Chapter 27: The Return Of Harmony Part 1
Equestria has proven to have a ripe history, full of grand adventures, wars, and an array of many infamous characters. Many threatened the land itself, others dared to threaten the ponies that ruled it. There are even some who dared to attack the ones who protected the land, perhaps out of spite. Though there was one character in particular that went for something far more important. For he himself was the bane of Equestria's most prized means of peace and justice, harmony.
This infamous foe's name, was Discord The Draconequus, the god of chaos. His chaos, his natural talent in causing disharmony laid waste to Equestria's very foundation to harmony. He himself was an embodiment of chaos, he wasn't even one whole balanced being. He was a Draconequus, taking the shapes and forms of many different creatures to resemble disharmony. The head of a goat, the arms of a lion and an eagle, and the torso of a pony that mixed with the scaly green tail of a dragon.
With these deformities ranging from a goat leg to a horn made of twisted ice. Through history he was despised and loathed for his chaos, even before his chaos became dangerous. It was with the help of a brave prince that this Draconequus could find a place for himself in this world. His softer chaos was helpful and entertaining to ponies, lifting spirits with his joke and chaotic magic tricks. However, good things came to an end the moment the Draconequus was forced to leave.
For nothing could stop the inevitable prophecy that laid with Discords chaos. One day, with age his chaos would become stronger, and his desire to spread it through all of Equestria would become fierce. So he chose to leave of his on accord, as a means to protect the brave prince he called his best friend. But no amount of friendship could prevent a dark prophecy from coming to fruition. He returned to Equestria, bringing the chaos and destruction he was meant to bring.
This forced the prince to fight alongside his sisters and wielders to harmony's ultimate weapons. The elements of harmony, the great gemstones that harnessed the power of harmony and friendship. With these weapons and the power of the prince shredding the illusion of chaos. Discord was ultimately sealed away in a stone statue prison, embodied In his rage. Rage that boiled with betrayal and sorrow for his only friend fighting him and sealing the Draconequus away.
For thousands of years, Discord remained in his stone prison, broiling in his anger. The ponies were one thing for the Draconequus, his best friend on the other hoof was another story. There would be no kid games when it came to the prince, he had far darker plans for him. He thought about it, each and every year that he stood as a statue, even to this day in the gardens of Canterlot. A beautiful area of pure nature and history, where he laid still, silent, and vengeful.
While a group of visitors began to make their approach to the statue itself. This group of young fillies and colts was lead by none other than Ponyville's favorite teacher, Ms Cheerlie. To the statue it was another field trip, but from the looks of three peculiar filly friends. It was looking like the bickering they were doing would make this quite the enjoyable visit at least.
"Girls! Now THIS is a really interesting statue. What do you notice about it?"Cheerlie asked after putting a temporary stop to the fight between Apple Bloom and her fellow crusaders.
"It's got an eagle claw!"Apple Bloom started.
"And a lion paw!"Scootaloo added to the observation.
"And a snake tail!"Sweetie Belle finished, making the statue wish he could scoff at his features being defined.
"This creature is called a Draconequus. He has the head of a pony, and a body made up of all sorts of things,"Cheerlie explained the more obvious and respectable perspective on Discord,"What do you suppose that represents?"
"Confusion!"
"Evil!"
"Chaos!"
"It's not chaos, you dodo!"Sweetie Belle argued after Scootaloo proclaimed of Discord meaning chaos.
"Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of! And it is TOO chaos!"Scootaloo argued back with Sweetie for her ignorance.
"Is not!"Sweetie snapped back before Apple Bloom jumped in.
"You're both wrong!"She pointed out before a brawl broke out between the girls around the statue.
Their tussling was singing with chaos and disharmony, it was simply delicious. It made the statue tingle and rattle with magic reacting to their chaotic fighting. It pulsated till the fillies eventually manage to burn themselves out from the kid fight, along with some help from the teacher. But the first step to freedom had already been taken thanks to the show of pure chaos. As a crack formed in the statue, giving the trapped Draconequus enough strength to utter a quiet chuckle.
"Actually, in a way, you're all right. The statue represents, Discord. Which means lack of harmony between ponies,"Cheerlie explained while getting the fillies back into her group of students,"In fact, you three have demonstrated Discord so well, that you're each going to write me and essay explaining it."
The children in turn, laughed at the cutie mark crusaders for their disruption of class. It may have been a stressful thing for Cheerlie, but the statue certainly enjoyed the brawl between children. Before he then heard a word that would trigger and anger him ever time it was uttered.
"Now let's go…! And I don't want any more fighting. Any more disruptions and Mr O will here about it,"Cheerlie warned as Apple Bloom raised her hoof slowly to share some new knowledge she learned from her sister,"And yes, Apple Bloom…! I know his real name as well. And Mr Orion would not be happy with you sharing that info openly."
"Orion…?! Ooooooorrrriiiooooonnn…!"Suddenly the statue began to crack up a lot more with sudden rage that drew the class's attention.
The class slowly backed away from the statue as it began to quake and rock. Trembling with rage for the name that was uttered, it looked like the stone was about to explode to pieces. Thankfully a pitch black hoof that bubbled as it slapped against the statue, forcing it to go still and silent.
"I apologize for that, this statue is… a bit temper mental…! Especially when that name is uttered,"A mysterious black stallion in a dirty brown robe warned of the statue's power,"The poor critter has encountered some unsavory memories with the fellow that owns that name…!"
"Oh…! We are very sorry for the trouble. It's just a struggle Disciplining the students,"Cheerlie apologized and made sure her students were in a single file line to move on,"We'll just be on our way. I really hope we haven't caused any serious trouble to the property…!"
