Chapters The Everfree Forest was silent at this time of the morning, few creatures moved inside. Two of these were a lavender alicorn, the princess of friendship Twilight Sparkle, and a small dragon that was perched on her back, Spike.
"Do we really have to go now? Tomorrow the team will come!" Spike said bitterly on the back of Twilight.
For the part of her, Twilight just glanced over her shoulder with a smile.
"Of course we have to go now! Who knows what is in that library, I want to catalog as much as possible before they come tomorrow."
Princess and dragon were heading towards the castle of the Two Sisters, deep in the Everfree Forest. The two supreme princesses of Equestria had asked her to organize the books in their library, cataloging those that still served to be added to the royal library of Canterlot and to that of the newly created Castle of Friendship. Although Celestia would send a team to help her, Twilight wanted to go as soon as possible, so she was there at 9:30 in the morning. She even she had brought lunch with her. The ruined castle appeared in the distance and the Princess of Friendship hurried enchanted.
The silent walls of the room greeted them silently, as always, but their visitors made their way to the library without delay. Hundreds, if not thousands, of books greeted them in all their glory, and Twilight only knew how to smile. Spike, for his part, groaned bitterly, as he would have to help his friend rearrange all those volumes.
"Okay, Spike, start with the right wing while I go left."
"Yes Twilight."
The dragon climbed down from the alicorn's back and went to work, not without complaints. The hours passed slowly, cataloging books by title and author on a card. When it was about 11 o'clock, he came to a black-bound book, without any title, drawing the attention of the young dragon.
"Twilight! I have found a book a little strange!"
The alicorn came out of the pile of books that she had been cataloging in a much more specific way than the little dragon. Curious, she went to her friend and picked up the book with her magic, opening it to search for a title, with Spike next to her to read as well.
"Dear reader, if you are reading this, you have found this book, what a surprise. I do not know when you will have done it, maybe in a week, a month, a year, who knows, maybe you read it 500 years after I have hidden it in this library. Surely you are wondering what the hell this thing is, well, this is some kind of ... biography, narrated by me. Who am I? Settling for knowing me as "Cake", That is the name with which I am called my lord, whom I served long before the princesses. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, the biography that you have in your hooves, wings or magic is a record of the life of my lord and my life to him service. "
At this point, Twilight looked up confused, as did Spike, scratching her head.
"Should this be here?" said the little dragon.
"Do not know."
Curious as she couldn't, Twilight went to one of the half-ruined tables in the library, her assistant behind her. Sitting down next to Spike, the alicorn prepared to continue her reading.
"I know what you're thinking, who the hell is my lord? Well, he's someone well known, and I'm sure as the years go by, he'll still be known, but not for what he should. Do you want to know who he is? Go to the royal garden, search among the statues, and see the embodiment of pure chaos, the one who ruled Equestria for 10 years, Discord. "
Both Twilight and Spike looked at each other, having one thing clear, they would put off cataloging the books for later.
"I know, I know, how can one serve Discord, that monster? And more importantly, can I believe that you will tell the truth? Yes, you can. I have no reason to lie, I just wanted to capture the story that my lord told me about. The story I myself lived from the moment I began to serve him. And I know that you distrust me, after all, it is the word of the Lord of Chaos that we are talking about, but I trust his word. He welcomed me when my family excluded me, he gave me shelter and a roof, he treated me, not like a servant, like a friend. I trust myself to tell me the secrets of the cosmos, and now that he is turned to stone and that everypony him hate, even princesses, I want to tell him story and mine.
I know I will not change the point of view of the entire population, but just one is enough for me. And please, if you read this, whoever you are, if you take my word for it, when you're done, turn this book over to their royal highnesses. I would do it myself, but the guards would not allow a mere servant to approach them. So I leave it here, in the vain hope that somepony, hopefully a student of the princesses or some royal wizard, will believe my words. Now, dear reader, I will tell you the story of my lord, but to do this, we have to go back many eons, even before creation, before time itself. "
Before the cosmos, infinity was divided in two, one side was the blackest darkness that could be seen, the other, light so intense that it covered everything. Wandering on both sides, there were two orbs, one was dark blue, the other was golden, and they were the creators of both sides, they were The Firsts. The blue one wandered in its darkness, and although he saw it beautiful, he felt that something was missing, the gold one, he saw its spheres of light, but with the infinite light, it was impossible to appreciate them. One day, after millennia, eons, it did not matter, because time had not been created, both reached the limits of their creations.
Separated by a purple stripe, both sides faced each other, never touching. The Firsts might have ignored it and returned to their domain, but the new appealed to them. Not daring to abandon their creations, they advanced along the border, until at last, they met. Inevitably, they were drawn to each other, not knowing that there were more like them, approaching. The more they did it, their creations did with them, and as they came together, light and dark touched for the first time. Both orbs watched in horror what was happening, believing that the other was trying to subjugate the other, being ready for a fight. They were so focused that they didn't notice what was going on in the middle of the mix.
Out of the chaos that was light and dark, a new orb was created, smaller than its indirect progenitors, sometimes yellow and sometimes red. With a youthful laugh, attracting the attention of The Firsts, the new being mixed the creations even more, and then they saw. The darkness swallowed up the excess light and allowed the spheres of light to shine with all their splendor. Thus, the darkness found what it lacked, and the spheres of light were able to shine. With joy, the newly named Solaris, god of light, and Selena, goddess of darkness, brought all of creation, with the help of the Firstborn, Discord, god of chaos, into a single point. And then it happened.
An explosion of light was seen, and the cosmos began, light and darkness were complemented, from order, came chaos, and from chaos, came harmony. At that time, two new orbs were born, one purple and the other brown, and The Firsts named their new children, Harmony, goddess of harmony, and Crono, god of time. Thus, the new five gods dedicated themselves to taking care of the newborn universe, Solaris and Selena as its protectors and watchers, Discord and Harmony as the Guardians of balance, and Crono as the Guardian of time.
Many eons later, Discord, bored with so much order, decided to play a little secretly from his parents and sister. He collected several stars, wanting to juggle these, but unfortunately, he got out of control. Solaris realized this, but was unable to prevent the catastrophe. The stars collided and created a gigantic explosion, and Discord stared in terror, he had destroyed his father's creation! But from the center, emerging from a black hole, new to creation, a new red orb emerged, generating more destruction in its wake. Somewhat alarmed, the yellow and red orb flew around the mess, gathering everything together, joining soon after Harmony. When finished, they saw the first galaxy in the cosmos, and were soon joined by their new brother, Ares, god of destruction.
The Firsts, with joy, spread their blessings in the newly created. Solaris generated infinitely smaller stars and introduced them into this galaxy and Selena made the darkness make the color shows more beautiful. And so the gods were in charge of creating new galaxies, Discord gathered the stars, Ares destroyed them, his brothers balanced everything in harmony and his parents did the rest. In time, the rest of creation filled with galaxies, and to the gods, it was beautiful, except for one.
Ares lived for destruction, not creation, and unlike his brother Discord, he was not willing to limit himself to small displays of chaos, or in his case, destruction. As much as his parents allowed him to destroy the stars, that emotion was dissipated when he saw how his beautiful destruction gave way to creation. So, after eons of peace, the god of destruction threatened to end the entire cosmos, taking on his brothers and The Firsts. The bloodiest fight was between the god of chaos and the god of destruction, and the battle was seen throughout the cosmos. After an arduous battle between the two gods, Ares was locked in the place of his creation, the center of the universe, the first galaxy, the first black hole. And there he would remain forever and ever.
"Twilight?" Spike said, stopping reading for a moment.
"Yes?" said the alicorn totally into reading. If that thing was telling the truth, she was witnessing the origin of everything.
"Can we eat now?"
Twilight raised her head in surprise, seeing that it was after three thirty, feeling her stomach growl. Deciding that she, for once, she could leave work for the next day, she left the castle with Spike, book included, to make her home. After eating, they both went to her personal library and sat at the table, ready to continue reading what was holding them so much.
"Do you think this is real?" Spike said before starting to read.
"I don't know, but I'm inclined to think so. If it was a Discord joke, he would have already turned up to laugh at us, don't you think?"
Deciding it was a good point, Spike concentrated on reading again.
Both The Firsts and his brothers felt hurt by the betrayal of Ares, but it was Discord who took it the worst. He wandered aimlessly through the first galaxy, disconsolate, watching the stars as he passed. Soon, he reached a specific one, and after observing her for a while, he exploded with fury. Why hadn't his brother seen the beauty of creation? Couldn't he see the precious balance they were all in? When his outburst of anger dissipated, he watched in horror as the star had exploded into a supernova. Trying to fix it, he tried to piece the pieces together, but only got them moving in a maelstrom of chaos. This caught the attention of Harmony, who watched with terror what happened, and approached the stardust that flew without logical direction.
Soon, everything came together into a sphere, and when The Firsts and Crono arrived, they saw the sphere condensing into a new material. It wasn't a star, and it wasn't stardust, it was solid, and the Creator Gods decided to call it ... planet. And so the first planet in the cosmos was created, and Discord and his sister came out excited to create more of these. Although they wanted to stop them to talk about it, his parents ended up succumbing to the joy of their children, deciding to create more. Billions of systems flooded into creation, all orbiting a star. When they finished, the gods admired the cosmos more and more full of beauties, but The Firsts ones felt that something was missing.
They traveled to the first planet and descended to its surface, and Solaris saw that there was no star on it. Using his power, he decided to do something different here, so he created a star that would orbit the planet, but for this there was a price to be paid, as someone else would have to raise the star to a new stage of light. Happy, the god of light called this stage day, and the star that would bring it he called Sun. Selena, however, observed her precious darkness, admiring the distant stars, but she felt that something was missing. Therefore, using her immense power, she summoned a sphere that would dominate the shadow periods, but since her power was darkness, she could do nothing but try to make it as dark as possible. Her husband, seeing the anguish of her beloved, offered her a gift, making her sphere illuminate with its own light. Delighted, Selena called that moment night, and her sphere, created between the two, Moon.
The centuries passed, and although they liked this new world, which they called Equs, they felt that it was empty, they wanted more creatures apart from their children to enjoy their creation, so they went to work. Using their powers together, they created an atmosphere with pure and breathable air, and the first clouds were formed with the mere thought of they. The atmosphere and clouds caused the temperature to drop incredibly in certain areas of the planet, and the gaseous creations expelled eternal snow, but that was not the only thing they expelled. The rain came, and it rained down water for over a thousand years, impacting the mineral-laden soils, causing the water to turn salty. Liquid levels rose, and when the rain stopped, only the higher ground remained. They called the pools of water seas and oceans, and the land, continents and islands, but they saw the latter empty.
Settling on one of the mountains, they made an eternal fountain, which flowed down the mountain. They followed the course of the water, watching it go to a esplanade and fall over the edge in a majestic waterfall before following the course of the mountain and reaching the land below and continued through the deeper areas until reaching the sea, and this, The Firsts called it a river. Its waters made them eternally sweet and they set out to create more all over the world. When they finished, they saw that the continents still looked empty, so they created something new. While in some areas they remained deserted, in others the soils were covered in green, the grass had been created. Soon this was followed by bushes and then flowers, and an explosion of color took place. Trees grew everywhere, gathering together and creating large patches covered by them, what Solaris and Selena called forests.
At the top of the mountain that housed the source of the first river, they happily observed its creation, but it was still missing. They went to the seas and created thousands of life forms, hundreds of fish, crustaceans, and thousands of other beings flooded the oceans. Next were rivers and lakes, and from there they moved to forests, deserts, snowy regions. Equs was quickly filled with beings, and life flooded everything, but still, it was not enough. Life did not have the necessary consciousness to admire beauty, so The Firsts decided to create intelligent beings, and their children were soon reunited as well.
They admired the work of their parents, and wanted to participate. Crono created centaurs and gargoyles, Harmony created kirins, beings that possess both good and evil, living together in perfect harmony. As for Discord, he created changelings, beings that could be as chaotic as him, they could be anything if they wanted, they fed on love, but a small change such as giving instead of taking, transformed them by complete to a more peaceful form. Then, in honor of their disgraced brother, the three brothers created the so-called dragons, capable of living in harmony or chaos, but above all, very destructive.
As for his parents, they created a unique being, an equine creature, with wings and a horn, with great magical power, but it was too much for a mortal. Therefore, they separated it into three, earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, and they called all of them, ponies. After these, many more species came that flooded Equs, and their creators were proud. But they felt estranged from their creations, so The Firsts decided to do something unthinkable, they transformed their own bodies to resemble the first version of ponies, and they called themselves alicorns.
Solaris adopted a golden coat with a mane of pure light, while Selena preferred a dark blue fur and mane made of, you guessed it, pure darkness. Her children, although surprised, decided to follow her example. Harmony turned into a violet alicorn with a mane made of rainbows, literally, while Crono transformed into a brown alicorn with gray mane, something, according to Discord himself, very boring. Looking at this one, he thought that being a one-looking creature was neither fun nor appropriate for chaos. Therefore, he flew around the planet, looking for the parts of animals that he liked the most.
And so came He, the head of a pony with gray fur, from the neck down brown, and black mane, a deer horn on the right, a twisted blue unicorn horn on the left, a long long and sharp tusk, yellow eyes. with blood-red pupils of varying sizes, a serpent's tongue, a goat's beard, and bushy white eyebrows. His right arm is that of a lion, while his left is a griffin claw, his right leg is that of a lizard, and his left that of a goat. Wings of different shapes, the right of a bat and the left of a pegasus, his tail is that of a red dragon, with a tuft of white hair that serves as his hand perfectly. Finally, his entire body is in the shape of a snake.
The gods watched the creation enchanted, but soon they realized something, something that they had missed in that whirlwind of creation. Atop the mountain from which the source of the first river emerged, was a leaf-green sphere, gently floating. Seeing his siblings and parents approach, her shape changed to that of an alicorn with green fur and a mane made with the very forces of nature. And the Firsts called her, Gea, goddess of life. As her children spread this new blessing throughout the universe, Solaris and Selena watched the centuries pass for mortals, and soon, they noticed something they didn't like. It turns out that mortals were not so mortals, the correct term would be immortal, because they continued to live without stopping, but they did not stop reproducing either.
Soon the world was filled with immortals, and resources became scarce, and The Firsts watched their creations starve but find no consolation. So, they decided that something had to be done, life had to eventually turn off, but ... what would happen to the souls? Before doing anything, the two creator gods made sure they had an eternal resting place for their creations. Using all their power, they created, on a plane very different from the existing universe, a place where there was only nothingness. First, they created Tartarus, a place of punishment for evil souls, who would be tortured until they were purged of all sin and could ascend to Eden, a resting place for the good and purified, where they would enjoy endless peace and joys.
For Tartarus, they created demons, as their guardians and main torturers, and although they did not like the idea, they created a mortal version, because they well knew that there would be souls capable of being able to survive and maintain their immortality, so they did to Cerberus, Guardian of the gates to the mortal underworld. As for Eden, they gave rise to angels, alicorns with a size similar to common ponies, who would serve the souls who arrived there. After this, they decided to create a place from which they could take care of and monitor all of creation, building a castle on a plane other than the previous two, an immense and majestic one that their children could visit, a place they called The Olimpus.
When they finished, they decided to put a solution to the immortals, and despite the discontent of his youngest daughter, she knew it was the right thing to do. And so, a new god was born, Hades, god of death, and he extended his blessing, which brought pain to some and liberation to others. Despite the sadness it brought, mortals, freed from eternal life, prayed to their gods that their future generations would not have to live in a world of immortals.
And as The Firsts suspected, there were beings that escaped death thanks to dark magic, and dedicated themselves to sowing non-peaceful death, desolation and subjugation. The most feared was Grogar, who created countless aberrant monsters that plagued the world, hydras with a thousand heads, bears, wolves, scorpions and other star beings so large that the highest peaks in the world barely reached their knees.
But The Firsts defeated the Father of the Monsters, locked him in the deepest pit of mortal Tartarus, and made their creations less violent and transformed them into some more animals, because it was not their fault that their creator thought of them as monsters without feelings. In this way, the hydras reduced their number of heads and aggressiveness, withdrawing into the deepest pits, the star beings drastically reduced their size and also withdrew from civilization, and so it goes with every monster. Harmony reigned again, and the gods proudly watched the creation, which would remain so for many centuries.
Both Twilight and Spike were in a rush to get home after finishing the day at the two sisters' castle. They had been there from nine in the morning until six in the afternoon, and even though they were moving much faster with the team than they alone, it was still too slow, especially when they had a reading to follow. As soon as they entered, Spike jumped to the ground and ran up the stairs.
"Come on Twilight, we're getting to the best part!"
Shaking her head in amusement, Twilight walked up the castle stairs to where she had the book. She was already sure that she was real, after all, she had investigated various myths. Solaris and Selena were easy, it was the dominant religion of Equestria, as for her children. They were more in the realm of mythology than religion, and she made sense if she thought about it. Of all the gods, the ones who seemed to intrude the most in the mortal world were The Firsts, although she had not yet read enough to corroborate it. The supposed Discord brothers had appeared throughout history in countless myths, with the exception of Ares, something that was not surprising. After all, this brother was supposed to have been locked up since before the creation of his planet. Shaking her head, she advanced to her personal library, she had a book to read.
The Firsts weren't the only ones to build their home on this new plan. Generating their own plans, the five brothers created their homes according to their personalities. Discord created a dimension of pure chaos, where the laws of physics and reality itself had no place there, Harmony built a castle on a paradise island, in the middle of a lake surrounded by a meadow full of flowers, trees and hills. , all in unparalleled harmony, Crono opted for a castle in the middle of infinity from where he could observe time, Gaea created an eternal forest full of immortal animals, where they would enjoy a life full of peace, while Hades created the plane of Limbo, placed between Eden and Tartarus, where he not only made his home, but there he would judge all souls.
As the centuries passed, Harmony was teaching mortals the way of harmony, and little by little, she was finding mares that represented every aspect of it to perfection, and she named them her disciples. But in the end, death, like all mortals, came to them, but Harmony had a special destiny for them, so, with the permission of her parents and the lord of the dead, Hades, she promoted her 6 disciples and them named her daughters, thus being born 6 new goddesses. Hecate, goddess of magic, Athena, goddess of loyalty, Hestia, goddess of honesty, Persephone, goddess of kindness, Amet, goddess of laughter, and Share, goddess of generosity.
Thus, the gods continued to guide mortals as best they could, but over time, they gradually grew apart. And it was for this reason that the mortals of Equs were corrupted, the kirins abhorred their dark half instead of embracing it and living in harmony with it, the changelings rejected the second form, becoming terrifying predators and leaving their metamorphosis in oblivion, the griffins became more and more proud and greedy, considering any species that were not griffins as inferior ... But the worst were the ponies, while the rest of the races were still together, the ponies began to reject their brothers. Earth Ponies with Earth Ponies, Pegasi with Pegasi, unicorns with unicorns, and any union between races was heresy. Why did only death make them see that they were equal in the eyes of the gods?
Determined, Solaris and Selena decided to change this, descending into the world, doing something unthinkable, they became mortal. Yes, their life was still eternal, yes, they were still alicorns and gods and, yes, their immense power remained with them. But now they could be harmed, now they needed to eat, drink, they could die, if there was something powerful enough to kill them, of course. They roamed the pony lands and tried to unite their creations, but nothing worked, they continued on their path of hatred. And when they saw The Firsts, disgust and fear seized them. For months they traveled aimlessly, being rejected by all but a single farmer. Ignoring his children, the Earth Pony old pony gave shelter and food to strangers, treating them as equals.
Not even Discord knew he passed there, but upon leaving, The Firsts already had a plan to try and unite the ponies. Using their magic, they made the rains, snow and everything related to the weather stop in every territory where the three breeds of ponies lived together, in addition, the entire pony territory was frozen in an eternal autumn, because the seasons they would no longer come naturally. Through dreams, Selena guided the Pegasi so that they were the ones in charge of controlling the weather, and she taught all the pony races how they should give way to the seasons.
