Under the light of Prince Artemis’ moon, I flipped a coin to decide the fate of an Equestrian bystander. I'm ashamed to admit that having the decision taken out of my claws was a liberating feeling at the time, as well as a childish one. Hindsight allows me now to see the truth that had escaped my grasp all those nights ago; the truth that I was not acting like a good friend by leaving Moonhoofer's fate up to chance. Jumping back and forth between following the script and forging my own future... the deviated events of the Summer Sun Celebration had completely shaken the confidence I once had in my decision making skills. I thought I could straddle the line between the two paths, but thus far I had only ended up falling flat on my face. Was it any surprise then, as I wallowed in my failure and second guessed myself, that I opted to go with the simpler option of letting a trinket decide the solution for me?
Again I will fully admit that it was a childish choice, but I've decided to stick with its outcome regardless. Only time will tell if this call was ultimately the right one.
Speaking of received answers; upon being granted one through my stolen Bit that night, I next turned my attention towards the scroll that had only moments prior arrived through my flame breath. It provided answers for me as well, specifically about when I could have my important meeting with Prince Solaris. Said talks were quite enlightening, and they certainly helped me sort myself out for the future, but I'm again getting ahead of myself.
A scheduled rendezvous had been set for the following afternoon, which was much closer than I had anticipated. Just as I had earlier assumed; Solaris was too busy to attend to me any further on the same day as his and his brother’s grand return. The fact that he even stepped aside in Ponyville, to confide in me privately, speaks volumes of the kind of trust he must have in me. I’m not entirely sure what I’ve done exactly to earn such an honor, but I hope to never lose it.
I was pretty content with having the meeting be so close to my actual arrival in Canterlot. It meant that I would not have to linger in the capital for too long, or that I would need to spend two nights away from Dusk. Only one night was necessary, but that discovery brought forth an interesting question; where was I to sleep? There was the option to sleep in my own bed back in the Spire, but without Dusk there I feared that the familiar place might have felt alien and lonely to me. A silly reason, I know, but I wanted a guaranteed good night's sleep so I took the time to explore my options. Another solution involved the castle. At times Dusk and I would borrow a room there, if a wayward project required more space than what his home could accommodate, but I decided against interrupting the Prince any further that day. I reckoned that it would have been rude to keep bugging him while he was trying to catch up with Artemis.
Other choices I had were to rent a room out at The Stable; one of Canterlot’s nicer Inns. Thanks to having a joint bank account with Dusk, I could easily afford it, because his family is actually loaded and because I get a small stipend for my assistance to the crown but I didn’t want to spend the bits on shelter so extravagant. Other hotels in the capital city were similarly expensive, so this same excuse applied to them as well. It was also highly likely that they were all booked that night as well, though I never really checked. The next option I thought of was to seek out Dusk's other old study mates and ask to crash on their couches, like a common college student. This plan didn't sit right with me at the time, however, so out the window the idea went. Asking them for help, after having just mentally filed them away as 'acquaintances at best', left me feeling rightfully guilty. Sure they treated me more like Dusk's dog than his assistant, but they were never mean to me either. Perhaps one day Dusk and I will make the effort to upgrade our relationships with the rest of the group to an honest friendship, but I'm just rambling at this point. Continuing; the last option available to me at the time was to break into Gleaming Shield's townhouse here in Canterlot.
It's not as bad as it sounds, I promise you.
Gleaming showed me long ago where she keeps her spare key to the place, and she has also assured me multiple times that I'm free to swing by whenever Dusk accidentally locks me out of the Spire. I'm sorry to report that such a scenario has happened multiple times in the past, thus facilitating such an offer. These days I have my own key to our old home, in order to prevent such nonsense from occurring again, Note to self; get a spare key for the Treehouse asap but I digress.
That night, the same as any other, Gleam's home was open to me; but it was a similar situation as to why I wasn't going home to the Spire. Simply put, I feared that the familiar home would feel foreign and alien to me without its resident nerd there to keep me company. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a child who needs somepony by her side in order to get a good night's sleep; but, after spending the first half of this life being unloved and alone in the Bluebelle's Estate, I'll now take all opportunities to not be by myself when I can. The loneliness can really get to you after awhile, and I fear that it has greatly influenced how I've redeveloped myself into the person I am today. I mean, I didn't play D&D any back on Earth, or spent nearly as much time in my own head as I do these days, but look at me now; I regularly play dungeon master with Gleam when she asks me too, and I'm writing a literal novel full of my innermost thoughts and feelings right now! I wonder if Gleam, or anypony else, would have ever become friends with my old self? With who I used to be?
