Discordant Harmony Part 1
About a week after the gala, Discord made it his mission to tell his friends about his true form. He wanted to tell Fluttershy first as she was his closest friend. He just wished this stupid headache would go away and not get worse.
"Discord, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?" Fluttershy asked him after taking a sip of her tea.
"Yes, it's something I've been meaning to tell you." Fluttershy looked at him with concern in her eyes.
“It's nothing wrong, my dear. It's just..." Discord's words failed him, his headache seemed to get stronger. Discord put a hoof to his head as he groaned in slight pain.
"Discord, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'll be okay." Discord fought through the pain as he continued. "I'm sorry but I... haven't been honest with you or our friends."
Fluttershy was shocked. Discord was always honest and kind but he's been lying. "What do you mean? Was it for a good reason?"
Discord nodded but it made his headache worse. "Yes.... it's a long story but I'm... I'm..."
Come. Come to the Everfree Forest.
"I.. I'm sorry but I have to go." Without another word, Discord left Fluttershy's cottage leaving the poor pegasus confused and worried for her friend.
Discord walked to the Everfree Forest with a blank stare in his eyes. Even if ponies called out to him, he ignored them. Something was pulling him into the Everfree Forest and he had no idea what. Discord arrived to a quiet spot with a large amount of tree but no ponies were around, even Zecora's hut was far away from him.
A shadowy creature appeared from a bush and looked at Discord with happiness. "Ooh hoo. You came! This whistle still works even after a thousand moons. It attracts any and all draconequus who can hear it. Course, this whistle has a limited use but no matter." The creature looked at Discord's pony form with disgust. "Change back into your true form." It took less than a second for Discord to change back into his draconequus form. It was taller than the creature expected but still, it was what his master wanted. "Excellent. The master wants you to cause chaos throughout all of Equestria. Keep those pesky Elements of Harmony at bay until I can finish my job. I won't tell you when that is but it shouldn't take but a moment. Now go!"
Discord extended his wings and flew off to Equestria to complete his mission. "That's right. Even if the Elements stop you too soon, you'll turn to stone. After all, a creature of disharmony can't handle harmony." The creature laughed as he disappeared deep into the forest. He had a mission to complete.
Fluttershy cleaned up the tea party and went to Twilight's home. Something was wrong with Discord and maybe Twilight could help. Before she could knock on the door, Twilight walked out with a book in her nose crashing into Fluttershy. "Fluttershy? Sorry. Where's Discord?"
"I was hoping you knew. He wanted to speak with me about something but he wasn't able to."
"Weird, Discord told me the same thing. He had something he wanted to speak to all of us about but wanted to speak to you first." That's when it started. They watched Rainbow chase after a pink cloud. "Discord. Of course, he's pulling pranks. If this is what he wanted to talk about, then this isn't the way. Come on, Spike. I've learned a new spell to fix this."
Fluttershy followed Twilight and Spike to Sweet Apple Acres where all kinds of chaos was happening. Applejack's corn was turning into popcorn, it was raining chocolate milk, apples were growing to the side of a house, and the bunnies grew deer legs. "Don't worry. I've learned a new spell that'll fix everything. After all, it's just Discord's magic."
Twilight casted the spell and it covered the entire farm in a bright light. Twilight opened her eyes and to her shock, nothing changed. "My failsafe spell... failed! DISCORD! Stop this! This isn't funny anymore!"
"Yeah, I thought you didn't do this kind of thing!" Spike shouted.
"Twilight, maybe this isn't Discord. Maybe it's a unicorn like Discord. One with magic like Discord's, after all, he's a prince. Why would he do this?" Rarity suggested as she put an umbrella on Twilight's back.
"You're right. We've got to figure out what's going on and where he is." With that, Spike burped a letter from Princess Celestia. Twilight read the message and told her friends, "Princess Celestia wants to see us all in Canterlot immediately." Everypony looked at each other concern, if the Princess wanted to see them then it was urgent.
In Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia paced back and forth in the throne room. Concern filled her eyes, chaos was happening in Equestria and she had no idea why but she knew who was doing it. 'He would never do this. He promised. He has never done something, anything like this before. So why?'
"Princess Celestia, we came as fast as we could."
Princess Celestia turned to see Twilight and her friends running to her in the throne room and Discord was not with them, proving her suspicions correct. "Thank you, Twilight. Thank you all."
"Is this about the weather and the animals' weird behavior? what's happening to there? Why isn't my magic working? Is there somepony else like Discord causing all this chaos? We can't find him. Is there..."
Princess Celestia put her hoof up to silence Twilight. "Follow me. There is something about Discord that I have been keeping from all of you."