To ensure collaboration beyond the seasons, they caused Earthlings to grow food with overwhelming ease, creating a connection with nature itself, making it infinitely more difficult for other races. And wanting to prevent them from excluding the unicorns, Solaris and Selena painfully stopped rising the sun and the moon every day.
The world was plunged into terror as the celestial orbs did not advance, but Selena showed the way to the unicorns most versed in magic. Soon, they were in charge of bringing the day and night, and the collaboration between the races began. The two of them retired to a home in the mountains, watching everything evolve. Almost 200 years later, they ran into a sad reality, the ponies continued to hate each other, collaborating out of sheer necessity. What would they do then? Would they guide them to harmony themselves? They couldn't, they knew that one day they would have to go back to Olympus, they couldn't stay forever. However, despite the sadness, a joy arose, because they found in that mortal form a new way of loving each other, I don't think I need to say what it is, right?
And so, after nine months of pregnancy, the five siblings and their children witnessed the birth of the sixth daughter, an alicorn filly with white fur and Pink mane and eyes. Despite having the power of a god, something that everyone felt, he was like a mortal, incapable of aging, but capable of being mortally wounded, if there was something capable of it, with the need to feed himself and, unfortunately for his parents , unable to access the celestial plane. With great happiness, The First Ones called her daughter Celestia, although they could not know what her destiny would be as a goddess. Unlike her siblings, she would have to discover her fate like the rest of the ponies. Thus, Solaris and Selena were able to enjoy the happiness of seeing her daughter grow up, because with the rest of her children it was not possible. Of all his siblings, Discord was the only one who spent each and every one of his days with the little filly, and so it was for four years, in which a new joy came into the world. The new daughter had dark blue fur, sky blue mane, and green eyes, and her parents named her Luna.
Unfortunately, happiness ended, because the First knew that they had to go, and their daughters could not go with them, because being half mortal, they were anchored to Equs. But they knew that they would be the ones to guide the ponity, so they decided to find a home for them, but Discord, god and lord of chaos, the Firstborn of the gods, flatly refused. Would mortals know how to care for a god? Would they love their sisters? Would they be rejected for the rest of their lives? That could end up with them being corrupted, and he wasn't up to that. In the end, with great sadness, Solaris and Selena decided to allow their son to take care of his sisters, knowing that they would not see him for long. When The Firsts returned to their divine plane, Discord led the girls away from the pony lands, willing to teach them the precious balance between harmony and chaos, as well as to reign with wisdom and compassion, without neglecting the fun, of course.
He reached the first forest on the planet, near the mountain from which the first river came out, creating an immense castle for himself and his sisters, but it did not end there. To make sure that no mortal dared to enter there, and if they did, that they did not get out alive, he create monstrous beings that would keep strangers away, the timberwolves, in addition to punishing the hydras, manticores, parasipes and other beings to their I command to protect the little alicorns. Finally, he made the climate in that area free from the spell of his parents, therefore, even if one day the three races arrived in those lands, the forest, baptized as Everfree, would maintain its own climate, something he knew That would terrify ponies, already used to handling the weather. And here, dear reader, is where I come in.
I had been wandering for three months, and I was confused and angry. So you can get a mental picture of who I am, I am a unicorn mare with vanilla fur and pink mane, with a cutie mark of a cupcake. The latter turned out to be a disgrace to my parents, for, as I'm sure you know, it was unacceptable at that time for a unicorn to have a job worthy of an earth pony. That is why they denied me the right to change my name when they saw that my cutie mark did not match mine or even to exercise my talent, trying to force me to change it. Returning to the topic, I kept looking at a map that had been given to me in a town of Earth Ponies, one that would guide me to the Kirin lands, so if that was the case ...
"Where the hell is it?!" I yelled in frustration.
I was in the middle of a gigantic meadow, following the course of a river, which was flowing from a mountain that I had passed a few days ago. The stupid map was supposed to take me to the Kirin lands, supposedly south of Equestria, two months away, but there I was, in the middle of nowhere, with my supplies almost depleted and having no idea where I was going. Sitting on the bank of the river, I looked at the map, and for the first time since I got it, I noticed a detail that had not fallen, the ink that read "Kirin Lands" seemed a color darker than in the rest of the parchment.
"Oh come on!" I moaned in frustration.
That stupid earth pony had given me a fake map, I couldn't believe it. Did he hate other pony races enough to do such an act? Looking around, I came to a logical conclusion, I couldn't stay there, my food would run out sooner or later. Therefore, the forest in the distance was my only option, so I set out to reach the trees. The sun was already falling on the horizon as I went deeper into the thicket, incredibly deep. I prepared a small camp for myself, with a bonfire, and prepared to spend the night and enjoy my last remains of food.
If there was no town on the other side, I might as well stay in the forest, make a cabin, live off the fruits of the earth... As I was about to fall asleep, I heard a growl that chilled my blood, and when I turned my head, I saw golden eyes in the dark. The being to which these eyes belonged was a huge wolf, made of what appeared to be wood, and it stared at me with hungry eyes.
"H... hey ..." I said as I got up slowly, without making sudden movements. "Tell me that you are a thinking being and we can solve this peacefully" the wolf growled even more. "Okay ... you are sweet Little animal that wants to make a friend, right?" As I got away, he got closer. "Ok, unfortunately I'm busy ... Bye!"
I ran out as fast as I could, leaving my saddlebags behind, and into the trees. I was terrified, and that was only increased by hearing more growls behind me. It was in those moments that I wanted to be a earth pony with great physical capacity or a pegasus to fly away. But since it was neither of those races, I soon stumbled and fell in the middle of a clearing. As I turned around, I saw six timberwolves slowly approach, and I closed my eyes ready to assume my death.
"Hello who are you?"
My eyes widened and I saw a white unicorn filly with pink eyes and mane staring at me curiously. I just looked back at the wolves, who seemed to have stopped in confusion. The filly scowled at them before moving closer.
"May I know what you are doing? You are scaring her!"
The one who was ahead looked at his companions and then stepped forward a bit, grunting slightly. The filly just shook her head furiously.
"You don't even need to eat it, you feed through photosynthesis! Come on out."
The filly waved her hooves and wings, trying to get the wolves to leave, and in the end they did, giving me one last look. It was when I fell into a detail, a unicorn with wings? What was that called? Pegacorn? Satisfied, the girl turned and looked at me with a big smile, reaching out and extending a hoof for me to hold.
"Sorry about the timberwolves. I'm Celestia, delighted."
I stared at the hoof for a few seconds, before smiling weakly as I extended mine. But before I could shake it, a voracious blood-red fire surrounded me in a ring. In the center, large yellow eyes were formed, creating a head and body that you must already know. It showed itself in all its splendor, looking at me as if observing my soul, and I could feel black branches and thorns surround me and lift me up, tightening around my neck.
"HOW DARE YOU ENTER THIS FOREST, MORTAL?!"
I... I w... I was ju... just loo... looking for refuge ...
"YOU LIE! YOU WILL STAY AWAY FROM HERE AND YOU WILL NOT COME BACK TO ...!"
"Discord!" Shouted the girl's voice, and when the divine being turned her head, he saw the filly look at him angrily. "Leave her on the ground, she hasn't done anything."
"You know well that mortals are not allowed to enter here."
"And how do you expect my sister and I to guide the ponies one day without meeting them?"
"You will when you are ready, and today is not that day."
"Very well, if you don't let go, I will never speak to you again."
That made that Discord think, who watched me carefully before letting go, a moment I took to try to catch my breath. He floated in the air and lay down on a hammock, or so he calls it, who suddenly appeared, still without taking his eyes off me.
" By father, you are like your sister Harmony, always so ... friendly."
The girl ignored him and approached me, extending her hoof again, which I shook shakily as she watched the so-called Discord.
"Excuse my brother, he is very protective. Did you say you were seeking refuge?" I nodded weakly. "Great! We have a lot of room and ..."
"No" Discord said unceremoniously, glancing at his gryphon paw nails.
"But Discord ... She's alone in the woods."
"I said no, no mortal can ..." he interrupted himself when he saw the puppy eyes that Celestia gave him, giving a grimace of disgust. "Agggh, that's fine."
"Yey! You is going to love it!
The girl grabbed my hoof and tried to carry me, but she was wrapped in a kind of golden seat that wrapped around Discord's chest. With her red face, Celestia tried to escape.
" Discord! I'm not a filly!
"First, being 8 years old makes you a filly, second, this is because you ran away from your bed ... again."
"You can't make me go to bed so early!"
"Assume the consequences of stealing dessert from your sister. Are you coming or what, Cake?"
"W ... What?" I said, completely taken out of my astonishment.
"Cake, your cutie mark is a cupcake, so Cake you stay, don't bother trying to change it."
"No ... actually, it's fine."
For the first time, I smiled, following the floating draconequs and the girl who demanded that she could go alone. And so, dear reader, it is like entering the lives of three gods, and believe me, she had only just begun.
We arrived at an immense castle located on the edge of a ravine, which was accessed by a hanging wooden bridge. The truth was that the structure was imposing a lot, but I was not too intimidated, I had already had enough surprises for one day. But when I entered the lobby, what I saw, if that left me a little ... What would be the correct word? Ah, yes, crazy. There, with his arms on his hips, and with an angry face, was another Discord, this one wearing a wig to pretend to be a woman. He, or she, had another one of those seats, but in this one she had a dark blue filly with light blue mane and also with wings and horn, who gave an adorable smile to what I assumed was her older sister, whom she just sighed.
"Is it possible to know where that reboltosa was?" said the female Discord.
"A little more and she leaves the forest, oh, what will we do with her?"
"I do not know! I'm already desperate!" moaned the other Discord."
"I hate it when you get like this," Celestia whispered with her arms crossed, resigned to her fate long ago.
"Whatever you say. Cake, wait here while I take these little ones to bed, and by the way" the draconequs turned to me with a firm look on his face "Don't... touch... anything. We are?
I nodded furiously and Discord seemed satisfied, walking away, both versions. Before they disappeared down the stairs, I heard a distant "good night, Cake", which I assumed was from Celestia. I stood there observing the simple decoration, nothing out of the ordinary, except for some torches upside down or horizontally instead of vertically, and a large dome on the ceiling ... that was placed upside down, with the area that was supposed to be outside, inside. After a few minutes, I felt someone teleport next to me, startling me, seeing the owner of that castle. He gave me a long look and motioned for me to follow him, which I did without question.
After a few minutes of walking through corridors and stairs, we arrived at a cozy, if strange room. The fireplace was upside down, the couches were floating in the air, the windows were horizontal and a stool moved like a dog ... Yes, it acted like a dog, and I must say it had advantages, it could not piss inside, its creator called him Stol, yes, I know, very original. After petting the doggy furniture, which came to me curiously, Discord sat on one of his seats and motioned for me to do the same. I watched the height, thinking about how the hell it would get, until I felt something move for me. I fell into the seat on my face, and it took me a while to get on properly, and when I did, I had a steaming mug in front of me.
"Some chocolate milk, don't say I'm a bad host," Discord said as he took a sip, not taking his eyes off me.
A little overwhelmed at the prospect of being before a seemingly god, I took a sip of the offered drink, my eyes widening. It was the most delicious chocolate milk I had ever tasted! With a happy smile, I took a few more sips, glad to see the glass refill, like I hadn't had a drink.
"I'm glad you enjoy it, but if you're going to stay here, I want to ask you a few questions. And don't bother lying, I smell líes" he said while making his pupils glow red. "Why are you so far from the pony lands? And alone?"
"I ... I ..." Should I tell him? If it were someone else, I would keep quiet, wait to gain more confidence, but by the gods, he was a damn god, worth the redundancy. To do that was to try my luck. "I was running away from my family."
"Your family? What did you do to have to flee?" he said, knowing what he wanted to know was clear, was me dangerous?
"I fell in love with an earthling, that's what I did," I looked away from the god, focusing on the fire upside down, remembering what had brought me there. "He was someone so attentive and kind, our private gardener. We thought about escaping together but ... but ..."
"Your family found you first."
"Yes... they punished me with locking myself in and him..." at that point I was crying, silently begging not to force me to remember, gripping my cup tightly.
Discord watched the fire as he thought, before extending his tail and patting my head, calming me down.
" I'll show you your room. You better not betray my hospitality."
I nodded slowly, thankful that he didn't force me to go on, and followed the draconeq through the castle, arriving in a fairly simple room. A closet, a desk, a window and a bed, in which were my things. My eyes widened and I looked at the one called Discord, who just smiled.
"If you're going to stay here, you'll need your things. Good night, Miss Cake."
"Good night."
The god disappeared through the door and left me alone, so I went to my saddlebag and took out the only thing of value I had, a poem written by my former love before ... I watched it for a long time, crying silently, giving the paper a little kiss before placing it on a table next to the bed and lay down, ready to sleep a bit.
I woke up to the sensation of something touching my face non-stop, over and over again. I tried to scare away what was surely a fly, but it was of no use, and with a resigned sigh, I opened my eyes, finding the same filly from the night before, looking at me with a smile.
"Good morning Cake!"
"G... good morning..."
Still a little out of place, I followed the excited girl out of the huge room. For almost a full minute, we wandered the corridors of the immensely large castle, finally arriving at a huge dining room. The table was large, big enough to hold 20 ponies without a problem, and at the headboard was Discord, sitting on a red throne, with a gray back, two rhombuses surrounded by four engraved triangles, and deer antlers sticking out of the headboard, with various arcane symbols running throughout the seat, holding a glass full of chocolate milk in its tap claw. To one side was the same blue filly, sitting in a toddler chair, being fed via two floating hands, to be exact, the ones possessed by the lord of chaos. Celestia sat in her place and gestured for me to sit next to her, her radiant smile never leaving her.
"Sit here!"
Not wanting to upset his terrifying older brother, I sat in the right place, and immediately a banquet was presented to us. Cupcakes, chocolate milk, fruit, coffee ... the latter just on the side of my table. My mouth drool, and it was not for less, for months that I fed myself with food that was not very delicious. But a memory from my basic magic classes struck me, and I was reluctant.
"Is something wrong, Cake?" Discord said nonchalantly, taking a sip of his drink.
"I... Can this food be eaten? I understand that magic cannot create food."
"Please," Discord said, bursting into laughter. "Chaos existed before magic, and I am chaos. The rules of magic do not apply to me, you can eat in peace."
Deciding that it was not a good idea to contradict a god, I decided to take a bite of one of the cupcakes. Right away my eyes widened, it was the most delicious sweet I had ever tasted! Both Discord and Celestia looked at me amused, as for the little filly, she was more busy trying to reach one of the sweets, which her brother noticed.
"Do you want a sweet, Luna?"
"Weed!" The smiling girl yelled, to which Discord responded with a giggle.
"Here you go, little one" one of the cupcakes developed a pair of legs and ran towards the girl, all before my astonished gaze. When the so-called Luna was greedily devouring the cupcake, Discord looked at me. "Well, I'll tell you what your job is going to be, Cake."
"Wo... work?"
"Yes, I work, unless you want to live in the Everfree forest."
"No, no, I'll be happy to do anything" as long as I don't have to go back to the forest, the better.
"Well, you'll be Luna's babysitter while I give Celestia her usual class."
"Do I really have to?" Celestia moaned in protest.
"If you did not want to study today, you should not have left the house last night" Discord's face, despite his serious tone, had a smile from ear to ear "As for you, Miss Cake, I would also like to try the cupcakes what are you doing."
"R... really?" I said unsure.
Due to my parents' refusal to use my talents, I did not have the necessary experience, and I was afraid of displeasing the lord of the castle.
"Yes, it is your special talent, after all. If you do it right, maybe the cupcakes served in this castle are yours."
"I... I'll do my best, sir."
"Well, you will start after lunch, until then, you will take care of Luna. Have your protective suit."
"Protective su...?"
I was interrupted when full armor covered my body with a loud "pop." Discord turned to her youngest sister, who had all her mouth smeared with the icing from the candy.
"You're going to have a babysitter, aren't you excited, Lulu?"
For the first time, the girl looked at me curiously, frowning and pointing a chubby helmet at me.
"Ho is se?"
"Your babysitter, you will stay with her while I teach your sister."
"No! I WAN O GO ON ISCOR!" she yelled as he expelled a beam of energy that shattered the ceiling and dropped the chandelier on the table.
"It's been two this week" Discord said with amusement, fixing the chandelier with a gesture of his lion hand before looking at me, who was completely terrified, did I have to take care of THAT filly? "And that's why you have a protective suit, the alicorns they don't control their magic well until they are five and a half years old, and this little girl is still four. I'll guide you to the game room, you stay here" he said looking at Celestia, who just smiled a mischievous smile as she nodded.
Not trusting the little alicorn at all (at least I already knew what her race was called), he shoved her into a toddler chair, causing her to scream in outrage. Discord whistled happily, ignoring her sister's protests, grabbing the so-called Luna and scooping her into her arms. After a few minutes, we reached a room full of toys, in which he left the girl, who ran on her little paws to a mountain of construction pieces.
"Good," Discord said looking at me. "Rule number one, unless she approaches by herself, don't try to play with her, she must get used to you. Rule number two, don't worry about the safety of her, this whole castle is haunted to make sure she doesn't get hurt. Your job is to watch over her and keep her company, if she decides to play with you, much better. Any questions?"
I shook my head and Discord nodded satisfied, saying goodbye to the girl, who turned and, seeing that her brother was leaving, she ran, but was late and ran into the closed door.
"ISOR!"
She tried to open the door, but it didn't work, an d when she knew it wouldn't open, she sat on the floor and crossed her front legs in a pout. I couldn't help but laugh a little, stopping when I saw her glare at me, even though I didn't stop smiling. Grumbling, she went to her building blocks, determined to create. For a while, I just sat there, waiting for the girl to decide whether to join her or not, I wouldn't be angry if she wanted me away from her either. After a minute, she came to me cautiously, glancing at me before handing me a small triangular block.
"Thank you" I said smiling, to which Luna imitated. "I'm Cake, what's your name?"
"Luna! Do you wan o play wih me?" The girl's smile was too adorable to say no.
She took me to what she was building, a square base with some ready-made walls, and I knew what she wanted to do. Together, we started to build a castle, and in a rush of originality, I made a moat with a line of blocks that surrounded the structure, a river using a blanket that was lying around and a drawbridge with a book. Luna was more than delighted, running and jumping around the castle, which before my astonished eyes, began to come to life. The "windows" lit up as if there was light inside, the "river" flowed like a real one and the bridge went up and closed the entrance. Running to a toy box, the little alicorn urged me to follow her.
"Solies have a ome!" she said as she searched for various dolls.
Assuming that she was looking for soldiers for the castle, look for the necessary toys with the girl. In there I found a fairly complete assortment of guards, all the pony races in armor, and Luna wanted them all on her guard. Feeling joy to see that at least there was no such stupid discrimination here, I took the dolls to the castle, placing them in the formation that the little girl indicated. Once done, they began to move on their own to the castle, filling its nooks and crannies. After filling up, I followed the girl to the toy box again, curious to know what would be next.
"Atac on the casle!" she said with joy taking out dolls that represented more ponies, griffins, minotaurs and dragons.
I looked with wide eyes at the kitchen that was presented to me, a rather immense one, a dozen ovens, pans, grills and a gigantic table in the middle of everything to cut ingredients and place or prepare dishes. In the background I saw a large door that I assumed was the pantry, plus several drawers and cabinets all over the place. Discord, positioned at the door next to me, snapped his fingers and brought up the cupcakes-making items on the section of the table near the oven that I would use.
"There you go, I'll wait for you for snack, have fun."
Feeling the dragonfly come out of the kitchen, I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. The food had gone well, at least until the lord of chaos told me that it was time to show my talent for that afternoon. "Calm down Cake, you're only going to make cupcakes to a god and his little sisters, surely other goddesses ... what could go wrong?" Shaking my head, I made my way to my work zone, trying to remember the sporadic cooking lessons I secretly took from my parents.
