Chapter 2: The Game Ends Now
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The Key of Magic : An Alternate Story of Discord

Chapter 2: The Game Ends Now

“Okay, I think I’m getting the hang of this,” Twilight proudly states, teleporting from cliff to cliff. Suddenly in an erratic burst of magic coursed through her, causing her to teleport from place to place, from Canterlot, to Appleloosa, to the middle of nowhere, conveniently trapped in between two huge boulders. “Ugh this is so irritating…” Twilight complained to herself. Within her vision she had noticed something strange floating in the air… A house. And a floating house could only mean one thing. “Discord? Wait… That’s where Ponyville is,” Twilight had talked herself in confusion, “What does he think he is doing?” With another glow of her horn Twilight teleported out from in between the rocks and began to fly at top speed to ponyville. Looking at everything below her she had begun examining the scenery. Patterned lands of purple and pink, cotton candy clouds that rained chocolate, ballerina Bison… This was without a doubt Discord’s doing. Landing in town square Twilight announces to the Bison, “Don’t worry! I’ll dispel the curse on you folks.” The Bison confused at what Twilight had been talking about she asked them, “I’ll get rid of this spell that’s forcing you to dance like this!”

“For your information this is how we normally dance!” One of the Bison had shouted at Twilight, the lot turning their heads and walking away with style. Twilight who was dumbfounded, had her confusion interrupted by the call of Spike.

“Twilight! Discord…has gone… mad…. And…” Spike had run to Twilight’s side, out of breath unable to catch his breath. Twilight had interrupted Spike advising him to wait a minute for him to catch his breath before speaking. Finally doing so Spike took in a large breath of air and said all at once,” Discord betrayed us and locked us in a cage, and took our powers, and teamed up with Tirek to take over Equestria, but then Tirek betrayed Discord and tried to take HIS magic, but Discord was prepared for it to happen and wound up fighting Tirek!” Gasping for air he continued ,”It was actually a really one sided battle, Discord was ripped in half but put himself back together, then he played around with Tirek until he was tired, then he wrapped Tirek in those black vines that nearly overcame Equestria, and choked Tirek to near death by forcing some of the seeds down his throat!” Finally beginning to talk normally Spike stated,” It was awesome! It would look cool in comic book form, but seeing it in person is a whole lot cooler!”

Twilight who was letting the idea of Discord being a hero sink in suddenly came to a realization. “Wait. If Discord saved you guys… Then why does Ponyville look like this?” Twilight had asked. Spike had then explained to Twilight how Discord had ranted that no pony truly wanted to be his friend, and no pony accepted him, and how he stated that if no pony would love him as a friend, he would be feared as a tyrant. Twilight closed her eyes and sighed,” I fear Discord may need to be taken down once more. I may not have the elements of harmony, but I have all the Alicorn magic in Equestria! Where is he?” Spike pointed at a house floating in the sky, spinning in circles. “Is… Is that Fluttershy’s cottage?” Twilight asked.

“No it’s not,” Fluttershy had stated walking to Twilight along with the rest of the group, coming together from different directions. Twilight looking at each one of them, she asked Fluttershy where they all had been. Fluttershy began to explain,” Well… I heard Spike explain so you know most of the story, but after we were released from the cage, everypony got their strengths back. We had to check on our family before we came back to confront Discord. So I had to go back to my cottage.” Twilight looked at Fluttershy in confusion and looked up to the floating, spinning cottage asking Fluttershy if that was her cottage. Fluttershy then began to explain further,” That’s just it. I thought that it was my cottage, so I flew up to go rescue Angel. But when I got up there, I saw my cottage off in the distance, still on the ground and intact.” Fluttershy looked down to the ground then back up at the sky. “Twilight I think Discord is really hurt, I think maybe he could possibly be good again!” Fluttershy stated.

The whole group flinching to Fluttershy’s words every pony stared her down in confusion,” Again?! When has Discord ever been ‘good?!’ Look Fluttershy, I’m sure your hearts in the right place, but Discord is evil! Look at our surroundings! He is wreaking havoc all over Ponyville! Look the cotton candy clouds are raining chocolate milk, the ground is checkerboard patterned, and those bison are doing ballet!” Rainbow Dash shouted at Fluttershy,” These are all the signs that show that Discord is out of control!”

Twilight looked around Ponyville and came to a realization,” We have to go confront Discord now.” With a flash of her horn Twilight teleported the group into the rotating cottage. Yet for some reason the inside of the cottage wasn’t rotating. Applejack who was confused that the cottage wasn’t spinning opened the front door, surely enough the world outside the door was spinning yet, the inside of the house remained normal. Getting dizzy Applejack closed the door, and there he was, laying on the couch. “Discord.” Twilight greeted Discord.

