//------------------------------// // The Battle // Story: I Always win // by Jade Crossroads //------------------------------// The Battle “Right here, right now furballs! Let’s see how long you last against one who has all the time in the world.” Angel, the organizer of this little formation of sentinels looked up at this strange creature that much resembled a joke of patchwork. He would have laughed if he hadn’t recognized him as a threat. Fluttershy had told them all about the horrible ordeal he put her through, even becoming victims to her corrupted side. They were relieved that she returned back to normal, but now this creature that matched her crude description had turned up on their doorstep. The fearless bunny had showed up just in the nick of time to pull Fluttershy through the doorway and rally his other fellows to block the door. Unfortunately he had to call this effort to a halt as their efforts were in vain, there just wasn’t enough time and the monster was already turning the doorknob. He had no other option than a swift retreat of his forces, but now that he had found their caretaker, it was time to take a stand. He took a long look at this Discord, the thing called himself “The Lord of Chaos”, it was preposterous, but that wasn’t what mattered, what mattered was that he had been challenged, and he would meet this thing head on. He gave one final glare at Discord before he turned to his own force, and gave a great war cry; “Stand tall and defend Fluttershy!” “For Fluttershy!” Called the avians and the ground critters that drew their weapons, mere berries and garden tools, the tallest of them, and the raccoons brandishing mighty trash can lid shields. There could be no failure. Angel squashed a blackberry in his paws and used it to paint the colors of war upon his furry cheeks. He was furious, he knew that he had to strike fear into the enemy that stood before him, and he attempted a growl. This however proved to be really stupid. Discord had been watching the whole procession rather amused by it all. It was not every day that one battled it out against a rabble of animals. His entertainment was slightly diminished when his eyes found that of the assumed ring leader. It was that darn rabbit again. You just have to keep one up-ing me, don’t you rodent? Discord’s mood did not improve with the proposition of facing the little, rabid pest, he hadn’t gotten over the fact that he’d let himself get distracted. He looked around again at the assembled woodland creatures, it was laughable really, but then, to some so was he. At least now he knew that nothing would get between him and his objective, provided that he kept a close eye on that of the furry menace numero uno. Needless to say Discord didn’t think this would be much of a challenge. He was not wrong.... but he wasn't exactly right either. The spirit of chaos was drawn out of his thoughts at an interesting cacophony. This interlude consisted of the banging of tin cans and random animal shouts of those assembled. He recognized a few of the languages, he was a talented linguist, although he never got to use this skill much, it seemed to come in handy here as they all pledged their soon-to-be “victory” to their caretaker. It was clear to Discord that the little critters thought they were giving a fearsome war cry. He smirked, and tried not to laugh, but all efforts were in vain for the lead pest glared up at him, absent mindedly releasing an adorable mix between a “Squeak” and some lion cub’s attempted growl. It would have been considered adorable by any witnesses, but considering the expression on Angel’s face before and afterward, it was more than enough to make the Chaos god laugh until his sides hurt. His booming laughter made the fortress shake and Fluttershy still hidden away for the time being, burrow further into the safety of the pillows surrounding her. She considered abandoning her cowardice, the fortress was only made of pillows and it would not last long should Discord choose to knock it down. She would have chosen somewhere else to hide except that there was nowhere else, and it had been the first place that came to mind She was about to step out of hiding , having come to a decision, she was acting like a filly, she and her friends had faced Discord before, but then he was still able to turn us against each other without any real effort. In the time it took for her to set her hoof forward to face the danger head on, she heard the clashing of what sounded like strong talons scraping against metal. She looked to try and find the source of the grating sound, to see Discord arm outstretched to snatch the trash can lids away from the animals holding them, his expression was terrifying. He had a look of determination in those red eyes and his jaw line was firm, holding up a curious snarl he vocalized. She wondered though, why didn’t he snap his claw instead? It was no secret that he could draw her out whenever he saw fit. He’d done so before, to both her and her friend's elements. He simply waved them over and they couldn't help but comply. The question on her mind now was why didn’t he, and why was he going after her first? Unless… she wasn’t his first stop? Discord smirked. Was that an attempt at a growl? He raised an amused, bushy eyebrow at the bunny in question. He didn’t even hold