//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight // Story: Chaos Runs Rampant // by RK_Striker_JK_5 //------------------------------// Every sound, every movement in the shadows caught Fluttershy's attention. She flitted about a wide open field, darting about. “I-is anyone t-there?” she stuttered out. “Rainbow Dash? Twilight? Pinkie Pie?” She sighed and dropped down to the grass, only to fly back up as a pack of bunnies hopped out from behind a plastic-looking tree. “EEP!” The bunnies all hopped up to her in perfect lockstep, each one moving in sync with each other. They stopped in front of her, looking up at Fluttershy with shiny red eyes. Birds flew off of previously-empty branches and circled right above Fluttershy. A large rainbow formed, stretching from horizon to horizon. Fluttershy looked over the bunnies, the birds and the rainbow. She blew a strand of her mane out of her face and rolled her eyes. “All right. This is a little much, even for me. Are you around, Discord?” Lines appeared in the rainbow, sliding open to reveal Discord's yellowish eyes. They blinked several times before falling off to the ground. They hit the ground and bounced up, settling into Discord's body as it appeared. “Why hello, Fluttershy!” he said, sketching a bow. He turned the canvas around to her and waved a claw over it. “What do you think? Too Post-Impressionist? I might try my hand at Bob Ross next.” Fluttershy's eyes crossed at the sight of Discord's drawing, Both of her wings shot out and folded over her head as she hunkered down. “It's... interesting,” she said, peeking at it through a mass of feathers and only getting a mild headache. She focused on Discord, shielding herself from the art as best she could. “Umm, I know this might be a bit of a long shot, but is there any chance you could stop this whole chaos thing that you've been doing? Things have gotten pretty badly for everyone out there.” Discord snorted. “Oh, my dear Fluttershy! I–” He stopped and folded the canvas up into an impossibly-small triangle, then flicked it over a goalpost made up of his own talons. “There we go. So, like I was about to say, why should I have to change? I'm merely being who I am. Isn't 'be yourself' an important lesson to be learned?” Fluttershy nodded slightly. “Well, yes, but there's also respecting other people's boundaries and feelings. Being harmful to those around you, whether intentional or not, just isn't right, Discord. And you're definitely being intentional in your harm.” She slowly unfolded her wings from around her head. “Can't you just, not harm people or radically alter the environment at a whim? Or at least not do it so others aren't mentally scarred by the experience? Pinkie Pie and her coltfriend Cheese Sandwich manage to do that!” She paused and made the briefest of faces. “Well, most of the time.” Discord grumbled. “Oh, where's the fun in that? I don't want to be limited or constrained! I want to be me!” He held a paw to his forehead and swooned, doubling over into a Mobius Strip comprised of his own body. He spun about a few rotations before untangling himself. “If only you knew what it was like to be me, Fluttershy! I mean, kindness needs some empathy, right?” “I suppose,” Fluttershy finally said. “I mean, one sometimes has to trot a furlong in someone else's horseshoes to understand their viewpoint. We had to deal with that in Appaloosa between the settlers and buffalo, but we almost got them to come to an agreement.” Her stance shifted, and her face hardened ever so slightly. “Applejack and Rainbow Dash almost caused a full-scale war between them, but we managed to eventually get them to talk and come to a compromise.” Discord clapped his paws together. “Oh, it sounds like such a delightfully chaotic tale, Fluttershy! I'd love to hear more about it.” he snapped his claws. A large couch flashed into existence. He snapoped his claws again. Discord vanished and reappeared on the couch, a bucket made of popcorn held in his paws. Fluttershy flashed as well, but she remained where she was. “Oh, what a dreadful shame,” Discord muttered. Fluttershy blinked. She flashed again, only to remain where she was. Her Element of Kindness glowed, catching her attention. “What's going on?” she asked, tapping it with her hoof. It vibrated, bouncing about round her neck. Discord leaned forward. His eyes darted from Fluttershy to her Element, then back again. “Oh, my! It seems my magic is blocked by your, ugh, Element of... whatever. Kindness, right?” At her nod, he held a paw up to his forehead. “Oh, no! All I wanted to do was bring you over here so we could chat a bit, but I guess with that interfering with my magic, we can't talk things out.” Fluttershy hopped