Chapter 40: Remaining Hope
Chapter 40: Remaining Hope
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Azure Courage, gray save for a spot of cyan over his heart, dashed through the rapidly degenerating Ponyville streets, feeling confused about exactly what he was doing. Up until remembering a time with Pinkie, he had been convinced all he was doing was hurting the mares he was charged to protect; never mind everyone around him. However, upon having that burst of memory, the unicorn felt indecision settle into him on this matter too.
"I have to know..." Azure's voice still sounded unsure and afraid, but he was regaining the guts he had not even a few minutes (or days?) ago forgotten all about. "...What mistake is the mistake I made...?"
The colt continued to his home close to the outskirts. Surprisingly, his home appeared untouched, save for a touch of random whipped cream that really didn't need to be there. Azure looked to the whipped cream, annoyed it was in his way, when another memory that didn't seem so distant as the other ones came rushing to him.
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"Will somepony please tell me what in the hay is goin' on here?!" Applejack yelled, stamping her hoof hard on the ground. At that precise moment, Azure felt his heart stop beating; more out of fear than anything else. Azure now felt his heart snap. It was like that creature had said...he really hadn't thought that one through...
"Okay, okay, calm down...this really isn't what it looks like at all..."
"Oh, really? 'Cause it really looks like you and Twilight found a way to keep warm during the night..." Rainbow Dash, always one to aggravate a situation.
"Rainbow!" The amount of anger in Applejack's voice was painful to hear. Meanwhile, Pinkie remained absolutely oblivious to what was going on.
"I hurt her...I hurt her bad...and I know it hurt Twilight too..."
"Well..." Azure started. "You remember the Shadow Ghoul attack on your farm, Applejack?"
"What's that got to do with--" Applejack started.
"Well, the reason why Twilight's wearing the glasses she's wearing now is because she's damaged her eyes doing a bit too much reading in poor light. I felt responsible, given I asked her if she could find a way to counter the summons so the unicorn summoning them would be weakened. Turns out light's their weakness. So, she came over here with those bags of books on spells, and we spent most of the night looking up light spells. We fell asleep before we could make it to bed..."
"Make it to bed, eh?" Rainbow Dash goaded.
"Oh, come on!" Azure yelled.
"Then why'd she come out lookin' like that?" Azure remembered the feeling of fear he'd experienced; now it was purely guilt in its place. Of course...he'd caused this! "Why'd you look like that? Huh? Explain that, Azure Courage!"
"That's right..."
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The cyan stain on Azure's gray body receded, as did the headache.
"I had hurt them, all because I was too focused on the problem..." Azure dragged his hooves through the door, finding nothing missing. He looked on his right, finding the saddlebag. He then went to his room, fully intent on packing things up. His horn lit up gray, not particularly caring at this point what order he put things in there, now just flat-out depressed about it all.
However, he stopped when he saw a hat, similar to Applejack's. It was his former color with a black strap around the crown. Azure stared at it, perplexed. He knew this was a gift from her right after she'd developed feelings for him, but didn't she take it back--
A memory hit him hard. This one roared through the fog in his mind, and Azure's eyes shot wide open, their color gradually returning...
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"Wait, Applejack!"
Applejack stopped at the door, clearly confused. Azure had picked up this very hat in his magic, and he felt very real feelings of regret for having lead her on like he had...ones that, no matter how much he or anypony else tried to deny they were an act at the time, were too genuine to be so.
"Unintentionally or not, I lead you on, and you're probably still hurting..." He relived the regret all over again. "You made this with your own hooves. If you want to take it back, I'll understand..."
Applejack took the hat in her mouth, almost at a loss for words. She removed the hat from her mouth with her hooves, and gave it back to him, putting it on his head. Oddly, Azure found himself remembering something was missing now that he thought about it...
"No, Az, I'll admit I had other reasons why I made that hat, but you still earned it. It's just my way of sayin' we're still friends..."
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Azure's now brown eyes were wide open, and he stared at the hat in disbelief. She had given it back to him when he tried to get her to do so, feeling unworthy for it given the circumstances behind it all.
"This..." Azure started, his head gradually starting to hurt once again, almost like something was threatening to burst forth from it; another horn, perhaps? He put his hoof to his forehead, in an alarming amount of pain. He looked around his room.