Celestia led the girls though a secret part of the castle with many glass portraits throughout the room. "Before Luna became Nightmare Moon, she was doing a nightly patrol when she found a bundle in the garden. It was a baby, left alone in our home."
"Discord?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes. She fell in love with him quickly, as did I." Celestia smiled at the first time she met Discord. She fell in love with the baby draconequus just as Luna did. "Discord was abandoned by his mother and was left with us."
"But why? Why was he left behind? He mentioned that he was abandoned in the past but he never went beyond that," Twilight told her.
"Luna and I never figured that out. But we took him in. As you all know, Discord's magic is different from most ponies."
"Yeah, he can do all kinds of things. It's awesome!" Pinkie shouted with glee.
"Discord's magic is more powerful than mine and Luna's. Nothing can stop it."
"But Princess Celestia, I don't understand. Discord has powerful magic, it's different from anypony we've ever met, we know all this." Twilight's soon realized what Celestia could be saying. She nearly struggled to ask her next question, "Is... is Discord behind the strange things going on?"
Celestia nodded sadly. "Yes."
Everypony gasped in shocked. The Prince of Equestria was causing chaos and hurting everypony around him. "But why? He's our friend. Why would he do this?!" Rainbow demanded.
"I don't know." She stopped in her tracks to a portrait that was covered with a curtain. "Discord is unlike anything you have seen. Discord is not a pony. Discord is... He's...." Celestia was at a lost for words. She knew her nephew wanted to tell his friends this but something was happening to him and she didn't know what.
"Princess?" Twilight asked. "What is Discord?"
"Discord... is a draconequus." She unvieled the curtain to show a family portrait, it was Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Discord. The girls gasped at the sight. He looked the age of the CMC except instead of a pony, he looked different. He had short two horns, a blue goat horn that looked like his unicorn horn and a deer antler, he had a lion paw, an eagle paw, a dragon claw, a goat hoof, a snake tail, and a small fang came out of his mouth. He even had two wings, a bat wing and a blue pegasus wing.
"A what now?"
"A draconequus. Draconequui are known to be an amalgamation of different creatures. They are creatures of chaos and disharmony. Their magic is powerful, much more than my own or Luna's. After Luna was banished to the moon, Discord turned himself into a pony to keep himself disguised and safe from others. He promised that he would never hurt another creature with his magic and he's kept that promise... until now." Celestia continued forward with the girls following her from behind.
"What in the wide world of Equestria would Discord do this?" Applejack asked her.
"I do not know. But I need you and your friends to stop him."
"But... Discord is our friend. We don't want to hurt him," Twilight told him.
"I know. I don't want to either but I haven't been able to contact him. He hasn't answered any of my letters. I am deeply worried about his safety."
"Are you sure it's Discord? Maybe it's another draconequus."
"I'm sure. Discord is the last of his kind. Luna and I have unable to find evidence of the existence of other draconequui." That saddened the friends but at the same time, they were angry. Discord hid a big secret from them and now he's causing chaos across Equestria. The only question is, why?
Celestia led them to a room that was under lock and key. "This is Canterlot Tower. The Elements of Harmony are kept here since you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord." Celestia could tell from the eyes of the ponies in front of her that they were hesitant. Discord was their friend and they didn't want to hurt him.
"My little ponies. You are the only ones who can stop him. Please, I don't want to see him hurt but I cannot let my subjects get harmed."
The girls looked at each other than at Celestia. "Princess Celestia, you can count on..."
"Hold on a second! It's raining chocolate milk, you guys. Chocolate rain!"
"Don't listen to her, Princess. We'd be honored to use the Elements of Harmony again."
Putting her horn in the magical lock, Celestia used a spell to open the door to reveal a chest that contained the Elements.
Everypony looked at the case in awe. "You can keep the Elements. I'll take that case!"
"Have no fear, ponies. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these." Celestia opened the chest only to reveal nothing inside it. The Elements were gone!
Celestia dropped the chest in shock and everypony looked at the chest with their jaws dropped... except for Pinkie."Oh, well. If anyone needs me, I'll be outside in the chocolate puddles with a giant swizzle straw.” Rainbow stopped Pinkie from leaving as they were all trying to figure out what happened to the Elements.
"The Elements... they're gone!"
"That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break. This doesn't make sense," Celestia said as she paced back and forth but a voice stopped her in her tracks.
"HAHAHA! Make sense? Ooh, what fun is there in making sense?" That voice, there's no denying, it was Discord.
"Discord... come out this instant!"
