Dreams of Broken Promise

Deep within the dungeons of Canterlot, a lone prisoner stared out at the clear blue skies. Her heart wanted to run free, but her spirit was more then broken. The young changeling sighed and sat down on the damp earth. A small door panel slid open, revealing the eyes of her guard.

"Get up! The king and queen wish ta speak with ya, make one lil step outta line and I'll whip ya till ye bleed!"

Several loud rattles and clangs rang out, the deadbolts sliding out of their locks. The prisoner backed up against the wall prepared for a harsh beating. In the doorway stood the king, a somewhat distressed expression on his face. Behind him was a light blue unicorn, that the prisoner instantly recognized as the murderer of her hive.

"You dare bring that monster here? I will have your hide for this!"

"Shut it, prisoner! Or i'll make ya scream!"

"Hush Raging Horn, we simply wish to discuss certain... Aspects of thou supposed treaty."

"Treaty? You think that we would side with you after he butchered our kind? In cold blood I'll have you know! The changeling spat, her rage slowly building with each word. "

"Please allow me to offer my condolences.We are aware our actions were harsh, uncaring... But please believe me, if i knew..." Starswirl stared into the changelings eyes, a single tear escaped him as he remembered her sisters kindness.

"If?! You mean to say you want my sympathy?! My sister should have devoured you when she had the chance!"

"Thou sister tried to tell me, but we were too blind to see. For the last four years we have raised and guided one of her surviving infants... He has surpassed our greatest expectations, he would be more then willing to offer a truce."

"May I see the child? I wish to see my sisters one great deed."

"We shall see prisoner, but for now I think it would be best not to reveal thy true self. "

The king offered her a simple choice, to be free but remain hidden or continue her life within the cell. Her choice was made, she would take the form of a deceased pony until a predetermined time in which she could communicate with Discord.

"But before I go I must warn you, another hive wishes to destroy both my so called traitorous brethren and the wondrous kingdom you call Equestria. Watch for assassins and spies, they hide within plain site. Even within these walls your security could be compromised."

"We appreciate the warning and will heed thy advice without delay. Thank thee for revealing a hidden kindness,"

"And what of the child? Will he be protected?"

"Young Discord is in capable hoofs, he will be safe!"

Without delaying any further, the prisoner left her confines far behind. A brief flash of green could be seen within the halls, revealing a magnificent golden-silver pegasus. She swiftly took flight, gliding out towards her newest home.

"We hope thou know what you are doing, Starswirl..."

"Trust me, she will stay true to her words."

Meanwhile, within the laboratory of Princess Luna...

"Are thou displeased with thine experiment?"

"Displeased? Wow, such an astute observation..." Discord rolled his eyes, amazed that such a brilliant mind could ask such an obvious question.

"We do not know what happened, thou should be able to revert back... Have thou actually tried that?"

"Well, no.... But it should just be natural right?"

"A changeling who doesn't know how to revert back to his true self? My, what a strange predicament."

Discord glared at the princess, her wry humor falling on deaf ears. He thought of his body and tried to picture himself in that form. A slight feeling of vertigo washed over him as his body rapidly began to change. In less then a minute Discord had reverted back to his blackened form.

"Ah ha! We have perfected the experiment... Excellent! From now on thou should be able to shape shift into many forms. "

"Thanks, I guess..."

"Now let us return to my room so as to further study your abilities!"

"Great, now I'm entertaining a princess. What am I, some lowly jester?"

Luna giggled softy, her mind focused on her task. "Hmm perhaps we could try dissection!"

"Your kidding right? Right?! Oh great..."

Discord feared for his sanity, This alicorn is completely mental! If I survive this, Starswirls got some explaining to do...

Luna managed to capture him in a bubble of magic, restricting his movements to a bare minimum. Discord tried to struggle to no avail. His fear quickly rising.

"Umm princess? Could you perhaps explain what thou are doing?"

"Oh, nothing to painful..." she replied, a sinister smile rising to her lips.

