//------------------------------// // Monster by Knight of Lycaeus (Story) // Story: Tainted Love: A Twysalis Prompt Tag Collab // by Foals Errand //------------------------------// by Knight of Lycaeus I sighed; a few days ago I had been talking to Twilight about the upcoming meeting with the other Princesses…. Then I had to deal with the chaotic mess and the rainbow one although the second required actions from the living chaos for us to talk. Then the dragon walked in! I knew he was about to yell at me like the rainbow one did but Twilight teleported him away with her before he could say anything. I had to say I was more impressed than before and I had a bit more respect for Twilight, a dragon regardless of age is very resistant to magic and for her to teleport one took a lot of strength. I almost wish I was dealing with the dragon instead of the chaos devil lying on the ceiling above me! Him, Discord he said his name was, he was treating gravity as though it doesn’t exist…. I had been wandering the hallways when a cough from above drew my attention and I found him using the ceiling as the floor for his lounge chair. “Good day, Chrysalis,” Discord greeted, “What a pleasant afternoon is it not?” I swear he was in a race with some of the ponies of this town to see who would drive me insane first…. “Hello Discord.” I said curtly hoping not to deal with him for too long. Discord floated down in a form about half his usual size, “You know, you’re far too grim. Perhaps a little smile when you see ol’ Discord for once?” I began rubbing my head with a forehoof knowing that dealing with him is always a headache, “If you’re looking for Twilight, she’s elsewhere in this palace maze.” “Oh, I’m not looking for her. I am however looking for you.” “Why?” I really had hoped my curt answers would have made him leave but it wasn’t working. “Just checking that you’re learning the all-important friendship lessons, you knowing helping out a friend.” “We’re not friends Discord.” Discord pulls out a black knitted pony…. “You really are grumpy even more than Luna is and she can be quite grumpy.” I stared at the pony in his talons, “Is that suppose to me?” I thought I recognized some of the features but I couldn’t be sure. “Perhaps!” I groaned, “Please get to the point.” “Was the insect analogy I made not enough?” “What insect analogy?” “Oh you know all those times I spent with my friends just around when you appeared.” Discord said as the black pony was put away in favour of a dish of pastries which he proceeded to eat the plate…. “Wait…. What did you do?” I growled as I turned to face him. “Nothing harmful I can assure you.” “No, all you did was made me question why I thought surrendering to a mad town was a good idea. You showed up before with eggs, a purple thing you called a larva, and a few days ago with a coccoo-” I stopped to think as some of the pieces clicked into place. “You know I’m surprised Twilight didn’t clue in sooner.” Discord said while sitting in a stiff throne in front of me. “You’ve been messing with me because of an insect analogy?” “Helping, not exactly messing. Well, messing but in a helpful way!” “What? How?” “A seed or rather an egg of doubt to shake your notion of the perfect infinite food source you saw ponies as. This pastel land is not utopia; Applejack understands that and besides nothing says bonding quite like shared misery, hm?” Discord poofed and appeared on the floor which forced me to look down at my hooves just to keep eye contact. “Rarity and Pinkie showed there are ways to co-exist, you have food like larvae have food that allows them live, grow.” Another poof and Discord was on the wall beside me, “Cocoons, they slows things down, allows them develop, grow. Our mutual rainbow friend just needed to slow down and think.” “Then what’s the butterfly in your analogy?” I interjected. “Me.” One word said more softly and more sincerely than anything else I had heard. “What?” “A butterfly showed me the path to friendship and now I guess I’m here to see that you don’t falter like I did.” Discord poofed and was back on the ceiling, “A butterfly some more sentimental beings then me have called them signs of new life.” Discord snapped and a detailed map of Equestria appeared between us, “This little town is where I fell and rose anew….” Discord paused before frowning, “Bah, too poetic for my taste. A new Discord was born here, if you want to call it that. Once I was the monster that everyone feared. You didn’t listen that first night but I was the Mad Tyrant, the Chaos King. I ruled the world and all its beasts and creatures. I ruled everyone and everything from gryphons, dragons, zebras, ponies, and many more. I used to rule the world, everything changed at my whims. I was the stuff of nightmares, the great monster…. until I took some Princesses with magical harmony to the chest.” “Wait! Then how have Changelings never heard of you?” I could not recall a single Changeling legend about Discord or any creature like him. “That is a long story,” Discord said simply. “Twilight wanted to help you, so I’m helping her. Besides you would have an easier time than I did at convincing the other three for freedom.” “You sound confident that this will work out. I’m sure you know that a sizable portion of the Princesses and their Courts would be against me on principle.” Discord snapped and four ponies of yarn floated in front of him. He waved the larger white one, “Celestia doesn’t hate you in the same way she still hates me at times.” I saw him pick up the blue one, “Luna has never met you but the populace sometimes still views her as Nightmare Moon, the monster who almost brought nighttime forever and you’re the monster that almost brought down Canterlot, she’ll understand.” He raised a pink one, “Cadance the empathy would likely help you.” The last he had I saw was purple, “Twilight…. she saved me. I was reformed until the promise of freedom and to be that monster again was too great to turn down. I took it and it would take Tirek nearly destroying us all for me to reform for real.” I just stared at the chaos devil floating there; it was true that I never heard of him. But if his claims were true then something was off about Changeling history, something was missing. My thoughts were broken when I felt something placed on my head. Using my magic I lifted it off to find the purple pony who I could now tell resembled Twilight. “What? Why would you give me a knitted Twilight? Actually why do you even have one?” I yelled at Discord. “Oh reasons, have fun!” Discord said as left by walking through the wall…. I swear he will be the one to drive me insane!