The Diary of Discord Wimp

by ThePianoMan

Prologue to Twilight

“To be…”
-William

The sweet deception of a pleasant morning filled the flimsy ears of the draconequus.

The sun is risen as the moon is set by the instinctual reasonings of god-like creatures in high places where pathetic echoes of old money still clamor for power. Fools. But, that was far away. That was so very far from the delicate spot that marred the rising sun in the wee hours of the morning. Bird song began to swing through the air of the new dawn as the glistening dew drops rolled over leaves and off to rocks lining the small stream running parallel to the spot. The spot in question became clear as the magically manufactured sunrise breached the spot’s top.

The spot in question defined its existence as a cottage so called by the simple folk who traversed the paths leading to, from, and around it. The cottage, as it were, was humbly crowned by a sod roof that had consumed most if not all of the top. A few windows along with the door that happened to be there was all that made it distinguishable from a mound. It connected to the rest of the world by way of a petite bridge that arched over the shimmering stream that reflected light upon the cottage’s face. T’was well with the draconequus. It changed nothing. It had barely changed. Only, it was more devoid of life now than ever.

The draconequus heard the sight of the morning.

All essence of this time his ears did experience as it transpired. Though, one cannot explain how it was possible. It's best not to argue with the facts. The ears of the draconequus will smell what they want. It is. And, it's best to let it be so.

His red eyes floated ‘round the interior of the cottage that had been frozen in time, a power he had but used lightly to an extent. Lord of Chaos or not, there were in fact rules that he could only bend so far for so long. This was one of those rare occasions where he tested that boundary near the edge of its limits. If there was any life left in the room, it wouldn't have lasted this long. That time had passed, nearly two centuries ago.

In that time, the world had moved on. Two industrial revolutions transpired with inventions like the dash train that could travel the expanse of the land, known as Equestria, in ten seconds flat. Towering skyscrapers loomed high in the sky, even above the ancient castles that had once so majestically stood as sentinels over the cities. Now they were drowned out and hidden beneath the likes of corporate offices, apartments, and sky ports.

But this place in which the draconequus stood, it did not move on as the world had. It stayed behind as the central display for the last park of Ponyville City. It was here the draconequus dwelt when he was not needed. It was here he pushed the boundaries of time’s laws as he immortalized the cottage of the one mare he could truly call friend.

A remnant aroma dominated the preserved space as the telltale signs of a home that had been utilized for sheltering animals and all manner of creatures that needed a place to rest or recover from sickness and injury. Eons ago, the draconequus would have scoffed at the notion. But now, it was a painful reminder of the previous inhabitant who had shown him the value in such acts.

The draconequus hovered above the floorboards in the living room so as to avoid scuffing the space he had spent his magic so carefully on. A sofa and armchair stood divided by the small table that still carried the now antique tea set that had been meticulously organized by the draconequus. Even now he continued to work at adjusting it in his innumerable fruitless attempts to recapture the tender memories of a beautiful friendship. He fell not to anger so easily when the tea set’s positioning could not be fixed. He merely wept quiet tears that defied gravity until they reached the crystal vase that cradled a solitary pink rose. ‘Tis a rare thing indeed for a draconequus to truly shed those precious genuine tears. It was an experience one could have once in their entire life, twice if they were lucky or old enough.

The vase, once empty, was nearly full from a mere century and a half of tears.

“Discord.” The draconequus recoiled internally from the sound of his name and the voice that spoke it. It caused him to bump a teacup off center and lose a few more tears. His insides twisted as the ghostly smell of tea and cucumber sandwiches vanished from his memory for good. There was almost nothing left now.

More tears.

The intruder of his timeless shrine came closer, hovering out of respect. “It's hard to believe you've been here the whole time.”

The draconequus, Discord, winced as he turned from the tea set. In the low light of the morning hours, the white of the intruder was almost blinding. Her regal form and posture betrayed the fact of her royalty. That, along with the gold ornaments that adorned her legs and crown, made her identity as a princess clear. An alicorn, at that.

“Equestria has moved on so rapidly without the Lord of Chaos.” There was a discreet sadness that flew above Discord’s recognition.

