Chapter Nineteen
Edited by MrSpartan
Discord
I felt my body heat up. My vision was blurry and I collapsed into the arms of someone. Actually, there were several. My body ached all over. Still, it was better than slamming into the ground.
"Oh, my head," I said. "That was much worst than the last time I was turned to stone."
"Discord? Is that really you?" said a voice I recognized as Fluttershy. I blinked as my vision cleared and I looked into Fluttershy's eyes.
My heart warmed and I smiled at her. "Oh, my dear Fluttershy," I said. "I was hoping to keep you all out of this."
I may be a powerful being, but it breaks me to see Fluttershy sad. Even though she wanted to cry, she fought back the tears and hugged me. I hugged her back, never wanting to let go.
When we finally broke apart, I looked up at the wizard. "Hello, Harry Dresden," I said.
"Hello, Sam Singer," he replied. I had to grin. He was smart to have figured it out. Though I shouldn't have expected any less from him.
"Thank you for taking care of my friends," I said, trying to get up. Fluttershy caught me as I started to fall. The effects of the spell must have weakened me. "Thank you, Fluttershy."
"Mr. Dresden," Marcone said. "I suggest you get him some place to rest his strength."
I looked up at Marcone. Was he really helping now? If he had actually listened to me the first time, I may had already caught Chaogent by now. "Come on, group," Dresden said. "Time to go."
"Oh, wait," Rarity said. "I made new clothes for everypony."
"We don't have time for this, Rarity," Dash said.
"It'll just be a moment," she replied as she pulled out a wand. She waved it a bit and a rack of clothes came rolling into the room. So, Rarity has learned to use the magic here. Has Twilight done the same?
"We'll take them with us," Dresden said. "No time for that now."
"Oh, I guess that'll be fine," she said, turning to Marcone. "Thank you, John. Hope to see you again soon."
He smiled as he gave her a bow. "It was a pleasure, Rarity," he said. He then took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Until next time."
She smiled at him before turning to Dresden. "Shall we, Mr. Dresden?"
I watched as Dresden started to lead us out. Fluttershy helped me as well as the man I had met before, Thomas Raith. They got me into the vehicle and I watched as the group split. Fluttershy stayed with me. Rarity and Applejack joined us as Dresden drove. The others, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and the young lady I assumed was Molly Carpenter rode with Thomas.
“How is he doing?” I heard Dresden ask.
“I’m fine,” I said as I rested my head on Fluttershy's lap. “I need to rest and get my energy back.”
“It’s alright, Discord,” Fluttershy said, dabbing at my forehead with her sleeve. I must be sweating. I didn't know I could do that in this form. Who knew?
“Do you have enough strength to answer a few questions?” Dresden asked. I figured he would.
“As long as it’s not quantum mechanics or anything like that,” I replied.
“Why did you link the girls to us?” he asked.
Did he really figure out my spell? “What do you mean?” I asked, testing the waters.
“Twilight appeared near Michael’s place,” he said. “Rainbow Dash near where Molly exited from the Nevernever, Rarity near Marcone, Applejack with Kincaid, Pinkie Pie on Demonreach, and Fluttershy near Thomas. A little too coincidental.”
“Twilight was suppose to appear near you,” I said. I was right to get him involved. He was able to figure that out easily. "But I never planted the seed for Applejack. She must have went to Hero’s suite since she had a connection to him.” And for that matter, I didn't know why Twilight went to Michael Carpenter instead of Dresden. What was more interesting was how I linked them all to someone who knew Harry as well. That was lucky.
“Yep. I woke up in the suite and thought Hero was there,” Applejack said. “But instead, I found Kincaid. Ya mean to tell me that ya meant for all of us to appear near where we did except me?”
“Marcone prevented me from finding a place for you, Applejack," I admitted. And that was true, but I did wonder why it took her to the suite instead of just piggybacking with one of the others or even attempting to take her to Hero. On the other hand, we were lucky she didn't go to Hero, otherwise, there's no telling where she would be now.
“But why did you link Pinkie to the island?” Harry asked.
“I knew she could handle it and that you’ll find her quickly.” I smirked to myself at that. Dresden wasn't the only one to be able to piece things together. I mean, who lives on an island like that for over a year unless they had a link to it?
“Speaking of,” Applejack said. “What is wrong with Pinkie? She doesn’t seem like her usual self.”
“Probably feeling the effects of this world,” I said. “Rarity, you can use your magic now. You noticed how you feel tired more quickly?”
“Why yes, as a matter of fact I do,” she replied.
“It’s the laws of this world,” I said. “Pinkie is burning up her energy a lot faster because of her hyper nature. She’s not use to it here.”
“She seemed fine last night,” Fluttershy said.
“Who was the first one to fall asleep last night?” I asked.
“Pinkie fell asleep in the car first,” Dresden said.
“She burned her energy,” I said. “You’ll find she’s not her normal self either.”
“Oh dear,” Fluttershy said. “Will that happen to us?”
“Twilight and Rarity will feel the effects of their magic, just like how Dresden does, I explained. “They’ll get headaches and can even blackout if they use too much. But unlike him, they'll burn through it faster. You and Rainbow Dash won’t be able to fly. I feel the effects myself, thus my current state. Applejack would probably be the least affected."
