//------------------------------// // Chaos Eternal // Story: Five Nights in Equestria // by RandomHamster33 //------------------------------// “Angel. Angel? Angel, come back here!” Foxy twisted his head around to look at the pegasus. She was standing just off the side, by her tulips as she fed her animals. Except she wasn't standing there anymore. Instead, she was bounding off after her pet bunny. Fluttershy opened her wings and leaped over her flower beds, taking to the air. Angel was scurrying away from the cottage in a blur of white. "Lass? Do ye need-” Foxy stopped as another dozen or so small rabbits and squirrels passed by him in a stampede. He raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in behavior, then started after them. He reached down and snagged two squirrels by their fluffy tails. They struggled and squeaked in indignation, but couldn't escape from his grasp. He tossed them back towards the cottage. “Angel, what are you doing?!” Fluttershy yelled, voice distant. Foxy could see her yellow form up ahead. Applejack’s farm was getting closer as well, barely being seen over the crest of a hill. And as they came to the pinnacle of the hill, Fluttershy stopped. Foxy finally caught up to her and was met with quite a sight: popcorn flooded the land and pink clouds pouring brown rain filled the sky. The two could see Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie Pie down on the ground. Rainbow Dash was shooting around the sky, trying to calm the crazy weather. "Oh dear! What's happening? Let's go!” Fluttershy exclaimed, taking off with a quick burst of speed. Foxy followed after, feet pounding on the ground. The creamy coated pegasus ran past the others to the squirrels that had shot up the trees. The apples were huge, bending the trunks. “Fluttershy! Do somethin’!” Applejack shouted as the apples were devoured by the critters. Fluttershy held onto the bent trunk of a tree, her face one of surprise. “Now, Angel, you really shouldn't—” Fluttershy stopped as the little bunny grew long, deer-like legs and ran off. She unfurled her wings. “No! It's not possible! I must be seeing things!” Her eyes gazed around in horror as more bunnies stampeded past her. “Don't worry, everyone. I've learned a new spell that'll fix everything,” Twilight stated as she levitated a book in front of her face. Her horn lit with magic and a bright wave was sent in every direction. Foxy felt it pass through him, getting the odd tingle that happened whenever magic was used on him. “My fail-safe spell . . . failed! What do we do?” Twilight asked in misery, her eyes wide. “Uh, give up?” Spike suggested. “How ‘bout keep that rain ‘way from me!” Foxy exclaimed as it started pouring right next to him, where he’d previously been safe. He backed away, ears down and snarling at the sugary clouds in the sky. “Sorry, Foxy! There’s just so many!” Rainbow Dash cried as she slammed into the group of clouds. Rarity approached Foxy and held the umbrella from her outfit over his head. “I’m sure Twilight will come up with something.” In response, the unicorn tapped her chin in thought. “Hmm, time for plan B. Rainbow, can you corral all those clouds in one corner of the sky?” The brash pegasus saluted and shot off to do her task. Once the large expanse of storm clouds were in a ball being contained by Dash swirling around them, Twilight turned to Applejack. “Applejack, I need you to bring those high-strung storm clouds down to Earth.” AJ pulled out her rope, twirling the lasso in the air. She threw it up at the clouds and Rainbow zoomed away as not to be caught. Applejack pulled and the great ball of clouds was tugged away, making Pinkie Pie give an exclamation of indignation. Twilight began whispering in Fluttershy’s ear. The coy pegasus brightened and turned away. “Oh dear. I hope none of the animals see these delicious chocolate-filled cotton candy clouds. I'd hate to have to share them,” Fluttershy said in a very enticing manner. The animals looked around and advanced quickly towards the sweet treat. Pinkie, once again, was robbed of her chocolate milk “Hey!” the pony exclaimed. Applejack trotted over to the group. “And when y'all are done with that, feel free to have some popcorn for dessert.” Foxy eyed the snacking animals cautiously. “What the heck is this all ‘bout?” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know. Something’s happened.” At that moment, Spike gave a loud belch and a letter was thrown from his mouth. Twilight lifted it up and unrolled it with her magic. She gasped. “Come on, girls. Princess Celestia wants to see us all in Canterlot immediately!” “The Elements! They're gone!” Twilight cried as the group let out a collective gasp. Princess Celestia looked more shocked than any of them. “That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!” she declared as she paced. A low chuckle reverberated through the room. “Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?” “Discord . . .” Celestia said lowly. “Show yourself!” Discord laughed once again. “Did you miss me, Celestia? I missed you.” The stained-glass Discord began to move. “It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that, would you, because I don't turn ponies into stone.” “Enough! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?” “Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while.” Discord snapped, teleporting. “You'll never get away with this, Discord!” “Oh, I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite boring.” Rainbow Dash flew forward. “Hey! Nopony insults the Princess!” She charged at the glass. Discord merely teleported away, leaving her to smash into the window. “Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent,” Discord said evenly as he grew larger. “That's right! I'll always be loyal to the Princess!” “We'll see about that.” Rarity scoffed, kicking her hoof and holding it to her chest. She closed her eyes and looked away. “I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window.” Discord appeared by her. “The beautiful Rarity, representing the Element of Generosity, if I'm not mistaken?” Applejack approached them. She rolled her eyes. “So you know who we are, big deal.” “Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “You seem to know our strengths too.” Discord grinned. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic.” He turned his focus to the other Elements. “Fluttershy's is kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine—laughter.” He chuckled. “But I must say, I don’t know what this is.” His glass-self changed windows, directing his attention to Foxy, who’d remained silent for this. “Yeah, of course you wouldn’t know! Foxy’s different,” Rainbow said with an added glare at the chaos spirit. “Foxy, huh? Interesting,” Discord commented idly. The pirate growled at the draconequus. “Aye, and ye better give ‘em back their lil elements!” Discord merely laughed. “And who are you to challenge me? You're just a piece of scrap metal.” Foxy bared his teeth. “I’ll show ye scrap metal!” Fluttershy quickly flew forward and stopped his actions, putting her hooves on his chest. Celestia stepped forward. “Stop stalling, Discord! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?” Discord sighed, rolling his eyes in a dramatic fashion. “Oh, so boring, Celestia. Really? Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way.” He vanished and then appeared much larger on three windows. “To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.” With the final sentence, his stained-glass illusion stopped moving and his voice faded out with a series of dark laughs. Foxy crossed his arms. “That landlubber is too cocky fer his own good.” Rainbow snickered. “Landlubber.” A flash of magic and then Rainbow Dash yelling, “My wings!” as she plummeted to the earth. She fell on her back and gaped incredulously at her missing appendages. Soon after, Fluttershy squeaked in astonishment. Twilight and Rarity gaped at each other. “Your horn! My horn! Ahhh!” the mares screeched at the same time, followed by a thundering of hooves as they panicked. Suddenly, above the group, there was a flash of light and hysterical laughing. Discord, in all his glory, floated above them. “Haha! You–you should see the looks on your faces. Priceless!” he cackled, more laughter fizzing out of him as he wiped a tear. Twilight snorted in anger. “Give us our wings and horns back!” The chaotic spirit smirked. “You'll get them back in good time. I simply took them to ensure there's no cheating. You see, this is the first rule of our game: no flying, and no magic.” He ran a claw down the side of Twilight’s face. “Which means, this robot over here, cannot help you.” All eyes pointed to Foxy. The fox reacted. “What?! I ain't got no magic in me at all!” He stuck his muzzle right into Discord’s. “Well, I suppose not, but rules are rules.” Rainbow stepped forward. “Wait, you said the first rule.” Discord paused. “Oh yes, I did.” He opened his mouth to say the rest, but then stopped. “The second rule is . . . everypony has to play or the game is over.” Foxy laughed. “Aha! Ye can’t not let me play!” Discord crossed his arms. “Yes, I suppose that’s correct.” He teleported over their heads. “Good luck, everypony!” he finished in a grand manner, vanishing with a laugh. “Never fear, girls. We have each other!” Twilight declared. “Yeah! Like Twilight said, there's nothing we can't overcome if we all stick together!” Rainbow Dash added. “All right, let's do this!” The ponies and Foxy lined up at the entrance to the labyrinth. “Together!” Screams filled the air as hedges came up behind and between everyone. Words of panic were exchanged in the chaos. Twilight quickly took control. “Stay calm! Everypony head to the middle as fast as you can, and we'll regroup there!” Dash took off. “Moving out!” “See you in the center.” “Yee-haw!” “See you guys there!” “Arr, be on my way!” “What's that? Who's there? Girls!” Luna carefully set the item back onto the desk. It was odd yet wonderful, this human technology. They could do oh so many things, but cause so much destruction at the same time. “Hmm?” the princess made a small noise of concern when her keen ears picked up movement behind her. Something moved in the darkness. The sound of something scraping lightly against the floor—walking, most likely. She focused her magic and she vanished from view, using her nonvisible wings to get to the high ceiling. Her eyes glowed momentarily before she became invisible. A large head poked out from the door. It was a bright yellow. “Mike!” Chica yelled, surging forward in a panic. She grabbed his chin and tilted his head up. “What’s happened?” Freddy asked, walking in. “Something happened to Mike! He’s in sleeping mode.” Freddy leaned in closer. “I don’t understand.” Bonnie, who’d come in a few moments later, tilted his head. “He can’t just fall asleep in a minute.” Luna sucked in her breath. One of Bonnie’s ears was very close to poking her in the abdomen. They were much taller in person