//------------------------------// // Discord’s World // Story: The Truth of Bonds and Friendship // by Gadman85 //------------------------------// Naruko trotted along on her way to the library. She was even humming a little tune to herself happily. Kyuubi was concerned about this considering their surroundings. “You don’t have to try and act all cheery and as if everything is okay, Naruko,” he said. Naruko gave a giggle, “Compared to what I just went through. Everything is cheery and oki-doki!” She almost chuckled at a couple of pegasi flapping their wings backwards. “Is that… chocolate milk rain?” she asked as she was distracted momentarily by something new. There was a part of her still looking for glitches in case they chose to pop-up again randomly to catch her by surprise. “Yes. It is,” Kyuubi said with a sigh dryly. When the two approached the library and Naruko heard the sounds of Twilight crying, her seemingly good mood vanished. Even if there weren’t any glitches here, it was not okay if Twilight was crying like that. Naruko felt anger again at Discord for everything he did and stomped a hoof on the ground in anger and frustration. She took in a calming breath before she entered the library. It would not do for Twilight to see her angry at a time like this. {-} {-} {-} Twilight gave a sniff. Her friends were terrible right now. They were completely different ponies, even if Fluttershy seemed oddly fluttershyish compared to the others. She hated this though. Discord had easily destroyed everything. “I hate him!” she shouted to the empty room. Shortly after her shout, the door opened to the library. She looked to see what was happening. Was Pinkie coming back to be mean again? Did Rarity decide Twilight had been hitting on Tom too much and was coming here to put her in her place? It could be anything by this point and she wouldn’t be surprised. Her eyes actually watered in relief as Naruko approach her with a worried face. Twilight ran over and immediately hugged Naruko tight. She started to cry everything that she needed to cry out without even saying a word. She then stopped and looked up horrified. “What if Discord got to her as well?” she thought in panic. Naruko didn’t know what to say or do. She was just relieved to have the real Twilight in her hooves again. She pulled Twilight back into a hug and rubbed her back. Twilight cried some more and felt relieved. “Discord hasn’t gotten to Naruko!” she thought not knowing what it was the pony went through a few moments ago. The two ponies stayed like that for a few minutes embracing each other. Naruko finally spoke, “I want to ask if you’re okay, but it’s obvious you aren’t. What happened? What did he do you?” Twilight sniffed. “It’s horrible! They’re all different. They’re all acting the exact opposite of who they really are! I don’t know what to do!” Naruko hated seeing Twilight like this, even if it was still better than that mockery in her whatever it was. She hated even more that the dark voice inside her echoed thinking this was good in a way. That finally she wouldn’t have to share Twilight with the others anymore. She hated that voice even if her dark self helped her escape. Naruko focused on helping Twilight instead of the echos of such thoughts. This was something both of her agreed on. The blonde unicorn spoke softly to Twilight and smiled in a comforting manner. “I’m here at least. We’ll figure out what happened to the others and fix it.” Twilight hugged her tighter and took in a deep breath at Naruko’s words. She took in Naruko’s scent and it helped her calm down. “I was about to lose all hope… I feared something happened to you and you couldn’t get here. I was afraid he got to you too,” Twilight said. Naruko’s comforting smile was strained for a moment, but Twilight didn’t see it. “Well. I’m here. Tell me in detail what happened to everypony.” It didn’t take Twilight long to explain everypony’s behavior to Naruko. It was bad, but there was a part of Naruko wishing she had been through what they experienced instead of what she got. “Fluttershy seems to be the most curious case. Can you repeat what she was like?” Naruko asked. “I agree she seemed different from the others. She was kind of mean at times, but it felt more like she didn’t know how to be a proper friend or something and was trying to be one anyways. It is odd. She was like Fluttershy but not, if that makes any sense. She definitely seemed to have a lot of confidence in herself. She was ummm… showing off in certain ways,” Twilight explained. She wasn’t about to admit Fluttershy claimed to have like liked Naruko. She believed in Naruko but there was that doubtful part of her that thought Naruko might decide somepony else was better. Naruko was nodding in thought. “Maybe since she’s been through her trial, even if she hasn’t found her balance, that’s why she was different. Fluttershy talked a little bit about her trial when we were in the temple. She also seemed to have moments where she was different and she called her other side Cruletyshy. She claimed this other version of her was everything she wasn’t and wanted to be in some ways.” “Maybe… Fluttershy did say she was trying to get rid of that part of herself. Maybe it is always there and she can’t really get rid of it. Then when Discord did his thing to her, it switched them out,” Twilight thought out loud. “Maybe they can switch out again? You’ll have to talk to her and approach her differently. No matter what you think will help with the others,” Naruko said. “I think I will. I didn’t really hate her, but we did argue… And she did get upset when she thought I was mad at her and she flew off crying. I guess Fluttershy is Fluttershy, even if it is her dark self right now,” Twilight said. “What do we do about the others? It seems the Elements won’t work properly with how everypony is right now,” Naruko sighed. “It’s like they forgot who they were or something. Maybe. Maybe I can use a memory spell to help them remember who they really are and that will put an end to whatever it is he did to them. Do you think that will work?” Twilight asked. “It could. Perhaps they are under some kind of hypnosis spell or something else and that would jumpstart their brains so to speak. It will be hard tracking them all down. I'll distract Discord with Kyuubi’s help while you gather them. Keep his eyes off of you all,” Naruko said. Twilight nodded. “Yes, it will be hard tracking them down, but I want them back and your plan might work. I don’t really like it, but I don’t see a better option. Maybe I should teach you the spell I have in mind. Just in case you run into one of them on your way to Discord.” “I may not be an Element, but I want them back too. Who are you going to start with?” Naruko asked. “I think Fluttershy. I feel like I owe her an apology. I wasn’t exactly the nicest