Chapter Eight
"Pandora's Box"
Tears flew off Discord's face as his small wings carried him through the air. The wind that shot into his face like knives made the pooling tears slip out of his eyes and disappear into the clouds. The clouds were growing dark and they began to rumble with thunder. They growled at him. The whistling wind deafened his ears. The lightning bolts that tore the sky almost hit him. It almost seemed like they were trying to hit him...or reminding him of what he had done. He didn't need to be reminded. However, he felt like the world was against him. Hadn't it always been?
"Di-ii-isssss...CORD!" he almost heard the thunder say as it boomed again. He paused and hovered in the air. He didn't care what happened to him at this point. He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered as the rain starting coming down on him. "Discord..." It seemed clearer this time, but he was sure he was hearing things. "Son..." No. It couldn't have been. Discord turned his head, looking all around.
"Father...?" He whispered. Chills overcame him. He couldn't remember the last time he saw Chaos, and when he did, they weren't exactly heartwarming, father-son reunions. He couldn't see Chaos anywhere, until he noticed one of the clouds, which was darker than the others. His father's red pairs of eyes stared at him, unblinking and unmoving. Discord gasped a little and swallowed hard. He could barely stand to look at him. He was always too afraid. He could feel himself shaking from the cold and the fear in this very moment. Suddenly, he felt the raindrops leave his body. They floated weightlessly into the still air. This occurred all around him. A lightning bolt that pierced one of the clouds was frozen in place. It was a if time itself was standing still.
"Look at me..." Chaos said in a deep tone. Discord nervously shifted his eyes up to look at his father. "My son...where are you going?"
"Nowhere..." said Discord quietly. He swallowed hard again and blinked back more tears.
"Discord..." said Chaos gently, (for him.) He reached out an arm which he turned into a giant black cloud and pushed Discord's tail so he could sit in the cloud and rest. Discord stopped flapping his wings and relaxed onto the soft cloud. For the first time, Chaos was being gentle and caring to him. It was quite a surprise. "What do you hope to gain by running? What happened...what you did...made me proud."
"It...it did?" said Discord stunned.
"It is not in order for the prey to be superior to the predator....just as it is not in order for the underdog to beat the champion. I find such things...so unnatural....admirable. Something to be very proud of."
"But...but I HURT HIM..." said Discord softly. "I hurt...her..."
"She must accept you for who you are. They all must," Chaos replied. "You are a part of me and you cannot change that."
"But I have a choice...don't I?" said Discord in deep thought.
"What do you mean, son? What choice?" said Chaos in a more stern tone.
"I'm a part of you...but...I'm not you...I'm not mother." said Discord defiantly, all the while feeling Chaos's cloud hand tense up and harden in anger.
"You will always be my spirit...the spirit of chaos and disharmony alone! Nothing more nothing less. That, you cannot choose against!" Chaos yelled in a booming voice that rattled Discord's skull.
"No," he replied, hot tears filling his eyes. He stood tall and glared right into his father's blazing eyes. "I'm not going to accept that. I'll never accept it. I am who I choose to be. I will not choose to be a pawn in your and mother's game. I will not carry on your evil. I will never used my powers again. Never." Chaos's hand was stone by now; it was trembling with fury.
"So...this is the path you've chosen...defiance...betrayal...rebellion..." he said calmly.
"Yes," Discord replied nodding. He could feel Chaos's icy breath hit him. The raindrops around him began falling down again slowly. The lightning was stretching across the sky like white veins. And before he could brace himself, he saw the stone hand crumbling beneath him.
"Then...it will be the death of you," Discord heard Chaos boom as he felt his unprepared body slip downward with the falling rain. Discord felt time rush back to normal and rain poured all over him, soaking his wings. He tried to flap them to lift himself up, but it was raining too hard. His wings were too small to fly. He knew he could float or teleport with his powers, but he would NOT use them. Not for this. Not to save himself. And now, he was falling...falling. His body twisted around in the air. He gazed up at the gray sky, rain surging toward him like tiny spears. The black clouds loomed above him and a clear outline of oval eyes and grinning mouth stared down at him, taunting him. Lightning flashed on either side of the face, looking like a pair of skeleton-like hands. The air tore through him as he lay limp. He felt the tears overflow and his body shut down. He couldn't look at his father's face anymore. He couldn't wait for his fate to come staring at it. He knew that his fate was certain death. He would die now. Die at the hands of his own father.
