Lightning backed away from the possessed toy, heart in his throat. "F-fun? Wha-what kind of fun?"
"Oh, the kind you're used to!" the chopper said. It began spinning, twirling around in midair. It spun rapidly, unraveling itself into a taller shape until it changed into something else, something much more familiar. "The kind that's my speciality- complete and utter chaos!" Discord announced, claw and paw outstretched.
"Oh," Lightning said, no longer frightened. "It's you."
"Ah, but of course! My reputation precedes me. But I don't believe we've been formally acquainted," the draconequus said. "Hmm, now, just where are my manners?" A briefcase appeared next to him and opened up, spilling out files, a rubber duck and a pair of long johns onto the floor. "Ah! Here they are." A scroll unfurled itself in front of Discord's face and he pulled out a pair of novelty glasses to read it. "Let's see here… oh, my name is Discord. 'Extend paw for greeting gesture.'" He looked back to Lightning and smiled, holding out his paw to shake the pony's hoof.
Reluctantly, Lightning grabbed the paw and shook gently. "I'm Lightning Claw."
"It is a…" he looked at the scroll again, still shaking Lightning's hoof. "Pleasure toooooooo…" he flipped it over to the back. "Meet you. Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you Lightning Claw!"
"Yeah… likewise…" Lightning said, still awkwardly shaking and being shook by Discord.
"Absolutely!" Discord proclaimed. The parchment, briefcase and glasses suddenly disappeared. A pair of handcuffs materialized and latched Lightning's hoof with Discord's paw.
"What? Hey, what's going on?!"
Discord smirked at Lightning. "You're under arrest, kiddo. Anyway," another list appeared before Discord's eyes. "You have the right to remain silent," he snapped his claw talons and Lightning's mouth disappeared.
"MMMM!!! MMM-MMM-MMM!!" Lightning frantically rubbed his muzzle, starting to panic again.
"Anything you say against may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney," Discord snapped his fingers and another version of Discord appeared dressed like Phoenix Wright.
"OBJECTION! My client has done nothing wrong! And the arresting officer is clearly outside the jurisdiction of Equestrian law! This is an unlawful arrest!"
A judge Discord suddenly appeared high on a judge's bench. "Overruled! Discord has special orders from Princess Tia and Princess Lulu to enforce the contract violations with FIST of which your client is clearly a part of!"
"Oh… crap…" the Wright Discord slunk. He patted Lightning on the back. "Sorry, kid. You're on your own." The bar representing Wrightcord's psyche gauge exploded, bottoming out. He and the judge then poofed into thin air.
"MM-MMMMM!!" Lightning struggled as Discord pulled him along. The hoof cuffs began to separate, stretching like they were elastic instead of metal. Discord continued reading the parchment while dragging the stallion to the door.
"Looks like I'm also supposed to confiscate all your toys, and not just the remote control ones, either. Any property relating to the Magic Gears is supposed to be returned to Equestria to be taken care of by Tia and Lulu. Tough break."
Lightning rubbed his muzzle desperately, finally wiping away the magic obscuring his mouth. "MM…MMmm-Pleh! Pleh!" he spit a couple times. "I'm not coming with you!"
Discord looked over his shoulder, finally reaching the door. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice, bub. You're just going to have to come along quietly." He snapped his fingers and Lightning's mouth disappeared again. A muzzle and a straight jacket also appeared around him accompanied by more hoof cuffs that bound his legs. A ball and chain attached itself to his tail and the combined weight of the objects made his legs tremble. Still, he stood, defiantly struggling against Discord's pulls. Finally, a dunce cap appeared on his head and Lightning collapsed.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Discord walked over to the broken stallion. "What's the phrase again? Ah yes, resistance is futile. Hmm… feels like I've heard that somewhere before. Oh, well. Let's get going, cadet."
A low hum began to fill the air. The lights on the ceiling began to flicker. "Hmm? Looks like you forgot to pay your electric bill. Perhaps we can-" The hairs on Discord's paw began to stand on end. The hum began to grow louder. "What's this?" the draconequus asked. "Hehheh, oh stop it! That tickles!" He snapped his talons and a set of heavy rubber vulcanized tires wrapped around Lightning Claw. The insulation momentarily stopped the surge. "I'm fond of the joy buzzer myself but you gotta know how to use it."
