Fluttershy, our caring and loving Fluttershy. You always put other ponies before yourself. We hope that you will rest in peace, and we know that the kindness you spread in Equestria will never fade away.
Discord read the epitaph for the hundredth time. He couldn’t tear himself away from the inscription on the gravestone, shaped like a flock of butterflies. It truly was a grave worthy of an element of harmony, but Discord wasn’t admiring its beauty. Thoughts swirled around in his head. Many things were on his mind, yet all of the thoughts were hidden underneath a heavy, black blanket of sorrow and grief. He would never see her again. Fluttershy, his friend. She had practically raised Discord, corrected his errors and celebrated his accomplishments. Fluttershy had taught Discord friendship through kindness, patience, and the rule of give and take.
But never again.
Discord had cried. A lot. But somehow, he wasn’t able to anymore. Perhaps his tears had dried up, or perhaps he had realized that it didn’t matter. No amount of tears could bring Fluttershy back. Nothing could bring Fluttershy back.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had given a beautiful speech in honor of Fluttershy. All of Ponyville was present during the funeral. Everypony wanted to pay his or her respects to the mare whose kindness knew no bounds. Discord was sure that none of them would have expected this. Hell, even Discord hadn’t expected this. He could conjure up objects out of other realms with a snap of his claws, yet no magic could give life back to Fluttershy.
The coffin with Fluttershy in it had been open for a while, so everypony could walk by and gaze upon the element of kindness one last time. Discord hadn’t been sure whether he wanted to see her. He didn’t want to remember Fluttershy as a corpse, but as a living pony. He didn’t want to see her lying still; he wanted to see her alive and fluttering gently on a warm breeze. He didn’t want to feel her cold skin, but he wanted to hug her and feel the warmth of her coat, and the fresh scent of her shampooed mane after she got back from an afternoon at the spa.
Yet he had looked. He couldn’t resist himself. He had looked in the coffin.
And there she lay. The pony he loved most of all in the world—even more than causing chaos, he realized. Fluttershy’s buttery yellow seemed faded somehow. She looked bleak, sickly almost. Her long, pink mane had been carefully combed and draped over her chest. Her tail was equally styled, and braided beautifully. Rarity had made a dress for her—her last dress. It looked much like the one she had worn at the gala, except that there were extra ornamental stitches made with gold thread.
Yes, her friends had made sure that the funeral was worthy of a princess. It was all over. Everypony had gathered in the town hall to talk, weep, remember. But not Discord. He stood alone at the gravestone, petrified, as if he had turned to stone himself. Gazing.
If only he could bring back Fluttershy with his gaze. It was not so.
“Discord, are you… alright?”
Discord didn’t need to turn around to guess whose words those were. He didn’t need to, for Rarity stopped and stood next to him.
Discord didn’t say anything.
“I… I saw you standing here for such a long time,” Rarity said. “I just hope you are alright. I know how much Fluttershy meant to you.”
“Equestria,” Discord said, his voice rough and raspy of shedding many tears. “She means Equestria to me.”
Rarity scooted closer to Discord. She followed his gaze and looked at the grave ornament. There was a thoughtful silence. Dark clouds gathered above, looking black and blue and dead. A pair of crows made an ugly noise, then flew away.
“Discord, if it makes you feel better, I… I can tell you what it was that ended Fluttershy’s life. Twilight told me all about those monsters. At first we thought it was a dragon, but it was something else entirely. It was a wyvern.”
“A wyvern,” Discord repeated. He made a mental note to himself to travel to every dimension he could and exterminate all wyverns. His thoughts were dark and gloomy, fueled by the pain he felt. He wanted to blame somepony—anypony. His claws clenched into fists. He felt the pressure of his gritting teeth. His vision grew darker, as his eyes narrowed.
Rarity was silent. She didn’t know what to say to Discord. She knew that the draconequus had every right to be angry at her, to yell at her, to scream in her face that it was all her fault. She had been in the cave. She had let Fluttershy walk into it and to the monster all by herself. She had used her light to agitate the terrible wyvern, and the beast had taken it out on poor Fluttershy. In a sense, it was her fault that Fluttershy was dead.
