Chapters Chapter 1: My Hate Will Die With You
Scorpan could sense that something was amiss when he knew that something had happened in Equestria. The young gargoyle knew that his brother, the diabolical Lord Tirek had escaped from his prison in Tartarus and set out to finish what they both had started over a long time ago, which was to take all the magic in Equestria for himself. Scorpan was once on his brother's side and it wasn't until he met and befriended Starswirl the Bearded, the all powerful wizard who made him see the light of what made Equestria what it was. Trusting his newly minted instincts, Scorpan also befriended Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the two royal sisters and thus, allowed them to capture and imprison Tirek in Tartarus…until today.
Now, with Tirek's recent return to Tartarus known to him, Scorpan could see that he needed to say his peace to his brother and that he had to return to Equestria to help his friends once again. Entering the cold and dark realm of the Tartarus prison, Scorpan was first greeted by Cerberus, who was now more than focused on standing guard.
"Down, Cerberus," said Scorpan, raising his paw to the three headed dog. "I mean you no harm at all. I wish to see my brother, Lord Tirek."
The three headed dog stood down and allowed Scorpan to fly past towards the cage where Tirek was being held in. Little did Scorpan know that Tirek had recently received a visit from Equestria's four princesses who had come to offer him a chance to learn the magic of friendship like Scorpan. Of course, being the demonic centaur he was, Tirek refused and was condemned to rot in the dungeon for the rest of his life.
"So here you are," said Scorpan, coldly as he landed in front of his brother's cage with Tirek's back to him. "You just couldn't give up yours goals, couldn't you? I sensed what you had done, Tirek and I for one no longer consider you a brother."
Tirek didn't move for a second, but then he turned around looking over at Scorpan with a cold stare that was just as equal as Scorpan's. In Tirek's mind, he knew that Scorpan was a pathetic excuse for a brother.
"Is that what you have come to say to me after all these years?" sneered Tirek, turning fully around. "Have you no remorse for not coming to my defense at my moment of need?"
Scorpan was aghast by what he had just heard and clutched the bars of Tirek's cage, his eyes filled with fury as he locked on Tirek's face with a far colder stare. Tirek deserved to be defeated the way he did at the hands of Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends.
"Why should I have come to help you, Tirek?" asked Scorpan. "Tell me why."
"Because you are my brother, Scorpan," retorted Tirek. "We always look out for one another and now is the time for you prove yourself…"
"Oh, shut up!" snapped Scorpan, hissing like a snake and cutting Tirek off. "Just shut up! I don't care anymore! I don't care that you are my brother! A brother never looks up to someone that has every intention of putting others down to his level. No, I will not bow down to someone like you, Tirek."
Scorpan then backed away from the cage, determined to not let Tirek break him. For he had something far more important in mind to help his pony friends and they didn't involve his brother in any way.
"I can sense what you have done, you pathethic excuse for a creature," said Scorpan. "You put my friends and the ruler of the Crystal Empire in your place, leaving them to die while you went on your merry rampage, trampling on the rights of others that never did anything to you."
As Scorpan spoke, Cerberus whimpered for a second, knowing firsthand how hard it was seeing his mistresses in the position they were in. Of course, they were eventually freed much to his relief. Scorpan took notice and used Cerberus' plight and predicament to make his case against Tirek.
"Do you see? Even Cerberus agrees with me," continued Scorpan. "He made a mistake and will learn from it, unlike you, ex-brother."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Scorpan," said Tirek, unfazed by Scorpan's demeanor towards him. "Do you know how I felt with all the magic in Equestria? I felt strong, I felt great to be alive! Friendship is and always will be a weakness to me, Scorpan. And that is what you are, a weakling who embraces friendship over power."
"No, you are the weakling," countered Scorpan, bitterly as he got ready to leave. "If you aren't going to learn what friendship is yourself, then I will show you. I will return to Equestria and clean up the mess that you made, Tirek. I will help anypony who was traumatized by your actions and that includes my friends whom you imprisoned."
Scorpan was about to take to the air when Tirek uttered a statement that surprised Scorpan greatly.
"What about that pathetic Discord?" remarked Tirek, clutching onto the bars of his cage. "He is just as weak as you are, Scorpan, just like that medal that once belonged you."
Scorpan didn't respond and merely focused on the task at hand, which was to help his equine friends recover from Tirek's rampage.
"Brother, your words won't hurt me anymore," sighed Scorpan. "In fact, I don't care what happens to you. You can complain about your defeat all you want, but I won't listen. You are dead to me, Tirek and my hate will die with you."
Without another word, Scorpan took to the air and left Tirek alone to think about his actions, not caring what happens to him.
Soon, Scorpan arrived into Canterlot under a cover of darkness. The streets filled with more of Princess Luna's night guards than ever before as the events with Tirek had caused the Royal sisters to increase security around Canterlot and the surrounding communities. He knew that he had to be careful for one wrong move could be the end of him, depending how vigilant the guards were. Pulling the hood of his cloak over his head, Scorpan approached the gates of Canterlot where two guards pointed their spears at him.
"Halt!" one of them cried.
"Who goes there?" added the other, just as stern sounding as the other. "Remove your hood at once!"
Doing as he was told, Scorpan slowly removed the hood revealing the maned portion of his body. The guards still stood steadfast for they didn't know what would Scorpan was capable of, although it was clear that Scorpan had no intentions whatsoever on hurting anypony.
"I am Scorpan," he said to the guards. "I have come to help Equestria recover from my brother's reign of terror on the ponies of this land."
Nevertheless, the guards remained suspicious as they carefully approached Scorpan intending to search him to see that he wasn't planning anything. It took a few minutes, but they found nothing on Scorpan and thus allowed him to pass through the gates and into the darkened and heavily guarded streets of Canterlot, intending to meet the princesses and inform them of his plans to help Equestria move on…
Chapter 2: Reunion in Canterlot
After his very tense encounter with a pair of guards, Scorpan entered the capitol of Equestria with every street being patrolled by more of Luna's night guards than ever. Scorpan was not used being so watched, but he had to stay focused and clean up the mess that Tirek had made on Equestria. At the same time, an orange unicorn pony carrying a basket of oranges on his back was making his way through the streets, thinking that he was being well protected.
Then, he saw Scorpan hulking shadow and began to think back of when he had the dishonor of being Tirek's first victim. The pony shivered and quaked as he backed away trembling.
"Get back! Get back!" he whimpered, not wanting to have his magic taking away again. "I know what you want, Tirek! Or whatever you are, just go away before I summon a royal guardspony!"
Scorpan could see that the pony was frightened by his appearance. Maybe it was because of the black cloak that he was wearing since Tirek wore a similar one when he came into Canterlot. Still, Scorpan wanted to calm this pony down and tell him that he didn't come to steal magic. In fact, Scorpan could well remember the screams of ponies he and Tirek attacked before he was reformed.
"It's all right, my friend," he said in a calm voice. "I'm not going to steal your magic. Trust me, I come in peace."
Just like he did at the gates, Scorpan raised his paws out to show that he wasn't coming to harm anypony. This made the unicorn calm down slightly, but he was still on edge, like all the inhabitants of Canterlot.
"You are not here to harm me?" asked the pony, getting back to his feet. "Then, what do you want?"
"I am Scorpan," answered Scorpan. "And I am here to do whatever I can to help Equestria recover from what my brother had done. Now, calm yourself and tell me where I can find Princess Celestia or Princess Luna."
The pony thought for a second that Scorpan was intending to harm Celestia or Luna, given the size of Scorpan's body. But, that was not the case.
"Well," said the pony. "Luna is ruling at this time. She has been very busy lately with all of us getting nightmares and such. I don't know if she can talk to you right this second."
"Then where is the castle?" asked Scorpan again, as he watched a guardspony walk by, keeping his eye on him. "I need to know where it is, my friend."
The unicorn then pointed towards the tall building with the light from his horn where Celestia and Luna resided. This was useful information to Scorpan and now, he knew where he needed to go.
"Thank you, my friend," he said. "You are most grateful."
So, Scorpan took the air and flew over to the main castle while the young unicorn pony sighed in relief, knowing that this creature was nothing like Tirek at all. More importantly, he kept his magic and thus could sleep soundly for the first time in several days.
Meanwhile, as Scorpan flew towards the castle, Princess Celestia was fast asleep in her bed while her sister ruled over the night that fell on Equestria. It had been a harrowing several days for Celestia, with several of her subjects calling out for Tirek to be brought back to Canterlot and placed on trial with all the ponies he attacked for their magic testifying against him.
Others were calling for Tirek to be executed in a rather gruesome manner unbecoming to Equestria which was that Tirek would be hung, drawn, quartered and beheaded in the streets of Canterlot.
But, Celestia never believed in killing anypony, not even Tirek. For she was a pony who could only order the execution of those who had killed another pony of great importance. In fact, her recent visit to Tartarus was now starting to feel like a waste of her time. She and the other princesses offered Tirek a chance to be like Luna or Discord and learn the magic of friendship. But, he coldly refused and thus Celestia was left with no choice but to have Tirek rot in Tartarus forever.