Discord closed his eyes and waited for the impact to come. In this time of waiting and falling, images of Celestia filled his mind. He thought of her violet eyes that shined in the sun. He thought of her soft pink hair that blew gently in the breeze. He remembered how pretty she looked in her blue scarf just this morning. He remembered her glowing face, rosy cheeks, and feathery wings that made her look like an angel. She was beautiful. She was the only thing that made sense. She was always there. She always believed in him. But then...that faded away, and the look in her eyes in that one last moment said it all. She feared him. She didn't recognize him. She saw...a monster. He opened his eyes only slightly as the tears flowed from them like a river. Discord clutched his chest, almost sensing the impact was seconds away.
"I'm sorry, Celestia," he whispered. "....I love you." Then...without warning or any time for him to think anything else, he felt the sharpest, most sudden blow to his head followed by complete darkness.
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Celestia sat, waiting, her whole body tense with worry. Her heart felt like it was going to explode. The room was completely silent, except the sharp ticking of a clock. She and Luna sat on red couches across from each other. Luna was staring wide-eyed at the ground. She had a look of pure shock on her face. Celestia figured the same look was on her face as well. She glanced at the door to their left. The doctors were in that room with Dream. She didn't know what was going to happen. She only knew what did. She was only thinking about that moment when she saw Discord and the lightning and Dream's trembling body. Just thinking about this made her shake in horror. Luna seemed to read her mind.
"Tia...I don't believe it..." she whispered, breaking the silence. "I can't..."
"You have to, Luna," Celestia replied, her voice cracking. "I saw him with my own two eyes."
"You don't know what happened..." said Luna, her eyes glossy. "And what did you do?! You told him to stay away from you?! You drove him away?!"
"Luna! I SAW HIM! He was hurting Dream. On purpose!"
"Come on, Tia! You know Dream has been mean to Dis before! How do you know he wasn't picking on him and Dis just couldn't take it anymore?!" said Luna, raising her little voice.
"Dream told me he wanted to make peace! He wouldn't have done that! How dare you judge him!" Celestia shouted, feeling hot tears roll down her face.
"How dare you judge Dis!" Luna yelled, shaking with rage. "You're the one who told me he can't help that he's different! Remember?" Celestia hung her head and stared at the ground again, feeling hurt and scared and conflicted.
"I know, Luna..." she said quietly. "I know I said that...but times have changed."
"How?!" Luna said firmly jumping off the couch. "How is everything any different then when we first met him?! It shouldn't be! He's our friend, Celestia!"
"I know!" Celestia cried hysterically as she spoke. She leapt up too and stamped her hooves in front of her sister. "You think it was easy for me to see him like that?! It was the most terrifying thing I'd ever witnessed! He's changed Luna! Something snapped in him! He could very well do it again!"
"You're wrong!" Luna shouted, crying hysterically. "You're stupid!"
"I'm realistic!" Celestia shouted back. "Luna...you saw what Eris did and it scared you. This was the exact same thing!"
"No! He's nothing like her!" Luna responded, but it was barely audible through her crying.
"His power, Luna...is chaos. Chaos is chaos," Celestia choked.
"No..."
"Since when are YOU on chaos's side?!" Celestia
"I'm on Discord's side!" Luna yelled back.
"You know the face of disharmony, Luna. You've looked straight at it for three years, as have I, and ignored it."
"Maybe I LIKE the way it looks!" Luna shouted in fury. Her eyes started to glow white and she clenched her teeth as power seeped from her horn and enveloped her. Celestia gritted her teeth and her horn glowed bright. She reared and her wings came out full span.
