A Sense of Balance

by Coffee-Sama

Chapter 2: A Pinch of Trouble

"Now that's what I call a forest house."

Brian's comment came as the four friends had just finished building their base of operations.

"So, we're going to be staying here until we get home? With no Internet?"

"Stop complaining, Robert," Russell retorted at Robert's questions. "We did the best we could with what little we had in this forest."

"Little?!" Robert blurted. "This forest is full of wood that we could use! We could've at least had a third floor!"

"Third floor? You're house back home isn't like that," Brian commented.

"So what? I like big houses, leave me alone."

"That's not the only big thing you like, is it?" Brian asked as he nudged Robert with his elbow.

"Mature, Brian, real mature," Russell deapanned.

"I try my best. What can I say?"

"Well, I for one am glad that we actually managed to get it finished and looking like an actual house," Mick said.

At this point, Discord woke up from the tree he was sleeping against.

"Is this the kind of housing you humans have back in your world?" He asked.

"Pretty much," the four responded.

"And are they all made completely out of wood?"

"Uh... not really," Russell replied.

"So why choose to do that now?"

"Because wood was the only resource available to us, and I was the one who did most of the work," Mick said.

"I see, and where did you all learn to build something like this?"

"Minecraft," the four said in unison.

"Mine- what?"

"Doesn't matter. The important thing is, we have a place to stay in this land," Russell said.

"Yeah, and we don't have to worry about Creepers blowing it up," Brian added.

"What's a Creeper?"

"Okay, enough with the pointless questions," Russell said, as he dismissed Discord's question. "Where do we get started?"

"Well, first, it would make sense to get a layout of the land," Mick suggested.

"Well, if you must do that, do it quickly," Discord said, with a hint of desperation. "Time is running short."

"Damn, I hate timed levels," Robert said.

"I'm sure you do, but if we don't hurry then I might lose my powers for good!"

"And we might never get home," Mick added.

"Well... yes, that too," Discord said. "So, do what you have to do. Get back to us as soon as you can."

"Okay, Mick, you're with me. Let's get this done," Russell ordered.

"Since when were you made the leader of our little band?" Mick questioned.

"Because... I just am, okay?"

"Temporarily, yes. We'll be sorting this 'leader' business out later."

"Glad we can agree for now, c'mon."

"Do you even know the way out?" Robert asked.

Russell chuckled.

"Robert, my friend, I don't have to," Russell replied.

"What do you mean by that?" Brian asked.

"Didn't you ever question how I was getting wood faster than the three of you?"

"Not really, but now that you mention it, how were you doing tha-"

Mick was interrupted by Russell suddenly appearing behind him.

"Teleportation, my friend."

"Woah, woah, woah. When the hell were you able to do that?" Brian asked.

"Well, you see..."

"As much as we would love to hear your explanation, I'm afraid we don't have time to listen. Get on with your scouting and make a plan already."

Russell folded his arms and went in a huff.

"You just had to ruin my moment, didn't you? The one time I get to act like the superior one in the group, and you take it awa-"

"Hurry up!" Discord interrupted yet again.

"Okay, okay, jeez." Russell said, trying to calm Discord down.

Russell placed his hand on Mick's shoulder as the two disappeared with only small crackles of electricity being left in their wake.

"Great, now what do we do?" Robert whined.

"Do nothing. That's something you do quite regularly, Robert," Brian suggested.

"True enough. I'll be sleeping in the house if anyone needs me."

Robert did just as he said, and headed inside the house for a nap.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Discord turned as he asked the question, only to find that there was no one behind him, or anywhere for that matter. All he heard was faint shouting, but he couldn't quite make out the words.

"This is more boring than I thought. Do all humans have to be so methodical when coming up with ways to cause chaos?" Discord sighed.

He then shrugged and went back to the tree he was sleeping on previously, and began taking a nap.

***

Using Detective Vision, Brian caught glimpse of a vapour trail and decided to follow it. This is what led him away from the house in the forest. Eventually, after a lot of twists and turns and avoiding deadly creatures, he came across another small hut in the forest. He could hear loud chanting and tiny explosions coming from inside. As peculiar as the situation was already, Brian noticed that all the chanting was being done in rhymes.

"Hmm... Tiny explosions, vapour trails, rhyming chants? This must be the work of witches. Everybody knows that witches in forests are evil. Time for Batman to take action."

Brian then proceeded to kick open the door to the hut.

"Where is she?! Where is the witch?!" He shouted.

What he looked at in the hut was no witch. It was a zebra. A zebra that had been chanting in rhymes, creating small explosions and mixing a new concoction in her cauldron. She had stopped what she was doing almost immediately and stared wide-mouthed at the strangely-dressed invader. Brian stared at the cauldron and then back to the zebra.

