//------------------------------// // Ally // Story: A Pony's Sympathy // by Ckat_Myla //------------------------------// Discord was only briefly knocked off his feet. He’d been caught off-guard by Rainbow’s aggressive charge, but almost immediately after he had hit the ground – once he’d figured out what hit him – there was a flash of light and Discord was back up again, Dash now suddenly leering down at the ground behind Twilight. Rainbow blinked as she looked back up, and then snorted with anger as she prepared to take another flying leap. She was again halted mid-leap by her friends, Applejack and Rarity this time blocking her way, much to her indignation. “Ugh, move over and let me at him! You all saw him trap her too, right?” she groaned as AJ had to practically sit on her to keep her from moving. “Yes Rainbow Dash, we did,” Rarity answered her. “And believe me; the more aggressive side of me wants nothing more than to do what you just did. But if anything is going to be done about him, it should be done by all of us together.” “Plus if ya’ll were paying attention, it didn’t look like he did anything to her,” Applejack said from atop the pegasus, though she sounded like she had her suspicions. While this was happening, Twilight was able to push her way to the front, now standing between them and the draconequus. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stood closer to her than the others, but all still remained tense, worried for her, and wary of him. “So Twi,” AJ called to her once it was assured that Rainbow couldn’t try and tear off one of Discord’s miss-matched limbs herself. “You got your wish; ya had your little discussion. Tha thing is though we couldn’t hear anything ya’ll were saying. Could ya fill us in?” “I think we’re all very curious to hear that as well,” Rarity said. Twilight’s ears drooped a little as all eyes fell back on her. She collected her thoughts, trying to find a way to explain the conclusion they had come to. “While Twilight’s explaining, can I try out that pinball machine?” Pinkie asked, momentarily distracted by the shiny game box a few feet away. She was met with an annoyed look from AJ that caused her to shrink a bit. “…or, maybe later.” As Pinkie re-focused, the purple unicorn tried to find a good place to begin. She turned briefly to glance at Discord, who had been uncharacteristically silent. He was sitting again, which she hoped meant that he was going to let her do the talking, however she found the bag of popcorn he was munching on to be a bit much. When Twilight’s gaze drifted back to her friends, it seemed to absentmindedly land on Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was looking cautious as ever, but it reminded Twilight of that night when she had revealed to her friend the thoughts that had been eating away at her. Of course, she was still the only one who knew how Discord’s words had struck her. No matter how they might react, her other friends did have a right to know more, they needed to be involved in the decision-making process. Rarity was absolutely right; if something was to be done they’d need to do it together. So, Twilight began with a tone not-entirely dissimilar to the one she had used when voicing her proposition to Discord in the dome, deciding to start at the beginning with a brief recap. “You all know that I spoke with Discord when I found him in the Everfree, that I tried to reason with him before he escaped. The short version of that conversation you know, that he tried to explain to me how his brand of chaos ‘wasn’t that bad’ and in some cases could be beneficial. He said what he did actually kept the balance, and I know now that that is actually right.” She thought once more back to Harmony in the memory Princess Celestia had shown her. The Great Pony’s name had become synonymous with order in the same way Discord’s had with chaos, but from what she had culminated it wasn’t…at least not entirely. “I’ve been over and over this in my head so many times, fighting with this idea of balance as opposed to order-only as the true synonym for harmony. However – and I know it’s strange to hear – but that’s the conclusion I am being drawn to.” “You mean to say that soap roads and jackalopes help to retain the balance?” Rarity asked skeptically. “Well, sort of…indirectly,” Twilight answered. “That seems to be just the type of thing he does for fun. The beneficial things Discord brings are harder to see I think.” “Much harder,” AJ muttered, but Twilight continued. “There are things during the course of our lives that we just can’t plan for, as much as we try to prevent the unexpected,” she felt she was grasping a bit, but Discord had done a good job at being as vague as possible about giving any actual examples of his part in the balance. Twilight wondered for a second whether or not he’d done that on purpose, to see how close she could get on her own. “And even sometimes, the things that blindside us and take us by surprise actually end up aiding us. Facing something we never imagined can help us to come out stronger and with a better understanding of ourselves.” “Well, it isn’t as if he orchestrates grand tests upon ponies all the time,” Rarity said. It was a fair point, and Twilight still hadn’t gotten a concrete answer on that whole thing either. “That may