Discord's Family Reunion

by Mister E

Part 15

Part 15
Homecoming

It took nearly an hour, subjective time for all the ponies in the room to calm back down. Twilight had sat nursing her cider, considering all of the ramifications of the bombshell she and Celestia had received upon reentering Discord’s sitting room. Her actions hadn’t gone unnoticed however, as Pinky Pie came over and sat beside her.

“You don’t look happy Twi. What’s wrong?” Pinky asked tilting her head slightly to one side as she spoke.

“It’s this whole adoption thing.” Twilight responds. “I looked over this document as best I am able. It seems completely legitimate, and legally binding. In purely technical terms, we really are all now a part of each others families. I’m not sure how I feel about that.” Twilight confesses.

Pinky’s hair begins to deflate and a look of sadness crosses her face. “Twi. Do you not WANT to be my sister?” she asks hesitantly.

Twilight looks at her friend fully for the first time since her approach. “What? It’s not that Pinky,” Twilight replies hastily. “Of course I want to be your sister, we already are like sisters anyway.”

“Then is it some pony else?” Pinky says looking around the room. “I know Discord isn’t a pony, but he used to be, and Spike is a dragon, but he opted out because of, well, you know, and Zecora is a Zebra, but that is just a pony with stripes. It might be different if there was a pony with spots, but there isn’t anypony like that here and-”

“No Pinky,” Twilight interrupts. “I don’t have a problem with any pony here, or dragon, or zebra, or even Discord.”

“Oh. Okay.” Pinky says, her hair perking up. “But you still look... well not happy.”

Pinky says looking at Twilight who still holds her copy of the adoption paper in her hoof.

“Oh Twilight,” Discord says with a sigh, coming up to her. “You worry too much about a silly piece of parchment. I could vanish it in an instant, Spike could set it ablaze, or you could simply tear it up. Now since you haven’t, let me ask you... why?”

“I couldn’t do that,” Twilight responds without hesitation. “It made every pony so happy.”

“Every pony you say? Does that include yourself? Take a moment before you answer to think about it.” Discord says patiently.

Twilight pauses at the chaos lord’s words, and thinks about every pony there, and how it makes her feel calling each of them brother or sister in her head. Finally she looks up at Discord with a sheepish expression on her face. “I was being silly wasn’t I?” she asks him.

“No,” Discord replies. “You were being serious. That’s what Twilight does best. Isn’t that right Pinky?”

“Yup,” the pink party pony replies. “Trust me, I know what being silly looks like, and that was definitely NOT it. No, silly is more like...” And suddenly from out of nowhere both she and Discord pull out two matching sets of fake glasses with bushy eyebrows and oversized noses attached, put them on, and start playing ‘March of Equestria’ on Pink and Blue kazoo’s.

Twilight immediately tries to stifle a giggle, which finally bursts forth from her into outright laughter, as Discord and Pinky hoofbump each other.

“Much better.” Discord says as he leads his new niece away, chatting about exploding boxes wrapped in ribbon, and potential copyright infringement, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts again, but feeling much better about them.

Eventually all the gathered friends made their way back to their seats, the mood noticeably lighter in the room. Discord takes up the remote, and forwards the scenes on the viewer a few days into the future. Once every pony indicates their readiness, Discord resumes play.

The first thing the ponies in Discord’s sitting room see, is an aerial view of the palace courtyard. A familiar undulating figure begins to come into view and descends toward the inner garden. It’s not long before the figure is spotted by one of the guards on his regular patrol. He immediately raises the alarm, and dozens of ponies in armor with swords and spears scramble into formation, as a runner is dispatched to warn the Princess.

