Time went by as I continued my duties. Rarity stayed busy with her shops. I was surprised to learn that she and the girls had another run-in with that Starlight Glimmer. Or I guess to be more accurate it was mainly Twilight and Spike. Something about time travel and the end of Equestria. Either way I was glad that Rarity was safe.
We had taken to getting together whenever she came to Canterlot. Sometimes we only had time for a quick lunch, other times she’d stay the night. Either way I found myself walking around the castle with a stupid grin most of the time.
And it was unfortunately after one of our..sleepovers..that I had a grin so wide that I couldn’t hide it in time from Celestia and Luna. Celestia was the first to notice.
“Well! Somepony is in an excellent mood!”
My smile dropped and I groaned inwardly. In that moment, Luna chimed in.
“I think I know who he’s grinning about!”
“Well that’s pretty obvious Luna. But what happened between them that left him in such a state?”
Please stop.
“With that grin? Oh that’s easy!”
Stop!
“You wouldn’t be suggesting-?”
“Of course I am!”
“STOP!!!”
That made them flinch. The two alicorns turned back to me, wondering what I would do next. I took a long breath before beginning. I spoke through gritted teeth.
“My personal life is not up for discussion in these halls.”
I could see Celestia getting ready to say something. I held up my hoof, silencing her.
“My study. Now!”
The sisters tripped over each other as they tried to make for the door to my study. I’d finally garnered too many books for my bedroom and had taken an extra room for my personal study. The Princesses walked inside and sat down as I closed the door. I glared at both of them.
“Honestly! I put up with a lot from the two of you. I don’t even mind you poking fun at the fact that I have a marefriend now. But that subject is completely off limits anywhere outside these walls. I will not have my...my...”
“Sex life?”
My burning gaze fell on Luna and she looked down. I sighed.
“Yes. I won’t have it become the newest gossip. I work hard to have some anonymity around here. If word gets out that Rarity has a connection with me, it’ll be a nightmare for both of us.”
Celestia raised a hoof and I nodded to her. She cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry we’ve made you uncomfortable. We only meant it in good fun. We shouldn’t have been joking so candidly about...that. Especially about one of our closest friends.”
I nodded to her.
“Thank you Celestia.”
I turned to Luna.
“Care to add anything?”
“I'm sorry. You're just the only one of us we can poke fun at about...that.”
My brow arched.
“Wait... have you two never-“
Celestia piped up.
“Hang on! I never said I hadn’t!”
Luna scoffed.
“Oh really? What’s his name?”
“You wouldn’t know him. He lives in another dimension.”
“Surely you don’t mean Discord!”
“Of course not! How could you even suggest that?!”
"Well I certainly have more experience than you do."
"As if!"
I stamped my hoof against the ground.
“Enough!”
They both stopped and looked at me again. Another sigh left me.
“Can we just go about our day? I want to forget this ever happened. Please?”
They stared at me for a few seconds before nodding. I smiled and nodded back.
“Excellent.”
‘POOF!’
“Did someone say my name? My ears are literally burning!”
—————————
After that whole debacle, we were able to get on with the day. I was heading to my first meeting. There was one problem though.
“Honestly, why would you want to be a pony? They’re so dull!”
I did my best not to glare at the being floating over my head.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Of course I do! I should really be mowing my carpets and vacuuming the lawn today.”
“Then why don’t you leave me alone?”
“Because that’s exactly what you want! I wouldn’t be a good Spirit of Chaos if I did what others wanted.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be reformed now?”
“Oh I am!”
A halo popped into existence over Discord’s head.
“I am one hundred percent reformed! My days of being dastardly are behind me.”
I rolled my eyes as I continued down the hall.
“Good to know.”
I heard a ‘POP’ and felt a small weight on my back. I turned my head to find he’d shrunk down to the size of a squirrel and was lounging on me.
“What do you want Discord?”
“I’m glad you asked! I want to know about you. How does a changeling go from being a grunt to one of the most powerful creatures in Equestria? Politically powerful that is.”
