The Tyrant That Was A Hero! Twilight Sparkle Sees The Truth!
Discord wondered if it was always leading up to this moment. All those eons of mayhem and chaos, turning all manners of creatures on each other, causing and watching the fall of nations, of seeing so many species rise to prominence and then become extinct.
All that time of never knowing or even caring where he had come from, who he was or how he came to be, had it all been leading to this moment?
It had all been so simple; He had been reveling in his victory, over the end of Harmony and turning all of the bearers of the Elements on each other, when he decided to 'checkup' on Twilight Sparkle. Maybe give her a "lift" out of town? Maybe with Pinkie Pie's party cannon? It had been a thought, right up there with getting an Ursa Major to ride a giant unicycle upside down while juggling a few Ursa Minors with its hind legs…or maybe Hydras? Maybe both, depended on how many cubs the first mother he found had.
It was on that particular note that he popped up right in front of Twilight Sparkle. Right as she was performing a memory spell on Rainbow Dash.
There was a very fleeting yet long moment where Discord decided that Twilight Sparkle was a true idiot. This particular memory spell was all kinds of dangerous for a mortal mare like herself. It had a big chance for her mind to be contaminated with some of the personality and memories of her target, and she was using this on five ponies? Then again, the Elements and them being friends probably either helped dull the effects or somehow turned it into a positive thing.
Now, unfortunately, Twilight was getting a flash show of his mind and life journey. He could literally feel her mind cracking under the sheer magnitude of his mentality and memories. Sure, it wasn't like she was seeing everything in crystal clear detail. If anything, it was in fast-forward, or fast rewind rather, but it was infinitely more than she could have ever prepared for.
Oh, and she just got by the ice age when he ran with the colossal and corporeal ancestors of the Windigos…fun times.
He might actually apologize to Celestia for this one. All jokes aside, he never had any intention of breaking Twilight Sparkle. Well, more like no intention of shattering her mind into a deranged, catatonic, or comatose mare, but his point still stands. Everypony, actually, everybody was boring when they got like that.
And now she's crying from mental overload. Swimming. Oh, and how ironic, she was getting into a lengthy aquatic phase of his life. He could still taste the salt water.
Actually, this is probably how a bookworm like Twilight wanted to go out: a mental collapse under the weight of too much knowledge being absorbed at once. Sure, it was knowledge obtained from his experiences, but she was getting to see what the world was like before modern ponykind. She got to see things she couldn't even dream of in her last conscious moments before her mind broke.
Ahh, now they're getting to the earliest days of his memories...Actually, he really hoped this spell didn't make him revert back into that form, now that he thought about it. Sure, the look on Celestia's face would be priceless as he bloated out the sun with his mass alone, but it would probably kill everyone in Ponyville and in the Everfree for that matter. Seriously, sentient life these days was far too fragile.
He chuckled in his mind as he saw Twilight fall through the maelstrom that was his life and hit the solid wall of nothingness that was his past. Maybe that would snap her out of whatever break down she was having before it was too late. Ohhh, if he played his cards right, he might end up making her into HIS protégé. While he wasn't out to steal students like that, it'd probably be for the best now if Twilight came around to his way of thinking. And he could stand to have an assistant- he would have placed more bets on Luna or Pinkie, but Celestia's 'golden mare' would do.
*Crink*
Hmm?
Discord rose a curious mental eyebrow as he look back at Twilight, seeing her lying flat and motionless against the solid black barrier to his past. He never knew what lay beyond there, but after it resisted some moderate attempts to unlock it, he never felt the urge to find out. After all, he couldn't change the past, one of the very few things outside his power and this way he could give any back-story to himself without technically lying under the Schrodinger rule: Until such time he remembers his past, any version he gives is both true and false.
Still, why wasn't she moving? Why hadn't she faded away from his mind?
Bringing his mental form to her side, he went physically and mentally wide eyed at the sight. Twilight's horn had pierced the wall, leaving white cracks around it. Her eyes were wide with a distant and glazed over look to them, but no longer were they overwhelmed by the raw information she had tried to process. Instinctively curious by his very nature, Discord gently grasped onto Twilight and pulled her back. Her horn slid out with ease, making several glass-like shards of the white-edged black material to break off and float weightlessly with the still paralyzed Twilight, who was half way curved in on herself.
All this time and it only took the mental projection of a unicorn horn to pierce this? Well, a unicorn that was the Element of Magic and personally trained by Celestia since she was a foal and...Discord suddenly realized, of course Twilight Bucking Sparkle would be the one to do it. It couldn't have been more fitting even if she had been an Alicorn.