Cordial was tired. Not really physically, no, for some reason he didn’t seem to be that type of tired at all. Despite days of nonstop flight across the ocean and countryside. No, he was tired mentally. Tired of constantly replaying his last memories over and over. Tired of seeing a scarred landscape that was so very different from what he remembered. Tired of thinking about his current appearance. And most especially tired of trying to fly with these short mismatched wings that technically shouldn’t be able to keep him in the air in the first place. So when he finally managed to be able to land in the palace courtyard and was immediately surrounded by the royal guard, (several of which he remembered, but as being much younger), and they were all yelling and screaming about a monster, which he KNEW was in reference to himself, his mood could safely be said to have been less than pleasant.

“All of you! SHUT UP!” Cordial bellowed. “Whether you believe me or not, I am CORDIAL, your PRINCE, just returned from a mission from Zacherle herself. Go and send word to her, and my father. I’ll settle in right here until you can prove to yourselves I am who I claim to be.” And with that Cordial settles into a sitting position reminiscent of a cat.

“Right!” One of the guards says sarcastically. Cordial, Justice, and the Goddess, have been missing for years now, ever since the cataclysm. And now some patchwork nightmare lands right in the royal courtyard, and claims to be our prince? We should cut you up on principal darkspawn.” He says brandishing his sword menacingly.

“Missing?” Cordial says, jerking his head erect. “What do you mean my father is missing? And the Goddess is... gone?” Cordial begins to rise to his feet, and the guards all draw their weapons, preparing for a charge, when a voice descends from above.

“Much has changed while you were away dear... brother.” Harmony says, pausing at the last word as she descends before him.

“Sister!” Cordial exclaims. “You recognize me? Like this?!?” he asks incredulously.

“Yes brother. I know that it is indeed you.” Harmony turns, and addresses the circle of guards. “All of you! This creature is indeed my brother! He has suffered a terrible accident on a mission for Zacherle many years ago, and was just now able to return to us. You will not judge him by his current appearance! He is still your prince, he is still my brother. He is still Cordial!” She declares not only to everyone in the courtyard, but to herself deep inside as well.

A look of intense relief passes across Cordials face, as he and his sister make their way inside the palace. The guards all form up and let them pass, any remarks they have, they hold until after the main doors have shut.

Cordial and Harmony talk late into the evening. She tells him all that has happened since he left for the island, omitting the parts about the crystal heart, and why Keil and his family have left. When she gets to the parts about Keil, at first Cordial shows a flare of anger when he finds out that Keil’s practical joke was what landed Summergale on the island in the first place. But then he marvels at the fact that Keil and his sister had married, and had two children.

“And where are they now?” Cordial asks. “I really want to see your daughters sis.”

“They are traveling at the moment.” Harmony replies. “Boots and Icarus are taking them all on a trip to the south. They will probably be gone for quite some time. They left shortly before your return.”

“That’s too bad.” Cordial replies. But I can see them when they get back. If you can send them word that I have returned, please let them know that I don’t quite look like me anymore. I don’t want to scare any more ponies. I wasn’t thrilled about coming back looking like this. The first thing I want to do is research some spell to change me back. There must be something in the library.” he says somewhat anxiously.

“Of course brother.” Harmony replies. “We will begin a through search first thing in the morning. I’m sure we will find some way to return you to normal before the family returns.” She says confidentially.

They continue discussing events, each of them trying to understand Zacherle and Muenchinger’s reasons for doing what they did, and where their father could have gone and why. At some point late into the evening, Harmony summons a servant to bring them some refreshment. The serving maid is noticeably shaken at Cordial’s appearance and all but scurries out of the room.

“Sis. I understand why they run from me like that, but its starting to get to me. I actually remember that pony. She was always smiling and friendly. I used to chat with her sometimes as she did her chores. Now she couldn’t run away fast enough.” Cordial says lowering his head. “They don’t believe I’m me. Not REALLY,” he says quietly.

“They will brother.” his sister says, hesitantly putting a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “It’s just going to take some time. For all of us. Zacherle told me before she left that you WOULD return. It was one of the only things that has held me together all these years, except for Keil and Lulu and Sunny. I knew that you would look different when you got back, and it IS a huge change. But I can tell, just form speaking to you for these last few hours, that no matter what you look like on the outside, that my brother Cordial is still inside there, speaking to me. Ignore how they react for now. Eventually they will see what I do, eventually they will understand that you are still you. Well except for one glaringly obvious difference...” she adds in an exaggerated tone of voice.