pony either, even when she was trying her best despite how terrible it was,” Twilight said with a frown. Naruko placed a hoof on her and smiled. “You can do it. I’m sure she'll forgive you. You said it yourself. She’s still Fluttershy. If she didn’t want to be your friend too, she wouldn’t have kept so close to you and stayed around as long as she did.” “I feel bad for how I behaved now,” Twilight said. “None of us are ourselves right now nor are we okay. I think your behavior can be excused after you apologize. You're still my favorite pony and marefriend no matter what though,” Naruko said as she hugged Twilight desperately before they got ready for their plan. Naruko was thinking maybe she could also use the mind spell on Discord as well. Give him a taste of his own medicine and let him see what he did to her. That got her to smile a little darkly. Twilight noticed, but thought it was a trick of the light, since it only seemed to last a moment. "After all, Discord didn’t get to her," Twilight thought. She shouldn’t be any different and Naruko didn’t smile darkly like that. {-} {-} {-} Twilight felt encouraged now that they had a plan and she knew where her first stop would be. She hated that Naruko had the dangerous part, but they needed a distraction to occupy Discord. Naruko was the best they had. Their plan might work because Discord was more bored and looking to entertain himself than out right wanting to take over the world. It was just what he did in his boredom really hurt ponies and friendships. She was on her way to find Fluttershy. Twilight felt bad about how she acted now that she thought about it even more. Fluttershy was keeping close to her the whole time. It seemed obvious now the pegasus still thought of her as a friend, even in her dark state and wanted to be by her side. Perhaps this was a case where dark didn’t mean evil. Maybe Fluttershy needed to accept the other side of her and that will be how she finds her balance. That was a different talk for another time though. The only thing that mattered now was finding her. It wasn’t long until Twilight found the upset and angry pegasus sitting on a tree branch looking over the Discord version of Ponyville. “Hmph! I’m surprised some silly filly believing in friendship would even bother looking for me. I could just fly off you know. Besides, I’m the cruel one, remember?” she said showing she was aware of the other pony’s presence, even if she wasn’t looking at her for the moment. Twilight used the tree climbing spell to climb up and sit next to dark Fluttershy. The other pony looked to her. Twilight didn’t smile, she just sighed. “Sorry about that,” she said. Dark Fluttershy blinked in surprise. “I figured it out. You’re Fluttershy’s other half and not something created by Discord.” “Ding Dong. We have a winner…” she said with a frown and a sigh. “I wish I could help you two out,” Twilight said. Darkshy scoffed. “You wouldn’t have to if she had just listened to me so long ago. I told her I was a part of her. She thought I had to be gotten rid of,” she said with a frown. She hated how weak and stupid her other side was. If she would just accept her, the two of them would become whole more or less and so much more than they were. She also didn’t like the idea of being stamped out, even if she was just a side of the real Fluttershy. Thinking about it kind of scared her. “It isn’t easy confronting our darker sides,” Twilight said. Darkshy just rolled her eyes. “I want to help. But I don’t think now is the time for that because of Discord. Disquestria isn’t exactly a place for such things.” “You just want to get rid of me too,” the pegasus said stubbornly with a frown as she looked to the side. Her heart skipped a beat in surprise when instead of giving up or saying something else. Twilight chose to hug her. Darkshy couldn’t help but feel a tear try to escape her right eye. “You’re my friend. I don’t want to get rid of you. I want to help you. You’re still Fluttershy even if you’re her darker emotions and self,” Twilight said as she continued to hug the pony who eventually hugged back. “If only you could get her to realize that… We’d be one and balanced,” Darkshy said as she let the tear fall and gave control back to her other self. “Twi… light…” Fluttershy started in surprise. “Fluttershy?” she asked. The other pony got all of the memories her other self experienced. She sniffed. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn't have done those things. I should have made sure I really had gotten rid of her and this wouldn’t have ever happened.” She would have gone on but Twilight silenced her with a hoof and smiled. “She actually wasn’t that bad. She just felt neglected. She is you, Fluttershy, but she isn’t as experienced with friends as you are,” Twilight said. Fluttershy stiffened but gave a resigned sigh. Twilight was right. She had been trying to get rid of something that was a part of herself. That wouldn’t be balance at all. Fluttershy still didn’t like her other side and was scared of it, but she would work on that once this was over. “So, what do we do about the others? Where’s Naruko?” Fluttershy asked. “We need to find the others and get them to remember who they are. I have a spell that can help with that. You were a special case so I didn’t use it on you,” Twilight said. She then looked over in the direction where they felt Discord was. “Naruko’s keeping him distracted while we gather the others. We need to get going. We already owe a lot to Naruko and we shouldn’t leave her to fight him on her own for long.” Fluttershy was determined as she nodded to Twilight. Twilight then led the way to their next friend and hoped her plan would work the way it was supposed to work. They were going to Applejack next. Twilight was pretty sure even discorded AJ would still be at the farm. Probably lying through her teeth about some tall tale, but still there. {-} {-} {-} Naruko didn’t run into any of the elements on her way to meet Discord. She was fine with this because she felt too angry and frustrated to be able to help them. She paused and stomped a hoof on the ground hard. “Why did I have to have the really messed up encounter?!” she grumbled. “Why couldn’t I have just been turned to my dark self. Ohhhh… I bet he would regret that…” “I hope you’re talking to me and not yourself,” Kyuubi said on her back. Naruko paused in step and her eye twitched answering his question indirectly. Kyuubi sighed. “I get a feeling we will have a lot of work to do once this is over.” “I just want this over with. Sadly, we have to actually face the God of Chaos himself and hope we can last against him long enough until they’re ready,” Naruko said. She didn’t comment on his saying they would have a lot of work. She wasn’t fully sure at this moment that would actually be possible. She could totally