Speaking of Gleam; it was through thinking about her home, and the pony herself, that the solution to my sleeping arrangement dilemma finally became crystal clear. There was a promise the captain had told Dusk she would do but, thanks to Prince Bolero’s forced vacation, she was now unable to follow through on. For the sake of completing the task, and for the sake of finding a comfortable place to rest, I vowed to finish my friend's ‘mission’ for her that night.
It was the least I could do for her. After all, what kind of assistant would I be if I didn’t help the ponies I care about pick up the slack every now and then?
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Knock knock knock
“I’m coming!” chimed a feminine voice from the other side of the home's door. The sound of clipping and clopping against wooden floorboards fills my fin-ears as one of the two owners to the modest-sized estate approaches the entrance.
A light blue unicorn, with a solid dark azure mane, soon appears before me.
“Who could be stopping by at this hou- Oh hello, Barbara!” greets Dusk and Gleam’s mother, Eve Sparkle. The crescent moon cutie marked mare steps aside and grants me access to her abode. “Come in, come in!”
“Thank you, Mrs. Shine,” I bow my head politely, accepting the pony’s offer. Side note; House Shine received their name from Dusk’s Great (times four) Grandmother Shining Beacon. Eve Sparkle inherited the name through marriage, but chose to keep her cutie mark name instead.
… Pony naming conventions are weird, people. There’s no better way of describing it.
Once I cross the threshold and enter the house’s spacious entranceway, Eve calls out, “Honey! We have guests!”
From the next room over enters papa Dusk, aka Dusk Lyons. The burly stallion, similarly to Moonhoofer, is almost a complete clone of his son. Though a writer like myself, his physique is a bit better toned then mine ever was. The life of a thrill seeker will do that to a pony, I suppose. This helps set Dusk-prime apart from my Dusk quite well, as does his light grey coat and his light grey plus purple mane. The five-o'clock shadow is another great divider, and the main reason why I force Dusk to shave his stubble every, single, morning.
… I’m not controlling, really! It’s just specifically stated in my job description that I'm to make sure Dusk doesn’t do anything stupid…
…
… Stop judging me!
“Ah! Good evening, Barbara!” welcomes Mr. Shine in good cheer, chortling loudly. “What a pleasant surprise! Hope you and my son weren’t too scared by that whole 'eternal' night nonsense!”
Eve nods her head in agreement, commenting, “Oh yes! That was quite frightening! Gleaming told us that you two went to Ponyville, is that right? We haven’t heard from her since she told us that though…”
“... Dear?” Dusk Lyons abruptly asks his wife. “Didn’t you say we had guests? I only see one…”
A look of realization dawns on Eve's face.
“You’re right!” she answers, now sticking her head outside the door and looking around. “I had just assumed… Are you all by yourself, Barbara?”
“Yeah, Barbara,” Mr. Shine adds in, before asking the question on both his and his partner’s minds. “Where’s your ‘shadow’? I hardly ever see you without my boy by your side!”
Upon receiving this question, I nervously rub the back of my leg with a clawed foot. I was ready for this; Gleaming had told Dusk that she was going to tell their folks about what had happened during the Summer Sun Celebration, back when we were in Ponyville. It’s clear she forgot all about that promise once her crush entered the picture, so I’ve chosen to take on the herculean undertaking of filling them in myself.
“T-that’s actually a funny story,” I begin to retell the tale.
I’m sure these two will be able to handle the news of Dusk’s world saving exploits like the couple of mature, levelheaded adults that they are.
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Upon reflection, talking to Dusk’s parents was not my best idea of that day.
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“I’m going to kill him.”
“Dear, no.”
“I’m going to run my horn through his heart.”
“Dear, that kills ponies.”
“That’s just what I’m going to do though.”
“Dear...”
“Then I’ll bury the body in the backyard.”
“Dear...”
“And then Gleaming will join him for keeping this from us!”
“She was busy with work, dear.”
“Too busy to write? No… I’m just going to have to kill them both!”
“Dear, that’s illegal.”
“WELL THEY’RE TOO OLD TO GROUND, SO WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, HONEYBUN?!”
“Breathe in, breathe out, Eve,” soothes Eve’s husband. Dusk Lyons runs a hoof calmly across his wife’s withers as she begins to hyperventilate.
I take a single step backwards towards the exit.
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Once everypony had settled down, Eve apologized for her theatrics and the rest of the night’s conversations went pretty smoothly. I gave the parents the majority of my remaining photos too, and we bonded a little over my descriptions of Dusk’s new friends.
