//------------------------------// // Fear Itself (Part Two) // Story: A New Era // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// Dread marched upon Canterlot Castle, no longer hiding his presence under a cloak. Anypony unlucky enough to cross his path through Canterlot were sprawled on the ground, trapped in their worst nightmares. They had been satisfying appetizers for him, but the feast was just ahead. As he approached the castle, he found it protected by multiple guards. "Halt!" Flash Magnus ordered. "Hello there." Dread said pleasantly. "I'm Dread. Is your Princess home? I need to talk to her about transferring the reins of power to your soon-to-be new ruler: me." "That's not going to happen." Flash Magnus retorted. "And since you've identified yourself as a hostile, you have exactly five seconds to surrender, or be detained." "Well, that's one possible outcome of this situation." Dread smirked. "But I have another one in mind..." Twilight and Spike arrived outside Fluttershy's cottage, finding Starlight, Rarity and Pinkie standing vigil over Fluttershy's fear-stricken form. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Twilight apologized. "I had to talk with the guards and have them put up a defensive perimeter around Canterlot." "Better late than never." Starlight said fairly. "Where are the others?" Spike asked. "They went after Discord." Pinkie explained. "Whatever meanie did this to Fluttershy wanted a li'l face-to-face, and Discord decided to RSVP. ...Can't really blame him, can ya?" "How long ago was this?" Twilight asked. "Almost half an hour, darling." Rarity answered. "Knowing Discord, his not coming back here to boast about his easy victory can't be a good sign..." "If whoever we're dealing with has the power to neutralize Discord, then this new adversary may be more of a threat than I imagined..." Twilight frowned. "Heads up!" Rainbow Dash's voice called out. The others looked up to see Rainbow carrying Discord's prone body (with some difficulty). Applejack was racing along after her on the ground below. "Geez... Who'd've thought a Draconequus would be so heavy..." Rainbow groaned as she lowered Discord to the ground as gently as she could. "We found 'im lyin' on the ground." Applejack told the others. "Guess the new baddy in town managed tah get the better of him..." "And did to him what he did to Fluttershy, I see." Rarity frowned. "So now we've got two of commission." Rainbow shook her head. "But Twilight's here!" Pinkie pointed out. "She'll figure out what to do, just like always!" "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Pinkie." Twilight nodded. "But it's hardly ever been easy." She lit up her horn as she continued her examination of Fluttershy. "This may be some kind of mental attack rather than forced unconsciousness." She gently opened one of Fluttershy's eyes, then just as gently placed a hoof on her chest. "The dilated pupils and increased heart rate suggest that whatever is happening, poor Fluttershy is scared out of her mind." "So it could be fear-based." Starlight mused. "Like with King Sombra?" "Or the Tantabus?" Applejack suggested. "Possibly." Twilight nodded. "But on a different level than we've seen before. Of course, that's just a working theory..." "But it's the best theory we've got." Rarity nodded. "So where do we go from here?" Rainbow asked. "In my research, I read about a spell that allows for entry into another pony's mind." Twilight announced. "Starlight, you and I will enter the minds of our friends, and we'll help them with whatever they've been made to see. If we can convince them that it isn't real, it should break the spell." "I'm right with you, Twilight." Starlight nodded. "What should we do?" Pinkie asked. Almost in answer to her question, a distant explosion ran through the air. "That sounded like it came from Canterlot." Rarity frowned. "Our new foe must be there..." "Guess that 'defensive perimeter' of yours is getting put to the test." Rainbow declared. "Okay." Twilight took a deep, calming breath. "The four of you head over to Canterlot, see what you can do to help. Starlight and I will join you just as soon as we help Fluttershy and Discord." "You got it, Twi." Applejack nodded. "You can count on us." Pinkie grinned. "And be careful." Twilight urged. "If this new villain can do this to Discord, then they shouldn't be underestimated." "We'll do our best to stay on our hooves." Rarity nodded. "At least until the cavalry shows up." Rainbow smiled. "Then we'll take this clown down together. Let's go, team!" As their four friends raced off to Canterlot, Twilight and Starlight approached Fluttershy and Discord. "Okay, this could be tricky." Twilight acknowledged. "Or maybe not." Starlight said optimistically. "Princess Luna used to go into ponies' dreams all the time, and help them with their nightmares. This is... kind of the same thing, right?" "Let's hope so..." Twilight ruefully, lighting up her horn. "Now, follow my lead." Starlight's own horn lit up. "I'll focus on Discord, you try and help Fluttershy." Twilight instructed. "Good luck, Twi." Starlight said determinedly. "You too." Twilight managed a smile. Twilight and Starlight, following the spell instructions Twilight had read, placed their horns against their friends' foreheads, and concentrated. 