AN: Alright...so it's been like two weeks. Work has gotten the best of me again, keeping me from finalizing the drafts. Not that that is a good excuse, but it is the truth. But, hey! I'm finally posting, so yay!
As per usual, I don't own My Little Pony.
Chapter 14: The Fabulous Wonderbolts!
Discord looked out from the upstairs window of his cottage. He could spot the Wonderbolts hovering up above, using the clouds as cover. Figures that Celestia would send her little vanguards in to attack him first.
"Looks like Celestia wasn't as trusting as she wanted me to believe," Discord sighed to himself, "Of course she wouldn't want her new pet lose without a collar around it's neck. She probably followed me here when I first set up shop...I suppose we'll just have to move."
Glancing to the side, Discord noted the glowing eyes that looked at him from the forest before vanishing back into it's depths.
"And I was just beginning to enjoy my neighbors too…."
"Discord!" a voice up above caught his attention, "We are here to negotiate the release of the one known as Fluttershy! Come out and surrender her calmly, or we'll have to resort to force!"
"Silly little ponies," he chuckled to himself, "Didn't Celestia tell them just whom they are dealing with?"
"This is your only warning, Discord," the voice called again, "You have five minutes to comply!"
Discord smirked as he sprang into action. Running over to the wall, he kicked it, causing a ladder to fall out from above. Climbing up, he strapped himself into a seat and turned on the power to the room. Surrounding him was a vast array of machinery that had never been seen before to ponykind. Discord had seen it before in a dream...or perhaps it was a trip to another dimension? Or both? He didn't remember the details. Anyways, that didn't matter right now!
"Orbital Defense Cannons Activated," a bodiless voice of a female replied.
"Oh yeah! Here is where the fun begins," Discord smiled darkly as cameras gave him a look at these so called "heroes."
"To my so called attackers!" Discord called out over an intercom, "I'll give you this one chance to leave now and not face the awesomeness that will most certainly end with your defeat!"
The Wonderbolts stared at the small cottage in shock as part of the roof opened up and revealed a large cannon pointed directly at them. Nopony had ever had the gall to challenge them so blatantly. Spitfire particularly had an uneasy feeling in her gut about this. Between the lack of information from Celestia about this mission and the strangeness of the surroundings, this was not going to end well.
"Who does this pony think he is!" Discord looked at his observation screen where the one pony with blue hair called out, "Does he know that he is messing with the one and only Wonderbolts! Let's get him!"
"Soarin! Wait!" a female with orange and yellow hair called after him. Was she the leader?
Discord chuckled darkly as he began to target the blue haired pegasus that was quickly approaching. Clicking a button he released the safety and aimed the cannons at the oncoming pony. Another click later and the cannon shot straight at the oncoming pony.
Spitfire could only watch as something flew out from the top of the cabin at high speeds at Soarin. It flew fast, hard, and oddly...pink. It hit Soarin dead on, causing him to tumble at high speeds to the moat below.
"Catch him!" Spitfire cried out to the other Wonderbolts under her command. Two immediately saluted and flew off to catch him, only to be caught up the stickiness of the mess, and fall with Soarin into the moat.
Spitfire and the remaining Wonderbolts sped down and hovered over the three in the pond. She could only sigh in relief as all three came up, gasping for breath.
"W-what is this stuff!" Cried one of the recruits.
"Is-is this...hot chocolate," Soarin coughed in the dark liquid.
Spitfire hovered as close as she dared, only to get a smell that was distinctly similar to the chocolatey beverage. Around her her fellow Wonderbolts went to try to remove their friends from the mess.
"Forget the chocolate, what is this on you," a green stallion to her right gasped as his hooves got stuck in the pink mess that covered his companions.
A light blue mare who had been hit cautiously sniffed the goop in question, before tasting it, much to everyone's protests.
"It's cotton candy," she whispered in shock.
"Who launches cotton candy and has a hot chocolate moat?!" cried out Soarin.
