//------------------------------// // Fear Itself (Part One) // Story: A New Era // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// The time: Midnight. The place: a mountain overlooking most of Equestria. A cloaked figure stood near the summit, surveying the land below. "I hope you're sleeping peacefully, Equestria." The figure sneered. "Because this is the last good night's sleep you'll be getting in a long time. After all this time, I'm finally ready to make my move. And even your greatest defenders won't be able to save you from the horror I have planned..." The cloaked figure let out a wicked cackle, before beginning to make his way down the mountain. The following morning... Applejack was making her way to Ponyville market, carrying several bushels of freshly-bucked apples. "Another honest day's work ahead a' me." She smiled. "An' Ah wouldn't have it any other way..." As she negotiated through the crowd of ponies, Applejack couldn't help but pick up some conversations. "Since I switched to the all-natural shampoo, my mane is so much more manageable..." A mare said. "Those lousy flyders almost ruined our vacation..." A stallion grumbled. "I heard some Royal Guardsponies stationed at Rainbow Falls were found collapsed, mumbling to themselves about some terrible things..." One mare's voice declared. "Wait, what...?" Applejack frowned, briefly pausing in her tracks. "...From what I've heard, the doctors are calling it a serious panic attack." The mare's voice continued. "Brought on by stress, most likely." "Oh, how awful." Another mare stated. "I've always said those poor guards work too hard..." "Excuse me!" A stallion's voice told Applejack. "Huh?" Applejack turned, and saw an impatient Earth Pony carrying a cart full of wares. "Could I get by sometime today?" The stallion demanded. "Oh, beggin' yer pardon, pardner." Applejack hastily moved aside. "Thank you." The stallion smiled. Applejack allowed the stallion and his cart to pass by. By the time he had gone on his way, the conversation Applejack had overheard was over; the mare was now talking about scented candles. "Elderberry is my favorite." She declared. "So fragrant..." With no reason to stick around, Applejack continued onward. But the mare's earlier words still dwelt in Applejack's head. 'Panic attacks?' She thought to herself. 'That don't track. The Royal Guard are made outta stronger stuff than that...' Eventually, Applejack was able to put those thoughts out of her mind, busying herself by arranging the apple bushels around the market stall reserved for the Apple family. "Apples!" She called out to the crowd after every was ready. "Get yer fresh, juicy apples here!" As usual, ponies clamored for the fruit of the Apple family's labors, and the Bits rolled in. It only took an hour or two for Applejack to almost completely clear out her stock. "Looks like Ah'm gonna have to make another trip back to the barn before lunch." She smiled proudly. "Ponies jest can't get enough a' our apples..." Just then, Rainbow Dash rushed into the market, the slipstream from her flight sending manes flapping and ponies off-balance. "Applejack!" She called out, stopping right in front of her friend. "We've got a problem!" "Must be sumthin' serious fer you to go at eighty percent a' yer top speed through the market." Applejack noted, well aware of the disgruntled ponies who had been jostled or had their wares/purchases scattered by the speedy Pegasus' arrival. "Serious enough that we can't waste time with chit-chat!" Rainbow said impatiently. Barely a nanosecond later, Rainbow grabbed Applejack by the midsection, and carried her out of the market at ninety percent top speed (naturally slowed by having a passenger). "Whoaaa!" Applejack yelped, holding her hat down to keep it on her head. Once again, ponies found themselves caught in Rainbow's slipstream, and weathered it as best they could. "Whoever said small towns are nice and peaceful never lived here..." The stallion from earlier scowled. Applejack found herself being carried out of town, all the way to Fluttershy's cottage. As they arrived, Applejack noticed some of their other friends; Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Starlight Glimmer, all gathered around... Something. "This can't be good..." Applejack muttered worriedly as Rainbow set her down. "What's goin' on?" The others noted Applejack's arrival grimly. As they turned, Applejack could see what they were surrounding: Fluttershy. The mare was sprawled on the ground, her eyes open, yet staring into space. Her