//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Discord's Pride // by AkumaKami64 //------------------------------// With a flash of pink light, the large group of ponies found themselves back outside the Palace of Friendship. "It seems that there are fewer dark corners in the realm," Starswirl remarked, notably surprised by their lack of progress. "For once, I am rather pleased by a setback," Somnambula stated with a smile. "I can scarcely believe how much has changed for the better!" Flash Magnus chuckled good-naturedly. "We almost had to drag Meadow away from, what was it called? A Hospice?" he asked, looking to the modern ponies. "Hospital," Twilight corrected with a soft smile. "It is relieving to know such places are as common as you said," Meadowbrook stated to Fluttershy with a pleased look on her weary face. "And you wanted to see the part named after you," Mistmane couldn't help teasing, the earth pony blushing sheepishly. "I'm just confused by the Yaks," Starswirl admitted with a headshake. "I know for a fact scarcely any creature dwelled that far into the Frozen North, let alone an entire tribe of Yaks." "Oh, oh! Prince Rutherford told me they moved there from the OTHER side of the Frozen North after losing a lot of fights to...something," Pinkie Pie answered eagerly. "Something?" Rainbow questioned with a raised eyebrow. "They don't know if we have a word for them," Pinkie answered with a shrug. "But apparently, Yaks aren't sore losers. Most creatures get mad about being pushed out of their homelands, but the Yaks actually sound like they liked whoever they were fighting." "A short war between honorable warriors; If war can't be avoided, I'm at least happy when it is like that," Rockhoof mused solemnly before turning to the sole Alicorn of the group. "Tell me, Princess Twilight, do you or your companions know of any lands that we might still check?" Twilight looked between the ancient heroes before looking thoughtful. "Well, the Changeling Kingdom definitely doesn't count any more. I don't suppose the Pony of Shadows would try going to Tartarus or the Everfree?" "Hm!?" Starswirl suddenly rounded on her with wide eyes, startling her. "What's this about Castle Everfree?" "Oh, right, you probably lived there," Twilight realized nervously. "The Castle of the Two Sisters has been abandoned for just under a thousand years now, after Princess Celestia moved the capital," Sunburst answered in an attempt to be helpful, if apologetic. "It's gone? Just, left to rot?" Magnus asked, trying to hide how much that bothered him. "Well, there's still some dusty old ruins left," Rainbow answered tactlessly. "Why would they ever do that?" Mistmane questioned in confusion. "Were they invaded?" "No, nothing like that," Twilight answered, biting her cheek as she chose her words carefully. "There were a few cultural and economic incentives at the time for the move, but Princess Celestia told me it was...mainly to get away from old memories." "Sunny was always the more headstrong of the two. Still, I'm surprised Little Luna let her go through with that," Meadowbrook mused. "I fear I will need to have a long talk with my old students," Starswirl said, his tone heavy with something between knowing and sorrow. "I can only imagine what hardships they endured after we left, to leave behind their home." The former element bearers shared stealthy looks at one another, none sure how to bring up that particular subject. Or how to properly avoid it until the princesses could explain that very personal story themselves. "Returning to our goal? As wild as the Everfree could be, it is not the type of darkness our foe requires. And the Pony of Shadows would not risk being trapped within the accursed realm of Tartarus, no matter how much power it might bring him," Starswirl summarized grimly. "So, we should probably go tell Discord he's gotta get off his flank and find the varmint himself," Applejack said in exasperation. "I can hear the jabs now about having to do everything himself." "You all have a very...strange relationship with the Draconequus," Somnambula stated carefully. "Yeah, wait until they see him with the princesses," Rainbow said with a snicker. She went silent as Starswirl instinctively looked to her with a glare and a glowing horn. "I said that too loud," she realized with a gulp. "Why did you say it at all?!" Rarity hissed in a whisper. "What do you mean with my students?" Starswirl asked