Prologue
I ventured out to the dark forest deep in the night against her parents will because my curiosity got to me. When I got to the edge, I looked back. I was worried that I’d die in the forest. But I had made my decision, I stepped into the forest. Little did I know that my life would start then.
It was dark. Very dark. Without caution, my horn lit up, bathing the air around me in a pinkish light. A bear stopped in front of me, its head cocked in wonder. I smiled at the strange creature, then watched it lumber away silently.
Suddenly I heard a crack sound in the trees to my left. I whirled around at the acute sound, my face showcasing a look of security and bravery.
“Who are you? Show Yourself!! I will harm you!” I shouted in the darkness.
A strange figure appeared out of nowhere. It had the body parts from Dragons and ponies. It was a Draconeus. I still kept my guard up, even if the Draconeus was my own age. He swirled around me, inspecting me with… awe???
“Gee whiz! Take a look at all those colours!! You… are a sight to see, miss!” he gasped
“Why, thank you! But YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME SCARING ME LIKE THAT!!!” I hollered at him.
I stared him down. I had an angry frown on my face, while he had a somewhat shy smile on his face. He looked up at me. I felt my frown melt into a smile. We started laughing. When we stopped our laughfest, I stared up at the moon, an orb in the sky.
“Hey, what’s your name??” I asked him curiously.
“My name?? It’s Discord.” He replied
“Well! Hello, Discord. My name is Celestia.” I almost sang.
Suddenly, a light hit Discord’s face. I turned around to see the first rays of sunlight filtering through the clouds. I moaned, not wanting to leave the forest, where I felt freer than I ever did as a foal.
“Discord, I have to leave to get home. I’ll see you soon.” I sighed.
“Oh. Well, farewell, Celestia. Before you leave, I have a question.” He replied sadly.
“You may ask.” I whispered.
“Do you have a nickname?” He asked rather curiously.
“I do have a nickname. It’s Tia.” I said cheerfully.
“Okay. Farewell Tia!” He chirped to me.
“Goodbye, Discord.” I sighed to him
Later that night
I woke up to the scent of something burning. I slipped out of my bed to see what was going on. The scent was coming from my parent’s room.
They must be burning candles! I thought to myself. But I was dead wrong.
When I nudged the door open, a fire was quickly spreading over the bed, and my parents were gone.
“NO!” I screamed out in anguish as I ran to Luna’s room. I had to get Luna out of the castle! I crashed her door open to see her trembling away from her bed because fire had engulfed it, as well. I grabbed her, crashed through the door leading to the balcony, and flew away from the burning building.
“Where are mommy and daddy?!?!?!” Luna asked worriedly.
“I… I don’t know, Luna. I just don’t know.” I rasped to her.
I landed in the exact same clearing where I met Discord. I’d seen a cave nearby last night where Luna could sleep. As soon as I laid her down in the warm cave, she slept. I turned my head away in fear. I could feel a stinging in my throat as tears sprang up in my eyes. I turned and ran. Eventually, I didn’t recognize where I was in the forest, so I just fell down into a ball and wept. I had never cried in my life. I heard something move around me. A finger poked me.
“Tia? Tia, are you okay?”
I looked up to lock eyes with Discord. I flung my hooves around him in a tight hug.
“Discord, I’m so glad you’re here! I don’t know what to do anymore!” I cried.
“What’s wrong, Tia? You can tell me. That’s what friends do, right?” He responded, a worried look on his face.
“I think our parent’s abandoned us!” I whispered to him
“Our parents? Who else was with you?” Discord asked me
“My little sister, Luna.” I replied sorrowfully to him
“Where is Luna?” He asked bravely
“I put her in a cave off to the right of the clearing we first met at.” I answered him
“Oh, I know which cave you’re talking about. Want me to go get her?”
“She’s sleeping. But you can go get her.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in a minute.” Discord said and then he dashed off to get Luna.
I looked around me to get a hold on my surroundings. A river flowed a matter of feet away from me. A crescent moon showed little light as I looked around. Trees shown many leaves, giving the forest an ethereal look. In fact, I was so mesmerized that I didn’t even hear Discord stop behind me.
“Tia!” Discord drawled, snapping me out of my trance.
