Chapter 30

Ponyville Hospital, Ponyville

Discord awoke to the sound of beeping. It was an annoying, constant, beeping noise that irritated him to no end. As he opened his eyes, the entire room seemed to wobble making him feel a bit queasy. After a few seconds he finally regained his bearings, noting that he was in a hospital room. He let out an amused snort, realizing what the beeping noise was. Discord’s amusement was cut short when a jolt of pain hit him straight in the chest. In fact, his entire body felt like it had been sent through a high powered blender and then shot straight into the sun just for shits and giggles. He really hated being mortal.

The former god of chaos sighed, realizing that his hospital visit was going to be just like everypony else’s…REALLY BORING. Sure, he had magic but it wasn’t nearly as random or entertaining as his old chaos magic. Would it have killed Celestia to at least give him a tiny bit of his old magic? Knowing that old nag, it probably would have… just from the mountains of complaints she’d get from a simple cloud of chocolate rain. Sometimes ponies could be ever so dull. Discord slumped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling tiles…until something squishy and lime flavored was jammed into his mouth.

“GAHHHH! What in the name of chaos is going on?”

Before him was a ridiculously chipper Pinkie, dressed in a traditional nurse’s uniform. She had even gone to the trouble of tying her mane into neat bun, which actually looked rather adorable in Discord’s opinion. She merely stared at him with a cup of lime jello in one hoof and a spoon in the other.

“Hi Dissy! Nurse Pinkie is here to take care of you today! Now, open wide ‘cause here comes the choo-choo train.”

Pinkie stuffed another glob of jello into Discord’s mouth. “Mfffrrmmm! Blegh *cough* Pinkie, could you please stop doing that for a moment and let me catch my breath?!”

“Oh…hehehe sorry.”

“I like jello as much as the next pony but I don’t particularly enjoy it being shoved down my throat. Now why in the blue blazes are you dressed like that?”

“I’m a nurse silly!”

Discord groaned. “Please don’t tell me that the Equestrian medical community has actually decided to certify you as a nurse.”

“Umm…I’m not really a nurse. But I did have this really sexy nurse outfit that Rarity made me last Nightmare Night. I figured that it might cheer you up…seeing as how it was kind of my fault that you hurt in the first place.”

“Pinkie you don’t need to blame yourself for what happened to me. If anything, this is probably the punishment I deserve. I’ve come to realize that the things I said to you were awful and I should’ve been more considerate of your feelings. For what it’s worth...I’m sorry.”

Pinkie nuzzled his cheek. “I forgive you because that’s what friends do. And for the record, I like the new considerate Discord a lot better than the old meanie pants one.”

“Y-you do?”

“Yeppers! Who knows, maybe if you keep this up you might make a few new friends. Now, I’m gonna go get you something nice to drink so you just sit tight ok?”

Discord nodded realizing how lucky he was to have such a forgiving mare caring for him. Despite being alive for millennia, friendship was a strange concept to him. He had never really bothered to try and make many friends, since he was always too busy causing chaos to care.

As he watched Pinkie trot out of the room, another odd emotion took hold in him, one he had not felt in a long time. Discord’s face flushed slightly as he found his eyes lingering on her plot far longer than was decent. While it was true that the nurse outfit was intended to be sexy, the whole situation was outrageous! He, the god of chaos, found Pinkie Pie…attractive?

Discord shook head, trying to clear his mind of such lascivious thoughts. He never really considered Pinkie, nor any of her friends attractive before so what made it different now? Was it because he never truly thought of them as ponies but rather mere playthings, meant only to amuse him? Perhaps it was this pony form he had been forced to inhabit that somehow made him more empathetic towards them. Whatever the reason, it clearly was something worth pondering over.

Unfortunately for Discord his pondering would have to wait. In a brilliant flash of yellow light the very princess of the sun herself appeared in the room. Next to her was Dusk Shine, the element of magic and that other alicorn that nearly beat him to death. Both Celestia and Dusk had stern expressions on their faces, while the clone looked somewhat nervous.