be giving him a little too much credit, but if we accept that way of thinking, then a small amount of the messes in life – chaos reigned-in – should be allowed to exist, and it seems it will whether or not the physical embodiment of it is around. Because random and chaotic things have happened during all the time he was sealed away. I know - and still believe - that chaos run rampant is a harmful thing, but in a sense the same might be said for order gone to the extreme.” The purple pony paused to take a breath, and let her friends absorb her words. Most of them looked conflicted, and at least two still looked suspicious, but at least they were all listening. “I guess…it keeps life interesting?” Pinkie spoke up, trying to follow along on board Twilight’s train of thought. “That’s part of it, I think,” Twilight agreed, glad enough for Pinkie’s encouraging statement to smile for a moment. Thinking quickly, she turned to face Discord again, her face growing stern. “Then again, order seems to know where to draw the line,” she added significantly. She wanted to make sure that Discord knew that she was not merely siding with him completely. “So ya think we should just let him go on as he pleases because of this whole ‘balance’ thing?” Applejack asked. “Not entirely,” Twilight said. “I thought that maybe – if I could find a way to discuss it with him – that some sort of…arrangement could be made.” “That’s why ya were so keen on tryin’ to talk to him, then?” “Yes, for the most part,” she felt a tad awkward again as she thought of her more personal reasons for wanting to talk to him. “I also had some questions for him, and it was those answers that have led me to trust him.” “What kinds of questions?” Rainbow managed to ask still pinned under AJ’s rear. Twilight was hoping that wouldn’t be asked, but she managed to find a roundabout way of explaining. “I-I needed to know about some of the other things he mentioned before, what he meant by them. He seems to find his imprisonment worse than death, and that’s most likely why he’s been avoiding every pony. Our elements are representations of what it takes to be a true friend, and they are part of the founding blocks of our whole society. We are always encouraged to extend those elements to every pony, no matter how they may act towards us. I agree that Discord’s original punishment served its purpose, and that long ago he may have been little more than a monster to the ponies of this world, but long ago he had never even considered that the bonds that the ponies have…that the elements were so strong. Not just as weapons to rival him, but as things to enhance one’s life.” Twilight had certainly expected the looks she was receiving from nearly every pony now. “And ya think that he understands them now?” Applejack again showed her knack for asking what the whole group wished to. She became considerably more aware of Discord watching her from behind then, but she didn’t turn her head. He was sincere, she reminded herself. He was actually afraid enough to keep away from us, and to wonder whether or not I had been lying to him. He also trusts me…all of that has to count for something. “I think…he could.” Twilight said slowly. “It’s hard I know, to think of Discord as a being who in any small way could be capable of seeing – much less experiencing – the magic that we share that is friendship. I do like to think though, that since he has shared with me his own thoughts, and agreed to go along with my idea for helping him – accepting that help – that all of that means that he is capable.” She nearly jumped from the jolt she felt as Discord spoke up behind her. “Oh Twilight, now you’re going to make me blush,” she whipped her head around to see him pretending to hide his face. “I might have gone about as red as you were the other night.” The unicorn gave him a wide-eyed look of irritation, sliding her hoof quickly across her mouth to convey that he very much needed to zip his lips, though she felt her face warming in spite of herself. Did he have to bring that up again when she was trying to help him? “Oh, and there it is again!” he gestured to her face animatedly. It was probably more than she could hope that her friends didn’t notice as well, and Twilight made a mental note to find a spell that would make blushing undetectable on her face when she got home. Turning back to her friends and giving a sigh to possibly banish her frustration, she tried to get back to explaining. All still stood listening, even if some of them no longer looked as receptive as they had been at the beginning. “So, that leaves us with the moral quandary of whether it is just or not to lock a being away in a frozen horror for another thousand years.” Judging by their faces, that didn’t seem like such a terribly tough decision to at least three of Twilight’s friends. “It would be so easy to do that, believe me I know. I haven’t forgotten what he did to us, even if we could eventually overcome it. No…it will take me a very long time to forget, and even though we know we should, it’s extremely hard to forgive. I would like to give him a chance, and I hope that you could at least entertain the idea of doing the same…or at least following my lead as far as what I want his punishment to be.” Another pause as Twilight concluded, and she felt