//------------------------------// // Book 4 // Story: Dear Diary, What am I? // by Solarios //------------------------------// July 18, 777 Once again, it seems I'm in need of a diary. I thought I would never write again after I married Flare, but things changed dramatically and too fast for my liking. First, a head's up. Everything was going alright in Trottingham. Blizzard and Radiance went to school, Flare could buy anything she wanted, we never passed hunger, and the gambling business was booming all the time. I honestly thought my life was solved. But my father once told me, "When life's easy, it means bad times are coming." I always disregarded his advice as just silly talk, but he was right. About two and a half months ago, ponies and draconequi became hostile to one another. In just a blink of an eye, partnerships broke and friendships dissolved. I still cannot believe the way I lost my place as The King. That pony, Fortune Daze came back from his exile, and everypony just betrayed me and proclaimed him king! Without my job, I had to look for another one, but friends told me that ponies were not longer hiring draconequi. When Trottingham closed its doors on us, my family had to move. We joined the last draconequi leaving the city in search of the other countless draconequi that moved to unoccupied lands and claimed them as their new homes. We traveled for a week until we found this small settlement. It is located near the Everfree Forest, a place that ponies fear. Rarely do they come around here, and it is in our best hope that they never do. We had to leave plenty of things in our old home, but so far we haven't lacked anything. The draconequi here have welcomed us with open arms. They gave us shelter, food, and their kindness, and for that I am very grateful. I must find a job around here as soon as I can. I really don't like this feeling that I am in debt. July 21, 777 Life here will be nothing like the life my family was accustomed to, but beggars can't be choosers. I found a job as a magician. Draconequi don't posses the magic unicorns have, but my card tricks come close enough. When I'm not entertaining some kids at a birthday party, I'm performing at the theater. I already got some fame, but I know it won't last long. This is a small town; sooner or later everyone will be used to my tricks, and what after? I have always made a living out of my sleight hand; when this town drinks all the juice it has to offer, I don't know what I will do. Top of the food chain to dead-end job. Perfect. My kids are enjoying this new place, however. They haven't complained about being homesick a single time, and judging by all the new friends they have made, they seem to have adapted pretty well. Although it was against my wishes, Flare took a job as a cook. I must admit that is a stable job, not like mine, but I still feel guilty. I am no longer able to provide for my family! It makes me feel so powerless... Yet, I am blessed. I still have my family with me, and a place to call home. My father, who came with us in our journey, keeps telling me that "Night's darker before dawn." What an hypocrite; he was the same one who told me that life's easier when it's about to get worse! He was right before though, and I didn't hear him. I beg he'll be right again. August 17, 777 Today was my birthday. I was just preparing my cards for a special presentation they asked me to give, and when I arrived at the place, I was surprised to discover the party was for me! Flare had told everyone about it, and they had organized a surprise party. Truth be told, I hadn't even noticed it was my birthday. If it wasn't for Flare, this day would have been as normal as all the others. But one of my gifts is incredibly alarming. The gift itself isn't important, but the wrapping, a newspaper one of the refugees brought along from his city, is. It contained an article about a strange filly that was born two years ago. Normally, unicorn and pegasus couples were, literally, flipping a coin when having kids. It was either a pegasus or a unicorn, 50-50 chance. But this kid was neither of them; he was both. But this filly wasn't the only one; on the same day, other colts and fillies like this were born in different cities. Something tells me this has something to do with the ponies' recent behavior, but I must find out more before I jump to conclusions. August 28, 777 I got more information today. A group travels to a city not far from here once a week to buy some supplies. I managed to join the team in today's trip. Being there made me horribly nervous. Ponies kept their eyes fixed on us, as if they feared we would cause a riot or something. While the others were buying some spices, I went to a newspaper stand. The newspaper was horribly expensive; I find it obvious that that pony charged me double just for being a draconequus, but the information I found in it is invaluable. Those few cases that I discovered a week and a half ago weren't the only ones. Those mutants are being born everywhere! There are about a hundred confirmed hybrid colts and fillies. But that isn't the only thing. It seems this hybrids are also far more skilled in the use of