" Okay, I need flour, eggs and milk, where is ...?"
Before I could finish, the pantry door was thrown open, and I saw, to my complete amazement, a sack of flour coming towards me skipping, the eggs floating to the rhythm of a music out of who knows where and two jars of milk rolling in my direction. "Lord of Chaos Cake, don't try to think logically," I told myself, trying to get my brain going again. Once done, I concentrated and set out to make the best cupcakes I could, although I would never equal those of Discord, all be said.
After almost two hours of work, I finished with a batch of twenty cupcakes, viewing all my work with some doubt. "Maybe I did too much?" Late to think, all the trays where the cupcakes rested began to float and head out of the kitchen. Knowing they were surely heading alongside Discord and the two girls, I set out to follow them, praying they were to their liking. We ended up in the dining room, where the castle inhabitants waited in her places, with Celestia resting her front legs on the table and looking at the cupcakes expectantly. Once at the table, I moved to the side, looking with a nervous smile at the god of chaos.
"Take advantage," I said, remembering what the butlers of my old home used to say.
"Sit down first," Discord said, pointing to a chair next to Celestia. "It's your cupcakes too."
A little surprised, I did what they asked me, normally, the servants did not sit next to the lords of the house. A little nervous, I took a seat and I saw them grab a cupcake each, Luna's coming towards her. I swallowed hard when I saw Discord bite off a chunk, and he saw me with a small smile.
"For a cupcake made by a mortal, not bad."
"It's great!" Celestia yelled, immediately grabbing another cupcake.
As for Luna, judging by how candy stained her mouth, she quite liked her. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, I picked up a cupcake and took a bite, smiling at the good taste. Ha! Take that, Mom! Observing the three inhabitants of the castle, I thought that life there would not be as bad as I could have thought, it would definitely be better than living in a world of prejudice and where love and friendship had so many obstacles.
"What if I don't do it right?"
"You'll do fine," I said with a smile to little Celestia.
We were walking down one of the corridors towards a large balcony, and it is that Discord thought it was time for his little sister to try to get her cutie mark, raising the Sun. According to his own words, he noticed the link between the solar star and Celestia, and he was getting stronger. So he thought it was a good idea for her to try to lift the celestial orb that morning. As for me, a full month had already passed, and I was adjusting incredibly well, the lord of chaos trusted me more and more and the two girls took a liking to me, for my part, I was very grateful, because I had a real home .
Soon, we reached the balcony, and there we saw Discord, lying placidly with the little Luna on his back. He turned and gave an encouraging smile to his sister, who took a deep breath before approaching. It was still night, but the moon could be seen to slowly lower, and it would soon be hidden, all by the great unicorns. Celestia looked at the horizon where the Sun should rise, remarkably nervous.
"You'll be fine," Discord said reassuringly, running his tail around the alicorn to hug her. "Trust yourself."
Celestia nodded, trying to reassure herself, as for Discord, he looked at the Moon, ready to prevent the unicorns from raising the Sun from there. When the lunar orb disappeared, the lord of chaos snapped his fingers, a sign that he was holding back those in charge to raise the solar star, nodding to the girl shortly after, who focused her gaze on the horizon and closed her eyes. Her horn began to light up, expelling a great deal of magic, but even so, the night remained there, moonless, and remained so for a full two minutes. But soon, the light began to appear, the first solar rays, and these were followed by the Sun itself, which rose little by little.
When it was completely out and on its natural course, which would follow it until sunset, at which point it would have to be lowered, a small flash illuminated the flanks of Celestia, too exhausted to notice. The alicorn slumped, breathing heavily, but she barely had time to recover when a gigantic round of applause echoed throughout the castle, obviously out of nowhere. Both Discord and I had big smiles on our faces.
"I knew you'd be good at it," Discord said proudly.
"T... thanks, for a moment I thought, I wouldn't make it" said Celestia getting up with a small smile.
"Of course you would, it is your destiny, after all" her brother commented with a mischievous look.
Confused, Celestia looked at her brother for an answer, until the dots connected in her mind and she looked at her flanks. There, was the image of a shining Sun, demonstrating, not only her special talent, but also her destiny as the goddess of the Sun. With a gigantic smile, she began to leap for joy in a small circle, to which her little sister she joined in quickly, buoyed by the happiness of the white alicorn. With great happiness, I observed the little girls, feeling great pride for both of them, it is incredible what one can feel in just one month.
I already had more affection for those two and for the god of chaos than for my parents in all my childhood, and that affection was more than returned, at least, by the girls. Only time would tell if Discord felt that about me too.
It was a stormy night at the Everfree, and I couldn't sleep at all, so I decided to take a walk around the castle. It's been three months since Celestia got her cutie mark, and things were going for the better for me. My role as fillysitter became more and more important, and the two fillies saw me as a fraternal figure, and if it was as a sister or mother, I did not know, and it did not matter to me, the important thing was how much we loved each other. Lightning illuminated the hallway I was walking in, followed by thunder that echoed off in the distance, making me jump a bit, directing my gaze to the windows in chaotic patterns.
The rain fell with force, hitting against the windows, although according to the nature of the lord of the castle, the drops that fell on the glass rose upwards, before changing and going to the right, sometimes to the left, other times to the bottom. , and so on. At first it seemed weird to me, but in the end I got used to it, just as I got used to having the ingredients from my kitchen come to my call. With a sigh, I continued my way through the corridors, thinking about the recurring dream that had awakened me, and that had been in my mind for a long time. It was always the same, my parents ended up finding me and dragging me away from here, back to the hell in which I lived before. And even though I knew it was ridiculous, I kept asking myself ... what if they found me?
I shook my head hard, it was a ridiculous thought, no matter where I looked at it. First, I was sure that I had been disinherited, everything would now go to my little brother, always ready to please my parents. Second, in the rare event that they wanted to find me (even if it was just to kill me), they had no idea where I was. Third, if they reached the Everfree, they would have to go through the poison jokes first, the timberwolves, meek to their owners but aggressive towards strangers, the manticores, the parasipes, damn, there was even a sea dragon that lived in the nearby river and served as a guardian too. And fourth, if they managed to get through all of that, they had to try to convince Discord to turn me over to them, which would not work. My parents may have had influences in the unicorn royal family, but they wouldn't convince the god of chaos.
Calmer with that idea, I continued my night walk to the castle hall. Notice the great dome that curved inward, and if it weren't from the lord of chaos, there would be a pool inside it, but no, the drops slide down its surface as in the two windows at the sides of the door, one in diagonal and another horizontally. I watched the erratic path of the water droplets for a while, before deciding to go back to my room, but something stopped me.
The windows were in their usual chaotic state, but soon, they began to slowly straighten, and raindrops going in any direction, ignoring any laws of gravity or physics, began to fall naturally. I blinked in confusion, until three sharp, forceful knocks rang out on the door, causing me to jump in fright. Confused, I took a step up the stairs, before stopping uncertainly. Should I open?
"What are you waiting for? Our guest is going to catch a cold" said a voice on my shoulder, causing me to jump with fright.
As I turned my head, I saw Discord there, sitting cross-legged on my shoulder and staring at his lion's nails. I closed my eyes for a moment to calm myself and remind myself that he was the god of chaos, so I shouldn't be surprised to see him on my shoulder. After calming down, I gave him a doubtful look.
“Sure, sir?” I'd had a habit of calling he sir since he hired me, which Discord seemed to amuse.
"Very sure. You know where my office is" he said with a wink before entering my mane and disappearing completely.
Resisting the urge to search inside my mane, knowing it would be useless, I advanced to the door and opened it slowly, finding a mare, tall enough to remove a head or two, and covered by a traveling hood that covered everything. her body. Somewhat intimidated by the height of her, I asked her to enter, closing the door again, observing the unexpected guest. The robe floated in a dark pink aura, settling on a coat rack, which was normally shaken to remove moisture from whatever garments were placed on it, which used to be Celestia's or, more recently, mine, but which this time held still. To my surprise, the mare was an alicorn, with a violet fur, like her eyes, which showed a wisdom that could only give a very long life, her mane was a dark blue tone, and as for her cutie mark , It was the kirin symbol of ying and yang, only that the white half was a shade of purple darker than the fur and the black half was red and yellow in equal parts. The mare looked at me with a small smile, apparently amused by my amazement.
"Good night dear."
"Go... good night," I said, coming out of my stupor and remembering Discord's words. "Fo... follow me, they're waiting for you."
With a nod and a friendly smile, the alicorn began to follow me, and I can't help but notice the effect she was having in her wake. The dome was placed in a position more in line with the standards of the rest of the domes, the torches were straightened, the doors that led nowhere disappeared, and I could assume that those that opened in any direction changed to a more normal opening .. Of course, when she walked away, it's returned to normal (well, the common normality of chaos), and I wondered if she was doing it on purpose or not, and most importantly, who was she? Discord's office was actually his private living room, the place where he first received me, and I already knew its location more or less well. Upon arrival, I tapped gently before opening and poking my head out, seeing the lord of chaos staring out the window. I entered, closely followed by the mare, and closed the door, then glancing at the draconequs, who had never turned around.
"You should not spread your harmony here, it is territory of chaos."
"Says the guy who causes chaos in my house" said the alicorn with a smile.
"What can I say? The duty of an older brother is to screw the little ones" said the draconequs turning around with a smile.
"You're older than me for a few minutes," said the mare with an irritated sigh, but at the same time funny.
"You say that, but I was born before time, do you really think it was a few minutes?"
I was already lost from the older brother part, overwhelmed at the idea of being in front of another goddess. As life was like, going from being surrounded by snobs unicorns who were only interested in reputation and wealth to being surrounded by gods, funny. While debating whether I should bow, Discord gave me an amused look.
"Harmony, this is pastry chef, housekeeper and fillysitter of Celly and Lulu's, Cake."
"Wait," I said with a frown. "Since when have I been the housekeeper?"
"Since you opened the door for her and guided her here, congratulations!"
Instantly, a black robe and hat appeared on me, along with a diploma, certificate and all. The one called Harmony giggled a bit, before lighting up her horn and making everything I wore disappear.
" Nice to meet you, Miss Cake."
"Equally" I said with a smile as I bowed, why couldn't the pony rulers be that kind?
"Please, don't bend over, you don't have to", she said with a kind smile, and I slowly obeyed, seeing how she looked at me kindly before looking at her brother. "I have to say, Discord, I never thought you'd have a mortal next to you."
"Well, when Celestia threatened me not to speak to me again ... it is a great motivación" said the lord of chaos pointing to his floating seats. "Make yourself comfortable."
Harmony looked at them with a raised eyebrow, ignoring her brother, who sat on one of them. With a gesture, the seat closest to her was gently placed on the floor with her sitting down shortly after, before being quickly lifted.
"If you think you're going to sit in a boring normal seat, you're done" Discord said as he created two cups of chocolate milk.
Seeing only two glasses and two seats, I saw it as my signal to leave, walking out of there after saying goodbye politely. Once outside, I debated with myself about going to my room or ... knowing why Harmony was here. In the end, I shrugged my shoulders and put my ear to the door, my father always told me, I had a bad habit of listening to other people's conversations, well... yes, I do, and I would work on it at another time.
"Thank you for having me" I heard Harmony's voice, followed by a sip from her glass of chocolate.
"It is a pleasure, dear Sister" Discord answered, but lacking the joy or the good humor that he had had before, which gave me a very bad feeling. "Although I have to say that it is a surprise to see you here, I have not seen you since I decided to take care of the little ones, and that was a long time ago."
"I'm so sorry, Discord, I ..."
"Don't even try to look for an excuse, father and mother at least come once a year, and they monitor the whole existence. If they can, you and the rest too" Discord was heard taking a sip of his drink before continuing to speak. "Do you know that Celestia thinks that our brothers, you included, hate them?"
"How can you think that?!" Harmony's alarmed voice spoke.
"It is what happens if they never come to visit them ... But this is not the time for reproaches, you are here, even if it is to ask me for a favor" the voice of the lord of chaos returned to a cheerful tone, although with some seriousness in the background .
"I can never fool you, huh?"
"It is not that you know how to lie, my dear, it is not in your nature. Now what brings you my home?"
"Well ... in part I do want to ask you a favor, but I also came for Celestia's cutie mark. I was hoping to arrive before her bedtime" even through the door, I could see the smile in her voice.
"Well, well, how did you know, dear sister?"
"The delays in the sunrise and sunset in the first days, as much as those stiff unicorns say it was a technical failure, they are not deceiving me, I know it had to do with Celestia."
"Wait ... Didn't they say that the sun is no longer under her power?" Discord said incredulously.
"If they did, it would show that they are losing power, and the other pony breeds could attack."
"They still hate each other, right? Cake had told me about it, but he didn't know it was that bad."
"You have no idea ... my brother-in-law has had to reinforce the guard in the royal castle to avoid another terrorist attack from earth ponies or pegasus, it is chaos- she said with a small sigh."
"And it is not the chaos that I approve" Discord said bitterly, before returning to the cheerful voice. "Well, it does not matter, they will learn, and speaking of brother-in-law ... decided to give up your full divinity? What was his name? Nix Spurcle?"
"Night Sparkle," Harmony answered, and I could detect a touch of deep sadness in her voice, one that I knew well, and, apparently, Discord too, as I put all jokes aside.
"Something wrong?"
"He was sent to the borders surrounding the Yak Empire," said the alicorn after a long silence. "The unicorns want to expand their territory, and they have sent several incursions. Night ... died in combat, the body was not found."
For almost a full two minutes, there was no sound, and when I was about to leave, Discord spoke again.
"I'm so sorry, Harmony, I know you loved him."
"Thank you, brother ..." I could hear tears in her voice, which surely would have been wiped away before continuing. "But it is not for consolation that I came, I need you to make me a promise, Discord."
"Whatever you want, little sister."
"You see, I'm ... I'm pregnant and ..."
"Pregnant?" Discord said, visibly surprised. "From a mortal?"
"Yes, from a mortal."
"Do you know how dangerous it is to give birth in your state?" This time, the tone used by Discord was concern. "Not only did you renounce much of your divine power, any weapon, well used, can kill you, and if you live in the unicorn capital ... there won't be much harmony, and that makes you ...
" I know, Discord, that's why I'm asking for your help. If something goes wrong, I want you, in the event that my son, or any of his descendants inherits my divine powers, to help him control his powers and fit in. Please."
"And you can't give birth here? Believe it or not, the Everfree Forest is very harmonious, and I am willing to keep the castle in total harmony during your stay."
"I can't, Discord, my home is with my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, my nephews, they have become an essential part of my family. I beg you, brother, promise me."
"I ... okay, Harmony."
It was at that point that I decided that it was enough, walking away and heading to my room, thinking about what I heard. A goddess at risk of dying in foalbirth, that was something difficult to imagine, and it should not be easy for Discord. The next morning was happy for Celestia and Luna, and although I knew that the lord of chaos should be worried, he did not show any of that concern, he knew very well how to hide his true feelings. It wasn't until after noon that Harmony made up her mind to leave, promising that if all went well, she would come see us again. Internally, I wish it were so.
The months passed slowly for Discord and me, waiting to hear from Harmony. Although the lord of chaos could camouflage her true feelings to perfection, Celestia seemed to have a knack for knowing if something was bothering her, as she asked him several times if she was alright. It was like that for a time, at least until the day came, that fateful day. We were in the castle garden, enjoying a meal outdoors, with the sun high in the sky. I still remember it perfectly, everything seemed to be fine, but then ... something broke in me, I don't know how to explain it, but it was as if my soul, my very essence, knew that something was terribly wrong.
And I was not the only one to notice it, because both the little Luna and Celestia seemed to notice it too, they, and every other creature nearby, who stopped as if puzzled. I saw the birds in the sky stop their flight, confused, those that rested in the trees stopped their songs, the ants that tried to approach our food suddenly stopped, the timberwolves that were in the distance, watching over us, they straightened up, tense ... Everything was calm, a calm that made my hair stand on end, until I heard a glass break, caused by Discord, who had an empty gaze, and from then on, it was a domino effect. The skies were covered by blackened clouds and a torrential rain began to fall, later I would know that this phenomenon occurred all over the planet at once, the trees began to drop their leaves, leaving their bare branches exposed, the animals moaned in anguish and the very brightness of the sun seemed to fade.
Discord, after being completely silent for a few minutes, ignoring his worried sisters, took flight and took off into the clouds with a cry of pure sadness that was heard throughout the Everfree, followed by hundreds of howls and roars from the forest creatures. Although I was missing information, I could deduce that it had just happened, Harmony, goddess of harmony, had just died giving birth to her child. Silently, I gathered my things up and headed for the castle, placing a sobbing Luna on my back and gesturing for Celestia to follow me.
"What's wrong?" asked the girl, immensely worried.
"Discord will explain it to you when he can ... if he feels ready."
As she suspected, none of this happened, and it took two weeks for the rain to stop, at least in the Everfree because in the rest of the world it stopped in the first week. However, the lord of chaos did not return directly to the castle, instead, I saw him, from my room window, heading to the ravine below the castle, carrying a bundle in his arms. Worried, I left my room and went to the entrance of the palace, going outside exposing myself to the night air. Without pause, I descended the slippery stairs, which ran to the side of the bridge, and went down the edge of the rock face. As I got closer to the end, I could see a glow coming from a cave at the bottom, and cautiously, I sidled up and poked my head out, seeing the figure of the god of chaos lying on the ground, some spheres of light floating nearby and illuminating the cavern.
"Come closer, Cake," he said, making my blood run cold.
Swallowing, I approached slowly, seeing Discord's immensely sad face, observing two mounds of earth, which soon realized that at least one of these contained Harmony's body.
"How are Celly and Lulu?"
"They miss their eccentric older brother" I said with a small smile as I cautiously laid me down, relieved to see him do the same.
"Of course, without me, this castle is a gamble. But he had something to do, find Night Sparkle's body so that he and Harmony could rest in peace."
"Has his sister ...?"
"Yes, I don't have to tell you how, you should know, you heard us talk, after all" my eyes widened, looking at Discord, who had a mischievous smile. "I am the god of chaos, don't think so I don't know when they are spying on me. But don't worry, I'm not mad at you."
I sighed in relief before turning my gaze to the two tombs, the resting place of a goddess and her eternal love.
"And your nephew?"
"Niece ... and she's fine, alive. But she has not inherited divine power, although she has great potential in magic, so I will stay out of it."
"Are you going to leave her?" I said, unable to believe what I was hearing. "After complaining that none of your brothers were going to visit Celestia and Luna, it's a bit hypocritical, right?" Immediately after saying that, I realized that maybe I had overdone myself, but before I panicked, I saw Discord laugh lightly, relieving me.
"I know. But ... do you know the difference? Celestia and Luna are, for all intents and purposes, goddesses, and they do not live among ponies. My new niece, however, is a mortal and she will live among the ponies, and my presence will only make things more difficult for her to adapt, it is bad enough that she has a more powerful magic, imagine with me as an uncle. But I promise you one thing" Discord turned to look me directly in the eye", despite not having divine powers, she belongs to my lineage, so I give you my word that I will always keep an eye on her, and if one day she is in trouble, I'll be there, you can be sure."
I held my gaze at him for a while before nodding, agreeing with his answer. I may not like that the filly never knew her origins, but at least she would not be left to her own devices.
The years went by, and little by little, the world (and I would dare to say, the entire universe) was recovering from the death of the goddess of harmony. Her six daughters took the place of her mother together, keeping harmony alive in the cosmos, but Discord became the sole Guardian of the balance between harmony and chaos. As for myself, for four years I held my place as a nanny, cook, and housekeeper, and in turn, Celestia and Luna increasingly saw me as an integral part of their family.
Just like her older sister, Luna ended up getting her cutie mark, and as you may well know, she did it by raising the moon. That day we were in her room, combing her mane, while we waited for the indicated time when she would have to raise the moon, at which, according to Discord, she had a great connection, just as Celestia had with her sun. Although the little alicorn is not that she was very confident of that.
