Part 20
Aftermath
Chaos figuratively erupted in Discord and Fluttershy’s home, after the explosive events of the last few moments. More than one pony had something to say as Discord reluctantly paused his viewer yet again. But even as Discord turned to address them, Rainbow Dash overrode them all, as she literally flew across the room to confront the chaos lord.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! That was so AWESOME! The way you broke free all ‘smash’, and then when you punched Sombra! You like blew out the whole wall! I never thought I’d ever say this but, you were so COOL!” she said gazing up at Discord with stars in her eyes.
“Well, um, thank you Rainbow Dash.” Discord says uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his head. “To tell you the truth it’s all really a blur to me, even seeing it all happen again, it almost seems like it was some pony else.”
“Well whoever it was, they were AWESOME!” Rainbow reiterates.
“I must admit,” Twilight adds, “it was really impressive, you defeated both Chrysalis, and Sombra at the same time, almost effortlessly.”
“Not to mention creating both of them in the first place.” Celestia interjects, as she, Luna and Cadence approach the chaos lord. “My mother never said a word to me about this. About you dating that pony, and who she and her brother were. It explains so much, Why Sombra wanted to be a ruler so badly, why Chrysalis likes to feed on love. But why did mom never tell us of them? Warn us they might be out there?”
“She never knew.” Discord confesses.
“Never knew?” Celestia says incredulously.
“I never told her about them.” Discord admits. “I thought I had defeated them for good. And it was such a personal, private pain. Let me show you what happened.” And Discord hits play...
“Cordial, Cordial! Are you alright? What happened here?” Harmony says kneeling beside her brother, her face filled with concern.
“Sister?” Cordial responds weakly.
“What is it? What happened here? That explosion rocked the entire castle. Are you all right?” She asks again.
“I’m... I’m fine sister. There was... an accident in the lab. I made a mistake. Yes... a very large mistake. But it’s all taken care of, everything can go back to the way it was.” Cordial rises to his feet and looks around at the remains of his laboratory.
Thankfully the village of Breezies was undamaged, situated as it was behind where Cordial was standing. Cordial examined the remains of the iron shutters that used to cover the skylight, that had crashed to the floor. He remembered opening them and taking Snowblossom on her first flight. Cordial motions with his claw, and they vanish. He looks up at the gaping hole in the ceiling and the shattered remains of the skylight itself, drawing comparisons between it, and the state of his heart. Once again he motions with his claw and wipes it all away. Another gesture and the remaining ceiling blocks reform and multiply until the ceiling is whole once more, only minus a skylight. Instead, he gestures at the hole in the wall and now a large wrought iron double door, paned with glass now fills the opening.
“You see sister, all better. It even gave me an excuse to do a little remodeling.” Cordial says, with a somewhat sad expression.
“Brother, I don’t care about the ceiling, I don’t care about the wall, what I care about is you!” Harmony says sternly. “If your going to do these ‘experiments’, you need to take better precautions! I don’t want to lose you again!”
“Again, dear sister?” Cordial says, once again looking at his reflection in the puddle at his feet. “I wonder if you ever got me back in the first place.”
“What? What’s that supposed to mean? Where is this coming from? Of course I got you back!”
“Did you sister? Are you sure?” Cordial says tiredly.
“What do you mean?” Harmony asks confused.
“Am I really Cordial?” he asks. “I have Cordials memories, his feelings, his... loves. But what am I? How much of me... him, is in this body?”
“What are you saying? Everything that is important is in there. Who you are, your essence. Zacherle herself said you were coming back.” Harmony insists.
Cordial’s head rises with a start. “Zacherle said that? Those were her words?” He asks insistently.
Harmony hesitates as she remembers what else Zacherle said. And Cordial cannot help but notice that hesitation.
“Never mind,” he says. “I think I am Cordial, so I suppose if I am any pony, then that’s who I am.”
Cordial says, shaking his mane. “But maybe this is who Cordial is, who he always was. Maybe now the outside mirrors the inside better.” He says bitterly.
“Brother, the accident, the explosion, it has addled your wits. You aren’t making any sense.” Harmony says as she guides her brother to one of the few undamaged chairs in the room, and has him sit.
One of the guards quickly finds her another, and after she thanks him she dismisses them all from the tower.
“Please tell me brother, what has you so distraught?”
Cordial pauses for a long moment, as he decides how much of what has occurred he wishes to reveal to his sister. Finally he begins.
“I’ve been a fool.” Cordial states. “All this time, ever since my return, I’ve been a selfish, spoiled fool.”
“I don’t understand.” Harmony replies.
“All this time, while I was conducting my foolish experiments, and chasing...” he pauses, thinking about Snowblossom, “and chasing after impossible dreams, you were sitting on your throne, constantly trying to clean up after MY mistakes.”
