Vision's vision

by sci-fi brony

Heart's Vision has grown and is making his mark on Equestria. He is determined to change it for the better. Can he make the difference he wants or will he be held back by those around him. sequel to Heart's Tale. Co-written by DragonLovingBrony and ties into his Lunar Love Story series.

11. A step closer to a dream

A/N: Oh I am so sorry guys. I know I am late and I am eternally sorry. At least I am not this weeks episode, You know, not there at all. I hope you ppl enjoy this chapter.~ sci-fi

Chapter 10: A step closer to a dream.

Heart's Vision ate breakfast with Twilight Sparkle and Scootaloo. Two Lanterns guarded the door to the room. They did not wear the golden armor of royal guards. They wore orange armor to show that they were Lanterns as well as having a outline of a lantern on the piece of armor that covered their cutie mark.

Twilight had some news for Heart. "Heart I was speaking with Celestia and we decided that you should stay in the Canterlot castle."

Heart was taken by surprise and nearly choked on his food. "*cough * What? Where did this come from?"

"Don't die. We were just talking about how you wanted to be an adviser and we thought it best if you stay there. I would say you could be my adviser but I have a council of friends. It would nearly be pointless for you to be my adviser. Celestia hasn't had an adviser for years. She said she would need to know you before she could accept you. She wants you to go stay in Canterlot with her so she will get to know you. How does that sound?"

Heart hated being put on the spot like this. He wanted to say no because he had so much going on with the Lanterns but he couldn't pass on the chance to fullfill his dream. "Yes. I will go. Can Scootaloo come?"

"I'm sorry but she said no. She only wants you to come."

Heart turned to Scootaloo. "Is it ok with you Scoot?"

Scootaloo smiled. "I don't need you to hold my hoof my entire life. You go. I know how much you want this."

Heart was so glad he had these mares in his life. "Thank you. Both of you. You have always been there for me. You have supported me and given me the means to obtain my dream."

It was a few days before Heart needed to leave. He informed the Lanterns about this and apologized for leaving them. He would still make plans run the program but from a distance. They were not bothered by this. They understood that Heart was achieving what he had wanted since he was young. Heart trusted his circle to keep order and move the program forward.

He arrived in Canterlot and was greeted by Discord. "Hello Heart's Vision. How are you?"

Heart thought it odd for the draconequus. "Why are you meeting me?"

Discord laughed. "I thought you were suppose to be smart. I am Tia's partner. You really think that I won't be involved with her picking an adviser?"

Heart hadn't thought about it but saw what he meant. "Thank you for meeting me here. I promise I will be worth the time. I have devoted my life to this."

Discord heard about this pony. Twilight spoke highly of him. "I have heard you are quite gifted when it comes to magic. From what Dan has told me you were fun to spar as well. Maybe I should put you through the maze huh?"

Heart had heard about the Canterlot maze. It held all kind of magic. "If that is a challenge, I accept."

Discord smile wickedly, he snapped his fingers. Heart's luggage disappeared and Heart stood at the beginning of the maze. Discord could not be seen but Heart heard him clearly. "Here you go. Make it to the center of the maze, if you can."

Heart liked this draconequus. He walked forward. His right fore hoof was grabbed by a vine. He quickly shot it off. He put a shield around himself and walked forward. Seconds after his shield came up vines started to pound away at it. Their efforts were in vain. "Is that all you got god of chaos?"

"Oh getting cocky are we? Let me give you something better then."

A ursa major appeared in front of Heart. It let out a mighty roar. Heart simply shot a beam of magic at it. The ursa looked down about to attack but noticed something missing. The beam had left a wide hole in the ursa's chest. It fell over lifeless. "You can do better than that!"

"Fine! You want a challenge than you will get it." Discord was angered.

Discord gave him something that many ponies feared. A dragon appeared on the path. It was jet black and had raging eyes. Heart did not fear it. The dragon looked at Heart. It opened it's jaw and a column of fire engulfed Heart's sphere. Discord saw this and hoped that he hadn't burnt the pony. The dragon stopped and looked for the ash pile.