“Oh my look! It’s princess Twilight! So I see you STOLE the powers of the other princesses, mwa ha, ha, ha! I always knew you thought of yourself as better than everypony else! You even went far enough to make yourself the most powerful pony in all of Equestria!” Discord had taunted Twilight, yet Twilight had closed her eyes to Discord. “Oh my, the silent treatment! Even worse than Fluttershy’s stare! Stop! Stop! It pains me! Gah ha, ha, ha!” Twilight remained unmoved, this had begun to annoy the group, along with Discord becoming annoyed from being ignored. Discord finally shouts,” Why aren’t you saying anything?!” Regaining his cool he smiles and states,” Or perhaps you are just too good to talk to me? Am I unworthy? Maybe I shall go onto the others? Applejack the workaholic busybody? Rainbow Dash the lazy and barely literate bronze for thoughts? Pinkie Pie the out of control maniac? Rarity the overdramatic drama queen? Fluttershy the pony with the phobia of everything? Or perhaps I should go onto little Spike the sidekick that’s only called upon when he is convenient for every pony else. Though I find that quite relatable. Perhaps I should banish you all to Tartarus along with Tirek, for you all to rot until your final days! ”

Twilight finally opening her eyes to Discord, finally began to talk,” You are so full of it Discord. You wouldn’t harm us in any way.” Discord burst into laughter until Twilight began to speak again,” You are just trying to get me to turn you into stone! I may not have been able to before, maybe not even Celestia and Luna were able to. But I have the power of 4 alicorns, and you assume I can just turn you into stone! But I know you’d rather have us forgive you!” The group looked upon one another in confusion, Discord outraged had begun to shout.

“And do pray tell why in the world I would want to be turned to stone?! You really think I would want to go back to my stone imprisonment? Why in the wide, wide, WIDE, world of Equestria would I defeat Tirek merely just to become a stone statue in some cheap garden? Do you not see the chaos being wrecked? I made it rain chocolate milk from cotton candy rain clouds! I made the land covered in pretty checker boarded colors, and made floating houses,” Discord had begun to rant.

Twilight had spoken up once more,” Ah-ha! So you don’t deny that you’d rather have our forgiveness!” Discord and flipped his claw in rejection and claimed to have not gotten enough time to deny it. Twilight however was not convinced,” You say you made the chocolate rain happen yet why is it that underneath each cloud is an inflatable pool collecting the chocolate milk?” Discord had argued that some pony else must have done it when Tirek was finally defeated. Twilight continued ,”Then tell me out of all the houses you could have made float you decided to create a house, and Fluttershy’s no less!” Discord still denying everything had turned his head and turned the couch facing the wall. Twilight however teleported Discord back to face her,” You made a cottage to float into the sky because you didn’t want to trouble any pony else! Didn’t you? And you chose Fluttershy’s cottage out of anypony else’s, because she was the one you treat the best! The checkered patterned floor is no big deal that can easily be fixed! But don’t think I didn’t notice the one thing you always do, when you were ‘letting loose!’ You didn’t manipulate any of the animals! Because you knew that it would have been an ordeal to fix! Even now you are taunting us so that I will turn you to stone, because you are just too ashamed of yourself to ask for forgiveness!” Twilight had panted from her ranting, out of breath from all her yelling.

Suddenly the sound of a snap was heard, and a bundle of thornless black vines grabbed the group, all except Twilight, pulling them into a cage. Applejack shouted,” Twilight! Quit trying to coax Discord! Can’t you see you are just trying to make a friend out of a villain?!” Discord agreed with Applejack, stating that Twilight was being too optimistic and reading too much into too little information.

Discord snapped once more and every pony was teleported to the field where Twilight’s house once stood. “My house! My books… Owlicious!” Twilight yelled in distraught. Owlicious suddenly flew in and sat on Twilight’s back, hooting at her. “Who… Who could have done this?”

Discord smiled and shouted,” Why who else, but me! I figured why not destroy Twilight’s house just to further prove that I was betraying her to rule Equestria! At first I thought ,"Why not fill it with shredded books? Or maybe even filled to the brim with pudding! But I figured this was more cynical,” Spike had yelled to Twilight to explain that Discord was lying, but with a snap of Discord’s claw, Spike was unable to open his mouth which was now zippered shut. “Now do you see? I am not playing around,” Discord sang, “I am going to get rid of you just like I did to Tirek! But you know what? I’ll use your friends just like what Tirek was going to do, but more fair. I am going to fight you, and if you fail to defeat me, your friends will be banished to Tartarus! Not as prisoners however… As Cerberus’ chew toys!”

