AN: So...the reason for not uploading on Saturday again was because my family and I went out to get a tree and some decorating. I'll really try to upload on Saturdays as well from now on. There's only a few chapters left of this story and I'd like to get it all out before my next story is finished. For those wondering, it's not another MLP story. Anyway, time for the next chapter.
Ch 12: Attack Part 2
Cheese Sandwich
The party stallion does his best to keep a happy face while he observes the festivities. He's actually had to take private breaks since it's actually hurting to keep smiling so much, which has never happened to him before. It felt so awkward when he found himself near Pinkie again as he was firing that pony harassing that inter couple. Cheese knows she admired him for stepping in, but it just makes him feel worse about not being the pony that she's in love with. Currently, he's on another smile break under a tree around lunchtime. He soon notices somepony rather large up in the tree. "What are you doing up there, Bulk?"
Said pegasus looks around before responding. "Hiding from Limestone."
"What did you?" asks a suddenly approaching Neighsay. "I will defend Limestone's honor if need be."
"Nothing like that," says Bulk. "I had a date with Marble last night and…we had sex."
"Fascinating," comes from seemingly nowhere.
All three stallions scream at the sudden intrusion, Bulk falling out of the tree and shaking it with his landing as he does so. They discover the voice belonged to Mudbriar.
"Thank you for the landing," the brown earth pony stallion says to Bulk. "You have given me more sticks to collect." He starts picking them up and taking them to a nearby cart.
"Mudbriar?" asks Cheese. "You're back?
"Yes."
"What happened with that convention you and Maud were going to?"
"The Sticks and Stones Convention. Sadly, it was cancelled. Therefore, Maud and I chose to take the first train back to Ponyville."
"How long have you been here?" Bulk asks as he finally stands up.
Mudbriar pauses a moment before pointing. "Thirty seconds."
"You are in a relationship with Maud Pie?" asks Neighsay.
"Yes. I am her boyfriend. Although, technically, I could now be classified as her lover."
The other three just stare at Mudbriar, hardly believing their ears.
"Huh?" asks Bulk.
"Are you serious?" asks Neighsay.
"When did you sleep with Maud?" asks Cheese.
"Last night," Mudbriar says while picking up the last of the sticks. "Maud and I stayed in a hotel. The only available room for us had just one bed, so the two of us…lacking a better term at the moment…took advantage of that."
"How was it?" both Neighsay and Cheese (the virgins) ask out of the blue.
Bulk is kind of disturbed by them asking that.
Mudbriar puts the last of his sticks into the cart before he turns to the other stallions with a light smile. "We became more than simple ponies. We were wild creatures of passion and lust."
Bulk feels very uncomfortable with that description. He notices that Cheese and Neighsay are looking at him now. "No."
"I wanna know," says Cheese.
"I am also curious," says Neighsay.
Bulk face hooves and gives a big sigh. "I'll say it was awesome and that's all you get from me."
Mudbriar is suddenly in front of the large stallion. "I am assuming Limestone happened to discover the two of you and believed you had seduced Marble."
"Yeah."
"In reality, Marble was the one who asked you."
"How'd you know?"
"In the time that I have known her, Marble Pie has had two crushes on large stallions, both ended in her emotional pain. The first was Big Macintosh of the Apples."
"Oh yeah." Bulk's familiar with that type of reaction to Big Mac. He's always felt jealous of the stallion's former status as Ponyville's most eligible bachelor amongst the mares and those stallions that swung that way. Big Mac marrying Sugar Belle improved Bulk's love life by a lot (exclusively with mares though).
"Marble's second crush was a Troubleshoes."
"I know him," says Cheese. "I ran into him last time I was in Appleoosa. Did Marble ever really have a chance?"
"You mean because he is now the live-in boyfriend of a Sheriff Silverstar, a stallion?" asks Mudbriar.
"Yep."
"I also visited Appleoosa recently and happened to encounter Troubleshoes myself. Out of curiosity, I mentioned Marble's former crush on him while conversing."
"Why would you do that?!" Bulk asks feeling embarrassed for the mare he likes.
"To find out what I discovered. Troubleshoes stated he was bisexual and would have gone on a date with Marble if she had asked first."
"I assume he was already committed to his current partner then?" asks Neighsay.
"Yes." Mudbriar turns to Bulk. "Considering I told her about this exchange, Marble likely used sex as a way to encourage you to stay with her."
"She didn't need to do that," says Bulk. "I really like her."
"That is something you should inform her about."
"What about Limestone?"
