//------------------------------// // Distractions // Story: Retired to Equestria // by Yet Another Mask //------------------------------// “I-I’m back to my old form,” Damien breathed in shock. He slowly made his way to his feet and found that he was entirely clad in his old blackened steel armor. His eyes widened as he felt the magical energy running through his body. Discord chuckled darkly. “I see you noticed the full effects of what I did.” He threw his arms wide. “You have been returned to your full power and glory. Given the strength denied to you to do as you will. The power that is yours by right, the power you can use to do whatever you want.” Discord’s voice seemed to slither through the air, full of promise and temptation. “So what?” Damien asked curtly, a growing smile on his face. Discord’s serpentine smile faltered for a moment. “But surely you want to show the gods of this world your true power? Show them not to mess with mortals? Give them reason to fear you as the gods of your old world did?” “No. I have no reason to attack either Luna or Celestia. Luna may be annoying but I don’t really care what she does.” Discord frowned. “I have returned your power to you! Isn’t there anything you want to do with it? Anyone to get revenge on? Anything!?” Damien didn’t respond. Instead he twisted his hand into a strange gesture and felt the fabric of reality slip away. Only to be cemented back into place with a snap of Discord’s fingers. “Ah, ah, ahhhhh. No teleporting away,” Discord admonished him. “Pit,” Damien grumbled as he started to edge away from Discord. Before he could get more than a foot away Discord teleported to his side and placed a finger on his forehead. Damien felt icy claws dig into his mind and everything went dark. <-[XXXXX]-> Luna shot through the air towards Ponyville, her eyes flickering over the ground in a desperate attempt to find Discord. Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the suffering of the ponies below her, suffering that she was unable to do anything to alleviate. Her eyes suddenly fixated on something that was off, a house that was completely untouched by Discord’s chaotic magic. She didn’t know what to expect from it, but its simple presence gave birth to a tiny flame of hope. Before she could reach the house a massive gout of flame burst forth from the front of it, completely consuming the front yard. She froze midair and stared in shock at the burning house, tears once more springing into her eyes. In a panic she swept down to the burning home, summoning her magic to try and drive away the flames and save anypony that might have been inside. She stopped just short of the flames when a body was thrown from the house and sent bouncing along the ground, eventually skidding to a stop a dozen yards from the house. From inside the house a tall thin form surrounded by hundreds of tiny runes that seemed to burn holes in reality materialized from the flames. “Luna, a pleasure to see you. You are here for the corruptor?” the figure asked as it resolved into the form that she had only seen in Damien’s dreams. However something was off about him. His pale skin seemed to have become more ashen, his black and silver hair had lost its luster; even his blackened armor seemed dull and lifeless. He had been corrupted by Discord. “D-Damien?!” she stuttered in shock, completely forgetting about the royal Canterlot voice. “You- Then-” She turned to the body she had seen skidding out of the house. Discord picked himself up with a wide toothy grin. “Luna! It’s been years! I heard you’d been imprisoned on the moon! You naughty little filly, I’m so proud of you!” He disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared right next to her and gave her a crushing hug. Her horn suddenly glowed and a massive magical shockwave tore through the air and sent Discord flying and slammed him into a nearby wall. “Hit it harder,” Damien said as his hands flew through the air, tapping nearby runes while he chanted a second spell under his breath. The spells were completed within moments of each other bringing a massive spike of earth out from the ground and impaling Discord before freezing him solid in a block of ice. Luna stared at the display in shock. “What are you-?” she started to say. “Not dead.” At Damien’s words the block of ice turned into gelatin and slid down the earth spike, Discord swimming through it like water. “That was pretty impressive. If you just tried to use that power to cause a little chaos you’d work wonders!” “Need more power, more time. Distract him,” Damien said gruffly to Luna as he charged towards Discord, his hands flying along the runes