//------------------------------// // The Battle // Story: The Butterfly Pegasus // by Fizzyberries302 //------------------------------// As Discord sobbed heavily into her lifeless form, he felt like someone had just come up and ripped his heart out. Words couldn't describe the pain he was feeling as he watched the love of his life die before his eyes. "Fluttershy...I'm so sorry," he uttered as the tears streamed down his cheeks. "I'm so so sorry Fluttershy, I never meant for this to happen. The vow was for you, not her," He laid her body down on the ground and continued to sob. Anger filled his veins. He blamed Tirek for tricking him with a fake Fluttershy. "I made the vow for her, you hear me Tirek?! THE VOW I MADE WAS FOR HER!" he screamed, his voice echoing off the mountains. "No need to shout," said a voice from behind him. Discord spun around and saw Tirek standing under a tree. Discord only felt pure hate for the centaur in front of him. "Don't let her die!" he snapped, stomping over to him. Tirek scoffed. "Is that a threat?" Discord yanked Tirek by his beard so he was looking him in the eye. Discord's eye were glowing with the anger in his blood. "DON'T YOU DARE LET HER DIE!" "Oh, it is a threat," "You're the only one with the magic, now do it!" Tirek slapped Discord away. The draconequus fell down and Tirek stood over him like a predator cornering his prey. "Only if you defeat...me," he hissed. An orange ball of magic appeared between his horns and surrounded him. When it died down, in the centaur's place, was a giant red and black bat. The bat gave a shriek that made Discord's ears bleed. Tad, Rocky and Buttercup gasped in horror at the grotesque monster bat. "That's not good," Tad uttered. Discord pulled out the sword, but Tirek bounced on him. The bat tried to bite him but the draconequus grabbed a hand full of dirt and flung it at Tirek's eyes. The bat gave a loud cry as the dirt blinded him. Discord crawled out from under him and grabbed his sword. With one swing he struck Tirek on the shoulder. Tirek gave a yelp of pain as the blade made contact just below the collarbone. Blood started to pour from the gash in his shoulder. Tirek glared at the draconequus. Discord had the sword pointed at him, blood dripping down the blade. "I won't let her die!" he snapped. Tirek grinned, presenting several sharp teeth. The huge bat spread his wings and flew into the sky. Discord quickly lost sight of his enemy and looked around. Without warning, the bat crashed down from the over hanging tree and pinned him to the ground. Discord tasted blood as his head smashed into the ground. The wind was knocked out of him as he desperately looked around for his sword. He spotted it lying in arms reach and went to grab it, but Tirek sent the sword flying into the river. Discord picked up a large rock and smashed Tirek's face with it. The bat gave a shriek of pain, a few of its teeth were broken and had chipped into fragments that fell into the soil. From the hiding spot, Buttercup could see that Discord was losing. Her eyes widened as an idea popped into her head. "The sword!" she grabbed Tad by the arm and looked him in the eye. "Swim to the bottom of the river and get the sword!" she said, throwing the frog into the water. Tad let out a scream as he was sent flying face first into the river. The giant bat picked Discord up with his claws and carried him into the air. Discord tried to pry himself free from the bat's grip on him. Tirek saw this and threw him against a tree. Tirek tried to make another lunge attack. Discord broke off a tree branch at smacked Tirek in the face with it. The bat chomped on the wood and it broke into pieces. Tirek tried to get a hold on him again, but instead broke the branch, sending Discord crashing down through the trees, knocking him cold. Down in the river, Tad had spotted the sword wedged between a tree root. He tried to pry it free but it was wedged to far in. Suddenly, he felt himself and the sword powering to the surface. He looked down and saw Rocky with the handle in his mouth, powering them to the surface. Tirek was flying above the unconscious draconequus, preparing for the final blow. Tad and Rock appeared. Buttercup screamed from the shore. "THROW IT JUST THROW IT!" Rocky threw the sword, but failed to see that Tad was still on board. The sword landed next to Discord, Tad saw Tirek coming fast. The frog slapped him in the face. "Wake up, wake up!" Discord opened his eyes and Tad quickly hopped out of the away. Discord grabbed the sword and got to his feet. As he positioned the sword, he saw that it was emitting a purple aura. He turned his head. "Twilight?" The Mane Five had arrived on the scene, Twilight's horn was ignited, enchanting the sword. "Oh Sword of Truth, fly swift and sure. That Evil die and Good indure!" she screamed. Discord used all his strength in his arm and threw the sword at Tirek. The evil bat gave one final bloodcurdling shriek as at least 5 inches of the sword impaled his chest, piercing through his cold black heart. All the magic that he had stolen was starting to sizzle out and back to it's owners. Discord felt the large part of his magic return to his body and watched in awe as Tirek fell down dead. On impact, the body exploded from the magic that was still inside. Everyone watched in awe as the magic completely disintegrated Tirek. The magic flew back to it's owners and only the sword