"Knowing my dearest Maud, which I do, she has likely calmed her and discovered the truth from Marble. You should no longer have to be in fear of Limestone's wrath." Mudbriar turns to Neighsay. "I am assuming your wish to hear about both mine and Bulk's sexual experiences was based on your desire to copulate with Limestone in the near future?"
Neighsay blushes. "I…what would make you think…? I would never…"
"I would rethink my expectations of the relationship if I were you."
"Why is that?"
"Maud has informed me that Limestone wishes to remain a virgin until marriage in order to avoid becoming an unwed mother."
"Ah. Understandable. I can wait. Limestone is the first that I have ever considered dating, so I'm willing to be patient."
"You okay?" Cheese asks Bulk.
The large pegasus stallion has a look of terror on his face.
"It would seem, based on the expression on your face, you and Marble neglected to use any protection," says Mudbriar.
"I need to get another job! I don't make enough to support a foal! And what'll her parents think! And—"
"Calm yourself. First, it has only been a day. You cannot know that Marble is pregnant in that short amount of time. Second, if she does happen to be pregnant, might I suggest you take a position at the Pie family's rock farm? You would be in close proximity to the hypothetical foal at all times and your wages would be most exceptional. It would be more than enough to support a foal."
"Really?" asks Cheese. "Money's that good at a rock farm?"
"Let me put it this way. Half of Canterlot's elite would be jealous of their bank account."
"You're kidding," Neighsay says unable to believe this.
"I never kid. I was surprised myself considering the humble appearance of the Pie family's house, but they merely have simple tastes."
"Cool," says Bulk.
Mudbriar turns to Cheese. "What about you and Pinkie?"
The party stallion puts on a big and fake smile. "We're not a couple."
"Really?" all three of the other stallions ask feeling complete disbelief.
"Really. She even told me she's in love with somepony else."
"Hmm," says Mudbriar. "That is a fascinating subject for you to be smiling about."
"I have to force this smile. If I don't, I'll burst into tears right here."
Both Bulk and Neighsay pity him.
Mudbriar thinks a moment before speaking. "Did Pinkie say anything about this individual that she is in love with?"
"No," Cheese says while still forcing the smile. "Just had to get out of there before I could break down."
"I see. Did Pinkie actually say she did not love you?"
"No."
"I see. Did Pinkie only tell you she was in love?"
"Yes."
"I see. Cheese Sandwich, I can safely say that Pinkie Pie was talking about you."
Cheese starts twitching. "Please don't give me false hope."
"My dearest Maud has informed me that Pinkie has found any excuse to discuss you and is liable to speak on the subject of you for hours. That combined with a little bit of insight into her thought process through both Maud and my personal experience, I can safely assure you there is nopony else she could be in love with."
Finally, Cheese drops the smile. "Really?"
"Without a doubt. Now, if you will all excuse me, I must deliver this cart filled with sticks to my house." Mudbriar hitches himself up. "Afterwards, I shall spend Hearts and Hooves Day with my dearest Maud." He leaves.
"I should go too," says Bulk. "Need to find Marble." He flies away.
"I would also like to spend today with somepony," says Neighsay. "Hopefully, Limestone will agree to it." He goes off.
Left alone, Cheese goes to the nearest booth that sells food and gets some lunch, not really paying attention to what it is he's eating. Once he feels full, the stallion takes out Boneless Two. "So, everypony tells me Pinkie loves me, but I'm so scared it isn't true. What should I do?"
Silence, but this time, even Cheese doesn't hear anything.
"What's wrong? Are you mad? And if you are, what about?"
Silence.
"Come on. Talk to me. I don't know what to do about Pinkie without your help."
Silence.
"Stop giving me the silent treatment! Please! Say something!"
Silence, but Cheese finally gets a response.
"The sky?" The stallion looks up and is scared. "Wow. That got dark real fast." He hears screaming all around. "Those don't sound like the screams of those having lots and lots of fun." Cheese looks around a booth and feels himself freeze up from fear. "Sombra? Here? Attacking in numbers? This gives an army of one a new meaning. Let's get out of here, Boneless Two."
Silence.
"What?! You want me to get involved?!"
Silence.
"That's the kind of crazy I don't like! I'm not a fighter!"
Silence.
"No! I can't do it! I—"
"YOO HOO!"
Cheese whips his head around to see Pinkie waving at the Sombras now looking at her.
"All Sombras are invited to a party with me! Follow me! The party's this way!" She hops away with most of the Sombras in the area galloping after her.
Cheese stares after them for a few moments. "Boneless Two, this next part is just way too dangerous for me to bring you." He places the rubber chicken down by the booth before rushing after Pinkie and all the Sombras. Catching up with them, Cheese sees that the party mare has her party cannon spinning around firing at all the Sombras.
