determination.

“Then go on and find the stones.” He told me. “Take the first step.”

“You two aren’t coming with?” I asked them.

“Unfortunately so.” Luna told me. “We have done all that we can. The rest is up to you.”

“But don’t worry.” Dragonis added. “You won’t be alone. Just follow the light.”

Hearing those last words, I then remembered hearing them before. Those were the same words Dialga told me. Looking to the butterfly, seeing how its light was showing me the way out of here, I was beginning to wonder: was Dialga telling me what I needed to do? Pushing that aside, I then got back to the task at hoof and was now ready to venture out.

“Right. Follow the light.” I said as I then walked over to the exit and turned to give Dragonis and Luna a smile of gratitude. “Dragonis, Luna, thank you for helping me.”

“Anytime, Dusk.” Dragonis told me as he and Luna smiled proudly at me. “And good luck.”

Giving a nod to them, I turned back to the exit, took a deep breath, and then rushed through, going along the path. Upon reaching the butterfly, I then looked around and saw as some kind of pulse of violet light filled the area, somehow changing it. Reaching towards the ceiling, gathering over where the Black Room was, I shielded my eyes as a bright flash came in. When the flash dissipated it, I looked up in awe as there was a row of what seemed like violet stars floating above me, illuminating the vast cavern I was in. putting a claw outside of the path, I smiled as I felt solid ground. Looking back towards the Black Room, I was then surprised by another extraordinary sight. Above the exit, I saw that multiple violet stars had gathered up to form an image. The odd thing about this was that the image they made resembled… Twilight’s cutie mark? But how… that’s when I looked down at the stone around my neck and realized that this symbolized me taking my first step in breaking out of the madness and taking back my mind. Looking to what lied ahead, seeing the tunnel that laid before me, I then turned to the butterfly with a confident smile and said:

“Okay, little guy. Be my guiding light and show me the way!” With that, it then flew off and I began following it, going along the white path it made for me as I began my ascent.

Diablo Nightfall’s view

The earth shook beneath my claws as I slammed them into the ground in frustration, roaring my displeasure at this failure. I had them! Luna was low on strength, close to defeat, and she was at his mercy. I was close to making Dragonis the same. Now, like cowards, they had fled, unwilling to face me to the end and die with some dignity. I will hunt them down now and they would suffer. Oh, yes, they will suffer greatly for this!

“Good show, my minion! Bravo!” Discord clapped. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen a proper fight like that.”

“But, master, I failed you.” I growled. “They escaped me before I could finish them…”

“There’s that, yes,” he nodded, “but you still managed to break Luna quite a bit before she left. And I have no doubt Dragonis ran away because he knew you would break him too. I must say, I’m impressed by how much you withstood and still have some fight in you.”

“Thank you, master. Your words embolden me.” I bowed. “Shall I hunt them down?”

“No. They’re not important at the moment. I’ll deal with them myself soon enough. Something involving toffee, a trampoline, and a pair of tweezers, I think.” he assured me with an evil grin.

“That sounds entertaining, my lord. Is there anything else you would have me do?”

“Not that I can think of.” Discord shrugged. “Just go off and have yourself some fun, my little servant. You’ve thoroughly earned it.”

“Master, you are too good to me.” I thanked, bowing again.

“Think nothing of it.” He then clapped his hands together and grinned all the more widely. “Now then, I have some more chaos to wreak. Perhaps I’ll turn the lake into lime Jell-O or turn the snow on the mountains into sugar frosting and the mountains into cakes. Oh, the possibilities of chaos are just endless!”

“It is glorious indeed, master.” I agreed. “I shall be sure to spread some chaos of my own in your name.”

“You’ll do your best, I’m sure.” He snapped his fingers and summoned a large clock. “Make sure you’re at the library in about fifteen minutes to witness the end of harmony in Equestria forever. It should be quite a show.”

“I would not dream to miss it, my lord. I hope that you… have fun.” I said with a smile of my own.

“I’ll be sure to and you too, Diablo. Wait! Almost forgot something…” He then snapped his fingers and this big centipede of black and red with yellow eyes appeared on my neck. Surprised, I watched as walked around my neck for a moment before it grabbed itself by its own end, its legs digging into my neck before it changed into some kind of collar on me. “There.”

“What the…? What is this?” I tried to pull the collar off, but it looked it was stuck tight on my neck.

“Oh, nothing just a little something to make sure you aren’t too reckless.” As my master explained, I halted my efforts to remove the collar. “That little marble will stop you if you do something I don’t approve. Behave and we won’t have any problems.” I then watched as he walked a few feet away before turning back to me. “That’s all. Until next time…” He saluted and vanished in a flash of light, leaving me in the midst of the destruction my duel with Luna had made. How wonderful…

I growled at the collar he gave me, now more frustrated than ever. I thought this would be the chance to do what I want, like getting to become a full-on Kishin, but instead he’s still treating me like a dog and keeping me on a short leash! Oh, well. Guess I can still try and have a little fun. I was about to run off to spread some more chaos for my master until I stop when I felt a twinge in my skill, like a mild itch. Rubbing my head, I shrugged and decided to ignore it. Perhaps it was just an after-effect after my battle with Dragonis and Luna. It would wear off soon enough, just a mild pain. That’s not going to stop me.

Grinning at the thought of the chaos I could spread, I then remembered that I still haven’t gotten Dusk’s necklace. It was there that I decided that it was time to meet my brother’s old buddies. Though, as I sprinted off, that nagging feeling still in the back of my mind. It was like something scratching away inside my thoughts…

Dusk’s view

Though the small magical light from both the butterfly and the path provided me with some visibility in what seemed like an endless chasm of darkness in these tunnels and the small chunk of stone around my neck gave me some renewed strength, my journey wasn’t made any easier, especially due to a combination of my own fear of pain and death and the state that Diablo had left me in. I had passed one reflective piece of stone as I traveled on and I had screamed aloud at how I looked.

Both of my eyes had been blackened, though one more severely than the other. There were two cuts, bordering on scars and still dripping blood, across my face; as well as an innumerable number of large purple bruises and red cuts, some deep and some only on the surface, all over my body. In addition to the cuts and bruises from the sheer brutality of Diablo’s beating, my tail was at an awkward angle, indicating it had been broken and I was now dragging it along, along with strong pain in my back, possibly minor fracturing.

Despite this, I tried my best to push on. I couldn’t treat my wounds as I had neither the resources nor the medical expertise. Though I had read some medical books, they weren’t much use to me here and I couldn’t recall most of the details. Because of this, my body was burning and aching from the pain that seared through me. I could barely make it along this stretch of flat ground. How was I going to cope when it eventually inclined upward? How could I even hope to stand up to Diablo like this?

“Can’t give up.” I told myself, pressing myself on. “They’re counting on me. Got to stop Diablo.”

Up ahead, I could make out a clearing in the tunnel… was it my imagination or could I see something floating, a shining suspended in a beam of light? Maybe I was suffering hallucination from so many blows to the head… no, that definitely looked like something… a jagged piece of stone, no larger than a cherry.

“Another fragment!” I tried to run towards it, but suddenly, the ground gave way and began rolling down a deep and rough slope, hitting every part of me.

By the time I reached the bottom, the pain I felt back in the void had returned, and I was having a hard time moving, even as I got myself back up. I looked up and saw that fragment was that very high up. Just had to move a little further.

“Almost… Have to… get to it…” I coughed and wretched again from the sheer effort of speaking and my arms buckled as I almost collapsed. I tried to push myself back up, get back on my hooves and claws, and get back to making slow progress towards the fragment… but I just didn't have the strength to do it, not on my own… I needed help…

“Please… help me…” I bowed my head, knowing that nopony could hear me down here. What was the point of that when…

“Mr. Dusk? Are ya okay?” That voice… that sweet, innocent voice… it couldn’t be…

“He doesn’t look too good.” remarked another voice, without the farm accent of the first.

“Come on, Dusk! You gotta get up! You gotta kick Diablo’s butt!” urged another voice.

“Help me get him up.” Said another voice, one I recognized anywhere. I craned my neck up and beamed at the sight of them, though it hurt the corners of my mouth.

There, standing before me, were the three little fillies that made up the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Gold Star, the son of Princess Celestia and Mystic King of Equestria. Apple Bloom was closest, bending in front of me and examining my face with concern. Sweetie Belle looked equally worried and afraid, whilst Scootaloo was resolutely determined.

“Girls… Gold Star… what are you… doing down here?” I asked, in-between coughs and splutters.

“We heard about what happened and we came here to help.” Sweetie piped up, smiling sweetly at me, though her eyes still shone with fear.

“Well… I could certainly… use it…” I tried to stand, but only ended up retching and collapsing again on my front arms.

“Oh, no! You’re not okay!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “Come on, Crusaders! Our friend needs our help!”

“Yeah, don’t you worry, Dusk! We’ll have you up in no time!” Scootaloo assured confidently.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders: Quest Helpers!” they chorused and scampered around me, taking up positions.

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo wormed their way under my arms, using their backs to provide support and lifting me up off the ground. They strained a little under the weight of my body, along with their own diminutive sizes, but managed to hold me up without dropping me. Gold Star walked by my right side and Sweetie Belle walked by my left side and began to keep up a stream of encouragement, both for me and my cousin’s friends.

"Come on, guys, you haven't got too far to go." she said brightly.

"Why…why are…" I couldn't get the words out, but they picked up my meaning regardless.

“Well, you are my cousin. Like you said, family helps family, right?” my cousin said to me, giving me that bright smile of hers.

“Yeah, and we’re also your friends, Dusk. We like you.” Gold Star said from my right side. “Why wouldn’t we help?”

“Yeah. ʹSides, ya helped us with gettin’ our cutie marks too.” Apple Bloom said from under my arm.

“Yeah! We’re helping return a favor and helping you beat the bad guy.” Scootaloo put in. “You make sure you give him a butt-kicking from us, okay?”

“I’ll… bear that… in mind.” I replied, giving Rainbow’s idolizer a weak smile.

I still couldn’t quite believe my luck as I hobbled along, assisted by the young ponies and my one of my oldest friend. Right now, the moment when I’d needed help, here they were to give it. They didn’t have any kind of obligation or need to assist me, it had been simply out of the goodness of their hearts. I knew them and I liked them, but I’d always spent more time with the girls and the guys than with them, yet they were still willing to give me whatever aid I needed.

There was still quite a way to go however, still at least five other fragments to find on the way out and I was now backed to this weakened state. They would tire from supporting me eventually if I didn’t regain the rest of my strength and recover soon. They certainly wouldn’t be able to help me fight my darker alter ego. And yet…

Maybe… Dragonis was right and that… I really wasn’t going to be as alone as I first thought.

“Come on, almost there!” Gold urged as the beam of light grew brighter.

“Good ʹcause I don’t think I can carry him much further.” Scootaloo grunted. “No offense, Dusk.”

“None… taken…” I groaned, trying my best to take some weight off.

“Just keep liftin’ him. It’s only a lil’ further.” Apple Bloom encouraged.

“Well, of course I’ll keep lifting him.” the Pegasus replied. “In this position, I couldn’t not lift, right?”

“This would be easier if we had your scooter.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah, we could just put him in the trailer and move him that way.” Apple Bloom realized.

“Please don’t remind me.” Scootaloo snapped.

“What? I’m just saying…”

“I know you’re just saying, Sweetie, but it isn’t helping.”

“Come on, girls… no need to… fight." I rasped as Sweetie opened her mouth to respond.

“Dusk’s right. Fighting with each other isn’t gonna help anypony.” Gold said to them before speaking to me with concern. “Man, you really don’t sound so good. Did Diablo hurt you bad?”

“Yeah… he did…” I grabbed my side as a twinge of pain shot up from it. “Though I think… that fall back there… might’ve… made it worse.”

“Why’d he do it?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah, aren’t you two like brothers or something?” Scootaloo added.

“Well…” I tried to think of the best way to explain it to them. “You know those—ugh!—two fillies at your school… the mean ones?”

“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” Apple Bloom asked. “Yeah, what about ‘em?”

“Diablo is… rather like them… only ten times worse, if that…” I said, bitterly. “He hates everything that we… hold dear.”

“You mean like friendship and harmony?”

I nodded to Scootaloo’s question. “There are some ponies… who are like that… they can’t be talked to or… argued with. They need… to be fought… if there’s no other way.”

“But ya said that ya didn’t like fightin’.”

“Yes, but…that’s… mainly because I’m a… well, a wimp.” I admitted. “I just delude myself, it’s… a sense of honor and… decency, when really… I'm just too scared to do it…”

“Come on, Dusk. You’re not a wimp.” Apple Bloom said. “Ya saved my sister from the snake thingy in the Everfree Forest.”

“Yes, but…” I was about to say that was more foolish bravado than actual courage, but Scootaloo cut me off.

“Yeah and I'll bet there’s a bunch of other stuff you’ve done since then that’s pretty gutsy too.”

I considered this for a moment, all the things I’d done I might see as being brave: battling heavily armored diamond dogs, standing up on stage in front of hundreds to perform magic I’d kept hidden for so long, going head to head against one of the toughest fighters in the buffalo tribe, and winning and venturing once more into the Forest (even if I had some help) with no idea what I might find, with the intentions of trying to help my friends… Not to mention all the other stuff I had done in the past while leading the Element Squad.

Not bad… for a timid little history geek. I thought to myself with amusement.

“Well… perhaps.” I said quietly. “Either way… I still need to fight Diablo… before this is over… I have no choice.”

“Aren’t you scared though?” Sweetie asked.

“I am, yes. But… there’s more to it.” I croaked, still feeling the pain in my chest. “Courage isn’t about… not being frightened… it’s being afraid and doing—ugh!—what you have to do anyway…”

“What about your whole thing about not fightin’?” Apple Bloom asked. “My sister had a word for that. She said it was called bein’ a paci… paci… pacifier?”

“Pacifist.” I corrected, smiling down at her. “Well… to tell you… the truth… I had… gotten into… fight before.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom was surprised by this.

“He’s not lying.” Gold spoke up. “I’ve seen him fight. He’s gone up against things a lot worse than this. It’s why he’s one of the toughest guys I know.”

“Yeah… And much like now… I didn’t really have a choice. Had to fight… for my own… protection… along with… others. As such, with Diablo… I’ll have to make an exception, right?”

“Now there’s the Dusk I know!” Gold smiled proudly at me.

“Yeah! Go, Dusk!” Scootaloo cheered.

“Hey, look! We made it!” I looked up at Sweetie Belle's words and realized that she was right. “See? We made it!”

“Yes… yes, we did…” Gently, I relinquished the girls’ support and let them rest from their efforts while I limped over to the fragment.

It was almost the same as the one I currently possessed, except that this one had the color of pink set into it. Fitting, as I knew she would have done her best to make me feel better too and made sure I had plenty of laughs as well. Just like the Crusaders and Gold Star. Carefully, I levitated it down and attached it to my necklace with a spell.

The instant I did, I felt a small surge of energy throughout my whole body, concentrating near my legs and arms. When I moved them, I noticed that they didn’t hurt as much as before. There was still a good deal of pain, but I would at least be able to walk on them a little better now. I even felt the tail I had been dragging was back in a normal state as I wagged it.

Magic. I thought, it was the only explanation.

“You need any more help, Dusk?” Sweetie Belle asked from behind me.

“No… I think I’ll be fine, Sweetie.” I told her, noting that talking didn’t hurt as much either.

“Does that mean we can go now? I’m wrecked after all that.” Scootaloo said in an annoyed voice.

I turned to face them. “Will you be okay on your own?” They nodded brightly. “Then… goodbye, Gold, Crusaders. And thank you for your help.”

“No problem, bud. Glad we could help.”

“Just make sure you give Diablo a fight he won’t forget!”

“We hope you make it out okay!”

“No problem, good luck, Mr. Dusk!” Apple Bloom said as she, her friends, and Gold sprinted off into the dark.

I stared after them minutes after they’d left. I was sad that they left me on my own again, but I couldn’t make them stay with me if they didn’t want to. Besides, they’d done more than I would have even expected from them. I didn’t even know that they were here so… Then I remembered what Dragonis said about himself and realized they weren’t really the Crusaders and Gold, but merely cognitive forms from my memories of them. Would explain why the girls didn’t freak out about my tail. But, if they were here, did it mean there were others here in my mind, waiting to help me? Or was that just a one-off, a stroke of luck, and now I was on my own? Either way, I was glad of their help.

I was still marveling at my increase of strength, however small it was. I was still hurting in places, but I would at least be able to walk by myself, so long as the tunnel remained flat. It had all come from this little chunk of stone, so small yet so significant; the same before with the fragment Luna gave me. I was sure it had given me the strength to stand again. Perhaps, if I kept finding them, I would be able to recover myself entirely.

I tried to remember that as, at a slow and steady pace, I set off again down the tunnel. At first, it remained flat, but then the thing I dreaded came to pass. The passage started to incline upwards, at first gently, enough so I could manage it, but soon it started to become painful. My lungs started to burn again, even more so in their weakened state and the joints in my knees and ball sockets started to ache from the exertion. What kind of pony was I if I couldn't even manage a gentle slope uphill?

I tried my best to push myself up, but soon I was on my knees, practically dragging myself out of the passage at an even slower pace than before. Despite its gradual incline, this slope was starting to feel more like a mountain. I didn't exercise much anyway and, combined with my weakened and beaten state, I felt utterly exhausted from the effort. My legs and arms, while they had recovered a little, were still damaged and this was putting a great strain on them, to say the least.

Eventually, I had to stop, panting and wheezing like an old stallion. Now, I wasn’t sure if I even had the strength to get going again, let alone climb back out…but I was on my own now and I doubted anyone would be able to help me…

“Geez! And you call me lazy.” said a familiar voice behind me and I whipped my head around to see the short form of a purple scaled dragon.

“Spike!” I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled once more. “I’ve never been more pleased to see anyone!”

“Good to see you too, bro.” The two of us exchanged a claw bump. “Wow, you look like you’ve been dragged backwards through several hedges by an angry manticore.”

“And I feel like I’ve been pummeled and beaten by Hoofacles with his club whilst also being partially zombified about 20 hours into the process… to say the least.” I remarked.

“See? I got that last reference, but not the first one.” Spike noted.

I couldn’t help but grin wider. “You’ve obviously never read any books on ancient Pegasi myths then.”

“And you’ve obviously read the Zombie Survival Guide I gave you, nice work!” he said proudly. “The zombies will be hard-pressed to infect us when they rise.”

“Well… I had to do something you'd understand, given your limited background reading.” I said with a smile.

“Since when did you brag?” a voice asked, though Spike kept his smile.

“Sometimes, it’s nice to brag. You two taught me that if anything, Shield.” My confident smile diminished and became modest again. “Either way, Twilight’s still smarter than me.”

“There’s the Dusk we know.” Spike chuckled and held out a claw. “So looks like you need a hand, Number One Pony Assistant.”

“Are you and Shield willing to provide it, Number One Dragon Assistant?”

“Anything for my brother in library-assistantship.”

“And anything for my pal.” Shield said.

“Then, my brother, my friend…” I grasped Spike’s claw and Shield’s hoof and heaved myself up, as they ran to my side to support me. “Let us venture on, side-by-side.”

So together, me, Shield, and Spike, pony and dragon, started to climb up through the tunnels, me doing the best I could whilst being aided by Spike and Shield. It reminded me of the many times me and Spike helped each other out in the library, like when I covered for some of his work because Spike had been napping and forgot about it or the time Spike had helped me out of a mountain of books that had collapsed on me. That had not been a pleasant experience, especially the dragon's pun about how I’d always liked being buried in a book. I was also reminded of the times Shield helped get out of difficult situations, like during our first mission when he stopped that metal beam from falling on me and those construction workers.

Now, their help was more vital than ever before and much more was at stake than berating about laziness from Twilight or a few broken covers and torn pages. Once again, I was happy to know that there was someponies I could trust and rely on by my side, especially one as light-hearted and friendly as Spike and Shield. At the best of times anyway.

“Just you wait, bro. we’ll be out of here in no time.” Spike grunted and shifted on my side. “You could stand to lose a little weight though.”

“You've got more of a pudgy belly than me, my scaly friend," I remarked, making Shield chuckle.

“Hey, that’s just baby fat!” he insisted. “I’ll grow out of it.”

“I’m sure you will.” I replied with a chuckle that was cut off by a coughing fit, retching, and wheezing like a pensioner.

“You all right?” Shield asked with concern.

I took a few long, painful breaths before answering. “I’ll be fine, but thanks for asking.”

“Wow, Diablo really did a number on you.” Spike grimaced sympathetically, but smiled regardless. “But you’re still here, climbing your way back out to fight him in an epic final duel, probably on top of a tall place with a choir singing in the background.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well… that’s how all final fights go. There’ll probably be some lava and explosions too.” His smile brightened a little more. “This is even kind of like that story you showed me once. You know, where that big tough bad guy beats the hero by breaking his spine.” He paused for a moment. “He didn’t break your spine, did he?”

“If he did, I’m sure I’d know about it.” I remarked. “But I see where you’re coming from at any rate.”

“Yeah and then he climbs back out and beats him in a hoof fight, even though he was broken, weakened, beaten, bloody…” Spike said.

“Sorry, how is this making me feel inspired?”

“What? I’m just telling it like it is.” Spike shrugged. “You think you can beat him this time?”

“Of course, he can.” Shield spoke up. “He’s a Fire Dragon. He can give old Diablo a good one-two in a snap! Right, Dusk?”

“Well, that’s what I hope.” I stared off in silence as the three of us shuffled up the hill before I realized there was a shimmering beam of light before me. “We’re here.”

“We are?” Spike asked as he looked around and grinned. “Huh. That was quicker than I expected. What is that thing anyway?” he pointed to the stone that was suspended in the beam of light.

“Yeah. Kind of looks familiar.” Shield said, not realizing it was part of my necklace.

I staggered over to it, grabbing it out of its place and holding it before my eyes. The color of Rainbow Dash’s fur was dotted on the black. Loyalty, like the kind Spike and Shield showed to me and vice versa. I added it to the others, once again feeling a boost in my strength and alleviation of my pain and physical injuries.

“It’s something that can help me a great deal.” I replied, turning back to him. “Shield, Spike, thank you for your help. I think I’ll be fine from here.”

“You sure?” I nodded in response. “Good, I'm gonna go take a nap.”

“Good luck with your ultimate battle for your mind, buddy.” Shield said in support.

“Your support is heart-warming.” I responded with a wry smile. “See you guys soon.” With that, I set off back up the tunnel, now able to manage the steeper slope with relative ease.

After much distance from them, I then looked to see the butterfly reappear before me, flying ahead.

“Hey, there, little guy.” I said with a chuckle. “Been wondering where you went.” But I noticed something different about it. On its wings, it had the image of a red lightning bolt and a light blue balloon. While I did wonder what caused these changes on it, I pushed my curiosity to it aside and continued following my puppet, focusing on gathering the remaining fragments.

So, three pieces down and four to go, all somewhere along the way back up out of the darkest depths of my mind. I kept this in mind and it gave me strength, along with what had happened recently that made me feel not as scared as before. So far, I’d received help from others when I’d needed it, friends I never would have thought would even be there for me, Dusk, who was so unimportant and unessential. I couldn’t help but wonder who else would come to my aid while I was down here…

Bolstered on by this, I continued along the path, knowing each step brought me closer to my ultimate fate.

Diablo Nightfall’s view

Laughing and cackling at all the chaos I was causing in Ponyville, I enjoyed myself as I head towards the library, doing things like turning stone bridges into paper so they dissolved in purple water, making fish fly about in the air rather than swimming in the rivers and lakes, bringing trees to life so that they walked around and caused mischief and anarchy in mine and my master’s name. Words couldn’t describe the sheer joy I took from it. It was glorious, beautiful!

All the while, I only vaguely noticed that the slight headache I had from the end of my battle with Luna and Dragonis was getting steadily stronger. It was slight and hardly noticeable, but it was. At first, I was concerned about it, but—in the end—paid it no mind. I just let the pain it brought fuel my anger and let me revel even more in the chaos he spread.

After I had finished making flowers become carnivorous, so they ran around after flocks of long-legged rabbits, the anger still burned at the thought of those mares… my master had said that they still needed to find their precious Elements in his game and I would have all the time to toy with them afterward. But I thought there was no harm in having a little more fun… especially with Sparkle.

Smiling in satisfaction of what was to come, but rubbing my head with annoyance, I set off in the direction of the library, laughing to myself as I did. This was going to be amusing…

Author's Note

Thanks to the help of Luna’s spell, Dusk has now begun his journey in freeing himself from the Black Blood Madness, all while receiving the help of the friends he had made in his adventures. But, as Dusk slowly begins his ascent out of the darkness of his mind, Diablo Nightfall his approach towards the library to confront Twilight and her friends. With a great threat approaching the remain wielder and three elementals, will Dusk be able to find all the fragments of his necklace and stop his dark half? Will Twilight be able to stop Discord? The race of light against darkness continues next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Diablo’s cruelness doesn’t know any bounds does it? Well, at least Dusk is now fighting back. Let’s all hope he can be able to complete his little venture and beat Diablo. And, if you're wondering about that butterfly Dusk haves, don't worry. You're gonna find out more about it soon. In the next chapter, while Twilight and the guys are busy looking for the Elements, Dusk is still climbing his way back up and gathering up the pieces of his necklace. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 10: Path to Harmony

I liked to think I was pleasant enough and easy to get along with, so long as there was nothing to set me off. I was also willing to admit that, on occasion, I could lose my temper if there was something that really pushed me to my limits. I still recalled that time during the Pinkie sense incident when I’d literally burst into flames with rage. Since then, I tried my best to control my apparently volatile temper.

However, with all that was happening, I was sure it would push me to the limit at any moment. With the way my friends were behaving, the chaos that Discord was spreading, the threat of Dusk’s evil “brother” and the loss of Dusk himself, I was now nearing screaming volumes. Though I knew they would go away as soon as either the boys or I found the very book we were looking for. As we were searching, I told them everything that happened.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Leon said, taking everything I told him, “Not only did Discord change the girls, but he took the Elements of Harmony and hid them somewhere? And to top it all off, Dusk has now turned evil and is working with Discord?”

“That’s about it.” I told him.

“I knew we shouldn’t have split up like that!” Shield spoke up in frustration. “I swear, when I see Discord, I’m going to knock his block off!”

“This is definitely the worst day of our lives.” Leon said.

“Oh, come on!” I told him. “I doubt this comes close compared to what you’ve all been through.”

“Actually, compared to fighting devils, a bunch of evil mages, and the Dark Gang, this is worse.” Leon said. “I mean, our leader has become our enemy, two of our teammates have been turned into a Gloomy Gus and delusional, greedy girl, and we’re stuck on a scavenger hunt while there’s an evil mastermind out there make a mess out of Equestria. Honestly, I can’t believe you think that what we’ve been through back then would be worse than this.”

“And I can’t believe none of you even told any of us about this!” I said, stopping my search to glare at them.

“What?” Leon asked as the three of them turned to look at me, looking surprised.

“How could none of you told us that you’ve went through this?” I said, walking over to them. “I mean, facing off a whole organization and a whole kingdom that threatened Equestria? Why would you all keep this from me, from any of us?”

“Wait, you didn’t know?” Shield raised a brow at me.

“Of course I didn’t!” I told them. “And I had to learn all of this just while Equestria is being put into chaos and from the one doing all of it! You shared your secret with us, why not share any of that?”

“We thought you knew!” Shield told me, all of them looking worried. “Everypony in Canterlot had been talking about it!”

“Yeah? Well, I didn’t!” I then turned away from them and hung my head, furious that they all kept this for me while feeling hurt Dusk didn’t tell me.

“Twi, we get that you’re mad that we didn’t tell ya about what we did,” Dog said to me, “but let us explain. There’s another reason for why didn’t tell ya.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” I asked, sourly.

“Well… because Dusk didn’t want us too.” He told me. “Believe me, he didn’t like hiding things from y’all, even you.”

“Yeah. It’s not the first time he had to do this.” Leon added. “At least this one was his own choice.”

“His own choice?” I asked, my anger turning into confusion as I lift my head and turned to them. “What do you mean?”

“Well, before any of this, Dusk once had to keep something he couldn’t tell anypony else.” Leon explained. “It was a big secret that only very few ponies actually knew about. He couldn’t tell any of his family, much less us. To top it all off, he had no choice but to keep it to himself.”

“Really? Why?” I asked.

“Because he was cursed.” Shield spoke up. “Yeah, apparently anyone who knew this secret was cursed to die from sharing it with anypony. It was only a few years ago that the curse was broken and he could be able to talk about it freely.”

“Okay, so why didn’t he tell me about what he did?”

“Well, for starters, he didn’t want you girls to know because of all the fame he got for it.” Shield explained. “I mean, Dash would have been all over him to find out what he did for Equestria. He kind of likes his privacy and not really much to taking pride in stuff like that.”

I smiled as I knew what Shield said was true about Dusk’s modest. “That does sound like Dusk.”

“But the big reason he didn’t tell you was because he was worried.” Leon told me.

“Worried? About what?”

“About what you would think of all that.” He continued. “He thought that, if you knew and he did something like any of that stuff, you would just be worried about him all the time. I mean, his mom freaked out when she found out he fought a devil.”

“So you’re saying he kept this from me… just so I wouldn’t worry?”

“Ee-yup!” Dog confirmed. “Even though the fella can take on anythin’, he never wants anypony to worry about him, especially those close to him. That’s just how he is.”

“And all of us would have done the same if we were in his hooves, right?” Shield added.

From there, I saw what they were saying was true and was now ashamed by how I acted. I thought Dusk didn’t tell me because he didn’t trust me when really he was just looking out for my own well-being and I snapped at his friends for no reason.

“You’re right.” I told them, hanging my head in shame. “I’m sorry for losing my temper. It’s just…”

“Oh, don’t worry. We get it.” Leon told me with a friendly smile. “Besides, we’ve had somepony blow up at us before. We’ve been hanging out with Dusk for the last few years.”

“He’s right, so we get you didn’t mean it.” Shield added, giving me the same smile. “After everything that happened to you today, it was just about time until you finally snapped.”

“The point is that there’s no need to apologize, Twi.” Dog assured me. “All’s already forgiven.”

Seeing them all smile at me like that, I saw how such great ponies they were. Their honesty, their loyalty, their kindness… it’s like the same the girls all showed me. Now I see how Dusk trusts these three so much, because it’s the same way I know I could trust the very ponies who showed me the magic of friendship.

“Thank you, all of you.” I said, returning the smile. “Dusk is really lucky to have made friends like you.”

“And we’re lucky to have a bud like him.” Shield said. “Now let’s get back to finding the, um… um…”

“The reference guide to the Elements of Harmony.” I said before going back to the search. “Right, you are, Shield. We need to find it before somepony does something she’ll regret.” With that last part, I glared at the four gray mares standing at the hole in my home, one caressing the very rock that made it.

“The Elements of Harmony?” Spike spoke up. “Oh, I know exactly where that book is!” he then ran off to the ladder, climbed it, and pulled out the important book we needed from the shelf. “Found it!”

“Awesome, little dude!” Shield said before a parchment hit him in the face, making him drop the book which Fluttershy took and held out of our reach.

“Fluttershy, you’d better give me that book!” I demanded, angrily.

“Come on, Flutters!” Leon said to her. “We need that!

Fluttershy didn't return it, but smiled devilishly and—in a sing-song voice—cried out “Keep away!”

“Hey!” I tried to stop her, but she tossed it to Applejack, who balanced it on her nose. “Applejack, give me that book!”

“I don’t have any book.” she lied, throwing it in Pinkie’s direction.

The cynical pony bounced the book on her rump, sending it back to Fluttershy. “Pinkie!” I made for the Pegasus, who promptly threw it back to Applejack, then to Pinkie when she ran to her. “You guys! Stop it right now!"

They didn’t even desist, apparently delighting in watching her run around desperately, trying to retrieve the one thing that could stop all of this madness. Dusk would help me. I was now missing him all the more. Ultimately, it was Dusk’s friends who came to the rescue, Dog freezing Applejack’s hooves and Leon knocking Fluttershy aside with a blast of water as the book came to her.

“Sorry, AJ. This for your own good.” Dog said as the book fell to the floor.

“Sorry, Flutters!” Leon apologized.

After finding the book, I was about to grab it with my magic when a blue aura surrounded it, lifting it up as Rarity ran past. “Mine!”

“Oh, come on!” Shield said in annoyance as the two of us sprinted after her. “Rare, do you even know what you just stole?”

“No, but if you want it, I want it!” Rarity said before winds surrounded her for a moment and she took off as a gray Torna, leaving me to fall flat on the floor when I tried to jump her.

“I got her!” Shield then tried to jump Rarity when she landed on top of the wooden-carved pony head, but she avoided him and he crashed into the carving, knocking it off its pedestal.

Fueled by my frustration, I then decided to go after Rarity myself and continued to give chase. I almost reached Rarity, just needed to get a little bit closer and I would catch her! When she knocked me into a bookcase with a burst of wind, I then had enough.

“Give me that book!” Getting to higher ground, I made one last jump and landed on top of Rarity, pinning her to the floor. “Give it to me, NOW!”

“Fine! Here, take your precious…” Just then a dark purple aura surrounded the book, carrying it off somewhere else.

I shot her head up, looking for the source of the magic and I became frozen with fright when I saw who it was that had taken possession of it. He had a horrible smile on his face, his fur as dark as his shadow that stretched out towards me, like it was an extension of his body. The book was suspended above his head, as he stood in the hole I made with “Tom”.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Diablo Nightfall growled, his purple eyes passing over us. “You and the boys fighting with your friends, Sparkle? Perhaps there is hope for you yet.”

“Twilight…” Spike whispered. “Who’s this guy?”

“Hold on, that tail…” Shield said, noticing Diablo’s spikeless tail before looking at Diablo with shock. “Dusk?”

“Nope! Not Dusk!” He said to him with a smug. “Diablo Nightfall.”

“Dusk, is that really you?” Spike said in disbelief, walking over to him. “What happened to you?”

“Thank Master Discord.” He told him. “Without him, that loser brother would be here to greet you instead of you getting the honor to meet me.” He then flicked at Spike, sending him flying into the bookcase. Glaring at him, I then watched as he examined the book from its cover. “Hmm. The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.” He then turned to me. “Guess now we know where you got the Elements’ location the first time.” His smile then suddenly grew before he then started walking over to me.

“Hand over the book, bub!” Shield said as he, Dog, and Leon got in between me and Diablo, the three of them looking ready to fight as he stopped and lost his smile.

“See you three are living up to your promise.” Diablo said, regaining his smile. “Though I’ll get to you later. I have some other business to take care of.” Just then, he used his tail to grab the book, no doubt preparing to use his magic on the three in front of me. Suddenly, something came out of his shadow and grabbed a hold on Shield, Dog, and Leon before then tossing the three stallions aside. After it did, it then disappeared back into his shadow. “Like my new powers? Just one of the gifts given to me through Kishinization.”

“What do you want?” Pinkie asked angrily.

“Be quiet, spring-hoof!” He sent a blast of magic at her and she started to bounce up and down, her head smacking off the ceiling hard.

“Hey, I’m supposed to be laughing at the misfortune around here!” Fluttershy growled as Diablo laughed cruelly at Pinkie’s state.

“Then, by all means, proceed.” Another zap of magic and Fluttershy was whisked beneath Pinkie and held in place, so the bouncing pony was constantly hitting her hard on the head every time she shot back down.

“What are you here for, Diablo?” I finally asked, wanting to help my friends but at the same time afraid to act for fear of what he would do.

“Nothing much, just here to get that little trinket around your neck.” He said, pointing at me to where I realized he was talking about Dusk’s necklace.

“What do you want with Dusk’s necklace?” I asked, holding onto the necklace to show I was not about to give it up.

“Oh, I just thought it might make a good trophy.” He told me. “Something that can help me look back on the day I destroyed the great El Dragon.” He then brought his tail over beside him, still using it to hold the book. “How about a little trade? Give me my brother’s necklace and I’ll let you have your book. Sound fair?”

I once again felt that sense of loss and anger at the mention of Dusk and gritted my teeth, a small growl resounding in my throat. He was going to pay for what he had done to Dusk, that much I would make sure of.

“No way!” I told him. “I made this necklace as a good luck charm for Dusk. I would rather die than give it to you!”

“Really? Gonna be like that?” He then scowled at me. “You’re willing to give up the only clue to finding your precious Elements for that piece of trash?”

“It’s not trash to me! Right now, it’s the most precious thing to me! Go ahead and take the book!”

“Yeah, uh… ya can keep the book. We, uh… don’t need it anyways.” Applejack said fearfully, her eyes twitching from the lie.

“You really are a terrible liar. Though you did give me a good idea.” He shot a spell at her and her hat suddenly crushed her head, weighing her down and preventing her from getting back up. “Do you have a lot on your mind then?”

“Applejack!” I did my best to try and support my friend and glared at Diablo. “How can you be so cruel?”

“Because I can be… and because I want to. Now let’s see…” Chuckling deeply in his throat, he crossed slowly over to “Tom”. “Ah, of course.”

“Keep away! I’m warning you, keep away!” Rarity shrieked.

“There appear to be quite a few cracks in this stone, chinks in the armor if you will.” He traced his claw around one such crack. “I wonder what would happen if I were to apply just a little more pressure…”

His horn glowed once more, his dark magic glowing from inside the boulder whilst Rarity watched in horror. Gradually, more cracks started to appear across the surface, the ones that were already present started to widen. If Diablo kept that up, the entire boulder would shatter completely from within. Not that it mattered to me. After all, it was just a rock.

Rarity, however, was beside herself. “No! Stop! Stop it right now!”

“You want me to stop?” He glared right at her, so much she actually recoiled. “Then beg! Get down on your knees and beg me to stop.”

Rarity did so almost immediately. “I’ll do anything! Please, I beg of you! Don’t hurt him! You’re ruining his whole beautiful, shining body!”

“That’s not begging! You can do better than that!” He roared, grinning at the sight of her weeping and begging on her knees.

I felt fear grip my whole body, but I ignored it as best she could. As intimidating and cruel Diablo was along with knowing that he was Dusk under it all, I wasn’t going to let him torture my friends like this. Even though we still needed the reference guide to the Elements of Harmony back as it would lead us one step closer to defeating both him and his dark master once and for all along with saving Dusk in the process, I wasn’t willing to give up the last thing I had to remember Dusk.

“Stop it, right now!” She stepped forward, standing defiantly.

“Up for that trade now, Sparkle?” He said to me with a smug.

“Not a chance! Leave my friends alone, Diablo!”

“You dare to order me?!” he demanded angrily. “You attempted to defy me before, Sparkle! As I recall, you also failed!”

“Then I’ll try and fail again! Leave them alone!”

“Then give me that necklace!”

“NEVER! It’s mine, you hear me? And I’m not giving it up to anypony!”

“You are as stubborn as he is! Are you really gonna give up your only true key in stopping my master over a few rocks?”

“I don’t care about the book! We’ll find the Elements some other way! And then we’ll stop Discord and bring back Dusk!”

“Bring back Dusk?” he raised a brow at me. “What makes you think the Elements of Harmony can do anything like that?”

“Because I know what you are is Discord’s doing and, by stopping him, we’ll get our friend back!”

Though he was surprised for a moment, he suddenly broke into laughter, his magic being canceled. Now, not only was I furious, but confused as well as the black stallion continued to laugh, falling on his back to the floor. I looked around as everypony else was confused by this too. Just what exactly did he find so amusing?

“Hey, what’s so funny?” Pinkie asked angrily.

“Her!” He said as he continued to laugh, pointing at me. “Thinking that she can just zap me out of existence like she did with Nightmare Moon!”

“Well, you are like her, right?” I said to him as his laughter began to die down. “She was made with Black Blood. We turned her back into Princess Luna and we can turn you back into Dusk.”

“You…” he said as he got himself back up, keeping that awful smile of his. “You really think I’m anything like Nightmare Moon? Wrong! She was strong, but that was only because she was an alicorn. Dusk didn’t have any magic up to her level and I have proven to be equal to Discord, who we all know is the most powerful being in Equestria! You got lucky the first time, but it’ll take a lot more than that to get rid of me.”

“You’re lying!”

“Am I? Then how come Dusk abandoned you to find a way to prevent me?”

“He… he didn’t abandon me!” I told him, fear starting to grip at me again. “He just left in case he wouldn’t hurt us. So you wouldn’t hurt us!”

“You really think that’s the real reason he did that? He went on that search because he knew that the Elements of Harmony couldn't rid him of Black Blood.”

I was shocked by what he said. “What?”

“Come on, you really think Black Blood is just something Discord cooked up?” Just then, a white book appeared beside him, one he caught with his claw. “Here. Educate yourself.” I then took the book he presented and saw what it said on the cover, which bared the image of three black eyes.

“History of the Kishin?” I then opened the book and began reading it, drawn in by the first passage I found and read it out loud.

The Kishin, said as the source of all madness, was a creature of great and mysterious power who lived to bring about chaos and destruction. It roamed Equestria, feeding off the life energy of others and drawing its victims by inflicting them with a mental influence that would send them into psychological turmoil.

“Skip ahead.” Diablo then skipped past a few pages and stopped at a different passage, one I went on to read.

After the brave few had managed to resist the madness it caused, the ponies hunted down and defeated the Kishin, free Equestria from madness. But, moons later, the madness had returned. One day, a lone pony had managed to find the remains of the fallen Kishin. Within it, he found a blackened heart with red veins that produced a strange black liquid.

From reading that, I then realized what it was. “Black Blood…”

“That’s right.” Diablo smugly said as I looked up at him. “The heart he found belonged to the very beast that was vanquished. He didn’t realize it, but the thing was still giving off a wave of madness which easily consumed him. Later on, he discovered the power of the Black Blood and managed to harness it. From master its power, he became a Kishin himself and even managed to gather other ponies to join him, creating an entire race of Kishins. And it is the same race that I belong to. Anyway, Dusk search through this very book in hopes in finding what he needed,” he then used his magic to flip through the pages again, stopping at a new passage, “and that’s when he discovered this.” I read the passage and was surprised to find what it was about.

“A cure…” What I said got the attention of the other stallions.

“Hold on. Did you just say a cure?” Shield asked.

“Yes!” I said, feeling hope rise up within me as the three ran over to me. “It says here that, due to increasing infections of Black Blood, they were trying to look for a cure to it.”

“Well, I’ll be!” Dog said, receiving the same smile I had. “So what’s the cure?”

“Okay, let’s see… Ah, here it is!” I said as I found what I was looking for.

My heart sank when I saw the last part of the passage and was filled with dread when I said “…there is no certain cure for the infection.”

“What?!” all three of them said in shock.

“It says that they weren’t able to gather enough data to isolate a way to stop it.” I told them. “The side effects of the Black Blood to each victim were all different, not one was the same. They couldn’t find anything to go on to prevent the madness and none of the medicines they made stopped it.”

“Exactly.” Diablo said to me as I looked at him with horror. “And those were those just going through Kishinization. I’m already a Kishin, a unique one at that. Which means nothing you do will ever get rid of me! Dusk Noir is history, period!”

All the hope I had, the hope that I could save Dusk, was crushed from learning this one fact about Black Blood. No matter how much I want to, I can’t bring Dusk back. I’m so sorry, Dusk. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you!

“So… anything else you got to say to me?” Diablo said with that smug of his.

From there, now feeling like there was no reason for me to keep it, I used my magic to take off the necklace.

“Here, take it.” I told him. “Just give me the book and leave!”

“Twilight, no!” Shield said to me, trying to stop me.

“I’m sorry, guys.” I told them before Diablo took the necklace in his claw.

“Good girl.” He said to me before he tossed the book to me. Taking the book, I then watched as his claw morphs around Dusk’s good luck charm to where it was now in his wrist. “Now…” His horn started glowing again as he levitated Shield, Dog, and Leon over to him.

“Hey, you said you’d leave my friends alone!”

“I did… but I only meant your little gal pals.” Diablo said to me. “These three, on the other hoof… well, let’s just say that my master hadn’t fed me properly and I’m starving.”

“NO!” Knowing what he was about to do, I leaped at him, but he smacked me away with his tail.

“Let us go, you freak!” Shield spoke out as I watched Diablo stood in front of him, the three stallions struggling to escape.

“Sorry, but I can’t have you missing dinner.” He said to him, not losing that smile. “Now let the feast begin!” He then opened his mouth, about to take a deep breath.

Then, suddenly, a yellow aura surrounded his muzzle and his mouth shut close before a zipper appeared and zipped his mouth shut. Soon after, Diablo then got a hold of the zipper and tried to unzip his mouth, the zipper refusing to move. While wondering about his strange behavior, I then noticed this strange, red and black collar around his neck. Seeing the collar in the same aura that had zipped his mouth, I had a feeling who gave that to him.

“Well, look at that.” Shield said with a smug, getting Diablo’s attention. “Looks like Discord’s got his Kishin on a tight leash.” With him laughing, Diablo growled at him.

Diablo then tried to remove the zipper, using any other method he could think of that could unzip his mouth. After a moment of failing to remove it, Diablo stood up and mumbled something with a defeated look on his face. After he did, the collar stopped glowing and the zipper disappeared. From there, he then canceled his magic and released Shield and the others.

“Seriously? He’s giving you three a free pass too?” he asked them in frustration. “What is so important about you that he can’t let me kill you?”

“Uh…because we’re awesome, that’s why!” Shield said with a proud smile.

“AAH!” Diablo groaned out. “Fine! If I can’t drain you, then I can at least make sure my visit worthwhile!” With that, he sent a blast of magic at one of the shelves, the books flying out of their place and circling him in a swarm, like a flock of birds. “Ever been hitting the books, well here are some that hit back! ATTACK!”

This last command was to the books, which soared towards the three and surrounded them in a flock of flapping pages and covers before they could do anything. They snapped at her like angry animals, knocked her on the head with their hardback covers. Every time they tried to fight their way out, the books would force them back into the center and trap them there. I was about to step in and held them until this black cage formed around me.

“Uh-uh-uh!” Diablo said, waving a claw at me. “Can’t let you ruin the fun, Miss Sparkle. In fact, it’s so fun, it’s not fair to leave everypony out of it!” With that, I then watched as he then used his magic on the rest of my friends, continuing what he was doing to them before.

Trapped within the cage, I could only watch in horror, I watched as Diablo Nightfall laughed maliciously at us all while making Rarity beg before him. Even though I had the reference guide, it wasn’t going to matter if we were all trapped like this. I had to free everypony.

Somehow.

Dusk’s view

I didn't like being down here, in the darkest depths of my mind in this broken and degenerate state, out of control of my whole body while Diablo Nightfall did Celestia-knows-what with it. I knew what that depraved, rage-filled stallion had been capable of doing to me and I knew he would be doing the same to my friends and the ponies I loved. I was rarely angry and kept my temper in check, but a boiling, seething anger towards Diablo was developing, as well as towards his dark master, a need to repay them both in kind for what he had done, both to me and my friends. I would do my best to exact payback on both of them or die trying. Diablo was going to pay for this.

All the while, I wondered if the dark pony knew what was happening in here. He was in control of both my body and mind, but I was still down here and gradually climbing my way back out to take him on, getting stronger all of the time. Could Diablo feel me coming back out to challenge him? If so, would he take steps to stop me? If he were to come down here now and face me, I knew that, despite my determination to stop him, I wouldn't be able to match my darker self in this state. I could only pray with all his might that Diablo wasn't taking notice and that I would be strong enough to take him on.

I turned around the cave and encountered a long, narrow stone bridge across a dark chasm. Across the bridge, I could see the cave that would take me further up and out, as well as the glinting light of another necklace fragment. I set hoof onto the bridge, intending to get across it quickly…

CRACK!

With a yell, I jumped back as a long, jagged gap appeared in the bridge, which then fell away, tumbling into the darkness below. I was breathing heavily as I stood back and examined the bridge. I placed a claw lightly on it again and could feel how fragile the stone was. There was no way it would be able to take my weight without collapsing.

I considered my options, but knew that the only way across before the bridge collapsed from my weight was to run. Even though the butterfly had vanished again, I knew I had to keep moving. My arms and legs were still rather painful, though I had mastered walking and my lungs and chest still hurt from some exertions. It would push all of them to the limit if I tried sprinting and I didn’t think it would be enough to get me across before it collapsed. There had to be another way… if I could only get to that fragment, I was sure it would be able to give me the strength to run…

“This seems to be quite a predicament you find yourself in, Dusk Noir.” said a soft, yet strong voice from my side.

I looked and saw that it wasn’t a pony who stood there, but a buffalo, a calf about my height, with tanned brown fur, bird feathers attached to a headdress on her head, and a friendly, yet determined expression on her face.

Remembering the custom, I raised my neck to her. “May the ground stay strong beneath your hooves, Little Strongheart.”

“And may it stay strong beneath yours, Dusk.” she returned, finishing the greeting with a head butt. “We heard about your quest and decided we should come to lend you aid.”

“We?” I asked in confusion.

“She’s goldarn right.” Another voice said with the same accent as Apple Bloom.

“Dog!” I turned and smiled to see my cowpony friend.

That stirred something in my memory. Then I looked to Strongheart and said “Isn’t that a tradition that members of a buffalo tribe always lend help to other bison in their tribe or friend to their tribe if they need it, especially in matters of honor or life and death?”

“Once again, your surprise me with your knowledge of my people.” she noted. “There is that but… I couldn’t in good conscience leave you to manage this task, a friend of my people and to me, without help of some kind. It just wouldn’t feel right.”

“I’m most grateful for that.” I said sincerely, marveling again at our closeness as friends, despite being part of two different races.

Friendship truly was a powerful, wonderful thing.

She looked me over and nodded admirably. “You certainly look stronger than the last time I saw you.”

I chuckled dismissively. “Have you seen the state of me? I still have trouble walking on my own four legs. I’m no stronger or fitter than when we met last.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” She gestured to some of my more severe bruises and cuts. “Despite all the afflictions that torment your body and weaken you, your spirit has remained unbroken. You still had the strength to get back up and start moving again, making your way out of here to wage your battle with a mighty foe.”

“Not without help though…”

“That does not make it any less significant. Many find it difficult to accept help from others, but taking it is not a sign of weakness, far from it. All it shows is that you can take the strength of those around you, that there are those who care about you so much that they offer help and still have enough of your own to make it all of this way, without help. That is truly admirable and shows the strength you have, not here,” she said, gesturing to her muscles and placing a hoof on my heart, “but here.”

“She’s right.” Dog added. “And I can tell ya, out of everypony I’ve seen, you’re the one with the most heart. It’s what got us through all that bad weather, right?”

I nodded in agreement before I looked down at her small, black hoof that felt warm against my fur, stared at it for a few minutes, and looked up at her, smiling and gripping her hoof in return. This was true praise, coming from one who knew true hardship and challenges from the life that she had led among her people, from surviving the many feats that she had completed by herself as part of the traditions of her tribe, yet at such a young age.

She returned his grip, just as hard enough to make me wince, but she returned my determined smile, echoing his silent expression of thanks. We didn't need words to say that we had understood each other. We let go and returned our attention to the bridge.

“Now, on the subject of that,” she said, looking at the bridge, “it looks like you could use our help here.”

“If you’d be willing to give it.”

“If you’d be willing to accept it.”

“I am.”

“Then I will help. If you ask nicely.”

We shared a laugh at this, but soon returned our focus. I pointed to the other side. “I need to get over there and continue on, while also getting that stone, but the bridge is too fragile to support my weight. Would you be able to run over and get the stone?”

“If we were to run, the bridge would still crumble and you would be trapped over here. Besides, we have another solution.”

“What’s that?” I saw a glint in her eye and her legs begin to tense. I saw that with Dog too. “Wait, what are you…?”

I didn’t have time to finish as they both suddenly jumped out onto the bridge. I tried to call out, to stop them, but she was too quick. My shock heightened further, landing neatly on a part of it. Instead of crumbling and falling, it remained stable holding her weight and still supporting her. They smiled at my gob-smacked expression.

“How…how did you…?”

“You could rival a desert viper with how wide your mouth has opened.” she remarked with a giggle.

“Ee-yup!” Dog said in agreement, giving me an amused smile.

I blushed and closed my mouth, but I was still wide-eyed from their achievement. “How did you manage that? I can see how Dog did that, but how did you?”

“As you know, we buffalo have to learn well the ground beneath our hooves. Some parts of this bridge are more stable and stronger than other parts. It’s merely a matter of finding the right part.” she explained, tapping the ground with her hoof. It didn’t even shift.

“Incredible.” I whispered, then louder. “But how does that help me?”

“Simple. We’ll go first and see which part of the bridge is stable, while ya follow behind us.” Dog started to walk back towards me, with only small cracks following in his wake, before returning to where he’d jumped to. “Still, we’d move quickly as we can. Even with these parts, the bridge isn’t entirely safe.”

“Right…okay, I’m coming.” Slowly, cautiously, I stepped onto the part of the bridge Little Strongheart and Dog had indicated.

I could feel a slight rumbling below my hooves and claws, but other than that the bridge remained in place. I let out a small breath of relief, then proceeded to follow Strongheart and Dog across the bridge, still moving slowly and carefully. Though they had said to move as quickly as possible, they moved at a reasonable pace to let me keep up, due to my state.

Every now and again, I couldn’t help peering down the bottomless gorge below and shivering slightly. Even though I trusted both Dog and Strongheart, I still couldn’t help but feel a little scared at traveling across the bridge. It was the fear that maybe she would get it wrong and I would end up stepping on a more fragile part of the stone. I didn’t know how far down the gorge went, but I was sure I wouldn’t be able to get back up if I fell. Then I’d never been able to get out of here and stop my darker self…

It was when I felt like this that the cracks seemed to increase and the stone appeared to be a lot less strong than it should be. Luckily, they were a source of great comfort for me. Whenever I jumped or yelled at a breaking bit of stone, they would calm and remind me that they were here to guide me and that I had nothing to worry about. This instantly made me feel better and braver to be able to cross the bridge.

We were soon close to the end, Strongheart and Dog making it safely off the bridge before I did, who was still close behind her. The minute she stepped off, however, I became scared again, began picturing myself falling into the blackness below…and that's when the stone cracked again and I heard a distant rumbling.

“What was…?” Strongheart looked behind me and her eyes widened. “Dusk, look!”

I did so and discovered much to my utter horror, that the last crack was enough to shatter the bridge entirely. Now, the whole thing was crumbling and falling into the dark…and it was swiftly catching up to me, so I would fall too.

“Dusk, quickly, run!” she cried out.

I tried too, but the pain was too much and he ended up collapsing. "I can’t! I don’t have the strength!” The bridge was almost up to me, I would soon fall.

Strongheart fretted from the other side, trying to think of something. Then, her face hardened and she held out her hooves. “Then, you must jump.”

“What?! I can’t!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll catch you! Trust us.” Dog said as they gazed at me imploringly, their eyes boring into mine.

Realistically, I knew that I barely had the strength to jump, let alone run. But at that moment that I gazed into their eyes, I stopped listening to that part of my mind and began to believe what they were telling me. Regardless of what my strength might be, they were still my friends and they wouldn't let me fall. I had to trust them…I had to jump.

My legs coiled like springs, I could feel the ground give way beneath me. With one, painful move that made me cry out, I jumped, just the bridge fell away beneath me. I soared towards them, holding out my claws, willing myself as I sailed over to them that I would make it. I reached out, so did they…

…And I made it! With an iron grip, Strongheart and Dog held me, dangling off the edge as the last of the bridge fell away. Heaving with all their strength, they hauled up to the other side and I collapsed in a heap next to them, drawing long, painful breaths.

“I… I did it…” I panted, raising my head to look at them. “Thank you.”

“Well, we weren’t just goin’ to leave ya.” Dog said as he and Strongheart helped me back up to my hooves and claws, swaying a little but still standing. “I told ya to trust us.”

“You did…and that was what gave me the strength. Now then…” I staggered over to the beam of light, where the next fragment was suspended.

It had a splash of orange against the black, reminding me of the peach-colored farm pony. It seemed that Strongheart and Dog were just as honest and truthful as she was. Maybe that was part of what drove me, I thought, taking the stone and attaching it to the rest. Once again, I felt a boost in strength when it made contact.

One less one to find. I thought, turning back to the two. “Thank you for your help, Little Strongheart. You too, Dog. I need to continue on now. There are still other fragments to find.”

“We understand. I have done all that I can and am proud to have done it.” Strongheart and I butted our heads again, raising our necks to each other. “May the spirits of my ancestors watch over you, Dusk Noir.”

“Likewise, Little Strongheart, until next time.” I watched them as she and Dog sprinted off down another passage, then continued up the more upwardly inclined route.

Now, I was far stronger than I had ever been since I was down here. That last fragment had restored to me the ability to run, as I was now galloping down the tunnel, the sounds of my hooves echoing off the walls. Hopefully, I would be out of here in no time now, especially once I regained the ability to use my magic, though I wasn’t sure what effect it would have in here.

The next chamber I entered was almost the same as the last one, except this one had stone pedestals set up above the gorge. Each one had varying heights and just enough space for a pony to stand on, all of them leading higher up to the top of the cave. Across the other side, I could see the next fragment, like a beacon in the darkness calling out to me.

So, it looked like I would have to jump up to each one in order to get out, which seemed simple enough. I stepped up to the first pedestal and tried to jump for it. A stab of pain shot through my body and I ended up missing the edge, falling back down and hitting the ground hard. The result was the same whenever I tried it. It just hurt too much, I still had a lot more recovering to do.

How was I going to get out of here without some kind of help?

“Looks like I’m stuck here.” I muttered dejectedly.

“You cannot give up, from this little slip-up, not now you have come so far, Dusk Noir.” Said a voice.

When I turned, my sight beheld a zebra, her mane done up in the style of her people, adorned with golden jewelry, a kind smile upon her face.

“Zecora!” The two of us exchanged a hug. “Oh, I’ve never been happier to see you.”

“It seems as though you need some help again.” Said one voice, one I haven’t heard in a long time. “Can’t seem to go one day without needing a hoof.”

Looking the other side of me, I was shocked to find a pegasus stallion with a lean figure and was about the height of Celestia’s shoulder. I gasped as I saw his yellow eyes, a sapphire coat, and a teal mane and tail. I knew who this stallion was, especially with the twin silver swords crossed into an X behind a shield that had a golden four-leaf Clover on it. Of course, this was just the one from my memories as a young stallion, still I felt like I could shed a tear at the sight of my old friend.

“Silver Blade.” I asked, still in awe of seeing my friend.

“You need some assistance to get over this cliff?” Silver Blade

“I certainly do.” I agreed. “I don't suppose you have something?”

“As a matter of fact, we do. As for you, I have prepared this special brew.” Zecora said, then she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a beaker of green, smoking liquid. “Drink it at this time and it will give the strength to climb.”

I took it, staring at it warily. I had no reason to doubt Zecora as she was certainly gifted at her trade, but I still wasn't all that confident about drinking this strange potion. But, it wasn't like I had any other options and I needed all the help I could get.

I uncorked it, tried to ignore the strong smell that emerged from it and drank it.

Twilight’s view

As Shield and the others took shelter from all of the books that were attacking them, yelling out in pain whenever one of them swooped in and attacked, I watched as Diablo continued to laugh away at the horrible torments he had put them all in.

I was still trying to figure out what to do, fear dominating as I tried to find a way to save all of my friends. I had been at this for a while until…

“AGGGGGGGGHHHHH! MY HEAD!” Diablo’s scream caught my attention as I looked to him to see him writhing and screaming like an animal while clutching his head and roaring in pain.

The magic he had inflicted on the others suddenly wore off and ceased to have an effect, the cage disappearing and the book dropped to the floor. All the while, he continued to scream and screech in pain, a horrible groaning sound.

“What… what’s going on?” he asked before he looked down at the floor and gasped, gaining a look of shock.

Turning to where he was looking, I saw that it was actually Dusk’s necklace. Looking at it, I was surprised to find one of the stones giving out a fading pulse of color, that color being dark blue… like Dusk.

“No… no, it can’t be…” Diablo said, actually sounding afraid. “That’s impossible…”

“Hey, what’s going on with Diablo?” Leon asked as he, Shield, and Dog came over.

Approaching with caution, I managed to get close enough to where I could place a hoof on his cheek. Flinching, he then turned to look at me and I was shocked to find his eyes filled with fear. It only lasted for a moment before he glared and, with a growl and snarl, smacked me away with his claw. With one last roar, he then galloped away out of the library, still bellowing about his head.

“Well, that was weird.” Leon said we stared after Diablo.

“Yeah, why’d he run away for?” Dog asked.

“More importantly, why’d he look so scared?” Shield asked.

I then remembered what the guys told me and what I just saw happening with Dusk’s necklace.

“You guys said that Dusk got that new stone back at the castle, right?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Shield answered.

“Did that one have some shade of blue on it? Like the same blue as Dusk?”

“Well, yeah.” Shield then raised a brow at me. “How’d you know?”

“A moment there, I saw one of the stones glowing.” I told him. “And it was the same color as Dusk.”

“One of the stones was glowin’?” Dog asked me with surprise. “Maybe that’s what spooked Diablo.”

“But why would he be afraid of a glowing stone?” Leon asked, confused by this.

“I don’t know.” I told him. “But whatever the reason, I just hope it’s only for the best and not the worst.”

Dusk’s view

The minute that I swallowed the potion, which to my surprise tasted very sweet, I felt a great surge of energy shoot through my body, far greater than what the stones so far had given me. Far from beating Diablo, I now felt I had the strength to climb a whole mountain whilst also carrying several huge stones and Pinkie’s pound cake that actually weighed far more.

Without a moment's hesitation, I crouched and sprang up to the first ledge, pulling myself up triumphantly and turning to face Zecora.

“Coming? I could use the company.” I said to them.

“To proceed together, would be our pleasure.” She gave her bag to Silver Blade as he then took off to the top and, making an equally effortless bound, she jumped up to join me.

So the two of us began our game of ascending leapfrog in a sense, with me jumping up first and waiting to help Zecora make the next leap, holding out my claws to pull her up. Thanks to the effects of her potion, I found what would have been exerting exercise surprisingly easy. However, I knew the power wouldn’t last forever and I made sure to keep at a reasonably quick pace.

Zecora seemed to be managing just fine without the need for a potion. I knew that, due to the life she led back in her home and the many dangers that existed, she would have been required to remain in pique physical condition. Apparently, she also took part in a form of meditation that involved balancing on bamboo poles in a state of perfect balance. She had tried to teach it to me, but I only ended up smashing a large quantity of her work. Luckily, she hadn’t held it against me.

“Sweet mother of flames, this is high.” I remarked as I pulled her up onto another ledge.

Zecora nodded, staring up at the end. “It seems for every obstacle you overcome, another comes along to spoil your fun.”

“Hard to argue with that.” I paused to make the next jump. “I’m starting to think I’ll never make it out of here.”

“Indeed, the road you take is long and it seems to go on and on.” She placed a hoof on my shoulder firmly. “But you must take heart and continue or your foe will destroy all you knew, not just all you see here, but those you love and hold most dear.”

I sighed and shook my head. “I know what’s at stake, Zecora, but…can I really beat him?”

Zecora was silent as she considered this carefully. “For certain, I cannot say, if you can best him on this day. But though this seems your darkest hour, know you possess a greater power, one against which he cannot compete and, using that, he will be beat.”

“But,” I stared up at the sheer heights I still had left to climb, feeling more diminished than ever, “he defeated me and threw me down here like I was nothing. I can’t even hope to match that. How can I compete with that?”

“Now that, I say is wrong for what fails to kill simply makes us strong.” She gestured at me. “Why, just look here. For, despite your doubts and fear, you are climbing up and out, ready for another bout. Just when he beat and threw you to the floor, here you are back again and stronger than before.”

“I…I suppose you’re right.” I nodded, thinking about all I had been through so far.

“Indeed, for as somepony once said: if the fall does not bring our demise, then our greatest moment is when we rise.”

I stared at her, dumbstruck by her words and feeling deeply affected by how much I was strengthened by them, perhaps even more so than what her potion provided.

“Very profound.” was all I could comment, only one jump away from the end.

“Yes,” she agreed as I hauled her up, “a good quotation is a diamond to a pony of wit, whereas it is a pebble in the hooves of a twit.”

“True enough.” I chuckled, jumping up at the last stage, But I missed and began to fall, but Silver grabbed my claw and pulled me up. Once he did, I then helped Zecora up for the final time. “Look at that, we made it!”

“Yes, but I would rate that it is not yet time to celebrate.” she said, warning. “Now, as part of the journey on which you rise, it is time to claim your prize.”

I took the next fragment, which had a hint of purple to it, but deeper than the Magic fragment. Generosity, like how Zecora was when she gave me that poster and how she and Silver stuck by me until we reached the top. The strength it gave me was fading now, but I regained some of it when I reattached it to the rest of my necklace.

“Now I regret that, for the next part of this zone, you must go on alone.” Zecora said sadly.

“I know.” I murmured, hugging Zecora gently. “Thank you, for all your help.”

“For this problem, more large than small, it was no trouble at all.” She bowed her head to me. “Farewell and good luck to you, my friend Dusk.”

I waited until they left, then sprinted on ahead, my butterfly reappearing and possessing new additions to its wings. This time, it possessed the cutie marks of both Applejack and Rarity. Saving my growing curiosity about this for later, I pushed on for knowing that it wasn’t far to go now until I faced Diablo Nightfall. Hopefully, I’d be ready.

Diablo Nightfall’s view

“What… what is happening to me?!” I demanded to no one as I rolled around on the ground.

I had been screaming where nopony could see me as I was still feeling the agonizing pain in my head, piercing me like a thousand knives were being forced into my skull. It had died down a little now from before, but it was still pounding away at my head painfully.

This headache, it had lingered after my battle with Luna and Dragonis and now, far from dying down, it just seemed to keep getting stronger, up to the point where even I was having trouble coping with it. Seeing that stone glowing blue, I knew what it meant and still couldn’t believe it. But why was this happening?

Then I realized what was causing it. That magic she’d performed, when Luna had touched my horn… she must have done something to me, something to cause this. I didn’t know what it was or why it was doing this or what it would ultimately do, but now I would try and focus, find the source of what was causing it and when I did…

Well, it was going to get a little messy!

Author's Note

As Twilight and her friends continue to their search for the Elements, Dusk has now managed to collect more fragments of his necklace, giving him even more strength and hope that he will defeat Diablo Nightfall. But, as Dusk progresses, Diablo now becomes aware of our hero’s ascent out of the darkness. Can Dusk find the last pieces of his good luck charm and defeat Diablo? Will Twilight be able to find the Elements? The end of the search and Dusk’s ascent is yet to come next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Hope you didn’t miss out on too much of what’s happened. Dusk seems to be on a roll, huh? And if you’re wondering about Silver Blade, you’ll get to see him again. Just wait a while and you’ll see him cross paths with Dusk again. Anyway, in the next chapter, while Twilight and her friends go to confront Discord, Dusk is nearing the final leg of his journey to fighting his “brother”. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 11: Final Step

My excitement and fear was growing even more for every step I took in this dark place, for the success of when I would finally escape and for when I would have to face Diablo Nightfall yet again. Only this time, I would be ready for him, or as ready as I would ever be. I would have to, if I had any hope of stopping him and his master. Well, Diablo at least. I didn’t stand a chance against Discord.

As such, I had quickened my pace in order to make it out of here as quickly as possible. As such, I didn't notice that the tunnels were starting to twist and turn a lot more than they were before and it was becoming a lot harder to see, with an increasing darkness pressing down upon me. I just kept on running, hoping that I would find a way out soon and ignoring when I ended up almost tripping and falling, doing my best run-on.

Another thought that came to mind would be what would happen when I saw Twilight and the others again. How much of what Discord showed I was actual truth and would they really want me around? Even then, how was I going to explain about Diablo? Would they blame me for anything he had done, for failing to stop him and for just running away like a coward? I wouldn’t blame them if they did, for that was what I had been… what I was…

Once again, I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly my darker self had done. In essence, he was everything negative about me given form and increased tenfold, to a level where compassion and pity were just words to him. Add to that his increased strength, speed, and magical powers and there would be no limit to the cruelty he could cause. And he would hate them, because of the madness that Discord had put into me to make him feel like he didn’t need them, like I didn’t need them… the thought of this made me push myself even further, my own anger increasing for him.

I returned my focus to my surroundings and thought it all seemed rather familiar, like I had been here before. Picking a direction and sprinting, I tried to find the path again, but ended up going down into a dead end. I tried to recall where I had been before, noticing that all of these walls and passages looked the same and there were so many of them. It was then that I noticed the butterfly accompanying me had disappeared, either gone far ahead of me or I fell behind while lost in my own thoughts. Even so, I wasn’t going to let it stop me.

There had to be a way out of here, there had to be. My panic was increasing now, galloping this way and that, encountering only dead-ends, wrong ways or routes that carried me to right back where I started at what felt like hours ago. Soon, I ran out of breath and collapsed at yet another junction I had already passed.

I didn’t want to admit it but…I was lost. Lost, down here in the dark!

Desperately, I tried to think of a solution for this problem. I could attempt to remember where I had already been in these tunnels and eliminate possibilities from there, but there were simply too many tunnels and they all looked too similar from each other to even begin contemplating a way out. Why didn't I leave some arrows marked into the dirt, like I always did in times like this? I had lost my head and now I was paying for it…

I could try using my magic to try and find my way out, but that would only give me additional light. I couldn’t use the tracking feature they had, for there was nopony else down here for me to track, at least nopony up ahead. I’d just end up going back the way I came. Besides, I wasn't even sure I had the strength to use it. I had recovered some strength, but I didn't know if was enough yet…I still got little headaches whenever I used so much as a basic levitation spell. How was I going to cope with my color shapes?

Before, when I had been in situations like this, a friend had come to help me. Luna, the Crusaders, Spike, Little Strongheart, Zecora. They'd all come to help me in my time of despair, when I’d needed them most. Would somepony come now to help me? How were they going to find me down here? I didn't even know where I was!

“What am I supposed to do?” I cried out, my voice echoing cruelly around the tunnel. “Somepony! Anypony! Help!”

But there was no reply, nopony was coming to help me now. I was alone.

Twilight’s view

“Okay, back off, back off!” Shield said as he, Dog, Leon, and Spike kept the girls from stealing the book from me with my number one dragon assistant with a rolled-up parchment as a weapon. “None of you are taking this book! You’re all gonna sit there and let her read it!”

“Hopefully we’ll get something as to find out where Discord put…” Dog said as I then opened the book.

“The Elements!” I said, causing the four individuals guarding me to turn and see what I had found.

I had never been so relieved and surprised in my life. I had been expecting to find some kind of clue or another riddle leading to the Elements that would allow us to find them. But that wasn’t the case for they were actually in the book, a hollowed out in a section that turned into some sort of case.

“The Elements of Harmony!” Leon said in surprise.

“They were here all along!” Dog added, just as surprised.

“The last place any of us would look.” Shield said as Spike came over. “Gotta say, Discord’s good.”

“This is great!” Spike spoke up. “Now you guys can defeat Discord and put everything back to normal!”

“Just like always, when we work together,” Shield added with a proud smile, “there’s nothing we can’t do.”

“Right!” I said to him, feeling happier now as I shut the book and brought it over to show the others. “See, girls? We did it! We found the Elements of Harmony! Together!”

There was virtually no reaction from them. Applejack was leaning back nonchalantly, Pinkie was slumped against Rarity’s boulder whilst Fluttershy flicked at her mane, and Rarity was polishing “Tom” lovingly, not even looking up.

Frankly, I couldn’t quite believe this. “You don’t even care, do you?”

“No!" they all said as one. I sighed sadly at the state of them.

“I never thought it would happen. My friends…have turned into complete JERKS!" she finished angrily, frustrated at their attitudes to saving Equestria and quite possibly Dusk.

“What did you expect?” Shield said to me. “Discord turned them into their exact opposites. Of course they wouldn’t care.”

“Yeah, being the opposite of yourself usually means you’re kind of a jerk.” Leon added. “Especially if you’re like what these girls are… were.”

“Yeah.” Dog put in. “I mean, ya saw what Dusk’s opposite’s like. Kinda the same for ‘em.”

Now thoroughly fed-up with the whole ordeal, just wanting to save Equestria, find Diablo and figure out a way to turn him back into Dusk, and never see the rest of them again, I rushed around, slapping each necklace on their respective wielder, before placing the strange crown I’d never learned the proper name of on my head.

“Come on, everypony!” I said as I marched, leading the girls out so we could face Discord.

Spike ran up to me before I could. “But, Twilight, aren’t you missing somepony?”

“Nope!” she replied. “We’ve got the liar, the grump, the hoarder, and the brute. That just about covers it and I already know that Dusk isn’t here, so stop reminding me!”

“But I…”

“Look, I just want to use the Elements, stop Discord, and find a way to get Dusk back after that. He’ll be perfectly fine and then the two of us can just be best friends forever since he’s not a liar, a jerk, a hoarder, or a brute because he’s just so great and I’m not going to lose him. Do you hear me?”

Spike stared at her after her rant and I flushed when I realized what she had said. Had I really just said all of those things about Dusk, just like that?

“Twilight, calm down.” Shield said as he walked over to me. “Look, we all want this to be over, but we have to think things through before we do anything else. For crying out loud, you only got five Elements! We need Dash to use Loyalty if we’re ever gonna take Discord down. How are you supposed to beat Discord without all six, without Rainbow Dash?”

“Good point.” I said before I hatched on an idea, placing the Element of Loyalty on him. “There! Congratulation, Shield. You’re the new Rainbow Dash. Now let’s go!”

“What, me?!” Shield said with shock. “Why me?”

I groaned before I started pointing out the obvious. “Because you’re just as loyal as Rainbow Dash and I don’t think it’s a coincidence you both have a lightning bolt as part of your cutie mark.”

“Twilight, I can’t take Dash’s place!” I told her. “Do you know what she’ll do to me if she found out I impersonated her?”

“Too bad! You’re Rainbow Dash. Now let’s go defeat Discord so we don’t ever have to talk to each other again!”

The others all stampeded past, whooping with joy at the prospect of it, Rarity lagging behind as she was pushing “Tom”. Frustrated, I turned back so I could use my magic to move “Tom” through the wall. I didn’t care about the damage it would do, I just wanted to get it over with.

It was then that Shield rushed up in front of me. “Twilight, listen to yourself! You’re acting just like the others. The Elements aren’t gonna work with all of you like this.”

“Listen here, you!” I said to him sternly, surprising him. “I don’t care what you think! You’re going to come with us and help us use the Elements on Discord! That is final! Understand?!”

“Y-yes, ma’am.” Shield said, backing down with feat.

“Good!” I was about to head out when a hoot caught my attention, causing me to look to the table and find something by Dusk’s hat.

It was Dusk’s Hoothoot, Ophelia. I had to guess she gotten in here by flying in through an open window. I only realized now that I hadn’t seen her for a while and she’d only now returned. She was bent over Dusk’s hat, watching it closely, like she was guarding it. Even from her demeanor, I could tell that she was upset, gazing forlornly at her master’s trilby as if by force of will, he would return.

Slowly, I walked up to her, those yellow eyes boring into me, like she was asking me where Dusk was. “I know, I miss him too. Don’t worry. I’ll bring him back, you’ll see. We’ll use the Elements and he’ll be fine.”

Ophelia just stared at me, like she was doubting and disbelieving of what I just said and I couldn’t blame her. Even then, my words sounded hollow and untrue at that moment, only compounded when I heard my friends fighting among themselves again. Who was I trying to convince? The Pokémon or myself? But we had to try… it was our only chance.

“You can keep that safe.” I said, gesturing to the hat. “Until he comes back. Owlowiscious can look after you, so you won’t be on your own.” I sighed and straightened her crown. “Well, time to go, wish us luck.”

Even as I tried to draw on my determination to defeat the Lord of Chaos, all I could see was those forlorn yellow eyes gazing at me. I had to do this or else… what more could I do?

Shield’s view

Still a little afraid by how she just snapped, I watched as Twilight turned with a serious look on her face and began walking out of the library.

“Come on, Shield.” She said to me as she went past me. “Let’s get this over with.”

Watching her leave, Dog, Leon, and Spike came over to me, looking at Twilight with both fear and concern.

“Man, she’s just as scary as the cap.” I told them.

“Yeah, and the way she talked to you,” Leon spoke up, “isn’t that like how Dusk snapped at us when he tried to scare us away?”

“Ee-yup!” Dog added. “Another thin’ those two have in common.”

“You know, my grandpa told me that Fire Dragon stallions like Dusk find mares like her to be hot.” Leon put in. “If Dusk saw her how she snapped at Shield, he would ask her right there and now.”

“Ask her what?” Spike asked. “To go on a date?”

“A date?” Leon told him. “He’d ask her to marry him!”

“Ee-yup!”

“No doubt about that.”

“SHIELD!” Twilight yelled, getting our attention.

“Well… guess we have no choice.” I said to them. “Let’s go, boys!”

With that, me, Dog, and Leon then ran off to join the girls to stop Discord, even though there was not a chance this plan Twilight had would work.

Dusk’s view

Still down in the darkness of the labyrinth, I was unable to trace or find my way out. Nopony was coming to help me and I was alone against the ever-growing shadows, like they were wild beasts and reaching out to consume me, prevent me from ever seeing the light of day again.

It was hopeless, pointless… what was I supposed to do?

“Having a little trouble there, fire-spitter?” Hearing that familiar voice, I turned to see Leon standing with a smug look on his face.

“Leon? What are you doing here?”

“What else do you think? I’m here to help you out.” He told me before he looked beyond me with a smile. “And it looks like I’m not the only one.”

I looked to where she pointed and a flash of light suddenly appeared before my eyes, providing brief respite from the darkness before it faded, but was still present. It was a rolled-up scroll with the golden Seal of the Sun set upon it in a red velvet ribbon. Hope suddenly shot through, as I levitated it to me. Only one pony would use that seal, for I had seen these letters being received and sent off by Twilight and Spike so many times before. That could only mean one thing…

I quickly unfolded the scroll and traced my eyes over the majestic horn that had written it:

Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.

I read and re-read the letter several times before I was sure I understood it. It was short, simple, but it could only mean one thing. Only one pony could have sent me this letter and understood what these words meant when she had written them. This would hurt, but I had to try…it was my only chance.

Leon even gave me some support to this idea.

Concentrating my thoughts on her, I reached into the unique magic I possessed, ignoring the growing, burning pain that seared into my brain. I remembered all I felt for her, the kindness she had shown when she barely knew me, appraisal of something I’d kept hidden for so long, and my everlasting gratitude at giving me what I had always wanted: friends. Come on, just a little more… you can do it…

I snapped open my eyes when I saw a light shining through and my eyes were graced with the shining white color form of Princess Celestia. Apart from the lack of eyes and detail, it looked just like her. I’d even done my best to recreate her flowing, multi-colored mane and shining golden crown. Would this work? Please, let this work…

I positively beamed as, of its own accord, the Celestia puppet cantered away up the tunnel, stopping at the junction to wait for me. My smile growing wider and my headache becoming more painful, I galloped after the puppet, a renewed determination flooding through my whole body. Finally, some progress!