see herself completely losing it as soon as her current mission was over. That possible reality scared her. She was surprised when she heard a sound that seemed a lot like someone with a bad stomach ache from nearby. “Did I eat a bad meatball before I was turned to stone?” Discord wondered. He still couldn't believe Naruko did this to him some how. “Was that all it did to him?! Grrrr… Maybe I should have said to hell with it and gotten back at him like Dark me wanted to do and found a way to turn the corruption on him,” she almost stomped a hoof again but paused. She needed to get serious and not give herself away with something like a frustrated hoof stomp. It was lucky Discord seemed to have actually picked a place far from Ponyville and the others for his throne ‘room’. Naruko made a couple of clones and sent them to do what they needed to do. She didn’t want to let some sense of caution hold her back against him. She smiled a little darkly again. She wanted to find a way to really hurt him. He may be immortal, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel pain and the way he was groaning about a little tummy wummy ache meant he didn’t have a high tolerance for such things. She would change that and probably enjoy it too much. For a moment, there was that dark and strange light in her eyes again. Naruko took in a deep breath and let it out. Her barrier was soon enough setup around the area thanks to her clones. It couldn’t really stop him, but he didn’t know that. He couldn’t even sense it was there with how she set it up. "The beauty of runeseals as opposed to just runes," she said to herself. Naruko stood up and walked purposefully forwards. “Discord…” she said in a low voice that promised pain and suffering and Discord only blinked at it. It was like he was trying to figure her out or something. “What do you hope to do? I see you found a way out of my spell… That is commendable. I suppose…” Discord said while he was actually feeling uneasy about that still. If she could get out of that, what else could she really do? Naruko gave a smile that might have been a little too on the devious said as she simply said, “Kyuubi… Nine tails…” Kyuubi became a pillar of fire and energy before he was then a few buildings high and grinned with a wide mouth full of sharp teeth. “So, you’re the so-called God of Chaos… Let’s see how you handle a Demon Fox,” Kyuubi boomed. It seemed Naruko’s own desires and feelings were affecting him as well on some level. Discord just stared for a few moments with his jaw hanging wide open. Maybe this was going to be an actual fight. He was a little terrified not knowing what the duo were capable of. More than that though he was excited. He picked his jaw up off the ground and gave a chuckle as he grew in size to match Kyuubi. “Oooooo!! I’ve never fought in my big form before. I didn’t even know I had one. This whole unstoning thing has really been filled with all kinds of first times for me!” Discord then blushed as he looked innocent and shy and said, “T-t-this will be my first t-t-time… You’re popping my cherry.” He then grinned as he said with a chuckle a little darkly, “Don’t be gentle.” “We won’t! Not after what you did!” Naruko shouted. She was still very much audible even up here. Kyuubi swiped with his claws as Naruko jumped and disappeared. Discord hated how she used teleport that way. He had no idea where she would pop up next. The draconequus dodged and barely evaded a fine and sharp laser beam attack that seemed to actually leave a trail of smoke when it passed him. It might have singed his beard a tad. Naruko then appeared next to his arm as did a second one. Discord’s eyes widened. He dodge one attack that looked like some kind of cutting wind, but not the other one that cut off his lion’s paw. He gave a hiss in pain. Naruko was back on Kyuubi looking proud of herself. Discord closed his eyes and yelled in pain, though he only did so for dramatic effect, as he regrew the missing limb. Limbs were easy to regrow. Naruko frowned and sighed. “Of course, he regenerates… I can never get a break. Can I?” Then as if mocking her, Discord made a giant Kit-Kat bar and broke one of the chocolate pieces off. He grinned at her. Naruko sighed. If she was in a better mood she might appreciate the little joke, but she wasn’t. She narrowed her eyes and it seemed as if they caught on fire. Discord thought that was a cool trick. Kyuubi roared and the pressure sent Discord skidding back as he dug into the ground with a something. It looked like it was from some strange world where everything was made of tiny squares to make bigger objects and looked kind of a cartoonish 2-D. “Phew…Never leave home without a shovel. Or well a shovel blade in this case,” he said as he snapped his eagle claw and it disappeared. Naruko was already going after him again not letting him rest. He may be a lot bigger than her now, but she could still take him out. His size meant hitting weak spots was easier. She appeared with a swirling mass of energy on her horn aimed right at Discord’s smaller eye. Discord tried to swat at her but it was as if his lion’s paw just passed right through her and her attack was even closer. He was barely able to dodge and the attack and it instead hit his goat horn. He again hissed in pain before he actually managed to swat Naurko this time. She was sent flying some, but she managed to land all four hooves on a tree trunk before disappearing again. “That seemed dangerous…” he said as he commenting on her attack and she vanished. He would have to learn that neat tree standing trick she did though. It looked like so much fun. Discord then, not so much heard, as he felt some tremendous gathering of power. He carefully turned around and saw a giant black ball with a purple aura growing right in front of Kyuubi’s mouth. “Now now now… I-i-if you miss me you’ll hit the town,” he said nervously as he pointed at Ponyville. Naruko and Kyuubi looked like they couldn't care less about such a thing. Naruko even said in a dark but powerful sounding voice, especially for such a small pony, “So?” The energy ball shot at him faster than he could move. He covered his eyes in fear, but his serpentine dragon body slither to the side on instinct and he was only knocked about a little by the sheer force of the attack passing by him. He then looked where it was heading and was oddly fascinated to see the resulting destruction. The attack full of power shot forward fast and then hit something and seemed to explode in some weird fashion. It was like the attack hit a dome or a giant invisible bowl and splashed outwards before blowing up. When the town was still there standing with only the changes he made to spice the dull place up, his mouth was again hanging open in surprise. “A dome?! But I don’t even sense it… I can sense runes. Magic… everything! Except