//------------------------------// // Discorded Events // Story: Equestrian Wars // by Saacsa //------------------------------// "Well, what are we going to do now?" Luna said as she walked back into the room, looking visibly better. She wiped a stray piece of vomit away from her fur as she sat on her haunches. "We prepare and wait." Flynn answered simply. "Yeah. Can't do much else." Rainbow said, her wings at her side instead of in the air like they normally were. A total contradiction from the Dash that I knew. "Got something on your wings, Dash?" I asked in friendly curiosity while trying, and failing, to keep the worry from my voice. "It's just... It's just that I thought that we were done. I thought that by Fluttershy's death, it was over. I thought that I had paid my due's! I couldn't bare to lose Scootaloo! Haven't we sacrificed enough?" She asked. "More than." I responded. "Then why do we have to lose more ponies? More family? More loved ones? Risk our lives and theirs?!" She asked in exasperation. "Because if you don't, they'll die anyway." Flynn retorted darkly, "But they will be torn limb from limb, hung and bled dry, have their flesh sucked from their broken bones, and eaten alive. I've seen what these creatures can do and believe me, they don't know what mercy is." Flynn said coldly. Everypony, except Luna, was taken aback by the brutality described. It definitely ended Rainbow's argument. "What are you guys doing? Quit standing around! You don't have a clue about what you're in for!" A familiar, but weakened, voice said from the side. All of us jumped and snapped our weapons at the intruder, nine charges and a shotgun pump sounded in the room as we prepared to fire. Our startling target was a black Earth pony with a mane that flowed out and ended in fiery red and orange tips. Celestia and Luna hesitated, but only slightly. "Whoa! Is that any way to treat on old friend?" He said with a knowingly sly smile. "What do you want, Discord?" Celestia said, having resteeled herself. "Discord?" Twilight asked in confusion. "Ah, yes, Twilight Sparkle." He said with a creepy smile. "You look... Different." "Don't I always?" "But aren't you suppose to be some fucked up looking mix match of different creatures?" Rainbow asked rudely, though her tone didn't hint at it. "Miss Dash! How wonderful to see you again as well." He said with cheery sarcasm. There was something about his voice that was extremely familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. "Or should I say, Mrs. Dash. How is Fluttershy?" He asked innocently. Then the voice clicked. "Azuro?" I asked suddenly before Dash could say anything. "As you would know me." He confirmed, then gestured to the Princesses. "They, however, know me as Darkwind The Fierce. Which is my current form." He said and then gestured at the other ponies. "But they know me as Discord." "I don't understand." I said, not even wanting to imagine how Flynn felt as he scoffed. "How can you be here? How can you not know about Fluttershy?" "I'm here because of Gengena. She attacked me in my weakened state. I barely managed to escape with my life and was forced to come here, powerless. Hence my Earth Pony form." He explained, "But I have been focusing on more important things than the lives of one or two normal citizens of Equis. What happened to Fluttershy?" He asked in worry. "She's... She's gone." Dash answered coldly. "Oh..." Darkwind/Azuro/Discord said, clearly crushed by the news. "M-My condolences." "I've had enough pity." Rainbow said coldly and turned to leave the room. "Dash." I said, "Where are you going?" "To teach some kids how to survive." She said without emotion and left. Twilight tried to go after her, but Luna laid a hoof on the lavender Unicorns shoulder. The lunar princess shook her head and said, "Solitude is necessary at times. As long as it stays in small doses." Twilight nodded in understanding. "Damn..." Azuro said shakily. "I swear, I'll have Gengena's head for this." He said venomously. "Um..." I said, not knowing how to phrase the question without it being rude. Luckily, he guessed what I had wanted to ask. "Shy was my first friend..." He said. Ouch. That really tugged at the heartstrings, but we didn't exactly have time to worry about emotion. "I'm very sorry." Dinky's voice found us. "Thank you. But you must be Dinky!" Azuro said, visibly brightening, but never losing the sad look in his eyes. "Yes." She responded. "You've certainly had an interesting night." Azuro slyly commented with a wink, causing both Dinky and I to blush furiously. "I thought you were doing more important things than watching our lives?!" I accused. "I said one or two normal ones. You two are far from normal." He teased. "That's not an excuse!" I exclaimed. He shrugged, but