//------------------------------// // Never Catch a Break // Story: Equestria: A Flux Tale // by Star Sage //------------------------------// Discord’s hands around you, your head being torn from your body, and you unable to focus enough to do anything at all. Yeah, this whole idea of going to fight Discord? It was not one of your better ones. As you start to black out, your neck tendons about to snap, your last thought is that you ‘d broken your promise to Octavia and Vinyl, and how sad they would be when you didn’t come back from this. “For PIE!!!” comes a shout, and suddenly the pressure on your neck stops getting worse. Then it goes away completely as you’re jerked to the side when something heavy slams into Discord, his paw opening up and sending you flying. Still unable to focus, you go tumbling through the air, your vision blurring as you spin, and plummet towards the ground below. “I got you, Little One!” shouted a familiar voice, and a streak of fire caught you in its soft embrace. It takes you a few seconds to put the rapid fire succession of events together and realize that you’d been saved by Spitfire and Soarin, the Wonderbolts. You almost have to laugh at that, considering how a similar squadron had failed to even slow down a grown up Spike, but these two alone had just saved you from Discord. Of course, when you try to laugh, your throat burns like it’s on fire, and start coughing. “Don’t try and talk. We saw what he was doing, and I think it’s best we get you to Celestia so she can heal you,” advises Spitfire, but you ignore her. Celestia might be a goddess, but you’ve learned a thing or two in your time in this world, so placing your hand on your chest, trying to think through the haze of pain that still clouds your mind, you focus on a spell, and let it loose. “Curag-*cough**hack*,” you go, the spell fizzling out even as the power leaves you. “I told you, just stay calm and rest for a bit,” she chides you, and you ignore her again, deciding to try an easier spell, even as the edges of your vision start to go dark. “Cura!” you shout, and there’s a flash of green. After it passes ,you feel better. Not completely healed, but your vision and head clear, allowing you to at least think in a straight line. “You know, you listen about as well as Rainbow Dash sometimes,” she told you, as you finally got a look around, and realizing you were tangled in her mane. Probably the only way she could safely catch you, given her uniform was on, and that meant she was wearing those horseshoes that threw energy bolts. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” you answered, trying to turn your head to the side, only to be forced to quickly turn it back. You neck was still pretty sore. Luckily, as a quick rub on the side of your head confirmed, the wounds that Discord’s claws had inflicted on you were healed, leaving only smears of blood. “What are you two doing out here, anyway? Sightseeing?” you ask, looking back towards where Discord was still fighting Soarin, the Bolt dodging everything sent his way, and then slamming into the Chaos God, which only seemed to make him even more mad. “Mission. Luna got in touch with Celestia and said you were bringing the party to us, so we should get ready. The Lady in Charge decided you might need some backup while she and the Wielders prepared for Discord’s arrival, so we got sent out,” explained the mare, dodging to the side and forcing you to hang on as a blast of chaos magic nearly struck her. “So we’re headed to Ponyville?” you ask, looking towards the smear. That had been your destination, after all, but something was now bugging you, since you had a moment to think that wasn’t focused on fighting. “Yep, they’re all in that Sparkle girl’s library,” she told you. “That so-ARIN!!!” you change what you’re going to say in mid word, and the world beneath you shifts as Spitfire turns her head to look at the battle. Behind, Discord had dodged Soarin, and much like he’d done to Jehuty, he’d coiled himself around the pegasus. Unlike with you, he didn’t bother to try and tear his head off, and just squeezed until the Wonderbolt had passed out, before dropping him and coming at you and Spitfire. “Hang on, Little One, I’m gonna push myself as hard as I can,” she warned you, and suddenly it became hard to breathe again, as she flew all out, leaving a trail of smoke that crackled with lightning. She then started randomly turning and twisting in the air, obviously trying to trip up the draconequus, who just plowed on ahead, a cruel smile on his lips as he came on far faster than Spitfire could ever hope to fly. “No good, he’s gonna catch you before you get to Ponyville,” you told her, and she just nodded a bit, obviously having come to the same conclusion, but she didn’t stop, just trying to put on more speed, which wasn’t going to work. “Good that you realize that. You got any kind of plan for dealing with it?” you ask her. “Just one, I go as far as I can. Once he catches up, you go on while I delay him. Hopefully I can hold him long enough to buy you the time to get to Ponyville,” she tells you, and you shake your head. “That’s not a very good plan,” you tell her. “No, no it’s not, but it’s the only one that ends with a mission success. Celestia said to get you to her, and after seeing what Discord was about to do to you, I can’t argue with that. Usually he tries to play with his targets, I remember what he did to us last time. He wants you dead though,” she responds, dodging a bolt of chaos magic, the then falls to the ground, causing the forest below to warp into something horrid when it struck. “Good, that makes me bait. You go on, get Celestia and the others out here quick as you can. I don’t want this guy following us back to a population center,” you say, uncoiling a few strands of her mane that had been holding you in place. “Not happening. I got my orders, so you…stop that!” she ordered, feeling you moving on her head. “Sorry, I’m not in this chain of command. Now get going, quick, because I don’t think I can make this work for long,” you tell her, jumping off her head and then flying beside her for a moment. She was flying faster than you could though, and quickly passed you, and moved out of sight, while Discord, who had been moving even faster, just sort of, stopped, watching her go and then turning to you. “Pretty brave for such a little thing. Stupid, oh so stupid, but brave,” he told you, and you couldn’t help but nod, as you stared him down. “Yeah, well, I figured, why just run away, when I can do this. Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!” you shout, and with a blast of smoke, there are suddenly a dozen yous floating before the Chaos God, who then turn downward and spiral around each other, making it impossible to tell which one was the original, even if you hadn’t switched positions in the initial smoke burst. “Split up and keep him away from him. We’ve got to buy them time to get here.” Says one of the clones, and you and the others nod, flitting into the trees, and then dividing up, every one of you heading in a different direction, even as you keep an eye towards the sky, where Discord is just staring at where you vanished. The odd thing was, rather than looking frustrated, he was smiling. Not that you had to wait too long to figure out why, as his body seemed to go flat, apparently made of paper. Worse happened next, as he sort of folded out, like one of those paper cut out men, and then he folded again, and again, and again, until there were a dozen Disclones in the sky, that then popped back into normal shape, and slithered down out of the sky like serpent rain, feral looks of joy on all their faces. “Can’t I have just have one small advantage in this fight?” you ask, and then shoot off into the brush, as one of the Disclones comes down right at you. Darting around roots, logs, and grass, you try to make your trail impossible to follow. Unfortunately, anything you can do, Discord can apparently do better, as he mimics everything you do, going faster than you can, forcing you to bust out your speed aura, even though you knew it would burn through you flight time more quickly. Not that it helped much, as the Disclone caught up with you, his jaws open, and his teeth flashing in the moonlight, drool dropping from his fangs. His head shoots forward, and you you’re forced to do a barrel roll into a knothole to avoid him, his teeth closing just inches from your body as you fly through the trunk of the tree, and shoot out a hole on the other side, while your Disclone worms his way through it, and then blasts out of it, sending wood chunks spraying in all directions. “Oh come on! Does he have to be better than me at everything?!” you demand, as you flit into the grass, hoping to confuse him. Meanwhile it seems your shadow clones aren’t doing as well as you. Memories of four come back in rapid succession, two getting chomped, another squashed between two paws, and one got sat on as Discord fell out of the sky onto him. Behind you, your Disclone comes at you, flying just above the grass, and digging his claws into the dirt, sending dirt clods flying, forcing you to dodge a few. It took you a few seconds to realize this was a distraction from his real plan, as one of the other Disclone, done with his target, popped out in front of you, obviously intending on just stepping on you as you passed under him. “I am not a bug!” you shout, and propel yourself out of the grass at high speed, fists forward. This suddenly aggressive action catches the Disclone off guard, and you slam into the underside of his jaw, knocking him back and forcing him down, before vanishing into the forest canopy above, trying to lose him the one pursuing you in the tangle of branches. It takes you a moment to realize you’re not being chased right then, and you spare a glance backwards to see as the Disclone that had been following you reaches the one you’d knocked down. He places his hand on that one’s chest, and with a sucking sound, he sort of absorbs it into himself, before turning to face you directly, and then grinning again. Shooting off, with him just on your tail, you feel the return of another three clones, all having gotten double teamed by the other Disclones. Luckily, it seemed that wasn’t working out as well as they’d hoped, as your clones pulled tricks similar to what you did, one even getting a two for one special as he’d tangled two of the Disclones up. Unfortunately, all three had ended up getting caught anyway by one trick or another shortly afterward as they reveled in their victory, something you were determined not to do as you flew around the branches. The Disclone chasing you isn’t nearly as agile, and just tears through the growth, ripping through the branches you were having to avoid. Not that they didn’t slow him down, so as you shot back into the clear sky, you’d actually gained some ground. Of course, that didn’t matter too much, as two Disclones were waiting for you this time, both of them shooting blasts of Chaos straight at you. The only reason you didn’t get fried right then and there was pure dumb luck, as the remaining four clones had apparently had similar ideas to yours, and three of them burst from the foliage behind the Disclones, dodging around them a bit quicker than their pursuers could, causing a midair collision that ended with the Disclones in a tangled mess of bodies. Not that it helped for long, as your Disclone slashed at you, and you had to shoot down again to dodge it, the claws passing through all of your clones, and giving you their memories as well. Then your last shadow clone pops his head out of the brush only to get blasted by the Disclone conglomeration on the ground, which yours joins with, Discord now all back together. “Heh, very amusing,” he said, doing a mocking