All that Celestia wanted to do was to move on with her life. Yes, she did make the mistake of sending Discord over Twilight and her friends. But, that was probably a good thing to say the least because Discord now understood the magic of friendship even though he had to learn about it the hard way.
Suddenly, Celestia was awakened by the sounds of struggling going on right outside her bedroom.
"Take your hooves off of me!" she heard Scorpan cry out and hastily climbing out of bed and throwing on her yellow robe, Celestia dashed out of her bedroom and saw several night guards struggling to hold Scorpan down.
"ENOUGH!" barked Celestia and the struggling stopped as Scorpan looked up to see the princess of the day looked down at him with a warm smile on her face. "Release him at once!"
"But, your highness…" protested a guard, but Celestia had the final say, even though Luna was on dream duty.
"Do as you are told!" she ordered, tears of happiness forming in her eyes. "And stand guard while I talk with Scorpan."
The guards were baffled, but did as Celestia told and Scorpan was led into Celestia's bedroom with the door closing behind them. Once the doors were closed, Celestia and Scorpan came together for a very long embrace, with Celestia crying slightly.
"It's all right, Celestia," said Scorpan, calmly as he continued to hug her. "I'm here for you and I'm here for all of Equestria."
"I'm so glad you came back," cried Celestia as they broke apart while Celestia wiped away a few tears. "We need you more than ever, my friend, after what your evil brother did to us."
"I know," sighed Scorpan as he sat down in a chair across from Celestia's bed. "I always feared for the day that he would escape and finish what we both started. And now, it came to pass."
Celestia trotted over and sat down on the edge of her bed, a glass of water in her magic aura as she continued to reconnect with her old friend. It seemed for a moment that all of the pressures that had come onto Celestia in the aftermath of all of this had disappeared. However, Scorpan knew that Celestia had been just as much a victim of all this as the rest of her subjects and fellow princesses.
"Now, tell me what I can do to help," said Scorpan and Celestia sighed heavily as she continued to feel the pressures leave her body.
"Well," sighed Celestia, knowing that there was something that Scorpan could do. "I know that you can help me, Luna as well as Cadence and Twilight and the rest of our subjects. But, there is somepony else that I think you can help more."
"Who is that, Celestia?" wondered Scorpan, scratching one of his wings. "Who would you like me to help?"
Celestia was silent for a minute and then lowered her head to find the words to say to Scorpan. It wasn't easy, but it needed to be said.
"I need you to help Discord see the error of his ways," she explained. "I am aware that he fully understands the magic of friendship now, but the damages he has done while siding with Tirek are far beyond anything unmeasurable."
Scorpan considered the matter and thought of what would happen if he would take this opportunity. He could well remember that Discord was just as much an enemy of Equestria as Tirek was, determined to turn Equestria into a world of chaos of his own free will. Why his old friend would want him to get Discord to understand the error of his ways was beyond his own thoughts.
"I want him to apologize for what he did," continued Celestia, her voice sounding a little more firm than before. "But, not just him saying that he is sorry, Scorpan. He needs to go to the towns and cities he attacked and by doing important deeds will he finally get on the good side of those he harmed."
Celestia then sighed heavily again, for she knew of something of much greater importance that needed to be addressed and it concerned Shining Armor, her former captain of the royal guard and the husband of her adoptive niece, Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire.
"But, there is another matter concerning Discord that I need you to help us with," continued Celestia as she produced a piece of paper that showed Discord's picture on a WANTED poster from the Crystal Empire. "It's an order from Prince Shining Armor that Discord is to be arrested and brought to trial for treason. What worse about this is that Shining Armor is doing it under his authority, not mine."
"Then, what can I do?" asked Scorpan.
"I need you to convince Shining Armor that Discord is no longer the creature he thinks he is," answered Celestia. "I think that this grudge he has against him has gone on long enough and he needs to move on just as much as we do."
So, as Celestia wrote up a letter ordering Discord to come to Canterlot at once, it appeared that Scorpan had an enormous task ahead of him, not just helping Equestria get back on their feet, but also dim the tension between Twilight Sparkle's older brother and a recently retired enemy of Equestria.
Who knows how everything was going to turn out in the end?
Chapter 3: Morgan, the Magic Mirror
Chapter 3
"Morgan, the Magic Mirror"
While Celestia was giving Scorpan his laundry list of tasks to help Equestria get back on its feet, Discord sat in his home inside the warped reality, thinking about everything that had happened up until this point. Yes, he did confront Tirek in Tartarus and unleashed his anger upon him; he apologized to Fluttershy for turning his back on her and he even helped remake Twilight's destroyed dresses with Fluttershy and Rarity.
Yet, Discord felt like there was something missing. The retired master of chaos was thinking of whether or not that the damage he had done to Equestria was far greater than what had been previous thought of. He had to remember that Celestia had given him an opportunity to become a role model by capturing Tirek and he let it slip through his hands. Nevertheless, he decided to consult with somepony who knew him better than anypony.
Snapping his lion's fingers, a large silver mirror appeared before Discord and the creature of chaos stepped up to the mirror looking at his reflection in the mirror.
"Man in the magic mirror," he cried, spreading his mismatched hands out before pulling them back in. "Come from the farthest space. Through chaos and anarchy I summon thee, speak!"
A flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder rocked the house and then after a few moments, a flash of fire appeared as the figure of an older dark skinned man with white hair and a beard in a grey business suit sitting behind a desk appeared before Discord.
"Let me see your face," commanded Discord as the flames produced the figure that was before him.
"What can I do for you, Discord?" asked the man on the other side. "I don't have any other appointments until later, so I can listen to what you have to say."
"Well, Morgan Freeman in the magic mirror," answered Discord, turning into a pickle with his mismatched arms and legs for a moment, before snapping himself back to normal. "I'm in a bit of a pickle, if you say. Something has been on my mind in regards to the events with Tirek. I was wondering if you could help me find the error of my ways."
Morgan considered the matter for a moment and Discord anxiously awaited for what he had to say. In a way, the magic mirror had been a source of solace for Discord. Whenever he wasn't his joyful chaotic self, he would turn to this object and the person inside would help him with either a funny joke or funny scene from another reality.
However, it became clear that Morgan was going to go straight to the point of Discord's situation. He wasn't as much older as Discord, but Morgan lived in another world and in that world, he was one of the older ones.
"Discord, you're special," he explained in a blunt tone. "You could have been an inspiration to Equestria. Could have been a leader, a role model. Instead you're….Benedict Arnold."
Discord tried to respond to the bluntness of what his mirror had said, but all he could do was drop his jaw to the ground in shock and surprise.
"Well, I feel sheepish," he said, literally turning into a small sheep and walking up to the mirror with a hard stare before turning his back on Morgan. "All right, you baa-aad boy, but no more freebies."
"I'm telling you the truth, Discord," retorted Morgan, while Discord turned back to his normal self. "It's like I said, you could have been an inspiration to Equestria. I mean, think about it, Celestia gave you a chance to become a hero and you let it…slip through your paw and claw like sand or a fumbled football. You fell for the other side and that is why you are called a traitor by that one pony who holds a grudge against you."
Morgan then showed Discord the WANTED poster that Shining Armor had posted in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire with his picture on the cover. Seeing his picture made Discord turn blue with fear and at this point, Discord wanted to take everything back, but he couldn't. Still, even though everything had turned out okay for the most part, Discord was still viewed as a traitor by some ponies.
"I can explain as to why Shining Armor is acting this way," stuttered Discord, his teeth chattering.
"There is no need to, Discord," replied Morgan. "This is a pony who wants you removed from the very existence of Equestria and he is acting this way because you put two important mares in his life in mortal danger."
Discord then watched as Morgan disappeared to show pictures of Twilight and Cadence on the top and bottom of the mirror respectively. As he looked at the two princesses, Discord could well remember the Prince of the Crystal Empire scolding him coldly that day in Twilight's throne room:
"It wasn't a little mistake, traitor," hissed Shining Armor, turning to face Discord. "You put the two mares in my life in great danger along with the rest of Equestria. I almost lost my wife because of you."
"It was all Tirek's fault," protested Discord, trying to put all the blame on Tirek. "He did everything and I just followed him around."
"If you hadn't disobeyed Princess Celestia, then I wouldn't be standing here at your level, scolding you," said Shining Armor, icily, pointing his magically charged horn at Discord's throat. "Because of you, that monster attacked my wife and her aunts before he sent them to Tartarus."
Shining Armor pulled his horn away from Discord's throat as he continued to circle around the creature of chaos like a vulture to a carcass. The more Shining Armor circled Discord, the more scared Discord was becoming.
"Did you even stop to think of what you were doing, Discord?" cried Shining Armor, stamping his foot down hard. "Did you even think of the consequences that you were causing? I know what Cadence told me about her imprisonment in Tartarus. She had nightmares of being in that prison ever since then."
