A Deal With The Devil

by Legacy55

The End

“Hmm, what should I do first? Pierce your skin with a thousand knifes, rip you limb from limb?” Discord pondered as he swung Orion’s body around like a ragdoll. “No, those ideas are so boring and unoriginal… Maybe I could turn you inside out? Or replace a few of your major organs with fruits! That’d be fun!”

Twilight watched in horror as Orion’s body hung limply in the air, a terrible fear shooting through her as Discord mumbled a few idea aloud. She couldn’t bear to watch him suffer so in a pathetic attempt she clamped her eyes shut, much preferring the darkness that now blinded her.

Upon seeing the unicorn close her eyes Discord scowled. “Open your eyes you insolent wench!” He snarled at her, his words instantly causing her eyes to snap open. Completely against her will, she stood silently watching the still floating body of Orion. The same terrible feeling of fear sat in the pit of her stomach and she wished nothing more than to turn away or close her eyes, yet the collar kept her from doing just that. After seeing that his pet was watching attentively Discord gave her a satisfied smile. “Good… now let’s begin, shall we?”

After a few horrifying moments of silence, Twilight quickly realized she couldn’t just sit there while her former lover was tortured. She couldn’t just give up, there had to be a way to save Orion. Think Twilight, think!

Discord raised his claw, giving Orion a menacing grin as he readied to unleash whatever wicked torture he had planned for the poor unicorn. “Any last words before your speech becomes an incoherent slur of painful screams?” He inquired as he stared at him in anticipation.

Orion looked up into the devilish, red pupils of the Draconequus. Swallowing hard he glanced over at Twilight and gave her an apathetic smile. “I… I’m sorry Twilight…” He mumbled, biting his lip in a weak attempt to hold back his tears. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you… I’m sorry I couldn’t beat Discord… I’m sorry I ever came into your life…”

Watching him apologize broke her heart, and it only spurred her on further to find an answer. Thoughts shot through her head at supersonic speed as she desperately tried to think of something, anything that could save the unicorn. A few more seconds of dead silence past, and Discord finally went to snap his talons. He was interrupted however, as Twilight suddenly yelled out. “Stop!”

Discord looked down at her with a furious expression as his patience was now wearing thin. “What now?!”

Silently smiling to herself, Twilight stared up at him with her best poker face. “I demand to see the contract I signed!” She ordered with all of her mustered confidence.

Upon hearing her demand the Draconequu’s angry scowl turned into a joking grin. “You think that’ll save you? Now? Bwahaha! Maybe you should have just read it in the first place, then all of this wouldn’t even have happened!”

Ignoring his words Twilight pressed on with her demand. “As a legal signatory of that contract I can see it whenever I want!” Having studied a bit of Equestrian law she knew that her words were in fact true, however she wasn’t sure if Discord and his reality bending powers fell under that rule.

After a moment of staring at her Discord leaned back in his chair and wiped off his joking smile. “Fine, good luck finding anything though… That contract is air tight…” He snapped his talons, causing the massive stack of papers that was the document to fall in front of Twilight. Immediately she grabbed the first one and began skimming it for any legal loopholes.

Having seen that his pet was now reading the contract, he decided that he could wait no longer. Smiling, he turned to the still floating Orion with a raised claw. “Now we finally start…”

A sudden scream broke the previously quiet air as Twilight used all of her self control to keep from taking her eyes off of the legal document. Another painful scream resonated around her, yet she knew she had to keep reading the contract. Listening to Orion’s tortured screams was almost too much to bear, watching him would only make it worse.

Orion bit down on his lip in intense pain as he tried his best to hold back another scream. It was incredibly difficult however, as it felt like his fragile body was being pierced by a dozen invisible knifes. The sharp, deadly blades dug into his skin and sent jolts of pain rushing across his entire body. Discord only cackled in amusement as he watched the unicorn’s body twitch and convulse in midair.

After a minute of agonizing pain; which felt more like an entirety to Orion, Discord snapped his talons and the pain suddenly stopped. Orion continued to float limply in the air, his breath slow and heavy. Much to his surprise he found his body virtually unharmed, not finding a single visible wound or gash along his limbs.

