A simple trip to see the Canterlot Gardens, that was all Cheerilee had planned. It seemed simple enough and the Princess herself had helped arrange it. It would be better if the trio dubbed ‘the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ would stop arguing though.

Ah well, even the best of friends fought sometimes. But after arguing in front of a Draconnequus statue, Cheerilee was about ready to ground the lot of them.

She never heard the deep chuckle that seemed to come from the statue itself.

Aspect had been walking around town when he saw something that grated on his nerves.

Something that seemed against all reason and logic, against nature itself.

A cloud zooming by made of cotton candy, dribbling chocolate rain.

He knew that magic. He’d felt its touch before.

He quickly changed targets to head home instead. He had defenses to make sure of.

The storm had come. And he wanted his house to be safe from what was to happen.

Both from his side...and his own.

After a few hours, not much had happened. Rainbow had said something about being called to Canterlot and had flown off, but he hadn’t heard a word from them since. Trying to send a dragonflame letter only caused it to return… as a variety of fruit.

“Aspect,” Artemis whined and scratched at his head. “What’s going on? Why do I feel like an earthquake is coming?”

“Chaos is coming,” Aspect replied as he flashed into his human form, his robes glinting slightly. “You and Realm are not to leave. If anypony shows up, let them in. This house is warded against Chaos. He cannot touch this place.”

“Chaos?” Artemis blinked and looked at the human. “Urgh, what did you do to Miss Pinkie Pie this time?”

“Worse,” the human said. “Worse than her. Far worse.” He walked off. He had things to gather. A sword and a book.

“Worse than Pinkie? That’s possible?” Artemis said aloud as he left.

Within the next hour, things had gone from bad to…

Well…

Houses floated in the air upside down. The sun and moon switched places every few minutes. Roads were replaced by slippery, soapy trails. The ground was checkerboard patterned and in the middle of it all, a mismatched creature sat on a large throne, chuckling at the madness he was unleashing.

And then the creature heard a voice he hadn’t heard for a thousand years. It was a little hard to place it...he wasn’t begging for mercy.

“You know,” the voice said from behind him. “Before you came around, it was a lovely day. The sun was shining. Birds were singing. Flowers were blooming in the park.”

“Urgh, I know!” Discord sighed. “Good thing I came to spice up your dull, orderly lives.” In a flash, he teleported behind his throne to look at the pony that dared speak to him. Oh, not a pony, a human in fact. “Well well well, if it isn’t little Christopher. And here I thought you’d died or something… pity.”

“For ruining things like this, naughty little boys like you,” Christopher said...and then his arms glowed as his eyes burned.

“Should be burning in hell.”

Discord didn’t get a chance to react before a powerful magic grabbed ahold of him and sent him pinballing across the sky, slamming into one object after another before slamming him into the ground at Christopher’s feet.

And that was a lot of lasers pointed at him.

“Urgh, and you still have that wonderful temper of yours I see,” Discord sighed. “A thousand years and you still can’t appreciate a good joke.” He held up something, a snowglobe and held it between him and the lasers. Inside it… was a familiar white Alicorn. “See, even little Tia’s getting in on the action.”

“Oh don’t you fret, I know she’s sturdy,” Aspect sniped. “Besides which, there was…” He snapped his fingers a few times. “What was it, what was it...I was supposed to tell you something.” A tune had started playing in the background. “Something about...oh, just give me a second, I’m sure it’ll come to me.”

Christopher put his hands together in front of his face...and when he spread them again, his robes lit up like a christmas tree, runes spilling across its surface and spelling out powerful spells.

“Well… that’s bothersome,” Discord frowned. “Oh wait a moment would you? The show’s about to start!”

“Oh, didn’t you hear, Discord?” Aspect said as he held up a hand, and a sword landed neatly in it. “The show started ten seconds ago. I’m sorry to say, though, it’s an execution, and you’re the main star.”

“Bah! You’re so dramatic,” Discord sighed. Those annoying runes were repelling his power. Seems that someone had been expecting his arrival and planned accordingly.

Still, what was Chaos without the ability to throw a wrench in the works?

“So tell me?” Discord hummed. “What was it like coming home after a thousand years? Was it fun? Were you welcomed with open hooves? Because, you know that nopony needs you yes~?”

“The day I can lay my sword down at the roots of Yggdrasil and leave it there will be a glad day indeed,” Christopher replied. “Because it will mean that I don’t need to wield it anymore. It is a duty I fulfill. Nothing more. I will move on to other things when I need to. Nice try, though.” The human kicked off from the ground and hovered in the middle of the air. “Now. Are you going to try and run, or will you make it easy for me to finally slay you?”

“Aspect?” a voice said as he glanced behind him. Twilight and four of her friends stood there, though Spike was there and Rainbow absent, the latter wearing the Element of Loyalty. “Is… that you?”

