Chapter Five – Love is Chaotic.
Flare opened his eyes and gazed upon the sleeping form of his marefriend, Twilight Sparkle.
“Well, this is a view I could definitely get used to waking up to.” He kissed her gently on the forehead and she opened her eyes to meet his.
“Mmm~ Morning, Flare,” she cooed and they shared another gentle kiss. “Last night was…” She trailed off as the memories of the previous night came back, and she blushed furiously.
“It was definitely something,” Flare agreed. “It’s too bad I’ll have to go back to Canterlot eventually. It’s getting harder and harder to do so.”
Twilight’s eyes closed into a half-lidded stare that made Flare’s heart skip a beat. “Well,” she traced a hoof lightly along his chest, “you’re still here now…”
Flare smiled and he suddenly rolled over, pinning the unicorn beneath him as she squeaked in surprise. “Then I guess we’d better make the most of it.”
***
By the time the couple emerged from their room, it was almost noon. Spike had cleaned the library and was busy rearranging his new bedroom. Hearing the sound of hooves coming down the stairs, he poked his head out to give the unicorns a hard stare.
“And you yell at me for sleeping in.” He had no idea what they had been up to, but Twilight never slept in this late.
“Sorry, Spike,” Twilight groaned as she glanced at the clock on the wall. Flare yawned and stretched.
“I’m exhausted,” he moaned. Good thing that Applejack’s harvest was still a ways off. He couldn’t have bucked a bonsai tree at this rate. “At least I don’t have much to do today.”
“So what do you have planned?” Twilight asked him. “Is there anything you want to do?”
Flare had a response, and it almost slipped out until he realised that there was an underage audience present. “Well, I did tell Cadance that we’d visit the Crystal Empire.”
“You met with Cadance?” Twilight’s energy levels suddenly picked up. “Did you meet with my brother as well?”
“I did, actually. We had a nice little chat.” He then remembered something. “And Cadance wants to talk to you especially… we kinda forgot to tell them about us.”
“Well, at least this visit is turning out normal, for once,” Spike mentioned. “No offense, Flare, but you seem to have the worst timing imaginable.”
“No kidding. Tia sure didn’t help with that either." Chasing after a misled Twilight had given him quite the headache. Celestia had apologised for the trouble, but still…
Flare felt a chill suddenly go up his spine and noticed that Twilight was smiling; there was a twitch in her eye and she looked a bit… unhinged.
“I remember that,” Twilight’s grin widened and she suddenly floated over piece of parchment and a quill and began to scrawl something down.
“Twilight, hun,” Flare was getting just the teensiest bit concerned, “what are you doing?”
Twilight finished her writing and rolled up the scroll, sealing it. “Oh, not much~” she replied in a creepy, sing-song voice, “just a little friendship report.”
“Friendship report?” Before Flare could say anything else, Twilight had Spike send it, and soon the scroll was on its way. Surely she couldn’t have…?
“Fairy? Please tell me that you had an adventure with your friends or something recently.”
Twilight looked at him, her face the picture of calm and normal. “Oh? Not really. I discovered something new last night, and I thought that the Princess should know about it.” Her eyes had a mischievous glint. “Every. Little. Detail.”
Flare facehooved and began to wonder what his return to Canterlot would be like. Things were going to get awkward. Spike was wondering what joke he had missed, and Twilight skipped off into the kitchen. “Flare can you tell-“
“Nope!” he replied quickly and cleared his throat. “So how about it, Spike, wanna come to the Crystal Empire with us?” Flare needed a change in subject fast.
Spike nodded, the topic successfully diverted. “That’d be awesome!” He dashed into his room and began to pack a small suitcase. “I haven’t been there in ages.”
“Heh, slow down. We won’t be going for a couple of days.” He looked around the library and something dawned on him. Somepony was missing.
“Hey, Twi!” he called out. “Where the heck is Sparkler?”
Twilight emerged from the kitchen, two bowls of piping hot oatmeal floating in her telekinetic grasp. “Sparkler? I thought I told you about her already.” The look on Flare’s face clearly explained she hadn’t. “Well, she’s been in Canterlot for the last few weeks.”
“Canterlot!?” Flare had no idea. “But I never saw her there.”
“She’s been teaching at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns,” Twilight explained. She paused to take a bite of her breakfast and hummed happily. “When we were researching that spell that could get you home, we learned a lot about dimensional artes. I sent a letter not too long after you decided to stay and they sent one back requesting me to host some lectures.”
Flare was amazed, he had no idea about any of this. Even Celestia hadn’t told him. He sat down to eat his own food and Twilight continued. “I really wanted to go, but with my current studies, I was too busy.” She waved a hoof at a stack of books and scrolls that resided on her work desk. “So Sparkler offered to go in my stead, and I hear she’s been doing wonderfully.”
“Wow, that’s cool.” Flare was rather impressed at Sparkler’s achievements.
“I know, I’m so proud of her,” Twilight gushed at how much her student had grown.
“But I still can’t believe that nopony told me about this sooner!” Flare said. “Even Ditzy never mentioned it!”
There was a moment of quiet before Spike belched loudly and a scroll materialised onto the table. It bore Celestia’s seal and Twilight suddenly gulped. She picked up the letter and opened it, wondering what awaited her.
My Dear student, Twilight Sparkle,
I am arriving later today with a very important guest. I request the attendance of you and your friends in Ponyville Park at One o’clock.
Yours Truly,
Princes Celestia.
Twilight noticed that the hornwriting looked a little shaky; it lacked the grace that Celestia’s usually had. Did her little prank actually have an effect?
“What does it say?” Flare asked, curious about the contents.
“Just that the Princess will be arriving shortly with an important guest.” That statement hit home and Twilight gasped. “We have to hurry. Spike, round up the girls!”
Spike saluted and dashed out the door, Twilight straightened her mane and nodded. “Alright, let’s get going!”
“Go where?” Flare muttered and followed her out the door. What the heck was going on?
***
Celestia sat in her room and stared at the scroll in front of her. She was so enraptured with it that she failed to notice Luna standing right behind her.
“Sister? What has you enamoured?” Celestia shrieked and the letter dropped from her magical field, only to be snatched up by Luna.
“No! Don’t read that!” Celestia’s pleas were too late, as Luna’s eyes scanned the lettering and her face became redder with each passing word.
“Sister…” Luna said slowly, re-reading it just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “What dost thou teach thy student?”
“I assure you that I taught her none of that!” Celestia instantly protested, her own face as red as a tomato. “I had no idea half of that was even physically possible!”
