The Eyes of Discord

Luna sighed, rubbing her eyes with her forehooves.  She pushed aside the mountain of scrolls that had corrupted her desk, letting the paperwork fall lightly to the ground.  She watched as the scrolls rolled across the floor, secretly hoping that some would make it all the way to her fireplace.  None did.  She sighed again.

She knew of course, that it would be a nightmare if any of the scrolls did get burnt, but it would still save her some work, for now.

Procrastination is a wonderful thing…

She looked down at the small mirror on her desk, noting her features, worn from a long day of work.

Why does politics have to be so… dry?

She smiled, realizing what an inaccurate comment it was.  Though it was true that the legislation got incredibly dull, dealing with various lords, ladies, foreign countries, and the petitions of the populance… that got rather interesting.

Luna stood, and trotted over to the nearest scroll, scooping it up.  She was immensely annoyed at the seal it bore.  It was the seal of the Northern Province, a curled dragon with shards of ice spewing from its mouth.  More specifically, it was the seal of Prince Blueblood.

What has gotten into that stallion, I wonder?

The strange thing was; it wasn’t just him.  The griffons were threatening war, although their threat seemed hollow, and the zebras were reporting increased division in their own kingdom.  Even among the nobles that still followed Canterlot’s lead, the negotiations and discussions were growing increasingly tricky, and more frustrating.  She set the scroll in a bin labeled; “to read.”

Luna turned to the two dozen other scrolls that littered her floor, igniting her horn.  They all drifted towards her, and then neatly dropped into the bin.  More work for the next day.  She glanced at a small golden clock that sat on a shelf to her right.  It was five o’clock, and she had been up for most of the previous night.  The rest of the legislation could wait until morning.

Luna smiled.

At least paperwork doesn’t complain when you ignore it.

Then again… I’ve never had paperwork leave of its own accord either.

Carefully, the princess of the night eased herself back in behind her desk, sitting on the plush chair.  She opened her mouth, speaking in a clear, commanding tone.

“Guard!”

The door swung open, and an armored pegasus saluted in the doorway.

“What is your command, your highness?”

“I’d like you to tell my sister that I will be unable to attend dinner tonight, and then have the kitchen staff send up a meal for me.”

The pegasus saluted again.

“Of course, your highness, I’ll get right on that.”

He closed the door behind him, and Luna could make out the sound of retreating hoof steps as he marched away.

Her horn flashed, and Luna knit her brow in concentration, casting a spell that would alert her if anyone came within fifty feet of her door.  Once she had finished this task, she reached down, grabbing a hold of a small piece of woodwork on her desk.  She gave a small tug, and a panel popped from the side of her desk, revealing a small compartment within.

The dark Alicorn would normally just use her magical abilities to open a compartment of her desk, but this particular one was special.  It had been constructed to evade magical detection, and to resist any magical activity in the area.  It was immune to arcane measures.

Luna frowned.

Of course, the greatest problem with any defense is that no matter how much you defend against, it only takes the one thing that you didn’t think of to take it all down.

Slowly, Luna reached into the dark compartment.  She felt a light, papery object brush against her hoof.  Careful not to damage it, she pulled the little thing from its hiding place. Looking over her obsession or at least, what had been part of her obsession for the past fourteen months.  She gently unrolled it.

The object of her attention was an ancient scroll, the worn paper yellowed with age.  There were several more pieces of old Equestrian literature inside the desk.  The Princess of the night examined the upper right corner of the scroll.

To King Platinum, High ruler of the Unicorns of Arcanlin, concerning recent revelations that have come to my attention.

Starswirl the Bearded

It always sent shivers down Luna’s spine to read the words of ponies that had lived even before she and her sister had been born.  It was a rare privilege to have access to the ancient library of the immortal sisters.  Even they rarely read the scrolls of the ancients; some knowledge was best left forgotten.  Luna scoured every line, making sure that not a letter escaped her notice.

After ten minutes, she set the paper down, frustrated.  She had read the scrolls from their ancient library for fourteen months, and spent ten months hunting through the Canterlot archives before that.  Not a single thing had mentioned the portal, or even vaguely hinted at it.  The closest she had come was Starswirl’s hypothesis on the existence of other universes.  That paper had sent her heart thundering away, only to end without any mention of a way to get to the theoretical other worlds.