kept that smirk on the entire time. I guess it was payback for fucking with him earlier, but still, that kind of crossed the line. "Do I even want to know?" Flynn asked with worry as the rest of the ponies giggled. "No!" Dinky and I shouted at the same time, only increasing Azuro's smirk. "You would know if you got here last night." Twilight said between giggles, causing all of the ponies, except Dinky, to explode in laughter. Even Celestia's poker face faltered in a chuckle, only making Dinky and I blush harder. "Yes, you really must learn how to keep her quiet." Luna mused, making Dinky and I a deep red shade. Even my ears felt like they were on fire. That must have been my Irish kicking in. "C-Can we please j-just get back t-to the subject at hand!" I stammered out in flustered exasperation. "You're welcome to, just not in here, darling." Rarity slyly commented. I felt like crawling under a massive boulder and staying there forever. "Alright, alright. We had our, well needed, fun. Now, lets get back to Gengena and the demons." Azuro said after his laughter had died down. I silently thanked him as the fire faded from mine and Dinky's cheeks. "Right." Celestia said, regaining her royal composure. "So, Discord. Why are you here?" "I told you-" "Don't lie." "I'm losing my touch! Everypony can see right through me!" He said, then mumbled under his breath, "If I still had my powers, I would turn invisible." Then he brightened up, "Nah! You've always seen through my tricks, Tia." He said with a nostalgic smile. "So...?" Celestia trailed off, wanting answers and quickly growing impatient. "You're not going to like it..." He said and bit his bottom lip nervously. But all Celestia did was chuckle. "Tell me something I don't know? I haven't liked anything since my captain-. No, my friend, was murdered in front of me." She said, anger beginning to flare in her voice. Azuro just sighed. "If you really do wish to know..." He paused, then inhaled deeply. "Gengena attacked me in my weakened state, but I had enough strength to fight her and I did, I fought her and fought her for hours on end, then she brought her lackey's into it and I didn't stand a chance, not like I did in the first place, but this time I knew that I was screwed, we're going to have to build a massive interdimensional portal to let the demons out of the space between dimensions so they don't overload the place and kill us all in an enormous explosion of blood and gore." He said, completely disregarding the rule for run-on sentences. When he finished his explanation, he inhaled deeply again. "Whew. I've recited that in my brain ten times over!" "So, let me get this straight. You want us. To build a gate-way. For those... Things. To enter this world and reek havoc?" Flynn asked skeptically, yet I could sense the desperation that his assumption was wrong. "Long story short..." Azuro confirmed with a nervous chuckle. Oh well. "You're right. I don't like it." Celestia said and put a hoof to her chin in thought. "You mean we have to bring those creatures here?!" Rarity asked with her typical over-dramatic flare with a little bit of horror thrown in the mix. Azuro just nodded gently. "That means that our ponies blood will be on our hooves." Luna warned the contemplating Celestia. "What part of 'kill us all in an enormous explosion of blood and gore' do you not get?" Azuro said. "The part where I have my subje-. My friends' blood on my hooves." Luna retorted. "It'll be on your hooves anyway! Well, what's left of them." Flynn said darkly, "I say we build the damned thing so we can have a fighting chance against these creatures." "It is my sisters choice to make. I shall stand by what she says, even if I do not approve." Luna said, confirming where she stood. "When did you become a guard dog?" I asked suddenly, unable to control my outburst. Luna shot me a glare that sent the coldest shiver on the planet down my back, but she couldn't say anything. I blushed and bit my bottom lip, cursing myself for letting my tongue get ahead of my thought process. "Luna." Celestia finally spoke, "These are far from my ponies now. You guided and lived with them for ten years while I was locked away. You shared blood, sweat, tears, and even joy with them. This decision is yours to make." She said. Luna steeled her gaze and looked deep into her mind, searching for the right choice, despite her previous words. "Luna. Please. Give these ponies a fighting chance instead of dooming them to death instantly." I tried to reason. Luna looked up at me with battle hardened eyes. "I have seen things you shant dare imagine. I've been at war for ten long years. I have lost many dear friends and even killed. I never want to experience what I have ever again, and I wouldn't wish that fate