//------------------------------// // Episode 8: Lightning and Magma // Story: My Little Pony: The Days of New Equestria (Season 2) // by ScorchingFlamesInc //------------------------------// The first sound I woke up to was the sound of a rooster. Literally. My heard pounded when I heard the rooster screaming in my ear. Shrieking, I jolted upwards, breathing heavily. "A rooster may crow..." said a voice that caught my attention. "But the Hen delivers the goods." That's when I finally saw him for the first time in my life... Discord, standing near my bed, cooking eggs over... a stove... "... Discord?!" I squeaked. "It looks like somepony knows their trivia..." Discord flipped the eggs up in the air, and they ended up flying right into his gullet, and out of sight. When he swallowed the last egg, he snapped his talons, and all the kitchen stuff vanished. "What are you doing here? In fact... what are you doing in my room?" "Oh, your friends are out and about, and so is Fluttershy. And because I've never taken the time to bond with someone who has little experience with being a pony, I figured I may as well pay a visit." "Where did my friends- oh yeah. Cozy has a dentist appointment." "And Tirek's at the gym," Discord pointed out. "No surprise there..." Discord slithered up next to me. I could feel a small brush along my wing, which made me shiver for whatever reason. "So..." Discord began. "What should we do today?" "What do you mean?" "Oh, I don't know..." Discord popped out of existence, and reappeared in another spot dressed as if he was playing baseball. "Play some good ol' sports?..." Discord threw the baseball from his paw, and it whizzed by my hair. It would have smashed into the wall had Discord not reappeared in its path and catching it. He then reappeared next to me with a cup of apple juice. "Or maybe share some juicy secrets..." He sipped the juice and offered some to me. "I'm good... wait... is that pulp?" "What can I say? I like pulp in my juice." "Yeah, but... apple juice, though?" "I thought you knew who I was?..." Discord smirked. I sighed. "...Good point." ... Intro[/iI ... I tapped on my phone screen, sitting all by myself near the Cutie Map. Discord did... whatever he does... before eventually appearing next to me, startling me a little bit. He held a newspaper... which appeared to be related to my world. Don't ask me how he got that... "You Earth humans are so interesting..." he mumbled, adjusting his reading glasses. "Devices... events... politics?" "Where did you get that? Isn't the Earth link sealed?" "I have my ways..." Well, he's not wrong... he is Discord. "I doubt asking will do much..." I mutter. I heard a dinging sound and looked up. Discord, dressed up in a fancy outfit and top-hat, stood next to a screen saying "right on the money". The screen rung as if I won a game show. "Correct!" Discord cheered. "Right on the money!" He pulled a rope leading to... nowhere... and a bunch of bits started to rain down on me. It hurt... a little... but Discord came to my rescue when an umbrella popped up over me, protecting me. "Look, Discord..." I tried speaking loudly over the sound of cluttering coins. I was about to do something that I don't always do. "...I get it. You're chaotic. And that's fine. But could you at least tone it down just a little..." DING DONG! The loud sound of a doorbell was heard over the clattering coins, which finally stopped when the sound rung. Wait... "Hang on, we don't have a..." I stopped and looked at Discord. He shrugged. "You gave us a doorbell, didn't you?" "Maaaaaybe..." I exhaled and went to answer the door. Discord stayed behind. When I opened the doors, Tempest Shadow stood outside. A surprise guest, for sure. "Wow. I didn't expect you all to have a doorbell," she said. "Wasn't us. You can tell that to Discord." "Oooh, alright." "Anyways, how did you know we lived here? Or where this place was?" "I'll have you know that I've been here before," Tempest said. "Oh, I see... so... what are you doing here?" "Just paying a visit. We haven't seen each other in a while since we first met" "And your other friends?" I ask. "I visit them too." "Ah, okay. Well, come on in." Tempest didn't hesitate as she went into the castle, and I brought her to the Cutie Map, where Discord waited. "Well, look who decided to visit," said Discord, playing cards with multiple clones of himself. "Hello, Discord," Tempest greeted, not in an aggressive manner, but not too cheery, either... though her mood made it obvious that they were on good terms. The other Discords coughed. Tempest sighed, and rolled her eyes with a small smile. "And Discord, Discord, Discord, Discord, and... Discord. Hey, where's the other three?" "Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow are out today, so it's just us. Feel free to stick around." "OI can come back later. I'm in no hurry. As I said, I just thought I'd see how things were