Discord studied the hole for a moment, contemplating his next action. Then he shrugged with a grin as he plucked out his left eye with his eagle talons, "Well, time to sneak a peek at my past!" He decided as he stuck his arm through the hole, "Hmm, a sewer? How boring," He drawled with a bored frown as he moved his blinking eye around to take in the dreary and damp mindscape, "Really, I could take a hellscape, but a sewer? No wonder I blocked off this place- should have put a stinky note in case I forgot why it was here. Still, is this some kind of cosmic joke that my material is shit?" He asked with a scowl before smiling widely, "Actually, I like that: it means the universe is sharing its sense of humor with me," He joked with a chuckle, "Still, Celestia Junior must have sensed something in here to keep her from breaking do-"
"Lo-...No...-obe."
"Nar-...so hap-...-sed...-ch"
"Ga-...took...-ough."
"Bos-!...-ack!"
"Trou-...-some."
"Won-...-av-...-kage."
"Nana-...-sama...-derful...you."
"...What in Tartarus?" He said with a scowl as he heard numerous voices echoing through the unexplored area of his mind…many...happy voices, at that. They were almost...familiar. But there wasn't anyone in his memories who would speak to him like that. As if he were a...friend, "Me, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, have friends? Pfft, yeah right. As if that would ever happen," He scuffed under his breath, almost looking offended by the concept as he pulled his arm back and plopped his eye back in, glaring at the hole, "And even I did, it wasn't me. It wasn't Discord. It was...whoever I took over for..." He grumbled with his arms crossed.
He suddenly shook his head, looking annoyed with himself, "Oh, get a grip Discord, old boy. So you found buried memories to go through. Save it for another time. Counting Spark-Siri here, go of roku elements had been restored, dattebayo! You...need..." His voice came to a crawl, his eyes wide, "Nani...what did I just say?" He asked himself, his tail twitching nervously as he wiped his lion paw over his face, "I...I think I need a drink," He muttered as he puffed himself a glass of chocolate milk.
Or, he thought he did. The instant it touched his lips, he realized something was wrong. The glass was much too large and rounded and its content was hot with a meaty flavoring. He blinked as he looked at it and saw it, "...Ramen?" He asked in surprised, "You know...I don't remember the last time I had this stuff. Or when I ever tried it to begin with," he mused to himself, pausing before looking back at the hole.
Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see a blue eye peeking through the hole and staring back at him.
Actually, strike that, it wasn't looking at him. It was looking at the whirlpool of memories howling past him. Discord smirked at that, glancing over his shoulder at that, "Yeah, you missed a lot, Jiji-me," Discord joked, scowling as his words registered again, "Darn, my tongue is treacherous today. Have to get that fixed later," He mused, cocking an eyebrow as he heard a small chuckle from the entity, "Oh, so I did always have a sense a humor. Good to know," Discord commented with a chuckle of his own, "Still, as interesting as this is, you'll have to sumimasen, I have to make sure this little mare doesn't try to put me...well, us, back in ishi," he said with a wave before turning to Twilight, no longer caring about his changing tongue, "Now, let's have a look at just how much of your chisel is left," He mused with a dark smirk as he placed a talon on her head...and blinked as he saw it.
A bipedal race of mystic apes blessed with wisdom and ignorance, peace and war, in equal measures. He saw the giant beasts they formed alliances with, the sentient creatures of pure magic they tried to weaponize, the way they could wield the elements and enhance their bodies. He saw everything.
But why this? Why did his memories focus on this little village with faces carved into the mountain behind it? Why this old man with a white and red hat, or the other old one with horns? Why this cyclops with a hidden face, or the dead eyed red head? Why that scowling duck-haired male with the pink haired female and the dark haired ape-filly? Why this pale eyed woman? Why this blond man with...blue eyes...
Was that him? Was this his home? Was this his...
Why...why did...why did he...
Why did he feel so empty all of a sudden? Like he was missing something?
*CRACK!*
Discord went wide eyed again as the entire black barrier behind him gained a spider web of white cracks, the shards filling the void between the barrier and his memories. And all the while, that blue eye watched him.
Actually...it wasn't looking at him anymore.
He turned around, slowly...and was immediately head-butted by Twilight Sparkle.
Meanwhile
To the outside observers, it all happened in a split second. One minute they had Rainbow Dash tied down and secured, the next Discord popped right in front of Twilight's spell, both of them staring wide eyed at each other.
