//------------------------------// // Chapter Fifteen—Poses Questions on Locks and a Chaos Spirit // Story: Tirek's Shadow // by LiterarySerenity //------------------------------// “If Granny Smith had never discovered these Zap Apples, then the Apple Family might not have been able to thrive on our land.” Applejack reached the end of her story at last, having gathered a small rainbow-hued apple pile at her feet. “So you see, everything turned out all right and the orchard helped to save us. Ponyville might not have come around if they were not here or somewhere else.” “Yours was a nice little tale, Applejack. Good to know.” Discord said, reaching his feet and brushing off the leaves that had drifted upon him from above. “I even appreciated the part about ‘Zap Apple Jam’.” And he had, given how it sounded like a fun takeoff on his original idea. “But what exactly did you mean by telling it?” However, the draconequus had a feeling he already understood what the dutiful pony had meant. It was clear as Celestia’s day in her tone and on her face. “What I mean is if your magic is responsible for making such tasty apples, then it can’t be all bad. Understand?” “I fail to see how a happy yet accidental discovery proves this.” Discord reached up and tugged on one of the branches holding the Zap Apples—for that was now their official name in his opinion as well—and stretched it out like a clothesline. “I intended the apples for myself and no other pony. They were a selfish creation, and the moment it got out (with my intervention, of course) these were ‘Apples of Discord’ none would have dared to venture near the fruits until I was little more than footnote in the annals of Equestrian history. Even gems hoarded by a dragon have some value to ponies who manage to carry them off. It is no different.” “Well, even if you hoarded the Zap Apples, that doesn’t change the fact they were tasty and good.” Applejack returned. “You just needed to share. Ponies probably would have thought much differently if you had chosen to distribute the apples among them.” “What do you know of how ponies were back then?” Discord snapped. He leaned in, now eye-to-eye with Applejack. “The moment they saw a creature different then themselves, it would become a threat to block out or shun. The forest and all the wild beasts within were dangerous. Those with magic prowess were even worse. I was nothing more than a boogiepony in their midst. At least ponies like apples and appreciate farmers, no matter what the age. But they hated me, and most of the things I could do.” “Whoa there!” Applejack exclaimed, flopping backwards and making Discord realize he had been effectively ramming her with his head throughout his small tirade. Just great. “Sorry.” Discord mumbled, straightening. He had to get out of here. So he did, taking off to move deeper into the dream forest with farewell wishes for Applejack to enjoy the Zap Apple orchard. “Wait a moment, Discord.” Applejack called after him. “Come back.” *** “Discord.” Twilight knocked on the guestroom door, with Fluttershy hovering above. “It’s Twilight. Are you in there?” A long pause, and then the chaos spirit answered: “Yes, Princess Twilight.” He sounded exhausted. “I am here.” “We need to talk.” Twilight said. “Come out.” “My apologies for not receiving you properly, Princess.” Discord replied. “But I would feign open this door and expose you to more harm.” “The harm is already moving around the palace. Tirek is on the loose, and we need your help to get rid of him.” There was another pause, which meant the draconequus might have been listening. So Twilight pressed onwards. “I have a plan, but we need to get you back to normal first.” “No.” “What?” “Something bad always happens to the ponies who are around me.” Discord explained. “But if I lock myself in this room and do not come out, I will not have to worry about that ever again.” “That is because of Tirek.” Twilight said, striving to stay calm. Anxiety and fear pervaded every word her self-imprisoned friend said, and she had the distinct impression of talking him down from some precipitous ledge—which might not have been far from the truth. But similar circumstances with ponies in need of counseling or advice had inured her to coax, rather than be too forceful. “You should not blame yourself for what happened. Every pony is okay. They are only asleep, as you saw. We just need to wake them up, but we have to work together to accomplish it. So why don’t you open this door, and I can tell you everything?” Twilight thought this was persuasive. Even Fluttershy gave her a hopeful smile. There was silence again. Yet unlike when Twilight was waiting for Rainbow Power to work in the council room, she knew the next move had to come from Discord himself. In the meantime, she could not waver in her own patience. “It is too dangerous.” Was the eventual response. “Discord, you have to open this door.” Twilight said. “No.” “All right, then.” Twilight said. Then she lowered her voice to so only Fluttershy could hear. “We will just have to go in after him.” Fluttershy nodded her head. Twilight now tried unlocking the door, but therein she discovered another problem. Apparently, Discord had not merely locked himself in the room. Tirek had probably had a hoof in it as well, based on the shadowy substance around the handle. To get rid of it and go inside, the princess would have to first dispel the darkness as she had tried to do with the Tree of Harmony. Yet she could already tell a purification spell might not be strong enough to do the job. Twilight had grown into a much stronger magic user, and more knowledgeable about why certain spells might fail. And she thought back upon the lessons Princess Celestia had taught her on the subject. Solving a problem with one’s own magic required understanding the issue itself, or the nature of the magic a