Echoes of Chaos
Everything had steadily been declining in sanity over the course of the past few days. No one could dispute that, especially the hulking beast of a human scouring the fields of Sweet Apple Acres searching for something he couldn’t even specify. He had no leads on what he was looking for other than something that ‘feels weird’ by Artemis’s words. He couldn’t even stop to tell his sister why he was hunched over the ground like an orangutan.
As far as Juliet was aware, Artemis was in an unconscious stupor in the town library.
But Butler, going against his better judgment and trusting his once-ingenious charge’s assumptions, did what he was instructed. It wasn’t until he found a particularly scorched patch of grass that he realized what Artemis had him doing. He wasn’t looking for anything real. In fact, he wasn’t looking for anything at all.
Magic. It was magic. Energy, more or less, but magic specifically.
So if that Discord creature is responsible for this, am I supposed to feel its magic?
He took a step toward the burnt grass, something about it drawing him closer. Curiosity? Ignorance? Whatever it was that drove him, he wanted to touch the ash. Why was that one spot burnt while the rest of the area seemed fine? The golden aura that had dragged them to Equestria had to have been much larger than that, so why wouldn’t its effects stretch further?
Juliet moaned, “C’mon bro, what’s this all about? I’m booored!” She walked lazily beside Butler, yawning all the while. Every few minutes she would chime in, all but convincing Butler it was a waste of time, but this time felt different.
“Then go back to the library,” he snapped, his mind locked on the scorch marks. Something seemed wrong about them, but he couldn’t quite piece it together.
“You know I can’t do that, not with those fairies there. The Captain gets on my nerves.”
The response she got was an arm flat across the torso. The brute jumped back away from the grass, shoving Juliet with him. In a blink of the eye, yellow sparks burst from the spot on the ground, reminiscent of the device’s aura. They leapt to and fro, gathering closer together until they took shape.
A long snake-like body formed, with limbs sprouting from it in the shape of animal arms and legs. A paw here, a hoof there, all tied together with a horse’s muzzle and two eyes with red pupils. A manifestation of energy, shimmering with golden beauty, lingered in the air, tiny sparks erupting from it in sporadic intervals.
It chuckled with a demented tone, “So this is an out-of-body experience!”
Juliet snapped, “What the heck are you supposed to be?” as her muscles tensed up.
“You must be Juliet, then?” the figure laughed, zipping through the air toward the duo.
Butler drew his pistol and aimed it for the figure’s head, but the target simply burst into static as it moved from the spot. Yellow sparks fell to the ground, swarming back toward the burnt area. As they struggled to take shape again, the figure’s voice laughed deviously.
“You mind coming a bit closer, pal? Can’t seem to reach ya!”
The humans were astonished, dumbfounded even. This thing had just fallen to pieces, and it was still taunting them. It could hardly move from its spot, but still it rang out with cocky laughs. What was this thing in front of them?
“I know what you’re thinking,” it began, the sparks melding together to hold shape, “You want to know what I am. Well, obviously, I’m nothing!” It reached a hand out cautiously, testing its limits, watching its arm vanish. “Not yet, at least. But soon…”
“Soon?” Butler echoed.
Juliet could hardly form the words, “What happens soon?”
“Chaos!” the figure roared, its body ripping to pieces in golden explosions of light, gently falling to the ground to come back together. A pink cloud appeared just to the side of the burnt patch, a small glass resting on the ground. It chuckled almost angrily, “Just as soon as I get that centaur to touch me!”
The younger human could barely keep up with the display. “Centaur?” she asked blankly.
“Foaly…” Butler groaned, remembering just where the fairy’s box had landed.
“Ding-ding-ding!” the figure cheered, pom-poms appearing in the air and waving rhythmically. “Are you certain that Artemis is the smart one?”
“I don’t have time for these games,” the bodyguard snapped, the beast’s bizarre demeanor annoying him to no end. “If you’re supposed to be a statue, how are we speaking right now?”
The golden figure’s body seemed to droop closer to the ground, its uniform expression taking a slightly darker shade. It sighed, “How observant of you, human. But I suppose Artemis has clued you in? Nevertheless…” Its claw and paw came together to create a distorted and otherwise impossible clapping sound; brown droplets fell from the pink cloud into the cup below. “I feel it would be a waste of breath to explain myself without the presence of the boy who made it all possible.”
