There was no light, no sound, no warmth, nopony helping her. She couldn’t afford to stop. Stopping meant they won. If she didn’t find a diamond, she couldn’t exchange it for meals from the slave drivers. She had already missed yesterday’s meal. She knew she wouldn’t make it another day. The slave drivers would smile when they found her corpse. They’d burn it to make room and heat for the other slaves.
Had to keep moving.
She felt around in the dark, searching every nook and cranny for any sign of a diamond. Its texture was ever, ever so slightly different from most other minerals. Nothing crushes your soul more than finding a diamond and stepping into the light only to find out it was some other smooth gem.
Her hoof hit something… strange. She held her breath..
This wasn’t stone. And much to her relief, it wasn’t a pony..
After getting a good feel, she determined it was a baby dragon, either dead or unconscious. If it was dead she could cut it open with a sharp rock and use it’s blood. Dragon blood both sterilized wounds and burned them shut. The heat wasn’t so bad, as the caves sucked all warmth out of her body, and a coat of dragon blood would keep her warm for a while. The baby twitched against her foreleg, the dragon was still alive. Frost internally groaned, she wouldn’t kill it. Frost resorted to many things, but she had yet to be a murderer.
She searched around the dragon. She learned many die down here exerting too much effort trying to get something, and the only thing ponies and dragons alike wanted down here were diamonds. Since dragons could find gems easier, chances are it passed out trying to get ahold of one. Or, it simply ran out of energy.
She stopped upon feeling an indent in the wall, small claw marks. Frost licked her bloody lips. Her body went limp as she thought; she felt it best to use as little energy possible. She refrained from thinking as she searched, as she almost swore up and down thinking took energy, too. She didn’t voice those thoughts though, speaking spent energy, talking risked beatings.
The dragon had been trying to claw open the floor beneath them. She wasn’t a dragon; she couldn’t go through walls. The baby dragon’s claws would though. So grabbing the little thing and gripping it’s hand firm, she continued to dig through. She couldn’t push much further, she was starving and tired. Frost knew at this point she had to take a gamble in order to find a diamond soon.
She stopped every few swipes to feel for the familiar touch of a diamond. No luck. She almost exerted all the energy she had left digging. There’d be no point in giving up and looking, she wouldn’t make it back up after going deeper. She begged to nopony in particular she’d find something soon.
Feeling the cave walls once more, she stifled a gasp. Frost felt a diamond in her grasp. She caressed it in her grip to make sure it really was a diamond. Then, she continued searching the wall. It was doubtful there were any more, but she’d never forgive herself if she left one behind.
There were three total. She couldn’t believe her luck. If she hid these diamonds well, she could fake heading deep into the caves twice more, conserve energy resting, and get two more days of meals easy. No time for relaxing now though, she had to make it back alive without collapsing or being mugged.
Frost strained her ears as she heard something whisper nearby. She tried to calm down and listen when next to her, a strangled sob barely broke through the sound of her own heart beat. She slowly lowered her head close to it’s own and listened carefully. Frost heard slow, ragged breathing.
Frost sighed, it still lived, it might even be conscious. It possibly woke by its claws bleeding from being forced to work again. It didn’t have long to live. She felt it’s stomach—.it was starving.
She stared at her diamonds, shuffling them in her grasp.
She wouldn’t be a fool, what would it be worth? Diamonds were high in nutrition to dragons, she learned that listening closely to whispers from other slaves, but then what? That wouldn’t magically save it. There was nothing to gain from feeding it a diamond, to both her and the dragon.
...The slaver drivers would frown if they knew. She did love making them frown, even it did end with her being beaten.
She put the smallest diamond in it’s mouth.
It chewed, very weakly, and swallowed. It was conscious after all. Frost watched as the Dragon’s breathing grew much stronger and it wiggled in her hooves. She knew dragons were tough, but she didn’t think they recovered this fast. Her ears pivoted upward once more as she heard a crumbling noise. She she muttered a quick curse under her breath and tried to scramble out of the hole she dug, but the dragon caused her to trip. Frost yelped as the integrity of ground gave out from beneath them.
Frost woke up, wishing she hadn’t. The pain almost convinced her to not try and get up. Her eyes burned as a bright light shone from somewhere nearby. She sniffed around her to try and determine where she was.
She smelled liquid. Forcing herself to get up, she saw giant pillar of brilliant diamond growing out of a pool of crystal clear water. The large deposit branched off near the top, giving the imagery of a underground tree more than a large vein of mineral. It had a prismatic reflection on it’s surface that reflected off the water, painting the whole room rainbow.
Frost croaked a cry of joy. She shambled towards the pool with delirious delight, collapsing next to it and letting her head fall limp into the water. It was the happiest moment in her life, never had she been surrounded with so much liquid. It had no dirt in it! She inhaled the water, gulping down as much as she could. Frost pulled her head out and laid in bliss. She giggled in a delirious manner, her stomach had never felt so full.
Her ears perked as she heard the baby whimper again. It stumbled trying to reach the pool. For a second, her eyes played tricks on her, and it almost looked like it grew bigger trying to reach the pool. Blinking the illusion away the dragon was it’s normal size again as it fell, struggling to move. Frost felt pity for it, knowing how much she wanted this water herself at first, and rose to try and help it. It was agony to her limbs to pull to dragon towards her precious pool, but eventually they got there, and the dragon practically wept as it drank.
Frost collapsed, throwing her arms over her stomach as laid on her back. She watched as her stomach inflated and deflated with every deep breath she took. She relinquished a sigh and rested her head on the icy stone. Tired, she fluttered her heavy lids, before shutting them. Then, they shot open, her head snapping to her left. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a miracle—fruit was growing off the pillar of diamond! Fruit, She’d seen it before; she’d seen the slave drivers eat it and throw away the peels. Sometimes she’d be able to sneak those peels away to eat later. This was a whole fruit though, and she wanted it more than anything else.
How to get it though? She tapped her chin. She didn’t know how to swim, and she didn’t want to struggle. There were rocks, but they were all far too large and bulky to pick up and throw. Besides, that would mean she’d have to go back to where she fell in. Her whole body felt bruised, moving sounded like torture at the moment.
She stared at the diamond that landed nearby where she awoke. Nervously, her eyes moved back to the fruit. Then they snapped back to the diamonds.
She could do it; she could knock the fruit off the strange outgrowth that jutted from the side of the pillar. It would land in the water nearby where they are, and all she would have to do is dive in and get it.
She smiled.
It was worth it.
A whole fruit. Maybe when she was back up and receiving food for a diamond it wouldn’t be worth it, but right now, it was all she could think about. She painfully made her way off to where her two diamonds were, staring at them a pensive glint in her eyes. She stared at her two diamonds, that she would use to knock down a fruit instead of exchange for food and shelter. Two whole diamonds. The Slave drivers would frown. Frost sneered and unleashed a determined growl.
She limped over to the edge of the pool, closest to where the fruit was and eyed it carefully.
She could miss.
The very idea of missing the fruit, or not knocking it down filled her with more fear than not making it back up out of the caves at the moment. She had to get that fruit. She didn’t want it, she needed it. More than anything else at the moment. Making a couple good practice swings, Frost aimed, eyes narrowed, and swung hard.
She missed. The diamond landing with a sonorous splash.
Crying out in defeat, Frost watched the diamond sink into the pool; she debated trying to go after it. The pool might not be that deep, she might able to get it and swim back up.
A poke in her side interrupted her thoughts, and she saw the baby dragon staring at her diamond. His eyes were full of unrestrained hunger. She leaned back, clutching the biggest diamond to her chest. Dragons were tough, even baby dragons, but she wasn’t letting go of this gem without a fight.
“Please,” it choked out a whisper.
Then what? He ate the diamond and then what? Then they both wouldn’t get any food once they made it out of the cave, then again they wouldn’t get any food if she threw all the diamonds at that fruit. Looking around her, Frost realized she had no clue how to leave. The only exit was how they entered, and neither of them could fly. That fruit took all sense away from her. Even thinking of it now made her have to force herself not to stare at it. Who is she to scoff at the dragon wanting a last, tasty meal when all she wanted was the same? They were bound to starve and die down here anyway. Frost sighed and hoofed over the large diamond.
She felt a sense of shame and betrayal, to herself and the fruit while watching the dragon dine. Tears rolled down his eyes as he tried to shove the whole thing in his mouth. Taking a huge bite, he chewed, trembling as he swallowed. Frost couldn’t resist staring at the fruit. She flinched, resisting the urge to cry as she heard him take another bite.
Feeling defeated, she laid down, her back facing the fruit as she wallowed in self pity. She was going to starve to death right next a delicious meal, all because she let her pride do the thinking for her. At least she had her dignity. They may have treated her like dirt, but she died performing an act of generosity. No other slave she knew could say the same.
Her ears pivoted, hearing a splash. She assumed the dragon wanted a bath. The diamond must have given him strength to move easier. She snorted, fine by her if he expended his energy all at once. Being surrounded in water sounded pleasant though, with no hope of escaping she might as well do the same, or at least drown trying. She was surprised when she turned around and saw the dragon climbing. His digits were grabbing small convex spots on the pillar, allowing him to do what she would never dare with her hooves. What was he doing? She gasped upon seeing him climb onto the outgrowth where the fruit was. A dragon’s greed! He ate her diamond, and now he mocks her by eating the fruit she desired so much? A feeling of hatred burned deep within her, almost on the level she felt for the slave drivers, almost.