Celestia cleared her throat. “Discord, I know that we’ve had our differences in the past but that doesn’t excuse what Molly did to you. I have brought her here so that she might apologize for atrocious level of injury she inflicted upon you. I too must apologize for not keeping a closer eye on her…emotional instability.”

“Yes well, I’ve done some thinking of my own Tia. I realize that I may have been a bit out of line when I made those jokes about Pinkie. Molestia was it? I’m sorry for insulting your friend.”

Molly bit her lip. “I…may have reacted in a less than civil manner over the whole situation. I apologize as well. Hopefully you will have a speedy recovery.”

“Good, now I presume that we’ve all buried the proverbial hatchet concerning the past? Because I’d really like to be able to live long enough to return to my devilishly handsome self. Thank you very much!”

Celestia nodded. “When I feel you’ve earned the right of course.”

“Naturally…”

Dusk rubbed Molly’s back with his hoof. “I’m sorry Princess but I think it would be best if we got back to the library. Molly and I are both pretty tired from this whole ordeal and I think she could use some cheering up.”

As Molly and Dusk vanished in a burst of purple light, Celestia took a seat next to Discord’s bed and sipped a cup of water. Once she had quenched her thirst, she set the cup down and began to gently rub Discord’s uninjured hoof with her own. Rather than flinch from her touch, Discord merely let out a sad sigh.

“So I take it that Molestia shares all of your memories huh?”

“She does.”

“Then I guess it’s no surprise she acted the way she did. Heh, I knew she reminded me of you in the old days.”

Celestia frowned. “You know those days are long gone. I’ve matured considerably since then. Although my sister can still be hot-headed sometimes.”

“Tia…what happened to us?”

“Responsibility happened, Discord. You know how things were back then, all of the suffering and disharmony. Somepony had to step up and give order to all of that chaos.”

“I remember a mare that used to enjoy frolicking in the meadows and pulling pranks on unsuspecting ponies. That was the mare I loved, the mare I treasured. We had such a good thing back then and I…would give up my left claw to see her again.”

“That mare has been dead for a very long time. You killed her when you became obsessed with the power of chaos.”

“And you were always so obsessed with imposing order on everything! Don’t you see? I wanted to help everypony out by harnessing the primal forces of chaos so they would never have to suffer for any creature comforts. So what if things were a bit topsy-turvy? At least that added some excitement to their short and painful lives!”

“Ponies didn’t need excitement, they needed stability! I gave you a chance; I let you use chaos magic all those millennia ago but you went too far. The chaos perverted both your mind and body, convincing you that the world was better off enduring its twisted vision. I loved you with all of my heart Discord, I truly did. It made sealing you in stone one of the most painful things I ever had to endure, but it had to be done.”

“Tia…”

In a rare display of emotion, several hot tears ran down Celestia’s muzzle and onto the bed sheets. Sensing her distress, Discord levitated a tissue over to her face and wiped away as many of the tears as he could. He allowed her a few moments to compose herself and then gently caressed her cheek with his hoof.

“I’m afraid we can never reignite the flame we once shared. Too much pain has been caused, too much time has passed. It is good that Pinkie seems to have warmed up to you and maybe someday she might become something more than just a friend to you. But so help me, if I hear you hurting her again…nothing will save you from my wrath.”

“You have my word Tia…for whatever that’s worth.”

Celestia’s horn ignited. “Farewell Dryad, former alicorn of the arboreal wilds.”

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Cadence’s Throne Room, Crystal Empire

Chancellor Minos waited patiently as the Empress went into her chambers to retrieve the amulet he so desperately sought. It was unlikely that the pony had any idea what she possessed, as evident by her willingness to part with it. The only one in the room that seemed to be wary of his presence was the lunar princess. It bothered him because only those seasoned in politics, espionage and lies ever held such an expression. She could potentially ruin his plans. Cadence in the meanwhile had trotted back into the room with a circular shaped amulet in her mouth. The outside of it was plated with gold and inlayed with turquoise colored crystal.

“Chancellor, is this the amulet you were looking for?”

Minos grinned. “Why yes it is. Oh it’s even more beautiful than the descriptions say! You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Luna’s intuition told her that something about this ram was suspicious and his peculiar reaction to a mere trinket only cemented her opinion. Why would he travel all the way from his home islands just to obtain a mere amulet? It looked rather ordinary compared to the many pieces of jewelry she had seen over the years. She trotted over to the ram so that she could get a better look at the trinket.