“Had enough Orion?” Discord taunted his voice as chilling and sinister as always.

Letting out a weak chuckle he stared directly into the Draconequu’s eyes. “If you think I’m going to beg to you then you better start torturing me again… I’m not going to give you the pleasure Discord…”

Discord growled, clearly surprised by his strong will. “Fine, but I’ll break you sooner or later… Just wait…” The Draconequus hissed, his mere voice sending shivers down Twilight’s spine.

Another scream broke Twilight’s deep thoughts. After a moment of worry she reluctantly pushed it aside and returned to the still massive stack of papers. So far she had found nothing, just a lot of very broad, technical terms that concealed a much more sinister meaning. Despite this she kept reading, determined that there was a loophole somewhere in the seemingly airtight contract. Her eyes past yet another complicated, nearly incoherent passage.

The proprietor of this contract (aka Discord) shall be held liable for all legal obligations should this document undergo judicial review by a jury of peers, however should the trial be by a higher legal power the signatory (aka Twilight Sparkle) shall be held liable in his place.

Twilight sighed and continued reading, her mind barely processing a word of the paragraph. Finding a loophole in the contract would be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

“I’m beginning to bore of this… How about we try something a little more psychological?” Discord suggested, once again abruptly stopping the intense pain that was shooting through Orion’s body. However after he snapped his talons a second time, a much more frightened yell came from the unicorn.

The previously solid ground had split open, and now a seemingly bottomless crevice lay beneath him. He quickly clamped his eyes shut and tried his best to stay calm, although it was not an easy thing to do when floating by invisible strings above an endless hole.

“Something wrong Orion?” Discord taunted as he began to swing the unicorn’s motionless body around. “Oh right, you’re deathly afraid of heights! How could I forget? Bwahahaha!”

J-just stay calm… Discord won’t let me fall, not yet at least… Orion told himself, eyes still closed shut. “You’re not s-s-scaring me Discord! You’ll h-have to do a lot better than this!”

“Don’t lie to me! I created you Orion. I know all your flaws, all your weaknesses… All your fears…”

Just don’t look down… As long as I can’t see it, it’s practically not there! D-don’t look down… Don’t look down… He repeated in his mind, and after a few moments he slowly began to calm down.

Suddenly however, Orion felt as if he was falling and his eyes snapped open. He found that he was indeed plummeting down the crevice, and at a very fast rate. His panic only increased and he flailed his limbs in a vain attempt to top himself, yet there was nothing to grab onto so his efforts proved fruitless.

He fell for what seemed like hours, but when he finally opened his eyes he found himself on the surface, unharmed. His heart was racing and he slowly got to his hooves, the full realization of what just happened now dawning on him.
“Did I scare you Orion?” Discord mocked as he eyed the startled unicorn.

“N-n-no…” He meekly replied, his heart rate slowly dropping to a steady pace. Discord could see his obvious distress and laughed, knowing full well the fall had scared him half to death.

“Do you think you’re brave because you’re lying to me?” Discord questioned, giving Orion an angry glare.

The unicorn looked up into his multi colored eyes before he retorted. “No, but I’m sure as hell not going to give you the satisfaction of hearing me beg.”

“Oh you’ll learn soon enough Orion…” Discord mused as he raised a claw. “I think I’ll keep you around for the rest of my reign, you don’t age you know. Maybe you could be my court jester? Actually that’s a brilliant idea! Twilight could watch you as you wither on in the ground in pain, all for my amusement!”

Orion shook his head at the Draconequus, a disgusted scowl drawn across his face. “You’re a sick bastard, you know that Discord? What kind of monster enjoys seeing others suffer?”

