You’re currently trying to finish your homework. But you’re having trouble with one of the questions. History was never you’ve best subject. You’re not failing the subject by any means. But a C- average wasn’t something to be proud of. And then there were questions like this one.
“Mom, can you help me with a question?!” you call from your room.
“I’ll be right up!” your mother calls from downstairs. A few moments later, she arrives in your room, “What question did you need help with?”
“The question is ‘What is the name of the tyrant who ruled Equestria before princess Celestia and princess Luna rose to power?’.” you say, reading the question directly. Your mother laughs knowingly. You know that she thinks you should know the answer. And you have the bothersome feeling you know she’s right.
KNOCK… KNOCK… KNOCK…
Your mother turns to call down the stairs, “Zephyr, would you get that please?”
“Yeah, whatever…” uncle Zeph replies. Uncle Zeph could be lazy at times. But you love when he comes to visit. This time though, he was staying because his house was being rendervated…whatever that means.
“Perhaps it’s good that you don’t think of him this way, since he’s no longer a tyrant,” mother says, “But you do know him personally.”
It takes you a few moments to get what she meant, “Is it Discord?”
“I’ll help you get answers. However, I won’t tell you if you’re right,” mother says. You sigh and right down the answer you think it is, “Thanks mom!” you exclaim. You know she’s not your biological mother. But she adopted you at a young age. You remember when she adopted you. But you don’t remember your biological parents. But to you, Fluttershy is your mother. She did have her own foal soon after she adopted you though. You’ve never known who the father was. For all you know, it might as well be Discord. You’re little sister is different enough.
KNOCK… KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK… KNOCK…… KNOCK… KNOCK…
This knock seems to get mother’s attention as she runs back out to answer the door, “We don’t want any!” uncle Zeph shouts.
“Zephyr, don’t be rude! That’s an old…friend…of mine,” you hear mother say. You don’t remember any of her friends ever using a knock like that. But you ignore it for now.
Two more questions and you’re done with your homework. ‘Who is the tyrant who, rather than lose his empire, chose to make it completely disappear before he was defeated?’ Spike talks about this so much, you’d know this answer like the back of your hoof. ‘King Sombra’ you write as the answer.
“Hey, mom, who’s at the door?” you call out in curiosity. But you don’t get an answer. Perhaps she didn't hear you.
Last question. ‘What family founded Ponyville?’ Another easy one. ‘The Rich family’.
Now finished with your homework, you put your books away in your saddlebag so that they’re ready to take to school in the morning. You then head down the hall and look in your little sister’s room to see the gray pegasus who was listening to music. You start listening to Echo as she starts singing along with the song…
“~They remind me…of me and you. What did you do? What did I do?~”
You wouldn’t be surprised if your sister’s special talent is singing. She does have an advantage when it comes to hearing ability. But being blind can do that to somepony. Remove one sense, and the others are enhanced to compensate.
You walk to the top the stairs to see who was at the door. That’s when you hear uncle Zeph, “Is that Dissy? He’s cute as a child,” uncle Zeph said. You think to yourself that maybe they were showing pictures of Discord as a kid.
“Mom, what’s going on down here?” you ask as you head down the stairs. There was princess Twilight, and another pony, a unicorn. And you saw mother holding up a child version of Discord. You smile mischievously, “Is that you, Dissy? You look so cute as a kid!” Your smile widens as you see the look of displeasure on little Dissy’s face.
“Anon, this is Gene,” mother says, introducing you to the unicorn, “Soon after you left to become a member of the royal guard, I found Gene as an orphan. So I took her in.”
“Hey…” you lazily say to Anon. He returns a look as if something’s not right. Then it occurred to you that that was a lazy thing to say. Maybe uncle Zeph is rubbing off on you.
“But…that’s not the only reason I wanted to talk to you,” mother says to Anon in a tone of voice that you recognize as her feeling uncomfortable. Mother then walks over the the stairs and calls up, “Echo, can you come down here?” This starts to make you feel on edge. Mother didn’t even say please!