Mr. and Mrs. Shine aren’t really that close with me, and I’m certainly not considered apart of the family, but that night I felt that we grew a little bit closer thanks to our mutual love of Dusk Shine. It was because of this closeness that I was invited to have dinner with them, and I was allowed to break out the spare sleeping basket for the night. I’m certain that my actions were not the deciding factor, and that they would have let me sleep there regardless, but having them actually offer it to me was certainly a pleasant surprise. I slept peacefully that night, having been worn quite thoroughly out over the course of the hectic day.
The following morning started out, simple enough, with pancakes. Dusk Lyons' pancakes, to be precise; which comes with the thickest hay-bacon strips imaginable and a side of scrambled eggs to round it all up. Once my cholesterol was nicely spiked into the stratosphere, I decided to blow the hours I would have spent waiting around until the start of my meeting to instead help Mr. and Mrs. Shine out with a few chores around the house. I also aided in providing an extra set of claws for Eve’s grocery shopping run. Being Dusk’s parents, those two were the true holders to the Title of Ownership that binds me to their family, but this fact didn’t influence my decision to assist them that day. I figured that it was the least I could do for the room and food they gave me, that’s all. What can I say? I like to return kindness with kindness. Dusk once said that this quirk of mine might be due to a kind of honor code ponies hypothesize dragons have, called ‘The Dragon Code’, but I know that the real reason is that it’s just a part of my soul’s nature. It’s comforting to know that this important aspect of my original self still burns brightly after all these years.
Getting off topic here; nothing really exciting happened during the first part of my day only one thing of interest happened to me during the first half of my day, and it was when I crossed paths with one of the few ponies on this planet that I actually truly hate.
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“... I’m telling you that this has to be a trick; a farce orchestrated by the griffons, or the yaks!” yells out Princess Bluebelle upon her literal soapbox. She’s standing high above the common folk, as she often loves to do, as she screams nonsense to anypony willing to listen. “They have forced the Prince, my uncle, into relinquishing his powers to them! The blue alicorn is a hoax, fillies and gentlecolts! A hoax made to trick us into thinking that the power of the alicorns can be shared! Well it can not, my fellow ponies! I know this to be true; I asked Uncle Solaris myself! He was only able to ascend Prince Mi Amore Bolero under special circumstances! The lack of wings upon his nieces' back, my back, is proof enough that the task is impossible!”
“Yeah, cause that’s the only reason imaginable,” I mutter under my breath as I watch this in the distance. I’m standing off to the side, with my draconic strength being used to carry a mountain of grocery bags, while Eve Sparkle takes a small break to double check her long list. It saddens me greatly that a small gathering of ponies is hanging on to every little word this blowhard is spouting, and it angers me that they are nodding their heads as well, but I’m pretty confident in stating that nopony will actually care about this non-alicorn Princess' words for more than an hour. Why am I so confident in this assessment, you may ask? Well Bluebelle's special talent is represented by a rose compass, you see. She points ponies in the ‘right’ direction; she doesn’t lead them.
While I was growing up again on her estate, I saw this distinction made clear time and time again.
“Hmmm… aha!” cheers Eve, knocking me out of my thoughts. “I need blueberries next! We can get those at the marketplace down the road... Come along, Barbara.”
“Coming,” I respond, tightening the grip on my cargo as I follow close behind. Right before we pass by Bluebelle, a wickedly evil idea enters my mind.
She’s not the only girl who can fearmonger, after all~
Thusly with plan in mind, and upon singling out a single distracted onlooker with my eyes; I pass between the rude speaker and the entranced listener and quietly comment in a disguised voice, “She’s just jealous of her uncle spending more time with her other uncle than her.”
Without looking back, I can tell that my planted seed is taking root. Soon, after a brief pause on her part, the Princess swiftly demands to know which pony had just made such a baseless claim, while the other party asks loudly, “Wait, you do have another uncle?!”
The discussion then devolves from there into a screaming contest between the noble pony and the commoners.
I, meanwhile, devolve into a laughing mess.
This confuses Eve greatly.
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Helping Dusk’s mother proved to be an excellent time waster, because before I knew it the time for my meeting had arrived.
I gave Mr. and Mrs. Shine farewell before departing, and I assured them both that I would keep them posted on their son’s progress in friendship making on a regular basis. The promise was easy for me to make, since I possess dragonfire sending seals for them and, in turn, they’re able to send scrolls to me as well thanks to the seals Solaris provided for them long ago. Speaking with them in person will also be an option as well, as I will be returning to Canterlot on a monthly basis going forward. I will be doing this in order to give the Prince detailed observation reports on Dusk’s growth as well. This was decided towards the end of
I’m getting ahead of myself. The meeting I had with Prince Solaris went over quite a few different subjects and scenarios, so it would be better if I just shared, word for word, how it all went down. The first important detail comes from the actual locations where our talks took place, as we didn’t limit ourselves to just one spot. Sure we convened at a specified landmark, but we also traveled while we talked. There was a reason why we did such a thing, but first allow me to start from the beginning.