Tragically, even Starswirl the Bearded’s work grew dull after a while.  Though occasionally, she would find some remarkable report or theory, most of his work had become public knowledge centuries ago.  The greater majority of it seemed vastly outdated now.  Her memories drifted back to the old wizard, deceased long, long ago.  She had actually met him a few times, though she had been in her teens, and he was older and more bearded than ever.  Despite that fact, the old unicorn had seemed spry and fit until his last few months, probably thanks to his vast magical ability.

She quietly rolled up the old letter, placing the yellow scroll back into the secret opening.  Carefully, she removed the next scroll, unfurling the ancient paper.  The wording at the top caught her eye.

To Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria.

She had made a large jump through history, it seemed.  Starswirl had died before her parents had, and therefore, never lived beneath the rule of the immortal sisters.  This particular letter must have been written by somepony else, and significantly later.  The princess of the night began to scan the first words.

My Princess, I fear that this letter will never reach you.  It is currently day thirty seven after the appearance of the beast.

The beast…  Luna knew what this unfortunate writer spoke of.  The first time that Discord had appeared, no one had known what to call him.  When Discord first appeared… that was almost immediately after he had been killed.  She pushed the thought from her mind.  She continued to read.

I have left provisions with my apprentice, Dawn Sparkle, to find a way to keep this letter safe, somehow.  If she succeeds, I ask that you take utmost care of her, as she has done much for me this past month.

Dawn Sparkle…  Luna knew that name.  She had struggled into the old castle, more than a thousand years ago, where the two sisters had taken refuge from Discord.  Her cloak was in tatters and her body no better off.  The guards had rushed her into the medical room, and both the sisters themselves had tried to cast spells of healing on her, but the damage had already been done.  She lived for but an hour after entering the castle, and then she died.

One hour of life, fading between sleep and consciousness.  Just long enough to say her name.  Or at least, that was the main thing she said.  She had also muttered the same line, over and over.  Something about eyes.  The eyes of the beast.

Luna looked down, beginning to read once more.

This however, brings me to the point of my letter.  I am afraid of my own writings, but I must convey it to you.

Luna read faster, her anticipation growing.

It is a terrible discovery that I’ve made… these things… I know not where to begin… they are called the eyes of Dis-

A buzzer exploded in Luna’s skull, driving all thoughts from her mind.  She hastily silenced the nuisance, and then rolled up the paper, slipping it back into her desk.  She sealed the panel over it, and then pulled out a page of legislation, beginning to read it.  A few seconds later, there was a knock on her door.

“Your Highness?  Your food’s all here.  Can I come in please?”

Luna smiled broadly, glad that her meal had finally arrived.

“Of course, please come in, I can’t wait to see what you all have made in the kitchen this evening.”

The door swung open, and two serving ponies walked in, one carrying her food, and the other, a tray of ice, glasses, and a diamond pitcher of water.

“Here you go your highness, just let us know when ya’ll are done in here, and we’ll be right on by ta’ pick it up.”

“Thank you very much, you may go now.”

As Luna started to eat, she realized how tired she was.  What with the all night and morning comet observation, and the discussion with Blueblood, it was practically a miracle that she was awake at all.  She glanced up at the clock.  Five thirty.  Yawning, she resumed chewing the salad the cooks had brought her.

I suppose that everything else can wait until tomorrow… I desperately need some sleep.

She looked out the window, and then frowned.  The sun was still fairly high in the sky, and the moon still needed raising.  She groaned, and then casted an elaborate spell to raise to start raising the moon slowly, so as not to interfere with normal celestial scheduling.  She turned back to her dinner, slowly biting off a chunk of bread.

Being an Alicorn certainly does have its draw backs…

Worn out, she placed the empty serving platter on a small stool outside of her door, and then locked her door.  Her horn blinked, and all the lights in the room flickered out, and her teeth were liberated from any food particles that had built up during her meal.

And then again, it also has its benefits…

Smiling, she walked through another door, moving deeper into her chambers.  She closed this door behind her, and then slipped into the massive four poster bed in the center of the room, her regalia floating away, dropping into a large chest.  The pony princess smiled, and closed her eyes.  She was asleep almost instantly.

<(^)>

Twilight Sparkle stepped off the train at Canterlot station, looking around at the city of her birth.  The buildings gleamed, and the towers seemed to sparkle in the setting sunlight.  She glanced up at the large clock in the train station tower.  She had to meet Alex in fifteen minutes, and she would never forgive herself if she missed something that SHE had scheduled.

