Chaos Runs Rampant

by RK_Striker_JK_5

Chapter Twelve

Fluttershy flew over her friend's heads zipping to and fro. A small hole in space opened up right above her withers and a pair of saddlebags fell out of it, landing perfectly and buckling itself onto her. Fluttershy looked back at them, then down at her friends with a sneer. She kicked them open and water balloons began pouring out in a near-endless stream. “Looks like you're all wet!” she cackled, tossing her head back with laughter.

Pinkie Pie bounced about, narrowly avoiding the water balloons. “Twilight, you gotta help her!” she cried out. “That was one of the laziest taunts I've heard this week!”

Twilight Sparkle's horn lit up. A light-purple bubble formed around Fluttershy, slowing her down, but the pegasus' wings started flapping furiously, turning into a blur. Twilight Sparkle ground her teeth together as Fluttershy struggled. “I'm not sure h-how long I can hold her!” she grunted out. “Tracking everyone down and teleporting around the labyrinth has been pretty taxing!”

Rarity's horn lit up. “Let me assist you, Twilight. My telekinesis might not be as strong as yours–”

“Gee, you think?” Rainbow Dash snarked.

“But very little bit helps,” Rarity finished, directing a withering glare at Rainbow Dash.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened. “Rarity, wait, no! If we don't properly coordinate our magic, we'll cause contradictory pulls and weaken our overall efforts!”

Even as Twilight Sparkle spoke, a second sphere of magic formed around Fluttershy. The two spheres began moving in different directions, tugging on each other and forming tears in each other's surfaces. Fluttershy's wings poked at the tears, widening them. “You two are so lame!” She finally reared back and kicked, breaking both Twilight Sparkle's and Rarity's grip on her and flying off. “Where's your magic of friendship now? It's a miserable pile of lies!”

Both unicorns tumbled to the ground, their horns dimming. “Ouch...” Twilight Sparkle moaned out. She tapped the side of her head. “Rarity, you all right?”

Rarity simply lay on her side, staring off into space. “Give me a minute,” she mumbled out. “And about twenty gallons of rocky road.”

Applejack trotted over to Rarity's side and leaned down. “Her breathing's steady,” she reported. Applejack's head tilted slightly. “Rainbow Dash, you mind giving Twilight a hoof and seeing if you can't corral Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash slowly looked up at her best friend. Her wings buzzed as her entire body tensed. She finally shot into the air, making a beeline for Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash's forelegs stretched out as the distance closed.

Fluttershy snorted. She froze in midair as Rainbow Dash closed in, waiting, waiting... and sidestepping Rainbow Dash's flight. “Oh, were you aiming for me?” she taunted, sticking out her tongue. “Good thing nothing was in your way, Rainbow Crash!”

Rainbow Dash ground her teeth together and she growled. “She's not in her right mind. Discord bucked with her. She's not in her right mind,” she repeated, throwing her forelegs out and slowing down. She threw herself into as tight a turn as possible, circling back towards Fluttershy and speeding up once more. She grabbed at Fluttershy–only for the pegasus to slip down out of her grip once more. “Horse apples!”

Applejack slid her hat down over her eyes in embarrassment. “Consarnit, Dash! Stop fooling around and grab her!”

“What do you think I'm trying to do?” Rainbow Dash sputtered out as Fluttershy continued evading her. “I've always been faster on the straightaway, but Fluttershy's a lot more maneuverable and agile than I am.”

Fluttershy dodged and weaved through the air. “Good thing this isn't a race, Rainbow Bash!” her sneer faltered for a second. “Because 'bash' rhymes with 'dash', and you'd bash your–” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh, never mind!”

Pinkie Pie bounced along the ground, ears flopping up and down in a rhythmic pattern. “Dashie, Dashie!” she shouted. “Fly straight up for about five seconds, then left for two and then down at a forty-five degree angle!” Her tail began wobbling. “Do it now!”

Rainbow Dash tossed pinkie Pie a salute before spinning about and flying straight up into the air. Fluttershy watched as Rainbow Dash flew around. “Oh, no you don't!” she said, before sliding away...

… And flying right into Rainbow Dash's path. The distance between the pegasi rapidly closed, too rapid for Fluttershy to be able to slip out away from Rainbow Dash. She sucked in a breath. “Son of a Cerberus,” she muttered.