I continued following the passage the puppet led me on, with it now and again pausing to wait for me. There would be times when the headache it gave me became too much and I had to cut off my magic for a while, pausing for a few minutes to rest and let the pain die down, before gritting my teeth, feeling the pain seer through my head again and letting it guide me on once more. Hopefully, the pain would be worth it if it resulted in victory.

At one of these points, as I was lying panting on the floor, recovering my strength, I unwillingly performed the magic again. The Celestia puppet gracefully glided over to me and bowed her head near mine, like she was actually here, checking up on me to see if I was all right.

“Still… looking out for me… then.” I whispered hoarsely to her, pushing myself up to my hooves. “Let’s… get going…”

“Right.” Leon said.

Just as gracefully as before, the puppet led us on, while I staggered along behind, clutching my head and quelling the pain as best I could. It couldn't be too far now, just a little bit further and I’d be out…then…I dreaded to think.

The passage was certainly long and twisting, to say the least. It rose and fell, turned and encircled to such a great degree of confusion and repetition, that I would have surely been lost down here, were it not for the puppet that was guiding me. Even if the puppet wasn't guiding me, the darkness would surely have been enough to terrify me into submission. It reminded me too much of when I first came down here, the shadows pressing down on me and the echoing laughter that grew only louder and louder with every step I took. Thankfully, it was silent and quiet as the night…for now at least.

After what seemed like hours of pausing and stopping and groaning and staggering, signs of my progress were beginning to show. Gradually, the twists and turns started to lessen, with only one path standing out from the rest. Equally, the shadows began to lose their presence, with another light shining through the dark. Regardless, however, I kept the puppet going until I was sure I had reached the end. That didn't take long.

Eventually, I could see only one path, with no twists, turns or other possible detours. That light that had been steadily growing brighter was now strong enough to rival the rays of the sun, so that very few shadows existed at all. The puppet too had been growing steadily brighter and it had now reached its peak, which meant I was close to the end.

I sprinted, round the last corner and emerged into a clearing in the cave, utterly relieved to finally be out of the maze. This only increased when I saw who was waiting for me, the source of the light that was filling the cavern.

“Princess Celestia…” I whispered and collapsed, utterly spent of all my energy.

I felt a hoof gently cup my chin and lift it up to her smiling face. “Dusk Noir… look at you, how far you’ve come now.”

“It… it wasn’t… easy, your Highness… and… I didn’t… do it alone.” I replied as she and Leon helped me slowly back up to my hooves and claws.

“All the more reason that it's so remarkable you’ve made it thus far.” Her benevolent smile grew even warmer. “I am very proud of you, for this and all you have achieved.”

“Not exactly… a long list then…” I panted.

“Really?” She knelt low, so her eyes were gazing straight into my own. “When I first met you, almost a year ago in the Canterlot gardens, you thought you were under the impression that you were the least important pony who had aver set hoof in Equestria, that perhaps it would be better if you never even existed at all.”

“But… isn’t that the case?” I sighed. “I’m not an Element of Harmony. Sure, I gave a little help with stopping Nightmare Moon, but I still couldn’t stop my darker self. I’m nothing, that’s what I am.”

“That is entirely false," she said, resolutely but still gently. "Even if that were true, it's not just who you are underneath that matters, but what you do that ultimately defines you. And you have done a great deal since that day."

“I, um… I… it was… nothing that great, surely…”

“Oh, really?”

“She’s right.” Leon spoke up. “As much as I hate to say it, you’ve definitely proven you’re anything, but useless. Besides all the stuff you did before when we lived in Canterlot, you did some pretty cool stuff. You led me and the guys and rescued our friends from the Everfree Forest without even a plan, fought a Paraserpent, probably made peace with some Diamond Dogs, stood up to a full-grown dragon, even fought against a hydra. You’ve done what you had to whenever somepony needed it however big or small and those are just what you've done for Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”

“But I… I…” I tried to speak, but Celestia spoke up.

“Not only that, you also gave help to markless young fillies, became as close as a brother to your fellow assistant, assisted in finding a valuable ingredient for somepony you barely knew, became part of a new friendship between two peoples once enemies and, most importantly of all, are held very closely in the heart of somepony who thought she would never truly fit to the world she had left again. The best friend that she has had in a very long time.”

I was silent as both Lion and the princess' words, letting them sink in gradually. She was right. Even if the girls hadn't really been my friends, I had still made a difference through my own actions and just being myself. I’d made differences in places, made new friends all on my own, even with royalty, things that I would never have even dreamed of doing, extending far beyond just pining after Twilight in the library wishing I was her friend back in Canterlot…so long ago.

“However big or small," she continued, "you have made a difference, my little pony, contrary to what you may think and I don't think Equestria is ready to make it without you just yet. If you did all that in a year, imagine what you could do throughout the rest of your life."

“Wow… I… I never thought about that before.” I whispered. “I mean… I never thought I was special enough to do anything.”

“Everypony is special, Dusk. It’s just if you choose to let what is special about you shine through.” I returned her smile, levitated something down to me. “Now, I believe this belongs to you.”

I was in awe as she passed down the sixth fragment to me, attaching it to my necklace with the rest of them. It was a creamy yellow, like the kind-hearted pony it reflected, like how kind the princess and Leon had been to me, setting me on the path to do all the things that they had mentioned… and so much more. I felt the burst of strength, my headache fade away and knew I had full access to his magic again. Only one piece left to find…

“Not far left now.” Celestia encouraged. “We shall let you continue on.”

“Right.” I hesitated for a moment and gazed up at her, speaking to both her and Leon. “Thank you, Princess, Leon. For everything.”

I was about to hug her, but remembered who I was with and stopped myself. The princess, however, seemed to anticipate what I was about to do and pulled me close, embracing me gently. I was surprised, but returned it, nestling into her pure white fur. Even her fur was as warm as the sun, I noted. Even Leon joined in on the hug.

“It was our pleasure.” We broke apart, much to my disappointment and Celestia nudged me. “Now go, finish your ascent.”

“I’ll make you proud, Highness! See you on the outside, Leon!” I called out to her, as I sprinted on up the tunnel. Just as I turned the corner, I could have sworn that I heard her whisper “You already have…”

A brief moment later, I saw the butterfly fly over to me, taking the lead once again with the addition of Fluttershy’s cutie mark on its wing. From there, I smiled as I now knew of this represented. Seeing them all, receiving such great help from when I needed the most, it reminded me of how I was never alone as long as I have my friends. Even during my darkest days, I know that my friends will always be by my side. The marks on its wings represented that along with my determination to return to the friends I care about so much. They always stood by my side when I needed it, now… I needed to do the same.

Diablo Nightfall’s view

Reeling and groaning from the pain in my head that only seemed to be getting stronger with every passing minute, I was in a state of deep concentration now, trying to narrow down the exact source of what might be causing it, any anomalous strands of magic or remnants of a weaker spell.

Thinking about it a bit more, I realized that Luna and Dragonis hadn’t fought me with the intent of killing or destroying me as I had done. It seemed that they had merely come for Luna to perform that spell, fighting me so that I was in a weakened enough state for her to use it. It was even enough for Dusk to fight against me. A jolt of power, like the spell had entered my very thoughts…

My rage only heightened at the thought of them. I had been careless last time, overestimated myself so that I left enough of an opening for them to carry out their task and allow Luna to cast her spell. I would not make that mistake again and they would learn that, once they took their last breath and lay screaming at my claws… then Luna’s sister…

Celestia would be far more of a challenge. She was longer-lived than her sister as well as Dragonis and, as such, would be much more powerful than Luna. Perhaps draining her energy would be enough to let me enter my Kishin Egg and make me a true Kishin. Regardless, I would soon meet her in battle and was confident that I would leave her in the same weak, pathetic state as her sibling and the younger princess’ lover for my master to do whatever he would have in mind for them.

Then there was Discord himself… I had already pledged an eternal allegiance to my lord and master, the one who had given me life, but recently, I had been thinking that my master’s vision was too limited, too restricted, a vision that I shared but that I would have infinite more control over. I had strength and I had power, so what was to stop me? Imagine, if I could destroy Dragonis as well as overthrow Discord, Luna, and Celestia! I would be the one left to rule Equestria, to do as he saw fit! A reign of chaos, pain, and suffering!

How glorious it would be and I kept those thoughts fueling me as I tunneled into my mind to find what was causing my own pain.

It didn’t take me long to find it and soon it all became so clear. Why else would Luna and Dragonis seek me out, to fight him and not to kill me? I could feel him, his presence in my mind, and my anger increased even further at the very thought of him trying to fight back, as if he could dare oppose me.

“Dusk…” he growled, looking to the pulsing stone on my wrist. “It seems you’re more resilient than I thought… Well, I will not be making that mistake again!”

With a roar, I dived into my head to finish what I had started. Defeating him once hadn’t really been enough. How gratifying it would be to do it once again, this time not just breaking him, obliterating and destroying him so nothing was left.

This was going to be enjoyable indeed!

Dusk’s view

I had come to a halt as I had seen what I had to overcome for my last obstacle. The passage had been gradually ascending higher and higher, the shadows receding all the more and beams of light beginning to spill through cracks in the cave wall. I knew I was nearing the end and had hoped that the last leg of the journey would be a little easier than what I had been through. How futile those hopes were.

Towering above me was a rock face, jagged and rough enough to be climbed and stretching all the way to the top, where I could see the light of the outside world shining through like a beacon. But to get there, I would have to climb up this rock face. There was no alternative passage, no convenient staircase or secret route, for I had scoured the whole area since I’d encountered this supposed dead end. With the butterfly flying upwards, I knew this was the only way out and the only way to use would be to physically scale it, all the way to the top.

I gulped at the thought of it, my legs shaking. Though the end was now in sight, I was still apprehensive about doing this. In fact, I didn't want to do this. Hadn't I been through enough pain already? Despite the added strength the stones gave me, this would still be an incredible strain on my stamina, to say the least. My lungs would burn, my legs and joints would ache beyond belief and it would take all the strength I possessed to keep myself from falling and to keep climbing all the way to the top.

How could I possibly manage this…?

No, I thought to myself firmly. I had come too far in this venture and suffered too many hardships to give up now. I had already accomplished what I at first thought would be impossible and had come all this way. What would be the point if I couldn't even attempt to at least try to climb it? If I fell, well…I could always try again. I already had so far.

“Why do we fall?” I said to myself. “So that we can learn to rise.”

Taking a deep breath, I set my claws on the first holds I could see and hauled myself up onto the cliff face. I let my legs search for holding points, fixed myself into them and pushed myself up the cliff, slowly, steadily, but in a way that I would be able to manage. I just had to keep doing this, finding clawholds and making my way up the rock face to the best of my ability.

As I exerted myself in the climb for my life, I started to consider what would happen when I ultimately reached the top. The final fragment of the necklace would surely be up there and, using that, I should be able to use to recover the strength that I would lose in my climb. Hopefully then, I would be able to use that strength to defeat Diablo Nightfall, regain control of my body and mind and return to the waking world of Equestria. In theory, it was simple. But in practice, it would be far more daunting.

Even with all of the fragments in my possession, Diablo was still stronger and faster than I ever was. I’d already learned that the hard way, not to mention received many injuries from my mistake. The unicorn I knew also had a deep, burning hatred for me. I had felt it when he was just a figment of my fears. He would stop at nothing until I was completely obliterated and he had utter control of me. How could I possibly hope to stand up to that?

I paused for a moment, allowing myself a moment’s rest. Panting, with sweat pouring down my face, I looked up. Still quite a way to go. Grunting, I resumed my climb and my train of thought.

Even if I defeated Diablo, what would I do from there? I knew nothing about the state my home was in, what had been going on since my absence. Had the girls defeated Discord or was he now in total power and dominion of Equestria? If that was the case, what hope did I possibly have of stopping him? Discord was far more powerful than any being I’d ever encountered, capable of strong manipulation and deceit, as well as deadly in combat. Were the Elements enough to stop him this time? And the girls…

I had to pause in my thoughts again, as I examined the cliffside for the next part I had to climb onto. Carefully, I moved both of my right legs so that they latched onto the clawholds that were closest to me. I had a little slip, but managed to recover myself and keep on climbing. The things I was going through, just for them…

I felt a great pang of longing for them, to return to my friends. Knowing what Discord had shown me with Applejack, I knew that they needed me more than ever. I had to go back and help them. Knowing what Discord had done made me angry at the draconnequis for making me play this cruel game. Whether I was an Element of Harmony or not, I would do my bit to defeat him, however small or supposedly insignificant. For I am… the world’s symbol of peace and justice!

Fueled by these thoughts, I jumped up to the next clawhold, heaving myself up the cliff and checking to see that I had made it at least halfway now. Allowing a weak smile, I prepared myself for the next leap. Just a little further… if I could make it…

This exertion certainly one of the easiest things I had done, as I already knew I wasn’t much of a physical pony, especially now. It was getting me out of breath and panting just to make it this far. However, I noticed that—when I had confidence in myself—the climb was a little easier, whereas when doubt arose, the holds were a little more difficult to reach. Or was that just me, making connections where none existed?

I shrugged mentally, and pressed myself on past the halfway point. I had to do this, believe in myself that I would make it up here, find the remaining fragment and defeat Diablo Nightfall once and for all. I’d made it past halfway now, I could make it out of here if I just kept this up, kept going up the rock, no matter what. I let the confidence flood through me, give me more strength as I jumped the next hold, panting from the effort.

No sooner had I, however, the doubt surfaced in my mind once more. But…what if I couldn’t make it out of here? What if I ended up becoming so tired I couldn’t climb anymore? Or worse, what if I fell from here? The fall would be enough to injure me, if not kill me, then I’d be in the same state I’d been at the start of all of this. How could I do this without some kind of help? Was anypony going to help me?

I needed…

CRACK!

I felt the stone beneath my claw. I panicked as my grip slackened and I suddenly slipped back down the rock face, my screams echoing off the walls. I recovered enough of my wits to stop myself mid-slide, but by the time I did, I checked to see that this particular slip-up had resulted in me being closer to the bottom again, much to my great despair.

All that effort I had put in just to make it to the halfway point, all the sweat that was now pouring down my face, it had all been for nothing because of that one lapse in concentration and strength. Now, I was essentially back at square one, all the way back down, with much less strength than before. How was I going to have the energy to climb all the way back up there again and to what end?

“I can’t… I can’t do it…” I whispered, tears beginning to fall. “How will I ever… make it out like this? I can’t…”

“AT LAST! SOMETHING WE AGREE UPON!” a horribly familiar voice roared.

Before I could do anything, I felt something slam into my back, forcing me into, through the rock that I was attached to, tumbling and skidding across the stone floor before smacking into the cave wall.

My vision blurred and my joints aching, I lifted my head up and saw him, climbing through the hole, and an expression of utter fury set on his features. His eyes were locked on me like laser beams, with nothing but pure hatred and rage burning in them.

“Diablo.” I said, pushing myself back up to my hooves and claws. “You’ve come for me?”

“I have.” He let a smile of amusement warp his features. “I must admit, I’m somewhat impressed that you’ve made it thus far. Clearly, I underestimated you… or you just like being shown how pathetic and useless you truly are.”

I felt myself shiver in fear at his words. I wasn’t ready yet, I didn’t have all the pieces, and I couldn’t fight Diablo yet. He was right then, about him feeling my within his mind, but he still hadn’t expected me to come and face him yet. This was going to play out exactly like last time, where he would leave me just as broken and beaten as before. Only this time, I was sure that Diablo would leave nothing left of me.

But something else awakened inside me, something else apart from my fear of Diablo and the pain he would cause. Whether I had all the fragments or not, I felt stronger than I was when I had first faced him, more determined to bring him down, to make him pay for the pain that he had caused, both to me and my friends. This was my chance, my only chance to bring him down and I wasn’t going to let that pass.

If we were to fight now, I would be sure to give him a battle he would never forget.

“You've been giving me quite a headache, you know?” he continued. “For one so small and useless, you can be quite an annoyance, I’ll concede that much. All the more reason you should just give up and let me defeat you again as we both know you will.”

I stood my ground in a combat stance, one I had taken more times than once in my life. “I’m not interested in your concessions, brother. Last time, I was weak and I was helpless to stop you and I would have given up. This time, I’m going to fight you and beat you and I’m going to make you regret what you’ve done.”

“No time wasted with words then?” Diablo also stood ready, flexing his muscles. “Very well. Let’s get this over with. I’m missing out on some suffering I could be causing.”

“Not now, not ever again!”

With that, we both charged each other, clashing once more in battle. This time, only one would walk away. One shall stand, one shall fall.

Author's Note

After nearly reaching the final step of his journey, Dusk now has come face-to-face with Diablo Nightfall for one final clash. As the two brothers battle, Twilight and her friends are now set using the Elements against Discord. Will Dusk be able to defeat his dark side and help his friends? Will Twilight’s plan succeed? The confrontations with the two great evils begin next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Dusk might not have all the fragments, but that ain’t gonna stop him from giving Diablo a good butt-kicking! And I think we can all agree that Shield’s concerns are in the right place with Twilight’s plan, considering what happened to the Mane 6 thanks to Discord. Anyway, the battle within the mind is gonna be a fight of the century: with the power of light against the power of shadow, it’s our rising star hero Dusk Noir versus the monstrous Diablo Nightfall! Everpony, get your popcorn and your betting sheets! This fight is gonna be epic! Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 12: Light and Shadow

I had only just thrown “Tom” out of the library window, creating yet another hole in my home (not that I cared at this point) when Discord reappeared to us, striding over to us across the tartan covered streets.

“Well, well, well. I see you’ve found the Elements of Harmony. How terrifying!” he sarcastically said.

“Discord!” I said, enraged. “I’ve figured out your lame riddle. You’re in for it now!”

“I certainly am. You’ve clearly out-dueled me and now it’s time to meet my fate. I’m prepared to be defeated now, ladies. Fire when ready.” As he said all of this, he conjured up a pair of sunglasses, placed them on, and also a bullseye on his chest, leaning casually against a tree.

I would have normally been suspicious of his actions, but I knew he was only trying to confuse us further and ignored him. It was time to take him down and then get back my number one pony assistant if it was the last thing I’d do.

I looked around for his dark minion, but could see no sign of him anywhere.

“Where’s your servant? I’d have thought he’d have wanted to see this.” I remarked.

“Oh, Nighty?” Discord shrugged. “He’ll be around somewhere, spreading chaos in my name like a good boy. I could always bring him along, if you’d prefer.”

“He’ll get his later!” I snapped. “You’re both going to pay for what you’ve done!”

“If you insist.” he said casually. “Very well, get on with it then. No point in prolonging my inevitable defeat.”

“Formation, now!” I ordered, the others all reluctantly getting into place. “Rainbow Dash, get over here.”

“Fine.” Shield said as he walked over with a nonchalant look on his face. “This isn’t gonna work, but there’s no point in arguing with you.” I then looked to Discord to see he had raised a brow at us. “Don’t ask.”

“All right, let’s get this over with!” I said as we were all ready to use the Elements.

I could hear the power build up as the Elements began to work their magic. I reached into my own Element, letting its power flow through me as it did when I had defeated Nightmare Moon, becoming an instrument of them.

This had to work. It was our only chance…

Dusk’s view

I met my foe mid-charge as our fight began, our claws locked together, shaking from the effort we were both putting into our attacks. Wrestling to gain a position of power with each other, I found it quite terrifying being this close to his livid face, staring straight into his eyes, but I didn’t allow myself to be distracted.

Grunting, straining with the effort, I put all of my energy into holding off Diablo as best I could manage, urging myself not to give in to him. I even managed to move him a little bit, listening to his hooves and claws scrape across the floor.

“Where did you find this… strength?” Diablo asked.

“Like I’d tell you!” I let one burst of strength against Diablo, enough to make him stagger.

Taking this advantage, I pushed forward, sending two punches to the face, hearing his exclamations of pain and locking him in a wrestle again. Perhaps I could force him to the floor and pin him down while I punched him further. Normally, I would've consider a fair fight and not strike a stallion when he was down, but I knew my opponent wouldn't extend the same courtesy.

Diablo had different ideas. Enraged by me pressing a kind of advantage, he doubled his strength, whereas before he had been reserving it, which had allowed him to get the upper hoof. He didn't look like he was going to be making that mistake again, pushing against my weaker side so that I couldn't gain a footing against him.

Despite my best efforts, Diablo pressed the advantage of greater strength and pushed me away, sending me skidding across the floor, followed by a strong punch to the face that sent me flying back into the wall. But I wasn't going to be defeated that easily, not this time. I shook my head to clear my vision and stood back up, glaring at him.

Diablo raised an eyebrow and laughed.

“Still you insist upon this futile resistance?" he mocked. "We both know how this will end, brother."

“Then, by all means, come and end it," I countered, standing in a ready stance.

Diablo took the bait and charged me again, me holding my ground. I watched as he raised his hoof to strike me and ducked under it, swerving to avoid the following blow and any other blow he sent. I kept my eyes on my enemy’s hooves and claws, anticipating blows before he threw them and dodging them as they came, blocking only if I had to.

Taking advantage of the fact that it was dark, I tapped into my magic and let a ball of light shine in front of Diablo’s face. Blinded by the sudden attack, I proceeded to land every blow I could manage to throw at him, attempting to weaken him.

My airway suddenly constricted as Diablo reached out with his claw and tightened it around my throat, choking me. I scrabbled desperately at it, trying to push him away as I found it more and more difficult to breathe, sending out a kick. That was enough to lose his hold and let me drop to the ground in a heap.

“Your spells are weak, useless in battle.” my foe said angrily.

“Yet… yours aren’t.” I remarked, gulping down air. “Why don’t you use it?”

“I don’t need magic to kill you.” Nightfall growled, shaking his head to clear his vision. “When I kill you, I shall do it with my own bare claws!”

“Then… I shall do no less.” I returned to a ready stance, breathing easily again.

I may have wanted him defeated, but I didn't want to be completely cowardly doing it. I decided to at least be better than resorting to magic in this fight and match my opponent equally. Call it a sense of pride or honor to be fair in battle…or the fact I didn't want to provoke Diablo into using his far more powerful magic against me.

This time, I threw the first punch before Diablo could react, landing it on his face, which was quite akin to hitting a brick wall in much the same way. As such, the split second's hesitation of pain provided Diablo with an opening to strike me in the gut, making me double over and cry out with a follow-up strike to the face. To avoid more blows, I rolled to the side, picked myself up, and returned to blocking and dodging his blows.

Neither of us, of course, had any kind of formal training in any martial art or method of self-defense, me due to my views on violence and Diablo because he knew everything that I did, as he was literally a part of me. As such, the two of us were down to basic brawling and punching, though Diablo had far more strength to call upon than I did, as well as being more physically capable than I was.

My size and stature, however, gave me the slight advantage, of being faster than somepony of a bigger build. Combined also with my sharp mind and decent reflexes, I was able to anticipate and avoid most of Diablo’s attacks, at least as long as my concentration and stamina held, the latter being more fragile than the former. For the most part, I was able to keep a good distance from his attacks.

I also had a slight knowledge of the most vulnerable parts of a pony, such as the joints of the legs or points near the neck and back. As such, I focused on what counter-attacks I could manage on these areas of Diablo, in order to inflict the maximum damage possible. Even then, my darker self was still able to absorb the damage, due to his own physical strength and my lack of muscle.

“You can’t keep this up forever, Dusk.” Diablo taunted as another punch flew over my head. “You will tire soon enough.”

I didn’t respond verbally, but instead took advantage of the second’s opening he’d left due to his taunt. I aimed a jab under his leg, making it bend backward from the reflex muscle action, enough time for me to repeat the move on the other leg. With Diablo now bent forward on his knees, I smacked him in the face twice with all my strength and proceeded to perform a downward strike on my spine.

Diablo however, reacted quickly, swinging his legs forward so they struck my claw away, the momentum of the force causing him to flip and propelling him in such a way that he was able to land two strikes with his claws and one final kick with his hooves, sending me sprawling away from him and smacking back to the ground.

As I started to push myself back up, wiping away the trickle of blood from my mouth, Diablo started to sing mockingly in a deep, somber tone, like singing a funeral hymn.

Now this time,
You will fall,

Down in darkness,
Lost in this great sprawl!

And I have come,
To start a fire!

Little Ponyville,
Will become your pyre!

I had barely recovered myself when Diablo attacked again, forcing me to go on the defense once more, desperately blocking and dodging his punches and kicks, while he continued to sing during the deadly flurry of fists.

Fall to the shadows,
Just give in to the pain,

Fall to your grief,
And let it grow into your bane!

Rot in the caverns,
Forming down in your soul!

When the night has arisen,
Then the chaos will be whole!

“I thought this was a fight…” I ducked under a blow, punching it away, “…not a dance!”

“Then stand still and fight, like a stallion!” he roared back.

Diablo seemed to be gaining confidence, in addition to the amount already gained from his previous victory, something that I could use to my advantage. Once again, thanks to his distraction from the singing, I found an opening and struck him on the neck twice with both my front hooves, followed by an upward punch to the chin, making him reel back and cry out in rage and pain.

The dark stallion cricked his neck and growled deep in his throat. It only seemed that for every blow I landed or injury I caused him, that just made him even angrier and even more determined to bring me down. I, however, needed not to be intimidated by that. I needed to remain in control of my emotions, relatively calm and calculated in order to match his brute force and pure rage.

Diablo charged with the intention of colliding with me head-on, his horn lowered to possibly impale me. I, however, reacted quickly, side-stepping out of my way and slamming my claw down on his spine, making his back buckle and slam to the floor. Before Diablo could recover, I slammed both hooves in a kick to his face, sending Diablo away from me again.

My darker foe hitting the floor, I decided to take a chance. I waited until he was halfway to getting back to his hooves and claws and then sprinted right at him. I reached him, slammed into his hip, twisted with his leg with all the energy I could muster, and sent him crashing to the floor again, grabbing his head and punching him repeatedly in the face. I had him now!

“I think not!” my foe screamed.

Diablo caught one of my fists mid-punch and squeezed, sending that paralyzing pain up my arm again, roaring with rage like a beast and making me sink low. This was what had brought me to his mercy last time and I wasn’t going to let it be the end of me this time. Screaming through my gritted teeth through the pain, fighting back tears while bringing out my Fire Dragon eyes and determined not to give in, I raised my free, limp claw… I just had to bring it up… enough strength to…

“I… think… so!” I shouted back through the blinding pain.

Diablo’s eyes widened and he tried putting more pressure onto it, but he reacted too late. I could do this… ignore the pain. I swung it up, brought it around, and hit him on the side of his face. Yes, I’d done it! It was just enough to make him let go, lax his grip enough for me to smack him hard across his face, my fists crashing into the bone and sending pain shooting up my arm.

Hurriedly, I pulled back to a safe distance, while my opponent reeled in surprise and pain from this sudden counter-attack. I didn't want to think prematurely, but I could tell he was weakening. If I could keep this up, just a little longer, I might actually win this battle and defeat him. But Diablo came back, just as strong as before, forcing me on the defensive again.

I had to hold him off… I could do this…

But I was finding it harder and harder to keep up with the attacks, more and more strikes being landed on every inch of my body and adding to the injuries I’d already received. I tried to push myself, to keep myself fighting, but I was already well past my limit. Gradually, I was running low on energy, whilst my foe seemed to have an inexhaustible supply I couldn’t hope to match.

After the next blow that landed on my legs, I couldn't keep it up any longer. I collapsed on the floor, my energy and drive gone and my injuries getting the better of me. I tried to get back up, to get back into the fight, but I had nothing left to give. I was completely spent of strength, unable to do anything else. I was finished.

I had just enough will to raise my head and see Diablo while having a few bruises and a cut lip from my efforts. He spat blood and glared contemptuously at me, panting from his own efforts, but smiling in victory.

“You certainly put up a better fight this time. Too bad it is your last.”

I watched as he raised his claw to bring it down on my head, closed my eyes, and waited for the end to come…

Twilight’s view

Like the others, I too was just getting back up after being dropped to the ground. The Elements had been working (with the exception of Shield’s), we had all been lifted up into the air and consumed by their magic. Discord had even looked a little concerned at first. Suddenly, like somepony hitting a switch, it all stopped and we crashed to the floor.

“What's going on?” she asked in general.

“Mine’s workin’.” Applejack replied, tapping her own. “There must be somethin’ wrong with yours.”

“I hate the Elements of Harmony!” Pinkie declared, throwing hers onto the ground.

“Hmph! Garbage.” Fluttershy agreed, adding her own.

“This gem is a mere dwarf compared to Tommy-Wommy.” Rarity said, discarding Generosity and returning to her boulder.

“I told you it wasn’t gonna work.” Shield said, removing Loyalty and placing it on the pile before walking towards Discord with a glare. “Boys, Plan B! Time to take—whoa!”

“Oops! Sorry, Rainbow Crash! Or should I say ‘Shield Stubble’?” Fluttershy laughed, revealing she had tripped him with her tail.

Discord was approaching us, sarcastically applauding accompanied by random sounds. “Bravo, ponies! Bravo! Harmony in Equestria is officially dead. Discord rules, Celestia drools!”

I growled angrily at him as he traced his claw along my chin, let out a hearty chortle, and slipped and skidded away along a path of soap. Never before had I hated anypony as much as I had Discord, with the exception of possibly Diablo Nightfall, for what he had done to me, to my friends, my home… Dusk.

“It’s your fault it didn’t work!” Pinkie blamed.

“Who are you talking to?” I demanded.

“Any of you! To ALL OF YOU! I’m outta here!” With that, she bounced away, still frowning.

Applejack threw aside her Element and set off too. “I better go, too. I’ve got new better friends waitin’ for me at the farm.”

“Yeah! I’m sick of you losers.” Fluttershy soared away, lastly followed by Rarity, pushing Tom along the ground.

“FINE!” I yelled. “Leave! See if I care! I don’t need you guys either! With friends like you, who needs… enemies?”

I bowed my head dejectedly, feeling a tear trickle down my cheek and splash onto the ground. I did see my fur had now become as toneless and colorless as theirs, but what did that matter now? Despite the way they were acting, that had been a lie. They were my friends, the best friends I’d ever had. We’ve been through so much together, learned so much… and now that was over. They were all gone and I wasn’t sure if I would ever see them again.

But it was worse than that. We’d failed to stop Discord. The Elements hadn’t worked and now he was going to plunge all of Equestria into eternal chaos, overthrow Celestia and Luna, and take their place on the throne. Worse still, I’d failed to save Dusk, like I’d vowed I would… possibly the one thing that had been motivating me all this time, that one desperate hope, and I didn’t even have that now. Right now, I need to go. Don’t know or even care where, I just had to get away from here.

Shield’s view

“Dusk… I’m so sorry… I tried…” Hearing her, I looked and was shocked to find Twilight trudging away, tears flowing down from her eyes and now just as gray as the rest of the girls.

“Twilight?” I said, now worried about her just as Dog and Leon came over and helped me up. “Where’s she going?”

“Who knows?” Dog told me as I saw he and Leon were just as worried. “But it’s obvious she’s not stayin’ here.”

“What do we do now?” Leon asked. “Now she’s like that, now the Elements of Harmony are nothing but stones! We’re doomed!”

“Don’t give up hope!” I said, not letting this get me down. “We might still have a chance to beat Discord!”

“Oh, I’m afraid your wrong there, little Shield.” Discord said as he appeared in front of us. “There is nothing for you to hope on.” With one snap of his fingers, me and the guys were then ensnared by tendrils. When I looked, I saw that we were caught by the three Paraserpents we met back at the castle: Leon caught in Doom Cobra’s bony grip, Dog wrapped in Blaze Mamba’s flames, and me trapped by Grim Viper. “Now, come along. Let’s go see if we can find my little trouble-maker.”

Just like that, the Paraserpents then started following him, taking the three of us with them by force.

Dusk’s view

I had many fears. Fear of rejection, of loneliness, of disappointing those closest to me, of pain and death. Even more so now, I feared what Diablo would do. I could feel my dark intentions burning like a forest fire, the destruction and suffering he intended to cause. I was supposed to be the only one that could stop him…

And I had failed. Now, I had a fear for if all I would be remembered for was that I had failed to stop him when I could. The last embarrassment and shame I would feel and it would be eternal throughout history. I waited for that fist to slam down and end it, just let oblivion take hold forever… just end it…

“Aah!” Diablo yelled as I then looked to see what caused my dark side’s action. “Get out of my face, you stupid butterfly!” That was when I was surprised by the sight of my little butterfly who was flying around Diablo, distracting him.

But I soon realized that it wasn’t the same butterfly as this one was lilac, not white. But where exactly did it come from? I didn’t have time to think about it much as Diablo scared it away with a blast from his horn.

“Geez! What the heck?” Diablo said, before shaking off his shock and turned back to me. “Now where were we?”

“Oh, no, ya don’t!” a voice cried out in the darkness as I heard the sound of rushing hooves.

Before Diablo could say anything, I heard the sound of hoof striking hoof, followed by a cry of surprise from Diablo. Being pushed away to a further distance, I saw the two of us were no longer alone… and it wasn’t just the butterfly that came here.

“Now, I’m only gonna say this once, big fella.” Applejack warned, placing herself between me and my darker self. “Y’all better back away from my friend, 'fore this gets real ugly, ya hear?”

Both me and Diablo must have mirrored each other in their expressions of shock at this sudden, unexpected arrival. But she wasn’t the only one who appeared to assist as a certain cyan Pegasus joined her from close by.

“Alright, punk,” Rainbow Dash added, slamming one hoof into another, “we can do this the hard way or the even harder way. What’s it gonna be?”

Diablo was still staring, until he recovered himself and snarled. “You think the two of you stand any chance against me?”

“Make that three, you big, growly, snarly, punchy, meanie pants!” a furious Pinkie added, bouncing out from behind me and snarling like a wolf.

“Yeah, um… what she said.” Fluttershy murmured, tentatively joining them and trying to look as ferocious as possible, but only looked more terrified.

“There are many things I can tolerate,” Rarity said, in a low dangerous voice, “but one thing I absolutely cannot stand is cruel, callous, uncouth brutes like you!”

“You dare to lay another hoof on my number one pony assistant and we are gonna have a huge problem!” In a flash of magic, Twilight teleported in at the head of the group, looking utterly beside herself.

I was wide-eyed and staring, still unable to believe what I was seeing. Here they all were, now, right when I needed them the most, more than any other time in my life. Standing between me and my enemy, like an impenetrable wall surrounding me, ready to stop Diablo at the slightest show of hostility. My friends… we’re here… to protect me.

Are you okay, Dusk?" Twilight asked, still keeping her eyes fixed on Diablo, but concern laced in her voice.

“I’ve… definitely… been better.” I replied, pushing myself back to my hooves and claws, my legs and arms shaking from the effort. “How… how are…?”

“You didn’t think we’d just leave you hanging, did you?” Rainbow said in her cocky voice. "Not when we need to teach this jerk a few manners.”

“I… I just…” I felt myself stagger a little, but ended up leaning against something warm.

When I looked up, I saw that Fluttershy had hurried to my side to prevent me from falling.

“You’re welcome.” she said in her gentle voice, when I had trouble getting the words out.

I shared her smile, when I suddenly realized something. "The last fragment… I still need it…”

“That’s why we’re here, darling.” Rarity assured me, flicking her styled mane out of her face.

“You think they can stop me?!” Diablo demanded. “You think you can hide behind them?! I am stronger, more powerful than all of them put together! This is merely a delay to your inevitable destruction!”

“Fluttershy, why don’t y’all take Dusk on up the way we came?” Applejack suggested. “We’ll stay here and have a nice chat with Mr. Nightfall here.”

“Right.” Fluttershy tried to pull me along, but I ended up resisting as I was fraught with worry for them.

“No! I need to beat him! You can’t fight him! He’s too strong!”

“Sorry, Dusky. This is one party you’ll have to miss out on.” Pinkie said, pulling out her party cannon and placing herself behind the barrel.

“Dusk, just go!” Twilight ordered. “We’ll hold him off, long enough for you to get the final fragment. We’ll be fine, don’t worry. Now go!”

“But I…”

“GO!”

I remained for a few moments, staring into Twilight’s shining violet eyes as she turned to face me. In that moment, the respect, admiration, and love I already had for her increased tenfold. She didn’t look scared or fearful, but certainly angry and more than willing to fight. She wasn’t going to be swayed, none of them were. I was still worried about them, but I had no choice. This was my last chance and I had to take it. I had to beat him.

I sighed and nodded, letting Fluttershy support me, and Twilight return her focus to the coming battle.

“As you wish… Miss Sparkle.” I glanced at her one more time, passing over all of them. “Be careful.”

Limping on my legs, but assisted by Fluttershy, I allowed her to lead me to a cave passage that I hadn’t seen, hobbling away as fast as I could, for I had no desire now to try and fight Diablo in the state I was in.

My attempted escape didn't go unnoticed by my darker self, who locked eyes on me and charged with the force of a bull.

“YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!” he screamed. “I WILL—OOF!”

His advance was halted by Applejack, who kicked him with her strong legs and sent him skidding backward.

“Y’all weren’t plannin’ on leavin’ without sayin’ goodbye, were ya?” she remarked.

“YOU PATHETIC WRETCH!” he roared, going for her now. “YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!”

“All outta change, hon, but how about this!” She dodged his attack and gave him another hard kick into the wall.

“My turn!” I watched as a cyan streak sped towards him

Before he could recover, Rainbow charged in with a battle cry, grabbing him and throwing him towards Pinkie, who blasted him with her party cannon. The impact sent him reeling into the hoof of Rarity, as she smacked him across the face, followed up with a blast of magic from Twilight, making him crash to the ground with a loud thud.

I was once again held transfixed, staring as my foe recovered from the attacks, screeched with fury, and launched into the battle, only to be struck again by multiple, coordinated attacks from the girls. I’d never seen them fight like this before, all of them working together with their unique abilities to keep him held back. Then again, I had never seen them fight before and I was certainly glad I wasn't their enemy.

I only hoped they would be able to keep him at bay long enough for me to retrieve the final fragment. If I had learned one thing from fighting Diablo it was that the more you attacked him, the angrier he became and the more determined he was to defeat you for inflicting pain upon him. He’d been only using his fists on me, but he would resort to his own magic soon enough then… I tried not to think about what he might do…

“Come, Dusk. We need to go.” Fluttershy urged, nudging my side.

I snapped out of my reverie and nodded, limping my way to the passage, listening to yells of the girls and Diablo as they fought each other, the occasional flash of light from Twilight lighting the cavern. As we hurried out, Diablo’s voice was heard clearly above the fighting, singing tauntingly again.

Your so-called friends,
We are agreed,

Cannot protect you,
Now that I am freed.

Your body broken,
Your spirit numb,

Weak and waiting,
For the end to come.

Fall to the shadows,
Just give in to the pain,

Fall to your grief,
And let it grow into your bane.

Rot in the caverns,
Forming down in your soul.

When the night has arisen,
Then the chaos will be whole.

I ignored the voice and pushed on, letting Fluttershy guide and help me along. Diablo was just trying to get into my head, to undermine what little confidence I had to put me in a weak enough mental state to defeat me. Classic psychological warfare, but I wasn't going to let it get the better of me, not while my friends were in danger…

The passage we followed, while still inclining upwards, was a lot easier to negotiate than the steep cliff face had been, with this being much more smooth, less rocky than the other parts of the cave had been, with a gentle upward slope that I could manage relatively well considering my state. The light here also began to get gradually brighter, drowning out the shadows that had previously surrounded me.

The fact I was here with Fluttershy also gave me great comfort. She was a gentle force against my side, just enough so I could remain standing. Not only that, but her presence gave me added strength, assurance that she and the girls were here for me, that they were still fighting and willing to make sure that I kept going as well. I wasn't sure if she was real nor not, but she felt real to me and that was enough… my honorary little sister…

“Come on, Dusk. We’ll make it.” she encouraged gently. “You and me, we’ll get there.”

“I…I hope so…” I lifted my head to look at her. “Thank you… for being here for me.”

Anything for my friends.” she replied. Her smile became a vision of shock when we heard somepony scream. “Oh, my! Who was that?”

“I think it was Rarity, but… I’m not sure…” To me, it had sounded like Rarity, but the truth was I didn’t want to think about it.

“Ooh… that meanie!” she growled. “I’m so mad, I could just hit him!”

“I don’t think that would help.” I said, remembering the last time she’d said that.

“Yeah, you’re right.” She returned her head facing forward and pushed me on. “Just one more fragment and you can show him whose boss.”

“I… I don’t know, Fluttershy…” I said unsurely.

“You can beat him, Dusk. I know you can.”

“But it’s just…” I sighed at how pathetic I must sound. “Every time I hit him, he just keeps coming back. I’m not strong enough to fight him… I never will be…”

Fluttershy seemed to consider this. “Well… maybe it’s not about who’s stronger than the other and it's not just about fighting on and on. It's when the fighting stops that's important and who's willing to end it."

I gazed up at her in amazement. “Wow… that’s… very profound, Fluttershy.”

“It is?” She seemed quite flustered at the compliment. “Thanks.”

We stopped walking at the sound of cracking stone and magic being cast.

Behind me, I heard Diablo’s voice echo throughout the tunnel again, plaguing my ears like the buzzing of an angry nest of hornets, followed by the cry of somepony being hit, but I couldn't tell who.

I…
Will start a fire!

Watch it rise…
Through your city!

This was then followed by a loud crash and the sound of hooves and claws stomping, echoing through the tunnel. That could only mean one thing.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, dear! He’s coming…”

“I know… let’s keep going.” I kept staggering on, knowing it was just a little bit further and we had mere minutes before Diablo caught up with us.

We finally reached the end of the cave. I could actually see the sun streaming in through the mouth of the cave, blinding at its intensity. Before this light, floating eerily in the beam, was the remaining fragment, just waiting to be taken.

“We made it.” I turned to my companion. “Fluttershy… I need to…”

Fluttershy nodded in understanding and let me go as I staggered over to the fragment, knowing I needed to retrieve it myself, for this one had my fur color on it, the same duke blue as I had. Though this one was different than the others. Instead of having just a bit of color, it was all blue. Seeing this, I smiled as this was confirming more of my theory about it. This was my piece, the remaining lost part of myself in a way. Diablo was getting closer, I could hear the steps of his hooves and claws along with Fluttershy’s terrified squeaks. I had to do this… almost there…

Finally, when I was close enough, I pulled it down with my claw, held it before me, and attached it to my necklace. Feeling the strength surge through me, through my muscles, my limbs, my very mind, I started up my own song, making sure that everypony would hear me. My own personal victory.

Rise from the agony,
That pierces your mind.

Rise from the stigmas,
Of enigmas you’ve designed.

Rise from the chaos,
Of a world turned to dust.

As the faces of harmony,
Are waiting for the Dusk!

Rise from the shadows,
Make a fist of the pain.

Rise from your grief,
Before it grows into your bane.

Climb from the caverns,
Forming down in your soul.

When the sun has arisen,
Then your friendship will be whole!

Bolstered, I turned to face my enemy, ready now for the final confrontation. With that strength came some knowledge, a hint of wisdom that made me stand proud with a smile filled with confidence.

He kept smiling even when the thundering hooves stopped and I looked up to see Diablo, along with the girls galloping after me, had finally caught up. The latter group looked worse for wear, but nowhere near as badly as Diablo, who looked like he could barely stand.

“You found it?!” He stared at me; something akin to fear flickering across his face…no, it was fear. “No matter, I can still destroy you!”

He whipped around to the others and shot magic at their hooves, making the rocks spring to life and hold them in place, fixing around them like manacles and trapping them no matter how much they struggled.

“Come, Dusk! Finish him!” Rainbow called out. “We got him all warmed up for ya!”

“Show that brute what for!” Rarity added.

“Come then, brother. Let us finish this! Your friends cannot help you now, nopony can!”

Diablo stood, ready for another bout, his nostrils flaring and his eyes alive with anger, rage… and that fear, again. It was only now I took a better look at him that he started to notice it. He looked at me, by how confident of what I had to do to truly defeat him.

I shook my head, looking unflinchingly at him. “No, I will defeat you. But I’m not doing it by myself.”

“What?!” Diablo chuckled. “What jest is this? You seem to be all by yourself.”

“No jest, no jokes, because that’s the difference between you and me. You can never be truly happy, sad, relieved, satisfied, or even comforted because you’re alone with your thoughts.” I allowed my expression to soften. “I don’t fear you, not anymore.”

“And why is that?” Diablo asked in derision, but still with that flicker of fear.

“Because I understand now.” I let that sink in before continuing. “You are what I would become if I let my bad experiences, beliefs, and fear of being alone get the better of me. You are nothing but anger, hatred, cynicism, cruelty, fury, rage…and fear, most of all fear. All the things I’m not.”

“Fear? I am not afraid of you or anyone!” he roared back.

“Yes, you are. Fear is what drives you most: the fear of pity because it makes you look weak, the fear of happiness for when it will end, fear of me for ending your existence.” I frowned at him. “That’s all you are, Diablo, and I don’t fear you… because I’m not alone as long as I have my friends. You see, friendship can turn even the most negative emotions into something so much better, so much more.”

Diablo was dumbstruck, but only for a moment and he laughed again. “Like what?”

“You already know because my friends showed you examples of it.” As I spoke, I saw him gazed around at the girls as the rock holding them down shatter, letting them stand again, and look to see beside me along with the girls Luna, Dragonis, Gold Star, the Crusaders, Shield, Spike, Silver Blade, Zecora, Dog, Little Strongheart, Leon, and Princess Celestia with the same look I had, before returning to Diablo. “Anger can calm, hatred can become love, and fear… can just fade away.”

“No, no!” Diablo stepped forward desperately. “Fight me, fight me now!”

“I don't need to. You’re already beaten.”

As I stood there, I felt the bond I shared with all twenty of them give me even greater strength, something I’ve never felt before.

No one’s view

As Dusk then closes his eyes, he and his friends began to glow in a shining blue light that made Nightfall want to cover his eyes.

After the light dimmed, he looked again to see everything was turned into a white void, he was alone, and in the group’s place was a huge twister of fire.

“No! NO! WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ME?!” He shouted as his body twitch like a computer glitch and swelled up into a ball, beginning a sequence of him morphing into different versions of himself.

Popping like a balloon, he then put himself back together and turned into a small, stone column with two screaming versions of his head and multiple limbs. He then broke apart and turned into a black puddle before rising up as a malformed version of himself. Then, as if by an unknown force, he lifted a few feet into the air in his original form, but was turning multiple colors, had yellow eyes, and had multiple symbols appear on the front of the plume of his horn. When it was over, his body was pitch black with wings spread out, eyes filled with and glowing violet, and his claws set out in front of him.

“DUSK!” he screamed as he went off to try to attack Dusk.

But, before Diablo could, the fire twister dissipated, revealing Dusk as El Dragon and with a stern glare on his face as the fire elemental then punched Nightfall right in the chest. Like glass, Diablo is turned into multiple shards of himself as he plunges backward, the Kishin disappearing in the void.

Dusk’s view

With his echoing screams of agony fading from the void, I took this chance to take a breather, feeling like I had run a marathon.

After getting all my breath back, I then said “Goodbye, Diablo. I hope our paths never cross again.”

I watched as the void began to change and I was in Ponyville before Discord took over in front of a large golden gate.

Seeing all of this, I truly felt content and victorious. I had done it, I’d actually done it! I’d made it out and I was going to go back and stop Discord’s reign of chaos… somehow. Without Nightfall’s corruption, I heard my friends coming to me, congratulating me on my defeat of Diablo Nightfall.

“Way to go, Dusk!”

“That’s being the better pony!”

“Y’all get on outta here, go on!”

“Whoop-whoop-de-doop for yoop!”

“Yay!”

“Good luck out there! We’ll be here for you!”

Then the gate open and they went through it. Before I could go ahead and follow…

“Well done, Dusk.” A voice said as I turned around to see somepony walking up behind me, a stallion who was giving me a proud smile. “I knew you could do it.”

This was actually somepony I didn’t know or even recognize. He kind of looked like me, but had a white coat, a little ruffled green mane and tail, and emerald eyes. On his flank, I saw his cutie mark was a green eye surrounded by six rings that each had one of the six colors of the rainbow, starting from red as they spread out about half an inch apart from each other.

“Who are you?” I asked him.

“Allow me to introduce myself.” He said to me, standing in front of me. “I am Fore Sight.”

“Fore Sight?” I was shocked to hearing that name. “As in, ‘Fore Sight the Uncanny’?”

“That is correct.”

“I can’t believe it! I’m truly honored to meet you.”

“As am I to meet you. I have been watching you for a long, long time. You certainly have come a long way, haven’t you?”

“Yeah. I guess I have.”

“You’ve done a lot too, much like sharing the talent you inherited from me and defeating a Paraserpent. Truly, you are a descendant of mine to be proud of.”

“I didn’t do it alone. Honestly, I don’t know where I would be if it weren’t for my friends.”

“Yes, you’re friends have proven to be excellent companions. Though I sense they’re more than that. Is that true?”

“Yeah. They’re more than that, they’re…my family. Every last one of them.”

“Of course. Now I see.”

“See what?”

“There’s a reason I failed in my search. Unlike you, I decided to take that journey alone and I let my worries lead me astray from my friends. I tried to force the lost to be found. Seeing you, here and now, I finally understand. The very thing of which I knew would be needed the most was not something to be found, but earned.”

“Earned?”

“Yes. And you earned it through your friendship with others.” He then motioned to me. “Those signify as proof.”

Looking down, I realized what he was talking about as I gazed upon the stones around my neck. Hearing all this had confirmed my suspicious about them, especially as to how important they were.

“Dusk,” I then looked to my ancestor as he spoke to me again, “the courage and leadership you have shown along with the bonds you made are what make me proud of you.” His horn then gained a rainbow aura before I then looked to see Husk and my father (light forms made from my memories of them), the two smiling proudly at me. “Even with all the pain from your past, you still kept your heart pure and allowed it to be filled with hope and love. You might have doubts on your own abilities, but just know that you’ll never be alone as long as you have your friends. Do you see that, Dusk?”

With a smile and tears at his kind words, I then said “I do.”

“Good. Now go. Return to your friends.” He told me. “Help them defeat Discord and save Equestria. It is and always has been your destiny.”

“Before I go, tell me,” I said to him, “these powers I got from you, what exactly can I do with them? Can they work like yours? Or can they do something else than that?”

“All good questions with answers I’m afraid you’ll have to find on your own.” He told me as the light forms of my father and brother stood beside him. “Just remember: through fearful day and raging night, keep your strong heart full for hope burns bright.”

“I will. Thank you.” I said before I turned and strode to go through the gate.

Now, it was time to end this once and for all, to do whatever I could for my friends and my home. As I strode out, I could hear Princess Luna, whispering closely, like she was walking out with me.

Why do we fall?
Learn to...

“Rise.” I finished, stepping out into the light.

No one’s view

Roaring out in absolute, sheering pain, Diablo stood there as his headache was at its peak. The roaring lasted for a few minutes before Diablo stopped. With his eyes losing their violet glow, he then collapses on the ground. After he does, his cutie mark fades away as his body begins to morph, becoming the black blob he once was with Dusk’s necklace being absorbed into him. A moment after this happened, the blob stayed still as silence filled the air. After a moment, a light forms within the blob, one of midnight blue. As the light grows, the blob begins to swell up until it was as big as a house in Ponyville. A moment of shaking like it was under extreme pressure, the blob popped and was scattered around the area. Lying there on the ground, the black substance was consumed by a blue aura and, like water applied with focused sunlight, began to evaporate until there was nothing left.

Dusk’s view

Groaning like I had just escaped a boa constrictor’s wrapping grip, my eyes feeling heavy as I opened them, I looked to see my necklace in front of me. Using my magic to pick it up, I felt my strength return as I lifted myself up back on my hooves and claw, rubbing my head with my right claw like I just recovered from some injury or something traumatic.

Seeing my necklace, now bearing black stones except for one that bared the color of my fur, my eyes widen and I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face. It seemed impossible, incredible… but I’d actually done it.

“I’m… I’m back.” I said, returning to the waking world at last. “I’m back!” My mouth fell open as I saw the state Ponyville was in. “By Celestia! What has he done… what have I done?”

Author's Note

After gathering the last fragment of his necklace, Dusk had managed to triumph over Diablo Nightfall and free himself from the madness of the Black Blood, our hero returning to help his friends. But, now with all six wielders corrupted, is it too late to defeat Discord? See what our returning hero will do next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? By the way, the song that had been sung is something that was inspired by Rise by Miracle of Sound. Big thanks to AlphatheGriffin17, everypony! Anyway, finally, we have a winner! Dusk has taken down Diablo Nightfall and now El Dragon is back in action! Let’s just hope he’s got a plan to beat Discord since things have really gone downhill with Twilight not turned into her own opposite. In the next chapter, Dusk reunites with the boys and he gives Discord a little surprise. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 13: Magic Returns

“How many more times, Tia? I feel better now.” Luna said irritably, unable to move due to the healing aura that surrounded her.

“Just a few more minutes, Luna.” Celestia insisted, maintaining the field around her body. “I want to make absolutely sure that you're in a fit condition.”

Luna sighed impatiently, but allowed her to continue without further resistance, verbal or physical. Celestia had been doing this for the past half hour. In that amount of time before, I just stepped out of Luna’s room to fetch some healing mages after convincing her to not do using a healing spell on herself. I didn’t want her to strain herself, so I went on to get her some medical attention. I would do it myself, but I, unfortunately, hadn’t been born with talent in healing. It was times like this I wished my little brother was here as he was the great healer of the family. Though, walking out of that room, I was instantly met by Celestia. I tried to deter her from checking on Luna, but she saw through the misdirection and went in to discover Luna covered in bruises and cuts along with having painful limbs. At first, she rounded on me and believed I did this to her sister, but I then explained everything to Celestia. Although, I still got snapped at for not doing a better job in protecting Luna. It had been a while since old Tia actually got angry at me like that.

Despite her injuries she had sustained in her battle with Discord’s new minion, Luna believed that it was worth it, telling me that Dusk had all the pieces now as it was what had kept his mind intact when Nightfall took over. She used some of her mind magic to jump-start the resisting side of his mind so that he would gain strength and eventually overcome the dark being formed from madness and regain control of his body. That was the plan and whether or not it had worked was another issue. If he did, then it would just be a matter of whether or not he would be able to figure out the rest.

Seeing the aura finally fade, I watched as Luna regained easily moved her limbs, her injuries completely healed and her strength restored.

“There. That should do it.” Celestia frowned at her. “What were you thinking, Luna? You could have been killed!”

“I’ve been through worse, you know that.” she reminded her. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”

“Well, somepony looks like they almost took care of you, that’s for certain.” She frowned at her further. “I’m truly having concerns if this is part of your plan.”

“To fulfill what is written, it is necessary.” Luna retorted, stretching out her limbs.

“Necessary that you almost died?”

“Necessary to stop Discord.” She gazed directly back at her elder. “You know what is at stake here.”

“I know,” she insisted quickly, “but is it worth almost losing you, when we don’t even know if it truly does exist?”

“I do know it does, even if you don’t.” Luna reminded. “Besides, you know that all is lost if he wins. I’m making sure he doesn’t.”

Celestia’s gaze lingered for a few more moments, then she looked at her with a kind of admiration. “You truly do believe, don’t you?”

“I do.” she said firmly. “Don’t you?”

“I really don’t know what to believe, I just don’t want you to think I’m doubting you.” Her expression became one of concern. “I’m only trying to look out for you, my sister.”

“I know…and I appreciate that.” The two of them shared a gentle embrace. “Thank you, Tia.”

“Anything for you, even if you can be reckless sometimes.” They shared a laugh and broke apart. “So Discord had a new ally then?”

“Indeed.” I confirmed. “A new Kishin who calls himself Diablo Nightfall.”

Luna shuddered at the thought of him. “Imagine King Sombra if he had the strength of a Cyclops, the ferociousness of an angered dragon, and the cruelty of Discord and he is the end result.”

“My goodness.” she gasped. “And you and Dragonis went to fight him?”

“We did, for it was all we could do. He was… quite formidable.” she admitted, no doubt remembering the way he had cruelly beaten and tormented her throughout their duel. “He revels in chaos as much as his master, perhaps even more so.”

“Then things are worse than we first thought.” she declared. “Do you know where he came from?”

“Celestia, that Kishin is Dusk.” I told her.

“What?! How is that possible?” she asked urgently, her eyes wide.

“In the same way that Black Blood was used to transform me into Nightmare Moon after his defeat. I believe that Discord used the fear that Dusk would become him in his mind, using Black Blood to bring him to life.” Luna explained. “He is stronger, faster, and more powerful than Dusk, as well as crueler and more angry.”

“His treachery and deception truly know no bounds.” Celestia growled. “We must act quickly, if we are to stop them both.”

Luna was about to respond but soon became silent for a moment. I soon realized what it was when I felt a sudden jolt in my mind, like somepony switching on a light. Nightfall’s Kishin ki… it was gone. Knowing that Luna had received a reminder from the magic she implanted in Nightfall’s mind. This could only mean one thing and the very thought of it made Luna smile in triumph for now the battle seemed won. Dusk was back.

“I don’t think that Nightfall will be a problem anymore.” she said.

Celestia was taken aback. “What? How do you know? And why are you smiling?”

“I know and because my efforts haven’t been in vain.” Luna replied.

“Tia, Nightfall’s ki just vanished. I can’t sense it anywhere.” I added. “We have reason to believe that Dusk has overcome the madness and has now returned to his normal self.”

“I see.” Celestia nodded in understanding. “Then, assuming the Fore Sight was correct, do you think he can figure it out?”

“If anypony can, he will. He has done it before.” I reminded her. “For now, we can only do what we can.”

“Very well.” She turned to leave. “I need to send Twilight’s report back. If Discord has corrupted her, she needs to be reminded of the magic of friendship.”

“You’re sure that will work?” Luna asked doubtfully.

“I am, trust me.” Celestia smiled in a reassuring way.

Luna nodded, knowing her big sister knew what she was doing and we watched her sister go, allowing herself and I to smile after she left.

“Hopefully, she won’t be the only one.” she said, praying silently that this would work and she that was right.

“As of right now, I do believe she won’t.” I told her, giving the same silent prayer.

Dusk’s view

Putting my necklace back on, I had never been so happy to awaken from what felt like the worst nightmare I had ever had. Despite what was happening around me, I still found myself grinning and feeling the ground beneath my hooves and claws with utter relief washing over me. I’d done it. I’d actually done it and I’d won! Never before had I felt so much pride in an accomplishment, I’d actually done it! Then, everything else began to sink in, what was happening and what had happened.

Several other things happened when I regained consciousness after my mental battle and ultimate triumph over my darker self. First, there was the fact that I no longer felt his oppressive presence in my thoughts, his own desires and wishes growing stronger with every passing minute, and threatening to consume my own. Needless to say, I was thankful to be master of my own thoughts again, especially as my mind now felt…stronger, more fortified than before, somehow. If I were to be infected with Black Blood again, I had a feeling the madness was going to have a hard time taking me over again.

The other most significant thing I noted and that I reviled in horror at were new memories that weren’t my own, but I viewed through another’s eyes. Horrible, terrible things… the sounds of my friends’ cries as I tormented them whilst I laughed… reducing living things so they withered and died and spreading chaos at my very touch… my claws and hooves striking flesh and breaking bone as Princess Luna cried out from each blow…

I physically grabbed my head and collapsed on the floor, tears welling up in my eyes. The mix of emotions from all of this… I was enjoying them, yet at the same time, I wasn’t and was horrified to be even performing such acts. No, it wasn’t me that felt the joy… it was Diablo who was doing it, he was the one hurting my friends… or was it really me? Did I take some joy in it too? How could I tell? No, no it was Diablo’s memories, his acts, not mine…but that didn't make it any easier…

“How could he?” I wept, holding my head in my claws. “How could he be so cruel?”

The worst part of all of this was that it was my fault. I had left Ponyville, my home, my friends, to protect them from Diablo Nightfall, to prevent him from ever hurting them and I’d failed. Diablo had beaten me, taken over my mind and now, thanks to my failure, he had been allowed to wreak havoc and misery without restraint. What would happen when they found out? What would they do to me? Probably just cast me out like a criminal and leave me in the wilderness… it was no less than I deserved…

Discord was right… I was useless… Discord…

But, in the midst of my sorrow and grieving, I remembered what happened back at the castle. The reason I became Diablo Nightfall was not just because I was consumed by madness, but really because of Discord infecting me with Black Blood that inflicted that madness. As such, he was the one who created Diablo Nightfall, the one who turned me into that monster!

Looking around now, at the state my once beautiful home was now in, I could see that there was only one being that was truly responsible for all of this. I might have been a destructive puppet through my darker self, but I was nothing compared to the one who was holding the strings. He had been the one who had planted the idea in my mind, he had been the one who brought him to life, who had tricked me with his lies and deceit despite my knowledge of it, admittedly no less than I’d expected, but I had still fallen for it. All of my grief now, my anger and regret, was focused on him.

“Discord…” I growled in a low voice, wiping away my tears. “This is your doing. Even if I’m not an Element of Harmony, even if I am truly useless, I’m still El Dragon and I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring you down. For good.”

With this vow in mind, I set down to sift through the new weapons that I had been given: knowledge. As painful and horrible as they were to watch, I could analyze the memories of Diablo Nightfall to see exactly what Discord had done, both to me and my friends, figure out some kind of plan and dedicate my best efforts to bring him down. I might not be strong physically, but I was sure I could think of something with the memories I’d been given, even if I wanted nothing more than to purge them from my mind.

I witnessed him bowing to his master, pledging himself to chaos… Diablo, not me. I reminded myself… Wasn’t it? No, it wasn’t me, I’d never bow to Discord… there had to be something here. One particular thing I saw was one involving the girls. I saw how colorless their fur was, how differently they were acting than how I knew them and it didn’t take me long to figure out what he had done. I recognized it from historical accounts I’d read from Discord’s previous rule:

So it was that they who were victims of the chaotic one had their hearts turned as dull as their fur. My mother, usually a kind soul, became vindictive and cruel, whilst my hard-working father became lazy and selfish. I would surely have submitted, were it not for our benevolent rulers, who did banish him and returned my parents to their natural state, bringing much-sought harmony to our fair land. Celestia forbid what may have happened if he had continued in his reign… I might not be here today…

It was definite. Discord had corrupted them with his powers and turned them into the very opposites of who they were supposed to be, just like I thought he would back at the castle. If that were true, then Fluttershy had become cruel, Pinkie had become a cynic; Applejack, a liar; and Rarity became greedy. Rainbow Dash would have looked as if she’d abandoned them completely and Twilight would swiftly lose faith in friendship’s magic as a result of it. It made my heart ache to see her in such a state and I wanted nothing more than to be there and comfort her… if she could even stand to be around me again after what I’d done, if any of them could…

No, I had to stay focused. Worry about that later.

With everything that I learned in the experience today, I knew exactly why Discord had done this. It was because of the Elements of Harmony. Because the girls were the only ones who could use them, disrupting the harmony between them would assure Discord’s victory. Discord would be eliminating his one threat to his rule by breaking apart their friendship! Not only that, but he would also weaken the Element Gang as a bonus by corrupting Rarity and Pinkie. Though I was safe because his magic didn’t work on me, the girls still weren’t.

In an instant, I established where I was, where the library was from here, and sprinted off. From what I could find from Diablo’s memories, they had been there with the guys and Twilight had traded my necklace for a reference guide to the Elements. That book had to be important in finding them again and then they needed to be in harmony to use them. I had to find them, figure out some way to break them from their discorded state, and—hopefully—save Equestria from Discord’s chaotic rule. I already knew what I had could be used to do so, only question: how was I meant to do that?

That relief returned when I saw that great tree. Oh, how I had missed it! But, before I could even start looking for the girls, I saw something glinting on the ground nearby and hurried over to them. There was no mistaking that these were the Elements of Harmony, left discarded and thrown away on this pile by the look of it, all of them except for Magic. But if they were here and had been left in this state, then that could only mean that the girls had already tried to use them against Discord… and had failed as a result.

Gently, I reached out and ran my claw gently over them, feeling all the facets of the jewels in the center, the power of friendship radiating from them, though not as much as before. It was like they had been diminished in their purpose, now that their wielders had abandoned them. They’d all gone their separate ways by the look of it, their friendship broken… I would never see them again, not that they’d want to in the state they were in… there was no hope now…

Except for one thing, something of which I had figured out a while ago. However, my thoughts were interrupted by a flash of magic and the appearance of the one responsible, laughing away at some unbelievably funny joke. But I didn’t find anything funny about this, glaring at him as my eyes closed with mirth.

“Ha, ha! Oh, it was brilliant, Diablo! You should have seen them when they tried to use their precious Elements against me! We’ve almost won!” he declared triumphantly.

I realized that he hadn’t seen yet that I had returned and Nightfall was gone for good, as he was too caught up in his own crapulence and pride. Deciding to play along for now and suppressing the urge to hit him hard, I used my tail spikes to shapeshift into Nightfall and mimicked my darker self’s deeper voice.

“Almost, master? If they have failed, surely we have already succeeded.”

“That may be true, yes, but we need to make sure they've given up completely.” he told me, still not having noticed I was back. “And look at this.” Looking over, I saw Shield, Dog, and Leon being held in tendrils of three odd Paraserpents (one was purple and looked monstrous, one was practically on fire, and one was made of bones) in front of me and Shield growling at me as he thought I was still Diablo. I made him smile by winking to him, my friend now realizing who I really was.

“We even managed to catch these fools of elementals. Not much of a problem now that they're a trio.”

“What makes you think you won’t be stopped?” Leon asked.

“Well, Leon, if you had seen Fluttershy, you would have seen I’m already winning. Once Twilight is truly broken and unwilling to fight, she’ll leave and never bother us again. Diablo, you can have some fun with her if you like.”

Not wishing to keep up the pretending a moment longer at the mention of my best friend and mare of my dreams, I glared right at Discord and spoke normally, feeling no fear.

“The only thing I want to do with her is to help her bring you down from the pedestal you’ve chosen to place yourself on and watch you fall from it, hard and fast!”

“What?!” Discord whirled around and I punched him to the ground.

From there, I then ran over and flipped over the skeletal Paraserpent, grabbing its head and pulling it off. While its body tried to feel for its head, it lost its grip on Leon and allowed him to escape before the water elemental blasted it to pieces. Going over to fiery reptile, I used the living skull’s fangs on it, causing it to screech in pain and let go of Dog.

“Leon!” I called out, getting my friend’s attention. “Hose down this hothead!”

“You got it!” He said before he then got out his cannon and shot a huge blast of water at the serpent, causing it to turn pitch black.

After the thing disintegrated into a pile of ash, I then turned to see the last Paraserpent toss Shield away before whip its tendrils at me. Thinking quickly, I grabbed all the tendrils before pulling it up into the air and then slamming it on the skeletal serpent body, breaking just about every bone on it. As an added bonus, the purple Paraserpent also got punctured by the bones and couldn’t move, Black Blood oozing out of it.

“Oh, crud.” The skull said before Leon picked it up in his hoof.

“Yeah, not so tough now you’re just a head, huh?” Leon said before he tossed the skull to Dog, who kicked it and sent it flying out of sight, the skull screaming as went through the air.

With the guys gathering around me with proud smiles, I shapeshifted back into my normal self and Discord beheld me for the first time as he started to get up. "You?!"

“Yes, me.” I confirmed.

“B-b-but how?” He was staring at me, uneven eyes wide. “The Black Blood, it forced out Diablo! He beat you and took over! How are you back? How are you still here?!”

“Let’s just say I had some help.”

“No, you should have been beaten, unable to return! Besides me, nothing is stronger than Black Blood Madness!” I noted that, while Discord sounded annoyed, there was still a hint of curiosity in his voice. “So, how did you do it? Let’s find out, shall we?”

He shot his claw forward and I felt him invade my mind again, trying to retrieve the answer he sought. But his servant was no more and I was stronger than when he’d last tried this for I had felt his powers were lost in finding my dark half. My mind was now different from when Discord first tried to corrupt me. This time though, I was not only able to force him out of my head in seconds, but also shine a ball of bright light, forcing him back and blinding him.

“NO!” Discord spun around after he’d recovered and glared at me, anger definitely boiling over now. “How did you manage that? That’s impossible!”

“You all of being should know, Discord, nothing is impossible.” I countered, standing ready for another attack.

I saw anger flicker across Discord's face again and also a little…fear? “How are you managing that? You’re nothing!”

“He’s not nothing!” Discord saw Shield walking to stand beside me. “Now, listen here. Dusk is the greatest I’ve seen. It’s gonna take a lot more than hypnosis to take him down.”

“Ee-yup!” I heard Dog’s voice as he did the same. “Dusk might not seem like it, but he’s as tough as steel to his core.”

“He might be a bit annoying, but he’s never afraid to do what’s right.” Leon added as he went to stand beside Dog. “He’s still a great hero and won’t let Equestria be ruled by a jerk like you!”

“You forget the one thing about us, Discord.” I said to the Lord of Chaos. “We’re the Element Gang, which means we never give up!”

Discord was silent for a few moments, but recovered himself and returned to his confident, charismatic persona, floating in the air once more.

“Well, that does sound interesting, but we all know you can never defeat me.”

“Try me, you’d be surprised what you can manage when you try.” I retorted. "You tricked me, Discord!”

“Honestly, you and Twilight truly are such a pain. Why is it so hard for you both to understand that deception and misleading is kind of my thing?” he pointed out.

“You infected me with Black Blood and forced me to become a monster!”

“Did I really force you or were you just itching for a little playtime and I just gave you the go-ahead?” he asked slyly.

“Don’t try to dupe me again, Discord!” I warned. “I know better and you know I can’t be put under your influence. Thanks to my friends, Nightfall is gone for good and we’ll face you with every last ounce of strength!”

“You can’t beat me. All you’ve done is returned yourself to normal just so I can destroy you myself along with your team.” he said, grinning maliciously.

“You can try fighting and we’ll keep getting back up to defeat you, no matter what.” I responded defiantly. “You’ll find we’re not so easy to break around here.”

“I wouldn’t say that, for you have still deceived yourself." He shook his head exasperatedly. “Why don’t you just face the facts, little Dusk? Even if you are back, you’re still useless. You can’t possibly hope to stop me and my chaotic rule with your little team. You know it and I know it, you’re not even an Element, none of you are. Why don’t you just give up and enjoy the chaos? I seem to recall you were doing so easily enough before, Dusk.”

He wasn’t wrong about that, not entirely anyway. I could still feel those words having some impact on me, though not enough to make me look away and consider. This time, I was armed with new knowledge, a new question that had to be asked now that I considered it further. And who better to ask than the lord of chaos himself.

“You’re right, Discord.” I admitted. "We’re not Elements, we can’t stand up to you forever. But there’s also another thing you forgot.”

"And what's that?" he asked in an impatient voice.

Holding up the glowing, blue stone of my necklace in my claw, I gave him a smug. “I still have this.”

Just like that, Discord looked at my necklace with confusion gleaming in his eyes before he shrugged it off. “Your good luck charm? Puh-lease!”

“Well, you seemed pretty annoyed when Diablo tried to get it back. And I do know it’s the reason you targeted me.”

“Um…what?” Discord, ironically, looked confused.

“Don’t play dumb with me.” I started to pace around Discord, keeping his eyes on me. “I know why you targeted the girls: to disrupt the wielders of the Elements so they can’t use them as corrupting them would mean they would not be in harmony with each other and therefore would destroy the only chance they have to stop you and securing your victory and eternal reign of chaos once more.”

“Figured all that out? Well done.” he said sarcastically.

“You should be impressed. I’m kind of like a Rick Sanchez.” I proudly said. “Though better, personality-wise.”

“Well, I guess I would appreciate you being sober and not burping every three minutes when talking, especially in an explanation like that.” What Discord said to me surprised me.

“What?”

“Did you really think you were the only one in Equestria who knows about the Dragon-verse? I found out about it ages ago! Where else do you think I got such wonderful ideas for creating chaos?”

“Yeah, that explains a lot.” After a brief moment, I shook off my surprise and got back on topic. “Anyway, the point is I know exactly why you went after me, try to discord me, and corrupt me into an even worse state. To any other pony, it wouldn’t make sense why you would waste your time only going after me when you can also have the Element Gang elementals of earth, ice, and water under your control as well.”

“Well…it is obvious, isn’t it?” He tried to sound casual, but I could tell my statement had caught him off-guard. “I saw the opportunity for a new servant, controlling a Fire Dragon, and I took it. Plus it would be one more blow to your oh-so-special Twilight when she failed to rescue you.”

“I know that’s not the only reason.” I said, my heart panging at the mention of Twilight. “There’s more to it than forced servitude and emotional warfare. You went after the girls because they were a threat, the same way you went after me, and to stop them from being a threat. Therefore, we can conclude that the reason you went for me is that I’m more of a threat to you than being El Dragon.”

That gotten the others confused from what I said. I could tell they were thinking the same thing: what could be more threatening to Discord’s rule than the leader of the Element Gang?

Discord stared at me in disbelief again, then burst out laughing, rolling around on the floor. “You? More of a threat to me than that? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Like saying an ant is a threat to a boot.”

“Even enough ants can be a formidable force.” I retorted. “If the girls weren't their normal selves, they couldn’t use what was special about them—the Elements—against you. And I know for a fact that what is unique about me that makes me like that has something to with these stones, meaning that they are something I can use to stop you!”

“Oh, really? And what, pray tell, would that be?” he asked mockingly, wiping away his tears.

“I, um… I don’t know yet.” I admitted, suddenly feeling a bit diminished. “But I do know that I’m going to figure out what these stones are and I’m going to use them to end you and your chaos once and for all!”

Discord picked himself up off the floor, still chortling from my speech. “Well, let me know when you figure that out, I’d hate to be left out of the loop. Now, if you don't mind, I need to be somewhere.”

“I’ll figure out!" I repeated, feeling a little foolish now I’d said it. “I’ll…I'll find out how they work and use them!”

“I’m sure you will.” he said sarcastically, summoning a cuckoo clock as he said it. “Anyway, toodles for now!”

As he vanished in another flash of light, I now felt a little more foolish than before for suggesting such a thing. How could I even think of being the end-all piece to defeat the lord of chaos himself? Perhaps Discord was right and I was little more than another tool to make Twilight give up in her fight, not being anypony of actual significance. Everypony would be affected by his rule, what made me so special?

Then I felt a hoof on my shoulder and saw Dog there.

“Hey, don’t start listenin’ to that snake-tonged deceiver.” Dog told.

“Yeah, Discord’s just trying to trick you.” Leon said as he walked to my left.

They were right. I’d seen just there that he'd slipped up a little when I had first made my point.

“You’re right. He knows something we don’t and that is what we needed to defeat him. He had just been trying to distract me from that. Well, it now comes to an end.”

“Okay, then so mind telling us what it is?” Shield asked.

“Sure, but not here. Don’t want a bunch of Paraserpents grabbing at us.” I said.

Agreeing with me, we went to have clearer heads in a place of knowledge. We headed towards the library, picking up the Elements as we went. We might as well keep them safe. Noting the two large holes made in the great tree with some despair and shock for me, we stepped inside, found the hollowed-out book, and placed the Elements inside. At least now they were reasonably secure.

A loud hooting made us turn around and my face lit up at the sight of my faithful Hoothoot.

“Ophelia!” She flew onto my outstretched arm and nipped me affectionately. “I missed you, my little one.”

The hoot she gave in response told me that the feeling was mutual. There was almost a guilty demeanor to her, I noticed, like she felt bad about leaving me before. I stroked her gently, to let her know there were no hard feelings and I was just glad to be back. Hooting gratefully, she flew off and returned with something, a black piece of fabric… no, something else…

“My hat!” I held it in my claws, staring at it for a moment.

“Yeah, Twilight had her keep your hat safe ‘til ya got back.” Dog told me.

Now that I had my faithful pet, my team, and the piece of clothing that had become signature to me, I felt a kind of completion…well, not wholly. I still needed our friends back, our home…Twilight. Well, now that I had these, I was confident we were one step closer to completing that.

“Okay, Dusk, mind telling us what’s so important about those stones?” Shield asked as I put my hat back on.

“Certainly. Take a seat, gentlecolts.” I said as we set down on one of the tables and I began to explain before we moved on to considering our next move.

Twilight’s view

Utterly depressed, without friends, hope, or spirit left in me, I trudged randomly around Ponyville… or rather the “new and improved Ponyville” with a cloud of chocolate rain hovering over my head, completing the image of sadness and despair. The Element of Magic was still on my head, but I could no longer feel its power. It was as useless as I was.

I didn’t care or even look up when long-legged bunnies stampeded by, or buffalo performing ballet pranced past, or even an earth pony floating and babbling whizzed by. I had failed, my home was in chaos, my friends had gone, and even the stallion I felt the most for, the one who had been motivating me all this time, was lost forever in some evil creature, unable to be helped. I’d never even got to say goodbye…

Discord appeared next to me, laughing and chortling away, but I wasn’t even surprised. I just didn’t care anymore about what he did. What did it matter anyway?

“Oh, my stomach!” he made me lift my head up. “Twilight, you’ve got to see what I just did!”

I looked and saw a pink earth pony having pepper being sprinkled on her by a giant shaker. When she sneezed, the houses around her proved to be nothing more than cardboard cut-outs and fell over with loud creaks, a fitting metaphor for my own life in a way and one that made me feel even worse than before.

“It’s priceless!” He seemed to notice my mood and scooped the cloud raining on me in a cone, taking a bite out of it. “Come now, Twilight Sparkle. You’ve got to get into the spirit of things! After all, this is your new home.”

I looked to where he gestured, seeing the town hall floating upside down, the patchwork ground and grass, half a bridge missing, and my mind was made up. This place had too much pain, too many bad memories and it was no longer the place I had called my home for the past year. It was time for me to leave, there was nothing left for me here…

“Not anymore…” With that, I trudged off back to the library to collect Spike and my things, to go to… well, I didn’t know.

The sun shot down and was replaced by the moon, plunging me into a metaphorically appropriate darkness, I noted with mild interest. The Elements were gone, no doubt stolen, and so was Ophelia. She probably saw my failure to uphold my promise and save her master, now leaving me. The last thing I had to remember him by, the last vestige of his presence, gone.

The tears began anew as I climbed the stairs and opened the door to my room, where Spike and one other pony she couldn’t make out lay stood or rather just lay, in the former’s case.

“Pack your things, Spike. We’re leaving.” I ordered him. “Don’t ask where we’re going ʹcause I don’t know yet. Just not here.”

As I said this, I pulled out my suitcase and levitated a few random books to pack. I also removed Magic and put it in the nearby trash can. I wouldn’t need that anymore. I glanced up at the other pony, barely looking at him as I packed. Was he or she walking closer to me and why should I even care?

“Look, I don’t know who you are, but if you want to get out a book, I’m afraid the library will be closed for the foreseeable future.” I bitterly told the pony. “Now, can you please get out?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

I felt my eyes widen when I recognized that quiet, polite voice. It couldn’t be for him… then I saw him, clad in his hat, the necklace I’d made him dangling around his neck. In his eyes, I saw in there a strong regret, a guilt, but overwhelmed by something I didn’t recognize, but it made my heart glow to see it. Glow, like I could tell his horn was beneath his hat, which was levitated off to reveal it as he neared me, that sweet smile playing on his lips.

