Guardians

     Eris couldn't believe her eyes. Monsters. In her house. Two of them. And it was her first day off in years, too. Things were quickly spiraling out of control, causing her to call an ambulance.

     She reluctantly set the phone down, then returned to the trance-like scene. That phone had been just about her only clawhold on reality, and... everything was just so surreal. Even her house, which she'd lived in for the better half of a decade, was alien.

    She scoffed, thinking about how fitting the word was. If only she'd chosen the title for her unwanted guests earlier.

    She was broken out of her reverie by a shriek, peeling from her sister's second-story room. Not Mayday, her voice was much sharper. It was that snake lady. Eris wasn't going to let her wait for a hospital trip without some comfort. She quickly nabbed some bandages, a stethoscope, a sewing needle, and - just because she needed proof this wasn't a dream later - an audio recorder.

    She wound herself up the stairs, flinching at the colorful bout of swears echoing through the hallway. She bit her lip, kicking herself for trying to associate Mayday's innocent, young self with the mare she'd grown up to be.

     She arrived at the scene a few moments after, levitating the supplies behind her. She knelt down, setting the tape recorder on the floor nearby. She regarded her sister, searching for a reaction.

     Mayday's mane and tail were silver and pink, swept over her face like a curtain. Her pale golden coat was thin over her skin, undoubtedly from stress. It took an enormous resolve just to own powers like hers. Her eyes were golden with crimson slits. Glinting fangs hung from her mouth, drawn in a snarl. Mismatched horns sat on her head, belittling a pair of pinched ears.

     Mayday scowled. "What." She eyed the recorder.

     Eris winced. "Well, what's going on would be nice." She wanted to be kind, but when she started acting like this, another one of the Voices was in control. It had to be taught to back down. She wasn't going to let her sister fall to their will, whatever they were.

     The alicorn growled, hunching her shoulders. "I told you I DON'T KNOW! Why aren't you questioning them?! They're the ones that just showed up!" Mayday shot an angry glare at the aliens, rising into an attack position. The bird-like one stepped in front, puffing up and widening his own stance.

      Kizuana frowned them. "Honestly, dears, I would've thought you could be decent to each other. Arosa, I know you're trying to be brave, but it's a hopeless gesture and you know it!" She rose slightly, balancing on her arms in order to avoid the cracked vertebrae. "Serendipity, I -"

       Mayday whirled around, facing her, mouth practically foaming. "THAT'S NOT MY NAME! I'M NOT HER!" Kizuana barely had time to throw her strong arms up before the alicorn lashed out, nearly sinking her fangs into the alien's jugular vein. She threw her forehooves at the face of her target, planting the other two directly on Kizuana's fractured bone. They both screamed, feral cries of pain and rage twisting into a terrible symphony.

      Eris and Arosa shot forward, pulling them away from one another. The draconequus girl did the brunt of the work, but the pudgy Aegoshan was the deciding factor. He had wedged himself between, effectively forcing them apart and taking most of the blows. He bit his tongue, distracting himself from the lightning pain that shot through his body like lightning.

       They dragged the brawlers to opposite sides of the room, taking measures to avoid long-distance assault. Kizuana's tail was wound tightly on a bedpost, and Eris cast a nullifying spell on Mayday's horns.

        Once everything was secured (including stray furniture; they were both just strong enough to throw a desk at the other), Eris' single intact horn lit. She blanketed the two in a calming charm, drawing out their anger and letting it dissipate harmlessly in the air. Both of them slumped down in seconds, but kept the violent glares for awhile longer. Soon, though, they were replaced by remorse.

      The lanky draconequus let the spell fade. Both her and Arosa let go of their charges, reluctantly backing away in case another scene erupted. While Eris was a master at afflictions and mood spells, her skill in levitation was less than a child's.

       Kizuana spoke first, shooing imaginary dust from her tail. "I see I have made a mistake, miss. Your name is...?"

       "Mayday. I'm not exactly... I'm sorry." The young alicorn frowned, turning her eyes to the floor. "The outburst was uncalled for."