'Here goes nothing...' Starlight thought. 'I'm coming, Fluttershy...' There was a flash of light, and Starlight found herself in what looked like Fluttershy's animal sanctuary. But there was something different about it; the area was downcast, dark and somehow lacking in character. "This can't be good..." She shook her head. "Fluttershy?" She called out. "Fluttershy!" A scream suddenly cut through the air. "Fluttershy!" Starlight raced in the direction of the scream. The unicorn soon came upon a sight she never would have imagined; her animal-loving friend was surrounded by all sorts of animals, but instead of looking upon her with love and devotion, as so many did, they were all snarling and hissing and roaring. "No, please!" Fluttershy trembled. "I'm your friend! I just want to help you!" A Manticore, looking more savage and monstrous than any Starlight had seen before, roared in Fluttershy's face. "I'm not your enemy!" Fluttershy pleaded. "Please don't do this!" A rabbit Starlight recognized as Angel, his usually-cute little face contorted into a feral snarl, leapt atop an elephant's head. Waving a carrot like a spear, he squeaked a call to attack. "Not you too, Angel!" Fluttershy wept. "You know me! You know I'm your friend!" Angel and the other animals ignored Fluttershy's pleas, advancing on her. "NO!" Starlight teleported in front of Fluttershy and conjured up a shield dome. "Starlight?" Fluttershy gasped. "Starlight!" She hugged her friend. "It's so good to see a friendly face!" "It's good to see you too." Starlight smiled. "I don't know what's going on." Fluttershy bowed her head in despair. "All my animal friends seem to hate me now, and I don't know why!" "Fluttershy, listen to me." Starlight cupped her friend's face between her hooves and looked her in the eye. "This isn't real. None of it is. You've been placed under some kind of spell." "A... spell?" Fluttershy repeated. The animals started striking the shield dome, intent on breaking through and attacking the object of their hatred. "Yes, a spell." Starlight nodded. "Some new villain attacked you, and put you into this illusion." "This... this isn't just an illusion." Fluttershy said fretfully. "It's what I've always been afraid of most; that all my animal friends won't want to be my friends anymore." "This is your worst nightmare?" Starlight asked. "Maybe we should have called in Princess Luna after all..." "If animals won't accept my help anymore, then what am I?" Fluttershy trembled. "Helping them is my life. To see them all hating me... I can't stand it!" She dropped to the ground, burying her head in her hooves. "I know how you feel." Starlight comforted her. "I've had nightmares of my own about nopony wanting to be my friend. But you can't let those fears define you. As awful as this is, you have to know that it will never happen in the real world. Because you are Fluttershy, the pony who can make any animal into a friend. I've seen you tame angry Chimeras and treat wounded Orthoruses." "I... I do what I can..." Fluttershy said modestly. "Because I love animals... I love helping them..." A Cragadile slammed into the shield. Starlight grit her teeth as she struggled to maintain the barrier's integrity. "You can fight this, Fluttershy!" She told her friend. "You're one of the strongest ponies I know! If you can put aside the fear, we can both get out of here!" Fluttershy looked at Starlight. Despite the continued onslaught from the enraged animals, she was still giving it her all. "I can do this..." She told herself, inspired by her friend's dedication. "I can do this..." Standing up, Fluttershy strode over to the edge of the barrier, which was starting to crack under the continued assault. "Now see here!" She yelled. "You are not real! You can hate me all you like, but I won't let it get to me! Not anymore! Now leave us alone!" The horde of angry animals dissipated into dark smoke. "You did it, Fluttershy!" Starlight lowered the barrier. "I knew you could!" "Thanks for believing in me, Starlight." Fluttershy smiled. "Anytime." Starlight smiled. At the same time, Twilight entered Discord's own mindscape, finding herself in the open field of the fear hallucination Dread had placed him in. "Well, this is... Less chaotic than I imagined..." She remarked. A flash of multicolored light caught Twilight's attention, and she flew across the illusionary landscape toward. There she came across the most surreal sight of seeing herself leading her friends in attacking Discord. Engulfed in their rainbow-colored magic, the Draconequus slowly turned to