//------------------------------// // Chapter 58-Shawarma for Your Thoughts? // Story: A Beautiful New Age // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Shining Armor dragged Princess Celestia through the madness. His foreleg was wrapped under hers, his body pushing itself to the limit as every blast around him felt like a motor shell impacting the Canterlot Gardens, spewing grass and dirt across his mane and face. The corpse of a small dragon—though still fairly large, considerably larger than Spike—impacted the gardens as an F-35 zoomed past, launching a missile where it landed. The ferocity of the impact sent a small tremor throughout the gardens, nearly causing Shining Armor to stumble. He kept his eyes shut tight as the dirt continued to rain around him. Once it finally stopped, he opened his eyes and gazed into the fog of war. Shining could see the outlines of ponies running madly, screaming nonsense to one another. Trying desperately to fight their way through it all. His team was scattered the moment his sister and her friends left the gardens to deal with Ultron, the Avengers joining them. That left him to deal with Ultron’s army, him and his squadron of brave Equestrians. It went south. Fast. The overwhelming numbers kept on piling and piling, despite everything Shining Armor did and or trained for. As the bodies rose up, more kept coming. Completely and utterly endless. Not even Shining Armor could hold the line and his troops together for long. Sooner than he would have wanted, the line was broken, Ultron’s army rushing right through them as the Equestrians scattered. He didn’t order the retreat. He didn’t order any type of fall back. He just told them to fight. It felt so long ago, so long since he found Celestia and Luna struggling to climb out of the indent of Tirek’s fist in the earth. He grabbed Luna first, dragging her to the safest location he could find and then returning for her older sister. Celestia was in no condition to fight, given evident to her weakened features and lack of a cutie mark. Shining held off the opposing forces still trying desperately to strike him when he was occupied. He held them off with a magical bolt straight to the chest. Sentries and demons lined their path, their torn bodies to be precise. An array of repulsor blasts struck the ground as a wave of sentries flew overhead. Shining Armor had spotted Luna resting against a shattered piece of stone, a sword held between her teeth, a weakened fury in her eyes. Just as he left her. With a grunt of effort, Shining Armor pulled Celestia to rest to her sister’s right, her back pressed against the shattered stone. “Princess…” Shining muttered, fear riddled in his tone as his hoof pressed against Celestia’s neck. The pulse was still there. Blood flowed from her wounds. She was still alive. Drained, broken, but alive. Celestia muttered something incoherent, her gaze elsewhere. Shining leaned in. “Celestia…?” he whispered. Luna looked over to the two, her breathing ragged, teeth clenched around the sword’s handle. She brought up her gaze, Celestia did. Dirt painted her face, blood streaks and fresh mixtures of tears and sweat conjoined to form something hideous. She stared into Shining’s eyes, muttered in a broken tone, “You must go, Shining Armor. Aid the Avengers as best as you can…and stop this madness from furthering.” “I am not leaving you here to die,” Shining growled. Over the repulsor blasts impacting the gardens, the screams from the fleeing Equestrians, a crude and magical pop exploded above Shining’s head. Following the noise, all three stared upwards to watch as Discord flung the robotic entity, Ultron, with such ease that his body impacted a far building like a ragdoll. Discord disappeared in another flash, reappearing where Ultron had landed. As they vanished through the darkness, Shining twisted his neck back to the Princesses. Celestia’s hardened stare returned, even more prominent than ever before. Though, in the state she was in, she looked about a thousand more years older, weary bags under her eyes, her coat dull, and mane no longer flowing. Luna faced the same fate, both of them appearing weary and broken. Yet their eyes said otherwise. While they appeared spent, their eyes were ripe with fury and emotion, with promise and hope. Celestia stared at Shining with confidence, Luna with indifference. She breathed like a drained wolf fresh from a kill, her teeth bared with quick, heavy snarls escaping her jaw, past the blade’s handle between her teeth. Shining turned back to Celestia. She nodded towards Discord, to where he had vanished. “Trust us, Shining Armor. Now go.” He tried to. He wanted to trust Celestia more than anything. He wanted to leave them where they were, trust that they could fend off the enemy for themselves even in their weakened state, and still believe they could survive. The look in their eyes, from both Celestia and Luna, told him all he needed to know. That they could. So, he did. Ultron arose as the building crumbled to his right, the remnants spilling out into the street below in a husk of ash and rubble. He watched as the foundation collapsed, his gaze shifting upwards as a peculiar