> Discord and the Amulet > by gabbles_da_fangirl > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle was walking through Ponyville one fine morning. Even though she was an alicorn, she wasn't quite used to flying, so she preferred walking. She was making her way to Fluttershy's cottage. Just as Twilight was about to knock, the door swung open. "Fluttershy!" The alicorn cried as the yellow pegasus stepped outside. "Oh, um... Hey, Twilight. What brings you here on this fine, sunny day?" "Well, I was going to ask if you could do a favour for me." Twilight replied. "Uh, sure... I guess. What is it?" Fluttershy asked. "Could you please go and get Rainbow Dash for me, seeing as she's in the sky and all..." "Um, Twilight?" FLuttershy interrupted. "You have wings, remember?" Twilight looked at her back. "Oh, right, never mind then." As the purple mare started to walk down the path, Fluttershy gasped quietly. "What is it?" Twilight asked, whipping her head around. "Um... oh,, it's nothing, really, it's just that, um, well... Oh, it doesn't matter, but if you must know, this bird-" Fluttershy pointed a hoof at a little red bird perched on her head. "-just told me that something has happened at Sweet Apple Acres..." Twilight ran to the end of the path, then spread her wings and flew into the air, the yellow pegasus not far behind her. When Twilight and Fluttershy landed at Sweet Apple Acres, they saw Applejack and her brother and sister sitting near the apple trees. "Hey, Twilight, FLuttershy." Applejack said half-heartedly. "Hey Applejack. What's wrong? One my critters told me something happened here, we came as fast as we could." Fluttershy sat down next to her friend and put a hoof on her back. Applejack waved a hoof in the direction of the apple orchard. Fluttershy and Twilight looked at the orchard. Apples lay on the ground around the buckets used to collect the apples. Twilight walked over to them. There were no apples in any of the buckets. And all the apples were any colour BUT red or green. The princess walked back to the Apple family. "Why is it like this?" She asked. "That's the problem." Applebloom said. "We can't figure out why this happened!" "I think I might know who's behind this. Applejack, Fluttershy, lets go!" The three mares raced through Ponyville, stopping outside Rarity's shop. Twilight knocked on the door, and several seconds later, Sweetie Belle opened it. "Oh, hey Princes-" "Please, just call me Twilight," the alicorn said. "Oh, sorry. Hey Twilight. And Fluttershy and Applejack." Sweetie Belle said. "Hi, is Rarity home?" Twilight Sparkle asked the filly. "She's having her 'beauty sleep' and said she didn't want to be disturbed." Sweetie answered. "Could you please get her for us? It's really important." Sweetie Belle nodded and went back inside. "Rarity, can you come here for a second?" the little filly asked, pushing open her older sister's door. "Go away." Rarity grumbled. "I'm having my beauty sleep, Sweetie." "Your friends are here. They said it was really important." Rarity sat up. "Tell them I'll be right there." Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie stood in the library. Twilight used her magic to give them the Elements of Harmony. When the princess had given each pony their Element, the six mares ran outside, standing in a circle in the middle of the street. Twilight fired up her horn, and a rainbow connected the six Elements of Harmony. After a few seconds, Discord appeared. "Discord!" Twilight demanded. "Fix the Apple family's apple trees. Right now!" Discord looked at her innocently. "What do you mean, my dear Twilight Sparkle?" "You know what I'm talking about, Discord. Fix it!" "Fix what? I've been reformed, remember? I wouldn't do such a thing!" "We'll turn you back to stone if you don't put it back!" Twilight threatened. "Would you now? I wouldn't do that if I were you, Twilight Sparkle. If you turn me back to stone, I won't be able to fix it. Besides, little Fluttershy here promised not to use her Element against me." "So you admit to doing it then!" Twilight siad. "Yes. And? There's nothing you can do about it, ponies. Even the Elements of Harmony won't work against THIS!" Discord pulled a black and red amulet from thin air, fixing it around his neck. The six mares gasped. "What? But I thought Zecora hid that amulet!" "Zecora? Oh, yes. She's the zebra, isn't she?" Discord asked. "What have you done with Zecora?" Twilight demanded. "I am OK, my dear Twilight. But this could come across a a bit of a fright." Zecora stepped out from behind Discord. "Oh, please, stop with the rhyming." the Draquonequus said to the zebra. Zecora nodded. "I'm fine, Twilight Sparkle. But Discord has shown me what the future will be like, and the only way to stay safe is to join him." "What!?" Twilight cried. "Zecora, you would never do something like that... right?" "My dear child, it is there you a wrong. I have been with Discord all along." Zecora said. She was about to keep rhyming, but Discord glared at the zebra, and she stopped. "I hid the Alicorn Amulet after Trixie kindly delivered it to Ponyville, and I have been keeping it safe until the time was right." Twilight Sparkle noticed that all the ponies, except for her and her friends, had gone inside. She turned to her friends. "Come on, we have to get to Canterlot as soon as possible! Celestia will know what to do!" The alicorn's friends nodded, then