stone. Then, the effect reversed itself, and after a moment's pause, the petrification began all over again... And again, and again. Twilight couldn't help but grimace at the sight of her chaotic friend caught in this endless loop of horror. "That's enough of that." She declared firmly. Waiting a moment for the petrification to fully reverse, she used her magic to teleport Discord out of the rainbow blast, and bring him to her side. "HUHHHH!!" Discord wheezed, dropping to one claw as he finally caught his breath. Twilight reached to comfort him. Discord recoiled, afraid that this was some new level of his secret fear. "It's me, Discord." Twilight assured him. "The real me." "Twilight?" Discord looked at her like she was some sort of mirage, toying with him, giving him hope. "I had a theory you and Fluttershy had been placed in some sort of fear-based hallucination." Twilight noted. "But I didn't expect an illusion of this magnitude..." "You're the real Twilight, alright." Discord noted. "Only the genuine article could rattle off this level of technobabble." "What do you think you're doing?" The illusionary Twilight demanded, as she and the others hovered over, still encased in the orb of magic. "He must be punished!" "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Twilight realeased a wave of magic from her horn that pushed the dark doppelgangers of her and her friends into the distance. She then turned to Discord. "That won't keep them away for long. We need to break this illusion, fast." "Easier said than done." Discord sighed. "Whoever did this was being really cruel." Twilight frowned. "Coming up with this awful scenario-" "I'm afraid I must correct you there." Discord interrupted. "Our new foe didn't come up with this. Not to brag, but it was dredged up from yours truly's mind. So deeply buried in my subconscious, even I didn't know it existed." "That's what you're afraid of?" Twilight asked. "That we'll trap you in stone again?" "Apparantly, yes." Discord nodded. "And considering all the trouble I cause - especially a few months back - I'm surprised you haven't thought about it." "Discord, I-" Twilight began. The illusionary Mane Six returned, once again intent on petrifying Discord. "You cannot escape!" The other Twilight snarled. Just as Starlight had done in Fluttershy's illusion, Twilight produced a shield around herself and Discord, shielding them both from the doppelgangers' magic blast. "Their magic is nothing like the real magic of friendship." Twilight remarked, tensing herself against the attack. "You can't keep us out forever!" The dark Rarity roared. "We'll break through!" The dark Applejack added. "And make that monster pay for everything he's done!" Dark Pinkie snarled, his expression completely unlike the true Pinkie. "Do you really believe we could be capable of that kind of hate?" Twilight asked Discord. "Some part of me, at least." Discord shrugged. "Don't act so outraged. Even I didn't know I thought like this!" "It's hard not to feel a little insulted..." Twilight admitted. "But not for the hate. It's more the fact that your subconscious actually thinks we would actually do this to you." "I guess, deep down, I've always worried that you and the others and the others would one day decide I'm just not worth the trouble to keep around." Discord confessed. "And that turning me into a lawn ornament again would be the best way to keep me out of butting into anycreature else's business..." Twilight looked at Discord, seeing the anguish on his face. Seeing him in such a state, she couldn't help but speak from the heart." "I promise you, that will never come to pass." She assured him. "You may not be perfect. You may make mistakes, cause trouble... and be really annoying... But you've proven that we can count on you when it really matters. As long as you keep on being the person you are, right here and now, we will never have to turn you to stone ever again." "...You really mean that, don't you?" Discord smiled weakly. "Princess of Friendship, remember?" Twilight chuckled. As Discord chuckled with her, the illusionary Mane Six faded away. In the real world, Discord awoke to see Twilight standing over him, smiling. "Welcome back." She beamed. "Good to be back." Discord nodded as he raised himself up to his full height. "...But what about Fluttershy?" "Just look behind you." Starlight's voice replied. Rather than simply turn around, Discord spun his entire head around, and saw a recovered Fluttershy standing by a smiling Starlight. "Fluttershy!" He hugged his first friend. "I'm so glad you're okay. When I saw you lying there, I thought... I thought..." "I'm okay." Fluttershy returned the hug. "I'm okay." "Not to break up this touching reunion, but we could do with some catching up." Starlight declared. "Just who was it that attacked you?" "A no-good Kobold by the name of Dread." Discord replied, releasing Fluttershy at the same time as his expression