> Transfigure
>  by Steam Shift
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1. Break
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Turning to stone was a hellish experience. He could feel every single bit of his energy, his magical signature on the world, forcefully yanked from its place, forced into him painfully, like a balloon being filled with water past the point it's able to handle, yet unable to burst somehow. His chest feels like it's about to split, and every bit of magic he's ever exuded into the world is suddenly pushing into him, full- fuller- too full, and everything hurts. Through the mind numbing pain, some sort of faint part of his mind recognizes that he can't feel his tail. Now his legs have gone numb, and what used to be his organs were twisting into knots inside of his abdomen. His irregular heartbeat is agony to feel, and he can feel the calcification creep up his body.

His lion's paw grasps painfully at his chest, claws digging deep and drawing his blood, and his eagle's claw reaches for any semblance of magic- anything, some sort of release from the immense pressure burning inside of him and it HURTS and now he can't move his neck. His eyes clench shut, and then suddenly he can't open them. Everything is darkness, and everything is pain. It doesn't stop, but it never gets any worse. He's stuck. He can't move, he's stuck, and he feels vulnerable and frightened because he didn't even know that it was possible to defeat him. He's scared, and only locked in the depths of his own pain addled mind would he admit that.






It felt so strange, to be free again. His limbs were finally his own again, he could look where he pleased, and do what he wished. His magic bloomed outward, feeling its environment, eager to spread chaos once again, and a long lasting, aching pain in his chest slowly deflated and withered away. He paused to take a deep breath, sucking in the first fresh lungful of air he's had in ages.

The ponies around him were wide eyed and on guard as he inspected himself, and he turned his gaze from his mismatched, flesh- not stone, but living flesh- body to them, and anger welled in his chest. Despite this he shook himself out and began stretching. 

They were trying to get his attention, and he can't help the twinge of irritation that they aren't taking him seriously. He might not act like the most sophisticated gentledraconequus, but that didn't mean he wasn't a threat. 

With a soft promise to himself to show them how seriously they should have taken him this entire time, his show begins, and he can feel his mischievous magic come bounding back to him, excited to confound the minds of those who would never be able to quite grasp true chaos.

With a bend backwards, Discord exclaimed, "Well! It's about time somepony let me out of that prison block!" He stretched his lion's paw outward, supporting it with his eagle's claw, and snapped, and his magic warped into a nearby squirrel, turning the cutesy nut gatherer into a massive specimen, with thick muscles, an scowl that matched its new unibrow, and an underbite to complete the thuggish look, and he couldn't help but giggle to himself as he watched it break the branch it had been sitting next to and begin to gnaw on it, only for his smile to fall a fraction when he heard the voice of the lavender unicorn- Twilight Sparkle. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" She snapped. 

"Hhhnnngggg~ Why stretching, of course! When you're a creature of chaos, stone bodysuits aren't typically your GO TO fashion choice." He drawled playfully before bending his eagle claw behind his neck and pushing it further with his paw, snapping. Not unlike the squirrel, a nearby rabbit was suddenly infused with chaos magic, and the creature mutated into a mass of fur and muscle, with incisors almost as long as its ears. The thing released an angry mix of screech and growl, and the pink pony- Pinkie Pie was it?- gasped before glaring at him. 

"You make that bunny cute again, NOW!" She demanded. Discord smiled and waved his paw at the silly notion and bent down, smiling.

"Ohhh pfffff. He's adorable the way he is~" He cooed, petting the creature below the chin, only to withdraw sharply when it snapped at him, and the draconequus stood straight back up again, rasp-berrying at the thing. 

"You know what else is adorable? You ponies TRULY believe that you can reform me,  and that you're putting your faith in this one here," With a magnifying glass in hand, Discord eyeballed the meek little Fluttershy, "To make it happen!" A flash of chaos magic and he was suddenly on the small pegasus's other side, wearing what could only be described as the most stereotypical granny outfit ever conceived, and he gently tugged on Fluttershy's cheeks while saying, "It makes me want to pinch your little horsey cheeks~"

"How'd you know about that?" Twilight snapped, stepping forward, only to flinch backwards slightly as the playfulness completely drained from Discord's face for a moment as he twisted to lean over to her.

"Being turned to stone doesn't keep me from hearing every word Celestia says. Although I will admit it makes rolling my eyes a challenge." He purred out, pulling his eyes from his head and tossing them behind him before suddenly appearing underneath them, letting them fall back into his sockets, and he sat up from the ground before frowning as Twilight stepped forward yet again.

"Well unless you want us to turn you back into stone, you'll zap those animals back the way they were, PRONTO!" She said commandingly, pointing a hoof towards him. For a quick moment, he relived the agony as all his magic was forced into his body, filling him to a non-existent bursting point, the pain as he lost the feeling of his limbs, and the horror of once again being trapped, vulnerable, and forgotten yet again, and then Discord swallowed back his fear and scoffed. 

"Nnnyooh you wouldn't DARE turn me back to stone and risk disappointing your PRECIOUS princess." He bluffed, crossing his arms, only to roll his eyes as Rainbow Dash darted into the air behind him.

"Try us, Discord!" She spat, saying his name like it was the most vile word on earth, and he couldn't help but scoff a little, until Fluttershy jumped into the air as well.

"You think you can treat poor defenseless animals like that and get away with it?!" With a cheer from the rainbow one, the pale yellow pegasus mare flew up to his face, pushing her hoof rather rudely right up against his muzzle while snapping, "You best watch your step buster, or I'll give you THE STARE." Discord held himself back from laughing and reeled back in mock terror.

"The stare?!" He cried playfully, throwing his arms in the air, "No please! Not that! Anything but your disapproving eyeballs!" The draconequus burst into laughter, wheeling in the air and smiling, until Fluttershy's glare suddenly intensified and he felt an odd tug to obey her. Not enough to get him to do it, though, so instead he started flailing and holding his throat as he choked mockingly.

"Oh no! No no no stop- *hack* No no- *wheeze* I can't-" The glare only intensified, and Discord let his red pupils start rippling as he pleaded playfully, "Stop! I can't take it anymore! I'll do whatever...you...say! Because..." Suddenly he stopped and resumed laughing, bracing his mismatched arms against his knees in the air and howling with glee, "Eehahahaha-ha you're hilarious~!! Ahahahaha!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes and beckoned Fluttershy back down to eye level, frowning. 

"Okay, clearly we're not making things clear enough! If it turns out that we need to use our Elements against you, I'm sure we can convince Princess Celestia that it was for a good reason!" Discord tossed his head, growling, and stuck his nose in the air.

"You aren't frightening me, Twonkle Sponkle! Celestia believes in you too much to just accept that I'm a lost cause. Even if I am!" he tittered, crossing his arms. Satisified in his rebuke, he turned to watch the squirrel and the rabbit spot each other and immediately leap to fight each other, giggling in amusement as the monster squirrel bit the rabbit's ear. 

Twilight narrowed her eyes at him, then motioned for the others to come closer, huddling into a circle. 

"I don't want him running around Ponyville, wreaking havoc. If he does this within five minutes, what could he do in an hour, or a day?!" Rainbow quietly hissed, glancing towards him before furrowing her brow and turning back to her friends. 

"Ah hate to be a neigh-sayer, but Rainbow's right. He obviously ain't up for even tryin' ta be 'reformed'. If anything he sure seems like he's try'na goad us into turnin' him back." Applejack said softly, ducking her head slightly and lowering her voice. Twilight nodded softly as the Spirit of Chaos before them hovered in air, having apparently chosen the squirrel as a favorite and cheering the slavering beast on to win its current fight, waving a foam finger with its face on it.

"Princess Celestia will understand, I'm sure of it. We have to put everypony else before the reformation of one crazy...whatsit." She said calmly. With that, the six mares organized themselves. With an initial, soft pulse of magic, the Elements shimmered to life, gathering energy. It was only because the fighting mutant rabbit and squirrel suddenly stopped and fled that Discord realized something was amiss, and he flattened his ears as he turned.

Instantly his eyes grew wild and manic. He would not go through so much time locked in solitude and pain, not again- not for these humorless horses. Not again- never again.

In the split second that the Elements released their built up power, Discord threw every ounce of chaotic magic he could into the oncoming blast, releasing a final roar of defiance. Never again indeed; he'd either die here, or win and continue spreading chaos, but he couldn't stomach the idea of ever being frozen again.

