It all started back when I was just a filly of 12. At that time, Canterlot was not where it is today, but where the Castle of the Two Sisters rested. The Everfree Forest hadn't even grown at that time. The castle was once surrounded by a small town, filled with ponies big and small. The ruler of Equestria was my father; King Solaris. He was the keeper and master of the Sun and ruled over the kingdom with a kind heart. He never looked down on any creature, and was great at keeping harmony, which is why so many loved him. My mother, Queen Cosmos, died a year after Luna was born, so my father was responsible for both the sun and the moon, as the nighttime was once my Mother's position. Ever since I got my cutie mark, I was told that someday, I would have to take up the mantle as Ruler of Equestria and Keeper of the Sun, as it was my destiny as an alicorn.
Anyways, after Luna had turned six, she and I would be allowed to roam the outer regions of the town, which was surrounded by small caves, lush fields, and hills that Luna and I loved to play on. I remember how we used to roll down them on our sides to race to the bottom. We would see who could climb the hills the longest without getting winded. Those were good times. One particular day, Luna and I were out playing near the caves by the town walls. We were climbing over rocks, pretending to be brave knights protecting their fortresses, and even getting in a stone throwing contest. I had also decided to show Luna a specific cave which held a powerful creation that you girls might remember; the Tree of Harmony.
"Come sister!" I called out to Luna, who was a few yards behind me. "I want to show you something you will NEVER forget."
"Ok! Wait up!" Luna called back. As soon as she caught up, I led her down the long flight of stairs that led to the cavern opening. When we got inside, I pointed to where the Tree was, and couldn't help but giggle when I saw the look on Luna's face. She always loved shining things, and the Tree was no exception. Slowly, she walked up to the Tree, continuing to stare in awe of it, as I walked beside her, beaming with happiness. "W-what is it sister?" she asked.
"This, my dear sister, is the Tree of Harmony," I responded. "See those gems hanging from the branches?" Luna looked around the tree until she saw the gems and nodded. "Those are the Elements of Harmony. They are responsible for protecting ALL of Equestria, and the Tree is what channels their energy. Father showed me it when I was your age, and now, I get to show you!"
"Wow," Luna gawked. I smiled a bit as I watched Luna continue to stare in wonder at the magnificent tree. "Wait a minute," she suddenly said as she snapped out of her trance. "I thought Father was the one who protected Equestria."
"He is," I explained, "but Equestria's a BIG place. So Father deserves a little bit of help right?"
"Right!" Luna nodded happily. "There's somepony else who needs help too."
"Who?" I asked.
"You!" she shouted as she started to run. "You'll need help to beat me up the stairs!"
It took me a split second to get where she was going, but when it finally did click, I started to laugh as I galloped toward my speeding sister. It was a close call, but Luna did beat me up the staircase (of course I was holding back). At that point, the time was getting late and I figured that it was best if we went back to the castle. On our way back though, I heard something coming from the cave area. It was a faint sound, but it almost sounded like...sobbing. My curiosity got the better of me as I headed in the direction of the sound. Luna noticed this and quickly came up behind me.
"Sister?" she said rather loudly. "What are you-" I shushed her a bit as I neared the cave. Luna closed her mouth tightly as she followed closely behind me. As we ventured into the cave, I could hear the sobbing getting louder. Whatever it was, it was coming from further in. I could feel Luna grabbing my hoof as we went in further. Finally, my eyes caught sight of a silhouetted figure in the darkness. It was too dark, so I couldn't tell what it was. All I knew was that it was crying. Though I was only a filly of 12, the sound of anything crying made me feel sad. As I stepped forward, my hoof hit a stone, and that was all it took. The crying stopped as I saw the silhouette look towards me and moved further into the cave.
"Wait!" I called out. The figure stopped. "Please don't go away. I won't hurt you." A moment of silence passed, with only the sound of the figure's breathing. After a minute, it spoke.
"Are you here to cower from the monster too?" he asked. Yes, by the sound of the voice, it was male. Young, but still male. He also sounded like he was crying for a while, with a hint of fear and hurt in his voice.
"There's a monster in here?" I asked.
"Me!" he responded. "The scary creature that doesn't have a proper description. Something that can't be explained, so <sniff> ponies fear it."
