Last Ditch

Chapters

When Rain Falls Up
Chocolate Made of Chocolate
Acres of Cyan Grass
The High Life
The Fastest Thing Alive
Awakening
The First Prophecy
The Hottest Fashion
The Most Peaceful Place in Equestria

When Rain Falls Up

Last Ditch
Chapter 1: When Rain Falls Up
Max Kodan

"Noooo, not AGAIN!" Twilight Sparkle cried. Her ire only grew as she stared out the library window at the weather. The rain "rettap-rettip"ed as it flowed up the window pane and detached itself, shooting up into the sky, only to slow to a stop and evaporate into the dark clouds above. This meant only one thing: The return of the unwanted dream-visitor that had been popping into the purple prodigy's head every few nights.

"Is that any way to welcome an old friend, young unicorn?" The towering image of the draconequus dubbed Discord lay, arms crossed, atop one of the bookshelves. He rolled over and slithered around Twilight, mismatched legs barely touching the ground, equally mismatched arms reaching out to grab a yet still mismatched tail. The strange creature started quite literally chasing his own tail, swooping in circles around Twilight's legs as he spoke. "After all, I just came here once more to offer you that thing." In a flash of light, he had teleported himself across the room, now leaning on a bookshelf, a pair of spectacles perched so far down his nose that they couldn't possibly be helping him to see. In his taloned hand he held a thick book with an extravagant cover. It seemed to be black velvet, with a barely legible title stitched with what appeared to be golden thread. "The answers to everything."

Twilight wasn't quite sure if her foe had actually said the words aloud or if the title of the book had echoed in her mind so loudly that it took on an audible form. Every time he brought that book out, she heard the same thing. She had been tempted, once, but the more he lourded his posession of the book over her, the less interested she became. "It's just a dream, Twilight," she told herself once more. "He's in your head, and you can push him out if you want."

"Oh, come now, you don't think it would be that easy, do you?" Discord chuckled, flicking the book closed. The slam echoed around the dream-world, reverberating time and time again. "Let me let you in on a secret, my little pony. Do you know what the universe was before? Back in the beginning? Before land and law and order?" He pressed on without letting her answer. "Me, of course! Discord! Absolute wild, crazy, fun! Do you know what that means?"

"Well, I-"

"It means that I've been here! I've seen everything that's happened! I know how order, harmony," He intoned with palatable distaste, "came to be." A grin spread across his face as he tossed the book haphazardly behind himself, where it disappeared in a puff of smoke. He leaned forward and spread his arms wide, bringing his face uncomfortably close to Twilight's. "I am the Alpha and the Omega. And the Theta." He pulled himself back, crossing his arms once more, apparently in deep thought. "Oh!" He snapped his fingers and straightened up. "But you know, my personal favorite was always the Upsilon! I love being the Upsilon. Can you imagine the fun you could have with that one?" He spun around in a circle and re-emerged with a top hat and a cape. "Hello! I! Am! UPSILON!" he cried ecstatically, tossing his arms in the air in an extravagant gesture of pure glory.

"Get to the point, Discord. I'm getting tired of listening to you." Twilight narrowed her eyes, hunkering down as if she was going to fight the draconequus head on. She hadn't been swayed in the least by the long story, but she knew that the demi-deity was just getting started. However, for some reason she was unable to simply think him away, so she was a captive audience.

"So here's the deal, Evening Glitter," he began

"Twilight Sparkle," the named intoned rebelliously.

"Yes, that. Here's the deal. You trot your little magic mane over to my glorious memorial, and free me, and I'll- Now, don't look at me like that, let me finish! I'll let you in on the secrets of how the universe began. I'll tell you the origin of harmony, and the source of all magic. You're a studious type, don't you want to know?" His eye gleamed as he grinned, bringing himself close once more in the blink of an eye. The sharp claws of the lion's paw slid out, at the same time threatening and casual. "I can tell-" he shifted a bit closer. "You-" he blinked his eyes and when they opened, an entrancing spiral replaced his irises. "Eeeeeverything."

Twilight awoke with a start, rolling over and out of the bed, pulling the blanket with her. The cry she let out made Spike mimic the action. The unicorn looked around rather frantically, seeing as she was in nearly the same place she had been at the end of the dream. Her eyes finally rested on the window nearby. The rain pitter-pattered against it, running down and off the window pane. She sighed in relief.

"Wh-what happened? Who's there? What time is it?" The tiny dragon stumbled around, an apple-marked blanket coiled around his head.

"It's...it's nothing, Spike." Twilight stood and stared out the window, in the direction of the memorial park. "Just a dream. A really bad dream."

Chocolate Made of Chocolate

Last Ditch
Chapter 2: Chocolate Made of Chocolate
Max Kodan

A squee of joy escaped Pinkie Pie's mouth as she rocketed down the water slide, reaching out and snatching cupcakes and cookies left and right. Where did they come from? She had no idea, but did it really matter? Cookies! Cupcakes! "This dream is super splendiferously awesome!" She giggled as she zipped around another turn.

"You know it's a dream?" A head that looked more like a donkey's than a pony's floated alongside her, just outside the impossibly long slide. A yellow, scaled arm reached out, daintily holding a large piece of cake. The pony snatched it almost the instant it appeared. Discord looked around. They had just passed a mountain made of ice cream, and there seemed to be an avalanche of whipped cream following them now.

Pinkie shot him a glare. "Of course it's a dream. Sprinkles aren't that big in real life." Even as she spoke, an enormous blue sprinkle accelerated out of the avalanche and smashed into Discord's disembodied head, and with a shout he fell back into the froth. He emerged a few moments later, his dragonlike body and remaining limbs now fully formed. He slithered through the air and caught up, saying something that was drowned out by the roar of the collapsing mountain of whimsy. "Sorry! Can't hear you!" the pink pony turned her nose up at her old enemy, then quickly resumed her giddy laughter, completely ignoring him.

This irked Discord, the physical embodiment of everything nonsensical, more than anything that had happened before. He stewed for a moment, then became angry. "ENOUGH!" his voice exploded out of his throat with such force that everything stopped. The slide was gone, and he stood face to face with the now sweet-deprived mare amidst an orbiting mass of sugar-laden satellites which rotated around them in large chunks. "Enough of this foolishness!" He boomed. Then he stopped and looked around, composing himself. "Hm, 4 words that I never thought would escape my mouth in that order." He straightened his back, moving his hands as if he were adjusting his tie. "Now-"

"Don't care!" Pinkie Pie bounced past him, heading towards a large, floating meteor made entirely of marzipan. She leaped and snapped, but every time she got close, the mass simply shifted away, always just out of reach. "Awww! This really IS a nightmare!" she groaned, sitting down in a huff. Discord strode toward her, balancing his temper with his desires.

"You knoooow~," he crooned, now back to the smooth, suave fast-talker he was. "There's this...thing. This substance..."

"Don't care!" The pony attempted to bounce away again, but was stopped when Discord grabbed her and dragged her back to stand in front of him, his hands on her front shoulders, though not rough or harsh.

"Stop that. This substance is the sweetest, most amazing tasting thing in the universe. You know what it is? What it really is? It's real, 100% pure essence of sweet." Pinkie looked unimpressed. "You...don't get it. This stuff can make anything into the tastiest thing you can imagine! And no negative effects! No tooth decay, no stomach aches, no overfilling, no nausea, no nothing! Just pure ecstasy for your taste buds." He grinned widely. While Pinkie's face seemed stoic and distant, as if she were completely ignoring him, her eyes betrayed her. There was a glint there, a glint of greed. Or probably nothing quite so extreme, but Discord preferred the word greed.

"Don't...care." She didn't seem quite so convinced this time around. Her legs faltered a little bit, and Discord saw his chance.

"I'll tell you where it is." A grin slid across his face. "You can get it as soon as you wake up." He blinked, and his eyes opened to a hypnotic spiral. He stared deep into Pinkie Pie's eyes, and he could see himself reflected in them. "All you need to do is go break my spell. I have it, cased in stone with me. All you need is a big hammer..."

"What? I'm not breaking you out!" The pony's response surprised Discord so much that he pulled back. "You're my biggest enemy, and now you're trying to trick me!"