“Brother, you have only been back a short time, You needed time to rest, and recover. I had no intention of burdening you with the kingdoms problems so soon.” Harmony says soothingly.
“Truly sister? Is that the real reason? Or perhaps you feared, and rightfully so I might add, that your brother would only make matters worse than he already has.” Cordial says piercing her with his gaze. Whatever Cordial was looking for in his sisters eyes, he seemed to have found it, because before she can reply, he says, “I thought so. I can see it. Just like every pony else. You fear me. You think I’m a monster... just like the rest of them.”
“What? Cordial, don’t be ridiculous. You are my brother, I don’t think you are a monster. What pony that takes the time to know you would ever say that?” she asks chidingly.
“Snowblossom.” Cordial says almost as a whisper.
Harmony is silent for a long moment. “She... rejected you?” she asks tentatively.
“Oh yes. You could say that... in a most definite manner.” Cordial replies, hes eyes downcast.
“And it was her, that called you a monster?” Harmony inquires.
“Among the other things she had to say, yes. Let’s just say she made it very clear that our relationship had always been one sided.” Cordial says bitterly.
“She was... she was using you? My own brother?!?” Where is that tart? That harlot? The castle dungeons haven’t been used in decades, but they are about to have a permanent resident! She’ll be growing mushrooms in her mane before she ever sees the light of day again!” Harmony says pacing back and forth, preparing to summon the guards back into the room.
“Calm down sister.” Cordial says, finally showing a small smile. “She’s gone. I ‘dismissed’ her. She departed for parts unknown a short time ago. But I must say sister dear, after hearing you just now, I almost wish I had let you have a crack at her.”
“I can but wish that you had my brother!” Harmony declares. “That hussy, that trollop, how dare she toy with the affections of my sweet innocent brother!”
“Hey now, I’m not THAT innocent.” Cordial interjects, but is overridden as Harmony is off on a rant.
“To think that she was right there, under my muzzle, scheming to seduce you.” She says. “Taking advantage of your lack of experience.”
“Hey, wait a minute, what lack of...” Cordial tries to say.
“Knowing that you knew nothing about the wiles of...” Harmony begins, but finally Cordial gets through.
“I APPPRIECIATE you efforts on my behalf sister.” Cordial all but shouts. “But it’s over. She’s gone. If we can, I’d just like to forget about her.”
“Oh, of course my brother. I’m sorry for becoming so emotional.” Harmony says calming down.
“You have nothing to feel sorry about.” Cordial replies warmly. “It means a great deal to know that you care.”
“Of course I care. You are my brother. Now, no more of this ‘monster’ talk. If you feel like you want to become more involved with managing the kingdom, then that’s fine with me. Right now I could use all the help I can get.” Harmony says smiling at her brother.
“Thank you sister. Your trust means so me much to me right now. More than you can know. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll see what I can do to repay that trust.”
“Very well my brother, until the morn. Right now I think that we could both use as much sleep as we can get.” Harmony says, as she rises and makes her way to the still fallen door. “Oh Cordial, you might want to take care of this before bed as well. You wouldn’t want any pony wandering in here,” she adds.
“Zacherle must be made of iron,” Cordial mutters aloud. Thinking how this was where he came in, both literally and figuratively.
“What does that mean my brother?” Harmony asks from the doorway.
“Hmm, oh nothing sister, just thinking out loud,” Cordial says. “It’s just that, if a pony that commits a felony is a felon, then it stands to reason that our Goddess must be made out of iron.”
“I’m not sure I follow,” Harmony says, trying to work it out.
“Never mind sister dear, it isn’t important.” Cordial says as he repairs the door.
“Because of all the irony?” Twilight Sparkle asks.
“Bingo” Discord replies.
“I really doubt it’s ALL divine intervention,” Twilight says dryly. “I think it’s inherit in the system.”
“But didn’t her and Muenchinger invent the system?” Applejack asks.
“Ironic isn’t it?”Discord replies deadpan, as several ponies facehoof.
The next morning at breakfast, Harmony had noticed a subtle change in her brother. Both a gain and a lack. A lack of self pity and worry, and a gain of, for lack of a better word, purpose.
“Tell me sister,” Cordial said, as he buttered a piece of toast, and then liberally applied some apple preserves, “would it be possible at all to go into Zacherle’s home? I believe she has something still inside that would be of great use to me.”
Harmony nearly drops her teacup in alarm, and she cannot mask the brief look of shock that passes her face as she sets the cup back onto its saucer with a clatter. “B-brother, what do you mean. Zacherle’s home has been sealed by the goddess herself, even if we were able to breach that seal, it would be to do so against her express wishes. What do you think is inside that would make you consider doing so?”
She asks, dreading that Cordial had somehow found out about the crystal heart.