There, on a table he hardly used, was an object he hardly used; those goggles that Rainbow had gotten him...but that didn't make sense, didn't she just make things worse when they--
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"You're true blue, Az, just like me..."
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The memory hit him again. Rainbow and him were good friends, for sure. Azure twitched, looking to his bed. The blanket on it...wasn't that--
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"If you should ever find yourself...overwhelmed, I'll always be willing to listen."
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The pain seemed to have settled at the base of his horn, like a caged bird was ready to come out. Azure collapsed momentarily, the pain blinding.
"No..." Azure grunted, memories returning to him, "She...she called me...a two-timing...scoundrel...! But...why...? Why had she...helped me after...that...?"
Azure's eyes widened again...
"Friends...forgive...one another...?" Azure asked, almost like it was a fact that had eluded him. Which, given Discord's manipulations, shouldn't be so surprising.
More memories began piling on him now. It began to feel like his head was ready to tear apart starting at the base of his horn. Azure gave a sharp gasp. Memories of what he'd done for Rarity at the Gala in response to some royal pain, what he'd done for Fluttershy and what she had done for him when he needed it, what Pinkie had done for him without him even wanting the help...
And in turn, a lot of memories began flooding to him. Azure groaned, almost terrified were it not for the...invigoration? The memories seemed to be pumping life into him, and with that life came color, but even so, the color came back in patches. For every good memory that came back, a bad one came with it. But...the more of them that returned, Azure began to piece things together, what he was doing, what he was among harmony...
And why he had agreed to be the Protector in the first place...
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At the library, Twilight had finally managed to make her way back. Her friends had become even worse, openly tossing around a book that she was trying to look into to see if it held the clue she was looking for. However, she had finally managed to get said book, and discovered the elements inside. Fed up with today's events, the mare quickly assigned Spike the role of Rainbow Dash, who had taken off earlier and was nowhere to be seen. Despite Spike's objections, Twilight continued on.
"Alright, let's get this over with already," Twilight was irritated, and her voice and face showed it, walking out of the library, flanked by her now completely grayscale friends and Spike, who was continuing to voice his objections with having to play Rainbow so the Element of Loyalty had a wielder. "Let's just defeat Discord so that we won't ever have to talk to each other again!"
It was almost as though she had forgotten what had happened over the past year; her friends were getting under her skin so much. They didn't answer; probably agreeing with her assertion.
Why did I ever bother with friends...?
"Well then, allow me to save you the trouble in finding me," A voice said, drawing her attention. In a flash of light, Discord appeared, seemingly from nowhere. As always, his ego was on full display in the form of that sneer, and Twilight desired nothing more than to make it disappear.
"It ends here, Discord. I've figured out your lame riddle..." Twilight stomped forward. Discord was completely unintimidated. "Now you're going to get what's coming to you!"
"It would seem I've been bested in my own game...poor me," Discord stated, now looking overly defeated. "Well, it seems as though there's nothing left for me to do but accept my fate..." The monster proceeded to put an oversized pair of sunglasses on his eyes, and pulled out a round object from behind his back, placing it over his chest. It was a target, red and white rings. "You may fire when ready..."
"Formation, now!" Immediately, Twilight and the others took their positions. Their hearts weren't into it; they just wanted to get it over with. However, a quick headcount confirmed there was only five elements. Twilight turned to see a hesitant Spike. She groaned, quickly pulling him into position.
"Let's do this," Twilight's horn began to glow. Soon after, her Element began to glow. A magical glow radiated around her, and a line stretched out to the other Elements. Each Element linked together, except the Element of Loyalty, which was not in the proper place. The magic continued to swirl around them. Discord lifted his shades, but did not even budge. Suddenly, Twilight detected something was wrong: the harmonic forces surrounding her waned, and completely fizzled out all at once, leaving her and her "friends" to fall to the ground with a thump.
"What happened?!" Twilight asked, "Why didn't it work?!" She was utterly confused.
"Why indeed..." Discord said flatly, tossing aside the sunglasses and the ring target as he floated next to Spike. Spike removed the Element of Loyalty and placed it down next to Twilight.