"I highly doubt you are a monster," I calmly stated. "There are no such things as monsters."
"If you saw me, you wouldn't think so," he called back.
"You could try me." I responded. Another moment of silence passed, with the figure and I staring in the darkness. Finally, I saw the figure start to move towards me. Luna was busy cowering behind me, not knowing what was going to come out. The tension started to build so much, even I was a little nervous. That changed, however, as the figure stepped into the light of the cave. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. He had the head of a pony, but his body was made up of so many other things. His torso was long, almost elastic, with a lion paw for one limb, and an eagle talon as the other. His legs were made up of a cloven hoof and something that looked like a dragon leg. He also sported a deer antler, a bat wing, a snake tail, and some kind of antennae and pegasus wing. His face wore a terrified look, complete with red and yellow eyes and a single fang peeking out from the corner of his mouth.
As soon as Luna saw him, she let out a small yelp as she ran behind a rock. The creature let out a tiny sob as he hid his face from us. "Sister!" Luna called out. "Let's get out of here!" I didn't move though. I didn't even flinch. The appearance of the figure was so interesting, that I was almost hypnotized. As I started towards him, the creature flinched a bit, as if I was going to pounce on him and eat him. I drew closer and closer, getting a good look at who was in front of me. With my face a few inches from him, I observed him from top to bottom. After I was done, he and Luna looked anxiously at me, wondering what I was going to say. When I finally spoke, my mouth formed into a smile as I stated,
"How unique!"
The creature froze, his face making the most confusing look. "Unique?" he asked. "You're...not afraid of me?"
"Why would I be?" I asked kindly. "Everypony's different in their own way. It's what makes them special. And I'd say you've got a whole carriage-full of special!" I giggled a little at the statement as the creature and Luna looked at me like I was absolutely crazy. Neither of them knew what to say. Suddenly, the creature opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then started to close it again, before opening it, his face making a silly look all the while. I soon realized what he was doing, and used my wing to block him out before he finally let go.
"AH-CHOO!"
I didn't see what happened, all I heard was Luna squeal again after he sneezed. Curious, I lowered my wing, and jumped a little when I saw what had happened. Between the creature and I was a tiny, pink cloud. And if that wasn't curious enough, there were little droplets of some brown liquid raining from the cloud.
"I'm so sorry!" the creature hastily said. "I can't control it yet. Please don't be mad!"
My curiosity was still getting the better of me, so I stuck a hoof out and let some of the brown liquid drip onto me. I then raised my hoof to my mouth and gave a little suckle. Luna looked at me with concern, only to see me giggle at the taste of the newly discovered liquid. I quickly opened my mouth and stuck my tongue out under the cloud to let the liquid fall onto it.
"It's chocolate milk Luna!" I called back to her, "He can make it rain chocolate milk!" I then touched the cloud. It was sticky to the touch, and as I pulled away, some of it stuck to my hoof, so I curiously licked it off. As the sweet taste hit my tongue and quickly dissolved in my mouth, I realized what it was. "And it comes from a cotton candy cloud! How amazing is that?" At that point, Luna came out from behind the rock and came closer to me to get a better look. I offered Luna a piece of cloud, and she hesitantly took it. As she popped it in her mouth though, her mood changed, as the fear melted away into a happy giggle. She then made her way to my side as we both stuck our open mouths underneath the cloud and let the sweet milk dribble down our throats. We continued to giggle as the creature's face was changed into a smile.
"You...you really aren't afraid of me!" he said quite happily. "But...but why? I look so...repulsive. With powers that can't be explained!"
"Maybe that's why ponies are afraid," I said as I licked my lips of the milk. "They just don't know what to say. By the way, my name is Princess Celestia, and this is my sister Luna. What's yours?"
The creature hesitated a bit, as his red eyes darted all across the cave. "That's fine," I said. "You don't want to say right now. So, where's your family?" I seemed to have hit a nerve when I said that, because as soon as I said family, his expression dropped, and he turned away with sorrow. My expression dropped too. I knew what that meant right away. "Oh," I said softly. "I'm so sorry. Well, we can't leave you out here in the cold all by yourself." I then turned to leave the cave, but looked back towards him. "Come! You can stay with us!" Both his and Luna's eyes went wide with both confusion and fear.
