Chapter 14: End of the Rope

The morning was still young when they came in sight of the forest's edge. Although the sun shone down cheerfully on Ponyville, a dark, churning cloud hung low over Everfree. As the group approached, they could see the roadway heading off into the eerie gloom.

Rarity squinted at the sky apprehensively. "This is odd."

"It has been reported around almost every disturbance of this type across Equestria," Celestia explained. "The spontaneous formation of heavy, localized storm clouds above the area of the breach. Even the Wonderbolts cannot fly through them. They carry a heavy magical energy charge that will strike out at anything approaching from the air."

"I don't like it. It's... foreboding."

"Never fear, I am here!" Discord swooped down out of nowhere, waving cheerily at the heavy black storm clouds swirling over Everfree. "Don't be turned off by a few puffy little clouds, you have the spirit of chaos on your side!"

"I don't know, I have a really bad feeling about this," Fluttershy whimpered.

"Have you no faith in my abilities?" Discord put on an exaggeratedly hurt expression.

"I do, but-"

"Then let's proceed! I wish to be done in time for a tea party with your beautiful yellow self and the charming Princess Celestia here."

"Oh, okay. Tea does sound nice..."

"I should have this difficulty solved in no time."

Together they moved down the dirt road towards the clearing with the rift, the gloom deepening as they traveled under the cloud cover. After some time, they neared the heavily trampled brush that marked the location of the military encampment. Although only a few minutes had passed, it was as dark as late evening.

"If we do much more of this back-and-forth between Ponyville and the Gate, we are going to need to bring over some vehicles or something," Sanchez grumbled. "Even with the exos, we aren't quite as fast as these Equestrians without transportation."

"It is a bit of a hike. Some four wheelers would be perfect," Chris replied. "I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a few, if it's okay with our hosts."

"What's that? Twilight asked.

Sanchez turned to her. "Vehicles. We humans aren't quite as efficient at traveling on foot, er, hoof, as you ponies are."

"You need us to provide vehicles? I don't know if we have anything here in Ponyville..."

"No, we were wondering if it is OK to bring some small ones of our own to this side."

Twilight nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Chris sent Jeff a message, and waited a few moments for a reply. Then he turned to Celestia. "Is the road safe right now?" he asked her.

"It should be, the Equestrian military has been patrolling it all the way up to the gate."

"Sanchez, McAllister, do you guys want to keep heading back up to the gate and pick up some off-roaders? Jeff says he will have some ready at the outpost by the time you get there."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack conferred for a moment. "We'll go too," Rainbow Dash volunteered. "It's safer if we go with you."

"Even better!" McAllister grinned. "Well, the sooner we get going, the sooner we'll be back." He began walking, Sanchez and Applejack beside him.

Rarity looked at them as they headed down the road. "Be careful! There may be more things in the woods!"

"Don't worry, they've got ME with them! What could POSSIBLY go wrong?" Rainbow Dash puffed her chest out proudly and struck a heroic pose.

"I shudder to imagine," Rarity said under her breath.

"Huh? Hey wait for me!" Rainbow Dash suddenly noticed she was being left behind and darted after the others.

"We'll be finished by the time they get back here," Discord said confidently while they moved through the brush towards the clearing.

"Discord, I don't mean to insult you, but you haven't seen what we're dealing with." Emmy stared up at him, her expression serious. "I'm glad you're confident, but I wish I could say I shared that confidence. There is evil in that clearing."

"Bah. So serious. Just look at your long, droopy face and frowny eyes. What a party pooper. Don't be such a worry wart. Just let Big Daddy Discord make all the scary monsters go away!"

Emmy sighed and dragged a hoof down her face in frustration. "I give up."

"She's right, Discord," Celestia said. "You are indeed very powerful, and self-confidence is good. But you should take this more seriously."

"Serious just isn't my thing, dear. I am much more a fan of clever humor and witty banter. What the-"

They had just entered the clearing, and the pulsing glow of the rift swirled before them, illuminating the trees and surroundings with flashes of unnameable color.

Discord's mouth dropped and he stared for a moment, but he recovered quickly.

"Tha... That's all? Pish. I thought you had an actual challenge for me."

"This is just one of many around Equestria, Discord," Twilight said. "Things have been coming out and attacking ponies and animals. As of now, the known locations are temporarily under control with containment spells like the one Princess Celestia placed here." She waved at the glowing yellow orb surrounding the rift. "That keeps the monsters from coming out, at least for now. But we don't have the power or knowledge to close it for good. That's what we're hoping you can help us do."

