//------------------------------// // Mortality // Story: When The Wind Changes // by Symphony //------------------------------// A/N: Edited by frieD195. Yep, I had to divide the Gala chapter again to keep the schedule. Well, at least now it will be an extra chapter for you all to enjoy! In this chapter there's some heavy plot-juice for the sequel. Don't make it go to waste. Discord was cantering down one of the many corridors in the castle while whistling a tune he made up as he went. He was on his merry way to the ball room, where Luna hopefully was. The Gala that was later this evening was something that he didn’t really look forward to, as that meant that he had to socialize with stuck-up Canterlot ponies. He had also been told to keep his wings hidden during the duration of the event. But something was bothering him. It felt like a heavy presence who was awfully familiar was following his every step. He looked around to see nopony following him, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched by something. The ominous presence made itself known through a dry, low chuckle which made Discord almost jump out of his coat. The laugh was eerily familiar. He gulped and continued his walk, but now he was walking much slower and his ears splayed back in fear. He could easily ignore a direct threat, but the feeling this situation gave him was much too ominous for him to ignore. Another chuckle came, but this time from the ceiling. He whipped his head up to see nothing but the ceiling. His wings shot open on their own accord, as that was a common reaction pegasi had when they were surprised. ’‘You sure scare easily...’’ A disembodied voice spoke. Discord’s eyes widened as he realized what his tormentor was. It was himself, as the voice who spoke was his former voice which he had when he was still a draconequus. ’‘This is the most fun I’ve had in weeks, years even...’’ ’‘What do you want?’’ Discord said, barely a whisper. He cleared his throat and steeled himself. ’‘Furthermore, where exactly are you?’’ The voice chuckled darkly as Discord finished speaking. He didn’t like this at all. ’‘Aren’t we being brave, hm?’’ The voice taunted him. Discord growled and scanned his surroundings for any signs of where the voice was coming from. ’‘You don’t have to look anywhere for me, as I’m in your mind. I am a part of you, after all...’’ Discord felt the air around him become colder for every passing moment. ’‘My intentions are not hostile, believe me.’’ Discord scoffed. He knew himself better than any living thing. One of the key factors was to be very careful to believe what he was saying. ’‘You probably want to take over our body and use it for your own benefits...’’ Discord growled. He heard an exasperated sigh coming from the back of his own mind. ’’I would usually do that, but I can’t do that if we don’t have a body to share anymore.’’ Discord noted that the voice sounded almost desperate, so he figured that the best thing was to listen on what it had to say. ’’It is crucial that you listen to every word that I say after this. Understood?’’ ’‘Fine. Understood.’’ Discord nodded. He had a really bad feeling about where this was going. He sat down and listened intently. ’‘Continue then.’’ He heard another sigh before the voice spoke up again. ’‘When you are being shielded from your Periculum through that necklace, you are endangering yourself in many ways. The Periculum is what made us strong and immortal.’’ The voice was actually sounding desperate now, even slightly sad. ’’Wh-.. What do you mean?’’ Discord bit his lip in anticipation. ’’We are dying. We are not immortal anymore as long as you’re wearing that necklace. At this moment, we have the same life-span as the Elements of Harmony.’’ The voice wavered as he mentioned dying. Discord knew why it was so stressed. Discord was horrified at the thought of dying. ’’L-Liar!’’ Discord splayed his ears back and backed towards the wall. His rump made contact with the luxurious stone wall. ’’I told you to listen to me! Why do you think we were so easily injured? It was not because of our new, weak body, it was because our immortal strength had been removed! We will die, unless you remove. The. Necklace!’’ The voice was now near panic, and that fact made Discord very uneasy. ’’H-How?’’ Discord’s voice was barely a whisper. He couldn’t stop worrying about the implications this would make between him and Luna. He wouldn’t have the heart to say to Luna that he was a mortal. ’‘You have to remove the necklace and turn back into a draconequus. This pony body is much too weak to hold the full Periculum. It would waste away into nothing after a few years.’’ Discord scowled. He didn’t mind having a pony body anymore, as he wasn’t stared at and shunned anymore by other ponies. His draconequus form just brought him much more attention and fear. ’‘Great...’’ Discord muttered. ’‘I’ll never get to catch a break in my entire life...’’ A hum of agreement came from the voice. ’’I know that Celestia is the only one who can release me. Brute force won’t work this time as she reinforced the outer shell of the necklace.’’ ’‘Then you must tell the princesses about it before it’s too late. Luna will not be happy and I am sure ’Ol Lady Buzzkill will be very skeptical.’’ Discord snortled at that statement, as that is probably exactly what Celestia would do. But telling Luna about it tonight would just destroy the entire evening for her, and she needed the fun that would be inevitable. ’‘I’ll tell them later.’’ Much later. He took a deep breath and continued his original walk down the corridor. Luna shouldn’t have to wait for him, and Discord could probably have a few good ideas for the decorations. ’‘Fine. I’ll remind you in my own way if you take too long to spill the beans.’’ With that, the presence disappeared without a trace of it being there the entire time. The air around Discord felt much lighter. He sighed and started trotting a little faster. ----- ’‘Can you believe that Twilight would actually do this? Without telling us?’’ Rarity harrumphed. ’‘Unbelievable! Somepony with a little more class should be Big Mac’s date for the Gala...’’ Rarity pouted and turned her attention back to finishing the last details on the dresses. ’’I was going to ask him, but then Big Mac asked Twilight first...’’ Fluttershy whispered harshly as she hoofed Rarity her pin-cushion. ’‘And then Discord...’’ Fluttershy said almost dreamily, which made Rarity arch an eyebrow at her pegasus friend. ’’I presume that we shouldn’t really blame Big Macintosh. Almost everything changed when that glorified rat retu-’’ ’‘You shouldn’t speak about things that you don’t understand, dear Rarity...’’ Discord growled as he walked inside the room where the ponies were working. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise and hid beneath a pile of discarded fabric. Rarity’s jaw dropped. ’‘Besides, I am not a rat. I am actually just pony, goat, deer, dragon, bat, lion, cockatrice and eagle. Get your facts straight before you open your trap.’’ He took a few warning steps toward Rarity while glaring straight into her eyes. Rarity backed away with every step forward he took. ’’I-uh... Buh... You... Mac... And...’’ Discord raised a swift hoof to silence the blabbering mare. Rarity snapped her mouth shut and sat down with her ears back. Fluttershy peeked at the situation escalating from beneath her haven. ’‘Let us take this from the beginning, then...’’ Discord walked around the room and took a good look at the intricate designs of the dresses Rarity had made. ’’I was minding my own business when Luna told me that a stallion was in need of my assistance. That stallion was no other than Big Macintosh.’’ He recapped the entire story of when he met and assisted Big Mac. Rarity didn’t say a single word during the whole story when Fluttershy giggled as he told them about hiding in the tree. ’’I gave them a push in the right direction and they’ve been handling it well so far.’’ ’’I still think that she could have told us...’’ Rarity pouted. She was backed up by Fluttershy, who nodded at her friend’s words. Discord facehoofed and mumbled something that the mares wasn’t able to pick up. ’’I think it’s a good thing that she didn’t tell any of you.’’ The mares gasped. ’‘Isn’t she a grown mare? She is, and that means that she can make decisions without asking for permission from bitchy, jealous friends.’’ Discord shook his head and turned around. ’’If I knew that it would be so easy to corrupt you all by adding a stallion, I would be king right now...’’ ’‘You dirty, horrible little f-’’ Rarity was interrupted by Discord whipping around and propelling himself to stand just in front of her. Discord lowered his head and stared right into Rarity’s azure eyes with his crimson ones. ’‘Say that again...’’ Discord pressed his head toward Rarity’s. ’‘Try your luck.’’ As Rarity whimpered and sat down onto her flank with a thump, Discord smirked and turned to walk away from the room. ’‘I know corruption. Jealousy is one of the first stages to become corrupted. Be happy for Twilight instead.’’ After his sentence was finished, Discord trotted out into the hallway and continued on his merry way to reach the ballroom. ’’I suppose he’s right.’’ Rarity sighed. ’’We should be happy for her instead of being jealous and mean.’’ Rarity leaved the fabrics off Fluttershy, who stood up and shook the dust off her body. ’‘But if it doesn’t work between them?’’ Fluttershy pondered aloud. ’‘Then he’s mine...’’ A manic grin embraced Rarity’s features. Fluttershy took a cautious step back away from her unicorn friend. Rarity rubbed her forehooves together. Oh, he would be hers. Forever. A soft chuckle escaped her. Fluttershy had pressed herself towards the wall to keep herself as far away from the now psychotic unicorn. ----- Discord was once again trotting through the corridors. He was humming quietly to himself as he rounded a corner. ’’Ah screw it...’’ He thought as he started singing without a valid reason. ’‘Oh Please excuse me I don’t meant to alarm, and certainly I mean you no physical harm, I’m just the reigning King of Chaos here to rock your world so just sit tight and let this little story unfurl~’’ Discord sang as he cantered down the hall. Many of the servants stared at him as he was on his way to meet Luna. ’’My mission is simple; neverending strife, I’ll worm into your heart and then I’ll cut like a knife.’’ He trotted up to one of the female servants and booped her on her muzzle as he sang. The servant rolled her eyes walked off to finish her work. ’’My intentions are clear so just surrender your will, I’m a predator and I’m going in for the kill.’’ ’‘Don’t hate me ‘cause I’m funny, don’t hate me ‘cause I’m beautiful, you should hate me ’cause I’m better then you.’’ He pointed his right hoof to a duo of Royal Guards. ’’I only want to party, I only want to play it cool. I’m beholden to seeing this through. I could trot around your little pony head, spreading white lies and whispers. I’m gonna tell you about your fickle pony friends.’’ A few of the guards started chasing the spirit, who just laughed and continued singing. ’‘Your rage is so hot, it blisters.’’ He turned around and scowled, making the guards skid to a halt. ’’I have your attention now, it’s futile to flee.’’ The Elements walked into the room to investigate what had caused such a commotion. Discord grinned. ’‘Your Elements of Harmony are worthless to me, so please, you can’t beat me just fire away. I’ll shrug it off and live to laugh another day.’’ Discord continued walking away, as the guards had returned to their posts. ’’My hatred and wisdom are a thousand years old, milennia trapped in stone and desolate cold.’’ Discord’s eyes narrowed. he trotted into the ball room and saw both Celestia and Luna discussing about something related to the Gala. Their attention snapped to the singing spirit. One in glee and one in exasparation. ’‘Your princess couldn’t save you, you have no hope. You’re hanging yourself, I’m just providing the rope.’’ Discord inhaled sharply and started bobbing his head. Luna and Pinkie Pie joined him soon after. ’‘Don’t hate me ‘cause I’m funny, don’t hate me ‘cause I’m beautiful, you should hate me ’cause I’m better then you.’’ Luna started laughing and Pinkie giggled the entire time. ’’I only want to party, I only want to play it cool. I’m beholden to seeing this through. I could trot around your little pony head, spreading white lies and whispers. I’m gonna tell you about your fickle pony friends. Your rage is so hot, it blisters.’’ As he finished singing, Discord whipped his head up and bowed. Almost everypony in the room stared at him with cocked eyebrows. ’‘Dramatic as always, I see...’’ Celestia remarked. Discord blew a childish raspberry in her direction, making Luna punch his shoulder. ’’At least I know when and how to appease a crowd, Shiny.’’ Discord rubbed his left hoof to the necklace. ’‘You know, just sitting on a throne all day isn’t really giving. You should try singing.’’ Discord grinned. ’‘Because me and Luna know that you aren’t a bad singer, after all.’’ Celestia’s eyes widened to what he was implying. She trotted to him and ushered him to move away from the crowd. ’‘How do you two know that..?’’ Her eyes narrowed as a threat, but Discord played it off. ’‘Let’s just say that when you sing in the shower, you forget to turn off the Overdrive on your royal pipes. What was that song you were singing yesterday...’’ He tapped a hoof to his chin. ’’Oh yes! Now I remember!’’ He cleared his throat. ’‘Tell me what you want, what you really, really wa-HRMFGH’’ Discord was interrupted by Celestia sticking her hoof into his open mouth. ’‘Shut. up.’’ Celestia seemed to be horrified, as her eyes were darting from side to side. She removed her hoof from his mouth and wiped it off on his right shoulder. ’’If you ever mention this again, I will make you into a statue myself.’’ Discord chuckled and shook his head as he trotted away from her. ’‘Whatever you say, Princess...’’ Celestia wasn’t sure if she should be worried or not about Discord saying anything, as she had no idea of what he could be planning. Discord however, was just thinking about how he was going to reveal Celestia’s embarassing secret. As he passed a mirror, he could have sworn that he saw the reflection of his old draconequus body staring in disapproval at him. He disregarded it as his mind playing tricks with him. He walked up to Luna and nuzzled her behind her left ear. Her ear twitched and Luna leaned toward him. ’‘I’m exhausted...’’ Luna drawled and yawned. She hadn’t had the time to rest much today as she had been working hard to finish the preparations for the Gala. ’‘You can go and rest. I’ll finish up down here.’’ Luna gave him a deadpan stare. ’’...Okay, maybe that wouldn’t be the best idea...’’ He muttered. Luna kissed his cheek and Discord chuckled. Discord noticed Rainbow Dash staring at him and Luna momentarily, until she looked away. ’‘Thank you for the offer, but I can do this. I’ll have plenty of time to rest later on.’’ Luna walked off to finish the last of her work. Discord bit his lip. He had to tell her about his mortality, but he couldn’t stand making her, or seeing her upset. It had to be done though, no matter what... ’‘Luna!’’ Discord shouted. Luna turned back toward him with an innocent smile. He had to tell her, but he couldn’t find the willpower to do so. ’’I... I’ll see you later...’’ Luna nodded and walked to one of her advisors. Discord sighed and turned around to leave with his head low. His gaze wandered over the Elements of Harmony, eventually landing on Twilight Sparkle, who was making herself busy by being as close to Big Mac as possible. ’’I have to tell somepony...’’ He said beneath his breath and started walking slowly to her. ’‘Twilight?’’ He had never used just her first name, so she was surprised just to hear him say that. ’’I...’’ He looked away from her and to the floor. ’’I need to talk to you, It’s... Urgent.’’ During the time he had spent as a pony, he would never have guessed that it would have ended with this. Twilight glanced to her friends, who were all looking at Discord with troubled expressions. They had never seen Discord this... troubled. She nodded and started walking to a door leading out into the garden area. The Spirit followed her close behind. As they were out of earshot of the ponies inside, Twilight turned to him. ’‘What do you have to talk to me about?’’ Twilight thought that never in a million years, she would ever be sympathetic to the Spirit of Disharmony. But here she was, being concerned for him. Discord took a deep breath and looked up into the sky. ’’My Periculum is nearly gone, and... this will cause some... Certain implications.’’ Discord sighed and sat down. ’’My entire being is becoming torn down from the inside.’’ He looked up at the confused eyes of the lavender unicorn. ’‘I’m... I’m dying, Twilight Sparkle.’’ Twilight’s jaw dropped as soon as he uttered those words. Discord looked miserable, and Twilight could do net to nothing to help him. ’’H-how?’’ She stammered. ’‘Remember what I told you about the draconeqi?’’ Twilight nodded. ’‘Good. Basically, we need our special brand of magic to survive. Without it, we die of old age.’’ Discord was close to breaking down at any moment. ’‘This... Necklace Celestia put on me to restrain my magic is what will end my life...’’ Discord’s shoulders slumped. Twilight walked carefully to him, not daring to do anything that could aggravate him. She sat down just in front of him. ’‘How... How much time do you have left?’’ Twilight asked carefully. Discord met her gaze with his own. This was the first time Twilight got to see just how old Discord really was. His eyes were ones who had seen lives come and go without being affected. ’’I have the normal life-span of a pony right now, but in order for me to survive...’’ Discord closed his eyes and turned his head away from her. ’’I have to become a draconequus again... This pony body can’t handle all that raw magic power.’’ ’‘Why didn’t you tell Luna?’’ Twilight sat down beside him. She felt bad for him right now, to be an immortal, and then have it all taken away from you... It must be a horrible feeling. Discord bit his lip. ’’I... I just couldn’t... She would be devastated, and I can’t do that to her. She lost me once already, and I can’t do that to her again. If they remove the necklace, I would most probably lose control and wreak havoc again.’’ Discord laid down and covered his head with his hooves. ’‘You have to tell Luna and Celestia! I’m sure that they could help in one way or another...’’ Twilight poked his left shoulder. ’’You can tell them later, but now we have to prepare ourselves for tonight. Come on!’’ Twilight levitated him onto his hooves. ’’Oh joy...’’ Discord muttered sarcastically. ’‘Lighten up, you don’t want to keep Luna waiting, do you~? Twilight sang. Discord rolled his eyes and started trudging to his room, where his suit was. Just before Twilight disappeared out of sight, Discord called after her. ’‘Twilight?’’ She turned towards him. ’‘Thanks... I really mean it. Thank you.’’ He smiled sheepishly. The bookworm smiled and saluted before she walked into the ball room again. Discord spread his wings and took off, heading straight for his room. With straight for his room, he meant flying around all of the castle towers at least four times and then flying to his room. ----- The Canterlot Castle was packed with guests who were there for the Gala, Everypony were wearing some kind of fancy clothing. This was an event truly for the elite. Everypony was mingling in the huge area which the Gala was in. Big Macintosh was in other words, very uncomfortable. He glanced nervously around the crowd. With his size, he could easily tower most of the ponies present at the gala. Normally, that would have been a good thing, but when he had to squeeze his way through the crowd to get where he wanted to be, a daintier size would have been much better. Twilight Sparkle was standing next to him the entire time while talking to some ponies he had never seen before. He was wearing a plain, black tuxedo with a white shirt and black tie. His hair had been combed properly. In a mare’s eyes, he would be a perfet date for an occasion like this. Twilight Sparkle was wearing a deep purple dress with dark lavender details. Her mane had been styled into a fashionable bun with a star-shaped pin. When Big Macintosh had seen her before they walked into the gala, he had been at loss of words and have been stuttering for a good five minutes. He had no idea where the rest of the girls hade left, but he had caught a glimpse of Applejack talking to a light-blue pegasus stallion with a dark blue mane. He had frowned immediately as he had noticed them. It was in the nature of being an older brother, after all. He had also seen Rainbow Dash talk with a yellow mare which Mac had understood to be a wonderbolt. A sudden tug on his sleeve made him look down at the mare looking up at him. ’‘Are you enjoying yourself?’’ Twilight asked expectantly. ’‘Ah’m tryin’ ta get used ta it... ’S so many ponies here an’ all...’’ He shuffled his hooves awkwardly. ’‘Ah’m not very good wi’ crowds, actually...’’ Mac muttered. Twilight nuzzled his shoulder in encouragement. ’‘Twily!’’ A stallion’s voice rose from the crowd and Twilight grinned. Mac looked around to search for the one who had spoken. He noticed a white unicorn stallion with a dark blue mane walking toward them. He was wearing a simple, red jacket with several badges. Walking next to him was a pink... alicorn? ’‘Shining!’’ Twilight squeaked and ran to the stallion. Mac stared at the two ponies in confusion as the pink alicorn came closer to him. Twilight nuzzled the stallion, who nuzzled bacl immediately. ’‘Shining, meet Big Macintosh. He’s... my date for tonight...’’ The stallion’s eyes narrowed and Mac gulped. ’‘Howdy.’’ He reached out with his left foreleg. Shining Armor grabbed his hoof with his own and shook it. ’‘Hey.’’ An awkward silence started, only to be interrupted by Cadance. The pink alicorn smiled and gave Twilight a hug. ’‘Nice to see you again, Twilight!’’ She lowered her head and whispered into the younger mare’s ear. ’‘You got yourself a real looker.’’ Cadence’s eyes wandered over Big Mac, who had begun talking with Shining. Twilight blushed at the alicorn’s remark. ’‘Nice to see you too, Cadance. And I know! He’s such a gentlecolt, too!’’ Twilight giggled like a schoolfilly with her former foalsitter. A fanfare coming from the staircase bought all of the ponies’ in the ball room’s attention. An advisor wearing a plain black tuxedo walked forward and adressed the crowd. ’‘Ladies and gentlecolts, I give you Her Royal Highness Princess Luna, and Lord Discord!’’ A murmur ran through the crowd as soon as Discord’s name was mentioned. Many of them in disapproval. The doors on the top of the staircase creaked open and out came the two aforementioned ponies. Many of the mares gasped and swooned as Discord stepped through the doorway. He was wearing a charcoal tuxedo with the sleeves rolled up. Beneath the tuxedo was a crimson shirt with a golden pin on the left side of his chest. A black tie hung loosely around his neck and on his head was a grey fedora with white stripes. A sly grin was on his face the entire time as he walked down the staircase. He could have sworn that he heard a few mares shout some rather... mature things they’d do with him. A few whistles echoed through the room as he turned around to see Luna come down the stairs. Collective gasps echoed through the room as Luna walked inside. A warm, fuzzy feeling escalated inside of his chest. Luna was wearing a midnight blue dress with metallic blue details. Her ethereal mane had been tied back in a pony tail which laid down her left side. On her hooves were silver horseshoes with diamond details. Discord could barely speak, even barely whisper as Luna came down to him and stood next to him. Luna giggled at Discord’s flabbergasted expression. ’‘Do you like what you see?’’ Luna battered her eyelashed and struck a pose. Discord felt a nosebleed coming on, but he shook his head and smiled. ’’Of course I do.’’ Discord chuckled and reached out with his right foreleg as an invitation. Luna giggled and grabbed his hoof with his own and they started their walk through the ballroom. Discord nodded in the direction of Shining Armor and Big Macintosh, when Luna smiled sheepishly to the Elements of Harmony. Rarity was staring at the duo with wide eyes. Luna sighed and leaned toward Discord. ’’I can’t imagine what would have happened if you wouldn’t have accepted Celestia’s proposition all those weeks ago...’’ Luna thought about it from time to time, but she always stopped herself as she didn’t want to think of how it would be without him. Discord, however was contemplating on how and when he would tell Luna about his predictament. It could wait. Luna had to have some fun tonight without being bothered, he would tell her after the Gala. But as of now? He was going to have some fun while he still could... A/N 2: Remember in the earlier chapters were Discord told Twilight about his periculum, and that's what made him an immortal? I've had this bit planned ever since and it will be a key factor in the sequel. If you have any questions regarding it, don't be afraid to ask. I'll do my best to answer it accordingly. See ya next time around!