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Equestria was starting to settle into the new age that was provoked by risky and costly magic. The exchange of ideas and culture started slow but gradually started to move like a subtle plague. With Changelings and Ponies enjoying a steadily strengthening alliance even a few particularly greed swelled dragons were reconsidering how to stock their hordes. A whole new world seemed to just suddenly drop down where Equestria used to be and there were a lot of new things to be enjoyed.
Unless of course you were the one who cast the spell.
Discord had remained bedridden in the same hospital for a period of time that he didn’t care enough about to measure. He didn’t bother making any notes about the date until he was declared strong enough to be moved to a more comfortable setting. Mana Deficiency was a death sentence and Discord remained like that one nail that hasn’t been fully pounded down.
Specifically he was like a nail that was enchanted to make you slip and somehow smash your own face if you dared hammer it.
Discord slowly stretched his body and stayed put in his bed. He enjoyed his room at Canterlot’s palace a lot more than the boring white room where he was simply waiting to die. In his private moments he had to admit that part of him wanted to leave his body behind and see what was waiting for him after his time in Equestria was done. He looked around the room and smiled to himself. Dark grey stone work made the walls with heavy tapestries draped from them to keep the room from being too grey. They were all pieces of Changeling history and were expertly restored by Rarity along with a Changeling who specialized in tailoring for durability rather than fashion.
He paused in his thoughts. He still had the wedding invite somewhere.
He turned his gaze to admire the fireplace across from his bed. The barren lands that the Changelings had endured in their exile had inspired a lot of clever inventions. The stack of logs he was burning had lasted eleven days now and the light level had only slightly suffered and the temperature remained sufficient. Unicorns had found a way to make them better but he preferred the original design. He kept a large cooking pot over his fire kept full of water to serve as a humidifier, using what the Unicorns had come up with would demand a more constant vigil on keeping it full.
Plus it served as a constant source of water for tea when he desired it or when one of his occasional guests came by.
Like back in the hospital he had one lone window with heavy curtains drawn; but it was different here. This was his sanctuary instead of a tomb. He wasn’t waiting for his body to give up anymore; he was just adjusting to his new life. He wasn’t on a constant feed to strange medicine he couldn’t pronounce anymore. Instead he was on a careful ration of something weaker; something that wasn’t making it painful for him to use what little magic he could still use or make him behave like a cretin with an occasional staring problem.
Also the new meds made him less depressed about his situation. Thoughts about why he did what he did or thoughts about the daughter he never had weren’t soul crushing anymore. He genuinely wanted to recover even though it was most likely that he would never be his old self again. He reached his claw towards the curtains and used his will to pull them open. The amount of light from Celestia’s sun suggested that it was around ten in the morning. He stretched again and slowly got up from his bed. He glanced at a section of his bed and took note of the cane that had occupied the spot.
He left it in its place and dared take some steps around the room. His old physical strength was returning gradually and he had high hopes about one day being able to feed the aggravating stick to the fire and not regret it hours later. He paused and weighed the option in his head as he slowly called it to his side using his frail power.
With a smirk he tossed it into the fireplace. He admitted that he was tempting fate but it was one of the few activities that he could enjoy in solitude. He watched it slowly change from a useful device into much less useful ashes. After the brief show he dared some more steps.
He was starting to enjoy himself when it sunk in just how much he missed what he used to be. He didn’t regret casting the spell but he would give a lot just for one day of mischief and chaos.
Or having the royal sisters wake up with their manes switched again. That would be nice right about now.
The mental image was broken by the sound of his door opening. He didn’t bother turning around to see who had abruptly showed up because only two individuals wanted to check up on him so badly that knocking felt unnecessary. Celestia was still trying to ask him for bits of evidently lost history about the Alicorns and Chrysalis had made a habit of it just to make sure that he was committed to a full recovery. He ventured a few more steps forward and flexed his magic a bit further. His head began to throb in a dull pain and a sense of vertigo had sunk in momentarily. He had spawned a light sitting area with large, simple yet cozy cushions and a low standing table. He glared at the sight and took note that cookies had failed to spawn. He cursed his new found limits under his breath and made himself comfortable and started to genuinely wonder who had come in. Normally he was pelted with questions about how he was doing by now. After seating himself he looked to see who had come into his simple home.
Princess Celestia’s silent gaze was a new thing for her. She simple glanced around the room until her eyes fell on a certain corner of his bed.
“You did it again didn’t you Discord.”
“And I’ll do it to the next one that gets sent here.” Discord muttered dryly. “As much as I’m enjoying your hospitality here as opposed to the hospital; I’ve grown tired of this period of intolerable weakness.”
“You still have a long way to go Discord” The Sun Monarch replied simply as she ventured further into his room. “And the more you overdue it the longer it will take for you to fully recover. Have you already forgotten the incident last week?”
