Tirek's Shadow

by LiterarySerenity

Chapter Thirteen—Concerns Many Types of Trees

Being caught between deep sleep and complete wakefulness might have disoriented many ponies, lost in a mental limbo while aware of moving around in the physical world. To feel paralyzed yet not be, really. Or to understand who you are has been split off from a contrary twin, although indescribable ties to the presence of that other side remained or prodded like a thorn in the foot. At the same time, a certain liberty came from this detachment—especially for a chaos lord—where none were around to judge or criticize any creations.

Discord had seen and known states of existence in his lifetime that could daunt even the most courageous spirits, including insane monarchs driven to gruesome acts or his own 1,000-year stone confinement (during which all he could hear were sounds from the outside). In such a fantastical world, back in early Equestria and up to the present day, such things were commonplace enough—though he had noticed those who stood against these darker forces had grown in number and strength. Mindsets had shifted along with the land, while more of the inhabitants had learned how to manipulate or wield magic to influence their surroundings.

The Tree of Harmony had also spread in influence, helping to shape the realm as much as the ponies.

Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and his Ponyville friends were shining examples of that point. They could take care of great threats with their bonds and had blown Discord away initially with the elements provided by TOH. Somehow, Equestria had gone from a brutal and fear-ridden place to a kinder and more magical one for them.

Ponies also faced, rather than ran, from Discord. They had even gone out of their way to befriend him. This was completely nonsensical and boggled the imagination, which meant the chaos spirit enjoyed it. Overall, the whole thing made for a pleasant change.

Even if he seemed out-of-place here now.

Furthermore, now a dark shadow hung over the ponies and TOH, using his magic to disrupt the peace and tear them apart. And Discord had to teach Twilight how to dispel it, or at least enough to release the elements and wipe away the chaos.

Discord fingered the card in his paw. Twilight would be expecting a written spell, or something she could quantify. So the draconequus had to find some way to express what she needed to do without telling her, in short:

“Just do it.”

At least Discord could use magic in this place—even if he was totally gray now—probably due to the dreamscape quality. His thinking tree sprouted underneath and carried him to a great height. That is, it might have been a great height if there had been anything with which to compare it. Curled along the upper branches, he looked out and got distracted by all the emptiness—which made his claws twitch in anticipation.

After a brief moment, he gave into the temptation. For Discord was somewhere in his mind, and this time the shadows were out of sight.

So Discord treated the surroundings like a blank canvas. And because he was feeling a bit nostalgic, the draconequus caused great sweeps of forest to rise in rich, verdant waves. Some of the trees were small and bony, while others were large and knobby. They came in a variety of chaotic styles and shades.

This filled him with such glee that he added more details, from wildflowers winding throughout the undergrowth to exotic birds of breath-taking beauty chirping in great flocks. Timberwolves also rustled through the thickets.

And then, because it suddenly occurred to Discord how ravenous he was, he decided to indulge in an old treat.

In one section of the woods, a grove emerged with trees that bore large, rainbow-colored apples.

Discord flew to this area, plucked one of the apples, and munched it.

The fruit tasted sweet as he remembered, back in the old days.

What fun! Fluttershy would have loved these woods, and—

Ah. That was right. Fluttershy was waiting, and Discord still had to figure out what to tell Twilight. He had gotten too wrapped up in being creative. But thinking of his friends put matters back into perspective. He held the card clutched in his tail, waiting for the next best opportunity to use it. The card, apparently, was the only thing that proved difficult for him to access. In a sense, he had to charge it—although this could have been due to Discord’s circumstances, in bypassing his opposite self and reaching out to the ponies.

These apples were refreshing, however. Perhaps they would make a difference on that front.

Discord was onto his third apple, leaning back upon a branch, musing on how to explain chaotic magic to Twilight, when he heard some pony gave a whoop—followed by the sensation of the tree in which he lay getting struck.

The chaos spirit falling out along with several apple, but he landed on something soft.

“That was peculiar.” Discord remarked.

“What the hay is—Discord!?” None other than Applejack squirmed beneath him. The pony looked reasonably befuddled, yet he could discern some measure of relief crossing her features. “Would you mind getting off of me?”

“Certainly.” The draconequus drifted back. “I see you found my little apple grove.”

“Your apple grove.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yes. You should join me for a meal.” Discord picked up one of the rainbow-colored apples and extended it to Applejack. “These apples are my own creation, but I think you might like them.” He paused. “What?”

“You created these apples?” Applejack lifted one of the rainbow-colored apples between her hooves, turning it around as if in deep concentration.