Suddenly, a droplet of rain touched her muzzle. Then another one, and another one. The dark clouds, as dark as Discord’s mind, had reached them. Rarity looked up and uttered a sigh. She should have brought an umbrella. She was just about to turn around and get one—after which she would return to Discord—when an umbrella appeared above her head, floating in midair and shielding her from the rain. Rarity looked at Discord, her eyes wide with astonishment.
Discord didn’t bother creating an umbrella for himself. He met Rarity’s gaze. “I’m not angry at you, Rarity. You couldn’t have prevented what happened in that cave. I know the loss of Fluttershy hits you in the heart as well.”
Rarity swallowed. She tried to look the draconequus in the eyes, but Discord’s yellow-and-red eyes weren’t looking at her. It looked as if Discord saw straight through her, watching something that she knew nothing about.
Discord continued. “You told me everything you could, everything you have done. But don’t blame yourself. That beast would have murdered Fluttershy anyway. I know about wyverns. Part dragon, part bird, but not intelligent enough to make its own sandwich.”
Despite the joke, Discord didn’t laugh. Neither did Rarity.
“Fluttershy saw that she couldn’t talk to it,” Rarity said, “no matter how hard she tried.”
Discord scoffed. A hissing breath escaped through his teeth. “Of course not. Those wyverns have nothing that even resembles consciousness. They are driven by nothing but their instincts. Nothing but hunger and greed. If there is a nuisance, it will destroy that nuisance. Their minds are as simple as that. Of course it didn’t talk. I don’t even think there is a wyvern language. All they do is make sounds uglier than crows’.”
Rarity hesitated to say something, then Discord continued his rant. “I bet Fluttershy had not a clue about what stood before her. Wyverns are very rare, almost extinct, I’d say.” And I will make sure they will be extinct soon, he thought.
“What you say is true,” Rarity said. “Twilight lent me a book about them. It took me a long time before I was able to read it without breaking into tears. It took me a long time before I was able to read it and not tremble of fear. Yet I read it, and I am grateful for that. Nopony will ever end the way Fluttershy did.”
Discord snorted. His eyes looked as if they would catch fire and shoot it to somepony. “Assuming Princess Celestia doesn’t send another pony to certain death.”
That answer startled Rarity. She looked up, and saw that the floating umbrella was quivering, as was Discord’s tail. “I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me right,” Discord said. “I got my claws on that letter Princess Celestia sent Fluttershy. I read how she silently insinuated that she thought Fluttershy could handle it all by herself. How could she do such a thing, if she doesn’t even know what she would be dealing with?” Discord stomped on the ground. The earth crumbled underneath his hoof. “Celestia planted the seeds for Fluttershy’s foolish decision to go alone. She is to blame. I read that letter about two hundred times. I can recite the exact line that became Fluttershy’s downfall.” Discord’s face warped. A long, flowing rainbow mane sprouted from his scalp. His muzzle took on a gracious shape, white as a daisy. With a thick, mocking tone, he recited Princess Celestia’s words from the letter. “’You can bring your friends, of course, although I have no doubt that you and you alone will play the biggest part in this adventure.’”
“You and you alone,” Rarity whispered.
Discord’s face returned to normal. “I suppose I should be grateful that her friends talked her out of the idea of going alone. And I suppose I should be extra grateful to you, for accompanying Fluttershy on her quest. At least she didn’t die alone…”
Rarity didn’t like the tone of Discord’s voice anymore. It sounded dangerous, as if he made a threat with every word he spoke. A threat to the princess herself.
Discord’s tail whipped around in rage. He spat out his words. “Celestia should have gone into that cave. Celestia should have dealt with that wyvern. And Celestia should be the one who is dead, not Fluttershy!”
Involuntarily, Rarity did a step back. She had never seen Discord like this. Even when he had pronounced himself ‘lord of chaos,’ he had always kept his playfulness. No matter what he did, even though what he did brought disharmony to whoever would be his unfortunate victim, he always enjoyed it like a walk in the park. The Discord that stood at the gravestone was completely different. This Discord was full of hate, full of rage. This Discord wanted revenge, wanted to have somepony to take that revenge on. This Discord might even be dangerous.
“Don’t be scared, Rarity,” Discord said, but his tone didn’t change. “You are not supposed to pay. Celestia is. Celestia must pay. Celestia should lose the very thing she cares most about. And I will not rest until I have done so.”
