World of Discord 2.0 (RP)

Grandpa laughed. "Good! Humility's th' first step t' bein' a real adventurer an' hero. If ya up an' said ye were ready, it'd be a sign ya ain't. But don't be too hard on yerself. 'Member what Sandstone told ye 'bout th' old Element Bearers? Rainbow Dash, she was jes' some arrogant weather mare who flew fast. But she stuck by her friends even in th' face o' temptation, an' so Loyalty chose her. Pinkie Pie was jes' a baker, descended from rock farmers, when rock farmin' meant exactly what it sounded like, not this whole chaos-twisted version ya sees here. But she laughed in th' face o' fear, an' giggled at th' ghostie, helpin' all her friends laugh with her, so Laughter chose her. Rarity was jes' a dressmaker with hopes o' becomin' more, who valued beauty over almost everythin'. But when she saw th' unhappiness of a river dragon, like Mistmane, she sacrificed her own beauty t' help another regain it, so Generosity chose her. Applejack, she was jes' a farmpony, right here on this here farm. But when th' goin' got rough, she was so honest, every one o' her friends trusted her with their lives, even enough t' let go o' what they thought was their lifeline, so Honesty chose her. Fluttershy, she was shy as a doormouse, jes' another animal caretaker, almost flightless, she was, an' she was a pegasus. But when a manticore who threatened their group showed it was in pain, her kindness an' compassion drove her t' help it out, an' so Kindness chose her. Twilight Sparkle, she was a librarian, a shut-in, a nerd, with no social skills, an' her dance moves could embarass th' pink right off a flamingo. But when she faced th' Nightmare o' her time, she trusted an' believed in her friends, an' stood by them, so Friendship chose her. Ain't none o' them special ponies, but th' Elements chose them.

"An' that's not all neither. 'Member them ancient ponies, them Pillars o' Harmony, Rockhoof an' Mistmane an' all th' rest? They might'a been heroes, but they'd never'a found each other an' come t'gether without an almost unknown pony named Stygian. No power, no great deeds, no nothin', barely mentioned in any history books back in our time, you an' me, but over th' last thousand years, readin' old books from Avalon an' listenin' t' stories from Guru Fido an' th' others, Ah came t' realize it was Stygian, th' unknown pony, who was th' most important pony of all, 'cause when Equestria needed its heroes t' band t'gether, it was Stygian who brought them to each other, guided them t' each an' every fight, recorded their deeds, so that we could still be talkin' 'bout them t'day."

He smiled at Candycane. "Ah don't know what role Fate chose fer ya, when ya woke up in that there barn. But She DID choose ya, shore as sugar She did. Th' question is, are ya willin' t' accept that role? Maybe, jes' maybe, become th' Stygian o' our era?"

The ancient statue hugged her close. "Ah can't promise ya much, not in this world. But Ah will promise you this. So long as we can, we WILL help you, we WILL accept you, no matter what. Sandstone's ready t' do whatever it takes t' make this world free an' beautiful again, so that nopony will ever have t' suffer again."

"That's right."

The filly walked over, a determined look on her face, which softened as she came up to Candycane and joined the group hug.

"Ah'm ready t' do anythin' t' make sure mah brothers n' sisters don't have t' go through any o' this, ever again, ever. Ah believe in you, Candycane. But ain't nobody holdin' you accountable fer me, an' don't you go holdin' yerself accountable either. This world, it's cruel, unfair, but it's what life is."

Grandpa let go of the hug, looking the mare in the eyes. "Ya git some. Ya lose some. Ya learn t' live with whatcha got. Cherish what ya have now, every minute, every second o' goodness. If it ever gets too hard, we'll be here. Avalon's always acceptin' new refugees too."

He put a hoof on her shoulder. "Ah knows it's a lot t' think about. Ain't nopony askin' you t' go walkin' out there right here an' now. We made up yer room an' everythin', after all! But opportunities like this, they don't jes' come willy-nilly. Ah kin wait another thousand years, hard as it may be, but these li'luns..."

Grandpa looked at the children frolicking around the windowless room, young ones who'd never experienced the coolness of night or the beauty of dawn, and likely never will, not in this world, not without some miracle.

