My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Legacy
Ch8: Mortal Strife
Previous ChapterMY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC: LEGACY
A next generation fanfiction series by SnowyZo3
Chapter 8: Mortal Strife
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"I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" The Master called out to the entire town. "If you could defeat Envy, you must be a formidable team!"
"He's talking about us..." Amethyst whispered to her friends.
"WELL??" the corrupted timepony shouted, holding out his front hooves as he stood upright on his hind legs. "BRING IT ON!"
"That's it!" Sunbeam said, growing tired of his taunts. She attempted to burst out of the swinging doors and uppercut him in the face, only to be held back by Braeburn and RB.
"Yer gonna blow our covah!" RB said in a hushed voice.
One of The Master's ears perked up at a sound coming from behind him. With a stomp of his left hind leg, another shockwave of elemental energy surged towards the building the eight of them, plus the afflicted, were hiding in. It spread up the walks and windows in random jagged patterns before condensing into enough energy to blow the wall inward. Ponies and other items were scattered all over by the blast.
"Here come the drums..." The Master grinned as he entered the building through the newly created hole.
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As the group walked through town, led by Princess Cadence and one of her guards, they talked amongst one another.
"Hey, Princess?" Eight Bit called out.
"What is it, my dear?" the Alicorn answered.
"How did some of these ponies get unfrozen in the first place?" Eight Bit asked.
"Yeah, one minute the Cake Twins were statues, and the next, they're helping us fend off Discord." Blue added.
"I'm not sure. Once we get back to Canterlot, we'll have our answers." Cadence explained. They almost made it to the very edge of town closest to the road to Canterlot, until the guard accompanying them suddenly flared his wings.
“Everypony, stay behind me!” he ordered.
“What’s the problem, Corporal?” Cadence asked the guard before a shadow flew over her. Looking up, she and the other ponies were treated to the site of Discord dressed as Arnold Schwartzeneighger, flying upwards until he was above the center of town. Once there, a golden glow surrounded his hands, which he then held out to his sides.
“What the hay’s he doing now?” Richard asked.
The answer came quicker than expected, as a translucent amber dome surrounded the town, just in front of the group.
“I think he just sealed us in.” Songbird thought aloud.
“Nothing gets past you, Eagle Eye.” Richard groaned.
“Maybe we can still pass through it. He could just be tricking us.” Eight Bit suggested.
“Would we really want to take that chance?” Miracle asked.
“With all due respect, I have to agree with her.” the guard announced, nodding to Eight Bit.
“Fine, but be careful.” Cadence nodded.
The guard slowly walked up to the dome, placing his hoof on the surface. “It’s completely solid. I dunno if there’s a way to get thr...what the???” he stopped as he noticed his hoof was turning gray. Soon enough, he had become a complete statue.
“Dammit!” Cadence muttered.
“Now how are we supposed to get out of here?” Silver Medal said aloud.
“I have an idea.” A voice called out. Looking behind them, tarthropod an earth pony with a black mane and red eyes.
“Divinity?”
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The dust cloud had settled, but Golden Harvest’s ears still rang badly. All around her were the ponies that had been affected by The Master earlier, but now, two new ones lay among them. Braeburn was lying near her, the statuefying curse showing up in lightning bolt shaped marks across his body.
“Aw crap! Moonlight!” RB cried out.
Goldie sat up to find her friends surrounding her unicorn companion while Spirit Storm leaned Braeburn up against a piece the wall that was blasted inward. Moonlight had similar markings covering her, one over her eye, causing a large patch of her face to be turned to stone.
“Are you ok?” Surprise asked.
“Do I look ok?” Moonlight groaned, wincing at the agony she shared with the other ponies The Master had affected. “Girls...get out of here.
“What? Are you nuts?” Sunbeam cried out.
“Sunny’s right. We can’t leave you here.” Amethyst agreed.
“He’s already coming. GO!” Moonlight shouted, watching as The Master’s shadow grew closer to the hole blasted into the wall.
Goldie did some quick thinking, before slinging Moonlight onto her back.
