//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Vengeful Justice // Story: Turmoil Rising // by JFT //------------------------------// Little was known about Gusty the Great, apart from what was known from the children’s book: a simple unicorn, whose exploration of the southern lands of their fledgling kingdom would have her come face to face with the dark emperor of the land she had trespassed on; she would, in the end, be the one responsible for stopping him from eradicating her kind and banishing him from existence. But beyond that, no other records existed about her further exploits or even what became of her in the end. At least, until now that is. To break the stalemate between him and his rebellious creation, Grogar had played his ace card. A magic sphere prison levitated next to him, containing the one pony who had managed to beat him, the first creature who, as he claimed, had shown Discord kindness. The Lord of Chaos was left speechless, but not so much the prisoners in the stone cage. “Wait... Gusty? AS IN GUSTY THE GREAT?! The hero from the story for children?! The living legend… here?!” were one of the many comments that mares and the dragon exclaimed. As for Discord himself, only two words escaped his mouth. “But… how…?” Grogar chuckled, as he pulled the orb closer to him, glancing at the mare inside who gave him a frightened look. “Oh, that is a story. The one who brought me back, the one who refers to herself as the Queen of Changelings, helped me catch up on the events that took place in the world since my “departure”. One thing she told me, in particular, was how she and her cohorts originally managed to acquire the bell.” “We know that already,” Pinkie Pie said, then took in a deep breath. “Princess Celestia and Luna decided to retire from more than a thousand years of ruling duties and responsibilities and have Twilight take her place, but Discord felt she didn’t have the confidence in herself to do it, so he recruited Chrysalis, broke Tirek and Cozy Glow out of prison, and brought back Sombra, all the while posing as you and tried to get all of them to work together as we would as friends, which eventually led him to reveal where the Bewitching Bell was hidden, and they worked together to retrieve it and then hid it from him until they inevitably betrayed him and using the artifact to power themselves up while stealing Discord’s magic away while he was still pretending to be you, which eventually led to an attack on Canterlot, and the battle where all of the creatures of Equestria and the lands surrounding it came together to defeat them.” Everybody was silent after the party planner stopped and inhaled loudly. “You know that much exposition really wasn’t necessary, Pinkie,” Spike told her. “Well summarized,” the old ram smirked, before glancing back at the Lord of Chaos. “It was really foolish of you, draconequus. So easily believing that the vile creatures you recruited would simply dance to your tune to the letter, just because you wanted, not even anticipating foul play nor thinking on double-checking if your pawns had done as you wanted. Which is a pity because if you had, you would’ve noticed not just the fact that the Bell was gone… but also noticed the one who erected the barrier that protected it.” Discord gave him a confused look. “But… the enchantment on the cave atop Mount Everhoof was erected through the power of the Bewitching Bell itself.” He nodded. “Exactly. And who was the last being that held it in possession?” “Well, Gusty did obviously,” he answered, “but what does this have to do with it?” A vile smile appeared on Grogar’s face, as he placed one of his hooves on top of the yellow prison sphere. “I told you, I always took precautions, that also includes the Bewitching Bell itself. I made sure that, as a last resort, if anyone had by some miracle removed my talisman from my grasp and tried to use the power it held for his own gain, it would trigger a spell that’s been cast upon it, trapping him in an unbreakable container, one which removes the prisoner out of the passage of time.” “Hold on now…” Applejack stopped him. “Are ya actually tellin’ us that Gusty has spent thousands upon thousands of moons locked inside that sphere?” “Oh yes,” said the old ram, and everybody else could just feel dreadful glee oozing out of him with what he continued. ”In her last attempt, in hopes that I would remain forgotten and my power never used again, she tried to bar the Bewitching Bell away atop the frozen mountain cave. Her final act of arrogance against me instead backfired, and the enchantment upon the Bell trapped her. And the spell could only be broken with the bell itself, one which was now inaccessible to her. Can you imagine? Having the key to the lock in front of your face, yet be unable to use it, sitting inside a small confined space, having nothing