in front of him typing out another spell. Luna paused for a moment before joining in with the charge, lightning crackling along her horn. Her eyes narrowed in determination as she sent a storm of lightning bolts ripping through the air before her. Discord snapped his fingers and an upbeat waltz began to float through the air as he danced through the field of lightning. As he landed a particularly impressive twirl a wave of pure kinetic force ripped apart the ground around Discord. A force he completely avoided by bringing up a tacky umbrella. He smiled as the energy simply washed over the umbrella held smugly over his head. He spun again and turned it inside out, sending a deluge of water rushing towards his opponents. Damien swept his arms in front of himself and threw up a barrier of black runes to shield himself and Luna from the water. “Won’t talk anymore. Need to focus on spell,” he said curtly. “Oh! You have a plan! How fun!” Discord said happily as he popped up out of the ground between them, throwing an arm around each of them and drawing them close. Luna swung her head to the side in an attempt to stab at Discord as Damien flicked his wrist, seemingly pulling a knife from nowhere as he attempted to do the same. They both stopped just short of striking each other as Discord popped like a bubble and appeared in front of them doing the backstroke through the air. Damien didn’t say anything, instead continuing to chant his latest spell undeterred. He swung his knife across a small unprotected section of his palm and threw out the injured hand. Droplets of blood swam through the air and landed on several runes. Tridents of ice rose up out of the puddles around them and flew at Discord. Luna joined in the flurry of tridents as she alternated between trying to smash Discord with her hooves and sending crackling beams of electricity towards the draconequus. The tridents wove their way through her continuing attacks and lunged towards Discord. Whenever one came close to striking him it would transform. One became a length of licorice, another a fluffy pink cloud. One burst into flames and another sprouted a top hat and began a song and dance number. Luna saw a flash of light just outside her vision and dove to the side as piercing beams of light shot past her, twisting and weaving through the air as they closed on Discord. At their mere passage the very rock beneath them turned to molten slag. Luna’s eyes flashed with inspiration as she levitated globs of lava into the air and added them to the continuing assault. Discord smirked and snapped his fingers, once again a bright flash of light illuminated the area. When it faded Damien and Luna found themselves standing on a photo set, posed like lovers about to kiss while Discord snapped photos of them with wild abandon. “Yes! Work it! Own the set! You must feel the shot! Live it!” Luna snarled in rage as she summoned a wave of ice and sent it rushing towards Discord, freezing everything in its path. Discord smiled as the ice approached him. With an impertinent snap of his fingers his camera exploded and distorted clones of Luna and Damien rushed out to meet the ice head on. Nearly half of them were obliterated in the wave of ice. The rest closed in on Luna in a flash as she tried to ready another spell. Before they could touch her arrows of flame arced thought the air, impaling them. They all burst into flame and collapsed into dust at Luna’s hooves. She threw a grateful smile over her shoulder before levitating various pieces of the set into the air and flinging them at Discord. He chuckled and waved a hand, turning each of them into a different kind of bird. Each bird started singing an operatic aria as they flew through the air. Discord grinned as he pulled a small set of opera glasses out and assumed a thoughtful look. “Truly wonderful, five stars.” Luna growled as she charged down Discord again. Her eyes widened slightly as she felt a whisper of power and her hooves were coated in black flames and she sped up immensely. A feral grin crossed her muzzle as she flew across the ground towards Discord and slammed into the surprised draconequus. His surprised look vanished a moment later as he grabbed Luna and swept her onto a wild dance. Her eyes flashed in anger as he spun out of his grip and smashed her hooves into his face only to have it disappear in a puff of mist when she made contact. The mist flew through the air and formed into three Discords. Two of them began to sing and dance around Luna while the third swept towards Damien. Damien’s gaze snapped towards his attacker and he pulled out a sword of black light without missing a single syllable of his spell. Still chanting he swung the sword through the air, the blade leaving black rifts in reality as it bit into the air. The Discord clone slipped through the cracks in the rifts and loomed in front of Damien only to find an upraised hand before a raging funnel of flame burst out of the palm and engulfed the clone. As Damien’s Discord was dispelled Luna was slamming her hooves through the head of her last adversary. Her ears flicked back as a slow clapping sound filled the air. “Why do you continue to play these games with us Discord?! Face us seriously!” she shouted as she twisted around to face the smiling draconequus. “But what fun would that be my dear?” Discord asked still grinning. “Can’t you see that this all just a game?” He threw his arms out to the side grandiosely. “My own little game of chaos, no rules, no points. Just me and you and chaos!” He smirked evilly. “A game that you can’t win!” He held up a hand and caught a massive flaming boulder Damien had sent flying through the air and tossed it aside as though it were nothing more than a feather. “You and your friend have been entertaining but it can only last so long.” He waved a hand and magically threw Luna towards Damien. “Although I have to admit I’ve never had someone I corrupted actually fight me.” Discord smiled happily. “But you’re starting to get boring. And I don’t enjoy boring people,” Discord said as he towered over Damien and swept aside the runes that clouded the air with a wave of his hand. “Enjoy this,” Damien growled as he slapped Discord across the muzzle. Discord stood stock still for a moment before collapsing into a roaring fit of laughter. Damien stared on impassively as he walked over to Luna. “Alright?” he asked her. “Y-yes. We are okay. Alicorns are sturdy creatures.” She made her way to her hooves. “We need to strike while he is distracted.” “Too late my dear,” Discord said as he leapt out of the air behind her. He swung his arm towards them gleefully, intent on enacting a particularly humorous transformation. He froze mid-swing as a bolt of pain shot through his body. His eyes widened in shock as he collapsed to his knees. “Wh-what?” he asked as he stared at his hands. His hands seemed to shimmer and shake. Before his eyes his hands slowly began to dissolve. He barely had time to realize this before the pain returned a thousand times over. Damien looked on impassively as he watched Discord fall apart. “Strongest spell. Breaks apart anything. Even gods.” Luna watched in horror as Discord’s screams slowly dwindled away with his collapsing body. Within seconds there was nothing left but a pile of dust. “Is… is he dead?” she asked shakily as she turned towards Damien. Damien smiled coldly as he surveyed the pile of dust in front of them. “Yes. Dea-” he stopped suddenly, his eyes wide with fear. “No…” he breathed. He spun around in time to see a lion claw shoot out and grab him by the throat. “That hurt,” Discord growled. His eagle talon shot out and grabbed Luna by the throat. “You two have stopped being amusing. I don’t like being hurt.” Luna and Damien were both speechless with terror as their worlds dissolved into pure pain. <-[XXXXX]-> Discord smiled sourly as he looked at Damien and Luna. Their bodies twitched occasionally as their faces twisted in pain. He didn’t like doing things like this. It was far too static… too ordered for his liking. But they had hurt him. HIM! The spirit of disharmony and chaos! The most powerful being to ever grace those pathetic ponies! They had dared to harm him! He closed his eyes and held out a hand that suddenly contained a glass. Rubbing his closed eyes he waited for a nearby cotton candy cloud to fill it with chocolate milk. With a sigh he took a deep drink from the glass. He was far too tired to try and mix it up; he just needed something to calm himself down. He groaned quietly, now what to do? It would have to be something very interesting to offset this little fiasco. His eyes lit up in inspiration, it had been a while since he’d seen a good Buffalo Ballet. He smiled as he snapped his fingers and summoned a large throne and several buffalo for his entertainment. Yes, things were going good now. Now he could relax and cause some good old fashioned chaos. Maybe he’d even be willing to let those two out of their little nightmare in a decade or two. Three if he was really feeling vindictive. He smiled as he snapped his fingers and summoned a storm of pies to fall from the sky. Things were really looking up. His grin widened as he saw six figures approaching from the distance. The elements of harmony! They were always good for a laugh! He chuckled