Spitfire felt her insides turn to ice. She couldn't remember the name at all, but this was all so familiar. Memories of cotton candy clouds, day and night changing once every five minutes, and chaos over the land all surfaced. It was a time of confusion and fear, but it eventually stopped as suddenly as it began. Weren't those girls from Ponyville responsible for rescuing the whole of Equestria with that one? That one hopeful recruit known as Rainbow Dash and her friends? It was all so familiar, but who was it that caused it...
"Now you kids get out of my moat!" cried a voice on the loudspeakers as the cannons aimed at their group, "Only myself and select friends can play in there!"
Spitfire didn't get the chance to say anything before the cannon fired again in quick succession, successfully taking out half of her other flyers within seconds. Only her quick maneuvering and years of experience kept her from getting hit.
The sounds of reloading kept her from stopping to check on her squad, as she once again resumed dashing and dodging the projectiles. Spitfire did her best to avoid all the pink globs sent hurling through the air. One came close, soaring above her head, making her dive. It was during this dive that she heard two more coming closer, most likely aiming at where she should be if she kept up this trajectory. Too bad it wouldn't hit. She wasn't leader of the Wonderbolts for nothing!
A quick weave and change of direction and she avoided the next five shots. Around her she heard another voice cry out, and a pink blob fall out of sight. Spitfire hissed under her breath. She needed to get a handle on the situation. As much as she prefered to attack situations like this head on, perhaps it was time to remove the troops and regroup.
Spitfire paused, no longer hearing the sounds of cannon fire and projectiles. Looking around she was now almost to the clouds. Had she made it out of the firing range of the cannon? Did this Discord finally run out of ammo? Either way, she needed to see who was left and what she had to work with.
It was only during this small break that she could see that she was the only pony to have made it up this high. Looking down all of her teammates lay either stuck to trees or floating in the moat of chocolate. No one else had avoided the attacks.
A deep laughter rang through the area, making white-hot lightning bolts of adrenaline spike up her back as she realized that it was no longer just coming through the loudspeakers.
"And only one little pony left!"
Spitfire looked around trying to spot the voice. When had this Discord left the house below? The cannons only stopped firing seconds ago! How had he left the building so fast?
"I do believe that you deserve a prize, my dear," a voice whispered into her ear.
Spitfire gasped and twisted around, only to find one of the strangest creatures she had seen to date. Was this...Discord?
The sight of the being that was a conglomerate of other creatures brought the memories back in a flood. The stained glass windows of the palace. The period of time where her group was running rampant trying to stop the outpouring of cotton candy clouds. The rescue missions to save ponies trapped by various, not to mention ridiculous, traps across all of equestria, ranging from floating houses to soap pits. The sudden return of everything to normal. A reception for the mares that bore the Elements of Harmony.
The Discord they had to face was this Discord!
The shock didn't get to last long though as Discord pulled out a separate cannon, that in no way could have been hidden behind his back and broke all laws of reality, and fired.
Fluttershy awoke with a small gasp of air in what was her room at Discord's cottage. Somehow she felt more at peace than she had in a long time. She still felt compelled to laugh and to make other ponies laugh. There was even this distant laughter that kept ringing through her skull, but it was just that, distant. She wouldn't let it bother her now. She had a mission to complete, and she was determined to live up to Princess Luna's expectations.
Slowly, Fluttershy worked her way out of the bed. Discord had rarely let her walk around these last few days, treating her as though she were a delicate flower. She might not be the strongest of ponies, or even the strongest of pegasi, but she wasn't just some fragile thing to be put into a corner and fawned over! She could be strong too! Just like the rest of her friends!
Thinking of her friends made Fluttershy hesitate for a minute. There was no getting around it, Twilight had cast this spell on her, making her life miserable. But Princess Luna had said it was an accident, or at least an uninformed mistake. She could trust the Princess, right?
But poor Discord, he was going to be so heartbroken when she left….
Either way, Fluttershy thought to herself as she strengthened her resolve once more, I have to return to my friends in Ponyville.