"What if I fail?"
"You won't, Luna," I said with a small smile, still combing the long bluish mane. "It's in your genes."
"But ... what if it's not my destiny?"
"Of course it is!"
We both focused our attention on the door, where we saw a 12-year-old Celestia with a half-arrogant smile. I can't help but sigh to myself as I went back to combing Luna's mane. The mischievous little filly I knew became much more mischievous, arrogant and rebellious, although thanks to the Firsts she still had a good heart, full of kindness ... although there were times when it was difficult to find it.
"You are my sister, after all. And if you fail, well ... I'll raise the moon for you until you make it!"
"Can you ever speak without looking like a damn arrogant?" Luna said looking at her with a frown.
'Here we go again' I thought to myself as I focused on combing the mane. The fights between the two had become common, but at least I was certain that they loved each other with all her heart, even if it did not seem like it.
"Hey, no insults! On top of that I come to support you" said the solar alicorn raising her snout.
"You could do it without making me look useless, Miss Perfect Lady" answered Luna, turning away from me and facing her sister, causing I to sigh with resignation.
"Okay, calm down, you don't have to ..."
"I don't need it either, you do it yourself," Celestia commented with her frown as well, interrupting my attempt to calm the situation, sticking to Luna's face.
"Celestia, don't talk like that about your sist ..."
"At least I do not spend the day in the forest, eat more cakes than allowed and escape from Discord classes, lazy!"
"Luna, please ..."
"Nerd!"
"Eat cakes!"
"Library mouse!"
"ENOUGH!" I shouted loudly, I will be ignored and getting up from my place, approaching the girls, who immediately separated and looked at me with fear in their eyes, they knew what could happen when I got angry with them. "What have I told you about discussing among yourselves?" silence, because the girls preferred to look at the ground than to answer. "I have asked a question, young ladies."
"Sisters who love each other don't fight," they said at the same time, in a synchronized tone, but without looking up.
"What about the insults?" No answer again, making me start to get impatient, as my helmet showed, hitting the ground repeatedly. "Well?"
"It's wrong ..." said Celestia.
"... and even more between the family" term Luna.
"Well, at least you remember that," I said with a raised eyebrow, before focusing on Luna.
"Luna, you shouldn't have talked to your sister like that when she was just giving you support."
"But ...!" She said raising her head, but she fell silent when she saw my stern look.
"No buts, I don't want to hear a single word!" My gaze quickly turned to Celestia, who was trying to hide her giggling. "What makes you so funny, miss?"
"N ... nothing!" She said, taken by surprise.
"Ah, I was saying ... As for you, your sister is right, there is a way to support her without seeming to be laughing at her, much less without insulting her."
"She did too ..." she said in a whisper.
"Do you see that I congratulated her on that? It was not well for either of the two, but you are the oldest, it is time for you to show it. Now, I'm going to go tell Discord, stay here."
"Are you going to tell Discord ?!" the two yelled in unison.
The mention of her older brother made them look up immediately, daring to look at me. For me to tell Discord that they had been arguing usually meant that I was going to punish them one way or another and wanted to make sure that punishment was carried out.
"Yes" I said as I went to the door. "I have to explain to he why I am going to punish you without dessert for a week, starting from tomorrow because today is very important, but you do not have your luck, understood?" when I see them nod angrily, I smiled with joy. "Well, I leave you to apologize. Celestia, I don't finish combing her mane, do it yourself, we don't want her to be badly combed in her moment of glory. Oh, and if you're in another fight when I come back, you'll be in even more trouble, is that clear?"
"Yes Miss Cake" said the two in unison, looking at the ground again, knowing that it was useless to try to protest.
Satisfied with those words, I left the room and headed to Discord's study, praying those two didn't kill each other while I was gone. After a minute of walking, I arrived at the indicated door, knocking on it and entering when I heard the forward coming from inside. Inside, I found the lord of chaos sitting in his favorite chair while he drank a cup of chocolate milk and ate one of my cupcakes while reading one of the library books. Throughout those years he had gotten used to eating my cupcakes instead of the ones he created, which were infinitely better, I never knew why.
"What happened this time?" He said, unable to help but hide the amused tone in his voice.
"The usual" I said with a sigh.
I approached the other floating chair, stroking Stol, the doggy stool, before going up the invisible stairs ... I said that I served a lord of chaos, that's not the weirdest thing I've seen around him. After sitting comfortably, I let out a tired sigh as I grabbed the cup of chocolate milk that had materialized in front of me and took a small sip.
"Seriously, those girls are going to kill me one of these days. Aren't the gods supposed to be wiser and less prone to give in to instincts?"
"Ah, the unfounded idea that we are perfect, didn't I already tell you about Ares?" Discord said as he turned a page of his reading with a lock of hair from his tail, taking a sip of his own drink. .
"Yes, you did it."
"There you have it, the gods are not perfect. We make mistakes and are as prone to fights as mortals, you would be surprised at the fights I had with my brothers in the past."
"It seems that it is a divine decree that there are always fights between brothers" I said, remembering with laughter the fights that Celestia and Luna had had over the years.
"If so, I swear to you that I was not the god who made that law" Discord said smiling.
We spent a while more talking quietly to each other, at least until we noticed that sunset was approaching.
"You better go find those two" Discord said as he pulled the mug away from him, which disappeared into nothingness, and let his book fly to his place.
"If they haven't already killed each other" I said with a sigh, finishing drinking my drink, which was not refilled, and imitating Discord, knowing that the cup would not fall to the ground.
I descended the invisible stairs again and headed for the door, giving Discord one last hello before leaving to search for the fillies. As he walked, I thought of some additional punishment if I ran into them in the middle of a battle of insults or, First forbid, hitting. Forbid them to leave their room? It is an option, really, but it would not be necessary, because when I opened the door, I found them talking peacefully while Celestia finished preparing the mane of her little sister. With a smile, I saw the tender scene, remembering how those little alicorns changed my life, before deciding to intervene.
"Well, I see that you are still alive, it is an achievement."
At once, the two of them turned to look at me, giving me a happy look, although Celestia's was much wider than Luna, and I could see the hope in her eyes.
"Does that mean we can have dessert tomorrow?" Celestia ask in the most innocent voice she could muster, making me laugh.
"Nope, you are still grounded with that. Now come on, you have work to do."
Celestia pouted a little before sighing in resignation. The two left the room and went with me to the balcony used for sunsets and to see the rising of the moon, which until then, the unicorns had done without delay ... until today. There, Discord was, sitting on a chaise longue while he waited, giving his youngest sister a huge smile before reaching over to give her a hug.
"Are you ready, Lulu?" He said, pulling away to look at her.
"I ... I think so."
"You'll do well," her brother said reassuringly. "It's in you."
Luna nodded, still very nervous, watching her sister walk to the balcony and prepare to do her homework. Before meeting her, Celestia turned her head to give her a look designed to reassure and encourage her little sister, this time, without arrogance involved.
"Do you want to come here? We will do it together so you won't be so nervous."
With a small smile, Luna advanced until she was next to her sister, giving her sister an affectionate gesture before Celestia turned to the sun, already on the edge of the horizon, and she closed her eyes. Unlike when she was little, the star king was hidden without any problem, and her rays stopped illuminating the world, although it was not yet dark. Before the unicorns in the Unicorn Empire used his magic to bring night, Discord snapped his fingers, preventing them from doing so and giving his little sister time to do it herself.
Closing her eyes tightly, she focused on seeking the connection with the moon, just as her sister had told her that she did with the sun, and illuminated her horn. After about two minutes, she found him, and forced the night orb to slowly come out and show her splendor, illuminating the night much more than other times. When it was all over, Luna collapsed in exhaustion, unaware of the white flash that covered her flanks. Celestia moved forward to sit next to her with a gigantic smile on her face.
"I told you you could, dwarf."
"Thank you, Tia" Luna said with a small, grateful smile.
"I'm proud of you" I said as I approached and caressed Luna's head with a smile, a smile that the little alicorn gave me back. "Now let's go inside, we have to celebrate that you have raised the moon ... and that you got your cutie mark."
Eyes wide open, Luna stared at her flanks, seeing the cutie mark that symbolized her connection to the moon and her role as goddess of the night. With great joy, she started bouncing around the balcony, completely joyous, before being lifted up by Discord, who placed her on his shoulders as she headed for the dining room.
"This deserves a feast!" he said happily.
Luna gave a joyous cry as she urged Discord to go faster, with Celestia full behind her. With a smile, I followed what she considered a family, ready to celebrate little Luna's cutie mark, symbol of how she was growing up.
Once I made sure those girls were asleep, which was not very difficult, since the celebration lasted two hours, I went to Discord's private room. The party had gone relatively well, and knowing that this would be the last day they could eat sweets, at least for a week, both alicorns ate as much as possible, I was almost afraid they would choke. After a few minutes, I reached the door, knocking before entering. At the window I found the lord of chaos, his arms folded behind him, watching, not the nightscape or the forest, but a projection unfolding on the glass.
"Anything interesting, sir?" I said as I approached he.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Stol lying next to the fireplace, and although the fire was close to the ceiling, since it was upside down, the heat came perfectly.
"More than interesting, it's sad and disappointing," Discord said with a sigh.
With a raised eyebrow, I sat next to Discord and gazed out the window, seeing what appeared to be an overland market, but the vision focused on a particular stall that seemed to sell all kinds of vegetables. A pegasus mare, who looked hungry and had a foal between her legs, was trying to get the earth pony merchant to sell her some of the vegetables he sold. Which, by the way, did not seem to work, since the earth pony refused, even threatening to call the guard if she was still there.
"I thought that the earth ponies were obliged to share their food with the other races" I said confused and somewhat angry, seeing sadly how the mare and her son had to leave without being able to take something to eat.
"And they are, at least with the big merchants, pegasi and unicorns, but as for the rest ... they reserve the right to deny their products or to sell them at exorbitant prices."
"I know where that is going" I said with a sigh, remembering how they sold me a map for almost 1000 bits, and on top of that it was false, although I had to admit that if it weren't for that, I wouldn't be there.
"Two centuries, and they still haven't learned to live in peace" Discord said with a disappointed sigh, turning away from the advantage, which dissolved the vision, and approached the fire, absently stroking Stol. "If this continues, my sisters. they can never guide you."
"I know it's disappointing, and it's maddening, but we tend to learn hard. Unless we face extinction, I doubt the three pony breeds will unite” I said as I approached, giving a graceless laugh.
"Extinction ..." Discord said, seeming to ponder those words, before a smile crossed his face. "Cake, you're a genius."
"Wait... What?
With a snap of his fingers, we were transported to the highest tower in the castle, where Discord was teaching his sisters about astronomy, Luna being the most interested in that. The night sky was visible above our heads, with no roof to obstruct the view of the stellar vault, and in the normally empty center, Discord made a gigantic cauldron appear, which he approached.
"I know how to steer the ponies out of their current state of hatred and chaos," he said as he looked at the cauldron full of calm waters.
"And what do you plan to do to avoid it?" I said as I placed me next to he, curious.
"Make them see that their current path will only lead to their perdition. So ... I'll try what you told me, Cake" when he said it, he extended his eagle claw over the cauldron before turning his palm towards the sky and, between his index finger and his thumb, generate a red and yellow ball. "A pinch of chaos" he dropped the drop, and the water bubbled and behaved like a sea of rage, the drops rose to start spinning in different directions, and the color turned reddish and yellowish, stirring nonstop. Then Discord's tail settled over the cauldron, grasping a black ball between its folds. "A bit of hatred, anger, and sadness." The ball fell, turning the waters deep black as a plaintive scream came out of it the same ones, causing me a chill that ran through my entire body. To finish, he raised his lion claw to his face, palm up. "And a little ... of cold."
He blew, and a white mist came out and fell on the waters, turning them the same color. The mist came out and completely covered the room, covering my paws and making me shiver with cold. Three moans, filled with all the hatred and sadness in the world, were heard in the room, originating from the cauldron. A second later, three ghostly figures shot into the sky. They looked like ponies, but their heads were sharper, their undersides ended in a long tail, and their eyes seemed to contain all the evil in the world. Plaintive screams came from those beings, and they did not stop until the figures disappeared into the night.
"W... what w... was th... that?" I said with fear in my body, rubbing myself to try to keep warm.
"Spirits of chaos, fueled by bad feelings, and the more there are, the colder there will be."
I swallowed hard, thinking of the dark times ahead for the ponies, praying they would soon find out what they had to do.
For a year both Discord and I watched the ponies progress with the Windigos, named after them, and there weren't many. The cold was advancing, creating a blizzard of snow that could not be controlled by anyone, not even pegasi. Heartbroken, I watched hundreds of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns die from cold, hunger, or attacks in search of food. Although the Lord of Chaos seemed to be affected, he was unwilling to stop any of this, as, according to him, it was the only method to prevent his own destruction. That night I came to the room where we saw everything, the place of creation of those spirits, observing the cauldron full of water, and to my amazement, I saw something that I did not expect to see.
"Is this happening?" I said incredulously.
"Yes, it is" Discord commented without taking his eyes off the cauldron.
It was showing us a meeting between the three leaders of the three races, something that had not happened since the day the Firsts stopped moving the sun and the moon. Even more impressive than that was the fact that the earth pony Chancellor had offered his house as a meeting place, and even more so that the proud unicorns and pegasi had accepted. A smile crossed my face, pleased by what I saw, before sitting down and being ready to watch the assembly.
"At last they will settle their differences."
"They will only meet to discuss what to do, not to ally" Discord commented unceremoniously.
"Distrustful" I said with a frown.
In response, Discord shrugged and kept watching, doing the same. At first, everything was going well, debating possible solutions, but everything fell apart when they began to accuse each other of what happened. After an hour of insults and accusations, the three leaders parted ways, with no intention of collaborating again. I couldn't help but sigh in defeat, instead, the draconequs next to me just raised his eagle hand to his chin, seeming to debate with himself.
"Is something wrong, sir?" I said with some curiosity.
"No, Cake, you can go easy. Goodnight."
Not quite sure, I left the room and headed for my room, wondering what Discord had in mind.
When I woke up, due to an alarm clock that Discord gave me, I got out of bed with a yawn, stretching and setting my bed. When I finished, I left my room to go wake up the alicorns, who had to hide the moon and raise the sun. My first target was the most sleepy, Celestia, entering her room and seeing her, as I expected, sound asleep in her bed, causing a small smile to appear on my face. I walked over to her bed and tried to gently wake her up.
"Come on, Celestia, you have work to do" I said in a calm and soft voice.
"Five more minutes ..." she answered, still sleepy, and I already knew where this would go.
"Don't even dream about it, the last time you were twenty minutes late. Get up."
"No" and with that, she pulled up her thick blanket and covered her face, completely ignoring me.
"Don't force me to get up the hard way" she turned, still inside the blanket, to turn her back on me, making me sigh, it was always the same with her, and she is supposed to be the incarnation of the sun "I'm going to count to three, Celestia, and you'd better get up on your own, one" nothing, "two" the alicorn let out a snore, and I was sure it was only to challenge me, "three."
I grabbed the blanket with my magic and ripped it off her hooves, and before she could complain, I lifted the mattress and dropped it to the floor. As I replaced the bed, Celestia appeared from the other side, her pink hair disheveled and her face dreamy of a championship, glaring at me reproachfully. She seemed to be about to say something, but seeing my raise an eyebrow in her direction, daring her to say anything, she decided to groan in frustration and walk to her dresser, ready to comb her hair and fix a little bit. After finishing making the bed, I nodded satisfied and went to the exit, not without looking at the girl first.
"I'll go wake up Luna, you better be ready when I'm done."
"Yes, mom," she said in a tired and sarcastic tone, although we both knew that that sarcastic "mom" held much more meaning.
Going out the door, I went to Luna's room, right next to Celestia's, carefully opening it and seeing her in her bed, still sleeping peacefully. Since the moon alicorn was more likely to wake up without problems, I approached without making much noise, standing next to her head and bending down to whisper in her ear.
"Luna, come on, wakes up."
Little by little, the little girl woke up, giving a big yawn before sitting down on the bed. Somewhat sleepy, she stood up and went to her dresser, pulling out a comb and starting to comb her hair while I made her bed. After finishing, I approached Luna, seeing with amusement that she had gotten stuck in a knot. I gripped the comb with my magic, giving the alicorn a resigned sigh and letting me comb it myself.
"How did you sleep?"
"Good" Luna replied, still removing the remains of her sleep. "And you?"
"Like a baby."
After a few minutes, I finished combing her mane, going out into the hall and heading to the balcony destined for dawn. As I feared, Celestia was not there, forcing us to wait for her, as always. From time to time, I glanced at the clock placed by the entrance to the terrace, placed there at my request, to make sure that the young solar goddess arrived on time. Two minutes after sunrise time, and just as I was about to come in and drag that young mare out, Celestia suddenly appeared, almost suffocated.
"It was about time!" I said angrily, fixing my gaze on Celestia.
"Sorry, I ran into a rebellious knot" she said as she combed her mane with her right hoof, giving a slight nervous laugh, that she died as soon as she saw me.
"If you see that you are going to be late, you take care of the knot after raising the sun!"
"Luna could have started without me" said the alicorn, shrinking a little.
"And leave the world in suspense, in a state of moonless darkness? Very good idea, yes sir."
"Well, seen like this ..."
Put yourself in your place!
Jumping at my scream, she moved to the railing, joining Luna soon after. This she closed her eyes and bowed her head, lowering her precious moon, and when it disappeared, Celestia prepared to raise the sun, bringing the world a new day. I nodded satisfied when I saw they, amazed at how much they had grown, because it was no longer difficult for them to do that job.
Once done, guide them to the dining room, where breakfast had already been served, including the sweets that I prepared the day before, but contrary to other times, Discord was not there. A little confused, I sat in my place, deciding to wait for him to arrive, or to go find him later. As for the girls, they did not seem to notice the absence of her brother, starting to eat without pause, especially Celestia, who only deigned to eat the sweets.
"Celestia," I said as I grabbed an apple, ready to eat it, "would you like to eat something else besides sweets?"
"You fon't fay anyfhing to Funa" she said reproachfully, while her mouth was full of a cupcake.
"What did we say about talking with a mouth full of her?" When I saw her swallow, I deigned to answer. "Luna is eating in a civilized way, and she also eats something else besides sweets."
"Ugg, it's fine," said the girl as she grabbed a pear and took a big bite and looked at me as if to say 'happy?'
After breakfast, and sending the girls to do their homework, I went to where I knew Discord would be, in the room where he had his cauldron. And sure enough, there he was, watching himself, showing earth pony Chancellor mare Puddinghead talking to her most trusted advisor, stallion Smart Cookie.
"Is something wrong?" I asked as I sat next to him.
"The first fruits of my plan," said the lord of chaos as he snapped his fingers and showed the unicorn king talking to his daughter, Princess Platinum, and that young Star Swirl apprentice, Clover the Clever.
"And that plan is ...?"
"Go in search of new lands, I induced that idea in their mind last night" he said while snapping his fingers again, this time showing the pegasus leader, Commander Hurricane, and his direct subordinate, Captain Private Pansy, for what I had understood, the first mare to reach that position, and she was very good at her job.
"Can you get into dreams?" I asked, somewhat surprised, he had never told me I could do that.
"Does that really surprise you?" he said with a smile, to which I returned another.
"You have a point."
After laughing a bit, Discord returned to his serene demeanor, staring at the cauldron.
"In two months, three at the most, they will be here."
"In the Everfree?" I said completely confused.
"No, on the grounds near the Everfree."
"Why so close, sir?"
" My sisters will have to guide them one of these days, and it is better that they are close, don't you think?"
I couldn't help but nod, watching the pegasus leader discussing the details for his next expedition. Internally, I wondered how the hell this would all end.
