//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Running Time // Story: World of Chaos // by ugugg93 //------------------------------// “Fools! Do you think you can stop me!?” Discord was standing on top of Canterlot Castle, towering over Twilight and her friends, who were doing their best to defeat the draconequus. Discord could only laugh as he threw pies at the six ponies below while he chased them atop his unicycle. Meanwhile, the six were expertly dodging the pies, the creamy filling which was the bane of all that was pony. “Friendship can stop anything Discord! Even a chaotic beast like you!” Twilight yelled back at the evil being. “Our friendship will stop you, and your reign of terror will be undone!” Jumped off the unicycle, Discord laughed. “Oh really? What friends?” Twilight looked around, to see that she was the only one on the balcony. “Wh... what? Rainbow? Applejack? Girls!? Where are you?!” “Well, well, well! It looks like the magic of friendship cannot hold up to the magic of running far far away from the big mean scary monster! But don't be upset, I'm sure that Celestia and Luna will help you defeat Mr. Evil Draconequus. Let me help you find them.” Discord teleported in various areas as he called out, “Tia? Oh Tiiiiiaaaaa? Where are you and your precious Lu-Lu? Ah ha! I think I found the fillies!” He snapped his fingers, and a plaid purse appeared before him. He reached inside, and after digging for a moment, pulled out two objects, and threw Twilight two objects. Looking like two bone-like objects, they clattered on the floor next to her as they rolled. Looking down, Twilight realized the distinct spiral grooves that ran along each object, which tapered into a point. Her breath ran short when she looked closely at these two “bones”. Twilight realized in an instant that these were not normal bones. They were horns. Alicorn horns. “No... no... no no no no no no!” Twilight stumbled back, eyes wide, at what she saw. “That's impossible! You can't... you just... that's impossible!” “Oh it is very much possible, my little pony. In fact, if I remember correctly, the last thing that your precious Princess Luna did was BEG for her life. Like a scared filly.” Discord shrugged, a smile still on his face. “Tia's last words were something about pickles and iguanas, but I'm pretty sure that was because she was well past the point of insanity by then, but that makes it so much more fun! In fact, you should be thanking me! I saved her from her own tormented mind.” Discord laughed, watching the lavender unicorn slowly back away from him until she hit the railing lining the balcony. Instead of holding her weight, the railing broke, and Twilight slipped off of the platform. Reaching up, she barely caught the edge of the balcony with the crook of her forehoof. Twilight looked down, and was dismayed when she couldn't even see the ground below her. Instead, she saw the entire landscape in flames. Ponyville was completely destroyed, the Everfree forest was engulfed in an inferno, and the Whitewood Forest was nothing but ashes. Twilight turned her head back up, and saw the God of Chaos standing above her looking down on the unicorn. Twilight's hooves slipped a little against the slick marble flooring, sending her closer to her demise. Twilight tried to teleport back on the balcony, but for whatever reason, she couldn't use her magic. Discord smiled and waved a pale purple unicorn horn in his lion paw. “Tisk tisk tisk. Oh my precious little FORMER unicorn. You didn't really think that you defeat me, did you? Why, that's the most delightful thing I've seen all day!” Twilight lost her grip, and fell. Before she could fall more than a few hoofs, she was stopped by Discord, who grabbed her front hooves. Any sense of relief was instantly washed away as he lifted her up to eye level, “But sadly for you my little pony,” his smile disappeared, “this world belongs to chaos.” He threw Twilight off the balcony, and she fell into the fire below as his cackling laughter was the only sound filling her ears. Not even her screams could drown out the mad laughter of the God of Chaos as he relished in his victory. She closed her eyes as she was just about to hit the ground, and screamed louder. “Ow!” Twilight opened her eyes to see that she had fallen off of her bed, landing on Rainbow Dash's back. Twilight's heart was still pounding at a ferocious speed from the nightmare. A cold sweat covered her body as she, still half asleep, was still in a panic mode. Twilight scrambled up to a sitting position, eyes darting all over the room. “Rainbow! Where are we?! Where's Discord?! Whe—” She was stopped with a hoof to her muzzle. “Shh! Quiet Twilight.” Rainbow had gotten up, and was looking at the others, seeing that they were still asleep, even after that outburst. Rainbow sighed, removed her hoof from Twilight's mouth, and responded in a hushed voice, “What are you talking about?” “I... I saw Discord. He took Canterlot, and the Princesses... oh Celestia! He... he...” Twilight started to tear up as the dream came back to her. “I think he killed them! He just...” She was stopped by