“No, it’s a heffalump,” Fluttershy snarked. “Geeze Twilight, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one?”

“It’s not Aspect, it’s a… flyin’ apple,” Applejack’s eyes shifted from left to right as her muzzle scrunched up.

“Uh, can we please get this over with?” Rarity sighed. “I have a date with MY diamond!”

“Tch! Whatever…” Pinkie muttered, frowning.

Christopher didn’t even flinch. He’d accepted the consequences of assuming this form.

“Urggh! I don’t CARE!” Twilight yelled and pointed at Discord. “Can we just Rainbow him and deal with it later!”

“Ohh, this should be good,” Discord cackled and munched on some popcorn. The group floated into the air, light pouring from their Elements… before the energy imploded and sent them flying in opposite directions.

“Ohh, looks like we have some technical difficulties,” the Spirit laughed.

“I… I don’t understand…” Twilight murmured.

“Course you don’t, you never do when it actually counts,” Fluttershy snapped and tossed her Element aside. “I’m done being your friend.”

A murmur of agreement saw four of the Elements at Twilight’s hooves, Spike gathering them up as the ponies went their separate ways, Twilight looking more disheartened by the second as her coat colors dulled.

“And like dominoes, the last one falls,” Discord mused. “That was almost too easy.”

“Bravo, you eliminated the peaceful way of dealing with you,” Christopher said. “You know, in all honesty, you probably should have left it around. Because now...there’s only you, me, my sword...and let’s not forget the fact that I wield Majesty’s majesty.”

“Oh yes, your Runes and Sword, ooh, scary,” Discord trembled, falling to pieces before pulling himself together. “But you know, I happen to know your weakness~”

“Let me put it to you simply, Discord,” Christopher snarled. Actually snarled. “You can’t best me. Anything you do to try and deter me? I’ll come at you harder. Humans are persistence hunters. And in the case of you...everything is worth killing you. Because that’s exactly what you’re threatening. Go ahead. Ask me if I’ll throw it all away, just to slay you.”

And Discord didn’t even have to look anywhere but his eyes to know the answer to that.

“So…” the Spirit mused, his eyes flashing. “Even your dear… beloved Bon Bon~”

“She’ll understand,” the human replied without missing a beat. “She used to hunt monsters. She knows what it’s like.”

“Provided she lives long enough,” he chuckled and sapped his talon. “I do believe an old friend of hers wants to visit. My Bugbear is ever so hungry for something sweet~”

“Then I’ll just have to kill you quickly,” Christopher said, holding up his sword. “By the power vested in me as the Balancer, I hereby find Discord guilty of abusing his chaos for his own wicked entertainment purposes, tormenting life to bring himself joy instead of using it for productive ends, moving the world along. He has abused his station as an Aspect…”

“Oh do stop, you’re making me blush,” the Spirit giggled.

The sapphire in the pommel flashed, turning red. “And the world agrees with me,” Christopher smirked. “Your sentence is death, to be carried out immediately.” That tune from before had started up again.

Discord sighed and rolled his eyes… before picking them back up and putting them in his sockets. “Oh dear Chrissy. You know death sticks to me about as well as a diet does to little Tia.”

If one listened closely, they could almost hear the indignant screams from the snowglobe he still held.

“Besides, who would be an Aspect of Chaos otherwise. You know as well as I do that I’m the only one that can wield this power effectively.”

“The proffered cure is worse than the disease,” Christopher retorted. “Lavan was slain, reformed. Squirk was slain, reformed. The world gained new Aspects in place of what they once were. One by one, all the evils of the old world have been slain, reformed. Even Grogar has died, and he was the Aspect of Death. You are one of the last.”

“Bah! Don’t lump me in with those cliche idiots,” Discord frowned, actually looking quite mad at that. “They were… eh, well they had it coming,” Discord shrugged. “Besides, I think it’s starting to look like rain…”

And then one of the floating houses started to fall of Christopher.

The human fired a blast of magic upwards, and suddenly the house was back where it was meant to be: on the ground, with five feet around it back to normal.

“Funny thing about your chaos,” Christopher mused. “Remember all those wonderful little traps you left behind after you last romp? The only one I can’t undo is the magic-null zone. Everything else? I got very good at cleaning up after.”

“Well aren’t you just a little ball of annoyance?” Discord spat. Well this was bothersome, he’d only counted on the Elements of Harmony being a threat. Humans were so annoyingly stubborn.

“And do you want to know the best part?” Christopher said with a wicked smile. “This isn’t even all of what I can do. No, this is just what I prepared for you. I have a special surprise for the Aspect of Darkness, if he ever leaves Tartarus. One that’s arguably more powerful.”

“What?” Discord yelled. “I am so much more powerful than that old geezer!!”

