//------------------------------// // Blue Jay // Story: Chaotic Neutral // by C-Puff //------------------------------// Chapter 25 There was silence as the ponies stared, either at the spinning triangle, or the frowning figure of Discord. When the moment drew out too long, Applejack shifted and cleared her throat, bringing everypony back to the present. “Well, if ya've seen it before, maybe ya have an idea of what it is?” She urged Discord. “Or more importantly, if there's a way for us to dispose of it?” Rarity added. Discord pulled himself away from his thoughts and turned to blink at the ponies, finding himself suddenly the center of attention. “I'm afraid my memory seems to be failing me,” he said, “but from what I can remember, it's mostly certainly not some kind of mysterious lost Element.” There was a pause as they waited for him to elaborate. Discord, however, merely stared back at them blankly, eventually tilting his head at an almost ninety degree angle in response. “Wait, that's it?!” Rainbow Dash let out. Discord straightened and made a show of thinking it over. “Seriously?!” Rainbow continued, not giving him the chance to play with their anticipation. He shrugged at this, as if it was not that important either way. “It's not one of the Elements of Harmony. Surely clever ponies such as yourselves can find a way of putting that to our advantage?” “Well, I suppose that is probably a good thing,” Twilight said, frowning back at the stone in question. “I'm not so sure you can use the Elements to destroy each other, being the Elements of 'Harmony'.” She turned back to Discord with a hard-set frown. “Is there really nothing else you can remember? At all?” Discord turned and settled Twilight with a head-on stare, “Not completely, but something in the back of my mind insists that, whatever else it is, it isn't good,” he cocked a brow, “Or fun.” “Good enough fer me!” Applejack said. “Let's blast this thing so's we can all go home!” “Right behind you,” Rarity agreed, moving to stand in position beside her. With this seeming to mark the end of the discussion, the ponies moved to form their semi-circle. Fluttershy gave Discord a worried look before she moved to take her spot. Twilight adjusted her tiara before she turned her full focus on the spinning stone in front of them. The jewel on her head started to glow, the other necklaces following suit. As the glow grew to a shine, Twilight felt the familiar power well up inside her chest, slowly flooding upwards, growing to the gem on her head. She could feel it reach out to the ponies standing beside her, searching for its fellow Elements with invisible tendrils. As she concentrated on guiding the flow of power, Twilight felt a long held tension in her gut finally ease up. The Elements of Harmony shone just as brightly as always, unhampered by the outside world and its droughts of magic. No twitch or spark felt out of place. No sudden dip in the flow of energy. Just the growing warmth she had almost gotten use to by now. The power slowly built to its peak, ready to either banish, destroy or turn to harmless rock. As Twilight got ready to let it loose, a sudden, violent sound exploded what felt like mere inches to her right. Twilight's eyes shot open with a yelp as the collected energy crackled and dispersed like electricity. The group of ponies all gave out their own cries of alarm and surprise, looking around wide-eyed at each other, the stone, or Twilight. Discord, who had surreptitiously stepped out of the range of fire, bounced forward, barely catching himself to hide his concern as he stood himself next to Fluttershy once more. “That's never happened before!” Pinkie spoke for the rest of them, rubbing her head as her eyes almost rattled in their sockets. “What the heck was that all about?!” Rainbow snapped to the world in general as she flew up into the air, giving the bubble in front of them dirty looks. Twilight adjusted her stance with an angry puff from her nostrils as she turned to face the thing herself. Before she could think of any way to let out her frustration though, her attention was pulled away when somepony tapped on her shoulder. “If you could hold off on any plans for a royal tantrum for just a moment,” Discord's voice joined it, “I think there's been a change in our priorities.” Twilight turned to grumble at him instead. Discord was staring at something on the other side of the courtyard however, and for once did not seem too interested in her annoyance. There was a light frown on his own face as he