Canterlot Castle, Royal Gardens, Sculpture Garden; 10:30am

“And here these statues represents the three pony tribes uniting under the same banner, symbolizing harmony,” said Cheerilee, giving a tour for her students. As the fillies and colts followed Miss Cheerilee, three fillies stayed behind as they stared at… a very odd statue; it looked like an amalgamation of different animal parts, its body long and snake-like as it seemed to laugh jovially for some reason.

“I think this one represents confusion,” said Applebloom.

“No, it represents evil,” said Sweetie.

“Chaos!” shouted Scootaloo. Soon the three fillies began to argue amongst one another until Cheerilee stopped the three, punishing them by giving them homework about the statue. As the group left, cracks began to splinter from the statue, as a laughter could be heard emanating from the statue.

Ponyville, Zen’s Compound; 12:00pm

Zen was examining a hologram of the tablet back at the compound at Canterlot Castle; the tablet showed the events of several evils coming upon Equestria… ending with a greater terror beyond any of these previous villains. The first to appear was Nightmare Moon, with the next to come after her was a being known as the Spirit of Chaos – Discord – a draconequus that Celestia and Luna fought against during their youth, before they came to rule Equestria, that terrorized the country-side by warping the world around it into a confusing world of chaos and confusion.

His powers consist of minimal alter-reality changing powers, that are limited to his surroundings, others; he also has powers that can effect him, capable of transformations, different states of solid, liquid, or gas, and is un-killable through natural or magical means so far. He is the only known one of his kind in history, and there are no recorded history about any other draconequus, making him the only one of his kind. He’s possibly the weakest when it comes close combat, but strongest at manipulation, trickery, and persuasion, that and combined with his unpredictable powers he will be more of a nuisance that an actual problem, but he’ll need to be dealt with either way.

Zen turned off the terminal showed the holographic image, the machine turning off; Zen exited the Archives, walking down the steps when the perimeter scanners notify him of someone at the front door. Approaching the door, he opens them to find Spike outside with a backpack on him – possibly with some stuff inside.

“Hey Uncle Zen…” said Spike, sheepishly.

“Spike, what are you doing here? I’d expect you to be with Twilight or possibly Rarity,” said Zen. Spike rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed at the thought of him being with Rarity right now.

“Yeah I would, but Princess Celestia sent a scroll to Twilight for them to come to Canterlot for an emergency of some kind; I was thinking of staying at the library, but it usually gets pretty lonely there… I was thinking if I could hang with you until they come back… they usually never bring me to their adventures for these sort of things.”

Zen thought of this until realizing that if the girls an away for an emergency in Canterlot, it only meant that the next part of the tablet was coming true – the Spirit of Disharmony was returning. I need to get to Canterlot fast, but the train nor any of my vehicles will get me there quickly enough.

Glancing down at the young drake who was now sitting by the staircase reading some comic books, Zen had a thought come to him. “Spike, we’re going to Canter; whatever is happening there, I am possibly needed there too. I can’t leave you here alone so why not we go and see what’s the commotion happening there,” said Zen.

“REALLY! Well… how we going to get there, the train doesn’t come in two hours, and it’ll take a while to get to Canterlot by train too.”

“Let me handle that – follow me.” Spike followed Zen, putting his things back in the backpack and putting the backpack near the stairs so he could get them back later. The two went under the left staircase to the doorway the led to the indoor garden; walking to some staircase that went to the first basement. Once down there, Spike followed Zen to a blank hallway taking a turn to another hallway until they came upon a circular platform that radiated energy as strange particles floated around the platform. “We’ll be using some very similar to teleportation, but this isn’t like the teleportation you’re used to, so if you feel any different, even by the tiniest bit, tell me immediately.”

Spike nodded, stepping onto the platform, immediately feeling a strange sensation spread across his scales and even his inner core like when static would tickle him or when he see somepony rub a balloon against their mane to make static.

“Jiule, activate the telepad – destination, Canterlot; Outpost Alpha’s gateway,” said Zen, authoritatively.

“Access granted – preparing void jump to Outpost Alpha in three… two… one; void jump commenced.”

In a flash of monochromatic lights, Spike found sparkles covering his eyes, trying to rub the still non-existent lights to vanish. After blinking several times, Spike found himself what appeared to be some sort of observatory like the ones used to gaze at the stars; the observatory was clear of dust or cobwebs and was a clear black sheen, but the clear emptiness of the room showed that while it was frequently cleaned, it wasn’t used often.