It all started when I found myself standing mere inches away from a special statue.
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“...”
“...”
“...”
“... Heh, you blinked.”
“...”
… That was a lie.
The statue hadn’t blinked. I did.
Bad dragon girl. Don’t lie.
...
… Sorry, but I’m bored.
Real bored.
Solaris is late. I’ve doubled checked the sundial a little ways away, and I’ve doubled checked the location specified on the scroll he sent me yesterday; I have the right time, and I have the right place.
Said time was ten minutes ago.
Said place is right in front of the dragonequus statue in the castle’s garden.
Seems like the perfect place to talk about a chaos demon, wouldn’t you agree?
The female version of Discord is just as mismatched and funny looking as the original ever was; at least from what I can still remember. The different assortment of random animal parts and colors is still present, as is the original frozen stance (closed eyes, arm and mouth raised towards the sky). About the only differences I can spot is that her muzzle is quite a bit shorter and her mane is certainly a bit longer. Maybe her body is more slender too, but I can’t tell for certain with my foggy memories.
Her statue stands alone in the garden, having been separated from all the rest by several paved walkways and strategically placed flower patches. The hedge maze is her only companion, but on the plus side she is within viewing distance from Prince Solaris’ personal bedchambers. That must have been planned; this set up would allow the alicorn to keep a close eye on this stoned creature without the aid of his telescope. A quick glance would be all that be needed to assure that she’s still here. Visitors to these gardens are also able to spot this unique monster from any given point too, as she stands so much taller then everything else here. Travelers through the hedge maze can even use her as a visual clue to reorient themselves from within, at least towards the southern side.
Travelers through the garden, meanwhile, are able to learn more about her by simply approaching the base of the statue. There is a plaque here, which states exactly who she used to be and what she once horrifically did to ponykind. Since I had nothing better to do while I was waiting, I took the time to read this information and internalize who Discord is in this version of Equestria. To start, her name here is actually E-
“My apologies for my tardiness, Barb.”
SWEET NAMA JAMA
Jumping in place, having been taken completely by surprise, I fall roughly on my tail with a squeak. Embarrassed, my cheeks burn hot as I lift myself back up and turn to greet the pony I had been waiting on. There hadn't been any trotting noises, no sound of magical teleportation, and not a trace of wings beating at all... How in the blue blazes is a pony Solaris’ size so freaky stealthy?!
Unable to help himself, the Prince of the Sun raises a hoof to his lips and tries to hide the cheeky grin now adorning it. He chuckles before addressing me, the jerk.
“A-again my apologies,” Solaris snorts, clearly not sorry. “It was not my intention to frighten you so,” speaks the liar. “And it was not my intention to be so late. An argument came up between my brother and I and… Well, it’s a long story.”
“It’s fine,” I lie too, trying not to pout. “I wasn’t waiting long at all.”
“Well that is quite a relief,” he responds cheerfully, closing his eyes and smiling even wider. As he lowers his hoof back towards the ground, my sight lingers on the stallion's face for a time.
Specifically on his right eye.
I consider it for a moment before turning away.
“How… How are you feeling, Prince Solaris?” I ask the pony; the wilting fins on the side of my head unwillingly reflecting my inner emotions.
“Better,” the Prince answers for me softly. He then lowers himself onto his knees, so that we are forced to look one another eye to eye; as equals. “Much better. You needn't worry about an old stallion like me, my friend. Though I do greatly appreciate your concern.”
This perks me up a little bit, and helps to ease my fears.
“... Isn’t that illusion spell still draining you though?” I next inquire, noticing that I once again can’t tell any difference between his working eye and his damaged one. For the second time, Solaris laughs lightly; probably finding humor in how a creature as small as me is dotting over somepony as large as him.
“That will no longer be a problem,” he explains happily, again beaming in a pleasant manner. He then lightly taps the right side of his head…
… which causes his right eye to spin slightly in place.
“The types of illusions one can produce through simple stage makeup, and a little glass ball, ca be even grander than the kinds created through spells,” the Prince shares with me, before using his magic to gently push the fake eye back into its proper place. It moves in tandem with his working one, perhaps through an enchantment? “That is a lesson worth learning, Barb, for terrifying deceptions can be created just as easily through the use of even simpler materials… such as words.”
“I’ll… try to keep that in mind,” I respond, not entirely sure what he’s referring too.
“That would please me,” Solaris nods. Rising, the Prince directs his attention towards the statue before us, though his words are clearly still meant for me. “Now then... I do believe that the two of us have matters most dire to discuss today.”