“Coming,” you hear Echo call down. After words, you watch as Echo appears and slowly makes her way down the stairs, feeling each stair as she walks down them. You suddenly see Echo miss a step and was about to fall. You tense your hind legs, ready to sprint and catch your little sister. The cut under her eye from last time wasn’t healed yet and it was best if it doesn’t get worse. But before you could release the coiled energy in your legs, you saw Echo enveloped in a magical aura, catching her. You see that it was Anon who did this. You close your eyes and sigh a breath of relief, as well as releasing the adrenaline that built up.
Mother then went up to Echo to carry her the rest of the way. She takes her over to Anon, who looks her over. He no doubt has already noticed the eyes and ears.
“Anon, you know that night a few days before you left?” Mother asked Anon. You wonder what that means, but Anon seems to know, “Well, when I found Gene, what I didn’t know was that I was pregnant. Anon, Echo is your daughter.”
You notice Anon’s reaction…fainting. You don’t faint. But you are frozen in shock. Echo got up and went over to Anon to try to wake him up. You see the realization in your sister’s face as she got to meet her father. You however feel kind of jealous, since you don’t know either of your biological parents. You wouldn’t change Fluttershy as being your mother. But you’d also like to have a father…and not somepony who’s a lazy uncle…or a several thousand year old lord of chaos who, contrary to his age, is more immature than you are.
Then again, you think to yourself that now Dissy’s physical age matches his maturity level.
Author's Note
Just like how the name "Anon" is short for anonymous, the name used for a generic character, I created a feminine version of the name, "Gene", which is short for...generic.
As for Gene's grades in History, I can relate (in fact Gene probably got a higher grade than I did).
“You knew who the father was the whole time?!” Twilight exclaims.
After a few moments of thinking, mother turns toward uncle Zeph, “Zephyr, would you please take the kids out to visit Pinkie and the Cakes?” mother asks, “I need to talk with Twilight alone.”
You hate it when you’re mother feels uncomfortable about talking about something in front of you…unless it’s about a birthday party or something. That’s always fun.
“But…daddy…” Echo whimpers as she looks towards mother…sorta.
“It’s okay, Echo. We’ll see him again,” uncle Zeph says to Echo with a smile.
Dissy then fell to the floor laughing, “I see what you did there!” Dissy laughs, “You said we’re going to see him again…to somepony who can’t even see!” Dissy stops laughing as he say that we all were glaring at him.
“Come on, kids. Let’s go,” uncle Zeph says. As he leads us out, he looks back to Dissy, “That means you too.”
“Hey, why do I have to go?” Dissy whines, “I can take care of myself. I’m not a kid.”
You walk over to Dissy, standing taller than him, “Really? Because from where I’m standing, you are just a kid,” you say.
After seeing everyone staring at him, Dissy grumbles to himself as he comes with us to Sugarcube Corner.
You’re almost to Sugarcube Corner. You’ve always found it fascinating how Echo can use sound to ‘see’. She was born blind. But she was also born with a type of echolocation that normal ponies don’t have. So she literally can ‘see’ with sound. Perhaps that’s why she loves music. It probably creates a sensory experience for her that nopony else can experience…
…or maybe she just loves music.
As you were lost in thought, you hear a slight squeal. You look to see that Echo has tripped over a root. Before you think about it, you hurry to catch her. Navigating with sound has it’s advantages and disadvantages.
“I can’t wait to introduce Dissy to Pinkie Pie,” you say with a mischievous grin.
“What are you talking about? You already know Pinkie Pie knows me,” Dissy says.
“I know she knows who you are. But she doesn’t know that you’re now a child,” you say, you’re grin widening, “And you do know what kind of personality Pinkie Pie has, right?” you watch as a tremor goes down Dissy’s spine, “And then there’s the Cake twins,” Another tremor runs down Dissy’s spine.
You and the others enter the door to Sugarcube Corner where you are greeted by the pink party pony, Pinkie Pie, “Hi! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, guys!” Pinkie Pie cheers as she bounces around. Then she stops mid-bounce when she sees Dissy. You can’t help but love Dissy’s expression as Pinkie grabs him and pulls him into a bear hug, “Is that you, Discord?! Oh wow, you look so cute and cuddly like that! Did you gotoCelestiaandwakeheruptotalkbutreallyjustmakehercrankyandyouhadanargumentandtherewasamagicalmishapthatturnedyoubothintochildren?!”