Rainbow pulling her into a hug, “It's okay... it's okay... it's okay...” Rainbow just kept repeating those two words again and again as Twilight felt her terror escape from her body through silent sobs. Rainbow continued to hold her tight until she heard the sobs slow down, Twilight's tense muscles start to relax, and her heart slow down to a calmer rate. “Discord isn't here. You're okay. I'm okay. Everypony is okay. Alright, Twilight?” Rainbow pulled out of the hug, and looked deep into Twilight's eyes. Even in the dim light of the night, Twilight saw the small reassuring smile on the pegasus. “It was so real. I thought that... that...” “Shhh... shhh... it was only a dream Twilight. Alright? That's it. Just a nightmare. Alright?” Rainbow continued to smile, and pulled her into another hug. After another few minutes, they pulled back away from each other. “Thanks Rainbow.” Twilight smiled. “I needed that. Who knew you were the sentimental type.” “Yeah well...” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof in a slight bit of embarrassment. “You tell anypony about this, and I'll make sure that even Discord will feel bad for what I do you you.” Both of the mare giggled softly at this. They stopped when they heard Pinkie shifting in her sleep, putting her hind legs in the air, and mumbled something about chocolate tacos. Twilight giggled again. “We should probably go back to sleep.” She pulled herself back up on the bed next to Rarity, who was sharing the bed with her. “And Rainbow?” “Yeah?” “Do you think they are okay back in Ponyville?” “You kidding? I'm sure the ponies are giving Discord hell until we get back.” Twilight forced herself to show a smile, as if forcing it would make her believe it. “Yeah... well... Goodnight Rainbow.” Rainbow flapped her wings a couple times, getting in a more comfortable position, curling back up, on the ground, “Goodnight Twilight.” “Open up!” Applejack sat up with a startle hearing a loud banging coming from the door. Applejack hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night due to nightmares, but with the sudden yelling, she was wide awake. The loud banging had also awoken Twilight and Fluttershy, who were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. It was still dark outside, though what time it was was completely unknown to the group due to the chaotic nature of the day cycle. The three conscious ponies looked at each other, each sharing a confused face, for none of them recognized the the voice that had yelled out the command. Again, a loud bang came from the door, the bangs straining the door against its hinges. This time, it was harder, and the mares could hear other voices outside of the door, “Open up, magic users, or we will be forced to break down the door!” The sound of shuffling hooves was heard on the other side of the door. A few seconds later, a crash was heard on the other side as the force of a galloping pony smashed into the wooden door of the bedroom. Somehow, against all odds, the door held. “Horseapples!” Applejack jumped up, and braced herself against the door before the next crash came from the other side. “Tw...Tw...Twilight!? What's going on,” Fluttershy was barely able to say before tears started to spill from her eyes. Now fully awake, Pinkie Pie ran over to the trembling pegasus and held her in a hug. The pink pony herself was attempting to calm the flighty pegasus, but the fear Pinkie showed in her eyes made clear her true worries. Rainbow Dash had gotten up, and was looking through the now open window, trying to work out an escape plan. Rarity had only sat up from the noise, still waking up from her deep slumber. “I don't know, I just woke up! Something about magic users or something?” CRASH!! Rarity's eyes grew wide as she jumped off of the bed, “Oh my... do you think that picking up the soup bowl might have caused all of this? I mean, all I did was use a little teleke—” “GIRLS! Ah don' mean to be rude, but can we worry 'bout the why later!?” Applejack yelled, her body still braced against the wooden door. It was not lost on her that cracks were starting to form along the wooden frame holding the door in place. “Twilight! You gotta teleport us!” Rainbow yelled “I don't think I can take us far. I didn't sleep at all last night.” Twilight's horn started to shimmer with a purple aura. “I don't care! Take us anywhere!” Rainbow yelled as Twilight charged the teleportation spell. “You hear me? Any—” An audible 'pop' took the six friends out of the room, and into the downstairs dining area. “—where. Oh hey, we're here.” Applejack saw Twilight fall to her knees panting at the exertion, obviously fighting for consciousness. After a moment, Applejack joined the other four friends in looking around, seeing the familiar scenery of the bistro that was normally filled with customers looking for an escape during the operating hours. Right now though, it was completely empty of anypony except for the six girls that had just teleported into the room. And a certain married couple, that could only stare in shock at the six that now inhabited the room with them. “How'd ya git