“Sister, We have lived for more than one thousand years. We have taken many lovers and have experienced a great deal.” Luna began reading the letter for a third time. “But We believe that there is still much We do not know... Times have changed quite a bit.”
“I-I have to go, to the place, with the thing…” Celestia walked over to her basin, filled it with ice-cold water, and promptly dunked her whole head in it. Twilight had even drawn diagrams, for pony’s sake.
***
“I’m surprised she’s not here yet,” Twilight said as she paced around. Rarity was admiring her reflection in Pinkie’s shiny hooves.
“I wonder what’s taking so long?” Spike sighed, mimicking Twilight’s pacing. Flare said nothing; he was content to nap quietly in the shade of a large tree.
“And where are Applejack and Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, noticing that two of her friends were still absent.
“Fluttershy's detained helping Applejack with a mishap at Sweet Apple Acres, they'll be along,” Rarity replied, adjusting her mane.
Spike sighed again. “But I still don’t get why the Princess would be so late.” Then remembered what had happened this morning. “I bet Twilight’s letter had something to do with it. And why did she cast a soundproofing spell on her room last night?” Now that Spike thought about it, it was all rather suspicious.
“She’s bringing an important visitor,” Twilight pointed out. “That could be part of it.”
Rainbow Dash hovered in the air nearby, “Yeah, a visitor who’s important and slow!” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“Maybe it's somepony so terribly important, she still had many more terribly important things to do before she got here.” Rarity said.
Spike’s eyes suddenly widened and he gasped, grabbing Twilight’s tail. “Maybe the visitor has a deer antler, a goat leg, a bat wing, and a snake tail!”
“Yeah right, that’s Discord,” Twilight dismissed what she assumed was a wild guess.
“Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria would Princess Celestia bring along someone like that?” Rarity added.
“M-m-maybe you should ask... her!” Spike stammered and pointed skywards. Rarity and the other ponies turned and saw a sight they could not believe. Celestia’s chariot descended, along with a second one that carried the frozen stone form of Discord.
***
Spike was right, Princess Celestia really had brought Discord to Ponyville. Twilight’s eye twitched and she looked at her teacher. “With all due respect, Princess Celestia, how could you bring Discord here?!” Twilight realised she had just yelled at the Princess and did a quick turnabout of attitude, bowing awkwardly. “Your majesty.”
Celestia just smiled. It was all she could do as she attempted to repress the memories of Twilight’s latest ‘report’, though it still didn’t stop the faintest of blushes from gracing her cheeks. “I'm fully aware that the last time Discord was here, he created serious havoc…”
Rainbow Dash interjected, “If by ‘serious havoc’ you mean ‘turning Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world’...”
“...And tricking us all into being the opposite of our true selves...” Rarity added.
“And making yummy delicious chocolate milk rain all over the place without a single dollop of whipped cream to go with it anywhere in sight!” Pinkie exploded, her rage barely contained. “Not a single dollop!”
Celestia sighed, that pink pony was certainly… different. “Yes, I understand. But I have use for Discord's magic, if it can be reformed to serve good instead of evil. This is why I've brought Discord here, because I believe that you are the ponies who can help him do just that.”
Spike was understandably panicked. When Discord had last shown up, the little dragon hadn’t been able to do a thing to help the ponies he cared so much for. “This will never work! This is a disaster! How will we ever control him?! We're doomed!”
“Need I remind you,” Celestia reminded them, “that you are the ponies who turned him back into stone like this in the first place?”
Twilight felt a little embarrassed to have forgotten that important piece of information. “I suppose we can just use the Elements of Harmony against him again if it gets out of hand…”
Spike saw his chance, “Uh, w-w-we probably need a volunteer to run away from here right away to get them. I'll do it!”
Celestia just continued to smile as two of her guards presented the ornate chest containing said artefacts. “No need, Spike. I have them right here. And I've cast a spell so Discord can't take them and hide them again. Now where is Fluttershy? I believe she may know best how to begin reforming Discord.”
Rainbow Dash deadpanned, “Fluttershy? Really?” She looked towards the farm where her two friends were probably still doing Celestia-knows-what. “I’ll go and tell ‘em to get a move on!” She gave a powerful flap of her wings and soared off to Sweet Apple Acres, desperate to put some distance between her and that creepy statue.
The others watched her leave, and Flare left the comfort of his shady spot and walked over to
them.
“Hey, Tia!” he greeted with a smile, and then eyed the statue dubiously. “Why’d you bring the creepy art with you?”
“Art?” Twilight’s eye twitched again before she suddenly calmed down, maybe Flare didn’t know about Discord yet? “This is Discord, the Spirit of Chaos.”
“He looks like a lawn ornament,” Flare said, tapping a hoof against the statue. Celestia had taught him a little bit about him, but never mentioned that she kept a statue of him. The nearby guards flinched when he did so, half expecting Discord to spring free like last time.
Rainbow Dash soon returned with Applejack and Fluttershy in tow. The two of them gasped in surprise when they saw the ‘visitor’ in question.
Princess Celestia explained the situation to the two of them and Fluttershy looked ready to pass out.
“I realize that this is a tall order, but I wouldn't ask if I weren't confident you could get him to use magic obediently of his own free will.”
“And... you really think I'll know best how to do that?” Fluttershy didn’t sound so confident. Discord had done some pretty awful things to her and her friends.
Celestia nodded and gave the pegasus a reassuring smile. “I do. Now, I must return to Canterlot for Equestria's royal summit. You may release Discord when ready.” The princess boarded her chariot and left for the mountainside city.
“So you girls are really going to do this?” Flare questioned. “If he’s really as bad as you say, then why not just leave him in stone?”
Twilight shook her head, the princess had given her a mission she wasn’t about to give up without even trying. “Okay, ponies, guess it's time to get started. Let's just hope this releasing spell works.”
“Or… Let’s not,” Spike muttered under his breath as the six mares stood in a circle around Discord.
“We'd best keep our elements on at all times 'til further notice.” Twilight warned them and the others gave a nod.
Twilight closed her eyes, and her Element of Harmony began to shine. Flare watched rather intently, as he had never even seen the Elements before, let alone seen what they could do.
The Elements of the others began to resonate, and the magical power began to build, lifting their bearers off of the ground as a ribbon of rainbow-hued light began to connect them. The energy began to spiral around Twilight as her element shone even brighter and erupted into a blast of light that began to chip away at the statue. Cracks formed along its surface, and light streamed out of it before a creature that Flare could hardly believe even existed in Equestria emerged from it.
