//------------------------------// // The Fight // Story: Breaking Free // by Nrdygrl //------------------------------// Author's Note: WARNING: This chapter is the main reason for the Teen rating. It is very violet and graphic. (Not like...Cupcakes graphic...but graphic all the same. lol) Probably PG-13 level. Look away children. Or you will become as demented as me. ;) Chapter Eleven "The Fight" "Oh, COME ON, guys. We ALL KNOW who it was from!" Discord pretended to be interested in the textbooks he was loading into his blue backpack. All sorts of ponies around him giggled and chattered. He could feel their eyes on him. They looked on in ignorance and laughed. Were all ponies like this? From what he had seen in the past two months, yes...with the exception of the royals. And of course he wrote it. There were no other possibilities. Everypony knew he did. And what if he didn't? It still would've been him. They still would've immediately glanced at him. They were ignorant. "Oh, stop it, you guys," he heard Celestia say in her kind, musical voice. "I think it's sweet, myself. So, shoo!" At least she wasn't mad. All the same, Discord left the building as swiftly as he could. Even though the sounds of giggling ponies faded away, he could still feel his cheeks prickling with a blush. They were so ignorant. Let them laugh. He didn't care anymore. He was used to it by now. It wasn't long before they joined him outside, still chattering amongst themselves. He sighed and started down the path towards the castle. He didn't want to wait for Celestia...not after what happened. "Hey, Discord!" he heard a voice say. He whirled around and locked onto those piercing green eyes. "Can I talk to you?" Dream Catcher asked. "What about?" Discord asked crossing his arms. "Stuff," Dream replied. "Listen...I know things have never really been peachy keen between us, but I really think we need to hang out and work some things out." Discord cocked his head a little and raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening," he replied. "Meet me at Stargaze Peak, all right?" said Dream. "Don't you want your Sunshine to come too?" said Discord sarcastically. "No. This is between me and you," said Dream. "Just let her know where we'll be." Discord nodded and in a flash of magic, Dream teleported away. What? Dream wanted to talk to him? He wasn't too excited about it, but why not? It was true Dream wasn't his favorite pony in the world, but that unicorn was also Celestia's boyfriend. He had to come to terms with that. He also had to accept the fact that Dream was probably going to be around forever. One day, perhaps he would even ask Celestia to marry him. Discord shuddered at the thought of this, but he still had to accept it. He couldn't just despise Dream for no reason. The unicorn teased him a little, but he was good to the princess. He was...a soul, all the same. He couldn't hate him. Perhaps this was for the best. Speaking of the princess, Discord noticed her as she walked ahead of him, looking like her cheerful self. He caught up with her and informed her on what was going on. He might be a bit late. He wasn't sure how long Dream wished to talk with him. Celestia seemed like she wanted to come too, of course. Discord thought it a tad bit curious that Dream already knew Celestia would want to come too. He still didn't really understand why Dream didn't want her to come. Well, it really was just between the two of them. As he spoke to the princess, he couldn't help but wonder if she really did know it was him who gave her the heart. If she really did think it was sweet. 'Why are you with him?' he thought. 'You and Luna love me unconditionally as your...friend. But...why not me instead of him? What's wrong with me?' Discord turned away from her and walked towards a rocky trail up the mountain. He walked and thought. He didn't think about anything in particular, but just felt detached from everything around him. In a daze, really. He hardly noticed the gray clouds that had rolled in, making the air eerie and the aura of the sky very bleak and dull. When Discord reached the foot of the trail, he paused and set his backpack down by one of the rocks. He didn't want to carry it up there with him. As he did this, his eye caught a puddle from when it had rained earlier. He stared at his reflection for a brief moment and his last thoughts returned to him. Everything... he thought, feeling as though a weight came down on him. Everything is wrong with me. He sighed and trudged up the rocky path. It wrapped around the mountain until it came to the top, Stargaze Peak. It was, of course, named after Stargazer, Selena the moon goddess's husband. For young pony couples, it was the prime romantic spot at nighttime. This was when the stars shown bright and the moon smiled down on them, seeming to create a glow in their hearts. One could then understand the term "star-crossed" lovers. Luna often spoke of Orion taking her there to raise and lower the