going. Especially after all that is going on." "What do you mean?" "You know, with the Storm King, the Canterlot Attack, and from what I've heard from the Princess, some... red version of you?" "Oh. Well, no need to worry about us," I assured. "We're fine." The doorbell rung again. Now what?... I mentally groaned. "I'll be right back. Someone's at the door..." Again... I went back downstairs, and when I answered the door, I saw another unexpected character facing me... Magma Burn. "Magma Burn? What are you doing here?" "I'm here because Luster left something here, and for whatever reason, sent me to get it... no matter how much I tried to get her to go." "What did she... leave?" "Something important to her, I suppose..." Magma Burn went inside, bumping past me. "Somewhere on the second floor or something..." Oh no! If Magma Burn finds Tempest or Discord, then things are definitely not going to end well. I really didn't want to go through any of this again! I went after him, and walked alongside him up the stairs. "Um, how about I go get it?" I offer. "I'll do it myself..." "Are you sure? I mean, after all, we got some reformed villains you don't like up there, and-" "And I'm no coward. Now let me go on." Magma Burn again proceeded onward, pushing past me, and having me stumble a bit on the stairs. Knowing that I didn't have the motivation to continue trying, I ran up the stairs, down the hall, and into the map room. Due to my lack of exercise, my chest puffed and deflated as I took deep, exhausted breaths. "Well, you seem in a hurry for something," said Tempest. "Someone's here... doesn't like you... had to... warn you..." "Who?" Discord asked. "I may have a feeling..." Tempest mumbled. The doors swung open behind me, and Magma Burn stomped in. "You were going somewhere... where were you-" He stopped. I could tell that his focus shifted past me, and over to someone else behind me. "... you..." His hooves thundered on the ground as he stomped past me. "Long time no see, Magma Burn..." Tempest hissed. "You two met each other?" I asked. "More than met," Magma explained. "We dueled." "D-dueled?" "One year ago. And I came out the victor..." Tempest smirked. "You think you're so right just because you have a broken horn, and won a duel in spite of that (and your age). You were a villain. A threat. I'm doing what's right." "Oh, here we go again! You and your... morals." "I demand a rematch with you, Tempest!" Magma barked. "Same place." "I wouldn't go there after what happened." "Oh, alright, then! We'll be more secluded." "Forget about it!" exclaimed Tempest. "I'm not going to go through all of this with you. Nor am I going to risk giving you satisfaction of being, quote-on-quote 'right'." "What? Are you afraid? I've already won if you decline this battle." Tempest groaned. "You know what? Fine! I'll be there!" "I knew you'd take it..." Magma Burn then stomped4 out. I didn't want to say anything to Tempest, but I soon finally got the courage to do so. "Um... listen-" "I'm going to go," Tempest interrupted. "I'm sorry it had to be like that. I can't stand doubters... those who go too far like him. We'll talk later." Tempest then ran out of the room, leaving Discord and I all alone. I blinked. But then a talon holding a cup slid into my view. "Apple juice?" I glared at him. ... ... "What did happen, last time?" I asked. "Do you know?" "Oh, they fought..." Discord explained, while a hovering file did its work on Discord's talons. "Battle went a bit too extreme. Carried on to other places. Some buildings were destroyed. Tempest got the last hit before the Princess finally intervened." "Should we be worried? I mean, they're at a safe spot... no towns will get destroyed." "But they will get hurt." The file popped out of existence. "Would you want that?" "Um... well... Magma... not sure, maybe not... but definitely not Tempest." "Now listen, I'm all for chaos, bu-" Suddenly, the phone started to ring. Not my phone... the one put on the wall that will remain there until we get this whole technology thing taken care of. I went and picked it up. "Yes?" "Hello." "Tirek?" "I'm just calling to see how things are going back at the castle." "Alright, I guess... Discord's here, and I think there's about to be-" "What? Sorry, the phones aren't perfect here, and I'm multitasking." "What are you doing?" "I'm at the gym. What else do you think I'm doing? Keeping up my strong appearance, of course." "Of course..." "So, what is it you're trying to say?" "There's about to be a fight between Tempest and-" "Oh mother of Celestia!" I heard a loud clatter from the phone, a loud crunching noise, and then the line went dead. "Tirek! Tirek!" I shook the phone. "Discord! Do something! What happened?! Is he ok!?!" Stroking his beard, Discord brought up a crystal ball and looked into it. "He lost his balance and crushed the phone with a weight." I raised an eyebrow. "...seriously?" Discord