body was surrounded by strange black smoke, and she was muttering strange things. "This can't be happening..." She babbled, fear in her voice. "Please don't do this to me!" Angel Bunny was standing beside her, a distressed expression on his furry face as he struggled to provide the stricken mare some comfort. "Fluttershy?" Applejack gazed with horror at the state her friend was in. "What happened to her?" "I don't know." Rainbow shook her head. "I dropped by to lend her the new Daring Do book, and found her like this. I tried to snap her out of it, but nothing I tried worked. So I got everypony else to see if they could help." "And Ah'm guessin' nuthin's worked so far?" She glanced at her worried friends. "I'm afraid we're stumped, darling." Rarity admitted. "I tried snapping her out of it with the biggest noisemaker I had, but she didn't even flinch." Pinkie frowned. "This strange smoke swirling around her gives me the feeling that magic may be involved." Starlight mused. "But I've never seen anything like it before. And unless I know what it is we're dealing with, I can't risk casting any spells. That could make things even worse for Fluttershy." At that moment, a flash of light gleamed through the windows of Fluttershy's cottage, followed by a muffled "Ta-daa!" After a few moments of silence, there was another flash of light, followed by a flash of light right next to the group. "Ta-daa!" Discord called out. "So, anypony seen Fluttershy? We had a luncheon appointment today, and it's not like her to flake..." "...I'm afraid Fluttershy is... Indisposed right now." Rarity said nervously, indicating Fluttershy's distressed state. "Fluttershy?" Discord's face shifted from lightheartedly curious to horrified. "Are you okay? Speak to me!" "I can't... I can't believe this is happening..." Fluttershy said feverishly, still completely unaware of her surroundings. Discord looked upon his oldest friend with concern and worry. But this quickly gave way to cold fury. He turned to the others. "Who did this?" He demanded angrily, eyes glowing red. "We don't know." Applejack answered. "We don't even know what's been done to her." "No... somepony do something..." Fluttershy rolled over in her delusions. "Hold up." Rainbow noticed something on the ground where Fluttershy had just been lying. She picked it up and examined it. "It's a note." "Well, don't leave us in suspense, darling." Rarity urged. "What does it say?" "It says: 'To the defenders of Equestria. I hope I managed to get your attention'." Rainbow read. "You sure did, whoever you are..." She scowled, then continued reading. "'If you want your friend returned to normal, and to avoid any others suffering her fate, meet me at the edge of the Ghastly Gorge at high noon, and we can negotiate the terms of your surrender'." "Surrender?" Rarity frowned. "Whoever wrote this isn't exactly being subtle, are they?" "Oh, great." Applejack rolled her eyes. "It's another one a' them 'Ah'm here tah take over Equestria' varmints." "Well, at least they let us know ahead of time." Pinkie noted. "But why they didn't just use the post office is beyond me..." "And they just gave us an open invitation to kick their butt!" Rainbow scoffed. "So let's get over there, and show whoever this is that they do not mess with our friends!" Rainbow made to speed over to the Ghastly Gorge... only for her path to be blocked by a large Stop sign. "Not so fast." Discord declared. "Fluttershy's my friend too, lest you forget. So how about you give me first crack at whoever this villain is?" The ponies shared looks of surprise and concern. "Maybe we shouldn't be so hasty about this." Starlight suggested. "Rushing into this might not end so well." "No, no, I insist." Discord said stubbornly. "Just this once, I'll deal with the bad guy myself." "I'm not so sure goin' after this mystery figure by yourself is such a great idea." Applejack said cautiously. "We don't got clue one about who it is, what they're after, or if what they did tah Fluttershy is even the least a' what they can do!" "It's not as if whoever this is has more power than I do." Discord scoffed. "I'll just pop over there, take out this would-be big bad, and this will all be over just like that." "We all appreciate how much you care for Fluttershy." Starlight tried to reason with him. "But we all know she cares for you just as much. And she wouldn't want you getting into trouble just for her sake." "What trouble?" Discord said proudly. "I don't get into trouble. I make the trouble. And I'm about to make some big-time trouble