darkened. "A Kobold?" Twilight frowned. "He's definitely a long way from home..." "And out to make Equestria his new home away from home." Discord nodded. "If you replace the word 'home' with 'conquest'..." "What's a Kobold?" Spike asked, confused. "Imagine a really big pig standing on two legs, with a whole bucket of ugly thrown over it." Discord said flippantly. "That's this Dread guy in a nutshell. Not what you'd call a 'looker'. Not like me..." "And how exactly did he manage to make you and Fluttershy prisoners of your own worst fears?" Twilight asked. "He has fear magic." Discord answered. "Old hat, I know, but he really knows how to use it. He can dig deep, find the fear we aren't even aware of. Then he feeds on that fear, and makes himself even more powerful." "And he's in Canterlot." Spike noted with horror. "An entire city full of ponies whose fear he can feed on..." "So he could be even more dangerous by now." Twilight frowned. "And the others will have probably caught him with him by now." Starlight added, fear in her voice. "Then we've got to get over there and help them." Twilight said firmly. "Just a head's up, before you go: this Dread clown is sporting this year's line of anti-magic armor." Discord told them, taking on the appearance of a fashion critic. "Functional, but hideous. A direct magic assault won't work. Believe me, I know from experience." "Well, that's good to know." Twilight smiled. "Thanks for the info, Discord." "You know me, I'm always happy to help." Discord grinned. "Remember to give that fearmongering creep a blast from me." "Will do." Twilight nodded. "And on that note, back into the fray we go." Spike smiled. Twilight, Starlight and Spike teleported away, leaving Discord to hope for the best. "Good luck, folks." He said said quietly. Moments ago... Dread marched into the castle grounds, leaving the fear-stricken bodies of the guards behind him. "Ah, the fear of the courageous." He smiled, one hand on his medallion. "So rich, so filling..." He looked ahead, to the castle. "But I've still got room for dessert..." "Not so fast!" A rainbow streak suddenly flew past him, creating a gust of wind that buffeted the villain. Once he steadied himself, he saw Rainbow Dash standing before him. Seconds later, Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity raced into the courtyard, surrounding Dread. "This castle ain't exactly open to the public, pardner." Applejack declared. "And I don't think you have an invitation." Pinkie added. "In other words,this is as far as you go." Rarity said fiercely. "Is that so?" Dread sneered. "Oh, it's so, alright." Rainbow glared. "You attacked our friend, remember? You had to know a beatdown was coming." "You fools can't fight me." Dread scoffed. "Do you want to know why? Because every living creature in this world feels fear. That fear is what fuels me. You can't get rid of me any more than you can rid this whole sorry land of fear!" "We'll see about that, mister." Applejack scowled. "Oh, we will." Dread snickered. "You'll see the truth of your folly soon enough, Applejack." "Guess Ah shouldn't be surprised you know who Ah am." Applejack frowned. "You knew all about Fluttershy..." "I know who all of you are." Dread smirked. "I've done my homework. Learned all I could about Equestria's great defenders, the wielders of the so-called Elements of Harmony... Including the fact that your precious 'magic of friendship' can't be called upon unless all six of you are together. And I count only four..." "Four's more than enough to deal with the like of you!" Rarity retorted. "Even a small party can be great!" Pinkie added. "Well, by all means, please give it your best shot." Dread goaded them. "I could use some fresh victims." "You asked for it!" Rainbow yelled, dive-bombing the villain. Dead, showing surprising agility for his armored bulk, leapt sideways, dodging Rainbow's attack. "Whoa." Applejack gaped. "For such a big critter, he jumps like a hyperactive cricket!" "Classic Rainbow Dash, always the first to leap into the action." Dread smirked. "So predictable..." "Predict this!" Rainbow charged. Instead of trying to sidestep the attack, Dread activated his medallion. Rainbow was moving too fast to dodge the dark smoke, and was quickly engulfed by it. "Hurrk!!" She gagged, collapsing to the ground. "Let's see if you can can outrun your own worst fear." Dread smirked. In her mindscape, Rainbow found herself flying through the open skies. "Wait, how'd I-?” She frowned. Before she could finish her question, she heard a shredding noise. To her horror, the feathers were falling off her wings. "No!" She screamed, as she fell downwards. "Noooo!" In the real world, the others were aghast at what had happened to their friend. "Yer gonna pay fer that!" Applejack snarled, readying her lasso. "Let's see how you like a party cannon to the face!" Pinkie growled. "Consider your buffet over!" Rarity declared. "Bring it on!" Dread