//------------------------------//
// Triumphant Revelation  
// Story: Becoming Chaos 
// by LemonDrizzle 
//------------------------------//

Triumphant Revelation



The feeling of a sudden, inexplicable, unexplainable terror brought Jonathan tumbling out of his fevered but unremarkable sleep, causing the belittled human to bolt awake as if someone had set off a firecracker next to his ear. His eyesight was fuzzy and blurred, caking goo settling on top of golden orbs of sight to distort his vision past any reasonable sense of reality, making Jonathan scrub furiously at his eyes, attempting to rid himself of the almost blinding sensation. With a low, quiet but audible sigh of both pain and confusion, Jonathan opened his eyes fully and wholeheartedly for the first time since waking up, moving to sit up in what he expected was a bed of some kind, eager but also nervous to discover where his body was currently held. What he saw though when he opened his golden eyes, what he glimpsed through shimmering orbs made him wish he had never, ever regained his ability to see.

He was in no hospital, no infirmary, no place of medicine or help, comfort or care. He was in no household, no mansion, no reasonable, sane or even real abode. Jonathan even doubted that where he was right now was in any way in the realms of sanity and reality. 

All around were not walls, not windows or doors. There was merely an expanse of a seething, bloody red colour that mingled viciously and seductively with tinges of wafting blackness that settled and swirled around Jonathan's vision. There was no substance to the strange, multicoloured mist, it just hung heavily in the air, clouding all view of anything else, hiding anything remotely far away from him. The strange fog shaped itself like a dome of sorts, circular and reaching high, high up above Jonathan, peaking at his zenith until it folded back down to all sides, smothering reality. 

The ground itself was of a deep, rich red colour that seemed to illuminate itself, casting deep red reflections up onto Jonathan's skin until he himself looked as if he were drenched in blood. With a shaky but almost calm, calculated movement, Jonathan arched his neck downwards to inspect what he had originally thought to be a bed. Instead, his body lay on an almost fluffy, swirling and luminous pink cloud of sticky, curling cotton candy, sugar dripping off of the strange, overly sized confectionery, soaking into Jonathan's clothes and making the adhesive induced clothing grapple onto his body. 

Jonathan blinked rapidly, scrubbing at his eyes, opening them again only to be met with the same horrifying sight before he once more began to scrub and rub at his new eyes ferociously until small tears of pain sprung into their depths. Still though the nightmarish image refused to flee or leave, instead opting to stay silently and unforgiving in Jonathan's vision, almost seeming to draw closer to him, to taunt him with its impossibility, with its confusing depths and horrifying image. 

His emotions though were dulled and restrained, fear and horror, confusion and terror held back like a pack of dogs, allowing Jonathan to see this strange, almost whimsical place with a fresh pair of eyes, without the tampering of his feelings. With shaky legs, either from his recent fall or from suppressed fear, Jonathan slid off of his cloud of candy and hopped daintily to the floor, the mass of red underneath his feet suddenly springing up a medley of colours as soon as his skin impacted with the ground, green, gold, orange, blue and purple splashing around his soles like paint. 

With hesitant steps, Jonathan began to walk slowly forward, each time his foot hit the ground a fresh wave of paint exploding around the red carpet. The feeling of the ground was unlike anything he had experienced before, blisteringly cold but also refreshingly warm, both hard and squidgy beneath his feet until he felt like his soles would both blister from the hardness and be sucked into the softness. The air around him was dead and still, no sounds escaping the mysterious veil of seething black and red, no subtle smells or obnoxious mingling of scent betraying where he was, or why he was here. 

Jonathan walked and walked for what felt like millennia, trudging along the red path, staining the crimson multiple hues of bright, flashing colours, eyes trained on the mist in front of him, a strange sense of eagerness and urgency surrounding his being, as if somewhere, within this creepy, swirling expanse lied a secret, a mystery to be uncovered by him and him alone. And so he walked, batting away at the mist that descended upon him, emotions contained like a contamination, fear and confusion replaced by a weird, supernatural sense of direction. 