“If you think for one second that we’re-!” Juliet began to protest, cut off as some sharp object passed across her face. She instinctively fell into a defensive crouch, searching for the source of the projectile. Her eyes caught her sibling on the ground; she let out a short scream.
A moderately large chunk of rock jutted from Butler’s back, blood leaking from the wound as he tried to struggle to his feet. His vision was quickly blurring, his body refusing to work. The earthen spear had come without warning, no sound or vibrations preceding its attack.
The work of the demon… he tried to hold onto his thoughts.
The golden figure smiled deviously, mouthing its words with no sound accompanying them. “Ding. Ding. Ding.”
The voice in his head shattered what little bit of bravery he’d been trying to reserve. He growled, “Juliet, get out of here!” Barely even thinking about his aim, he pointed the Sig Sauer in the figure’s general vicinity and unloaded the clip, panic and desperation flooding his thoughts out of nowhere.
Her face stinging from the projectile’s graze, Juliet leaped to her feet. Most of her wanted to make the thing pay for harming her sibling, but the small part of her that wanted to run away seemed to take priority. Butler’s growl and the sound of bullets didn’t hurt her choice any.
Even as she ran away, she could see the flashes of gold light accompanying each gunshot.
“Trust me when I say that your brother will sustain much greater damage. In fact, this rock to the back is fairly tame compared to what she’ll do to him!”
The voice drove her faster into town.
…
Draconequus: the embodiment all things chaotic and disharmonious, a symbol of an evil that once controlled all of Equestria. The beast had taken a name in its time of control. Discord was a name that fit him almost too well, a sour word that anyone could recognize. Even in the human world, discord was a word for destruction and chaos. He was Discord by name, and discord by nature.
And so Discord—who else would the figure have been?—was having fun. More fun than he could even remember. Sure it was true that he couldn’t exactly leave that one patch of burnt grass, but who needed to move when you could just have the world do your moving for you? The massive rock projectile that had impaled Butler had drawn him close enough for several large vines to wrap around him; though it must be said that they had trouble keeping the brute off the ground.
“You humans have always fascinated me. Your curiosity always gets you in trouble, and you still pursue it!” A small bag of popcorn rested on the arm of the chair the golden figure had manifested. Each piece that entered the demon’s mouth ended up back in the bag. “I mean, any sane creature would have turned tail after the hundred-meter fall!”
“So…” Butler rasped, his body trying to shut down, “that was you…”
Discord laughed, “Right you are, buddy! And poor little Arty, he thought it was his ‘science’ all along!” The vines tightened around the human, the blood flow slowing ever slightly. “Whatever your opinion of me, Butler, I assure you I’m nothing compared to the things you’ll see.”
The pain in his chest shot through his body as the vines continued to tighten. “You say that like I’ll be around long enough.”
“Oh come now! You don’t expect me to let you die, do you?” A pink light swallowed the human, the blood evaporating in its warmth. “I’m not quite that morbid!”
Butler couldn’t believe what he was feeling. He couldn’t comprehend the beast sitting in front of him. He just…couldn’t. He felt almost perfect for the first time in days. His muscles relaxed even under the pressure of the vines; his body screamed with energy; his heart picked up its pace with determination. His mind cleared.
For the first time since encountering Fluttershy in Fowl Manor, Butler felt normal. He was thinking straight, finally, enough so to realize just how unimaginably foolish his charge had been! Guilt shadowed him as he considered how irresponsible he’d been, even going so far as to let Artemis return to Equestria without him one evening.
The real Butler would never have allowed it! he scolded.
“You healed me. Why?” he snapped.
A small vine reached from the ground and tickled the brute’s nose as Discord cheered, “Because that’s what friends do! We’re friends, right? After all, you humans are helping me by throwing things out of balance, and I’ll be helping you by erasing your memories of this whole ordeal!” The confidence and smugness in his voice rang out in every syllable.
“And the fairies? How did they fit into your plan?”
“They didn’t,” the demon scoffed. “I didn’t realize they still existed until Artemis saw the dwarf. Of course, they couldn’t have hurt anything by that point.”
“How’d you do it? How’d you manipulate Artemis?”
Discord shook his head disappointedly and tittered, “A magician never reveals his secrets, Butler!”
“Though sometimes,” a calm, arrogant voice called out, “that magician’s secrets come pouring out on their own.”