       Eris chewed her lip, narrowly avoiding a fight of her own. It wasn't Mayday's fault! It was those Glix-forsaken Voices, messing with her head and forcing her to do things! If only her sister would listen... but of course she couldn't, the Voices wouldn't let her.

      Still, she didn't have much of a choice than to let it go. She backed away, grumbling. The only one who seemed to notice was Arosa, but he wisely let it pass.

       Kizuana unwrapped her tail from the bed, easing back slowly. "However, if you are not the alicorn Serendipity, I have to find her. I'll leave my colleague with you, just in case this raises some... questions from the authorities. I will be back as soon as possible to collect him." She was lying, clearly; the Divide could move through time as well as space, so they didn't actually have to wait. What Kizuana really wanted was for Arosa to explain to the draconequus the gravity of the situation.

        She nodded at him, quickly assuring her motives. When he returned the gesture, she shifted her weight towards a corner.

        Eris perked her ears. A black orb appeared, growing over the snake lady. After a moment, it had swelled so large that it covered her completely. The mass kept expanding, twisting itself into an ellipse.

        A sudden wind caused everyone to blink, and when they opened their eyes again the Divide was gone.

✴

       I tried to keep my focus on the paper in front of me. I was, of course, failing completely.

      "Agh!" I slammed my hooves on the desk, rattling the Study Hollow. The papers tacked onto the corkboard nearby flapped wildly, and most of the desk's accessories fell away. As usual, I ignored them.

       I rubbed my eyes with a fetlock. The door clicked open, and there was the familiar sound of my mother's hooves on exposed wood. "Can I help?" She asked quietly.

      I frowned deeply. "I'm fine, I just..." I sighed. "I already finished this, but the teacher is making me redo it. She says it's too dangerous. I can handle it!"

      Summer Skies sighed. "She just wants to make sure you're safe. You know that." She muttered something that sounded a bit like "so do I". She sidled forward a few steps, just enough to see the paper.

       "Hmm... Well, what if you added a curve here?" She suggested, pointing a hoof at my freefall finish. I waved the notion away, levitating the pen over to the criterion. "Ah, you need a brake glide. Well, it's supposed to cut close, so... what about pulling it over here?" She nodded to a spot just over a pond, which the teacher had us diagram.

        I inspected the idea, weighing its merits. I didn't want to look like a safety nerd, but... "Okay. But how do we get it over there in the first place? I can't just fly, I need to do a trick for every empty space."

        "A corkscrew would work, although you would need momentum. Maybe a hill climb?"

        The conversation continued like this for an hour or so, with me critiquing inconsistencies and limits and my mother giving little additions to what I already had drawn. By the end, the project was finished. As long as I could actually perform it, which made for sixty percent of the grade, I would be fine.

         "... And finished with a point-blank wing catch. Will it work?"

        Summer nodded. "It should. Just make sure to hold back thrust on the second twist."

        I smiled, proud that I'd gotten it done again, even though I had to get help. "Thanks. I, uh..." I trailed off, unsure of how to proceed.

         My mother smiled back. "Anytime, dear. Besides, I used to be very good at flight work. It's actual kind of fun. You know, not like math." She joked.

         "Hey! I like math!" I frowned slightly, but I didn't really care. I owed her, a lot. Plus, this was actually pretty cool. I rarely enjoyed flight classes thanks to the minute differences between basic wing positions and such. Ms. Page was a real stickler for that kind of stuff, but who could blame her? A single feather out of place could mean the difference between a glide and a nose dive. However, where actual flying was involved, there was a thrill that came to me that, although brief, couldn't be explained so easily.

       When Dad died, I became claustrophobic for a long time. Then I started working in a closet to help combat it, and it worked a little bit - with a price, that is. Soon, I was so used to the enclosed space that I couldn't handle being outside. That is still very real, and the two combined make daily life pretty disturbing.