Before they could react, however, a dull hum filled the air and all at once, a shockwave erupted from the point where Twilight's horn touched Discord's forehead. The wave of orange and purple energy sent them flying as it spread over the land, dispelling Discord's chaotic alterations to the land in a great gust of wind.
"What the buck just happened!?" Applejack exclaimed as she rolled over, scowling at the loss of her hat but putting that aside for now, the dust still clearing.
"Oii...what happened?" Rainbow Dash groaned as she sat up on her haunches.
"Dashie! You're not grey anymore!" Pinkie cheered as she glomped her instantly.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the pink mare before looking to Applejack, "...Were we fighting a really messed up looking dragon-horse-chimera with chaos powers, or did I just drink too much cider?" She asked slowly.
"I'm afraid it was real, Dear," Rarity assured, brushing some dirt out of her mane, "Going to take all night to clean this all out..." She muttered.
"Does anyone see Twilight? Or Discord?" Fluttershy asked in concern.
Applejack trailed closer into the dust, squinting her eyes as she tried to make out a shape. She soon came across the unconscious and serpentine form of Discord, the seemingly omnipotent being looking defenseless, "I found Bucktooth!" Applejack called, scowling down at the chimeric body, "Lousy varmint," She muttered, contemplating kicking him.
Rainbow Dash didn't bother contemplating it though, "Ha! Not so tough now, eh ya mismatched flankhole," Rainbow Dash taunted, about to give him a good whack upside the head, Fluttershy too far away still to stop her.
"Hotto..."(Leave...)
The familiar voice, in a strangely angry and wild tone, was enough to halt Rainbow's assault, making her and the others look up to see Twilight Sparkle coming out of the smoke, her head low as she glared ahead.
"Twilight! You're okay!" Pinkie Pie greeted happily, "And look, we didn't even need the elements to stop big old meany pants!" She pointed out, moving to hold up Discord's head by the horns for emphasis.
Pinkie went wide eyes when she looked back to Twilight, only to find the mare charging her, slamming into the party pony and sending her flying several feet back with a pulse of magic from her horn, "Hottoke-yo!" She bellowed, almost as great as the Royal Canterlot voice.(Leave him alone!)
"What the Tartarus, Twilight?! Why did you do that?!" Rainbow yelled as Fluttershy and Rarity ran to check on Pinkie.
The unicorn just glared at the Pegasus, standing protectively over Discord's neck, daring her to step closer, "Baka Niji," She muttered in distaste.(Idiot Rainbow)
"Baka Niji? What the buck does that mean?" Rainbow asked, glaring in confusion.
"Twilight, what in tarnation was that? Ya just attacked Pinkie!" Applejack said, Twilight turning to all but growl at her.
"I'm okay! Just a little...spinny...," Pinkie assured, her eyes spinning about before she righted herself, Fluttershy checking her for wounds.
"Damare!" Twilight yelled with a scowl, sending a pulse of magic out that ruffled Rainbow's feathers and almost blew away Applejack's hat. She seemed oddly unsatisfied with that.(Shut up!)
"...AJ, you think the big guy made Twilight a little screwy?" Rainbow whispered to the farmer.
"Best guess I got, partner," Applejack said with a shrug.
"Urusai...," The disgruntled voice of Discord said with a groan as he started to move, Twilight quickly stepping aside to let him sit up shakily.(Noisy...)
"Oh horsefeathers, he's awake!" Rainbow cursed, tensing for a fight, "Twilight, come on, we need to use the Elements!"
"Damare!" Twilight yelled again, facing Discord calmly, "Nemui?" She asked with a smirk.(Shut up! Sleepy?)
"Baka!" Discord snapped unsteadily, his tail slamming with a resound smash onto the floor. She didn't even flinch, "Anata wa nani shite kuretenno!" He yelled angrily, clutching one side of his face.(Idiot! What have you done!?)
"There's that word again," Rainbow muttered, eyeing Discord warily, "Anypony got ANY idea what they're saying?"
"Rars? That some really fancy talk by any chance?" Applejack asked hopefully.
"Unfortunately, none that I know of," Rarity admitted, watching the situation with a bit of fear for Twilight. The look in Discord's eye did not bode well for them.
Twilight chuckled a bit as she bowed her head in respect, "Hajimemeshite, Kono Yo no Kyuseishu," She greeted with a smirk on her face.(Pleasure to meet you, Savior of this World.)