The early afternoon sun radiated high above the sky, basking the field with its comforting warmth, various critters moving about from trees to bushes. The serene and peaceful atmosphere made the day simply perfect for a picnic. Which is exactly what a certain Draconequus and a yellow Pegasus mare were doing.
Situated under a large tree, Discord and Fluttershy were enjoying some rather delicious tea and cakes provided by the timid mare while many of her animal friends from her cottage surrounded the picnic blanket, gorging on snacks of their own. Angel was content on eating a carrot while laying atop of Fluttershy's back, his head nestled in her soft pink mane which acted as his pillow.
"I must say, dear Fluttershy, you've certainly picked the perfect day to have this delightful little picnic," Discord complimented, taking a small sip from his ivory teacup.
Fluttershy smiled, a small blush adorning her cheeks from the compliment.
"Thank you Discord," the pegasus mare thanked, "but it was your idea to have this picnic in the first place."
"True," the draconequus agreed smiling handing his teacup to Fluttershy to pour, "I guess we both played a contribution to this day being perfect."
"I was actually quite surprised that you wanted to do this rather than have our weekly tea party at the cottage," Fluttershy admitted, pouring more tea into Discords cup.
"While I do love our weekly get-together, I thought it would be nice to do something different every now and then, so as to not make it feel repetitive," Discord explained, twirling the tea from out of his cup and slurping it through a floating straw.
Fluttershy giggled at the spirit of chaos' antics, "Well I think that it was a wonderful idea Discord."
"Almost as wonderful as these cakes that you've made," Discord complimented taking a large bite out of a slice, "I don't think I'll ever stop loving these delectable treats that you make."
Fluttershy smiled bashfully, her cheeks reddened once again from the compliment.
They continued their conversation, talking about various topics such as how their week was or what they had planned after. Angel eventually hopped off of Fluttershy's back and looked at her for another carrot. Giggling, the yellow pegasus pulled out another carrot from her picnic basket.
The draconequus smiled as he sighed in content, closing his eyes as he did so. He always felt more at peace whenever he was around Fluttershy. The timid mare always knew how to brighten up anyponies day and Discord was no exception. There were times when he wondered what his life would be like if he hadn't met somepony like Fluttershy. Would he be happy with causing endless chaos upon others? Or would he never find the peace that he had finally found here? But he'd always cast those thoughts aside, knowing that he found his peace and happiness and nothing would change that.
Discord suddenly felt a chill as his eyes snapped open, focusing towards the western horizon. His mismatched eyes widened before forming into a glare.
“Is something wrong Discord?” Fluttershy asked, noticing the glare that he was making.
Fluttershy always knew Discord as a joyful, carefree prankster, always finding joy in the chaos he created. To see discord showing a face like he was made her very uncomfortable and worried.
Realizing the glare that he was making, Discord quickly turned to Fluttershy with a smile, “It’s nothing my dear Fluttershy.”
He turned back into the direction he was glaring at, seeming to stare far into the vast field and beyond the hills.
“Actually,” he began not paying any attention to Fluttershy, “I just realized that I forgot to do something before we came here if you’ll excuse me...”
Without finishing his statement, Discord snapped his talon fingers and suddenly disappeared. Fluttershy looked around surprised of his sudden disappearance until finally shrugging and continuing to feed a carrot to Angel Bunny.
A few miles away from the picnic, atop a rather large hill overlooking the entire field, Discord appeared in a flash of light. His usual smile, gone, now replaced with his earlier glare as he began to walk to the center of the hill, his eyes looking all around, seeming to try and find somepony, or something.
Much like before, another chill ran up Discords spine, a chill that he was all too familiar with, a chill that he hadn’t felt in quite a very long time, and a chill that he was none too happy to feel again. Taking a deep breath, Discord closed his eyes as he stated out loud to seemingly nopony, “You know, it’s quite rude to be spying on somepony.”
“Come now Discord, you and I both know that you’d do the same thing,” came a low and sickly voice that seemed to echo through the breeze.
As sudden as the response, a form appeared in front of him. At first, the form was just a black mist in the shape of a pony, then the mist slowly faded away revealing a Pegasus pony stallion with a pale green coat and a short black tail. His head was covered with what appeared to be a gas mask of some sort as short, wheezing breaths could be heard from within. Flies buzzed all around him, attracted to the putrid scent that radiated off of the strange pony. A pair of sharp, red, beady eyes could be seen glowing through the goggles, as they seemed to bore right into Discord.
