Kyle sat on the sofa in Fluttershy’s house, sipping on a rather interesting beverage that the Ponies had concocted. It reminded him vaguely of the Kafa he had tried back in Kun Lai Summit, and apparently had many of the same energetic properties - albeit to a lesser extreme - as Kafa. When he had first tried this new drink, he had originally found it horrid. However, once a bit of sugar and milk had been added, it became much more palatable. Coffee, they called it.
Around him sat eight ponies, all staring at him with varying mixtures of shock, awe, and horror on their faces. He grimaced slightly as he remembered what had put this expression on their faces, thankful that Applejack had sent Applebloom home before he had told his tale. He had just finished telling them about the Sha - how they were the physical manifestation of negative emotions, the shadows of the fallen Old God Y’shaarj; how they could possess and control other creatures, driving them to madness; How they could never be truly defeated, only suppressed for a time.
“And… and you’re quite certain that this is what you encountered in the forest?” Rarity asked. The expression on her face was clearly desperate, clearly praying that this was not what they were up against.
“I’m afraid so.” Kyle replied, shattering her hope. “I’ve battled the Sha before. I’ve faced the Sha of Anger itself - the actual master Sha, not one of the minions. “ He shuddered, painful memories being dragged to the front of his mind once more. “The signs were all the same. A wave of cold, washing over you, threatening to engulf and drown you. Whispers in your mind, filling you with lies, deceiving you into serving the Sha.”
“And which Sha do you believe we are facing now?” Celestia asked. She had remained silent throughout the entire explanation, her expression unreadable. “And could the others be here?”
Kyle rubbed his chin in thought. The Sha that he had encountered in the forest had filled him with a negative emotion, for sure, but which one? “I… I’m not sure which one was in the forest.” he finally admitted. “I’ve felt the effects of all seven Sha - Doubt, Despair, Anger, Violence, Hatred, Fear, and Pride.” he listed, ticking them off on his fingers as he named each one. “But this one… It wasn’t quite like the ones I’ve felt before.”
“What do you mean?”
“The emotion was… different.” Kyle said slowly. “It wasn’t one of the ones I’ve faced before. It was… I remember wanting Appleblooms bow, for some reason.” he added. “This… strange desire to take what I did not have.”
“That sounds like greed.” Rarity interjected. “To the extreme. I mean, taking her bow? No offense, dear, but you’d look absolutely ridiculous with a pink bow in your mane.”
“Yeah, I would.” Kyle agreed.
“So this Sha was a minion of the Sha of Greed?” Twilight asked
Kyle shook his head. “There’s a problem with that theory. There is no Sha of Greed.”
“Maybe where you come from, there ain’t” Applejack said. “But the way Ah hear, things work different ‘round yer neck o’ the woods.”
“Does it matter which Sha it is?” Rainbow Dash asked. “All we need to do is zap them with the Elements of Harmony. Boom. Problem solved!”
“Or it would be, if we still had the elements.” Twilight replied.
“Wait, hold up a minute.” Kyle interjected. “Elements of what now?”
“The Elements of Harmony.” Twilight explained. “The six elements that keep peace and order in Equestria. There’s Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, and Magic. When used together, they can purge the chaos and disharmony from somepony; or, if they cannot be purged, it will imprison them until such a time that they can be purged. The spirits of the Elements of Harmony are each represented in one Pony. Each one of us in here is - or was - a wielder of one of the Elements.”
“So… what, you each control part of a superweapon?”
“That’s one way o’ puttin’ it. But we don’t got em anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Oh oh! I know this one!” Pinkie Pie jumped up to her hooves. “Well, a week ago - well, a bit more than a week ago, since it would have been a week ago the day you got here, but anyway, a bit more than a week ago - let’s call it 10 days - these big mean old vines started coming out of the forest! They were huge and black and covered with thorns and growing really really super-duper fast! They kidnapped Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and took them to this really weird tree in the forest, and we had to put the elements in the tree to get rid of all the vines!”
“Right… sorry I asked.” Kyle muttered, his head reeling from Pinkie’s breathless explanation. “So, these Elements of Harmony are out of the picture. So that… means… hang on.” Kyle stood and began pacing around the room, tapping his chin in thought. “Black vines… thorns…” he continued pacing, looking up at Twilight. “Don’t suppose there are any left that I could examine?”
“None physically, but it’s relatively simple to project an image.” Twilight replied. Her horn lit up, and a ray of light shined on the table. Within the beam of light, a shape took form - a long, black vine, covered in blue thorns. As Kyle watched, the vines twitched erratically, almost tendril-like in their movements.