Soon enough they arrived at a door sealed by simple magic, Luna uttered several unintelligible words of some strange spell. The light green glow quickly dissipated, revealing a simple mahogany door. She then launched young Discord several feet into the room. He shouted in shock and panic, landing in a pile of flailing limbs.

"What in Tartarus is wrong with you?! Are all of you female ponies this mental?"

"Perhaps... Please take a seat, we just need to gather my *examination* equipment!" Luna tried with some effort to stay perfectly serious, but failed miserably.

"Bwahahaha! Thou should see the look on your face! Absolutely priceless! We had thou going for quite sometime... Even the supposed transformation thou were stuck in was a simple prank!"

"A prank?! That was all a.... Ok I admit that is actually quite amusing. I never would have thought a princess could be such a brilliant prankster. Somehow I think you and I will get along just fine!"

Luna smiled broadly, happy that she had finally met someone with her taste in humor.

"We are Princess Luna, a pleasure to meet thou!"

She gingerly extended her hoof, a playful expression on her face.

"A pleasure my- woah!" Thud! Discord was pulled of his hooves and thrown to the floor.

"Always pay attention to thou opponent, That's the first rule of Filly Fight Club. Second rule, thou don't tell a soul about the Filly Fight Club!"

Luna gave him a slight wink, pulling his bruised and battered body off the floor. A single smile was all it took for Discords heart to skip a beat.

A loud cough echoed around the room, surprising the two. A shadow melted away from the wall, revealing a hooded changeling. Her belt was adorned with many sharp daggers, their blades glinting in the light. Two dark green eyes stared out from beneath the hood, her expression one of cold hatred.

"The changeling prodigy and his little alicorn friend, perfect! The master said that you both must die, I fulfill his orders without complaint. You cannot live if we are to conquer this pathetic empire- Oof!"

"Quick Discord, run! We can keep her stunned only for a moment!"

"Princess! Let me handle this... I've got a few skills to put to use!"

Suddenly the floor became intangible, devolving into a quicksand like consistency. It pulled the assassin down, holding her body in place. Discord then re-solidified the floor, trapping her within.

"What kind of magic was that? It was absolutely incredible!"

"Shhh, I hear another close by... Reveal thyself traitor! Before I send you to the Dragons Peak!"

"Calm thyself! I am your mothers sister, it seems the kings security is quite lax! I have never seen an infant changeling do that before, are you some kind of hybrid?"

"It was simply the power of chaos, Starswirl believes it had something to do with how I was brought into this world..."

"Amazing! My sister was right to give thee to the unicorn..." The blue eyes of the changeling were fixed on Discord, a small look of regret flickered across her face.

"For now I must be going, the king requests that I do not meet thou until a later time. We will meet again, Discord."

She then slid open the window and proceeded to take flight, her silhouette disappearing into the sunset.

"A relative of yours?"

"It would seem so... Are thou alright, the changeling didn't hurt you did she?"

"No no! I'm fine! Thank thee for protecting me.."

.

"Umm yeh, no problems... It was just nothing."

Luna rushed forward and embraced a shocked Discord. He felt a sudden surge of heat in his face, a deep red blush appearing on his cheek.

"Errr, so... Do you want to maybe...hang out again sometime? We should really get to... know each other!"

"We would love too!"

The rush of hooves rang up the stairs, the guards only just now noticing a disturbance. The door flew open, revealing a very stressed Celestia.

"Changeling! Thou dare to attack a princess?!"

"No, sister! He saved me from the assassin that is now entombed within the floor."

Celestia gave her a puzzled look, her eyes widening when she spotted the second changeling trapped within the floor.

"Guards! Seize her!"

"With pleasure!"

Discord opened up a small gap in the floor, allowing the royal guard to clap the changeling in irons. The elder princess turned to face Discord, her scowl dissolving into a look of approval.

"Thank thou for keeping her safe, perhaps my father was right about you!"

Later that evening, after all the excitement had died down over the breach in security, a small dinner was held within the royal court. The king and queen spoke in hushed whispers, discussing the earlier events that had transpired. Starswirl gave Discord an affectionate pat on the head, a grin appearing on his face. He leaned forward and whispered to the young changeling,

"Impressive, thou have managed to gain the support of the royal family. And it would seem young Luna has taken quite a liking to thee."

"Yeh... She really is an interesting alicorn.."

"Hah! Now that is an understatement if we ever heard one. Unfortunately thou won't be able to spend much time with her. We have a mission to complete, the king has requested we create a powerful magical weapon to defend the kingdom. We may be gone for quite some time..."

"May I....write to the princess on our travels? I'm sure she would appreciate the sentiment."

"Of course! We see that thy to are smitten with the princess... Just remember Discord, love and changelings don't usually mix. We wouldn't want to break apart thou friendship."

"Yeh whatever..." Discord quickly looked away, his eyes locking onto the gorgeous form of the dark blue alicorn. She turned her head and caught his gaze, a dazzling smile appeared on her face.

"Discord! We are most impressed at thou courage in protecting our youngest daughter. We were certain that thou two would get along perfectly. Perhaps there is hope for the changelings yet."

"T-thank you, your Majesty! I was just doing what comes naturally..."

"Hush! It was a noble deed for one so young."

*Ahem* Starswirl cleared his throat. "It has been an honor to dine with royalty, but alas Discord and I must take our leave. Our trek for the Gems of Emotion will be a harrowing one if my assumptions are correct. "

"Ah a pity, we were hoping thou could stay for just a little while longer... But thy safety of a kingdom is a far higher priority."

Both the unicorn and the changeling bowed low, the king clearly impressed with the etiquette showed by Discord. Both princesses stood off to the side, their faces lit with smiles. Luna ran forward, a small bird perched on her back.

"Discord! This is Nightgale, she will help us communicate while your away! Anytime during the evening would be best!"

"I will be sure to keep in touch milady!"

Before he could properly wave goodbye however, Starswirl teleported out into the cool night air.

"Hey! I was just wanting to say goodbye!"

"Do not argue! It is for thou own good, in time you will see this!"

Once they had made it back to the tower, Starswirl began to pack in a somewhat mad rush. Aurora simply stood and stared as her master ran from room to room, a massive bag of essentials floating in front of him. Several times she tried to get an answer, but to no avail.

"Discord, do thou know what we are preparing for?"

"Oh some mystical gems or something, according to him it will take us roughly five years..."

"What? We are on a mission for the Gems of Emotion? But they are nothing more than myths! Also what does he mean five years?"

Starswirl suddenly stopped, the bags seemingly full too the brim.

"Well that was fast!"

"We are unicorns Aurora, it does lessen the work quite considerably! And to answer thou question, they do exist. For I have seen them with my very eyes. Each gem is found deep within the remnants of the ancient golem city, Zar. A century ago these ponies turned stone, ruled the mines of Equestria. "

"A powerful evil consumed the city almost overnight, the powerful gems had failed in there time of need. The feelings that powered them destroyed by fear and shadow. One by one the defenders fell, the city falling into ruins. Many have sought these powerful relics, but only one was ever close to succeeding... His insanity causing him to dive into the caverns depths, his cries of madness can still be heard within."

"We are to wander those accursed ruins? It is overrun with bats and giant spiders, it is even  meant to be home to a leviathan!"

"Perhaps, but it is our duty to protect this wonderful kingdom. With my magical prowess and Discords strange abilities, we should be fine. We assume thou will be sharing this burden?"

"As if we could stay behind and leave thou defenseless again!"

"Let us be on our way! Discord! Prepare thyself for a long journey..."

"I will be at your side every step of the way master!" Discord had been listening to the tale intently, his curiosity beginning to surface. He was to go on a journey to ancient ruins, a task he would later regret...