“Dusk?” I whispered, unable to gaze at anything other than him. “Is that…really you?”

He didn’t respond to this directly, he only smiled more warmly than I’d ever seen him do before and spoke one word:

“Remember.”

At that, he lowered his horn so it came into contact with mine and I felt something reawaken inside me, that had just started to the instant I’d laid eyes on him. Even if he wasn’t doing this, I was sure the feeling would grow stronger anyway… he was just that special to me.

Discord’s view

After seeing Twilight had finally been broken, I was making a few more houses float up into the air, making confetti shoot out of their chimneys, which promptly either slithered away like snakes or flew away like birds, in celebration of my ultimate victory over harmony. Now, nothing would stop me in my final takeover of Equestria. Not the Elements, not the Element Gang, not Dragonis, and certainly not the princesses. I had won!

And yet… Dusk returning presented a problem. He had been able to resist my influence, something which very few could do and then there were the writings of Fore Sight about him. He didn’t know about them, of course, but he did seem to figure most of it out, so what if I found out or managed to figure it out? I doubted it, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

But how best to deal with this? I had more chaos to catch up on and Dusk had proven resilient to my direct influence. It would be best to eliminate him completely, just to be sure, but how would I go about it? Then I had the perfect idea of how to solve this problem.

Tapping into my chaos magic, I formed them like clay in my hands, molding and shaping their bodies until I had a sizable force of them, their black scales glistening in the light, their wicked eyes glinting with malice. Oh, how I’d missed the little dears!

“Black Fang, come over here please!” I called out, my Paraserpent slithering over to me. “I have a job for you and I have given you some extra help to do so.”

“What issssss your will, Lord Disssssscord?” he requested as they all bowed before me.

I made a chocolate sculpture of Dusk and showed it to them. “Find this pony and devour him, however way you see fit.” I crushed it in my hands, so it shattered like glass.

“Asssss you wish.” they hissed, bowing once more and slithering off to find their quarry.

“Oh, and if his little friends try to stop you, feel free to eat them too!” I called out to them, chuckling at the thought of it.

Now in an even better mood than before, I set off to cause even more chaos, pleased that my reign would be secure, prophecy or not. I wasn’t losing, not this time…

Author's Note

Making his triumphant return, Dusk has now reunited with his fellow stallions as they now prepare to face Discord. But now Discord has come to ensure that nothing would stand in his way of completing his conquest. Will Dusk be able to stop Discord and save Equestria? The quest to saving Equestria’s future begins next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Yeah, Dusk is back and ready for action! Looks like we’re finally gonna find out what those stones around Dusk’s neck are as well might learn what role they play in all of this. Let’s just hope the boys can figure out how they work in time before those Paraserpents get them. For what Dusk was doing with Twilight there, you’ll find out soon. In the next chapter, Dusk and the boys are gonna go over a battle strategy against Discord. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 14: Return of the Mane 6, Part 1

Moments earlier…

“So let me get this straight,” Shield said to me after I told him, Dog, and Leon what the stones I was wearing really were, “the weird rocks that you’ve collected, the ones Twilight had turned into a necklace, are actually what Fore Sight was looking for?”

“That’s right.” I confirmed with a proud smile. “It’s just like my ancestor said, ‘unite the seven’. He was talking about the seven stones.”

“But how come you’re the only one who found them?” Dog said to me. “Doesn’t seem very hard to miss.”

“It’s because they can’t be found by somepony.” I told him. “Much like with many things in this world, they have to be earned.”

“Earned?” Leon asked.

“Yes, earned. The reason I have these stones is because I earned them. Each stone appeared from when I earned them.”

“So you got those things because you showed you were worthy of them? How?”

“By finding the light.”

“Light?” Dog asked. “You mean like being good?”

“Not exactly.” I told him. “You see, guys, the stones only appear to those who follow a certain kind of light, one I had only just experienced when you three came into my life.”

“How did us getting involved helped you do that?” Shield raised a brow.

“Isn’t it obvious? Each of you had shown me the very wonders of something I didn’t think I could experience.” I then went on to explain. “The honesty, the kindness, and the loyalty you all showed, those are all part of the light, the one of which allowed me to find the stones. And it’s not just you, the girls helped too. Rarity with her generosity and Pinkie Pie with her joy, along with the three mares who had reminded me of the light of which you three showed me. And I’m not the only one who has come to experience this light because of you all. Twilight even experienced it when she came to Ponyville. The light I refer to is the magic that also revived the power within the Elements of Harmony.”

“Wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Shield asked me, now getting it.

“Yes, Shield.” I confirmed once more. “The reason Fore Sight couldn’t find the stones was because he went out alone to force them to be found. I’ve only just realized just now that I had earned these stones from finding the light without even knowing it. Fore Sight believed that it was those who followed the light of good that would bring the stones together. But really, what unites these seven is not from just the light of good. It’s the light of friendship.”

“Cool.” Shield said with admiration. “Kinda cheesy, but cool.”

“Hang on.” Leon spoke up. “There are seven stones on your neck, right? Isn’t that kind of like finding the Elements of Harmony?”

“Well, yeah.” I said, realizing that me getting these stones was almost like how the girls got the Elements of Harmony. “Now that I think about, you’re right.”

“Also I can only count us helping you finding six of those.” Leon told me. “Me and Flutters helped you with kindness, Dog and AJ got ya to be more honest, Shield and Rainbow showed you nothing but loyalty, Rarity just kept being generous, Pinkie just made sure you always had some laughs to share with us, and Twilight showed you friendship is magic. That’s six. Who helped you with the seventh?” Looking down, I saw he was pointing to the only stone that had color, the one with my fur color.

“Actually this is something I earned from discovering a new light.” I told him. “Remembering the kindness, joy, generosity, loyalty, honesty, all the things you and the girls had shown me to help me experience the magic of friendship, I realized that it was what gave me the strength to pull through everything life had to throw at us, to overcome every challenge that came our way. From that, I realized that all of these are what make up the new light I found… my own.”

“So you’re sayin’ that stone Luna sent us to find…” Dog started.

“…is the stone that represents me.” I finished.

“So how do they help us?” Leon asked me.

“Actually, I’m not sure.” I said to him. “I’m still trying to figure that out, especially how we’re gonna use them.”

“Okay, then let’s get to figuring them out.” Shield stated. “With you back, we can go out there and beat Discord!”

“Not so fast, Shield.” I told him. “Before we can even try to figure out how to use the stones, I’m afraid we still have a problem.”

“What do you mean, cap?” he asked me.

“Shield, look at my necklace.” I said, noting how only one stone gained color while the others remained black. “All these stones turned black when I became Diablo Nightfall. I’m back now, but only the stone representing my light has changed. Seeing it like this means, in order for the stones to work, we need all of them to be in full color.”

“How do we do that?” Leon asked.

“I’m not sure.” I told him. “But that’s not the only thing we need to do. Before we can figure out how to fix the stones, we need to help the girls. Like Luna said, in order to beat Discord, we need both the stones and the Elements of Harmony.”

“But the girls are already discorded.” Dog reminded me. “We tried usin’ the Elements with most of ‘em like that and the Elements didn’t do a thing.”

“Well, they won’t work unless we can restore the harmony between the girls.”

“And how do we do that?” Leon asked me.

“Well, seeing how Discord has changed them to act their opposites,” I said, explaining the solution, “we need to remind them of who they really are.”

“Dusk, how are we gonna knock some sense into them?” Shield said to me, doubting we could restore the girls to normal. “You said it yourself, Discord’s magic has a tough habit to break. What can we use to beat that?”

Putting a claw to my chin, I then put some thought into it before I then remembered what helped me come back to the real world. Or should I say who.

“Wait, Luna!” I said, remembering how she helped me defeat Diablo. “When I was Diablo Nightfall, she cast a spell on me that actually reminded me of who I was. Maybe the spell she used can help the girls remember who they are. Not only that, but she might also know how to fix the stones. If I can get a letter to her, she can give us the spell she cast and tell us what we need to do to restore the stones!”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get that letter to Canterlot!” Shield exclaimed.

“Already ahead of you.” I said to him. “You guys stay down here and keep any Paraserpents from getting in here, I’ll go write the letter.”

“You got it, cap!” Shield told me as he and the others went on to stand guard.

Putting my focus to getting the letter out, I just hope Luna wasn’t too badly hurt and ask her for the spell and what to do with the stones. She had been the one who had sent me to the Castle, who had fought Diablo with Dragonis to save me, and had set me on the way to overcoming my dark side. Like Discord, she knew something about me and I was going to find out what, for I was sure it would hold the key to defeating Discord.

“Come on, my pet!” I prompted Ophelia, who had been sleeping nearby. “We need to send a letter. Spike? Spike! Where are you, little brother?”

“Dusk? Dusk, is that you?” I heard a disbelieving voice reply, but I couldn’t tell where from.

“It is! Where are you?”

“I’m up…” He was cut off by a loud belch and a groan, forcing me to search manually.

Ophelia flying behind me, I hurried around the library, calling for Spike, eventually running upstairs and finding him on the floor, looking exhausted, but with a huge grin at the sight of him, one which I couldn’t help but return.

“Spike!” Unable to contain myself, I jumped forward and hugged the baby dragon. “It’s good to see you, my brother!”

“Dusk! Oh, I’ve never been so happy to…” I stopped when he belched and a scroll appeared in the air, landing on an ever-growing pile I had only just noticed.

“What’s all of this?” I asked, setting him down on his bed. “Are you feeling okay?”

“No, I feel awful!” He belched up another letter. “The princess… has been sending these… since I came back upstairs.”

“How long ago was that?”

“I don’t know, it’s all a blur. Just… never-ending letters!” He actually cried as he belched up another. “Please, make it stop!”

“I, uh… don’t know if I can. Sorry, Spike.” I put his blankets around him and moved to look at the pile. “What is all of this anyway?”

Levitating a random scroll, I unrolled it and read the words inscribed upon it. I recognized the writing as Spike’s, not Celestia’s, and realized I’d heard this letter before. It was the one Twilight had sent at the end of Winter Wrap Up. It detailed how everypony had hidden talents that could be found with patience and diligence and that teamwork and friendship could overcome any obstacle. Not sure why, but I went on reading it thoroughly.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Winter Wrap Up was one of the most special things I’ve ever been a part of here in Ponyville. It helped me…

I stopped reading when I saw the aura I had around the letter change from my usual blue to being multicolored, glowing with lilac, pink, cyan, orange, white, and yellow. The sudden color change was enough to shock me, making me drop the letter. I had no idea what had just happened, but I began to have a guess on what it was from looking up at my horn. Could this be some sort of power I had with my magic? My curiosity peaked, I picked the letter up with my claw and continue reading. Just from reading this letter, I remembered that day with warm feelings in my heart, despite the lingering cold… being with Twilight, both of us trying to find our place in wrapping-up winter, waking up the animals with Fluttershy, even being part of the process of bringing in spring on time. I didn’t even care when that strange aura reappeared.

The lesson Twilight had learned that day was that we all had our hidden talents and that, if we’re patient and diligent, we are sure to find them. And, as always, with good friendship and teamwork, ponies can accomplish anything. While that warm feeling stayed with me, I was then caught by surprise as the aura around the letter became brighter. While at its brightest, I saw it leave the letter and enter my horn which was now glowing. With the two auras mixing together, something very peculiar happened. Before my eyes, I was beginning to relive the day this letter was sent, but it wasn’t just my memories that I saw. Along with them, I also saw what other ponies experienced that day, specifically what Twilight and the girls experienced. Everything that I experienced and heard from the guys, I actually saw them happen. When it finally stopped with me writing the letter, I shook myself and was just in awe of what happened. Seeing my horn had stopped glowing, I then looked back at the letter as a thought came to me. Did my magic just give me some of the girls’ memories?

To prove my suspicious, I pulled out another one, one that detailed how powerful and wonderful friendship could be and that even the bitterest of enemies could become friends, as long as there was understanding and compromise, that warm feeling I had from reading the first letter increased at the fond memory of Little Strongheart and how strong our friendship had become, despite the fact our people were enemies and when peace had been restored. The same thing happened again and I experienced the girls’ memories of that day, even ones that were out of the area where I was. It was like I was there with Rainbow Dash, Shield, Pinkie Pie, and Spike as they met the buffalo tribe. From that moment, I realized what was going on: somehow my magic was able to obtain the memories within these letters, even ones that weren’t my own, and put them into me. If this was the case, then maybe I didn’t need Luna’s spell. Maybe I could use my own magic to help the girls remember who they are.

With this, I then went on reading the other letters, my magic giving me the girls’ memories from both after and before me and the guys came to Ponyville. Learning every one of these lessons increased the warm feeling as they all reminded of the very lessons I learned while me and the guys were as the Element Squad, reading through each one with every word I read strengthening that magical feeling deep down inside me. Boy, did Twilight learn a lot about friendship, a few I’ve had learned with the guys. And were they great lessons to learn.

With the memories of when Twilight received tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala, the lesson she learned was that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but having more than your friends can make you feel awful when there’s not enough of them to go around; the time Applejack tried to harvest a whole orchard of apples, she and AJ both learned that friendship is not just about giving of ourselves to friends, but also about accepting what our friends have to offer; and when Rainbow Dash’s old griffon friend Hilda came around, Pinkie Pie learned it can be hard to accept when someone you like wants to spend time with someone who’s not so nice. Though it’s impossible to control who your friend hangs out with, it is possible to control your own behavior. What’s important is that you continue to be a good friend and, in the end, the difference between a false friend and one who’s true will surely come to light.

When Trixie first came to Ponyville and boasted about her magic skill, though she was so afraid of being thought of as a showoff that she hid a part of who she was, the girls helped Twilight realize that it’s okay to be proud of your talents and there are times when it’s okay to show them off, especially when you’re standing up for your friends; when the girls dealt with that sleeping dragon I heard about, Fluttershy taught Twilight to never lose faith in her friends by standing up to the dragon and getting him to leave. Needless to say, I was surprised to have found out about that part of her. Anyway, much like I have learned from my own, the lesson here was that friends can be an amazing source of strength and can help you overcome even your greatest fears. When a storm had forced Rarity and Applejack to take shelter in the library and Twilight took this as a chance to have her first sleepover, she was surprised to find two ponies that seemed to have so little in common could ever get along and learned yet another lesson I’ve come to know, that if you embrace each other’s differences, you just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all. This lesson kind of intertwines with a lesson I learn about being a leader: that, no matter how much I want to, I shouldn’t want my teammates to all think the same and that their different points of view are what make the team strong. A good leader understands this and a good friend accepts it.

While looking through them, I had found that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had learned a lesson in friendship too, one I had learned from coming to Ponyville: that sometimes, what you think will cause you to lose your friends and feel left out can actually be what helps you make your closest friends and realize how special you are. During the Running of the Leaves, Applejack and Rainbow learned a lesson Dog and Shield learned a long time ago: anyone can get swept up in the excitement of competition, what’s important is to remember that the friendship you have is always more important than the competition. My cuz learned her lesson from trying to making all of the girls’ dresses for the Gala: if you try to please everyone, you oftentimes end up disappointing everyone, especially yourself. When someone offers to do you favor, you shouldn’t be overly critical of something generously given to you. In other words, pun not intended, you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

From there on, I began to remember all the memories from different moments I shared with both the guys and the girls in my time in Ponyville, even learning the experience the girls had at those times: the time Twilight tried to find any sense in Pinkie Sense, the Young Flyers Competition, the time Leon and Fluttershy foalsit the Crusaders, the time those three fillies took part in a talent show, when we tried to rescue Rarity from the Diamond Dogs, Fluttershy’s time at being a model, Celestia’s visit to Ponyville, when we found out all of us had a special connection through the Sonic Rainbooms of Shield and Rainbow Dash before we’d even met as it had resulted in them getting our cutie marks and how everypony might have some special connection with their friends before they’d met them too. Even I was a part of it, remembering those wonderful feelings of acceptance and the awesome sight of the Sonic Rainboom. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. There was also the time Twilight got Owlowiscious, Pinkie Pie’s birthday, the Gala. I finished it all off with the one letter of which increased the already greatly warm feeling I had the most.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m pleased to report that the latest member of our friendship circle is finally starting to fit in with us and he has taught me a valuable lesson about friendship. Some of us are born with unique traits about ourselves that we sometimes keep hidden from others because we’re scared about how they might judge or view those things about us. Most times, we don’t even show them at all. But, with the help of our friends, we can choose to be more open about those special traits and unlock a true potential that might never have been revealed if we had kept it hidden. I think Dusk has learned that now and we’re going to see even more special things about him the longer we’re friends.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

With the aura around that letter entering my horn, I could feel something growing in my magic abilities too, a surge from my emotions and memories for the times I had spent with the girls, the urge to cast this new spell on something now that I had learned it. And knew what, or should I say who. Seeing all this, I then realized why Celestia had sent back all of these reports. They were more meant for Twilight as the Princess knew that she had to be reminded of who she was, what she had been through and learned. Mentally promising to Celestia, I was going to make sure that Twilight would remember who she was. Speaking of Twilight…

“Pack your things, Spike. We’re leaving. Don’t ask where we’re going ʹcause I don’t know yet. Just not here.”

I could hardly believe what I was hearing, that she had only now just returned back to the place we’d spent so much time together for the past year, as the best friend that I had ever had and so much more. I didn’t care how grey her fur looked, how forlorn she appeared to be. All that mattered was that I knew what I had to do, allowing the magic I felt to flow into my horn as I approached her.

“Look, I don’t know who you are, but if you want to get out a book, I’m afraid the library will be closed for the foreseeable future.” she told me bitterly. “Now, can you please get out?”

She didn’t know it was me. At any other time, considering all that happened, I would have preferred that and whatever punishment she would have in mind for me for releasing my darker self upon them and my home. Right now, I just wanted to be with her, to stand by her side, to speak her wonderful name on my lips…

“Twilight Sparkle?”

Now she looked up, gasping and unable to comprehend what she was seeing standing in front of her. It was like she had seen a ghost from how wide her eyes grew, staring at me as I removed my hat to expose my horn and walk ever closer to her.

“Dusk?” she whispered. “Is that…really you?”

I finally stopped, directly in front of her, close enough to hear her heart beating against her chest, gazing back into her violet eyes. Knowing exactly what this spell would do, I smiled back at her, tried to ignore the guilt of the pain I caused her, and let all the good memories and feelings I had for her flood through me.

“Remember.”

Pressing my glowing horn against her own, I closed my eyes, letting the spell be cast and allowing all of these memories, both my own and the ones she lost, and emotions flow into her like a river. How much I had learned about friendship by being with her about what my true worth was, about how strongly I felt for her that extended far beyond friendship, I let her feel it all.

No one’s view

Unknown to Dusk, as he continued to cast the spell, one of the black stones on his necklace gained a tint of color which slowly began to spread around the piece of rock, the color being the same lilac as the unicorn mare before him. In that moment, Shield, Dog, and Leon had walked up the stairs to see what was happening, watching in awe as Dusk cast his spell. From there, between the two unicorn horns, a light puppet of Twilight appeared, this one brighter and more beautiful than any other Dusk had created before. With it dissolving into a stream of color, it flooded its way into Twilight, the unicorn mare gasping as it did with tears well up in her eyes. As it did, slowly from her hooves up, she began to regain color, her gray fur becoming lilac again. Once the stream was absorbed, the gray mare was now restored, she becoming Twilight Sparkle once again.

Dusk’s view

Feeling the spell had finished, I lightly took my horn away and opened my eyes to see who was once had been gray have her fur restored to its brilliant lilac shade. She stood there, breathing heavily, silent for all but that. Raising her head and gazing right into my eyes, she let the tears flow and embraced me once more, which I happily returned. I could feel the warm tears drop onto my shoulder as we hugged, aware of nothing else except each other.

“Oh, Dusk… I never thought I’d see you again.” she murmured, sniffing and still hugging me.

“Neither did I… I’ve never been happier to see you.”

“I missed you… so much.” Suddenly, her voice became regretful, apologetic. “Dusk, I’m so sorry we left you behind. I know you wanted to, but you should have stayed with us from the start, then you might have been safe. Instead, you… turned into somepony else, somepony I didn’t even recognize. It was all my fault for what happened to you.”

“Twilight,” I said, cupping her chin gently. “I don’t blame you, nopony could have predicted what happened. It was my choice to stay here in Ponyville.”

“I know, but… I still shouldn’t have left you.” She gazed imploringly at me. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“Of course.” I then broke eye contact and looked to the floor. “Only if you can forgive me for what my ‘brother’ has done.”

“Dusk, it wasn’t your fault. The Black Blood was making you do all that.”

“I know, but still…” I then went on to explain, telling her how much it hurt me when I remembered the pain I caused. “The fact that I allowed myself to be consumed by madness…” Allowing the tears that built up in my eyes to flow down my face, I continued even as my voice began to break. “The fact that I… caused so much pain to everypony… to our friends… to you… it’s more painful to me than… anything else I’ve experienced. I had already lost my father and brother… I can’t bear the thought of losing you too. You, the girls, Shield, Dog, and Leon… you’re all important to me. You’re more than my friends. You’re… my family… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Closing my eyes, I began to sob, letting all that aching pain in my heart out.

I thought I would be like this for a while, but then I felt a hoof on my cheek as I turned to face Twilight, where I saw her smile, just her complete and utter relief that we were back together after all the danger we’d been through. Seeing how Diablo had been, I thought Twilight would never look at me that way again.

“Dusk… you don’t have to apologize.” She said to me. “I already forgive you.”

“You… you do?” I was in complete disbelief at what she said.

“Of course. I don’t care what Diablo has done, all I care about is that you’re here safe and sound. You’re my best friend and I don’t want to do anything to lose you.”

Hearing that say that to me, I felt a full rush of joy that, even after everything that has happened, she still considered me her friend and still cared about me so much. Catching her by surprise, I pulled her into the hug once more, the tears of sadness turning into tears of joy as they flowed onto her shoulder while I gave her my silent thanks for her forgiveness. Though only for a moment, Twilight then returned the embrace, no doubt gaining smile on her face. I thought nothing could spoil the moment until… we heard a familiar chuckle and looked to see Leon, Shield, and Dog looking at us with sly smiles, the three mentally teasing us. Pulling back, Twilight and I remembered how close were to each other, gaining a blush before breaking away, looking at anything other than each other as I wiped away my tears.

After managing to calm myself, I then spoke to Twilight, both of us trying to hide our embarrassment.

“So… are you okay?”

“Me? Oh, I’m fine! More than that, brilliant! Especially now that you're back.” With calming herself down, her expression then became one of concern. “But what about you?”

“Me? Well, I’m feeling…okay, I suppose. Some painful memories among other things, but nothing too serious… I think.”

“Diablo told me that there wasn’t a cure for Black Blood, that you were stuck like that.” I felt a twinge of anger at the very mention of his name. “What happened? How did you get back to normal?”

“Oh, that?” I said, holding up my good luck charm in the palm of my claw. “Let’s just say I had a little help. I’d tell ya, it wasn’t easy. Diablo put up a fight. Important thing is that he’s gone and I hope to never go through anything like that again.”

“I should think so.” She looked over my body. “You want me to check over for any injuries that need treatment? I’ve read a few medical journals on the subject.”

“So have I and I’m fine. Well, mostly fine, physically anyway.” I felt those painful memories return, but shook them away and gestured to her. “Nice to see you have your color back.”

“It certainly feels better.” She marveled at her restored color and beamed. “How did you do that?”

“Yeah, what was that?” Shield asked.

“Well, it was actually my magic.” I answered. “I read the letters Twilight sent to Celestia and my magic managed to extract the memories from them. It was like my magic was a Pensieve, something that allowed me to view the memories on the days each letter was sent, from each lesson in friendship we’ve all learned.”

“So what? You can get memories from other ponies now?” Leon asked.

“Apparently, but I’m not sure to what extent. I only got the memories Twilight needed from the letters that had been sent back.” Speaking to her and as she listened, Twilight picked up and examined the reports Celestia had sent back. “To explain why she sent these back, I believe that she had done it in the hopes that you would be reminded of who you were from them. And, though unintended to be by the new spell I just learned, I believe her plan was a success. Did it help?”

She closed the scroll she was reading and beamed at me. “Yes, it did. It was… wonderful.” she whispered. “And you… you’ve made it all so clear.”

“I have?”

“He did?” Leon raised a brow.

“Of course, isn’t it obvious?” She laughed at my bemused expression. “Discord’s trying to distract us from what’s important. He knows how powerful our friendships are and he’s been trying to keep us from seeing it.”

“Ah, yes! Of course!” I declared, seeing how obvious it was now for I myself already knew it. “He knows it’s powerful enough to use the Elements and that was why he broke you and the girls apart, so you couldn’t use them and so he’d have no more opposition.”

“Exactly! That’s why the princess sent back my reports, so we’d be reminded of exactly that. Or rather, so you’d remind me.” she rectified.

I blushed and looked away. “I’m sure you would have…managed without me.”

“Still the modest one.” She only smiled all the more at my comment. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you since we separated, how much I’ve realized that, regardless of what you might think, I can’t manage without you.”

“What… what do you mean?” I asked unsurely.

“I mean that, if we need to save Equestria, I want you with me this time. Element or not, I’m never leaving you behind again. Besides, I think I’ll need your help to restore our friends to normal.” She held out her hoof. “What do you say, Dusk? Shall we fight for our friendship, together?”

I stared down at her outstretched hoof, knowing what this meant. A year ago, I would have said no, that she could no doubt find somepony more useful than me, but now… now I knew my true worth, for she had shown it to me… they all had. I didn’t know what I had done with my magic, but I knew that, working together with Twilight, I wanted to help save my friends and my home, no matter how small my contribution.

With that thought firmly in my mind, I gripped her hoof in return and nodded. “I’m with you, Miss Sparkle, to the end.”

“And you’ll have the Element Gang support with you.” Shield said.

“Yes, then let’s do it!” I said. “For them.”

“For us.” she followed up before we all chorused together. “For Equestria!”

“Hey… nopony mind me.” Spike’s weak voice groaned, as he belched up another report.

“Oh, sorry, Spike. Will you be okay?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, just so long as I don’t… burp out my guts…”

“I think I can help here.” Levitating a blank roll of parchment, I wrote a message asking the princess to stop sending reports as well as a thank you to Princess Luna and Dragonis along with asking Luna about the stones. I was about to send it when…

“Hey, Dusk.” Leon said to me. “Did you already figure out how to fix the stones?”

“No, why?” I told him with a raised brow.

“Then… what’s going on there?” Leon pointed to me, confusing me even more.

It was just when I looked down and was caught by surprise, making me drop the quill I had. What surprised me was that, not one, but two of the stones had gained color: one in midnight blue and the other lilac.

“What the…?” I said, holding both stones in my palm. “When did it change… How did it change?”

“Dusk, is everything alright?” Twilight asked in concern.

“Yeah, it’s fine, it’s just…” I said before then showing her my necklace. “Take a look.”

“What?” Twilight said with surprise, seeing the two glowing stones I had. “What happened to your necklace?”

“Yeah, how come one of ‘em is purple like Twilight?” Dog asked.

“I have no idea. It was black a while ago, just before…” I then paused as I put some thought on it. “Before I cast the memory spell on Twilight.” It was then that I had a struck of realization. “Of course! That’s it!”

“What’s it, cap?” Shield asked me confused.

“Think about it, this stone became blue after I came back, right?” I said, pointing to one of the two color-filled stones before motioning to the other. “Well, I think this one became lilac when I brought Twilight to her normal self! Don’t you get it? One stone is connected to me and the others are no doubt connected to Twilight and the girls! Their light is what gives them strength. The reason they were black was because the girls were still corrupted by Discord.”

“So what you’re sayin’ is,” Dog started, finally getting it, “if we turn AJ and the others back to normal…”

“We’ll restore the stones to full strength!” I finished.

“And use them to take down Discord!” Shield added.

“Exactly!”

“But we still don’t know how to use them.” Leon put in.

“I’m sure we can figure something out on our own. We got this far. Let’s just find the other girls and get them back to normal!” Before we got moving, we were stopped by a sudden belch and I remembered Spike as the little dragon groaned in pain. “Oh, right.” Throwing the letter I wrote away, I quickly got to work on a new one, this one only asking Celestia to stop sending letters and the little thank you to both Dragonis and Luna. With it done, I then whistled for Ophelia. “Take that to Princess Celestia.”

She hooted obediently and let me tie it to her leg, giving me a gentle nip before taking off into the sky, going until she was a little white speck on the horizon, which I only noticed now was a random line rising and falling.

“Thanks, man.” Spike groaned, crawling under his covers. “I’ll just… stay here then…”

“I’d say you need it.” Twilight remarked before she spoke to me. “Now mind telling me about those stones?”

“It’s a long story.” I told her. “I’ll explain on the way. We need to restore the others before it's too late.”

“Right!” She said with a look of determination. “Then let’s go save our friends!”

“As you wish, Miss Sparkle.” I said, bowing my head and we all galloped after her, me with a new sense of purpose driving me.

As I explained everything I discovered about the stones so far, for the first time since this whole thing had started, I had a new sense of hope and determination that motivated me. I’d overcome the most grueling mental challenge I’d ever faced, we ventured into the Everfree Forest and made it out alive, and even stood against the spirit of chaos ourselves. Now me, the guys, and Twilight were going to bring him to justice and make him pay for what he had done, to ourselves and our home.

Twilight too seemed to be more driven, whether it was due to my return or the new hope she’d been given, I wasn’t sure, but I was just glad to be back with her, along with how she forgave me for the torment and destruction I’d caused.

It turned out it was a good thing I had come along with Twilight. Thanks to Discord’s redecorating, Ponyville had become a lot more difficult to negotiate with new paths leading up, down, underground, in the air, or just completely vanished. Luckily, my unique tracking magic ensured that a safe, sensible path was always to be found and we made swift progress throughout our chaotic home.

We arrived at Sweet Apple Acres first, complete with flying pigs, a madly tap-dancing Granny Smith, and Applejack, who appeared to be eating in reverse, returning bites to bare apple cores. The sooner this world returned to harmony, the better. I thought, this was far too confusing.

“Applejack, we’re here to fight for our friendship!” Twilight declared, suddenly surprised by Big Macintosh, who was behaving like a dog.

“How intriguing.” I muttered as I watched him dug a hole back down again.

“Oh, now ya want to fight? And look who decided to show up. Haven’t missed you at all." she said to us. “Where were ya when I was battlin’ Discord?”

We nodded to each other and I nodded to Dog and Leon and they pounced her before she could react, pinning the farm pony to the floor.

“Snap out of it. This isn’t you! You’re not a liar. Dusk, now!” At her command, I performed my spell in time with hers.

As Twilight performed her own spell, I poured in all of the memories Applejack lost, including the ones I had with her: when she’d first welcomed me, her offer to be my very first friend, planting that apple seed on our walk, even the times I hanged out with her and Dog. The color form floated above us as Twilight performed her own memory spell, my fellow unicorn giving the cowpony the memories of their time together as my puppet dissolved into her, restoring Applejack’s fur to that fair shade of peach. With the sight of a stone in the same color, Dog and Leon then got off Applejack.

“Wha… what happened? Twilight! Dusk! Dog!” She shook her head and stood up. “I saw a vision of us feudin’ and fightin’. I couldn’t face the truth, so I started tellin’ lies. I’m sorry, everypony. Can ya ever forgive me?”

“We already have. Come on!” Twilight ordered, wasting no time in getting going.

“Nice to have ya back, sugar cube.” she said to me as we galloped off once more.

“It’s good to be back and… it’s great to see you again, Applejack.” I added sincerely.

“Well, thank ya kindly.” she said, looking up at the puppet I was using.

“Anypony else getting’ a feelin’ of déjà vu here?” Dog asked.

“Separated in a dangerous environment with you, Dusk, Shield, and Leon coming to find us all with his color puppets and bringing us all back together to fight the bad guy?” Twilight laughed a little at that. “Now you mention it, this is all rather familiar.”

“This does seem to be becoming a habit of ours, isn’t it?” I remarked to which the others agreed.

“Just further proof you should have been with us from the beginning.” Twilight added, smiling at me.

“Believe me, I was.” I muttered, so only I could hear. “Yes, well, I’m here now.”

“And we’re just that little bit better for it.” Dog said.

Then Applejack cocked her head at me. “I remember bein’ told ‘bout that feller Diablo. Though not sure if I know it all. Head’s still a little fuzzy.”

“Really?” I was now a little nervous, not sure what to tell her about Diablo being me.

“Well, you don’t need to worry.” Twilight said to her. “He’s been taken care of and gotten what he deserved for what he did to Dusk.”

“Well that’s good.” Applejack said before she turned back to me. “You okay?”

“I… I’ll manage.” I said, not dishonestly, but not entirely truthful either.

“If ya say so.” she said unsurely, possibly picking up on this. “What happened to him anyway?”

“He’s been beaten and I made sure he never comes back.” I said firmly.

“Amen to that.” Dog agreed. “Let’s see if we can't do the same with Discord, huh?”

“Indubitably.” I said, moving to the head. “Now, let’s go and get Fluttershy.”

As we ran, I felt a little guilty for lying to Applejack and went along with what the others were telling her. Much like with Twilight, I was afraid of what she would think of me if she knew I was Diablo Nightfall. But I pushed that aside and got back to the task at hand. Certainly, I had defeated my darker self and regained control of my body, so he was gone for good. He wouldn’t return from any infection nor would some other influence that can force his return. His reign of bringing torment and suffering to all those who stood in his way was over. Even Discord couldn’t find a trace of him in my mind.

We arrived at her cottage just as quickly as we had with the farm, albeit with a lot more dips and drops than we were used to. The door was locked, but that was swiftly solved when Applejack and Dog promptly kicked it open, to reveal the Pegasus hanging a few critters upside down from a high height. This was enough to shock Leon.

“Hey! Why are you interrupting my fun?” she demanded.

“Fluttershy, let them go and get down here.” Leon said to her.

“Very poor choice of words.” With a sinister cackle that made me feel unnerved, she dropped them and they plummeted to the ground.

Sprinting forward, me and Leon caught them and brought them softly to the ground before they could sustain any injury. They squeaked their thanks and hurried off in case their former carer tried anything else on them.

“Yoink!” I felt my hat leave my head and looked up to see Fluttershy had taken my hat. “I’ve been meaning to do that and it was worth it.”

“Fluttershy, would you please be as kind as to return my trilby?” I asked, keeping my voice controlled and measured.

“Flutters, I would listen to him.” Leon warned her. “He gets angry when somepony takes his hat and you won’t like it when he’s angry.”

“Um… how about no?” she snapped, cackling again.

I was about to step in when Leon stopped me, shaking his head before stepping forward and gazing up at her with a sad expression on his face.

“Fluttershy, look what he’s done to you.” Leon said to her. “I know you think you’re enjoying this, but deep down, you know this isn’t who you truly are. Where’s that kind Pegasus who I helped escort a family of ducks? Where’s my sweet Flutters?”

“She was too nice and didn’t let herself have any fun. This is much better.” she insisted, making Leon sigh.

“Well, it’s not to me.” Leon told her as I glanced at Applejack, who was now preparing a lasso to bring her down to earth so she and Dog could hold her down while me and Twilight worked our magic. Deciding to help keep her distracted, I then returned my attention to Fluttershy and tried to get my hat as she held it even further out of my reach, making minimal jumps as Leon kept talking to her.

“Do you really think that? ʹCause I don’t. I like the old you better.”

“Well, tough! That me is gone!”

“No, she’s not! She’s just being kept quiet! And I know how I get her to speak out!” He stepped closer and I stopped jumping and got ready to act straight away. “Look, I don’t know what you’re going through, but I have friends that went through stuff just like this, who know what it’s like when you lose yourself and have somepony else take control of you in a way you don’t want.”

“But I do want this.” she retorted, though not as firmly as before. “You’re just being a sad, little crybaby who wants his best friend back. How sad is that?”

“If I’m a crybaby for missing the mare I care about the most, then fine.” He said calmly. “Remember the day we met, back when I used to work for that circus? Even though you were scared, you were the only pony who was brave enough to help me tame the orthros, the only creature there I thought nopony could get under control. Yet you managed to get that big guy under control. What you did for me that day… it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. It’s because of you that I’m the stallion I am today.” He then got a serious expression on his face as he looked to her. “And that’s the reason I’m doing everything I can to get you back. And, for the record, I’m really sorry.”

“Oh, yeah? For what?” she challenged, Applejack whirling her length of rope.

“For this. Now!” She squeaked in surprise as the rope wrapped around her body and tightened.

Thanks to Dog and Applejack’s help, we were able to haul her down to the ground and hogtie her in place, preventing her from struggling free. Me and Twilight then did what we had to, me allowing my brotherly feelings for her and my admiration at how kind and compassionate she could be flooding into her through the puppet that restored her color, a stone becoming the same cream yellow.

Immediately, her struggles ceased, her cruel sneer vanished, and the visage of timid kindness that I knew so well to be Fluttershy’s returned at once and filling me with relief to see her back to normal again.

“Oh, no!” she exclaimed when she returned to normal. “Twilight, Applejack, Dusk, Leon, I just had the worst dream!”

“Haven’t we all, sugar cube?” Dog remarked, untying her legs.

“Flutters!” Leon said, tackling her into a hug with tears flowing from his eyes. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Me too.” She said, gaining a slight blush. “Oh, my! It was horrible! I was so mean and nasty! I just did all of these mean things and I poured water onto Twilight, I tripped up poor Shield, and Dusk, I…” With her gasp, Leon then let go of her as Fluttershy looked down realized she was holding my hat before giving it back to me in a panic. “Oh, my gosh! I’m so sorry I took it! I didn’t mean to!”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy.” I assured soothingly, putting my hat back on. “The dream is over now. You’re back to being you.”

“But I was still so cruel to you and you didn’t deserve that, not any of you.” She stared at me, tears forming in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Big Brother! Please don’t be mad!”

My eyes widened and I gasped, so did Leon as well as Fluttershy when she realized what she’d said. I’d always thought of her like the little sister I never had, but this… this still caught me off-guard. This surprised me more than anything else so far and everypony else too for we had all fallen silent at her exclamation, Fluttershy looking mortified.

“I mean, um… I don’t mean like… you know as… well…” She trailed off and hid behind her mane, mumbling incoherently.

My response was to smile kindly at her and embrace her, which she gladly returned.

“It’s okay. I forgive you, Little Sister.” I whispered in her ear, resulting in her hugging me all the more tightly.

“Thank you.” she whispered back before breaking apart from me and beaming. “So… what’s going on?”

“What else? We’re bringing the band back together!” Shield summed it up.

“And then we’re bringing down Discord.” Twilight added. “Come on, Rarity’s next!”

“Right you are.” I confirmed, making her form appear.

“For once, I agree with you.” Leading behind Twilight, we galloped off again.

“So Flutters is your sister now, huh?” Leon asked me with a proud smile.

“Yeah.” I said, returning it from that forgiveness I had just given to Fluttershy, who I now noticed was flying closest to me. “And I’m glad. Just hope she doesn’t remember Diablo.”

“I doubt it.” he told me. “Also, I’m pretty sure Diablo was worse than Jerk Fluttershy.”

“Yeah, no argument there.”

I was glad to have Fluttershy back and even more so now we had made clear the closeness we felt for each other.

In addition to this, something else gave me some renewed hope. In lieu of what me and Fluttershy had done, perhaps I might even finally let Twilight know how I felt about her. After all, me and Fluttershy had been okay with each other revealing the sibling-like feelings we had for one another. How great would it be, to at last let her know, to hold her gently in my hooves and share in a love far stronger than friendship, to do anything for her…?

But…what if she didn’t feel the same?

Deciding not to linger on this more likely possibility, I returned my attention to the waking world when I saw we had arrived at the Carousel Boutique, which was also in a different location to where it was originally situated. How fitting we were now here for the pony who had been helping me with my romantic dealings, especially now I had just been considering them again.

When we entered, we found Rarity in the center of the store, lovingly polishing and crooning over the large boulder that I knew, thanks to Discord’s powers, she thought was an equivalently sized diamond of infinite beauty. What a state she had been put in thanks to him, that we had all been put in. Well, that was about to change.

“Sorry, we’re closed.” she said absently.

“That’s okay.” Twilight said, getting her attention. “We’re just here for one thing.” She motioned silently to us for positions to take up, which we swiftly complied to do.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Rarity only stood in front of the boulder when we had her surrounded and were closing in around her, cutting off any escape. Her eyes darted around us, standing before her boulder protectively. “Get away from my gem! Get away…”

She was cut off when Twilight performed her memory spell and I thought of the positive emotions I had for her, my cousin relationship with her, the way she had helped me in my attempted romance, teaching me to dance and the two of us having tea together, reminding me of all the best aspects of Canterlot with none of the bad ones.

The color puppet restored her fur to her shining white coat and uniquely styled purple mane, gasping as the feelings were poured into her mind. After it was done, she smiled her pleasant, sophisticated smile.

“Hello, girls, and to our gentlecolt friends too.” she added to me. “What is going on?” Frowning and then widening her eyes, she whipped around to face the rock. “By Celestia! This is embarrassing.”

She hurried behind the stone and started to push against it. Seeing what she was doing, I moved forward to help her, heaving the rock out of the door and leaving it outside where it belonged. She nodded in thanks to me and turned to the others.

“Let us never speak of this again.” she announced firmly. The others only smiled, just glad to have her back.

“Hold on…” I walked up to the boulder, examined the surface, knocked on it, and found a substantial crack in its surface. “Applejack, Dog, Shield, could you lend me a hoof please?”

“Sure thing.” She and the others walked over to where I indicated.

I positioned them at three points of the rock.

“When I say go, kick it as hard as you can. Ready?” I requested politely.

“And how!” Dog said.

“Okay. 1… 2… 3!”

With a loud crack, me, Shield, Applejack, and Dog kicked with our hooves with enough force to shatter it completely.

I looked at Rarity and nodded. “There, now we never speak of it again.”

“Quite so.” Rarity said, nodding her approval before glancing at my neck. “I say, what’s happening to your necklace?”

Looking down, I then looked down to see that now five of the stones had become filled with color: one of midnight blue, one of lilac, one of peach, one of cream yellow, and now one of purple. Though looking at the purple stone, I saw that it had small tints of white, a pattern of the two colors that match both my cousin’s mane, tail, and fur. Much like her, it was kind of a stone of… rarity. All the while, two of them were still pitch black, glowing dimly, like they were asleep and waiting to be woken up.

“It’s sort of a long story.” I told her. “Remember Fore Sight?”

“Your ancestor? Why, of course.” She said to me.

“Well, before he passed away, he went on a search for something.” I explained. “Turns out what he was looking for were these stones. Luna says that they can be able to help and I do believe she’s right.”

“Yeah, speaking of Luna, I’ve been meaning to ask ya.” Shield spoke up. “Where exactly did you get the stone she wanted us to find?”

“Actually it’s a bit hard to explain.” I said as I told them how I came across the seventh stone. “You see, after my encounter with Discord back at the castle, I had a little run-in with a Darkrai.”

“Darkrai?” Leon asked.

“It’s a Pokémon and get this: this Darkrai actually belongs to Luna.” I said, surprising them.

“She haves a Pokémon?” Shield said in disbelief.

“Yeah, and it wasn’t the only Pokémon I met.” I said as I continued. “It led me outside where I had a run-in with a Legendary Pokémon!”

“A Legendary?!” Shield, Dog, and Leon all said in shock.

“Pardon, darling, a what?” Rarity asked as she and the girls looked at me in confusion.

“What ya talkin’ about, sugar cube?” Applejack questioned me.

“A Legendary Pokémon is a sort of rare Pokémon with pretty unique powers, one that barely anypony has seen before and have been considered to be of myth and legend.” I answered them.

“Yeah, you should see the Legendaries we saw, they’re awesome!” Shield exclaimed.

I cleared my throat to allow me to continue. “Anyway, the Legendary I came across was Dialga, of which legends says that time began when this Pokémon was born. Darkrai brought me to it for Dialga had a task for me, one of which led to me possessing the blue stone you see now.”

“So what did it want ya to do?” Dog asked me.

“Well…” I then turned to Applejack. “Applejack, Dog told me that you saw something the last time you were at Castle of the Two Sisters, something that reminded you of my magic, correct?”

“Yes. It actually helped us find Twilight so we could help her.” she answered. “Why?”

“Well, actually what you saw back there was my magic.” I told her.

“Hold on, you were in Canterlot when that happened.” Leon pointed out. “You didn’t even know they were there! How could you get your magic there?”

“Well, the Dusk from back then wasn’t there,” I told him, “but I was.”

“What are you talking about?” Leon raised a brow as he and everypony else was confused.

“You see, Dialga has the ability to control time.” I explained. “It can even send anything or anypony through time, whether it’s the future or the past.”

“Wait,” Shield spoke up and I saw he was piecing it together, “are you saying that the Legendary actually…”

“Yeah, Shield. Dialga sent me to the past to help Applejack and the others reunite with Twilight!” All of them were shocked in awe from hearing this, even Twilight had a hard time taking it all in.

“So ya mean ya went back in time and helped the girls beat Nightmare Moon?” Dog asked, still surprised.

“In a way, yes.” I said as I finished my explanation. “And, when I returned to the present, I managed to get a little souvenir from the trip.”

“Which was the seventh stone.” Leon added in realization.

“So this whole time, right from the beginning. Dusk had been helping the girls.” Shield put in. “Who would have thought?”

“But… b-but…” Twilight said, no doubt having a bit of trouble taking all this in. “I need to lie down.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in and a bit crazy,” I said to her, “but that’s life with the Element Gang. Anyway, let’s leave this for after we beat Discord.”

“You’re right.” She said, pushing her questions about what I just said for later. “Let’s get back to work and find Pinkie!”

“Way ahead of you!”

I silently affirmed my order by creating a new puppet for the pink pony, but I was still thinking again about the significance of these stones. What exactly were they and how were they affecting my magic in such a way? How exactly did they fit together in defeating Discord? I also still wondered what each of them meant for me. Thinking back on it and remembering how each stone had the color of each of the girls, I was beginning to see them representing a light of which was a part of their Elements: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. It just made sense seeing how each one was lighting up for each of the girls I rescued. But if that so, then what about the one that represented my color? What was my light? I also wondered what would happen once all the stones gained their color. Would their true power finally be revealed and, if it does, what will happen?

My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed something slither into a bush. It was only there for a second and it was gone, so fast I wasn’t even sure if I saw it. I stared at the spot where it had been, at the bush it had supposedly gone into. I didn’t know exactly what it had been or if it had even been there, but something made me feel… uneasy about it. Would it be worth trying to investigate and put these fears to rest… or confirm them?

“Dusk? Are you all right, darling?” Rarity had stayed back to check up on me, looking where I was.

“It’s, um… nothing, just my imagination.” I finally said. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Rarity lingered for a moment, smiling warmly at me. “I’m relieved to see you recovered, Dusk.” Her eyes moved to Twilight, who was looking back with concern. “I don’t think I’m the only one.”

“Well… I would think all of my friends are glad to see me.” I mumbled, my cheeks growing hot.

“You know what I am talking about.” She only winked and gestured for me to take the lead.

I nodded and ran on ahead again, lowering my head to hide how red my cheeks had become.

No one’s view

Unknown to the group, a long, scaly neck rose from the bush, the creature watching them leave through red, fiery eyes. The creature is revealed to be Black Fang as he raises a stub tendril, a reminding wound left of how he had been between by Dusk. He hissed, gave an approximation of a smile, and slithered after them, a good few more of his kind following in his wake.

Author's Note

With learning a new spell, our heroes have now set out to reunite the Wielders. Will they be able to restore their harmony? Just what sort of power do the seven stones possess? The quest to restore the Mane 6 continues next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? The guys are making progress, huh? Though Dusk seems to have every piece of the puzzle but one: exactly how do the seven stones around his neck connect to all this and what it means for him. Hopefully he figures it out before those Paraserpents catch up to them. In the next chapter, Dusk and the gang are going after Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 15: Return of the Mane 6, Part 2

Despite a little bit of reassurance that now all would be well, for the most part anyway, and that Discord would be close to his defeat, I could tell Luna was still worried, for both the fate of Equestria and the pony that she considered to be her friend. She stood on her balcony, her legs and hooves rested on the railing, staring out at the chaotic Ponyville in the distance and pondering what Dusk was doing now, if he had recovered from what Discord had done to him… and what Diablo Nightfall had forced me to do.

Much like her, I too felt fear for the heartless, crueler version of Dusk along with an overwhelming pity and compassion for him. Luna understood that feeling for she and Dusk both now had to endure when our darker desires had gotten the better of us and something else had taken over. Luna could still remember from her own time as Nightmare Moon, her attempts to bring about eternal night, trying to seriously hurt Twilight Sparkle and her friends, all the bitterness and anger that had fueled her to do all of those things. At first, she thought nopony would understand what she had been through… until Dusk came along, that is.

Even I couldn’t help but sigh at the thought of young Dusk. He didn't deserve what had happened to him. Though I thought it would be the case, seeing it had been detailed in the ancient writings.

“Is everything alright?” I asked my dear Lunes as she looked to me.

“It is nothing.” She told me. “I just feel terrible for what has happened to Dusk. I interpret what been said all wrong and it fills me nothing with guilt. Dusk had now gone through all he had done and all that Nightfall had done. I’m afraid I may have made his life even more difficult as a result of it. He doesn’t deserve it.”

“It’s not your fault, Lunes.” I told her, trying to comfort her. “Anypony could have misinterpreted what had been said. Besides, I’m sure Dusk is fine. He’s just like his father, he doesn’t let something like that keep him from fulfilling his duty.”

“That might be true,” she said to me, “but I still worry for I should have gotten reports back from Tia along with her student.”

“Be patient, Luna. I’m sure that Dusk and Twilight are now on their way to using their magic to return their friends to normal and doing so with interference from Discord. He believes he’s won, so his focus will not be on them.”

“I hope you’re right, Dragonis.” She then pulled out the ancient scroll and began to unfold it. “Let us also hope that Fore Sight was indeed right in his writings.”

The very scroll she pulled out was the last prophecy left by Fore Sight the Uncanny, one many had come to reject and claim to just be something created by the prophet turned mad by Discord. I still remember what it said, word for word:

Heritor of night,
A son born soon,
With a sliver’s power,
Of the moon.
His greatest weapon being his mind,
And takes in stride,
Though, through discord,
Shows a dark side.
Against this evil,
Most unhallowed,
He is light, opposed,
To the madness shadowed.
Though, to keep at bay,
This darkness made,
The stars and their light,
Must come to his aid.
Though modesty forbids,
Great deeds, he did.
Guided by light,
Unlocks power once hid.
Gathers the seven,
Through the mists of time.
When chaos is at prime,
He enacts justice to its crime.
And when six,
Do cease their fight,
By his light,
They unite…

I didn’t want to remember the rest for the next part of the prophecy is much concerning, the very part of which even Luna was unsure of.

“Don’t worry.” I told her. “I’m sure Dusk will figure it out. He’s smart.”

“But what if Discord knows about Dusk and tries to stop him? If he does, he would do it himself or use some dark minions like the ones Tia and I destroyed during the Uprising.”

“And he and his friends will be able to handle it.” I then placed a claw on her shoulder in assurance. “Dusk has managed to pull himself out of the toughest situations Equestria has faced. I’m sure he’ll be able to pull out of this as well.”

“I just wish we could do something more to help.”

“Hoot!” Hearing that hoot, we looked to see a small, white Hoothoot rested on the railing near Luna.

“A Hoothoot?” I was confused by the sudden appearance of this pokemon.

“Apparently, it is a messenger.” Luna said as I looked to see a letter attached to its leg. It had a somewhat nervous disposition about it as it had now hidden its head behind its wing and refused to look at us. It was also shaking a little in its feathery body, absolutely terrified. “Is it… afraid of us?”

“No, I believe it is just shy.” I said with a smile, suspecting this owl could only belong to one pony in particular. “And I do believe I know who sent it.”

From there, Luna reached out gently and untied the letter. Smiling her thanks to the bird, she unfolded it and read what was written. Reading it with her, we were met by one surprise that made the hope within us grow even stronger as Lune then called out her sister who was busy sending back Twilight’s reports on friendship.

“What’s this, Luna?” Celestia asked. “I still need to send the rest of Twilight’s reports.”

“I do not think that will be necessary, listen.” Luna proceeded to read aloud.

Dear Princesses Luna and Celestia

To the eldest of you, Twilight and I have received your reports and their intended purpose has been fulfilled. You can stop sending them now. I don’t think Spike can take much more of the effort required and deserves a rest. Thank you for reminding us of the true worth of friendship and reminding us of who we are.

And to Luna and Dragonis, my friends… you’ve helped me more than I could have ever thought possible. You probably know the origin of Diablo Nightfall by now. All I can say is thank you, from the deepest recesses of my heart, thank you so much for helping me get back to the light and I am so sorry for what I… he did to you. I only hope you can forgive me, for the pain I caused you is nothing compared to the guilt I feel for failing in my duty to prevent it.

Any other help you can give would be appreciated because I have a feeling the worse is about to begin. You’ve both done so much for your subjects and have already fought this battle once before. Still, it never hurts to have a little more help.

Your loyal subject,

Dusk Noir.

“I already have.” Luna whispered, rolling up the scroll and turning to me and her sister. “We’ve done it then.”

“We have.” I said to her, returning the smile. “It seems as though our efforts have managed to help our young friends and now they are on the right path that will lead to their victory over Discord.”

“Yes, but our task isn’t yet completed.” Celestia said, staring out at Ponyville.

“What do you mean?” Luna asked as we both looked at her with confusion.

“It means that I think we have been playing too passive a role in this battle.” She looked down at us and shared a knowing smile. “I think it’s time we take a more active stance, don’t you?”

“You took the words right out of my mouth, dear sister.” the younger replied, getting ready to fly. “But I think it would be prudent to get some additional force.”

“Indeed. I believe that it would be the appropriate action.” I added/

“So do I.” Celestia joined us at the edge of the balcony, raising her wings. “Come then. It’s time to take the fight to Discord!"

With that, the Royal Pony Sisters and I leaped from their castle, spread our majestic wings and took to the skies, ready to finish this once and for all.

Twilight’s view

After arriving at Sugarcube Corner, I performed the memory spell I had learned once again on a restrained Pinkie Pie brought by Leon and Dog, letting her remember all of the times she had made me laugh, both with our friends and every other pony in town, reminding her of the irrepressible ball of happiness that she was and not the cynical, grumpy mare Discord had forced her to become.

Dusk was performing his own similar spell, his eyes closed as he created a color puppet in her image that, when complete, dissolved into her, gave her the other pieces of memories of our friendship, and restored her fur color to normal at the same time that my own magic took effect. In a way, we were taking two halves of the spell. I focused more on the memory, while Dusk channeled the emotions of said memories, somehow, through his own unique magic. I knew this because I had felt it when it had reawakened the magic within me after Discord had extinguished it.

I had never felt anything more wonderful, more beautiful, in my whole life as in that moment when Dusk had performed that spell on me. All of those positive emotions pouring into me, the happiness, the joy, the wonder he had shared whenever he had been with me and everything that I had made him feel by just being his friend. There had been something else, a feeling that I shared and that had been growing stronger since Dusk had returned. That had shone as brightly as the sun and was enough to make me cry just thinking about it.

But, despite the joy he no doubt felt from his return to us, I couldn’t help but notice something else about me too. In little moments, there were times Dusk would look guilty, distraught almost from some unknown, secret fault of his. It was even more obvious when she looked into my eyes and saw it, burning in there like a fire. Dusk would always look away from me when I did this, but it was there, even though he tried to hide it. It was then that I knew he had felt guilt from his time as Diablo Nightfall. Even though it wasn’t his fault, Dusk has been taking fault for what the Kishin had done. And, seeing how Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity barely have any memory of who Diablo was and how he related to Dusk, I had to guess he also felt guilty for not telling them the origins of that monster.

After we’re done with this, I’ll need to have a talk with him about how we will tell the girls and show how they will forgive Dusk as it wasn’t his fault. For right now, we had work to do. After Leon and Dog got off her, Pinkie was already back on her hooves, bouncing away and hugging everypony tightly.

“I’m back! I’m back! I’m back!” she chanted, embracing me. “I mean, I was all grumpy and misery and sad, but now I’m all happy and bouncy and jumpy and I just love it so much I just wanna throw a party for it! No, wait! Several parties, all at the same time, with different hats and cakes! That would be absolutely positutely funeriffic and it would all be just ʹcause I’m so happy to be back to my old Pinkie-dinkie-twinkee self!”

“I’m glad to have you back too, Pinkie.” I sincerely said. “It wasn’t the same without you.”

“Aw! Thanks, Twilight. That’s sweet.” She gave me a perky smile and whipped around to hug Dusk. “And you! I knew it! I knew you were psychic, I just knew it!” she insisted. “I could feel you inside my head and putting all that lovely bubbly stuff in there with Twilight, like you were putting cupcakes and everything sweet right into my brain! Hey, maybe you’re both psychic! That would be amazing! Then you’d be the cutest couple ever for sure!”

I felt my cheeks flush at the mention of that and suddenly became very interested in my hooves, not making eye contact with anypony. Why did she have to bring that up? Was it really that obvious? Not that it was meant to be, I still thought it was a silly idea anyway. Of course, it was. Yet, somehow… I rather liked the sound of that more than before. I didn’t know why, but it just sounded… good.

I sounded rather embarrassed as well, mumbling in my quiet voice.

“Um, er… we’re not a couple, Pinkie, but… I’m happy you’re back.” Dusk added, trying to pull the subject away from that territory.

“I’m happy you’re back too! I mean, I remember you being gone and I was so sad now looking back on it, especially since I said such a mean thing about you. But now you’re back and I’m just over the moon, stars, and universe about it! In fact, I’m so happy you're back, you get a second hug and this complimentary cupcake!” She hugged him again and placed the sugary sweet in his claw, beaming at him.

Dusk stared at her for a few moments, then just laughed it off. “Thank you, Pinkie. It’s much appreciated.”

“Come on, we’d better get going,” I prompted after I finished giggling.

“Just a sec, Twilight! I wanna have a talk with Dusky, won’t take a moment.” she assured. “That is, if Dusky don’t mind?”

“Um… not at all.” Dusk said, unsurely. “Twilight?”

“Well… if you have to, but don’t take long.” she said firmly. “We still need to find Rainbow Dash and stop Discord.”

“Great! We’ll talk in here, won’t be long.” She pushed Dusk into a side room, beamed at us again, and shut the door behind her.

I stared at the door, then around at my friends, who of whom looked just as confused as I was. What did Pinkie need to talk to Dusk about that was so important? And why did she feel the need to talk to him about it away from the rest of us? Was it something to do with what she had said about me and him? At first, I was willing to respect her wishes, but it became harder and harder to keep myself from listening.

In the end, my curiosity got the better and I sneaked over to the door and pressed my ear against it. I had to know what they were talking about. I caught the end of a sentence that Dusk was saying, in a worried voice.

“…you know, about my… brother?” Dusk was asking Pinkie.

“You mean that big old meanie you turned into after Discord put something in you that made you go bananas until you remembered about all of us, managed to get rid of it, and go back to being you?”

“Yeah, that’s him.” Dusk sounded surprised. “But… how could you know about that?”

“I saw bits of it when you were doing your spell. A bridge formed can be crossed in either direction.” A moment of silence following this unexpected pearl of wisdom. “I saw that in there too. Your noggin’s full of clever stuff like that.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.” I muttered. “What…else did you see?”

“Eh, nothing I’ll say to anypony else, but this thing got me worried about you.” Her voice was now sympathetic, concerned. “You wanna talk about it? I know it’s hard for you.”

“That doesn’t even say the half of it.”

“I know. But I just want you to know, Dusk, I don’t blame you.” she said gently.

“How can you say that?” Dusk responded bitterly. “How can you in all honesty even say that?”

“ʹCause it wasn’t your fault, that’s why. It’s all because of that yucky stuff that got in you. Just think of it as an accident, like the ones you did before and you got all sad about. Remember that, by the lake?”

“Except that it wasn’t an accident!” he shouted back. “Nightfall got out and he hurt you, caused untold damage and suffering, and it was all my fault! I was supposed to keep him locked away, keep you all safe, but I didn’t! I failed, Pinkie. Don’t you see that? I failed…” Dusk was silent again, myself straining my ears to listen. “But do you know what the worst part is?”

“What?”

“It was my body he used, my abilities, my emotions, and I can remember every bit of it. I see it, every time I see you or Twilight or any of the girls and guys. All I can see, all I can think about, is the pain that I caused them, hear their screams, their cries, and their begging for mercy and that’s just you girls. There’s so much more he’s done, all because of me, and I have to witness that every single time and I can do nothing about it. Nothing!”

Dusk’s voice trailed off and I, feeling my heart wrench, could hear him sobbing, muttering over and over again how it was all his fault and how he could do nothing. It was enough to bring tears to my own eyes, which I wiped away as they trickled down my cheek. It was all so clear now, why he now looked so much more guilty and forlorn than before. Even though I forgave him, he was still afraid of what the others would think once they found out. I remembered what he said, as how he thought of us as a family, and knew exactly what he was afraid of: losing his family.

Looking back, I saw the others were all watching me with inquisitive looks as I listened at the door.

“What’s goin’ on in there?” Applejack whispered. “Twi, you okay?”

“I’m… I’m not sure.” I mumbled, gesturing her to be quiet. “Hold on, I’m getting more.”

I heard hooves approaching Dusk and Pinkie’s sympathetic voice again.

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay.” she whispered. “I know it’s hard, but believe me, it’s not your fault. Even if he brings raining chocolate which is yummy and tasty, it’s all that meanie Discord’s fault, not yours.”

“But I…” She shushed Dusk, cutting him off.

“Listen to your aunt Pinkie, Dusky.” she said. "I did some mean things too. I can remember all the grumpy stuff that I did and said when he did that to me. But I know that he’s the one to blame, not me, and I know that, because of what he’s done to you, to me, our home, and our friends, he’s soon gonna see the bad side of Pinkimina Dianne Pie and believe me, you gotta do something pretty bad to see the bad side of me!”

Dusk was quite for a moment, no doubt considering this. “I’m not sure I believe you entirely, I don’t know if I can yet… but I agree with you on one thing: Discord does need to be stopped and we all need to do it together.”

“That’s the spirit!” She heard her hug me again. “We can talk more about this later, okay?”

“Yes… thanks, Pinkie. Just… don’t tell the others yet.” He told her. “You can talk to Twilight and the guys, but not the rest of the girls. They have a few memory gaps with Diablo and don’t know the whole truth about him. I don’t… want them to know yet.”

“No problem, I won’t. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” she Pinkie promised sincerely. “Come on, we better get going.”

“Right, you are.” He agreed. I then backed hurriedly away from the door as it opened.

Pinkie bounced out happily, followed by Dusk. “Oh, and one more thing. Eat up that cupcake, I promise that once you’re done, you’ll feel loads better.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.” he said, taking a bite out of it before Leon spoke up.

“Hey, Dusk! Look down.” Looking to where he was pointed we saw that most of the stones around Dusk’s neck had now received color, the newest one being the same pink as the mare we just saved.

“Looks like we’re almost done.” He said before he looked to me. “So, shall we get going?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” I agreed. “Come on! Let’s go, everypony! Only one more to go.”

“Great! Hey, now I think about it, there’s so many things you can laugh about from all this. I mean, I was bouncing up and down and up and down in the library before, which was weird, but funny, just bouncing going boing, boing, boing! I love making that noise, it’s so much fun! And I mean, what’s not fun about a noise like that? And then there was when I…”

Pinkie bounced out of her house laughing and talking all the way followed by the rest of us as Dusk created a puppet of the Pegasus pony we were looking for.

As we set off at a slower pace than before, for Pinkie had started laughing and rolling around so much about all that was happening, even about her fur being gray, Applejack had to move her around in a nearby cart, I turned my attention to Dusk, munching away on his cupcake and perking up a little bit at the end of every bite, though still with something of a guilty demeanor.

So, while Discord had changed the others with his magic, he had done something truly cruel and horrible to him. He had actually created a darker side for Dusk, what that had taken over my mind and body completely. That was why Diablo had said Dusk was as good as dead, because he had been left in that part of his mind. Remembering all the things Diablo had done to us, I could understand completely why Dusk looked and felt so guilty around us now. He blamed himself for all Diablo had done…and that just wasn’t fair.

I wanted nothing more than to hold him in my arms, to tell him that it was fine and everything was going to be all right and how I thought he was the most special pony I’d ever met and I could never, ever blame him for what he did… Wait, what? Where that came from? I thought with a blush. Still, we had a task to focus on now, which both he and I knew and had to remain focused on.

Later though. I vowed, I’ll talk to him. He certainly needs it.

We reached Rainbow’s house on the outskirts of town, Fluttershy flying up with Shield on her back and they went peeking through the windows to try and find her. Pinkie had, at this point, calmed down and was capable of walking again, while Dusk, in accordance to Pinkie’s promise, looked a little better after eating that cake, watching his Rainbow puppet which he hadn’t yet cut off. I gave him a reassuring smile while we waited, which he gladly returned.

“She’s not here.” Fluttershy reported, flying back down.

This got me worried. “Without Rainbow Dash, we can’t use the Elements.”

“She could be anywhere by now!” Applejack despaired. “We’re never gonna find her.”

“Excuse me!” Dusk said. “Apologies for sounding rude, but I wasn’t done tracking her yet and, if you would look to that cloud, you’ll find our cyan Pegasus. Or gray, rather at this moment.”

I looked where the puppet had stopped and was now fading now its work was completed to see the daredevil, laid back and relaxing on a cloud without a care in the world, just as gray as the girls and I had been previously.

“Hey! I spotted her there too!” Pinkie tapped her head and pointed at Dusk. “See? We’re the real thinkers of the group.”

I decided not to respond to this and called up to Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash!”

“Hey, guys!” she responded, not even looking up.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Twilight informed.

“That’s nice.” she said nonchalantly.

“Discord’s still on the loose!” I pressed on, trying to get a better response. “We need you to help us defeat him with your Element, Loyalty!”

Now she looked up, making a dismissive noise. “Loyalty, schmoyalty! Have you guys seen Ponyville? It’s a disaster! I’m staying here in Cloudsdale where everything’s awesome.”

“How in Equestria can she think that tiny patch of cloud is Cloudsdale?” Rarity asked.

“Don’t,” Dusk said to Dog as he leaned over, no doubt to mention Rarity’s incident, “unless you want to end up getting a wind blast from her.”

Dog then gained a look of shock before he said “Good point.”

Dusk then went on to talk to his cousin. “It’s an extent of Discord’s powers and manipulation. He can use his magic to create hallucinations in the recipient to bend them to his will if need be.”

“Ah, I see.” Rarity nodded with a look that said she hoped nothing would be mentioned. “So he’s done that to Rainbow then?”

“It would seem so.” He confirmed.

“There’s no way she’s gonna work with us.” Shield spoke up. “Thanks to Discord, she haves no loyalty to anypony.”

“Well, at least she managed to dodge Diablo.” Leon put in, causing Dusk to divert his gaze to the ground and making me well up with pity for him again.

“Time for Plan B!” I said, deciding to move the subject away from that before anypony broached further. “Pinkie, do you still have your balloon?”

“Yes, indeedy, super seedy!” Pinkie affirmed.

“Applejack, Dog, you have your lassos?”

“Sure thing.” Applejack nodded.

“Right, here’s what we do…”

Dusk’s view

After Twilight told us her plane, we got ourselves ready as the hot air balloon floated gently upwards into the sky with the others in the basket as I flew up myself. We knew we had to get Rainbow Dash restored to normal, so we could stop Discord and save Equestria. Though we needed to be quiet for she was asleep and we couldn’t miss this chance to pin her down so Twilight and I could perform the memory spells.

I looked down at the sleeping Pegasus as she rested on her cloud. She was the only one I hadn’t done anything to when I had been my darker self for that brief period. No doubt however she would be just as angry with me as the other mares would be once I told them all about what I had done. While I had talked to Pinkie about it, thanks to her uncanny way of finding out about these things, and Twilight already forgave me, I still had to talk to my cousin, my sister, and my cowpony friend about it afterwards as they no doubt would want to. Then what would happen? What would they do? I didn’t want to leave them again, it had been too hard the first time…

Focus on the now, Dusk. I told myself mentally. Discord had to be stopped. Worry about what comes after when it comes.

We were in position above her, while she was completely unaware of our presence. We just had to keep the element of surprise until the right moment.

“Okay, Fluttershy, you grab Rainbow Dash and hold her down. Applejack will lower me down from these ropes so Dusk and I can cast our memory spells on her.” Twilight recapped of her plan.

“Got it!” Fluttershy saluted.

With a ferocity I rarely saw from her, Fluttershy sped towards Rainbow Dash while she slept. But, just as she reached her, she stopped and tapped her lightly on her flank, enough to wake her up. She wasn’t going to do what I thought she was, was she?

“Um… I’m just wondering if it’s okay if I hold you down against your will for a little bit.” She was. Despite my affection for her, I couldn’t help but groan in annoyance.

“There goes the element of surprise.” Shield spoke up in annoyance

“Nice try! Ponyville’s your problem, not mine.” Hopping back onto her cloud, Rainbow Dash sped off in the blink of an eye, take a trick from Shield’s playbook.

Improvising quickly, I used my metal bending to turn my claw into a mechanical claw cannon and got a grip on Rainbow’s tail.

“Nice work, Dusk! You got her!” Leon exclaimed.

“Now reel her in before she gets too far.” Dog added.

I did so and it looked like I was doing it, but—when I reached half-length of the line—I was starting to be pulled by her.

“What’s going on, Dusk? Reel her in!” Shield said to me.

I tried to, but it seemed she was stronger than me and I soon came to a realization with an “Uh-oh.”

“What?” Leon asked me with an arc brow.

“Looks like I haven’t… fully recovered from… facing Diablo.” I said with worry, struggling to keep pull back against Rainbow. “While I can use some of my powers that involve changing parts of my body, apparently my physical and performance attributes have been decreased drastically.”

“What does that mean?” Leon questioned.

“It means that… powers like my… super strength have… gotten weaker!” I told him, still fighting against the resisting pegasus. “Much like how the line I’m using isn’t doing much of anything, I’m afraid I won’t be able to reel in Rain—BOOOOOW!” Just like that, I was dragged behind at high speed as Rainbow started pulling me through the sky.

Looking back, I could hear the girls and guys get ready to go after me as Twilight grabbed and lowered a length of rope down in front of Fluttershy.

“Come on, Fluttershy! We’ve got to catch her!” Getting the message, she grabbed the rope in her mouth and began to pull the balloon along like a dog pulling a sleigh.

I felt fear as I was dragged through the sky by Rainbow, grabbing my hat to stop it from flying off as the others sped after her. I hoped they could catch up to her. Even with our weight dragging her down, she was still far lighter, faster, and more maneuverable in the air than that cumbersome balloon. But we had to try, for if we couldn’t, Equestria would be under Discord’s rule forever.

Fortunately, it was Rainbow’s cocky attitude that gave them an edge. No doubt in a bid to confuse them or to show off, she whirled around, sped back towards them, and whizzed past the balloon, flying this way and that to throw them off. Even though she was no longer as loyal as she was, I had to admit she was still a good flyer. Though the spinning was making me nauseous, I even started turning green. While it made her difficult to keep track of, it also brought her close enough to the others to use the fallback plan.

“Applejack!” Dog called, grabbing a length of rope.

Because Twilight was busy at the reigns, Dog grabbed another rope and tossed it up to her. She caught it and spun it around her head while Rainbow Dash flew right next to her, a foolish mistake. Applejack’s aim was dead on, wrapping around her waist and fixing tightly around her. Smiling at our small victory, I turned to see if the rope was secure only to discover, too late, that it was around the legs of Pinkie and Rarity.

“Look out!” I shouted, but both Rarity and Pinkie were pulled out of the basket, screaming all the while.

“PINKIE! You were supposed to secure the rope!”Rarity screamed.

“Oops.” was all she could say with an embarrassed smile.

I was worried of them being but in danger, but I felt relief when I noticed that their added combined weight to mine had pulled Rainbow off her cloud and we were even reducing her speed due to the added body mass. As long as the rope held, they’d be fine. We’d just have to catch Rainbow all the more quickly now.

“Rarity, Pinkie, hold on! Y’all are slowing her down!” Applejack observed from atop the balloon.

“Oh, Fluttershy, would you be a dear and fly faster, please?” Rarity called.

Fluttershy, however, was at her limit. I could make out the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t!”

“Come on, Little Sister! I know you can do it!” I called out to her.

“Yeah, don’t give up, Flutters!” Leon spoke up.

“If you can’t catch her, Discord wins!” Twilight added.

“That big… dumb… MEANIE!” That last word was accompanied by a sudden burst of speed I would never have expected from her.

“This is the last one, Applejack!” Dog shouted, tossing her the last rope.

“Don’t let us down!” Shield then remembered Rarity and Pinkie. “Oops… poor choice of words.”

As Applejack prepared her last lasso, I looked out at Rainbow, still speeding away from them as fast as she could. We still needed something else that would slow her down and make her an easier target, but what? What could we use? Remembering what I accidentally did to her on our first meeting, I realized there was one last thing I could do.

“Sorry to do this to you, Dashie. Guys, cover your eyes!” I muttered and they did so as I tapped into my magic and formed a large orb directly in front of her.

“What the—AGH!” The bright light was enough to blind her and make her stop flying.

At the same time, Applejack threw her last rope and made the target. She’d done it! With this rope now fully secured and with Rainbow still struggling blindly and rubbing her eyes, Fluttershy slowed down and lowered us gently back to the ground. I let go of her tail when we reached the floor, glad that was over and also to check up on Fluttershy, who looked exhausted, but proud as well.

“Fluttershy, that was brilliant!” She accepted my hug weakly. “I knew you could do it, I just knew it!”

“Thanks…” she panted. “You were great too, that orb really helped to slow her down and you tossed the ropes to Applejack to stop her. You did wonderfully.”

“Yeah, way to go, Dusk!”

“Yeah, well… Fluttershy was the one pulling.” I mumbled.

“Now don’t go bein’ modest, sugar cube.” Applejack called, still firmly holding on to the ropes.

“Yeah, y’all were a big help and we know it.” Dog added. “Just give us a word of warnin’ next time ya do one of them orbs, okay? Ya nearly threw AJ’s aim off.”

“Right… sorry.” I replied quietly.

“No sweat, we got her now.” Applejack struggled a little when Rainbow tried furiously to take off again. “Now, how 'bout givin’ me a hoof here? This one’s almost too wily, even for me.”

Organizing ourselves quickly, we were positioned so each of the girls and the guys were holding on to a rope to reduce Rainbow’s struggling as much as possible, having her in a state where she couldn’t fly (as her wings were tied down) or run (because her rear legs were in the sky), or fight back (because of the distance between her and her “wranglers” as Applejack had called them). That left only me and Twilight to do our magic.

“Let me go!” Rainbow ordered, still resisting us. “I don’t need you guys! Leave me alone!”

She was snorting angrily when Twilight lowered her head and I was weaving her shape, remembering how much admiration I had for her for committing to be the best that she could be, her dedication to fulfill her dream, but also her ability to just be laid back and cool, knowing exactly the best way to carry herself and look and sound like one of the best, as I knew she was and one day would be the best member the Wonderbolts ever had.

I beamed, Rainbow’s cyan coat returning along with her signature mane, though she had a slight headache from the effort.

“Wha… what happened?” she asked, groggily. Then she gasped at sudden remembrance. “How’s Ponyville? Where are the Elements? Did we stop Discord?”

The last question she actually tackled Applejack to the ground. Overwhelmed with affection and relief, we all rounded on Rainbow for a group hug around her, though she looked confused as to the purpose of it. It was almost a perfect moment… until three buffalo wearing tutus and ballet vests pirouetted past, reminding us of our duty.

“Maybe it’s a little early for a group hug.” Twilight remarked.

“But not entirely unfounded.” I added, renewed with spirit.

“And I think we now know what this means.” Shield spoke up as we broke the hug.

With that, I then looked down to see Rainbow’s stone was now lit up around my neck, glowing like the others.

“Yes! We did it!” I exclaimed, now knowing we had a chance to beat Discord. “All seven stones are now to full strength!”

“But if that’s the case, shouldn’t something have happened by now?” Leon asked, making a good point.

“Yeah, you’re right.” I was a little confused for all the stones seemed to be doing is glowing. Pushing the questions about it aside, I then decided to go back to the task at hoof. “My guess would be that we’ll find out what they’ll do when we confront Discord. With that said, now we just need the Elements and we know exactly where those are.”

“To the Bat Ca… uh, library!” Pinkie declared, galloping away as we sped off back towards town.

Despite being a firm believer in faith and the impossible, I still couldn’t believe we were actually about to pull this off. Against all the odds, all of the trials, tribulation, and turmoil that had been placed before us, we had almost come out on top. My darker side was defeated and gone, our friends were restored to normal, and all we needed to do now was get the Elements, return Discord to stone, and save Equestria.

Author's Note

Now with the Mane 6 restored and reunited along with the seven stones gaining their power, our heroes now race off to gather the Elements of Harmony and prepare to defeat Discord once and for all. But still many questions remain. Will they be able to defeat the Lord of Chaos? Just what is the mysterious prophecy that both Luna and Dragonis have such great hopes for and how is Dusk connected to it? The preparations for battle begin next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? This is pretty great, huh? Now Dusk has brought the Mane 6 back together and now all seven stones are now shining with power. Let’s just hope Dusk figures out how to use them in time to beat Discord. In the next chapter, Dusk and the gang get ready to confront Discord, but, to get to him, they’re first gonna need to get through Black Fang and the army of Paraserpents. Luckily, they’re gonna get some extra help. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 16: Battle Ready

After just finished watching a ballet performance from some of his dancing buffalo, I noticed a large gathering of my Paraserpent minions on the other side of town. My curiosity and anticipation piqued, I had sped off to investigate and was very pleased at what I saw when I arrived. The Wielders of the Elements along with the elemental quartet were being completely surrounded by my army, standing ready to fight, while they stood ready to eat.

As such, I was overjoyed at the sight of it. Not only would it allow me to see if the Paraserpents I had now bred were an improvement especially with my survivor Black Fang leading them, but it would also completely eliminate the Elements of Harmony for good this time and leave what is left of the Element Gang powerless against me. I was a little concerned that the girls no longer appeared under the influence of my magic, but that didn’t matter. I had just proven that chaos could beat friendship and that certainly wasn’t going to change after Black Fang and the others were done with them.

My eyes sought out Dusk, where he seemed to be trying to look brave, but just came off as scared out of his wits. It truly was a shame about Diablo, but I would manage nicely enough without him. I noticed that the stones around his neck appeared to be glowing more brightly, all of them in an odd yet unique color. So it looked like Fore Sight wasn’t entirely wrong then and once again I considered the possibility if Dusk found out what he really was…

But what were the chances of that? I’d already won and established my new chaos capital in Ponyville, this just being a last vestige of resistance that—once crushed—would show all others that fighting against me was nothing more than a foolish and dangerous waste of time. At least it would be entertaining to watch.