A shock wave emitted from Heart position. The dragon was unprepared and was knocked onto it's back. Heart jumped on it's belly. He let a continues stream of magic flow from his horn. He cut the dragon open. It was still alive and about to swipe of it's belly but was stopped by the pain. Heart used his magic to pull the dragons intestines out. It roared in pain.

Heart jumped inside the dragon. It freaked out. It had no idea what to do. Fire erupted from the dragon's throat but it was not it's fire. Heart fried the dragon's inside. When the dragon drew no more breath Heart teleported out of his victim. He was covered in blood. "I killed it. You got anything else? Dragons are pretty rare here. There is other things you could send my way but how about we call it quiets? Or do you still want me to prove myself further?"

Discord appeared in front of him. "No I think you have the combat ability. Did you have to make a mess of yourself though?"

Heart looked himself over. "Yeah I could have been a little cleaner. How about we go to the castle so I can clean myself?"

"No need." With a snap of his claw Heart was clean. "How about we go say hi to the others?"

"As long as I don't have to go inside a dragon again I am good."

Discord teleported them to the throne room. Heart was now in a room with all of the rulers. "Heart's Vision, my friends. One of the craziest unicorns I know."

Celestia looked at Discord. "Craziest unicorns?"

Discord nodded. "Oh yeah it is a rare day when a unicorn taunts a god of chaos right before he dives horn deep in a dragon's stomach."

Celestia looked at Heart with an odd look. "What did you do?"

Heart avoided the subject. "Don't worry about it. I am here to prove myself to you. I hope in the future you will see that I am a loyal pony that is worthy of being your adviser."

Chaotic stood to the side shaking his head for a second before putting on a fake smile. "it is good to see you again Heart. so how do you plan on proving that you are worthy?" then Chaotic waited for an answer he was sure he would regret hearing.

Heart kneeled. "Give me any task and I shall complete it. I will prove my loyalty in any way you see fit."

Discord looked at his fellow rulers. "I have an idea. How about each of us give this stallion a test? To prove that this pony is worthy to each of us individually. If he proves worthy in those we can think of where to go from there. " Discord looked at Heart. "If he doesn't, than he will have wasted our time as well as his life." Heart was scared by Discord. Heart was intimidated by his power but at the fact that his words and opinion was a deciding factor for Heart. That a simple no could crush all of Heart's work.

Chaotic smiled at the idea. "Good idea Discord, we will each come up with task that will show each of us if he has the trait we desire. if he passes each of them he will be an adviser after proper training. if he fails he will go home to the Lanterns. do we all agree? and do you Heart take this offer?" Chaotic was eerily calm as he looked Heart in the eyes without showing emotion.

Heart was not afraid of any challenge they would give him and looked right back. "I said in any way you see fit didn't I? I have waited all my life for this chance and will take any challenge you give me."

Discord acted quickly. "Oh that is just great my dear Heart. How about you give us rulers some time to talk it over." Discord teleported Heart to his room. Discord turned to his fellow rulers. "I don't like that pony. I don't like the idea of him doing a few tasks then poof he is an adviser."

Celestia nodded. "Yes you do not see a pony's true colors with a few simple tasks. What do you propose?"

Discord smiled. "Nothing too harsh just we give him a few secret tests as well. Some things that we can control. Like leaving bits on the table when you know who is home. We can bait him into revealing his true colors."

Celestia liked the plan but wasn't sure why Discord was pressing the matter. "Why are you suggesting this? We usually let Chaotic come up with the mischievous plans."

Discord could sense magic and he shared a little bit of knowledge with the group. "That pony is different. I don't think I have ever felt a unicorn with that much power coursing through his body. There is something different about his magic. I can't tell what it is but there is something odd about it. He should not have that much magic in him. He has enough magic for an alicorn. There is no way he was born with that. We should take that in to account."

Celestia didn't understand. "There has been plenty of unicorns with great power. Why should teat him any different?"

"Because he is seeking power. The last pony who was unnaturally powerful that acted like this was Sombra. I don't think any of us want that to happen again." Discord had an Idea to try to strengthen his argument. "Luna, What does Heart dream of? What does he see in his sleep? Have you seen him having dreams about power or anything like that?"

