The shy, clearly robotic, mare was still staring through her mane at the pair watching their every movement. It unnerved Spike to a certain degree while Discord was nervously wringing his talon and paw back and forth. ‘Certainly changes my thoughts on creating robots in Equestria that’s for sure.’ The beads of sweat on his forehead nearly dripped into his eyes stopped out when he slowly shifted his head back and forth towards all the robots around him.

“I suppose you have been busy Fluttershy… making new friends I see.” Discord spoke calmly as to not startle Fluttershy. An achievement in its own standing which was not lost on Spike’s attention. The robotic mare merely let the eye focus intently on the draconequus. While neither could truly tell what emotion it mimicked the robot new as the motors in its mouth and the gears in its eyes changed from curiosity to understanding and finally to bemusement.

The robot let the poor excuse of it’s mane falter behind its head and stared directly at the two making was could be construed as a smile.

“Oh yes. I made some wonderful friends and they listen to me so well. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found six friends which would listen and respect me like this. I truly am such a lucky pony to have these girls… guys… IRRELEVANT DATA… EXPUNGED.” The robot finished as sparks flew out of the wings on its back. They shriveled from the electricity coursing through them but the smile returned as soon as the sparking stopped.

“Y-you ok?” Spike kept his voice soft mostly due to the beings surrounding them. There was also the cause of the shivering down his spine and the feeling that his scales were desperately trying to cave in his body to run away as fast as possible.

“Of course Spike. I’m so glad you remembered me as your friend. I was so worried about you. I can’t believe that those… IRRELEVANT DATA… EXPUNGED.” The Flutterbot sparked again as one of the eyes blew out into shards of glass. The same blue glow from a harmony possessed creature was glowing through the now destroyed socket.

All the robot masters were similar and coursing with harmony based magic throughout their bodies. Discord reacted first and grabbed Spike with his tail slowly. While the Flutterbot noticed it did nothing to deter them. With a flick of its still patchy mane the bots shot their weapons at the pair. The first shots came from the red robot in the form of pink boomerangs. Followed by a white scissor blade curving from behind them. Two very slow looking fists shot forward at the two alongside a fireball, a small cylindrical bomb, and a highly condensed ball of plasma.

Before the attacks could coincide Discord ducked into his shadow using Pinkie’s abilities and the two were back outside away from the newly created explosion from the attacks hitting each other. Spike nervously reached into the backpack on Discord’s back and pulled out three gem shards. While the nausea from the warping was disorientating he managed to create three gem shields ready for instant use. His mark though was drained leaving him feeling sleepy already. Discord, on the other hand, managed to keep his lunch down… mostly because he hadn’t eaten before they left.

“I don’t think we should stop right now. The doors aren’t appearing immediately after we find the artifact anymore. We’re in big trouble at this point. That small red one was fast. Not Rainbow Dash fast but certainly enough to keep up with her for a while.” Discord nodded slightly but said nothing else. There was a slight whirring sound buzzing through the air. Setting Spike down he began looking around for the source. ‘Spatial awareness would be so useful at this point alongside the reality warping.’ Discord thought.

Before either of them could speak again a foot went right into Spike’s gut. Spike, for all the pain he felt, shot a fireball exactly at the place where he thought he was kicked from. The red robot that had appeared took the blast only bursting backwards into the wall of the warehouse. Starlight’s ability kept him from coughing up anything but the pain was still nerve wracking. Discord summoned his clouds trapping the red robot before forcing them to discharge releasing all the lightning within them. The robot seemed to scream from the constant pain until the head exploded into shrapnel which broke through the wall.

“Thanks… I thought I would… gack… have to take care of him.” Spike wheezed out rubbing his belly at the impact point. The bruise was shallow but still visible.

“Sorry actually. I didn’t notice him until the last second. I told you fast enough to rival Dash didn’t I?” Discord quipped.

It was a good point though the pain was something Spike could live without. The first robot to fall was the speedster strangely enough which would at least give them some time to run away at least. Spike picked up his gems and held on to them ready to get some more ready for the rest of the robot’s assault. Discord looked ready to speak once again only for a blue fist to slam into his cheek sending him sprawling on the floor albeit still conscious. Spike quickly looked for the intruder only to see him flying through the air straight for them. Without missing a beat Spike tackled Discord into a roll as the blue robot shaped like a rook slammed down into the asphalt they had rolled on leaving a large crater where it landed. Without missing a beat Spike shot out a concentrated beam of fire directly into the bot. It stood it’s ground and shot out two fists. Discord summoned a few clouds catching them in mid air. The clouds dissipated as the fists fell to the ground.

“No more fists to the face thank you…” Discord cried out while he rubbed his now bruised cheek. He still wasn’t used to being hit. Not even a small bit but he knew how to roll with the punches most of the time. It still felt like his jaw had been dislocated.