Getting a good spot in the sky, I conjured up a couch, some popcorn, a soda, and a large foam finger with a number banana inscribed on it, settling down to see how this would unfold.

Dusk’s view

“Well, this is just great.” Leon said in annoyance and worry as we were corned to the center of a surrounding black mass of serpents. “We finally get the girls back and get your necklace ready for action and we get cut by a bunch of Paraserpents on their way to the only things that can help us!”

My eyes traveled over the Paraserpents as they slithered and coiled around us to cut off any routes of escape. If I had been scared before, now I was absolutely terrified. I could feel the eyes of every single one of them boring into me, cutting right through me to expose my fear, bring it right to the surface, and paralyze me so that I would be a prime target for their sharp fangs and ravenous hunger.

“Watch for their fangs.” I warned everypony. “They’re full of Black Blood.”

“Black what-now?” Applejack questioned.

“Black Blood.” Twilight spoke up, explaining to her. “It’s the kind of blood that comes from a Kishin, the kind of creature as Diablo Nightfall.”

“And these guys poison ponies with it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“They do, but it’s worse than any poison that can be dished out.” I told her. “One bite from any of them, you’ll be driven to insanity, more than the influence Discord had shown.”

“So don’t get bit, got it.” Rainbow said.

“What do we do?” Dog said as the monsters stood between us and retrieving the Elements. “These things are blockin’ our way to the library.”

“I’m thinking.” I said as I tried to figure out what to do. “I’ve never so many of them. Might be difficult fighting them in such close quarters.”

“Hey, is it just me or do these guys look different?” Shield put in as I paid attention to the appearance and behavior of these Paraserpents. “Don’t look as different as those last three, still.”

“Yeah, it’s not just you.” I told him. “They’re definitely different. They seem… fresher, sharper… unlike Black Fang who had been hindered by a thousand years of exile.”

“Well, whatever we are, we can’t let them stop us.” Twilight stated. “We need to get to the Elements! Scatter!”

My arms and legs hurried to comply, scrabbling away as fast as I could away from the jaws that snapped at the spot where I had been standing seconds before. I could hear it, slithering and hissing behind me, but I didn’t stop to look back, running for dear life down a nearby alleyway that would take me away from the main bulk of the horde if I followed it. The passage was too small for the beat to follow through, which snapped at me again as I ran, the jaws whizzing past my head.

I turned and saw the beast raise its head to strike again when a blast of purple magic struck it at the nape of the skull. Its eyes glazed over and it toppled forward, crashing to the floor. I looked past it to a house and saw Twilight standing atop it, her horn glowing and her eyes urging me to run as fast as I could. I nodded in thanks to her, giving her an encouraging smile from courage I felt and set off again, pumping my arms and legs like pistons.

I had to stay safe, for her. And I would do anything for her.

As I scrambled out of the alley, I began using my powers as I entered a battle against a few Paraserpents, glaring at them with Fire Dragon eyes. With the use of my metalbending, sharp claws, fire breath, and what was left of my super strength and super speed combined with all my knowledge of combat, I was able to handle my own. Although I wouldn’t be able to keep it up, especially since I couldn’t use my magic to create at least one shield. With so many of them, I would need to find a way out of this swarm and get everypony else out of here too. I was just hoping they were able to keep their own through all this. As if on cue…

“Get back! Back, you fiend!” I heard a well-spoken voice order.

When I looked, I saw my cousin Rarity nearby, backing away from a leering Paraserpent, placing herself between it and a terrified Fluttershy who had her eyes wide and her body crouched low in utter terror as Leon shielded her. The serpent lunged, but Rarity jumped, raised her rear hooves, and kicked it square in the face, knocking it away with a blast of wind supporting the kick. As this one fell back, three more came to take its place, surrounding them with Rarity raising her hooves in preparation for an attack, trying to keep her eyes on all of her foes.

Hearing a battle cry, I watched as Leon charged in, making the trio turn their heads to him before they bared their fangs and slithered to meet him. Rarity, taking advantage of their turned backs, jumped up again and used an air blast to smack two Paraserpent hard around the back of the head, knocking them to the floor in a daze. Leon managed to blast one way with a stream of water. Gathering around Fluttershy, the two then began working together in protecting her.

Two more came at them and, after managing to defeat the ones attacking me, my mind slowed the world to analyze their attacks. Hard scales surrounding the body, giving tough armor to protect them. Mouths were open to expose their Black Blood-filled fangs and allow them to attack, leaving a possible weakness for the softer insides, but that might be too risky. Snakes could dislocate their jaws to allow them to swallow their food, so maybe the joints were weakest in that area if one were to strike them with enough force.

I spotted a nearby rock, grabbed it, and sent it whirling at the jaw of one of them, hoping their anatomy would be roughly the same as a snake. It hit the jaw joints with a loud crack, making it rear back and hiss in anger. The second, I struck with my fist, managing to some damage by using my metalbending on my claw to cover it and negate the resulting opposite force. The force from my attack was enough to make this one halt as it was sent reeling back into its fellow, making them both sprawl to the ground in a heap. Before they did anything else, Rarity and Fluttershy galloped over to me and gave those snake a couple of hard kicks to the head, putting them into a daze.

“Dusk, excellent timing.” she remarked as I canceled my metalbending.

“Boy, I’ll say.” Leon said as he came over. “Thanks for the assist.”

“Thanks for protecting my little sis.” I said to him in return before speaking to the pegasus who seemed a lot more relieved now. “Are you okay?”

“N-n-no.” she stammered. “But… I’m better now I’m with you three.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t let them lay a single fang on you.” Leon said, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, though we need to get moving.” I said. “Those three will recover soon and it won’t take long for more to arrive once they know where we are.”

“An apt suggestion.” Rarity nodded in agreement. “Any ideas as to where?”

I took a quick look around our general area and spotted a hill not too far away from where we were standing, high enough to give us a good defensible point.

“Come on, up to higher ground!” I said, pointing to it. “We’ll gain at least some kind of advantage.”

The three stayed close to me and we started to gallop in the direction of the hill, traversing through the streets of Ponyville, the sounds of more slithering reaching our ears as we picked up some more followers. It wouldn’t be good to turn and engage them for that would just delay us and allow more time for further Paraserpents to arrive. We just had to hope we were fast enough to stay ahead of them before they reached the hill.

I started to consider our combat capabilities from the four of us. I knew most about the Paraserpents and I knew that I could put my mind to quick work on the field, finding exploitable weaknesses and things that would give us an advantage. Rarity, despite her ladylike stature, had proven that she possessed strength and resolve enough to hold her own against them. Leon was quick to strike and had long-ranged elemental abilities. Perhaps there would be some way to combine our individual strengths to give us an added edge. Fluttershy in contrast looked like she wasn’t going to be doing much fighting as she was too timid to even raise a fist. Me, Leon, and Rarity would just have to make sure she didn’t get hurt.

We’d just reached the foot of the hill when two more of the monsters slithered out and cut us off. The individuals who had been following us had now caught up, totaling their numbers to five, enough to surround us and prevent us from running away. Now we had no choice, we would have to stand our ground and fight. I may not be physically able as much as I used to before Diablo, but I would at least have some backup with Rarity and Leon by my side.

Glancing back at Rarity, I noticed her smirk before I heard the sound of her magic being used and turned to have a quick look at what she was doing. Using her skills as a fashion debutante, she levitated the canopies of some nearby apple carts up to the three of the monster’s heads, whirled them around and, in a flash of light, had caught their heads in large, red and white sacks, effectively blinding them and preventing a clear attack. Leon then got out his cannon and took aim to finish them off, allowing me to return my attention to my own foes.

Lucky I did or I wouldn't have seen one lunge directly at me. I quickly ducked under the attack, noticing I was underneath his jaw, and snapped a fist upwards. I didn’t put enough strength into the punch, however, and it just ended up making it angry, pulling back, and hissing with displeasure. The other glanced at me, smiled maliciously at me and started to encircle me, fangs glinting and eyes shining.

“Issssss that the bessssst you can do, Dusssssk?” it asked mockingly, a tone I recognized.

“Black Fang!” I said to it, giving it a good glare. “See Discord gave you some backup.”

“Oh, them? They’re jussssst a new batch that my masssster put me in charge of. By the way, how’sssss your neck?

Ignoring that comment, I tried to keep my eyes on both Paraserpents at once in case one should decide to strike, the world slowing as my mind started to analyze the situation. How was I going to take both of them on at once? What was left of my super-strength wasn’t enough to take them down at their weak point or get them much into submission. I was too weak for that and they had armored scales protecting them. There had to be something else I could use. I thought desperately, straitening my hat again…

Hold on, my hat combined with something else… I remembered seeing Twilight use a softness/hardness spell in one of her study sessions to make a pillow as hard as a rock. It was a relatively simple spell and I remembered the theory of how to perform it. If I could just pull it off… it was worth a try.

I took my hat off, casting the spell at the same time so that the hat was briefly consumed by a flash of light, the Paraserpents coiling closer towards me.

“Here, hold this!” At the same time as I shouted, I threw my hat, hearing it whizz towards my first target.

I actually laughed as I heard a loud smack as the hat, spinning like discuss, struck the new Paraserpent in the head. The trilby then ricocheted off it to Black Fang, striking it on the back of the head and making it fall forward, eyes unfocused and a lump forming slowly on its head. The new one had barely recovered before it hit him again and sent him to the ground on top of Black Fang, both of them dazed and knocked out.

Satisfied with my work, I levitated my headwear back and placed it back on, removing the spell and returning it to its normal state, nodding in approval and tipping it to the serpents along with a small apology at having to hurt the new Paraserpent. Not really much to Black Fang. When I turned to Rarity and Leon, their own foes were down on the ground and they stood triumphant, an eyebrow raised in at my actions, Fluttershy seeming a little more relieved.

“I suppose that's one way of doing it.” she remarked, kicking a serpent as it twitched a little.

“Talk about a hard hat.” Leon chuckled.

“Come on, let's get up to higher ground.” I said with a smile.

“I notice.” Rarity said as we ran.

“Notice what?” I asked her.

“That though you seem to abhor violence,” she answered, “you can still be intuitive in a fight regardless.”

I shrugged at this. “Sometimes, it’s necessary to fight for what’s right. That’s what I learned. The arms are fair, when the intent of bearing them is just.”

“There you go with Shakesmare again.” she noted with a smile.

“Yeah, he does that a lot.” Leon said to her.

“You know me.” was my only reply, pushing myself up the hill. “Come, once more unto the breach!"

“Follow your spirit and, upon this charge, cry ‘Harmony for us! Equestria! And Princess Celestia’!” Rarity finished boldly.

As we started to climb up the hill, the sky began to darken up ahead with a distance rumbling of thunder. Minutes later, chocolate rain began to pour from the heavens, soaking us within seconds. I looked down at my chocolate-soaked fur and tail and shrugged. It would take more than some liquid sweets to stop us in our fight.

We left the five snake bodies behind us and galloped up the hill, well aware that even more were crawling in to take the places of those who had fallen.

Dog’s view

Me and AJ reacted quickly to Twilight’s order, sprinting away as fast as we could with AJ jumping over the body of a Paraserpent, her years of competing in rodeos paying off, landing gracefully on all fours and galloping away with me as fast as she could, us trying to put as much distance between us and it as possible.

However, we were surrounded again by at least eight of the critters, hissing and spitting at us. Must’ve thought that we were intimidated, perhaps a little scared at the sight of these monsters about to eat us, even trying to feed off the fear, as they had with suffering and pain, like Dusk told us they did. Well, we were going to show them that members of the Apple and Fries families don’t scare easy, especially not to a bunch of over-glorified, belly-crawling creeps.

As I dealt with two of them, one of them lunged at AJ, but she jumped right above its head and landed on the body of the beast. It turned to face her just as she kicked it hard in the head, knocking the daylights out of him and sending him to the ground with a thud. I managed to take care of one by using my freeze breath to place his head in an ice cube before bucking him away. I turned and saw another one coming up behind her.

“AJ, look out!” I yelled as she turned to see it try to sink its fangs into her, but she dodged aside so he bit into the scales of his buddy, making him howl like a dog at the moon and shattering his fangs faster than a frozen candy apple.

She answered this insult to injury with a punch followed by another kick from her rear hooves, so that he too was knocked out cold. Speaking of cold, I managed to beat the other Paraserpent jumped over and making an ice path on the ground, the snake slipping and sliding right in his buddy before I froze them both in ice. With that done, I then went over to AJ.

“Nice job, AJ!” I said as the two of us shared a hoofbump.

“Thanks, Dog.” She said to me before we got back to back as she taunted the last two. “Come on fellas! I got over twenty years of applebuckin’ and over ten first place ribbons in every rodeo under my belt.”

“And I’ve been kickin’ behinds like yours for years. What you got?” I added, giving the same taunt.

“Die, ponies!” one screeched, lunging and missing as we dodged it.

“Sorry, sugarcube,” she told it “but we got no intention of meetin’ the big pony in the sky today.”

Splitting up, we each took two of them. As I was able to keep my own, I watched as AJ charged at another of them, which was coiled right up to the sky, and kicked him three times like she would if she were kicking apples out of a tree. With it screeching, it finally topple to the ground like chopping down a tree, but without the cry of timber. Bucking a Paraserpent behind me, I was pretty sure my jaw dropped from seeing all that even as AJ nodded to herself. Once again, AJ showed me just how amazing she was.

“Hey, Dog,” She said to me with a raised brow, “you okay?”

“Marry me.” Hearing what I just blurted out, I snapped out of it and couldn’t help but blush from what I did. Why did I say that?

“What?” she asked, confused.

“Nothin’!” I told her, feeling all nervous now.

“O-kay.” She said, sounding a little unsure. “Well, these guys sure aren’t…”

BAM!

“AJ!” I watched as Applejack was sent sprawling to the ground as the snake she had dodged before came around again while she was distracted, swiping his tail at her and knocking her down in a flash.

She tried to get back up, but it tighten around her legs and lifted her up, dangling her upside down and up to its face.

With her Stetson falling to the ground, I was gonna go help her, but I soon regretted losing focus as one of the snakes I was fighting had managed to wrap around and trap me. As I tried to break out, I watched as AJ tried to wriggle out of her snake’s grasp, but it was too tight and it was getting tighter all the time, squeezing tighter than one of Big Macintosh’s bear hugs. As she glared at it, seeing this made me too worried about her to even care how much pain I was in from my own snake tightening on me. I wanted to go over there, I wanted to save her!

“You might have no intention of death,” it hissed, “but it doesssssss not wait for your permisssssssion, pony.”

“Oh, quit your hissin’ and spittin’!” she said to it. “Get it over with.”

“Assssss you wish.” The mouth opened, the fangs were bared. I thought that was it for AJ…

“You hungry? Eat this, punk!” a bold voice cried.

A light blue streak whizzed by and I saw Rainbow Dash smack a hoof in its face. Before it could fight back, she attacked it again and again, hitting it multiple times and getting it to lose the coils that held Applejack. Just as it and she fell, she was caught and carried off into the air by Dash.

Just then I heard a rumble and looked to see the snake holding me looking at the ground, looking a little confused for a moment. A minute later, something green popped out of the ground next to us and I looked to see a familiar confident grin.

“Surprise!” Shield said before he then punched the Paraserpent, sending it flying and making it let go of me.

We barely had time to talk when Dash came in with a cloud and said “Guys, come on!”

With that, Rainbow picked me up as Shield got on the cloud, the pegasus carrying me and AJ into the air as Shield followed her. Dash set us down in the open market square, handing back AJ’s Stetson which she put on her own head for safekeeping, and Shield came down to join us. I had to guess Dash must have picked AJ’s hat up before she and Shield saved us. Applejack put it back on her own head and shared a hoofbump with the daredevil Pegasus as I did with the daredevil stallion, both of us returning their grins, just as it started to rain chocolate overhead.

“Thanks for the save, ya two.” AJ said to them.

“Eh, don’t sweat it.” Dash shrugged. “That guy had it coming if he tries anything with my friends.”

“Well, really, thanks for savin’ AJ, Dash.” I said to her. “Thought she was a goner for a moment there.”

“Yeah, I suppose I was pretty awesome.” she admitted, a smile tugging at her lips.

“He means that thing was gonna take a bite out of me, like ya’d munch down on an apple fritter…” AJ said before Shield spoke up.

“Then suddenly, me and Dash came in to save the day!” he proclaimed, waving his hoof arrogantly. “No need to thank me, all in the line of duty.”

Typical Rainbow and Shield. Me and AJ both rolled our eyes at their cocksure attitude and their own forgetting to remember not to feed their egos and let them swell any larger than they were. It was there that AJ decided it was time to bring them down a notch, starting with Dash.

“Cut it kinda close, didn’t ya?” she asked with a frown.

Rainbow was taken aback at this. “Hey, next time I might not bother and you can just get out yourself then.”

“I was just fine. I was lettin’ him think he had me, then I was gonna hit him good.”

“Sure you were.” she said with rolled eyes. “You know, it’s no shame getting help from Ponyville’s most awesome citizen.”

“Well, shucks, Rainbow. If ya wanted ma help, ya should’ve said somthin’ then.”

“Hey, you know who I was talking about!”

“Rainbow, stop, you’re makin’ me blush.”

“Okay, when I’m in a fix and need help, you just make sure you only come in at the last minute too.”

“I might just do that.”

“You do it then!”

“I will!”

Me and Shield watched as they glared at each other for a few moments, then broke out into smiles. Though the situation appeared grim, we had to try and stay positive. The two girls laughed off their competitive banter as two good friends and athletes would, causing the two of us to smile at them.

“Man, is that what we’ve like?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Kinda see what Dusk was talking about us.” Shield said to me. “No wondering he has a nervous twitch.” We shared a laugh before returning to and focusing on the situation at hoof.

“Right, now we gotta figure out what we’re gonna do.” AJ decided, watching the shadows carefully.

“No kidding.” Rainbow nodded. “Did you see where any of the others went? We only found you two out of luck.”

“Nope. We all got lost in the scuffle.” I reported sadly.

“We’ll find ‘em.” AJ said. “But, right now, we have got bigger problems.”

“What do you mean?” Shield asked incredulously. “What’s more important than finding the others?”

“How about stayin’ alive to find ‘em?” She suggested, pointing with her hoof.

“Oh, yeah…right.”

Out of the alleyways, side passes, and even over the rooftops, Paraserpents were coming right to us. There had to be dozens of the nasty critters, all of them coiling and writhing around us like a dark, monstrous ocean in the fiercest storm, their hissings like death rattles and their fangs dripping with saliva and Black Blood.

Ready for a fight, the four of us stood back to back, Shield and Dash raising their hooves and loosening their limbs. I could hear Dash growling in her throat, which helped to bolster my own spirits somewhat. All of us were strong, fit, and more than capable of protecting ourselves in a fight. Even if we were outnumbered, we could at least take down a few of them while trying to stay alive.

“This is quite a pickle we’re in.” I remarked.

“What? You scared?” Shield asked.

“Pfft! Shoot, y’all think these legless, dribblin’ baby rattles shake my cage?” I dismissed. “You are sorely mistaken if that's the case."

“Prove it then. I bet you I can take down more of these guys than you can.” the daredevil challenged.

“You fella have got yourself a wager!”

“Let’s go then!” A rush of wind and a loud screech told me Shield got in the fight.

I wasted no time in charging to my first foe, jumping up and smacking him hard enough to knock him to the ground. He tried to get up, but I followed up this attack with a kick, propelled myself backwards in a flip, hit him with my hoof again, and landed, smacking him with both rear hooves and sending him flying back into his buddies, knocking them down as well. A few more were brought down by Shield speed strutting by, striking them down before they knew what hit them.

I ducked under a beam of red magic one sent at me, running around to dodge a few more and kicking down another one, hitting it hard in the head to make sure that it stayed down before freezing it. As more came around, I once again created an ice trail and tricked them onto it, making them slip and slide into their frozen buddy before I froze them all with him. Looking over to AJ, I saw some Paraserpents closing in around her as she stood over a knocked-out one, where she got a little creative. Running to the end of its body, she clamped her teeth around the down one’s tail and hefted it up with her strength.

She started to whirl the serpent around in an ark like she would a lasso, starting off slow but gradually getting faster and faster. She then started to walk among the horde as she spun it, knocking its head into its fellas and sending them flying, using her foe as both a lasso and a club. It was rather great to see this great number of cocky-looking monsters easily brought down by one of their own and by a single pony. Gosh, I do love that mare. Getting back in the fight, I managed to take down ten more with my ice breath, a few bucks, and punches before I looked around to see there was no more.

“Hey, AJ!” I said as I walked over to my friend, she tossing her club away and sending it straight into a wall where it landed as a heap on the floor. “Nice work!”

“Thanks.” She said to me as we stood with our fur and hats soaked in Discord’s rain.

Seeing the group I had been fighting was all taken down, I then took a rough count of them all lying on the ground and turned when I felt a strong wind nearby to see Dash performing one of her signature moves, the Rainblow Dry, catching all of her Paraserpents in a small tornado of hers and spinning them around in it. Soon enough, the snakes shot out of it as they were sent flying while screeching before being finished by fast punches and kicks from Dash. She took one into the sky and blew him up with a Buccaneer Blaze.

“Way to go, Dash!” Shield called out as we turned to see he had the group he was fighting tied up into one, big, black ball of squirming snakes.

“Ain’t nothing to it.” Dash said as she landed, giving that cocky even though she was just as tuckered out as AJ with all that panting.

“Okay, my score’s so far is… nineteen.” Shield said, proudly.

“Shoot! Then we’re level.” I told him, making him frown.

“We’ll see about that! I’ll take down double that number in ten seconds flat!”

“Ya sure? You’re lookin’ kinda worse for wear.”

“You’re right, make it five seconds.”

“If ya say so.”

“Just wait until more of these guys show up and I’ll—AGH!” The fella was cut off as a bolt of red magic hit him and knocked him to the ground.

“Shield!” Dash said before she got hit by one too.

I barely had time to yell before one struck me, leaving a stinging pain in my side like somepony had spilled hot water onto me. Pushing myself back up to my hooves, I saw yet more of them closing on us.

Several went straight for me and I tried to fight, despite my wound and the aching in my limbs begging me to stop. A punch to one and a kick, knocking him down, but I then heard a yell and look to see AJ being attacked by one of those beasts. She threw a punch at it, but it was barely enough to take him down. I could actually hear it laugh mockingly at her. She tried to kick at it, but it then caught her and started dragging her away.

“AJ!” I tried to run over to her, but I felt cold scales wrap around my legs and drag me off.

I tried to struggle free, punching one in the face as it slithered closer, but there were just too many of them and I didn’t have the strength she had previously. Shield and Dash weren’t doing so well either as I could hear them cry out from being attack. They need my help, but, at that time… I needed their help too. I needed Shield, Dash… Applejack.

I did my best to wriggle free, but their grips were too tight, the rain soaking through to my skin. I couldn’t give up… I had to break free… had to… had to…

Twilight’s view

I acted quickly to my own orders, teleporting away in the blink of an eye and landing on top of one of the roofs of the houses, or rather the foundations because this particular building was upside down. I looked back down at where my friends had been to see Applejack jumping over one of the serpents and sprinting away with Dog, Rainbow Dash rocketing towards the sky amid blasts of magic shooting all around her, Shield dodging Paraserpents left and right, Rarity grabbing Fluttershy’s hoof and pull her away, and Dusk run for dear life down a nearby alley, a serpent in hot pursuit.

I felt a great deal of worry and fear for Dusk as I watched him run, only just ducking under the jaw of the serpent, gasping as he did. Though I knew Dusk could handle himself in a fight and that he knew more about the Paraserpents than we did, I still needed to help him. Reacting quickly, I sent a knock-out spell shooting at it, striking it right on the back of the head and rendering it unconscious.

My hazel brown eyes locked on mine in a brief instant after I performed this feat. The gratitude and relief that shone in them was enough to bring a small yet still warm smile to my face and I wanted nothing but to teleport straight to his side and do all I could to keep him safe. Despite this, I knew that would be too costly on my energy and instead I tried my best to convey without words for Dusk to run. He swiftly complied and galloped away, though the smile he gave me was enough to give me added strength.

Right, so the rest of us were all relatively safe and those that couldn’t fight, particularly Fluttershy, were at least with somepony who could. I noted that I hadn’t seen Pinkie at all running off with anypony. Where could she be? Was she…?

“Ooh, you can get such a good view from up here!” The perky voice was enough to make me jump and whirl around to see the party-loving pony, still with her signature smile.

“Pinkie! How long have you been standing there?” I asked incredulously.

“About a few minutes.” she shrugged. “I saw you teleport up here and decided to lend you a hoof.”

“Oh, well… thank you, Pinkie. I’ve got a feeling I’ll need it.” A loud rustling beneath made me see that yet more of the monsters were closing in towards them. “Come on, we have to move!”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie affirmed, following as I jumped of the roof and onto the streets, just as a blast of red magic whizzed by.

We hit the street, encountering two blocking their path. Pinkie, looking rather ferocious, bounced up and struck one on the head with her head, a loud clang resounding from the impact. This was followed up by four strikes from each of her hooves, twisting and turning in the air like a gyroscope and sending her opponent crashing to the floor. I raised an eyebrow in admiration, blasting the second right in the face with a spell and running alongside her as he broke out in painful hives on his face. Having her certainly proved beneficial.

My thoughts turned to the others as we sprinted through the streets. My quick plan was in the hope that, if we split up and ran in different directions throughout the town, we would divide the Paraserpent’s forces and would be able to manage them easier in the smaller groups rather than the massive horde they’d arrived as. But now our own strength as a group was greatly reduced because we were no longer together and I feared that, even with Pinkie, I wouldn’t be able to handle it, nor would the others.

Scowling, I told herself to stop thinking so negatively or it would just make things worse. Use a calm, reasoned approach and she would get through this. As Dusk would say, just have faith and I would make it through. We all would, we had to.

Knowing we needed to get to a more defensible location and stand our ground as best we could, I galloped as fast as my legs would allow, searching for anywhere that might give us a hoofhold against our enemies. We soon found it in the form of a street with plenty of places to hide in shops and grooves which for some reason was full of chest-high walls, high enough for us to take cover or to pop out to perform ranged attacks.

“Pinkie, take cover over there!” I ordered, reaching the mid-point of the street.

Pinkie looked at me in confusion. “Take cover? But there are no beds here. Where am I supposed to get covers from?”

“I mean hide somewhere they can’t hit you.” I groaned in exasperation.

“Oh, that makes a lot more sense.” She quickly complied, diving into an alcove. I took up a similar position on the other side so that we were parallel to each other.

“Do you have your party cannon?”

“Sure do!” She whipped out the large metal barrel on wheels and set it on the ground. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Right, we hold position here in a standard defense formation. You and I will establish a suppressing fire with cannon and magic respectively, making sure they don’t pass the fixed border point, which will be fifteen meters ahead of us and hold that position until further notice. If they cross that, we’ll retreat down the street and take up a new defensive line elsewhere in the area, keeping them at a fixed distance of ten meters at all times, resorting to melee-based attacks if they breach that limit. Clear?”

“Yes! I mean, no—I mean, yes—I mean, uh…” Pinkie touched her chin with her hoof, her brow furrowing. “I think so… wait, who are we suppressing again?”

I sighed and slapped my head. “Stay and shoot them with your cannon from here, punch them if they get too close, and run away when there’s too many to handle.”

“Ohhhhh!” she nodded. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?”

“I did.” I looked up the other end of the street. “Look out, here they come!”

Sure enough, great parades of serpentine bodies were writhing up the street. Their eyes were glowing as they prepared their magic, sending a barrage of fire down at our position and forcing us to take cover.

“Return fire!” I shouted, sticking my head out and shooting spells down the street.

The Paraserpents either didn’t comprehend much of tactical thinking, or just didn’t care, as very few of them made efforts to take cover when I started my bombardment. Thanks to my training from Celestia, I was able to keep them suppressed with a wide variety of spells. Some more offensive spells, like paralysis or knock-back, were more costly than say levitation or hair growth, the latter I used to confuse them before hitting them with something better and bringing them down for good.

Now and again, I knew I would have to take cover, either to protect myself from their own magic attacks or to recover my strength from the efforts I was exerting for my own spells. One of them grazed against my leg and I felt as if somepony had lit a fire there. I made a mental note to be more careful, nursing my injury and striking down the offensive creature with a knock-back spell, sending him crashing into a wall, head first and unconscious.

Pinkie too prepared her party cannon, keeping her head low and aiming the barrel, her face screwed up in concentration. Once she was done, she lit the fuse and popped out her own head, a cocky grin on her face.

“Eat confetti, you hissy sissies!” With this proclamation, her cannon fired and there was a loud squelch as one serpent was hit in the face with a cake. "Oops… or you can just eat that."

“I’ll cover you while you reload!” I yelled, putting down additional spells on Pinkie’s side of the street.

“Okay, I’ll be quick!” I had barely fired off one spell when she yelled: “Done!”

“Wow! That was quick.” I remarked, returning to my own side.

“When you forget about a party and have to do something last minute, it’s good to be quick.” She did a rather scolding expression. “Which is annoying, 'cause I don’t like forgetting about parties. How can I? I’m the party pony.”

She shrugged and fired off her cannon again, wrapping up three of them in confetti bonds and sending them wriggling to the ground. She quickly reloaded and fired again, the next shot sending out balloons that popped with blinding flashes and rendered a few unable to see, firing blindly and actually hitting some of their own. Random, but helpful. Twilight thought, finishing off the remainder with my magic.

We continued our defensive offensive, breaking cover whenever there was a lax in their firing of magic, trying to keep them down and away from us, though more seemed to keep slithering out of the shadows with no end in sight. After I cut off one of their access points by summoning and slamming a door in their faces, I thought it was time to get a little bold. Reaching into my magic, I teleported into their midst before they knew what had happened.

Catching them by surprise, I mowed them down with magic, paralyzing, knocking out, or knocking back any within range. Teleportation spells, however, though I’d gotten used to performing them recently, were still enough to give me something of a headache and, compounded with my constant use of spells, I knew I couldn’t stay here for long or else I would be vulnerable.

Just one more and then I would teleport back and…

ZAP!

I was knocked off my hooves and felt the burning pain from the blast that hit me. Before I could get back on my hooves, I felt something constrict around my body and squeeze, looking up into the malicious face of a Paraserpent as it licked its mouth and glared hungrily at me. There was no warmth in its gaze, no pity or compassion, just hunger and the beastly rage of an animal. Oblivion.

But I wasn’t going down that easily. I only felt a stab of fear for a brief moment, got control of myself and glared back at it.

“I don’t think so.” Right in the face, I hit it with my own blast, making it drop me and topple over to the ground.

I hurried back to Pinkie, who ridded her of pursuers by shooting more confetti at them and wrapping them up. I dived behind the nearest wall, recovering my strength and making a mental note to never ever try that again.

Now, they were starting to become more numerous despite my efforts to thin out their ranks. I was having to punch and kick them—as well as use my magic—whilst Pinkie did likewise, even resorting to using her cannon as a club. No matter how many we knocked down, more just arrived to take their places, and now others we had beaten were recovering and rejoining the battle.

“Pinkie, retreat!” I dived out of cover, shooting off spells as I went, Pinkie wheeling her cannon along.

We kept up fire, steadily backing down the street and holding them back long enough to try and make our escape. The party pony stopped in the middle of our retreat, whipping out a small metal can with balloons painted on it.

“This oughta hold them back.” she whispered, pulling out a metal pin. “Twilight, you might wanna cover your ears… and the rest of you too.”

“Pinkie, what is that?” I asked as she tossed it at them.

“You’ll see. Quick, magic bubble!” she yelled, leaping next to me and looking scared.

I conjured up a magical shield that would protect us from harm, but I was still confused as to why.

“Wait, so why do I need to…”

BOOM!

With a fiery explosion combined with the honk of a party kazoo, the can exploded next to a nearby shop. The force of the combustion, which sent confetti streaming everywhere, was enough not only to send over half of the group flying, but also caused the foundations of the store to collapse and crushed a few more of them, the rest of them slithering away in fright and shock. I could actually feel it shake her force field from the power.

The smoke cleared from the explosion and I cut off the shield and stared incredulously at Pinkie Pie, who looked disappointed.

“Pinkie, what in the wide world of Equestria was that?!"

“Party grenade.” she said simply. “I brought a bunch of them before we left my place, figured we might need them.” She frowned at the store she had destroyed in the process. “Too bad. That was the Dream Art store.”

“What… never mind, how did you get those?” I demanded. “Why didn’t you mention them before?!”

“I made them myself and I didn’t think it was important before.” Her gaze returned to the rubble of the art store. “I liked that store. The mare there is a really good artist and her paintings are really, really good. I hope she won’t be too mad.”

I stared at her in amazement and disbelief. “All that’s happening and you’re worried about one little art store?!”

“What? It’s a good one and she’s a nice mare.” Pinkie smiled her bright little smile, which became a scream. “Uh-oh! More nasties!"

“Right come on.” I was about to run off when I spotted a nearby stone arch and hatched on an idea. “Pinkie, how many of those grenades do you have?”

“Oh, plenty. Why?”

“I’ve got an idea. Quick, give me a few.” Pinkie handed over three of the explosives. “Right, can you hold them back for a while? I need to set these up.”

Pinkie patted her cannon. “I’ll do my best, just don't take too long. Good luck, Twilight.”

“I won’t and you too.” I galloped towards the arch, hearing Pinkie’s cannon fire off again.

Once I reached it, I set quickly to work. Using my magic, I dug them into the ground at the foundations of the arch in the place where they were most likely to do damage. The Mayor wasn’t going to be happy about the extent of damage to public property we were causing, but this would hopefully be worth it.

Once they were set up, I signaled Pinkie to lure the Paraserpents down the alley and under the arch, which wasn’t exactly difficult as they weren’t too bright and they didn’t seem to suspect anything. As soon as they were close enough, I used my magic to pull the pins out of them and waited. That last one had exploded after five seconds, it wouldn’t be long now, and then they would be crushed by the collapsing stones.

But they didn’t go off. Over six seconds passed and they failed to detonate, the giant black snakes still working their way along, hissing angrily, their red eyes glowing like fire. I was starting to panic now. They couldn't take on this many of them in such an open area.

“Pinkie, why aren’t they working?”

“Sometimes I make them wrong… I guess those were duds.” she said sadly.

“Oh, boy…” I groaned as the Paraserpents closed in on us. I hoped the others were faring slightly better.

Dusk’s view

Atop our hill, me, Leon, and Rarity were doing our best to hold our ground against the never-ending swarm of Paraserpents, soaked by the chocolate rain that cascaded from the skies above. We had a good spot to hold now and we just had to make sure that we kept it.

I moved my eyes from one to another of the two that had targeted me, backing up until I stood back-to-back with Rarity, Fluttershy cowering nearby. I began to devise new strategies against them, anything that would give us an advantage against them. I would need to move in sync with my partner, making sure the two of us watched each other's backs, almost like our dancing sessions, only much more dangerous…

Wait that was something! It sounded far-fetched, but it was worth a try.

“Leon, give us cover.” I told the water elemental before offering my claw to my cousin. “Rarity, may I have this dance?” The mare stared at me like I had gone mad.

“Dusk, while I am flattered that you would ask, I am your cousin and I hardly think now is the best time for that sort of thing!”

I held out my claw again. “Trust me.”

She appeared to consider, nodded, and took it. The instant she did, with all my strength, I whirled her around, sending her hooves smacking into two of the snakes that had been getting a little too close for comfort. Rarity, looking quite surprised, got my message and adjusted herself to this new fighting strategy.

As Leon took aim and shot down some of the Paraserpents, the two of us then proceeded into our faster, more violent waltz, spinning and whirling each other at our foes in a circle for as far as our individual strengths would let us. This strange imitation of dancing continued on and it was quite effective in a sense. Whenever one of us spotted a Paraserpent getting too close, we would then swing or spin the other in such a way that we struck them and essentially watched each other's backs through this.

Dancing and spinning, remembering all the lessons we’d had together, me and Rarity kept this up as long as we could. We soon reached the limits of our stamina, let go of each other's hooves, panting from the effort but many more of our enemies knocked down as a result of our dancing.

“Well… that was quite exhilarating.” Rarity’s eyes widened a second later. “By Celestia, I think I’m sweating!”

“It’s either that… or the rain.” I panted. “You did… well, Rarity.”

“You too… darling.” she replied, wiping her forehead. "I think you’ve definitely…taken our lessons to heart.”

“In a sense, I suppose.” I nodded. “Right, there’ll be more coming soon. We have to…”

“AGGH! Help!”

I whipped around, my stomach clenching with fear at the sound of Fluttershy’s screaming. She was being dragged away by her rear hooves by another Paraserpent, trying desperately to get free, her forehooves scraping on the patchwork ground.

“Flutters!” Leon said as he got ready to take aim at the pegasus’ captor, but was talked by another Paraserpent before he could fire.

“Rarity, go help Leon!” I said before I began hurrying towards Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, I’m coming!” I reached out to grab her hooves when I felt something wrap around my legs.

I was suddenly yanked to the floor before I could do anything, watching helplessly as my friend and considered sister was dragged away, her screams echoing in my ears. Even when I saw my captor was Black, the situation was far more terrifying to me than the hideous monster that now had me trapped in its coils, unwilling to release me no matter how much I struggled.

“Dusk! Hold on, darling, I’ll–AGH!” Rarity too was now being wrapped up in their wicked coils, striking out in a panicked fashion. “Unhand me at once! Get away, get away!”

I too was starting to panic. My friends were in danger, I had to help them. I tried again to break free, hitting its body as hard as I could, but my strikes were pathetic and did virtually nothing to hinder it. The coils were wrapping tighter and tighter around my body, constricting my airways and crushing my bones.

I cried out from the unbearable pain, losing what little strength I had left and despair clouding my mind once more. I can’t do it. I thought with despair. I’d failed to protect them, failed to help them and now I was about to pay the ultimate price for my failure. How could have even hoped to stand against the power of chaos? How could I have even begun to consider such a thing? I was no hero… no fighter… I was worthless…

That to me was even worse than the horrible red eyes that were now locked on me, the fangs that glinted against the darkened sky, drawing ever closer to sink into my flesh. This was it… the final end…

“All that lives must die…” I whispered, gazing into the jaws of infinity. “Passing through nature to eternity…”

Author's Note

Unable to fight against the overwhelming army of Paraserpents, the dark minions of Discord now prepare to deliver the final blow. Is this the end for our heroes? Find out next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Well, things don’t look good. How are they gonna get out of this? Remember when I said they would get some extra help. In the next chapter, you’re about to see them. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 17: Positive Reinforcement

I knew that this was the end as Black Fang inched me closer and closer to his jaws, the grip of his coils becoming ever tighter until I knew that, from the way my vision was blurring, I would be knocked out from oxygen deprivation, all while the monster feeding off my terror and pain, gorging itself like a great overfed pig. That was why it was drawing this out so long, to get as much of a meal off my emotions as it could before sending me into infinity and from how weak I was now feeling, I knew that wouldn’t take much longer.

While death did scare me its entirety, for I feared death as much as anypony, it wasn’t so much the face that my life would be ended, but what I had failed to do. My death would only serve as an example to those who resisted Discord’s reign and to provide food for my killer. We had failed to stop him, failed to save our home, my sins as Diablo Nightfall would be forever unforgiven, and Twilight… I never had the chance to tell her how much she meant to me. Now, she would never know…

My vision began to darken… or might be the fact Black Fang was drawing me closer to his glistening black scales, eyes still glowing red against the black, gleaming hungrily, joyously at the pain I was in. This was it…

BOOM!

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and then ice blasts appeared as they froze some Paraserpents solid and pieces of stone rising from the ground and crushing them along with other that tried to run away. While this happened, the sky—which had been obscured by clouds of candy floss—burst open, ripped apart by a flash of light, and the fiery rays of the sun and jagged bolts of lightning came shooting through it, blinding me and sending shivers down my spine, a sheer sense of awe and fear coursing through my body. Fierce winds blew up, whipping through my mane, thunder boomed and rumbled across the sky, and the stickiness of the chocolate rain was gone, replaced only with the warming beams of the sun, gracing my skin.

Like a storm and heat wave were happening all at once, which could only mean one thing…

“What?! NO! Impossssssssible!”

Black Fang too stared up in terror at this sudden event, hissing with distress and eyes widening dramatically, watching as several of his fellow Paraserpents were struck down with bolts of electricity or disintegrated with beams of fire, their bodies crumbling into ash which was blown away by the gusts of wind that accompanied the heavens being ripped asunder.

Seeing a chance to fight back, bolstered by the meaning of this strange force of nature, I reached into my magic and blinded the beast with an orb of light, causing him to loosen his coils. The instant it did this, I struck Black Fang across the face with all my might, making him recoil into a bolt of lightning. Electricity streamed through its body, skeleton shining and eyes popping, until he fell to the ground in a smoking heap.

More bolts of lightning accompanied the first, striking down most nearby Paraserpents, all of them writhing and convulsing as they lost control of their nervous systems, their shrieks like the wailing of tortured souls. Despite their evil nature and intent, I still felt a twinge of pity for them at their state and I grimaced to hear their death throes, tearing my eyes away at the sight of them twitching and smoking.

Why did this all have to be done with violence?

This however, was replaced with relief and amazement when I saw who descended from the sky towards me, bolts blazing from her horn and her expression utterly livid with rage and righteous anger at the monsters.

“Vile wretches!” Princess Luna bellowed, striking down a nearby snake with her glittering hoof. “Thou shall never threaten our subjects again, if it is the last thing we do!”

“Luna!” I sprinted up to her, at first overjoyed to see her, but I skidded to a halt and turned my gaze to the ground.

I had forgotten at first, those memories of her, beneath my vision and crying out as my claws struck her face, feeling every impact they made as they bruised her skin and shattered her bones, all the pain I had caused her. Now, they came flooding back to me, along with the guilt of having been the cause of it. What would she think of me now? How could she even begin to forgive me after what I had done? How could anypony?

I had stopped before her as she landed, bowing my head in shame and fear. I waited until she would behold me, expecting her anger to be rivalling, if not equal to, and her fury at Discord’s minions. After all, only an hour ago, I was no different from the rest of them, equally eager and willing to share in the suffering of others, but for my own pleasure in addition to duty to my master. How could she not hate me?

But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Oh, thank the stars!” I felt the warmth of her fur as she embraced me gently. “You do not know how much it gladdens me to see thee alive and well, my little pony.”

I was in such a state of disbelief at this sentence that I barely even returned her hug, didn't even respond to what she said because I knew I must have misheard her somehow. She pulled back, a look of concern etched on her face.

“Are thou feeling well, Dusk? I would have thought thou would be a little more relieved at this.”

“Oh, no, I am!” I assured quickly. “It’s just that… I’m rather surprised that you’re even saving me… considering everything…”

“What does thou mean?” A second later, she made a sound of recognition and her features softened further. “I know what thou refers to and thou need not concern thyself with it."

“But I…”

“It has already been forgiven. Do not forget thou are not the only one who has succumbed to the call of darkness.” I was now silent again as her face clouded for a brief moment before returning to a look of hardened resolve. “We shall discuss this later, but right now there is a battle to be fought."

“Of course.” I said with a nod. “You came in just in the nick of time. Is Celestia here too?”

“Yes, she’s here. She tending to her student at the moment.” Dragonis said as he flew down over to us. “Just as much as we have come to tend to you.”

“Dragonis!” I said, happy to see the great guardian again. “So I guess you three came here to help us?”

“Indeed.” Dragonis told me. “But I’m afraid neither us or Celestia can help you with the Paraserpents. Our battle lies with him.”

Following the gaze skyward of the two, I saw the disbelieving face of Discord as he sat on a couch that was floating in the sky. Both Dragonis and Luna glared up at him and returned her attention to me, where I was feeling somewhat distressed again.

“You’re going to fight Discord?” I said to them with worry. “But Luna and Celestia aren’t connected to the Elements anymore. Without them, he’s too powerful for anypony to face!”

“That is true, but my sister and I are still formidable even without the Elements. And so is Dragonis.” Luna said confidently. “Our aim is to keep his attention away from thee and focused on us, long enough to fight through his minions and retrieve the Elements from the library, else he will simply create more and thou will be overwhelmed.”

“But last time, they almost defeated us!” he said desperately. “We can’t do this! I can’t do this! Not without you!”

“Thou can and thou will. I know you can. Both of us do.”

“No, I can’t!” I bowed my head in shame. “I’m no hero. I’d practically given up by the time you arrived. I can’t possibly hope to win, none of us can! I failed my duty as a Fire Dragon. I’m no symbol of peace and justice… I’m… useless.”

I didn’t dare look up at them for I did not deserve to even behold their faces now that the truth was exposed. However, I was surprised by what Dragonis said to me.

“Now is that really the young colt who had once spent years protecting an entire city by himself?” Hearing what the guardian said, I looked up to make eye contact with him. “The one who had taken on three Dark Gang elementals by himself while leading a team made of himself and only three of his fellow elementals? Is who stand us really the colt who had then grew up to be one of the greatest heroes Equestria has ever seen? The hero who had faced against the vengeful Eye of the Midnight Sun, the one who had helped in the defeat of an ancient devil along with the Dark Spade Triad?”

I then felt a hoof gently cup my cheek and Luna lifted my face so I was looking right into her compassionate, caring eyes.

“Dragonis is right. We refuse to believe that the pony who had done such great things and had told me not to give up until I had tried is thinking of giving in while chaos runs amok in his home.” She gripped my shoulders and spoke firmly. “You are far more remarkable that thou gives thyself credit for, you always have been. You just haven’t known it, but it’s been there. It was there when thou rescued thy friends from the Forest, when thou began to rescue them from Discord’s power, and it is here now. All thou has to do is use it, as thou already has done many times. Unite them, Dusk, for that is how you can overcome thy foes.”

I looked up at her, taking in all that she said, then glanced at the stones that were dangling around my neck. My stone, my fragment, I noticed now had a faint aura around it, like the power it held was just begging to be released, to be used for what it was meant for. I gripped this stone and nodded. They were right. After everything I’ve been through, I couldn’t give up. Not now, not while my friends were in danger. Discord was still in power and my home was under threat. I wasn't going to let this happen without using all of what I had to prevent it. I was Dusk Noir, son of Charcoal Noir, descendant of the great Dragonous, and the world’s symbol of peace and justice!

For my friends, for Ponyville, for Equestria, I would do this, for if Luna and Dragonis believed in me, why shouldn’t I? After all, I did like to invest in the seemingly impossible, for was there really such a thing? So many things believed to be impossible for me to achieve had now proven to be within my reach the whole time. All I’d had to do was to reach out and take it. I had always had faith when others had none before and not allowed anything to shake it, why stop and despair now? So, that was what I was going to do now.

“Right… I’ll try." Now I did return her hug. “Thank you, Luna.”

“I did what I had to.” She pulled back before she and Dragonis spread their wings. “Now, I must rejoin my sister and fight my own battle. Good luck, Dusk.”

“You too.” Something suddenly occurred to me. “Wait, just a few things!”

“What is it?” Dragonis asked as they glanced at me.

“First of all, why didn’t you tell anypony you were engaged?” I put in, just getting an answer to what had been bothering me when I had the chance.

“Oh.” Dragonis said, nervously scratching the back of his head as he and Luna began to blush. “You know about that?”

“Uh, yeah. Dragonis, you were actually gonna marry Luna?”

“Well, yes.” Dragonis told me. He took a brief moment to put some thought into this before he spoke. “Look, can we talk about this after you save Equestria?”

Though I did want an explanation to Dragonis and Luna’s engagement and their continuing delayed marriage, I also knew that now wasn’t the right time to push it now.

“Fine. But I better get a clear answer when this is over.”

“Deal.” He said to me. “Anything else?”

“Yeah. About these stones… what exactly are they? I know they are what Fore Sight had been looking for and they seem like they can help in this situation, but I don’t know how.”

Losing their blush, the two only smiled at me as Luna simply said “The answer is in the number.” Without another word, they took off into the sky, leaving me surrounded by the fallen serpents.

I frowned and glanced down at the stones again. Why did these knowing ponies feel a need to code everything in a riddle? I sighed and started to think about our next move. There were still serpents left and they would be coming soon. But now, I knew exactly what to do, if the others were still okay.

“Dusk!” I spun around to see Rarity and Leon, bedraggled and shaken, but alive. “Oh, thank goodness! Are you alright?"

“I’m fine, yes… sort of…” I muttered, taking in painful breaths. “I'll live…you?"

“Well, my mane is a complete mess and my fur could do with a wash after all this, but nothing serious.” she said in typical Rarity fashion.

“Don’t worry about me.” Leon told me with reassuring smile. “Gonna take a lot more than a squeeze to keep me down.”

“Yeah. That was certainly a close one.” I remarked, looking around at the slain serpents.

“Yes. Yes, it was…” She trailed off, still looking shaken despite her attempts at being casual. “I really thought that was the end for a while. In that moment, I thought that I was… that we were…”

I nodded in understanding. “So did I.”

“Yeah, I think I saw my whole life flash before my eyes.” Leon spoke up as Rarity did her best to smile. “But what matters is that we’re alright. You, me, Rare, and…”

“FLUTTERSHY!” we all shouted simultaneously, to where I followed up with “Quick, we need to find her! Did you see where that Paraserpent went?”

“No, lost her in the struggle!” Leon said as he and Rarity were now as frantic as I was, their eyes darting everywhere. “We need to find her, quick! She won’t last a minute by herself.”

“Um, excuse me?” Even the quiet voice was enough to silence us when we turned and saw Leon’s fellow animal lover standing close by. "I didn’t worry you too much, did I? I’m sorry if I did.”

Utter relief at seeing her safe overwhelmed I and, feeling like the brother she viewed me as, walked up to her, unable to keep myself from smiling at just being herself, even in the midst of all the fighting.

“Fluttershy,” I said gently, hugging her, “there’s nothing to be sorry for. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Me too. Thank you.” she whispered, pulling back and giving me a gentle smile. “But I didn’t come back by myself.”

She gestured with her hoof to show that she had indeed returned with company, in the form of a certain striped equine, laden with two saddle bags from which I could hear the clinking of potions bottles and a long staff on her back, made from bamboo.

“She is correct, for you are not alone.” Zecora said, speaking in her usual rhyming dialect. “As of now, your force has now grown.”

Smiling, I approached her and greeted her in her native language. "Hujambo, Zecora."

“Hujambo, Dusk.” she returned. “Ni vizuri kuona tena.”

“Vivyo hivyo.” I replied, knowing she said it was good to see me again and saying it was likewise before returning to English. “Glad you could join us.”

“Yes, all of us are relieved to receive some additional support from you, Zecora, dear.” Rarity added. “Was it you that helped Fluttershy?”

“It was not just others’ strafe, but by her own efforts she stayed safe, for that poor Paraserpent could not bear the held in her Stare.” she said with a knowing smile.

“She’s correct, you know?” said a familiar voice, one I haven’t heard in years.

“Yeah, she stopped that thing its tracks.” said another voice, one with a familiar confidence and pride. “And we managed to get the bunch of those snakes around her.”

“Wait, those voices…” Looking behind Fluttershy, I was then surprised to find she had indeed returned with company, in the two certain ponies who I was surprised to see.

Walking over to us was Gold Star with his signature smile, blue vest, and black headband. Though I was especially surprised by who was accompanying him. Walking beside him was a azure blue unicorn mare with a slender built body, pink eyes, and a long silver mane and tail with her main tied in pigtails and center bangs over her forehead. Her attire consisted of pair of purple stud earrings with a cross flory/fitchy shape, a silver bracelet on her left wrist, a sleeveless, backless, short purple dress covered by a white silver-colored blazer of a backless design with sleeves attached at the back that extended slightly beyond her elbows with gold-colored cuffs. The blazer also had a pair of silver pins attached to it around the collarbone area along with frilly edges and a rounded tailcoat that extends down to her knees. Furthermore, the blazer also extended up to her neck where it possess frilly edges that is held together by a gold locket. She also wore a brown leather belt with similar color and gold ornaments at its corners and a blue dragon totem on her hip. She also wore a pair of silver-colored leg warmers with gold-colored cuffs at both ends a pair of sandal. Over this, she also wore her signature gold-button, gold-trimmed, black robe with a gold bull head insignia on the left side of her. She also sported her emotionless expression as to appear she didn’t care. This mare was one I knew as Hearth Forest, a member of House Wood’s royal family.

“Gold Star? Hearth?” I said as the two came over. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Well, the Mystic King had overheard that Discord had been causing trouble in this town.” Hearth said to me, sounding serious and stern. “Knowing that you were living here, he decided to go and assist you. I came along as his escort.”

“Actually she came here because she was worried about you.” Gold Star said, causing Hearth to scowl at him.

“I was not worried about him!” she snapped. “You know that, as a Necro-Knight, I have the sacred duty of protecting you!”

“Yeah, whatever! Say what you like, but we both know one of us is telling the truth about you.” Gold jokingly said, causing Hearth to growl in frustration, her cheeks tinting with a blush. After he gave a chuckle, he then spoke normally to me. “Any case, we all here to help you guys.”

“It is true, for as you can see,” said another familiar voice, speaking in her usual rhyming dialect, “you have now allies with us three.”

“Well, I do appreciate it.” I told them before I looked to Fluttershy as I knew well of her instinctual power to command animals with her gaze. “So you used the Stare on a Paraserpent, huh?”

She blushed at the mention of it. “Well, I don't really have any control over it and…it just kind of happened. Guess I was just lucky.”

“I’ll say.” Leon spoke up as he and Rarity came over. “It’s a good thing these guys aren’t too bright.”

“Yes, it seems these beasts were more like animals than we first thought.” Rarity remarked, glaring at one with disdain. “It certainly was lucky that it just happened then.”

“Yeah…” She blushed again, staring at the floor. “Well, after I got free, these three showed up and helped fight off the last few ones and then we all came back here.”

“I’m glad you’re safe.” I said to her.

“Me too.” Leon added with relief. “Though we lost you there.” He then looked to Hearth. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but thanks for saving Flutters, Hearth.”

“I only saved her because it is my duty as a Necro-Knight.” Hearth told him, closing her eyes as she turns her head away. “But I will say that you’re welcome, Aquilous.”

“Still the same old Forest priss.” Leon said in exasperation before speaking normally. “Okay, I get how Gold and Hearth just got here, but where have you been, Zecora?”

"I was in my home, where Discord's magic does not yet roam, thanks to my potions and various incanting motions," she reported. "You could say I was the rock against chaos' raging ocean."

"You managed to hold them back all by yourself?" I nodded in admiration. "That's very impressive, Discord's magic is very strong."

“These facts, I’ll not distill, for the spells took great effort and skill. I was almost beaten by chaos' tide when our horned sages and great guardian arrived.”

“Celestia, Luna, and Dragonis?” Zecora nodded in answer to me. “They were there looking for you?”

“They were.” Gold told me. “When we got here, we ran into them and they led us straight to Zecora.”

“Yes, it was me they sought, for they said a great battle was to be fought.” Zecora said before gazed around the chaotic town, sadness in her eyes. “Seeing Ponyville and given these two, I knew this could only be true. So I gathered my weapon and brew and ran out here to help you.”

“Well good, we need all the help we can get.” I said to her as I felt my heart glow.

Ever since I had fought my way out of my mind, I’d been reminded that I had made many other friends since I’d arrived in Ponyville as much as the friends I made in my journey. Seeing Zecora along with Gold and Hearth now, actually arriving to help in our hour of need, reminded me once more of just how powerful and special bonds of friendship were, no matter who it is with. Never again would I forget that power and forget who my friends were, even if it seemed like they’d abandoned me.

“Um, pardon,” Rarity spoke up, looking towards her as Hearth turned and opened her eyes to look at her, “sorry, but I just noticed your ensemble. It has such fine regality.”

“Well, it’s not a surprise. She is royalty.” I said before beginning introductions. “Rarity, meet Hearth Forest, youngest child of the Forest Family.”

“The Forest Family? As in the Forest Family?” Rarity said in awe. “One of the most prestige royal families in all of Fillydelphia?”

“The very same.” Leon told her. “She also happens to be a cousin of yours and Dusk’s.”

“What?!” Rarity was shocked by this as she looked to me. “Dusk, is this true?”

“Yep.” I answered her. “I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to get a move on.” I then gestured to Zecora’s form. “Zecora, how are you in combat?”

“My brews have varying effects from providing strength to afflicting defects.” At this, she pulled out her staff and twirled it in her hoof. “In addition to my staff of bamboo, I can do much in the fight with you.”

“Good, along with Hearth’s Water Magic and Gold’s Anti-Magic, I’ve got a feeling we’ll need it.” I said grimly.

“Got a plan there?” Leon asked me.

“I do, but there’s a downside to it.” I told them as they gathered around. “You see, for the most part, I won’t be able to take part in the battle as my concentration will be needed elsewhere. Therefore, I need to make sure I can count on you all to hold off the Paraserpents until I'm done. Can you do that?”

“You got it!” Leon told me.

“Got it!” Gold said in acceptance.

“Very well. I will do to the best of my abilities.” Hearth confirmed.

“You know you can always rely on me, darling.” Rarity affirmed.

“On this, you have my word,” Zecora vowed, “that they think they can match me is quite absurd.”

Fluttershy, however, shifted nervously. “Oh, um… I don't know. I mean, I… you know that I… I don’t like fighting… I can’t fight.”

“I know, Fluttershy. I don't like it either. In fact, I hate the idea of it.” I replied as I had been expecting this from her. “But right now, we all need to fight for our home because it’s the only way we can. Do you remember when you and I sung your animals to sleep, when you and Leon helped me find Ophelia?”

She nodded mutely, her eyes shifting between me and the floor.

“Unless we fight now, no matter how much we may not want to, we won’t be able to do those things ever again because Discord will take over everything. I understand you’re scared. I am too, completely terrified, and I understand that you don’t like fighting. But right here, right now, Equestria needs us to fight. We need you to fight. I need you to fight, because there’s no other way.” I took her hoof gently and gazed right into her eyes. “Please, Fluttershy, for me?”

My hazel eyes were locked on her teal blue irises, seeing the fear and trepidation that burned in them. I hated asking her to do this as much as I hated violence, but right now I needed her help, all of their help, or we wouldn’t succeed without it. I just hoped that it would be worth it and that I wouldn’t regret it.

Finally, she gave small, brave smile and gripped my claw in return, though even this was as soft as a bird’s feather.

“Okay, I’ll do my best. For you, Big Brother.” she promised. “I won’t be very good, but I’ll try.”

“Thank you.” The two of us hugged each other once more. "I know you can do it, I believe in you. Just be careful, okay?"

“Oh, I will.” she nodded frantically.

“I’ll keep her covered.” Leon promised me. “No Paraserpents gonna hurt her on my watch.”

“Thanks, Leon.” I said to him.

“No problem. So what’s the plan exactly?”

“Well, these stones seem to strength my magic.” I said to them. “Let’s see what their full power can do. It’s time.”

“Time for what?” Gold asked me.

I looked around at them all, out at Ponyville and started to allow my magic to take over just as I heard the slithering of more Paraserpents.

“To unite.”

Dog’s view

Still doing my best to struggle out of the tight coils of the Paraserpents, I found it harder to see and breathe with every second, reaching my breaking point. I wasn’t going to let these overgrown belly crawlers get the better of me, not when I’d already beaten worse things, including a crazed Big Macintosh who’d had one too many salt licks. I wasn’t going to lose, I wasn’t!

It was stubbornness that kept me fighting, but now I was beginning to consider that I might not make it out of this alive. What would happen then? What would become of my friends, my home, and my family? The farm wouldn’t be able to cope without me or AJ, not in this world of chaos. Especially little Apple Bloom… neither of us got to see her find her special talent, finally get her own cutie mark. Though right now, as much as I would like to see Apple Bloom, I wanted nothing more than to see AJ one last time… in my final moment…

“Hey, get your snaky scales away from my friend!” I heard a familiar voice cry out.

Hearing a couple of grunts, a flash of light came in and I soon found myself falling in a pile of ash, where I took a deep breath of air.

“Need help, sugar cube?” I looked up and could hardly believe to see AJ smiling down at me.

Quite unable to stem the tide of emotions that came from hearing the voice of AJ, seeing her standing by me, right here, right now, I gulped down as much air as I could, regained all the strength I had, enough to open my mouth and say her name, just to express my relief.

“AJ!” No sooner had I said her name, I wrapped my legs around her in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you’re okay too.” She said to me, returning the hug.

“How’d ya escape from the Paraserpent?” I asked as we broke the hug

“Well, seems we got a little help.” She told me as I looked around as I could hardly believe my eyes.

My vision was a bit blurry from the light, but got better. The dark pink cotton candy clouds were gone as had the chocolate rain they brought along with a good deal of Paraserpents, these beams of fire and lightning shooting through a hole in the sky. I could make out some kind of brown blob fighting off some other Paraserpents, but couldn't make out what exactly it was. Fighting off the remaining snakes and helping Rainbow Dash and Shield to their hooves were three fillies, one of them coming over to us.

“Don’t worry, the monsters are all gone now.” Apple Bloom’s sweet voice comforted. “We beat ‘em back. It’s okay.”

“Apple Bloom.” I said, smiling gladly at AJ’s little sis. “Y’all have no idea how glad ah am to see you, sugarcube.”

“Me too.” She said, returning it. “I thought… well, I thought that I…”

“I know, me too.”

“We got Rainbow Dash and Shield! They’re okay!” Scootaloo spoke up. “I mean, you know, not that I ever doubted they weren’t ‘cause of how awesome they are.”

“Okay, now…” AJ started, looking shocked and worried.

“Did you find Rarity anywhere?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking around worriedly. “I can’t see her anywhere.”

“Don’t worry, she’s probably somewhere else in the town.” Scootaloo said nonchalantly. “The point is Shield and Rainbow Dash are okay, so we’re gonna be just fine.”

“What are you even…” AJ was cut off again.

“But what about Rarity?” Sweetie cried, her voice breaking a little. “We need to find my sister!”

“Don’t worry, Sweetie. I’m sure she’s okay too. We’ll find her.” Apple Bloom comforted.

“But what if we…”

“Girls!” AJ’s shout finally focused attention on her. “Not that ah ain't pleased to see y’all, but what the hay are ya even doin’ here?!”

Apple Bloom was taken aback. “What does it look like? We’re here to help ya.”

“I can see that, but why?”

“Yeah, don’t ya know how dangerous it is?” I put in.

“Yeah, not meaning to sound ungrateful shorties,” Rainbow added with Shield nodding in agreement, “but a war-torn village isn’t really the place for three little fillies who don't even have their marks.”

“Exactly!” AJ pressed on. “What made ya even think it was safe to come in here? Ya coulda been hurt or worse!”

“Well, gee. You’re welcome.” Scootaloo said sarcastically. “Next time, we just might not bother saving you.”

“Yeah, why are you so mad?” Apple Bloom asked. “We only wanted to help ya out.”

“I ain’t sayin’ we’re not glad ya saved us, I’m sayin’ that ah think it was foolish to come here, by yerselves, jus' runnin' on here like a herd-a crazed cows! What were ya thinkin’?!”

Her demanding and chastising certainly had the desired effect. The three fillies looked rather shamefaced now, staring down at their hooves and shifting around on them. If any of them were planning on answering her, however, they were prevented from doing so by another familiar voice, one that she hadn't heard in a long time.

“Actually, it’s somewhat my fault that they came to be here.” admitted the voice of the buffalo calf Little Strongheart.

AJ was struck dumb at the sight of the wide-framed calf, her curled brown hair as natural as the earth she ran on, the feathers on her headdress blowing in the breeze. She gasped as a Paraserpent slithered up behind her, but she kicked it once and set it sprawling without even looking around. At least now they knew what had been fighting off some of the remainder of their number.

“Strongheart!” Dash flew up to her and gave her a noogie. “Long time, no see, kid!”

“Yeah, good to see you!” Shield added, running over to her.

“The feeling is mutual, Rainbow Dash. You as well, Shield.” she replied, laughing along good-naturedly. “I must admit, it is a relief to see you all alive and well.”

“Yeah, we’re fine. We’re both tough like that, right, Dog?” Shield prompted, punching my leg.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” I turned to look at the calf. “Good to see ya again, Lil' Strongheart, but what did ya mean it’s your fault that lil’ Bloom and her friends are in this mess with us?”

“Ah, yes.” She looked a little sheepish. “They found us when the Sky Monarchs and the Elemental Elder came looking for me. You see, I…”

“Wait, hold on!” Shield interrupted. “Sky Monarchs? Elemental Elder? You mean Celestia, Luna, and Dragonis?”

“Yes, your rulers and guardian.” Her expression became clouded with simmering anger. “As you may have noticed, several of my kin have succumbed to chaos spirit’s foul magic. Somehow, do not ask me how, I remain without affliction. I could not let such a crime go unpunished, so I started to gallop all the way from Appleloosa to here in Ponyville, intending to find some kind of solution to this madness. I had hoped to find you all, that you might be able to use friendship’s magic to stop him.”

“Well, that was kind of the plan,” Rainbow said, “but Discord sure as hay isn’t making it easy.”

“Yes, I noticed.” she remarked. “Anyway, your princesses and guardian found me just as I reached the town and told me they were gathering the few who had remained untouched by Discord to meet him and his forces in battle. Naturally, I send I would lend a hoof. You ponies are not the only ones who remember the cruelty of his rule.”

“I’d think so.” I said, remembering the ballet-dancing buffalo. “But how do these three come into it?”

“Well, they found us as we travelled. They wanted nothing more than to do something, anything to help their friends and their home. They were so insistent in the end I decided that, as long as they remained in my care, I would keep them safe from harm.”

“And ya just let ‘em come along, knowin’ how dangerous it would be?” AJ asked incredulously.

“Well, I thought they would be safe with me.” Strongheart reasoned. “Please, Applejack, I meant no offense to you.”

“No offense? No offense?!” she shouted, losing her temper. “Ya willingly put, not only my sister, but also her friends in danger from a swarm of hungry monsters and ya say ya meant no offense?!”

“Applejack please, there’s no need to be angry," she said calmly.

“I’d say there is!” Applejack stepped angrily towards her. “I thought you were supposed to be our friend and yet y’all go an' do somethin’ as empty-headed as this?!”

This seemed to strike a nerve with the buffalo as she furrowed her brow in an angry frown and held AJ’s hard gaze.

“Do not call me empty headed,” she growled, “or I will show you just how hard an empty buffalo head is.”

“Just try it. I’d probably want to go a few rounds for lettin’ ya put my sister in danger!”

“AJ, calm down!” I said to her, trying to stop all of this.

“Stay outta this, Dog!” She said to me, scaring me. “This is between me and her!”

“Applejack, stop it!” Apple Bloom squealed. “It’s not her fault!”

“Ya stay outta this too, Apple Bloom! This don't concern you!” she ordered her sister.

“Are you questioning my judgment?” Strongheart demanded.

“Sure am, feather head!” she retorted angrily. “Just give me one good reason not to smack ya inta the dirt right now!”

“Try that and I will make you regret it.”

“That a threat?”

“No, that is a promise.”

“Why, I oughta…”

“Stop! Both of you!” I got in between them and shoved them apart. “Look, AJ, I don’t agree with what Strongheart did. Ya got every right to be angry. But right now, we got enough problems without ya two lockin’ heads with each other.”

“But she…”

“I know what she did, but she meant well, y’all can see that.” I told her. “We need to stick together. That’s what Dusk would say if he were here and so would Twilight.”

“Yeah.” Shield put in. “Even though they’re eggheads, I’d agree with them.”

I then looked from one to the other. “And I’ll tell ya somethin’ else Dusk would say: fighting, whether an enemy or a friend, won’t fix this either. And ya know what? He’d be right too.”

“Yeah, I’d agree to that too.” Shield added. “Even though I still think a problem’s better solved by swinging a few hooves, but not here and not now. Not when there’s something worse we could be swinging them at instead.”

“Exactly! So stop your fightin’ and let’s get back to dealin’ with Discord!”

As AJ kept looking angry, I was hoping she’d see that I was right. As the two smartest in our group, that would be exactly what Twilight and Dusk would say and, of course, they’d be absolutely right. All the madness that was happening and the two of them were squabbling like chickens over the last few grains of corn? Fighting each other wouldn’t help to stop Discord and it certainly wouldn’t help to stop his minions either.

She looked at Strongheart, my speech seeming to have a profound effect in her too. Her own angry expression softened somewhat and she looked rather ashamed of herself. Perhaps it was from the mention of Dusk that did it for her, as AJ and I both knew that they were all good friends and she was probably worried about him, just as we were about him and the rest of our friends. She met Applejack’s gaze again.

“Dog is right. Discord is the true enemy here and I lost of sight of that.” She raised her neck to AJ. “I’m sorry for my actions, my harsh words, and placing you sister in danger. It was not my intention to do so.”

“We don’t blame you, Little Strongheart.” Sweetie put in. We all looked at her. “What? We don’t, I’m just saying.”

“That’s good of you to say so, Sweetie, but the apology is still necessary regardless.” she said. “Can you forgive me, Applejack?”

“Don't sweat it, sugar, and… I owe ya an apology too.” she admitted. “I shouldn’t have got all worked up at ya, ʹspecially when it was thanks to ya that I can still get worked up anyways. I’m sorry.”

“You are forgiven.” she said gently. “Please understand, among my people, I too am still considered a child and yet I am still able to fight for what I wish to be done. I thought it could do no wrong to give these little fillies a similar chance to fight for their home as I was, but I forgot that we have grown up in different circumstances to each other. Once again, I’m sorry for overlooking that.”

“Hey, it’s already forgiven, sugar.” Applejack assured. “I get that, but I still shouldn’t have gotten so worked up either.”

“You had every right to be. As Dog said, the fault is mine entirely.” she insisted.

“I know, but I think I overdid it a lil’ with the violent threats an' what not."

"I probably would have done the same, I understand really."

“Yeah, but…”

“Okay, you can stop apologizing now.” Shield said, exasperatedly. "Geez, I think I preferred it when you were fighting.”

“Hey, I thought ya didn’t want them to fight either. Make up your mind!”

We laughed off the incident and AJ returned her attention to her sister. “Now, what am we gonna do with you three?”

“Please don’t send us away, Applejack.” Scootaloo begged. “We only wanted to help Rainbow Dash and Shield… and the others too, I guess.”

“Yeah, we just wanna help ya and fight for our home too.” Apple Bloom put in.

“Please let us stay! I need to find my sister and make sure she's okay!” Sweetie Belle sobbed. “You understand, right?”

Me and AJ looked at each other then over the three young ponies. Under normal circumstances, we would’ve preferred to send them straight home or put them somewhere safe. But, in the end, we both had to admit that wasn’t going to happen. In this place, nowhere would be safe thanks to Discord and his pets and, if the Paraserpents came after them, they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves.

In the end, we conceded to reality and sighed.

“Right, I guess it’s obvious y’all ain’t goin’ nowhere and we don’t have the time to take ya back to the farm.”

Sweetie Belle perked up at her words. “Does that mean that we…”

“Yes, ya can stay with us.” she called as they leaped and jumped for joy. “Now hold on! Just a few rules if ya gonna stay with us. It’s still pretty dangerous out here.”

“Ee-yup!” I put in. “First, no runnin’ off alone. Stay close to us and ya’ll be fine.”

“Right!” Apple Bloom affirmed. “We’ll stick to ya like candy ta an apple!”

“Make sure ya do.” I smiled as she quoted her sister. “Second, no takin’ stupid risks. This ain’t a game. This is dangerous stuff and ya can’t afford to mess around.”

“Got it!” Scootaloo saluted, slapping on her crash helmet. “Don’t worry, safe is our middle name.”

“And third, don’t get yourselves involved in the fightin’. This stuff is too much for fillies to handle.” I warned them. “Just let us handle it and stay outta the way, okay?”

“Okay.” Sweetie nodded. “I wasn’t exactly planning on going hoof-to-hoof with those things anyway. They don’t even have hooves.”

“Good, just follow them rules and ya’ll be just fine.”

“Course we will! We got Icedra and Apolloid with us!” Apple Bloom said with a confident smile.

“Ya know?” I asked, surprised even more by her nodding. “How?”

“Well, when we ran into Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Dragonis, Sweetie Belle kind of told us your secret.” Scootaloo told us as Rarity’s sister looked ashamed.

“Sweetie Belle?” I couldn’t believe she told them. “And ponies call me a blabbermouth.”

“I had to!” Sweetie told me. “Dragonis told me too!”

“What?” I was confused by this. “Why would he tell you to…”

“Look! Here come more of them!” I whipped up to look at where Strongheart was pointing to see even more of the monsters slithering and hissing out of the shadows.

“AAH! More of them, run!” Sweetie Belle shot off before they could do anything Shield dashing off and grabbing her before she got too far.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle.” Shield said as he put her on his back. “Just stick close to us and you’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry, sis! We’ll help ya beat these varmints back!” Apple Bloom promised AJ, raising her hooves.

“Hey, watch me scooter right off the head of that one!” Scootaloo proclaimed, hopping on her scooter as she said it. “It’ll be awesome!”

As Shield walked over to us, I stared in disbelief before I looked to AJ, Dash, and Strongheart who looked just as flabbergasted as me, AJ slapping her hoof to her head.

“Fillies.” she groaned. “Why do I bother?”

Shaking myself back, I then said “Come on. Let’s go get ‘em.”

Right there, we all then ran off to save Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

Twilight’s view

I was still panicking at the realization that Pinkie’s explosives had failed to go off at a vital time. As a result, my mind was frantically trying to think of some kind of new strategy, all the while the Paraserpents creeping steadily closer, squeezing through the arch way and glaring hungrily at me and Pinkie, who also was starting to panic a little even as she tried using her elemental powers to either slow down or push back the Paraserpents.

My eyes darted from one pointed face to another. We could try holding our ground, but I still needed some time for a little rest after performing all of those spells and Pinkie needed time to load her cannon again. If we tried fighting in our current state, we would become tired and overwhelmed quickly by the sheer mass of them. To run was out of the question as the Paraserpents would cover the ground in seconds and overwhelm us still. I was also not willing to have Pinkie fly while is such a panicked state, worried of how it’ll affect both our escape and her powers. What could we do? What else could we do?

There had to be a way out, there was always a way out! I couldn’t be beaten now, not here. Discord was still in power, we still needed to stop him. It was just these stupid snakes stopping us from reaching the Elements. We were so close and yet this looked like the end. What about the rest of my life, all the things yet to be done that I would never do? My training with the Princess, I’d never finish it. There was still so much I needed to learn, so many things to do, books I hadn’t read, and Dusk…

I’d never even told Dusk my feelings for him, for I knew I had them. Though I’d tried so many times to deny it, they were there. Would it have worked out if we had tried? Would I have been happy?

“Huhuhuhuhubububu!” Broken out of my thoughts, I looked to see that Pinkie’s body was vibrating violently. “Oooh, boy! That was a big one!”

“Pinkie sense acting up?” I asked, my gaze darting between her and the Paraserpents.

“Sure is and—man!—is it a doozy!” She shook again and shuddered.

“Well… what is it?” I asked, dreading the worse.

“I don’t know for sure, but something big is coming. Like a major plot twist or something.” she reported. “Something along the lines of deus ex machina, I think.”

“What?” As always with Pinkie, I was now confused. “What do you mean by that?”

Before Pinkie could answer, another voice cut her off in that instant, sounding very close by and directly behind her.

“Twilight, get down!” Without thinking, I obeyed the voice and ducked.

The instant I did, a green ball of fire shot over my head, so close I could actually feel the heat radiating from it, past the swarming Paraserpents, and into the arch way, hitting one of the red cans she knew to be a party grenade. That was all it took.

KABOOM!

In a cloud of purple fire and pink smoke, the three grenades detonated, consuming all the Paraserpents nearby in a brilliant plume of fire and streaming confetti. I conjured a shield to counteract it, watching as large chunks of stone shot into the air and came crashing down around me, some of them smacking the heads of more of the monsters and knocking them out cold. Even in the safety of my shield, I could still feel the rumble in the earth from the explosion.

As if that wasn’t spectacular enough, the clouds suddenly opened and a beams of light and streaks of lightning shot out of it, electrocuting or spontaneously combusting a few of the remaining stragglers nearby who were now hissing and shrieking frantically, slithering as fast as they could to try and get away from the torrents of elements raining down upon them.

Shaking my head, I cut off the shield and turned to see our rescuer, who was looking taller than he usually did, reaching up to my head—as well as more muscular in his upper body—eliminating the chubby belly he had before. His mouth was smoking from the potent ball of fire he had launched, far more powerful than any others he’d done.

“Spike? Is that you?” I asked in disbelief.

“Sure is!” His voice was deeper too now, flexing his muscles impressively. “What do ya think? Pretty good, huh?”

“Wow! Spike’s had a growth spurt!” Pinkie Pie cried. “So what? Are you a teenaged dragon now? That’s not good! Now he's gonna be all moody and stuff.”

“Actually, Pinkie…” Spike began, but the pony cut him off.

“Now, at this time. you’ll probably start growing scales where you didn’t have any before and you may find girls slightly less icky. But don’t worry, it’s all perfectly natural.” she said in a teacher-like tone. “Now, the biggest change you can experience is down in your…”

“Pinkie, enough!” Twilight said, though I couldn’t help but giggle at Spike’s blushing. “I’m sure it’s nothing like that? It isn’t, is it?”

“No! I mean, uh…” he stammered when his negative came out in a higher voice than before, “No! But, really though, this is all thanks to a potion Zecora gave me. Makes me stronger and my inner fire more powerful. Cool, huh?”

“Wow. I didn’t even know she could do potions like that.” I awed.

“Neither did I.” He looked down at his muscular body, smiling to himself. “Oh, yeah! Rarity’s gonna love this.”

“I wouldn’t get too used to it, Spike. I’m pretty sure that the effects are temporary.” I noted.

“Yeah, I know. But I can at least enjoy it while I can.” He looked around at the Paraserpents bodies and piles of dust. “Looks like we got here just in time.”

“You can say that again.” Twilight agreed.

“Yep, your fire set off my grenades just when we needed it.” Pinkie added, looking at the remains of the arch. “I guess they weren’t duds after all. They just needed a good kick to get them going.”

“So that’s what that was?” Spike whistled in admiration. “I just thought that was my fire being more powerful than normal. Those things really pack a punch.”

“That’s what I made them for.” Pinkie winked.

“You said ‘we got here just in time’. Who else is with you?” I asked.

“Oh, plenty of people. In fact,” he said, pointing behind me, “here’s one of them right now.”

I looked and my vision beheld somepony that completely eliminated any fear I had previously, for I knew now that we would be safe. Sailing as majestically as a cloud, her horn shining with her powerful magic, and her mane flowing like a rainbow river, Princess Celestia descended from the sky and landed before me, a radiant smile on her face.

“My student, I’m glad to see your safe.” she said warmly.

“And I’m glad to be safe.” I beamed at my teacher. “Thank goodness you’re here. I thought we were done for.”

