Gifts and Betrayal
Part 2: Betrayal
Luna wakes with a start in tears, and wordlessly throws herself out of bed, bounding down the halls. She's scared, angry, and so terribly sad. I don't know why, yet, but I follow quickly after her. She bursts into the the throne room, where Celestia is only preparing for court. She, too, seems stressed from her outing to the Empire and the revelation of Tirek's return, but she seems oblivious to whatever's gotten Luna so upset.
"Celestia!" She cries. "He- Discord- I- Tirek!" She exclaims, unable to explain, but through a snapshot of her mind I see what has happened. Luna feared Tirek would talk over Discord, and she was right. She dreamed it happening.
"Luna, I don't understand. Calm yourself, explain." Celestia says, concerned but keeping calm. She strides to Luna, taking her seriously.
"Tirek has gained Discord's allegiance, and is using him to bait our ponies. All night he has been stealing magic; no less than three towns and cities are drained entirely of their magic and are now lying defenseless." She says, her voice wavering. Tears are still streaming down her face.
"No." Celestia says, but she cannot deny it. Her dismay quickly turns to a stony face of command. "Guard; send word to Cadence and Shining Armor. I want them here immediately." The guards take her vicious tone as a warning that they should leave, and practically evaporate from the room. "Luna." She speaks, but looks at me, her cool, hard gaze disturbing me a bit. Luna nods.
"Knights, one of the few reasons we were so late in returning was that we were preparing contingency plans in the case that something went wrong. Tirek is now strong enough to steal even our magic, or will be soon, and we cannot allow that. One plan is that Celestia, Cadence and I would give up our magic to another alicorn, one unknown to Tirek. He ought not know of you nor Twilight, but you are unsuited to bearing such vast power; Twilight is the Element of Magic, and is a much better candidate for taking our magic." I nod. I have no doubt that she would do this task a hundred times better than I could at this point.
"What am I to do? Should I give my magic as well?"
"No. I am sad to say, but you must flee, Knights. You are proficient in war, though it has been a lifetime since you used those skills, and you are unknown to Tirek. Discord may not think to sell you out until you have assembled an army, especially if you disappear quickly. Go out of Equestria, across the sea if you must, gain aid from our allies wherever you can, meet up with Twilight someday, but find some way to fight him."
"You speak like you are not coming with me."
"I cannot. He will expect us three here. We must not give away our aces.. I.. I must stay, my love." Her tears begin again. She doesn't want to do this, but she is convinced that this is the best way. I grind my hoof into the floor.. But I can think of no alternative. Even facing him, all at once, she seems assured that we would be no match, only offering ourselves in bloody, violent sacrifice. With a deep breath I sigh.
".. Fine. Will you be safe?" I ask. She nods, the action seeming reserved, tiny.
"As much as I can. He will likely lock us away, and we will be weak as babes without our magic, but he will choose the most cruel path; he would have us watch our nation die before we do."
"If you will be safe, I will go."
"Then I will promise to live until you return and save the day with Twilight." She smiles.
"Then, I will leave you.." I sigh. "But.. not for long. Not for any moment longer than I have to." I say, and finally meet her eyes. I press my face forward, til our noses meet.
"I would never have it any other way." She murmurs, and for a moment things seem okay again. "Now go, flee. Fly fast and hard away from here. Drown out your magic as much as you can. Be safe." She commands. Ever her knight, I bow, and do as she requires. I teleport outside, and then fly fast and hard, as she has asked. All the while, I feel the nagging sensation that this is the worst option, and that I should be with her when the world falls apart..
A day later. The Throne Room. Discord's perspective.
Tirek has me by the throat, yelling about another alicorn princess. He didn't know? The damn fool; it's not my fault he doesn't keep up with the times. I do wince as he tosses me down on the floor, though. How rude. Didn't he just give me this little medallion as a sign of our friendship? Our teamwork, our future together? I harrumph to myself. He's just moody because he thought he had it made when there was still a bit of work to do. And being moody is making him act like a hypocrite.