With a crack loud enough that everyone present could have sworn Canterlot could hear it, the two massive forces of magic collided, and for a moment Discord felt fear and confusion before the shockwave of magic pressure struck him, and pain encompassed him. 

His vision went white, and his world filled with golden light. Everything was being torn to shreds. Pain ate at him, in a new way that he'd never felt, his eyes were glowing with beautiful energy, and his body felt like it was burning down to the bones. 

The few seconds he was in this state felt like they stretched on for centuries, and when it finally faded, it left him feeling more weak than he'd ever felt in the time he could remember. His legs gave out from under him, and he hit the ground with a loud, undignified cry of pain. His body felt odd, and it hurt to move. 

Slowly he struggled into a sitting position and he trembled, his arms suddenly feeling far too weak to support his body. He curled his claws, blinking to try and clear his vision. The world felt out of balance, and he swayed several times, his eyes watering as his vision wavered. 

His lion's paw was what he managed to clearly look at first, but when he caught sight of his eagle claw, his blood went cold.

"Wha....what have you done to me?" Instead of one, two paws met his gaze, and looking further down at his legs gave him the sight of two hooves. His fur and scales, once a myriad of different colors, were now white, with his paws and hooves fading to gold. Reaching up with shaking hands, his antler had been forcibly reshaped into a second horn, and running his tongue across his teeth made him realize that he now had two elongated saber fangs instead of just one. Scorch marks lined where his claw, bat wing, and dragon foot had been, and his head hurt savagely.

He tried conjuring a mirror, only to realize with horror that he couldn't feel any of his magic. No chaos came to his call, and he felt his stomach drop. Shaking, he struggled to stand, suddenly violently off balance, and he looked at his back to find two large, feathered wings with white feathers at the bases of them that faded to gold as they spread outward. He whipped around, eyes searching, and he found the Mane Six staring at him with wide eyes. His tail lashed as his heart seemed to seize, and he flattened his ears. 

He took a shaking breath and whimpered softly, "What...have you done to me?" He looked at his paws, unable to fully wrap his head around what was happening, then looked at them again and snarled, "What did you DO to me?!" They flinched slightly, and Twilight gaped as he stumbled forward, collapsing onto all fours for fear of tripping otherwise. The once proud god of chaos weakly stepped towards them, dragging his wings and tail, neck drooping, and odd black liquid had begun to drip from the new saber fang that had torn from his jaw.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!!" He suddenly screamed, and Rainbow Dash flared her wings in warning.

"I-I don't know what we did but it sure took YOU down a peg!" She proclaimed loudly. Discord coughed, the action rattling his entire body, and he stared at her before suddenly stepping backwards several times before clumsily opening his wings.

"Y-you..." Discord looked at himself one more time, "You took...how could....what have you DONE?!" Without waiting for an answer, the draconequus sluggishly flapped his wings and dragged himself into the air, beginning to flee. Rainbow instantly shouted after him before opening her wings and taking off, hot on his tail in an instant. In a panic, Discord looked back before yelping as he narrowly dodged a tackle from the cyan mare. Several more rushes, and he found that the already heavy weakness became too much for him to stay up and his wings gave out, letting him crash to the ground, and without doubt, he was suddenly so much more afraid than he'd ever been in his prison. The edges of his vision were beginning to blur and blacken, and the last thing he saw was a set of cyan hooves land in front of him. 





Twilight carefully inspected Discord's limp body as Applejack and Rainbow hauled him back towards Ponyville, tugging at his wings and running her hoof over his new horn, carefully looking at each new change as she did.

Fluttershy hovered overhead, staring down at the unconscious draconequus with something akin to worry.

"Do you think he'll be alright Twilight...? He sounded like he was in a lot of pain when the magic hit him..." Twilight hummed softly and nodded.

"It might have hurt at first, but I hypothesize that the reason so was because evil was so deeply rooted in him. Now that said evil has no doubt been torn out by the Elements of Harmony, maybe we have a real chance at reforming him."

"Or this could backfire horribly! This might have hurt him beyond repair!" Pinkie said cheerfully, hopping over from one side of Discord over to Twilight's side. Twilight stared at her for a moment before shaking her head.

"Ridiculous, Pinkie. the Elements of Harmony aren't a harmful force! They're called the Elements of Harmony for Celestia's sake, I doubt it even has the ability to hurt things; just strip away their evil." She said, then continued with, "Besides, look at him! He's equal now! He looks much less like a monster now- if anything, maybe the Elements reformed him for us~!" She exclaimed. Silence greeted her words and she blinked before looking at her friends, then grinning sheepishly as she realized they'd reached the library. With a quick tendril of magic, she pulled the door open, and soon was helping to push Discord's body into the library's basement.

"Alright, we have him here.....now what, Twilight?" Twilight hummed as she cast a quick conjuration spell and chains clicked into existence around Discord's wrists and ankles, attaching themselves to the ground and binding themselves to the floor with magic before shaking her head.

"For now, we wait for him to wake up. I'll come get you when he does, because I don't think that he'll be waking up too soon." She mused, looking over the unconscious draconequus.

"Well...I do have a particularly large order that I need to work on, so I suppose I should thank you for letting me go." Rarity murmured, thereafter trotting off towards Carousel Boutique. Rainbow and Applejack soon followed her lead, each claiming they had work to do as well, and Pinkie seemed to have disappeared at some point.

Twilight looked towards Fluttershy in curiosity, prompting the shy pegasus to glance at Discord's unconscious form before carefully sitting down.

"I think it would be a good idea for me to stay here. Celestia chose me for a reason, and besides that, he seemed really scared and upset, so maybe he needs some kindness to help him figure out what happened." She said softly, shuffling her wings and folding them comfortably against her sides. Twilight hummed then shrugged.

"Are you sure? You might be here a while..." She pried, leaning forward. Fluttershy nodded, smiling, and completely laid down, and Twilight hesitated before nodding and turning to leave.

"Well...if you need anything, the kitchen is open for use, and you know where the washroom is...so...um...good night?" Twilight backed up before gently closing the door, and Fluttershy smiled softly before looking at Discord worriedly and slowly running her hoof along the arch of his neck.

"You poor thing...you seemed so upset...I hope you wake up soon so that we can apologize for possibly hurting you." She cooed softly, smiling as she began gently petting his shoulder.
> 2. Waking
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Dear Princess Celestia,

I want to apologize for the abruptness of a sudden message so soon after you gave me my assignment, but something has come up. Discord proved too mischievous and dangerous to be reformed, and was entirely unwilling to cooperate. I had theorized that if we showed him we were serious about our ultimatum, he might reconsider, so I convinced the girls to help me imprison him in stone again. It was only to show him we were serious, and that we wouldn't take his aloofness towards the severity of his actions kindly, but something...changed. I won't go into detail right now, as I really want to get back to my observations, but I can assure you that it's important. Normally the idea of me suggesting this would be appalling, but I feel as though it's necessary. I think you should come see this for yourself. If you do decide to come, which I must emphasize that I feel is the best course of action, please come to the basement of the Golden Oaks Library.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle







Celestia knew that something bad had happened. She paced across her personal quarters, running over the massive noise that had come from Ponyville in her head. The mass flux of magic had not escaped her notice, and she paused before walking out onto her balcony and looking down in the direction of Ponyville. Something wasn't as it was supposed to be, she could feel it in her gut. 

Just as she turned to resume her pacing, a small spurt of magic appeared in front of her and she caught a message in her magic, gently unfurling it and reading the words over quickly. Her head tilted off to the side, and she reread the letter several times before flattening her ears. That much magic being released in such a violent fashion, so soon after she left Discord in the hooves of her student, didn't bode well. Celestia hesitated before steeling herself then exiting her quarters. Her guards instantly peeled themselves from their posts and flanked her, following closely as she flagged down a passing maid. 

"Contact Cloudy Shower, have them set their carriage flight path for Ponyville, quickly." She ordered as she walked by, flicking her ear to follow the maid's retreating hoof steps as she ascended Luna's tower, eyed by the unnerving golden glare of Luna's guards, and knocked on her sister's personal quarter doors. A soft shuffling noise came from inside, and Luna peeked out, sleep weighing heavy at her eyelids.

