Discordant Future

Year 101, Day 141, DR

We all blacked out as soon as Discord left. We woke up today hanging upside-down from the branches of a tree. Well, sort of a tree. Balloons were growing out of the branches. Yes, growing--I checked.

Anyway, once we'd carefully extracted ourselves from the tree, we immediately set to decoding the riddle. That's what we've been doing all day. The problem is, there's nothing to decode. Go to the hedge maze in the Royal Gardens, play his game, probably lose. It's a very straightforward riddle.

That's what's tripping me up. There has to be something more to this. Something I haven't thought of.

"Twists and turns are what you seek," Probably the hedge maze he used against our parents. He said it's what we seek, and said nothing about his own plans or what he wants.

"But don't assume your enemy weak." A simple warning not to underestimate him.

"All alone and torn apart,

You can't win the game without your heart." He was going to try to separate us and break us down. Of course he would--that's what Discord does.

I just don't understand why he would give us such a simple riddle. I mean, the one the last Elements was fairly uncomplicated, but it wasn't quite so...plain. There has to be something here.

I'll sleep on it later. Maybe I'll have some fresh ideas when I wake up, but I want to exhaust my current ones first.

Year 101, Day 142, DR

I still don't know anything more about the riddle. None of us do. All I can think of is that Discord has a particularly nasty surprise waiting for us in the maze.

So, for now at least, we've begun our journey to the City. It will take us two or three days to get there, so we still have time to think. It used to be you could go to the City for a day trip, but the train isn't exactly safe...or a train at all...So we're stuck walking and that'll take us a while.

We've been walking for...actually, I don't know, but the sun has risen and set a few times, not to mention sprouted legs and done a jig in the sky, back when we were walking through our hometown. We're in a patch of forest now, at the base of the mountain that the City rests on. We'd have avoided it if we could, given our last experience in a wooded area, but it's right before the path up the mountain starts. We can't even seen the sky, the trees are so thick here. After all, it's been over 100 years (with some chaos thrown in) since anyone bothered to maintain the path. Hopefully it'll be easier once we get on the mountain, though.

The others have seemed less depressed today. Almost happy, in fact. We actually have a chance now. I think I'm going to ask them to start writing in the notebooks I gave them. I should have asked sooner, but I guess it really just slipped my mind. Hold on, I'll tell them now.

Okay, they're writing their first entry. Some of them are pretty eager about it, but I know Spectrum isn't going to like it too much. She's not too terribly fond of writing. But who knows? Maybe she'll find a way to make it fun.

We're resting now, and eating. There's plenty of food around us--trees turned cotton candy, licorice rope vines, leaves turned into bread and cheese. There are also some apples poking out of the ground. It's quite a good lunch, actually.

I figure we can stay here and rest up for a little while. It seems safe enough, and we need to replenish our food supplies anyways. Plus, I'm still kind of tired after my failed spell. Speaking of, I should really get to sleep. I'll write again while we're walking tomorrow.

Apple Spectrum: Day 142, Discord's Dictatorship

My name is Apple Spectrum. My mothers were the Elements of Honesty and Loyalty. I am a mirror child. I'm being forced to write this journal.

I am the future Element of Kindness.

Let's see...I guess I should start with describing myself, shouldn't I? Ruby says people will read this in the future and I always hated it when teachers tried to get me to guess someone's personality just from how they talk. I just don't know how you can do that...

Then again, it probably won't be entirely credible if you hear it from me. Maybe I'll get the others to describe me instead. That way you'll have an unbiased opinion of what I'm like. And in return, I'll write about them! Ruby's probably already written about all of us, so I'll just tell the rest of them.

Alright, I guess I'll start with Ruby, since I'm thinking about her. She's probably the smartest of any of us, that egghead. She loves reading and learning, but she also likes to party. She's kind of crazy, in a good way. She's the one who introduced the rest of us to our favorite game. We don't really have a name for it, we just call it 'the game'. She calls it a "word association" game. We go around in a circle saying the first word that comes to mind after hearing the last person's word. It's really fun for us because the words almost never make any real sense.

