//------------------------------// // Episode Fifteen: Not So Well Made Plans // Story: Discovering Friendship // by Saro0fdemonz //------------------------------// Vinyl watched in horror as Fluttershy grasped Cheerilee by her helmet, snapping her neck in one fluid motion and dropping the Knight from the balcony like a piece of trash. She grit her teeth, rushing to catch her friend only to have the Skyborn tackle her out of the way, pinning her hard to the ground and clutching her throat. Tears stung her eyes as she struggled to pull free. She gasped for air, kicking and squirming under Fluttershy to no avail. Her eyes widened as she saw the dead look in the girls eyes, the tears soaking her cheeks and her entire body shaking. That bastard...he mind raped his own kid...Wait...THATS IT! Vinyl bit her lip, her armor fading and her mana surrounding her body, Fluttershy's hands burning as she squeezed her now unprotected throat. Vinyl focused her magic around her shades, shattering them and hitting Fluttershy with the full power of the Mesmir, only for the girl to hit her with the full power of The Stare. Vinyl blinked as she found herself in a dark landscape, a little girl in a frilly yellow dress hugging her knees sitting nearby. "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry...I'm so so-oh-oh-rry" she sobbed as she rocked back and forth. All around her were corpses. One of which sat directly in front of her with her head turned at a horrible angle. The corpse of Cheerilee. "You have to stop me..." Fluttershy choked, hugging her knees tighter. "Look kid. You're tough. You can get outta this yourself. If I had the strength to stop you, then Cheerilee wouldn't be dead. I'm probably gonna join her in a minute if you don't get a grip, or uh...lose your grip." Vinyl chuckled nervously. "I can't...I just can't..." Fluttershy sobbed, shaking her head. Vinyl sighed as she sat next to her, looping her arm around her shoulder. "Well, then do me a favor. Tell Rarity what happened and have her tell my friend Octavia. Don't let Belle know...I want her to be as happy as she can be for as long as she can. Maybe you can tell her I went on a long vacation" Vinyl chuckled sadly, already feeling her vision begin to fade as her real body continued to struggle for air. "I don't want this. I never wanted this. Y-You believe me, don't you?" she begged "Yea...I believe ya kid." Vinyl said softly, her eyes starting to close slowly. "Miss? Miss?!" Fluttershy gasped as Vinyl collapsed and began to choke. The vampire gasped for air as she was flung from the Skyborn's mind, finding herself staring at Fluttershy held in Spike's death grip. "Are you alright Vinyl?" Spike asked through gritted teeth. The vampire coughed and gave a nod. "Doin' a lot better than Cheerilee..." she said sadly, smashing her fist across Fluttershy's face and knocking her out cold. Spike slipped a collar around her neck and sighed as he pinned her to the ground. "It's my fault...I let myself drown in my own sorrow and it cost all of us." he mumbled. Vinyl shook her head, rubbing her throat and removing the remains of her shades. "We can play shift the blame later Boss." Vinyl nodded her head towards the battle across the room, wincing as she stood. Spike grabbed her arm and shook his head. "It isn't our place Vinyl...we need to get Fluttershy to the Element Bearers." Spike said as he stood, hefting the girl onto his back. Vinyl swore under her breath, lifting Cheerilee bridal style. "Fine...You're the boss for a reason." Vinyl mumbled as she followed him. "HIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAH!" Luna roared as she spun and threw her leg for Discord's head, the Chaotician lifting his arm and catching her kick, leaning backwards just in time to avoid Celestia's rapier. The Chaotician slipped backwards, tucking his hands back into his pockets and smiling at the sisters. "You've both lost your touch. I'm quite sure you put up more of a fight last time." he sighed. Luna spread out her wings wide, roaring as she spun in the air, legs a blur as she twirled, Discord stepping back to avoid most of her kicks, others he was forced to paw away, eyes wide as Luna vanished, a powerful kick hitting him square in the back and causing him to stumble forward. Again Luna sank into the shadows, roaring from below and slamming her fist into his chin, tossing the God of Chaos onto his back. "Yup...that still hurts." he groaned, pushing to his feet. The Lunar Princess took a slow breath, clenching her fists as she prepared for another onslaught. "Sister! You must flee!" Luna called out, keeping her eyes focused on Discord. "I will not abandon you Luna!" Celestia argued "Do not be foolish! You are in no condition to fight sister. I have prepared every day for this...At the very least I can buy you the time you need. NOW