A new Storm on the horizon

by Novalis14

I'll show them.

A lone draconquis cub lay shivering in a tiny dirt cave, it was cold but that wasn't why he shook.
They were dead, his mother, his dad, his sister, everyone was dead he could feel it. So were the alicorns, he could tell just by looking outside.

It was well into the day and the sky was still black, the trees and plants were dead, not even a breeze blew. It was the calm between the storms, everything was holding it's breath waiting to see what would happen next.

Tears dripped down Discord's muzzle silently turning the dirt to mud. His stomach growled and twisted painfully, even draconqui had to eat. Silently and slowly he hauled himself out of his hiding place, standing on his hind legs he began to walk.

How long he walked he had no clue, he finally stopped at the base of an apple tree. Flapping his mismatched wings he managed to gain enough height to pluck a single apple. He crashed painfully to the ground before leaning on the rough bark of the tree.

It took several tries at using his undeveloped chaos powers but he finally managed to quadruple the size of the apple. He took a large bite, the tart juice providing the young cub with mild comfort. He looked around him.

The moon was below the horizon in the west and the glow from the sun to the east, the world stuck in eternal twilight.

As Discord moved to take another bite the apple was knocked from his grasp.

“Get out of here.” The child turned to face the voice. A unicorn stallion stared him down, a second stone in his hoof. “You 'gods' have wreaked this place, your not welcome here. Get. Out.”

Discord whimpered and began to back away. “I-I'm sorry, I'm j-just hungry.”

“Then make some yourself! This is our food and if you lay a hoof, claw, or paw on any of it again I’ll stone you to death.”

Discord whimpered again and ran the other way. Why were they being so mean, he hadn't done anything wrong, he only took one apple. Would the stallion have been less mad if he had asked first?

He slowed to a walk once he was away from the orchard, he changed direction so he wouldn't be going back the way he came. He had no where to go, the city would be gone and there was no one left. He walked until he couldn't walk anymore, curled up on the ground he began to weep.

This continued for the next few weeks, walking, collapsing, being chased of by ponies. He soon began to avoid any form of sentient life, no one wanted him around so he would inconvenience them.

However one day was different, it had rained the night before and the only shelter Discord had been able to find was under a bush. He had eaten a few mushrooms before bed, turning them into chocolate with his power.

When he opened his eyes in the morning he had expected a view of dripping branches, instead he was met with the curious face of a earth pony mare. He shrieked and began to wiggle away “I'm sorry ma'am. I didn't mean to be in your way. I-I'll just leave.”

“Wait, what is your name child?”

Discord looked at her in surprise, she wasn't trying to chase him off. “Discord, Ma'am. A-And you”

She smiled at him “Laurel, Victory Laurel.”

“I-It's a pleasure.” He replied, wary of her kindness.

“Why are you under this bush? It's soaking wet. Come on out.” The kindness in her voice caused something inside Discord to long for more. Slowly he crawled out from under his shelter, expecting at any moment to be chased off.

“Follow me.” The mare said and began walking into the near by woods. Hesitating the he followed.

They made there way through the underbrush and soon arrived at a clearing. On the far edge lay a small shack. No that word was not right, it was small and tossed together, made out of bits of trees and bushes, however it exuded a sense of comfort.

Pushing on a part of the wall-which turned out to be the door-Laurel entered her small abode. Discord sat down to wait but got up at the sound of Laurel's voice “Come on inside, it's warm.”

The interior wasn't as small as the outside seemed, a single room holding a mat in one corner, a hoof made cupboard in the other and a warm fire near the back wall. Cozy and minimalistic.

“Tell me Discord, what is a foal doing all the way out here alone?” Laurel had her back to the cub, rifling through the cupboard and putting things on a plate. However when the sound of sobs reached her ears she turned.

Discord forgot all of his apprehension in the face of this mare's kindness, her question, her caring. A flood of relief washed over him quickly followed by the pain of his loss, it was all to much for the child, he began to sob.

Before he knew what was happening he felt soft hooves encircling him, he just kept crying. He didn't even notice when he was placed on a warm bed, and eventually cried himself to sleep.

Weeks passed and Discord became a permanent part of Laurel's home. The two collected food from the forest and hunted for anything useful. Discord spent his free time practicing his magic and soon he was able to use it to add to their bounty.

Seasons changed and the two continued their friendship, as odd as it was.

“Discord.... Drop the poor rabbit I'm an herbivore.”

“Laurel, its natural for grass to start singing, right?”