magic than normal unicorns. Scientists say this so-called "alicorns" are the next step in pony evolution. Currently my research is hidden to avoid unnecessary attention or maybe even panic. I must know more before I actually talk to anyone about this. September 4, 777 I finally got my hands on a book about the subject. It took all of our savings, but this is it. Flare told me that she's starting to get worried about me. She says I'm spending too much time reading old newspapers. What if I am? I am about to discover why did our lives crumble beneath our feet! What if I'm a bit obsessed? Just one final push. This book I have will answer all my questions. I have spent so much time in this, but I still hope I'm wrong. I still wish this "alicorns" have nothing to do. May the stars be by my side. Tomorrow, I will know, and I will return to my wife and my kids. September 5, 777 And, here's my answer. I already took everything into consideration. I made the process a thousand times. But I always end up with the same result. My race is dying. This book I got is relatively new. So new in fact, that it already counts alicorns as the fourth pony tribe. It also holds a count for the draconequus population. I would like to congratulate the pony who wrote this. Although the rest of his kind hates us, he managed to maintain a critical perspective. In this book of his, social discrimination is nothing but an illusion; something that should never bias truth. I don't know how I didn't notice before, but, according to this book, draconequi are dying everywhere. Now that I come to think of it, news have reached us of draconequi towns being razed by wild creatures and horrible storms. The book even counts us as an endangered species. Then, I compared the alicorn and draconequus populations, and made an alarming discovery. The number of alicorns is inversely proportional to that of my people. Something else came back to me. I remember that long ago, when I was still in school, my science book said our world can only support a given number of sentient species. When a new civilization started, another reached its end. Is that what's happening? The alicorn race was born, so my race has to die out? I reached the same result over and over again. Now I have no doubt. At first I was devastated. Blizzard and Radiance have no future; they were born to a world that no longer wants them. Now, I'm just sad. I wish I had never seen that article in the wrapping. Knowing that the end is near is nothing but a curse. There's no point in writing the date now. I do my best to keep my cheer. I see younglings celebrating birthdays and playing in the roads, unaware that nothing matters anymore. I must not sink into depression, for if I do, I would have to explain. But I can't do that; how would they react when I say the world is ending for us? I'm no fool; I know they would probably think I'm mad, but my family would believe me. Flare. I love her too much to let her know. I can only imagine how devastated she would be when I showed her what I found. I can still live knowing I'm practically dead, but to see her lose her cheer would break my spirit. I would do something if I could, but who can defeat nature? It decided we had to die to give way to the alicorns. Nature is wise, and I respect its decisions, but that doesn't alleviate the sadness I feel. This is my last entry. I have taken time to read my other diaries, and found some cheer in reading my first entries. Still so innocent, so naive. How could I have known everything would end like this? There is no point in writing. I must rest. How much time has passed? Days? Weeks? Months? But, does it matter? What do I have left... Everything, everyone, reduced to ashes. A storm... Lightning. Flare was afraid. Always had been since the last time... Then just one spark, and a house was aflame. It quickly spread to other and other and other and other. The whole town was blazing. It was nighttime. Everyone was sleeping. A blast flung me out a window. Everyone trapped inside their blazing homes. Flare, Blizzard, Radiance. I lost everything. I wander through the wilderness, oblivious to the pass of time. My thoughts are hollow, and so am I. How much has passed I don't know. I don't care. Ponies are cruel creatures. I can't seek their aid. No one will help me now. I'm banished from society, from nature, from everywhere. Where should I go? I don't care. Nothing matters. I'm alone. The few strands that kept me tied to sanity broke when I lost Flare. So this is how madness feels like? I don't feel fear. I don't care for anything. What is there left for me? Who am I? What am I? I'm nothing. I can see a building in the mountain above me. I'm tired. Maybe there I will be able to rest. I know this place. I've never been here before, but I have heard about it. This is the Star Temple. There are many stories about this place, about how ponies came here and offered their prayers to the stars. And sometimes, they answered. The stars are the last thing I have left. My family's dead, my entire kind is dead, ponies hate me because I'm supposed to die, and even nature itself has betrayed me. It led us like puppets to our doom. But