Upon hearing the insult Discord raised the unicorn into the air. “You think I’m a monster?! Twilight was the one that caused all this, not me! She signed the contract; she had you created just so she could have sompony to love! If you ask me, she’s the monster here… I’m merely an innocent proprietor who was offering his services…”

“You think you can turn me on Twilight again?!” Orion shouted at the Draconequus, more outraged then he had ever felt before. “You’re the one who tricked her; you’ve always been the monster! You did all this just so you could get a few laughs… You make me sick…”

Discord’s grin twisted into an agitated scowl. “Fine, hold onto those petty beliefs in your head. Just see how far they’ll get you…”

Twilight eyes continued to race across the page, her brain absorbing each and every word that she read. At this point she was beginning to develop a headache, but she knew that her reading skills had never been more needed. Pushing back her physical discomfort, she grabbed another page of the contract and kept reading. Reaching the end of it, Twilight felt the same disappointment as with every other page. But upon reading the final sentence a glimmer of hope sprang to her mind.

Should major bodily harm (i.e. death) be inflicted upon Discord’s side of the bargain, (aka Orion) while he and the signatory are still in love, then the contract shall become null and void, ceasing all further payments.

“Oh my Celestia! This is it!” Twilight exclaimed to herself upon reading the sentence. She quickly read it over, finding out that it did indeed mean what she had thought. The unicorn was just about to jump up in excitement, however the meaning of the sentence fully dawned on her. If she was to save Equestia, then Orion would have to die.

I can’t lose him! Not now, not after all this!

But it’s the only way I can save Equestria from Discord!

Twilight sat conflicted, thoughts buzzing around in her head and constantly clashing with each other. It was as if she was equally divided, with half of her wanting to save Equestria and the other half pleading for Orion’s life. Neither side gained any ground, leaving her dilemma in an unbreakable stalemate.

Twilight looked up from the page, watching as Orion’s beaten body fell back to the ground. Discord was laughing up a storm, no doubt enjoying whatever pain he was inflicting on the unicorn. She rushed over to him and scanned his body, gasping as she realized his whole front torso was covered in blood. What looked like deep gouges from a vicious animal lined his chest, spilling out a seemingly endless stream of blood.

“T-t-twilight?” Orion asked, his head turning to look at her. Instantly a smile spread across his face as he looked at her, even despite the horrible pain in his chest she didn’t cease to make him happy.

“Orion, I… I…” Twilight stuttered, trying her best to explain the loophole to him. However she couldn’t even bring herself to state the idea, so she merely shoved the page in front of his face and pointed to the final sentence.

Orion read over the clause and his eyes widened. However after a moment of thought he smiled again. “Twilight, I’m sorry but it’s the only way…”

“No! Yo-you can’t!” Twilight exclaimed, realizing that he wanted to go through with it. “You can’t leave me Orion, not after all that’s happened!”

He grabbed her hoof and placed it in his. Looking up he stared into her now watering eyes. “Twilight,” He stated softly, his voice a hushed whisper. “I was brought into this world for one reason, to love you. I was just a pawn in Discord’s game, I wasn’t a real stallion. The very least I can do is save you and the rest of Equestria. At least then I would have done something in my short life.”

Now fully crying, Twilight brought her face against his and mumbled in a broken voice. “You’re the only stallion I’ve ever loved… That’s loved me, you can’t leave me! I-I can’t live without you… I’m not strong enough…”

Orion shook his head and smiled at her. “Twilight, you’re the smartest, most beautiful mare I’ve ever seen. You’ll meet sompony, you just have to give it time. One of these days you’ll meet a great stallion, who loves you just as much as I do… I didn’t belong here Twilight, it’s best that it ends like this.”

Breathing heavily Twilight stared at him for a few moments. The words sunk into her head; however she almost wanted to deny them all. She had been so happy with Orion, happier then she had ever been. She never wanted to go back to the dark, lonely life she lived before that. But this was the only hope that Equestria had, the only way her and her friends could live in harmony. She had to give up her love, even if it would practically destroy her.

“A-a-alright…” Twilight mumbled through a cascade of tears. “If it’s the only way…”

Orion smiled once again, glad that she had agreed with him. “I love you Twilight, I always did and I always will…” He stated before pulling her in for one last, passionate kiss. The two embraced in a moment of pure passion and love, finally pulling apart after a minute.

Twilight stared into his blue eyes for a moment before returning his smile. “I love you to Orion…”

Orion got to his hooves and sighed. “I just hope you end up with a stallion who loves and respects you like you deserve… I know you’ll make somepony really happy one day. Goodbye Twilight.” With that final statement he approached Discord, who had watched their meeting with peeked curiosity.

