Discord never thought he would find himself at this place.
He walked to the Canterlot Gardens in thought, he couldn’t believe he was actually going to visit them.
Discord was never a big fan of Tirek, Chrysalis, or Cozy Glow, especially the former two for very personal reasons but visiting them just felt right to him.
Soon he made it to the statue, the one where the three villains were encased, he looked at Tirek’s and Cozy Glow’s cowering forms while also seeing Chrysalis’ murderous look.
He sometimes wondered if he went too far with his punishment on the Legion Of Doom(that’s the nickname he decided to give them), there could have been other ways to punish them instead of forcing them to be encased in stone like he once had. Why did he choose to place them in stone anyway? Why did Celestia and Luna even follow through with his request? Especially since he was the reason they even got this far in the first place.
“Discord?” A familiar soft voice was heard.
Discord knew who that voice belonged to, but it was not soft enough to be Fluttershy.
He turned to see Starlight was behind him, which surprised him, why did she decide to visit?
“What are you doing here?” Discord asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I sometimes visit these three so they don’t have to spend eternity looking at an empty garden.” Starlight explained.
“I think Chrysalis would prefer looking at an empty garden if I’m being honest.” Discord chuckled half heartedly, nothing against Starlight of course but given how much Chrysalis hates her, he honestly expected that of her.
“Fair enough.” Starlight shrugged before continuing, “I also kinda feel bad for what had to happen to them. I could have just as easily been in their place so it’s unfortunate that they couldn’t be helped.”
Discord thought about Starlight’s words, in a way, he supposed that made sense.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Starlight asked curiously before looking stern, “You aren’t here to taunt them or vandalize the statue are you? It’s pretty pointless to do so.”
Discord jumped back a little from Starlight’s accusations, though he supposed he couldn’t blame the unicorn for asking such questions given what he did.
“Actually no.” Discord sighed, “For some reason I also feel bad for them which is strange to me especially since I HATE Tirek and Chrysalis.”
That answer surprised Starlight, she knew that Discord could hold a grudge, she experienced that first hoof, so to hear he felt bad for the trio was strange.
“Do you wanna talk about it? I mean, I was a Guidance Counselor for a reason so maybe I could help.” Starlight suggested.
Discord pondered about this, he wasn’t very close with Starlight, heck, the two butted heads when Discord tried to take over the school, but she was trustworthy, and he did want to know what he was feeling.
“Well the thing is, I just feel like I was too harsh on those three. I never needed to turn them to stone, Tartarus was still an option after all, so I sometimes ask myself why I chose to turn them to stone, and why I even care this much?” Discord explained as he paced around the statue.
“Well I think you may feel some sort of remorse for what you did to them. And I think I might know why.” Starlight told the Draconequus.
“And what reason could I possibly have for feeling remorse for these disgraces to Equestria?” Discord asked bitterly.
“Well Discord, it goes without saying that you also have been in their shoes.” Starlight pointed to Discord and then to the statue.
Discord looked at himself and then at the statue and nodded, “That’s correct. That’s actually the main reason why I suggested to Celestia and Luna to put them in stone in the first place.”
“Really? Why?” Starlight asked, a bit confused on that matter.
“They hurt my friends Starlight Glimmer. I may have played a bit of a part in it, but those three… they were monsters Starlight. You heard what Chrysalis said in that cave, didn’t you?” Discord asked angrily.
Before Starlight could answer, Discord snapped his fingers and showed the scene of him, Starlight, and the rest of the former prisoners back in the caves of Canterlot with Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek.
”Patience, Cozy. Destruction is so... permanent. We need to show the rest of Equestria that we've broken their heroes first. Besides, we should have fun with our guests.” Past Chrysalis said with a smirk.
Discord then snapped his fingers again and just like that, the scene was gone.
“Whether Cozy Glow or Tirek were going to follow through with this is questionable, I have no idea how Cozy Glow is like or how sadistic Tirek truly is. I didn’t want to take the chance of Chrysalis or any of the villains doing anything to hurt any of my friends anymore. More specifically Fluttershy, Twilight, and you.” Discord explained angrily.
“Wait? Me?” Starlight asked with wide eyes.
“Fluttershy and Twilight are very important to me of course but I know if Chrysalis had the chance, she’d put you through tremendous pain as much as possible. I knew that if I was going to follow through with my plan, I had to keep Chrysalis away from you for as long as possible, Twilight may have her besties to protect her but you have less of a safety net than she does.” Discord explained.
Starlight stared at Discord in shock, she never thought Discord would think of her safety like that, especially since they don’t hang out as much as she does with those such as Twilight, Trixie, Maud, and Sunburst.
“So that’s why I turned them to stone. I wanted them to feel as much suffering as I had when I was encased for many years.” Discord finished his tirade before staring at the statue with a remorseful look, “But now I feel it may not have been the best option.”
Starlight thought about what Discord was saying, and everything he had just revealed to her, she wasn’t sure what to make of this at first but then thinking about it further, she began to have an idea.
“Well, like you said Discord. You hated being in stone for so long, and maybe at first you felt it was justice, but now given that you began to rethink your experiences in stone, you feel you might have gone too far.” Starlight put a comforting hoof on Discord’s waist.
Discord sighed, “I guess that makes sense. So what should we do? Should I get Twilight to send them to Tartarus instead?”
“Well… I’m not so sure about that.” Starlight admitted sheepishly.
Discord raised an eyebrow at that, “What do you mean?”
Starlight then walked away from Discord and to the statue of the Legion Of Doom, “I mean, don’t get me wrong I do feel bad for them,” she then looked at Chrysalis and then added, “well, to an extent at least, but them being in stone together is probably more safe than putting them in Tartarus together. I mean, Tirek literally escaped when he was there by himself, and while maybe putting him there with Cozy Glow may not be a big risk but putting both of them in with Chrysalis may not be the best idea. We both know how capable she is.”
“So, putting them in stone was a… good thing for me to do?” Discord asked in shock.
“Maybe not forever, if we find a better solution for them, we could place them in Tartarus eventually so they aren’t immobile forever. I don’t know if these three will ever reform though.” Starlight admitted.
“You of all ponies aren’t sure about reforming a villain. Who are you and what have you done with Starlight Glimmer?” Discord said in shock.
“It’s still me, and I believe in second chances as much as any creature but these three unfortunately make me question if they should even have one.” Starlight explained sadly.
“I see.” Discord looked away in shame before Starlight turned to him, “Don’t beat yourself up over this Discord, turning them to stone wasn’t the most ethical move but it was a safe option. And you may have screwed up pretty badly with Twilight and the others but I know you can get through this eventually.”
“How do you know that?” Discord asked sadly.
Starlight levitated to him and embraced his midsection, “Because I’ve been able to as well.”
Author's Note
I figured this idea would be cool to write.
I’m not exactly against the idea of the Legion Of Doom reforming(heck, I can see some potential for Cozy Glow and Tirek) but given everything that’s happened, I’m not so sure if they would be so willing to reform them at this time with the wounds of their actions being so fresh.
As for Discord’s choice to punish the villains, it was definitely ruthless but like Starlight said, it’s probably safer than sending them to Tartarus where they are more likely to escape, especially with Chrysalis’ help.
Why did I choose Starlight to be there to encounter Discord during his visit to the gardens. Besides favoritism, I felt she’d be the most likely to feel bad for them to an extent at least. Plus if I get to write a story between her and Discord interacting that doesn’t involve A Matter Of Principals, I will take it.