back a laugh, this was utter hilarity! If he thought his laughs would discourage the assembled animals, he’d have another thing coming, for they stood taller, until they finally charged towards the intruder, but they went in blind, without direction from their leader, who was pushed about by the stampede until he was finally knocked to the ground by a wayward swish of a tail. Oh, how I loathe that iguana! Angel bunny muttered under his breath in his little bunny way. He stood up and dusted himself, all the while shaking his little fist at the backs of all the others. Acorns zoom past, pine cone grenades flew and the birds come at his hoof and lizard leg, trying to trip him so that he’ll fall onto the rakes, tacks and the net they’ve laid out on a painted “X” they drew haphazardly with berry juice. Discord had to admit, these animals went all out, they really committed, it was a shame that they were no match for him, they weren’t even a challenge, but hey, why not have a little fun at their expense? At first Discord was fully aware of the teal eyes that spied on the progression of the battle, but as he felt their attention drift away from him he focused only on the little war being waged upon him. "Now this is hardly fair, one against... what were your numbers again?" This made all the animals come to a halt, and look about at each other, trying to count. Some of them just shrugged and pressed on while others scratched their heads in confusion, or counted the same number on their fingers repeatedly, not knowing how to count in the first place and failing miserably. "I suppose it hardly matters, but I think I'll bring in my own reinforcements.” There was a bright yellow flash of light leaving a number of random items behind after it dissipated. All of which were alive and moving with their new found animation. “To make things fair if you will.” Comes the only explanation the draconequus was willing to give. Of course Discord knew all of this was meant as a distraction. He wasn't blind, any fool could see through this petty excuse of a rescue. It wasn’t like he had any real plans other than meeting with Tia later to announce his successes of the day, so a distraction was a good way to kill some time. Usually he would just avoid the alicorn princess altogether, but it was a good excuse to brag and drive her nuts. It was also mandatory. He hoped Lulu would be there too, all the better to weaken their bond of sisterhood. For now, however, Discord had a battle to win and a distraction to fall prey to. The element of kindness wasn't going anywhere. Why else would her pesky animals be guarding her pillow fort? If it had been anyone else, he would have ended this game there and then, but he was certain she couldn't try anything without him knowing. “Do you let your animals fight all your battles?” Discord says looking over his shoulder over to the fort. He wasn’t sure if Fluttershy heard him, but he swore he could smell her fear and worry increase and followed by a sharp intake of breath. He smiled as he turned back to the small defense force that proceeded to send their pitiful little attacks….. if only the acorns and nuts weren’t consistently aimed at his head. He was almost tripped a few times by the oncoming avians that made alternating routes around his legs a. They even tried knocking him over with a rain of pine cones. Unfortunately this was no mere attempt for they succeeded,. The animals gave a cheer of victory at their presumably defeated enemy. They soon realized though, that it would take a lot more than the primitive weapons they had on hand to hold him off and take him out. He almost felt bad for them, what with their faces were so forlorn… wait, no he didn’t! It was fine by him if the wimpiest little pegasus felt helpless watching this struggle, so long as she knew that in the end he would win out and she’d be forced to confront him or answer to him. He only came here to talk, but it soon became clear to him that this would be near impossible to do, all these distractions at every turn. Not that he was complaining, however, this was not the way things were supposed to go, disorderly, though these events were, he preferred when it wasn’t at his expense or his plans. He only liked it when things went his way, any milestone or obstacles were easily crossed. He still felt insulted that this pony honestly thought this would be enough to keep him at bay. Stall him… perhaps, he could attest to that, but stop him altogether? Never! It was laughable really. It was sad, pathetic. He brought out a balloon sword he didn’t have a moment ago on a trowel wielding duck with an odd little green helmet, this cute attire inclined Discord to give all the animals little army helmets, he laughed at the sight. The animals, feeling braver and maybe even a little insulted by the new gear charged at the Spirit whilst he was beside himself in a bout of laughter. A coat rack boxed a kangaroo with its free arms while using the rest to keep the woodpeckers at bay. Unfortunately for the coat rack it wasn’t long before they came for its legs and as it fell, it crawled across the unforgivably cold ground in a desperate attempt to escape the winged demons, but all that remained of the poor bit of furniture was a few scattered wood chips that not even the termites would be bothered with. And