There was no pain, no aches, no feelings that permeated Jonathan apart from his drive, his desire to walk. Soon enough though, a single, bubbling emotion exploded into life, forced on by a simple sound. Fear. Cold, hard fear forced itself upon Jonathan as a single bark of harsh, chilling and monstrous laughter burst around the oasis of red and black, the sound of beastly evil and terrible intentions echoing for what felt like forever until all fell silent once more, Jonathan quaking on the spot, eyes wide and sight flicking and roaming the depths of the mist for the owner of the laugh, for the monster that he knew, with all his heart, was stalking him. 

Jonathan stood still, staring silently and vigorously for what felt like years on end, golden orbs raking every inch of his available sight, searching for any signs of being watched, attempting to detect any signs of being viewed like a television program. When nothing happened, no shrieking demons bursting from the gloom, no laughing, taunting chaotic Gods coming out of the mist like phantoms, Jonathan began to relax, the fear ebbing away like the tide, his body letting out a deep breath as he turned around to continue on his trek. 

As he turned around and hit something furry, soft and warm.

“Boo!” shrieked the furry, soft and warm thing. 

Jonathan yelled out in fear, immediately stumbling backwards away from whatever had shouted at him, tripping and landing on the hard yet soft ground with a light thud, multiple colours springing up and dancing around where he had fallen. The sound of rocketing, shooting, demonic laughter filled the once deathly silence, monstrous chuckles escaping from directly in front of him as Jonathan shook his head and lifted it up from its position on the ground to cast a glare at whatever had decided to spook him. His eyes swiftly widened at what he saw.

Golden eyes, a large curved front tooth, twin horns of blue and white, shaggy black hair, brown fur, white, twisted beard, bat and bird wings, lion and eagle arms, dragon and goat legs along with a massive, red snakes tail hanging off of the creatures end. Discord, the spirit of chaos and the image of evil was hanging upside down, wings flapping disjointedly and tears sprinkling from his eyes as he clutched his stomach, howling with laughter. 

Jonathan felt a whimper of fear escape his throat as he slowly began to crawl backwards, hoping to vanish into the shrouded mist before he was stopped quite suddenly by one lion paw grabbing his shoulder, the God of chaos teleporting behind him to block his attempted escape.

“Come now Jonathan, you'd abandon an old friend just like that?”

Jonathan visibly shook as he spoke up in what he hoped was a defiant tone.

“W-we're not friends...”

Discord leaned his face down towards Jonathan's until they sat a heart beat apart, the mismatched, monstrous face forming into a childish pout as Discord spoke once more.

“Aww, that hurt Jonny my boy. After all I've done for you!”

Jonathan visibly restrained himself from yelling out in fear and anger at that, instead opting to ask a question of his own.

“W-where am I?”

At this Discord sighed and, with snap of his fingers, teleported himself away to a reasonable distance in front of Jonathan, conjuring up a red seated and black bodied throne of sorts with a disembodied skull on top, his contrasting and freakish body melding smoothly into the soft fabric of the throne as he raised his hand up as if clutching a globe, head raised in an exaggerated manner, his voice rising up like a serpent. 

“Physically you are laying in a bed in what I believe to be the filthy Ponyville Hospital. Mentally though, oh, you are in an entirely different place, a place I would have thought you would recognize.”

Jonathan swallowed his fear, voice rising up in a shaky warble.

“W-where am I mentally then?”

At this Discord belched out a monstrous laugh, the shrouded red and black mist around him suddenly rolling around the clearing, concealing everything within three inches of Jonathan before it cleared once more, Discord now standing directly in front of Jonathan with a smirk, making the human stumble backwards with another yelp.

“You, Jonathan, are currently viewing the inside of your frail, little head. Your mind, if you wish to refer to it as such.”

When Jonathan paled and began to shake, his mouth falling open and eyes roaming the depths of the fields of red and black fruitlessly Discord couldn't help but laugh, twin disjointed hands reaching out to grasp Jonathan's cheeks, pulling at them and then smushing them together in an invasion of privacy that made Jonathan feel even more weak.

