> Discord's history: the origins of a god
>  by Embracethechaos
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Discord's got issues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Discord had an annoying habit of being horrible with timing. It had been three weeks since Tirek's defeat and Twilight could tell that the lord of chaos was still beating himself up for betraying her and her friends. As a sign that all was forgiven, the mane six had invited him to a picnic on the beach. Normally this would be a kind gesture that anypony would make a priority to attend, but obviously not Discord considering the fact he was an hour late.
"You don't think he forgot do you?" asked Pinkie while she wolfed down a plate of cookies. "It's not like him to miss out on a chance for chocolate milk" she said pointing a hoof at the untouched jug of the draconequus's trademarked drink.
"I highly doubt it dear." responded Rarity "He may be late but we have to keep in mind that this is the pony who misjudged plant growth by over a thousand years. Still though, I find it ridiculous that he would take so long to arrive to an occasion dedicated to him."
Fluttershy smiled while she took a sip of her tea. Rarity would usually refer to Discord as "Ruffian" or "Friend" while she made air quotations in the air. Simply referring to him as a pony was a step in the right direction. Or was pony the right term? She knew he was called a draconequus but was that his species name or something else? Speaking of which where was the rest of his species? She would assume that a species as unique as her best friend would be documented in detail, but she could never find anything in Twilight's library.
Twilight's Library. Fluttershy never realized how much she could miss that place. It had been the place where her and the rest of the elements first met in the same place, where'd they used to go to write letters to the princess. The place that they'd made so many memories, gone in an instant. She remembered the ear splitting explosion when Tirek annihilated the tree house, A massive red beam that turned the blue sky red, followed by an eruption of flames, where'd he get that kind of power?
Tirek may have absorbed the power and magic of nearly every pony in Equestria but there was no way a pony could emit that form of energy, that's when it hit her, Discord. She hadn't remembered hearing of Tirek firing beams of pure destruction  before he came to Ponyville, but immediately after stealing Discord's magic, Bam! Tirek was shooting death rays left and right. 
This brought her back to thinking about Discord's heritage. Just how powerful was he? More importantly how of someone of his age conjure up that much power and perform magic no unicorn or Alicorn could ever attempt to perform? Speaking of which, how old was he? Did he just live way longer than ponies? Was he eternal? Was he IMMORTAL? So many questions and Fluttershy had no answer to any of them, she hardly knew anything about him.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a massive shark flew out of the water a crashed onto the picnic mat. The six mares and Spike shot into the air screaming their lungs out. A brilliant flash of light later and a certain lord of chaos was in the sharks place rolling on the ground laughing, quite literally, his head off. "Mother of me that was priceless!" Discord exclaimed. 
Rainbow Dash shot up "You Jerk! You almost gave me a heart attack! Uhhhh… I mean… You almost gave THEM a heart attack!" she barked.
Discord took a few moments to get his laughter under control "Oh come on. You have to admit I got you guys good." He laughed while wiping a tear from his eye. "Don't be such a stick in the mud my little Dashie." he said while snapping his fingers.
Rainbow Dash was surrounded by a sphere of light and was transformed into stick poking out off the sand. The Pegasus's angry glare slowly morphed into smirk and was soon giggling like a maniac "Okay fine, I guess that almost gave me a slight startle."
The chaotic prankster rose too his feet and overlooked the picnic mat he made a mess of. "hmmm. Note to self, when making dramatic entries, be sure to pick landing site before hand."  Discord scratched the back of his long neck "My most sincerest apologies everypony, I seem  have made a mess of our little get together. Still though, not much TO ruin. Allow me to add a little life to this picnic."
Discord cracked his knuckles and with a snap of the fingers the beach was turned into a tropical paradise. The picnic mat was replaced with a bamboo webbing, The food was replaced with gourmet tropical dishes along with a basket of gems for Spike, their glasses of punch replaced with coconuts filled with chocolate milks, three living Tikis were playing steel drums, Torches sprouted up from the ground, and the lord of Chaos was laying on cotton candy hammock strung up between two nearby palm trees… and for some unbeknownst reason, he was wearing a hula skirt and was sporting a coconut bra.
Discord sighed in relaxation "Ahhh, next time I'M setting up the get together." he said while sipping a glass of chocolate milk floating upside down.
The rest of the ponies mouth's were hanging open, still trying to process the events as they happened. "Love the décor you chose." said Rarity, breaking the silence.
Discord laughed "If you think THAT'S impressive just wait till you taste the food, go on its handmade." he said gesturing to a plate of fruit on a plate of seaweed.
A few moments later the ponies were digging into the meals and carrying on a conversation with the master of chaos as if nothing had happened. "What in tarnation took ya so darn long?" asked AJ while crunching into an apple.
Discord shrugged "I pride myself in being fashionably late to parties. And I MIGHT have misjudged the location of the picnic slightly." He said casually
Twilight immediately stopped eating her cucumber sandwich "What do you mean  you 'misjudged' the location"
"I may have kind of, sorta kinda, kinda sorta… dropped in on a wedding at the beach. And before you ask, yes I dropped in as a shark." 
Spike spat out a green emerald "Say What!?"
Discord gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his neck "Well, I was in a rush and the first sign of activity on a beach I saw, I locked in on. I landed right between the bride and groom, but hey, I could've prevented a mare from making a huge mistake she'd regret in five years!"
Discord braced for a barrage of anger from the ponies, or at least a disappointed whine from Fluttershy. Instead, They burst out laughing. 
"I don't believe it!" gasped Rainbow Dash in between laughs "You. You. You literally CRASHED a wedding while being in the form of a twenty foot shark, probably traumatized every foal and filly there, and made the most random wedding story ever! Hahaha! What I would give to see that happen! Oh sweet Celestia that's priceless!
For the first time in a while Discord was at a loss for words. Twilight would normally face-hoof or go off on Discord if he ever pulled something like that, but instead she was losing her mind just as much as the others "Classic! W-w-what did the ponies there do?! Did they sprint away, or did a few rough stallions rush you? Details!"
Discord regained his ability to speak "Hehe, well I didn't really stay long. When I realized I was in the wrong place and especially at the wrong time, the first thing that came to mind was "Oh crud, wrong party." so I didn't stick around to hear the bride and groom finish their vows.  I will say though, those flower girls sure could jump high.
After a few more minutes of laughter, the group regained their composure. 
"So Discord." asked Rarity "I would usually ask how things are back home, but I have no idea where you abode."
"In Canterlot actually, the castle to be more precise" The draconequus replied while taking a sip from his coconut.
Spike blew the sand off the emerald he dropped "Seriously? I always thought that the princesses gave you a piece of land that you were free to use your magic in."
"That's also true, A few weeks after my reform, our dearest princess of the sun was generous enough to present me with a piece of land to which I could spread my beautiful chaos. However, she asked that I'd reside in the castle for" Discord hesitated "Political Reasons" 
That caught Pinkie's attention "You mean there's a place in Equestria the same way as when you first broke free, as in… there's a place with CHOCOLATE rain again!?! Where!?!" she said grabbing his tail
Discord laughed "Unfortunately my dear Pinkie, Luna said… Oh how did she put it?" He said tapping his chin. "Ah, yes" Discord morphed his face into Luna's "Thou may not disclose the location of your established area of personal havoc." Discord snapped back to his own face. "In your terms, I can’t tell you where it is."
Pinkie deflated and slinked backed to her spot.
"Oh don't fret my little pony." Discord snapped his fingers and a miniature cotton candy cloud drizzling chocolate milk appeared next to the partying earth pony.
Pinkie squealed in excitement and began drowning herself in the sweet drink.
Twilight, used to the earth pony's weirdness, turned her attention to Discord "What was that you meant by 'political reasons?'" asked Twilight
Discord shrugged "Oh different reasons, depending on what she wants me for." Discord said rather quickly.
"Such as…?"
"Oh you know… repairing a few buildings, summoning up a cake or two for important events, altering Equestrian terrain if needed." Discord said, stumbling over a few words
"What does have to do with politics?" questioned the princess of friendship.
"Uh, I meant 'politics' as a metaphor."
Applejack could tell if a pony was lying, even somepony as complex as Discord. But this wasn't like hiding an embarrassing story, or a story like Applebloom would make up whenever she broke something, he was doing it to end the subject as quickly as possible. Discord usually prided himself on causing havoc, If he was hiding something, he was doing it for a good reason.
"Any who" interrupted the cowpony "The grub is hoof licking good Discord."
Discord immediately  turned his attention to Applejack "Aw thank you, I do pride myself on a good dish." Discord gave her a knowing look of thanks for saving him from a conversation that would have definitely taken a dark turn. "Ever since I've been small I've been quiet the cook." he said taking another sip from his chocolate milk filled coconut.
Discord glanced at Fluttershy, she was being unbelievably quiet even by her standards. She was his best friend and hadn't even spoke a word to him since he got here. Was she still mad at him for the whole Tirek incident?
He remembered when they were talking inside her cottage the day after Twilight got her castle. Discord refused to forgive himself for his deed and Fluttershy couldn't take seeing her friend be in such a broken stage. She hoped talking to him about his conflict would release any doubt he had in himself, instead it only rose a question that had been haunting her mind
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Discord was practically having a nervous breakdown. Instead of Fluttershy calming Discord down he was getting more and more agitated by the minute. The argument had become so heated that all of Fluttershy's animals, including Angel, had evacuated the cottage.
"Discord. You've already told me how sorry you are, you apologized openly to our friends, the princesses and everypony in Ponyville." Said Fluttershy " You've proven that you regret your decision and how much you really care for us. Without you we would have never defeated Tirek. You're the one who figured out how to open the chest, you’re the one who went to capture Tirek, and you're the one who gave us the final key to open the chest."
"That doesn't mean anything Fluttershy! Without me, Tirek would've never regained his power and taken over Equestria!" At saying this all the plates in the kitchen started to hover "Without me thousands, no, millions of ponies wouldn't have lost their abilities. I took their power, their flight, their magic, THEIR DESTINIES!"
"It means everything Discord!" snapped Fluttershy "You made a mistake that you wish you could reverse, but in the end you made the right decision and protected us and Equestria."
"Equestria wouldn't have NEEDED protection had I not stabbed you all in the back!"  barked Discord. All the furniture in the cottage transformed into a piece of cotton candy. "There's no way to justify me joining a monster like Tirek!"
"I know why you joined Tirek!" Shot back Fluttershy "I know why you returned to your old ways, I know why you betrayed us.  You feel like a caged animal, your whole purpose in life, your passion, is to create chaos. You beat yourself up because you took other ponies destinies. Discord WE took YOUR destiny!"
"You didn't take my destiny!" Spat Discord " I CHOSE to befriend you and serve Equestria! Even if you didn't take my destiny, that's now way to justify me betraying you!"
Fluttershy didn't budge "Discord, stop thinking that you let us down, you saved our lives by reactivating the elements; not just from Tirek but also from future threats! You act like you don't deserve our friendship and are just waiting to take over Equestria! For Celestia's sake Discord, you brought back the ONE thing that could defeat you just to make sure we were safe!"
That didn't stop Discord "So what!? I wanted to see so many innocent ponies fall before me, I wanted to have me and Tirek conquer the entire PLANET! And almost for an instant I-" Discord stopped dead in his tracks "I wanted to see you imprisoned… I wanted you to know my pain
She could tell he was on the brink of tears "Discord…" she whispered
The furniture in Fluttershy's changed back to normal, the plates fell to the ground shattering on impact "I had no idea where that thought came from and I have no idea why. Without you Fluttershy… I don't know what I'd do, where'd I'd be… without you I'd still be frozen in stone for the next ten thousand years, still be my evil self, and still hate everypony in Equestria." Discord fell to his knees and embraced her "I'd be nothing without you…"
Fluttershy held him "Discord… I know how much you must loathe yourself right now, but please, forgive yourself. I know in my heart you'll never do something like this again." 
Her best friend took a shaky breath "If only you knew." whispered Discord
"What?" asked Fluttershy
Discord sniffed "This isn't the first time I've done this. Betrayed the ones I care because of my instinct.  Millennia ago… when Equestria was still young, I fulfilled an ancient omen I'd been fighting to stop my entire life … and Fluttershy… taking my destiny?" Discord pulled away from Fluttershy and stood " It would be a blessing if you actually took my destiny, It was chosen for me before I was even born." Said Discord darkly
Fluttershy looked up to see tears streaming from Discord's eyes. She'd seen him lament and even have his eyes water, but this was the first time she saw the master of chaos actually cry. "Discord? W-what do you-"
Before she could finish, discord snapped his fingers and disappeared.

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That awful memory had been though only thing on her mind since that day. What did he mean by an omen? Just how far did Discord's existence stretch?  She couldn't take it anymore, she had to know what he meant.
"So anyways." said Applejack "With, Caramel and his mare having a foal on the way, looks like the apple family will have a new addition to the group."
"Speaking of family" said Fluttershy  "I have a question Discord."
"I have an answer." Said the draconequus with a smile as he was about to finish his beverage.
"Where's…" Fluttershy contemplated whether or not to actually go this far "Where's YOUR family?"
Suddenly the Tikis stopped playing their steel drums, the torches extinguished, and Discord chocked on his chocolate milk.
The ponies became deathly quiet. None of them had actually realized it, but they wanted to know just what made Discord become the lord of chaos. If they were ever going to find out, this was it.
After catching his breath, Discord stood up from his hammock, his face had completely lost its color. "N-now Fluttershy, Don't let me bore us with a dull history lesson. Let's just go back to talking about the Apple family."
Discord knew he was trying to do the impossible by changing the subject, he could feel all the ponies gaze drilling into him.
"Actually." said Spike "I kinda want to know too, we've known you for quite a while, yet we know next to nothing about you."
"Oh come know Spike, r-really it's not a happy story."
Twilight stood up "Why did I never ask that?" She asked herself "Yeah Discord, You've been around longer than Equestria has existed and, well… I want to know too. You have to know an in-depth story of Equestria's beginning considering the fact you once ruled it " 
"Same here." butted in Pinkie "I mean, nopony takes over an entire empire just cause they feel like it, come on man, give us the details!" said Pinkie while pulling out a pen and notepad out of completely nowhere.
Pretty soon the entire group was advancing towards Discord, what started out as a simple question, turned into begging, and eventually turned into a demand.
"For the love of fashion!" cried Rarity "Just tell us!"
"Yeah! It's not hard" pushed Rainbow Dash
"Come on Discord, ya just hafta answer the question." said Applejack while stomping her hoof
"There has to be a reason you took over Equestria!" Barked Twilight
"Just talk to us." pleaded Spike
"Tell us big guy!" demanded Pinkie
Even Fluttershy, the most gentle of the group and Discord's best friend was demanding that Discord reveal his dark secret "What are you hiding?" she asked with pleading eyes "WHY are you hiding it from us?!"
"Please!" Begged Discord "I-I can't, Just… I won't!"
"What's the big deal??" Yelled Twilight
Discord was at his breaking point "Everypony, please!"
Spike stepped to close "Did you do something so evil that you can't even tell US? Out with it already!"
"No!" spat Discord
"Tell us. NOW!" screamed Fluttershy
"NO!" roared Discord. He stomped his goat leg into the sand, sending a shockwave that shot the ponies off their hooves.
The ponies landed on their backs ten feet away from the master of Chaos, the rumble shattered the Tikis, ruined the food, snapped the torches like toothpicks, and left Discord emotionally shaken. "I want more than anything to tell you my history. I want somepony to know what pushed me to the breaking point of conquering Equestria. I want someone to know what turned me into THIS" he screamed pointing to his eyes. "But I can't tell you my history because I'm not sure I even KNOW my own history!"
Twilight stumbled to her hooves "What? That- but… how…" she asked confused "That… that doesn't make any sense."
Discord grabbed his head "I hate it more than you can possible even fathom! I don't know my own past because my memory was stolen from me millennia ago! It was wiped and filled with false memories!  I'm just now starting to have  my real one return to me!" He yelled "I want to know why it happened but every time I try and process it my mind just can't take it!"
Fluttershy only now realized what she'd done, she had pushed way too far; to the point when Discord felt so scared that he had to cast magic on her and her friends in a fit of rage to defend himself. "Discord-" she advanced forward, but Discord stumbled backward.
He was afraid of her. 
Discord turned his backs on the ponies "Fine then . If you want answers… go to Celestia and Luna. From what little I can remember of my past self… I know It's a road I never would force even my worst enemy down… I can't bear to relieve all those horrifying centuries of my tormented existence. " With a snap of his fingers Discord disappeared and left the ponies in the shambles of their picnic

> History lesson with the princesses
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The picnic wasn't the only thing ruined. The seven friends were left not only with a totaled picnic but also with a ruined mood. The joyful gathering took only a matter of minutes to go from everypony joking around, to it turning into an interrogation, and then to Discord completely losing it and casting a spell at the ponies he cared for more than anything else in the world.
The ponies were completely speechless, not one of them wanted to break the silence. With the squalid mood remaining from the sordid episode before hand, the six of them  almost welcomed the silence. The only audible sound that was being made was Spike rummaging through the gourmet dishes, trying to scavenge any of the gems left over from the trashed picnic.
"Anypony else think we pushed just a TEENY bit too hard?" asked Pinkie Pie as she nibbled on the cotton candy cloud Discord had conjured up for her. 
"We pushed WAY too hard." replied Fluttershy heartbroken. Sure, she knew Rainbow Dash and Applejack could be a little assertive every now and then, but HER? Discord was her best friend, but she just kept pushing and pushing until she screamed for Discord to tell her what she wanted to know. She hadn't acted that hostile since, well the Iron Will incident!
"Oh just what was I thinking? I knew I shouldn't have asked Discord about his past, I knew just something would go wrong. I'm such a dummy!" She scolded herself "I ruined our entire picnic because I was just too nosey. Oh where's Discord? I need to apologize to him right away!"
Fluttershy flew up into the air "Oh where could he be? Did anypony see him reappear anywhere? I must find him, I must-"
Rainbow Dash snatched the yellow pegasus's tail and brought her back down to the sand "Whoa, easy Flutters. Take it easy, let's bring it back a notch. I REALLY don't think now's a good time to approach the guy."
"Rainbow's right sugar cube." Said Applejack "After that rodeo, ah really don't think now's the time to get the poor guy roped back into another."
"But did you see what we just did?" cried Fluttershy "He must be heartbroken! Oh I got to say I'm sorry to him Applejack, I just got to! He could think we're not friends anymore for all we know!"
Now it was Rarity's turn to attempt to calm her down. "We ALL need to apologize to him darling, I agree, all of us were utter ruffians. But I'm with Applejack, we need to let him cool off before we go to him again, if he sees us, he might run away before we can even say a single word."
"Also, we have absolutely no idea where he ran off to, or where the heck he even lives for that matter." added Pinkie as she swallowed what was left of the cotton candy cloud.
Rainbow dash made a slashing motion across her neck "Pinkie. Not the time." she whispered.
Fluttershy sighed and inhaled for a few seconds to regain her composure "Alright. You're correct, it would be a good idea to wait a while. But that still doesn't defeat the fact that we still have no idea where we can find Discord. Even if he cools down, we won't know where to find him."
Pinkie Pie cocked her head "But don't you two write each other letters? What's his address?" 
Fluttershy shook her head "I don't know. Anytime I was done writing him a letter, a floating mailbox appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Then after I delivered it, the mailbox just disappeared in a burst of confetti." She said defeated
Applejack shrugged "Reckon the Princesses might know?"
That made a light bulb go off in Twilight's head. "The Princesses!" she exclaimed a little too excitedly "Of course! The Princesses! Don't you remember what Discord said? They know more about Discord's history than anypony else in Equestria! Heck they're probably the only ponies in the world who even know it at all! If we go to Canterlot, we'll not only find out where Discord is but also where he is FROM!"
Rainbow coughed "Egghead."
Twilight let the remark bounce off. The bookworm she was, she wanted to know everything about everything. And with the entire history of Discord just waiting to be told ALONG with a huge chunk of Equestrian history, Twilight could barely contain herself. Right now she was more eager to get to Canterlot than even Fluttershy.
"Well then, I guess we can get two things done in one trip." said Rarity.
Twilight grinned "Then it's decided! To Canterlot!" she declared by shooting a hoof into the air.
"Um, but Twilight. The, um, train left a while ago." said Fluttershy softly.
That didn't put a dent in Twilight's determination "Trains? Where we're going we don't need trains." Twilight lit up her horn "We're going by teleportation!"
Applejack went white "Twilight, now ya'll hold up!"
Too late, with a brilliant array of light, the ponies warped from the beach. 

