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A Second Chance

by Jay David

Chapter 49: Magic Meets Chaos

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As Twilight and her friends began to leave the royal palace, they gazed out onto the streets of Canterlot, seeing first-hoof the effect that Discord's power was having on the city. When most ponies hear the word "chaos", they might envisage some kind of riot, or perhaps ponies just not getting along with one another. But the scene that now played out before Twilight was true chaos. Random events of every description were occurring all around them, targeting old and young, male and female, rich and poor alike. Garbage bins suddenly coming to life and trying to eat nearby mares. Clouds of cotton candy floating just above the streets. Ponies themselves suddenly finding that they were floating out of control in the air. These and an assortment of other insane things were going on every other moment, and Twilight and her friends watched with dismay as this disaster unfolded before them. Sheesh. Discord hasn't wasted any time getting on with his usual business, Twilight thought. Ponyville was pretty badly hit the first time, but Canterlot remained fairly free of his influence. Now though...he seems to be targeting it deliberately, and in greater force.

"Girls...we've got to find him."

The other mares all nodded at their leader's determined declaration, but it was Applejack alone who walked up to her, bearing a look of concern.

"Er, Twilight? Not to put a damper on yer plans an all...but...how? We don't have the first idea where this Discord fella will be."

The young unicorn turned to her friend, her expression softening somewhat.

"I was worried about that myself, Applejack. He’s chaos incarnate, which means it's going to be difficult at best to predict where he'll be or what he'll be doing."

Raising a hoof, Twilight pointed straight at the drama going on in the streets below them.

"For all we know, he could be on the other side of the world, inflicting all this on Canterlot with a thought."

Rainbow, upon hearing that, let out a grunt of annoyance.

"Ugh! This sucks! At least Nightmare Moon came out to meet us head-on! If this guy is as slippery as you say, then...argh! It's just gonna drive me nuts!"

Before anypony could respond to that, they were all suddenly taken aback by the sudden arrival of a bag of nuts, popping into existence right above Rainbow's head, before being unceremoniously poured on top of her. It was an annoyance for the pegasus, that much was certain, but, as she brushed the nuts off her mane, she glared angrily all around her, letting out a snort before shouting out.

"Did you hear that, Discord?! Are you here, somewhere?! Then come on out! Let's have a friendly little chat!"

Her words were emphasised by her movements, which included hopping back and forth on her hind legs while giving boxing motions with her forelegs. Twilight planted a hoof to her face at seeing her friend like this.

"I doubt he’s going to just show himself, Rainbow. Don't forget, we're wearing the only things in Equestria that can stop him. He knows the Elements are the only real threat he faces, and even a chaotic mind like his is smart enough to avoid it."

Hearing that caused Rainbow to let out another grunt of annoyance, landing back onto all four hooves before kicking the ground in her frustration. Twilight nodded after seeing this. Believe me, Rainbow, I understand your frustration. Trying to understand chaos. It's...difficult. Twilight sighed deeply, thinking over their situation for a while before, all of a sudden, Pinkie Pie darted ahead of the group and started bouncing up and down.

"Ooh! Ooh! Why don't we just follow the trail?"

All of the other mares, while initially annoyed by her usual Pinkie-style antics, suddenly gained a collective look of confusion after hearing her words. They watched as the pink mare pointed eagerly to their right, prompting them to look in that direction. True to her word, there was indeed a long trail out before them, consisting of many hundreds of tiny pieces of bread, all lined up and leading away from them. Twilight frowned at that. Really, Discord? A literal bread-crumb trail? Since when do you get so literal? Well...okay...you're always literal when it comes to these jokes of yours, but even so, this is just insulting. Walking forward, Twilight looked at the first of the bread crumbs, her eyes narrowing as she did so. As the other mares walked alongside her, Rarity leaned in close, whispering to their leader.

"Um, Twilight? I don't mean to point out the obvious, but...doesn't this look like a trap of some sort?"

Twilight gave a single nod to that question.

"Probably. But then..."

She turned, looking her fashionista friend right in the eye.

"...how else are we going to find him?"