moon. While there, they would often speak to the stars. Discord didn't know much about the stars. He knew they were very powerful entities that guarded the night and the beings of the night. It was said, only the most powerful mortals could talk to the stars. The alicorns could, of course. However, special exceptions were sometimes made. Sometimes the stars took interest in common ponies if they took interest in them. It was also said one could wish on them if they were falling from the sky. Nopony seemed to know why they fell from the sky, but there were several theories. Discord also noticed that when the stars were silent, the alicorns feared this meant something bad was about to happen. He couldn't really understand all of it. It was beyond anything he could comprehend. He was just thinking about this, when he realized he had reached the peak. He scanned the area and saw Dream Catcher standing near the edge of the cliff. The purple unicorn turned his head and stared at Discord with those green eyes. He smiled and cocked his head, beckoning Discord to come closer. "Come here," he said. "Don't be shy." Discord slowly approached him. "You need to know..." said Dream looking down. "The last time we had...a talk...it didn't go well. I know you don't remember. But, what happened then is not going to happen this time. This time will be different." Discord nodded. "So, you go first," he said, putting his weight on one foot. "All right. Look," said Dream sighing. "It's no secret how you feel about Tia. We all know. And...I can't make you just turn off your feelings, but I'm going to tell you something right now..." He approached Discord and shoved those sinister eyes right in his face. "Stay away from my girlfriend. I know you two are friends, but I'm not liking that too much. I don't want this to get ugly, do you? So...you need to distance yourself from her and stay out of our relationship." Discord glared at him. He knew Dream did not like him. He knew it. He also knew there was always something he despised about that unicorn. And now, he expected Discord to compromise his friendship with Celestia just because she was dating him?! This was uncalled for. "No..." he replied in a low voice. "What?" Dream growled. "Celestia is my friend. She cares about the both of us. Just in different ways. What you are asking is selfish, Dream. You're just jealous. I can see it in your eyes...the green eyed...." "Monster?" Dream replied smirking. "Is that what you were going to say? Sounds funny...coming from you..." Discord felt the sensation of rage come over him again. It was shocking to him, because it was a major déjà vu moment. Did he feel this way before? Did he lose control? He couldn't this time. He had a promise to keep. He took a deep breath. "You're not going to tell me what I can and cannot do around Tia," said Discord boldly, ignoring the last statement. "MY Tia..." Dream said narrowing his eyes. "OUR Tia," Discord responded backing away. "You know, the other ponies are talking," Dream said, turning and walking toward a steep wall of stone opposite to the ledge. "They are pretty suspicious of Celestia's behavior. You know...how close she is to you, while she's actually dating me. And, well...with your, shall I say, obvious infatuation, it is creating a lot of doubt and gossip." "They think...Tia's...cheating on you with me?!" said Discord in surprise. Dream smiled and nodded. "So, as you can see...you staying away from Tia is beneficial, mostly to her. Think about it! Discord, you fade into the background, Celestia's reputation is saved, I won't bother you anymore, and your love for her dies away. Everypony will be happy. See? It's for the best." Discord stared at the ground and felt his paw and claw curl into fists. "You're lying," he said glaring back up at Dream's smug grin. "I don't believe you. I'm not going to believe you. We can just walk away from this and pretend this never happened, Dream. We may never like each other, but life goes on! You're with Celestia...I'm not. Really...you've already won. So, goodbye." The anger welled up inside Discord as he turned and started to walk away. He breathed deeply and tried to just ignore it. This was the best thing he could do. "There won't be walking away," he heard Dream say in a chuckling voice. “You won’t walk away.” All of a sudden, Discord felt something hard hit him on the back of his head. He staggered as the blow altered his vision a bit. In his dizzy state, he whirled around, trying to focus on Dream. What did he do? He caught a glimpse of a fuzzy image of Dream levitating a rock with his magic. It became airborne and crushed against Discord's shoulder before he could react. He winced and clutched at his arm. "Wh...what are you DOING, Dream?!" he yelled. Dream approached him with more rocks surrounding him. "STOP!" It was no use. Dream fired the rocks at him. There were several of them that hit him mostly on or near his head. Discord saw stars and collapsed onto the