turned and ran down the street, towards the train station. "Not so fast!" Discord said as Twilight turned to join her friends. He clicked his fingers, and the other five mares returned. Another click, and black vines wrapped around the alicorn and her friends' legs. "Uh Twilight," Applejack said. "I think we need a Plan B." > chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Alicorn Amulet glowed red, and discord clicked his fingers. Twilight Sparkle looked around, straining against the vines around her legs, and saw they were no longer in Ponyville. "Wh-where are we?" Asked a terrified Fluttershy. "Why, we are in the Everfree Forest, of course." Zecora said. "What do you want, Discord?" Twilight asked, trying to look brave. "What Do I want? Good question, Twilight. I want to know if you and your friends will join me an-" Discord stopped as Twilight interrupted him. "Never!" Twilight and her friends said. "Um... Never..." Fluttershy said two seconds later. "Oh but Twilight, my dear, we could rule all of Equestria together. Luna and Celestia would be powerless to stop us, and-" "We said no, Discord!" Twilight said. "Very well then," the draconequus said casually. "I guess I'll just leave you and your friends here for the Timberwolves. Or perhaps I could think of something else..." Discord clicked his fingers again, the Alicorn Amulet glowing red, and the zebra, the six mares and Discord were in the throne room in the castle in Canterlot. The vines around the ponies' legs vanished. Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne, Princess Luna standing next to her. They were looking at a piece of parchment, a letter, with looks of concern on their faces. The princesses looked up. "Discord?" the Princess of the Sun asked. "What are you... Oh..." Celestia looked to the six mares next to Zecora and Discord. "Girls, use your Elements against Discord!" "Sorry, Celestia. I'm afraid they can't do that. You see, Fluttershy promised not to use her Element against me." Discord said with a grin. Princess Luna and her sister both fired up their horns, but the Amulet around Discord's neck glowed red, and their magic was extinguished. "Pose, Princesses. And don't forget to smile." Twilight and her friends watched in horror as Discord's Amulet glowed red again, and the two sisters were forced into different poses, until Discord found some he liked. Discord's magic made the princesses grin, and then he turned them to stone. "How does feel, Celestia, to be trapped in stone, unable to move but still conscious?" Discord taunted. He turned back to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes, I remember now." Discord turned and walked over to a stained glass window. A red aura surrounded the ponies, and they hovered just next to Discord. They were in front of a window with an image of Discord wearing the Alicorn Amulet, sitting on a throne. Twilight Sparkle gasped. There were tears still in her eyes from seeing her friend and mentor turned to stone. "I think a little change is in order." Discord said, a wicked grin on his face. He clicked his finger, the Alicorn Amulet glowing red, and the walls of the castle turned to red and black, with the occasional touch of grey or silver. The throne turned into one exactly like the throne in the window. Twilight looked around. The Amulet around Discord's neck was glowing red, and it had been for some time. The Alicorn looked at her friends, who looked just as confused, sad, and scared as she felt. Then, a red aura enveloped Rarity, and when it cleared, Twilight gasped. Her friends mane and tail were a horrible green colour, and they were all messy. Discord grinned as Rarity screamed and started crying, saying how horrible a colour green was. The white unicorn fired up her horn, and her hair turned to an even worse colour: brown. "And now for my final touch." Discord announced, still wreaking chaos across Equestria. There was a flash of red light, and Discord was sitting on his new throne, a crown atop his head. "I shall now be known as... King Discord!" > chapter 3 (edited) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The new king of Equestria sat on his throne. With Princess Luna and Princess Celestia out of the way, Princess Cadence also turned to stone, and all the other royals either far too busy trying to fix things, or absolutely powerless to stop him, there were no remaining threats to the Draconequus. Well, with the exception of Twilight Sparkle and her friends using the Elements of Harmony against him, which they wouldn't, seeing as Fluttershy had promised not to use her Element against him. But, to be honest, Discord was getting just a little bit bored. He was tired of sitting in the throne all day, making chaos but not watching the ponies' reactions to it. He clapped his hands twice, and Zecora stepped out from behind the throne. "What can I do for you, oh most wonderful, amazing, fantastic, spectacular, awesome, brilliant, astounding, stunning, astonishing, stupendous, incredib-" "Oh, shut up, Zecora. I'm going out for a bit. Make sure those pesky ponies-" Discord pointed towards the six ponies who had turned him to stone not long ago, then tried to reform him soon after that. "-don't cause any trouble while I'm gone." "Of course, my King." With a click of his fingers, Discord left Canterlot, turning up in Ponyville. It warmed his heart to see his new subjects running around screaming, utterly