Rarity did another step back. Her voice trembled. “D-D-Discord, you shouldn’t say such things. Fluttershy wouldn’t want that. Remember what she has taught you. Keep the good memories with Fluttershy in your mind. Think about the love you shared. Keep in your heart the single most important thing Fluttershy has taught you: friendship.”
Scoffing, a cloud of steam flowed through Discord’s nostrils. “Friendship… friendship… friendship.” Every time Discord repeated the word, it sounded more and more vicious. He drew his conclusion. “If friendship can hurt so much, if friendship makes you want to rip out your own beating heart to give it to your murdered friend, if friendship can make you feel hollow and dark inside, as if a part of your soul has died, then… then I don’t want friendship anymore.”
“B-b-but Discord, think about the love—“
“Love?!” With a jerk, Discord turned around and locked Rarity’s eyes with his own. “I loved Fluttershy more than anypony else, and look where it has gotten me. Here I am, Discord, master of chaos, broken and cracked and hollow. There is nothing left of me. Fluttershy meant more to me. She wasn’t just a pony. She was the better part of me, the part that cared about others and that realized that I couldn’t always get what I want, that I couldn’t always win.” He waved his claws at the grave marker. “And look, now I lost. I lost my good part. It lies in the ground, buried beneath the butterflies. Without Fluttershy, I am lost—a loose cannon.”
Rarity no longer dared to say anything to this other Discord. She knew he had to calm down, to give his loss a place in his heart and mind, and to process what had happened. She blinked, and saw the madness in his eyes.
Seeing what his outrage had gotten him, a very frightened Rarity, Discord seemed to calm down. His body no longer quivered, and his eyes lost some of that murderous haze that obscured his vision. He crouched down, so that his eyes were level with Rarity’s. “I’m sorry you had to hear that, Rarity. But every word I spoke, I meant.”
Discord sounded as if he were very sure about that. That fact only made Rarity more scared.
“You can tell Princess Celestia all about what I’ve said here, and your friends too, if you want. That way, they will get a heads up when everything will go bad. For now, I have said enough.” Discord looked away and at the town hall where the others were gathered. “Now go, Rarity. I have said enough, and you have heard enough. Keep the umbrella too. I need time alone now. I need time to think, to plot, to prepare.”
Rarity gulped. That didn’t sound good. “M-m-may I ask wh-wh-what you will prepare for?”
Discord turned around. Then, with a voice as cold as the grave he was looking at, he said, “I don’t know, but I may know someone who does.”
**
The pain didn’t leave Discord as he journeyed through the land of Equestria. Sorrow and sadness accompanied him wherever he went. He felt cold inside. Even though he could snap his claws, disappear, and reappear in the place he wanted to be, he journeyed on the wing. He needed time to think about what he would do. He needed to prepare his speech and concoct a plan of action. He floated over the grassy hills of Equestria. In every animal he saw Fluttershy’s face, and every animal reminded him of her kindness. Kindness that had passed away.
Discord blinked hard, but tears didn’t come. He had passed the station of self-pity. Now he was at the station ‘revenge.’ It was all he could think about. How was he going to set right what had gone wrong? He thought he knew. He had a rough sketch of his plans in his head.
He rubbed his claws. Somehow, plotting and devising evil plans made him feel good. No, not somehow—it had been Discord’s nature to cause evil and mayhem. During days that seemed so long ago, Discord had recreated Ponyville in his image, and called it the chaos capital of Equestria. Apparently, that Discord wasn’t lost; it was just hidden underneath that soft, warm blanket of kindness and friendship and love. But that blanket was gone now. It disappeared from his soul as Fluttershy had disappeared from the world. Now, the darkness was laid bare, and Discord could feel it.
He kept his mind occupied. He kept plotting. As he reached the end of the hilled terrain and the beginning of a forest, he thought he got it. He thought he had figured out what to say. A grim smile appeared on his lips. A grim mask that he hadn’t worn for a long time. Discord raised his lion paw, snapped his fingers, and disappeared.
He had pictured the place he wanted to be in his head. He didn’t really know where in Equestria the new stronghold would be, but he had a detailed mental picture of the place, as he had been there before.
