TOH'S Guardian

by LiterarySerenity

Chapter Eight—Discusses Responsibilities and Forgiveness

Rarity took the greatest care when traveling through the vines, which had knitted into such a tight-fitting shroud it was as if she wandered among shadows. The soft blue glow of her horn was a great comfort and necessity—although doing this caused the innumerable thorns to glisten—that helped to guide her along the uppermost rim to the narrow stone staircase leading down into the gorge without incident. At least having to watch each hoof-fall helped Rarity to ignore the state of her mane, which must have been an absolute mess at the moment. And the vines gave way as she moved forward, always giving her a fair berth.

“I do hope Spike is all right,” Rarity said aloud, to fill the silence (and to hear something other than the hissing of vines shifting against each other). “The poor dear was so terrified when those vines came at us. On the other hoof, I suppose I was also just a teensiest bit frightened—as were the Diamond Dogs. They really seem like a nicer bunch than first supposed, though I must improve their couture at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Almost there. She reached the bottom of the stone staircase, counting the steps until at last the vines parted ahead to reveal a much brighter radiance than her magic could produce. Rarity squinted against the glare, blinking several times to adjust her vision to the interior of the cavern. The hissing ceased as she passed over the threshold, and the dark plants grew still behind her, replaced by a rasping cacophony in front.

Stretched upon a long cloud bed, much like Rainbow Dash often did above Ponyville between her daredevil feats, was Discord. He wore a blue nightcap that shot up to punctuate each snore, and in the same way, his snake tail curled and uncurled, producing a party twirler toot. On occasion, his goat leg would lift to scratch at his side. His beard rustled once in a while as well, whenever Discord gave a particularly loud snort. Then there were faint yet noticeable bags under his eyes, resembling (in that peculiar way he had) actual hoof-bags complete with handles that flapped alongside the other combined motions.

This made for quite a sight, although Rarity instantly recognized it as the sleep of an exhausted pony. She had had too many such dozes—with her little sister Sweetie Belle often commenting on them later in the most innocuous manner possible, and come across it enough in other ponies. So even for a pony who possessed goofier tendencies, Rarity suspected from this that Discord must have had a rough night, which could have explained his shorter temper against the Diamond Dogs.

In fact, she hesitated to wake him. After all, it was awful to fall asleep, only to have some pony interrupt your nice dreams by bouncing on the bed or another shocking action (which she had also experienced due to Sweetie Belle over and over again).

But Spike and those Diamond Dogs were waiting, and Rarity had several things to accomplish as well.

Discord’s ear flicked when Rarity drew closer, reaching out a hoof with the intention of gently shaking him by the shoulder.

“Dis—” This was as far as she got before Discord convulsed, squelching the noises he had made seconds before and taking Rarity aback. She cried out instead, watching her friend fall off his bed of clouds with a heavy crash. The only thing she saw was his snake tail from the other side, crooked and twitching.

“Darling, are you okay?” Rarity asked.

The snake tail straightened out at her question, with white fluff bristling, and Discord’s head popped up from the cloud layer. Now he was the one to blink several times (his red irises growing and shrinking) to adjust to the sight of her. Even then, he said in a somewhat incredulous tone at first, and more as if he were speaking to himself:

“Rarity, whatever are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Rarity answered, whereupon Discord sprang up and dissipated the clouds. He tried to adopt his usual, calm attitude then, but the other image of him snoring away stuck with Rarity and made her stifle an unladylike chortle. “Is it that much of a shock?”

“Well, you wouldn’t believe the type of morning I have been having. Then again, perhaps you could,” Discord’s gaze turned towards the floor, yet Rarity couldn’t see anything there in particular besides the smooth stone surface. “But where are my manners (which Fluttershy often reminds me of, but that I always have trouble finding)? One moment.”

Discord snapped the talons on his griffin claw.

Instantly, a fine velvet carpet appeared underhoof on the cavern floor, along with soft couches, armchairs, and a table with brushes and a small mirror. For a moment, Rarity could do nothing less than take the look and feel of the fine fabrics when she took her place on one of the couches. These touches were nice after walking amid the thorny vines, and she even began running a brush through her mane as Discord flopped into the armchair opposite.

Tea appeared on a silver saucer before her, and Rarity could smell it was chamomile, with a twist of lemon such as how Fluttershy made it.

Yum.

These accommodations were so comfortable and absorbing, Rarity nearly forgot why she was there in the first place. But then her eyes trailed up to the looming Tree of Harmony. Its crystalline form sparkled, as did the colorful Elements upon its branches. There was also her Element of Generosity, in the shape of a purple diamond.

“What are you doing here, Discord?” Rarity said. It could have simply been that he had happened to fly past when the Diamond Dogs tried to take the Elements of Harmony. Still, the last time Discord had spent any significant time before the Tree of Harmony, things had gotten complicated—so it would be good to know the full story. “Shouldn’t you be off somewhere across Equestria now, or visiting Fluttershy, or perhaps teaching Twilight? Not that I am trying to dictate your schedule.”