“Where are we?” asked Spike.

“We’re at – or was – the old Western Wing of Canterlot Castle; I used to live here for the last few centuries, before moving to Ponyville. I had the tele-pad at my compound connected to the one here in case I needed to come back here for something or arrive to Canterlot for emergencies.”

“That’s cool… So what do we do now?” Before Zen could answer, he felt… something… off; the last time he felt something like this was for a few rare occurrences – Luna’s coming return as Nightmare Moon, a demonic influence from Tartarus, or an ambush – a sixth sense of sorts. It was faint but he could tell, that something happened or rather… something was currently happening.

“Spike… I need you to find Luna,” said Zen. With his gauntlet, he digitized a map of Canterlot Castle, that was recently updated to include some added addition after Luna’s return. “Use this to find the quickest way to get to her; once you find her, tell her to find Celestia and see if she can tell you two what’s going… I need to find the girls.”

As Spike looked through the map, just as he looked up to ask Zen a question, he was gone. Looking around to see where he went, Spike shrugged and followed the map’s directions.

Canterlot Castle; 12:15pm

Zen warped and appeared near the room where the Elements of Harmony were often kept, as his mini-map told him that’s where Celestia was currently, but he couldn’t find any of the girls signatures for some reason… something was blocking him from scanning the whole area of Canterlot, only getting static around a certain portion of the castle.

Entering the chamber, he saw Celestia gazing worriedly out the window at the Hedge Maze before glancing at her side, quickly trotting up to Zen in a hurry. “Zen! You’re here; that question you ask yesterday, did you knew Discord would return, why did you not warn… What am I saying, you did, but you also told us that you couldn’t tell us what may occur or the outcome… Will the girls be alright?” asked Celestia, worried.

“All I know is that they’ll triumph through what’s to come, but as to how, when, and what may occur to them I can’t say – both because I don’t know and that I can’t reveal too much of the future. Celestia, where are the girls now?”

Celestia stayed quiet for awhile, biting her lower lip as she was deep in thought; Zen awaited for an answer but at the corner of his sight, he looked out the window and saw the girls at the entrance of the maze, talking to Discord himself before entering the maze. “Celestia… What… are the girls doing right now...” asked Zen, his voice cold and lifeless.

Celestia shivered at that voice, before clearing her voice and looking at Zen, getting some shivers at his lack of pupils on his eyes. “Discord gave a riddle saying where the elements might be hidden; he said, ‘To retrieve your missing Elements just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the elements back where you began.’ After that, they headed to the hedge maze to search but I doubt Discord would make it as simple as what he says… Do you think he really hid the elements in the maze, I mean it does sound like something he’ll do.”

“Celestia… If you think about what he said carefully, then it could be seen like this; the first sentence could mean that the elements aren’t at their original spot, meaning they aren’t in the chamber nor anywhere near the castle, ruling the elements never being in Canterlot. The second sentence, while could mean they’re in the maze, could have a second meaning, that his plan requires trickery and manipulating the girls… which leaves the last sentence. The one spot that the elements have to be at… home – Ponyville.”

Realizing this, Celestia gasped but before she could respond, Zen began to continue speaking. “If the elements are in Ponyville, then they’ll be somewhere in Twilight’s library. Celestia I need you to get to find Luna, she should be with Spike, and once you do, head to Ponyville.”

“What about you, what are you planning on doing?”

“I need to make sure the girls are safe; they may be the one’s to stop Discord, but I won’t let harm come to them at the slightest.”

Zen warped to the hedge maze, leaving Celestia to watch from the castle until the doors behind her opened to reveal Spike and Luna. “Sister, is it true, that Discord has been freed from his imprisonment; we have to find the Elements of Harmony and seal him once more!” said Luna.

“If it were that simple dear Luna, for now we have to get to Ponyville quickly. Zen has figured out where they are and we need to find them and give them to Twilight and her friends.” The three soon teleported to Ponyville, in search of the elements. Zen stood before the entrance of the maze, but as he began to enter inside… he felt a presence – even with the help of his scanner and mini-map, he can distinguish between anyone aura, seeing who is who and what kind power they have… this power, was both chaotic and unpredictable, but not a threat to Zen.