“Aw, you should have seen the look on your face buddy! P-p-priceless!”

Discord tumbled over, hands clutching his stomach as he once more burst into little giggles, the hilarity of the situation, the shock and fear on Jonathan's pathetic little face had been enough to drive the God once more over the edge into a land of mirth. 

Jonathan struggled back to his feet, legs quivering and head searching the diseased looking clearing before he turned back to the still cackling spirit, voice rising up to question the demon.

“How d-did you-”

“Do what, Jonathan? How did I send your little chariot toppling out of the sky? How did I change your body, your personality? How did I watch with glee as that little white mare, Rarity, fell to her death? Or maybe you were asking how exactly I managed to trap you here, within your own mind.”

Jonathan swallowed bile and repulsion, fear settling in his stomach like a ball of ice as the monster repeated what he had dared to wish wasn't true, what he had hoped was false. Rarity had fallen and right now, in the company of the spirit, things were not looking good for her chances of survival.

“You see, your body is currently occupied with being forced into a particularly bad coma, much to the bafflement of the doctors! Oh, they're all running around confused out there, trying to figure out what exactly is keeping you under this little spell. And, if you hadn't gathered by now, it's me. You're here because I want you to be here, because I need to teach you a little lesson on obedience.”

Jonathan felt salty tears sting his eyes, making him rapidly blink as his hope, his determination, his rebellion began to melt away. Discord slowly strolled around Jonathan, tutting every once in a while, eyes roaming over the human as he began to monotonously speak.

“A little while ago, I made you promise me something when we were back on your world. I made you promise me, by pain of destruction, that you would never betray me or try to halt my progress, my vengeance and the next thing I know you were standing up to me. I was impressed at first, you certainly have spirit but now you have been getting in my way. I promised you destruction and that will happen, you will burn for your betrayal but not yet, not until you see everything else burn first. I will let you watch them burn from the shackles of your own mind.”

Jonathan felt frozen, stiff and still as if all of the blood in his body had been frozen, turning him immobile and useless. Suddenly Discord whipped in front of him, drawing a strangled whimper from Jonathan as the Gods now chipper voice rose up, his mismatched arms spread and gesturing towards the seething mass of darkness and crimson.

“Oh, that reminds me, do you like what I've done with the place? I made it specially for you. All of these little clouds, all of this pushing, intrusive, forceful mist is all to make sure you cannot do anything against my power, to dull your emotions, to render your mind immobile and useless. Alas, it didn't quite work out as well as I had hoped but it seems to be doing its job just fine now.”

Jonathan shivered once before Discord's voice returned.

“Now, back on topic, you see, when I am through with you Jonathan, for you must be punished now, then you will wish that those little cuts and bruises that you have on your body, your little boo-boos are all you have to worry about.”

Jonathan felt a flash of recognition, of something that was said that should be important, that was important, direly so. He had said something, that disastrous, monstrous spirit, something that he shouldn't have said and Jonathan was racking his mind for what it was, what could be so important that his subconscious was literally screaming at him to remember. 

Discord snapped his fingers again, whipping an overly sized dentist drill out of thin air along with a small mask that covered his mouth before his muffled voice rose up again.

“Now then, your punishment, let's get started shall we!”

And then, quite suddenly, the hidden meaning, the misspoken words clicked into place. 

“Wait!”

Jonathan shouted aloud, piercing the gloom of his mind, making Discord freeze in his menacing approach, the demon pulling down his mask and pouting, evil, cracked voice whining upwards in a childish tone.

“But whhhhhhy?”

Jonathan forced a shaky grin onto his face, trying to cover up his anxiety and terror by appearing confident, the illusion failing dismally as Discord swallowed a laugh at the pale, pathetic face of the human as Jonathan spoke up, drowning out the chuckle.

“I'm in a coma, right?”

Discord sighed, his drill and mask disappearing as he flopped onto his conjured throne once more, already bored but willing to go through with whatever the little human had in mind if only for the pleasure of seeing the joy and the hope leave his squishy, pink little face.

“Yes.”

