Take me in, and throw out my heart.
One thousand years before the fateful Summer Sun Celebration that changed everything, before Equestria was saved twice by the deeds of six mighty heroes. Things in the land were different. The famous tale of Discord's defeat at the hands of the Alicorn princesses and the banishment of Princess Luna were passed down by centuries through the mouth of Princess Celestia.
However, despite the peace that was ensured, all was not was what it seemed.
The books, the tales, the origins of the Elements of Harmony, they were all lies weaved by the Princess when the newer generations came forward, when the ones who knew the truth died out. She even lied to her own student, Twilight Sparkle, hiding the origins of her power from her.
But why did she lie to her people? Was she lying to manipulate them, to control them? Or was it to protect, or to protect herself? And if the latter was true, than what was the almighty Celestia afraid of? The past, where her friends became enemies and her enemies were her friends? Or the future, where she knew that a foe strong enough to match her was approaching. One who, like her, knew the secret art of constructing Elements?
Only time would tell, and time was something an Alicorn seemed to have very much of…
"C'mon, father! Let's sit over here!"
The four Alicorns walked through Whitetail Wood
that lied under a deep blue sky, and a bright sun that made everything in Equestria shine for the entire day. Most of the days in the land were like this, but there was something about this one that made it special.
The two Alicorn fillies, Celestia and Luna, were no larger than an average filly. One had a light carnation-colored mane and an equally pink coat to match, her eyes shone like amethysts and her smile was as bright as the sun above her. This was the older sister, Celestia.
Her sister had an azure mane that glittered like a galaxy, her coat was that of a dark blue and her eyes were deep like the sea, she seemed to be more timid than Celestia, but enjoyed her sister's company. This was the younger sister, Luna. The two of them were beautiful, and a majestic sight to see. Neither of them had their cutie-marks yet, but neither of them seemed to mind. Not now at least.
"Careful, 'Tia. Stay close or else you'll get lost."
"Calm down, Lu-lu. Mother and Father are right behind us!"
Celestia and Luna turned to see their parents, Prince Solstice and Princess Equinox, following behind them. A picnic basket floated between them by Solstice's magic. Solstice had a multi-colored mane, it was a mixture of red, orange and, grey, and it flowed freely in the cooling wind. He had a small, red, beard, matching his mane. Solstice wore a golden helmet with a dark-violet gemstone embedded into the front of the helmet, and he wore golden hoof guards to match. His eyes, while having the color of an icy cyan, had a kind of kindness that was capable of warming the hearts of almost anybody. Celestia would later find a similar kindness in Fluttershy. His cutie mark, a red, rising sun, was extremely visible against the white color of his coat.
Equinox, Celestia and Luna's mother, was different. She did not seem as flamboyant looking as her mate, having a simple, long, brown mane that descended straightly from her head. Her coat, too, was white, which would make some wonder if Luna truly was their child, but she was. Equinox wore a silver diadem upon which a small, opal gem was embedded into it. Her eyes were warm as her mate's, but seemed worn and tired due to royal duties. She was married into the regal family, as she descended from a noble family of writers and poets. Her cutie mark, which was a quill pen with an ink well under it, helped to confirm her heritage.
Celestia, seeing the presence of her parents as a sign to move further, giggled as she skipped ahead, her sister following behind.
"TIAAA!" Luna whined. "Stay with the family!"
When the royal family finally placed the basket on the ground, it only took a few seconds for Solstice to use his magic to open the basket and lay the red and white blanket on the ground, followed by the plates, and finally the food. There were four cucumber sandwiches, four flasks of wheatgrass juice, four carrots, and finally, six cupcakes with green icing.
As the Alicorns lied on the blanket and began to eat, Celestia smiled at her father. "So daddy," Celestia said to Solstice as she bit into her sandwich. "I trust the kingdom of Equestria is going well?" Solstice chuckled in response. "Of course, 'Princess Celestia'." He said, "We've haven't been in any wars ever since I signed that 'peace treaty', and my people are very happy." Celestia stood proudly. "Then let it be known that 'The Empire of Celestia' will gladly assist Equestria in all of its…" Celestia paused for a moment, feeling the words form in her mouth. "Gov… Gova… 'Govamenial' pursuits!" Solstice chuckled as Luna simply rolled her eyes and groaned. "I'll appreciate that, my lady." Solstice said laughingly.
He reached over, took two of the cupcakes, and handed one to Celestia and another to Luna. "Here, a peace offering, my liege." The fillies cheered and snatched the cupcakes up. "Just be sure to finish your sandwiches first." Equinox said to the fillies. The fillies, eager to enjoy their cupcakes, quickly wolfed down their sandwiches. The then consumed their cupcakes eagerly; Celestia ate the icing first, then the cupcake, while Luna simply ate the entire thing. Then then went off to play, running into the woods to play their favorite game, "The Princess vs. the Nightmare."
"ARGH! I'LL DEFEAT YOU PRINCESS CELESTIA!" Luna chased her older sister in circles around a small open area in the forest, which aside from being surrounded by trees, had a few small rocks and a large hollow log underneath. Celestia flew up in the air. "You'll never catch me, Nightmare!" The Alicorn bellowed as she flew down and tackled Luna to the ground, the filly yelling out in enjoyment. The two wrestled on the ground for a few minutes as Solstice and Equinox approached from the trees.
"There you two are." Equinox spoke to her children. "It's time to go, my little ponies. Before it gets dark." The two fillies got up and groaned. "But I wanna play here some more…" Luna protested with a deflating whine. Celestia ran up onto one of the rocks. "Yeah, this place is wonderful!" She jumped off the rock and began to crawl into the hollowed log. She pushed herself in until only her flank was visable, stopped and remained there for a few minutes.
"Celestia?" Solstice called out to her, smirking slightly. "Are you okay, are you stuck?"
Celestia pulled herself out of the log and looked to her parents. "There's a pony stuck in there." She said bluntly, pointing her hoof to the log. Solstice gave Celestia a curious look. "A pony?" He said, approaching the log. He lowered his head and pretended to look into the log, playing along with his Alicorn daughter.
It was then that he heard a slight whimper come from the inside of the log. Solstice's eyes widened as he realized that somepony ACTUALLY WAS in the log. He turned to Celestia. "Go by your mother." He said. "I'll handle this."
As Celestia walked over to Equinox and Luna, Solstice began focusing his magic on the log. Splitting it open down the middle. It wasn't really that hard to do with magic, and the pony trapped inside was revealed.
The only problem was that it wasn't really a pony.
Celestia had never seen such a peculiar creature in her life. It was very young, almost the same size as Celestia, if not a bit bigger. Its head resembled a pony, but it had two odd-looking horns sprouting from its head, two fangs protruding from its mouth, and a pair of black eyebrows that matched it short mane. Its body resembled a pony, but had a much thicker coat. Its "hooves" were actually different too, resembling that of animals Celestia had seen at the Canterlot zoo, its limbs were that of a bird, a lion, a goat, and a lizard. It had the tail of a snake, and two different wings, one wing resembled that of a Pegasus. As the Alicorn family approached the creature. Luna looked up at her father. "Daddy, what is it?" She asked.
Solstice blinked. "I cannot believe it… a draconequus…" Luna tilted her head, confused. "A what, daddy?" Equinox pulled Luna closer to her. "A draconequus. It is a creature that has the head of a pony and a body of all sorts of other things."
Solstice brought his head closer to the draconequus. "Yes, a male, actually. Very young too, almost as young as you, Celestia, give or take a year." Equinox looked at her mate with concern. "Solstice, what is a draconequus doing here? I thought they lived in the Northern territories…"
Solstice gave a large sigh. "They do, in the country of "Chimer". I've been trying to contact them for years. But they're a nomadic species. They're all a bunch of different tribes. No unified leader." He shook his head and looked down at the pathetic creature at his feet. "This one must've got lost and traveled all the way down here by mistake." Solstice looked up at the sun above him. "This heat cannot be good for him. I heard Chimer is a very cold province, it snows all year. He must've been trying to keep himself cool in this log."
Equinox took a step forward. "Well, is he still…"
"Alive?" Solstice responded. "Yes, but barely. We'll have to hurry if we're going to be able to save him." The draconequus shuddered and curled up in his feverish slumber. His slim, frail body showed signs of malnourishment and exhaustion.
"Solstice!" Equinox protested. "You can't possibly take this creature in…"
"Equinox, I made a vow when I became ruler of Equestria that I would care for all the creatures that resided in the land." The draconequus floated unto Solstice's back. "This draconequus is no exception. Besides, what example would that leave the children, who we will eventually leave to rule Equestria someday?"
Equinox opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped, switching her words to, "Come on, Luna, Celestia it's time to go home.", as most mothers do. As the four Alicorns, plus one draconequus, left through Whitetail wood, completely oblivious to the future that their newest companion would provide them.
The royal palace in Canterlot was in a chaotic bustle the moment the regal family walked into the front door. Solstice immediately called upon the family's physician, Nurse Goldheart, who called the servants to bring buckets of cold water, several rags, and pair of scissors. Goldheart took the draconequus and brought him into one of the guest bedrooms, which usually consisted of a dresser, a single bed, and a nightstand with a lamp on it. Goldheart began trimming the excess hair of the draconequus' coat, until only an inch's length remained. She then began soaking the rags in the cold water and applying them to the draconequus, who occasionally cried out from the pain of his fever.
Hours passed, and Celestia waited outside the door of the room the entire time, nervous about if the mysterious creature was going to be okay or not.
It was about 8:00 P.M. when Goldheart finally walked out of the door. She immediately Noticed Celestia sitting there, asleep due to boredom, and she gently shook her awake.
"I thought that it would be nice to let you know," Goldheart said to Celestia, smiling. "That your friend has made a full recovery, your highness."
Celestia beamed at the sound of that. "So can I see him?" The young Alicorn asked, beginning to head towards the door behind Goldheart. However, the nurse pony stopped her.
"Not right now, your majesty. Our friend has had a troublesome journey, and needs some rest. I believe tomorrow would be a better time to talk to him, okay?" Celestia gave a disappointed look, but nodded in compliance. "Okay, how about I get you a nice glass of milk before you go to bed, would that be alright." Celestia yawned and politely refused, heading straight for her bedroom instead, which was a rose-colored room with a twin-sized bed, a pink desk with a mirror on it and a brush, and wall with pictures Celestia drew of her friends and family.
The Alicorn quickly dove into her bed and shut her eyes tight, because the sooner she fell asleep; the closer was the chance to meet that mysterious creature.
"A draconequus… Perhaps we'll be friends…" Was Celestia's last thought as she drifted softly to sleep.
Celestia made no hesitation when she woke up the next morning to race downstairs in order to see that draconequus. As she approached the door she stopped to see her father was already inside the room, his massive body preventing Celestia from seeing what he was doing.
"You're a very lucky draconequus. If we didn't find you, I don't think you would've survived the heat."
Celestia could hear a faint voice mumble in response and her excitement rose higher. Solstice was talking to the draconequus! Now she didn't have to wait for him to wake up, like she had to do when other quests visited the castle. Celestia approached her father and lightly tugged on his tail. The adult Alicorn flinched and turned to see his daughter standing there. "Oh, Celestia." He said warmly. "I was just about to call you. I would like you to meet somepony." He moved out of the way and Celestia walked into the room, ready for her first encounter with the draconequus, who was lying on the bed.
Celestia first noticed that he was awake, but still seemed tired. This was most likely from his long journey. His coat was now trimmed to be a thin as her own, and his mouth was agape as he saw her. He was staring at her as if she was a firework, an angel brought down to earth. His eyes as wide as dinner plates, and remained unblinking, as if he was afraid that she would vanish if he did.
However, the most interesting this about him were the color of his eye, which Celestia found to be the most beautiful shade of blue she had ever seen.
"This is my oldest daughter, Celestia." Solstice said. "She was the one that found you in Whitetail Wood, and she's been wanting to meet you ever since." Celestia suddenly walked up and placed her front whooves on the bed, surprising both the draconequuis and Solstice. "Tia!" Solstice whispered. "Tia!" However Celestia ignored her father, and smiled at the dracoequuis, who in return nervously smiled back.
"Hello good sir." Celestia asked politely. "My name is Celestia, what is your name?"
The draconequus hesitated for a moment before speaking. "H-Hello, princess Celestia."
"You don't need to call me 'princess', we're friends now."
The draconequus' eyes widened at the sound of those words, and his smile became warmer. "Hello Celestia, my name is Discord."
Celestia tilted her head, a confused expression on her face. "Why do you have a name like that?" She asked with sincerity.
Discord looked down at his claw and paw. "I'm called that because I always seemed to cause trouble in my tribe. So I am called Discord because I bring 'discord'." He spoke with a slightly sober tone. "I was shunned by the other members of my tribe, so I left in shame." Celestia realized that he was not just speaking to her, but her father as well. The regal prince nodded in acknowledgement. Discord hesitated before speaking, his face bore a saddened look. "I-I should go. I most likely overstayed my welcome, thank you, your maj-"
"Wait."
Discord and Celestia looked up at Solstice, his eyes radiating the warm kindness he was famous for. He approached Discord and grinned. "I can't let you leave now. Where would you go?"
Celestia was only a filly. But she knew her father long enough to know when he was planning something. As kind as he was, he was also known to be very clever and cunning, able to find a solution to almost anything. However, what Celestia didn't know was that Solstice was going to concoct his greatest, of not controversial, plan yet.
"I think I can manage for you to stay in Canterlot for now. Perhaps even in our own family…"
Discord rose out of bed, shocked at what the prince was imposing. "Your majesty, I couldn't…"
Solstice rose a hoof, still smiling. "You can and you will. I do believe you have potential to do great things, Discord. I can see in your eyes that you're a kind, loyal, generous, person. In fact, I haven't seen such passion in a person since I met the founders of Equestria themselves."
Celestia didn't know if what her father was saying was true or not, but remained silent.
"Also," He continued. "My daughter here seems to have taking a liking to you. I would love if she had a friend other than her sister Luna for once."
Discord couldn't believe it; he left Chimer for the chance of a better life, and now was going to be adopted by the regal family of Equestria. It seemed too good to be true, and he considered turning Solstice's offer down in fear that is might be a trap of some sorts.
However, as Discord looked at Celestia again, his uncertainties melted away. He felt calm and serene, almost as if he was dreaming.
Discord turned to Solstice, his face beaming.
"I would love to."
All was not peaceful at Starswirl the Bearded's palace located deep within the Everfree Forest, but that didn't mean that it meant bad news.
The palace, which originally resided as the capitol of Equestria, had long been since abandoned when the ecosystem of the forest became independent and violent through unknown means. However, the royal wizard pony Starswirl remained. And with the help of his faithful student, Starswirl had managed to turn the castle into a study for Starswirl to safely experiment with various types of magic, filling the palace with various apparatus and books on magic. However, he had just made a breakthrough, and was rushing off to his student's quarters to tell him the news.
Starswirl was an old pony; he had spent over 50 years in service to Equestria. He was there when his first student, Clover the Clever, helped create Equestria, and he was there when the Alicorns took the throne. He even brought it on himself to take an Alicorn, who was named Oblivion, as his second student. Starswirl had a light purple coat and a long, indigo mane with two differently colored streaks of purple in it. Of course, the color of his mane had long since lost its vibrant color as Starswirl grew old, but it never seemed to bother the unicorn. He also had a rather long, grey beard, which resulted in his unusual name. His cutie mark, which was usually hidden under a beautiful blue coat, was a white crescent moon with a bright purple star in front of it. He usually wore a large, blue wizard's hat with a hole in the front for his horn.
He quickly opened the door to Oblivion's quarters, startling the Alicorn from his slumber. "Huh?" Oblivion mumbled, his mind recovering from being jarred awake so suddenly. Starswirl was so excited; he began tugging on his beard in anticipation. "Oblivion, come quickly! You have to see this…"
Fearing that his master would rip off his own beard, Oblivion quickly hopped out of bed and followed Starswirl to the heart of the palace. Oblivion was a white Alicorn with grey blotches adorning his flank. His mane was short, well groomed, and blonde with a single cyan streak running in it. His cutie mark was a large X. He also wore two bracelets on each of his legs, one silver and one gold.
As the duo entered the center of the castle, which consisted of only a simple bookshelf, a few empty tables and a pedistal, Oblivion instantly noticed the green gemstone, perfectly cut, floating in the middle of the room. As the duo approached it, Oblivion reached out to touch the gem, only to be stopped by Starswirl.
"W-what is it?" Oblivion asked.
"This," Starswirl said proudly. "This is my greatest discovery, the pinnacle of my research. I finally found a way to take various varieties of magic that exist in the natural world and turn them into individual power sources ." Starswirl carefully took the glowing emerald and placed in on a pedestal along with seven other gems that matched the shape of the green one.
"I call them 'Elements'." Starswirl continued, describing each one in great detail. He went on to describe that each Element represented a different quality that contributed with the harmony of nature. "The orange one's Honesty, the pink one's Compassion, the blue one's Joy, the purple one's generosity, the red one's loyalty, the violet one's Leadership, the opal one's Tolerance and the green one…" Starswirl paused for a moment, trying to remember what the green one meant. "Ah, yes! The green one is Might. That's right, it's Might… Hihihi."
Oblivion gazed at the eight Elements of Harmony, he could feel their power pressing on to him like the rays of a warm sun. "What do you plan on doing with them?" Oblivion asked.
Starswirl used his magic to levitate two of the Elements, Leadership and Tolerance, and brought them to a nearby table, which had only a white box on it. "At the moment, nothing really. I won't be able to do much with them until I have tested their capabilities. However, I do believe that the Elements of Leadership and Tolerance would be most fitting for Prince Solstice and Princess Equinox, so I'm planning to present the Elements to them at this year's Grand Galloping Gala. Hopefully by then I will have understood the potential of the Elements." He placed the two Elements inside the box and began to walk out of the room.
"Master?"
Starswirl turned to his fateful student. "Yes, Oblivion?"
Oblivion hesitated before asking. "Are these the only possible Elements you could make, figuratively speaking? Is it possible for you to make more Elements based on the other qualities of nature."
Starswirl pondered for a moment. "I believe anypony with the power could make an Element for any emotional quality, such as Pride, Jealousy, Love, Avarice, and so forth. If one was able to gather enough power of that quality, then they could quite possibility make almost any element they wanted, so to speak."
Oblivion nodded. "I understand. Thank you, master."
Starswirl smiled in response. "Rest well, faithful student." And with that, he left the room, Leaving Oblivion alone, with only the six Elements of Harmony keeping him company.
It was only a day since Discord had been adopted by the royal family of Equestria. He had spent the entire day talking to important looking ponies, mostly Unicorns and Alicorns, who discussed with both Solstice and Discord about the little draconequus' future.
"Because you are not officially of the royal bloodline, you cannot take the Equestrian throne if anything should happen to Celestia and Luna, Equestria forbid, unless it was under the direst of situations." Solstice explained to Discord. "However, because you are now adopted by me, the regal Prince of Equestria, you will inherit the title of Duke when you become of age. Until then, you will be given the same education as Celestia and Luna…" Solstice patted Discord on the head, a proud smile etched on his face. "But until then, why don't you find Celestia and Luna? I'm sure you don't want your day spoiled by all this jibber jabber. Enjoy yourself!" Discord bowed politely and ran off as Equinox approached Solstice, a look of distain on her face.
"I still do not get why you are doing this." She hissed quietly. "I mean, spontaneously adopting a random creature you found in a log, and giving him the title of DUKE? Think what the other provinces will think!"
"EXACTLY!" Solstice responded loudly, a confident grin creeping across his face, as if he was winning a game. "With a draconequus as a member of the Royal Court of Equestria, the province of Chimer will be able to see that both ponies and dracoequus' can coexist peacefully, and we hopefully won't have to go into a war with them. Then, if luck should be with us, the other provinces will see that we are a benevolent and accepting nation, and won't feel as threatened by our constant growth."
Equinox gave Solstice a skeptical look, raising an eyebrow. "So then Discord is basically an opportunity for you to earn the favor of the other provinces and expand Equestria's power?" She asked.
"Not entirely…" Solstice admitted, his nose scrunching up. "There's also the fact that I've always wanted a son."
Celestia and Luna watched from their small, four seat table in the royal garden as Discord approached them. The two Alicorns were drawing pictures with a set of crayons, but stopped when they noticed the dracoequus. Discord approached cautiously, fearing of how the duo would react should he'd something offensive. He stopped approaching them, and simply rose his eagle claw, his talons moving in a gesture of introduction.
"Um, hello…"
The fillies remained silent for a few moments before a smile slowly spread across Celestia's face. "Oh, hello Discord!" He spoke cheerfully, in an almost song-like tone that sent what felt like sparks down Discord's spine. He lowered his head down and looked away, his newfound shyness overcoming him. Celestia continued to smile at the bashful dracoequus, seeming to take a liking in his timid behavior. But Luna had resumed her doodling, not taking much interest in Discord. However, she did notice when Celestia got off her chair and approached Discord, and began to protest.
"Tia, what are you doing? This is OUR playing time! GET BACK HERE!" Luna shouted to her sister, who seemingly ignored her. She bent down and looked upward at Discord, who flinched at the sight of Celestia staring at her. "What's wrong?" Celestia asked in an airy, slightly joking voice. "Do I have something on my face? Am I ugly to you?"
Discord suddenly raised his head up, eyes widened with surprise. "Of course not, your majesty! In fact, you're actually essentially the opposite!" Discord glanced at Luna, who was now staring at him with her eyes narrowed and her nose scrunched, for a second before glancing at the ground. "I-It's just that you're a princess and I'm just a… a…"
Celestia tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face. "But didn't my father say that you are now a member of my family?" Discord gulped for a second before nodding, and immediately felt two hooves touch his cheeks and raise his head, his face now leveled to Celestia's. "Then there's no need to feel nervous around your family right? I'm not your ruler, Discord, I'm now your sister! You'll never need to be formal around me, okay?"
Discord simply had to look into Celestia's blue eyes and he felt his anxiety melt away, replaced with another emotion he wouldn't fully understand until he was much, much older. Celestia let go of Discord's face and began to walk back to the table, where Luna was now scribbling furiously. The pink Alicorn then stopped and turned back to Discord, smiling. "You want to color with us?" She asked.
Discord immediately followed Celestia back to the table and took a seat, oblivious to Luna's spiteful look at him.
Writer's note: Sorry for the short chapter. I didn't know how to continue from this point and decided to end it on this rather touching moment instead. However, I will make sure that all the bleeding hearts of the world untie in the next chapter, when Discord goes to the snobby private school full of snobby noble kids. ENJOY!
Years passed, and Discord soon felt comfortable in his surroundings. He truly felt like one of the members of Equestria, if not his new family. He, Celestia, and Luna played every day. One day would consist of playing Hide-and-Go Seek in the royal gardens, while another would be spent helping the head of the royal cooks, Fancy Feast, create exquisite recipes for them to eat and enjoy. That is, if they tasted good.
Those days were pure bliss, and every night, Discord would find Celestia sneaking into his bedroom through a nearby window, and they would either talk, or sleep together huddled under the covers. Now, before any thoughts are thought of, Celestia and Discord were still innocent fillies at the time, so the concept of mating didn’t cross any of their minds until they were much, much older. Yes, those days were nothing but nonstop, playful bliss.
There was only one incident that placed a damping note on those halcyon days, and it involved not only Celestia, but her sister Luna too.
About four years had passed since Discord was adopted into the royal family, and the three fillies were now older and wiser, if not taller. However, their wisdom was currently only used for developing more creative ways to play.
Celestia and Discord ran through the Royal Gardens of the Canterlot palace, the shorter Luna chasing vigorously behind, desperate to catch up. “Tia! Discord! Wait!” She cried out, almost tripping over a patch of grass.
Celestia turned to glance at her sister and motioned for Discord to stop. The duo halted and waited for the azure filly to catch up. Out of breath, Luna waved a hoof towards her sister, as if to tell her something, but her breaths were too strained for her to talk.
“I guess we’ll just have to switch to ‘galloping’ from now on.” Discord joked, resulting in a cute giggle to emit from Celestia. Luna however, merely shot a dark look at Discord, and the dracoequus’ smile faded. Discord knew that Luna was jealous that she had to share her sister with somepony else. Solstice even knew it, and he had hoped that over the years, Luna would grow fonder of her brother. However, in all that time, not once had she shown any sign that her amnesty towards Discord had lifted. Every time she interacted with the dracoequus, all he received was a cold shoulder, along with a rather hateful stare.
Brushing it off, Discord turned to Celestia, asking what it was that she wanted to show them. The pink Alicorn smirked, and gestured a hoof towards a strange looking rock in the distance. However, upon closer examination, Luna and Discord discovered that it was actually a small play-castle, crafted entirely out of smooth, white stone. It was handcrafted and big enough for four people, and looked very much like a traditional castle in design, complete with a small table, three chairs, and a small toy chest.
“It’s a playhouse.” Celestia explained proudly. “I thought it would be appropriate for the three of us to have our very own house!” Luna gave a wide smile and hopped up and down repeatedly. “Do you mean like our own family?” She cried.
Celestia smiled. “Yes, I do.” She then put a hoof to her chin, pondering for a moment. “Okay. Do you both want to play ‘House’, or ‘Princess vs. Nightmare’?”
Luna stopped jumping and gave a puzzled look. “What’s ‘house’?” She asked.
Celestia smiled. “It’s where we’re our own family, like you said before.” She pointed a hoof to Luna. “You’re the baby.” Celestia then pointed to herself. “I’m the mommy.” Finally, Celestia walked over and tapped Discord on the snout with her hoof. “And Discord is the daddy.
Somehow, Discord seemed to like the sound of those words.
Unfortunately, Luna scrunched up her nose as she shook her head. “N-No, I don’t wanna play that. Let’s play ‘Princess vs. Nightmare’ instead!”
“RAWR! I’LL DEFEAT YOU, PRINCESS!”
Luna ran towards Celesta, who stood firm and focused, only to stop as a dracoequus intercepted the two of them.
“I shall protect my princess!” Discord shouted, pushing Luna to the ground. The azure Alicorn sat up, sulking.
“Hey…” She said quietly. “That’s not fair.”
However, her remarks were ignored as Discord walked up and bowed before Celestia. “The monster is slain; peace has been restored to the Empire of Celestia.” He spoke proudly. Celestia walked up and embraced the young dracoequus.
“My hero!” She spoke in a mock-swooning voice, hugging Discord. “I shall now give you your reward.” The pink Alicorn walked into the play-castle and opened a toy chest inside the castle. She dug in the chest for a few seconds before walking back out and running towards the palace.
“I think I left it inside. I’ll be right back!”
Discord sighed as he watched Celestia leave. There was just something about her that made him happy every time he saw her. He turned as he felt a light tapping on his shoulder, only to see Luna staring daggers at him.
“Next time, I get to be the knight!” Luna hissed at Discord, who flinched at the emphasis Luna gave on the “I”.
Discord shrugged. “That’s up to Celestia to decide. She is the leader, so she gives the orders.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed out of frustration and jealousy. “I just do not understand why she made YOU the knight. You are much more suited to being the monster."
That word, “monster”, strangely bothered Discord, but he simply brushing it off.
As Luna turned away from him, Discord suddenly spoke up. “In all honesty, I always thought you liked being the monst-“
Celestia was still in her room when she heard the loud cry burst through her open window. Realizing it was Discord’s voice, she immediately raced back outside to see Discord, who was sitting on his plot and covering his snout with both of his hands. As she approached the crying dracoequus, however, Luna ran up to Celestia with a panicked expression, talking a mile a minute.
“Wait Tia! I am sorry I did not meant to hit him he just said something that made me so mad so I bucked him in the face please do not tell mother and father please!”
Celestia ignored her sister and walked closer to Discord, only to see blood was now dripping from his hands. She felt her stomach lurch slightly at the sight of the blood. But despite her nervousness, she calmly turned to her sister. “Luna, go find Miss Goldheart. She’ll know what to do.”
Luna protested. “B-But what if Father-“
“Luna, you need to find Miss Goldheart. Discord’s hurt badly.”
“But Tia…”
“LUNA!”
Tia attempted to speak again, but only let out a slight whimper as she ran into the palace. Celestia walked closer to Discord, who was now lying on the ground, sniffling. Celestia sat next to him and laid her head on his back.
“T-Tia?” She heard a slight muffled voice almost a second later.
“Yes, it’s me. It’s okay, don’t worry. Luna’s going to get Miss Goldheart.” She felt the dracoequus shiver under her chin.
“It… Its hurts. My face… Luna, she…” Discord slowly lifted his face and looked at Tia, who winced at what she saw. One of his large fangs was missing, knocked out by the force of Luna’s kick. The portion of his upper lip that was above the missing fan was split; the rest of his lip was now swelling from the blunt force. His eyes were reddened from crying. What did anypony expect? He was young and was hurt badly. His cheeks were damp with a mixture of tears and blood, which gave his head-fur a repulsive brown color. Discord twisted his face in pain and gave out a set of choked sobs as Celestia noticed Nurse Goldheart, Solstice, and Equinox running towards the two. She began to get up and approach them, only to be stopped by Discord grapping one of her forelegs with a bloodied paw.
“Please. D-Don’t leave me… I’m s-scared.”
Celestia paused for a second before kneeling back down, consoling Discord as the others approached.
The next two hours were nothing but utter chaos as Nurse Goldheart tended to Discord’s wounds. Of course, Luna was scolded very harshly for causing the predicament, despite her protests, and it ended with the young Alicorn running into her room, sobbing.
Celestia felt bad about her sister being punished so harshly, but it only took a look at the dark red blotch on her forehoof to remember why she was punished in the first place.
“He did it again! Just what kind of leader is Solstice?!”
Starswirl stomped his hoof in reaction to his student’s outburst. “Oblivion! Control your anger. You will not talk about the Prince in such a manner!”
Oblivion scowled at his master’s words. He was right, it was undignified to talk so crudely about the ruler of Equestria, but Oblivion thought he had every right to do such. “But master,” Oblivion protested, “He does not seem to be acting as a respectable ruler of Equestria. He speaks like a peasant, he never uses the Element of Leadership you gave him, and he let a… a… BEAST live in his palace as if he his own colt. I believe Prince Solstice has gone mad!”
Starswirl shook his head. “He is not insane, Oblivion. He is quite the opposite, showing to the people that he is a benevolent, tolerant, and kind leader. But I believe that is not the reason you are angry today, is it?”
Oblivion paused before speaking, his cheeks flushed with anger. “He won’t even attempt and conquer the other provinces, even though Equestria has the forces to do such. All he does is ask for treaties and appeasement letters to be applied in the provinces. What could prevent Sol- PRINCE Solstice from controlling the entire Faustian Continent?”
Starswirl sighed in frustration; Clover the Clever wasn’t as difficult to teach as Oblivion was. At least she was patient and understanding. “Perhaps Prince Solstice doesn’t wish to control the other provinces.”
Starswirl said, turning to a banner on the wall that bore the Equestrian royal banner, a golden sun that lied in the gap of a silver crescent moon. He looked at Oblivion. “Oblivion, what is the motto of Equestria?”
Oblivion sighed at the question he, along with almost everypony in Equestria, knew by heart: “Forgive and Forget, Love and Tolerance, Harmony is Magic.”
Starswirl smiled. “There is your answer. Prince Solstice does not want complete control; he wants Harmony, along with the other provinces. That is what makes him a true leader, because he unites the provinces not by Equestria’s banner, but by the banners of all the provinces.” Starswirl began heading towards his bed chambers. “Rest well, my faithful student. I hope this lesson has provided great insight for you.”
Oblivion smiled in agreement, Starswirl’s lesson did grant him insight on something. And that insight was that his teacher was completely wrong, and that Equestria deserved a better leader. But who could be a better leader that the mighty Alicorn Solstice?
Perhaps Starswirl, or better yet, Oblivion himself. But how could he surpass Solstice. Surely, Oblivion knew that despite Solstice’s incompetent leadership skills, he was almost invincible with the Element of Leadership on his side.
But then again, there were other Elements aside from Leadership…
Oblivion looked over at the pedestal that contained the Six Elements of Harmony. As he looked at the multicolored jewels, he remembered a poem that Princess Equinox has written about the Elements of Harmony, and a single line of text stood out in his mind.
“…And Might makes it all complete…”
More years passed, and although Discord had lost one of his teeth, he gained a stronger relationship with Celestia. The two were inseparable ever since the incident and they spent it mainly pulling pranks on the royal guards and the staff.
“Ready ‘Celly’? Watch this.” Discord said, winding up a toy rat with his hands as the two hid inside Fancy Feast’s kitchen. The unicorn was preparing the soy-based stock for the family’s dinner tonight, and was known in all of Equestria as having the best skills when preparing soup, as well as an exceptionally large fear of rodents. The wind-up toy didn’t even last a second on the kitchen floor before being smashed and thrown around by Fancy Feast, and both Discord and Celestia crept away snickering, thinking that they would get away scot-free with their plan.
And they did, until mealtime came around, and Solstice found a small brass gear in his spoon.
Eventually, Celestia, Luna, and Discord all became old and tall enough to start going to school, and before they knew it, trio had began taking classes at the Canterlot Royal Academy. According to their father, they would be under the tutelage of the kingdom of Equestria’s royal magician and headmaster of the Academy, Starswirl the Bearded. He would be teaching them all about the magic of Equestria, as well as the Elements of Harmony, a powerful new tool Solstice said was what the Prince hoped will bring peace to the Faustian Continent.
The weeks went on as Starswirl began teaching Celestia, Luna, and Discord, as well as the prefects of the Academy on the various types of magic and how they worked. Every night, the students would have to learn one spell as homework, and they would be punished with no lunch if they failed to do such.
“To learn magic is to understand the very center of our world.” Starswirl lectured one day, annoyed by the amount of lazy prefects who didn’t bother learning much about magic. “If one is to understand their world, they will be able to utilize their skills and become greater in the end.” Of course, there were many a time that Discord, Luna, and even Celestia had to spend a day without a lunch, but by the tenth week they already had learned the basics of magic give or take a few things.
Discord ran out of the training room with an ecstatic grin on his face. He had spent two hours after the class ended practicing conjuration magic, and he finally did it! What was even better though, was the fact that not only was it a conjuration spell, but a spell he had created himself. “Won’t Celestia and Master Starswirl be proud over what I made!” Discord thought to himself as he ran into the academy’s courtyard, a small patch of grass and small trees surrounded by doors that led into various corridors of the Academy. He immediately caught sight of Celestia, and ran towards her.
He stopped halfway when he saw her talking to a rather bulky looking Pegasus with a sky-blue coat, rainbow mane, and a cutie mark of a cloud with an explosion on it. Celestia noticed Discord first and smiled at his presence.
“Oh, Discord! So good to see you, this is Cloud Popper, he’s from Cloudsdale.” The Pegasus turned to face Discord and gave a shocked expression at the dracoequus’ appearance.
“Wha…” He stammered, unable to identify the creature before him. As Discord approached Celestia, Cloud Popper stood out of his way, his expression now a mix of confusion and slight disgust. “W-What are you?”
Discord looked at Cloud Popper as if the Pegasus had spoken a bizarre language. Something about the way he asked that question bothered him. “What are you talking about?” But before either of them spoke, Celestia stepped between them.
“This is Discord.” Celestia said proudly. “He’s my brother.”
Silence fell as Discord watched the words soak into the blue pegasus for what seemed like hours. Then he noticed as the pony’s body rapidly spasmed, then his snout crinkled as what sounded like a balloon deflating slowly escaped from his mouth, his eyes narrowed and began watering, and finally Cloud Popper burst into a harsh, strong laughter. “BWA-HA-HA-HA! HE-He’s your BROTHER?! That is the biggest lord of horseapples I’ve ever heard in my life!”
Celestia glared at the Pegasus as he began recovering. “How’s that even possible?” Cloud Popper asked in a slight giggle. “Your father decided to be friendly to ALL the provinces?”
Discord flinched as he heard muttering round him. A quick glance was all he needed to realize that the three of them were now making a scene, and were surrounded by other students at the academy.
It was then did Discord realize that there was probably going to be a fight, and that he was going to be part of it.
Like Paper Planes in Playground Games
“How dare you speak about my father that way!” Celestia yelled at Cloud Popper who had just made an insulting remark over how Discord was Celestia’s “brother”. “He isn’t related to me by blood, he’s adopted.”
Cloud Popper sneered. “So what does that mean? Are the two of you bucking around or something?” The pegasus bellowed again, his laughter joined by a few ponies in the crowd.
Discord looked around, his eyes searching for a certain azure Alicorn. “Luna.” Discord whispered to himself. “Where in Equestria did you go?”
He suddenly froze as he heard a large “whump”, followed by a shocked gasp from the ground. He turned to see Celestia kneeling towards the ground. Discord quickly ran to her side and saw that Cloud Popper had thrown a small rock at her, leaving a red mark above her left eye. Looking at the startled dracoequus, Celestia simply gave a smile indicating she was okay. Discord smiled, but stopped when he heard Cloud Popper’s rude bellowing again. He turned to the laughing idiot, and let out a low growl, showing that he meant business.
“Aw, isn’t that sweet. Are you going to defend your precious princess?” Cloud Popper flapped his wings and began floating into the air, laughing again. As he did, Discord noticed as three ponies walked out from the crowd. Two were unicorns, one with a green coat and a red mane, and one with a black coat and a cyan mane. The third was another Pegasus, one with a golden coat and a monochrome mane who floated right next to Cloud Popper.
“Let’s see you try, you mismatched ragdoll!”
Discord didn’t stand a chance against the unicorns, who were in magical classes far more advanced that Discord’s and ultimately overpowered him. The green one, who Cloud Pooper called “Kringle”, instantly held him down with a green blast of energy, a restraining spell, which held him down to the ground.
“Discord!” Celestia called out to the bound Dracoequus, but was restrained instantly by “Wint-o-Green”, the second Unicorn, who surrounded Celestia in blue force field. She bucked, kicked, and used her magic to try and break the barrier, but the unicorn’s magic was too powerful for her to do anything.
Meanwhile, Cloud Popper looked down at his captive before turning to the gold-colored Pegasus. “Would you like the first kick, Daring Doo, or should I?”
Daring Doo sneered and made a polite bow before Cloud Popper. “After you.” She said in a mockingly polite tone. Cloud Popper nodded his head and flew down at Discord, driving his front hooves directly into the Dracoequus’ stomach. Discord let out a sharp cry in pain as the crown cheered, enjoying the violent spectacle, regardless of who was participating. Daring Doo followed suit, resulting in Discord letting out another pained gasp as the golden pony struck him. Cloud Popper then stood upright as he lowered his head towards Discord, whose eyes were watering from the first two blows.
“Welcome to a world of pain, ragdoll. Bada-boom.”
The next hour was a blur of hooves as Discord was mercilessly kicked, bucked, and stomped on by Cloud Popper and Daring Doo, unable to defend himself thanks to Kringle’s magic. Every kick in the stomach Cloud Popper made was echoed by Daring Doo stomping on Discord’s arm, and every kick to the leg Daring Doo made was responded to with Could Popper swiping his hoof across Discord’s face. But what was probably the worst part, however, were the hateful words that pierced Discord like daggers, injuring him emotionally, as well as spiritually.
“Ragdoll!”
“Creep!”
“You don’t deserve to live here!
“Monster!”
“Freakshow!”
“Get out of here! You’re not one of us!”
“Freak!”
“Freak!”
“FREAK!”
“You should just DIE!”
Finally, Cloud Popper ended it as he swung a hoof across Discord’s face. The last thing he saw were Daring Doo and Cloud Popper flying away as fast as they could, and before everything faded to black, he heard Celestia’s voice call out his name.
When Discord woke up, he immediately recognized his surroundings as his room in the palace. The dracoequus sat up and saw his wood desk with parchments and fresh ink. He saw his poster of the Wonderbolts hanging off the wall. He even saw his schoolbooks, neatly stacked on his desk.
The dracoequus stepped out of bed, winching as a surge of pain shot through of his talon, and slowly walked into his personal bathroom, stopping as soon as he looked at the mirror. His right eye was blackened and swollen almost completely shut. His upper lip was split again, his face was red from scrapes and bruises, and was swollen to the point that he could consider himself unrecognizable. As he looked as his body, he noticed his body was decorated with even more bruises and scrapes, and his talon arm was wrapped in bandages.
Discord sighed at his wrecked body, but turned at the sound of hoofsteps behind him. As he turned he saw Celestia, an expression of surprise on her face, standing before him. The mark abover her eye was barely recognizable, and Discord made a slight smile at the princess.
Celestia suddenly ran to Discord and hugged him tightly, the dracoequus winced as his arm ached from the sudden embrace. He looked down and saw Celestia’s face buried in his chest, sobbing. Discord blushed and awkwardly wrapped his arms around Celestia.
“I-I’m sorry…” Celestia choked. “I should’ve… should… They were so mean…”
Discord held Celestia as she cried, his awkward expression turning to a sobering one.
She was right, they were mean. Discord was aware of that, but it wasn’t HOW mean were they that bothered Discord at all.
It was WHY.
*This is a unfinished chapter, as I'm too tired to finish it. I'll try and finish the chapter later. Toodles~*