Standing beside the larger pony, with my body reaching up barely past the top of his golden horseshoe’s guard, I nod my head in turn and draw my own attention towards the petrified being as well. “Right,” I confirm. “We need to talk about this one here. Er-”
Before I can complete the fiend's title, Solaris cuts me off with the utterance of a single name.
A name I never dreamed that I would hear uttered here one day.
“Discord, The Lord of Chaos.”
...
… Huh?
Twisting my head skywards towards my big friend, I raise an eyebrow over his sudden, and confusing, declaration. When I see no response forthcoming from him for his words, I turn my head instead back towards the statue and reread the name printed for my own benefit.
It states, plainly and clearly; ‘Eris, The Dame of Disorder’.
...
… Again... huh??
“Wha?” I ask out loud, as my mind slowly turns to mush. I lift my head back up towards Solaris'.
This time, he shoots a smile back my way.
“... Let’s continue this conversation inside the maze, dear,” the alicorn suggests, now placing my braindead-self on his back with the aid of golden magic. He continues speaking as he carries me inside the hedges. “It’s much more private this way, and there’s a special spot I like to relax in within its center.”
“O-okay,” I stammer out numbly, as I spare the statue of Eris(?) one last glance before we depart. The smell of smoke fills my nostrils as my brain pushes itself into overdrive, in order to complete the simple task of deciphering whatever the hell is going on right now!
Before I'm given the opportunity to decipher this riddle any further, Solaris again interrupts me by setting me back down. He has already masterfully navigated the maze in my distracted state, and we are now sitting inside a rather nicely hidden gazebo. There’s no chance of anypony randomly walking in on us in here, and no chance that a wayward pegasus could spot us either; the roof of the structure is partially buried into the hedge itself, so we’re perfectly camouflaged. There are no chairs or tables inside this thing either, to note. Instead there's a pile of nice looking pillows… This is the extent of my observation though, for I was soon shaken from my daze by the appearance of a magical floating teacup.
Can’t have a good, dramatic conversation with Solaris without a cup of tea, I guess.
“I’m afraid I only have basic earl grey today,” explains my princely friend, as I take the floating cup within my claws and hold it still enough to be filled. Once this small task is complete, an even smaller burst of magic from Solaris causes the steaming tea kettle to disappear completely. “It’s all I have left to offer at the moment. I may have… ahem… gotten a tiny bit carried away with sharing my collection with Artemis last night. So many new flavors had been created in his absence, you see, s-so I wanted him to experience as much of them as he could…” The Prince then blushes, and looks away. “A bit foolish, I know, but I want to spend time with him however I can; to make up for the time that has been irreversibly lost to us already...”
“It’s… fine,” I reply honestly. I don’t think I have the mental capacity at the moment to even form an opinion on this; my brain is still too full of buck. Upon metaphorically kicking the hamster in my head into running on his wheel again, I’m finally able to push two brain cells together long enough to form an intelligent question.
“Sir, did... d-did you say Discord? But… b-but the statue's sign say-”
“The statue lies, Barbara.”
I’m taken aback, and at a loss for words.
Solaris smoothly takes a sip of his drink before continuing.
“The statue’s plaque was created by the ponies he tortured,” the Prince reveals for me, spitefully emphasizing the male pronoun he uses to describe Discord with. “They only knew him by the destruction he brought forth, and by the mental scars he left on us all.
“... But you know the secret behind the statue, don’t you, Barb? I assume your Sight revealed it for you?”
Unable to speak, too focused on his words, I nod my head ‘yes’ without hesitation.
“And you know that it is not only a warning for future generations, and a reminder of our history, but also a prison, yes?”
Again I nod ‘yes’. I don't want a repeat of the Summer Sun Celebration; I don't want to give this world even the slightest chance to play around with Discord's introduction like it did with Nightterror Nebula's. So, if I want to do anything proactive about this oversized lawn ornament, I need to be as honest as I can be right now; with secrets kept to a minimum.
“Then you know that the Elements of Harmony froze him thousands of years ago,” Solaris resumes, confirming for himself that we’re currently on the same page. “Wielded by my brother and I, we blasted the creature when he was distracted and doomed him to the form you see now.”
Doomed him to the form...
... Okay… as impossible as this is going to sound… I’m now even more confused than when we started!!
“You turned him into a she?!” I ask hysterically, too flabbergasted to say or think anything else.
Solaris shakes his head ‘no’.
Oh thank goodness.
“That is incorrect, Barb," he sets me straight. "We did not transform him into the form of ‘Eris’ you see now.
"No... Instead, he in fact did the deed to himself... willingly.”
“... Wha?” is my highly educated, thought provoking retort.