Rarity looked to the other mares, hoping that one of them would be able to come up with a decent answer to Twilight's question. Instead, they all simply gave a shrug of their shoulders, prompting Rarity to turn back to her, hanging her head low somewhat. Sighing, Twilight looked back to the breadcrumbs and began to follow them, with her friends following reluctantly. I know this is dangerous. He's already hurt ponies more than I expected him to. Even so...what choice do we have? So, Twilight and the others walked through the streets of Canterlot, watching the hectic goings on around them. There were all manner of strange creatures popping in and out of existence, chasing ponies or just generally being a nuisance. Inanimate objects were coming to life or just becoming upside-down. Every once in a while, there would even be an occasional spot of chocolate rain, much to Pinkie's delight. However, her friends were always there to stop her from going AWOL and trying to drink it, which disappointed her a great deal.

Eventually, the group came to the outskirts of the city, approaching what all of them knew were the wide garden spaces of the Canterlot; a place where all manner of ornate hedges and beautiful exotic plants were usually found. Today, however, many of those plants now took on a darker colour, with a lot of the formerly-nice-looking plants now appearing manic and feral, like animals, snapping at every passer-by. Fluttershy especially was distressed by his, making sure to stick close to her friends while avoiding the bite of those ferocious flowers. In time, however, the group came to the inevitable end of the bread crumb trail, right in the middle of the gardens. They all swivelled their heads around in a desperate bid to find the spirit of chaos. But, alas, he was nowhere to be seen. Twilight frowned upon seeing nothing at the end of their trail.

"Come on out, Discord! We know you're there!"

Silence was all that could be heard, at least for a while. For soon, the winds began to speed up all around them, and dark clouds formed overhead, prompting the group to huddle together. Twilight stood her ground, watching all this transpire, and in mere moments, there was a blinding flash of light, leading to all of the mares raising hooves to shield their eyes from it. When the light died down, they watched with horror as a massive fire had erupted before them, reaching high into the sky. Seeing this imposing sight, all of the mares, save for Twilight, took a step backwards. But Twilight herself stayed where she was, for she could see a figure in the fire, approaching them in a menacing manner. Soon enough, it emerged, the fire bathing the creature in an evil-looking red glow. He stood tall, with his arms outstretched, and opened his mouth to speak in a loud and booming voice.

"Behold! I am Discord, the spirit of chaos! I come to you now to spread disharmony and chaos wherever I please! All will bow before me as I..."

"Cut the act, Discord! We need to talk!"

The draconequs, right in the middle of his big speech, looked down at the young unicorn before him, seeing absolutely no trace of fear in her eyes. There was an awkward and uncomfortable silence between them, as the other mares watched with worry at having their friend so casually talk down the beast before them. Eventually though, the chaotic spirit slumped his shoulders, letting out a huff before snapping his fingers. There was another flash and, within an instant, the roaring fire behind him had vanished, with the garden now looking as it was before his arrival. Looking at his new opponent, Discord folded his arms and began to pout, like a small child not getting their way.

"You're no fun!"

Twilight frowned at this and took a step forward.

"We're not here for fun, Discord. We're here to stop what you're doing!"

The spirit looked away from her, scratching his chin in a nonchalant manner.

"Yes, yes. I figured as much. You ponies, always so serious. You should learn to relax more, enjoy yourselves."

Twilight narrowed her eyes even further.

"Kinda hard to enjoy ourselves when our world is being turned into some kind of insane funhouse for your amusement!"

A hearty chuckle came from Discord after he heard that.

"Oh, you can't blame me for wanting a bit of fun! I was a statue for over a thousand years!"

"With good reason!" Twilight spat back.

The smile faded from Discord's face as he began to look away from her.

"So...I suppose that's why you're here then? To put me back in my place? Celestia wastes no time, I'll give her that much."

In spite of the clear disrespect she was being given, Twilight's face softened somewhat as she let out a sigh.

"Actually...I'm hoping we won't have to go down that route."

Upon hearing this, Discord's ears perked up as he looked in her direction once more.

"I'm sorry, perhaps I misheard that. Did you say...you don't want to use those precious Elements against me?”

Twilight gave a single nod, oblivious to the incredulous looks her friends were giving her.

"If you're willing...then maybe we can talk this out."

There was silence between the two, each one trying to read the other, with little success. Eventually, the spirit of chaos broke out into a sly smile as he hovered forward, getting barely an inch from Twilight's face.

"Well then...isn't this an interesting turn of events?"

Next Chapter: Negotiations Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 3 Minutes
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