Instead of picking the fruit and eating it, he jumped back into the pool with it. Swimming back, he climbed out of the pool and offered the fruit to her. Frost was stunned. With her forehooves shaking, she reached out and took the fruit. An overwhelming sensation overtook her she couldn’t stop herself from devouring it quickly. It was the most delicious thing she ever had in her life. She couldn’t stop to savor the taste. All sense of reason abandoned her as she ate all of it down to the pit.
She feel back on her haunches, breathing heavily, this was the most wonderful she ever felt in her life. It was as if her whole body was on fire, no, made of fire. She felt as she could take on anything right there and then.
In a blink, euphoria was replaced by paranoia, and her brain ached terribly. The groan of pain stopped before it passed her lips as the pain disappeared. Perhaps her head was hurting already, and the boost from the fruit only made her aware of it just now.
“Are you okay?” The dragon backed up, twiddling with his talons.
“I... I feel great.” Frost smiled.
Something prismatic caught her eye, and she stared down at the pit in her head. It had a dim glow, slowly shifting through multiple colors at once. Even as she stared at it in wonder, the logical part of her brain told her she just found a light source. Frost blinked, she had just realized how impulsive she’s been acting. She should’ve question how the pillar of crystal gave a dim glow of light, letting her see the pool and the surrounding area, or how such a clean pool of water came to be here in the first place. Not even once did she question if the fruit was possibly poisonous. After she first saw it, it quickly dominated her mind.
“It’s so pretty,” the dragon murmured.
Before she could respond, the light in the room dimmed as the diamond darkened. Hearing a cracking noise, her paranoia kicked in, and Frost grabbed the dragon and dashed behind the rubble the cave in caused. A loud shattering noise hurt Frost’s ears, making her wish her hearing wasn’t so sharp at the moment. Somewhere far above them, she could hear the other slaves cry out in shock and pain. She looked down at her companion and was surprised to notice she could still see him fairly well in the dark. He gave a weak cry, and looked like all his strength was being sapped out of him.
She hadn’t known what happened, she was no expert in minerals or dragons. If all the diamonds turned dark and shattered, she theorized it was possibly foul now to the dragon, or worse, little bits of it popped inside his stomach. Those diamonds made him feel better at an unnatural rate, she wouldn’t be surprised if there some sort of magic to them. Much like the fruit I ate. She thought to herself.
Putting the dragon across her back. She felt like she could go for days, but still needed to find a diamond... for what? All the diamonds were broken now, destroyed. Heck, she was the one who broke them! The very thought of it...
Would cause the slave drivers to cry out in alarm.
Frost sported a manic grin.
Fueled by a sense of long awaited revenge, Frost grabbed into the stone wall nearby, her hooves breaking the stone, pushing indents into the wall. Why climb? She pushed her fore-hooves all the way through, as if the stone were water itself, and begin to dig her way up. She felt invincible. The more she pushed the stronger she felt, and that gave her an idea. She grabbed the dragon on her back and held him close to her chest with a forehoof. She put her other hoof out forward, took a few steps back, and sprinted towards the tunnel she was forming. shards of rock hit her open eyes as she cackled with glee, breaking through rock at an alarming rate. Within a few minutes, she launched herself through the ground into open daylight.
Guards that were stationed around the slave camp above ground came rushing to the hole she created. Slave Drivers shouted in alarm all around her. Their words never reached her ears, all she could hear is her own heartbeat, thumping loudly in her chest as she took large gasps of fresh air. Her euphoria was replaced by righteous indignation when an armed pegasi rushed to her. Giving a feral snarl, she threw the object in her hooves at the nearest pony, knocking it out of the air. It was only then she realized she tossed a baby dragon at the pegasi.
What was she doing? This wasn’t like her, she’s never felt like this before. Yet, it felt so right when she threw him, the thrill of not also hurting the pegasi, but the dragon as well. Trying to shake the feeling of disgust away, she dashed forward and grabbed her friend, for lack of a better word. Sniffing, she caught the scent of various minerals nearby, and broke through a couple walls into a building. Ignoring the screams, Frost grabbed a bag and looked inside and found gems. Breaking her way back out again, she ran toward the hills. She never wanted to go back that place as long as she lived.
The dragon awoke to find himself under the stars. He took a second to stare at the endless lights in the sky. After being captured a month ago, he thought he’d never see another star again. He cried in despair when his diamond was stolen by a diamond dog. He thought he would die down in those pits, when an earth pony saved him.
Remembering what happened, he looked around him to see the mare sitting nearby, sitting at the sky.
“It’s you,” he cried out.
She turned to look at him. “You’re awake,” she whispered.
“Who are you? Did you get us out of that cave? Where are we? Are you part dragon?” He blurted out.
The mare frowned, trying to process everything he asked. “I’m Loving Frost. I ran from that place and took you with me, and I don’t know where we are. What makes you assume I am part dragon?”
“Because!” the little dragon smiled. “You have the same eyes as me!”
Frost looked nervous, but quickly switched back to a lethargic, indifferent expression.
“That is amazing! You used your secret dragon pony powers to save me!”
“I suppose,” she murmured.
His stomach grumbled, making him wish there was something to eat. Frost picked up a bag and walked towards him, leaning in for him to take it. His mouth started salivating when he saw all the gems inside. Giving her a quick ‘thanks,’ he started shoving as many as he could into his mouth.
“Pace yourself, we are running low.” Frost laid back down, her back to him.
The dragon frowned and tied the bag close, saving the rest for later.
“What is your name?” The mare asked.
The Dragon blinked, then smiled. He jumped to his feet and ran around to stand in front of his new friend. With an exaggerated bow, he gave her a wink.
“Those sticks in the mud called me trash, and all the other ponies, diamond dogs, and dragons kidnapped there called me trouble. My Mom and Dad though, found me tricking one of the other baby dragons into thinking some other dragon stole his gems!” He gave a chuckle. “After that, Dad gave me good spanking, said he was proud of me, told me to never do it again. He took me to my Mother and announced my name was Discord!”
“You know, she acts all grumpy and mean, but she has to have a soft side. There’s simply no other reason why she would save me! Wouldn’t you agree,” Discord asked.
He paced back and forth. “Why, I’m her only friend! We’ve already been through so much together. She used me as a shovel, I helped her eat an apple, we broke out of the caves, we’re practically brother and sister!
“It’s her loss really, why would she head out there where all the other boring ponies are, when she could be spending time with us?” Discord grinned. “Clearly you and I are a cut above the rest, wouldn’t you agree?” Discord asked a mound of dirt.
The mound didn’t respond.
“That is why, my little mound, I know she’s gonna return no matter what. Frost did claim that she didn’t care what happened to me after this point, but I know she’ll be back for me. Who could resist this charming face?” He kicked a leg up in air, pushing his hands to his cheeks.
Discord patted the mound of dirt with care. Buried within the ground was a seed he snagged from the prismatic pit. It just seemed too special not to plant. One day, it would grow into a big crystal pillar, or he supposed a tree, just like the one in the caves. He thought of trees made of diamonds, delicious, delicious diamonds Discord thought, a trail of saliva dripping down his chin. He had to get another taste of it, they were the best meals he ever had. He wiped the drool off his mouth and tried to think of something else to say to the seed. He heard speaking to plants made them grow better, although he wasn’t really sure if the seed had to sprout first or not. He also wondered if that worked for a diamond tree.
“Diamond tree...” Discord stared off into the sunset. “ Let me tell you diamond seed, I sure do love gazing at the sky. After being underground all the time, you grow to appreciate the little things in life…” He glanced down at the dirt mound. “Don’t worry,” he said, tenderly patting the soil. You’re gonna grow up in a better place than those caves. Right here! In this place! Wherever here is!” He smiled, eyes welling with pride, only to be interrupted by his growling stomach. He gazed off in the distance. “I would appreciate if Loving gets back soon.”
Discord sighed and laid down next to where the seed was buried.
“Hey friend, want to hear a joke? What did the gas cloud say to sheep that was on fire? ‘Make like a tree and hurry your ASS back Loving!” Discord dragged a claw down his face. “Uuuuuuuuuuugh...”
Discord rolled around in discontent until he was thoroughly covered in dirt. Then, he brushed the dirt off him, gathered it in a pile, and dumped it on his head. He repeated this process several times before groaning again and rolling around more.
“I’m bored, and hungry, and bored, and lost, and bored, and...” He curled tight into a ball. “I miss Mom and Dad.”
Despite being Discord’s only friend and conversation partner, the mound still refused to respond.
“You need a name,” Discord declared, “one that’s elegant, and unique, the best name! How about Dirty Littlewood?”
Discord drew a frowny face on dirt mound.
“Yes, I know, the lesser minded wouldn’t appreciate the true value of it... What to call you, my darling diamond tree?”
He rubbed out the frown and drew a smile.
“What’s that? Darling? Why yes, it is fitting! You are going to be the most regal of trees, made of diamond and all.”
He added blush marks to the mound’s cheeks.
“Oh, don’t get any ideas Darling, I’m afraid I’m too much of a free spirit for commitment. I am flattered though.”
“Are you flirting with dirt?” He heard a voice montone behind him.
Discord scrambled to his feet and turned around, Loving Frost had returned with multiple sacks tied together, hanging off her back.
“Lovely! You came back for me!” Discord quickly turned around and drew angry eyebrows on the dirt mound. “There’s no need for jealousy dear! I already told you I don’t commit, you knew what this was.”