Instead of waiting for the fists to come back to him the blue robot shot out at them parallel to the ground forcing Spike to bring out his gem shields while the apple mark on his back recharged. The first two shattered on impact from the assault while the third was pushed back by the rocketing robot. It fell to the ground when it couldn’t make anymore headway. Spike jumped onto the robot’s back and focused a beam of fire into the back of it’s head burning the circuitry turning the robot into scrap.

“I am starting to hate fighting robots…” Spike wheezed out. It was the second they had fought and the sheer amount of firepower needed to destroy them had been staggering. It had taken nearly twenty seconds of constant cotton candy cloud lightning just to overwhelm the red robot while the blue robot managed to tank two of Spike’s strongest beam attacks.

“At least you have the strengthening abilities. I actually have to pay attention when I get hit. And trust me a fist to the face hurts.” Discord pouted from the pain though without missing a beat picked up Spike and ran off to the streets. The moment they left the yard made them realize just how much destruction had been wrought by the robots they had left behind.

The warehouse was burning down from the explosion and several impact craters were visible in the courtyard from the debris that came from the blue robot. Before either of them could run any farther the yellow robot seemed to teleport out of nowhere through an overly large shield with an eye on it. A quick wave of fire burst out of it forcing the two to roll to the side. The sudden shift caused a few scratches on Discord while Spike had to rub his head from the jerky movements and hitting his head against the pavement.

“Discord let me down. If he uses fire I’m gonna be able to tank him.” Spike managed to whisper loud enough to alert Discord while he held at his scratches. Placing him down Spike stood against the yellow robot.

A blade came out of nowhere nearly bisecting Discord’s head from his shoulders. The sound the blades made though were easily discernible for the wily draconequus. Peering over his shoulder, there stood the orange robot who caught the blade setting it back on it’s head. It merely pointed at Discord which caused him to stare in a deadpan manner before rolling his eyes at the gesture.

“Fine I got the stupid can opener robot. If you need any help just whistle.” Discord cracked his talons and claws before rushing the orange robot.

Spike didn’t respond because the yellow robot seemed to have a large fireball floating over its head and was floating somehow. Not wasting any time he shot a beam of concentrated fire at the robot while the fireball above it’s head shot out to confront the beam. The two powers actually fizzled when they hit leaving a small smoke cloud between the two. Spike readied a gem shard he had gotten out while they were attempting to run away. Before he could get it fully set the robot rushed through the cloud and smacked Spike with a hard right leaving the drake spinning into the cloud. The Starlight mark on his back actually flushed down to half strength from the one hit.

“Motherbucker!” Spike screamed out. It didn’t hurt much but the sting caused him to wince. He could feel the mark on his back drain a lot after one hit. Spike rolled through the cloud as a fist narrowly avoided his head and slammed into the floor leaving a large divot in it and several cracks to match. Spike shot another beam of fire at the robot catching it off guard and shearing it’s arm off. It responded by firing a wave of fire back. While Spike shrugged it off for some reason the fire was hotter than his own flames. It felt like the sun had flash sunburned him but his scales were fine.

“Language Spike!” Discord cried out as he dodged the scissor boomerang. Attempting to catch the blades in the cotton candy clouds had proven unsuccessful. The blades had managed to cut through them and looked no worse for wear. When the robot had started keeping them in its hand was when the trouble had actually started. Instead of wasting it’s time throwing the blades it used them as a makeshift knife. The next swing hit the ground and Discord took his chance wrapping the arm in cotton candy and sticking it to the ground. The orange robot gaped at the now stuck weapon and trying to pull the arm out only succeeded in causing the arm to buckle from the strain.

“Don’t bother.” Discord coldly shuddered before forcing lighting through the cloud into the robot. The sudden electrical shift and numerous lesions in the robot’s chassis made it easy for the lighting to course through it. The eyes exploded from the sudden and extended jolt causing a sudden system shutdown. The yellow robot immediately rushed against Discord only for another concentrated beam to pierce through it’s head.

“Looks like we’ve come out ahead huh?” Spike quipped.

“If I had a tomato I would hit you with it.”Discord deadpanned.

“Should I have gone with ‘looks like I’ve made his head roll?' Or how about ‘Cool your heads down?' We did use a lot of fire to melt them.” Spike clacked his claws together sheepishly.

Discord merely facepalmed and ran his hand down his face annoyed beyond all belief. Comedy was going to be a necessity for Spike before he could give out real witty one liners. Instead of shrinking from his gaze Spike defiantly showed that he did indeed have a back bone.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Twilight would have laughed at it.” Spike proudly boasted.

“Yeah but she likes bad puns.” Discord countered.

“Same difference. I’m witty enough when it matters.” Spike crossed his arms standing firmly on the matter.