to do but observe the passage of time around you for countless eons, crying for help… yet nobody would answer it. One would go mad from experiencing something like this.” The scene was tense. The prisoners on the other side were both horrified by the description of one of the Equestrian hero’s final fate, and also seething with anger by how much the enemy enjoyed bragging about one’s misery. “A fitting end, for the one who dared to defy me,” Grogar proclaimed. “And that is what my associate told me was found atop the mountain where the Bell was hidden. So, after my return, I decided to see it for myself. And lo and behold, my most sworn enemy, in my grasp, at my mercy.” He playfully tapped the orb with his hoof a few times, offering Discord no amount of respite from worry. “What are you going to do with her?” draconequus asked in a trembling tone. The old ram regarded him. “Well, that depends entirely on you, draconequus. If you still care a great deal about her as you did back then, then I propose an exchange: willingly offer to surrender your chaos magic to me, and in exchange, I’ll hand her over to you.” “Hey! Stop right there!” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “What guarantees does he have that you’ll keep your end of the bargain, you old goat?!” Gorgar didn’t like the goat comment, giving her a stern look. “None whatsoever. But if he refuses, then I assure you all, I need not even lift a hoof and I can shrink her prison… but the prisoner won’t.” He just threatened the crush her down to size. And Discord believed it; he was cruel and ruthless enough to actually do it. “Well draconequus? What will it be? Your magic, or…” Grogar glanced down at the prisoner, his eyes meeting hers, “your friend?” There it was, the deal with the devil; choose one and abandon the other. And regardless of which he chose, the Father of Monsters would win regardless. The prisoners did not like the idea one way or another, but they didn’t dare voice their thoughts. Were they the ones whose safety was at stake they would’ve told the Lord of Chaos not to accept the deal, but it was somebody else’s life at stake now, somebody who only Discord himself personally knew. They couldn’t push him to sacrifice her, even if it meant preventing Grogar from taking his power. The more the draconequus thought about it, the more he came to realize he’s been outplayed completely. That’s why he was so overconfident the whole time: he knew it would come down to this. Then he took one look at him and a familiar feeling of dread came over him. The grizzled old ram’s indomitable will was exerting pressure upon him. He couldn’t win this. There was only one logical way out now… “I… I’ll give up my chaos magic, in exchange for her,” he sighed in complete defeat. The Father of Monsters grinned. “I told you, you would give it up willingly.” The mares and the dragon trapped behind stone bars couldn’t blame Discord for his decision. Even if his actions will likely bring a lot of harm to the world, they couldn’t simply sacrifice another’s life for it… especially when that someone was the legendary Gusty the Great. Grogar moved to the side of the sphere, keeping it close. His horns began to glow, the darkened light energy beginning to affect the Bewitching Bell, as it was raised and aiming directly at the Lord of Chaos. It rang. From the open bottom of the talisman, a dark vortex opened and a beam shot out, the artifact’s sinister magic beginning to draw in the energy from its target. A familiar yet different sensation came over Discord; the power drain felt just like it happened when Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow used it on him. Back then it was a moment of shock and panic, now, however, he felt a sense of inevitability and compliance. For the sake of another, he chose this, though it didn’t make it any more pleasant. The Bell finally stopped ringing and went quiet. As the last vestige of his power finally left him, a feeling he experienced only once before came over him; feeling weak from having his power drained he collapsed to the ground, before finally managing to raise on all fours. He saw the old ram standing tall and unmoving, looking down on him, still having the prison sphere by his side. “I… I did as you wanted,” he said in a weak tone, “now keep your promise and release her…” Grogar’s horns began to glow and he picked up the sphere, raising it to his eye level, looking at the prisoner inside, then turning his head to the draconequus who was pathetically begging. “Fair enough,” he said and dropped the orb to the ground. It rolled on the narrow stone bridge going straight down the middle, the pony inside being tossed about. And just when it reached the middle point it started to careen off course, to the side, slowly going towards the edge. Discord panicked. On all fours, he scurried as