“I could simply increase my aura here,” Christopher countered. “And catch you in a zone of Order. You’d be nullified. In fact…”

“You… you…” Discord roared and threw the globe aside, it exploded into… cake batter as it buried the now restored alicorn inside as he vanished with a flash of light.

“Twilight and her friends were taken in by his tricks,” Christopher said as he helped Celestia up. “If there’s anything you can think of that would help her shake it off…”

“I… I failed…” Celestia shook, not caring about her current battery state. “I underestimated him, and my precious Twilight and her friends have paid the price… all-all of Equestria will pay the price of my stupidity!”

“No,” Christopher stated as the runes on his robe fairly shrieked with power. “Because you have a fallback plan. I will hunt him down, run him to ground, keep him from causing too much chaos. But if you can help your student, if there is anything you can think of...it wasn’t your fault. His nature is to be unpredictable. If ponies truly are the masters of this world, you will think of a way to realign the Bearers.”

“I… I don’t know,” Celestia almost yelled, tears falling from her eyes. “I…”

“Wait…” the human mused. “There...wasn’t there...something about letters she sent you?”

“Her Friendship Reports?” the alicorn sniffled. “What of them? What good would they do?”

“If you can turn her back to normal,” Christopher stated, “Then she could return her friends. Would you say those reports were written with all her heart?”

“Yes…” Realization dawned on her and she smiled. “Yes! Oh father, you’re a genius!” She exclaimed as she pulled him into a hug.

“Brace yourself,” the human said after breaking the hug. “Rune based transport isn’t the same as what you might use.”

“I’m ready,” Celestia said, flaring her magic as she cleaned herself off.

There was a flash of magic from the human, and Celestia was gone, displaced back to her tower bedroom. Christopher hovered a little higher as he looked around the town.

“Be vewy vewy quiet,” he said, his eyes aglow. “I’m hunting Discords.” He then began flying around the town in hunt of a certain mismatched creature.

“Bonnie… w-what’s going on?” Lyra whimpered as she stared out at the chaos that used to be Ponyville. “Is this… more Sorcery disaster?”

Oh how Bon Bon wished that was all. “No Lyra… this is much, much worse.” She sighed and turned to her. “Look. I want you to do something very important okay?” Without waiting for a response, she continued. “I want you to go straight to Aspects house. I have no doubts that it will be a safe place. Take anypony that you can find with you.”

“W-What about you?” Lyra stammered. She’d noticed that Bon Bon had excluded herself from that plan.

“I’m going to buy you some time,” she said with a nod.

“What? NO!” Lyra said, grabbing her hoof. “That’s a bad plan. A terrible plan! I hate that plan!”

“Lyra!” Bon Bon sighed and pulled her into a hug. “I can’t explain right now okay? Just go, be safe. I promise you that I won’t be going anywhere. And that I’ll buy you all the mint ice-cream in Equestria when this is over.”

“I don’t care about ice-cream!” Lyra cried. “I want my best friend to safe!”

“And I will be,” she smiled, her ear flicking as a distant buzzing grew closer. Damn, she was out of time. “Just go! I promise you that I’ll be fine.” She pulled out a case and opened it, inside was a massive crossbow. A large barrel attached to the base. The barrel split in half and opened, crackling with lightning as the weapon hummed.

“B-Bonnie?” Lyra whimpered.

“I said I’d explain later,” the earth mare smiled. “Please go, be safe. I love you Lyly.”

The minty unicorn nodded, tears stinging her eyes. “Love you too… candybutt.” And with a yell, she took off running, praying to any deity listening that her friend would be safe.

Bon Bon smiled and turned, mounting the weapon onto a tripod and aiming it at the approaching Bugbear. “Bring it,” she smiled… and fired...

One would think that tracking the Aspect of Chaos would be easy. Sadly, all the chaos he spread did wonders to hide him from Christopher’s enhanced sight.

Which was when he got the bright idea to start restoring the world to normal around him, to draw the spirit out. If he couldn’t find the spirit, he’d make the spirit come to him.

Then a short distance away, he saw a lance of energy burn a hole through the ceiling of a house, and he could feel large amounts of Geomancy being used.

Christopher saw red.

In an instant, he was behind what had to be the ugliest monstrosity outside of Discord he’d seen.

And, it was tied up with thick vines, unconscious and covered in cuts, bruises and burn marks. Sitting atop the beast was an earth pony mare, shouldering what looked like the unholy child of a crossbow and a plasma cannon, while idly sucking on a lollipop.

“Oh, hello Aspect,” Bon Bon waved. She too had a few injuries, mostly some tangles and messed up fur and a few minor cuts. “And how is your day?”

“Oh you know, just tapping into the forces of the universe to hunt down a wayward Aspect, nothing too major,” he said idly as he looked at the scene. “So he wasn’t kidding about the bugbear. Nice to see you had it handled. Was worried for a second there.”