"Yes, well, Twilight's no trouble a't'all. Her friends will bring her out, guaranteed." I pout. Tirek grinds his teeth. Such a nasty habit. The only pony I know who does that is Twilight. Actually, no, Knights used to do it too.. "While we're on the subject of unexpected alicorns, there is one other. He's a recently ascended one, too, and not nearly as gifted as Twilight or the other three."
"He?"
"Yup. Prince of the Sky and Royal Lover Boy, Dark Knights. I can feel him flying a long way off, trying to be quiet with his magic and failing miserably." Those pesky emotions of his make his magic flare, and as much as he tries to conceal it, the brighter those flares seem to me.
"Hmm." Tirek faces the window, thinking. "Good. Lead me to him and I'll forgive your failure to mention the purple one." Forgiveness? Oh, good! Glad to know he's the sort to let things go, not like the ponies do; hold on to their grudges forever, they will.
"Goodie, goodie, right this way!"
Over the southern badlands…
My wings ache; for all the nights Luna and I flew out as far as we could, we always went home after six or eight hours, and never at a constant 'sprint'. But I don't stop, I can't stop. My beloved and my country needs me to keep up this breakneck pace, to pull together some kind of solution as fast as I can. Already I rehearse the speeches I'll make to our allies, the few dragon clans who recognize us as a nation of sentient beings, the zebras, the giraffes, even the minotaurs. How I will stand, how I will beg and command and insist until this threat is taken care of. Options, plans, contingency plans, everything I can do with the time I have between now and actually getting there.
With a pop something falls into me, knocking me out of the sky and into a mountainside. The red dust of the wasteland clouds around us, and I cough. I set my mane afire, encouraging the one who so brashly knocked me from the sky to remove themselves from my back. I roar as I turn to face them, but stop when I see-
"Discord?"
"Surpriiiise! Thought you could get away, didya?"
"Discord, this is no game!" I roar again, teeth elongating in display of my anger. A gravelly, grinding voice hit my ears.
"Not to you, it isn't, but that's what you ponies don't get about Discord." In the darkness, stepping into my firelight, is the centaur monstrosity himself. I allow my whole form to take flame, daring him to try anything. "Petty fire will not stop me." He boasts, and lunges forward. I dodge beneath him, my fire singing his entire underside. I buck him in the ass for good measure, but he turns quickly, and his hands reach for me. I flutter away from his clawed hands, and summon my sword, magic draining quickly from the exertion. Once in hoof, however, I hold no reservations going for his neck. He dodges, but my next swing embeds the blade into his shoulder, though his magic makes quickly to repair it. Harder and faster I strike him, until I am advancing more than he is, and drive him back against a small cliffside. An upward swing spooks him back over the edge, and he falls. Huffing, I land, staring down at him, the large beast seeming crumpled and broken. I turn to Discord, who shakes in fear.
"Did he force you to do this?"
"What?"
"Are you doing this because you want to, or because he forced you to?" I saw what Luna dreamt, and I know she never sees wrong, but I hope that for once she saw something incorrectly. I hope, but Discord's stuttering failure to respond shuts that down quickly. "Fine; help me take him to Canterlot, help me and Twilight and the Elements get everypony's magic back."
"What?" He asks, even more incredulous.
"You betrayed us, Discord, but I have to offer you a chance. I have to. You can still redeem yourself, please, just give me a sign!" I yell, desperate. I want to make peace with him, I want to be better with him, I want to try to be friends, even in this new wound's presence. He gapes at me, and before I can say more, furious hands grab me from behind. I scream as they hold too tightly around my spinal column. I can feel the links cracking and bending under the pressure, and then worse, I feel part of me, part of my life, my magic, being pulled away. It's like drowning or choking on air..
I gasp as he drops me, my weakened form screaming from the fall. Tirek steps back, smiling wickedly. He's gotten what he wants. He walks around me, towards Discord.
"Weak, meager alicorn magic."
"But that's only the first you've tasted." I growl from the dirt, trying to push myself up. "And I bet it will be the last. You've no idea where Celestia and Luna and Cadence put theirs."