"Not at all… Every pony makes a mistake from time to time. It's all part of how this world works,"The stallion chuckled and moved aside to let the class move on to the next are,"You and your class have a wonderful day here in Canterlot…! Soft little bags of wasted skin…"
He spoke those last words to himself and waited for the class to fully move on. He left a bit of an unnerved impression on the teacher that seemed a bit spooked by his mysterious dark exterior. He still kindly waved them off, waiting till everything around him was empty and secluded. The perfect time to finally free this old chaotic spirit from his stone prison, giving him purpose anew.
Slowly he placed his hoof to the statue, smirking as red hot flames filled the cracks of the statue. He gritted his teeth and focused to fill the statue crags with pure hate and aggression. A spicy delicacy of chaos and destruction for a god of chaos, such a savory power for Discord. The statue immediately began to rock violently and wild like as more cracks formed around the statue. Growls sounded out as the stallion turned his hoof like a key and gave it a pulse of magic.
At that moment, a loud roar exploded along with the entire stone prison. Thousands of stone pieces went flying in all directions as white magic expanded like a ball from the statue. The white orb of magic then exploded as well, turning the garden into an array of chaotic things. Dozens of statues were turned into Discord statues made of cheese, while bushes were made of Twizzlers. Flowers were now Venus fly traps that ate grass made of confetti, as their master then appeared.
His roars turned to groans as the slender Draconequus stretched all four of his mismatched limbs out. He stretched till he cracked every bone that felt stiff from his stone imprisonment. With that, Discord let his yellow and red crazy eyes stare down the mysterious stallion that freed him.
"Discord… Bet you're happy to see me…!"The stranger snickered wile the Draconequus crossed his lion paw and eagle claw.
"I'm sorry… Do I know you from somewhere? I don't recognize the smell of sulfur…!"The draconequus responded in a gentle colt like tone of voice.
"Don't try to play stupid with me! You know who I am, and you know what I can do,"The stallion growled while wrapping a scolding hot hoof around the Draconequus's neck,"So no game if you please…! I freed you for a reason!"
"Really? Well then I suppose I need to show some sort of gratitude to your fiery flank then,"Discord mocked with a cocky snicker the moment his neck was released,"So what is it you require of me? Certainly some pony of your stature needs me for a bit of…destructive influence…!"
"Glad you always paid attention to what I was, and what I am to this day now,"The strange one sighed, allowing a flare of fire to escape his lips,"The elements of harmony have found new hosts, and as a result. This hideous harmony and soft world has grown more and more…! It's an insult to what Equestria truly was!"
"Ah yes…! The… Elements of Harmony…! Such a wonderful group of sparkly gems those are,"Discord said while suddenly wearing a miner's outfit and holding a piece of crystal,"You know, those gems sealed me away in that stone prison…! For over A THOUSAND YEARS!"
"I'm aware of that. And I'm aware it was only possible when… Prince Orion detained you himself…!"The stallion incited that very name again and got the reaction he wanted from Discord.
The Draconequus fell silent for a moment, feeling a sharp trigger in his head. He trembled and growled, lifting his head and his lion eagle fingers to the sky, unleashing a roar of wrath. White lightning and magic shot from his finger tips and his mouth as he roared with rage. The name never stopped being a means of setting Discord off, for his imprisonment was all because of Orion. The strange black stallion slowly began to smirk, feeling pleased with seeing Discord enraged.
Slowly, Discord came down from his show of wrath and broken friendship. He looked back down to the stallion as lightning and magic returned to his lion paw and eagle claw. The stranger chuckled, showing confidence in Discord's power, as well as his own should the Draconequus dare to attack him.
"He defends those element wielders to this very moment. Unfortunately my Cinder ponies are not yet strong enough to pose a threat to him,"The stallion explained his current situation regarding the prince and the ponies he called, HIS Cinder ponies,"I need to to dispose of those elements. Break harmony and lay waste to the guardian that protects them…! Old Equestria must rise again!"
"Oh… I won't just lay waste to Orion…! I will completely annihilate his entire existence,"Discord was already in the mood to destroy and consume, just as the stranger wished,"It will be like he never existed, and no pony will ever have to remind me of how he betrayed me…!"
"Excellent…! You be sure those elements never rise again, and do what your vengeful heart desires with the prince,"The stallion instructed before suddenly turning his back to the Draconequus,"Do all this, and you'll have the world you have always dreamed of having. Fail me, and I will melt the flesh from your bones, and boil the magic out of your chaotic blood…!"
"As you wish… Your sadistic mind has not changed in the last two thousand years,"Discord admitted after already reading out who the stranger was,"I suppose we should get to it, but pretend that we never met? You seem to prefer secrecy at the moment, seeing as the world does not know you're among it."
"Nothing gets pass you, does it, Discord?"The stallion answered with a question and slowly began to walk away.
"Nothing gets passed a god…! Do have a wonderful day my new friend,"Discord waited till the stallion had then disappeared in a column of bright red flames to take in a breath of fresh air,"I swear, those gents have not changed in the least…! But now the time has come…!"
Discord made a list appear along with a quill pen dipping itself in ink. He undid the list and let it barely roll down to reveal the three things on what was now clearly a to do list. The first one had a picture of Celestia, the second had a picture of Twilight and her friends. The third and final photo made Discord pause for a moment, seeing as it was a picture of him and Orion smiling together. Giving each other the bunny ears as they stood in a get together at the old castle of the Ever Free.
"Say hello to dear lovely Tia…! Put an end to the elements of harmony, and finally,"Discord started gentle and growled as he crushed the list in his lion paw,"Destroy my dear… Old… Beloved friend…! Orion!"
With that, Discord cracked his stiff fingers to nimble them up after a thousand years. Before he gave a loud snap of his eagle claws, disappearing off to the castle to pay Celestia a visit. Leaving the magic he expunged into the sky to travel across Equestria's skies, towards the town of Ponyville.