confused and slightly scared. It was hilarious to see the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' or whatever it was they called themselves, to look at their flank and see a cutie mark, then to see it change right before their eyes four and a half seconds later. They changed from mice to guitars, to daggers and knives and swords. The orange pegasus even had Rainbow Dash for a cutie mark, then it turned into a headless chicken. They were confused like crazy. Discord looked around and admired the chaos he had caused. He had never seen anything beautiful since he last used his magic to make chaos, but even that could not be near as good as this. Houses and shops were floating and spinning, ramming into each other, some still with ponies inside them. The clouds were all shaped like Discord, all in different poses. There were ponies on treadmills running on the highest setting, faces red and covered in sweat, unicorns doing spells that would go wrong or backfire, pegasi flying into each other. The streets turned to plastic or marble or something like that, and they were covered in wax, so anypony who walked on them would fall over, then fall again when they tried to get up. It was so absolutely wonderful that Discord could almost cry tears of joy. Almost. But not quite. It took away some of the satisfaction of it all to know that the ponies did not know Discord was the cause of this. And then he saw something that he hadn't seen for almost a lifetime: A pony causing chaos. And Discord knew that it was not because of his magic. He teleported down to the pony, whose cutie mark was a Tiara, and then clicked his fingers and teleported himself and the pink pony back to the throne room in Canterlot. He turned around, and saw Zecora sitting on it, feet up on the armrest, head on the other armrest. The zebra was asleep. Discord used his magic, and that of the Alicorn Amulet also, to create a feather, and then a few more, and tickle Zecora with them. And then he had an idea. He turned the feathers into spikes, not sharp enough to pierce the skin, but still sharp enough to hurt. He scraped them along the sleeping zebra's stomach, head, arms and legs, until she woke up, almost screaming with pain. "Master... I was not... expecting you... back so... soon..." Zecora said between winces and 'ow's. "Is there anything I can... do for you?" Discord pretended to think for a moment. "Well, you could get out of my throne, for starters." Zecora, realising she was lying on the king's throne, quickly jumped down awkwardly, the spikes still scraping her skin. "And, come to think of it," Discord continued, now seated comfortably on his throne. "I banish you. To the Everfree Forest. Forever, with theses spikes scraping your skin for the rest of your miserable life. And the Timberwolves can feast on you all they like. But you will not be killed by them, or by anything else, not even age, as long as I live. Because I absolutely... Ah, what's the word!?" "Despise?" Twilight said helpfully, chained to the wall. "Ah, yes, that's it! I absolutely despise you, Zecora. And you will never see your home again." Discord turned to where a confused, shocked, and slight scared Diamond tiara was standing awkwardly. "And you... Oh what's your name, for crying out loud?!" "D-Diamond Tiara, s-sir." the now terrified pony replied. "And you, Diamond Tiara, and going to be my new assistant." Discord teleported next to the filly and gave her a pat on the back, clicking his fingers, making the Amulet glow red, and Diamond Tiara was no longer wearing her usual accessory, although it was similar to her usual one, it was red and black, and she had a black cape on with a red and silver image of discord's head and neck with his crown and Amulet. Discord teleported himself in front of Twilight and her friends, Rainbow Dash trying to sleep and Applejack trying to get out of the chains around her, only every time she moved it made them tighter. Twilight Sparkle looked up at the draconequus. Discord grinned evilly. > chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle looked up at the draconequus. Discord ginned evilly. The purple alicorn looked back at the draconequus, then closed her eyes in concentration. Her horn started to glow and she shot a beam of purple light at Discord, hitting him in the face and turning him to stone. Twilight and her friends cheered, glad to have defeated the monster that Discord was. Except Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were still chained to the wall. And the princesses were still stone. And the chaos outside hadn't stopped. Oh, no, Twilight thought. What have I done? The ponies stopped celebrating. Twilight sat against the wall and buried her face in her hooves. "Twi?" Applejack said softly, breaking the silence. "You okay, Sugarcube?" Twilight mumbled something that sounded like "Go away." They spent the rest of the night in silence, except for the snores from Rainbow Dash and the other ponies' breathing. Rarity woke up the next morning. She had the strangest dream, in which Discord had the Alicorn Amulet and turned the princesses into stone, making himself King of Equestria. He had then redecorated the castle, banished Zecora after returning to find her asleep on his throne, and then made Diamond Tiara his assistant. She opened her eyes slowly. Oh, the white unicorn thought. It wasn't a dream. The walls were still red