once more her words seeming to hang over them, waiting for some pony else to speak up. “You have really managed to come to a decision…something that he’s actually agreed to?” Rarity asked, still looking doubtful, her eyes flicking up to Discord as she mentioned him. “He’s agreed to whatever I decide on,” Twilight stated. “I wanted to ask you all your thoughts. I’ve shared with you how I feel, but we need to make this choice together.” “What would be your way, if we chose against freezing him again?” Fluttershy asked. This was helpful; it didn’t seem that any pony was as willing to ask this time. “We could somehow find a way to keep him separate from every pony,” Twilight said. She tried to sound convincing, though she was still putting the pieces of her plan together herself. “In part from his promise, but mostly from some sort of…some sort of magical border.” Applejack’s disbelieving frown became more pronounced as she spoke up again, talking to Twilight but not taking her eyes off Discord. “An’ how do we know that we can trust him to keep his promise, or to not get bored one day an’ break those magic borders of yours down jus’ for the fun of it?” “I’m willing to trust that he won’t…and you can trust me, right? I can make as certain as possible that no harm will come to any pony in any case.” “Uh, not to badmouth your magic skills Twilight, but we’re supposed to just accept that he won’t do anything to us and that you’re gonna be able to keep him in line? Forgive me if I find all that sorta hard to believe,” Rainbow Dash joined in. “I believe you, Twilight,’ came Pinkie Pie’s emphatic voice after a moment. Her unflinchingly honest concurrence caused Applejack and Rainbow to throw her incredulous looks, which she caught with a blink of surprise. “…what, that was a really good speech!” she answered their questioning faces. “I’m not saying that I’ll be able to keep him bound to his promise alone,” the purple unicorn said. “It would take the combined power of the Elements to do that. The rest of it I guess just boils down to trust.” “Darling, I am attempting to understand all of this,” Rarity came to her feet slowly, speaking with apprehension. “You mentioned that you no longer felt that we should lock him away again. I think you really believe that this is right, and that he is worth the chance, but you must understand also how we can have such difficulty with that.” “Especially since he’s not exactly makin’ this promise himself, lettin’ you do all the talking,” AJ pointed out. “If he’s agreed to it, than why won’t he pony-up and show us something to back ya’ll up?” “I think what Applejack means is that some proof on his part is in order,” the white pony added. She had told Discord this would happen. Even if she got them to listen, they were all still too guarded about this whole strange scenario. They were going to need some proof from him, some sort of…something. They were all thinking it; it was etched on all of their faces, even evident in Fluttershy’s timid eyes. The unicorn really didn’t know what to tell them, this was the part where she had to trust that he would to the right thing – as she was trying to do – even though it wasn’t easy. Unease crept back into their midst as the ponies all looked to her, and then back up to Discord. Twilight turned as well to look up at him, and for a few moments it looked to her as if he might just change his mind, that or he didn’t have anything to show his sincerity. It was almost like a stand-off of wills, as she waited with the others for him to say, do, or give them something that she knew he didn’t want to. To Twilight’s relief though, he ultimately caved. “Fine, fine. I was holding off on doing this, but I assumed that Twilight was merely underestimating your capacity to believe me.” Discord sighed indignantly. It was clear that he did not enjoy having to prove himself to any pony, but if he had some sort of idea, then Twilight was glad. “She said you’d need convincing, but I didn’t think it would come to this.” He sank back to the unicorn’s eye level, gingerly reaching out to hold her face in his paw. As he closed his eyes and gently pulled her an inch or so closer, Twilight felt this was all-too familiar. Her gaze swiftly flicked from her friends back to him, for one embarrassing moment fearing he was actually going to kiss her again right in front of them. She gave an inward sigh of relief when instead Discord slowly lifted his claw to touch the tip of her horn. Even as he was concentrating, he still looked as if he was reluctantly forcing himself to perform some sort of chore, and only after did that make any sense at all. When his claw made contact, her horn began to glow, and Twilight shut her eyes too… because at that moment an enormously heavy weight seemed to have been placed on her head. She strained under the force of the weight, fighting to keep herself standing as it sank lower, feeling like it was trying to lower itself inside her head. She had no idea what the sensation was about, but the purple pony was quickly exhausting herself trying to fight it. She was almost to the point of losing consciousness before she finally gave in, letting whatever this heavy force was enter her mind. Once she allowed it, she no longer felt as strained. Then when Discord finally removed his claw from