//------------------------------// // Meeting at Midnight // Story: Midnight at Tambelon // by Alyssum Cherubwings //------------------------------// ~ Many, many years later... ~ “Ahhh!!! She’s gonna eat me!” Bray screamed, dashing down the hall on his skinny donkey legs. He ran past Eris, who watched as Cosmos followed close behind. From the day she was big enough to torment him, Cosmos did so. Bray dreaded the possibility of seeing her every time he turned a corner. Cosmos was beginning to grow into the personality of what her future self would be, and Grogar loved it. At least one draconequus was following his plans...the other one, however... Where was that dumb, lazy noodle, anyway? Sleeping on a pink cloud while it rained chocolate milk? Yeah. Indeed he was. Grogar’s voice was as loud as thunder as he yelled out Discord’s name. “Discord!!! You get down here this instant!” “Plbbttt!” came the reply of blowing raspberries. Oh, he wants to do this the hard way, doesn’t he? “Discord, I’m warning you. Get down here before I have to drag you down!” “Oh, must I?” the young draconequus snorted. “I’m having an ever so delightful nap! Or, I was...until you ruined it.” “I don’t have time for your games, Discord. We’re going to Midnight Castle tonight, and I expect all three of you to be on your best behavior.” “Midnight Castle? Whatever for?” “It’s the young prince Scorpan’s birthday, and King Vorak is throwing a banquet. I’m taking this as a perfect opportunity to discuss important matters with Sendak. You three can keep yourselves busy by getting along with the princes and staying out of my way.” “There are two princes?” Eris exclaimed. She and Cosmos had popped their heads around the corner. “Yes, Tirek and Scorpan. A centaur and a gargoyle. They’re around the age of you guys, maybe a little younger.” “Yay, more friends to play with!” Cosmos squealed. “...Right,” muttered Grogar. “Anyway, you three should at least try to make yourselves look nice. I don’t need to be embarrassed.” The kids nodded in agreement and Cosmos looked over, eying Bray. “Hey...pile on the donkey!” she exclaimed, tackling him. The others followed suit as Grogar walked away, grumbling. ~ Later... ~ Discord stood in front of the mirror, rearranging his bow tie. He hated it, but Grogar had insisted, so it was best to not argue. First chance I get, I’m ditching this thing. Eris, meanwhile, had chosen a beautiful dress with a purple top and trailing peacock feathers. Her horns were adorned with long blue earrings, and a blue necklace was placed neatly around her neck. She admired herself for a moment before she rushed out of her room, nearly colliding with Cosmos. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” “No, Eris, you watch where you’re going! It took forever to tuck this stupid flower behind my ear, and you almost made it fall off!” Discord walked past the angry squabble, rolling his eyes. Typical girls. He was happy to be able to meet some boys his age, especially Tirek. From what he had seen in the books Grogar left laying around, centaurs looked pretty awesome. Maybe they’d become great friends. Best friends, even. Oh, but what use are friends? Grogar would say. That’s what you and Sendak are, right? Friends? Just because we get along and discuss things with each other doesn’t mean we’re friends. We’re business partners, Discord. That’s all. What kind of business? I...I can’t tell you. Not yet. From that, Discord concluded there must be some big secret going between Grogar and Sendak, and he wanted to find out what it was. He couldn’t have known then what Grogar and Sendak planned to do to the land of Equestria, and the ponies within it. The kids suddenly heard Grogar calling them. It was time to head over to Midnight Castle. The trip there didn’t take too long. Once they arrived at the gates, Grogar turned his head to whisper, “Remember, don’t embarrass me.” As Grogar went to greet Vorak before going off to find Sendak, the kids wandered around in an attempt to find the princes. The search ended abruptly as something small and furry crashed to the ground. It was a young gargoyle, and a centaur similar in age followed behind. “Hi, guys! I’m Scorpan, and that’s my brother, Tirek! Who are you?” Discord, Cosmos, and Eris introduced themselves. “Are you siblings too?” Tirek asked. “Oh, no,” came Cosmos’s reply. “It doesn’t work like that with us. Here, I’ll explain it to you.” According to Cosmos’s explanation, Grogar had created multiple different species of monsters, from bugbears to manticores to sea serpents. However, no monster he created specifically with his spells - as opposed to monsters making families of their own - bore any relation to another. Creating creatures from random ingredients and magic just worked like that. “Whoa,” exclaimed Tirek. “That’s...kind of confusing, but I’ll go with it, I guess.” With that, the group went on their way, running around the castle and causing chaos. At one point, a chocolate milk cloud had found its way into the King and Queen’s room, and drenched everything. Discord had noticed it just in time to snap his fingers and make the mess disappear. One of those fake plastic flowers had its water squirted in Vorak’s face. Grogar was definitely not happy about that when he found out later. Endless pranks were played on the guards as well, and it eventually led to a guard chasing the kids and knocking over a priceless vase in the process. “Ooh,” Tirek chuckled sneakily. “That better get cleaned up, or heads are gonna roll!” “Tirek, Father told you not to copy him when he says that anymore!” “I say what I want, Scorpan.” “Well, I can say that I think we’d be great friends,” Discord added, though he couldn’t stop thinking of an angry Grogar using his head as a bowling ball, given Discord’s magical ability to contort his body any way he wished. However, the difference between him and the guards was that it wouldn’t actually hurt him. “Yeah, friends!” said Tirek. “After all, Sendak told me that ponies believe friendship is magic!” Eris had now become interested in the conversation. “Ponies?” “Yeah, Sendak researches all about the ponies in Equestria. He also gave me this little pouch I have around my neck. He said it’s called the Rainbow of Darkness. I don’t know what that means, but I’m not supposed to open it yet. All I know is that it contains magic, a gateway to power. I’m tired of being stuck here, in this stupid castle. Sendak will be going to Equestria soon, and I wish I could go with him. Then I could learn the real ways of magic, and become the most powerful centaur ever! Maybe then my father would have a reason to care about me.” “He does care about you,” reassured Scorpan, playing with the medallion around his own neck. “He’s just distant, is all.” “Says the gargoyle with the birthday banquet. I didn’t get anything like this for my birthday last time.” “You were also grounded.” “He’s got a point, Tirek,” Eris suggested. Oh, if only Pinkie Pie had been alive then. Tirek would have gotten the birthday party he deserved. But she hadn’t been born yet, and Discord wouldn’t become friends with Twilight and the girls for a long, long time. He had now to worry about. Cosmos, Eris, and the princes were his friends at the present time, and the future would come later. “Hey, do you think King Vorak would let you two come over to Tambelon Castle sometimes? It’s not very far.” “We’d like that very much!” Scorpan exclaimed as Tirek nodded in agreement. And so, a new friendship bond was formed between the five kids. Discord only hoped it would last.