The seven of them landed in the dirt road right in front of the entrance to Canterlot castle.
"Twilight." groaned Applejack as she collapsed to the ground with a headache "Ya'll better give me a moment to prepare myself next time, or else Imma applebuck you half-way across Sweet Apple Acres. Ya know that fancy magic teleporting makes me all nauseas." 
Twilight scratched the back of her head and blushed in embarrassment "Oops, guess I was a little too anxious get here."
Spike pouted "Dang it, and I just found one of the green gems, I love those.
Rarity fanned herself "My goodness. Talk about a real scorcher today. We had the ocean breeze for so long, I forgot how terrible this weather made my hair look."
The sun was beating down like crazy, Twilight had experienced a few heat waves when she was in Canterlot, but this was an unprecedented amount of heat. Princess Celestia was usually very accurate with raising the sun to the right height so the ponies of Equestria could enjoy the outdoors, so naturally this level was unheard of.
"Indeed " said a nearby unicorn. "I came all the way out here to enjoy a fine stroll, but as it turns out, Discord must be slacking on his weather duties. This heat is absolutely atrocious!"
Rainbow raised an eyebrow "Hold on. What was that you said about Discord and the weather?"
The unicorn looked at her ask if she was asking a question with an obvious answer "Why, Discord is in control of the fine tuning of weather in Canterlot. Ever since he betrayed the citizens of Equestria, he's been begging the two sisters for duties around the kingdom in order to amend his acts. But as you can see, the idiot must be biting off far more than he can chew. If you ask me, I say he's faking his allegiance, if the sisters were smart, they'd punish him for all his past actions by turning him back to stone. It's what a traitor and tyrant like him deserves. " he grumbled
That  last sentence immediately put Fluttershy on the offensive. "How dare you say such a thing!" she scolded the unicorn despite him being years older  "If you would just take two seconds to know Discord, you'd know he's nothing more than a discouraged spirit who just wants to be himself. The poor creature feels simply awful for what he did and wants more than anything to turn the clocks back!" 
"Um, dear?" said Rarity "You know that he IS gone right?"
Fluttershy had been so immersed in her rant that she had not realized that the pony had fled, causing her to blush in embarrassment.  
"Little varmint high tailed it outta here the second you started to go off on him. That little coward" grumbled Applejack
Pinkie jabbed a hoof to the castle "Much like Twilight."
"Say what?" said Rainbow with one of her voice cracks
"The moment we got here she started running towards the castle, guess she's super excited to get another one of those dull history lessons. Did seriously no pony else see that?"
Rainbow groaned in annoyance "This is one of those things you REALLY need to start telling us when they happen Pinkie."
The ponies themselves dashed into the castle to catch up to Twilight. Most ponies would usually have to wait months to schedule an appointment just to get INTO the castle, much less explore it. But with them being elements of harmony and regulars to the castle. The guards merely ignored the sudden intrusion.
The ponies found the purple Alicorn trotting to the usual destination for their visits to Canterlot, the throne room.
"Twilight!" called Spike "Wait up!"
"Ya know sugar cube. In some societies it's considered rude to make plans without your friends."
Twilight's ears folded against her head and smiled sheepishly "Sorry, just kinda excited."
When the ponies arrived at the towering dual doors, they were met by two royal guards standing in front with spears crossed in front of the handles. "Apologies Princess Twilight, but the princesses have denied any visitors for today." said one of the guards in a deep gruff voice.
Twilight immediately deflated "Why?"
"Recent events caused the Princesses to deny any and all visitors, no matter whom." replied the surprisingly identical guard. 
"Even visits from their equal?" retorted Twilight with a rather imperial tone "We have very important matters to discuss and a demand entrance to meet with them."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. Twilight NEVER played the royalty card, no matter what the situation. Twilight must've been really desperate to learn of Discord's past, when really it was for a different reason. Twilight knew how much Discord's friendship meant to Fluttershy, if she wanted to know where he was, Twilight was going to find out.
The guards exchanged nervous glances, they've never been in a situation like this before. Was Twilight the sisters' equal? They had been given direct orders not to allow anyone in, but here they were being given direct order to let another princess in BY another princess.
One of the guards nodded "Very well."
The twin unicorns lit up their horns and the double doors swung open revealing the two majestic  Alicorns sitting side by side at the end of the corridor. The older of the two, Celestia, looked up with a rather annoyed expression, but it soon softened the moment she saw it was her faithful student and her closet friends trotting in.
"Twilight! It's wonderful to see you." said the sun princess with a welcoming smile. 
As the ponies came closer and closer to the beloved rulers, they realized they did not look as regal as they usually displayed themselves. Rather than having their manes professionally groomed and enchanted to flow, they were instead left unkempt and fell at their shoulders like any other pony, not to mention neither of them were wearing their crowns or slippers, but what caught the ponies attention the most was the Princess' expressions. Luna looked sleep deprived and Celestia eyes were red, had she been… crying? Both the sisters, despite their smiles, had sadness and grief in their eyes. What had caused them to be so distraught? Whatever the reason, it was recent.
Twilight, doing her best to act casual, trotted ahead and embraced her mentor. 
"What brings you here on such short notice." said Celestia with a hint of relief in her voice.
Twilight pulled away and scratched the back of her head "Well… first off we have a funny story we need to tell you first-"
Pinkie immediately, and quite literally, butted in "We want to know where Discord came from and why he took over Equestria." she said a little hyper active.
Immediately Luna and Celestia froze and their smiles vanished.
"What was that thou has requested?" questioned Luna
Twilight tried to think of a way to recover but Pinkie was still on the move
"We asked Discord about his history and why he took over Equestria, but he ended up having a mental breakdown and ended up casting a spell at us. After that tantrum he refused to spill the beans and mentioned that you know a thing or two about said Draconequus's history."
Luna stared at Celestia, waiting for her sister to make the first response.
Celestia took a second to think of the right words to say. She regarded the rather young seven subjects standing before her. She didn't want to discuss such an awful time with such an innocent group, but then again, Equestria did owe their freedom to the ones standing before her. Celestia shivered. If the monster form that horrific night managed to resurface, the ponies needed to know as much as they could. 
Celestia sighed and replied in a tone a little too dark for someone of her personality "What you need to understand is… not only did Discord's birth took place in one of the darkest times in Equestria's history, but also that Discord's birth was for even darker purposes."
Fluttershy swallowed. Dark purposes? Seriously, just how much was Discord hiding? Fluttershy did her best not to make eye contact with the princesses "What… what do you mean his birth was for dark purposes?"
Luna looked at the timid pony, she was just too innocent. "Sister…" said Luna in a warning tone "I don't think we need to relive that time, nor do these ponies need to know."
Celestia closed her eyes "They do need to know Luna. If they return." Celestia swallowed "Or if… it breaks free again. The elements are our final line of the defense, they need to know what they could  one day be up against."
Luna opened her mouth to protest, but she decided against it and instead nodded in a grim approval. "You're right, We can't be the only ones knowing what's going on if it manages to resurface again."
Rainbow dash made a T with her hooves "Whoa whoa whoa. Timeout. What are you guys talking about? You're totally leaving us in the dark here? What do you mean by 'breaks free again' and 'resurfacing again'?"
Celestia inhaled and exhaled deeply "You're all going to want to sit down. Discord's story is a long one, a ten thousand year old one."
Twilight no longer was jumping up and down excited to find out about Discord's past for an interesting history lesson, she was now in a serious situation in which the royal sisters themselves feared to talk about. And by the sounds of it, whatever they were scared of, it could one day return. Whatever this was, it was important.
"So, does that mean you're really going to tell us Discord's history?" asked Spike
Celestia shook her head "No. We're going to show you."
Celestia and Luna illuminated their horns and the ponies and Spike were surrounded in a brilliant ray of light. When the blinding light eased and became bearable, Twilight opened her eyes to reveal a familiar realm "This is the place you brought me before I became an Alicorn." she gasped
"Indeed." said Luna "A story as horrible as Discord's is not given justice by a simple summary of it. We brought you hear so you can see just what pushed him to his breaking point."
"Oh my, were does it even begin?" asked Rarity
"Discord was feared before he was even conceived." said Celestia "We're bringing you back before my sister and I were born and even before Discord. To the time where our parents ruled Equestria." Celestia began to second guess herself " I want to warn you though, the further we go, the darker and darker Discord's path becomes, it will become very intense. If it becomes too much tell us immediately."
Twilight herself was beginning to second guess going through this, she never saw Celestia like this before. She knew her as the calm and fearless leader of Equestria, but now she was beginning to lose her composure by the sheer memory of Discord.
Twilight thought back to when Celestia first told them about Discord. When Nightmare moon escaped and attacked, Celestia was calm. When Chrysalis invaded Canterlot, Celestia was composed. When Sombra, an evil tyrant, returned, Celestia was collective. When Tirek, bucking Tirek, the demonic centaur with the capability to drain ponies of their talents and destinies broke free from Tartarus, Celestia was still level headed. But… when Discord returned, Celestia lost it and raised hell. 
Twilight remembered her teacher leading them down the corridor of Canterlot tower, a hall dedicated to Discord's defeat. She remembered her teacher pacing back and forth, trying to figure out how Discord stole the elements. She remembered the rage in her teachers face when Discord's voice echoed through the entire castle.  She remembered her teacher screams at the stain-glass Discord as he mocked his oppressors. But… above all else, She remembered a small hint of emotion in Celestia's eyes that she'd never seen from her before;  longing. 
A look of hopelessness, not a look of defeat, but a look of loosing something that she loved, needed even. Even as she erupted threats at Discord, Twilight could see how Celestia hated every word she said , as if yelling at him was like poison to her. Almost as if she viewed Discord as a scarred and helpless animal who had been beaten no matter where he went. As if wanted to say something held back for so many years, but just couldn't. Just what was Discord? Did she really want to know?
Then Twilight looked back at her friends, the friends who she could go to, and the ones who could go to her. The ones who pulled her through hardships and made her smile. Whatever horrors awaited in this story, she could handle as long as she had them.
Twilight turned her attention back to her Celestia and Luna. "We can handle it." she said confidently.
Immediately Luna illuminated her horn and the ponies were sucked into one of the nearby screens hovering in mid-air. They were transported into a grassy field in the middle of the night, far off in the distance, a magnificent castle was erected, with a beautiful town surrounding it, and protected by a massive wall. The city put both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire to utter shame. Twilight squinted at the practical utopia, but couldn't make out what city it was. "Where are we?"
Luna  walked up beside the ponies "eleven thousand years in the past." she said simply "That castle you see, is the castle that is now in ruins."
Rarity somehow managed to put the two together instantly "The castle of the Two Sisters!" she cried
Celestia nodded "Indeed, this when Luna's and my parents ruled over the land.  Something happens tonight that I want you to remember"
Pinkie pie put up a hoof "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. In the Heart's warming eve story, It says you two were the first to take up the roles as leaders when Equestria was founded, when two your parents come into the mix."
Luna sighed "We used it as a cover story, to hid what the truth was like, for the sake of all Equestria."
Spike could hear Celestia murmur something under her breath "And for the sake of-"
He couldn't make out the last word. It probably wasn't important.

> Only thing worse than Discord: his daddy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was freezing. In all the centuries King Nova and Queen Faust had ruled over Equestria, this was by far the most hazardous winter they had ever endured. Despite the subzero temperatures, it had not snowed even once the entire season, between the parched air and not a single cloud in the sky in weeks, the citizens of Equestria were in a state of frozen time.
King Nova was a kind, loving Alicorn with impressive bulking physique. He had a pelt  whiter than snow and had a beard and mane as orange as a summer's afternoon sky. His wife, Queen Faust, was another Alicorn with equal charismatic traits as her husband and lived her life to serve and guide those around her. She had a white, almost silver pelt that shone like hoof-made silk and had a glorious crimson mane.
It was the middle of the night, and with it being a new moon tonight, the king couldn't see anything through the window in his bedchamber. The only thing he could feel was his beloved Faust curled up next to him under the covers, clinging to him for warmth and protection from the frigid elements battling their castle.
Despite being exhausted from his crushing workload and the stress from leading his nation through such a horrendous winter, he couldn't even get a moment of sleep. Even though his wife slept soundly beside him, he chest rising ever so slightly between each silent breath, he couldn't rest for even a second. King Nova almost had a sixth sense for when things were about to lead from bad to worse, from worse to catastrophic; this was one of those moments.
He raked his mind trying to think what was keeping him from sweet slumber, but nothing came. Was a blizzard going to envelope Equestria? Were what little crops left going to freeze? Was Equestria at the precipice of invasion? Was their going to be a rebellion? What was it? What!?!
Then he felt something that always helped calm him down, Faust nuzzling him. He had not realized it, but his inner monologue had awoken his Queen.
She stared at him with concerned, yet loving eyes as blue as the morning sky "Are you having that same feeling again my King?" she asked with a voice like silk.
Nova lowered his head and stared at the bed sheets "…Yes, it doesn't matter what precaution I take or what assurance we give to our subjects, It's still there, lingering." he said emptily.
Faust used a hoof to bring him eye to eye with her "Nova, look at me… You've lead this kingdom through even the darkest of times, given strength and hope to all our subjects. Invigorated our troops and given them courage to fight for Equestria, no matter what the enemy. There is no hardship that will ever face this land that you can't overcome."
Nova gazed into her loving eyes. She was everything to him. His light at the end of the tunnel. The sunlight that shined over even the darkest fields. His angel of the night. And above all else, the one thing that gave him strength. Whenever things seemed to be at their darkest, he'd always think of her and he'd press through the gates of hell and face the devil himself, so long as he had her waiting for him at the very end.	
Nova smiled and kissed the mare that made his life meaningful as she pulled the warm covers over them. Nova felt as if a massive boulder that he was carrying on his shoulders had disintegrated to nothing but rubble. He let the soft quilt envelope him and pull him into a blissful sleep. He felt his eyelids go heavy and his sore muscles go slack.
Suddenly, an earsplitting explosion shook the entire castle, causing pillars and towers at the top of the fortress to collapse and hit the ground with just an equal ear-splitting sound.
The two rulers immediately shot up, both running on sheer adrenaline. King Nova kicked the dual doors open that lead to his hallways "Guards! search the castle! I want this entire fortress surveyed until we find out what that was!" he roared the command as it echoed through the halls.
He could vaguely hear a guard shout back from below "The Library! Some maniac has broken straight through the ceiling! Oh my Faust! What the buck is that thing!?!?" The guards voice was cut short by a blood curdling scream of agony that swept through the entire  castle.
They couldn't waste their time running down three flights of stairs, Faust illuminated her horn and the duo warped right outside the entrance to the library. King Nova looked down and almost vomited. What laid before them, or what they thought, was the remains of a decapitated guard. A thick trail of the fallen soldier's black blood led into the mazes of hundreds of shelves. All the torches inside had been extinguished and there was no moonlight being produced from the massive hole in the ceiling so the library was pitch black.
King Nova turned to his wife "Wait here." he demanded.
Faust ignored the command "You can give orders because you rule Equestria, but I'm you wife, so I rule you." she illuminated her horn with an eerie blue light and cautiously made her way in.
Nova wished he could protest but whatever did this, he didn't want to face alone.
The two trotted in, shoulder to shoulder, following the reeking trail of blood. Nova had illuminated his horn with a hue of orange and looked around with an intense and courageous face, when really he was slowly loosing it inside. What monster could have decapitated a pony so ruthlessly? More importantly… what could've done it so easily?
Faust heard something scurry behind her, she immediately spun around and shot a powerful spell that left a smoking crater in the stone floor. Nothing was there. She heard scurrying on the  bookshelf just inches away from her, she panicked and shot an even more powerful beam at the shelf that plowed through the wood, sending splintering wood into the air. Nothing.
Nova now heard the creature scurrying right above them. How was it crawling on the ceiling? Didn't matter, King Nova erupted a raging inferno of flames from his horn to where he heard the silent killer. Again, nothing. He was becoming enraged and terrified "Show yourself you monster!" he roared.
The two heard something jump from the ceiling and land on the stone directly in front of them. Out of reflex, the two shot a twin blistering combination of magic at where they heard their target. Their blast careened down the aisle and slammed into the wall at their very end of the library. Where was this thing? WHAT was this thing?"
They had one of their questions answered when a red flash of magic exploded into the wall at the other end of the library, causing dust and rubble to shoot into the air. They put every ounce of energy they had into dashing to where the explosion destroyed the wall, trying to cut of whatever this thing was before it escaped.
When they reached the sight of the explosion, they realized that they had blown a hole in the wall that led to a secret room illuminated in a green light. Inside was a grotesque creature hunched over a stone book with a circle of spikes lining an insignia. Nova immediately recognized the creature, if you could call it that. A Draconequus. One of the sickest abominations of nature. 
They were savage beings. The word monster didn't give them justice, Demon was a better phrase. These creatures had wrecked terror and havoc across planet earth and slaughtered thousands upon thousands of creatures globally for the sheer joy of it. They were devoid of any emotions except rage and hatred. 
To make matters worse, they were practically unstoppable beings. They could live for millennia and could wield spells that dwarfed even the most powerful of unicorns, just one of them could kill over a dozen full grown dragons in one spell. They could take unprecedented amounts of damage and brush it off as nothing more than an irritation. But their most deadly aspect? Their brain. These demons were conniving and cunning killers who could already be killing a victim before it could even know they were there.
Upon seeing the two rulers of Equestria in the archway, the snake like creature hissed and pried the book off the pedestal. Nova immediately recognized the tablet it was clutching onto to. No… with that spell… what could they possibly do with that kind of power?!
The king was about to put every single ounce of magic he had in his body to cast a spell that could hopefully kill the beast, but he heard something that made his blood run cold. Faust crying out in agony. 
Nova spun around to see something that destroyed any courage remaining inside of him. Towering before him was something he prayed was just a legend. the icon of evil, one of the most terrifying beasts to walk this earth, and the king of the Draconequui, Excitium,. Unlike the other Draconequui who had a streamline, snakelike body, Excitium was a massive twenty foot tall Draconequus with bulk that would put any dragon in existence to shame and blood-red eyes that illuminated in the darkness.
Like every Draconequus, he was a freak of nature. Fused with dozens of vicious animals' parts, he was equipped with the adaptations to slaughter anything he locked onto. 
He  sported a dual set of wings, one a pair of leathery bat wings and the other a pair of raptor wings. Crowning his cranium was a massive set of horns sharpened to the point, ready to impale any helpless victim.  His forepaws were a mismatched set of a tiger's and jaguar, and were twice as thick. He stood on a Dragon's clawed foot and an eagle's talon with a crimson snake tail running in between.
In his right tiger paw, he held Faust by the throat, effortlessly holding her from the ground. Nova inhaled a grotesque stench, immediately realizing that both Excitium's mouth and claws were caked in dried blood, displaying that he was the killer from before.
He grinned, displaying a row of silver fangs glimmering in the shadows. "King Nova." His voice was deep and sounded like he inhaled an entire volcanic worth of ash "What an honor to finally meet the illustrious knight in shining armor of Equestria."
Nova ignited his horn, a threat that he knew meant almost nothing to Excitium, but Nova wasn't going to run like a coward.
The Draconequus immediately snapped Faust's body in front of him, her legs kicking uselessly to break free. "Easy their striker, don't want to cause any collateral damage to your jewel do you? Lower your horn or I ignite your wife up in flames"
Nova glanced at Faust, but kept Excitium as his center of attention. He could see Faust struggle to shake her head, telling Nova to forget about her and get in at least one good hit in on Excitium while he was still preoccupied with her. What was he playing at? Nova knew Excitium didn't need her as a shield, he could just simply deactivate Nova's magic all together. Was he just mocking him; Rubbing salt into the wound?
Nova's train of thought came to a screeching halt when he felt the other Draconequus  slither over his spine, he made eye contact with it just as it's forepaws made contact with the ground; Nova immediately regretted it. In that one moment, Nova felt as if every good memory had been completely erased, as if he'd never feel any emotion again except misery. It's piercing yellow eyes, without a pupil or iris drilled into his very soul, reawakening every sorrow and regret he'd ever had. Just what kind of sick magic was this? Even in all the wars and battles Nova had fought in, this was by far the most terrified he'd  ever been and they hadn't even cast a single spell yet! The freak broke it's cryptic  gaze away from his and stood it's ground right next to Excitium.
What was that second Draconequus even doing here? In all the legends and reports the Alicorn had ever heard of from distant lands, a Draconequus only attacked as a single unit; of course unless… Oh no.
The king immediately put two and two together; she was Excitium's mate. Nova's hope was being destroyed rapidly, he was helpless against a Draconequus, let alone two that both so happened to be the rulers of the species. What could he possibly do in a situation like this? He couldn't do anything too brash, Faust was in Excitium's custody, and any move on the offensive would get him killed. 
Nova thought he was dead anyways, the best thing he could do is get as much information out of them as he could and hope at least a guard nearby would overhear it. Speaking of which… Where in the name of Tartarus were the guards?! everypony in the entire structure should've heard the explosion, where were his reinforcements?
"dead." said the female Draconequus.
Nova froze. Was he thinking out loud this entire time? No, he was good at keeping himself contained and keeping foes in the dark. But that would mean…Wait…No, there was no way. That… that was impossible. No creature, not even an abomination like a Draconequus could posses that kind of magic. Was she… Psychic?
The Draconequus grinned with a twisted smile, confirming Nova's fear.
That was it, that final factor drove the last nail into his coffin. King Nova's courage and hope was completely gone. Why was he even trying to stay alive at this point? Between his kingdom being invaded, his guards and soldiers laid to waste, and two Draconequui looming before him waiting to strike, Nova was practically delaying his demise at this point. He was an Alicorn, all those years of training  and honing his skills to defeat anything to come his way, yet here he was already giving up. 
He felt the worthlessness consume him, there was no way he could fight both a psychic and Excitium. He was dead, it was over, Equestria was practically doomed. What was the point of resisting? no living thing could withstand the force of the Draconequui, not even an Alicorn. 
King Nova was about to utter the words "Just kill me already." when he saw something that he completely forgot about; and he hated himself for that. Faust. She was dangling helplessly in Excitium's grasp. King Nova slowly began to feel the creeping hopelessness leave him and being replaced with anger. If he died, Faust died too and he'd rather throw himself into the darkest caverns of Tartarus than fail her and Equestria like this.
He turned his attention away from the female and locked back onto Excitium. He hadn't realized it, but he had actually been a slouched stance out of fear. Nova immediately straightened up into an imperial stance and took a step forward. He threw caution into the wind, these creatures could probably crush him without a thought, but he wasn't going to let a 'probably'  make him flee, he was a king and husband and was going to protect his subjects and wife.
"So then." uttered Nova with a hint of anger in the voice "It took the devil himself to break through into my kingdom. I always believed you were nothing more than a legend."
Excitium snorted, taking the 'devil' term as a compliment "I'm not sure whether I should feel insulted or flattered that it took King Nova to be the first ruler to actually face me."
Nova regarded the massive Draconequus before him. "What made the infamous myth finally come out of hiding?" 
"Hiding." repeated the female "Sure, let's leave as that ."
"Easy Dirus." said Excitium rather gruffly "I was never a myth. Myths are nothing more than facts that have been forgotten. The history of the powerful are twisted and morphed by the weak and eventually turn into rumors, these rumors turn into myths when told to the cowards of this world. Eventually they turn into nothing more than a figment of the imagination until they're as easily forgettable as simple folk tales." Excitium tensed up and his grip tightened "Until the so-called myth returns to give grim reminder to those who fear to believe the truth."
"Dirus" thought Nova "Guess I know the lovely bride's name."
Nova was felling his confidence come back; his cowering like a colt fading. He hadn't realized it, but Dirus was casting a spell by simply making eye contact with him. He had dealt with a similar spell before hand when dealing with a rouge group of warrior unicorns a few years ago. It was a dark magic that latched onto a pony's emotions and made them devoid any form of positive thought and replace it with misery and terror. It was basic, but extremely dangerous when used at its maximum potential.
"Myth or not, you still haven't answered my question." stated Nova "What made you come sulking back out of the shadows? more importantly, why are you in my kingdom acting as thieves?" he demanded gesturing to the book clutched in Dirus's claws
That statement struck a nerve, causing Excitium tightened his grip further around Faust's throat, almost completely cutting off her lungs from sweet oxygen. She wrapped her forelegs around his massive fingers, trying to pry them off, but it was no use. King Nova remembered that he was walking on thin ice, a draconequus wouldn't hesitate even a second to kill an innocent victim, Nova had to play his cards right if he wanted her to get out of this alive.
Wait. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Why hadn't he killed her yet? Excitium took delight in slaughtering the masses, why hadn't he ripped her apart yet? More importantly, why hadn't Faust used any magic yet to break free? He was practically strangling her at this point, yet she hadn't even attempted to perform at least one spell yet. What was going on?
Dirus hissed "You think we would steal magic as pathetic as a pony's?" she said displaying the book to him "This is… how does your 'organized society put it'? Reclaiming our property." 
Where had he'd seen that book? He knew he had seen it before centuries ago, but it was all a blur. Whatever it was, it had to possess an irrevocable spell to be hidden so well. He couldn't let them escape with it.
"You mean to tell me you created it? If so, then how did it end up in MY domain? Why would scum like you need something so mundane?"
"That's it!" roared Excitium "I've had it with you."
Nova immediately wanted to turn back the clocks. He poked the bear way too hard and way too many times."

