In the world of Equis, there existed many kingdoms, empires, and smaller domains, so many that it would take forever to list them, but if there was one thing that all of these kingdoms had in common it was their desire for power. Some desired it to protect their kingdoms, others for land and resources, and for some a means of revenge. And that desire had never been more present in this era. Five years ago, there was a Great War amongst all kingdoms, all but one. A kingdom that was governed under the rule of King Discord, who, with his magic, sheltered his kingdom from the war. Biding his time, and allocating his support where needed, all sides eventually wore themselves out and the war came to an end due to a massive standstill. With the end of the war, recovery began for the economy and stability of each kingdom, however, many would use this as an opportunity for an alliance. Chaosville, the kingdom which King Discord rules, was bountiful in resources, land, and diverse population. Many of the rulers offered an alliance with Chaosville, knowing that with their shared resources they could easily recover and potentially resume their fights.
This alliance would, of course, be done through a marriage with one of Discord’s six adopted children.
When all rulers had suggested an alliance, King Discord refused, stating that he would not jeopardize his children’s wellbeing for the benefit of other nations, that and he knew that the only difference between an alliance through contract and one through marriage, was that an alliance through marriage would allow the other nation’s control of military powers and resources.
Discord has six children, all of whom are ponies, with their order of sibling status not being by age but by when they were taken in by Discord. The eldest was named Flash Sentry, a pegasus stallion with orange fur, a spiky blue mane, and curious blue eyes. He was well mannered and preferred spending his time helping others, training, studying history, and writing stories in his spare time. He was the most rational and compromising of his siblings, and acted as a Diplomat from time to time.
Then came the second eldest, a stallion Pegasus with light blue fur, a navy mane that was smooth and flowed back like his brother’s. But unlike his brother, Soarin was wild and full of energy, while Flash trained as a means of self-defense, Soarin trained to hone himself as a warrior in all ways. He was the general of Discord’s army, though there was never any use of them. He is determined, driven, courageous, and stubborn when it came to nearly everything.
Then came the third child, an earth pony stallion by the name Cheese Sandwich. He had darker orange fur, a brown poofy mane, and green eyes. Cheese Sandwich was like his brother Soarin in the way of how he was ambitious and wild, but Cheese preferred to use his energy in making those around him smile. His role is that of a jester, while some find the title demeaning, he takes great pride in it.
Then came the fourth child, a mare unicorn by the name of Sunest Shimmer. She has yellow fur, a red mane with stripes of yellow in it, and teal eyes. She was ambitious in a pursuit of both knowledge and magic, while also being the most cunning of her brothers. She is the most powerful of her siblings thanks to her advanced knowledge in magic, it is also why she is the city Wizard.
Then came the fifth child, a stallion unicorn by the name Fancy Pants. An esteemed gentle colt with white fur, navy mane, and bright blue eyes with a monocle on the left. Fancy is well mannered, kind hearted, and attentive to all, even going so far as to help out the staff. Fancy was like his brother Flash, in that he always saw how creatures could put their talents to their best uses. He is in charge of trade and keeping the kingdom organized.
Then came the sixth and final child, an earth pony stallion by the name of Johnny Appleseed. Jonny has light brown fur, a short green spiky mane, and hazel eyes. Jonny wasn't the most sociable type, as he preferred spending his time in the field rather than with others. However, he more than pulled his weight as he was in charge of attending to the food and supply of the whole kingdom.
These are the six children of the king, Discord. It was on this day, five years after the Great War ended, that their father asks of them a difficult task, one that he had swore to never do.
In the kingdom of Chaosaville, embedded in the mountain, was the castle within which the king, his children, and the servants dwelled. As the sun shined over the horizon, signaling that it was daybreak, that the members of the castle began to stir. It was at this time that the king Discord had requested his children to meet with him in the discussion room. A room with tall thin windows on both walls and tall marble pillars that held the ceiling up. In the center of the room was the round table where the king Discord sat in his chair. Discord was a stag with light brown fur, strong and mighty antlers, a red eye on his left and a green one on his right. He waited patiently for his children to arrive and then Fancy Pants entered through the door.
"Good morning, father." Fancy greeted with his pimp and proper voice, wearing his royal clothing which was navy blue with several gold plates along the chest and shoulder.
"Morning, Fancy." Discord greeted back, avoiding the word 'good'.
"Might I ask why it is that you have called myself and my siblings here?" Fancy asked, taking his seat at the table.
"Patience, Fancy." Discord responded, waiving his hoof over the table a can of red bull appeared which he drank to calm his nerves. "All will be revealed in due time."
After a while Flash Sentry entered the room, wearing an identical suit to Fancy's but his was red and white.
"Good morning, Father." Flash greeted in the same fashion as Fancy as he too took his seat.
Followed by Flash was Soarin and Cheese Sandwich, Soarin wearing a similar suit to Fancy Pants but his was green and black, Cheese wore the same only his was orange and blue. When the two entered they both appeared to be giggling over something.
When they took their seats, the doors to the entrance flew open as Sunset Shimmer entered with a messy mane that covered some of the front of her face. She wore a red dress with yellow plates on the shoulders. She glared at both Soarin and Cheese as she took her seat. Discord, his nerves beginning to dull as he sipped his monster energy drink, decided to ignore it.
"Now all we need is Johnny." Flash said.
Impatient, Discord clapped his hooves and Jonny appear on the table, snoring loudly. Fancy make a loud "Ahem" which woke Jonny up. He hazily looked around with half opened eyes, "oh...good night." Jonny said, returning to sleep on the table. Sunset, being in a bad mood, used her magic to lift Jonny's head and then slam it back down to wake him up.
"OOOOOOW." Johnny groaned, rubbing the welt on his head.
"Johnny," Fancy started, "would you be so kind as to take your seat?"