upon anypony." She said, then softened and averted her dulled aqua gaze to the side. "But if anypony is to be threatened with death, they should at least have a chance to fight for their lives." She said and gulped. "We shall build the portal. Darkwind, is there a deadline?" "When I said they would be here tomorrow, I meant it. So, yes." He said. "That's just wonderful." Flynn said, his voice laden with sarcasm. "So, wait, if you don't have any powers, how are we going to get the portal working?" Twilight asked. "I may have just a tiny bit more power." He confessed. "Of course you do." Flynn rolled his eyes. "Hey! It's not to much. Just, like, a wisp. Enough to give the portal transdimensional properties." Azuro explained, "Though we still need a form of power..." He said and put a thoughtful hoof to his chin. "Actually, I think I might have the solution to your problem." Twilight said with a smirk. "Though, it may take some convincing..." She added. "Really?" Azuro asked hopefully. "Anything." "Dude. I have a feeling that you are seriously going to regret that." I said with a laugh. "Why do you say that?" He asked. "Because you get to convince Rainbow Dash to help you." Twilight laughed as Azuro went pale. "Anypony want to lend a hoof?" He asked with a hint of desperation. I shared a laugh with Flynn and Dinky. "You're on your own, bro." I said, answering for all three of us. "Quite." Rarity giggled, "Though, it should be fun to watch..." She mused. Azuro shot a desperate glance to Twilight and the two princesses. "Don't look at us." Twilight smirked, "I learned a while back not to mess with Dash when she is like this. Have fun." She laughed. Azuro sagged his head in defeat and made his way to the door that Dash had exited from. Everyone in the room followed behind him with a silent smirk as he weaved through the, now red scrawled, tech towers. Ponies were gathered around them with grim and paled faces, no doubt from the disturbing creatures that they would soon fight. "Discord." The aforementioned pony clearly commanded. The massive doors to the outside opened without the necessary access codes. Before I could ask, Twilight did it for me. "What? How did you do that?" "Do what?" He asked innocently. "You know what!" She said sternly, "This is top notch security." "It just knows better." He smirked with an awfully creepy laugh that sent shivers down my spine. We continued to where Dash said she would be, the training grounds, but didn't find her there. "Um... Where is she?" Azuro asked. "I have an idea..." Dinky trailed off and pointed her hoof down the road. There was a rainbow maned, cyan Pegasus hunched over Fluttershy's grave, weeping softly. We all snuck along the road quietly, trying not to make any noise. We soon came within earshot of her. "H-Hey there, Shy... I missed you... It's almost funny how much colder a bed is when you're missing somepony... Almost..." The depressed voice said and poked at the ground. "Well... Discord came back today... I know you would've been happy to see him, considering he was your friend and all... You know, you saw something in him that nopony else saw. So, I'm going to give him a chance." She said and straightened up, "As soon as he stops stalking me." She turned and smirked at the black Earth Pony. He smiled and held up his hooves in defeat. "Looks like you got me." He said with a nervous chuckle, "It's good to hear that you're going to give me a chance, because I have some news you're not going to be too happy about..." Rainbow raised a skeptic eyebrow at him. Azuro took another deep breath, and once more explained the situation in the same loquacious manner that he had before, only increasing Rainbow Dash's skeptic eyebrow. "So... Let me get this straight... You want me. To go get a cloud. And use its lightning. To power a portal that lets demons come here?" She asked slowly and quite disbelievingly. "Long story short..." He confirmed. I was having a major flash of dejavu. Sort of. "Um, how about, no!" She said defiantly. "Dash. Please-" The Earth Pony pleaded. "No! You're asking me to condemn us to another war!" "No, I'm asking you to prevent your species's complete annihilation." He corrected, inciting a frustrated sigh from Dash. "Alright! Fine. But I wont like it." She said. "You don't have too." Azuro said, his voice laden with relief. Dash... well, dashed, off in the direction of a large cloud formation. "Hey Jack?" Twilight's voice came from behind me. "Hm?" "Why aren't you that curious about things? You know, like weather patterns on Equis, how Celestia and Luna began their rule, the adventures of my friends and I, etc." She asked the very good question. "Because I already knew." I said simply, causing many confused stares. Except Luna. "How?" Twilight