There was a sudden flash of light and loud pop echoing throughout the area. The flash quickly faded, revealing Megan in midair, and right between Fluttershy and the charging Rainbow Dash.

Megan barely had time to blink before the pegasus slammed into her. Her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as Rainbow Dash headbutted her stomach and knocked herself semi-senseless. The pair started falling back towards the ground, almost in slow motion.

Twilight Sparkle gasped. “Megan? Dash! NO!” Her horn lit up again as she reached out with her telekinesis. Beads of sweat slicked her mane down as the prior tracking spells, teleportation and telekinetic tug-of-war with Rarity finally started taking their toll. The light around her horn, once steady and bright, started flickering. Twilight Sparkle ground her teeth together as she forced every bit of willpower and energy into her magic. “I won't... fail them!” she said, voice rising with each word.

Fluttershy watched as her two friends fell. Her cutie mark brightened and her coat, currently a dull-gray started lightening, changing into the much more normal butter-yellow. She dove down, wings tightening against her body. Fluttershy quickly closed the distance between her and Megan and Rainbow Dash. She reached out and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash's barrel, then extended her wings and enveloped Megan in a feathery net.

Applejack looked up from where she was tending to Rarity. “Pinkie, you happen to have any trampolines stashed around, in case of a trampoline-related emergency?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “Closest one's in Neighpon!”

“Of course it is.”

Fluttershy looked over Rainbow Dash's still-prone form at Megan. “Grab hold!” She waited for Megan to grab hold of Rainbow Dash before kicking her hind legs out and trying to slow down as much as possible. Fluttershy's pegasi senses went into overdrive as she felt the wind currents flowing around her feathers and 'sensed' how high she was above the ground–and how rapidly the ground was approaching.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened as she tracked her friends' fall. “Oh, no you don't!” She screwed her eyes shut and dragged a hoof against the ground. Her horn lit up again. Another pinkish telekinetic bubble formed around the three. This time, the bubble held firm. The three visibly slowed down as they approached the ground, finally stopping a few inches away.

Fluttershy's wings unfolded from around Megan and Rainbow Dash. She retracted them back against her body and slowly floated away, her coat starting to dull once more. Fluttershy screwed her eyes shut and banged a hoof against the side of her head. “No, no! What the feathering cerberus is going on?” Her eyes flew open and she looked around at the others. “What are you looking at?” Her eyes narrowed. “W-what? I didn't wanna lose any targets for my merciless taunting, that's all!”

Applejack nudged Rarity's shoulder and helped her to her hooves. “I'm not buying that for a second!” she shouted. Applejack started towards Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and, eventually, Rarity following suit. “You didn't do that for taunting.” She tapped her Element of Honesty. “You did that because you saw two people in danger and didn't want them getting hurt. That's the true Fluttershy shining through.”

Twilight Sparkle levitated the Element of Kindness up and over to float in front of her as she too walked over to Fluttershy. The diadem brightened with every step she took towards the pegasus. “Fluttershy, please. Let us help you. Discord's twisted you, made you the... opposite of how you truly are.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, no! He opened my eyes! Goody-two shoes Fluttershy got stomped all over! This new Fluttershy is taking charge, taking names and kicking flank so hard I'm gonna boot cutie marks into orbit!”

Rainbow Dash, who had managed to recover somewhat from headbutting Megan's abdomen, flew over. “Yeesh! You're sounding worse than when you went too far with Iron Will's regimen!” She landed in front of Fluttershy, mouth a thin line and eyes staring straight through her best friend. “This isn't you. This isn't the kind mare I've known since I was a foal.”

Fluttershy's lips curled back. “Oh, back then? When that kind, weak-willed pushover got bullied and ostracized and tormented by those flankhole bullies?” She let out a strangled cry. “Why should I be kind when the rest of the world's so darned cruel? Why should I be so nice when everyone else can be so mean?”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “You know why you're so kind? Because the rest of the world can be so cruel. You and I and all of us here know first-hoof how bad the world can be, so we do our best to bring some light into it.” She shook her head. “You're not weak-willed. You're stronger than you think you are, as massively cliched as it sounds.”

Pinkie Pie spoke up. “Like what you've said before, the world's red tooth and claw. Facing that world with a smile and open wing? That takes real guts, Fluttershy. A lot more than being a big meanie-pants and bully!”