pony wanted to remove. But wait. This was not “darkness.” Tirek was using Discord’s magic. Most likely, the purification spell had been the wrong spell to use in the first place. What Twilight needed was to affect the chaos in some way. She could remember trying a failsafe spell once, back when Discord’s magic had first gripped Ponyville. That was supposed to have brought everything back into order, but the magical inflection was different. Order and harmony. If her theories were right, Twilight would have to find a way to work from this end of the spectrum, and to balance it out. Balance. “Think, Twilight.” The princess said to herself. And now she stood in silence, wondering. *** Meanwhile, Discord was coasting over his dream forests—and feeling a little guilty again because he had left Applejack behind. What had made it tougher was the fact she had actually seemed to want the chaos spirit to return. Before then, the pony would have muttered “good riddance” and been done with him. Not to mention, he had a vague impression that his other half had taken to the palace guestroom and barricaded the door. Twilight and the other ponies were probably trying to reach Discord at that very moment. The card had had almost enough time to charge, and soon Discord could communicate with Twilight again using it. Unfortunately, he was still no closer to deciding what to say. Perhaps telling the princess to summon all the forces of good against him would do the trick, although besides the Rainbow Power from the Tree of Harmony, Discord had trouble determining what this might look like. Twilight would have to provide the counterweight to his chaos and disharmony. It was then he noticed the balloons rising from one forest clearing. Strange. Discord could not recall having added balloons to these woods, even if they did add a nice touch to the surroundings. He liked balloons, buoyant and useful for making into animals. A few times over the past several months, the draconequus had even messed with ponies from afar by causing such shaped balloons to move around—causing the ponies to either run or draw closer until the object of their intrigue popped in their faces with a loud bang. In the latter case, though, he had quickly learned ponies did not appreciate having balloons pop at such a close range (even muscular stallions like that Bulk Biceps). Mistake after mistake. Discord sighed, spiraling downwards towards the clearing, where he found quite a cheery sight. The whole glade had apparently been set up for a celebration of some kind. There were tables covered in light pink tablecloths, with various party platters, sweets, punch bowls, and the like. Balloons had been tied here and there, and confetti had been shattered over the grass. In the center, he even saw a small collection of wrapped gifts. Inserted in a spring resting upon the topmost present was a card: “For Discord, A friend who needs to smile. Hearts, Pinkie.” Yes, Discord considered. This type of party did have Pinkie Pie written all over it, though not in his usual literal sense. So the decorations remained unblemished and wordless. Perhaps he was missing the cheerful pony along with all his other friends, although the alternative that Tirek had gotten her as well seemed more likely. Such were his thoughts on unwrapping the present. And the moment Discord yanked off the lid— A stream of long springs—the kind that sometimes emerged from seemingly airtight containers and made for a good prank—burst right at him. Despite this, it was like getting hit with several cylindrical pillows. Some wound up curled around Discord’s shoulders, while others bounced on the ground a ways behind him and bumped harmlessly against the other decorations. One even tried to worm its way up his nostril, though the chaos spirit snorted it out. In the aftermath, Discord sat there with what must have been a stunned expression. Indeed, he had been wrapped up in everything going on at the moment, he had failed to take into account how much Pinkie also enjoyed a good joke. It was such a surprise, and shook him up. Furthermore—Discord felt his lips tweaking, and a gurgling hum beginning to rise from deep inside—the whole thing was simply hilarious. And he laughed, so hard his sides ached. Hyenas would have been jealous, seeing this sight. In fact, Discord willed a few to peer out from behind the trees, shake their heads in consternation, hold up signs that read “I quit,” and scuttle away. Balloons popped, but the chaos spirit hiccupped out more. Tears of mirth were coursing down his face. More laughter joined his, and Discord felt an arm wrap around his middle. The draconequus glanced to the side, to see Pinkie Pie hanging onto him and also guffawing. She held a phonograph under her other arm, which was playing a laugh track. Pinkie Pie looked at Discord. Discord looked at Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie smiled at Discord. And Discord realized his suspicions had been correct. “You—you also got attacked by Tirek?” Discord chortled out the question, even while trying to calm down. The mirth felt so good, he was reluctant to let it go. “Yeeup!” Pinkie Pie replied. “He wrapped me up in a thick, smoky darkness. And when I woke up, I was in this fun place.” She detached from Discord, and began to illustrate each thing she said with gestures and different motions. “Then I saw you flying overhead, and you looked so sad. And seeing my friends sad makes me sad, and I wanted to cheer you up. Every pony likes parties, especially you, so I threw together this party to get it ready for you and our friends.” “Hold on a moment, Pinkie Pie.” Discord said, feeling better despite it all. “This is—” He gazed around at the assembled decorations. “Sweet. But most of our friends are not available.” Thanks to me, he wanted to add. “That’s not true, silly.” Then Pinkie Pie