“Interesting.” he murmured. “And… do you know where they came from?
“Discord.” The ponies all said in unison.
“Discord?”
“He’s a creep.” Rainbow Dash spat.
“Scoundrel.” Rarity added.
“The spirit of chaos and disharmony.” Twilight said. “Imprisoned in stone for over a thousand years by the Elements of Harmony. Before that, all of Equis was plunged in eternal chaos. He was recently released from his prison.”
“What?! Why would you do that?!” Kyle exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling as if it would attack him at that very moment.
“Well, um, he’s reformed.” Fluttershy said meekly. “He’s been very good since we released him, using his chaos for good instead of evil.”
“Could have fooled me.” Kyle scoffed. “He kidnapped the princesses and tried to take over with a bunch of evil plants. Doesn’t sound very reformed to me.”
“He planted the Plunder Seeds a long time ago, before his imprisonment and reformation.” Twilight explained. “He actually helped us get rid of them… in a kind of roundabout way, anyway.” she grimaced, remembering how he had convinced her to go back into the forest to help her friends.
“Why’r you so interested in him anyway?” Applejack asked. “What’s he gotta do with these… Sha?”
“Well, I told you the Sha are the remnants of the spirit an Old God, Y’shaarj.” Kyle explained. “These Old Gods delighted in and fed on chaos and disorder. One of the sure signs of an Old God at work is a bunch of tentacles with spikes. Sound familiar?”
“The Plunder Seeds!” Twilight exclaimed. “Discord… you think he’s an… an Old God?”
“Could be.” Kyle mused. “The signs are certainly present. But I’m not sure if any other worlds besides Azeroth have had any Old Gods…”
“Well, there’s one way to find out.” Luna said pointedly. “Ask him yourself.”
“Uh… are you sure that’s the best idea?” Kyle asked nervously. “I mean… if he is, what’s to stop him from driving us all insane?”
“Well, for some reason he’s become pretty good friends with Flutters here.” Rainbow said, nudging Fluttershy. “He doesn’t seem to be willing to risk her friendship. But if he does go rogue, I suppose we could try to go get the Elements and use them again before putting them back.”
“Assuming he lets you.” Kyle muttered under his breath. Still, now his curiosity was piqued. “Alright. Let’s ask this Discord. Where is he?”
“Did somepony call?” A voice asked, seemingly coming from all corners of the room at once. Kyle’s head whipped around wildly, looking for the source of the voice. A wave of unease washed over him, and looking around, he could tell that the others were feeling a similar effect.
Finally, a snapping sound resonated through the room, and the lamp was engulfed in a bright flash of light. When the light faded, it was replaced by the strangest creature Kyle had ever laid eyes upon. Nothing about this creature matched or made sense. It seemed serpentine in shape, but with the head of a horse, and mis-matched claws and feet. Two different wings sprouted from its back, as did two different horns from its head. So… that’s Discord… Kyle thought.
“Oh, now this is interesting.” Discord grinned, vanishing in a flash of light and appearing next to Kyle. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen one of your kind. Such a shame too.” Discord clasped his hands together and smiled, his eyes rolled to the top of his head. “You Humans always brought an absolutely delightful brand of chaos wherever you went!”
“I’m not the first Human you’ve met?” Kyle asked incredulously. “But… I thought I was the first Human on Equis…”
“Oh, I’ve certainly seen Humans before. I always enjoyed observing them from my stone prison.” Discord replied, snapping the eagle claws that made up his left hand. A set of marionettes appeared, depicting a pair of Humans. “Helped to pass the time, you know. The chaos you Humans have caused… I’d have been blind to not see it, even halfway across the cosmos! Inventing new things, warring with each other, conquering everything you laid your eyes upon… So beautiful!” The marionettes proceeded to beat each other with their wooden fists.
Kyle began to feel a cold sweat build on the back of his neck as all eyes turned to him. Sure, the three Princesses knew of his people’s war-like history, but the other five had not learned of this yet. Fortunately, the Princesses quickly turned back to Discord, and everyone elses eyes soon followed.
“As for the first Human on Equis… well, I’ll admit, I’ve never seen one of you here before, unfortunately.” Discord admitted. “So I suppose I have to say… Welcome to Equestria!” Discord snapped his fingers once more, and the room was suddenly filled with streamers, balloons, and confetti. A cake rested on the table, and everyone had a party hat strapped to their head. Most noticeably, a large banner had been strung across the living room, reading ‘Welcome Humans!’, followed by what looked suspiciously like a battle axe.