emotions and cooties… No one can really sense cooties…” he said as he chuckled a little desperately. He may be a God of Chaos but seeing somethings that are too out of his understanding kind of got to him at times. “And to withstand that kind of an attack…” he muttered to himself as he looked to Naruko and thought, “Who are you really? What caused you to grow up with eyes like that?” Her eyes were a rich blue and entrancing in an odd way. They were so serene even with the explosions when they weren’t filled with anger at him. It was rather striking. Naruko and Kyuubi were getting ready for another attack as Discord turned to them. “I’ll shoot at him, you add your element,” Kyuubi said. It was time to see if they could get him to dance a little to their tune for a change. Kyuubi charged up another Tail Beast Ball, but this time it was going to be one that continuously shot at their target. They would at least get a better idea at how the draconequus’ body moved. They could use that for planning further attacks if nothing else. “Again?!” Discord cursed as they started shooting another one of those attacks at him, but this time they kept coming. He was having to really move now and even shrunk his body for better maneuverability. This was really the most fascinating, interesting, most enjoyable, but also frustrating awakening he had ever been through. “Granted this is just the first time I’ve been awakened,” he said out loud to himself as he continued to book it. He wanted to use this as a chance to see how fast he could actually move. He never really met someone who could put him through the paces. {-} {-} {-} “Did Ah really say all of that?” AJ asked as her eyes cleared and she recovered from feeling a little dizzy. “What in tarnation…” she asked as she looked around the farm. Big Mac was acting like Winona. Granny Smith was dancing some impossible jig while seeming really smug with herself. The rest of the farm was a mess as well. “Well… It was kind of fun at first... Or at least I recall it felt that way…” Fluttershy said. “Yeah… You aren’t any good at lying, even when Discord made you AJ the Liar. Until it got to be too much, it was pretty funny,” Twilight said. “Well… Geez… Ah sure am sorry about all that none the less. Who are we going after next?” AJ asked. “Rarity. I’m pretty sure Pinkie is probably some place really random and we can’t really afford to look for her too much,” Twilight said as she started moving. “Well if we find Rainbow after Rarity. Ah got myself a plan that might help us with Old Grumpy Pie,” AJ said. Despite the situation Fluttershy and Twilight giggled a little at her nickname. AJ seemed to pause for a moment as if expecting something to happen. “Guess that weren’t enough,” she thought when nothing did. {-} {-} {-} Twilight swallowed as they approached the Carousel Boutique. Given the way Rarity was acting last time they saw her, the purple unicorn had a bad feeling about this. Fluttershy went first. “R-r-rarity?!” she asked in a small voice before she plopped on the ground and covered her eyes. Twilight sighed and dared peek inside just as Rarity shouted, “The nerve of some ponies!” “Eww… eww… eww… Just get to her and cast the spell… Can you please hold her down? Fluttershy?” she said. Fluttershy whimpered but quickly did as asked. Applejack could only stare in shock. “That girl is thirstier than a seapony in the desert…” she thought. There was no way she could look at her friend the same way again. It didn’t matter that she was only acting this way as a result of Discord’s magic. There was a bright light and then Rarity groaned as she stood up and Fluttershy made a speedy exit. “Wha… What happened?” Rarity asked. Her eyes then widened as the memories of her discorded self came back “Oh my…” “Did I --? With a --?” Rarity couldn’t even get the words out. Twilight just nodded. Rarity then screamed with anger and threw the rock out before exploding it into bits of dust. She then cleared her throat, fixed her mane and stood tall as she walked out calmly. “We must never speak of this again…” she said lowly in warning. Twilight and Fluttershy nodded. AJ was still trying to get over what she just witnessed with her eyes. She might ask Twilight to use that memory lock spell on her again, once this was over. She wanted that scene locked away so she literally couldn’t speak of it again. It would still work for her idea and she only hoped Rarity would forgive her afterwards. She would do all she could to make up for it. “Now we find Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said in a small voice as they all nodded. {-} {-} {-} “Got him…” Kyuubi thought. He understood Discord’s movements now. “That one jutsu will work just fine. I will create them. You add your wind to them,” he told Naruko who nodded. However, before they could do their attack Discord was in front of them and touched Naruko on the forehead. Naruko was frozen in shock as her eyes turned to pin pricks. She started looking around rapidly making sure reality wasn’t corrupting away and glitching on her again. “I wonder what kind of pony you will be…” Discord thought to himself as he used the spell on Naruko he had the others. “No doubt you will be easier to handle than you are now… Ooooo… Maybe you'll be a lovely demure pony eagerly wanting to get out of your shell! I can make you my marefriend! That would really get to Purple I bet, even if ponies aren’t usually my kind of taste.” “Wait a minute…” Discord said as he tapped Naruko on the forehead again. She was shocked that it seemed nothing was happening. Was it some kind of trick? “Why. Aren’t. You. Changing?!” Discord said tapping her with each word. His spell wasn’t effecting her at all. It was like something was guarding and protecting her. Keeping him unable to influence her. Discord looked to the massive fox as he said, “It’s you… Is it?” Discord focused on this new theory of his. Naruko was still too confused and shocked by the lack of something happening. Kyuubi was busy concentrating. “You’re… you’re not even whole… And yet you and her can do this much?” Discord was more curious than ever. Though he did have to admit Naurko’s coat was very silky smooth and soft to the touch. He would simply have to get the name of her conditioner when this was all over. The Discord wearing a lab coat and glasses inside Discord's brain tisked at himself for getting distracted and continued thinking on it. “There really is no dark energy in you…” Discord said to Kyuubi. “Literally there isn’t… Half of you is missing… Well not half. You’re growing back the missing power. The missing half…” Now Kyuubi was stunned. “Could it be the fourth did something even more impressive for his daughter and the village than I thought?” he wondered. It would explain why he got along so well with Naruko, especially after