sound popped in front of him. That peculiar sound emerged out of a flash to be the same twisted, abnormal draconequus from earlier. Its serpent-like body shot forward and tackled Ultron right out of the air, the two tumbling in a mixture of limbs. Ultron maintained his flight despite the creature latching onto him and weighing him down. Even then he couldn’t hold it for long. As his claws gripped Discord’s face, the duo crashed right through an unsuspecting S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter. The Apache gunship erupted into a blossoming array of orange and yellow as it was split in half. The remains of the helicopter spiraled out of control and impacted the streets in a blur of raw, unhinged heat and metal. The propeller blades continued to slice at the street until they broke apart, became dull, and slowly died. As the Apache came to a rest, its occupants deceased and the fires consuming the gunship’s hull, a single, unharmed being stepped out of the fire. He stumbled at first, attaining his stance once more. He leaned forward and pressed his palm into the side of the helicopter’s remains, a dark, unknown liquid slowly dripping from his maw. Discord flashed into reality, his ears on point as he studied the demolished gunship behind him. He cringed. “Oh, quite unfortunate. But…that’s the casualty of war for you,” he said, twisting his gaze back to Ultron. “Now then…on to greater matters.” Ultron wiped his mouth with a forearm. He could feel the burning gaze from the draconequus behind him intensify as he slowly stepped forward. Closer and closer. Ultron spit into the ground, black liquid painting the street. He chuckled. Discord halted. “You’re good.” Discord raised a brow to that. Ultron stepped away from the gunship and stood up straight, his body still facing the street ahead. He said, “Really good. I have only seen so much power, so much potential only once before…and he lays in his own blood and tears.” Slowly, one arm rose up and crossed over the other. Discord leaned back, his serpent tail transforming to create a plush chair for him to rest on. Ultron spun around, his red eyes shimmering in the shadow that cloaked his form. “I know you. Discord…the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” “And what, pray tell, are you droning on about now?” Discord yawned. “Your true potential has been wasted,” Ultron stated. Discord checked his paw for chips. “Your ‘friends’, they’ve become your own discord, and yet you’re too blinded to see it. This friendship you were given was nothing more than a lie, a false propaganda to further spread their own beliefs. You, like so many before, had the ability to push it back…only to be consumed by it.” Discord’s neck craned backwards, a brow rising curiously. He shut his eyes, waving a claw out in front of him. “I believe you’re missing the point of the magic of friendship, my autonomous friend. You know, I was much like you, belittling those who didn’t believe in my own ways. But all it took was a little push in the right direction, a friend along the way, and soon enough…I was shown the truth.” “Even if that truth destroys who you really are…then yes. I suppose you did find it,” Ultron retorted, all four of his claws tightening in fury. “Oh, pfft,” Discord snorted, teleporting a foot ahead from where he sat, his tail back to normal. He waved a paw in front of his nose, taking in a deep whiff. “Someone needs to wake up and smell the cinder. News flash! What you’re doing isn’t going to work! World domination? You can kiss that goodbye! Your own demented beliefs? Been there, done that, won’t do it again! Equestria won’t fall prey to someone like you, no matter how powerful you are, because one thing I had learned over the course of my long, long life…is that these poor, deluded souls suffering around us…they can rebel.” Ultron’s eyes narrowed, the burning red intensifying. The corrosion of the skies sent a heavenly orange and black to descend upon the street they stood in. Discord continued, taking a few steps closer to the AI. “They can fight back. They will fight back. It’s in their nature. When you try to force yourself upon them, when you take away the freedom—the natural belief they were born to—they fight back. No other force on this planet will convince you otherwise, but listen to me when I say…it’s not even worth it.” He stopped five feet in front of Ultron, his eyes hardened, his smile gone. “Give up now… Just a fair warning,” he stated roughly, his tone no longer playful or exuberant. Despite the heated glare the Spirit of Chaos offered, Ultron merely smiled. Smiled and laughed. He said, “Oh, don’t you see it yet? I can win. We can win.” Just like that, Discord’s glare broke apart, but only so much, still holding to retain certain hatred for the AI before him. He continued. “You can retain the world you so desire and I can return to my own. Think of it very, very carefully, Discord. Friendship was never magic to begin with. Even as I speak, my armies are tearing the Princess of Friendship and her friends apart, and not even their own friendship can save them now. Where is their magic when they so need it? Where is it now?” Discord’s palm