...Um, anyway. Ruby's really good at magic, and she's also pretty funny. Sometimes she doesn't understand jokes because she spends so much time reading and studying, but she tells the best ones. Her humor is a lot different from the rest of ours, but it's still funny. Sometimes she gets stressed, though, and that's a scary sight. I remember Mom (er...Loyalty, that is. Honesty was Ma.) used to say she was "every bit the egghead" Magic was, and Ma would agree with, "She sure is a spittin' image." Which I always found funny because Ruby isn't even Magic's daughter.

Sapphire seems like the next logical step, since she's Ruby's sister. She's the most generous person I know but she's pretty hardheaded sometimes. She loves competition and flying. Ruby and Sapph are really close. During that one time when they were shutting the rest of us out, they were always touching each other somehow. Like they were what was keeping each other grounded. I wish we could have gotten through their thick heads sooner, but I'm glad they had each other.

Anyway, Sapphire is cool and all, but we don't really get along that well. I'd never admit this out loud, but I'm just as stubborn as she is, and we're often on opposite sides of arguments. We just tend to look at things differently. Still, I would never directly insult her. Call her stubborn, sure. Say she's wrong, duh. But I don't call names--that's just mean. I'm not like the old Kindness, who would never argue with anyone, but I am the Element of Kindness. I would never do something that I knew would hurt someone's feelings.

Next...let's go with my cousin, Apple Blossom. She's calm, cool, and collected. She's also athletic and loves races. We're pretty evenly matched, but I almost always beat her in a foot race. She's much faster when she's allowed to use her wings, though. She's honest and dependable, and loyal, too. She's probably my closest friend, out of all of them. I know I can always trust her with my secrets, and she's the only one I've told about...certain things. She knows me better than anyone else in the world, and I don't know what I'd do without her. She's the Element of Loyalty, just like my mom.

Nyx and Scoota kind of have to go together. You can't talk about one without mentioning the other. Scoota is the Element of Laughter, and Nyx is the new Honesty. Nyx has two moms like I do, but she's not a mirror child. Magic never let Moon tell her--or anyone--how she was made, but we're old enough to figure it out now. Gross, if you ask me. Scoota's parents were

Shit, I keep forgetting. Scoota's...she's an orphan. It's just...she feels like part of the family, I just forget sometimes. I always see her as like, a little sister, and I don't even see Nyx that way. I always feel so bad when I make that mistake, and I do it a lot. Well, I used to. No one really mentions parents anymore. It hurts too much.

Right, well, Scoota is sweet and funny and loves candy. If there's one thing she hates, it's spicy things. She's always glued to Nyx's side. Even though they're younger than the rest of us, they're both pretty cool. Sometimes I race with Scoota, but she's not very athletic, so it's more of a casual jog. We're the only two Groundlings in our little group and it's comforting to have someone else around who doesn't rely on magic or wings. She's really fun and easy to talk to, and like I said, she's like a little sister to me. I'd protect her no matter what. I mean, I'd do that for all my friends, but you know...more in a sisterly way for Scoota.

Nyx is open, honest, and easygoing. She managed not to get any of Magic's social anxiety or OCD, surprisingly. Although she does keep her room rather neat, she's never gone overboard with it. I think it's really just from habit after years of Magic making sure the entire house was in order. She's sweet, smiles a lot, and loves to read. We used to talk about books a lot, until she took a liking to sappy romance novels. They're not really my style.