ground. He saw a double image of Dream's purple hooves coming closer. "You shouldn't have said no," said Dream sighing. "Now, this is where it gets ugly." Discord winced in pain as he tried to lift himself off the ground. Just then, he felt a intense blow to his back as Dream pounded him back down with his hooves. He closed his eyes and yelled in pain. The anger was ablaze. he hated Dream. Hated him. Even in this beginning stage of a long, painful battle he knew would ensue, he felt the evil. An evil he himself could never understand. "Aren't you going to fight back?!" Dream yelled. "Oh...wait...you can't can you?" Discord trembled as he tried to get up again. Dream circled around him. "Because of a little promise you made. That was so sweet, by the way. Really, I was tearing up a little at hearing that. You promising Tia you'd never use your powers again and all." Dream smirked and stared at Discord as he finally got back onto his feet. Another rock went flying. This one hit his eye. Discord immediately flinched and closed it right before the rock smashed against it. Tears, blood and puss trickled down from it and it swelled up, turning black. He found he couldn't open it and he held it briefly in his paw, wincing and moaning in pain. Out of his good eye, he saw Dream levitating another rock. He braced himself for the impact, but instead, Dream threw the rock at himself. He winced as it crushed against his head, but seemed satisfied when he saw blood. "There, now..." he said chuckling. Dream dropped down and slowly dragged himself across the ground. "Oh...I wonder...what I should...tell them..." he said wincing as he spoke. "I...barely survived when...the rocks came down on us. Such...a tragic...accident." He laughed and got back up. He approached the rock wall and his horn glowed. Discord gasped as he realized what he was going to do. Rocks started falling onto the ledge. "Dream! Stop! You're going to kill us both!" "Here's where your wrong, Thing," Dream replied. "I can easily teleport away. You won't. What a tragedy. Not like you'll be missed, though. I wonder if they'll even have a funeral..." That was it. Even if he didn't have power, he had rage. Discord charged forward and tackled Dream to the ground. The unicorn didn't have enough time to react. Discord reached for a rock, intending to hit Dream with it. Wait. No. Not this way. It was too hard. He was mad, but he didn't want to kill him. Perhaps if he could just pin him down... Just, then the last thing he ever expected occurred. Dream vanished. Disappeared. He was nowhere to be seen. Discord jumped up in surprise and glanced around through one eye. He could barely see it, but several hoof prints materialized on the ground. Dream had turned himself invisible. He realized this too late, however, for he felt a blow to his side. He hit the ground hard and struggled back up again, his side throbbing. As soon as he got to his feet, he felt a sudden, sharp pain on his back. It forced him back down. Discord reached for it. He gathered it was a stab wound from Dream's horn that was bleeding heavily. "You shouldn't have walked away!" he heard Dream say. The sound seemed to reverberate all around him. Dream laughed as Discord felt another hard kick from his hoof. Just then, the unicorn appeared again. "Dream. Please. Stop this. Wh...why..." Discord said, his voice trembling. The realization hit him in this moment. Dream was going to kill him. He was enjoying watching him suffer and this was only the beginning. "I'm only helping..." said Dream quietly. He smirked and raised his hooves up high. "Dream! Wh...wh...!" said Discord desperately. Dream's hooves came down on his knees. There was a loud crack and Discord screamed and writhed in pain. Dream circled around him again and approached the rock wall again. "Look at you! Just look at you. You're weak," he said, chucking more rocks at Discord's head. "Useless. Lower than the dirt you're rolling in," Dream scoffed and then spit in his eye. Horror. Fear. Humiliation. Anger. Suffering. All of these to the highest degree. Discord felt them all. And there was nothing he could do. He wouldn't use his powers. Not even healing powers. He could only think of Celestia. He promised. So, he would take the beating. He would die for her. He silently prayed it would be all over soon. Suddenly, as if Dream noticed the scar from when he had fallen, a stone went flying right toward it. "Monster!" he heard Dream yell. The stone crumbled against his head and his vision went dark for a brief moment. In that moment, Discord could hear several voices in his head at once. He was so disoriented, he wasn't sure of what they were saying. However, shortly after this, a burst of light covered his eyes. He could only see images. They were moving pictures. All of them were familiar. There were scenes of Celestia and Luna and chocolate rain, Orion talking to him in the garden, lightning shooting at Dream, Chaos's red eyes staring at him. Everything. Some