"Yes, 'Tia?" She mumbled, yawning as she rubbed one eye with a hoof. Celestia gently pushed the door open further and flattened her ears before beginning, "You remember my plan to have Twilight reform Discord? I went through with it, but a massive explosion of magic just came from Ponyville. I'm worried Discord is causing trouble." Luna pricked her ears forward and tilted her head, blinking away some of the sleep clogging her eyes.

"That's what that was? What does this mean 'Tia?" She asked. Celestia shook her head softly and smiled gently as she eased, "Don't worry Luna. I'm just going to check on things. Nothing more, nothing less. I just need you to keep the populace calm."

"'Tia..."

"Pretty please Lulu?" Celestia pleaded, leaning forward with a deceivingly pitiful smile. Luna simply returned her sister's look with a glare. The contest was sustained for almost a minute before Luna slowly sighed and looked away.

"Thanks for stepping in Luna~" Celestia turned on a dime and quickly walked away. Luna threw her door open and chased after her as she headed for the carriage runway.

"Celestia, you get back here! I did not agree to anything yet!" Celestia hurried her step and quickly stepped into the already prepared carriage, promptly closing the door behind herself.

"Onward let's go!!" She called, and instantly the pegasi opened their wings and took off.

Luna's angry hollering was lost to her sister's ears and Celestia hummed loudly then looked at the earth pony that was already in the carriage. "Hello Cloudy Shower~"

The earth pony stared at her before rolling her eyes and looking at her princess, then began quietly, "I'm going to ignore your sister's howls of utter rage. If I may, Your Highness, why the sudden departure?" 

Celestia paused for a moment then looked at Cloudy and relented, "Something...big has happened in Ponyville. Something...something WRONG." She could still feel a sinking feeling in her gut, and as she looked out the window of her royal carriage, she could swear she felt several unnatural shifts in the wind. As they drew closer and closer to Ponyville, her magic prone eyes saw just a tiny shade of saturation more than what was natural for Ponyville, and chaos magic danced about in an odd fashion, known only to her. Celestia frowned softly, only to jump slightly as Cloudy gently nudged her shoulder.

"Your Highness? You're troubled by more than this 'wrong' event." Celestia sighed at Cloudy then smiled sadly.

"I was nervous from the start about letting Discord have his freedom, but when running over the idea with several of my advisors, they all seemed to love the idea so much. They talked constantly of how useful an ally he would make, how useful HE could be. Their arguments seemed so sound, and no matter what way I looked at it, I felt like making amends with Discord would garner no ill consequences."

"Someone said something about usefulness? Your highness...many look for an ally as powerful as Discord would be...surely you saw that." Cloudy pressed on quietly. Celestia glanced out the window then shook her head.

"It isn't anything to worry about. The important thing is that we may need to stay here a couple of days. Who knows what kind of mess Discord might have made? And who knows how long it might take to mop said possible mess up?" Cloudy rolled her eyes playfully, masking her irritation at her question being dodged.

As Celestia stepped out, she immediately shuddered and released a soft hum of unease. The area felt...sterile. The magic blast, no doubt centered somewhere near where they had landed, seemed to have blown away all the thaumic energy in the area, and only faint, clinging hints of it remained. Even the blitzed air felt difficult and cloying to breath in. Her pegasi guards looked at each other worriedly as she spread her wings to balance herself, and they tilted their heads.

"Your Highness...? Are you in need of assistance?"

Even though magic was already beginning to return, Celestia felt light headed and she turned to her guards, gulping to herself.

"Guards...would you be willing to take us more towards Ponyville...This place does not feel right." She pleaded. The guards instantly snapped their hooves to their foreheads in an orderly salute and Celestia daintily pulled herself back into the carriage, flattening her ears. Cloudy narrowed her eyes at her and shuffled a bit closer. She hesitated, pausing, then gently laid a hoof on Celestia's shoulder. Celestia started slightly then looked at her and offered a (hopefully) reassuring smile.

"Your highness-" 

"Cloudy please, enough. I'm worried about other things."

"If I may ask, why are you so worried? After knowing the history of Discord and his...actions, I would figure that it wouldn't matter either way. If he can be reformed, good for him. If he cannot, either destroy him or trap him again, and it will be just as before, right?" Cloudy had turned her head towards the window during her sentence, but when she turned back to look at Celestia, a shiver crept down her spine. Celestia was staring at the floor of the carriage with an intensity that Cloudy wouldn't expect the princess to even be capable of, and she trembled before weakly clearing their throat. Immediately Celestia turned her gaze to Cloudy, then took a deep breath.

"I have had many regrets in my lifetime, Cloudy. I cannot, in good conscious, sleep in peace if I condemn Discord without offering him a chance. A second chance saved my sister...maybe my student can help him too." Cloudy flattened her ears then silently looked away. The rest of the carriage trip to Ponyville was spent in utter silence, and when it finally shuddered to a halt, Cloudy carefully, almost timidly, got out, followed shortly by Celestia. The door to the Ponyville library greeted them, and Celestia flicked her ear.

"Guards, stay out here and make sure that nobody comes within a ten foot radius of this building. Cloudy, you may only enter up to the point of the first floor." Cloudy flinched then nodded dutifully. Celestia took a deep breath, straightened her neck, and walked into Golden Oaks. 

Immediately she was met with a silence like death, and she shivered. Twilight had failed to mention that the pervasive, unnerving aura of a magicless area extended, or perhaps followed them, all the way here. Trying to shake away the cloying sense of anxiousness, she swiftly headed for the basement door.

Light poured into the otherwise practically pitch dark stairwell as Celestia opened it and she carefully stepped down. 

"Princess Celestia, is that you?" Right as Celestia turned a corner, she bumped into Twilight, then looked down at her, furrowing her brow, and she released a tense sigh.

"Twilight, I admit that your letter has me worried. What happened?" Twilight gave a cautious and hopeful smile and quickly cleared her throat then gestured to the doorway.

"I...think we succeeded." Celestia gave her a look of confusion before looking at the doorway and suddenly the world seemed to tense. Something wretched was down here- torn from it's rightful place in the world, in a way that was wholly unnatural. She could feel the very air around her warping slightly, and she suddenly felt ill, and the feeling doubled when Twilight lit up the room. Her student's cautiously hopeful eyes quickly dimmed in fear as she tried to gauge Celestia's reaction.

Discord's body had never looked natural. He had a mixture of too many animals to count in him, poured in with a dash of chaotic magic, but somehow, like this, he was so much worse. In a way, he looked angelic, now coated with white and gold scales, feathers, and fur, with his horns curved past his head like a regal, golden crown; but it wasn't supposed to be like that. Celestia carefully inched forward, almost afraid that if she moved too much her legs would give out. 

"U-um...Princess...C-Celestia...?" Twilight fearfully moved to stand in front of Celestia, her excitement rapidly disappearing. 

"...Twilight, I am going to have to stay for an extended amount of time." Twilight blinked, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates as she regarded her teacher with surprise. Celestia solemnly, silently, turned around and quickly fled the basement and the library, barging past Cloudy even as she asked what was wrong, and she swiftly strode over to the guards.

"Return to the castle and inform Princess Luna that I have deemed it utterly necessary to conceal myself and remain here until further notice. If she so desires she may visit in order to discuss this in person, but I MUST stay." The guards quickly saluted, hooking themselves back into the carriage, and they glanced at Cloudy.

"She'll be going back with you to help Luna run the Day Court." Cloudy opened her mouth to protest, only for Celestia to firmly nudge her into the carriage. With a snap of their wings, the guards took off, and Cloudy glared out the window at the rapidly retreating image of her ruler.





Everything hurt. Everything burned.

His head was pounding, his body ached. He felt like the entire world continuously heaved and pitched, and the first time he tried to open his eyes, even the meager, single candle that was lit was too much, causing him to release a choked hiss of discomfort. He curled inward, pulling himself into a coiled ball, trembling. Even doing that felt like hell.

He took waking up in teeny steps. Open his eye a little bit more, shift a little bit over, rinse, repeat. Eventually, Discord had managed to relocate to a place he could blow out the candle, then he opened his eyes. He felt nauseous, and suddenly he yanked himself to the side and retched violently, shuddering as his stomach tried to expel something that wasn't even there. His body convulsed, twisting in odd ways, until finally his stomach calmed and he went limp, letting his head fall to the ground, trembling, and he weakly tried to focus solely on the chill of the floor pressing against his cheek. 