“Did you just need a little kiss from your girlfriend before we continue? I’m fine with that; I’m not completely evil you know!” Discord cackled as he stared at the still bleeding unicorn.

“You know, even though you’ve done horrible things to me and all sorts of other ponies, I still pity you. You’re a creature of chaos, destined to spread misfortune and suffering. But you’ll never know the better aspects of life, like being in love. And I pity you for that; no one should ever have to live a life without love. Though mine was short, I accomplished more than you ever will.”

Discord stared at Orion as he finished his speech, wondering what in Nightmare Moon he was talking about. “What you think this is the end? That I’m going to kill you? Ha! I’ll keep you for the rest of eternity! I can’t wait until Twilight dies and you’re left alone! Oh, it’ll be so entertaining!”

Orion shook his head and laughed. “You know what? The only thing I regret is that I won’t be able to see your ass in stone…” Orion concentrated for a moment and his horn glowed a bright blue. Before Discord could question what he was doing, and intense electric shock surged through the unicorn’s body. The shock worked its way through his blood stream until it reached his heart, instantly stopping it. Orion limply fell to the ground, a smile still plastered on his face.

“What?!” Discord questioned as he looked at the unicorn’s unmoving body. “Did he just kill himself?! That selfish idiot, who will entertain me know?!” He slammed a fist down on the edge of his throne and sighed. However a smile crossed his face as she glanced at Twilight, who was on the ground bawling.

Seeing his lifeless body hit the dirt was the single most painful moment in her life. She knew it was the only way, but that didn’t make it anymore easy. Suddenly however, she felt the collar on her neck snap off and fall to the ground. The loophole had indeed worked, which now meant it was time to defeat Discord.

In an instant the nearby jewel encrusted tiara was resting on her head, and she turned to the statures of her friends. Now no longer feeling Discord’s influence, Twilight was able to cast any spell she wished. A flash appeared, and the next second her friend’s were all able to move.

A furious scowl spread across Discord’s face as he watched Twilight save her friend, to stunned to even react. When he finally could all the bearers now held their Element of Harmony, which meant he was now in trouble. “B-b-b-but how?! You couldn’t have been able to break the contract; my lawyers told me it was air tight!”

“Well I guess you should have read it over, Discord!” Twilight mocked as she and her friends lined up.

“So you think you can beat me huh?! Just because you have a few shiny gems doesn’t mean anything, I still have my powers after all!” Discord exclaimed with a grin as he raised a claw, however Twilight casted a spell and the next second a ball of light him in straight in the chest.

“A stunning spell Discord, so there’s no way you can cheat your way out of this!” She yelled at him before turning to her friends. “Ready girls?”

“Ready!” They all sang in unison.

She turned back to Discord and wiped away her remaining tears. “Looks like you don’t always win Discord!” In a frozen expression of horror, Discord watched as images of the Elements of Harmony shot past him, mimicking the same attack they had used before to defeat them. One by one the bearers were lifted into the air, before finally the colors mixed together into a brilliant rainbow that shot into the sky. Letting out one finally cry of defeat, the rainbow came down on him full force.

A minute passed before anypony could see, as the flash was so bright it had blinded everypony nearby. They found Discord’s twisted world gone, now replaced with the same old Ponyville that had known for so many years. The Draconequus himself was now lying on the ground, frozen in stone. No longer was a grin or smile plastered on his face, instead there was only one visible emotion on his stone face, fear.

All the girls cheered in celebration and began hugging each other, finally glad that the nightmare was over. Twilight was the only one who didn’t join them in their celebration, and instead she paced however to the still body of Orion.

“Orion… You brought a light into my world that I had never felt. I was so happy with you, I felt like everything was perfect. Even though you’re gone now and I’m once again alone, I was glad I was with you. Even if I could redo everything that happened over the past week, I wouldn’t do a single thing different. I would still sign that contract, despite all the pain it brought…”

Her friends quickly ran over to her, talking one look at the lifeless body they all understood what had happened. Each of them laid a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“He was a great stallion Twilight, far better than some I know…” Rarity rolled her eyes, a certain foreign stallion coming to mind.