Meanwhile, the humble town was in the process of enjoying another sunny day. The warmth, the beautiful sunshine, the ponies that worked hard and honestly through all of Ponyville. It felt so balanced, so harmonic, so glorious for the world of Equestria to embrace itself in. This certainly felt that way for prince Orion, as he took a stroll through the town he now called his home. It felt like just another peaceful day for him, Ponyville knew how to set his mind at ease.
Not to mention the relationship he now had with the whole town. It was starting to become a normal thing for Orion to be greeted and complimented by the ponies of Ponyville. He truly had become a well known and loved person among the towns ponies for his devotion to their school. As well as the heroism he showed when the Grand Galloping Gala was under attack.
"I hope Cheerlie gets back with the kids soon… I was hoping to teach them about the age of harmony's revival. They would love Clover,"Orion sighed to take in the fresh air of yet another new day for Ponyville,"Well… At least it's a beautiful day today."
He looked to the sky, almost tempted to remove his hood and gaze upon the sky. Though it still felt too soon to be so bold to show his face around the whole town. So till he felt ready to show himself to the towns ponies, he remained under his identity as Mister O. Every pony was willing to go by his wishes, even his own comrades were willing to abide by his desires. So it was at least understood, even by ponies such as Rainbow Dash, as she could be seen flying after a pink cloud.
He was ready to continue on towards the school house, where he would wait for Cheerlie and her students to return from the field trip. However, he barely made it two more steps before he suddenly felt an alarm go off in his mind. Clouds were not pink, and they did not move on their own. The fact that Rainbow was chasing it down sounded quite bizarre and far fetched. Though his knowledge felt tested the moment he saw Rainbow Dash finding herself stuck in the cloud.
"What the…? How does a Pegasus pony get stuck in a cloud?"Orion wondered as he let his eyes turn bright red and crystallized to see Rainbow's situation.
They could only widen as Rainbow finally managed to yank herself free from the cloud. An assessment of the cloud revealed the pink cloud to be made of cotton candy. That raised a red flag to the prince, he couldn't help but gulp with worry as he rushed to his nearest friend. Typhoon was only a block away, fixing his long green mane before he would be offering some pets to some kind families. Hoping to help the animals find a home with ponies that will love and care for them.
He was just in the middle of offering a husky pup to a family of three. The colt seemed friendly and responsible enough to handle a dog, and with the pup being an orphan. This fuzzy puppy could really use a home full of love, however it got difficult to work with Orion suddenly being right next to him.
"You wanna hold him? This little fellow could really use a lot of love,"Typhoon offered the young colt a chance to hold the new dog he was allowed to have,"That's the spirit. He won't bite…! He just wants a friend that will love and cherish him for years to com-"
"Typhoon, we may have a problem…!"Orion suddenly spoke out, spooking Typhoon once again and almost making him drop the puppy, if not for the colt catching the pup.
"What is it now…?! I'm right in the middle of finding homes for the domestic animals…!"Typhoon ranted before Orion pointed to the sky and the cotton candy clouds that were forming.
"Only one being is capable of creating these kind of things… Discord."Orion was morbid in his response as Typhoon quickly finished business with the family before chatting with the prince.
"That's your business, Orion. Discord was YOUR mischievous friend, not ours,"Typhoon made his stance on Orion's personal connection to these strange occurrences clear,"Whatever the reason that the so called, god of chaos has for miraculously returning lies with you…!"
"Weird… I never pictured you to be the cold hearted type."Orion admitted his surprised feelings towards the more compassionate pony of the warriors group.
"We all just know what he did… He used you, and he used all of us. I don't see us showing him any more pity…!"Typhoon admitted his opinion and sent a reminder running through the prince's mind.
"I know… I just wish things could have turned out differently,"Orion admitted as chocolate milk rain came pouring down from the cotton candy clouds,"I need to find Twilight. We'll need the elements of harmony if we're going to reseal Discord back into his prison."
"Be sure to make it quick before your FRIEND'S influence doesn't go beyond what it is now…!"Typhoon requested to the prince as he zeroed in on Twilight's location and took off towards Sweet Apple Acres.
He was fast, scurrying through the town as the chocolate milk began to down pour over the town. He made sure to remain composed and calm in the situation, for there were many situations such as this. Though he could not help but find a sense of anxiousness and anger in this old friend's return. He could still remember back to the day he and his sisters stood up to Discord. Orion himself managed to detain Discord, but it broke the friendship they once shared with one another.
He looked to the ponies of Ponyville that were enjoying the bizarre chocolate milk rain. Especially the kids that remained at their homes for today, due to them being "Sick". He would make sure that those children were written up and given extra home work for falsely cutting class. For now, all that mattered was him getting to the Apple farm to find his friends. Thankfully he didn't need to go all the way to the farm to meet with his friends, not when they too were making their way out of the farm.
It was at the entrance to the dirt road that he ran right into the group of mares. Causing them all to collide and crash into a pile of bodies, Orion was unfortunately the one at the very bottom of the pile. He waited till the mares and baby dragon settled down before he slowly lifted them all off. Gasping for air and fixing his hood that was now filled with dirt. He dusted himself off, while Twilight and her friends did the same, before the prince was then berated with problems.
"Sorry about that…! But…you didn't perhaps notice what's going on as well did you?"Twilight asked while the prince held his hand up to catch some of the down pouring chocolate rain.
"Who wouldn't notice rain made of chocolate milk?"Orion asked while noticing cotton candy clouds and popcorn in the forearms of Pinkie Pie.
"Uh…some pony who hasn't lived till they tried this totally amazing stuff!"Pinkie announced while eating the cotton candy cloud.
"You wouldn't perhaps know who's doing this, would you?"Applejack asked while shaking popcorn out of her mane from the cornstalks that blew up with popcorn.
"Yes… We need the elements of harmony if we're going to reverse all this,"Orion replied and slowly looked to the kingdom perched upon the Canterlot mountain,"And we should hurry, before he makes everything worse…!"