Suddenly, Pinkie feels her cannon come to a stop. "What?! Since when have you ever got all jammed?!" She realizes she's now open for all the Sombras to attack. "Uh oh."
Without thinking, Cheese pulls out his accordion and plays a very loud note. Even with his knees shaking from all the Sombras staring at him now, the party stallion puts on a little musical performance as a distraction.
Pinkie takes a mallet out of her mane and whacks her party cannon hard with it. Hearing it spring back to life, she fires at the Sombras getting ready to attack Cheese.
The party stallion suddenly gets an idea and brings out his own giant party cannon.
"Where did that come from?!" the Sombras shout in confusion.
"Pinkie! Let's combine party cannons!"
The mare grins. "YAY!" She grabs her own cannon and leaps at the giant one.
The Sombras' jaws all drop from seeing the two cannons fuse into a gigantic multi turreted monstrosity. "HOW?!"
The cannon starts to spin around and fire all over. Confetti, cakes, streamers, and all other assorted party things hit every nearby Sombra and make them disappear. Once the monster sized cannon stops spinning, it splits back into two separate cannons and spits out two very happy and very dizzy ponies.
"That was a blast," says Cheese.
"Whee," says Pinkie.
They find each other and hold on for support.
Cheese is the first one to open up his eyes. Seeing the other pony holding him, his feelings come pouring out. "Pinkie, you're my favorite pony in the whole wide world. If you're really in love with somepony, I can't help but feel jealous since I'm crazy in love with you."
Pinkie's eyes shoot open. Then, she starts to simultaneously laugh and cry.
"What's so funny? I usually get the humor in almost everything, but I don't get this one."
"It's just…kind of funny to think of somepony being jealous of themselves."
"Jealous of…? You mean…?"
"I was talking about you the whole time, Silly."
Cheese is just about to leap with utter joy when Pinkie is suddenly dragged away. "Wait!" He comes up to a barrier that stops him from going further.
"This isn't good," Pinkie says while surrounded by a trio of Sombra clones.
"Thank you for stating the obvious," one of the clones says sarcastically.
"It's a relief to have captured the most annoying of my enemies," says the second.
Pinkie suddenly looks terrified. "You're planning to execute us, aren't you?"
"Look at that," says the third Sombra. "There is some intelligence in that messed up brain of yours."
"WHAT?!" Cheese shouts, horrified by the thought of this execution. Seeing the Sombra clones smirking at him, the earth pony stallion starts to pound on the barrier with all of his might. "STOP!" With the Sombras disappearing and taking Pinkie along for the ride, the barrier goes too. Cheese falls to the ground and curls up into a fetal position. 'They took her. Took Pinkie. I don't know where you are, Pinkie.' Cheese suddenly sits up having thought up a desperate idea. He smacks at his cutie mark. "Cheesie Sense! Tell me where they went!" Not getting anything, the stallion hits it again. "Come on! You always tell me where parties need my help! For once, tell me where to find Pinkie!" Still getting nothing, Cheese starts furiously pounding on his cutie mark. "I'm begging you! If I lose Pinkie like this I'll never have the will to throw another party! PLEASE!" Right then, his body goes totally haywire as his cutie mark finally gives an answer. The stallion grins. "THANK YOU!" He rushes off to where his Cheesie Sense told him to go.
Discord
The draconequus is having a difficult day. He's on the verge of a breakdown. 'Who knew taking care of animals would be such a hassle?' Discord is covered in dirt and mud, wet from a fall in the water, and even has a bandage on his goat leg from when an irate bear took a big swipe at him. That last one has made him act a lot more careful with the other animals since he freaked out from the bleeding just as much as the pain itself (both being rather new experiences for him). When Dr. Fauna asked him if he wanted to leave, Discord thought of how Fluttershy could react and decided to persevere. 'Possibly letting her down is even worse to me than getting mauled by an angry bear. I really do love her.' The draconequus heads over to a wolf mother and her litter of pups for his last task before lunch. 'Are those the ones Fluttershy helped to deliver last week? What a coincidence.'
The wolf mother notices Discord and starts growling.
"Easy. I'm just here to feed you."
The wolf mother growls harder.
'I've heard that a mother's protective instincts are a force to be reckoned with. Even if my chaos magic was working, I'd be afraid of her.' Discord sees Dr. Fauna's coming over, likely to take over. 'I've barely been scraping by doing Fluttershy's usual tasks. How does she make this look so easy? What would she do about this wolf? For starters, it would never growl at her like this. Animals love her.' That's when Discord realizes what he has to do to succeed. "I'm doing this to help Fluttershy."