“Yeah, now I can stop clocks just by walking by.” Cordial says in self denunciation.

“No stupid.” Harmony replies with a lilt to her voice. “The difference is that NOW there is no way I can lose to you at dodge ball!” she says tapping his antler and horn combo with a hoof.

Cordial’s mouth hangs open for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally he bursts out laughing. “Oh sis, just you wait until I’m healed, I’ll make you regret THOSE words!” he says still laughing, as Harmony joins in.

Several weeks pass, and the staff of the castle have slowly gotten more accustomed to their prince’s new appearance. It took less than a day from his return for word to reach the surrounding city, and by the end of the first week most of the outlying areas had gotten at least some version of their prince’s return. Gossip that he had been transformed into a hideous creature, and that he was seeking a cure were spread across the kingdom. Both Harmony and Cordial did nothing to quell these rumors, on the off chance that some outlying mage or wizard might hear of it, and come forth with a cure that would change him back. So far, none that had come in response to this, had met with any success.

Cordial had spent most of his time since his return in the palace library, searching through all of their extensive collection of books of magic, looking for some way to restore him to his previous self. Many of the best magicians of the royal court, had tried every healing and restoration spell that they knew of, but none had managed to achieve success. Still, no one was yet ready to give up, and many a tome of forgotten magic was unearthed in their frantic search.

On this particular day however, Cordial had had enough of being a magical guinea pig.“Sister, I need a break.” Cordial said as the latest in a long line of magical spells had been cast upon him, with the usual lack of results.

The exhausted wizard gave him an irritated glance, and in a wry tone says, “Hrmph, I spend four hours casting that spell, concentrating to keep the very forces of reality from potentially destroying this library, and you, the one who has been just sitting there, YOU need a break?!?”

Discord smiles apologetically. “Sorry. It’s not like I don’t appreciate all your hard work.”

“Oh I know youngster. I was just kidding you. I can’t even imagine how it must be for you, getting all those odd bits to work,” the old wizard says, gesturing at Cordials mismatched body.

“You know, you’d think I wouldn’t be able to even walk like this. But it all seems so... natural. I can fly somehow, I can walk, and talk and do everything I used to... well except for magic. I do miss being an alicorn. But the body seems to know what it’s doing.”

“How very odd,” the old wizard says. “I can only assume it has to do with the chaos that you absorbed somehow.”

“That’s right brother.” Harmony adds. “When I was told that you were returning, Zacherle showed me an image of you. She said that your body had absorbed all the chaos from those creatures before you exploded, and that it looks like the way it does because when it reformed, it was trying to reset itself to what all those various creatures looked like. I suppose that means that your body is still saturated with chaos.”

The old wizard looks distraught by Harmony’s words. And this is noticed by Cordial.

“What is it?” Cordial asks him.

“Well my boy, if what she says is true, that may explain why we are unable to restore you to your true form. I hesitate to say for sure, but from what she just said, this may now very well BE your true from. The energy that saturated your body, that was what couldn’t be destroyed. When it coalesced back into a coherent... well, semi-coherent form, this was it. It may be your new ‘default setting’ so to speak.” The wizard admits reluctantly.

Both Harmony, and Cordial look crestfallen upon hearing these words. The old wizard adds quickly, “but we can by no means be sure of this, and it certainly doesn’t mean that we will stop trying. And even if it were, there are two other possibilities, that this theory opens up.”

Cordial lifts his head. “What do you mean?” he asks.

“Well, in the first place, we have been focusing our attentions on restoration spells. That MAY have been the problem. There are shape shifting, and polymorph spells that we could try, to make you appear as you used to.”

“That’s right!” Cordial says excitedly. “I may not be able to do magic anymore, but I could at least look like my old self and be able to go back outside without causing a panic.”