GO!" Luna roared, rolling around Discords fist, smashing her elbow against his arm, twirling around him and smacking the back of her fist to the back of his head. Discord fell forward, lifting his legs up over his back, palms slamming into the tiled floor and smashing both feet into Luna's back before twirling on his hands and throwing himself high into the air, rolling around Luna as she righted herself with her wings and charged him. "RUN TIA!" Luna screamed as Discord snatched at her wings, spinning around and around. The Lunar Princess grit her teeth, her wings vanishing and her body spinning through the air. Discord was momentarily caught off guard by the tactic, giving Luna enough time to hit a wall and begin running along it as fast as her legs would carry her. "I'll admit Lulu. I'm impressed, but do you think it will be that easy for Tia to get away? Surely I'm not the only one that noticed her extra pudge." "For the last time. I am not fat!" Celestia yelled. "Shush Tia, the warriors are talking." Discord silenced her. "You and I have a score to settle Discord. And today, we shall finally learn who the true master of chaos is!" "LUNA NO!" Pinkie Pie shook her head as she sucked in a large breath. "Angel is getting ahead of us, we should really catch up!" she said suddenly, chasing after the bunny. The four friends glanced at one another before running after the pair. "Somethin' ain't right. Pinkie gettin' like this an that bunny feller losin' his cool? Am ah th' only one worried?" Applejack asked. "Well, we are dealing with forces we don't understand and power we can't even begin to imagine. Who knows what could happen?" Twilight sighed. "Or what could've happened. Pinkie's Pinkie Sense has yet to be wrong and that was a doozy if I have ever seen one." Rarity pointed out. "Whatever the heck it was, its not gonna stop us from kicking that bastards ass into the pavement." Rainbow growled, flaring out her wings and soaring high into the air. Applejack closed her eyes for a moment, her runes glowing and her speed doubling, the Gaian easily catching up to Pinkie Pie and Angel. Rarity and Twilight both groaned in frustration, eyes glowing and their magic linking as they teleported themselves along to keep up. Applebloom frowned as she stood at the front desk, doing her best to be patient while the nurse chatted away on the phone. Applejack had always told her that patience had the best rewards, but this was getting ridiculous. She huffed and cleared her throat, the nurse glancing at her. She didn't need to be the daughter of the Element of Honesty to know the smile the nurse threw at her was fake. "How can I help you?" she asked in a voice that was a bit too sweet. "Ah was wonderin' if ya knew where my uh...where Applejack Apple is?" she asked as politely as she could. The nurse sighed, typing something and glancing at her. "How do you spell that?" "Really?" Applebloom deadpanned, the nurse staring at her. "A-P-P-L-E-J-A-C-K" Applebloom said as clearly as possible and struggling to contain her frustration as the nurse simply stared at her computer screen. "It says here she should be in room 273." "Ah already checked there, and in th' garden an th' courtyard." Applebloom fumed "Well maybe she is being looked at or was discharged. In either case you'll just have to wait little girl." the nurse smiled at her again before returning to her phone. Applebloom grumbled under her breath as she marched back to her friends. "Well, where are they?" Scootaloo asked, Sweetie Belle latched to her arm and in eternal panic mode. "They don't even know. Heck ah doubt they even tried t' find em." "W-What if something tried to hurt them again?" Sweetie Belle panicked "I doubt it. Besides, even if something came at them, I bet they could handle it no problem." Scootaloo beamed, hugging her friend before she could start hyperventilating. "Well what are we s'pose t' do?" Applebloom grumbled. The three friends stood there thinking of a plan of action. "We should just look for them ourselves. If we each take a different wing we're bound to find at least one of them." Scootaloo suggested. Sweetie Belle however shook her head and gripped her arm tighter. "P-Please don't leave me alone Scoots!" "Belle, this isn't the time to..." "Ah think ya'll should stay with her Scootaloo. She ain't had no episodes while yer with her. What if she freaks out an starts bitin' people?" Applebloom asked. Scootaloo groaned and glanced at her friend, seeing her shake and cling to her. Was that the reason she was clinging to her? was Sweetie Belle afraid of losing control? "Is that true Belle? Am I keeping you from going bat crazy?" Scootaloo said softly. Sweetie Belle nodded quickly, blinking in surprise as Scootaloo gave her hand a squeeze. When she looked up she was greeted with the usual cocky smile and a wink. "Guess