After a few moments, Discord managed to clear his head of Shining Armor's words and sigh heavily. The Prince of the Crystal Empire was right, Discord had done some serious damage to Equestria and he was the only other one to blame for Equestria's downfall besides Tirek.
"Then, what else can I do, Morgan?" cried Discord. "I mean think about it for second, isn't helping Twilight get a piece of her life back enough?"
But, Morgan merely shook his head side to side, meaning that it wasn't enough. Helping to remake Twilight's dresses was good, but it wasn't good enough. There was much more to Discord's redemption than just remaking clothes, something that Rarity was good at.
"Normally in certain circumstances, it would," answered Morgan, sitting back in the chair behind his desk. "There are plenty of ponies that you had harmed, Discord and you need to do what you did for Twilight and Celestia to the other inhabitants of Equestria."
Discord was surprised for a moment that he had also helped Celestia. But, after a moment's consideration, he remembered of that day when he repaired all of the windows in Canterlot that he and Tirek defaced after Tirek banished Celestia, Luna and Cadence to Tartarus. Seeing the melted window of Twilight's coronation was still fresh in his mind.
Just then, a puff of green smoke appeared in front of Discord with a message from Celestia, summoning him to Canterlot at once. Discord could see now that this was his opportunity that Morgan was talking to him about.
"Guess now I can start redeeming myself," remarked Discord as he made the message disappear with a snap of his fingers. "If it means getting my hands dirty with the truth, then so be it."
"Then go to Canterlot and find out what you need to do," said Morgan as he began to disappear from Discord's view. "If there was ever a time to start your redemption, Discord, it is now."
With Morgan gone, Discord snapped his fingers and departed for Canterlot…
Chapter 4: Discord Meets Scorpan
Upon being summoned from his realm of chaos, Discord teleported himself into Canterlot and carefully tried to avoid any unwanted attention from the already tense royal guards. With each guard that walked by, Discord grew more and more worried. He then realized that why he should be afraid to begin with? He was the master of chaos, but a retired enemy of Equestria. So, he snapped his fingers and assumed the disguise of one of the guards.
"They shouldn't be afraid of me," Discord thought as he snuck towards the doors of Canterlot Castle. "Perhaps if I stay in this disguise until I get to the throne room, then I will be unnoticed. Let's just hope it works. I need to do what Morgan sys I need to do, if I am to get back into the graces of everypony in Equestria."
Meanwhile, Scorpan and Celestia had made their way down to the throne room and waited anxiously for Discord to arrive. Even though Discord declared that he was no longer using his magic for evil, Celestia had to be on her guard, for she could possibly discover that Discord was probably faking his claim that he was no longer going to be using his magic for evil.
"He should be arriving at any moment," said Celestia, quietly as she sat nervously on her throne, her left front hoof tapping nervously. "Not all of the night guards know of his retirement from evil, Scorpan."
"Discord is the master of chaos," remarked Scorpan. "I know he will do anything to answer your call, Celestia. However, I can't make any promises that he would succeed in coming here alone."
"What do you mean?" wondered Celestia. "You think that somepony…?"
"Will take notice of his arrival into Canterlot," finished Scorpan. "Particularly your sister, Luna. As far as I know, she has been known to have a volatile temper."
Celestia could very well understand the temper that Luna was known to have. In fact, she was glad to know that Luna wasn't here to witness this meeting. If she were here, Luna would have used her powerful Alicorn magic to destroy Discord in retaliation for betraying Equestria, right there in front of her and their closest friend next to Starswirl the Bearded himself.
Just then, the doors of Canterlot's throne room opened and Discord's disguise of one of Luna's guards was still in effect as he entered the throne room. However, neither Celestia nor Scorpan were aware that it was indeed Discord, they thought that it was one of the night guards, probably with news of something that happened in Canterlot.
"Scorpan, I presume," said the pony in Discord's voice as Scorpan looked down with keen interest while Discord shedded his night guard disguise.
"So, you have decided to come and redeem yourself," the gargoyle remarked as Discord produced a halo and a harp. "I am pleased with your decision."
"Well, I want to at least make up for what I did," replied Discord as snapped the halo and harp away. "Not everypony will forgive me, but I want to do something to say that I am sorry for what I did. Surely, you both understand that?"
"We do, Discord," said Celestia, stepping down from her throne. "But, as you have said yourself, not everypony will forgive you. However, simply saying that you are sorry isn't good enough on the level of your actions."
Discord then began to think back to what Morgan, the magic mirror had said to him that he was Benedict Arnold, a traitor to Equestria just as he was a traitor to his own kind. In fact, he wish that he could just teleport Morgan to Canterlot, but decided against it, knowing that this was a matter that concerned him and the two others standing in front of him now.
"I know firsthoof how that feels," sighed Discord. "I actually have been doing some of that, remember? Repairing all the windows in Canterlot hall; helping to remake all of Twilight's dresses with Fluttershy and Rarity, so at least that is a start."
"Indeed, it is," said Scorpan, walking over to Discord and placing a paw on him. "But, now you have to convince all of Equestria that you are sorry. What I have come to do is to clean up the mess that my despicable and pathetic excuse for a brother of mine had made. Since you were the one who helped make the mess, Discord. You will help me in cleaning it up."
Just then, Discord snapped into a black maid's outfit with a feather duster in his lion's paw, much to Scorpan's displeasure, as a way of saying that he didn't do anything cleaning related.
"Fine, fine," he said, in a sarcastic way. "But, I don't do windows."
Discord then remembered that he did do windows when he restored all the windows he and Tirek defaced in Canterlot. So, he snapped his lion's paw and caused the maid's outfit to disappear.
"Oh, wait," he said, sheepishly while shrugging his shoulders. "I did do windows, so that is pretty irrelevant right now."
"Indeed," muttered Scorpan as they all noticed Luna flying back to Canterlot as she was now returning from her duties. "Then, we must leave at once. The quicker we set out on what we have to do, the better. Come, Discord."
So, Discord and Scorpan made their way to one of the open windows and were just about to leave when Celestia stopped them before they could make their move.
"Wait!" she called, causing the two creatures to over to her. "Good luck to you both."
"We will be back soon," replied Scorpan as he readied his wings. "And Equestria will be one step in its recovery progress."
Celestia watched as Scorpan and Discord took to the air, with Discord assuming the form of a bird so that he could keep up with the gargoyle. Where they would go first was up to them, depending on the location that was greatly affected by what Discord and Tirek had done.
Just then, right after the two non-pony creatures had left, Luna entered the throne room eager to allow her sister to assume her duty of raising the sun. However, she couldn't help but notice that it seemed like someone that she despised greatly had just been in with her sister.
"Sister, I saw somepony in here," Luna hissed with keen interest. "Was it Discord?"
Knowing that Luna's hot temper would get the best of both of them. Celestia knew that she needed to tell Luna the truth of what Discord was trying to do.
"It was, but you have to hear me out on what he is trying to do," pleaded Celestia, raising her wings in worry. "He is trying to redeem himself."
"And you believed him, sister?" retorted Luna, stamping her foot down hard on the floor. "Discord must be punished for his actions and…"
"Luna, please!" cried Celestia, trying to get through to her. "We have to believe Discord will redeem himself. Scorpan is helping him and…"
This made Luna stop in her tracks and realize that Scorpan...the brother of Lord Tirek…was helping Discord redeem himself for his actions.
"Sister, did you say that Scorpan was here?" she gasped. "Then, why is he…?"
"We have to trust Scorpan in making Discord see the error of his ways," said Celestia, trying to keep her faith in check as she walked back to the window and looked up to seeing Scorpan and Discord flying off into the night as she activated her magic to raise the sun. "Besides, they could use a little of my light to help see their way."
Luna watched as her sister raised the sun, still unconvinced that Discord could change his ways. But, only time would tell before Scorpan would succeed in completing his quest to help Equestria move on from his brother's rampage…
Chapter 5: Acting as a Dizzitron
Chapter 5
"Acting as a Dizzitron"
Discord followed Scorpan as far as his wings would carry him as the retired master of chaos had no idea where he was going to make up for his actions first. But, Scorpan knew what he was doing in the sense that he was a friend and an idol to all of Equestria. Soon, they arrived at a large cliff on a high rock overlooking the outer bands of Equestria's borders.
"Where are we, Scorpan?" asked Discord as he landed and shedded his bird's disguise. "I've never been to this place, but I feel like I know it."
"The first of your many atonements," replied Scorpan and Discord realized where they were. It was a place that he heard of thanks to Rainbow Dash's constant conversations. "This is the Wonderbolts Academy, where the elite of Equestria's flyers train to one day defend their home from creatures like brother."
Scorpan led Discord through the gates and it seemed like they would be getting by without any problems. Then suddenly, several Pegasus ponies in Wonderbolt gear jumped out and tackled the two creatures and restrained them.
"Hold them down!" cried a Wonderbolt cadet as he held Scorpan down with all his strength. "No one is allowed on Wonderbolt grounds on their own free will!"