“Evidently not. I knew your magical abilities would keep you safe.” I glowed at this praise. “And hello to you too, Ms. Pinkie Pie. Unharmed I take it?”

“Yep! Fit as a fiddle, raring as a rooster, and safe as a snuggy!” Pinkie reported happily.

“Good to know.” Celestia giggled. “Still keeping a positive attitude then?”

“Yes, indeedy.” she nodded. “I’m gonna be ace in this place, head of the race, and keeping pace with a smile on my face!”

“I have no doubt of that. It’s good of you to think in such a way in this dark time.” She passed her gaze around. “Where is everypony else?”

“We got separated in the struggle, Princess.” Twilight said. “I don’t know where they could be.”

“Then you must find them, Twilight. It is imperative that you remain together.” Celestia told her. “Only then can you defeat Discord.”

I already knew this, but I nodded in affirmation regardless. I’d thought that splitting up would divide the Paraserpents’ forces and make them easier to manage, but it was clear that we should have stayed together from the beginning, even now when I’d spent the last half an hour reminding myself of that. That would be the last time she made that mistake.

And I won’t be leaving Dusk alone this time. I thought to myself.

“I understand, Princess.” I said. “Now that you’re here, I’m sure we can find them again.”

The princess sighed. “Unfortunately, Twilight, I cannot remain to help you. The focus of my fight along with Dragonis and Luna’s lies elsewhere on a different path to you and it is with your enemy and mine.”

Dread started to form in the pit of my stomach for I knew that could only mean one thing. I followed Celestia’s gaze upwards and, sure enough, there he was, sitting on a couch floating in sky and surveying all that was happening below him with a contemptuous smile and just a flicker of fear on his face.

“You’re going to fight Discord?” I asked in disbelief.

“We are,” she said, “but just to hold his attention on us and prevent him from creating more Paraserpents to prevent your progress to the library, long enough for you to retrieve the Elements and stop him for good.”

I lost all composure at this. “Are you insane? You can’t fight Discord by yourselves!”

“On the contrary, my student,” Celestia dismissed, “we can and we will, as we did at his first dominion over Equestria. Dragonis, Luna, and I are more than capable of holding our own, you know that better than most.”

“But that was when you and Luna had the Elements!” she cried. “He’s too powerful for you to stop without them! He’ll beat you and probably turn you to stone too! Or worse!”

“What’s worse than being turned to stone?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know. Being turned to concrete? Granite? Limestone? Jelly?” Pinkie listed off. “Ooh! I would love to be turned to jelly, I bet I’d taste delicious! Oh, wait! Then I’d be eating myself, so maybe that wouldn’t be so good. Ooh, ooh! I know! How about…”

“Both of you, quiet!” I snapped. “This is serious!” The two of them quickly being silenced, I looked back at Celestia. “Princess, you can’t seriously be considering fighting Discord.”

“I am and I will.” she said firmly. “Regardless of what you may think, Twilight, I know what I’m doing.”

“But there has to be another way!” I insisted. “Princess, please! You can’t do this! He’s too strong!”

“Maybe, maybe not, but no. This is the only way.” The smile returned to her face. “Have faith, Twilight Sparkle. Don’t you trust me?”

I was about to argue back, to say that of course I trusted her judgement, but right now I just didn’t think that this was the best thing to do. My rational thought, my common sense that I relied on so well, was screaming to urge the Princess to stay with us, to fight the Paraserpents because we needed her help and she would have a much better chance against them than against their master. It only made sense and I was more than willing to tell her that.

But one thing that Celestia said silenced me: have faith. Faith, that little voice telling you to believe when common sense was telling you otherwise because, deep down, you knew that little voice was right and that you should listen to it. That’s what Dusk would say. That was what he believed and, as silly as it may sound to me, I found myself believing it too. Because how could he be wrong about it? That just didn’t seem possible. I would never doubt him, not for a second. So why would I doubt my teacher?

In the end, I bowed my head and sighed, finally giving in.

“Okay. I trust you, Princess.” I admitted. “I’m sorry that I stepped out of line and lost my temper. I just… I don’t want you to…”

Staring down at the patchwork path, I became aware of warm presence close to my face. When I looked up, Celestia was craning her head down to my level, her smile as warm as the sun she raised.

“I understand your concern, Twilight. Don’t worry, I'll be fine, you’ll see.” she assured as gently as a mother would her child.

Unable to contain myself, I jumped forward and hugged my mentor, wrapping my forelegs around her soft white fur, letting all I felt and feared be expressed through it, feeling secure as she returned it. I could hear Spike sniffing and Pinkie bawling like a child, crying rivers of tears, but I didn’t mind.

Somehow, that sense of security didn't completely fade when Celestia released her and turned to take off into the sky once more, her face resolved and her eyes glowing with fierce determination. It was time.

“Good luck, Princess.” I whispered, wiping away a tear that had trickled onto my cheek.

“Good luck to you too, Twilight.” She started to walk off, then hesitated. “Remember one thing: keep Dusk close, for he is far more special than we first thought.”

I couldn’t help but smile warmly at the thought of Dusk. “I don’t doubt that, Princess. He really is remarkable.”

“I should hope so, especially considering he was there at the beginning, more than you know.” she said with a mysterious ghost of a smile.

“Yeah… I know.” With that, Celestia spread her wings and took off, soaring towards her sister who hovered higher up.

I stared after her, still feeling the lingering warmth of the sun in her wake and the awakened feeling of my own faith. I just hoped it wasn’t misplaced.

Dragonis’ view

As we waited at the meeting point we had decided upon with Celestia before going to find their respective subjects, Luna was anxiously flapping her wings, glancing towards her fate when her elder rejoined us.

“Is all well?” Celestia asked when she hovered next to us.

“It is, as well as they… he can be.” Luna murmured, glancing back down to where Dusk was. "And Twilight?”

"Shaken, but fine, yes.” she nodded. “We’ve done all we can for them now, only one thing remains.”

“Indeed.” I spoke up, though feeling a shiver of fear down her spine at the thought of it for which I quelled while putting on a brave face. “Then we should not keep him waiting.”

“Yes.” Celestia said, turning to face Luna. “Ready, my sister?”

“As I will be.”

“Then let us fly, together!”

Soaring upwards into the cotton candy filled sky, I was soon flying side by side with the sisters, shooting off to meet Discord in battle which no doubt gave the younger princess great feelings déjà vu. Here they were again, Celestia and Luna, like a thousand years ago, flying together to battle the evil tyrant, bonded by their friendship and sisterly love. Only now, I had joined their stride with my Golden Staff ready. Hopefully, the three of us would be enough.

I recalled the look in Dusk’s eye when we’d spoken to him before coming here, that special understanding of some deep knowledge that had been conveyed in that moment, those stones glinting around his neck. Dusk already had the skill, the drive, and the purpose the fight on for his home. But now his faith had been strengthened ten-fold. What was more, he had his friends and he had his heart, which we both knew would not fail him now or ever. Like myself, he was as ready as Luna could hope him to be, as much as I hoped him to be, and I had no doubt he would press on to the end.

Only one question remained now: if Fore Sight was right and Luna’s assumption was correct, would Dusk be able to figure it out now, exactly what those little stones actually were? Exactly what their true purpose was? Luna had done her best to give him the hint and, from what I could tell, Dusk had mostly figured out that there had to be something about him, something that only he possessed which would help to defeat Discord. Of course, Dusk was right, but would he be able to figure out exactly what? As much as she wanted to tell me, Luna knew Dusk had to figure it out for himself. Much like how I have to allow so many times in his life. That was how it had to be.

Returning to the matter at hoof, we had done all we could, Celestia, Luna, and I. Now it was time for us to face our destiny as he casually hovered over to meet us, halting in the sky and leaving a sizable space between us. I had forgotten how much his malicious smile made my skin crawl as we beheld the spirit of chaos once again.

“Why, Celestia! So glad you could come! I was missing you!” He gestured towards Ponyville. “Do you like what I’ve done with the place? I think it’s quite an improvement if I must say so.”

“It was better as it was.” Celestia retorted angrily.

“Honestly, so narrow-minded.” he pouted. “If you like this, just wait till I get started on Canterlot. Floating spires, stone made of sugar, and a nice big cushy throne room for yours truly. Oh, yes. It will look a treat, quite literally.”

“I’d rather relinquish my wings and horn than see you set one hoof in Canterlot or any other part of Equestria!” Celestia spat.

“You would? Well, that can swiftly be arranged if you like.” He smiled and turned his attention to Luna. “And you, little Luna, don’t think I’ve forgotten about you. You’re looking well, considering how last time you were falling to pieces, in every sense.”

“Thou will have to do much better than sending one of thy lackeys to destroy me, Discord!” she said defiantly, determined to remain courageous.

“Hm… I suppose I will. Hired help is so unreliable.” he nodded. “Note to self: never send a pony to do a draconaquis’ job, especially when it means he misses out on the fun.”

“Yes, it does seem your servants are exactly great like before, are they?” I remarked. “Diablo is gone and your Paraserpents are otherwise engaged. It is just you and us, Discord!”

“Oh, that’s not entirely true.” he said slyly. “There is still one left who serves me, one noble soul who would serve in my name if I asked him to. He’s a little… preoccupied in Tartarus at the minute, but I can soon change that. Thank you for reminding me, by the way.”

“Don’t you even dare.” I growled at him, knowing exactly who he was speaking of.

“Oh, but you know who I mean, don’t you, Dragonis?” he noted. “Once the loyal captain of Celestia’s guard all those years ago as well as your star pupil who was willing to lay down his life for you, all before turning to the best side after how you treated him and what she had done to him. Really, Celestia how could you? I thought you were supposed to be kind.”

“Stop it, Discord.” Celestia said in a low tone.

“And he had such good plans too, powerful magic and the right mind to use it. I wonder if he managed to get any of them completed before you locked him up and threw away the key. There was one I was particularly invested in, one that would certainly be a lot of fun to use once it was finished. Perhaps I’ll let him resume his work once he’s out. You know how I hate leaving something unfinished.”

“SILENCE!” I almost jumped out of my skin at Luna’s declaration. “How dare you even mention him? How dare you?!”

“Ooh! Touched a nerve, have I?” Discord grinned even wider. “So much for royal composure then.”

“Enough stalling, Discord!” she snapped, distracting him from the point. “Thou knows why we’re here.”

He waved his hand in a bored sort of way. “Oh, yes. I know, I know. Here to do epic battle with the big boss, thunder crashing and skies flashing as we lock blades in battle upon which the fate of the whole of Equestria rests in the balance. Only one may walk away. One shall stand, one shall fall. No turning back, yadda, yadda, yadda. But really, what’s the point when we all know how this’ll turn out?”

“Nothing is set in stone, Discord.” Luna retorted. “Thou knowest that better than any.”

He frowned at her intended pun. “Not bad, Luna. Not bad. I guess you do have a sense of humor. Are you sure you wouldn’t mind joining me instead? I could have Dragonis join too.”

“She will not! Neither will Dragonis!” Luna’s sister bellowed. “Today, Discord, we stop you once and for all and restore harmony to Equestria!”

“Yes, thank you, Miss Grimsalot.” Discord dismissed. “But really, haven’t the you all come to your senses by now and seen the truth?”

“What truth?” I asked in spite of myself.

“That harmony and your rule are not only boring, but so, so pointless.” Neither of them said anything in response to this and he continued. “You talk about restoring harmony, bringing peace and love to the land and all who live in it, but let me ask you something: how is your rule and mine any different?”

“What?!” Luna laughed decisively. “Our rules could not be more dissimilar.”

“Oh, really?” He paused a moment. “Think about it, Celestia: we both have great power and the will to use it, the purpose of ruling in our own ways. Yet, there’s one thing I wonder: who was it that overthrew me and declared themselves monarchs without anypony else saying so? Who was it that saw fit to dethrone another rightful monarch and imprison him in ice? And who is it that, when her sister put one hoof out of line, locked her away in the moon for a thousand years?”

Luna was struck dumb by his words, as was Celestia. Seeing his advantage, Discord pressed on, still grinning away.

“Yes, you see now, don’t you? Who’s the real evil tyrant here? She, who restricts the freedom and fun of chaos and imposes her own rightful order thinking she knows what's best for everypony. You see, in my rule, ponies are free to do as they please, because nothing restricts them and they can be themselves. They don't have to be scared of the big bad princess who may banish them if they do something she doesn't like. And, unlike you, I certainly don’t turn ponies into stone!”

As the two were taking the moment to think, I saw through Discord’s lies and decided to put an end to them with a blast of fire, leaving the Lord of Chaos surprised and singed.

“Enough of your lies, Discord!” I spoke up. “You can try to trick us with your wicked words, but the fact remains that you most certainly are the true villain here. Celestia and Luna don’t set monsters on their subjects, try to deceive them, or treat them as their own playthings. That’s all you and you must be stopped!” The sisters shook their heads furiously as they regained their senses.

“Vile trickster!” Luna bellowed. “Thou shall pay for what thou has done! To us, to our subjects, and to Equestria! We shall see thee locked in stone for eternity!”

He stared at us a moment, frowning again. “Is that all you have to say then?”

“That’s all that needs to be said.” With the three of us nodding to each other, we flared our horns and prepared for battle.

Discord only raised an eyebrow and gave a small chuckle.

“Still so boring. Alright then. First, let me clean myself up.” In a flash, the burns and singed fur were gone like they weren’t even there. “Next, let me make sure your friends are occupied.” He snapped his fingers, summoning more Paraserpents below. “Then some fitting music.” He conjured a radio, playing strange madcap tunes. “And lastly…” He held out his palms, various explosives floating in them. “Let’s brawl!”

With this, in a bright flash of light and sound, we crashed together again and all of Equestria shook to hear our battle cries.

Author's Note

Thanks to the help of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Dragonis Maximus, our heroes have now gained allies to help them in their battle against the army of Paraserpents. As one battle begins, another comes as the two royal sisters and the great guardian clash with the dreaded Lord of Chaos. The epic clash between harmony and chaos begins next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Bet you were surprised to find out Dusk was related to royalty, huh? And I bet you’re wondering who Discord was talking about that had touched a nerve in Dragonis. Well, to that question, you’re gonna have to wait a while for that answer. By the way, the music Discord plays on that record player is the Chicken Dance. In the next chapter, it’s chaos versus harmony, round two, ding! This next battle is gonna be one for the history books, folks! Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 18: Fight Against Chaos

“Okay, explain to me one more time.” I asked Dusk. “What exactly is the plan?”

Though I knew it was the only plan we had, I was still having doubts because I wasn’t sure if it would work. I mean would you blame me? Beside me with my cannon, Rarity’s wind blasts, Gold Star’s Anti-Magic sword, and Hearth Forest’s Water Magic, our little defense group around Dusk wasn’t really much. Though she was a little braver knowing that Dusk, the pony she thought of like her brother, Fluttershy was still scared at the very idea of fighting all those Paraserpents. Gold, Hearth, Rarity, and Zecora were fine, now on the lookout for more or finishing off remaining ones from Celestia, Luna, and Dragonis’ attack that had actually made Flutters scream. While she was afraid, I tried my best to reassure her, much like Dusk.

“It’s simple,” Dusk said to me patiently. “I’ll be using my color manipulation to gather the others here. I'll need complete concentration to pull it off, so I'll need you three to protect me while I perform my spell, just long enough for me to guide the others here. Once they're here, we'll fight back the Paraserpents and get to the library, retrieve the Elements, and return Discord to his rightful status as a garden ornament.”

“Okay.” I said to him. “You sure you can it? That’s a pretty big job.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” He told me.

“Big Brother, are you sure this will work?” Flutters said to him timidly, “I’m really sorry, but I’m just so… so scared…”

“I know, I understand. I am too.” I admitted. “But you can be brave, Fluttershy, you have been before. Be brave for me now, for us.”

She took deep breaths to calm herself, knowing as much as I do that we needed her to be brave for us, to save us. I also knew, if she could do it once, she could do it again.

“Right… be brave, be brave.” she said like a mantra. “Thank you, Dusk.”

“No problem, my little sister.” That made Flutters smile as she then hugged gently.

Remembering what Discord did to us, to her, I was going to make sure that guy got what was coming to him. Turning Flutters into a jerk? That really got my blood boiling.

“Once we’re all together again, everything will be okay?” she asked as she broke the hug.

“Yes, once we’re back together… all of us…” Dusk trailed off, his smile faltering. I had to be he was thinking about Twilight and was worried about her.

Flutters saw that too and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

“I know she will be.” Dusk said, that enduring faith shining through again. “They all will be. They have to be, otherwise…” Dusk left it at that and cleared his throat. “Right, I’d better get started.”

“Okay then…” Dusk turned away from her and stood at the top of the hill. “Dusk, wait! Just um… good luck.”

Dusk smiled at her for which she smiled back at. “You too, Fluttershy.”

Dusk then closed my eyes, the glow of his horn shining beneath my hat. When he opened them again, they were glowing all kinds of different colors, like Dusk’s very eyes were rainbows. A shining orb, appeared above his head, bathing us in all the colors of the world. Then the colors left the orb and two puppets, both in the images of Dusk and El Dragon, emerged from the orb and galloped off into different parts of the town with rainbow trails of sparkles behind them, their hooves and claws moving them silently over the ground, like they were gliding.

They would be coming now. They would see it and they would come. With her legs shaking as her heart pound against her chest, eyes darting this way and that for any sign of a threat, Fluttershy seemed as ready as she would ever be for the fight that was about to start up again.

She suddenly whimpered, no doubt at the very thought of fighting. She gazed desperately at Dusk, wanting him, needing him to stop, and to come back and protect her, to stand beside her. But Dusk wouldn’t be able to hear her, he was too deep in concentration.

“Don’t be scared, Flutters.” I said gently. “I know it seems bad, but we’ll make it through. You’ll see.”

“You… you really think we will?” she asked.

“Of course.” reassured. “We got all our friends here to help us. So there’s nothing to be afraid of.

“Okay, I'll do my best… thank you.” she whispered.

“No problem.” I turned my head to face the town. “We’d better get ready. Stay close to me, Flutters. Don’t be scared and good luck.”

“Okay.” Though her legs were still shaking, she walked with me to our proper place on the hill we’d selected for us, one the others said would have the least amount of Paraserpents coming from it or so I hoped.

Once again, I’d be fighting and fighting monsters too. Would they be worse than dragons? No, dragons were worse, but the Paraserpents were definitely a close second. Those horrible eyes, their wicked faces, and sharp teeth made my skin crawl and my hooves shake. I wanted nothing more than to run off home with Flutters, lock the front door, and have her hide under her bed and me standing guard until it was all over. But, like her, I did my best not to be scared, not to run away like a scaredy pony. No matter what, I was still a member of the Element Gang. Right now, Equestria needed me now more than ever.

“This is for Dusk, for my friends.” I whispered to her. “Come on, Fluttershy. You can do this… you can do this.”

Flutters and I whipped our heads up to see more of them swarming up the hill, their red eyes fixed on us, and spit dribbling from their maws. She let out a small squeak, but stood her ground. It seemed she wasn’t all that scared of them anymore, that she wouldn’t let them scare her. I smiled knowing that she’d do her best, she’d help our friends and fight, no matter what.

“I can do this!” she declared as both got ready to take on some Paraserpents.

Shield’s view

Felt pretty good to crash my hoof against scales as I slammed into another Paraserpent, the monster screeching from being sent flying backwards into a wall that collapsed on him and cutting off his screech. I nodded at this, blowing on my hoof casually and rubbing it on my chest. Purely and simply awesome.

I turned to see that there were plenty more around to get the same punishment. Unfazed by their snarling, hungry faces, and the fact they were preparing magic, I cricked my neck, slammed one hoof into another, and got ready to go at them. But, before I did, I saw Dash charged past me and go right at the group. Her two hooves crashed into the snakes, causing their heads to reel back and crash into their friends. Their spells also went shooting off and hit two more, making them slam to the floor in a heap.

She let out a loud battle cry to make herself even more scary and tough, banked around in the air, and charged again, knocking them out for good. She looked back at her seven knocked-out foes and let out a derisive laugh. As if they thought they could stand a chance against her. They had as much a chance of beating her as much as beating me: zero. Not only had she taken out all of those guys by herself, but she did it in the only way I knew she could: with style.

“Oh, yeah! I’m just too good, right?” she asked her fallen enemy before it let out a weak hiss. “Ha! Thought you'd agree with me.”

“Hey, come on, Dash!” I said as I got over to her. “Leave some for me!”

“Oh, don’t worry. There’s plenty to go around.” She said, pointing to more Paraserpents coming our way. “Come on!”

“Right!” I said as we then went off to take down some more Paraserpents.

While I was pretty easy to get along with and easy-going most of the time, I didn’t like anypony bugging me when I didn’t want it, especially in taking a good fight from me. I’ve come to know Dash was just the same as me. And, much like how she’s the Element of Loyalty, we both certainly didn’t like it when anypony thought they could get on ours and her friends’ bad side. These were things that could tick us off pretty easily and made us very difficult to get along with, to the point when we would start throwing hooves around.

Right now, these Paraserpents were ticking us off in both ways, along with dopey Discord. He’d already separated Dash from our friends, hidden her Element, messed up her home, made her act like a jerk, and abandon all of us, and now had the nerve to send these guys after her, thinking they could beat her and try to stop her getting her Element back and stopping him. Saying she was mad at him would be a real understatement. When she got her Element back, he was going to pay big time.

She looked up at the sky where I knew Discord was. “I hope the birds make your statue look real pretty when I’m through with you, punk!”

Looking around, I checked out how the rest of them were. Applejack and Dog, with Apple Bloom cowering close by, using their crazily strong back legs to take them down like they would kick an apple tree on the farm with Dog freezing some of them. I could actually hear them creaking like timber when they fell to the ground after being smacked like that. Pretty cool, but I had great speed and Dash could fly, so we had more chances for coolness in our attacks. Still, not everypony could be as awesome as us.

Little Strongheart, fiercely defending Sweetie Belle who went off with the buffalo to be protected, also reminded me and Dash of the reasons why we thought the buffalo calf was so cool. Looking at how bulky she seemed to be, even I had to raise an eyebrow in surprise at how often and easily she could leap up into the air and perform a somersault kick multiple times on the same Paraserpent, landing on all four hooves and knocking it with her head. Now that was pretty cool, even as I watched it topple and fall.

I then realized that I didn’t see Scootaloo anywhere with us. Where had that little filly gone to?

“I have you!”

I got my answer too late as I turned around to see a Paraserpent shoot at me from nowhere. I barely raised my hooves when it hit me with a strong spell and wrapped its coils around me while I was distracted. I tried to struggle free from its bonds, but they’d already wrapped tight around me and were dragging me in further all the time.

“Hey, let me go, jerk!” I shouted.

“The more you ssssstruggle, the more tired you’ll become.” it taunted. “Why not jussssssst give up?”

“Dude, do you even know who you’re talking to?” she snapped, glaring at it and resuming her struggles.

“Very well then. Die fighting, it makesssssss no difference.” it hissed, raising me closer to its mouth.

I coughed and gagged at the smell. “Yuck! Have you ever heard of breath mints?”

“Your lasssssssst momentsssssss of life and you choossssssse to ssssssssspend it making poor humor?” it questioned disbelievingly.

“Who said I was joking? Your breath reeks!”

“Perhapssssssss your brain issssssss not functioning properly, clouded by fear.” it said.

“Yeah, just too bad my nose works just fine.” she said defiantly, determined not to show it fear.

Not that I was actually scared of course, probably just still hurting from the spell.

“Inssssssolent pessssssst!” it snapped. “Thisssssss dissssssresssssspect, thisssss arrogance, and what doessssss it gain you?”

I was about to answer when I heard the revving of a scooter’s engine that the Paraserpent didn’t seem to hear. Smirking at what I knew must be coming, I looked right back up at it and shrugged.

“I don’t know. A chance to mess around with you, to annoy you, or for a distraction?” I casually said.

“A disssssssstraction? From what? Your inevitable death?” it asked.

I only smirked at him, hearing the engine growing louder. It finally realized that something was wrong, but like me before, found out too late. He lifted his head just as a certain orange Pegasus filly on a scooter shot through the air and smacked him in the face, landing on the ground and skidding to a halt without any screw-up.

The coils loosened now, I took my chance to escape. Forcing my hooves out, I pushed the scales away from me, jumping up before crashing down, and punched the snake right in its pointy face, giving it my Triple Tiger Sashay with a left hook, right hook, and head-butt all at the same time, leaving it dazed and knocking it to the ground before it even knew what hit it.

“From that!” I squirmed out of the coils and kicked him in the head. “Geez, you guys like to talk as much as your boss does.”

“Shield!” turned as Scootaloo zoomed up to me. “You okay?”

“Of course I’m okay. It’s me.” I proudly said. “What about you?”

“Me? Pfft!” She scoffed and tried to talk like me. “Oh, yeah! I’m fine. Of course, I am.”

“Good to know.” I nodded, gesturing to the Paraserpent. “Nice work with the scooter you did there.”

“Really?” She became excited at this. “ʹCause I saw that you were in trouble and thought I could help. Then, I saw this overturned applecart like a ramp and figured—hey, I can use that—and then I just rode up that and him right in his face!”

“Yeah, I saw.” I sniffed casually. “But, yeah, I would have been fine. I was just letting him think he had me, then I was gonna surprise him.”

“Y-you were?” She quickly covered up her disappointment. “I mean, uh… I knew that! Of course, I did. I mean, Shield needing help? Whoever heard of that? That’s like Rainbow Dash needing help! It was just for… you know… just in case, you were…” She trailed off and blushed red, diverting her eyes to the floor.

Deciding that I was finished keeping my tough image and messing with the little filly, I put a hoof gently on her shoulder. “But thanks for helping out anyway. It was pretty radical what you did there.”

“Really?!” Scootaloo immediately perked up at these words. “You really… really think so?”

“Course. You’re pretty good on that scooter. Kinda remind me of myself when I was your age.” I smiled at the sight of her trying to keep her cool and the desire to whoop and leap for joy. “Just, uh…leave the butt-kicking to me and Dash in future, okay?”

“You got it!” she saluted.

I smirked again and tensed as more Paraserpents swarmed over. “Stay close to me, Scoot. This is gonna get messy.”

“Right!” she affirmed, scurrying behind Rainbow to safety.

As I launched myself back into the fight, my spirits were bolstered somewhat by Scootaloo idolizing me nearby, watching in awe as I carried out a series of awesome moves in my fighting against them. Of course, it was only natural that the little Pegasus would think of me as the best, as that was true. Much like with Dash. But there was something I’d always liked about the filly that just made it seem even more special than just some kind of fan. She actually did want to grow up and be like Rainbow Dash, which was pretty cool.

Now that I thought about it, the little Pegasus did remind me of myself as well as Dash: we were all sporty, daring, tough, had attitude, and matched ourselves up to somepony greater than ourselves to match against. Me and Dash had the Wonderbolts and Scootaloo had us and we all wished to be like our idols someday and, as such, pushed ourselves to the limit in order to prove that we could be the very best. Dash even told me she saw that herself and that, if there was anypony she’d even consider a sister, it’d be the young crusader looking to me.

Plus, this kind of thing was always better when there was somepony watching. That’s what I thought to myself as I slam-dunked a Paraserpent into one of his friends and forcing them both into snake-shaped craters in the ground.

“Wow! That was awesome, Shield!” Scootaloo said, staring down into the craters in awe.

“I know, I know.” I nodded, landing gently. “But still, nice of you to say so.”

“I see that your ego is still as great and endless as the stampeding grounds of our ancestors.” said Strongheart, who somersaulted over a Paraserpent and landed beside me.

“Hey, there you are!” I answered, knocking out the attacking snake. “What’s the matter? Needed some help so you came to me?”

“On the contrary, I came to see if you needed my help.” She slammed her hooves into another. “You seemed to look like you were struggling to manage on your own.”

“Hey, I’m doing just fine!” I socked the beast across the face and finished him. “I can take care of myself without any backup!”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow and a hoof, which came down on the head of a Paraserpent about to bite into her leg. “You missed one.”

I was at first a little shocked at how close that was, but she shrugged it off.

“I saw him. I was just about to finish him actually.” I lied. “Nice of you to do it for me though, saves my strength for the rest of them.”

“Of course you were.” she said in a sarcastic tone. “In all seriousness, however, I believe we should be doing more to combine our efforts. There are quite a few of these hoofless demons.”

As if to prove her point, three more Paraserpents sent magic bolts at us. We both dived aside to dodge them, me feeling one whizz over my head and past my mane. O looked to Strongheart, whose eyes suddenly widened and she smiled brightly.

“What’s got you so happy?” I asked.

“I have an idea to gain an upper hoof on our enemies.” she said proudly.

“Well, I guess it was bound to happen sometime.” I remarked, naturally good. “So, what is it then?”

“You’ll see, hold on. Applejack!” she called out. “Can you give me a boost?”

“Uh, sure I guess.” she agreed unsurely, smacking aside another snake and holding out her front hooves. “What for?”

“You’ll see!" she repeated before looking skyward and getting Dash’s attention. “Rainbow, fly over me just as I’m launched into the air.”

At first, I was a little confused, but soon figured out exactly what it was she wanted to do like Dash did.

“You got it!” Nodding and smiling in the daring way she did, she prepared herself as Strongheart tensed herself to run.

I watched as Strongheart galloped to Applejack, who stood ready to give her a boost upwards. She reached her, ran onto her hooves, and jumped at the same time as Applejack launched her into the air, flinging her hooves toward the sky. In almost the same instant, Dash flew in and reached out with her own hooves, grabbing Strongheart’s as she reached her and, with all her strength, held her there.

Now they quickly set to work while the Paraserpents surrounded them. Remaining in the center, Dash began to spin in a circle, letting the buffalo calf dangle out as much as possible, her legs rapidly moving as her own hooves struck and collided with any unfortunate Paraserpents that happened to get in the way. Once she couldn’t carry her anymore, Dash flung her up again, watching as she soared as high as any Pegasus.

Somersaulting, Strongheart landed on another Paraserpent, the beast writhing and flailing as she did. To stop him, I shot at him and smacked him across the face, his head reeling back. Strongheart kicked him from his back, sliding along his body as he toppled to the ground and gracefully landing on the ground.

“Well, that worked.” she remarked, smiling at Dash.

“Yeah, not bad.” she said. “But just remember, it couldn't have succeeded without me.”

“Don’t I know it.” she agreed. “Thank you for your help.”

“Eh, no sweat. I was—AGH!” Rainbow was cut off from a magic blast from a Paraserpent she didn’t see, hitting her in the leg.

“Rainbow Dash!” I said as Dash received the glancing blow, which was enough to make her cry out in pain from it and be thrown off balance.

The next attack would have got her if I hadn’t been there to kick the snake in the face as it lunged at her with fangs bared and halting the attack.

Clutching her bad leg, which was now hanging rather limp where the Paraserpent had hit it, me and her teamed up with Strongheart, the three of us charging the same snake and knocking it down with the combined strength of our hooves. At the same time, we reversed and kicked the remaining offender down. This would teach them not to mess with us.

I heard Dash wince a bit from the pain that was still in her leg and the angry red patch that showed up there, but she gritted her teeth and tried her best to ignore it. She’d had worse injuries, so she would do her best to cope with it. She couldn’t afford to show weakness at any time and certainly not now. I knew that there would be much more than her cool image at stake if she did.

Her injury, however, wasn’t missed by Strongheart, who became worried at the sight of her.

“Are you baldy injured?” she asked.

“Relax, I’m fine.” Dash tried to say casually. “I’m not gonna be kept down by this.”

“I’m not so sure.” she said doubtfully, looking at the wound. “That looks very nasty to me. I think it needs treating.”

“Trust me, it's nothing…”

She shook her head resolutely. “I beg to differ, that could seriously hinder you in battle. I would think that perhaps…”

“Hey! You heard Rainbow Dash!” I said, defending Dash. “If she says she’s fine, she's fine!”

I looked back at Dash as I realized what I just did, thinking she would be mad. But, instead, she gave me a smile that showed me her way of saying thanks. Strongheart looked surprised, but calmed down.

“I admire your faith in your friend, Shield, but I fear your confidence in her might be slightly misplaced in this case.”

“Hey, I can speak for myself! No offense, Shield.” Dash added to me.

“None taken.” I told her, having been told worse.

“Regardless, I have a solution.” She called over Sweetie Belle. “Do you still have the little pot I gave you?”

“Sure. Here you go!” She reached into her fur and took out a small brown pot. “I kept it safe like you asked me to.”

“And I am most grateful you did and I’m sure Rainbow will be too.” She pulled off the lid of the pot, revealing a thick brown paste.

She dipped her hoof into it, swirling it around until some were on the end of it. She then spat into the substance, at which Sweetie was grossed out by, muttered some words in a weird language, and spread the paste onto the wound. I was surprised to find Dash actually relaxing into it, like the pain melted away. The calf then washed off the paste, revealing the wound to be completely healed, like it was never there.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool!” Dash marveled at how quickly it had healed her skin. “What was in that stuff?”

“It’s made from a ground-up flower that grows only in the desert, mixed with a bit of spittle, as you saw.” she explained. “We use it for healing and treating a variety of wounds, including snake bites. I was hoping it wouldn’t be entirely dissimilar from one.”

“Guess we’re lucky it wasn’t.” Dash said as she handed the pot back to Sweetie Belle. “Thanks, Strongheart.”

“Think nothing of it.” she dismissed. “You are my friend and I’m sure you would have done the same for me.”

I wasn’t sure, but I think I saw Dash was touched by what Strongheart said. It was nothing strong enough to make her start crying or something sappy like that, but enough to make her stop and think for a bit. It was times like this I was reminded of why Dash was the Element of Loyalty, how loyalty was my family virtue, and what a really great quality it was to have in a friendship, for she really would have done the same for her too.

“You know it!” was Dash’s response, bumping hooves with the calf and nodding in respect. “Although, maybe I’d do it without the spitting.”

“Perhaps.” she said with a smile. “Now, this is a time for action, not words.”

“Aw, yeah!”

At this, the three of us continued our battle, slamming hooves into the nearest monsters that dared to come slithering up to us. Despite her now healed leg, however, I saw Dash was starting to feel the strain somewhat. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, her wings and muscles looking like they were starting to ache from the effort along with every punch and kick seemed that much harder to carry out as a result.

Strongheart too seemed to be getting tired as well, though she was either fitter or perhaps just better at hiding it. What didn’t help was the fact that every time we knocked down one Paraserpent, either more arrived fresh or new or ones we’d taken down before got back up to fight again. As such, there were practically no breaks in the fighting for us to rest and that really wasn’t helping.

“Is there no end…” Strongheart said, pausing to floor another one and panting. “…to these accursed monsters? It feels like we have been fighting for an age.”

“Sure is!” came the voice of Applejack, who kicked another serpent and she and Dog joined us. “Y’all still hangin’ in there?”

“Sure thing!” I said, wiping some sweat away. “This really gives you a work out though.”

“Ah hear ya.” she said, breathing heavily. “What about you, Strongheart?”

“I too am starting to, as you say, feel the burn.” she affirmed. “If this keeps up they'll overwhelm us.”

“Aw, come on! We can take these guys!” Dash said, trying to ignore the burning in her limbs.

“Hate to sound like a cynic, but she’s right.” Dog replied. “We need to either move somewhere else or stay here and wind up snake chow.”

“I would go for the first option.” She squinted in confusion. “Wait, what’s that?”

We all whipped around to see something glowing gallop towards them and I felt something close to relief as it neared us. It was the sparkling form of one of Dusk’s puppets, in the image of its creator, complete with the hat. Even the Paraserpents halted to stare at it when it halted, motioning with its head for them to follow.

“Wait, isn’t that Dusk's magic?” Strongheart asked, her smile now as bright as the puppet.

“Sure is, and that means we found our way out!” Dog smacked a distracted Paraserpent and kicked another to reach it. “Come on, everypony! Let’s go!”

Keeping our respective fillies as close as possible, we fought our way through the horde and galloped after it, hoping that it would lead us to somewhere safe. Unless it was a trap or trick from Discord, but I didn’t really mind either way. If it really was Dusk, then great; but if it was a trap, well…

Bring it on.

Pinkie Pie’s view

Bouncing in the air as I let out another blast from my trusty party cannon, I whooped at the sight of a Paraserpent’s mouth snapped shut by a stream of confetti. I gave the beast a bright smile and promptly bounced my head off him multiple times and knocked him back into his buddies, waving goodbye to him as he shot off.

“Great shot, Pinkie!" Spike praised, shooting a fireball at another and setting it ablaze.

“You too, Spike! You’re on fire!” I giggled as I reloaded her cannon. “Heh! On fire. I just got that.”

“Yeah, I’m smoking these guys!” Spike added, chuckling in his throat. “They just got burned!”

“They’re really feeling the heat!” I giggled. “So many fire puns, so little time.” I glanced around again at the large horde. “Oh, wait! I guess we got plenty of time.”

“Yeah, just so long as we’re not burning up too much time.” The two of us laughed again, one of my favorite sounds. Other than the honking of a party kazoo or the sound the oven made when my cupcakes were ready.

“This is no time for joking you two, we gotta stay focused!” Twilight urged, sticking her head out and hitting two more serpents, knocking them out.

I gasped at that. “How can you say that, Twilight? Any time is a good time for joking, especially this time cause you need laughing to keep your spirit up! And if you don’t keep your spirits up, then you get sad, and if you get sad, then you won’t want to fight anymore, and if you don’t want to fight, then…”

“Alright, you’ve made your point!” Twilight interrupted, ducking under two shots whizzing over her head. “You can make jokes if you like, just make sure you keep beating these things off.”

Seeing an opportunity, I raised my eyebrows. “So, what you’re saying is I can keep shooting my mouth off?”

“Ugh! Pinkie…”

“Are you, huh? Are you?”

Twilight just stared at me like she did sometimes and sighed. “Fine. Yes, I am saying that.”

“Sorry, what are you saying?” I pressed on, determined to worm this one out of her.

“Pinkie, is this really the time to…”

“Just say it, Twilight.” Spike prompted. “Come on, lighten up.”

“Ooh! Good one!” I remarked. “Now, what is it you’re saying, Twilight?”

“I’m saying you can keep shooting your mouth off!” she yelled, flinching from a shot that hit near her. "Now, get on with it!”

“Sure thing!” I affirmed with a giggle. “Good one, Twilight!” I heard her sigh again as I shot wrapping paper at another snake, wrapping him up like a birthday present.

After Celestia left and Spike had joined us, Twilight decided that we move somewhere less exposed and more secure that was close by while more of the Paraserpents were slithering closer, probably mad now because of the grenade incident. We needed somewhere near to our position that was reasonably secure, where we could dig ourselves in and could be defended easily with ranged attacks.

Basically, somewhere safe for us to shoot from as I understood it. I had then said, after Twilight had denied both my other ideas of Sugarcube Corner and my own house which were places I felt safe, I remembered seeing a dried-up fountain that was close to where we were. We’d be able to fit into the middle bit, use the walls to hide behind, and could easily watch every direction because it was in a circle. I figured that was what she would be looking for.

So that was where we were now: holed up in the fountain and holding back the Paraserpents that were trying to get at us like parasprites would at crops and candy. For the first time, I wondered if—because of their names—the two animals were related in any way. The sprites were more like bugs though and these things were just big old snakes that were a lot meaner and a lot more dangerous than sprites. I was disappointed I wouldn’t be able to use a load of instruments to lure them away, but at least I knew how to get rid of them.

It reminded me of similar pests I had back on the rock farm with my family, vicious little guys called Rock Worms, whose teeth were sharp enough to dig and eat right through the stones we collected. Much like the Paraserpents, they were okay to deal with on their own, but as a group, they could be dangerous and were willing to use their teeth on anypony who tried to stop them from eating. And they were never on their own. So, like the Rock Worms, I aimed most of my shots for the head as that was the nastiest part of their body, what with the fangs and all, so the rest of them wouldn’t be as dangerous.

Then, do what you needed to finish them off for good and they wouldn’t bother you anymore. They might be scary with their teeth and mean tempers, but you just had to hold your ground and not be scared, for that was beating them halfway. These things needed their food scared and helpless so they could eat them. so as long as they weren’t scared, they’d remain unbeaten and happy.

“Just like Granny Pie taught me!” I noted, singing the face of one that was silly enough to get a little too close.

“She does seem to be full of wisdom.” Twilight agreed, conjuring up a giant suitcase that stuffed five Paraserpents into it, slamming shut and vanishing.

“Wow, nice spell work!” I complimented.

“Yes, well, I thought it would be good to, uh… send them packing.” She nudged me with a laugh. "You get it because I, you know, packed them in a suitcase and that the, uh…term used to make your enemies in battle to, um… run away…?”

She trailed off from the pitying expression I gave her. “Eh, keep working on it.”

“Right, got it. Ahem…” She cleared her throat, blushed a little, and resumed firing magic.

I shrugged and fire off a scattershot of cupcakes at three of the nasty beasties creeping up behind her. Not every joke is perfect I guess.

“Look out! More coming from the rear!” Spike pointed out, seeing a stream of the snakes emerging from behind.

“Spike, block them off!” Twilight ordered.

“On it!” His thicker scales absorbing most of the blasts shot at him, Spike jumped out of the fountain and charged towards the breach.

He plunged his large claws into the ground beneath his feet, heaved up a large chunk of the ground, hefted it above his head, and, with a loud roar, flung it at the street the Paraserpents were swarming out of. The stone landed with a loud crash, crushing some of the monsters and blocking off the street with the debris. They’d still be able to slither over it, but now it would be a lot harder for them to get through. He started to finish off the remainder with his fists, tail and fire attacks.

While I did prefer the chubby little baby Spike they all knew so well, I had to admit that the potion that Zecora gave him as a big help to us in the fight. Even from here, I could feel the heat of his flames and feel the shaking in the earth from his strikes. I could tell that he was enjoying it too, as it gave him a chance to be a hero and help to save them all. Of course, I'd be happy when the potion wore off and he'd return back to normal. I preferred him like that and it was a little weird looking at him now and remembering how he should be.

Then again, I could be a little strange myself.

Spike however, even with his added strength, looked to be in a little bit of trouble. He was starting to recoil from the stream of blasts they were firing at him, enough for one of them to grab onto his leg. This one yanked him to one knee and two others started to coil around him and tighten their hold. They kept pressure on his arms and legs and away from his mouth, so he was having trouble getting them off.

I was about to run out and help him when…

“Hold on, Spike! I’m coming!” Twilight leaped out of the fountain. “Pinkie, cover me!”

“Okey-dokey-lokie!” I affirmed, knowing that basically meant to keep the Paraserpents off her back, which certainly wasn’t a good place to have them. That would just give her a bad back.

Twilight nodded and galloped towards Spike, her horn flashing from the magic that she fired at the Paraserpents that got in her way, determined to get to her assistant. I did my best to fire my cannon at any Paraserpents that tried to cut off Twilight, any she ran past or had her back to that she couldn’t handle by herself. There were some close calls, but I was able to keep them off of her. Nopony, no snake, was going to hurt my friends.

Acting fast, Twilight blasted off the Paraserpents that were wrapped around Spike, enough for him to regain use of his arms again. His right one shooting up, he grabbed the tale of one of the snakes and swung it around like a club, flinging it away and blasting part of the group with a burst of bright green fire. I liked that green fire for it reminded her of growing plants in spring. Twilight took down any ones he missed with magic, the two of them retreating back to the fountain and attacking at the same time.

Good to see that those two worked just as well together in a fight as well as the library. Wondering what it would be like if Dusk were here fighting with them as well, I ushered them back into the fountain, clubbing one with my cannon as I did.

“You okay, Spikey?” I asked, smiling brightly at him.

“Well, every bit of me is stinging, but I’m fine.” He looked at Twilight. “Thanks for the help, Twilight.”

“Well, I couldn’t just let my number one dragon assistant get hurt, could I?” she noted.

“Yeah, what would you do without me, huh?” He chuckled along with her. “You know, makes me wish Dusk was here. I wonder what Zecora's potion would do to him if he drank it.”

“Dusk… yes, me too…” Twilight looked rather sad at the mention of Dusk. I noticed that, even though Spike didn’t.

“It could be a like a brains and brawn team-up with me and him or we could both be strong and these guys wouldn’t stand a chance! I mean granted, I'd probably be the cooler one, but he’d be pretty good too, I’m sure.” he said. “The brothers in library-assistantship, fighting side by side for the fate of Equestria.”

“Yes, um… I suppose…” Twilight diverted her gaze and I could see tears starting to form.

“Oh, man! I wish he was here. What do you think he’d think of my new strength? I mean, I know he doesn’t like fighting and stuff, but even he’d have to admit that this is pretty cool, I mean who wouldn’t? Plus, there’s you, Twilight. All of us working in the library together. We’d be like a team or something together, the three librarians vs. the forces of Discord! With muscle, magic, and mind, nothing standing in our…”

“Spike, look! More snakes to beat up!” I yelled, cutting him off and stopping his fantasies.

“What? Oh, yeah, the battle!” With a burst of fire, he charged off to engage them.

With him gone, I went over to Twilight. “You okay?”

“Yes, yes, of course… I’m fine.” she assured me unconvincingly and wiping tears away. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Seeing that look made Pinkie feel waves of sympathy for her and a few tears start to come into her own eyes. She understood that Twilight was worried about me, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, all of them, just as she was too. But Pinkie knew also she was especially worried about me because to her, to all of them, it was pretty clear that the two of us wanted to be way more than friends. None of them said anything, but it was there and they knew, even if we didn't or if we just denied it.

Personally, Pinkie thought that the two of us would make a sweet couple and she figured it was really obvious that she was worried that something had happened to me while all this was happening. That was what was getting her down and Pinkie understood that. She'd be devastated if she lost any of her friends, especially a special somepony. Luckily, cheering up ponies who were down was Pinkie's specialty.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s all right.” I said gently.

“But he… he’s all alone, somewhere out there.” she sniffed. “If anything’s happened to him, I… I think I…”

“Twilight, trust me. He’ll be fine.” I assured her. “Dusky might not like fighting, but he knows how to handle himself when push comes to shove. He’s a Fire Dragon after all. You know it, I know it, and he knows it. You’ll see, he’ll be just fine and dandy like sugar candy.”

“You… you really think so?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I solemnly Pinkie promised. “Once we’re back together, you’ll see.”

“Yeah, I suppose… thanks…” She frowned for a moment, her face suddenly lit up. “Together, yes! Pinkie, you’re a genius!”

“Yeah, of course, I am!” she asked, confused at this sudden proclamation. “Uh… how am I?”

“Quick, prop your cannon here!” Doing as she commanded, I placed the cannon on the wall. “Right, let’s try this!”

Twilight’s horn glowed and consumed the cannon in a flash of purple light, which I watched closely, in awe by its beauty. When the light faded, my cannon had transformed, though the glow from Twilight’s horn stayed. The big barrel had now become six smaller ones arranged in a circle. A handle was attached to the side, as was a line of what looked like rock cakes, all leading down into a box next to it. A big cushy chair had appeared at the back and on the barrel, in pink letters with a smiley face on the end, it said “PARTY TIME!”

“Ooh! What did you do?” I asked, fascinated.

“I improved it a little, but I can’t hold the spell for too long.” she informed, her horn still glowing and beads of sweat rolling down her face. “Just point it and turn the handle.”

“Okey-dokey!” Trusting Twilight as I would any of my friends, I hopped behind the seat of my new cannon, aimed down the sight, and cranked the handle.

RATATATATATATATATATATA!

The gun fired a lot faster now, so much that I was shaking a bit from the vibrating of the cannon. I watched with glee as rock cakes whizzed through the air, smacking and smashing against Paraserpents. Even with their scales protecting them, they were having trouble standing against all of the cakes that were slamming into them at super-duper speeds, just as fast as Rainbow Dash zooming through the sky and Shield rushing on the ground. A few seconds of constant shooting and they soon went down, their bodies pockmarked with bruises.

As a pony who liked to laugh and have fun whenever it was possible, I kept my spirits up by imagining that this was like a game at a fair ground: shoot the targets to win a prize, which would be the Elements of Harmony, so I made sure to aim extra good to win such special and important prizes. Even so, fighting was a pretty hard thing to make a joke about, even for me, so I would be glad when this was all over and done with. As fun as chocolate rain and cotton candy clouds were, it wasn’t worth it if there were these things around to hurt my friends.

That meanie pants Discord was gonna be sorry for what he’d done.

Of the dozens that were swarming towards them before, only a few stragglers were left on this side of the fountain after only twenty seconds of firing. After that, Twilight couldn’t keep her transformation spell any longer and the cannon returned to normal. I blasted aside the remaining Paraserpents and turned to Twilight.

“Bet that left you plum tuckered, huh?” I asked brightly.

“You can say… that again…” Twilight agreed, rubbing her head and accepting a hoof to help her up.

“Well, okay. Bet that left you plum tuckered, huh? Why did you want me to say it again when I already said it once? Did you go deaf from all the banging and booming?”

“I suppose so.” she said with a giggle, brightening my smile. “Good shooting, Pinkie.”

“Good spelling, Twilight!” I returned. “Wait, what’s a word for casting magic like that? Magicking? Zapping? Poofing?”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks, Twi!” I picked up one of the rock cakes that hadn’t been fired. “You know, I once tried making rock cakes from actual rocks. Didn’t work out though, although they did taste kind of alright when you added a little more sugar, so it was more for me I guess.”

“Pinkie, what are you talking ab—AGH!”

I heard myself scream as Twilight was hit in the head with a magical blast from a Paraserpent from the rear, knocking her to the floor, groaning in pain, and leaving an angry red glow on her face, which she now held in her hooves.

“Twilight! Oh, my gosh! Are you okay?” I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Speak to me! SPEAK TO ME! DON’T GO INTO THE LIGHT!”

“Ow… it hurts…” she murmured. “My head… it hurts so much…”

“Don't worry, it’s okay, it’s okay. Pinkie’s here.” I soothed. “I won’t let those meanies hit you again, I promise.”

“Pinkie, what happened?” Spike came rushing over. “Oh, no, Twilight! Is she okay? Is she dead? Oh, that’s it. She’s dead, isn’t she?”

“No, no, she’s okay.” Pinkie said quickly. “One of them hit her right in the face… one of the Paraserpents…”

As Spike started to fret and worry over Twilight, I started to feel something rise in my tummy, something that made me seethe through gritted teeth and see red in my eyes. I slowly turned around to look at the oncoming horde that was slithering towards us, bolts of red magic shooting past my head and hissing sounding in my ears. Before, I could have tolerated these guys. They were just a big bunch of bullies we needed to get through, but now… now they’d gone too far.

“Spike, get Twilight out of here.” I said quietly, not taking my eyes off them. “I saw a big floating island thingy above us before. Get her up there and out of the way.”

“Okay, right.” I heard him pick up Twilight and pause in his running. “What are you going to do, Pinkie?”

I glanced back at him and I saw his eyes widen at the look on my face. “One of my friends has been hurt by these nasties. And I don’t like seeing my friends hurt by a bunch of big, brawly, beefy bullies. This calls for extreme measures… Pinkie Pie style!”

“Right, um…good luck with that!” Spike gave her thumbs up and scurried out of the way.

Satisfied that my friends were now out of the way and safe, I turned back to the serpents, placed a hoof on my party cannon, reached out and took out a few remaining part grenades, and rolled the barrel towards them, slowly, deliberately. Never once did my eyes leave them, never once did I feel scared by the fact there were way more of them than there was of me, and never once did I forget the scream Twilight made when they’d hit her, see the look on Spike’s face when they’d surrounded him and tried to eat him.

That was what drove me now, stopping before them.

One slithered up and hissed derisively. “Thissssss? Thissssss issssss all that sssssstands in our way? One sssssingle pony, all on her own?”

“I might be on my own, Missssssster.” I hissed back, mocking them. “It might just be me, my cannon, my hooves, and my party favors and there might be way more of you guys than me, that even I, who’s had loads and loads of ponies at all my parties I’ve handled easily, might just be beaten by all of you. Heck, this might be the stupidest, silliest, and craziest thing that I’ve ever done, even that time I tried to turn the lake into purple Jell-O and eat it all. But there’s just one thing that’s different: the one pony here, in your way, is called Pinkimina Dianne Pie and nopony, I repeat nopony, never, ever, ever hurts me, my home, or especially my friends! Can you guess which one of those I’m most mad about? Trick question, ʹcause I’m mad about all of them and I’m mad about every single one of you! And doing that, Mr. Snake, was a very, very silly mistake!” I hopped onto my cannon, whipped out my grenades, and snarled at them like an angry dog. “So come on, guys! Let’s PARTY!”

They charged at me, screeching to try and scare her, but I wasn’t so easily scared. With one blast from my party cannon, I blew away four of them in one go. They didn’t even have time to recover as I yanked out the pins of the party grenades with her teeth and flung them at them, flipping backwards behind the barrel of my cannon again as I did and reloading just as they exploded around me. I fired off the jelly shells that I loaded into the cannon and fired, sticking them fast. Then I loaded myself into the cannon, my hooves facing forward.

With lightning surging around me, I felt the singe on my rump as I shot out of the barrel like a cork on a bottle of pop and smacked one of them across the face, bouncing off his chin and smacking into another one of them, slamming into the ground and screaming with rage. Taking advantage of the rules of a world of chaos and her own rules, which as to say were non-existent, I ran up and down the sides of walls, bounced high up into the air, tracked and galloped across the sky, and use every trick and trade she had up her sleeves to knock them down and knock them down hard.

My attacks had no pattern or through and were completely random. A gut-punch was followed with a right jab, roundhouse kick, head-butt, rump bump, and double hoof kick all on enemies, followed by bouncing off him and performing the same set of random strikes on the next. Keep ‘em guessing. A surprise party was the best kind of party. Why should fighting be any different?

Soon, only a few of them were left, most of them still struggling to get out of my homemade jelly. Only three weren’t stuck and they didn’t look so tough anymore. I cartwheeled through the air, sticking one four times with my hooves, bounced off the ground, and head-butted another one rapidly on his head with an electric dash, rounding on the last one and grabbing her cannon, blasting him right in the face, the scales turning even blacker with the added soot. He waved and whirled on the spot until I gently blew against him and he toppled to the floor in a heap.

I glanced back at those that were remaining stuck in the jelly, staring at me with disbelief and, most of all, and fear. Bullies were only tough when you were just as scared as they wanted you to be. When you started to stand up to them and prove you weren’t a pushover, suddenly they weren’t so scary anymore.

“Impossssssssible… ssssso fassssssst… What are you?” one of them whispered.

I smirked at him, pulled out a big colorful box, wound up the crank on the side to start the music, Pop Goes the Weasel, and left it to turn itself, prancing off the jelly surface and showing my back to them as it reached the end of the countdown. Just before the last second, I answered his question.

“I’m Pinkie Pie.”

BOING!

The box opened and three boxing gloves on springs shot out, hitting each serpent across the face and knocking them out. Nodding with satisfaction at my victory, Pinkie flew away and calmed myself down, leaving piles of dazed, beaten, and sleepy Paraserpents behind me. Just like any one of my parties.

I reached the floating island and jumped up to join Spike and Twilight, the dragon staring at me. “Pinkie… that was amazing!”

“Yeah, I guess.” I shrugged. “I normally don’t go so cocoa loco like that unless somepony really deserves it and they really deserved it, big time!” I fumed a little, but brightened up again in seconds. “Anyway, all done now. How is she?”

“She’ll be fine, but this wound needs somepony to have a look at it.” Spike said. “I don’t know much about that kind of stuff though.”

“I don't either.” I reported sadly. “We need to get her to one of the others, get her some help.”

“But how are we gonna…” Spike trailed off, looking at something behind Pinkie. “Look at that!”

I turned and her eyes widened when I saw a glowing El Dragon above us. “Ooh! It’s one of Dusk’s puppets!” It stared at us for a moment and galloped away. “Come on, Spikey! If we follow it, we may be able to get help.”

“Right.” He heaved and slung Twilight over his shoulder. “Where do we go from here?”

“Come on, we’ll take the islands over! It shouldn’t be too hard.” I decided, seeing a path of them.

“What? How are we gonna reach those?”

“You got two legs, don’t ya? Jump!” With a single bound, I soared over to the next island. As mean and strange as it was, a world of chaos could be kind of fun.

Dusk’s view

Standing at the center of the hill, I was deep in my magical trance, almost like I truly was the puppets that I had sent out to find my friends. My emotions, my memories, and warmth for them all were what flowed through me like a raging river, filling my whole being and leaving little else. My body was a tool of my mind, which stretched out across the town like the clouds in the sky.

I was only vaguely aware of the sounds of my friends battling around me, fighting to keep me from harm. That they would even do such a thing created a storm of love and gratitude for us, which was added to the emotions that already coursed through my whole being. How could I have ever thought that, at one point, they seemed to have considered abandoning me forever…?

So I didn’t take notice of the battle or anything else around me. Not the hissing of the Paraserpents or the cries and shouts of battle. I carried on guiding them, as I had done before…

No one’s view

The sounds of battle were not the only thing Dusk had ignored as the light of the blue stone around his neck kept growing brighter. He also ignored the fact that his cutie mark of a scroll seemed to be flickering as well, almost fading from existence completely, as he continued with his spell.

Author's Note

The fight continues and our heroes are now being brought back together. But still, they face an overwhelming force. Will Dusk’s efforts be enough to counter the storm of chaos? The outcome it all is soon to come next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? The fight is still going and Dusk and his friends are soon gonna be reunited. Hopefully Dusk’s plan in beating those Paraserpents works, especially with what is going on above. In the next chapter, the battle finally reaches its end and Dusk is gonna do something that you won’t believe. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 20: Return of Harmony

Darkness had consumed me, an ironic end when I thought about the great shining light I had seen before my fatigue got the better of me and I strayed out of conscious thought and into the gentle embrace of unconsciousness. It was just like going to sleep after a long tiring day, a rest I felt that I truly deserved after working so hard.

Those last few minutes had been the strangest and most wonderful sensations I had ever felt. As soon as I had begun my spell as soon as I reached out through the chaos and disharmony to find the lights of friendship that shone within the girls, it had been like he had stopped being part of the earth I walked upon and became something else entirely. Something more than a Fire Dragon, something more than a unicorn, something more than even a pony, something more than little Dusk Noir. The emotions that flowed through my body like a river had become my very being, my very thought and essence and drive beyond my control and completely subject to their will.

So much had happened, only flashes, barely comprehensible…cries and yells, hisses and screeches, the sweet voice of Twilight Sparkle… I had heard her above everything else, even my emotions that were dulling everything. Something else had happened too, something that had made my heart spike and my emotions rage like a river… a spark…

That was ultimately the end result of my efforts. Gradually, with the others drawing close and my emotions growing stronger, so had my magic become stronger too, rising and growing to a point where I felt as if I could reshape the world. When it had reached its peak and I had to do something to let it out or else I might explode, only one thought had echoed through my mind, one desire above all others:

Protect my friends.

And that was what I had done. With a force like I had never experienced, as beautiful as a shooting star and as powerful as a bolt of lightning, I had struck out against the Paraserpents that had surrounded us. It didn’t matter how many of them there were, how powerful they might be or how weak I might have been. Suddenly, that didn’t matter. What did matter was the protection and safety of my friends, something that I wanted more than anything else. They’d all worked so hard to protect me, it was only right I should do something in return.

I already knew that, against all odds and doubts I had in myself, it had worked and they were safe for now. We would still need to get to the library and retrieve the Elements, but I had done what I could and helped as best as I could manage. That was why I was like this now: just lying here, at peace with myself in a way… or as much as one possessed by the influence of chaos could hope to be. I could choose to leave this place anytime I wanted, or that was what I felt I could do. The illusion of free choice, I mused silently for nopony else could hear.

I wasn’t actually sure where I was. At first, it looked like some empty white void with only me in it. It felt as warm as the sun in summer and as tranquil as a sparkling lake. It was silent yes, but not the kind of oppressive, heavy silence but something more peaceful and whole. Gradually, I started to recognize the surroundings and realized I was in my living room in my home, though I knew from the memories I had gained that Diablo had destroyed it. I saw my fireplace, my couch, blue carpet, wooden floor, shelf of books, even the picture of my family. It was my modest little home with just enough decoration to know it was my own. I didn’t need all the trappings and personal touches to know it was my home, to identify my place. I didn’t need it.

It was a good place, something that my friend Shield said about it. Modest yet still personal, that was how Rarity had described it once. That was one way of looking at it. Twilight had just said it was a lovely home, that time when she came for Hearth’s Warming. Somehow, I preferred that as I sat down on my couch and curled up. This was my place so it could be whatever I wanted to be. Right now, it was my safety and my refuge and I just wanted to rest here. Didn't I deserve that much?

“Just a few moments.” I murmured to myself. “I don’t need to go back yet. I need to rest…”

In truth, however, the more I thought about it, the more I realized one thing that was the reason for my state: I was scared. Why wouldn’t I be? Despite the power of my spell, I hadn’t actually killed the Paraserpents, rather knocked them out and put them out of the way for the time being. They would be back up on their feet, metaphorically speaking, soon enough and they’d be a danger once more. Add to that Discord still being in power, ready and waiting to create more, and I had every reason to simply remain like this until it was all over.

Still, I knew that I couldn’t stay here for long. I wasn’t an Element of Harmony, but it didn’t mean I wouldn’t play any other part in bringing down Discord. Sure, I certainly wouldn’t be able to muster up the strength to perform the spell again, I wasn't even really sure how I had done it the first time. I didn’t even know I was capable of performing such a feat. But my team needed me. My friends needed me. Even with all the fear I was feeling, I still had hope in Luna’s plan, that I held the very key to harmony’s victory over chaos. I knew that the stones I had around my neck served a purpose. Even if I didn’t know exactly what it was, I knew I would find out in the end. I was still El Dragon, the world’s symbol of peace and justice, and the leader of the Element Gang. As such, I would do my duty and restore balance to Equestria, even if it meant I might lose my own life in the process. There was also another reason for this…

I remembered something else, a promise I’d made to somepony I would do anything to help.

“I’m with you, Miss Sparkle, to the end. For them. For us. For Equestria!”

To run away now would leave me nothing but guilt along with my fear, and I would just wallow in it entirely like a pig would wallow in filth. How could I truly call myself her second assistant and her friend if I would be so cowardly as to back out now when she might still need me? How could I call myself a hero by doing such a selfish thing? As scared as I might be, I still had my duty as well made a promise and my work wasn’t done yet as long as the spirit of chaos was still on his throne and his minions were still snaking their way around the streets of the town I now called home. They needed me. Twilight needed me. There was no way I was ever gonna think of leaving them now.

I looked up at my fireplace and things were there that weren’t there before. Photos I didn’t recall having taken yet they were there, moments from my life: those from before meeting the girls, like my time with the family I was born in, my time with the guys in Canterlot, my time with the Black Bulls, growing up with Gold Star and Silver Blade; and those since meeting them, like sitting at a table and taking tea, at a trip to the spa, the night at the Gala. All such happy, wonderful times with those I was proud to call my family. Some were more recent and less happy, like the learning of the terrible news, succumbing to Black Blood instilled by Discord, fighting back against him, standing against him by my friends. The more recent one was of myself, lying unconscious on a hill, worried faces and tense looks from those around me.

“The here and now.” I whispered, brushing against it gently.

Seeing all these, they reminded me even more of the reason I had to go back. I was still a warrior, a fighter for justice, and I certainly wasn’t going to break a promise to my friends. Not when they still needed me. Before I left though…

“I see you found them.” Turning to the voice, I saw my ancestor Fore Sight standing behind me with a smile on his face.

“Fore Sight.” I said with surprise. “You said I found them. You mean these pictures?”

“Yes.” He told me as he walked over, the two of us looking at the pictures as he stood beside me. “Tell me, Dusk. Do any of these images mean anything to you?”

“Well… yeah.” I told him. “For the majority of them, they’re all memories from my past, the moments I’ve shared with my friends. The one with me lying on the ground while surrounded by worried ponies is one I can already guess is what had just happened since I used that spell. But why are they here, especially one of which I’m clearly blacked out.”

“They are here because this is part of your power.”

“My power?”

“Yes. You see, Dusk, as a prophet, my destiny was always to see the future. But there were times when I wished I could look to the past. While I lacked in it, it seems the inheritance of my power has allowed you to gain what I longed for.”

“You mean I have the ability to look into the past?”

“Exactly. Though right now, you only have the power to look into your own past, moments of which had already happened. But, give it time, I believe you’ll be able to look past your own past into that of others. That, one day, you can use your light from the present to illuminate the shadows of the past of any kind, even the past of Equestria itself.”

“Really? Whoa.” Though I was in awe, I looked to see, other unclear images and photos appeared on the wall and mantelpiece. These photos were more blurry and a little harder to make out the others and kept shifting and changing like watercolors on a canvas. “Fore Sight… these pictures that aren’t easy to make out… are they… the future?”

“I would say so.” He answered me. “As I said, you have much to discover with the power you were born with. The reason these images are not so easy to make out is because you have not yet opened the door to them. You can go ahead and try to take a peek. You will discover how to look into them eventually.”

With that, due to my curiosity, I went on to take a closer look at the images of the future. Surely a little look wouldn’t hurt, they weren’t even that clear…

I scanned over them, making them out as best I could. I saw a duke blue outline standing with over a dozen others, facing down a serpentine shape. Discord perhaps? The one after was of the same outline, this time leaning close to a purple one… no, lilac, like a certain avid studier I knew. Another showed again the same blue pony and he was being shown something by a taller figure with almost the same fur color… could that perhaps be Luna? I received rather warm feelings from looking at these, ones of happiness and fulfillment. Clearly, these were events that I would enjoy and look forward to.

The same couldn’t really be said for any of the others. The next one along was a red figure being held by a larger white shape with tints of black. I already had a guess what that image was and the event I knew would come. The one after it was of some kind of longer for, though the same size as a pony, colored black and blue with small dashes of red, with some kind of symbol like the letter A on his body… I could make out a long tail and a beak… What was that? A griffin? Why was he standing over the blue outline? And who exactly was that then? Was it myself or another like me? Then there was a black shape, magic whirling from his horn and four-legged forms around me. Even though I saw half of it was blue, I still felt dread from seeing it… if that was who I thought it was… more black shapes, whole swarms of them that looked to be attacking what seemed to be Canterlot, palaces of crystal surrounded by shadow and darkness, a pair of purple and blue shapes clashing with black and ice blue ones… what kind of futures were these?

There were two that particularly disturbed me towards the very end until I was scared to look any further beyond that one. The image of the first was of a tall pony, another unicorn, his fur a dark grey and his hair a blood red that seemed to be trapped in some kind of cavern, the outlines of three eyes watching him from the darkness and chains around his legs and neck. These chains however were worn and old and looked like they were about to break. Again was the same figure, with six violently colored lights surrounding him and shining into him as his horn glowed. The orange flickering of flames silhouetted them, I could almost feel the heat…

“I’ve seen enough.” I wrenched my eyes away from these snapshots of the future if that's what they truly were, rising up to leave.

“Are you sure?” my ancestor asked.

“Yes.” I answered, turning towards the door. “Whatever the future has in store for me, I will do what others have done and find out for myself, not just give myself any possible previews. I mean, why ruin it for a few bad moments when there might be so many good ones? Not really good to have such spoilers to a story that has still yet to be finished.”

“Okay then.” He said to me with a proud smile. “Then go and return to your friends. And remember to have faith. The future does not make the pony…”

“A pony makes his future.” I said, finishing his quote. “The past is the past and the future is the future.”

Ready to leave the peace and tranquility of my home, I went straight to the door to leave this place and return to the pain and fear of the world. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I also knew that it was better than just staying here and doing nothing while my friends were all out there fighting for me and our home.

Before I left, I looked to my ancestor with a gentle smile. “Goodbye, Fore Sight. I hope we get to meet again.”

“I hope so too, young Dusk.” He said to me before I then opened the door.

I didn’t have any doubts and knew this was the right thing to do. Though this might be further proof that I was perhaps more like my uncanny ancestor than I first thought, I had no wish to see the future. Let the future reveal itself. And what I just saw, I’m only taking as possibilities. Besides, keeping those as memories aren’t a bad thing for a Fire Dragon. One of my elemental powers let me see the future anyway.

The whiteness of the light was all I could see when I reawakened, somehow feeling as well-rested as if I had been asleep for days and yet also as exhausted as if I had run a marathon. My ears were like they had been stuffed with cotton for I could hear little beyond incomprehensible muffles. My extremities were numb and tingling and my head felt like it was in a vice.

Gradually, things became a little clearer and I could at least hear better, though my vision was little more than a blur and my head was still aching. I had never felt anything like this before. That spell must have taken more out of me than I first thought. I could just make out a few blobs near me, bending over me: two white, one orange, one blue, and one yellow. Other blurs also hurried by, shouting and yelling to each other.

I noticed too that there was a strong smell of some kind of incense in my nostrils, enough to make them burn a little bit from the stench and a deep voice chanting something in a different language. Zecora. I thought to myself, performing some kind of process to wake me up. It seemed that it was a good thing she came along in the end.

Soon, I was able to make out the voices more clearly, like I was fine-tuning a radio.

“…you see that?” came the excited voice of Pinkie Pie. “I mean, it was just growing bigger and bigger until it went BOOM!” The part she yelled was accompanied by the sound of a kazoo. “Then they all just went—wheeeee!—way up into the sky! It was just like fireworks! Except not like fireworks cause they weren't rockets, but sort of like fireworks because…”

“We get it!” Shield spoke out in annoyance, stopping her.

“Yes, Pinkie. We all saw it.” Twilight said exasperatedly. “We can talk about it later, now get back to watching the Paraserpents with Hearth Forest and Gold Star. We don’t know when they might start moving again.”

“Yeah, they might come back.” Leon added.

“Okey-dokey-lokie!”

“W-w-w-what do you mean c-c-c-come back?” asked a nervous Fluttershy. “I thought he’d beaten them all.”

“They might be down, but they aren’t out.” Shield put in.

“Shield is right. Look, they’re still breathing.” Twilight pointed out. “This is only a temporary victory, so I want us all on alert in case they wake up.”

“Oh… right…” The Pegasus certainly didn’t seem happy at the prospect of that.

“Don’t worry, Flutters.” Leon said to her in reassurance. “I’ll make sure none of them lay a single tendril or tail on you.”

“What in the hay was that anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, I’ve seen Dusk’s magic do pretty cool stuff, but never anything so… well, awesome before.” Shield added.

“While I wouldn’t exactly call that ‘awesome’,” Rarity remarked, “I do agree with them there. It seems that his magic can be used for more than just light shows.”

“And how!” Applejack added.

“So, question is what exactly caused him to do that an' how come it ain't never happened before all this?” Dog put in. “Reckon he knew?”

“I don’t think so, at least he never mentioned anything to me.” Twilight said, more to herself than anypony else. “But we don’t exactly know the full extent of his powers and I don’t think he does either. He could only just be discovering them now.”

“Like a born calf still learning how to walk.” Strongheart mused. “Acts of magic truly are a strange business and I am sometimes thankful my people have no such abilities.”

“Well, you might have a point there.” Twilight agreed. “Even we unicorns don’t fully understand our magical abilities sometimes. But there's no doubt of the good it can do or the acts it can accomplish.”

“Indeed. Or the bad it can do.” she said quietly.

“Only in some cases…”

“Hey, I think he’s movin’!” came the excited voice of Apple Bloom.

“No, he’s not! You’re just seeing things.” Scootaloo dismissed.

“No, he is! Look!” Sweetie Belle pointed. “His eyes are opening!”

“What?” Scootaloo was silent for a moment. “Hey, yeah! You’re right! Heh, my bad.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Apple Bloom assured. “Hey, Zecora, ya can stop now! I think your potion worked!”

“Let me see.” I could hear the sound of approaching hooves and saw a grey blur pass into my field of vision. “Back from the land of dreams, Dusk Noir awakes, it seems.”

To speak felt like a great effort, but I tried regardless. “That’s… debatable really…”

“Then it would be great to end that debate.” Zecora countered calmly. “Can you stand?”

“I’m… I’m not sure…” I responded weakly.

I tried to push myself up, but I was suddenly aware of how heavy my body felt and how weak my legs had suddenly become. Every bit of me ached and burned like it was on fire, which was only made worse when I tried to put pressure on my legs. I would have fallen back to the floor, had Zecora not been there to offer support.

“I feel… awful.” I said simply.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Dog asked.

“How long this will last, I do not know. For now, Dusk, just take it slow.” she advised wisely.

“Duly noted.” I did my best to focus on her. “Thank you.”

“It is no trouble at all to help you up from your fall.”

If only she knew how much significance those words actually held. I thought to myself.

“Hey, everypony! Dusk’s awake!” Apple Bloom called.

“Well, look who decided to wake up.” Gold Star mused.

“And I thought I was lazy.” remarked a deep voice that sounded rather like Spike from his tones. Before I could ask however, I was interrupted.

“Dusk! Oh, thank goodness, you’re okay!” My vision was suddenly filled with purple and her sweet smell filling my nostrils, throwing her legs around me.

I did my best to weakly return it, but the force of her colliding with me caused me to wobble slightly. “Um… Twilight?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Sorry.” Though my vision was blurred, I could still make out the blush in her cheeks. “I’m just… relieved that you’re not hurt.”

“Yeah, Twilight was more than a lil’ concerned about ya, to say the least.” Applejack put in slyly. “You feelin’ okay?”

“Not really.” I admitted. “My legs ache… my head…hurts… and I can barely see a thing.”

“Oh, you poor dear." I soon felt the gentle hoof of Fluttershy stroking my mane. “Don’t worry, you’re gonna be just fine.”

Just that made me feel a little better, though I swore I could hear a low growl from Twilight along with Leon whispering for Twilight to take it easy and that Fluttershy was looking out for her big brother.

“Thank you, Little Sister, but I don’t know…”

“Eh, you’re tougher than you give yourself credit for, Dusk.” Shield bolstered, punching my arm lightly and making me stagger. “Oops! Sorry. But I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I certainly don’t feel fine.” I said, bleakly.

“If I might, Shield is quite right.” Zecora said. “From examination, I have learned that these effects are not long term. With my potion and a little time, you should soon return to your prime.”

“Until then, let us hope the ground truly does stay strong beneath your hooves.” Strongheart chuckled.

“Indeed.” I did my best to face her. “Good to see you again, Strongheart… in a sense at least.”

“Likewise, my friend.” she returned. We raised our necks to each other and butted heads in traditional greeting. “I’ve missed you.”

“And I you. A little bit out of your way from Appleloosa though.”

“That’s an understatement. I heard your friends might be able to stop the chaos and came to try and find you. Seeing you again was a nice bonus.”

“Never heard that said about me, thank you.” I did my best to smile in her direction before I spoke to Rarity. “So, Rare, I’m guessing you tried having a talk with Hearth?”

“Tried is certainly one word for it.” my cousin said to me. “Though I wouldn’t say we had not much of a talk. I had paid her my highest respects, yet she doesn’t seem to acknowledge me as much as family. Though I still say that she is much more tolerable than Prince Blueblood.”

“And don’t worry about that. Hearth’s always like that.” I explained to her. “Much like her elder siblings, Hearth has a sense of royal pride and doesn’t like to be seen less than her title. In other words, she actually is happy to meet you, but doesn’t really show that because of her pride. Infuriating, I know.”

“I heard that!” spoke out Hearth, no doubt from downstairs.

After getting an amused smile, I then returned to the matter at hoof. “Right… what’s the plan?”

“Well, those serpentine ruffians were blocking the way to the library,” Rarity nodded, “but I believe that problem has been rectified, thanks to your erstwhile good self.”

I felt my face burn, but they weren’t quite finished yet.

“Yes, that magic was incredible!” Twilight added. “I’ve never seen you pull off anything like that before.”

“Your psychic powers were at full peak and you must have done some kinda mind blast!” Nopony responded to Pinkie’s comment.

“I think it’s safe to say that was your Sonic Rainboom: powerful, spectacular, and awesome.” Rainbow gave me an approving nod. “How’d you manage to do it?”

“I’m… I’m not really sure myself.” I said, embarrassed from the praise. “I just… did it, I guess.”

Twilight had her thoughtful expression, looked down to my neck and her eyes widened. “I think that might be something to do with it.”

I looked and I mirrored Twilight's expression when I saw that one of the stones around my neck, the one that matched my fur color, shone the brightest out of all of them and I almost had to look away for fear that it would make my reduced eyesight even worse.

“That solves it then.” Twilight decided. “Those stones are definitely conduits of some strong magical energy and have obviously allowed you to tap into the power so that you can perform superior magical feats.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “You know… I always kind of liked it when you talk technical.”

Now it was Twilight's turn to blush. “Oh, um… thank you.” She cleared her throat and returned to the subject matter. “Anyway, that might be the case but I still don't know what exactly they are.”

“Neither do I.” I looked down at them again. “All I’ve found out was that my ancestor Fore Sight had been looking for them, I’ve only managed to find them, and they play some sort of role in beating Discord. Though I still have no idea what that role is. Furthermore, we have no idea why they piece together or why they are in pieces in the first place.”

“That’s another good point.” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “It could be that this is their natural state, but then why be scattered?”

“Well, I don’t think they were scattered. It seems more like each one appeared to me at a certain moment in my life in which I earned them. Luna obviously sent me to find the last one as they are obviously part of something when brought together.”

“That does seemed to be the idea, but they don’t seem to be reacting in anyway apart from glowing obviously.”

“Maybe something else needs to happen before they do come together, if they are pieces of something.”

“You mean like some kind of catalyst?”

“Exactly. And I have reason to believe that the Elements’ magic might be that catalyst. But then what would they be pieces of? What kind of object could it be?”

“I don’t know for sure, but perhaps…”

“Uh, not meanin’ to seem rude here,” Dog spoke up, “but can we save the discussin’ ‘till after Equestria’s not doomed to eternal chaos?”

The both of us blushed now, I especially so from the knowing look that I received from Rarity. Twilight and I had just become caught up in one of our hypothetical discussions, like the kind we used to have before all of this. The kind we could still have once Discord was frozen in stone again.

“Um, yes. Good idea.” Twilight mumbled. “Anyway, like Dog said, we should get back to the library while the going is good.”

“Then we can get the Elements of Harmony back.” Rarity added. “This time, we’ll be able to use them properly and…”

“…turn Discord into stone so hard that his grandfilles will be statues!” Rainbow finished.

“And we’ll do this together!” Leon put in. “Element Gang and Element Wielders!”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Shield said. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Right.” I tried to walk, but my legs still felt painfully numb and I stopped with a yell.

“Oh, dear!” Fluttershy hovered next to my legs. “You can’t walk, you poor thing. Don’t you worry, we’ll get some help for you, Big Brother.”

“I can carry him! I’m strong enough.” A large purple blur appeared next to me. “Hey, bro, check this out! Pretty good, huh?”

“I thought that was you, Spike.” I nodded approvingly. “Very impressive.”

“I know right? I feel so strong now, it’s unbelievable! Those Paraserpent jerks didn’t stand a chance against me!”

“Um, Spike?”

“I mean, they’d come at me and be all—sssssssss!—and I’d be all ‘oh, no, you didn’t!’ Then I’d show ‘em whose boss and POW!”

“Little brother?”