Twilight Sparkle floated the Element of Kindness closer to Fluttershy. The butterfly-shaped diadem had begun glowing a bright-pink, while the chain itself shone brightly. “Here. This is for you. This is meant for you.”

Fluttershy's eyes fixated themselves on the Element. Her coat once more started lightening and changing from gray to butter-yellow. She slowly reached out towards it. “Is it?” she quietly asked.

Rarity cleared her throat. “If I may say, it complements your coat and wings perfectly, my dear. It would be ever so kind of you to accept Twilight's offering.”

Fluttershy looked around at everyone there before lowering her head and letting Twilight float the Element of Kindness up and over her mane and down onto her neck. The very second it rested upon her neck, Fluttershy's coat brightened, turning an almost blinding yellow before settling down. Fluttershy's eyes spun in their sockets and she teetered and wobbled on her hooves. “I'm all right!” she blurted out... before fully falling over and fainting.

Rarity's horn flared. She grabbed Fluttershy in her telekinesis and staeadied her. “Darling, are you all right?” She grabbed Fluttershy and started shaking her. “Speak to us, my dear! Snap out of whatever fouls spells Discord cast on you!” She held a foreleg to her forehead. “Oh, if he hurt you I'd never forgive myself!”

Fluttershy's head whipped back and forth. Her eyes crossed as Rarity continued shaking her. “R-Ra-Ra–“ she stuttered out.

Pinkie Pie grabbed Rarity's head and turned it to face her. “Cut it out, Rarity! You're gonna give Flutters whiplash, then she'll have to go on worker's compensation and possibly sue you for damages done. Then Big Mac and the rest of the Apple clan won't be happy and there'll be an all-out clan war between the Belle's and the Apple's. And then Princess Celesita will declare martial law and–“

Rainbow Dash slid between the two and separated Pinkie Pie from Rarity. “Okay, can it, will you?” She looked to Fluttershy, who had been let go by Rarity and was standing there, staring off just past Rainbow Dash. “Hey, Fluttershy?Are you all right? You had us worried there, old pal.” Rainbow Dash swallowed and scratched the back of her head. “Seriously, come on. Did D-Discord d-do something bad to you?”

Fluttershy slowly blinked. She shook her head and looked to Rainbow Dash. “Oh, Dash! I had the worst nightmare! I dreamed I had gone all mean and acted so horribly to you! The worst part is I was so petty about it.”

Pinkie Pie blinked. “That was the worst part about it?”

Rarity shrugged. “Well, darling. If you're going to go evil, why half-flank it? Go all-in or go home, that's what I say!”

Rainbow Dash studiously ignored her as she reached out and patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. “Hey, hey. It's all right, okay? You did great. No stupid thing that jerk Discord did to you could stop you from being you, at least not for long.” She hopped up and started punching the air. “I mean when you swooped down and grabbed me and Megan in your wings and–“

Twilight Sparkle gasped. “Megan!” She spun around on her hind hooves and galloped over to the still-prone human.

Megan merely raised a hand and weakly waved. “I'm all right!” She slowly levered herself into a sitting position and looked up slightly. “Well, I don't know if alicorns are really invulnerable! Okay, so I'm an 'omnicorn'. But really, what's the difference?”

The six ponies stared at Megan as she continued talking to herself. “No, I don't know where Discord is. If I knew that, I'd be as far away from there as possible. Well–okay, yeah. Just to get a plan together.” She rolled her eyes. “I didn't improvise that much back in Dream Valley.”

Rainbow Dash looked to her friends. “Is she talking to herself? Megan, did Discord do something to you? I mean, something more than what's already happened?” She chuckled a bit. “Come on, Megan. If you needed someone awesome to talk to, I'm right here. No need to make up an imaginary friend.”

Megan glanced at Rainbow Dash. “Believe me, Dash. She is far from awesome.” Her head whipped back the other way. “Well, I'm sorry, but this has been a very stressful day for me. I-yes, I know for you, too.” She hung her head. “I'm sorry. That was mean of me.”

Rainbow Dash stared at Megan, eyes wide. “Okay, we need Sydney Freeman and Frasier Crane here. Discord's behind this!”