Before him, towering high above a somber, rocky landscape, was a citadel-like structure. It stood black on the horizon, and seemed to glow with an unholy light. The horizon was as gloomy as the towers of the citadel. The sun was setting. The citadel wasn’t made of stone or wood—in fact, Discord had no idea what it was made of. Occasionally, new holes appeared in its black, almost viscous surface, and sometimes holes closed again. The structure was constantly changing, as were its inhabitants. Discord could see them, buzzing around and flying to and from, carrying out tasks for their mother.
He couldn’t use magic this close to the hive, Discord knew that. For extra safety and protection, the queen of the hive had placed a strange stone in the nucleus of her stronghold, which prevented the use of magic. Discord had to walk from here.
He crossed the barren soil, but before he could reach the hive, the changelings spotted him first. They hissed and grumbled as they saw the familiar intruder.
Discord held up his arms. “Don’t be alarmed. I have come unarmed and with no mal intent. I only wish to speak to your Queen, Chrysalis.”
The changelings looked at each other, not knowing what to think. In the end, they decided to honor Discord’s request. There were about three dozen of them, so whatever the draconequus would want to do to hurt the hive or the queen, they outnumbered him and could stop him if necessary. They turned around and disappeared into a hole. Discord followed.
They had to venture deep into the heart of the changeling hive to find Queen Chrysalis. Discord looked around. The place looked exactly like the first hive, which Starlight, Trixie, and he himself conquered. Entrances and exits opened and closed, and sticky goo, gloomy light, and the mysterious substance the walls were made of surrounded him on every side. At last, he saw the light of the anti-magic stone, which Chrysalis had turned into her own throne. She sat and eyed Discord with her slit-pupil eyes. Discord stopped before the throne, while the changelings surrounded him on all sides, watching with suspicious eyes.
Chrysalis, the terrible queen of the changelings, sleek of built, with a heart as black as obsidian and eyes with a permanent, malicious stare, stood up from her throne. She descended the stairs slowly, eying the draconequus, and came to a halt right before his muzzle. She wasn’t afraid.
“What brings you to my domain, enemy? And how did you find the guts in your heart to venture here once more?”
Discord put on his best friendly face. Friendly, but also grim and serious. Determined. “I am not your enemy, Queen Chrysalis. My enemy is Princess Celestia.”
Chrysalis tilted her head. She hadn’t expected that answer. “Princess Celestia, you say?”
“Yes. Princess Celestia is my nemesis now.”
A rustle went through the changelings in the throne hall. With a wave of her wing, Chrysalis silenced them. “And how, may I ask, has it come to that, if it is true what you say?”
Discord swallowed his sadness away, and made sure that his anger filled the gap it left behind. “Princess Celestia is responsible for the death of my friend. Thanks to her honeyed words, she has taken away the pony I loved most in life. I will never forgive her for that. That’s why I seek no forgiveness, but revenge. I know you feel that way yourself, and I couldn’t have picked a worthier ally.”
Chrysalis scoffed. She unfurled her wings, looking twice as big as she was. “An ally? After you infiltrated my hive and helped to bring it down with your friends? After you took away my children, hypnotizing them into believing giving love is better than taking it, thereby integrating them into Celestia’s kingdom?”
“Eh… when you put it that way…”
“For years I have worked, creating this new hive and this new kingdom, these new sons and daughters and this new community,” Chrysalis said, her voice growing in volume with every word she spoke. “I will not let anypony or anyone destroy it.”
Discord fiddled with his claws. “Then you should definitely take me as an ally. If I am an ally, I pose no threat to your new”— Discord looked around at the hideous changelings—“family.”
“And still I am not convinced,” Chrysalis said, stomping a hoof on the ground.
Snapping his fingers, Discord remembered that he couldn’t use magic here. He couldn’t use a quick spell of suggesting to change the queen’s mind about him. That would have been nice. He realized that he had to use his other source of power: his charms and honeyed words.
“Queen Chrysalis, I understand that you are very upset, and you have every right to be. But would you rather stay here, with your family, not being able to feed on the love and friendship of others, staying in the dark and the cold? Or would you rather take your weapons and your army, and plant your hooves and your flag upon Equestrian soil? I think I speak the truth when I say that deep in your heart, you desire revenge as well. Revenge on the ponies that opposed you, that destroyed your home, your rule, and your children. I can give you that.”
“Really?” Chrysalis said. Her tone was sarcastic.