“Zacherle had a viewing globe. The one I used to go to the island of chaos. Even if it no longer functions without her presence, I had hoped to study it, so that I might attempt to recreate it.” Cordial says, attributing Harmony’s distress to the idea of breaking into their goddess’s home. “But if it is as you say, her divine will that we do not enter, I’ll say no more about it. It’s a pity they left before my return, there was much I wanted to ask them.”
“Yes, it was a very sudden thing.” Harmony says regaining her composure. “But I do have faith in the fact that someday the will return, that they must return. Until then, we must do the best we can to care for their world for them.”
“And repairing the mistakes we made,” Cordial adds as he munches his toast. “I suppose I’ll have to try and reinvent the viewing globe myself. I can visualize how it looks well enough, but I don’t understand the magic that allows you to see somewhere you’ve never seen before. I mean if you had been to a place, or even seen it from a distance, it would work just like our teleporting magic.”
“Well, it may be the same then. After all she and Muenchinger created this world, of course they would have seen it in it’s entirety. But why the sudden interest in her viewer?” Harmony asks, as she plates a large helping of hash-browns.
“If I had one,” Cordial says, plating the rest, “then I could view all of Equestria, see where all the worst of the damage I caused was, and try to help repair it. I could remove the chaotic ash, and get food to areas that need it for the winter. Relying on reports, even from the fastest flyers we have still takes time. Time we could better spend trying to help others.”
Harmony smiles warmly at her brother, the effect slightly spoiled by a smudge of jam on the edge of her muzzle. “You have a noble and true heart Cordial,” she says, using his actual name, something rarely done between the siblings.
“And you have jam on your muzzle,” Cordial says with a wry smile, as she quickly wipes it away. “I need to figure out that viewer, it would makes things so much easier. I have all this power, just like Zacherle, but not her knowledge. If only I had her perspective. If only-” Cordial suddenly pauses.
“Wait a minute sister!” he says excitedly, rising from his chair.
“What is it? What did you come up with? She asks, setting down her toast.
“Perspective.” Cordial says as he takes a long pull of orange juice, preparing to leave. “It’s all about perspective. Wait her my sister, I will be right back, I just need to make a quick flight.” And without looking back Cordial flies out the window.
“Brother,” Harmony says as she watches him fly off, “one thing hasn’t changed, your still as impulsive as ever.” She looks again until he is out of sight, then reaches over and grabbing Cordial’s plate, dumps the remaining hash-browns onto hers.”We’ll if HE isn’t going to eat them,” she reasons, and she starts to dig in.
Cordial, having left the castle, had begun flying straight up. “It’s so simple,” he says to himself, “why didn’t I think of it before.” He rises higher and higher, far above the cloud line. “Didn’t think about clouds, but then again in the big picture, it shouldn’t be an issue,” he mutters as he snaps his claw, and conjures warm winter cloths and goggles to protect himself from the growing cold. Higher and higher he flies, as fast as he is able. He begins to rasp, as he notices the air is becoming thinner and thinner. “Wow,” he thinks to himself, “I’m flying higher than air.” Another snap of his claw and a globe of fresh air surrounds his head. Periodically he has to replace it, but his goal is now within his grasp. Finally, he stops feeling the pull of Equestria’s gravity. He turns slowly and faces the planet. “Amazing,” he thinks to himself. “I am the first being, aside from the god’s themselves, to see this.” Before his eyes, the entirety of the planet spins before him.
Twilight and the others, even Celestia, gaze in wonder at their own world spinning before them.
“How are you alive?” Twilight asks. “Aside from the air problem, you should have frozen to death.”
Discord looks at Twilight and smiles fondly, “Only Twilight Sparkle could look upon the majesty of her entire world, and immediately begin to ask mundane questions. You ponies are all seeing something only the gods themselves have ever seen...”
“Ahem,” Luna interrupts. “We have seen it, before,” she says in her royal voice, “for more years than we care to remember.” Celestia has the grace to look embarrassed. “Oh, and sister, that little ‘air’ problem that our Uncle noticed? The next time you decide to send some pony to the moon, you may want to take that into consideration, as well as the cold, the lack of food and reading material, and for the love of Zacherle, toilet paper!”Luna finishes, clearly lost in memories she would rather not recall.
“You know, I have always been curious,” Discord begins, “but how did you-”
“DON’T ASK!” Luna replies with finality. “Let’s just say that before any pony else goes for a visit, that my sister will have to send up the maid. I was there for a thousand years... think about it.”
“Annnny way,” Discord says, looking back to the viewer, and his younger self. “To answer your question Twilight, I was using the ‘shield of ignorance’.”
“What’s that?” Twilight asks honestly confused.
“It’s just an expression. It means that I just didn’t know any better at the time. Later on I found out that my body is now far more durable than it was before, but at the time I just took it for granted that any pony could just fly up there. The ‘air’ thing gave my my first clue that it wasn’t as easy as all that. But I just kept going.”
