Celestia wanted to go outside. She wanted to see others her age, she wanted to see ponies and not these meat eaters. Her new personal guard was, actually rather interesting to be around. He spent all of his time with her, both because it was his job and she didn't want to be left alone. And he was teaching her how to use a halberd which was awesome. The young filly jumped to her hooves, standing on top of her bed, taking the Draconequus' attention away from a book he was reading. She stated what she wanted, to go and see ponies. He raised a brow at her, which in her opinion looked like a hairy Caterpillar.

"I'm not sure i'm allowed to do that Tia." it was a little nickname he'd given her, one she hadn't corrected yet. Celestia wanted to go out into the world and meet more ponies, which he kinda got. She had been around these none ponies for a long time, so it might actually make everyone's job a little easier? "I guess we can go? I don't know where anywhere is though."

Celestia climbed onto his back, holding onto his sheathed Halberd as he stood on all fours. He rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, the many guards in armour slightly nodding at a fellow guard, though they scowled at the filly on his back. Since she'd come, everything had gone wrong. She knew they hated her, but she had her very own Draconequus, so there was nothing to be afraid of. Discord rolled his eyes again at her pride and inability to understand these guards might try to eat her. This made his job a little harder now. If he left her for a moment, she might get assassinated.

Crepúsculo Radiante scowled at the nurse who was quivering under her burning gaze. She then looked to her youngest son, her anger growing and growing. He looked sick, and it was making her want to skin something, alive, while bathed in salt. His fur had lost its lustrous grey, his wings were losing feathers, he had dark rings around his eyes along with heavy bags under them and looked exhausted. Someone did this to her baby. Whoever it was, would die.

Crepúsculo let the nurse do what she was supposed to do, even though she could do very little. The Draconequus that was guarding her baby boy was keeping the fever from getting out of control and at least let her son be able to rest, even if uncomfortably. She accepted he was doing better than any of their doctors could at the moment, so for now he was in her good books. Medianoche had been poisoned, she just knew it. Conveniently when that cat came here!

"Do not be brash." her eyes moved towards her greatest failure. Skiadrum. He was standing there in the doorway as emotionless as always. Noche De Neón didn't let her raise any cubs on her own after how he turned out, it was a constant eyesore whenever she saw him. She stamped the floor, silently demanding him to leave her sight. She didn't need a failure like that to constantly mock her with his very existence "He is my brother, i can see him if i wish."

"I don't want to see you, Skiadrum," she spat, turning to look right into his cold lifeless eyes. They would be beautiful if he wasn't so dead. He was a corpse that breathed. An insult to her life and what made her seem incompetent "Every time i see you, i'm reminded what a failure and waste of time you are! You waste the very air you breathe!" he was emotionless as ever, not even a reaction. She could vent on him, and he'd never do anything about it "You suck more love out of people than a starving changeling." Skiadrum didn't react, instead walking towards his little brother's side, frowning as always at his state. They would catch the one who did it, it was only a matter of time. It was likely the Abyssitire, but he wasn't going to point hooves yet.

"You are the embodiment of bitchness aren't you?" said the healing Draconequus, how was now on Crepúsculo's shit on list. Kanashimi was pure black, just black. His head was like a mutant wolf horse, his ears from a lion, one horn from an antelope and the other from a reindeer. His eyes were pure maroon, glowing and standing out against his black as sin colouring. Covering his neck were black feathers, and his mane was made of black flame. His long body was thicker than what was normal for Draconeqi, showing off he had strength. His left arm was from a bear and his right from a Roc with two extra talons that fit in between the two gaps in his hand. His left leg was from an iguana and the right leg from a reindeer. His tail was that from a snake that had dark black spines on top, some fur on the tip. One of his wings was from an owl and the other was from a dragon. Unlike the others he didn't actually have golden armour as it'd make him look stupid. It was a very dark grey so it didn't burn your eyes out your sockets when looking at him.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