quickly as he could over the bridge to catch the sphere, and just before it rolled over the edge, he managed to grab hold of the magical prison and pulled it to himself into an embrace, sighing in relief. The sphere was cold to the touch, either as a result of being atop the frozen mountain for hundreds of years or because of the spell’s nature itself, it didn’t matter, as in a few moments the spell dissipated and he felt warm fur in his hands. He hugged her. Not for a moment has he ever believed he would get a chance again, yet there it was. His first and only friend he has ever known was safe and sound, and he didn’t want the sweet moment of reunion to end. “I’m so happy you’re safe and sound…” he told her. Gusty finally spoke in a soft silky voice as she nestled into Discord’s embrace. “Even after all this time… I should be angry at you for what you did… but I’m just glad to see you again, Draco.” One could hear the aww sounds coming from inside the cage. It was a really sweet moment. “Draco?” Spike wondered. “Why did she just call him that?” He suddenly felt a prod from Rarity, signaling him not to ruin it. “It’s probably the name with which she knew him as back then.” Returning to the moment outside, the two rocked together, while he apologized. “I’m so sorry, Gusty. Had I known, I would’ve been able to free you from the mountain sooner.” “That’s not what I’m talking about, Draco.” “Oh? What are you talking about then?” The mare raised her head and looked at him, face to face. “Draco, you know what I’m talking about, you don’t need to hide it in front of your other friends.” “Gusty, other than not saving you because I didn’t know you were trapped with Grogar’s Bell, I don’t know what you’re hinting at.” After he said that, the mare jumped out of his embrace and stood tall, addressing him with a stern voice. “Draco, this isn’t funny. What do you mean you don’t know?” “Well… that escalated quickly,” the dragon quipped, before getting to one of the bar openings and called out. “Discord, what is she talking about?!” Discord regarded them all. “I swear I dunno what she’s talking about! If I had done some wrong, I would’ve remembered!” Low, loud laughter followed; they all know that distinct tone by now, as it belonged to a grizzled old ram. “What’s so funny, Grogy?” Pinkie Pie asked disrespectfully. “Of course he doesn’t remember,” the old ram told them. “And you’ll soon understand why…” The Father of Monsters raised his hoof, reached up to his neck, and touched one of the golden runes on the Collar of Dominion, as he parted, he drew out a small yellow orb and held it aloft. “What is that?” Twilight asked. Grogar was more than happy to oblige. “A memory, my little pony. I found it after I received back my Bell. It was hidden inside, in hopes that none would ever be able to draw it out… but me.” “Whose memory’s it supposed to be then?” Applejack asked. The old ram simply motioned to the obvious target. “His. Oh, what horrible things he must have committed or experienced that he would want to forget.” Another voice came from the prison, this one belonging to Fluttershy. “Discord, what did you do?” “I… I swear I don’t know… I can’t remember,” was the only thing he could say while looking at Gusty, who kept looking increasingly angry. “Are you curious, little pony?” Grogar asked with a grin. “How about instead of just returning it to his owner, I show you all the crime that the filly over here is accusing her “friend” of committing?” He raised his hoof and the ball of light flew up in the air, and even though the strong wind was now blowing around them from the Nether Lands since the former Lord of Chaos destroyed the mountain ridge, it wouldn’t be disoriented. It stopped and then began to glow brightly, so much that everybody went blind. Dark corridors spread as far as the eye could see. It felt as if it was a memory of another world entirely. A shape scurried through as if it was trying to not be noticed, but even in the dim light, it could be recognized as a too-familiar patchwork of various animal parts. It was looking for something, but what? Then the sound of hooves began to echo in the distance, and the draconequus hid behind one of the pillars, trying to not get noticed. The hoof steps grew louder and as it passed, a gargantuan shape revealed itself, tall and imposing, its features difficult to discern, but the silhouette looked very familiar, especially with the red eyes glowing in the dark. “Okay… let’s hope this works,” Discord said to himself, as he gulped and jumped out from behind the pillar, to address the shape. “Father?” The darkened shape stopped, its head turned, and red eyes glancing to the back. Just the look alone made him quiver until he finally came closer and it became visible. The blue-furred ram with great horns and a bell around his neck towered over him. For some reason, the Lord of Chaos was very small, compared to his normal size, barely reaching to his knees. Grogar regarded one of his lowly creations. “What do you want, draconequus?” “Well,” his voice stumbled a bit, “remember that pony that seems to be constantly evading you?” The old ram stomped his hoof in anger, frightening him for a moment. “The sneaky little Gusty cannot hide from me for long, draconequus. I’ve sent numerous creatures out to hunt her down, checking every nook and crevice. I won’t let a snot-nosed little child get the better of me.” “Yeah… I don’t think it’s nooks and crannies you have to worry about when she’s hiding in plain sight.” The dark lord bent down to see one of his creations, face to face. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Discord had difficulty speaking, the overbearing presence was simply too much for him, but he knew if he said something wrong now it would end badly for him. “I… what I mean is, I know where she can be found.” “Where?” Grogar asked. The wind blew through the wide-open plains in the land where the sun rarely shined. Suddenly, a portal of dark light opened, and the draconequus and the old ram walked through. Discord felt a bit shaken; so far so good with what he had planned, but if he slips who knows what his maker will do to him. “Well?” the father asked. “Where is she?” The Lord of Chaos pointed into the distance. Nothing else was that way but mountainous hills. “Are you trying to convince me that they dug themselves into the rock, draconequus?” Grogar questioned him, a noticeable tone of suspicion and anger was in his voice. “No,” he explained, “the third one from the left is a fake. The unicorn ponies tore down the whole mountain to dig for precious gems and that’s where they built their village. That mountain is only an illusion that’s being projected by a group of powerful unicorn sorcerers. And if you follow the trail of their settlements it will eventually lead to where they came from.” Grogar grumbled to himself as he looked into the distance, stroking his beard. He closed his eyes and his horns began to glow. After a long moment, he finally opened them again. “I sense it… there’s a magical aura surrounding one of the mountain peaks. Had you not told me, I never would’ve found it.” There it was. Grogar now knew where Gusty’s village was and there was no turning back from it. But now that he knew, what will he do? His head turned to the small shape, his eye glancing at him, a smile curling upon his face. “Well done, draconequus,” he said. “Perhaps your existence does have some worth after all.” This was an unusual feeling. No snide remarks, spiteful words, or even noticeable anger in the tone of his voice. It almost sounded like genuine pride. The Father has never praised him for anything as far back as he could remember. It almost felt… good, satisfying even. Then he remembered why he’s doing this in the first place. Discord turned and started to march back to the portal. “Well, we best go back, Father. If you want to amass your armies we have to-“ The portal suddenly disappeared just before he entered it, the old ram speaking. “That won’t be necessary, draconequus.” “Wh… why?” he asked in concern. Grogar’s horns began to glow again and, in a moment, several dozen portals opened at his side in a line. Discord’s heart skipped several beats; things have suddenly turned the way that he didn’t anticipate. “I was wondering what you were up to, draconequus,” he grinned. “And if you were to waste my time, I decided to prepare a few hundred of your “elder siblings” to teach you not to trifle with your maker. But since you decided to reveal to me something worthwhile, I’m now going to use them to crush these elusive invaders to my realm and follow their trail to the source.” “What…?! But… but I... I mean…” the small creature’s tongue twisted. “I knew, draconequus,” Grogar spoke, “I already knew you were in connection with the little Gusty. Who else would’ve taken in and cared for a pathetic little creature like you, who’s not capable of harming anyone and can do nothing but constantly run to survive? I was just waiting to see what you were going to do next.” His heart nearly stopped beating right there and then. Discord’s attempt to deceive his maker had backfired. The old ram mused. “To betray the only one in the world who had ever cared for you, in order to please me… you truly are a monster after my own heart, draconequus. And it fills me with pride, knowing I may not have created a failure after all.” A pedestal made of earth suddenly rose beneath the Lord of Chaos and lifted him high above the ground. “Now,” Grogar finished, “sit back, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.” And with those words numerous shapes charged out of the portals, horrifying creations rushing forth towards the hills, spurred on by the