Swiftly Zen turned around to stare back at the one responsible with all of this. “You must be the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, Discord,” said Zen.

“And you… Well I’m not sure what you’re suppose to be,” said Discord, pulling out a notepad and glasses. “I don’t remember making… whatever you are, but the more the merrier. What brings you here, oh strange and broody one?”

“To find the girls, and stop you from making a mess of this world; any way possible if need be.”

“Ohhhh, scary. What makes you can stop me, Discord; Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony!?”

Before Zen could answer, the maze around him vanished and standing in the middle of a large crater was the girls… but somepony was missing. Where’s Rainbow Dash… if she’s not here then the girls can’t seal away Discord. “Excuse me, but I’ll be back in just a moment,” said Discord, popping away.

Soon Discord reappeared before the girls and vanished again after talking with Twilight for a lengthy time, Zen approached the girls but noticed a few things different, while Twilight didn’t look different, the others were slightly gray and acted strange – especially Rarity and the rock called Tom.

“Uncle Zen! Thank Celestia you’re here, quick help us defeat Discord!”

“No can do, the elements are the only way that we can best secure Discord’s defeat, but for now head back to Ponyville, you’ll figure out what to do once you get there. I’ll meet you there once I get things done on my end.” Twilight gazed back at Zen but nodded in understanding; soon Zen warped a couple of times before reappearing back in Ponyville, and saw the state it was in.

Noticing ahead, he saw Celestia and Luna trying to blast away the chaotic magic, while a laughing Discord watched while laying on a floating lawn chair and eating popcorn. Zen warped toward the sisters, floating beside the two while Discord watched with intrigue.

“Oh look its Mr Broody again; Celestia dear, you must introduce me to your new friend – I didn’t knew you were alright with serious but creepy,” said Discord.

Luna smirked back at the draconequus, before trotting forward ahead of Zen and Celestia as she glared back at Discord, with triumph thoughts in her mind. “Ha, you’re doom now Discord, while you were sealed for thousand years, Equestria has grown strong and gain not just the Elements of Harmony to defend it, but also another guardian. Behold of our elder brother; Zen!”

Discord glanced at Zen then Luna, then Celestia, then at another him… before both him and the other him began laughing hysterically. “This, you think this… ‘thing’ can stop me! HA HAHAHAH BAWAHAHAHAAAAAA!”

“You dare insult our brother you abomination-” Luna however was stopped when an armored hand fell on her withers, looking up to see Zen who stepped forward.

“Whether I’m the one to stop you or not, the Elements will stop you… besides; even if they don’t you are no real threat to this world. You say you are the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony? You must jest; I’ve seen wars and battles with the lives of many changed and loss, whether by foe or comrade. I’ve seen what true chaos can be, and what powerful forces are beyond your comprehension. Compare to everything I’ve witnessed and experienced, compared to the countless horrors that are out there… you… any version of you… is a joke.”

Discord kept an eerie silence, so much so that both Luna and Celestia took a step back in fear. “So… you think I’m a joke, do you...” Expecting retaliation, Discord chuckled before putting on a pair of shades. “Who cares – I’m thee Spirit of Chaos, I do whatever I want, whenever I want and no matter who stop me, no matter what others think, I’ll do it and none of you can stop me!” Soon Discord vanished with a snap of his eagle claw; both alicorn sisters sighed before staring at the solitude Zen.

“Do you really think that Twilight and her friends can really stop him?”

“...Its not about if they can, but it has to be this way… And even if they’re unable to...” Zen unsheathed his weapon, staring at the katana he had since he first came to this world. “Then that would be the last mercy he’ll receive – imprisonment would have been his best option, but if he won’t choose that, then I’ll have to finish him myself.” As a floating tree came by, Zen took a quick swipe, and in seconds the tree turned to splinters in a blink of an eye. He may be a spirit, but I fought much worse than him… Much worse…

Some unknown time later – Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library

After Discord managed to dishearten Twilight after finding the elements, she returned back to her tree home, to find Spike on the ground coughing up the letters she sent to Celestia. Reading the letters she slowly remembered the precious moments she had with her friends; soon she headed back and gathered all her friends, and with all of them back, they only needed to find Rainbow Dash.

“There she is!” shouted Pinkie, pointing upward.

