//------------------------------// // Chapter 231 - Forgiveness // Story: Dadonequus Discord (Book 2) // by CrazedLaughter //------------------------------// Just like before, Discord appears in a flash of light within the cutie map room of the castle. He was garbed in a fancy suit, top hat, and monocle over his right eye this time, wearing gloves as he set the basket with you in it gently on the map. “Ah, yes, Starlight, yes, hmmm, and Twilight too? Yes, quite, certainly. Wait…” Discord looks ahead to see that Twilight’s seat had neither Starlight nor Twilight sitting upon it. “Great, I wasted a good suit for nothing. How am I supposed to seem above such pitiful emotions such as ‘anger’ when I…” Discord suddenly winced when his gaze came upon Fluttershy’s seat, where Fluttershy herself was sitting, her cheeks full of tears, as she stared back at him. Had she been waiting there the entire time? Alone? “F-Fluttershy…” Discord suddenly humbled himself as his garb turned into oddly shaped soap bubbles and began to float off. “Ahrm, well, I… I’m glad to see you here.” He said, trying to regain his confidence. “Now, I can already tell what you’re thinking, and you’re wondering about Anon, right?” “I-I’m…” Fluttershy gulped, and sniffed as her tears began to run again. “I was scared for the both of you. D-Discord, I thought… I thought you wouldn’t calm down…” Discord wasn’t being flippant or simply shrugging off her words, he really did take her seriously, or as seriously as he could. He created a seat for himself to sit on, with a marking of chaos, and began to speak to her in a subdued manner. “I.. Erm, well, I suppose I did get a bit heated back there, thinking something was going to happen to Anon.” He said with a nervous chuckle, he then reached over to the basket and gave it a knock. “But I can assure you, Celestia and I came to an understanding within seconds. That’s why Anon is here, safe and sound.” That was your cue. You slowly lifted your head out of the basket, and looked towards Fluttershy. Dammit, she was obviously a wreck. This really was all your fault. You shouldn’t have reacted so damn hard. Your ears folded as you stared back at her, you felt ashamed of yourself for doing this to her. “A-aunt Fluttershy… I… I’m sorry…” Fluttershy had to wipe a tear, and she nearly smiled at not only the adorable and obvious display to cheer her up with cuteness, but also the fact you were safe and sound. But she was too worried still, even as she looked back at you. She slowly walked around the map until she stood next to Discord’s seat, her eyes never leaving yours. “Anon… I’m… I’m so happy nothing happened to you. Why? Why would you…” She couldn’t complete her sentence, even thinking about it shook her to her core. “Wait, Aunt Fluttershy, don’t cry!” You hopped out of the basket and ran towards her, your eyes flooding with tears as you jumped into her and hugged her as tightly as you could. “I just… I’m sorry! I am! I didn’t mean to worry anypony! I thought… I felt I didn’t deserve forgiveness. I put Yona in danger, and I didn’t even think about what I was doing that caused it! I just… I didn’t understand how anypony could forgive that.” “Fluttershy.” Discord said, with caution in his voice. “I…” Discord, as if having some introspective on the whole thing, stood up from his seat and hunched himself over in shame. “Anon, Fluttershy, I’m afraid I am the one at fault here. I let my whims get the best of me. Frankly, I didn’t even think Jimmy was that dangerous. I… Well, I have to admit that perhaps it was I who deserved punishment. I shouldn’t have kept somepony like him around when he posed such a risk of danger.” “Discord…” Fluttershy looked up at him, and shook her head. “I don’t want anypony to feel at fault, I want you both to learn. Especially you, Discord. You’re a father, you need to be more responsible, and set a better example for Anon. I-I know that may be difficult sometimes, but I know you, I know you can use chaos to teach and guide Anon as good as any other father in Equestria.” She wouldn’t stop hugging and holding you as she tried to calm herself down, and not let herself break down. “Discord… I know you can do it” “Well, erm…” Discord began to speak as he nervously reached over to rub the back of his head. “I… Suppose I’m well on my way on that. I did manage to instantly calm myself before arr- Well, upon meeting Celestia. As a mostly responsible father, I knew it wouldn’t be right to display such rage in front of Anon.” He said, looking at her and letting out a weak chuckle. “Look, I’ll be honest, and it does hurt to say that. But it also hurts to see you like this, knowing you’re emotionally wounded. I want to do better as well...” “Aunt Fluttershy, Dad’s right. I… My talk with Princess Celestia, she told me about how much others were forgiven, and that I need to better myself. I know I do, I need to stop being so reckless and dumb, being so cocky. I… I didn’t realize how irresponsible I really was until now. I didn’t even realize how my actions could set a bad example for ponies who look up to me. I took my powers for granted, powers that I