“Dumb luck I suppose.”
“Oh? I doubt that’s the only factor here.”
“Why the interest?”
“I’ve heard about you from Fluttershy. When you first appeared, you were a weak shell of your former self.”
“Your point?”
“Well you’ve come a long way. Doesn’t that make you wonder?”
“Not really.”
“Oh you’re no fun!”
The weight disappeared off my back and Discord rematerialized in front of me, full size this time.
“You’re a master spy that’s infiltrated the highest level of Equestrian government and you think it’s all dumb luck?!”
He slapped his own face and groaned. I looked around the hall frantically, making sure nopony was nearby.
“Thank you for announcing that to all of Equestria. As if I don’t have enough to worry about!”
I stepped around the draconequs and kept walking.
“I’ve put that part of my life behind me Discord. I’m not what I used to be. And I’ll thank you to not to broadcast my old life to the world.”
“Or what?”
I stopped and felt my teeth grind together. Another headache was coming in too.
“Just...leave me alone.”
“But you were just about to threaten me! ME!! As if you could do anything to the Lord of Chaos! Ha!”
My headache spiked suddenly and I turned back to Discord.
“Leave. Me. ALONE!!”
The bolt that shot out of my horn was blinding. It had come without warning. As it left me, I felt the headache dissipate.
The light faded and there was a black mark on the floor where Discord had been. I glanced around, wondering if I’d actually hit him.
“My, my. That temper of yours doesn’t pair well with your condition.”
Discord appeared from the floor, wearing a devious smile.
“You might have hurt someone with that kind of power. Wouldn’t that be a shame?”
I took a deep breath.
“Nothing I can’t handle myself. It’s your own fault anyways.”
Discord chuckled.
“I know! I could feel the magic welling up in you. I wanted to see what you were capable of. Color me impressed Shade. You might have some talent after all.”
I frowned up at the jumble of animal parts.
“Next time just ask.”
“You do realize that your biology is the reason you can’t properly cast those spells, don’t you?”
“I’ll adapt.”
“Adaptation can only go so far changeling. Your body will always be wired for its original magic.”
“You think I don’t know that! I’m trying like Tartarus to keep my head from exploding!”
I sat down in the middle of the hall.
“You don’t need to tell me it’s a lost cause. I already know.”
Discord’s smile faded.
“Yet you’re still trying. And for what? Love? Friendship?”
I looked up at him.
“Yes. It’s the only thing that’s driving me anymore. The changeling is gone Discord. He died in that damned forest. I have to be more than that now. Or as close to it as I can be.”
Discord stared at me for a few moments before groaning.
“Ugh! Why did you have to ruin my fun with this serious, sappy stuff?”
He snapped his claws and I felt a sharp pain run through my body. I collapsed to the floor and groaned in pain. It continued for a solid minute before I could muster the strength to speak.
“What did you do?”
“Consider this a lesson in getting what you want. I have no doubt that you’ll come crawling back to me, begging to change you back by the end of the week.”
“Change me back?”
He leaned down and growled.
“You’re one of the dull ones now. I can’t wait to see you suffer like the rest of them.”
I couldn’t help but feel scared.
“What did you do?”
“You’re a pony now. That’s what you get for trying to blast me into oblivion.”
With another snap he was gone. I was left gasping for air as my body began to work properly again. Had that really just happened?
————————-
“Well? What do you think?”
I hadn’t wasted time in calling for Celestia and Luna. This required their input. They had more experience with Discord and I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Celestia began.
“Honestly? I’m not sure.”
Luna nodded in agreement.
“He makes it sound like a punishment, but...it’s precisely what you’ve been striving for. It’s confusing to say the least.”
“You did try to injure him. And Discord doesn’t take lightly to threats. Or at least he didn’t before. Honestly he’s become more of a nuisance since he reformed. Always playing tricks on everypony.”
I sighed.
“Is that all this is? Am I going to wake up tomorrow as a changeling again?”
Luna chimed in.
“Not necessarily. He said you’d come back begging to him. I think he means to leave you like this.”
