Ch.3: Overcome All Through Love
Spike opened his eyes to find that himself in some sort of cell of some dreary dungeon colored cruel black and sickly green, a Changeling Guard at each side of the cell bars. Of course, he isn't alone. Also trapped with him in said cell are the other lovers of the Mane Six, along with Sombra, Discord, and his two snake henchmen.
"Guys!" the young dragon called out to them as he rushed over to Marvin's side. "You alright?" They mumbled to him in answer.
"Yeah, I'm alright."
"I'm fine."
"Uh-huh…" Discord was the only one who didn't answer. He had let Chrysalis trick him not once but twice. And now they're all trapped because of him, and Celestia, Luna, and the Bearers of Harmony will be at the Changeling Queen's mercy. He then hung his head down in shame.
"I'm sorry…" The others turned to him in reply as he kept on beating himself up. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't tricked you into coming here, you wouldn't have gotten yourselves trapped." Kaa frowned before wrapping his neck and coil around his master's shoulders and giving him a gentle squeeze to hug him.
"Massster, it'sss not your fault," he protested softly.
"Kaa'sss right," Hiss stated. "That pathetic excussse of a Queen isss to blame!" Discord smiled sadly at them.
"Thanks, you two," he replied, "but it's not gonna let us get out of here." Peter then turned to the two snakes with interest.
"You really are devoted to him, non?" Kaa and Hiss turned to him in reply.
"Of courssse we're devoted to him," Kaa stated. "He wasss there for usss at the beginning."
"If it were not for Dissscord," Hiss added, rubbing his head into the Draconequus' paw, "our livesss would ssstill be missserable."
"What do you mean?" asked Marvin, cocking our heads to the side.
"Well, before Dissscord wasss ssstruck by the Golden Arrow," Kaa answered, "Hisss and I weren't alwaysss sssnakesss with wingsss. Back then, I wasss a rock python with hypnotic abilitiesss living in the junglesss of India."
"And I was a yellow ball python ssserving as councellor to Prince John of Nottingham," Hiss added. "Well, up until I was thrown into prissson with him and the Sheriff for hisss greedy tyranny by hisss older brother King Richard."
*~*Kaa's Flashback*~*
About a couple of hours after Shere Khan had left for the swamp to hunt for Mowgli, Kaa was slithering across the jungle floor in despair. Once more, he has let his prey slip right though his coils. This time was different; he's ended up swallowing a large rock now giving him an upset stomach! Ever since Mowgli caught his attention, he's been having the worst luck with his target, mainly man-cubs. He should've stuck to his promise never to associate with that sort of species when he made it.
"Just isn't your night, is it?" Kaa jumped with a yelp and turned around, hoping that it isn't Shere Khan. The good news is that it's not the tiger; the bad news is that is a creature he's never seen before (by that, I mean Discord) leaning into the side of a nearby tree. Whatever it is, it's scaring Kaa right out of his scales.
"MONSTER!" He tried to slither away, but the boulder inside of him is slowing him down, giving Discord the chance to place his paw on the hard bulge to catch him.
"Hey, relax," he said to him calmly. "I'm not gonna eat ya or anything; I'm not even a mongoose." Kaa just hid his head under one of his coils with a whimper as Discord then looked down at the bulge he's holding. "Must hurt more than it looks, huh?"
"Imgonnadieimgonnadieimgonnadie," Kaa only whimpered with a shudder.
"Oh, you are not," Discord grumbled. "Now hold still." He then sunk his hands into the bulge and lifted the boulder up from out of the snake's body as if the rock was a ghost. Kaa looked up and was shocked to see that his bulge was gone.
"What the—"
"There we go," Discord said before throwing the boulder to the side. Kaa jumped when the rock landed onto the ground with a loud CRASH!
"Uh, thanksss," Kaa replied with a gulp.
"No problem," Discord stated, turning to him with a smile. "Course, you must be pretty hungry after that whole scenario of yours. This should help." He then snapped his fingers, and a huge ham with the bone removed appeared before the python. Kaa's eyes went wide with a swirl before he went and swallowed the ham without a second thought. Discord just smiled at his satisfaction.
"Looks like you're feeling better now," he said as Kaa licked his lips.
"Oh, I don't know how to thank you enough," the snake replied, looking up at him with a grateful gaze. "That wasss the firssst time in a long time I can enjoy a meal without having to hypnotize it."
"Glad I can help," Discord replied. "And now that I think about it, I bet that special ability of yours could be of great use to all of us. How would you like to come with me to a place where you don't have to put up with man-cubs outsmarting you or tigers pushing you around?"
"Really?" Kaa replied with a smile before it changed into a suspicious frown. "What'sss in it for you?"
"Oh, just your services to me as I take on this princess I have a grudge against." Kaa then thought about it. He does have enough of those man-cubs, especially that Mowgli, and he couldn't tolerate with Shere Khan treating him like dirt rather than a fellow predator. He just had to get away from it all…
"Alright," he said to him, "you got yourssself a deal. And my name isss Kaa, by the way."
