Learning
///O\\\
What have I done?
It was the only thing that plagued my mind. This was a nightmare, in both a literal and surreal sense it truly was a nightmare.
“Discord and Bill know each other?” I said in silent disbelief to myself as the two began talking. I could feel a lump in my throat starting to form as my mouth suddenly felt quite dry.
“T-This can’t be happening” I said to the two of them. Both looked at me with questioning looks like they were confused on how I didn’t understand this.
I gave them a look that was mixed with fear, anger at my own self for being the cause of this horrible meeting and anger with everything else that could unfold if I didn’t put an end to this.
“Discord” I said trotting towards him. “Please, tell me you’re just messing with me. Tell me, this is all some kind of twisted joke. How do you know Bill?! How does Bill know you?! This is all just one giant confounding mess that I can’t fathom at all!” my ears twitching erratically as I vented and my tail now flicked like a whip as I finished.
Bill floated over to me and gently placed an arm around my whither. I shoved it off with a violent shrug and attempted to back away from him, but he immediately teleported beside me and wrapped a firmer arm around my neck.
“It’s really quite simple” Bill said with a calm look in his eye. “Discord and I used to rule Equestria eons ago.”
My current shaken state only increased at this statement. I failed to notice the small mischievous grin Discord sported before winking to Bill and giving him a thumbs up, meanwhile my mind began racing trying to figure out what nonsense this being of turmoil and destruction was spouting right now.
“T-That’s impossible” I stated firmly as I tried to calm my increasing heart rate.
“Oh but it isn't” Discord said joining in with a wicked grin. “I wasn’t the only one who ruled Equestria during the Chaos Era. I mean sure I was the cause, the start, the beginning, the middle, and most definitely the end of it. But I was certainly not the only one that ruled all of Equus” he said with his grin only widening as I began to sweat.
“Lies!” I yelled, sliding out of Bill’s hold and staring at the two of them. “I have read all if not most of the history Twilight put before me on Equestria and the other nations. As well as the parts she explained to me with great ease. If there had been more than one that ruled Equestria while Discord took charge it would be explained, mentioned or at the very least hinted by the diarchy in the history of Equestria!”
“And you believe it?” Bill said with a bored look in his eye.
“W-What?” I said with some anger. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I bet on my life that you don’t know this world anymore than I do! I know what you can and can’t do Bill, I’ve seen what you’re capable of without a physical form. The only power you have is in the Mindspace, when you are summoned or when you are torturing others in their dreams!” I shouted with a slam of my hoof on the ground for extra emphasis.
“You have no power as long as you don’t get your hands on someone with a weak will! And from the looks of the girls, maybe even that Starlight girl you’ve been worming your way into then you can’t do anything...yet at least. But they aren’t weak by any means so if you think you can get them to do what you want” I grinned weakly, starting to calm down a bit with this fact.
“Then you are out of luck.”
Neither of them said a word after that. Both looking slightly surprised, Bill looking impressed but only faintly at my level of knowledge and courage to talk back to him in such a way. Discord just frankly looked a little annoyed now.
Bill sighed, then looked at Disord. “I told you he was uptight.”
“I’ll see” Discord said shaking his head in disappointment. “I think I may have found Twilight’s perfect match.” Coming towards me Discord’s disappointed expression changed to a more calm one, still holding one of displeasure at having his fun ruined though.
“Hailstorm, relax. It was just a joke” Discord said, attempting to pat my shoulder friendly only for me to retract that part of my body away from him.
“...What?” I said staring with hostility. “...Did you just say it was a joke?”
“Of course” Bill said appearing in front of me and grabbing my face, squishing my cheeks as he stared at me with his eye that reflected how much he was enjoying my anger and confusion.
“Discord and I never ruled Equestria! Heck I only know of the Chaos Era after one and only one brief meeting with him. Just after he turned into a statue and just after everything had returned to normal here in this world” Bill said releasing me, as he floated away.
“You really need to learn to loosen up Hailstorm” Bill said wagging his claw at me with disappointment.
I just stared. Now feeling completely calm, only a few beads of sweat now trickling from my mane, down my face.
