//------------------------------// // 27. A Roc and a Hard Place // Story: Like Fireworks in the Sky // by SpyroForLife //------------------------------// “Honey, I'm home!” Discord sang as he appeared in his house in Sunny Oasis. “And I've got notes!” He looked around to see that the living room was empty. “Tempest? Are you here?” He went to check out the bedroom and saw her sleeping. He frowned, then realized that of course, it was about six AM. He chuckled. “Oh, my bad.” He went to sit next to her, watching her calm expression. He shuffled his papers, reviewing his notes while he waited for her to wake up. Part of him wanted to just go ahead and wake her up, but the other part didn't want to get slapped. So he waited, looking out the window. The Sun was beginning to rise, and he went to watch it. It was just as beautiful as ever, and he admired it. Sunlight filled the room, and in a few minutes, he heard Tempest shifting around, before finally getting up. “Discord?” she asked. He turned around. She beamed and trotted over to him, and he leaned down to hug her. “Hey, my little Shadow.” “Little Shadow?” she asked. He chuckled. “Is that too sappy?” “Nah... it's kinda edgy though.” “Well, you're kinda edgy, so it fits.” He leaned her back, looking her over. His gaze dropped to her chest, and he tilted his head. “What happened here?” He gently touched the stitches. She sighed. “We had... a bit of a bandit problem while you were gone.” “A bandit problem?” He snapped his teeth together, eyes glowing. “Please tell me you killed all the worthless bastards.” “No, no.” She stroked his cheek, calming him. “We just showed them that they had no chance of beating us, and they left. All we did was rough them up a bit. They won't come back and none of us were hurt.” “How do you know they won't come back? You left them alive. They might think you're soft.” Tempest shrugged. “The storm creatures are strong. If the bandits come back, they won't go easy on them.” “If you say so. But it looks like you were hurt. You have stitches!” “It's no big deal. I've been through worse. There were some pretty bad cuts, but no one is seriously hurt. We did conquer a good chunk of the world, you know.” She played with Discord's beard. “We're tough.” “Hm, I suppose so. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you.” He held her close, then said, “I have information about Rocs.” “Oh, great! What'd you learn?” Discord led her out to the kitchen. They sat down, Tempest levitating over a bottle of juice while he spread out his notes. “First of all, I'd like to apologize for taking so long. But Twilight insisted I go with her to visit Celestia and Luna and see what they know, and she even dragged me off to the Crystal Empire.” “It's okay. Crystal Empire, eh? That must have been fun.” Tempest poured them some juice and passed a cup over to Discord. He drained it in one gulp. “It would have been but I wasn't exactly on vacation. I was able to scare a few crystal ponies while I was there though. Anyway!” He tapped his papers. “Here's what I found out. There isn't too much information about these beasts, but I do know that they're vulnerable to fire. If you can land a solid hit on them with flames, they can burn away all their feathers. Might even kill them.” Tempest nodded. “Good to know. I don't want to kill her, but if I have to... that'll do.” “They can be very single-minded. And by that I mean, they can't really multitask. If multiple people are attacking them, they can't focus on everything at once. So that could also be our key to defeating her. Multiple attacks at once, at least one of them will do damage. And if we can get her to land, she'll be very clumsy on the ground. And supposedly there's a weak point, but...” Discord shook his head. “I don't know where. So attack wherever, I suppose. I suggest going for the wings if we're leaving her alive, otherwise go for the neck.” “Got it.” Tempest looked at his notes. “Is that it?” Discord sighed. “That's about it, a lot of this is redundant. They're very elusive.” “Okay then. Well... this helps.” She touched his hand. “This helps a lot, thank you.” He brightened at that. Tempest got up to pace. “So if it comes down to it, we can fight her... but I want to try reasoning with her first.” “You're welcome to try. Twilight said they don't really care about compromise. They just want to be left alone. But okay. When do you want to head out?” “The sooner the better. We don't want her coming back a third time.” Tempest headed for the door. Discord went with her. They briefly stopped to talk to Dusty, and he thanked them for the information and said he'll come up with a plan in case the Roc returns. Then he saw them off to the edge of town, and they headed north, toward the jungle. “This is the direction she went both times she left, apparently,” Discord explained. “And there's only so many places a bird her size can roost. Want to fly?” “That'd probably be quicker.” Discord tapped her