The room's soft darkness offered little, but in some way, Discord found himself soothed by the lack of light. It was calm, and quiet, and gave him a chance to simply stare into it, and not have to think. If he simply stared at the dark, he didn't have to remember what had happened. He didn't have to think about how his precious magic being gone, how he felt like he wasn't truly him anymore. 

Eventually though, even that no longer helped, and he found his gaze drifting towards his newer paw, trembling. He felt so ill, and wrong. Discord flattened his ears against the back of his skull, then pulled his legs underneath him and forced himself upwards. He could tell just from the burn in his arms that he probably should've stopped there, but he ignored the feeling and shifted until he was sitting. Just as he moved to explore the dark environment, something yanked his left hand backwards and he hissed as he looked down. The soft glow of light hurt at first, but his body was a resilient and tough thing, and already the light burned his eyes less than the candle had. 

"Chains...what am I, an animal? The least they could do is leave a chocolate milk of glass." He rasped softly, releasing a bitter, insincere laugh. "Where's my 'Discord' marked food bowl and my studded collar with a twinkly little silver bell?" 

Liquid spattered on the ground and Discord looked down, squinting, then let his expression fall as he realized it was water; tears. He laid himself back down, already feeling weak, and he trembled. Fear gripped his heart, and for the first time in his life, he firmly believed he would prefer to be encased in stone. 

Then light poured in. Discord released a pained cry and quickly curled himself into a pile of coils, blinking his tears away and hiding his head as best he could without hurting himself on his horns. A soft gasp managed to reach his ears, the click of hooves echoed in the room, and his entire body bristled as he felt a small, gentle hoof run along the curve of one of his coils. 

"Discord...?" He could recognize that infuriating soft voice anywhere, and he released a furious snarl as he suddenly unknotted himself, roaring as he lunged at the butterscotch pegasus. She released a pathetic scream and quickly fled to the safety of the outer edges of the room, where the magic chains prevented him from reaching.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!!" He screeched, writhing desperately to get either his claws, teeth, or horns within reaching distance of her. She stared at the wild animal he'd suddenly transformed into, terror keeping her locked in place as she whimpered fearfully. 

He screamed wildly, claws tearing deep groves in the floor as he threw every iota of strength left his body into trying to maul the poor pegasus he'd trapped in a corner. His grief forgotten, he howled his anger. Anger at her, anger at her friends, anger at his magic for fleeing his grasp, anything he could think of. He was angry at the Elements, he was angry at Celestia, he was angry at the field in which the whole thing had happened even. He was angry at how weak and defenseless he felt. 

By the time he'd worn himself out and collapsed to the ground against the chains' pull, Fluttershy was curled into a shivering ball, a mess of sobs and apologies. Her entire body shook with terror, and her mane hid her face, but her fear scent was so thick in the air that it could practically be tasted. It took her a long time to so much as peek out from her curtain of hair, and when she did, she found Discord's blazing, miserable glare squared at her. She quickly looked away.

"...Why would you do this to me?" Fluttershy jumped as his voice cut through the silence, and she looked at Discord fearfully. He flattened his ears, his body slowly beginning to pull into a coil again. "Wh-"

"Why would you do this? Do you know what this feels like? Was stone imprisonment not bad enough?" He rasped, his voice rough and scratchy from his earlier screaming. Fluttershy shrank into herself in fear, but then turned her body so that she could face him, trembling.

"I-I don't know what you mean Discord...wh-what's wrong?" She whispered timidly, apprehension keeping her voice so quiet that Discord nearly had trouble hearing what she said. He scrunched his muzzle in a show of distaste.

"You cannot be serious. You don't know what I mean? You HAVE to know, you and your precious friends were the ones who used those blasted Elements." Fluttershy's sincere incertitude only somehow made him angrier, and he hissed, "You can't play dumb with me, Flutters. If you think that I don't know about the Elements, then you're even more presumptuous than I thought, even for a pony." Fluttershy flinched slightly and inched forward uneasily, trembling.

"I really don't know what you mean though...please, I want to understand what you're feeling." She urged quietly. Discord gave her a long, hard glare.

"...You cannot possibly understand how, or what, I feel, Fluttershy. You will never know what this feels like. You should thank whatever deity you believe in for that saving grace. You're a monster." 

Fluttershy released a weak sob, and pushed herself off the ground, galloping past Discord to flee up the stairs and out of the basement. Discord glared after her vehemently, flattening his ears.


It felt like a long time before he recovered enough strength to move again. By then, he was alone. And swiftly, also became bored. He was so used to being able to entertain himself that to be so bored was entirely foreign to him. It took a few subconscious snaps at the air, while thinking of a dancing fruit bowl or a gravy boat that would spit mashed potatoes, before he was struck down by the reality of his situation. The sound of lion claws on wood echoed through the dark room, and his tail thumped once or twice every few minutes against the floor. 

As he stared aimlessly into the darkness, he took a deep breath and released a heavy sigh, then he flattened his ears as hoofsteps began clicking down the stairway that he knew led to the library. He flattened his ears as a small earth pony mare opened the door calmly, and she returned his wary glare. His eyes scanned her carefully, soaking in her white coat and her mane and tail of mixed purple, orange, and yellow, then he released a disgusted hiss.

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm an old man, Celestia. I know your mortal form. Silver Glow didn't feel like coming this time, Sunny Daze?" He snarked, thumping his tail against the ground as she approached. Celestia released a soft huff as she settled into a seated position in front of him. Her ears flattened against the ancient name, but she responded in stride.

"I left Luna in charge of Equestria." Discord made a face and huffed in boredom, "Right. Because giving little Lulu power is a good idea. We both remember what happened last time you asked her to run your kingdom." Celestia released a tired laugh.

"In a forbidden wing of the palace, a place where the cleaning staff dare not go, there are still solidified pancakes stuck to the ceiling, and animated whipped cream goblins still roam. Last time I checked on them, they had begun a primitive civilization with Luna as their god."

"Some of Luna's finest work if you ask me."

Celestia smiled softly, but soon she couldn't help but lower her gaze, unable to consistently stomach seeing Discord in the state he was trapped in. 

"I couldn't send my little Lulu to mop up my mess. The ponies of Equestria do need a leader, but I need to fix my mistakes. Both of us couldn't abandon our duties to address this." Discord released a bitter laugh as his teeth gnashed, and she could practically feel the tension and anger in him rising. She didn't need to be able to sense emotion to know that he wasn't happy. 

"Hah. 'Address this' she says, as she looks me in the eye, knowing full well what's happened here, and how heinous your little pet student is. You make it sound like just another one of your little royal duties!" Discord suddenly threw himself to his feet, snarling loudly as he loomed over Celestia, his eyes burning with anger. She flattened her ears against the sudden heel-faced turn in mood, though she would be lying if she said she didn't entirely expect it.

"This is your fault, Celestia. I would have preferred staying imprisoned for the rest of eternity, but that just wasn't a good enough punishment, WAS it? You...you secretly enjoy watching your enemies suffer, don't you! Hah! That's why you never finish off your foes when you best them. You enjoy watching them lose everything!! That's probably why you kicked that wretched old centaur down to Tartarus instead of just killing the beast~!" Celestia frowned up at him calmly, and Discord met her soft stare for a couple of tense, silent moments before snarling and whipping around to stalk around the edge of his chains' reach angrily, never letting his glare leave her.

"You're sick! You're sick and you're a vindictive old horse!" He snarled, water welling in his eyes as his voice rose. "You don't know how this feels! You don't know- you don't understand how much this HURTS!!" His tail thrashed wildly, the spines leaving grooves in the walls and floor. "You- you haven't-" Discord paused as Celestia silently lifted herself and he gave her a spiteful growl as she began walking towards him.

"I...don't know what this is like for you, Discord. I haven't got a single clue what you're going through, or how you feel. But please, don't blame my student and her friends." Discord laughed derisively.

"Oh please, why would I blame them? After all, they only used the Elements! It's not like they possibly could have WANTED to take the quick route with 'reforming' me!"

"They don't know the true nature of those artifacts, Discord, they aren't at fault."

"I'd say they ARE! Those forsaken Elements don't have any conscious of their own, there isn't some greater force of harmony watching its elements and deciding what they do to each different 'villain' they're used against! Stop romanticizing what they've done to me as accidental! And if they truly don't know, then I almost find them at more fault than if they did!"