Quickly, she trotted through the streets of the large Cliffside city, avoiding collisions with other pedestrians.  All around her, masses of ponies strolled to their respective destinations, whether going home from a day’s work, going shopping, or simply going for a walk.  Twilight merely sidled through, blending in with the rest of the crowd, despite her lofty reputation.  She could see the gleaming structure of Canterlot castle looming up before her.

The lavender unicorn smiled as she walked through the gates of her old home, entering the castle courtyard.  Her horn glowed, and a small copper pocket watch drifted out of her saddlebags, flipping open a few inches before her nose.  Twilight smiled, seeing that she still had four minutes to spare.  She trotted over to the nearest bench, and took a seat, her eyes on the main door of the palace.  Around her, several statues stood, resolute against the wear of time.

Her eyes drifted to the newest addition to the monument garden.  A human soldier kneeled in the mud next to an armored unicorn, his strange weapon pointed at an unseen enemy.  The small plaque at the bottom of the stone work read;

To all who fought for Equestria, both human and equine, during the war of Shattered Space.  May they never be forgotten.

Twilight’s head swiveled back to the castle entrance as one of the double doors cracked open, and a light gray unicorn trotted out, whistling a tune.  She quickly stood, and walked towards the young stallion.  Her mouth opened, preparing to speak.

“Alex!  You should really hurry next time.  You were almost late!”

The gray unicorn checked his own timepiece, concerned.  Upon further review of the time, Alex smiled.

“I believe that almost is the key word there…  I’m exactly on time.”

He shut the pocket watch, winking at Twilight.

“I think that somepony was just anxious to see me.”

Twilight blushed slightly.

“Well… maybe.  Though mostly, I’ve just been anxious this whole past month.  You see, I accidently made my schedule without taking into account the time it takes to travel from one location to the next.  It was a nightmare to get everything back in order.”

Alex started to laugh.

“Only you Twilight… only you.”

“Hey, it’s not funny!”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Do you know how hard it is to schedule something with Pinkie pie?  It’s hard enough to figure out what she’s saying most of the time!”

Alex slowly stopped laughing.

“Hehheh… yeah, I’m sorry Twilight, it’s just that you’re the only pony that I know that ever tries to precisely schedule their entire life.  You’ll probably never even die, because it would completely throw off one of your appointments or something.”

“Maybe I do get a little carried away sometimes…”

Twilight thought back to the times when her absolute refusal to deviate from her schedule almost resulted in disaster.  She still got nightmares every time she thought about that smartypants doll.  She quickly shook her head.

“Anyway, where do you plan on going?  Did you have someplace in mind?”

She eyed the Alex, curious at his plans.

“Actually, yes, have you ever heard of a place called Alga?”

Twilight grimaced.

“Yes, yes I have… seaweed.”

“Oh come on, have you ever even tried seaweed?”

Alex teased her.

“No… but I’m not sure that I have to.  It’s seaweed, for pony’s sake.  Even if you can eat something, that doesn’t always mean that you should.”

Alex merely grinned.

“Oh come on, trust me, it’s good.  If you don’t like it, we can always stop by Pony Joe’s later.”

“Hmm…”

Twilight spent a few moments in contemplation.

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.  Seriously though, it had better be good.  I’m not sure who was the first pony to try it anyway; ‘Here, let’s take plants from the bottom of the ocean and shove it in our mouths.’ You have to admit, it does sound pretty bad.”

Alex nodded, understanding her apprehension.

“Back where I come from, we had this thing called sushi.  For some reason, that always seemed to turn people off too.  Trust me though, it’s really good, you just have to give it a whirl.”

Twilight smiled; always interested in any tidbits that Alex shared about the human’s world.

“Well, I’ll take your word for it then.  Can we get going now?”

The gray unicorn nodded.

“Of course, it’s a pretty decent walk.  We should probably hit the road.”

The two unicorns set off, traveling out of the castle, and into the city beyond.

<(^)>

“… And I would like the Dragon roll, please.” Twilight smiled at the server, dressed in the garb of the ponies that inhabit the Far East Islands.

“Of course, I will bring both of your orders out shortly.”

The server bowed, and then walked away from the table.  Alex smiled, sitting across the table from Twilight.

“Wow, just think, when you get home, you’ll be able to tell Spike that you ate a dragon!  I think it’s perfectly reasonable to forget the “roll” part.”