Father of Monsters. Discord was horrified. This wasn’t part of the plan; this wasn’t supposed to happen! He had to go and warn Gusty before it was too late! He leaped over the edge of the pillar and sailed off. His flight was short, however, as the numerous winged beasts completely ignored him and bashed into him on the way to their target, knocking out of the air and into the overgrowth below. He finally regained his consciousness as the sunlight shined into his face. Then he remembered that only rarely has the sun shined in this land, so where was the source of light coming from? Then he remembered what he did, and as he looked to the hillside, he saw in horror as the illusion was gone and the entire place was alit like a pyre. No, it couldn’t be over yet. There must still be a chance that they survived! He flew as fast as he could, and by the time he finally reached his destination, all he could see were homes, completely demolished, and enveloped by flames. He panicked. This couldn’t be it! There’s got to be a chance that he missed her! But then his worry was set aside. He saw a familiar mare, facing towards the flames. “Gusty?!” he addressed her. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alright, Gusty. I was worried Grogar-“ “How?” he got cut off as she finally spoke, her gaze still looking at the flames, her back turned against him. “How did Grogar know to find this place?” He gulped. “W-well, you see Gusty, it’s like this-“ “Nopony from the village would have a reason to tell the being who wanted to destroy it where it stood. And the only other creature who knew where it was… was you,” the mare’s head finally turned, the single eye looking at draconequus, which embodied a sense of betrayal. “Draco… did you tell him?” She knew. She already knew he was the guilty one in this matter, she just wanted him to admit it personally. A lump came up in Discord’s throat, fearing to utter the word. “Yes, but it was for a good reason, you see-“ “HOW?!” Gusty finally fully turned to face him, her voice emitting pure anger. “HOW COULD BE GETTING YOUR MASTER TO DESTROY MY HOME BE PART OF A GOOD REASON?!” “It… it wasn’t supposed to go this way, I swear,” he tried to explain himself, “I planned to drag Father out of his seat of power, where he cannot draw on the full power of Tambelon and would be forced to rely on the power he has stored in his Bewitching Bell, giving you ponies a chance to depose him while he’s at his weakest… but to do that I had to give away where his most hated enemy is, so he would follow the trail to where the rest of the ponykind live.” “And for that, you chose to sacrifice MY village?! SACRIFICE ME?!” “No! I had every intention of warning you so you could all escape, but Father came ready beforehand-“ “THAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?! You chose to go with a plan you made up yourself without even consulting me in the first place, or thinking even for a moment how things could go wrong?!” “Gusty, please… I was just-“ he pleaded, but it would not be accepted. “NO! No apology or reasoning is going to make this better! My home’s been burnt to the ground! My friends and family that weren’t out in the field were taken by Grogar and his army, and now they’re making their way for the rest of Equestria, and they’re gonna burn down and destroy everything in the path!” “But-“ was the only and final word that he said, that she would ever hear from him again. “I never should’ve trusted you in the first place!” she said in a finality, tearing up. “YOU’RE A MONSTER JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER!!!” And with those spiteful words and tears in her eyes, she ran off to the road leading north of the burnt village. Discord was left all alone among the smoldering ruins, alone and abandoned. “I just wanted to help…” he told himself in a somber tone. The light faded and the memory was over. Nobody dared to open his mouth. The weight of what they just saw was just too heavy. No wonder their owner wanted to forget it. Which is why it didn’t surprise them at all that he was visibly shaking, now that the missing piece of his memory returned. “Discord… you…” Fluttershy’s voice slipped out, yet was quickly intervened by the receptor. “Guys, please, I swear, I never meant for things to go so badly wrong! You’ve seen it yourself, didn’t you?! Gusty, tell them-!