Discord's Tricky Decision
Discord's Tricky Decision
"Tirek," drawled Discord, "I presume?"
Lord Tirek stepped back and blinked. "Discord," he said, slowly, "You're...free?"
"As a bird," replied Discord, cheerfully, transforming from the small pony into a large bird.
"I commend you on your escape," Tirek said, graciously.
With a flash of light, the bird turned back into the draconequus. "I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual," Discord said, firmly.
He snapped his fingers and there was a clink of metal as Tirek realized his hands were now trapped in handcuffs. He gave a growl of fury, and fired a burning magical beam at Discord! The Lord of Chaos's expression didn't even flinch as his head split in two and the beam went right through it.
"Oh, I should have known you would want to have Equestria all to yourself," muttered Tirek, crossing his arms.
"Oh, I'm not doing this for me," said Discord, cheerfully, twiddling his policeman's cane round his finger, "I'm doing it for my friends!"
He leaned over to Tirek as if to share a secret. "Just between the two of us," whispered Discord, "It's mostly for Fluttershy!"
He gave a little squee as he thought of her!
"Fluttershy?" repeated Tirek, in disbelief, "You're not saying you're friends with…ponies?"
"Surprise!" exclaimed Discord, bursting out of a colourful three-tier birthday cake and splattering Tirek with icing.
"I am surprised," said Tirek, frowning, "That someone with your intellect does not see this "friendship" as but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly you've had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces."
Playing a lively tune on an angel's harp, Discord suddenly jolted out of it. "I have done nothing of the sort!" he retorted, tossing away the harp and waving away the halo above his head.
"Oh, please, I've seen this before," sighed Tirek, raising his hands, "But he was always weak-minded. You are Discord, you are legend, you cannot fall into the same trap that claimed my brother!" he exclaimed.
Discord's eyes widened.
"Help me to grow strong, and be rewarded with something far greater than…friendship!" Tirek practically spat the word friendship. "Freedom!"
Discord's eyes widened even further.
"Once I've stripped these ponies of their magic," grinned Tirek, "Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside down. Who better to do so than the master of chaos himself?"
Thoughts swam round in Discord's head. What Tirek was saying: this could have possibilities.
"Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness," offered Tirek, "Unless of course," he added, with a scowl, "Pony errand boy is the role you've always wanted to play in this world!"
Discord scratched his chin in thought as he pondered the offer. He had to admit, it was tempting. Very tempting. With the Elements of Harmony back in the Tree of Harmony, there'd be no way for anypony to stop him. He could rule over all of Equestria for all eternity, without a single Earth pony, pegasus or unicorn standing in his way.
But was that really what he wanted?
Discord glanced back at the chest of drawers floating in the air behind him, on which was perched the Discord-shaped lamp from Fluttershy's house and the photograph of him and Fluttershy together. What about Fluttershy? She had been his first friend. And was always the one who gave him a chance when nopony else would. Would Fluttershy want him to do this? Being reformed from evil to good had felt...well...good. And resuming his old ways wouldn't be the same now. He would lose all his friends. Not to mention Fluttershy, his very special friend. Was it really worth throwing all that away for something he didn't even know if he wanted anymore?
Discord tore his eyes away from the lamp and picture frame and faced Tirek. He saw what seemed to be a ray of rainbow light reflecting off the metal of Tirek's handcuffs. Discord's eyes seemed to glow with rainbow colours for a moment, and he knew exactly what to do.
"Your offer is very impressive, Tirek…" admitted Discord.
Tirek rubbed his hands together, gleefully. This fool was playing right into his hands. Soon, all the magic in Equestria would belong solely to him.
"It would mean I wouldn't have to use my magic for good," said Discord, casually, as if he was considering, "Or help the princesses save Equestria from time to time."
"Exactly," replied Tirek, devilishly, "No more petty pony work for you."
"And I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with absolutely nothing to stop me," carried on Discord, "In fact...I could rule Equestria in a realm of chaos for all eternity!"
"Exactly," said Tirek, rubbing his hands together, gleefully.
"Ugh! Pass!" exclaimed Discord, crossing his arms and turning away.
That wiped the nasty grin right off of Tirek's face. "What?" he hissed!
"I said pass," said Discord, firmly, "Ruling Equestria forever isn't what I want anymore. I've changed. And changing back again wouldn't be the same. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love wreaking chaos, and I did prefer Equestria my way, but now I have a new life with new friends. And I am perfectly happy. So thanks, Tirek, but no thanks."
He snapped his fingers and the magic began to drain out of Tirek's horns!
