Chapter Twenty-Four: Chaos, In All Of Its Forms

Canterlot Castle gardens

If the Elements had been in my mind for the last four weeks, as had Discord, and both the Elements and myself were in this statue, then... Discord had completely occupied my body, and the Elements were trapped in here like I was.

You are correct.

So, what does Discord plan to do with me?

There is no way to know. He may attempt to corrupt you again, or he might release you. Little is known of his intentions.

And what of my friends? The other Elements?

They would not stand for this. They are likely to attempt to stop Discord. They already know of Celestia's deposal.

Celestia's deposal? What are you talking about?

The sun has not set. Discord has imprisoned or otherwise incapacitated the Princess.

Using my body?

Yes.

I should've expected that. Well, there's nothing we can do about it just now, is there?

Outskirts of Ponyville

They were making good speed toward Canterlot. They'd be there in a few hours at this pace. But did they have that long? Twilight Sparkle pondered this as she saw a shape appear in the mid-evening sky. Princess Luna descended when she noticed them, landing gently on the road ahead.

"Princess Luna! What's happened?" Twilight asked as the group hastily bowed, excluding Blitzle, who had stayed close to Fluttershy and knew only that something was going on, and it wasn't good.

"Discord has taken control of Zach's body. He has many of his powers, and has already transformed Canterlot to match his vision. My sister has been imprisoned. I have not set the sun so you would take notice of this plight, but it appears you already have. Come, we must reach Canterlot." Luna's voice remained calm as she explained the situation in detail.

"What's happened to Zach?"

"I do not know."

"Geez, that guy still needs to work on his sense of humor," Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah, that's not funny at all!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"We can't afford to waste any more time." Luna's voice quieted the ponies.

"Alright, Princess, you're in charge," Applejack said.

Now the group was in far higher spirits. Not high spirits, not quite; Equestria was still in danger, as were Princess Celestia, Zach, and the rest of Canterlot. They had their Elements, and they knew who they were dealing with. However, since Discord was in Zach's body, this might not be so straightforward as blasting him with the Elements, not this time. With renewed enthusiasm, they again made haste for Canterlot. It was time to save Equestria once again.

Canterlot Castle

Luna still hadn't shown herself. That was fine. Ol' Discord had more than a few tricks to deal with her or any reinforcements she might bring with her- even the other six Elements of Harmony- in some feeble attempt to stop him from taking over the rest of Equestria. His chaotic influence continued to grow beyond Canterlot, and as he saw the world change before his borrowed eyes from the tallest tower of the great mountainside city, he felt proud. All was going according to plan. He wondered how Zach was taking this, sitting corrupted in the statue he once occupied. Probably pretty bored. He snickered at the irony of it all. He and his fellow 'bronies' often wrote about themselves or others defeating him, but this one had lost, for real this time. Maybe he could use him further. The Elements of Harmony wouldn't harm one another, would they? Discord began to laugh heartily as plans came to mind.

Canterlot Castle gardens, one hour later

From my static view, I could see my body approaching the statue. As per its new owner's changes, it was wreathed in an orange glow, as were its eyes. Discord began to come closer, the most diabolical of grins spread across the face I was the rightful owner of. Man, I wasn't pretty.

He wishes to corrupt you.

How do you know that? He already thinks I'm corrupted.

He thinks you already are, but he is mistaken. Steel yourself, he will attempt to twist you further.

Discord reached out and touched the statue. Images flooded my mind once more, of the fighting I'd done with and against my new friends, accompanied by whispers to incite rage and telling me that they were my enemies. I knew I would have been touched by these messages, if not for the Elements' presence. Whenever a notion of uncertainty, fear, bloodlust, or rage entered my mind, the Elements and I would block it. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, Discord moved his hand away.

"Now what do you think of your 'friends'?" Discord said, returning to the interior of the castle.

That was unpleasant.

Indeed, but you remain as you were. That is what matters.

What was he trying to do?

Turn you against your allies, as he had turned them against you before. He plans to free you from this statue in this form when they arrived, at which point you would fight and likely defeat them. Or so he believes.

Looks like he's in for a little surprise.

Canterlot Castle, two hours later

Discord looked through the telescope occupying the balcony of the tower, and saw what force the other Princess had gathered, moving down the road. As expected, it was the other Elements, joined by another creature, zebra-like in color. It was just that Blitzle that the one representing Kindness adopted. He had planned for this. When he released Zach, he would have all of his powers and no qualms with doing battle against his foes. He'd stone them, teleport them away, he could do all sorts of magic, plenty enough to drive them away, should his powers in this form fail him. And they would hardly resist, Zach would prove himself to be enough like he usually was that they wouldn't risk destroying him. What was left, but to give his guests a warm welcome to Canterlot?

Canterlot

Luna teleported them through the warped, unguarded gates of the city. Ponies ran in terror and fear through the streets, not taking notice of them at all. The interior of the city was similarly in complete disarray. Houses floated upside-down, fountains spewed molasses instead of water, mixes and mashes of various animals roamed the streets without purpose, and the roads twisted and banked in rediculous ways.

"This is unpleasant," Rarity commented.

"At least we know what we're fightin'," Applejack added.

"We'll have to be careful, though, this is still Discord we're dealing with, even if he does look and sound like Zach," Twilight said.

"I hope Discord didn't do something terrible to him..." Fluttershy added.

"He is still alive, I'm sure of it. Discord does not kill, be it ponies or humans. It is not above him, however, to break those who stand against him mentally," Luna said.

"You can say that again," Spike said.

Blitzle let out a noise, and his horn crackled with electricity. The ponies looked to where he indicated. Zach was walking down the road. The ponies took on battle-ready stances.

"Hello, my dear friends," he said. He sounded exactly like Zach. "I see there is no reason to continue this charade. You come here to rescue your good Princess, your fair capital city, and your dear friend Zach. I will tell you now, that you shall fail."

The Elements donned their pieces, and, at Twilight's order, began to focus the attack.

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle, you wouldn't use such a powerful weapon on your good friend, would you?"

The beam shot out, and Discord teleported behind them, the beam changed direction, and struck Princess Luna, knocking her over, but doing no other harm, the Princess quickly rising to her hooves again. The Elements charged the attack for a second time.

"What if Zach isn't in here? What if this is but an empty husk, and your friend is elsewhere? If you banish me, you banish this body. And if you banish this body, Zach is lost, forever."

Discord teleported to evade the attack once again, this time directing it into a building. He appeared again in front of them. Blitzle issued an electric shock, which was harmlessly absorbed by an orange magical shield.

"You're lying, Discord! You can't dodge us forever. Let Zach and the Princess go, we both know that you can't win," Twilight said, "girls!"

Discord teleported away again as a third attack was sent at him. He didn't come back this time, and the beam was directed at the castle.

"The castle! Let's go!"

The group continued at a run toward the castle. What did Discord mean by Zach being 'elsewhere'? Was he telling the truth? If so, where was he? It was time to confront Discord, and take him down. What Twilight feared, however, was the potential cost of doing so might be.