The Equestria Healing Process

Chapter 2

       “Discord’s Lament”

As he sat in his thinking tree, Discord reflected on all that had happened during the time he was with Tirek, until the time he had his magic stolen like all the others and was betrayed.  He could not help but think and no matter what type of magic he conjured up would make him feel better.  Until Tirek crossed his path, Discord was on the fast track to realizing that friendship was more powerful than anything he could ever have.  But he threw it all away when Tirek offered him a chance to go back to his old ways as the master of chaos, only to have been betrayed and absorbed of his own chaos magic.  Perhaps more importantly, he feared that his relationship with Fluttershy had been permanently damaged because of his actions.  He was never loved by the other ponies, but Fluttershy was the one pony who was always there for him.

“I don’t know how I am going to get over this,” he thought as he looked up to the night sky above.  “Because of me, all my friends were stripped of their magic by Tirek.  Should I have stopped him right then and there when I had the chance?”

He snapped his fingers and a television screen came on that allowed him to watch what he did.  He was watching the moment he captured Fluttershy and the others in a cage before Tirek absorbed their magic.  He carefully watched the moment where he betrayed Twilight's friends and told a tearful Fluttershy that Tirek had offered him more than just tea parties:

The town of Ponyville was deserted as Twilight had ordered her friends to tell its citizens to stay indoors until Tirek was defeated.  Now, it was only them who were out on the streets.

"Alright, y'all," said Applejack, looking out to see that the town had been secured. "I think we've warned everypony to stay inside."

"I'm sure Discord will catch Tirek and this will all be over soon," said Fluttershy happily.

"I'll bet he takes his sweet time," huffed Rainbow Dash, who was never a fan of Discord to begin with.  Just then, Discord himself appeared wearing the medallion that Tirek had given to him back in Canterlot.

"Or perhaps these things just take time," Discord said, teleporting over to them.  Fluttershy flew over to her friend and hugged him tightly as she thought that Tirek had been captured.

"You're back!" gasped Fluttershy, as she hugged her closest friend.  "Did you bring the cucumber sandwiches?"

"I did," said Discord, producing a plateful of cucumber sandwiches.  But then, at that moment, Discord revealed his true colors and his face and voice turned from warm and joyful to cold and sinister.  "I imagine they'll be your last decent meal for quite some time."

Suddenly, Discord threw the sandwiches face down on the ground and produced a large cage that trapped Twilight's friends inside.  They shouted and screamed at Discord as Tirek stepped towards them and smiled down at the captured ponies.  As far as he was concerned, he was nearly close to his ultimate goal of gaining the alicorn magic.

"Ta-Da!" he sang to Tirek as the large centaur looked down on his latest victims.

"You've gathered up all of them?" asked Tirek.

"And her little dragon, too," laughed Discord as Spike tried to bite Discord, but the crafty draconequs managed to quickly pull his finger away in a teasing manner.

"How could you do this?" cried Fluttershy, as she was being protected by Applejack.  "I thought we were friends."

"Oh, we were," replied Discord, who seemed to not care about Fluttershy at all.  "But Tirek offered me something much more than tea parties.  Surely you didn't see this coming?"

"I didn't," sobbed Fluttershy, burying herself into Applejack.  "I really didn't."

Seeing his one and only true friend cry like that sent a chill up his spine and it was only then did Discord could not watch anymore of his ultimate betrayal and snapped the television away from his view.  All he ever really wanted was to be friends with someone who would accept him for who he was and when Tirek offered him the chance to have freedom to do whatever he wanted.  He seized that opportunity and it would become the biggest regret of his life.

“Oh, Fluttershy,” he continued to think after seeing his own failure before his own eyes.  “I don’t know what came over me when Tirek tricked me into joining his side.  I may have destroyed my relationship with Celestia and the other princesses, but you are the only true friend I got now.  The other ponies may have realized that I am still not reformed, but I truly am reformed, if only everyone else could see that.”

Just then, he heard a rustling sound and at that moment, a pair of Celestia’s guards, one unicorn and one Pegasus, came forward and landed at the base of the tree.

"Discord, get down here at once!" order the first guard sharply.  Hearing them and not wanting to have any more conflict, Discord snapped a pink bathrobe on to show that he was resting and came down the tree to meet them. But the guards were not impressed for all they knew, they were dealing with a traitor.

“May I help you, gentlecolts?” Discord asked in a polite voice as he peaked out from the tree. "Please forgive my appearance, I was asleep and I..."

“Drop the act, Discord,” snapped the second guard, pointing his spear at Discord's throat, causing the master of chaos to tremble nervously.  “Princess Celestia and the other princesses want you in Canterlot, now.”

This caused Discord to snap away the robe and produce a suitcase and a hat, being that this was an emergency meeting that he had to go to.  But, in reality, he was thinking that he was going to be scolded by the princesses for initially disobeying them. After all, they put their trust in him to capture Tirek and he failed to follow up on their trust.

Following the guards to Canterlot, Discord landed on one of the towers and was met by Shining Armor, who scowled at him as he landed.  Despite his earlier conversation with Cadence back in the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor felt like striking Discord down with his magic after the nightmare he put his wife and sister through.

