//------------------------------// // Chapter 124 // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Clutching Sumac’s limp body to her barrel, Olive sat on her haunches and wished that he would wake up. She couldn’t see anything—both of her eyes were so swollen shut that she couldn’t even see any light. Everything hurt; there were parts of her that felt broken, like her ribs, and her jaw didn’t move right, either. She was missing most of her teeth. One ear was little more than shredded tatters at the moment, torn apart by friction. But none of this mattered. “Why are you so stupid and brave?” Olive’s words were an almost recognisable slur and she was horrified by the sound of her own voice. Woozy with pain, Olive forced herself to remain upright and alert. Moondancer still lay sobbing in a heap, and Olive felt both pity and anger. Pity, because Moondancer had no doubt been broken, and angry, because she was an adult and she couldn’t do more to help. At least Strawberry Hearts had calmed down a bit, and the little filly was now stroking Moondancer’s neck, trying to offer comfort. Somewhere, beneath the pain, Olive felt an immense feeling of pride. True to her word, she was able to take whatever Queen Chrysalis was able to dish out. Olive coughed a bit, felt blood bubbling in the back of her throat, and then spat out another tooth fragment onto the floor. Her lips were ragged, torn tatters hanging from her muzzle and her nostrils were plugged with blood and snot. Cold air flowed over the exposed nerves in her broken, shattered teeth, and her whole head was swimming with agony. How long had it been? Olive didn’t know, it had been a while now. Queen Chrysalis had not returned to the room. In fact, not one changeling had come to check on them, bring them water, food, or anything. Sumac’s limp body was starting to feel a little colder, and Olive didn’t know what was wrong. He hadn’t been beaten quite like she had, but he was a whole lot more fragile than she was. Left alone with her thoughts, she thought of Sumac. What a mess. She liked Sumac, she even thought he was kind of cute, and it had been both her master and her counselor that had set her straight—she had responded to her feelings of vulnerability due to her attraction for Sumac with feelings of aggressiveness. Now, no doubt, Sumac was probably dying, and she had never once gotten a chance to tell him how she really felt, and just how sorry she was, or that she was just a very confused filly that had trouble making sense of the world. The worst of it was, she was probably dying too. She coughed up more blood, and the inside of her lungs felt soupy. That couldn’t be good. No matter what though, she was determined to be the friend that she had failed to be, now more than ever. As long as she was awake, as long as she had strength, she was going to hold Sumac, and if nothing else, at least make his passing more comfortable. She owed him that. Tilting her head back, Olive rested it against the wall, and she waited for the end to come. “I think he’s waking up.” The voice was strange, but Sumac was too groggy to do anything about it. His body felt leaden, heavy, and warm. There was a soft tickle against his neck, and he squirmed. The tickle persisted, making him kick his legs. One by one, his legs were grabbed, given a gentle tug, and he felt a warm, pleasant tingle seeping through his body. Somepony tickled his frogs, all four of them, and this pulled Sumac from the groggy depths where his consciousness had sank. He tried to open his eyes, but he was having a hard time. Somepony was blowing on his nose, and it was just annoying enough to make him respond. His whole body jerked, and each of his legs kicked from the tickle. “The swelling and the pressure on his brain stem is gone, he’s moving again on his own and breathing well.” The strange voice sounded relieved. “Princess Cadance, how are you doing with Olive? Do you need some help?” Olive? Sumac sort of remembered that he and Olive were in some trouble. The muscles in his face felt all wrong and nothing wanted to work quite right. With a great deal of effort, he managed to force one eye open, and he saw a rather purple face with ice blue eyes staring down at him. “Sumac Apple, can you tell me your name?” the strange mare asked. “My name is Radiant Hope. Can you say something to me?” Above the mare was a blue-grey sky that Sumac had trouble seeing. Other faces were around him, and he could hear worried murmurs. He could feel his legs being kneaded, all four of them, and there was a warm, pulsing sensation that throbbed through his neck, radiating from the base of his skull. It felt great. “Mama?” Sumac managed to say. “She’s right here, Sumac,” Radiant Hope said in a voice as soft and warm as spring. “As soon as I’m confident that you’re okay, she can hold you.” Sumac struggled, but he was as weak as a newborn, and nothing worked. He couldn’t even lift his own head. After much concentration, he was able to get his other eye open, and then he sucked in great big lungfuls of air. The world was bright again, but out of focus. “I want my mama,” Sumac whined, begging to be held. “Miss Lulamoon, I think he’s fine.” The words were still being spoken when Sumac felt himself being snatched up. Trixie was careful, and he could feel his neck being cradled. She was shaking, Trixie was, and Sumac’s ears twitched as she let out a shuddering sob of relief. She sat on her haunches, holding him to her, and he just sort of lay there, limp and unable to move. Two legs were wrapped tight around him, and all was right in the world again. What a difference a pair of glasses made. Blinking, Sumac squinted