After almost four months of travel, three groups of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, with two hundred ponies in each, arrived at the base of the mountain of the first river, deciding to climb it, each race by a different place, in order to claim it as their own. And, even from a distance, you could clearly see the great esplanade near the top, and each leader wanted it for a different reason. Commander Hurricane for his height, since that way the pegasi could build some houses there in which they built a flying city at the height of their race, Chancellor Puddinghead because that way they would have a strategic view of all the new territory and be able to see possible enemies from afar, while Princess Platinum wanted her to start building a castle there that would represent the greatness of unicorns.
Unfortunately for them, they found themselves at the top, sparking a major feud that almost escalated into battle. However, the Windigos arrived first, drawn by the hatred there, although I suspect that the proximity of their creator and source of all chaos had a lot to do with it. When the snow began to cover the place, the ponies had to advance higher and higher, reaching a gigantic cavern. Unfortunately, many of them froze to death immediately, leaving just a dozen in the three groups.
While the soldiers and subordinates of the leaders tried to keep warm, the chancellor, the commander and the princess began to fight without respite, causing those called by the ponies as winter spirits to enter the cave and freeze them. Although Discord was in charge of keeping them alive, since even if the remaining ponies found out how to survive, they would need those idiots so that the ponies would not see that fact as heresy.
Once the leaders were frozen, the groups began to gather more, in a vain attempt to warm up, but without making efforts to live together in harmony. It wasn't until Clover the Clever, Private Pansy, and Smart Cookie started talking and getting to know each other, as a last act before they died, that they didn't realize the effect that simple gesture had. Snow and ice seemed to flee from the three ponies, and the Windigos themselves were fleeing from them, unable to bear the harmony and friendship that was forging between the three.
Following the example, the rest began to talk among themselves, not only among their own race, but with anyone at their side, be it pegasus, earth pony or unicorn. Throughout the night, they kept talking non-stop, telling stories, anectoids, and more than ponies locked up, they seemed to be enjoying a beautiful party. When dawn brought the sunlight, the three leaders thawed out and saw everything that had happened around them.
Although at first they viewed their subordinates as traitors, they soon saw that what they said was true. And after much deliberation, a conclusion was reached, the discovered lands would not be for a single race, it would be for all three, since they were no longer part of the Unicorn Kingdom, the Pegasus Empire or the Earth Pony Republic, they were the new leaders and founders of Equestria, a place where all ponies would live in harmony. But back in their homelands, the ponies saw this as heresy and outrage. The unicorn king disinherited his daughter, the earth ponies elected a new chancellor, and the pegasus proclaimed a new commander. But as the months passed, their home continued to wrap itself in snow, while the ponies in the new Equestria did not have to worry about the Windigos.
Little by little, the unicorns abandoned their king, who stayed in his castle, and migrated to the new kingdom, following Star Swirl as their new leader until they were reunited with his princess. The earth ponies decided to leave and the pegasi set their immense floating city towards the same destination as the other races. Only a few earth ponies stayed in their ancestral home, refusing to leave. Seeing that this group was stubborn, Discord took pity on them, and by putting together the feelings of love, harmony and friendship gathered in the new Equestria, he created an artifact that would help them survive, teaching their leaders to use it, who named the artifact after Crystal Heart.
"Why can't I go?!" Celestia yelled at her older brother, who was focused on their dinner and barely gave her a glance.
"You're not ready," he commented simply.
"You're not ready, you're not ready ..." said the 15-year-old white alicorn, in a mocking tone. "I'm starting to hate that fucking phrase. I just want to get out of this stupid forest and see more ponies other than Cake or Luna!"
"Celestia!" I said with a frown. "Don't talk like that, I know you're furious, but that's no reason to get angry like that. I know you are ready to go out, but it is the ponies who are not ready, they have been living together in harmony for three years and there are still tensions. Imagine if they saw an alicorn."
"And is that enough excuse to keep us both locked up?" She said, looking at me with narrowed eyes.
"Don't mess with me, I'm very calm" Luna said, it could be seen that she was quite uncomfortable with the situation that was developing in front of her.
"I can't even go out into the fucking forest unsupervised in case a stupid pony sees me!"
"Celestia ... don't speak in that tone" I said, in a tone that they both recognized, it was the one I used when my patience was exhausted, but this time, it did not seem to have an effect on the young teenager.
"You are nobody to tell me how to speak! YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!"
As soon as those words were out of her mouth, I was frozen in place, saying nothing, just watching the young mare. I tried to say something, whatever, but ... those words were enough to shut me up. Discord looked up from her at last, watching me worriedly, Luna dropped her fork and looked at me with great concern before looking at her sister with her eyes with some anger. Celestia seemed to hold her posture for a few moments, glaring at me, but when she calmed down, guilt crept onto her face.
"Cake, I ..."
I do not let her finish, as I got up and went to the door of the dining room, heading to my room. Before leaving, I managed to hear Discord speaking sternly.
"You'll be happy, right?"
I walked quickly through the halls of the castle, stopping a few times to try to wipe my tears away. Once I got to my room, I slammed it shut and leaned against the door, staring at my room, the tears coming back out. 'You are not my mother', it repeated over and over in my head. Why did it bother me so much? She was right, it wasn't her mother, that was Selena, I was just her babysitter and cook, I shouldn't feel hurt, and still, I felt like my heart had been mercilessly crushed. With a sigh, I approached the bed, no longer bothering to wipe the tears that were freely falling from my face.
I took from the bedside table a portrait made by Discord of Luna, Celestia and myself, made two years ago, as a birthday present, and that I had placed next to the framed poem of my first love, and they were the possessions most valuable he had. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the smiling face of Celestia in the photo, hugging me tightly. I lay down on the bed, looking at the painting, and there I stayed, even after dark, without taking my eyes off the image. At one point, somepony opened the door, and as I turned around, I saw Celestia peeking out, glaring at me.
"Hello, Celestia" I said with a small smile and trying to wipe my tears, I didn't want her to see me like that, but she did, and I could see her making a face of regret. "I'm sorry I didn't go to see you hide the sun."
"It doesn't matter" she said as she approached, guilt emanating from her voice.
Celestia placed a hoof on my bed, and when I didn't say anything, she ended up going upstairs. She snuggled up next to me, just like we did when she was younger, and I look at the portrait of her next to me.
"I'm sorry" she said after a while.
"You do not need to apologize, I know you were angry, and also" I was silent for a moment before sighing, defeated "we both know that you are right, I am not your mother. That's Selena."
"I know," Celestia said with a frown. "But she only comes once a year, you, on the other hoof, are always there. You were there for all my birthdays, my cutieversaries, you taught me to bake cupcakes, to enjoy a good tea ... I don't care if Selena is my mother, you are too" next to those words, she caressed my cheek with her own in an act of affection, to which I could only respond by doing the same.
"I hope that's not a challenge to the gods" I said with a small laugh, still in tears.
"Don't worry" Celestia answered with a small laugh "my other mother is very understanding, besides, both I and Luna speak very well of you" that only made me roll my eyes with amusement.
"I'm afraid of what you have told her."
"Good things!" A voice yelled from the door, and looking at myrrh in that direction, I saw that Luna was the one responsible, who apparently she had been waiting there. She ran to lie on the other side of the bed and snuggle next to me, also with a big smile. "We only said good things about you, Mom Cake!"
My only reaction to hearing that nickname was to cry as I wrapped the two of them in a loving embrace, which neither of the three wanted to undo. However, a mischievous smile crossed my face.
"Likewise, you know you're punished for swearing, right?" I commented looking at Celestia, who moaned in protest, but she quickly put all complaints behind and snuggled closer to me.
I imitated her, hugging them both tightly, and soon, we surrendered to sleep, all together and embracing. If I had known what was coming, I would have spent many more nights like this.
I walked at a leisurely pace to the room where, if he didn't have to teach his sisters astronomy, Discord would watch the ponies, the same place where the Windigos were created. I had no pending tasks, for at that hour, Celestia would be exploring the forest with a herd of timberwolves, who would make sure that no pony approached her and that she did not approach the ponies, Luna reading in the great library and the lord of chaos next to his cauldron. It had been a week since the incident with the white alicorn, and his brother seemed concerned, at least for the times I had seen him observe the ponies, and from what he had told me, he was trying to determine if it was safe to bring them out or not. As I entered, I saw him staring into the blue waters of the cauldron, with no visible expression on his face.
"Is something wrong, sir?"
"I went to visit my brother, Crono" he said frankly, leaving me paralyzed, Crono, the god of time?
"And ... Did something happen?c
"I wanted to see what the future would be if I left things as they are and let the girls show themselves to the ponies. Normally I don't, it is against chaos to know in advance what will happen, but I am worried, Cake."
"Don't tell me, things aren't going well" I said with a grimace as I approached me and sat next to him.
"No, it won't go well at all. The ponies will be separated again, they will enter a new war, and I doubt that anyone will come out alive. And Celestia and Luna? Haunted for being different. I don't know what to do, Cake" he said with a sigh.
"Hmm ..." I said looking thoughtfully at the waters, until an idea flowed to my mind. "Well, you can always make Celestia and Luna save them from something."
"What?" He said as he watched me, to which I shrugged.
"Look, the first unicorn king was not chosen by a bloodline or by popular election, a commander was chosen who organized protection against a gryphon army. And the first Pegasus emperor was Kratos, who successfully commanded a small group of soldiers and defeated a dragon. Great leaders are often chosen after proving their worth."
"Prove their worth ..." Discord said thoughtfully, before smiling. "That's it! I need the girls to save them from some crazy villain."
With a snap of his fingers, I found myself tucked into the seats of a stage, with the lord of chaos on it, dressed in a suit and on some kind of stage.
"Welcome to ... YOUR IDEAL VILLAIN! The first contestant is ...! Drum roll please ..." A series of those instruments began to play from who knows where, and after a few seconds, the curtain opened and a blue goat with two large horns appeared. "Grogar, father of the monsters! What do you think, Cake? Intimidating, the perfect threat to the girls and ... he would kill them without blinking ... Definitely not" a trapdoor opened over the illusion of the villain, who looked down and began to scream as he fell, before the curtains. "Okay, the first one was a failure ... But here comes the ideal, I present to you ...!" The curtains opened and showed a blood-red dragon, large horns and black thorns, with a small house next to him, to give an idea of its real scale. "The Dragon Lord! Strong, giant ... and he would eat the ponies and kill them both" the dragon fell, following his predecessor, and the curtains closed again. "I have it! Lord Tirek!" a centaur appeared in the middle of the stage, specifically, the one that attacked Equestria a year after its founding and was defeated by Star Swirl and the centaur's brother, Scorpan. Discord seemed happy for his decision, but a great doubt appeared on his face. "But ... he can absorb the magic from they and leave them defenseless, they don't have the power to block that spell. No, definitely not."
"Discord, you'll have to decide on one sooner or later."
"They could all kill them!" He said, looking at me before continuing with his walk.
"Obviously, no self-respecting villain would be willing to let themselves be won, everyone will want to kill them. As long as it's not you, you're going to be left without anypony" I said that jokingly, ready to leave, at least until Discord grabbed me and squeezed me into a hug.
"You are a genious! What would I do without you?” The Chaos Lord released me and headed for the cauldron, thinking over her plan meticulously, leaving me confused.
" And what have I done?"
" Can't you see it? I will be that villain willing to let himself be won. But it has to look real, so ... something must stop me ... and the best is harmony ..."
"May it be known that he is planning, sir?"
"You'll see, dear Cake, you'll see."
Deciding that it was best not to question him, I went to my room, trying to figure out what the hell he was thinking. And the answer came three weeks later, in the middle of the night, and after being torn from my bed and taken to the room where the cauldron was.
"It better be important, sir" I said sleepily, before feeling all my sleep being ripped from its roots.
Turning around, I saw Discord smiling, holding a fishing pole and the word "dream" on the hook. Throwing my precious dream over there, he led me to the cauldron.
"Don't worry, it is, watch" he said as he pointed to the waters in the cauldron.
With a small growl, I watched, just to see six ponies advancing through a forest, the only one I recognized immediately was Star Swirl the bearded, the rest just sounded familiar to me, but I didn't know what, exactly. As I could see, it was daytime, which did not surprise me, since the cauldron could show any present or past event.
"And these are...?"
"The so-called Pillars of Equestria, their protectors and those that perfectly represent each and every one of the aspects of harmony, magic, loyalty, honesty, laughter, generosity and kindness."
CWait, these are the Pillars? Those who faced those sirens?" I said in amazement, now remembering why they sounded to me.
"The same ones ... A pity that poor Stygian is left behind ... I hope those ponies realize what they are doing to him in time."
I raised a curious eyebrow before focusing on the ponies, watching them arrive in an area familiar to me.
"And what the hell are they doing in our castle?" I said worried about Celestia and Luna.
"Don't worry, they can't see it, besides, they don't go to our house" and he was right, because the six of them went down to the bottom of the ravine heading to a place that I knew well, the grave of Harmony and her husband, so I looked expectant to Discord, who only watched the events that were happening with a guilty little smile. "I need to create something that can stop me, and harmony is the only thing that could. And right now, there is no place that is as harmonious as her grave."
Still with doubts, I observed how the Pillars entered the cave, now empty of the offerings that we left for the fallen goddess. Star Swirl seemed to plant something on the ground, backing away a bit. The Pillars remained around the planting, and concentrating, a bluish light came out of each one of them towards the center.
"What are they doing?" I asked doubtfully.
"I induced them to go here through dreams and I taught Star Swirl to create a seed capable of storing their essence through his dreams" Discord said without taking his gaze off the cauldron. "They believe they are following the will of my parents to create something that protects ponies from darkness."
I nodded as I continued to watch. After a while, the Pillars finished, and after talking a bit about what happened, they were marked. Just as the cauldron began to burn out, Discord snapped his fingers and we appeared in the cavern, now dark, lit only by the seed that had been bathed in the essence of the Pillars of Equestria.
"Why are we here?" I asked doubtfully.
"There is still something missing ... And I want you to be here, you are already my confidant."
Discord raised his eagle paw and snapped his fingers, creating a shock wave that swept through the entire forest, almost knocking me to the ground. For a few minutes, nothing happened, until six orbs entered the cave, each one transformed into a different alicorn, and I knew who they were. One with red fur and dressed in battle armor, Athena, goddess of loyalty, another with blue fur and an eternal smile, Amet, goddess of laughter, a third with purple fur, Share, goddess of generosity, the fourth was orange fur, Hestia, goddess of honesty, the fifth pink fur, Persephone, goddess of kindness, and lastly, a lavender fur, Hecate, goddess of magic, all of these, except for Athena, in robes, and they all had a mane with the scent of the rainbow. The oldest of the six, Hecate, approached her uncle with a smile, clasping her lion's paw with her hoof.
"Nice to see you, uncle."
"Same here, dear niece."
"Who is she?! A new friend ?!" The call Amet shouted as she approached me, very much, but even if I had wanted to be uncomfortable, it was impossible, since in her presence there was only room for joy.
"This is Cake" Discord said amused, pushing his energetic niece away from I a bit. "She's the castle's nanny, housekeeper and official cook."
"She shouldn't be here" Athena said, looking at me with such severity that she scared me. "Mortals shouldn't witness a meeting between the gods."
"Please, Athena" Persephone commented, approaching me and radiating an aura of pure goodness that calmed my concerns. "If our uncle has brought her here, she is to be trusted."
"And speaking of that" Hecate spoke, eager to calm the waters. "May I know why you have called us here?"
"I need your help, dear nieces," Discord said floating above them and smiling at them. "I want to create a weapon capable of protecting ponies from any evil."
"And how do you plan to create that?" Share said with a raised eyebrow.
"Channeling the residual energy of your mother, a seed imbued with the essence of six ponies that represent every aspect of harmony and ... you."
"What for, exactly?" Hestia said, scowling at Discord.
"Dear niece, do not try to use your powers on me, not only is it useless, but I am telling you the truth. The ponies need something to protect them from great evils, they have already suffered the invasion of Tirek, who tells us that the next one will not be worse?"
"That's what we are for" Hecate said. "To protect mortals and prevent ..."
"Please" Discord said with an annoyed snort, "the last time you acted to protect a mortal was that gryphon who faced a dark demon, more than three thousand years ago." You did not act with Tirek, nor with the Kirin soul stealer, nor with the dark dragon ... All of those were defeated by mortals."
"At least we didn't create beings that caused an eternal blizzard" Hestia commented reproachfully.
"You know well that it was to prevent them from continuing down that path of hatred" Discord said in a dangerous way, it even scared me. "I am the Guardian of balance, and what I do is to maintain it so that Celestia and Luna can fulfill their destiny without putting theirself in danger."
"And what is the new plan to fulfill that destiny, uncle?" Hecate said as she approached, stopping when she saw Discord rising threateningly.
"All you need to know is that if I don't, the ponies could face extinction. If you don't trust me, ask Crono, he revealed it to me."
For a while, Hecate kept her eyes on her uncle, before nodding, showing that she was willing to help him. The Lord of Chaos looked from him to the rest of his nieces, who looked at each other before agreeing to help him. Satisfied, Discord pointed out where they should each stand and asked them to pour their power into the seed planted by the Pillars. At first, nothing happened, but soon, the ground began to glow, and from each of the goddesses came a thread of energy according to their color and they connected in the same center, there where the seed, the matriarch of harmony and her husband was buried. The first thing that emerged was a kind of crystal flower that began to grow into a large tree, made entirely of crystal.
In the tree trunk appeared a sun, a moon and a star, symbols of Solaris, Selena and magic respectively. At the same time, several branches emerged, in five of these five fruits appeared, although well, more than fruits they looked like jewels, and in the center, another jewel appeared, this one in the shape of a star. When finished, the glow disappeared, and I could feel a great calm and peace in the place, although the gods present did not seem to share it, even Amet seemed concerned.
"Well" Hecate said, with a worried tone of voice. "We already help you, I hope you are happy."
"Very much, dear niece. What you have done will ensure the happiness of the ponies."
"At the expense of yours?" Amet said as she watched her uncle. "Be careful, uncle, because that path could harm your happiness."
"Don't worry about me" Discord said with a big smile. "I'm Discord, god of chaos and the biggest partygoer of all" when he said it, a lot of confetti appeared in the cave, but nobody seemed to pay attention to them, so the draconequs made them disappear before speaking. "Give my regards to father and mother."
"We will, uncle" Hecate said.
One by one, the alicorns returned to being orbs and disappeared from there quickly, the goddess of magic being the last to leave. Following this, Discord stared at the newly created tree, turning his head as he felt me approach.
"Nothing will happen, right?" I said as I approached he, worried. "I mean, Celestia and Luna aren't really going to hurt you and ..."
"That's the problem, Cake, they won't really want to attack me, and everyone will know it's fake" he said as he looked back at the tree. "And if they do, what will happen next? They will want me to introduce myself as their brother, and if the ponies discover that the one who ruled them and treated them like toys was the brother of their saviors, everything will be ruined."
"What are you implying, sir?" I asked, fearful of what he was going to say.
"You must forget me" said the lord of chaos, looking at the tree, and I dropped down, shocked. "I will make the Pillars find the castle, they will need someone other than you to protect them, and Star Swirl will be a great teacher."
I silently stared at the tree, cursing myself for giving Discord that stupid idea. Now, because of me, he was planning to make his sisters forget him. A small part of what he said came to light, causing I to look at him doubtfully.
"Me?c
" Of course, Cake, you're like her second mother, I can't let them forget you. If you want, I'll make you forget me too, so you won't have to lie to them."
I was silent, thinking about his offer. I imagine Discord going against everything he believed in, knowing that his sisters would forget him and, what is worse, they would start to hate him, in addition, the most likely thing is that the other gods would look at him with disappointment ... and all that he would have to bear it all alone.
"No, I can't" I said, feeling a lump in my throat, the tears starting to come out due to the decision I was about to make. "If you do that, you will be completely alone."
"I'll be fine by myself" he said with a shrug.