"Get off of us!" groaned Scorpan, roaring as he bolted himself up and sent several of the cadets flying. "We are not here to harm you in any way! I have brought Discord here to help him atone for his actions. Where is your commander?"
At that moment, a yellow Pegasus in a Wonderbolt's drill sergeants uniform came over, her eyes glaring at the two creatures that laid before her. She then gasped at Scorpan's presence almost as if she had heard of him in stories from a while back. Then again, Scorpan was famous for betraying Tirek to Tartarus and becoming a friend to Equestria.
"That commander is me," said the pony, letting her guard down as she landed. "I am Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts. Welcome to the Wonderbolt Academy, Scorpan. I have heard many stories about you."
Spitfire then motioned to the other cadets to back away, now knowing that they were messing around with a hero and an ally of Equestria that wasn't even a pony at all.
"I want you to know that I come in peace, Captain Spitfire," said Scorpan, lowering his wings. "We understand the heightened sense of security that has been put into effect after my brother's rampage."
"But, I can't help but wonder, Scorpan," remarked Spitfire, her mood changing she was now looking in back of the gargoyle and recognizing the creature that aided Tirek in draining all of the Pegasus ponies ability to fly. "Why would you bring him, here?"
Discord gulped nervously as he trotted over next to Scorpan. He remembered from Rainbow Dash that Spitfire was a very tough pony to deal with as a drill sergeant. All he wanted to do was not do anything foolish and one wrong move could be a catastrophic consequence that would result in his attempts at reformation come to a sudden end.
"I've come to apologize for my actions," said Discord, nervously. "If there is anything I can do to say I am sorry for my actions…"
"He means you no harm, Spitfire," added Scorpan. "Discord is no longer an enemy of Equestria and he wants to prove it to you. If there is anything you need to have done, he will do it for you."
Spitfire then smiled at the idea that Discord would do anything for her and it seemed that she had an opportunity for the master of chaos to redeem himself.
"Well, since you can do anything to say you are sorry," said Spitfire. "Then, our Dizzitron has not been working properly and so, we can't use it for our cadets' training purposes. And since you are the creature of chaos, I'm sure you can find a way to act as our Dizzitron."
Now, of course, Discord could simply change into a dizzitron and pretend like it was never broken. But, he felt that if there was any chance of being apologetic to the Pegasus ponies of Equestria, then he would have to show his true self. A little while later, Spitfire had all of the cadets lined up at the spot where the Dizzitron is normally used as Discord looked down nervously at the cadets while Scorpan stood off to the side.
"Today, you will be demonstrating your abilities to recover from a spinout," explained Spitfire as she paced back and forth in front of the cadets. "A Wonderbolt must be able to recover from a spinout and fly in straight again as soon as possible. Now, normally we would have our Dizzitron, but since the Dizzitron is out of service, we happened to have a volunteer in the form of the creature who aided Tirek in stealing our ability to fly."
Spitfire then directed the cadets to look over towards Discord, who merely waved his lion's paw meekly while the cadets gave him a hard stare, almost as if they wanted to tear him limb from mismatched limb.
"Keep it in, Discord," he thought to himself. "This is how you should apologize, by doing instead of saying."
Just then, Spitfire pointed out to a cadet who nervously flew into Discord's lion paw, not knowing how this was going to turn out. Once Spitfire gave the order for Discord to start rotating his arms, the cadet closed his eyes as Discord spun his arms around like a windmill as faster and faster as he could go. Discord was wondering how far he was willing to go, but he knew that Spitifire would have the final say. Round and round Discord went and where he would stop, nobody would no.
"Release!" called Discord and the creature of chaos released his grip on the Pegasus pony, but rather than regaining control like he was supposed to, he instead flew farther and farther from sight and soon, he ended up in another cliff, splattering against the side like flypaper.
"Oops," chuckled Discord nervously, looking down at a disgusted Spitfire and her equally disgusted Wonderbolt cadets knowing that he had really goofed up. "I guess that wasn't supposed to happen."
"Ohh," moaned Scorpan, not believing what he was seeing and Spitfire was about to let Discord know how see and her fellow Wonderbolts would feel.
"Well, it is highly unlikely that you have a future in Equestria," she said coldly.
It appeared that Discord had supposedly blown his opportunity, but was surprisingly given another chance at the behest of Scorpan, who would not rest until Discord fulfilled his apologies to the Pegasus ponies.
"Before you decide to give up on Discord," the gargoyle suggested. "I've always believed in second chances and it is my belief that Discord deserves a second chance. Have him try again and see if he learns from his mistakes."
This was further justified when a random Wonderbolt flew into Discord's paw and closed his fingers around the cadet's body. Discord was amazed by this act of compassion that was being demonstrated in front of him.
"I wish to give him a second chance," said the cadet. "Just as you gave me once, Spitfire."
"Very well then, Hurricane Eye," she sighed and producing a small smile. "I suppose second chances have become too far common in Equestria. Discord, prepare yourself again! Ready?"
"Ready," replied Discord, his arms in their windmill position again.
"Then, Go!" barked Spitfire and Discord began his rotations, trying to be more careful than the last time he had a Wonderbolt in his grasp.
After a few moments, Spitfire ordered Discord to release Hurricane Eye. The blue Pegasus tumbled through the air for a few moments and it seemed like Discord had blown his second chance. Then, suddenly, Hurricane Eye regained his durability and flew straight again, coming in for a smooth landing.
"Very impressive, 6.5 seconds, Hurricane Eye," remarked Spitfire, looking down at her stopwatch. "You are going to go far in this academy, I can guarantee you that."
"Well, I'm thanking Discord for helping me," replied Hurricane Eye, happily. "He's not evil when you get to know him up close."
This remark by a promising young Pegasus made Discord feel like this was only the beginning to earning the respect of Equestria once again. Now, he just had to take that momentum to the next location wherever it was.
Meanwhile in the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor was still holding his grudge on Discord, wanting to destroy him for putting Cadence and Twilight in mortal danger. But, he would have to eventually get over his grudge eventually, but when he would do it would be told in time…
Chapter 6: Lingering Anger
Ever since Discord had deferred to Tirek's side, perhaps nopony was more furious than Shining Armor, the former captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard who was now the Prince of the Crystal Empire. In his mind, he knew that Discord was the true cause for Equestria's near downfall, not Tirek. He had already let his feelings out at him while visiting his little sister's castle and even though Discord had helped to recreate Twilight's Best Mare dress from his wedding, it was not enough.
"Shining Armor," called a melodious, but weak voice as Shining Armor saw the sun set on the Crystal Empire, courteously of his former boss, Princess Celestia. "Is everything all right?"
The stallion turned to see a pink alicorn pony trotting over towards him. Upon seeing this pony, Shining Armor was shocked to see how his wife was looking. She had heavy bags under her eyes and the look on her face was a clear sign that she had been ill for quite some time.
"Cadence, what are you doing out of bed?" cried Shining Armor, rubbing his hoof against Cadence's right cheek. "You should be resting with your stomach illness and all."
"It can wait," she moaned. "But, I've been worried about you, Shining Armor. Ever since you confronted Discord, I have begun to wonder whether what intentions you may have planned to do if you saw him again."
Shining Armor could now see that Cadence was beginning to catch up on him and his feelings. In her mind, Cadence wanted nothing more than to move on. The memories of her terrifying imprisonment in Tartarus with Celestia and Luna would probably never go away, but that didn't matter.
"Look, Cadence," protested Shining Armor, trying not to lose his temper in front of his wife. "I know very well what you think I should do, but I can't. Somepony needs to be punished for allowing all of this to happen and it is certainly not going to be Tirek."
"Tirek is being punished, Shining Armor," replied Cadence, firmly. "I was there when we decided that Tirek should rot in Tartarus for his crimes. But, you make it seem like Discord was responsible solely? He wasn't the one who escaped from Tartarus, you know?"
"He did escape from a prison, Cadence," Shining Armor retorted. "Remember when he was a stone statue in the Canterlot Gardens? Somepony broke him free and Twilight and her friends sealed him away again."
In a huff, Shining Armor retreated back into the palace and Cadence followed, her sickness slowly returning to her. But, she was not going to let her illness slow her down. She had to make Shining Armor see sense and make him realize that Discord was just as much of an innocent victim in all of this as much as they were.
"But, what you are saying is that," cried Cadence. "You think that Discord, a creature who is trying to apologize for his actions deserves to be punished just as much as Tirek? I don't believe that!"
"I'm voicing my concerns, Cadence," replied Shining Armor, stamping his foot on the crystal floor. "Didn't the Changeling Invasion knock any sense into why I am so protective of you and Twily? Ever since then, I vowed to never have something like that ever happen again! And anypony who dares to cross me will suffer the consequences!"
At that moment, Cadence noticed another one of the WANTED posters with Discord's picture on the cover. This made the princess of love feel very uncomfortable at what her husband's methods were in dealing with Discord. She could see at that moment that those methods would involve somepony being killed and it made her blood boil with furry
"Shining Armor, are you trying to tell me that Discord deserves to DIE for his actions?" she gasped in shock and anger, tearing down the poster with her magic and showing it to Shining Armor's face. "We don't kill those who break our laws unless the crime is severe!"