of it repeated. They all flashed before him faster and faster. The voices and sounds translated to them as well and everything was clear. Then, there was just black and then a fuzzy image of the ground again. When he came to, Discord realized Dream unintentionally triggered his memories. He remembered everything now. And he was filled with fury. Even in his intense pain, Discord pushed himself up with his arms and glared at Dream Catcher. "YOU..." he growled, trembling both in agony and anger. "I remember you. I remember what you've put me through. You're evil. You're fake. You played me for a fool, just because I couldn't remember what happened. But now...all that has changed. I may have made a promise. But YOU will NOT use it against me!" Discord felt power surging through his veins. He knew he was breaking a promise, but the anger was too strong. He couldn't just let himself die. He couldn't. He floated off the ground, magic surrounding him. Dream's eyes grew wide. His face turned pale and he started to back away. "Fight me now, you sick, conniving, twisted, vial, green-eyed snake!" Discord wasn't sure how his appearance had changed, but something must've, because Dream gazed up at him with a look of sheer terror on his face. Glancing down, Discord could see flames surrounding him. They grew as he floated closer to Dream. Dream kept backing away, until he was right at the edge of the cliff. His back hoof slipped a little, but he caught his balance and glanced behind him as a stone fell off the edge. He jumped a little as he gazed back up at a now very angered and fierce-looking Discord. "Wh....WHAT are you...?" Dream whispered, his cracking voice failing him. However, one second after this, he slipped again. This time, Dream fell backwards off the edge. His hooves clung to the edge. He let out a little shriek and his back feet scrambled to try and climb back up. Discord saw this and stood by, just watching. Let him fall, one side of him thought. Help him, thought the other. What was right? What was wrong? Was it really just as bad to let one fall as actually murdering them himself? Even somepony as evil as Dream? Discord felt his power die down. He sighed and let himself fall onto his stomach. Dream started sliding down the side of the cliff. Discord reached his paw down over the side. "Dream!" he shouted. "Grab my paw!" Dream looked up at him and glared. "I don't NEED YOUR help, Thing!" he shouted. "This isn't time for you to be proud, Dream!" Discord shouted back. "Just grab on!" "No! I'm not accepting your help. I can...tele....port" said Dream, closing his eyes, struggling to make his horn glow. "FOR GOODNESS SAKE, DREAM! Quit being stubborn! Swallow your pride and save yourself!" Discord shouted, gritting his teeth. "SHUT UP!" Dream yelled. Just then, he gasped when he slipped down more. In a split second, the unicorn's hooves left the stone. He fell and let out a scream, which was soon silenced when he hit one of the rocks head-first. Discord's mouth fell open as he watched Dream tumble down the side of the cliff, hitting many rocks along the way. At the last second, Discord gasped and shut his eye when Dream's fall stopped on a ledge jutting out from the mountain face. He kept his eye shut for a little while. He couldn't bear to look. It happened so fast. Was he...was he...? At long last, Discord finally had the courage to look. He saw the purple unicorn resting on his side on the ledge in a pool of blood. His neck was broken in the fall and was twisted around. It didn't even look like a neck anymore. Scars covered his body and one of his legs was twisted and mangled. The bones in it were jutting out from the deep gash. The skin looked nonexistent where it was torn. Blood was all over the rocks, splattered in several places. Dream was very much dead. The only consolation...it appeared to be quick. In the blink of an eye. Instant. No last thoughts. No last feelings. No memorable words right before impact. It was so fast. He was gone. Just like that. Discord felt his whole body shake in horror at the gruesome sight before him. He dragged himself away from the ledge and vomited. He coughed and wretched, spewing out everything down stomach bile and blood. Tears poured from his eyes. Some of it was from the trauma. Some of it was out of sheer pain. And some of it was guilt. He had used his power. It was only to show Dream he was not going to take the suffering anymore. It was to save his life. But he still felt guilty. Discord knew he couldn't think about this now, though. He had to get back to the castle. Had to. However, everything was going dark. He felt like the world was spinning. He blinked slightly to try and make it stop, but the darkness won. When the light returned, there wasn't much of it. In fact, it was the cold plop of rain that made Discord realize he was conscious again. He lay there in a pool of his own vomit and blood. The sun was nearly set by now, but the clouds made it hard to tell. He