tightened into a shaking fist. “It’s all around us. The magic of friendship is a sickness, a cancer to this world. Take it away, and you have a world where its future is no longer determined by false prophecies and ancient beliefs…but by power. The same power that I hold in the palm of hand, the power that can crush this city. The same power…in you.” He released that anger, his body slowly cooling like a hot iron poker being dipped in water. Discord raised another curious brow, allowing Ultron to continue a bit longer, letting him drone on. Ultron took a step closer. “Think of it now. The magic of friendship…is dead. It’s a fool’s concept, something that was implemented in your mind to make you turn away from your beautiful world. That world can still exist today. All it takes is a little push…in the right direction.” He held out his hand, all five claws slowly opening to him. “Join me, Discord. Together we can take back our beautiful worlds.” He paused at that, his hand held to him graciously. Discord, on the other hand, remained silent, his ears rising and falling as his eyes darted back and forth, his mind playing out the possibilities. His beautiful world…rising from the ashes of the one where the ponies remained. A new world… Built from…his friends. He turned to the hand held to him to the eyes. The red eyes. He reached forward, and Discord gripped Ultron’s palm with his own. Ultron smiled. “Sorry,” Discord said, the same palm slithering forward and wrapping around Ultron’s forearm, a look of horror and disbelief stretching across the grin that once remained on Ultron’s face. “But I already live in a beautiful world, and you’re trying to take that away.” Ultron shot out his right arm, firing off a concussion blast right where Discord’s head remained. The blast incinerated a portion of the gunship’s hull, but to his surprise Discord vanished, his body disintegrating and slithering onto Ultron’s forearm, traveling quickly across his body like a wildfire. Ultron quickly clawed at his body, doing everything he could to get the symbiote-like creature off of him. The slithering form that was Discord shot out and attached himself to each of Ultron’s arms. The AI watched helplessly as his own fist shot forward and punched him across the face. Each arm, each fist, all four of them, took a turn in bashing Ultron in the face over and over again. The AI fell to a knee, his snarls increasing. He clenched his teeth, his arms freezing in place. Grunting in effort, Ultron clawed at his chest and ripped off a chunk of Discord. The remaining form of the Spirit of Chaos conjoined together around the chunk that Ultron had gripped between his claws, leaving a snickering Discord at the mercy of the Vibranium beast. Ultron rammed Discord into the street, large cracks appearing beneath him. Instead of showing signs of pain, Discord winked, snapped his fingers, and vanished. Yet, Ultron still held onto something. He brought it forward, studying the black orb in his palm with a glowing fuse nearly depleted. His eyes widened in realization. Ultron rose to his feet quickly and shot his arm back, ready to toss the bomb away. It was too late. It erupted in his palm, spinning Ultron around to be met with a vicious whip of Discord’s tail. The strike sent Ultron tumbling several yards down the road, impacting a small rubble pile and spewing slabs of rock to and fro. He came to rest near the pile, his fists pushing against the street. Discord appeared above him in a flash of white. Another flash appeared next to Discord, an entire building hovering dangerously over Ultron. Discord snickered. “You might want to get some work done on your back after this!” He snapped his talons. The building fell straight on Ultron. Just as he was soon to rise to his feet, Ultron grunted in pain as the building was crushed atop of him, the entire foundation crumbling around him. Discord watched with mild amusement as the building completely fell apart and formed a large hill in the center of the street. A cloud of dust rose higher and spread like a fog throughout the street, the massive tower finally silencing. Discord clapped like a giddy child, night vision goggles appearing on his forehead. He lowered them over his eyes as they shimmered a brilliant neon green, the draconequus floating down into the fog. He stopped mere feet above the largest pile of stone and rubble he could find. The lenses zoomed inwards, the Spirit of Chaos rubbing his chin in thought. He immediately ducked as a slab of road was tossed at him. Another followed, instantly met with a volley of concussion blasts to paint the fog a bright red. Discord—quite easily—dodged and weaved through the air like an acrobat, even performing flips on imaginary wires around him. Discord waved to the crowd of Discords flying above him, all of them cheering for the spectacle below. Ultron shot upwards as Discord was blowing kisses to himself, tackling the draconequus with such ferocity that the two broke out of the fog and emerged into the blackness that filled the clouds. An F-35 with several harpies clinging onto it never saw them coming. The jet impacted both Discord and Ultron with blazing speeds, tearing