"What are you saying, Cadence?" Shining Armor shot back, snatching the paper away. "Are you telling me that Discord deserves a free pass for what he did? He needs to be destroyed, like what you did when you led the Crystal Ponies in destroying King Sombra."
Mentioning Sombra's name only added fuel to the fire and for Shining Armor to say that Discord needed to be destroyed like Sombra was an understatement. Yes, Tirek threw her into Tartarus with Celestia and Luna because of Sombra's death at her lead, but Sombra was executed because of unspeakable crimes against the Crystal Ponies. Discord was offered a chance at freedom to turn Equestria into his own Chaos playground with Tirek leading the charge. Discord didn't kill anypony and Cadence was going to stand by her decision.
"Look, Shining Armor," she sighed, taking in several deep breaths while using her calming technique. "Sombra and Tirek were creatures that had deadly ambitions against the ponies of Equestria that were never fulfilled. Tirek was not destroyed because all he did was absorb magic and we felt that having him rot in prison was the best decision. Sombra was killed because what he did to the Crystal Ponies was wrong, treating them like slaves and such."
Shining Armor nodded at his wife's remark agreeing with her on the fact that those two were true enemies of Equestria. Still, it didn't change his mind on Discord.
"Now Discord," she continued, gasping in and out between breaths. "Is just a poor, misguided soul who never understood what friendship really was. He is a creature that is centuries old, but never harms anyone and knows when he does something wrong, such as now, thanks to Twilight and her friends."
Suddenly, Cadence felt her legs buckle and she collapsed onto the floor while Shining Armor caught her upper body into his forearms. Their heated conversation had taken a lot out of Cadence and Shining Armor knew that she was right. He had to start letting go of his guilt and his anger against him, but he couldn't. Shining Armor was taught that Discord was an enemy of Equestria and that's all there was to it, remembering all those lessons he learned during his training days in the Canterlot Royal Guard.
But of course, as all ponies know, history changes over time.
A little while later, Shining Armor threw his wife onto his back and took her back up to their bedroom. As he watched Cadence fall asleep, Shining Armor wondered if maybe Cadence was right about him going too far with Discord.
"Sooner or later, I have to face Discord again," he thought, looking down at his sleeping wife. "I would normally say no, but I will meet him and accept him for who he is. I will do this for you, Cadence."
Meanwhile, Discord and Scorpan were making their way over to the edges of Appleloosa…
Chapter 7: An Unfriendly Appleloosa Welcome
Following his somewhat successful attempt at apologizing to the Pegasus ponies at the Wonderbolt Academy, Discord followed Scorpan to the small town of Appleloosa out in the western part of Equestria. This town housed much of the Apple family, including Applejack's cousin, Braeburn. However, upon approaching the town's borders, both Discord and Scorpan came across an empty town, almost as if that they were expected to come.
"They must know we were coming somehow," whispered Scorpan, trying to stay on his guard. "Otherwise, the town would have life in it."
"Perhaps," added Discord, who produced night vision goggles with a snap of his fingers. "Or maybe it's because they are after me. You know how these Earth ponies are."
"Well, I remember them as being open and welcoming," remarked Scorpan. "It's best we proceed with caution. Follow me."
So the two creatures carefully entered Appleloosa as quietly as they could, not knowing what would happen if somepony came out from hiding. There had to be a reason for this, but neither Discord nor Scorpan had any idea of what was going on. Unlike their visit to the Wonderbolt Academy, there were at least ponies in sight, but here there was nothing.
"Shh!" whispered Scorpan, as silent whispers were heard in one of the buildings. "Don't move, Discord. There are ponies here and they are planning to ambush us."
"Then, what do we do?" whispered Discord, transforming into a camouflaged soldier and armed with a rifle. "Do we fight or…?"
Not wanting to cause any more trouble than his pony friends had already endured, Scorpan leapt on the rifle and caused Discord to fire a gunshot, triggering the ponies who had been hiding to jump out with a loud cry.
"Get them, Appleloseans!" cried a brown pony in a sheriff's uniform as he and several other ponies charged at the two creatures and tied them down to the ground with rope and nets. Discord and Scorpan struggled against their bonds as the citizens of Applelossa held them down with all their strength.
"Release us at once!" grunted Scorpan. "We mean you no harm at all."
"Oh sure," remarked the Sheriff, mockingly as he glared at the two creatures. "Just like when you stole all our strength, is that it? I've got a really nice jail cell just waiting for both of you!"
The Applelossans hauled Discord and Scorpan to the town jail where they were both put in a cell together. For Discord, the welcome that he and Scorpan just received was just another reminder that he was still considered an enemy of Equestria.
"Scorpan, we've got to do something!" cried Discord, dressed in a prison uniform. "I need to show them that I am sorry for what I did! You know these ponies and such! Talk some sense into them!"
"They need to understand what they are dealing with," replied Scorpan as the sheriff walked back into the room. "Sheriff, we mean no harm to you at all!"
"That here excuse is already getting old!" chuckled the sheriff as he sat back in his desk. "I've already arranged for you to be shipped back to Canterlot for your crimes and them Princesses will decide what to do with you!"
At this point, Scorpan was beginning to lose his patience with this pony and decided that now was the time to reveal the real reason to why they were in Appleloosa. He was known to Equestria as its greatest ally, but these ponies probably never heard of him probably because they were foreign to the outside world.
"WILL YOU JUST LISTEN TO US?!" he snapped in a roaring voice, clutching the bars and shaking them. "WE…DON'T…MEAN…NO…HARM…TO…YOU!"
The roar of Scorpan's voice caused both the sheriff and Discord to cower in fear, with Discord shrinking slightly.
"Take it easy there, feller," whimpered the sheriff, climbing out from underneath his desk. "That mishmash pal of yours is a wanted criminal in Equestria and must pay for what he did! Can't let him wander free after doing something like that, I reckon."
"By stealing magic? He was tricked," grunted Scorpan. "And the one that accompanied him here to this town was my brother, Tirek! I am in no way in league with him anymore and I am here helping Discord make up for what he did to you. If you free us from this prison, I can assure you that Discord…"
"Pardon me, Scorpan," said Discord, snapping his fingers and zipping up Scorpan's mouth. "Let me handle this."
With Scorpan's silenced, Discord pushed him back and was now staring at the sheriff with a look of determination on his face. In fact, Discord couldn't believe that he and Scorpan would be treated like this. Unlike the last time, he came in peace and that is all there was to it. He didn't come back to steal the Earth ponies' strength and had a good indication that Celestia and Luna were not behind the WANTED poster that bore his picture at all.
"Look sheriff," said Discord. "I'm not the creature that you think that I am. This fine handsome gargoyle is right, I am not here to steal magic from anyone. In fact, I am here to help with anything I can do, whether it is apple bucking or entertaining your townsfolk with songs like what Pinkie Pie did when she was here."
The sheriff was amazed that for a creature that wasn't even a pony, Discord could remember such events that took place in Appleloosa, like when they were at odds with the neighboring Buffalo tribe over the removal of an apple orchard. Still, he had his suspicions.
"How do you know that, varmint?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Why the pink pony and her friends are also my friends, too," answered Discord. "And I can assure you that if they were here now, they would say the same thing as I would right now."
The sheriff considered the matter and thought that maybe this was another trick up Discord's sleeve, but he had to be positive that Discord was indeed telling the truth about his situation.
"Is this another trick, ya varmint?" asked the sheriff. "Because if it is…"
"It is not," replied Discord, producing a halo and a harp again. "Let me show you that I mean you no harm and that I am sorry for what I did."
Seeing that Discord was trying to tell him that he would do anything to get back in Appleloosa's good graces along with the rest of Equestria, the sheriff felt that, even though it was against his better judgment, it was best that Discord prove that he was really there to help his town recover.
"Well, if you are here to help and not harm," sighed the sheriff as he opened the cell door and allowed Scorpan and Discord to be free. "Then I am willing to give you a chance. But, I have to warn you varmints that if this is a trick…"
"It's not a trick," interrupted Scorpan, who now had his mouth freed from the zipper that Discord had placed on him. "I am trying to help Discord make up for what he did while he was allied with my brother, Tirek. We really mean it when we say that we come in peace."
Discord then noticed his WANTED poster and knew that there was only one pony who wanted him to be tried for his betrayal.
"Actually, I couldn't help but ask," remarked Discord as he took the WANTED poster off the wall. "Where did you get this poster from, anyway?"
"From Canterlot," replied the sheriff. "They says that if you are spotted, then you are to be captured and sent off to Canterlot. Trust me, that's all I's heard."
Discord took a hard look at the poster and realized that if Celestia and Luna wanted him punished for his betrayal, then he would have been denied the chance to atone for his actions and that he would have been turned back to stone by now. He could tell that it was Shining Armor who was responsible for the poster and not the royal sisters.