her, Twilight staggered, woozy from the whole experience. The new weight she had felt wasn’t helping her balance either, but that was ebbing slowly. When she was finally able to remain upright, she looked back up at the draconequus, eyes still focusing. Applejack and Rainbow Dash rushed up and pulled her closer to the group and away from Discord, both still staring daggers at him. “What did you do to her?” Rainbow shouted. She and AJ now stood protectively in front of her, all of her friends closing ranks around Twilight. Fluttershy inspected the unicorn, and she tried to protest, but it was still difficult with the strange weariness to form words. “Something…I didn’t think I’d ever do,” Discord answered, sounding winded and looking a bit weary himself from whatever he’d done. It hadn’t knocked him as hard as Twilight, but none of the ponies believed they had ever seen the spirit of chaos need to stop and catch his breath before. “That…was a portion of my power, given freely over to you. Kudos to you Twilight, for being able to withstand it, not every pony can. Though not entirely surprising.” Still somewhat dizzy Twilight absorbed that explanation from the center of her protective circle of friends. So, that’s what the weight had been about. Though she couldn’t see the others’ reactions to this - Fluttershy seemed more concerned with making sure she wasn’t seriously hurt from the exchange - Rarity was the next closest, and she appeared to be all but dumbfounded. “A portion of yo- why would you do such a thing?” the white unicorn inquired disbelievingly, glancing from where Twilight lay back up to Discord. “Perhaps so you ponies might finally believe her,” he grumbled, rubbing his head as if what he’d done had also given him a splitting headache. “What, did you think I wanted to do that? Honestly, I could care less what you think of me, I was never under the assumption that you’d believe me if I had said any of that myself. But I was under the impression that you trusted those you counted as friends, being there for them and believing them and all that other Magic of Friendship garbage you keep yakking on about.” “Don’t you even try and explain anything about friendship to us!” Rainbow shouted. “And we are being there for her, we’re going to protect her – and every pony else – from you! I’m not trusting anything you say after you lured Twilight into a trap and just did something weird and magicy to her…oh, and you took her magic!” “No, he just…he just blocked it,” Twilight tried to interject as she attempted to stand, only to stumble and land practically on top of Fluttershy. Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as her other friends closed ranks around her. If the majority of her friends believed her about him, they weren’t showing much sign now. They possibly could have taken Discord’s actions as they were, but they were reasonably worried about their friend, and the evidence against him was mounting. Indeed, it was obvious that his sacrifice of power was having the opposite affect that was intended. Rarity still seemed to be processing what Discord had done. She continued to look concernedly at Twilight being helped back up by Fluttershy, and it seemed that his words were difficult for the white unicorn to swallow as truth. Two in their number seemed to have their minds made up, however. Grouping around Twilight, the others listened as Rainbow gave a hushed cry for retaliation. “I say we zap him now, while he’s weakened by whatever he did. Who knows what he really did to you, Twilight?” Her voice was unwavering, brimming with righteous anger. “I’m sorry, Twi,” AJ said with equal assurance in her voice as she watched Twilight wobble and lean on their yellow pegasus friend. “But we tried it your way and look what happened, you can barely walk.” “It’s just-I’m fine,” Twilight managed, it was getting easier now to speak. She shook her head to banish the dizziness from affecting her speech. “Twilight, I want to believe you…” Fluttershy began, pausing to make sure she could stand on her own. “Especially after all that you said. I know you really believe that your way is best but…I didn’t think he’d do something like this to you.” “It wasn’t that bad,” Twilight knew the moment she said it that they wouldn’t buy it. “Really, I’m fine now.” “No Twilight, this is not cool,” Dash said flatly. “But he…he actually weakened himself as well,” Rarity whispered, speaking for the first time in a while. “If what he said is true, then he weakened himself intentionally…why would he do that, if not for the reasons he said?” “How do we know that wasn’t a trick? We can’t take the chance,” Rainbow matched Rarity’s volume, though still speaking harshly. All eyes landed back on Twilight. The unicorn’s breathing was a little bit labored, which betrayed the confidence she tried to instill in her friends that she truly had recovered. “I...I believe him. You didn’t feel that. This, this is definitely something strong…and important of his.” “Twi, Sugarcube…” Applejack attempted to soften her words with her often-used endearment. “That speech of yours was real good, and ya made some good points…but under the circumstances dontcha think your opinion just might be a bit…compromised?” What did that mean? Twilight had been trying like crazy to not use solely