"Maybe you're so in love with him or something, you're blind!" Celestia felt the words roll of her tongue and stab Luna right in the heart. Immediately after she said them, she regretted it. She gasped a little at what she said and dropped down onto all fours. In a split-second, Luna's eyes stopped glowing and she stared up at Celestia in shock. Her lips quivered and her face turned a shade of red. Shaking all over, the only thing she got out was
"I hate you..." Before Celestia could apologize and comfort her hurt sister, her parents burst through a door at the end of the hallway. She figured they must've heard some of the conversation because they were both livid.
"ENOUGH!!" Orion bellowed, his eyes blazing. "THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF BOTH OF YOU!"
"You both should be ashamed of yourselves!" Solina said firmly. "Sisters do NOT fight like this. You two need to calm down and make up...NOW." Celestia stared at the floor, shame filling her heart. There was silence in the room again, except for Orion's puffing through his nose, which she could feel on her neck. After a minute or so, Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but Luna immediately interrupted her.
"Tia! I'm so sorry..." she said, sobbing after every word. She buried her face in Celestia's chest and wept for a minute straight. Celestia wondered if she was even breathing. "...I don't hate you..."
"No, Luna. It's okay. I deserved that. I'm...I'm the one who should be sorry. What I said there...I didn't mean one word of it. And...you're right...maybe I am stupid."
"Maybe?" said Luna smirking after Celestia used her wing and dried her sister's eyes. At this very moment, the doctor came through the door into the waiting room. The four royal alicorns all stood and held their breath as they waited for the doctor to say how Dream was.
"He's going to be okay," the doctor said smiling. Everypony breathed a huge sigh of relief. Celestia felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Dream was okay. Those words meant so much to her. "He endured quite a shock," the doctor explained. "But it didn't cause any permanent damage. He'll need some time to recover, but he'll be just fine."
"Can we see him?" Celestia asked eagerly.
"He just woke up and his mother is with him, Your Highness. We should give them some time together first." The four nodded and thanked the doctor.
"Perhaps...I'm wrong, Luna," said Celestia quietly. "Dream is all right. Perhaps I did misjudge the situation...and Discord."
"Tia, if Dis wanted to seriously hurt Dream, he would've. And he didn't," said Luna calmly. She smiled. "And I kind of think Dream got what was coming to him for being a meanie to him before." She chuckled and Celestia smiled a little and rolled her eyes. Just then, her smile faded and she hung her head.
"Oh...Discord..." she said quietly. "What have I done?! I AM stupid! I'm horrible! How could I have driven him away?!"
"It's all right, Celestia," said Solina gently. "Discord couldn't have gone too far."
"What if he's hurt or worse?!" said Celestia, feeling a wave of panic overcome her.
"Tia, calm down..." said Luna gently putting her hoof on hers. "We're going to find him and we'll make everything better!"
"Right...you're right..." said Celestia calming down. "Everything will be just fine. We'll find Discord! The question is...where is he?"
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Discord's eyelids fluttered and a bright light seeped in. He blinked to adjust to it. He moved his arms and felt something soft all around him. He breathed in and smelled something very sweet as well. When he was finally able to see all right he found he was looking at a beautiful blue sky. He sighed and sat up. Now all he could see was a field of pink flowers in every direction. He looked down and scooped up some in his hand. He brought some up to his nose and smelled them. He smiled. This was nice. Wait. He suddenly remembered the incident with Chaos and how he fell. Had he fallen here? He looked around and touched the back of his head. He had no pain in his head or anywhere else! He must've had a pretty soft fall, but it was sudden enough to knock him out.
He stood up and began walking through the field in no particular direction. He didn't know where he was, but he didn't feel like leaving. He had nowhere else to go, anyway. This place was warm and inviting. All sorts of curious smells entered his nostrils. Golden sunshine warmed his fur and scales. He felt so content and completely at peace. He shifted his eyes up to look at a hill in front of him where the flowers stopped growing and there was beautiful blue grass. Blue. He didn't really question its color. It looked fine to him. The sun was shining over that hill and he had to hold his lion paw up to shield his eyes. Looking closely, Discord saw a figure standing against the sun on the hill. It was the figure of an equine. Its mane was billowing in the breeze and it had a horn and...yes...a pair of wings. It couldn't be!