“I was worried over nothing then,” Frost stated in a flat tone. “And it’s Loving. Not ‘Lovely’”
Seeing her turn to leave, Discord jumped up and grabbed her leg. “Now, now, now, don’t be so hasty Lovely, come and stay a while! Now, you wouldn’t have happened to have a gem or two in that bag of yours would you?”
Discord exaggerated his smiled as he stared into her draconic red eyes. Frost always seemed to ignore his compliments toward them. Those eyes reminded him of himself, of his family. Besides, as uncomfortable as she seemed about it, if she didn't have those wonderful half-dragon, half-pony powers then both of them would still be stuck in those awful caves.
"Your eyes are as pretty as ever, dear." Discord smiled.
"...They're strange," she said, looking away, "I’m not part dragon."
"Ohhhh?" Discord cocked an eyebrow. "Then how are you here?"
Frost stared at the ground.
"So you're a pony with dragon eyes, pray tell, why exactly is this a bad thing, hmm?" Discord laid a reassuring claw on her back.
"They don't make sense, none of this makes any sense!" She blurted out, sounding far more nervous than she looked.
"Oh puh-leeeaze, what fun is there in making sense? Better to be a free spirited mystery than a caged ordinary pony," he declared.
"I suppose..."
Discord sighed and turned towards the bags she brought. "So what delectable palette of gems did you bring for us this time?
Frost's expression assumed it's default position of a scowl as she pulled out a clear, see-through mineral.
"Do you know what this is?" She asked.
"Food?"
She huffed, "it's a diamond."
"Frost dear, I do believe we both know diamonds are pure white with a rainbow glow. We both spent a good while collecting them. That is clearly not a diamond."
"And you clearly don't know what you're talking about," she snarled. "When I went my own way, I found a village that was selling different types of rocks. I ended up performing some manual labor in exchange for foodstuffs and water. I also asked for diamonds, worried you'd be sitting here starving like an idiot."
"Rude." He sniffed.
"Well you were, so you're lucky I did. That clear see-through mineral was what they gave me. At first I thought they were trying to cheat me, but after visiting another village, I confirmed that these are actually diamonds."
"Well, that begs the question of what we were collecting then." Discord mused.
"Eat up, we're leaving soon."
"So soon? Why, we just got here!" Discord pouted.
"And you have good reason to stay?" She glared at him.
"Why, because of Darling of course!" Discord made a grandiose wave towards the ground.
Frost looked at Discord, then at the ground, then back at him again.
"I think that fruit and the shards of it's pillar are driving us mentally insane."
"Well if sanity means being as uptight as you are, I'd rather be insane!" He grinned. "Come now Lovely, what are you so afraid of? All the creatures in these woods are far too afraid to approach us. The only ones here are you and I!"
"That's what I'm afraid of," Frost whispered.
Discord took one of satchels of water Frost had in the bags, and poured it on the dirt.
Frost blinked.
"Discord, Tell me why I shouldn't hurt you."
"Why, Darling needs water too of course!"
Deep in the ground, a seed released a small aura of joy, glowing in delight.
Meanwhile a blood-lusting pony chased a manically laughing baby dragon around the ground it was planted in.
Darling exhaled out an aura of peace, calming the creatures of the forest. Herbivores would graze and scavenge, and predators would hunt them. This is concerning, and even scary, but the tree pushed forward the notion this was alright. After all, a heart with no fear is simply an organ, but a heart brave when pressed by fear was the picture of beauty.
Speaking of beauty...
"Well hello Darling, is it just me or did you grow another inch?"
She swelled with pride. Drawing from the warm feelings Discord was sending her, she made a small breeze to caress him on the cheek.
"There's been quite the unusual breeze around here lately..."
The tree laughed in a coy manner, or at least it would've laughed in a coy manner if it could. It imagined it would've looked very cute while doing so, too— fluttering its eyelashes, and he would blush. She's absolutely sure that's how that would've gone down. Probably. Maybe. Totally. Without a doubt...
"Frost set off again, she didn't say where, it's been about two weeks."
Darling touched her friend’s mind. He felt concern over his friend, anger over the lack of communication, bitterness from the lack of respect, but strongest of all, self loathing over feelings of worthlessness. Darling coaxed a small sliver of faith within him. A being with a weaker heart would've let it drown in their negative feelings.
"I'm sure she'll come back, she always does. She's not my keeper, it wouldn't really be fair for me to take her kindness for granted now would it? Even if she doesn't come back it is not her fault. Besides, I suppose this just gives me more time to talk to you, Darling~."
She swooned. Darling was certain there wasn't a baby dragon more charming or handsome than Discord. Then again he was the only baby dragon she knew; she also didn't have eyes. If she did have eyes though, she was certain she'd have a hard time looking away from his undoubtedly handsome face. Then again, it wasn't really the face she cared about, but he would've preferred her to comment on that more than his spirit, he was shy like that.
She felt Loving Frost approach, and made a warm breeze pass by to welcome her.
"Still talking to that plant?" Frost grumbled.
Darling reached out to her, anxiety, self loathing, the desire to be kind, the fear of failing. The motherly feelings to protect Discord, the irrational hatred to destroy a sapling. Darling always had a lot to work with when Frost was around. She never blamed her, after all, she was horribly sick. Darling pressed onto Frost to try and talk about her feelings. Problems always become lighter when they're shared with others.
"Welcome back Lovely, doing fine as usual?" Discord smiled.
He was putting on a light hearted front in order to get his friend to relax; he was terribly worried about her. Darling relinquished a happy sigh—
"Of course." Frost averted her eyes.
—and then a sad one. Frost was infected with a parasite. It took Darling a while to recognize it, but after interacting with Frost enough times, she realized this was the same illness that plagued her mother. Darling was at a bit of a loss on what to do, it made Frost distrust all those around her, she suspected the reason she hated Darling so much was because the Parasite recognized her as a threat.
"Anything interesting happen while you were out there?" Discord asked, teetering back and forth on his toes.
"Not really."
Darling knew helping Frost was a losing battle. Lucky for Frost, friendship and loyalty isn't about picking battles you know you'll win all the time, and Darling was determined to not lose her.
"Well, I'll go fetch us some water, do be a dear and watch over Darling for me?"
Darling felt what little good mood of Frost's leave with Discord. She hated Darling; she never tried to hide that, and Darling was proud of her for being honest about that. She supposed feelings she thought were irrational were easier to confess than ones she could justify. It made sense to Darling, if only she would open up, Darling would love to prove to her that Frost was far better than she thought she was. Sadly the chances of that happening was-
"I went back to see the caves today," Frost whispered.
Darling exerted a bit power and softened the soil at Frost's hooves. She wanted her to sit and relax. Complying, the mare laid down next to the sapling instead. Darling felt so proud of her right now.
"They're killing and catching slaves like crazy. I think at first they thought that all the slaves got lazy, but now they're afraid there are no more of those strange rocks. I saw a couple slaves bring out blackened parts of that magical pillar, and they were beaten in frustration. I... I wanted to kill those slave captors so much,” she said, shaking in anger, muscles tensing. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “It scares me…” she started,” I feel like I've grown to hate everything now. It's hard for me to relax, even around Discord. That place is horrible, and now it's for no reason. I'm going to rid this world of those caves. I'll break the foundation of all the tunnels and kill everypony there." Frost spat.
Darling backpedaled the encouragement and replaced it with a dousing dose of peace.No, no, no, no mass murder, freeing slaves is good, killing everypony is bad.
"STOP THAT!" Frost screamed at the tree. "Stop doing that! I know you're doing something! You-y-you're in my head, you and that damn pillar are why I'm going crazy!!"
Darling wasn't sure how to exactly convey the thought, but she pushed the feeling she very much loved Frost and wanted her to be okay.
"Stop that! Stop that, stop that, stop that!" Frost began to whimper. "Get out of my head, please just get out of my head... I should crush you. No, I will-"
"Frost, what's wrong?!" Discord cried out.
There was her dashing little rogue to the rescue.
"This scrawny little tree is what's wrong! I'm burning it!"
Darling shivered in pain as she felt dark magic pool towards one concrete location. For the first time in Darling's life, she felt she could see. Where everything around her has been a faint pulse of magical energy, a very strong outline of a mare's head now took shape near her. Darling had never seen a pony before, and yet somehow she knew this was Frost's head, just like she somehow knew many things. It horrified her what she knew was about to happen next.
Darling tried to soothe Frost's screams of rage. Her anger turned into pain as her forehead split open, pushing out a long, elegant horn. She tore at back, trying to rip it open as she her bones grow and reposition themselves. Large bat like wings splattered burning hot blood all around her as she took towards the sky. For a second, Darling swore she heard the echoes of very familiar voice cackled.
"Frost, what happened to you?!" Discord cried out in fear.
"Move!" She snarled.
Darling felt Frost charge up a magical blast pointed towards her. Discord jumped in front of her and held up his arms.
"Frost, no!"
Darling felt Frost's very core was filled with such madness and hatred that nothing could shake it. No amount of love or help from others could quell the paranoia driven into her brain, telling her to lash out at everything around here. Yet, Darling had little respect for the core of an individual. It's not what we started as that Darling loved, but the choices to go against feelings of greed, of fear, of overwhelming anger, to rise above such impurities and to love instead that she cherished. Darling put everything she had into sending one simple message towards Frost:
I trust you.