Luna had remained silent while Discord and Celestia were talking. She didn't like sharing the dreams of other ponies. They were private and belonged to that individual. She would make an exception in this case. "Heart sees nothing as he sleeps."

This struck Discord as odd. "What do you mean? Every pony dreams."

"No Heart doesn't dream because I must destroy them. He is plagued with constant nightmares. I have never seen Heart have a happy dream. I actually feel sorry for him. I don't think there is another pony in Equestria who doesn't have dreams."

Discord suddenly felt bad about pressing the matter but wanted to know more. "What would he see if you let them through?"

Luna hated seeing sorrow in other pony's dreams. "It is horrible. It is different every time but the theme is the same. He can never seem to win. No matter how hard he tries. No matter what he does. It all doesn't matter. He will never succeed. He might get close. He could have his goal in his hooves but it will always crumble around him. He always feels it is his fault too. One time he was getting an antidote for Scootaloo. She had been poisoned and needed it. He managed to get so close but when he grabbed it, it shattered. Just by touching it he ruined everything. He is destined to fail from the start. If I didn't stop this he would see things like this every night."

Discord felt even worse. "That is sad but it doesn't change how I feel about him. Hey Chaotic what do you think of Heart?"

Chaotic frowned at being asked this. "I am not sure just yet but I don't think trusting him is a good idea. Discord is right when he says he is power hungry. and unlike me he only wants to learn to get stronger instead of learning for the fn of it or to protect his loved ones. he does want to protect Scootaloo, but he has no limits. he is a switch. he goes from blank to kill if he or her are threatened in the slightest. Discord saw how he handled the dragon. and i am just glad it was a fake one or he would be on trial for murder of a dragon at this moment. it wasn't defense. he wanted that dragon dead and was overly active on the matter. i am afraid that if he were an adviser that he would try and have us make a choice of killing before asking questions or taking a more peaceful path." Chaotic wasn't happy about what he said but it was true none the less.

Celestia felt the need to defend her student's recommendation. "We must not hold a grudge against a pony we do not know. Twilight has made it very clear that she cares about Heart and insists that we give him a chance. She must see something in this pony to go so much out of her way to help this young stallion. You said it yourself Discord. This pony holds great power inside him. He could prove to be a hero to Equestria. A force for good. If we just shun him than he will resent us and work against us rather than with us."

Discord understood where Celestia was coming from. "Yes Tia, I know we can't just automatically assume he is bad news. But we must see the risks. We can't just put the kingdom at risk because your student says he is to be trusted."

Celestia didn't like Discord's attitude. "I don't want to hear that from you. I took great risk when I decided to reform you. If I hadn't risked my kingdom then, than you would be no more than stone right now."

Discord's first thought was to be angered. He didn't like that she brought that up. "That… That is not the point. I have turned out to be of great value to this kingdom."

"And so may Heart."

Discord understood that he had just been baited and hooked. "I guess that this pony deserves a fair chance. I will not be too hard on him."

"Thank you."

Luna had seen enough of this argument. She interrupted before something else happened. "What kind of tasks should we give Heart?" Luna looked to Chaotic. "What do you think?"

Chaotic had already thought of the task. "My task will be to see how he deals with Cebby and Chrysalis. he will only pass if he can deal with them without anger or harmful intent. he fails if he attacks them. he passes if he realizes that things are not what they appear and that friends can be anywhere in any shape. what about you Luna?"

Luna was unsure of what she wanted to do. "I think I want to see what he will do if he doesn't get what he wants."

Celestia wanted to know what her sister meant. "What do you mean?"

Luna had not worked out the specific but she had a general idea. "Well let us see how he reacts if we deny him. When or if he passes all other test let us tell him no. See what he does. If he becomes violent than we know that he should not be here. Things do not go your way all the time."

Discord nodded. "I like that. That is a great idea Luna. We will save that one for last. I have a plan of my own. I will test his loyalty. If he is not loyal than he might betray us. I am thinking of a few ways to do that. I will tell you when I have it all worked out. Tia what do you want to test?"

