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"Not. Your. Friend!” Fluttershy shouted, tossing away the skates he had given her.
“Who cares?” Discord said. “I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm Discord, the master of chaos!” He shook his fist defiantly in the air.
Fluttershy had turned and was carefully walking on the ice, away from him. With a flash of light, he teleported behind her, skating along and easily matching her pace. “You think you can boss Discord around?” he said as her ears pinned back. “You think I'm just going to turn all this back because you say so? Because if I don't, I'll lose the one friend I ever had?”
He froze in place, revelation striking him. He lifted his head, slowly looking in the direction she had thrown those skates—
A burst of staticy pain jolted Discord awake. He groaned, rubbing slowly at an eye that was particularly sore. That dream again. He had been having it for the last week, bits and pieces slowly added each time. But still, every time, the static woke him up before he got to the end. Even now, it was buzzing in his head, making all the exact details fuzzy.
It was…what was he feeling? Ah, yes…annoyed. He was annoyed by the recurring dream that felt immensely important, but never reached its conclusion.
“Discord?” Fluttershy said, knocking on his door. He grunted in affirmation, and she opened it, giving him a bright smile. “Good morning. Breakfast is on the table whenever you're ready—it's toast with cinnamon and sugar on top.”
“Sounds…good,” he said, licking his lips. Fluttershy's grin widened, her eyes seeming to sparkle. She headed back downstairs, while he slowly stood up, stretching a little before his back became ramrod straight, his arms at his sides.
For now, he tried not to think about the dream. The static made it easy to push it out of his mind, and its buzzing promised a headache if he decided to change his mind about that.
Even though the static made it very, very easy for him to put it out of his mind, that dream still bothered him. Maybe it was because of its constant repetition, but something about it…stuck with him, even if the exact details eluded him.
“Discord, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked. He blinked, staring at her for a few moments. She looked concerned, and there was a teacup in her hooves…ah, right. They had been enjoying some afternoon tea together. “You seem quiet today. Is there something on your mind?”
He nodded. “Just a dream. From last night.”
“Oh?” she said. “I suppose I've never asked, but what do you usually dream about?”
“…hard to remember,” he said. “Fuzzy. But this one…was different. Clear. Like a…a memory.” Is that what it was, a memory? Perhaps that was why it had seemed so clear and so important.
“…what do you think you could tell me about this dream?” she asked. He slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to carefully peel pieces from the claws of static.
“I'm on…a frozen lake,” he said. “You're there, too…you're angry. You yelled and threw…something away. A gift?”
“I try to brush it off. You've turned and walked away. You're ignoring me, but I'm still talking and following.” His eyelid twitched, and the static buzzed, trying to pull away the memory, but he pushed it back. Not yet, not yet, this felt important and he needed to see the end…!
“I'm…skating right behind you,” he said. “And I realize…something. I look up, and—”
The static surged, and the memory was gone. He grunted in annoyance, and opened his eyes to look at her. “That's all I have,” he said. “But, it…it feels…”
“…I-Important?” she quietly offered. He nodded. She was quiet for a few moments, and he realized that she was shaking so much that the tea was threatening to spill from her cup.
He reached out and placed his claws just below the teacup's brim, his firm grip keeping it from shaking. She flinched, her head snapping up to him. “…what happened?” he said quietly. “The gap, I…I need to know.” The static was buzzing, trying to make him ignore the memory, especially that one missing piece. “…please.”
She stared at him, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. “I…didn't see it directly,” she said quietly. “You were behind me, and my head was down…”
She took a deep breath. “But, there was a…a magenta flash near your head,” she said. “And you…you started screaming…before you collapsed and…” With a shuddering breath, the teacup slipped from her shaking hooves.
It slid away from Discord's loosening grip, crashing against the floor and shattering. A magenta flash. Screaming. He…he could vaguely recall those. He couldn't quite remember them fully, or figure out why they seemed so important, but…but he felt they were.
“Oh dear, oh goodness…” Fluttershy said. He blinked, focusing his attention back on her. She was picking the shards of the cup off of the floor, her hooves still shaking. “I-I didn't want to upset you, Discord...it's a…it's all a bit much, I think…”
“I…I remember a little more,” he said, his voice wavering. Her head snapped up to him, her eyes wide with worry. “…not enough, though,” he said. The pieces she had given him slid perfectly into the gaps, but…the static still buzzed when he tried to make the image clearer.