“No, you are quite right, my dear,” Discord sipped his tea, acting the perfect gentlecolt. “I am not due back in Ponyville for a week or so, even to have my usual rendezvous with Fluttershy. In addition, I should be wandering across Equestria at this very moment.” That idea seemed to agitate him. He slammed the cup down on its saucer, and it was a wonder he didn’t break this or spill the tea in the process. “But there were other duties to take care of,” he gestured his lion’s paw at the Tree of Harmony.

“You’re protecting the Elements,” Rarity stated. “How very noble!”

“I’m protecting the Tree of Harmony, just the same as you ponies have on several occasions,” Discord returned. “Considering my history with it, I thought this was the least I could do. Besides, ever since then TOH has alerted me to any threats, and many other ‘responsibilities’ keep me busy.” He heaved a heavy sigh Rarity also recognized as a pony with a crowded schedule, and she marveled at this connection to the Tree of Harmony.

Somehow, Rarity had always thought Discord would be goofing off somewhere. But now he was doing quite a bit as well.

Maybe he could use a spa day.

Rarity was on the point of suggested just that when Discord pressed onwards:

“So I can sense it even when a danger to TOH comes from something less than some greater evil.”

That brought them back to the topic at hoof.

“You mean Diamond Dogs?”

“You hit the nail on the head,” Discord answered, accompanied by the sounds of a hammer clanking on metal. However, if he had actually called a nail and hammer into existence was something Rarity couldn’t tell and probably would never know. “I suppose there is a reason you know that fact, though.”

“Yes. They accosted me and Spike in the Everfree Forest on the way here.”

“I see, and where is Spike now?”

“Back with the Diamond Dogs.”

“I see,” Discord said again, with a certain hardness entering his tone. He tugged at his beard, suddenly grim-faced. “Perhaps those troublesome canines need another lesson then.”

At this point, Rarity realized with a start she was giving him the wrong impression of the situation.

“Oh, no. You don’t understand, Darling. The Diamond Dogs haven’t captured Spike, or anything like that. In fact, he’s keeping watch over them,” Rarity said.

“Huh. I wouldn’t have thought Spike capable of such a thing yet, unless you tied them up first,” Discord replied, fidgeting a bit in his armchair. “But, then again, Diamond Dogs and dragons do have a rocky relationship. No pun intended.”

“Don’t underestimate him. Spike is perfectly capable of—” Rarity started to defend her brave Spikey-Wikey, only to notice (once again) that Discord had taken what she had said the wrong way again. “Listen, Discord. Spike isn’t ‘guarding’ the Diamond Dogs in that sense. He is waiting with them, to keep them company. Actually, I am here on their behalf to speak with you.”

“Oh?” This clearly surprised Discord. His brows shot straight up.

“Yes,” At last, Rarity seemed to be getting somewhere. She sighed, relieved. “You see, it seems there has been a big misunderstanding between you and these Diamond Dogs.”

“I think their intentions was pretty clear, my dear.” Discord shrugged, strangely unyielding. “They came to steal the Elements of Harmony from TOH, and I stopped them.”

“It sounds like you launched them into a briar patch in the Everfree Forest,” Rarity stated.

“Not before they tried to make off with the Elements. They thought I was some type of easy-to-fool dragon and sought to trap me. I just decided to humor them.” But these were loose justifications, and Rarity could tell Discord understood that. Under her gaze, Discord even got up as if he couldn’t stand sitting any longer, crossing his arms. He looked away. “I admit, it was a trifle excessive.”

“You should have just talked to them,” Rarity chided, wondering if is what Fluttershy felt like when calling Discord out on his actions. “Launching them off was no way to behave.”

“But I did talk to those Diamond Dogs during their second attempt,” Discord insisted. “I was nice and even pointed out a good place for them to get as many fire rubies as they wanted. It appeared we had an understanding, or at least for a while.”

Fire rubies? Rarity would need a good supply of those for her fashion line project, but she bit her lip and forced the question away for the time being.

“Then they still came back. What’s more, they launched a stone at me and TOH,” Discord said. “Apparently, those Diamond Dogs chose to turn down my generous offer and just went after the Elements again.”

“The Diamond Dogs’ plan involving shooting that stone was wrong, but they claim it was an accident.”

Discord just stared at her.

“You should let them come and explain,” Rarity continued. “They do appear sorry for what they did, and I believe they want to make amends,” she paused. “Discord?”

“If their plan had worked, those Diamond Dogs probably would have counted it a success instead of an accident. I have seen their kind do numerous similar things the past,” Discord pondered aloud. “They always go after what they believe are the most valuable gems. They cannot help themselves, and that is something that has not changed over the centuries—even if their keen sense of smell has dimmed and their focus is narrower than previous generations. How can you tell they were sincere?”

“You should not judge these Diamond Dogs based on their ancestors,” Rarity gasped at the idea, setting aside her tea (which was already getting much too cold). “They made a mistake and learned from it, so it’s important to give them another chance to prove how they have changed.”

Then Rarity added:

“Just like you.”

And Discord fell silent.

Author's Note:

We're almost to the end!