" You ponies really are by far the most pathetic beings to ever plague this earth; all bark and no bite. You act like you're the kind and just species of this dirtball of a planet and all other species are vicious and hateful animals, when it's really vice versa. Your kind has waged so many wars in the name of harmony and kill each other over something as stupid as land. When the battle eventually comes to your doorstep, you're the real murderers who seals these deals in blood, yet you still pin the blame on something else, so long as it isn't you."
Excitium effortlessly raised Faust above his eye level and angled her too look at Nova "You've thrown my entire species into the darkest reaches of planet earth. Now, it's time for retaliation and justice to make full circle. Your kind has demonized any idea or way of life that is different from theirs, yet you act like you take in the broken and fallen when you really cast them out. My kind has dwindled to less than a handful, but we will never become extinct." Excitium's expression darkened even further "We have our final chapter and testament being created as we speak."
King Nova was completely lost at that last statement. Final testament? What did they mean by… Oh no. The terrifying truth hit him like a train running full speed. 
Excitium had a child.
King Nova looked at the book they had taken. A powerful book containing a powerful spell. They wouldn't… there was no way… not even creatures as sick as them would do something so demented. There was no point in trying to deny it.
"YOU'D WEAPONIZE YOUR OWN CHILD!?" screamed King Nova in horror
Excitium slowly began to giggle like a maniac "Revenge your majesty, such a desperate thing isn't it? You couldn't even begin to comprehend the creature that will seal Equestria's fate, what will wipe out the pony race completely from history." He threw his head back in satanic laughter "He's truly a marvelous sight when he lets loose of his shackles that confine him! Believe it or not he's decreased our numbers by few thousand! And he's no more than four months old!"
King Nova's jaw dropped. A few thousand!? A regular draconequus could level an entire city in seconds without breaking a sweat! But this… thing… child… that Excitium was creating  and fusing with magic from across the world, could wipe out thousands of Draconequui??? And he wasn't even a toddler yet! What could this thing do when it reached its peak condition? He looked at Excitium in horror
Excitium suddenly stopped laughing and stared down at Nova with an emotionless expression. "He will be the final pure Draconequus to ever grace this planet's surface. When he's released, no creature, no army, no nation, no dimension will be able to withstand his godly might. Then we'll see how this planet grasps his power, will he too become a myth? Or will he be forever etched in history?"
Excitium slowly lumbered over to Nova until he was standing less than a meter from him. Nova was frozen in fear, unable to emit even a single sound 
"Funny thing about history King Nova." said Excitium, while he clamped his massive free hand over Faust's entire head.

"They only document what they want their future generations to know."

In that one sentence, Excitium crushed Faust's skull, killing her instantly. The sickening sound of shattering bone echoed throughout the entire stone library as the king of the Draconequus released the corpse to fall to the ground right in front of her husband.
King Nova stared at the bloody shell that once held his beautiful Faust; emotionless. His mind couldn't process it, she was murdered right in front of him while he did nothing. He raised his head to look at Excitium, only to be met with a massive fist; the size of his entire body slam right into him.
The king was sent careening into the bookshelf lining the walls, sending wood splintering and books flying. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurry. He felt Excitium pull him up by his mane. 
"I want nothing more than to kill you right now." he hissed into his ear "But I need at least one Alicorn alive when my son appears. Plus, you'll be my messenger. When your useless subjects come scrambling to you for answers…. tell them: Discord, the God of Chaos, is coming. Do not worry… Do not fear… and Do not waste your time.  Cling onto you last few years of life as tightly as you can, for when he awakens, nothing shall live."
Excitium released Nova, he fell 10 feet to the ground, limp when he landed. The last thing he could see was Dirus and Excitium flying out of the library and into the night sky. But before they left the city surrounding the castle, Excitium breathed an inferno of flames onto the helpless civilians below, turning the night sky as bright as day. In the one blast the entire west side had been reduced to nothing but ash and cinders. 
Nova blacked out.

	"What… was that?" stammered Twilight
Celestia closed her eyes. "The first attack a Draconequus had made on Equestria in over a millennia. This was the night Luna and I lost our mother, and when Discord was revealed."
Fluttershy was in complete shock and couldn't even say a word
Spike was losing it "THIS was Discord's origins? This is where he came from? A psychotic species lead by two even more psychotic rulers?"
Luna shook her head "Be at ease. Discord didn't immediately try to destroy Equestria. There is so much more to it then you imagine."
Rarity was aghast "More? By more could you possibly mean that Equestria went into complete chaos before he even could get there?"
"Or that he started 'af by  breaking down everythang he came across before he even got there?" asked Applejack
"Or that that Excitium guy was totally loco and thought destroying Equestria meant turning it into candy?" Pinkie pie butted in
"No." said Celestia rather composed "Discord… he never even knew he was supposed to destroy Equestria."
"What?" they all exclaimed in unison 
Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow "He had crazy parents but they was never said 'Oh hey Discord, just wanna let ya know that your mother and I had you so you could wipe out and entire nation! have fun with that you old sport.' or something along the lines like that?"
"Just wait for the events to unfold as we go along, Discord may become our best friend in a few years but we're still over a millennia away from when Discord takes over Equestria." Said Celestia
"Best friends?!" They all screamed together again
"Sister, spoilers!" whispered Luna.
Fluttershy managed to muster a sentence "Best friends? But…" She said softly "Discord told me he never had a friend before…"
Celestia and Luna looked at each other sadly.
"Oh, of course..." said Luna sadly "Discord lost his memory. This truly is a long story. As my sister said, let the events unfold. and everything will make sense."
"Wait a minute!" interjected Pinkie "What was the whole point of even showing us that? I thought this story was about Discord, not his parent."
"We wanted you to see what they stole that night." replied Celestia "I'm sure all of you are familiar with it." 
Spike scratched the back of his head and stared off into the distance "Nope, nu-huh, never seen that book before in my entire life."
Rarity was stumped "Why on earth would they steal the inspiration manifestation spell?" 
"Back then it wasn't called that" said Luna "However, when the spell was cast upon Discord, it was thousands of times more powerful and far more deadly. When Discord obtained such a magical feat, he quickly mastered it and it eventually became his trademarked technique."
"Hold the phone." said Rainbow Dash "Are you meaning to tell me that the whole incident that happened at that festival was because Rarity had Discord's powers?"
"In a way, yes." responded Celestia "Or at least a mock version of Discord's powers. You both had the capability to warp reality into any way you wished, until the point you didn't realize you were hurting innocent ponies."
Rarity raised an eyebrow, not quite following the Princess. She pondered the fact and then gasped "I never thought of it like that. Are you meaning to tell me that I was acting exactly like Discord?" she said aghast 
Spike shrugged "I guess, just minus the cotton candy and sarcasm and we got ourselves a Discord in the making." 
Rarity raised a judging eyebrow at Spike, causing him to blush and say "I mean… in a good way."
"But the spell broke when Spike told her what she was doing wasn't right" said Twilight "Does that mean Discord's powers has a shut off function too?"
"We wish," Said Celestia reluctantly "If he did, my sister and I would have immediately done it when he took over Equestria the first time, it would've saved us a lot of time and Discord would've never had to be imprisoned in stone."
She thought back to the horrific memory when she froze Discord in stone for dozens of millennia to come.  Even though Discord was laughing the entire time and he didn't feel a thing, that one moment had been one of the hardest decisions of her life, it was equal; if not more painful than banishing her sister.
"Believe it or not, Discord actually tweaked the spell and made it much more easy to handle." said Luna
'Whadaya mean?" asked Applejack "Tweaked it how?"
"Discord greatly weakened the spell's power until it could only create and transform objects, rather than altering reality itself. Also, he added a safety to it just in case the user ever lost control of it and eventually went berserk; Spike demonstrated just how easily a spell of that power could be shut down, even without the use of magic. More importantly though, the spell could only be cast upon the one reading the inscription, rather than a pony casting it's power on someone else." continued Luna.
Twilight cocked her head "Why would he add that last part?"
Luna looked at her
"Let the events unfold?" 
"Let the events unfold."
Twilight had so many questions but she realized she wouldn't get anywhere by asking something every five seconds.
"Let us return to the memory." Said Celestia. 
The sisters illuminated their horns and they were thrown back into the memory

King Nova awoke with a jolt.
He was lying back in his bed "It was a dream!" he said out loud "Oh thank all things good it was all a dream!"
He rolled over to look at Faust to confirm his hope, but he was met with a shock of agonizing pain shooting throughout his entire body. He used his magic to levitate the covers and stared at his body in horror. He was covered in bandages, patches, and even a few stitches.
"Don't try to move." said a soft voice from across the room.
He immediately shot up, despite his body's protest. He scanned other side of his room, praying it would be Faust. No, it was one of the nurses of the castle, Cherry Blossom. Normally anypony would ask what had happened but the only thing he wanted to know was "Where's Faust?" he demanded, almost shouted.
Her ears flattened "Your Highness you need to rest."
"Where!?" he shouted
"Doctor would you come in here please." she called through the door
King Nova slid out of bed, but his legs failed him and he crashed onto to the hard floor, making him cry out in pain.
Both the Doctor and the nurse rushed to his side. "Your majesty." pleaded the doctor "You're in no condition to move. If you push yourself too hard you'll-"
"Get off of me!" he roared.
the two of them reared back and gave their ruler space, both out of obedience and fear.
The king struggled to his hooves, but he felt a sharp pain stab his back right leg. Broken. No that was an understatement, he'd experienced broken limbs before, but this level of pain was a league of its own. His leg had to be broken in various places.
Nova shoved the door open with one of his free hooves and stumbled out into the hallway. The nurse attempted to support him but he yelled at her to stay away from him. 
Where were his guards? At a time like this they should've been waiting outside for orders but not a single one of them were in sight. 
As he dragged his walking corpse of a body down the hallway, every fiber of his being was screaming out for him to stop. Ever single step he took sent out a shockwave through his body, rattling his ribs, most of them already broken. He didn't care, he was going to see where his wife was, even if it killed him. She wasn't dead, it was impossible for her to be dead. She was an Alicorn
The only sound that could be heard in the hall was Nova's hooves heavily and slowly stomping on the ground with the sound of his useless leg dragging on the white marble tiles. But… something else was echoing through the halls, very vaguely. Ponies screaming? Was it in pain or fear? No. Maybe yelling out a demand?
King Nova was about to round the corner that led to the main hall of his castle that the thrones laid in, when he smelled a grotesque stench. Blood
He stumbled into the main hall and the sound of ponies yelling became much more audible. He stared into the main foyer in horror. The bodies of fallen guards, covered in their own blood decorated the throne room in a demented work of art. All of them no doubt the victims of Excitium, he thought Dirus was bluffing at them killing the guards but he was sadly mistaken.
At the end of the corridor, at the main doors leading into the castle. A massive mob of panicking and hysterical ponies, numbering at well over a thousand, were trying to get into the castle. The only thing preventing them from getting in were a small handful of surviving guards and what little was left of the castle staff.
He was about to continue his way to the library when he heard one of the female ponies cry out, almost in relief "There he is!"
King Nova froze and looked at the crowd fighting to get in. 
"Your majesty! What happened?"
"Half of the city is on fire!"
"The rest of the food storage has been destroyed! We'll Starve!"
"What was that explosion!?"
"What were those things flying into the sky!"
"My whole family is dead! I demand you tell us what happened!"
"The hospital was destroyed! What are we going to do with the survivors!?"
King Nova even heard some of the staff yelling to him, desperate for help and answers
"Your highness! What do we do!?"
"My brothers are dead! What did this!?"
"King Nova help us!"
"King Nova help us!"
"King Nova help us!"
Unable to answer or even face his subjects he lowered his head and ignored the crowd and continued to the library. Some of the ponies shrieked in fear and pushed even harder to get into the castle.
Nova was pushing himself even harder to get to the library, but his body was failing him. He saw the library entrance only a few hundred feet away, he pushed himself to hard and he tripped onto the hard stone, causing him to scream out in pain. 
He laid there, his body refusing to respond, every inch of his body was in excruciating torment. He struggled to his feet, his eyes tearing up out of agony. He limped closer to the library, moving slower now for his body was nearly devoid of any energy.
He stopped just outside the library entrance, before him laid the decapitated guard from before. His heart stopped, it was just now starting to sink in. The Draconequui were real and they had already invaded his kingdom… and he was powerless to stop him. He galloped into the room as fast as his living body would allow him. He raced into the maze of bookshelves, he maneuvered his way through the splintered wood and exploded stone, he dashed past every toppled shelf that had disfigured his proud library, he ran under the star light that was coming through the destroyed ceiling. He needed to see Faust, he needed to know she was alive, she WAS alive, she HAD to be alive!
Then that hope was shattered.
There was a dark figure laying on the ground, motionless, illuminated by the green light coming from  the hidden room. Faust. What was left of her laid in a limp mess on the remorseless freezing cold stone beneath him. Her once beautiful face was decapitated beyond recognition; her beautiful silk coat now covered in dry blood.
King Nova collapsed on his knees, unable to emit any sound from his mouth. There she was, before him, dead. It was just now sinking in, she was gone, it was final. King Nova grabbed his beloved wife's body and wept for the first time in centuries. He held her close, hoping by some miracle she'd be alive, he didn't care how, he needed her. She was his love, his everything, his hope, his ANGEL! And Excitium had just ripped her away from him.
He sobbed into her soft, freezing coat, his tears soaking his once living wife. She was gone, his only source of joy in his miserable and seemingly endless life, his source of courage and happiness, torn away. He held onto her for a time that felt like forever, his sobs and screams of hatred echoing throughout the castle, so far that the mob trying to get in could hear him.
He sobbed over her until his eyes ran dry. He let go of her and stared at the hole left by Excitium.
"Excitium!" he howled into the night "I'll make you regret your very existence! I don't care what your capable of, I don't care what kind of dark magic you wield, even if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I'll destroy you and your entire kind! Send everything you have at me, send your darkest of spells, send your son Discord! I'll kill anything that that stands in my way from getting a hold of you!"
Then he heard something echoing through the halls that made him freeze. Crying.
Nova's eyes watered "My daughters." he whispered.
King Nova stumbled out of the library as fast as he could, falling countless times. He dragged himself past the main foyer, the crowd still trying to get in and pulled himself up the stairs until he came to a door in the same hall as his room.
He shakily opened the door leading to the nursery and he nearly collapsed. Inside was his toddler Celestia and his new born, Luna. They were both crying, the explosions must've scared them. King Nova fell to his knees, Excitium didn't know they were here; they were both alive and untouched.
The king lifted his two daughter from out their cribs and sat on a nearby rocking chair. "Shhhh" he said softly. "It's okay… daddy's here." He held them both tightly, but delicately "You don't need to cry, daddy's never going to let anything hurt you."

> Baths are Great for Bonding!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	--- 8 years later ---
How many times did that make? a thousand? two thousand? he'd lost track.
A disfigured creature stumbled through a dense forest, alone. Clutching his right arm which had been slashed badly by a dagger that had been hurtled towards him by a furious blacksmith. He thought back to his miserable encounter that had happened less than an hour ago, the words freak, monster, and abomination still echoing through his mind.
This seemed to be quite the common agenda for him, wandering aimlessly from horizon to horizon until eventually he stumbled across a village or town. He didn't know how he had heard of these things or why he was so drawn to them, but every patch of land that had scattered huts and houses jumbled together into one mess drew him in, almost through intoxication. 
Why? What pulled him to these horrid places filled with even more awful ponies? Every time he came to a small town or village, it always ended the same; him huddled in a cave crying his eyes out from both pain and isolation.
He didn't know why these creatures were so savage to him. Every time he visited a town, it always followed the same cycle over and over again. He'd walk in through the outskirts of the community and cautiously make his way in. Only to be met with the same cycle, horrified shrieks of mares and fillies; a presage to the agony that soon awaited him; an agonizing assault of every stallion in the village.
When they were finished with their twisted art of torment, they left him on the ground, broken, and always left him with a similar remark "Our sincerest regards to your species; demon."
Exhausted by today's routine, he flopped down under a towering oak. He closed his eyes trying to forget the scene that continued to batter his mind and instead tried to focus on healing what damage he could. As he surveyed his injuries, he realized just how banged up he actually was.  His goat leg ; bent in a sickening fashion. His arm ; caked in dried blood. His eyesight; blurry. His spirit; shattered.
"Why does this always happen? What have I done?" he asked himself. He had no idea who he was, why he was hated, or where he came from. The only thing he knew for sure was his own name; Discord.
------
"If we get caught I'm blaming everything on you." whispered Luna
King Nova was in the middle of a painfully boring banquet with some of the most politically powerful beings in the world. The threat of the Draconequui rising back to their reign of terror had forced King Nova to expand his foreign ties as far as possible, even if it meant befriending Tyrants of self-sufficient nations. Despite their notorious reputations for being cruel, antisocial rulers , the delegates had been surprisingly eager to  accept his invitation for a meal to discuss the possibilities of an alliance.
"We won't GET caught if you just hold me steady." hissed Celestia 
The sisters had opened up one of their millions of trap doors in castle, this particular panel opened directly above the main dining hall. Luna had lowered her eldest sister down a few feet by a rope tied firmly around her waist, in the white alicorn's hooves was a large bucket of banana pudding she had stolen from the kitchen. Normally, Celestia would be the last pony to ever waste her favorite snack, but this was the exception. 
The delegate she had her sights on was an incredibly rude Pegasus who rejected her invitation to her tea party with her stuffed animals, even after she told him Mr. snuggles had prepared crumpets. Such audacity deserved to be punished, as Luna declared. 
"More to the left." whispered Celestia
"That's too far!" replied Luna
"If I stay here the puddings going to hit the chandelier."
"That doesn't matter!"
"Yes it does! If I'm using this, I'm using every last drop."
"Then just go back and just grab a bucket of water." Hissed Luna in annoyance
"No! this is funnier!"
"But, you're the only one laughing!"
"Just move me!" shouted Celestia.
Celestia realized that she shouted way too loud. Her shout echoed across the marble ceiling and walls, causing all the delegates to look up at the mischievous duo and cause their father's face to lose all color.
"You're on your own girl!" exclaimed Luna, releasing her grip, sending her sister falling to the ground.
"You traitor!" cried Celestia as she plummeted onto the banquet table.
Celestia's fall was broken by landing on a quite extravagant cake, sending icing splattering onto the delegates and her father. Celestia popped out of the cake gasping for air like a diver gasped when they resurfaced.  She wiped the pink sugary goodness out of her eyes to see if her bucket had landed on her target. 
"Oh no…"
The pudding had landed on a griffon even bigger than her father, his shoulders alone were bigger than her entire body and the muscles in his chest and arms bulked beyond a point she didn’t even know were possible. To make things worse, he had more battle scars than she could number; one particularly  large one went right over his left eye that probably blinded him.
King Nova laughed "Hope you all like strawberry." he said as he licked icing off of his hoof
----
"So how'd it go?" asked Luna with a smug grin
Celestia stumbled into their room covered horn to hoof in the various meals she had ruined "You backstabbing peasant! How could you leave me to their evil clutches!? I had to use the slide hidden underneath the table before any of the delegates could breath fire upon me!"
"I don't remember seeing any dragons." replied Luna without looking up from her book.
"It's a figure of speech!"
"Oh, well never mind then."
"Luna!"
"Tia!" cried Luna in a mocking tone 
Celestia shot dagger eyes at her
"What? I just thought it would be cool if there was a dragon. I've always wanted to-"
"Will you stop changing the subject?!"
"Will you put down that chair?" 
Celestia hadn't realized it, but she had lifted one of the chairs from their tea table and had lifted it above her head, ready to hurl it at her younger sister.
"Well, I do remember seeing a dragon pony hybrid sitting across from me... But I'm not sure if that counts." said a deep gruff voice from behind Celestia
Celestia practically jumped out of her skin.
The massive griffon from the banquet was standing in their doorway, showing off his full height. Celestia shakily rose her head to meet his gaze. Okay, he was definitely bigger than she thought. He easily was a foot taller than her father, his head was the size of a watermelon and his legs, which on most griffons were twigs, were as big as tree trunks. Even Luna, who had nothing against him, cowered under the covers of their bed.
Despite his terrifying build, his stare wasn't very dark. He wasn't looking at her with a blistering fury, rather it was more of an inspecting gaze, as if she was a soldier and he was searching for a flaw.
"W-why are you here-"
Celestia's sentence was cut off by a bucket of banana pudding falling on top of her.
"Why, to get even of course!" The griffon said as he burst out into a fit of laughter
"As the proud ruler of Griffonstone, I couldn't let such a devastating attack go without retaliation."
Celestia wiped the delicious cream out of her eyes and stared at him with a mixture of shock and relief.
The massive mythical creature slid down onto his stomach with his head resting on his fore-legs, still giggling like crazy. "As the princesses of Equestria I'm surprised you didn't fortify your defenses." he said as he gestured to the pillow fort in the back corner.
Celestia took a few moments to recover from her shock "No… I only thought… that, well-"
"I would be in a blistering fury?" he said, cocking a playful eyebrow.
"More or less. I mean you know… you being-" Said Luna. She had ventured outside the safety of the bed to inspect their unique visitor.
"A griffon?" he interrupted her
"I was actually going to go with-"
"The battle scars?" he guessed, interrupting her again.
"Well  really-"
"Both?"
"Third time's the charm." Said Luna with a sheepish grin and a shrug
*Man, this guy just doesn't like others finishing their sentences does he?* Thought Celestia.
Celestia took a long look at his expression. He looked as if he was listening to a story he had heard so many times that he could recite it flawlessly. He knew the beginning, the end. The characters, the plot. The villain and the man who landed flat on his ass. Despite Luna's comment he didn't looked shocked or hurt. In fact, his expression didn't waver.
"I'm Mr. Griffon sorry." said Luna, "I guess I should've phrased that a little differently"
The griffon waved it off "Oh don't stress over it, I'm used to it. And please, Mr. Griffon was my father, just call me Grover." he said with a smile
"Oh,  Well nice to meet you King Grover. I'm Luna!" She said, extending a hoof
"The pleasure is mine Woona." He said, politely shaking it.
"Luna." she corrected him.
"My apologies, your father just referred to you as his Tia and Woona." Grover said, fighting back another laughing fit. "And I'm not quite a king , I'm-"
"A prince?" Asked Luna "Well no, you look crazy old. I'd say more of a-"
"Hey! I'll have you know I'm only twenty eight!" said Grover, pretending to be overly offended. "Anyways. Griffonstone has never had a king before, I'm more of a Lord if you would, keeping order has always been difficult considering our citizens are…" He tried to use the right words "Not the most generous beings. Most of the griffons keep to themselves, both their thoughts and their gold. I've been looking at various nations, hoping to find ideas to modernize our home as  quickly possible, before the Draqone -"
Lord Grover remembered how adamant King Nova was about keeping that little… topic from his daughters.
"Before…?" urged Celestia
"Before the citizens loose all signs of friendship." he said, making a hasty recovery.
"Oh." they said together, buying it.
"That's why I was so excited about coming to Equestria. The few times I've come here, all the residents have been so kind to each other. Whenever a pony who feels lost or rejected, they'll always come here to be welcomed and finally find friends and make their families."
"Really?" asked Celestia
Grover smiled "Of course. Equestria is famous for the friendships it has created, and I'm hoping to one day to unite my people the same way your father has."
Celestia had never really been to another kingdom before, all she ever heard about other nations was from the fairy tales her father read to them before bed time. Was Equestria really the best nation there was? But… wasn't she always hearing whispers between the older guards and servants? Something about a deadly creature who had broken into the castle. Whenever she asked, they'd always change the subject.
"But still though…" Grover trailed off "Not everyone will be accepted."
That got the sisters attention. 
The lord's grin faded "Almost all ponies fear any creature who comes from a stream of feared creatures. There have been countless times where mares have pulled their children away from me whenever they came to talk to me. I can't remember the last time when a pony looked at me without losing color in their face. And the ones who don't run from me try to end conversations as quickly as possible."
Celestia couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes, a gaze that looked all too familiar. He looked as if he had seen and endured thousands of years of pain, yet hid his agony behind pride and confident smiles. The exact same look as her father. Something about his eyes were different though, while Grover tried to push away the isolation and the hatred towards him, her father looked as if her was trying to hide pain and fear.
Grover's smile returned "That is except you two and your father."
"What?"
"You three are the only ponies I've ever met who have talked to me for more than a few minutes." He said, shifting onto his elbows, "Either you have a heart of gold or the heart of a lion, or possibly both, it doesn't change the fact I've never seen such an act of kindness."
"All we did was talk to you." said Celestia.
He chuckled "Ah the voice of the innocent and untainted. You've no idea what amazing things can happen to somepony who's experienced TRUE friendship. Without it, many creatures even younger than you can suffer the most terrible pain there is."
"Which is…?" said Luna, expecting an answer.
"Loneliness." said King Nova.
The sisters nearly jumped out of their skin "Father!" they exclaimed in unison.
Even Grover jumped a little "You're just as stealthy as the rumors say." 
The king had been standing in the doorway. Well, more of leaning on the frame, despite the imperial performance he tried to display to others, he wasn't the most regal figure there was
"Father, how long have you been here?" asked Celestia
King Nova trotted into the room "Let's leave it at that I showed Lord Grover where he could find the pudding." 
"Oh thank you for reminding me!" Grover said as he dumped a second bucket of banana pudding on top of Luna "You too were part of my ambush weren't you?"
"You sneaky little snake!" screamed Luna as she struggled to get the massive bucket off of her.
Celestia was on the floor laughing her flank off "Where were you keeping that this whole time?"
"Well when you're as big as me you'd be surprised what I can hide behind my wings, there was this one banquet when-"
"Lord Grover!" said Nova sternly "I came to say that your guards have arrived to escort you back to Griffonstone."
"Ah! wonderful!" The griffon rose to his full height "Thank you for your invitation  to such a lively feast your highness, the best I've ever been to." he turned his attention back to the sisters and grinned devilishly "And as for you two, I promise to bring more ammo and reinforcements if I return."
"If?" said Luna 
"Well I do believe I've overstepped my bounds by viciously attacking the princesses. Unless you're father would be so kind to pardon my crimes and allow to attend his next banquet, I was looking forward to that cake."
The sisters jumped onto Grover's shoulders 
"Please Father, I want to talk to him again." pleaded Celestia
"Please Father, I want my revenge on this backstabbing fool!" demanded Luna
King Nova inspected the odd trio and sighed "You truly are a sneaky little snake aren't you Lord Grover." The Alicorn smiled "Very well." King Nova made an exaggerated imperial pose "Very well Grover, you are herby forgiven of your horrible crimes against my daughters and are allowed to return to my kingdom.
Grover helped Nova in the little play he was putting on for Celestia and Luna "Oh thank you for your kindness King Nova, I assure you that you will not regret this decision." He said bowing.
King Nova laughed "Come, I'll escort you back to the main doors."
"Can't we come?" asked Luna
"I think it's WELL past both your bed times." Said King Nova sternly "And didn’t I say neither of you were allowed in the dining hall tonight?"
"Goodnight Father!" They said in unison
King Grover smiled on his way out "Remember girls. You're kind, and your kindness could save others from the hateful."