“Oh, yes.” Discord said, rolling several down one arm and into his open mouth. “It would surprise you what types of fruits I used to enjoy, back when Equestria was more like this.” He gestured to the surrounding woodlands. “These apples were some of my best ideas, I believe. I even had an agreement with the Timberwolves to howl and let me know when they were on their way each year.” Then he smirked at the pony. “Do you remember when we made that agreement for me to create an experimental orchard for you a while back? It wasn’t exactly my first time, although I guess that surprises you too.”

Applejack, at this point, was giving a small smile while still examining the apple.

“Well, I’ll be.” Applejack muttered instead, tipping back her hat and meeting his gaze. “You really are something, you know?”

“I suppose so.” Discord said. Despite everything, it put him a bit off-balance. She seemed to be complimenting him, although this could have been because she simply admired the idea of a rainbow-colored apple. Applejack adored apples, after all.

“Did you ever hear about how the Apple family first settled in this area?” Applejack asked.

“Err—”

“Never mind. First, you’d better tell me what’s been going on with this here Tirek fella.”

Well, there was nothing else Discord could do at the moment, and no pony except Applejack present (who might have been a part of his dream, for all he knew).

So the draconequus sat down and talked about the last few days.

***

Meanwhile, Twilight flipped through the old book Zecora had brought into the council room. The pages were worn and in serious need of restoration, yet the princess could see the text in the middle Equestrian tongue clearly enough. With her active friends gathered around, she moved to a page mentioned by the wise zebra, which contained a chapter on the magic inherent in wild plants and herbs. The picture opposite this showed what appeared to be a map of Equestria many years ago, dominated by the vast wilderness Twilight recalled from when Discord had shared his tale with her. Whoever had illustrated the volume had sectioned off particular areas with different colors, almost like a topographical map. But the section near where present-day Ponyville stood had the brightest division.

Checking the key along the bottom, Twilight could see the cartographer had labeled this—in the old tongue—loosely as, “Origin Point.”

“This book was given to me, passed down through my family.” Zecora explained. “Even though it is quite an old tome, it is with this that I chose my home. The magic in this part of the land, was perfect for any medicines I could plan.”

“So you came to live in the Everfree Forest near Ponyville because there are certain plants or herbs here you couldn’t find elsewhere?” Twilight asked.

“That is almost right, and they give me great delight. But this place has a particular history as well, which makes it possible to do many a spell. Stories in this book do state, how the wilderness nearby is the oldest to date. The magic it possessed flowed from this part of the land many years ago, farther back than any pony knows. So the title goes by that name—” Here Zecora indicated the title label. “Because the great magic here has much acclaim.”

Twilight thought then of the Tree of Harmony, standing there in the cavern deep in the Everfree Forest. In fact, it might have been right at the heart of the woods. They had eventually needed to return the elements to that tree to it would survive and not get overrun by the thorny vines.

But the forest had not been in trouble then. In fact, it had been wilder than ever.

So what could be happening now?

“I never realized the Everfree Forest here was that old.” Rarity interjected.

“Neither did I.” Twilight returned. “But if this book is right, the wilderness in Equestria was supposed to have started here.” When she got an encouraging head nod from Zecora, the princess pressed onwards. “And the magic as well.”

“Old magic?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Wow. That blows the mind. Maybe Discord knows about it.”

Discord. Twilight had almost forgotten, in the rush of everything, but it did seem as if he fit into this somehow.

“I still need to find him, actually.” Spike admitted.

“Then I’ll come with you and ask.” And with that, both Spike and Pinkie Pie began to leave. “Maybe we can lure him here with a cup of chocolate milk.”

“Oh, I hope Discord is okay.” Fluttershy murmured.

“Don’t fret, darling.” Rarity laid a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “He could not have gotten far.”

“Why don’t you give them a hoof?” Twilight suggested, at which Fluttershy seemed grateful. “You know Discord better than any of us do, after all.”

“Thank you, Twilight.” And Fluttershy, zipping out after Spike and Pinkie.

“Princess Twilight.” Zecora continued, after the door had closed behind their friends. “You should know the Everfree Forest began to grow weak and become strange, during the past week or in that range.”

“The past week.” Twilight mulled this over.

“You mean since that matter with Tirek?” Rarity asked.

“Yes. Indeed it is so, that is when the magic started to go.” Zecora said. “I noticed it in little ways back, but last night it was clear in my shack. The magic has gone out of the plants turning them still and gray, and now much of Ponyville is the same way.”

Gray.