Discord puffed his chest out. "Of course I can."

Pinkie Pie looked at him. "You're not the tiniest bit scared of the creepy, dangerous monster portal to another universe that none of us know anything about except that horrible things come out of it?"

"Nope, not the tiniest bit."

"Even though it may suck you in and you'll get lost forever and never find your way back, or something might come out and eat you up?"

"N... not scary at all."

Pinkie smiled. "You're super brave or super crazy or both! I'm glad you're here to help!"

"Thank you, I guess...?" Discord said uncertainly.

"Can you look at it?." Celestia cut in. "I cannot even do that for long."

Discord peered at it momentarily, then glanced away and squeezed his eyes shut, placing his hand on his forehead.

"Discord? Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh yes, I am perfectly fine. Excellent. Strapping in my youth. This will not be much of a problem at all. Let's get it over with in time for lunch."

"What do you plan to do?" Emmy asked.

"Well, I will go and take a look and see what is on the other side, first."

Emmy's face screwed up in horror. "THAT's your plan?"

"Relax, I am not a pony. I am practically immortal. I have walked this world since before..."

"Yes, yes, but have you ever seen something like THAT before?"

"Well,, no... but I don't see how it could be much different. It looks chaotic. And I simply ADORE chaos."

Emmy frowned and shook her head. "I don't like this at all."

"I'm starting to not like it either," Twilight agreed.

"Oh not you too! Doesn't ANYPONY here have some confidence in me?"

"I do!" said Pinkie Pie. "You're crazy! I love crazy!"

"Anypony BESIDES Pinkie Pie?"

Nopony answered.

Eventually Fluttershy broke the silence. "I guess I do," she mumbled, almost inaudibly.

Another awkward silence followed.

"Off the topic, but has anyone tried shoving, I don 't know, a camera on a stick through or something?" Chris asked after a while.

"We have not tried such a thing yet, the containment field prevents access to or from the rift," the Equestrian officer in charge answered, walking towards them. He saluted. "Welcome Princesses. And guests."

Celestia saluted back. "Has there been any change?"

He lowered his salute after she dropped hers. "Negative, ma'am. All is as you left it last night, with the exception of this cloud formation overhead."

They both glanced upward at the swirling clouds briefly.

"The center point is certainly above the rift, no question about that."

The officer looked back down at Chris. "We can try the camera on a stick thing. We took pictures of the rift, there's a camera over there. And sticks."

"And a rope, please," Chris added.

Ten minutes later, they had an Equestrian camera, the stick, and a fair amount of heavy rope.

Chris looked at the camera and frowned. "Uh, this thing uses film. I don't think that helps us here. How can we see what's on the other side if we have to wait for it to develop?"

"How about your communication thingy?" Twilight asked.

"Hmm." Chris pulled out his mobile phone tablet. "I don't much like the idea of putting the information encrypted on this thing into a potential enemy portal. What if something on the other side found a way to use it against us?"

Hamilton was digging through his pack. "I thought... Ah here it is!"

He held up a simple digital camera. "This oughta do it!"

"Perfect. Hand it over please."

Hamilton hesitated. "I, uh, had wanted to take some photos with our new friends and stuff... Can you try not to break it?"

Chris snatched the camera away. "I don't know, ask the rift to be gentle or something dude. This is kind of important." He taped the camera onto the end of the stick and handed it to Discord. "It's in video mode. Before you shove it through, we'll turn it on and see what's on the other side."

"Very well. Celestia dear, can you please desummon the containment field?

"Hold on a sec," Chris said. He held up the rope. "Tie this around your waist. Just in case."

"A rope? Around my waist? What kind of a joke is this? You think I will need to get reeled in like some errant fish?" Discord grumbled, but he immediately tied the rope securely around his waist nonetheless.

"Not at all. You are rather like an early deep sea explorer. They had a retrieval line hooked to their diving suits, back in the day."

"Ridiculous. But if it makes you feel better, I shall wear it," Discord said, seemingly overlooking that fact that he already was doing exactly that.

The other end of the rope was tied around a tree at the edge of the clearing, and limited slack was left for Discord to move around.
He hefted the camera. "Let's try this again."