"No, you won't" I said with conviction.
"Very good" Discord said after being silent for a long time. "But are you sure you want them to forget you too?" You love them as if they were your daughters.
"I ... yes ... You are my friend, Discord, and I'm sure that Celestia and Luna would also ask me to stay by your side."
Discord sighed before smiling at me, leaning down beside me to hug me. I allowed myself to cry on his shoulder, knowing what awaited us both.
The next day was undoubtedly the hardest of my life, and I suppose for Discord as well. We decided to spend it with the girls, all together, a picnic in the forest, sharing our last day with them, although they didn't even know it. But they suspected something, but not on the part of her brother, but on mine, because it cost me more than an hour without crying bitterly. When night came, I accompanied them to their respective rooms, but they stopped to look directly at me.
"Is something wrong?" Celestia said, immensely concerned. "You've been weird all day."
I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't say anything, as much as I wanted to tell them the truth, but knew I couldn't. Discord had assured me that it was the best, he even offered to take me to Crono's house so that I could see for myself her future, but I refused, if I saw it, I would probably want to be part of that life, and it could ruin everything . Instead of speaking, I preferred to hug them both, catching them by surprise, and holding them against me. Knowing that I would not say anything that night, the fillies preferred to accompany me and sleep with me that night, for which I was very grateful. At midnight, as I watched the little girls sleep, I heard the door open, seeing the lord of chaos sneaking in. On his face, I could see a sad smile when I saw his sisters, talking to me without taking their eyes off them.
"We must go, Star Swirl will arrive tomorrow morning, attracted by a dream" I nodded weakly, without getting up and still caressing the little fillies that I considered my daughters, to which Discord sighed. "You still have time to erase your memory too."
"And who would enjoy your talks and jokes?" I said with a small smile.
I kissed each of them on the forehead and got out of bed, nodding at Discord. He spread his eagle claw over his little sisters and snapped his fingers, causing the heads of the alicorns to produce a small glow. After this, he grabbed them with his magic and led them to their rooms, all with me behind. As he set them down on their beds, he kissed each of them on the cheek before deciding to leave the castle. At each step, all traces of chaos disappeared, windows and torches would straighten, doors would stop opening in random directions, those that led to nowhere disappeared, even the lobby dome was positioned as it should. We stepped out into the cold night air, and after one last look at what had been our home for so long, Discord snapped his fingers and we were gone.
We reappeared in front of a small farmhouse, surrounded by the trees of the Everfree and with some timberwolves nearby, who approached as tame as ever. Discord motioned for I to enter the house and I did, finding a cozy living room, a kitchen off to one side, and a staircase that would lead to the bathroom and a bedroom. Apart from this, I could see Stol coming over to greet me, something that made me smile. It was incredible the affection that I could take to a living piece of furniture.
"This will be your new home" Discord said as he watched me caress the small stool, "you will be protected at all times by a herd of timberwolves and the creatures of the forest will obey you."
"Thank you sir" I said as he stood up, watching Stol walk away.
"When will you start calling me Discord? You told me last night" he said with a smile.
"Never, sir, besides, last night was a special occasion" I answered with my own, before disappearing little by little. "What will those elements do to you?"
"They can't kill me, chaos is necessary for harmony too, so most likely it will be turned to stone or something."
"And do you have something in mind to escape that?" I said with immense concern.
"Of course" he answered smiling and showing me a black seed. "I may have erased their memory and I am not planning to return to their lives, but I will not leave them to their own devices."
I nodded, wishing with all my soul that this plan would succeed.
I guess you already know the rest, Discord took control of all Equestria, it barely took five minutes, and isolated it from any outside help. Star Swirl came to the castle and began to raise what he thought were the chosen ones of the gods to defeat this 'spirit of chaos'. If it weren't that the draconequus had left the cauldron for me to observe as much as I wanted, it would be two candles away, at least until he came to visit. It hurt me horrors to see the little ones, previously full of joy, now with loneliness in their eyes, but I couldn't do anything, it was too late.
For ten years I saw them accumulating hatred for his brother, and the day that Star Swirl considered them ready, they went to face him, once or twice, being defeated at all times. I have to admit that Discord was a great actor, even if he hated playing the villain and fighting his little sisters. After the third consecutive defeat, the Lord of Chaos led them by dreams to the elements, so they marched into the final battle. And just as the draconequs had foreseen, he was turned to stone, even striking a pose.
As predicted, the ponies saw the alicorns as their saviors, naming them supreme princesses of Equestria. Everything returned to normal, and the castle, previously only inhabited by three ponies and a draconequus, was now filled with countless servants, guards and others, not to mention the small village that was built nearby. I made up my mind to wait, as Discord was supposed to break free from his stone prison soon and come see the progress with me. But a day, two, three, two full weeks went by and he didn't show up and I knew, deep in my heart, that something had gone wrong. But I refuse to believe it, it could be his joke, that he is waiting for me to see his statue and then he would come up saying something like "I should have used another pose, this one does not suit me", although I knew it was unlikely, he never made a joke in such bad taste.
One day, I decided to go to the castle on my own, signaling to the timberwolves not to follow me so closely, as the other ponies would get scared. I knew that the named princesses accepted any pony on their staff if they had no other job. So there you see me, asking for an audience with the alicorns that I came to consider my daughters, although this time, they would not recognize me. When I enter the throne room, after waiting my turn for almost two hours, I almost had a heart attack right there.
There they were, exactly the same as the last time I saw them by the cauldron, Celestia much taller than when I was taking care of her, with her long pink hair combed and with a large crown on her head, and Luna was not far behind, which she was lacking in height, she made up for it in elegance, and they both looked at me with kindness, but without showing any hint that they remembered me. On one side was Star Swirl, who now acted as her personal advisor, at least when he was not on a mission with the Pillars somewhere remote in Equestria or anywhere else in the world.
"Good morning, dear pony, tell me what worries you" Celestia said gently.
"Good morning, Cele ... Your Highnesses" I said while bowing, mentally scolding myself for that slip "I need a job, because since they defeated the lord of chaos I have seen myself ... lack of money ..."
"Haven't you heard that they're offering jobs across the country with no qualifications other than the cutie mark?" Luna said with a raised eyebrow, to which I swallowed, praying my next excuse was credible.
"Yes, Lu ... Your Highness, but I wanted to offer my services to those who saved us" once again, I mentally kicked myself, for many years that had passed, I could not stop seeing them as my daughters.
Looking at each other, both princesses agreed, drawing a sigh of relief, calling for one of their service ponies to guide me and show me exactly what my job would be. It took me a short time to get used to it, and when I had the opportunity, I discovered where they had the statue of Discord, in the garden. One night, I was in it, with the forest animals distracting the guards. I watched the draconequus turned to stone for a long time, and confirming for myself that it would not get out of there, I allowed myself to collapse and cry. It wasn't until an hour later that I decided to get out of there, being lifted into the air by a cloud of parasipes that carried me safely to my home.
The following days were very monotonous, as well as tortuous, as the princesses passed by the servants almost without looking at us, beyond a greeting here or there. And that broke my heart, but I knew it was for the best, because after several days there, I saw the hatred of all the ponies for Discord, and I knew that trying to restore their memory would only bring them misfortune, because the trust gained by their subjects, it could be lost very, very easily.
So I kept quiet, keeping for myself the secret of the true origin of the Lord of Chaos. I took the custom of, in my spare time and days off, going to the garden to clean my friend's statue, because even if I had given up telling the truth, that did not prevent me from cleaning it, and many times, I would talk to him in a low voice, like if he could hear me ... sometimes I wonder if he really hears me or just wasting my words with the stone. One day, I was cleaning Discord's chest with the help of a ladder that I took from the shed, this time, I decided not to talk to him, dedicating myself to humming softly.
"What are you doing?" Said a voice behind me, and when I turned around, I saw my little Luna watching me with a raised eyebrow.
"I ... I'm just cleaning it up, Your Highness" I said as I bowed my head respectfully from the top of the stairs.
"I don't know why, he's a monster that doesn't deserve any compassion" she said with hatred in his voice, my little Luna, if you only knew.
"I know, Your Highness, but I still think he doesn't deserve to be buried in dirt."
"As you like, it's just adding more work," Luna commented as she shrugged and continued on.
I watched Luna go, and when she disappeared from my sight, I turned to see Discord's face, frozen in an eternal laugh.
"I hope you're happy with the result ... because I'm not" I said with a sigh before continuing with my work.
And so I lived the following years, suffering in silence, although not everything was so bad. I fell in love with one of the cooks of the castle, I had a beautiful son and my love believed me ... after being surrounded by a herd of timberwolves who obeyed me in everything, I still remember his face laughing. But anyway, my story ends here, and it's up to you to do your part, deliver this to the princesses. As I said at the beginning, I cannot, not only because they would not allow me to approach, even if I have become the head of all the staff, but because I swore to myself that I would not tell them until I was sure that the knowledge of this will not bring their problems. And ... well ... I'm getting older and things don't seem to be getting any better.
So, dear reader, if you are somepony who has access to princesses, I entrust you with the task of giving them this book ... as long as you believe that it is the right time, if it is not the case, I hope you keep this book safe and its secrets until the indicated moment is some type of family tradition, if that is the case, a greeting to the new ones who read this. To finish, a message for my little alicorns, I love you very much, all the years that have passed have not erased my affection or what I feel for you, my first daughters, not with blood ... but with my heart. I hope that you can understand why we did what we did and that you can have room in your hearts to forgive us both. I love you.
"Signed, Cake ..."
Twilight closed the book, weighing in everything she read, and staring at the black cover for a long time. She had been around for almost a week since she found it, and her friends had noticed her much more distracted than usual. After finishing her work on the two sisters' castle, she would go straight home, not bothering with anything else. If what the book said was true, all Equestria owed its existence to Discord, but that was not important in his opinion, no, what was important is that even after "reforming", he had said absolutely nothing about his past.
And he had even betrayed the princesses by joining Tirek, someone he supposedly feared would kill his sisters with, so ... why join him? There was a little voice that told her that this was a lie, some ancient work of fiction, but then she remembered how Discord highlighted the fragments of the diary that she shared with her friends in which the events that led them to obtain the keys were narrated, and. .. Wasn't it thanks to his betrayal that they got the last key? Was it not thanks to that betrayal that the castle in which she now lived arose? Wasn't it thanks to him that Twilight knew what her role was as a princess? And if she was being honest, it was too easy to reform the lord of chaos, it almost seemed as if she had done it on purpose. Determined, she left her room with the book on her magic and went to the kitchen, where Spike was making himself something to eat.
"Spike, take note, we must deliver a letter to the princesses."
The little dragon looked at her, and when he saw the book, he knew immediately the importance of that letter.
Celestia opened her eyes just after hiding the sun and turned her head to see her sister lift the moon. It was something they did since the younger of the two discovered her cutie mark, at least until her exile. The day Twilight and her friends released her from the essence of Nightmare Moon, they had reverted to that custom. Often Celestia looked back sadly at the lonely years in that ancient castle, now ruined, wondering, not for the first time, if her parents could not have been more present. They had not visited them in a long time, specifically since Discord's defeat, so many centuries ago, and she was afraid that they had been forgotten, but the princess of the sun knew those thoughts in the depths of her mind as soon as they arrived. When the moon shone with all its splendor, Luna smiled at her older sister and entered her room, always facing the sunset.
"A tea before going to sleep, Tia?" Luna said as she sat next to a tea table that she had in her room, already prepared with a kettle and two cups.
"I'd love to" Celestia answered smiling.
The moment she Luna served her a cup, a green fire appeared before the solar princess, revealing a letter and a black book, which she grasped in magic from her as soon as she appeared. Celestia raised a curious eyebrow, glancing at the ancient tome, wondering that she would hide the pages from her, as she set the cup on the table. Deciding that the answer would be in the letter sent, she opened it and prepared to read while her sister waited patiently, taking a sip of her drink.
Dear Princess Celestia,
What I have sent you in a ... story of great interest to both you and Princess Luna. Spike found it in the first review of the books in the library of the Castle of the Two Sisters. It would be best if you read it together, and I suspect that you will want to suspend any meeting you have until it is finished.
With love,
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia raised an eyebrow with curiosity, looking at the aforementioned book, what information would she have so that her former star student recommended her to cancel all her assignments?
"Is something wrong, Tia?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Twilight has asked me to read this book," Celestia said as she handed the letter to her sister, who read it with a frown.
"Cancel our tasks? It must be importante" she commented before putting the letter on the table and focusing her attention on the strange book.
"Twilight wouldn't tell us that if she didn't think so" Celestia grabbed the book and opened it to the first page before looking at her Sister. "Do you want me to read?"
"As in the old days" replied the moon princess with a small laugh before nodding and taking a sip of tea.
What could be considered as the prologue of the book if that was strange, and more because of the almost pleading request of the author that the book be delivered to them. But her strangeness turned to confusion when they read that this pony named Cake served Discord before the princesses. With that revelation, they deduced that this book was written centuries before Luna was banished to the moon, so they found it amazing that it had remained hidden in the library for so long.
As soon as Celestia read the creation of the universe aloud, they looked at each other in surprise. That was the exact story that their parents had told them when they were little, and it was something that absolutely no other pony knew, how is it possible that this Cake knew about this? The only thing it differed in was the chaos lord's supposed role in it. Even so, they could consider it possible, because there could be no harmony without chaos, and it was known that this force of nature was the one that formed the changes and thus created new things, even so, it seemed strange to them that their parents had not mentioned it, and besides ... why was she treating Discord like their firstborn?
The most logical thing they could think of was that it was a little lie that the lord of chaos would tell the author, although it still seemed strange to them. The fact that Discord was directly responsible for creating the galaxies, the first planet or even being the one that would start the birth of a new god was totally different from what they remembered from the history that their parents told them, in fact, never they had heard of this Ares god. Also, seeing Discord so happy with the prevailing harmony was very confusing. If this was true, why would he begin to yearn for all of Equestria to be in chaos?
Upon arriving at the creation of the world, they found again that the narrative was practically the same as what their parents told them, with some details that either Discord made up, or their parents omitted. For example, the creation of thinking beings, true, they already knew that their brothers Harmony and Crono had created their own species, but according to this book, the lord of chaos was the creator of changelings, and gave them a form, apparently, more peaceful. Before reading on and trying to find the answer to why there were so many discrepancies between what their parents said and what this book said, Celestia looked at the time on the big clock in her sister's room. Noticing that it was already quite late, both sisters decided to continue reading over breakfast the next day, before going back to their tasks as rulers.
However, their royal duties did not allow them to do that, and although the reading was intriguing, they did not consider it to be as crucial as Twilight had let it be, and knowing what the mare was like with new knowledge, they suspected that was the way it was for her. It wasn't until their lunch arrived that they were finally able to have a little break, and after eating, they continued their reading in Celestia's room, at least until they had to return to their duties as rulers.
The next thing in the narrative was the birth of their sister Gea, something that was practically the same as what they already knew, and how their brothers, parents and Discord adopted their current forms. From here, everything was just as their parents narrated, without any other alteration, something that continued to affirm that the author was telling the truth, after all, no one knew exactly how it was that Grogar was defeated, and at the same time, it had a lot of things that didn't fit with what they knew, and it was all about Discord.
They went through the punishment that their parents meted out to the ponies, something that always seemed a bit cruel to them. They smiled at the mention of Celestia's birth, but frowned at a new discrepancy with what they knew, why did the autira insist that Discord was their brother? Or why did she say that he was present for most of their childhood? The supposed fact that he was dedicated to raising them was something that made the back of their mind churn, as if something was struggling to get out. They should have returned to their royal duties a long time ago, they had a meeting to go to, but something in the back of their minds was preventing them from leaving the book, so they announced that they would cancel all their meetings that day.
They quickly passed the creation of the Everfree, a story that was totally different from what they believed their creation to be, and they finally came to the narrative from Cake's point of view, and by reading the description that that mare gave of herself, they had a strong feeling that they should know her. Reading her first encounter with her own eyes, Celestia fell completely silent as a cascade of memories came to light, as if they had been shot out of a trunk that had been snapped open after opening it with a key.
"Tia ... what's wrong?" Luna asked worried when she saw her sister's expression.
"Cake ..." Celestia whispered with tears beginning to emerge. "How could I forget her?"
"Tia? Did you meet Cake?" Luna asked with concern and curiosity.
Her older sister looked at her for a long time while silent tears broke her face, always calm. She saw no reason to try to remind Luna of all that was forgotten, for she knew very well the type of memory spell they had been subjected to by their brother. A pang of pain went through her as she remembered that, yes, Discord was their brother, and they not only forgot him, but hated him, turned him to stone, and considered him the most despicable and vile being they had ever known, and even after to reform him, they preferred not to have much contact with it.
"Can you continue, please?" She said calmly, trying to wipe away her tears.
Still worried, Luna listened to her sister, grabbing the book and preparing to read. A frown appeared on her face when she saw Discord's attitude, still convinced that there was a mistake. Was it a fictional story? If so, how did she know the details of the creation of the world? However, as she read her first play session with Cake, as with her sister, a torrent of images and forgotten memories came to her, causing her to drop the book from the print as she began to mourn. Celestia, knowing what she was going through, approached her and hugged her tightly with her left wing.
"Why?" Said Luna in a low voice. "Why did she do it?"
"I don't know Luna, but Cake left us the answers, as always ..."
After almost an hour in which they were crying, they felt ready to continue reading. As they went, they smiled at the displays of affection from Cake and Discord himself, and like her older sister, Luna felt like the worst sister in the world. When they read the visit and the talk between Discord and Harmony, Celestia was extremely surprised to learn the name of the husband of the goddess of harmony, it was the last name of her star student. She was already suspicious of her lineage, after all, the day that Twilight got her cutie mark, she felt the essence of a god inside her, it was for that and for her potential that she decided to make her her student and prepare her to be promoted, just like like she did with Cadence.
The death of her sister brought them a deep sadness, more Celestia, who remembered that day perfectly, even when the memories of her had been erased and modified, the feeling that her death produced was impossible to forget. But when they saw where their brother buried her, they looked at each other confused, wasn't it the same place where the Tree of Harmony rested?
Luna smiled and puffed out her chest proudly when she saw the day she got her cutie mark, while Celestia felt ashamed of her attitude as a filly, sometimes she was surprised at how much she had changed in all those years, not even the memory spell made her forget how she was in her childhood. However, their happiness turned to horror when they saw that it was their brother who created the Windigos, with Cake with whom she gave the indirect idea. Still, they reluctantly agreed that it was the best course of action, who knows what would have happened had it not been for the Windigos, although they hoped that something so drastic would not have to be done again.
Celestia felt immensely guilty again seeing that argument in which she yelled at her adoptive mother, but that disappeared when they read Discord's plan. They read silently how he rejected three villains before deciding to be the one who would face them, as he would be the only one who would not want to kill them. And so they knew why it would erase their memory. They were not astonished when they read the creation of the Tree of Harmony, since they had already suspected it since their brother buried Harmony there. And they couldn't help crying bitterly as he decided that it was best to make them forget him forever and that Cake would join in just to keep him from losing his mind if he was left alone. And their sadness increased from them seeing that his plan to escape from his stone prison ended in great failure, they could hardly continue to see how they treated Cake as if they had never met her.
Despite everything, they smiled when they saw that her adoptive mother got love and had a colt, and their heart warmed when they saw her message of love for them. When Celestia closed the book, she looked out the window, seeing the golden color of the sunset, and then she noticed the clock and both princesses knew that they were three minutes late for sunset and moon rise. Speeding out of the older sister's room, they went to Luna's, ignoring the guards who looked at them strangely. Once in place, they calmed down and led to the night. Once their work was done, Celestia smiled as she remembered.
"Is something wrong, Tia?" Luna said curiously, making Celestia look at her with a small smile and the loose tears that escaped her eyes.
"Cake would punish us for being late" she said before starting to laugh slightly, being followed by Luna, who looked at her with a mischievous smile.
