Chapters Chapter 1: The Missing Link.
Discord sat in his cave in distraught. No matter how hard he tried, his chaos was not turning out how he wanted to. It was too....too...
"Too beautiful," he sighed.
His cotton candy clouds had become like works of art from a Van Gogh or a Rembrandt. The chocolate rain was no longer as chaotic. It came down in sequential patterns, splashing to the ground like a song. Even the chaos he inflicted upon animals was too beautiful.
"Look at me," he said to himself as he gazed inside the mirror.
"I'm a mess. I've fallen for beauty."
He had an idea why; Fluttershy. She was too perfect and too kind. Maybe her reformation of his chaos had infected him with a love for pure beauty.
"But why fight it?" a voice purred.
Discord whirled around in fright.
"In here," the mirror snapped.
He turned back to find his own reflection speaking to him.
"Why fight the urge, my good man?"
"Because it's not me," Discord defended.
The mirror gave a hearty, yet villainous, laugh.
"Of course it is. As a matter of fact, it suits your fancy well."
The mirror snapped its fingers and a fancy suit appeared upon Discord's body.
"It doesn't feel right," Discord exclaimed snapping the suit away and turning from the mirror.
"This isn't who I am. My chaos is ugly."
"Oh, Discord. You amuse me," his reflection chuckled.
"Of course it feels right. It's just missing something."
"Missing something?" Discord asked as he turned back to the mirror in interest.
"Why, of course."
All of a sudden, the reflection's eyes began to swirl in such alluring colors that Discord could not help but stare deep into it.
"Your eyes....." he gasped.
"They're so.....so...."
"Beautiful? Of course. Don't you see? Beauty makes you happy."
Discord's eyes began to swirl as well.
"So....beautiful. So....happy."
"Yes. All that's missing is the beauty of song, youth, and innocence."
"Song? Youth? Innocence?"
"Of course. You can make visual beauty, but pure auditory beauty is not one so easily established. And the beauties of youth and innocence are ones you have not acquired; ones that were stolen from you at birth. You crave these types of beauty and you shall do anything to obtain them."
"Anything," Discord repeated slowly as if savoring the endless taste of the word.
"Good."
The mirror snapped its fingers and Discord came up from his trance in almost a daze.
"So how does beauty sound to you now?"
"I'll know it when I hear it and sense it. Maybe I should go to Fluttershy for all three."
"Don't be silly. You shouldn't bother with that mare. I have someone else in mind."
The mirror faded away to a nearly-teenage unicorn mare playing with some friends of hers. She had a golden-blonde mane and tail, red glasses, and a peach-pale coat. She was laughing and smiling, completely carefree.
"Her?"
"Yes," the mirror purred.
"She has the beauty of song, youth, and innocence. Discord, you know what to do."
Discord gave a sickening grin and, with a foreboding chuckle, swooped around and flew from his cave in search of the mare he desired.
Chapter 2: A Stormy Intrusion.
Lydia Springflower had but one care in the world; to ween away her childish nickname of Little Lotte. And yet, it was a nice nickname to be called as she chased her filly friends around Canterlot's Sunshine Meadow in a game of Pony Princess Brigade.
"And then Little Lotte, princess of music, sweeps down to save poor Prince Raoul from the wrath of the dreaded swamp witch!" Lydia tells passionately as she leaped around in the meadow.
"But Little Lotte gets trapped in the seaweed brook and April Showers, princess of weather, has to use her acid rain to dissolve the dreaded seaweed," followed her pegasus friend April Showers.
"And then April Showers gets zapped by the swamp witch and it seems that all is lost," exclaims her earth pony friend, Bubble Sweets.
"Until Bubble Sweets, princess of candy, comes in and ties the witch in everlasting taffy."
"Then Little Lotte uses her music power to send Prince Raoul, herself, and her friends back to the kingdom," Lydia finished.
The three ponies fell to the ground in an excited and giggling heap. Around April and Bubble, Lydia always had fun.
"Thanks for that, girls," she said to them with a smile.
"A good roleplaying game always gets my mind off of---"
"Well, well. If it isn't the three foolies," an arrogant voice shattered through the happiness.
The three looked up to find the ever-snobby Golden Rays and her crony Bronze Button prancing towards them.
"Something wicked this way comes," April whispered.
The three stood up and brushed the meadow grass off of their coats. Lydia, being the most confrontational, stepped up to the witchy, teenaged filly.
"Good afternoon to you too, Golden," she said coldly.
"What do you want, Goldisnots?" April spat from behind.
"Shut your trap, April Shooters," Bronze snapped back.