"Ah, look at me, rushin' ahead like a young colt, even after these thousand years. Take some time an' sleep on it, Candycane. Who knows, maybe Fate has somethin' t' tell ya 'bout all this. If you decide not t' do this, ain't nopony gonna blame you. We've been lookin' forward t' havin' a big sister here fer a while," he smiled. "An' if ya decide t' go, remember, you kin turn 'round any time. We'll be here, waitin' with open arms. Nopony's gonna force you to do somethin' this big, wouldn't be fair to anypony."

The festivities eventually died down, and one after another the little ones started yawning, until Grandpa smiled and stood up.

"All right, y'all, time fer bed."

There was a collective groan, but smiles all around. A lot had happened, and all of it good, which was something that rarely occurred these days. As the children filed off to their rooms, Sandstone stopped by for a last hug, and Grandpa began to take down the decorations, carefully putting them back into various shelves and drawers.

"Don't worry 'bout me, Candycane, Ah'll take care o' all this mess. You take care, now, an' tell me if ya git a vision or somethin' tonight! Ah might be able t' decipher it fer ya, or at least give ye some advice."

His eyes softened. "Even if it's bad news. Ah jes' got a feelin', y'know? Ah've been worried 'bout Apple Pie an' her sisters, out there on th' surface, an' that there prophecy Sandstone had, it talked 'bout a filly laughin' even when 'all she loved' was taken. Ah can't help but think..."

He shook his head. "Ya git some, ya lose some, ya learn t' live with whatcha got. Life an' lemons, gotta learn. Ah'll see ya in th' mornin', Candycane, as th' ol' sayin' goes. Or at least, whenever ya decide t' wake up."

He grinned as he hugged back. "You take care o' yerself, Candycane.

Her bed was just as soft as it was back... well, it was just the way she liked it. Whatever the farmers had built the walls out of, it seemed to block out pretty much all the sound from whatever chaos must've been going on up on the surface, for which she was quite grateful. As she drifted off to sleep, she had a brief sensation, as though a massive clockwork Wheel had begun to turn after laying dormant for a thousand years, and upon it was an alicorn, half flesh, half bronze, and eyes that saw eternity...

---

Moonlight found her quarters much to her liking, familiar to both sides of her. It was as if Queen Cadence knew exactly what sort of pony would be visiting today, and had picked this dwelling especially for her. With the way things had changed these thousand years (had it really been that long? the idea still boggled her mind), it wouldn't exactly be surprising for that to be the case.

As she lay down in her bed, wondering at how they'd manage to make a mattress both soft enough for her Ponyville side and firm enough for her guard side, she had a brief sensation, as though her mind and soul were leaving this plane, and entering a grand palace of gears and machinery as large as the world, the Rota Fortuna...

---

*****
*****

"RUN! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!" shouted Twilight as Poison Apple limped desperately towards what the unicorn prayed was an exit. She turned and snarled as her sadistic "Master" casually rounded the corner. "THIS IS IT, YOU TYRANT! I WILL NEVER BE YOUR SLAVE AGAIN! I AM TWILIGHT SPARKLE, ELEMENT OF MAGIC, AND I-"

Snap.

"-am ready to serve and obey, Master."

-----

"Please don't run, PLEASE! I promise, I PROMISE I'll make it quick."

"Shut up, Traitor." "We'll never back down!" "Unlike you, we're LOYAL to-"

Traitor Dash later returned, shaking and sobbing, to her Master's throne. He smiled with false reassurance as he stroked his claw through her rainbow mane.

"Good girl. Seems I won't let Sky Ocean fall into the Valley of Spikes after all. But now I have another task for you, my traitorous little pet..."

-----

"Oh, why certainly, darling, thank you so much for offering!"

Stone ground against stone as the puppet poured nothing into the stone teacup. A blue aura brought the empty cup to the white unicorn's mouth as she mimed drinking.

"Thank you, darling. Such a shame none of the others can ever appreciate such lovely diamonds, isn't that right, Tom? Of course it is. They only see 'dirty rocks'! The nerve. Makes me so... inelegant, sometimes, when I have to... dirty my hooves for you, my pretties."

The thousand years' worth of dust and grime seemed not to bother the Element of Greed as she continued sitting in the windowless room, surrounded by an eternal Gala that only existed in her mind.