Pinkie Pie’s mouth dropped, her jaw literally hitting the ground as she looked around. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eye twitched as she folded up her front legs and glared at Discord, pouting. “Nopony out-parties Pinkie Pie.” She muttered angrily under her breath. Meanwhile, everyone else seemed equally shocked. Only Fluttershy seemed relatively unaffected as she looked over at Kyle with a kind of exasperated smile. It seemed to say ‘it’s normal, just roll with it.’
Discord snapped his fingers again, and a teacup filled with a red liquid appeared in his hands. A second one appeared next to Kyle, floating in the air. “Try the punch, it’s delicious!” he insisted. Kyle gingerly reached up and grabbed the cup, but didn’t drink from it. Instead, he sat down, eying the drink suspiciously. Discord, meanwhile, drank deeply from his cup. The cup seemed to melt into thin air, leaving only the punch floating in the shape of the cup. Discord grinned, and the punch exploded in another shower of confetti.
“Well, this has been fun, but I’m assuming you didn’t just call me here for a social visit.” Discord said, his face flipped upside down. “Nopony ever does, for some reason.” he rubbed his goatee as if puzzled as to the reason.
“Right… well… uh…” Kyle stammered, still trying to process what was going on. “I guess no beating around the bush with you then. What do you know about the Old Gods?”
Discords grin disappeared almost instantly, as did the party decorations. His facial features rearranged themselves into a much more serious visage “Old Gods, you say?” he murmured, his eyes locked on Kyle.
“Yeah. Old Gods.” Kyle repeated, starting to feel a bit ridiculous. Even if Discord had been watching Azeroth, the chances that he knew about the Old Gods was pretty low, considering the battles with the Old Gods had all taken place underground or inside buildings. Still, he was already asking about them. No sense in backing out now. “C’thun, Yogg-Saron -”
“Ooooo, Yogg-Saron!” Discord interrupted excitedly, his eyes lighting up. “Oh, I do remember that one. Such a delightful fellow. Always was good at stirring up chaos. A bit too good for his own good, if you know what I mean. Never could keep any company, the mortals all seemed to go mad.”
“You know them?”
“Of course I know them!” Discord scoffed, sounding insulted. “We’re beings of eternal chaos! Pegasi of a feather and all that. But we went our separate ways eons ago.”
Throughout all of this, the ponies had remained silent. Now, however, Celestia stood up. “And you know these Old Gods how, exactly?” she demanded.
“Oh, we were created together in the infinite cosmos at the beginning of time.” Discord said dismissively. “I suppose you could consider me an Old God, though the others were always a lot crueler to mortals and more powerful than me. I mean, I know I enslaved all of Equis and plunged it into eternal chaos, but at least I didn’t destroy the planet or drive anypony to true madness.”
“And why did you go your separate ways?” Kyle asked, his unease returning in full force. The knowledge that his hunch had been correct only made Kyle that much more worried about the situation.
“Oh, they were always all about conquering and killing.” Discord said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I just wanted to have fun, but wherever they went, all of the potential for fun went away as the mortals were driven mad. It’s so unfulfilling when the only creatures around to revel in your chaos can’t even express themselves coherently. So I came here to Equis, and they went to Azeroth. How are they doing, by the way?”
“Almost all of them have been imprisoned by the Titans.” Kyle smirked.
Discords face became very serious again. “Oh, those sticks-in-the-mud were always so boring!” he exclaimed. “Always setting order to things, never allowing any variables… bleh! Wait… did you say almost all? Who hasn’t been imprisoned?”
“Y’shaarj. He…. it… whatever. Dead.”
Discords eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and his jaw hit the floor. “Dead?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper. “Wha… I mean, we had our differences, but to know he’s just… poof. Gone. Forever. Never to spread chaos again…”
“Well… Not exactly.” Kyle began nervously. “Which brings me to the main reason I wanted to talk to you.”
“Well… fire away. I’m all ears.” Discord was suddenly covered in a thousand different ears, ranging from Human to Pony, and even a Dragon ear.
“That’s just weird.” Kyle deadpanned. “So, when Y’shaarj was killed, his spirit remained behind, and gave birth to these creatures called the Sha. Physical manifestation of negative emotions. They’ve haunted a continent of our world ever since his death.”
“Ah, even in death, he’s still causing mayhem.” Discord said with a sad smile. “Please, continue.”