there!?” Clyde yelled, more towards himself than the girls. “Ya stupid lil' swine. Ya jus' had to start trouble, didn' ya!?” Applejack yelled at the chocolate-colored earth pony as she approached him, until she was right in his face. “Why'd ya do it!?” Clyde swallowed his fear for a second, and yelled after he got his nerve. “GIT AWAY FROM MAH WIFE!” he screamed, and with an off balanced swing of a forehoof, attempted to take a hit at Applejack. Applejack stepped to the right, easily dodging the wildly thrown punch. It was obvious by the way he shifted his weight and the way that punch was tossed that this stallion knew nothing about actual fighting. She, on the other hoof, had been in several due to many disagreements at the farm. Shifting her weight, she turned, and bucked with her back legs, knocking the bar owner across the room, and into a table, shattering the piece of furniture in the process. Martha screamed at the top of her lungs. The sound of the commotion was heard from upstairs as the sound of hooves running down the upstairs hall started towards them. Applejack muttered a swear, then turned. “Rarity, keep Fluttershy an' Twilight safe. Pinkie, get us a way out. Rainbow, ready to kick some flank?” Applejack smiled. “You got it boss.” Rainbow smiled as she stretched slightly. Wings flaring outwards instinctively in the anticipation of a fight. The two mares bumped hooves, then faced the stairs. The guards that had previously been breaking into their room were now galloping down the stairs. As the first one stepped off the staircase, Applejack launched a powerful buck into him, launching him back into the wall behind him like Clyde before. Rainbow attempted to do the same with the next, but her raw enthusiasm was not nearly as effective as Applejack's years of experience, and so was only partially successful. Thankfully, their position at the bottom of the stairs meant only one or two could come at them at once. Meanwhile, Pinkie dashed to the front door, opened it, only to be forced to quickly leap over a hoof being thrown in her direction. Outside, there were a dozen more guards, forming a sort of perimeter around the building that the mares were currently trapped in. Dodging another hoof, Pinkie frowned. “Oopsie!” she muttered, and quickly slammed the door in the stallion's face—the mare feeling a thud where the door met his snout. Holding it shut, she noticed a light blue aura surround the door—the magic coming from Rarity. Nodding in the unicorn's direction, she darted impossibly fast to the back kitchen, looking for a back way out. She found it via another hoof thrown in her direction. Dodging it as well, she threw party streamers into the guard's face, and backed back into the main room. Every time a hoof was thrown at her, she would dodge it, Pinkie nearly dancing instead of fighting, not letting any get close to her. However, she was slowly pushed back well into the main room. Applejack looked back for a second, and was beginning to see the growing futility of their situation. There was no way out, Rarity was holding the front door from being overrun, and Pinkie—while not actually throwing any kicks—was keeping the back thoroughly occupied. Fluttershy was too busy whimpering in the back to fight, while Twilight was slowly recovering from the use of magic earlier. Applejack yelled to the others, “Anypony got any bright ideas!?” “Darling,” Rarity replied, the strain in her voice apparent every time a hoof smashed into the wooden door, “if you... understand, I'm a... uhh... little occupied right now-ow-ow-ow...” she closed her eyes, head recoiling at the point with every hoofbeat. Suddenly, the windows closest to the stairs were broken inwards as a pair of stallions jumped their ways through, and into the room. “Rainbow!” “On iYIPE!” Rainbow's reply turned into a yelp, as a guard tackled her as she was trying to get to the others. The two guards that had broken their way through the window were making their way towards the three mares not in direct combat, and seemed to have their sights on the yellow pegasus who was cowering in front of them. Suddenly, a massive wave of force pushed the two back into the wall, knocking them out. Rarity bore her teeth at the soldiers in both anger and fear as she kept her horn ablaze with magic. Behind Fluttershy, Twilight was standing, if barely, though she wasn't able to contribute at all. Applejack took a split second to look at the situation around her. By now, Rainbow was restrained by three guards, Pinkie and herself were backed up to where Rarity was, Fluttershy was a blubbering mess, and while Twilight was back on her hooves, she was still out of commission. Rarity had taken the partially destroyed door, and was using it as a sort of battering ram, pushing some guards back whenever they got too close. Behind Twilight, there was no way out—only a wooden wall. Slowly, the precious space that they held was sacrificed, getting smaller and smaller, until Twilight was pressed against the back wall, and Applejack was only a foot or two in front of her. Applejack felt a warmth, and the air seemed to grow a static