Before the two could argue any further a large explosion went off around them leaving another dust cloud around them. The purple robot with the treads raced after the two firing several bouncy grenades and several missiles where the two were. Instead of running Discord grabbed Spike again and fled into his shadow. The explosions went off and the purple robot was left staring at a crater and no sign of the bag he was supposed to get.

To say Pinkie’s ability was powerful was an understatement. To say it was overpowered was right on target. To say it was easy would have whomever said those words backhanded through a barn before they could even finish their thought. Spike was able to stave off the nausea but it still hurt his stomach with every warp. Discord looked to be nursing a migraine as well.

“How does Pinkie stand that?” Spike managed to speak out before holding a claw against his mouth. The urge was there but he kept his wits about.

“Practice. Her’s is far too jerky and its giving me a headache. I need a smoother transition and not a sudden shift. Still we should keep moving. We got lucky that these particular robots are so wrecked that they are easy to take out. We need that damn door already.” Discord angrily mused both to his own thoughts and for Spike’s clarification.

Before Spike could answer back the centaur shaped robot rushed into the area they had warped to which was the road leading to the warehouse. It didn’t waste time and tried to trample the two. A well placed cotton candy cloud forced it to the ground and an even better fired beam took the head clean off. That left only the purple robot and the Flutterbot left to deal with.

“So do either of us know what to do against explosions?” Spike pointed out the problem and thought back over the powers they had.

“I do. Didn’t have much chance though. The mark was running on empty from getting the artifact. It’s back now but there are far too many explosives to deal with at once. Besides it got the jump on us technically.”

“How did we miss a robot that reaches up to your chin even when you stand straight up!?” Spike cried out only to wince and cover his mouth when the sound of treads rang out through the now deserted streets. Discord prepared himself as well as he could though the constant warping caused his stomach to churn from the abuse.

The purple robot immediately shot out several missiles which Spike caught with his flames causing them to explode prematurely. Instead of stopping like other enemies the robot shot his grenades out low keeping the bounces controlled. Discord wasted no time lifting them up with his telekinesis and threw them back at the purple robot. The explosion didn’t slow it down. With renewed vigor it charged at them faster than the centaur robot ignoring any cloud that got in it’s way. The explosives on it blinked red at intermittent times.

“He’s going to kill us all!” Spike yelled out and began breathing out multiple beams at the legs of the robot. While several hit the mark the material managed to hold better than the heads of the other robots. “Why is he still standing!?”

Discord wasted no time and lifted the robot into the air and flung him back towards the warehouse. The sudden use left him slightly light headed and the mark on his back was empty once again. The explosion that followed afterwards forced them to look over the destruction that had been caused.

“Well this certainly was a lot of chaos caused in a few short minutes. Now if I only had my camera.” Discord held his fingers out in the film maker’s pose enjoying the view. Spike merely chuckled and started to traipse away from the scene. Then he froze mid stride to the sight before him. It was there. The Flutterbot was there.

“I see that you didn’t have a good time with my friends. I know they can be a little intimidating but you were being really mean.” Flutterbot was only slightly hiding behind her mane as the eyes focused intently on Spike. The same look she gave when she did that.

“The… stare…” Spike was mesmerized though Discord still had his back to the Flutterbot. Luckily enough he only backed up to see more of the explosion in all its glory. In his peripheral vision he noticed Spike stuck in place almost unmoving.

“...She’s here huh?”

“Yeah.” Spike muttered out almost lost in the power of the robotic stare. Without missing a beat Discord wrapped his tail around Spike and sprinted off surprising the Flutterbot forcing it to give chase.

The wings on the Flutterbot were horribly mangled and unable to support flight but it was still strong enough to keep up on foot. Spike managed to shake his head back and fire off several fire beams which were dodged easily. The sudden appearance of cotton candy stunned the bot forcing it off into a side alley.

“Any ideas where the door is?” Discord promptly stopped running looking around for the small pegasus robot shaped like his friend. Spike merely shrugged and watched the shadows while keeping his eyes on Discord in case he got caught by The Stare.

The robot zoomed out and tried to strike Discord only to get caught in a telekinetic field. The robot forced it’s stare into Discord’s eyes only to flinch when he managed to stare back without flinching or stopping. Spike got his breath ready only to wince when the robot looked to be crying at him. A weird fluid fell from the tear ducts it had which tore at his heart. That hesitation allowed the Flutterbot to escape the field and disappear down another alley.

The door slowly appeared near their position forcing Spike to rush for it and fling it open. He jumped through the threshold as Discord slowly edged into the doorway. The Flutterbot ignored all pretense of hiding and trotted into view.

“Why are friends leaving me again…?” It stared at Discord but kept that ability it had from activating. Discord placed his talon against his chest but kept stumbling towards the door. It took steps forward each step he took.