Discord yawned loudly and, with a snap of his fingers, turned a small squirrel into a muscular beast.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” Twilight exclaimed as Discord wobbled his long body.
“Nnnnnnnnngh~“ Discord grunted. “Why, stretching, of course. When you're a creature of chaos, stone bodysuits aren't your typical go-to fashion choice. Nnngh...” He snapped his fingers once more as a cute bunny received the same treatment as the squirrel.
“Make that bunny cute again!” Pinkie Pie demanded. “Now!”
Discord scratched the chin of the vicious beast and blew a raspberry when said bunny tried to bite him. “Aw, but he's adorable the way he is.” He teleported back over to them, placing his paw around Fluttershy. “You know what else is adorable? You ponies truly believe that you can reform me, and that you're putting your faith in this one here to make it happen. Makes me wanna pinch your little horsey cheeks...”
Twilight gasped, “How'd you know about that?!”
“Being turned to stone doesn't keep me from hearing every word Celestia says.” The draconequus plucked his eyes from his head and rolled them along the ground. “Although I admit it makes rolling my eyes a challenge.” The two yellow eyes rolled along the ground and disappeared into a hole.
Discord’s eyes suddenly fell upon a new sight for him, literally, as the two spherical objects bounced off of Flare’s head.
“And who in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you?” He asked, putting his eyes back. Flare suddenly found himself propped up in a chair with a desk lamp beaming in his face. Discord gave the stallion a scrutinising gare while wearing a trench coat and a detective’s hat.
“You’re not one of the Mane Six, and you certainly aren’t the new villain…” His little tirade was interrupted as Twilight pulled Flare out of the chair with her magic, levitating him over to her.
“Leave him alone, Discord!” she warned him, her Element glowing ever so slightly. “And turn those animals back, I’m warning you.”
“Or what?” Discord challenged, “you wouldn't dare turn me back to stone and risk disappointing your precious princess.”
“Try us, ‘Dip-cord’!” Rainbow waved a hoof and leered at him.
“You think you can treat poor defenceless animals and my friends like that and get away with it?!” Fluttershy was normally timid, but when you messed with something she cared about… “You'd best watch your step, buster, or I'll give you... the Stare!”
“The Stare?” Discord mocked the pegasus’s threats. “Oh no, please, not that! Anything but your disapproving eyeballs!” the draconequus roared with laughter.
Fluttershy’s eyes suddenly went wide and she unleashed her powerful glare. Flare looked out of the corner of his eye and felt a chill go down his spine.
“Who would have thought that Glare could be super effective?”
Discord, on the other hand, seemed to be writhing in pain. Oh no! No, no, no, stop! No, no!” He gargled, putting his hands to his throat. “I can't! Stop! I can't take it anymore! I'll do whatever you say!” His voice became low and monotone before he couldn’t take it anymore and began to giggle. “Because...” his giggling became a roaring laugh, “you are hilarious!”
“If we have to use our Elements against you,” Twilight threatened, “I’m sure we can convince Princess Celestia it was for a good reason.
“She probably wouldn’t care much at all for the reason,” Flare thought. “She’s such a pushover when it comes to you, Twilight.”
“Mmm, I suppose that’s correct…” Discord snapped his fingers and the cute little critters returned to normal. “So I still haven’t gotten my question answered,” he pointed accusingly at Flare Blitz. “Just who is he?”
“He’s Twilight’s coltfriend.” Fluttershy answered and Twilight groaned. They may not be able to be directly ‘discorded’ while they wore their Elements, but Flare had no such protection.
“Coltfriend?!” Discord could hardly believe his ears. This was going to be so much fun!
Discord folded his arms and floated down near Fluttershy, “Then I guess I’ll be bunking with you, hmm?”
Fluttershy squeaked quietly, and as the group walked off, Discord shot another glance at Flare Blitz and smirked. Today was going to be very interesting.
***
Twilight and the others had escorted Fluttershy and her ‘houseguest’ back to her cottage, and now they had all gathered at Twilight’s library to discuss what to do next.
“If it’s all the same to you girls,” Rarity said. “I’d like to get home and make sure Discord doesn’t try anything with my family.”
“Ah feel the same, Rare!” Applejack agreed. “Who knows whut Discord will try.”
Flare was getting concerned now too; what if that thing tried to mess with his other friends? Like Ditzy and Dinky?
“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll check up on a few ponies too,” Flare said, but Twilight shook her head in refusal.
“It’s too dangerous!” she argued. “Discord is unpredictable at the best of times, and I have no idea if he’ll try anything with you.”
She was right. If Discord was as powerful as Flare thought him to be, then a fight with him would be one-sided. Flare knew that Arceus had pulled his punches, and he had no delusions that he was as strong as a god…
But it didn’t make him worry any less about his friends.
“I’ll be careful, alright,” he said to his marefriend. “I just want to check up on a few of my friends and tell them to be careful, okay?”
Twilight went to argue, but sighed and nodded. Flare was as stubborn as Applejack about these sorts of things, and she knew that he would go regardless of what she said. “Alright, Flare, but take Rainbow Dash with you. Perhaps just being close to one of the Elements will offer some protection.”
Flare Blitz looked towards Dash, who just nodded slightly and then stared off in another direction, avoiding his gaze.
“Guess she isn’t looking forward to playing babysitter,” Flare made his way towards the door, opening it. “I’ll be as quick as I can. Ready to go, Skittles?”
“Yeah, sure thing…” Rainbow gave a lazy flap of her wings and propelled herself across the room, landing next to him.
“Be careful, you two!” Twilight said as she began to levitate several books to herself. Discord is a tricky one.” She paused for a second and then ran over to Flare, kissing him on the cheek. “I love you, Flare,” she said softly.
“And I love you as well, now and forever.” Flare replied as he returned the kiss.
Flare and Rainbow Dash left the library. They had barely gotten ten feet from the building when Twilight suddenly raced past them, a trail of ripped books floating behind her.
“Should we even ask?” Flare said, but Rainbow waved a wing and shook her head.
“Sometimes it’s better not too,” Rainbow replied dryly.
The two maintained an awkward silence as they walked through Ponyville. Rainbow’s wings twitched every now and then, and she constantly looked at Flare before suddenly glancing somewhere else entirely.
“Uh, Skittles?” Flare was getting a little bugged by the whole thing. “Are you-“
“What’s it like?” she suddenly blurted out.