“I hope you have a very good reason for what you did, traitor,” he said coldly, staring at Discord with disgust and anger.  “We wouldn’t have been in the situation we were in if it weren’t for you.”

Discord gulped nervously as Shining Armor watched while the guards silently led him into the throne room as he saw Celestia, Luna and Cadence sitting there, waiting for him.  Celestia and Luna glared at him with anger in their eyes while Cadence only had a look of disappoint in her eyes.

"Step forward, Discord," thundered Luna, using her royal Canterlot voice. Fearing the worst, Discord walked over slowly towards the three princesses and towards his fate.   As he walked past, he looked up at the stained glass window of Twilight’s coronation, now back to its original state after being melted by Tirek.  He sighed heavily at the window as it now reminded him of that dark moment where he had been in Canterlot changing all of the windows into reflections of himself causing chaos.

But then, DIscord realized that Twilight was missing and was completely unaware of what had happened to Twilight's library.

"This can't be right," Discord thought as he slowly walked towards the three disappointed princesses.  "Where's Twilight?  Shouldn't she be here with them?"

But, Discord didn't have time to think as he stepped forward towards the princesses and looked up at them.  Celestia then rose up from her throne and stepped down towards Discord, her eyes glaring at him like a stern mother would give to her child.  This made Discord step back and feel nervous, expecting what was going to happen to him.

“Discord,” Celestia said as she spoke in an ice cold tone.  “When I decided to have you reformed so that your magic could be used for good instead of evil, I thought you would understand that Equestria is a land of magic and friendship that needs to be protected from those who wish to disrupt it.  By joining forces with Tirek, you betrayed us and you have shamed yourself throughout all of Equestria.  How can you justify yourself for your actions?"

"Give us one good reason why we shouldn't turn you back to stone because of what you did," snarled Luna.

As the princesses continued to glare down on him, Discord sighed heavily and looked up at them with remorseful eyes.  And as far as Discord was concerned, all he wanted was a second chance from them.  A second chance at learning the magic of friendship

“All I can say is that I am truly and honestly sorry for what I have done,” said Discord remorsefully.  “Tirek tricked me into believing that there was something more than friendship and it was an offer that I couldn’t refuse.  He lied to me that I should have chosen power over friendship and being the master of chaos that I am, I chose the latter.  I may never be fully liked by the ponies of Equestria, but I can atone for what I did, if you will just forgive me."

As she watched Discord repent, Princess Cadence could see that Discord was able to earn a second chance despite everything that had happened.  However, while Princess Cadence knew that Discord deserved a second chance, neither Celestia nor Luna were not so sure.

“Because of your initial actions, Discord,” continued Luna, rising to her feet.  “We had to transfer all of our magic into Princess Twilight so as to buy ourselves time for her to find a way to stop Tirek.  As you later saw for yourself, when Tirek found out we had transferred our magic, he banished us to Tartarus and we remained there until Twilight and her friends defeated him with the power that was unlocked from the Tree of Harmony.”

At that moment, Discord began to remember the moment where he felt a shudder during his time with Tirek.  He knew that something wasn’t right and hearing Luna confess it to him made him feel weaker than normal.  He was also feeling sorry that they ended up in Tartarus under his watch.  Had he known the full story of what was happening; he would have turned against Tirek right then and there and attempt to stop him from banishing the princesses to Tartarus.

"You must understand," protested Discord, raising his paws up in defense.  "I had no idea that Tirek would send any of you to Tartarus.  In any case, I thought he would have just left you alone right there."

However, Luna was not amused by this confession and she stepped forward to Discord, looking up at him with cold eyes.  She knew first hand what imprisonment was like and knew that Discord had to eat his words.

"You lie, Discord!" she snapped, using her royal Canterlot voice as her eyes grew white.  "Do you know what it is like to be imprisoned in a place like Tartarus?  Do you?!  We sat in a cell with only Cerberus for company while you and Tirek hunted down more of our subjects.  Had you had any heart, you would have jumped in and stopped Tirek from sending us to Tartarus while at the same time, stopping Tirek before he grew stronger!"

Discord gulped nervously as Luna's temper made him feel more weaker and more shameful than he already was.  The princess of the night then stepped back towards her sister and niece as Celestia calmly spoke in her normal voice in regards to Twilight's absence.

“And if you were wondering why Twilight is not here, Discord,” finished Celestia, her anger turning to a hint of sadness.  “Tirek eventually found out about Twilight's recent ascension and a destructive duel of power was fought on the outskirts of Ponyville not far from our old castle between them.”

"But, that can't explain to why she is not here," wondered Discord.  "I helped her get the last key needed to open that chest from the tree of harmony.  Surely, there must be another reason?"

"There is a good reason to why she is not here, Discord," said Cadence as she stepped down and walked over next to Discord.  But, the master of chaos was not prepared for what Princess Cadence said next.

“If you were probably wondering why Twilight is not here with us,” added Cadence, who was trying to sound calm not like her aunts.  “She is in a state of sadness because her library was destroyed by Tirek when he tried to obtain our magic.”

