//------------------------------// // Chapter 28: Discord // Story: Mother Celestia // by jl7895 //------------------------------// This has been the best month of my life. Octavia loved her ring and could not get over the fact that I actually proposed to her. She told anypony that would hear our story. It did take some convincing to make our friends change the story, but they agreed when they realized that Octavia didn’t want to talk about what really happened. Everypony was happy for us, but no more than our parents. Celestia even said that Octavia could call her “Mom”. Cadence freaked out when Octavia showed her the ring and Octavia did the same when Cadence told her the story. Almost immediately the girls started to plan our weddings. Of course, they wanted mine and Shining’s say, but they could have easily figured everything out themselves. What else made things perfect was Blueblood’s punishment, it’s been only thirty days and he’s already losing it. Guards were signing up and taking extra shifts just to stand outside his room. For the first time they were instructed to ignore Blueblood, and they couldn’t be happier. I’ve overheard some of them saying they enjoyed hearing him beg. Although I too should be enjoying his punishment, I had a job to do and so did they. Besides sitting in on negotiations with Foxtrot, there wasn’t really anything for me to do, which was perfect. After the gala, I started spending more time with Octavia. We would go out to dinners, dancing, theater shows, friends’ parties, and anything else we could think of. Neither of us minded, but Vinyl did. She swears that we keep her up at night, but she likes to exaggerate. Today, however, was a little bit different. Blueblood has been begging to be released early or anything else. His lawyer asked to meet with me to do something about his punishment. He spent most of the morning trying to convince me that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime, to which I reminded him that he had attacked and tried to rape somepony. In the end, she made no progress and changed nothing. “Knock knock,” Octavia said as she entered my office. “Octy, what are you doing here?” “I thought we could go out to lunch.” I looked over at the clock and saw that it was 11:55. Had I really been talking to Blueblood’s lawyer all day? “Plus, Cadence and I were talking about our weddings.” “Where were you thinking of going?” “I was thinking the restaurant we went to for my parent’s anniversary.” “Alright, let’s go.” I got up and put my arm around Octavia. “Captain Golden Shield,” Princess Celestia said as she entered the office, “Oh, hello Octavia.” “Hi, Mom.” Octavia said with a smile. “Captain, I need you to protect Princess Cadence. I’ve told her to wait in her room until I have personally told her it was okay to come out. You should go there too, Octavia.” “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Take Octavia to Cadence’s room and stay there. It is not only your duty, but also an order. Now go.” Celestia had a look of worry on her face that I’ve never seen before. If it was just a robber or something, then she would have sent anypony else. I followed her orders and walked Octavia to Candace’s room. There were guards running around, trying to get staff and guests into their rooms or the closest one. The same was going on outside. Shining and his men were escorting ponies into their homes or shops. We eventually made it to Cadence room and found her and some other staff members in, looking either confused or worried. “Golden!” Cadence said as she hugged me. “What’s going on? Why did Auntie Celestia tell me to wait here?” “I don’t know, but I have to find her.” “You can’t,” Octavia said. “Princess Celestia ordered you to stay here. If you don’t listen to her, then you could get fired.” “My orders were to protect Princess Cadence. I’ll put a spell on this room which makes it impossible to enter without Cadence’s permission. I have to make sure that Celestia and Luna are safe too. It’s my job.” “But what if whatever is worrying Celestia finds its way here and is more powerful than your spell? We need somepony to defend us.” “If I don’t go out there then all of Equestria could lose everything. If this thing has Celestia worried, then many ponies lives may be at risk.” “I would rather have us die together than have you sacrifice yourself. Please Golden, I need you. Please stay here, I love you.” “I love you too, but I have to find Celestia. It’s my job.” “Alright, but I’m coming with you.” “No. It could be dangerous. Celestia is obviously afraid of something out there. I’ve never seen her like this. You need to stay here where it’s safe.” “Golden, haven’t you learned by now? It’s pretty hard to change my mind once it’s set.” “You are so stubborn. Why am I even marrying you?” “Because you love that about me,” Octavia said with a smile and then giving me a kiss on the cheek. “God help me, I do. Alright, but I need you to listen to everything I say. We don’t know what’s out there and you still are a civilian.” “Yes sir.” “Cadence, I’m going to seal this room and you’re the only one that can let anypony in. I’m going to send guards your way and only let them in if they say this word.” I leaned in close to Cadence and told her