"It's kinda obvious you're just pissed cuz you failed at being a mom. What's in front of you is your creation, it's not his fault you made him like that." Crepúsculo didn't have time for this. She left the room, for she had to skin a rug. Skiadrum just looked at the strange creature, not feeling any emotion, but he believes he was appreciating someone standing up for him. He'd buried his feelings for so long he didn't know what was what anymore, so he could only assume "don't worry pal, i'll stick up for you." Kanashimi was a bit of a douche and he was a good fighter, but deep down, he couldn't stand people be walked all over like he had when he was a cub. If it wasn't for this desire to help those who were walked all over, Fuwa and Ihō wouldn't have joined the guard.

Skiadrum didn't know how to deal with these actions coming from the Draconequus. Kanashimi put an arm over his neck, the physical contact was confusing. He watched as the Draconequus smiled, snowing his mouth filled with teeth and a curiously pink mouth. He assumed it'd be grey or black like the rest of him? Kanashimi looked at the Umbrum Prince in the eyes, seeing the heavy emptiness in them. Hm. Since he was here, he might as well give himself a challenge. Fuwa was trying to tame that white filly, so he'd try and bring this one out of his shell while caring for Medianoche. That was his new secret mission. To make Skiadrum smile.

Celestia smiled wildly at the small village they'd found. These were ponies, actual ponies! They were small like Starswirl, and they were plant eaters! It was everything she'd ever dreamed of, all of these unique beings of all colours with cutie marks! She looked at her blank flank, remembering that someday she'd gain her special talent. It was all so beautiful she wanted to cry. The ponies were very friendly, but were afraid of the guard with her. The ponies hadn't actually seen a Draconequus before, so to them he looked like a mutated chimera. which funnily enough was a distant relative of the Draconequus, even though they were originally from another dimension!

"Look Fuwa" she said loudly, pointing a hoof at some foals playing with a ball. she skipped over, excited to meet fellow ponies "Hello!" she said with excitement, happy to finally be free from the hateful eyes of Umbrum and in the embrace of her kind. her people "My name is Celestia Morningstar, and this is my guard Discord!" the foals looked up at the large creature, and then at Celestia, seeing she had a horn and wings. what was she? she looked like those large black creatures that came around, but she was small and smelt like a pony. the monster beside her felt how unsure they were, so he decided to break the silence by snapping his eagle talons. the ball they were playing with suddenly grew rabbit legs and ribbited like a frog, surprising them.

"It's a Bunball!" he said with a smile, the foals asking how he did what he had done to the ball "Oh, well, i'm a Draconequus. we have some reality warping magic, we can't do anything extremely major but we can manipulate things. like making a ball become part rabbit." the bunball started hopping around the foals, making them very interested. if they were friends with this pegacorn, then maybe they could get this Draconshuses to do cool things for them?

"Hey, Discord," said a colt. he was yellow with a pink mane and tail, and had moderate cyan eyes "My name is Lance Shy, could you make like, i don't know, pink clouds? i see clouds like that at sunset, but i wanna see one up close!" Discord hummed to himself, wondering if he should or not. it wouldn't hurt if he got to play with the foals would it? this was his job after all! he snapped his talon claws and a pink cloud appeared above them "awesome!"

Other than the earth pony colt Lance Shy, there were four other ponies there. a filly pegasus called Sky Eye who had bright blue eyes, a dark green coat and had a dark purple mane. the third of the group was another colt earth pony named Dark heart, his fur was white with a black pattern on his side that vaguely resembled a heart, he had pink eyes and had a pale blue mane 'n' tail. Rocking Arrow was the only unicorn, another colt as well, his fur a rusty brown and his mane 'n' tail a rusty red, his eye colour a beaming yellow. Velvet Chaser was a pegasus filly with a light purple coat, her mane a flurry of pink shades and her eyes were heterochromic, one eye being blue and the other being purple.

they got him to do all sorts of things. make the ground around them soapy so they could skate around, having fun with each other. he changed the bubbles to act like snow balls, so they had a bubble fight! he even joined in, his armour not hindering his movement at all. amazingly a couple adults decided to join in! Celestia was laughing, she was having fun. they had him make more pink clouds that looked like pink cotton, he then made them edible like candy, and that was then the foals gave it a name. Cotton Candy. it was rather fun to make edible clouds for the whole town to enjoy, it almost made him forget he was there to combat attacks. almost.