Discord would have to eventually confront Shining Armor again over what he was trying to do to him. Little did he know however, that Shining Armor was starting to let go of his anger. Still, much like the sheriff, Discord was not going to believe the actions of Twilight's older brother unless he would see it for himself…
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Chapter 8: Haunting Words From an Angry Prince
Discord had every reason to believe that Shining Armor was truly responsible for making Equestria believe that his head should be on a silver platter. For the first time since confronting Tirek in Tartarus, he felt anger boiling in his mismatched body. It was anger that he didn't want to have since Discord went through so much trouble to remake Twilight's Best Mare dress that she wore at his wedding. All he wanted to do was to move on from all of this and Scorpan seemed to notice.
"Discord," he said as they were led over to the apple orchard on the north end of the town. "You seem like something is troubling your mind. Would you care to tell me what it is?"
"It's that brother of Twilight's," replied Discord, bitterly as he turned his head into Shining Armor. "Ever since I betrayed Equestria, he's had it in for me. He called me out at Twilight's castle and I feel like he won't rest until I am erased from Equestria."
To prove his point, Discord erased himself from Scorpan's view, much to the gargoyle's shock and amazement. He knew now that there was much more damage to be repaired in due time, a settlement between a protective prince and a creature of chaos that was misled by Tirek.
"Well, maybe some ponies are not so forgiving, Discord," remarked Scorpan. "Sometimes we all make enemies that stay with us for the rest of our lives. Trust me, had it not been for Starswirl and the royal sisters, I would have ended up just like my brother, hurting others instead of befriending them."
This little speech didn't help Discord and as soon as they arrived at the orchard, Discord's anger reached to the point where he wanted to just punch something. Fortunately, Applejack's cousin, Braeburn was there to meet the two creatures and he was actually much more welcoming to Discord and Scorpan than the two previous encounters that they had.
"All righty, then, Discord," said Braeburn, warmly. "We Appleloosans believe in second chances and let me tell you that you are in for one second chance. Applejack's told me quite a bit about you."
Braeburn's warm demanure seemed to really strike a chord with Discord and part of him couldn't stay angry for long. A pony like him who believes in second chances was probably a good sign that Discord would have more allies aside from the Main Six…well, two of them, to say the least.
"All you got to do is raise your strongest leg," explained Braeburn as he demonstrated for Discord. "And hit the tree as hard as you can and before you know it, these here apples will fall from the tree."
Discord looked down at his goat leg and stretched it out in his usual chaotic manner, extending it to the point where he went up into the air for all of Appleloosa to see. He wound up doing it several more times and soon, he was ready to start bucking for apples.
"Well, I'm not like Applejack," said Discord walking up to a tree filled with apples. "But, its not going to hurt to try. Besides, I need to make up for what I did to Equestria."
Getting into position, Discord raised his leg and at that moment, his anger started creeping back up again as the words of Shining Armor randomly popped up into his mind:
"Back off, Traitor!"
The same words played over and over again in the mind of the retired master of chaos like a bad record and Discord kicked the tree hard, the force of the kick nearly knocking the tree on its side. But, the apples came out nonetheless as they wound up hitting the ground at a high rate of speed.
It was then that Discord finally felt the urge to buck down at another tree. He felt himself wanting to buck down the next tree he could find. The words of Shining Armor calling him a traitor continued to play through as he kicked at several more trees much to the shock of both Braeburn and Scorpan.
"Something is definitely wrong," remarked Braeburn. "I've never seen anypony buck down so many trees aside from Applejack. Either that or he is mad about something."
"I believe he is mad about something, my friend," said Scorpan. "Something that was probably said to him when he was aligned with my brother. I don't know what it is, but it might have something to do with that picture of him that we saw while we were imprisoned."
Soon, Discord had amazingly bucked all the trees in the orchard, littering all the apples on the grounds of the orchard as the task of getting them harvested was at hand. Both Braeburn and Scorpan aided Discord in helping gather all of the apples, which took a little bit of time. By the time they were done, the time had come for the two non-pony creatures to head back to Canterlot.
"Discord, I've become concerned for you," said Scorpan as they took off from Appleloosa under a bright moonshining night. "You seem to place all of your anger towards your friend's brother into those trees. I'm sure that you can apologize…"
"I tried to apologize, Scorpan," interrupted Discord, bitterly. "I tried to apologize by remaking Twilight's dress from his wedding and he didn't accept my apology then and he certainly won't accept my apology now. He still has it in for me, Scorpan. He won't rest until I am gone from the existence of Equestria only reduced to nothing more than a memory."
"Perhaps maybe you are overreacting to how this particular pony acted towards you," suggested Scorpan. "We all become victims of our imagination and the only way we can escape is by confronting the source. I confronted the source before I came to Canterlot and told him that my hate would die with him."
Discord was now beginning to understand that he and Shining Armor would have to face each other again, causing Discord to relieve that dark day in Twilight's castle when Shining Armor unleashed all of his fury on him for turning his back on Equestria for freedom and power over friendship.
"Well, I mean if you are saying, Scorpan," stuttered Discord as they neared Canterlot. "Is that Shining Armor and I should face each other again…"
"Talk to him," said Scorpan, sharply but with a hint of motivation in his voice. "Tell him how you feel for what you did and maybe he will understand. I will back you up and I will not rest nor will I return to my homeland until the mess that my brother made is cleaned up. I will help you become a friend to all ponies, Discord, or at least those who are willing to accept you as a friend. And believe me, you have indeed made some progress."
Scorpan was of course referring to Hurricane Eye at the Wonderbolt Academy and also to Braeburn back in Appleloosa. They were two ponies that were more than willing to give Discord a second chance as opposed to ponies like Sheriff Silverstar and Shining Armor, who viewed Discord as a backstabber and a legitimate threat to Equestria.
Discord didn't know how this second meeting with Shining Armor was going to be, but little did he know that Shining Armor was beginning to lower his ground with Discord…
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Chapter 9: Shining Armor's Conflicting Thoughts
While Discord and Scorpan were making their way back to Canterlot, Shining Armor stood on the balcony of the Crystal Empire taking in all that the crisp night air had to offer. The young prince of this empire had a lot on his mind when it came to his bitter grudge against Discord. He could only wonder if Discord was indeed truly sorry for what he did, but Shining Armor was not just a prince, but also a brother and a husband who needed to protect those who were very close to him.
"Shining Armor?" asked a melodious voice and the young prince turned to see Princess Cadence, his young wife walking towards him. "You have been standing there all night. Come in and let's go to bed."
"I can't," he sighed, without even a second thought. "Something about that Discord character has been on my mind and I can't seem to let it go."
Cadence sighed heavily at this and joined her husband on the balcony. In her mind, Cadence was one who wanted to move on with her life. She didn't want to dwell on Discord's betrayal any longer and it showed.
"Shining Armor, when are you going to forgive Discord for what he did?" she asked, impatiently. "He is sorry for betraying Equestria to Tirek, but you just can't seem to forgive him when everypony else has already had. Why do you continue to harbor this grudge?"
"Because he tried to take you and Twilight away from me, Cadence," retorted Shining Armor as a small gust of wind blew through the two rulers. "Discord was always taught to me by Lock Down that he was an enemy of Equestria who wanted nothing more than to rule Equestria in a chaotic manner. Part of me wants to forgive him and another part of me wants to try him, convict him and either execute or imprison him."
At this point, Cadence couldn't deal with hearing the name of Shining Armor's mentor any longer. Even though he helped her husband rescue her and Twilight from General Kuwaga's clutches, Lock Down was a pony that was unpredictable in terms of his sayings and such.
"Well, I have been around Discord before," remarked Cadence, trying to defend Discord in a sense. "He is nothing like Tirek, Shining Armor and you know it. Tirek was a creature that wanted to drain Equestria of every single bit of magic that ever existed. He is the one we should all be blaming for what happened, not Discord."
"That's because you are just defending him, Cadence," snapped Shining Armor, the sound of his voice making Cadence jump slightly. "He is a legitimate threat to Equestria and he must be put down for good."
Then, Shining Armor's voice lowered and his guard dropped as Cadence took notice. It appeared in her point of view, that Shining Armor deep down inside, wanted to forgive Discord for all that he did. But the protective side was still there.
"But, you don't want to after what he did to help Twilight and her friends?" guessed Cadence. "When he gave Twilight the last key that defeated Tirek, is that right?"
Shining Armor nodded his head and walked back into the castle, still heavily thinking of his thoughts that were going through his mind.
"I mean you have to give Discord forgiveness on those levels," advised Cadence as she followed Shining Armor. "He helped Rarity and Fluttershy in remaking Twilight's dresses that were lost when the library blew up. If he was bent on devoting his alliance to Tirek, would he have done that?"
Shining Armor took in what his wife said and then turned back to her before they got to their bedroom.
"I don't think he would have," he said, much to his wife's satisfaction. "Still, there was no excuse whatsoever for what he did, Cadence and you know it. He should at least be put on trial and we can see where his allegiances lie."