"Sorry, Twilight," Spike said, backing away. "Guess I'd better get back upstairs and clean up the library." He ran inside, leaving the others behind. As he left, the others followed his example and removed their elements from their necks, tossing them to the ground uncaring. Rarity, however, picked up each element as they were tossed. As this all happened, Discord began to unapologetically laugh again.
"And after all that talk about defeating me...how disappointing..." Discord remarked, shaking his head. "Come now, why not give it another try?"
"Forget that," said Fluttershy, spreading her wings, "I got better things to do than hang out with these losers!" She flew away from the group.
"Yeah, I'm outta here!" Pinkie left in a different direction. Rarity pushed the rock, Tom, away. Applejack walked up to Twilight.
"How's it feel?" Applejack asked, "Not havin' somethin' happen just 'cause you wanted it? I hope you remember what it feels like to lose something, because this won't be the only thing!" The farmer mare began stomping away, leaving Twilight speechless. Her head bowed in despair as the only friends she'd ever known had abandoned her in her darkest hour.
"I do believe I'm having a case of deja vu!" Discord sing-songed obnoxiously over her sorrows, flying up next to her. "So what say you now, Twilight Sparkle? The Elements have failed you and your friends have turned their backs on you. Will you finally admit defeat?" Twilight caught the absolutely smug grin on Discord's face from the corner of her eyes. She wasn't going to indulge him...she still had some sources left...
"No! she snapped, stepping away from Discord and glaring at him, "My friends may have turned away from me...but I still have Princess Celestia, and I still have Azure...I know I can trust them, and I know we will find a way to defeat you!"
Twilight's confidence didn't unnerve Discord even a little. In fact, he looked pleased.
"I was hoping you'd say that..."
"What?"
"Before you start making plans, I think you should have a look..." Discord said, closing the distance between them again. Twilight and Discord were once again transparent in a different location. This time, they were in the hedgemaze from earlier.
"There's nothing you can show me that'll take away my trust in them, Discord!" Twilight said, only earning a chuckle from Discord.
"Not even that?" Discord simply pointed, and Twilight followed it. A pain in her chest flared up, worse than anything she saw as her jaw dropped. Azure was there, but so was Applejack, both having their color. Azure was holding Applejack, she was holding him back.
"Now...what was that about trust?"
"N-no...this isn't real. It can't be..." Twilight walked forward, away from Discord.
This has to be a trick...He...he wouldn't do that to me!!
"Oh, I assure you it is very real, Twilight Sparkle..." Discord said, "Here, listen to what he said before this..." Discord snapped his talons again. After he did, the scenery around them warped, as though it was going back. Another snap, and everything began to resume at normal speed.
"Applejack, I'm starting to think I made a mistake," said Azure to Applejack.
"W-what...?" Twilight's pains worsened, her eyes widened.
"I mean...that I may have made the wrong choice..."
No...
"And it wasn't until now, that I realized..."
Twilight's eyes closed, and tears began to stream out of them, her colors slowly starting to fade. One of the tears was in the shape of a broken heart.
"I trusted you!"
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Discord was thoroughly enjoying himself. In the span of a few hour-days, he'd managed to crush the resolve of the pony Celestia entrusted to guard the Elements, and crush the friendships that Twilight held dear. And he also successfully instilled resentment in Applejack over a subject he knew hadn't completely healed just yet. Now, he watched as the purple mare, the Element of Magic, began to literally shatter right in front of him. And he wasn't even done yet. He snapped his talons once more, bringing them back to where they were.
"So, tell me, where is that trust you were talking about? The colt who stole your heart dumped you for somepony else. Tell me, did it sting?"
"T-then why...why would he do everything he did if...if..."
"You should know..." Discord grinned wickedly. "He was merely following orders from the princess..."
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"Have fun being Celestia's lapdog, in the meantime!"
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"Y-you can't..." Twilight started.
"Why else was he called away earlier?" Discord said, "It was because she wanted to talk to the guardspony she assigned you without your knowledge..."
"You really thought it was mere coincidence that another pony who believed Nightmare Moon was back would move to Ponyville a week before you did? It was all a carefully constructed ploy, Twilight Sparkle. It was just her keeping an ever-watchful eye upon you! He chose you because the princess told him to!"