for the fiend who thought they could mess with my friends!" "Can't argue with that logic." Rainbow declared. "Give 'em one from me, will ya?" "I would, but it's doubtful dealing with this unknown reprobate will even take more than one shot." Discord bragged. "Maybe we should-” Starlight started. "Not waste any more time, since high noon is nigh? Excellent point!" Discord cut her off. "Don't wait up, ladies!" Before anypony could say anything else, Discord vanished. "He did make a pretty good case, you know." Pinkie pointed out. "Even so, it might be a good idea to contact Twilight, let her know what's happening." Starlight mused. "I'll take care of that. You all stay with Fluttershy." "You got it." Rainbow nodded. "I realize this is a rare sentence, but perhaps we should have a little more faith in Discord." Rarity suggested, as Starlight teleported away. "He does have the power to back up his boasts, after all..." "Ah still don't like this." Applejack frowned. "Since when do the bad guys send us an invitation? That kinda thing has 'trap' written all over it." "Are you sure? Because I'm not seeing 'trap' written anywhere on this." Pinkie frowned, examing the note from every ang. "I'm with Rarity." Rainbow spoke up. "What kinda trap could possibly catch Discord? Whoever's behind this is gonna regret the day they ever set hoof in Equestria!" "Ah hope yer right." Applejack sighed. "Fer Fluttershy's sake..." All too soon, the cloaked figure stood at the edge of the Ghastly Gorge, patiently awaiting for an answer to their invitation. As the sun reached its highest point in the sky, Discord appeared before the figure. "Well now, what's this?" The figure remarked in a whimsical tone. "Expecting the 'defenders of Equestria', were we?" Discord declared. "Too bad. You got me instead." He curled his class into fists. "Now, how about you tell me who you are, and why you thought it was a good idea to do whatever it was you did to me lord of chaos' best friend?" "Since you asked so nicely..." The figure removed their cloak. Underneath was what appeared to be a hulking, bipedal warthog, clad in jet-black armor. His tusks curved out from his mouth, just as sharp as the two small horns protruding at right angles from under a patch of ash-colored hair. His hulking arms ended in matching black gauntlets above clawed hands. Around his neck was a silver medallion, engraved with a design similar to an eye, but with a vortex in place of the iris. "I am Dread, master of terror." He announced. "A Kobold?" Discord raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're a long way from home, aren't you? And I'm guessing this isn't exactly a business trip." "You guess correctly." Dread declared. "I ruled my own homeland with an iron fist. Any foolish enough to challenge me ended up broken and whimpering at my feet." "Oh, joy. Backstory..." Discord groaned. "I thought I had it all... Until I heard tell of a land beyond the sea. A land filled with magic." Dread grinned. "A land ripe for conquest: Equestria. So in a way, I guess you could call this a business trip." "Okay, I'll bite: how do you plan on conquering this land all by your lonesome?" Discord inquired. "The same way I did my own land: With the power of fear." Dread showed off his medallion. "With this, I can force anycreature to see their greatest fear. And their fear grants me power. The more who fall under my spell, the more powerful I become." "Fear magic? Oh, please." Discord scoffed. "Equestria's already seen that trick plenty of times before. King Sombra, the Tantabus... everypony's just gonna say you're rippin' those guys off!" "Amateurs and dabblers." Dread said dismissively. "And I should know, because I learned everything I could about the threats this land has encountered in the past." "...You have?" Discord frowned. "What, you think I just woke up one morning and thought 'I know, I'll go and conquer Equestria, it'll be a good day's work'? Wrong." Dread smirked. "I'll have you know I arrived here months ago. I've been lurking in the shadows, gathering information, learning everything I could about this land's history, and its defenses... and disposing of any who were unfortunate enough to catch sight of me." "So you like to do your homework, huh?" Discord sneered. "If you weren't a villain, I bet you and Twilight would get along famously. I'm guessing you know all about her too, don't you?" "Indeed." Dread nodded. "I'm not exactly a fan of her management style, but I know all about the knowledge and magical power she possesses." "Then