"I just wanted to remind you that my cute-ciñera is going to be on Saturday and I want you three to be there. Especially you, Little Lotte," she sniffed glaring and grinning at Lydia.
April and Bubble shot up to her side in a huff.
"Hey! You watch your mouth," April growled.
"Yeah! Nobody calls her that but us," Bubble exclaimed.
Golden's smirk was growing wider by the second as she brewed up insults in that cauldron called her mind.
"Hate to burst you, Bubble," she spat back with such an overtone of sarcasm that it almost oozed from her voice onto the ground.
"But I can call anyone whatever I want."
"That won't get you very far in life," Lydia asserted.
"If you call people names, no one will love you."
She could feel the air around her tighten up. The more intense the situation was becoming, the darker the sky was turning.
"Why should I care?" Golden huffed tossing her mane.
"As Niccolò Machiavelli said, it's better to be feared than to be loved. And besides, at least I have my cutie mark."
"More like the Dark Mark," April grumbled.
Lydia turned to her flank in shame. Golden Rays was right about two things; Machiavelli's principle on how to be perceived and the fact that she had her cutie mark, unlike Lydia and her friends.
"Come, Bronze Button. Let us leave this cursed trio of the unmarked to wallow in their shame," Golden sniffed.
As the duo turned to leave, Lydia couldn't help but feel violated. For as long as she had been alive, she knew there were two types of insults for ponies without their cutie marks; one was blank flank, which wasn't as hurtful due to the fact that it was now considered old hat. The other was called unmarked. Being labeled as an unmarked was considered one of the cruelest forms of shaming among ponies of her age group. On top of that, if you could still be called an unmarked upon reaching adulthood, you could be suspected in being a supporter of the devil or even of King Sombra. And if those accusations were true....
"That horrible, no-good wench!" April raged as soon as Golden was out of earshot.
"Just don't listen to her," Bubble advised.
"She's simply trying to get a rise out of you."
Good old Bubbles. She took after the demure composure of her mother; Applebloom, making her the main voice of wisdom in the trio.
"And besides, adulthood isn't for a few years. My mother didn't get her cutie mark until she was a teenager."
"I know. All of our mothers didn't get theirs until they were teens," Lydia sighed.
She remembered her mother telling her that she was most likely just a late bloomer.
"It runs in our family, sweetheart," Sweetie Belle said calmly.
"You'll get yours eventually. Everypony does."
"It's just not right, though," Lydia complained kicking a hoof against the ground.
"Why do some ponies bloom later than others?"
Suddenly she began to shiver a bit.
"Is something wrong, Lydia?" April asked.
A chill crept up her spine, delivering a suggestion to her teenage mind.
"I feel like we're being watched," Lydia shivered.
"Oh relax," April told her.
"It's probably just your anxiety kicking in again."
It seemed a reasonable explanation. Almost two years ago, Lydia had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. She'd been taking medication for it, but it didn't seem to help so much as the doctor claimed. Now it seemed so much as a mere chill up her spine could send her into a burst of thoughts of "what if" and suggestions that seemed highly unlikely.
However, this seemed different. As much as Lydia wanted to believe it was simply her anxiety prying at her once again, something kept convincing her otherwise. And the more her mind attempted to shake the suggestion away that she was being watched, the more it persisted and the more she began to believe it was true.
"You're probably right," she said, donning a mask of feigned and forced calmness.
"Maybe I just need to get away from the meadow for a while."
"Probably. Hey. Why don't we head up to the Canterlot Café for something to drink?" Bubble suggested.
"Good idea," April said.
"We could use some shelter anyways. It looks like it's going to storm."
The three walked towards the city. The further they were from the meadow, the more relaxed Lydia began to feel. Maybe it was simply her imagination that she saw a pair of glowing, red eyes peeking at her from the bushes.
"Of course it was," she told herself.
Wasn't it?
Chapter 3: The Mysterious Music.
The three casually approached Canterlot Café, which was not too far from the meadow. Normally an after school hangout, it was also where one could go to hear some jazz music, talk of philosophy and other intellectual pursuits, and to meet new ponies.
This afternoon the establishment was fairly quiet with only a few ponies scattered here and there. April and Bubble approached the counter with Lydia trailing behind.
"Afternoon, girls," the counter pony greeted them with a friendly smile.
"What can I get ya?"
"Three glasses of apple cider, un-fermented," Bubble replied promptly.
The counter pony nodded and began to prepare the drinks. The three ponies seated themselves down at a table. April and Bubble began to discuss their crushes at school. Lydia just sat absentmindedly, pushing around the salt shaker. Were those eyes really just an illusion? She couldn't help but wonder more than ever.