slow clap at you as he smirked. “That kept me entertained for a whole five minutes, something I really wasn’t expecting from you. Still, all good things…” he said, trailing off as he floated up towards you, his toothy grin glinting in the moonlight. You looked around you, wondering if you should try the shadow clone technique again. Before you can though, Discord’s bird hand whips out at you, growing longer and slamming into you, grabbing your body, and dragging you down towards him. “Yes, I think it’s just about time we brought this to a close,” he said, and you felt the fingers of the hand closer tighter around you, pressing your arms against your sides. Slowly the pressure got worse though, and the air was starting to be forced from you lungs as you desperately tried to think of something, anything that could help you. The only thought you had though was something that you weren’t sure would work without your hands, but you decided to try it anyway, as you felt your ribs start to crack. “so-solar flare,” you wheezed out, drawing on the power within you and shutting your eyes tightly. Even through them though, you could see the flash of blinding light, and then feel as the hand let you go, and you wafted to the ground, holding your arms against your chest, as Discord rubbed at his eyes with his hands, probably swearing in whatever language he was speaking. Quickly as you could, you dash for the nearest tree, and hide in a hole in its roots. You try to fly there, only to find that what flight power you have left is enough to barely lift you from the ground, speeding you up only a little, but allowing you to land and then slide the rest of the way into the little den, as Discord starts stomping around, either because he’s in pain, or because he’s blindly trying to crush you as his vision slowly returns. “Gotta think..ADA said I needed some solid energy form weapons. A lightsaber? No, I don’t have the power to make a mecha, and one sized for me would be too small. Some kind of ranged weapon…would those stay real long enough to hit him. No it has to be solid, something melee that’s not physical, but does a lot of damage….something, game breaky…” you whisper all this to yourself, trying to think of something, anything you remember that fits your mission specs. A thought suddenly occurs to you, and you sit down, crossing your legs, and drawing on your power. The star inside you is smaller now that you ever remember it behind, the Vector Cannon and Kage Bunshin probably using up most of your power. You have enough for this you hope, as you imagine what you need, holding that image of it in your mind, and trying to make it real. “King of the Ancient Past, Who fought during the Triad’s war, the Magi’s battle, I call on you, grant me your blade that I might win this battle…ATMA WEAPON!” you shout the last, the energy inside altering the world around you, and creating what you desired. Your hands lock on the hilt that lacks a blade, the glint of gold between your fingers, and the four pronged guard above it showing you that you’d succeeded, making you smile as you step out of your hiding place to find Discord still shaking his head, probably to get rid of the last few spots. “Looking for someone?” you call out to the God of Chaos, who looks toward you, a scowl on his face. Obviously, he’s pissed, a bit too much so to really think clearly as he comes at you, stomping his feet in the dirt, probably intending to crush you. You just stand in front of him though, letting him come at you as you prepare to strike with your new toy. A moment before he gets to you, you leap, the flight power having just enough juice left to propel you upward, surprising Discord for some reason, probably because he expected you to wait until he was closer to attack. You don’t think about that though, as you swing that weapon in your hands, the bladeless hilt glowing to life, as a blue light shines forth from the hole where a blade would go. Discord sees the attack as it comes, and raises his bird arm to defend himself, probably reinforcing that barrier of his. Not that it does him any good as you slash with the Atma Weapon, its blade made of your life energy slicing through his defenses, a trait of the sword in the game, and then it bit deep into his flesh, possibly the first time that had ever happened, considering the way Discord screamed in pain. Whatever sense of victory you had was short lived, as the arm you were cutting into batted at you, smacking you out of the sky and slamming you into the ground, hard. Luckily, you did keep your grip on the weapon. Unluckily, you looked up to see Discord clutching his arm with his free hand, and then wiping off the green blood that pour from the wound, which healed almost instantly. “That….that…..that….,” he kept repeating breathlessly, looking at his arm, the blood still present in small patches on the skin. “HURT!!!” he cried out suddenly, and the pressure in the air that he generated sent your tiny body flying. It didn’t fly far, however, as you were suddenly held in their air. For a moment, just a moment, you thought maybe it was one of the ponies, that Deus Ex Machina had saved you again. Your hopes were dashed as you looked around you, however. Instead of being in the warm grip of unicorn magic, or something like it, it was Discord’s hateful power that had you, holding you roughly in front of him. “I was going to make this relatively fast, but now…now I think I’ll see how long you can survive with your skin ripped off, and your blood replaced with acid. If it takes a few minutes, I might even get to add more,” he said, a psychotic glint in his eye telling you he had so many more ideas for your torment. You tried to move, willing your hand, which still gripped the blade to slash at him, but nothing happened, and you were staring right at him, as his hands glowed with chaos magic, ready to enact a thousand horrors on you.