“Mmm, well…” truth be told, Bon Bon had been freaking terrified. No, she was a tough mare and wasn’t going to cry. It was… yeah, it was just raining is all.

“Anyways, if Discord set him loose on you, then there’s no point putting him back wherever he came from,” the human said. “He’ll just let him out again. Better if you sit on him until this madness is resolved. You seen a cowardly chimera around here?”

“No, but I’m going to put a hole in his head if he shows up,” Bon Bon said and drew the bolt back on her gun.

“Good mare,” Christopher nodded. “Lyra been sent to the home?”

“Yes...I told her as such, but my secret has been shot to Tartarus,” the mare sighed. “I hope your home is safe.”

“The moment I realized that he could break out, I laid runes into the walls to protect it from Chaos,” the human replied. “I’m sure it’s irking Discord something awful that he can’t touch my home. In fact, that’s a splendid idea. I’ll go look there.”

“If he hurts Lyra… I’ll kill him,” Bon Bon said with a frown. “And Dashie? Is she okay? I have a real bad feeling about her.”

“She’s one of the Elements, so I doubt she was allowed to escape unmolested,” Christopher replied. “However, the backup plan for restoring them is underway. One way or another, this will end.”

Then Bon Bon tossed her weapon aside as she put her forelegs around his shoulders and kissed him, almost enjoying her first moment with his human form. “Protect them okay?” she smiled once she broke the embrace. “I know you can.”

“I’ll do what I can, what is necessary. Never fear, I planned for today,” the human replied, hugging her back before backing up and nodding at her.

With a soft ripple throughout reality, the human simply was gone.

“You might have planned,” Bon Bon whispered as she resumed her guard over the monster. “But Discord might not adhere to that…”

Discord stared at the home, his magic unable to touch it. This was rather annoying, all those fun toys inside and someone had locked the toybox.

Then he felt a chill crawl up his back as a familiar aura seeped into the surrounding air.

“Found you~” the human’s voice said from behind him

“Oh that’s bad,” Discord gulped as he teleported again, reappearing a few dozen feet away. “Honestly Christopher. So angry, you should chill~”

And then a mountain of snow fell on the human. But all the snow that touched his aura evaporated, and the rest just sort of...lay there.

“So this is what the mighty master of chaos is reduced to when his little toys fight back,” the human mused. “Puns and indirect attacks. Honestly, you were more impressive when you ripped me from my girls and forced them to take up a power they were not ready for.”

“Oh honestly, are you still mad about that?” Discord shrugged.

“You tortured me!” Christopher yelled back. “Mostly because I was the only ‘toy’ that wouldn’t break no matter what! You tormented me, planted seeds of doubt in my mind...and when the time came, when Luna fell, I failed. But no more.”

The aura grew brighter, and brighter. “I will not fail the ponies again. I will protect them, from anyone, everyone! Any Aspect that seeks to harm them, I will deal with! Even if it’s my family or me, I will guard them!”

“Ah, so you’re sore about Luna’s little temper tantrum,” Discord chuckled, putting on a pair of shades. “So, my little Nightmare seed actually took hold eh? Huzzah for science! Good thing she’s the gullible sort~”

“Time to end this,” Christopher snarled, and a book appeared in his free hand, runes covering and spilling from the pages. Points of lights formed around the human, each one the base for a laser attack. “Any last words before you’re slain, Discord?”

“Tag, you’re it!” he smiled and vanished with a flash of light.

“DISCORD!” the human yelled to the heavens as the points of light vanished. He growled before taking to the skies once again. He would have this Aspect slain if it was the last thing he did!

Then a distant explosion rang out, coming from the center of town. Christopher adjusted his course. Explosions always warranted investigation.

What he saw…

Three little fillies, throwing everything they had at the Spirit as he floated there with a bemused expression.

“So, what interesting little mages you are,” he mused. “But, you’re hitting well out of your weight class. Let me show you~”

With a snap of his talons, Scootaloo started floating upwards, her personal gravity space inverted. Sweetie Belle lost her voice, unable to utter even a squeak and Applebloom’s legs turned to wood and bark, roots binding her in place.

Christopher snarled from right behind Discord again. “This is the sort of shit I was talking about, you foul, misbegotten son of a goat!”

“Oops, I got caught,” he chuckled and pointed at the ever rising Scootaloo. “Better catch her, I still have things to do~” And with a crack, he teleported again.

Christopher sighed and simply expanded his aura to include the three fillies, using a little magic to draw Scootaloo into it. In a matter of moments, the Chaos was undone, returning them to normal. “Don’t ask,” he said to them in a gruff voice, hiding his own for the time being. “Just listen. Go to the large house on the edge of town. I’ll give you all your personal auras so he can’t touch you on your way. Once you get there, you’re safe, it’s been warded against Chaos.”