“Excuse me Chancellor, but may I inspect the amulet?”

“Hmm I suppose so. Although might I ask why you’re so interested in it?”

Luna levitated the amulet in front of her muzzle. “It seems familiar to me somehow, as if I’ve seen it somewhere before. I swear it looks just like…STARSWIRL’S AMULET!!”

Minos let out a grunt of frustration, realizing that Luna did indeed know the true significance of the amulet. He quickly grabbed the amulet out of Luna’s aura and wrapped it around his neck. The amulet immediately began to react to him and began to glow in a brilliant turquoise aura, making his eyes glow with a similar hue.

“ακινητοποιώ! (immobilize)”

A narrow beam shot out of Mino’s eyes, hitting Luna square in the chest as he ran towards the hanger. Cadence and Cheerilee rushed over to her side to try and tend to her wounds while Flash gathered a few guards and chased after the Chancellor. A few minutes later Luna finally regained her bearings and slowly opened her eyes.

Cadence nuzzled Luna’s cheek. “Thank Celestia you’re alright! But why did he attack you?”

“It is because of the amulet I’m afraid. What you gave him was no ordinary piece of jewelry, it is an extremely powerful artifact that once belonged to Starswirl the Bearded. He supposedly used it to boost his own power while casting, and it seems that Chancellor Minos knows how to use it to cast his own spells. This is very distressing…”

Cheerilee cocked her eyebrow. “Wait…why would Starswirl have left his amulet here? And why would he need an amulet to boost his power if he was already a unicorn?”

“Because, he wasn’t a unicorn Cheerilee. In fact, he wasn’t even a pony to begin with. I’m afraid that over the years many believed him to be a unicorn, only due to his unusual affinity for magic. He was actually a ram.”

“I had no idea. I think I’m going to have to write a petition to the history book publishers in Canterlot after this is all finished. But I’m still confused as how it wound up in the Crystal Empire.”

“Long ago, the Sheep were the most powerful and technologically advanced people on the entire planet. They possessed a powerful source of magic, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since. The sheep abused the power and it ended up destroying most of their empire, leaving only the islands you see today. Starswirl was a survivor of the cataclysm and sought to protect the power source so it couldn’t fall into the wrong hooves again. Quite simply, he traveled here because it was remote and the ponies had no knowledge of the power the amulet held.”

“What would have happened if the crystal ponies had discovered its power and abused it as well?”

“I don’t believe that’s even possible. The power source only responds to sheep of royal blood. Ponies cannot control it, which is why it has remained safe until this point.”

Cadence’s ears drooped. “I’m sorry Luna, if I had known I wouldn’t have given it to him in the first place. This is all my fault…”

“You couldn’t have known. Even I had trouble remembering such an ancient tale and I’m several thousand years your senior. But do not fret, for all hope is not lost. The amulet is only but fraction of the true power source. So long as we stop Minos before he reaches the original source, he can be defeated.”

“I’m really worried about Flashie. He could seriously get hurt, especially since he can’t cast magic like I can.”

“He seems to be a well-trained guard so I wouldn’t worry too much. But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security though, for Minos is still dangerous. The paralysis he inflicted upon me was most certainly not a novice level spell.”

Meanwhile, Flash and his contingent of crystal guards were hot on Minos’s trail. The commander wasn’t entirely certain it was good idea to be pursuing a maniac ram with unknown magical abilities without having any spell casters of his own as back-up, but he had to at least try.

The one thing he did have going for him was that crystal ponies seemed to resist magic for some reason. That didn’t necessarily mean they were completely immune to it, spells just didn’t affect them as much. He wasn’t even really sure why that was, but he suspected it had to do with the power of the crystal heart. After being exposed to the heart for so long, both he and Cadence had developed shiny coats similar to their subjects. Flash was fairly certain that he now possessed the same magical resistance and he would check the library later for some information, when he didn’t have a megalomaniac to hunt down.