he saved her. It would also partly explain why he was so amiable ever since they came to Equestria. It didn’t make sense regarding balance, but he was just fire and energy essentially. “Maybe the rules don’t apply to me?” he hoped that was the case. He didn’t want to suddenly become grumpy and mean again. He liked his partner Naruko and his friends. Kyuubi narrowed his eyes and let out a mighty roar. “It doesn’t matter even if I was with my yin half again. I would make it behave and not lose my precious ponies.” he thought in determination he clearly learned from his partner. Discord went flying and smacked right into barrier after the roar. Naruko and Kyuubi were surprised by this. They expected him to fly right through it. Perhaps his powers didn’t let him do that, or maybe it was because he didn’t understand what the barrier was and that kept him inside it. Regardless, Kyuubi summoned up three massive tornadoes and added his fire to them. “Now! Naruko!” he roared to her snapping her from her shock as she added wind to the tornadoes. They grew larger and swirled faster. The fiery storms seemed to almost whine in power. They moved closer to Discord. The God of Chaos again found himself on the defensive with these two. He snapped his eagle claw to try and transform the one closest to him. Nothing happened. He tried again this time with the intention of shrinking it down so much it didn’t do anything. Again, nothing happened. “I really don’t like this whole fire business!” he said with a growl. He snapped his tail to add water to it hoping that would cancel it out. This wasn’t really funny, but it seemed his humor was not allowed in this situation. Something happened this time though. He growled… “Great! Now I have some kind of icy tornado thingy coming after me!” Naruko then concentrated on the one he messed with and added her own fire power to it. “How it is that even possible from a pony?!” Discord shouted as he kept backing away and moving as erratically as he could. Now he had to deal with some kind of icy fire tornado. That is something only he should be able to do and he had never thought of such a thing before! Discord got an idea as a light bulb went off above him. He snapped his lion’s paw, eagle’s claw, and tail all at once. The Fiery Icy Death storm of doom dissipated. Discord’s eyes lit in triumph as he laughed in joy. “Yes! Yes! Yeah-ah-ah yes!” he said then he heard two more whines near him and he said, “Damnit…” he had forgotten there were two more he had to deal with. He dealt with one, but the other struck him before he could move to counter them. “Yeouch!” he shouted in pain. He felt a shearing pain racing like razors up his body. It then hit him and exploded. He then fell to ground as a pile of ash and a pair of eyes that looked very angry. Naruko wondered what was going to happen next. She was sure that there was no way they had just defeated Discord. That would be too much positive thinking and she was not in the mood for such stupid things. Soon the ash hovered up into the air and Naruko sighed and said, “At least this oddly makes sense…” The ash seemed to swirl around the eyes and Discord was reborn again. He was himself again, but his body was covered in soot. Naruko got ready with her next attack as he spoke. “Do you know how annoying… and painful… it is to regrow your entire body from ash?!” He then gave a laugh as he said, “I don’t think so---” He looked around and took a head count. “Wait… Where’d she go?” Kyuubi smirked as he nodded to his side where Discord now heard a different whining power attack. He couldn’t even dodge as it hit him and Naruko tumbled past him before reappearing on Kyuubi again. Discord felt a new level of pain. He didn’t like this kind of new experience, he only teased others about being a masochist! It felt as if his body was surrounded by crackling energy that was stinging him at the cellular level. He couldn’t even cry in pain as he body seemed to explode and he had to again regrow it. “Twice… Twice…? In… a… row…?” He wheezed. The exertion of doing so much so quickly like this was getting to him a little. His eyes then became oddly focused and his demeanor changed completely. He looked over Kyuubi and Naruko. He then spoke in a voice without his usual hint of amusement. “It seems… I actually have to take an opponent…” he shuddered at the thought. “Seriously…” Naruko felt a mix of pride and terror at this proclamation. She was horrified at what a serious Discord could actually accomplish. She was deeply proud that she forced a literal god to take her seriously in a fight. Discord looked around and narrowed his eyes then opened his mouth. He let out a single sonic cone aimed at Naruko and Kyuubi. The two dodged easily. It was then they noticed they weren’t his target. The sonic cone hit the dome and reverberated back at them louder. Discord did the same at other points in the dome. Kyuubi and Naruko felt as if the sonic cones were stunning them and distorted their everything. The serious Draconequus then launched himself at them quickly with an attack ready with his Claw, Paw, and tail. He was going to unleash them all once. He was more or less point blank to Naruko and Kyuubi. Fortunately for Naruko and Kyuubi, unfortunately for Discord, due to her earlier experience inside the degrading corrupted Dream Reality. Naruko was able to deal with distorted everythings. Discord launched at her and she forced Kyuubi to duck as she jumped up. Discord’s eyes were in shock as she dodged his first attack with his claw. He then shot a magic attack at her with his lion’s paw. Naruko threw up the best shield she could think of. The attack hit and the shell of protection rippled before sending the attack back at Discord. As he was struck by his own attack causing him to freeze momentarily in the air, he snapped his tail in a last ditch effort of this attack trying to hit her. Naruko watched as everything seemed to move in slow motion. Several pink and red diamonds seemed to form almost completely around her. Naruko was still moving backwards seemingly slowly as the sound waves seemed to be pelting her with everything they had. She felt some kind of internal pain from the effects. She knew those diamond things were going to be bad news. She focused with all she could on her horn and even her forehooves. Her forehooves shot up and moved in a strange manner of a pony. She had visions of the hand signs she wanted to use. Some energy formed in between her front hooves. She yelled in determination as energy from her horn met with the energy from her hooves. She felt the strange and slightly painful strain on her body using its power in a way a unicorn wasn’t supposed to use it. She knew this was probably the only time she could do this, but if it meant living and pushing back Discord. She would gladly go through with