“…maybe it'll come back to you eventually,” she said. “Just…give it time.” She swallowed, setting the shards on the table. “And…once you do, we…we can talk about it, again. Calmly?”
“Okay,” he said. She seemed to relax at his words, and stood up, rambling something about making a soup from their leftovers for dinner, because didn't he like that? He just nodded along, slowly clicking the shards of teacup together and using sparks of magic to seal them together.
In the back of his mind, all the way through dinner and up until he lay in bed, staring at the stars painted on his ceiling, he tried to put together the pieces of the puzzle that were his strange memory.
"Not. Your. Friend!” Fluttershy shouted, tossing away the skates he had given her.
“Who cares?” Discord said. “I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm Discord, the master of chaos!” He shook his fist defiantly in the air.
Fluttershy had turned and was carefully walking on the ice, away from him. With a flash of light, he teleported behind her, skating along and easily matching her pace. “You think you can boss Discord around?” he said as her ears pinned back. “You think I'm just going to turn all this back because you say so? Because if I don't, I'll lose the one friend I ever had?”
He froze in place, revelation striking him. He lifted his head, slowly looking in the direction she had thrown those skates. But as emotions started to swell in him, just before he could turn back to Fluttershy and do something, anything to get the friendship he now knew he needed back, a gleam from the shoreline caught his eye.
He looked up…and saw a bright flash of magenta right in front of him, just before it seared against his face, burning his eye and cheek. He screamed in pain as he felt the magic burning and tingling against his skin, trying to skate backward and claw the pain away from his face.
All that happened was he fell over, which stopped the burning pain but still left him with a prickling one everywhere the magic had hit him. He kept screaming as he felt the tendrils of magic burrow through his skin, crawling under his eyeball and working their way down, down through his skull…
He felt the tendrils touch his brain, and he stopped screaming, collapsing as everything went dark. For those last few moments of consciousness, he could feel the tendrils wrap around his brain, pricking and numbing and settling itself inside of him…
Discord gasped and jolted awake, a cold sweat covering his skin. Things were starting to make sense now. Even the static that tried to clamp down on his emotions and pull this memory away had a known source.
He remembered everything. Why he couldn’t think for himself.
Why even simple things caused him pain.
Why he had been turned into a tool.
It was her fault.
With a flicker of magic he barely even thought about, he disappeared from his bed and reappeared in a dark underground tunnel. He growled to himself, already on his feet, sweeping the area with his glowing eyes. She wasn't here. But he could sense her just above him…they must have blocked his teleportation somehow.
Still, there were things he could do that nopony could even attempt, let alone prepare for. With another flick of magic, he made himself into an insubstantial ghost, and he quickly floated up and rose through the floor.
He was in an empty room now, divided into two halves by a clear crystal wall. On one end, there was a door with a complex lock mechanism. On the other was an open door, where he could see a sparsely-furnished room…and that awful alicorn, lying in bed with a book on her face.
He ground his teeth, quickly flying through the air towards her, becoming physical again as he passed through the door to her private area. He stood on the ground, and with a flick of his tail, Twilight's bed was knocked over onto its side, sending her and her book sprawling across the floor.
Twilight gave a cry of shock as she was suddenly woken up, scrambling to get onto her hooves and reaching out for her book. Before she could touch it, Discord stomped on it, enjoying her pained expression at the sound of its spine cracking. “Hello, Twilight.”
“Discord,” she said, her eyes wide with fright. She slowly stumbled onto her hooves, using her wings to balance herself. “…why are you here? How?”
“I remember, Twilight.” Her eyes widened, and her face fell. He snarled, baring his fangs at her. “You…did this…to me,” he growled, veins bulging on his forehead and neck. “You made me into a, a, a, a…” Curse this static, trying to throw him off of his train of thought!
Twilight stared at him with wide eyes. “…I did what thought I had to,” she said quietly. “To prevent you from hurting ponies.”
His anger grew. “You hurt me,” he spat. “And made me into a, a, a…a tool.” He glared, using his anger to focus solely on Twilight. He ignored the prickling of her spell, and refused to be caught in a loop all over again.