Twilight chuckled, folding up her menu.

“I don’t think that he would be fooled for very long, and, if somehow I did convince him, he would probably run away screaming.”

Alex joined in her mirth, trying to imagine the young dragon’s response.

“Speaking of Spike how is the little guy?  I haven’t seen him in two or three months.”

Twilight frowned.

“Yeah, I feel bad that all of us have been so busy lately.  You know, Spike really looks up to you Alex.  We should try and get you down to Ponyville sometime.”

She thought carefully for a moment.

“Actually, I think I can fit in time for that next Saturday.  I’ll have to see.  Anyway, Spike has been doing pretty well.  He went through a little growth spurt, so I had to check and see if he wasn’t hoarding anything again.  Turns out that this one was perfectly natural though, he is only about two inches taller, but his wings are just starting to develop.”

“Really?”

Alex was suddenly much more interested in the conversation.

“So, has he been buzzing around the library at all then?”

Twilight laughed, shaking her head.

“Just on his feet.  His wings are one and a half inches long, so he isn’t going anywhere with them for quite some time.”

“Hmm, still, that has to be interesting.  How has he been acting with them?”

Twilight shook her head, groaning.

“He reminds me of Scootaloo before her wings were large

enough to get lift…  He’s already broken a book shelf.  That is, after he tried to jump off of it.”

Alex laughed.

“He was probably just trying to get a head start on re-shelving day.”

Twilight just rolled her eyes, disregarding the sarcastic comment.  They were silent for a few moments, before she changed the subject.

“So, Alex, what have you been up to lately?  Has anything interesting happened in your little laboratory?”

The gray unicorn hesitated for a few moments, not sure whether he should tell her about some of the things he worked on.

Well… she is Princess Celestia’s personal student… she probably knows more national secrets than I do.

“Actually,” Alex began, “I almost got blown up yesterday.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide.

“What?  Really?”

“Yup, and the day before that… and the day before that… and that.”

Twilight looked concerned.

“Um… is almost getting killed a daily part of your work?”

Alex scratched his head, appearing nonchalant.

“Well, not really.  It’s just that these last few days we have been working on a project that involves high explosives.  In all honesty, it should have been completed last year, but our top priority has been stuff that improves ponies’ lives, not destroys them.”

Alex was going to continue, when he noticed Twilight peering off behind him, a look of annoyance on her face.

“Twilight?  Is something wrong?”

She shook her head, returning her gaze to Alex, doing her best to smile.

“It’s not much really.  It’s just… well.”

She raised a forehoof off of the table, pointing at something behind Alex.  He swiveled in his chair, following the limb.  His eyes came to rest on a gleaming white unicorn stallion.  He studied the pony for a moment, and then turned back to Twilight.

“I’ve seen him around the castle before.  Isn’t he some kind of Lord or something like that?”

Twilight snorted, her eyes tracking the white pony.

“His name is Prince Blueblood.  He’s an absolute jerk.  You should have seen the way he treated Rarity at the grand galloping gala a few years ago.  It was rather depressing.”

Alex could tell that Twilight was upset.  He looked back at Blueblood, watching him take a seat in the restaurant.  Two stone faced guards stood around his table.  Alex turned back to Twilight.

“Anyway… I’m sorry to hear that.  We’ll just do our best to ignore him, ok?”

Twilight nodded, hesitantly looking back to Alex.

“Right… so, you were talking about high explosives?”

Alex grinned, happy to know that she had gotten her mind off of the irritating subject.

“So, like I was saying, we were recently given the go ahead on a project that was for military purposes, not civilian.  Remember that black powder that Jonathan told you guys how to make?  Well, when you cram it into a metal tube, it can send a projectile flying for miles.  Pretty useful in sticky situations, if I do say so myself.”

“Wow.” Twilight was intrigued by the idea. “Is that the same basic mechanism that your… the human’s weapons operated off of?”

“Yup.  Of course, that’s much more advanced.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to make something of that level within a few years, but not right now.”

Alex shifted uncomfortably.

“Um… anyway, I have to go use the colt’s room…  I’ll be back in a minute.”

The gray unicorn stood, and walked away from the table.  As he walked through the restaurant, he passed Blueblood’s table.  The white unicorn’s eyes tracked him.  Thoughts began to race through the Prince’s mind.

Hmm… what an interesting conversation.

The Prince grinned wickedly, a new scheme already coming to mind.