it. She wasn’t the Grand Captain of the Ever-Free Patrol for no reason. She embodied their beliefs about doing all one could to protect those they care about and Equestria. The two energies combined and shot forward. They formed a bubble around the attack diamonds just as they were about to fire! Discord’s last attack in this barrage disappeared before their eyes! Even the God of Chaos didn’t know what happened. Suddenly, he was surrounded by his own attack. He was unable to move. He was unable to even use his limbs or powers to cancel it. The diamonds of red and pink fired at him faster than the eyes could see. He could only howl in pain before his body fell to the ground. Naruko was also on the ground looking at him panting. Kyuubi was still being affected by the sound wave storm. His keen senses were actually working against him in this situation. Naruko and Kyuubi kept staring at a motionless Discord once things seemed to clear. They wondered what was going to happen next. {-} {-} {-} It took them a while to find Rainbow Dash, but they had. She was napping on a cloud in the middle of a grove of trees. AJ was about to holler up at her, but a yellow hoof stopped her. “I think a quieter approach is needed here,” Fluttershy said in her soft whisper of a voice. “What did you have in mind?” Twilight whispered back. She was actually good at it. “I’ll fly up there grab her cloud and bring her down here for you to use your spell. I was always very gentle with my cloud touch in flight school. You know... before I ended up in Ponyville,” Fluttershy whispered. Twilight nodded to this. Rarity got ready to trap Rainbow in a bubble just in case the rainbow maned pegasus woke up. Fluttershy quietly flew up to the cloud. Rainbow was snoring away, but she was oddly quiet compared to usual. “Maybe Discord Rainbow doesn’t have snoring problems?” Fluttershy thought and almost giggled before catching herself. Fluttershy carefully grabbed a hold of the cloud. She then gave a really really loud mental cheer at her success before bringing the cloud down to the others. Once she placed it on the ground without it dissipating, Twilight looked to Rarity and nodded. The beautiful fashion loving unicorn’s horn glowed with her spell ready to use. Twilight then took in a deep breath and let it out. Rainbow’s eyes opened and she blinked at them to get her surroundings. Twilight quickly shot the spell at her friend and then Rainbow’s eyes seemed to swirl with all of the memories of who Rainbow really was. Rainbow moaned as she teeter tottered on her spot. Her eyes then cleared and she blinked. She then frowned in confusion. “Why in the hay… Did I think this little cloud was Cloudsdale?!” she asked no pony in particular. Rainbow then found herself hugged by Twilight and Fluttershy. “It worked!” Fluttershy cheered really loudly. “Okay… Okay… I get it. But seriously, what the hay?” Rainbow asked again. Applejack grinned. It was time for her plan. “Probably Discord. The same gosh darned reason Rarity over here was all hot and bothered for a giant useless heavy rock.” “I thought we agreed to never speak of that again!” Rarity almost shouted. AJ looked to her apologetically as Rainbow giggled uncontrollably. She soon broke out into loud boisterous laughs as she said, “Well Rarity. That’s-that’s one way to get a hard one!” She then laughed even louder and it almost seemed to echo. Rarity fumed and AJ gulped and said, “Just wait… There’s a reason for me saying that… Ah hope.” “There better be,” Rarity said dangerously and then suddenly as if on cue… “Stop laughing at me!!!!” Pinkie Pie randomly appeared glaring at them all. “It was you wasn’t it?!” she shouted looking at a confused Rainbow Dash. “Ohhhh!” Pinkie said before then turning to face Twilight. “I get it now… It was you the whole time laughing at me!!!” Twilight blinked for moment and shrugged her shoulders as Rarity’s mouth fell open in shock and she forgot what she was angry at AJ for anything. Applejack gave a silent prayer to the heavens in thanks. Twilight then looked at the seething Pinkie with a raised eyebrow and her horn glowed with the memory spell. Pinkie was very much in range and this was probably the best opportunity they would get. Pinkie’s eyes suddenly took on the look everypony else’s did as her memories rushed back to her. “Wow…. I really said I hate chocolate?” she asked in confusion. The ponies then hugged her together realizing in that moment the true Pinkie was back to them. “Now we need to get the necklaces and my crown, which Rarity… Graciously… collected for us earlier,” Twilight said. Rarity gave a slight blush as she divvied out the elements to their appropriate bearers. She had sneaked away with them all when they were arguing earlier. “Now girls! Let’s go help Naruko and take out Discord!” Twilight said as she beamed with confidence. The elements would work now and Discord was done with! {-} {-} {-} Discord was still recovering from the attack turned against him by Naruko. She was much more skilled than he first thought. He moaned in agony. Naruko seemed to growl in anger as she stomped a hoof to the ground three times in anger and frustration. “Why won’t he just die already! I want to be with Twilight! I don’t want to be dealing with his sorry ass anymore! Kami damn it all!” she shouted in her head as she started to seethe in anger. She knew what her next move would be, but she needed the opening. Discord looked her over slowly and seriously. How in the world was she still standing after all of that? How was she able to turn his own attack against him? The way things played out just then, he couldn’t help but think both Order and Chaos were actually working to protect her. Her defense and attack were far to effective, even for her talent he was sure. The only way something like that could happen is if destiny itself had a much grander plan for the unicorn and was giving her a helping hoof of some kind. “Who in Tartarus have I crossed? What has she been through to power through such an onslaught from a literal god and come out on top?” he wondered. If the forces he thought of were really behind this all, then he wondered just what it was Naruko would be going through in her life. There was also a pesky part of him that was demanding he do certain actions. It was as if Chaos was ordering him to act in a certain way at this point. It was as if chaos was saying, “See… I told you messing with her like that was bad. No matter what you do you have been working towards what I want. Your desires have nothing to do with it despite what you think.” Chaos also sounded both smug and regretful to him. Discord finally had enough strength to stand and he asked, “What kind of life did you have to live to make you this way?” Naruko looked at him with a deep-seated anger and he actually felt ashamed when he saw it. A