Discord laughed and just as quick. Discord appeared in front of them. To be honest, Discord looked much more terrifying than he did in the portrait. Each of them had different emotions, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack were angry with him, Fluttershy was terrified of him, she had never seen anything so terrifying, Pinkie and Rarity felt at a lost, a friend they knew for months betrayed them. "Hello, little ponies! Do you like my chaos? Isn't it marvelous?!"
"Discord, stop this right now! Your mother will be very disappointed in you." Celestia stood in front of the Mane 6 to protect them from Discord, her wings even were spread out to appear bigger.
Discord did a raspberry at her. "You are not my mother. My mother died a long time ago."
Celesita felt her heart break on the inside but she didn't let that deter her. "What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"
"Well, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while. After all, I was able to access them so easily."
Celestia nearly slapped herself. 'Of course, Discord also had access to the Elements in case something happened to me. I taught him the spell but I never expected this to happened.'
"The defenses in this castle are quite easy to defy. Really surprised you ponies are so predictable? It's quite boring."
"Hey! Nopony insults the princess!" Rainbow charged at Discord but he disappeared and she crashed into the wall.
Discord laughed heartily at her as he floated in the air. "Wow, Rainbow Dash, you really are the representation of loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent, aren't you?"
"Duh, you should know that, Dipcord."
"Why of course? I have been observing you all for quite some time." That terrified the ponies even more. Was Discord planning to do this all this time? For them, it didn't make any sense.
"I can't believe I used to think you were cute since you were the prince."
Discord appeared once again by Rarity, "Ah, the beautiful Rarity, known for her generosity. I must inform you, if you thought I was some..." Discord gagged. "Snobby prince. Think again." Discord disappeared. That sentence shocked all of them. Did Discord forget about them or is he messing with them?
"I can't believe some high and mighty prince was a spy this whole time."
"Well, honest Applejack. If I was a spy, I did a pretty good job of it, if I do say so myself. I learned your strengths and weakness. I know what each of you represent." Discord reappeared above Fluttershy. "This one is the Element of Kindness." He disappeared again and appeared above Twilight. "The Element of Magic. The most powerful of them all." He disappeared and reappeared above Pinkie. "And finally, my favorite, the Element of Laughter." He disappeared again and this time, Pinkie couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Discord, this is your final warning. What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"
"Ugh. Fine. I'll tell you but only if we do it my way." Discord reappeared high above them. "To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan, then find the Elements back where you began." With that Discord disappeared, leaving them alone with their thoughts.
"What now? Can we go home?" Fluttershy asked Twilight as the unicorn thought of a plan.
"What od reckon he meant, "twists and turns" and ending back where we started?" Applejack asked.
"Twists and turns. Twists and Turns. Twists and turns! That's it!" Twilight looked out the window and saw the answer. "I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth."
Celestia nodded agreeing with Twilight's idea. "Good luck, my little ponies."
"Thanks, Princess. We won't let you down." With that, the girls left leaving Celestia alone with her thoughts.
'Oh, Discord. What happened? You promised you wouldn't do anything like this. So why... why did you betray Equestria? Why did you betray your mother? Why did you betray me?'
The Mane 6 arrived to the labyrinth and were terrified at the sight. The maze was long, tall, and anypony could easily get lost in it. "Do... we... have to go in there?" Fluttershy asked. She hated mazes and after what happened in the castle, she was terrified of Discord.
"Nope! Dopey Dipcord forgot about these babies." Rainbow showed off her wings and she flew off into the sky. "I'll just do a quick fly-over, and we'll have the Elements in no time." In the moment, Rainbow's wings disappeared making her an Earth pony. Rainbow felt the wings disappeared and she fell to the ground now fully seeing her missing wings. "MY WINGS!"
Fluttershy's wings disappeared as well and she screamed in fear. Twilight's and Rarity's horns disappeared as well. "Your horn! My horn! AHHHHH!" The former unicorns screamed and freaked out as well but stopped once a green ball of magic appeared in front of them.
Once it formed, it was Discord in the flesh. He laughed maniacally at the sight. "You should have see the look on your faces, priceless!" Before, they were behind Celestia and Discord disappeared so much it was hard to get a good look at him but now, seeing him in full view and so close. It was obvious why he hid himself as a pony.
"Give us our wings and horns back, Discord!"
"You'll get them back in good time." Discord disappeared and reappeared next to Applejack. "I simply took them to ensure there's no cheating," He told them while nudging the farm pony. "You see, this is the first rule of our game..." He went next to Fluttershy and Rainbow as he said, "No flying and..." He went next to Rarity and Twilight while he continued to say, "...and not magic."
"The first rule?"