"Excellent," Discord replied with a smile. "And the name's Discord." He then snapped his fingers, and Kaa shut his eyes to shield them from the sudden flash. When he opened them again, he found himself no longer in the jungle but in the castle ruins of the Everfree Forest.
*~*Hiss's Flashback*~*
Hiss coiled up on the pile of straw in his cell as the full moon shown in through the prison bars. He couldn't believe that he's in prison just from following orders. Well, okay, so the one he was taking orders from was the tyrant Prince John, but why couldn't King Richard show him a little mercy and sentence him to exile?
Oh, but what would be the point in that? Everyone now knows that because he was offering his services to the prince, he's now considered a traitor to the crown. Oh, if only he had tried to pursue a career as a world-class fencing champion as was his talent, but he wanted to provide money for his family back in London, despite it being rich enough.
Hiss then shut his eyes and tried to get some sleep, knowing that tomorrow will consist of smashing more rocks at the royal rock pile…
He jumped with surprise when there was a sudden flash of light in his cell. He then looked up to see a strange monster (obviously Discord) of some sort before him. Frightened, Hiss hid into the straw pile with a cry. This is so very bad!
"Yeesh, talk about clammy," Discord said, looking around the cell. "Don't these dungeons have a cleaning service or anything?" He then looked down at Hiss and saw the chain on his neck, keeping him from slithering out of the bars of the window and escape. "I bet that chain on you is pretty uncomfortable."
"Y-Yesss, a-a little," Hiss stuttered, still scared. "Are you…going to…"
"No, I'm not gonna eat ya," Discord answered, kneeling down to the straw pile. "Just hold still." He then placed his talon on Hiss's chain, and it vanished. When it did, Hiss's prison clothes transformed into his red cap and cape. Seeing the changes, Hiss was in complete shock and a loss of words…well, almost.
"What kind of sssorcery isss thisss?"
"Oh, let's just say I can make the impossible possible," Discord stated matter-of-factly, "like helping you escape from this place and taking you to someplace were you'll never have to put up with that tyrant prince again." Hiss doesn't have to be convinced twice; he can tell that this guy has great power.
"My name isss Sssir Hisss," he said with a modest bow, "and whatever ssservicesss you need, I'll provide them to you."
"And I'm Discord," the Draconequus said with a smile, "and I appreciate your services to me." He then snapped his fingers, and a light consumed the two of them. When it has vanished, Hiss has found himself in the castle ruins of the Everfree Forest and met Kaa, the giant green python who came to be his fellow henchman.
*~*Hiss's Flashback*~*
"Dissscord then gave usss our wingsss ssso we could be of more help to him," Kaa added.
"The ressst asss you know isss hissstory," Hiss then finished.
"Wow," Marvin replied with wide eyes. "Just…wow…"
"Gosh," Pyrus concurred in awe. "We had no idea that you two had it rough." The others just shook their heads, too surprised as well to say anything.
"Eh, don't sweat it," Discord replied, brushing it off. "You never asked about their origins until just now." He then sadly lied down on the floor like a lion lying down to rest. "Doesn't matter though. With Chrysalis having my father's tome, there's no way I can stop her. Now Celestia will never want to marry me…"
TWACK! Everyone gasped in shock when Spike went up to him and slapped him in the face. Even Discord was shocked as he held his now sore cheek and gawked at the fuming teenage dragon staring down at him.
"You're not just gonna give up like that, are ya?" he roared. "You didn't give up on Kaa and Hiss when they offered their services to you. And you didn't give up on Twilight and the girls when you helped them find love through us. And you refused to give up on wooing Princess Celestia. So why are you giving up now? Try to understand, Discord. It doesn't matter if Chrysalis has your dad's book or not; you can still beat her! And we're gonna back ya up every step of the way!" He then turned to the others. "Right, guys?" The others cheered in reply.
"You bet!"
"Well said, Spike!"
"All the way!" Discord couldn't believe his ears. They're willing to help him beat his stepsister, despite all that he did to them.
"But…why?" Spike just turned to him in reply, this time smiling at him.
"You've taught us something valuable," he answered. "No matter what species you are, whether you're a Pony, a dragon, a gryphon, an alien, or even an anthromorphic animal, love can help you overcome anything and win the heart of the one you love. You helped us overcome our differences with the girls by helping us realize that it's not the outside that matters but what's inside. And Princess Celestia didn't love you for your looks; she loved you for the guy she knew all those years ago. And since we now know the whole truth, we're gonna make sure that you two get that happily ever after you truly deserve."
At that moment, Discord realized what his father meant all those years ago before passing the tome to him:
"Remember, Discord: It's not the tome that makes you powerful. It is one who wields the tome through love."
They're right; I can still beat Chrysalis. She's not using love to conquer anything through the book; she's merely using the book without using the secret power! And I'm going to use that power to save my Celestia! He then stood up and started to glow, his eyes giving off a powerful light.
"Then let's go save our girls…"