I wiped them away with the back of my hoof and just stared at these two. Discord and Bill. Both of whom I’d just recently thought were going to throw the world into utter turmoil and ruin. The harshness of them knowing each other had been too much pressure for me so I suppose I just snapped under it all, forgetting that these two had a really twisted sense of humor that mine could equal to if I had their powers.
My eye twitched involuntarily after a second of silence. “You two were joking?” I asked after I swallowed nothing.
“Yes” Discord said with a slight smile.
A lot of things were running through me right now. Anger. Blood Lust. Blood Lust...more blood lust and confusion.
I moved a hoof in an attempt to pinch the bridge of my nose, only for it to gently land on my snout. A groan of frustration came to me as I recalled I was not in my human form.
“If I could kill you two I would.”
“Whoa” Discord said backing up with both arms raised. “Touché.”
I just glared at Discord and Bill for a few seconds before relaxing my tense shoulders just a bit. “Fine, fine. Just tell me how you two know each other” I said sitting down.
“With pleasure” Discord said.
“Better yet” Bill chipped in his left hand raising. “I’ll show you.”
Discord looked at Bill with an interested eye and nodded. “I suppose that would work better.”
Another groan of frustration came from me as I prepared my body for what I’m sure would be another horrible experience in this Dream Phase.
“Do it.”
Bill waved his hand around and flicked his hand down with a wave of his wrist. The slightly ruined and abandoned street we had been staying at soon disappeared in a whirl of colors.
Bill’s voice echoed after us as him and Discord watched by my side as things began to slowly shape into place. Darkness soon enveloping us before a faint mystical blue glow took up my vision.
“The Mindscape.”
The current domain we were in was empty. Void of life. Void of any true presence, just blank save for one being floating through the vast emptiness. Staring down at a large blue marble that floated in the empty void that was space.
Bill Cipher, watched the world and all events that took place in silence as he floated in the mindscape.
His eye now focused on one particular event that was occurring and had gained most of his attention. His eye slanted into one of interest, as he watched the event unfold.
The fight between the Pine brothers.
Our views shifted from watching Bill, to seeing what he was seeing.
“Stanley you don’t understand what I’m up against. What I’ve been through!” Stanford said.
I frowned. I’d seen this before. Their fight, and then when Stanford got sucked in. So it was around this time Bill and Discord met, and the same time Stanley and Stanford lost connection with each other?
I glanced over to Discord. He was watching silently. Bill who floated beside me watched attentively, seeing this again was not a problem for him. I assumed he was more interested in my reaction when I saw how they met.
A shriek of pain from Stanley turned my attention back to the memory. He was holding his right shoulder, where the symbol had been burnt into his back. I winced looking at the healed scar now across my shoulder and going down my chest just a bit.
“Some brother you turned out to be” Stanley said still clutching the side that had been burnt. “You care more about your dumb mysteries than your family? Well then you can have them!” he said grabbing Stanford as he rose and then shoving the book right into him.
Bill, Discord, and I watched as Stanford Pines slowly rose into the air flailing with the book still clutched in his hand.
The look Stanley had on his face told me he felt probably the same way I felt when I realized what had just happened after crossing in to Equestria.
“Whoa, Whoa what’s happening?!” he said taking a step forward as the portal began drawing his brother into it.
“Stanley! Stanley help me!” Stanford yelled looking down at his brother.
“ Oh no, what do I do?!”
“Stanley! Stanley!” Stanford looked back as he was now inches away from the portal. The mechanism had now begun sucking in his coat as he looked back at it with a look of worry and what I knew to be concern mixed with fear.
“Stanley do something!” he shouted throwing the book down at his brother. Stanford watched baffled, only able to catch his book as the brother was slowly sucked into the portal.
“Stanley! Stanleeeeey!!!!” Stanford’s voice called echoing as he was completely consumed. Stanley stared dumbfounded as his brother disappeared, only for the portal to explode with white light the second Stanford had been completely consumed.
The world exploded in light around us, and our view returned to Bill who’d been watching with a wide eye as the events unfolded.
