Discordant Future

My name is Ruby. My mother was the Element of Generosity. My father was Soarin’, a member of a prestigious flight group called the Wonderbolts. I have a sister named Sapphire. We live in the space above Mom’s dress shop, the Carousel Boutique.

Mom and I are Magi—we have the ability to use magic. Dad and Sapph are Fliers. They were born with wings and they both make good use of them.

For seventeen years after I was born, we lived in peace. The whole world was (relatively) calm and uneventful. Our family was large and happy.

While our biological family included only my sister and I, our parents, and our aunt Sweetie Belle, we had a large number of honorary family members. They included the other Elements of Harmony,  their children and families, several friends in various cities, and the two rulers of our land. There was also Scootaloo and her adoptive sister, Mint. They were orphans, but they belonged to our family just as much as any of us.

My best friends were the ones closest to my age. Apple Spectrum, at the same time the most stubborn and kind girl you will ever meet. Apple Blossom, the most dependable person I know. She would never leave anyone hanging and she’s always calm and collected. She’s Spectrum’s cousin and just as stubborn. Nyx, the worst liar in the world. You could say she couldn’t tell a lie to save her life. I sure haven’t seen her tell one.  She’s a mage, like me. There’s Sapphire, of course. She’s far too benevolent for her own god. While she takes after our mother a lot, she’s obviously daddy’s little girl. Sapphire is only a year younger than me. Mint is also part of our group, even though she’s the youngest of all of us. She always knows how to make someone laugh, and always shows us the bright side of the situation.

For seventeen years, none of us were anything but happy.

But things changed. The world changed. There was a statue in the Royal Gardens of a Draconnequus—a creature whose body is made up of all kinds of animal parts. Only, it wasn’t really a statue. It was a spirit encased in stone, the Sprit of Chaos. The first time he was unleashed upon the world, the royal sisters, Sun and Moon, harnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony to defeat him. Then my mother and her friends became the Elements, so they were left to fight him the second time.

No one thought there would be a third time.

Sapphire and I were the first to notice he was gone. We spent a lot of time in the Royal Gardens (which were in the capital city, though we just called it the City) because our parents needed a place to leave us where we wouldn’t get bored or destroy everything when they had business. We went to the City pretty often—Mom had her stuck-up clients and Dad had Wonderbolts shows. I loved the Royal Gardens because they were vast, filled with open space, and right next to the Palace, where Sun and Moon lived. Best of all, there was a massive hedge maze. Sapphire and I had a lot of races to get to the center; I would’ve won a lot more if Sapph hadn’t used her wings to cheat. And ever since Magic told us the story  of how they defeated the Spirit of Chaos (or Discord, as he called himself), my sister and I would make a point of visiting his statue every time we were in the Royal Gardens.

Obviously, we reported his absence to the royal guards immediately after we noticed it. I think they thought we were just some stupid kids at first (Sapphire ran up to them calling, “Hey! Hey guardy guys!”), but I convinced them to at least take a look. Next thing I knew, the entire country was in chaos.

Sun and Moon and the Elements were going crazy searching for him. All of us kids ended up staying under heavy guard in the Royal Palace. We were all so scared and confused. Discord was free? But how? Our parents had beaten him so soundly! Everyone thought he’d be gone forever. What was going to happen?

Even with all of these questions running through our minds, we never once doubted our parents would succeed. We believed in them, held them above any standard. They were our own personal deities, humble enough to associate themselves with us. Wonderful enough to love us. Smart enough to teach us. Brave enough to face all the evils in the world—for they had done just that. And they were doing it again.

We were all shocked the day they didn’t come home.

There were ten of us in the room at the time—Mint, Blossom, Spectrum, Nyx, Sapphire, Scootaloo, our aunts Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, Laughter’s daughter, Balloon, and me. Two guards entered the room, looking uneasy. They had something to say and they weren’t too eager to say it.

The others weren’t paying too much attention to them. They were playing a game—something like charades, but with a different set of rules. The guards had caught my attention, though. The way they were acting…well…

I knew they couldn’t have good news.

I stared at them intensely, waiting for them to get over themselves and just tell us. Finally, one of the guards—an older, gray-haired man—cleared his throat, wordlessly asking for our attention.

The room fell silent. As I looked around, I knew they had all come to the same conclusion I had just minutes before—that these men were the bearers of bad news. The gray-haired guard coughed into his fist nervously before launching into his well-rehearsed, protocol speech.

“We…we regret to inform you that your loved ones,” Here he listed their names, “have been terminated in the line of battle.” He paused. “They fought valiantly and we all looked up to them.” At this point, I was fairly sure his index cards had expired, and he was speaking from the heart. “They were heroes and idols to all of us. We are very sorry for your loss.” By this point, the younger guard was quite plainly trying to suppress his tears, and nearly failing. He was clearly attached to one or more of our parents.

For a moment (before the words settled in) I wondered how this pair knew our parents. Was the older one a guard when Magic lived here? Was the young one (who looked about our parents’ age) an old friend? My mind ran through different possibilities, trying not to process the news the two had been sent to deliver. Then I didn’t have anything else to think about, and it hit me like a brick wall. So hard I collapsed.

They were dead. Mom and all the Elements. Magic, who taught me everything I know. Loyalty and Honesty, who often took us out camping. Laughter, who threw endless parties and pulled candy out of nowhere. Kindness, who found each of us the perfect pet and chaperoned most of our sleepovers. Mom, who raised me and always knew just the right thing to say and gave great advice and never let us have ice cream after 8 and sent us to bed at no later than 10 (even though she knew we wouldn’t sleep) and took us to the City at least once a month. Dead. All of them.

That was the day all of our lives turned upside down. The guards were everywhere now. No one laughed anymore. Not even Mint. That was the day everything changed. It was like the punchline to some sick, twisted joke.

Dad, Sapphire, and I; we supported each other. At least, Sapphire and I did. Dad…he got distant. He barely talked to us anymore. We never gave up trying to help him. Right up to the end, we tried to help. It didn’t make a difference.

Two months after we got the news about the Elements, Dad ended it with a single bullet.

Sapphire and I were shell-shocked. We gave up on grief, sadness, any kind of feeling, really. We didn’t talk to anyone but each other, and even that was rare. Mostly we just offered physical comfort. Not a second went by for a good three and a half months that Sapph and I weren’t touching in some way. I don’t know if we were trying to reassure each other or make sure we were both still here, still alive. Maybe both.

Finally, the others got sick of it. They cornered us one day (not that hard to do, we barely moved) and reminded us that we had friends. They didn’t even say anything—just gathered around us and wrapped us in a hug.

Suddenly, I could feel again. The emotions came rushing back. All the sorrow and grief, all the regret and resentment flooded in. I started crying for the first time in months. I couldn’t stop. Not a single one of my friends loosened their grip as I sobbed uncontrollably.

Two days later, we got the news about Sun and Moon. A moment later, I realized that our world now belonged solely to Discord.