You know, I'm not really too sure about this Elements thing. I mean, Nyx is definitely Honesty, Ruby is Magic without a doubt, Scotta can't not be Laughter. I'm confident that Blossom is Loyalty and that Sapph is Generosity. The problem is, I don't think I'm Kindness. I fight with Sapphire a lot. Sure, I was apprenticed at the Children's Hospice before all this crap happened, but I'm nothing like the last Kindness. She was soft and sweet and compassionate and I don't think she even really knew how to hate. I'm kind of blunt and I say how I feel and I'm rough around the edges. I hate Discord and Scoota's biological parents and anyone who would abuse anyone else. I know hate, I know anger. I'm familiar with these emotions. I'm not Kindness.

Anyway, I think that's enough writing for now. I'm going to take a nap.

Apple Blossom: Day 142, Year 101, Discord's Calendar

Ruby told us to start writing in our journals, so here's my piece. My name is Apple Blossom, but usually people just call me Blossom. My mom was Kindness and my dad was named Big Macintosh. We used to live in a little cottage that bordered Sweet Apple Acres, but was also pretty close to the Everfree Forest. Sweet Apple Acres was an apple orchard that my dad's family owned. It was also Honesty's (and later Loyalty's and Spectrum's) home. Auntie Applebloom lived there as a kid, but when she grew up she moved away to start her architecture business. I used to love running through the rows and rows of apple trees, or flying above them. The Acres was such a peaceful place, and I really miss it. I can still relive some of it when I race with my cousin, Spectrum.

Speaking of Spec, she had a pretty good idea today, to describe each other instead of ourselves. I agree, it'll paint a more accurate picture of each of us for the reader. I'll start with her, since I'm already on the subject.

Spectrum is not the most gentle person, generally. She can be if she wants or needs to, but she's also quite...assertive. She would never let anyone bully her, and she'll always stand up when she sees someone else being bullied. Sometimes she's a little gullible, but most of the time she can tell when she's being duped. She always gives the benefit of the doubt, no matter what. I think she would have given it to Discord, under different circumstances.

Spec talks to me when she's upset. I know her better than anyone else. The truth is, she's pretty insecure. She just can't see the good in herself, no matter how hard she looks. I mean, sure, most people are like that. If you're not, people call you arrogant. But I know myself--I know my strengths and my flaws. But this is about Spectrum, who happens to be very stubborn. Overall, she's a very sweet girl, even though she and Sapphire fight a lot. She puts everyone else's needs before her own, and during times when we didn't have much food, she would make sure the rest of us ate first. She tried to, at least. We refused to let her not eat. When we saw she didn't have anything, we each gave her a little bit of our food. This is actually getting long, though, so I'll try to keep it short for the others.

Sapphire is a bit of a drama queen, but she loves to give. One of her favorite things in the world, it seems, is to deliver gift baskets of her own making to the Children's Hospice. Still, she can be pretty snooty sometimes, which is why she and Spec argue so much. They're both very stubborn and proud, and they don't like admitting when they're wrong.

Nyx is the worst liar I know. The only time I've seen her pull off a lie is when she was protecting Scoota from getting in trouble. She and Scoota are always together, no matter what. I don't know if anyone else sees it, but I think their relationship is different. The rest of us see each other as friends or sisters, but I dunno...they seem closer. I can't quite place it--maybe like twins or something. But anyway, Nyx is shy, but hardworking. She's absolutely devoted to everything she does, and is always determined to succeed. She's more gullible than Spec is, and most of the time she's a little more trusting than she should be, but she's honest and open and loves to read.

Scoota's a lot like Nyx--she's determined and cheerful. She's also very sweet and loves to make candy. If anyone can make us laugh in these dark times, it's her. Somehow, she never seems to run out of jokes. I think if it weren't for her, we'd all be crazy or dead by now. She's like the glue that holds us together.

Finally, there's Ruby. She's the one who comes up with the plans, although sometimes they need a little...refining. She's also the best mage I know, except for maybe Magic. It's because of her that we have even half a chance to beat Discord now. Besides that, she's smart, caring protective, and quite introverted. She used to barely socialize outside of our group, and she has a tendency to get lost in her studies. Runy's also a bit of a neat freak, probably because her mom was too.