coldly. "Umm, Starswirl? Shouldn't we be worried about-" Rockhoof reminded with a relatively gentle tap on the withers. "The Pony of Shadows can wait," Starswirl stated flatly. "I-it's nothing like what you're thinking, I swear!" Twilight promised quickly, despite looking awkward. "Just, well, let's just say Discord is an interesting person to invite to a party." "That...somehow sounds more concerning," Mistmane pointed out, eyeing her comrade cautiously. "Starswirl, we'll have plenty of time to discuss many things with them, after we finished this." Starswirl took a deep breath as his horn lost power. "Yes, you're right, I shouldn't get too side tracked," he said in self-scolding before resigning himself. "I suppose we must apprise the Mad God of the situation." The group made their way inside, Starlight slowing her pace to walk with Fluttershy, silently motioning her to slow her pace a bit more. "You okay?" Starlight asked quietly, noting the displeased edge in Fluttershy's demeanor. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. I just wish they wouldn't call him that," Fluttershy answered. "Full honesty, are you sure he doesn't enjoy being called that?" Starlight asked skeptically. "I don't know. No one has ever called him that before, except as a joke. I just...don't like what it means when they say it," Fluttershy answered. "Well, a thousand and more years ago was yesterday from their perspective, and they did fight him back when was you know, full tyrant?" Starlight reminded. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't refute the point. "But that wasn't what I was referring to." "Oh? I'm sorry, what did you mean then?" Fluttershy asked in curious confusion. "Just that you, well, seem a lot less shocked by this than we did," Starlight noted with interest. "I mean, I get he's your friend, but after the fighting stopped, you barely seemed curious about why he's acting so differently." Fluttershy stared at her expectantly. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you're asking?" Starlight sighed, deciding to be straight forward. "Did you know he was going to do something like this?" Fluttershy glanced forward for an instance before returning her gaze to the unicorn. "Yes?" Until that moment, Starlight had never truly appreciated the saying "That raises more question than it answers!" like she did now. Starting with, why did it sound like a question? Whatever the case, she didn't have time to question Fluttershy further as they returned to the throne room, punctuated by the alarmed cry of Flash Magnus. "By the stars of an Ursa, what is that doing here!?" Starlight moved forward, raising an eyebrow at what the pegasus legionnaire was pointing to. There was Discord. And Discord. And another Discord. The replicates were not surprising, but the scene was rather amusing as all three of them were playing cards on the floor with Spike. "They're called cards, Flash, I'm pretty sure they had these back then," Middlecord answered flatly. "Got any threes?" Leftcord asked to Spike. "Naw, go fish," Spike answered before turning to the others. "Hey girls!...And guys. I think this the first time I've seen the group with more than one or two males," Spike said in amusement, looking at the newcomers curiously, while they watched him warily. "A talking baby dragon?" Starswirl noted curiously. "Is this some manifestation of yours, Discord?" "Funny, I was going to ask Twilight the same thing about you," Spike retorted flatly with his arms crossed. "Right down to the historically accurate number of bells." "Spike!" Twilight whined with an embarrassed blush. "No, folks, this scaly bag of sass in all natural," Rightcord answered in amusement before glaring to Leftcord. "Okay, I know you're lying now. Hand over the four." "You okay over there, buddy?" Rainbow asked, giving an odd look to Flash as his eyes glanced around warily. "Look, I'll glad play chicken with a full grown dragon, but the idea of upsetting a she-dragon's maternal instincts does worry me a bit," he stated wisely. "Maternal- oh, right, thousand years ago. Things were dicier with the Dragonlands back then," Starlight realized, scratching her mane. "Don't worry, ya'll. Spike's been a friend of ours for a long time now," Applejack assured sweetly. "Trust me, Spikey-Wikey is a true gentlecolt of a drake," Rarity praised with a smile, prompting a blush from the hatchling. "Ma'ams, with all due respect, I'm still wary about meeting his