“No. No you won’t,” The Flutterbot stood stock straight preparing her posture and taking a pouncing position. “You’re going to LOVE ME!” It jumped towards Discord who got through the doorway slamming it in the Flutterbot’s face. The robot fell down to the ground.

“Friends nearby… IRRELEVANT DATA EXPUNGED.”

“Self Terminate… IRRELEVANT DATA EXPUNGED.”

“Oh my…” Another voice rang out as a small yellow pegasus with a pink mane floated down from one of the nearby buildings. The Flutterbot turned around and saw something shocking. A flesh covered copy of it was in front of her. It looked sad while it stared at the wounds on it’s body.

“Copy...DATA RECOVERED… Destroy… “ The Flutterbot spoke monotonously as the emotions it showcased against Discord disappeared.

“I’m sorry…” Fluttershy raised her hoof as a cannon appeared on it and several armor piece materialized on her. They were all blue in color but left room for her wings and mane.

The fight lasted one shot. The blast from the hoof cannon took out the Flutterbot leaving only the robotic frame behind. Fluttershy slowly placed her hoof on the frame crying softly for the one who had fallen. The fight for everlasting peace was one she had had trouble dealing with but kept fighting to show the world what it meant about kindness. Something she was still defining. Out of the corner of her eye something caught her attention. Her tears stopped and her eyes widened into saucer plates. A small purple scale on the floor seemingly out of place to the world she was in laid there. She gingerly picked it up her breath hitching when she first felt it in her hoof. As the memories of that day hit her like a ton of bricks and to top it all off when she turned the scale around her tears returned but this time a smile followed as well. Only four words were on that scale and they made everything seem much brighter than when she first saw the city.

‘WE ARE STILL ALIVE.’

Spike rubbed at his arm still feeling the pinch when Discord had pulled off one of his scales. While he wanted to be mad he couldn’t. If Fluttershy was in that world she needed something more tangible than an idea to get through the day. The fear that the Flutterbot had caused made them both realize that while they had gotten through the worse part of the mission it was still going to be tough for them for the following seven.

“How well do we even know the ponies we’re going to be helping?” Spike asked while he stopped feeling the tender area where the scale was. He still didn’t know the names of the other ponies that had been chosen. While he wasn’t completely out of the loop he only knew seven other ponies had become element bearers somehow.

“Probably well enough that we won’t make complete fools out of ourselves. Still at least we’d have fun that way… especially after what had happened. I still can’t believe that another attempted clone was put into production. It makes me sick.” Discord griped as he looked around for Freya. She had been short with them and rarely said much anymore. He did know why but he didn’t know how often they were watching.

“She wasn’t really a clone though. It was more of a cheap knock off of the original. Also it was weird. Usually in realms where I get an ability it was the harmony based powers that were affecting it. Usually we’d face the chaos ones. I’m not over-thinking that am I?” Spike felt his bruises and slightly winced. That day had been the most active day that either of them had and the wounds they received were specifically pointed to do as much damage as possible. Discord was tougher though and the strengthening spell from Starlight’s mark was more than enough to fight back against it.

While the magic washed over the two the backpack on Spike’s back floated over to its respective position turning into a beam of light like the other seven. The door that appeared had a mark that Spike hadn’t seen in a long time. At least not personally since the fashion show with Hoity Toity. On the door was a backwards double quaver cutie mark.

“Sweet Celestia. DJ-PON3 is one of the new bearers.” Spike exclaimed while Discord merely rubbed his talons against his body nonchalantly ignoring the reveal.

“Uh-huh.”

“What do you mean ‘uh-huh’? This is pretty big if one of the friends I made is this important to get to this point.” Spike pointed out dramatically allowing his dramatic pose to win over Discord… only for him to yawn.

“As amazing as that sounds I’m tired and we aren’t going to see her. Rest time now then we’ll head into the area. Seems like she’s going to be a natural chaotic pony.” Discord smirked as the healing ended. He curled into the bed that was prepared while Spike did the same pouting from the way he was brushed off.

After Discord seemed to fall asleep Spike mulled over the problems before falling asleep as well. Discord then woke up. Satisfied that Spike was out he traipsed over to the light signifying Fluttershy’s element and sat down near it. While Spike slept soundly Discord stayed and kept vigil over the light until fatigue finally managed to claim him into dreamland. Freya said nothing and levitated him back into his bed. The night was still young.

Angra Mainyu shoved its full weight into Harmonia forcing it to face it. Harmonia shoved back with the same force.

Harmonia kept the rest of its thoughts silent due to how petulant Angra could get. Angra said nothing to the retort and floated away as if to get ready. The feeling of chaos magic disappeared from the room leaving only the harmony magic to bask in its own glory. Harmonia catalogued each power that the pair acquired and seemed to go over diagrams of the two. Numbers scrolled down the magical holographic scenes seemingly too fast for even a pegasus eye to follow. Even then it left a sickening smile on Harmonia’s visage.