Discord went the the edge of the bush and sat down as he stated, "The second rule is, everypony has to play or the game is over and I win. Good luck, everypony!" With that, Discord disappeared while laughing at them and he left the ponies baffled, confused, and upset with their former friend.
"Why would Discord do this? He's never acted like this," Twilight pointed out. 'Discord is immature sometimes, sure, but never mean, never unpleasant, and never so.... unruly. Why is he acting like this?'
"I don't know, Twi but we aren't goin' to figure it out standing here," Applejack told her.
"AJ is right. Who cares why he's acting like this? We have to stop him before he tears Equestria apart."
"Rainbow Dash is right. We've conquer Nightmare Moon together. As long as we are together, nothing can stop us."
"Indeed, as long as we stay together, we can overcome any challenge," Rarity told them.
Twilight led her friends in a line to the labyrinth's entrance. "All right, girls. Let's do this."
"TOGETHER!" They took the first step into the wood and in an instant walls started to surround them separating them into their own path. They screamed in fear but Twilight being the voice of reason, told them, "Stay calm, girls! Everypony, head to the middle as fast as you can, and we'll regroup there."
"Moving out!"
"See you in the center."
"Yee-haw!"
"See you guys there!"
Twilight and there others sped off to the center, except for Fluttershy, who was terrified of being alone and encountering Discord. "What's that? Who's there? GIRLSS!!!!!!!"
"Keep the Elements at bay. Keep the Elements at bay." Was the mantra Discord would tell himself over and over as he watched his plan go in motion. He was going to strip the Elements of their traits. Applejack would be dishonest, Rarity would be a selfish pony, Pinkie Pie, a bitter unhappy pony, Fluttershy, a cruel mean pony, Rainbow Dash, a pony only loyal to herself, and Twilight would lose the Element of Magic. "It's the perfect plan to keep the Elements at bay."
After changing Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, it was Fluttershy's turn. He wanted to use animals against her, more specifically, butterflies. He used three butterflies to lead her into a secluded part of the labyrinth. "Fluttershy, look like you've been left behind by your so-called friends, huh?"
Instead of being upset, she said, "Oh, no. I'm certain they're doing their best to find me."
"Well, it must be so upsetting to know how weak and helpless they think you are."
"Not at all. I am weak and helpless, and I appreciate their understanding."
Getting frustrated, Discord said, "Yes, well, I'm sure it burns you up, I mean, that they're always pointing out your flaws, right?"
"Not really. In fact, I think I'm awfully lucky to have friends who want me to be the best I can be. My friends care about me deeply even Discord. I don't know what's going on but I am so terrified for him and the others."
The butterflies transformed back into Discord, completely frustrated with the yellow pony. "Oh, for Scorpans' sake!" Discord put a claw on Fluttershy's head and transformed her into a cruel version of herself. "You've been kind for far too long, my dear. Time to be cruel! Arrivederci!" Discord disappeared leaving the pony alone for her friends to find her.
'Odd. Why do I feel... guilty? I've always mess with ponies and yet, with these ones, I don't feel... good.' Discord thought to himself but he shrugged it off. "Oh, well. It's none of my concern. After all, I need to keep the Elements at bay and that's just what I'm going to do. Now, it's time to end this game."
Discord was laying on the clouds as he waited for Rainbow Dash to be lured here by her Element. Once she arrived, he stretched to make himself more comfortable. "Oh, I can see why you like these clouds so much... very plush."
"That's it. I don't care if you're a prince. Get off and put 'em up! Come on! Let's go!" Rainbow was ready to fight him. After everything's that's happened, she was ready for a fight.
"Hey, I'm here to deliver a message. And for the last time, I'm not a prince. Honestly, I'm a Lord of Chaos. Very different."
"I've got a message for you, too!"
"Listen closely, this is important. A weighty choice is yours to make... the right selection or a big mistake. If the wrong choice you choose to pursue, the foundations of home will crumble without you."
Discord hypnotized Rainbow into seeing Cloudsdale crumble away destroying her home per mentally. "Cloudsdale... crumble... without me." She watched Pegasi flee as her home was destroyed by an unknown force. "NO!!"
A box appeared in front of her, it was blue and wrapped like a present. "That box contains your wings. You can take them a leave the game, or you can carry on aimlessly wandering this maze. Your choice." Rainbow's color left her as Discord gave her a choice but she knew what she was choose. Rainbow Dash choose the box and left the game.
The maze fell apart as clouds started to form above the friends. "Well, well, well. Somepony broke the "No wings, no magic" rule." With a snap of his friends, the missing wings and horns reappeared. "Game's over, my little ponies. You didn't find your precious Elements. Looks like we might be due for a big ol' storm of chaos." Discord opened an umbrella upside down as he laughed maniacally.