"I must say King Nova, your daughters definitely take much after you." commented Grover.
"Already trying to get them on good terms with you? Possible allies for the future?" King Nova questioned.
"More or less. But in all seriousness I'd like us to be possible allies now. Considering Excitium's omen about Discord, if anypony wants even a chance to survive, they must unite." replied the griffon "Still though…"
"What is it?"
"It's been so long since the last Draconequus attack that I've forgotten when the last one even  was. And none of them has even been as destructive as Discord's wrath was prophesized. I don't know if they over estimated themselves, if they're dying out, or if there just dragging out the kill."
"The last attack was two years ago on Cani." Nova spoke with such speed it was as if he rehearsed it, " Over three thousand deaths and millions of bits in damage, not to mention the strongest magicians and spells were stolen. That kind of attack was more than just for intimidation, they're continuing to collect resources for Discord.
"But that was years ago. What if…"
"If?"
"Think about it Nova. They were making horrific attacks almost every month, abducting unicorns by the hundreds and stealing forbidden spells like shopping at the market."
"Where are you going with this?"
"I'm saying… what if the reason the stopped collecting was because they finished? What if Discord's creation is finished and he's ready to be unleashed?"
"Oh… my…"
"Our clock could be ticking faster than it has before. Discord can have very well been unleashed weeks ago and he's simply left no one to tell others. It's the only reason something like the Draconequus would suddenly just stop" Said Grover grimly.
They arrived at the courtyard where Grover's escorts were waiting for him.
The griffon flared his wings and sighed "You're highness, I know you've been hurt the most by this tragedy, and a thousand times I apologize. I'm only saying Discord's release is a possibility. Don't lose sleep over it, but… don't ignore it either."

Celestia and Luna watched from their window as their peculiar visitor flew off into the night. Despite only knowing him for a few minutes, she was sad to see him go.
Luna walked out of the bathroom and a cloud of white steam escaped into the bedroom "Since when is pudding so hard to get out of fur? she asked, putting a towel around her head.
"Well on the plus side you don’t smell AS bad as usual." complimented Celestia. "Besides, I think we both needed a shower anyways."
"By the way? did you ever hear what the banquet was for? The guy seemed way too fun to be here for one of father's dull meetings." asked Luna as she sat next to her, looking out the window
"Like always, every guard and maid gave me the whole 'It's just a meal' excuse. Father keeps on having more and more freaky guests arriving almost every month now. I still don't know why he keeps inviting people in when he just keeps upgrading the shield." said Celestia as she pointed to the outline of a green dome surrounding the capitol.
She remembered father telling her he cast the protection spell around the castle not long after she was born. Every time she asked WHY it was cast he just said it was a test for Equestria's defense, she doubted it. Every passing year the shield would undergo a massive renovation that made it more and more powerful. What once started off as a small wall around the castle had turned into a massive dome that covered the entire capitol and even close-by villages. 
She remembered sneaking into one of the lower levels of the castle where her father was discussing the resistance of the shield with his highest advisors. As far as she knew, it was impossible to teleport inside or outside of it, there were at least fifty elite guards at every of the four entrances at all times, all forms of dark magic were cut off within an eighty mile radius , and it was enchanted with enough magic that touching it alone would have enough power to vaporize over a thousand dragons. Yeah, it made Equestria look like a complete bad-flank as her father put it. And that was over a year ago, she had no idea what it was capable of now.
Still though, she had no idea why a magic of that caliber had been necessary for almost a decade now.
Celestia's thoughts were interrupted by a flash off in the courtyard.
"What was that?" asked Luna
"You saw it too?" responded Celestia
They both looked at each other and darted to their balcony that over looked the entire greenery.
"What do you think it was?"
"It looked like a teleportation charm, but it can't be. Even when you're already inside the barrier you can't cast that kind of spell." said Celestia
"Wait. what's that?" whispered Luna. She illuminated her horn and shut off all the light in their room to remove the glare.
Something was definitely down there.
It didn't look like a pony of any kind, heck it didn't even look like a creature they'd ever seen before, all what they knew was something was down there and it was moving.
"We should go get one of the guards." whispered Luna, turning around to run to the door.
Celestia grabbed her tail "No, we were supposed to be in bed hours ago, if father finds out were awake, we're so grounded!" 
"I think something being INSIDE the palace is more important than- Celestia!"
Celestia jumped off the balcony and glided softly down onto one of the walkways hidden behind a hedge.
"You idiot!" Luna cast a spell and two sleeping decoys of herself and her sister appeared in their bed. 
"What are you doing?" hissed Luna as she landed behind her.
"I'm seeing what that thing was of course. You coming?"
"Of course not! You're insane."
"I prefer the term, brave." corrected Celestia as she sneaked towards where they last saw the creature.
After being caught in thousands of Celestia's mission impossible attempts, Luna was used to her sister's stubbornness and had learned to just roll with it. She followed behind her.
"Do you even know what we're doing?" asked Luna
"If it's a guard or servant, we sneak back to our room."
"And if it isn't?"
"Still working on that part." replied Celestia.
A yelp was heard just on the other side of the fountain parallel to them.
"I doubt that's a pony." said Luna 
"Then let's get the jump on it. I'll weave around the left side of the fountain, once I have its attention, flank him."
Luna didn't look impressed "You know all of this can be much simpler if we just tell an adult right?"
"Shut up. I need at least one of my plans to go right today. Just sneak up on him, wait until you hear me."
The sisters hugged the ground as they slid towards the fountain. With a closer view, Celestia see a pair of horns poking out from behind the bottom of the marble rim. She could make out a deer antler as well as a ram's horn but she couldn't see a match to either. Could it have been just two lost animals that had wandered into the palace? 
Suddenly a horrid, metallic smell snaked across her nose. A wretched smell that she always ran away from, blood. She remembered her father saying she got hemaphobia from him, he didn't do so hot around blood either. Celestia froze, what if this creature had killed something and had escaped into the castle green? 
Just when she was about to turn tail and fly back to her bedroom, the creature's ears perked up. It  knew she was there. She panicked and jumped over the fountain and on top of her prey. 
She nearly had a heart attack.
Celestia didn't know what was worse, it's appearance, or its condition. The creature, if you could call it that, laid helpless beneath her. All across it's body was an enigma of wounds that put Grover's to shame. His skin was torn apart in various places, both his legs were broken and half of his left ear was missing. Three recent massive scars raked across his torso causing thick, black blood to spill out and cause a puddle on the ground. A small trickle of the creatures own blood dripped from his mouth and snaked down his body.
Despite his repulsive appearance and grotesque wounds, What really captivated her attention was his eyes. She had never seen anything like them. She had seen the eyes of war veterans, prisoners, killers, dragons, the ill, and orphans. None of them even compared to his. His eyes were filled with torment and agony as if he'd been burned alive for a thousand years. Eyes of someone how purposefully tried to end everything by any means necessary but had always been pulled back in, never being able to escape.
She wanted to scream but she was to stunned to even emit a sound.
The creature didn't respond either, in fact it didn't even move. Had its jaw not been twitching with fear, she would assume he was dead. 
"W-who…W…What are you? was all Celestia could even manage.
It didn't respond
"What happened to you?" she asked without breathing
"I just want to run. I don't want anyone to ever find me again." it whispered as its eyes started to twitch shut. "I don't want anything to ever get a hold of me again."
He was losing consciousness as fast as he was losing blood.
Luna rounded the corner, wondering what was taking her sister so long. Unlike the other two who had kept so quiet, she let out a shrill scream that echoed across the entire castle. 
Celestia slapped her hoof over her sisters mouth, it was too late. they heard shouts coming from inside the castle, the guards were already coming.
"What is that thing!?" cried Luna as she removed Celestia's hoof.
"How should I know?" she shot back.
"Let's go!" yelled Luna trying to drag her sister into the air.
Celestia spread her wings to fly but she took another glance back at the creature. It had lost consciences and was slumped on the ground.
"What about him?" asked Celestia
"What ABOUT that thing?" said Luna in a panic.
Celestia kept looking back between her sister and the creature. What was she supposed to do? Risk being close to this thing or leaving him to the guards? She had seen plenty of the guards in action before, they weren't cruel, but they were not forgiving.
Celestia remembered what Grover had told them. "Remember girls. You're kind, and your kindness could save others from the hateful."
She must have been out of her mind.
"We can't just leave him! What'll happen if the guards get a hold of him?"
"They kick him out or something! I don't care!"
"Do you think they'll nurse him back to health? Cause I sure as heck don't! He needs help and he needs it now!"
Luna looked as if Celestia had gone mad "You CANNOT be suggesting what I think you are."
At the other end of the greenery, the gates slammed open and guards started pouring in.
To Celestia's surprise, Luna levitated the poor creature up. "I hate you so much right now!"
Celestia lifted up a large stone near a shrubbery that opened up into one of their secret passages "Hurry!"
Luna bounded in, being careful not to hit their newest tagalong's head on the way in. 
Celestia watched them rush down the tight space into the darkness. This was her last chance to change her mind and throw the creature back outside, was this right? More importantly, was this sane? Those two things really didn't go together for her. She took one last look outside just as a guard was about to round the corner and lowered the stone behind her.
----
"I forgot how foolish that decision was." said Luna rubbing her temple.
"In my defense, you didn't protest that long." responded Celestia.
"Princess Celestia!" said  Applejack "Ya'll BROUGHT Discord into the palace?" 
"I'm pretty sure we're ALL wondering what the heck did that to him. I seriously doubt an angry mod could've done that to him. And where did those no good Draconequus run off to?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I know! Oh that poor darling!" cried Rarity "No creature deserves to ever be hurt like that!"
"Why'd you take him in? And more importantly, why would you waste such perfectly good pudding?" demanded Pinkie Pie.
"You MET King Grover?" asked Twilight eagerly.
Fluttershy couldn't muster a question. When she saw Discord in such a beaten state, she nearly had a breakdown. Oh what pain was in his eyes!... His eyes.
The yellow pegasus managed to swallow back a sob "What was with his eyes?" she asked
Everypony looked back at her and then back at the princesses.
"Wait… she's right." said Twilight. "His eyes weren't yellow and red…"
"They were white and purple and he also had TWO fangs instead of one." continued Rainbow Dash "In fact, they looked perfectly normal… actually looked kinda weird seeing him like that."
"Same answer as always. We're getting to that." said Luna.
---
Celestia started casting every healing spell she could possibly muster. The sisters had brought their patient into the lowest part of their hide out, a large library that had tiny entrances so small nopony else could get in. The creature was actually doing surprisingly well for what his previous condition was like. Even before the sisters had made it back to their hideout, he had already stopped bleeding and some of his smaller wounds were already starting to close up. Still though, he wasn't looking good.
Luna had ran to the emergency ward the second she had dropped him off on the center table. She said a few weeks ago she had noticed a book containing spells for patients in critical care and it could be just what they needed. They were forbidden to go anywhere even near the doctors' spells but this was an acceptation.
"Come on come on." pleaded Celestia. Celestia failed nearly every medical spell father had taught her and she wasn't doing much better here either. Luna was the better healer but she was the only one who knew where the book was and had to leave Celestia behind to do what she could.
The creature was still unconscious and none of spells were doing anything, she couldn't even cast a single one.
"Move!" yelled Luna as she bounded into the room with a book as big as her, "What's he look like so far?"
"None of my spells are working!" said Celestia frantically "Hurry!"
"Shhhh! Let me concentrate." said Luna as she quickly skimmed over a spell. "Alright this one looks like it's going to keep the wounds at bay, but that's it…"
"Hurry!" demanded Celestia.
Luna illuminated her horn "Let's hope this works."
The moment the spell touched the unconscious stranger, a small jolt of yellow magic sent Luna flying backwards into Celestia.
"Oof! What the heck?" asked Luna while she rubbed her head. "Talk about an ungrateful little… what?"
The sisters stared speechless as the creature's fur illuminated yellow. Every wound glowed white as they closed back up, both of his legs moved back into place and his ear regenerated it's tip. His eyes opened just as the light died down. He sat up and stared at his hands without saying a word. 
"Was that you?" Celestia asked Luna.
"Couldn't be, my magic's blue."
The creature snapped his head towards the sisters and his face lost color. He screamed and stumbled off the table.
"Whoa! Easy easy." said Celestia.
He started losing it "I'm sorry! I'll leave! I didn't- I just!"
Celestia stood up a cautiously approached him. "Hey, hey." she said gently "Calm down, you don't have to do anything, if fact you shouldn't do anything considering how banged up you were."
"I!" The creature's expression changed from shocked to confused "…what?"
"We're saying take it down a few notches ." said Luna 
"Wait, you aren't… going…"
"What?" asked Celestia
"going to attack me?" he asked
*Okay, this guy's weird* thought Celestia
"No." said Celestia "We just helped you. How else do you think your wounds healed up? By the way. How'd you get like that anyways?"
He examined himself, awestruck "Usually they just…" He stopped short " It doesn't matter how they healed and neither how I ended up like that." he stated as he stood up
He wasn't in good shape, even with his wounds healed. He had a very slouched stance, his shoulders were tight to his neck and he had to bend at the knees. He was scrawny and hadn't been eating well, his skin hugged his bones so tightly that she could make out his rib cage. His dark grey hair fell across his face in clumps covered in dirt, blood, sludge and other things she didn't care to know. A few of his claws were broken. His scales looked dry and cracked. He had bags under his eyes and his teeth were yellow and green. Worst of all he looked and smelled like a sewer.
"You want to know what does matter right now?"  asked Celestia "A bath."
Celestia turned on the faucets to their enormous  tub. Thanks to their maze of secret passage ways, the sisters were able to bring their visitor to their bathroom undetected. 
"Believe us, we don’t like 'em, but afterwards you feel amazing." said Luna
He stared as the hot water filled the shinning marble bath to its rims. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked as he observed the several strange smelling bars along the rim.
"You need a looooooong rinse off. Use a few bars of soap if you need to." said Luna
There was a long silence "…I don't really know how to use those." he said awkwardly.
Celestia knew it, he never bathed before. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, he had already been through so much.
She giggled at his cluelessness "Don't worry, I'll help you."
Luna raised an eyebrow at her.
"What?" she asked rather defensively
Luna knew it would be just faster to roll with it "Suit yourself." Luna yawned "I'll be in bed."
She removed her crown and walked into their bedroom, closing the door behind her .
Celestia turned her attention back to the timid creature who was looking around the bathroom with a vacant expression.
"By the way, My name's Celestia." she said happily extending a hoof to shake.
He flinched at the sudden extent of a pony's hoof and pulled his hands close to his body. 
"What's your name?" she asked cheerfully
"Why are you asking that? Are you interrogating me?" he asked with a bit of fear
"I'm introducing ourselves to each other of course." She suddenly looked concerned "Oh no… Do you not have a name?"
He stared at her "…Discord...I think"
"Well Discord! Do you want to keep smelling as bad as you are now?"
Again, he just looked at her with an empty and confused expression.
"Um… that means… you should get in the tub."
"Oh."
Discord eyed the water cautiously as steam filled the room and condensed on the mirror. He glanced at Celestia and then carefully tapped the water with his goat hoof.
Immediately every muscle in his body relaxed.
Celestia studied her new, peculiar friend and his movements. He must have spent so many years in the freezing cold and outdoors for so long, everything she was showing to him was probably as incredible as it was strange.
Discord slowly lowered himself into the tub and let the steamy water go up to his chin as he let out a sigh of relief. It felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted of his shoulders and crushed to pebbles. He gradually put his entire head under the water and let the water soak across his face and flow through his hair. He resurfaced after a few moments only to see that a large amount of dirt and grime had come off by simply being in the water.
This was more than peace, it was bliss. He had been through so many blizzards and fallen into frozen lakes that froze his fur solid without any way to warm himself. He'd usually have to wait till spring or risk going into a village in order to warm himself, but this? The hot water was like the gods themselves were washing away his pain.
Celestia smiled curiously at his reactions "Alright then Let's get you cleaned up."
Celestia touched a bar of soap to his back.
Discord immediately yelped and scrambled away from her touch.
She frowned. *Guess he doesn't quite trust me yet* she thought while also respecting his bounds. 
Discord stared at the small white pony in front of him. He had been beaten hundreds, no thousands of times by them… by ponies… could he really trust her? Then again… if she was going to hurt him she wouldn't have brought him here…
He warily made his way back to the edge she was on and turned his back to her, allowing her to continue.
Proud of how she gained his trust, she gently pressed the soap against his shoulders and began to make circular motions, working away at the filth the caked his body. Celestia watched as the suds from the bright white soap turn a dark brown and slipped down his body and into the water below. Discord was in a trance, he watched the grime and water go down the drain trying to make sense on why she was doing this for him, especially why a pony was doing this for him. Not just freeing him from the filth but welcoming him.
After working on his fur for only a few minutes, Discord's natural fur color became clear, his main color was a dark mahogany and his hair was a soft, silky white. His claws was a bright golden and his Lion paw was surprisingly soft.
She noticed a thick patch of dirt left on his left shoulder and pressed down rather hard to remove it. Discord cried out in pain and pulled away. Just by touching it she knew it was full of tension.
"Discord, I know it stings, but your muscles are so tight, they're so bad I doubt it's healthy. Just let me help loosen them, I PROMISE you'll feel better." Pleaded Celestia. "You'll be able to walk better and sleep better."
*Sleep better?* he asked himself.
He reluctantly returned to her. 
"This'll sting just a bit at first." said Celestia.
She pressed both her hooves into his shoulders and slowly began to rock back and forth. Discord gritted his teeth in pain and clung onto the other rim of the tub as Celestia continued. After pushing for a few seconds she buried her hooves deep into the muscle of his shoulders causing him to bark in agony. Suddenly, Discord felt a burst of relief. He felt as if a valve had been unclogged in his shoulders and energy was flowing through him, and he felt that literally. 
Celestia could feel a release in his shoulders and felt something coursing through his body. Was that… blood? Had his body been so tight and under so much tension that it cut off circulation? Well whatever it was, it was doing wonders. Discord's shoulders moved from their hunched position to the straight fashion they were supposed to be in.
Only three words managed to escape his lips "Thank you…Celestia."
Celestia worked her massage of magic across his entire body, freeing up all tension in his body. They spent at least the next half hour with Discord holding onto the rims of the bath out of throbbing pain only to be followed by sweet relief and another course of liquid moving through his body. What was that moving through his body? It wasn't one thing, it was like energy itself was moving throughout his body, making it's long awaited arrival to his body parts that needed it.
After the session, they realized how close they were in the end. Celestia had climbed completely in the bath with him to get better leverage. He turned around to thank her for making him feel like he'd been blessed by the gods only to see that they were practically touching noses and she was as red as a rose.
"Celestia…?"
She quickly tried to play it off "Do… do you feel any better?"
"I've never felt, like this before."
"Loose?" she asked with a grin.
"Happy."
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity of silence.
"Let's get you some rest." said Celestia.
"What?" he asked confused.
"Let's go to bed." she said raising an eyebrow
"I…I can stay inside, here… tonight?" he said, trying not to get his hopes up.
"Tonight? Discord you don't look like you have any place to stay. I won't dare let anypony ever lay a single hand on you again, I'll make it my personal goal in life so you never have to undergo the pain you've felt before. From now on, this is your home." she said proudly.
Discord was speechless, either from the kindness she was showing him or the fact she didn't know just what he'd been through.
"Close your mouth so you don't catch bugs." said Celestia "You need to get some shut eye."
Celestia hopped up on the massive bed she shared with Luna and pulled the covers over herself. She waited for Discord to jump up to, only to see that he was huddling in a corner and laying his head down to sleep.
"Discord!" whispered Celestia.
He raised his head up.
"Come on!"
"Huh?"
"I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor. Get up her."
Discord was shocked, was there any limit to this pony's heart?
He climbed up onto the bed and slowly pulled the covers over himself the same way he saw her do. Being so accustomed to sleeping on rocks his whole life, this was heaven. He felt the weight of the plush covers intoxicate him into a blissful sleep, the last thing he saw before drifting off sleep was Celestia smiling at him.
For years, from the moment he'd been born. Discord had been haunted by a horrific nightmare. A dark creature, a creature that looked just like him only bigger, a creature that claimed to be his father haunted him. It controlled his thoughts, warped his mind, showed him doing horrific deeds and enjoying every moment of it. For the first night in his life; not a single nightmare, not a single one.

