//------------------------------// // Chapter 5-Chaos Unleashed // Story: The Reign of Chaos: Discord's Story // by MisterEdd //------------------------------// Three Weeks Later... "I win again!" Confusingly, Discord scratched his head and peered down at the white and black checkered board. The black chess pieces greatly outnumbered his own white ones and found that indeed, Posey's bishop had taken his king. "Whoa, how are you so good at this game?" He asked in awe, not caring in the least that it was the sixth time in a row that he'd lost. It was nice seeing Posey so relaxed and confident plus he got to see her pretty smile. Posey, lacking her usual demure manner, smugly crossed her arms and replied, "My folks taught me. I could end a game in three moves flat before I could walk." While the filly was externally confident, internally she was pleasantly thrown off by Discord's compliment and reverence for her chess skills. Her shy demeanor, coupled with the other children's absence of interest in chess, made it hard for her to find anyone her own age to play with. At least now I have a friend. "So do you want to go again?" Discord shook his head. "Nah. As much fun as it was to get my tail kicked by you six times, I think we should do something else. Hmm. What about hopscotch?" Posey pulled her ragdoll Sally into her lap and played with its mane. "Too short." "Monopony?" "Too long. It takes forever to get every piece of property and it's even worse with only two players." Discord tapped one bird talon against his chin. "What if we went for a walk in the backyard garden? Hardly anypony goes there, right? Trees, flowers, peace and quiet. It sure beats the heck out of being cooped up inside on a day like this." Posey considered this and excitedly nodded, "Great idea, Discord! There are some roses that I'd like to look at!" "And we could watch the blue jays as they start making their nests!" "Oh! We could eat peanut butter sandwiches while sitting beneath the maple tree!" Posey squealed, wrapping her arms around Discord before tittering nervously and promptly letting go. "Oops, sorry." She...she hugged me! No girl's ever hugged me before! Discord thought with a sigh. Maybe... A cruel laughter erupted from the doorway as four ponies entered, their eyes full of malicious glee. "Well, well, well," Lance Bright said mockingly, "Lookee here at the lovebirds." Discord and Posey huddled together as the four bullies surrounded them, their derisive laughter building to a crescendo and driving spikes of fear into the pair. Never before had Discord felt so terrified and helpless; it was usually just him that was suffering at the hooves of these colts. Now, it would be his only friend who would be unjustifiably pushed around and he was too scared to do anything to stop it. He flinched at his own spinelessness, wondering why anypony would want to be friends with him. Why am I such a coward? A dark blue blur sped past Posey and hovered next to the ceiling. Dash grinned as he revealed the filly's ragdoll in his hooves. "Look at little Prissy Posey's dolly! I bet she sleeps with it too!" Speedy flew up to join him. "How pathetic is that?!" He gave his friend a high-hoof and the two laughed their heads off. "Give me back Sally, p-p-please! Give her back!" Posey shrieked, shaking her hooves at the two Pegasi while Lance magically held her back. "She was the last thing my parents gave me!" Ignoring Posey's cries, Dash and Speedy took turns carelessly tossing Sally back and forth before throwing her over Posey's head like a football and right into Bulky's hooves. Discord was fuming. He understood all too well the attachment that one could form with a personal object, his baby quilt being his own. This time, the bullies went too far. "Give Posey her doll back, you jerks!" Discord snapped, realizing his mistake all too late. Lance released his hold on Posey while Bulky pounded his hooves together threateningly, causing Discord to gulp and shrink back. "What did you just say to me, Freak?" Well, the cat's out of the bag now. "J-Just leave Posey alone. She hasn't done anything wrong." Lance's hoof shot out and smacked Discord across the cheek. "Shut up, 'Pisscord!' Nopony asked you so shut up!" Wiping the blood from his mouth, Discord could only glare up at Lance through eyes of pure hatred. Something powerful started up in the chimera's chest, heating it up like a furnace and setting every nerve in his body ablaze. MAKE THEM SUFFER FOR THEIR INSOLENCE, DISCORD. MAKE THEM PAY. "Lance, please...d-don't hurt Discord. He's my friend-..." SMACK! "Posey!" The filly was sent rolling across the floor, crumpling up into a ball. She sniffled and glanced fearfully up at Lance through tear-filled eyes before letting out a squeaky whimper. A red haze filled Discord's vision, his claws digging into the floor as his breath came out in short furious bursts. Drawing himself to his full height, he let out a challenging roar. THAT'S RIGHT, MY SON. SHOW THEM YOU ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. LET THEM KNOW WHO YOU ARE! "You...you bastard!" Discord's voice cut through the air like a superheated blade, forcing everypony to freeze in place from the severity with which he spoke. He started to advance on his tormentors, who stared frightfully at their onetime victim while Posey could only widen her eyes at her friend's sudden transformation. "You can make fun of me, call me a 'freak' and beat me bloody but you do not, I repeat, do not...mess...with...my...friend!" Energy crackled around his fists, illuminating his snarling face with a bright crimson luminescence. "Now you're going to pay." RELEASE YOUR FULL MIGHT! LET THEM FEEL THE MIGHT OF CHAOS! Recovering his wits, Bulky charged at the chimera only for Discord to wave his paw and the earth pony found himself literally sinking into the floor as though it were quicksand. He then curled his bird talons and transformed Speedy's wings into stone, sending the Pegasus plummeting painfully into the bookcase and crashing to the floor. Dash attempted to flee but was seized by a giant glowing fist and slammed into a nearby wall, leaving only Lance remaining as the last pony standing. Discord's heart swelled with pride at his handiwork, feeling the exquisite feel of chaos enveloping him like a blanket. Yes, yes! Why