Twilight couldn't help but watch. Her friends have become twisted versions of themselves, just like Discord.
Author's Note
What the shadowy creature is... I'll leave that up to you. 😁
But I knew I wanted Discord's reveal to be in this moment and I knew how I wanted to do it.
Discordant Harmony Part 2
Twilight watched as Discord just continued to laugh at her and her friends. They lost and he won. 'How is this possible? Why is this happening? Why is Discord doing this?'
"And what are you laughing at?!" Pinkie demanded.
Discord wiped a tear from his eyes and told them, "Oh, you ponies are just the most fun I've have in a millennia."
Pinkie went into Discord's face and told him, "WELL, QUIT IT! You better think before you laugh at the Pink... ie Pie!" Discord did not feel threatened one bit by the pony in his face. He was more amused than anything.
"Oh, yeah?" Fluttershy challenged. "Well, ha ha."
"Quit it!"
"No. Ha ha."
"QUIT IT!!!!"
"No." Fluttershy continued to mockingly laugh at Pinkie and Twilight couldn't believe her eyes. Her friends have become complete opposites of themselves.
"Girls, why are you all acting like this? We need to stick together."
Discord just laughed at them. "Oh, it's just too entertaining." From a distance, Discord was sitting on a chair eating popcorn as if he was watching a show play out.
With anger in her eyes, Twilight shouted, "DISCORD! Why are you doing this? I thought you were our friend. You are the prince of Equestria."
"Ugh. How may times do I have to say this? I am not a "prince of Equestria." I'm a Lord of Chaos. I'm the spirit of chaos and disharmony. I can do whatever I want."
"Ugh! How are we supposed to find the Elements of Harmony when you took away the labyrinth before we could get to the end?"
"Oh, wait. Do you..." Discord laughed heartily. "How funny! You thought the Elements were in the Labyrinth?" Discord teleported himself and Twilight back the moment he spewed his riddle.
"Twists and turns are my master plan, then find the Elements back where you began."
Twilight replayed the moment in her mind when she and Discord returned to the place of the labyrinth. "I never said they were in the labyrinth."
"Keep trying, Twilight Sparkle. Maybe the Magic of Friendship can help you," Discord said mockingly to her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some chaos to wreak." With a snap, Discord left but not before it started to rain chocolate milk with cotton candy cloud covering the area.
"UGH! Think Twilight, think. Find the Elements back where you began. Back where you began!" The sounds of her friends fighting didn't help her at all. They weren't even going to help her. "Ugh, I just want to go home." That's when she realized it. "Wait. Home, back where you began! The Elements much be in Ponyville."
It took a while, but Twilight finally managed to convince the others to follow her to Ponyville but they made it. Ponyville looked terrible. Multiple building were floating and some were upside down. The ground was checkered and half of the town was raining chocolate milk. "I just know the Elements are in Ponyville. There's a book we need to check out."
After being stomped on by Angel and his bunny friends, the sun went down and the roads turned into soap making everypony slip on their feet. Discord skated by them as if he was skating on ice. "Isn't this magnificent? This is the new and improved Ponyville, and these are only my first changes." Discord showed them the chaos in Ponyville, homes were off the ground, trees were upside down, nothing looked right.
"First changes? You... I thought you were our friend! I can't believe I trusted you. I can't believe the princesses trusted you."
"How many times do I have to repeat myself? One, I have no friends, two, I'm not a prince, and three, I'm a Lord of Chaos. I can do whatever I want. Anyway..." The moon rose before it was truly night time and Discord told her, "It's time for me to go. I have more work to do. You may see it or not." With that, Discord disappeared into the night well day since the sun rose again.
'Come on, Twilight, Let go of your feelings about Discord.' It was clear to her now that he wasn't her friend, not anymore. "I'm going to stop you, Discord." Fluttershy skated past her and insulted her. 'Ugh, I'm ready for this to be over.'
Twilight and her friends arrived at the library and in the moment, the sun rose. Twilight felt exhausted. Discord betraying them, her friends being awful, she just wanted this mission to end. "Everyone please, please, please just go inside, please!"
As each pony went inside, they turned grayer and grayer becoming shadows of their former selves. Spike noticed their change and asked Twilight about it but she refused to talk about it. After finally getting the Elements, Twilight put each necklace on her friend and made Spike the new Rainbow Dash, terrifying him greatly but Twilight told him to not worry about it.