than she’d anticipated. She clung like a spider to the ceiling, just observing. Chica patted Mike’s cheeks a few times, trying to wake him gently. “Come on, Mikey, wakey wakey eggs and bacey.” She yanked her hand back. “What the heck-?” “What? What is it?” Bonnie asked. “It’s blood, I think,” Chica responded, grimacing. She tilted his head up and saw a small cut under his ear. “You know what this means, don’t you? Mike was attacked!” Bonnie gasped in horror. “There’s someone in the building.” The three animatronics exchanged glances. “Well, we better take care of them, then,” Freddy said in a menacing tone. His eyes darkened to black. Foxy slid around a sharp corner, smashing into the hedges. He grumbled and brushed several leaves from his fur. Walking a few more paces, the pirate came upon a dead-end. “What! I went every other way! There’s no way this is the end!” Foxy exclaimed indignantly. “Well, well, well, looks like you’re useless once again,” came a voice. Discord floated casually down from the sky as he admired his paw. “Oi, ye better stop playin’ tricks on me!” Foxy snarled, jabbing the spirit with his hook. Discord snorted and pushed the pirate away. “I’m not playing any tricks. I’m being deadly serious.” Foxy glared. “Ye are jus’ a trickster! Course you’re bein’ obnoxious.” “Oh, I wish that were the case.” Discord hovered lazily around the fox. “But have you seen yourself lately? Why do the ponies keep you around?” Foxy stumbled for words, and Discord pressed on. “Is it pity? Empathy? Or do you actually think they’re helping you get past what happened all those years ago?” “H-how do ye know ‘bout that?” Foxy stammered. Discord waved a paw nonchalantly. “Please. I know all about your little pony pals, and I’ve been encased in stone for a millennium. Who says I can’t know anything I want?” “Knowledge is power.” Discord smirked at the old saying. “And knowing is half the battle.” Foxy felt his circuits draining. Why’m I so tired all ‘a sudden? Foxy, he’s right! Come on, just turn darkside. Tis not midnight yet . . . Foxy jerked out of his state. His power jumped back up to regular, and Discord moved back slightly, but just enough to be noticeable. “I don’t know what you’re tryin' ta do, but I can tell ye, tis not goin’ ta work!” Foxy declared. Discord blinked. His mood darkened. “Yes, yes, of course it’s not. But what am I trying, hmm?” Foxy paused. “I-I dunno, but I already know it’s somethin’ no good.” “And why does it have to be midnight? Why can’t it be now?” came the sudden question. Foxy stopped, surprised. A sudden feeling of drain came over him and he toppled sideways. He grimaced, head beginning to pound violently. Discord’s face appeared in his line of vision. “Goodnight, Foxy,” the spirit said with a wave of his paw. Foxy’s vision darkened. Mike was tied up in the supply closet, which no one even went into anyways. He was safe for the night. The intruder, however, would not be. Chica walked back to the stage, where Freddy and Bonnie were waiting. “Well?” Freddy questioned gruffly. “He’s hidden,” Chica said. “Good. Now come on, let’s get started.” Freddy closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, they were black with white pupils. Bonnie looked over, though his eyes were not like that. Chica felt the change as well. Luna watched their actions in curiosity. They were searching for her, surely. She silently cursed herself for allowing herself to make such a mistake as cutting the security guard with her magic. But she’d ruined her chances of talking to them until morning, as she’d wanted to observe their behavior. She was no longer invisible, but they couldn’t hurt her anyways. Besides, they’d just started what she assumed were their roaming modes— “Gotcha!” Twilight was about to get angry at the sudden dead-end, but the wall fell before she had a chance. She glanced about, eyes searching. The grey personalities of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy followed after her in a much more irritating manner. “Foxy?” Twilight called to the limp shape. She padded forward in curiosity. She gently prodded him with her hoof. Foxy was laying on his back, and looked quite dead. Thankfully, to Twilight’s pleasure, he didn’t appear grey—or in a killer mood. “Uh, Foxy? Please don’t be out of batteries. We already charged you today,” the not-so-unicorn-right-then said, poking continuing. Foxy let out a low mumble, batting her hoof away unconsciously. He rolled over, curling up. “Come on, Foxy.” Twilight furrowed her eyebrows. “What?” Foxy finally murmured, sitting up. “Oh, good, you’re not all . . .” Twilight’s bright eyes travelled back to her bickering friends. Foxy blinked in confusion, rubbing his head. “Uh, aye, not like that.” He got to his feet, but toppled over once again. Twilight was there immediately. Her face appeared over his. “Are you okay?” “I feel . . . awful, but I’ll survive.” Twilight assisted him in getting up and staying up. “Okay, but if you feel any killing urges taking over you, please tell me.” The maze fell around them. “Well, well, well. Somepony broke the "no wings, no magic" rule,” Discord announced, his snake-like form appearing in the dust clouding the air. He snapped and wings and horns were returned to their rightful places. “Game's over, my little ponies. You didn't find your precious elements.” “Looks like we might be due for a big old storm of chaos!” Discord summoned an umbrella and cackled hysterically. Twilight’s face became one of horror as her ears fell.