//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Self-fulfilling prophecy // Story: Deal With The Draconequus // by Never2muchpinkie //------------------------------// “How did you find us?” Discord asked. “I put a spell on the Elements to alert me if they were taken from their hiding spots,” Twilight responded. “Heh!” Discord smiled. “You’re a step above your mentor, at least. SHE had no idea they were gone until she opened the chest. Her expression was just GOLDEN!” “I knew you were up to something tricky the moment Fluttershy told me about Sweetie Belle wanting to talk to you, and now here’s ironclad proof! Where’s the Element of Generosity?” “Oooohhh… somewhere. Sweetie Belle hid it on me. I was just about to have her retrieve it.” “You corrupted her just like you did to us! How could you?” “Is it MY fault she wanted to back out of our deal? Since you already seem to have figured a good deal out on your own I guess I should fill you in on the rest. Sweetie Belle came to me asking for a trade. She summoned me and offered me the Element for Rarity’s life. I thought it sounded great. She didn’t intend to mention that detail, of course. It just slipped out in the heat of the moment. "I gave her some time to decide since she couldn’t make up her mind. She said she was going to do it, but then changed her mind at the last second. I mean, really. Is that the thanks I get for helping to clean out your hospital? I just want what I was promised, that’s all.” Rarity let out a heavy breath, a tear coming down her eye. “Sweetie Belle… so it is true.” “Rarity!” Discord said with surprised amusement. “To think you could be so coherent in your state. I’m genuinely impressed.” A red tinge appeared on Fluttershy’s cheeks before she zoomed forward until she was flying in front of Discord. She lifted her hoof and gave him a hard whack in the face. Discord’s head spun around in circles for a few rotations before he grabbed it and stopped it. “That’s enough, Discord!” she said angrily. “I can’t believe you! This is absolutely UN-AC-CEPT-ABLE! Mind-controlling other pony’s is how you acted as a villain. Now you change her back to normal this instant or our friendship is OVER!” Discord had never seen Fluttershy look so furious. “Oh, Fluttershy. I’m afraid you can’t do that.” “TRY ME!” “Is it a crime to do something bad when you’re angry?” he said innocently. “Look at how bloodshot my eye is.” He pulled one of his eyes out. “She kicked me in the eye when all I wanted was to complete our deal. I haven’t forgotten the letters you’ve sent me. Don’t you remember when you learned about assertiveness? You got so high up on your training that you insulted Rarity and Pinkie Pie until they ran away in tears.” Fluttershy’s face softened a little at the memory. “That may be true, but I realized my mistake later and apologized to them for it. Why are you so obsessed with getting Rarity’s Element in the first place? We’re friends, aren’t we? I thought you trusted me. Wasn’t my promise good enough to you?” “Apparently not,” he replied sarcastically as he poked the Element of Kindness around her neck. Placing his eye back in his socket he continued, “Why would you bring your Element here if you weren’t intending to use it?” “I still believe in you, Discord, but I know Twilight wouldn’t have let me come along without it. I just wanted to talk with you and get the story from you.” “And therein lies the problem. You can succumb to pressure from your friends. I just wanted a guarantee of safety. I can lose my temper just like the rest of you. I just wanted to be sure I wouldn’t be turned to stone again for reacting just like any of you would.” “And what you can do when you’re angry is far worse than any of us can do. Your power being out of control is dangerous.” Twilight hopped forward, her horn glowing. “Enough, Fluttershy! He’s too dangerous to be left alone. I bet you’re behind all of this trouble, AREN’T YOU? If you can cure this plague like it’s nothing that’s enough proof for me. You just wanted one of the Element bearers gone, and you don’t care who else had to die as long as your part in things is hidden, right?” Her vision flickered as another wave of fatigue came over her, and she nearly fell to the ground as her exhaustion began overpowering her. She shook her head hard to try to shake herself out of it. “What?” Discord said flatly. He lifted his claw and snapped it. “Better now?” Twilight blinked. She suddenly felt refreshed. “What did you do?” “Really, Twilight. Making such rash accusations without a shred of proof to support it. If you’re going to come here sleep deprived you wouldn’t listen to anything I said, anyway.” Twilight eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you helping me?” “Oh, so now I need a REASON to help others out?” “Didn’t stop you from doing nothing to help until you were offered our most powerful weapon.” “What do you want from me, Twilight? Ponies live, ponies die. It’s part of the natural order of things. Sure, I saved them from the plague, but they’ll just die of something else in the future. YOU’RE the ones who dislike the power I hold and threaten me every time I want to use it. My power can be used for chaos, but also for the benefit of others. The rest of you are so selfish that I don’t feel any desire to help you. Just like Celestia. "I’ll say to you the same thing I said to Sweetie Belle: you only want me around because my power can be beneficial to you. You don’t care about me myself, but only for what I can do for YOU, and you expect me to be okay with that? You expect me to want to do you