It was true that hallucinations were symptoms of both her anxiety and her anxiety medication, but this was different. The hallucinations with her anxiety or her meds had had a dreamy effect on her as if attempting to relax her or even hypnotize her to accept them as reality. This one seemed much more real. This one didn't make her feel entranced or mindless. On the contrary, it made her think more than ever. And it made her fear more than ever.
"Hello? Earth to Lydia," April called out waving her hoof in front of Lydia's face.
With a confused "Huh?" Lydia jumped back to her senses.
"Oh. Sorry, April," she said quickly.
"I was just preoccupied, that's all."
"I told you already. Golden Rays is just trying to get a reaction," Bubble said.
"No, it's not that."
"Well, what is it then?"
Lydia sighed.
"I think it wasn't an illusion. I think we were being watched back in the meadow."
"You're just letting your anxiety get the best of you again."
"You don't understand, Bubble. This is different! The hallucinations from my anxiety have a sort of sleepy effect on me. This one is making me more alert. There's no way it's my anxiety!"
By now Lydia was beginning to feel frustrated. Was she the only one who understood the difference between anxiety-caused sleepiness and alert reality?
"Maybe the sleepiness is your way of blocking out the anxiety," April suggested.
"No, April. I swear this is different."
"Three apple ciders," the counter pony called.
Bubble jumped off her chair and brought them back.
"Maybe you need a drink," Bubble suggested handing her an apple cider.
"Maybe that and some music," Lydia sighed seeing as how she didn't want to frustrate herself anymore.
"Too bad it's the jazz band's day off."
She took a few sips. It was refreshing enough, but it wasn't going to help her forget those red eyes.
"Have you been seeing a therapist about this anxiety?" April asked.
"Believe me, I've tried a few, but their methods never seem to work. Either that or they're too bucking weird."
"They couldn't be that weird."
"Oh yeah? One of them suggested hypno-music therapy."
"What the hay is that?"
"It's where they play music to make you relaxed and then put you into a deep trance."
"Sounds like something out of a horror film," Bubble shivered.
"I know. And I like listening to music, but having it hypnotize me is just too much."
Lydia began to take another sip when she heard the soft tunes of an instrument not too far off.
"What is that sound?" she asked in awe.
April and Bubble looked at her confused.
"What sound?"
As if by instinct, Lydia put down her cider and hopped off her chair.
"What are you doing, Lydia?" April asked.
She walked out of the café towards the sound.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"So....beautiful," Lydia whispered.
She had no notion of where she was headed, nor did she seem to care. All she wanted was to hear that beautiful music close up. And the closer she got, the more her eyes began to glaze over as if she was falling into a deep, deep trance.
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After a while, Lydia came upon a forest just on the outskirts; the Nevermore Forest. It was said to be Canterlot's equivalent of the Everfree Forest, except ponies who went in usually never came back out.
Nevertheless, Lydia didn't care. All she wanted was that music. She needed the music. And she knew she was close to it.
"Your father has sent me," a voice purred from nowhere.
"To bring you salvation through music. Music is your destiny, Lydia. Come to me, your angel, and I shall bring you your destiny and to your cutie mark."
Obediently, Lydia walked closer to the sound and to the voice.
"You love the music, my dear."
"I do," Lydia said in a dreamy voice.
"It is relaxing. It removes your worries. Do not think. You shall not think. Only do. I shall worry and think for you."
She had no fears, no worries, no thoughts. Her angel, her guardian, was to think for her now.
"Come to me, my angel. Trust me. Love me. Obey me."
Lydia nodded as she began to feel a warm sensation flow through her body. She thought nothing of it as she walked towards the voice.
Then it happened again. She saw the red eyes flash. But this time, she wasn't worried. She liked those eyes. They were relaxing her even further.
"Look at the calming red of my eyes," it purred.
"They are so lovely. So beautiful. Come closer to them."
"So lovely....so beautiful....come closer," she repeated entranced.
"Yes, my dear. Come to me. And I shall give you all you desire."
She was so close to those eyes. All she wanted was a life filled with those eyes and the beautiful music. Whatever her life was before was meaningless.
"Yes. Come to me---"
"Lydia!" a voice yelled.
Suddenly the eyes and music disappeared, jolting Lydia awake. She was still a bit dazed and confused when she felt a force push her to the ground. She could barely make out the silhouettes of her friends as she was coming to consciousness.
"Lydia! What the hay were you doing?" April asked when she finally came around.
"I-I don't know," she groaned as she pushed herself back up.
"I thought I told the counter pony that the cider was supposed to be un-fermented," Bubble exclaimed.
Lydia looked around and gasped.
"What are we doing in the Nevermore Forest?"
"A better question would be why were you walking into the Nevermore Forest?" April asked.