“It’s been a long time, Discord,” the strange pony said, taking a few steps towards Discord.
“Clearly not long enough, Pestilence,” Discord said, traces of his joyous self completely gone, now replaced with a serious and unhappy one.
The sickly Pegasus now known as Pestilence seemed to chuckle at Discords unhappy attitude, coughing through his mask after he did so.
“Oh Discord,” he began in a condescending tone, “I almost forgot how much of a grump you can be.”
“What are you doing here?” Discord asked, ignoring the little jab, as he continued to glare at Pestilence.
“Am I not allowed to pay a visit to the ‘Spirit of Chaos’?” Pestilence asked his tone heavy with sarcasm.
Discord narrowed his eyes at the sickly Pegasus, clearly not amused with his humor, “I’m surprised that you would be coming to visit me alone.”
“Who said he was alone,” another voice echoed through the breeze.
Much like before, another black mist in the form of a pony appeared to the left of Discord. The black mist faded, this time, revealing an Earth pony stallion with a light tan coat. His white mane and tail were exceptionally long, almost touching the ground. But what was the most disturbing part of him was how thin he was. All four of his legs were thin, showing much of his bones. His barrel was extremely thin as well, showing all of his ribs. It looked as if the Earth pony never ate in his entire life. The grass around his hooves began to wilt and turn a sickly green color. He stared at Discord, a maniacal grin spread across his muzzle as his eyes dilated, his eyes also glowed a sharp red much like Pestilences.
“It’s good to see you again, Discord,” the famished Earth pony joyfully said, still holding onto his disturbing smile.
“I’d be lying if I said that it was good to see you, Famine,” Discord retorted, crossing his arms, now glaring at the Earth pony known as Famine.
“Even after all these centuries, you still show coldness to us,” Famine stated, his voice sounding weak but at the same time joyous, “I thought that you would’ve loved to see us again.”
“Please,” Discord snorted, rolling his mismatched eyes at Famines statement, “I’d rather be turned back into stone for another thousand years than see you again.”
Discord turned his attention back to Pestilence, who seemed to just simply stare at the Draconequus.
“Now I’ll ask again, what are you doing here?” Discord asked, his tone low and threatening.
“You know exactly why we’re here.” came a booming voice to his right.
Discord looked to see a large Unicorn stallion, covered head-to-hoof in a black and red suit of plate armor, hiding any form of the wearer's flesh. The armor itself was rigid in its design with decorated spikes protruding from the shoulders and the top of the helmet. He had no mane or tail; instead, crimson red flames seeped from his helmet and tail, cascading through the air. Like the others, a pair of glowing sharp red eyes could be seen from the visor. The stallion stood proudly as he approached the draconequss, a trail of flames burning the grass behind him.
“War, I was wondering when you would show up.” Discord said seeming to not be affected by the rather intimidating Unicorn known as War.
War huffed.
“Cut the formalities, Discord, you know exactly what we want from you, what we desire from you!” He growled, stomping his left hoof on the ground, causing flames to disperse through the cracks of his armor plating, burning the grass to ash around him.
Discord snorted, then he formed a small grin at War, “And what would that be Hothead? A puppy, chocolate milk, a pretty pink castle with a crown and scepter?”
He snapped his fingers towards War, making a purple cape made for royalty appear on the armored ponies back, a golden crown with jewels adorned around it, and a golden scepter with a red ruby alicorn atop of it in his hoof. War, however, was not amused by Discords antics, incinerating the accessories with his flames as he began to growl in anger.
“Same old Discord,” War stated with mild irritation, “still using your powers to play these weak and pathetic jokes. Now I see how far you’ve truly fallen from what you once were, from what we were.”
“It’s quite a shame to see the mighty such as yourself fall, Discord,” Pestilence mocked, another agonizing cough following after.
“I guess these ponies truly did reform you.” Famine giggled, his eyes never blinked as they continued to stare down Discord, “The once great and powerful Discord has now bent the knee to a lesser being.”
Discord frowned, he knew exactly what they wanted, but he'd never allowed them to have what they wanted, he’d never walk the path that he was born as, never again.