“Yeah Twi, you sure were lucky to have him.” Applejack smiled before giving her an approving nod.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen somepony love someone so much.” Pinkie Pie commented, also giving her friend a gleeful grin.

“I’m so sorry you had to lose him Twilight, but I’m sure he loved you right to the end.” Fluttershy stated meekly in her usual caring, compassionate voice.

“Yeah I’ve been with a lot of stallions, but I’ve never had one like that. You’re the luckiest mare I know Twilight.” Rainbow Dash told her, her tough attitude now gone.

Finally Spike walked over to Twilight and smiled at her before speaking. “Orion and I didn’t start off on the best hoof, but in the end I guess he was a good guy. And it really did seem like he loved you, so I guess I can’t be angry at him…”

Still staring at her Orion’s body her friends words sunk into her head. Slowly, her frown turned into a weak smile and she looked at all of them. For the first time in a very long while, she felt like they were her real friends. Like when they had defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord for the first time. Not only that, she didn’t feel alone. Even though Orion was gone she knew her friends were there for her. “Guys…” She stated, now having a full blown grin, “I love you…”

“Ah, we love you too Twilight! Group hug!” Pinkie Pie yelled before pulling the seven of them into a tight embrace.
As all her friends giggled and laughed, Twilight took one last look at Orion’s body. She knew he was right, that one day she would find love. She would just need to be patient. In the meantime she had her friends and of course Spike to keep her happy. She could wait for love, even it would be a lonely lifetime. Twilight would wait.

Comments

[Thorax]

What about Celestia and Luna?
If I recall correctly, they were turned to stone. That must have been one hell of talk afterwards.

Also I'd just like to say, I called it.

On a serious note, I'm kind of sad it's over now. The fics I tend to keep a close eye on are few and far between and this was one of them.
At least I've still got married life.

[NaturalGlitch]

Well, Rainbow just ruined that touching scene.

I feel bad for Twilight, and... dear God, poor Orion.

[Wolf Counsler]

857784 at the moment? they are probably like: "YOU FORGOT US!!!"

[eeveeextreme]

Epilogue?

[Goholite]

Yay! It's finished! Great story

[The Fiery Joker]

Bittersweet.

[Ratchetgreen]

i cannot beilive that i waited somuch time to have that as an ending no epiloge wat? well i guess thats closure for ya im going back to eros dreaming

all in all this was a great fanfic and i really enjoyed the story from begining to end even if the ending was a letdown
8/10 stars

[Muleicous]

Don't cry Mule... No... No don't cry... Must... Hold back... Oh dear Luna no!!! G...Good story Legacy... I'm gonna go get a drink

[shadowflame2000]

dang i thought there was gonna be a happer ending than thatstill good job bro

[TheWanderingPikachuPony]

Wow, I've been reading this story for some time now (since didn't discover it when first came out, but after like five chapters in), and it's surprising to see it all come to an end. However, this doesn't feel like the end, but only the beginning?

I had a feeling Twilight would be able to break free somehow and they would defeat Discord, but I didn't expect it to be through the result of Orion having to die. Such a happy, yet bittersweet ending, but again, doesn't feel like the end. I don't know if you'd want to write more about Twilight's attempts to find a new special stallion of her own (or about Rarity trying to find a new stallion, if wouldn't do the classic Spike/Rarity ship, now that her husband left her as ponies a few chapters said ago, for such a stupid reason) in like, a sequel, if anyone else has even thought about it. As I seem to be the only one right now, thinking along those lines. But even if you don't, I shall hopefully look forward to more new tales and continue to read your other current stories, namely The Married Life and A Love of Chaos. Keep up the good work, man!

[SpeedyAstro]

“Ah, we love you to Twilight!"

THE TOO IS MISSING AN O!

[The Libertarian Brony]

Justice has been done. Rest in peace Orion. Rest in Peace.
The Angry Brony continues to approve

[themanesix]

yup...romeo and juliet foreshadowing...called it