"Ah, so, shapeshifting is it? What's this you're brewing? Some sort of new drug for your gang? Drugs are illegal, which makes you a criminal. You must be brought to justice!"

Brian kicked over the cauldron, which scaled a green liquid all over the floor. He then turned his attention to the zebra.

"Justice!" Brian shouted as he leaped at the 'criminal'.

A million thoughts crossed Zecora's mind. The foremost of which was the fact that a half-bat, half-man had just entered her hut and began chasing her. She had heard stories of this man. He punishes practitioners of evil deeds. Zecora had thought she was safe from him, as her potions did no harm. Evidently, she was wrong. The punishing entity known as Straf Kolf had come to end her.

Zecora began running as fast as she could towards Ponyville, to warn her friends of the impending doom. She knew Straf Kolf could not be stopped, no matter what. He would not rest until he had what he came for; namely, Zecora's soul. She could hear Straf Kolf chasing her with what sounded like some sort of rope being shot out of a strange device.

"You cannot escape justice, evil witch! I will not rest until I have what I came for!" Brian shouted as he swung repeatedly from the Batclaw.

Those words only prompted Zecora to pick up her pace, at which point Brian could no longer keep up with her. He stopped chasing her and began a monologue.

"Damn you, evil witch. You win this time. However, I will not rest until I have brought you to justice. I will halt your evil drug-making ways. Mark my words, for I am..."

Brian then struck a pose.

"... the Batman!"

***

Meanwhile, outside the Everfree Forest, Russell and Mick were surveying the area, picking out locations for elaborate pranks.

"Y'know, I can't actually believe we're here," Mick said.

"I know. It's amazing, isn't it? A new land filled with mysteries just waiting to be uncovered."

"Russell, you're treating this like it's a new Pokemon game."

"It does seem like that, doesn't it? New land, creatures we don't know anything about. You could almost say that this is a new Pokemon game."

"Yeah, except all the new Pokemon are talking ponies and the like."

"What is Nintendo coming to, right?"

The two began chuckling, but before long, something caught Mick's eye. He spied a zebra running out of the forest and towards Ponyville at quite a fast pace. He tapped Russell on the helmet and pointed in the direction of said zebra.

"What has that thing spooked?" Mick wondered.

"Maybe it's a forest fire," Russell said, sarcastically.

"Wow, you're right."

"Say what now?"

Mick pointed towards the forest and the two watched as a continuous wave of thick grey smoke rose out of the forest.

"Well I'll be damned," Mick said.

"Yeah, we leave those two for five minutes and they're already causing trouble," Russell complained

"Nevermind that, what about the house. We spent a lot of time building that. Or at least I did."

"What about Brian and Robert? You're not worried about them?" Russell asked.

"Well, yeah, but they'll be fine. They do have the bodies of main characters after all."

"A fair point, there's just one problem with that. We're not in a damn video game, they're not invincible!"

"Fine, let's go get them."

Russell then grabbed Mick and teleported them back into the forest.

***

"Robert, what the hell did you do?!" Brian shouted.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it with a forest fire!" Discord shouted.

"What the hell did you guys do?!"

Russell's deep voice boomed throughout the area, stopping any and all arguments that were happening previously. Discord and Brian then proceeded to point towards Robert.

"You damn traitors!"

Russell sighed.

"Mick, you got anything that can deal with this?" He asked.

Mick stepped closer to the blaze as the other four backed away.

"Damn, I sure hope this works," Mick thought as he took out a talisman and clutched it as hard as he could. "Come on, come on..."

Mick waited for something to happen as the fire edged closer and closer.

"Well, that was useless. Anybody else got any-"

Robert was interrupted as an unknown force pushed him down onto his back. As he got back onto his feet, he noticed that the fire had been extinguished.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Robert asked.

"Emit Force," Mick answered.

"For us non-Dark Souls players please," Brian said.

"It's a miracle that can be used in the game. Essentially it's used to create breathing room for yourself. Obviously, the air pressure is enough to put out fires here, at least that's how I see it," Russell explained.

"Yeah, the wiki isn't too detailed about what kind of energy is used with that miracle," Mick said.

"Wait, you looked up the wiki for a game?" Robert asked.

"Listen, there is no shame in looking up the wiki for Dark Souls!" Mick shouted, defensively.

"Well, at least the fire is put out and we have Micky-boy to thank for that," Discord said.

"For the last time, that's not my name," Mick complained.

"I know, but it's much more fun to say that."

Mick groaned as Discord began chuckling.

"So, what now?" Brian asked.

The group of five noticed that the forest was getting darker than normal.

"I know we can't see the sky in this forest, but I think it's getting dark," Mick observed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Russell joked.

"No problem, Sergeant Sarcasm," Mick retorted.

The four friends then headed inside the house, with Russell waiting at the door.

"I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Discord," he said.

"What are you talking about, Russell? I'm staying with you guys."