“With only a few scrapes and bruises?”

“Yep.”

“After falling from an incredibly high distance?”

“...Yeah.”

Jonathan couldn't contain the smug smile, the gesture making Discord shift in his throne so he was staring fully at the human, eyes narrowed as Jonathan spoke up once more in a partially cocky, partially nervous voice.

“So, why aren't I dead?”

There was no reply from the perched form of the God of chaos, Discord instead narrowing his eyes slightly as if trying to decipher where exactly the human was going with this little scheme, this little plan of his. Jonathan began to speak again, quietly but with a sense of urgency, as if he had to get these words out, as if he had to make Discord see the point, as if he had to convince himself of the information.

“I should be dead, I really, really should. I hit the ground first, I shielded, uh... Rarity, I think her name was, from the fall, I disobeyed you and yet you've told me that I'm in a coma, with a few cuts and bruises.”

Discord frowned, both in malice and in confusion as Jonathan began to speak more rapidly, delving into a roll of sorts, his speech picking up with intensity. 

“Why did I live? My body isn't strong enough to survive that fall, that chariot wasn't stable enough to provide us protection. Hell, I even heard the loud thud when I hit the floor and yet you tell me I am merely in a coma of your doing, cuts and bruises as my only signs of what happened. I should be dead, so why aren't I?”

Getting bored, Discord let out a low snort, curling himself into his throne as he spoke up in a voice positively dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh, I have no idea.”

This just caused Jonathan to smile more brightly, a sign that made discord cringe in repulsion.

“I think I do.”

Discord sighed once more before he snapped his fingers, a bowl of popcorn appearing out of thin air as the Go began to shovel it into his mouth, speaking through a vast amount of the food.

“Do tell.”

Jonathan sighed out a shaky breath before he dived back into his speech, thoughts and ideas racing out of his mouth.

“A little while back, when I was standing up to you in the infirmary you hurt me. Not physically, never physically but mentally. I felt such pain, such turmoil and yet there was not a single thing wrong with my body, not a speck or a cell out of place. And I think I know why, why you didn't hurt me then and why you didn't let me die now.”

Discord let out a growl of anger, his popcorn disappearing with a farting sound as his throne scooted forward, sprouting wheels and blasting off until it sat directly in front of Jonathan, the God's eyes ablaze with rage a he spoke up in a menacing voice.

“Why, my dear Jonathan, do I refuse to hurt you then?”

Jonathan ignored the malice and the hatred behind that voice, completely focused on what he hoped had been a victory against Discord, a correct guess in a sea of unknowns. 

“You can't hurt me, not physically anyway because that would create too many questions, that would sprout too many suspicions. My body is changing, that they will notice but then, quite suddenly, if I start to develop lacerations, bruises all over my body they may start to suspect something sooner than they normally would.”

Discord growled again deep in his throat but Jonathan ignored him.

“You can't hurt me because this body, my body is your body as well and whatever you do to me physically will stay, will be a blemish on your perfect alteration that you are cooking up. That's why you never hurt me physically, that's why you let me live because you need me. I am your refuge, your body. Without me you'd be nothing. You can't hurt me and, you know what Discord, right now I feel fantastic knowing that.”

Perhaps it was the passing wave of fear fuelled adrenaline that was rushing away from his body or maybe it was simply the fact that, judging by Discord's baffled and shocked reaction, he had guessed right but Jonathan couldn't help but let out a little gloat before Discord's now deep, gravelly and harsh voice rose up to silence the human. 

“If that is true Jonathan, my buddy, then why did I smash you around your little apartment back on Earth?”

Jonathan paused in his triumphant, glowing feeling of victory, eyes narrowing slightly in contemplation as Discord continued to glower at him from his crafted throne. Seconds went by, a small tug of a malicious grin growing on Discord's face as he beheld the humans confusion and shattering hope, his ideas, which had been true, scattering to dust before Jonathan visibly brightened, his voice exploding from him. 