Discord thought on his feet. "So you don't like me, do you?"

"No!"

"Almost hate me?"

"Yeah!"

"Hate me enough to want to go smash my stone likeness with a hammer!!"

"No way!"

Somewhere along the line, Pinkie regained her control over her own dream, apparently, because the next instant she was holding a massive mallet, and the head was swinging down towards him.

"Wait, when did you-!"

Pinkie Pie didn't really wake up, but she stood in her bed, holding a pillow over her head, slamming it down on the headboard repeatedly. When she did wake up, several hours later, she found herself sleeping on a bare pillowcase and surrounded in feathers. It was a few moments later before she realized that she was not in a feather-covered bedroom, but a feather covered kitchen. "Wow!" She intoned cheerfully. "I should sleep in the kitchen more often! Now I don't have to go anywhere to make breakfast!"

Acres of Cyan Grass

Last Ditch
Chapter 3: Acres of Cyan Grass
Max Kodan

The beautiful crimson sunset gleamed across the gorgeous yellow mountains which melded seamlessly into the light blue grass which ran right up to the tree Applejack reclined in. A vacation that, while not necessarily needed, was very much appreciated. She sighed contentedly and kicked her leg over the side of the thick branch, reaching up and prodding an orange apple. She reached up just a little with her neck, grabbing it in her mouth and crunching down, eating the whole thing in one bite. Another happy sigh, and she relaxed back against the branch.

"Aah, you do know how to live." The voice behind her didn't cause Applejack to stir. She recognized her all too recently defeated enemy's voice, but she didn't let it bother her. He was just a pest: A mosquito in her beautiful world. "Oh, don't ignore me, I just want to talk."

Applejack yawned and pulled her hat down further over her eyes. "Ye can't get to me, so don't go wastin' yer time. Might as well just get on out of here and leave me be." She crossed her front legs and closed her eyes, drowning herself in the sound of the wind whistling through the trees. This somehow didn't annoy Discord as much as it should have. He reclined himself in the air alongside the branch that the pony had chosen to rest on.

"You know, this atmosphere makes me want to just...talk. You know?" He turned his head to look over at Applejack, but she was no longer there. He glanced around a while before he caught sight of her, walking towards a barn that was painted a striking violet. He swooped around the branch and followed, popping up in front of her. "Aren't you at least curious about what I have to say?" He posed the question calmly, smiling serenely.

The pony stopped, pushing her hat back up and looking at him. "I don't know what y'all gotta say to me, but I know it can't be nothin' good. I got no reason to listen to you, but seeing as you caught me at a good time, I might just be in the mood to hear you out." She stopped and sat, swishing her tail around her legs. This place was so peaceful that she knew no matter what he said, she wouldn't be swayed into doing anything evil.

Discord smiled and bowed slightly. "I'm glad you decided to listen to reason. Figuratively speaking, of course." He chuckled at his own joke. "See, you've got truly beautiful trees. You're a real expert, you know." AJ nodded gracefully, and he nodded his head in agreement. "But, there is some bad news, I'm afraid. You see, I'm privy to a bit of knowledge. Next year, the ground will not thaw as it should, and I hate to say..." As he spoke, the crimson sunset faded, the yellow mountains turned a sickly gray. The grass curled and turned a yellowish-green color. The fruit fell from the trees, and shortly after the leaves wilted and blew away. The wind grew cold. Even the color of the barn faded to a dull brown.

As this happened, Applejack watched. At first, she seemed rather ok with it. As time went on, she grew more and more uncomfortable. As the barn in front of her decayed right in front of her, a single apple rolled in front of her and, on the spot, turned from orange to brown to black and deflated until it looked like a prune. The previously calm pony was now visibly shaken, but she tried to hide it when she spoke. "A...Ah don't believe you. You're jus' messin' with my head. Get out!" She shook her head and stood up, closing her eyes tightly.

"But you don't understand, my dear little Applejack!" He slithered closer. He was in his element now. He casually draped an arm around her, holding firm as she tried to pull away. "I can help you! I know how! I will provide the means to save your lush farm, and with it all of Ponyville." As he spoke he reached his spare hand behind himself, and brought it around again, holding something in his hand. "This, my dear, is an Evertree seed. It can grow in any conditions, and will grow literally overnight. Not only that, but the fruit it bears yields seeds which will work in just the same way." He opened his palm to reveal a large golden seed. It let out a gentle glow and a light hum. As Discord watched, he saw the farmer's eyes fall on it and freeze.

"That...that isn't real."

"No, no it isn't. This is simply a dream, my dear. But I, on the other hand...I am very real. And this seed exists outside of this dream." He spoke softly, his eyes narrowed and his lips curled into a victorious smile. "And I'm the only one who can get it to you. All I need from you is one little favor." The seed twisted in his hand, warping and exploding in a spark of light, which reformed into the shape of Discord's statuesque form. "I just need you to take your powerful legs down to my statue and..." The statue crumbled and then exploded once again into the bright light. This time, Discord clutched the lion paw around the light and it was snuffed out. He gave a sidelong glance at the spot where he'd been holding his captive audience.

She was totally entranced. However, just as a wave of celebration washed over him, she shook herself free. "G-get out!" He grimaced. But, the seed had been planted, as the saying went. He smiled once more, releasing her from his grip and bowing deeply.

"As you wish, young one. You just think about my offer, won't you?" His smile turned into a grin, and he disappeared in a flash of light identical to that of which the dream seed had, and it made the pony wince.

In her bedroom in the farmhouse, Applebloom sat up as she heard somepony galloping past her door. She stood and hobbled outside and down the hall, looking out into the foyer to see her older sister standing in the front doorway, looking frantically outside. "Wassamatter, Sis?" She rubbed her eyes and tottered a little, replacing her hoof on the ground to steady herself.

"Y-yeah, I jus' thought I saw...I jus' thought..." The older pony shook the sleep out of her eyes. The sun hadn't risen yet, but she could still see the outline of the fully leaved trees against the dark sky. "Guess it was a bad dream..." She felt herself shudder, and hoped her little sister didn't see it. She took in a deep breath and turned, walking up to Applebloom. "Now you get yourself to bed! You'll need all yer energy for the big applesauce stomp tomorrow!" She whispered cheerfully. She looked behind her at the window, the vision of the bare trees haunting her thoughts.

The High Life

Last Ditch
Chapter 5: The High Life
Max Kodan

Rarity trotted into the Canter Canteen. Despite the name, it was actually one of the most upscale restaurants in Canterlot. The food was divine by everyone's account, but Rarity herself had never been. A dashing and clean cut unicorn colt bowed to her as she entered and, without a word, led her to a table decadently laid out with a cloth made of the finest silk. The silverware was real silver, the glass crystale. Even the napkin was trimmed extravagantly, and even touching it made one think it must be enchanted, for they could swear they felt their hoof get cleaner just from contact. The designer couldn't help but let out an elated gasp of pleasure as the chair was pulled out for her. She sat down, pleased as punch, though she'd NEVER use that phrase in this sort of setting.

She placed her order. Curiously, a moment later she couldn't remember for the life of her what she'd told the waiter to bring her, but it didn't matter much. Whatever it was would be spectacular. It seemed only to take a few seconds for the food to arrive. Her eyes gazed at whatever it was in awe, though her mind couldn't quite process what it consisted of. There was something wrong...but she couldn't quite place it. Wait, wasn't she supposed to be in Ponyville? No, no...she was visiting, of course. So what was it? Something about the food? No, it looked strange and wobbly, just like it should when she had no idea what it was. Wait, what? That didn't seem right...No! Wait! It was the waiter! Something was strange about the waiter's hoof as he presented her the plate! It seemed strange and scaly, and it had talons. She would remember after the meal to tip him well and leave a note detailing where to find the best lotion and a wonderful manicurist. She finished her meal inexplicably quickly and stood, leaving the money, the tip, and note just as she'd promised herself she would. Then, after having done such a good deed, she walked out of the restaurant.