The lights suddenly started getting brighter. An aura of electricity began to build around Lightning Claw, still bound. Static electricity began to make Discord's hair stand up again, tickling him. "Hahahaha! Ha, I-I'm warning you," Discord said between laughs, "resisting arrest won't help your case!" He snapped his talons again and an entire ball of heavily-insulated rubber encompassed Lightning Claw in a purple sphere.
The lights became almost blinding. "HAHA! HAHA! STOP IT!!" Discord yelled. He writhed on the floor, laughing as all the hairs and feathers on his body began to stand on end. "If this is some kind of trick, it'll just be one more thing you're charged with!!"
"That's not a bad idea," Lightning said, still bound and muzzled. "I'm not yet fully charged."
"AH-HA! AH-HA AH-" A lightning bolt surged through the hoof cuffs connecting Lightning Claw and Discord. It struck the draconequus, electrifying him. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"
The rubber confinement exploded, a blast of electricity and fire burning the restraints to cinders. The lights on the ceiling exploded as well, sending sparks cascading down to the floor. The bolt of lightning that erupted from the ball ripped a tear in the metal ceiling overhead, creating a long gash that light filtered through.
Lightning Claw stood in the remains of the restraints, now ash at his hooves. A black scorch mark was under him, the edges of his hooves crackled with electricity. "You should be careful what you charge me with. You might not like my feedback."
Discord stood, wiping the ash off himself. "So, you've got a little spark of something in you, haven't you, eh watt? That's fine by me," the fiend snapped his paw and a giant Duracell battery appeared. Oh wait, no it says Discordcell on the side; it just looks like a Duracell. "They all run out of power eventually."
"Then I hope you packed extra batteries." Lightning raised both his hooves and fired twin bolts of lightning at Discord. The draconequus jumped behind the battery and the lightning collided with the battery's positive side. The battery glowed and then exploded, transforming into a giant Energizer bunny version of Discord.
"Oh, I don't need batteries!" the Discord-rabbit said. "I just keep going and going and going and going!!" He raised a massive drum stick into the air, scraping a few of the lights on the ceiling and dislodging it. Discord held the drum stick high for a moment, then brought it down at Lightning Claw.
Lightning teleport-dodged at the last second and the drumstick smashed into the floor, destroying several Ponyville model buildings. The shockwaves caused a light panel to fall to the floor and shatter, scattering glass. "Time to put your lights out, spark plug!" He pounded on the massive drum in front of him, reverberating sound waves outward. The sound waves hit Lightning Claw and vibrated through his body, nearly incapacitating him.
"Turn down for watt, right?" Discord asked, pounding away. He then rose his left drumstick, which was actually a chicken leg, and prepared to pound Lightning again. He continued pounding with the other, keeping his prey paralyzed. "Not a bad drum solo, huh? Unfortunately, it looks like you just can't keep up the tempo!" He brought the leg down. "So here comes the beat down!"
Fighting through the noise, Lightning reached out to the light panel nearby and fired a bolt at it. The cracked panel glowed bright and exploded, blinding Discord momentarily. "AHH!" He dropped both of the drum sticks and was forced to wipe the spots out of his eyes. "Grrr… clever little light bulb, aren't you?"
"One of us has to be!" Lightning said, flying up. "I'm the only one here with the bright ideas! But maybe you just need a hug!" He grabbed Discord's rabbit nose and discharged. Discord's face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"GYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" The drum exploded, lightning struck more of the lights overhead, overcharging them. Discord spun, turning into a wrap again and shrinking. He spun around, returning to his usual form.
"You done toying around, yet?" Lightning asked coyly. "You should've gotten a surge protector. Not that it would've helped."
Discord scowled. "Oh, I'm just getting warmed up, my little fusebox." Plaid-colored magic swirled around Discord's paw and claw. His limbs turned into twin magnets. "You like things to be high-voltage? Then let's amp things up!" He fired his own blasts of electromagnetic energy at Lightning, twin indigo-plaid beams of rippling magical power.
Lightning fired his own electrical blast from his broken horn, stopping the beams from hitting him. The electrical bolts collided, sparking and twisting as they crashed into each other in midair.