a code word that we used all the time as foals. “Got it. Stay safe you two.” Octavia and I walked out of the room and I sealed the door. We started to walk to the throne room because we thought that’s where she would be. Octavia started to speculate on what was going on. She thought of changeling invasion, griffon attack, a hydra stomping around. I wasn’t really sure what it could have been, but something felt off. It was almost as if there was a sense of chaos where there should be peace. We reached the throne room and it was empty. I tried opening the door that lead to Celestia and Luna’s chambers, but the door was magically locked. Looks like Luna beat me to it. “Golden, what was on that stand out there?” I turned to see Octavia staring out a window that faced the statue garden and maze. I walked over to her and saw what she was talking about. That ugly statue was gone. “A draconequus statue representing chaos.” “Do you think somepony stole it?” “Unless they were using magic, I doubt it. Besides, it’s ugly and not even worth anything. It’s just a piece of stone.” “Come now, Prince Golden,” a voice in the sky said, “I’m not that ugly. But, maybe a little lipstick wouldn’t hurt.” “What was that?” Octavia asked as she got behind me. “Don’t act like you don’t know me, Miss. Melody.” Suddenly the draconequus appeared in front of us. “I must say, you are a fantastic cello player. Probably the best I’ve heard in years.” With a snap of his fingers, he turned into a cello and played himself, which sounded like a dying cat. “I could use some practice. And I must applaud you too, Prince. That spell you put on that room back there is stronger than I thought.” “Are you trying to get on our good side?” I asked. “I’m just trying to show you that ugly things have feelings too. Now, shouldn’t you be cowering in fear over in Princess Cadence’s room like your mommy said?” “Look, I don’t know what you are, but we have something we need to get back to and something’s telling me you’re have something to do with it.” “Haven’t you ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?” He snapped his fingers and changed the room a bit to resemble a courtroom. He was even able to change me into a bailiff outfit and himself into judge’s robes. “Now what can I do for you? But, where are my manners? I haven’t even introduced myself and I’m already changing your outfit. Discord at your service.” “He’s willing to help, Golden.” “Fine. We’re looking for Princess Celestia. Do you have any idea where she is?” “Of course. She’s in the library.” He snapped his fingers again and he undid everything, squeezed in between us and put an arm around each of us. “However, because we’re such good friends, I must warn you. It might be better to stay in the dark.” He snapped his fingers one last time and everything went dark. When the light came back, he was gone. There wasn’t even a trace of him. “That was…weird. How did he do all of that?” “He’s a draconequus. They have impossible, unimaginable powers. Let’s go, we need to find Celestia ASAP.” We started to walk to the library, but it seemed longer than I remembered. Octavia seemed worried as we walked. Every time we passed a window, things got stranger. The sky turned green, the grass was blue, pink clouds covered the sky, it even rained chocolate. We eventually reached the library. We opened the old doors, which would normally make a creaking sound. Celestia was looking through books and immediately tossing them aside. “Where are they?” She said to herself. Octavia and I were about to approach her, but then we heard a laugh and decided to hide. “Not now, Discord.” “Why not Tia? I thought you would be happy that I was back,” Discord said as he appeared next to her. “I told you I never wanted to see you again.” “You were lying to yourself and we both know it. Do you still feel it, Tia? That spark.” “That spark is dead and you know it is. I told you that I would never forgive you for what you did.” “That was over a thousand years ago. Are you really still mad? It was one colt and he turned out okay. Come back to me, Tia, and we could rule the world together. I still love you. I’ve already met your son and he seems to like me.” “What? When did you meet him? Never mind. Just tell me where they are.” “I told you, they are somewhere you have been, but never think about. Now, if you excuse me, there is chaos to be done.” Discord suddenly kissed Celestia and left. Celestia recoiled as quickly as she could, but he already got what he wanted. “Mom?” I said as Octavia and I came out of hiding. “Golden? I told you to protect Princess Cadence.” “She’s safe and so is Luna. That leaves you. I have to protect from any dangers.” “How much of that did you see?” “All of it. What was that about?” “I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest, Golden.” “What are you talking about?” “I’ll tell you later. Right now, I need to find someplace I’ve been, but never thought about.” “Is there any part of the castle where you haven’t been in a while?” Octavia asked. “The only place I can think of is Golden’s room.” “Why would they be there?” I asked. “Because I wanted to keep it exactly the same. No pony has even touched the door since you moved out. It reminded me of all the good times we had