Flare stopped walking and stared at her. “Wha… what’s what like?”
Rainbow suddenly looked bashful, and glanced around to see if anypony was standing nearby. Satisfied that they were alone, she asked him properly.
“W-what’s it like… to be in love?” She felt seriously uncool just for saying that. But she knew that Flare wouldn’t make fun of her for it.
Flare blinked a few times and wondered if he had heard that right. Did the Rainbow Dash just ask what being in love is like? The cyan pegasus was blushing heavily, and her wings twitched even more as she waited for him to respond.
“Well, I’m not really sure how to put it,” Flare said. “It’s like…” he stopped to collect his thoughts and think of the best way to put it into words. “Just being close to the one you love brings happiness. Thinking about them can cheer you up no matter what, and when you kiss them…” Flare trailed off as he thought about Twilight and giggled to himself.
“Why couldn’t it be me?” Rainbow muttered quietly. Flare looked up when he heard her say something, but was too distracted by Twily thoughts to notice what it was she said.
“What was that?”
Rainbow squeaked and waved her front hooves, “N-nothing! I didn’t say anything!”
There was a chuckle and a nearby mailbox opened up as Discord slithered out of it. “You ponies are absolutely terrible at lying.”
“Discord!?” Rainbow reflexively put herself between Flare and the Chaos God. “What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Discord tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Not much, really. I just want to play a little game.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened as she flared her wings. “Yeah? Well think again, ‘Douchecord’.” She pointed to the gold necklace that she bore, The Element of Loyalty. “As long as I got this, you can’t touch either of us with your creepy magic.”
Creepy magic? Flare wondered what Rainbow meant by that.
“Oh really?” Discord leered. “And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?”
Rainbow was the one to smirk now. Discord wasn’t as smart as she thought. “As long as one of us is near, you can’t touch anypony with your freaky mind magic.”
Discord’s smile suddenly made the pit of her stomach cold. “Thanks for the info… ‘Rainbow Crash’” He snapped his fingers, and dozens and dozens of Scootaloo clones swarmed by, carrying off Rainbow Dash, chanting something about a goddess.
The Spirit turned his attention back to Flare, whose horn was already shining. “Now let’s play,” Discord smiled maliciously.
***
It took a few minutes, but Rainbow finally ditched the Scootaclones. She rocketed back to where Flare and Discord were, only to find Flare standing on his own.
“Wondercolt?” she looked around, expecting Discord to leap out of the tall grass nearby. “Where is that snake?”
“Oh, him?” Flare turned to face her. “He left, but I’m glad you’re here.”
“What do you mean-“ Rainbow didn’t get to finish her sentence as Flare pressed his lips against hers. Dash’s eyes widened as the kiss caught her completely off guard, and she suddenly backed up.
“Whoawhoawhoawhoa! What the-?” That was not something she had expected to come back to. “What are you doing!?”
“I was worried,” Flare appeared to be genuinely hurt by the rejection. “Why wouldn’t I be! Seeing as how my marefriend was suddenly carried away like that?”
Rainbow Dash blinked, then stared at him, then shook her head, thinking she’d heard wrong.
“Marefriend?” Rainbow’s heart admittedly skipped a beat when he said that. But this was wrong. Why would he just suddenly do this…
…
She facehooved and shot a venomous glare towards Fluttershy’s cottage. “Discord,” she growled.
Flare, on the other hoof, was a bit confused. Something seemed off; she seemed almost confused when he had kissed her. Did Discord do something else to her?
And why did she taste like fruit punch?
Rainbow looked back to the stallion and saw the way he looked at her. The way he usually only looked at Twilight. She had often wished that he would look at her like that, wished that he had fallen for her, not her friend. Maybe… maybe this was her chance?
“Say, Flare,” she looked up at him. “Would you like to go for a walk?”
Flare nodded and began to head off with the mare he thought was his lover.
***
Fluttershy had arranged a dinner party to try to prove that Discord was changing for the better. But once everypony had arrived, they noticed the lack of a certain cyan pegasus and former Pokémon right away.
“Where are Flare and Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked Twilight. RD had made it known that she didn’t want Discord around, but not showing up at all?
“I don’t know, I tried searching all over for them.” When Twilight had gotten back to the library earlier in the afternoon, Rainbow and Flare had yet to return. The unicorn had paid a visit to Ditzy Doo, who had gone on to explain that she didn’t even know Flare was back in town.
Twilight sighed as she ducked Discord’s attempt to snatch her Element. “It’s not like the two of them to just vanish like that.”
“Maybe your stallion ran off with the less boring mare?” Discord suggested, earning scowl from everypony in the room.
“Discord! That’s not very nice!” Fluttershy scolded. “Twilight isn’t boring… just… studious.” The mare stumbled to find the right words.
“I simply said less boring,” Discord argued back. “How about I find them for you, hmm?”
The spirit clapped his hands and summoned a tall, somewhat distorted-looking mirror. “Mirror, mirror, on the floor, find the one who loves a bore!”
“Hey!”
The mirror shone and shimmered, and a picture slowly emerged. Discord smacked the mirror a few times as the picture turned to static. “Sorry, reception here is lousy.”
The picture cleared, and it showed Fare and Rainbow sitting on a hill together. It was the same hill where Flare had become a pony all those months ago. What shocked Twilight though, was the fact that Rainbow and Flare were nuzzling each other rather affectionately.
“W-what?” Twilight’s voice became caught in her throat as she watched the scene unfold.
“Maybe… he’s just scratching a hard to reach itch?” Rarity explained, not believing what she was seeing.
Too bad that right after that, Rainbow and Flare shared a rather intimate-looking kiss.
“No, too much tongue there to be platonic,” Pinkie pointed out. But the comment went unheard.
“Why…?” Twilight’s voice was a barely audible whisper. “Why would he do this?”
Applejack shook her head. There was no way would her best friend and a stallion she had a lot of respect for would do something like this. Discord was behind this! “Ah don’t buy it!” she said. “How do we know this isn’t a fake?”
“A… fake?” A small glimmer of hope sparked in Twilight, but she was distracted from a total meltdown when Angel Bunny burst into the room, flailing about. After a brief game of charades, it was discovered that Sweet Apple Acres was flooding!
“Please don’t be true!” Twilight prayed. “Flare, where are you?”
***
This was nice; as nice as Rainbow Dash had ever hoped. The sun never looked more beautiful as she lay atop a hill that Flare had brought them to. She snuggled up closer to him, taking a deep breath of his scent and smiling contently.