managed to form the word with her mouth. I opened my own to explain, but was cut off by a chestnut stallion with a spiky brown mane, who had seemingly appeared from nowhere. "Because once a door is opened, it may be stepped through in either direction. And if I'm correct on my history, Luna showed you what became of Canterlot, but you went through her other memories as well." He said in a typical Trottingham accent, then frowned. "Oh blast! Did I... What year is it?" He asked suddenly at first, but ended with innocence. Twilight gave him a look of familiarity. "Uh... Um... It's 2012." Twilight answered like something from a long time ago sunk in, inciting a sigh of relief from the mysterious stallion. "Oh, and by the way, it's good to see you again." She winked. "And, by the way, avoid a cross-eyed, grey Pegasus with a blonde mane at any costs." "Ah! Spoilers. Anyways, I'll be off! Allons-y!" He shouted and galloped in the opposite direction. I opened my mouth to shout after him and raised my index finger, but lowered my finger and closed my mouth. I repeated the process twice before shaking my head. "Nah. Couldn't have been." I said, then turned to a matter closer at hand, "So, it looks like the time period here is very similar, if not the same, to the one in my world." I said, "Neat." "Wait... So you came from a hundred and thirty or so years in the past, then was teleported here?"Flynn asked. "No, you came from a hundred and thirty or so years in the future, then was teleported here." I explained. "What?" "Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey." I said with a smirk. I could swear I had heard the brown stallion burst into laughter from across town. Flynn shook his head to rid it of confusion. "So, how do you judge the time period before Equestria?" I asked. Celestia sighed, but answered my question nonetheless. "The Changelings weren't the first war we experienced." She said, then looked off into the distant sun. "Long ago, before the Alicorn's rise to rule, and even the sun and moon, the ponies were dictated by a fierce group of Dragons, Changelings, and Griffons known as The Catharsis. One day, the ponies grew tired of their cruel treatment and prayed to the heavens for something to help them. A few month's later, a foal was born. But this was far from the normal Pegasus, Earth Pony, and Unicorn. This was a mixture of the three that seemed to have immense power. His mane flared a fiery crimson and flowed in a nonexistent breeze along with his tail while his pristine, white coat dwarfed even the most lustrous ponies. Taking it that their prayers were answered, they kept the foal hidden away, but one day, when the foal had aged to colthood, he was foalnapped by The Catharsis. "He was long thought dead, then another hybrid was born. This one having a silvery blue coat and a mane and tail that were black as night, but flowed in the same nonexistent breeze as the colts. These were the first two of five Alicorns. There names were Galaxious and Silver Moon. Galaxious was still unheard of by the town ponies, but they held their Silver Moon dearly to their hearts. Soon, Silver Moon grew up. But she stood two heads taller than the tallest stallion and even stopped aging. The ponies looked to her as a goddess. A bringer of hope. "Then Galaxious returned. He had caught wind of Silver Moon and, as she had, he had grown up. He raced alone into the town where she was with the intention of crushing her and serving his Catharsis, but when he caught sight of her beauty, he could not do it. They banded together with the ponies, and with the immense power of the first two Alicorns, they overthrew The Catharsis and executed its members while letting the subjects that did nothing wrong go free. Thus marked the first sunrise and the period AC, or After Catharsis." Celestia finished her history lesson that sounded like something that I would hear from Twilight. Rainbow Dash had come back with the cloud about halfway through, but listened intently nonetheless. "I didn't see that in your memories..." I remarked, turning to Luna. "Because I had no idea of that either..." She said, "Sister, why did you never tell me this?" She asked "I did not think of it to be relevant." "Wait. Shouldn't it be in a common history book?" Flynn asked. "No. It was irrelevant." I sensed something was wrong. She wasn't telling us something. Before I could open my mouth to protest, Azuro spoke. "Alrighty! I think it's about time to get this started!" He said and moved out towards the tallest hill in Ponyville. "You're quite eager." Rarity pointed out. "Sorry, I don't want to explode." He deadpanned. Rarity huffed, but said nothing back. "I just hope we can handle them..." I said before shaking my head and following the group to the hill.