Discord pulled one of the magnets behind his back and retrieved a bigger magnet with the word ACME inscribed on it. He pulsed both at Lightning, using the increased power to push his electricity back.
Lightning raised both of his wings up, flaring his feathers out. He began drawing electricity out of the air around him and channeled it into his hooves, increasing his electrical output. He rose up and added his hooves to his horn's lightning attack, forcing back Discord's magnetic blast.
Discord responded by producing more limbs with more ACME magnets, unleashing an arsenal's worth of magnetism at the opposing stallion. It turned out to be too many magnets, and bits of metal began to rise and cling to Discord, weighing him down.
"Enough voltage… can overload… any amount of ohms!" Lightning shouted. He stomped the ground, sending an electric-powered shockwave through the floor. Discord was knocked off his feet and an a blast of lightning was heading right toward him. He used the magnet to raise up a piece of sheet metal, narrowly avoiding the blast at the last second.
"What are you, an electrician?!" Discord yelled, withering under the electric blast.
Lightning moved closer, blasting the shield with a continuous combined bolt of electricity. "Nah, I just have an electric personality!"
"Oh, har har, spare me!" Discord said. He braced himself against the shield and raised another magnet, shooting at some refuse. "Or, make that spare parts!" He flung bits and models at Lightning, forcing his electricity to hit them and arc to them. His lightning nearly shocked him back. Lightning stopped his electric attack at the last second and dodged the scrap, rolling to the side.
The stallion recovered quickly, panting. "Ha… ha… you'll run out of tricks before I run out of power!" he called to the fiend. "Maybe Celestia should've sent Trixie instead! At least then, I might be impressed!"
"Oh, I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve, spark plug," Discord said but didn't reveal himself. The metal panel he'd been using as a shield still stood up, a formidable cover against Lightning's attacks.
Lightning walked over to the panel, carefully picking it up in case Discord was still behind it. But he wasn't; even the magnet attached to the panel was gone. Lightning looked around, trying to locate him so he didn't get the drop on him.
"Behind you, pal!" Discord said.
Lightning looked up. Discord was on the metal panel. Well, he wasn't ON the panel so much as in it. The fiend had made himself a picture on the iron, like a work of art, he was even posing. The metal wrapped itself around Lightning's hooves, threatening to engulf him.
"Gah! AAAAAGGGH-nnnnggg," Lightning struggled against the metal sheet. He shocked the metal, electrifying the entire piece and Discord within.
"AAAAAAARGH!!" Discord screeched, releasing his captive.
The piece of metal clanged to the floor as Discord let go. Lightning took to the air, careful not to get too close to any other objects. "Give it up, Discord! You'd have better luck catching me if you were a stone statue again!"
"Or just stone." Discord took to the floor, appearing now as a giant picture of himself. "I do believe it's time to end this, my little electric pony." The artwork Discord brought his arms out and the entire building began to shake. The walls began to buckle inward and the ceiling scrunched up. The gash leaking in light closed and the whole building became pitch dark. It shrank, crumpling like tinfoil around Lightning Claw.
Lightning aimed his hooves at the floor, sending bolts into it. The electricity dissipated against the concrete and Discord just smirked back at him. The walls closed in, the ceiling forced him closer to the floor.
"I have to say, it's quite interesting being one of the 'good guys' for once. I think I'll enjoy this. Maybe the'll even make you a statue in the garden like I was, once it's fixed. Would you like me to recommend a good pose for you?"
"Haha… ha ha ha ha ha…" Lightning laughed. The metal of the walls began to wrap around him, curling into more restraints and pushing him down as the building shrank. The floor grew closer to him, the picture of the confident Discord getting closer and closer to him.
"You're going to laugh as your pose? Nice idea, but I already did that one," Discord said.
"No… no, it's about you being a 'good guy.' That's pretty funny," Lightning said.
"Oh? And exactly why is that?"
"This might come as a shock to you, Discord," Lightning said, grinning. The sound of thunder in the background made Discord's smile fade. "But you're just not good enough." Lightning grabbed the wires from the lights, rammed his hoof through the light switch which was now pressed up against him and bit down on the loose cabling from the ceiling.