remained, impaled into the ground. Tad passed out from the overwhelming situation. Buttercup and Rocky cheered for Discord's victory. Rocky blushed beet red as Buttercup kissed him on the cheek. She blushed back. The Mane Five high-hooved each other, cheering. "Go Discord!" Rainbow cried, punching the air. Pinkie then spotted Fluttershy lying still on the ground and paled. "Look at Fluttershy!" she cried, pointing at the still yellow pony. They all turned and were shocked to see their friend lying still as a statue. "Oh no..." Twilight uttered. They slowly walked over. Discord went back to cradling Fluttershy in his arms. "Fluttershy, it's over. I defeated Tirek, please come back to me," he sobbed, hanging onto one string of hope that she could still be alive. Twilight approached him from behind. "Is...is she?" Discord lay the butter yellow pegasus back on to the ground. Rarity leaned down and put her ear to her friends chest. Her face scrunched up as tears began to fall. There was no heartbeat. She stood back up and shook her head, weeping. Her friends gasped. Tears started to fall down their cheeks. Pinkie was sobbing onto Twilight's shoulder as the princess tried to console her friend, but she wished that there was someone to console her. Applejack had removed her hat as a sign of respect. Even Rainbow let a few tears out, knowing that the mare she knew since childhood was gone forever. Discord picked her tiny form in a bridal style, sobbing uncontrollably. Without words, he started to walk back to Canterlot. Twilight picked up the sword and followed behind him, crying. The other ponies sobbed as they trudged back to Canterlot. Tad, Rocky and Buttercup followed them back to the palace, not saying a word. Celestia gave a look of disgust at the sight of the caged sea pony. Sonata pouted as she held onto the bars of the cage. She had managed to escape into the gardens, but was caught when one of the Fluttershy's traps from the previous year had fallen on her. It was a mystery to why this hadn't happened sooner. Celestia turned to Shining Armour, who was standing behind her with a grim look on his face. "Call off the Gala, Tirek's finally come back for another attack. Shining Armour, I want all guards on standby in every city." she said. "Yes Princess," he said, leaving the room and barking orders. After Tirek disappeared and Discord ran out, there had been a panic. Ponies were running in all directions, screaming and tripping over each other. It took three firecrackers blasting from Celestia's horn silence everyone. Celestia glared at the sea pony. She had been overjoyed that Fluttershy was alive, but after realising the truth, she feared that something must have happened to the real pony. She could be...well... Celestia's stomach churned at the horrible thoughts at were in her coming into her head. She didn't even want to think about what happened to Fluttershy when she was missing. She refused to cry in front of the sea pony as two more guards loaded the cage onto a cart to be taken away to the sea. The doors burst open and Shining came running back inside. Celestia jumped and spun around. "Shining Armour! What's wrong?" Shining Armour panted as he was out of breath. "Word from...the pony cites. Those who had...their magic stolen...have got it back!" he panted, beaming all the while. Celestia stared at him, wondering if he was joking or not. "Really?" Shining Armour grinned. "There's more! It's...Discord, he and the others, they've found Fluttershy...the real Fluttershy," They were just approaching Canterlot when a horde of guards came running towards them, followed by the Princesses, still wearing their formal gowns. "Discord! We just got news that the ponies who had been attacked by Tirek have gotten their magic back and-" Celestia stopped in her tracks when she got a better look at everyone in the group. They were all sobbing and Twilight was levitating the sword with her magic. Discord was holding a limp Fluttershy in his arms. The draconequus looked like he had just been in battle. His bottom lip had a cut in it and was leaking blood. His suit was scratched, dusty and falling apart. All over his body were cuts, bruises and scrapes. His eyes were puffy and tears were streaming down his cheeks. The girls' eyes were also puffy and red from crying. Rarity's makeup was running and Pinkie's mane had deflated. Their dresses were dusty and they had twigs in their manes and their fur was covered in sweat and dust. Celestia's eyes fell upon the limp pegasus in Discord's arms. Her eyes were peacefully closed as if she was sleeping, head limp as her body and fallen back over Discord's arm. Her mane had bits of grass and twigs in it and her fur was corse and lost it's colour. "Oh Faust..." she uttered. "Get her inside!" she cried, pulling them all upstairs and into one of the spare rooms. Cadence and Luna followed behind them. Discord laid the pegasus on the bed, resting her head on the pillow and knelt down beside her. The Mane Five, Shining Armour, Cadance and Luna stood at one side of the room, in disbelief. Celestia walked up to the draconequus. "Discord, what happened?" she asked. Discord choked the urge to speak. The pain in his chest was unbearable. Even in death, Tirek still had the last laugh, he took away the one thing that Discord loved...Fluttershy... Even in death, she was so beautiful, like the Sleeping Beauty. "Discord? What