The wolf mother stops growling, but she keeps glaring.
'Don't use complicated words with them.' "She wanted to be with her pony friends today, so I'm working here so she can do that and not feel bad about it. I don't want to let her down, so I'm asking…please…let me feed you to help her."
After a few tense seconds, the wolf mother signals her pups to let Discord feed them.
The draconequus gives them all food, then he cautiously does the same for the mother. He turns to find Dr. Fauna smiling at him.
"That was wonderful, Discord."
"Yes, well…" The draconequus trails off due to not knowing how to finish that sentence.
"Let's have lunch."
"Finally!"
The two decide to sit under a big tree. Dr. Fauna has a boxed lunch and Discord has a bag prepared for him by Fluttershy.
The draconequus is so happy with the food the pegasus mare made him. 'All of my favorite foods. Fluttershy put so much thought into this.' As he's eating, Discord notices a sticky note is attached to the bag. Taking it off, he reads what's written.
'Good luck! You can do it! I'll always believe in you! From, Fluttershy.'
Discord smiles down at the note.
Dr. Fauna sees the way he smiles at the note. "You care about her a lot, don't you?"
"I do."
"And I don't think it's a secret she feels the same about you."
"I wouldn't be who I am today without her support."
"Hmm. You know, I believe Angel Bunny is rather jealous of your relationship."
"That doesn't surprise me."
"It was most obvious to me that time he and Fluttershy switched bodies."
"Oh yes! She told me about that incident. If I had been there, the situation would certainly have been diffused a lot more quickly."
"Of course. The things Angel said as Fluttershy would've tipped you off to it immediately. 'See how shy I am.'"
"HA! Do go on!" Discord starts drinking the chocolate milk he saved for last.
"'I talk to animals, I wanna marry Discord.'"
The draconequus spits out his chocolate milk and starts coughing. "What?!"
"I'm just repeating what Angel said as Fluttershy, him being his usual trickster self."
"I see." Discord drinks down the rest of his chocolate milk. "Excuse me." Throwing the bag and empty container away, he walks off.
Dr. Fauna smirks to herself. 'I'm not much of a gardener, but I believe I planted that seed quite well.'
Discord looks all around Sweet Feather Sanctuary. 'Where's that troublesome rabbit?' He eventually finds Angel with a female black rabbit (Discord believes Fluttershy named her Demi). The draconequus picks up the white rabbit. "I need to talk with you." He brings Angel behind a tree and drops him.
The rabbit looks ready to try attacking Discord for interrupting his time with Demi.
"I just learned from Dr. Fauna that you said something interesting concerning me that time you switched bodies with Fluttershy."
Angel looks absolutely horrified now.
"Most would write it off as being mischievous. I know you better than that. You generally don't say anything without some measure of belief in its truth. That's what Fluttershy has said to me anyway. So, has Fluttershy ever expressed a desire to marry me?"
Angel wants to deny this. He's never liked Discord and he firmly believes the draconequus will just keep hurting Fluttershy over and over again. However, Angel knows that Discord really does care about her and that he never purposely tries to hurt her. Besides, the rabbit also realizes the possibility of the draconequus reciprocating would make Fluttershy very happy. With that in mind, Angel nods.
Discord leans against a tree to keep himself from fainting. "Fluttershy wants to marry me. To be my wife. That means she…loves me." As he's recovering, the draconequus senses a very powerful healing spell somewhere in Ponyville. Then, all the animals around him go completely nuts. "What's going on?"
Dr. Fauna appears with an injured squirrel on her back. "Animals have a knack for sensing danger." She raises her voice. "All animals! Remember what Fluttershy said! Head for the safe zones now!"
As the animals run, Discord senses powerful cloning magic while the sky goes dark from a gathering of clouds. "As if the animals and my magic detection didn't already clue me in, being the Lord of Chaos has taught me sudden onset clouds are never a good sign."
"Discord! This squirrel is the only animal who can't get to the safe zones by herself, which leaves you free to go find Fluttershy!"
"Right!" Discord makes the trek into Ponyville proper. What he finds there is distressing. 'Multiple Sombras?! I thought he was destroyed! And since when has he been even the slightest bit adept at using cloning magic?!' The draconequus looks at his eagle claw. 'Without my chaos magic, I'm less than useless. The fight againts Chrysallis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow proved it to me. What could I do against an army of Sombra clones? I'll have no choice but to run and hi—'
"AAAHHH!"