Equestrian soldiers with flamethrowers stepped forward and took up positions a few feet to either side of Discord. Marky and the humans held their weapons at low ready position, prepared to instantly engage any threats.

Celestia stepped forward alongside Discord. "Are you ready?"

"As soon as I turn this thing on." He pressed the button. "Aaaand... now I'm ready. Desummon the field please."

He walked towards the rift. Celestia's horn glowed as she cast the reversal spell, and suddenly the crack in space stood alone under the glowering sky, casting bizarre dances of light and color across the onlookers.

Determinedly, Discord approached the floating crevice. As he neared it, sounds tickled the edge of his hearing. Voices whispered, distant screams, or perhaps simply the echoes of energy and alien physics bleeding through time and space.

He hesitated a moment, the kaleidoscopic pulse of indescribable colors pressing painfully against his mind. An oppressive fear grew inside him, almost as if the pure extract of terror was leaking through from whatever horrible dimension existed on the other side. This place was not right. It was not a place where anything sane was supposed to be. It was all he could do to keep from running away right there.

"I have to do this, or one of them will have to," he whispered to himself shakily, "And they are not as strong as I am against magic and chaos." He thrust the camera forward into the opening. From the side, it looked as if the end of the stick was simply gone. From Discord's point of view, it was like pushing the stick into a gelatinous mass. The camera faded from view as he pushed the stick in. He swiveled it around for good measure, as far as he could, then pulled it out after twenty seconds or so. The camera looked completely untouched.

"Well, that's that." He walked back to the others, taking on a jaunty, confident stride through sheer force of will. As he went, one of the guards suddenly yelled "CONTACT!" and fired a stream of flame onto one of the larvae monsters as it dropped onto the ground.

Discord paused to watch the monster burn. "How interesting." He then finished walking back to the group, and held the camera out to Chris. "Let's see if it worked?"

Hamilton shouldered past Chris, took the camera and pressed some buttons, then frowned. "It's all just garbage. Colors, nonsense, and static. Nothing useful on this clip at all." He turned the camera off and put it away. "Now what?"

"Now, I'm going to take a look myself," Discord said.

Emmy scowled. "Seriously not liking this idea."

"Well, the CAMERA came back in one piece."

"The camera isn't a living, ah, entity...?"

"I'm the spirit of chaos! If anything, those monsters should be afraid of ME!"

Emmy looked unimpressed. "More like a spirit of recklessness."

"He is more powerful than any of us," Celestia commented.

"Enough of this nonsense. I'm doing this. Right now."

"Maybe you shouldn't do it after all?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Back in time for tea." Discord began walking back towards the gate.

Celestia followed after him. "Discord?"

He stopped, and she came up to him, out of earshot of the others. "Why are you in such a hurry to do this? Don't let your pride force you into a rash decision. You don't have to do this. Tell them I made you stop."

Discord looked at her. "Celestia. You asked me to do this, and rightly so. I am the most powerful being around here."

Celestia's eyes bored into his. "Are you so sure? I remember once Tirek drained your powers, and you were helpless."

"I made the mistake of trusting him."

"And maybe today you're making the mistake of trusting your own powers too much!"

Discord sighed. "Just between you and I. If you ever tell anypony else I said these words to you, I will laugh and pretend I have no idea what you are talking about."

Celestia said nothing, but was surprised at the sudden seriousness in his voice. Had Discord EVER been serious before in his life? She hadn't thought he was even capable of such a thing.

He looked into her eyes for a moment. "I'm absolutely terrified right now," he said softly. "But I think I have to do this."

Celestia's eyes widened. She had not expected to hear that. "But... you..."

He continued. "Somepony has to do this. I'm the toughest, and I'm frightened. Nothing makes me afraid. Being turned to stone made me angry, but it didn't make me afraid. So this is important. I am positive it would be certain death for any of you or your friends to try what I'm about to attempt. This problem isn't going to go away on it's own. You came to me for help, and I'm going to try to help you."

Celestia opened her mouth, but Discord started again.

"I betrayed you all, before. I still feel guilty about that. You've always been good to me, Celestia, and even as I've disrespected you and Twilight, I've always secretly admired you both."

"Discord, you don't have to prove anything to me or anypony else."

"Oh, but I have to prove it to me. I've been a jerk for so long, I have to convince myself that I actually care enough about my friends to take a real risk, for once in my life."