Celestia put a hoof to her chin. "Well I would like to test his knowledge. It will have to be a series of tests though. Some can be simple paper tests. Others will have to be field tested. Some shall be magical knowledge others will be politics or international affairs. This is a necessary test because if he fails this than there is no point in him being an adviser. This will be essential knowledge for an adviser."

Discord was happy that they had agreed with him and Heart would not be given power just because he knew Twilight. "Looks like we have some plans to finalize. I wonder if this pony will fail? Either way it will be quite the show."

Heart sat in his room. He had finished unpacking his things and didn't know what to do. A letter teleported next to him. It had a strange wax seal on it. The seal had an image of a flame indented on it. Heart opened the letter. A small object fell out. It was a stamp to make wax seals. Heart read the letter silently.

'Hey Heart. This is Sun Petal. One of the unicorns has learned how to teleport small objects. He can't teleport himself yet but he can send you letters from us. Well we made these seals so you know when the letter is from us. We made you a custom one so that you can send us letters and we will know. Nothing really to update you on besides the letters. I will let you know if anything changes. We miss you already. We all hope that you succeed. You of all ponies deserve to fulfill your dreams.'

Heart looked at his seal maker. He smiled. It was a little heart. He has been gone less than a day and they made it easier for him to get letters. He knew that they could handle themselves.

Discord barged in through the door. It slammed against the wall. "Hey there Heart! How you doing?"

Heart jumped. "Ah shit! What the heck! Why did you scare me like that?"

"Oh I didn't mean to. I was just coming to check on my guest. I want to be a generous and kind host don't I? I mean honestly why should I have to teleport everywhere with my magic? I am not bound to it, well I am but my true loyalty lies with my friends. I love causing laughter." Discord lied about not meaning to scare Heart. He just wanted to have a little fun, as well as see how quick Heart's wit is.

Heart listened to what Discord and found something odd about his words. "Discord why did you just name all of the elements of harmony?"

"Oh my you are a smart one. I wanted to see if you would catch that. Just messing around. What do you want to do? There is nothing that needs to be done right now so how about we play a game? It will give us a chance to get to know each other."

Heart saw no harm in doing so. He wanted to learn more about the draconequus. "I would love to. What should we do?"

"Let's play a game that will help me get to know you. I will say something and you will say the first thing that comes to mind. Let's get started." Discord got a serious face. "Death."

Heart wasn't expecting this. He was hoping that Discord wanted to be friendly. "Pain."

"There is never a need for violence."

"Wrong."

Discord saw that coming. "Explain your answer my little pony."

Heart answered it like any normal question. "Well sometimes there is no other way. Some ponies don't know how to reason. They know no other ways than force. That is why we have guards and police officers. So that we can correct those unwilling to follow the rules of society."

Discord saw the reasoning. "Back to the game. Help."

"Give."

"Life."

"What you make of it."

"That is an interesting answer. Do you believe that?"

"Yes I do. Life can be painful or happy. It depends on what you make of it."

"Why do you think this?"

Heart had felt alone when he was young. He knew that unless you make things change they won't. "Because life is not a gift. You have to work for what you get."

Discord wanted to prove this pony wrong. "What about the rich? What about their children? They are born in to luxury. They do not have to work for it."

"They have to work. If they don't learn how to hang on to their money than they will lose it. When that happens they have to work even harder because they have to catch up to all the others around them or they will end up in miserable lives." Heart knew what Discord was doing and didn't appreciate it. "How about you stop being a dick."

Discord was a little shocked at the bold statement. "What did you say to me?"

"You heard me. I have done nothing to you. Stop treating me this way."

"I am not treating you in any way. I am just talking to you."

"You are a bad liar. Look I will never get anywhere if a king hates me. I don't have anything against you. Is it because I want to be Celestia's adviser? Why don't you want me here?"

"Your are just here because Twilight likes you. You want power. You seek it. You want to have it to feel good about yourself. You want to be top pony, that is why I don't like you."

Heart wondered where Discord got his information. "You are partially right. I do want power but it is not because I want to be top pony. I don't need to feel gratified by it either. Do you know why I committed myself to magic when I was young?"