“We…” Sweetie Belle sobbed, glad she had her voice back. “We just wanted to help... but…”

“Don’t get me wrong, you three did well for fillies,” the human said, still disguising his voice. “And unlike most ponies, you stood and fought back. You’re braver than most. But this is a matter that you can’t exactly help in until you’re a little more grown. Well on you for trying, though. Who knows? Maybe in a few more years you’ll be strong enough. But for now, safety is your priority.”

Applebloom looked at him, a curious expression on her face. “We’ll go, but… ah’m worried about mah sister,” she said. “She keeps lying about everything, is… she gunna be okay?”

“Chaos will be undone today, this I promise you,” Christopher told them all. “Now go to the sanctuary while I hunt the beast.”

“Yeah, okay…” Scootaloo trembled, being led off by Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom stayed a moment longer, before running past him.

“Good luck Aspect,” she smiled and chased after her friends.

“Ah well, I accepted those consequences when I assumed this form,” Christopher muttered as he rose again. Discord, for being the master of Chaos, was also a creature of habit. Case in point, the same old tricks being used time and again. So...where would he go…

The human blinked out of existence again. Time to scan the major population centers of the town.

When he found the creature again, he was sitting on his throne. He looked… somewhat beat up actually. Some fur was missing and the area was saturated in a magic that wasn’t his own.

“Aww, the poor little Discord finally get a taste of what it’s like to be on the short end of the stick?” Christopher asked in a mocking tone of voice. “Don’t worry. You won’t be feeling it for very long.”

“Mm, something like that,” Discord sighed. “She put up a little more fight than I imagined…” And as he said that, some rubble from a nearby building crumbled as a very weary-looking Luna stepped out, her royal regalia shattered as her horn flickered dimly.

“We… are not… done yet,” she panted.

“Luna, I have this,” Christopher said, holding up his sword for emphasis. “I can handle him. One chop and it’s all over, our chaos problems will be solved.”

“I will NOT lose!” she roared. “I will… I will not fail you again! Never again!”

“Aww, isn’t that adorable?” Discord chuckled. “It’s cute when the kids wanna play with the grownups eh Chrissy?”

“And she would be old enough, powerful enough, to take part, if not for the whole sojourn on the moon,” the human replied. “By the way, Luna? He admitted he had a hand in it.”

“I know,” Luna growled and Discord clapped his hands.

“Why Christopher! That’s a marvelous idea!” Discord cackled as a dark cloud started forming around Luna, the mare clearly not doing it herself. “Who’s ready for a blast from the past?”

The human growled and a point of light formed around his body, preparing yet another laser to strike Discord with, so that he could end this, once and for all…

When a pulse of magic caused him to flinch. The moon rose, bathing the chaotic town in a pale glow.

“Mmmhhmhmhm,” a deep, mature cackle rose from the clouds covering the ground. A pony rose, her coat as black as night and her azure-coloured armour gleaming in the moonlight. Her eyes opened, revealing teal, cat-like eyes. “Finally! Nightmare Moon is free at last!!”

Christopher raised a hand and conjured five runic shackles, made from nothing but his magic, and set them around her hooves and horn. “We can deal with you when Chaos is dead,” he muttered.

“You think you can bind me?” she chuckled and turned into an ethereal mist, escaping the confines of her shackles. She appeared before him, smiling down at the human with a fanged grin. “Are you scared of me?”

“No, honestly, the emotion I have for you is more blind seething rage, but that’s overshadowed by Chaos at the moment,” Christopher replied. “So if you have any survival instinct whatsoever, you’ll get out of my face. Or your head will roll before his.”

“You would kill me?” she chuckled. “Oh, so feisty, is that what you would have done last time too? Kill your sweet little daughter?”

“That, was when I failed,” Christopher growled at her. “And then? No, no I wouldn’t have. But today? I made a promise. Even if it’s my own family, even if it were me. I will no longer fail to protect the ponies. So either stand aside, or bare your neck. Because I literally do not have time for your shit.”

“A pity,” Nightmare Moon sighed and turned as Discord was paused in throwing a bolt of magic at the distracted pair. She fired a lance of pure plasma, the Spirit ducking to avoid losing his head. “However, I will not let Discord harm you…” She turned and for a brief moment, her teal eyes looking less catlike, and more like the adorable alicorn of his. “She and I, we have an accord. So for now, you keep your head… father.”

“We’ll discuss this later,” Christopher said to Nightmare Moon. “If he’s done as I suspect, I’ll welcome you into the fold. That is, as long as you abide by the rules. Otherwise...well, I’m going to have to take drastic measures. For now, reality is more important. You distract him. I only need one opening to stop him from running.”

“Humph, just don’t get in my way,” Nightmare scoffed as Discord facepalmed.