“I wish this moment could last forever,”
Flare nodded and smiled back. “So do I. Everything has been so hectic lately. Just laying together like this is so relaxing.” He nibbled softly on her ear and she giggled, swatting at him with her hoof.
“Stop it,” she giggled and nuzzled him again. Pausing for a moment, she wondered if she should say it. She wanted to hear it from him so badly, but there was always the chance that he wouldn’t… No! She was Rainbow Dash! She never got anywhere doing anything half-flanked.
“Flare?” she took a deep breath before continuing. “I love you…”
Flare smiled that smile that made her melt like snow in the summer. “And I love you, Fairy.”
Dash could have Sonic Rainboomed right there. She was just so happy…
Wait? What did he call her?
“Did you call me ‘Fairy’?”
Flare nodded, “Well yeah, I thought you liked it?”
Rainbow Dash gulped and asked, “Flare, can you say my name?”
Flare tilted his head, what was with her? He leaned in and embraced her gently. “If you say so. I love you so much… my dear Twilight.”
“T-Twi…?” It was sudden; Rainbow didn’t even realise she’d done it until her hoof collided with Flare’s face, sending him sprawling across the ground.
“Twilight!?” she fumed. “You think I’m-.” She stopped her sentence as she realised what she had just done. She’d clobbered a stallion that she’d been taking advantage of.
Flare groaned and rubbed his face. “Ah, ow…” he looked up and his vision blurred for a moment. The mare sitting in front of him was difficult to make out, but it was Twilight… right?
So why did she hit him?
He blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to see straight. After a moment, he saw that it wasn’t Twilight sitting there, sobbing softly, but Rainbow Dash?
“Skittles? What’s going-?” Rainbow suddenly hugged him, mumbling something as she cried into his chest. It took a minute, but she finally calmed down and pulled away.
“What’s going on?” he asked her. “Where’s Twilight?”
Rainbow flinched and looked away; this was not going to be easy to explain. “… Twilight was never here. Only… only me.”
“But I could swear that I was just with her!” Flare rubbed his head again. “She and I were, we were…” Only Rainbow was here? Did that mean? “Oh.”
Rainbow Dash turned a deep red and nodded slowly. “You and I… we, well we,” this was hard. Why was it so hard?
“I think I get it,” Flare said. He had thought it was Twilight, but it had actually been Rainbow Dash the whole time. Which means that everything that he had done with her…
“Twilight is going to kill me,” he muttered. “And nopony will ever find the body.”
“It’s my fault!” Dash suddenly blurted out. “I knew that Discord had done something, but then you kissed me, and I just… I just,” Dammit, she could feel her eyes watering again. Crying was so not cool.
“It’s alright,” Flare put more fault on himself than on her. Ever since Discord had shown up, he had been feeling off, distant. It was hard to describe, but he hadn’t been feeling himself. “Let’s go find the others, I’m worried about them.”
“But we just- we need to talk about this!” Why was he treating this so casually? Did he really not care at all? “Do you even care?!”
“Of course I do!” Flare snapped and yelled, causing the mare to flinch in surprise. “But what do you suppose Discord is doing right now? What he might be doing to Twilight and the others?”
He was right, Celestia-damn it all!
“So where do you think they are then?” she asked. “They could be anywhere.”
“Think you could search by air?” Flare suggested. “I’ll try some of the usual places, the library, Shy’s cottage?”
Rainbow nodded and rocketed off into the sky, the one place she could truly be herself and hopefully clear her head a bit.
It didn’t take long for Rainbow to come across a completely frozen-over Sweet Apple Acres.
“No prizes for guessing where Discord is,” she muttered to herself. She contemplated going straight down there, but Flare would probably be ticked if she didn’t tell him. And he was plenty pissed already. Giving her wings a powerful flap, she soared back to Ponyville.
***
Flare had checked the library, but nopony had been there. He was on his way to Fluttershy’s place when Rainbow Dash shot down from the sky.
“We gotta get to AJ’s, the whole place looks like it skipped Winter Wrap Up!”
Flare was wondering what Winter Wrap Up was, but now wasn’t the time. “It’ll still take a bit to get there.” He reared up and was about to start running when Dash stopped him.
“It’s faster this way,” She flared her wings open and motioned for him to get on.
Flare’s eyes widened when she suggested that. Ever since the bungee incident, he had a certain fear of the sky... and falling from it.
“Yeah... I think I’ll run.”
“We don’t have the time for that!” Rainbow Dash suddenly dashed forward and underneath Flare, scooping him up and soaring off into the sky, with Flare yelling the whole time.
“Oh, calm down, the sky is awesome!” Rainbow said, and Flare opened one eye, taking a peek.
It was the most amazing sight he had ever seen. The town of Ponyville was sprawled out below him, and he could see almost everything. Rose was at her flower stand, selling her wares. Ditzy was fluttering from letterbox to letterbox, delivering letters... and crashing into the occasional wall. Several Scootaloos tore through the town, buzzing along on their scooters.
Flare chose to wisely ignore that last one.
Looking up, he saw the clear, blue sky that seemed to stretch on forever. It was beautiful.
“This is how you see the world, huh?” Flare asked in a quiet voice.
Rainbow gave the slightest of nods, “Yeah...” She could feel the stallion on her back, his warm chest pressing against her and his hooves wrapped gently around her neck. Now that she thought about it, the position was similar to when a stallion and a mare...
She jostled slightly and blushed. That mental image was going to be there for days.
“W-we’re coming up on Sweet Apple Acres!” she said, trying to clear her head. “Get ready!”
Flare’s horn began to glow as he took in the light of the warm sun. Discord was about to pay dearly for messing with him and Rainbow.
***
“I liked it better my way,” Discord pouted. “But when you have friends... I guess you can’t always have it your way.”
“S’aright,” Applejack said. “Nopony was hurt, the critters are fine and the farm is back t’normal.”
“It’s strange though... I have the oddest sensation that I’m forgetting something important.” Discord tapped his chin thoughtfully, but drew a blank.
“Taking over Equestria?” Pinkie suggested. “Or maybe making more chocolate rain?” She was really hoping it was the last one.
“No, no, nothing like that.” Discord was sure it was quite important. He looked at his new friends, and once he laid eyes on Twilight, he remembered.
“Oooh, now I remem-” That was all he got to say, before a searing beam of white light buried him in a deep trench in the ground.
Everypony looked around to see what had happened when Rainbow and Flare landed.
“Nice shot!” Rainbow cheered. Flare nodded and powered up another one. He wasn’t quite done yet.