up. She stretched her wings out and flew over to the couch, pirouetting around in midair before dropping down next to the draconequus. “Sorry about that. What did you want to talk about?” There was the tiniest of pauses before Discord spoke again. “Well, I was thinking you could try and see things a bit more from my perspective, but I'm not sure you can, my dear.” He brought a single talon up and moved it as close as he dared to the three butterfly-shaped gems. He winced as the tip of his claw glowed white-hot, and a small barrier formed around the diadem. “Your sparkly little necklace just doesn't seem to like me!” He straightened up and a dozen halos formed over his head. “I just don't know why, though.” Fluttershy looked down at her Element and slowly tapped it with a hoof. “Oh, I'm sorry about that. I hope it didn't hurt you or anything.” A slow smile crept across Discord's muzzle. He waved his paw in the air and blew on the suddenly-smoking claw. “Oh, ouch! I think it might've caused a bit of a boo-boo, dear. It does cause a bit of a problem. I just don't feel safe around it!” Fluttershy shrank down a bit. “Oh, I'm very sorry about that. I just don't know what to do, though.” Discord laced his claws together and wound his way around Fluttershy. “Well, would it be possible for you to, I don't know, remove it for a bit? Just slip it off so I don't feel so unsafe, then right back on after I'm-I mean, we're done here.” Fluttershy's expression hardened slightly. She arched an eyebrow. “You're not trying to fool me, are you? That wouldn't be very nice of you.” Discord shook his head. “No, it wouldn't be very nice of me at all, would it.” Fluttershy stared at him for a few more moments. Finally, she made her decision. Numbers, letters, and symbols floated all about Twilight Sparkle. They danced about, rearranging themselves into words, numbers, or equations. Some of the equations flew down to her. “That's wrong,” she commented. “That's wrong. That's...” She squinted. “I think that one's right.” Her eyes widened as another one came into view. “I'm fairly sure reality itself would start to unravel if that one was solved like that.” The words strung together and flew around Twilight's head. Her eye rolled about as she instinctively tried reading them. She screwed her eyes shut as several nigh-incomprehensible phrases rolled by. “No, no no!” Twilight's horn flared as she telekinetically shoved them away. Some of the words broke apart into their constituent letters. They landed in a heap and melted, turning a light-brown and merging together. It flowed up into the air, getting furrier as it turned into Discord. “Oh, what's the matter, Twiley?” he asked, slithering over. “I thought you liked learning!” Twilight nickered. “I'd prefer not to go gibbering mad like a character in one of those old HP Lovecraft stories, thank you.” She looked around and rolled her eyes. “And seriously, words and equations? I'm not that bookish anymore. Try something else. Spice it up a bit!” Discord held a paw up to his forehead. “Oh, how horrible! Twilight Sparkle has been sassy to me. How ever will I recover from her sharp rebukes?” He shot forward as Twilight started walking once more. “Hey, where are you going?” He pulled out a small Rolodex and started flipping through cards inside. “We have to have our mandated 'banter session'!” Twilight looked around as she walked through a seemingly-endless darkness. “What's the point?” The tip of her horn brightened, driving away some of the immediate darkness. “I'm looking for my friends, and you're going to try and distract me so you can continue with your depredations. There's nothing else to really say to each other, so why bother?” She skidded to a halt as Discord flew right in front of her. “Hey, you mind?” Discord waved her off. “Oh, of course! Let me stop in my efforts to stop you from turning me back to stone. What was I thinking?” A table and two chairs flashed into existence behind Discord. He vanished, reappearing on one of the chairs with a green visor perched around his horn. Playing cards floated up and started shuffling themselves. “Care to make a wager?” Twilight nickered and waved Discord off. “I'd rather bet on a sure thing, like my friends. We'll stop you together.” There was the briefest of pauses before Discord snorted, the snort quickly turning into full-blown laughter. His paw turned into a shoe and he pounded it on the table. “Oh, how rich! You're kidding, right? Them? A 'sure thing'?” A portal opened up on Twilight's left. Images of her friends flashed inside of it, showing Rainbow Dash flying about, Applejack stumbling around Sweet Apple Acres, and Pinkie Pie hauling a cake down Mane Street, among other shots of