"That's not advisable. You should stay in your own house and keep up appearances with these Princesses you told me about."

"Wait, when did I tell you that?" Discord asked.

"When we were heading towards the forest, remember?" Russell sighed.

"Ah yes, that's right. The other three were busy making jokes out of everything they saw. You seem to be the only who is actually interested in this land, now that I think about it."

"Well, somebody has to have some knowledge of this land. If all four of us knew nothing, then we would be at a severe disadvantage. I want to find out about everything this land has to offer. Knowledge is power, y'know?"

"A fine point, and I suppose you're right. If I were to suddenly disappear from my usual lodging and keep out of the Princesses' sights, then suspicion would only be raised and you would be discovered faster."

"Exactly. More chaos would ensue if nobody knew who was causing the sudden disturbances, therefore returning your power quicker."

"Quite the tactical mind you have there, Russell," Discord complemented.

"My thanks. It's not everyday someone complements me."

"What are you talking about?" Mick chimed in from inside the house. "Girls complement you all the time. They say you're the best friend a girl could have."

Laughter roared from the house as Russell bashed his helmet off the door frame.

"I hate you, Mick."

"Don't kid yourself, you love me really."

Russell groaned as he shut the door and left Discord outside by himself. The day's events with the forest fire were sure to have caused some panic in Ponyville.

"Surely at least one of my basic powers will have returned to me," Discord monologued.

To see if his hunch was correct, Discord decided to do a little test. Snapping his talons, he disappeared from the forest and teleported over to Canterlot. More specifically, the royal palace.

***

"Finally," Celestia sighed with relief.

The day was coming to a close, and there was no possible way anypony would pop in to see her. Before heading off to sleep, Celestia decided to have a little slice of cake. Maybe a bit more, to make up for the slice that Luna had taken. She opened into one of her finely decorated white drawers and levitated out a fancy little plate. After laying it down onto a table next to window with a magnificent view, Celestia then lay down two slices of cake onto the plate. She sat down and let out another sigh of relief. Levitating the first slice, she prepared herself for the sensation of the slice of chocolate heaven.

"Good evening, Princess!"

Discord's sudden and most unwanted interruption brought Celestia back down to Equestria, as she groaned with her mouth still open. She put the cake back down onto the plate, got up off her chair and walked over to Discord.

"And where have you been?" Celestia grumbled.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I was just visiting some friends."

"Who were they?"

"Oh, you don't need me to tell you. You already know who they are."

"I see, so you were with Twilight and her friends? How was that?"

"It was... eventful, to say the least. Did you know that Everfree Forest was set on fire today?"

"What?! Why did I not hear about this?! Is everypony okay?!"

"Yes, yes, everypony's fine. There was no major damage done, plus, with a few extra hands, I managed to stop the blaze."

"Hands? Wait, do you mean hooves?"

"Yes, hooves, let's go with that. I've been reading too much of Lyra's research notes on the humans," Discord chuckled.

"Well, that's fine, but why didn't Luna or I hear from you at all today?"

Discord shrugged, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Well, from what you've told me, I'll have to go file a damage report," Celestia sighed.

"Well, have fun with that," Discord said.

Celestia then walked away, leaving Discord alone in the room with the two slices of cake and a rolled up piece of paper. Discord unfastened the seal that was around to letter and read it. The letter contained a reply from Celestia to Twilight, another one of her Friendship Reports.

"Well, this is a rather boring reply," Discord said as he looked back towards the door, making sure Celestia wasn't coming back in.

Discord sat for several minutes, thinking of ways to mess with the reply. He struck upon an idea and, using what little powers he had restored, he made the planned changes to the letter and refastened the seal.

"That should spice things up a little," Discord chuckled.

As Celestia was making her way back up the stairs from filing her report, Discord popped up in front of her.

"What is it now Discord?" Celestia complained.

"I believe you forgot this," Discord replied, as he waggled a rolled up sheet of paper in front of her.

"That's right, Twilight's letter."

Discord smiled as, with nary a second thought, Celestia sent the reply away for delivery.

"Thank you, Discord, I had completely forgotten about that."

"It's alright, Celestia, I'm here to help."

The two then parted ways, with Celestia closing the door of her room with a massive sigh. She then looked up and noticed what was left on the table. The two slices of cake that had once rested on her plate, had now been reduced to crumbs. She proceeded to smack her face off the table before heading into bed.

"Am I ever going to be able to eat my cake in peace?" She complained.

Before welcoming sleep's sweet embrace, she thought back to the letter Twilight had sent her.

"Now that I think about it, Twilight's report never said anything about Discord."

The suspicions that had reared their ugly heads, plagued Celestia's mind throughout the rest of the night.

Comments

[advanoudheusden]

nice chapter.
I always like it wen Celestia and discord interact.