“Flare? Rainbow Dash?!” Twilight teleported over to them. “Where in Equestria have you been?”
“Well, uh, the thing is, Twi...” Rainbow had no idea how to word this, and Twilight took a step back. Did Discord’s mirror really show the truth earlier?
“Please, Rainbow,” Twilight didn’t want to ask, but she knew she had to. “Please tell me that you and Flare didn’t...”
As Discord pulled himself out of the trench that Flare’s Solar Beam had buried him in, he saw the stallion had powered up another.
“Oh dear,” Discord pulled out a little umbrella and opened it as the energy attack struck him head on. The beam caused him to skid back as the little parasol blocked the beam.
“It would seem that you are a tad upset.” Discord tucked the umbrella under his arm. “But what say we let bygones be bygones?”
“Twilight, I know something that I cannot take back has happened,” Flare was oddly calm as he spoke. He had a quiet stillness to his voice, but everypony present still felt the immeasurable rage in those words. “Let me teach Discord here that messing with ponies like that is wrong, and then we will have a long talk.”
Twilight had no response, she just nodded and looked away from Rainbow Dash.
Discord scoffed, “Bah! Who do you think you are? You think you can just mete out punishment to me? The God of Chaos!”
“Guess we’ll see,” Flare dug his hooves into the ground as two magic circles appeared next to him. “I’m pretty mad right now, and I’m going to start hitting you.” He narrowed his eyes, “I don’t know when I’ll stop.”
The magic circles drew in sunlight, over three times as much as a regular solar beam.
“Magic Arte - Solar Beam, Twin Buster!”
Massive energy blasts shot forth from the magic circles, tearing up the earth as they hurtled towards Discord. The spirit was too stunned by the attack to dodge it. The attack struck him full on, causing a tremendous explosion.
Rainbow Dash had never seen anything so awesome!
After the attack dissipated, Fluttershy ran over to see if her new friend was still alive. “Are you okay, Discord?”
“Define, ‘okay’?” Discord coughed as he pulled himself out of the crater. As he looked to his attacker, his eyes shrank. Flare had a giant, blazing aura as he activated one of his newer attacks.
“Magic Arte - Twilight Nova!”
He was not going to stick around for this one. Discord snapped his fingers and vanished, causing Flare Blitz to search around frantically for him. A scream coming from Ponyville was a good indicator of where Discord had disappeared to. Flare bolted for town, fury filling his eyes.
“Do you think that we should go get ‘em?” Applejack asked. She wasn’t too surprised by this turn of events. You live in Ponyville long enough and it’ll take something really strange to affect you.
“Well, somepony has to protect Ponyville from them,” Rarity added, and four mares, plus one dragon, turned to look at Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle.
“Aw crap,” Rainbow muttered.
***
Ponies ran screaming as Discord teleported all over the place, laughing maniacally and dodging all of Flare’s attacks. Structural damage was beginning to pile up as Flare’s flames and solar blasts scorched the town, trying to hit the serpent. Toying with this stallion was fun, but Discord couldn’t quite figure out the strange magic he was using. It seemed familiar somehow...
Celestia arrived in Ponyville. The Royal Summit was on a break, and she wanted to see how Discord’s reformation was coming along. Several nearby ponies bowed as her chariot touched down, but once she stepped off, Celestia bore witness to a sight that would stay with her for the rest of her days.
Discord flew around a corner, and once he laid eyes on Celestia, he zipped over to her, hiding behind her.
“What in the-?”
“Just what I need: a fireproof meatshield,” Discord said and Celestia saw what it was he was running from.
Flare Blitz turned the same corner, his mane and tail blazing like fire, his horn glowing with crimson light, and his eyes holding a manic glee.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are~” he taunted in a creepy, sing-song tone. “I only want to hurt you.”
“All the ponies in this town are crazy!” Discord said. “DO something, Celestia!”
Celestia shook her head and laughed. “Okay, Discord, I’ll get rid of the big, scary pony.” Though how she would do this was the real question.
“Flare Blitz, please try to calm down. I cannot reform Discord if you kill him.”
“I won’t kill him,” Flare replied, taking aim with another Solar Beam. “Just maim him, burn him, and maybe kick that fang straight out of his mouth.”
Well that seemed a tad excessive. She looked back to Discord, who was writing his last will and testament. Seemed he was leaving his chocolate rainclouds to Pinkie Pie. Luna was getting a lifetime supply on moon pies.
“Just what did you do to him?” she asked, wondering what could cause Flare to snap like this.
“What makes you think I did anything?” Discord asked, but Celestia just glared back. “Oh alright, alright. Maybe a I cast a Discording spell on him, but because of the close proximity of an Element of Harmony, it just hypnotised him a little.”
“Well, that doesn’t seem so bad…” Celestia said, but Discord wasn’t finished.
“Buuut, it seems that the hypnosis made him think that the rainbow one was in fact your boring little student.”
“Oh?... Oooh,” Celestia did not like where this was heading. Flare had yet to make a move. He was trying to decide if Celestia was fireproof or not.
“Yeah, he spent the better part of the afternoon making out with her.” He just finished saying that when Twilight and Rainbow rounded the corner. “And speak of the devil.”
“I heard everything, Discord!” Twilight said, slightly out of breath. “Try to leave him alive though, Flare… I want him conscious when I get my turn.”
Flare nodded as he finished charging the Solar Beam, “Please step aside, Tia.”
Celestia sighed and flared her wings, casting a calming spell over Flare Blitz. “I think that’s quite enough of that.” She gave Discord a disapproving stare. “What you did was wrong, and you shall apologise. Alright?”
“Yes, Mom~” Discord sighed. He took a look at the flanks he was hiding behind and smirked. “Somepony’s really been hitting the cake since I left. Miss me that much?”
Celestia flushed a bright red, and after a powerful buck, Discord found himself in another crater.
Celestia coughed and turned her attention to Flare. “And Flare Blitz, what Discord did was mean, but this sort of violence is unacceptable!”
Flare powered down his attack and hung his head. “Sorry, Tia.”
“So,” Celestia took a breath and smiled. “Despite this little… ‘tussle’, I sense a big change in Discord. It would seem that the magic of friendship has had a positive effect on him.”
The others finally arrived to find that the crisis had been averted. And now Celestia and her two students were deep in discussion.
“I think… I think that Flare, Rainbow, and I need to have a talk. A long talk.” Twilight gave her teacher one last hug, and the three ponies departed for the library.
Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike watched them leave, wondering what was going to happen between those three.
“Whelp… Ah’m confused,” Applejack spoke up.
“As am I, darling, as am I.”
Pinkie looked at herself and shrugged. “My Pinkie Sense won’t tell.”
“Well, after last time, do y’all think we should just let ‘em work it out on their own?” Applejack did not want a repeat of that incident. Everyone present nodded in agreement.
Fluttershy was busy applying bandages to Discord’s wounds. “I’m very sorry about what happened,” she said gently. “But what did we learn from this experience?”
“That messing with ponies that have very strange and powerful attacks is dangerous to one’s health?” Discord gave his best guess.
“Well that, and it’s not nice to pick on your friends.” Fluttershy finished up and smiled. “Now, who wants to go for some ‘Get Better’ ice-cream?”
Discord put a paw up, “ooh, ooh! Mememe~”
Me too!” Pinkie giggled and they headed for Sugar Cube Corner.
Princess Celestia was left to wonder if there was a single normal pony in Ponyville.
***
It was silent in Golden Oaks Library as three ponies sat around the table. There were a lot of awkward stares and some throat clearing, before Rainbow Dash finally got tired of waiting.
“Will somepony say something!?” she yelled, thumping a hoof on the table.
Twilight’s eye twitched and she gently placed her own hoof on the table, “Well, then I guess I’ll start.” She cleared her throat once more and looked at Rainbow Dash. “I know that Discord did something to Flare, I know that you were unable to prevent that, and I don’t blame you for it.
Whatever it was that Discord did, Flare, for some reason, thought you were me and… made affectionate advances towards you.”
She took a deep breath and continued. “What I want to know is this… “WHY DID YOU KISS HIM BACK!?”
Flare put a hoof up to stop Twilight from leaping across the table to strangle her friend. “Calm down, Twi-“
“No, Flare… it’s alright.” Rainbow Dash hung her head. “She has a good reason to be mad, and right now, I really don’t deserve to be called her friend.” When she looked back up, her face had tears streaming down it. “But it’s not fair!”
This was a reaction that Twilight wasn’t expecting. “Wait, fair? What’s not fair?”
“OH! I don’t know,” Rainbow replied sarcastically. “Maybe that you’re the Princess’s prized student, maybe it’s because you come from a noble family, maybe it’s because when the day needs to be saved, you’re always the one to do it.”
Rainbow’s eyes narrowed and she glared at Twilight, “Or maybe it’s because after all that, you still get the stallion of your dreams and get a happily ever after!”
Twilight took a step back, as anger welled up inside her. Rainbow Dash was making her out to be some spoiled, rich brat. “Take that back!” she growled.
“Or you’ll do what?” Rainbow goaded, “Will you make me? Will you tell the Princess to put me in the corner or something?”
Twilight’s horn suddenly flashed to life and Flare decided that now was a good time to jump in.
Hopefully he’d live long enough to see tomorrow.
“That’s enough!” he slammed both hooves on the table, causing it to shake. “Both of you need to calm down!”
“Then tell your pet princess to back off!” Rainbow yelled.
“Careful ‘Rainbow Crash’,” Twilight shot back. “Your stiff wings are showing!”
The tabletop suddenly exploded in flames, causing both mares to yelp in surprise and back away.
“ENOUGH!!” Flare yelled, and the mares fell silent. The calming spell Celestia had put on him had worn off. “Listen to yourselves, resorting to name-calling now?” Twilight realised what she had said to the pony she called a friend and hung her head in shame. Rainbow Dash also realised that she may have gotten a tad overzealous.
He took a deep breath (which sounded more like a growl) and then sighed. “Dash, I am curious… why did you not stop me before?”
Rainbow Dash mumbled something, and Twilight was about to say something, but Flare put a hoof in her mouth to stop her. “You need to speak up, and you,” he gave Twilight a warning stare, “you need to calm down and listen.”
“It’s because…” Rainbow was bright red now, and her eyes refused to focus, “It’s because… I’m in love with you!”
She started to cry again, as she launched herself across the smouldering table and suddenly hugged Twilight. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that with him, it’s just that (hic), well I was hoping that (hic),” She tried to talk in between the sobs and now she’d begun to hiccup too. “I was hoping that he’d fallen for me too!”
Twilight was silent as she processed all that. “Look, what you did-“
“I know (hic), what I did was wrong.” Rainbow Dash started to calm down, but refused to let Twilight go. “But he’s the first stallion that, that wasn’t afraid of me.”
“Afraid of you?” Twilight pushed her back so she could look her in the eyes. “Why would a stallion be afraid of you?”
“Oh, No real reason,” Rainbow sniffed and rubbed the tears from her eyes. “Apparently stallions don’t like it when a mare is stronger than them, or more athletic than them. A stallion apparently can’t ‘handle’ a mare like me, I’m simply too much. Despite that fact that biology proves otherwise, I’m not feminine enough!”
Twilight frowned, “Well that sounds… dumb.”
“And yet, because I’m not graceful, like Fluttershy, or beautiful, like Rarity…” She looked down at the ground. “Or smart, like you… stallions just don’t want to be with me.” Luna-dammit, she was starting to cry again… totally not cool at all. “But Flare, he doesn’t care about any of that, that I’m strong, or fast, or kinda stupid.”
“You’re not stupid!” Twilight hugged her friend, as her own tears started to fall. “And you are beautiful, and graceful, and you’re smart too! Don’t ever tell yourself otherwise!”
Rainbow nodded and continued, “Flare can keep up with a pony like me, when he smiles at me, it’s like a ray of sunshine. And Sweet Celestia, those flanks of his are-“
“Drifting off topic,” Twilight warned.
“A-anyway, what I did was still wrong, and I’m gonna find a way to make it up to both of you. I promise… no, Pinkie-Promise that I will make it up to you.” She looked to the stallion, who had his own head turned away so the mares couldn’t see the tears in his eyes. “And I won’t ever do anything like this again. I’m your friend first and foremost Twi, and what I did was disloyal and waaay uncool.”
“I wish,” Twilight said quietly. “I wish that you had just spoken up sooner, before it came to all of this.” She let Rainbow go and looked her right in the eye, “I’m still plenty mad, but you’re my friend. We could have talked this out much sooner and tried to help somehow.”
“Help how?” Rainbow laughed and then coughed, her throat was dry and scratchy from all the crying. “Does Flare have a brother or something?”
“I have several, actually,” Flare pointed out as he ducked into the kitchen and brought out a pitcher of water. “But they’re all much older than me... and in another dimension.”