pony’s eyes should not hold so much of that emotion. She glared at him in a way that caused him to actually feel some dread. Naruko’s blue stormy eyes were filled with tears as she said entirely too calm, “You want to see what happened to me? What you did?” Her eyes changed before him to match that of Kyuubi’s, but these eyes were filled with sadness, anger, and hate. “I’ll show you!” she shouted at him as her horn glowed a bright color and the domed area filled with her magic. Without warning, everything became blurry as if it was witnessed through tears or something. Discord was completely caught off guard by this. He couldn’t look away or break out of it. The essence that fueled his power urged him to witness whatever it was he was about to witness. Discord had to watch as this person turned pony’s past played out before him. It was cruel to watch. He wasn’t even that cruel when he was at his worst in the past. This wasn’t fun or funny. It was just sad and terrible. “How could they do that to a child?” he asked himself keeping quiet. He wouldn’t leave children alone himself, but he never treated them this way. He would do a little something here and there to make things more entertaining, but this was worse than that. Treating someone/pony this way would just make things sad and ugly. Why was he having to feel these emotions?! It was as if the very multi-verse wanted to protect this pony for some reason. He didn’t get it. The draconequus flinched as another image flashed before his eyes. He hated this. The image was in a roundabout way telling him what would happen even if he successfully overthrew the princesses this time. Existence wasn’t letting chaos have its way here at all and chaos was obediently bowing down. What was going on that was so important to possibly the very fabric of the universe? There was no answer to his questions, even his logical and smart self was lost to the answer. “Is the very essence of chaos… crying?” he asked himself in complete shock. He never knew about such things really. He had also been under a rock for many eons. This was not at all what he expected. Things then turned even worse. “What in the?” he asked as the sickening feelings from before encountering her returned only much worse. He looked around wide eyed. It was as if everything was crumbling around him. It genuinely terrified him. He loved chaos. He was chaos. But chaos did not include distorted bits of sky stuck in place flickering. It didn’t include staticy bits hanging in the air unable to be fixed. It didn’t include patches of complete and udder black speckled across the landscape. “Was this what she saw in the Dream Reality I cast her into?!” he asked himself wide eyed. When everything returned to normalish, Discord felt relieved. He saw the look in Naruko’s eyes. He knew what he wanted to do to her, and what it was even the essence of chaos demanded he do to her. “You’re very different from the others…” he said in an awed voice. Discord actually felt sad and worried that she didn’t seem to fully realize what her destiny was. He would correct this! Both chaos and order demanded him do so at the sacrifice of his powers. He couldn’t deny the deep-seated order that affected his very being at the most basic of levels currently. He could still have some fun, but he actually had a mission. It shocked him deeply that he had such a thing. He wasn’t stopping the fight now though. He needed to see more of what she was able to do. He shot at her again. Naruko could almost see her opening coming as he charged at her like before, but he didn’t have any tricks this time. As the draconequus came forward, Naruko brought up another spell. He wouldn’t be able to dodge this one either. “Rasenshuriken Special!” Naruko shouted as a swirling mass of energy formed above her horn with four burning blade edges. Discord couldn’t even dodge it as he was struck by the powerful spell. Discord discovered new meanings to pain in that moment as he yelled. He felt as if he was burning away while being cut at the cellular level. What was with all of this cellular level pain she was dealing to him? It was unlike anything he even knew existed. Discord managed to focus enough strength to summon forth giant scissors. He cut off the lower part of his body before the pain could spread! Hurting himself in such a way was another new and very unpleasant experience for him. He was forced to regrow his body again. This time though, it went very slowly. He was actually running out of energy and needed a break. He panted once he recovered. He looked to Naruko and Kyuubi. They too were panting. Perhaps all of the power she used had gotten to her as well. Kyuubi was now in five tails as he panted but he was still ready to fight. “My my… You really are something, Naruko. I’ve never gotten serious before like I did earlier,” Discord said in a manner that wasn’t even a little mocking. It was just impressed, despite being tired. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia hadn't even put up this much of a fight before they whipped out the elements. That battle really wasn’t fun or all that exciting. Naruko was different. Discord felt some of his energy returning. He wasn’t even sure what to think after what just happened. There was a part of that felt it wasn’t fair to her he was an immortal god. He couldn't figure out why he actually hated having an advantage over his opponent. Naruko glared at him and spoke as she panted. “We will only get stronger…” she threatened, even if it was clear she was straining herself to remain standing. Discord was given surprising images by both chaos and order in response to these words showing Naruko much more powerful than she currently was. It reinforced her threat and what he had to do. There was also a part of the essences giving him commands even louder. They were telling him to stop messing around and do what he was told. The voices reminded him of old mama discords scolding him. He was annoyed by them because he didn’t need the orders. He had honestly already decided on doing what they commanded of him. He had even decided he would do so in his next move. He turned to her and grinned a little mischievously as he said, “I’m sure you will, Naruko.” He then gave a sigh and donned a modeling expert’s clothes as he looked Naruko over. He smirked at her, “I really think it would be such a waste to just let you go on like this, darlllling.” He wanted one last bit of fun at least. Naruko and Kyuubi were focused on him and got their next attack ready. They didn’t have much left and given Kyuubi was down to five tails now. They weren’t sure if what they did would even matter. They both took some relief as they saw Twilight and the others were now ready in the corner of their eyes. Naruko dispelled the barrier so it wouldn’t interfere. She played it off as