In a move not in line with how he usually acts, Solaris refrains from laughing at my clear further confusion. “It’s true,” the pony nods, taking another swig from his cup. “When Artemis and I first met the fiendish draconequus, he was a ‘he’ originally. He went by the name of Discord, and he despised the harmony ponykind had gained since the founding of Equestria. You must understand, disharmony is what he craves above all else! So, his reaction to having two Princes be his opponents was to, well, be… different.”
At first this sounded like nothing but gibberish to me…
… but then it clicks for me in perfect clarity.
“He created chaos... by being your complete opposite?!” I state, finishing the Prince’s insane thoughts for him.
“Exactly,” he confirms, clearly happy that I came to the conclusion myself. “He hated the idea of us being on any sort of equal level, so he snapped his fingers and became the form that he is today. ‘Eris’ was the name he took on afterwards, and proceeded to try to strike fear into the hearts of ponies with it... But I refuse to acknowledge his horrid display to this day,” Solaris sneers, giving his tea cup a nasty look. “To so callously warp one’s form on a whim, heedless of the meaning or consequences behind such a change... the act spits in the face of those who suffered greatly just to achieve the same.”
I... I...
...
“... Wow,” I utter lowly, completely caught off guard by this revelation. Discord started as a guy here? Well… that...
... that kinda makes sense, in a sick sort of way. If this world is ‘harmoniously’ a flipped version of the show’s world, then it would stand to reason that a creature of pure disharmony would stay the same out of principle… Or maybe he actually started as Eris in the show and did a similar transformation to annoy Celestia and Luna?
Now that is an interesting development to ponder on later.
... Right now, though, I’m more concerned about Solaris’ interesting response to this reveal.
“It sounds like it hurt you… personally, Solaris,” I point out, not sure what to think; wanting to learn more.
With a sigh, the pony in question turns away from his tea.
“In a way… yes, and no,” he answers cryptically, as is his normal M.O. “I... have lived a long, long time, Barb. Throughout the course of this unnaturally long life, I have had the great pleasure of meeting creatures from all walks and trots of life... And I have seen pain take on many different forms in that time. Pain of the heart, pain of the mind, pain of the flesh and even pain of the soul. Pain is felt differently for each of us, little one, and there are times where it can become unbearable.
"Although pain defines us, and helps us grow stronger; there are times when I wish I could simply just light up my horn, craft a spell, and make my subject's pain go far, far away... But I’m sadly no miracle worker. Never in my long rule have I made such a false claim.
"This pain though, the kind one feels when they are unable to shine out as well as they know they can; where they feel as though they are trapped in a mismatched cage of their meat and bones…”
As his words reach their zenith in speed and intensity, Solaris releases his sudden worked up energy by sighing deeply and loudly.
“... I can only dare to imagine what such a pain must feel like, Barb.”
...
“... Yeah...” I utter lowly after a time, only to then look down at my claws in silent contemplation.
The ghostly image of human fingers flashes briefly across their features in my mind’s eye.
"... I can only dare to imagine,” I repeat wistfully.
“I pride myself on being empathetic towards my subjects, dear,” the Prince resumes, regaining my attention. “And though I feel that I have failed in this goal time and time again, I still at least make the effort to understand. That is why I refuse to refer to that beast as anything less than the selfish monster he is; Discord, the Lord of Chaos...
“... This brings about an interesting question though, Barbara. One that I would much like to direct towards you, if I may.”
Huh?
“Um… sure?” I offer, surprised by this request. I take a sip of my earl grey before giving the Prince the okay. “G-go ahead.”
Prince Solaris pauses, to gather his thoughts.
I take a second sip of my tea, and ready myself.
“Barbara,” he starts as I drink. “I was under the impression that you already knew about Discord’s true nature from your Sight. My visions have shown that his return will consist of him retaining his female form, so I must ask...
“...why did you refer to him as his proper title of ‘Lord’ back in Ponyville?”
YOU KNOW WHAT, I JUST DISCOVERED THAT THIS TEA IS INCREDIBLY HOT
I ALSO DISCOVERED THAT IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD ON SOLARIS’ FACE
“I am so, soooo sorry!” I cry out, as I hastily grab a handkerchief from my purse and try to wipe down the results of my spit-take from the Prince’s muzzle. “That was a complete accident, I swear!”
“T-think nothing of it,” my drenched friend retorts, laughing as he uses a casual spell to easily clean himself off. “It seems to happen surprisingly often during tea parties I hold! Haha!”
Gee, I can’t imagine why that is; you manipulative jerk...
Vile internal thoughts aside, the Prince continues on as he locks his serious gaze back on me. “My question still stands, Barbara. How did you know that Eris is truly a Lord, and not a Dame as she is commonly depicted?”