around, able to see again. He was still too weak to sit up on his own, and Trixie held him, clutching him to her as if he was a newborn. There was a desert all around them, and it looked as though most of the army was here. Guards were everywhere. Makeshift shelters had been set up, and tents were being pitched. Lemon Hearts was just outside of his field of vision and Sumac couldn’t do much to turn his head at the moment. Twinkleshine was standing guard nearby, her axe hovering in the air above her back. Pegasus ponies filled the skies. “What happened?” Sumac asked. It took a while before Trixie answered. “Queen Chrysalis contacted Princess Celestia and offered an unconditional surrender. I don’t know why, but she did.” As groggy as he was, Sumac suspected that he knew why. He wondered just how much his words had burrowed into Queen Chrysalis’ mind and made her worry. Strong though she might be, terrible as she was, in the end, she was a bug, and cats ate bugs. There were bigger, scarier things in the world than Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings. “Is… is he okay?” Sumac knew that voice, and the owner of that voice sounded afraid. Discord’s long face appeared in his vision, and Sumac saw something strange in Discord’s eyes, but he could not say what it was. The draconequus was rubbing his paw and his claws together, fretful, and his whole body quivered. “She cracked several of his neck vertebrae,” Lemon Hearts said as she placed a hoof on Discord to comfort him. “Radiant Heart said he’ll recover, but it’ll take time.” Blinking his eyes, Discord’s nostrils flared outwards several times, and his tail swooshed from side to side. He held out his paw to Trixie, hesitant, and he placed it down upon Trixie’s foreleg, which was wrapped around Sumac’s body, cradling him. “M-m-may I?” Discord stammered. Squinting up at the tall figure towering over her, Trixie Lulamoon sized up Discord. She knew that Discord was a lot of things. A trickster, a prankster, a creature that struggled with doing good… and he was also Sumac’s friend, in his own messed up way of course. Trixie, who was struggling with maternal feelings, thought about her own long road to redemption. “You may,” Trixie replied. Sumac felt himself taken into Discord’s paw and claws, and the back of his neck was supported. It took the colt several long seconds of staring into Discord’s face to realise what it was that he was seeing, and it was pain. The draconequus was gentle to the point of absurdity. “When I found out that you had been taken, I cried,” Discord admitted in a husky voice. “Fluttershy held me and she stroked my neck. It felt nice. She explained to me what it was that I was feeling. When it occurred to me that I might not get a chance to pester you ever again, it made parts of me hurt… and I didn’t like it. I… I would miss you if you weren’t there… and Fluttershy too.” His ear twitching, Discord’s expression changed, becoming manic. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he stared at Sumac. Trembling, Discord passed Sumac back down to Trixie, holding his fragile neck the entire time, only letting go when he was certain that Trixie had Sumac in a secure, safe embrace. “Keep this safe,” Discord commanded in a strained voice. “It is very dear to me, and I fear for my sanity should something happen to it. Now, please, excuse me, I have to go and squash a bug.” “Discord, wait!” Lemon Hearts shouted, but it was too late. Discord was already gone. The Lord of Chaos moved through the crowd, scowling, and his eyes had a baleful stare. It was time to remind everypony that he was still the Lord of Chaos. In particular, it was time to remind Queen Chrysalis that he was the Lord of Chaos, and the Lord of Chaos was not to be crossed. Twilight Sparkle intercepted, because of course she did. She was Twilight Sparkle, and this is what Twilight Sparkles did. Twilight Sparkles had to keep order, and under most circumstances, Discord would be annoyed. But not now. He advanced, too angry to hover, to defy the tug of gravity, and everywhere his feet touched, the sand turned to fine dust and what few plants that could be seen died, withering away. “Discord, I don’t know what you are doing, but stop!” Twilight commanded. Snapping his fingers, Discord put a very stiff and uncooperative zipper over Twilight’s mouth, and did so without slowing his advance. He ignored Twilight’s angry murmurings, and made a mental promise to apologise later, make a few promises that he would never keep, and maybe get Twilight some chocolates and flowers. It worked for Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia was next to try and stop him and Discord found that he really didn’t want to hurt her. He just needed her out of the way. She was in the way, the intended target of his fury was behind her. He made a gesture and shoved her aside. Something yellow flashed in Discord’s vision, and he let out a sigh of exasperation. “Discord, please, stop!” Fluttershy begged as Princess Luna attempted to undo Twilight’s zipper. Snapping his claws, Discord blinked out of existence and appeared right beside Queen Chrysalis, who looked very, very afraid, and for good reason. Discord’s talons shot out, he grabbed the queen of the changelings by the throat, and he lifted her up off of the ground so that he might look her in the eye. “You…” “Discord, please, don’t!” Fluttershy cried as she flew closer. “YOU!" Discord howled as he redoubled his grip on Queen Chrysalis throat. “You now have the unique distinction of being the only creature that I HATE!” The Lord of Chaos’ whole body trembled as he looked the bug queen in the eye and his