while you were growing up. I didn’t want anything to change.” “They have to be there. Let’s go and please tell me what happened while we walk.” “I guess I we have time,” Celestia said as we started walking. She sighed and started to think of how she was going to tell the story. “I met Discord a few weeks before my 17th birthday. He was so sweet and caring. He didn’t even use his powers because he thought that he didn’t need to. On my birthday, he confessed that he loved me and I felt something towards him. We even kissed. I started dating him in secret because I knew my mother wouldn’t approve. “Unfortunately, my parents invited the suitors a few weeks later and put up a barrier to make sure there was no outside interference and that’s how I met him, the farmer. I wasn’t lying about who he was. He was an onion farmer and the only pony there wasn’t famous or held some sort of clout. The only reason he was there was because my parents couldn’t find a 10th pony. We started spending more and more time together and I realized that I loved him. When it came time to choose, I didn’t hesitate and picked him. Of course my parents didn’t approve at first, but they did once they got to know him “Everything was perfect, I just had to break the news to Discord. I told him that I found somepony else and we couldn’t be anything more than friends. He got so angry that he promised that he would get me back. He first used his powers to severely hurt the farmer, but that wasn’t enough for Discord. He made his family’s land infertile and forced them to move away. Finally, he stopped all letters I sent him and stopped him from returning. I never forgave him and told him that I never wanted to see him again.” “I’m so sorry, mom.” Octavia said. “Thank you, Octavia, but I did get a final word with the farmer.” “Why would you lie to me?” I asked her. “I wouldn’t have thought anything less of you.” “Because I wanted to put that whole thing behind me. I didn’t want you to even know about Discord. Until today he was just ‘that ugly statue that we should smash’ to you. I’m so sorry, Golden.” “It’s fine. We just need to find…what are we looking for anyway?” “Twilight’s letters. I believe that he is going to try and corrupt Twilight and her friends and the only way to undo his magic is to remind them of who they are. I can’t do anything about her friends, but I can save her who will, in turn, save her friends.” We reached my room shortly afterwards. Celestia was right, my room hasn’t been touched since I left. The bed was still neatly made, there were posters from my favorite bands and movies, there was even my old clothes still in the drawers. On the bed was the stack of letters in a neat pyramid. Celestia grabbed the one on top and saw that they were Twilight’s letters. There was one that seemed off, which I grabbed. “What does that one say?” Octavia asked. “It isn’t one of Twilight’s letters.” I quickly scanned it and then read it out loud. Dear Princess Celestia My name is Solar Flutter and I live in Applewood. I heard that you found a unicorn with a golden coat, bronze mane, and silver eyes. I believe this is my son. Our family went vacationing in Ponyville and my son woke up one night and his father and I believe he went exploring. We told him before not to leave, but he loves to explore. His father and I searched all over the Everfree Forest, but we could not find him. When we got back to the town, the ponies said that you found our son. We didn’t have enough money to travel to Canterlot, so I immediately wrote this letter to you. Please, give us the resources to travel to Canterlot or come here. I miss my baby. A loving mother, Solar Flutter. “What is this?” I asked after reading the letter. “I am so sorry, Golden.” “What is this?” “It’s a letter I got a few days after I found you. You had already grown on me and I couldn’t let you go just yet.” “My real mom contacted you? And you didn’t tell me?” “I’m sorry, I should have told and taken you to her as soon as I got the letter. I thought that if she really did care about you then she would have sent another letter or found a way to come to Canterlot, but she didn’t.” “I can’t believe this. I could have been raised by my mother?” “Look, Golden-” “I don’t want to hear your reasoning. I just…just…I don’t even know what I want. Go send the letters to Twilight and leave me alone.” “Okay…” Celestia used her magic to take the letters out of my room. I sat down on my bed to reread the letter. That last line is what got to me. I miss my baby. How could she do this? Celestia didn’t adopt me, she kidnapped me. She knew that my real mom was out there and did nothing about it. Not only that, but she told me that she was looking for her. That’s what really hurt. She raised and I had no choice, but to trust her. She lied to me and not just about that. What else did she lie about? Did my real mom come to Canterlot to look for and Celestia had her guards? I am a guard because it’s what she wanted me to do? I continued to reread the letter and Octavia sat next to me. She would rub my back or hug me or kiss my cheek. We sat there in silence, neither of us wanted to say anything. “Are you going to be okay?” Octavia asked after a while. “I don’t know. My ‘mom’ lied to me my entire