-----

"Wait! Don't hurt me, take my daughter, do anything you want with her, just don't hurt me!"

The pathetic stallion was holding a little filly in front of him. Of course. He was probably LAUGHING on the inside. Laughing. At everything. Did he think this was a joke? They all did. They ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE! But the fillies understood. They knew the pain. They knew... Anger.

"Did this stallion hurt you?"

A nod.

"Did he... LAUGH at you?"

A teary, ANGRY nod.

"Well, why don't you sit here with me and watch. And I'll make sure that he doesn't laugh at anyone, ever again."

The filly cheered as the grey earth pony vanished from the screen, reappeared behind the stallion, and grinned savagely.

-----

"p-please... f-fluttershy-"

"My NAME is FLUTTERCRUEL, IDIOT!"

"i-i-i know you're in there... please... remember..."

Fluttershy couldn't close her eyes. She couldn't stop her body. She could only silently think, i'm sorry. i'm so so so sorry. i do remember. but there's nothing i can do. i'm sorry... this will hurt...

Her "daughter" turned and smiled into the cracked mirror on the wall. "See, Mom? See how much I love you? Daddy was right all along. Time to be CRUEL!"

-----

"An' Ah TOTALLY am gonna end yer lives now. Ah AIN'T 'ere just 'cause Big Banana Discord needs ta see me goin' into a house. An'... Ah don't need no blood t' show 'im. Ah ain't sorry at all."

The fillies smiled back. "it's no problem at all, Saint Liarjack. thank you so much."

Tears came to the grey mare's eyes as she dirtied her hooves for appearance's sake. "Ah want y'all t' keep on movin' an' act alive instead o' dead, now. An'... t-there's hope, Discord will fall someday, everyone's gonna be happy real soon, an' all this is just a bad dream...... an Ah'm not sorry at all..."

They obeyed, lying still for the mare, and silently thanking her for her kind, Kind lies...

-----

Muffins. Muffins everywhere. Muffins in my heart. Muffins in my eyes. Muffins in my body. Muffins, muffins EVERYWHERE! A thousand years! A thousand years! It never stops! The crows, the crows, they're always hungry! I'm the muffin! They want me! They want to EAT ME!

Loving, grey wings shield me from the crows. Mommy never stops talking to me. Mommy keeps walking for me. Mommy keeps crawling for me even when they hurt Mommy. Mommy never stops treating me like her daughter. Mommy tells me i'm alive. Mommy tells me to hold on, just hold on, two thousand more years. Mommy counts each lap.

One quadrillion, three hundred and twenty five trillion, four hundred and fifty three billion, two hundred and twenty one million, seven hundred and ninety one thousand, six hundred and seventy one.

Seventy two.

Seventy three.

I'll hold on, Mommy. I'll hold on for you too. I want to hug you so much, to cry in your wings. When we finish these laps, I'll keep walking beside you for my sister too. I promise I won't hate muffins, because Mommy loves muffins. But I'm her special muffin. And nothing that mean snake-thing says or does will change that, not even making me into a muffin. Mommy's the most Loyal Mommy in the whole universe.

Seventy four.

-----

I don't know how long it's been now. Master Discord sometimes messes with my perception of time. Sometimes it feels like eons, and others -if I didn't have clear memories of LiarJack's little sister growing up and dying of old age (after Scootaloo died as an adult mare defying master) I'd think it all happened yesterday. The Elements of Chaos seem to have rendered us immortal.

I'm informed by My Master that some foalish ponies in Ponyville are trying to practice magic. Duty calls. Time to show these little ponies that Magic Is Tragedy.

-----

Mah name's Apple Pie. An' at the moment, things don't look too good.

Magica... Caster... everypony... all th' Virgacorns...

Them Six Minions 're standin' about Big Banana Discord. Lady Desire is twitchin' t' grab more rocks. Saint Liarjack's comfortin' Traitor Dash, poor mare. Miss Cruelty... ya don't wanna know. Same goes fer Miss Angry Pie... why auntie? Because Big Banana Discord said so, that's why. An' Miss Tragedy... same as always, Ah guess.

Oh... Miss Cruelty an' Miss Pie's lookin' at me. Finders keepers? So this is how it ends. It's... it's funny in a way. Never thought this is how Ah'd end, but hey, what's the fun in makin' sense?