nodded. I sighed. "Well... back to what we're talking about.... what should we do?" "You're going to do something about it, of course," Discord replied. "For their safety, and in case things get out of hand." "Why do I have to do it? If I were to do this, I'd want your help too!" "Well... um... oh, alright..." "Good." "I already have a solution. You can talk to Magma, and I'll speak with Tempest." "I am not going to talk to Magma!" I exclaim. "He hates me!" "He hates me too. And unlike me, he's worked with you before." "How did you- oh right, you're Discord, and also have contact with the Princess. And all have you know, it's not 'worked with me', precisely. More like 'had to be with me while we were far from home'." "It's still something." "I don't want to..." "I already agreed to help you. Now you do something for me." I groaned. "Fine! Fine... we'll stop them before they fight, and we'll try to settle things down before they get hurt. Let's go." Discord snapped his talons. Field... When I reappeared, I appeared right in front of Magma Burn. He sjumped, and glared at me with his horn glowing red. "Oh..." Magma's horn immediately dimmed back down, to my relief. "It's you." "Listen, Magma, I know we're not on perfect terms. But..." I coughed in my hoof. "Any chance you and Tempest can just... not do this?" "Why? We were much closer to a town last time. We're far out in this field." "Yeah, but someone's gonna get hurt. Tempest... even you. If I was told long ago that I'd feel like stepping between a fight to stop it, then I'd probably be alright with it, but... here I am. Trying to stop this confrontation." "What's your true reasoning? Besides us getting hurt... which, let's face it, you're not thinking much about." "Um... uh..." "You're probably doing this because he put you up to it... Discord. The Lord of Chaos. Trying to do 'right'. Simply to mask his deceptiveness." "Listen, either way, don't do this." "If you think that you can change my mind, then you clearly forgot our past encounters. I'm ignoring you." Magma then stomped off. "Drat..." I grumbled. (Though it was actually something else that I will ignore for young eyes and ears). ... ... Magma Burn waited for Tempest to show up. His hooves felt rooted into the ground as he pressed them inside. But finally, he saw who he was expecting to see... Tempest approaching from the distance, and coming closer. Along with the clothing he last saw her wear, he also saw some extra scarves around her neck and barrel. Soon, she stopped, and there was a moment of silence. "I'm not going to fight you!" she shouted. "Why not?!" "It's not worth my time to prove myself right!" "And yet you come here, instead of returning home!" "I'm not a coward! I'll save you the trouble of hunting me down!" "If you're no coward, then why leave?" "Sometimes, it's best. Now enjoy your day!" Tempest turned to leave. But all of a sudden, something hot zipped past her ear. A fireball landed on the ground, leaving a scorched burn-mark on the grass. Tempest looked behind her, and saw Magma coming closer. His horn was glowing red with fury, and she could see small burn marks act as hoofprints. "I don't want it to come to this..." Tempest warned. "I have to ensure justice..." "This isn't justice-" Another fireball passed by Tempest. "Have it your way..." Tempest's broken horn started to crackle. A blue flash struck the ground, causing Magma to jump. Magma retaliated. He stomped his hoof, and a streak of fire ran across the ground, coming for Tempest. She proceeded to run, but the trail followed her. Tempest was quick to figure out that Magma's concentration was controlling the fire... so she lit her broken horn again, and launched her firework-sparks at Magma, eliminating his concentration so Tempest could get a breather. It delved into a back-and forth, after that. Magma Burn continued releasing bursts of fire and magma at Tempest. And Tempest either continued to stun him or attack with bolts of crackling blue bolts. However, none of them have gotten hit, as they managed to dodge even close direct shots with jumps, flips, or teleportation. "Why are you so angry with me!?!?" Tempest screamed. "What's your problem with villains?!" Magma didn't respond. Instead, he shot a burst of magma at Tempest, but when she struck it with a bolt of lightning, drips of magma spattered all around her. A drop nearly touched her hoof, but she stepped back before it could. It then returned to a back-and-forth, along with a brief moment where Magma and Tempest dueled with a hot beam of magic, and a shivering beam of lightning colliding. Soon, though, they stopped.4 Leo's POV... Discord and I reappeared in the field, since he suggested that we go there for whatever reason, and when we got there, a blue bolt of magic nearly hit my nose. Magma Burn and Tempest Shadow were dueling it out. "I thought you said that Tempest was gonna skip the