maybe, maybe the stars will have pity on me. Day after day passes by, and I receive no answer. I pour all of the spirit I have left into my prayers in the hope they will be heard, but nothing happens. Have the stars abandoned me too? But, what else is there for me? I still have hope. I must cling on tight to it, or I will suffer a fate worse than death. Not even the stars look down to a creature as pathetic as me. Everyone, everything has abandoned me. I now wait here, in the cold floors of the Star Temple, awaiting for death to come and take the little that is left of me. I want to rest... I should feel terrible... Ponies came into the temple today; they saw me. Ponies are no longer accustomed to my kind. They thought I was a monster and attacked me. I was weak. They tried to trample me apart. Not even death was going to pity me. It wanted to amuse itself with my suffering. I wanted the ponies to go away, to leave me to die in peace. And they did. They suddenly blasted through the window. I was baffled. I immediately knew it had been me and that those ponies were dead. It's a long way down. I should feel terrible... but I don't. Have the stars heard my cries? I feel I now have magic. I don't know how it is, but I have magic. This is not what I wanted. I just want all my suffering to end. Now even the stars mock me. Wise? Pranksters... I now know what I'm supposed to do! I went to a town today under a feeling I got. This power allows me to bend reality to my liking. It's the greatest power I have ever seen! I ran through the town, allowing my power to flow as it wanted, feeling intoxicated as houses and animals morphed into wonderful new shapes. They tried to push me back, but their spears turned into pretty weird flowers and their magic backfired with majestic fireworks to my glory! Their terror soon grew intoxicated too. Their minds warped and their screams turned to laughter! It was such a beautiful party! I can now take retribution! Not even nature is safe from me now! Now it is MY time to laugh! MY time to pull the strings! Equestria here I come! Date: Whichever I want! Well well well... what do we have here? Oh, but it's my dear old diary. Hello, old friend, how has life been with you? With me it has been kind. I would like to thank the stars for the power they gave me. Thanks to it, I'm now in control of all of Equestria. I was even able to cheat time! I am no longer mortal! I think I once heard somepony say I had turned into a spirit of disharmony, and I love the sound of that! No longer bound by mortal rules I do what I want when I want! Not even those precious alicorns were able to do anything to stop me. Not with the world on my side. Sometimes, ponies grow tired of nothing making sense, but I just tell the there is no fun in making sense! The fun is in being unpredictable, in bending the world in awesome ways and enjoying it the way you want! And, who am I? My old name no longer matters anymore! My name now is Discord, the crafty (and handsome) spirit of disharmony! No government, no sense, no nothing! Just beautiful chaos! "If life's easy, it means bad times are coming." I hate you dad. Paternal advice strikes back. I thought I had imprisoned all of those nasty alicorns, but I was wrong. I missed two who now call themselves Luna and Celestia. They found something they call the "Elements of Harmony", and with it they have ruined all my fun. My beloved chaos is no more, and when everything was boring again, they turned to hunt ME! I tried to keep them back, but I couldn't, and they pushed me here, where it all started, Star Temple. At first I thought they were fools to bring me here because the stars would aid me again, but it seems whoever heard my prayers long ago has betrayed me too. Now the only thing I have to do is to wait. I'm doing my best to keep those two alicorns outside, but their elements are too strong. They drain my power away. I just get weaker and weaker. My barrier won't hold for long. I barely remember anything of my old life, so I read some things at the beginning of this diary. Flare, Blizzard, and Radiance. Those names sound strangely familiar, but I am unable to remember who they were, or what importance they had to me. Well, whoever they were they are gone now. I just feel sorry they couldn't join me in my madness. I'm sure they would have enjoyed it. I once again pay attention to time, feel the rhythm of it. Tick tock tick tock tick tock. It is perfect for a song, so I sing. I sing old pony songs and other things of my making while I wait for those stupid sisters to get to me. They won't be able to kill me; I cheated death long time ago. I will just be locked away, of that I am sure, and I will return someday. And when I do, they best be ready, cause Discord is going to throw a re- Books wait here, in this silent cage, Their dusty pages worn out by age, Hidden from sight, kept from the light, Kept in shadows, regarded with spite. Long lost knowledge and memories of old Are gathered here, in this forgotten place. Among other things there's the story not told Of the being estranged by grace. Four simple tomes, tarnished by dust, Recall all the things that in time were lost.