I'm stuck with ya then." she chuckled. Applebloom rolled her eyes and held up her hand, her runes glowing dimly. "Ah'll probably get in trouble fer it, but ah can run pretty fast like this. Ah'll jus' look twice as hard while ya'll get more done with two sets o' eyes." "Alright then, lets make it a race. First one to find one of them wins, loser treats the winner to whatever they want at Sugarcube corner." Scootaloo beamed. Applebloom held out her hand, Scootaloo wincing as she shook it. "Oops! Sorry Scoots!" Applebloom chuckled nervously, her runes vanishing. Celestia gasped as a wall of flame rose before her, causing her to leap backwards, more chasing after her. "GO!" Luna screamed at her through the flames. The solar princess swore under her breath, sheathing her blade and searching the flames for a weak spot, only for another to rise before her and force her out of the room, the doors slamming in her face. "LUNA!" Celestia cried as she pounded on the door, guards rushing to her aid and charging the door. Shining Armor stood beside her as she tried to collect herself. "Princess..." "He is here Captain. The Chaotician and my sister are in there." she interrupted him. He nodded and marched to the door. "AT EASE!" he ordered. The guards paused, stepping aside and allowing the Captain to step forward. Shining drew his sword, eyes glowing brightly and his magical aura surrounding the blade. He roared as he stabbed it into the crack between the doors and let his magic flare, the doors flying off their hinges. The way was still blocked by flames however. "Fill Ranks behind me!" he ordered, his Soldiers falling into two lines behind him with shields and weapons at the ready. "On my Mark!" he yelled, his magic forming a large shield in front of him. "CHARGE!" Discord grinned as he looked over Luna in her chaotic armor, the same armor she had worn when she had challenged her sister for the throne. The armor of Nightmare Moon. "This power consumed you once Lulu. Whats protecting you from it now?" Discord asked, his arms behind his back. "Before I was fueled by petty jealousy and empty rage. Now I fight to defend those I care for. The Chaos will not take me this day!" she held out her arms, a pair of blades materializing and twirling around her as she charged at him. Discord slipped around one blade, tilting his head to avoid the other and hopping above Luna's leg as she tried to kick him. Her moves are rather predictable. Strange. Either she's forgotton who she is dealing with...or... Discord turned around quickly, smashing his fist hard into the real Luna's face, smashing in her helmet and knocking her down to the ground hard enough to shake the room. "You always were good as a Shadow Lulu. But sadly thats all you have been." he sighed. Luna struggled to sit up, crying out as Discord stomped on her arm, the armor around her fading. He tsk'd softly. "You know. Your plan might have worked if you had let Celly stay and play. Although, I am playing this little game of ours with a stacked deck, so it was never truly a fair fight." "How about I fix that!?" Shining Armor yelled as he leapt through the flames. Discord turned in time to have the soldiers shield smash across his face, guards pouring in from the hole Shining Armor had made and surrounding Princess Luna. "Get the Princess to safety! All of you!" Shining Armor ordered. Discord rubbed his cheek and chuckled softly. "You must be Shining Armor. Great prodigy of Twilight velvet and Nightlight Star." he smiled and bowed respectfully. "I am Discord, God of Chaos and the unexpected." he snapped his fingers, Shining Armor lifting his shield in time to catch a shadow, his face stoic and his stance unchanged. "But it seems you were expecting that." he mumbled. The Chaotician watched out of the corner of his eye as Luna was carted to safety, the flames closing behind the guards. "Tell me boy, do you think you can fight me alone? I just took out a Celestian in one punch. As powerful a Magian as you are, that is all you are." Discord warned. "Tell me Discord. Do you think you can land that one punch?" The train ride to Celamont left everyone feeling even more uneasy than before. Angel had fallen silent and Pinkie Pie had joined him, leaving the other four to attempt and talk amongst themselves. "We'll need to check with the Princess' first and make sure Discord hasn't already tried to make a move." Twilight murmured "What if he HAS already made his move? We aren't exactly in the best shape right now." Rarity argued softly. "We do what we have to and we take him down. Simple as that." Rainbow growled. "Except it won't be that simple." Spike said as he marched into their car with Fluttershy on his back. Vinyl stood behind him wearing a pair of cheap shades. "Spike!" Twilight paused as she spotted Fluttershy and the collar around her