"Really? Really? A manicure and lotion?" The exasperated voice drawled out of the alley between the restaurant and the building next to it. Rarity jumped in surprise. The voice she heard was the clearest event of the day. She spun to look at the alley and the source of the voice, backing up while she did. I really thought you'd catch on, but I guess this scenery is just too much for you to think straight. Discord stepped out of the shadows (which shouldn't have been there in the middle of the day with the alley's lights on) and sighed, one hand holding the note, the other behind his back. He shook his head. "Rarity, Rarity, Rarity. What are we to do with you?"

"Y-YOU!" the unicorn cried, nearly tripping over her back hooves. Discord only smiled and waved the taloned hand, as if taunting her a little with the fact that she hadn't recognized it sooner. "What do you want? How did you escape? What did I just eat?" She gasped. "Did you...did you poison me!?"

The draconequus chuckled "Oh, my, no, when have I ever been that direct? The secret is this, my dear: You're dreaming, and I'm invading that dream." He grinned at his newest prey, shrugging as he talked. "But I can't really hurt you from here, now, can I? All I can do is talk. All I WANT to do is talk. So don't fret your little head. Soon you'll wake up nice and well rested. But...well...then there's the other problem..."

Rarity had been backing up for some time now, and she realized that if it wasn't a dream, she would have probably hit the other side of the street by now. As it was, she seemed to be right where she had started. This calmed her a little, somehow. She took a deep breath and stopped moving her legs. She turned her previously frightened look into a rather menacing glare. "What...problem? I demand you tell me what you're talking about."

"That's much more like the Rarity I know!" Discord beamed as he spoke. "But yes, we do have something else to talk about, don't we? That...problem? Surely you know which one I'm speaking of?" The question was met with naught but a glare. "Fine, fine, I'll tell you, but you guessing would have been so much fun..." More glaring. "You're quite good at that, you know. Ok, so, the problem..." He paused for dramatic effect. More glaring ensued. "That dress you're thinking of making. The one you have just started, the light blue one, with the rubies and the red bow..."

"There is NOTHING wrong with that design! And you should be one to talk, patchwork went out of style YEARS ago!" The white unicorn shouted. The outburst surprised Discord more than anything, and he blinked and straightened up.

"Well, ignoring your...insult for now, I didn't mean any offense to your dress. In fact, it would go over quite well, except..." He hesitated, as if unsure he should really tell her. The look in her eyes seemed to make him cave. "It's going to catch on fire."

"What?! How- that- you- that isn't possible! Dresses don't just spontaneously combust! Well, one did, but it was meant to." Rarity stamped her hoof on the ground. She was clearly not amused by whatever game the spirit of disharmony was playing.

"Don't shoot the messenger." Discord placed two clawed fingers to his head, and pulled them back as if they were a gun recoiling. A flash of light, and he was gone. His voice, however, remained. "I'm just telling you what's going to happen. If it were just that dress it wouldn't be a very big deal, but you're not interested in the rest, anyway."

"The rest of WHAT!?" The pony tensed and yelled so loud her feet lifted off the ground. "Get back here this instant, you...you...whatever you are! Don't you dare leave when a lady is talking to you!" She demanded. Breathing heavily, she lowered her head and looked at the ground, trying to calm her nerves. As she did, she came nose to nose with Discord, who smiled goofily up at her. She screamed and jumped, running into the alley from which her foe had emerged. She peeked around the corner and shot him a look. He chuckled to himself, still laying just where he'd been. A defiant blush raised to her face as she shifted uncomfortably out of his sight. "H-how rude!"

Discord crossed his legs, smiling cheekily. "If, no, when your dress catches fire, it will burn down your home. Not only that, it will burn down all of Ponyville." His smile curled more malevolently. "And don't think I'm just bluffing you. I'm serious. That dress will catch fire, and your town will burn down."

"Why? Why are you telling me this? What could this gain you?" Rarity peeked an eye out around the corner again. She shuddered a bit. At what, she couldn't quite tell.

"Well, we're getting to that, aren't we?" Discord was gone in the blink of an eye. He was now floating just above her, his wings flapping lazily. Her eyes were wide, but she felt paralyzed. By fear or curiosity, she could not tell. He whispered to her, but she heard the words float through her head rather than through her ear. "You won't stop the dress, will you? Even if you change the dress, it won't change the future. But what you need...I can give it to you. I can give you a dye additive that will make any dress it colors fireproof. It sounds simple, I know, but the only spells you will find are temporary at best. They won't last. Eventually they will wear out." He crept closer to her, his mouth now inches from her ear. "This is permanent. It will ensure that none of that fabric will ever catch fire. It could save your dress. It could save Ponyville. It could save your friends..."

She didn't believe him, but for some reason she bit her lip. She shivered, though she still couldn't move properly. "Wh-what do you want?" He only smiled, exhaling before floating away. "What do you want!?"

"You can guess, can't you? You're a smart girl, after all..."

Rarity woke up in a cold sweat. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the rising sun break through the window. Silhouetted in a menacing black was the model upon which some loose fabric hung. The ribbon now appeared as an ugly dark hump on the back of the figure. She rolled over and yanked the covers over her head, whimpering silently and fighting back the tears that raised to her eyes.

The Fastest Thing Alive

Last Ditch
Chapter 6: The Fastest Thing Alive
Max Kodan

A rainbow carved it's way through the forest, swerving perfectly between the trees. It burst through the outermost layer of foliage and shot straight into the air, then angled itself 90 degrees exactly and rocketed through the sky, skimming the bottom of the clouds before diving up through them. Each cloud it passed began to flip and spin and stretch, so that soon the rainbow that crossed the whole sky was trailed by an expanding mass of clouds pulled in by it's back-draft.

Rainbow Dash smirked to herself. She'd finally perfected it: The Sonic Rainboom. She now had complete control. It felt like the world around her had slowed to a crawl. She saw everything in front of her and could take her time, planning out in advance what would happen in mere instants. She took a breath: This was the most tiring part. The blue pegasus slammed on the breaks, beating her wings backwards and pulling herself up so that she could slow down as gently as possible. It took more effort than she expected, and by the time she stopped, she was tired and sagged a little in her flight. Still, she smiled to herself. This was the best part. Seeing the artwork she'd created in the clouds. She turned, panting softly, and admired her work.

At least, for a moment she did. Even as she watched, the clouds were still moving. That was normal enough, but they were starting to form something. The abstract beauty began to look vaguely familiar. It wasn't until the cloud apparition's eyes opened that she realized that the dragonlike body of Discord had formed behind her in the clouds, and was now yawning and stretching. "My, my, that's quite impressive, little filly," the clouds echoed. "I dare say stunning, beautiful! Good show indeed."

Dash couldn't move. Only after snapping out of her confusion did she realize that her wings weren't moving either, and she had to work them even harder to slow her fall and land on the ground safely. She gaped up at the clouds, not quite sure what to think. "Discord? What are you-...Shouldn't you be stuck in a statue somewhere?" She smirked, her shock giving way to confidence. This was obviously some kind of trick, and one she wasn't about to fall for. The clouds roiled around and reformed as a giant likeness of Discord's face, which opened it's mouth and spoke to her.

"To be perfectly honest, I am." His eyes rolled, as if reminding him was more annoying than infuriating. He shrugged, though how he did that with no shoulders, the pegasus couldn't say, and continued. "I just figured I'd take a little sabbatical to visit my favorite little speedster." He smiled, not unkindly, down from the blue sky.

"You took a break. From being encased in stone. I'm pretty sure that's now how it works." Dash frowned and tilted her head, genuinely confused. "And hey, why are you in the clouds? Why don't you come down here and talk to me face to face? Or are you too scared cause you know we'll just kick your mismatched butt again?" She grinned, hunkering down and digging her hooves in, kicking the dirt with her back legs as if she were warming up to charge right through his nimbus-ridden throat.

"Isn’t the better question why you aren’t coming up here? Perhaps you’ve forgotten, my little speedster, but it took six of you last time. By yourself? You don’t stand a chance against me.” He stuck his tongue out tauntingly at her and making some sort of rude noise. This was the last straw Dash needed before she snapped, thrusting herself forward with a war cry, speeding straight into the cloudy maw.