straightened to his full height. Twilight turned to follow his gaze, quickly realising what had ruffled him. Standing a short distance away from them, on the other side of the stone in its bubble, stood a stallion, his horn still smoking slightly. Daring a glance to her right, Twilight noticed the blackened chrysanthemum against the wall of the nearest building. Her frown hardened. “Heads up, guys,” She whispered to the others, unfolding her wings at the new threat. The confused murmurs and questions if everypony was ok died away as the others turned to see what was wrong. As soon as they realised they were not alone, Rainbow landed next to Twilight and proceeded to scratch at the ground with a foreleg, her open wings held high. “Hey you!” Rainbow Dash called at the stranger, “What the heck was that?! Did you just try to blast us or something?! Who d'you think you are, huh?!” “Easy there, Sugarcube,” Applejack said with an even tone, not looking away from the new arrival. Rarity and Pinkie stepped forward, Rarity's frown best described as 'disapproving' while Pinkie's was nothing less than a 'game face'. Fluttershy whimpered to herself, but moved closer as well. She only half noticed Discord beside her dropping to all fours. The stallion was silent, as if carved from stone. Whether he was thinking something over, trying to judge how much of a threat they were, or simply trying to unnerve them was unclear. Eventually he fell into a slow stride, heading towards them. The group of ponies shifted in place. Rainbow gave her wings an angry flap and stomped a hoof. The approaching stallion did not seem too concerned by this, but he did come to a stop before getting too close. Standing beside the glowing bubble, he regarded them silently. His eyes moved back and forth, settling on each pony, and Discord, in turn. Twilight used the moment to look him over as well. If his blast of unicorn magic had not been enough of a hint, his appearance pretty much confirmed her suspicion that this had to be the 'Blue Jay' they had been told about. He was, as expected, a light blue in colour. His dull cobalt mane and tail were both straight, his mane streaked with white. He looked thin. Not emaciated or starved. Just thin. There were patches of bare skin on his forelegs above his fetlocks, as well as his jawline. It did not take much imagination to see these were old burns, long ago healed but too damage to regrow his coat. His cutie mark was a golden bird cage, inside of which sat a small bird. Specifically, his namesake. Twilight realised that the mental image she had unknowingly crafted of this pony, who was threatening her home and way of life, was that of an intimidating, strong, villain with broad shoulders and sturdy legs. Perhaps because they had been told Blue Jay was a stallion, and the added fact that he was suppose to be very skilled with magic fueled her subconscious. It was a far cry from the thin, slightly hunched, insecure looking pony standing in front of them. His eyes, however, did meet her expectations. They were silver, or maybe grey, and he stared at the group with a flat, apathetic gaze. Using the drawn out silence to her advantage, Twilight pulled herself up to her full height, stretched her wings open and spoke with as much authority as she could scrape together. “Are you 'Blue Jay'?” She asked, although she pressed forward without giving him a chance to reply. “I am Princess Twilight of Equestria. We have come here by order of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to investigate the weakening magic in our country. We have reason to believe you are the one responsible. Do you have anything to say regarding this claim?” There was another pause as Twilight tried her best not to gulp. She was nervous. Why the greasy looking unicorn was intimidating her, she was not sure. Maybe her lack of magic was making her feel vulnerable. Especially since she was aware that the burn mark on her right still seemed to be smoking. The stallion who was most likely Blue Jay, frowned at her. He turned to the glowing bubble beside him, looking it over almost critically, before he turned back to the group in front of him. “I was wondering if anypony would be sent to try and stop this,” He said. His tone of voice was direct and matter-of-fact. Had this sentence been said by any of the other villains and monsters the ponies had faced, it would most likely have been a jeer or an arrogant start of a monologue. Blue Jay, however, merely stated it as normally as if he was wondering where he