and black, and there was an empty throne at the far end of the room, also red and black, with a few touches of silver or grey. Was this some kind of cruel joke? Was this Pinkie's idea of fun? She looked to her right, expecting to see Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash sitting there and laughing. But she only saw five other sleeping ponies, chained to the wall. And her mane and tail were still green and brown. But then Rarity realised that the stone Discord was not there, and a pile of rock was on the ground where he was. The white unicorn was not sure what to think. She only knew she needed her morning coffee. Twilight Sparkle slowly lifted her eyelids. She hadn't slept well. She had dreamt about the princesses being turned to stone, Her dream went like this: The purple alicorn princess watched as Discord turned the princesses to stone. She tried to run towards them, but she was frozen. Twilight looked down, or rather, she tried to look down, but she could not move her head either. But she could still move her eyes. She looked down, and saw that her body had been turned to stone. Even though she knew it was opeless, she tried use her magic to release her from her stone prison. It didn't work. No surprises there. The stone was slowly encasing the princesses. It was spreading from the back legs, and was now around their fron legs. In a few minutes, the stone would cover their faces, and then their manes, turning them to stone completely. Twilight put all her strength into her magic trying to break out of the stone. She could her Discord's voice, echoing around the throne room. "There's no point, Twilight Sparkle." The voice hissed softly yet evilly. It seemed to come from everwhere and nowhere at the same time. "Give up now, and I might spare you frineds." The spirit of chaos summoned some fog or mist, and an image appeared in it. Twilight's friends were in the dungeon, chained to the wall. Rarity's mane was messy and her hooves were cut and scraped. They all looked absolutely miserale. Rainbow Dash's wings were broken and bent horribly, several cerulean blue feathers around her. And then the images changed. Twilight's friends were still in the prison cell. But this time, they were not chained to the wall, but o each other. Rarity's horn was broken, as were Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's wings. There was a clanging sound, the cell being opened, and light flooded into the dark, damp prison. They all looked towards the source of the light, squinting as their eyes ajusted to the brightness. But their hopes of escpae or rescue, or of being released, were crushed as saw an arm of Changelings swarming through th door and into the cell. The five mares walked backwars as fast as they could, trying to reach to wall of the cell. But then Applejack stumbled on the uneven cobblestone floor, falling over and crushing her hoof between the floor and the chains, and the rest of her body. She screamed out in pain, and terror, as the Changelings approached, teeth bared and spears raised. The orange mare lifted herself off her injured leg, which was almost as mangled as Rainbow Dash's wings. Pinkie Pie rushed forward to help her injured friend, but a Changling barred her way. Applejack slowly got back on her hooves, and they continued to inch closer to the wall, and the Changelings kept advnacing. Twilight's friends finally bumped into the wall. Not two seconds later, the Changelings were right infront of them, drawing daggers from nowhere, and the Changelings further back pointed heir spears at the throats. Then the fog dissapated and the image disappeared. And then time seemed to slow down. Everything seemed to happen in those few moments. Twilight's horn glowed pink through the stone, which cracked from her horn down the her back hooves and the tip of her tail. The stone fell away in chunks, and Twilight ran to Luna and Celestia. A pink aura surround them, and the stone cracked and fell away. And not a moment too soon, as the sone had been just about to cover the princesses' eyes and mouth. Celestia brushed some stone off her back. She turned to face her ex-student. "I am very dissapointed with you, Twlight Sparkle." The voice that came from Celestia's mouth sounded very much like it should, altough there was some other voice also. "You should know better that to interfere with powerful magic. I regret making you a princess, as does my sister." Luna nodded. The Princess of the Night fired up her horn, as did her sister. They put heir horns together, and their auras met, urning into a yellow and blue swirl. The princesses aimed their horns a the purple alicorn, and fired a beam at Twilight, sending her to... The other side of the throne room? Twilight Sparkle looked aorund. Her friends were next to her, and they're wings and hooves were unharmed. The princesses were still stone up on the dias. It had been a dream. But the statue of Discord was gone. > chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shining Armour paced around the throne room of the crystal palace in the Crystal Empire. He was slightly confused, but mostly concerned and even a little bit worried. But with pegasi getting stuck in cotton candy and marshmallow clouds, raining breath mints and chocolate milk, he sun and moon rising and sinking below the horizon every few minutes, then both staying in the air, then both being lowered. His wife had