She almost immediately regretted the decision. The jaw was like a gateway to some other realm. She screeched to a halt and looked around, gaping at the new surroundings. The ground below seemed relatively normal. The sky, however, was in much worse shape. Everything was black. Not the normal kind of black, but a deep, inky, starless blackness. A lack of light that took on a physical presence. The pegasus found that it was hard to breath, and asphyxiation was creeping in. Every flap of her wings was strained and difficult, and the need to lower herself to the ground overpowered her desire to stay in the air.

Safely back on terra firma, the rainbow-maned hero coughed so violently she feared she’d regurgitate a lung. As she started to calm down and her breathing evened out, she felt a presence behind her. She swung around a bit too fast, and her head gave a good throb. Her vision settled and the two blurry figures solidified into one single Discord. He stood there, staring up at the sky, a grimace plastered on his face. Whether it was fake or not, the slightly addled pony couldn’t quite tell.

“It’s just awful, isn’t it?” The draconequus clicked his tongue and shook his head. “It’s a terrible sight, but I’m afraid it is quite well on it’s way. Have you ever seen anything like it before?” He looked down with something approximating sympathy at the staggering pony before continuing. “Of course you haven’t, it hasn’t been seen for thousands of years. See, it’s called “Abhichaara”. It spawned from a spell mishap a foolish unicorn mage attempted to cast back before Equestria was fully formed. He created a living black cloud that spread and choked the skies. The ground seemed safe, but then again, before they could see it’s effects fully, a group of other unicorns formed and banished the Abichaara. Or, something close to it. They missed a bit.

“It floated around a bit, just a tiny speck. But it’s on it’s way to Ponyville.” He stared down at Rainbow Dash. She was mostly snapped out of her daze, but she was stone silent. She was looking the entity of discord right in the eye. Lots of spunk in this one. “You’ve had a taste of it yourself. And once it gets here, it’s going to explode and grow and spread...And it will choke anything above the treeline. In less than a day it will reach Cloudsdale.” This struck a chord. The hard eyes twitched.

The pegasus worked to comprehend the information. “L-liar!” It was loud, but it was tentative. Discord smiled in return, shaking his head slowly.

“No no, my dear. I’m not lying. Not at all.” He leaned down and got close. Dash took a step back. He smiled widely and pursued. “The spell used to create this monstrosity was lost to the annuls of time. As was the spell used to get rid of it. But you see, something else was lost to time. Something you know quite well.” He paused. “Me, of course.” His eyes swirled as the clouds had before. Soon enough she was entranced.

“I know it. I know the spell. I know both of them. And I’ll give you the one that’ll stop all this. With a little help, you can get rid of the Abichaara forever. But I’m the only one who knows the spell. I’m the only one who can help you. So there’s only one thing you can do...”

He didn’t so much say what came next, but she saw it. Some kind of explosion, and the statue she saw cracked and exploded in kind, a bright white light blinding her.

She woke up just as the sun was creeping over the clouds. In a panic, she gazed around at her surroundings. She was in her bed in her home of clouds, but at first glance, the glare from the window made the walls look pitch black. She had no time for thinking. She leapt out of bed and rocketed out the door, flying as fast as she could away from something that may not have ever been there.

Awakening

Last Ditch
Chapter 7: Awakening
Max Kodan

The sun shone brightly in the clear, blue sky. The statue garden was sparsely populated, only a few ponies wandering around. Some were older, reminiscing about days gone by. Some were young, out for an early morning jog through familiar scenery. A family was stopped by a statue depicting a famous pony adventurer, reaching the summit of Mount Chillimat, triumphantly stabbing the ground with a waving flag. The parents were telling the story with animated detail.

Twilight’s target was further in. She walked past several statues with interesting history, but didn’t stop even once. Her eyes were trained, her mind focused. She wasn’t quite sure why, but this thinking needed to be done by that statue. As she approached, however, she saw that someone else was already there. “Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes were narrowed at the statue of Discord. Rather, at Discord himself. While most people thought that the statue was just as it appeared, the Mane 6 (and a few privileged others) knew that it was the entity of chaos itself in statue form. The party pony was glaring into the statue’s terrified eyes, trying to break it’s concentration. Trying to see past them, to see their owner’s real goal. When her name was called, she swiveled her gaze to the source of the voice. “Oh hi, Twilight! What brings you here on this beeeeeeeeautiful day?” She bounced on the elongated word, grinning ear to ear like nothing was wrong.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Twilight pointed out suspiciously, tilting her head. “What made you come out to see Discord? Doesn’t seem like something you would do. Not exactly a party around here.” She blinked, stepping closer. Maybe....

“Oh, I had a dream!” Pinkie exclaimed. She stood there and grinned for a few moments, and all the while Twilight stared. Her eyes slowly grew wider, her mouth began to gape. The realization began to creep into her mind, and shivers ran down her spine. She wasn’t the only one, and that meant that everyone else...

“I have to go, Pinkie...Don’t do it. Go find Applejack and Rarity, I’ll find Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Meet back here as soon as you do, ok?” She turned on her hooves to run, but in her dizzying rush she forgot to pay attention to where she was going. She ran smack into someone, knocking them both to the ground. Her head reeled for a moment. She forced aside the dire urge to simply run off and took the time to apologize. “Oh, no! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Her voice dropped out of her throat when she saw who it was. If she wasn’t sure before, she was now.

Rarity stood tenderly, gently rubbing her head. “Ow...Oh, no, dear. It’s alright, it was my fault, I should have been paying more attention!” She groaned. “I was just so lost in thought, I-” She paused and looked at her company. “Twilight? Pinkie Pie? Whatever are you doing here?” She took a few steps backwards slowly, her eyes wary. Did they know, or...?

Twilight tried to take the lead, but Pinkie Pie jumped in front of her. “Probably the same reason as you! It was the dream, right?”

There was silence. Rarity’s jaw hung ajar, and she seemed to be trying to force words out of her mouth. Nothing came. The other unicorn took a deep breath. “Listen, Rarity, I think all of us had similar dreams. We need to get everyone here, immediately.” Though, thinking about it, if the three of them had shown up, who else might come next? The answer came, of course, soon enough.

“What are you guys doing here?” From above, Rainbow Dash fluttered down and landed next to the three. Two thirds of their party was here, and Twilight resisted the urge to explain again. Instead, she told the flying ace to wait. Sure enough, Applejack emerged from around the hedges only a moment later. Again giving the command to be patient, 5 of the Mane 6 waited for their final member. Nearly an hour later, Fluttershy had not appeared. All at once became worried, and the idea came up to head to her tree house.

Twilight’s mind raced as they galloped as a group towards the Everfree Forest.

I just hope nothing has happened to her...

Fluttershy tiptoed nervously through the forest, her eyes shut tight, her feet moving basically on their own. She had gotten a little lost, but she knew basically where she was. That hadn’t helped the fact that the Everfree Forest was a terrifying place to be alone. But she had to, she just had to make it on her own. She couldn’t tell the others.

Daring to crack an eye open, the sight she took in was the single biggest relief the pegasus had ever known. Her pace quickened and she tried to call ahead to the hut, but her voice was too soft, and the fear gripping her throat softened it further. As she got near, an even greater relief appeared. A hooded zebra opened the door to the hut and stepped outside. She paused at the sight of the approaching pony, however, and shook down her hood.

“Fluttershy, my dearest friend! What is it that ails you, that I might mend?” Zecora spoke cheerfully, but her target barely heard her. Instead, she sped past her and into the cottage, curling up near the fireplace and shivering and breathing heavily.

A few minutes later, the pegasus had calmed down. Perhaps it was the incense that Zecora had lit, or the tea that had been brewed for her, or just the homey feeling of the room in general. Whatever the cause, she was now breathing deeply and quietly.

“Now, my friend, please do tell. What is it that makes you so unwell?” Zecora sipped her own tea. She kept the air of calm, but her friend’s activities bothered her. Not many would come so far into the forest on their own. Fluttershy was the last pony she expected to see unaccompanied. Something was truly awry here, but it would be best to remain as calm and warm as possible. No need to upset her further.

Fluttershy bit her lip, staring down at the table. “I-I just wanted to ask if you had ever heard of the...the Rot...”

Zecora was taken aback, and her head reflected this, her eyes widening a little and her entire body instinctively pulling away from the table. She calmed herself a little before she spoke. “The Rot you say, now that’s an old tale. One that makes many a doctor grow pale. Do you wish to know what the disease might entail?”