pushed up with his arms. They wobbled as he dug his claws into the ground, trying to push himself toward the trail. They sunk into the earth and he squeezed the dirt hard in pain until it disintegrated. Every muscle ached. Every bone throbbed. Seconds felt like years as he pushed himself across the ground. He moaned and winced with every push. At long last, he reached the top of the mountain trail. He grabbed onto the rocks on the side, which made it easier to move. It started raining even harder, and every drop stung as it hit him. They felt like tiny knives stabbing him all over. As he pushed himself forward a little, Discord suddenly realized the dirt on the trail was now mud. He slid forward down the steep trail and came to an abrupt stop, hitting a rock at the bottom. He managed to brace himself with his arms, but it still hurt a lot. He was now covered in rain, blood, vomit, and mud. He figured he was probably unrecognizable now. This is what he was reduced to. Would he ever reach the castle? It wasn't looking good. Discord pressed his throbbing head against the rock and started sobbing. He would die here in the mud alone. Dream was right. He wouldn't walk away. He would die. The world was going dark again. Everything was fading away. His body was shutting down. Was this what death felt like? It wasn't that bad. After all, his pain was subsiding. Perhaps it wasn't something to fear but to accept. As soon as Discord closed his eye, though, he could only think of Celestia again. No. He couldn't leave her. He would fight. This was the true battle and he would fight it out for her. His eye flew back open. At this point, he even managed to open his bad eye. He let out a cry and grabbed onto another rock, throwing himself forward again. The pain surged through him again, but he ignored it. He repeated the motion over and over again. Inch by inch he slowly made his way down the trail. Soon, he could see the castle. It was still a ways off, but it was there. He was going to make it! Every nerve inside him was numb as he reached the bottom of the trail. Every bit of him was shaking. He threw himself onto the rock where he had put his backpack. That puddle was still there. He peered down at it, gasping for air and lapping up some of the water. His reflection was the most horrific sight he could've imagined. He shut his eyes. He couldn't bare it. At least his numbness took away some of the pain, but he was too weak now. He whimpered and moaned. "Please..." he whispered. "Please, please, please let me live. Let them find me again." Shortly after he whispered this small, desperate prayer, he glanced up at the sound of voices. Two fuzzy figures were standing only a short distance away from him. One was yellow. One was dark blue. Solina and Orion! He could barely make them out. They were talking to each other with umbrellas on their saddles. Discord opened his mouth to call out to them. Shout. Scream. Yell. Anything. Any sound he could make. No sound came out. His throat closed up on him. His voice failed him. 'SPEAK!' he thought. 'SPEAK, YOU FOOL!' He pounded the earth with his fist and cursed inside his head. Why couldn't he speak?! Just then, when his fist hit the ground, the two alicorns turned their heads and saw him. Their eyes grew wide and their jaws dropped. Discord sighed and felt himself starting to cry again. He thought perhaps they were shouting his name and a lot of other things, but all sound was muffled to him now. Only their mouths moved. They galloped over to him. Discord's vision was failing him once again, but from what he saw, Queen Solina had trouble even looking at him. Tears trickled down her sickened face. Even King Orion had the pale look of shock and terror on his visage. Discord kept blacking out. Reality was distorted. As he fell in and out of consciousness, he saw things he weren't sure were real. One scene showed Dream glaring at him from afar, which he realized was a hallucination. Another one showed the king and queen moving very fast with him resting on something that was moving. They looked at him earnestly, asking him what happened to Dream Catcher. He thought this was probably real. He felt his mouth move and he managed to answer, "Dead..." and blacked out again. One of the last scenes showed him and Celestia and Luna under a cotton candy cloud dancing in the chocolate rain. Inside, Discord hoped so much this one was real. It was too good to be true, however. This faded too. Finally, Discord saw a brief, fuzzy image of Celestia. She was sobbing over him and nuzzling him with her soft nose. And…kissing him. This was almost too perfect to be real, but something told Discord it was. He attempted a smile before his eyes shut again and everything faded away. The scene...his breathing...his heartbeat. Everything stood still. All he saw after that was a small light glowing softly at the end of a long, dark tunnel. TO BE CONTINUED.... Continued Author's Note: Don't say I didn't warn you... ;)