Twilight stood her ground and asked Discord,” Why are you doing this? Weren’t we friends?” Discord laughed at Twilight’s question, he had even shed a tear from how hard he laughed. He asked her if she really had just asked such a silly question. Asking if she really thought of him as a friend. He had stated that she had treated him just like the other ponies, as a nuisance. Like back when he was sick. “That’s no fair!” Twilight replied,” You were pretending to be sick so you could ruin my day with Cadence!”

“Oh. Do you honestly think that was the only reason I did that?” Discord asked with a pout. “Just as I had stated that day, I was in my thinking tree, and I thought to myself, Twilight never writes. Yet she calls me a friend.” Twilight replied the same as that day, stating she had no clue where Discord even lived, which only angered Discord,” You never asked! You didn’t even have to ask me, you could have asked dear o-… You could have just asked Fluttershy! But even if you did ask her, would you have really written to me? One day you are declaring that you want me to be a good guy and I finally comply, I say that I’ll use my powers for good, but no… That wasn’t enough. You never even tried to use my powers for so much as helping an old pony cross a street, not even Celestia herself attempted to make use of me. I just wanted to have fun, but you all shunned me for it, still calling me a nuisance even after declaring that I would use my powers for good!”

Twilight finally began to shout in anger, she had finally become fed up with Discord's words,” Enough! You are just looking for excuses so that you don’t have to apologize! You can’t face what you did to the ponies of Equestria, and even more you won’t forgive yourself for what you did! That is why you are doing all this!” Discord became outraged, stating that it was insulting that Twilight was pretending to know him so well, when she herself never gave him the chance to show her himself while he wasn’t causing trouble. Stating that he didn’t need friends, Discord held his claw up ready to snap, until Twilight interrupted one last time,” If this is all true… Why do you wear that necklace?” Discord looked down at his neck, “Spike had explained to me in detail what had happened, he had told me about that necklace having a special meaning that Tirek gave to you, to show that you two were truly friends.” Discord stated that he merely liked the design, but Twilight shot that down,” Lies! You just wanted to keep the one gift you had ever got from some pony you thought was a friend. You didn’t want to lose the one present that represented that some pony had finally accepted you for who you really were, but there is no reason for you to hold onto that when it was given to you by some pony who betrayed you! I know you don’t want to hurt us, or else why would the black vines wrapped around our friends have no spikes?” Discord held the necklace in his tiger paw, still ready to snap with his claw, he closed his eyes thinking deeply.

“This is the last straw Twilight. The games are over,” Discord had announced. With the snap of his claw Twilight’s friends appeared behind him, and a gate to Tartarus was placed beside them. Twilight still calm stated that Discord didn’t have to do this. That he still had one last chance to do the right thing. That he could truly end the games now, by just putting them down. Rainbow Dash still outraged had kept up her smack talk, talking down to Discord and telling Twilight to just turn him into stone. Twilight commanding Rainbow Dash to be quiet the others do the same. The group started apologizing, telling Discord that they were sorry for treating him so poorly. Looking into Twilight’s eyes he felt a shine and glow go through his eyes.

"I just... I held an immature grudge against you for turning me into a liar... And for flooding Sweet Apple Acres..." Applejack had admitted.

Rarity had complained, "You had me carry a giant boulder all day... And I got my hooves dirty after I had just gotten a hooficure... I suppose it was petty of me to stay mad when in reality it wasn't that bad..."

Pinkie Pie explained," I just wanted to tell you about my life! But then you distracted me with balloons!"

Rainbow Dash stared at the floor, then mumbled, until she was then smacked by Apple Jack. Rainbow begrudgingly admitted ,"I suppose I didn't really have a real reason to dislike you... I mean all you really did to me was make me take a nap and feel lazy for a couple hours..." Rainbow turned her head in a pout still expressing that she didn't like having to apologize to Discord.

Twighlight bowed her head to Discord, not in surrender or anything of the sort, but as an apology ," I as a princess should have been setting an example for my subjects. I should have forgiven you, and have treated you like a real friend when you chose to start anew. And if you'd like, i'd be happy to send an apology letter."

Fluttershy smiled at Discord taking a step forward ,"I may have been scared of you when we first met, but I know deep down you are a real sweety. But I admit I first befriended you because Celestia asked me to... But I'd be honored to be your friend once more... But to be your friend not out of obligation, but because I REALLY want to."