“No, no. I know how deadly it is, I just heard about it...somewhere...and I wanted to know if there was a cure for it, in case it ever...um...returned...” The yellow pegasus’s breath was shaky and her eyes seemed to want to leak tears. She somehow kept herself under control, but the alchemist knew better. Something else was amiss.

“Fluttershy, it pains me to say, but the cure that you seek is lost to this day. But tell me my dear, for I simply must know; Where did you hear of The Rot, and it’s woe?” She needed to press gently, but it was necessary that she figured out where this information came from. The Rot was supposedly only known to medical professionals, archaeologists, and the most extreme of history buffs. Where a nature loving caregiver might have picked this up was anypony’s guess, but it could be very dangerous information.

Fluttershy squeaked quietly, biting her lip rather hard and fixing her gaze on the table. “I-I-I read it. In one of the books at the Library.”

Zecora’s breath caught in her throat. Had Fluttershy just lied to her? Just what was going on? What could cause this reaction? What danger was lurking? The pegasus kept her gaze averted, never making eye contact with the zebra. She looked about ready to cry. However much she needed that information, Zecora just couldn’t bring herself to push any further. She stood and smiled warmly. “I see that this is is very hard. Allow me to bring you home, as a guard.” She walked over to her door and opened it. Fluttershy followed her lead, keeping her head low and her eyes on the road, or the trees. Never Zecora, and never the sky.

Near the edge of the forest, something seemed to catch Fluttershy’s eye. She galloped ahead, calling back softly and nervously. “I-I can make it from here! Thank you, Zecora!”

She couldn’t let everyone else know where she’d been. If they knew, they’d ask questions, and if she revealed the answer...it wouldn’t be good.

The Mane 6 (Save for Fluttershy) slowed their approach as they came upon their missing member’s home. Just as they began to get close, Fluttershy burst out from around the back of her house, skidding to a stop in front of her door. “Hello, everyone.” She smiled shyly and batted her eyelashes at them. The entire group stopped abruptly. Twilight Sparkle, being the one in front, was the first to speak.

“Er...Hey, Fluttershy!” She called, trying to be as cheery as possible. Everyone else had spoken and knew of each others’ dreams, though none of them had shared details yet. Everyone except Fluttershy. “We were just, you know, wondering...have you, perchance, happened to, oh, I dunno...”

“You had any weird dreams lately?” Dash finished the sentence, impatiently landing in between the unicorn and the pegasus. She tilted her head. “A dream about Discord, maybe?”

Fluttershy’s heart nearly stopped. “H-how did you...how did you figure it out?” She let herself shiver as she asked the question. It felt good to stop hiding her distress a little bit. The weight of the dream had been pressing down on her mind, but as she gazed around at her friends she saw that she was not alone. They had had similar dreams. And they were troubled as well.

The whole group sat before the statue of Discord, each of them silent, none of them knowing quite what to say. It had been a long night for each of them individually. Nopony wanted to speak to the specific contents of their dreams.

Rainbow Dash broke the silence. “All right, guys, where do we go from here?” She stood and stomped her hoof. “He’s messing with us, all of us! Are we just going to let him get away with it?” She pointed wildly at the statue, raising her voice in agitation.

“Oh, indeed. Look at us...” Rarity sighed and shook her head. “He comes to us in our dreams, and we flock to his statue and sit around like...like...” She grimaced, trying to find the word she was looking for.

“Lemmings.” Twilight Sparkle finished the sentence. “We’re...lemmings.” The silence fell again. Shame washed over them all. They had been taunted, and here they sat, right in front of the guy. Probably just as he wanted. A dark chuckle that had persisted through their dreams reechoed through their heads, sending a shiver down their spines. “N-no.” Twilight continued, standing up and posing proudly. “We can’t let him do this. We won’t be provoked!” Her voice gradually grew in brevity.

“Ya know...yer right!” Applejack agreed triumphantly. “Ya know what we’ll do? Let’s ignore him!” A grin spread across her face as she stared up at the statue. “That’ll wipe the grin off the face ‘a that two-bit freeloader. Ya hear me? Git outta our heads!” She was trying hard to rally the others and, with a glance at them, she saw it was working. Their eyes got a little brighter. They stood up unshaken. As a group, they agreed. No matter what he said, no matter what he offered, no matter how he threatened, no pony would give Discord the time of day.

As they parted ways, Applejack smiled to herself. She trusted them all completely, and after having seen the way they looked after her speech, she knew they would come through. She turned back to give one last glance at the statue. She stopped in her tracks and turned forward again, biting her lip. For a second...no. She couldn’t have. Surely she hadn’t seen the statue’s face glaring at her in rage. Not even for an instant. She shivered a bit and looked again, sheepishly. The face was back to it’s fearful expression. That’s how it should be. No, that’s how it had always been. Right?

...Right.

The First Prophecy

Last Ditch
Chapter 8: The First Prophecy
Max Kodan

Rainbow Dash exploded through the last cloud in the sky, laughing triumphantly. She grinned to herself through her heavy breathing. Cloudclearing was her job, but it could also be a great form of stress relief. She wiped her brow and surveyed her work. The sky was almost completely cleared.

Wait, almost?

She squinted out into the distance, towards the setting sun and saw one she’d missed. She sighed, feeling the cross between frustration with herself for missing one and glee that she could get a good flying start to make this cloud bust completely and totally awesome. For a moment, as she wound up, she wondered if she could time a Sonic Rainboom just as she hit the cloud. Now THAT would be awesome. The blue pegasus grinned at the thought and rocketed forward, knowing that she couldn’t actually build up enough momentum to hit her signature move. She’d make it a grand display nonetheless.

Her eyes narrowed as the wind rushed past her face. She was horizontally level with the cloud now. Just a few more seconds and she would blast the thing to oblivion. She echoed a countdown to awesome in her head. 5...

4...

3...

Rainbow Dash gasped to herself, but didn’t have time to stop. The cloud, as she grew closer and closer, looked pitch black. She yanked herself backwards harshly, her right wing protesting sharply. The sudden change of speed started her tumbling haphazardly towards the dark mass. She felt the breath ripped from her lungs even as she approached caused by the centripetal force rather than the expected poison of the cloud.

Her body crashed through the cloud and a few moments later she hit the ground hard, again on the wing that had been troubling her. Her still-closed eyes winced at the feeling. She groaned to herself, but breathed shallowly. It was hard, but she knew the only thing to do was to open her eyes. So she did. Slowly, painstakingly, she creaked her eyes open just a crack. What she saw was a complete relief. The sun was playing more tricks on her. From her position, the cloud had been a silhouette: The white remnants of cloud that were now fading proved that to her.

The weathergirl heaved a sigh of relief as she pushed herself to her feet. She tested the wing she’d landed on. It hurt just to stretch it out: She’d pulled a muscle pretty badly. For now, that was ok. For the first time in her life, she didn’t feel like flying.

It wasn’t all that long before Rainbow realized that she would have trouble getting to her house. That was the down side of living in a cloud. That and the unexpected thunderstorms. Either way, it was getting late, and finding a place to sleep was top priority. For a moment, she thought of asking one of her friends if she could spend the night. The mental conversation she held with each of them didn’t end well. Each of them would think that she was scared of the nightmare she’d had. But she just needed a place to sleep for the night. She crossed her arms and sighed, thinking hard of a solution. Well, the clouds were clear. Perhaps a night under the stars wouldn’t be all that bad.

At some point the sun had sunk below the horizon. The terror she’d felt only moments before now reared it’s head in a different form: Fatigue. She groaned and stretched, heading towards the nearest tree to herself. Using all the strength she had left, she gave herself a mighty push with her legs and beat her wings as hard as she could once. It sent a stab of pain down her spine, but it was just enough to get her to a wide branch that she could lay down on. Relaxing felt good. The tension drained from her wing and the throbbing dulled. She’d had many an injury, and this one was no different. She’d be flying by tomorrow. Full speed in 3 days. She let the thought of soaring through the air soothe her as she drifted slowly into a deep slumber.