Suddenly, Celestia reached out and gave him a hug. When she released him, Discord looked at her in surprise.

"You know, it's not very often that somepony else has ever given me a hug. It's usually more of a me-hanging-off-them-while-they-look-uncomfortable kind of thing."

Celestia smiled awkwardly. "Thank you, Discord. Please be careful."

"Danger's my middle name, baybee. Or it would be, if I had a last name."

He turned back towards the others and waved, noticing that the humans and some ponies had collected at his rope and were holding it, feeding it out as he moved.

"No time like the present for men to act as men," Discord mumbled to himself as he stalked resolutely towards the rift, feeling Celestia's eyes on his back.

As he neared it, the sense of fear was like a physical barrier pushing him back. He kept swallowing at the panic rising inside, his arms loose and throbbing with adrenaline.

"Just colors. Just a magic portal. Nothing to be afraid of," he lied to himself, and didn't believe a word of it.

Tendrils of light drifted towards him, seemingly eager for his touch. Indecipherable voices cooed and whispered, a promise of incomprehensible suffering.

He reached out, and touched the core of the rift with his paw. It squished like jelly, giving with pressure, absorbing him, dissolving to nothingness. NO!

But when jerked his paw back, his arm was whole.

"This is going nowhere. I'll just have to take a look, then. I hope I don't get one of those nasty monsters right on my face. That would be most unpleasant."

Pushing down the overwhelming fear, he put his snout up to the opening, and pushed, his head vanishing inside it.
From the side, it looked eerily as if he'd just been beheaded. The eerie reflective light swept across Discord's seemingly headless body as he peered into the rift.
After a few moments, his voice was audibly amplified, coming from the rift through some bizarre trick of physics.

"Oh no. Oh please, no. I can't see this..."

The light seemed to grip him and suddenly the clearing was filled with his screaming, a sound of hopeless, unrelenting horror like the agonized howl of a wild animal being eaten alive, his forearms waving around as if he was trying to pull his head out of a trap. Energy from the rift flowed over him and created a swirling vortex, trying to suck his body in.

"PULL HIM OUT!" Chris bellowed. He leaned back, pulling on the rope with the others, the servos of his and Hamilton's exo suits whining with the strain.

"DISCORD!" Fluttershy screamed. She tried to rush to the rift to aid him, but Twilight threw a stasis field around her in midair, trapping her in place.

"It's too dangerous Fluttershy! It's too powerful! You would be torn apart!"

"LET ME GO! LET ME HELP HIM! HE'S MY FRIEND!"

"I'm sorry Fluttershy. He's my friend too. And I can't let you go."

Fluttershy strained and fought, but she couldn't get free. Her eyes flashed with anger, and she growled. "I hate you, Twilight."

Twilight flinched, the words hurting like a physical slap in the face. Her eyes teared up, but she didn't release Fluttershy. "I... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," she whispered haltingly, her vision suddenly blurry, holding the struggling Fluttershy tightly in stasis. "So sorry."

The eldritch light held Discord for an endless moment, and he screamed without breathing, the terror flowing from him almost liquid, whatever vision he saw tearing into his mind like an exposed blender blade mutilating a watermelon. The humans and Equestrians pulled hard on the strong rope, grunting and shouting, muscle and machine at their limits, pulling with such force that it was amazing Discord was not torn in half.

They gained an inch, and then another inch, fighting tooth and glove to extricate him.

Suddenly the light vanished back into the breach, and Discord, freed, fell back forcefully.

This gave Celestia the opening she had been hoping for, and she immediately sprang forward, casting a containment sphere around the glowing rift, temporarily sealing it off as Discord was dragged to safety with the rope around his waist. He was still screaming, thrashing around as if he was on fire. The ponies rushed forward and tried to hold him, but he was immensely powerful and seemingly unaware of the severe blows he dealt with his whipping body as he slammed them violently into the air. When he stopped moving it was abrupt, as if all his energy was gone. He dropped to the ground and lay almost unmoving in the dirt.

"Discord? Discord!"

Celestia was standing over him on one side, her face a mix of fear, concern, and guilt. Twilight had finally released Fluttershy, and she stood on the other side, tears running down her face.

Discord looked up at them with eyes that saw nothing but the burned afterimage of indescribable horrors from another world.

He whispered. "I saw."

Celestia crouched down and picked his head up gently in her front hooves, holding him to her breast.