“Certainly,” Discord said. His words were smooth, subtle, and suggesting. He knew he was in full swing. “I can give you revenge on whoever you want. Remember that I am the element of disharmony and chaos, and that I possess powerful magic that you and your army could put to good use.”
“Like how?”
“Well, amongst other things, I can offer you teleportation.” A slick smile appeared on Discord’s face. “Imagine that, Queen Chrysalis. I can teleport your entire army into the heart of Canterlot with a mere snap of my fingers.”
Chrysalis was silent, pondering over Discord’s promises. At least she wasn’t sarcastic or sceptic anymore. Discord was making progress.
He saw that. “Or… what to think of my conjuration spells? If I want, I can offer you any weapon out of any realm. My magic can rip the fabric of space and time, so all you have to do is reach out and grab bow or spear, flail or morning star. Hay, I think if I try my best, I could get you entire siege engines or catapults or ballistae or whatnot. I can do whatever I want.”
Narrowing her eyes, Chrysalis said, “Let me ask you, Discord. If I would allow you to perform your magic in my domain, would you use those powers against me?”
Discord recoiled. “Why, of course not.”
Chrysalis walked back towards her throne, and stood in the exact center. “Then proof your words to me!” She closed her eyes. Her horn glowed a poison-like green. Two tendrils, like the green claws of a monster, reached out and downwards, grasping the crystal underneath the throne. Once they reached it, they merged into the mineral, where they swirled as if the stone were hollow and filled with liquid and someone shook it. Discord knew what she was doing. When Chrysalis opened her eyes again, the glow disappeared, and the anti-magic crystal was nothing more than an ordinary stone.
There was a silence. Not even the dozens of changelings shuffled or skittered or rustled. No echo filled the vast halls. Chrysalis looked at Discord, Discord looked at Chrysalis. The queen of the changelings was ready for whatever the draconequus would throw at her. If he indeed reached out and grab a weapon from another world, Chrysalis would incinerate him with green fire from her horn. She would show him no mercy. Yet, why wasn’t Discord doing anything?
After a long five minutes, Discord coughed, stroked his goatee, and said, “My words were true, as you can see. I do not wish to harm either you or your hive or your family. I only wish to forge an alliance and get the revenge we both desire.”
Chrysalis waited a minute before she spoke again. During that time, she kept observing the draconequus as if she had just met him. Her tone towards him changed, very subtly. “It seems that you spoke the truth, Discord. Despite your past, I reckon you have earned my trust with completing this test. It was a risky move, I know that.”
“But so is entering the fortress of my former enemy,” Discord said.
Chrysalis nodded. “And that is why I think we have mutual interests after all. You speak of revenge, and I would be lying if I told you that I don’t want that too. Ever since my second defeat, my heart has been filled with a desire to restore my law and order, my dominion and conquest.” She paused for a few seconds, closing her eyes, thinking. At last, she made a decision. “Draconequus, I think you are a worthy ally to me. I accept your offer. From now on, you may call me your queen as well.”
Another rustle went through the changeling crowd. Discord briefly wondered if they were agreeing with their queen’s decision, or if they wanted to see him destroyed. He hoped it was the former.
Queen Chrysalis stood up from her throne and walked towards Discord. She nudged her head towards the far end of the hall. “Come. I will show you what my rage and grief and desire for revenge has produced.”
“Before we go, just one tiny little fact,” Discord said.
“What is it then, draconequus?”
Discord recoiled from the queen, so loud and sharp was her voice. “Eh… I think it is worth mentioning that the elements of harmony have lost one element…” Suddenly, Discord’s shoulders slumped. The sadness returned for a split-second.
Chrysalis’s head snapped around. “Which one?!”
“Kindness,” Discord answered. He was thankful he could use his magic again, as he could summon a box of glowing, folding napkins and wipe away some tears.
Chrysalis looked upon the peculiar display. “What are you crying for, ally? You should be rejoiced as I am. If what you say is true, and the elements of harmony are no longer complete, then my revenge might just go smoother than we thought.”
“Yes… yes, that is true.” Discord snorted. He had to toughen up. He had an invasion to plan. “I’m sorry, my queen. I will follow you now.”