“You’re an Outsider,” Dresden said. “How are you feeling fatigued?”
“Outsiders run out of energy too. I’ve even gotten sick in their world,” I said.
“Get some rest, Discord,” Fluttershy said softly.
It was true that I was limited in my power, but I wasn't telling the full truth. The fact was I came here on my own. Crossing over limited me. However, if someone like Dresden summoned me, I can come over in full force...or at least close to it. The drawback to that was that it could land Dresden dead by the laws laid out by the wizarding counsel. Then again, there were some who break the laws for power.
I frowned as that thought went through my head. Chaogent just disappeared from Equestria. He couldn't have broken out himself. That meant someone from here pulled him here.
“Hell’s bells,” I heard Dresden say suddenly.
“What’s wrong, dear?” Rarity asked.
“I’ll tell you later when I check something out,” he said. “I'm going to drop all of you off first."
We finally reached a house and with the help of Fluttershy and Applejack, I was taken inside. I noticed Pinkie Pie seemed to be holding her stomach as we entered. I guess the world was affecting her more than I thought it would. They took me up to a bedroom where I could rest. After a quick chat with Fluttershy, I laid back and closed my eyes.
...
Some time later, I woke back up. I would say I had dreamed, but I don’t really have dreams here. This place hates Outsiders. I felt a little better and decided to check out the place. As much as I would like to go find Chaogent, it would be better to just wait for everypony to rest up. We’re going to have to all work together to stop Chaogent. Plus, none of us could afford me getting turned to stone again...or worse.
I heard voices downstairs as I moved silently down the hall. I thought maybe it was Fluttershy. By the time I reached the bottom of the steps, the voices had gone quiet. Then I learned why. I saw Fluttershy embracing Thomas Raith as they kissed deeply.
Something inside me stirred. It wasn’t anything I felt before, but it did make me question why. Why would Fluttershy be kissing him? What did she see in him? I felt anger building up in me. I wanted to grab Thomas and rip him apart. Instead, I turned and went back up the stairs.
I don’t know why I was feeling this way, or what it really was. It was a feeling that I felt deep within me. Like something had torn my heart out. The closest I could describe was when Fluttershy and I had first became friends and I had made her upset with me. I thought I had been manipulating her but instead I felt the pain of losing my only friend. Was this something like that? Was I losing her as a friend?
I didn’t realise I had made it back to the bed I was using. I just laid there, staring up at the ceiling. I picked up my cane from where I had set it when we got here and looked at it. I stared at it for a moment before I tapped it on my forehead.
“Ow,” I said softly, tossing the stupid cane aside. I sighed as I sat back, closing my eyes. I felt a little bit of the magic I had stored in the cane wash over me. I guess my appearance was going to change a little. Maybe I’ll look a little better than some old guy. Regardless, I still needed rest. Whatever I was feeling, it had to wait until tomorrow.
…
I was the first to awake the next morning. The room was still pretty dark thanks to the heavy black curtains. That didn’t bother me. I just wanted to finish what we started. I got up and picked up the cane I had tossed hours before. Despite being full of energy again, I felt somehow empty. I felt that something was missing. Was this because of the feeling I had the previous night?
There was no time to think about that now. I walked out of the room and back down the stairs, seeing Thomas lay there on the couch. I noticed something different about him. He had a burn mark on his lips. I had to wonder what that was about.
I guess he must have sensed me, because he woke up and looked around at me. “Oh, Mr. Singer,” he said.
“It’s Discord,” I said, though I might have added a little heat to my words.
“What’s with the new look?” he asked. “Much younger now.”
“Decided to change it up a bit,” I said. “What’s with your burned lips?”
“Had a mishap last night,” he told me. “Touched something I shouldn’t have.”
Damn right you shouldn’t have. “Oh? And what was that?”
“A little bat with a burning love for someone,” he told me. “At least she had fangs like a vampire bat.”
This guy was really testing me. I felt the anger raise up in me. Did he and Fluttershy do what I thought he did? “I guess you won’t have to worry about that for much longer,” I said, though it sounded more like a threat. “How could you get burned by kissing someone?”
“I’m a White Court Vampire,” he said, getting up. “True love is harmful to us. Though I don’t expect an Outsider would know what true love is.”
True love? It seemed foreign to me. I’ve heard of White Court Vampires and I’ve heard of love. Did this mean Fluttershy was in love? And was it with this vampire? “You best not touch Fluttershy again if you know what’s good for you,” I growled.
“You don’t scare me, Discord,” he said, standing his ground. “I don’t know why my brother trust you enough to save your ass, but I know better. You have no heart for anyone. Just for your own. So, why do you give a fuck about Fluttershy or any of these other ponies?”
I walked up to him, raising my cane. I was ready to turn this asshole into a frog, or maybe smoke and just letting him float away as gasy matter. Or maybe it was time to turn someone else into a statue. Whatever I was about to do, it didn’t matter. One of the girls screamed from upstairs. I whipped around and looked up at the stairs. I glanced at him for a moment.
“We’ll finish this later,” I said, and we both ran up the stairs.