neck. "And me. No it's cool. Almost died from suffocation but no I'm fine, thanks for asking." Vinyl griped as she took a seat. Angel glanced at Spike and Fluttershy, the dragon staring back. "Make a move" Angel growled "Do you really want me too?" Spike asked softly. Twilight rolled her eyes as she stood. "Both of you quit it. All the testosterone in here is making me sick." she said as she glared at both of them. "Twilight, do you have the scroll?" Spike asked, nodding his head towards Fluttershy. She gasped and nodded, turning to dig through her bag. This was a perfect chance to get the blood sample she needed. "AHHHH!" Spike screamed behind her, followed by a loud thud. Fluttershy had awoken, a knife materializing in her hand and quickly jammed into Spike's eye, the dragon-kin removing the blade and covering his eye with a clawed hand. Flames consumed his hand and smoke rose from his eye as he burned the wound shut, his armor quickly surrounding him. Angel appeared between Spike and Fluttershy with his hands tucked into his jean pockets. "Shy, you don't wanna do this. I know you don't." he said softly. She simply stared at him, tilting her head to the side as another knife materialized in her hand. "You don't have to do this!" Angel yelled, pulling his hands from his pockets and taking a step forward. The Skyborn giggled and with a flick of her wrist the door beside her opened. With a wave of her hand she hopped out and spread out her wings, the bunny swearing under his breath. "Thats not Shy...theres no way thats Shy..." Rainbow mumbled. Vinyl rested her hands on Spikes shoulders and sighed. "Discord toyed with her head. She's been trapped in her own mind while that THING goes around doing whatever the hell that bastard wants. We thought the Collar would hold back her powers but we were wrong. Heck, she's pretty much a damn Demigod." Vinyl explained, forcing Spike to sit down. Twilight sat on her knees in front of him, gently cupping his cheeks as his armor faded. Vinyl removed her shades and slipped them over his eyes "Spike..." "You can fuss over me later Twilight. We've got bigger pr..." "SHUT UP!" she yelled, her body shaking. "Just shut up already. I don't care about any of that right now. You were just...st-st-Hurt very badly and you want me to ignore it? I'm not tossing this aside Spike. We've still got approximately seven minutes and twenty-two seconds left before the train arrives in Celamont. Rainbow, hand me my bandages." "Oh no, oh no, oh no. What did I do that for?! Fluttershy panicked while her body soared giddily through the sky. She was rocketing straight for the castle in a race against the train. No doubt her body was intending to go back and help her father against the Princess'. NO! I won't do it! I won't hurt anymore people! she screamed, her wings beginning to flicker. Her body rolled in the air, leaving her with motion sickness and ruining her focus. Her wings quickly shifted back into full power. "Sorry little butterfly, but daddy wants a real daughter of chaos." In hindsight...this was a really bad idea Shining thought to himself, eyes wide as he leaned to the side and dodged what had to be the biggest fist he had ever seen. His sword had been sheathed into his shield, freeing his hand for more advanced protective spells. He was trapped on the defensive, raising his shield to bat away Discord's shadows and swatting away spells with his own. He needed to get back on the offensive somehow. This was Discord, God of Chaos and Disharmony, King of tricks and the unexpected. Time to be unpredictable. Shining Armor drew his sword, sliding around a shadow instead of blocking it like he had been while smacking another away as he rushed towards Discord. "A last ditch rush? I'm dissapointed." Discord sighed as he waved his hand, the flames moving in to swallow the knight. Shining Armor grinned and stabbed his sword into the ground, his eyes glowing as he flung out his arms, casting a massive barrier that tossed back the flames until they extinguished against the walls of the throne room. Discord blinked as the barrier vanished, the Magian continuing his charge. "I take that back...I'm impressed!" Discord laughed as he joined the charge, shadows lancing up from the ground and glancing off the Magian's armor or bouncing off his shield. Discord hurled back his fist, Shining grinning as he raised his shield only to slide to the side at the last minute. He flicked his finger, a long string of magical aura tensing up and sending his sword flying at the Chaotician. Discord grinned, catching the blade and turning to look at the Magian only to spot said Magian leaping at him with his shield. So thats your real weapon. Discord realized as the bladed edge of the shield buried itself into his chest and pinned him to the ground. Shining Armor panted heavily as he pulled