When Rainbow Dash awoke, it was still night time. She groaned and rolled over, attempting to bring the covers over her head. It was then that she remembered that she didn’t have any covers. And that she was sleeping a tree branch. And the tree branch wasn’t wide enough to roll over on.

WHUMP!/

Gravity must be getting it’s revenge on her today. But her wing didn’t hurt as badly, and she had landed on her good side anyway. Dazed, she forced herself to stand. With a yawn, she turned her gaze upwards. Still dark. In that case, back to sleep. As she stood to walk towards the base of the tree, not wanting to re-injure herself, she saw the sun peeking it’s head over the horizon.

“Mmm...What a nice sunrise...” She smiled to herself, admiring the view. The sunrise....the...

“Wait...” Her eyes shot to the sky again. Still black. “N-no way!” She felt herself fall into a panic, her breath already shortening as she remembered her dream. And this time, no matter which way she looked at it, the black wasn’t going away. This time it seemed to be the real thing.

Her brain was screaming at her legs to run, but they wouldn’t move. She stood there planted to the ground, unable to lift a hoof. A million thoughts barraged her psyche. She needed to find that spell. To do that, she would need to release Disc-NO! She shook her head. She couldn’t free him. That would just make things worse. She needed to run to Twilight, and she needed Spike to send a letter to Princess Celestia. Yeah, that would be the best thing to do...

She whipped her head around. Last night she was so tired that she hadn’t paid any attention to where she’d laid down for the night. She blanched when she realized the truth. The unwitting pegasus had taken a nap within a stone’s throw of Discord. She didn’t remember being in the statue garden, but there she was, and there he stood, face frozen in shock.

Her legs moved without her thinking. She slowly paced up to the statue, her mouth agape in awe. He had the answer. He knew the spell.

Release me. Release me, and I’ll fix it all.

His voice echoed through her mind. She stared into his eyes. Even in their petrified state, they were somehow hypnotic. Dash thought and thought, all the while staring into his eyes. Eventually, the thought of Cloudsdale encroached her mind. In the middle of the night, the entire city choking, dying...

The shiver that it sent down her side was just enough to tear her gaze from his eyes. It was a lucky happenstance that it did, as well. The moment her eyes left his, they fell on something else interesting. His tail. A scroll that she had never seen before, just as petrified as it’s holder, was wrapped by the end of his tail. Even from this distance, she could see the words imprinted on it. “Abhichaara: A Message for the Future.”

She approached it cautiously, but quickly. She glanced back to the rest of Discord’s body, but it remained motionless.

“You know what, Discord...I’m the Element of Loyalty. I won’t release you...” She raised a hoof to the scroll, and with the very tip of it she touched the stone paper. “But I helped seal you in there, and I can get a part of you out. Especially if that part is just this piece of paper here!” From her hoof, the color of the statue changed. The scroll, and just the scroll, took on the color of stained oak and parchment. The constitution changed, and the paper softened, falling out from the curled end of the tail and landing with a heavy “Thwump” on the ground.

The pegasus could hardly believe she did it. She blinked in surprise, staring down at the scroll. She had released the curse, but just on the all important artifact. The rest of the statue remained untouched. She snapped out of her victory and reached her neck down to grab the string that tied the scroll. She swung it up and over her shoulder, then turned away.

“Alright then! So long, sucker! I got some black magic to bust!” She kicked some dirt back onto the base of the statue and threw herself forward. Her wing was still too injured to fly, but she flapped them anyway to give her a little extra speed. Behind her, the statue stood, completely still, completely silent.

About an hour later, Twilight Sparkle stood on the balcony of the main hall. She raised an eyebrow, looking over the scroll that Rainbow Dash had run up to her with. It did seem to detail the phenomenon exactly: A spreading darkness covering the sky. She looked up past her reading to inspect it once more. Within the last 30 minutes, the black mass had doubled in size. Still something troubled her aside from the danger. “Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but...” Twilight turned to look at her anxiously pacing friend, “Where did you get this scroll? I’ve never even heard of this Abhichaara...”

“Just read the spell!” Dash shouted. “I can explain everything later, but if we wait too long, who knows what’ll happen!” She shot a glare at the unicorn, but almost immediately softened. “Ah, I’m sorry, Twilight, I just...this is really bad, right?”

Twilight sighed and nodded, turning back to her work. She studied the end of the scroll and took a deep breath. This was a tough one indeed. She closed her eyes tightly and focused, dropping the scroll from her magical grasp to give her all to the spell. She hunkered down and her horn glowed a more and more intense purple. Rainbow Dash looked up, biting her lip nervously. If this didn’t work...

The pegasus began sweating profusely, but she didn’t make a sound. Whatever she was doing to cast this spell, she was working hard at it. Her body began to shudder, her tail straightened, her mane began to lift off of her neck just a little. Dash’s eyes shot back and forth between the oppressing cloud and her distressed friend. Finally, something changed in the cloud. The pegasus readied herself, taking the jar that they had prepared earlier into her mouth. The Abhichaara began to change in color, now glowing slightly purple. A light sound began drifting from Twilight’s mouth, and her legs began trembling.

Dash hunkered down, shivering just a bit. It would hurt like hell on her bad wing, but she was prepared to go as fast as she could. “Come on, Twilight, come on...” She muttered under her breath.

Finally, the low moan from the unicorn turned into a loud cry. The purple color completely overtook the cloud, and like a rubber band it snapped inwards, compressing to a tiny point. Dash leaped into action and beat her wings furiously, making a beeline for the place the Abhichaara had collapsed to. Preparing the jar, she grew nearer and nearer, and with a final flap she swung the jar forward, entrapping the tiny pebble-sized mass of shifting black color that remained. The jar swung and locked shut with the momentum. The pegasus returned to the balcony and her friend, who was lying on her side, breathing heavily. She herself landed tenderly and placed the jar on the floor before falling over, cringing at the throbbing in her sore wing.

About five minutes later, she struggled to her feet, and urged Twilight to do the same. They both stood wordlessly, and after catching their breath Twilight picked up the jar and placed it in her bag. Too tired to speak, Rainbow Dash rerolled the scroll, swinging it over her shoulder. No more than ten minutes later, the pair had passed out on the floor of the library, snoring silently.

Spike, being the industrious dragon he was, grabbed some blankets for the both of them, took the bag and the scroll, and laid everything neatly on the table. Then, taking advantage of the situation, he leaped into his own bed for an early-morning nap. On the table, the black mass inside the jar bounced around energetically. For now, however, there seemed to be no escape for it. Later, the two would handle it. Right now, both of them drifted into a silent, dreamless slumber.

The Hottest Fashion

Last Ditch
Chapter 9:
The Hottest Fashion
Max Kodan

Late into the night on the day the ponies had met in front of the statue of Discord, Rarity worked tirelessly. She was determined, now. That uncouth brigand had dared to threaten her so brazenly, and with such a ridiculous claim! Even if the dress she was working on did magically light ablaze, to say that it would burn down the entire town was utterly ridiculous.

“There.” She sighed, tugging the large ribbon along the back into place manually. Magic was great, but sometimes a little physical alteration was just the touch that was needed. “Ah, perfect!” She crooned, admiring her own handiwork. The dress flowed beautifully, and the bow was just oversized enough to be fashionable. But ah! Of course, how could she forget! Turning and walking daintily over to her desk, she lifted the large gem that she had been saving. She bit her lip. Carefully now, carefully...

The large ruby was cut into a perfectly symmetrical pentagon. It gleamed a translucent red in the sunlight. It was an unbelievably perfect stone: the likes of which one did not come across every day. With some magical threading, the jewel set itself quite nicely in the knot of the bow, the ears shifting a little, but settling into just the right position. She smiled to herself, stepping back to get a wider view of the dress. “Perfect! Absolutely perfect!” she gasped, almost envying the one who would wear the fruit her labor.

Unbeknownst to the seamstress, an unwanted voyeur hung on the outer sill of the unicorn’s window, eyes wide and aimed straight at the gem on the back of the dress. With a nearly-silent chattering noise, it dropped down and scampered away.