Armadura sighed, then sucked in a deep breath as a familiar smell hit her nose. the Ahuizotl. it seemed that he'd escaped his guard and was looking around the castle. why Noche hadn't just kicked them out yet she didn't know. Armadura's eyes now had purple mist trailing from the corners, her body seeming invisible to all but herself. the creature was smiling, which looked awkward thanks to his head shape.she could tell something was wrong, she could bloody smell it. she wanted to see her husband after seeing her mother in law in a strop. but something else seems to have turned up.

"You know, it's rude to hide like that," said the strange creature, looking behind him, showing Catrina. she was smiling, walking silently "So, did you get the witchweed?" she nodded, purring slightly as she showed a vial. Catrina knew Armadura was there, her scent was very hard to miss. Catrina looked over to Armadura and winked, Ahuizotl picking up what she meant immediately and had to act like a fool "So, this stuff can actually heal and stuff? cuz everyone thinks we poisoned their grand stallion!"

"I know my old friend, that's why we're going to eradicate the poison from his body with this. unfortunately i don't know the poison, and i don't know how Umbrum reacts to my witchweed potions, but it should do the trick. it can hardly get any worse after all." Armadura didn't believe her, but remained quiet "Do tell me, where is the Draconequus guarded the Princess? i haven't seen him all day, and the room is empty." this worried Armadura deeply, causing her to walk away quickly, bringing a smile to Catrina's muzzle. she waited until she was sure Armadura couldn't hear her, looking back to her friend "Oh darling, these silly shadow ponies really have no idea what's going to happen, do they?" she chuckled, twitching her wrist so the liquid in the potion swirled. Ahuizotl chuckled with her, his third hand high fiving her "Did you get those Timber Wolves i asked for?"

"Yep, straight out of Krussia! got a good deal on them too," he laughed to himself, knowing nobody was hearing them.

Celestia skated around, laughing at the funny feeling of bubbles against her fur. who knew having a personified petting zoo for a guard would be so much fun? even the adults enjoyed his madness! if it was up to her, they'd have this forever! she stopped though when she heard something? Celestia slowly walked towards a small sound she swore she could hear. her guard was busy with those foals, so it wouldn't be that bad if she went and met up to someone crying. he'd understand wouldn't he? She slowly got into an anyway, spotting a dirty figure hiding behind a trash can. from the pitch, she assumed it was a female.

"Hello?" Celestia said, seeing the mud covered form chirp in shock. the creature was backed into the corner of the alleyway from what Celestia could see, her coat was a light fuchsiaish grey, though it was an assumption under the mud. There were two large wings against her sides, which were feathered, a nice change to the bat like wings from the Umbrum. She had cute thing ears with fur that perked, making them look feathered. Celestia could see her front hooves, no, not hooves, but talons. Like from a predatory bird were a strange pearly pink, her back legs had hooves the same colour. Her eyes were a strong magenta, and her peacock like mane was a gradient of brilliant fuchsia to strong mulberry. And she had a beak. Was this some kind of creature like her guard? A Draconewhatever? "Are you ok?"

"Go away!" shouted the stranger, who sounded as young as Celestia was. she slowly walked over, the strange feathery pony creature watching her like a hawk. she chuckled inwardly at the little joke, since she looked like a bird and all "Who, are you...?" she asked, shaking from the cold and from her fears. the ponies didn't like her very much, and she'd seen some kind of monster arrive here earlier which caused her to flee into the alleyway. the filly before her was, different, somehow.