Discord oh-so-thoroughly enjoyed the sight of the tears streaming from Twilight's eyes as he sobbed, having robbed her of everything she cared about in one fell swoop. Now, he was ready to give the knife one final twist...
"Your friendships were nothing, your mentor and colt are a bust. So, Twilight Sparkle, who can you trust?" Discord asked.
"No one..." Twilight said, her color fully faded.
"Could you repeat that, one more time?" Discord asked, "Let the whole world hear your trouble..."
"Friends, family, loved ones..." Twilight's mane obscured her eyes, "In the end they'll all turn their backs on you...If that's the case, I don't need them...or anypony else! All I need is to be alone..."
Twilight began to walk away, not even looking up at Discord.
"I've done it..." Discord chuckled, "I've broken them all..." Unapologetic, sadistic, maniacal laughter issued from his mouth. "Harmony in Equestria is officially dead! It is time for a new world order..."
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Azure was still somewhere between cyan and gray when he finally managed to get to his feet. The unicorn wasn't sure of anything anymore. He felt like he had guts, but he didn't know where to use them. The pony wanted to move, but he wasn't sure if it was away from Ponyville he should be moving to. His head still throbbed uncontrollably, but it was something he'd manage to deal with.
At least, that is, until he saw something very near and dear to him, something that had somehow escaped his notice before.
A blue band...
Azure picked it up in his magic.
"This..." He examined it, turning it, like a curious animal with the ability to levitate things would. His magical glow was now a grayish cyan, like his coat was. However, he then got it at the right angle, "...Courage..."
The memories rushed back at him quickly. At this moment, Azure's head began to feel like it was tearing apart, but rather than fall to the floor in pain and confusion, Azure's gaze instead became eerily distant, and within his eyes, a cyan glow began to take form...
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"Son, whether or not this year's Summer Sun Celebration actually yields truth to that old ponytale has no bearing on what we, as family members, feel for you. Yeah, sure, do I wish you didn't bury yourself into training and learning spells that really, only higher-ups in the military should know, practically? You bet I do. But that doesn't change that your name, 'Courage', is true about you in more ways than one."
Azure felt like he was waking up after an extended nap. How long had he been out? He wasn't sure.
"Dad...?" Azure asked, dryly, opening his eyes. The colt quickly realized something was wrong. There was a thick purple fog everywhere. The fog had lifted, and he could see what looked like scenes from his life playing all around him, like a projected video. Most of them seemed to be partially obscured, but their voices were still coming through.
Azure eventually found the source of the noise: the day he originally left... The videos seemed to be arranging themselves now. He felt like he'd just heard these, calling to him, telling him something was wrong.
"...'Courage' is pretty much what defines you, Azure...I can guarantee that most other ponies would have abandoned your cause long ago had they taken it up when you did. But no matter how much we tried to talk you down and no matter how much you were disappointed, you never faltered. It's almost like you're not afraid of anything."
Azure began to walk through the foggy hallway, looking around as though he'd seen these memories for the first time.
"You don't care about the collateral..."
Azure looked around, confused, at the whisper.
"It is true, you are not a Harmony Element, but there is a vital role you play despite that. You can not have harmony without courage."
"That's true..." Azure grimaced, now feeling like he forgot something. That whisper from before sounded familiar.
"You manipulate others for your own benefit..." Louder, the voice was. Azure realized it sounded a lot like his own...
Azure began to think back to everything, wandering through the miasma that choked what he now recognized as his mental landscape.
"That's right..." Azure said, "I protected my friends...because I wanted to. I did get into a situation I didn't want to be in, with two mares I didn't want to hurt...but we forgave one another, and we were able to move on from it..."
Azure looked up, gasping. The purple fog seemed to be clearing around that door from earlier. The door was rattling on the hinges, and a strange white light seemed to be seeping out of the edges. Subconsciously, the fact he vaguely remembered having a killer headache registered in his head.
"Azure Courage..." The whisper was now a full-fledged voice--his own voice. "You know he's right..."
Azure whirled around on his hooves, and was both confused and horrified at what he saw. In front of him, was himself, but without any color. Except for the eyes, which were multi-colored swirls. A memory triggered in his head.