been turned into stone, and there was even more chaos and madness in the city below. Shining walked briskly to Cadence's chambers, where he had ordered her moved after turning to stone, and tried to remember the simple love spell she had taught him one afternoon. He halted before the statue of the princess, lowering his head and firing up is horn. He performed the love spell correctly, aiming it at Cadence. Small cracks slowly started to appear in the stone encasing the princess's body. The cracks grew slightly, then continued to grow slowly. Shining Armour closed his eyes tightly, focusing more on the love spell as the stone cracked. he silence was punctured by the sound of stone chunks falling against the crystal floor. The white unicorn opened is eyes and looked up, pleased to see that his wife had been released form her stone prison. He ginned, wrapping the Princess of Love into an embrace. Cadence hugged the unicorn back. "Well, um, thanks, Shining." Cadence said awkwardly. "I guess you saved me." "Good thing you taught me that love spell, Cadence." He replied sheepishly. Cadence smiled at the white unicorn. "I love you, Shining." She whispered. "I love you too." The princess and prince walked into the crystal throne room again,Cadence moving to the windows. "Oh," she said softly, seeing the chaos outside. "That's... very, um... well, chaotic...." "Can you do anything about it?" Shining asked. "Well, maybe..." Cadence said, closing her eyes and firing her horn up. Shining, wanting to help, tried to perform the same spell he had used before the Changelings had attacked on his wedding day. The magical barrier surrounded the city, as did the spell the pink alicorn had used to keep King Sombra out of the city. The two spell together manged to get rid of the chaos in the city, although the sun and moon were both still raised. "There..." Cadence said, slightly exhausted from the effort. "All... done..." The alicorn and unicorn embraced again, the magic barrier pulsing with energy. Back in Canterlot Castle... Twilight Sparkle fired up her horn again, hoping that this time it would work. And it did. The purple alicorn used a spell to break the chains chaining her friends and herself to the wall. The six mares, now able to move freely, rushed over to the dais, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood, encased in stone. Twilight lowered her head and performed another spell, cracking the stone casing around the princesses. Twilight looked at her friends. Pinkie Pie was jumping around happily, Rainbow Dash was hovering a few feet above the floor. Fluttershy was smiling shyly, Applejack was galloping around the dais, and Rarity was.... Not there? Twilight Sparkle turned her head quickly, then saw Rarity standing around where they had been chained to the wall. She was holding something in her hands. It looked like an amulet of sorts, the black and red colours.... Black and red. Amulet. Twilight put the pieces together, running over to her unicorn friend as fast as she could. "Rarity!" She yelled, just as the mare was about to put the amulet around her neck. "Rarity! Stop! Don't touch it!" Suddenly, the amulet disappeared from her hooves, and not a second too soon, as Rarity had been about to fix it around her neck. But then a certain draconequus appeared, also about to put it around his neck. Twilight summoned a spell, sending the amulet to who-knows-where. Discord and Rarity both looked at her. "What?" She asked. "If you had put that on, you would have killed us all, or something like that." Rarity sighed. Discord looked toward the princesses. "I'm sorry, Princess Celestia. I honestly didn't mean to do it. I had no idea what the amulet would do. And Zecora, the stupid zebra, she forced me to put it on. I'm sorry. Could you ever forgive me? I'll do anything!" He pleaded. "Anything at all! Just please, don't send me to the dungeon! Please! I'll do anything!" The princess of the sun looked at him disapprovingly. "Do you swear never to cause chaos ever again?" Discord nodded. Celestia continued speaking. "Swear it on your life." Discord looked at the princes, eyes wide, then finally his mouth opened. "I swear on my life to never.... To never cause chaos again." Celestia nodded. "Then I will not have you turned back into stone." At this statement, Twilight Sparkle's eyes went wide. Celestia ignored her. "Instead, you can either join the Royal Guard, or work in the palace kitchens. It is your choice. Should you cause any chaos, or don't do your job properly, to my satisfaction, you will be turned back to stone again. Is that clear?" Discord slowly nodded his head. "I guess I'll join the guard, then." Then the draconeqqus snapped his claw, disappearing. Somewhere near the middle of the Everfree Forest... Discord's gaze rested upon the Alicorn Amulet. He grinned evilly as he reached out his claw and paw, taking the accursed item in his hands. As the draconeqqus' hands came into contact with the Amulet, a jolt of electricity went through him. He grabbed it, fastening it around his neck. He Threw his head back and put his arms out, power coursing through his veins, pulsing in every part of his mismatched body. He wanted, no, he needed revenge. He needed revenge on the princesses. He needed revenge on Twilight Sparkle, and he needed revenge on her friends. They needed to be dealt with. They needed to be taught a lesson. They needed to feel pain.