That scream is the stuff of Discord's worst nightmares. "FLUTTERSHY?!" He runs off in the direction of the sound and finds the yellow pegasus mare trapped under a cart with a group of Sombra clones ready to attack. Without thinking, the draconequus rushes over and attacks the nearest Sombras, making them vanish.
"You?!" the Sombras all shout recognizing him.
"Discord?!" Fluttershy shouts from her place beneath the overturned cart. She's both glad and scared that he's there.
The draconequus uses his tail to swat the cart away. "Get out of here, Fluttershy!"
The pegasus flies over to Discord. "No! I won't leave you to face them all by yourself!"
Discord uses each one of his mismatched limbs to deflect approaching Sombras. "Are you even willing to fight them back?!"
"Umm…yes."
Noting the hesitancy in her voice, Discord swats a few Sombras with his tail before giving Fluttershy advice. "They are not real. You won't hurt them. Repeat that to yourself."
Fluttershy takes a few deep breaths. 'They are not real, you won't hurt them. They are not real, you won't hurt them.' The pegasus mare reluctantly throws out a hoof at a nearby Sombra. Despite its weakness, there's enough pressure to make the clone disappear. Seeing these results, the pegasus continues (but giving apologies each time).
With time, the two clear the area.
"Discord!" Fluttershy shouts as she flies back over. "Your leg!"
The draconequus laughs realizing she's seen the bandage. "Only you could notice that in a time of crisis."
"What happened?!"
"A bear didn't particularly care for me."
"Oh," Fluttershy says while clearly becoming racked with guilt.
"Don't go guilt tripping yourself. I was being careless with an animal that has the potential to be very dangerous. Besides, I did volunteer to work there."
"It's just you can be hurt without your powers. You should find a safe place to hide."
"If you're staying out here, then so am I."
"No! I have to because it's my duty!"
"And I'm making it my duty to make sure you get through this alive!"
"You could die!"
"If it means keeping you safe, worth it!"
Fluttershy descends to the ground. "How can you say that?"
Discord's lion paw caresses her cheek. "My Dear, you see more worth in all others around you than in yourself. That hurts because I see you as the most deserving being in all creation."
The pegasus's lips tremble. "Why?"
"I believe most feel that way about the love of their life."
Fluttershy goes into shock. "I…you…is this real?"
"Yes, it is. My heart belongs to you, My Love."
The mare's knees shake and her eyes start leaking tears.
Discord suddenly groans. "I wish I had my powers back right about now. I'd open up my chest and stamp 'Property of Fluttershy' on my heart."
The pegasus giggles. "You're so wonderfully weird, Discord. How could I resist you?"
The draconequus smiles as his eagle claw caresses her other cheek.
Out of nowhere, Fluttershy is pulled away.
"NO!" Discord tries to go after her, but he's stopped by a magical barrier in his way.
A Sombra clone on the other side laughs. "A pony loving a monster. How amusing."
"Discord's not a monster!" shouts Fluttershy. "The only monsters I see here are the copies of one around me."
If the draconequus weren't fearing for the mare's life right now, he'd chuckle at what she'd said. As it is, he doesn't like the angry looks the clones are giving her. "I regret reviving you all that time ago."
"All that time ago?" repeats the second Sombra.
"Wait," says the third one. "Were you masquerading as Grogar?"
"Yes, I was."
"Did you hear that?" the first Sombra asks Fluttershy. "It seems your 'not a monster' can't stop himself from committing evil."
"It was a misguided attempt to provide us with a final lesson!" shouts the mare.
"Sounds like an excuse to me," says the second Sombra.
"I can see why Discord fancies you though," the third clone says while leaning in close to a visibly uncomfortable Fluttershy. "You are a lovely mare."
Discord beats his fists against the barrier. "Don't you dare, Sombra! I will end you!"
The first Sombra laughs. "And how would you go about doing that?"
"I can sense that you're currently depowered," says the second. "You have nothing!"
Discord smirks. "Not completely true. I can still sense powerful magic. For example, I'm able to sense where the source of your clones is. I bet I'd find the real you there too."
The third Sombra frowns. "If you think you can stop me from executing this mare and her friends, go right ahead. I'll be waiting."
Discord glares at the Sombras as they teleport away with their prisoner. "Fluttershy's life is at stake." He turns in the direction of the source of magic as his eyes glow red. "You'd better believe I'm coming after you!" He starts running to his goal.
AN: Pinkie and Cheese combining party cannons was something that just came to me and wouldn't leave. It was a riot making that part. Fluttershy x Discord has started! YAY! Still, not my absolute favorite ship from MLP. One more set up chapter before the final confrontation. I'm so excited and I hope you all are too! See you next time!