"They're innocent, Discord! It's my fault for not telling them, not theirs!" Discord's loud, haggard cackle filled the room and even as he strained against the magic chains binding him, his tears began to flow down his face.

"Innocent, Celestia? Don't be a fool! Your silly little pastel pets, however ignorant they may be, still wanted to reform me, and they found the quickest way to do it!" Celestia stared at the draconequus as all the fight seemed to drain out of his body and he released a soft hiss as he simply let himself collapse. Celestia shivered then slowly walked over and carefully placed her hoof on his neck, right behind his ear.

"You're a monster, just like the rest of them." Celestia balked slightly at the sudden deep, dark edge to his voice, drawing her hoof back just fast enough to be because of fright rather than surprise.

"Wha-"

"You're a coward, Celestia. You cannot say it was an accident. You were afraid to explain why the Elements are dangerous. You were afraid because of what you've done with them in the past. I've been torn apart because of you. I've lost my magic because of you! I am nothing now...all because of you." Celestia felt her form shiver and she silently stood and walked away, closing the door behind her. 





Twilight paced uneasily. She glanced every few seconds at the basement door, letting her anxiety begin to get the better of her. Fluttershy sat at the table nearby, trembling as she tried to calm her nerves and sip at some tea. Spike sat by her side, gently patting her back. Applejack and Rarity sat next to him, also comforting her, and Rainbow Dash glared heavily at the door and stood protectively in front of Fluttershy. Pinkie was humming softly as she colored in a foal's coloring book, though she occasionally would glance towards the basement door as well. Twilight let her ears wilt and glanced back to the basement door, then pricked her ears as it slowly eased open. Celestia, disguised as she was, daintily stepped through and closed the door behind her. Twilight inched forward then paused upon noticing her teacher's cold, stony stance and detached stare.

Celestia's hoof hovered on the door for a moment longer before she turned to look at Twilight, and she released a weary sigh.

"I believe I have some explaining to do for all of you, now that he has finally awoken." She murmured. The rest of the girls looked up and without needing to be told, gathered around their suddenly very fragile looking ruler. Slowly, she sat down, followed by her subjects, and the princess took a deep breath before casting a spell to project an image of the Elements. 

"I must apologize to all of you. You most of all, Twilight." Twilight blinked and tilted her head as she leaned forward.

"What do you mean apologize? What could you possibly have to apologize for...? If anyone should apologize it would be us...even if I'm not sure what we're supposed to apologize for. Certainly not this. We reformed him! Like with Princess Luna?" Twilight balked as she watched Celestia flinch and look away, and she flattened her ears worriedly.

"Luna...Luna was a different case from Discord. With Luna..." A deep breath, then Celestia continued, "I have not been entirely honest with you, my little ponies." Twilight stared at her, letting her ears wilt slightly, and she leaned forward.

"Princess? What...what do you mean?" Celestia hesitated, then put a petite hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"He thinks you did this to him on purpose...and...in a way, you did."
> 3. Loneliness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The magic of our cutie marks is not reserved solely to us. Though we are the only creatures of Equus who bear a physical mark of our connection with that magic, it runs through every living thing in the world. It gives everything purpose, it tells them, it whispers to their hearts, what their fate is. Even creatures like Discord or The Nightmare have this magic buried inside them. The issue with this purposeful connection is that it can be interrupted. Rewired, or destroyed; without a purpose, someone can lose themself, and might never recover." 

"So...we took away his cutie mark? I didn't know Discord had one!" Celestia looked towards Pinkie with a tired, quirked brow and shook her head softly. 

Glass broke downstairs, and Discord's muffled voice snarled out a curse. 

"I...yes...er, I mean...Discord doesn't have a cutie mark, but he has the spiritual equivalent of one...or, rather...used to..." Celestia shook her head in grief and released a heavy sigh then continued, "But he doesn't anymore. The elements...they tore it from him." Twilight flattened her ears slightly and tilted her head as she processed this new information. 

"But...the Elements of Harmony...they're just that. The Elements of Harmony. Why would they do something so...cruel as take away a...well a metaphorical cutie mark?" Celestia turned her dark gaze upon her student, then tilted her head forward.

"Well, Twilight, do you remember your first lesson under my tutelage?" Twilight brightened.

"I do remember that! How could I forget my very first lesson from you? 'Magic is not sentient, nor does it have any moral code. It listens to what its bearer desires, and goes about it the way the bearer dictates. If channeled and managed correctly, magic is a great asset. In unknowing hooves, it is the most dangerous thing in the world. If the bearer cannot dictate how to go about achieving the desire, the magic...does what is...most efficient...oh no." Celestia smiled wearily and nodded. 

Something metal hit the basement ceiling, resulting in Fluttershy yelping as the floor shook slightly. 

"Indeed my dear Twilight...the Elements channel magic VERY well. Too well, I suppose I should say. The magic stored within them listened to what you desired. To reform Discord, without delay, was your desire, and was the driving force behind your activation of them. You hadn't a clear path in mind to reform him...so the Elements did so for you."

"So what's the problem? He can't do his chaos snap thing anymore, the most damage he can do is just yell and snarl." Rainbow asked, crossing her forelegs. Celestia wilted slightly and she glanced towards the cyan pegasus with a somber gaze that quickly brought Rainbow to the ground, pulling her wings in tight against her body as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Even if he misused his powers, Discord had them for a reason. He's an avatar, a being with a bigger purpose than even me and Luna. As the master of chaos, he used to keep balance. He went mad, and misused his powers, but he was still a controlling factor. Without him as a metaphorical leash...who knows what the magic of chaos could do to our world?"

"But..." Twilight bit her lip before leaning forward faintly and extending a hoof then continuing, "But if it doesn't have a user, then it shouldn't do anything, right? Besides, he was misusing his powers, so he wasn't a good avatar as you put it!" Celestia shook her head and rubbed a temple with her hoof, and her student knew she was wrong before Celestia even spoke.

"Twilight, you know as well as I do that latent magic can be just as dangerous as magic that has been released without a purpose in mind. Besides that, I can't truly say whether or not his actions could be labelled as misuse. He used to be a lot crueler..." Twilight wilted, and she releases a resigned sigh. Celestia stepped forward, ears drooping with guilt, and sat down, resting her dainty hooves on the table as she regarded the grain of the wood.

"...The reason I brought Discord to you was because I saw a different part of him. He might have been overzealous, when he finally broke free...but he was being harmless. The Discord that Luna and I banished a thousand years ago was not the same Discord that you, my little ponies, fought. A thousand years ago, he would not have thought twice about crushing you. But he just played games."

"Well ah thought that was because he was tryin' ta break us apart so that we couldn't use the Elements." Applejack took off her stetson and flattened her ears in shame, studying her hat. "He did a darn good job of it too...ah felt like mah heart was bein' broken more times than a china plate in a bull stampede! That was no game..." Celestia shook her head morosely.

"Maybe not to you, but he has the capacity to be so much more evil than he was with you...I wanted to take that as a sign. I wanted to believe that maybe, because he was being so...tame, that there was a chance that maybe peace with him was possible. Now that this has happened...such a grave crime, even to someone who normally would so flagrantly disregard morals or ethics....I'm afraid that might never be the case." A heavy silence swiftly fell on the group, and only after a solid fifteen seconds was it broken by Pinkie taking a step forward to Celestia.

"So uh...so we really hurt him then?" Celestia winced and nodded softly, only to yelp as Pinkie pulled a cake out of her mane and set it on the table, then watched in confusion as the pink mare trotted towards the basement door, despite the noise of a raging draconequus just behind it. 

"Uh...Pinkie? What are you doing?"

"Well I'm gonna offer him some apology cake, DUH! I mean, if I was Discord and Discord was me and I just had my not Cutie Mark taken away I would really appreciate Discord-Me giving me some apology cake because taking a cutie mark seems REALLY rude even though technically I don't know where my cutie mark is or how it got taken-"

"Pinkie Pie, please reconsider- he is in a very delicate state right now-" Celestia scrunched up her muzzle as Pinkie tapped her hoof against her snout, and Pinkie gently stroked her head, "Shhh...Auntie Pinkie has got this covered!"

"Pinkie, considering what happened to Fluttershy, he's probably in a bad mood. I don't think that just barging in and throwing a cake at the problem is going to do anything other than make it worse." Rainbow snipped, slicking her ears back against her head. Pinkie let out an airy giggle and waved her hoof playfully.