“I know this is only temporary, but I hope this lasts for a little longer. Maybe I should try this on Discord himself, that draconequus won't know what hit him until I say that it was…”

“Spike!” I didn’t have a loud shouting voice, but I still got the baby dragon’s attention this time. “Not meaning to rain on your parade, but you might want to reconsider your current position.”

“What? What do you… Oh, man!”

Spike looked down and let out a loud groan when he saw that he had returned to his normal, chubby state. The effects of whatever had turned him into a muscular warrior had begun to wear off while he was talking, gradually returning him to regular size while he basked in his own glory without him noticing.

While I was glad to have the baby dragon I called my brother back, I felt disappointed for him too. He had been more capable of great feats in that state previously than he had ever been as a normal baby dragon, had his chance at last to be the hero. Being a hero myself, I could understand his mood now that he was back, especially since we hadn’t even beaten Discord.

“No, no! Not now!” Spike glanced around in a panic. "I can’t be like this now!” He looked to Zecora. “I don’t suppose you got any more of that stuff?”

The zebra shook her head. “I am sorry, but no. And you can’t have another go. For you’re quite close to having an overdose.”

“What?! But you can’t… I mean why can’t… I just want to…” He trailed off, sighed, and sunk dejectedly. “But now how am I going to be a hero?”

I felt an overwhelming pity for my fellow assistant and was about to offer some comfort, but Rarity beat me to it. She stepped close to Spike and wrapped a leg around him.

“Spike, you don’t need some silly potion to be a hero. You’re quite gallant just as you are.”

“But, before, I was strong and big and it was so cool!” He moaned again. “I need to have strength like that if I’m gonna help beat these things.”

“Spike,” she began gently, “when you and I were collecting gems and those foul Diamond Dogs attacked us, who was it that did his best to bravely fight them off? Who was it that put his all into an attempted rescue? Who was it that was the first to gallantly ride in?”

Spike stared up at her and when he spoke, his voice was breaking and disbelieving. “Me…”

“Exactly, and you certainly didn’t need some potion in order to do it. Like I said, you are quite brave and strong just the way you are.”

Spike was silent for a few moments considering this, then he nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks, Rarity.”

“My pleasure, little Spikey-Wikey.” I heard the sound of her bestowing a kiss on the dragon’s cheek. “Besides, I quite prefer the way you are.”

“Yeah!” He puffed out his chest. “Yeah, those Paraserpents better think before they try and deal with Spike the Fierce!”

“Spike, get a grip!” Twilight said bluntly.

“Right, sorry.” he replied sheepishly. “So, um… what about Dusk? He still needs help getting to the library.”

Before anypony could suggest anything else, I felt myself being lifted up off the ground into the air, hovering just a few feet above and looked to see my body being supported by the arms by Rainbow and Fluttershy.

“You’re fine carrying me?” I asked.

“We were last time, weren't we?” Rainbow responded. “Right! Let’s go, everypony!”

“Don’t worry, we won’t lift you too high.” Fluttershy added, taking into account my fear of heights when not being able to fly, especially in the state I’m in.

Smiling gratefully at her in response, I allowed myself to be carried to the library with everypony else galloping below, hoping that the Paraserpents wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon. I had no desire to be fighting them again.

Fighting… because I didn’t like to participate in violence and would rather resolve things peacefully. Seemed so long ago that I also had preferred to stay safely on the sidelines, not put myself into any kind of risks that might make me look foolish or stupid if I failed. I’d just stay out of the way and unnoticed. Now though…

I had done all of these things and more since I had discovered friendship. Like they had been listed off to me many times before, they were things I would never have imagined doing normally but now had just become one of the things I’d do. Sometimes, I wondered if stepping outside of my comfort zone and embracing things I’d steered clear of was one of the bad things that came with having friends, that it might be better if I’d just stayed as I was and not taken these risks. Sometimes I thought that, but in the end, I always came to the same conclusion.

I wouldn’t have changed it for the world and I certainly didn't have any regrets.

Though my vision was blurred and unclear, even I could make out the shape of the library when I saw it and let the relief and security I always had in that place flood through me. We went through one of the holes that had been made as a result of Twilight using Rarity’s “diamond”. Once we were inside and I was back on solid ground, it was suggested that we take a little time to rest and get our strength back. Nopony argued with this idea.

A few minutes later, I felt a little better than before. I had at least regained enough energy to walk again and had taken to resting near to a desk by the window. My eyesight however was still unfocused and everything looked to be a blur. I supposed that, for now at least, I would have to put up with it, for there were more pressing issues. Everypony seemed to get the impression that I wanted to be alone with his thoughts, which was certainly true.

Right now, I was thinking about the princess and the guardian who had saved me from my darker self and again from the Paraserpents and flew off in an act of self-sacrifice, not just for me, but for all they held dear and cared for.

“Dragonis, Luna,” I murmured, picturing their warm smiles and compassionate eyes. “I hope you’re okay.”

Though I perfectly knew what they were capable of as Princess of the Night and Guardian of Equestria, I also knew enough about Discord to know that—even with their forces combined with Celestia’s—the three of them didn’t stand a chance against the spirit of chaos. While I did believe in the impossible, there were limits to this and this was certainly pushing it. The Elements of Harmony were the only things powerful enough to defeat Discord. How could they even hope to stand a chance against him without them?

I wished they were here. I still had so many questions and they were just as much my friends as the guys and any of the girls, especially Luna. What would Discord do to them if and when he beat them? Was there anything that we could have done?

“Rough time, huh?” I looked to see that Spike had joined me at the desk. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, but I still can’t see very well.” I reported. “It’s all just a blur really.”

“Oh, yeah? How many claws am I holding up?” he asked.

“Spike, please. I really can’t see a thing…”

“Come on. Don’t quit out on me, bro.”

“Spike, I…”

“Come on! I know you can see okay, just try!”

I sighed at his insistence, but still felt a smile tugging at my lips. “Alright… Four?”

“Got it!” I saw him distinctly put down one claw as he waved them in my face. “See? It’s not so bad.”

“I suppose so.” I chuckled appreciatively with my fellow assistant. “Thanks for that, Spike.”

“Hey, what are friends for? Somepony’s gotta keep your spirits up when Pinkie’s not around. Even if that somepony is a somedragon.” I rectified.

“True enough.” I agreed. “How are you about the loss of strength?”

“Eh, I’m okay about it. I guess I’ll just do my best to be gallant without it, which I apparently do just fine.” He sighed and looked off at most likely Rarity for a few moments. “So, what did you and the guys end up finding in the Everfree Forest anyway?”

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you.” I replied.

“I didn't believe I could eat a whole tub of ice cream without getting brain freeze, still tried it though.” I felt Spike nudge my leg. “Come on, try me.”

I was going to deflect the question again, for I certainly knew that Spike would never believe me if I actually told him the truth, but I remembered that he had worried for me by going into the Forest by myself. I deserved at least some kind of truth in that respect, perhaps not the whole recounting of events, but something at least.

“Let’s just say that I found the solution for the end at the beginning, by means of this.” I said cryptically, pointing to the stones around my neck.

“O…kay. Geez, going all mystic on me then.” he muttered. “So you really think those little rocks are gonna help beat Discord?”

“Size is not a guarantee of power, you ought to know that better than most.” I pointed out. “Even the most insignificant of aspects can be important when all brought together, for that’s what’s gives them their power.”

“That makes sense I suppose.” His head seemed to glance around me and when he spoke again, there was a knowing tone in his voice. “You know, she hasn’t stopped looking at you since we got back.”

I glanced and saw a lilac blob turn her head away when I looked around and I felt the blush return to my cheeks. “She… hasn’t?”

“Nope.” From that tone in his voice, it was like he knew something I didn’t. I felt the dragon nudge me again. Go on, go talk to her.”

“You… really think I should?”

“Yeah, go on. What have you got to lose?” He pushed me all the harder. “Go on, go! Mush, Dusk!”

“Okay, okay… I’ll go.” I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves and did my best to navigate my way towards Twilight, who stood on her own by one of the bookshelves.

I heard Spike whisper me luck before I was out of earshot and reached her much quicker than I had intended. Though I could no longer make out the details of her beautiful features, I could still hear her sweet voice and be close to her. It wasn’t all I wanted, but it was enough.

She was looking at me and me at her (to the best of my current ability), but the two of us just didn’t know what to say first. I felt like saying something clever, something witty or inspiring, but my mind was a complete blank. When I thought of something to say, I opened my mouth but closed it again when I thought that it sounded too common or mediocre. Twilight seemed the same, unsure what exactly to say to me first.

Finally, I said something. “Hey, Twi.” I slapped myself mentally for such a stupid thing to do.

“Hey, Dusk.” If she had any thoughts on what I said, she kept it to herself. “How are you feeling?”

“Not brilliant, but I’m recovering.”

“That’s good.” she said, sounding genuinely relieved.

“I still can’t see very well though.” I admitted. “It’s a shame because now I can’t see your beautiful…” I stopped speaking by cover my mouth with my claw when I suddenly realized what I almost said.

“My beautiful… what?”

“Your, um… your beautiful, um… victory!” I supplied quickly. “Yes, your victory over Discord! You know when you, uh… beat him.”

“Oh… right.” She made no attempt to cover up her disappointment and I once again chastised myself for letting my heart almost run away with my mouth. “You really think we can beat him then?”

“Of course you will.” I said brightly. “You’re all back together now, you have the Elements back and we fought back the Paraserpents. He doesn’t stand a chance."

“Still a firm believer in the impossible.” she remarked. “This time though, I think you’re right. We can stop now that he’s no longer blinded us to friendship’s power.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth. I'll be glad I'll be around to watch this time, even though I sort of was last time too.”

I was sure she frowned. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Believe what?"

“What you actually did, how you were there from the start or you saw it at the beginning.” When she said that, I knew she was talking about how I traveled to the past and help her and the girls defeat Nightmare Moon. “Traveling through time? How is that even possible?”

“Twilight, I told you before. It was because of Dialga.” I explained to her. “It’s powers are over time itself. It can send anyone to any point in time, whether it is to or from the past or the future.”

“Yes and I get that it sent you to that very day to help us and find that stone. What I don’t understand is why you agreed to it.”

“Twilight, I know it doesn’t make sense, but I had reason to believe Dialga had good intentions from sending through time like that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“But still…”

“Twi, please. I know that something like this had great risks, ones of which nopony should take, and make Dialga questionable to trust, but it wasn’t just about trust. It was about faith. Throughout my life, I had put my faith in others time and time again with hopes that there will always be a better tomorrow. It’s what got me through my time while leading the Element Squad, what helped me survive. And it’s the same faith of which I gave Dialga and the same I have now, in my team, our friends, and you. Never once had I ever lost faith in you and never will.”

As I expected, she couldn't find a response to that, other than “You’re right. I’m sorry about doubting you.”

“It’s okay.” I said to her. “I understand.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between us again before she said “Dusk?”

“Yes, Miss Sparkle?”

“When you were doing your spell to fight the Paraserpents…” She paused for a few seconds. “You were sort of in a… catatonic trance.”

“I suppose I was. I needed all my concentration to perform my magic.” I was starting to suspect where this was going.

“It’s just that… well… when I tried talking to you… you responded.” she finished quietly.

“Well… that was because I could hear you.” I tried to make it sound as heartfelt as I could manage. “Above all the noise, the chaos and destruction, I could still hear the inspiring oath of the darkling thrush.”

“Darkling thrush?”

“An oath of encouragement my ancestors would give during their darkest hour, all I had read from the tales of their adventures.” I said in a quiet voice. “About how even at the end, at the darkest and most desolate of times, as long as heroes big and small work together and help those in need, there will always be a chance to live another day and protect those we love.”

Twilight was silent again, though I could swear I could see her eyes shining. “Dusk… that’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Well… I try…” My voice was barely above a mutter now, my cheeks burning red. “It comes from a saying we have in the Element Gang: no sacrifice, no victory. Because, without sacrifice, there can be no victory.” I then recomposed myself as I told her about some certain details of what I said back there. “Though that first and last bits I said weren’t actually from the oath.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, confused.

“Well, those parts were actually something from me.” I explained. “The first part was actually inspired from something somepony wise had told me: ‘through fearful day and raging night, keep your strong heart full for hope burns bright.' The last part… I guess that came from me, my own oath to Equestria.”

“Well, I say that you already follow that oath.” There was a good few moments of silence before Twilight spoke again, this time sounding a little disappointed. "And?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. “And what?”

“Is that it? You don’t remember anything else?”

“Not a whole lot, no. Apart from the odd scream or screech, but that’s hardly pleasant.” I cocked my head at her. “Why?”

“You really don’t remember anything else? Nothing at all?” It sounded like she was on the verge of tears. “Not even when I… I…”

“When you what?” I felt awful now for not obviously knowing something so important. “Twilight, what is it? What did you do?”

“It’s just… when I… I… I ki…”

“All right!” We both jumped as Rainbow Dash cut us off. “I am psyched, rested, and ready to kick some chaos flank!”

“Whoo-whee! Same here!” Applejack added. “I’d say that Discord has sat on his rump long enough.”

“Indeed. It’s time to dethrone that vile deceiver once and for all!” Rarity declared. “Where are the Elements?”

I looked to Twilight and I managed to make out her nod, which I returned disappointedly, but with understanding. We would have time to talk about this later, but right now we needed to focus on something far more important and that lay in the book on the shelf just above our heads.

“I’ll get them, hold on.” I stood back as she levitated it down and opened it to reveal the precious contents.

“Wow!” came the simultaneous reaction from all three Crusaders with an added “Cool” from Scootaloo.

Gold Star whistled as he came over. “So those are them, huh?”

“The Elements…” I could hear Strongheart’s awed whisper. “I’ve never seen them before. They’re so… beautiful.”

“In this whole wide world we know, nothing can truly compare to friendship’s glow.” Nopony made any attempt to dismiss Zecora's statement.

Twilight was about to levitate them out, but stopped and turned her head to me. “Why don’t you do the honors, Dusk?”

Even though I considered myself their friend, I was still shocked by her offer. “M… me?”

“I can’t think of anypony else better.”

I still had a hard time believing it. Me. Out of all the ponies in the entire world, even among her friends, she was choosing me. I looked around and they were all looking right back at me, even the guys, saying and doing nothing to countermand this suggestion. Just a silent, loving acceptance from all of them. I allowed myself a rare moment of pride to flow through me before bowing my head in compliance and lifting them out.

“It’s my honor… thank you.” The first I took out was an orange zircon in the shape of an apple. “Applejack, with your great faith and always being true to yourself and others, you wield the Element of Honesty.”

“Thank ya kindly.” Applejack said when I placed it around her neck.

The next was a balloon-shaped sapphire. “Pinkie Pie, with your ability to banish fear by laughing in the face of danger and never losing hope, you wield the Element of Laughter.”

“Oh, boy, oh, boy!” Pinkie tingled when I slipped it on. “You read my mind.”

I smiled at her, levitating a butterfly spinel. “Fluttershy, with your compassion that can tame and calm the most savage of beasts, you wield the Element of Kindness.”

“Oh, my! Thank you so much, Big Brother.” Fluttershy whispered, like she didn't deserve the privilege.

“My pleasure, Little Sister.” Amethyst in diamond form was next. “Rarity, with your passion to help others and rid away great sorrow with your beautiful heart, you, milady, wield the Element of Generosity.”

“Much appreciated, good sir.” Rarity said in approval of my manners.

“Rainbow Dash, with your trust in others and never abandoning others for your own heart’s desires, you wield the Element of Loyalty.” I said to the lightning-shaped ruby.

“Best Element for the best flyer!” Rainbow boasted.

The final one, I did myself with much care and delicacy. "And Twilight Sparkle—last, but by no means least—with your bonds of friendship with these five ponies and give strength to the other Elements and their wielders, you wield the Element of Magic.”

“Dusk…” She placed her hoof on my claw as it lingered on her diadem. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” I gently squeezed hers in return, trying to convey all I felt in that single action. “Right then. Everypony, I know this seems tough. This might possibly the toughest challenge we’ll ever face. But I know, in my heart, we’ll be able to overcome it as long as we stick together. With all that said, I am proud to stand by all the ponies I have come to call my friends.” I raised my head, looked around at them all, and let a hard look set into my features, my voice becoming profound. “Let’s go and take down Discord!”

With a cheer from everypony, we were all ready for the battle ahead. Get ready, Discord, we’re coming for you!

Author's Note

Now with the Elements of Harmony in their possession and all of them at full strength, our heroes and their friends are now ready to face Discord and save all of Equestria from his evil reign! The final confrontation with the Lord of Chaos begins next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? It’s finally happening, Dusk and the gang are finally gonna put the last nail in Discord’s coffin! Hopefully Dusk is right and the Elements will finally show us what the stones of his little good luck charm can really do. In the next chapter, the heroes had their final clash with Discord, one battle you don’t want to miss. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 21: Destiny in Unity

After Dusk gave us our Elements, we left the library seconds later right after leaving some indignant Cutie Mark Crusaders in relative safety there. The three little fillies weren’t exactly happy about it, but we weren’t willing to put them in further danger than we already had been. Applejack, Rarity, and even Dog at least were a lot more relaxed afterwards, convinced in the knowledge that the girls’ younger siblings would be safe and, while she hid it well, Rainbow also looked relieved that Scootaloo would also be safe.

Of all the times since this whole incident began, I had never felt more confident as I did now. My friends were back to normal, we had the Elements of Harmony with them again, we had additional support from more of our friends that I hadn’t even expected to see with the addition of a new one, and, best of all, I had Dusk back with me, his very presence enough to calm all of my fears. This time, we were going to defeat Discord and Dusk would be here to witness it.

Even if Dusk was with us though, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed or perhaps that was an understatement. I wasn’t even completely sure as to how or why I did it, whether it had been to give Dusk luck or a way of additional support, but I had actually gathered up the courage to kiss him in that moment in the last battle. He wasn’t even aware of my doing it at the time. Did this make my wrong then? Was it truly foolish to even think of pursuing something along the lines of romance with him?

It seemed that way, just a silly waste of time. But thinking that didn’t make me feel any better. I did my best to hide my tears and keep my head low as we galloped through Ponyville.

Discord certainly wasn’t difficult to find. We had only been searching for a few minutes, trailing silently behind a pair of Paraserpents that took us towards the center of town. There, they bowed to pay homage to their lord and master and report on the chaos they were helping to spread and keep in check. He sat upon a red and black throne in the shape of an elongated skull, two deer antlers sprouting out of the top and supported by plush cushions. Six more Paraserpents stood guard, three on either side of their master.

“Alright, he doesn’t even know we’re here!” Rainbow whispered from the hay bale we were hiding behind.

“Boy, is he gonna get a surprise.” Shield said at the same volume.

“Think them fellers are gonna be a problem?” Applejack asked, referring to his guards.

“We’ll take care of them, have no fear.” Strongheart assured.

“Ee-yup!” Dog put in. “We’ll keep them distracted while you girls and Dusk get to Discord.”

“Yeah. Time to see what those Elements do to his stones.” Leon finished. “We got the snakes covered. You all just take care of Discord.”

“A good plan.” Rarity said. “Well, shall we… Dusk, are you all right, darling?”

I looked to Dusk, our stallion friend, where he appeared to be staring at something in disbelief. I followed his gaze and soon I was sure that my expression mirrored his perfectly. At the foot of Discord’s throne, suffering signs of debasement and indignity were three statues: two of alicorns—one smaller than the other—and one dragon, but all with defiant expressions fixed on their faces. They were covered in graffiti, streamers, cotton candy, chocolate, and had white pointed caps on their heads, one reading “bore”, one reading “pushover”, and one reading “bozo”.

I felt my blood boil and I growled low in my throat. I had expected as much from when they went to distract him, but seeing our two fair rulers and great guardian reduced to such mockery as this actually here, right in front of me… if I felt that Discord deserved everything he was about to get, I was now utterly convinced that he did deserve that and so much more for such a crime against Equestria. I looked at Dusk again and knew he must feel the same, glaring at him and shaking.

Though it was against my better judgement… “We’ll make him regret everything he's done.”

Dusk looked back at me and gently squeezed my hoof in return. “And I’ll make sure you do.” I knew that he meant for far more than turning our rulers and guardian to stone.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” I said, turning to the others. “I’ll lead the Wielders and Dusk. We get as close as we can to Discord, while the rest of you spread out. If the Paraserpents start to attack, you come in and take care of them.”

The people I was addressing, Gold Star, Hearth Forest, Shield, Dog, Leon, Spike, Zecora, and Strongheart all nodded in affirmation, as did all the others. It wasn’t the most elaborate plan, but it didn’t need to be. We had the Elements back now, all we needed was the time to use them on Discord and revert him back to being a statue. Even he wouldn’t be able to counter the full power of the magic of friendship against him. He wasn’t able to last time. Especially now that we had Dusk’s stones, whatever purpose they served.

I was about to wish them all luck and start to lead them off, when I realized something else and it made me stop and smile.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“I was just thinking.” I replied. “When all this started and Discord gave us that riddle, he said we’d need more than the Elements of Harmony and the Element Gang to stop him this time.”

“So what? We found the Elements, we beat his stupid little game!” Rainbow said impatiently. "Now come on, let’s go already!”

“I know, I know. I just realized that, well, he was right.” I passed my gaze over Dusk and the attack group. “None of you are Elements and you could have just stayed out of the way, yet you still came to fight the battle to restore harmony. I suppose that was what he meant, because if it wasn't for you, the Paraserpents would have overwhelmed us.”

“Oh, yeah… I never thought about that.” Spike gave a small chuckle. “Heh, cool. You couldn’t have managed without me. I knew it.”

“Well, of course we would help.” Shield gave me a confident smile. “We’re Element Gang. Protecting Equestria is our job.”

“And my job as the Mystic King.” Gold Star added, giving the same smile.

“As well as my job as a Necro-Knight.” Hearth Forest put in.

“I could think of nothing else I would rather be doing in this dark time.” Strongheart bowed her head. “It was my honor to lend a hoof to you all.”

“An honor to all of us.” Dog added. “Especially since half our team is now gonna help beat the crazy villain threatenin’ our home.”

“I too am most glad indeed to have helped in your hour of need.” Zecora put in. “Now it’s time for Discord to be disposed and bring this chaos to close.”

“Yeah, time to finish this once and for all!” Leon finished.

I nodded in agreement and looked to Dusk to see if he had anything to add. In contrast to the others, however, he didn’t seem so convinced. He had that look of concentration on his face that I knew he only ever got when he was thinking hard about a particular issue, focusing particularly on the now glowing stones around his neck and put a claw to his chin. He always looked kind of… cute, in my opinion, when he did that.

Brushing aside this random thought, I had to say his name three times to snap him out of it and even then I could tell his mind still was focused on whatever it was that he had been thinking about.

“Oh, sorry.” He told me.

“Thinking about those stones again?” Shield asked him.

“Well, yeah. I’m also hoping the Elements are the catalyst we need to activate them.” He told us. “I’m just proud to be a part of this. Speaking of, I do kind of feel bad not letting the Crusaders come along. They did help us as much as anypony and I don’t want them to feel like they’re left out.”

“I’ll make sure they won’t be.” I promised. “Now, spread out and get into position. It’s time to finish this.”

“Yes, Ms. Sparkle.” Within seconds, we’d all galloped off into established hiding places and were nowhere to be seen.

I let that warm enriching feeling I got when I was with Dusk flow through me from his words. I always liked it when he called me “Ms. Sparkle.” Anypony else would think it would sound too formal and I myself knew that the only ponies who called me that had been my examiners. Coming from Dusk though, it just sounded… sweet, just right in a way.

Letting my thoughts and feelings for Dusk give me strength, I led the others towards the spirit of chaos, who had just thrown a flying apple pie at Princess Celestia, sprayed party streamers all over Princess Luna, and dressed Dragonis Maximus like a clown, guffawing and laughing all the while. He paused in his mischief and conjured a glass under a torrent of chocolate rain, allowing it to fill up from the brim to the bottom.

He rose the glass in the manner of performing a toast. “Chaos is a wonderful, wonderful thing.”

“Not as wonderful as friendship!” I declared, his head whipping up to look at us.

“Ugh, this again?” he asked mockingly.

Following this, he promptly drank the glass rather than the contents, then threw the remaining chocolate behind him. This was followed by an explosion and a screech from a Paraserpent in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everypony, remarkably, managed to ignore this.

“That’s right. You couldn’t break apart our friendship for long!” Applejack followed up.

“Oh, Applejack, don’t lie to me. I’m the one who made you a liar.” Discord raised a glowing finger as he said this, grabbing Applejack by her necklace and levitating her up to him. Clenching his fist, he did the same with the others, all struggling to remove their Elements. “Will you ever learn? Oh, boys, who's hungry?”

This last part was addressed to his guards, who slithered forward eagerly. “Food from Lord Disssssscord!”

Quickly deciding what to do, I tapped into her magic and ordered “Dusk!”

“Right! Everypony, attack!” Dusk cried out as I then heard multiple battle cries, Shield and the others coming out to fight the Paraserpents.

With this, I teleported up to my friends and surrounded them in a protective spell, lowering us gently back to the ground. As I descended, I watched Zecora catch two with a split kick to the head, Gold Star using his sword to block and reflect magic blasts back at their senders, Strongheart ram right into one, Dog freezing Paraserpents left and right, Leon using his cannon to blast some away, and Shield slam two rocks into the jaw of one, followed by his hooves down on its head. Spike who rode on his back finished it off by torching it with his fire.

Touching the ground, I suddenly felt grass around my hooves when I landed over where Dusk was standing in waiting, like our presence had destroyed that little patch of chaos. Zecora and Strongheart galloped over to join them, Shield sliding off the back of a Paraserpent as it fell, rounding on Discord with the others and Spike jumped off his back and raised his little claws like a champion boxer.

Bolstered by the presence of my friends, Twilight faced the lord of chaos defiantly. “I’ll tell you what we’ve learned, Discord. We’ve learned that friendship isn’t always easy. But there’s no doubt it's worth fighting for!”

“Oh, come on now, Twilight Sparkle.” Discord slapped his face, apparently unfazed by the loss of his guards. “We both know how this is going to end, friendship or none.”

“We know how this will end and it will be with your demise!” Dusk spoke up. “Separate, we’re easy targets, but together, we’re more than a match for you!”

“Ugh! Gag!” He teleported in front of us and frowned impatiently. “Fine, go ahead. Try and use your little Elements, ‘frenemies’. Just make it quick.” In the blink of an eye, he was back on his throne. “I’m missing some excellent chaos here.” Some flying pigs flapped by as he said this.

Dusk bowed to us and stood back. “Ladies first, Ms. Sparkle.”

“Thank you, Dusk.” she nodded to me. “All right, ladies! Let’s show him what friendship can do!”

“Wait-wait-wait!” Pinkie had become distracted by some chocolate rain and was gulping it down in bucket loads. After a few seconds, she rejoined them, snarling like a wolverine.

It was time.

Dusk’s view

Allowing the girls to do their thing, I watched as Twilight reached deep into her magic and surrounded herself and the others in a magical aura, awakening the power of each Element and blocking out everything else that might distract her. Together with her friends, I could tell she felt the power build stronger and stronger with every passing moment, finally letting it reach its peak and letting it all out in on magical burst, in the form of a rainbow. I also saw Twilight could see it consume Discord, smiling to herself as she knew as much as me that it would now be doing what she had commanded it to do: turn the Lord of Chaos back to stone. This wouldn’t take very long…

“You’re finished, Discord!” I confidently said before adding with a snap of my index claw and thumb. “Check and mate!”

“Oh, really?” Hearing that smug voice, I looked in shock as Discord was moving around in the rainbow beam like he was in the shower. “Have to say, showering in a rainbow is kind of nice. Maybe I should get one for myself.”

“What?” I was in disbelief what I was seeing, knowing something was wrong but didn’t know what it was.

“Hey, how come he’s not turnin’ to stone?” Dog asked, confused by this.

“Well, it seems as though you all are still missing something.” Discord said to us, keeping that smug. “I wonder what it could be?”

“But… this doesn’t make any sense.” I said, having a hard time making heads or tails of this. “We have everything we need. The girls are back in harmony, we have the Elements, and the seven stones to help them. Why isn’t this working?”

“Uh, Dusk?” Leon said with worry. “I think I know why it isn’t working.”

“What is it?” I asked him.

“Remember how that blue stone was glowing bright back at the library?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, it’s not glowing like that anymore!”

“What?” I then looked down and, to my horror, I saw that he was right. The stone that had my fur color was back to glowing like the others, its bright light gone. This only meant one thing and it was something I dreaded. “No… No! It can’t be!”

“Oh, I’m afraid it is, Dusk.” Discord said to me. “Once again, you failed.”

With the others joining me, we all watched in horror as the rainbow began losing its color, turning grey as the girls had once done. I saw Twilight try to increase the power, but it was already at maximum and soon the whole rainbow had faded away, leaving our foe a self-satisfied draconaquis, holding up his eagle and lion hands, both of which were glowing and absorbing the energy. He then snapped his fingers, the light faded and Twilight and the others smacked back to the floor in a heap.

“Girls!” I called out as me and the others helped the six mares to their hooves.

“Badda-bing, badda-zip!” Discord grinned and descended into fits of laughter again. “You know something? I think it’s even funnier the second time around!”

“What the… What happened?” Pinkie asked, staring down at her Element. “Why is there still chocolate rain? Not that I'm complaining, but why is everything still topsy-turvey?”

“Oh, my. Was I kind enough?” Fluttershy asked. “That’s it, isn’t it? I wasn’t kind enough to use my Element properly!”

“Calm down, sugar.” Applejack soothed. “Somethin’ fishy’s goin’ on here and it ain’t nothin’ to do with you.”

“The Elements didn’t work!” Rarity shrieked. “Twilight, what’s going on?”

She cringed with the dozen of eyes staring at her. “I… I don’t know. They should be working. We’re all here and we all have them, so they should work. Why aren’t they working?”

“Has this happened before?” Strongheart asked unsurely.

“Of course it hasn’t!” Twilight yelled back. “The Elements of Harmony always work if their Wielders are together, in harmony! It’s a powerful piece of group cast magic originating from several different vessels in order to cast the most powerful spells possible. Nothing should be able to counter their magic. But they’re not, so why aren’t they? Why aren’t they?!”

Seeing all this, I then began to realize what was going, especially with the stone.

“I think I know.” I said, gaining everypony’s attention. “Girls, the Elements alone didn’t stop Nightmare Moon.”

“What?” Twilight said in disbelief. “Dusk, what are you talking about?”

“Twilight, I just figured out exactly how the stones connect to all this.” I then began to explain. “The seven stones that I wear are connected to the Elements of Harmony! It’s just like you said, they have magic power within them and that magic is used to strengthen the Elements.”

“Hold on, you’re saying those things actually power the Elements?” Shield asked with surprise. “How?”

“I don’t know, but that’s not the point.” I then continued with the explanation. “Without these stones, the Elements aren’t strong enough to do much anything. That’s why Nightmare Moon was able to escape and Discord broke free from stone. The Elements’ magic wasn’t strong enough to hold. That’s why Fore Sight was searching for the stones, because he knew this would happen!”

“But you were there when the girls defeated Nightmare Moon and they turned her back into Princess Luna.” Leon reminded me.

“Yeah, only because I found the seventh stone and was able to activate them.” I told him.

“Well, do what you did to activate them last time and let’s use them to put Discord back to stone!” Rainbow said to me.

“That’s where the problem begins, Rainbow.” I said to her, now panicking. “I believe that what activates them is my faith in you and the girls to make things right. That’s what I was giving to you before. I’m giving faith to you now and yet the stones aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do! Why aren’t they working?”

“Perhaps they don’t work when the one using them is delusional.” I whipped my head back to face Discord. “I think you might have bats in your belfry, Dusk Noir. I know I certainly do.” A few of the winged rodents promptly flew out of his ears.

“You have something to do with this, don’t you, Discord?” Twilight demanded. “You’ve been trying to stop us every step of the way.”

“Except for the part where I told you how to find them.” he corrected. “It’s not my fault if you can’t follow instructions properly.”

“Shut up!” she shouted back. “Don’t play games with us!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow smacked one hoof into the other and glared at him. “What did you do to the stones, bub?”

He pointed to himself dramatically. “Moi? Et tut, Rainbow? How can you be so quick to judge? What happened to not judging a book by its cover?” He conjured up his own penned work, gestured to it and it vanished again. “Apart from proving once and for all that chaos is superior to harmony, I am guiltless in this.” I then looked down at the ground as I felt nothing but shame, mentally apologizing to Luna along with Dragonis and Celestia for failing them. “Now then…”

“Hey!” Shield shouted as I shot my head up and watched in shock as three bubbles formed around him, Dog, and Leon before they were taken over to him.

“Guys!” I said before the three were stacked up on top of each other in Discord’s open paw with Leon on top and Shield on the bottom. Soon after, Discord began juggling them, my fellow stallions screaming as he tossed them around.

“This is fun, right?” Discord asked as he continued to juggle.

“Put us down, you clown!” Shield demanded.

Feeling the rage inside me, I then slashed out on Discord and said “Leave them alone! Take me instead!”

“Well, if you insist.” Discord then stopped juggling them and snapped his fingers, the bubbles popping and the guys falling to the ground. They tried to get up, but some sudden force appeared and pushed them back down, pinning them on the ground as Discord spoke to them. “Sorry, boys, but you’re gonna have to stick this one out.” He then turns his attention back to me. “Ready to go, Dusk?”

Now furious, I was just about to jump right at him when…

“Ooh! That’s it, buddy!”

“Rainbow, no!” Twilight said, but it was too late.

Before anypony could stop her, Rainbow shot straight at Discord. The spirit of chaos raised an eyebrow at her, suppressed a snigger, and snapped his fingers, making her vanished in a flash of light. When it lifted, she was struggling as she was trapped in a mass of sticky, sickly cotton candy and Discord was pointing and laughing at her state like a playground bully.

“Let me go! Come on!”

“Ha-ha-ha! Oh, that's just brilliant!” He wiped a tear from his eye. “You actually thought you could beat me in a fight! Now, I don’t suppose anypony else wants to try their luck?”

He soon stopped laughed and his horrible eyes turned to the others, still keeping that smile on his face and his hands glowing with chaotic magic. Seeing this, I then decided to take the bull by the horns.

Twilight’s view

My thoughts were in a whirl as I tried desperately to formulate some kind of strategy against him, a countermeasure, and a secondary attack, anything that might work.

“Enough!” With that shout, Dusk stepped forward, calmly and slowly. “You’ve done enough damage, Discord! I won’t let you hurt my friends! No more! It ends now!”

“Oh, really?” Discord leaned over to look at him. “Just like you to believe in an impossible goal. As I recall, I wasn’t the only one who caused that pain.”

“I know…” He seemed to flinch a little from this, but he still didn’t move. “But was has happened has past and I intend to see that you never repeat what has happened here.”

“History does have a habit of repeating itself, as you know.” he countered. “Don’t you see that your cause is lost and that I will now rule eternal?”

“No cause is lost if there’s but one fool left to fight for it.” If Dusk was scared, he hid it. If he was doubtful, he didn’t let it show. Dusk just stood there, immovable and strong, despite his size.

Discord frowned and shrugged. “Then let there be one less fool.”

“Indeed.” Dusk closed his eyes and lowered his head.

Panic gripped me, knowing what was coming. “DUSK, NO!”

BANG!

I heard myself scream as Discord snapped his fingers and a bolt of chaos magic struck where Dusk was. When the dust cleared, I saw that Dusk was gone and his hat lying there, fearing the worst. The fear went away when I heard a cry and saw Dusk behind Discord’s head, throwing a kick as flames surrounded him for the moment. With his attack connecting as Discord turning around, Dusk had become El Dragon as the impact sent Discord flying into a nearby building. Landing while glaring at the draconequus, Dusk’s nostrils flared with black smoke and his teeth or fangs in this case bared as he gritted them, rage burning in his eyes as he gave a beastly growl.

“Well…” Discord said with a cough as he pulled himself out of the building, dusting himself as he stood up, “looks like somepony haves some trick up his sleeve.”

“Dusk, how did you…?” I asked in disbelief before he went ahead and answered my question.

“Speed boost spell from my magic.” He told me. “Learned it back in the old Element Squad days with Shield. I also used a little bit of strength-enhancing magic I learned with helping Dog to give that kick an extra… well, kick.”

A blast came in from behind, but it was blocked by a sudden yellow shield that appeared with the glow from Dusk’s horn and reflected it. Looking to where it went, I saw it hit a Paraserpent behind Dusk and knock it to the ground, the snake no doubt trying to attack Dusk from behind.

“Gonna have to try a little harder than that to sneak a fast on me.” Dusk said to it, not once looking away from Discord as he canceled his magic and made the shield disappear. “Especially to get past the shield that once took on the dark magic of Dargon.”

“Impressive.” Discord said to him with sly smile. “Guess being around those three didn’t make you weak. I can see why Diablo lost to you.”

“Enough talk, Discord.” Dusk then took a fighting stance. “I’m going to take you down!”

“You can try.” Discord said, taking stance as well. “All I know is that this is going to be real fun.”

With that, we all watched as the two disappeared and watched as blurs of red and brown clashed at each other in the air. It was only a moment later we could see them again, the fight still going between the three stallions before Discord’s throne and me and the others who had joined to fight him. The two exchanged blows, both dodging and attacking each other with Discord mostly dodging Dusk who threw multiple kicks and punches at him, my friend flying to meet Discord’s punches as the spirit of chaos stood there.

“Whoa!” Spike exclaimed in surprise. “Dusk’s really taking that Discord guy head-on?”

“Whoa! They’re… so fast!” Pinkie Pie commented as the swift movements of the two had pulled in large amounts of wind and were causing bursts that created a gale-force around them.

“Yet another surprise. Take look over there!” Zecora said, pointing to the side of the battle. “Surrounding Dusk, our foes don’t seem to dare.”

“She’s right!” Strongheart spoke out as we saw the Paraserpents staying far away from the fight. “The Paraserpents are staying away from Discord and Dusk!”

“Can’t say that I blame them.” Rainbow put in. “Seeing how those two are going at it, I wouldn’t to be in the middle of that mess!”

“Yeah.” Applejack added. “Dog sure wasn’t kiddin’ when he said he’s strong.”

“Yeah… he is.” I said, just amazed by what I was seeing.

Seeing how Dusk was fighting, I was just in awe by what he was doing. Even though he was outmatched, he was willing to face Discord to protect Equestria, to protect all of us, his friends… to protect me. Think back to what I learned about him, everything he did and all the threats he had faced, I was starting to understand why he did it all. Every fight he was in, every foe he struck at… he was doing it to save everypony, even me. His courage, his compassion, his will… all the things that made him who he was, all the things that I loved about him, they are what makes him a hero. Dusk once told me that, all his life, he wanted to be a hero like his father. But now I see he doesn’t really need to be like his father because he’s already proven to be a real hero. At least, in a way… he’s proven to be my hero.

The battle soon came to an end as Dusk delivered one final punch, the largest burst of wind yet spreading from the impact. We all shielded ourselves, unable to see if the attack had hit its mark due to the sheer wind against us. When it all began to settle, I lowered my foreleg, hoping to see Dusk had one. But, much like Dusk, my hopes were crushed when I saw Discord was still standing, having caught Dusk’s punch in his paw and was holding him there.

“Well, this has been pretty fun, more than when I fought the last Fire Dragon who faced me.” Discord said, sounding pleased with himself before he held out his arm, Dusk now dangling from under his paw. “But I think it’s about time to end things here.” With that, chaotic energy surged from his paw, causing Dusk to cried out from being shocked.

“DUSK!” I yelled out in worry. After a moment, the energy stopped and Dusk became limp, his transformation back to normal adding to my horror.

“Well, so much for the Hero of Light.” With that smug look on his face, Discord released his grip and let Dusk fall to the ground, my fellow unicorn sprawling as he laid there.

I reached out with her hoof, knowing it was already too late. I glared back up at Discord and my rage spilled over. Rational thought was gone in that moment, logic was lost. And all I wanted to do was do something, anything, to hurt the cruel, sadistic monster that stood before me.

“GET HIM!” Though they knew it was foolish—suicidal even—at my command, they all charged at the draconequus.

Discord just yawned and waited for each of them. Spike launched a fireball at him, which he turned into a volleyball and threw at him, knocking him into a wall with a loud pinging sound. Zecora jumped, spinning her staff, but he made it so it spun of its own accord, lifting her up into the sky and dropping her like a sack of bricks onto the ground, accompanied with a horn honking and the staff with a mind of its own beating her on the head. Applejack tried kicking him, but she dropped into a giant apple basket and Discord trapped her inside by turning it downward. Hearth Forest tried to attack, but Discord had used the water to trap her in gelatin. Gold Star even tried to strike him down, but Discord managed to dodge by splitting apart, causing the sword to pass through and hit the ground.

“Well, well, Gold Star,” Discord said to him, “the adopted son of Princess Celestia. Been wondering when you would get here.”

“Save it, creep!” Gold Star said as he pulled his sword from the ground and got ready to strike again. “You’re gonna pay for what you did to my mom!”

“Really? With what?” Discord asked with a smug.

“With this!” the Mystic King then slashed at him, but he was then shocked when Discord caught the blade in his claw and held it there. “What?!”

“Really? Do you think your little Demon Dweller was a match for me?” Discord said to him. “Hate to break it to you, but my Chaos Magic is on a whole different level than your Anti-Magic.” Discord then used the sword to pick him up and slam him into the ground. Dropping the sword in front of the Earth pony, Gold Star picked himself up as a glowing yellow cage appeared around him. He tried to cut it, but only got shocked as a result. “Nope! Can’t cut your way out of this, especially when you’re in a cage of Chaos Magic.”

“We have beaten your minions, Discord! We shall defeat you!” Strongheart declared, getting his attention as she charged at him.

“A nice dream, but even you have to wake up.” Snapping his fingers, he made the ground swallow her up. “Looks like the ground wasn’t strong beneath your hooves then.”

Rarity galloped up but she was soon screaming and hiding behind a rock when Discord put her in a jester’s outfit, wailing about crimes against fashion and clashing color schemes. The streamers that shout out of Pinkie's cannon coiled around Discord's fingers, whirled back around and wrapped around the pink pony, leaving her helpless as he bobbed her up and down like a yo-yo. Fluttershy had lost what little bravery she had and had been reduced to a quivering wreck, whimpering and hiding behind her mane. She peeked out as Discord leaned in close to her.

“Boo.” With a loud squeak, she joined Rarity in hiding.

The cloud of rage in my mind lifted in that instant as I beheld the sight around me. All of my friends had been taken down and the total time elapsed hadn’t even been ten seconds. Now it was just me and Discord, who now faced me.

“Oh, dear.”

“Well, well, Twilight Sparkle. This seems to be quite a pickle you’ve gotten yourself into.” His smile grew, his eyes burning with malice. “All on your own, nopony to help you.”

“She’s not alone.” I looked to see Spike getting back up. “She’s still got me!” He took in a deep breath and only ended up letting out a stream of black smoke. He tried again, but got the same result.

“A dragon without his fire? Oh, my! How shocking!” Discord snapped his fingers again and trapped her assistant in a giant gemstone. “Now then, where were we?”

I looked desperately around, knowing that I was now well and truly on my own. I knew I didn’t stand much of a chance and that Discord was sure to beat me, but I wasn’t going to just lie down and let him beat me. Fueled by the diadem on my head, I tapped into its power and prepared to send a spell at him.

“If you insist then.” He snapped his fingers and he was dressed in a baseball cap, uniform, and had a leather glove in his hand. “Let’s play ball!”

My response was to cast my magic right at his smug face, which he caught with the glove and threw back. “Strike one!” I only just dodged out of the way and picked myself up.

Another spell was met with the same result, feeling it whizz past my mane. “Strike two!”

And the third time, but at least I had tried. “Strike three! You’re outta there!” I dodged the first spell, but didn’t see that this time he sent two at me. No time to move…

CLANG!

I skidded across the floor from the impact, my face burning from the spell and my belly scraped from the ground. I heard the sound of the Element of Magic clattering across the ground and landing next to me. Weakened by the strike, I raised my head and saw Discord crossing towards me, smiling victoriously.

“Well, not that this hasn’t been fun, Twilight, but I’m afraid our little game must end here.” His hand started to glow again. “I’m sure you’ll look lovely next to your beloved Celestia.”

I tried to get up, but I just didn’t have the energy to move or to cast a spell to defend myself. I still couldn’t quite comprehend that, despite all we had been through, all we had suffered, we still failed. Discord was going to win and there would be nopony else to stop him. The Elements hadn’t worked, the Element Gang was defeated, all of our efforts had been for nothing.

Dusk’s view

Managing to wake up but not having the strength to stand, I looked over and was filled with dread at the sight. The guys along with Rainbow Dash were still trapped, Zecora was being beaten by her own staff, Applejack was stuck under a downward apple basket, Hearth was stuck in a blob of gelatin, Gold had been put into a cage that was shocking him every time he swung his sword at it, Rarity and Fluttershy were hiding behind a rock as my cousin was wearing a jester outfit, Pinkie was wrapped in her own cannon, Spike was trapped in a giant gemstone, and (judging by the grunts) Strongheart was stuck in the ground. Worst of all, I saw Discord towering over a hopeless Twilight, the villain smiling in triumph. I was so sure our plan would work, how could we have failed like this?

None of this made any sense. The stones were supposed to strengthen the Elements while they were being used. They did it before, why not now? Seeing how they were connected, they should have been glowing with them like the seventh stone did after I cast that spell… Wait a minute… I then realized that, when the stones gave the Elements power to defeat Nightmare Moon, they weren’t full color, but only had tints like I found them. If the amount of color represented the amount of power they could give, then Nightmare Moon shouldn’t have been defeated. Did my faith increase their power somehow? Then I thought about more what Fore Sight said while he was on his search.

Find the light… like how I used my own light to help the girls find Twilight and earned the seventh stone for it and how finding the light within my own shadow was what helped me escape the madness. That must be what Dialga had meant by “follow the light”. Unite the seven… like how reuniting the pieces of my necklace is what helped me find a way to defeat Diablo and how helping the girls reunite also helped the stone gain their power.

It was there that I began looking back on everything I’ve been through, throughout my entire journey. From past to now, all I had done while fulfilling my duty as a Fire Dragon, I had managed to bring people together. I even managed to bring together the bitterest of enemies and helped them to become friends, brothers and sisters-in-arms. I even reunited my family. I had done all this, not just helping those in need or as to uphold being Equestria’s symbol of peace and justice, but also to work towards my dream. It had been one I’ve had since I was just a colt. Seeing the many people in this world, the creatures of all kinds who call it home, I want to create a world where all are united in peace and harmony, a world where everyone has a chance to be happy! This was what I could bring into this world, the light of which I hold and the same light that the seventh stone represents. My light was the one thing I could help create among others: unity.

“Only when six unite as one will all evil be undone.” I said, reciting the prophecy of my Fire Dragon predecessor. “Of course! That’s the key to the stones!”

Feeling my strength returning as strong as my renowned faith, I looked down and saw the shining light of the stones had become brighter, a rainbow of colors before my eyes. Picking myself up, I finally pieced everything together: the reason why Discord went to such lengths to corrupt me, what the seven stones were, why Fore Sight had gone to such lengths to find them, why only I could find them, the role of which they played in defeating the Lord of Chaos, and, most importantly… the role of which I had played. Now that I had the answer to Discord’s riddle, I was ready to give it to him. Now, just like before, it was time… time for the Elements to unite!

Twilight’s view

As Discord prepared to turn me to stone, I wanted my last thought to be of Dusk and my friends, of all the wonderful times that we had spent together, all of us flashing before me as Discord prepared his spell. The first day I’d arrived in Ponyville, learning about the magic of friendship, meeting Dusk for the first time… those were the moments that I focused on in my mind and everything since then. At least I had a good life…

The light of the spell was getting brighter, traveling towards me seemingly in slow motion. I could hear the cries of my friends, Discord’s foul laughter, even Dusk calling out my name, this was it…

Until the light was blocked by a wall of duke blue and a brilliant flare that followed almost blinded me.

When it cleared and I could see again, I saw that I wasn’t turned to stone, that Discord was staring in complete disbelief, and that Dusk stood between me and him. He looked completely unharmed, glaring at Discord, and the stones around his neck shining more brightly than ever. He glanced behind me, his eyes bearing some signs of damage but still shining with the warmth that made me want to cry.

“I think this is yours.” Dusk said softly, levitating Magic back to me.

“Thank you.” I whispered, putting it on my head and accepting his claw as he pulled me back up. “But…how?”

“Yes, yes, how?!” Discord’s eye muscle was twitching. “Blocking me from your mind, okay. Resisting my influence, fine. Curing yourself of Black Blood, fair enough. But standing in the way of one of my spells, my spells, without even so much as a boo-boo? That… that’s just… impossible!”

I smiled at her and turned back to Discord, speaking in a firm but almost casual tone of voice. “Impossible is a word thrown around far too much, I find.”

“No, no, NO! This just isn’t possible! It’s unfathomable, inconceivable, and utterly preposterous!” I had never seen Discord lose control like this before. He almost looked scared. “How are you still even standing?! TELL ME!”

“Oh, but I think you know, Discord.” I said calmly. “I know now too, though it took me a while to figure it all out, to say the least.”

“What?” If Discord didn’t look scared before, he certainly did now. “What… what are you talking about?”

“Well, she gave me the answer.” Dusk gazed back at me again. “Twilight, while our friends certainly did help, I think that last part of the riddle was a little more specific.”

“Specific? What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Discord said we need more than the six Elements and the Element Gang to defeat Discord.” He answered. “We do need more than the Elements of Harmony. Specifically, one more.”

Everything stopped at this statement and I felt my jaw drop. Even the torments that Discord was causing to my friends seemed non-existent as everypony stared at Dusk. Discord too looked like he had walked up to him and slapped him in the face. When he laughed in his mocking way, it sounded insincere and forced.

“Do you know how ridiculous you sound? A seventh Element? Really! Give me a break!”

“Dusk,” I began. “I hate to say it, but he's right. There’s no such thing as a seventh Element of Harmony, there never has been.”

That didn’t seem to dishearten him. “But, Twilight, don’t you remember? You said yourself that, since I met you, I seem to have picked up a habit.”

I was about to say something against that, but I suddenly realized what he meant by that. When we’d first met, that Paraserpent Black Fang had separated the girls and I in the forest and he’d helped bring us back together. When its master returned and broke us apart, he’d helped bring us back together there too, both when Discord had corrupted us and when the Paraserpents had separated us, as well as being something of a driving force for some additional support against them from our other friends.

Then there were other times too: when Rarity had been kidnapped by Diamond Dogs, Dusk had been there to help find her. He even managed to get them to open to cooperation and even ask for help. When the town was arguing about Winter Wrap Up, Dusk figured out what we needed to do, along with me, and stopped a fight from breaking out. When the buffalo and townsfolk were fighting, Dusk rescued Pinkie and become part of a new friendship between the two people. When we were all panicking and stressed from the Gala, Dusk helped me bring everypony back together there too. So many other times when our friendship was in danger of falling apart, Dusk had been there to keep us together.

Dusk was even there to bring me and the girls together to defeat Nightmare Moon. Remembering all of this, I saw that Dusk really had been there, right at the start of it all, doing what he did best.

And those stones… he told me that his ancestor had been looking for them and he knew that they could help us defeat Discord, but we never figured how they could. Could it be…?

“Do you see now?” Dusk asked me. “Do you believe?”

That question in particular made me smile back at him. “Yes, I do.”

“What?! How can you possibly believe this crazy fantasy?” Discord demanded.

“Twilight?” I looked to see Fluttershy was peeking out behind her hiding place. “Is it really true?”

“I don’t know.” I gazed into Dusk’s hazel brown eyes and saw only truth staring back. “Maybe I’m desperate, or crazy, or just hoping for something. But I do believe him.”

“Oh, ho! Now the truth comes out!” Discord shouted. “Anypony else says it, you’d say they're crazy. But if he says it—ooh!—it’s the greatest truth that was ever spoken.”

“But it is true, isn’t it?” I looked straight at Discord. “You know it is, you’ve always known. That was why you targeted Dusk. It wasn’t just to get at me or beat the Element Gang, it was to distract him too, like you did with all of us. You tried to prevent him from discovering what he truly is… who he truly is.”

“Then… those stones…” Rarity whispered.

“That’s right, Rarity.” Dusk said as he explained. “These stones are not just some random pieces of rock. They’re something very important, the same as how your Elements began. I didn't even fully know at first, but I still kept them when I found them. They’re pieces of an Element of Harmony, my Element of Harmony!” As he continued, six of the stones each began to glow, gaining a bright aura of their respective color (all except for the indigo shard as it gained a white aura). “Much like the others, my Element’s true power comes from honesty,” the orange fragment was the first to gain its aura, “kindness,” then the one sharing the color of Fluttershy, “laughter,” the pink shard was third, “generosity,” then the purple shard, “loyalty,” then the cyan shard, “magic.” Finally, the violet shard received its aura. “These six lights, the… the Lights of Harmony, when brought together, are what bring out the seventh Element, the one of which you fear and tried to prevent from ever coming.” From there, Dusk then took stance, looking ready to fight Discord. “I will not let you hurt my friends, Discord! I know who I am!”

“No! No, you can’t do this! It’s not fair!” Discord insisted desperately.

“Yes, we can!” Twilight stepped forward and knew exactly what to say. “Dusk Noir, who keeps our friendship together when it seems like it will fall apart, represents the Spirit of…Unity!”

The instant I said that, the final stone gained its aura and all seven stones shone with the intensity of the rising sun, consuming Dusk in their brilliant glow. I saw tendrils of Dusk’s color magic shine both from them and his horn, connecting to the necklaces and crown the girls and I all wore. The other Elements also started to glow, including mine, and the chaos holding down my friends was destroyed, freeing us all. Small color outlines soared out of them and sped towards Dusk, adding to the magic and lifting him into the air, along with the matching fragments they went to. They all gathered at the base of Dusk’s neck and I could see his smile as he was swallowed up in the light. My eyes never left him the whole time as I didn’t care how bright it was.

No one’s view

Within that moment, the band holding the stone faded away as seven stones turned into small orbs of light in each of their respective colors. After doing so, with six of the orbs spiral around the midnight blue orb, all seven orbs flew a few feet away before rising above his head inside an orb of rainbow-colored light, their own light visible within it. The wind it created around him was enough to blow his hat off his head and away from the blue stallion. With the orb resting on Dusk’s head and the six orbs circling around the one of Dusk’s color, there was a bright flash that filled the area.

Twilight’s view

Curious as I felt what happened was over, I looked beyond it to see that the light eventually faded and Dusk standing tall and proud, ready for action. The small stones that had once been around his neck, held in place with string, had vanished and leaving his neck bare. While I wondered where they had went, I then looked up and was shocked to find a golden crown similar to the one that I was wearing that was aligned with shimmering silver and had seven jewels at the center of the front. Six of them were semicircle-shaped and, in a clockwise formation, encircled a jewel shaped like a star in the center, which was the same color as Dusk’s fur. Though it was at the center, it was the same size as the other jewels and shone just as brightly as they did.

“No, no, no! No, you don’t!” Discord pointed a shaky finger at him. “I’m still more powerful than you, I’m still top dog!”

Dusk looked up at Discord and shook his head. “You claim to be as constant as the northern star, but your heart is crammed with arrogance, spleen, and pride. Now, your pride has fallen with your fortunes and so will you.”

“Come on, girls! Let’s try this one more time!” Relieved from my disbelieving stupor, we swiftly got ready to take formation again. “Dusk, you’re in the middle!”

“As you wish, Miss Sparkle.” Dusk said to me. “But there’s still one more thing we need.”

“Oh, come on!” Discord said in exasperation. “You already have a new Element. What more do you need?”

“Did you forget already?” Dusk said to him. “My Element is called Unity for a reason. Its power comes from the Lights of Harmony. It’s not just the other Elements that hold this kind of power, it’s everywhere. Everyone in this world carries this light deep inside. When that light is shared with others, that’s when their true strength is revealed. I should know because that is what has gotten me through every challenge that came my way. That’s why my Element is Unity, for I know I will never be alone for I have… my friends!”

Just when he said that, the magic holding down Shield, Dog, and Leon was destroyed, freeing them.

“What?!” Discord said with shock as the three then went over to stand beside Dusk, giving serious expressions.

“Discord, did it ever occur to you as to why, not just two, but now three elementals of the Element Gang are Wielders of the Elements?” Dusk spoke up. “It’s not just because they are what we represent, it is because our destiny resides with the Elements of Harmony. The Lights of Harmony, the very same that was used to create the Elements, are the very lights we elementals carry within us, inside our hearts. All of which connects us, the bonds that we share, that is what gives us strength. And it’s because of that we will always stand strong and never surrender.”

“What… what are you talking about?” Discord asked in shock.

“What I am saying is that it wasn’t a coincidence that Rarity and Pinkie Pie became wielders.” Dusk exclaimed. “For we—all ten of us, wielders and elementals alike—are the Element Gang! And when you push one of us, you push…”

“All of us!” Shield, Dog, and Leon said with Dusk in unison.

“We are defenders of the innocent, guardians of Equus! I am Dusk Noir!” Dusk called out before going into stance. “With the power of fire, I am El Dragon!” Soon his fellow stallions did the same.

“Shield Steedor! With the power of earth, I am Apolloid!”

“Leon Aquilous! With the power of water, I am Posidacus!”

“Dog Fries! With the power of ice, I am Icedra!”

From there, I watched as Rarity and Pinkie Pie flew over and stood with them, both taking fighting stance.

“Raritina Turbor! With the power of air, I am Torna!”

“Pinkimina Diane Pie! With the power of lightning, I am ShockBlade!”

“Together, we are strong! Together, we are one!” They all exclaimed together. “Equus defenders, never surrender!”

“Each of us all holds the power of the light and these five ponies each had come to share that light with me.” As Dusk continued, Shield and the others started to glow in a strange aura. “Dog, who reassured me when I was in doubt, wields the Light of… Honesty!” Dog was the first with a violet aura. “Leon, who tamed the mightiest of beasts with his compassion, wields the Light of… Kindness!” Leon then began glowing blue. “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, wields the Light of… Laughter!” Pinkie tingled with happiness as she was next with yellow aura. “Rarity, who’s true beauty lies within her pure heart to help others, wields the Light of… Generosity!” Rarity looked as her green aura formed around her. “And Shield, who could not abandon his friends for his own heart’s desire, wields the Light of… Loyalty!” Shield then received his aura in orange. “And with these lights, they bring out the strongest of them, the light of which connects them and all who share them. The very light I have come to wield as my own: the Light of… Unity!” With that, I then watched as Dusk was surrounded in a great red aura. “Together with the Elements, they create a power beyond anything you can imagine, one that not even you have the ability to destroy. You may have tried to divide us, Discord, but your chaos magic cannot break us because we possess the strongest magic of all: the magic of friendship!”

From there, all ten of us then floated into the air, myself along with the girls and Shield, Dog, and Leon to form a circle around Dusk. From there, the aura around the elementals grew, combining into a rainbow aura that surrounded us.

“Everypony, ready?” Dusk asked as we all nodded to him. “Then, Element Gang, let the elements strike! Fire!” From that one word, a stream of fire appeared and formed a ring around Dusk.

“Earth!” Another ring appeared, this time around Shield, forming from a stream of orange sand and rock.

“Water!” Leon exclaimed, a stream of water forming a ring around him.

“Ice!” Dog received a ring of his own from a stream of cold winds and ice.

“Air!” A green wind formed around Rarity, becoming a ring of its own.

“Lightning!” At Pinkie’s call, volts of lighting appeared and formed a ring around her.

After doing so, each elemental motioned one hoof to Dusk with Shield motioning from below, Rarity and Leon from the left, and Pinkie and Dog from the right. From doing so, the rings became streams once again and left their respective elementals, each going to one of the six jewels on Dusk’s Element: earth sent into the cyan jewel, water into the yellow jewel, ice sent into orange, air into purple, lightning into pink, and fire into the lilac jewel. With this, all six jewels began to glow through which the seventh jewel at the center joined them and I could see Dusk’s smile as he was swallowed up in the light.

“Now, I just have one thing left to say to you Discord.” Dusk kept his eyes on Discord, the Elements starting to glow once again. “Have at thee!” With that, we all closed our eyes with him as the light spread to us all.

No one’s view

As the light continued to grow more intense, Discord continued to watch as his eyes were full of fear from the sight of it.

“No.” Discord said in disbelief before the heroes opened their eyes, all of them glowing white, as the two streams of rainbows appeared, one made of light and one made of the six elements wielded by the elementals.

The two streams spiraled around each other until they intersected a yard into the sky, a rainbow-colored beam springing from it as it headed for Discord.

“NOOOO!” Discord’s scream of defiance was silenced as he surrounded by the beam, his body being turned back to stone as his attempts to stop the Element Gang from using the Elements had failed.

Seeing this, the Paraserpents hissed as they converged on the heroes. But, before they could even close the distance, another beam appeared and struck the ground, creating a rainbow tornado consisted of spirals of fire, stone and dust, wind, water, ice, and lightning. It started out small but slowly began to grow as it approached the Paraserpents. Seeing this, Discord’s minions stopped and turned to run from it in fear. But their attempts at escaping failed as the tornado was able to pull them all into it, Zecora, Strongheart, Spike, Gold Star, Hearth Forest (who managed to pull herself out of the gelatin), and the Cutie Mark Crusaders (who had managed to sneak in to witness the whole battle) cheering for the Element Gang. After gathering all the Paraserpents, the tornado stopped behind Discord, now big enough to where it almost could reach the clouds. A moment after the eye of the tornado began shooting rainbow blasts, the rainbow beam divided into two, surrounding Ponyville in a magic force field before a bright white flash filled the area.

Twilight’s view

Hearing the sound of birds, the trickling of the stream, and feeling the warm sun graced our skin, I knew that everything was back normal and the magic was complete. The headache I had this time was nowhere near as bad as when I used them the first time. I had no idea how happy I was to feel the soft green grass under my hooves, see the clear blue sky above. Everything was back to normal, right down to the statue of the once-living, moving spirit of chaos.

There was a moment of silence, stillness that seemed to last for hours. After all that had happened, it was strange to think that we had actually won, that what had happened was actually true and not some strange dream. We had won, we’d beaten Discord. Just like Nightmare Moon, we had won.

“So doth fall Discord.” Dusk remarked. Like his words broke some kind of spell, now everypony cheered and celebrated their victory.

I immediately rounded on him and caught Dusk in a loving embrace. I was soon followed by the others, much to my disappointment. Soon, the non-Wielders were there as well, sharing in our triumph, even the Crusaders who came galloping out of hiding behind a rock.

“I thought we told y’all ta stay in the library.” Applejack frowned at Apple Bloom.

“We made sure we stayed hidden, sis! We really did!” her younger sibling insisted. “We only wanted to see…”

“Well… I suppose…” Applejack shook her head and beamed. “Oh, come here, you!” She swooped up her sibling, Rarity doing the same with Sweetie, leaving Scootaloo glancing hopefully at Rainbow Dash, who didn’t appear to have noticed. Though she did get her mane ruffled by Shield who smiled at her, one which she returned.

“Now we have put this battle to bed, I think I need some ointment for my head.” Zecora noted, rubbing where she had been struck by her own staff.

“I could see about helping with that.” Strongheart offered. “The medicine of my people is quite beneficial.”

“Yes, so I have seen. You must tell me the remedy.” suggested the zebra.

“Well, it’s quite simple really, you see…” I stopped listening and focused on showing Dusk everything I felt for him in my embrace.

“Yeah, we did it!” I looked to see Spike hugging my leg. “Although… I think that’s kind of put me off gems for a while.”

He’ll be back to eating them by next week. I thought, not responding to him and allowing Dusk to have all of my attention.

“Dusk, we did it! We won!” I pulled back and shook my head. “It’s… it’s kind of hard to believe really.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Eventually, a grin was plastered over my face. “But it’s true, we’ve really defeated him.”

“Hay, yeah, we did!” Shield punched Dusk’s arm and grinned. “And you… Look at you, I mean… just look at you! How awesome is that?”

“I know…” Dusk then used his magic to take the Element called Unity off his head before tracing his claw over the jewels. “It’s… remarkable. Me, an Element of Harmony.”

“A seventh Element of Harmony. Who’d have thought it, huh?” Dog noted in a similar tone.

“Great. Now I have to follow a fire-breathing Wielder now. That makes it perfect.” Leon said, sarcastically. I was about to give him a punch in the arm for that, but, surprisingly, Rarity beat me to it, with a stern look in her eye at him. It was then he began speaking normally. “But… I’ll admit, it’s still pretty cool. At least now, you and your new sister have something in common.”

“This is so great! Now we got two things to celebrate!” Pinkie cried out happily. “Does that mean we’re gonna need to have two parties? I hope so, ʹcause I think this needs two parties, ʹcause there’s just so much celebrating to do! This is wonderfulous and spectaceriffic! See what I did there?”

“Oh, that looks absolutely gorgeous, darling!” Rarity’s eyes were as big as the jewels in my Element. “Such a perfect blend of gold and silver… it definitely works so well for you.”

“It’s lovely.” Fluttershy agreed.

“Yeah, it’s a nice crown and all, but there’s one thing I don’t get.” Leon added. “All of the girls’ Elements look like their cutie marks. How come yours is different?”

“I… I don’t know. Why…” Dusk looked to his flank and his mouth fell open in shock.

When I looked, I saw why. The necklace wasn’t the only thing that had changed. The scroll that had once been Dusk’s cutie mark was gone and was replaced with the image on Unity: six colored semi-circle with small white sparkles in their depths arranged in a circle around a blue star outlined by silver and gold at its four points. Just like how Dusk’s color puppets looked.

“Whoa! Dude, what happened to your cutie mark?” Shield said as we were all surprised by this.

“I don’t know. It… it changed?” Dusk said in disbelief. “How…how is that even possible?”

“It seems that you’ve discovered more than just a hidden destiny.” Celestia had arrived with Luna and Dragonis, her smile as warm as the sun and giving her sister a knowing look. “I think that your true special talent has surfaced at last.”

“About time too, we should think.” Luna returned her sister’s look.

“Woof!” Dragonis said as he then shook his head and frowned. “Now I understand how Discord feels. Being turned to stone is not a pleasant experience.”

Though I was happy to see them all safe, those looks made me start thinking again and I could tell Dusk was too. He’d been in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters when all of this had started for some unknown reason and Luna had seemed rather interested in him for a while right now. She and Celestia and even Dragonis had to know something about this. After all, they’d known about the Elements during the Summer Sun Celebration, why not this?

But there would be time for answering questions later and none of them said anything on the matter. For now at least.

“I wouldn’t think so.” I saw Dusk run towards Dragonis and Luna, as I did to Celestia, and hugged the two. “I’m glad you’re okay…”

“As I am, to see you alive and well, Dusk.” she replied.

“Me too, Dusk.” Dragonis said.

“Now…” They broke the hug as Dusk looked at them. “Mind telling me why you’re not married now?” What Dusk said shocked everypony except for Celestia who smiled at them.

“What?!” Shield, Dog, and Leon said in shock.

“You guys are engaged?” Leon asked.

“Yep” Dragonis said, nervously scratching the back of his head. “After we first met, the two of us grew close, enough to where we decided that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“Okay, well, I get you couldn’t get married due to Nightmare Moon. But I don’t see how you two aren’t married right now.”

“Well, it’s been over a thousand years since we’ve seen each other, so we’re trying to pick up where we left off. We have to get used to each other like we were before. It’s how it works for a couple like us.”

“I understand.” Dusk then smiled at them. “Just remember to give me and the guys an invite once you pick a date.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know.”

“I’m proud of you, my student.” Celestia beamed down at me as I looked to her, breaking from my shock. “You and your friends have shown how truly powerful the magic of friendship is. I knew you wouldn’t let us down.”

“Never.” She looked up at her with concern. “Are you alright, Princess?”

“Quite fine, Twilight, I assure you. Discord has been vanquished once more and harmony is restored to Equestria. I couldn’t be better.” She looked up around at us all. “You have all played your parts in saving our homeland and I’ll see to it that is acknowledged. For now though, on behalf of us all, thank you. All of you.”

Everypony returned her gratitude with low bows and adoring smiles. I in particular saw Strongheart staring with awe at Princess Luna, who stepped up to speak with her Royal Canterlot voice.

“Yes, we thank thee all! Now, our sister, Dragonis, and we must return to Canterlot for a celebration must be organized and we must also inform the keeper of the gardens.” She looked over at Discord. “He will find the gardens are missing a sculpture.”

“And we shall take the Elements back to the vault.” Dragonis sad to us. “Ladies, Dusk.” With that, we then relinquished our Elements as the guardian then placed them back in the chest they once resided in with Unity being added to them. Looking around, I found Dusk’s hat and managed to place it where it belonged, the two of us smiling at each before looking back as Dragonis closed the box and looked to Luna. “Shall we go, Lunes?”

“Of course… Fai.” She said to him. Though she didn’t really seem like, I’m pretty sure she was flirting.

From there, we watched as the three then all flew off back to Canterlot. When they were out of sight, Dusk decided to speak.

“Fai?” He said with confusion. I wondering that too. Why did Luna call Dragonis Maximus that?

Author's Note

After finally discovering his destiny, Dusk and his friends had finally brought an end to Discord’s chaotic reign and sealed the Lord of Chaos in stone once again. With the Element of Unity now revealed, the Elements are now stronger than ever. See what our heroes do in light of their victory next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? You have no idea how long I’ve been wait to get to this. It’s one of my favorite parts in the story. Well, they finally did. The Element Gang had helped the Mane 6 defeat Discord and Dusk had now found out his true destiny: the wielder of the seventh Element of Harmony, Unity. I bet you’re wondering on why exactly Dusk had gotten a crown like that, huh? Well, that’s something you’ll find out later. It also looks like Dragonis’ secret had been replaced with another. You all must have plenty of questions about all this and you’ll get them soon. In the next chapter, the Element Gang have their own victory party in Ponyville. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 22: Celebrations and Revelations

“Whoo-whee! Some party, huh, Strongheart?” Applejack remarked to me.

“Indeed it is.” I agreed. “Pinkie Pie certainly knows how to host a celebration, to say the least.”

“That ain’t the half of it!” Dog said before he and Applejack ducked a stream of confetti that shot over their heads. “I think she put her all into this one.”

“Well, it is quite an event we are celebrating, especially with Equestria’s greatest heroes.” I noted. Though I wasn’t quite used to the atmosphere of it all, I was having a good time at least.

Dog took a swig from the cup of punch he had and looked across the room. “Ya know, I knew there was more to that stallion than met the eye, but even I wasn’t expectin’ that.”

“Me neither.” AJ said as we looked to Dusk, who was standing close to Twilight while he was getting a drink with Spike. “Dusk, an Element of Harmony and it’s a new one! He sure is full of surprises, isn’t he?”

“Ee-yup!” Dog said as Twilight then glared at some hopeful-looking mares gazing in Dusk’s direction, the trio bolting away before Dusk turned back around and Twilight returned to her bright smile. The two of them were staying rather close together, almost brushing each other’s sides. I even saw their cheeks go red, but neither of them seemed to mind.

I had noticed that his eyesight didn’t seem to have improved by much. When Dusk tried to get a drink, his claw had lingered for a few moments over the drinks before selecting one, like he had to carefully consider where his claw would be going before in case it knocked over something. When he turned around to face Twilight, she had to stop him from tripping over another pony’s hoof he didn’t see. He had returned her gesture with a blush and diverted eyes, no doubt stuttering our some kind of thanks.

“I had a feeling about him too.” I watched as we entered an avid discussion. “But I must admit, the seventh Element… did such a thing even exist before today?”

“Far as Twilight and Dusk knows, there didn’t seem much to go on, but I wouldn’t really know. That’s more their area than mine.” Dog said.

“Same here. I’m still tryin’ to wrap my head around the whole thing myself.” Applejack added, shaking her head.

“I don’t think that you’re the only one.” I said, still watching Dusk.

I could tell that Dusk was still just as surprised about his hidden destiny as much as we all were. It was in how much more restless Dusk seemed, how much his eyes still held surprise and attempts at comprehension, like someone had just explained something complex to him far too quickly. Still, he seemed perfectly at peace with Twilight and they were getting along fine. Until Spike popped up in between them, slapped them both on the backs, and chuckled, both of them smiling along but looking rather disappointed.

I almost shook my head when neither of them said anything more on what was so obvious, so I returned my attention to the two cowponies, once again feeling comfort from the presence of a good friend.

Strongheart was fitting in well enough. At first, I’d found it a little strange and unnerving being here, for the level of activity wasn’t really what I was used to. While my tribe did hold celebrations for certain events and we were invited to square dances by the townsfolk, this was on quite another level entirely. All of the noise, yelling and shouting and whooping was getting to me early on and I was tempted to try and leave, possibly find somewhere quieter. Still, my friends from Ponyville had helped me relax into it and members of my tribe and Appleloosa were here too, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

After the spell of chaos had lifted from our town, it didn’t take long for the citizens to figure out who their saviors were and the elementals and the Wielders were soon swamped by admirers and well-wishers. Dusk didn’t even have time to conceal his tail and they decided to share our secret with the townsfolk. Dusk wasn’t the only one attracting mares to him, his fellow stallions had practically gotten all kinds of fans around them. Shield liked the attention as always, Dog tried his best to take all the thanks, and Leon looked to a group of mares willing to date him and turned them down. Speaking of which, looking over to where Leon was as he and Fluttershy were talking, I looked to see that there were some mares glaring at her, no doubt jealous of her getting the attention of the water elemental. While the mayor did thank the six for saving Ponyville, some of the credit was shared. Myself and everypony who helped us back there were also included, receiving praise and thanks from both ponies and members of my tribe for my bravery, once we were pointed out. That too had been overwhelming, but I accepted it silently and humbly, thanking the spirits of my ancestors for guiding me to this point and aiding in our victory.

Like everypony else, I was very thankful that the chaos spirit Discord had been stopped once again by friendship’s magic. Though I did know and uphold the belief that my people were a proud and noble race, even I couldn’t help but giggle a little at the bemused expressions of some of my tribe’s bulls when they were released from the influence that controlled them, only to discover that they were dressed in pink tutus and white vests. To say that they were embarrassed would have been an understatement.

The Guardian and the Sky Monarchs had returned to Canterlot to return the Elements of Harmony and the statue of Discord to their rightful places and to organize an official ceremony to commend our efforts. The Night Bringer made particular mention of how brave I had been during what I had been through, praise I accepted with silent awe and surprise. In my eyes, I had only done what was necessary, but it was quite bolstering regardless.

Sometimes a little pride was good to take. Unlike Dusk, I noticed, where he seemed to be extremely embarrassed at all of the attention he was getting as both the great fire elemental and the unknown seventh Element. Seeing him stutter and stumble out his responses had made me giggle a little more too.

In lieu of the defeat of Discord, Pinkie had immediately suggested, despite the celebratory dinner that would be held after the ceremony tomorrow, that they have a party to celebrate. Within minutes, she’d set everything up and now the whole town, including my own tribe and the Appleloosans, were joining in on the party.

Dog and Applejack had just come over to engage in conversation, while I had been glancing around unsure as to where to go or what to do. Though my gaze had been looking for one pale yellow stallion in particular, who I’d been awaiting the arrival of since the Appleloosans.

Applejack gave me a sympathetic look. “Ya lookin’ mighty lonely there. Fittin’ in okay here?”

“Better than I was.” she admitted. “Thank you for making me and my people feel welcome in your town.”

“Hey, if you’re not feelin’ welcome in Ponyville, we ain’t doin’ our job right.” Dog said and we shared a laugh at this. “ʹSides, the buffalo have put up with us ponies buttin' in on their land, only figures we should do our best to return the favor.”

“Those pies you make already settle that nicely enough.” I still felt my mouth begin water whenever I thought of the food that had ended our conflict.

“How’ve things been there since we left then?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, they’ve been great!” I assured. “The compromise we made is holding out nicely and, even then, me and Braeburn act as ambassadors for both sides.”

“You and Braeburn, huh?” Applejack smiled in a knowing sort of way. Dog did too, but I didn’t really notice either of their looks. “That must be nice for ya.”

“It is, yes.” I nodded, not catching the sly tone in Applejack's voice. “He and I get along very well and I think the peace we have is all that much better because of it.”

“I would think so.” She had a casual sip of her punch. “Ya say ya get on well with my cousin then…”

“Oh, yes, we do.” I was so happy to talk about him, I was still ignorant of Applejack and Dog’s looks. "He’s athletic, fair, pleasant, friendly, caring, strong, and handsome. He’s just wonderful.”

“Uh-huh. Sounds to me like you two seem a lil’ more than just good friends.”

“Well, that’s because we…” With a start, I remembered who she was talking to and soon my cheeks were as hot as the desert sun at the highest point. “Um… by which I mean we… I mean, he and I are… well, we’re…”

I didn’t really know what to say. I had just said all of that to a member of Braeburn’s family without even stopping to think of how she might view our relationship. She didn’t look angry about it, but she could be just as easily covering up her anger behind that smile. Fortunately, I was spared her embarrassment.

“Well, I must say, it’s mighty nice of ya that you’d say all of those things about me.” I whirled around and felt my smile grow at the sight of him sweeping off his hat in a bow.

My mouth fell open and I shifted my eyes from my boyfriend to his cousin.

“He’s been standing there all of this time, hasn't he?” I asked.

“Ee-yup!” Dog answered. “He told me about you two and I kinda told AJ. We set this whole thing up.”

“And you pretended not to know?”

“Don’t look at me.” Applejack dismissed. “Braeburn’s idea, not mine. Anyway, enough about that. How long you two been goin' steady then?”

I couldn’t help but blush as Braeburn put his leg around me. “Not very long. We’d only just begun really when Discord broke free. We were already such good friends and we thought it only made sense to… take things to the next level, despite our differences.”

“Yeah, took some discussions with the Chief and the Sherriff though when they both first found out.” Braeburn informed. “But, once all that was sorted out, they didn’t see anythin’ wrong with it and they just let us go on ahead.”

Even with Dog’s reassuring smile, I wasn’t really sure how Applejack would react. Even if we buffalo and the settlers had our treaty, there were some small tensions between us, mostly coming from cultural or sometimes physical differences. When we’d first admitted it to our leaders that our feelings for each other went beyond friendship, they had at first reacted harshly and forbade it. We, however, weren’t willing to let it go that easily. It had been tough, but it had been worth it.

Applejack, however, only smiled and nodded fondly, immediately making me feel relaxed enough to melt into his embrace.

“Well, I think it’s just grand. I’m happy for ya both.” she said honestly, as there was no other way for her to say it. “I don’t know what everypony else has been sayin’, but I think the two of you look great together.”

Braeburn practically beamed. “Well, shucks, cuz. Thanks for that. The both of us really appreciate that.”

“Yes, this means a lot to us both that you would say that, Applejack.” I raised my neck respectfully to her. “I know the two of you are family and I wasn’t sure how… well, this would be seen in your eyes.”