The Bill of the past blinked once then twice. Silence filling the space. The world faded into darkness around us once again as Discord raised his eagle claw, changing things to his own perspective.
“Now I’ll show you how I was able to contact Bill” Discord said after a second or two of silence.
The world glowed bright with a multitude of various colors before flashing into existence was a small town. The ground made out of yarn, buffaloes doing ballet, dragon’s sneezing bubbles, ponies screaming and running around in fear, confusion, and most of all shocked by how much everything had changed.
In the center of all this chaos. Was the Discord of the past, who watched all the ponies fleeing in fear with a warm smile on his face.
There were a few attempts where various creatures of this world tried to stop him. But with a blink Discord merely either had them lose something. Their horns that gave them the power to manipulate magic. Their wings that allowed them to fly. Or even the strength of an earth pony or any other powerful creature that was sentient and wanted to save their people.
Discord laughed and laughed. Soaking in all the chaos, all the pain, all the confusion he was causing. Enjoying every single second, every single minute of it with great joy.
I glanced up at him, not really surprised that this was how he had been so many years ago. Many of the things history had to say about Discord was not at all nice. Nor was it child friendly.
Frankly I was amazed to see he had changed so much but I suppose the girls were the ones to thank for that. Fluttershy especially who I’d heard whisper things to me through my pain on how she used to comfort Discord when he was feeling bad, which as she stated was rare but never something she left him alone when he did feel as such.
I turned my attention back to the memory, wondering that if humans had this kind of power if we would turn out this way. Then again in many cases some had even without powers as strong as these two possessed.
Standing before Discord now were two alicorns. One a light navy blue. The other a pure white. Princess Celestia and Luna stood staring at their friend with a coldness in their eyes, that I noticed reflected pain as well.
Bill’s voice made my left ear perk up. “Didn’t know you had my kind of fun.”
Discord shuffled at where he stood, his voice was low. Regretful. “That was...a long time ago...I’ve changed a bit since then.”
Bill laughed. “We’ll see Discord. We’ll see.”
I turned my attention back the memory being shown to us.
Discord grinned at the two sisters who both had saddlebags on them. Celestia took a step forward, her sister watching her back.
“Discord, how could you do this?” Celestia asked with a pained expression.
“How could I do what? This?” he asked snapping his claw and in an instant Celestia’s wings and horn were gone.
Luna moved forward but Discord lifted a paw and grinned. “Ah,ah,ahh” he said wagging his finger. “No magic allowed.” Luna’s horn and wings disappeared as well.
Both sisters now seemingly powerless stared at Discord with a look that showed how afflicted they were by his betrayal.
“Discord, what in the name of the gods are you doing?! Why are you throwing the world into chaos?!” Luna asked.
“Why?” Discord said with his grin fading into a blank angered stare.
“Luna I’m sure you know, or have at least recently felt somewhat rejected. Gone unnoticed by the public hm?” Discord asked standing up from his throne, taking a small step forward.
Luna looked at him with a raised brow, not willing to accept what he was saying but not one hundred percent sure of what she was hearing either. “I...do not understand what you mean.”
“Oh of course you don’t. You won’t, at least not now but eventually you’ll see. Just how painful it is to be ignored. Isn’t that right Celestia?” Discord said turning towards her.
Celestia who still stood proud even without her wings and horn gave Discord a concerned stare. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean Princess” he said the last word mockingly. “For years I have been looked on by ponykind, all of the races on this world as a monster because of my form. It is probably the reason why my species disappeared all those years ago. I now see I was a fool to stay behind but hey” Discord said with a shrug.
“If nopony can accept me for who I am. If I am to be rejected by all of society. For my power, my pranks, my looks, my personality. Even when I try to do good and something goes wrong, then I will have fun with this world as I see fit” Discord said sitting back on his throne, both hands curling into a fist, before relaxing on the throne’s arm rests.
“And there is nothing either of you can do to stop me.”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other. Both seeming to not like the decision they had been forced to make. With a frown Celestia lifted her saddlebag, as did Luna and out came three gems floating around them.
Discord raised a brow. “What are those?”