The next day, Rarity was trotting about like a filly. She had a grin from ear to ear, and nothing could wipe it off her face. Her dress was finished, after all, and it was her newest pride and joy, her masterpiece. In fact, she already had two ponies in Canterlot vying for it. The way the bids were shooting up, it looked like she’d be able to get herself a nice vacation. But of course, not before her parents’ anniversary gift. She had been eyeing it for weeks, and every time she thought of it her mind wandered back to her foalhood. Sometimes, when she was about to fall asleep, it even brought a tear to her eye. Memories like that deserved to be cherished.

As she came to an intersection, she glanced both ways. She didn’t have any particular destination, but the choices forced her to start thinking about where she was actually headed on this walk. She’d slept in so late she missed breakfast. Perhaps lunch at the cafe? Or she could drop in on Twilight and share her successful news. Oh, but Twilight had been so wrapped up in her books lately, she’d hardly be able to appreciate the scope of her accomplishment. Fluttershy was always a safe bet. Though her critiques could be a bit...harsh. Applejack wasn’t one for fashion, and Rainbow Dash was-

“Oh, Rainbow Dash!” She was shaken from her ponderation by the appearance of the rainbow-maned pegasus. She was walking, which in itself was odd, rather slowly, which was even odder. She looked completely worn out, and one of her wings was hanging just a bit limp at her side. “Oh, my! Dear, whatever happened! You look positively dreadful! Are you alright? Did you hurt your wing?” She rushed over and started walking alongside her friend, blinking rapidly as she spoke.

“Yeah, I’m alright, I just sprained my wing a little.” The speedster yawned. Had she been kept up all night by something? She looked like she’d only gotten a couple of hours of sleep “Wait, did you not notice?” She stopped and looked up, quirking an eyebrow.

“Notice? Notice what?” Rarity returned the bewildered look. “Did Pinkie Pie throw one of her all night parties again? I’m rather surprised she wasn’t banging down my door. Though I may well have slept through it...”

The cyan pony sighed. “You slept in and missed it? Well, that’s alright, I guess. It was pretty scary stuff. The whole sky went black! It was some ancient cloud curse thing. Me and Twi took care of it though!” She puffed her chest out proudly for a moment, then let out her breath and sagged again. “Took a lot out of us, though.” She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. “Can’t...really fly anywhere. I was napping at Twilight’s, but her bustling woke me up. I don’t know how that pony does it...” She yawned widely.

“Oh, you won’t be flying anywhere at all, not on a wing like that! You just come with me, you can rest at my house. You look like you need a good, comfortable place to get some beauty sleep.” She wheeled around and hooked one of her legs around one of Dash’s, tenderly pulling her injured friend towards her home. Roughly halfway there, they both stopped upon hearing a familiar voice shouting, accompanied by the sound of thundering hoofsteps.

“Get back here, you little thief! Return that gem, or your remaining life shall be brief!” As they watched, a tiny creature crossed their path. It looked like a blue raindrop, about the size of a hoof. In its hands it held an emerald about the size that it was. Behind it, charging full speed, was an exceedingly angry looking zebra. Rarity watched in confusion for a moment, but then she narrowed her eyes. Her horn glowed and the gem lifted up away from the creature’s hands. It cheaped out a protest and stopped, turning as it did. Even as the emerald was lifted away from it, it looked at Rarity and spat out a shockingly high-pressure stream of water, hitting her just hard enough to make her lose her focus and drop the jewel. It ran underneath it, opened its mouth wide, and in one surprising chomp it devoured the jewel whole. It swallowed its prize and changed color, turning a green to match the object it had just eaten. It cackled at Rarity’s confusion and Zecora’s annoyance before looking down and burrowing quickly into the ground, disappearing without a trace.

“Wh-what was THAT!?” The unicorn wiped some water off of her cheek. Rainbow Dash gurgled something in response, but she seemed to be half asleep on her hooves.

Zecora kicked the ground where the creature had disappeared aggravatedly. “It was what is called a Schucker. ”It is a thieving, cruel, heartless little-”

Rarity laughed nervously and cut across her friend’s rhyme. There were foals around everywhere, after all.

Zecora had needed the emerald to grind into a particular potion. As such, Rarity offered one of her own to make up for fumbling the gem. While on their way back to her home, both of them now supporting RD, she asked Zecora to explain the little creature. She explained that the Schucker were tiny, jewel eating creatures that had a special connection to their food source. When they ate a jewel, their magical abilities changed based on the color of the gem. Sapphires allowed for the previously seen water-spitting mechanism, while emeralds allowed them to move around earth, usually used for burrowing. The larger the gem was, the longer they kept their abilities and the more powerful they would be. When their power ran out, they would turn grey and remain more or less powerless until they ate another gem.

Back at the boutique, Rarity dug around for a moment, coming up with a small variety of gems. She smiled and bowed slightly, floating them over to Zecora’s bag. Not being one to look a gift pony in the mouth, the zebra accepted the gems and gave a deep thanks. She turned and left to return to her potion making. When Rarity closed the door behind her, she sighed and began to turn around. “Rainbow, dear, you can nap where-”

The mare was no longer in the room. The bedroom door was open, however, and upon peeking inside, Rarity found her friend already passed out on the bedspread. She smiled to herself and glanced at the dress that she was displaying near the window of the bedroom. A moment needed to be taken once again to appreciate how her hard work had paid off. The dress was truly splendorous. The colors worked perfectly together, and the bow stood out enough to make you the center of attention. It would be seen from anywhere in a Canterlot ballroom. And finally, the piece de resistance. The enormous red ruby just perfectly nestled in the knot of the bow.

The more she stared at it, the more the reality of the situation settled in. Her face managed to blanch even whiter, and her mouth slowly came agape. A giant ruby. And now, a creature was on the loose that ate gems. Zecora hadn’t said what powers eating a red jewel would do to a creature, but she hadn’t needed to. It wasn’t much of a jump to assume. Immediately, she galloped over to the dress and unattached the ruby, then pulled an ornate wooden box from her bedstand nearby and closed the gem in it. She then clicked a small lock over the opening, wrapped it in several layers of ribbons, and stuffed it in the drawer. In her excitement, she slammed the drawer shut. With a wince, she glanced over at Dash. She was still sound asleep.

Was this what Discord was talking about? It was true, if she had decided to make a new dress, the one thing she would have saved was the gem. But now that she knew, couldn’t she hide the gem away? Or even destroy it? Spike would love it as a nice meal. And then there would be no way for the creatures to start a fire, right?

No, that would never work. She still had other rubies. She had gemstones everywhere, and she was positive that, at some point, she had dropped several under furniture, even into cracks in the floor. Plus, who was to say that they wouldn’t just find a rube somewhere else, eat it, and then come here? Her shop was a veritable buffet for them. It would come here eventually, and she knew it. When the initial concern wore off, the next emotion that Rarity felt was anger. Anger at Discord. She was worrying over nothing, and it was his fault. She turned and stomped out the door. It was time to have a chat with the statuesque villain.

Discord stood as he had since they’d defeated him. The “statue garden” was really only a small set of statues, set up around Discord, each with some historical significance to the area or to Equestria as a whole. Previously, Discord had been kept in Canterlot. However, this time around, they’d left him in Ponyville. Celestia said it was because he needed to be kept close to the source of magic that had locked him away, and while the Elements had been their tools, the power had originated with them. So, here it stayed.

Rarity had been wishing that it had been dragged to old Canterlot mines and buried there. She stood, breathing heavily, glaring at the statue. She wasn’t sure why she was here, really. He was encased in stone. He couldn’t likely even hear her. But she wanted to yell and scream and shout at him. She wanted to kick him in his smarmy, fear-stricken face. She gazed into his eyes for a moment. Had they moved? They seemed to be looking more down than forward. Her eyes followed his. A belt? Had he always been wearing a belt? She glared at him for a moment, her mouth quirking open in confusion. She slowly got closer, her eyes flicking back and forth between the belt and his face.

There was something on the belt. It was a pouch. And sticking out of the fold in the top of the pouch was what looked like the top of a vial. Cork and all. She would notice it anywhere. It was a vial that was commonly used for dye additives. She became transfixed on it. He hadn’t been lying about it? Was he mocking her? With that thought, she grew even angrier. Her horn began to glow, and she focussed herself on the vial.