had left his saddlebags. “You've been screwing up magic all over Equestria! And a heck of a lot more than that, even! What did you think was gonna happen?! That Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were just gonna ignore it and hope it goes away?!” Rainbow Dash spat at him. “We want to give you a chance to put a stop to this,” Twilight interrupted her more impulsive friend before anything ugly developed. “If you break whatever spell you've cast on The Stone of Null and hand it over, we'll inform the Princesses that you were cooperative.” “Nice speech, Princess,” Twilight half heard Discord grumble behind her, a cynical streak in his voice. Blue Jay stared back at her, his look of apathy becoming a sharper, more focused glare. “You can't have come all this way expecting me to just give up quietly.” He turned, moving until he stood between them and the glowing bubble. The other ponies readied themselves for any sudden attacks. “I don't know how well ponies from Celestia's country know about things out of their Princesses' reach, but just in case you really do expect an answer to your offer; no.” There was a pregnant silence as the group and the unicorn stared each other down, neither willing to back off. Twilight had kept quiet, waiting to hear the stallion explain himself, or give reasons for his denial, or even start launching threats. Blue Jay, however, seemed satisfied with his simple 'no', and now merely stood defiantly in front of his bubble. Just as Twilight was getting ready to try and convince him, Discord interrupted with an acidic tone of voice she was not sure she had heard him use before. “I can't help but notice this little vendetta against magic or nature or whatever it's suppose to be, conveniently leaves you still fully in charge of your powers, my dear Blue Jay.” The name was not said with much affection. “Hey, yeah!” Pinkie bounced up, pointing an accusing hoof at the stallion. “You're suppose to be a big Gloomy Gus about magic and stuff but you totally tried to blast us! That's not fair, right?!” Blue Jay seemed unmoved. “'Fight fire with fire', as the saying goes. You still need a spell to undo our world's tip in balance.” “Oh, is that what you call it!” Rainbow Dash yelled back. “And lemme guess, you're the only pony who's the best at whatever to do it, right?!” Blue Jay's eyes narrowed at this, but only slightly. “Perhaps. Perhaps I was merely the right pony at the right time. It doesn't really matter.” “Oh, I'm not so sure about that,” Discord smiled like silk, stepping forward and gently elbowing Rainbow out of the way. “Perhaps it doesn't really matter, in a 'grand scheme of things' sort of way. But I'm sure it matters to you now, doesn't it?” “Discord,” Twilight hissed at him, but he ignored the warning. Blue Jay raised his head a little higher and turned his full attention to Discord, his glare sharpening. “I've no intention of playing your mind games, Shadow Spirit.” “I beg your pardon?” Discord pulled a face, straightening slightly. “That this thing should even be here just illustrates how we so called 'civilised ponies' have allowed ourselves to do as we please with magic, as long as it means we get a tighter leash on this world we live in.” “Hey!” Rainbow lifted herself several feet above the ground, barely keeping herself from tackling the stallion. “Discord's not a thing! Keep your dirty talk to yourself, buddy! You don't see any of us calling you names!” “Although I could certainly think of a few,” Rarity muttered. “Everypony quiet down!” Twilight raised her voice above the growing argument, addressing her friends just as much as the pony before them. She then turned back to Blue Jay, her expression firm. “We've come to try and reason with you about this, if you would let us. I'm going to ask you one last time; Stop this, and hand over that stone.” She insisted, this time without any doubt in her voice as to what she meant. Blue Jay turned back to her, his expression slipping back to barely interested annoyance. “I gave you my answer.” He paused for a moment, breaking eye contact and addressed the middle distance on his right instead. “I appreciate the decency of an offer, even if it was hollow. But I've already started this. I made my decision, and this is where we are.” He turned back to them, his gaze sharp once more. “It is sad, but I don't regret this.” “Ya realise what you're doin', right?!” Applejack interrupted, “Have ya seen what your foolhardiness has done ta the place?!” She took several loud steps forward, glaring