“Ah, about the magic,” the old wizard continues. “That was the other bit of potentially good news I wanted to mention. You see, according to what I’ve been told, your body absorbed all of the chaos, from what was apparently the six most powerful chaos elementals on that island. It’s all still in there son. There is no reason I can see that you shouldn’t be able to use it.”

“Use it?” Cordial says, “Chaos magic? But isn’t that... evil?”

“Evil?” the old wizard says and then chuckles. “Not at all my boy, chaos and order are just two sides of the same coin. Neither of them on their own are inherently ‘good’, or ‘evil’. It’s all up to the individual on how they are used. Zacherle and Muenchinger created us primarily with order, so our magics are order based. That doesn’t mean a ‘bad’ wizard or sorcerer couldn’t use them for selfish reasons. But you my boy, have, as far as I know, the first chaos based body of any pony... er, former pony. Not only that, but it also possesses an incredible amount of power. Why I dare say, if you learn to use it properly, you may very well be the most powerful wizard in all of Equestria!”

“Really? That’s amazing! It never occurred to me that this body was anything other than a curse. Why, if what you say is true, I may be able to restore myself on my own. Maybe even all the damage caused by the cataclysm. Could you, and the others of your order, could you teach me?” Cordial asks.

“Well,” the old wizard says hesitantly. “I’m not sure whether we could or not. Obviously we could teach you forms and such. But your source of power is fundamentally opposite of our own. This may be something that you will have to come to on your own. Just like how the first unicorns had to teach themselves how to use their own magics.” Then the old wizard brightens up. “Ah but you DO have an advantage that those others did not. You already know the magics that exist do in fact...well... exist.”

Cordial looks confused, as does Harmony.

“Think of it like this,” the old wizard continues. “You already know teleportation is possible. You knew how to do it with order. Now all you have to do is figure out how to achieve the same effect with chaos. You can ignore all the years of magical theory trying to figure out if something IS possible. You already know it is. Now all you have to do is relearn the trick of it. Also, once you do, all the other spells and magics should be much easier to figure out. You just need that one spell, that one spark...” the old wizard trails off, noticing for the first time a note of disapproval in Harmony’s gaze. But Cordial is now animated and hopeful.

“Isn’t this wonderful news sis!” he says excitedly. “I must admit, as the days went by, I was beginning to lose hope that I would ever be able to have a normal life again. But this, this changes everything! How can I ever thank you my good pony? Why, with all the wizards that have been coming and going lately, I don’t think I even know your name.”

“Starlight.” The old pony says, “Starlight the bearded, they call me. And think nothing of it my boy. My family has been studying the magics of this world going back all the way to the beginning. If I have somehow helped to bring a new type of wizard into this world, then that will be thanks enough.” He says smiling at how happy his prince has suddenly become.

The rest of the afternoon is spent with Starlight going over various esoteric forms of magics with Cordial, without much success. But unlike before, Cordial remains hopeful, and excited at the prospect of unlocking his potential. Later after they part company, Starlight speaks to the princess privately.

“I couldn’t help but to notice a look of disapproval earlier. Have I somehow offended you your highness?” He asks.

“No, my good wizard. You have given my brother something he desperately needs... hope. Ever since he returned, all I sensed from him was sadness and regret. Now he believes that there may be some way for him to atone for what he has done.” Harmony says, gazing out into the courtyard.

“But your highness. What happened with your brother was an accident. He is not to blame. He had no way of knowing what would happen.” Starlight replies.

“Yes, I know. But he blames himself. Whether or not he did it intentionally, he still shoulders the blame. He may never get out from under it, unless somehow he is able to forgive himself. This is why I am glad that you offered him some hope of doing so... despite all of the potential risks.”

“Risks?” Starlight asks.

“Never mind,” Harmony says dismissively. “I’m sure everything will be fine. He’s still my brother. Nothing could ever change that...”