"WELL! LOOKS LIKE YOU LADIES CERTAINLY CLEANED HOUSE!"

Ah couldn't help it. Even with Miss Angry Pie right here. Ah laughed. Why? ...Ah guess it's 'cause it's funny. No really!

Well, looks like it's Miss Pie then. At least she makes it quick. Huh? Oh, they're arguin'. At least Ah get a few more- oh, so Miss Cruelty's impatient. Here comes the sword. Was nice talkin-

"STOP AT ONCE!"

...Ah'm not dead? What's tricklin' down mah face? Oh... what's goin' on?

Big Banana Discord's suddenly in front of me. Standin' upside-down on the air.

"You laughed?"

"Yeah."

Miss Tragedy looks curious. She never DOES 'curious'. She ain't never had any emotion. She asks anyways. "Why?"

Ah told 'er the truth. "Hey, even in the darkest of times, ya have ta find somethin' ta laugh about!"

Big Banana Discord chuckled too. Miss Pie's real mad now, but he doesn't let her do anything. He just tells them to go back to the castle. Miss Cruel tries to argue for a bit, but it doesn't work of course. He's lookin' at me again.

"You, dear, remind me of a mare I knew who was very fun to have around," he said, lookin' at Miss Angry Pie. "Just keep on smilin', girlie!" He gave me a weird signal with his claw, Ah think th' dragons call it a thumbs-up. "What's your name?"

Ah think for a moment, wonderin' what all this is about, but hey, Ah'm dead anyways. "... Apple Pie."

"Apple Pie?"

He starts laughing. Saint Liarjack's jaw drops to th' floor. Ah guess Ah don' really look much like an Apple, but hey. Family's big.

"Oh that's rich! So rich! Kiddo, you've made my day! Live and be happy and all that tripe!"

He snapped his fingers and mah bones were healed. There's still a scar on mah forehead where Miss Cruel's sword was. So... Ah ain't dead? Ah reach up an' touch it, blinkin'.

"Consider that little nip there from Fluttercruel a reminder of when you made the king of chaos laugh!"

He claps, his claws makin' a sound like a whole audience clappin'. Well, that's what mah Pa used to say.

Miss Tragedy gives me a strange look as they leave. Ah can't help but smile a bit. Even in this world, that little bit o' Laughter helped me out, just as it always did.

*****
*****

It didn't make sense. But what's the fun in making sense? But this was different.

My name is Twilight Tragedy. Element of Magic. And for the first time since I can remember, not that Master allows me to remember much, I feel an emotion. That emotion is confusion.

I watch the day turn into night, and back into day again. A hippogriff screams that he can't take it anymore, and slams into Sky Ocean, instantly turning into a happy, mindless seapony mare. That grey pegasus gallops by on her endless course around the castle for as long as her legs are unbroken. The next moment, a murder of crows rushes by in hot pursuit.

Chaos. It's not supposed to be normal. There isn't supposed to BE a normal. Is defying the very rules of Chaos still Chaos?

My mind turns back to that filly. The only filly that ever made Master laugh as far as I can remember. Why did she laugh? "You have to find something to laugh about"? Why? WHY?

My head hurts even though Master hasn't even done anything recently. Liarjack comes by and sits next to me. Her face registers what my books say is "sadness". An odd thing about Liarjack. She never, ever tells the truth. Which means you can often get the truth by thinking backwards.

"Liarjack."

"Yeah, Twi?"

"Tragedy is Magic, is it not?"

She sighed for some reason. Was it frustration? Regret? Resignation?

"Consarn it, Twi, y'all NEVER asked me THAT one b'fore. But... 'course it is. Yep. Tragedy's definitely Magic."

It didn't make sense. But what's the fun in making sense? A strange feeling in my stomach and heart. Why is there water exiting my eyes?

"Thank you, Liarjack. I... I think I am in need of rest now."

She whispers something. I ignore it. What is this feeling? What is this... emotion? I stumble through the gateway. A few million years and more changes than I can count later, I stumble out the other side without a single second having passed. I move on. The castle throws me into the black hole. I teleport out and keep walking. The dirt maids cover me in dust and start doing an impromptu dance number. I ignore them.