know were bestowed to me to cause chaos, but not this kind of chaos. I promise to do better, I uhm… I cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye” “Anon…” Fluttershy held you up with her wings, and did her best to smile. “That’s… That’s all I wish for you, to be good, and kind, and not hurt others. To learn and grow. I’m so so glad Princess Celestia could see that in you, and gave you another chance. Anon…” Her smile began to fade, as her stare became a little more intense. “I… I… Please promise me something else, to not only do better, but to also take this more seriously. I never ever want to hear about something like this again.” She then looked to Discord. “Discord… You too… Please.” You looked up to Discord, who looked down at you and held out a cupcake. “Well… I suppose we should show her how serious we are. From the top, Anon.” And with that, both you and Discord made a Pinkie Promise, which really puts you down for two. You would never, and can never allow something like this to happen again. At this point, the three of you were slowly coming out of this emotional funk.  “Welp, that went a lot better than I could have hoped for.” Said a voice coming from the doors of the entrance hall. Discord was the first to look over, and of course, he immediately got annoyed. “Ah, the Twi-lite. Excuse me, but we’re having a moment.” “Discord!” Fluttershy snapped. “What did you just promise!?” “Agh! I… Mnngh.” Discord hunched over, and weakly waved towards Starlight. “Greetings, Starlight. It is good to see you.” “Uh, yeah. Sure.” Starlight said, as she looked unusually nervous. “Look, I know you guys are having a moment and all. But, uh, something didn’t quite go according to plan and I need to borrow Anon for a teeny tiny bit. D-don’t worry, we won’t be going far, I just need him.” “Starlight?” Fluttershy gently put you down, giving you a gentle pat before turning over to her. “What’s wrong? Whatever it is, can’t it wait?” “Um, er, no.” Starlight seemed to be growing increasingly nervous as time went on. “This is kind of important in a way only Anon can handle.” “‘In a way only Anon can handle’ she says, puh.” Discord said dismissively. “Allow me to take care of it then. That way I can prove that I can show what a good example is like.” “Ngh, look, nopony but Anon can deal with this right now. I promise it won’t take too long. I know the situation is really super serious and I told you to wait here for Anon and Discord in the first place. But trust me, I really REALLY need him right now.” Starlight looked like she was about to break into a sweat. “I promise, I really promise, he’ll be right back. Please.” What the hell could it be that had to interrupt a moment like this? You sighed, and looked at Fluttershy and Discord. “Aunt Fluttershy, Dad? Look, if Starlight says it’s gonna be fast, then I’ll be fast. It’s no sweat, and whatever this is, I need to fix it.” “Anon…” Fluttershy gave you a gentle hug again, and looked back at Starlight with a more serious look. “Starlight, p-please, bring him back soon.” “Ugh, I suppose I’ll go along with this too. Just remember, ‘father’s wrath’ and all that” Discord said, giving her a quick but very not-subtle death glare. “Er, right. Trust me, super quick.” Starlight quickly nabbed you with her magic and rushed back through the doors with you. Once she closed them, she gently placed you down, sighed, and gave you a sterner stare. “Anon… You’re so so lucky that I like you, because it is amazing the kind of patience it takes to deal with some of your problems.” Okay, that was suddenly kind of rude. But what the hell was she even talking about? What did you do? “What, is it Twilight?” “Uh, no, she’s probably still flying towards Canterlot thinking Discord turned Princess Celestia into a flyder, or something like that. No, this has to do with the fact that Yona told your other school friends what happened, and well, now you have a very certain one out there, demanding to see you, or else she’ll tell everypony your real secrets. I tried talking her down, but it’s kinda hard when she sorta kinda has a point about… Well, a lot of things about you.” Starlight said as you both walked down the entrance hall to the front door of the castle. Ocellus… “Yeah, I think I know who you’re talking about. And…” You couldn’t even fathom what she was thinking, you just knew that, most likely, she actually had enough of your shit. You had to wonder if the crusaders knew, Lyra and Bon Bon, or even Diamond. Dammit… “Yeah, okay, I’ll… I’ll handle it.” “Are you sure about that? You don’t sound too sure. I can’t help you with this, Anon, this is all you. The best I can do is go back out there and try to calm her down… Somehow. I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ocellus angry, ever.” Starlight said with concern in her voice. “I’m sure.” You nodded, trying to gather your thoughts. You wondered what she was thinking, how angry she was, how vengeful even. Yona forgave you, but Ocellus clearly didn’t. It came to you what it could be about. Silverstream she let slide, but Yona? No, she couldn’t let it slide twice, could