“And why did you?” Twilight asks again.
“Oh I know!” Rainbow Dash interjects. “You remember Twi, that time you taught me all that stuff about history by having me fly over it? It’s the same thing here. Even if you can’t make out the details of what you are seeing when you fly really high, part of your brain just sorta remembers them. It keeps you from getting lost. You fly over the same patch of land and it’s like ‘oh, Fluttershy lives that way, about an hour’, or ‘Canterlot is that way, about a day and a half’.”
“Exactly!” Discord says smiling at Rainbow. He snaps his claw and a gold star appears on her forehead.
She happily flies back to her seat, not noticing Twilight crossing her front hooves and muttering, “well, I still have more than you.” to herself.
“Rainbow Dash had it exactly right,” Discord says, emphasizing the point while not quite addressing Twilight directly. “With alicorn’s it was the same way. I just hung there and let the entire planet make a few laps beneath me until I got a ‘feel’ for the place so to speak. Then I returned home to face a true tragedy.”
“What was it?” Fluttershy asked with concern.
“Harmony ate all of his hash-browns.” Twilight replies deadpan.
“Exactly! That little piggy-corn! She was ALWAYS doing stuff like that.” Discord rants.
“Um, don’t I get a gold star?” Twilight asks.
“Twilight.” Discord says chidingly, “for hash-browns?”
“Point taken,” she replies.
Cordial returns to the palace, vanishing his winter clothes as he flies back into the breakfast nook. “Sorry I took so long sister I-” he stops in mid sentence as he notices his empty plate. “Did you... did you eat my hash-browns?” he asks.
“What? don’t be ridiculous, you must’ve finished them before you left and forgot. I’ll ring the kitchen and have them bring some more. You must still be hungry from your trip.” Harmony says, not meeting his gaze.
“I suppose...” Cordial says slowly. “Anyway, let’s see if my labors have borne fruit.” Cordial concentrates for several seconds and then snaps his claw. An exact replica of a viewing orb now rests upon a pedestal before them.
“Well done brother!” Harmony says in admiration. “But why is the crystal red? I’m sure Zacherle’s was blue.”
“You know, I honestly have no idea. Let’s see if it works.” And with that Discord passes his claw before it, and a view of his tower laboratory comes into view. Another pass and Sorraia appears before them. “So far so good, now for the real test,” he says passing his claw across it yet again. Suddenly a vast desert appears on the viewer. As Cordial pans the view several tents come into focus in the distance. He zooms in on these and several ponies can be seen, the females all wearing veils. “Success! Cordial exclaims. This I believe, is the land the locals call Saddle Arabia.” Cordial makes several more passes of his claw, focusing on dense jungles, arctic regions, and vast forests.
“This is amazing brother!” Harmony exclaims. Could you make one just for me? Say a bit smaller that I could keep in my quarters?” She asks.
“Well, I don’t see why not.” And Cordial snaps his claw again and a smaller version with a white crystal this time appears on a delicate iron tripod, the bottom of which is wheeled making it easier to move. “The only thing sister, is that this is powered by, and responds to, my chaos magic. I’ll need to make something that will allow you to control it remotely.” Cordial spends a few moments snapping his claws as design after design spring into being. Finally he settles for one that looks remarkably like the one in Discord’s sitting room. “Yes, I like this one. Little buttons to control the pan and zoom. Yes, this will do just fine. Try it sister.” he says tossing her the remote.
Harmony looks at it, turning it about in her hoof. She hits the power button. “Now what do I do?” she asks her brother.
“Just speak the name of a person, place, or thing, you wish to see. I have added a pickup for your voice.”
“Hmm,” Harmony says, thinking for a moment. “Servants quarters, public room,” she says. Suddenly an image comes into focus on her viewer. Several ponies in servants clothing are sitting around a large table playing cards. One of the maids is speaking but no sound is being heard.
“Volume control is on the right,” Cordial says absently.
Harmony increases the volume level and the maids voice can be heard clearly. “And then, not only did she dump her brothers food into her own plate while his back was turned, not half an hour later she rings for more. I don’t see how she can keep her figure the way she keeps sidling up to the feeding trough...” Harmony slaps the off button quickly, her face turning red.
“Tsk, tsk,” Cordial says, shaking his head at Harmony.
“Oh honestly,” she exclaims hotly. “As if one extra helping of food is going to bankrupt the kingdom.
“Oh don’t worry sister.” Cordial says, patting his viewer fondly. “With this, I do believe the kingdoms problems are over.”
I’m guessing by the look on your face, that you were wrong about that.” Twilight says, as he prepares to shift the scene.
“I wish I had never thought to make that god’s forsaken viewer.” Discord says bitterly. “It was the beginning of the end for all of us.” And with that foreboding comment, he pushes a button.