Frost snarled with hate as Discord stood between her and that disgusting sapling. Everything in her screamed to toss a fireball at the two and put an end to this miserable situation.
Instead, she flew away, loathing herself for her cowardice.
Darling tried her best to soothe Discord, but there was little she could do. What he feared was justified. She knew it would be foolish to assure nothing was wrong when something was. She tried to comfort Discord’s mind and help him think in a productive manner.
"I hate to be so blunt with you, Darling, but I have no idea what the hell to do here."
His attempt at positive thinking wasn’t going well.
Darling was at a loss, how could she encourage Discord when she had no plan? She had to face that thing, it wanted her dead just like her mother. It was tragic, here she sat with her sweetheart, both of them faced death soon, and yet they refused to leave each other's side! How romantic it was!
Tragic.
How tragic it was.
Discord stroked her tree branch. "I do wish I was stronger, as strong as Frost, so I could help her."
Darling felt his pain, she didn't have her mother's power. She wondered what she could do to put a stop to that parasite. Her mother's shards could empower others, all she could do was encourage. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to inherit her mother’s power, but it seemed Frost did instead. Darling had to face an enraged alicorn while she herself was just a little sapling, that frightened her.
"Well, it was supporting each other that helped me escape those caves." Discord smiled. "I'm sure supporting her will be the right answer here, too."
She swooned. There was one blessing in this situation.
Her wonderful, heroic knight still stood by her side during all this. Discord stood adamantly between Darling and Frost, even when that parasite’s influence warped Frost's body into a horror. Darling didn't have much to work with, but at least she had Discord.
...What if Discord got hurt? Would she be able to protect him?
She considered if it would be better to send him away, encourage him to start walking in a direction towards one of the nearby towns. Her heart felt as if it was sucker punched at the thought of being separated. She didn't want to lose him.
"Lovely?" Discord turned around, then gasped.
Darling felt Discord's heart rate spike. A large source of dark magic landed nearby them.
“Lovely, is that you? Why are your hooves covered in...” Discord squinted. “Is that blood?”
“I took care of the slave camp, now move.” Frost slowly trotted forward.
"Lovely... you, you got me! Where did you manage to find fake blood? Much more of a dragon prank really." He nervously chuckled.
Darling agreed, laughing in the face of danger was a useful skill in life indeed, but not when the other is so badly hurt. Darling spiked a feeling of sobriety into Discord fast, now is not the time for jokes. Frost needed help now more than ever.
"Last warning.” She narrowed her eyes as she blew a visible huff out of her nostrils. “Move," Frost's voice rumbled in a deep contralto.
"Loving Frost, please—"
Loving roared, summoning a wave of fire and shooting it at the two standing before her. Darling tried not to panic as she poured everything she had into putting a shield around them. A small part of her mind wondered if using fire on a dragon and stone tree was wise, then she felt multiple rocks melt nearby. She dismissed that notion and instead cooled the air and ground around them. Frost put all of her hatred, panic, and desperation into the attack. It made Darling feel as if she was wilting. Frost hated her so much, Darling wasn't sure how she could convince her this wasn't going to work.
"That sapling did this to me!"
"How could a sapling do this all to you," Discord cried out, "you were a half-dragon, half-pony before I planted it!"
"Those caves did strange things to ponies! Those slave drivers, that pillar, e-even the slaves! They all did this to me! You did this to me!"
Darling faltered as a burning gust of wind broke through the barrier, knocking over Discord and making her feel uncomfortably hot. Discord wailed out in pain as his scales began to burn. Darling pushed herself further and reformed the barrier. Her core felt like it was on fire as she forced herself to try and soothe Frost just a little. The mare rose into the air and screeched.
"Did you kill everyone in there?!" Discord yelled.
"If I can kill them, I can kill both of you, too! I'm not afraid!"
Darling sensed something else within Frost. The entity possessing her was highlighted by a large amount of dark magic. Frost was very afraid, but so was the Parasite. She tried her best to curb Frost's negativity. Whenever Darling touched upon her feelings, it felt as if something was draining her.
"Frost, you're acting like a raving lunatic! I'm not quite sure how to help, but I'm certain murdering everything is not the answer!"
"I'M NOT CRAZY!!"
"You grew bat wings and a horn and are burning down a forest!"
"No, I am a normal pony! I was a normal pony! I just wanted escape those caves and be a normal pony!" Frost screamed, her eyes now brimming with tears.
Darling’s conscious became blurry as she grew weak. She stopped trying to do anything else and focused on protecting Discord with her shield. Her sixth sense of the world around her dimmed as all grew cold. She felt the focus of her barrier move closer, until it was covering her again. A warm feeling flooded her body, and suddenly her world was filled with color. A small brown baby dragon was shimmering brightly with a golden aura. Discord was hugging her.
Darling’s world went from darkness to splashes of prismatic rays. The power she felt was overwhelming, burning heat flooded through the end of her roots to the tips of her branches. She didn’t breath in air, but the life of all around her in, and pushed the energy back out, feeling the whole world around her in a completely new dimension. She resonated with a harmony towards all living things, and with it came a glorious epiphany.
She was cognizant now how her mother kept going despite being drained dry from that horrible creature. It wasn't the power from herself she used, but from the world all around her. She loved and coexisted with all living things. The parasite didn’t just isolate Darling’s mother, it exacted a cruel punishment while killing her.
"What's going on!" Frost screamed, "What is that tree doing?"
Darling always felt empowered when Discord believed in her, maybe all he needed was her to have faith in him. She understood how to affect the minds of creatures all around her, but now she took her new-found power and poured it all into Discord's body. He cried out in alarm as his scales began to soften and split, turning into short, wispy hairs covering his body. His kneecaps shifted, changing shape and turning to face the other way. His toes came together and hardened as they turned into hooves. His back split open, and two large wings extended outward, reflecting light from the fire. His pupils went from being silts to widening out like a pony eyes. A tumble of hair quickly fell in front of his face, before a gust of hot air blew his mane back.
He always said he wanted to be half dragon, half pony.
"It's infected you..." Frost fell to the ground in shock. "Y-you've been infected too!"
"No, Frost, I believe I have been given a gift," Discord responded, "the same gift you used to save me, and now, I shall save you with it!"
Go get ‘em, tiger, Darling encouraged. Discord lunged forward and grabbed Frost by the horn. She screeched as rainbow electricity coursed through her, burning away the dark magic infesting her body. Darling poured more and more into Discord, who channeled it through to Frost. The thing inside of her gave a voiceless screech as it boiled away. Darling's heart swelled in hope as Frost's wings and horn melted into black sludge, dripping down onto the ground. Discord put one claw onto her heart and the other around her back. Frost thrashed about as Discord kept her in place.
Her screams continued for another minute before the mare appeared normal again. Darling couldn't sense anything more possessing her and relented. Discord gently laid her friend on the ground, regarding her, worry present in his eyes. They had won. They had beat the thing that killed her mother and tortured Frost. Soon, she'll wake up, and Darling would finally be able to enjoy the company of dear Frost with no parasite controlling her mind.
"Frost? What's happening?!" Discord gasped.
Frost's skin begun to sag inward, as if her body was becoming hollow, losing all muscle mass and fat. Darling started to panic, she couldn't feel the thing inside of Frost anymore, it was gone. How was it doing this? She tried to pour the same power she used on Discord into Frost, but Frost didn’t heal no matter how much she soaked in.
Both of them watched in horror as Frost’s skin began to dry and crack all over. Her bones became brittle and audibly snapped, the body losing its basic structure as it collapsed in on itself. Embers from the forest fire blew over her, leaving black scorch marks over what was left of her body. Her husk had become unrecognizable.
Darling tried her hardest to console her dear friend, but it was difficult when her heart ached too. Discord picked up the remains of his friend's body and cradled her in his arms. What went wrong? What killed her? She didn't attack Frost, she only tried to heal her mind and heart, and purify her of that... thing, whatever it was. That horrible parasite that once possessed her mother, then Frost-
...Darling reached deep within Discord, looking for any sign of it, and was horrified to find a smidgen of dark magic in the corner of his head. She lashed out to destroy it at once, only for it to soak up a little more of Discord's power and spread. She tried again, and this time it ate her power.
"Frost was right... you are evil!" Discord muttered.
No, no, no, no. Darling desperately tried to reach a unity with him again, to sync their hearts. She reasoned this should be both of their problems. They'll fight this thing together-
"Get out of my head!" He screamed.
Darling felt something lash back at her, and cried in pain. No, this wasn't how it suppose to be, it can't take him, not her little rogue. It can't get away with corrupting him too and then leaving him a dried out dead husk. This time she didn't soothe, but frantically pushed her will, trying to force that thing out. Discord and the thing cried out in pain as one, his body grew larger, the dark magic amplifying inside of him. She wish she could stop this thing, just keep it in place as she desperately tried to think of a way.
"What are... what are you doing to me?!" Discord cried out, his words dripping with venom.
Darling’s power focused on freezing him in place. Her prism magic clashed against dark magic, causing stone to climb up his body as he screamed in terror. His body became encased in rock, keeping both him and the parasite in place. All in the forest was silent, as a statue and the corpse of a mare laid next to crystal sapling.
Darling wept.
Darling’s home was named the Everfree Forest.