"Well, enlighten us then. He who? Who's doing all this?"Rainbow flew right in front of Orion and demanded answers to the question he tried to dodge.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that he needs to be stopped before he destroys the balance of Equestria."Orion insisted that they save the introductions to this enemy for another time.
"Well, we're not about to just go blindly into a tussle without knowing darling. We're sure that the princess will tell us, but you seem to know this more to heart,"Rarity decided to push for the answers they knew Orion had on him,"If there's anything you can tell us about all this. We insist that you tell us…!"
"How about if you all want the two hour long train ride to Canterlot to not feel like days of absolute torture and bad attitude, you drop it,"Orion decided to once again put his foot down about not being pushed for answers,"Now I'm certain Celestia already messaged you and said that she would explain everything once we all arrived, correct?"
"Yes…but…funny thing about that… She…asked that You do not come along,"Twilight's response caused Orion to pause at the sudden request his own sister gave,"She said it's for your own safety. She didn't want any harm to come between you and… Your old friend…?"
"She said that, did she…? Well Orion won't go then, But Crystar certainly will,"Orion huffed quietly and put his hand to his chest to coat himself in the illusionary coat of crystals,"Now are all of you going to keep soft balling a bunch of questions or are you ready get a move on now?"
He didn't wait for an answer, he just simply moved on back to town. Leaving the mares to quietly follow slowly from behind and speak to one another about his strange behavior to all this chaos. For this felt unusual for Orion to be secretive and personal about an old friend.
"Well…! That was…quite snippy. Even for a stallion such as him."Rarity felt the need to comment on the hidden prince's attitude for their prying for answers.
"Don't worry… I can tell that there's something about this culprit that's bothering him,"Fluttershy decided to let the girls in on what she could pick up thanks to her pappy's teachings on social skills,"My pappy always said it's easy to tell when some pony's bothered by their tone, body language and their reluctance to talk about things…"
"Then… I guess we wait and find out what's going on from the princess."Twilight decided and lead her friends into town to make their way to the train station.
Thankfully, no further questions were asked of Orion, and their trip went without a hitch. Many thoughts and calm silence were with them all the way to the city of Canterlot. It gave Orion all the time he needed to think about what could have happened to cause Discord to be freed. The seal that the elements performed should have held up for an eternity, but nay. Now his friend was free, and by the feel of the strong chaotic magic, Discord's influence completely controlled Canterlot.
It became more apparent when they had arrived to the city, and found complete disharmony. Ponies were disfigured, others were floating on islands made of cheese. Homes were floating through the air while toys and food orbited around them like planets. Just the sight of the city reduced to a disharmonic mess of random chaos and confusion was stomach churning. It made their walk through the city very uncomfortable, especially for Twilight, since it was her home city.
She appeared nervous, which was a bit of a shock given her confidence she had on the train. Though he knew she had every right to be nervous, for Orion knew what Discord was capable of. If anything, she wasn't nervous enough to be facing a self proclaimed god of chaos. Non of them were, at least without the elements of harmony, and even then it was very iffy. Thankfully that is where Orion knew he would come in, It would most likely be up to him to detain Discord once more.
They kept their noses down, not wanting to see any more of this bizarre chaos. Thankfully it wasn't too long before they finally made it to the castle of Canterlot. The only area that appeared to have been spared from the chaos that was corrupting Equestria. The reason however couldn't help but stroke the prince's curiosity as the doors opened to him and his friends. Where a nervous Celestia was awaiting them, pacing back and forth for the longest time by the looks of it.
"Princess Celestia…! We're all here, just as you have requested!"Orion cleared his throat to sound more like Crystar before announcing their arrival to her.
"Ah, Twilight! It's a relief that you and your friends made it here without any trouble,"Celestia took in a deep breath of relief for every pony's arrival to the castle,"Crystar, it's a relief that you've come as well. Is Orion hidden away some place safe?"
"Yes…? Why would you want your brother to hide like some sort of damsel in distress?"He questioned with much prejudice on Celestia's sudden lack of faith in him.
"I couldn't possibly make my brother fight a battle that broke one of his most valued friendships,"Celestia was willing to answer the question before wanting to move on to more pressing concerns,"Now follow me, and I will explain everything on our way to the elements…!"
He looked to the mares and sighed, knowing he could not break his character. He nodded, and took the lead with Twilight and her friends close behind him, treading lightly. Knowing the shaky ground that Orion and his sister were still on, as well as this sudden wish to not receive brotherly help. For now, he chose to bury this issue till she at least assessed Discord's current damage. Even though they already saw the damage that was effecting Equestria so far, but it could get so much worse.
"Now then… I've called you all here for a matter of importance,"Celestia finally decided that the time had come to explain the chaos that was infesting their world,"It seems that an old foe of my family, some pony I thought that me, Luna, and Orion had defeated long ago, has return. His name… Is Discord…!"
"Your brother's best friend?!"Twilight exclaimed and slapped both hooves over her mouth after releasing secret information she had.
"I…was not aware that you knew of Orion's relationship to Discord."Celestia took notice immediately while Orion was secretly staring Twilight down for that reveal.
"Yes… He…told us at the Gala. That…Discord was a spirit. The first ever spirit to harness the power of disharmony with ease,"Twilight decided to continue from what Orion told her before since he chose not to tell them anything now,"They were friends a long time ago, but… Something happened… One day when he came back from some sort of exile…?"
"Yes… Star Swirl the Bearded himself spoke of Discord's destiny to bring forth chaos and disharmony to the land,"Celestia decided to fill the holes for what knowledge they did not have,"Even then… With Discord's help we were able to put an eternal end to the traitorous warrior Necrid Ghoul…!"
"Sigh… After that… Discord made a very respectful and difficult choice to leave Equestria in hopes of keeping the friends he made safe,"Orion decided to simply say more now that it was all hanging out there,"He promised… One day he would return… And maybe the friendships he shared among us may possibly turn him away from his destiny to bring chaos to a beautiful world."