mother," Flash informed cautiously. Spike sighed at that. "Well, you won't have to worry about that. I-" "She's right over there," All three Discords said, pointing to Twilight. The Alicorn gave an almost Fluttershy-eep, blushing as the pillars regarded her with uncomprehending expressions. Spike just groaned, tossing his cards aside while running a claw over his face. "Come on, Discord, did you have to go there?" "Just this once, yes," Discord answered with a small smirk as his copies folded back into himself. "Huh, I actually wasn't cheating that time." "But did you have to do it NOW?!" Twilight asked, still feeling the stares. "I'm, sorry, but...you are the dragon's mother?" Meadowbrook asked slowly. "How does that even work?" Rockhoof asked, his eyes distant. "Can...can mares even lay eggs like that?" "AHAHAHA!" Pinkie Pie suddenly burst into laughter, Twilight glaring weakly only to find most of her friends trying and failing not to snicker or look amused. "S-sorry, Twilight, bu-but that was bucking funny as Tartarus!" Rainbow apologized, holding onto a giggling Fluttershy. "Oh, it's my teen years in Celestia's school all over again," Twilight mumbled, resisting every urge to hide…or teleport…or force Starlight to go back in time to stop this…or ask Discord to erase this from everyone's memories. "I didn't lay him, I just hatched his egg! And I'm more like his big sister." "The only reason I don't make more jokes is because you were like, what, ten when you hatched him?" Discord pointed out in amusement. "I've resisted so many Mama-jokes around you two." "There is a story here we will need to hear another time," Somnambula stated, even if she had to shake her head a few times to wrap her head around THAT little reveal. "Thank you, whoever you are," Spike stated with a relieved sigh. "I'm guessing you are all the old heroes Twilight and the others went out to save?" "And I'm going to guess Discord filled you in on the Pony of Shadows thing?" Starlight asked expectantly. "Yeah, after I got done catching him up on what me and Big Mac have been doing for Guy's Night while he's been out- well, he asked me not to spoil where he's been," Spike stated impishly. "..." The Pillars regarded the young creature oddly as Discord cleared his throat. "So, how'd sightseeing go?" "No Pony of Shadow, but I'm guessing you knew that?" Rainbow asked dryly. "I knew all the old spots you were going to have become popular in one way or another," Discord remarked without care. "Though, I figured out where he actually is while you were all out wasting your time." "You did?" most of the ponies asked in relieved interest. "You did?" Spike repeated. "When did you do that?" "While you were failing to bluff me," Discord answered in amusement. "Tell me, Twilight? Did you think it was a coincidence I chose to sit down right here?" "Right here? What do you-" Twilight stopped, only to gasp as she looked to her cutie mark, pulsing and glowing. Looking around, she saw the same was happening with Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. They and the others watched in fascination as magical copies of each of their cutie marks flew through the air, circling around one another, miniaturizing to float over an area of the map. "What did you do? Did you magi-jack the map?" Rainbow asked in bewilderment. "Can he do that?" Rarity quietly wondered. "I'm pretty sure he can put on a lightshow," Starlight remarked dryly. "Nothing like that. I just blocked the map's ability to signal you all until you got back. It's honestly not that hard," Discord stated, sounding truly unimpressed with his own work for once. "Wait, I'm confused," Rockhoof spoke up, staring with a furrowed brow at the magic map. "I thought this map was just, well, a magical projection of a map of the lands. Do you mean it tells you where to find evil forces?" he asked as Starswirl stroked his beard. "Less evil and more friendship problems in general," Spike answered, scratching his cheek thoughtfully. "Like send Pinkie and Rainbow to help the griffons get along, or Twilight and Fluttershy to end some feud between two big families." "Oh, oh, oh, don't forget it sent Starlight to help Celestia and Luna patch things up!" Pinkie Pie reminded. "I'm surprised that isn't a yearly event," Flash Magnus joked, Starswirl rolling his eyes before approaching the map. "Wait, what happened while I was gone?" Discord asked, his head perking up in interest. "Those two had a spat? And