The forest was being forced to burn through its energy at rapid rate. Darling was constantly pumping the forest full of life, and that was the only reason the Everfree was still standing. The paths through the forest changed daily because the trees were constantly dying and sprouting back up from the ground. Animals hunted each other down close to extinction, but would find new breeding grounds and safe havens from Darling's well practiced nudges. She encouraged all the animals to stay in the forest where they couldn't hurt anypony that didn't wander in. Darling was in control of the weather, and she would change it as needed. It's a shame the pegasi didn't like the forest, but no matter how much they didn't like nature, she did. It was her forest, they were her clouds; it would rain when it would rain, and it wouldn’t when it wouldn’t. Due to the rapid movement of plant life, creatures, and weather, ponies gave up trying to map the place and left it alone.
Darling could not figure out where the strange, yet pretty blue flowers came from, but they cursed anypony that touched them with a cruel physical alteration. Manticores warped and grew poisonous tails, they became far more aggressive and attacked even each other for no given reason at times. The more peculiar creatures were the broken pieces of wood collecting together and coming alive for the sole purpose of hunting down other creatures, killing them, and eating them when they couldn't be digested.
Unfortunately, turning a blind eye to the whole chicken and snake mating phase was a terrible idea in hindsight. She knew it wasn't natural for those two species to be interested in each other, but she was a stone tree in love with draconequus in a coma, she really didn't feel she had the right to judge others. She felt cockatrices were weird, but she gave them her blessing in her own way. As soon as she got rid of the root of all this aggression, they should become much more friendly.
Darling was aware the forest had essentially become the same as Frost during the final moments of her life. Every time She examined the statue of her love next to her, she found that thing still inside him, not even attempting to hide itself anymore, as if it was mocking her. She wasn’t sure how, but it found a way to spread its influence outside of the body it was in. A part of her feared the parasite could multiply, yet carefully combing through the forest thousands of times has shown that no, it had not left Discord in any way.
A part of her hated that, deep down she blamed herself for what happened.
Now, things would be different. Over time, She had been collecting her power, storing it inside six very precious jewels. The fires of friendship was a step in the right direction, an unintentional one, but a good one all the same. Clover the Clever proved when another creature was having a thought process or feeling in the heart similar to herself, she could pour her power into that pony. Darling figured it would best to make her support more portable and amplified. She lit up her six jewels and named them the Empathy Stones.
She was finally ready to purge her precious rogue of that thing. She tested her Empathy Stones on various creatures, and it cured them of their malice, up until the thing's influence touched them again. She was very certain whatever this thing was and whatever it did, it wouldn't be around for much longer. The six jewels embedded in her glowed with a rainbow light, and wrapped around the statue of Discord.
Discord blinked.
He was free? He was free! Ohhhhh joy~! Really it was rather boring staying in that statue all that time. At least he was able to have a little fun on occasion as his power grew, as much as that ugly tree allowed him too—now there it goes trying to mess with his mind again. Really, what a crude thing it was, trapping him in stone and now trying to toy with him again. Still...
"I must thank you dear, it feels so good to be free!" Discord bowed, donning an exaggerated grin.
Discord could practically feel the tree burst with joy.
"Oh it is so good to see you too! Do you like what I did with the forest? Since we did become roommates and all, I figured it was only appropriate I redecorate our home just a little!"
The tree became confused.
"Now I know you weren't happy with some of the changes, but at least we were both in agreement that snakes and chickens really DO go together!" Discord poofed a cockatrice into his claw and held it up to the tree. "I even threw in the power to turn things into stone, you know, as a reminder on how we first met!"
It brought Discord no end of satisfaction to how horrified the Tree was becoming.
"Oh don't be so stiff, dear! Why, you're white as a sheet!"
Discord's laughter was cut short as he felt the tree desperately try to use it's gaudy jewelry on his mind again.
"Now, now, poking around other creature's brains is rather rude, now isn't it? No need to be so pushy, I was planning on leaving anyway.” Discord pressed a finger to tree to shush it. "Now hold on! What kind of roomie would I be if I didn't have a parting gift?"
Discord conjured a large amount of seeds, and plowed them into the ground, next to the roots of the tree. He cackled as he felt them began to suck away it's energy.
"Well, it has been fun, but I'm afraid my attention is needed elsewhere, tah tah!" Discord teleported away, summoning in his place a dozen boxes of tissues.
Until now, Darling would have never believed Discord was directly responsible for the state of the forest. It broke her heart that Discord looked at her as an enemy. She reminded herself it could be worse, he could be dead or be killing others. When Discord was cleansed by the Empathy Stones that should have kept him dormant and pacified. Unless she found a way to reach him it was only a matter of time before...
No
Darling chose not to think about that, it wouldn't be productive.
Darling could see small visions and moments outside of the forest, but it usually required ponies of incredible caliber being near each other during a moment of strong unity. Something similar to what happened when the Fires of Friendship were made. What she really needed was a pony that would enter the forest and find her. She could see and act through the Empathy Stones as long as somepony were carrying them. Darling knew beggars can't be choosers, but the stones were too important to give to just anypony. Fortunately she had a good candidate in mind. Starswirl the Bearded loved to explore as much as he loved to learn, surely one day he would wander into these woods to investigate them.
Her current dilemma until then were the seeds Discord planted. They sucked the life out of everything, including her. Meaning, Discord had effectively replaced himself with something that would keep the forest forever 'cursed.' She used the Empathy Stones. A single seed that had just sprouted burned away in a colorful wave. Darling should have been relieved, being able to quickly destroy what Discord had left behind, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
It was what Discord had left behind.
He had played a role in the creation of the flowers, manticores, cockatrices, plants, the ever changing nature of the forest... It wasn't safe to the outside world, but it had a working ecosystem. She couldn't say whether the forest was ethically right or wrong, but it was the work of the little dragon she loved. She couldn't bring herself to end it, it would be like she killed his children. She used the stones not to harm, but curb the growth and consumption rate of the seeds to a reasonable amount. She was willing to put in the love and care and give them the extra attention they need.
Now, she waited.
For once Darling was glad for being an immobile tree, she felt as if she could barely contain her excitement. Starswirl was finally here, after she subtly encouraged many explorers to spread word about seeing her, Starswirl had become curious enough to see her for himself. She stood tall and proud as the unicorn trotted up to her. Darling hushed the forest, granting him a moment of silence as he examined her.
"Yup, that's a tree." Starswirl grunted, then turned around to leave.
She panicked and jabbed his mind to bring his attention back to her. When he turned around, she made the Empathy Stones glow with colorful light.
"Hmm, that's interesting..." Starswirl lit up his horn.
Darling felt nervous as a magical force probed her body. She thought the whole act seemed rather rude... until she realized that's exactly how she treats just about everything. Maybe that's why all explorers seemed to believe ghosts were haunting her forest.
"You're the reason the forest doesn't spread, fancy that," Starswirl monotoned, "well what the hay do you want with me?"
Was he talking to her? That can't be right, Darling couldn't speak.
"Well if you made a bunch no name adventurers come pester me just so you could show off how pretty you are, then I'll be taking my leave then." Starswirl sighed and turned around again.
Darling jabbed his mind again, making the unicorn spin in frustration.
"Do you mind?! That feels like somepony ran their tongue over my brain," he complained.
Darling berated herself that she didn’t think this through more. She lit up the Empathy Stones more, and filled Starswirl with the desire to take the jewels with him.
"You want me to take those..." Starswirl rubbed his chin.
Empathy Stones! Darling tried her hardest to somehow communicate with him. Pretty rainbow jewels! The super important looking crystal in my chest cavity! The magical gems of obvious power in my branches! Empathy Stones!
"I was about to call these things Empathy Stones, but then I realized how stupid that name was." Starswirl weighed them in his magic.
For being a powerful wizard he was rather mean, and cranky. Darling wanted to see him try and come up with a better na—
"I'll call them the Elements of Harmony."
She admitted he had a flair for when he named things, but he was still a jerk.
Starswirl cleared his throat. "So the Tree of Harmony, bearer of the Elements of Harmony, wishes for me to take the elements with me?"
Darling released a wave of joy and caused Starswirl to stumble. All the creatures in the forest roared with pride as Darling communicated her approval through them.
"Heck no I'm not taking those jewels, are you stupid? If my scan spell was right those elements are the only things keeping this forest from spreading to the outside world. Besides, I didn't bring a pack to take them with me, and I'm far too lazy to levitate them the whole way out."
Darling's was in shock as Starswirl stormed off. A few minutes later all the creatures of the forest roared in fury.
What a baby… Darling sulked.
Darling sensed a swan pull it's neck out of the ground nearby with grace as it swam in circles, treating the dirt like water. The sun screamed for about five seconds, vomited, and then apologized. There was a large aurora in the sky that twisted around like a snake, the whole thing currently consisted of multiple copies of A Hipster's Guide to Conspiracy Theories Vol. 37: God has a plan, and you can stop it~! Darling couldn't see or read, but every time she focused on it she somehow had a perfect image of it broadcasted to her mind. Discord loved to show off and now could take it to a whole new level. He changed what the aurora consisted of anywhere between five seconds to five minutes.
Darling felt hopeless, the only thing that brought her comfort now was her routine. She guided the animals, restrained the seeds, comforted the ponies, and waited. It was all she could do, and she hated herself for it. For being an all powerful figure respected and worshiped by her little ponies, she was embarrassed how she had to have a threat approach her in order to deal with it. She had almost given up on trying to get ponies to come to her and take the elements. Darling was focused on the aurora above her when she heard gasp nearby.