"Celestia?" he said. He blinked the sun away and peered at the alicorn. Yes. It was her.
"Hey, Discord!" she called. She giggled at him. "Come here!" Then, she disappeared into the horizon. Had she forgiven him for what happened? Was Dream all right? Could he just go home now? Did he want to go home? He didn't know, but he knew he had to follow her.
"Wait!" he called after her. He flapped his wings and flew across the field towards the hill. He paused when he reached the top and looked down at the scene below him. What he saw...was paradise. There were white cherry blossom trees all around but they were floating. Floating and upside down! The grass was blue. The water was rainbow colors. Yes, there was a great pond and a waterfall pouring down from a mountain. Cotton candy clouds filled with chocolate milk floated low to the ground. His creation. Celestia was lying on one of them. She smiled at him and flew off it, jerking her head, enticing him to chase after her. Discord beamed and flew at her. She giggled and flew all around the valley.
Discord felt at home here. Everything made sense here. He loved it here. What had happened before didn't matter to him now. Everything was perfect. He breathed the fresh air into his lungs and let out a laugh of joy and bliss. Then, he finally caught up to Celestia and tackled her to the ground. The rolled and tumbled down a small hill, laughing all the way. At the bottom, Celestia landed on her back on the soft blue grass and giggled cheerfully. Discord smiled down at her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked cocking his head. She smiled back up at him with her shining red eyes. Red eyes. Suddenly, she gained a few more eyes that were red all over and she grinned at him with sharp jaws. Discord shrieked and jumped up. What he thought was Celestia melted away into black smoke and Chaos floated in front of him, laughing.
"Father!" he said angrily. "What...what happened?!" He glanced around again, realization hitting him. "This place isn't natural. Where are we?!"
"Your mind," Chaos replied telepathically, as always. "You made a choice, remember? Before you fell."
"But...you said my choice...of not using my powers would mean my death!" Discord replied confused.
"Of course," said Chaos. "Which it would've...had I not intervened and brought you here. What kind of father do you think I am?"
"So...we're in my...mind?" said Discord, trying to take it all in.
"We are in a place where one is not alive but not dead either," Chaos explained. "It is filled with your wildest dreams."
"Wow...this place is amazing!" Discord exclaimed. "It's wonderful here. The only thing that would make it better would be..." Just then, he turned his head when he heard his name being called. He saw Celestia...AND Luna and the king and queen. The stared up at him and beckoned him to come. They all turned and galloped through the meadow, enjoying themselves. Discord smiled at the scene and glanced back at Chaos.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"Oh, I must make sure this is where you wish to be," said Chaos, floating around him. "If you wish to leave, I'm your only way out."
"What do you call this place?" Discord asked, mesmerized by his surroundings.
"Some may call it Pandora's Box," Chaos replied.
"I thought Pandora's Box contained all the evil of the world," said Discord glancing into Chaos's grinning face.
"To the world...this is evil. To you and me, this is paradise." said Chaos, reaching his hand out to let a yellow butterfly land in it. "Such beauty is in the things Order, my brother thought of. But...no one ever appreciates Chaos. Everything he touches..." The butterfly disintegrated as he crushed it in his fist. "...is ugly..." Discord swallowed and looked down at the ground. "But son, you and I and your mother have a different vision. We see the world as something to fix. We should fix it. Make it ours. But....you refused to use your powers. Such a shame. Just think of all you could have accomplished! At least here, you have your own little world. Nothing can ever go wrong here. You can make everything how you want it. Every moment here is a new adventure. This perfect day will never end. You will never get tired or thirsty or hungry. This, Discord...is a dream that never ends...a reality where time stands still...a perfect, chaotic world."
Discord stared at the beauty before him. Celestia and Luna were taking turns jumping over the pond. Solina and Orion were lying in the grass under a shady tree, nuzzling each other. Everything was perfect. Too perfect. He stared even harder at Celestia and Luna and their eyes. There was something about their eyes. Why was he so concerned about that, though?! They were here with him! It was beautiful. Why wouldn't he want to stay here?!