“.........Were going to need to make a shovel.”

It was ten years before things went wrong. Laurel had aged gracefully now a mare in her mid thirties, Discord was the same as ever, still a child in body and heart.

The sun was shining through a handful of clouds that had decided to drift through the sky. Discord and Laurel were walking along the edge of the forest-which abruptly ended at the start of the plains-looking for a good piece of wood to patch up their roof.

Discord was so engrossed in the search that he didn't notice the ponies that were approaching them.
“Hello there fellow earth pony!” The shout came from a group of four, Laurel turned and greeted them with a smile

“Hello, what are you doing here? Its not often that ponies come by.”

Discord watched frozen, despite the reinsurance from his time with Laurel he knew that most ponies still despised the draconaqui and alicorns for the war.

His fears were confirmed when one of the mares of the group spotted him. “What is that thing doing here?”

Laurel looked to Discord and back to the ponies? “What you mean Discord? He is my friend and roommate.”

“He is a one of the filthy Draconaqi that ripped the world apart.”

Filthy? He agreed they had a right to be mad about what happened with the war but the call them filthy?

“He is a child, he wasn't a participant in the war.” Laurel voice was hard and displeased.

“He's still one of them, they were chaotic scum, destroyers.” One of the stallions said growling at Discord.

“The draconiqui were not scum, they were good beings.” Discord spoke up, sure his people had been foolish and contributed to the war that had caused lots of pain but they didn't do it to cause harm.

“Good! They destroyed the world, they were trouble makers and vicious! They even named their children after bad things, your name is proof enough.”

“They were not trouble makers! They were creative. Besides they weren't the only ones who destroyed things in the war, the alicorns are just as much to blame!” Discord was getting steamed, they had it all wrong, the draconaqui never hurt ponies, in fact they provided just as much as the alicorns had. Who did they think came up with the idea of the seasons?

“Shame on you trying to place the blame on the alicorns, they may have abandoned us with nothing to live on but they tried to preserve this world from your kind!”

Discord snapped, the ground shook a little and the wind kicked up. “You have no idea what your talking about!” The effects of his anger may have been small but it was enough to make the ponies angrier.

“DISCORD! Stop it right now! Your acting like a brat!” That sentence from Laurel was like a slap in the face to Discord.

How could she not see that they were slandering the memories of his kind, they were obviously in the wrong but she didn't even correct them. She was acting like he was in the wrong, like she was his mother... Laurel had never done that before, she was not his mother, his mother was dead and Laurel had never attempted to take her place. Now not only was she taking on a role that she had no right to, she was allowing the verbal attack on its owner.

“I'm acting like a brat?! They are the ones lying! They are the ones ignoring the facts just to take a dig at creatures they never met! I'm not in the wrong, they are!” The rumbling continued and the wind blew leaves in their direction.

“See, your kind are just monsters! You don't belong here! Get out!” The group of ponies were now becoming hostile. Discord wanted to slap them but didn't, he wasn't violent. However it seemed like the ponies were. A stone was hurled at discord, he prepared to turn it into a frog, but before he could it hit Laurel in the muzzle.

“Discord go home.” Her voice was hard and demanding. Discord felt betrayed, not one word in his defense.

“Mine is gone.” He snapped his claw and teleported away.

---

Discord sat in the cave, the dripping water hissing as it evaporated off the hot stones. Part of him felt he was being petty but the much larger part of him stocked his anger with logic. They were unfair, they had attacked him and his peoples memory, they were the bad beings.

From below he heard the sounds of Laurel’s search for him. He hadn't forgiven her yet, he wanted an explanation, however he wanted her to be safe even more. Ponies were cruel creatures, as long as she associated with him she would never be able to be with her kind.

He turned away from the mouth of the cave ignoring her plaintive calls. Her life was so short compared to his, he wouldn't allow himself to use up what few years she had.

Discord thought of the faces of those ponies, the ones who had chased him off and beaten him for no reason then that he was different. Discord snarled “They think I'm a monster do they?” Monsters were beasts, things that mindlessly destroyed. No he wasn't a monster, he would prove them wrong.

The stone ground beneath him began to ripple. He would prove them all wrong.

Author's Note:

So I'm not sure about the ending, any feedback would be most appreciated.

Comments

[NobleValor]

The ending was pretty good. And it does explain a good bit. (And keeps some of the show's continuity, strangely enough.) It works like it is, but I can see so much growth potential here. (Like a farmer looking over a plowed field. Hayseed, I know. )