         Still, flying is such an amazing thing to me that it counteracts that fear. It doesn't make sense. Then again, it never did. But despite everything, I can't imagine my life as anything other than a pegasus. It's not easy, and it's no special talent, but it helps.

          The cerulean mare chuckled. "Alright. I'm sure Dusty will like your performance. She's a nice mare. Try and give her a chance, okay?" She didn't wait for a response. My mother trotted out, no doubt headed for the kitchen.

         I grinned, stuffing the paper into my utilitarian saddlebags. The next morning, I could still hand it in early. I might even get the first performance spot!... "Calm it." I drew in a long breath. "Don't get your hopes up. There will always be a prodigy."

          Still, I walked out with a spring my step, the first real one in weeks.

✴

         "What?" Eris cocked her head. "Where is this story going?"

        Arosa facewinged. "It's not a story! This is aetheric science! Your sister is in danger, and you won't even help us?" The draconequus frowned.

        "Of course I want to help, but I don't get it. What's an 'aetherum'?" The conversation had only declined for the past hour, and Eris didn't understand any of it.

        The feathered male bit back an outburst.  "An aetherum is the part of the brain that only magical creatures have. For instance, I don't have one,  but you do," he tapped her forehead where he predicted it would be. "Do you understand it?"

       Eris frowned at his pride, but nodded. She didn't know many of the technical terms he used before, so this was a bit of an improvement. "And how does that matter? In this case, anyway."

       "Your sister's is fluctuating. My colleague thinks this may have something to do with the Voices. You found your sister after a spell, right?"

       She flinched at the mention, but it made sense. She'd never been good at magic, but when she became hostile her power seemed to rise. Maybe this would explain it... "That sounds about right." She nodded again.

       Arosa began retelling the theory. "Alright, listen closely. Let's start at the beginning..."

✴

Fifteen years ago...

        Mayday sat up with a jolt. Creation had pumped her veins full of adrenaline, but the purpose was unknown. All she knew was that she wasn't "born". She was alone.

        She was fine with that, as long as she could get out of this cave. The stench of stagnant water filled her senses, oozing through the freezing air. Plus, she couldn't feel her limbs. When she though back to it, it was probably completely normal. Nonetheless, it was terrifying at the time.

       She gasped, filling her new lungs with oxygen for the first time. It was strange; in the seconds before, she'd felt fine without it. Then when she'd taken that first breath, she had been so empty - and then the sensations were forgotten.

       She stood shakily, propping herself up on numb legs. Or... she seemed to look like a pony. Would they be hooves? Suddenly she realized something: she'd never seen herself. She knew what parts she had, but nothing more. Well, there was the silver and pink hair - er, mane that obscured her right eye, but...

       Within moments, an instinct for walking flashed into her mind. She slowly trudged toward a flat pane of crystal, one she could use as a mirror.

       Mayday was surprised by the sight. She'd assumed she would look evil, as she was unnatural. Maybe she would be normal. Her mane would flow, and she should at least be tall... Right?

       But the mirror told another story. Her height was less than most adult's, but her face gave the impression of adolescence. She had dual horns, one like a stag's and the other... Well, a bit like a ram's if they grew straight. She had a sunny yellow coat, and it shone like gold. Her mane was just as she'd expected, silver with pink shot through the middle, and it hung over the entire left side of her face.

       Speaking of her face... her breath caught as she noticed it. Sharp canine teeth were just visible, each one five inches long. Her ears were pinched, laid down in surprise. The most frightening thing, though, was her eyes. They were large and round like a child's, but the pupils... They were red, blood red. The irises were an even brighter shade of gold than her coat. In the back of her mind, she knew it was hereditary... But from what? What monster had created her?

       Suddenly, she knew who she was. Not her name, but her father. Discord, the King of Chaos. And his "children", creatures created every time he changed his ways... there were dozens of Chaos Angels, but very few survived their own power. Especially if they tried to meet their father.

     But Mayday had sisters, a filly pegasus and a full-grown draconequus. And they were looking for her.