life and kept me away from what could have been my real mom. Celestia decided my life and I don’t know how I feel about that.” “Look at it this way, if she didn’t, then we would have never met.” “Of course we would have. I don’t know how, but we would have met. I would have swept you off your feet, and we would be getting married. The only difference would be we wouldn’t be engaged yet.” “Is there a problem with that? I love the pony that Celestia raised and so do your friends. She also gave you everything you wanted, but also taught you the value of everything. Who knows, your real mom could have raised you to turn out to be Blueblood.” “I know, but I would have at least liked to know she was out there and looking for me.” “It would have been nice. Are you mad at her?” I didn’t know how to respond, but I knew the answer. “Thank you, Octavia,” I said as I stood up, taking the letter with me. “Where are you going?” “I need to talk to Celestia. Please don’t follow me. It’s a little personal. I promise that I will come back right after we’re done.” “Okay, I love you.” “I love you too.” I walked to the throne room, again guessing that she would be there. This time, however, she was in there sending the last note back to Twilight. She turned around when she heard the door open and rushed over to hug me, but I stopped her. “I am so sorry, Golden. I should have told you the second I got the letter. The reason I didn’t is because I felt, somewhere deep inside of me, that this mare wasn’t your mother. If she sent another letter or even made an attempt to come to Canterlot, then I would have sent you to her.” “You lied to me for most of my life. You kept me away from somepony who gave me life and probably changed my destiny. And for what? So you could be a mother to a foal? Well you know what?” I held the letter out in front of me and tore it in two. “What? Why would you do that?” “Because you’re my mom. You’re the one that raised me into the stallion I am today. It’s the stallion everypony loves. If this mare really did give birth to me than she would have done everything she could to find me. While she was sitting around Applewood, you were making sure that I turned out okay. That’s what makes a mother, not just giving birth. You cared for me no matter what I did or who I was. You went out of your way to help a strange boy lost in the forest and stayed with him for fourteen years. I could never thank you enough for everything you did.” Celestia hugged and promised to never lie to me again, no matter how small. Celestia told me to wait with Octavia and Twilight will turn Discord back to stone. I went back to my room, like I promised. We started to talk about our wedding, but Octavia couldn’t help herself. “So you really don’t want you meet her?” Octavia asked. “Maybe, but I have to focus on Canterlot and us. Maybe after we get married, but not now.” “Are you sure? Because The Trotney Company invited me back to Applewood. The concert is in a few weeks and you know you have to go. I thought since we were going to be there anyway, we could find her.” “I don’t know if I’m ready. If this is my real mom, then this is the mare that abandoned me. What would I even say to her?” “Well, at least get some closure.” We went back to talking about our wedding. Things outside went back to normal in a flash of light. We continued to talk through most of the day, making it the first day I got no work done. Cadence eventually found us and the girls started to plan their weddings together, specifically setting a date. I don’t know how she did it, but Octavia got Cadence to let us have ours first. The sun set soon after the girls decided on dates, and Octavia and I walked home. If you didn’t know any better, you would say that nothing happened today. All the trees and buildings there were floating were put back on the ground, the lamp posts were made of metal instead of liquorice, the clouds were white, and, most importantly, there was a sense of peace. Everything was fine and everypony was walking around. The next day, Princess Celestia held a ceremony to honor of Twilight and her friends. According to Twilight, Discord had turned her friends into, and I’m using her words here, “corrupted versions of themselves”. She had to remind them of who they were before they could turn Discord back into stone. After the ceremony and when all the ponies cleared out, I decided to make my rounds of the castle. I really used it as an excuse to look at Discord’s new pose. “I liked him better when he was laughing,” I said to myself. “I don’t understand why we don’t smash it,” Foxtrot said as she came up behind me. “While I’m not completely opposed to it, there still is something living in inside of it.” “Yeah, something that turned Equestria into his own plaything. It’s my job to make sure nothing takes over this place. I want to make sure he never comes back.” “The only reason he came back in the first place is because Celestia and Luna lost their connection to the elements. Now that Twilight and her friends are connected to them, I doubt he’ll be back.” “But what if he does?” “Then we’ll be ready for him.” “Fine, but if I even think he’ll be back, then I’m taking a sledgehammer to it. So, you and the cello player are doing