Laughter. Why? Why does my mind keep returning to that filly? Why do I feel confusion, and why do I feel this may be a key to something? Freedom? What is freedom? The books define freedom as a power or right to act as one wants to without restraint. But what does that mean? My only desires are to serve and obey Master. What does that mean?

I look in the mirror as I enter my room. Underneath the dust, I see the same grey unicorn I have always been. But why is there purple flickering inside my eyes? Why is there a spark in the pupils? It doesn't make sense.

I water the two plants, ignoring their attempts to curl around my legs. I lie down on my bed. Perhaps sleep will remove this confusion.

The last thought that comes to mind before I sleep is an image of Apple Pie, and the word "Laughter".

She galloped into the dining room, only to find-

"Ya git some. Ya lose some. Ya learn t' live with whatcha got."

The green-maned and tan-coated filly nodded, pulling back from the hug.

Apple Pie.

After last night's dream, Candycane could recognize that cutie mark anywhere. One orange slice, one apple slice.

Grandpa looked over the multitude of bodies covered with white sheets lying about the impromptu morgue as the rest of the Family gathered around. There was a hole in a corner of the room, and a large adult diamond dog made of crystal was standing solemnly beside it with a few younger dogs holding crystal coffins.

"Avalon apologizes for being unable to send messengers to retrieve their fallen in person," rumbled the eldest of the dogs. "We will take them safely to their final resting place."

The old statue nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Guru Fido. I'm sure their families will appreciate the gesture."

None of the children present, save only one or two, were weeping at this point; most were merely tired, exhausted at this world, which gave and took away without warning. Only Sandstone looked up and noticed the mare standing awkwardly at the doorway, and excused herself, gesturing for Candycane to join her.

Sandstone saw the look on her face, and her eyes softened as she got up and walked over, hugging the mare right where she sat.

"Shh. It's okay. Ah'm here, Candycane."

She smiled as she brushed the mare's mane. As if... as if it was the filly that was supposed to be comforting her, not the other way around.

Sandstone simply held her close, brushing her mane gently.

"Ya git some. Ya lose some. Ya learn t' live with whatcha got. A thousand years, as many memorials as we kin git, with room fer those we can't remember havin' ever existed."

Her grip tightened slightly, and the filly's own voice became heated, like she was crying too, but in anger and determination, not horror. Nothing could horrify these fillies anymore, not if this was their daily life.

"D'ya see why Ah have t' go with ya, help save th' world, do somethin' other than sit here? Ah can't let this be normal life fer mah sisters n' brothers. Ah can't. It's not right. Jes' th' fact ye're takin' it so hard tells me more'n enough 'bout how things USED to be, SHOULD be. Ah'd give EVERYTHIN' ta git back t' those times, even if Ah can't even begin t' imagine it. Ah don't know why Fate chose us, Candycane, but Ah can't let Fate, an' everypony, mah Family, down."

She relaxed a bit, letting go and wiping the hot tears from her eyes.

"Ah swears on Magica's grave, Ah'll do whatever it takes t' take HIM down."

Her eyes were slightly bloodshot from crying, but there was a determination in there that could not be daunted, not by death or suffering. This tragedy was merely refining fire to the filly, half Candycane's age yet so brave, so strong, the mare could scarcely even imagine how strong, or what she'd have to have been through to become like this, rather than the playful little schoolfilly she looked like to the unobservant eye.

"Ya git some. Ya lose some. Ya learn t' live with whatcha got."

Somehow, Grandpa had walked up on them silently again, his expression grave. The statue looked positively ancient, every one of the thousand years showing on his face and in his eyes as he regarded the mare with a gentle, understanding expression.

"Took me almost three hundred years t' stop screamin' an' havin' new nightmares with each death. Longer'n that t' realize how important it was t' focus on th' good rather than th' bad. This world, it kin take what's precious t' you in an instant. That's why Ah said t' cherish what ya got, every second, every moment."

His firm embrace was like an anchor, a solid foundation she could stand on, an unchanging post upon which she could depend. He had seen so much. Lost so much. Everypony here had. And yet...

And yet they still smiled. They threw her a party just yesterday, for Celestia's sake. And that filly, Apple Pie...

Laughter.

The prophecy.