"No!" shrieked Tirek, as the magic left his body, and gathered in an orb above Discord's eagle claw, "Weaker...getting weaker...Think about what you're doing! You are Discord! The Lord of Chaos! You and I could be unstoppable!"
"I am pretty amazing," admitted the draconequus, as he casually watched all the magic drain out of Tirek, "But no thanks. There's nothing more valuable to me than friendship. It's the exact opposite of an imprisonment. In fact, failing to see that was what got me imprisoned. In stone. Twice. Which was extremely uncomfortable. Now say goodbye to your magic, Tirek!"
Magic drained out of Tirek. He coughed and spluttered as he struggled to hold on to it, but it was no use. As all the magic he had stolen from Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns was ripped out of him, he shrank down, his limbs thinning and his horns shrinking down to tiny tips.
"And as Fluttershy would say..." Discord chuckled fondly as he thought of his favourite pegasus. There was a flash of light and Discord's head became Fluttershy's. "'You'd best watch your step, buster!'" he exclaimed in Fluttershy's voice. He chuckled and his head transformed back. "I remember the day when she said that to me."
"No!" exclaimed Tirek as all the stolen magic gathered in the orb and exploded, spreading out to all of Equestria, "No! NOOOOOO!"
Unicorns' horns began to glitter and glow as the pool of magic spread across the sky and returned to its original owners. Pegasi felt the strength flow into their wings, and slowly unfolded them, flapping and rising up into the sky. And Earth ponies were able to stand up and use their strength to work.
"NO!" exclaimed Tirek, "You fool! Celestia and Luna are only using you! You and I could rule all of Equestria together!"
Discord rolled his eyes. "Oh, please," he said, waving his hand dismissively, "I could have enslaved Equestria months ago if I wanted to. There was absolutely nothing to stop me. Now give my regards to Cerberus."
He snapped his fingers and an inter-dimensional portal the size of a doorway sprung up behind Tirek. Tartarus could be seen inside it.
"No!" rasped Tirek, "Do not do this! Think about what you are losing!"
"I can only think of what I would be losing if I didn't do this," replied Discord, breezily, as Tirek disappeared into the portal, "For one thing, friendship. Also delightful tea parties and a chance to make ponies laugh. Especially you, Fluttershy," he said, fondly, turning around and picking up the picture of him and Fluttershy from the hovering cabinet.
He snapped his fingers and the Fluttershy in the picture came to life.
"Oh, Discord, I'm so proud of you!" cooed the Fluttershy in the picture, "I knew you would never let us down!"
"Oh, how kind of you to say so, my dear Fluttershy," Discord said, putting his hand on his heart, dramatically, "We all have a part to play in Equestria! Whether it means defeating a wicked supervillain or bringing cucumber sandwiches to a tea party. Ooh, that reminds me!"
He grabbed a piece of the cake for the road, then snapped his fingers and vanished. Then he reappeared wearing a sweeper's outfit. I should probably clean that up, he decided, snapping his fingers and getting rid of the exploded cake all over the pavement. He snapped his fingers again and vanished.
...
The three princesses sat at their thrones, gazing out the windows at Canterlot. Their hearts were all filled with worry.
"My dear sister," said Princess Luna, looking over at Celestia, "Do you truly think it is wise to trust Discord with something as important as this?"
Celestia sighed. "I do not," she admitted, shaking her head, "But our alicorn magic is vulnerable to Tirek's dark powers. Discord may be the only one who can stop him."
"But Discord is quite unpredictable," said Cadance, "He's barely reformed, and hardly trustworthy. There's no telling what he might do. He could slip back anytime."
Celestia sighed again. "I know," she said, "And I do not know what would come of it, but—"
There was suddenly a bright flash of light from in front of them and Discord appeared on the red carpet. "Well, that's that done and dusted," announced Discord, brushing his hands off as he strode down the carpet towards the princesses, "Tirek's back in Tartarus, doors are locked, and everypony has their magic back."
There was a flash of light and Discord reappeared tiny on Celestia's back, wearing full riding gear, complete with a saddle and reins, "You know, to be honest, I was hoping for something with perhaps a little more action," said the tiny Discord, rolling his eyes, "But I guess when you're the Lord of Chaos, things can sometimes be a little too easy, am I right?"
He vanished from Celestia's back along with the saddle and reins, and reappeared normal size in front of the thrones.
The three princesses looked at each other for a moment, then all gave huge sighs of relief.
"Congratulations on your success, Discord," said Celestia, from her throne, "I now see my trust in you was well-placed."
"Well, I owe most of it to Fluttershy," said Discord, modestly, "So, does this mean I get my own stained glass window like Twilight and the girls?" He fluttered his eyelashes just like Rarity.