“What are you...” Moonlight started before Goldie cut her off.
“We aint leaving anypony behind. Amy, can you get everypony else out with yer magic?” Goldie asked her kirin friend. She got a nod in response, followed by the charging of a levitation spell. “Good. Now let’s get out of here!”
Goldie ran out the back door, followed by her friends, Spirit Storm carrying Braeburn, and Amy levitating out a stream of accursed victims. The back door shut just in time as The Master walked in.
“Leaving so soon?” The Master asked. “I don’t think so.”
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Out back, Amy had finished setting the victims down inside the building next door. Spirit Storm and Braeburn followed them inside.
“We’ll make sure they stay safe.” Spirit Storm told them.
“Ok, good luck.” Amy nodded.
“Ah...was about ta say the same to you and yer friends, missy.” Braeburn grinned, the stone on his cheeks cracking slightly. Spirit Storm closed and locked the door behind the kirin as she walked out to meet back up with her friend. Goldie had just set Moonlight down, and she was now laying on her stomach, leaning against a nearby barrel.
“You...had to...bring me too? Really?” Moonlight muttered.
“We’re friends. We wouldn’t leave ya behind.” Goldie smiled.
“Oh how heartwarming.” The Master called out from the saloon. Another stomp of his hoof splintered the door and created another large hole in the wall. The Master emerged from it, walking up to the six of them. “So you are The Chosen Six, huh? I expected you to be...older.”
“Come on, Mr. Master. Don’t you recognize us?” Surprise asked.
“Master? Oh yes, the fellow I possessed.” the blue earth pony chuckled.
“Oh come on, ya can’t be serious. Yer doing all da stuff he normally does.” RB said.
“I must admit, these...ticks that this mortal has are strange, but it matters not.” The Master answered.
“At least answer this: what is the point in terrifying this small town? Drying up a riverbed?”
The Master chuckled. “I was wondering when you’d pick up on that.”
“Just spill it!” Sunbeam snapped.
“All part of a distraction honestly. I’ve got to let the plan progress without you six stopping another one of us.” he answered.
“What...plan?” Moonlight struggled to ask.
“I’ve already said too much. Plus, Chaos and Deceit have probably already completely decimated your hometown.” The Master grinned wickedly.
Sunbeam flew right into the earth pony’s face, glaring into his golden eyes. “WHAT. PLAN. MOTHERBUCKER?”
The Master simply pushed the yellow pegasus away from his face and answered her question. “Why, the plan to eliminate all life on the planet, my dear.” he said before laughing cackling as he brought his hoof down again. The same shockwave sent the six of them flying again. Amethyst and Goldie dodged as the shockwave affected RB, Sunbeam and Surprise in the same way it affected Moonlight.
“Ugh...I can’t move.” RB moaned, trying to get her statuefied hooves to stand up, but to no avail.
“Us...neither...” Surprise agreed, trying to flex her wings that were now completely turned to stone. Sunbeam’s entire body beneath her neck was a statue.
“Good. Less ponies to stop me from dealing with the last of these failures.” The Master chuckled as he walked up to Amethyst and Goldie.
“Stay behind me, Goldie.” Amy ordered, charging her horn as she stood in front of Goldie and Moonlight. A simple stomp from the posessed Timepony’s hoof sent her flying into the building behind them, leaving a pony-sized hole in the second floor wall.
“And now, for you.” The Master smiled at the butter colored earth pony. He raised his hoof, prepared to do to her what he did to her friends.
All Goldie did was stand there before something happened. Something in her mind snapped, as if she was fed up with all of this mayhem.“NOW STOP RIGHT THERE, MISTER.” she suddenly shouted.
Taken aback by the sudden outburst, he gently put his hoof back down. What was once a cowering mare before him was now staring him down, a mean look on her face.