“ A sharp pain interrupted the draconequus. A blunt force has decked him directly in the face, knocking him back to the ground. After the moment passed, he realized that he had a print of a hoof embedded on him now and it didn’t take long to realize that the one who delivered it stood right in front of him, with a visible look of disbelief on her face. “How dare you…” Gusty uttered, the tone of her voice slowly growing angry. “You took away your own memories just so you didn’t have to live with the burden of guilt for what you’ve done…?” Discord tried to speak. “Gusty, I-“ “HOW DARE YOU!” she finally exploded. “I spent hundreds of years locked away in a magical prison! Everypony I’ve ever known is gone and I was overjoyed knowing that at least you were still here and that you may have repented with the heavy burden of guilt on your shoulder, but instead you decided to just toss it away like it didn’t even matter!” She inched closer to Discord with every word uttered, and every time, he felt getting smaller and insignificant… worthless; to the point where she literally started to walk over him, to get close to his face. “Why did I even think for a moment that after all this time you’ve changed? You’re still a vile, evil, mean, lying, backstabbing, pointless, worthless, GOOD FOR NOTHING SLUUUUUUUUUG!!!” The final cry of centuries built-up frustration and desperation finally erupted, causing the draconequus’ heart to shatter to pieces. He simply didn’t have words to respond back; no excuse, clever quip, or anything, and the prisoners didn’t dare say a word either, they were about as shocked as they could be. The unicorn mare stood in his face as a living proof of how much his actions have hurt her. Suddenly she was enveloped in a dark aura, and to her surprise, she got lifted off the ground and taken back to the far side of the stone bridge, the one who cast the spell traipsing forward in turn. Discord saw Grogar approach with his horns glowing, and with every step he made, the sound of his hooves clacking against the stone ground got louder, his form growing bigger and imposing. It was only then that he finally realized the opposite was happening: he was actually shrinking. And by the time the old ram reached the draconequus, the former Lord of Chaos had shrunk to the height of his knees. The grizzled ram towered above him. “Now you once more fit the size that you feel you are.” “Grogar-“ Discord tried to speak, only to be silenced by the sudden angry stomp of the ram’s front hoof. “You will address me properly, draconequus,” he stated. Even though he was already huge compare to his size, he could still feel his former master’s presence grow to the point where everything around him turned dark, and in his weakened state, after what he’s just been put through, he simply no longer had to will to deny him any longer. “Yes… Father…” “Good,” Grogar smiled, enveloping “the child” in the aura of dark light, lifting him up to his face. “You’ve fulfilled your purpose, draconequus. You’re of no further use to me.” With those words, Discord got flung across the air, straight at the prison, and being shrunk to his size, he flew through the narrow stone bars. Seeing this, the yellow pegasus quickly reacted and intercepted his approach, catching him in her hooves. “Discord, are you okay?” she asked him. He didn’t respond, and she realized how stupid her question was. Of course he was not okay; he willingly gave up his powers to save somebody precious to him, and then that same being chewed him out. His spirit had been broken. He looked so helpless and vulnerable she couldn’t help herself but to hug him. Hoof steps echoed again, as the Father of Monsters turned and slowly made his way across the bridge. Fluttershy knew he was responsible for the very experience of misery her friend just had to go through. “How can you be so cruel?!” Fluttershy cried out. “All of the creatures you supposedly created fear you, so you’re clearly not treating them well. And Discord just gave everything he had to protect his first friend, but you still chose to belittle him after what he’s just been put through. You’re a monster!” The old ram stopped, turning his head back. “Flattery will not release you from prison, child.” “But I may,” another voice spoke. After that, the prisoners could see a bright light suddenly flicker in front of Grogar, who turned his face forward again to meet to one who spoke. Gusty stood before him defiantly, with her horn lit with green light, prepared to fight. “Yeah! Go get him, Gusty!” Rainbow Dash suddenly called out. “If there's anypony who can stop him it’s you!” And everybody else chipped in and started to cheer on her. If there was anyone who could still defy the Father of Monsters now, it was her. Grogar glanced towards the prison, and a subtle smile appeared on his face before he began to approach his adversary. The bright furred unicorn glared at him, she was prepared to unleash her attack against him the moment he acted out. Instead, however, she was met with words. “Put it away, child. You know full well you can’t beat me on your own.” “Maybe not,” she responded, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to make it as difficult for you as possible.” “If I wanted to destroy you, I would’ve already done so and I wouldn’t have to even lift a hoof.” “If that’s the case, then why don’t you?” she questioned him. “Because I want you to see a different perspective on your situation… or rather OUR situation.