"Well of course it would Dashie! But I'm not gonna THROW the cake at him, I'm just gonna ask if he wants any, silly!" Without pause to allow for further argument, Pinkie threw the door open, only to yelp as Discord swung his head into her barrel, sweeping her aside and he threw himself out of the basement, screeching. Celestia stood, only to get thrown into a bookshelf as his lashing tail whipped across her flank, and with a roar he tore the library's door down and launched himself into the air outside. Over Rarity's panicked shrieking and Applejack's swears, he could hear Twilight ordering Rainbow to retrieve medical assistance.





Discord's entire body ached even more now. Nothing new, truly, but it still felt slightly satisfying to complain about it. His brain felt like it was disconnected, and that his body, though it hurt, was on autopilot. His wings screamed at him to stop, but he couldn't find it within himself to try. How much time had he been flying? No clue, but long enough that he was nowhere near Ponyville. His thousand year old atrophied muscles began to seize, yet he still couldn't stop. It was so much easier to just keep running. The more distance he put between himself and Celestia and her ponies, the more he could ignore his problem. 

Finally, his wings could function no more. He plummeted to the ground, only managing to catch a slight updraft to cushion his fall. He hit the ground hard, his left paw catching on a scrub bush and turning his body so that the full weight of the fall landed squarely on his right shoulder. A numb part of his brain recognized that the kind of pain he felt was a bad sign, but he could ignore that too. He rolled several times before finally going still. For a few moments, he simply breathed, closing his eyes and ignoring the world around him, before slowly sitting up, keeping his weight off of his right claw. The night sky stretched out above him- had he truly been flying that long?- and a rocky, barren wasteland expanded around him. A soft breeze rushed past him, smelling of rock and dirt, and his shoulders slumped, as well as the rest of his body. 

Discord raised his eyes towards the sky, and his breath caught in his throat. Everything around him was empty. Barely a few scrub bushes, the occasional rock. No clouds hovered over this land, he couldn't scent any for miles in any direction. The vastness of his landing spot suddenly hit Discord like a brick, causing his chest to constrict on itself. In pain, he stood, hopelessly looking around, as if he could have somehow missed something previously. He spun in circles, his breathing shortening with each twist of his body, until he stopped, finding himself staring up at the moon. 

No one stared back. For a thousand years, at night, he'd had Nightmare Moon to keep him company, or the castle guard, or sometimes even Celestia, but tonight, he was truly alone. No other being, no life within this wasteland, and most importantly, no magic. His legs crumpled beneath him as tears flooded his eyes, and the Spirit of Chaos began to wail into the endless, empty night.
> 4. Deserted
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clinking of silverware against plates was the only noise in the otherwise completely silent library. Twilight bit her lip as she watched Celestia, in her mortal guise, silently swallow a mouthful of pancakes. Her teacher's left front hoof was held off the ground in a sling, and several bandages wrapped around her chest. Several small cuts lined from her shoulder to her flank, where Discord's tail spines had bitten into her flesh, though thankfully that was all the damage she had sustained besides the broken leg and a few large bruises.

"...Maybe it isn't going to be so bad." Celestia's silverware froze in midair, and though her mane shadowed most of her face, Twilight could tell she was holding in a sharp retort. The lavender unicorn cleared her throat nervously, swiftly stating, "Er! I mean...that came out wrong. What I was saying was that maybe we could find a solution or something! That could help, or maybe we could track down Discord or-" Celestia set her fork down with a soft clang and Twilight's muzzle snapped shut as the disguised alicorn slowly stood.

"Twilight. His magic is gone. He's been completely sterilized of anything that could help us track him, and we have no idea which way he went, how long he was moving, and if he changed direction, which direction that change would have been in." Celestia stood with a resounding clack of her front right hoof and she frowned at her student. "You still don't fully understand what you did wrong, Twilight. Neither you nor your friends understand." She hung her head, slicking her ears back against her head as the fight drained out of her. "And...that's my fault."

"I guess I just can't grasp it, Princess. He never had a cutie mark, we couldn't have taken it away from him. I don't think it's possible to remove a cutie mark! In all my studies I've never even heard of the theory that a cutie mark could be taken. Let alone one that didn't even exist in the first place. It just doesn't make sense." Celestia's look could have turned a cockatrice to stone, and Twilight winced. 

"Twilight, just because somepony hasn't thought of it yet doesn't mean it's impossible!... Everypony has magic inside of them, no matter their blood. Pony, buffalo, griffon, dragon- they all have it in them, somewhere!... Except for Discord. He doesn't anymore, because I was afraid." Twilight tilted her head and stepped closer. "Afraid of what, Princess?"

"Afraid of what could have been. It was foolish Twilight Sparkle. I should have known to trust you...I feared that if you, or the friends you had found, discovered the true nature of those Elements, then one of them would become corrupt, and try to use the Elements' powers for their own. While the conduits need to work in tandem in order to reach their full potential, they can still accomplish massive feats on their own." Twilight sat down, swallowing, then gestured for Celestia to do the same, and took a deep breath.

"...Then why don't we start by getting that out of the way...? What are the Elements, truly?" Celestia heaved a deep sigh, and despite the youth of her mortal guise, she looked far older than a thousand years.

"The Elements are just magic amplifiers. One of the most powerful of their kind, but still, just amplifiers. They're called the Elements of 'Harmony' because they work in tandem with each other to reach their full potential. They bounce magic off of each other, with more force on each echo than the last, until it's released. This release is powerful enough to accomplish nearly anything. Including...sterilizing a being of their magic." Twilight slicked her ears against her head and began to chew on this new information.

"Celestia...?"

"Yes Twilight?"

"....I still don't understand, but I am trying..." Twilight swallowed back the tension in her throat as she stood and began levitating atlases and maps in from the library into the kitchen, and continued, "...While I'm trying to wrap my mind around this...do you want me to try organizing some search parties? He was exhausted when...it happened, and according to Fluttershy, he wore out extremely quickly even after waking up. He's got to be somewhere in Equestria still, right?" Celestia took a deep breath and nodded, and Twilight spread out a particularly large map of Equestria, and quickly brought in several red markers from the library as well, beginning to cross off the largest cities of Equestria.

"We know that he doesn't want to be near us. He's afraid, upset; I'd wager he doesn't want to be around anyone." Twilight offered a half-hopeful smile to her teacher.

"We get rid of the places we know he wouldn't go, and we search the areas he might have fled to! Like for instance, I know he wouldn't want to go to Canterlot, or here, so we can cross off our areas!"





"What I wouldn't give to be in Canterlot...Doughnuts, dictionary pages, and chocolate milk...perhaps even strawberry milk, if I felt adventurous." Discord lamented softly. 

He was walking. He didn't know where, or which direction he was going anyway, or if he was even going to be able to continue. But moving seemed like a better idea than simply sitting in the middle of a wasteland and waiting to rot. 

Or rather, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Now? He was cursing himself vehemently. He'd forgotten how tedious and monotonous walking was. Or running, or jogging or anything. He'd never known what it was like to walk with weights attached to his legs either. Behind him dragged three pieces of Twilight's basement floor, still bound to him with the chains that held him. With no magic to slip out of the bonds, his physical strength was all he had at the time to resort to, though now in hindsight it might have been better to wait until the chains had been removed before bolting. The last chain, attached to his injured front right leg, was gripped in his tail, to prevent any more tug and trauma to the already wounded limb. For the larger half of the morning, he'd been gnawing and clawing and kicking at the shackles 'round his ankles and wrists, and all he had to show for it were two broken claws and a coppery, metal taste in his mouth. And a horribly painful, sore right shoulder that throbbed wildly whenever he dared to move it too far in any direction. 

Softly, the draconequus- or whatever he was now, he was NOT him at this point in time- swore to himself as he looked to the sky, scowling at the sun and screwing up his muzzle.

"Thanks for making this so pleasant, Princess Sunnybutt. Couldn't have just let some clouds drift in front of your big ball of fooey, nope! Had to be a shiny rainbow friendship day, didn't it?" Discord plastered his ears against his head as he glared to the sky, then pouted. "You know, I don't even care that you aren't the Princess of Cloud Poffs, would it have killed you to...to...oh I don't know! Make the sun not awful today??? You're spiteful, you know. And mean!" Silence greeted his verbal attack on the princess of UV radiation damage, and he scoffed angrily then stood.