“Right… well… we found one of these Sha in the Everfree Forest earlier today. I’m certain it didn’t come with me when I passed from my world into Equis. Would you happen to know anything about this?”
Discord rubbed his goatee once more. “I thought I felt something strange in the forest.” he mused. “Well, stranger than normal, I suppose. But no, I couldn’t tell you anything about these Sha.”
“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked, walking up to Discord. “I’d be so disappointed if I learned that my friend was lying to me about something this important.”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head.” Discord said, patting Fluttershy’s head. “I’ll admit, Y’shaarj had some marvelous ideas. But I’ve already tried the route of summoning negative emotions during my break-out, and we all remember how well that went.” He shuddered slightly, closing his eyes and gripping his arms.
“Okay then…” Kyle began. Suddenly, he froze up. A small smile began to form on his lips. “Hey, Discord. You said you’ve been to other worlds, right?”
“But of course.”
“Well… I seem to be in a bit of a pickle.” By now, Kyle had broken into a full-blown grin. “I’m kind of trapped here in Equis. Any chance you could help a guy out?”
“I’m afraid not.” Discord replied, sounding bored. He snapped his fingers, and a nail file appeared. He began to file his eagle claw. “A great deal of my power was lost when I was first exposed to the Elements of Harmony, effectively trapping me here in Equis. I suppose that makes two of us. But even if I could still traverse the cosmos, a mortal travelling with me would either die or go insane.”
“Oh… alright then…” Kyle said quietly. His smile had vanished as soon as Discord had begun speaking, and he stared at the floorboards.
Something light and feathery was placed upon him. Kyle looked up to see Twilight sitting on the couch next to him, one wing extended and wrapped around his shoulders. “We’ll find a way to send you home.” she said with a reassuring smile. “I’m sure of it.”
Kyle felt a wave of doubt creep over him, but he forcefully shoved it aside. “Thanks Twilight.” he said, sounding more forced than he meant to. “So… what now?”
Celestia and Luna pulled their heads in close to each other and began muttering quickly back and forth. Finally, Celestia looked up. “Discord, I would like for you to come with me. I will show you where this Sha was found, so that you may sample its energy. Afterwards, if you sense anything like this, let us know. We will have to take care of these Sha quickly if anymore show up.”
“And why should I help?” Discord chuckled, sounding amused. “True, Y’shaarj and I were never really pal-y, but these Sha sound like they could spread some delicious chaos!”
“Because Ponies could get hurt.” Fluttershy said softly.
“And you already said the other Old Gods were stronger than you, before you were hit by the Elements of Harmony.” Luna added, her tone dark and menacing. “Who’s to say that these Sha won’t come after you as well?”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Discord said quickly, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. “Alright, alright, I’ll do it.”
Celestia smiled and rose to her hooves, and Discord walked over to the door. He snapped his fingers, and the door opened in such a way that it now rested on the ceiling. A glare from Twilight hardly seemed to faze him as Celestia walked out of the door. “Arrivederci!” he called out as the door closed behind him, letting out a croak like a frog as it slammed shut.
“Well that was… Something.” Kyle muttered, feeling the pressure that had been building behind his temples fade.
“Indeed it was.” Luna replied, rising to her hooves as well. “I must be off as well. Somepony has to inform Mayor Mare about the press conference tomorrow. And somepony else has to prepare what they’re going to say.” she added with a wink. “Have a good evening.” With that, she exited the house and took to the skies, flying out over the town.
The other ponies quickly excused themselves as well, soon leaving Kyle alone with Fluttershy and Twilight. Fluttershy wandered off to tend to her animals, while Twilight sat down next to Kyle. Minutes of silence passed, each one lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Twilight looked up. “What's on your mind Kyle?”
Kyle blinked, not expecting the silence to be broken. “Not much.” he mumbled. He looked back at the wall opposite him, staring out of the window and into the forest. Where so much trouble had already originated.
“I’m sorry Discord couldn’t -”
“Don’t.” Kyle held up a hand to silence her. “You’ve nothing to apologize for. It was foolish to get my hopes up like that.” He stood up, stretching his limbs and grunting as his arms popped. “I’d better start getting ready for tomorrow.” He walked over to the kitchen table and picked up a spare pencil and a piece of paper before beginning to write down his thoughts for his big reveal the next day.
Twilight, meanwhile, was still staring after him. For a long moment, she just sat there. Finally, she closed her eyes and sighed. It didn’t take a genius to see through Kyle’s facade. She stood up and walked over to the door, glancing behind her once more before taking off at a gallop towards Ponyville.