charge. Looking back behind her, she saw that Twilight had summoned every ounce of magic she had left in her. Once again her horn glowed, and the magic enveloped the group. The wave of warmth that the magic usually brought enveloped her, but the presence of a pain filled scream chilled Applejack to the core. A loud 'bang' was was heard, and Applejack felt a cool breeze on her, throwing her mane against her face. Opening her eyes, she saw that Twilight had been successful—the six of them were standing at the gate of the village. The others looked around briefly, noting that the world was still bathed in moonlight. Twilight stood for a second, gasping for breath, then collapsed in a heap where she stood, her magic completely spent. Fluttershy hovered over to Rainbow, the thoroughly beaten, but conscious, mare had blood flowing down her face and sides, her face starting to swell in areas. Rarity knelt down next to Twilight, doing her best to make the spent unicorn comfortable. Pinkie just sat there in a daze, frown on her face, muttering how these ponies would never get a Pinkie party ever. Applejack sighed, and pulled her Stetson forward on her head further. Except it her beloved hat was not there. Applejack swore to herself at the loss of her inseparable friend. “What was that dear Applejack?” Rarity spoke up. “Nothin'. Look, Ah know we're all tired, but unless we wanna waste tha' chance Twilight just gave us,” Applejack looked over to the unicorn, who had her eyes closed, but her rough breathing betraying the image of her being in a calm sleep, “we gotta get outta town.” “Applejack, darling, I agree with you, but can we please have just a moment?” Rarity frowned as she approached Twilight. “I reckon we can'.” “Not even for fi—” “NO! Rarity! We gotta get goin' now! If we don', we're gonna... gonna...” Applejack eyes were trained towards the gate of the town, and she began to see several guardponies—some of who she recognized as some of the ones from the bar—look in her direction. “...horseapples...” “STOP!!” the guard ponies yelled as they galloped towards them. “Oh dear... Applejack! What do we do!?” Rarity started to yell, looking towards the default leader. Applejack looked at her friends. While she herself and Pinkie were fine—if not happy—for a fight, Twilight was unconscious for who knows how long, Applejack assumed that Rarity was nearly as spent as Twilight, so unless they wanted two unconscious unicorns, the mare was done, Fluttershy was not the kind of pony that would fight another pony, and—as much as the pegasus would deny it—Rainbow was in no shape to do anything physically challenging. She sighed in resignation. She knew what had to be done, though she was a just a little afraid to say it. “RD, can ya fly?” “I... uhh... I think I can...” “Rainbow! Can you or can you not!?” she yelled now, digging her hooves into the dirt, preparing for the charge. Pinkie hopped next to the farm pony. Rainbow Dash took half a second to harden her look. “Yeah, I can.” “Then Ah need ya to take Fluttershy, an' get outta here.” “WHAT!?” “Ya heard me,” Applejack said, steeling herself for the upcoming task at hand. She heard a hard swallow, though wasn't sure if it was from herself or Pinkie. “I can't leave you guys! I just can't.” “Having ya two captured as well won' help nothin'!” Applejack spoke through her gritted teeth, “Jus'... don' forget us, alrigh' Sugarcube?” Rainbow looked as though she was going to say more—Applejack knew the mare desperately wanted to say more—but then she looked over at the yellow pegasus. After looking at the quivering mare for a few seconds, Rainbow turned back to Applejack, and grimly nodded in defeat. She and Fluttershy started to hover above the group, a frown on both of their faces as they did so. Applejack tried to smile back, glad that the cyan mare wouldn't be arguing more. However, her thoughts turned to the several guards in front of her, who had at this point had stopped advancing. The five of guards were only standing about fifteen hooves from the group, but instead of closing the remaining distance, they were just... waiting. Applejack—grateful at first for the extra time to come up with a plan—was now worried. The sun suddenly came up to its spot above the world. The sun now out, Applejack noticed that the guards were not looking at the group of ponies, but were looking behind and above them. Applejack turned to where the guards were looking, and her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. “...Oh... oh you've gotta be kiddin' me...” Rainbow, seeing that Applejack was looking at something behind them, turned, only to have the same reaction that Applejack had. Applejack swore she saw the pegasus' heart inside her chest explode from fear. A dragon was coming straight for the pegasus. Rainbow couldn't move anywhere before the dragon was upon her. It took one of it's front legs, and backhanded the pegasus upwards, sending the pegasus skywards. Rainbow arced through the air, then—like a rag doll—she started to tumble towards the ground. The dragon banked, flapped its wings hard, and moved to dash towards its