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” The old ram went past her, despite her threatening stance. “Believe it or not, but I bear no animosity against you. Not anymore. The world in which we faced off against one another has been long gone, and I’ve moved on.” “Even if that’s supposed to make sense, you’re still a monster, Grogar,” Gusty retorted. “Yes, I’m a monster,” the old ram admitted, “and so you can trust that I will do as a monster does. I may be violent, malevolent, and cruel, but what I am not… is a betrayer. But you already know who fits THAT description, don’t you?” “Get to the point, Grogar. What are you trying to tell me?” she asked in an annoyed tone. “What I’m asking, is that instead of bearing your fangs against me… you should join me instead,” he replied. “WHAT?!” the prison exploded with a loud noise. Nobody could believe that from two ancient enemies, one of them would suggest to the other to join forces. For both Twilight and Rainbow Dash, this felt like some really badly written fiction. At first, Gusty was baffled by the proposition and then got overcome with anger. “You… you’ve gone mad. Why in Equestria should I join the one who destroyed my village?!” “Of course I did. Your kind trespassed into my domain, and just like a beast I made sure that you got expelled from my territory,” Grogar began to circle around her, like a shark his prey. “But here’s the thing: I never would’ve been able to hurt you if your village had stayed hidden. I wasn’t the one who found it, but SOMEBODY revealed it to me.” His Father’s words finally awoke Discord from his stupor, when he realized where he was going with this. He jumped out of Fluttershy’s embraced and scurried over to the bars to see the events play out. “Your village... is gone because of HIM,” Grogar stated, his head nodding at the prison. “He was never given an order to track you and then reveal its location to me. He did that out of his own free will. He is a lowly creature that is despised even by other of my children because he was so small and weak. Naturally, you felt bad for him and gave him something he never received: generosity and compassion. And what did he do with them?” As Grogar spoke, the gang noticed something was happening. The longer he talked, the more the magic surrounding Gusty’s horn, which she was going to use to fight, began to fade. His words were actually getting to her? The draconequus also noticed it, and the worry in him grew. “He betrayed them both, Gusty,” the old ram continued. “Your kindness and generosity, they were tossed to the wind in a pathetic attempt to give you the smallest chance of stopping me. He didn’t even want to be saddle with the burden of guilt that his own actions had brought him. I’m still not sure how he managed to acquire the powers of chaos, but he used them to turn your homeland into his own personal playground, twice, before he was finally stopped… by them.” He once again nodded at the prison. Grogar was now talking about not just the events from more than a thousand years ago, but also the more recent ones, the ones in which the mares participated. He resumed. “He hurt them as well, Gusty. Yet despite that, they chose to be lenient with him at every turn. The beings in the cage over there are no longer your kind, Gusty. They do not understand like you do, that there are beings in the world who do things so irreversibly horrible that they do not DESERVE redemption in any form, that there must be consequences for one’s actions. They know of crimes he’s committed, yet they chose to turn a blind eye in hopes that “friendship” will cure it all away. There will be no justice delivered for what he had done, not just because they don’t understand… but because they REFUSE to understand. Those you knew ceased existing long ago, and those of your kind who live today, will not side with you.” The light in Gusty’s horn completely went out now, and as it did, Grogar gave the final ultimatum. “So I ask you now, Gusty, who do you trust more? An honest monster? Or a deceitful friend?” A moment passed and the unicorn traipsed slowly over the bridge towards the prison. She stopped halfway, letting the quiet moment linger for a bit before she finally addressed the prisoners inside. “Just answer me one question,” she asked, “has Draco ever knowingly decided to hurt you in an attempt to help you all?” If there was a pin that dropped, they could’ve heard it right now, so deafening was the silence that followed the question. They knew the only obvious answer, yet they couldn’t speak of it, not just because the answer will likely push the hero from the story into the arms of her sworn enemy, but after what Discord had just been put through, they