"'He'..." Azure's face immediately scrunched into anger, "You mean...Discord...?" The name suddenly sounded so familiar. The images he saw at the statue garden replayed again. The gray pony narrated over them.
"Your decisions have only brought your friends pain and misery..." The gray him continued, "You have killed each and every one of them on the inside, just for your own gain...You are nothing more than a spineless coward, unworthy of protecting the Element Bearers..."
"...No..." Azure said. Seeing the images again at the statue garden, where he fired aimlessly into a thick fog, and wound up breaking the statues of everyone he cared about. "...You're wrong..."
The gray Azure's brow furrowed, "You aren't listening..." In a flash, the pony was in his face, boring into his head with those hypno-eyes.
"You can't possibly protect them if you yourself are a threat..." The fake him said, "You have left two mares with heartache! How can you be so sure you haven't hurt your friends, those who helped you, those who you lead on?!"
"We're still together, aren't we?"
The gray Azure flinched, and backed off. For some reason, it seemed to be weakened.
"I am the voice of your truth," it said, sounding less sure of itself, "You are nothing but a lie! To yourself, to your friends, your family!!"
"Yet my family gifted me with the courage band...Virid let me stay even though I'd lost..." Azure began to gather strength. He wasn't sure why, but the more he told off his gray half, the less color the other Azure had in its eyes. "Silver still advises me if I'm lost. Applejack has moved forward enough; she's certainly not a pony to hold a grudge...because friends forgive each other..."
"Stop..." The gray Azure was cringing in fear.
"The whole situation between me, Applejack and Twilight was a result of my stupidity, but that was me being me. I wasn't deceiving anyone for my own benefit. I only realized it too late that I had gotten both of them..." Azure said, regretfully, "It hurt me as much as it did them. I used to have the bruise to prove it! If Applejack had been taken all that time ago, by those ponies, I'd have still fought hard to rescue them, but it would not have changed my decision!"
"Stop...!"
"I have never been more sure on this kind of thing...I fight to protect my friends, not because I want to mislead them or because I was told to!" Azure continued, as the fog continued to lift from his memories. And what he saw in the most recent ones...were scenes from just earlier, back at the statue garden when Discord began to make himself known... "Those eyes of yours...they're losing those hypnotic colors, aren't they...Now I remember...their eyes were those colors when he messed with their heads...Looks like he got me too, huh?"
"Shut up!!" The gray Azure answered, the color from its eyes totally gone as it began to very slowly rush the colored Azure. "You are going to vanish! There's no room in their world for you!"
"Funny..." Azure gritted his teeth, feeling a rising fury within him. "Because as I recall..."
The sound of something cracking resonated behind him--the door had fissured, just a little bit, more of the locks and chains shattering it did. The white light began to clear up the rest of the fog, and the gray Azure evaporated in the light. As the light began to fill his vision, the true Azure, friend first, bodyguard last, let out a yell:
"You can't have harmony without courage!!"
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Back in his home, Azure jolted out of his trance. He was still holding the headband, and, as soon as he was sure he was in fact himself again, put it on. His mane and fur had regained their vibrant colors. The unicorn's horn was ablaze with a light cyan flame, even after he had tied his headband securely. He turned, his eyes twin pools of white light.
"So that's how it is..." Azure grumbled, having never felt more fury in his life until that very moment. "Mess with ponies' heads, make them think they're what they're not..."
Azure took two steps, looking around his room. "All for his own amusement...And he says that whole mess was me being amused by it." He spotted the hole in the wall, which his horn had formed when he'd smashed it into the wall earlier.
"It hurt me just as much as it hurt them to do that to them..." Azure shook his head, "Even if Applejack hasn't completely dropped her feelings...I know she'll move on with time. She's a strong mare..."
With renewed fury, Azure stood up straight.
"I have no idea how I'm gonna beat an opponent like this...not even Princess Celestia knows...But I'm betting it has something to do with the Elements, like last time...And if that's the case...I've gotta get to the library!"
Azure's horn began to glow slightly brighter, knowing time was of the essence as he began to cast the teleportation spell on himself. His destination: the Golden Oaks Library.