"I would scold you, I would say that you are a bad influence. Admit it, I was her favorite."
"Whatever you say, nerd."
"Lazy."
Both sisters continued with their retaliation of nicknames as they walked to the elder's room, as they preferred to sleep together that night, and in order to avoid going to Luna's room, they decided to stay in Celestia's. Some of the guards looked at each other in surprise, as they had never seen the ruling princesses speak to each other like this before, but they breathed easy when they saw them laugh. The two alicorns reached the sunroom and lay down on the bed, with the book closed on the nightstand, and fell into a deep sleep.
Right after the sun rose, Celestia walked over to her desk, closely followed by her sister. She grabbed a scroll and quill and started to write.
"Are you going to call Discord?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, I think it is time to make up for lost time, and the ponies no longer hate he as much as before."
"Speak for you, I don't know if I'll be able to contain myself when I see it" Luna said angrily, ready to show her brother her opinion on erasing her memory.
On her side, Celestia, although she also wanted to teach her lost brother a lesson from hers, set out to calm her temper and remain calm, as she had always done since Luna's exile. After finishing the letter, she lit up her horn and it disappeared in golden fire. Once done, they both left, ready to hold that meeting that they canceled the day before.
Discord was traveling through outer space, accompanied by electronic music created by that Dj Pon 3. If there was something that he loved about mortals, not just ponies, it was their ability to create music, sometimes so harmonious and beautiful and other times so chaotic, more than once he had wondered why his parents did not do the same as Harmony with their daughters and promoted the first mortal to create a piece of music in a god.
After several minutes of travel, he reached his destination, stopping to observe his next task, two galaxies close together and about to collide. Taking out a remote control, he changed his current song to some classical music, perfect for what he had to do, and began to move his hands together little by little, acting like a conductor. Before they touched, he clicked, making all planets and systems, whether they harbor life or not, become intangible, thus preventing any accidents. After half an hour, the galaxies merged into a single, vastly larger one.
Nodding in satisfaction, Discord undid the intangible spell and snapped his fingers, causing a scroll to appear that he grasped in both hands, staring at it intently.
"Ummm, let's see ... Annoy Crono, done, buy new tea bags for the meeting with Fluttershy, done, put two galaxies about to collide together, done, beg Hades again to let me visit Eden to see Harmony and Cake ... pending."
With a satisfied smile, he let the parchment float in the vacuum of space, at least until it burned to ashes, and don't ask how it could burn in the vacuum of space. Just as he was about to be transported to the plane of Limbo to visit the lord of the dead, a letter appeared with a golden glow, symbolizing that his little solar sister had written to him.
With a smile, he opened the envelope and read its contents, stumbling upon an invitation to his castle for that afternoon. 'Why wait?' Discord asked himself with a mischievous look. Tucking the letter into an inner pocket of his fur, he brought two eagle fingers to his mouth and whistled with all his might, seconds later a taxi appeared right in front of him. The window lowered and showed a Discord with a greasy cap, a cigar in his mouth, a blue jacket and a grumpy tone that would make the inhabitants of Manehattan proud.
"Where to?" He snapped.
"To Equestria, the royal castle of Canterlot, please."
"Get on" the taxi driver answered as he spat into the void of space.
"What a service" Discord whispered before entering.
The taxi reared, like a pony ready for battle, and lunged forward, turning sharply and heading in the opposite direction. Traveling at speeds impossible even for light, it took him an hour to traverse hundreds of thousands of galaxies to reach the correct and desired planet. The vehicle entered the atmosphere, and unlike any other stellar object that entered the planet, the taxie was not involved in a ball of fire, quickly reaching its destination. He stopped in front of the great golden doors, in front of two guards who looked at each other nervously, knowing well who was there, confirming their suspicions when they saw Discord leave shortly after as he took a deep breath.
"Yo, home smell you later!"
"Are you going to pay me or not?" Said the taxi driver with a grunt.
Grabbing the fur from his chest, he opened it as if it were any ordinary jacket, took out a wad of bills that had his smiling face on them, handing it to the uranus taxi driver.
"Keep the change" he said before the taxi disappeared into the sky, so Discord looked at the guards with a smile. "That guy was in a hurry, huh?"
"Once again, we deeply regret having canceled our meeting yesterday" Celestia said from her throne with an apologetic smile.
In front of her and her sister, who sat next to her on her own throne, was a griffin, who was one of the griffin emperor's most trusted advisers and had gone as ambassador to establish much closer commercial ties with Equestria than in the past. All thanks to the performance of two of the friends of the princess of friendship, Twilight Sparkle, in one of the most important cities of the Gryphon Empire, at least it was in the past.
"There are no problems, Your Highness, the taps are not strangers to personal problems" the counselor commented, bowing his head respectfully.
"And we appreciate it" Luna commented with another smile of apology and gratitude. "Returning to the topic, I am sure that there is much that you would like to discuss with us about the future of our kingdoms."
"Yes, and I would like to apologize again, Emperor Graham III regrets not being able to be here. He had very important matters that related to the Empire, you must know the importance of solving matters of that caliber."
"Of course" Celestia said as she smiled.
Before they could continue speaking, the wooden doors were flung open, alarming the guards, both those of the princesses and those protecting the Gryphon ambassador. A red carpet crossed the room as six Discords dressed as members of a royal entourage lined up and began to play in sync. A mini draconequus dressed as a butler strode across the carpet as the music continued, carrying a neatly folded parchment under his arm. The trumpets stopped his music, except for one in particular who began to play one more ... rhythmic, at least until the mini Discord jumped up and hit his neck with the scroll.
"Enough, Reggie" he said, stepping to the side of the carpet and spreading his parchment, which began to roll and spread throughout the room until it reached the thrones of the princesses, clearing his throat before speaking. "Featuring His Highness, King of Mischief, Ultimate Party Man, Count of Milk Chocolate, Master Dancer ... etc, etc, Lord of Chaos, Discord!"
A hundred confetti came out of the ceiling as the aforementioned entered the throne room as he greeted an imaginary audience that began to clap in ecstasy, before stopping in front of the princesses.
"Your favorite draconequus has arrived!" He yelled as he spread his arms with a gigantic smile, bowing, quite exaggerated.
The Discords, the mini included, disappeared from there with the long carpet next to the even longer parchment. The room fell silent, the guards, both those who came with the griffin ambassador and those who belonged to the royal guard, looking nervously at Discord, the former because it was the first time they had seen him and the latter because they still remembered the betrayal that the Lord of Chaos committed by allying himself with Tirek.
"Discord ... we were waiting for you this afternoon" Celestia said without showing any emotion.
"Yeah, but I said to myself ... why wait to see my favorite princesses?" Discord replied with a shrug and smirk.
"Yeah ... Ambassador, would you mind saving our meeting for later? My sister and I have something very important to discuss with the lord of chaos, affairs of state."
"Of course, Your Highnesses, I understand" said the aforementioned, still surprised to be in front of such a chaotic creature.
When the gryphon and his soldiers left the room, Celestia glanced at her guards, saying with her eyes that they should go as well. A little insecure, the ponies obeyed, leaving their princesses with a very confused lord of chaos, for he felt something very different from the hatred or indifference common in them. This time, there was affection, something that he had not experienced for many centuries, clouded with some anger, but did not reach hatred, and sadness, and it was there that Discord knew something was wrong. Celestia got up and began to walk slowly, her sister following behind her.
"Tell me, Discord, does the name 'Cake' sound familiar to you?"
A little red alarm started going off in his head, but Discord quickly dismissed it, it was impossible for their to remember it, he had made sure of it. The lord of chaos floated up and raised his gryphon hand thoughtfully to his chin.
"Wasn't that the name of those pastry chefs in Ponyville that Pinkie Pie works for?"
"No, it's not them" Celestia answered calmly.
"Well, I have no idea," Discord said with a shrug, making Luna groan as she took a few steps forward.
"Stop playing the damn fool! We know everything! You ...!" Luna was interrupted by Celestia's wing, who indicated with her gaze that she calm down.
"What do you think you know exactly?" Discord asked, suspecting the answer, but not wanting to admit it.
In response, Celestia lit up her horn, appearing in front of her a black book that struck the draconequus. Discord grabbed it curiously, opening it and starting to read, faster than any creature could, but the sisters could see his face go through myriad emotions. Surprise, outrage, sadness, and, finally, resignation, closing it, he ran his eagle claw across the cover as she sighed, letting a small smile appear on his face.
"That Cake, I should have guessed she would do something like that" Discord looked up and saw his sisters, watching him intently, without taking their eyes off their.
"How could you?" Luna said as she advanced, dropping a few tears that she had been holding back for a while.
"The alternative was pony extinction and your death, and I wasn't going to go through there" Discord replied with a shrug.
"You didn't even think we could understand it, Celestia commented with pain in her heart and in her gaze, making Discord have to suppress a guilty grimace. "And even when you did, you didn't think of ending this charade by breaking your seal for the first time, or after your supposed reform ..."
"What can I say?" Discord said as he shrugged. "I suspected the ponies wouldn't take the truth well ..."
"It has been more than 2000 years since your first defeat" Luna said firmly. "Very few remembered you, the only thing you did to continue with your stupid charade is to reinforce the idea that you are a monster, and even more with your alliance with Tirek."
"I remind you that thanks to my betrayal, Twilight got that key for that chest and got that castle. If not for me, she would still be racking her brains to find out what her role as a princess is."
"The ponies won't see that" said Celestia. "All they will see is that the supposedly reformed Lord of Chaos betrayed the princesses of Equestria and helped the demon Tirek absorb their magic."
"Well, all the more reason to continue with the lie, right?" Discord commented with a small smile, devoid of Joy. "Imagine what would happen if your subjects knew ..."
"And why would they have to know?" said Luna, already desperate to see that her brother could move away again. "It could be behind closed doors, nopony has to realize it. Please ... I don't want ... I don't want to lose you again ..."
Discord watched his little sister's tears come out, and a glance at Celestia confirmed that she had her own too. The lord of chaos was left thinking, because he did not know what the hell to do. He had spent too much time pretending to be someone he was not, too long in his role as the mortal enemy of the divine alicorns ... he wasn't sure he could go back to being the brother he should be. But even seeing his sisters like this, he kept thinking that the best thing was to get away from them, what would the ponies think of him if they discovered that the villain who made them suffer in the past was the brother of his princesses? What did they discover that they rose to power thanks to a lie?
"Like I said, what if the ponies found out the truth? It could spell your end as rulers, and the ponies need you ... Closed door or not, somepony might realize. Don't expect to see me again, it would be quite risky ..."
Without giving the alicorns time to respond, Discord disappeared in a white flash, leaving the princesses bewildered, with the black book as the only proof that he was there. Immediately after his departure, Luna collapsed and began to cry inconsolably, being hugged shortly after by her sister.
There was a cemetery near the Castle of the Two Sisters, in the village that was built shortly after the accession to the throne of both alicorns, and like the palace, it had fallen into ruins, it was hardly appreciated what it was before. Discord appeared at the entrance and crept forward, slithering through the air like a snake, down the rocky path filled with moss and nature, slowly reclaiming his territory.
The light of the full moon illuminated the place, but soon, its light was quickly turned off thanks to a thick layer of clouds. At last, the draconequus stopped in front of the only thing that remained intact in the place, a set of tombs that the lord of chaos set out to keep intact after his reform, although at that moment, the one that interested him was one in specifically, that of her first mortal friend ... Cake. He stare at the tombstone for a while before sighing.
"Well ... Hades again denied me to see you, so here I am. I'm glad to know that at least you will be able to hear me, although I would have liked to hear some advice from you, you always gave me the best" Discord allowed himself a small laugh, fading quickly. "Right now ... I need it ... I don't know what do with Celestia and Luna ..."
"Dramas were never your strong suit, you are better with happy themes ..."
Discord turned his head, seeing a pony that he had not seen in a long time. The Lord of Chaos grimaced before turning back.
"What are you doing here, Gea?"
The goddess of life stepped forward to stand next to her older brother, gazing down at the grave from her hooves.
"Give support to a brother, I saw that you needed it."
"I don't need it, and less from somepony who has never come down to see his sisters."
"Do you think you are the best person to rub people's mistakes in his face?"
"For once ... I'll agree with you, and I don't know who made the worst mistakes."
"According to Crono, you" said Gea, smiling.
"I'm not surprised ... he has hated me since I became a 'villain', even if it was to protect Celly and Lulu."
"I think I remember that he said that from there to trying to imitate Ares there is a very small step" said the green alicorn.
"Don't you dare say it even as a joke" growled the lord of chaos, and a flash of lightning crossed the cloudy sky of the Everfree. "Ares was a ... psychopath who sought the destruction of everything. I just wanted to ensure a future for my sisters and the ponies."
"And you gave it to their ... at the cost of your happiness" Gea said, her burlesque and cheerful tone replaced by a worried one. "Now you have the opportunity to change things."
"Or to make it worse ... the ponies could take the news very badly."
"Or not, you don't know."
"I know mortals, I know very well how they might react."
"You have a very bad image of mortals, brother."
"I've had experience."
"I know, I know, changelings, ponies, griffins, and many more ... but you have also run into good mortals."
"Already ... few, very few. Mortals ... you know they are unstable, and can very easily succumb to evil."
"What about Cake?"
"An exception."
"Yeah ... And Fluttershy? Another exception?" Discord went to speak, but his sister wouldn't let him. "Then you have her friends, none of them seem like a bad pony."
"They are the elements of harmony, chosen by Hecate and her sisters, obviously they are not."
"Aha, what about Spike? He is a dragon, and I think I remember you once said that it was a mistake to create dragons."
"And I maintain it, they are too destructive and have decided to reject any attempt at peace. Spike was raised by ponies, an element of harmony and a descendant of Harmony, he would obviously be an exception to the ..."
"And Ember? The Dragon Lord doesn't seem as bad as the others. As I understand it, she is totally the opposite of her father, and I have seen one or two dragons willing to help someone in distress, be it ponies, griffins or any other creature" at this point, Gea was grinning widely while Discord just snorted . "Not to mention the ponies that, according to you, most would succumb to evil, and the truth is, I don't agree very much. There are Messrs. Cake, the Apple family, those cutie mark crusaders, Rarity's parents, those of that filly named Scootaloo, Miss Cheerilee ..."
"Okay, okay, I get it, not all mortals are prone to evil."
"And still, you're afraid" said Gea with a frown. "Why reject the love of your sisters?"
"Why do you care?" Discord replied with a grunt. "What I'm going to do is the same thing all the gods have been doing, watch, meditate, and not intervene."
Furious, Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared from there, not wanting to be with his sister anymore. He reappeared near the top of Mount Everhoof, alone surrounded by snow and silence. At least until he turned and ran into the smiling Gaea.
"Discord, you may be one of the most powerful gods, but you are still alive, and I can know where each living being is at all times."
"I knew, I just wanted to see if you got the idea that I wanted to be alone" Discord growled before sitting down in the snow, feeling his sister do the same and sit next to him.
"Discord, if I worry for you, it is because of all, you are the one who has interacted the most with mortals. And although it pains me to admit it, you are the only one who has become so fond of Celestia and Luna as father and mother, and unlike them, you can visit them whenever you want."
"Gea ..." said the lord of chaos with a sigh. "Look at me, I've been playing the villain for too long, I don't know how to be a brother. And it's not like I was the best, my punishments were a joke, and when I gave them, they knew how to get rid of them."
"Luckily for you, they are older- said Gea with a smile." Now you can forget to take care of them, you can do what you always do with us."
"And is that ...?" Discord asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Be the best older brother of creation."
After a few moments, Discord gave a small smile before pulling Gea into a tight hug, which she gladly accepted.
Celestia opened her eyes watching the rising sun, illuminating a new day, together with her sister. They had been together all night, comforting each other. Luna was the one who had had the worst time, as she firmly believed that it had been her fault, all for rushing too much and not waiting. The goddess of the sun sighed, ready to have a bitter day, until they heard applause from behind their. As they turned around, both sisters widened their eyes, because there was Discord, sitting on a deck chair as if nothing, looking with a big smile at his little sisters.
"An excellent sunrise, my dears, as always."
"D ... Discord?" Luna said incredulously.
"The same dress and shoes."
"What are you doing here?" Celestia said, her heart beating fast as hope flooded her.
"Well, I've been thinking, and after a lot of thinking and getting some advice" Discord couldn't help but smile slightly, then looking at his sisters, "I've decided I'm done with pretending. Luna, you've won, I'm going to give this closed-door thing a chance ..."
He couldn't continue, as the dark alicorn threw him to the ground, making the deck chair disappear, crying bitterly.
"Stupid! Fucking idiot! Don't do it again! DID YOU HEAR ME?!" she shouted through tears, allowing herself to stop being the regal figure that she always tried to show to everypony.
"Loud and clear, Lulu" Discord said smiling, hugging his younger sister, who calmed down little by little and accepted the hug. "Better?" Seeing her smile, the lord of chaos widened her smile. "So ... can I get up?"
Luna pulled away from him a bit, suddenly embarrassed, allowing her brother to get up. As he did so, he glanced at Celestia, who was trying hard not to break her composure, at least until the draconequus reached out for a hug. Soon, the solar goddess pressed herself against him, leaving behind her neat image of an untouchable princess and beginning to cry freely, reverting to being a little filly. Discord observed Luna looking at them with a smile, and he did not miss anything of her inviting her to her family hug. Once they parted, several minutes later, the lord of chaos finally made up his mind to speak.
"Well, who's hungry?"
The two sisters looked at each other before smiling and marching out of the room, being followed by the lord of chaos. Several guards along the way watched in disbelief at the rare sight of their princesses talking animatedly to Discord, with no insults or practical jokes involved. On the contrary, there were only good words between the three of them, and they continued like this until they reached the great dining room of the castle. Celestia and Luna sat in their usual place, and just when they were going to invite their brother to sit in one of the chairs already set, the draconequus decided to move one aside, raising it to the ceiling, and place his own, then observing to his sisters.
"What? It is my favorite chair."
"It doesn't matter" said Celestia smiling, turning around when she heard the kitchen door open. "I hope you like breakfast, our chefs are among the best in the country."
"Although they don't get over Cake" Luna intervened with sadness in her voice. "I wish I was here."
"And he is, for sure" Discord said confidently.
Seeing that Luna did not seem very convinced, he reached out his tail and stroked his sister's head with its end turned into a hand, who smiled fondly, being a strange sight for the guards who were there and for the ponies that brought the food. The last time they saw the lord of chaos interact with Luna, this one she did not speak with exactly good words.
"Remind me to take you to her grave" he said after a while, pulling his tail away from his sister.
"We'd love that" Celestia answered with a big smile.
Food soon filled the table, and the servants left quickly, a bit shocked by the unexpected visitor. As the three of them ate quietly, Discord glanced at the guards, who were immensely nervous at his presence.
"Are you going to tell them the truth?"
"I thought you said ..."
"Luna, it is one thing for those who work here to know it and another for the ponies who live abroad to know it."
"The truth" Celestia spoke after swallowing a bite of her cupcake, "is that I was thinking of holding a meeting to ..."
"To give them time to start the rumors and escape from this castle. If you allow me, Celestia, I'll do it faster."
With a click, a microphone, and a sound mixer it appeared in front of him, starting work right away.
"Let's see ... Testing, testing, one, two, one, two ..." the voice of the Lord of Chaos was heard in every corner of the castle, including the gardens, but it did not go outside its grounds, even though the street was a meter away. "Okay, hello everypony, stallions and mares! I'm Discord, and I'm here to tell you something important ... Celestia and Luna are my little sisters, don't bother looking for explanations, I won't give them to you, maybe in the distant future, who knows. The thing is ... this secret should not leave the castle, so, if anypony is tempted to tell this out there, remember that the last mortal who betrayed my trust was turned into a grain of sand in the middle of the desert, like this If you have that temptation, think that you could be the next pimple.