“Discord! You’re back!” I said a blush sliding on my face.
“Yes. Yes I am! Is this alicorn Luna?” he asked me, holding out my little sister.
“Why, Yes!” I replied glad to see my sister, fast asleep.
I gently got her out of his arms and firmly onto my back. She shuffled around on my sack then sighed, not once waking up. I smiled in spite of the situation. Suddenly it seemed as though the past one or two hours never happened.
“Th-Thank you, Discord. I owe you one.” I whispered to him
“You don’t owe me one! You might get…”
“No! I insist!” I said firmly.
“Well, if you say so. Your choice.” He drawled to me.
“Do you know any stable establishments that Luna and I can live in?” I asked
“Why yes! Follow me.” He replied
I followed him. Besides we needed to have shelter before dawn. Eventually we stopped at a nice castle. It wasn’t as grand or big as the one that we did live in hours ago, but it was completely stable. The grass was slightly overgrown, and ivy climbed up a tree. Flowers were embedded in the hedge. Weeds popped up every once in awhile. It was hard to see in the dark, but the roof appeared to be made out of terra cotta shingles. The rest of the building had fancy doors, windows, and columns. It appeared to be made out of calcite and blue faience. The front door was made out of red granite. The building reminded me of a distant place Mother made, called… Egypt. Inside, it was extravagant! Frames made of gold and obsidian lined walls made of greywacke. The floor was made of a variety of things, including ivory, sandstone, grandiorite, and amethyst. The ceiling was strong, courtesy of the cartonnage it was made out of. The doors were made out of crystalline limestone embedded with varied gemstones. It seemed as though we stepped through a portal to another place in the world!
“Discord… it’s perfect!!! It’s as though we’re in...”
“Egypt??” Discord finished “I know. It’s so perfect. I discovered it, and decided to take care of it.”
“Thank you for letting us stay here! Do you live here?” I asked him
“No. I live in a smaller building in the back courtyard.” He replied.
“Oh. Well, I should get Luna to bed.”
“I know the perfect room for her. Follow me, and I’ll show you.” He drawled politely as he glided down the hall.
I followed eager to get Luna into an actual bed in an actual bedroom. Discord stopped at a door with embedded gemstones in varied hues of blue, purple, and gray. I nudged the door open, and gasped. The room had stars and moons all over the ceiling. Colours of silver, blue, grey, and purple adorned it. The bed was magnificent, with a canopy and many pillows on it. A throw was folded over the lower half of the bed with a comforter and afghan covering the top half. A rug ran from the door to the wall opposite of the door. A bureau sat at the foot of the bed. A vanity sat by French doors to the room’s balcony, giving natural light to whoever was using the vanity. Parallel to the bed was a dresser. It was… magnificent!
“Luna will love it… I just know it!” I said as I silently walked to the bed.
“I know she’ll love it too.” Discord whispered as she settled her down.
Luna shifted at the feel of the bed, but then sighed in comfort as she fell back asleep. I walked back to the door with a smile on my face at the thought of Luna being happy. When I got to the door, I stopped and looked back. Luna looked so at… peace. I looked back up at Discord.
“Thank you.” I murmured to him
“You’re welcome.” He replied.
We just stared at each other’s eyes. A sharp hooting nearby made us snap out of our trance. We both looked away, a slight blush on our faces. A silence hung in the air, and yet it seemed as if a thousand words were being said. I kept sneaking glances at him, only to see him glancing back. Every single time I moved my eyes to look out the window at a agonizingly slow lightening sky. Eventually we turned our heads to speak.
“Well, it’s getting light out. We should be getting to bed… now.” I said to him.
“Huh? Oh, yes… bed. Follow me… please.” He drawled as he took me a few feet farther to another door with gemstones of all colours embedded deep into it.
I opened the door with my magic to see a million colours. The room looked almost like a twin of Luna’s, except the colours were different and the dresser was bigger. I stepped into the amazing jaw-dropping room, my mouth ajar as I looked around the room.
“Th…Thank you, Discord!” I gasped as I turned back towards him.
“You’re welcome, Tia” he replied as he slowly shut the door.
As soon as the door was shut, I collapsed on the bed, my breath coming out in shocked gasps. I love Discord! I curled up on my side and cried myself to sleep….