you'll know that she's not nearly the neurotic pushover bookworm she appears to be." Discord smirked. "Honestly, with all the 'research' you supposedly did, I'm surprised you actually decided to stick around and make a go of it. Surely you know what kind of power you'll be going up against?" "Oh, but I do." Dread retorted. "That's why I've planned out my attack strategy quite thoroughly." "Have you, though?" Discord sneered. "Judging by what was written on the little note you left with Fluttershy, you were expecting her pony besties to show up here. Didn't think I'd show up, did you?" "On the contrary, I was counting on it." Dread grinned wickedly. "...What?" Discord frowned. "That's why I targeted Fluttershy, out of all six of this land's great heroes; because I knew any harm brought to her would drive you to avenge it... personally." Dread announced. "So you wanted me to be the one to answer your little summons." Discord glared. "Mind if I ask why?" "Because, as every good strategist knows, you must take out the greatest threats first." Dread declared smugly. "Once I remove any and all threats to my plans, I will be free to spread fear across this land, until my might is unbeatable. And you, with your unbound chaos magic, are the single greatest threat to my plans. Even with your patchy history of actually assisting in the defense of this land, logic dictated that I get you out of the way first." "It's not often I agree with logic, but you're right there." Discord said smugly. "Which begs the question: how do you intend on getting me out of the way?" "First, by targeting your dear little friend, Fluttershy." Dread smirked. "I knew incapacitating her would raise your ire, and push you into a confrontation." "Oh, you were definitely right there." Discord snarled angrily, his eyes glowing once more. "And as a bonus, it also neutralised the threat of the so-called 'Elements of Harmony'." Dread continued. "With one Element bearer out of the way, their combined power cannot be activated. Some ultimate defense these ponies have, huh?" "And now you've got me, in all my glory." Discord snarled, his eyes glowing red. "Too bad for you..." "It's funny, really." Dread said merrily, seemingly oblivious to Discord's rage. "The most powerful being in this land, at the beck and call of a timid little Pegasus. Like I said, I've done my research. You once ruled this whole land, and now look at you: little more than a court jester." "But today, I'm one hundred percent serious." Discord readied his claws. "You harmed my closest friend, and this 'jester' takes that kind of thing real personal. Now, let's see how smug you are when I replace those horns with cotton candy..." Discord snapped his claws. But nothing happened. "What the-?" He frowned, snapping again, and again. "Did you really think I wouldn't have arranged for this little meeting if I weren't prepared for you?" Dread smirked. He indicated the dark metallic armor he was wearing. "This is Obsidian ore, the same kind of metal the Storm King's forces wore when they invaded Canterlot. It deflects magic... even yours." He brushed some imaginary dust off his gauntlet. "You would not believe how much money and effort it took to procure this. But well worth it, I think you'll agree." "...Very clever." Discord admitted grudgingly. "But I've still got the edge on you in sheer height." He mockingly held his lion's paw up to his forehead, then down to Dread's level. "What's stopping me from simply picking you up by those stubby little horns and dropping you right into the gorge you so graciously chose as the venue for our little chat?" "Why, nothing." Dread said breezily. "Except, that is, for your greatest fear." "You should have done a little more research, my friend." Discord sneered. "If you had, perhaps you would have learned that I'm not afraid of anything." "Everycreature fears something." Dread retorted matter-of-factly. "Not this creature." Discord said stubbornly. "Now, since I've gotten bored with all this talk and exposition, I think it's time we end this little altercation..." "Be careful what you wish for, oh fearless one..." Dread smirked. The Kobold held up his medallion, which glowed brightly. From out of the etched vortex, a burst of dark smoke emerged, enveloping Discord. "Yuck!" Discord coughed, trying to wave away the dark vapor. "Don't you know this is a no-smoking area?" When the smoke dissipated, Discord saw that Dread had seemingly vanished. "Running away with your stubby tail between your legs, huh?" Discord sneered. "Big surprise