"I don't know. Maybe it made you seem cool."

Heart laughed at that. "Oh, oh that was a good one. No. I devoted myself to magic because I wanted to help ponies. I understood that you needed power to help ponies. That was the best way I could gain power. I learned about advisors soon after. I decided that that was the best way to help. That way I could help hundreds of ponies at once. Where I can only help a few ponies a day with magic. That is why I want to become an adviser. I want to help as many ponies as I possibly can."

Discord wanted Heart's reasoning. "Ok if that is your goal than why is it your goal?"

Heart had not shared this with many ponies. "Well I want to help because I know what it feels like to be helpless."

"How where you helpless? I know you had a mother and brother for most of your life."

"Just because some pony is around doesn't mean that they will help you. Discord Have you ever felt alone around Celestia or your other friends?"

"No."

"Than you don't understand what it feels like. I know you value friendship. You wouldn't be here now if you didn't. Think about back when you didn't have any. Would you want to go back there?"

Heart struck a nerve on Discord. "No! I never want to go back."

Heart expected that response. "Ok now think about having no friends or powers. How would you feel? Would you try to change that?"

"Of course, that would be horrible."

"Well that is what I experienced. I had no pony and no power. The worse part was that I was surrounded by ponies but they just didn't care. I had nothing to live for. I was alone and it almost seemed like life taunted me. It took all of my strength to continue. There were days when I just wanted to give up. I didn't because I couldn't leave behind the ones I cared for. Even though they had either forgotten me or hated me. Luckily a miracle came to me. Well two actually. Scootaloo and Twilight. They led me from darkness. They saved me. Without them I know that I would have given up eventually. So you know what. If you want to hate me that is your choice. If you want to destroy my life's goal go ahead. I will always have my family. I want this but I don't need it. The only pony you are hurting are the ones that I would have helped. If you would deny this kingdom a pony to help it than that is your fault not mine."

Discord was responsible for this kingdom and it was a responsibility that he did not take lightly. "I am not doing anything wrong. I am protecting Equestria. I have seen many being seeking power and control."

Heart interrupted Discord. "Like your past self."

Discord pointed a talon at Heart. "Watch what you say pony. You are not in any situation to bring mistakes up. You already tread on thin ice. I have the power to deny you any position as well as serve any punishment that I see fit. You are nothing compared to me."

Heart did not flinch. He did not show the fear he contained. He may be afraid but he wouldn't stand for any being mistreating others. "You sound like your old self."

Discord was going to teach this pony a lesson before he realized that Heart was right.

Heart saw Discord's pause. "You are treating me as if I am beneath you. I may not have been around when you caused chaos across Equestria but I have read many history books and know of how you treated ponies. Others may not be willing to stand up to you because you have so much power but I am not others. I am Heart's Vision. I stand up for what I believe is right. I don't care if they are my enemy, ruler, or friend. If they are doing something wrong I will not stand idle. I will take action through words, or force. I am going to tell you why what you are doing is wrong. You are judging me and forming a grudge when you don't know me. I have done nothing to you. I have done nothing to those around you. I have helped. I have been there for Twilight. I have supported Scootaloo. I do my best to help everypony so how about you just give me a fucking CHANCE to prove myself."

Discord had heard the pony rant. Discord liked his fire. "You know what. You are right. I have not given you a fair chance. I will not go so hard on you anymore. I don't have to. The future tests will determine if you are worth it or not. Goodbye Heart." Discord walk out of the room.

Heart was left alone once more. 'This is some bullshit. I haven't spent my life working at this to get talked down to and doubted. Celestia and Luna have ruled this land for a long time. I know that they are wise but Discord and Chaotic. They have not been in power very long by comparison. Chaotic seems to be a great problem solver but I am not sure how good of a king he is. Discord, Discord shouldn't be here. He has proven himself unreliable and unstable. Maybe they will make the right call and make me an advisor. I will be able to help forge the future, for the better.'

Heart had an idea to help prove himself to his rulers. Heart found some paper, quill, and ink. He began to write a letter. Once he was done he teleported the letter. Heart went to be afterwards. It had been a disappointing day and he wanted it to be over.