Celestia’s brow furrowed.
“That’s true. Perhaps he wants to see if you can truly adapt. I can only imagine the strain your body is going through. How do you feel?”
I sat back against my chair.
“A little woozy. But my insides feel like they’re racing a bit.”
“Racing?”
I nodded as Luna stepped forward. Her horn glowed and she closed her eyes.
“Nothing seems to be wrong. A perfectly normal pony body. As for the feeling of racing-“
My eyes widened as it hit me.
“Of course! How could I be so stupid!”
The sisters looked at me in confusion. I took a deep breath as I let the realization wash over me. This is what Discord had meant by suffering. Somehow he knew I hadn’t taken into account the biggest difference between ponies and changelings.
“I’m a pony now. That means I’m going to age like a pony. My body feels like it’s moving too fast because from my perspective it is.”
Celestia stepped forward.
"Are you okay with that?"
I began to laugh. Celestia and Luna looked at me with concern. I took a deep breath and sighed.
“I’m going to grow old and die. What a novel concept.”
Luna stepped forward again.
“Are you going to be okay Shade?”
I smiled at my mentor.
“Yes. I think I am."
—————————
The day went by without any more surprises. I dealt with the smaller meetings while Celestia handled some of the more delicate matters. I let out a sigh of relief as I made my way to the dining room.
Celestia and Luna were already eating when I walked in. They both smiled at me as I sat down. I summoned a few platters towards me and dished up a plate of food. The magic was coming far easier than before. The platters had almost crashed into me.
The alicorns watched as I performed a few spells to prep my food, never saying a word. I dug into my food and felt my body relax as it received nourishment.
“It seems you’re adapting to your body well.”
I looked at Celestia and nodded.
“Things are starting to calm down. I don’t feel woozy anymore at least. And the magic is coming very easily.”
Luna leaned forward.
“Are you sure you still need me to teach you?”
I turned to her.
“Of course! I’m sure there’s loads you can teach me still!”
Luna smiled appreciatively before returning to her meal. Celestia cleared her throat and I turned back to her.
“I have something to tell both of you. I received a letter from Cadance today.”
My ears perked up. I hadn’t heard anything about her since Twilight told me of the pregnancy.
Luna swallowed her food.
“And how long were you going to keep it from us?”
“I only got it a few hours ago Luna. I wanted you both to be here for it.”
Her horn lit up and a dome of magic enveloped the table. This must be serious if she didn’t want anypony overhearing us.
Luna and I both scooted forward in our seats as Celestia began.
“Cadance had her baby.”
I smiled.
“Well isn’t that good news?”
Luna was smiling too.
“Is it a filly or a colt?”
“A nice, healthy filly.”
My smile began to disappear.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Nothing bad. Just...shocking.”
Luna was nearly on her hooves at this point.
“Tell us already sister!”
Celestia took a breath.
“The baby is an alicorn.”
The room fell into complete silence. Nopony spoke for several minutes as we all tried to grasp what this meant. I was the first to speak up.
“How? How is that possible? You told me there’d never been an alicorn born before.”
Celestia nodded.
“I can’t explain how this could happen. Though I have my theory.”
Luna interrupted.
“I’m guessing it’s the same as mine.”
The blue alicorn turned to me.
“It’s very likely that Cadance passed the alicorn genes on to her baby.”
I nodded in understanding.
“That makes sense I suppose. But it’s still shocking that this could happen. I thought the ascension was more...superficial. I didn’t know it affected ponies down to the molecular level.”
Celestia stood up.
“Cadance has requested Luna and I to join her and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire. That means we’ll be leaving you in charge while we’re away Shade.”
I nearly fell out of my chair.
“You want me to run Equestria?!”
She nodded.
“We shouldn’t be gone for more than a few days. I’m confident that you can handle the day to day routine. You know my schedule better than anypony.”
Luna chimed in.
“And I’ll still be checking dreams while I sleep.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and stood.
“I’ll do my best. But...please hurry back?”
That got them both to giggle.