shoulder, using his magic to let her levitate. She kicked off and flew with him. As they flew, he told her everything Twilight had told him about how Rocs lived. How they didn't care about friends or family, how only one sibling from a clutch would survive. “We might have trouble getting through to her,” Tempest admitted. “But I'm willing to try. It's what Twilight would want me to do. I didn't seem like I wanted friends either, but she didn't give up on me.” “But you're a pony,” Discord pointed out. “It's in your nature to be friendly. Most ponies are. Meanwhile, no Rocs are. See the issue here?” “Yeah, good point. Still, I'm going to try anyway.” “So optimistic, I like that about you.” They were over the jungle. They investigated tall trees, examined ruins and other places a Roc could potentially hide. Then they came across a lone mountain, though past that point the land started rolling until it jutted up into the mountains surrounding the Dragonlands. Discord's keen eyes could just make out a large nest on the mountain, and he gestured for Tempest to follow him. “That's definitely it,” he said once they were closer. “But the Roc is gone.” “That's fine, she should be back soon,” Tempest said. They landed close to the nest, and Tempest grimaced when her hoof came down onto loose stones and nearly made her trip. Then she looked down and realized those weren't stones. They were bones. “Eugh, so many skeletons,” Discord said, kicking one away distastefully. Tempest looked at the one closest to her and swallowed. “Yeah. I guess she's a messy eater.” Discord followed her gaze. “Is that a... pony?” Tempest gently lifted the skull, accidentally breaking it away from the neck in the process. She covered her mouth as she saw the horn sticking out, clear as day. “Yeah. It... was a pony. A unicorn.” “Oh, that's not good. So she's already killed people.” Discord looked around. “Not just ponies, either. Some these bones are from griffins. And... that's clearly a hippogriff. Dragons...” Tempest put the skull down, stomach churning. “And I'm pretty sure that's part of an elephant hanging off the cliff over there.” Discord growled. “Okay, I think we should just get rid of her, this is disgusting.” “No, we can talk to her about it.” “But look at all this! Do you really think talking is going to stop her from eating intelligent creatures? She's a big bird and she's going to go after big prey!” Tempest sighed, turning away from the nest to walk over to a fresher carcass. She could still see meat clinging to it, and could make out a few loose feathers. A pegasus who had met an unfortunate end. “You're probably right,” she said quietly. “But we can still talk. If anything, I can get to the bottom of why exactly she's doing this.” Discord went to kneel next to her, resting an arm around her. “She probably knows that she's killing intelligent creatures. She just doesn't care. She's hungry and they're available.” “Yeah. I just...” Tempest sighed. “I really don't want this to end with violence. This might work out. I have hope.” “Well, alright. I hope you know what you're going to say, because the Roc is heading toward us right now.” Tempest spun around, in time to see the huge bird fly overhead and screech at them. She circled above a few times, slowing down before finally landing on her nest with a rush of air. “What are you doing here?” she shouted in her scratchy voice. Tempest's legs shook, but she forced herself to stand tall as she walked toward the nest. “Hello. I'm Tempest Shadow, and this is Discord.” The Roc lowered her head, turning one large eye to survey them. Then she muttered, “Usually I would eat you both, but I just had a delicious camel so I'm not hungry. What do you want?” “We just want to talk. About the um, town out there in the oasis,” Tempest said. “Unless you're clearing out, we have nothing to talk about.” “No, we aren't clearing out. Here's the thing, it's inhabited by my good friends, the storm creatures. They've spent a long time building up a home there, see they don't really have any old homes to return to, so if they leave then you're pretty much making them homeless.” The other squawked and leaned back. “I don't care.” Discord rolled his eyes. Tempest kept going, “Maybe we could come to an agreement? See, it would be really upsetting for them to have to leave. They didn't even know that was your territory when they first settled down. Plus, I mean it's not like they're really encroaching on your food sources. They garden food you have no interest in, and they're only eating some of the fish, there's plenty left for you, they aren't going to compete with you...” The Roc interrupted, “I know that. And I don't care. They're in my territory, and I want them gone, end of story.” “We can share the fish!” Tempest offered. “And anything else you need! Come on, surely there's something you want that they could give you. How about it?” The Roc thought about it. Then she commented, “Well I always need more nesting