Suddenly the sound of growling erupted from nearby, startling the three.
"I think we should get out of here before we discuss why we went in," Bubble suggested.
"There could be carnivores in here. And they're growling because they need a fresh meal. Let's just go."
"Agreed," April and Lydia said in turn.
The three cantered out of the forest, failing to realize that the growls came not from a wild animal; instead it came from the throat of a very frustrated draconequus whose plot was just foiled by two concerned ponies.
Chapter 4: An Unexpected Attack.
Lydia was in a daze. Even by the time they got back to the palace where they were staying with Twilight Sparkle for the summer, she was still collecting her thoughts, sorting out those which would help her decode what had recently occurred, those which would only confuse her more, and the thoughts that fell somewhere in between.
She remembered a voice mentioning her father and an angel sent by him. As fantastical and storybook-esque as it sounded, it was true. Her father wanted to keep her innocence, so when he was dying of ponymonia, he didn't want her to grow up miserable from the loss of her father. Instead he had told her that, when he was in heaven, he would send an angel to watch over her and to guide her, in hopes of easing his passing upon the then-six-year old filly.
Even now, ten years ahead of his death, Lydia still held the belief that an angel was watching over her. It seemed silly, but it seemed the only plausible explanation.
"So what happened?" April inquired once they had returned.
They laid upon the queen sized bed in Lydia's summer room, as the storm began to lighten a tad just outside of the castle.
"I'm not exactly sure myself," Lydia groaned, holding her hoof to her head.
"And what I am sure of sounds far fetched, even for me."
"Well, you didn't suddenly just decide to walk into the Nevermore Forest by yourself, did you?" Bubble asked concerned.
"No, at least, not that I'm aware of. If I did, it would've been a subconscious decision."
Suddenly the door opened and the sound of clattering china was heard entering the room.
"Here you are, girls," came the lyrical voice of Twilight Sparkle.
The purple alicorn stepped into the room, careful not to spill the cups.
"Are you okay, Lydia?" she asked as she took notice of the unicorn's hoof upon her forehead.
Quickly, she nodded.
"I'm fine, Twilight," she lied.
"Just a little headache is all."
"Well then, this tea should help you feel better."
Carefully Twilight used her magic to set the tea tray down upon the bedside table.
"I'm so glad you're back. I was beginning to worry when that storm came around. Where did you girls go anyway?"
Lydia groaned. Twilight was always the nosiest one, possessing the urge to know everything about what was going on in their lives.
"Oh, you know," Bubble said quickly, always the one with the quickest mind.
"A bit here. A little there. Everywhere."
Twilight giggled. She always enjoyed Bubble's quick wit and word choice.
"I hope that doesn't mean the Nevermore Forest."
A sense of unease possessed the three at roughly the same time. To contain their fear, they laughed along with her, but in a self-conscious sort of manner.
"Of course not," April said sheepishly.
"Good," Twilight said with relief.
"I'll leave you three to chat."
And with that, she left the room. Quickly Bubble shut the door quiet enough so as not to arouse suspicion. This was too private of a matter.
"Okay. Tell us exactly what you can remember," she told Lydia.
"Alright, but you're going to think it's too crazy."
"We've heard crazier," April scoffed.
"You won't be able to say that when I'm finished, but alright."
She took a deep breath.
"First off, I don't really remember much considering I wasn't aware of much."
"How is that possible?"
"It was like I was in a daze or a trance of some sort."
"What?"
"I don't know. My head hurts and I can't really think of any other way to describe it."
Suddenly a chill began to run up her back again.
"What is it?" Bubble asked.
Her jaws began to force itself open and her vocal chords started to open themselves up. Imbalanced Lydia began to stumble around the room as laughter invaded her head.
"Sing for me, my love," she heard a purring voice in her mind.
Here she was again, feeling the same sense of entrancement. Only this time, it was much more painful, as if someone was angry that she hadn't fallen under the spell the first time.
In a panic, she began to bang her jaw on the bed.
"Lydia, what the hell are you doing?" April exclaimed in a panic.
She could feel the first note of a song slowly climbing up her throat, as if it was grabbing onto the inside with a sharp and painful force. Lydia could taste blood in her throat as she attempted to keep the note down. She had to resist. And yet, she didn't want to.
"Sing for me!" the voice snapped.
In a last minute attempt to bring herself back, Lydia threw herself on the floor and began seizing in such a way that she almost seemed possessed.
"Lydia, are you insane?" April shrieked.
She could faintly hear the doors bang open and several pairs of flopping hoofs canter inside just before the note threw itself from her throat in a pained and tortured scream and her world began to fade into a black abyss.
Chapter 5: Colored Circles.
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