Starlight helped them?" he asked, his lips curling into a smirk as he gave the mare a knowing look. "What? What is it?" Starlight asked uneasily, looking side to side. "One of these days, you are going to tell me everything, in detail," he warned in amusement, before glancing to the bearded wizard studying the map. "What are you-" A set of stunned gasps drew the rest of the group's attention, prompting them to see Starswirl with his horn alight, and the map now replaced by a very familiar image. The Tree of Harmony. "Oh my," Fluttershy whispered in concern, glancing to her friend as he went stock still. "I thought this magic felt familiar," Starswirl remarked with a smirk of pride. "Oh buck," Starlight whispered with wide, terrified eyes as she saw Discord's tail tensing. "This map, and this very castle, are grown from the seed we planted a thousand years ago!" Starswirl declared, the faces of his comrades lighting up in joy and relief. Until a sound of shattering crystals drowned it out. Discord's form surged with wrathful power, dark purple magic dancing about him like a nightmarish hybrid between serpents and lightning. The very crystals of the walls and floor around him crackled with ominous fractures, slowly spreading like a spider-web as they glowed with an angry crimson. His glare was so intense, the very air grew hot as the sun upon a desert, as ancient fury reawakened from a long slumber. "Oh sweet Celestia, he didn't know!" Twilight said in startled realization as they all began to back away from him. "Buckbuckbuckbuck!" Rainbow repeated numbly, every instinct in her telling her to grab her friends and run for cover. "Wow! He really wasn't exaggerating," Spike realized, eyeing the cracks carefully. He knew for a fact, those crystals didn't break easily, be it to magic or dragon teeth. "What is wrong with him?!" Rockhoof asked, his own muscles coiling for a fight. "You...you ...you specks of trash created that infernal Weed!?" Discord demanded, his fists clenched so hard that static whiffs of Unreality began to seep into the air. "Mad God, MAD," Pinkie Pie stated, completely frozen as her mane went straight. Not from sadness, but from her pinkie sense literally shutting down due to an overload. "So much for him being on our side," Flash stated as he pulled out his shield, Discord appearing to loom over them all more and more. Fluttershy looked around in worry before scowling as she flew over to Discord, without fear. "Is she crazy?!" Mistmane said in disbelief as the pegasus hovered so close to the imminent explosion. Fluttershy studied him curiously. His hands were gripped tightly, his arms trembling, his tail twisted into an angry curl to squeeze nothing and his draconic foot was leaving a deeper and deeper set of prints in the floor. His nostrils were flared, eyes dilated with a gaze that was both here and far away. Every inch of him screamed to her of a predator. Not a hungry or scared, but one of pure rage. "Discord," she addressed, staring at him with keen yet friendly eyes. He didn't look to her, his unfaltering glare kept on the Pillars of Old Equestria. "You're really not doing this on purpose, are you?" A long burst of boiling steam erupted from his nostrils as an answer, thankfully not touching anypony before it dissipated. His form uncoiled some, the room cooling as the cracks ceased to spread; He released his lacerating grip on reality, allowing the whiff of nonexistence to fade back from whence they came. Everypony began to relax, if only a little, but still regarded Discord cautiously. "You...you okay there, big guy?" Applejack asked, swallowing to wet her dry throat. "Sorry, I usually have better control than this," Discord apologized insincerely as his empty smirk kept trying to tremble towards a snarl. "I'm just a little Absolutely Livid." "For what!? Nothing has changed, how did our supposed insignificance suddenly warrant your rage?" Somnambula demanded with a frown. A clear, visible breath moved in, then out of Discord's body as he regained his calm. "You're all lucky you're not worth my time," he warned, turning to return to his seat. "Discord," Fluttershy called in concern. "Not now, Fluttershy. Just, not right now," Discord interjected, somewhere between finality and urging, the embers of his rage still hot. "What is going on?" Rockhoof questioned in bewilderment, eyeing the Chaos God warily. "Oh, he might have just now figured out that you all created the thing that