"I'm guessing it didn't exactly go that well when he finally came back, did it?"Applejack decided to be the bold one and ask the big question.
"No… he used my brother, Shadow Swirl, Typhoon, even Thunder Blitz… He used them all,"Celestia sighed as she felt those old and tragic memories flowing into her mind,"He tricked them into teaching him about nature, the elements, and great magics not meant for ordinary ponies…"
"And so he took what he learned from the warriors and managed to take control of Equestria,"Orion's fists clenched as anger grew in his heart for such a memorable betrayal,"Using what he learned, he transformed and disfigured the animals of nature. Twisted the weather and natural elements, and even performed dark magic that caused misery and chaos through the world…!"
"So with the warriors entrapped by Discord, and the whole world in complete disarray,"Celestia continued on while noticing an odd amount of slight emotional expressions on the mares faces,"Myself, Orion, and Luna took up the elements of harmony and stood up against Discord, turning him into stone."
"That's some heavy stuff….! Sorry you went through all that princess."Rainbow apologized as they began to finally near their destination.
"Believe me… It was far harder on our brother… They were… The truest of friends,"Celestia thought for a moment, giving Twilight the chance to look to her hidden friend that remained steeled from the memories,"And now… It seems that the spell has been broken. We don't know how it was broken… But he is now free and ready to extract his revenge."
"But of course…! We won't let that happen."Orion made that clear to his friends as they stood before the doors to Canterlot towers.
"This is Canterlot tower. Where the elements are kept inside ever since you recovered them,"Celestia showed them the sacred place that she kept the elements in since Twilight's victory against Nightmare Moon,"I need you to wield the elements once again and stop Discord before he thrusts Equestria into eternal chaos."
"But why us? Why can't you-"Twilight wanted to ask a question, but was cut off by Pinkie Pie.
"Hey look! We're famous!"Pinkie Pie pointed out the windows that showed refined crafting of Twilight and her friends wielding the elements.
"You six showed the full potential of the elements by harnessing the power of your friendship to best a mighty foe,"Celestia explained the reason behind Twilight and her friends being required to fight this enemy,"Although Luna and I once wielded the elements. It is now you who controls their power. And it is you who must defeat Discord."
"Princess Celestia, you can count on us-"Twilight was cut off by Pinkie Pie, but Orion was quick to intercept.
"You can count on us your majesty…!"Orion spoke while holding Pinkie's mouth shut.
"Excellent… And Crystar, I will be putting all my faith in you to help detain Discord for Twilight and her friends,"Celestia incited that she was in fact trusting him to do the job her brother once did,"Discord must not discover my brother's location. For he seeks vengeance that is far beyond these chaotic and silly creations he's made…!"
"We'd be honored to use the elements of harmony again, and defend your family princess."Twilight decided to sugar coat the trust she shared with Celestia.
"Alright, lets not start flank kissing. Where was the last place you've seen Discord?"Orion asked with crossed arms as the mares couldn't help but look around.
"He could be anywhere at this point. Canterlot has become the ground zero of his magical influence,"Celestia admitted her lack of whereabouts on the draconequus,"But have no fear, ponies. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these!"
With that, Celestia magically opened the doors that lead into the tower. However, upon opening, they were met with the shocking reveal that nothing laid inside the tower. Nothing was to be found, the entire group was now hit with the hard truth that the elements had been taken.
"Oh well, if an pony needs me. I'll be outside in the chocolate puddles with a swizzle straw!"Pinkie broke the silence with her bubbly desire to enjoy some more chocolate rain milk.
"No… No, no…! The elements of harmony!"Orion exclaimed with both shock and anger.
"They're gone!"Twilight added to the discovery that the elements had been taken.
"But… That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break…! This doesn't make any sense!"Celestia felt bewildered that her magic spell was somehow undermined by a chaos spirit.
"Make sense? What fun is there in making sense?"A question came along with the gentle colt like laughter of Discord himself.
"Discord…! Show yourself!"Celestia demanded that the alleged god of chaos show his face, rather than hide.
"You heard the princess, Discord! Reveal yourself immediately!"Orion followed up and really did his best to sell the Crystar impersonation.
"Did you miss me, Celestia? I missed you. It's quite lonely being encased in stone,"Discord spoke of his loneliness and hidden wrath for being sealed into a stone prison while he traveled as a glass design through the windows,"But you wouldn't know that, would you? Because I don't turn ponies into stone…!"
"Is that how it is? You're going to blame others for all the things you did over a thousand years ago?"Orion broke his hidden silence and drew the curious attention of Discord.
"Crystar…? I was not expecting an old warrior back from the dead…! I was expecting…some pony else."Discord crossed his arms as he traveled through the windows.
"Why not just say it? You were hoping to find your old pal Orion here, weren't you,"He incited Orion's name and got the right eye twitch that showed the triggered nature of Discord's vengeance,"Well, he's not here right now. Probably looking for a nice spot to bury you and the friendships you broke in your pursuit for power…!"
"Speaking of which… I actually have been looking for my old friend…! I looked high and low, but even I have had trouble finding him,"Discord appeared in another window where the elements laid,"You wouldn't perhaps know where dear Orion ventured off to, would you?"
"Maybe… Not gonna just show and tell unless you earn it…!"The hidden prince responded, causing the Draconequus to huff at the old stallion denying him what he wanted.
"Enough! What have you done with the elements of harmony?!"Celestia demanded as Discord continued teleporting all around them to intimidate.
"Oh, I just borrowed them for teensy little while…!"Discord responded and snapped his eagle claws to make the elements disappear from one of the windows.
"You'll never get away with this Discord…!"Celestia spat, forcing a yawn from the bored Draconequus.
"Oh, I forgotten how grim you can be Celestia…! It's really quite boring. Learn it from your brother?"Discord continued to incite Orion into the picture out of hidden desires of his own.