“Ah have just about HAD IT with what y’all’re doin’ to mah friends, these townsfolk, and the buffalo out in the desert! They’re good ponies, and all the trouble y’all have been makin’ ain’t gonna go unpunished, ya hear me?” Goldie snapped, not breaking eye contact with him at all as she backed him up. With each passing second, as Goldie went on and on, the others realized that the statuefication process slowly faded from their bodies. They could finally move again. Moonlight stood up, working out the crick in her neck.
“Wow. Didn’t know Goldie had it in her.” Moonlight said, impressed.
“Dat’s my cousin. She definately got dat from her momma.” RB beamed.
“Got what from her mom, exactly?” Sunbeam asked.
“The Stare.” RB answered.
“Now y’all are gonna do exactly what Ah say. Y’all’re gonna turn mah friends back ta normal, get the river flowin’ again, and leave them the buck alone, or so help me, Ah will hogtie ya and shove ya in front of the 3:20 train to Las Neighgas, got it?” Goldie ordered.
The Master, standing there speechless and scared, could only nod to answer her.
“Good. Oh, and one more thing. AMY! NOW!” she turned to the hole in the wall that was left from Amy being sent through it earlier. She leaped from it, her horn primed with the same spell that defeated Nightmare Moon, directing the energy from her horn at him. A blinding light enveloped him, causing everypony to turn away. After it settled, a dark purple cone lay on the ground next to a dazed and confused Master.
“W-what the...Where am I? Aren’t you Macintosh’s daughter?” he said.
“You don’t remember what just happened?” Goldie asked him.
“Not at all. I was just outside of Ponyville one moment, then I found that...” he explained, pointing at the cone. “Then I suddenly showed up here.”
“OK, so we get he was posessed by the Element of Strife.” Moonlight pieced together.
“The Element of what?” the Timepony asked. “This thing?” he asked again, picking up the cone-shaped artifact. As he did, it revealed something hiding behind it that glinted in the sun.
“Wait, what’s dat?” RB asked.
The Master picked up what looked like a necklace with a butterfly shaped gemstone in the center.
“It’s my Momma’s Element of Kindness!” Goldie gasped.
“Not sure why I had it. I don’t even remember how I even found that cone thing.” The Master repeated, tossing the Element of Kindness to Goldie. As she caught it, the door to the building behind them opened. Out stepped Braeburn and Spirit Storm, followed by the townsfolk that The Master afflicted while he was possessed.
"Looks like you girls got the varmint cornered." Braeburn said as he walked up to the Timepony. "Yer under arrest fer all the crimes y'all committed against this town." he continued as two stallions wearing deputy badges came beside him, one of them holding hoof cuffs.
"What? What did I do??" The Master asked, scared and confused.
"Don't you play dumb with us." one of the deputies sneered.
"Brae, he wasn't himself! He had no idea he was possessed!" RB explained.
"Ah still ain't takin' any chances, RB. Ah'm sorry, but that's the way it has to be." Braeburn said, watching as his cohorts cuffed The Master. He was ready to lead him to the nearby jail before the pounding of hooves behind him gained his and everypony else's attention.Turning, he found his old friend, Strongheart, running at full steam towards them, until she stopped just inches away from the sheriff.
"Braeburn! We have a problem!" She panted.
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"Envy was weak, Strife's host was weaker." a voice echoed out through the underground cavern, sounding displeased.
"Do we still have enough to free you, My lord?" Discord's voice echoed back.
"You have much to learn, Chaos. It only takes one of us in possession of a mortal form to complete the final result." the voice replied.
"And the rest of us?" Chrysalis' chimed in.
"All must be present before I can arrive." he answered. "The guards you have trapped must all be found and neutralized, Chaos. Only them can you get to Canterlot to retrieve Envy."
"I understand." Discord answered.
"Deceit, take Strife's place and cause a new distraction outside of this 'Ponyville'. Hatred, begin yours now." he went on further.
A new voice, presumably Hatred's spoke. "With this new body..."
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"...That shouldn't be a problem." the griffon smirked as he lunged out of the cemetery. As he took off, a single dark brown feather fluttered down and landed next to a tombstone marked, "Here lies Gilda"
END OF CHAPTER 9