“Discord, you uncouth, evil ruffian. I won’t fall for your tricks, you hear me? You think you can get the best of Rarity? I’ll show you!” She strained her eyes so much that she nearly popped a blood vessel. However, slowly, ever so slowly, the vial’s stone encasement melted away. After several minutes of an internal battle to keep the magic under control, she finally pulled the vial free, leaving the belt there, now with an empty pouch. She didn’t look back as she dashed back towards her home.

I need to work quickly, she thought as she burst through her front door. The dye was a dull navy color, not quite suited to the dress as a whole. But if she dropped it in a couple of different vats, its properties should bleed through. It would be too bad to change it at all, but it would be a worse fate for it to burn, not to mention all of Ponyville. However, when she walked through the door to her bedroom, to bring the dress onto the boutique floor, she froze in her tracks.

Dash was still asleep on the bed, but Rarity hardly noticed. There was ripped ribbon everywhere. Her box had been broken open and tossed halfheartedly on the ground. Atop her dress, her masterpiece, stood a small, green, raindrop-like creature. In his hands, he held the large ruby which, until recently, had been on the dress. Panic gripped the dressmaker’s heart, and she looked around wildly for something to do. Anything. Before she could find something, the little monster cackled and chomped the gem completely in half. Impressive, considering the beastie was only a third the size of the gem.

Rarity gasped. Such beauty, lost from the world because of this little...thing! There were more pressing matters at hand, however. The Schucker immediately turned a bright red color. Tossing the remnants of the ruby in the air, it swallowed the last of it. With a maniacal little giggle, it turned towards the unicorn and spat in her direction. A small fireball emerged and blazed just over her shoulder as she ducked out of the way. “Hey, you! Cut that out!”

Her cry fell on deaf ears, however. Well, deaf and sleeping ones. Dash was still clocked out. The schucker began breathing in. More and more air rushed into its little lungs, and it began to swell. Rarity could see where this was going. She looked around again, and her eyes fell on the dye, which was still floating next to her. She’d nearly forgotten she was still carrying it. With only a few moments to respond, she did the only thing her panicking mind could think off. She hurled the vial at the Schucker.

The vial hit its mark just as the creature let out a huge flame from its mouth. The vial was the first thing hit, and the extreme change in temperature caused the glass to explode. Immediately, the dye inside doused the flame and coated the entire corner of the room in a dull blue color. The floor, the wall, part of the window, the creature, and the dress were covered in the stuff. The schucker blinked rapidly several times, then sputtered a little, coughed, and let out a yell of some sort. It then crashed through the window and ran off towards the forest, still screaming.

The dress didn’t look salvageable, and the gem was now gone. Rarity didn’t care. The emotional strain she’d just gone through made her realize just why Dash was still so tired. With half of her mind shut off, she made her way to the bed and crawled into it. Somehow, the pegasus was still asleep. It was understandable. She arranged herself on the other part of the bed, rolled over, and closed her eyes. Some relaxation, some unconscious relief from this nightmarish day was just the thing she needed. Wordlessly, she breathed a deep sigh and let herself fall into a restful sleep.

The Most Peaceful Place in Equestria

Last Ditch
Chapter 4: The Most Peaceful Place in Equestria
Max Kodan

The clearing was nearly silent, with just the right level of background sound: The tweeting of birds, the whispering breeze, the padding of little feet as they frolicked and played. The lone pegasus floated through, looking around the surroundings. She landed and sighed contentedly, beginning to trot around the circumference. A pair of blue birds fluttered down and landed on her wings. Squirrel triplets bounded in front of her, tackling, breaking away, chasing. Two rabbits peeked their heads out of their holes, darted out to grab some tiny carrots that littered the ground, then zipped back into their homes.

Fluttershy smiled and laid down near the rabbit holes, peeking in. "Oh, my, no, don't be scared," she whispered quietly to the inhabitants. "It's safe out here, you should spend some time out in the sun." In response, the two white fluffballs reappeared, looked around, then tentatively hopped out. Their cute little noses twitched as they turned their heads to look at the pleasantly smiling pegasus. As she reached out to touch them, the jumped in fear and let out a light screech, then high-tailed it back into their home. Fluttershy pulled back in surprised, and only a moment later she realized that the birds had stopped singing.

"Hello again, Fluttershy." The voice was unmistakable. She winced and hunched her head down. The shiver that shot down her spine caused her tail to extend outward. As it did, she felt it brush against something. It felt like it took her several minutes to turn completely around. She held her eyes closed tight the entire time. Another few minutes whizzed by before she opened them. Before her stood the towering form of Discord. She meeped out something unintelligible.

In actuality, he didn't look at all menacing. He stood there quietly, eyes filled with what could pass as compassion. He tried to make himself seem smaller, less intimidating. He blinked a few times, waiting patiently. Finally, the pegasus squeaked out something that sounded like an inquiry as to the meaning of his presence. Or something. "Glad you asked." He didn't smile, but he didn't seem angry or threatening. Yet. "Please don't jump to any conclusions about me being here. I'm looking out for your best interests, I swear." He extended a hand gently, not quite half way between them.

Fluttershy looked as though she'd fallen into a trance. She was completely paralyzed. He sighed and continued. "Rather, I'm looking out for the best interest of your animal friends here." This got a quizzical eye to twitch, and the soft-spoken pony shifted a little, looking up at her enemy questioningly. "You want to know, right? You want to save them, don't you?"

"S-save them from what?" Fluttershy's voice was louder now. It was still a whisper, but it was audible. Discord nodded solemnly and reached his hand a bit closer, biting his bottom lip as he did. "Please, t-tell me...what could possibly be threatening them?" Discord breathed in through his nose deeply, as if what he was about to say was extremely difficult.

"The Rot," Discord spoke so harshly that Fluttershy winced again.

"What's the...the...?" However hard she tried, something stopped her from saying the next word. She couldn't explain it: Even in her head, the word wouldn't properly form.

"The Rot," Discord continued, controlling his voice more this time, "is a disease that had been thought long extinct. However, thousands of years ago, The Rot spread across the land. It left devastating swaths of death cut across Equestria, leaving no living thing behind. It was the worst plague anypony had ever seen. Fortunately, time served to dull The Rot." At this point, Discord began to pace back and forth, folding his arms behind his back. "Ponies worked up an immunity to The Rot." Fluttershy looked hopeful. Behind his somber eyes, Discord felt his domination drawing closer. "Unfortunately, Ponies are the only ones who are immune. All these animals..." he waved his arms widely to indicate the hiding critters. "Would die."

"No!" Fluttershy's voice had grown in her shock and fear. She stood up straight and stamped her hooves impatiently, though she was unable to do anything. The thought of being helpless riled her up more, and she started looking around frantically, trying to find an animal to ensure that it was ok. "I won't let it, I'll find a cure! I'll...I'll..." She grimaced and sat down, feeling tears rising in her eyes.

"Now now, my dear, don't cry! Fear not! For I have the cure you seek!" He leaned down over her, sweeping an arm wide in a somewhat calming, heroic manner. "The Rot is coming back, but you can stop it, with my help!"

"But I-"

"Listen!" He swirled his body around her, and came up in front of her, his nose nearly pressing against hers. "I'll give you the cure, and even teach you how to make it. All you need to do...is release me..."

Fluttershy shook her head, closing her eyes tightly and trying to back away. "N-no. I'll...I'll go to Zecora. She'll know what to do! I won't release you, I won't!" She shuddered, resisting the very idea of letting Discord loose on the world again. She wouldn't subject the world to that.

"She can't help you, she'll only know the legends, not the cure! Only I can help, and you can make that happen! If you free me, I will give it to you! Now go, Fluttershy! Save your little animal friends!" His hypnotic eyes kicked into high gear, boring deep into the pony's. He suggested as hard as he could, a grin spreading ear to ear. He almost had this one. Almost...almost...

Fluttershy woke up with a start, gasping for breath and settling on a heavy heave that slowly evened out. She sat on her bed and shivered on every exhale. Angel hopped up on the bed, tilting his head to one side. The winged pony stared at her pet for a moment before lunging out and hugging him tightly. The bunny hardly knew it, but he was the only thing keeping his owner from breaking down in tears.