"I...love it here..." he said quietly. Discord clutched his head, for he felt like his mind was in a haze. He just couldn't think straight. Something was wrong! What was it?!
"Then...this is where you should stay, isn't it?" said Chaos wrapping his arm around Discord's shoulder. Discord shifted his eyes up again and watched the princesses as they continued to make perfect jumps over the pond. They weren't using their wings, which he thought was a bit odd, considering the pond was very wide. He still continued to stare at their eyes...especially Celestia's eyes. What was wrong with them? They were violet, but they were so dull...so dead-looking. There was no light in them...no sparkle. They weren't her eyes. It wasn't her.
"They're never going to miss that jump, are they?" he said, the truth dawning on him suddenly, as his mind became aware of what this was. He stepped away from Chaos and glared up at him. Chaos grinned at him. "They won't just fall in by accident. There are accidents. There are no mistakes. No flaws. No surprises. Everything will always be the same, won't it? And while I'm here...I'll never realize it. I'll never question the fact that because the day never ends, it will just keep repeating itself forever and ever. I'll be blind, won't I? I was blind just a moment ago, but now I see. I see how it works. This place isn't real. They aren't real. I don't want this, father. I want Celestia....my Celestia. Not that...thing!" he scoffed, pointing at fake Celestia. Chaos chuckled.
"You are a smart one, son. I never doubted you. I knew you'd see," he said, snapping his fingers. There was a steady wind that started to blow west. Discord felt his fur billow as it blew passed him. He turned his head and peered at the fake alicorns. They continued galloping around and laughing. Then, the wind picked up and they slowly disintegrated into colored dust. Their ghostly laughs remained, echoing as the dust blew passed him. Then, they faded away. The trees, pond, waterfall, grass...they all decayed away and disappeared in the breeze as well. The wind grew stronger. Soon, Discord found it hard to stand up. Chaos didn't move whatsoever, as if the wind was nonexistent. "But you needed to see this. I wanted you too..."
"Why?!" Discord yelled over the whistling wind. He held his arms up to fight it.
"Because someday, Discord...you will open Pandora's Box! The world will be new...it will be yours!"
"What?! What are you talking about?! I'm not you and mother! I..." Discord yelled in confusion.
"Someday...you'll see, son!" said Chaos. "Just remember!" Discord fell down onto the ground, the wind tearing through him, pulling him like a giant hand. He heard Chaos laughing as he disappeared with it. Discord sunk his claws into the earth, gripping it, trying to hang on. He didn't know where it was taking him or what was happening. Fear filled his heart by the moment. It was no use. The wind pulled him backwards and he found himself falling again, very fast and very sudden. The world looked like a far away light getting dimmer and dimmer as everything closed up on him. There was darkness again.
However, this time, something was different. The fall stopped abruptly, as if he didn't hit anything, but was still lying on one place. He heard something strange. It sounded like something thudding on and off. Was it emanating within him? It was his heartbeat. His heart was beating again. He hadn't even noticed that it had stopped the whole time he was in that strange place. But yet...he hadn't died. How long was he in that place? Where was he now? Wait. He had to breathe! He could breathe! He felt his mouth open and he gasped. Air flew into his lungs and he coughed. It was the greatest feeling in the world.
At last he knew he was really alive! He hadn't died after all! He could live! There was something else happening too. He could hear something. Voices. Many voices all around him. He opened his eyes slowly, after realizing they were still closed. He saw ponies all around him as he lay in a bed in a white room. There was a bandage wrapped around his head, which throbbed and ached. He didn't think too much about that, though. Something else was happening. Four winged unicorns entered the room, joy on all their faces.
"Oh, Discord! We were so worried!" said the white one.
"We're happy you're okay!" said the smaller purple one. His eyes fixed on the beautiful white one. Her face. It was something to behold. She was something to behold. Had he seen her before? The last thing Discord expected was the look of horror that swept across her face after he said the words,
"Who are you?"
TO BE CONTINUED...