apart the entire vehicle and spreading its remains into nearby buildings. A chunk of the F-35 landed into a tower, both Discord and Ultron tumbling inside. Ultron was the first to rise, shooting his arm out and firing a barrage of concussion blasts to the Spirit of Chaos. “Too slow!” Discord chanted while sporting a cheerleader’s uniform. He formed several letters as the streams of red flew by him, his body twisting and turning to dodge the blasts. “Give me a S! Give me a L! Give me a O, W, P, O, K, E! What’s that spell?!” Ultron levitated the remains of the F-35, his fist burning blue, that same fist yanking forward. “SLOW—!” Discord screamed with pompoms, a short skirt, and plenty of spirit. However, the burning husk of the F-35’s cockpit silenced him, launching the screaming Discord right out of the building and spiraling towards the streets. Discord was soon to impact the street below, yet he halted once a second Discord appeared in front of him wearing a cop’s uniform. The second Discord blew his whistle, the true Discord slowing to a halt. Cop Discord pointed to the stop sign to his left. “You’ll have to wait your turn, my devilishly handsome friend,” he said. A small family of Discords hurried along behind Cop Discord. “Can’t,” Discord shrugged, pointing to the sign. “Mind if I use this?” “Aw, what the heck! I’d break the law for you any day!” Cop Discord said with a grin, vanishing as Discord plucked the stop sign out of the concrete with ease. “Batter up!” Discord announced proudly, his cheerleading uniform quickly changing to that of a Colorado Rockies one. He spit out an unknown black gunk, swinging forward and smacking the approaching Ultron. A terrible crack broke out as Ultron was launched up and out of sight. Discord eyed Ultron’s body vanish from sight. He chuckled to himself. “I’d honestly thought I’d strike out,” he quipped, ditching the uniform and the stop sign before blasting off like a rocket into the sky. Discord tore through the waves of darkness that plagued the clouds around him. His eyes squinted as the clouds broke apart, revealing the battle below and the Helicarrier surrounded by constant fire. He paused for a short moment, taking in a deep breath and watching the world below him crumble. Canterlot continued to burn. Buildings slowly fell in the distance, screams erupting through the different streets spread throughout the city. In the center, where the Helicarrier hovered over the gardens, a great battle—both in the air and on the ground—broke out. Canterlot Castle sat in the distance, its towers spewing smoke as the fires consumed them. The screams, though… Discord paused longer than he wanted to. His mind returned to the moment where Ultron had told him that his army was tearing them apart. The Princess of Friendship and her closest friends. His jaw tightened at the thought, yet he remained unmoved. He knew Twilight and the others. They were strong. Especially Fluttershy. And together, they could overcome any obstacle. That is, of course, until he saw them. Several yards below him. In the streets of Canterlot. Surrounded. Swarmed. Slowly, slowly…falling. His eyes shot open, his jaw dropping in shock. He could see Fluttershy and her friends backing away as each sentry and demon was pushed against them. They kept backing away until there was no more area for them to fight, and they still held them off. But only for so long. They wouldn’t last. Forget Ultron. He had bigger problems to deal with, like saving his friends. But before he could do just that, Discord was grabbed by the throat and yanked downwards. He fell despite his control, his hands latching onto the claw that held him. He tried snapping, but was already too late to do that. His back hit the hard cement below, the buildings coming into focus, the blurry figure of Ultron standing over him. “Too slow,” Ultron asked, though it seemed as more of a statement than a question. His right palm shimmered with blue energy. Discord watched his body was encased in the same color, and despite his control he was brought upwards. Straight to him. Ultron shot him in the chest at point-blank range. The force of the concussion blast—especially at so close of range—sent Discord shooting backwards like a cannon ball. He finally hit the street below, tumbled and rolled until he skidded to a painful halt. Even then, Ultron was on top of him. That fast. Discord spun around, getting ready to vanish. However, Ultron’s claw shot out like a rattlesnake and held Discord’s right hand still. His eyes shifted horrendously to his right hand, his other rising. Another one of Ultron’s claws, his lower right one, shot out and did the same. It held his left hand frozen in place. Just before he could create a third arm to perform the task, Ultron reared forward suddenly and abruptly. Discord gasped, his eyes widening in mixtures of horror and agony. He slowly looked down, away from the terrible glare of the beast above him, and stared into the five claws digging through his chest. He broke through, a sickening crack resounding through the street. Discord screamed, struggling where he lay. Ultron held him still as his palm dug deeper. He paused, however, his maniacal