A bolt of lightning hit the shrunken building, which now was the perfect conduit for a lightning rod. The electricity surged through the metal, surged through Lightning Claw, surged through the wires he was attached to… and into the building's foundation.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" Discord screamed. Electricity ripped through the concrete scorching it black. Explosions rippled through the building's base and finally, the crushed building itself exploded in a fireball of crackling electricity followed by a flash of white light.
Lights on every building in the base flickered. Power was knocked out. Lightning's models took off by themselves, fleeing the destruction and flying or driving away from the wreckage.
Enclave ponies and FIST guards all gathered around the explosion. Once power was restored, alarm klaxons began to ring out. A thunderstorm had appeared over Prosperity Mountain. It had happened so quickly, not even the pegasi had noticed it, nor had they scheduled it. Not that they did this far north of Equestria but it was still strange enough to focus most gazes on the sky.
A light rain pattered the burned concrete. More thunder in the distance followed. The place where the hangar had been was a solid scorched square, almost completely black and smoldering. There was not a piece of debris to be seen.
From out of the smoke, Discord appeared, burned and clutching his side. Weak, he stumbled and fell, unable to stand. The ponies around him kept their distance. He rose his paw to snap his fingers… but they were too burned to make any audible noise. They rubbed against each other, small bits of ash descended to the ground to combine with the rain and make black puddles.
"I remember before you broke out," Lightning's voice said. "It wasn't always easy clearing the skies. Rogue storms and clouds would always pop up, always need to be taken care of quickly. The weather's pretty chaotic, so you could say I had some prior experience to your type of magic."
Discord couldn't see him. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the clouds. Rain hit his face and it was just then he noticed his tooth was broken, as was his antler. Lightning Claw appeared over him from the side.
"Tia and Lulu want to shut our operation down? Tell them they can come try it themselves. I'll be waiting for them," Lightning said.
Discord looked up at Lightning, struggled to speak. "You… you don't have to do this. The world… he wants you to make… it won't be Equestria. It won't be anything; not chaos, not harmony… just ash."
Lightning raised his foreleg. It crackled with electricity. "Then it won't need you."
Discord's eyes went wide before a lightning-powered hoof stomped down on his face. And then he saw nothing.
Rain hadn't been scheduled in Canterlot, much less a thunderstorm. Either it was a massive amount of rogue weather or something else was happening.
"We just got word from Cloudsdale, ma'am. None of the pegasi had anything to do with this storm," Nightshade said. He and Princess Celestia and Luna galloped through the halls of the castle to the entrance.
"We have to get the Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash to clear this up right away! We're still repairing the damage to the gardens; this much water could flood the under levels!" Celestia said.
"What could've caused this?" Luna asked. The three of them rounded a corner, getting close to the entrance. "A storm of this size appearing so quickly and without pegasi intervention is unheard of!"
"We have to get to the bottom of this once the skies are cleared!" Celestia said back. She opened the door to the courtyard. "We may even have to get more pegasi to watch-" She stopped mid sentence.
"To wa- oh my," Luna stopped herself.
The steps were a mixture of plaid-indigo and bright red. The rain was spreading out the colors, making them run down the courtyard staircase as it came down in torrents. In front of the doors was Discord, beaten to a pulp and bleeding from his nose and mouth. The ends of his limbs, tail and horn were burnt black, as if he'd been in a fire. His mouth hung open, blood leaking out.
Nightshade trotted up to him and knelt by his side. He put his ear closer to him. "He's still alive."
"Get him to the medical wing! Now!" Celestia ordered.
Nightshade teleported along with Discord. In a flash, they were both gone.
"Sister," Celestia turned to Luna, "stay with Discord, protect the castle. I'll clear the skies before anypony else is hurt."
"It wasn't the clouds that did this," Luna said, Her eyes were focused on the place where Discord had been.
Celestia followed her sister's eyes to the spot. An etching of some sort was carved into the marble, thin black letters that looked as though they'd been blasted into the stone. Covered in rain and blood were the words:
THIS GARDEN GNOME GOT LOST
- KEEP HIM IN YOUR OWN YARD OR NEXT TIME HE MIGHT GET BROKEN
- LOVE, LC
P.S DONT TOUCH MY STUFF