The changelings all bowed and stepped aside as if they were just one single organism. The symmetry of their movements put Discord on edge. Chrysalis continued her way until she faced a wall of black. Discord stopped next to her. They both stood like that, awkwardly staring at the wall. Discord was just about to ask the queen what they were doing, when a new passageway opened up. They stepped through the hole and into the gloom.
Chrysalis and Discord walked through the hive for a time, through narrow hallways, up and down flights of steps, and in and out of holes in the wall. Suddenly, Discord saw that they were standing on a balcony, overlooking a big, spacious hall, illuminated by sticky, glowing laps on the wall. But it wasn’t the hall that fascinated Discord, it was what was going on in there.
Below, Thousands of changelings were as busy as bees. Upon noticing that their queen had arrived, a whole battalion of them marched forwards and stopped just below the overlook. They looked up, their blue eyes with no pupils staring at their leader. One of the changelings, clad in red armor covered with nasty barbs, spikes, and blades, and with a plumed helmet, stomped his hooves twice on the ground. “Hail Queen Chrysalis!”
“HAIL QUEEN CHRYSALIS!” the others shouted, their voices a rumbling chorus of strength.
Discord recoiled at the sudden sound. The display was impressive. “Impressive,” Discord said.
“Every member of the changeling family knows how to protect the hive, if the need arises,” Chrysalis said. “Every one of them knows how to handle weapons to protect himself. Look.”
She pointed at the far end of the hall. Discord followed her hoof. In the back, fire pits and furnaces were burning, and he could hear the clanging sound of metal upon metal. Weapons were being forged. Discord realized that his offer to rip weapons from other times and other dimensions was unnecessary. The changelings seemed to have every weapon they needed.
Discord stroked his goatee as he watched the changeling army at work, training, arming, preparing for war. In his head, he was already figuring out the best way to put this enormous army to good use. Strategies filled his mind, and tactics swirled alongside too. Discord’s eyes narrowed.
“As you can see, I didn’t sit still,” Chrysalis said. “I have a full army of changelings at my disposal, who will fight to the death for me. But I’m afraid I haven’t unleashed my family’s full potency yet. I have a large number of workers who still need combat training, and then there’s the new hatchlings. Changelings mature quickly, so in a matter of months, they will be able to wield a weapon. And of course, there is the elite unit’s training…”
Those last words were ominous. Discord shivered. “What is the elite unit of your army, if I may ask?”
“You may,” Chrysalis said, “because I am most proud of it. They are the changelings who excelled at the combat training exercises. They are the changelings who can push themselves harder, who need less sleep, and who can carry out complicated tasks. And all because I want them to.”
“What do you mean by that?” Discord said.
“During the breeding process, I infused some changelings with potent bursts of magic. Thanks to that, they have new special abilities, or amplified versions of the same abilities. Look, there they are.”
Chrysalis pointed to a smaller squadron of changelings, who marched into view from the side.
“PRESENT ARMS!” Chrysalis yelled.
The changelings stopped. All of them threw their hooves to their queen. “HAIL QUEEN CHRYSALIS!”
Discord took a moment to observe them. They were indeed different than the other changelings. They looked blacker, meaner. Their horns were larger, and ended in a few nasty spikes. Their built was powerful, and Discord could see their muscles quiver underneath their pitted hide. Yes… this could work, Discord thought.
“I see you like them,” Chrysalis said. “Let me show you their wings. ELITE GUARD, PRESENT WINGS!”
All of the changelings unfurled their wings simultaneously, so Discord could look at them. They looked twice as big as normal changeling wings, and shimmered with a cold light.
“They can easily outfly the fastest changeling,” Chrysalis said. “They are almost twice as fast.”
Discord stroked his goatee in thought. “Can they outfly pegasi?”
“I haven’t had the opportunity to try that out. Even if the changelings change shape to a pegasus, they still possess the same wingpower they have as a changeling. If only I could lure a pegasus into the hive…”
“What can they do?” Discord asked.
“Many things,” Chrysalis said, pride warming up her cold voice a bit. “They can use magic and shoot arrows of unholy light from their horns. They can produce a cloud of poisonous smoke, obscuring themselves and destroying the victim’s lungs from the inside. They can spit acid that will melt the flesh off your face.”
“Charming.”