Stretching slowly, Fluttershy shakily made her way out of the small room and across the mismatched living room. Taking a quick glance around, she found it abandoned. With a sigh, she began her walk across the room. She just was thankful that Discord hadn't changed the floor back to the moving patterns, she didn't think she could handle that.
As she neared the door, she could hear Discord laughing on the other side. But it wasn't the same laugh that she had come to know over the last few days. It sounded deeper, and more maniacal, making her shiver in her memories of their first battle with Discord.
No, Discord's changed, she told herself, He wouldn't just go back to being evil again, would he?
Discord laughed as he studied his current work of art. All of the Wonderbolts were now lined out before him, acting as borders for his front bridgeway. Each pony stretched out on a wall of cotton candy, like little flies caught in a spider web. Well...if that spider used cotton candy instead of silk string...and the flies looked more like giant pony mummies…. Either way, they made the greatest little lawn ornaments! Sure, some may prefer pink flamingos or little gnomes, but not him! No! Discord got candied mummified ponies!
"But it could use some...flare," Discord muttered to himself, studying the ponies before him intently. With a large smile, he snapped his fingers again, turning to study his handiwork.
Each mummified pony was now in new positions across the front, looking like bright pink forms of topiary across the front. The pony known as Soarin was now standing on his toes like a ballerina, the pink of the candy forming a tutu as he balanced on a round ball of candy. The light green wonderbolt was now set up like a lion, the cotton candy forming a mane around her small face, while their leader, Spitfire, now acted like a pink ring master with a whip frozen in time against the ferocious beast.
He now had a complete candied pony topiary circus for his house! It was so beautiful it made him want to cry. Oh, he was so proud of himself!
A soft gasp behind him brought him out of his musings. Discord grinned, spinning around, ready to attack whomever he might have missed, only to find Fluttershy staring at the scenery in horror.
"F-Fluttershy!" Discord gulped out in surprise, "I-I didn't expect you!"
She shouldn't have been awake for another five hours at a minimum, Discord thought to himself, !
Looking around at his surroundings, he quickly tried to think up a logical excuse, "Here to join in the fun! It's the newest treatment straight from Manehatten! Cotton Candy wraps! Does wonders for the coat!"
"D-Discord," Fluttershy whispered looking horrified at what she was seeing.
"See," Discord smiled, pulling a pony surrounded by candy shaped like a penguin off of the pile of candied boxes that they were posed upon and snapped his fingers. The candy coating immediately disappeared, revealing an unconscious lavender colored pony in his arms, their eyes still spinning from the knock-out from earlier.
"Right as rain! And look at that shine on their coat," Discord laughed nervously, his voice oozing with a false excitement, "Oh! And the treatment must have been too good! They are still too delighted to speak."
"You...you did this to them?" Fluttershy asked weakly, her eyes darting around to all the ponies in their trapped forms.
"They were just begging for this spa craze!" Discord sounding like the smoothest salesman in Equestria, "Just look-"
"Stop lying," Fluttershy's voice softly interrupted his speal.
"I'm sorry. What was that?" Discord asked, desperately trying to pretend like nothing was wrong.
"Stop lying to me," her eyes blazed with anger and sorrow as she looked him directly in the eye.
"Fluttershy," he whispered in shock. Fluttershy never got angry! Upset and frustrated, yes, but not angry! It wasn't like he asked these ponies to attack his cottage. If he could make her understand….
"I...I thought you had changed," she muttered softly, "You said you had changed!"
"I-I have!" Discord assured her, "I only did this out of self-defence! For your defence!"
She only shook her head in confusion and horror. "Can't you see what you're doing Discord! I thought you weren't using your powers against ponies anymore! That you were helping ponies!"
"Yeah, well, they attacked first!" Discord called out like a child, "Fluttershy, they came here demanding to give you up like I was some sort of monster. I couldn't just let them take you away!"
Fluttershy remained quiet, her eyes changing from anger to sorrow at the creature before her as she recalled what they were discussing right before he put her to sleep.