""Hey! No pony insults the princess!"Rainbow yelled and zoomed towards the window to attack the Draconequus, only to smack her face against the window.
"Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty. The element of harmony you represent."Discord stated the obvious after appearing in the window once again.
"That's right! I'll always be loyal to the princess!"Rainbow stood firm against the words of the Draconequus.
"Oh, we'll see about that…!"Discord was more than interested in challenging that promise.
"I can't believe we are wasting our time talking to a tacky window…!"Rarity found boredom in talking to the Draconequus while he hung out in a window.
"Ah, the beautiful Rarity…! Representing the the element of generosity, If I'm not mistaken?"Discord presumed before turning to the approaching Applejack.
"So you know who we are, big deal."Applejack tried to rain on his parade in knowledge.
"Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack…!"Discord snapped back at the farm pony after growing large in the window.
"You seem to know all our strengths too."Twilight pointed out a decent chunk of knowledge Discord had on them.
"Yes, Twilight Sparkle. And yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic,"Discord pointed out while sitting upon the head of a Twilight carving in the window,"Fluttershy is kindness, and Pinkie Pie's is my favorite, laughter!"
Discord chuckled at Pinkie Pie's enjoyable laughter element as did she. Pinkie's laughter drew the attention of all the ponies, why she would laugh at his compliment was beyond them. At least until she pointed out what she found funny.
"He's sitting on your head…!"Pinkie pointed to the silly fact that the Draconequus was sitting on a Twilight design's head.
"Stop stalling, Discord! What have you done with the elements of harmony?"Celestia ceased the pointless conversation and demanded answers to the elements.
"Oh, so boring Celestia, really? Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you in my own-"Discord was then cut off by Orion taking control and deciding to put some screws loose in the foe.
"No…! You will tell us where they are as you are commanded. As it stands we hold the cards here Discord!"Orion called out while his crystal eyes already pin pointed the location of the elements.
"What are you doing…? We don't…"Twilight was a bit taken, but saw the glimmer in his sparkly red eyes that saw the elements.
"Really? Do you now? And just how do you think that YOU have any power in this?"Discord wondered as he finally showed his face to the mares while playing with a deck of cards.
"I already know where they are. I thought Orion would have told you about how our crystal eyes work,"Discord drop the first card with a confused look as he saw a picture of shiny crystal eyes,"I can see the elements right now in the palace maze where you awoke…! Sitting in the middle of the maze, right?"
"Yes… The memory gets a bit stale when locked in a stone prison…!"Discord growled lowly as the card carrying a picture of the elements in the maze.
"And so I see only one way this could be mildly interesting…! How about a game of priorities"The hidden prince suggested as Discord dropped a card showing two different sides, one with the six mares, or Orion,"You can go and try to stop the elements of harmony from retrieving their gems from the maze, or you can come get me, and perhaps I'll tell you where Orion is…!"
"What…?! You can't just tell-"Celestia was silenced with a whole hand going over her mouth, even when it looked and felt like a hoof.
"So that's how it's going to be…? That's your idea of a game?"Discord appeared face to face with Orion and exchanged powerful and stern stares with one another.
"So what's it going to be…? Follow them to the maze and try to stop the mares from retrieving the elements,"He gave Twilight a quick look and tilt of the head to get them to high tail it to the maze,"Or take the one chance you might have of finding Orion…! Your choice, Discord."
This caused a silence between the two former friends, their stares never wavered. The air was intense as Twilight quietly tried to get her friend's attention, hoping to get a move on. With Discord potentially distracted, she got her friends to follow her lead. Racing towards the nearest exit to the castle, hoping to make their way to the palace maze to retrieve the elements. While Orion quickly teleported away, and was quickly followed by a teleporting Discord.
"Good luck, my little ponies, and old warrior. The fate of Equestria is in your hooves…!"Celestia responded as she stood alone and gave her best prayers for the group of friends.
Meanwhile, Orion had just teleported outside on the main roof to the castle throne room. He looked around with his crystal eyes, spotting Twilight and her friends just now charging out of the castle doors. Suddenly, the prince was quick to focus on himself as Discord appeared right above him. He side stepped to the left, narrowly evading a lion paw full of white magic that melted the surface of the roof. Sparks of white few along with a ring of white fire, as the draconequus stood tall against the prince.
"Well? Ready to tell me where he is now?"Discord asked as a rigged bolt of white lightning formed in his eagle claws.
"Maybe… You'll need to do more than that if you really want it that bad,"The prince dared to taunt and further fix Discord's mind on him rather than the mares,"Though I have to say… You won't find much with him. After everything you've done…! It's incredible that you can stand there and blame Orion for your mistakes…!"
"My mistakes? MY mistakes?! It's not my fault that he broke his promise to help me!"Discord yelled with great offensive as he shot towards the hidden friend.
"He did everything to help you! And all you did was throw it back in his face! And lets not get started on the other warriors!"He back stepped to avoid a spear of lightning that the Draconequus drove into the roof.
"He chose to attack me! To restrain me while those princesses locked me away in a stone prison for a thousand years,"Discord argued and took off his lion paw and eagle claw for a fresh new pair,"Don't try to defend them from me old timer…! As far as I'm concerned, the kid gloves are off for my old friends…!"
"You ungrateful little weasel…!"Orion taunted before he was then forced to jump and back step away.
Discord pursued the man relentlessly, snaking his way through the air. Causing the every place he saw the warrior step to explode in a ball of white magic, hoping to cripple him. However, the Draconequus appeared to forget how flexible and fast Equestrian warriors could be. It angered him as he slithered right to the old warrior's side, letting his icicle horn shoot beams of magic. Each tiny shot of magic blasted a clean hole completely through the castle, but it merely deflected off the back of the warrior.