Once the ponies and Rarity's boulder was outside, Discord was already there waiting for them. "Well, well, well. I see you found the Elements of Harmony. How terrifying!" Discord continued to laugh as them as he floated in the air.
"Discord, I figured out your lame riddle. You're in for it now."
"I certainly am." Discord landed on the ground and leaned against a nearby tree. He put on a pair of sunglasses and waited. "You've clearly out-dueled me, and now it's time to meet my fate. I'm prepared to be defeated now ladies. Fire when ready." Discord put a target on his chest as he waited for the attack.
"Formation, now!" The girls nonchalantly formed behind Twilight. "Rainbow Dash, get over here!" Twilight came out from behind the rock with fear in his eyes. "All right. Let's get this over with." Twilight and the girls concentrated, everypony, except for Spike floated into the air. Discord saw the light emitting from the crown and necklaces and he thought that he had lost but the light disappeared just as fast as it appeared.
"What's going on?"
"Mine's working. There must be something wrong with yours," Applejack accused.
"I hate the Elements of Harmony."
Fluttershy scoffed as she removed her Element and tossed it aside. "Garbage.
"MINE!" Rarity took the Element as if it always belong to her.
"Sorry, Twilight. I guess I better get back upstairs and clean up the library. Good luck with all this... whoa!" As Spike was running back to the library, Fluttershy tripped him with her tail.
"Oops. Sorry, Rainbow CRASH.
"Bravo, ponies. Bravo. Harmony in Equestia is officially dead. Discord rules, and Aunt Tia drools." Discord booped Twilight on her nose as she growled in anger. Discord skated away on the soap laughing at his plan working.
After a heated argument, each girl went on their way, leaving Twilight alone. "FINE! LEAVE! See if I care! I don't need you guys, either. With friends like you, who needs... enemies?" With that, Twilight turned gray. She has become like her former friends.
With a cotton candy cloud raining chocolate milk on Twilight's head, she walked home dejectedly. Nothing was going to make her feel better. Twilight felt Discord near her but she didn't listen to a work he said. Discord stood in front of Twilight and told her, "Cheer up, Twilight. You've got to get into the spirit of things. this is your new home after all."
Twilight looked at the chaos happening in her home and told Discord, "Not anymore."
Twilight went in the library. She was going to leave Ponyville permanently. "YES! I kept the Elements at bay!"
Twilight went upstair and told Spike, "Pack your things, Spike. We're leaving." Spike didn't move. Hundreds of letters were next to him as Spike groaned in pain. "And don't ask where we're going, 'cause... I don't know yet." Twilight took off her crown as she got a suitcase with her magic and threw it away.
"Can't... move.... The princess... has been sending these... since I came back upstairs." Spike burped once again as another letter came from the Princess. "MAKE IT STOP!"
Twilight looked at a letter and recognized them quickly. "These are all the letters I've written to the Princess since I've lived in Ponyville." Twilight read each letter out loud to herself. Remembering each friendship lesson she learned from her friends, remembering all the adventures she went on and how they all got closer. "Spike, I've figured it out."
She lifted Spike with her magic and spun him around. "Discord's trying to distract us from what's important. He knows out powerful out friendship are, and he's trying to keep us from seeing it." Spike gagged as he nearly threw up from the spinning Twilight was doing to him.
"Do you remember what I said the first day we arrived in Ponyville?I told you that the future of Equestria didn't rest on me making friends. But the opposite is true! The friendships 've made since I've been here are what saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon, and now they need to save it from Discord."
Twilight gently set Spike down on his bed to let him rest. Instead of answering her, Spike just moaned loudly. "You're right, Spike. Even if Discord was once a prince of Equestria, I've got to stop him. I've got to fight for my friendships." With that, Twilight decided to let Spike rest while she made a plan to find her friends and stop Discord.
One by one, Twilight went to each of her friends, bringing their memories of their friendships back turning them back into their true selves. The only one left was Rainbow Dash, it took some time but they found her on a lone cloud. "Rainbow Dash! Discord is still on the loose. We need you to help us defeat him with your Element-- Loyalty."
Rainbow scoffed. "Loyalty schmoyalty. Have you guys seen Ponyville? It's a disaster! I'm staying here in Cloudsdale where everything's awesome."
"How in Equestia can she think that tiny patch of clouds is Cloudsdale?"
"The same way he got you to think that cheap rock was a bona fide diamond," Applejack pointed out.
Rarity's eyes went wide then said, "I thought we agreed never to speak of that again."
