Tales of Discord

by Moelogroc

Chapter 2

Discord walked through the village of the three races, observing the ponies as they lived. They had such simple lives, idly going about their business, with an almost sickening amount of order and routine. Discord pitied and despised these creatures, who had no concept of chaos, or the opportunities it could provide.

One house caught his attention, mainly because of a garden in front of it. It was a simple garden, it’s only outstanding feature being how untamed it was. The garden looked like it hadn’t been tended to in weeks, with weeds and insects running rampant, and the original contents could only be guessed at. Discord reached out with a hoof, literally plucking a villager from thin air. The cream-coated Earth mare seemed highly confused, staring at the odd-eyed pony who held her.

“Hello, my little pony. Tell me, who lives in this house, and why is their garden in such a state of chaos and mistreatment?”

“This is Harvest’s house, and she hasn’t been seen in weeks! Not since she went into the forest to help find a lost foal. She was the only one who didn’t come back.” The mare looks around nervously. “How did I get here?”

“Hmm… fascinating!” Discord tossed the mare over his left shoulder, causing her to vanish before hitting the ground. She would later find herself in her neighbor’s bed, write the whole experience off as a bad dream, and actually started a happy relationship with said neighbor in the months to come.

Discord went to explore this forest, and give this “Harvest” mare a stern talking to. For he was bored, and could think of nothing more fun than to torment a pony for getting lost in the woods. He walked along the paths for three days and seven nights, getting distracted by the many strange sights within the forest.

Eventually, he found something even he hadn’t expected. A pony, standing in the middle of a clearing, unmoving. As Discord approached, he noticed the pony was in fact made of stone. “Now, why would a pony turn into stone? That’s boring! There are plenty of other things to turn into that are more fun!” Suddenly, a cockatrice leapt from the bushes, fixing Discord with it’s terrible gaze. Discord stared at the creature in bemusement, revealing his true form, turning the beast into a marshmallow with a snap of his fingers.

“Case in point. Now at least you’re tasty.” The marshmallow squawked in fright, running off into the woods once more. Discord turned his attention back to the stone pony, giving her a curious glance. “Harvest, I presume? Well, you were once. You're a picture, just an image caught in time. We're a lie, you and I. We're words without a rhyme. You've been left on your own, like a rainbow in the dark.”

Discord cradled the mare’s face in his paw, running a claw along her forehead. “I wonder what thoughts lie in that stoned head of yours. Let’s take a look…” She pressed his forehead against the mare’s, his head sliding inside the statue without harming it.

Discord traveled through the Ether, into the Collective Unconscious, a realm where all dreams and thoughts are real, a realm all creatures share a connection to, and where magic is chaotic and strong. With his mind connected to Harvest’s he easily found her mind, idly dreaming her dreams. The mare, her mane a vibrant orange now that she was not made of stone, happily worked in her small garden, watering her vegetables. She seemed happy, living her simple life, free of concern.

Discord recoiled in surprise as Harvest’s garden abruptly burst into flames, but Harvest merely sighed, continuing to water the plants as they burned. When her watering can was empty, she steped back, tears forming in her eyes. She kicked the ground in frustration, looking at her garden. “It’s just not fair…” She turned to go inside her house, a sad piano tune playing from out of nowhere. After a minute, as the song dies away, the sun set, and then rose again, Harvest happily walking out of her house to water her garden.

Discord watched in amusement as the scene repeated itself, calmly walking behind the mare as she walked into her home. As she went to her couch, he placed a paw on her shoulder, a comforting gesture. “You try your best, but it’s not quite there. You’re a simple mare, living simple dreams.” Harvest turned in shock, but Discord was gone. His voice slowly faded out as he left her alone. “Time to step up your game, my dear. I’m taking you home, and you’re going to make something of yourself…”

Back in the clearing, Discord pulled his head out of Harvest’s, blowing onto her face. Her body turned from stone back to flesh and fur, Harvest gasping as she breathed again for the first time in weeks. She blinked in confusion at the mighty Draconequus before her, stepping back in terror. “What are you? And why have I seen you in my dreams?”

“Me? I am Discord! Spirit of Chaos! And I have plucked you from the realm of stone and slumber, to return you to your home! And to punish you for neglecting your garden.” Harvest squeaked in surprise as she felt a sharp smack across her backside, Discord’s long tail emerging from the ground behind her to deliver his “punishment”. “Now then. Shall we go home, young one?”

“What’s going on?” Harvest backed away, bumping her flank against a coffee table. She whirled around, staring at her home. She looked back, seeing Discord once more in the guise of Cotton Candy, sitting at her table.

“I emptied your fridge.” Discord munched on a carrot as Harvest’s empty icebox stood open behind him. “But that’s not important right now. Right now, we’re going to give you a new life. All you need to do is listen to me.”

“I'm dreaming. Nothing makes sense! I must be dreaming.” Harvest sat down, trying to make sense of things. Discord tsks disapprovingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Harvest looks down, seeing Discord apparently growing out of her side.

“Nonsense! I just pulled you from the Dreamworld. You’re wide awake. Now, go enjoy your life. I have planted the seeds of the future outside. Take care of them. And don’t let me catch you neglecting your garden to go get stoned again.” Discord walks outside, leaving the carrot-topped mare alone in her home.

Harvest tried to return to her normal life, finding her garden exactly as she had left it. She found several identical gardens scattered throughout her yard. At first she was dismayed, fearing the return of the frightful beast should she fail to take care of these, but she found that when she did work on one garden, the results were duplicated in the others. With this newfound shortcut, she could deliver five times the produce for the same amount of work. With her newfound success she was secure for the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, her life would end two weeks later. The other villagers, curious as to how she could return so suddenly, and produce so much extra food, watched her carefully. When they saw her magic gardens, they decreed that she had returned from the forest after learning witchcraft. Fearing for their lives and homes, the villagers tied her to a pole in the town square, burning her to appease her foul masters, and to remove the taint of witchcraft from their town.

A certain brown stallion with a pink mane watched the flames climb high, the ashes of the mare floating through the air. “Well. That was unexpected.” Discord shrugged, feeling bored again.

****

Twilight stops reading, giving her eyes a chance to rest. “Even when you try to be good, you only produce evil, Discord. The Princess was right about you. These were terrible times.” She feels something tickle her nose, and sneezes, kicking up a cloud of dust. “Ugh! I guess nopony’s cleaned this place in a while!” She chuckles, rubbing some of the dust out of her eyes, turning the page to read the next story.

Comments

[leaderofstars]

damn. he cannot get a break.
but it seems that any action of good he makes is balanced by some kind of evil not of his choosing.

[The Cokegamer]

I find it intresting that when he tries to do good the disharmony in him ruins it, yet when he threw that pony into someone elses room he accidently created love. Is it just because emotionens can be considerd chaos or is it just some crazy coincidence?

[Moelogroc]

368718 Crazy coincidence or chaos? Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Things just happen because they do. Isn't it grand?

[RainbowsAreMagic]

368718 The way I see it, he cannot successfully accomplish anything he does on purpose. It's kind of a zen thing. Or if you like, the whole "in more danger if he wasn't trying to hit you" effect.