//------------------------------// // Do you really think he will stop? // Story: The Baba Yaga Arrives // by Idiotboy24 //------------------------------// Discord sat on the lounge with an obvious smirk, as Celestia stared at him with a look of seriousness. He found it ironic. “Tia please I’ve already gone over this with you, John will come for him no matter what you do.” Celestia narrowed her eyes at him. “Discord you know that… murder is against the law.” She shuddered. “Oh well… guess the ruler of Equestria can’t handle a villain being removed from the world, after all, he may come back in the future to cause even more problems, so why don’t we just give him up?” He asked with a bored tone this was getting repetitive. Celestia furrowed her brow. “You know exactly why! It’s better to lock him away forever instead of killing him!” She replied raising her voice this time. “And what would the benefits of keeping him alive be?!” He retorted raising his voice as well as standing over Celestia. Before she could speak again he interrupted. “Don’t even think about saying it would make you as bad if not worst than him, he was willing to destroy your student’s friends and me for the sake of the magic you and the other Princesses gave to her.” This made her stay silent. “So tell me why we should keep that disgusting Centaur alive, many want him gone but John will do anything to make sure he doesn’t blink ever again.” Discord sat down staring her down with a heavy glare. She couldn’t say anything for a few seconds, he did provide points that made sense but her sense of justice was still correct in her eyes. “It doesn’t matter, it will still be the wrong thing to do.” Discord groaned loudly he was getting tired of this charade, as much as he liked doing this to others it wasn't good to do it when something this serious was happening. “Then tell me, Tia... Why did he retire in the first place?” This made her think. “It was because he found love.” she finally answered causing Discord to clap his hands. “Congratulations you remembered what I said but jokes aside, you must understand that he wouldn't be hunting Tirek down if that Centaur hadn't taken away the last parting gift of his wife.” he gritted his teeth. Celestia’s eyes widen she realised what he meant. “T-The Dog.” He nodded in response to her words making her inner fear grow even bigger. “So now that we have a common understanding, let's both agree to hand Tirek over to John. If we do that he’ll get the job done and will go back to retirement.” Celestia took in his words she knew he was right but there was something else. “How come you know John so well?” This made the Draconequus freeze in place, that was the one question he wanted to avoid but now that she had brought it up there was no escaping now. “Discord is there something you’re not telling me, something you’d wish to not talk about?” Celestia pushed gently not wanting to have him leave angrily. He sighed in defeat even if he keeps quiet about this, it wouldn’t make much difference to his eventual fate. “Alright I know you don’t see me being the most honest guy, but I believe you should learn the truth… that is if you want to?” Celestia thought for a second, thinking whether or not she should say yes or not, but after her consideration she nodded slowly. “If you are willing to tell me, then please speak when you are ready.” After sighing once more Discord looked straight into her eyes. “You see years before you and your sister turned me into stone, I… I, wanted to make a new secret world where those who had the skills required, could commit business and release their inner demons.” Celestia’s eyes widened. “You mean you created a secret society of Assassins?” Discord nodded. “Yes I’m not proud of it, but I did it for a reason and a good one too. You see before I created the society, those assassins had no problem taking out anyone they were assigned to kill, this even included the likes of rulers and monarchs. “Which meant eventually you and your sister, would have been on the hit list at some point. But I stepped in and decided to change things, I created the rules, I created a secret world and I assigned the continentals.” Celestia was continuously getting surprised and afraid of what she was hearing, she could’ve died way earlier if Discord didn’t change things. “Why would you save us?” Discord eyed her with worry. “I may have been evil, but I refuse to take lives especially yours. If I had ever won I wouldn’t even dare doing something so unforgivable.” His confession warmed Celestia’s heart. “But ever since I turned to stone, those who work under the table thought it would be okay to bend some of those rules. “Though thankfully they didn’t get the chance and as soon as I came back, I made sure to clean up the mess they had left behind in my absence. However even when I was encased in stone, I still was able to keep tabs on what was happening which is when I learnt about John. “Who was so good at doing his job he earned the title of the Baba Yaga, and he’ll let you know it if you ever mess with him, but now he just wants peace which got taken away by Tirek.” He finished with irritation. Celestia sat in silence as the explanation was analysed through her head, however there was one part that stood out too her. “You mentioned something about those working under the table… what does that mean?” Discord sat in silence for a few seconds breathing deeply. “The High Table, they are what enforce everything that the assassins follow. They’ve been around for a long time, even before I stepped in to change things. Cause even with a position as high as mine, they get the final say in anything that happens. “And they’ll make sure of it. I’ve seen what they can do, and it’s not… pleasant to say the least.” He drawled on. Celestia could only wonder what it meant if she got involved in all of this, she couldn’t bear that thought. But she had one final question to ask, and it was a nagging one. “How come, I haven’t been aware of any of this at all?” Discord smirked dryly. “It’s a secret world first of all, and secondly that’s classified.” She could only be flustered at the answer, seeing how silly her question was. “Right.” Discord sighed lightly again as he looked at the ruler with concern. "But now that I've told you all of this, know that whatever John does is not for the sake of evil, but loss, mourning, pain... Revenge. He's wants peace that's all, which is why I implore you to let him deal with Tirek himself." Celestia thought over it for a minute, would it be the best idea? She didn't know anymore it was all... so much to take in at once, would it matter if Tirek was taken out of the picture? She was about to respond until Discord's face swept itself into a different emotion that combined focus and stoicism. He breathed out the air of understanding, knowing what he'd say next would change everything. "Tia, bring Tirek now." He uncharacteristically ordered. Celestia seemed caught off guard but managed to find her words. "Why? What's happening?" Discord could only turn to face the now open window with the same face he held for several seconds. "He's here."