her own opinions, so as not to compromise her decisions. Or did AJ – like Rainbow – think that Discord’s giving up this power was something much more malicious? “You think he’s manipulating me?” “All I know is there was a whole dang lotta eye-contact goin’ on in there,” she answered, obviously recalling his method for manipulating them in the past. “Mighty convenient that we couldn’t hear a thing from outside, who’s ta say he wasn’t?” “Actually, I did notice that as well,” Rarity agreed, although somewhat more reluctantly now. “It was quite unnerving; he hardly took his eyes off you, Darling.” Twilight scanned over her talk with Discord in the dome, trying to look at it from the outside, to possibly see what they had seen – or, thought they saw. She hadn’t noticed any particularly long instance that could have been seen that way – then again – she could hear everything perfectly. “But, he never touched me, and I never saw any of that multi-color eye stuff you all mentioned to watch out for. You must have at least seen that.” While most of the ponies’ minds were still being made, it seemed AJ’s was set and locked firmly in place. She regarded Twilight with resolve in her conclusion, but also with a kind of pity that made it clear she placed no blame on her friend for being the ‘victim’. “It ain’t your fault; he’d probably say anythin’ to ya to keep from being locked up. What if he was jus’ taking this proposition of yours and using it to his advantage? I don’t want something bad to happen to ya and I don’t want to see ya be worked over like his little puppet.” “I understand, but you’re misunderstanding, it wasn’t-I’m not being manipulated, I would know if I were,” Twilight spoke clearly, voice rising with annoyance at her friend’s apparent refusal to listen. It was clear that she was not convinced however, and what was more, it seemed that Applejack’s conclusion was having a contagious affect on the others. “Whatever he just did, he is still weakened now,” noted Rarity again. “Perhaps if Twilight were under a sort of manipulation, it might be weakened as well, or broken entirely.” “If that’s true, then now’s the perfect time to strike,” Rainbow Dash repeated her call to action. “This is getting out of hoof,” Twilight frustratingly tried to get their attention, to regain some control on the proceedings, for the consensus was very swiftly being made, and not in favor of her ideas. “Fluttershy, you believe me still, right?” Fluttershy bit her lip nervously, whimpering with confliction. Twilight could tell she was fighting with her understanding of Twilight’s dilemma and the now determined glares she was receiving from Applejack and Rainbow. Her loyalties were being divided, and it made Twilight yet more frustrated at the others’ evident peer pressure. The yellow pegasus wasn’t able to answer, for the others were already beginning to get into formation. Twilight stood stock-still in protest while at the same time trying frantically to think of something to say – something to do – that would get them on her side again. “Put on your tiara Twi, we’re doing this,” Rainbow practically ordered the unicorn. “You’ll have to fight whatever’s going on in that head of yours and focus with us.” Twilight moved her eyes from one friend to the next, trying to find some pony who might still be willing to halt. In each of their eyes though, she could see their worry for her, and their fear for every pony. They were afraid for her, for what they assumed Discord had done to her, and for what they feared he might do to this world if even given the slightest chance. She thought her words could win them over, and that her reasoning had been solid, full of unavoidable fact and logic that they couldn’t deny. At the very least she hoped that they would hear the plea in her voice, even if they wanted to ignore the facts. She thought they would trust her, but she should have known. Their love for her and their fear of him undermined all of that. Her heart hammered and she felt a catch in her throat, because as her eyes landed lastly on Applejack her face reminded her of the words she had said back in the balloon, which were still true even now. “I… have every pony else to think about,” she repeated the words at an almost inaudible whisper. This realization – that condemning Discord again to the prison he had tried so hard to avoid – and that she had attempted to help him avoid – was what the others truly believed in their hearts at this moment would keep every pony else safe. She couldn’t fight their conclusion, yet she still felt this overwhelming urge to. Twilight had tried to avoid this end, and the confliction she felt even now weighed heavy on her heart. Was she being naive or selfish? Was betraying his trust and sealing him away again the only real option after all? It hit Twilight like a kick in the stomach when she caught herself using that word in her mind. Betrayal…yes, this would be a betrayal. She had Discord’s confidence and even his faith – he was willing to believe and trust her, and even give up something to help her – just like a real friend. How much damage would this do to the already-fragile seed of hope she might have instilled in him, that tiny hint of progress? Some first friend she was turning out to be. Suddenly her mind came back to the present, and