There was a moment of silence until he could hear a slow and sinister chuckle echo from behind him. A surge of chills ran up Discords spine, knowing whose laugh it belonged to. The laughter quickly died down as the voice exclaimed, “It would appear that the ‘Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony’ truly has forgotten what his true purpose is.”
From behind, a dark form appeared until it slowly melted into the form of the one being that was feared by all, even to the immortal Discord. It appeared to be a tall pony, rivaling that of Princess Celestia. A black hooded cloak covered its entire body, hiding most of its body with the exception of a pale white horn that protruded from out of the hood. A pair of large, skeletal wings spread from the side of its body as the figure slowly descended from the air and onto the ground, causing the grass surrounding it to whittle and die. The soil drying up and transforming into sand. Slowly and gracefully, it moved towards the Draconequus, a pair of red eyes glowing from the shadowed hood staring right into his very soul. It stopped, continuing to stare at the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, seemingly judging the creature that it’s known for so long. Then, the beings skeletal leg rose out from under the cloak as its hoof reached towards its hood and slowly removed it, revealing a pure white skull underneath. Its eyes still glowed crimson red through the eye sockets.
“Hello, Discord,” the skeletal alicorn greeted, its voice calm but sinister.
Discord didn’t turn around; there wasn’t a whole lot in the world that he feared. The last time he ever felt truly afraid was when his magic was drained from Tirek, when he felt absolutely powerless, betrayed, and guilty of his own betrayal, afraid of losing everything. But this creature, this monster, was a whole different story. He always felt the temperature drop whenever it was present. His body tensed and he could feel his heart pound harder than normal. Although he would never show it on the outside, on the inside, he was terrified. Terrified of the being that haunted even the god's nightmares, a being that could bring an end to any and all no matter who or what they were, a being whose presence brought grief and sadness to those it surrounded, a being whose name was the antithesis of life.
“Death.” Discord acknowledged, doing a good job at keeping his composure as he continued to stare in the opposite direction of the skeletal alicorn.
“How long has it been since the five of us have been together like this? One, two, three thousand years?” Death asked walking slightly closer to the frozen Draconequus, “Quite a long time if I do say so myself. But it’s nice that we have a chance to have this little reunion.”
Discord gritted his teeth. This was the day that he had been dreading. He knew that he couldn’t escape it even if he tried. These were beings that existed because he existed, and because of that, he hated himself for it.
“What’s wrong Discord?” Death mused, “You’ve got nothing clever to say, nothing to retort back? I expected better from you Discord.”
“What do you want?” Discord asked sharply once again, knowing perfectly well the reason.
“What we’ve always wanted since our birth.” Death answered, “We wish for us to be whole again.”
“You know perfectly well what my answer is going to be.”
“Come now Discord,” Death teased, “I thought you LOVE chaos.”
“Not the kind of chaos YOU bring!” Discord exclaimed, turning around with anger in his eyes as they momentarily flashed red, “My chaos is fun, exciting, and enjoyable! Yours is dark, depressing, and grim! I may have enjoyed seeing others miserable, but I wouldn’t stoop so low as to enjoy the type of misery all of you bring!”
The four equines stared silently at the draconequus, none moving from their spots. The silence felt like hours for Discord, however, a soft chuckle could be heard from Death which slowly turned into full-blown laughter. The other three soon joined in the laughter, finding it amusing. Discord, on the other hand, clenched his hands in anger, wishing he could just snap these creatures out of existence.
The laughter eventually died down as Death finally spoke, "It's funny, Discord, that you would listen to that useless thing that you call a heart."
Infuriated at the skeletal alicorns words, the draconequus turned around to give Death a piece of his mind, when he found Death had appeared right in front of his face, floating just above the ground, his cloak waving in the air. The spirit of death's eyes flashing red as they bore into Discords soul as the draconequus reeled back in fear.
"That is what I despise about you the most Discord," Death began, a calm fury forming with each word, "you are the physical form of chaos and disharmony with limitless power at your disposal and what do you do with these powers? Play silly jokes and have tea parties with these insignificant mortals."
Discord stared into the eyes of the creature that was responsible for taking the lives of countless beings. If he looked deeper into those red glowing eyes, he could see all the souls who had touched Death.
Discord backed away from the skeletal alicorn, fear still plastered on his face as the spirit of death continued, "You use to be something great. WE, use to be something great."
"Our powers were unlimited, the very thing that this world feared," Pestilence started walking slightly closer to the draconequus.