chucked a cream pie in his direction. Well, Discord had a counterattack for that. He created a catapult and set it off so a giant hand would smack the cream pie right back at the pink pony, who got it full-on in the face. Pinkie Pie bounced back with such force that for a moment Discord regretted what he had done. But then she poked her head up from the mess and giggled. “You’re a lot of fun, Discord.” Pinkie said. “If Rainbow Dash, you, and I put our heads together, we could play any number of funny tricks on ponies.” “Don’t be so sure of that.” Discord replied, at length. “I think my trickery days are over, Pinkie.” “Over?” Pinkie Pie looked horrified. “But they can’t be over. You are a master at tricks, and great ideas, and they’re so much fun.” “To you, perhaps.” The draconequus relented. “But not for any other pony.” “That’s just because you need to find the right trick for the right pony.” Pinkie Pie stated. “The right trick?” Discord was unconvinced. “Yep! You just need to be creative enough.” Pinkie Pie said. “Like me.” She grabbed several balloons and twisted them into the form of Princess Celestia herself. The pony said this is just such a way as to be a little irksome. It was almost like she was prodding Discord and challenging him. “Are you kidding?” Discord rose up. “No pony is more creative than I am.” A ripple of music echoed throughout the glade. The phonograph stood up, bowed to Pinkie, and danced to the echoing melody. All the food choices upon the tables began to hop in rhythm to the beat. And the Princess Celestia balloon flapped inflated wings and neighed out: “I’m a princess!” Then the balloon shot off like a rocket. This was only the beginning of what Discord might have done, except that Pinkie began laughing again and said: “I told you. I like you must better this way—not like that Discord imposter in the cave.” That popped the swell of creativity Discord had experienced, and he pretty much deflated onto the ground. “You mean the other Discord, I suppose.” The draconequus said. “I do.” Pinkie Pie answered, still looking joyful. “That Discord wasn’t much fun at all. He runs from everything and doesn’t want to help out. He doesn’t even like parties. Can you believe that?” “That is surprising.” “Yeah. You have to come back. Then we can beat Tirek, and I’ll throw an ever larger celebration for every pony.” “Pinkie.” Discord said. “How does the other me feel about magic?” “He doesn’t like it one bit. Twilight asked him to help her ‘purify’ the Tree of Harmony, and he wouldn’t do anything.” “I see. But Twilight will figure out how to free the elements soon. Then you will be able to wake back up in Ponyville.” “We will.” Pinkie Pie stressed the “we” part, which worried Discord a little bit. “Right?” For some reason, Discord couldn’t think of anything to say at that moment. Perhaps it was because he did not know if he wanted to return to Ponyville. After all, if the other Discord chose not to use magic, he would no longer cause trouble in Equestria. Meanwhile, in this space set apart from every pony, he could creative to his heart’s content without any worries. Twilight was a smart pony. She would figure something out, and Discord could help her by communicating through the card. It would just be a bit lonelier. That was all. Discord had done lonely before. “That’s not right at all.” Pinkie Pie said at this moment, and Discord realized with some shock these thoughts had somehow escaped from his head into a white cloud. He reached for the cloud, but then noticed a lasso sailing down around him. The rope tugged the draconequus hard onto his back. “Finally.” Discord looked up to see Applejack come into view. “I caught up with you. Don’t run away this time, all right?” “Applejack. You made it, Cousin!” Pinkie Pie gave Applejack a warm hug. Cousin? “It seems so. I had to wrangle some pony first, though.” Applejack gave Discord a meaningful look, though not an unkind one. “Ah, my friends!” Discord now heard another familiar and dignified voice ring through the glade. And indeed, he sat up to find Rarity had also entered the party area and was making her way over to them. “You won’t believe what happened to me.” “I think I have a notion.” Applejack said, tipping her cowgirl hat in greeting to the unicorn. Tirek had gotten Rarity as well. This day kept getting better and better. “Hey, gals!” Now Discord and the assembled ponies looked up to find, of course, Rainbow Dash gliding down to the party. “Now every pony is here for the party.” Pinkie Pie said. She winked at Discord. “What did I tell you?” Honestly, Discord had to give Pinkie credit for surprising him again. He half wondered if she might not be part-draconequus—or some other mischievous spirit. That would explain a few things. “I guess the others are okay.” Applejack said. “Since they’re not here.” “Gather around, every pony.” Pinkie Pie waved Discord’s thought cloud. “We have to talk about friendship problems.” “Friendship problems, you say?” Now Rarity was coming to take a look at the cloud. “Do tell.” Discord considered plucking the cloud away from Pinkie Pie and tearing it up, as he had with the image earlier when talking to Applejack. With the way things were going today, however, he doubted it would make a difference. Besides, the chaos spirit could feel that the card in his hold had charged up fully. So, to distract himself for a moment, he wrote on the card: “Twilight. I am back with more time and space.” This was only half true. The other ponies were filling the clearing, and now they were turning with concerned towards him. Yet even they seemed to get distracted from whatever they were going to say when, from the card, they heard Twilight’s voice say: “Discord. Thank goodness. The Discord that’s here will not listen, and I need your help for a very important plan to hopefully solve this crisis once and for all.”