“We’re friends, Strongheart. Why would ya think somethin’ like that?” She tipped her hat to us. “Well, I’m glad to have helped ya both and I hope ya’ll both be happy.”

“Of that, I have no doubts.” She nuzzled Braeburn's cheek, which he returned with a kiss to hers.

“At least somepony here knows what they want.” I saw her eyes flick in Dusk’s direction and frown a little until Dog spoke up.

“Well, I’m gonna get goin’.” Dog said to us. “Gonna see if Shield’s up for a little hoof-wrestle. Wanna come, AJ?”

“Sure. ʹSides, I want to get some more punch anyway.” She said as she regained her smile. She then winked as she walked off with Dog. “Have a good evenin’, you two.”

“See? I told ya she’d be fine with us.” Braeburn remarked when we were alone. “Applejack’s gonna be just fine with us. I said it and—wouldn’t ya know it?—I was right! After all, she is family.”

“Yes, yes. You’ve made your point.” I nuzzled him again. “I shouldn’t have doubted you, Brae, or your family.”

“Shoot, ain’t nothin’, darlin’.” he assured me in his light-hearted voice. “Though I’m surprised Dog spilled the beans, especially when I told him not to tell Applejack.”

“Well, it’s not surprising to me. A Warrior of the Winter Wind such as him is known to be honest to all.”

“Still is to me. Considerin’ what he’s been hidin’ from Applejack.”

“What do you mean?”

He then motioned for me to come closer before he whispered in my ear. “Don’t tell anyone, but Dog actually has a thin’ for my cousin.”

“What?” I was surprised by this.

“Sure does. Found out while they were in Appleloosa. Boy does try, but it’s obvious when you see it.”

“Oh, I see.” I then understood that Dog had made an excuse for him and Applejack to leave and allow us some time alone. “Though I don’t think your cousin seems to notice.”

“Well, that’s just Applejack. Even when it’s right in front of her, she’d always be the last one to find out.”

“I can see that.” I then gave a slight giggle.

“So, as I was wonderin’ on over here, lookin’ for the prettiest buffalo my eyes ever did behold, I happened to catch her sayin’ certain things about me.”

“Oh, did you now?” I asked teasingly.

“Mighty kind of you, my sweetheart Strongheart.”

“Well, my brave Brae, you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” She gazed at him enticingly.

“You sayin’ that you didn’t mean what you said then? Were you lyin’ to my cousin?”

“I’m saying that maybe I wasn’t entirely truthful.” I traced my hoof around his face, keeping my smile. “Perhaps I really think that you are all of those things and even more."

He placed a hoof over mine, my cheeks flaring even more from the contact. “And how might we prove that what you’re sayin’ is true?”

“Well, there is one way.” Both of us thinking the same thing, our lips met in a kiss, which we held for several minutes before breaking apart. “I love you, Braeburn.”

“And I love you, Little Strongheart.” Giggling, I rubbed my nose against his as he glanced over across the room. “I’d say that we ain’t the only couple at this shindig.”

When I looked to where he pointed, I nodded approvingly when she saw that Twilight and Dusk were by themselves again, Spike not too far off at one of the part games. They had just finished speaking and were inches apart from each other, both of them red in the face and smiling shyly, but warmly to each other. They were clearly nervous about something—Twilight shifting on her hooves and Dusk shifting on his claws—and it seemed only inevitable what would happen, especially considering how the Warrior of Flame’s tail was wagging. They just had to close the distance… it was so simple yet, as I knew, so hard as well… would they do it?

In the end, however, they both broke eye contact and stared off elsewhere in a mortified way, clearing their throats and stammering. I couldn’t help but sigh as Twilight was called away by Spike and, reluctantly, left her fellow unicorn, regret immediately clouding her face when her back was on Dusk. It was so obvious how they felt for each other, I’d even seen it myself when they were at Appleloosa. Why couldn’t they?

“Guess I spoke too soon.” Braeburn seemed to echo my disappointment. “Both Dog and Applejack said themselves that it’s so obvious what those two feel for each other, it might as well be blowin’ an entire brass section right in front if their faces.”

“Sometimes the things we miss are the most obvious.” I mused.

“I guess.” Braeburn shrugged. “Shame really. That Dusk is a nice fella and that Twilight’s a sweet lil’ mare. I bet they’d look great together.”

“On this, you and I are agreed.” I looked back at him, lost in his eyes once more. “Oh, well. We both know how that feels. I’m sure the truth will out soon enough.”

“Hope so.” He looked back over at Dusk and his face fell. “Oh, he don’t look too happy, does he?”

When I checked, she could see what he meant. Dusk’s head was bowed in disappointment, his tail lying on the floor as his my stature weighed down with sadness. It would be easy to pass it off as just berating himself for not saying anything to Twilight, but I could see there was more to it than that. I had seen it before when I’d looked into his eyes: a lingering guilt from some unknown crime, a heavy conscience weighing on his mind as great as a mountain. And there was something else too, a darkness that I couldn’t quite make out, the remnants of a shadow in the depths of his mind.

I didn’t know what it was exactly, but when I had seen it—just for a second—it had made my spine tingle and feel uneasy. And, very rarely, did I feel uneasy.

“Reckon we should go talk to him?”

I didn’t answer Braeburn at once, but merely watched as Dusk—unnoticed by anypony else—placed his empty glass hard on the table, turned about and left the party, only lingering in the doorway a moment to gaze one last time at Twilight. A second later, he was gone as easily as a shadow vanished in the light.

“I think this is something he needs to deal with himself. Besides,” I added somberly, “I don’t think we’re the ones he needs to talk to.”

“You reckon so?” He looked at the door when I nodded. “Too bad. I feel kinda bad for him. Can’t be easy to deal with, a thing like that.”

“No, I imagine not.” Only to me did I know that I was referring to more than Dusk’s failed attempts at romance.

“Oh, well, let’s not get ourselves all upset.” His face brightened up in the boyish way it did. “Hey, let’s go play Pin the Tail on the Pony! I’ll show ya how to play!”

“That sounds like a good idea. Hold on, I’ll join you in a moment.” He nodded, kissed my cheek, and set off for the closest game.

I smiled as he left and looked towards the door again. The thought of Dusk in my mind, I stomped my hoof on the ground, grinded it for a few seconds, lifted it up to my mouth, and blew the dust I had gathered in the direction of the door. An act performed by my people to ward off evil influences. Somehow though, I knew I wouldn’t have had to explain that to Dusk.

“Be strong, Dusk. Let the light prevail.” With that, I turned to rejoin Braeburn and let him show me how to play this new game.

Dusk’s view

As soon as I left the bustle and noise of the party, I felt something akin to relaxation. Being out here, in the cool night air with the stars shining down on me and the moon hung in the sky, I felt at peace with myself. The silence was tranquil, not oppressive, soothing my mind and relieving all of the pressures that I had been feeling. I felt like I could just stand here and I would be forever at peace, free from pain. Perhaps Twilight could join me and the two of us would have our perfect moment in time, even more so than when we’d danced at the Gala…

Then the memories returned again, the screams and the cries, the destruction, the chaos, and the laughter… his laughter. No, I would never be at peace and I didn’t want Twilight nor anypony else to see me like this, not after all we’d been through. Part of me wanted to go back inside, find her and my friends, and hold them close, never letting go and letting them tell me it would be all right. Of course, that would be the right thing to do. But I couldn’t, not anymore… not after what I’d done and not after what I’d now discovered I was. Even if Twilight had forgiven me, still hasn’t really stopped all the guilt I felt for it. I’d need to be stronger now, to take care of my own problems.

“I’m an Element now.” I whispered to myself. “Much like being a Fire Dragon, I need to be more resilient than I was, I need to show I deserve this responsibility…” I sighed and kept walking. Even to me, that just sounded like a lie. I’d just have to get used to it.

So, that was why I had now left the celebrations and had started to make my way back home. I didn’t want to see anypony else anymore, not tonight. I didn’t want to read, or to think, or to speak, or do anything. I was just tired… so tired… more than I’d ever felt in my life. I needed to rest… I’d earned that much anyway. So, with a heavy heart, I made my way back through the darkened streets of Ponyville as best I could with my now terrible eyes.

Though I knew just as well the power the Elements of Harmony had, it was still a little unnerving to actually see the effect that it had on our once chaotically driven home. Before, the level of change was unbelievable, with floating homes and candy floss clouds as far as the eye could see, not to mention the streets that were swarming with Paraserpents, thriving and feeding off the suffering their master had caused. With everypony discorded and unable or unwilling to rise up and stop Discord, it seemed like Ponyville would stay this way forever, along with all of Equestria once the chaos spread further. Though I shouldn’t be surprised since the power of the Element Gang was combined with the Elements, especially considering the relations between the Elements and the elemental powers.

Now though, thanks to the wondrous magic of the Elements, everything was back to as it was, like Discord had never returned. The candy clouds had gone, houses were fixed firmly back on the ground, and everything that even related to chaos had gone. With the obvious exception of Pinkie, but her being gone would hardly be a good thing. Even my home, which had been destroyed by Diablo Nightfall, was back to normal. I had been there previously to find that everything was repaired, the interior, exterior, fence, plants, the whole thing was back, like it had been built brand new once again.

The Elements… what a concept. I thought to myself, hiding in the shadows from a few ponies that passed down the streets. I didn’t want to be seen by anypony else tonight, especially with my newfound popularity now that the Element Gang secret was revealed in Ponyville… I stood up to set off again and tripped over a rock I didn’t see.

Once again the mixed feelings I had for discovering that I was in fact the unknown and long-lost seventh Element of Harmony swamped my mind while I picked myself up and dusted off the dirt as best I could. Primarily, I was utterly shocked that such a thing even existed once I’d figured it out, even more so to the fact that it was me. Me, little Dusk Noir. Guess Dragonis was right saying I was a special Fire Dragon. On one hoof, I was rather grateful that now, as far as being an Element went, I was no longer the odd one out in the group, apart from still being one of the only few stallions. Now in future, if we ever needed the Elements again, I could be there with them and actually be useful, rather than just the fifth wheel. And it won’t be just me helping out. Thanks to Unity, now all the members of the Element Gang can help bring out the full power of the Elements, another example of how strong and wondrous the magic of friendship really is.

On the other hoof though… it just seemed like some kind of cruel joke. I’d heard all the ponies at the party say how brave I was, how wonderful it was that I was Unity and I just felt rather embarrassed with all of this praise and attention. This comes as an example of how my true self is so much different compared to my hero persona. As El Dragon, I would show confidence at all the praise and attention which would hide insecurities I had as Dusk Noir. But this isn’t what had me feel so bad about myself. I also heard them talking, with more than an undertone of fear, about a stallion with fur as dark as night that had been helping Discord and torturing them, tormenting and terrorizing them with his horrible magic, laughing while he did it and screeching like a predator in rage and that just made me feel worse. I’d break eye contact, lose track of what I was saying, and try my best to block out what I could hear in my own memories… it made me so uncomfortable that it just made me want to close my eyes and wish they were all gone.

It must have shown in my face because then they’d say, including my friends, that they understood what I’d been through and I had to restrain myself to stop a decisive laugh come out. True, everypony had their bad memories and experiences of what they'd suffered under Discord’s tyranny, things that they'd done that they regretted or things done to them they’d rather forget as soon as possible. But how could any of them even begin to comprehend what I was going through, what I had been through and what I now had to live with? I just said a quiet thanks and kept back a scowl when they turned away from me.

What did they know? What did any of them know? But at least they were trying, so that was something, especially Twilight. Despite my guilt from the pain I’d caused her and the others, I still felt a flutter in my chest when she drew close to me now, those warm feelings whenever she gazed at me that just made me feel like all was well in the world… with her.

Then, there was my cutie mark. I was still getting used to the fact that the little scroll of knowledge was now gone and replaced with the circle of color surround the shining star. That mark had been as much a part of me as my legs and fur, so of course it felt very strange. Yet, in another way, it also felt rather enriching for it showed what my true special talent was and the previous one had just been a kind of mask to disguise what my true talent was. Though I missed the scroll, I rather preferred this new one. How would my family react when they saw that, especially considering how surprised Hearth Forest was when she saw it. Though she didn’t show, I knew she was glad that my flank displayed the mark of my true talent. Speaking of, I still couldn’t help but chuckle a bit from remembering the joke she gave, that I should have kept the crown the stones I found had become as, in her words, I had “looked more like a member of royalty”. Even though I was surprised by it, I still preferred my trebly over a crown. Just felt… right. Unlocking the door to my home and stepping inside, I knew that many would be concerned about what troubled me.

Still, it was my problem, not anypony else’s. And I would deal with it in my own way. I had dealt with the nightmares from my first encounter with the Paraserpent and I had always managed with similar things on my own before, I would do so again this time. Trying to feel at peace with myself, I let a light guide me to my bed, not even bothering to turn on the lights in my home. What was the point? I could barely see a thing anyway.

I knew Ophelia would be out hunting and I left a window open for her to return later. I removed my hat and placed it on my bedpost and reached to remove Twilight’s necklace only to remember that it was no longer there. Only realizing now how I missed its once comforting weight around my neck, the love I always felt when I remembered what it meant to me and to the pony that gave it to me, I crawled into my bed and pulled up the covers around my body. At least she, my little owl, was still with me, so that was something.

My eyelids sliding shut and clouding my already blurry eyes, my last thought before I drifted into the land of dreams was if my eyes really would get better or if, like my mind, they would be forever scarred, never to heal…

No one’s view

Unknown to Dusk, as he drifted off to sleep, a bizarre form appeared on the floor, a shadow slinking into the room to where the top of its head reached Dusk’s bedside. The head itself bared a ghostly plume.

Dusk’s view

Everything was perfect when I fell to sleep and awoke to the dawn of a new day in my home. The sun was shining high up the sky, the rays beaming down on the rivers and making the surface sparkle like diamonds. Ponyville was picture perfect, beams of light brightening the already wonderful and homely houses, making it look more like something out of a storybook. The animals were playing in the fields, the birds were chirping the trees, their sweet melodies gracing and playing on my ears, a beautiful and enriching sound. Brightly colored flowers were sprouting from their stalks, bees buzzing in and out of them, adding their own beauty to this already utopian image.

I emerged from my home and took in a deep breath of the early morning air, just glad that everything was back the way it was meant to be. It was just another perfect day in Ponyville and one that made me glad to be residing here. As always, I’d be on time to perform my normal duties in the library. Another day would be spent trading quips with Spike and shy smiles with Twilight, sorting out books, taking notes for her, and relaxing with a book at lunchtime with my fellow librarians, perhaps sharing another awkward yet pleasing moment when my claw and Twilight’s hoof accidentally touched each other or our sides brushed against one another for a moment. Then I’d always wonder if it really was an accident.

When I looked down, I saw that Twilight’s necklace was still around my neck and my cutie mark was still a scroll. So, that whole Discord incident had just been some dream. I wasn't really the seventh Element of Harmony after all. Though disappointed at first, I then regained my good feeling when I thought about it. How could I be? Besides being El Dragon, I was nothing special, just Dusk Noir. And I was just fine with things like that. Sure, I wouldn’t much use if the Elements were needed, but I didn't want a responsibility like that, the attention and pressure that would come with such a duty. I would just be there in the background, still helping but never really seen. It was better that way. I didn’t really have some terrible darker side in my mind, Luna had told me so. It was just some little fear that I had and nothing more. Why on earth would I think of something like that anyway?

“Oh, well, back to business.” I said to myself brightly, perhaps a little too brightly, as I used my metalbending to disguise my tail. “Keep calm and carry on, as they say.” Again, it sounded a little strange how happy I was while I continued on.

When I got into town, it was just as welcoming and warm as I knew it to be. Just the way I prefer it, I thought happily, walking off into town and whistling on the way to work. Just when I wondered if Applejack had baked another apple pie down at the farm or if Pinkie would want me to sample some new cupcake recipe with the others, my eyes caught sight of some other ponies also leaving their homes to go about their daily routines. They also looked just as happy and thankful for this wonderful day as I was. A few caught sight of me, smiled in a friendly way, and raised their hooves to wave and wish me a good morning. I beamed back and was about to return the greeting, when I stopped and faltered.

Something was wrong here and it took a little bit of thinking with my usually sharp mind before I noticed it. Their smiles looked too wide, too happy, to a point where they looked false. Their faces were stretched and warped from how big their smiles were growing, like a distorted image in one of those funhouse mirrors. Except while those could be funny, this was a little eerie and disturbing and it made me feel uncomfortable looking at them.

They seemed to notice, but their smiles didn’t falter. “Something wrong there?” Even their voices sounded more like actors rehearsing lines for a show rather than actual ponies talking.

I was about to say what was bothering me, but maybe I was just thinking about too hard, seeing strange things when there were none.

“No, everything’s fine.” I answered back. “Have a great day.”

“You too! After all, it is a beautiful day. Wouldn’t want to waste it!” There was that uncomfortable feeling again and I couldn't help but quicken his pace to the library.

Perhaps I’d stop noticing after a while and I still felt a little drowsy and needed to wake myself up a bit. But the feeling didn’t go away and nopony else in the town looked any more normal than the two I’d met before. They all had those too-wide smiles, those strangely distorted faces as I quick-walked through town to the library. What made it worse was that they all stopped to look at me while I walked by and their smiles were even more disturbing when they grew wider at the sight of me. I stopped returning them after a while and ended up sprinting for the library.

I hurried inside, slamming the door behind me and breathing heavily. I gripped the necklace around my neck and tried my best to calm down. What was going on today? Was there some kind of creature or magic affecting Ponyville, making everypony act like this? Or maybe it was something affecting me, altering my perceptions. Was it Discord, manipulating my thoughts and warping my view of my home to confuse me? Some new form of torture the lord of chaos had devised against me…

Wait, how did that make any sense? I only knew about Discord from the many history books that I’d read and I knew for a fact that I was frozen in stone in the Royal Canterlot Gardens right this minute. I’d never actually met the Lord of Chaos, so where in Equestria had I got an idea like that from? Something strange was going on here and I had to figure out what. Perhaps Twilight would know what was going on…

“Oh, there you are, Dusk.” I whipped my head up to see the mare I held so dear, smiling that same smile as the rest of the town. “Are you okay? You look a little shaken.”

“No, I’m not okay, Twi.” I replied. “Something really weird is going on and I don’t what might be causing it.”

“What do you mean? There’s nothing going on, it’s just another perfect day.” She cocked her head to one side, still smiling. “Are you feeling well?”

“I… I don’t know…” My mind was clouded and I wasn't sure what to think. “You… you’re the same as the others too.”

“Dusk, what are you talking about? It’s me, Twilight Sparkle, your best friend. What do you mean ‘them’?”

“I… I… I don’t know, it’s just…” I glanced around the library, for I could have sworn it had flickered like a reel on a film projector. “It’s just… something doesn’t feel right.”

“You’re probably just tired. Do you need a lie-down?” She took a few steps closer and I was surprised to find myself backing away. “Dusk, you don’t need to be scared of me.”

“I’m… not so sure. This just doesn’t feel real…” I glared at her. “Who are you and what have you done with my friend?”

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” That smile became even creepier, making my skin crawl. “I really think you need a lie-down.”

“No… no, I don’t!” I was yelling now, scrabbling to get away. I hit the wall and heard something crack. “Keep away from me!”

“But, Dusk…” Now her voice became deeper than it should be and it made me freeze when I recognized it. “I insist!”

In that instant, the cracking grew louder and he looked up to see the walls of the library splintering all around me, a white light shining through them that was as blinding as the sun’s glare. With a sound like shattering glass, the pieces of the illusion fell around me, revealing what truly lay underneath. The sky was a deep red now, crimson clouds trailing across it like splashes of blood. Everything was dead, the flowers withered and decayed, homes were now smoking ruins, and skeletons of ponies littered the ground.

Within the stump of the once-proud tree, where Twilight had been there stood a stallion resembling my elemental form with skin as dark as his heart, a wild mane as white as bones, the raging fire around three eyes of his cutie mark emblazoned on his flank, and the spikeless reptilian tail behind him. The way his muscles rippled, it actually looked like an inferno. That hideous abomination of a smile was on his face, with rage and anger being the only things that burned in his violet, slit eyes, which were locked on me like a beast.

“You…” I breathed, fear paralyzing me. “No…”

“Hello, brother.” Blackhole growled. “Did you miss me?”

“No… no, this can’t be.” I said desperately. "I defeated you, you're gone!"

“Gone?” He made that choked, strangled sound that I knew to be his laughter. “I am a part of you, that piece of your mind you try to ignore. But, though you try, I’m still here and I will never leave.”

“Get back!” Nightfall had taken a few more steps forward, a faint glow in his horn. “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

“But, Dusk, don’t you see?" He gestured around at the destroyed husk that was once Ponyville. “This is what I wanted: to destroy the world that you knew would never accept you and you could never be a part of.” He paused, letting his words and the silence sink in. “See? Isn’t this so much better?”

“No…” I gazed around at all of the destruction, the dead, quite unable to take it all in. “You… you monster!”

“Talking to yourself in the first sign of madness, take it from me.” he retorted. “Besides, whose failure is the greater here? Mine… or yours?"

“What? How can this possibly be my failure?!” I demanded.

“Isn’t it obvious? Look.” he said, pointing to my neck.

I looked to see that the string of stones was gone before looking to my head and saw my hat had been replaced by the silver and gold, jewel-encrusted form of my Element, Unity. Glancing back, I could see that my scroll mark was gone and the mark for my color talent was there instead. Not only that, but my Fire Dragon tail was out. At first, I wondered why things had changed now and I looked so different. Now, I remembered and it made me recoil in fear and shame.

“Now you know.” Nightfall growled. “It was your task to stop me, to hold me at bay, and prevent my work from being complete. After all, you are the seventh Element.”

“No… no…”

“But as you can see, you failed, as you surely knew that you would.” The ground seemed to shake as he stepped closer. “Perhaps somepony made a mistake picking you for such a responsibility, since you obviously couldn’t handle it.”

“No… No! I never asked for this!”

“That doesn’t matter. What does matter is what’s happened as a result.” A skull crumbled to dust as he stamped on it. “You failed and now they’re all dead, because of you.”

I felt the wall, cold and harsh, against my back and scrabbled desperately against it. “Stay away from me! No, get back!”

“All of these dead, all of them are on your hooves and claws.” He stopped and picked up two skulls. “Why, I do believe these two were your friends, Fluttershy and Leon. They aren’t looking so well, are they?” From there, his claw expanded before he then crushed the skulls.

“Leon… Little Sister… no!”

“And look, here’s Applejack and Dog. Honesty didn’t help them, did it? Nor did loyalty save Rainbow Dash and Shield. Not so tough now, are they?” He then crushed four more skulls.

“Stop it! Just…STOP!”

He crushed another skull and cackled. “Oops! I think that was Pinkie. Or perhaps Rarity. I have no idea.”

“No! NO!”

“And look…” He picked up the skull of a unicorn and shoved it into my face. “Here’s your dear sweet Twilight Sparkle. Oh, you must feel the worst about her, mustn’t you?”

“No… no! Not her too!” I shut my eyes and looked away. “Stop, please, stop!”

“Look at her! Tell her how useless you were, how pathetic your ‘faith’ was!” I felt the cold bone against my face. “She had faith in you, even though she thought otherwise and now look at her!”

“No! Please, no more!”

“I said LOOK AT HER! LOOK AT HER!” I heard the sound of breaking bone again. “You failed, Dusk! You failed them all! I want you to see that! See it!”

“NO!”

“They’re all dead, all rotting and decaying, and it’s all because of you! You let them down! YOU!”

“NOOOOOO!”

“Dusk…”

“No, please! Just stop! I know, I know! But please, just don’t… don’t show me anymore.”

“Dusk, open your eyes. Thou art safe now.” Wait… that voice didn’t belong to my darker side. It was softer, kinder, and definitely wasn’t a stallion’s…

I dared to peak through my eyes, still remembering the sight of all of those skulls and bones littering the ground, and was equally shocked to see that the environment had changed. I was no longer in Ponyville, but the Star Tower in Canterlot, overlooking a starlit sky and a tranquil Equestria. There, at the balcony, was the princess who brought that night, smiling kindly and filling me with so much relief, I felt like I would cry.

“Luna?” My words caught in my throat. “But I thought I was… that he… how could he…?”

“I know, I know." Compassion shone from her like the moon she raised. "I saw it too. It was…beyond description. But it's gone now, just a nightmare."

“A…a nightmare? Then this is…?" I reached out and touched the floor with his hoof and it shimmered slightly, like a surface of water disturbed by a leaf. "This is…a dream?"

“Yes, just a dream, no matter how real it might seem," she agreed. "As thou may know, as Princess of the Night, it is my duty to…"

I nodded and picked up from where she spoke. "To watch over the dreams of your subjects. I remember reading that…thank you."

“Well, I couldn't just leave thee to thy fears, not after when thou hast already been through so much." She shook her head softly. "Thou doesn't deserve that."

“Even so, thank you…"

There was silence between the two of us, enough for me to recall some other details that I thought I had forgotten. Who was it that had first taken that interest in me? Who was it that had sent me to the Everfree Forest on some mysterious mission? Who was it that seemed to be hiding something from me?

I met her gaze steadily and she must have known what I would say, for she diverted it for a moment. “You knew, didn't you? What I am?"

She was still silent for a moment, perhaps considering whether or not to tell me. Finally, she breathed, “Yes, I did.”

“But… how? How could you have known?”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly sure myself. Dragonis had told me about thee and thy gift, which only led me to have suspicions. In fact, just after our return to Canterlot, he even revealed to me that he knew something about thee.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Long ago, Dragonis had once sought out your ancestor Fore Sight for guidance, hoping he had regained his sanity enough to give him hope for the future. From their meeting, he was given a prophecy, one of which only until now he thought to be nothing but madness.”

“A prophecy?”

“Yes, one of which described a pony such as you.” From there, she then spoke out the prophecy she had gotten from Dragonis:

From the brightest day,

With great might,

Comes a hero born,

To set things right.

When darkness falls,

And bring the blackest night,

The hero rises,

And takes up the fight.

The dreaded plague,

Chaos and blight,

Evil shadows all,

Shall fear his might.

For the night full of darkest dread,

He brings hope that burns bright.

With a strong heart full,

His soul shall ignite.

Never losing his heart,

To greed, fear, or hate,

Becoming the hero to all,

That is his fate.

When all seems lost,

Filled with chaos and fright,

Harmony’s new dawn shall come,

With the Hero of Light!

“The Hero of Light…” I was in awe from hearing that and thought about how it made sense. “It would seem to fit me, considering…”

“How thee managed to defeat an army of Discord’s minions with thy own magic?” She finished me. “Even I have to admit that it was quite impressive. But that only came to prove even more that you truly were the seventh Element of Harmony.”

“Okay, I get that the Dragonis knew who I would be because of the prophecy, but how did you know I was the seventh Element?”

“I knew for this prophecy was not the only thing that had led to thee.”

“What do you mean?”

Her ocean-blue eyes met his hazel brown, still shining with the same compassion and care that Celestia’s did, but that most seemed to always forget about. That was something else that we shared, that we always seemed to be overlooked and forgotten about. But while I never thought of myself as important, it was even crueler for Luna. When she worked so hard to bring the night and her sister always received the love and admiration… that just wasn’t fair. No wonder she became so bitter and lost to the Black Blood.

In the end, she sighed and stood up. “Normally, I would say thou would not believe me if I said. But, after all that’s happened, thou deserves to know the truth.”

“What truth?”

“Come with me, young Dusk.” She gestured for me to stand by her side. “It’s time I showed you something important.”

I hesitated for a moment, but joined her regardless. “Showed me what?”

The air shimmered around us again and I let myself be guided away by the Princess. “Thy inheritance… and the truth.”

Author's Note

After celebrating time with his friends for the victory over Discord, Dusk has now once again crossed paths with Princess Luna, who has much to discuss with him, especially that concerning him being the seventh Element of Harmony. Just what will the Princess of the Night unveil to him? Find out as the princess and the young Fire Dragon have their talk next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Looks like Luna is finally gonna tell Dusk about everything, why she sent him to find the seventh stone and exactly how she knew he would become the seventh Element. Also, what do you think of his title? Dusk Noir, Hero of Light. Seems pretty fitting, huh? In the next chapter, Luna will reveal everything and answer the questions we’ve all had. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 23: A Prophecy Fulfilled

I wasn’t sure whether to feel reassured or apprehensive after I had been told that all I could see around me—all I had seen—was just a dream, the images of my subconscious mind and memories playing out as I slept. On one hoof, it meant that—essentially—nothing that I saw here was real, at least in the widely accepted sense of the term. All that happened before, with Nightfall, the destroyed Ponyville… the bones, it was all just a horrible nightmare. It was just a dream and dreams couldn’t hurt you.

And yet… seeing all of that disturbed me greatly. Nightfall might be gone, but, in a way, his presence still lingered on, forever in my mind, within my memories and emotions. He would never stop tormenting me, never go away, and I knew I would never forget him. How could I, after all he had done? I had never had to deal with anything like this before in my whole life. How was I supposed to go on like this, always scared, always in guilt for everything that my darker side had done in my brief period in Equestria?

It wasn’t like I hadn’t done this before. Due to my own views of myself and also because of the weighing duty that came from being a Fire Dragon, I was used to dealing with my own problems. They were mine, not anyone else’s. In all my life, all the problems I have—personal or otherwise—were ones I never wanted to weigh on anyone else’s shoulders. Even though I had friends now, I would still do my best to keep my problems to myself so they wouldn’t have to deal with them. It was what I was used to after all, why fix what isn’t broken?

Still, even with the enforcing madness gone, I wasn’t sure I could even hope to endure the memories from all Nightfall had done, be able to cope, or go as I am. It would be easy to believe that it was a hopeless cause and to let those images and sounds torture me into eventual insanity as the Black Blood had done before. But I was still the symbol of peace and justice, so I would have to do my best to endure it all in order to fulfill my duty.

Though despair had come to me, I would look to the princess who had saved me from my torment, who had been through a similar experience and she gave me strength. She had been infected with Black Blood and probably knew what I was going through. She could have given in to the despair, the guilt of what she had done as Nightmare Moon, and yet she was still here. She had carried on with her life, had managed to move on from what she had done. She hadn’t forgotten, but she hadn’t let it get the best of her either. I knew it wasn’t just for her sake, but for the sake of those close to her like Princess Celestia and Dragonis. If Luna could do it, so could I.

Besides, I had already learned that I was stronger than I gave myself credit for, something that I wouldn’t normally admit. I’d kept Discord from my mind, resisted against the influence of Black Blood Madness, used my magic to defeat the Paraserpents, and—of course—I was the seventh Element of Harmony. If I had done all of those things, surely I could handle this by myself. Back then, I rarely ever had confidence in my own abilities, but my friends helped me learn that I should give myself the benefit of the doubt more and decided to do so with this case at least. I would be fine.

I cringed a little when Nightfall’s laughter echoed in my ears again and conceded that perhaps fine was a bit of an understatement.

I tried to act normal, but it hadn’t escaped Luna's notice. “Dusk? Are thou well?”

“Um…yes, I’m fine.” I responded in a would-be casual voice. “Why do you ask?”

She gave me a skeptical look. “Deception is not thy forte, Dusk. And thou should not think it wise to lie to thy ruler.” Though her voice was firm, I could hear the concern that she had for me. “Tell me what troubles thee.”

I opened my mouth, considering either lying or trying to avoid the question. But I knew how obvious it was when I lied or felt unsure about something. I’d stammer and pause, like I did in the past and they could always tell. What would be the point?

I sighed and tried my best to look up at her. “Just… coping with some… difficult memories.”

“Yes, I had noticed.” she said sympathetically. “It cannot be easy for thee, living with what thou has been through.”

“No… it isn’t.” I admitted quietly.

She paused a moment, considering. “Dusk… I’m still adapting to this new world, as thou knows, and friendship with a subject is still relatively new to me. But,” I heard her step closer, “if thou wishes to talk about it, I can do my best to comfort thee.”

I realized that I had never really thought about it. Though they had still cared dearly for their subjects, back in the old days the princesses were still higher up than other ponies and would treat them as such. Not unkindly, but still with authority. As such, friendships with those who weren't of the same status would have been a strange concept for the both of them, mingling either with each other or those of equal standing. Celestia, of course, had been more relaxed over the years about the status she held and how she treated her subjects, as she showed with Twilight, but Luna…

She’d been stuck in the moon for a thousand years and, even though she was probably better at it thanks to the aid of her sister and Dragonis, she still seemed to be having a little trouble adjusting and adapting to modern days. She still made references to forms of punishment that had been discontinued years ago and still used ancient pony speech dialect. Having to make friends with one of her subjects must have seemed like a strange notion to her and perhaps still was. She would get better at it still and I already liked to think of her as my friend, but I didn’t want to pressure her further.

“I’ll be fine.” I said, not dishonestly. “Really, I will.”

“Thou art sure?” I nodded in response, not sure if she would believe me. In the end, she relaxed and looked away. “If thou dost insist. Remember, the offer still stands should thou need it.”

“I’ll bear that in mind, thank you.” I let her guide me through the dream world once more.

It had been a little easier to say that the second time around. Mainly because, technically, I wasn’t really lying. Luna had, after all, saved me from my nightmare just before and she did have some degree of control over this world. Though I could still hear remnants of that horrible laughter and the vivid images in the darker parts of my mind, I knew the Princess of the Night would keep them at bay.

Yes, I would be safe while I was with Luna.

“Ah, here we are.” she remarked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I looked, but all I could see was the shimmering surface of the dream world. “Um… where are we?”

“Give it a moment.” she assured gently. “I am more attuned to this world than thee.”

Slowly, the area came into focus and I recognized it from when I had briefly glimpsed it through a locked door in the Canterlot Palace. From the giant hourglass that dominated the middle of the room, the endless aisles of priceless scrolls and tomes of magic that stretched on for miles, this could only be the Starswirl the Bearded Wing of the palace.

Even though it was just a dream, I still felt overwhelmed and privileged to be here, in the most secure wing of the castle, surrounded by the works of one of the most famous figures in unicorn history. I allowed myself a smile when I pictured Twilight’s reaction if he told her he'd been here and remained close to Luna, painfully aware of every patch of darkness and shadow. Dark, like my body had been… was.

“Impressive, is it not?” Luna remarked casually. “Only my sister and I have access to this place, along with Twilight Sparkle and whomever we deem trustworthy. Thou should be privileged, Dusk.”

“Oh, believe me, I am.” I resisted the urge to grab the nearest book and bury my head in it, staying close to her. “But what are we doing here?”

“We are here for this.” She approached another aisle that was locked by another gate, crystal balls decorating plinths on either side of the door. “Can thou tell me what this might be?”

If I felt honored, I was now completely in awe. “The archives of Fore Sight.” I breathed, actually reaching out to touch the gate and jumping back when it shimmered. “Oops… sorry.”

“It is perfectly fine.” she assured, with a small smile. “It can be easy to forget the difference between dreams and reality, even for me sometimes.”

“I know how that feels…” I shuddered when I recalled something similar Discord had said and did my best to return attention to her. “But still, I don’t fully understand why we’re here.”

“We are here because this is where the story begins, with thy ancestor.” Her horn glowed and the gate shimmered away into nothingness. Luna beckoned for him to follow. “So, Dusk, what dost thou know of thy ancestor?”

“Only what I could find, both from historical writing and what I could gather from my Fire Dragon predecessor at the time.” I said honestly. “Fore Sight the Uncanny, prophet of the unicorns, apprenticed to Starswirl, friend to Clover, as well a friend to Private Pansy of the Pegasi and Smart Cookie of the Earth ponies. Speaking of Pegasi, it was actually thanks to Private Pansy that he met the pegasus maiden who later become his wife. Anyway, while he was great and his visions never steered anyone wrong, it all changed when Discord came into power. Tormented by Discord, he was driven insane and went missing on some unknown quest he took until he returned home years later. He died not long after, leaving a mystery that has been debated long after as to why he left and what for.” I then smiled in remembering what I learned today. “But that was only little about him and only covers the main points, right?”

“Indeed.” she replied. “Quite significant that thou should mention that Discord plagued him, as he suffered more than anypony. For thou see, he had seen the seventh Element in his visions.”

“Really?” I was surprised by this.

“Yes, after he had already seen the original six, he saught of where they were discovered.”

“The Tree of Harmony.”

“So you know of its existence.”

“Of course. Every Fire Dragon knows about it. It’s one of the biggest legends amongst the Element Gang. My father told me its story when I was little.”

Luna smiled warmly at this. “I am glad thou knows of it and hope the knowledge can prove useful within the future. Now then,” she then returned to her explanation, “from gazing upon the very Tree, he received a vision of the seventh Element, an Element that had been broken into many pieces and had been scattered far and wide, the name being of it being Unity.”

“And I’m guessing he also saw that Unity came from a different tree, one that was as unique as the one he gazed upon?”

“Yes. How does thou know of this?”

“Because I had a hunch that Unity came from it. The tree he saw was no doubt the Tree of Life, an ancient tree which holds great and mysterious power, power of which flows through the light, the force for good. Apparently, its power comes from unity as well.”

“That is quite the deduction you have, young Dusk.” Luna seemed to be impressed by this.

“It’s kind of my thing.” Realizing I had interrupted her, I cleared my throat and allowed her to continue. “Sorry, you were saying?”

“From learning of this mysterious Element, Discord knew his reign was already threatened, so he tried to ensure that Fore Sight’s discovery would never be widely known and secure himself in his seat of power.”

“By showing him visions of his loved ones being hurt and leaving him questioning which were real and which weren’t.” I recalled grimly, knowing I’d had nearly a similar experience with the Lord of Chaos. “Not a pleasant fate…”

“Indeed.” Luna had a dark look for a few seconds and returned to her explanation. “Well, as thou knows, the Elements worked on Discord and sealed him away. But Fore Sight was not convinced. Though he was mocked and ridiculed for taking his stance, he truly believed the seventh did exist and was determined to find it for he feared that Discord would break free of his prison and wreak chaos once again. So, without telling anypony else, he packed himself some supplies and set off in search of the fragments of this Element.”

“But he couldn’t find those fragments, did he?”

“Actually, he succeeded. Though it took him many long years of traveling and seeking in the darkest places and the highest peaks to locate them all, a total of seven. Once he had them all and he was returning home to Canterlot, he tried to assemble the Element himself with his own magic.” Her expression saddened. “Unfortunately, he failed and the pieces scattered once again, though not as far as they had been previously. He would have gone looking again, but he knew that his time was short and so returned to his home where, as thou knows, he passed on shortly after.”

She bowed her head and her eyes seemed to glisten with tears, looking away so that I couldn't see her face. Pity for her welled up again in that instant. A thousand years locked away and awakened to find that all she had known, ponies, places, values, had all changed so much…I couldn't begin to imagine what that was like. Immortality is a curse, not a blessing. I mused grimly.

“You miss him, don’t you?” I whispered.

“Yes… I do…”

I allowed her a short moment to lament before speaking again. “Well I know why he failed to put it together.”

She recovered herself and wiped her eyes. “Really? Care to explain?”

“Of course.” I then went on to explain. “The reason he failed was that what he was doing was not to bring out the Element’s power. While his intentions were for the greater good, he did not realize that it didn’t fall according to the nature of the Elements of Harmony. Unity isn’t something that can be found as easily as the others, it has to be earned.”

“Earned? How so?”

“Well, it goes to the same account as Twilight and the girls. They all had to learn about the true nature of the Elements before they revealed themselves as they truly were. Only by realizing the power of friendship did they earned the very six Elements they searched for. Doing so, each proved themselves worthyby embracing the true parts of themselves, their strengths of which are represented by the Elements they wield. Unity’s no different. Finding the pieces and trying to make them come together isn’t the way to do it. While he was on track that following the light would bring them together, but it was actually a specific light, one which no one can find or even follow alone. By trying to do this on his own, Fore Sight lost, well, sight of what he had before, of what he experienced. While following the light of good is not a bad thing, it was not what was needed to bring the Element together. The light that was needed is the same light of which Twilight and the girls experienced when they earned the Elements. What brings forth this particular Element is the light of friendship.”

“Each fragment represents a different light that makes up and comes from friendship, each resonating to the very six Elements that represents them: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. The reason I found these fragments was not by seeking them out, but proving myself worthy to them by following the light, the one of which my friends helped me find. And, when these six lights are brought together, they form the light of which creates the seventh Element: Unity. Its final piece I earned by being true to myself and helping those in need, the moment I helped the girls find each other again. Much like unity amongst others, it can’t be forced upon and would only lead them to being divided once more, much like what happened to the fragments when Fore Sight tried to force them together. True unity can only be achieved when one helps others understand one another, find the common ground of which brings them together.”

“That is correct.” Luna nodded. “As thou have done with so many in the past and even now, thou have managed to create true unity amongst others. And the unity, in cause, feeling and knowledge of thou and from those around you are what allowed the Element to form and prove yourself worthy as the one to wield it. Thou succeeded where he did not.”

“Well, I didn’t do it alone. I couldn’t have done it without my friends and the faith they put in me, the same faith of which I had in them. You especially helped, Luna. You knew that Unity was real, even if the others didn’t. You kept your faith in me.”

“I was one of the few who believed him, yes. My sister and Dragonis weren’t so sure. Celestia didn’t want to accept the idea that the Elements were incomplete and Dragonis didn’t want to believe that Equestria might be threatened again from the fiends that had been stopped with them. I, however, was more concerned and as such believed our prophet when he wrote down his final prophecy.”

She stopped at the very end of the aisle and reached down to the bottom-most shelf with her magic. She levitated out an ancient, crumbling scroll and passed it over to me, as carefully as it were a precious stone or priceless gem. In my eyes, it was far more valuable than either of those latter two put together, taking it carefully.

“Read it.” she prompted. “He intended to pass on his quest to another after he had failed in the hopes that they would succeed, no matter how small the chance.”

“I suppose blind faith is another thing he and I share.” I noted lightly.

Noting how my eyesight had returned to its former status here, I unrolled the scroll and traced my eyes over the faded ink that had been worked into the parchment with an elaborate horn:

Heritor of night,
A son born soon,

With a sliver’s power,
Of the moon.

His greatest weapon being his mind,
And takes in stride,

Though, through discord,
Shows a dark side.

Against this evil,
Most unhallowed,

He is light, opposed,
To the madness shadowed.

Though, to keep at bay,
This darkness made,

The stars and their light,
Must come to his aid.

Though modesty forbids,
Great deeds, he did.

Guided by light,
Unlocks power once hid.

Gathers the seven,
Through the mists of time.

When chaos is at prime,
He enacts justice to its crime.

And when six,
Do cease their fight,

By his light,
They unite.

Six united as one,
With a hero’s climb,

Restore harmony,
Enact justice to chaos’ crime.

Though Elements of Six,
They appear to be,

Cannot be without another,
They must have Unity.

For only united seven,
The most magic number,

Shall harmony prevail,
Lord of Chaos returned to his slumber.

Element long-lost,
Unknown to the great sages,

Scattered and broken,
Lost to the ages,

Its power, he will use,
This humble son.

Only discovering who he is,
Will seven truly become one.

I read and re-read the words several times and even then I wasn’t sure I understood entirely. Fore Sight’s writings were rather eccentric, to say the least, and I liked to work in the mystery into my words.

I raised my head up to look at Luna. “I think I see. But… ‘Heritor of night’?”

“Ah, I believe that may refer to thy fur hue and its similarity to mine own, as well as our sharing this power as the ‘sliver’s power’ verse pertains.” she explained. “If thou think it, I assure you that it does not mean I am actually thy mother.”

“Glad we cleared that up.” We laughed a little from the humor of that. “It also seems to describe aspects of my personality too.”

“Dost thou remember our first meeting?” I nodded happily. “That was one of the reasons we summoned thee, to see if thy personality truly matched what was written here. I had already begun to suspect after I had seen thee perform in the Magic Contest and this confirmed my suspicions once we met thee.”

“That makes sense.” I looked down again and suddenly remembered my meeting with Dialga in the forest, at the ancient castle. “Hold on… did you know Dialga was there? Was that why you sent me there?”

“Sharp as a flint, as always.” she commented, smiling at my blush. “That verse was a little difficult to decipher, I shall admit, but that seemed to be the only possible answer: a literal one. When I returned as Nightmare Moon, I actually intended to find the pieces of Unity myself for it would give me an additional advantage to have the long-lost seventh. I had already found one of the fragments, tracking it with my own magic until Twilight’s search for the six made me refocus my efforts. When I was returned to normal, the fragment I had found had gone.”

“Because Darkrai gave it to me.” I remembered that seventh stone hitting me back in the past. “It must have become dislodged when you tried to destroy the Elements.”

“Yes, I thought as much too.” she agreed. “I had intended to find them again, but Celestia insisted I forget the notion and return to my duties as Princess of the Night. Luckily, I had managed to convince Dragonis to help me return to the castle and search for the piece I had lost. It was then that we encountered the Legendary Pokémon.”

“You mean, Dragonis knew about this?”

“No. Dialga had only wanted a conference with me as it told me what I needed to do.”

“So Dialga gave you a plan and you gave it your Darkrai to help for when the time came I would go to the castle and be sent back to the moment you last saw the seventh stone.” I figured it out.

“Exactly!"

“Quite a bit of luck how it bounced over to me.”

“Yes… or maybe it knew that its wielder had come for it and sought him out as he had its fellows.” she mused.

Dusk blinked in surprise. “You make it sound as if the Elements have minds of their own.”

“Thou hast felt how strong their power is, Dusk. Is that such a far-fetched concept?"

“I suppose not, considering it comes from the Tree of Life.” I shrugged, accepting the idea a little and returning to the subject. “I do see how important it is. Without it, the girls wouldn’t have freed you from your Kishin side, much like it had saved me from my own.”

“Indeed. I would say that perhaps, speaking in scientific terms, that Unity acts as a focusing component for the other six."

“Well, Unity is formed from them. As it would give them strength, they strengthen Unity in return.”

“Well said, Dusk.”

“Thank you, though it seems Unity does more than bring the powers of the other Elements together. Much like what I felt when I used it, the power comes from those united within the light of friendship. It’s with that I’ve come to realize the reason the Tree of Life had in creating my Element.”

“And what is the reason?”

“It wasn’t just to strengthen the Elements of Harmony in order to protect Equestria, but also remind people how strong we can be when united in friendship, of what can be possible when beings of all kinds work together. The Element Gang does the same. It is one of our virtues after all.”

“Indeed it is. You truly are a stallion of words.”

“Much appreciated. So I’m guessing Discord won’t break out of stone again any time soon, right?” I was feeling fear with that question.

“Fear not, mine little pony.” Luna said. “I do not think that the Lord of Chaos will be escaping his confinement for a second time. Unless we were to break him out of our own free will, which is highly unlikely.”

“That’s good to hear.” From my relief, another thing occurred to me. “You know there’s still one thing I don’t get.”

“What is that?”

“In my time in the past, while I understand how my faith in the girls allowed my Element to respond and resonate with the others, I still don’t know how Unity was able to strengthen it like that. It wasn’t at full power then.”

“That doesn’t mean the spark was not present.” I felt a spike of pride from the smile she bestowed. “I think it is fair to say that thy influence was not entirely absent in that process.”

I remembered the fatigue and headache that I received from when he had first witnessed the use of the Elements and decided that she definitely wasn’t far off from that. That little spike of pride that I rarely felt from my own actions increased ever so slightly from what I had done, even back then. Quite fitting how, in our own ways, we had both saved each other from our respective darker sides.

Which brought me to the final thing I wanted to know, what I had been avoiding because of how I had felt when I’d first read those words and holding a weak stance that there was no way she could have known that and not done anything.

“Luna… the verse where it says about… darkness residing in my mind…”

Her demeanor immediately became fearful and she diverted her eyes elsewhere. “Ah, yes… that.”

“Does that mean… what I think it means?” I didn’t like the way she was acting, but I still had to ask.

Luna shifted in her hooves, opening and closing her mouth, apparently having trouble finding the right words. The dread that had started to form in the pit of my stomach had now festered into fear along with something else. Something that I very rarely felt and that had been prevalent when Nightfall had taken over, but I still knew what it was.

It was anger, very small, but still a spark. Because if what I thought about this was true, then anger was the only thing that I could even hope to feel. I could practically hear my darker side egging me on and telling me to embrace it. And for once, I didn't feel like disagreeing with me.

“Well… thou see… it is… difficult to explain…” she stammered.

“Why is that?” I asked, controlling the tone in my voice. “It’s just a question which needs an answer.”

“Yes, but… it is merely the manner the answer must take that I find… difficult to say.” She mumbled.

“Then just answer yes or no.” I made sure that my voice sounded firm. “Does this refer to Nightfall in my mind?”

“Dusk, I’m just…”

“Please, just answer me… does it?”

Silence fell between the two, heavy and oppressive like a thick blanket that had been soaked in tar. My eyes never left Luna, until she eventually looked right back at me. The words she spoke next were spoken quietly and softly, yet they were as harsh and damning as a death sentence.

“Yes, it does.”

It did… it did… those words echoed over and over in my head, further giving fuel to the anger that had started as a spark and now boiled over into rage.

With this revelation in mind, I spoke again and I could definitely hear the emotions lacing my words. "So, if it was in the prophecy…that means that you knew."

“Dusk, please understand, I made a mistake," she said quickly, but I was having none of it.

“Oh, yes, you made a mistake. You knew, this whole time what was going to happen as a result of this and yet you did nothing to stop it, nothing to prevent him from emerging into the world."

“It isn’t like that…”

“Really? Because that's what it seems like to me." I found myself taking a step closer to her. "You mean to tell me that all of what he's done, all of the things I see playing over and over again in my mind, which could have all been prevented and you're telling me that it isn't like that?!"

“Dusk, listen to me…”

“NO, YOU LISTEN TO ME!’” I was shocked at my own actions and so was Luna, but I pressed on. “I can see everything and I mean everything he did when I was him! I can hear their screams, their cries of torment, as he tortures them! Worse still, I can feel him revel in it, enjoy every minute of it, and it mingles with me like a poison! You knew about that and you could have stopped it, but you did NOTHING!”

“Dusk, cease this…”

“I won’t, because that’s not all!” I was now right in her face, glaring at her. “Not only do I have to put up with all of that, but I have also been beaten, constricted, pushed to the brink of death, deceived, and twisted, all at the hands of him, pf Discord! And what did you do to stop him when you knew what would happen? NOTHING! What kind of princess are you that would willingly allow one of her subjects to suffer? Do you know what I have been through, what I’m still going through after all this?! You can’t even begin to imagine what I’ve…”

“SILENCE!” Luna’s booming Canterlot voice cut me off and suddenly reminded me who I was talking to. “We may be friends, young Dusk, but there is a limit to what that means and thou hast just crossed it!”

My rage dissipated in that second and shame flooded through me, along with fear, but this time of the princess herself. I had just done all of that, said all of those things to the Princess of the Night, insulted and shouted at her. Though I had felt I had every right to do so, I also knew that I had gone too far.

“Princess… I… I didn’t…”

When she spoke, her voice was low and dangerous. “Now, listen and listen well, Dusk. None feels more regret for what thou hast been through than I, but understand me when I say that I did not know. When I read that passage, I took it to mean darkness taking the form of doubt or despair, not a literal darker side. I was just as ignorant to what Discord would do as thee.”

“So… so you didn’t…”

“No.” Her firm voice didn’t soften and she stood taller than me, glaring down at me. “And just remember, Dusk, that thou is not the only one who has suffered from Discord’s influences and don’t thy dare to tell me otherwise. Do I make myself clear?”

That shame increased exponentially in that instant. In my anger at her, I’d forgotten I wasn't the only who had to suffer with a dark side. All things considered, I’d gotten off lightly with what had happened to me. At least I was still here and not in the moon like what had happened to her and nopony knew the connection between Nightfall and me, apart from the guys, Twilight, and Pinkie, of course. But Luna… everypony knew about her and she was a princess. That just made it all the more worse and made my feel even guiltier.

Lowering my head out of shame, I genuflected down on my knees, my head so low it was almost touching the floor.

“Luna… Princess…” I corrected, not feeling deserving to call her by her name. “I… I forgot myself, along with many other things, but doesn’t excuse what I did and what I said to you. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but, believe me when I say… I’m so sorry and… it won’t happen again.”

The silence hung in the air once again before I felt her silver shoes gently lift my head back up to look up at her, her anger faded and her compassionate expression had returned which I felt I certainly didn’t deserve.

“Dusk, please stand. That isn't necessary.” Very gently, she raised me back onto my hooves and claws. “Thou… you are forgiven.”

“R…really?”

“Yes. While thou… your anger was out of line, it was not entirely unfounded. You have been through more in one day than most ponies go through in their whole lives. As I have said, I wish you didn’t have to suffer all of that and believe me when I say that I wish I could have done something, that I’d figured it out sooner. So for that, I say that I too am…sorry, for that failure on my part.”

I was shocked and just didn’t know what to say in response to that. My mind was a blur, as were my eyes from the tears that were welling up in them. I had spent my whole life hearing how wonderful Celestia was, yet everypony seemed to forget that she wasn't the only princess, something I was always disappointed about. No wonder she lost to the madness and had become Nightmare Moon, all of those years ago, for none had given her the respect and admiration that she deserved just as much as her sister did.

Now it was time for that to be made up for. Beating back my reservations about the fact she was royalty and the blush that she was a mare, I embraced her in a way that I conveyed all of my gratitude for her. She felt tense with surprise, but she soon relaxed into it and returned it, her soft mane flowing over his shoulder.

“Celestia isn’t the only one that brings light to our lives.” I whispered to her. “Just remember that she only has one star to rise, but you bring us the beauty of thousands, as well as the light of the moon.” I stepped back and gave her another respectful bow. “And for that, I thank you, Princess of the Night.”

When I looked back up, I saw that Luna was just as dumbstruck as I had been. Clearly, she hadn’t been expecting this kind of adoration after receiving so much fear since her return. Slowly though, a smile grew on her face and her eyes twinkled with joy like the stars she painted across the night sky.

“Thank you, Dusk Noir, Hero of Light.” She tipped her head to me again. “Are you still sure you would not wish to speak of what has happened to you?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure that… I’m ready to. But…I’ll be fine, I’m sure.” I added as an afterthought.

“If that is your wish.” she said. “Never forget that you have friends, Dusk. Don’t shun them, but speak to them too when you feel ready.”

The fear came back again at that. "But… all the things I… he did to them…”

“You cannot hide from it forever, Dusk. You will soon have to face up to that sometime.” Her voice lightened a little. “Besides, you might be surprised at the result.”

Though I had those feelings of guilt from what had happened to them, I still felt that wonderful feeling of acceptance and love from them whenever I saw them. Those feelings that blossomed whenever my eyes were graced with Twilight’s presence, my heart beating and my mind going fuzzy. No, I wasn’t going to abandon them, not again.

“I’ll… I’ll try, when I can.”

“Good, but take your time." She let me feel the warmth of that smile for a few more minutes, before she made a sound of realization. “Ah, I had almost forgotten. Another change has come over thee, has it not?”

I noted her return to the form of ancient dialect and nodded. “Yes, my cutie mark.” I glanced back at the seven swirls now on his flank. “I’m still trying to get used to that.”

“Tis a rare thing that a pony’s special talent should change like that, but I think it is more fitting for thee.” she noted. “Would thou agree?”

“I’ll miss my former one, but… I think I agree with you about the new one.” I said. “It seems more… honest than before. Like this is my true special talent and, for once, I’m proud of that.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Speaking of my talent, I now know that there is much I have to learn about it.” I then went on to tell her what I found out about my magic. “I definitely inherited Fore Sight’s ability to see into the future, though it’s not exactly much. I’ve got to see a glimpse of some events that might or will happen, but I can’t exactly make it out.”

“Well…” Luna tried to speak to me, but I ignored her and spoke out my concerns.

“And it’s not just the future I can see, I can look into the past too. Right now, I can only look back at my own past and have a long way before I can look beyond that.”

“Really? That’s a surprise…”

“And, to top it all off, it seems my magic can extract memories, not just mine, but from others. Of course, I only got memories that seemed to be contained within certain items, but there might be the possibility it can get stuff like that from so much more.”

“For that, I…”

“I mean, seeing all this, maybe my magic is capable of more than I realized. The possibilities could be endless.”

“Dusk…”

“Could this be like a whole new assortment of magical power? Is there a possibility I’ll end up creating my own spells? More importantly, how am I gonna know if I’m making progress?”

“Dusk!” Luna said, grabbing my shoulders firmly, stopping me. “Please, at ease, my little pony. Thee should not fret so much, especially if it leads to such rambling.”

“Oh, sorry, Luna.” I said, scratching my head nervously. “Kind of a habit.”

“That is quite alright.” She smiled at me. “And I do realize you have many questions and wonder how to grow with your talent.” She then glanced over at my cutie mark. “Now it has been brought to the front, then this should be much simpler.”

“Make what much simpler?" I asked.

“Thou already know that you and I share a similarity where our magic is concerned.” she reminded me. "However, I believe that thine own is still in the early stages of its potential and I would like to help thee find that potential, to develop it, and show its true worth. Especially now that I see thine talent has even more to it than meets the eye. With my guidance, I am sure it will be great.”

“Wait… what exactly are you saying?” Was she really asking me what I thought she was?

Luna’s smile grew in that moment. “Dusk, as Celestia had taken Twilight under her wing, I would like to take thee under mine as my student in magic.”

Author's Note

Well, this is unexpected. After explaining all that had happened that led to him to discover his true destiny, like Princess Celestia had done with Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna has now taken on Dusk Noir as her student. What other surprises lie in store for Dusk? Find out what happens next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Now you know everything about Unity and Dusk and how Luna played a role in it all. By the way, the prophecy that Dusk just read was inspired by the writings of AlphatheGriffin17. Thanks, Alpha! Anyway, we now get an epic bombshell: Dusk Noir, the new pupil of Princess Luna. Looks like he now haves another thing he haves in common with Twilight. We’re almost done here, folks. In the last chapter, Dusk and the gang are going to Canterlot for the big ceremony to celebrate their victory where a couple more surprises await them. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Chapter 24: Brought to Light

I felt much better when I awoke the following morning. The combination of my talk from Luna and a pleasant night’s sleep ensured that most of the bleak, unsure thoughts that had been shifting restlessly in my mind as I was in my bed were gone by the time I felt the warmth of Celestia’s sun streaming in through my window, waking me from my slumber. While yesterday, I just wanted to be alone with my misery, now I wanted nothing more than to see my friends again.

Of course, it wasn’t completely perfect. I still had those twinges of guilt from what I had done to them, as well as the vivid memories of Nightfall’s actions in my mind. But they weren’t at the forefront of my thoughts, more like somewhere at the back, easy to overlook and ignore. I wasn’t going to let them get the better of me today, especially not with the celebration in Canterlot coming up. I was just going to get out there and enjoy the day.

Still…I would have to deal with the issues at some point. But today, I decided, placing on my hat, downing my breakfast, and heading outside for a morning stroll, I was just going to enjoy myself. The danger had past and it was time to celebrate. I just wandered around outside, sitting by the lake, walking through the trees or sitting on the grass, listening to the sounds of the birds and appreciating the beauty of nature all around me. It was good to have harmony back in Equestria and he wouldn't have it any other way.

A lot of truths had come to light in the wake of my dream. The fact that Luna had been pulling the strings from behind the scenes so that I would discover I was the seventh Element of Harmony, I at first found to be quite hurt from how dishonest it had been. When I asked her why exactly she didn’t just tell me what my true fate was in the first place, she replied in saying that neither Twilight nor her friends knew they were the Elements and they had to figure it out, asking why should I be any different.

“Besides,” she followed up with, “would thou have believed me if I had told thee?”

I had to concede that, despite my personal views, I most likely wouldn't have and accepted that her actions were necessary.

In a way though, it also made me appreciate all that she went through to help me discover my destiny and I was thankful for that, if nothing else.

Then, of course, there was Luna’s offer. I was still recovering from the giddy feeling that I had when Luna first announced that she was going to be my teacher. I had accepted after only a moment's thought and was in no way regretting my decision. One thing that had come out of this was that I now felt true pride for my unique magic and along with that, the desire to expand on it and to learn more about what I might be able to do with it. If it was to be my special talent from now on, then I would train and practice with it as much as I could.

Additionally, there was the bonus that I and Twilight were now both apprenticed to a princess. I didn’t know why, but that gave me a newfound boost of confidence that might finally allow me to tell her how I felt… perhaps…

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard a familiar and saw three ponies behind me.

“Hey, bud!” Shield said, no doubt smiling at me and holding up his foreleg for a high hoof. “Ready to head to Canterlot?”

“Sure.” I said, missing Shield’s hoof two times before finally getting it, giving him an embarrassed chuckle.

“Still can’t see, Dusk?” Leon asked me with concern.

“Yeah, but I’ll be fine.” I said reassuringly. “Come on, let’s get going.”

“Alright then.” Dog said to me. “And we’ll make sure you don’t bump into anything.”

“Thanks, guys.” I said as we all then walked off together, the guys making sure I didn’t crash into anything.

We arrived at the train station on time with everypony else not too far behind. As well as the girls, Spike, the Crusaders, Strongheart, Gold Star, Forest Hearth, and Zecora were also accompanying us to the ceremony before the actual party. They too had played their part in bringing down Discord and they were going to be acknowledged for it along with everypony else who had fought against the Lord of Chaos. Zecora was quite looking forward to seeing the royal city, as was Strongheart, and we all promised to give them a small tour of the place once the celebrations had concluded. It was when Gold Star came over to me.

“Hey, Dusk.” Gold Star said to me. “Glad to see you in such a good mood today. Had us all worried after you left the party so earlier. Twilight was more worried about you than the rest of us.”

“Well, I appreciate your concerns, everypony,” I said to them, “but I assure you that I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about.” It wasn’t entirely dishonest, especially with what happened last night. “In fact, the reason I am in such a good mood today is because I got some news.”

“What is it, Dusk?” Dog asked me.

“I’ll explain on the train. Come on.” I said as we all boarded the train.

As the train carried us to Canterlot, I proceeded to tell them all that I had learned in the dream world with Luna. Though there were a few bits and pieces I left out like the Tree of Life and the Tree of Harmony for those were topics I decided to discuss at a different time.

“Ha-ha! See?” Spike said, once I had finished. “I told you you'd solve that whole Fore Sight mystery!”

“So your ancestor knew you would be an Element of Harmony.” Leon put in, impressed. “Is there anypony in your family that doesn’t know what can help us now?”

“That’s a tough question there.” I said. “Though there’s actually more. After she told me everything I needed to know about the Element of Unity, Luna actually gave me an offer.”

“What kind of offer?” Shield asked me, curious.

“Well…” Thinking about it, I then decided to simply tell them, “in light of my true talent being revealed and seeing how our magic is similar, she decided to teach me in how to use it.”

“Wait, are you sayin’…” Dog started before I answered him with a proud smile.

“Yes. As of now, I’m officially a student of Princess Luna.” This surprised everypony.

“So you’re the student of the co-ruler of Equestria now?” Leon asked in disbelief.

“That’s correct.” I told him.

“Dude…” Shield said with a look of shock. “That… is…” Within that moment, Shield then gained a smile as he shouted “Awesome!” Just when he said that, the three then rounded on me, congratulating I’m my accomplishment, Shield giving me a noogie.

“Believe me, I’m quite surprised about it myself.” I admitted as the three were done congratulating me. “Then again, the past few days have been full of surprises, so one would think I’d be getting used to them by now.”

“Surprise!” Pinkie suddenly jumped up behind me, making me jump. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Still, it’s always nice to be surprised, don’t ya think?”

“Depends on the surprise.” I said once I’d stopped blushing and everypony stopped laughing. “You could at least warn me when you’re about to do that.”

“Silly Psychic Pony. If I did, it wouldn't be a surprise."

“I… oh, never mind.” I said, laughing good-naturedly. “I don’t think any you girls and you guys will ever stop being able to surprise me.”

“We do our best, sugar.” Applejack remarked and glancing at Pinkie. “Some of us more than others.”

“We could say the same for you, darling.” Rarity noted. “Every day, it seems you’re discovering something new about yourself. Overcoming your stage fright one moment and becoming the seventh Element the next.”

“Yeah, must feel pretty good to know you’re as awesome as we are now.” Rainbow said with a nudge.

“Yes, well…” I mumbled. “I’m just one tile in the mosaic that is Harmony.”

“Quite profound.” Strongheart remarked lightly. “I suppose that’s one thing about you that hasn’t changed.”

“And…that’s not a bad thing, is it?” I asked her unsurely.

“Not at all.”

I exchanged a warm smile with the calf. “Thank you.”

Rainbow made a small groan of frustration. “Man, you really haven’t changed where your ego is concerned, have you?”

“Sometimes a lil’ humility is refreshin’, Rainbow. ʹSpecially after hangin’ round you and Shield all day.” Dog remarked.

“Yeah, but I’m awesome anyway.” She gave her cocky smile. “Oh, well. I guess that it’s just good Dusky here knows his place, which is just close second to awesomeness to me. Maybe third.”

Though I admired Rainbow’s confident personality as opposed to my contrasting one, her boasting sometimes was a little too much for me.

“Um, hate to tell ya, Dash,” Shield spoke up, “but, compared to Dusk, you and me are a close second to awesomeness to him.”

We all shared a laugh at Rainbow’s shocked expression before she growled in annoyance. Luckily, somepony else said what they were all thinking and prevented any aggression.

“Hm… a student to Princess Luna, Seventh Element of Harmony, the great hero El Dragon, and solver of one of the greatest historical mysteries next to a pony who, despite showing her skills twice to the Wonderbolts, still isn’t a member of them.” Strongheart raised her eyebrows. “Yes, I can certainly see from that how he's not as good as you.”

“Hey, who asked you?” Rainbow demanded, her cheeks flushed.

“No one.” Strongheart replied calmly. “Sometimes, asking isn’t a necessity, especially when it comes to speaking latent truths, Rainbow Crash.”

“Ooh, that’s a burn!” Pinkie grinned at the red-in-the-face Pegasus, who offered no response to that. “You just got burned, Dashie! Burned!”

Fortunately, Rainbow didn’t press further on her argument, though it looked like she wanted to. She’d probably challenge the buffalo to a race later or something to make up for this small loss.

“Anyway, the point is that mosaic thingy you’re a part of now… is awesome!” Rainbow frowned after this. “What is a mosaic anyway? Some kind of weird food?”

“It’s a form of art.” Rarity said exasperatedly. “I know you’re not exactly a cultured pony, but really, Rainbow?”

“You can’t eat a mosaic, Dashie. And trust me, I’ve tried.” Pinkie put in.

“Yeah… wait, what?”

“All strange eating habits aside, it really is incredible!” Twilight seemed most excited about one particular piece of news. “I can’t believe that Princess Luna has actually offered to teach you! Do you know how unique an opportunity this is?”

“I wasn’t expecting it either, but that was what she said she wanted to do.” I said with a rarely seen pride. “We’re going to be starting lessons once everything’s fully settled down. She said she’ll contact me when she wants to begin.”

Twilight let out a barely concealed noise of excitement. “Ooh, that’s so great! I mean, now not only are you and I both students to royalty, but just imagine what she’ll be able to teach you! Your magic’s the same as hers and, considering the things she can do with that magic alone, that should be quite informative. She can alter her appearance, squeeze into tight spaces in her smoke form, and even fly! That might be due to her natural alicorn abilities though, but I’m sure you could still learn it. Imagine if you could learn how to fly! Even if we do have levitation spells, self-sustained flight is difficult even for a unicorn.”

“Oh… really?” I knew Twilight was going into quick-fire fact mode, which I didn’t mind and didn’t have the heart to stop her. If anything, I actually liked it.

“Oh, yes. And, beyond that, there’s no limit to what she could possibly teach you. I don’t know what your magic is compared to mine, but you could end up picking up the same skills that I did. You have the disadvantage of not being taught at a young age, but you still attended the school and you’ve had it your whole life, so it might not be too difficult. If you ever need help, I’d be more than happy to give it. Then, of course, there would be powers of the night that she might teach you too. Things like dark magic, shadow spells, lunar blasts, mostly offensive and defensive spells, but still very useful. Maybe we could compare notes and trade techniques! I want to know everything she’ll…”

“Okay, okay, Twilight. Take it down a notch.” Dog cut in. “I think the boy’s got himself enough to think about without ya recitin’ every possible piece of mumbo jumbo ya can.”

“Oh, right.” She lapsed into a bashful silence. “Sorry, Dusk. Guess I just lost my head there.”

“It’s fine, Ms. Sparkle. I understand.” I assured. “If anything, you’ve made me even more anticipated for my upcoming education.”

“Well, I’m glad I was able to help there.” she said, sounding relieved, perhaps a little anxious. “You know how I am when it comes to studying.”

“I know and, just for the record, I’d be more than happy to exchange notes with you.” I added with a smile. “I think it would be… beneficial for us both.”

“Really?” She blushed a little, but returned my smile. “Well… I think it would be too. I’m… looking forward to it.”

I suddenly blinked when I realized something that made my own cheeks turn beet red. Did I just… flirt with Twilight? And did she just… return it? I had no idea. I’d never flirted before in my life and didn’t know if Twilight had received it negatively or not. She was still smiling, so it looked like she didn’t mind, but she might just be pretending so as not to embarrass me.

Still, I did like that smile she was giving me. That and the look in her eyes made my heart flutter all the more.

“Geez! What a couple of eggheads you two are.” Rainbow remarked, shattering the moment.

“Rainbow!” Dog and Applejack glared in unison.

“What? What did I do? I’m just saying.”

“Perhaps you should have remained silent instead, for some things are better left unsaid.” Zecora remarked, speaking for the first time since the journey began.

“What? What did I say? You were all thinking it.” she protested.

“Yeah, but none of us were gonna say it.” Shield countered.

“Yeah, I mean, Dusk just got taken under Luna’s wing.” Leon added. “Can’t really say anything bad to him now with that.”

“I think it’s great too.” Fluttershy added, wanting to add something to the discussion. “I mean, you being taught by Luna. It seems like it’ll be… fun, I guess.”

“I think the boat’s sailed on that discussion.” I mumbled blandly, feeling some annoyance towards the insensitive Pegasus.

“Oh, um…okay.” Fluttershy lapsed back into an embarrassed silence.

My brotherly feelings resurfaced for her at the sight of her retreating behind her mane and I smiled in her direction. “But thank you for saying so anyway. It was very kind of you, as always.”

“You’re welcome.” She peeked out behind it and gave me a shy smirk. I would have hugged her were it not for the look that Twilight was giving me I could see out of the corner of my eye.

“You’re lucky.” Apple Bloom said sadly. “Not only do ya get your cutie mark, but then ya get a completely new one. We haven’t even got our first ones.”

“You think we can change ours if we want?” Sweetie asked. “Like, maybe you could have a talent in painting one week and then dancing the next one.”

“Yeah, but you can’t paint or dance, so you wouldn’t be doing either.” Scootaloo remarked.

“I know, but still, it would be nice.” She cast her eyes to her bare flank. “I’d be happy with any cutie mark though.”

“Be patient, Sweetie. Your time will come.” her elder sister assured. “You just have to keep at it.”

“I know, I know. But there’s times it seems like we’ll never get them.” she despaired.

“Yeah, it feels like it’s gonna be forever before we ever discover our special talents.” Scootaloo put in.

“That’s if we ever find them.” Apple Bloom sighed.

Of course, everypony understood what they must be feeling. Though they were a special little group, they still must feel like outcasts because of what they had… or in this case, what they didn’t. I knew, because that was how I’d felt about myself too, what I felt like a long time. And I knew what I needed to do.

Before anypony could say anything to the disheartened fillies, I was the one who spoke up.

“Take heart, girls.” I said to them. “The other fillies and foals may have their cutie marks before you all have, but let me ask you: how many of them have bravely faced up to a whole army of monsters alongside the Element Gang?”

Scootaloo’s face lit up at that. “None of them.”

“How many of them are on their way to Canterlot right as a reward for what they’ve done?”

“Nopony I know.” Apple Bloom agreed.

“And how many of them are going to receive commendation from the Princesses themselves for their bravery and valor?”

“I don’t know what commendation means, but you’re right!” Sweetie perked up. “We might not have our cutie marks yet, but we did pretty well without them.”

“Yeah, Diamond Tiara sure can’t say that she did what we did!” Scootaloo added. “We got to save all of Equestria! We’re awesome!”

“Even without our cutie marks too!” Sweetie gave me a bright smile. “Thanks for that, Dusk.”

“No problem, my little cousin.” I moved to pat her on the head, but my blurry eyes misjudged the distance and I had to try three times before I got it right.

“Eyes still giving you trouble?” Gold Star asked me.

“Unfortunately, yes.” I squinted at my claw, trying to make it clear up. “I would have thought it would have gotten better by now.”

“Let me see.” Zecora approached me, holding open one of my eyelids and waving her own hoof across it, gazing intently with her pale blue orbs. “I would wait a little longer until it passes. But, in case it doesn’t, I would suggest glasses.”

“Glasses? But… I’ve never needed glasses.”

“But you may now.” Twilight pointed out. “Gazing directly at a bright light source, your self-generated color sphere from before in this case, may have damaged your retinas and created moderate vision impairment.”

I understood what she said there, though Pinkie and Rainbow were looking quizzical, along with a few others. It would be good for I had a feeling my vision will only get as close as being near-sighted like an Axel, but… I was a little apprehensive at the idea. I already knew that I basically answered to most of the signs of being a typical geek and having glasses would only complete the image. I didn’t like the idea of being laughed at if I did end up having to wear glasses. But I also didn’t like being partially blind.

In the end, I conceded with a small smile. “I suppose… it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“I think he’d look kinda geeky with them.” I heard Rainbow snigger.

“He’s short-sighted, not deaf, Rainbow Dash.” Hearth Forest answered sharply.

“What? Why is everypony getting on my case today?”

As we all burst out laughing from Rainbow’s skulking, I was reminded of how much better my life had become since discovering friendship’s magic. Sure, there were some downsides to it, but nothing in life was perfect. It was strange to think that, a few years ago, I was just Dusk Noir, a pony who was useless, boring, and not worth the time of anypony while living a double life as the superhero El Dragon. Now though, from this past year, I had ponies and even non-ponies I could call his friends, memories that lit up my life, and, of course… being an Element of Harmony.

Though that did mean a lot of new responsibilities and expectations than usual, plus the possibility of a little more attention than I was used to, that last one made me smile all the more. Twilight caught my smile and it was like she knew what I was thinking and returned it with one of her own. Her reward was that she managed to make me blush again and divert my eyes to the floor.

We arrived in Canterlot with about fifteen minutes before the official ceremony. The streets were mostly deserted, as everypony was no doubt up at the castle in the tower where the Elements were kept, but there was the occasional group of ponies that cheered for them while they made their way through the streets with guards escorting them. Sometimes, one would attempt to get closer but end up getting pushed away by the guards.

Most of them waved back, or else only acknowledged them with a smile or shy glance, Zecora performing the former and Strongheart the latter. I flushed from the attention, as did Fluttershy, who promptly hid behind her mane as well as behind Leon. I, however, decided that I might as well try and look appreciative of the attention and so did my best to smile back. That seems to be enough as some mares blushed and started talking excitedly to their friends.

This didn’t seem to have escaped Twilight’s notice, as she would glare at these little groups or give them a hostile look. She also seemed to move closer to me, her side practically brushing against my own. It took me a while to figure out as to why she was acting like this towards a little friendly attention and it was enough to make me grin like a fool. I couldn't be completely sure, but it had to be a good sign. Rarity seemed to notice too, as she would occasionally glance back and wink at me.

I was actually surprised at how much I was enjoying this. I would have preferred just a thank you and some acknowledgment for my actions, but I usually modestly brushed away any compliments given to me. I didn't feel comfortable accepting them when I knew that other factors apart from myself had played a part in my success. This situation was no different, but I was still getting most of the attention from what I’d done and they actually liked me. It made me feel like…

Well, a real hero, just like my father. And, I’ll be honest, I rather liked it and this added to my happiness. I really felt like I had honored my ancestors, finally became a true symbol of peace and justice, and a real leader of my own Element Gang. I actually felt… like the hero that everyone in Equestria needed. For once, I was going to let myself take pride in what I had done and I liked it.

Of course, modesty was still my most endearing trait and I was sure to remind myself of that, only bowing my head to the groups and little else. I still knew that other things played a part in my success and that I couldn’t take all of the credit, being sure that I wanted to convey that across. That was just the way I was and not even this was going to change that.

I was still red in the face by the time we arrived at the grand hall that would lead to Canterlot tower. The guards assumed positions close to the door as it shut, while we climbed the stairs to the doors that would lead us into the tower itself. The butterflies returned as we stood before the tall purple doors. Behind us, I could hear the crowds of ponies talking excitedly with one another for their arrival, which was due to be any minute now.

Yes, I still wasn’t comfortable facing a crowd. That much I could be sure of.

“Well… this is it.” I remarked quietly.

“It certainly is.” Twilight seemed to sense my apprehension and put a hoof on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’re all going in this together.”

“R-really?” I asked, a bit of my old self returning.

“Really. We’ll all be right here with you.”

That settled my stomach a bit. “Thank you…”

I almost jumped when the fanfare from behind the door started to play, signaling their cue to enter the tower. Fluttershy too was shocked at the sound but, surprisingly, she managed to collect herself and stand as bravely as she could. I had to admire her for that, just as much as Leon obviously did, and we exchanged nervous smiles as the doors creaked open.

I felt my breath catch in my throat a bit when I saw the sheer multitude of ponies who had turned out for the ceremony. It certainly did look like everypony in Canterlot, if not Equestria, had come to see the presentation of our victory. All eyes turned on us when the doors opened and I felt like cringing beneath the combined stares of thousands of ponies. I fought back the urge and kept my composure, staying close to Twilight and letting her walk ahead of me.

We walked up the aisle along the soft red carpet, my eyes only occasionally straying to the audience that observed our procession and most of the timekeeping us fixed on my destination. The two princesses were waiting for us at the very end of the room, our gazes the warmest of all. I was surprised that Dragonis and his team came here for the occasion. Celestia beamed radiantly at us, the beauty of the sun shining in her eyes. Luna stood by her side, shorter yet still having presence, looking equally as proud. The smile she gave me made me feel a little braver and I walked with my neck straight when we reached them.

We stood in a moment of silence, allowing the princesses to appraise us, along with the crowd. I smirked when Applejack winked at Celestia and this only grew when Strongheart raised her neck to its highest out of respect for Luna, who returned the gesture to her very pleasant surprise. The Crusaders were trying their best to contain their excitement and nerves, Spike stood proudly, Gold Star gave off his signature grin, and Zecora and Hearth remained silent and humble the whole time.

Finally, Celestia spoke, her voice echoing around the room. “Fillies and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six friends who stood up to the villain Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos.”

She allowed the crowd to cheer in celebration at her words. Applejack and Dog’s grinned in appreciation, Rainbow and Shield raised both their hooves in triumph, Fluttershy hid behind her mane again with Leon just standing proudly, Pinkie beamed her brightest smile, Rarity waved daintily, and Twilight smiled sheepishly, her gaze diverting to me for a moment.