"Discord!" Said Luna's voice, echoing through the castle. "That is cruel, there is no need to threaten them."
"Just in case."
"Not even in case."
"Be careful with that tone, I'm still your older brother."
"And what are you going to do to me, huh?"
"Umm ... A baby chair would suit you."
"If that was embarrassing before ..." Celestia commented as she took a sip of coffee, ignoring the disoriented guards.
"You would not dare..."
"Nope, it's very obvious ... but I can tell an anecdote for your workers" Discord showed a mischievous smile and leaning back in his chair "I remember one day, when you were five years old, you had to take a bath and you started running all over the castle screaming ..."
"DON'T EVER FINISH THAT!"
The princess of the night threw herself at the draconequus, so Celestia had to elevate everything on the table with her magic. The Lord of Chaos quickly backed away as he laughed uncontrollably, storming out of the dining room, closely followed by Luna. As they left, Celestia's assistant Raven entered the room, gazing wide-eyed at the spectacle before approaching the solar princess.
"I have to say, Raven" Celestia said when she noticed her. "I missed my older brother."
"Majesty?"
"Do not worry, I will tell you the story, you are of my highest confidence. And don't worry, I won't let him turn anypony into a grain of sand" Celestia said as she smiled and began to drink her cup.
"WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING ONLY ME?!" Luna yelled, still chasing her brother.
"Don't worry, I have many others from Celestia, like when she tried to steal a box of cookies, it's a classic."
"If you'll excuse me, Raven" Celestia said with wide eyes, "I have to stop Discord from revealing foalhood secrets."
As soon as she said that, the alicorn got up and left the dining room at a brisk pace, with the aim of preventing Discord from damaging her reputation. Raven glanced at the guards, who shrugged, but still, the unicorn saw something that she didn't see very often in her princess, genuine joy. If living with the lord of chaos was the price to pay for their princesses to be happy, so be it.
Cadence sat down with a weary sigh in one of the armchairs in her private living room, happy to be there to unwind instead of being surrounded by a bunch of nobles from the Crystal Empire. The bad thing about these is that having been under a temporary suspension spell for just over a thousand years, their ideas were very ... archaic. Even after two years, she was fighting to get workers to have decent wages, basic rights like syndicates, acceptable days off, etc, etc. Using her magic, she poured herself a cup of tea to calm the nerves that those aristocrats gave her, and she still had enough left, because after her 5 minute break she would have to go back to the throne room, sometimes she wondered how they did it her aunts. The alicorn couldn't help but take another sigh, as she closed her eyes and took a sip.
"Difficult day?" Said a voice from the door.
Opening her eyes, the princess of love saw her husband Shining Armor enter the room with a smile, with an expression just as tired as she was, and dressed in the armor that distinguished him as a prince of the Empire and commander of the guard of crystal.
"You can't imagine it" Cadence said as she closed her eyes again, "those nobles urgently need a class of pony rights and freedoms. How about you, how about training the nejbos recruits?"
"Those rookies are giving me more trouble than expected. A 200-meter run around the training ground and they're already on the verge of an attack, and i'm giving them a gentler workout than the canterlot royal guard" Shining said as he approached and poured himself another cup of tea, giving a long sip.
"I'm sure their captain will make they real soldiers" Cadence replied with a smile.
"Oh yeah? Why?" Her husband answered as he put the cup on the table and approached the pink alicorn.
"Because he's the best."
Cadence craned her neck as Shining lowered her head for a loving kiss. The sound of somepony entering the room interrupted them, and as they turned, they saw the assistant to the princess of love.
"This ... Am I interrupting something? Because I can go and ..."
"It's okay, Ruby Heart, you can come in" Cadence said in a friendly tone. "Is something wrong?"
"Letter from Princess Celestia, Your Highness" said the young crystal pony as she put her right hoof in the saddlebag and took out an envelope sealed with the royal seal of the princess of the sun.
Curious, Cadence grabbed the letter with her magic and opened it, ready to read its contents.
Dear Cadence,
I am writing to you because something important has happened, my sister Luna and I have ... regained our relationship with one of our brothers. And since you are our niece, we want to introduce you, as it is very important to us and he has expressed his desire to want to be able to call you a niece. Your husband may feel invited to come, he is family.
With love,
Princess Celestia
Cadence looked up from the note for the twentieth time, still surprised, and it was no wonder, her aunt never told her that she had more siblings apart from Luna. She was somewhat worried, why was that brother appearing now? What did he want from her aunts? With a sigh, she tried to distract herself observing the beautiful scenery that she could see through the train window, observing the fields and meadows of Equestria that could be seen from Mount Canterhorn, in the distance, she could see Ponyville and the glow it gave off the Castle of Friendship being illuminated by the sun. Both she and her husband took the first train of the afternoon, almost a week ago, and secretly, the princess of love was grateful not to have to deal with the nobles of the Crystal Empire, at least until her return.
"Something happens?"
Cadence turned to see her husband approach from the table in the private bar they had in their personal carriage. The alicorn gave a small smile and made room for Shining so that she will sit next to him on the comfortable sofa that was available to her, enough to lie on it without problems.
"It's nothing important" she commented as she gave him a soft kiss.
"Hey, you can tell me what you want, I'm here for you."
"Shining, I ..." Cadence sighed and gave up, admitting that she couldn't fool the unicorn. "I'm just worried, why is that brother coming now and not before?" What he wants?"
"Maybe he wants to repair his mistakes?"
"Maybe ... or maybe he wants something from them ..."
"There's something else, right?"
"Can't I hide anything from you?" Cadence said with a little giggle.
"No, it is in my blood, once we see a mystery, the Sparkles set out to discover it" Shining replied amused, sharing a laugh with his wife.
After a moment, Cadence rested her head on her husband's shoulder, closing her eyes, beginning to speak.
"I can't stop thinking that ... if my parents came one day willing to resume a relationship with me after leaving me alone all my life ... could I accept it as my aunts seem to accept their brother?"
Shining held her in his embrace, conveying his support, support that Cadence accepted. Several minutes later, the train entered the last tunnel that ran through the mountain, leaving five minutes later on the outskirts of the equestrian capital. After traveling a few streets, the train stopped at the central station, where Celestia herself was already waiting along with a group of guards and a private carriage, not to mention some curious ponies, the vsuat of its ruler so closely was rare. The princess of the sun smiled when she saw her niece leave with her husband, going to give the pink alicorn a hug.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, dear Cadence."
"Likewise, Aunt Celestia."
The embrace between the two deepened a bit before parting, at which point Celestia looked at Shining, smiling.
"Nice to see you too, Shining."
"The pleasure is mine, Your Highness" said the unicorn as he bowed.
"Aunt" Cadence commented, wanting to direct the conversation to the matter she wanted to address, "what's that about a brot ...?
" It is better to treat him in the castle."
Celestia's eyes went very subtly to the ponies present. Nodding, both crystal rulers boarded their transport, heading for the castle. Along the way, the white alicorn was dedicated to talking about topics that did not coincide at all with the one Cadence wanted to talk about. It was not until the carriage had crossed the gate that the princess of the sun seemed willing to comment directly on the subject on which she called her niece and her husband.
"Well, I have to tell you that my brother ... will not be as you think. Whatever happens, I want you to trust me."
Cadence and Shining looked at each other before nodding, to which Celestia smirked. The carriage stopped in front of the doors and the three occupants descended to head inside the castle, walking through its corridors in the direction of the more private wings. The princess of the sun stopped in front of the door that the pink alicorn recognized as the private room of the princesses, opening and revealing a picture difficult to believe for the crystal rulers.
"Hake Mate, Lulu" Discord said as he hit the king's figure with his tower, while smiling hugely.
"You really don't cheat?" Luna replied with a frown.
"No, they are centuries of practice, my dear."
"Hello, Discord, they've arrived" Celestia interrupted as she entered, then glancing at her niece, letting a worried expression cross her face. "Is something wrong?"
"I ..." Cadence said looking at the lord of chaos without knowing what to say, this couldn't be her uncle, could he?
"Cadence ..." Luna said, leaving her seat and approaching the mare. "I present to you our brother, although I think you already know him."
"Yes, she knows him, from the day you betrayed us and the day you almost killed her and my sister" Shining said with rancor and placing himself in front of his wife in a protective way, who looked at him in horror.
"Shining!"
"Shining, I know you're furious about that, but if you could just listen ..." Luna said delicately.
"Hear what, Your Highness? It's Discord, lord of chaos, and reformed or not, he's not to be trusted."
"Shining, calm down" Celestia said forcefully. "Let me explain ... certain things."
"That would help" Cadence said, giving her husband a warning look.
As for Discord, he watched everything in silence, waiting to see how everything evolved, being attentive to the pink alicorn, there was something about her that attracted him. After a long explanation, Cadence fell silent, processing the information, while Shining kept thinking that the lord of chaos was playing some kind of twisted game, and the princesses had fallen for him. In the end, the princess of love finally decided to speak.
"So ... you decided to be a villain just to make sure my aunts fulfilled their destiny?"
"That and stop the ponies from destroying each other."
"You take care of that ..." Shining whispered, receiving a blow from his wife, while Discord just gave an amused laugh.
"I like you, straight to the point and not afraid to say what you think."
Shining was about to reply but was interrupted by Cadence, who approached the lord of chaos slowly.
"If what my aunts say is true, that means we are family, right?"
"That's what they say" Discord replied with a shrug, staring at Cadence, "the important thing is that you want me to be part of your family."
"Of course I do" Cadence said with a smile, glancing at her husband before reaching out and extending her hoof. "Nice meeting you, Uncle Discord."
In response, the lord of chaos chose to grab her and wrap her in a tight hug, Shining almost lunged to attack. After a few minutes, Discord set the alicorn on the ground, still smiling.
"A pleasure to have you in my family, dear Cadence, and the same goes for you, Shining."
The aforementioned was to say something, but he felt that all his bad feelings seemed to disappear little by little, watching Cadence, who gave him a mischievous smile and had her horn lit up. With a sigh, Shining clenched Discord's claw, surrendered.
"Good" said Luna happily. "Once this is solved, let's have dinner, you must be hungry."
As the rest left the room, Discord stopped his sister Celestia with a glance. Once alone, the lord of chaos observed the alicorn with a curious look.
"Who are the parents?"
"Excuse me?" Celestia said confused.
"Celestia, I'm not a fool, I detect her power very well, the essence of a ..."
"A god, I know" Celestia said with a sigh. "But I swear I don't know who her parents are. One day the guards brought her to me, they had found her at the castle gate, a small pegasus with the power of a god inside her, latent. I knew that she was obviously my niece, but I never knew who left her there, and none of my brothers have decided to tell me anything, so I decided to ..."
"To take care of her and teach her, and then give her a push to develop her full potential" Discord said sympathetically. "Exactly the same as you did with Twilight."
"Yes ... the difference is that now I know why Twilight has divine power, but she ..."
"I'll find out who left it for you here. You have my word, little sister."
A white flash covered the sky, and instantly Discord appeared, beginning to fly in a particular direction over hills and flower-filled meadows that stretched as far as the eye could see. After almost an hour of travel, he reached his destination, an island in the middle of a large lake, and on the largest mountain in it, there was an immense castle. In the past, it was the divine home of Harmony and her daughters, today, only the latter inhabited it.
The lord of chaos walked to the doors and entered, and contrary to what he did when his sister lived, he did not spread his chaos in the place, out of respect for his late sister. For several minutes he wandered through the corridors, he climbed a great staircase, and came to a library in the center of which an orb could be seen through which one could see anywhere in the universe. Next to this, was an alicorn that the draconequus knew well, who spoke when she felt the god enter.
"Hi, Uncle Discord."
"Nice to see you, Hecate" Discord said as he dropped into a nearby chair and made one of the books go to him. "Anything interesting to see?"
"Twilight ... she is doing a great job as a princess of friendship, now she is in a peaceful meeting between the Diamond Dogs that live near Ponyville and the ponies."
"Ah, our little Twilight, she is achieving great things."
"Yes ... Why are you here?"
"Well look" Discord said as he returned the book to her place and took another. "I ran into Cadence, do you know her? She is the niece of Celestia, princess of love and co-ruler of the Crystal Empire."
"I know her" Hecate said without taking her eyes off the orb, but without looking at it at all.
"Well, that, that Celestia introduced me and I accepted her as a niece, but there is something that bothered me, because she had the power of a god inside her, and that only means two thing, or is she like Twilight and she has an ancestor who is a god, or is the daughter of one. But Celly told me that they left it at her door, one stormy night" when he said it, Hecate moved one of her ears, the only symbol that it had affected her. "So, to find out, I went to get my trusty cauldron to see the past and present. Can you believe they had it in a warehouse dead of disgust? Total, that I take it to my house and take a look at that specific night, and what was my surprise when I saw that it was you who left it there. Now I only have one question ... why haven't you even deigned to tell her that you are her mother?"
Hecate sighed deeply, still not taking her eyes off the orb, wondering what to say.
" Discord, I ..."
Turning around, she saw that her uncle had dropped all hint of amusement on his face. He put the book on the shelf and motioned for his niece to try to explain herself. Hecate took a long breath before looking back from her to the orb, deciding to speak shortly after.
"A few years ago, I felt somepony praying to me, which has not happened in more than four thousand years, so I was curious. It turns out that the pony who prayed to me was an adventure-loving pegasus who discovered an ancient temple erected in my name, and he decided to read aloud the prayers etched on the walls. I found he intriguing, and ended up visiting him several times ... I fell in love ... a goddess and a mortal."
"It's not that weird" Discord said calmly, to which his niece shrugged.
"After two years of knowing each other, I got pregnant, I had not been so happy in all my life, even Amet was amazed at the happiness she had. But then ... the father died in an accident, searching for an ancient temple. And there you have me, giving birth without my loved one around, and I knew that my little filly could not come with me, such is the curse of the gods born as mortals. I decided to leave her with Celestia, so that she would have someone to help her reach her potential."
"That doesn't explain why you haven't told her anything about her origins."
"How do you want me to do it? Also, if I had told her, it is most likely that she would not have been able to connect well with any mortal, if she had known from the beginning that by her divine descent she would be immortal, would she have accepted love? Celestia and Luna are still afraid to accept it, and the same goes for almost all of us, Discord. Not to mention that it would break her heart to know that I have not visited him even once, it is too late to start."
"It's never too late" said the lord of chaos as he approached and gave his niece a hug. "But you should tell her soon."
"I need time, uncle" Hecate said as she snuggled into Discord's shoulder. "I have ... I have to think about it ... In the meantime, don't say anything ... please."
Discord nodded slowly as he ran his lion claw over his niece's back. Although he would have liked her to go tell her daughter the truth right then and there, he knew well that such things took time, and besides, he was not the best suited to give such lessons.
Discord roamed freely through space, taking a walk through the mother galaxy, wondering if he should tell his good friend Fluttershy the truth once and for all. He had just come out of their weekly meeting and had not told her, as he was at a crossroads, wait for a good time or say it now. Shaking his head from her, he decided to think of a solution at another time, instead, he devised new pranks for his little sisters. He may have stopped being a "villain", but he had to keep making jokes on them, just as he did in his foalhood, it is an obligation, as dictated by the laws of older brothers, and he knew it because it was he who dictated them, not for nothing, he was the first older brother in the universe.
When he realized where he was, he discovered that he was near the primordial black hole, the center of the mother galaxy and the eternal prison of his disgraced brother. Deciding that he wouldn't hurt anyone by glancing, he rose to his hind legs and floated over slowly. If he had been someone else, he would have been sucked in immediately and with no chance to escape, but he WAS chaos, so he was not bound by physical laws. Being only a foot from the black hole, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them, there was only red, peering into the prison. Discord frowned, as he couldn't find his brother, and that couldn't be possible, so he searched even harder. But the truth became undeniable in no time, Ares had escaped.
Having a very bad feeling, the lord of chaos launched himself at impossible speeds, reaching Equs in no time, landing in the Everfree forest. He raised his eagle's paw and snapped his fingers, creating a sound explosion that could be heard all over the world and generating a shock wave that spread to the entire planet.
Discord closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to detect any disturbance, and when he detected the first one, he immediately teleported to the source. Upon arrival, he came across a ruined Zebrica village, shattered crops, huts burning to ashes, and its inhabitants dead, every last one of them. Another pulse of energy and the lord of chaos disappeared again, this time encountering a city of gargoyles and centaurs with the same result as in Zebrica.
Sensing the next one, much more powerful than the others, he disappeared again, only to appear in the middle of a Crystal Empire plaza. Hundreds of ponies ran from one place to another, seeking shelter or their loved ponies, all of them terrified, their houses on fire, others with serious injuries and several dead. Most, seeing him, fled in the opposite direction, which, at the time, Discord did not care. He flew swiftly to the center of the city, seeing, under the castle and resting place of the crystal heart, an infinity of ponies led by the two crystal rulers.
The one they were facing was very close to the heart, and it was a blood red dragon with a belly and chest, next to its spines, black in color, dressed in battle armor, his body was elongated and the size of the same lord of chaos. Just as the dragon prepared to fire a blaze that would scorch everypony in front of it, Discord appeared with his lion's claw extended. When the flames touched his palm, they turned into harmless bubbles, which as they exploded, each drop fell to the ground, sprouting black roots with thorns that pointed threateningly at his opponent and came between him and the ponies. The dragon looked with a raised eyebrow at the draconequus before starting to laugh uncontrollably.
"But look who we have here, the lord of chaos himself. How's it going brother?"
"Give up now and join me, Ares" Discord said, not interested in playing the game of the destructive god.
"Weren't you the funny one? You disappoint me, but to show you that I don't hold a grudge, I think I'll let this city go. How about?"
"That honors you, but you will come with me anyway."
"No, Discord, you do not give the orders" said the lord of destruction as he left one of his claws in the heart, letting a crack spread little by little on its surface. "I'm going to leave, we'll meet again at dusk, on top of Canterhorn. Goodbye, brother."
With a smile, the dragon spread its wings and then engulfed itself in fire, disappearing without a trace. The crystal heart shattered into thousands of pieces, and the sky began to rapidly blacken, releasing a larger and larger blizzard. Discord looked at the ashes, the only proof that his brother was there, and then focused on the destroyed artifact.
"One of your friends?!" Shining said with rancor, being beaten by his wife.
"Now is not the time, Shining!" Cadence scolded with a frown.
Ignoring the two, Discord approached the heart fragments, enveloping them in a magical aura and bringing them together again. With immense brilliance, the crystal heart was rebuilt and placed back in its place, and once so, the lord of chaos turned to gaze at the increasingly black sky, and then at his niece.
"You have to make the ponies of the Empire have good feelings, you have to help the heart!"
"What?!" Cadence said distraught. "I can't affect so many ponies at once!"
"Of course you can!" Discord yelled as he approached, crouching down to look her niece in the eye and grab her by her shoulders. "You are not just the princess of love, you are the goddess of love. Through your blood runs the essence of the gods.
" What?"
"Show that you are worthy of your position," Discord said with a smile, running his eagle claw across Cadence's right cheek, smiling and trying to cheer her up before separating and watching the storm grow stronger. "That storm, but I can't do it forever"
After saying so, the lord of chaos moved away towards the sky, creating a shield that prevented the blizzard from getting worse. As for Cadence, she look at the figure of Discord in the distance, thinking about what was said. If she was a goddess, that meant that her parents were gods. Why hadn't they told him? He felt the touch of a hoof on her shoulder, and as she turned, she saw Shining giving her a supportive look.
Closing her eyes, the alicorn sighed and activated her magic, trying to extend her power beyond what she had done in her entire life. After two minutes of effort, her magic began to spread in the form of hundreds of pink tendrils that reached out to touch as many ponies as possible, transmitting calm in her hearts. When the good feelings surfaced, the crystal heart shone in all her splendor and extended her protective shield to the entire Crystal Empire. Only then did Discord let go of his own protection, directing his gaze in the direction of Mount Canterhorn. There was a god to stop.