"Our existence brought even the gods to their knees," Famine continued also stepping closer.
"But then you separated us from yourself becoming what stands before us today; a weak and pathetic creature who values friendship over what he was born to be," War continued with a snarl, like the others, taking a step forward.
"But if we become whole again, we can show the world what it truly means to be the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony," Death finished extending his hoof out in an offering.
Death, as well as the others, continued to stare at the scared draconequus, expecting his answer. Discord took and deep breath and recomposed himself, "That was the old me. Somepony who I'll never become again. A monster who brought endless destruction to those around him. A monster who felt absolutely nothing from his actions. I have absolutely no regrets splitting you four from my being, I was able to experienced feelings that were trapped within myself, and that made life far more worth living than ever before. So you can insult me and call me pathetic, but I will never, NEVER become that monster that I use to be so long ago!"
Silence dominated the area once again, Discord glaring at the four equines as they stared back showing no emotion.
Death lowered his hoof.
"I'm disappointed Discord," the skeletal alicorn stated, shaking his head, "and here I was offering you to join us in our plans."
Discord raised an eyebrow, "What plans?"
The spirit of death floated back down to the ground as he began to circle the draconequus, "As you know, each of us fulfills a specific purpose."
"We bring war, famine, disease, and finally death," he continued stepping in front of each of the other spirits, "that is our reason for existing, our reason for living."
"We have fulfilled our purpose without fault throughout the rest of the world," he finally stepped back in front of Discord, not looking directly at the draconequus, "all except for one place that hasn't felt the full might of our influence."
"And where's that?" Discord asked already knowing the answer to his question.
"Equestria," Death answered, now staring right into Discords eyes.
"The ponies of this land have had peace and prosperity for far too long," War claimed, huffing out a small burst of flame from his muzzle.
"We will spread our influence upon this land," Pestilence wheezed.
"And we will unleash it like a mighty hurricane," Famine exclaimed joyfully.
Death stepped closer to the frightened draconequus as he continued, "And there is only one way to do so."
"AN APOCALYPSE!" all four equines exclaimed their powers radiating, destroying the grass all around the hilltop.
Discord's mismatched eyes widen, but soon formed into a glare, "If you think I'm just going to stand here and let you cause the apocalypse here, then you're sorely mistaken!"
Death chuckled at the proclamation, "Discord, discord, discord, what makes you think that you have any power over us?"
The Draconequus was about to answer when he realized; he truly didn't have any power over them. Much like how they had no power over him.
Staring back at Death, Discord stated, "Many before you tried to do something similar, whether trying to steal the magic from Equestria or take it over. They all failed and so will you."
"It is of no consequence to us," Death retorted walking ever closer toward the draconequus, "we are patient after all, we may fail many times, but the apocalypse will come. You'll watch as everything and everypony you care about to be destroyed, and when it happens..."
Before Death finished his sentence, he disappeared from Discords view. The draconequus looked around until he felt a huge chill run up his spine as the voice of skeletal alicorn whispered to his ear from behind, "...we'll break that insignificant heart of yours."
Discord quickly turned around only to find that Death was no longer behind him, along with the others. The grass that was destroyed by their presence was restored as if they were never there. Discord took a deep breath, glad that they were finally gone, but the words they told him still remained, now haunting his mind.
The apocalypse.
So after all this time, they still desired to bring this world to endless ruin. And now they sought to not only destroy Equestria but break him as well.
Well, he wasn't going to just let them have their apocalypse. Not when he could do something about it.
For now, he needed to get back to Fluttershy, she must've been about him being gone for too long.
Snapping his fingers, the draconequus reappeared back in front of Fluttershy who quickly got up from her spot on the picnic blanket and walked towards him, a worried expression plastered on her face, "Discord, is everything okay? You left in such a hurry and you looked as if something was wrong."
Discord looked at his pegasus friend and smiled, "It's nothing to worry about my dear Fluttershy, I just simply forgot to leave the water running at my house."
Fluttershy looked at him until she returned with a smile, "Well as long as everything's alright."
"Yes, everything's perfectly fine," he lied, knowing that nothing was fine, "now shall we get back to our picnic?"
"Yes let's," the timid pegasus replied as she trotted back to her spot on the blanket.
Discord looked back towards the direction of where he had the confrontation, his brows furrowed, but then turned back with a smile and walked back to enjoy the picnic with his best friend.