I understand!
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At the local library, a grayed-out Twilight stormed into the library. Her heart was utterly empty, leaking out of her tear ducts. Her friends had abandoned her, her mentor didn't trust her, and her coltfriend had betrayed her, all in the same day. To twist the knife further, it was one of her former friends that assisted the betrayal. Twilight didn't know who was next...
"I'm...not going to give anypony else a chance..." Twilight said, pulling out an empty suitcase from under her bed. She began to pull her belongings from the various drawers and putting them in the case. She didn't know where she could go, but anywhere was better than Ponyville or Canterlot. Nopony could hurt her again...
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"Missed again..."
Azure shook his head, realizing he was still close to the library all the same. Although, when he looked at the world around him, he could hardly blame himself for missing. Everything was an utter mess, and Azure didn't need to be told what was the source of it all.
"With all that fog cleared, I can see what's he done..." Azure observed aloud to himself, "Makes me sick...He can alter reality itself to his whims and he's using it for tormenting other--"
Azure roughly cut himself off. "Focus. He'll get his soon enough..."
Azure looked over to the library and began running for it. Upon getting close enough, letting out a gasp, he saw the glass window had been broken open, by a large object.
Oh no...what...?
Azure quickly ran through the open door, worried out of his mind about what had happened in his mental absence.
"Twilight!?" He scanned the library, completely unsure. He didn't see Twilight anywhere, but he did see Spike, pacing in front of the stairs. "Spike?" The young dragon was surprisingly still purple and green instead of grayscale like Virid, Blitz, and Silver had been. Spike took a moment, before turning to notice him. Relief spread across the drake's face very quickly.
"Oh, good," Spike stated, "You're not gray too..."
"'Too'?" Azure asked, quickly walking towards him, "What do you mean, too?"
"All of the others, when they came back to the library, they were completely gray. They were acting strange, like they were...backwards! Fluttershy was mean, Rarity was hoarding things, Pinkie was grumpy, Applejack was...I don't even know, and I haven't seen Rainbow anywhere!" Spike paused, and looked up the stairs for a moment.
"I don't know what happened, but next I saw her, Twilight had lost her color too...she was muttering something like 'traitors'," Spike turned back to Azure, clearly worried, "I think she was crying." Both remained silent, Azure now looking up towards where he knew Twilight was.
"He got...everyone else, too?"
It's not over...Not yet! It subconsciously occurred to Azure that he heard more than just his own voice in his head saying that. But whether or not he was hearing it, it wasn't over yet, not if he was still in the right state of mind.
"'Too'?" Spike asked, sounding concerned. Azure was called back to reality. Confronting Discord could wait. Right now he was needed here. He could feel it.
"Don't worry, Spike," Azure said, taking a step forward to rest a hoof on Spike's head. This was only for a moment, however, as he continued forth, towards where he definitely knew Twilight was at.
"What're you going to do?" Spike questioned. Azure paused on the steps, turning his head back to Spike for the moment.
"I'm going to bring back harmony from this chaos..."
No longer waiting, Azure immediately sped through the hall, knowing where Twilight's room was. He had no idea what was coming up next, but he knew he'd have to deal with it. He knew firsthoof what Discord could do to a pony, and could only guess what Twilight was like now that Discord had laid a talon on her. Azure reached Twilight's room; the door was wide open, and he could see what was going on within.
Twilight's back was to him as she was stuffing more and more things into a suitcase. Azure immediately noticed her complete lack of color, just like with Virid, Blitz, and Silver earlier. He didn't know what she would be like, but he knew what he had to do, and this time he wasn't going to let a brainwashed pony attempt to spew Discord's lies at him until he submitted. Azure took a deep breath, knowing only one thing could happen right now.
"Twilight?"
Twilight's head jerked up. She knew his voice, at least. The gray mare turned to him, completely surprised. However, that surprise turned to a mix of fury and sorrow; that much Azure could see. Azure immediately began to trot, slowly, towards Twilight, guided only by instinct as he made his advance, eyes firmly on hers.
"Stay away from me!" Just like with Silver, Twilight was not at all happy to see him. Twilight was taking steps back, but Azure wasn't going to back down, not until he tried to shake her out of it. The mare continued to back away, her horn glowing. "I said, stay back!"