"I'm Celestia Morningstar!" Celestia said proudly, looking at the stranger "so, what're you? i haven't seen anything like you before?"

"I'm a Hippogriff, my name is Novo Shiningcoral..." Novo watched the strange filly walk over, looking at her feathers that were covered in mud "Did you see the monster? it was like, a chimera but in gold!"

"That's just Discord my Guard, he's playing with those foals over there. wanna join? don't you worry, if anyone goes at you. he'll protect us," she said confidently. a kind of confidence she couldn't have around the none ponies called Umbrum. they scared her in a strange way. thank the sun she had her very own guard now. Novo watched the winged unicorn for a few minutes, and then hesitantly agreed to come out. this 'Discord' would look after them "Awesome!"

Discord had never taken his eye off of the little filly, he wasn't an amateur, he knew young ones enjoyed wondering off. he was a little surprised to see a Hippogriff chick with her though. that filly was just a magnet for strange creatures, him included. he floated over, doing the friendly shtick and showing that he wasn't dangerous or scary. oh he could be, but as he always reminded himself, he was here to look after young ones. Celestia to be exact.

"So my dear, what would your name be?" he asked, keeping the childish like tone, to adults it was mocking but to young ones it was friendly. he assumed it was because parents talked to them like this, and they automatically wanted to trust until they were taught better. he was dead shocked though to hear the little one's name. Novo? wasn't that the Hippogriff princess? oh this was just gonna bite him in his red tail wasn't it "My, my, Fayard isn't going to be happy is he?" the little one squeaked, and he managed to figure out what had happened. she'd ran away. what is it with princess' and running away?

"Don't tell my daddy i'm here!" she said, surprised her knew about her dad just by looking at her. being a princess, she knew a royal guard when she saw one. now she was up close with 'Discord' it was obvious he was one thanks to the markings on the chest part. it looked, Drapanese, conveniently the one language she declared dull. if THIS was what spoke the language, it was far from dull, since he looked like some doll a filly pulled apart and fixed back together again "he wants me betrothed to some noble, so i ran away..." Discord sighed, wishing these kinds of things just stayed in the fairy tale books. he did not get paid enough for this kinda stuff. nobody was payed enough to deal with politics.

"Mount. Eris is very far away, and my job is to keep Celestia within Shadowlogia, so you'll have to stay with us until your father eventually comes for you." the foals she had met earlier came over, meeting and greeting young Novo. well, well, well, looks like he's doing this better than expected. a possible bunch of friends, and a fellow princess! he was very pleased with himself, and expected a raise for doing so well. he chuckled, making a cloud appear about the chick and had it rain on her, washing the mud off. Draconequus magic is best magic.

Eventually thanks to the rather kind foals, the two princess' started to fully come out of their shells and played. the adults didn't dare go against the Hippogriff chick after someone explained to them what a Draconequus was, and what his armour meant. it seemed not all of this land were fools, which was nice to know. he was going to lie, the females ponies here were a lot more attractive than female Draconeqi. the males and females only got together out of necessity and when the breeding season came. they hated each other SO much they had to have bodies filled with raging hormones to copulate. the pony females were actually tolerable, hell he was looking after a female!

A couple very brave adults came up to him, asking about the filly. he was honest. that was the daughter of their old king, Cosmo. they were suddenly very happy and most of the strange village lost the sticks that had been up their butts and sort of celebrated. it was, odd, to be fully honest. watching these adults start to have fun was actually, well, it kinda filled a hole he didn't know was there. he liked making people laugh. he shrugged, making more cotton candy clouds for the ponies to eat and get cavities for. and here he thought this job as gonna be hard, pfft, he'd seen potted plants harder to look after than this.

Author's Note

Take a wild guess who the descendant of Lance Shy is.