“Finally rid of me, eh? The world finally thrived without its hindering parasite.” His body coiled up above the sofa. Observing the tea set once more, he adjusted the rebel cup back into its proper place.

The white princess's face sunk as her mane defied gravity less so than usual. “I've always held you in high regard as the moderator of progress. There is such a thing as going too far too fast, you know.” The princess's eyes found the way to the tea set. From her perspective, the set was perfect in every way from its set up to its alignment along the patterns on the tray. Looking up, she found the lonely rose standing at attention in its crystal uniform. A stray tear captured her heart as it joined so many others in expanding the meniscus to the point where they domed over the edge of the crystal vase without spilling over. It was one tear too many for the princess to bear.

“I know why you've come, Celestia.” Discord found the last flaw in the tea set. The idea that it had evaded his attention for so long was depressing to say the least. He knew what came next if he fixed it. “You're here to make sure I don't destroy the universe.”

The princess, Celestia, shook her head as one of her own tears vanished in the fur of her cheek. “I'm here to make sure you don't destroy yourself.”

Silence reigned supreme. This was not a silence as you or I might know. It was deeper and more dark than is comprehensible. This was the edge of time where reality had been stretched thin to a silken wall that if torn would release a horror of unknown consequences. It would ripple throughout the universe forwards, backwards, and sideways. This was truly the edge of sanity.

Discord never fixed the last flaw. The lid to the teapot remained askew as he dropped his spell.

Among rules, are facts. One little known fact about time is its ability to recover. Another little known fact of time is the violence of its recovery.

The silence abruptly ended. For a split second, the morning ambiance held a key before being silenced by the orchestra of mending time. A sonic boom shattered the crystal vase and tea set as the veil at the edge of time was sealed. The floors cracked into dried, mold infested, bones. The walls peeled. The carpets and linens evaporated into dust. The windows returned to the sands they came from. Corners of the roof collapsed and splintered into thousands of pieces.

Time had reclaimed its property.

Discord reached out for the dried up rose that somehow remained. However, his reach was stopped by the magical barrier Celestia had placed around them to survive the consequences of altering time for so long. More consequences came for Discord as he was faced with the corpse of the home. In an instant, all his memories of her, his friend, were decimated.

A sound fell from Discord’s mouth. It was a specific sound. All have or will have heard it sometime in their lives. It's a guttural and carnal sound that only comes from the truly mad. It's a madness none can control as the weight of despair and desperate rage ravage the soul. It becomes madness when one fails to repress such crippling emotions.

Discord lost his mind as he released his emotional wrath. He wailed and growled as he clawed at the barrier, reaching for the rose. “No! Fluttershy!” His flailing limbs became a danger to himself. Celestia released the barrier and bound Discord in her magic to protect him from himself until he could calm down. It seemed that he might never recover as he pleaded with the dead, “...come back…”

The princess wept at the sight as sympathy racked her mind. Focusing her energy, she cast a spell of warmth and comfort, the best she could muster.

“No…” Discord fought the spell but failed. His power had been drained from the years he spent preserving the cottage. He fought his restraints and found this to be futile as well.

Once Discord had ceased to resist, his mind went numb. It was strange magic that worked on his brain. It was foreign and unfamiliar. He thought it confusing to say the least. The neurons firing in his brain fruitlessly continued to echo the pangs of heartache as the magic from Celestia smothered those flames of despair. Anger became confusion as Discord began to forget why he was angry. Didn't he have the right to feel pain like any other? Another question rubbed that one out. Don't you deserve comfort and compassion, like any other? No, he thought. He didn't believe it, but he could do no more than listen to the spell words that shaped a cushion for his ravaged emotional state.

...thy dolash spradose…

The words, familiar, stifled a half laugh from Discord. The other half was lost in translation. A memory sizzled out. It was some half forgotten poem from an older draconequus whose precious maternal smile still shined above the stars, above the heavens. The distraction was broken by a flash of gold magic. A subtle sickness was silenced by Celestia’s ongoing spell.