It takes a few moments to process what Pinkie said. Echo however was able to catch every detail…even if it was still dizzying.
Dissy was the first to respond, “How did you know-”
“Just a hunch!” Pinkie Pie says, “Oooo! Now I have to make a party for you and Celestia! A ‘Discord and Celestia are young again’ party!”
“Yes, that sounds like a great idea,” you say, grinning at Dissy mischievously. Dissy just groans in defeat.
Pinkie Pie finally put down Dissy and turned to Echo, “So Echo, you want your usual Triple Surprise?” she asks.
“Yes please,” Echo says with a smile. The Triple Surprise was a milkshake made with three flavors. They’re usually fruits, but sometimes Pinkie uses something else. But Pinkie had made it a game for Echo. Her hearing wasn’t the only sense that was enhanced by lack of sight. Because the flavors of the milkshake are random, Pinkie challenges Echo to figure out which three flavors are used.
You order a cinnamon scone, uncle Zeph orders a slice of strawberry cheesecake, and Dissy orders a chocolate milkshake. Pinkie hops off to fill the order and leaves you to find a table to sit at.
Soon after, Pinkie comes out with your order. She gives Echo her milkshake and waits for her response. Echo takes a sip of the milkshake, “Raspberry, mango, and…bubblegum?” Echo guesses.
“You win again!” Pinkie Pie exclaims before bouncing away.
As you eat your scone, you watch as Dissy drinks his milkshake while he watches back, “So, now that you’re a kid, how much weaker are you?” you ask.
“I needed to be transported here from Canterlot because I couldn’t teleport that far,” Dissy answers, “What’s it to you?”
“Is there anything you can do?” you wait for an answer…but you get none, “Fine, have it your way.” You take a bite of your scone before spitting it back out. Your scone is just a clump of dirt. You watch as Dissy cracks up, “Even as a little brat, you’re intent on making my life a living Tartarus!”
“Who? Me” Dissy says as a halo appears over his head.
You notice that the halo seems to be floating unstable. You know his power well enough to know how to take advantage of it. You blow on the halo, causing it to fall from it’s place above him. It falls onto his head, shattering. What was left was two shards from the halo sticking out of his head like horns, “That’s more like it,” you say. Echo laughs at your comment, which makes you happy, “So, do I get my scone back?”
“If you insist!” Dissy says a little too willingly.
You’re scone returns as good as new to it’s original state, “I know you’re up to something. What’s wrong with the scone this time?”
“Why do you assume something’s up just because I was willing to give you back your scone?” Dissy asks. You still question his motives, seeing as he still has his halo-made horns. What would he get out of returning your scone to normal? Then again, if he didn’t, he’d get a talking to from mother. And there were Echo and uncle Zeph as witnesses.
You take a small bite from the scone. And other than the fact that it was now an orange scone, rather than cinnamon, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it, “Don’t think this means I’m not keeping my eyes on you,” you say as you eat your orange scone.
After eating your treats, then soon watching the Cake twins torment Dissy…and vice versa, mother finally comes to pick us up. Echo was disappointed to hear that her dad left before she could say goodbye. But mother promised that he’d come back as soon as he could, that he’d arrange a play date with…princess Celestia. Something feel so wrong about how that sounds.
You’re also feeling thankful that you’re going home now because you just want to lie down. For a few minutes now, you haven’t been feeling too good.
That night when you get back home, you run to the bathroom to throw up. You hear mother punishing Dissy for putting tulips in your scone. You’re allergic to tulips.
You don’t care what mother is saying to Dissy. You don’t care how he’s punished. You don’t even care if he’s punished right now. All you care about is for your stomach to ease itself. Uncle Zeph was there with you rubbing your back, which helped a little.
You throw up again, “Make it stop!” you whimper.
Uncle Zeph can do nothing but be there, “You’ll get through this soon,” he says for the third time tonight. You were gonna make Dissy regret this…another time. Right now, you just care about getting over being sick.
Author's Note
It looks like little Dissy is gonna be a pain you Gene's flank.
Honestly, I did have more in mind. I just didn't know how to write it. Part of it included actually showing the interaction between the Cake twins and Discord.