"The Tree of Harmony..." Luna muttered.
Darling observed in silence the two sisters that stared at her in awe. She noticed Celestia wore an aura of grim resolution. Darling tried to soothe her mind, she didn't know what Celestia had planned but when ponies approached her with a sense of defeat, compromise, and finality it usually wasn't good. She hoped the two of them didn’t plan to cut her down for some silly reason. Celestia flew up and hovered near Darling's chest, she shot it with a ray of her magic. Darling was about to make it very clear how rude she felt that was when the two spoke up again.
"Are you sure?" Luna frowned.
"We have managed to discover the only means by which we can defeat Discord, and free the citizens of Equestria!" Celestia answered.
Darling had no mouth, yet she tried to scream in joy.
Celestia levitated the elements out of Darling. "Even without these elements, the Tree of Harmony will possess a powerful magic," Darling felt somewhat violated as her chest opened up against her will, "as long as that magic remains, it will continue to control and contain all that grows here."
"Didn't Starswirl say the elements kept a powerful force of Chaos from growing? He claimed even the Tree of Harmony itself underestimated it." Luna countered.
Darling pressed down hard on both of their minds and urged them both to ignore Starswirl. He didn't know what he was talking about, and more importantly, he was a jerk.
"That was before Discord's appearance, I can only imagine he was the chaos Starswirl was speaking of." Celestia assured.
"Very well, as you say, sister..."
Luna watched a school of fish swam by as she approached Discord. She had become numb to the sight of such things, another sign his rule had carried on for too long. She glanced at her sister once more for reassurance, and then she focused on the threat at hoof.
"Oh hooo, ho ho~ this is so much fun! How about a game of pin the tail on the pony?" Discord held up Celestia's tail.
Celestia examined her flank with a sharp intake, "Playtime is over for you Discord!"
"Oh I doubt that." Discord stopped to munch on a bag of seeds Luna couldn't recognize. "Hungry?"
A seed bounced off of Luna's head. She refused to answer the mad creature, every time she had in the past he would always find a way to make her sound stupid.
"Suit yourselves." Discord shrugged and went back to munching on seeds.
Luna felt there wasn't much to be laughed about in this situation, but she found the idea of using large jewelry to stop an insane god to be somewhat amusing. To be frank, she didn't have much faith in the elements, but she believed in her sister. She would stand by her until the end. She pulled out the elements of laughter, honesty, and loyalty. She tried to ignore the happy little buzz that tickled the back of her mind. Being around the tree and the elements always messed with a pony's mind.
"Ooooo, what have you got there?" Discord leaned forward.
"The Elements of Harmony!" Celestia retorted.
"With them we shall defeat you!" Luna added in.
Discord broke out into laughter. "You should see yourselves right now! The expressions on your face, so intense, so sure of yourselves right now!"
Luna touched her horn to her Sister's, and focused their intent on stopping Discord. She felt as if the elements themselves supported them, cheered them on. We'll do it, She thought, We'll give Discord eternal rest! Her brain hurt as the pleasant hum turned into a scream, she would describe the experience akin to having her mind smacked against sandpaper. Luna gritted her teeth as a rainbow came out of their connected horns, it swirled upward and then arched back down towards Discord.
"Hilarious!" Discord leaned back as a prismatic light enveloped him, his whole body became encased in stone all at once before he could finish his laugh.
It was over, Discord had been defeated, Equestria was free of his terror. Luna fell back on her haunches and panted, This was the most wonderful she ever felt in her entire life! It was as if her whole body was on fire, no,made of fire. She felt as she could take on anything right there and then. Euphoria was replaced by paranoia as she glared at the statue of Discord. Yes, he was turned to stone, but that didn't guarantee he was completely restrained.
"We should break the statue," Luna growled, "make sure he never comes back!"
She flinched when a hoof was laid on her back. She looked at her sister, who stared at her with kind, reassuring eyes.
"Peace, Luna, it is over." Celestia smiled.
"Can we truly say it's over, what if he breaks free?"
"Then we will seal him away again," Celestia nuzzled Luna's cheek, "together."
Darling reflected on past events, and with a combination of being able to glimpse inside Luna's mind with the elements, she now had a pretty clear idea on how her enemy worked. The creature’s pattern was rather simple in hindsight. Darling's mother became irrational and burned through all her energy at once. Frost stole the fruit which she stored the last bit of her power in, which in turn killed her Mother. The Parasite moved into her Mother's killer, Frost, and made her burn through all of her energy. Frost’s increase in power along the rate she expended it turned her into a twisted version of an alicorn. Discord accidentally killed her, the parasite moved into Discord. The Parasite moved into an individual, they burned through all their energy, and became irrational enough to attack everyone around them.
Darling halted the cycle by turning Discord to stone. Discord broke free and was turned back to stone by Luna and Celestia. The Parasite left Discord because it saw a powerful entity it could drain dry at that moment. Luna was possessed and she was going mad.
Darling chose to look at Luna and Discord's battle as a victory. She expelled the Parasite from an individual without it killing them. The process may have left them frozen in place with their mind free to go insane by natural causes, but they were at least not getting sucked dry and left for dead by a parasite. Darling found it difficult, but she tried to look at that as a good thing. The parasite attempted twice now to use Discord and leave him dead, and it had failed. If she found a way to free him from his stone prison and soothe his heart and mind, then they could finally be reunited without them being enemies.
Her current problem now was an alicorn possessed by the dangerous parasite which caused her to go mad. Her elements were locked up under the Castle of the Two Sisters, that meant she couldn't really 'see' through them to tell how Luna was doing. Celestia would grab the elements when Luna inevitably went insane, but then what? Turn Luna to stone? Celestia would be infected by the parasite, with nopony left to stop her. Furthermore, Celestia could handle using three of the elements at once, all six would put a terrible strain on her body. Darling knew it would cripple Celestia at best, end her life at worst.
Darling ran out of time, she felt the two of them exert powerful amounts of magic. She had to think of something now or turn Luna to stone. Celestia's magic radiated nearby, and Darling felt the six of the elements rise from where they there were stored. Celestia flew up from where she stood and wrapped them in her magic. The Element of Magic rose out of the stone globe in center of their alter. Darling had learned what it felt like to be trapped in stone through the Element of Magic. The whole experience made her feel claustrophobic, which in turn increased her guilt.
She felt Celestia activate the Elements. What was she going to do?! Even if she were to eject the parasite out of Luna, where could she possibly trap it so it wouldn't be able to reach anypony else? Both Darling and Celestia wanted nothing more than to put a stop to this fight without harming Luna, and the unity of their hearts allowed Darling to see through Celestia's eyes. Tears made her vision blurry as she stared at the twisted form of Luna and her Moon.
The Moon.
Darling threw caution to the wind, and channeled all her power through Celestia. I wish I could save Luna from this Nightmare, the two thought as one. Both poured everything they had into their one and only shot. Darling targeted the parasite directly and attempted to banish it to the Moon. She let her power wash over Luna, trying to heal her as fast as the Parasite was desperately draining her. She pushed harder, and felt the Parasite relent as it began its trajectory toward the moon.
Darling pushed the Elements further before the backlash of energy could destroy Celestia's body, this time using them as a shock absorber for her. All color drained from the Elements as the last of their power kept Celestia's body from undergoing harm. The last thought she felt from Celestia before being disconnected made her mentally scream in frustration. She successfully sent the Parasite to the Moon without killing Luna, but the mare was still not free.
To have an air of honesty that allows somepony to believe that you care for them, even when their mind screams it's foolish insanity.
Appreciating the beauty and showing kindness to all things, even creatures that antagonize you, that look like a mismatch of dangerous animals...
A open-minded heart full of humility and laughter. To realize it's rather funny to get obsessed with the idea that a tree is trying to kill you.
Having the generosity and strength of heart to make a large personal sacrifice, even when others would deem it unnecessary and frown upon it for being foolish.
Showing loyalty to those who love and value you for who you are, rather than those would use you for your potential, then leave you behind to perish.
Twilight turned to look at the other Element Bearers. "I felt it the moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you! The spark ignited inside me, when I realize that you all... were my friends!"
Darling summoned the final element, presenting it to Twilight.
An unstoppable, horrible force, will never defeat us when we all work together in harmony!
Twilight smirked at the dark alicorn. "You see Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by the,” Twilight hesitated, “the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element, the element that resides in us all! The Element of..."
Friendship!
"Magic!"
Close enough!
Darling poured power back into the elements as all six of the bearer's hearts were in unity. The six of them rose and thought We'll stop Nightmare Moon, together in harmony! To Darling, 'Nightmare Moon' might as well have been synonymous with 'the Parasite' In unity, the six shot a rainbow blast at Nightmare Moon. I'm at full power, in complete unity, absolute harmony, Darling thought, there is nowhere left for you to run, you won't drain Luna or escape into one of my bearers! I'll make sure of it! A swirling blast of rainbow surrounded the dark alicorn.
"No!" Nightmare Moon cried, "NOOOO!!"
Darling finally did it. She didn't sense it in Luna, nor in Celestia who was nearby. It wasn't in Twilight or any of her friends. It seems like it was gone for good. This was the most wonderful she ever felt in her life! It was as if her whole body was on fire, no, made of fire. She felt as she could take on anything right there and then. Euphoria was suddenly replaced by paranoia as her she focused on Twilight and her friends.