“Furthermore, they are resistant to ballistic damage, as they have a hide much like rubber. Nothing blunt can pierce through that. No buck or punch can break their bones. Only sharp objects can get through. They have a regenerative ability, and can piece themselves together after being blown apart by the fiercest explosion.”
Discord blinked, feeling a pang of jealousy. “Quite impressive.”
“Yes.” Chrysalis nodded, then shook her head. “The only thing I couldn’t manage to produce is a resistance to magic. That is their weak spot. Unicorns will pose the greatest threat to them, but earth ponies and pegasi won’t stand a chance.”
Discord chuckled. “Say bye bye to the Wonderbolts, then.”
“But the most impressive gift I have given them, is the ability to absorb life.”
Discord wasn’t sure he heard that right. He swiveled his ears in Chrysalis’s direction. “You mean love. They can absorb love, right?”
“No,” Chrysalis said. A cold, thin smile appeared on her face. “Life. They can grab a living being, and then drain all the love out of them. Once all of it is gone, the changeling will then continue to feed. Feed, feed, feed, until the very heart and soul is consumed. There will be nothing left of the victim but a dried-out shell. The changeling has hollowed him out.”
“Oh, wow.” Discord reached for his stomach. He quivered, then burped, but he managed to hold his lunch in his belly.
Chrysalis smiled and nodded. The elite unit went on its way again, marching through a hole in the wall, and disappearing from view.
“I will lead them into battle, but you will my advisor. If it is true that you possess teleportation magic, then infiltrating the heart of Equestria will be easy.”
“The heart of Equestria…” Discord knew what that meant. He knew that he would confront Celestia and Luna, and fight them with this terrible army. He wasn’t yet sure if he was ready for that. The two alicorn princesses had the most powerful magic in Equestria, after all.
“But their training is not yet complete,” Chrysalis said. “Some of them still need to mutate to unleash their full arsenal of powers. I need time.”
“But we have time,” Discord said. “I have endured a humiliating sentence, stuck as I was as a stone statue for many years.” He gritted his teeth, as the memory passed by. “And there I stood, in the Canterlot sculpture garden. If you have been imprisoned for that long, you learn the meaning of patience. And besides, when we wait, we’ll have time to flesh out the details of our plan.”
Chrysalis tapped her chin with her hoof. “Yes. Let them think that all is well, that everything goes as they think it should go. Then the shock will be bigger, when we unleash my grand army upon our unsuspecting foe.”
Discord nodded. Until now, everything went according to plan. He didn’t care he was the second fiddle in Chrysalis’s plan. As long as the princesses would pay, everything was alright for him. He realized that there was no turning back now, but that thought did nothing to him. He had to do this, for himself, and for Fluttershy. He would avenge Fluttershy’s death through a glorious revolution.
“I have lost the pony who was most dear to me. Now it is time for Celestia and Luna to lose what they hold most dear: Equestria.”
Chrysalis turned at the draconequus. Their eyes met. They were terrible, vengeful eyes full of hate. The air around them was sparking with the spark of war.
But still, there was something missing in Discord’s heart. The death of Fluttershy left a dark gap in it, which he had filled up with his plans for war. But now that everything was laid out, and all they had to do was wait and plot, then what was left to fill that black void?
It was then that Discord realized that he not only wanted revenge to fill that gap. He needed something else. He needed love.
Chrysalis tilted her head and watched Discord, reading the doubtfulness in his eyes. For a moment, she looked genuinely concerned. Her voice sounded unlike an evil queen, as she said, “You really cared about her, didn’t you? You really cared for the pony friend you spoke of. You think about her.”
“Yes…” Discord said.
“Revenge will not give her back, draconequus, but, maybe, I can give you back some of the love you felt for her.”
“Wh-wh-what do you mean?”
Queen Chrysalis did a step towards him. “I mean what I said. As a token of my trust, I can give you back some of the love. Every time, my children fly out and attack distant farmsteads, siphoning the love out of other ponies. They have gathered a lot of love already, so I can probably part with some of it.”
Discord wasn’t sure what to think of that. He had no idea how to visualize such an action.
“I see you do not understand what I say,” Chrysalis said. “So let me show you.”