Johnny obliged and took his seat. Once Discord finished downing his cocktail of gatorade and redbull he began to explain the reason as to why he had called his children here.
"As you all know," Discord began saying, talking nice and slow like a yoga instructor, "The Great War ended and repairs have already begun. As such, many leaders have looked to my kingdom and have requested that I hold a ball."
"Heh," Soarin laughed, "I bet you sent those leaders home packing didn't ya?"
"Actually," Discord took another gulp of monster energy, "I accepted their request."
"WHAT?!" All of the siblings exclaimed in shock.
The reason for their shock was that a ball was a gathering of those who were either, noble, rich, or a part of royalty in the hopes that they would marry others who were either noble, rich, or a part of royalty. For many decades Discord had avoided the acceptance of a ball as he wanted his children to have the privilege of choosing who they wanted to be with. Unfortunately, this time was different.
"Why the buck would you say yes?!" Soarin demanded.
"Chaosville has always rejected the event of ball, why have you now accepted it?" Flash asked.
"Are you being blackmailed?" Cheese asked, quickly putting on a pair of sunglasses and pulling out a shotgun which he cocked. "Who do I need to silence?"
Johnny continued to snore, a snot bubble formed from his nose.
As his children continued to shout questions, Discord raised a hoof and their questions fell silent. "The Great War is over," Discord began, "Kingdoms are in ruin, resources have been depleted, and ponies are in chaos. As much as I love chaos...this kind only leaves a bitter taste in my mouth." Discord began going on. "Chaos should be fun and enjoyed, not abused like this. Which is why I made a decision to end the war completely."
This news came as a shock to each of the siblings.
"You...ended the war?" Flash asked in disbelief.
"Indeed." Discord confirmed. “Well…end is a strong word, more like we’ve all agreed to reach an armistice. I told each of the leaders of every kingdom 'one year from now, I will hold a ball where I shall offer my children's hand in marriage. Should you choose to accept, and should my children fall in love with the one you send, then I will happily accept any alliance between my kingdom and yours'."
"That's why the war ended." Flash summed up. "The offer of an alliance with our kingdom was so important that they stopped fighting in order to gain your approval?"
Discord took another sip of his energy drink, "you are correct, Flash."
"No offense or anything, but weren't you the one that said 'I want you guys to be the one's to find and choose true love'?" Cheese asked.
"I did." Discord replied.
"Then why are you putting us through this?" Cheese asked.
"I never said that you have to choose or fall in love with anyone." Discord restated. "You could choose to fall in love with nobody for all I care, I just wanted an excuse to end this pointless and silly squabble between everybody. I'm just holding up to my end of the promise."
The children couldn't argue with Discord's logic, they didn't necessarily have to fall in love or be forced into marriage.
"Besides, you all are somewhere between 20 or 18, it's time for you guys to at least put yourselves out there and meet somebody." Discord said with a slur, unaware that he had accidentally drank some coffee. "I'm (hic) looking at you there Sunset."
"Wha-me?" Sunset protested in awe.
"Yes, you." Discord slurred, some bubbles forming around his head. "I've seen how you treat the stallions of this palace, making them stay as far away as possible from you. What are you, allergic to them or something?"
A blush crept over Sunset's cheeks. Discord attempted to take another swig of water but it was snatched away by Fancy.
"Hey." Discord pouted. "Give that back."
"I think you've had enough." Fancy stated. "Besides, it's too early for coffee."
Discord huffed, crossing his hooves. "Fine, but that doesn't change my mind." Discord stated. "You six will attend the ball which will be held three days from now. I expect you to be nice and ready by then, no 'ifs', no 'ands', no 'buts', no 'coconuts'." Discord giggled before clapping his hooves together. "Now then, your servants have been made aware of the situation and will explain the rest of it to you. Chop chop, you all have work to do."
With that, all of the siblings got up and exited the room. All but one of them.
"Can I ask you a question, father?" Flash asked, standing at the doorway.
"Sure thing, kiddo. Fire away." Discord said, rubbing his head from the brain freeze he got when he drank his hot chocolate.
"Why the sudden interest in love?" Flash asked. "I know that you're the lord of chaos and all but...I don't think love and chaos go all too well together."
Discord grinned a devilish grin. "That's where you'd be wrong. You see, Chaos itself is like food and drink; there are some that have different flavors, different textures, different structures, there's so many forms of chaos." Discord said, bearing a frown. "Let's just say the Great War was like eating Brussel Sprouts with wood, it tasted awful so I decided to end it." Discord explained. "Love is no different, it's unpredictable, it makes ponies do crazy things, and it leaves a mess everywhere. Love is chaos and to me it's like ice cream mixed with doughnuts."
Flash, satisfied with Discord's answer, took his exit. While it was true that Discord was the Lord of Chaos, that didn't mean he wasn't without order. Discord preferred to live by the analogy of 'Chaos within order', not too much chaos so that way everybody could be having fun and not too much order so that way nobody couldn't have enough fun. This is how Discord always was, a riddle wrapped within an enigma.
Once Flash had left, Discord closed the doors and got up from his chair. He walked over to a window that showed him all of his kingdom, all of the small villages and their settlements. How much longer would he have dominion over them. how much time did he have left? These were the questions Discord pondered as he looked over his kingdom. Discord was nine thousand, two-hundred and eighty three years old, he had spent a thousand of those years learning to control his magic, three thousand years meddling in the affairs of others and causing chaos, another thousand making repairs to the damage he caused, another thousand causing more chaos which undid the repairs he had made, another one thousand he spent wandering the earth, a thousand and a half years he spent wallowing away, and the remain years he spent building his kingdom and his family.
Discord's eyes rose to the ceiling and he asked, "am I doing the right thing…Melody?'