a slight dizzy spell, though honestly she was surprised she hadn’t just collapsed already anyways. “I think I’ll give you a little gift. It would be a shame for you to go unrewarded for your efforts. I also would be very bored otherwise,” Discord said with a broad smile. He then moved quickly and smiled as he placed his lion's paw on her chest. Naruko’s eyes went wide as she felt something reach deep inside her and, for lack of a better term, mess with her. She didn’t know what happened, but something did this time. She looked to Discord with panicked eyes. Discord actually felt a little sorry for her oddly enough. She was obviously very important and he had unintentionally really messed her mind up bad. He knew her friends would need her to be as strong as she was going to get. The Elements wouldn’t be able to do what they needed to without her and that would be bad for them all. He also felt bad because she didn’t realize the powers dwelling insider her. She didn’t know what she was meant to do for them all yet. He had given her a gift of sorts demanded by chaos and order through him. He would have given it to her anyways, because of how interesting she was. There was one possibility Discord didn’t fully realize as he touched Naruko on her chest. When he heard a thrum of energy coming from his right side, he knew it was over and what Naruko's plan was all along. “Damn…” he said in shock as the beam of magical energy struck him from the side. He was once again turned to stone. {-} {-} {-} Naruko’s eyes were still wide in shock as he turned to stone. She helped the others in the end, but she was worried what Discord’s touch would do to her. “Are you okay?! Naruko?!” Twilight asked her before rushing over to her and grabbing her in a tight hug. When Naruko didn’t really respond right away Twilight actually cried a little. What had happened to her? Naruko then whispered in her ear, “Are you really here?” Twilight’s heart ached at those words. She sniffed as she asked, “He got to you too, didn’t he?” Naruko nodded slowly in response as she still looked around frantically. Twilight thought it was as if she expected something to happen. Twilight sniffed as she said in a watery voice, “I am really here, Naruko. I love you…” She then looked to her marefriend. Her special somepony and realized she had failed her by not realizing something was wrong earlier. Twilight cried a little as she looked Naruko in the eyes. She didn’t care what the others would think. They kind of already knew. There was only one thing Twilight thought she could do to help apart from holding Naruko at this moment. She moved to place a kiss on Naruko’s lips. She tried to pour all of the love she felt and everything into it for Naruko’s sake. Sapphire blue eyes widened as they desperately returned the kiss. She didn’t care if the others were watching. Twilight’s lips were reassuring her she wasn’t warped back into that terrible Dream Reality. She started sobbing as she held on to Twilight tightly and heaved in her sobs. Everything was crashing around her now that she had completed what she was focusing on earlier. It was just as she feared. Her emotional pain, her physical pain, and her mental pain were all crashing down and she felt wrong inside for some reason. Naruko then spoke in a broken voice as she said to Twilight loud enough the others heard. “I’m not okay… I’m not okay…” She cried and sobbed as she said, “I don’t think I ever truly will be…” The others paused in shock when they heard Naurko’s words as they were going in to join in the hug. Rainbow was on the verge of making a joke about Twilight and Naruko kissing, but when she heard those words and saw Naruko’s tears. All jokes of such nature vanished. She also felt pretty crummy that she had even dared think of making such a joke of this situation. She hated mushy stuff and she was deeply affected by it all. She sniffed herself. She couldn’t feel anything but admiration and worry for Naruko. She doubted few ponies would be loyal enough to take on Discord on their own just to help out the others. She felt a little ashamed that a pony who wasn’t even an element seemed to have a better understanding of loyalty than she did. “It seems… I still have much to learn about loyalty,” she said to herself softly. It was time she got off her butt and figure out her balance and element. She couldn’t slack off anymore and call it image training for a new stunt she wanted to do. She couldn’t just nap in a cloud and say it was conserving her energy. She still wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but she wasn’t as keen on it as she used to be. She felt her life as the Element of Loyalty was a higher calling. She would still try to be a Wonderbolt because that would be awesome, but it wasn’t her only dream now. Pinkie Pie was oddly reflective and quiet. She wanted to make Naruko and the others laugh more than anything at the moment, but there was something inside her that told her “No!”. It wasn’t saying no laughter was allowed, but it was saying this wasn’t a moment for such things. “Maybe… Laughter isn’t always the answer after all, even if it is important to life,” Pinkie said to herself. She felt as if she had just discovered a huge and very important key to her everything. More than that at the moment, she wanted to be there for Naruko and the others, even if it meant she would do so quietly. Naruko sniffed while in the group hug. “Can we go home now? I’m really tired…” she asked her voice sounding weak. Twilight got the others to break off the hug as she looked to Naruko and tried to smile as warmly as she could. “Yes. Yes, we can, Naruko,” she said trying to sound more cheerful than she felt. “Good…” Naruko said as she slowly made her way back home. Naruko led the others back to the library on auto-pilot with her head lowered. “What happened to her?” Twilight couldn’t help but worry. She had never seen Naruko like this, not even when she had talked about Konoha back when she first came to Equestria. Twilight looked to the two-tailed fox walking slowly next to her marefriend, even Kyuubi seemed worried and crestfallen. He wasn’t meeting anypony’s eyes at the moment and just walking forward. He was lost in worry and thought. The sun was out shining brightly. The trees looked beautiful and provided lovely shade. The white and fluffy clouds were gently rolling across the sky. The ponies still out and about were seemingly lost and confused, but also relieved things were better. Princess Celestia felt relieved and proud of Twilight and the others. Princess Luna vowed to find time to check up on the patrol and in particular Naruko. The Land of Equestria was back to normal and happy again. One group of ponies weren’t and were far from it. Something inside all of them had changed and they didn't really know what all that meant.