"Time for plan B." Twilight took the girls to get a hot air balloon. She had a plan to get Rainbow Dash. The gray pegasus pony was sleeping on the cloud. Once they were high enough, Twilight told Fluttershy, "You grab Rainbow Dash and hold her down. Applejack will lower me down from this rope so I can cast the memory spell on her."
"Got it!" Fluttershy flew to Rainbow but instead of doing what Twilight told her, she lightly shook Rainbow up. "Um, I'm just wondering if it's okay if I hold you down against your will for a little bit."
Everypony rolled their eyes and groaned. Sometimes, Fluttershy was too nice for her own good.
"Nice try. Ponyville's your problem, not mine." With the Rainbow Dash flew off in a different direction.
A rope was lowered in front of Fluttershy, she looked up when Twilight said, "Come on, Fluttershy. We got to catch her." Fluttershy flew as fast as she could to catch up but knowing it would never happen, Rainbow Dash flew around them in a bunch of different direction.
Twilight threw another rope at Applejack and she was able to lasso Rainbow like a bull. However, the rope was too close to Rarity and she and Pinkie was caught by the hoof. Rainbow was dragging them through the sky at breakneck speeds. "PINKIE! You were supposed to secure the rope!"
"Oops."
Rainbow fell off the cloud as she was starting to slow down but not enough to Fluttershy to catch up. "Rarity, Pinkie, hold on! Y'all are slowing her down."
"Oh, Fluttershy, would you be a dear and fly faster, please?"
Tears were falling down Fluttershy's face. She was falling faster than she ever had but she wasn't fast enough to catch Rainbow. "I can't."
"If you can't catch her, Discord wins!"
Fluttershy's eyes opened to those words. Discord was once her friend but now he was an enemy. He hurt her, he betray her and her friends. "That big, dumb... meanie!" With a new found confidence, Fluttershy flew faster than ever before. Twilight threw the last rope to Applejack and she was able to catch her. They lowered her to the ground and restored her memories.
With the Mane 6's friendship restored, they know needed to gather the Elements and stop Discord once and for all.
In Ponyville, more chaos surrounding the area and Discord watched it all from his throne. "Chaos is a wonderful, wonderful thing." Before drinking the chocolate milk in his hand, he heard a familiar voice.
"Not as wonderful as friendship."
"Oh, this again?" Discord drank the glass instead of the chocolate milk, he threw the milk behind him and it blew up.
"That's right. You couldn't break apart our friendship for long."
Discord smirked at her and told her, "Oh, Applejack, don't lie to me." He used his magic to pull her closer with her necklace. "I'm the one who made you a liar." He pulled the other girls closer to him by their Elements except for Twilight. She teleported herself to the center of her friends and in an instant, they were surrounded by a magical bubble. Twilight brought them back to the ground much to Discord's surprise.
"I'll tell you what we've learned, Discord. We've learned that friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt it's worth fighting for."
Discord groaned at their faces. "Gag. Fine, go ahead. Try and use your little Elements, Frienemies. Just make it quick." Discord teleported back to his throne and waited. "I'm missing some excellent chaos here." Discord smirked at them. He knew that he won and kept the Elements at bay.
"All right, ladies. Let's show I'm what friendship can do."
"WAIT!" Pinkie stood under a cotton candy cloud and drank the raining chocolate milk for a few seconds then she joined her friends.
Discord just waited for the Elements to fail but to his surprise, they were working. "Oh. What's this?" He watched as a rainbow formed around them and it headed toward him. "No. NOOOOOOO!!!"
A bright light surrounded the around. It blinded everypony around them. Even Discord was blinded, whatever had its hold on him was gone.
Once the light was gone, the girls landed but to their shock and horror, chaos was running amuck and Discord was not imprisioned or banished. He was on the ground unconscious. "How... how is this possible?"
"Weren't the Elements supposed to do something?! Anything?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah, why is there still chaos everywhere?"
A groan stopped them in their tracks. Discord's head rose as he put his lion paw to his head and rubbed it. "Oh, my head. Ugh, what happened?" Discord opened his eyes and to his surprise, chaos was everywhere. "Huh. Did I cause chaos in my sleep again? I thought I had it under control. No matter." With a snap of his fingers, the chaos around them disappeared. Discord stood up and stretched as he noticed his surroundings were not his bedroom. "I'm in Ponyville, outside my room. Odd." Discord turned and saw his friends looking at him with anger in their eyes.
"Why are you all staring at me like that? Is this a dream? Did I have a dream within a dream? Hello, Mom. You can come out. Is this another one of my nightmares? If so, it would be nice if you could come out now."
"A dream? A DREAM?! After all the trouble you caused, you think this is a dream! I trusted you. We trusted you. The Princesses trusted you!!" Twilight shouted with angry tears forming in her eyes and she stomped toward him.