“The Elements of Harmony Discord. And they are hear to put an end to your reign of tyranny” Celestia said as the element of magic, laughter, and kindness, floated around her.
Luna had the elements of generosity, loyalty, and honesty floating around her as their opponent watched, with a stunned look on his face
Then Discord broke out into a fit of laughter, a lightning bolt striking the tail of one of the deer that had been screeching along with the other ponies a good distance away from the draconequus and alicorns.
“You think a bunch of gems will do anything to me?” he said with a wicked grin before bursting out into more laughter.
“That’s hilarious!” he said smacking his knee as tears of joy began to sting his eyes. “Go ahead princess, try it!” he burst out into laughter once more as the two sisters took a step forward and the elements glowed.
“We are sorry Discord” Celestia said. “But if we wish Equestria to be in peace we must be rid of you so that we can restore order to what you’ve done.”
Discord snorted laughing even more. “Order! Pffft Ha, ha, ha, ha! Order means nothing if you two are going around using useless diamonds to face the bad guys!” Discord said laughing even more.
Celestia and Luna frowned as the elements swirled around them together, carrying them into the air as the elements activated. “Goodbye old friend” Celestia said.
The Elements of Harmony shot at the draconequus with its magic. Raining over him like a waterfall as he continued to laugh at the sheer stupidity of all this, his body turning to stone in the process.
And just as Discord was being turned to stone his eyes snapped open as he sensed a disturbance in the force. Something of powerful magic had appeared in this world. This made him grin and strike a pose.
“Oh I can’t wait to meet this guy!” he said laughing even more as he instantly became nothing but a statue.
Celestia and Luna landed, everything Discord had done returning to normal. The land however appearing a bit more in ruin that would require quite a bit of work of fixing in the process for the following years to come.
Once the two sisters had stashed away the elements Celestia looked at Discord with a sadness in her eyes as did Luna who wrapped a wing around her sister.
The memory faded with Celestia apologizing to the draconequus for everything that had happened. And everything that made him do what he did.
I stared in silence. The history books were wrong about one thing. Discord wasn’t a monster as they had made him seem.
He was just tired of being rejected and alone. Much like Luna had been tired of being ignored. I looked up at him and gently placed a hoof on his arm for reassurance that I understood how he felt.
I couldn’t say I understood what it felt to be completely shunned by society, but I did know what it was like to regret your actions. I was currently regretting mine to this very moment, and Bill knew that well.
“Now that you’ve seen that here’s where we really met!” Bill said.
Instantly we were back in the Mindscape. Discord somehow had managed to find his way there, his mind managing to get sucked into the magical force that he had sensed disturbing the natural magical balance.
He looked around, confused. Till he saw something off in the distance.
It was a triangle floating towards him.
Discord stared at it, as Bill Cipher stared at him. Both examining the other, and from what Discord could sense this guy was a powerful being indeed.
“...What- I’m sorry that’s rude. Who are you and how did I get here?” Discord asked with a raised brow.
“I’m Bill Cipher, your friendly omnipotent entity. As for how you got here” Bill shrugged. “Beats me kid, I just came here because I sensed a powerful presence. And that presence is you.”
Discord grinned, bowing to the compliment. “Thank you, I do dabble in a bit of chaos now and then to make sure I haven’t lost my touch.”
“Chaos huh? Sounds like my kind of fun” Bill said with interest. “But if you’re here I’m going to guess you’re dead then?”
Discord stared then laughed, shaking his head. “Dead? No. Possibly frozen in stone yes. Those elements of harmony weren’t a joke after all.”
“Elements of what?” Bill asked with curiosity. “Never heard of them.”
“Neither have I. Least till now. They seem to be powerful gems of ancient magic. Their creation I’ll never know, but they’re powerful enough to stop a god of chaos such as myself.”
“Really?” Bill said wibjs egeeye raised in amazement. Discord nodded.
“I see. And you said they’re called the Elements of Harmony?” Discord nodded again.
“Hm, I’ll have to keep that in mind if I ever go to, wherever you’re from.”
“Equestria. It’s most likely a world you’ve never heard of.”