she? “Alright, well… If you’re sure, then good luck, Anon.” Starlight said as she stood by the front door. “Yeah, thanks. Uh, Starlight, before I step out. Um, what do you think about the situation? Just tell me real quick, please.” You asked, looking at her with a solemn melancholy. “Short answer? Everypony is seriously being melodramatic. Also? Whatever it is Princess Celestia told you, I would have been harsher about it, because I know I’ve told you to be careful. But then I remember I nearly got us both blown up and I realized I pretty much did the same thing by not listening to Sunburst. And as I also understand it, it was kind of Discord’s fault too. So, just this one time, I’m only going to be a little mad at you and forgive you like everypony else. Also, you’re lucky Yona forgave you or this entire situation probably would have been a lot worse. Also also, we gotta talk about that spirit thing when this is over, because that irks me. Okay?” Starlight explained in a way that wasn’t a short answer at all. “O-okay then, erm, uh… Okay, I-I… Okay… I’m stepping out now.” You said with an awkward nod, stepping outside the castle. You could already see Ocellus, her eyes glistening from tears, yet full of anger, as she stood at the bottom of the steps to the doors. “Ocellus…” “Anon… How could you?” She said, trying to maintain her composure. “I’m not even going to argue with you, Ocellus. Because whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably right,” You said with a mournful sigh. “I screwed up really bad.” “You did. You did, and nearly got one of our friends hurt, again.  I-I tried, Anon. I tried to understand you, I was even thinking maybe Chrysalis deserves another chance. I wanted to believe in the words you told me. That you changed.” She began to leak tears, as she shook her head. “But of course, I was wrong. You… You don’t care who you hurt, you really don’t. You misuse your power, just like she did. The only difference is everypony forgives you because they think you’re a colt. Professor Fluttershy thinks you’re a human colt, but you’re not. I’m going to tell her, that way you understand that we’re not toys to you! Lying and cheating your way through your new life, without caring about the real creatures of Equestria! Our former captain, Anon… How could you even let him stay around when it was clear he was so dangerous? Why?” … … “Because, Ocellus, I’m an asshole. Maybe you don’t know what that means. But I think you do. I took my powers for granted, I thought I was pretty much invincible as I got stronger and got more charges on my horn. I could give you an excuse and say Discord is at fault too for giving your old captain so much power in the first place, but it was still my fault Yona got hurt. And I'm sorry about all of it.” You sighed, knowing how much you fucked up. “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” Ocellus sniffed, and wiped her eyes as her wings randomly flittered, she was clearly getting more upset as the conversation went on. “I hope you don’t expect me to feel sorry for you. I… I won’t. I can’t. I need to put an end to this, I need to tell her.” …So, this is how it actually ends, huh? Discord, you knew this would affect him too. Fluttershy, she’d be more than devastated, especially when she’d find out who also knew your secret. Something like this…  Diamond, the CMC, everyone really… The ripple effect would shred friendships apart. It shouldn’t have even gone on for so long in the first place. It was the one lie you had to ride out to the end… Well, this was the end. You looked at your horn, grabbed it, and threw on the ground next to Ocellus as you stepped aside. Ocellus looked down at it, she suddenly became confused by your actions. “W-what are you doing?” “You’re right, Ocellus. I fucked up, I risked Yona’s life due to my selfishness. So go ahead, do what you need to do. I’m not going to stop you.” You said, as you began to shiver. Even if you accepted your fate, it terrified you. This was it, this was the end. “You don’t think I’ll…” But Ocellus stopped herself, as she could sense it, true and utter fear emanating from your very soul, and the love for the friends and family you were about to lose. “Ngh, I… I… I know what you’re doing. I know you can manipulate your feelings!” … You just start to walk away. “W-where are you going?” Ocellus asked, even more confused. “It’s over, Ocellus, I know it is. I’m just gonna wander the forest. Nopony is going to care about me once you tell them.” You said, not even stopping your stride. Ocellus just stared on, then looked to the ground, to your horn. Unbeknownst to you, Starlight had tried to stop her by telling her what could happen once she told everyone your secret. She didn’t listen before, she didn’t care. But your overwhelming emotions, along with the ones she felt from Starlight, adding on to the fact that you threw down the only thing that could stop her. She began to think, about the lie, about what the truth could mean. In one sense, she felt telling the truth was the right thing. Yet, in an instance like this, would it not? Fluttershy would never trust Discord