his shield free, rearing back for another blow. Discord raised his hands and grinned "You've bested me fair knight. I shall be away!" he laughed, his body fading into black goop and slipping through the floor. "NO! NO!" he yelled, trying to snare him in one of his barriers, only for it to vanish into thin air. He yelled in frustration, slamming his shield into the tiled floor while his guards rushed back into the room to check on him. "Sir are you alright!?" "Spread out! Find him! We can't let him escape!" "Thats enough Captain!" Celestia yelled, causing him to freeze in place. "Let us be satisfied that we are still alive after such a battle...gather yourselves and be at the ready. Captain Armor, I order you to get some rest until you are summoned back. And I commend you greatly for your service this day...Princess Luna still lives thanks to you." she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder before leaving to tend to her sister. Shining Armor sighed as he lifted his sword, slipping it into the sheath within his shield. The guards began to mumble and chatter amongst themselves about what had just happened, wondering just what the extent of their captains abilities were. He shook his head and glared at them, pointing his blood covered shield at them, some of the black goop dripping onto the floor. "You have your orders, move!" he yelled, forcing them along. He knew this wasn't the end of this. Discord would attack again, and next time he would end him. The group of friends and Knights rushed off the train and through the streets of Celamont with Vinyl taking the lead and Spike bringing up the rear. Spike and Vinyl hidden in their armor of course. There was no reason to make a scene and scare the entire city. Still the Nobles and people walking by watched in curiosity and confusion, doing their best to move out of the way of the panicking party. Some shop owners closed up their stalls and rushed home, thinking that it would be best to avoid whatever the group was running towards. Before they could even reach the gates a party of Avaros Guards swooped down around them, several Magian soldiers appearing with them. Before they could ask what was happening the entire group was teleported into the castle throne room where Celestia stood staring at the destruction left behind. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight yelled, rushing to her teacher. The Princess smiled sadly, accepting a hug from her student. "You should not be here Twilight. You're friends need their rest." "But we found him! He's here!" Pinkie yelled. "We are aware..." Celestia said softly. The throne room doors were blown off their hinges, numerous tapestries were burned to ashes, several windows were smashed to pieces. Pieces of several columns were broken off and flung about the room, several holes had been punched into the floor, scorch marks covered several spots along the walls and even a few patches of blood caked the room. "Holy heck, what happened here?" Rainbow mumbled. "One heck o' a fight if ah ever did see one." Applejack whistled "Does this mean he's...dead?" Rarity asked as she looked around. "Sadly Discord is an immortal being. As long as he has Chaos he can never truly be killed. Though he is wounded. We will have but a short time to prepare ourselves for whatever it is he plans to do next." Celestia answered somberly. "What about Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, clenching her fists. She glanced to Spike, his armor fading and his hand lightly touching the bandages twilight had placed over his eye and wrapped around his head. "She got away from us. We had worried that she had returned here." Spike said softly. "She hasn't been spotted anywhere near the city. She must have regrouped with Discord." Celestia surmised, doing her best to keep her eyes off Spikes bandages. "We have another problem...Discord's pretty much mind raped Fluttershy to be a heartless killing Machine...we already lost Cheerilee." Vinyl grit her teeth. "Sure...I didn't care much for the crazy old broad...but no one deserves that..." "Cheerilee is...gone? Discord killed her?" Rarity gasped "No, Fluttershy did." Spike said softly "And she almost took out Vinyl as well. We only managed to take her out by surprise attacking her" "Great...just great!" Rainbow yelled, slamming her fist into the wall and sinking to her knees. Angel stepped forward, removing his hood and bowing his head "My name is Ahrimanes Apep Eris-son. But my father calls me Angel." he raised his arms, palms up as guards surrounded him. "I am a Chaotician Beast-kin and I am turning myself in. I offer all of my knowledge willingly for but one favor." he winced as shackles were slapped onto his wrists and a collar slammed around his throat. "And what would that be?" Celestia asked cautiously "You must spare Fluttershy."