This was too easy, the Parasite couldn't just be gone, it had to have gone somewhere. Was it Twilight? She was the key in keeping the other five together, drive her insane and the others would leave. No, that would be too predictable, it had to be Celestia, even when under stress she kept that serene smile! It thought it could pull a fast one on her, but she's watching all of them! She wouldn't, no, couldn't rest until she found out what happened to the Parasite.
As the days went by, Darling went from angry, to miserable, to exhausted. Perhaps it was post traumatic stress from dealing with the Parasite, but she couldn't shake the paranoia that it was still alive and trying to get her somehow. She hadn't made any progress in finding it, and that was driving her insane. Celestia showed no signs of being possessed, she had been happier than she ever was throughout the last millennia. Despite some unsettling nightmares, Luna was doing fine too. There was a day Darling was sure the Parasite finally made a move. Twilight showed signs of rapid sanity loss, worrying about not writing a friendship report in time. Unfortunately that came from Twilight herself. There were other such moments with her friends, like when Pinkie started a conversation with animate objects about how all her friends were terrible, but all of them turned out to be false leads.
She knew it was out there somewhere, perhaps it possessed a squirrel or something. She spent a good while scanning the forest over and over, and yet she could not find any signs of the thing. She couldn't help but fear it escaped the forest and was on the move, trying to avoid her. What if it went after Discord? After all the effort to expel it from him without it taking his life, she wasn't sure she could handle losing Discord again, she hadn't even truly gotten him back.
For being a silent killer, subtlety was not it's specialty. The Parasite had never hidden before, it never needed to, whoever it possessed seemed unaware they were ill, no matter how obvious. The thing would inhabit in its host and absorb its’ power without a care in world. Even while possessing other creatures, it usually sat right under her proverbial nose. So, with all that she knew about it, for being able to trace all of its patterns and signals, for knowing exactly what to look for in a creature, why could Darling no longer find the Parasite? A part of her deep down dared to dream for a second that it might be truly gone for good.
Darling felt as if her heart stopped as Discord, of all creatures, took hold of the elements. From trying to connect with him, she sensed he had no good intentions in mind. Did her worst fear come true? Did Discord get possessed once more? Darling's heart desperately tried to soothe Discord and convince him to stop causing chaos, but she couldn't filter out her sorrow. Her distress seemed to work in her favor as eventually Discord stopped messing with Ponyville for a minute and took the time to teleport to her.
"Goodness dear, you look positively dreadful! Whatever is the matter?" He smiled, leaning back in a floating lawn chair.
Darling wanted to beg him to stop all this, but she was overwhelmed with a sense of bitter contempt. She worked so hard to save his life, to free him from that parasite and this is what he chose to do. With a flash of anger she focused all her energy she had available and shot it at him.
Discord flailed around in the air for a second as a prism bolt zapped him in the rear. "Well I never! I come all the check up on you, and this is the thanks I get?" He pointed his nose upward, crossing his arms.
Darling was mortified, she didn't mean to have an outburst like that. She wanted to apologize for shocking him, but every time she tried to muster a feeling of remorse, bitter pride took it's place.
"Well if this is how things are going to be between us, then I suppose I'll see myself out, good day madam!" Discord disappeared with a poof.
Darling couldn't believe herself, why didn't she try to reach out to him? Why did she have to act so hostile and cold towards him? She wallowed in self hatred and misery for a good hour until she felt something choking her. Twilight tried to use the elements replacing Rainbow Dash with Spike. To her, nothing happened, but to Darling it felt like the energy for a full blast was brought to the edge of her branches. The energy stayed there, swarming around the inside of her body, making her tips feel as if they burning. She wished for a mouth to cry out in pain with.
She sat there and silently suffered, unsure if she had the strength to do another blast. Twilight managed to get Rainbow Dash back and was preparing to take down Discord. She didn’t want to hurt her little rogue. Darling suppressed her grief and helped Twilight do the only thing she knew could contain Discord without harming him.
She turned him back to stone.
Darling blacked out from the pain.
Darling stopped trying to manage the forest. She couldn't muster the attention span to do so. She was too tired all the time now, with the exception of holding back the seeds and keeping creatures and plant life from spreading outside the forest, anything was fair game now. Troubling things kept happening at an alarming rate outside the Everfree. The most concerning to Darling that recently happened was a changeling army tried to take over Canterlot with sheer brute force. It scared her how little she could help at the moment.
She couldn't even help herself…
Darling tried her best not to think about it, but it may be time to come to terms with the fact that she was dying. Her lack of strength must be due to old age, she had lived a very long time. She was hoping to spend at least a little bit of that time with Discord, but it was not meant to be.
Darling felt Celestia take the elements. This confused her, as Celestia never touched the Elements of Harmony without good reason. What Darling overheard filled her with hope, they wanted to try and reform Discord. Just the idea of using the elements felt like torture, but Darling mustered the strength to free Discord from his prison. She didn't have faith in much anymore, but she chose Twilight and her friends for a reason. They were able to stop Nightmare Moon, and they supposedly destroy the parasite. If anyone could help her little rogue, it would be those six.
As much as Darling wanted to give the situation her full attention she simply couldn’t. Before using the elements to turn Discord back to stone it was only a couple hours, now she had to rest for over half a day usually. Sleep was a welcome change for her as she entered a somewhat dreamless state while inactive. If death would be similar to when she rested, then dying wouldn't be so terrible.
When she came to, she felt a large amount of chaos magic, the Element Bearers must have failed. She wasn't sure she would survive summoning another blast of the Elements of Harmony. Darling accepted this would probably be the last time she used the elements to seal Discord, or do anything for that matter. As much as she tried to come to peace with the matter, she couldn't help but feel afraid. She wondered if this was how Frost felt in the last moments of her life, remember one of her first friends filled her with a sense of guilt and failure. At least she could pass away knowing she put a stop to the Parasite.
All the Chaos magic came to an abrupt end. Confused, She tried to sense what had happened through the others when she learned that Fluttershy had convinced Discord to give friendship a chance. Darling was overjoyed, Discord could finally be free. She may not have much time left, but she was determined to see Discord once more and let him know how she truly felt. She looked at him once more through Fluttershy, he was smiling at her, and she was smiling back.
...
That spineless backstabbing hussy.
Dirty floozy disgusting little tramp!!
She spent thousands of years trying to save him, doing her best to keep all of Equestria safe and this is thanks she gets?! To hell with Equestria, they can keep god of chaos and princesses, Darling doesn't need them! The stupid forest can spread over the whole world for all she cares, and the plunderseeds can grow and spread right towards Fluttershy and Discord's stupid little LOVE SHACK!
Darling awoke surrounded in light. Power was filling her body, yet she herself felt very strange. Many times in the past she was able to watch over ill patients who prayed to her for relief, her mind was like theirs right then, heavily medicated, slow, drowsy, numb. With clinical detachment she burned away the Plunderseeds' vines strangling her body and threatening Ponyville. The seeds gave a final bout of resistance, continuing to trap Celestia and Luna. With a flick of her magic Darling burned off the last of vines with a colorful glow.
Twilight ran forward and hugged the two alicorns.
"We know how difficult it must have been for you to give up the Elements. It took great courage to relinquish them," Celestia praised Twilight.
With a sense of indifferent curiosity, Darling felt an enormous amount of stored energy flow down from the base of body, touching the cutie mark imprinted along the way and lighting up each one. A flower bloomed from her root, reminding her of the fruit her mother made containing her strength and Darling. Inside the sealed flower was a box containing all of her power now. Warning bells went off in the back of her conscious as something felt very familiar about all this. Fortunately for Darling, she was more in a state of auto-pilot, and the elements attached to her altered the box to have six key holes before the flower opened.
The flower bloomed, and the three alicorns walked up and stared at the box in awe.
"What's inside it?" Twilight asked the two sisters. "How am I supposed to open it?"
"Six locks, six keys." Luna commented.
Twilight and Luna looked at Celestia for answers.
"I do not know where they are." Celestia began to trot away. "But I do know that it is a mystery you will not be solving alone."
All of Twilight's friends smiled at her. She joined them, and the group of ponies started to make their way out of the forest.
Darling quietly stood tall, for once feeling the same on the inside as she did on the outside.
Discord casually walked through a dirt wall, acting engrossed by the diary in his hand. It was Celestia's newest one, and it was far less exciting than he hoped for it to be. He glanced at the Tree of Harmony to the left of him and tossed the notebook into a nearby bush.
"Goodness, I didn't see you there," Discord lied, "Now what's a pretty little thing like you doing all the way out here?"
Darling didn't respond.
"Oh please, no need to act stone cold Darling, I'm not gonna bite." Discord wiggled his eyebrows. "Although I suppose you could say I did plant the seeds of doubt when I first broke free now didn't I?"
Discord snapped his fingers and a rim shot went off in the distance. With a chuckle, he fell backwards into the ground and landed on one of Darling's branches.
"I suppose an apology is somewhat in order. I'll tell you what, I'll say sorry for stirring up a bit trouble here and there, and you apologize for turning me into stone, how's that sound?"
Discord sensed nothing from Darling, and frowned.
"This is rather unlike you, you know. I could hear you fawning over the Everfree and yours truly the whole time I stuck here. For being the tree of special feelings you sure rather down today."
No response.
"Well, if this is how it's going to be, I suppose I'll just go back and spend my evening with Fluttershy." Discord huffed.
Very faintly, Discord felt a tiny brush of irritation from Darling. He gave a sly grin and patted the underside of the branch he was on.