Flash finally reached the hanger and found that the ram’s airship was already prepping for takeoff. One of the loading ramps lowered onto the ground and several sheep garbed in bronze colored armor marched out wielding some rather nasty looking scythe-like weapons. Minos stood in front of them barking out orders in his native tongue. Immediately they scattered and squared off against Flash’s own guards.

Minos’s eyes glowed once more. “You are either very brave or very foolish to have pursued me this far. I promise that if you lower your weapons and head back to the throne room, I won’t harm you or any of your comrades.”

“As tempting as that sounds lord chancellor, I’m going to have to refuse. You blatantly attacked Equestrian royalty on my watch and that’s not something I take lightly. I’m going to have to place you under arrest.”

“Ha! I like your spirit commander, but I’m afraid I can’t comply. You must understand that I’m on a very strict schedule that doesn’t involve incarceration. So if you really insist on hindering me, I shall gladly oblige you with violence.”

Minos stomped his hoof and all of the sheep sprang into action, clashing their blades against crystal spears. The chancellor closed his eyes and held the amulet close to his chest, muttering in some strange language. When he opened his eyes again, Flash saw tiny turquoise colored lines of light radiating from the ram’s eyes all the way to his ears. As Minos spoke, there was a strange echo to his voice.

“This only but a mere fraction of the power I will wield. It’s a shame you won’t be alive long enough to witness it in all of its glory!”

In a fraction of a second, Minos fired a blast of pure energy out of his mouth straight into Flash’s chest. The poor pegasus was hurled several feet back, until he crashed into pillar with a resounding metallic clank. Flash dragged himself away from the column, desperately trying to regain his bearings. Once the room came back into focus, he tried to stand up once more and felt a sharp pain in his chest. The stallion coughed violently several times, noticing small flecks of blood coating his hoof.

“Aww shit, I must have cracked a rib…or three. Good thing I was wearing armor, or the impact would have broken my spine.”

Flash barely had time to duck when Minos slammed an enchanted hoof right into the column behind him. “It isn’t broken yet pony but I can certainly rectify that little problem…”

The commander flew straight up and used his forward momentum to deliver a kick to the chancellor’s face. Under normal circumstances, such a blow would’ve had enough force to break just about any creature’s neck. This case was anything but normal. It did appear at first that Minos’s neck snapped, but after a few seconds his head snapped back into place with a sickening pop. Flash merely stood there with his mouth agape, mentally cursing magic’s ability to defy conventional physics and mortality.

“A good effort but ultimately useless. So long as I remain connected to the amulet’s power I cannot be killed by normal means. Now, I think it’s about time I send you off to Tartarus.”

“STAY AWAY FROM MY FLASHIE!!!”

Before Minos could so much as lift a hoof, Cadence blasted him with an electric pink bolt of energy that sent him careening across the hanger and into the side of his airship. She was accompanied by Luna who started firing tendrils of lightening at the rest of the sheep. When Minos got up the flesh on his face was burnt and smoking but it quickly began to heal. He leapt onto the loading ramp as the airship began to take off.

“Erraaaggggh! Meddlesome alicorns. It seems that I am clearly outclassed at the moment but don’t worry I’ll be back soon enough. Guards form up, we’re leaving.”

The remaining sheep scampered onto the ship as it became enveloped in a turquoise aura. In a brilliant flash of light, the entire dirigible vanished. Cadence rushed over to Flash and pulled him into a deep kiss, then buried her muzzle into his neck.

“I was so worried about you! Why did you have to go after him like that? You could have been killed!”

“It’s my job, sweetheart.”

Cadence puffed out her cheeks. “You’re not a unicorn you idiot! There was no way you could have fully protected yourself against that kind of magic, even if you might be resistant to it! You could have at least waited until Luna recovered a bit.”

“Cade, I’m sorry ok. He hurt Luna and I wasn’t about to let him get away with it. Plus who knows what he’s gonna do with that freaky amulet.”

Luna put her hoof on his shoulder. “Please rest Flash Sentry, and let my sister and I worry about such things. You acted with valor and courage and I shan’t forget that. But I fear you are right. Only time will reveal that ram’s true intentions. For now we can only prepare for the worst.”