They had teleported.

The taste was all too obvious to the draconequus. Discord never could forget the sensation of a trick he once abused so often. Where they had gone, he could not say. There was mostly darkness. However, it was not a black darkness of night. It was the casting of a shadow. “Where?” Discord finally asked as he felt the cold of marble beneath him. It was fine and polished to a near mirror finish. He nearly tripped on a long carpet that stretched down the blurry setting. As his eyes adjusted, Discord could see that he stood in a grand hallway lined with dark stain glass murals portraying the various annals of history. “Canterlot.”

“Yes, Discord.” Celestia watched him approach one of the windows. “You remember.” It was almost a question.

Discord peered through one of the warped panes. Now he saw the sources of the great shadow that blanketed the palace in darkness. Lights were just beginning to flicker on in the towering buildings that swirled and cut into the sky. Discord thought that maybe it was night somehow, that in his fit he had lost track of time. It never mattered before now. A sliver of daylight glimmered through the clouds in a crack between the skyscrapers. Then Discord realized, they weren't clouds. He retreated from the window.

The window, he recognized it. It hurt to see his own twisted face suffering at the hands of the divine god given power of harmony. The six bearers stood roundabout as they used their inherited power to return him to the stone prison from once he came. The thought of being turned to stone gave him the will to look away from the fractured image of his past mistakes. “What happened,” he asked, “where are the guards?”

Celestia looked up at the clouds that weren't clouds. “They have gone from this place. They aren't needed anymore.” She turned and gestured for Discord to follow. “Come.”

Discord did as he was told. Why, he wasn't sure. Perhaps it was shock. He was familiar with the experience, but that was when she left the world.

Celestia led Discord through the vacant palace. Dust had gathered across it all. Each step Discord took was followed by a dust cloud that creeped back into the shadows and the comfort of the floor. The flower pots held traces of dead lavender flowers that had blackened from neglect. The flickers of sunlight was all that could reach them now.

The two passed through a room that was discernibly a large bedchamber. The shadow of the bed flickered with the light of the fireplace against the dark walls. It was much more inviting than the rest of the castle. The light of the fire was warm and comforting as opposed to the bleak greyish blue lowlights everywhere else. The illusion of comforting safety was broken the moment Discord turned his head.

A similar grey light from the castle split the darkness from the floor to the ceiling. Discord felt incredibly small beneath the looming opening to the balcony. It beckoned him to come closer. The sun did not shine through this time as he witnessed a smoke stack ejecting more grey into the sky. A few wayward automated sky carriages rounded the skyscrapers that disappeared far above the highest spires of the castle towers. Cold engulfed him as the opening was slammed shut by the golden magic of Celestia. Discord stared at her. “What was that?”

“Unbridled progress.” Her horn lit up with more magic as she called two blankets off of the bed. Each one wrapped around the two of them.

“How did you know?” Discord sat next to the princess by the fire.

Celestia shivered as her magic brought a tea kettle over from the fire. “I'm cold too.” She poured the hot fluid into two separate mugs.

Discord laughed at the plain porcelain vessels. “No golden teacups?”

Celestia smiled at his jest as she brought the mug to her lips, enjoying the steam of the still fresh heat. “They're in museums now.” She managed a laugh.

Discord reached for his mug. The vessel shook in his weak grasp. He had depended on magic for so long that his physical strength was horribly lacking, now more than ever before. To his best ability, he set the mug down. He felt accomplished seeing that not a single drop escaped. Raising his arm he attempted to use magic. At the snap of his claw, that's usually how it worked for him. This time however, a pathetic spark merely sizzled out through the air. Before he had the chance to be upset, his mug floated up to him. Looking up, he could see Celestia was behind it. He nodded as to thank her before he carefully sipped up some of the tea.

“How is it?” She asked.

Discord couldn't really compare it to anything. It had been so long ago that he remembered having tea. This concoction that he had taken into his system was not simply tea though. It was much thicker than tea should be. As he swirled it around in his mouth, the ancient taste came to him. There was chocolate milk mixed in with it. “Well, I can't complain at all. Well done.” He bowed his head to her.