grin widening. “Is that your heart?” Ultron asked, squeezing softly. Discord screamed again, unable to break free. He jammed down, Discord’s mouth falling in shock, eyes bugging almost in disbelief. “Yes…yes it is. Just as I imagined. Twisted,” he turned his wrist right, Discord coughed up a plentitude of dark red crimson. “Unnatural.” Another hard squeeze. Discord twitched in pain, but he could no longer speak. “Broken.” He ripped his claw out, spewing red across the street around him. Discord cringed and took in a deep breath, his chest open and bleeding, rising and falling rapidly. He looked up, literally nowhere else to look, and watched as Ultron leaned in so very close, his voice dropping twenty degrees below zero. “And you think they still see you any other way. Your heart, your soul, it will always be tainted by the sins of your corrupt past. Nothing will change unless you want it to, and you…don’t. That is why you lose, Discord. That is why...I win.” He brought back his glistening red claw, aiming it clearly for Discord’s neck. A stream of energy cut him off, impacting the AI’s backside with unnatural power, the kind of power no normal unicorn would have. Ultron leaned forward only slightly, his body spinning accordingly. As he spun, a barrage of magical spell tore through the air and struck his chest and body. The beams pelted him with unrelenting power, the robotic beast rising to full height. He broke off his grasp around Discord’s hand and used his arms to deflect the blasts, yet it hardly mattered now. He was already on him. Shining Armor had already arrived. Ultron shot out his arms, firing a retaliating stream of concussion blasts. Shining slid into cover as the streams of red flew over his head, impacting the stone he hid behind and obliterated it. He dipped out at the last second, firing off a quick spell that hit Ultron in his right hand. Not pausing, Shining changed direction and rushed Ultron. He fired a blast into the shattered concrete surrounding the beast’s feet. He fired another, a large slab of concrete shooting upwards from the blast. Shining roared as he fired one final spell. It impacted the face of the concrete, launching it right at Ultron. The AI backed away as the slab hit him, only crumbling as another spell hit him between the eyes. Ultron fell on his back, rolling and skidding on his feet. He looked up, eyeing the unicorn glare at him from beyond. He narrowed his gaze, rising slowly. Suddenly. Adequately. Shining Armor’s horn lit up, burning the street in a sweet, warm glow. Ultron shot out his palm, his fingertips doing just the same as Shining’s horn. He growled, “You’ll never—” The street below him sprang upwards. Literally. A large spring sent the concrete below Ultron shooting upwards, sending the AI zooming out of sight. Shining Armor watched as he vanished into the clouds, his jaw agape, eyes wide, mind running wild. He was so preoccupied with Ultron’s sudden disappearance and almost completely forgot about the groaning draconequus to his left. “Probably should have done that earlier,” Discord coughed as he struggled to stand, the street below him painted in red. Shining quickly rushed to the Spirit of Chaos’ side, offering his hoof to him. Without noticing him at first, Discord placed his lion’s paw into Shining’s hoof. He coughed again, and to the unicorn’s surprise he watched as the hole in the center of Discord’s chest slowly closed up, a floating cloth wiping up the blood. That same cloth rose up and wiped Discord’s face, the trickster’s eyes finally landing on Shining Armor and his odd expression. He took in a deep breath, let his heart rate normalize, and finally smirked. “Come to apologize for your false claims so long ago?” the odd expression, almost looking pitiful, suddenly shifted to bemused. Discord didn’t care. He stood up fully, smiling and saying, “I’m kidding! I know you know I’m no traitor, Shining Armor,” he wrapped his arm around the unicorn captain’s withers, “and I don’t think we’ve truly had a discussion since then. What do you say, wanna grab some shawarma after this is all over? You could get the veggie-lover special! What do you say, friend?” Shining broke away, saying, “Zip it!” He looked as if Shining had just slapped him, backing away in horror. Shining Armor ignored Discord and his antics, instead choosing to continue without pause. “We need to find my sister and her friends. Who knows what kind of trouble they’re in now.” He spun his head around to face the street that led back from where he came, to where his sister and her friends remained holding off the horde. His mane flicked through his vision as the wind began to pick up, blinding him only slightly. Behind him, Discord appeared directly next to Shining. He stared where he stared, smiling knowingly as he whispered, “But shawarma after though, right?” Shining Armor dropped his head, shaking it back and forth. He sighed. “If we even come out of this alive.” Discord squeed in delight. “That sounds like a yes to me!” He grabbed the unicorn, Shining’s eyes widening in shock. He opened his mouth to object, but he was already gone. Already fighting by his younger sister in the blink of an eye.