"Oh, no, pony prince, I know exactly where it is. The purple one has it all, though you can be sure she won't have it for long."
"How did you.." I see Discord behind Tirek, looking sheepish, maybe even afraid. "You ratted Twilight out.. you really.. you really sold us all out? I thought.. I thought you were starting to change, Discord.. I was starting to trust you.." I almost start to weep, but the energy is all out of me. I collapse into the dirt, ground cold and body colder.
"Funny, that's what Shining said, too.." I barely hear him mutter as he turns away.
"Enough of your pathetic 'trust'. This world will burn and suffer and wither under true tyranny and absolute power, the only thing you can really trust in this life." Tirek says, standing taller, mightier than before. I force my head from the ground. I refuse to seem hopeless, even if I have no idea how I'll survive this, or even if I will survive this.
"No. Twilight will still beat you. Even without… even with her own magic, she is stronger than me, maybe even than Cadence alone.. now she has the power of four gods, and she'll never fall like I have.. she's smarter, stronger, and I would bet she is far angrier.." It's a bit of a lie, the anger part, but it sounds impressive, and maybe I can earn her a falter if I build her up enough. I turn towards the wilting Discord. "And you… he won't keep you. Once he thinks he's used you as much as he can, he will take your magic too.. You think he sees you as his equal..?" I can't go on, so I shake my head, my breathing becoming more labored. It hurts, by the stars, it hurts.
But the world of pain only grows when Tirek kicks me, once across the head, twice on my back, and then a last time, hard in the ribcage, sending me crashing a short distance into a rock. I feel my ribcage, and parts of my spine, breaking under my own weight. I've never been this weak. I've suffered through far worse injuries, but I always had my magic to heal me. Now, I may bleed out or asphyxiate with no help, no companionship..
I barely hear Tirek stomping away, assuring Discord he'd never do such a thing, that they're partners til the end.. But I know. I know he's selfish and egotistical and a liar. I know because Luna knew, and she is not wrong..
"What about Knights?" Discord murmurs, his voice fading away.
"What about him? Let him rot out here in the badlands, let the scavengers pick him bone from bone while he still breathes.. He's a living corpse without his magic anyway."
"I won't die.. I promised.. I'd.. come.. b-back.." And then my world becomes darkness, the kind that consumes you when you're at the end of your story, and the last words on my lips, tongue, and mind is Luna, Luna, Luna..
The darkness clears to reveal a too-white room, practically glowing all on it's own. Beyond the pain of the bright lights on my heightened eyes, my first thoughts are Luna. Is she alright? Where am I, and how can I get to where she is? I try to move to my hooves, and find I'm in somepony's arms. No, not somepony, someone, Discord. Whatever pained me too much to move before is thrust out of mind, as I violently push Discord away from me, essentially throwing myself to the ground.
I jar my shoulder, further injuring myself, but I want nothing to do with that monster. Even suffering on these cold floors, broken back and ribs screaming at me, are better than his insidious hold and betraying hands.
"Prince Knights, be careful!" A commanding but concerned mare's voice speaks. My blurry eyes are trained on Discord, however. He looks so pitiful.. but I have no mercy for him now.
"You!" I spit, I slur. My legs wobble under me, but I demand that my body do as I say. I can feel my magic returning, slowly, but it does little to help.
"I'm sorry!" He says, tossing the words out.
"I don't care! You think-" I cough, "- that solves anything? You hesitated! You let him take me! You left me! I tried to trust you, and in the heat of the moment, when you had every chance to redeem yourself-" I falter again, crying and coughing. I taste blood, but I don't care. "- You went with him anyway! I tried to trust you.." Finally, my energy is spent, and I collapse again.
"I know.."
When I wake again, brief flashes of memory remind me that, once upon a time before I became an alicorn, this used to happen quite often. This time, I am a little more aware, some of my magic returned to me, and know it is Luna who holds my hoof.
"..m-my lov-ve?" I say, before my eyes are even open. I feel confirmation, though she is quite emotional and says nothing. For a moment, at least, everything is still. The moment hangs quiet with relief.
"You are well, my dear. Forgive my delay." She says, firstly.