Fluttershy knelt on the other side, her face wracked with worry, water brimming in her eyes as she shook silently.

"What did you see?" Celestia whispered.

Discord's staring eyes widened sightlessly, and with great effort he grasped her shoulders, pulling himself forward to whisper into her ear.

"I saw so much. So much. Too much. Too much for me. Too much for anypony."

A tremor ran through his body and he choked up, his eyes bugging out of his head as some indescribably horrific memory replayed.

"Oh my." Fluttershy put a hoof on his forehead and he relaxed somewhat, breathing again in shallow gasps.

Celestia glanced at the rift. "I have to look myself. I have to understand."

With a tremendous effort, Discord focused his eyes on her. "NO! You would die or go mad! Never go near it! You don't belong. I... I... didn't... I don't..."

His focus faded, his eyes glazed over, and he fell back to mumbling. "And I thought I was a god of chaos. But that.. that was... Real chaos. Evil chaos. So much evil. I thought... Inside-out. They were all inside-out. If they catch your soul, it's where you go. No. Inside-out. No! It tried to touch me! Make it go away! Please!"
His mumbling became completely incoherent and soon he fell silent, all expression leaving his pale face as his grip on her shoulders weakened and he sank back into her forehooves.

"Discord? Discord!" She shook him with her hooves.

He whispered, barely more than the softest sigh of breath escaping dying lungs. "Echoes in the darkness. Echoes... in the... darkness." His eyes closed and he collapsed, dangling limply in her grasp as one already dead.

Fluttershy looked around in a panic, her eyes wild. "Help! Somepony! Help! He needs a doctor! Now!"

The medic ponies, who had been standing frozen in shock, leapt into action at the sound of her voice. They rushed over, carrying a medical bag and other gear.

"-he's alive!"

"Barely!"

"Get him in the cart!"

"Didn't train to deal with... whatever he is."

"Shut your hole and get him on a stretcher, we'll take him to Ponyville Hospital!"

They ran to Discord with a stretcher, calling orders to each other and hurriedly bringing him to the back of one of the military supply wagons. Equestrian soldiers and the humans jumped up into the cart and pitched cargo onto the ground to make room.

As soon as it was clear, the medics slid the stretcher into the cart. Celestia and Fluttershy boarded with him.

"Ma'am, respectfully, you ladies can stay, but please keep out of the way," one of the medics told Celestia hurriedly. "Your friends, however, must find other transportation."

Twilight stood in the grass, watching as they took positions.

Fluttershy looked back out of the wagon, her eyes wet and frightened. For a moment it appeared she wanted to say something, then she turned away as the vehicle started rolling.

"We'll follow you!" Twilight called after them as the cart took off down the road, two galloping stallions in front pulling it at high speed towards town. She turned away and stood for a moment, thinking, staring down the road.

Headlights appeared from the direction of the gate. Three small wheeled vehicles sped towards her on the road and skidded to a stop on the rocks and dirt.

Two of the vehicles were driven by McAllister and Sanchez, the other appeared to be driving itself behind them.

"Aww man that's fun!" Rainbow Dash whooped from beside McAllister on the bench seat, her forehooves on the dashboard.

"Hell yeah." McAllister grinned.

Sanchez rolled past them with Applejack riding passenger next to him, then pulled up next to Twilight. The vehicle had a compartment with two bench seats in front and a cargo bed in the rear. It had John Deere Gator written on the side, and Twilight saw it had some kind of cage bars over the passenger area, featuring a windshield and a roof but no doors.

Applejack swung herself out the side and approached Twilight, noting her friend's drawn expression. "Are you okay sugar cube? You don't look so good. Where's Princess Celestia? And Fluttershy?"

"Things went badly, Applejack. Really badly. Discord is seriously injured, maybe even dying. Celestia and Fluttershy are on the way to the Ponyville Hospital with him right now."

"Oh no."

"Yeah." Twilight looked at the offroaders, and at Chris. "Can you follow them on those?"

"For sure. Let's mount up. We can give you rides."

"Thank you."

Chris jumped in the third Gator and tapped the console, switching it from Autofollow to Manual Control. Emmy slid into the front seat next to him. "Is it okay if I sit here?"

"Of course."

Marky and Hamilton hopped into the back seat. Once everyone was aboard, the three vehicles took off down the road towards Ponyville, accelerating rapidly through the gloomy forest.