couldn’t make themselves to walk all over him; not that it mattered as they saw him looking in their direction and could tell precisely what he was thinking. Even he knew the amount of burden he’s piled up on all of them. After the silence lingered for too long and noticing their interaction, it became apparent to Gusty what the answer was, even when they didn’t speak it. “I see… so that’s how it is…” She turned around and slowly began to walk back towards Grogar. “Gusty wait!” Applejack tried one last attempt to sway her away. “You have every right to be angry for what happened in the past but everypony deserves a second chance.” “Or maybe even a third one,” Fluttershy added. “Or fourth, or fifth, or sixth…” the party planner spoke. “PINKIE!” the other mares stopped her. “But it’s the truth.” Spike finally brought his voice to the matter. ”Gusty, this may be hard to believe, but in this day and age, you’re a hero to every filly and colt who’s read the book about your battle with Gogar. Don’t do this to them by joining the very thing you fought against!” And the voice of mares joined his, trying to desperately convince her not to do it. But no matter how hard they tried to reason with her, the stride in her walk wouldn’t be deterred; all of their pleas fell on deaf ears. The unicorn hero stopped in front of the old ram who towered well above her. “Do we have an accord then?” Grogar asked. “Gusty,” before she could answer, another voice beckoned her. She knew it all too well; it was silent for a while, but it did get to her, unlike others. The gang did not just hear him, they saw him: Discord was down on his knees, on all fours, desperately begging. “I know I’ve done many awful things in life and I’m so… so sorry. But I beg you, in the name of everything that is good in the world, for the sake of friendship that we once shared… please… don’t do this…” The silence lingered for a while, some being hopeful that things might change in direction than the trajectory it was going. But alas, it was not meant to be. “I’m sorry Draco,” she spoke in finality, not even bothering to look at her former friend, “but I’m a few centuries too old to care anymore…” A giant grin appeared on Grogar’s face. His horns began to glow and a giant portal of dark light opened behind him. He stepped to the side and gestured his new companion to enter. Gusty the Great only gave a single glance at the prisoners, and then without a second of waiting, entered the portal. At that precise moment, something broke inside draconequus. He fell to the side, curled up in a fetal position, and began to moan loudly, tears coming out like waterworks. Everybody else was shaken by what they just witnessed as well; a hero of Equestria’s distant history just willingly sided with the very evil she once fought. They couldn’t even begin to imagine what their shrunken friend must be going through. “Oh, you poor thing…” Fluttershy felt the worst for him, so she scooped him up in her hooves and hugged him. Grogar observed for a moment, as the sounds of sobbing and wailing came from the prison. He hmphed to himself and ordered his shrunken monsters to scurry into the portal. Twilight, despite being forced to observe the scene on the other side of the bars, heard the commotion outside and saw him leave. “GROGAR!” she called out, garnering her friend’s attention, while the old ram stopped dead in his tracks at the threshold of the portal. “It doesn’t matter if you leave us locked in here, sooner or later, we’ll get out and get you. I swear!” The Father of Monsters paused before turning his head at the princess and speaking. “Perhaps… but that doesn’t mean I won’t make it any less hard for you.” He raised one of his back hooves, it began to glow in a dark aura, and swiftly stomped the ground, sending a shockwave all around him. Suddenly, there was a breaking sound, as if something had just split in an instant. Rarity then noticed a clear straight line being drawn where Grogar had just smashed his hoof; his action had cut right through the stone bridge that was connecting the cavern with the stone prison, and with one of the only two pieces of support that held up the prison from being broken, the remaining one couldn’t hold up the mass on its own, and it began to crumble under its weight. The prison heaved backward, causing the gang to slide all the way in the back, then forward, having them slide right back into the bars, and then the entire prison cell simply slid off from its only support beam, falling into the dark abyss below. Grogar listened to the sound of breaking rocks from the depths. Believing his work was complete, he let out a short cackle and then entered the portal, which closed behind him. The place was left calm, however, the cutting wind that blew from the Nether Lands, without a surface to grind against, were left to howl.