"Sister!" Luna said. "What about Father?"
"He won't mind," I reassured her. "He can't turn a helpless creature like him away. Come stranger!" He didn't move, looking tense and unsure of what to do. "Do you really want to stay out here in the cold?" I asked. The creature shook his head no, and hesitantly took some steps forwards towards us. Anxious to get him back home, I went back to him and took his paw and led him out. Although I didn't see it, I could tell that he was blushing furiously. And to be honest, so was I.
"You really weren't afraid of him?" Rainbow asked. "I would've at least been a little bit tense." The others nodded slightly.
"I know it sounds strange," Celestia answered, "but I just didn't see anything frightening in him. I only saw...somepony special who needed a friend."
"That is SOOOOO sweet!" Pinkie squealed excitedly. "So, what did your Father think of Discord when you brought him home?"
"Well," Celestia continued, "my Father wasn't the one I was worried about. If there was any pony I knew wouldn't like Discord, it was Royal Scroll; my father's head adviser. He was in charge of keeping the peace, though he did a REALLY good job at discrimination. As soon as I introduced Discord to the company in my father's throne room, well...it could've been better."
"My dear Princess!" Royal Scroll said in disgust. "With all due respect, how could you bring a...a monster into the palace?"
The creature shrunk back in terror as everypony looked at him with disgust. I, however, stood in front of him and retorted, "He is NOT a monster! He's just a little different." I then turned to my father, who was sitting on his throne, looking at the creature with curious eyes. "Father, I found him in a cave outside the town. He looked so alone and terrified. I just had to help him somehow! Oh please can he stay here?"
"Absolutely not!" Scroll intervened. "This is a royal palace. Not a...petting zoo! No creature outside the boundaries of the walls can-"
"Excuse me Scroll!" my father bellowed. "I believe my daughter asked ME! Not you!" Scroll bowed his head respectfully. My father looked the situation over, glancing from the creature to me. I waited in anticipation as he thought, and the creature looked just as anxious. Finally, my father tilted his head up and smiled a bit. "Very well Celestia. He can stay." I happily, but silently squealed with delight. Royal Scroll had other reactions.
"But...but your Majesty. With all respect, I would think that having that beast in here would be most unhealthy for your daughter! What if it were to attack her?"
"No arguments!" my father stated firmly. "If he wanted to attack Celestia, he would've done it by now. He does not look menacing in my eyes. And it is my job to make sure that there is peace throughout the kingdom is it not?"
"But sire-"
"IS IT NOT?" Scroll closed his mouth and nodded. "Then that is my decision. We are done here!" He then turned to me and smiled softly. "Celestia, why don't you show our guest to the guest room."
"Of course Father!" I stated happily as I took the creature's paw again and led him out of the room. As I passed a bowing Scroll, I couldn't help but quickly stick my tongue out and softly raspberry him. The creature giggled as the doors closed behind us. I led him down a series of long corridors before we stopped at a big door on the left side. I opened them and we stepped inside. His eyes went wide as he looked over the humungous room. The bed was a king-size, meaning he would have plenty of room, and the room even came with a toiletry station in the back. As he looked over the room, I happily watched him. "What do you think?"
"It's...different from what I'm used to," he said in awe.
"Good," I said with a smile, "Wake up is normally at 8:00, but I can see if I can't squeeze it to 8:30. Breakfast is in the Great Hall, my Princess Etiquette lessons end at noon, and steer clear of Royal Meanie-Scroll. Other than that, welcome! I'll leave you to it then."
As I started to leave, I was quickly stopped by the sound of his voice. "Celestia?" I turned around to see him staring at me, rather confused. "Why? I mean, why would you want to do all of this...for me?"
My tone changed to a sweet and soft serious, "Because what others see as a monster, I see as somepony who just needs a friend."
He blushed a little as his face curled into the first smile I saw from him. He had a nice smile. "Thank you," he stated. I smiled back and started to close the doors when he stopped me again. "Oh, and Celestia?" I stopped as I looked at him smiling back at me.
"My name is Discord."