> You know it's bad when chaos itself is confused
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia gazed at the image of herself and Discord falling asleep together for the first time. It reminded her of how much she truly longed for the nostalgic image, the memories the three of them would have together she held more precious to her more than her own kingdom. It was funny really, seeing what Discord had come from. Seeing the irritating, egotistical prankster in his original humble and broken state made her think how much he had developed in the years she knew him. He truly had grown into a maniacal, cackling, humorous, stupid… ly brave, magnificent jerk.
Why did he have to sacrifice all that? Why did he have to sacrifice the future he wanted to have so badly with her? Why did he make that one decision that he knew would permanently brand a haunting memory into his mind… for her wellbeing and happiness? That wondrous idiot…
Celestia felt her eyes begin to water, she couldn't let her subject see her weak, much less let them know the reason why. She had to cut the history lesson short.
The sun queen wiped her eyes and yawned "Well, I think that's a good place to leave a bookmark for tomorrow. I think it's time all of us got to bed."
All the ponies let out a whine of protest.
"Aw come on! We were just getting to the good stuff!" argued Rainbow Dash.
"You still haven't shown us what happened to Discord! Or what the heck attacked him." pointed out Pinkie Pie
"Much less what pushed the poor fellow over the edge." added Rarity.
"Or if either of you two had something going on with him." muttered Spike under his breath, fighting his inner shipper.
"Oh, please may we just keep on going?" pleaded Fluttershy.
Luna noticed her sister dart her a pleading glance "Oh course not! We were supposed to switch the celestial bodies over an hour ago!" 
Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin "Wait, but doesn't it only take you a few seconds to raise-"
Before she could continue, Celestia illuminated her horn and dissipated the memory.
The ponies had returned to the central throne room. The sun had already set and the sky was illuminated in a dim blue haze by the night stars.
"Discord must have lowered the sun while we were absent." said Luna as she peered through one of the stain glass windows. 
"Why?" asked Pinkie Pie "I thought Discord would switch the two every few seconds like he did that one time when it was raining chocolate."
"He does. What at least he did, but we asked him to take over some of the major roles of the land for us if they aren't done as  regularly scheduled." stated Celestia
"Ya'll leave Equestria to his control when you ain't around?" asked Applejack in a panic.
"I'd like it if you referred to it as 'being in his care' Applejack." said Celestia "But no, we leave only magical tasks to him and magical tasks only."
"Like switching the celestial bodies and fortifying defenses." continued Luna. She giggled "The first time we said that to him he smelled a loop hole and tried to pass a national law that demanded every household construct a statue in his honor."
Celestia grinned as she thought of the event "Luckily one of the guards alerted us and we were able to shut him down before he could start writing a second law saying that the only form of precipitation allowed in Equestria would be chocolate."
"The when we tried to explain to him that we didn't leave him any political power he summoned a pair of guards wearing mismatched armor and started yelling 'respect my authoritah' over and over again." laughed Luna.
Applejack scratched her head "You gave him a responsibility like that even after he betrayed Equestria?"
Celestia looked taken aback "It took us a while to look past his relapse, but he's proven that he's truly sorry for his actions and is worthy of trust."
"We thought he was worthy of trust and look how he treated us." Rarity contradicted "We offered him true friendship and treated him kindly yet he was still cruel. That rapscallion didn't care about us or anyone, just his own selfish desires."
Twilight noticed Celestia tense up.
Fluttershy stepped in to defend her friend "He did take the opportunity to go back to his old ways, yes, but that's in the past. And giving him a position of power could have him prove that-"
"I don't know Fluttershy" interrupted Rainbow Dash " I sure wouldn't leave a backstabbing traitor any power if he treated the ones who cared for him like dirt.
Twilight saw her mentor clench her teeth together, but still remained composed. Nevertheless, Celestia was getting really irritated. Twilight knew how Rainbow Dash wasn't  the most forgiving or quiet pony, she might take things south real fast.
"He should lean to be more loyal, you know, like me. He only cares about himself." continued Rainbow
Twilight frantically made a slashing motion across her neck, but the pegasus was already off on a rant.
" It doesn't matter if it's political or magical, a traitor like him doesn't deserve another chance. His FOURTH chance need I remind everypony. He'll never change. He's just a sad, spineless-"
Celestia whirled around "You know as well as everyone else that he's shown remorse for his actions and you also know that and Luna and I gave him a full pardon on his crimes. Rainbow Dash, you're an element of harmony and an icon of friendship. When a friend looses their way, you should remain LOYAL and welcome them back, not push them away. And by the way, if you want a friend to support you, give them a reason to support you. From what I've seen only three of you even remotely treat him well. Tell me Rainbow Dash, as someone who's supposed to spread friendship to others, name one positive thing you've said to the creature who needs it the most."
Celestia immediately realized she said too much. All the ponies, including Luna, stared at her with their jaws hanging open. Why was she always so touchy when it came to Discord? It didn't matter what the situation, she made her more animated than necessary, for better or for worse."
Celestia regained her composure "Discord is clueless when it comes to how friendship is supposed to work. He needs all the help he can get, if the elements of harmony can turn Discord into a close friend they can do anything. And I don't mean using the elements themselves, I mean the wielders work to teach others."
Luna came to her sister's aid "I had the easy way of reformation, I was turned back to a pure path simply by magic. I never had to undergo hardships of change or work hard to be good again, it was a 'point and fire' solution. Discord doesn't have that luxury, he has quite literally given up EVERYTHING to learn what it's like to have friends." she sighed grimly "He doesn't have any incentive either. When I returned I was not only given an entire festival and holiday to celebrate me, but also be reunited with my family as well as becoming royalty. Discord? He got nothing, only sneers from ponies and the restriction of his magic which defines him…  which defines his purpose in life."
Celestia looked up painfully to the window depicting her friend being turned to stone. She thought back to the nights when she'd walk out into the courtyard after Discord's second imprisonment. The sheer horror frozen in his face that she feared would stay with him till the end of time. His posture… as if begging for mercy, as if willing to do anything possible to escape that fate. Seeing that  statue drove her mad, still though… she kept his statue close. She could never live with herself if she banished him to Tartarus, leaving Discord closest to… him. If he ever got a hold of Discord a second time, she'd go insane out of guilt. She swore on her life  thousands of years ago that no matter what the cost, Discord would never have to be near that demon again.
She would always keep Discord in the courtyard no matter what the crime. She wanted not only to protect her citizens, but Discord as well. He would always be close to her so she could always defend him. That's why his punishment was to be trapped in stone. That's why he could be hidden in plain sight. That's why, no matter what, she could always be close enough to protect him.
"It's late." said Luna "It's time I took my shift to watch over the night."
Celestia looked back to her subjects "And it's time the rest of us got some rest."
"The last train departed well over an hour ago." Rarity pointed out.
"You six have just as much importance as the royal family." stated Celestia with a smile "And considering the fact that this castle is only really used for exposition, we always have a room prepared for you to stay the night." She motioned to the two guards that stood by the throne 24/7.
"Exposition?" asked Pinkie pie.
The two guards trotted over, bowed to the elements of harmony and Spike and escorted them to  their rooms for the night.
Celestia sighed, she really needed that visit with Twilight and her friends. Today was the most stressful she had for months. Honestly, she would have happily had Tirek go on a rampage again rather than deal with the argument she had with Discord earlier.(Besides tragedies like that always lasted for about fifty minutes, give or take). 
Discord had been distant for the past few weeks. His pranks were to a minimum and even when he did play one, it wasn't very imaginative. He barely even left his personal dimension, he spent days on end cooped up in his land, which, even though he loved chaos, was rare.  Just before she could go to him to ask what was on his mind, he came to her. Discord, as always, paid no regard to the guards and barged right into the throne room. He asked, rather demanded, for something she was overjoyed yet devastated to hear. He wanted to know his history.
---
"You're what?" asked Celestia.
"My. Past. What you know, I want to hear it. Now." said Discord.
Discord being serious was a rare occasion, but when he was, he was intimidating as Tartarus.
"I don't know what you mean…" she responded.
Yeah, I think you do." 
Celestia leaned forward and examined Discord. He had bags under his eyes, lack of sleep. His lion paw was missing fur, he chewed on his paw whenever he started to freak out.  His neck occasionally twitched, his nervous tic. The only she had seen him like this when he started to- oh no.
"Steel Wing, Caiaphas. Leave us and tell my sister she's needed here. No one else is permitted in the throne room until we announce it."
Both the guards looked equally surprised, dismissing the guards in the throne room WITHOUT a replacement was extremely rare, almost unheard of. Nevertheless, they were loyal, the guards bowed and exited.
The draconequus became more impatient "Tell me what you know."
Celestia stood up from her throne and trotted down onto the silk carpet. "What makes you want to ask me that? And why would you ask that?"
"Don't play dumb." he shot. 
"Discord, I don't understand, why would you ask about what you already know?"
"Stop avoiding it Celestia. I have two different stories in my mind right now and I don't know what's going on." The master of chaos said as he became more agitated.
Celestia's road was narrowing "I'm not avoiding anything." she said defensively "You're coming in, saying that-"
"I know about Excitium!" barked Discord.
Celestia's heart nearly stopped.
Discord stared at her, waiting for a response, but nothing came. The Alicorn was at a loss for words, she tried to think of something, anything. She didn't know what to say. Be ecstatic that his true memories lied somewhere deep within. Fear that the horrors could reawaken. Or be absolutely horrified at the possibility of his restraint spell releasing a second time.
Luna came to the rescue as she galloped in "I got here as fast as I could. What's the-"
Discord turned around and directed his attention towards the younger of the two "You've been hiding my history and I want to know how and why."
Luna stopped dead in her tracks.
Rather than have her sister repeat what she tried to do earlier, Celestia stepped in. "Discord, what made you bring this up?"
"Oh I don't know." said Discord with a panicked and mocking smile "You've been hiding something that throwing me into madness for weeks now, Me! thrown into madness!"
"That didn't answer the question." said Celestia. "What made you see your past?"
Discord gritted his teeth and became even angrier "So you do know…"
Luna stepped by her sister "Discord, please. Just… try to calm down. You're not thinking straight." 
"Thinking straight?" He laughed "Thinking straight!? Honey I think I'm about to go into a new form a crazy that exceeds insanity! My mind's been an enigma of ever-living hell for the past few days, It's like someone's been cutting out parts of my brain and putting new ones in! You try having your memory being ripped apart and rearranged"
"Discord…" said the sun goddess "We get it, you're confused."
Celestia looked at her sister and then back at the increasingly unstable spirit in front of them "But tell us… how'd it start."
Discord twitched "You want to know what started this? Huh? Is that it!? I'll tell you my dear Celestia and Luna." he said with an over exaggerated bow "Those cursed Elements of yours!"
"What?" the sisters asked in unison
"When I got my magic stolen from Tirek, it was like I forgot entirely who I was. And I don't mean that like 'I lost my way. No, I mean, It was like suddenly everything I've remembered throughout my entire life didn't add up. Nothing fit together, none of it made any logical sense! And I'm the master of confusion! Why should it bother me!? When my magic left, the foundations of  my memory went with it!" 
"What does that have to do with the elements?" asked Luna.
"When your blasted elements returned all the stolen magic back to their original owners mine returned to me as well. Unfortunately, there was a stowaway on it!"
"A stowaway?" questioned Luna.
"A second memory" he stated " A second memory came when my magic returned, but… it wasn't like I was being brainwashed. It felt as if… oh all things chaos how do I even explain it? It was like the most extreme déjà vu in the history of pony kind. Like I suddenly remembered everything about a pony I had forgotten years ago." Discord said as he stared at the ground.
"Discord…" said Celestia as she stared at him shocked "This, second memory, how was it different then what you thought was your original memory?"
Discord tried to collect himself "My first was simple, I was born with my parents… but…"
"But…?" asked Celestia.
"After that, It was like my memory split off in two. One path, my parents were killed along with the rest of my species led by ponies. The other path, my entire just disappeared one day. However, they concluded in the same way, I had an extreme hatred for all living creatures."
"And that was it?" asked Luna.
"That's all I could remember. But it didn't add up…somehow I had two different origins and remembered  two completely different scenarios in how I became the last living Draconequus." he responded.
"Discord…" continued Celestia "What was this second memory like?"
He shrugged "I-I don't know. It's not like I got a full memory. I get only a few bits and pieces every now and then, It makes more sense but is just as confusing as the first one. Still though I only remember two things from this new memory!"
"You said 'remembered' that time" Luna noted
"I know!" he shouted "Look I don’t know what's going on! Stop acting like I'm making this up!"
"Discord, please, this isn't an interrogation. We just need to know what you do so we can help." said Luna gently "Now, if you can remember, Does this knew memory have any points that branch out like your previous one? 
Discord frantically looked around "Yes! No! I have no idea!  I-I don't know what's real anymore! I feel more helpless then when I had my magic drained. I don't know who the heck I am or why I'm here! "
Celestia moved towards him to try to console him but he backed away.
It was too familiar.
Discord was backing away out of both confusion and fear when she was trying to help him. He had a look in his eyes, not only was he trying to defend himself, but he was also trying not to hurt others. She remembered this exact thing happening all the time before… that awful night.
"Discord you said you remembered two things from this new memory." she said cautiously "WHAT, do you remember?"
Discord calmed his breathing down and tried to focus "Um… The first thing I remember was sitting in a pool of steaming water, my blood and years of grim were leaving my body… There was a pony behind me, but I don't remember what they looked like."
"The second memory?" asked Luna
" I remember being at my lowest point. Millennia of hatred about to be released… and I loved it. I wanted to get revenge, on who? I don't know. But I knew it was wrong, evil even, but I still wanted to do it so badly…"
Celestia thought to herself *But that could only be… oh God. He remembered that night.*
Luna was equally scared "Anything else?"
"Screams." he said as if in a daze "Begging me to stop before I let go, before I stopped suppressing what I had worked my whole life to fight. But I didn't care who got in my way, they'd drop like the rest. I wanted them to know what it felt like. And suddenly… everything made sense to me."
Celestia gulped "Discord…"
"I know it was the last thing from that memory… I let it all out." He blinked and snapped out of his trance "my full power required me to…"
Discord's eyes began to water.
Before the sisters could say a word. He teleported away.
---
For a few minutes, Luna and herself  were speechless. Discord's mind had been opened to the horrors of his past, what would that mean? If he found out everything that happened during the night when he snapped and the centuries before… how would he react? Remember their friendship and return to his old ways? Or have the curse reawaken? Celestia  and Luna debated what to do, Luna was quite gifted in controlling the mind considering the fact she could enter a creatures mind. With the power they might be able to urge on Discord's true memories, still though that was incredibly risky. Discord's mind was an enigma  of madness, going into to his mind didn't endanger Discord, it endangered the visitor. A pony's mind was laid out like a field, their emotions, memories, and ideas all worked together and molded each other.  Discord's mentality, however,  was a labyrinth consisting of millions of levels. His emotions were false, not even he knew what he was supposed to feel. His memories nearly drove her insane. They were a guarded by one of the darkest forms of magic she had ever seen, she didn't know how, but they were. Even attempting to view what he remembered was out of the question, much less enter them. She managed to figure one thing out though, Discord DID have two memories. 
One was his true memories, but sealed tightly and hidden. The second, was fake and somehow used to hide the true memory, almost like it was layered over the original.
Luna's guess was, when Tirek took his magic, there was no magic left to uphold the fake memory. And when the Elements did return his magic, it returned because of pure intentions, therefore the dark parts of the magic didn’t return. Discord's magic could no longer support the false memories or suppress the real ones. Now his memories were at war and there was no way for him to distinguish them. 
What the sisters couldn't figure out was; why was the magic controlling the memories in the first place? This wasn't like an amnesia spell where the memory was given a clean slate, Discord's original memories still remained. Keeping both memories while one over shadowed the other would not only take extreme amounts of magic that not even an Alicorn could produce, but it would also mean the spell would have to been continuously cast.  Whoever cast that spell would have to still be alive, but that was impossible! Not even a dragon could live as long as Discord had, and more importantly who would be so adamant to keep it like this for nearly an eon?
But who or why this happened to him really didn't matter anymore. His mind was becoming more and more chaotic with every passing hour, if this continued, he'd lose what little sanity he had left. Discord had became a ticking time bomb, and the bomb was apocalyptic. If Discord's full power reawakened like it did on that night, the elements would fail just as they did before. 
It didn't make any sense though. The elements were a source of infinite power, yet he managed to overpower them years ago. Somehow… Discord found a way to surpass infinity. If the elements couldn’t stand against him, nothing could.	
Now what were they supposed to do? Give Discord his memories back and risk the darkness returning, dooming the world? Or leave him to his own devices, risk his sanity, and have him destroy the planet? Either decision would put literally everything on the line. Could they find a way to drain him of his magic? No, that would only make things worse.
His magic was league's above anyone else's in existence. Unlike a unicorn's or even an alicorn's magic who came from the pony itself, Discord's magic worked with a mind of its own, Discord merely persuaded it. When Tirek stole his magic, the magic immediately went into a state of panic. If the centaur held onto Discord's magic for more than a few hours, the magic would literally rip the new host apart and find its way back into a worthy host, the only candidate being Discord. Transferring the magic to a new host would only kill them. Splitting it amongst different hosts would juts raise the death count.
If they attempted to drain him of the magic, the magic would explode and potentially end reality itself. And just like all things, it couldn’t just disappear into thin air. Perhaps subdue Discord and then split the magic amongst the four alicorn's? No, just like any scenario, the magic would destroy the host and reunite with the only creature able to handle it, Discord. That magic was Discord's and Discord's alone, if anypony else tried to take it or drain it, they'd end up dead. 
The only option left was to use the elements, but Discord wasn't hurting anypony anymore. And the elements only worked on a creature who was an ACTIVE threat.
Before they could think of an alternative, Discord rampaged into the hall even more hectic then before. He wasn't giving explanations this time, he wasn't going to be patient. He wanted answers and he was going to get them. Discord demanded his memory, he knew full well that Luna could give it to him, or at least make him remember faster. Surprisingly the sister's quickly agreed. They were out of options, even though Discord didn't know it, he was unstoppable. The sisters decided to use the only option available, give Discord his memories and hope he returned to his old self.
Luna would enter his dreams that night and hope to open the old memories as well as expel the old ones. The dark magic was gone, but that was the least of her worries, his mind was the definition of madness, even darker forms of magic could still lurk deep within his soul.
Celestia snapped out of her flashback. With all the stress of the day, she wasn't surprised that she snapped at Rainbow Dash. Still though, she probably would have laid down the law even without the stress of the day. She always hated it when someone lashed out at her friends.
Why did Discord have to be so different in the eyes of others? Didn't they understand how crucial chaos was to friendship? Without chaos, only harmony would exist. Everyone would look the same, act the same, and be the same. Just the smallest touch of chaos made someone unique and made so many different creatures work together. A true friendship was probably one of the most crazy and unpredictable things in life.  A marriage, even more so. But that's what made them beautiful, it was a beautiful chaos. Love was chaotic, and that's what Discord was, chaotic.. It was the reason she was always so animated when it came to that insane Draconequus … she loved him. 	
---
The mane six and Spike had been escorted to an extravagant bedroom for the evening.  Seven large beds were laid in the back of the room and had already been prepared. 
"Talk about and crazy day!" said Pinkie as she hoped onto her bed. "First Discord freaks out, then the princesses freak out, then past Discord freaks out, then the PAST  princesses freak out. All while I'm freaking out!"
Twilight yawned as she flared her wings and stretched "Yes, but all jokes aside, both Discord's and the Princesses'  past were a lot darker then I thought. And that's only seeing a few hours  of their lives."
"Yeah, Ah mean I didn't expect nothing too happy, but still, that was more messed up then when ah found Big Mac playing dress up." said Applejack.
"I never saw anything like that." commented Rarity "I may not be a fan of Discord, but I can't help but sympathize with the poor beast. What could have done that to him? If this isn’t a grotesque question; how did he even survive? " she suppressed her urge to vomit "I mean… he lost so much blood."
Rainbow Dash put a hoof to Rarity's mouth and pointed to Fluttershy, who was curled up in a ball on her bed and was staring at the wall. Rainbow knew her friend wasn't good with violence or her friends getting hurt, so discussing Discord's condition wasn't that good of a topic right now.
Spike sat up "I honestly don't know how durable he is, he seemed to be fine after being in stone for over a thousand years though, you know, without breathing. What do you think Fluttershy? Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy had zoned out. Discord's past was league's worst then she feared.  Just what had her friend been through? He had been practically ripped to shreds, isolated his whole life, hated his whole life, and beaten beyond measure, yet that wasn't what pushed him over the edge? She was debating on just leaving tomorrow and be done with it, she just couldn't handle seeing him get hurt even more. 
"Fluttershy!" yelled Rainbow Dash
"Huh?" 
"Ya good?" asked Applejack.
"Hm? Oh… yes, I'm alright. Just sleepy."
"Oh good!" exclaimed Pinkie "For a second there, I thought you were thinking about Discord and his memory."
Twilight sighed and rubbed her temple.
"Pinkie Pie!" cried Rarity.
"Oh I'm alright." said Fluttershy softly "It's just… I guess I can now understand why he tormented ponies for all those years. But yet, he still chose to use his magic for good? Even after all that?"
"Maybe ponies got better over time." suggested Rainbow Dash.
"Or maybe he… got over it? No. Forgiving is the better word." Fluttershy thought aloud.
That caused everypony to raise an eyebrow.
"Forgiving isn't really the word I would use darling." said Rarity "Those events were so long ago, and nothing bad has happened to him recently…"
"But he forgave Tirek!"  argued Fluttershy.
"Well Fluttershy." started Rainbow "Saying you're forgiving and actually being-"
"He is!" defended Fluttershy. "Even though Princess Celestia said not to, he's trying to reform Tirek."
The ponies went silent.
Spike was the only one to respond "Say whaaaaaa?"
"How's that working out?" asked Applejack
Fluttershy thought about Discord's latest visit, It didn’t go too smoothly.
---
"You got a problem with me, Petting Zoo?" yelled Tirek angrily.
"Yeah!" said Discord mockingly "It's three feet tall and smells like a nursing home."
---
Fluttershy giggled "Um… baby steps?" she said sheepishly.
The ponies burst out laughing.
Twilight calmed down and yawned "It's time we got some sleep, It's almost midnight. Spike, do you got the lights?"
"Sure thing Twilight!" Spike said as he threw an expensive clock at the dim light overhead, shattering the chandelier and turning the room pitch black.
"…Thank you…" the purple Alicorn muttered.
In another Dimension, a certain Draconequus's night wasn't going nearly as well. Tossing and turning didn’t quite describe it, Discord thrashed in his sleep as his memories proved to be even more horrific than his nightmares. Luna had fulfilled her promise, she would open up his true memories in his sleep that night by turning them into vivid dreams. And at his adamant request, she wasn't to stop reanimating the images, no matter how much he begged her to stop, he wanted to know who he was.
The lord of chaos, woke up screaming bloody murder. His sweat coated his fur in a hot, salty perspiration and soaked his bed in a sticky form of stress and fear. He nearly puked from the horror's he had so vividly seen and his entire body trembled. He fell back onto his pillow, he couldn't feel any of his appendages and he felt colder then ice. Why him? And why so much? Why did HE have to undergo so much agony? The beatings from the creatures of his childhood that left him at deaths door seemed meaningless compared to what horrific curses his species had planted in him.  
Every memory had fallen into place perfectly, it wasn't like seeing new memories all together. He didn’t know how, but his memories, every single one of them, he remembered perfectly. Like being reminded, rather than being taught. 
The first memory, when he was only a few weeks old… oh god, it was horrific. He was in a flaming pit, knee deep in Draconequus blood. Thousands of them, his species… they were littered around him, floating in their own sea blood. He was their killer, he did it, intimately.  He purged the entire world of the deadliest species in history in a matter of minutes. His power was beyond that of his Gods. And he didn’t even know how to use it.
That wasn't the only episode though. He had another outburst. Just. One. Other. It was on the innocent, though he didn’t have any control on… That night, oh no. that night…
Discord gasped. That night he took millions of lives, but one stood out, the only one he remembered or even cared to remember… He took the life of someone he loved just as much as his lover. 
Discord sunk his teeth into his lion paw just as tears began forming in his eyes.
"Celestia I'm sorry… Oh God, I'm so sorry. We finally were ready to start out on a new future, but I let it take control. And because of that, it took them from us. No… I took them from us…"
"Three more months… if I was only able to suppress the magic for three more months." 
Discord broke out into hysteria and his bawling echoed throughout his dimension. 