fight!" I exclaim. "I... may have been wrong." "I'd question that, but... you did get tricked by three villains that you should have known will be deceptive. And don't say you were disguised." "I lost my touch, I get it." A flaming hoof suddenly whizzed past us, and was heading right for Tempest. However, she took a huge, parkour-like leap off to the side, the flaming hoof only grazing her mane. "Come on! We have to do something!" I stepped in between the fight. "Guys! Stop right now!" "Leo, step aside!" Tempest barked. "Magma, whatever happened to our discussion and bonding back when we were separated from our homes!?" "Forget about that!" Magma shrieked. "I've already gave you the message...I can't! I can't forgive them for all that they've done! Justice is all I know!" "But this isn't justice!" "I need you out of my way! You're lucky I'm sparing you!" Magma tossed me aside, and I shrieked. I landed in a net, and then a referee Discord popped up, tweeting a whistle. "That's three points for Magma Burn!" he bellowed. I groaned. I tried to get up, but I was stuck. "Discord!" I saw Magma shoot a fireball at Tempest, who again dodged it... but then a second fireball Magma launched struck Tempest in the side, and she was sent back. I gasped, and the next I was held in vanished. I fell, and luckily landed on my flank. I was ready to get up, but then Discord stopped me. His lion paw was replicated into many duplicates, and all of them pointed at the scene ahead. Magma Burn slowly approached Tempest. Groaning, she pulled away the gash that the impact left on her clothing, and it revealed a patch of a sort of armor. "You came prepared..." I heard Magma say. "Just in case... though it did pack a bit of a punch..." Groaning, Tempest got up. "Congratulations... you won. I surrender." Tempest got up, and was about ready to head back with Discord and I. I could see Magma take a look at me. I saw something in his eyes, but I wasn't entirely sure on what it was. He raised a hoof and called out. "Tempest! Wait!" Tempest glanced at Magma, stepping forward to her. I expected him to rub it in. I expected him to continue putting up a fight. Anything negative, for the matter. But he shocked me. And likely everyone else. "You are a villain," he began. "Villains would do anything to save their skin. Prove themselves superior. Like when Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek saved Equestria to hide their image." I rolled my eyes. "But... you were the first apparent ally of Leo's that I challenged in a while. You put up a fight. And you easily admitted defeat. I don't know why... or how... but I feel a bit of respect for you. Don't think it means anything, but... it's there... *sigh*... now enjoy your day..." Magma turned around, gave us one last look, and then teleported away. "So... he has a bit of respect for me for admitting defeat and putting up a fight... and yet he apparently still holds resentment for your friends..." "So hypocritical," said Discord. "I don't know..." I start. "I mean, maybe it is, but... he's never faced off against my friends. He probably sees it as a coward move. He fought Tempest, and won. But Tempest was a good sport and admitted defeat. It's complicated, but... let's say we're both right. Honestly, I wish it wasn't like this... we made a good team when we worked together. If it was just me and Luster during the Canterlot attack, we would of lost." "Perhaps you could be right... but I'm not sure..." Tempest said. "Let's put this aside and go back to the castle." One hour later... Chrysalis opened the doors to the Cutie Map room. "We're back! Finally..." She, along with Tirek and Cozy Glow (who had a puffy cheek, and a cloth wrapped around her head), went into the room. "Greetings, Tempest," Tirek greeted. "Hello, Discord." "You seem like you had a long day," Chrysalis said, sitting down. I took a look at Cozy Glow. "I can say the same for that." "Yeah, the appointment took longer than expected... waiting-wise, and, um... while it was happening." A pained groan was heard from Cozy. "Tempest had a run-in with Magma, today," I said. "How did that go?" inquired Tirek. "Odd... after the duel... Magma won, by the way... he said he had a slight respect for her." "I can't say if it's hypocritical, or somewhat a decent move," Chrysalis mumbled. "I agree..." I nod. "Only time will tell if he will solidify himself as a friend or foe," said Tempest. "From what I understand, he's had his moments of both." A bunch of us nodded. "Well, it's been fun hanging out today..." Discord stretched, a few of his positions rather... odd. "But I shall return. I believe Fluttershy will be back at any minute now." Discord vanished with the snap of his lion paw. "Oh yeah!" Tirek piped. "How was Discord today?" I chuckled. "Well... he was surprisingly decent before you got here. Can't say the same for when I first woke up today... here's what happened..."