The vines around Butler vanished as Discord turned toward the voice. A devious grin covered his muzzle as the group of foreigners approached, the gaunt young genius heading the march. After several days of passively influencing their actions, it was time to finally meet his playthings. And boy was he excited!
“Artemis Fowl the Second! Or would you rather I call you Arty?” the beast chuckled mockingly.
Artemis flinched at the use of his pet name. What right did this monster have to mimic his mother? “I see that my bodyguard in unharmed, as I expected.”
“’As I expected?’” What’s that supposed to mean!?” Juliet snapped, relief at the sight of her living sibling being drowned out by anger at Artemis’s indifference.
“Of course he wouldn’t kill Butler. You had nothing to worry about, Juliet.” Artemis stepped forward, using what little information Juliet had given him to calculate the beast’s magical reach. He sighed, “This meeting has been a long time coming, Discord.”
“Oh, I do so very much agree!” he cheered. “That head of yours is much too cramped to accommodate the likes of moi!”
Captain Short stood right behind Artemis, her Neutrino drawn and her magic at full capacity. She muttered to the boy, “Is this what you expected to find?”
“Naturally,” he whispered back.
“’Naturally,’ he says! You speak as if you know me, silly boy!” Discord snapped his claws, the manifestations of his magic popping out of life, returning to his figure; he lit up significantly brighter.
A purple barrier wrapped around Artemis and Holly, small but sturdy, as Twilight Sparkle joined them in the field. “Be careful around him, Artemis. Overconfidence will only get you hurt!” she warned, past experience evident in her tone.
Butler scrambled to his feet, pistol in hand, backing away from the magical specter slowly. He grumbled, “The next time you feel like using me as bait, Artemis, at least give me some warning…”
“Truly sorry, old friend. Necessary evil and all that,” the boy apathetically retorted.
Discord objected, “Oh come now, Arty, you know that isn’t true! Your first plan involved placing the fairies as bait, after all!” A sly grin stretched across his face as the LEPrecon officers shifted their focus to the human.
Artemis pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, “You are correct, Discord. There’s no sense in hiding it at this point.”
“Is there anyone you don’t find disposable, Mud Boy?” Commander Root grunted, somewhere in the limbo between anger and apathy.
“Believe me when I tell you that there was never any real threat, Commander. If it had come down to fairies, Mr. Diggums would have been my choice of bait, anyway.” The barrier followed as Artemis approached the golden beast. “This apparition is not Discord, at least not the real Discord. No, that comes soon, if my calculations are correct.”
“Calculations?” The usual mockery was nowhere to be found in Discord’s tone, a genuine curiosity finally sparked in him.
Pulling his device from a shirt pocket, the genius tittered, “I see you’ve been neglecting your secret passage into my head, so allow me to explain in my own words.” He pushed the button on the device, letting a long streak of golden energy breach the purple barrier and crash against the beast’s figure. “If I consider that your main goal is to disrupt the balance of harmony in this world, thereby freeing yourself from stone, then everything begins to make perfect sense.”
“It…does?” Twilight shook her head in confusion.
Artemis chuckled, “Indeed it does, Ms. Sparkle.” With another press of the button, he continued, “Earthlings, and by extension humans, do not belong in this world of equines, so bringing us here instantly shifts the balance. As we involve ourselves more in the goings-on of the world, the balance continues to tilt, until even the producers of harmony can’t keep it in check.” Another button press, “Am I correct so far?”
“You are, I suppose. Though this is getting boring; can we hurry it up?” The beast snapped his claws, a rainstorm suddenly erupting above the crowd. An inversed umbrella appeared in his paw.
The rain poured down like snow, gentle and cold, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Nothing too distracting for the foreigners.
Artemis grinned as he continued, “You fused some of your magic with my device, and brought me here. You gave me several failed tests beforehand, so as to lead me to believe I was responsible for getting everything just right. The second my feet touched Equestrian ground, in Fluttershy’s cottage, after the manor incident, the balance changed, and you began your escape.”
Mulch sprung up seemingly out of nowhere and laughed, “So you’ve been getting played the whole time! Some genius you are!” He was met with Butler’s glare, and his jaw locked shut in an instant.
Artemis continued, unfazed by Mulch’s mockery, “What’s more, all of your games have been to challenge me and my plans. If you could only break my determination, you could do more than speak to me. You could actively corrupt me, could you not?”