“You needed to scare me, to make me feel as I I was in your complete control and there was nothing you could do about it. You needed to make me fear you, to make me fear your punishment and what you could do to me and so you attacked me. You were never going to do me serious damage, you just needed to frighten your little puppet.”

Discord snarled loudly, pushing himself out of his throne so that his face touched Jonathan's, anger rolling through his golden eyes as he locked gazes with the human before Discord pulled back, a manic but confident smile on his face, the God of chaos once more sinking into the throne with a look of pure glee, the sight making Jonathan shiver and step away in both shock and tinges of worry.

Discord's voice broke the canopy of eerie quietness, the seductive yet dangerous purr of his usual voice breaking through and slithering around Jonathan's head.

“Very good Jonathan, very good indeed. You are right, I cannot harm you physically, it would cause too much of a strain on your body and my transformations may begin to go a bit more out of the loop.”

Jonathan cracked a smile as Discord voiced the truth before his smile fell as the monster continued.

“But you think this gives you power over me? You think I can't wound those around you? Rarity is merely evidence that whatever you may think there is no escape from me, from punishment. Perhaps I cannot hurt you physically but does that apply for every other stinking creature on the face of this planet?”

Jonathan swallowed a gulp as Discord continued, his shining moment of triumph starting to fade away.

“And then we come onto the little fact that, no, I cannot hurt you physically but mentally Jonathan, oh mentally I can do whatever I truly please as long as you keep a hold of your sanity. I would so hate to drive around a mad meat puppet.”

Jonathan trembled once in horror before he steeled himself, attempting to hide the fear from the demonic God before him. 

“The things I can put you through Jonathan, the requisite, delicious torture that I can wreak upon your mind may very well make you wish I would hurt you physically. I am a God of chaos inside the mind of another creature, think of all the anarchy and pain I could bring down on the poor thing.”

Jonathan swallowed his fear, trying to remain rebellious and confident yet failing miserably. 

“I could torture your mind until you begged for me to take your life, until you begged and sobbed for mercy. I could take your body and I could make your hurt those ponies, make you squeeze their throats and break the-”

“No! I won't let you!”

The hoarse, torn yell escaped Jonathan's throat as images of his tripping of Band Aid, of his joy at seeing the blood, at his lust to make the unicorn sob rolled around his head, the terrible experience allowing anger to claim his heart once more. Discord purred softly in humour, his voice rising up to further infuriate the human.

“You can't stop me.”

Jonathan gritted his teeth at the resignation behind Discord's voice, as if the God of chaos knew exactly how every possible plan would end, how every one of his attempts at rebellion would fail. 

“I can try.”

Discord chuckled.

“So you can but right here, right now you can do nothing to stop me. This is my home now, my domain, my stomping ground and there is not a single thing you can do to fight me.”

On cue, a large, slender, stone platform rose out of the ground behind Jonathan, the human turning to watch it rise from the murky red floor until it rested at the height of the bottom of his waist. Jonathan turned back to Discord, a question on his lips before he felt two hands push into his chest, making him tumble backwards onto the sacrificial looking stone platform, iron shackles immediately sprouting up and chaining his arms and legs to the stone, Jonathan crying out in both pain and fear as the metal dug into his skin. The freezing feeling of the stone seeped through the back of his crafted white toga, making his skin crawl and pimple with the cold as Jonathan raised his head up to find Discord.

The God in question was currently slapping on a pair of latex gloves, his surgical mask back on his face, a dentist drill hanging from a strange looking utility belt that stretched around his malformed waist before Discord spied Jonathan looking at him, the sound of snap of rubber against skin making Jonathan cringe as Discord pulled the last glove on, his golden eyes shining with childish excitement. Discord began to circle the stone bed before he pulled out the dentist drill and spoke up in a sing-song voice.

“Oh Jonny boy, I just know we are going to have the bestest of fun times together!”

The laughter echoed.

The drill whirred.

The human screamed.



[.]



Jonathan bolted up, eyes wide and sweat caking his body, a gasp of shock and expected pain escaping his throat as he clutched tightly onto a roll of fabric that had been settled over his now naked body, golden orbs searching around the area for any sign of danger, for any indication of dentistry Discord delighting in delivering drills of demise. Jonathan let out a shaky half sigh, half sob of relief as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and he saw where exactly he had been stationed.