A book flew at Azure, but he dodged without even removing his eyes from Twilight's. Twilight continued to back off until she had no more room, against the wall of her room. Azure could see the world going mad just outside the window on his right, but his focus was entirely on the problem at hoof.
"What'd he do to you...?" Azure asked dryly, knowing it wasn't normal for Twilight to act this way towards him of all ponies. He reached up, trying to brush a bit of mane that had come undone.
Smack!
"He showed me the truth!" she yelled, having hit him across the face. Azure turned slowly back to her. She seemed utterly convinced that whatever "truth" Discord had spewed into her head overrode something she knew, "I know your secret! I know Celestia sent you to watch over me!"
Azure noticed she dropped the "Princess" part; that was definitely not Twilight. It was like she'd abandoned all respect, but still, Azure could only look to her. Twilight was breaking down; Azure could only listen as she continued on.
"Everything you've done was because you were ordered to! Even your choice was an order, wasn't it?!" Twilight yelled. Azure realized it now; Discord had instilled the same doubt in her that he had earlier instilled in him, with an entirely different result. The cyan colt didn't even react when she pushed her back. "Well, you don't have to pretend anymore...You can go be with Applejack, I know that's what you want!"
"Twilight, that isn't true..." Azure started, "You have to believe me!"
"Shut up!" Twilight hit him on the other cheek with her opposite forehoof. "I saw you and Applejack in the maze!" Again, another hit, "I heard what you told her!" Again. "I saw what you did!" Though she had kept hitting her, Azure didn't even react. He knew she wasn't herself.
Discord brought up the old wounds...He twisted the knife in them, rubbed salt into them, all for his own amusement... Azure thought to himself, I can't walk away from this...I wasn't even in the maze!
"I'm done being your mistake!" Twilight's eyes glowed, her horn doing so as well, her voice shaking the whole room as she screamed,"So just go!!" Twilight's horn flared; for a moment Azure felt she was going to start literally throwing the room at him. However, it died down almost immediately, and she continued to let tears fall.
"No..." Azure was still unaware of how he looked, "I'm not going to turn my back on you, Twilight,"
"Yes, you will...In the end, everypony is all the same. Eventually they'll desert you without a second thought." Twilight stated bitterly, "I wasted my time with them and you. They left me...And I don't need them, either. I don't need any of you, and I never did. I'm better off alone."
Azure couldn't believe what he was hearing, but it was painfully clear what Discord had done to all of them while his back was turned.
No...Twilight...I will not abandon you...
"I know you don't believe that, Twilight. After all we've been through..." Azure continued to speak. Twilight was only able to remain silent, "Discord turned you all against each other. He attempted to make me forget why I fought so hard; what you all mean to each other; how we all powered through the obstacles..."
Azure's entire body seemed to glow, but he didn't seem to notice, entirely focused on the task at hand as he cupped Twilight's face in his hooves; Twilight didn't even move. "Remember, Twilight...Remember everything, you've overcome thanks to the friendship; everything they've done for you..."
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Remember...friends...?
As quickly as the fog had glided into her mind, Twilight felt it start to lift. There was a single, white, shining light piercing through it. Memories began to reveal themselves anew; Azure's repeated reckless acts; the images of her friends' support during the long night of Nightmare Moon; the images of their support when Trixie came to town... Everything, everything, came flooding back to her all at once. Her friends had risked their lives to save her from her foalnappers. Nopony else would have pushed as hard if they didn't mean it.
"T-they...They were always there..." Twilight's eyes began to sparkle. Azure saw it; her color was beginning to come back. "For me..."
"That's right...and they'll continue to be there for you..." the cyan colt continued, "I will too...Twilight, you always got on my case for risking my life. But the fact is, I wouldn't have fought so hard if my heart wasn't in it. Even if Princess Celestia had forbidden me from doing it, I'd have still done it anyway..."
"H-how..." Twilight wasn't convinced. There was something in her that was still clouding her judgment, apparent in that she still had patches of gray, "How do I know that? How do I know--"
"The same goes for my love," Azure interjected, "Twilight Sparkle..."