“…Fluttershy must be helping you,” she said. “You're getting better. Though, without a few of my counterspells…” She held up a thick stack of papers, scrawled with glyphs in messy hoofwriting.
Discord used the back of his claw to smack them out of her hooves. They all flew up in a flurry, scattering around the cell. “No more magic,” he said, crushing a piece of paper that landed in front of him under his foot, “…and no more Twilight.”
Her eyes widened, and she started to back away, her cold demeanor finally broken. But no matter where she ran, how far she got away, his magic would find her. He licked his lips, his pupils narrowing to slits.
The first thing to do was remove her horn and wings. Oh, yes, then the real fun with her could begin…with a grin, he raised his fingers into a snapping position, gathering his magic to get started—
A spike of pain went through his head. He gasped and stumbled backward, away from Twilight. She stared at him with wide eyes, her wings quivering…but then, slowly relaxed and straightened up.
“I see you're still not able to attack ponies without orders,” she said. “That, or the creator protection failsafe kicked in…either way, I don't think you can do anything to me right now.” She slowly began to gather the papers he had scattered.
“We'll…see…about…that,” he growled, unsheathing the claws of his lion paw. It would be so much messier and more hands-on than he preferred, but—!
“Stop,” Twilight said, her voice calm. The static buzzed in his mind, and his muscles locked up. “Neutral position. Wait patiently.”
His arms fell to his sides and he stood up straight. His gaze bored into her skull as he was forced to stand still, only able to watch as she carefully gathered each individual piece of paper. He ground his teeth together as the minutes ticked by, the spell crackling in his mind and keeping him stuck in place.
The fallen princess set the stack of paper on her desk, then turned to look at him. “You can relax.” In Fluttershy's voice, the words were a suggestion; in hers, they were closer to a command. Discord sniffed, his muscles unlocking. He still stood in the same place, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of seeing him stunned by her dark magic if he acted out.
Twilight didn't seem to mind his stillness at all, pacing back and forth in her cell. “Discord…when you had your memory back, and the ability to teleport freely, what did you do first?” she said. Discord just glared at her, grinding his teeth. He was squeezing his fist so tightly that his claws were starting to dig into his skin.
“You teleported right here…and tried to attack me with your magic,” she said, answering her own question. “Don't you see?” He still refused to answer her…or maybe the spell was tying down his tongue now. Who knew?
“That means you're exactly the kind of creature I thought you were,” she said. “Wicked, dangerous…and with a thirst for vengeance.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “The sort of creature Equestria needed to be protected from. One where the world would be better off if they were…controlled.”
“Controlled?” he growled. “With no free will? Pain every time a thought strays away? And with all that dabbling in dark magic, you're just as dangerous as I am, princess.” He scoffed. “Pot, meet kettle.”
Twilight frowned, ruffling her feathers and rubbing at her foreleg. “…maybe I am,” she said quietly. “But…if I'm hurt by you, do you know what will happen? Ponies will think…they'll know I was right. They'll know that you're dangerous, too.”
He scoffed again. “I've never cared…what ponies think.” His brow furrowed. It was a strain, trying to stay angry and keep himself focused on this line of thought.
“…Fluttershy will know you're dangerous, too,” she said quietly. She turned away and began to tidy up her desk again. “After all she's done for you…she'd be heartbroken to realize that the ‘friend' she saw in you was never really there. That once she's done freeing you, you'll go right back to your old evil ways.”
His thoughts stopped in place. His anger was drained away, and he suddenly felt very, very cold. “…Fluttershy won't…I'm not…I'm her…”
“Her friend?” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. “I can't imagine that Fluttershy would want to be friends with anyone who delighted in violent revenge.”
He snarled, curling back his lip, but his heart wasn't in it anymore. That cold feeling spread completely through him and smothered his anger, more easily than the spell’s static ever had. Twilight just shook her head and turned back to her desk.
“Here,” she said, picking up the stack of papers and offering them to him. He sneered at them. “They're my notes from my research into a counterspell for you. Fluttershy...and any wizard should find them quite useful.”
He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously before snatching them away. “Why do you care about helping them?” he growled, gripping them so tightly they started to crumple. “Helping me?”