materials. Branches and leaves are fine but I'd like something much more comfortable to sit on.” “Done!” Discord summoned several rolls of cloth, dropping them into the nest with a smug expression. “We really want to be friends, we don't have to fight,” Tempest said, smiling. For a few moments there was silence as the Roc used her beak to sort through the cloth. She seemed impressed by the variety of colors. She shifted everything off to the side, and looked back at them. “I'll take the offering, and my answer is still no. Rocs don't have friends.” Tempest grew frustrated, but kept her anger in check. “You can always be different from the other Rocs! Surely you're lonely?” “No,” the Roc replied flatly. “I never have been. I'm satisfied with my life.” Tempest's ears laid back. “Don't you miss your parents?” Discord nudged her. “Roc parents abandon their young, remember?” Tempest sighed. “Oh, right.” The Roc replied anyway, “My egg was incubated by my mother alone. My father, whoever he was, would have left after the mating. There is no romance among my kind and we don't need it. And my mother left too not too long after I hatched. I ate my siblings to survive, and flew away from that nest to hunt on my own. And I've been on my own ever since, and I'm happy! Rocs do not need or want companionship, and that's that!” Tempest sighed, discouraged. “I see. Then, we won't have peace? No matter what I offer?” “If peace means letting you creatures stay near my beautiful oasis, then no!” The Roc flapped her wings. Tempest stepped toward her, and Discord had to hold her back. “Fine!” she shouted. If being polite wasn't working, she'll have to get firm. “The storm creatures are not leaving Sunny Oasis! You'll just have to accept us being there!” The Roc stopped flapping her wings, flaring them widely instead, blocking the Sun and casting them in shadow. “No, I don't have to accept that! If you don't leave, I will kill all of you and eat you!” Tempest knew she had been threatening it, but hearing her say it so bluntly made her lose control of herself. She bared her teeth and fired a pulse of dark magic straight into the Roc's chest. To her surprise, it knocked her backward, and she nearly fell out of her nest. Tempest quickly tried to use a blast of fire, but this time the other was ready for it, and her magic-canceling effect blocked it from reaching her. “I'm going to try to get a surprise hit,” Discord said, and teleported away. Tempest saw him teleporting randomly around the Roc, blasting her with magic, and she angrily tried to bite him. Every time he got too close, she would use her wings to cover her face and knock him away. Tempest ran and jumped up into the nest, trying to duck underneath the Roc's belly to attack her. She started to stomp her feet, and Tempest lost focus on her magic as she dodged the huge talons. “Hey, birdbrain, up here!” Discord yelled, waving his arms and hitting the Roc with a few volleys of magic. She looked up and jumped for him, beak open. He got out of the way just in time. Tempest charged her magic, preparing to use a powerful fireball spell that should hopefully end all of this. She narrowed her eyes and took aim... And then the Roc flailed about in response to one of Discord's attacks, and her talons slammed into Tempest, throwing her out of the nest. She gasped as the air was torn from her lungs, pain searing across her side, and to make things worse, that hit had thrown her entirely off the mountain. She panicked and screamed, not knowing whether to concentrate on the gash in her side or the ground rushing toward her or the shrieking of the Roc, everything was fading to black and somehow her magic wasn't working. Then she heard her name being shouted, and suddenly she was caught in someone's arms. Tempest grunted and looked up, blinking at the gray face and red eyes above her. “D-Discord?” she asked weakly. He nodded, and his eyes roamed down her body. They widened. “You're hurt.” He growled and held her close, flying back up. She managed to keep an eye open, watching as Discord hovered in front of the Roc, who looked proud of herself. “That's what happens when you challenge me!” she boasted. “No, this is what happens when you challenge us,” Discord snarled. He moved Tempest into one arm and reached up with his free hand. Jagged cracks appeared in the mountain, and he tore the entire peak off, lifting the Roc along with it. She chirped in alarm, turning as if to flee, but hesitating at the sight of all the boulders lifting around her. Then Discord turned his wrist, and everything flipped upside-down and plummeted back down, slamming the Roc into... the rocks. Tempest found herself giggling at the thought, but Discord wasn't laughing. He let everything fall on top of the bird, and turned away. The last thing Tempest was able to make out before he teleported was the Roc's wing weakly moving underneath the rubble. Then everything went black and she went limp in her partner's arms.