Only a few minutes later, he stopped himself and released a loud groan as he sat himself down yet again, twisting his neck as he ran observational eyes over his environment. Again, just as last night, nothing but rock, and dirt stretched out around him, and like last night, his chest constricted as the sheer loneliness of the situation pressed in on him. 

"...What am I doing...? Lost, no magic...no sign of any food or any drinks, and I haven't got the strength to fly anywhere...and alone." His eyes drifted to his shoulder and he bit his lower lip fearfully, swallowing a lump in his throat that felt far too much like the kind one gets when about to cry. With a hiss, he lifted an aching paw and weakly let out a soft whine as he was greeted with the sight of dirt and scrapes covering his pads. Tiny bits of fur had torn off at some point, and between his third digital pad and metacarpal pad, there was a rock embedded in the skin. He winced, and carefully maneuvered until he could reach the offending stone with a claw from his injured arm, digging at the irritated flesh until it finally came loose, followed by a well of blood.

He was unprepared for the wave of nausea that hit him, and he swore to himself angrily. Since when was he afraid of blood? 

"It's because it's your own blood." Discord's high pitched scream easily reached the decibel at which glass would shatter, and he launched himself at least five feet off the ground straight into the air, limbs rigid and his pelt standing on end like a startled cat's. He landed hard on his paws, immediately releasing a sound that was definitely not a strangled whimper, and crumpled to his right side, further agitating his poor shoulder. With a cry, he flopped onto his other side and slumped down, breathing heavy for a moment, before looking around. Above him stood Celestia, in all her solar glory, and she smiled down patiently at him. He hissed as he stood, and with a lash of his tail he turned to face his back to hers. 

"What do you want you sun marked horse?" He rasped softly. Celestia's enchanting giggle wrapped around him, and he felt his entire body run cold then fiery hot again. 

"To let you know just how far you've fallen." His neck twisted and his head turned to look at her, exhausted gold and red eyes malevolent and hateful, but Celestia took a few graceful steps towards him, undeterred. Discord forced himself to his feet, backing away and bristling and baring his teeth like a wild animal would. Dimly, a part of him realized he hadn't acted this way in a millenia, and a smaller part of him felt embarrassed that he was so easily shaken by a few hoofsteps towards him. He flattened his ears against the back of his head.

"Look at you, Discord. You're hauling your living corpse through a desert. There's nothing left of you." Celestia altered her course so that she curved around his side, leaving a circle of hoofprints around Discord as his wings flared involuntarily.

"I'm not dead yet! I just..." With a shake of his head, Discord gnashed his teeth together in a wicked snarl. "When I get my magic back, you'll wish you had kept me trapped in that statue, Celestia!" Celestia's infuriating laugh dug into his ears, under his skin, making it crawl, and his pupils sharpened into razor thin slits.

"When?? Oh you silly draconequus, you aren't getting your magic back, ever! Don't be ridiculous. Just take the cards fate has dealt you. Look at you. Exhausted and injured, sickened by the sight of your own blood simply because for thousands of years you've been deluded into thinking you had none to spill!" Her mirthful lavender eyes bore into him, still comforting and patient, and he hissed angrily. "We gave you the chance to reform, Discord. We gave you the chance to go along peacefully. The only one you can blame this whole mess on is yourself you know."

"Quiet!! This all happened because you were too afraid of your precious little ponies knowing the truth about your so called Elements of Harmony."

"Afraid? No, no Discord. I was curious. I wondered what their pretty little mortal minds could cause to happen." Discord lunged with a screech, and Celestia swiftly jumped out of the way, watching as he stumbled and fell to his side and rolled twice across the ground before going still, then she walked up and playfully pat his head, right between his horns, like a mother watching her child play. It burned just to think that she felt so in control, but his muscles were screaming and his body ached. With a heave, he tried to push himself up, only for his one good front leg to collapse under him, and he let out a pained groan. Celestia once again laughed, and the sound burrowed into his head, echoing in his ears even as his throat tightened and he felt water well at the corners of his eyes. His vision edged with darkness as he began to cry softly, his entire body trembling weakly.

"Oh Discord, my poor little draconequus, don't cry..." Celestia gently dabbed at his eye with a gold-clad hoof, smiling sweetly. "Don't cry, Discord. You brought this on yourself." Her soft, innocent giggle followed him beyond the barrier between the waking world and the dream, and continued even into his dreamless unconscious.
> 5. Pancakes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pancakes.

Buttered, maple syrup'd, blueberry pancakes. 

Discord's eyes snapped open and his nose twitched. Dark wood planks met his vision, and looking around granted him the sight of a tiny bedroom, with his body haphazardly piled onto a pretty sizable bed. 

Was that...yes, yes he was certain. That was the succulent, beautiful scent of fluffy deliciousness, and he needed every crumb of its source in his tummy. He sat up, hissing sorely, but the bait...it was too strong- too good, he couldn't nurse a sore shoulder at a time like this! Pancakes were at stake. 'Come eat us, Discord' he could hear them sing. Scrambling, he hauled himself out of the bed he had found himself in and slipped through the door, ducking his head and pulling his shoulders inward to awkwardly cram himself through the frame. 

The smell was stronger now, painfully close yet so very far away. He swung his head around, accidentally causing his horns to clatter loudly against a small metal lamp, sending it to the ground with a loud clang. A series of soft, high pitched squeaks came from another door, followed by the clatter of a plate dropping to the floor.

"Oh darn it all to Celestia's white ass!" He couldn't help the snicker, but it stopped short when a face appeared in the doorway to what he could only assume was the kitchen, given the heavenly smells wafting from inside it. A face, too thin and small to be pony, with a thick, ocean blue mane curling and bouncing around it. No, not a mane...wool. A long neck, a petite body covered in wool on lithe, long legs and a flicking, short tail.

"Llama?" The semi-question slipped out before he could think it through, and her eyes narrowed.

"Alpaca, actually, but since you're obviously not from around here I'll let it slide just this once." She snipped. As Discord picked up the lamp and put it back in its place, she ducked back into the kitchen, returning with two plates. Evenly stacked, ten on each plate, were the buttery, fluffy godsends, and the alpaca let out a snort of laughter as she noticed his staring.

"Yea, after the way I found you, I figured you'd want somethin' to eat. Darn delirious, lemme tell you- all whimpering about magic or something along those lines. You had better thank the vultures that were circlin' ya, otherwise I wouldn't have found you. Go ahead and eat up." The instant that the plate touched the table, Discord coiled himself around the chair closest to him and began devouring the pancakes. As he did, she walked around and set down her own plate, sitting on her own chair then looking across the table at him.

"So, Frankenstein? How is it that you ended up in the San Palomino Desert?" Discord's attack ceased momentarily as he glanced up, and he flattened his ears before slowly leaning upwards, shifting.

"You could say I was in an argument. I got frustrated, so I...'desert'ed the endeavor." He giggled at his own pun, and the alpaca snorted then shook her head.

"Alright, alright. Not my business, got it big guy. But I get the feeling that it was a little more than an argument." As she cleared her throat, she gestured downwards, and once he looked down, he winced upon noticing that not only were the enchanted chains still clinging to his legs, but he still bore the scorched and burned fur and tissue of his initial transformation. He scrunched up his muzzle then promptly shoveled two pancakes into his mouth as an excuse to not talk. 

"Fine fine, I got you. Different question, less personal question...ummm. Oh, how about this one: what are you? Don't wanna be rude, but I honest to the sun have never seen one of your kind before." Discord released an involuntary grumble before he could rein himself in, and she rolled her eyes. "Too personal still, got it. Dunno how much more impersonal I can get, but...name?" 

"Discord- It is a strange name, isn't it?" He gave a cheeky grin and held his head high, flicking his ears. She shrugged indifferently, and he couldn't help the pang of bitter disappointment as she took a bite of her pancakes. "Discord, Discord...feel like I've heard that before, but I can't put my hoof on it...Eh I'm sure it'll come to me at some point. But anyways, it's not all THAT strange. I mean...you look a little strange but in Equestria, strange names are pretty NORMAL."

He wilted. Normal? Normal was awful. Then again, he couldn't blame her, given his situation and her unawareness of it. He must have either overestimated how unaware she was, or underestimated how much he expressed his discomfort, because she tilted her head and leaned forward to lightly tap her hoof against the table to catch his attention, and she tilted her head.