With newfound panicked focus, I think back to my words from yesterday…
… and realize that yes; I did refer to him as the ‘Lord of Chaos’ that day! Crap crap crap! I-I was so caught up in the moment at the time, and had so little knowledge about Eris, that I completely forgot to genderflip my words! Rookie slip-up, you dingus! What to do what to do what to do… “A-any chance that you’ll take ‘it was a mistake’ as an answer, s-sir?”
“Hehe. Perhaps before the tea assault, Barb, but certainly not now.”
Rats.
“Barbara,” the Prince chimes once more, drawing my shaking gaze towards him. “Please don’t interpret my prying as a way to undermine you in any form. I simply wish to understand you and your gift a little better, that’s all! The power of a Seer manifests in many different ways, you see.”
“I-it does?” I ask, now trying to buy enough time to think of away out of this mess.
Solaris complies, and elaborates. “Yes, it does. My own Sight is sporadic, and it bounces between images of the far off future, and images from elsewhere in the present. I lack control over it, but that seems to be a constant between all Seers I’ve met... And I have met many other Seers over the course of my life, my friend, so believe me when I say that the form your abilities have taken will not surprise me in the slightest!
“I’ve met stallions able to peer into the past through the eyes of others’ ancestors, griffons able to the see the future in flashes of twenty seconds every hour, on the hour, and mares who saw chunks of what's to come, in segments of twenty minutes or more!”
My eyes widen at this, though I say nothing.
That sounds very familiar. Maybe I can make this work...
“There was even this sweet young pony,” the Prince goes on, speaking nostalgically, “named Brilliant Padparadscha, who was gifted with the power of immediate hindsight instead of future vision. Such a thing would drive a lesser pony like me insane, I fear. How that dear stayed so peppy and hopeful is anyponies’ guess…”
“... Have,” I start to question, taking advantage of the slight pause I was granted. “H-have you ever met a Seer who looked at… parallel universes, your majesty?”
Now it’s Solaris’ turn to raise an eyebrow.
Sweat drips from my forehead, but I feel that this might be the best chance I have to not tell him the full story. My biggest fear right now is that this snowballs out of control and I end up having to tell him about the reincarnation thing. I still don’t want to tell him, or anyone else, about that yet. My relationship with Solaris may have changed greatly over the course of this week, but I’m not ready to share a secret so personal with him. I don’t want my friends to think I’ve been lying to them for so long, and I don’t want them to treat me differently as well. Call it paranoia, but I’m fine with just being plain, old, ‘future seeing’ Barbara for now… Maybe my future conversation with Elusive, about his true nature, will convince me otherwise... but one thing at a time for now. Lets focus on the present.
And presently, I think it’s time to begrudgingly show a little bit more of my secret hand.
“Parallel universes?” Solaris tries to clarify, successfully returning me to the conversation. “Why… yes, in fact. An older Seer I once knew could gaze into a world where my coat is pink! Hah! Could you imagine such a silly thing?”
“M-more than you think,” I share, still sweating. How do I go about this with a semblance of tact? Do I share a tiny bit, or the whole thing? What to do what to do what to do… Do I still have that coin? I could flip that real quick...
Thankfully the Prince saves me before I'm forced to childishly resort to lady luck's grace yet again. “Perhaps you would like to first hear my own take on the events yet to come?” he offers kindly, having obviously sensed my distress. "Please just allow me a second to gather my thoughts. It was a number of years since I last saw it, after all..."
The stallion then proceeds to close his eyes, and meditate.
I watch quietly and closely, and my lips remain sealed as he re-opens his eyes and begins to speak once again.
“I… saw chaos, child; within an old moment of Sight.
“I saw roads of soap, and buildings made of chocolate.
“I saw ponies twisted and turned grey, made parodies of themselves.
“I saw dancing pane glass windows, and six determined stallions standing before it…
“... That is all I’ve seen of the events that will transpire... Does any of that sound familiar, my friend?”
It certainly does.
If I ever needed proof that this guy isn’t just blowing smoke about the whole ‘future vision’ thing, I guess this would be it. It’s certainly a lot less than I thought it would be, though maybe that’s for the best? I’m already being driven crazy over what little I personally know about the future! Simply playing along with the show has been exhausting, and now I’m unsure if that's even the right path for me to follow! Dusk almost got hurt, and he almost got hurt in a way that wasn’t in the show. And… Solaris did get hurt…
I don’t want anypony else to get hurt.
...
… Barbara, I'm again going to call you a dingus.
That’s the whole reason you’re even here, dummy!
You told yourself… whoops. Accidental third person. I mean I told myself a minute ago that honesty was going to be the key to changing the future, yet I'm still hesitating. Keeping the reincarnation stuff to myself is fine, but the time to start really making a difference is now!