This made Discord’s heart sink upon hearing that particular news.  It was not that long ago Twilight had taken him in when he was trying to earn her friendship by faking an illness.  Hearing about the library’s destruction was the last thing he wanted to hear.  He wanted to make it up to Twilight, but he didn’t know how.  He could also understand why Shining Armor was so cross at him.  Not only did Discord allow Shining Armor to be drained of his magic, but he also allowed his younger sister to be put in mortal danger.

“Princesses,” stuttered Discord, placing his lion paw on his chest.  “I don’t know what to say about this.  I mean, I, I didn't expect for Tirek to do such a thing.  I mean, I wish I could've helped her but Tirek had drained my magic before going out to find Twilight."

This made the princesses turn towards each other in surprise upon hearing those words from Discord.  Up until that moment, they didn't know that Discord also had his powers stolen by Tirek.  It seemed at that moment that Luna knew that she was being a little hard on Discord, but it was no excuse for what he did to begin with.

“This is very surprising to us, Discord,” said Luna, looking down at him.  “This unexpected development makes you part of a victim in this matter, but, as much I would rather not say this, there is a way you can start to redeem yourself of your wrong doing."

This gave Discord a glimmer of hope in getting back on Luna's good side.  For as far he knew, Luna was seemingly determined along with several others to make sure Discord be punished alongside Tirek.

"You can help by being supportive of Princess Twilight during this emotional period of her life," ordered Luna.   Everything that she ever had was lost and we are going to have to replace them eventually.  You can help us with that.”

“I’ll do anything to earn your forgiveness,” begged Discord as he got down on his knees and began to pray, producing a halo that hung over his head. "Anything, just don't turn me back to stone."

This gave a small smile to Celestia and Cadence’s faces upon seeing Discord act this way, knowing that he was already starting to atone for his earlier actions.  However, Luna was not so sure about Discord especially after playing a part that ultimately resulted in her and the other princesses being sent to Tartarus.

“On your feet,” ordered Luna and the creature of chaos snapped his fingers and rose to his feet, dressed in a soldier’s uniform.

“Yes, ma’am!” he shouted, but Luna merely scowled at him and Discord snapped away the uniform.  “Sorry about that.”

Luna merely rolled her eyes and stepped back while Celestia and Cadence walked past Discord and he followed them to the stained glass window of Twilight’s coronation.  Both princesses had a look of worry in their eyes as they stared at the window.  For unlike Luna, both Celestia and Cadence had spent the most time with Twilight personally and something as traumatic as losing the library was something that they had to help her get over.

“However, Discord," said Celestia, looking up at the coronation window of her most faithful student and youngest equal.  "There is another reason why we have summoned you here."

“What is that?” he asked confusingly as Celestia and the other princesses turned towards him.  But, Discord was not prepared for what Celestia said next.

“I need you on a mission to bring Tirek here so he can be punished for what he has done,” she said to him.  Discord gasped and his face turned white upon hearing those words.

“He needs to pay for what he did,” said Luna, spreading her wings to stretch.  “And even though you have confessed to your crimes, that doesn’t excuse you of any wrongdoing as well.  You will not be punished like Tirek, Discord, but you will be watched closely.”

This made Discord feel slightly nervous, but he knew that by being asked to bring Tirek to Canterlot for his crimes, he would give himself an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of the princesses.

“As of right now,” ordered Celestia, beckoning Shining Armor and several guards back into the throne room.  “You are to go to Tartarus and bring Tirek here where the four of us will punish him for his crimes against Equestria.  However, if you fail us again, Discord, we will have no other choice but to turn you back to stone."

“I won’t fail you, princesses,” said Discord, heeding the warning and bowing to them as Shining Armor and the other guards led him away from the throne room.  But as he left, Discord looked up at the stained glass window one more time.

"Let's go, traitor," barked Shining Armor to the master of chaos as he and several other guards led Discord from the throne room as the other princesses watched.  As he was being led, Discord looked up one last time at Twilight's coronation window as well as all the other stained glass windows that were restored following Tirek's reign of terror. A look of guilt and anger came onto Discord's face as the thought of Tirek misleading him caused the inner beast inside of him to grow.  But, he had forgotten the real victims in all of this were Twilight and her friends.

“I hope you can one day forgive me Twilight for what I did,” he said to himself as Shining Armor and the others left the throne room while Discord followed.  "I may never be fully forgiven by every pony in Equestria.  But, you are important to me...regardless of what happens, you, Fluttershy, and everypony else."

As Discord and the guards left the room, Celestia looked down at the floor and walked over towards her throne as the three princesses knew what they had to do next.

"What do we do now, sister?" asked Luna, noticing how Celestia had a look that meant that she had to do something important.

"We wait for Discord to return," replied Celestia as they walked out of the throne room.  "But in the meantime, we need to be in Ponyville for Twilight."

So, the princesses took to the air as they made their way towards Ponyville while Discord was escorted by Shining Armor and several guards on his mission to bring Tirek back to Tartarus...