their daily life. Twilight watched the slideshow for a few minutes before slowly nodding. “Yup. They can be quite the hoofful, Discord. I don't exactly need you reminding me of their foibles and missteps, thank you. I already know how egotistical Rainbow Dash can be, how stubborn Applejack is. I know Pinkie can be erratic and sometimes insensitive, while Fluttershy can have bad mood swings. And yes, Rarity can be manipulative. I know all this.” Discord leaned forward in his chair. His eyes narrowed and, for a moment, all was calm. “Wait, you know this already? T-then why are you still friends with them?” Twilight turned her head and trotted forward. She fixed a stare on Discord. “Because I know that's not all they are. Rainbow Dash won't leave her friends hanging and would take a bullet for any of us. Applejack is dependable and steady. Pinkie wants us to laugh on the inside and smile on the outside. Fluttershy's kindness and empathy know almost no bounds. And Rarity would literally give you the shirt off her back if the need arose. Honestly, sometimes I don't know how they put with with this sarcastic, introverted, neurotic bookworm sometimes.” She shook her head. “I remember once, after Rainbow Dash and I had an argument and then made up, that friendship didn't seem all that easy. But it was worth fighting for.” She tapped her tiara, and the diadem nestled within it. “And my friends? They're very much worth fighting for.” Discord sat there, unmoving. After a few minutes he started clapping. “What a wonderful speech, Twilight. It'd move me to tears, if I gave a damn about any of that!” He vanished in a flash of plastic, reappearing by Twilight's flank once more. He looked around, eyes extending from their sockets and turning into fleshy binoculars. “Tell me, Twilight Sparkle. Where are your friends? They don't seem to be around!” He twisted about, his body turning into a corkscrew. “Where's the 'magic of friendship' when you really need it?” Twilight's eyes narrowed. She tapped her chest. “They're here, Discord. They're here with me in spirit, which is more than you can say about yourself. And sure as they're with me, I'm with them! We're connected, no matter how far apart we are!” She paused. “We're-wait, what did I say?” Discord looked up from a book. “What? Oh, sorry. Just waiting on you to finish pontificating, purple pony.” He slammed the book closed. “Well?” Twilight spun about and started pacing. “If I remember my history correctly, the Elements of Harmony were once the Rainbow of Light, back during Dream Valley.” She stopped and jabbed a hoof at Discord. “You shattered the locket containing its magic during one fight with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They took the remnants of said necklace to the Dragon Clans, where Clan Head Spikor, formerly Spike of Dream Valley, and who would one day be King Spykoran the Old, convinced King Terronax the Fanged to aid the Princesses.” A low, forced chuckle escaped Discord's lip. “Well, that's a fascinating little history lesson. I wouldn't expect anything less from you.” Twilight shook her head. “I'm not done.” The tip of her horn lit up. “The magic of the rainbow was still embedded in the necklaces and tiara the Metal-Weaver Clan would forge the Rainbow's original locket into. The Rainbow of Light, split up among six separate objects–but still connected!” Twilight grinned as five beams of light shot from her horn, flying off into the darkness surrounding her. “There we go. A simple tracing spell and I'm in business!” Discord's face fell. He quickly grabbed it and slapped it back over his skull before waving his paws frantically in the air. “No, no! T-that's not a good idea, Twilight! You don't know what you're doing!” Twilight arched an eyebrow at him as her horn started glowing. “I seriously doubt you're concerned for my safety, so that means I'm onto something with this. You're nervous, Discord.” Her eyes crossed as she focused on her horn. One of the beams of light started flashing. “And first target is acquired.” Twilight teleported away, even as Discord reached for her. The draconequus floated there for a few moments, alone. He tapped a claw against his front tooth. “I may have underestimated her,” he murmured. “Clever mare, there.” His eyes went back and forth, finally landing on a large clock with Discord in the middle. He slid his paw through his ear and pulled out his brain. “All right, you. Think! How can I stop her? What can I do?” Discord held his brain close to his head. “Ah, ah! Very clever!” He unscrewed his cranium and plopped his brain back in. “She won't be able to find her friends inside here if all her friends aren't in here!” He snapped his claws, teleporting away.