Discord began to think. They all look so genuinely sorry. Aside Rainbow Dash that is, but still he could have 6 friends and a Spike that would forgive him if he would just end the game he had only started 10 minutes ago. His claw began to tremble, his eyes closed, his grip on the pendant, Discord was ready to do the unforgivable. Suddenly the sound of Spike’s voice was let out,” Twilight! Discord wasn’t the one who destroyed your house, it was Tirek! Discord saved Owlicious, I even saw him snap to do it!” Discord turned around to see Spike, who had somehow broken free from his mouth zipper, and melted the cage bars to release himself and every pony else. “Discord, I know you feel like you are being used, but that isn’t the case!” Discord looked upon spike keeping his claw in a snapping shape just in case, Discord asked Spike to continue and that he had his full attention. “There are just somethings that other ponies can’t do, that’s why they have to rely on other ponies for help! I know that sometimes it seems that no one wants your help unless they absolutely need it. I mean the only thing I got going for me these days is helping Twilight with nonsense, or digging gems for Rarity." Rarity gave a guilty smile looking away and at every pony continuously, whilst Twilight had just called out at Spike insulted from hearing that she only called on Spike for nonsense. Spike continued," Earth Ponies can’t raise crops properly if Pegasi don’t control the weather, that’s why Pegasi are the ones to do it. You have a special power to control all the chaos in the world! You could be the one that every pony looks to for help! It may take time, but it could surely happen!” Discord’s eyes opened wide, that didn’t sound bad at all to him, and he could be adored, and praised. As long as he stayed within certain boundaries, he would be admired. “It’s all up to you to make that decision Discord,” Spike stated.

Discord looked at his claw and he felt his grip loosen... Yet still. He snapped, sending all the other ponies and Spike into a panic. But they felt something... Different. A wave of magic filled the air, the floating house disappearing, the checker boarded ground returned to their natural colors. Discord took off his necklace and gave it to Twilight,” Tirek tricked me into believing that he could offer me something more valuable than friendship. But there is nothing worth more. I see that now. He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of gratitude and loyalty. But when I say that is a sign of our true friendship, I am telling the truth.” The medallion then shined and glowed just as Discord felt his eyes do the same. “If you all are willing to forgive this mistake that I have made, I promise to devote myself to forever making sure, that my magic is only used for good… and fun,” he winked. Pinkie Pie was the first to jump yelling in glee from the word fun. Applejack looked at the medallion and asked Twilight if she thought that the medallion could have been the key that would be made from the lesson of magic. Twilight agreeing began to run towards the Tree of Harmony’s chest. Walking up towards the chest Twilight held the medallion up toward the chest, and surely enough it turned into a key. Discord suddenly said in shock,” Hey! That was a gift! If you didn’t like it you could have returned it,” Discord turned away from Twilight and frowned. Twilight feeling guilty tapped Discord’s shoulder, only for Discord’s head to turn backwards and shout,” Just kidding!”

Twilight announced that she believed she and her friends had to turn the keys together, while doing so the chest opened and they dissolved into the chest shooting out of it as a rainbow before exposing themselves as transformed magical beings. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew across the skies granting Pegasi their ability to fly once more, Pinkie Pie and Applejack ran across the land granting Earth Ponies their strength, while Rarity and Twilight ran across the land granting magic back to the unicorns. Lastly as everything began to go back to normal, the chest floated from the sky and into the land Twilight’s house once stood, sprouting from the ground a castle. One musical number later, Discord was given the diary that Twilight and her friends often wrote in. Twilight and the others explained to Discord that all of their friends wrote in it, so he should do so as well. Discord’s heart ached from the kindness and privilege from being able to write in it. Discord sighed and tore out his fang and began writing in the diary,” Today was probably the beginning of the best day of my life, although it didn’t go as planned, and I sadly won’t become king of Equestria, I am fine with that. Today I have learned that there are simply things that not every pony can do, and that it’s sometimes up to other ponies to do them… Whether they like to or not it’s a duty that some pony has to do. I have also learned that lying to hide shame isn’t good, because no matter how horrible a thing you had done, real friends will always hear out what you have to say and forgive you.” Snapping his claw all of Ponyville appeared before him, including Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and even Shining Armor. Discord took a bow and yelled, “I, Discord am very, truly sorry.” All of ponyville applauded and cheered for Discord, most had seen Discord take down Tirek, and hadn’t even known that Discord was about to become a Tyrant, to some Discord was now a hero. With one last snap, the diary flashes, Twilight and the gang looking into the book they all laugh, for Discords last words in the diary were ,”I have finally learned, that truly, Friendship is Magic.”

Author's Note

Ah god it took me so long to reread and edit this. Hope every pony likes it!