“I figured you would enjoy it of all people.” Celestia stared into her own cup of the same concoction. She wouldn't tell him the truth, but it was the last of the organic tea, milk, and chocolate. It was the last real anything. She figured, the draconequus didn't need to know that the tea and cocoa plants were all extinct from the blight that had swept across the land. He didn't need to know the last cow had died a few days ago and that this was the last bit of milk in the whole world. The world worked so fast to replace things like these that no one noticed anything was missing. Celestia had noticed. And, Discord didn't need to know. It wasn't important for him to know with what she had planned for him.

Celestia sipped the chocolate milk tea concoction. She forced back her own tears. The fact alone that this was the last real anything, made it the most delicious and beautiful thing she had ever tasted.

Discord chugged all his drink down and finished with a satisfied sigh. “Don't suppose I could trouble you for more, could I?”

He didn't need to know, so Celestia said nothing of it. “We need to talk.”

“Concerning what, exactly?” Discord frowned as his mug floated away from him. “Are you going to tell me what's going on? This isn't another one of Twilight’s friendship lessons is it?”

Celestia almost choked on her drink at the mention of her former student. “No, this world will be of no consequence to you any longer if you accept my offer.”

“Offer?” Discord was taken aback by this. The princess was never one to make him offers, at least not lightly. Then he thought of what an offer meant. Material objects were useless to him. Power was in the same category. The only possible thing that mattered to Discord at this point was impossible. The dead couldn't be brought back from the grave. It was impossible. “What could you possibly have to offer?”

The princess looked over to the fireplace. On the mantle rested a plain cedar box that had only a simple brass latch and nothing more. Using her magic, Celestia brought it over to them. Without magic, she flicked the latch up and lifted the lid open. Inside, six keys laid on the cover of a dusty blue book that had seen untold years of use. It's ancient cover displayed clearly in gold letters the name of its owner.

Discord leaned away from the keys. They weren't just keys. He knew the emblem of each one. He knew their power. “The Elements of Harmony, and Starswirl’s journal? What is this?”

“A second chance, for you at least.” Seeing that Discord’s interest had been piqued, she continued. “How would you like to see Fluttershy again?”

The uttered sentence broke down Discord’s calm demeanor. His body trembled as his eyes welled up. But, no tears escaped. He had run out. Here it was, as the shock ended and the reality rang true, the end. “You, you can't resurrect the dead.”

Celestia shook her head. “I intend to do more than that, but it's risky. We both could die for naught if I fail.” She looked down at the keys. Her attention was drawn to the key of magic that took the form of a star like emblem that she'd recognized as the talent of her most cherished student who spent her last days trying to save as many as she could. The student’s last ditch effort to save lives ended with the ark that tragically failed before it reached the ends of the sky. “Why not bring them all back.”

Discord couldn't believe what she was implying. “Celestia, it's not possible.”

“There's a way. Starswirl found it.” Celestia set the keys aside as she opened the book. “Here.”

Discord pushed the book away. “There's always a way, but at what cost.” Death, that was the way. A life for a life. “Do you seriously intend to lose your own life, just so you can bring back the dead. Raising half life zombies isn't worth dying for! Why would you risk your life?!”

“Because you love her.” Celestia levitated the key of kindness to Discord who shakily received the butterfly key. “I'm not talking about zombies. I speak of a new beginning for the whole world. But, I cannot do it alone.”

Discord held the key close, and for the first time in forever, he found the strength to hold it still. “You're right about one thing. But, it doesn't matter. She's dead.” He tightened his grip around the key. “They're all dead, aren't they? The elements, your sister, and the world.”

Celestia remembered the day it happened. She and her sister stayed behind to make sure the ark succeeded. But as the ark neared the final stretch of escaping the dying world, one of its thrusters failed. Celestia and her sister worked their magic to the end, trying to help it. Her sister spent her magic with all her fatal might. Her student perished on the ark with many others, including the next generation of elements. Amidst the debris, none were found save for the talismans of the elements that had turned to keys. The reason was unknown to Celestia until she found Starswirl’s journal. “I told you, this world is no longer of consequence to you. I'm giving you a chance to be the savior of all life. You more than I deserve to find what you're looking for.”