all of her friends were now in formation around her, waiting for her to begin. But, she didn’t have the tiara…then as she thought of it her element of magic unexpectedly popped into existence on top of her head. Twilight recognized that pop, and the unicorn’s eyes landed on Discord’s. He still stood where he had been, but all enthusiasm or enjoyment he had been having about the proceedings was gone now. On his face was that smile he had given her before, full of pity and resolution. He seemed resigned to his fate, and his expression seemed to tell her that this was what he had expected all along. Though he didn’t look betrayed, Twilight still felt the shame in full force. She tried to convey her sorrow and apology to him in her face, hoping she wasn’t really welling up as much as she felt she was. So, he was giving up, Twilight couldn’t believe it. She was almost offended that he would give up this easily. It made it even harder for her to keep her resolve. She was almost shaking with the denial of what she knew was inevitable, but slowly as she placed herself in the dead center of the circle did she ultimately buckle , and give in to fate. One last look, hoping that he could see how sincerely sorry she was… because the words were lost on their way to her lips. Twilight closed her eyes and ignited that familiar spark, which she felt flair off from herself to bounce off the other five elements, charging them up in the form of a glow before crisscrossing to each other’s invisible strings and then finally back to her until each element had five distinct streams of energy flowing to each of the others. This formed a glowing web that connected the six bearers - a manifestation of the connection that could not be seen. As their eyes glowed as bright as their jewelry, they slowly rose up into the air as all of their connections completed. For in this connection, the bearers of the elements were not only linked magically, but also both mentally and – most importantly – emotionally. Once the six ponies were all connected, their minds became as one, which was needed for them to all be able to picture clearly in their minds the desired outcome of the power they wielded. The mental link was important, but it was the emotions that the friends felt that truly steered the elements’ power. Both the minds and emotions of the friends needed to be in-sync with one another, for it was the bond that they shared that created the magic in the first place. If they were divided in either way, the magic would not work to its full potential. Though events may be misconstrued and words could be mistrusted, emotions never, ever lied. When the Elements were being utilized, their bearers’ emotions were intertwined, and they could all feel each others’ feelings. The complete and total honesty of an empathy connection proved to be Twilight’s greatest ally at that moment. She could completely feel her friends’ determination, their fear for her and for Equestria, and their belief in what they were doing as if these were her own feelings. The reverse then was also true. They could as well sense her conflicting beliefs, and turmoil that was being caused by her feelings of betrayal. They could see clearly now exactly why Twilight had felt Discord was worth giving a chance. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were the first of the group to reflect those feelings back to her, emotionally agreeing to Twilight’s plan. Rarity felt more reserved, but feeling the resounding harm this was causing her friend, also soon yielded. A silent emotional plea was made to Rainbow and Applejack, the two most against her idea, and though she understood so well their side – especially when feeling that they really and sincerely believed in what they were planning to do – Twilight’s faith and hope that she was right about the draconequus finally seemed able to break down their barriers and reach their hearts. Though they still felt reluctance towards her plan, the two resistant ponies could not deny what their friend was feeling of her own free will, and didn’t want to cause her the mental and emotional hurt that they now knew she had deep within her. Twilight mentally showed them the full extent of her plan, which slowly each of the ponies began to picture in their minds. All of this took only a minute or two, and when they opened their eyes again a stream of rainbow-colored light seemed to shoot out from each of the Elements, swirling together and combining to climb higher into the sky. The beam arched and swooped down again, zeroing in on its intended target, Discord. No surprise graced his face this time; for he was so certain of what would happen. He braced himself for the pain that was to come and hoped that he would freeze in a more dignified position than last time. The beam hit him head-on, seeming to slice through every inch of him, and Discord did indeed feel pain, though not quite as much as he had been expecting. The force knocked him to the ground, and he lay there waiting for it to go ahead and get over with. Soon the rainbow streak died away, the ponies floated back to the ground, and their eyes and jewels lost their glow. They all had their eyes on Discord, surveying what they had done. One thing was very evident to everyone involved…he was not frozen in stone.