Several weeks pass, with no results in either Cordials restoration, or his ability to use chaos. Harmony and Cordial are sitting in the garden, sharing brunch, and talking about various events of the past few days. Eventually, as it usually did, the topic of Cordials latest efforts in mastering magic came to the surface of the conversation.

“It’s just so frustrating Sis. Out of everything, I should at least be able to teleport. It used to be as easy as breathing for me.” Cordial says in exasperation.

“I know brother dear, but just give it more time. Starlight is convinced that all you need is that one spark, and then it should all make sense.”

“Easy for him to say. HE still has that magic horn of his.” Cordial complains. “All I have are these antlers and this wobbly goat horn thing. Do you have any idea how hard it is to sleep with these things? Every time I turn my head, they rip into the pillows. Each morning I wake up wondering if I teleported myself into a chicken coop while I was asleep.”

Harmony titters with laughter.

“Oh ha,ha.” Cordial says sardonically, looking down in frustration at his meal. “And why do they always bring me orange juice with brunch? I mean really. Ever since I was a little colt, never any variety. What I wouldn’t give for a glass of... I don’t know, chocolate milk.”

“Well excuse me, mister ‘I’m not spoiled at all, I’m just a prince and am too good to go get it for myself’. If you want it that badly, why don’t you just use your incredible mastery of chaos?” Harmony chides.

“You are just a laugh riot today sis. Sure let me just snap my claw and change this into chocolate milk...” And with that Cordial snaps his claw with a flourish... and suddenly has a glass of chocolate milk in front of him, replacing his orange juice. Both members of the royal family fall silent, staring a the glass. Finally Cordial speaks.

“Um... sis?” He says hesitantly. “Did I just...” he trails off, as he picks up the glass and studies it.

“Uh yeah... I think you did brother.” Harmony replies. “Are you going to... taste it?” she asks curiously.

Cordial studies the glass a moment further. He sniffs the contents, pauses for thought, and then with a shrug of his shoulders, takes a long drink, draining half the contents.

“Well?” Harmony asks.

“Well, it seems to me like-” and then Cordial breaks off, clutching at his throat and gasping for breath. He lets out a “AKKKK” and then collapses on the ground his eyes closed.

‘CORDIAL!” Harmony shrieks, coming to her brother’s side, reaching down and cradling his head. “Brother! Can you hear me?!? Say something!”

“Sis...ter.” Cordial responds weakly. “There is... something... I need to tell you...” Cordial chokes out the words, between ragged breaths.

“What is it Cordail?!?” Harmony asks frantically.

“That was...” he gasps, “That was... that was the best chocolate milk I ever tasted.” Cordial says, his voice returning to normal, as a big goofy grin spreads across his mismatched face.

“Harmony drops her brothers head as she stands back up. “Grrr! I can’t believe you got me to fall for that!” She says crossing her front hooves across her chest looking down at him.

“Oww, hey sis watch it! That hurt.” Cordial says rubbing the back of his head.

“Serves you right!” Harmony says sitting back down at the table. “You had me scared Cordial.” She says, sounding a little hurt.

“I’m sorry sis.” Cordial replies. “I don’t know what got into me. Let me try to make it up to you.” And with that Cordial concentrates for a moment, and snaps his claw with a flourish. Suddenly a basket of fresh pomegranates appear in the center of the table. “It worked!” Cordial says excitedly.

“Oh Cordial!” Harmony exclaims happily. “All is forgiven dear brother. You know pomegranates are my favorite fruit!” But they are completely out of season. Where on Equestria did you get them from?”

“I have no idea, dear sister.” Cordial exclaims jubilantly. “Isn’t it wonderful? It seems all I have to do is think of something, and snap my claw, and there it is.” All this time I’ve been trying to do things the HARD way. Spells, and forms and theory. Apparently chaos is just... I don’t know... random. Things just happen. Wait a second sis. I have to try this.” And with that Cordial pauses in thought, and snaps his claw. With a sudden flash the patchwork creature that stood before Harmony was gone, and in it’s place was the Cordial that they all remembered.