> Discord got sexy... and cursed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

   ---10 years after finding Discord---

“An expedition riding off of stolen information?” questioned an amused Discord “Celestia if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re finally learning how to have fun.”

Celestia let a smirk slip out “It’s not stolen, we’ve been allowed to go in the royal archives for years. We’re just borrowing a few forgotten scrolls, is all.”

The two princesses and draconequus soared high above the clouds, feeling the solar rays of the spring morning sun warm their fur. It was day-one of the trio’s long-awaited voyage across the uncharted lands of the world, a month-long expedition into the unknown, a landscape that was begging to be explored. Discord flew with his arms folded, examining an unfurled scroll he levitated just below himself, seeming to be very intrigued in the particular piece of parchment.

He scratched his beard and raised a mocking eyebrow “Forgotten scrolls? Hmm, then why did you have to get ME to crack the sealing spell around it? Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t they only guard things that are worth stealing? Yet both of the revered sister princesses couldn’t seem to break the spell on this dusty old thing.” Said Discord, rolling up the map and retuning it to the many others in Luna’s bag. 

Celestia pouted “It was an ancient spell that none of us even recognized, it just seemed safer to let everyone give it a shot before I tried something risky. Besides, a sealing spell has to be recast every time its broken, if a scroll has a spell that old on it then clearly, it’s been forgotten and unimportant.” Celestia defended “And I’m also pretty sure an old legend that’s been glorified by an ancient tribe of nut-jobs will put the kingdom in any danger.”

Discord shrugged with a toothy grin and plucked another scroll from the cluttered mess that was Luna’s pack. “Aw, and here I thought I some of my glorious charm was starting to rub off on you.”

Celestia laughed. Seeing that iconic, mischievous grin made her reflect of how much Discord had evolved from the rotting ghoul she came across over a decade ago. He was no longer the poor, broken, half-dead victim she first met, he had become a self-confident, reliable, admirable equal that she trusted with her life. 

His magical powers were extraordinary; no, mythical. Her friend was able to back up his cocky demeanor ten times over by wielding the level of magic and sorcery not even legends spoke of, able to send even the most vicious of adversaries running. But despite the ferocity used by the draconequus when battling against his enemies, Discord was a compassionate defender who held the happiness of Luna and herself over his own life. He was a gift to say the very least.

And while the transformation of his personality was dramatic, the restoration of his outward appearance was even more prominent. Discord’s faded, dried-out raptor foot and snake tail were now decorated with clean and gleaming scales. His lion claw was always soft, his fur clean and shiny, and his horns always smooth. His deep, purple eyes that were crowned with bushy eyebrows always seemed to shimmer in the night, keeping a wild yet gentle look in them. 

His jet black mohawk was always well kept and perfectly cut and matched the silky black beard that ran along his jawline. He actually took pride in his hygiene now, putting extra effort into the smile he so regularly showed. Whenever he grinned, Celestia would always swear that his teeth and twin fangs were made of a shining pearl rather than bone. 

But above all else, he had developed quite the healthy, muscular physique. Every time the trio celebrated in a group hug Celestia could feel the rippling muscles in his back, not to mention she couldn’t help but glance at him every time he flexed his large biceps proudly over a defeated dragon. He was an entirely new being, and while Celestia encouraged him to go out of his comfort zones, she had to respect his stated limits. 

From the start, Discord made it very clear that there were three things he would never let her or Luna do; never have him join society even if disguised as a pony, never reveal him to their father, and above all else: NEVER let Luna into his dreams. Discord trusted the sisters with his life, yes, but he still harbored an immense fear and ever growing contempt for civilization, ESCPECIALLY the ones of ponies. The simple thing was that they’d never tell a living soul about him. His dreams however, were a much more of a touchy subject. Discord was often plagued by horrific nightmares that would have him waking up in cold sweats, but refused to talk about them to the sisters, much less let Luna see them, and considering how wound up they made him, they reluctantly agreed.

One time Celestia made the horrible mistake of trying to wake him up while he was tossing and turning. Upon lightly touching his shoulder, Discord snapped awake, grabbed her by the throat with a vice-grip and slammed her to the ground with his mouth full of razor-sharp teeth ready to decapitate her. Upon seeing that it was only his friend, he dropped her, scrambled away, and broke down sobbing. Celestia was a bit shaken but she consoled the draconequus, saying he didn’t hurt her. Luna joined in to try and calm his hysteria down, but still he clung to Celestia for a solid hour weeping. 

It took him a month to bounce back after that particular episode.

Yet despite Discord’s extremely rare outbursts that came without warning, the three of them trusted each other with their lives. They had a whole month to themselves to explore the horizons without prying eyes or fear of being caught. Another one of their beloved expeditions. This is what they lived for.

Celestia turned her attention to Discord “In all honesty though, I don’t really know what we’re looking at in terms of destination. We sort of just ran into the archives and grabbed what scrolls and books were closest to us.”

Luna took insult to Celestia’s understatement “Hey, some of these things were actually a pain in the tail to get a hold of. You may have rushed through these things, but I picked up some really deep stuff.” Luna slipped her pack off and fished into her bag “Honestly Celestia, did you read some of the ones I found? There’s actual some pretty shady stuff in here.  Dragon migrations, ruined cities, a fountain of youth, dark magical relics, even some cursed lands. There’s enough to keep us out here for weeks! The whole palace is going to have a celebration when they see what we bring back!”

Discord scratched behind his ear “That reminds me, how’d you convince your dad to go for another one of these trips? Don’t you already have that huge party coming up at the end of the month?”

The sisters groaned and hung their heads in perfect unison. Discord pulled his arms in close out of reflex. 

“Those things are an abomination that crawled out of the depths of hell. I’m so glad dad let us be exempt from it for once.” moaned Luna.

Discord laughed “Jeez Luna. No, tell us what you really think.”

“I can sit through diplomatic meetings till the end of days, but galas are where I draw the line.” Celestia rose her head and turned her attention to Discord “It’s called the Grand Galloping Gala. Once a year, the royal family hosts an international celebration that’s open to all respected members of society. Luna and I used to like them when we were fillies but now they’re the worst part about being royalty.”

Discord swerved mid-air and rolled onto his back, crossing his arms behind his head, suddenly interested “I’d ask why you hate dancing so much, but clearly there’s much more to it than that.”

“Octopuses,” grumbled Luna “too many of them” 

“Hold on, what?” asked Discord

“Suitors,” translated Celestia “The Gala used to be all about celebrating the first day of summer, but now it’s filled with nothing but stallions. Rich males of all ages that come by the hundreds.”

Discord was completely lost “And that’s a problem because…?”

“They keep trying to marry us!” Luna shouted at seemingly no one “I’m only eighteen! I don’t want to be rooted down to the castle at this age, but those guys won’t keep their hooves to themselves!”

Discord pulled back at the sudden passionate outburst.

“See the thing is Discord, the Gala is meant to be a national festival but right now It’s become a festival of stallions all across the land trying to win our hearts.” Sighed a clearly irritated Celestia “Princes, nobles, landowners, you name it, they’re there trying to make a move. They’re not even really looking for love, they just want to marry into a position of power. Fortunately, our father cares about us and won’t force us into an arranged marriage like so many other kings, but still…”

“You can only say ‘no’ so many times?” Discord finished, now concerned and somewhat protective. Discord trusted Luna and Celestia with his life, but even still he harbored a crippling fear and checked anger for civilization. EITHER of them getting married jeopardized his entire way of life and risked him being seen. Plus, he cherished the fact that both of them were free spirits; he knew enough of the world to understand getting married truly meant settling down. Having them loose a piece of freedom would truly be a blow to him. And while Luna meant the world to Discord, his real concern was Celestia. 

Discord couldn’t deny it, Celestia had grown into a beautiful mare. She was kind, confident, trusting, strong, and the sole reason he loved his life instead of having to endure the horrific torture he suffered for so long. Celestia was everything to him, not a day went by when he wasn’t tempted to confess his growing feelings towards her. Especially now with his age it was hard to resist his more… instinctive urges… every time spring came around. But he couldn’t take the chance to come forward out of fear of losing their friendship, and now that he knew how much she hated stallions coming forward, there wasn’t a chance he’d tell her his true feelings, not anytime soon at least. But knowing that there was now a time limit for when she HAD to choose a stallion, really put him in a stressful position. 

Maybe as a last resort he could… No, it wasn’t worth the risk. If for some reason the sisters actually did attend the gala… perhaps his could sneak in transformed as a pony and use it as an excuse to dance with- No. That was suicide. One slip up and every single being of power in the land would see him. But still, that would just mean Celestia would eventually have to choose a suitor. 

What should he do? Wear the guise of a pony and risk getting caught? Or have her get married and risk never seeing her again? There was no safe answer.

Luna noticed a growing look of sorrow in Discord’s eyes. Refusing to start the friends’ long-awaited trip on such a sour note, she changed the subject. “Yeah, but if I ever do get married, you can bet your flank I’m going to keep my subordinate, I mean husband, in check. But whatever, what I really want to know…” Luna heaved an especially large metallic cylinder out the right side of her pack “Is what the heck is this thing I picked up?”

Discord and Celestia both inhaled suddenly at the surprise artifact. It looked like a tube used for holding summoning scrolls, if the scrolls were used to summon demons. The cylinder was made of such a black metal, it was hard to tell the details of the fine carvings running the entire frame. Bright red letters of an ancient language doted the entire canister in a seemingly pointless fashion and a thick, a red line ran the length of the entire thing. Not to mention both ends of the cylinders were decorated with spikes that Discord was pretty sure were made from a collection of teeth.

Luna relished in their surprise “Well? Isn’t it great? Oh, who am I kidding, it’s awesome right?”

Celestia looked at it in shock “Luna! Just what is that?”

Luna laughed and shrugged “I have absolutely no idea. I went digging through the deepest section of the archives, saw a hinge underneath a table, moved some boxes out of the way, opened a trap door, and sure enough there was like a dozen of these suckers inside! They looked incredibly dangerous and unpredictable so hey, who better to snoop then us right? I snatched the closest one, ran out the door, and just like that we have a potentially catastrophic scroll ripe for abuse.”

Discord was at a loss for words.

Celestia did her best to wrap her head around her sister’s logic “So let me get this straight. You went into a restricted compartment in a restricted section of the restricted archives. Grabbed a CLEARLY dangerous and enchanted document that probably is only meant to be known by a few people, flew it miles away from the matching set, never told anyone we took it, and brought it into the unknown JUST so we could see what happens if we open it?”

Luna didn’t respond

Celestia shrugged “Buck, I’m down. How do we open it?”

“Sounds good to me” agreed Discord 

“No one else is using it.”

“Open that thing up.”

“I want to see what’s in that sucker.”

As the morning turned to afternoon and the sun began its routine approach to the horizon, the group descended to a crystal lake encircled by a thick layer of trees. A thoroughly exhausted Luna flopped down face-first on the soft, welcoming grass the moment she landed while Discord and Celestia slipped off their packs and tossed them against a nearby trunk. The draconequus rolled his shoulders, letting the bones make an audible crack of much needed release, followed by an exaggerated groan of relief.  

Luna picked her face off the ground and shuffled to the edge of the water “I’m going for a swim. we’ve been in the heat all day and I need to wash this sweat off.”

“It’s still early spring, Luna” warned Celestia “That waters going to be freezing.”

“I don’t care, I need this” said Luna. Without heeding her sister’s words, Luna jumped into the pristine water, sending sparkling water into the air. Immediately, she shot right back out of the water jumping up and down to gain body heat.

Celestia laughed “I tried to warn you”

“Don’t get out Luna!” called Discord “We’re coming in!”

Celestia glared at him “Uh yeah, no. YOU’RE going in, I’M staying out here. If you think I’m going to die of hypothermia tonight, you got another thing coming.”

Discord folded his arms and grinned wickedly “Well, it’s not like I really asked for your consent.”

Celestia’s heart stopped “No… you wouldn’t dare!”
Before she could interject, Discord slung her over his right shoulder and sprinted towards the shore. Celestia shrieked in horror and battered her hooves against his back, demanding he drop her or face the rage of a thousand gods. Luna, too excited to see Celestia’s reaction, moved out of the way as Discord barreled into the water with the screaming Alicorn held helplessly in his grasp. Discord, holding onto his violent captive with both hands, closed his eyes and submerged the two of them once waist-deep.

A drenched Celestia popped to the surface and viciously assaulted the draconequus who was now holding up both hands in a form of defense.
“You disgusting reprobate!” screeched the Alicorn “I’ll end you!”
Discord could only laugh hysterically as Celestia forced him down to his back leg, beating his arms senselessly. 

“Luna!” laughed Discord “I beg of you! Save me from this unholy monster!” 

Luna, benevolent as always, responded by tackling both him and Celestia in the water.

After Luna joined in and the three had completely burnt themselves out over the course of a half-hour brawl, they slinked back onto to shore all in high spirits and all forgiven. Discord snapped his fingers and conjured up a roaring campfire and a set of padded sleeping mats, their standard arrangements for sleeping. 

The moon had begun to rise and the fireflies of the night had already started their beautiful light display for all to see. A shivering and purple-lipped Discord and Celestia both curled up as close as possible to the flames. Luna however, much more tolerant to the cold, flopped down onto her mat and dragged her pack over to her side to dig through it. 

“So, we’re closest to the SUPPOSED mountain range that dragons are said to congregate at every year for mating season” began Luna “I think if we keep the pace we’re going at we’ll be able to reach it before noon tomorrow morning.”

Discord summoned a large pot of an already-made stew over the open fire and stirred the contents with a flick of his wrist above the lid “Dragons don’t tend to be shy creatures, but they aren’t vey social either. If that scroll actually is true about Dragon’s being there, I think we’re going to have to hunt for them. Probably tucked away in a cave somewhere.”

Discord handed a filled bowl to Celestia who eagerly inhaled its aroma “They’re kind of hard to miss though, I doubt we’ll accidently pass them by” said the Alicorn as began to work away at Discord’s glorious creation. 

Luna accepted the bowl Discord handed her “My big concern is that they’ll go nuts if they see us. Dragons tend to be secretive, at least from what we can gather, so we can expect them to be on guard. They’ll either scatter or attack us before we even get to see how they interact and mating season is about as social as an animal gets.” Luna unfurled a scroll as she took a sip from her bowl “If we’re ever going to see these guys use their heads, I think this is it.”

Discord slurped down his sixth serving before either of the sisters even left a dent in their first “Speaking of secretive, toss me that black canister, I want to take another crack at it.”

Luna flipped her pack over and rummaged for the mysterious scroll-case she had brought with her. Surprisingly, Discord couldn’t open the thing. Discord could pop open every single protection seal he’d come across in his entire life without any effort, but the artifact wouldn’t budge. He had tried every single spell he knew but the stubborn piece of work wouldn’t crack, that’s what is was; stubborn. It was almost like the inanimate object was actually pushing back against him, every time he gathered up the slightest bit of energy, he felt the scroll muster a weak amount of power to remained seal. When the sisters gave it a shot he couldn’t feel the scroll kick back at them like it did for him, it just seemed to not like him.



Luna recovered the canister from her bag and held it in the air for Discord to levitate off of her hoof. Discord frowned at the defiant chute as he floated it in front of him “Alright you jerk, you’re going to work with me whether you like it or not.”

Celestia laughed “I’d never thought I’d see the day where the mighty Discord would fall from his throne as the greatest sorcerer in the world… and hand it to a little scroll”

Discord’s ears flattened in frustration and gave a visible pout “Quiet, I’ll get it open. There’s not a single spell I can’t break.” His ears perked back up “But in all honesty, I have quite literally no idea what kind of spell is keeping this thing closed. I doubt it’s sealed by a ritual or tribute, and it’s DEFINITELY not a spell form any kind of unicorn. Whatever’s keeping this sucker shut is ancient.”

Luna hungrily took another scoop from the kettle and added it to her diminishing supply “Then clearly it’s no joke. You’re able to pass through the barrier surrounding the castle without any effort and that thing can disintegrate borderline anything. If you can’t magic the thing open; can you, I don’t know, just try breaking it open with brute force?”

Discord opened his mouth to insult such a basic idea but then shrugged “Honestly, considering we’ve tried everything at this point. Muscling it open doesn’t sound like a bad idea”

Discord released the spell keeping the case levitating and let it settle onto the grass. Come to think of it, he hadn’t physically put his hands on it yet, levitating everything always just seemed more convenient. He illuminated his lion paw, adding an extra bit of grip strength, and slapped his hand around the frame.

A shrill cry of agony pierced the night sky and blood splattered across the grass

The moment Discord made contact to the black-canister, a massive spike shot out of its center and pierced clear through his entire hand; sending blood splattering into his gaping mouth. 

“Discord!” The girls screeched in unison. They both dropped their bowls immediately to rush to his aid but the scroll prevented interference. Before they could even get within arms distance, two crimson bolts shot out of each end of the cylinder, sending each of the sisters flying. The sisters were knocked flat onto their backs with a severe whiplash knocking the wind out of them. Discord wrestled with his arm, trying to pull his hand free, but an aura kept his hand clamped in place, making him unable to escape his torture. 

Instead of his blood seeping back into his skin as it always did when he was wounded, his liquids seeped into the crevasses of the canister, almost as if it was drinking it. The scattered letters on the face of the artifact now blazed a hellish red and started to rotate on the axis of its frame. These weren’t letters scattered around randomly, they were the chant for a curse!

Discord could only clutch his wrist in pain as he watched the disseminated markings align into a single phrase. He couldn’t understand it’s language but he could at least make out that it clearly formed six distinct words. 

No, not here. Not now! Discord recognized the order of these markings. He knew where he had seen them before. One of the four reoccurring nightmares that plagued him always had this sentence plastered in the vision. He couldn’t read or even understand it, but seeing it in the real world was enough to make him almost have a panic attack. If the first of the four dreams could be real. Then that means the fourth one would one day-

Before Discord could finish thinking, the spike ripped out of his hand and shot back into the frame.

Discord fell from his knees and crumpled to his side in a fetal position, roaring in pain. The spike had left a gaping two-inch hole through his hand that now had blood waterfalling out of its ruptured veins. Chunks of meat and splintered bone still dangled off his palm, each held by a thin layer of their respective substance. 

His regeneration powers, never failing him, immediately created bones out of thin air that replaced his shattered ones, his tissues instantly began to reattach, and the copious amounts of blood were sucked back into his body. Instinctively, Discord snapped his fingers and incinerated the excess parts that were no longer attached to him. 

Celestia, head spinning, struggled to her feet and stumbled towards him “D-Discord…”

The Draconequus stared at the now pulsating letters upon the scroll in a blistering fury. His eyes ablaze with rage, pain, and above all else; terror.

How? How did he not realize it? His dreams were never nightmares, they were prophecies. If the first of the visions was true, then that meant the other two were as well, and one day even the fourth would come to pass. Discord lost all feeling in his body.

The fourth nightmare was doomed to become a reality…

He fell to his knees and vomited.

----

Rage, pain, and terror. Just like King Nova at the exact moment.

“You worthless failure!” roared the furious alicorn.

Hundreds of miles away, King Nova was breathing fire upon his highest council. With his horn illuminated, shoulders hunched, and mouth foaming the ruler looked like has was about ready to massacre the entire palace. 

“I should just kill you right where you stand, make an example of what happens to those who leave their kingdom for dead! I give you the most basic task to hide the most dangerous thing in our possession and you manage to screw even that up?!”

His majesty had backed a quivering, elderly unicorn into a corner. The quaking runt was the chief archivist tasked with safeguarding the highest levels of enchanted documents and scrolls concealed within the castle. He however, did not live up to his duty; he let the most powerful scroll slip from right under his nose. Upon it being reported missing, King Nova immediately demanded his most trusted advisors meet him in the archives.

“Y-your greatness” a pegasus dared speaking “If you could tell us what went missing and why it’s so important, we might be of some use to-”

Nova shot dagger eyes at him causing the noblemen to reel back and bow in fear.

“What was taken?” the alicorn slammed his hoof into the ground, leaving a fissure in the stone “Any of you familiar with these?!”

He slammed a dusty, metal crate filled with scrolls onto a nearby table for the group of elitists to view. There was an audible gasp followed by a few ponies cursing under their breaths.

It was a set of nine jet black cylinders that were lined neatly into two rows, however, one was clearly missing. At the far end of the row consisting of the four scrolls, a rectangle footprint of clear metal stood as an enclave amongst the dusty bottom of the crate, a scroll was gone.

“Your highness…” an elder member of the nobles stuttered “Those aren’t the Draconequus scrolls… are they?”

King Nova snatched one of the many cylinders from the box “Finally, someone who can speak. Yes Caiaphas, they are.” He approached his subjects “A collection of undecodable and unbreakable spells and curses… and the source of the apocalypse.”

A young nobleman froze, “Sir?”

King Nova glared at his newest advocate “Tarean… right, you haven’t heard of these yet have you?”

“N-No my lord.”

He looked down on his inferiors “In case any of you have forgotten, Excitium proclaimed the power of his successor, Discord, to be stronger than anything the world had ever seen. However, from what we can gather, he was never unleashed, at least not fully.”

Nova began to circle his now terrified council “From what the Royal Order of Mages can deduce, he wasn’t at his full power when he was created, hence why we could never find him. Every form of magic, especially that as accursed as a Draconequus, leaves traces… everyone except Discord” He stopped in front of the semicircle of his listeners “He’s apparently never cast a spell before so he emits an aura too weak for our hunters to lock on to. We’ve only been able to follow his after-image.” 

“Sir, I don’t believe I follow.” Started Tarean “An all-powerful being who no one has ever seen? You say he doesn’t leave a trace, yet there’s an ‘after-image’. There’s no denying the might of the Draconequus army was horrifying, but not a single one has been seen in well over two decades. Are we even sure this ‘Discord’ exists?”

That struck a sensitive nerve in the King.

“He damn well exists, and he’s closer than any of you realize.” Hissed Nova “Over the past twenty years, we’ve received dozens of reports of a young Draconequus wandering the lands. Every time he’s been sighted, he’s disappeared in the same day and is only seen again in a village even closer to this very city. The last time he was ever seen was only four years ago in a village not even over the horizon. He might very well be on top of us at this exact moment.”

He heaved and angry sigh “We assume the only reason we he hasn’t made an attack is because he is not yet at his full power. He is waiting to begin the ritual and release the power promised by Excitium.”

He hoisted the scroll into the air “A ritual that involved these.”

“Sir.” Questioned Tarean again “Do we even know if that those scrolls are a source of power? What evidence do we have?”