“Figures,” Rainbow muttered.
There was a knock at the door, and after Rainbow and Twilight regained some composure, Flare let the guest in.
“Princess Celestia?!”
“Hello, Twilight,” Celestia greeted, nuzzling her student. She looked around the room and noticed several things. First, the table was smouldering. Second, both mares seemed to have been crying quite a bit. Third, all three ponies still seemed to be in one piece. Looks like Discord owed her ten bits.
“So I take it that the talk went well?”
Twilight nodded slowly and looked back to Rainbow and Flare. “No physical harm was done in the end, so I guess it’s alright…” She looked to Dash. “We cool?”
“Frosty,” Rainbow smiled and bumped hooves with her unicorn friend. “And I guess I owe you an apology too, Flare.”
“It’s alright, I’m not mad at you.” Flare gave her a brief hug.
“All of this over a simple kiss,” Celestia sighed. “You can be quite dramatic sometimes, my faithful student.”
“Just a kiss?!” Twilight steamed. “What would you do if he kissed Luna?”
Celestia smiled and Twilight felt her blood freeze. That smile indicated that Twilight had stepped on a landmine, and it was not going to end well.
“Well, my dear student,” Celestia leaned down so they were face-to-face. “If Flare was keeping my sister company, then I would be quite lonely…” She drew a hoof along Twilight face as she leaned closer. “And since Flare would be occupied, I imagine you would be quite lonely too.” Her muzzle was inches away from Twilight’s as the unicorn began to pant slightly, her blush reaching the tips of her ears. “Perhaps you and I could do something about that?”
“I-um-oh-uh” Twilight failed to produce a coherent sentence as she struggled not to pass out on the spot.
“Time to pay you back for that little report of yours,” Celestia smirked. Oh, speaking of that…
“Perhaps we could ‘study’ your new line of research?” she suggested, her voice husky and sensual. “I believe an all-night study session with practical applications would be most…” she dropped her voice even more as she blew lightly in Twilight’s ear, “Enjoyable.”
That did it, Twilight sighed and fainted on the spot.
“Perhaps I took it a tad too far?” Celestia wondered aloud. She suddenly remembered that other ponies were present and looked to Rainbow Dash and Flare. Rainbow’s wings were as stiff as a board and Flare gulped loudly.
“Um, you can continue if you want.” Flare said slowly as memories of that dream from the other night resurfaced. “Cause that was really hot!”
“Agreed!” Rainbow voiced.
Celestia just sighed and smiled.
***
Sometime later, the four ponies sat in the library, sharing a salad lunch that Celestia herself had whipped up. The table had been restored by Celestia’s magic, and now they enjoyed some pleasant conversation.
“So what do the two of you have planned for the rest of Flare’s vacation?” Celestia asked.
“Well, we were planning on visiting the Crystal Empire tomorrow…” Twilight began, before remembering something important. “Wait, Sparkler gets back from Canterlot tomorrow.”
“Well, about this idea then?” Celestia spoke up. “Why don’t the two of you, as well as Spike, come to Canterlot tonight, meet with Miss Sparkler, and then you can all go to the Crystal Empire tomorrow?”
“That’s… a good idea.” Twilight replied and Celestia frowned.
“Don’t sound so surprised, my dear student,” she deadpanned.
Twilight poked her tongue out in cheek and Flare laughed. “You two really are alike, huh?” That earned him a glare from both mares and he smiled sheepishly.
The door to the library swung open and Spike waddled in, his stomach was bloated from all the ice-cream he had eaten. “Hey, the Princess is here?”
“Get your things ready, Spike,” Twilight said, laughing. “We’re going to Canterlot tonight, and then to the Crystal Empire tomorrow.”
“The Crystal Empire?!” Spike’s stomach ache was forgotten as he ran upstairs. He loved the Crystal Empire… everything there looked so... delicious.
“Well guys, guess I’ll see you later then?” Rainbow Dash stood up after excusing herself from the table.
“Why don’t you come with us?” Twilight suggested. Despite what had been said, there was an obvious rift between them now, and Twilight wanted to fix it.
“Naw, I’d just be in the way… besides, I have a lot of weather work here in Ponyville to do.” “And some very interesting stories I want to write down.”
“Well alright, see you later then?”
“Sure!” Rainbow Dash gave a polite nod to the Princess and Flare and took off.
“I’ll go help Spike and pack my own stuff,” Flare said and also left the room, leaving the student and teacher alone.
“So, do we need to have a little chat?” Celestia said, sipping her tea.
Twilight shook her head. “This is something I think I can solve on my own… thank you though.”
“She’s growing up fast,” Celestia thought as she finished her tea. “It shouldn’t be too much longer now.”
***
Arceus floated there, in his own personal dimension, his mind surveying the world he had created and all the creatures that inhabited it. His thoughts occasionally wandered to another plane though, where a cream-coated unicorn was living out his new life.
It was because of that tranquil concentration that he never saw the attack coming. One that caused him to cry out in pain as the dark magicks bound his body and prevented him from using his powers.
“You know, I honestly didn’t expect this to go quite that easily.” Arceus opened one eye to look towards the source of the voice, the one that he had thought to be long gone, never to return.
“Darkrai…”
The Pitch-Black Pokémon floated in front of him, his blue eyes focused on the god Pokémon.
“Hello, ‘Lord’ Arceus, it’s been what, a thousand years? How time flies.”
Darkrai needed to be stopped; no Pokémon was more dangerous. But try as he might, Arceus couldn’t do anything. The magic that bound him was powerful.
“Heh, to think, it’s all thanks to a little Ponyta that I discovered your weakness to magic… how utterly pathetic.”
“You will not get away with this, Darkrai. You failed once, and you will do so again!”
Darkrai loomed closer as his hand charged another spell. “Yes, I failed once… a slight oversight on my behalf. But I have plans this time… countermeasures for those ‘Elements of Harmony’.”
He raised his hand and a large magic circle appeared. “I just have to get rid of those who would interfere, and you and that hybrid pony/Pokémon are at the top of that list.”
“You will fail.” Arceus’s ring glowed as the seal weakend for just a moment, but the attack he fired at Darkrai missed by mere inches, and sailed off into the void.
Darkrai sighed as he completed the sealing spell. “Yes, yes, you’ve said that already, and it’s getting old. Goodbye, Arceus.”
He unleashed the spell, and every Pokémon, across all worlds, suddenly felt a great sense of dread… though none of them knew why.