"What in Equestria are you talking about? What trouble?"
"You caused chaos all over Equestria!"
"You made me a greedy pony who carrier a boulder all around Ponyville!"
"You made a liar out of me!"
"You made me hate chocolate milk! CHOCOLATE MILK!"
Discord heard all their shouts and kept waiting for his mother to come out and save him from this nightmare but she didn't. Discord even pinched himself to wake up but that didn't even work. "Fluttershy... please." He reached out to her but with tears in her eyes, she turned away.
That's when he saw it, his lion paw. He looked and saw that he wasn't a pony anymore, he was in his true form and his friends saw it before he could tell them. "Oh, No, nonononono. What have I done?!" Without another word, Discord disappeared, leaving everypony shocked, angry, and confused at what just happened.
The shadow creature watched the scene play out. "Hmm. The draconequus was suppose to turn to stone. Those Elements must be weaker than I thought. No matter. That draconequus kept those Elements at bay long enough for me to plant those seeds. It will take time but once they grow, no pony will be safe. HAHAHAHAHA!" With that, the creature disappeared into the shadows back to his master.
Discord retreated to his room in the castle and locked the door. He didn't want anypony to come in, not his mom, not his aunt, not anypony. He quickly hid under his bed and stayed there. 'What have I done? What did I do?'
Discord looked through his memories to figure out what happened but he couldn't. The last thing he remembered was being at Fluttershy's cottage but after that... nothing. He was going to tell her the truth, that much he remembered, but after that, nothing.
Celestia called the Mane 6 to her home to discuss what happened with Discord because the results surprised her. Discord was supposed to turn to stone but instead, the ponies described it as if he woke up from a dream.
"So, the Elements were supposed to turn him to stone?" Twilight asked, ensuring she heard right.
Celestia nodded. "Yes. Discord was supposed to turn to stone but it's strange that he wasn't."
"Princess Celestia, do you think Discord will cause chaos again? After all, we don't know where he is. He wasn't in the library nor at Fluttershy's cottage. He isn't anywhere in Ponyville," Twilight told her with her friends nodding in agreement. They searched high and low for Discord but he was nowhere to be found.
"I don't know. Keep on the lookout. All of you, we'll do the same here." The girls nodded and left the Princess alone.
Once she was sure the girls were gone, Celestia walked to Discord's room. She hesitated, Discord considered this a safe space but after what happened, but she needed to speak with him. In a stern voice, she said, "Discord. Open the door, now. I need to talk to you." She was met with silence. "Discord, I don't know if you're in there but I need to speak with you right now."
Again, she was met with silence but this time a letter appeared in front of her. She opened it and all it said was I'm sorry.
In a calmer voice, she said, "Discord, please. I want to talk about what happened. Can you please open the door?" Silence, once again. A note did not come out this time. "I'll be here, Discord. Please. Talk to me when you're ready."
Days passed and there wasn't a peep from Discord's room. He didn't leave for food, water, a flight, or anything. He just refused to leave his room. Celestia and Luna tried to speak with him through the door but he never answered. They often left food out for him but most of the time, it was left uneaten.
Celestia has heard nothing about him causing chaos across Equestria so her best guess is that something happened to make him cause chaos. Something made him do what he did, but what?
After almost two weeks of being unable to speak with him, Luna was finally able to talk to Discord through his dreams. "Discord? Moonlight." She saw him with tears down his face, his friends, her sister and herself yelling at him. Their eyes were red with anger and their teeth were sharp. Luna saw Discord covering his ears but that did nothing. He could still hear every word thrown at him.
"Freak!"
"This is all your fault!"
"We trusted you!"
"You betrayed us!"
"I can't believed you were our friend!"
"You are a disgrace to Equestria!"
Words Discord had heard his entire life was getting louder and stronger. New voices joined until they stopped. He looked and saw his mother. "No. You can't be here. I'll hurt you too!" More tears were falling down his face. He backed away from his mother in fear but Luna wasn't going to give up. Her son was scared and he needed help.
"Moonlight, please. Celestia and I are worried about you. We have't seen you in weeks. What happened? You would never betray us. You know that. I know that. We know that you would never do this. Please, Moonlight, tell me what caused you to do what you did."
"I... I don't know!" With that shout, Luna was kicked out of Discord's dream. He forced himself to wake up. Luna tried to go back but Discord didn't fall back asleep.
After a month of no answers from Discord, Celestia made a decision. If Discord wasn't going to come out for her or Luna, then maybe he would come out for his friends.
My Dearest Twilight Sparkle...