“There's always a price!” Discord hissed.

Celestia smiled at the draconequus. “My life and your memories. That's all it will take to save the world. Time will be rewound. The world will be revived. And, we'll all be there. Is it better to lay to eventual waste in this dying world or to make the sacrifice to save it?”

“Turn back time? So what, I'd relive all the evil I've committed?”

“No.” Celestia shook her head. “Time can be rewritten. I'm going to give you a new beginning, a fresh start close to her.”

The draconequus looked at all the keys which had begun to glow. He knew she wasn't going to give him a choice. He wasn't sure he was going to give himself a choice. His broken heart defied his logic and begged to be healed.

Celestia used her magic to focus on the keys. Discord gasped as the key of kindness flew from his grip. He watched as they sparked and flashed beams of vibrant ethereal light which connected them all. One by one, they merged into one singular form. They keys became one key in the shape of the tree of harmony. It moved forward until it suddenly froze. The light of a keyhole formed around it. Vines of light, as though from the sun, spread and grew into the shape of a door. Light and wind spewed from its form. Celestia cried as her magic continued to hold. “Go!”

Discord rushed forward to the door. It took both his arms’ strength just to turn the key, but once it was turned, the door fell open to darkness. The sound of rain beating against mud flooded the ears of the draconequus. This couldn't be the second chance Celestia spoke of. But when he turned back to her and saw the blood dripping from her nose, she nodded. Discord lingered.

“It cannot exist without the anchor! Go, please!” Celestia's strength was beginning to fail. Hot tears washed over her face. “Discord, this is your life now. Take a stand!” She smiled again. “Find yourself a wife.” Running forward she rammed Discord through the door.

The moment the draconequus was through the door, it vanished. Celestia, still in motion, collapsed where Discord once stood. Her breath began to slowly die. Like her sister she had spent the entirety of her magic. The world was closing around her. She had lied to him. The world would change and be renewed, but not for her. Celestia shivered as the cold swept over her. A subtle warmth flowed along her cheek. She saw that it was the last of the tea and chocolate drink pouring out from the tipped over mug. The other mug was close by, its shadow dancing beneath the light of the fireplace. “Discord.”

Celestia knew this was what it'd come down too. As a drop of blood crawled out from the corner of her eye, a content smile was cemented on the princess's face as her eyes stilled. Her last thoughts were of her friends and family, and she remembered the draconequus that was somewhere out there in a new Equestria. Her chest ceased to rise as the fireplace roared a little longer.

*****

Redheart muttered as the rain poured down from the heavens. She thanked Celestia that she at least had a coat. Given, she had stolen it from her flop of a date that ended disastrously, but she didn't care. It was better than nothing. The moment she got home she was gonna burn the thing and wash out its smell from her fur.

The rain began to get heavier.

“Really?!” She groaned in frustration before a lightning strike startled her. “Holy moly.” The bolt hadn't struck too far ahead of her. “Stupid pegasai.” She looked up at the cloud covered sky. “Watch where you throw that stuff!” She thought it odd, mostly. That was because she had read the weather reports. There was supposed to be a chance of rain based on weather balance conditions. However, there was no mention of lightning storms at all. Redheart ignored the eerie absence of thunder as she continued on her way home. “What a night.”

As she came closer to where the lightning struck the ground, she heard the last thing she expected to hear. The cries of a baby pierced the night. Redheart’s mind began to race as she feared the worst. A child, she screamed internally, a child's been hurt! She galloped onward to the source of the cries. She could see, in the middle of the road, a large blanket that was soaking up the rain. Seeing that it was safe to continue, she searched the blanket. She saw a small face crying and sniffling from snot that probably clogged up its nose. Picking up the little one, she looked left and right. “Hello? Is anyone there?” The child, it seemed, was alone and abandoned. There were no houses along this stretch of road. The closest place was the home Redheart shared with her mother. “Hang in there little one.”