Azure pulled Twilight closer, kissing her with all of his heart and soul. She gasped, completely stunned, as the feeling of love once again filled her anew. As it did, so too did the remainders of gray change to her regular color.
R-remember...Love...
Twilight's color finished returning by the time the two broke apart, and she had to take some time to make sure she felt alright again.
"Now," Azure said, "Guess it took a year, but you finally understand why I fight so hard when it comes to it..."
"I already understood, Azure," Twilight answered, "But when...they started deserting me one after another...I guess I must have forgotten...but then, why did Princess Celestia ask you--"
"Beats me," Azure replied, "Maybe she had a feeling those ponies would be out and about..."
"And your move to Ponyville?"
"All coincidence," Azure said, "And I couldn't be happier. Remember, I fought my own cousin over it, and I'd do it all over again!"
"Thanks, Azure..." Twilight finally knew what she knew all along was right, once more. "Azure..." She blinked, before realizing something she'd overlooked, "Are you...?"
"Am I what?" Azure asked.
"Your eyes and horn are still...glowing..." she finally said.
"They are...?" Azure questioned, "I wonder--"
"Never mind that, now, Azure," Twilight cut in, shaking her head and raising a hoof at him, "It's all clear now...Discord knows how powerful friendship can be! He was defeated by the Elements of Harmony before, and he's trying to destroy the friendships we have to prevent it from happening again!"
"I get it," Azure interjected, "Then...picking off me, Virid, Blitz, and Silver was just for kicks..."
"What?!" Twilight screamed.
"He left in such a hurry..." Azure responded, recalling it clearly, "Guessing he knew you girls were about to go get the Elements and wanted to beat you to it..."
Twilight's eyebrows arched, as anger swelled through her. The knowledge he'd done what he'd done to them, even Virid, sickened her, "We've gotta--"
"Don't worry, Twilight...We're going to fight to protect the bonds we've formed here..." Azure said, "But...listen...I have an idea..."
Though it wasn't exactly the most appropriate time to indulge in questioning Azure's logic, Twilight did so anyway: "What're you going to do, Azure? Go fight Discord, again, while I have the others remember who they are?"
"Well, Twilight..." Azure responded, his expression drifting into an almost smug sort of thought. Twilight knew Azure wasn't one for thinking things through, and wondered if this time would be different...
--------------------------------------
Discord watched as the world went absolutely mad around him, and reveled in it. Ponies were running for their lives, no doubt wondering if they were gonna be used for his entertainment. He sat on a throne in the center of Ponyville, filling a glass with chocolate milk rain. He then took the cloud, and turned it into whipped cream. After taking all the time to prepare the beverage for himself, he took a nice long swig...of liquefied glass. After staring at the still-intact liquid and cream, Discord merely shrugged and threw away the rest, which promptly exploded on impact with the ground.
"Hm, did I hit somepony?" Discord asked, looking behind him. "No? A crying shame..."
A cyan-and-white surge of magic suddenly erupted in front of his throne. Secure in his victory, Discord could only watch with a neutral expression as the glow began to fade.
"You don't know when to give up, after all...?" He questioned the figure, at best mildly surprised. "Heh, I was just starting to get bored..."
The glow receded, save for the cyan figure's horn. His eyes, curiously enough, were twin orbs of white light. However, despite these changes, Discord knew perfectly well who this unicorn was. After all, he'd broken him once already.
"Discord!!!"
It was Azure Courage, quite thoroughly angry. A fact which Discord relished, knowing it was all his doing...
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I dont know about anyone else but this sadistic Discord is giving me chills.
3628571
I sure hope those are chills of disapproval...
3629406 Of his actions, I find the way that you have presented him to be quite terrifying.
3629429
The kicker? This is the Discord I saw during his debut. And I didn't like it. A bit of an early reveal on that one.
3629496 The way that you have portrayed Discord kind of reminds me of the Discord that is found in the story "Stairway to Equestria." The only differents is that he is more vicious then sadisic.
Go fuck yourself, Discord.
Daaaawwww!
I repeat, go fuck yourself.
Round 2, Fight!
Loved to see Azure lift his and Twilight's discordation. Can't wait to see Discord get defeated.