Anyway, most of the others are done writing already so I'm going to cut this off here. I need to sleep.

Sapphire: Day 142, Year 101, Chaos Time

Well, hello! I'm sure Ruby has already told you all about me, but I'll introduce myself anyways. My name is Sapphire Shine, sister of Ruby Radiance, daughter of the Element of Generosity and a famous Wonderbolt. Ruby will probably be mad when she sees I wrote our full names here, but I don't care. Just because she hates them doesn't mean we should deprive our wonderful audience of the facts I'm sure they crave so much. After all, who wouldn't want to know all about their saviors?

That is, I've decided to write this in the assumption we will win, since that is the only circumstance under which this will be published. Fear not, though, dear Ruby, I shan't withhold a single thought. Every bit of my frustration, desperation, and loneliness will be recorded here.

At the moment there isn't much of any of that, though. We're all quite a bit more cheerful than we have been in decades. We have a chance, no matter how slight, and it's more than we've ever had before. Just the smallest opportunity to outsmart Discord puts a spring in our steps. Imagine the joy we'll feel when we win!

Anyway, it's about time that I describe my dear friends, as per Spectrum's idea. Stubborn and blunt though she may be, she's quite intelligent. Not that any of us are truly stupid.

I believe I shall begin with my own dear sister, Ruby. Out of the six of us, we are the only biological siblings. We're quite different, though. While she is rather serious, I would describe myself as lighthearted. Then again, she didn't used to be so somber. She used to laugh with the rest of us, before Mom and Dad...passed. Now, she can barely smile. Oh, and I was so worried about her after Discord disrupted her spell! But I'm getting sidetracked.

Ruby is one of those girls who has a natural sort of beauty--something I envy her for. She doesn't even need to try to look good, which I suppose is a good thing, since she doesn't care to. She is completely disinterested in fashion and has always preferred to focus on her studies.

Apple Spectrum is next on my list and she is the most stubborn, irritating, insufferable girl I have ever known and still manages to be the nicest. She worked at the Children's Hospice where I used to drop off gift baskets full of candy and other treats for the kids. Even though she was the youngest, she was by far the favorite nurse of every child. She's always had this strange way with children.

Blossom is calm and collected, rarely gets angry, and is always there for us. She's easy to talk to and knows how to keep a secret, so she's an ideal confidante. She's our rock.

Nyx and Scoota are closer than anyone else. They go everywhere and do everything together and, as our little secret, I ship them. They are my OTP. Honestly, they'd be such an adorable couple!

Well, ahem, anyways...Scoota hates spicy food, Nyx hates loud noises, they both love candy. Scoota always has this endless supply of jokes and I just don't understand where she gets them all. Nyx is a mage, like Ruby, but she specializes more than my sister does. Ruby has focused on general magic, but Nyx has channeled her magic toward studying astronomy, which she loves dearly. Scoota's own talent lies in the candy-making industry.

Well, I feel it's about time to take a rest. My next entry will detail the next interesting thing that happens, which I hope is soon.

Nyx: Day 142, Year 101, Discord's Clock

Hello, I'm Nyx. I had two moms, Moon and Magic. I study astronomy--or I did, back before Discord. My best friend's name is Scoota. She's really sweet and innocent, and probably wouldn't know a crush if it slapped her in the face. She makes candy, which is awesome, because candy is the best. Back then, in the old days, if you wanted candy you went to Scoota. No questions. There was just no one who could compare! She also happens to specialize in jokes. The others seem convinced that it's effortless on her part and she just has this bottomless supply of humor, but I know better. It takes a toll on her, but she does it to keep our spirits up. She hates to see any of us sad.

I guess I'm supposed to be talking about the others too, huh? Well, there's Ruby. She's good at organizing and planning, but she's a little too serious. Spectrum is competitive, stubborn, and incredibly caring. Her cousin Blossom is calm, but protective, and always there for you. Sapphire loves fashion, but she's the most benevolent of the group. But like I've said before, I know Scoota the best.