Using her teeth, she ripped off the rest of the large blanket the child was wrapped in. Thankfully it was mostly dry except for the outside. Redheart tucked the little one into the coat so that she could more easily carry him as she made her way to her house.

Once there she quickly shed the coat in the mud room and grabbed a towel. The child was still crying. Redheart tried to stifle the cries before her mother heard.

“What in the name of the sisters-!” Too late. The older mare burst through the interior door to the mud room. “Whu-,” her face softened at the sight of the crying child. “Where'd that come from?”

“I found him on the way home,” Redheart explained the lightning and how she found the him wrapped up in the giant blanket all by himself, “I couldn't just leave him there.”

“Well get him out of that rag and dry ‘im off. I'll go fetch a warm blanket.”

As her mother left, Redheart went to work unraveling the blanket. Once it was loose, she almost dropped the child once she saw exactly what it was. “Oh, my.” She set it down on the towel and stared at its mismatched limbs. “What are you?” It's forearms were that of a lion and possibly a griffon. It had a dragon leg and a deer leg as it's lower limbs. A scaly red tail ended with a tuft of hair. All this was connected to the brown body beneath the grayish brown head with a black mane and a larger tuft of pale blond hair up front on the head that matched the hair on the tail. A little baby snaggletooth protruded from under its upper lip.

It steadily ceased its crying as it opened its eyes. Redheart could feel her heart twist at the sight of the two sad red eyes that stared back at her. It looked at her, more curious than confused.

“Hey there little guy.” Redheart got a little closer to look at him.

The little one stared with wide terrified eyes up at the white furred mare with the pink mane and blue eyes. Something about the mare’s mane was comforting to him. He didn't know why. Then again, why did babies know anything at all. He did know this, he liked the mare’s hair. So, he did what any baby in his position would do. He grabbed the pretty hair.

Redheart held her breath at the sudden action. She watched as it pawed at her mane before falling down on top of her muzzle. “Oh.” The little one’s shocked face made her laugh a bit inside.

“M-ma.”

Redheart scooped him up and began to work at him with the towel. She was amused as it purred ever so slightly at the experience.

“My, my, my.” Redheart’s mother returned with a small blanket. “A draconequus.”

“What did you call it?” Redheart asked.

“A draconequus. I didn't think they still existed. They disappeared thousands of years ago. That little fella must be the last of his kind.” The older mare’s nonchalant disposition on the baby draconequus came as a surprise to Redheart. “Heh, I think he likes you.”

“Ma-ma.” The baby draconequus squeaked.

Redheart laughed as she plucked him from her face. “So, what do we do with it?”

The older mare frowned at her daughter. “There ain't exactly an orphanage for his kind.”

“Well, I can't take care of him.”

The older mare whacked the back of her daughter’s head. “Yes, you can.”

Redheart tried to protest. “I've got school!”

“Yeah.” Redheart’s mother smiled. “You're training to become a nurse, ain't ya?”

“At a hospital. And besides, I can't be a mom.” Redheart took the towel from her mother and wrapped the draconequus up in it.

“Why not? You rescued him didn't ya? Seems pretty motherly to me. I'd help ya if you need me to. It'd be nice to have another fresh face around here.”

Redheart rolled her eyes as she looked at the draconequus who smiled up at her. “Yeah, but…” She regretted looking down at him. Her heart began to twist again as his face seemed to sadden. She pulled him in close and felt her will snap as his little lion paw rested against her neck.

“Mama?” The little draconequus seemed to ask with pleading eyes.

Redheart sighed as a smile came to her face. “Mama,” she repeated. She studied the little face of the draconequus as he yawned and nuzzled into her chest. A name, he needed a name. In the back of her mind, she swore some angelic voice spoke the name Discord. It was like an echo from a quiet warm place in the dark. “Discord.”

The old mare blinked at what her daughter had said. “What was that?”

“His name,” Redheart held the baby draconequus a little tighter, “his name is Discord.”

Author's Note:

Comments

[Spiritofchaos227]

Ironic, the thing that broke the Spirit of Chaos was the force he represented: change.

[Kevin shough]

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