"Already forgiven." I murmur, almost croak. "How long have I been..?" I gesture to the bed.
"A meager night and half a day. It has been hard to get close to you; you kept bursting into flame when your magic returned to you, and so Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy are holding onto it for you."
"Holding on to it..?"
"We have figured, the four of us, that your magic was reacting that way because you were unconscious, and defensive when last you were awake. Logically, it makes sense that the first thing it would do would be to react according to your last waking will. Now that you are awake, perhaps we can safely return the rest of it."
"Makes sense. How are you?"
"A bit tired from my own magical loss, but seemingly much better than you were. How do you feel?"
"Also tired, but just.. weak. Back is sore. Hungry, a bit." I swallow, my throat aching. "Stiff. Almost as bad as when I was training with Alexander."
"Truly?" Luna asks in shock, to which I nod. "Then you must have been in grave condition indeed." We giggle. "In all reality, though, you shall be utterly fine. You are already recovering faster than normal, and we project that with the return of your magic you will bounce back nearly immediately."
"You keep saying 'we' and earlier you mentioned 'the four of you', but I doubt the civilian doctors were all that helpful.. Do you mean you and Celestia, and so on?" I ask, mind still reeling. Everything is blurry. I seek clarity, but find her mind unwilling to answer. Luna hesitates.
"Nearly. Cadence and Shining have returned already to the Crystal Empire, to guide the crystal ponies, who were no doubt in a panic. Twas Celestia, Twilight, and I, yes, and even Fluttershy opinionated but also.." She, for once, fumbles for words. Her mind cycles through a few options but disregards them before I can even register them. Then, from the corner, a waving limb calls my attention. A sheepish grin and twisted body bring my mind to full clarity. I growl.
"Discord." I rise from the bed, wings flaring, what little magic I have trying to ignite in cold fire. The draconequus immediately shrinks down into the chair, fearful, as he damn well should be.
"Knights, calm." Luna says, projecting herself onto me. I cannot help but heel, sitting back down on the bed. Just as well, for I am already exhausted. "He helped us; he retrieved you from the wastelands, he brought you to us, he kept you from burning down the building, he-"
"He left me out there in the first place." I say angrily, though not at her. "What did he tell you?"
"The truth. Applejack even confirmed it. You reached out for him to come back to our side, but he allowed Tirek to take your magic anyway, then left with him to continue on. But the Elements also told us how he in turn was betrayed by Tirek, just as you predicted. And then he helped them defeat Tirek. His gift was the final key for the seed box from the Tree of Harmony."
"All well and good."
"But?"
"But I don't think… I don't think I can trust him." I grimace, staring hard and cold at him, still in the corner. But I look away. He disgusts me. "I.. I don't want to sound high and mighty, here, but I gave him every opportunity I could. Even.. even past the point of betraying us. But he did it again. He let it happen. He left me there, basically mortal with a head injury in the worst possible conditions. I can't.. I can't play friends with him, not now. It would be a lie." I begin to tear up.
"I know. I cannot ask that of you, anymore. Discord is on… extremely heavy parole. The Elements argued long and hard for some ease on his sentence. Not even all his magic has been returned to him, and not of the girls' accord, though that is a bit worrisome to me in its own way, it means he cannot do as much as he could before. There is.. a much shorter leash on him now."
"Hmm." I grunt, not sure how to feel. I do not like feeling halfway joyous at his suffering, and I know he will suffer under that short leash, but I also have this feeling of.. of not caring at all what happens to him, so long as I don't see it.
"I can brief you on the full terms and conditions we've ascribed, but for now Twilight and Fluttershy would like to give you back the rest of your magic. They've been stuck in 'power pony' mode for the past day, once we ascertained your plight. I shall.. retrieve them." I nod, and Luna dips her head in response, lightly trotting away.
The silence left between Discord and I is palpable.
"..I regret it, you know."
"What?" I whip my head around to face him. He shrinks again at the fast movement.
"I.. I feel bad. Guilty. I made a terrible mistake, I.. I'm sorry." He admits, hands rubbing together. I almost pity him.