didn't I do this sooner? BECAUSE YOU DENIED WHO YOU ARE, WHO YOU'RE MEANT TO BE! "Please, stay away from me! Don't hurt me!" Discord snapped out of his reverie to find the fearsome Lance Bright backed up into a corner and shivering, his cheeks stained with fresh tears. "I-I'm sorry! Do you hear me? I'm sorry!" "You took Posey's doll, the special reminder of her parents, made fun of her and dared to strike her and you think an apology will make it right? Oh ho ho, my dear Lance, you are sorely mistaken." The light radiating from Discord's hands intensified, his smile manically sadistic as he bared his teeth. The chimera advanced on Lance, who sat on the floor shivering, wetting his face with snot and tears as he pointlessly tried reasoning with his attacker. "Time to say, 'Goodbye!'" "Discord, stop!" A sudden pleading voice stopped Discord in his tracks and he swiveled his head to take in the sight of Posey with her arms wrapped around his left leg. "Please, just...stop. They-they've suffered enough. Please." Soft green eyes bore into his own and his hands dropped to his sides, the energy dissipating and he gazed around the room as though waking up from a dream. He looked uncertainly at his hands, failing to recognize them. What...what happened to me? DON'T REGRET YOUR ACTIONS. THEY WERE JUSTIFIED. THOSE RUFFIANS DESERVED WHAT THEY GOT. "What are you?!" He turned and to his horror, found a crowd of orphans staring horrified at him from the doorway, Hazel Chestnut standing at the forefront and pointing a shaking hoof at him. Fear gripped Discord's chest; his breaths becoming faster and harsher as he felt so many eyes staring at him, judging him, condemning him. All of his fury was instead replaced with terror and the room began to feel smaller, more constraining. He was empty; all vindictiveness and joy drained from him and replaced with fear and shame. Even Posey was shying away from him, her eyes full of fright at the sight of the chimera. What have I done? With tears in his eyes, Discord whimpered, "I didn't mean it," before running past the crowd of ponies, who all hurriedly parted to allow him to flee. He ignored Posey's frantic cries, instead stumbling his way down the orphanage's hallways, unable to meet the eyes of everyone he came across. He ran until he made it to his broom closet, slammed the door and crawled beneath his quilt. Exhausted and full of hurt, he bitterly wept into his pillow. What am I? Discord groggily opened his eyes at the gentle knocking at his door, remembering that he had cried himself to sleep and slowly rose from his bed. "Go away! I...I want to be alone right now!" "Discord, please open the door." The gentle, familiar tone softened him up a bit but he was still uncertain, wrapping his quilt protectively around his shoulders tightly. "Discord, please." Reluctantly, Discord opened the door and found Miss Violet standing there, her face full of tenderness and understanding. He sighed and sat on the edge of his bed, beckoning her to come in. The mattress sank slightly beneath the mare's weight and the two sat quietly. Finally, after an eternity of silence, Violet placed her hoof on Discord's shoulder and asked, "Discord, would you like to explain to me what happened earlier?" The chimera tightly clasped his hands together, trying to shut out the memory but also wishing to explain himself to the one whose opinion mattered the most to him. He sighed, "I was playing with Posey when those...those jerks showed up and took Posey's doll. I tried asking for it back but Lance hit me and then...Posey stood up for me. She...she called me her friend." A smiled crossed Discord's lips as he recalled the filly's change from shy wallflower to opinionated heroine. The smile vanished once the image of Lance hitting her and sending her sprawling set his teeth on edge. "Lance...he actually struck Posey. He hurt her!" Discord all but growled, the fur on his back standing on end in a feline-esque manner. "And then you used your magic," Violet finished as-a-matter-of-factly, her voice level and nonjudgmental as she put the pieces together. "Discord, I understand that you were defending your friend but that was no excuse to hurt the boys like that. They could've been seriously injured! I'm just thankful that all of you are alright." "'Alright?' But what about Posey? She was terrified and it'll be a week before her bruises heal! And Lance...-" "...Will be punished for his actions, along with the others." Violet hooked her arm around Discord and pulled him to her side. "Their behavior will be addressed, that much I can promise you. The fact remains that you still lost control and lashed out at Lance and his friends, no matter if they deserved it or not." Some light sniffling caught her attention and she found Discord lightly sobbing. "Oh Discord, sweetie-..." "I'm not evil! I-I swear. I'm...not." He choked on his words and buried his face into Violet's chest. "I didn't mean to hurt them. I was just angry..." The mare brought the point of her hoof underneath his chin so that they could talk face-to-face. Violet smiled softly, "I know you're not evil, Discord. You have such a good heart. I know that you're different and that you have this...power inside of you but that doesn't mean that you have to be bad just because others say that you are." She got off of the bed and had Discord lie down, wrapping his quilt around him and taking time to run her hoof through his hair. "We'll talk more about this later but for right now, why don't you get some rest?" Discord nodded wearily and watched Violet open the door ajar. "Okay. I really am sorry." "I know you are, sweetheart. Now try to go to sleep. Good night, Discord." Barely audibly, Discord murmured, "Goodnight Mom." A trembling hoof momentarily held the door open as Violet peered at the chimera laying with his back facing her. She slowly closed the door and replayed that moment in her head. He was like her own child, even more so than the others and this made her feel somewhat ashamed and at least partially guilty of nepotism. She'd raised him from infancy, taught him to walk and talk, instructed him on how to read and spoken to him of things she hadn't told anypony else. No matter what happened, Discord would always be her son and she would do anything to protect him. "Goodnight...son."