“Seriously? It’s so hard to find a good minion these days…”

“I AM NOPONY’S MINION!” Nightmare Moon bellowed. “Bow to your Queen!” And with a surge of magic, she fired more burning plasma…

Christopher flew into the air and prepared two...four...ten lasers...and a moment later, after Discord had dodged Nightmare’s attack, the lasers of orderly influence started to rain down from above. Everywhere they landed, reality asserted its normal self, but they were all focused on hitting any part of the draconequus they could.

Said Spirit let out a howl as one laser hit him, then Nightmare unleashed her spell.

It was like a piece of the night sky was torn out and enveloped him, swirling as it grew darker, Christopher could feel the cold, even from where he stood and his eyes widened when he realised what she was doing. He wasn’t witnessing a shroud, or some kind of magical field.

He was seeing a localised spell… the literal heat death of the universe…

“Nightmare, reign it in,” he told her as he landed as close as he dared. “He was hit by a laser, I doubt he had the power to resist that for very long.”

“I will return him to nothingness!” Nightmare/Luna spat as her horn’s cornea shone like a star. “For what he has done to Us. I. Will. KILL HIM!”

“And if you make me kill you?” Christopher retorted. “Let me deal his punishment!”

Nightmare narrowed her eyes. Then with a scream, she cancelled the spell… and all that remained of Discord was a white, withered husk.

Christopher almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He leaned down and picked Discord up, holding him by the neck. “You’re the one that brought out the Nightmare,” he said to what was left of Discord in there. “Time for you to pay for all you’ve done.”

“Well, good thing I still had that trick eh?” the husk crumbled to dust as Discord hovered above them. “Shedding my skin, a little trick I got from the Changelings. Oh, speaking of, how’s Chrysalis doing? Or did you abandon her too?”

“Oh what will it take to kill you already?” Christopher growled as he lashed out with a surge of order-based magic.

“More that what you’ve got,” Discord chuckled as he ducked under the beams in slow motion, while wearing a black trenchcoat and glasses. “Look, just give it up and face it. I am the one enemy you will never beat. No matter how much power you have, no matter if you get help or not. You. Cannot. Win!”

“You really think I’m going to just surrender this world to you?” Christopher snarled as he held up one hand. A spark danced there.

But it was no ordinary spark. Discord could feel, even from here, the barely restrained magic.

Oh chaos help him. The boy was going to split atoms with magic to make bombs big enough to hit him.

“So you’ll destroy it instead?” the Spirit said aloud. “And kill all the little ponies you’re trying so hard to save?”

“If need be, I will destroy everything to eradicate you,” the human snarled. “I’m not going to let you continue to exist anymore.” And here his expression actually softened. “Chaos isn’t good or evil. It just is.” Aaaand it was back to his fierce warrior gaze. “But you, you’re the one entity that can’t be trusted with the power you have, because you’ll never just let the world be!”

And then a mirror popped up in front of him, showing his reflection, the hate-filled glare, the Runic power that threatened to tear the very world asunder in the name of revenge.

“Isn’t it funny?” Discord said flatly. “How you’re becoming the very thing you hunt… just to get your revenge on me.”

Words echoed in his head. His own words.

‘I’ll kill you!’

‘I’ll destroy everything!’

‘You don’t deserve to exist’

He actually paused for a moment, took a step back...and dismissed the spark. “You’re right. ‘He who hunts monsters should take care to not become a monster.’ I forgot that.”

“What are you waiting for!?” Nightmare yelled. “Finish him!!”

“And if I become like Discord in my quest to destroy him, what good will that do the world?” Christopher replied. Most of the power he held wound down, now just trimmed down to his aura of order that kept Discord’s influence at bay. “No. I’ll hunt him, yes, kill him, eventually. But I won’t become like him. Because then I am not worthy of the sword.”

“DISCORD!” a voice called out and the trio turned to see Twilight and her friends. All of her friends. And all wearing the Elements.

“You’re reign of evil is over! It ends here!” the purple unicorn called out.

Discord sighed as he floated down to his throne. “Oh my, this again? And what do you band of former friends hope to acheive?”

Twilight scowled and happened to glance at Aspect and… “Nightmare Moon!?”

“Hello Twilight Sparkle~” the dark mare waved and smirked at her.

“Worry about her later,” Christopher said. “Reality at stake here?”

“Oh yes, do give it your best shot,” Discord waved. “I mean, if you think you can…” His eyes widened as a rainbow glow surrounded the group of mares. “Uh… o-oh hey… let’s uh… let’s talk about this huh?”

“Like you let me talk about it when you kidnapped me a thousand years ago?” Christopher retorted. “See you in another millenia, Dipcord.”

“YOU—” that was all Discord got out before the rainbow blast hit him, and from Christopher’s side, Nightmare vanished, stepping into the light also, a soft smile on her face.

The human let the runes die on his robes and put the book in a pocket in them, also sheathing his blade as he did his best to hold off the exhaustion for the time being.