"Good." He gawks at that. "At least it means there's some heart in there after all."
"I have a heart!"
"Do you?! The mares who, whether they are right or not, regard and regale you as their uncle put an astronomical amount of faith in you, giving you a job to do, trusting you to do it and keep this nation of innocents safe, and you betrayed them. They who gave you a second chance, despite your many previous attempts to belittle them, torture them, and generally just ruin everything they've worked for! So much.. so much that they gave to you, in just setting you free, and you.. you tossed it all away." He sits silent in the chair, seeming to physically shrink and shiver this time. I look away, down to my hooves. "You know, I was so against even trying to reform you. I shouted and hollered and yelled. I made them allow me to monitor you the whole day, because I hated you and wanted to see you fail, wanted to be able to confront you for what you almost did to me and Luna. But.. I was wrong. You.. you learned something that day. Or so it seemed, because now I wonder if you were just acting then, too. Because you betrayed that mare too. Kindness- Fluttershy. She reached out to you, more than anypony expected of her, and was truly a friend to you. I.. I know because I recieve copies of your mail, as part of Celestia's limit on your magic. And you betrayed her again. No doubt, being the epitome of Kindess, she's already forgiven you.
But I can't. And even if I could, I would never forget this. You've seeded a doubt that will never die, now. Weeks, years, decades… centuries may pass and and I will not have forgotten this, even if I forgive it. There is no friendship without trust, and you have forever killed any hope of me trusting you again." I speak with a quiet, solemn finality, take one last look at his withering gaze, then turn over to wait for Luna to return.
"I.. I don't expect any forgiveness. I don't think I ever did, not after.. Well, I just want to explain myself. I.. I rather respect you, Knights. I know it must not seem like it, after what I've done, but I do. You are.. steadfast, loving, and kind to a fault, almost as much as my dear.. ahem, as Fluttershy. I am not those things. I am selfish and greedy and cruel. Whatever makes me laugh for half a second is worth whatever suffering I may cause on others. Breaking the rules and breaking people are a pastime of mine. I am..
I don't want to be those things anymore. It is too late to apologize. It's too late for me to ask for redemption or forgiveness or trust or anything anypony tried to offer me before.. but I want.." I hear his breathing catch, but I stay deathly still. "I want to try to change. To be like you, and Fluttershy and Luna-"
"Stop. Your words mean nothing to me." I command, still turned over, arms crossed.
".. All the same, I want to promise.. I want to vow to you that by this great.. ah... betrayal of mine.. by all this pain I've caused you, I will do better. I will. I.. I don't want to be like me, anymore.. So I'm going to try to be more like you." He pauses like he might go on, but I hear him rise from the chair, and head towards the door. Part of me nags that I shouldn't be so cruel, that in the venture of being kind I should ease on something, anything at all..
"Discord." He turns sharply to look at me. I keep my glare on, my mouth and eyes set to anger. "If you really mean that, it still won't buy back my trust." He wilts, but nods. "But if you really do mean that.. it may, one day, earn a new trust, because by then I expect you'd be a new person. I will hold you to that vow, Discord. This is the last chance you'll ever get from me." I don't let the coldness in my voice or eyes melt, not for one second, because I mean it. I will kill him if he betrays us again.
Discord nods, seeming grateful, then dashes off on all fours out the door. I turn back over, trying to push out the hate that still tries to grow for him. But by accepting his promise, I've made one, too. I've promised not to throw the weight of his mistakes against him. I've promised to be understanding, to allow him to learn and make mistakes therein, to judge him fairly and honestly when the time comes.. I've made a promise I don't know if I can keep, because the hate just keeps growing, and I don't know how to make it stop. For so long I've only known love.
Not even the disdain of my parents made me hate them, and here I find myself unprepared for this great loathing. I thought I hated him before, but this, oh, this is the terrible weight of ceaseless wrath, of wanting to never forgive, of desiring all possible heartache and woe upon another living being in all earnesty..
I suppose, though, if he can learn to love and be kind and good, I can unlearn hate. If he keeps his word, surely I can keep mine.