And there’s only one way to accomplish that effectively; by telling the truth.
“It sure does, Solaris,” I parrot my earlier thoughts, reassuring my friend that our ‘visions’ do in fact match up. “I saw the same exact thing… But I also saw so, much, more.”
"..."
... The left side of the Solaris' lips curl upwards thanks to this, producing a unprincelike cocky grin.
“Really?" the alicorn practically purrs. "Are you willing to share your vision with me now, by dear little friend?”
I allow his moment of pure satisfaction to pass by uninterrupted as, with a single shake of my head, I give Solaris my resounding answer of, “Yes, I am... Just a heads up though, my Prince; remember when I asked about parallel universes?”
“Indeed… Why?”
Guess it’s now or never.
I titter nervously. “W-well… I did see Discord’s return, and I did see ponies standing up to him… but it wasn’t Dusk who stood up to them in my ‘Sight’.”
The Prince blinks blankly thanks to this.
“No? But then, wh-”
“I also did see him too, at the same time,” I cut him off, taking a little bit of sick joy in stealing the role of ‘trickster’ away from the King of the loaded conversation.
Clearly not used to the tables being turned on him, the pony plainly states, “I-I don’t follow, Barb.”
I giggle at this. “I don’t imagine you would, sir. In order to understand my visions, you gotta understand that they do not follow the adventures of Dusk Shine; personal protege of Prince Solaris.
“Instead... they follow Twilight Sparkle, personal protege of Princess Celestia!”
Silence now reins between the two of us as the second, and most certainly not the last, bomb of this meeting drops.
“... But… There isn’t a princess by that name, Barbara,” Solaris eventually answers, clearly very confused.
“Yep,” I reply, taking a sip of my now cooling tea.
“And… there isn’t a pony I know by the name of Twilight Sparkle. At least, not in Canterlot or Ponyville.”
“Yep.”
“Yet... you’re saying that they play a major role in combating Discord? Not… Eris?”
“Eeyup,” I chortle, channeling my inner Red Gala.
“... I imagine that only Element users could stand up to his powers,” the gears in the alicorn’s mind churn, slowly bringing him to the answer. “With all the current Element’s taken, it wouldn’t make sense that there would be another… And you mentioned parallel universes… But also Twilight Sparkle is clearly a mare’s nam-”
The ponies’ pupil of his one working eye suddenly shrinks into the tiniest little needlepoint ever.
An equally tiny gasp of “Oh,” escapes his lips soon after.
A toothy smile from me is Solaris' only reward…
… Well, that... and the shattered remains of his mind! Hah! The score is now One to One, my cryptic friend!
“Yep,” I repeat one last time, relishing every second of this beautiful moment.
“You’re… y-your vision is quite… unique, Barb,” Solaris stutters out, after having taken a second to recompose himself. “I can only imagine how disorienting such a Sight could be…”
“For reference; my name is ‘Spike’ over there, sir,” I laugh loudly. “Disorienting doesn’t even begin to describe how messy things have been to keep straight in my head!”
“Indeed!” my pony companion laughs too in response, joining in the ‘joke’ that is my life. “A whole world where the sexes have flipped? Incredible… though, from the sound of it, Discord remains a constant... Or perhaps he was truly a she over there… Maybe the monster’s mere presence tips the balance of sexes from one side to the other… There is a lot to take in from this revelation,” the stallion admits, as he rubs his beard intensely. “Take heart that I will be more than happy to help you in the task of sorting things out.
“That said… I must now ask you a vital question on this subject, Barb.”
My heart drops at this.
So much for my moment on top.
“Y-yes?” I respond, bracing myself for the coming attack.
“Barbara,” Prince Solaris says boomingly, drawing his wings out and raising them as high as this gazebo will allow him to do so. “In this other realm, where things are so similar but also different; allow me to ask this simply and clearly...”
I hold my breath.
“... Is Princess Celestia my mare double?”
“Y… y-yes?” I answer fearfully, unsure of the point of the question.
“Hm. I see,” Solaris nods his head in understanding. “... Then I have one final question for you. Answer this with all the truthfulness and honesty your heart possesses, dragon… In this parallel Equestria...
“... am I a pretty girl?”
For the second time today, silence reigns supreme.
Under its rule, I can only stare mutely.
“... Yes, Solaris,” I deadpan, as all the tension disappears from my body. “You are the prettiest princess in all the land. You have a flowing rainbow mane and everything.”
Solaris lowers his wings at this. Though his features conveys a sense of dead seriousness, the red tint now adorning his cheeks shatters this poker face completely.
“G-good,” the Prince utters with an awkward cough. “Then I feel that all is right in the universe...”