again, and she knew Starlight and Twilight and even the princesses knew, so what would that cause when some of their friends find out what they knew. She suddenly froze, and realized how vengeful she was being. That if she went through with this, she’d be no better…  Than her. Ocellus began to sob, standing there. She looked back down at the horn, and picked it up. She stared at it, stared at you as you walked away without ever looking back. She hated it, she hated herself for thinking such a dark thought. But what else could she think? She felt you couldn’t change, or maybe you refused to. And yet, those feelings, she wondered if you finally realized your wrongs. Even then, even as she thought maybe there was a good reason to tell, it was outweighed by all the negative outcomes.  It wasn’t in her, she couldn’t do that to everyone. No matter how justified she felt, she didn’t really want to hurt anyone. She had thought about it even further, how she snuck off like that to tell Fluttershy in the first place. She had told Yona she’d try to forgive you when Yona had explained to her what happened. But her anger, something she seldomly felt unless she was around you, had gotten the better of her.  And she hated it. Ocellus made her decision, and yelled out towards you. “Anon! Anon, wait! Please don’t go! I don’t want you to go! Please!” She then opened her wings, and zipped towards you. When you turned around, it didn’t take her long to hug onto you. You were astonished, really, you really weren’t expecting her to forgive you like that. “O-Ocellus?” “Don’t leave! Please! I don’t want to lose any friends, not one! Anon… I almost did it… I almost did something she’d do… I don’t want to.” She cried as she hugged tightly onto you. "It's too frightening to think about." Ocellus… God, you’re terrible. You made her cry. And she even gave you the chance you don’t deserve. Celestia was right, everyone is too forgiving. And… That’s alright… Because it gives you a chance to work towards changing for the better. You hug her back as gently as you could. “Shh, nah. You were just angry, that’s all. Look, I know I said Chrysalis is reformed, and I still believe that. But you’re not like her. And I mean that in a good way. Gonna tell you right now, if she was in your position right now, she probably would have just told Fluttershy. You, Ocellus… You got a way better heart than me and Chrysalis combined.” “Anon… I… Don’t say that. I still almost did it.” She whined, tears still pouring from her eyes. “And you know what? Like I said, I would have deserved it. I screwed up, Ocellus. And, well, the best I can do is beg you for one last chance. To prove I have finally learned from this. Please, will you give me that chance?” You asked, feeling tense, feeling remorse for what you’ve done to her. “I-I think I can… Councilor Starlight even thinks you deserve one, and the princesses, and Yona… I can too. But, Anon, please. We’re your friends, you have to stop using us like whenever you need something. I want to believe that, deep inside, you have just as good a heart as Professor Fluttershy says you have. Please, treat your friends as friends. I… I don’t ever want to feel like this again, I… I never want to feel hate again.” Ocellus said, shivering against you. “Yeah… Hey, I mean, do you know what a Pinkie Promise is” You asked, trying to lighten up the mood a little.   “Um, yes? Is that why you already have some cream around your eye?” Ocellus asked. “Um, yeah, I kinda made a couple already about this with Discord. But hey, what’s one more, right? Okay! So, cross my heart, and hope to fly! Stick a cupcake in myAGGGGGGGGH!” In your enthusiasm to cheer Ocellus up, you accidentally stick your hoof into your eye a little too hard and fall over, screaming in pain. “Anon?! Anon, why did you do that!?” Ocellus said, gasping in fright. “I don’t know! I forgot how huge our eyes are! OUR HOOVES ARE SMALLER THAN OUR EYES! AGH!” You screamed, rolling around in pain. “Ah! D-don’t worry, I can help! I can just… I think…!” Ocellus, horn still on her, places it on her head and immediately and accidentally casts the first thing on her mind. “Tear drops! I hope that works!” You did your best to calm down, not even knowing what she was talking about. When you managed to force your now reddened eye open, you saw straight above you something horrifying. “Oh shit…” A giant fist shaped tear dropped from the sky, literally punching you in the face and splattering onto the ground as it quickly dissipated.  The blow was so strong that it actually left you dazed and with a black eye. Ocellus, in shock, shouted in fright. “Anon! Are you okay!? I didn’t mean to do that!” That fist… If you had to guess, that spell she cast was literally her venting the final remnants of her rage into one watery punch, all without realizing it. Chaos be a cruel mistress indeed. You just raised your right forehoof straight in the air, and smiled, still dizzy. “I… I don’t know what that means.” Ocellus said. You stared at your hoof for a moment, then chuckled madly. “Oh right, I don’t have thumbs. Night night.” You said as you passed out.