favors, when you’ll just go ahead and accuse me of mass murder on the hopes that one of the ponies who got infected just happened to be one of the holders of the Elements of Harmony? If that’s what passes for friendship in your world, then even as a god of chaos who dislikes things to make sense I don’t understand it. “And for your information I’m not responsible for this plague, anyway. A dead pony can’t enjoy chaos, after all. The fun is in other’s reactions to it. If they can’t respond to what’s going on around them it’s boring. It’s the same reason I never turned ponies to stone in the past. It’s dull!" Fluttershy took a deep breath. “Twilight may have gone a bit overboard with her accusation, but her fears aren’t completely unreasonable. You lost your temper and wound up acting like your old self. You brainwashed Sweetie Belle to get her to do your bidding, and I can’t just overlook that. Now return Sweetie Belle to normal. Such wickedness is below you now.” “Wickedness?” he asked. “Yes! Wickedness! I can’t be friends with someone who manipulates others like that. Now say you’re sorry and let’s just forget about all this.” “Hmmm… then I believe you’re going to have to stop being friends with Twilight then.” “What are you talking about? Twilight would never act like that.” “Oh, really? Tell me, Fluttershy, do you remember that odd thing I did while I was living at your house?” “Which one?” she said under her breath as she rolled her eyes. “Like eating paper.” “Hey!” Twilight said as she remembered. “That’s right! You ruined a good number of my spell books. Do you know how much it cost to replace all those?” “Oh, Twilight. Do you remember what was on all those pages I ate?” “Of course! I was looking for-” She suddenly stopped, blushing as she looked at him, annoyed. “Hmmm? Why’d you halt there? Continue.” She glared at him and didn’t respond. “Well, if you won’t say it than I will. Weren’t they all reforming spells? REFORMING SPELLS! Weren’t Celestia’s words that she could use my power if I could be convinced to use if for good “of my own free will?” So, then. It’s okay for you to manipulate minds to act more like YOU want, but I can’t? A bookworm like you was fine with cheating?” Twilight met his gaze. “Fine! It’s true. In case you couldn’t be reformed I was looking for an alternate method to sealing you away again.” “Because your PRECIOUS PRINCESS wanted it, of course.” “That’s part of it, but I also felt a little bad. You said you were fully conscious and could hear everything inside the stone, so I wanted to free you from that fate if I was able. The thought of being trapped and unable to move but being aware of each moment of captivity seemed a bit cruel, even for you.” A smirk appeared on his face. “So then you’re saying Celestia is cruel?” Her blush became a little deeper as she gasped. “No! That’s not what I’m saying at all! She did what she had to. “A-anyway, that was only to be as a last resort. I didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary. It was only a back-up plan.” “That’s not the point. The point was that the first thing you did was try to find a mind-control method. So I guess it’s fine to control others who don’t see it your way, which means it’s fine for me to do too. Either that, or what you were planning was evil… no?” Twilight couldn’t meet his gaze any more. He had a point. Seeing Twilight lose her spirit made Applejack speak up. “Ther’s a big diff’rince between tha two. Ya used your power ta make others miserable and act like the opposite of themselves. Twilight was planning it ta help others and Equestria.” “I still fail to see the difference. If at the time I was evil then she was still planning to have me act the opposite of myself and against my own free will. Even if it would have made me good she’d still have been forcing it upon me and leaving me no choice in the matter. So am I good for what I do, or is she evil for planning to hijack my mind and thoughts? If I robbed a store because I could, and she robbed a store because it was 'for the good of Equestria,' does that mean that robbery is fine if it’s 'for a good reason?' "Or how about you, Applejack? Element of Honesty. Do you think it’s fine to lie if it’s 'for a good reason?' But you can be dishonest when its not for a good reason, like letting the stress of wanting to win against Rainbow Dash during the Running of the Leaves cause you to cheat and sink down to Rainbow’s level. I thought the whole point of morals and integrity was for you was to remain true to your true self, but what you seem to be saying is it’s fine to break your morals and ethics anytime it becomes too troublesome to do it the right way. Is that how it goes in your 'righteous and ordered' world? But you want to belittle ME for the way I do things? “How about you, Rainbow Dash? Element of Loyalty, but you turned against Twilight like the rest of your friends during the Changeling invasion. "Or you, Pinkie Pie? Element of Laughter and you love to make friends, but they avoided you for a short time to set up your surprise party and you were convinced they hated you? Is that how shallow your belief in them is? "Or Rarity? Element of Generosity, but you let your fake wings go to your head and selfishly entered the Best Young Flier’s competition when you were supposed to be giving her moral support. "And of course you, Twilight, Element of Magic. You spent years with Celestia and know her good nature, but you still caused town-wide chaos with your 'want it, need it' spell because you were so convinced she was going to banish you for not sending a