smirked. Applejack flung the loop of her lasso at Dread, who evaded it with a cartwheel. He ducked under Pinkie's party cannon blast, and deflected a crane kick from Rarity. "A valiant effort." He admitted. "But amateur hour is over!" Dark smoke streamed out of his medallion in all directions, hitting his opponents before they could react in time. Simultaneously, they succumbed to its effects; Applejack saw the entirety of Sweet Apple Acres turn into lifeless, Rarity witnessed her fashions rejected by everypony, and Pinkie found herself completely alone. In the waking world, Dread drew more power from their fear. "Just the pick-me-up I needed." He declared. "Now, onto the main event..." Dread marched into the castle, leaving his victims behind. Seconds later, Twilight, Fluttershy, Starlight and Spike arrived. "Oh, no..." Fluttershy frowned. "We arrived too late!" Twilight gasped. "Rarity..." Spike gasped. A scream emanated from within the castle. "Dread, I presume." Starlight frowned. "We need to snap the others out of it!" Fluttershy yelled. "Call me a pessimist, but we may not have the time for you two to free everypony." Spike declared. "Maybe we do." Twilight surmised. "What are you thinking, Twilight?" Starlight asked. "If you could give me a boost, I might be able to connect to all of their minds at once, and break out of their terror all at once." Twilight declared. "Okay, let's do it." Starlight nodded. Their horns both lit up, Starlight funneling some of her own magic into Twilight, who projected beams of magic into all four of their friends at once. "Everypony, listen to the sound of my voice." Twilight declared, her voice echoing. "What you're seeing isn't real. But I am. Don't forget what we've learned time and again; that our friendship is stronger than anything. That we can overcome any challenge as long as we stand together, and believe in each other." Rainbow found magical wings replacing her ruined ones. Applejack saw Sweet Apple Acres restored. Rarity saw new customers arriving. And Pinkie found herself surrounded by ponies. "I believe in you all." Twilight smiled. As one, the four woke up. "Hey, girls." Twilight smiled. "What a messed-up dream..." Rainbow groaned. "You can say that again..." Rarity shook her head. "Fluttershy, you're back!" Pinkie smiled. "And so are you." Fluttershy beamed. "Is everypony ready to save Equestria?" Twilight asked. "An' give Dread what for? You betcha." Applejack nodded. "Then what are we waiting for!" Rainbow whooped. "Let's do this!" The heroes of Equestria raced into the palace. Meanwhile, Dread entered the throne room. "Not a bad place." He admitted. "Little cheery for my tastes, but I can live with it. But it's missing something... Namely, a certain Princess. ...Where are you, your highness?" "You want me, Dread? Here I am." Twilight announced, as she and the others raced into the room. "And I brought my friends." "Surprised to see us up an' about again?" Applejack glared. "Annoyed is more likely." Dread said coldly. "But no matter. I can still dispose of you quite easily." "Yeah, right." Rainbow jeered. "If you could take us all, you wouldn't have attacked Fluttershy first." "Time to face the music." Rarity declared. "Oh, I don't think so. You see, now that I've gathered enough power, I can really show off." Dread snarled. "I can do a lot more than just bring your fears bubbling to the surface of your minds. With all the fear I've collected today, I can bring any fear I've encountered into the real world. And boy, do you ponies have some doozies..." Dread touched the amulet around his neck. The vortex pattern glowed brightly, and the dark smoke began pouring out of it, like water from opened floodgates. "Be ready for anything, everypony!" Twilight threw up a shield around herself and her friends. The Mane Six prepared for the dark smoke to try and break through Twilight's shield, but it didn't. Instead, it swirled into itself, forming into multiple shapes. "This don't look good..." Applejack frowned. The smoke began to dissipate, leaving behind some very unexpected, and unwelcome, figures. They were Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Tirek (in the powered up states they'd gained from Grogar's Bewitching Bell), King Sombra, the Pony of Shadows, and the Storm King (wielding a replica of the Staff of Sacanas). They were all lacking their normal colors, being greyscale, with glowing white eyes. "Oh, horseapples..." Rainbow gaped. "Suddenly, things seem a lot less positive...." Pinkie cringed. "That would be an understatement, darling." Rarity trembled. "We could barely take these varmints down separately." Applejack shook her head. "How are we gonna take 'em all at once?" "I don't know, Applejack." Twilight admitted. "But we're going to try..." "Starting to feel the fear yet?" Dread sneered. "Because you will!" Dread's wicked cackling filled the air, as the copies of their old foes advanced upon them.