Before Discord knew what was happening, Queen Chrysalis unfurled one wing and wrapped it around Discord’s slender, snake-like waist. As he was locked in that iron grip, Chrysalis shoved him closer towards her. Her horn began to glow that familiar unholy green. Her eyes flared up. For a moment, Discord thought she was going to stab him through the heart with her horn. But instead, he felt the cool, sharp tip touch his heart, and staying there. Then, something strange happened.
Love, like a silken soft river, flowed into his heart. It felt good—very good. Like a precious ribbon made of gold, the love wrapped itself around his heart, and his heart absorbed all of it greedily. For a moment, just for one single second maybe, Discord felt as if he hadn’t lost anypony. For a split-second, he knew that everything was going to be okay, that nothing had happened. It felt as if his entire heart grew wings and fluttered upwards on a healthy summer breeze. The gap was mended. His heart was complete.
Chrysalis’s horn kept glowing, prolonging the moment as long as she wanted. The love she gave Discord was only a fraction of what her drones had gathered throughout the years, but she reckoned it would be enough to keep Discord on her side. She knew that he would get addicted to love, just as she herself and her children were. It might feel good, but soon, Discord would feel hungry as well. This was the perfect way to make him her servant.
“Yes… yes…” Discord said with a hoarse voice. The emotions, those happy emotions fueled by love found their way into his heart. She was there, Fluttershy. In his mind, he was sitting opposite of her at the table, sharing a nice afternoon tea. He saw himself place the cucumber sandwiches on the table. He saw how Fluttershy’s face brightened like a sunrise after a cold night.
“It’s lovely to see you again, Discord,” Fluttershy said.
She’s actually talking! With a voice laden with disbelief, Discord said, “I-i-is this real?”
“Of course it is,” Fluttershy said. “The emotion is real. It is as real as you want it to be. Would you like it to be real, Discord?”
“Yes… yes. I want it to be real.”
Fluttershy stood up, fluttered over to Discord, and embraced him. He felt her soft forelegs gently squeezing his shoulders. “I will be there when you need me, Discord.”
This was too good to be true. Involuntarily, Discord started second guessing. “But… this can’t be real.” For a moment, the ghost image flickered, as the disbelief took over. Cold realization managed to creep its way into Discord’s love-filled heart. The happiness felt strange, artificial, fake. But he wanted it to be real. He wanted Fluttershy to be alive. He decided it didn’t matter if the scene was real or not. He just wanted to have a good time with his lost friend.
Discord wanted to utter a last cry of happiness, but his throat was too dry. “Fluttershy…”
Then the image faded. Fluttershy, her cottage, the tea, the cucumber sandwiches; everything dissolved into a green mist. Discord didn’t want to blink, didn’t want to waste his last few seconds with his friend. When at last he blinked, he was back in Chrysalis’s hive, staring into the queen’s slit-pupil eyes.
In a flash of light and magic, Queen Chrysalis took on the form of Fluttershy. Her sickly, pitted black hide became smooth and buttery yellow. The ragged locks of slimy mane became smooth, graceful and pink. “I will be there when you need me, Discord,” she said, mimicking the pony’s voice perfectly.
Discord wanted to reach out and hug her, even though he knew it was Chrysalis whom he would hug. His heart broke again. It was as if all of the love backfired on him now. He once again felt hollow and empty, maybe even worse than he felt at first, now that he had once again been reminded of what he had lost. He slowly shook his head. “This isn’t real. This is fake, all fake.”
“It is as real as you want it to be, Discord. We can meet again soon and have tea, can’t we?”
It seemed as if Chrysalis had given something back to Discord, and at the same time it didn’t. Discord had never been more confused. His emotions were all tangled up. He needed some alone time to process all of this. And maybe, just maybe, he would ask Chrysalis to conjure another illusion in his mind. Yes, he would probably do that.
Suddenly, Chrysalis changed back to her natural form. Discord felt a crack in his heart. He forced his facial expression to be at least a little bit normal. He forced the salty tears that pricked his eyes to disappear. He snapped his fingers. He needed magic to whisk away his tears.
But Chrysalis wasn’t done with him yet. “Come,” she said in her cold voice. “We have a lot of planning to do, with the time we have.” And with that, she turned around and walked back the way she came.
Discord stood alone on the balcony for a little while, gazing downwards. But he wasn’t looking at the soldiers. He was looking at something nopony but he could see. With a voice as soft as the mare he loved, he spoke her name.
“Fluttershy…”