Pinkie Pie hopped over to Megan's side. Her head darted all around Megan's body. “I don't see Discord behind her, Dashie.” Her ears flopped down, then back up. “And I think she's only dealt with the normal amount of chaos.” Her mane unfurled and a stethoscope plopped down around her neck, above her Element of Laughter. “I think she needs ten slices of cake and to call us in the morning. Actually, I think we all need some cake. And a month off after this.”

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew up and over to Megan's shoulders. They wrapped their forelegs around her arms and helped Megan to her feet. “Whoa, steady!” Rainbow Dash said. “I'm awesome, but that's more than a bit outside my cloud house.”

Twilight Sparkle's horn lit up. She cantered about Megan, eyes traveling over her form. “Megan, how did you get away from Discord?” She stopped and cocked an eyebrow. “You are Megan, right?” Twilight Sparkle gasped and her right eye twitched a bit. “He didn't conjure you up to divide and conquer us, did he?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “She's the real deal, darling. Discord's fakes aren't nearly this well-made.”

Megan nodded to Applejack. “Thank you.” She looked to Twilight Sparkle. “I'm the real deal, Twilight.” She tapped the side of her head. “I've finally begun to accept what Queen Celestia did to me, and how it changed me.” She groaned. “All right, all right! I was getting to you.” She looked around. “That was what I've nicknamed 'Reflector'. She's the part of my mind that's realized I have to use this power, that I can't ignore it any longer.”

Twilight Sparkle slowly nodded. “I know the feeling.”

Rainbow Dash waved her forelegs in the air. “Whoa, whoa! Why you two getting so glum all of a sudden? This is great!” She punched and kicked in midair, spinning about. “We found Megan. She's got some new super-cool, vaguely-defined powers, and now we can find Discord and kick his butt all the way to Tartarus!”

Pinkie hopped onto her hind legs and began waving small flags that had appeared in her hooves. “Yeah, yeah! We're gonna kick butt and eat cake, and the cake's cooking in the oven! Just one question, though?” She dropped back down to all fours. “Where is Discord?”

Megan blinked. “Son of a–” She looked around. “This area's not collpasing or anything like that. Think he's nearby?”

Twilight Sparkle glanced around. Her horn lit up as she started walking around. “I think the basic spells keeping this structure intact are self-sustaining. As long as they're not disrupted, we should be safe.” She stopped mid-gait. “I'm trying to track him, but there's too much chaotic energy floating around. It's like trying to track a distinct current in the ocean. It's there, but there's just so much around it!”

Rarity pursed her lips in thought. “Hmm, I'm not sure you need to track his energy, darling. I think we should focus more on his personality, what we know about him and his prior history.”

Megan glanced down at her. “What do you mean?”

Rarity looked up at her. “Well, Discord does seem to hold grudges and not forget slights. We've foiled his plan to divide and conquer us, and we've also rescued Megan. So I'm going to guess he's in quite the tizzy and looking to take it out on someone.”

Megan's head shot up. “Celestia and Luna!” She looked back down. “That bastard's out for revenge and looking for some quick satisfaction. Well, they're right outside this hellhole, right?”

Twilight Sparkle gasped. “Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!” She started hopping from hoof to hoof, her right eye twitching. “They were the ones to seal him up the first time! In the mood he's in he'll go STRAIGHT for them and–”

Megan dropped to one knee and grabbed Twilight Sparkle's face. “Twilight, focus!” she half-shouted. “I'm not sure I've got enough control at the moment to teleport all of us to where they are. You need to concentrate!”

Applejack trotted over to Twilight Sparkle's side. “In through the muzzle and out through the mouth, sugarcube,” she said, running a hoof along her friend's barrel. “Calm down and think before you do anything, okay?”

Twilight Sparkle spent about a minute breathing, her nostrils flaring with every breath. “I'm... I'm all right,” she finally said. She looked to Applejack. “Thanks.” The unicorn's horn lit up. “All right, everyone! I'm locking onto Princess Celestia's magic and... got it! Gather around!”

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all crowded in as close as they dared to Twilight Sparkle. “Hold onto your flanks!” Pinkie Pie said, as all seven of them disappeared from Discord's labyrinth with a bright flash of magic.

Comments

[Pinklestia]

It says something the fact one of their friends is hearing voices doesn't warrant much attention.

[redandready45]

Things are getting tense...

[Speckle]

Onwards!