This statement didn't bode well with Cadence and as they walked into their bedroom, the second youngest of Equestria's four princesses had to find of another way to get Shining Armor to let go of his grudge.
"Shining Armor," she said, sternly and out of patience. "You just can't seem to understand that Discord is sorry for what he did. I think you two need to face each other and you need to accept whatever apologies he gives you. A trial is not what Discord should go through and you know it. Our subjects along with the rest of Equestria don't want a trial either and Tirek is far too dangerous to be brought back to Equestria for one. All that matters is that Tirek is in back in Tartarus where he belongs and Discord is forgiven for his actions. Can't you see that?"
It was this statement by Cadence did Shining Armor seemingly think of what was really being put on the table. He was acting this way out of pure protection of his wife and younger sister, using all of the lessons that Lock Down had taught him.
"In a way, yes," he sighed as they climbed into bed, while Cadence removed her royal accessories. "Discord never meant to hurt anypony and we both know that, but that is no excuse for what he did. I may forgive Discord for not hurting anypony, but I will never forgive him for his betrayal ever."
On the those words, the young rulers went to bed and early the next morning, a knock was heard on the bedroom door and Shining Armor awoke to see who it was. Opening it, he saw two of the Crystal Empire's royal guards in front of him with what appeared to be a message of some sorts.
"Prince Armor," one of them said as they saluted their leader. "It is from Canterlot. You and Cadence are to be summoned there immediately."
"What is the news?" asked Shining Armor, fully waking up.
"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have requested that you both meet with Discord and the creature that they call Scorpan."
Hearing this also got Cadence out of bed and normally, she was a heavy sleeper on certain occasions, but not today. It seemed in her mind that the message she had been trying to give Shining Armor was coming to pass.
"Perhaps you will see that Discord wants to truly apologize for what he has done," remarked Cadence as Shining Armor decided that they needed to leave.
"Tell Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that we will arrive in Canterlot soon," he said, knowing that Cadence would be continuously pushing him with these pledges for forgiving Discord if this grudge he had been harboring continued.
Discord and Shining Armor would soon meet again and who knew how this impending meeting would play out…
Chapter 10: When Two Foes Meet
After making several more visits to atone for his actions, Discord and Scorpan returned to Canterlot the following morning with Discord still feeling bitter over Shining Armor's attitude towards him. Little did Discord know that Shining Armor had been summoned to Canterlot by order of Celestia and Luna in an effort to end the bitter feud that was between them.
"We've returned, my friends," said Scorpan as he walked over and hugged the two sisters after landing with Discord following behind. "Discord has atoned for his actions quicker than I thought that he would."
"Indeed," remarked Discord, who produced a halo and a harp, strumming it. "Despite having a few hiccups along the way. You'd be surprised at how they welcomed us at Appleloosa."
As he spoke, Discord tried to mimic the whinnying motion that Braeburn made whenever he welcomed outsiders to the small western town. Of course, he couldn't do it without transforming, so he did and thus was able to do it.
"Uh, yes," said Scorpan, scratching the back of his neck. "We've had our moments, particularly with the Pegasus ponies as well as the Earth ponies. They showed that creatures like my brother would not be tolerated in any way. The damage was far greater than I could have possibly imagined."
It was at this moment that Celestia and Luna both looked at each other and nodded that something else needed to be done concerning both Discord and the pony who had in for him ever since Tirek's escape.
"I believe that there is one more piece of damage that needs to be fixed," said Celestia, who motioned for the two guards standing at the throne room doors to open it with their magic and on the other side were Cadence and Shining Armor. Seeing Shining Armor made Discord feel very upset internally and very bitter.
"What is he doing here?" asked Discord, quietly teleporting to Celestia and giving her a hard stare in her eyes. "Are you out of your mind? Why would you invite somepony with a grudge against me?"
"Discord," said Scorpan, causing Discord to turn his attention towards him. "I'd advise you to realize that this feud that you have with this stallion was not only started by my brother, but also by you yourself. The time has come for you to make up and move on with your lives."
Shining Armor then walked up to Discord and he knew that he wanted to just blast Discord to kingdom come with his magic, but he couldn't do such a thing. Not with Celestia, Luna and especially Cadence in his presence. The young prince of the Crystal Empire took in a deep sigh and nervously walked up to Discord.
"Look, Discord," said Shining Armor. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and…"
"Uh, Uh, Uh," interrupted Discord, waiving a lion finger at Shining Armor's face. "I think you know what you are here for."
Discord then produced a bullseye around his chest, much to the dismay of Scorpan and the Princesses. In his mind, Discord thought that this was it: Shining Armor had come to destroy him once and for all.
"Stand down, Discord," ordered Scorpan, trying to get Discord to see sense. "I think Shining Armor may have something else to say to you. At least give him a chance to say his peace."
Doing as he was told, Discord snapped his fingers and the target disappeared. However, he still had his doubts of whether this unicorn was really doing this as an act to trick him. Then again, Discord was once a master of chaos who did all of this long ago.
"All right, you have my attention," he said, his eyes locking onto Shining Armor. "Say what you need to say, Shining Armor."
"Discord, I have been doing some thinking," began Shining Armor. "Yes, I know you think that I want to destroy you and I have thought about it."
Discord then processed the bullseye again in an effort to just end the suffering that he had been causing Shining Armor. However, Celestia used her magic to snatch the bullseye away and lock Discord's body in a freeze.
"Don't jump to conclusions, Discord," cried Cadence. "Shining Armor does not want to destroy you. He knows what he did was wrong, but you have to at least give him a chance to say his peace."
"Indeed," agreed Shining Armor. "I've realized over time that destroying you would not erase the pain of Tirek's escape. If I did, what good would that do? It would only cause more pain and suffering. I don't want any more of that, Discord and you know it."
"Is this a trick?" cried Discord. "Because if it is, I can at least fight back against you."
As Discord spoke, Celestia used her magic to grip Discord tighter than his ancient body could take.
"I don't want to fight, Discord," cried Shining Armor. "If I do want to fight you, then I have already done so when I unleashed my fury on you at Twilight's castle. I want us to start over for the sake of my wife and my sister. Will you accept my friendship?"
Discord thought about it for a second and then with a snap of his fingers, he disappeared from view, refusing to believe a word that came out of Shining Armor's mouth. Discord's sudden disappearance caught everyone by surprise.
"I don't understand," cried Shining Armor. "Why doesn't he believe me?"
"It's your protective nature," remarked Luna. "You have always been one who is known for a protective nature. I'm afraid that unless if changes his ways, then I'm afraid it is only a matter of time before he never forgives you."
Shining Armor refused to believe such a thing and began to think of a way to try again. He knew that Discord needed to be forgiven and the only way to do that was to talk to him in a setting for just the two of them.
"Then I have to find him," said Shining Armor, firmly looking back to the others.
"Who knows where he could have gone?" wondered Cadence. "He could have gone anywhere."
"I will find him," said Shining Armor, running to the doors in search of Discord. "I will get through to him if it is the last thing I ever do."
Without anyone saying another word, Shining Armor darted out of the throne room and into the streets of Canterlot, desperate to find Discord and put the past behind them…
Chapter 12: Heading Back Home
Discord and Shining Armor had ended their rivalry against each other, for the sake of Shining Armor's impending daughter who was to be born at any time. Discord had also found to have wanted to move on from this as well, wanting to restore his good name to Equestria. He had succeeded in a way, by travelling all over Equestria and helping those affected by Tirek's rampage to get back on their feet.
But all of it would not have been possible if it weren't for Scorpan, who was now in the process of returning to his homeland. However, Scorpan did have one little bit of business to take care of down in Tartarus which was to say to Tirek that he had proven his imprisoned brother wrong. Creatures like him needed to understand the magic of friendship just as much as the ponies of this land.
"Are you certain that you cannot stay any longer, Scorpan?" asked Celestia as she lowered the sun from the top of Canterlot castle. "There are many of my subjects who may need your help."
"My time here is at an end, Celestia," replied Scorpan. "I have done what needed to be done in terms of helping Discord get back into the good graces of your subjects. Everything that has been done is going to be left in your hands now. You know very well that I cannot stay here forever."
Celestia sighed heavily as she closed her eyes. Scorpan was more than just a non-pony creature, he was a friend to her and it was thanks to Scorpan that Discord was able to make up for his actions and it was thanks to Scorpan that Discord and Shining Armor were now on much friendlier terms.
"I am aware of that, Scorpan," said Celestia. "It's just that…"
"What is it?" wondered Scorpan as he wiped away a tear from Celestia's eyes. "Is there something important you want to say to me?"
"Well, I want us to be together on a frequent basis," answered Celestia. "Luna and I haven't seen you in forever and even I need somepony to turn to for advice."
The hulking gargoyle knew that Celestia and he needed to be together again. It had been over a thousand years since Tirek was imprisoned and it was only a few days since he escaped and was re-imprisoned. True, Twilight and her friends were the idols of Equestria, but as happy as Celestia was of her youngest equal, she never had anypony to look up to herself and this giant creature was just that.