“I’ll say” Bill replied. A few seconds of silence passed before Discord’s ghostly like appearance began to fade.
“Whoa, this some kind of neat trick your place does?” he asked as his conscience began to fade from the realm.
“No, it appears your body is bringing your mind back to your original dimension. It looks like this will be goodbye. But I would definitely love to meet again and talk about world conquest over some tea” Bill said with an extended hand.
Discord looked at it, grinned, then nodded. “I’d like that.” The two shook hands, then Discord’s mind disappeared from the Mindscape.
The memory ended there, and we returned to the domain Bill had created earlier. The streets.
I sat there in silence, digesting everything I’d just learned. “So that’s how you two met.”
“Yup” Discord said.
“That is correct” Bill replied.
I didn’t say anything afterwards. Having to just relive the moment with the Pine’s I’d already seen before only to see it again. Then having to learn about Discord’s past and how he and Bill met it was a lot to take in.
I needed time to digest. Bill had other plans though.
Turning to Discord Bill slowly floated over to him while I continued to mull over everything I just learned.
“So Discord, now that we’ve finally had the chance to meet after what a few years?”
“Over a thousand” Discord corrected.
“Hm, I suppose time works differently for the both of us. Anyway” Bill said with a shrug. “About that world conquest deal. Care to join me in a discussion for it? I’ve been making plans and with your help, taking over this world will be simple.”
Discord’s interested look slowly fading into a grave expression. “World conquest? Of Equus?”
Bill nodded, snapping a tea set into existence. “What else would I be talking about.”
I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn’t even register what was going on till I heard Discord’s voice say “You’re not serious are you?”
I turned to look at them.
“Of course I am. I wasn’t able to take over his world” he said pointing to Hailstorm. “But I sure as well can take over this one. And since I’m gathering the gods of this world to help me I’ll-”
Discord raised his claw for a quick moment of pause. He had his lion paw draped over his face in thought as he considered what Bill was saying.
“You want me to join you in taking over Equestria, well not just that but the entire world like I did eons ago. But if I do where does that lead my friends?” he asked now looking up at Bill.
Bill stared in silence for a few seconds then looked at me. I just shrugged not sure what to say. Bill’s eye slanted into an expression of indifference, “What about your ‘friends’?” he asked.
Any interest Discord had at this proposition went out of the window then and there. Discord took a few steps back down the street and away from Bill, I got up from where I sat and moved towards him.
"I see you’ve made the right choice” I commented, now staring at Bill.
“Yeah” Discord muttered. “I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.”
Bill stared at the two of us now in consideration. “Let me get this straight” he said now rubbing his nonexistent chin. “You, Discord aren’t going to team up with me? You’re going to team up with him?” he asked pointing to me.
“That’s the plan. I’m not dumb enough to betray the mares that gave me a third chance I threw away our friendship for someone I thought was my friend, just to get pulled into another scheme and get used like a pawn all over again.”
Silence.
Bill stared at us with a blank expression. He then looked at me, then his eye moved to Discord before he blinked and then just stared silently again.
A cold chuckle slowly escaped him as his eye became lidded with laughter. He laughed and he laughed and he laughed at us. My expression remaining calm and defiant, Discord’s remaining mundane.
Finally when he was done laughing Bill’s body grew twice its regular size. “That’s fine by me. I don’t need your help to take over Equestria, but Hailstorm remember this. If you keep hiding things from your friends, especially after you two wake up after this” -his eye widened in a menacing yet mocking manner- “you’ll regret it.”
“And as for you Discord” Bill stated as he shrunk back to his regular size. “I look forward to seeing what you and the others can do against me and the gods” he stated with a slanted eye.
Snapping his fingers Bill allowed the entire world to grow in darkness as he continued to stare at us with what I could now see as a slowly burning annoyance.
“Now you two” he said pointing to us his eye lidded. “Get out of my domain.” His eye opening and flashing red, his voice growing menacing as the words came out allowing Discord and I to fall through the ground as Bill watched us from above with menacing laughter.
“Don’t forget you two” Bill’s voice called as he watched us slowly get enveloped in light. “I’m always watching you!”
///O\\\