sealed him in stone for a thousand years," Pinkie Pie said with an uncertain smile. "Talk about awkward?" "Pinkamena." The party pony looked to Discord and shrank under his warning glare. "Shut. Up." Starswirl blinked as the words finally registered, his companions looking on numbly. "Our seed was even able to best you?" The instant Starswirl finished speaking, Discord froze, his eyes closed in concentration as he refused to dignify the wizard with another look. "Careful, Starswirl. Last time you all fought me, you could barely keep up." "That's not how I remember it," Flash Magnus said boldly. "I'll be more than happy to refresh your memories," Discord promised ominously. "Can we please stop provoking the draconequus?" Sunburst requested uneasily. Spike sniffed the air before whispering to the orange unicorn. "Did you soil your cloak?" "It all makes sense now," Starswirl said with a grim look about him. "I knew it could not be simple that mere companionship changed a villain of your nature. Of course one such as you, so accustomed to being untouchable, would scurry to your enemies once they finally possessed a weapon to match you." The moment Starswirl stopped talking, Discord's head snapped to him, his eyes pure red with rage. The Pillar of Sorcery instinctively raised a barrier, but was bitterly unsurprised when it didn't so much as slow down the attack. His magic shattered, and he was sent flying back by an invisible force. He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain in his gut as another spider-web of cracks emerged in the wall by the force that pinned him. All the while, Discord stood motionless, the power behind his glare crashing against the pony. "Starswirl!" the other pillars yelled as they sprang to attack the draconequus. He didn't even look at them. The very air grew heavy, forcing all Pegasi to the ground as all struggled to stand the sheer pressure. Except for Fluttershy, but even she could not stand to fly under the pressure. Sunburst and Meadowbrook collapsed completely, while Pinkie Pie was flopped over with swirling eyes. Rarity, Somnambula, and Mistmane sunk to their knees, while the rest looked only strained. "What IS this magic?!" Mistmane asked in distress, feeling an unseen weight upon her entire body, crushing inwards. A primal part of her mind screamed to flee, run, escape this terrible presence. It had been a long time since she felt such a thing…since any of the Old Pillars had. Then, just as suddenly, it stopped. All eyes turned to Discord, who eyes faded back to normal, but his face wore a cold, cruel smile. A smile all knew, save Starlight and Sunburst. The smile of the Tyrant. "Starswirl, before this is all over, you're going to be crying, like a filly," Discord prophesied with a gleam in his eyes. "And I will enjoy every moment of twisting the knife when you learn about what happened to your precious students." The bearded stallion's eyes grew wide, a thousand possibilities racing behind his eyes. "What did you do to them?" he asked, hardly registering he had spoken those words aloud. Discord's chuckle offered less warmth than the Frozen North, less comfort than the Bone Dry Desert. "Oh, little wizard. Nothing I did could compare to what they did to each other." The old stallion glared at him from against the wall, but held his tongue this time. The Lord of Chaos swept his eyes over to the lone Alicorn in the room, along with her friends. His friends. The echo of the villain he once was faded from his visage as he saw the side effects of his wrath. "Twilight, you all alright?" he asked, his red eyes tinged with some concern. "Y-yeah, I think so," Twilight answered nervously, glancing to her friends as they steadied themselves, shaking off the lingering pins and needles in their legs. "Phew, yeah, I'm...I'm good!" Pinkie Pie answered, still on the floor. "Just...waiting for the world to stop looking inside out." "Not to sound crass, but what the BUCK was that?" Rarity asked, wiping sweat from her brow. "Starswirl putting his hoof in his mouth, again. Almost as disastrous as the last time," Discord remarked, looking over to the damaged area of the throne room. He let out a long sigh at that, running a hand through his mane. "Sorry." Twilight should be either mad or terrified, she knew that. Still, all the same, it was rare Discord apologized so sincerely. Rarer still that she believed it wasn't his fault this time. "It's...alright, Discord. I don't think