prey with surprising agility. Fluttershy—upon seeing this—somehow overcame the paralyzing fear, and sped as fast as her wings could take her towards the falling pony. Applejack stared in disbelief as Fluttershy was effectively now in a race with that dragon, with Rainbow Dash being the prize. While the dragon was much faster than her, Fluttershy's head start was enough to let her get there first. With a final heave of her wings, she barreled herself into Rainbow, and she started to flap her wings frantically in an attempt to save the mare. Of course, because she only won the previous race by a second or two, as soon as she had Rainbow in her hooves, the dragon was upon them. With a fluid swipe, the monster grabbed the two flying ponies in a foreclaw, and trapped them in his clutches. Firmly gripping the two ponies, the dragon circled around the field just outside of the town, taking its time as the guards and four remaining mares looked on. The dragon eventually lowered itself, harshly flapped its wings to slow down, and landed on its hind legs. Facing the four friends, it crossed whatever distance that lay between them and itself—eventually halting when it stood with the the few guards that were there next to it. Applejack was just staring at the dragon, shaking in her hooves as she, Pinkie, and Rarity looked on. They caught out of the corner of their eyes the rest of the guard arriving, only to bow. The dragon, still firmly holding the two pegasi in one of his foreclaws, looked at the colorful assortment of ponies that were assembled. The dragon's scales were royal purple, with very slight hints of light green on the underside. While in pristine condition these scales would shine in the sun like thousands of little mirrors, signs of hundreds of fights had worn the scales to a much duller texture. It was slim but muscular, and the distance from head to tail was about one hundred fifty hooves long, and a wingspan reaching at least the same distance. Several scars cut into his scales, though the most prominent went across the right of his face: a deep gash crossing its left eye. It was obvious that he was a fully or nearly fully grown dragon, with several hundred years to his age. Applejack gulped. The dragon turned towards the guard ponies, and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice, devoid of any apparent emotion. “Are these the six magic users, Captain?” What appeared to be the leader of the guard stepped forward. “Yes, my Lord. These are the criminals you requested to be apprehended.” With what passes as a stifled laugh for dragons, he replied. “I see... well done. You are relieved of your mission.” The dragon turned back to the other four, still standing on his hind legs, “So, welcome to my domain, my little ponies.” “Who do you think you are you... you brute!?” Rarity yelled, a little more of a sliver of fear in the mare's voice. “Yeah! And put them down you big meanie dragon!” Pinkie yelled in defiance as well, her voice somehow much strong and level than Rarity's. “Oh? You mean these friends,” he retorted with as light chuckle in his voice, and began to carefully stroke the mane of Fluttershy with a claw, who was still tightly clutching Rainbow as she made various whimpering noises. “Hmmm... I think I like my new pets too much to give them up, so no. “As for my name, I am Lord Sarlaka,” his smile grew larger as he gave a mock head bow, “'the Butcher'.” “Ah don' care what your name is! Drop 'em, now!” Applejack yelled, digging her hooves into the dirt, prompting another chuckle from Sarlaka. However, his chuckle quickly was replaced with a frown. “First you demand my name, then you yell at me when I give it. Is that any way to treat your ruler? And do you really want to try and fight me for them? Would not be the first time I fought a group of foolhardy ponies. Found out in my experience that I could easily crush these two in my grip here. It would not be hard... like squishing a couple of grapes.” He emphasized his point by holding the two clutched ponies in the air a tiny bit higher. His smile grew wider as he spoke, “Besides, I am willing to make a proposition for you six, but you will have to shut up to hear it.” The three conscious ponies hushed their complaints. “Good. Now, you ponies are obviously not from around here, and I am curious of how two very skilled unicorns got into my domain. I wish to learn more of where you came from.” He pointed towards a mountain nearby with his free foreclaw, “I inhabit a cave most of the way up that mountain. You cannot miss it. Its the one that says 'big meanie dragon' on the doormat. Now if you will excuse me, I have to get my pets introduced to their new home.” Sarlaka beat his wings strongly, sending out a short gust of wind around him. Before he took off, he looked down on the four remaining friends, and spoke with a stern timbre to his voice, “Do not make me wait. I get... hungry when I wait.” With that, he flew off, pegasi still in his clutches, banked around, and headed towards the direction of the mountain, leaving Applejack just to look on as the dragon slowly disappeared from sight.