"Celestia," chuckled Scorpan. "Don't be so silly. You know very well that I can return and we can always keep in touch. I am a friend of your subjects and I will promise you with my life, that I will return one day when creatures like my brother aren't conquering Equestria for their own free gain. We have so much to catch up on."
Celestia smiled at this and felt a little better at her old friend's reassurance. Scorpan had done so much for Equestria in a short period of time and she began to realize that this was only the beginning of things to come for her and him. After pulling each other into an embrace, Scorpan gave Celestia one last look before turning towards the west and lifting off into the sky.
As he left, Scorpan wondered if maybe he should have stayed longer in Equestria. But, he couldn't because Equestria needed time, time to recover from what Tirek had caused and Scorpan knew that he needed to say his peace to Tirek one last time. Besides, he gave his word to Celestia that he would one day return to resume their long distance relationship. For now though, his work was done.
"So, you've decided to show your face again?" remarked Tirek sneeringly as Scorpan landed in front of his cage. "Why have you come back after you disowned me?"
"I came to tell you that I have cleaned up the mess that you had made in Equestria," said Scorpan in a stern sounding voice. "I have especially redeemed Discord and made him see the light."
But, Tirek didn't say anything and only let out a loud huff.
"I'm not surprised that he is redeemed," huffed Tirek, the sounds of his shackles piercing the silence that was around his prison. "Discord was and always be a creature who is weak in the eyes of Equestria."
"Not from how I view it," remarked Scorpan. "No matter what you say to me or anypony else, it will fall on deaf ears Tirek. Everything you have done has been erased and while the ponies of Equestria continue to live, you will rot in this cell until you die."
Tirek was not listening to this and was ignoring everything that Scorpan was saying. He had his dreams and goals still inside of him and they would remain there as long as he was alive.
"So you say," said Tirek. "Well, I know that I will escape again one day and finish what I started."
Scorpan could only chuckle at this, knowing that his pathetic excuse of a brother was merely bluffing. Tirek did not take this humorous reaction well and could only growl with a low tone.
"Tirek, you just don't get it, do you?" laughed Scorpan, before banging the front of Tirek's cage with his paw. "You will never escape Tartarus again. If you were to escape, Cerberus would kill you and make your body into its own personal toy. And even if you were to die, your soul would still remain down here. Equestria is safe from creatures like you, Tirek. Discord will remain in Equestria because he understands the magic of friendship, just like I do. You will never learn the meaning of it and that's why you will stay here forever."
Scorpan then turned to leave, but Tirek was not done with him yet.
"Brother!" cried Tirek, his face still brooding with fury. "You can deny it all you want, but I will escape this prison again one day and I will finish what I had started whether you like it or not. You will be sorry for not freeing me when you had the chance."
"Farewell, Tirek," said Scorpan, with his back still turned to Tirek and his wings unfolding. "My hate will die with you."
Before his brother could utter another word, Scorpan lifted off into the dark caverns of Tartarus, knowing that everything had be done to remove Tirek's actions and that Discord was back in the good graces of those who had come to know him.
Scorpan's work was done and who knew when he would return to Equestria again. But, only time would tell when that day would come.
Chapter 11: Letting It All Out
Knowing that his chances of making up with Discord were getting more and more slim, Shining Armor dashed out of the throne room and out into the streets of Canterlot trying to find Discord. It was very difficult for Shining Armor to seek out Discord no matter where he went and after a while, it seemed like he was about to give up. Then, all of a sudden, he felt himself vanish into thin air and soon, the Prince of the Crystal Empire found himself in a strange dimension.
"Where am I and what is this place?" thought Shining Armor as he felt himself being dragged towards a house that stood on a round rubber ball. "More importantly, who lives in there?"
After a few moments, Shining Armor felt himself land at the front door of the house and was just about to open the door, only for it to open in front of him and on the other side was Discord.
"So, here you are, Mr. Prince," remarked Discord, bitterly. "I suppose you want to finish me off right here and right now."
"No," replied Shining Armor, confusingly. "I don't want to destroy you, Discord. Can't you understand that? We've had enough conflict as it is. Can't you just let me in and we can settle this once and for all?"
Discord thought for a moment about keeping Shining Armor out, but he knew that if Fluttershy were here, she would not be impressed. Besides, this was Twilight Sparkle's older brother that was in front of him. Opening the door, Discord allowed Shining Armor to enter his house.
"All right," said Discord, once again producing the bullseye around his stomach. "Do it. Say your peace."
"I will say my peace," replied Shining Armor, who then used his magic to cause the bullseye to disappear. "But, without the bullseye. I don't want to destroy you, Discord. Don't you get it? Why do you think I came all the way here to destroy you?"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, pretty colt," sneered Discord, producing the wanted poster that hung up in Sherriff Silverstar's office. "I know what you want to do with me. You want to take me back to wherever you are and destroy me for all to see with that strange looking object that protects your home."
Shining Armor knew that Discord did have a point as he was referring to the Crystal Heart that protected the Crystal Empire. Any creature that had any ounce of pure evil in his or her body was immediately destroyed by the heart.
"Yes, I know you cannot ever enter the empire," remarked Shining Armor. "But, that doesn't mean that I can still try and apologize for my behavior towards you. I know what you did was wrong, Discord, but I know that I am at fault as well. I know the way I acted wasn't right, don't get me wrong. However, I apologize for what I did. Perhaps it wasn't the right way to act in front of you."
Discord then noticed something else about Shining Armor at that moment. He realized that Shining Armor was not calling him a traitor as he had been doing since Tirek's rampage. In Discord's mind, could this be a sign that Shining Armor was genuinely forgiving him after all he had done?
"What Shining Armor is saying is true," said a voice and Discord quickly turned around to see Morgan, his magic mirror coming to life out of nowhere. "You must let him forgive you, Discord. This is the greatest part of your reformation which is for enemies to forgive one another."
For a moment, Shining Armor was amazed by what he was looking at. He had never seen a magic mirror before, let alone a non-pony like creature. Then again, it was Discord, so nothing was predictable.
"If you have come to forgive me, then," said Discord, as Morgan motioned for him to face him. "Then, you must know that I can't erase everything I have done, but if ponies could give me a second chance then so can you."
Shining Armor smiled at this, knowing that Discord was forgiving him. However, Shining Armor did have a very good reason for deciding to forgive Discord and it wasn't because of the fact that he was trying to not be like his mentor, Lock Down.
"Actually, Discord," said Shining Armor. "I do have another reason for wanting to forgive you and it is not only because of the fact that I want to move on. Something important happened recently and I figured that I tell you what it is."
Knowing this was an important bit of news, Discord enlarged one of his ears in an effort to hear what Shining Armor had to say.
"Well, don't just stand there," said Discord, continuously enlarging his ears. "Tell me what it is, pretty colt."
Taking a deep sigh of relief, Shining Armor relayed the important news to Discord. He knew that this news was going to be an important weapon in burying this feud that they had between them once and for all.
"If I tell you this news, Discord," said Shining Armor, with Discord's enlarging ears now hitting the floor. "Then you must not tell anypony else, especially Twilight and her friends."
"Go on," replied Discord. "I'm waiting to hear what you have to say, Shiny."
"Well," said Shining Armor, knowing that this statement he was about to make would hopefully end this feud that had developed between them. "Cadence and I are going to have…a baby."
Discord didn't know whether this was just a ploy or if Shining Armor was telling him the truth. But, the look on Morgan's face proved to Discord that Shining Armor was not lying to him and that he was indeed telling him the truth. This caused Discord to randomly send out streamers at Shining Armor in celebration of this milestone.
"Well, in that case," he cried. "I congratulate you and the wife and I can't wait to meet the little foal, whoever it is."
So, after a few brief moments, Discord teleported Shining Armor out of his house and soon he was alone with Morgan. To him, this was hopefully a better sign of things to come.
"I hope all of this was a step in the right direction, Discord," remarked Morgan. "You must probably want to forgive him after all of this."
"Yes, Morgan," said Discord, looking out the window of his house. "I want nothing more than to be friends with Equestria and while I can't erase what I did, I can at least try to move forward and bury the past."
Meanwhile, back in Canterlot, Scorpan and the princesses were still waiting for Shining Armor to return from wherever he went and suddenly, the doors to the throne room flung wide open and Shining Armor came racing in.
"Shining Armor, where were you?" cried Cadence. "Haven't you known that I have been worried sick about you?"
After taking a few deep breaths, Shining Armor said his peace to Cadence and the others in the throne room at that moment.
"I've been to Discord's realm," gasped Shining Armor. "I told him that we were having a baby, Cadence. I hope that is enough to have us move on from all of this."
Shining Armor then collapsed from exhaustion after all that he had been through, knowing that his feud between him and Discord was most likely over.
With this said and knowing that his mission was most likely completed, Scorpan would soon prepare to return to his land. But not before paying a disgraced relative one more visit to prove him wrong…