He was in a long, white tiled room, surrounded by a faint blue curtain that gleamed immaculately in the frail, fickle light that a small lamp situated further along the hallway was producing. The floor itself was made up of faint white tiles, the ceiling being a normal, modern white ceiling with peeling paint and small crack dotting its surface. Jonathan noted that, in an incredibly similar circumstance, he was laying on a crispy, soft and sinking bed, his body wrapped inside a tight bundle of bed sheets, his head propped up by two gleaming white pillows that held the same colour as the sheets. Beside him, to his left rested a wooden bedside table, a cool glass of twinkling water resting on top along with a small tray of biscuits and what appeared to be a Mare Magazine. Dimly, Jonathan could see the shadow of a large door silhouetted on his green, concealing curtain. Jonathan glanced around once more, noticing the small electrodes attached to him, their leads trailing up to a machine that was beeping gently before Jonathan pulled off the sticky equipment, causing the machine to emit a now loud, long, continuous drone that echoed around the hospital ward, making Jonathan clasp his ears at the massive noise, his head already starting to hurt. 

Almost immediately after the sound started, the shadowed door burst open with a loud crash and a bang, the rapid sound of hooves on tiles bouncing around the infirmary as Jonathan's green curtain was yanked backwards, a white mare with a nurses hat and gentle pink hair bursting into his concealed area, her head tilted towards the door as she yelled at the top of her lungs, voice cracking.

“He's going into cardiac arrest, somepony get the defibrillators!” 

This nurse pony that tilted her head back to Jonathan and, seeing him fully awake and alive, staring at her with wide eyes, she let out a strangled squeak, her legs suddenly starting to shake as the bipedal alien set his eyes on her. Still she managed to turn her head back around and, much more quietly, spoke up to whomever was behind the door.

“N-never mind.”

Jonathan blinked at the pony, noticing her marble white coat, her meticulously groomed and expertly bunned hair along with her nurses hat and what appeared to be a red cross etched onto her flank surrounded by little red hearts. With hasty, hesitant step, the nurse pony stepped forward towards the bottom of his bed and, with her teeth, grabbed the small note board that sat at the bottom of his bed before she cautiously began to back away towards the door, keeping fearful eyes locked on him at all times.

Jonathan tried to speak but his voice had been out of production for too long, only a small, gravelly and harsh grunt escaping from his mouth, the sound making the white mares ears arch backwards, her eyes to begin to water and then, within a manner of seconds, her legs to quiver and shake as she wheeled around and bolted for the door as fast as possible. Jonathan raised his arm to try and signal her back, his croaky voice just puncturing the relative gloom of the hospital ward before she disappeared from sight.

“P-please R-R-Rarity...”

Jonathan began to cough violently, his throat sore and raw, making him let out little heaving noises as he tried to clear his airways, frantically turning to the water and draining it all in one, some excess liquid spilling down his front and cooling on his chest, making him shiver. Jonathan attempted to speak up again, to call the nurse back and ask over the fate of Rarity but the silence he was greeted by suggested that there would be nobody, or pony to listen to him. Jonathan cautiously roamed his hands down his body, wincing as he encountered lacerations and deep, blotchy bruises before he let out a soft sigh and turned his gaze towards the bedside table, hand putting the discarded empty glass back on the brown oak table with a soft clink. 

Jonathan then turned his attention to one of the biscuits once his stomach rumbled and moaned loudly, simulating thunder perfectly before he devoured the biscuits, crumbs scattering along his bed and down himself as he fell back onto the hospital bed with a soft flop, air escaping him as the quiet, yet peaceful sounds of clopping reached his ears again, the hoof-steps growing louder and louder until they paused directly behind the door. 

Jonathan let out a little groan of frustration as he spoke up in an irritated tone, aggravated by the fear and the shock that the nurse had displayed, attempting to force some life into the probably fear frozen pony behind the doorway.