"Don't you see," Discord continued on, trying to defend himself, "They were here to take you away! Can't you see that Celestia is already condemning me for saving you! Celestia obviously doesn't trust me anymore! Can't you see what she is going to do? She is going to take you away forever and never let us see each other any more! How can we be friends if we can't visit and have little parties and fight against random forest dangers together!"
But Fluttershy didn't see it. She just couldn't! She trusted Discord, and what had he done? He went and started using his powers against ponies again because he thought she would be taken away from him! She might believe the part about them attacking first, but what he was doing with them now wasn't right. He could have knocked them out and sent them home. Teleported them to the capital, sent them to Ponyville, or to Manehatten if he wanted to. But instead to took to capturing them and treating them like toys. Like some sort of twisted trophies for his yard.
If he was willing to do that to his enemies, what would he do to her when she was better? He had already put her to sleep once to keep her from asking too many questions. To keep her quiet and locked away. His eyes told her that he wasn't expecting her for some time to come. If he was willing to do that to her, what would he do to other ponies over time? To her friends? To the kind doctor that had helped her? To the children he had taken to visiting at the hospital?
This brought up the question of whether or not he would even let her go once she was healed. She knew that he was reluctant as it was to let her wander off on her own. Now she knew that he was not going to let her go again.
Maybe he is just scared, her inner voice fought back, He already admitted to being scared of being lonely. We need to see this from his view! He just needs a friend! He wouldn't want to hurt others like this unless he felt that there was no other choice.
Fluttershy took a moment to consider it only to stop that thought in its tracks. No matter what the situation what Discord was doing was just...wrong.
Looking away she told him in a hurt voice, "What you're doing here...what you're doing to these ponies...it's not right! You can't do this!"
"They were going to take you away from me!" Discord cried out, hurt that she was so quick to condemn him, "They were going to send you back to those betrayers that you once called friends! What sort of creature would do that to someone?"
"What sort of creature captures those they defeated and leaves them out in a dangerous forest as decorations!" Fluttershy shot back.
"Fluttershy," Discord tried to defend himself, though he knew deep down that she was right. He did have the power to do just about anything to defend this place. He could have sent them back to that silly little air base of theirs. But instead….
"No, Discord. This is wrong. This is all wrong."
"Fluttershy," Discord repeated weakly, stepping towards the mare.
"N-no! Stay back," Fluttershy's eyes widened in fear, taking an unconscious step back, her mind flashing back to when he put her to sleep with a poke of his claw.
"I can fix this," Discord pleaded, reaching towards the pale yellow pony. "Here!" A snap of his claw and all the cotton candy was gone, leaving the Wonderbolts in a pile on the ground. A second snap of his claw and a portal to their air base opened. Multiple Discords appeared in various paramedic clothing styles, all whisking the fallen ponies onto stretchers and through the portal. Within a minute, all the ponies were gone and the portal closed.
"See, all better," Discord face gave a strained smile. But Fluttershy did not return his smile, only giving him with a look of fear.
"Fluttershy," he said softly, stepping forward slowly to her, trying his best to look harmless, but she quickly stumbled backwards and away from him. His heart was breaking at the look she was giving him.
"It's going to be alright, Fluttershy! I'll fix this! I promise!" Discord cried out. Reacting before thinking, he reached towards the small mare, only for her to jump out of his reach with a small yelp.
"Stay-stay away! If this is what you do to your enemies, I don't want to know what you would do to those you called friends!" Fluttershy cried out, quickly standing up and running out across the back bridge and out into the forest.
"Wait! Fluttershy!" Discord cried out, running after the fleeing pony. He had to reach her! They needed to talk! But more importantly, he needed to get her back to the cottage. Didn't she know what was waiting out in these woods?
He began to chase after her, his legs carrying him as far as the back of the cottage where he saw Fluttershy's form disappear into the darkness of the forest.
"Discord!" a familiar voice cried out from behind him, making him freeze in place.
Turning around slowly he cursed under his breath as the one group he did not need to be here right now was here.
"Discord," Twilight Sparkle cried out as she and a few of the others jumped down from a rapidly descending balloon, "Where. Is. Fluttershy."