“Peace!” Luna’s Royal Voice brought silence once more, allowing her to step to the forefront. “But let thy appreciation not go unchecked for their allies and friends who, even though they were not Elements, also took up arms against the twisted spirit of chaos and his dark forces! Let their contributions not be forgotten!”

Now the Crusaders cheered when the applause began again, jumping up and down with joy. Zecora made note of the praise with closed eyes and a peaceful expression, Gold Star waved at the crowd, Spike waved and blew kisses, Hearth stood proud, whilst Strongheart bowed humbly. Celestia raised her hoof once again for silence and I knew what was coming when her gaze turned to me.

“For many years, we have believed that there were only six Elements of Harmony. But now, here today, it is revealed that there is and always have been seven in the form of this young stallion.” I felt all eyes on me and I couldn’t help but turn my eyes to the floor. “We can now feel reassured that Laughter, Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, and Magic are all that much stronger with Unity to guide them.”

Luna took up the speech. “It was thanks to his and his team of friends’ best efforts that these friends were able to stand against the storm of chaos that threatened to overwhelm us all, as well as restore us to our former selves! His presence is a reminder to us all that whether stallion or mare, with or without cutie marks, pony, dragon, buffalo, or zebra, we are all united under the light of friendship!”

Now it was my turn to acknowledge the crowd when it all started up again for me and my team. I looked to see my sister Rosemary (the eldest child of the Noir family) and my mother in the front row. It would be like them to turn up for something like this. Though I was surprised to see my other sister Quickshadow (the middle child) there with a guard at her side (no surprise there) cheering gleefully. Even though I wasn’t much doing it to her, I tipped my hat to them and bowing my head, almost like a knight in the old days.

I turned back to the princesses when the applause at stopped, though my stomach certainly hadn’t settled and my face was still bright red. The warm looks of all my friends put me to rest when the princesses’ horns glowed. Celestia pulled down one curtain that was hung up on the wall, whilst Luna did the other, revealing new stained glass windows that displayed historical moments in Equestrian history.

On Celestia’s, though my vision was blurred, I could partially make it out, it depicted Discord being consumed by a purple light beaming out of eleven ponies. Pride welled up when I made out my dark blue blur at the center of the group. Even Shield and the guys had as much pride as I did when they saw the three of them as part of the circle around me. The other depicted the Crusaders, Spike, Strongheart, Gold Star, Hearth Forest, and Zecora battling against dark shapes I could only assume were Paraserpents. Now we’re all part of the pages of history. I thought as the crowd cheered and stomped their hooves once more.

“Now, assuming my sister’s information is correct,” Celestia added, “then I think a slight change is in order.”

Her horn glowed once more and there was a flash of light on the window I knew depicted the girls defeating Nightmare Moon. Only now, I could make out a dark blue shape among them, my light shining as bright as the rest of them.

Overwhelmed by the praise and thanks I was receiving, I just beamed out at the crowd with my friends by my side, content by the good that I had done… even though the bad remained. But the surprises were not done yet, especially when…

“Hey, that’s Dusk Noir in those windows, right?” called a stallion in the crowd. “Why does he have that weird red tail?”

“Hey, he’s right!”

This caused quite the commotion, all but my family were talking incisively with great amounts of surprise and confusion. I was confused as well until I decided to take a closer look at those windows. Managing to get my vision focused enough, I was surprised when I saw that the window images of me did not have my normal pony tail, but actually my Fire Dragon tail.

“Everypony, allow me to explain.” Dragonis spoke up, silencing the commotion while smiling proudly. “As you all know, there have been rumors about the Element Gang. Most recently of there being reports of them being spotted over in Ponyville. I confirm those rumors and tell you that the Element Squad has indeed now found its remaining two members within the very town.” This caused another commotion as most of the ponies in the crowd didn’t expect two elementals to be in the town. “Though the reason for the Element Squad going there was not to find them as fate had decided it for them. For what set the events of their meeting in motion was an offer given by Princess Celestia herself.” The crowd was now confused as they didn’t know what he meant. “She had sent them there to not be resided there, but in the hopes that they would experience the very magic of friendship, much like the six Wielders who used that light to defeat Nightmare Moon and free Princess Luna from the madness that consumed her. And, as such, the very six protectors of Equestria also took part in the defeat of Discord. With that brought to light, I now see that a new change is in order. Although this might possibly be the greatest change in our history since the founding of Equestria, I see that it is necessary for the good of all of Equestria.”

It was there that Dragonis had told everypony the biggest secret in history. “Now I have heard and come to see ponies believing that the Element Gang are immortal, living for centuries and millennia as they protect this land. I’m afraid that theory is wrong and the Element Gang are not immortal, but really ones who have actually descended from families of great heroes. For the last 800,000 years, the sacred duty of the Element Gang had been passed down from one generation to the next from parent to child, a secret that they had kept for all this time as the heroes worked from the shadows to ensure the safety of Equestria and all who live in it.” The crowd was once again surprised. “The reason I am telling you this is because I, along with the royal sisters, have decided that this should be a secret no longer. Seeing everything they had done up to this point, we now know that we would not be here today if it weren’t for the courage, determination, self-sacrifice, selflessness, and strength of the six ponies who continue the sacred duty of their ancestors and carry on the legacy. Their destiny along with the destiny of the Wielders intertwined as they now continue their journey together.”

What he said next surprised even me and the friends that surrounded me. “As such, it is with great honor that I introduce to you the six great heroes who will now work with the Wielders in keeping Equestria safe.” He then looked down at me and my friends as he continued to speak. “The very ponies who now stand before us in these great halls: Leon Aquilous, the kind and quicken master over the power of water Posidacus; Dog Fries, the honest, ice elemental master of stealth Icedra; Pinkimina Diane Pie, Wielder of the Element of Laughter and the joyous and unpredictable lightning elemental ShockBlade; Raritina Turbor, Wielder of the Element of Generosity and the graceful and generous air elemental Torna; Shield Steedor, the loyal earth elemental brawn Apolloid; and finally—most importantly—the great leader of the six, elemental of fire, and now Wielder of the Element of Unity, Dusk Noir!” With a nod from Dragonis, I knew what he wanted me to do next.

Though hesitant, looking to see both Celestia and Luna giving me the same smiles, I then went ahead, turned around to face the crowd, and revealed my tail’s true form, causing the crowd to gasp. With my fellow elementals joining me towards everypony, they all looked at me, silently asking me if they should reveal themselves too. With a reassuring smile and a nod of approval, I then watched as the five then demonstrated their powers with Pinkie Pie flying around the room as a volt of lightning before coming back to us, Rarity sending a gentle gust a wind at the crowd, Dog sending a blast of ice above the crowd with said blast exploding into flakes of snow that gentle fell upon the crowd, and Shield and Leon each holding an orb of their respective elements for a moment before putting them away. There was a moment of silence as everypony looked at us in shock before, slowly, they all began to smile and cheer. Seeing this, my fellow elementals all then began to smile as they gladly accept the cheer with pride. Even I couldn’t help but smile with pride at this. Though I wasn’t sure, I thought I heard my mother proudly say “That’s my boy.” With all this and the cheering dying down, I then saw that it was time to make this moment official.

“Okay, everypony, huddle up.” I said to my friends before we formed a circle. It was then that I noticed Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack standing to the side, smiling proudly. “Girls, what are you doing over there? Come on! This is a big moment. You’re part of the team now.” With that, the six of us then made some room for the four to join in with Rainbow standing beside Shield, Applejack with Dog, Fluttershy coming over to Leon, and Twilight joining by my side. We smiled at each other for a moment before we went on to do what I’ve always wanted to do. “Okay, everypony, hooves in the middle.”

With that, everypony joined me as we raised one forelimb up towards the middle, getting ready to do a teamwork hooves in the middle break. The ten of us then spoke out in unison.

“Heroes forever!” From there, we then did the break, lifting our forelimbs to the air. “Element Gang all together!”

With another cheer from the crowd, I smiled proudly as of now the moment have been commemorated: the day of which my friends and I became… the Element Gang!

No one’s view

Unknown to everyone, a pair of stallions (one being a unicorn and the other, a pegasus) were looking over the heroes, not cheering with the rest of the crowd and looking more forlorn at what was happening before them.

“Well, didn’t see that coming.” The unicorn said.

“Yeah, first we find out that the Element Gang got together,” The pegasus added. “Then we find out two of their members are wielders of those gems, and now this.”

“Yeah, it is. Things don’t look good for us.”

“Should we report this?”

“Of course, you idiot. Everypony needs to know what we have discovered. He must know of this latest development.” With this, the two then waited for the ceremony to be over and then left the castle to accomplish their task.

Dusk’s view

The party for after the ceremony took place in the same ballroom that the Gala had. It was decorated more in the style of a party than a formal ball, with streamers and balloons added to the grand statues of alicorns and marble pillars that supported the high ceiling. I guessed Pinkie probably had a hoof in that. The band that played was the same from the Gala, though now it featured the presence of a famous white-furred DJ unicorn mare on the sound desk and a tall blue Pegasus playing what looked like a fiddle hooked up to an amplifier. I couldn’t quite place him, but he was definitely familiar… perhaps a famous musician?

There was now a mix of ponies not just from the elite of Canterlot, but also members of Ponyville and Appleloosa, the buffalo tribe once again included among their number. Their presence seemed to intimidate some of the elite, who looked uncomfortable with their sheer size and lack of formal etiquette. I felt it was something of a wake-up call for us, a reminder that there was more outside our own meanderings and money. The buffalo too seemed quite in awe of the size and splendor of Canterlot, as well as being in the presence of the Princesses, particularly Luna whom they revered most. They were also in awe of Dragonis. A good experience for both parties.

I happily moved about the crowds, now changed even more than before from the unknown drifter in the past year. Like in the year before, others took notice of me and what I had to say, though I had to wonder if it was for whom I was or what I was. Either way, I decided not to let it bother me. I met Mirror and Prim from when I was at the Gala, along with Jock and Muscles, who were more receptive of me this time around and less judgmental about my intelligence and interests. I also saw them cast nervous glances to Princess Luna at times, with the exception of Mirror, who was just happy to see me again. At one point, I met up with my cousin families here in Canterlot: the Crimson Family and the Forest Family, both of which had greeted me both kindly and respectfully. The heads of the families, Blaze Crimson and Noel Forest, actually congratulated me on becoming the seventh Element and how proud they were of me for all that I accomplished. When catching sight of another cousin of mine, I took the chance and brought Rarity to meet them, doing the introductions before leaving them to chat amongst themselves.

To my great surprise, I was also approached by historians whose names I’d only ever seen on books I’d read. Some worthy names included Professor Archaeological Dig and Dr. Fossil Finder, unknown to those who weren’t interested in their work, but I knew enough that I was honored to even meet them. They mostly asked questions about what it was like to discover that I was the Seventh Element and how I was now central to the debates held concerning the subject of Fore Sight. I answered as best I could, though I was stammering for the most part.

Some other random things stuck out in my mind too. I saw Pinkie apologizing to a green-furred unicorn, something about destroying her store, while she seemed completely bewildered. The cross-eyed Pegasus who had almost injured me with falling objects came up and apologized for that, offering a muffin as recompense. Twilight was talking to a grey unicorn stallion about constellations and the stars, me holding back a twinge of jealousy. I was comforted by the fact we kept a respectable distance.

The oddest thing was when I accidentally bumped into a tanned-brown earth pony with a darker-colored mane and dressed in a blue tux with a white undershirt and a brown tie. He also wore a trench coat that covered his flank. Before I could even say I was sorry…

“Excuse me, but have you seen any pegasus statues moving around unnoticed?” the stallion asked with a completely straight face. I blinked and before responding.

“No… I haven’t.” I said unsurely, rather confused about the question.

“That’s a shame. I suppose they’re not at full power yet, so they might not be a threat yet…” He trailed off and suddenly grinned at me like a mad pony. “Anyway, sorry for wasting your time. Better get back to it.”

“Right… no trouble at all.” I cleared my throat. “I’ll keep an eye out anyway. What are they? Lost ornaments?”

“Something a little worse than that.” He told me. “More like malevolent time-eating beings from the dawn of time that want to establish dominance over the entire universe. But it's nothing you need to worry about.” I raised a brow for what he just said sounded like a Weeping Angel which didn’t make sense because they didn’t exist in Equestria.

“Okay… are you feeling well, sir?” I asked unsurely.

“Perfectly fine. Right, got to dash, things to do. Have fun.” With a quick pace, he set off again.

“Wait! Aren’t you staying for the party?” I asked, a little intrigued by his behavior.

“Kind of you to ask, but no. far too busy.” He flashed his grin again. “Besides, I've already been three times. Allons-y!”

He sprinted off before I could say anything else. What in the world was that pony talking about? All I really knew that the strange conversation I had with him convinced him that he probably needed some fresh air. Once again calling on my previous talent of moving about unnoticed, I sidled out of the clamor and noise of the hall and out into the gardens, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, just below the horizon.

Though I had been partially blinded, I recalled the path that I wanted to take, for I knew exactly where to go first. Soon enough, I was surrounded by the statues of the sculpture garden, no moving pegasi statues thankfully, and no sign of that stallion either. What I definitely found was back in its rightful place and state. This time though, Discord wasn’t in a singing pose, but he was holding his hands up in fright, an expression of utter horror on his face, which I could make out if he squinted.

When I’d first seen this statue and learned of what it truly was, I at first felt pity for the lord of chaos. Even if he had been evil, he had just been doing what was in his nature and had become imprisoned for it. I felt that he didn't really deserve such a fate. Now though, having experienced and suffered at my expense, I was left under no doubt that he deserved to be stuck in stone and remain that way until he crumbled into dust.

I blinked in surprise again. That thought was a little unlike me, but I still felt that way and I wasn’t going to change my opinion. I stayed for a few minutes, savoring this part of my victory before rounding away from the former ruler of Equestria and heading back out, thinking of a place I would go that would put me in a better mood and give me more pleasant thoughts to reflect upon. Soon enough, I knew just the place.

I retraced my steps from when I first took them. First, out of the hall, on the path to the gardens, off the path when I reached a certain clearing in the trees and stopping in that specific spot in the clearing. It was just out of the way to be concealed, but standing out enough that I knew how to find it, as I had done a year ago, though not with a clear head.

I stopped in the middle, closing my eyes and feeling the breeze on my face, listening to the rustling of the leaves. My hooves and claws felt the soft grass beneath them, as I slowly took a seat on it, with my dragon tail laying on the ground and gazing up at the sky which was just beginning to darken, the first lights of the stars twinkling up in the sky and the light of the moon shining down. It had been dark on that night too, when I had run to this spot a year ago, on the day my life had changed forever…

I couldn’t help but laugh a little, idly tracing a few color patterns across the sky as I had done on that night. How different I had been back then. A time when my opinion was about as much worth as a single grain of sand on a beach, when my presence counted for little more than just another space to be filled. When the only pony I thought I would ever have a friend in was another social recluse like myself and even then, the hope was slim. I’d tried to defy my destiny and find my team. I’d even kept my magic hidden for fear of retribution from my peers, not that any existed. Only good for studying and remembering past events, not much else.

Now though… I had become leader of the Element Gang, helped to save all of Equestria, had become a part of the very pages of history that I strived to study, my special talent had now become my true attribute and not something I kept hidden, I had a whole circle of wonderful friends that I wouldn’t give up for anything in the world. And that one social recluse that I had the only hope of being friends with… the hope had for her had gone beyond friendship. Though I still had my doubts, I still believed in the impossible. After all, look where I was now.

Subtly, I became aware that I was no longer alone in the clearing. Somepony was watching me and I had a good idea as to whom.

“Hello, Miss Sparkle.” I said without turning around. “You don’t have to stay in the shadows you know. That’s my job.”

I heard the sound of hooves, followed by her sweet voice. “I know, but I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Thank you, but you could never disturb me.” I turned around to behold her, her beauty still stunning despite my lack of vision.

“Thanks…” She gazed at me thoughtfully for a moment. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

I shrugged. “Just reminiscing a bit…old memories of a bleaker time. How did you know where to find me?”

“Princess Celestia told me you might be here and told me how to find it.” she informed. “Looks like she was right.”

“Apparently so…” I felt the surprise register. So, she still remembered too… “What’s going on back in there?”

“Well, the party’s still going, everypony’s really enjoying themselves.” she reported in her studious way. “Given all that’s happened, I think this is just what we need.”

“I agree. How is everypony?”

“Well, let’s see… the Crusaders are trying to get marks in serving tables, I don’t really need to tell you how that’s going.” We both chuckled at the idea. “Pinkie is the life and soul of the party, as always, Rainbow Dash and Shield are talking with some Wonderbolts, Dog and Applejack are seeing some of her relatives, Fluttershy and Leon have gone off to a different part of the gardens, Rarity is mixing in with some upper-class ponies, Zecora is recommending her medical remedies to some doctors, Spike’s got his head buried in some ice cream, Gold Star is spending time with his family, so is Hearth Forest, and I think Strongheart’s still surprised to even be here.”

“I don’t blame her. This is a little more than she’s probably used to.” I said lightly. “What about you?”

“I’ve been going around, catching up with some students from the school, talking to some high-ranking academics, you know. I had a really fascinating conversation with this astrology student just before, he apparently has an observatory outside town. He was telling me about how Jupiter’s apparently rotated to an alignment that ascertains maximum visibility for viewing purposes through reflective lenses.”

“Huh.” I thought about what she’d said. “So this is the best time that you can see it through a telescope?”

“Exactly, doesn’t that sound great?” I smiled at how enthusiastic she sounded about it. “I’m going to see if I can find it before I can go to bed. I wanted to talk to you about it, but I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Then the princess told you where I would be?”

“And here we are.” she remarked. “I heard you went off on your own and I came to find you, see if you needed any company.” She took another step closer. “I didn’t want you to be on your own.”

“Well… that’s very thoughtful of you. You always… seem to think of me, don’t you?”

“Of course. You’re my best friend.” she said, with all warmth and sincerity.

I looked at Twilight and, despite my blurred vision, she looked more beautiful, sounded as wonderful, more than she ever had done when we first met. With my tail wagging and my nerves rose to a new point in that moment and I knew that now, after months of advice, preparation, and waiting, now was the time to tell her. I didn’t know if she truly felt the same way I did, but I had to try, or else how would I know unless I didn’t?

Twilight, perceptive as she was, seemed to pick up that something was on my mind. “Is there something you want to talk about, Dusk?”

“Actually… there is…” I murmured. “Something very important…”

“What is it?” she asked with concern.

“It’s, um… kind of hard to… put into words.”

“Well, take your time then, I’m not in a hurry.” She still watched me with concern, obviously thinking something was wrong.

Summing up all of my courage, I began. “Twilight… you and I… we’re good friends, aren’t we?”

“Of course we are!” She appeared confused by the question. “More than that, I’d say we’re the best of friends.”

“Right… well, I agree with you.” I paused and started again. “You and me, we share a lot of interests, a lot of things in common, and… I like to think we’re close, you know? I mean, ever since I first saw you, I’ve wanted to be your friend. Now that I am, I’ve realized that my feelings for you are… stronger than I first thought. That you mean a lot more to me than… just my friend. Wow, this is hard…”

I trailed off and looked at the ground, my mind as blurry as my eyesight, at a complete blank as to what to say. Had I come on too strong? Was I being too vague, too forward? I had no idea, I didn’t know how to talk to a mare like this. Especially not Twilight Sparkle, who held this kind of thing in a critical eye anyway.

She, however, wasn’t discouraged. “Dusk… what exactly are you trying to say?”

“Okay…” I sucked in more air and took up my words again. “What I’m saying is… and I know what your views on this are and how you feel about it but… well…” This was it. I looked right at her, straight into her violet eyes. “How would you feel… about us being… more than… than… friends?”

My last word trailed off in a whisper and I couldn’t hold her gaze anymore, staring right back at the ground again. Complete silence fell between us. All I could hear from Twilight was her breathing, I didn’t dare look up at her. I’d said it, my feelings were now completely open to her and her judgment. Would she reject me, say she didn’t feel that way for me? Of course, she would. What had I been thinking?

One of her hooves entered my field of vision. “Dusk…” Her soft voice was enough to make me raise my head. She was smiling, that was a good sign. “I understand how you feel and you’re right, about what I think of… well, romance. It is great, but, for me at least, I just see it as a waste of time and energy, something else that would distract me from my studies.”

“Oh… right…” Like my tail falling to the ground, my heart sunk like a stone at her words and already I could feel the tears well up in my eyes. All of it… it had been for nothing. She didn’t feel the same way that was what was going through my head.

“But…” Until her hoof gently touched my chin and she realized how close she was. “I also used to think the same way about friendship and… look what happened. For a long time, I’ve been trying to figure out just… what I should do, concerning it. And now… well…”

“Yes…?” I could hear the desperate hope in my voice.

“Well… for you, Dusk, I… I’m willing to… to give it a try.” Her hoof found my claw and I felt her warm touch and my skin against hers. “In answer to your question… I want us… to be more too.”

“You…you’re serious?” I just couldn’t contain the grin when she nodded, my tail wagging with joy. “Wow… I mean well… really?”

“Yes!” Now she was smiling too. “I mean, I’ll try… I don’t really know anything about relationships.”

“Neither do I.”

“I’ve barely considered what might happen if I might have a boyfriend.”

“I’ve never even dreamed of having a girlfriend.”

“So… neither of us know what we’re doing?”

“It seems that way. But… we’re going to give it a try?”

“Of course.” She drew even closer, both her hooves on my claws. “I’m willing to, if you are.”

“Oh, I am, believe me.” My tears now flowed down my cheeks at my success. I’d done it! Me and Twilight Sparkle… we were a couple!

We both knew what was coming next. Neither of us knew anything about relationships, were ignorant of most of the procedures, and hadn’t even considered the possibility of even being in a romantic attachment with a pony, but even we knew what we had to do next. I could see it in her eyes… the sparkle.

“Twilight?” I breathed.

“Yes, Dusk?” Her voice was equally quiet, her face inches away from mine.

“Would… would it be okay if I… I…?” I couldn’t even finish, for the very idea seemed extraordinary.

Twilight seemed to read my mind. “I… I’m fine with that… it’s just… I’ve never actually… you know…”

“Neither have I.” I leaned in closer. I could count every lash around her sparkling eyes. “This all… well it’s just…”

“I feel the same. I mean, I don’t… I’ve never read on anything… like this.”

“Same here.” She gave a nervous giggle. “I mean I haven’t… ever… well…”

“I know. Let’s call it a new learning experience… for both of us.”

“That sounds… good.”

Slowly, we closed the distance between us, time slowing down all around us. Just when I thought she was having second thoughts and was about to pull away, our lips finally met in our first, beautiful kiss.

I closed my eyes in ecstasy, enjoying the moment to my fullest. It was more wonderful than I could have ever imagined… Twilight too was just as surprised as I was, but she didn’t stop, wrapping her forelegs around my neck. Nervously, but also relaxing into it, I wrapped my own arms around her, holding her as tenderly and gently as I could. My tail then stopped wagging. Both of us were unsure still, but it soon just came to us and we just expressed all we felt for each other in that simple, yet powerful gesture.

Like she had said, we were both novices when it came to romance. I had only read from romantic elements in stories and seen a few films and Twilight had stayed away from them almost entirely. But in that instant, we knew this wasn’t something that couldn’t be read about in any book. This was something that only we could experience together…and what an experience it was.

Like when we had danced at the Gala, time became a blur, everything else around us faded away. It all didn’t matter in that moment, for it was just me and Twilight Sparkle, together on this night. Who knew how long we were like that. A minute, a day, a month, a year, what did it matter? She was all that mattered to me in that moment. Just her.

No one’s view

Unknown to the new couple, as they kissed, literal fireworks occurred. Lost in the bliss, they were unaware that Dusk’s tail spikes had transformed in fireworks that flew off into the sky, giving a spectacular show of explosions and colors in the sky.

Shield’s view

Seeing what was going from below Princess Luna’s balcony, I was now glad she and Dragonis took me, Dog, Applejack, Pinkie, and Gold up here and gave us some binoculars to see the show down on the ground. Seeing the fireworks, both the ones in the sky and the ones our two students of royalty were having, we all couldn’t help but cheer out for them, congratulating them.

“Whoo-hoo! 9.95!” I shouted with Applejack giving a whistle.

Then Dog said “Way to go, Twilight!”

“Way to go, Dusk!” Gold yelled.

“Oh, they look so cute together.” Pinkie cooed. “Hey, what’s that?”

We all looked to see one firework hadn’t exploded and was flying towards the garden.

Using the binoculars, I looked to see it said “To Leon” on it.

“Boy, is Leon in for a surprise when he sees that firework.” I said as it got closer to the ground.

“How’ll we know when he does?” Applejack asked.

Then a while after the firework disappeared into the trees…

BOOM!

Me and Dog then looked and managed to find an explosion burn covered Leon lying on the ground with a worried Fluttershy comforting him.

“He did.” Dog said before we looked up to see one last firework explode into the shape of a heart.

Dusk’s view

After a long moment of kissing, we finally stopped after what seemed an age, breathing like we’d just run a marathon. I was still grinning, as was Twilight.

“Wow… that was… wow.” she breathed.

“I know… I’ve… never kissed anypony before…” I admitted.

“Neither have I?” A hopeful glint came to her eyes. “Did you… like it?”

“I did.” I replied. “What about me? Was I… okay?”

“Dusk, you were great.” Her lips brushed against mine again and she nuzzled her head into my neck. “I think… I’m going to enjoy learning about this.”

“Me too.” I was vaguely aware of the lights from the palace. “Do you… want to go back inside?”

“You know what? I think I’m just fine here.” She glanced up at me. “Besides, you and me still need to do a bit of stargazing together, remember?”

“I do and… I’m okay with that.” I smiled down at her and placed my arm around her, holding her close and feeling the heat from her body against mine.

Sure I had some things I needed to sort out and issues I had to face, new challenges looming overhead in the future, but right now, I knew they could wait. Because being here now, under the stars, with Twilight’s head rested on my shoulder as she pointed out constellations and planets, this was all that mattered, and this was where I wanted to be.

Let the future worry about itself. I thought happily. Right now, the present was what counted. And, with that at least, I was just fine.

No one’s view

Unknown to our heroes, the two stallions from before were in a house close to the walls surrounding Canterlot, the unicorn at a desk and writing a letter with a single lamp on while the pegasus stood at the window and keeping an eye out for anything.

“Hurry up!” the pegasus urge his horned companion, a bead of sweat on his brow. “The party’s almost over! Somepony’s gonna see us!”

“Don’t rush me!” the unicorn told him, pausing his writing. “This is the biggest piece of news we have in our lives! The words have to be just right enough for anypony to read. Do you wanna end up like the last guy who sent news about the Element Squad moving?”

“Ugh! Fine.” The pegasus groaned in defeat as the unicorn went back to writing. “But, if we end up in the dungeon, I’m blaming you for this!”

“Almost… there!” the unicorn then stopped writing as he was finished, using his magic to roll up the letter before placing it into a silver, cylindrical case embroidered in purple dragon imagery. He then gave it to the pegasus, who held it in his mouth. “Now go! Go-go-go!”

With that, the pegasus then flew downstairs and out the door, flying low to the ground while heading towards the wall. When he sees the lights from patrolling members of the Royal Guard, the pegasus then begins to travel through the shadows. Moving swiftly on his hooves, the pegasus sneaks past the guards and manages to get to the wall, stopping a nearby collection of statues on pedestals and standing in front of a Shadow Guard. Looking around to make sure nopony was around, he then spits out the case into his hoof and began whispering to the statue, speaking in an unknown language. With the statue’s eyes glowing red, a thick shadow extended from under the statue, creeping forward and underneath the pony’s hooves. Once the pegasus was standing in a black circle of shadows, he stopped whispering and suddenly dropped down into the shadow. After doing so, the shadow quickly retreated, disappearing under the statue as its eyes slowly lost their glow.

A moment later, in an unknown location, the pegasus reappeared in a cloud of black smoke, a pedestal with the statue of a Chinese dragon behind him. After the smoke dissipates, he then placed the case back in his mouth and ran forward, revealing he was in a cave of sorts. Reaching what appears to be some sort of exit, he stops as two spears appear and block his way, the spears being held by two Earth ponies wearing black ninja gi with silver armor along with black ninja masks that concealed their faces. The foreheads of the mask bearing an image of a demonic eye with a slit pupil made of curved arcs, the middle sections of the arcs bearing two plumes each that curved towards each other. Seeing the two look down at him, the pegasus then spoke.

“Mm-mm, mm-mm, mm, mm-mm!” Seeing the two guards raise a brow in confusion, the pegasus then realized he still had the case in his mouth before he then spits it out into his hoof and spoke again. “May chaos create new order.”

“And may our lord rule over all.” the two guards said, closing their eyes for a moment before moving their spears away, letting him pass.

With that, the pegasus flew through, revealing a large cavern on the other side, one for which had been terraformed into a sort of hideout, consisted of metal doors, black crystal walls, and rock ceiling and floor. As the pegasus flew around the place, he goes by other ponies dressed like the guards outside, all being an assortment of pegasi, unicorns, and Earth ponies. The pegasus then stops as he looks to see a denim blue unicorn stallion with a cerulean mane and tail and pale yellow eyes walking around with an emotionless expression on his face. The unicorn in question was wearing attire similar to the other ponies present, but his hooves were exposed and he had silver plate armor, the symbol on the masks bearing on the chest plate. He only stopped walking when he heard somepony call out:

“Commander Whirlpool!” the unicorn then watched as the pegasus with the case flew down to him.

“Clench.” Whirlpool said to him, sounding like he had no interest. “I expect you have something to report for once?”

“Yes, sir. We got something big.” The pegasus Clench answered, handing him the case. “You’re not gonna believe what we found out.”

Whirlpool then used his magic to take the case, the very container enveloped in a silver-blue aura. Taking the letter out from the case, he then begins to read it. His eyes widen as he rereads it.

A moment later, Whirlpool is seen rushing through the cavern, a look of fear on his face as he headed towards a large set of doors made of black and dark purple crystals. Using his magic, he burst through the doors and rushed over to a large staircase with a large throne of black and silver atop them, the throne being occupied by a pony concealed in shadow.

“Lord Dread!” Whirlpool bowed respectfully at the bottom of the stairs, addressing the pony on the throne.

“What is it, Whirlpool?” asked the pony, speaking with a cold-toned, male voice.

“Word from Canterlot, my lord!” Whirlpool answered. “It appears that Discord has been defeated.”

Dread smirked at this. “Good. Seems as though the Element Gang has made sure no one will stand in our way.”

“Yes, but there’s more, sire.” Whirlpool continued to speak what he read. “It seems as though Discord’s defeat was caused by both the Element Gang and the Elements.”

“Is that really a surprise?” Dread did not even sound worried at the news. “Of course the wielders would be involved in this, seeing as how two of their members are the Element Gang’s elementals of air and lightning.”

“That’s just it, sire. In the events of today, our spies have made a shocking discovery, a recent development amongst the wielders. It seems as though what transpired was part of a prophecy and now… a seventh Element of Harmony has appeared.”

This actually surprises Dread and causes him to lean forward in curiosity. “And who exactly wields this seventh Element?”

“That’s what is most worrisome about this, sire.” Whirlpool then pulled all the courage he had into giving the earth-shattering news he received. “The seventh Element… is Dusk Noir.”

Dread gasped and remained silent for a moment before he flashed his teeth (revealing them to be silver fangs) in anger, leading to him yelling:

“WHAT?!” with a yelp of fright, Whirlpool jumped and stood up straight as Dread stood up and got off his throne. “Are you telling me that, not only has that rat defeated the Lord of Chaos, but has somehow become an Element of Harmony?”

“That’s correct, sir.” Whirlpool said to him, trying his best to hide the fear in his voice. “Also… our spies have also discovered that he was also responsible for the defeat of Nightmare Moon.”

“Nightmare Moon?” Dread said, still angry to find Dusk has now become an Element of Harmony. “I thought he was still in Canterlot when she escaped!”

“Yes, but it seems as though his Element is what ensured the wielders victory over her, much like it had done for Discord. The window has even been changed to show that. I’m not exactly sure how, but it seems as though there was another Dusk where Nightmare Moon was defeated. How can something like this be possible?”

“Dialga…” Dread uttered, seeming to have a good idea that Dusk had went back in time and how he did it. “Seems as though that the Element Gang has more help than we realized.” He then growled as he slammed his front leg on floor. “This is unacceptable! If Dusk truly has become an Element of Harmony, then if we don’t act soon, this will undoubtedly meet our darkest hour.”

“Then what do we do?” Dread thought for a moment before he then spoke.

“Is he still in that town, the one the spies reported he and the Element Squad moved to?” he asked. “What was it again?”

“Ponyville, sire. And yes.” Whirlpool answered. “He still resides there.”

“Then it seems we have no choice.” Dread then raised a hoof, revealing it to be a claw with a single digit pointing forward. “Inform everyone to increase all efforts towards preparations. We must move ahead of schedule if we are to succeed in forming our glorious empire!”

“Yes, my lord! Right away!” Whirlpool bowed before he got back up and ran out of the room, closing the door behind him.

A brief moment after, a glow appeared on Dread’s forehead, revealing him to be a unicorn. But his horn did not emanate a normal magical glow, the light it gave was dark and ominous as it was spiraled with green, purple, and black. It wasn’t long until he looked to the side and a group photo of Dusk and his friends magically appeared, the unicorn holding it in his magic.

“My army has grown since the last time I fought them,” Dread said to himself as he looked at the photo, “but, yet again, Dusk and his troublesome friends continue to be a nuisance. And it seems as though even the ancient prophecies oppose my will. In order to succeed, I must be rid of both the Element Gang and the wielders of the very Elements of Harmony. I must ensure my plan’s fruition.” Dread then holds up his claw to his face, gazing upon it with a menacing stare. “What they all don’t realize is that what pushes them together can also drive them apart.” Dread then clutches his claw, leaving only a single digit. “Their unity…” A single silver claw then protruded from the tip of his digit, “can be poisoned. Their duty…will…” he then gently blows on it, producing a purple flame that heats up the tip of the claw, “be broken. Their destiny…” He then moved his claw to where it is now facing inches away from the photo, the tip of his silver claw over Dusk’s smiling face. “I must shatter. When I am done, the Element Gang will be no more. My revenge complete and the Elements of Harmony rendered powerless.” He then tapped his claw on the photo, leaving a purple burn mark which grows and spreads, burning the very photo. “Soon no one will stand in my way and I shall fulfill my destiny.” Once the photo is completely burned, nothing was left except for a clump of ashes that fell on the floor. With that, Dread then looked forward, smiling as he closed his eyes. “Prepare yourselves, little heroes. For you’re about to feel the wrath…of the Dark Gang!” Opening his eyes to reveal red, dragon eyes with slit pupils and his voice distorted to where it sounds demonic, Dread then gave out a long, evil, and maniacal laughter which echoed through the entire cavern.

Author's Note

With defeating the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony Discord, our heroes have grown even stronger especially now Dusk has discovered his destiny as the Wielder of the Element of Unity. And with Dusk and Twilight take their relationship beyond friendship, their adventures together are just beginning. As they continue on towards the future, new and mightier foes will arise, new adventures will begin. And no matter what challenges might come their way, Dusk, Twilight, and their friends will be ready. Until then, we bid you farewell.

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? Well, there you have it folks. The Element Gang’s secret is out, they’ve all become great heroes, there are now seven Elements of Harmony, Dusk and Twilight are finally an item! Overall, it was a good day. And there’s still a lot more adventures to come as they continue their journey. The Element Gang series isn’t ending that easy. Now that the Element Gang has risen, we’ll now move on to the adventures that will make up their legend. Well, that’s all I got for this story! See you guys in the first book of second chapter of the series, Tales of the Element Gang! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!

Prelude: Good Day of Training

Morning. After having breakfast in our Element Gang Headquarters (or EGHQ), my team and I headed down to the dojo to brush off our skills. Unlike last time, all of us were doing pretty well. I was tossing and knocking down reformation dummies left and right; Shield was racing through Charger Track, getting every target that present itself before him; Leon going on the Floor of Fire like a champ, dodging every blast of fire that shot up; Dog taking on the Rings of Doom in stride, swinging and going through every ring with some fighting moves; Pinkie Pie zipping around the Strike Gauntlet in a flash, not once getting a single hit on her; and Rarity practically owning the Pendulum Assault pushing back punching bags and keeping herself on the rolling floors. We’ve been at this for almost three hours. It had been some time since the night of the Grand Galloping Gala and the girls have really improved. It was like their ancestral combat instinct had been dormant and finally reawakened. Seeing as we trained enough, I then decided to call it for the day.

“Okay, everypony!” I said to everypony. “That’s enough training for today!” I then looked to the dummies and bow in respect, my right arm across my chest with my claw clutched into a fist. “Thank you. That will be all.” With that, the dummies returned the bow before disappearing.

“Whoo! That was awesome!” Shield exclaimed as he and our fellow elementals came over to me with Pinkie flying over, making me turn to them.

“Yeah, we’re practically on our A-game today!” Leon added.

“Ya got that right!” Pinkie agreed as she landed. “We got through this without breaking a sweat!”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Dog said, wiping some sweat from his brow. “Whoo! I’m sweatin’ more than a pig on a hot, summer day.”

“Yes. I believe I have received much the same.” Rarity said, looking a little winded. “While I don’t much like the idea of myself sweating, I do see that my training is necessary in order to fulfill my duties as Torna.”

“Yeah. Sometimes we have to get out of our comfort zone to do what is needed.” I said to her. “By the way, Rare, you and Pinkie sure have improved since we began. Excellent work, ladies.”

“Thank you, darling.” My cousin gave me a grateful smile. “Though we never would have been able to improve in the first place without the help of you and your fellow stallions.”

“Yeah, you guys really helped us a lot!” Pinkie agreed with her.

“It was no problem.” I told them, giving them a smile.

“Yeah, we’re glad to help.” Shield said as he, Dog, and Leon gave them the same smile.

“Okay, everypony. That will be all for today.” I said as we all then started heading to the elevator. “Let’s head back up and enjoy the rest of our day.”

“Thank you for the marvelous training session.” Rarity said as we got to the main hall, she and the others going towards the warp pads. “Oh, and don’t forget about our little get-together today.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” I said to her before speaking to everypony, the five them on their warp pads. “See you guys later!” With all of them saying their goodbyes, they all warped back to their homes.

After they did, I lingered in the base for a bit, feeling pretty happy that I would soon be meeting up with all my friends later today, especially Twilight. I sighed happily as I thought of her. Ever since we’d shared our dance at the Gala, Twilight and I had become even closer as a result. Nothing too big, but it was noticeable. We passed compliments to each other easily, though still with blushes coming to our faces. Neither of us minded too much when one of us was in close vicinity to the other, though we never lingered on that too long. Rarity had told me our relationship was now at the tipping point, that it wouldn’t be much longer. I hoped that she was right. I didn’t want my efforts to be for nothing. With that in mind, I then went ahead and got to my warp pad, ready to go back home.

“I got a good feeling about today.” Though, warping back to my house, I didn’t realize how wrong my feeling on that day was.

No one’s view

That very morning in Canterlot, Miss Cheerilee was guiding the class through the same statue garden Dusk and his friends had walked through during the Magical Talent of Equestria contest.

“I want to start our field trip here, in the world-famous Canterlot sculpture garden.” said Cheerilee as she guided the young ponies through the area. “That one over there represents ‘Friendship’.” It was then three familiar fillies walked by a statue of three little ponies standing up top of each other. Apple Bloom came to a stop to take a look at the statue, causing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to bump into her. They all just gave each other some annoyed glares for they had apparently been getting on each other’s nerves all day.

“All right, my little ponies.” their teacher said as they walked past a statue of a pony that had a cape holding a flag with three diamonds on it, two stars shooting upwards from the side of it. “This one represents ‘Victory’.” Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle just looked at the statue.

“How cool would it be to have that for a cutie mark?” Scootaloo said as she, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle looked at the statue.

“Cool…if you were actually ‘victoryful’ at somethin’.” Apple Bloom said in a snarky tone.

“That’s not a word!” Sweetie Belle retorted.

“What are you? A dictionary?” Scootaloo shot back.

“Girls!” Cheerilee retorted, getting the three fillies to stop fighting as she stopped the class before a certain statue. “Now this is a really interesting statue. What do you notice about it?”

“It’s got an eagle claw!” Apple Bloom said.

“And a lion paw!” Scootaloo added.

“And a snake tail!” Sweetie Belle answered.

“This creature is called a draconequus.” Cheerilee explained. “He has the head of a pony and the body made up of all sorts of things. What do you suppose that represents?”

“Confusion!” Apple Bloom answered.

“Evil!” Sweetie Belle interjected as she shoved into Apple Bloom.

“Chaos!” Scootaloo added, shoving Apple Bloom into Sweetie Belle.

“It’s not chaos, you dodo!” Sweetie Belle said to Scootaloo.

“Don’t call me things I don't know the meaning of!” Scootaloo shot back. “And it is chaos!”

“Is not!” Sweetie Belle yelled.

“You’re both wrong!” Apple Bloom retorted before they all begin to tussle with each other.

As the three fought each other, Cheerilee just rolled her eyes and shook her head at them. Unaware to her or any of the younger ponies, something was watching them from behind a nearby hedge, its fierce red eyes gazing upon the three arguing fillies. While the class was focused on them, the mysterious watcher looked toward the statue and saw a small part of it glowing in a faint, red, ominous light. Seeing this made the figure give a slight, villainous chuckle.

“Actually, in a way, you’re all right.” Cheerilee said, making the three fillies stop fighting each other as the rest of the students around them just glared. “This statue represents ‘Discord’, which means lack of harmony between ponies.” The three fillies smiled. “In fact, you three have demonstrated discord so well that you’re each going to write me an essay explaining it." That flipped over their smiles instantly as the other students around them laughed quietly at the three’s expense. “Now let’s go and I don’t want any more fighting!” Cheerilee then led the younger ponies ahead with the three fillies tagging from behind, the mysterious figure continuing to watch them, especially as the three arguing fillies.

“It’s confusion!” Apple Bloom whispered under her breath.

“Evil!” Sweetie Belle said in a quiet tone.

“Chaos!” Scootaloo added, making their observer chuckle again.

“That’ssss right, my little poniessss.” It said, the three fillies unable to hear them. “Keep fighting amongsssst yourselvessss.” They then looked to the statue as it was beginning to crack. “And creating such perfect chaossss.” They then chuckled once again, pleased for what is about to happen.

Author's Note

Hey, everypony! Glad to see Rarity and Pinkie Pie getting into the swing of things at training, huh? And if you're wondering about that scene with the statue garden, I thought you guys might appreciate having that shown in the story. And you might already guess who the red-eyed creeper hiding behind the bush is. Well, now that you got to see the prelude, let's check out Dusk's latest log entry.

Prologue

Dusk’s log

A year since me and the guys moved here to Ponyville and I can honestly say that it’s been an eventful one filled with all kinds of adventures. I got to meet real buffalo, I took part in Magical Talent of Equestria, and learned so many things, especially about myself. In one meeting with Princess Luna, I actually came to find out that, not only she did have the same power I did, my magic was something I inherited from an ancestor I didn’t even know about: the great prophet Fore Sight the Uncanny! We have experienced so many things, made new friends, all while learning the wonderful things about friendship. As Shield would say, it’s been a real blast. And I couldn’t have asked for better friends to do this with. Honestly, without ponies who were as loyal, kind, honest, generous, and cheerful as them, I’m not sure where I would be. And I don’t just mean not being the leader of a great team of elementals. Especially can’t imagine my life without Twilight, the very mare who I first wanted to be my friend and has now captured my heart. It’s times like this that I really hoped that we would excel our relationship from being just friends. I hoped that nothing could ever come between the friendships I share with everypony.

But, none us of knew it, but a great storm was brewing. A terrible force that threatened to consume our friendship whole and plunge Equestria in eternal chaos. With the fate of Equestria hanging in the balance, my friends and I were about to what would have to be one of our greatest challenges yet.

Author's Note

Well, now you've seen it. I know, it's not a very long prologue, but I wasn't actually able to fit every detail that happened in Book 2 in. I did the best I could do to summarize it all. Besides, there is a lot going on in this part of the series, consider it goes over a special two-parter. Just wait until you see what goes down in the first chapter!

Chapter 19: Let There Be Light

Backhoofing a hissing serpent across his vile pointed face, I continued to stand my ground against the seemingly never-ending onslaught of monsters that threatened to overwhelm us. I examined my hoof with disdain, grimacing at having even laid it upon such a horrible being at times before I used my own elemental powers to send them away, and returned swiftly to the battle.

It had seemed like an age after Dusk had first begun using his unique magic to summon our friends to our location and I was starting to feel fatigue affecting me again. I wasn’t used to such an amount of physical exertion and was rather tentative to push myself further in case I started to, Celestia forbid, sweat on the smell… the very idea sickened me. Already, my wonderfully styled mane was starting to unravel, my fur was messy and unkempt, and my hooves were simply awful and in desperate need of a trip to the spa.

But I didn’t have time to worry about such things as of infinite importance they were to me, kicking aside another Paraserpent that threatened to sink his fangs into my leg. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by aesthetic appeal or else a chipped hoof would be the least of my worries. I was needed to defend my cousin and to defeat the tyrant Discord and his minions and I was duty-bound to do as was needed of me. It was only proper and a lady always honored my agreements and devotion to duty.

“As soon as this is over though,” I murmured to myself, “I’m taking a long, hot bath… for a few days perhaps, or weeks maybe.”

A strange sound made me look around and I looked to see Zecora had flung a bottle of potion at one of the attacking Paraserpents, the liquid landing on its head. The instant it made contact, the head swelled to the same size as a large cart, causing it to topple over and unable to move due to the sheer weight of its head. Panicked and confused, it started to whip its tail around in the air and ended up only causing grief to any of its fellows who were unfortunate enough to be nearby.

Interesting effect, I wondered, watching as Zecora turned her attention to another group, blinding them with another potion which exploded in a bright flash and striking while they were unable to see. I made mental note to ask her about the possibility of mane care or beauty potions she might make. It could do wonders for me…

Shaking those thoughts aside for now, I glanced around to see how the others were handling themselves. Zecora was holding her ground nicely, her bamboo staff whirling above her head, I was still performing my spell, looking both eerie and beautiful at the same time; Gold Star had been both cutting down Paraserpents and reflecting their magic attacks with the blade of his great, black sword; and Hearth Forest, the royal cousin I had only just met today, had managed to push back the vile reptiles with blasts of her Water Magic. It seemed all to be going well until I looked to see Leon surrounded by Paraserpents while Fluttershy was backing away from one that crept towards her, slowly wrapping its tail around her legs and grinning maliciously at her.

Panic gripped me and I was about to bolt over, to knock the beast aside and relinquish its grip from my friend before it could do her any harm. But suddenly two more Paraserpents blocked my way, reflecting their fellow’s grin.

“Where you going, pony?” one hissed at me.

“Out of my way you brutes!” I ordered. “Stand aside, I say!”

They both exchanged a look and their smiles widened. Quick as a flash, one coiled its tail around my hooves, rendering me unable to attack, and lifted me up into the air.

“You hear thissssss? It thinksssssss it can command usssssss.”

“How very ssssstupid.” the other agreed. “Let usssssss remind it of who issssss in control here.”

I cried out as they tightened their coils around my hooves, laughing at my pain and no doubt feeding off my suffering. I kicked out at them, but they either missed or the ones that hit failed to let go and just made them grip all the more tighter to make me suffer more.

No one’s view

From hearing Rarity’s cry of pain, the teal eyes of the Pegasus moved from the beast looming over her to the ones that held Rarity in place, burning with fear and terror. From hearing another grunt in pain, Fluttershy discovered Leon had been captured by the Paraserpents surrounding him, their coils tightening on him. At first, it seemed as if she would start crying. But, in that moment, Fluttershy’s expression faltered and changed from fear to one of anger.

“STOP!” she commanded and the serpent actually did pause, even the ones that held Rarity and Leon looking toward her with surprise. “Alright, mister, I’m only going to say this once! Let go of my legs, right now!”

It stared at her, then laughed, a horrible, rasping sound. “Why should I do asssssss you sssssssay?”

There was a slight falter again, but she maintained it. “I’m sorry, did I say something funny? No, I don’t think I did.”

Rarity’s view

Hearing her outburst, I looked to see Fluttershy scolding the Paraserpent before her, using the Stare upon it.

“What? How sssssstupid are you po…”

“Don’t take that tone with me! Don’t you dare take that tone with me!” This time, instead of laughing, it actually recoiled and shivered. “You are nothing, but a big, dumb bully and you do not talk to me that way or grab my legs or anything like that!”

“But I…”

“No! No talking, just listen, because I’m not going to say this again!” She glared right into his eyes, her head leaning forward as he backed away. “Let. Me. Go. Right NOW!”

Unable to wrench its gaze away, the Paraserpent almost seemed to shrink beneath Fluttershy’s glaring. It was just like when she stood up to that dragon and, despite the pain, I felt so proud of her. Finally, it whimpered and released Fluttershy, bowing its head to her, completely submitted to the power of her rarely seen assertion and the power of her Stare.

“I am sssssssso sssssssorry, little one!” it wept. “Pleassssssse, do not be angry with me, I have no wish to disssssspleasssse you further!”

Her motherly love of animals returning, Fluttershy smiled and rubbed his head. “It’s okay, just as long as you don’t do it again. You have to learn it’s not nice to do that to ponies.”

“Oh, I have learned and I won’t do it again, I ssssssswear it!” the Paraserpent promised. “Isssssss there anything I can do to redeem mysssssssself?”

“Yes, could you get your friends off of my friend please?” she asked politely.

“Of coursssssse, of coursssssse! Anything for you.” It rounded on its comrades, eyes glowing with magic. “Releasssssse the pony thisssssss insssssstant!”

“What magic issssss thissss?” one of them demanded. “Ceassssse this foolishnessss, right…”

The serpent was cut off by a blast of red magic to the face, knocking out instantly. The other received the same treatment and I was dropped to the floor. After rubbing my legs, I ran towards Fluttershy, beaming proudly at her.

The Pegasus smiled up at the Paraserpent. “Thank you that was a wonderful thing you did.”

“Oh, you are welcome, you are mossssst… welcome?” It blinked and shook its head, like it had woken up from a dream. “Wait, what am I doing? What have I just…”

He joined his fellows in unconsciousness as Leon came in and punched him hard across the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. Nodding in satisfaction while wincing from the pain, he turned to Fluttershy, smiling at her like I was.

“Good job, Flutters.” Leon said happily.

“Yes, that was very, as Rainbow Dash and Shield would say, gutsy of you.” I added, impressed by Fluttershy’s accomplishment.

“Thank you.” she said quietly. “You were in danger and… I did what I could to help.”

“And that was more than enough.” I assured her. “Thank you for your efforts.”

“You’re welcome, but I’m sure you’d do the same for me.” She glanced over at the unconscious snake. “Leon, did you have to knock him out? He seemed like he would help us.”

“Flutters, you saw what happened. Your Stare wore off on him. It had to be done.” Leon said firmly. “Now, let’s get back to the fight.”

“Quite right, Leon.” I agreed before looking to Fluttershy. “Will you need any further help?”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll be fine, especially with Leon here.” She gave a brave, little smile as the water elemental went on to stand beside her with a confident smile. “These guys just need a firm hoof.”

“They do indeed.” I jumped to avoid another attack and headed back to my position. “Good luck, both of you!”

“You too!” Fluttershy, more confidently than before, rounded on another three of them and I heard her firm tones raise again.

I looked to see that three of my own had arrived to fight me. Neck straight and head high, I waited for one to charge, smacking him hard across his face. I sailed through the air with a jump to avoid a magical blast and responded with one of her own, tossing fabric at him, and creating a blindfold before swiftly kicking the legs of another one while unleashing a gust that blew him away. The blinded one bit into the side of another, he screeched and fell, I trounced him between his covered eyes and soon the whole trio was at my hooves.

Smiling and allowing myself the satisfaction of a well-earned victory, I dusted off my hooves and rounded to engage more of them.

Though I didn’t like to exercise, battling the beasts was easy enough. Their long bodies meant that any strike would do some damage and, because of some uncouth ruffians I had handled before, I certainly knew how to apply enough force to my blows to indicate I was not to be trifled with. Furthermore, I was able to use my ladylike grace and elegance to dodge the attacks that my foes committed to. They had brute force, but they simply lacked my style, which would be enough to see me through along with my powers.

I had just furiously kicked another into submission when one I thought I had taken care of previously smacked me with its tail, launching me off my hooves and careering me into a whole group of the beasts. Hurriedly, I returned to my hooves, but knew right away there were simply more of them here than I could handle on her own. I was too tired from my previous efforts and would be worn out before I could.

“Well, this is distinctly bad.” I muttered, my eyes darting from one pointed face to another.

Before she could react, one shot at her, mouth open, fangs bared and…

CLONK!

A wooden rod struck the beast on the head, knocking him out and I knew who had come to her aid this time. There was a loud bang and a cloud of purple smoke obscured her vision, but I felt a hoof grab mine and I let it drag me out of the Paraserpent scrum, feeling a blast whizz past my head and missing by inches. There were confused shouts and screeches from those who had been blinded by the smokescreen.

Once I had full use of my eyes again, I looked at Zecora and nodded. “Zecora, you couldn’t have timed that better. Thank you for your help.”

“When put to the test, I always try my best.” the zebra replied. “But it seems to me that we have further company.”

She indicated five Paraserpents, purple smoke trailing off them, had surrounded them and looked livid with fury.

“Shall I let you handle these?" she offered to her. She felt like she needed a rest from the fighting.

"If you like," Zecora nodded, then to the Paraserpents, "My promise that I will best you is no bluff, so come and have a go, if you think you are hard enough."

She whirled her staff above her head and stood, perfectly balanced, in a martial arts stance. For a moment, there was nothing except for her regular breathing and the incessant hissing. One of them pounced at her, hissing loudly.

Zecora intercepted him, slamming her staff down and lifting herself up on it like a javelin, kicking two more that came from behind with her rear hooves. Flipping onto the knocked-out serpent, she twirled her staff, hitting the other two multiple times across the face, and followed up smoothly by swinging the staff and striking them once more across their heads, knocking them out. The one she stood on raised its head to attack again, but she silenced it by hitting him with the staff too.

She let out a strange whooping sound within her throat, snorted once and jumped off, moving towards me. I, however, was looking past her at another larger group moving from the left, over a dozen of them. Even Zecora would have trouble trying to face down so many of them on her own. I had to help her, overcoming my wanting to just rest and moving as fast as I could to join her.

I had barely made it halfway, however, when Zecora turned to look at the group and didn’t even look worried. Instead, she took out another potion, one that had wavy lines and crossed eyes marked on the label.

“Let’s see if you remain focused on your duty once you inhale this little beauty.” She flung the bottle at the ground below them.

As soon as the leading four inhaled the smoky red fumes, they halted in their advance, their eyes glazing over. A few seconds later, they all screeched, rounded on their allies, and started to attack them, sinking fangs into scales, striking with tails or shooting their magic. Soon enough, the whole group had inhaled the potion’s fumes and they were all fighting among themselves. Within a minute, all of them were on the ground, motionless and twitching.

“What in the world was that?” Rarity asked.

“In answer, to your expression bemused, that potion makes those who become with it infused are driven mad and become confused.” She looked over the group. “As you can see for this band, a house divided cannot stand.”

“I can certainly see that. That was quite impressive.” Rarity admitted. “You truly are a wonder with your work, Zecora.”

“You words gladden me, dear Rarity.” she said kindly, smacking one across the face with the back of her hoof that she had missed.

“Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon’s Roar!” From hearing that booming voice, a dragon’s head made of water appeared and forced its way through the approaching serpents, the five gone as the blast disappeared. We then looked over to the direction the attack came from and saw Hearth Forest coming over to us.

“Miss Forest, yourself, you do not restrict.” Zecora said as we both looked at her in awe. “And you surprise me with such powerful magic.”

“Of course. I am royalty after all.” Hearth Forest told her, modestly before she began to speak with a hint of concern. “Rarity, are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine, just a little tired that's all, I don’t usually do this kind of thing.” I panted a little and relaxed. “Just give me a few moments, I’ll be fine.”

“Here,” Zecora said after reaching in and pulling another potion from her bag, “drink this brew and you will find your strength anew.”

I took it and uncorked the top, recoiling slightly from the smell. I did my best not to show it for a lady had to be polite and it would be polite to drink it if nothing else. Holding my nose, I gulped it down, the bitter taste befouling my mouth. The payoff was that I certainly did feel like I had woken up after a session in the spa, rejuvenated and ready for action.

“Marvelous! Thank you very much again, Zecora.” I thanked her.

The zebra bowed her head. “To protect those I treasure, it was my pleasure. Now, to return to the fight and extinguish chaos’ blight!”

Fueled by Zecora’s potion, I found myself further bolstered when, quite surprisingly, Dusk spoke and began speaking in profound rhyme from his spot on the hill. With his lips moving and his eyes still glowing, it looked quite eerie, yet it was still inspiring even as he spoke.

Through fearful day,
Through raging night,

With strong hearts full,
Let our souls ignite.

When all seems lost,
In a war of spite,

Look to the stars,
For hope burns bright.

Psychologically boosted by this, I fought all the harder and I was sure my companions were too. This was only added to when one of the puppets returned, bringing with it a large host of very recognizable figures.

“Hey, y’all! We miss much?” Applejack asked, knocking aside a serpent with her strong legs.

“Not at all.” I assured. “We saved plenty of foes for you to trounce.”

“How good of you.” Little Strongheart remarked, holding out her hoof. “It’s good to see you again, Rarity.”

I recoiled a little when I saw how dusty and dirty the calf’s hooves were. Not wanting to be rude, but also not wanting to get the dirt all over my own well-cared-for hooves, I shook it delicately and only for a moment.

“Yes, um… good to see you too, Little Strongheart.” I quickly retracted my hoof and cleared my throat. “Now there is, um…I believe more battle to be waged.”

“Sounds good!” Rainbow smacked one hoof into the other. “Ready to go, Shield?”

“Ready as you are, Dash!” Shield said before he spoke to Strongheart. “Strongheart?”

“I was born ready!” called the calf, who greeted me with a nod before sprinting off to battle more of them.

“Rarity! You’re okay!” I was surprised further by the sight of Sweetie Belle and her friends, but not in a good way.

“Sweetie Belle? But what are you… how are you… what is…” I rounded on Applejack. “What in the world are they doing here?”

The farm pony sighed. “Long story and I ain’t too happy about myself, but we had to bring ‘em, we didn’t have any other choice.”

“We only wanted to help, Rarity.” Sweetie put in. “I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

I felt my anger abate. After all with that pouty mouth, those big sad eyes, and her whimpering voice, who wouldn’t feel something like that? I still would have preferred it that they weren’t here, but they were now and I would have to adapt. Besides, I was quite relieved to see that my sibling was safe and somewhere I could see her.

“Very well.” I then pointed to Dusk. “Stay close to him, you’ll be safe there.” My little sister nodded and hurried off. “And Sweetie… it’s good to see you safe too.”

My sister looked surprised, but her smile was still enough to melt my heart. “Thanks, Big Sis.”

“Well, there are worse places to be.” Scootaloo remarked, approaching me. “He’s pretty cool, I guess. I mean, he is El Dragon and he did try and help us with our cutie marks.”

“Hey, Mr. Dusk! Dusk, hey! It’s us, the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom called out to him. Dusk didn’t even react to her. “What’s wrong with him? Why he ain’t sayin’ anythin’?”

I couldn’t help but smirk at their innocence. “He just a little busy right now and he needs to concentrate so that we can stop the monsters.”

“Is he using his special magic to bring the others together?”

The moment she asked that, I realized that there was more than one meaning to this question. Yes, Dusk had used his magic to find them when they were lost in the past, yet he had done so much more with himself than just shine a few magical lights. What wit reaching out to the desolate and forlorn, being part of a peace between two warring peoples, and restoring the memories and emotions of friendship to every single one of us, I saw the true magic wasn’t just the kind Dusk emitted from his horn.

Quite ironic how he, a pony who at first knew nothing of friendship until gaining three, didn’t think he even deserved it could be the best and most special friend we ever had.

“Yes. Yes, he is.” I finally said.

“Right, we won’t disturb him.” Sweetie promised.

“We’ll stay here and guard him, won’t we?” Apple Bloom suggested. “They won’t get past the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“Yeah, we’ll do that!” Scootaloo agreed. “Don’t you worry, Dusk! We kick the flank of any snake that even thinks about eating you!”

Although I knew that Dusk was deep in his magical trance and that he was concentrating on performing his spell, I could have sworn that as the girls were speaking, just as Scootaloo finished her promise, there was a faint ghost of a smile. Like he had actually heard them. But it was gone as quickly as it arrived and I wasn’t even sure if I actually saw it.

“Hold on,” I then realized what Scootaloo had said, “Scootaloo, did you just call him ‘El Dragon’?”

“Ee-yup!” Dog said as I saw him come over to me. “Dragonis told Sweetie Belle to reveal our secret.”

“What? Whatever for?” I asked, causing him to shrug. Putting my curiosity aside, I then returned my focus in protecting Sweetie Belle and Dusk. “Well, let’s us just focus on the situation ahead put our worries aside. We must ensure the Paraserpents are from Dusk until he has found and brought everyone here.”

Now, with a renewed determination to protect my little sister, I looked at Applejack and Dog and the three of us ran together into the battle, Dusk’s voice once again in our ears.

Against all odds,
In a battle full of fright,

We stand strong,
Even in the blackest night.

Never losing our hearts,
To darkest dread.

Knowing we are not alone,
As others join our stead.

As love conquers hate,
We never back down from the fight.

We stand united,
Within a hero’s light.

Now they were even more formidable with the added help of not only our friends, but also by those who weren’t even wielders and who didn’t need to be here. Wondering who else might have come along too, I saw another puppet fall from the sky and land silently on the ground. A nearby Paraserpent stared at it, confused, until…

“Coming through!” A pink form bounced on the head of the Paraserpent, followed by a larger purple one, making it crash to the floor as a party cannon sounded off. “I’m baaaaaaaack!”

“Quick, somepony! Twilight needs help!” the large scaled purple being called. “She’s been hit!” A few seconds later, I heard thundering hooves.

“I’m here!” Strongheart said from behind me, hurrying up with a small pot and bending over Twilight, who was groaning weakly.

“What… where?” I asked, concerned for my friend. When I got closer, I realized who it was as it could only be him. “Spike?”

“Oh, uh… hey, Rarity.” He flexed his enlarged muscles and grinned at me. “What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?”

“Um… yes, I suppose…” Truth be told, I was a little unnerved at this “new” Spike. I much preferred the old one. “How did you get like that?”

“Oh, you know, working out, hitting the gym, running…” He laughed nervously at my raised eyebrow. “Actually, it was a potion Zecora gave me. But still, it is pretty good, right?”

“Right… Spike, I…”

“Take it easy, Twilight. Slowly stand up.” Strongheart’s voice was saying. “You took quite a hit, but you’ll be fine… nice and easy.”

“Twilight!” Both Spike and I cried. “Are you feeling well?”

She touched her head and stood up, shaking it. “Ugh… my head feels like somepony just dropped the entire works of the Magical Compendium on it, but I’m fine.”

I exhaled and smiled. “Well, that’s quite a…”

“Are you sure? You got hit right in the face!” Spike fretted. “Do you need a lie-down? How about some food? Or a drink? I could…”

“Spike, trust me, I’m fine." she cut off gently. “But thank you for your concern and for getting me here in the first place.”

“Yeah, it was nothing.” he said in a would-be modest tone.

“And, once again, that’s why you're my number one dragon assistant.” she added.

“Twilight, you’re making me blush.” He paused for a moment. “Hey, I didn’t say stop. I mean, I guess I was pretty heroic now you mention it, quite gallant and brave you might say…”

“Don’t push it.” she warned, but she was still smiling. “I think it’s enough being Number One Dragon…” She trailed off and the smile was wiped off her face in an instant. “Oh, my gosh! Dusk! Is he okay?”

“Don’t you worry, he’s right there.” I pointed with a knowing smile.

I knew too well what my fellow unicorn felt for Dusk, our mutual male friend and my cousin, no matter how much she might deny it or how much she kept it hidden. Except, since all this began, it had shown itself a lot more than previously, like she had finally decided to start being honest, both to herself and to Dusk. Perhaps, when all this was over, she’d finally let it be shown fully. Perhaps.

Positively beaming at the sight of him, Twilight hurried up to Dusk, followed closely by Spike also expressing his relief.

“Dusk! Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Hey, buddy! Check this out! Have you seen me?” Spike flexed his muscles again, stopping when Dusk didn’t respond. “Dusk? Can you hear me, bro?”

“Dusk? Dusk, it’s me. It’s Twilight.” she said softly. “What’s happening? I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“He needed his concentration to perform the spell to bring us all back together.” I informed them. “But we’re all here now, so he should stop now.”

We flinched at the sound of an explosion and a screech, reminding us of the battle raging around them.

“Well, why hasn’t he?” Spike asked.

“Perhaps he’s simply not aware of our presence because he’s so immersed in the spell.” I decided to try my hoof at it. “Dusk, can you hear me, darling? It’s Rarity. You can stop now, we’re all here.”

“Yes, we’re all here.” Twilight echoed. “You don’t have to keep doing your spell. You can stop performing your magic now.”

“Yeah, snap out of it! Come on!” Spike added, waving his claw in front of him.

Still Dusk didn't respond, if anything, his spell seemed to increase in intensity, his face remaining strangely blank and impassive. His eyes and horn glowed even more brightly than before with the magic that fueled them, the colors that whirled inside both of them now like a raging ocean in a fierce storm, both beautiful and terrible. The blue stone around his neck was also shining brightly.

Though I knew his color magic to be little more than harmless movements of light, even I started to feel a little bit of worry at this sudden change. From the way they were acting, I could certainly say that something was about to happen as a result of this and it certainly wouldn’t be anything good. I couldn’t be entirely certain of course for we didn’t know the full extent of it, but that seemed about the way of it.

“Ooh, boy! That doesn't look good.” Spike remarked.

“I would see fit to agree.” I concurred.

Twilight addressed Dusk now in an even more worried tone. “Dusk, I don’t know what you’re doing or what you think you might be doing, but you can stop now! Please, just stop! You’re scaring me…”

Spike looked as if he was about to say something, but a Paraserpent chose that moment to leap at him and wrap itself around his body. With his increased strength, he ripped the beast off him and flung it skyward, whipping around and returning to the battle. I would have joined him, but Twilight still hadn’t moved and I was anxious to see how this might unfold.

I was about to say something a little more drastic myself, step in perhaps and, though I might feel guilty for it later, hit Dusk hard across the face to snap him out of it. But only now did he respond though not in his usual gentle, quiet tones, but in an echoing voice that lingered in my ears long after he had stopped speaking.

“Don’t be afraid, Twilight. I know what I’m doing. I’m not done yet. There is still one last thing I must do.”

Twilight stared at him. “But…what is that exactly? What are you trying to do?”

That ghost of a smile returned to his face and his eyes looked directly at her. “I have brought you all together again. Now I’m going to make sure the Paraserpents cannot separate us ever again.”

“But… but Dusk… how can you…?”

“Please, don’t be scared, Miss Sparkle.” I looked down to see that his claw was now over Twilight’s. “Trust me. Have faith.”

They remained like that for a few moments, Dusk’s eyes shining all the colors off Twilight’s concerned face, though this now dissolved away the instant he said those words and she nodded bravely. Dusk returned it and removed his claw and gaze from her, giving his full attention to the important matter. Twilight however still hadn’t moved from her spot in front of him, her watery eyes still fixed on his face.

I laid a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight, come on. The others need our help to hold them back.”

At first, it looked like she wouldn’t move but she sighed and nodded. “I know, I’m coming… wait, hold on.” She turned back to Dusk, hesitated for a moment, then allowed her lips to make contact with his, holding the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away again. “Good luck.”

As we turned around to engage the enemy once more, I could have sworn that I heard Dusk whisper in response to this.

“You too.”

Now we fought against our enemy once more as they slithered and spat at us furiously, trying to gain some kind of hoofhold. But now we were all here, combing the use of hooves, magic, cannon, tooth, and claw against the forces of Discord, not giving them one single inch. With us came even more Paraserpents, but we would hold our ground against whatever forces came at us no matter what.

It was almost like watching it slow motion. She saw Applejack and Strongheart floor a Paraserpent, Dog freezing a few before kicking them away or out of the ice, Rainbow taking on three of them by herself with Shield doing the same, Twilight blasting one back with a burst of magic combined with a fireball from Spike, Pinkie slamming her party cannon onto the head of one before blasting another in the head and sending volts of electricity, Zecora flinging her potions at the horde while Fluttershy commanded attacks from the head of one close by while supported with the use of his cannon, Gold Star cutting down the serpents with his sword, Hearth Forest striking them down with her magic, and the Crusaders even lending a hoof, smacking any ones that slipped by them and threatened me. Up above, lightning and sun shone through the clouds with water and pieces of stone raining from above as well as great gusts of winds with some giving a freezing chill as the princesses and Dragonis fought their ancient foe.

Here we all were—great and small, young and old, pony, buffalo, dragon, and zebra—all of us battling to save our home from Discord and return harmony to all. If one needed further proof of friendship’s power, here it was.

Now we all heard Dusk as I spoke once more, repeating it like a mantra and further spurring us to fight on.

For Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus,
It's time to end the chaos.

Do not give up,
As nothing is lost.

My friends, we will not fight alone,
As we have a helping hoof to lend.

Standing side by side,
We fight until the end.

Our foes will not break us,
We shall not give in.

They will not bring us to our knees,
For we shall win.

When I turned back around to view Dusk’s progress from his pause in speech, I saw that Dusk had closed his eyes and the orb he had created had now begun expanding to an even larger size. It was only a moment after that he then spoke.

Dreaded plague…

From those words, two colors appeared as they began spinning in the white shining depths of the orb, a light of purple set to the left and another of lilac on the right flowing from top to bottom within the middle and crossed each other towards the center.

Chaos and blight…

Four more appeared, two of each appeared beside one of two first lights, cyan and dark blue beside lilac and blue and green accompanying purple.

The shadows all,
Shall fear my might.

As the orb’s creator continued to speak in rhyme, another four lights appeared, yellow and orange on both sides with different shades of the two to the right of which matched the fur of my friends Fluttershy and Applejack.

When darkness falls,
Don’t fear the night.

With the addition of pink towards the right and red towards the left, all fourteen lights began whizzing around the orb as it became filled with rainbow light. Its creator continued to speak, though Dusk also looked to be sweating whilst looking directly at it.

Harmony’s new dawn comes,
Let there be light…

Now it grew brighter still, even the others all pausing in their fight to stare at it, the Paraserpents recoiling and hissing in fear. Now it was making a strange humming sound that grew louder and louder every second, beating and pulsating like a heart.

Harmony’s new dawn comes,
Let there be light!

“Everypony, cover your eyes!” Twilight cried over the din, the brightness becoming unbearable.

I did so, feeling the claws of Spike wrap protectively around me as I hid my head in my hooves and screwed my eyes shut.

No one’s view

As his friends kept their eyes shut and ducked down, midst all the shouting, screaming, screeching, and hissing of the Paraserpents, Dusk had crossed his arms as he faced the army of black serpents, crying out once more.

Harmony’s new dawn comes,
LET THERE BE LIGHT!

With those final words, the orbs exploded and filled the area with light, the lights that formed with it flying and whizzing around, striking the Paraserpents and causing them to screech as some were sent flying. A moment after this, there was a great bright flash that filled the area.

Then… silence.

Dragonis’ view

I felt a sharp pain as I was thrown into the ground, every bit of me aching and stinging from the battle I had partaken in. My wings felt as if they were going to drop off, my horn’s magic flickering feebly and a feeling like a vice being closed on my head. I tried to get up, tried to return to the fight, but I just didn’t have the strength anymore.

Two more slams told me the sisters received the same treatment, Celestia colliding with ground before Luna, the two smacked to the ground beside me, their bodies covered with bruises and cuts, from which blood oozed in little red trickles. I felt fear grip me, seeing both Luna and her powerful and immovable sister in such a state. They too tried to return to their hooves, to push themselves to the limit they had already reached when a goat’s hoof stepped on the ground, causing it to shake and force the two back down again.

“I would stay down if I were you.” Discord warned. “You’ll find it's a lot easier than getting up just so I can knock you down again.”

“Not until… until you're beaten…” Celestia groaned, coughing as she raised her head.

“Oh, yes, not until I’m beaten.” he repeated mockingly. “If your goal is to achieve that, we could be here for a while.”

“What is there… to stop us?” Luna asked. “We shall… we can defeat thee…”

“Oh, when are you two just going to face facts?” he asked exasperatedly. “I’ve won, you’ve lost. You ran the race and came up second best, you leaped for the moon and hit the floor, you ran up the side of the wall and fell because you ran out of wall. Why can’t you just accept that?”

“Because… we beat you last time… we can… do it again…” Celestia replied.

“Yes, but last time you had the Elements and now you don’t even have those. It’s been a thousand years since we fought and I’m still to you as a spoon is to a bowl of ice cream: unbeatable. So why even try? Doesn’t that tell you anything? Dragonis?” Much like the sisters, I remained silent, glaring up at him. “You too? And they say I’m unrealistic. Fine, I guess I’ll…”

THOOM!

My head shot up painfully at the sound that met my ears. From another part of the town, tear-drop-shaped swirls of color were shooting everywhere like fireworks and small black shapes were being tossed into the sky, blasting off and crashing all over the place. Several landed smack beside them here and I saw the dazed and beaten form of a Paraserpent. It tried to lift its head, but slumped down in defeat.

Discord made a noise of disbelief and had to dodge out of the way as he was almost hit by some of his own minions. As painful as it was, I glanced over at her Luna before we both looked to Celestia and the three of us exchanged a smile. At least we had done what wew needed to.

“What-where-when-who-why?” He asked in quick succession. “What’s going on here? Why is it raining minions?”

“It seems that… your victory isn’t as… complete as you thought…” I noted. “Harmony… still… lives on…”

Discord’s quick look of worry was replaced with self-assured arrogance in a flash. “You think it’s enough because they’ve won one little battle? If you intend to cut out a weed, you go for the root, not the leaves and stalk. Unless you’re me, in which case that weed will keep on growing no matter where you cut it.”

“But they’ve already beaten your monsters… how long before… they defeat you too?” I shouted this as I charged at Discord again, fire, earth, air, water, ice, and lightning surging in my wake.

With a casual flick of his hand, Discord struck me with a bolt of chaos energy that tickled me with a load of feathers, throwing off my concentration before dropping an anvil on my head and dropping me to the floor once more, dazed and beaten once more. The sisters would have tried one last attack themselves, but they simply didn’t have the energy.

“So boring, all of you.” Discord taunted. “Let’s try and make you a little more interesting, shall we?”

He touched Celestia with his claw, a flash of magic shooting from it. To mine and Luna’s horror, from her flank to her head and spreading fast, the spirit of chaos was turning her sister to stone, immobilizing her in the same way they had done to him. Celestia tried to stop the flow of stone up her body with her own power, but she was too weakened and Discord was too strong.

“I thought you said you didn't turn ponies into stone.” I glared at him, a petrified Celestia now by my side.

Discord only grinned. “I lied.” It wasn’t long until I watched as Discord had done the same to Luna, my beloved princess slowly becoming stone. “So still think your master was right, Luna? That your little pony is who you think he is?”

“We don’t think so, we know so.” Luna said as she locked her eyes on his, just as the stone was reaching her face. “And so dost thee.”

“We’ll see about that.” Discord said as I looked to the sisters, in horror as they were now incased in stone, preventing any further movement and imprisoning them completely.

Fate it seems wasn’t without irony. Despite my worries, I wasn’t afraid for what Discord would do to me for I had seen those clouds of color shooting across the sky and knew that only one pony could have done such a thing. That meant he had almost learned the truth and there was just one little thing left.

“Hm, it’s certainly an improvement.” Discord remarked conversationally. “What do you think, Dragonis? Too serious? Perhaps brighten it up a bit?”

“If you mean to give me the same fate, just get on with it.” I retorted.

“If you insist.” he shrugged. As soon as I felt the cold stone slowly creeping up my own body, I was determined not to be scared, not to panic. After what I just saw, I couldn’t help but chuckle, confusing Discord. “Hmm? Found something amusing?”

“It’s nothing.” I simply told him with a smug. “Just that, even though you believe you’re winning, your fate has been sealed.”

“You mean my victory over you and returning to my rightful place as ruler of Equestria?”

“No. Your fate as being defeated.” I then went on to explain. “You see, sometime after your defeat, I had sought out Fore Sight.”

“Let me guess, to see how he was doing?”

“Nope. I sought his guidance. When his end was near, I came to him hoping that his madness had finally broken. Before all this, I believe he still had some sanity missing, but now I see that he hadn’t lost any whatsoever.”

“Okay, get to the point, Borington.” Discord was now getting tiresome of me talking.

“When I found him, I asked of him to use his powers one more time, to tell me of anything that had to be known about the future. You may have learned about the prophecy of which Luna held onto, but you never knew of the prophecy of which he bestowed upon me.”

“Another prophecy?” Discord was now curious.

“Yeah, and I remember it well, word for word.” I said as I then told Discord of what Fore Sight said to me:

From the brightest day,
With great might,

Comes a hero born,
To set things right.

When darkness falls,
And bring the blackest night,

The hero rises,
And takes up the fight.

The dreaded plague,
Chaos and blight,

Evil shadows all,
Shall fear his might.

For the night full of darkest dread,
He brings hope that burns bright.

With a strong heart full,
His soul shall ignite.

Never losing his heart,
To greed, fear, or hate,

Becoming the hero to all,
That is his fate.

When all seems lost,
Filled with chaos and fright,

Harmony’s new dawn shall come,
With the Hero of Light!

Discord’s view

With his neck now beginning to turn to stone, I only scowled as he kept that smile of his from what he just said.

“And it is with Dusk that your chaos will soon be brought to an end.” With that, Dragonis then lost his smile and lifted his head, his eyes closed as he fully encased in stone.

Looking back as the lights disappeared, I thought about what Dragonis said. Was he telling the truth? Did Fore Sight really speak of another prophecy about a pony like Dusk? With things like that, Dragonis hardly made a joke, didn’t he? Best not to take any chances. If that old fool of a unicorn did talk about something like that, then I should deal with it before it becomes a problem.

Time to see if the little pup is this so-called “Hero of Light”…

Author's Note

With the unveiling of a new power within Dusk, Dragonis has now revealed something to bring Discord some concern. Could what the guardian said be true? Could Dusk be the key to Discord's defeat? And what will mean for his destiny? Find out what happens next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? If you guys haven’t already guessed it, the prophecy Dragonis told along with the words Dusk spoke out with that spell were all inspired by the Lantern Oaths and quotes to Green Lantern. Seems as though there really is more to Dusk than meets the eye, huh? Hopefully, Dusk can be able to help take down Discord and free the guardian along with the royal sisters from stone. In the next chapter, we’re gonna see what happened to Dusk after he cast that spell. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!