The princesses laughed. "I doubt that would be a problem," said Cadance, smiling.
Celestia raised her horn and a pair of red curtains opened, revealing a newly decorated stained glass window of Discord returning the magic Tirek had stolen to Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns.
"I actually like it," mused Discord, admiring the window, "Not quite as dashing as yours truly, but very nice. Now I must return to Ponyville where a very special pony is waiting for me. Ta ta, princesses!"
With that, he snapped his fingers and vanished.
...
"I'm really worried," said Twilight, agitatedly, pacing down the road with her friends behind her. She flew up so she could see Canterlot in the distance, "Equestria could be in real trouble, and I'm just sitting here."
"Now calm down, Twilight," said Fluttershy, flying up to Twilight. "I'm sure Discord will catch Tirek and everything will be alright," she said, comfortingly.
"Yeah, right," scowled Rainbow Dash, "You're way too trusting, Fluttershy."
"I'll bet y'all a barrel of apples that Discord teams up with Tirek," scowled Applejack, "And sends all of Equestria into downright misery."
Fluttershy gasped! "Shame on you, Applejack!" she scolded, "Discord would never do such a thing!"
"That's exactly the sort of thing he would do," scowled Twilight, landing back on the ground, "He may be reformed, but he's still Discord."
"Stop it!" snapped Fluttershy, and the ponies stopped talking, "You wait and see!" she declared, "Discord is going to stop Tirek and all this will be over soon!"
"Thank you, Fluttershy," a voice from behind them said, innocently, "I'm glad somepony trusts me."
The ponies turned round and Fluttershy's face lit up! "You're back!" she exclaimed, leaping up and throwing her arms around Discord, "Did you bring the cucumber sandwiches?"
"I did," replied Discord, snapping his fingers, and a plate of cucumber sandwiches appeared in his eagle claw.
"What happened!?" Twilight demanded, jamming her face up to Discord's, "Did you stop Tirek!? IS EQUESTRIA SAFE!?" she yelled!
"Well, of course it is. Was there really any doubt?" said Discord, dismissively, pinching Twilight's cheek rather hard.
Twilight rubbed her sore cheek and the other ponies laughed nervously.
"Oh, you ponies are adorable," Discord said, ruffling Twilight's mane, affectionately, "Well of course I stopped Tirek. In fact, I even got my own stained glass window."
"Oh, Discord!" exclaimed Fluttershy, hugging the draconequus, "You're a hero!"
"Oh, well, I don't know about that," said Discord, dismissively, "I'm not really...well...actually, yes, I am. I am a hero."
He vanished, and reappeared on a pedestal, wearing a knight's shining armour, and two banners showing Discord appeared in the air and rolled down. Confetti and flowers rained down from the sky and six other Discords materialized on each side of him, clapping and cheering as he struck a heroic pose.
The other ponies looked at him with deadpan faces, while Fluttershy burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles!
"Well, I'm glad somepony finds me funny," tutted Discord, clearing the outfit, pedestal, confetti, banners and other Discords with a snap of his fingers, "Now I believe Fluttershy and I have a tea party to commence!" He reached out and grabbed Fluttershy in his lion arm. "Toodle-oo, pony pals!" He snapped his fingers, and he and Fluttershy vanished.
"What a creep!" scowled Rainbow Dash, folding her arms.
"He did just save all of Equestria," admitted Twilight.
"He said he did," Applejack, scowling, "What makes y'all think he's tellin' the truth?"
Suddenly, Spike choked! He belched a stream of green fire and a scroll materialized in the air. Twilight opened it with her magic and read the contents.
"'Dear Princess Twilight,'" she read, "'I am happy to inform you that Discord has successfully stopped Tirek, and Equestria is safe once again. You and your friends need worry no more. Yours, Princess Celestia.'"
Applejack sighed. "I suppose that answers my question."
...
Discord took a sip of three-mint tea from his teacup, then picked up a cucumber sandwich and took a bite.
"Mmmmm! You really do throw the best tea parties, Fluttershy," he said, approvingly, "I tell you, there's nothing like relaxing with some of your tea and nibblies after a strenuous mission." He finished off the sandwich. "OK, maybe "strenuous" isn't quite the word, but it was particularly difficult." That much was true.
"So what happened?" asked Fluttershy, eagerly, swallowing a mouthful of tea and licking her lips, "How did you stop Tirek?"
"Well, I can only say it involved a portal, some handcuffs, and a rather delicious three-tier cake," replied Discord, sipping the cup of tea with his little finger out.
Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, who else but Discord?"
THE END