happened?" Celestia asked again Discord wiped his eyes, not daring to look away from Fluttershy. "It's all my fault, I made the vow to another," he choked out. "I couldn't save her, I couldn't save her. I should have forced her to come with me when I found her, she'd still be with us." The princesses gasped when they caught onto what he meant. "She's...she's..." Celestia asked, praying that this was some kind of sick joke. Celestia hadn't felt this much pain since the day she banished her sister to the moon. While she didn't exactly talk to Fluttershy, she still felt that she had lost an old friend... All around the room were broken hearts and tears, but none of them were as heart broken as Discord. The draconequus leaned over and stroked her forehead, running his claw through her mane. "I'm sorry Fluttershy," he closed his eyes, leaned down and planted a farewell kiss on her lips. No one saw the pink tear fall from Discord's eye and onto Fluttershy's right cheek, before being absorbed into her skin and fur. Discord pulled away and leaned down, head buried into the mattress. Everypony hung their heads, paying their respects to their lost friend. The sound of movement and a soft sigh made everyone look up. Discord looked up and was shocked to see Fluttershy's eyes open. "Fluttershy!" he cried, embracing her. "Discord, what happened?" she asked. "Fluttershy, I thought I lost you," he sobbed, tears of joy falling down his cheeks. Fluttershy smiled and reached her arms out to embrace him. Her eyes widened when she remembered something. "What happened to you? What happened to Tirek?!" she cried in a panic. Discord lay her back down and beamed. "It's okay Fluttershy, he's gone." "Fluttershy!" The Mane Five cried, rushing to their friends side. "Girls! I missed you all so much!" she said, embracing them one at a time. "Oh Fluttershy, you're okay," Applejack sobbed when it was her turn. "We thought we lost you Fluttershy," Rarity cried. "I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry," Rainbow wept, trying to force back the tears of joy. "How is she still alive?!" Twilight asked, turning to Celestia. "I don't know, Twilight." Celestia said, before grinning wildly. "But who cares!" Twilight grinned back. "You're right," Celestia turned to Discord, remembering something. "Discord, you said Tirek is gone. What do you mean?" Discord stood up and faced her. "He's dead," "Pardon?" "It's true, Discord killed Tirek!" Pinkie cried. Celestia stared at the draconequus. "I...I don't believe it...you've really changed..." she uttered. "I think you just saved Equestria. You're a hero, Discord," she finished with a smile. Discord rubbed his arm awkwardly. "I'm not a hero Tia, I only did what needed to be done. Just taking out the trash," "Discord, you destroyed Tirek, returned the stolen magic back to it's owners and rescued Fluttershy. You think you don't deserve to be hailed a hero." "I may have done what you said, but I'm still the Lord of Chaos. Even though I have my magic back and I'm happy about that, but a life without Fluttershy would be awful," he said, smiling down at the pegasus. "I didn't see it before but I realise how much love and friendship means to me. Count me as truly reformed." he said in an unusual seriously that stunned everyone silent. Celestia wiped away a tear. "I'm happy for you and you have my thanks for saving us all just the same." Twilight smiled and turned to her friends. "I think we should leave the love birds alone." They all nodded their heads and exited the room. Twilight gave Discord one last smile. "I never thought I would say this but...thank you Discord." "You're welcome," he replied. When they were all gone, turned back to Fluttershy, who was lying on the bed. Fluttershy then noticed his injuries. "Discord, you're hurt," she uttered. "It's nothing that my magic can't fix," he said, snapping his fingers. In an instant, his injuries were healed and his fur was clean again. He snapped again and his formal attire disappeared. "Boy am I glad that things off," he said, laying down next to her. "I never want to see that suit again, knowing that I dancing with a sea pony in it." Fluttershy rolled over to face him. "Discord?" "Yeah," "Did you mean what you said?" Discord moved his arm around her and pulled her closer, much like when they first kissed. "I meant every single word, you mean all the magic in Equestria to me Fluttershy. No, you're worth so much more to me. Fluttershy, you're the one who taught me that friendship is magic and you're the pony I would lay down all my powers if it means you'll live another day with me." Fluttershy felt wetness in her eyes. "Discord...that's the most beautiful thing anypony has ever said to me." she said. Discord leaned in and kissed her again, rubbing his thumb on her wet cheek. He pulled away and smiled. "Every minute with you I'll treasure," They sat up and Discord took her hooves and kissed them. "Do you know how much you mean to me Fluttershy?" "I think I do," she said, returned her lips to his. Discord wrapped his arms around her and held her closer. Discord broke the kiss, still holding her. "I wish we could stay this way forever. I love you Fluttershy," he said, lost in the perfection of those teal orbs. "I love you too Dissy," she uttered, snuggling into his chest. Discord sighed and stroked her mane, lovingly. As along as she was still with him, life just got a whole lot better...