“I'm not going to bite you know.”

The voice that greeted him was familiar, very familiar and it seemed to border on the edge of teasing.

“Oh I know that, you're not really in any shape to try and eat anypony at the moment.”

The trotting continued until a mare presented herself to him, the green curtains rustling as she pushed her lavender, horned head through to stare at Jonathan. Jonathan blinked before he shook his head, eyeing up the purple furred, bright eyed and blue maned unicorn pony before him.

“Uh, Twinkle Starlight?”

Twilight sighed to herself softly as the human continued to stare at her with guilt and confusion.

“No, it's Twilight Sparkle. I thought you would remember that considering you're going to be living with me for a while.”

Jonathan opened his mouth to utter a half-hearted apology before a much better, much more important question sprung to mind, the urgency, the need to know the answer making him stutter. 

“Rarity-Is she-How? What-”

Twilight silenced him with a raised hoof and a soft smile that seemed to warm Jonathan's heart, making Discord let out a little retching sound.

“She's in the hospital at the moment, as are you. She has three cracked ribs and one broken foreleg but apart from that she's fine. If her story is correct, you saved her life.”

Jonathan felt a sick feeling of dread bubble up in him at Twilight's words. Of course the news that Rarity was alive and would be on her way to a recovery soon enough allowed his spirit to flush with happiness but what Twilight had said last, how he had apparently saved her, it chilled Jonathan to the core. If it wasn't for him and his stupid, reckless, childish attempts to outwit and overpower the vengeful God than Rarity would never have gotten hurt. He tuned back into the waking world just as Twilight finished whatever else she had said.

“...And for that reason I think you should stay at the hospital for the night. You already look pretty tired.”

Jonathan mumbled slightly and, yes, now that she mentioned it and in a completely cliched manner he couldn't help but feel the drowsiness catching up to him, his lack of a good, proper sleep making his eyes droop somewhat. Jonathan managed to stutter and stumble out a response.

“N-need...to see...Rarity.”

Twilight smiled softly at the humans apparent want to protect Rarity and his almost caring approach to her before she spoke up again. 

“Now, now. She'll be there in the morning and so will you. Why don't you get some sleep?”

Jonathan struggled to keep his eyes open as he spoke up once more, a small yawn ending his sentence.

“Why'd you come to see me if you were just going to leave straight away?”

Twilight blinked once before the same gentle smile crossed her features.

“Well for one I wanted to see how you are. Then there's the little fact that not many ponies are willing to approach you at the moment because of you...differences with us. And then I thought that you would probably want to know about Rarity since you did risk your life to protect her.”

Jonathan nodded drowsily, another yawn splitting the halls of the hospital as he felt something grip him and begin to pull him into the arms of Morpheus once more except this grip was not the pleasant, warm and enticing grip of an exhausted, needed sleep. No, this grip screamed of a desperate need for Jonathan to return to the land of sleep, a lust for Jonathan to fall under the spell of snooze so that whatever had dragged him under could feel a sense of perverse pleasure. 

Jonathan tried to speak up, to gain Twilight's assistance in the matter as he felt himself being pulled under by the malicious, laughing, victorious hands of Discord. The little lavender mare though merely regarded Jonathan with a look of friendship and thanks, thanks at saving one of her most precious, most perfect friends before she began to trot away, turning off whatever fickle source of light that had been keeping the darkness at bay as Jonathan slipped once more into a deep, haunted, terrified sleep. 

Jonathan opened his eyes to be met by the shrouded walls of red and black, to feel the cold stone table underneath him, to see Discord staring at him with intensity and glee, his face set in an impish grin. 

And, once again, the human began to scream. 



A/N: The chapters will take a little longer to come out now that I have started my conclusion to one of my other stories. Updates will still be regular though, I reckon one every week. 

Anyway, I know the scene at the end was a bit rushed and didn't really need to be out in but I wanted a little something, a little hope after the darkness. I just wrote about five thousand words of those over two hours so I'm pretty dang pooped.

Enjoy the chapter, tell me what you think and, as always, constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms.