The Dragon's Kin'
Chapter 1 - Luna's Eclipse
Part 3
Daughters of chaos.

9 months ago.
Canterlot. The royal palace.
Celestial bedding quarters. Eastern sun wing.
11:28 pm.

A shadow lurks the hallways, sliding from one corner to the other. It moves silently. The creature avoids the full-moon-light shining from the enormous palace windows. It lurks in the shadow.

A white pegasus guard is doing his nightly roundups. The intruder is lucky it’s not a unicorn for they are heavily trained in aura-seeking spells. The guard yawns and proceeds to move forward. So does the intruder.

Celestia suddenly shoots up from the bed. Something has disturbed her. She sits up and looks around her bedroom. It’s an enormous almost empty room with a triple king-sized bed in the middle. A light silk canopy is the only thing keeping her bordered from the giant dark room. The sun princess won’t admit it but shes still just a tiny bit of scared of what lurks in the shadows… especially during the full moon. She grasps her blanket just a bit tighter. The moonlight is bright but even though her windows are huge, just like in the rest of the palace, the gentle moonlight still can’t reach the farthest of corners.

Suddenly, footsteps. The princess quickly turns to her side. Nothing. She looks again, in front of her she sees that her, of course large, wooden doors are slightly ajar. She thinks to herself: “I-I guess I must have left those open… accidentally. Oh, oh or maybe a guard just checked up on me and couldn’t close the door because it was too heavy…. Yeah that’s right Tia, that’s right…. ABSOLUTELY nothing is wrong… nothing wrong… heh-heh-heh…”. Her pupils were shrunken, despite being in the dark. All the sleep she ever had was gone, all of it. “Assassins!”, the thought shot through her mind. “That damn Griffon King! I’ll buck him in the face next time I…”, her thoughts of swearwords was interrupted by more footsteps. They were getting closer!

Celestia just sat there with her muscles locked. She had nothing but her bare hooves and her damn pointy horn. Then something hit her. A simple memory from her fillyhood, it was the time Luna had given her that scare...

Tia was outside in the darkness. Her father Cosmos always told her to keep herself and her little sister inside during the dark hours. Yet, Lulu - as she used to call her sister, had lured her outside.

Tia wasn't afraid of anything. She was a proud alicorn and the daughter of the Demi-Gods Cosmos and Flare. Yet the weird creepy feeling of fear managed to sneak up on her.

As Tia wandered the labyrinths of her families back yard she heard a light rustle of leaves. She spun around and was faced with nothing. She walked further to her sisters meeting point.

A couple of minutes passed before Tia reached the centre of the labyrinth. It consisted of a large empty circle with a tree in the middle. That particular tree however was at least a millennium old, if not as old as the castle or the entire Everfree itself.
Tia rested her back against the tree and shook off some leaves that somehow gotten into her little wings and tail.

As she was busy mucking about she suddenly noticed the wind had picked up to an extreme speed.

Tia would never admit it, as she sought superiority over her sister and the acknowledgement of her strict father, but she was afraid... afraid of the dark.

Wherever the sun shone was her land, as though the magnificent beauty which brought life to this world seemed somehow tied to her existence. And the light’s only enemy... the darkness...

The clouds progressively thickened and the wind became icy cold. Tia shivered and sought help from the ancient tree, hoping that it would be able to offer some form of protection from the darkness that was engulfing her. It didn't respond. As lightning struck she saw a tuft of magic, much like her fathers, approaching her at high speed.

Tia had never been so scared in her all life . The very moment before impact the ball of spectral magic turned into a pony-like figure.

“BOO!!! Ahahahahahahaha!”, shouted a familiar voice. As Tia regained her breath she saw none other than her little sister rolling on the ground laughing her flank off.
“Lulu!!! WHAT are you doing!? You almost scared me to death!” Tia shouted. Her sister just wiped away a tear of laughter and replied, “Oh Sweet Tia, thou didst always gallivant about without fear... now I indeed have given thou a taste of thine own beverage.” She smiled at her angry sister.

“Thou see dear sister, none are fearless. Fear is what makes us equines. Without fear we are perfect... and there is no place for perfection.” Luna said in her diplomatic and royal voice their mother had taught them.

Tia remembered how they both had laughed it off. And indeed that was what her father wanted from her. Fear needs to be acknowledged. There was no place for perfect.

The Princess of the Sun suddenly realised how inappropriate and foalish she had acted over something as a childish fear. She stood up on all fours and spread her extravagant wings wide. She shouted into the void of her bedroom, meant only for the ears of the intruder.

She stood there for maybe a couple of minutes. “Was that a test? Could it truly have been a test sent by Mother or Father? To test me? To remind me? Oh thank you Mother and Father for you have truly-”, she couldn’t finish her sentence in time, due to the sudden interruption of an unknown shadow tackling her. Probably the same shadow she thought she had chased away.

Celestia screamed, she screamed in sheer surprise. The intruder was on top of her somehow holding her down with its light body. It had to be a pony… it had to be.
Without rational thoughts Celestia just kept flailing her bare hooves in all directions and erratically flapping her wings. Though somehow she had tangled herself in her giant blanket she kept kicking and punching and the intruder was shot off in the wall’s general direction.

Celestia managed to untangle herself while breathing heavily, she looked at where the intruder was lying.

Her heart stopped, but just for a moment. She fell to the ground in exhaustion all of this had her heart working overtime. She lifted her head to see that the intruder was rubbing hers.

The intruder was none other than the pink pony we all know and love. The one and only Pinkie Pie. She sat there with a slightly disappointed look on her face. She was wearing a rubber suit, which was the reason she was able to blend in so well. The rubber slightly reflected the light and the environment making Pinkie look almost invisible.
They both sat there. Celestia wasn’t angry though, she was confused and on the brink of a heart attack though.

Pinkie glanced at the clock it was 11: 34. “Omigosomigosomigosh Tia get up! We can’t be late!!” she jumped up and ran to Celestia’s backside and promptly began pushing her in an upwards direction with her head. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!!!” she kept quietly muttering as Celestia slowly began to move. Her knees were still weak from the scare Pinkie had given her.

They began walking down one of the moonlit corridors towards who knows where. Well, they knew at least.

“Gosh Tia I can’t believe you actually forgot!” Pinkie looked at Celestia in slight disappointment. Her face was unusually serious. “Pinkie you DO realize I have much more important things on my mind at this given time.”

“More important?!”. The pink pony jumped back a step or two. Her serious face lit up in anger, anger almost nopony has ever seen. “Tia!!! This happens once… ONCE in a MILLENNIUM! How can it NOT be important!?!”. She had leaned in Celestia’s direction so much it had almost forced the Princess to kneel.

“Pinkie!”. Celestia straightened her body while pushing Pinkies face away with her bare hoof. Only now she realized that she was naked. She felt slightly embarrassed but pushed beyond that. They kept walking towards the massive door at the end of the moonlit corridor. “If this is so important to you did you at least bring the stone?”

“Pfft! Of course I did you silly-filly! What’s the point without it?” Celestia lifted her eyebrow while she watched the pink pony struggle to get a ragged piece of a stone tablet out of her rubber suit. She helped with her magic while saying, “Pinkie, I know that what we are about to do will stay only between us until we die, though I’d still rather liked that you call me Celestia.” Pinkie looked at her in slight confusion “But Ti… I mean Celestia, Tia is still you real name, and why I can’t call you by it puzzles me. Which kinda reminds me of this one puzzle I completed like 2 weeks ago, it sure was a doozy! It had almost like a painting on it and… and… and…”. At this point Celestia had shut her out, not to be confused by her constant babbling. By the time they both arrived at the door Pinkie had fallen quiet. Celestia opened the massive door with her magic and it revealed a magnificent garden shining in the moonlight. It was only a few minutes to midnight, so they had to hurry.

As the princess and the earth pony walked on the stone paved pathway they came to the center peace of the royal private garden.

“Oki-doki-loki.” She handed the stone over and Celestia grabbed it with her magic. The rugged stone was gently placed at the base if the statue. Discord still had that look on his face… it gave Celestia the chill’s.

{…Hi, the author here. I really do believe it’s time to tell you all about the tablet which is so frequently mentioned in this chapter. Let me begin…}

Around eleven or twelve thousand years ago, at the very dawn of the sun and moon princesses there lived a council, the Council of the Great. It consisted of two earth ponies, two pegasi, two unicorns and two alicorns, obviously the princesses. Each of the pair was a male and a female providing equality amongst all, but they weren’t the only ones… There were also the Zebras: two from the brown striped tribe and two from the black and white. There were also Dragons, they were divided into four pairs: the land dragons, sea dragons and two kinds of flying ones, the big and the small. And last but not least were the Griffons. The Griffons were feared amongst all and they were only matched by the royal sisters. Only a single pair of the griffons stood proudly for their race, for they weren’t much into diversion.

They were the ones that created the tablet which still has remained unnamed disregarding the millennia that have passed. The tablet consisted of the universal laws and had 4 copies made. One copy for each of the races.

Through the times and wars which now seem meaningless, the pony-kind’s tablet has since lost many of its laws, some just crumbled away with time. But the most important law had remained in one peace until the first strike from Nightmare Moon. The law of punishment.

The words written on the soulless stone had haunted the Sun’s Princess ever since she had banished her sister to the Moon. Haunted by guilt, she could not bare the fact that she had broken one of the last few laws which had united all of the different species. She snapped, but only slightly… enough to do what she did.

She broke the tablet. She broke it into 14 pieces and gave a piece to the ones she held dear. They were mostly the ones who served in the royal palace. Two pieces went to her and her sister’s most loyal body guards. One went to her servant, he was always so cheerful. Some went to her gardeners and a few other ponies like that one mail-mare that was always there for her. Another went to her first subject, a white unicorn mare named Twilight, such an unusual and mysterious name. The very last piece went to her favorite head-chef, a purple earth pony named Apple Munchie Louisiana Pie. Her cooking was the only thing worth living for at times and her wondrous smile could cheer the saddest of hearts.

A couple of decades had past and she had grown very, very old. Though Celestia had been there when she first saw her newborn daughter and even when she graduated the School for Gifted Unicorns even though she was a simple reddish earth pony. Lu’, as Celestia had called her, had brought some happiness to her dull life. Before she passed, Lu gave her daughter the peace of the tablet and her parting words were: “My dear, you will know when is the time to return it to its place, but for now keep it safe, safe from the world, for I have trust in you… my love…”. And she faded into the afterlife, which Celestia had long awaited, but will never be able to see with her own eyes …ever…

Lu’s daughter was never really fond of the Princess and without her mother holding her down she went to travel Equestria. And thus’ the last piece of the tabled was lost for centuries. Until tonight…

Celestia placed Pinkie’s peace of the tablet on the cold stone base of the statue. With it in place the full stone tablet was finally complete. Little did Pinkie know that Celestia had spent the last 2 and a half years looking all of the pieces. And tonight it was finished, tonight Celestia finally was able to redeem herself… because everyone deserves a second chance… don’t they?

Celestia looked towards the sky. The Moon was at its peak. It was time, now or never… she gulped “Pinkie? Do you have the element ready?”

“Of course I do!”. The pink pony was excited for some action, because one of the worst things in the world (besides no smiles) was waiting around and not doing anything.

Celestia stood in front of the statue and the tablet, she was barely able to see in the dim moonlight but she managed to slowly read it. Pinkie was standing not far from her on her right. From nowhere her pink balloon-shaped-crystallized-element had appeared on her neck, shinning in gold and in all its beauty. She had also ditched her rubber camouflage-suit somewhere, probably in the nearby bushes. Celestia began to read:
“From the elders we come. For what have you sinned. Each has a chance. A chance to regret. A lifetime of joy. Not taken away. We each have a chance. A chance to enjoy!!!”. She shouted the last part as her eyes and horn lit up. Her spectral mane began to reach for the sky. She kept repeating those lines over and over again. A ball of pure white and blue energy began to form at her chest, as well as at Discord’s statue and at Pinkie’s chest, right where the element was. The wind picked up as if it was sucking the air into a vacuum of nothingness in front of them. “A chance to regret!!! You must become PURE!!!” She shouted, while in front of her a concentration of energy formed.

At first it was a ball, then it began to take shape. A beam from Celestia’s horn shot up into the night sky, tapping into the Moon and the void. She felt power flowing through her, power she would never dare to use. Tentacles of light coming from the three bodies began forming a fourth in the middle…

The pure energy began to truly take shape, you could make out a head, ears, four limbs a slick and long tail a… Suddenly there was an explosion! It tossed the two ponies aside like dust, pushing them into the surrounding bushes. The statue remained intact, minus the giant crack where the heart used to be.

Somewhere on the other side of Equestria something was blinking… In Cloudsdale, the luxury region, something in a glass case was blinking… a crystal in the shape of a lightning bolt. The residents didn’t notice…

In New Ponyville’s outskirts two little gems were also blinking… in an old farm building, nopony noticed. Yet in a small cottage a simple stallion saw, but ignored and returning to his loved one.

And in a luxurious boutique somewhere in Manehatten a familiar Dragon saw light from a locked jewel case and chose not to bother with this fancy magic he has grown so fond of.

Celestia dragged herself out of the bushes. She felt numb and powerless, yet still thanked her parents for not getting knocked out cold. In front of her in the moonlight, on the stone paved path laid an odd looking stallion. His head was gray with a small black Mohawk stretching all the way to his back, yet his body was a dark brown, almost chocolaty color. His tail, fur-less and covered in red scales. There was no doubt… it was truly Discord…

He twitched and slowly got up. He seemed rather dizzy… no wonder actually. The more Celestia looked at him the more he resembled the real Discord. He looked just like him, no actual changes as she’d expected. He looked literally as if somepony had forced him on all fours and had shrunken him in size. Discord turned around and saw Celestia… a lot bigger then he’d remembered. He spoke in an odd voice, a lot younger than before. And he was missing his eyebrows which made him look young, as well that goatee; giving him a young-rebels look. He spoke, “Tia?” his vision was still a bit blurry. “Might want to explain what’s going on?”

Celestia let out a slight giggle “Oh dear Discord… all you need to know is that every being deserves a second chance…”. She looked at her side from where Pinkie was approaching. Her mane looked a lot fluffier then usual, probably due to the strong wind the spell made. She had a giant, wide, honest and 140% happy smile on her face. At first Discord was slightly surprised but then his expressions changed and he face-hoofed. “It wasn’t only about the second chance dung was it…? You brought me back for her as well… didn’t you?” he looked up while still slightly face-hoofing. Celestia had no words and only put on a weak, awkward smile while Pinkie’s was slowly fading. “Lemmie just say one thing Tia… … THANK YOU!” he shouted and his face was burning with happiness (the same kind of happy when he was causing chaos). In two seconds flat he had jumped Pinkie and they were both on the ground making out. Celestia had no other choice but to blush and turn away.

Celestia looked up at the sky. It was nearing dawn and the moon was beginning to pass, even though the stars should have still been shinning bright they were dull, powerless… drained. The Moon itself looked a bit unhealthy, “Hope Luna will forgive me…”, she thought.

Celestia knew nopony should see Discord and that they had to get back to the Eastern Sun-wing as soon as possible. Before starting an awkward conversation she overheard Pinkie whispering: “I’ve waited years for you…”, and then Discord’s voice: “So have I my little bundle of chaos.” It was followed by more somewhat disturbing smooching sounds. Celestia did an “A-hem”, the couple looked over at her. “As much as I’d like to leave you two be, we have to get inside, I don’t want anypony seeing you two. Especially you Discord.”

He sighed “Fine…”, he got up and lent his griffon hand to Pinkie and helped her get up. They huddled close, pressing their flanks together. Celestia couldn’t help but smile, they looked so adorable together.

They kept moving towards the side of the garden. Only they went in the direction of the only door they haven’t been to. Celestia went first poking her head in the corridor, scouting to see if there were any servants or guards.

A swift wave of her hoof signaled that nopony was nearby. They kept moving to Celestia’s room. There was a sharp turn,which she forgot to scout out and she ended up running straight into a pegasus guard.
They both fell over and the guards silver armor made a loud *thunk* when he fell. “My sincerest apologies your highness.” He said while getting up and slightly nudging the Princess as well. “No harm done, umm… Silver Wings was it?”

“I am flattered princess. For you know the name of such a young rookie like me.” The young guard blushed, the blush looked nice on his bright green coat. The Princess put on an awkward smile, trying as hard as she could to stand in front of the pony and the draconequus standing behind her . “Your highness?...”, the guard tilted his head to look past the princess through sheer curiosity. She took a step to the side blocking his vision. “Umm…”, the guard was still desperately trying to see what Celestia was hiding. They kept silently moving from left to right, from right to left until Celestia somehow got tangled in her spectral mane and tripped.

Discord as well as Pinkie stared at the guard with their eyes wide at the sudden situation. The guard however was a lot more scared… his wings were almost as if they were jammed open from the sheer shock and sudden fear. Also his expression, while priceless, was a tad disturbing.

The three kept staring at each other while Celestia tried to get up. The guard let out what was supposed to be a scream, which turned into a silent reversed gasp. With his pupils tiny and jaw wide open he looked comical, if he wasn’t wearing a helmet you just might have been able to see his mane shooting for the stars as they say.

Before any more damage could be done Celestia quickly jammed one of her front hooves in the guards open mouth. As the poor pony was tip-toeing on the spot, his words muffled by the princess’s large hoof he looked at her with his big eyes, seeking an explanation. “I will remove my hoof now… but only if you promise NOT to yell and only to whisper.” The guard nodded. Celestia slowly removed her hoof from his mouth, it was all drooly but she just wiped it on the red carpet.

The guard pressed close to her legs and looked up in her face. He whisper-shouted, “D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-discord!”.

“It’s OK my loyal subject, he does not need to be feared.” Celestia had put on her calming-maternal-voice, while the couple behind her were barely holding off from completely cracking up, that guard was priceless! “B-b-b-b-b-bbbbbb-but…”.

“It’s OK dear child. I have it covered.” She smiled and winked, she could feel that the guard was slowly calming down. “You will be safe as long as you promise me not to tell a single soul what you just saw. And… I’ll make sure you get a raise and a spot in my private guard unit.” She smiled again. Just by looking at her you could feel comfort. “O…OK…” the guard was still shivering. As if he’d seen a hydra on his front lawn.

Celestia whispered some stuff to the guard and after rustling in his pocket he gave Celestia a single key on a big keyring. She thanked the guard and told him to get some rest. She waved her head and immediately Discord and Pinkie began to follow.
“Here”, she threw a key at Discord and it landed on one of his horns, securing a safe spot until they arrived at their destination. “Room 26, it’s down to the right. You can have it for the day. I’ll come back tomorrow night and I’ll find you a more permanent place to stay. Out of sight and out of reach of innocent ponies.” She smiled while tilting her head back. Discord and Pinkie both looked at each other, they already knew what to do for an entire day…

Celestia turned the next corner. This is where their paths went in different directions. They stood there a bit awkwardly for a moment or two. Celestia turned the corner and said “Oh and FYI, you still have some magic… but a lot less, I hope you know that.” They each began walking down their separate corridors and one last thing Celestia shouted was: “Don’t make TOO much noise OK?” they heard her laugh. The doors locked. And so it began.

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A minor thanks to AzureKaRyu
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And a BIG thanks to my unspoken friend John
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For editing all of this

Luna's Eclipse

by enamis

Part 3 - Daughters of chaos