letter about friendship for one week. "You scarcely need ME to turn you against your own Elements. You can do so perfectly well on your own and abandon your morals whenever it becomes inconvenient to what YOU want, but I’M the bad guy here?” Awkward looks abounded as each of them found it hard to answer him. He was correct. Each of them at times had gone against their own values to get what they wanted. Fluttershy put a hoof on his shoulder. “You do have a point. Like you, we are not perfect, and we each make mistakes. We can lose our tempers and do bad things as well. We’ve all gotten into fights with one another at times, but like I said before we realize our errors later on. We apologize and hug it out and we feel better over what we did. "The point is to try to grow from the experience and try not to make the same mistakes as before. That’s how we each learn things. You always wanted things to be your way, but now you’ve changed. You’re willing to compromise and you value our friendship enough that you don’t make all of Equestria into a chaotic land. "I don’t want us to be at each other’s throats like this. Sweetie Belle made a mistake, but you should have respected her refusal. Bribing other ponies for their lives is NOT a respectable trait. I understand why you feel you’re just being used, but I DO value you as a friend. And in time I bet other ponies will come to see you that way too. Now do the right thing and return Sweetie Belle to normal for me, please.” Discord got a thoughtful look on his face. “You know, this fighting really is pointless. There’s no need for us to argue like this. Friendship didn’t use to mean anything to me, but now I’ve found that it really is an enjoyable thing.” “Good,” Fluttershy responded, nodding. “And I’d like to become friends with a lot more ponies.” “Great!” Now she was smiling. Discord put a claw on Sweetie Belle’s head, and her eye’s swirled around as her color returned to normal. Sweetie Belle blinked a few times, shaking her head. “Whoa… what just happened?” She looked ahead of her and saw her sister and her friends. “Rarity! What are you doing out of the hospital?” “Oh, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said, a tear coming down her eye. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” “That’s great, Discord,” said Fluttershy. “I’m proud of you for coming to the right decision.” “Yes, yes,” Rarity said anxiously. “Warm fuzzies all around. Now come over here, Sweetie Belle.” For a second Sweetie Belle’s eyes glazed over, then she gave Rarity a strange look. “Why would I wanna do that?” She jumped onto Discord with a huge smile, hugging him and nuzzling his leg. “I want to stay here with my bestest friend in the whole world! Isn’t he just awesome?” She let out a laugh of pure delight. “Discord!” Fluttershy said exasperatedly, her hooves on her sides. “What have you done NOW?” “I just thought of something. A way for all of us to coexist in peace. Why would you ever want to pay fifty bits for the exact same thing you can get for free? Instead of all this fighting and arguing and compromising and needing depth I’ll just become friends with everypony right away. I can be myself and create some chaos, and no one will mind, because all of us will think the same. "I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. Just look at how happy Sweetie Belle is. She no longer has any reason to be terrified of me. And all of us will become friends too.” Discord looked around, seeing the looks on their faces. “Stop that! Why are all of you looking at me like you pity me?” Pinkie Pie said, “That’s NOT what friendship is about! Friendship IS about love and unity and harmony, but the fact is that it also involves fighting and arguments and hurt feelings. It’s overcoming those, facing your pride to apologize, and coming back into harmony with one another that really builds up a friendship. You’re just looking for the end result, but that’s not going to bring you any happiness.” “It is right now.” He rubbed Sweetie Belle’s head, and she practically purred. Twilight spoke up now. “What you’re doing is NOT friendship. It’s only the appearance of friendship. All it really is... is a lie, and you’ll know that fact. Mind controlling other ponies to think you’re the greatest thing ever might seem like the essence of friendship, but really all you’re doing is creating mindless slaves. Soon enough you’ll grow tired of their endless praise of you because you’ll know that it’s all forced on them, and they’re not doing it because they want to. Friendship is a CHOICE, not an obligation. “I wish I could allow you to see the folly of your ways, but I can’t just sit back and let you start corrupting Ponyville again.” “Corrupting?” he responded, confused. “The last time I was out of control, sure. I did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and cause a lot of inconvenience for others. Here I’m trying to be considerate of the other ponies. They’ll like me, and I’ll help them. Letting things go a little wacky to have my fun isn’t a huge deal in return, is it? You understand me, right, Fluttershy? You get it, don’t you?” A sad look came to her face. “I made a promise to a dear friend, but if this is your response then your ego is getting the better of you again. Friendship like that is just a lie, and I can’t just sit back and let that happen. If that’s what you’re planning then as I said we can’t be friends. So… my promise is no longer valid. I’m sorry.” Tears began coming down her eyes. A hurt look came to Discord’s face. He slowly gritted his teeth. “We’ll always be