words echoed somehow through the desert. “Oh, I used to joke about hating Celestia and Luna, but the truth is, I was too comfortable in my apathy to feel much of anything towards them. I was very, very comfortable in my apathy, and I never felt much of anything at all. I had apathy like a comfortable armchair, and I never had reason to leave it.” Hundreds of eyes were now focused on Discord, who had Queen Chrysalis dangling from his claws. “I liked my state of existence, I found it rather swell,” Discord continued as he squeezed hard enough to make Chrysalis’ eyes bulge. “But then she came along!” Extending his paw, he pointed at Fluttershy. “This is all her fault, as she taught me how to like her, and I do like her, oh so very much… she is my Dearest Fluttershy. Much to my surprise, I found myself liking other ponies, like Zipper Lips over there, and I really hope she’ll find it in her heart to forgive me.” Discord’s voice was a manic, half-crazed whine and it was obvious that he was fighting to keep his self control. “I also found myself liking little Sumac Apple…” Discord’s voice cracked and his head began to bob up and down as he glared daggers into Chrysalis’ eyes. “And then you came along. You hurt him… and by doing so, you hurt me… you hurt me… I feel vulnerable now… me… The Lord of Chaos. I am a God… and I feel vulnerable.” With a yank, Discord pulled Queen Chrysalis snoot to snoot with himself. “I hate you.” Sucking in a deep breath, he repeated himself. “I hate you. I hate you more than anything else in existence. You… you… you will go down in infamy as the creature that taught the God of Chaos how to hate… and I will spend the rest of my existence contemplating just how much I hate you. I will spend eons writing entire volumes filled to the brim with how much I hate you, written in flowery, poetic words. Poets and writers will weep at my perfect hatred.” Queen Chrysalis squirmed in Discord’s chokehold, but she couldn’t do anything to break free. No one moved, no one did anything to stop Discord, and even with an army surrounding them on all sides, it was quiet enough to hear a feather hit the sand. “There are just not enough words for just how much unfathomable hatred I now have in my heart for you,” Discord said, his voice now a crazed, pained whine. “I hate you in equal amounts for how much I adore Fluttershy… she is very special to me… and had you hurt her… why… I might have killed you. Yes… I might’ve killed you.” Discord cackled, a menacing sound, and his eyes burned like seething volcanic calderas. “I might have killed you, raised you from the dead, and then killed you again, etcetera.” Looks of absolute horror could be seen in the faces of the ponies gathered around Discord. “I don’t like killing,” Discord admitted with a sniff. “Once you kill something, it’s over. Playtime is over. You… you… you… you’re not worth playing with. But I’m not going to kill you… no… I’ve decided that I want you to live.” There were gasps of relief from all around Discord. “You hurt Sumac… he’s little, small, and mostly harmless. He is a creature of chaos, like myself, a creature that defies the natural order and lives in opposition of harmony. That makes him interesting… and because of this, I like him. He’s my friend.” Sniffling, Discord wiped his eyes with his tail and he gave Queen Chrysalis a cruel, violent shake. “YOU ALMOST TOOK MY FRIEND!” Discord howled, his whole demeanour changing. “NOW, YOU TOO SHALL KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE LITTLE, SMALL, AND HELPLESS!” In the distance, lightning crackled and overhead, the sky darkened. Discord slammed Queen Chrysalis down into the sand, and then moving with supernatural speed, he lept on her. He stabbed his claws into her chest, causing quite a few witnesses of the act to scream, and he yanked out a small chitinous-looking pocket watch. The changeling queen lay in the sand, unmoving, her body frozen, her eyes unblinking. She didn’t even breathe. Discord lifted up the pocket watch in with his paw, opened it with his talons, and then began to turn back the hands of time in a rapid manner with one curved claw. Before all those watching, Chrysalis shrank, becoming smaller, smaller, and even smaller, until she became a cocoon. But that wasn’t the end of it, no. The cocoon burst open and a writhing, wiggling larvae now lay in the sand. Discord’s manipulation of time did not stop, and he continued to turn back the hands of the pocket watch. He kept going, and going, until… A pale green egg lay in the sand. Discord reached down, picked it up, and stuffed the pocket watch inside of it. He held the egg with a gentleness that stood out in a sharp contrast to his previous malice. He contemplated it for a moment, thought about smashing it down onto some nearby rocks, and then looked at Fluttershy. “I gotta warn you, this egg is bad news,” Discord said as he tossed the egg in Princess Celestia’s general direction. “Do with it as you will. I am going to go, stand myself in the corner in Fluttershy’s house, and contemplate my misdeeds. Zipper Lips, I owe you an apology.” As the egg sailed through the air, Discord snapped his claws and vanished. Wide eyed, Princess Celestia caught the egg, doing so with great care. She stood there, almost unmoving in the sand, confused, startled, and holding one of the greatest enemies to her little ponies in her magic. Fluttershy let heave a sigh of relief, and then did so again a second time. Princess Celestia, now had an expression of intense concern, held the egg up over her head and asked the question that begged to be asked: “Who is going to raise… this?” No one answered… no one dared.