The girls saw Rainbow laying on a single cloud, but as they tried to convince her to help them stop Discord, she zoomed off. Seeing as convincing her will be tricky, as well as trying to catch her, the girls planned their next move; following Twilight’s plan, they managed to rope tie Rainbow down, letting Twilight worked her stuff, regaining their friend back.

With all six of the girls back, they confronted Discord, who was currently in a middle of a conversation with the princesses. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, what are you doing here?!” shouted Twilight, surprised.

“We were convinced by Zen that you shouldn’t fight alone, we’ll be by your side and seal Discrod once more,” said Celestia.

“We may be able to use the elements anymore, but we’ll never let this fool, bring our ponies into eternal despair ever again!” shouted Luna, firing a blast of raw magic.

The beam hit Discord, then continued to continue going through a gaping hole on Discord’s mid-section. Soon the hole reformed back to his normal body, as he chuckled darkly at the sisters and the Mane 6. “So you think the power of two alicorns and the elements will stop me; hmph, that Zen must really believe you can put me back to stone. I’m never going back to being a garden ornament again!”

Discord popped back to his throne and sat down lazily; with their chance at hoof the girls prepared the elements, but just as they were reaching their climax and the Rainbow was heading right for Discord… he dodged at the last second. Everypony gasped loudly before Discord snapped his claw and the Elements of Harmony were poofed to him, floating around him with a malicious grin.

“You really think I’d sit here and not do anything – especially after that goading from Mr Dark Brooding and Serious?! I’LL RULE OVER EQUESTRIA IN ETERNAL CHAOS! MAWHWAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAAAA!”

The girls looked at one another in fear, Celestia and Luna were about to give up, now with the elements in Discord’s grasp, there was noway to stop him… that was until something swiped the elements from Discord. The Spirit of Chaos blinked looking down at his now empty claw, before spinning around to stare at Zen who stood in the air.

Within his grasp were the elements, before he digitized them into his personal storage; turning around he face Discord with a simple look – no hate, no glare, just a basic gaze. “I see that you made your choice… I was never trying to goad you into anything Discord; your childish attitude to everything is the reason you even decided to fight back. I wasn’t trying to break your ego… no… what I told you was a decision, a final mercy… and you wasted it.”

“Ha! You think you scare me-” Discord felt pain, immeasurable pain, and sure it hurt when he was turned to stone, but this wasn’t any ordinary pain, it was the kind of pain that hit him to his core… it couldn’t be described or compared to any other pain. “GRAAAWH!”

Looking down, Discord saw a black flaming slash across his body, before patting it down, leaving a black mark on him. Staring back up he – and not just him but also the girls and the Luna, leaving Celestia to be more worried than shocked – saw something… she has never seen before.

Zen wielded his giant katana with both gauntlets, as his cape billowed from an unseen wind; the pupils within his eyes vanished, leaving his eyes blank, as a black and dark flames sprouted out from his armor, until resembling a pair of fiery wings.

With one swipe of his sword, the whole area around Discord burst into black flames, the heat not hot but consuming the warmth around him into a frigid nothingness. The magic that Discord used to change Ponyville slowly began to warp and return to its original state, but something else changed, as the shadows swirled and warped into varying shapes.

Holding his katana with one hand, Zen used the other hand raising high with an open palm until clutching it tightly. Soon the shadows stiffened and with an invisible given command, began to morph together into pillars of solid nothingness as pitch black spikes began to rise around Discord and the girls, creating a malformed landscape of darkness.

“Your powers allow you to change the world around you in a whim, effecting the area and its denizens… but the power that I’ve sharpened and used over the years have far greater advantages than your so called ‘Chaos Magic’. The power that you’ll face is something I never dare to use… only saved for those deserving; its time for you to see my true strength, the gift from the Void itself – the power to change reality!”

With a flick of his clawed finger, the nothingness wrapped around Zen like a cowl, soon transforming into a massive claw of pure shadow. At that very moment, Discord felt true pure fear for once in his long existence… and he gazed at the very personification of fear itself.

With one final flick of his claw, Zen engulfed it in black flames. “Time to face judgment, Discord.”

Author's Notes:

Discord has been given his chance, but sadly has made the wrong decision; now facing the wrath of Zen, the Spirit of Chaos now faces the Knight of the Void. Next chapter: The unpredictable chaos powers of Discord vs the reality-bending forces of the Void, are in a battle to be remembered for eons - Who will win, and who will fall?

Thoughts: Zen

Narration/Dialogue: Zen