friends, Fluttershy. ALWAYS,” he growled in a dangerous voice. Before Fluttershy could respond Sweetie Belle said, “Best buddy! I’m gonna go help you. I’m gonna go grab the Element so they can’t use it against you.” “Sweetie Belle, no!” Rarity cried out. “You can’t do this! You can’t help a monster like him!” Sweetie Belle turned to Rarity, her head tilting to the side. Her eyes squinted so hard she began blinking. There was a flash of recognizance in her eyes, but then it disappeared and her eyes narrowed. “Shut up! You’re not my sister! She would never insult my best friend like that.” She ran off into the forest. The anger faded slightly as he looked after the running filly. “Such a dear little friend she is. So helpful.” He turned his gaze back to them. “Try whatever you want. You know full well that your Elements are team players. They won’t ever play if even one of their 'friends' isn’t there, so you already know you’re powerless to stop me right now. “A new Equestria is coming. I’ll have my magic, my chaos, my freedom, and lots of friends. What more could I ask for?” Twilight backed up a step. Her heart was racing. This was quickly turning into the worst case scenario. Once Fluttershy truly threatened their friendship and his safety he was quickly reverting back to his old ways. In that state he would be unstoppable if Sweetie Belle handed the Element over to him. Her horn began glowing. She had to get to Sweetie Belle quickly or Equestria was doomed. With another snap of his claw Twilight gasped. She couldn’t feel anything from her horn. She concentrated as hard as she could but her magic wasn’t working. “Nowhere to go but through me,” Discord said in a dark voice. “And without your little magic tricks you already know how weak and pathetic you truly are compared to me. Now let’s put an end to this. Just one little touch, and we’ll all be friends again. Like you said… we can put this whole thing behind us.” He took a step toward them, and all of them backed up. Twilight knew they were out of options. There was nothing they could do. Discord wasn’t playing around like usual, which made him all the more dangerous. Looking behind her she got an idea. It was a long shot, but it just might save them. “Spike,” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth. “I don’t think Discord has seen you. I’ll try and create a distraction. I want you to run through the forest and try to head off Sweetie Belle.” “Got it,” he whispered back. “What are you mumbling about over there?” Discord asked. “There is no one here to save you. I win! Pure and simple.” He took another few steps toward them, and each of them backed up some more. There was the sound of running, and Sweetie Belle returned into the clearing. “Oh, no!” Applejack said. “We’re too late!” “Here you go, best buddy!” Sweetie Belle said, placing the Element around his neck. Pulling off her saddle bag she threw it towards the rest of the group, nearly hitting Rarity. “Ha ha ha! Take that.” She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at the rest of the group, Discord let out a roaring laughter. “Now… now your last hope truly is gone. You really only have yourselves to blame for this. I tried to be nice and see things your way, but you just couldn’t accept it. You just had to keep pushing me and needling me. Even YOU’VE betrayed me, Fluttershy. If that’s the way things are going to be then I’ll just do things MY way.” Twilight slumped to the ground, Rarity sliding off her back. “It’s… it’s over. There’s nothing we can do.” Rainbow Dash tried her usual bravado, but it just didn’t come out that way. “C-come on, guys. We can still… still win.” Rarity stared into her sister’s eyes. How had things turned out so wrong? Her sister had only wanted to do something nice by making a trade, but it seemed the temptation was too great for Discord to resist. Now all they had to look forward to was brainwashing and being under Discord’s rule, their only means of taming him in the hands of their enemy. “Argh!” Twilight yelled. “It might not work, but we have to try. We have to use the Elements NOW.” Discord let out a derisive laugh. “Oh, the cries of the desperate. You already know it’s not going to work, so why waste your time and mine?” Sweetie Belle was standing behind Discord. She kept doing things in a pattern. She would look up towards Discord’s face, then down at the ground by the rest of them. Rarity was trying to figure out what she was doing. Her sister’s expression was no longer complete adoration, but a little fearful and urgent. Was Sweetie Belle trying to tell her something? But how could she? She was under Discord’s control. It was probably another trap, just one last prank to get under their skin. Still, she couldn’t help but feel Sweetie Belle was trying to send her a message. The Elements began glowing. Twilight held almost no hope of victory, but it was the only thing they had left. Was it absolutely necessary to have all six Elements together, or could five be used? It was time to find out. Even if five couldn’t turn him back to stone perhaps they could at least knock him out. Sweetie Belle had stopped using just her eyes. She was now openly and insistently pointing her hoof at Discord, and then towards Rarity. Rarity looked at Discord, trying to figure out what Sweetie Belle was trying to tell her. Her eyes went wide as she noticed something. She stared in disbelief, wondering how she had missed it. Now she knew exactly what she was being told. She nodded at her sister, and a relieved look came to Sweetie Belle’s face. They weren’t out of hope yet.