This forced the Draconequus to back away to the sky, avoiding his own deflected attacks. He watched as the warrior ran up the palace's tallest tower, it felt like another taunt. Or perhaps a means of distraction, but there was no fighting his desire to hunt down his old friend. So he simply teleported to the top of the tower and summoned forth a swarm of storm clouds that shadowed the castle. Before letting black hot tar rain down towards their target from the clouds.
Orion was quick to form a large round shield of red crystals from his very arm. Allowing him to take the tar rain that splashed and boiled against the impervious crystal shield. He narrowed his vision and jumped to give the former friend a strong shield bash against his chest and nose. Knocking the both of them through the clouds and onto the roof of the tall tower. They tumbled and rolled onto the roof, Orion was quick to roll to his feet and get in a free kick to Discord's jaw.
He went to bring a fist down, only for Discord to disappear right in time for the fist to ram through the roof. The god of chaos was then floating behind him with a large boulder sized ball of magic. The magic itself formulated into a mini sun in the palm of Discord's lion paw.
"Where is Orion?! Tell me now…!"Discord demanded before tossing the mini sun down towards the prince.
Orion responded by closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath to channel his strength into his right hand. His right hand was curved inward around his body while his left hand pointed towards the sky. Both hands went into a karate chop form, before he finally released his deep breath. With that, he swung his right hand in the form of a back hand, striking the mini sun perfectly in the center. Causing it to be launched into the sky towards the mountain peak, where it then erupted like a massive volcanic explosion.
"You'll need to do better than that…!"The hidden prince challenged as fire rained down from the sky, striking the solid mountain side with it's white hot magic.
"You want better? Oh I'll show you the stuff that gods are made of!"Discord was ready to accept the challenge as he prepared an astronomical spell of massive size and power.
Suddenly, Discord paused for a moment and thought about what he was doing. He was opening up the sky to pull the very stars out of the very cosmos themselves to attack the warrior. Only to rethink for a moment, realizing what he was doing, it was virtually pointless. The warrior was simply taking him for a ride while six mares are currently after the elements of harmony. He felt stupid, but warriors were known for being very smart and experience, they knew how to fool certain enemies.
"Go on…! Do your worse…! Show me that you really want Orion that bad!"Orion demanded before the Draconequus chose to cancel his spell and turn away.
"This is a waste of my time…! You won't tell me where he is. You're just buying time for that mare and her friends,"Discord pointed out the game the warrior was playing with him,"Well… I have no intention of going back into that stone prison…! So I'm just going to leave you to feel foolish for trying to play a god, Crystar!"
"And miss out on a meeting with your old friend?!"Orion spoke, but this time he used his own voice while touching his chest with the palm of his right hand.
Discord once again found himself frozen, he could only turn back to face the warrior. As Orion finally decided to reveal himself, throwing off his hood and canceling his illusion spell. Ceasing the manifestation of crystals that hid Orion, changing his form from a red stallion to his true self. Orion sighed and opened his eyes, his human face was unmistakable to Discord. They were silent, staring each other down after being apart for so long, only a broken friendship lingered between them.
"Well… I suppose that's a big shame on me… I should have known Crystar couldn't be alive after so long,"Discord scoffed at his show of incompetence before he was now savoring this moment,"I knew you were quite the elusive one, but… Pretending to be your old and very dead mentor? That's a whole new low for you…!"
"Trust me… There's no low that beats yours, old friend. Non what so ever,"Orion made that clear as they casually strolled in circle, not breaking their eye contact for anything,"Using your best friend to grasp at the heart of Equestria. Tricking great warriors into revealing their secrets so that you could trap them and prevent certain destruction."
"So having some fun and making Equestria into something other than a boring wasteland,"Discord questioned as Orion slowly let a tiny ball of crystal form in his left fist,"That earns me the punishment to be encased in stone for a thousand years?!"
"I tried to help you, but all you did was cause chaos to all of the world! I trusted you,"Orion pointed at Discord as storm clouds formed above the two former friends,"Clover died believing there was good in you! I wanted to believe that you could be something better than all this!"
"And your best friend becoming a god isn't good enough for you?"Discord retorted as lightning struck the sky and the roof they stood on.
"I gave you the chance to be something good, and you just threw it all in my face,"Orion growled and slowly opened his fist to show the ball of crystal that began to sparkle with red and white magic,"Now it's time for me to return the favor…! As far as I'm concerned, and I'm certain you feel the same way…! Everything we ever did together, everything we've been through…! None of it matters now…!"
"You're just as grim as your sister… But at least you manage to add an edgy excitement to it,"Discord pointed out while looking to the corner of his eye at the six mares in the maze,"I… Suppose you're right… Our friendship to this point is dead…! All that's left, is memories…!"
"So… Let me ask you something. Do you really think you can win this fight?"Orion asked while preparing to shove the ball of crystal into his chest and reveal his true power.
"No… But I do want to make you suffer as I have, and stop those mares from retrieving their elements,"Discord admitted while a small smirk began to form at the corners of his mouth,"Thankfully… I know how to do just that…!"
Suddenly, the Draconequus spun around and raised an eagle claw at the maze. Orion widened his eyes and went to intercept Discord before he could attack Twilight and her friends.. Only for the shifty god of chaos to teleport the minute Orion went for a fast lunging jab. He then appeared right behind the prince, smirking as a ball of blackness formed in his eagle claw and rapidly expanded. Orion had no time to react as the black ball expanded at shocking speeds, consuming him almost instantly.
The Draconequus quickly snaked away as the ball of darkness consumed the whole roof. He avoided getting trapped in the ball of darkness as it slammed against the mountain side. Discord sighed as he looked back to see the giant ball of blackness consume half the tower. Until it finally stopped growing in size, becoming a new accessory to the castle, and a prison. A prison that would hold Orion in total darkness forever, just as Discord had been sealed away for so long.