The two of us have first watch while the others rest, then it's Spectrum and Blossom, then Ruby and Sapphire. I think...I mean, there's something that I've been meaning to tell Scoota for a while now, so I think I'll do that soon. I'll write again soon.

Scoota: Day 142, Year 101, Chaos Time

Oh, look, people! Hello, future residents of this world! Or maybe you live in a different world. But I'm assuming you're still on this world since you're reading this. Still, the world must seem like a whole different world compared to mine! Hopefully it's a much better world. That's what we're fighting for, after all.

In our group, I'm known as the joker. I tell the jokes and keep the spirits high. Well, I try to, anyways. It gets really hard sometimes. Discord comes along and messes with our heads, or we lose some supplies to a chaos disaster, or something else happens, and I'll get sad. I try not to let the others see that I'm sad, but Nyx knows me too well--I can't hide it from her. But there's no sense worrying the others, so I just try to act happy. When Ruby was bedridden was one of the worst times--I couldn't even act happy! But I tried to keep talking because no one in our group really likes silence.

Oh! Spectrum had a great idea! I'm going to tell you all about all of my friends instead of talking about myself. Well, I was going to anyway, but it was still a great idea.

Okay, well Ruby is our Fearless Leader! She's really smart and great at plans, but sometimes she overlooks some details, but she knows that so she looks extra hard to catch her mistakes! But sometimes she looks too hard and Blossom has to take over. She's a little bit prone to panick attacks, but not as much as Nyx is. Ruby usually needs a pretty big trigger before she freaks out, but she's not calm all the time like Blossom is She likes to work and tries to always have a project. She tries really hard to be a good sister to Sapphire, too, although you can't really tell. They care a lot about each other, and they've gotten even closer since their dad took his life. That was a really sad time and I was really worried about both of them.

Sapphire loves clothes. She's fascinated by all things fashion, and she talks about it all the time, especially to me. I'm not particularly concerned with fashion, but I like to see my friends' eyes light up when they talk about their passions. So I kind of have a lot of random knowledge about things like gardening (from Blossom) and astronomy (from Nyx). Oops, I got distracted...anyway, Sapph is really nice, but sometimes she can get really competitive. She used to get upset when Ruby came home with a new achievement because it felt like she had some big shoes to fill. But then she realized she didn't have to follow in anyone's footsteps, and she could be her own person! I don't think Ruby ever found out about her being jealous, though.

Spectrum is an athlete. She loves to run and race and compete. Sometimes we go jogging together, but I feel bad since I can't run with her the way she likes. I wouldn't be able to keep up. She likes to read mystery books and she used to tell me about them while we jogged. We haven't jogged in a while, though...I should ask her about that! Later on, that is. Right now everyone is resting, except for me and Nyx of course.

Speaking of Nyx, she looks a little nervous. I'll ask her about that soon, but I'll finish my journal first. Still, I'm going to hurry this up because she looks like she might panic.

Blossom tends to bottle everything inside because she doesn't want to worry anyone. She's a great listener, though, so the others go to her with their problems a lot. I'm not sure how healthy that is for her.

Nyx is my best friend. She's very open about her feelings, but sometimes that gets her hurt. She's always been there when I needed her, and I try to be there for her. She's sweet and kind of innocent and really shy. One of her biggest fears is rejection, even though most of the time she has no reason to be afraid. Like this one time, she had a crush on this boy at school but she was too afraid to ask him out so he ended up dating some other girl but then they were talking once and she accidentally mentioned it and he said he'd liked her for a long time but now it was too late. She was really sad about that, but I don't think he deserved her anyways. He kind of treated his girlfriend badly. And then there was that guy that Nyx actually dated and he was just awful. He hit her really hard!

Well, I'm going to stop here and talk to Nyx. I'll write again soon.