then the mice came. Scampering over the remains, bearing great forks and spoons as if they were the mightiest of weapons and they the most valiant of warriors. They might have some issues that they needed to work out, thanks to Fluttershy telling them about elephants being afraid of them. Ever since they realized something as intimidating as an elephant was afraid of them, they proved to be a less cowardly folk. This could be seen now, as they attacked a vase painted with life-like tigers and lions and bears. They beat at it with their silverware until it cracked. They would have continued their assault if Jerry, the largest of the mice, came and knocked it over much to the joy and cheers that were barely heard, so muffled were they by the carpet jungle they had gotten lost in. There were small victories like that of the mice, however, Discord dominated the battlefield that was Fluttershy’s small living room. He was throwing tomatoes the animals to dodge and summoning storm clouds for more than a few were running or hiding from. Laughing all the while Discord was thoroughly enjoying himself. This was the most entertainment he’d had since he’d been thrown back into his stone body suit. It was almost as funny as Celestia had been that morning. This continued for the longest time, but as he grew bored from the sameness of it all, some turtle was growing tired of it as well. It finally made sense. It occurred to Fluttershy that the real reason Discord didn’t just make her animals disappear or freeze, she knew why he didn't, why he made no attempt to draw her out from where he knew she was hidden. He was toying with them. Their attempts amused him enough to stop him from taking action for the time being. She had to do something, she couldn't just hide and wait for what he had planned. It was then that things took a turn for the worst, as Discord was reminded of the sole purpose of his being there, the elusive Fluttershy. It came to pass that a certain turtle had run out of ammo and in a desperate search it found the perfect source of ammunition just beside it. It wouldn’t have mattered if she had come to another conclusion, the choice was soon robbed from her when a well- meaning turtle swiped a cushion form the makeshift bastion and it all came tumbling down upon her head. It took one cushion to be removed before the pillow fortress’s supporting structural integrity failed. Discord's shadow loomed over the creature, but once he noticed the demolished fort his attention turned to the yellow pegasus who cowered and covered her muzzle with her hooves. She had been spotted, and only Celestia knew what would befall her now. General Angel Bunny, a.k.a General hops a lot to Discord, face pawed but recovered swiftly, ordering his men to stand down and retreat into the brush outdoors or those not already hidden to dive behind tables and doors, and potted plants and ferns. The birds scattered, hiding behind lamps and gliding out the windows, flapping their wings at the air furiously to avoid the oncoming aftermath of their fight. They had all anticipated victory, but it seemed that fortune had forsaken them as their greatest threat chuckled darkly and grinned wickedly displaying his teeth and fang to the one they had sought to protect. There was nothing more that they could do. The lord of chaos had indeed won. Angel bunny made a mental note to reprimand the critter responsible for their lost victory later. He didn’t expect the others to display bravery in the face of these odds, which is exactly why he voted himself for the role of staying behind and fending off the mismatched monstrosity himself it may not have been a smart plan, but it had to work, it was a last resort, but he preferred it that way, besides Fluttershy would definitely look into a reward for her favorite bunny and savior should he succeed in telling this Discord off, and giving him the boot for lack of a better idiom. While Angel thought of possible treats his owner would reward him with, Fluttershy looked around fearfully from behind her mane, covering her head. She looked up, only to see…. nothing. Not her animals, not the mess of acorns and splattered berry juice. Nor was Discord there. She blinked once and wiped at her eyes, thinking her eyes must be playing tricks on her. It couldn’t have all just… vanished. She was relieved when she saw a rabbit ear poking out from behind her couch, but it was momentarily, as she remembered that Discord too had disappeared. A shadow fell over her as confusion set in. It was only pushed aside when she noticed the shadow and turned around, allowing fear to take hold. Discord was right behind her. “Hello, Fluttershy!” He said smiling, which succeeded only in further frightening the pony caught within his sight.. “D-discord…” “That’s my name, do try not to wear it out though, I’d rather not be referred to as the “Spirit of chaos” again, oh, sure that’s what I am, but that’s not my name, I swear, nopony ever uses my name. Why do you think that is?” “I-I wouldn’t kno-” “Oh, who cares?! All you ponies care about is your precious order and harmony.” He arched his neck to peer at the frightened pony. She didn’t bother hiding behind her mane, the thought just didn’t occur to her. She was too scared to cover her expression. “I suppose that's the reason for my being here.”