I've ever seen you that mad before." "I don't think I've been that mad before," Discord retorted ominously before turning to the door. "I'm going to deal with Stygian. I don't care who comes anymore. If you're not out there in ten minutes, you're not coming," he informed, pausing at the door. "I'll fix the place up when I'm done, Twilight." With that, he left, leaving an uncomfortable silence as the heroes of old and new regarded each other. Nopony expected another attack. Or the attacker. Starswirl grunted in pain, stumbling from his injuries, looking with a surprised glare to the mare whose hoof struck his face. "Why'd you go and do that for?" Rockhoof asked sternly as he pushed the mare back while Mistmane's horn glowed to help Starswirl defend himself if Starlight tried it again. Starlight ignored them as she leaned around the large Earth Pony, pointing a hoof at Starswirl. "What is WRONG with you?" Starlight asked with a deadpan expression. "Because you are by far the dumbest Master of Magic I have ever met!" "Starlight, stop!" Twilight interjected urgently. "No, Twilight! I don't care how hero-blind you are! That was just wrong!" Starlight interjected as she rounded on Starswirl again. "I don't care how wise and righteous you THINK you are, but you just made Discord look like a paragon of self-control compared to your fat mouth! You HAD to know you were provoking him, what good did you possibly think would come of that!" "I was just proving my point," Starswirl countered dismissively. "Discord obviously can't be trusted. I don't know why you bother acting as friends to him. The minute he finds a way around whatever safety measure you have against him, he'll turn on you!" "Been there, done that, Beardo," Rainbow called flatly. The silence was deafening. "W-what? What do you mean?" Somnambula asked uncomprehendingly. "Discord said-" "He was sealed in stone by the Elements, twice," Rarity informed in a neutral, civil tone. "Once by the Princesses a thousand years ago, and again by us nearly two years ago." "But we had to give up the Elements a while ago, putting them back in the Tree of Harmony," Applejack explained with a sigh. "And he didn't betray you?" Flash Magnus asked in disbelief. "Oh no, he definitely did," Pinkie Pie said with a grin. "You're not making any sense!" Starswirl declared angrily. "Why would you trust him if he's already broken it already!?" "Because we were idiots like you!" Everyone looked at Twilight in shock as she took a deep breath, glaring at her long time idol. "Oh thank you Twilight, finally," Starlight said in relief at her teacher suddenly taking the blinders off. "We released Discord, because we were supposed to try and befriend him! And guess what, it worked! Because Fluttershy, the kindest mare you will ever meet, refused to give up on him! It only failed because all of us never gave him a chance! Then, lo and behold, he turned villain MONTHS after we returned the Elements. Not for revenge, not for power, not even because he was bored! He could have done that at any time, by himself, if he wanted to! Instead, he went back to being a villain because he thought he found a friend that would like him to be himself, chaos and all!" Twilight ranted off, her friends half expecting flames to form on her mane. "All because we treated him like he was going to turn on us any second without SOMETHING hanging over his head, instead of giving him a good reason to want to NOT turn back into being the Mad God, as you just love to call him!" "How blind and naive are you!? All that does is prove my point: Once a villain, always a villain!" Starswirl argued back. Twilight stared at him for a moment before a very, very Discord-like thought came to her mind. She shouldn't say it and she knew it. Maybe she could disregard how Starswirl had treated all of her friends, the damage to her castle, and everything else if she just wasn't so...disappointed in meeting the stallion behind the legend. With that, she put on her best cold, neutral expression and delivered a simple message onto Starswirl. "I'll be sure to pass that along to Princess Luna." "Ohh, now that is cold," Spike whispered with a hiss as gasps, wide eyes, and awkward looks filled the room. Starswirl stood unmoving, his brow furrowed at some terrible truth that was being hinted at, something that he would loathe to discover. "Anypony notice that Fluttershy already left?" Pinkie Pie point out, trying to break the tension.