happily as he watched them approach. It was hard to mess with corrupted ponies but always worth it. <-[XXXXX]-> Damien felt the blissful wave of the harmony magics wash over him. It was a beautiful feeling, more powerful than even Discord’s chaotic magic and infinitely more comforting and uplifting. He could feel his body reverting to its griffon form painlessly and the excess magic bleeding form his body, leaving him back to what he had been before Discord’s tempering. Lastly he felt it sweep away the corruption that had burrowed so deep into his mind and soul. He opened his eyes slowly and winced as the sunlight pierced into them. His head swam as he groggily made his way to his feet and shaded his eyes with a wing. Despite the pain he had been subjected to his body felt stronger than ever and somehow purer. He grimaced slightly at that, hopefully it wouldn’t impair his spell casting abilities. A stray thought flashed through his mind as he recalled the fight against Discord. What little he remembered came in flashes, Luna’s assistance, the waves of flame and ice, even his most dangerous spells being brushed aside like they were nothing. He stopped his pondering suddenly. Luna. If she had been hurt or killed during that fiasco he was going to be in trouble. His eyes darted around, searching for the lunar princess desperately. He tensed up noticeably when he saw her lying on the ground nearby. A quick inspection showed him her chest rising and falling in the peaceful rhythm of sleep. A sigh of relief escaped him then; she was fine, meaning that by extension he was going to be fine. He grinned and padded silently over to her sleeping form. He muttered softly to himself and traced several shapes into the air over her coat. With her defenses down after the fight, the calming effects of the harmony wave, and the simple fact of her being asleep his magic took hold quickly and easily. He stepped back for a moment to survey his work. A happy grin stretched his beak and a jubilant cackle split the air. He should probably leave while he had the chance, he doubted she would be too happy when she woke up and would surely be able to trace her latest misfortune to him. He had promised such a fate to her not too long ago and he was probably one of the few that had the sheer audacity needed for such a task. Before he left her he pulled a piece of paper out of his satchel and scrawled a quick message to assure her he was fine. Better to not have her worry about him needlessly. The heroic types always seemed prone to such things after all. Still chuckling he took to the sky, better to get a good head start after all. <-[XXXXX]-> Luna woke a quarter hour later, having had more need of harmony’s restorative sleep than Damien had. She had never experienced anything like Discord’s last spell before and unlike Damien had little experience with that level of pure pain. She quickly found the note Damien had left her and read it immediately. She was disappointed that he had not chosen to stay around. Meeting him in person while not under attack by Discord would have been thoroughly enjoyable after all. In a strange stroke of both good and bad fortune she finished her contemplations to see a pair of the royal guard flying overhead. She flagged them down, first with a wave and then with a burst of the Canterlot Royal Voice when the wave failed to attract their attention. After righting themselves the two pegasi dove down and landed at her feet, bowing deeply. Luna smiled and bade them to rise, nearly knocking them on their rumps with her assurances. As they explained the situation to her, both Celestia’s current state and Discord’s defeat at the hooves of the Elements of Harmony she couldn’t help but notice that the usually stony-faced guards seemed to be glancing at each other quite often. Her confusion grew as she noticed that every so often one of them would stifle a chuckle or nearly crack a smile. Something practically unheard of in the castle. After they finished relaying their information she finally asked the question that was on her mind, “WHY DOST THOU KEEP LOOKING TOWARDS THY COMPANION IN SUCH A WAY? DOES SOMETHING AMUSE YOU? WE DEMAND YOU ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.” After the two pegasi managed to get back on their hooves they traded a nervous glance before one muttered, “your coat m’lady.” Luna’s eyebrow quirked up. Her coat? Was something wrong with it? She looked down at her flank and her jaw dropped. Her usually dark violet coat had been dyed a bright bubblegum pink. Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she raised her hooves to the sky and screamed, “DAMIEN!”