“Did... did it work?” Cordial asks.

Harmony leaps from her chair and embraces her brother, “Oh yes Cordial, it did! You are your old self again!” She exclaims hugging him tightly.

“This is wonderful. I’m back, I’m finally back. Now maybe my life can return to...” Cordial stops speaking, feeling odd. Suddenly his body reverts back to its patchwork form. Cordial’s head slumps down onto his chest.

“Try again brother, it might just be a matter of practice” Harmony says frantically.

“Default setting.” Cordial replies despondently. “Starlight said so himself.” Cordial says sitting quietly back into his chair. He raises his half empty glass of milk to his lips and drinks.

“Brother, we don’t know that for sure.” Harmony says, “It was your first try.”

“Sis, I could tell.” Cordial replies calmly. “When I started to change back, I could tell. It felt like my body was reverting to it’s natural state.”

“Brother, I... I’m so sorry.” Harmony says, tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

“It’s alright sis. I guess in the back of my mind, I kind of always knew. I just couldn’t accept it without at least trying everything I could first.” Cordial forces a smile to his sister. “It’s... it’s not the end of the world. After all I can do magic again. I can still fly. And I’m sure I can use an illusion of myself when I need to go out. I can make this work.” Cordial says to himself as much as his sister. “I CAN.” he says again.

Harmony extends a hoof, and holds her brother’s paw. “Yes brother. WE can. I will always be here to help you through this.”

Cordial looks deeply into his sister’s eyes, tears of his own now forming. “Thanks sis. Without you, I... I don’t know how I could go on.” He says smiling deeply.

Discord forwards the remote to later that evening. He doesn’t utter a comment, as he pans the viewer over the shoulder of his sister, and the ponies are able to read the contents of a letter she is writing.

“My Dearest Keil,

I hope this finds you well. I miss you and my precious angels more than you will ever know.

Today Cordial learned to make use of his chaos magics for the first time. Unlike our order based magics, my brother’s powers seem to be both limitless and effortless. The warnings that the goddess and Muenchinger had given me may prove to be accurate.

However that being said, when he tried to use them to return to his original form, the effects lasted only a few moments. He thinks that his new body may be it’s natural state. He tried to put on a brave face, but I could tell my brother was deeply saddened by this fact. He had been clinging to the hope, however slender, of being able to return to having a normal life. I do not know what will happen, now that that hope is gone.

It is for this reason that I regretfully ask that you all remain hidden to the south. I will not risk your return until I am SURE that it will be safe for you to do so. Please understand, this hurts me as much as I’m sure it hurts you. But I cannot ignore Zacherle’s warnings. Yes, my brother has returned. But I cannot help but feel that something is different about him, and not just his appearance. Until I become convinced that all will be well, I can only ask for your patience and understanding.

Please give Sunny and Lulu all my love, I will write you again soon.”

Yours Always,

Harmony

And with that Harmony holds the letter over the flame of a nearby candle, and it burns away in a puff of magical smoke.

Fluttershy looks up at her husband. “That letter. What did she mean something was different about you?” she asks.

“It’s simple my dear.” Discord replies. “It means that my dear sister didn’t trust me. From the very start, when I first returned to the palace, my sister didn’t trust her own brother. All the while that she was sitting there trying to make me feel better, in the back of her mind, she was afraid of me. This I believe, was the catalyst that would eventually lead to all the sorrow that was to follow after...” Discord says, as he forwards the remote to a point where things would quickly go from bad to worse...

Comments

[Princess LightningChaser]

its star SWIRL, silly filly

[HeartfireFirebrand]

“Yup,” the pink party pony replies. “Trust me, I know what being silly looks like, and that was definitely NOT it. No, silly is more like...” And suddenly from out of nowhere both she and Discord pull out two matching sets of fake glasses with bushy eyebrows and oversized noses attached, put them on, and start playing ‘March of Equestria’ on Pink and Blue kazoo’s.

hahahahahahaha, the mystic sillies