"Um...sorry if I've burst your bubble, big guy. I mean...most others like being acknowledged as normal." Discord shook his head, sighing, and he ducked to wrap his long tongue around a pancake and pull it into his mouth, chewing on the poor breakfast food as he focused a dull glare on the grain of the wood that the alpaca's table was made of.

"Hmph...ish fine." Flattening his ears, Discord swallowed and looked at her as he continued, "I'm just...not used to being called that. Okay, Fluffs, you ask your questions, I'll ask mine. Since I gave you my name, I find it only fair that I'm allowed to have yours." She released a dry laugh, shaking her head.

"Fluffs, huh? How very creative. I've never heard that one before. Heh...my name is Domaine De La Romanee-Conti." Discord opened his mouth a fraction before she swept on, flattening her ears impatiently as she raised her hoof, "Don't! Don't try and say it all, you won't get the accent right, so don't bother trying. Just call me Roma."

"Mouthful of a name, isn't that? Where did your parents get that?" Roma rolled her eyes then stood and walked over to an antique white cabinet, opening it and pulling down a bottle of unopened wine, baring the label to Discord.

"I was named after the wine they shared on their wedding night. Corny, I know, but they were corny like that." Discord chuckled softly, taking the wine as he turned it to inspect it, then returned it and resumed his assault on his pancakes, extending his tongue to wrap it around three of them and pulling them into his mouth, chewing in satisfaction. Roma replaced the wine bottle and sat back down, looking at Discord in amusement as he finally finished eating and began lapping the syrup from the plate, a childish smile creasing across his face.

"Well then, not that I don't enjoy a good visit, especially since it can get a lil' lonesome out on the edges of the San Palomino Desert, but did you have a destination in mind when you decided to try and cross it?" Discord shook his head, wincing inwardly, and he paused to pull gently at his beard with his right paw nervously.

"Well that's...a brilliant question. One that I definitely have an answer...to...and that answer is...something I will tell y-" Discord snapped his muzzle shut as Roma held up a petite hoof and shook her head.

"Got it, Frankenstein, you don't know. Well...what were you doing before you tried your..." A glance down and she continued, "paws at desert exploration?" Discord released a haughty chuckle and lifted his head as high as he could without hitting the ceiling, crossing his arms.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Nosey McLlamaface-"

"Alpaca."

"Whatever. What I was up to before I decided to spontaneously dump myself in the middle of a giant sandbox is my business." Roma snorted with laughter and rolled her eyes, before gesturing towards the only window in the house, which gave Discord a plain view of a swath of the desert.

"Yours as it might be, I think I'm entitled to know at least a little bit about the whatsit whose life I saved from said giant sandbox, and cooked pancakes for." 

"...Mmmmnnn the invocation of pancake debt is cruel." Roma smirked devilishly and batted gently at a curl of wool near her face, giggling evilly as she trotted back into her kitchen and called, "I am a cruel lady." Discord stuck his tongue out, furrowing his brow, only to abruptly yank it back in as she came back out with another plate of bargaining chips.

"Besides, it can't have been that bad. Unless it was something to do with pony racism." Discord swiftly accepted the second plate, rolling the idea around his head, then released a heavy sigh.

"Right...well, I suppose it might be something along the lines of a pony thinking she was better than me." He snorted, then looked at his wrists and offered the magic chains as evidence. Roma gave a hum and shrugged, then patted his paw sympathetically.

The time ticked on slowly as breakfast continued. A fragile silence fell on the room, other than the occasional creak when Discord shifted his coils, until finally Roma cleared her throat and stood, gathering up the empty plates and carrying them precariously into the kitchen, while speaking, "Well in any case...I have to make a small trip. Gotta head to the nearest town, get some more groceries and supplies. So...you planning on asking to stick around, or..." 

Discord tilted his head and glanced at his hands, furrowing his brows. While he abhorred the idea of staying in one place and making it easier for anyone to find him...

"...I can't really survive on my own." He mumbled to himself, raising a paw to rub his face weakly, biting at his lip. Roma tilted her head, squinting at him, then sighed.

"O-kay...how about just- you can just come with me to town. You can think about it, I get a crazy whats-it with a really strong tail to carry all my groceries, and maybe there's someone who can help with those weird chain things." Discord slowly lifted his hand away from his face and looked at her, then weakly nodded.

"I suppose that's sounds good. Can we look and see if there's any chocolate milk?"
> Intermission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two stallions stared across the river they stood on the bank of, each one bearing a face of confusion. One, a brown pegasus pony with a black mane and tail and a farming scythe cutie mark turned to his companion, nervously chewing on the twig he had in his mouth.

"What in Sam Hay do you think it is?" The other, a pastel blue earth pony with an indigo mane, his muzzle silvered with age, uneasily shrugged. 

"I...don't know? When did...THIS even show up, Hayseed?" The pegasus shook his head and flattened his ears, looking back across the river towards the monstrous corpse.

A buffalo- but only in the faintest sense. It's horns had twisted wildly and grown so long that they had begun to tear into the poor beast's neck, and long fangs had ripped from its mouth, mangling its muzzle. One leg had lost all its fur, another had shortened. Its tail had broken several times, each time apparently trying to heal into an entirely different shape, and several patches of the mangled mammal's hide had fallen away to reveal patchwork scales that it had scratched at until they broken. It was a twisted amalgamation of mutations- and burns that could only be caused by magic surrounded its eyes and nostrils. The carcass's lower half was partially submerged in the water, and even as the two ponies watched, another clump of brownish red fur detached and drifted away.

"Sometime since last night, Whistle...And that ain't even all." Hayseed turned to one of the bushes that lined the riverbank and pulled a branch off, then tossed it into the river. The instant that it touched the surface of the water, it seemed to ignite, burning up in a flash of arcane fire. The earth pony opened his mouth, only for the pegasus pony to hold up a hoof, indicating that he wait, then pointed as the fire seemed to peter out, leaving behind a neon pink and green-spotted snake with five eyes, which then hissed and crossed the river to hide in the rushes on the side opposite to the two stallions. Whistle's eyes widened, and he flattened his ears as he looked at Hayseed.

"The river's contaminated, Whistle...anythin' live that touches it gets...strange." 

"Impossible- this river isn't magic or anything, there has to be some sort of explanation. This stream comes from right by Ponyville, maybe somebody dumped somethin' they wasn't supposed to." Hayseed winced and backed up a step. 

"Well whatever the explanation...any livin' thing that touches that water, something unnatural happens to it. Some items too- we can't even pump water to irrigate the crops! Some of the pipes broke apart and started singin' opera...then started arguing while singing about which one could sing the best."

Whistle rubbed the back of his head nervously, glancing once more across the river towards the tortured corpse. Hayseed watched him nervously, then blinked and looked over his shoulder as a unicorn colt, who couldn't be older than twelve, galloped up, shouting Whistle's name. Whistle turned to look at the colt as the young thing skidded to a halt in front of them, wheezing and slick with sweat, then looked up.

"Mister Whistle Wit! Th-the lady of the house, sh-she was in- I-I mean she's-" Whistle put a hoof on the colt's shoulder to try and calm him apprehensively.

"Calm down Nettle- what's up with Belle?" The colt took a big gulp of air, then whimpered softly.

"She was- she went down to the bank for her mornin' bath, and-" Whistle's eyes widened and he immediately twisted to run downstream, hooves beating against the ground as fast as he could push himself. The instant his wife's screams hit his ears, he dove through the branches to find a petite white pegasus mare with a wine-red mane thrashing in the shallows of the river, strange looking magic clinging to her fur as she seized and kicked wildly- her hooves were cracking and splitting, her wings quickly becoming bare of feathers as strange looking bat-like fingers stretched out from the spasming muscles instead. Whistle dashed for her, preparing to jump next to her side, only to be tackled before he could reach her. Hayseed shook his head desperately, struggling to restrain his boss.

"Sir, no! Anything the water touches!" 

"Damn it let me go that's my wife-!" The poor mare's screaming rang in his ears as he thrashed- so much so that he didn't hear the splashing until after his wife's sobs stopped, and the backlash of a magic surge seared his pelt. White and black spots filled his vision and static rushed in his ears even as the heat faded, and he felt Hayseed's weight lift off of him, then felt the impact as the other stallion promptly fell to the ground not even a few inches from him. It took several moments for his hearing to return, and it returned to eerie silence except for the tiny sobs coming from his wife.