"Oh? What's this? I thought you were being apathetic right now. Something the matter? Perhaps you want to hear about all the fun Fluttershy and I have been having lately!"
Getting no response, Discord launched into all the 'fun' stories he had of Fluttershy and himself being great friends. As he went on, they became more audacious and dishonest, although he would never admit the last part. Discord would never say he was concerned, but Darling was unresponsive the whole time and that was boring.
He was just about to give up and head back to Fluttershy's cottage when he spotted the box it sprouted. Strange little thing, Discord could sense it was full of all that disgusting, feel good magic ponies oh so love using. Examining it closer, there was a very familiar form of magic inside it he couldn't quite recognize. The magic was similar to his own. In retaliation to the tree he took the power it infused into him after he... subdued Frost, and mutated it into something far more appealing. Thinking back on it he wasn't quite sure how he managed that, but it's not that huge of surprise considering Discord is a natural born genius, or so he would claim.
Still, it was frustratingly familiar how much that magic inside the box reminded Discord of himself. He swore he felt it elsewhere too, from somepony he met recently as well. Considering he's spent most of his life sealed in rock, 'somepony he met recently' could be anypony really. Where had he felt this magic before? He reached out to touch the box and the results were shocking.
Literally.
Jumping back with a yelp, the tree electrocuted him with a rainbow jolt as his hand came in contact with the box. He was about to tell off Darling for being so aggressive like his last visit, when he realized something. The unfamiliar magic moved within the box, no, rather it broadcasted something the same way Darling did when she tried to communicate. He hadn't received whatever it's message was, but he was sure he felt something.
Curiosity won over he desire to not be zapped. In a poof Discord was now wearing green scrubs with rubber gloves. Wiping a nervous brow, he dramatically presented an index finger and pressed it to box akin to how one would poke a dead body with a stick. Lightning coursed through him once again, and he held firm as felt something inside the box rush up to try and make contact. The harmonic energy coursing through him prevented whatever was inside it from making contact from him, and he pulled his finger away.
"Well aren't you just a walking mystery," Discord mused, "I suppose you're lacking the walking part, dear."
The box, the mysterious non-harmonious magic, and Darling's lack of response all seemed just a little too strange to Discord. As confounding as it all seemed, it was getting late in the day and he didn't want to be late for teatime with Fluttershy.
"This has all been a very enlightening experience, Darling, and I am deeply sorry you're feeling so blue, but I have places to be. Farewell!"
Discord teleported away, perhaps he would try to find out who else radiated that unusual source of magic if he got too bored.
Things were a bit hazy for Darling when she didn't have the Elements to be long distance eyes and ears for her, but having them on hoof, or rather branch, helped her to see what was going on outside her somewhat. Tirek broke out of Tartarus, and he was systematically draining the magic out ponies one town at a time. That left a pretty big trail of magic that fortunately made finding the ponies he harmed rather easy. She reached out to all the ponies who left lifeless and pushed a little of her magic in each of them, just enough to keep alive without spreading herself too thin.
As Twilight and Tirek fought, Darling worked to soothe the ponies of Ponyville. She stopped when she reached the five ponies and draconequus that were trapped. Most were mad at Discord and worried for Twilight, two individuals were feeling more complicated than that. Discord was feeling true guilt over betraying the others, most of all Fluttershy. Fluttershy wasn't angry at Discord's inevitable betrayal, but hurt and sincerely shocked he turned on them. Darling's heart constricted with jealously again, Discord didn't care he had hurt her, but abandoning Fluttershy did? She didn't want to comfort the both of them, not over something like this, but she knew doing nothing wasn't the right answer.
Darling had to give up on Discord and accept it wasn't meant to be. Maybe she didn't have to appreciate or like his relationship with Fluttershy, but she could respect it. She succeeded where Darling failed, Fluttershy didn't just get him to stop causing trouble, but befriended him and made him happy. She was Darling's Element of Kindness, who freed Luna of the Parasite and put an end to it once and for all. She accepted their relationship and began to comfort the two, pouring a little bit of her magic in each of them.
The Elements of Harmony began to glow, and Darling mentally gasped as her mind cleared up somewhat. She went mad and let the plunderseeds take over, her jealousy of Fluttershy almost got her and many others killed! The guilt of her actions felt heavy, but the gentle buzz of the elements lifted that weight. She found it was easier to think of things in a positive light all of a sudden. Darling was weak without the elements back then and had tried her best to help. It was true she had let her jealousy consume her, but just now she had made a conscious effort to let go of it, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. For the first time in good long while Darling felt empowered and sure of herself.
She was pondering on how Discord betrayed everyone, when her Element Bearers and her littl— Discord himself approached her. Twilight held up a necklace of a golden triangle to the box sticking out of her (she always felt embarrassed about that box, although she wasn't sure why.) The necklace transformed into a key and entered the slot in front of it.
"Together! I think we have to do this together!" Twilight announced.
Darling mentally blinked, she wasn't really sure what was going on. After Discord was reformed everything after that was hard to remember. She could somewhat recall Tirek breaking out due to it being recent, but even that was hard for her. Her attention snapped to the six ponies before her as they all turned a key on the box. Something in Darling's mind screamed.
A force she was completely unaware of inside the box thrashed about, writhing in pain. Its screams grew louder, bouncing around in her mind as she felt all her power inside that box smiting it, burning it smaller until she could no longer detect or hear it anymore. Hazy memories came to Darling's mind as she identified the strange, and now very dead thing as the Para- oh. Oh.
Oh.
Suddenly a lot of things made much more sense in hindsight to Darling. This would definitely explain her lack of energy recently, and her foul mood, and the sudden gathering of her power in one spot to transfer to an outside force, just like her mother, and... Darling was feeling very foolish at the moment.
A magical ray shot out of the box and into Darling, returning her lost power to her. Harmonious energy coursed through her branches, overflowing her with a tremendous amount of stored up, concentrated strength. She channeled her gathered power into the Elements of Harmony and struck the Element Bearers with her magic. An idea came to mind, one formed upon seeing Fluttershy's success with Discord.
Before, I insisted the Elements I created would be a tool to keep trouble at bay, now I see I am not needed to save the day. You ponies have come so far on your own without me, and even stopped a horrid evil to set me free. I no longer will insist on being a part of your business. Darling transported the six inside her box, and began to infuse their very beings with her harmony. You will no longer need the Elements of harmony or my Power, you yourselves will be the elements, and that very power will always be forever yours to use. I trust you, my little ponies.
Darling watched as the six Bearers of Harmony flew to Tirek and sealed him away effortlessly, without using the Elements. They returned before her, and Darling lifted the box up. She realized this box was the same as her mother’s fruit, and it was time for it to be planted. She sent her child to Ponyville, not to be a tree, but to be a castle. She didn't want her child to be something ponies looked to for answers or left sanctioned in a forest, she wanted it to be something ponies actively visited and worked together with to try and build a better future.
Darling teleported them off to her child, and once more, she was alone. Nobody had any reason to visit her anymore. This was fine, she had accepted this. She felt a little lonely, but she still had the Everfree forest to watch over. Another part of her was still coping over how intense the day had been. She felt like she was on fire, no, made of fire-
Something screamed inside her once more.
"Well, you sure have had a productive day, haven't you?" Discord faded into view. "You know, I happened to have a very interesting talk with Luna earlier. I asked her what that delightful magical presence inside her was and turns out it was fragments of dark magic from that awkward Nightmare Moon rebellious phase she had!”
Discord pulled a couple dots off of a polka dot hat he wearing. With a wink, he mashed together the dots in his hand. “After connecting a few dots, I realized I had the same magic before being turned to stone, she obtained that magic before taking a vacation on the moon, and now you have that very same magic while going through your awkward rebellious emo phase!”
He pushed the connected dots inside Darling tree trunk. The little voice inside inside her stopped screaming, and slowly flickered away. "Take a few connected dots three times a day and that shouldn't be coming back anymore! Lollipop?" Discord pulled out a sweet and waved it in front of Darling.
There was so much Darling wanted to say to him. She wanted nothing more for him to sit next to her and talk to her like he used to, but she knew better, and she wanted better for him. She chose to radiate gratitude instead, and bathed the area around in a warm, gentle glow.
“This sort of thing isn’t really my specialty, so I think I’ll take a page out of Celestia’s book.”
Discord’s hand disappeared through a portal that opened up next to Celestia’s head. He stuck his hand inside her ear a ripped out a piece of paper, much to the Alicorn’s horror. He closed the portal before Celestia could complain and cleared his throat.
“Darling, you and I were meant to rule together- oh wait, hold on here…” Discord crossed out a line on the paper and scribbled something new. “Darling, I know our relationship had a rocky start, but would you put that aside and accept my friendship?”
Y-you too! I mean I do! No! I mean yes!! Darling communicated.
Discord chuckled, and laid a hand on her truck. "Hello, Darling, it’s good to talk to you again."
I see where you are, and I know what you plan, the castle poured it's incredible might from Ponyville, all onto one infected little pony marching her way, Face me, and perish!
The weakened parasite, cowered and bent to her will.
The filly's hard earned temperance, allowed her to continue breathing calmly.
The filly's incredible cunning, realized a non-corporeal spirit was attacking her.
The filly's unbreakable courage, allowed to stand back on her hooves.
"I'll kill you AND your light!" Cozy roared back.
For the first time in her life, the castle felt fear.