venom at him. “And I ain't just talkin' 'bout Equestria! Ya've gone and hurt everypony! Not just whoever ya've got grudges or ill feelin's towards! Everypony! And ya haven't just gone and taken away their magic! Ya've outright killed a lot of critters out there who need magic just ta stay alive! Critters who ain't ever hurt anypony! Critters who ain't even that powerful or have that much magic in 'em! And it ain't just them neither! It's ever plant, rock, stream and cloud! Ya wanna make a case 'bout ponies bein' too full of themselves I ain't gonna say you're wrong! Don't know 'bout you bein right, but I ain't sure you're wrong either! But I'm an earth pony! Ain't got no magic and ain't never had magic! Ain't ever wanted it neither! But in getting ourselves here ta try and talk some horse-sense into ya, I've seen a lot of folks really hurtin' from this thing you're doin'!” She stomped a hoof on the ancient cobblestone, her voice raising as she steamrolled forward, unable to stop once she started. “I know ya ain't had the happiest of times, trust me, I get that! Heck, I probably get it better than most! But ya don't go around hurtin' folks just 'cause somepony out there with more power and strength decided to do so to you and yours! Ya just don't! And if ya really can't tell why, then no manner of speech Twilight gives ya is gonna matter! So if ya don't wanna hear about doin' what's right, and ya don't wanna hear about the misery ya've caused, then hear this; ya ain't fixin' anything! Not a dang thing! And ya've only managed ta make the world a bigger mess than ya seem to think it already was! And magic or not, I ain't standin' for it! Ya had all this bad stuff with magic happen to ya, and you're tryin' to fix it by doin' even more bad stuff with magic! I tell ya I ain't standin' for it!” She panted once she finished, having taken several steps closer to the stallion as she yelled. Twilight gaped at her, completely dumbstruck by the sudden burst of anger from what she had always thought of as her most level-headed friend. The charged silence following the rant was broken by a steady clap. “Bravo,” Discord said in his usual bemused tone, staring wide-eyed and smiling at the still glowering Applejack. Twilight turned back to Blue Jay, almost forgetting the very real threat still facing them. Blue Jay was glaring at Applejack with the same sharp intensity he had given Discord, but Twilight noticed the ridge running down his spine as he bristled furiously and his eyes flashed. “No matter how much you try and paint me as a heartless villain,” He said with a low, steady voice, “You are still the ponies who decided stopping me was important enough to throw away your morals and team up with that monstrosity!” He stabbed a hoof in Discord's direction. “One more crack like that and you'll officially have pushed it once too far, pal!” Rainbow threatened but was ignored. “You carry the Elements of Harmony!” Blue Jay went on, turning back to Twilight. “Yes, I know what those jewels you have are! I have heard of your powers! Even beyond Equestria, ponies have head of Nightmare Moon, Luna, The Changeling invasion and your other storybook worthy feats! And despite this, despite being the supposed living embodiments of the Elements themselves, you have thrown away your morals and the very thing you and those stones stand for to ally yourselves with the living antithesis of your supposed core beliefs!” Once again, a hoof was pointed accusingly at Discord. “You come here and try to talk, while holding a magically charged monster's leash! You want to point out my hypocrisy? Whatever damage my actions have done, your showing up with that has done only one thing; proven my point that ponies will capture and tame anything, as long as it gives them a more powerful hold over everything else!” “Alright, that does it!” Rainbow Dash's patience broke as she tried to launch herself at him. Blue Jay's horn flared with magic, glowing a bright cyan as he prepared to retaliate. Had Applejack not bit down on her tail, and Rarity not grabbed hold of Applejack, Rainbow would most likely have rammed headfirst into a burst of magic. “Enough!” The scene was interrupted by a loud, furious command. Every head present turned in the direction it had come from, struck silent. Rainbow Dash hovered awkwardly in place as Blue Jay's charged horn fizzled out. Stepping out from an Alleyway and heading across the courtyard, her eyes blazing with anger and her pegasus partner close by her side, Stoneflower marched towards them.