fine?” “Married in a few months. I can remember the first time we met.” “That’s cute. You know, I hope I can meet some stallion like you one day. Somepony who isn’t intimidated by my position and can keep up with me.” “You’ll find somepony someday. You’re still young.” “Don’t make yourself sound like you’re an old fart. You’re only 25.” “We should probably get back to work.” “What work? All I’ve been doing is listening to Blueblood scream about being by himself. It’s music to my ears.” “Well, I’ve got meetings and then I might try and then I have to deal with some punks Shining brought in.” The next few weeks were uneventful. I told Celestia about meeting my possible real mom and she said it was the right thing to do. The train ride there was more or less the same. Octavia wore the dress she was going to wear for her concert, played me a private concert, we talked a little bit. The only difference is that she did a little planning and we went to the sleeping area to… anyway. They gave us the same room, but there were a few more pictures of celebrities who stayed in the room. What really surprised us was the picture of Octavia and pen next to it. This was her shining moment. Octavia had become a celebrity. The Trotney Company wanted us to enjoy ourselves this time, so they gave us tickets to their theme park. While it was fun, watching the shows, riding the rides, and ending the night with fireworks, there were also a good amount of ponies asking of Octavia’s autograph. She didn’t mind. Octavia was never one to disappoint. There was one thing that made me a little upset. Pony magazine had apparently heard that Octavia was in Applewood and wanted to name her the “Sexiest Mare Alive”. They wanted to do a photoshoot where she would do some provocative poses. I didn’t like the idea of making her a sex symbol, teenage colts whacking it to the pictures, or stallions hooting at her on the streets. They told me that they wanted me to do some clean shots with her and confirmed that they were going to write that she was engaged in the article that accompanied the pictures. It helped a little. As for the actual concert. Once again, Octavia blew everypony away. I know I say this every time and I believe myself every time, but there was no way that she could top herself this time. In each note, you could hear the passion and love for her craft. Then came the slow song. It was probably the most beautiful thing that she has ever done. I looked at some of the members of the audience. Octavia had moved them to tears. I then looked back at her, I don’t know if it was the music or the way the light hit her, but I had never loved her more than right now. The next day was the moment of truth. We got the address form the torn letter and got a taxi to get us there. I wasn’t sure what to expect or what was going to happen, but I had to do it. “Are you ready?” Octavia asked me “No, but it’s something I need to do. This could be my real mom.” “Whatever happens, I’m here for you.” I slowly raised my hand to knock on the door. When I did, a mare almost immediately opened it, almost as if she was expecting us. “Can I help you?” She asked. She was a pale blue pegasus with a light yellow mane that reminded me of a sunny day. “Solar Flutter?” I asked “Yes. Do I know you?” “Do you remember writing a letter to Princess Celestia over 20 years ago?” I asked. “Yes. Oh my god.” “I think you are my real mom. Princess Celestia was waiting for another letter but it never came.” “I am so sorry, but I found my son. A nice zebra found him wandering the Everfree Forest and took care of him and then brought him back to me. I’m sorry, but I’m not your mother.” “Oh,” I said disappointed. “Look, you came all this way and I’m so sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for. Why don’t you two come in and I’ll make you some tea.” “That sounds lovely, Miss. Flutter,” Octavia said with a smile “I know how you feel,” Solar Flutter said as we entered her lovely home. She walked to the kitchen to boil some water. “I was adopted too. When my parents told me who my real parents were, the only thing I wanted was to meet them. When I did, I found out it they gave me up because they were too young to handle a little filly. I still talk to them and they are a lovely couple. I’m sure you’ll find your real parents one day, but for now appreciate what you have.” “That won’t be a problem ma’am,” I said as I looked over at Octavia and smiled. We continued to talk for a little while longer before Octavia and I went to dinner. Octavia said she had a surprise for me, so she blindfolded me and took me somewhere. When it came off, we were standing in front of the Applewood sign where she had set up a picnic. “Our first date,” I said with a smile. “I thought it was appropriate. I know you didn’t get what you wanted today, but that shouldn’t ruin our trip. The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad thing things don’t make always spoil the good things and make them unimportant. And you know what, Golden? You definitely soften my bad things.” “And you make up most of my good things.” “Shall we?” “Applewood!” I shouted to the living city, “My name is Golden Shield and I love Octavia Melody!” “And I’m Octavia Melody and I love Golden Shield.”