there. But you won't get far..." As he glanced around, trying to discern the direction Dread had fled in, Twilight and her friends suddenly appeared before him... including Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, you're okay!" Discord grinned. "Looks like that little piggy's not as good at his fear games as he thinks." Discord moved in to hug his first friend. "Don't come any closer." Fluttershy demanded. Her voice was cold, and her face was devoid of her signature kindness. "Wh-what's wrong?" Discord asked, put off by the sudden show of hostility. "You're what's wrong, pal." Rainbow declared. "That's why we're here." Applejack added. The Mane Six moved in closer, all wearing the same expression of cold fury. "Is this some kind of joke?" Discord frowned. "Because it isn't very funny. I'm surprised you'd be a part of this, Pinkie!" "Never thought I'd say this, but this is no time for jokes." Pinkie retorted. "Then what time is it?" Discord asked, starting to lose his patience. "Time to reconsider our little 'arrangement'." Rarity declared. "As in, lettin' yah outta the stone." Applejack said bluntly. "Wh-what?" Discord gaped, unable to believe his ears. "I'm sorry, Discord." Twilight spoke up, her face utterly unapologetic. "I'm sure you gave it your best shot, but letting you roam free just isn't working anymore." "What do you mean, it isn't working?" Discord defended himself. "Haven't I helped you out time and again?" "And caused plenty of trouble in between." Rainbow pointed out. "It all adds up in the end." Twilight said bluntly. "And the numbers are far too lopsided to ignore." "What are you saying?" Discord frowned. "She's saying it's statue time again." Fluttershy smiled wickedly. "An' not before time, either." Applejack smirked. "Wait... wait!" Discord yelped, horrified by the very mention of his former method of imprisonment. "Aren't you all being a little hasty?" "On the contrary, I'd say this decision was long overdue." Rarity chuckled darkly. "Sorry, but our minds are already made up." Twilight declared coldly. "So stop tryin' tah weasel yer way outta this an' accept yer fate with a little dignity." Applejack said scornfully. The Mane Six moved in closer, all wearing identical twisted grins as their bodies began to glow. "Stay back!" Discord readied his claw. "You know what I can do if you push me! I don't want to have to hurt-!" Before he could snap his claw, a blast of magic from Twilight's horn turned it to stone. "Ahh!" Discord yelped, holding his petrified appendage in his remaining claw. "Please don't do this! We're friends!" "Better luck next time, Discord." Twilight said flatly. "If there even is a next time..." The six rose up into the air, surrounded by a multicolored aura. "No, please!" He pleaded. "Whatever this is about, I can fix it! I can make it right!" "Too late." Twilight said bitterly. The aura expanded, enveloping Discord completely. Within the light, the Draconequus' body started petrifying from the feet up. "No, no!" He screamed, terrified, as the stone effect spread. "Not again! Not for another millennia! Please, just give me another chance! I'll be good!" The petrification reached his neck. "Nooo!" Dread smirked as he looked upon Discord, his entirely non-stone body sprawled across the ground, surrounded by dark smoke. He had succumbed to his fear completely, trapped in the same situation Fluttershy was currently condemned to. "No, please..." Discord begged, his eyes glazed over. "Don't do this! We're friends, remember?!" "Looks like you're afraid of something after all." Dread smirked. "Too bad for you..." He mockingly echoed Discord's earlier words. Dread's medallion glowed once more, and some of the black smoke surrounding Discord flowed into it. Dread's eyes glowed red as he chuckled darkly. "There's nothing quite like the taste of a deep-seated fear." The villain gloated, savoring the emotion like a seasoned gourmet savored their food. His 'meal' complete, he glanced down at Discord, who was still writhing in the agony of his worst fear. "As much as I'd like to observe this further, I have to go deal with the second-biggest single threat to my plans..." The cruel Kobold looked into the distance, where the city of Canterlot could be seen. "I'm coming for you, your highness." He grinned wickedly. "Can't wait to find out what Princess Twilight Sparkle's greatest fear is..." The self-proclaimed master of terror departed from the gorge, leaving Discord to his fear. And he was all too eager to bring such fear to all who dwelt in Equestria...