King Nova returned the scroll to the others “The year Excitium attacked Equestria and the Draconequus species began abducting unicorns and spells across the land, various kingdoms were able to kill a few of the invaders. Any of the high priests that were killed each carried one of these matching scrolls, each of which was inscribed with the name of an especially deadly Draconequus.”

“We’ve never been able to open or know exactly what lies inside, but the Archmages have all agreed that there is an unholy and unprecedented level of dark magic emanating from within each one. If so much as ONE of these were to fall in the hands of a dark spirit, it would be catastrophic… but if all ten were to reach Discord…”

King Nova turned his attention back to the elderly unicorn still huddled in the corner as a growl began to rumble in his throat “…It would bring the end to all life in the world to an end. And now one has gone missing while Discord could very well be in the city.”

King Nova whirled back around to his subjects “I want that scroll back in our possession right now!” he roared “No one is going in or out of this city until it’s found! Captain!”

A Pegasus snapped to attention “Sir!”

“Dispatch all the guards into the city in search of that scroll and any dark artifacts. All necessary force, warrants, and questionings are now authorized.”

The Pegasus saluted and ran out without a single response.

“Caiaphas!” barked the alicorn

“Yes, my lord?” he yelped

“All archivists and every member of the mage order is to search this room for any traces of spells. If so much as a levitation spell was cast, I’m to know about it.”

“Immediately, my King.” The unicorn bolted out of the room without waiting for a response.

King Nova turned his attention to the rest of his council “The rest of you will return to the throne room and await my orders. Kaid, you’ll remain here with me.”

“Yes sir!” His ‘noble’ advisors scrambled away, more focused on escaping the King’s wrath than obeying his command. 

“Kaid” addressed the King

“At your command” responded his bodyguard

“You are to assemble a small team of your most trusted men and accompany them to find my daughters. They are to be escorted home the moment you find them and to be guarded with your lives. I know they make a run through here before the disembark on one of their expeditions, if that scroll has left Equestria, I pray it is with them. If I need you back at the palace, I will notify you with this” He gave him an enchanted sphere linked to his magic “They are to be back here within the week.”

“Sir,” responded Kaid “Your daughters can easily fly faster than any of the Pegasi in the land AND they have a full day head start on us, there’s no way we can catch up to them.”
King Nova glared at him “They stop to sleep, that should give you plenty of time to catch up in a few days.”

He reluctantly obeyed “I understand my lord.”

“Good, you’re to be in the air in thirty minutes.” He turned to walk away. 

“King Nova wait,” Kaid interjected 

The King stopped and looked over his shoulder

“Which…” Kaid debated on whether or not he should ask any further about the current situation. ANY of the scrolls being taken meant the death of possibly thousands “Which of the scrolls was taken? Which seal of the ten Draconequus Lords was taken?”

King Nova turned away and muttered grimly “Excitium’s”
> Discord's true power
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUPER IMPORTANT! Okay not super important, but please, this is going to add to the story.  There are two scenes in this chapter that  I came up with solely by listening to music. When you see this:
**PN**
It means "Play Now", they're links that plays a soundtrack that, in my opinion, goes PERFECTLY with the scene. Trust me. I am BEGGING you, open the link in a new tab and just keep reading the story, each link takes you to a certain point in the song (No I don't make you listen to the whole thing) just open the link in a new tab and let the song play from where I set it while you keep reading. Okay, chapter begins now!



There he hung. A full mile beneath the surface, he hung suspended in a cavern with shackles chaining his wrists and ankles. His bindings, laced with spells, extending into the darkness, holding true and unbroken. The spells of his own making keeping him alive and slumbering in his hibernation. There he hung. Waiting.

              Waiting for his patience to finally yield its rewards. For every step in his plan to finally come full circle. For what he had fantasized about to become reality. He dangled in the pitch-black chasm he had fashioned for his resting place; a gargantuan cave hollowed out in the deepest layer of Earth. This served as his abode as he waited in his self-induced coma.

              Then it came. The first stage of his beautiful dream began.

              He snapped awake as he heard the gorgeous sound of screaming echoing against the cavern walls, the stench of blood now intoxicating him. Oh, how he longed for it. His back arched in euphoria as he could hear the sound of bones shattering and muscles ripping apart. He threw his head back as his whole body rejoiced in ecstasy to the piercing screech of agony ringing across his ears. Then, just as he predicted, it materialized in front of him.

A large glob of swirling blood appeared and floated towards him, its horrific aroma slipping into his nostrils. He let his long, pointed tongue roll out of his lolling maw to drink in his most beloved and long overdue meal. Impatient as he was, he relished in its slow progress as he could feel his mouth water with saliva in anticipation. Before it was even a foot away, his tongue extended further and sucked the entire pint of blood down his throat with a single gulp. In his bliss, he licked his chops as he could feel the delicious tang rush down his gullet, Gods how he could savor it. His son’s blood truly was the most delicious thing he ever knew.

Even though he’d only been awake for less than a minute, he was suddenly exhausted. The creature hung his head and breathed heavily, his muscular chest rising and falling in sync with his heaves. His demented chortle began to sound throughout the cavern.

It worked. How he managed to pull it off? He had had no idea. It didn’t matter though, it worked. All the scrolls, or at least one of them, was perfectly intact. Even though his powers were linked directly to all ten of them, just one of them being activated was enough to wake him from his slumber.

Just as he predicted; Discord managed to get his hands on at least one of the scrolls. Much like the creature currently suspended in its self-imprisonment, the scrolls powers lay dormant until it drank the blood of the Draconequus.

He had enchanted each scroll to drink in the blood of any and all Draconequui foolish or demented enough to dare come in contact with one of them. Upon sucking in their fluid, the scroll would teleport the new concoction to its destination; the chasm. Now that the creature himself had drank the blood of a draconequus as well, his powers slowly began to awaken; it was only a matter of time before they would return to their full extent.

That wasn’t his reason for his delight though, his real reason for rejoicing; was Discord.

 Now that one of the ten scrolls were active, it was only a matter of time before it awakened the first stage of Discord’s power, giving him the strength to recover the remaining nine. Once all ten were active, nothing would survive. The very essence of Discord’s sanity would be torn down to allow his full might to ravage the living world. But it took more than just a few drops of blood for the scroll to take its effect upon Discord. No, Discord’s rage had to be triggered in order for the spells to seep into his body and remove the restraints keeping him tame. If Discord so much as yelled, it would activate.

Yes, if that was the case, he would begin the first stage of his transformation within the next few hours.

Excitium threw his head back and roared in insane laughter. Discord’s transformation was at hand.

---

Discord and the girls soared over the clouds towards the mountains now peaking over horizon, the mating grounds of the dragons. The trio was still rattled by the events of the previous night, but had endured similar encounters in the past and pressed on with their expedition. Discord’s hand had fully healed and, as far as he knew, had zero side effects from the scroll so he tried to dismiss the episode.

Celestia kept the black cylinder inside her pack, tightly sealed away by well over a dozen spells, because, after all, Keeping the scroll with them was much safer than abandoning it at the campfire. The way they saw it, they had two options. A) Leave a demonic scroll in an uncharted land in the middle of absolutely nowhere for any unsuspecting traveler to stumble across WHILE it had the blood of an overpowered sorcerer trapped inside. Or B) They, the most powerful creatures in existence, guard it for now and later return it to the most powerful and defended city in the world for safe keeping.

‘B’ seemed like a better decision.

Their first order of business should have been to turn right back around and return the scroll to its brothers and sisters, but after careful consideration, they decided to wait and see if the scroll posed anymore of a threat BEFORE they returned it to a heavily populated city ruled by their increasingly paranoid father. So, they kept a watchful eye on the artifact but pressed on with their journey.

“We’re getting kind a close to the breeding grounds” said Luna “Don’t you think we should start flying lower so they don’t see us coming?”

Discord waved it off “Nah, doubt they’ll even bother to look up.” He put both arms behind his head and thrusted his hips comedically “They’ll be too busy slammin-“

Celestia slammed a hoof into Discord’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

The Draconequus wheezed and clutched his stomach in pain “Okay, I deserved that.” He conceded.

“Damn right you did” Celestia grumbled in anger and embarrassment.

“Come on,” he whined “We were all thinking it. But really though, I think what we really need to worry about is their sense of smell. All those dragons in one place, if they smell anything other than the stench of smoke and scales, they’re going to be thrown on full alert.”

Discord snapped his fingers and three rings quickly appeared and reappeared around them in a puff of smoke.

“Boom.” He said proudly “All the reeking smells of two Alicorns and the pleasant aroma of a Draconequus gone. Now we put off a scent that is less noticeable than the air you’re breathing.”

Celestia pouted and rolled her eyes.

The trio had reached the gradual rise to the mountain range. Going for a stealth approach, the three stopped flapping their wings and let themselves glide down across the tips of the ever-growing altitude of land.

Celestia looked at her two companions “From what I could tell from the map, there should be a large area of flat land a few miles into the mountains.” She said “This whole mountain range makes a giant circle with a clearing in the middle of it all, perfect for nesting.”

“And considering how massive dragons can get, a valley in the middle of a mile-high landscape sounds like prime real-estate.” Added Discord.

“Sounds like a hotspot for horny lizards to me.” Said Luna

Discord jabbed an open palm towards Luna and looked at Celestia with his jaw hanging open “Hey! How come you punched me and not her?”

Celestia responded by slamming another a hoof in Discord’s stomach.

The entire mountain range seemed to make one massive dome shaped elevation, each row of the rocky spires reached even higher than their predecessors as the elevation increased. The layers of foliage and density of the trees coating the mountains diminished more and more as the three flew deeper into the uncharted landscape. After only a few miles, the entire mountain range was barren and not even long-distance birds dared to travel further. They were in the domain of dragons.

With mute scenery and zero talking, Discord’s mind was left to confront his inner demons. He didn’t really care about the prospect of dragons when all he could think about was the satanic, blood sucking, scroll they now had to watch.  Gods, he hated the idea of having to carry it around. The fact that it was strong enough to rip a hole in his hand AND resist his magic was one thing, but having it flash the words from his nightmares was quite another.

Discord could easily endure the memories of his tortured childhood filled with endless attempts on his life by ponies, but he did everything in his power not to think about his dreams when he was conscious. All four of his reoccurring nightmares had two things in common; dead bodies and blood on his hands, not a good combination for a guy with a deteriorating mental state.

Discord knew his four dreams too well. Every night they would play in sequential order, a sick performance that loved to dance on the limits of his sanity. Each nightmare always had him envision the aftermath of the slaughter of thousands, all dead by his hands.

The first dream he knew was a vision of his past. He would float in a sea of blood that seemed to lap at his own skin. After realizing where he was, he would see hundreds of corpses bobbing up and down in the red ocean, each their faces frozen in a permanent expression of horror and agony. What chilled him to the bone was; they were his own species, Draconequui. Discord had never seen a Draconequus in his entire life, yet here they all were soaking in a sea of their own blood. Discord knew one thing though; he was the one who killed them. When, why, or even how? He never knew. After realizing what he had done, he would look around to see that the sea of blood was actually underground in a pitch-black chasm. Inscribed on one of the far-end walls was the six words that were now glowing on the scroll he and the sisters carried. He never knew what the phrase said, nor did he even know how to decipher it. And now it existed in the real world.

The second dream was more gruesome but somehow even more vague than the first. When the vision began, Discord would always feel an insatiable bloodlust and anger overtake his being. Without knowing where he was or what he was doing, he charged wildly in a haze at a horde of giants, decapitating everything in sight. Just, what were these giant creatures? He could never even make out the poor species that was unfortunate enough to feel his magic in full force.

As quick as the second dream was, it ended. Now his personal hell began.

The third dream is what horrified him throughout most of his childhood; a horrific vision that he could never make any sense of. He floated over a smoldering plain, a once peaceful meadow that now laid as a burning wasteland. In front of him floated a perfect copy of himself; height, complexion, and all. His duplicate stared back at him, grinning wickedly without saying a word. It just floated there in front of him, almost mocking him with its sick smile. Discord always tried to force himself awake at this part; he knew what came next.

The clone started to cackle and morphed into the form of different Draconequus, one Discord didn’t recognize. Not ten seconds after it began to laugh, it started to gurgle and a disgusting rotting smell filled the air. Discord could only cringe as the laughing Draconequus quickly decayed into a rotting corpse. Its fur fell off it in large wads. Its skin decomposed and peeled of its muscles and bones as chunks of fat and meat fell off in great chunks. Discord swallowed hard every time he saw its eyes roll back and eventually slip out the back of its now open skull that decomposed with the rest of it. When the creature was almost nothing but a bloody skeleton, it fell to the ground and into a chasm that opened in the earth moments before the remains reached the surface. Once the carcass was free-falling deep into the crevice, it immediately sealed itself. Disgusting.

Now it was his turn.

Discord braced himself as he could feel himself began the process he had just witnessed. His own body began to rot, and he had learned long ago to close his eyes for this. His skin began to crack and his own body fell apart in a disgusting display of decomposition. And unlike the Draconequus he saw before him, his body didn’t fall into any cavern. No, his body ignited up into a blazing inferno the moment before his bones fell apart. Fortunately for him, he never could feel pain in his dreams. The process was horrific, but at least he never had to know the feeling of his own body decomposing or lighting up in flames. Not that he could take comfort in that fact.

 Now the fourth and final dream began… and gods he prayed it wasn’t what he thought it was.

No vile or gore plagued this dream like the ones before, but it was by far the one that haunted him the most. Discord was in combat with the outline of two alicorns that rushed at him relentlessly, each wielding a large battle axe that swung at him by the use of their magic. Discord had no control over his actions, his body moved on its own… and without any mercy. Both his foes were incredibly skilled warriors that moved at blinding speeds and that expertly struck with such force that any other creature would have been overpowered in seconds. But Discord was now in a league he never thought possible. He wielded such immense power in this nightmare that he could barely even understand it. Not a few moments into the dream, yet he already overpowered them and held them by the throat in each hand.

And he was terrified.

Discord could feel a satanic power coursing through his body. His new level of power had surpassed the level of a god and he was using it at its full force, no, it was using him at his full force. The darkness that rushed through his veins was that of an unspeakable evil that warped his mind. He had no control of his body or even his thoughts. All he could think about was to destroy and kill; starting with the two creatures squirming in his clutches.

“NO!” he screamed in his own mind.

They were innocent, whoever the two that were facing him he could sense they were pure. He knew that whatever he had done in this vision was horrific and was deserving of this assault. The darkness and insanity that moved him like a puppet was hellish and darker than anything he ever faced in the real world. It was the epitome of evil.

The two creatures kicked and thrashed helplessly in his grasp, knowing their impending doom. With a strong squeeze and a frantic scream of horror from Discord, he disintegrated the two of his victims.

Those were the four dreams that tormented him. All of them involved death, destruction, and him not being able to control his actions. In the real world, the fabric of space was his play thing. But every night in his dreams? He was a helpless mannequin puppeteered by his horrific visions; unable to stop himself from hurting others or defending himself from his fears. What were the two beings he killed in his last dream? He knew they were alicorns but he never could make out just who they were.

For most of his life he never thought much of the fourth dream, it wasn’t until he met Celestia and Luna that he truly began to fear it. But last night? It began to haunt him like a demon. He had to accept the simple fact, the dream was probably prophesizing him killing the sisters.

Discord’s train of thought was broken by an earsplitting rumble.

A loud roar echoed across the mountain tops, sending the Discord and the Alicorns bolting onto one of the peaks for cover. Discord, not paying attention, landed wrong and pierced his lion paw on a sharp rock, causing him to curse loudly in pain. A jolt of energy shot down his entire arm.

              His blood ran cold “Damn it all.” He thought to himself

              Discord felt a spark of magic shoot across the back of his hand, a power not unlike the evil energy he felt the night before. It was just as he feared, the scroll had left its trace on him. He wasn’t sure if damaging the skin simply let a small amount of remaining magic release or if the scroll had bonded a certain spell to him. Whichever it was didn’t matter, there was a foreign energy inside himself and he didn’t pick up on it. That was NEVER a good sign.

Celestia looked at him concerned “Are you alright?”

The Draconequus yanked the shard of rock out of his hand and flexed his palm to regain movement “Yeah, I’m fine.” He lied.

Another roar shook the entire the mountain range.

              The sisters and Discord clung even closer to the cliffside they hid on, hair standing on end in both shock and anticipation; dragons. In all their journeys, only a single creature could make a sound so earsplitting, and by the sounds of it, this one was close.

              Discord shook away his dark thoughts and turned his gaze to the Alicorns with a crazy grin “Turns out your map wasn’t a bust, Luna.”

              Luna tightened the strap securing her pack. “Was there ever any doubt?”

              Celestia looked ahead cautiously “That one sounded close. If it’s roaring, that must mean there’s more nearby. We need to stay low to the ground…” She looked at Discord “And not draw any attention to ourselves.”

              Discord pressed his fingers against his chest in fake offense “Tia, I’m the most subliminal being in the world.”

The three of them slipped off their perch and glided ahead.

---

The ponies and Spike watched the trio fly silently across the mountain range.

“Okay, I’m not even following any of this. what the heck just happened to Discord’s hand?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“He almost triggered the scroll.” Answered Luna.

“I’d ask what that means, but I’m guessing you’re just going to tell us anyways.” Said the pegasus.

Celestia grimaced “When the scroll impaled Discord’s hand, it actually implanted thousands of releasing spells inside of him. By putting him through physical pain and actually opening up his body, it was able to infect him with a barrage of curses that were set to activate at a moment’s notice.”

“Activate how?” questioned Twilight, not taking her eyes off the images playing before her.

Luna stepped in “Dark magic can be activated without a pony’s consent if they undergo intense physical or emotional stress. Discord was meant to activate the curses of the scroll of his own free will but instead he resisted them. When Discord pierced his hand on the rock just then WHERE the scroll also stabbed him, it was almost enough to trigger the spells.”

“That’s another thing.” Added Spike “You keep saying it implanted him with spells and curses. Did that scroll give him dark power or something?”

Luna shook her head “Just the opposite, it gave him the lack of power.”

“Alright, now I’m completely lost. It gave him the power to have the lack of power?” Responded Pinkie Pie.

Celestia rubbed her temple after realizing she and her sister weren’t pacing this right. “Here, let me rephrase that. As you know, Discord never stays at his full strength. In fact, throughout most his life, he’s never gone beyond ten percent his maximum power.”

“In fact, when he was ruling Equestria, he didn’t even break thirty percent.” Added Luna

“But why?” asked Twilight “Did he simply not need it?”

 Luna shook her head “No, it was for his own sanity. Almost all of Discord’s power is sealed away inside of him because he simply can’t control such an enormous pool of dark magic. All forms of magic affect the user in some shape or form, but dark magic can do serious damage if used too much. However, the darker the magic is, the more effect it has on the mental state of the user” She grimaced “I sadly learned that first hand.”

Twilight started to put the pieces together “So since Discord possesses a storage of magic larger than all Alicorns and unicorns combined… and that almost ALL of it is dark magic…”

“Using even half of it would corrupt his mind beyond repair.” Finished Celestia “Hence why seals were placed upon him to lock it away inside of him.”

“And those scrolls were…” continued Spike.

“the keys to unlocking those restraints. Driving Discord to insanity and unleashing havoc upon the world.” Said Luna

Fluttershy flinched at hearing that.

“So wait, those scrolls had no magic in them at all? They just worked as a way to keep Discord from restraining himself?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Celestia nodded “Exactly, each one would release a portion of Discord’s power, hence why this day was so important.”

 “Why, what happens?” asked Fluttershy.

“This is the day Discord first lost control.” Said Luna.

---

These weren’t dragons. These were titans.

The map telling of the dragon’s breeding grounds was, in a way, true. Yes, it had brought them to a breeding ground of dragons, but it didn’t say anything about them being this massive! In all their adventures and rare encounters with dragons, Discord and the sisters had never seen these beasts grow to be above a hundred feet. But these guys? Ha! Forget it, these desired breeders were easily above two hundred, if not three.

As it turned out, there was a field of flat land deep within the mountain range large enough to fit an entire city. The entire plain was safely encompassed by the large mountains reaching to the clouds not leaving a single spot to enter by foot, the only way to this secret ground was by flight.

This was the breeding grounds of the dragons and once a century, hundreds of them from across the world migrated to this one spot to battle for a mate.

And what a battle it was.

Male dragons were paired off in a violent brawls, fighting with borderline intent to kill. If two separate scuffles came to close to each other, the duelists would target the new sentients and drag them into their fray. Anytime this happened, some of the more docile dragons would see the fight and join into the twisted frenzy. I short, they were all completely bloodthirsty.

The females had an easier role. Anytime a male dragon dominated enough opponents or emerged victorious from one of the mosh pits, he’d saunter proudly over to which ever female he had his eyes on who always seemed quite eager to ‘accept’ him.

 Discord and the girls looked on the entire scene is disbelief. The three had touched down on one of the mountains rimming the valley, hugging the flat surface on the top of the spire. They had taken extra care to not be heard and more importantly, not be seen.

“So yeah, um…” Started Luna.

“They’re a lot bigger than we expected, right?” asked a nervous Celestia.

“And I don’t mean to judge” Discord jabbed his thumb to a motionless, defeated dragon “but these guys are insane.”

Most dragons were smart enough to accept their defeat and brooded away from their opponent, but a few proud ones were too stupid to submit and got themselves killed. Hence the reason there were a few dozen corpses strewn across the entire plain.

Celestia looked at her companions “Okay, I think we speak for all of us on this. We usually like to play with the sharks and dance with the fire… but considering the fact that there’s at least a thousand murderous dragons down there...”

“Way ahead of you.” Said Luna, “We’re staying with our flanks firmly placed on this ledge.”

Discord, the cocky sorcerer he was, would commonly interject to such a statement, assuring the sisters that no dragon could never even pose an inconvenience to him. This was different though, there was an entire army of them out there and each one of the deranged reptiles clearly wasted no time going in for a kill. More importantly though…

His magic was beginning to act up. Discord rubbed his neck in pain as he felt another jolt of the dark magic shoot through his body.

Discord never had any trouble controlling his magic. Every time he called upon it, it faithfully obeyed his every will, but now? What was it even doing? The better question; what was it even doing to him? Discord could feel the back of his neck throbbing and his muscles contorting, his energy sparking and ricocheting inside his body. Discord knew for sure something welling up inside him. He looked at the two sisters and debated on telling them, with the horde of dragons beneath him and now his magic becoming more and more unpredictable, it seemed like a good time to call this whole trip off.

“SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

The trio jumped out of their skins as a massive screech erupted from right behind them. The three spun around to see-

“Dammit…”

They’d been found. A dragon flapped above them, roaring furiously and alerting nearby dragons. Out of a reflex developed over decades of abuse, Discord reacted the fastest.

“Shut up!” He yelled, blasting it in the head with a spell strong enough to disintegrate a normal pony, but only temporarily blinding the beast. He cursed in agony, another jolt of dark magic shot through his body causing all his muscles to freeze up.

“Guys!” stammered Luna. The dragons who had heard the screech were completely locked in on the intruding trio and began to flare their wings. Discord quickly made a headcount, thirteen in total were facing them. The other few thousand of the dragons in the valley were too busy brawling for mates to notice or care. A group of thirteen dragons were manageable for him, but with his magic resisting him and the entire dragon species beneath him, he couldn’t risk a fight, he was teleporting them out. He snapped his fingers.