She glared at him for a second…and then turned away. “I don't even know,” she said bitterly. “I still think you're too dangerous to be completely free. But what else am I supposed to do?” She gave a dry laugh. “I'm imprisoned here forever unless you're free. And if I don't help, no one will ever trust me again anyway.”
Her wings drooped, her head hanging low. “…if I do something, maybe somepony will accept me again, sometime in the future.”
He snorted. “Fat chance,” he said. “Princess you might have been, but they won't trust you any…any…anymore than you trusted me.”
Her head snapped up, and she gave him a hard look. “…Discord,” she said. “Exit this cell, repair the damage you did, and go back to Fluttershy's cottage,” she said, her tone harsh and her voice clear. “That's an order.”
Though he wanted to grit his teeth and growl, his expression slid into that awful, slack-jawed neutral one. “Yes, Twilight,” he said, only barely managing to slide a hint of mockery into his monotone.
He turned and walked through the wall as a ghost again. With a snap, her bed righted itself, and everything she had was back in its proper place, erasing all evidence he had ever been there.
With another snap of his fingers, he teleported back to Fluttershy's cottage, the papers still held tightly in his hands.
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YO. I am shooketh. This chapter is a rollercoaster of emotions. Like, heck yeah Discord's getting his memories back! Heck NO Discord got his memories back and he's going to find Twilight. And of course we GET why he'd want revenge, anyone in his position WOULD. But still, I don't know how things would go for him if he killed her, both with Fluttershy and in regards to his freedom as a whole. I don't think it makes him evil like Twilight claims. There's a big difference between harassing people who weren't bothering you and attacking someone who basically lobotomized you.
So I had REALLY mixed feelings on whatever he was going to do to Twilight...Then she started giving him ORDERS. When I say I SCREAMED aloud I am not exaggerating whatsoever. Somehow I got so wrapped up in Discord potentially killing Twi that I didn't consider that he's still very much cursed and probably doesn't have the ability.
And then she doesn't even MOCK him? No cocky taunting or anything, just acting like business as usual? Just giving him orders like it's a simple thing? WOW. God I love how you're writing Twilight. The fact that she's not even smug or spiteful or ANYTHING somehow makes her more intimidating (and probably more infuriating to Discord). And she freaking gave him her notes and just...dismissed him. Cold blooded. I love it. I'd be SOOO mad.
Anyway this chapter is too fun. Thank you
HOLY MOLLY!!!!
Ok this has to be one of the best chapter for sure
First, discord recovering his memory
Second, nice call back to "blank" 👍🏽
Third, twilight and discord reunion was the best and the fact that twilight, despite everything, it's trying to help is very nice, make me not hate her so much (in this fic, I like twilight in general ok?)
Even though this chapter it's short in comparison with the others, you manage to put a lot of information and revelations without made it feel rushed, and that's admirable
11395690
She still thinks she is better than him despite everything. She doesn't see for she learned about friendship she failed to learn the most important lesson how to trust even when it is hard.
That was a good chapter.
guess with no company but herself twilight having to look inwards at herself and not liking what she sees
This chapter was genius. Pure, utter genius. This is a good mirror of Discord's whole problem early post-reformation. The whole "is he or isn't he genuine?" Is coming to surface. However, it's less abrupt than, say, the Tirek incident that occurred in canon. Discord didn't turn a total 180 here. Fluttershy was never in danger and he doesn't doubt their friendship as much. But he doesn't trust anyone else, and that is what holds him back and makes him more volatile.
And Twilight! Twilight! Can she be redeemed as well? The dark magic hasn't totally taken her. She still wants trust and she still wants friends. She made a counterspell!!
Twilight is still the biggest mystery in this whole story to me. Is dark magic controlling part of her actions? Will curing Discord somehow free her from the trap of dark magic? Especially since she may take a hoof in his cure?
Their interaction was exciting as heck, and I enjoyed every electric moment of it.
And I love that Discord is really and truly starting to talk more and more and express himself more, and even control his magic.
I don't even know what's going to happen next!!! I'm so excited!!!
When you wrote:
I immediately start thinking of Discord re-assembling the teacup.
So, two para later when you write:
my tiny mind was blown.
<neo>Woah.</neo>
(Also your evil Twilight is still disturbing.)