The prince yelled as he fell into absolute darkness, his eyes were his only source of light. Even then, he could not see as he crashed onto his back in the middle of absolute nothingness. He groaned as his eyes scanned the area quick, seeing darkness in every direction. He then quickly rolled to his feet and stood up, not even able to hear the faintest voice within this void. The prince dusted himself off, slapping it off his clothes as he looked around even further, seeing nothing.
"Great… Trapped in another void…! And by my own best friend no less,"Orion assessed his situation as he turned to the nearest pitch black wall,"You wouldn't even be alive if it weren't me! MY CHOICE TO SEAL YOU AWAY SPARED YOU FROM GETTING RIP TO SHREDS BY THE WARRIORS!"
"Mister O? What are you doing here?"Came the small voice of a familiar filly that drew his attention away from the wall.
He turned behind himself, before he was able to see Ms Cheerlie and their entire group of young fillies and colts. They all remained tightly bunched together, trying to avoid the darkness. While Cheerlie sighed with relief to see him, even when they were both trapped in the void. This left Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo overjoyed to see the human pony prince. They all rushed to Orion to hug his legs, making him crouch down to hug them in return.
"What's going on here? What are all of you doing in this place?!"Orion questioned before turning to the teacher that cleared her throat.
"All we know is that one minute we're about to leave the maze and head back home, then Discord showed up,"Cheerlie explained the events they could recall before they were in the void,"Next thing we know he looked a bit crept out by the children and put us all in this dark little world."
"Ah, yes. I forgot I had all of you in here as well…! Apologies for the inconvenience I left you with,"Came the voice of Discord that boomed through the dark void,"But I just couldn't get over the shivers one of your students gave me. So I needed to make sure the children would not revolt against me with a new leader…!"
"So you trap children in here! They were no threat to you, Discord! How low can you possibly go?!"Orion yelled to the Draconequus as a window like hole opened up with a view of the palace maze.
"As low as I must to fulfill what I was meant to be, Orion… A god…!"Discord answered before the window quickly circulated through the maze till it found Applejack,"And by the way... I did know about your crystal eyes...! So I moved the elements somewhere else, Somewhere that even you can't find them in...!"
"What are you doing?"Orion wondered before seeing apples form together and speak with Applejack.
"You really don't realize it? It was never truly about stopping the elements from being used,"Discord suddenly decided to let Orion in on a little plan he formulated for the elements of harmony,"It was all about making sure their bearers could not use them…! And how do you do that? By making them the opposite of what they were meant to represent…!"
"What's he doing to my sister…?"Apple Bloom noticed as the apples showed a horrible false truth to Applejack that made her turn away from real truth.
The minute he saw Applejack turn a shade of gray, disgust overwhelmed him. This was the first time he encountered this form of corruption, but Discord was actually able to pull it off. Corrupting the bearer of an element, turning them into the very thing that their element fought against. Now he was doing it to Twilight's friends, one by one, starting with Applejack. But the crafty Draconequus was ready to move to all the mares, ensuring that harmony would no longer exist.
First Applejack, then it was Pinkie Pie, and it didn't take much to corrupt her. A simple band of balloons laughing at her and saying that her friends made fun of her was more than enough. Orion couldn't believe what he was seeing, Discord actually besting harmony at it's own game. Rarity was bizarre, a simple boulder was sold off as a giant hunk of diamond to break her generosity. Replacing it with greed to keep the boulder for herself, never letting any pony take her giant diamond.
"No…! No, no no…! Discord!"Orion yelled as he marched towards the window to try and punch it out while the Draconequus went to Fluttershy.
It first appeared that she would not be corrupted by butterflies telling dirty fibs. But with lack of patience, Discord magically chose to simply corrupt her with meanness to replace her kindness. Orion screamed, making Apple Bloom and her friends back away from him as Rainbow Dash came next. It took only a lie about the safety of Cloudsdale and the gift of flight to persuade her. Convincing the Pegasus to abandon her duty and leave her friends to find the elements on their own.
"No…! No! No! Curse you! You can't do this to them, you coward! How dare you,"Orion glowed and punched at the impervious window with a barrage of glowing fists that quaked the void,"You leave their friendship alone! Was our own not enough for you, wretched fiend!"
"You feel that, old friend? That rage, the betrayal and shear powerlessness to prevent the worse from happening,"Discord questioned while every pony looked on in horror as Twilight and her friends now stood broken and with no elements of harmony,"That is how I felt the day you betrayed and sealed me away…! Have fun in this void for the next thousand years, knowing that you were powerless to stop me, Orion…!"
"I shouldn't have sealed you away! I should have just let you get torn apart by the other warriors,"Orion shouted as he pelted the window that slowly sealed up with Twilight's defeated face being the last thing he saw,"I swear Discord I'll find you! I'll get out of here, and when I do, there will be no mercy!"
"Mister O…!"Apple Bloom decided to be brave and inch her way towards the big friend of hers to calm him down.
"You're a venom to this world! A poison that ruins happiness and harmony through all of Equestria,"Orion continued punching till his fists slowly began to turn bright red,"I wish I had never met you! I should have just caste you down and left you to rot by Necrid's armies!"
"Mister O…! I's ok…!"Apple Bloom went for his pants and tugged at them before he threw his last punch and fell to one knee.
He then knelt there, panting, exhausted from the blind and burning rage from within. He lowered his head, feeling a sense of defeat that he almost never had to feel before. He stared at the pitch black floor, sweating, confused by this defeat, and looking like a failure in front of his students. Not only that, but he felt like a failure to Twilight, for she was now alone to deal with Discord. And without her friend, all seemed to be impossible, all appeared to be lost.
A grim beginning to season 2, but it only gets bigger from here on out. Man does it feel good to be back in this story, it takes me back to my early days of watching MLP. And it thrills me knowing that there is so much more that I can give to you, the lovely and patient readers. I hope you'e ready for season 2, because the fun is soon to come. Till then, stay pony every one.