Nothing.

 “Oh No…”

He snapped again. No response.

“Do NOT do this right now.”

He snapped feverishly, but his magic refused to answer him.

“Guys!” repeated Luna frantically as she illuminated her horn. All thirteen dragons shot into the air.

Celestia took charge “Go for the wings! Keep them grounded”

Forget that, Discord was immensely strong physically, but his fighting style worked entirely off of his magic, and in his current condition, he was useless. Forget fighting, they were running.

“Don’t risk it!” he commanded “Fall back!”

He turned around only to get a blast of fire in the face.

“Shit!” He swore for the first time in years.

His reflexes failed him, but his magic was able to pick up the slack. A yellow barrier of light blasted into existence to protect the three of them, redirecting the flames back at the unseen assailants. Discord counted himself lucky that, even though his magic refused to answer him, it at least continued to protect him of its own accord.

“What was that?!” yelled Luna.

“Late arrivals…” grumbled Celestia.

A group of twenty dragons had flown up behind them, late arrivals. Discord swallowed hard. The three of them were surrounded.

“Take them down!” shouted Celestia. The sisters took to the air.

Discord tried to move but his entire body refused to obey him.

*Come on* he screamed in his mind *MOVE!”

His senses muddled, his eye sight completely fogged, the last audible thing he could make out was Celestia calling to him. An unnatural fear overtook him, for the first time in nearly a decade, he cowered. He covered his head, his hands grabbed a fist a fur on the back of his head as his senses continued to deplete. He fell to his knees; every ounce of his energy was sucked out of him. Why? Why was this happening? Why was he shutting down?

A pair of dragons rocketed down to him, but he was too far gone to realize it.

“Get away from me…” he stammered. Tears welled in his eyes.

The moment the last of his magic drained, the dark magic in the scroll sparked to life.

“Please…” he sobbed.

It was too late, the too dragons released an inferno of flames that blasted Discord clean off the mountain side.

Celestia did a double take.

Discord limp body was sent careening into the valley; his entire body engulfed in fire.

She screeched in horror “Discord!”

She screamed in agony as she felt the tail of a dragon slam into her, snapping a rib and sending her hurtling after Discord. The split second she took to see Discord was the only window the dragons needed to overwhelm her. With Celestia out of the picture, Luna was overpowered the exact same second, a powerful slash from a dragon’s claw pierced her underbelly and spewed blood across her attacker. The two sisters plunged into the valley.

Celestia, dazed as she was, managed to muster a tiny amount of magic to break her and her sisters fall. They survived, but the force of impact was more than enough to knock them unconscious.

Discord laid broken in the field, the skirmish was more than enough to alert the entire mating grounds and every dragon now looked at his singed body ready to kill. His senses were too lost for him to notice though… where was he?

His vision began to file, he was going to pass out. It didn’t matter, he couldn’t die… he was never given that sweet release… this is exactly what tortured him his whole life. No matter how awful this world was, no matter who tried to kill him, no matter what hatred was exacted upon him… he could never escape this hell.

Why? Why was he cursed? What could he do to finally die? He would give anything to mortal… He wanted to be able to die…

He saw something slam into the ground right next to him. Probably a dragon who would no doubt try to kill him, whatever, what it was didn’t matter to him… nothing mattered to him. It could on-

Wait. No, he turned his head. It wasn’t a dragon. It was… was that a horse? Wait. He slowly came to his senses. He knew who this was, he’d seen her somewhere before. His mind snapped back to his control.

“CELESTIA!?”

His vision came back to focus, she and Luna were splayed before him broken and bloodied. The dragons who first assaulted them landed a hundred feet away.

“Celestia!” he yelled again. He dragged himself over to her. He cried her name again, no response.

“Luna!” he screamed.

He cradled the white Alicorn’s head in his arms. Her bruised and broken body laid limp in his lap. His fur had been completely burned off, and his magic couldn’t be used to heal her. He mustered what little energy he could to shake her. Tears began to run down his face.

“Celestia…” he sobbed.

A trickle of blood began to stream out of her nose. She, she couldn’t... He looked over at Luna, her innocent body was even more defiled. Three massive gashes had blood streaming out of her. They... They couldn’t be…

The dragons seemed to relish in his agony, slowly advancing to drink in every moment of the kill.

Discord pressed his forehead against Celestia’s. Why? His despair enveloped him. Why was this world so cruel? He lived a life of constant agony and torture; and the only thing that pulled him out of the flames of hell... now laid dead in his arms. He couldn’t end his own life to join them and, in his infinite power, couldn’t cast a single spell to bring either of them back. All he could ever do was destroy… never heal... never save. The only two things he ever loved now laid dead before him.

---

Excitium’s hair stood on end.

He grinned “Give in…”

---

The dragons now loomed over Discord, Luna, and the hero he loved.

“I failed you…” whispered Discord. He had all the power in the world but failed to protect the only thing that mattered to him, and when they needed him most, he choked. No… No, he didn’t choke... No, this wasn’t his fault!

He gritted his teeth as his despair began to turn into fury. This wasn’t his fault, it was the damn magic that festered within him! It always tortured him! His power is what drew ponies to attack him his whole life. His magic is what always healed him when he was at death’s door and just wanted the void to take him. His magic is what tormented his mind every night; fueling and detailing his nightmares. His magic was why he could never live a life of peace, why he was always running, why he lived in constant fear, why he could never be with Celestia…

He clenched his fist so tightly his claws drew blood from his palms.

And now… the only time in his entire tormented life that he needed it, it failed him. Why? Why was this his life? What cursed him? Why was this existence? Was the reason he couldn’t die simply because he was already in Hell?

A dragon opened its maw, the stench of the rotting remains of its past victim pouring past its teeth.

The dark magic that lived within him sparked to life.

              Tears of agony welled in his eyes. In all his pain, he still lived a life of restraint, never killing a single person by choice and showing mercy to all who asked for it. Not anymore.

              He snapped his head up with fire burning in his eyes. Not anymore. Forget mercy, forget compassion, and above all else; forget forgiveness. Forget all of it.

The dark magic within Discord roared into a blistering inferno, his despair shattered into an unyielding rage, a horrific power raced through his body. He slammed a fist to the ground.

“You took the only thing that ever mattered to me… I have no reason to spare you” he hissed

The magic within the scroll continued to overtake him, his rage turned into hatred, bloodlust stemmed from his pain and turned into a destructive lust for destruction. His life no longer had any meaning, there was no need to preserve this world… The last of his sanity was consumed by the scroll. There was nothing left in this world for him.

He snapped.

“I’ll slaughter you all!!” He roared

**PN**

Black energy exploded from his body, disintegrating the twelve dragons that surrounded him and the sisters. Every dragon in the valley roared in fury and flapped into the air. Discord lost all sentience as the dark magic that laid dormant for over a decade consumed his mind.

Discord levitated into the air with both his arms outstretched. The skies darkened to a pitch black as a red aura completely enveloped the maddened Draconequus. His wounds sealed shut while an unfathomable power gushed through him for the first time in eleven years. He clenched his fists and snapped his head down as his entire body distorted into a monster’s. Discord’s fur and scales saturated into a jet black, His eyes flashed red, his wings illuminated and grew to twice the size of his entire body, the ridges on his tail sharpened into blades. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as his gums tore and his teeth sharpened into fangs. Discord shot back to his full height sending a blast of black magic in every direction, his wings flared revealing their full size, blood dripped out his mouth as a sadistic grin rippled past his lips. All sense of reason and mortality left him, the darkness of the magic had full control over him.

Discord cackled as his voice converted into a horrific rumble “You shall share in my pain.”

A dragon made the mistake of spending its last moments charging him. Discord stretched an open palm at his attacker. The dragon froze in place as it screeched in agony. Grinning with malice, Discord slowly closed his palm, delighting in the suffering of his victim. The dragon slowly collapsed in on itself, the sounds of its bones shattering and its ribs piercing its own organs echoed across the walls of the valley. Discord flicked his wrist and the dragon’s mouth ripped in two, the jaw bone hung slack and the skull ripped backwards, the dragon’s suffering ended as the sound of blood gurgling in its throat halted. Discord opened his hand again and the mound of twisted flesh and scourge splattered on the ground.

Most of the dragons screeched in horror and took to the air to escape such a horrible fate, others were frozen in place by fear, a select few rushed to try and kill him. Discord laughed at both his handiwork in murder and at the thought of dragons running in fear.

Discord pressed his fingers together to snap, Excitium’s voice echoed through his “There is no escape.”

Discord snapped and a massive barrier appeared that surrounded the valley. Thousands of dragons slammed into it and clawed at it desperately to break through. Discord turned his attention to a dragon that was almost on top of him. Discord swiped his arm vertically and the dragon’s eyes rolled into the back of its head. It split perfectly in two as it’s organs spilled to the ground, blood spewed out of its body as it rocketed past Discord; coating him in thick, red gore.

The dragons frantically trying to escape screamed in terror and tore at the barrier even faster, but in vain. A few dragons that attempted to attack him immediately lost all their courage and turned tail to run for their lives.

Discord slammed his goat hoof into the ground, the whole surface shook and pillars of rock erupted from underneath the earth. The spikes impaled the dozens of dragons charging Discord with expert precision, none of them died on impact, they were spared death just long enough to suffer for Discord’s amusement.

He chased those who ran: tearing them apart with his bare hands, exploding them with spells, corrupting their minds to eat each other alive, burning them to death with white flames, turning them inside out, even making a select few vomit out their entire bodies.

Discord whirled around the valley, killing a few hundred every ten seconds. The moment he saw living soul, it stopped existing. The magic puppeteered Discord’s body as he remained unconscious in his state of limbo. His powers were being used as they were designed by Excitium nearly half a century ago; to be used for the extinction of life. The poor Draconequus’s body moved of its own accord, he himself was unconscious, yet he was still tormented by the loss of the ones he loved.

Who just regained consciousness.

Celestia’s head was on fire, her ears were ringing, and had to blink at lightspeed to regain her vision. Where was she? There was supposed to b- Luna! Discord! Where were they?! She remembered seeing Discord hurtling into the valley and everything went black. She tried to struggle to her feet but cried out in pain, she had a broken leg… at the very least. But where were the others? Celestia rolled over despite the pain. Luna was splayed out before her, she had been slashed, but not fatally. But where was- What in Tartarus?!

The carcasses, if you could call them that, of dragons littered the landscape. Masses of flesh and vile laid in slops that turned the rocks and grass red. The stench of death and macabre assaulted her senses causing her to gag. Her heart raced, where was Discord? She frantically cried his name but she could barely hear anything other than the ringing in her ears.

She looked up and her fear turned into horror. Dragons were being cut down by the hundreds by a black creature flying across the valley. It danced in a terrifying display, dodging every attack that was thrown at it and counterattacking with enough force to decapitate its victim with a single swipe. As much as it disgusted her… she knew its name.

“Discord!”

The draconequus froze for a spilt second, that voice. His blistering fury released its control on him and his bloodlust was quenched entirely. His shoulders relaxed.

“Discord!” The voice called a second time

“Ce…les…t…ia” His voice was mixed with the voices of a hundred souls, but his gentle tone echoed past all of them. He looked down to the floor of the valley, his vision was distorted and blurred from the dark magic that possessed him but he could make out a white figure. There was no way… she could-

A sharp pain in his neck shot through his body, the magic was losing its control over his mind, but it wouldn’t let him slip through its fingers without a fight.

*They slaughtered the only thing you loved* It whispered into his ear *Every living creature has tortured you for no reason, you have been kind and you’ve shown mercy, what has it gotten you? Agony and only agony. *

“Discord please!” the voice echoed again in the distance.

He held his head in pain, it felt as if his skull was splitting in two “No…” He looked at the white blur on the ground hundreds of feet below him, what was that? He had no idea where he had seen it before, but something about it completely dissolved all his anguish and malice.  “No…”  His black fur began to return to its mahogany hue “Get out of me!”

*Discord please, let me protect you, if you let these creatures escape into the world, they’ll regroup and kill you! Let me help. * The magic cooed.

“No!” he thrashed in the air wildly as two forces of immense magic battled in his body “I won’t…” His teeth started to flatten back to their normal state “You are under my control! I command you!” He roared.

The magic snapped back *I AM you! And you have always belonged to me! *

His regression to his true self halted. His stomach contorted painfully as the darkness began to overpower the light.

“Stop!” His commands turned to pleas. He had to find out who the white creature was.

“Discord!” The distant voice screamed again.

*You WILL obey me! *

“Stop! Please!”

*You are MINE! * 

 Discord stopped clawing at his head. His fur turned back into black, his teeth filed into points, and his maniacal laughter returned.

“You’re right…” Discord thought “I can’t believe I doubted you.” He turned his attention to the remaining dragons, a few hundred was all that was left. His bloodlust and insanity came back full force “I will exterminate this whole world…” He grinned widely and lifted his blood-soaked hands “I am free.”

**PN**

Discord pulled his arms in close as a dark energy manifested around him, the whole mountain range shook violently, the sounds of Discord’s cackle filled the valley. Many dragons gave into despair at the realization of their fate, a few desperately tried to punch through the barrier, some even tried to form words to beg for a quick death.

Discord roared as the magic around him exploded into a blast of black energy rocketed in every direction erasing everything in its path. The landscape burned away into a perfect sphere, the rocks evaporated, and the dragons disintegrated on impact as their wails and screams echoed across the valley and turned into silence. The decapitated remains of his victims were wiped clean from existence.

They were gone.

All except Celestia and Luna. In a last desperate move Celestia cast a protection spell taught to her by Discord. It mirrored his magic so his destructive energy must have mistaken her magic as its own and spared it. She couldn’t even fathom this, any of this! What was Discord!? How did he have this kind of power and how could he be so deranged to kill so many creatures!? She knew calling his name could end in her death… but if she could pull him out of this darkness…

She put what little energy she had into one shout “Discord!”

The Draconequus snapped his attention to the sound. Someone had survived? Impossible! He gritted his teeth in fury and spread his wings to assault his new target. But instead he fell to the ground, exhausted. This was the first time in over a decade the dark magic had completely possessed him so their link was far from perfect, and by doing a dry run with this much energy, it had burned right through him. Discord slammed into the surface, he had an immense pool of energy left over, well over enough to wipe out everything within the horizon, but he had pushed to much; he was spent.

“That’s it.” He thought to himself “That’s all I have.”

*No!* The voice within in him screamed *Kill that final creature!*

              Celestia staggered, or more accurately, crawled towards Discord. He struggled to his feet and looked right through her, he didn’t even move, he just stared at her with his blood-red eyes. Despite his terrifying appearance and the horrific act he just committed, she didn’t falter.

              *Kill her! Kill her now! * The magic screeched.

              Discord refused to give *No… who is… Is that…? *

              Celestia froze when a single word escaped his lips “Celestia?” He whispered in a voice much darker than his own.

              She stumbled towards him more quickly now “Yes… Discord, yes! I’m here, you’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

              In a desperate final move to gain control over the poor soul again, the magic assaulted his mind again. Discord writhed in pain as he felt the darkness rush through him again, it put every bit of power it had left into this final push.

              *Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!* it screamed frantically.

              Celestia was now less than three feet away from him. There was no doubt about it, Discord was twice his regular size, his fur was blacker than night, and his maw hanged open as blood and thick saliva dripped out of it.  He looked down at her without any sign of sentience accept the pulsating red eyes that bore through her.

              “Discord, I don’t know what’s inside you…” she cautiously took a step forward “But I know it’s not you...”

              Discord buried a foot in the ground and lunged towards her, both sets of claws shot forward to decapitate her. She inhaled and closed her eyes, bracing for excruciating pain, but it never came. She opened her eyes to see him looming over her with his claws shaking just inches away from her. She looked behind her to see if Luna had stunned him but she was still unconscious, Discord had stopped himself.

              *How dare you defy me!?* His head pounded *Slaughter her!*

              Discord’s entire body shook over her, he seemed to lean towards her with intent to kill but something held him back with the tension of a thread. She couldn’t lose him. She could lose everything… Her father, her kingdom, even her own life… but not him… Not Discord. She slowly raised a hoof to him “Discord…” she pleaded “I know you’re in there, and I know that someone as kind-hearted as you can’t do this of their own will.” She placed a hoof on his cheek and his contorted face relaxed immediately. “Whatever is inside of you, let it go… you don’t have to live is this much pain.” Her voice cracked “You have us, and as long we’re here, no one will ever hurt you.”

              The voice in Discord’s head was immediately silenced.

              “And as long as I have you, I know no one will ever hurt me.”

              Celestia wrapped both her forelegs around his massive shoulders as tears streamed down her face. “Discord… please… I can’t imagine my life without you.”

              Discord’s arms slowly closed around her, not to crush her… but to hold her. She exhaled as she felt his massive body surround her, his powerful arms cradling her and his gigantic wings enveloping the two of them. She rested her head against his chest and relaxed upon the familiar fluff that covered him. This moment is one she could spend all of eternity in, just the two of them embracing each other, nothing else in the world. She rested herself against him as the Draconequus began to shrink back to his normal size. His wings reverted from the grotesque size to the agile pair he always sported, his fur regained its natural color, his teeth blunted down to their normal shape, and his blood-red eyes returned to their brilliant purple. Celestia never let go of him, even as he transformed, she never broke their embrace.

              Discord returned to his usual his size, his head reaching just above Celestia’s while she stood on her hind legs. She had to fight the urge to nuzzle his neck slightly when she felt his goatee brush against her head.

              “Discord… Discord?” She felt his legs give way and saw his eyes roll into the back of his head. “Discord!” She jumped to catch the Draconequus who had forced too many spells. Discord fell to his knees and latched onto Celestia for support, he had nothing left.

              He slowly raised his head with his eyes glazed over “Why… why won’t you let me die …” he said, thinking the magic still possessed him “Why won’t-“

              He cut himself short when he saw Celestia looking down at him concerned. “Celestia?”

              “Yes,” she said “I’m here Discord. I’m her-“

              Her sentence was cut short by Discord grabbing onto her and sobbing hysterically. “No, you were dead! I saw you, you were dead!” He repeated that sentence repeatedly as Celestia only pulled him tighter. He looked up shakily as he looked over the scorched remains of the valley “Celestia… what have I done?” he cried.

              Celestia’s entire body froze as that question, she thought Discord was being controlled when he went on that rampage… had he really been in control the entire time? “D-discord” there was a long pause “What do you remember?”

              “Nothing! The last thing I saw was you dead right in front of me. I didn’t do any of this but it reeks of my magic!” he heaved.

              Celestia thought of the horrific massacre he did only a few minutes earlier, how and why would he do something like this? It was unlike anything she had ever seen. One of the dragons alone was twice the size of anyone she had ever seen before and she hadn’t been able to take out a single one of them, but here Discord slaughtered the thousands of titans in only a few short minutes? There was no way it was him though, not because of the magic, but because of his actions. Discord never fatally injured ANY creature in their countless perils, but here he killed in the most deranged way she could ever fathom.

              “What am I Celestia?” he wept “Just what am I? I can only destroy and kill. All the power in the world and I used it for this, I couldn’t protect you or Luna and I couldn’t protect those dragons from myself.” He brought his head up to look at the wasteland he had created “Why do I exist?”

              “Discord…” she began, but she had nothing to comfort him with, she was too shocked to say anything.

              He gathered up what little strength he could “If I can’t use my powers to defend you, I can at least give you what I have left.” He whispered. He sat up and weakly placed his lion paw against the back of her head. “Celestia…”

The sudden tender contact, though not at all unwanted, startled the Alicorn. Her words failed her as he… “Discord?”

He gently pulled her head towards him and pressed her forehead against his, slightly tilting her to avoid being stabbed by her horn. Their gazes never met, Celestia looked at him in shock and slight anticipation while he stared hollowly at the ground.

Without looking up her to her he spoke “My life is worth nothing to me, yours are worth everything.” He gently pressed his lion paw against her and pointed the open palm of his talon towards Luna. With gritted teeth, he made both illuminate dimly.

              Before Celestia could even ask what he was doing, she suddenly felt a rush of energy flood from Discord’s hand into her body. Magic began to heal her battered flesh and repair her shattered bones. No! he was transferring what little energy he had left to the two of them to heal their injuries.

              No! He had nothing left! By consuming his own magic and energy he was able to heal her and her sister, but what would happen to him!? She struggled to pull away but the Draconequus refused to let her go.

              The magic quickly faded into a trickle and eventually stopped altogether. His powerful legs, sapped of all their strength, gave way. She, invigorated with the power he gave her, dashed just in time to catch her poor friend. He laid limp in her arms, his eyes closed, his arms dangling, his head laid back, jaws gaping, as still as… she pressed her ear to his breast to hear his still beating heart, slow and steady.

              “Why?” she asked his unconscious body “Why? You stupid, idiotic, destructive… brave… selfless... magnificent fool.”

              She heard Luna rustle slightly behind her. Not letting go of Discord’s crumpled body, whose head laid in her lap, she turned to her head to see he sister completely healed and fast asleep. Seeing her sister restored warmed her deeply, the two most important things in her world we safe.

              She turned her attention back to the out-cold sorcerer breathing quietly in her lap. The creature that looked so innocent as he slumbered, had just massacred this entire valley… but she knew that wasn’t him. She had at least some ability to sense magic, and when his black form hung over her she felt two very separate presences of magic; one his and one unspeakably evil. They were connected… but not the same.

              She hesitated slightly before her next action… she slowly began to trace her hoof against his mane, gently brushing it. That creature wasn’t Discord… the Draconequus who just sacrificed every ounce of energy he had for her and Luna’s safety; that was Discord. That was the hero that she adored with all her heart. He was the friend she held closer than anyone, he was her protector, he was the only man she truly loved.

              Her heart stopped.

              She loved him.

              She looked at the handsome face the rested in her lap. He was the most confident, yet damaged being she had ever met in her life. He was the strongest and the most vulnerable. He was the hero and the helpless. She knew he would always come to save her, but always relied on her to save him.

              He was perfect… because he was so imperfect.

              She surveyed the damage he created one last time, this expedition was done. She could barely even sense Discord’s magic it was so faint; he was going to be out cold for a few days, at the very least.  Forget the scrolls and maps, forget exploring, forget adventure, she cared about keeping him and Luna safe; nothing else. She was taking him home.

              Home. That word sent a jolt of pain through her. All her time with Discord was forced to be secret, every conversation she held with him had to be in a cave or some frontier over the horizon. She was never able to walk through the halls of the palace with him strutting beside her, she could never knock on his door to curl up to him when she was frightened in the night, she could never just sit with him relaxing in the throne room as the setting sun shone through the windows.

              No, she refused to live this life. Enough of this hiding, enough of this concealing. She needed him beside her and her sister without the fear of never seeing him again. She didn’t know what would be harder, convincing him or her father to let him live in the kingdom, but she had to. She had to protect him.

              She had two new goals in life; protect Discord from whatever magic was within him and live a normal life with him. That was all she wanted.

              She slowly brought her lips to his forehead and gently kissed him. She had no idea how or when she would able to bring Discord into the kingdom… but she would do everything in her power to make it happen. What could she do? The Grand Galloping Gala was only a few weeks away… if she went another Gala without showing any signs of affection for a noble… her father might start thinking of an arranged marriage. Then all chances of Discord and her were doomed. No, she would make it work.

              She had to make it work. She had to find out what was the source of Discord’s torment, she had to find out where he came from, she had to know where that horrific power came from, she had to protect him, she had to.

              She had to.