The rainbow light faded and Twilight and her fellow Elements were lowered to the ground as the massive dome of Harmony undid everything on the town, returning it to normal.

And when it faded, Luna stumbled out from beside Discord’s statue, looking rather weary.

“Welcome back, daughter mine,” Christopher said as he gathered up Luna in a hug. “Glad to see they worked a second time.”

“What?” a bone chilling voice said from behind him, as Nightmare Moon nuzzled the side of his head. “No hug for me? Those Elements really hurt you know?”

“I suspected this might happen,” Christopher chuckled as he gathered up the other alicorn. “So, who got what?”

“Nightmare… Moon?” Twilight gasped. “Girls! Form up, we aren’t finished yet!”

“She was just pulled out of Luna by the Elements,” Christopher stated. “Do you really think they’ll work on her a third time? Most things don’t get two. Or would it be a fourth time?”

“I lost count,” Nightmare shrugged. “And this was the deal Luna and I struck. I kept her alive after Discord attacked and honestly, I expected to die. Guess the Elements were feeling sorry for me or something.”

“We still do not trust thou,” Luna said quietly from Christopher’s embrace. “However… t’would appear she got the Dream Aspect.”

“So more Nightmare, less Moon,” the human mused. “And you’re still Luna. Because that won’t be hard to keep track of at all.”

“I’m sorry father…” Luna replied, leaning into his hug.

“Bah! Harden up already,” Nightmare scoffed and stared at the bewildered Twilight and her friends. “Oops, looks like we broke them~”

“Keep in mind, little lady,” Christopher said, before booping the nightmare alicorn, “You are never too old or big for me to put you over my knee. So behave yourself.”

“Bite me,” she replied. “I still hate you, so keep that in mind hm?”

Twilight’s daze was cut off as a pair of white hooves pulled her into a hug, Celestia having teleported in and embraced her little student, before doing the same to her friends.

“Well, you have a choice,” the human chuckled. “Me or her. Spoiler, you won’t survive her hugging.”

“Seriously?” the nightmare pony replied before a white blur tackled Luna and Christopher, pulling them into a tight embrace.

“Glad to see you too, Celly,” Christopher said, patting her on the withers. “But if you don’t let me go quickly, we might lose our latest addition.”

Celestia turned and spotted Nightmare. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t vaporise you!”

Nightmare merely pointed to Christopher.

“The Elements pulled them apart,” the human said. “They gave her a second chance, a purpose. She’s Dreams now, Luna is just the Moon. So why not let her try her hoof at actually being good for once?”

“Like you gave Discord a chance?” Celestia riposted. “She’s Nightmare Moon. And you’re putting her in charge of pony’s dreams!?”

“Is that discrimination?” Nightmare replied.

“Shut up!” Celestia growled as she fired up her horn.

The human pulled apart from Celestia...and stood between the pair of them. “No,” he said simply. “If either of you want to hurt each other, you’re going through me. End of story.”

“I can do that~” Nightmare grinned. “You want to go Tia? You have no Elements this time, nothing to save you at the last second.”

“I’ll rip you apart with my bare hooves,” the elder alicorn snorted.

“I’m really confused,” Twilight admitted as ponies started coming out of their homes, curious to see what was going on this time.

“Look, the Elements would have just put Luna back in charge of her body if Nightmare were totally irredeemable,” Christopher pointed out. “But they separated them. Because, in one moment, one fleeting moment...Luna and Nightmare agreed that family mattered. They both acted to defend me from Discord.”

“If anypony is going to kill you, it’ll be me,” Nightmare nodded. “I can’t let that mismatched freak steal my thunder.”

“You’re an idiot,” Luna sighed. “Look sister, father is correct. Nightmare, while brash, loud and a moron, is one of us now.”

“No, I still hate all of you, Luna gets a little bit of credit… and Twilight Sparkle is adorable, so she gets a freebie too,” the black alicorn smiled. “Ohh, maybe I should make her my student. I could teach her many fun things~”

“And that’s enough of that,” Chris said as his rune-covered robe lit up again. Before anypony could stop him, a beam of power lanced from his hand and hit Nightmare Moon directly.

There was a puff of magic…

And suddenly the Nightmare was no bigger than Sweetie Belle.

Nightmare Moon slowly looked down, her face contorting into a look of pure rage. Which, was admittedly quite adorable in foal form. “You… you… WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?!”

“You’re right Lulu,” Celestia chuckled. “She really is a moron~”

“You obviously can’t be trusted with your duties until you learn how to, well, not be a nightmare about them,” Christopher stated. “So until you learn how to behave yourself, you’ll be stuck like this. It’s a unique curse, one I made when I was feeling less murdery towards Discord. The more mature you are, the more maturity you’ll get back.”

“WHAT!?” Little Nightmare raged as she threw a tantrum. “I’m going to end you for this!”