The rain stopped. The golden glow of Discord hovered gently in the air, a grin stretching below the red eyes. He chuckled, “You are good, kid! You’ve been so focused on getting your gold; I haven’t truly been able to hijack that mind of yours!” He sounded impressed, a tone not commonly found in the beast.
The gold. So it comes up again.
“Did you expect any less?”
“Ah yes, the gold. My entire reason for coming here in the first place…” Artemis turned toward Twilight as he explained, “I’ve always heard that greed was one of the seven deadly sins, and yet I never thought it could lead to such a mess. I need gold, you see Ms. Sparkle, for my family’s financial stability. That’s why I was so fascinated in your books on the nature of magic.” He spun back toward the chaotic beast and added, “And as long as I can get that gold and return home to Mother, I don’t care how I obtain it.”
Everyone present seemed to take that as just an admission of the boy’s nature. But Discord shot upright in the air, his eyes widening in excitement. Time seemed to stop around the beast and the boy as their eyes met.
“Surely you jest?”
I do not jest. If you can return me home with what I seek, I will not interfere in your business here.
“Of course, you assume you could stop me.”
But I can. Or it would be more accurate to say that you can.
“Hmm?”
Artemis held up his device, a finger resting gently on the button. It was your magic that gave me the power to cross between worlds. But my device acted as a catalyst for that raw magic. You most likely haven’t noticed, but each time I’ve pressed the button, your raw magic returned to you. But in its place came some of your current magic. A grin began to stretch across his face.
“Clever boy! I was able to control my raw magic even from this world. But my refined Chaos…”
Will obey only the one who unleashes it, correct. If I so choose, every last one of us earthlings will return home. If I push this button, what little magic is left in the device will be exhausted by sending us back to our origin point. I speculate it’ll return us to both the physical and temporal origins: before I let your magic out of the tome.
“Ah yes, the tome. When did you figure it out?”
That’s unimportant. What’s matters is that Foaly will come with us.
“And if Foaly doesn’t touch my statue…”
You remain sealed away. A little gold is a small price to pay, don’t you think?
Everything restarted around the duo, none the wiser at the exchange that just took place. The only sign of anything having gone down was the device in Artemis’s hand being slightly higher in the air.
Discord laughed, “You are quite the chaotic genius, Arty! I applaud your deductions and your attempts to bargain with me!” The golden figure flashed a dark orange color, the grass below it catching fire.
The group jumped to attention, Holly and Julius’s fingers on their Neutrinos. Twilight poured more magic into her barrier, spreading it around the rest of them. Butler aimed his empty pistol instinctively.
Artemis snapped, “Don’t be foolish, Discord! You won’t get a better offer than this!”
“But I believe I will! You see, why should I pay you gold to let me go free? You know, when I’m already free!”
An ear-wrenching roar rang out across the field, the ground shaking violently as waves of heat washed over the group. In the north, a massive bolt of lightning stretched from the sky to the city of Canterlot, golden streaks of energy dotting it. The figure of Discord laughed maniacally as it fell to pieces and flew away, no longer limited by the burnt grass.
“The game truly begins, Artemis! Even if you push that button, you aren’t leaving Equestria…”
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thanks for the new chapter I think that this is going to be interresting ( sorry for my writhing it isn't my strongest point and english isn't my first langue)
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Welcome back
4686113 Good to be back.
Glad to see there's still some interest in the tale.
Hey don't feel bad about the lack of comments. I'm still as interested in your story as I am in the rest that I follow. I just was burned out on fimfiction for awhile so haven't been up to date on the stories I read. That being said I am now caught up and ready for more. I'm really excited to see where the war between Arty and Discord goes and even more excited to see how Arty turns things in his favor (that always was my favorite bit of the books). You're a good author and I can't wait to see where you take me.
Also on the lack of comments comment that is mostly just me superimposing how I felt when my story got little to no attention at all.... Even though I expected it I felt like crap for the rest of the day. Sorry if I accidentally insult you or anything like that.
Man, I'm excited! Good chapter. It's really in the style of the actual Artemis Fowl series!
See ya next time!
4685970 Never said it wasn't. Only that it means offspring when not being used as a gaming term.
Well, that was certainly an interesting conversation. Wasn't it?
Another excellent chapter (you really had me going there for a second there with Butler looking like he was going to die), and I look forward to the next one!
~ Super-Brony12