At that moment, Twilight thought of the vision she had had with Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever. There had been something Starswirl said, when talking before the Tree of Harmony. She had written about it in a journal. It had been late at night, and despite everything, the princess couldn’t remember everything she had set down on the page.

But perhaps, if what Twilight suspected were true, they might be one step closer to solving what was happening to Ponyville, and to their friends.

“Wait a moment.” She said then. “Let me get something.”

***

When Discord spoke of the past several days, he began right after the Tirek incident—when the shadows first became to come, plaguing him with bizarre identity questions that only the Tree of Harmony seemed able to soothe by sleeping in her light. Unburdening himself in such a way was a liberating experience, and almost gave the draconequus the same thrill filling the empty space had earlier. And in a similar manner, once he started each part of the tale tumbled off his tongue as if eager to leave.
Of course, narrating these experiences also reminded Discord—painfully—of the fact the ponies were now in trouble yet again thanks to him. More than a few times, these reminders made him wince.

“Now we’re both stuck here in some dreamland, and I have to teach Twilight how to dispel my chaos magic so you ladies can use Rainbow Power to take care of the shadow.” Discord finished at last, feeling suddenly tired again and flopping against an apple tree. “So there you have it, honest Applejack.”

A pause ensued, where Discord had trouble determining exactly what Applejack thought of the whole thing. She had remained quiet throughout the entire tale, listening with a solemn, thoughtful look the chaos spirit longed to mimic because it had such a serious effect. But even he knew this was not the appropriate time to do impressions, so he didn’t.

“If you were having troubles, Discord, you should have told us.” Applejack said at last, meeting Discord’s eyes (why did she have to be so direct?). Hers was almost a chastising tone, and a little like Fluttershy’s when the chaos spirit had done something she found too uncouth or outlandish. But there was a certain firm, almost matriarchal quality to it too.

“Oh, Applejack. Do you really think any pony would have appreciated me barging in amid all those fanciful celebrations to tell you about night frights?” Discord twirled an image into the air, of Ponyville as it had appeared during the weeklong festivities. All the ponies looked so happy and carefree. “Especially after I was responsible for causing such destruction in the first place?” He tapped the frame, and picture eroded into how the town had appeared amid Tirek’s rampage, as a dark and frightened place. “I would rather have swallowed my tail than disturb every pony again.”

“You still blame yourself for what happened.”

“With good reason.” Discord said. “Because of my chaotic nature, I traded the true friendship of my friends for freedom—or, at least, what I thought was freedom. I thought Tirek was my friend, but he was just using my magic to wreak what havoc he needed before getting rid of me.” He sighed. The picture, seemingly unbidden, had run through his memories of that fateful evening the centaur had convinced him to change sides. “Just like he is doing now.”

The memory stream was fast-forwarding now, towards the moment when he had imprisoned the ponies.

“It’s true. What you did was pretty rotten.” Applejack said then, which was like a slap for Discord. The pony truly lived up to her element. “It also seems to me you didn’t know any better, although that doesn’t make what happened any less grave. But you learned your lesson about true friendship, and changed into a better pony. You even gave Twi the last key for magic.”

The visions became too painful to watch, and when the picture at last came to Fluttershy in tears, it was too unbearable.

“My magic.” Discord seethed, seizing the image from the air, ripping it up, and tossing the pieces high into the air. “Of disharmony.”

“Ah, Discord. I think you’re being too hard on yourself. You talk about your magic like you think it’s an evil pow—” Here Applejack cut herself off, but Discord didn’t see her face. He had turned away by that point, wanting to leave behind the pony, and to go somewhere where he would not be answerable to her.

Why was he telling or showing these kind of things to Applejack in the first place? All the pony had wanted as an explanation, and Discord had always been good at hiding things.

But something kept him teetered there. Perhaps it was guilt. A ball and chain had appeared, and Discord sawed away at it with a saw that refused to cut. For a brief moment, he even considered biting off his own leg like a trapped coyote. It would grow back.

“Say, Discord.” Applejack said, quietly and gently.

“What now?” Discord yanked hard on the chain, and the ball came popping up into the air and nearly landed on his head.
If only he could break these bindings—

Then Applejack bucked them, with her strong hind legs. And for some reason, the chains gave way and dissolved.

Amazing. Now she had his full attention.

“How would you like to hear that story about the Apple Family?” Applejack offered. “I think you might like it.”

Author's Note:

Enjoy! I hope everything came off all right here.

Discord's reference to helping Applejack with "experimental orchards" comes from the Friends Forever Issue #2. ;3

Comments

[Carnation83]

yay, Discord and Applejack bonding!