Discord smiled. He hadn’t forgotten sneaking outside into the gardens. He hadn’t forgotten collapsing from fatigue. He hadn’t forgotten the episode he had where he realized that slowly rolling around in the grass was the most fun he had all day. She took his silence for an answer and sighed. She elected to join him in his sitting area before continuing.
“Last time you tried this all you got was a table. Your magic is getting stronger faster than your body is but you should still try not to push it. I know this is hard for you but”
“I’m not in the mood to be lectured Princess.” Discord interrupted as he reached out with his mind and opened the curtains further. “In truth I’m surprised that you’re not asking for one yourself. Is the lost chapter of Alicorn history no longer tempting?”
Celestia regarded Discord with what looked like a genuinely caring expression. He supposed that she had been wearing it for awhile now and that he just never bothered to notice.
“No. I understand that it’s a hard thing for you to talk about…I won’t be troubling you further. Actually I’ve come to share something.”
Celestia cast simple looking magic to teleport a tattered book bound by old leather. The spine was enforced with the bones of tiny animals and the outside cover looked like it was ready to fall off. Discord stared at it and realized that he had seen the journal before. The eldest living Alicorn continued speaking with a degree of sympathy in her voice.
“Recently Queen Chrysalis sold an antique map to a Pony explorer named Darring Do; who I then commissioned to decipher it and go where it led. She followed it to an abandoned Changling settlement and found this journal along with several other relics. This is a diary is written in four dead languages but written in the same style. It’s as if it was composed by a researcher who wanted whoever found it to have to waste years understanding it and dash hopes of having found a shortcut in their own quest for knowledge. I’m guessing that this belonged to you…it’s just the kind of thing that I’d expect the Lord of Chaos to write.”
The book was gently settled on the table and Discord regarded it with curiosity and longing. He looked at Celestia and smiled while fighting back a tear.
“You’re wrong Princess. This didn’t belong to me. It belonged to my student…the one who hated the Alicorns. This was written by a Unicorn named Starbreaker.”
Celestia started to realize the gravity of what was sitting in front of her and Discord continued.
“That…was the journal she started after we parted ways. After she made the first Changeling and began her quest to make more.”
Celestia was about to interrupt when Discord raised his paw.
“No. Starbreaker was never a Changeling. She discovered means to allow her to harness and use emotions in place of magical power as well as use it to sustain herself; but predicted that you first had to make your body compatible with the parasitic methods she was exploring. She decided to test the transformation spell before using it on herself.”
Celestia’s eyes widened as Discord went on.
“She captured an Alicorn noble and dragged it to our work area. She used the spell and the Alicorn turned into the creature we know as Changelings. At first she was glad to have done it. She prepared herself to use it on herself then paused when she took a moment to observe what she made. The creature was scared, angry, and started to panic when it realized what it had to do for food. We slowly realized that draining emotions wasn’t just an option for sustenance; it was the only option. We had created something similar to blood sucking monsters out of fantasy. Starbreaker had a change of heart.”
Celesita interrupted and Discord allowed it this time.
“She…turned them all into Changelings…”
“Almost. She turned a good sized group of them into Changelings. The Changelings grew hungry and the Alicorns were a preferred source of energy. The ones she turned started feeding off the Alicorns and keep in mind this was before they learned restraint when they fed. She went off to other Alicorn cities and started mass producing the creatures.
“Now the chaos that was felt by the Alicorn master race rippled through the lesser varieties of Ponies. They all abandoned that part of the world thinking that the Alicorns had just gone mad and turned on each other. Without the Alicorns ruling over them…well long story short eventually we get to the part that explains where Hearth’s Warming Eve comes from.
”Yes. My apprentice Starbreaker had basically set out to cause the near genocide of the Alicorns. You now know why Changelings are so gifted in flight and magic…you now have a clear picture as to why I felt responsible for the Changeling’s plight.”
Celestia remained silent. She wasn’t sure how to react. Discord said nothing else. If she wanted to know more then her star pupil could probably make sense of the old tome.
“Your student…turned most of my ancestors into Changelings…and the ones who didn’t turn were killed.”
Discord just nodded. Celestia stood up and fought to keep her voice steady.
“Thank you…for telling me…this journal will do a lot to fill the gap in history…about our common ancestry with the Changelings…if you’d permit me to take it with me when I leave.”
Discord nodded again. He didn’t want to read it to be honest. He started to map out plans for the day when Celestia proposed a question.
“If I may ask…why try to fix them now?”
Discord gave it some thought. It was a valid inquiry that he supposed did merit an answer since the rash decision did almost lead to Equestria’s destruction. He grinned the way he used to and gave Princess Celestia a simple answer.
“You really have to ask? It’s simple my dear Princess. The reason why I chose to make such a broad attempt to correct all this can be explained with one word.”
He leaned closer as if it was a secret for her ears alone. She clearly took it seriously and leaned in closer. Discord grasped some more of his power and adjusted the tone of his voice to add impact and drama to his next spoken words.
“Fluttershy. She saw a speck of good in me when everypony else refused to even look for it…well except maybe you since you put her up to it.”
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