“Will somepony please explain what’s going on!?” Twilight shouted above her.

“In a moment Twilight,” Celestia smiled. “I promise. But first…” She turned to Christopher. “Are you alright? You’ve used a lot of Runic power. Even for you, that cannot be easy on your body.”

“Yeah...I think in about two minutes here...Or two seconds,” Christopher muttered as he put a hand to his head. “Oh boy. Yup. Gonna have to lay down. That was a lot of power…”

He didn’t even hit the ground before his eyes rolled back into his head. He briefly heard his daughters calling for him, even as he drifted into the darkness…

Lyra raced home, heedless of any warnings that Realm and Artemis threw her way. She didn’t care. She had to find Bon Bon! She had to find her best friend and make sure she was okay.

What she found was a mostly destroyed home… again. And the aforementioned Earth pony shucking off the rest of her armour. That monstrous crossbow lay against one wall, and Bon Bon turned to see her longtime friend cautiously enter the room.

“I guess… I have a lot to explain don’t I?” the earth pony sighed as she removed the last of her dented and broken armour. “Goddess… where do I even start?”

“The beginning is a good place,” Lyra said. She’d been ready to hug the stuffing out of her. But seeing all this? The desire to know why overrode everything else. “I thought… we were friends, that we told each other everything…”

“We do, it’s just…” Bon Bon sighed and looked away. “I couldn’t tell you. For your own safety.”

“Horseapples!” Lyra yelled and stomped a hoof. “You… you have some giant bloody weapon! You took down some bigass Bee/Bear/Thing—”

“Bugbear,” Bon Bon interjected.

“I DON’T CARE!” Lyra yelled. “You know everything about me. What I love, what I hate… what I’m afraid of…” Lyra sat down, abruptly. “I-I feel like I don’t even know you now.”

“Lyra…” Bon Bon sighed as she reached out for her, before pulling back. “Okay. from the beginning then…”

Inside a large hospital room, eight mares and one pissed off filly all sat around or near a bed holding a creature that almost none knew walked among them. The human was injured, all ones of his own making as his extremely-overtaxed magic literally broke his body down. Celestia and Luna had been able to stop the degradation, but it would take time for his body to heal again.

“I cannot believe that this is really Balanced Aspect,” Rarity commented. “If I may be so bold as to ask what he is?”

“A human,” Celestia spoke calmly. “And yes, this is what he truly looks like, though he prefers a pony form to blend in easier.”

Rainbow Dash was silent, self-loathing at the fact she’d abandoned her friends, abandoned those she loved for… for some stupid illusion. Her scowl grew, despite Pinkie’s gentle nudges to try and comfort her.

“So, what happens now?” Twilight asked. “A lot of ponies witnessed the battle between Balanced and Discord. And they’ll all have questions.”

“And I plan to answer those,” Celestia nodded. She did have a few plans in mind already, and was sure that Christopher wasn’t going to enjoy it when he finally awoke. Well, she could always use the Cute if he got too mad. Realising she was spacing out, Celestia turned her attention back to Twilight. “I would like you six to watch over him, do not allow anypony aside from medical staff in the room alright?”

“If somepony touches him, I’ll break their legs,” Rainbow growled, her wings fluttering with irritation.

Celestia made a note to have somepony discreetly talk with the six of them. Discords mind games were no joke, and these mares could seriously hurt themselves or somepony else if left unchecked. The last time she ignored a pony’s mental state… she paid the price for a thousand years.

Speaking of…

“So?” the foal-sized Nightmare grumbled from within the bubble shield that Celestia kept her in. “You going to let me out of this stupid hamster ball or what? It’s not like I can do anything in this condition. The unconscious monkey is still stronger than me at this point.”

“And her?” Twilight asked, as Celestia ignored Nightmare for now.

“Like it or not, she is an Aspect now, and it was my father’s decision to keep her around, and only he can undo whatever it was he did to her.”

“I hate all of you,” Nightmare pouted. “So. Much. Hate.”

“It’s something we can deal with once Father awakes,” Luna said. “For now, the Nightmare shall be staying with us in Canterlot.”

“Yaaay,” Nightmare deadpanned. “How wonderful…”

Again, she went ignored as Celestia nuzzled Twilight. “I have to go for now. So I’m leaving him in the hooves of you and your friends. Can I trust you with this important task Twilight?”

“Yes,” Twilight nodded seriously. “You can count on us your highness!”

“Good,” the alicorn smiled. “Best of luck, and I’ll see you soon.” And with those parting words, she, Luna and the imprisoned foal vanished with a flash of golden light.

The next week or so was going to turn Equestria on it’s head… all because of one individual.

And he was going to sleep through the whole thing.

Author's Notes:

Happy Thanksgiving, Aspe-...

Oh, right, he can't hear me.

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