//------------------------------// // Baths are Great for Bonding! // Story: Discord's history: the origins of a god // by Embracethechaos //------------------------------// --- 8 years later --- How many times did that make? a thousand? two thousand? he'd lost track. A disfigured creature stumbled through a dense forest, alone. Clutching his right arm which had been slashed badly by a dagger that had been hurtled towards him by a furious blacksmith. He thought back to his miserable encounter that had happened less than an hour ago, the words freak, monster, and abomination still echoing through his mind. This seemed to be quite the common agenda for him, wandering aimlessly from horizon to horizon until eventually he stumbled across a village or town. He didn't know how he had heard of these things or why he was so drawn to them, but every patch of land that had scattered huts and houses jumbled together into one mess drew him in, almost through intoxication. Why? What pulled him to these horrid places filled with even more awful ponies? Every time he came to a small town or village, it always ended the same; him huddled in a cave crying his eyes out from both pain and isolation. He didn't know why these creatures were so savage to him. Every time he visited a town, it always followed the same cycle over and over again. He'd walk in through the outskirts of the community and cautiously make his way in. Only to be met with the same cycle, horrified shrieks of mares and fillies; a presage to the agony that soon awaited him; an agonizing assault of every stallion in the village. When they were finished with their twisted art of torment, they left him on the ground, broken, and always left him with a similar remark "Our sincerest regards to your species; demon." Exhausted by today's routine, he flopped down under a towering oak. He closed his eyes trying to forget the scene that continued to batter his mind and instead tried to focus on healing what damage he could. As he surveyed his injuries, he realized just how banged up he actually was. His goat leg ; bent in a sickening fashion. His arm ; caked in dried blood. His eyesight; blurry. His spirit; shattered. "Why does this always happen? What have I done?" he asked himself. He had no idea who he was, why he was hated, or where he came from. The only thing he knew for sure was his own name; Discord. ------ "If we get caught I'm blaming everything on you." whispered Luna King Nova was in the middle of a painfully boring banquet with some of the most politically powerful beings in the world. The threat of the Draconequui rising back to their reign of terror had forced King Nova to expand his foreign ties as far as possible, even if it meant befriending Tyrants of self-sufficient nations. Despite their notorious reputations for being cruel, antisocial rulers , the delegates had been surprisingly eager to accept his invitation for a meal to discuss the possibilities of an alliance. "We won't GET caught if you just hold me steady." hissed Celestia The sisters had opened up one of their millions of trap doors in castle, this particular panel opened directly above the main dining hall. Luna had lowered her eldest sister down a few feet by a rope tied firmly around her waist, in the white alicorn's hooves was a large bucket of banana pudding she had stolen from the kitchen. Normally, Celestia would be the last pony to ever waste her favorite snack, but this was the exception. The delegate she had her sights on was an incredibly rude Pegasus who rejected her invitation to her tea party with her stuffed animals, even after she told him Mr. snuggles had prepared crumpets. Such audacity deserved to be punished, as Luna declared. "More to the left." whispered Celestia "That's too far!" replied Luna "If I stay here the puddings going to hit the chandelier." "That doesn't matter!" "Yes it does! If I'm using this, I'm using every last drop." "Then just go back and just grab a bucket of water." Hissed Luna in annoyance "No! this is funnier!" "But, you're the only one laughing!" "Just move me!" shouted Celestia. Celestia realized that she shouted way too loud. Her shout echoed across the marble ceiling and walls, causing all the delegates to look up at the mischievous duo and cause their father's face to lose all color. "You're on your own girl!" exclaimed Luna, releasing her grip, sending her sister falling to the ground. "You traitor!" cried Celestia as she plummeted onto the banquet table. Celestia's fall was broken by landing on a quite extravagant cake, sending icing splattering onto the delegates and her father. Celestia popped out of the cake gasping for air like a diver gasped when they resurfaced. She wiped the pink sugary goodness out of her eyes to see if her bucket had landed on her target. "Oh no…" The pudding had landed on a griffon even bigger than her father, his shoulders alone were bigger than her entire body and the muscles in his chest and arms bulked beyond a point she didn’t even know were possible. To make things worse, he had more battle scars than she could number; one particularly large one went right over his left eye that probably blinded him. King Nova laughed "Hope you all like strawberry." he said as he licked icing off of his hoof ---- "So how'd it go?" asked Luna with a smug grin Celestia stumbled into their room covered horn to hoof in the various meals she had ruined "You backstabbing peasant! How could you leave me to their evil clutches!? I had to use the slide hidden underneath the table before any of the delegates could breath fire upon me!" "I don't remember seeing any dragons." replied Luna without looking up from her book. "It's a figure of speech!" "Oh, well never mind then." "Luna!" "Tia!" cried Luna in a mocking tone Celestia shot dagger eyes at her "What? I just thought it would be cool if there was a dragon. I've always wanted to-" "Will you stop changing the subject?!" "Will you put down that chair?" Celestia hadn't realized it, but she had lifted one of the chairs from their tea table and had lifted it above her head, ready to hurl it at her younger sister. "Well, I do remember seeing a dragon pony hybrid sitting across from me... But I'm not sure if that counts." said a deep gruff voice from behind Celestia Celestia practically jumped out of her skin. The massive griffon from the banquet was standing in their doorway, showing off his full height. Celestia shakily rose her head to meet his gaze. Okay, he was definitely bigger than she thought. He easily was a foot taller than her father, his head was the size of a watermelon and his legs, which on most griffons were twigs, were as big as tree trunks. Even Luna, who had nothing against him, cowered under the covers of their bed. Despite his terrifying build, his stare wasn't very dark. He wasn't looking at her with a blistering fury, rather it was more of an inspecting gaze, as if she was a soldier and he was searching for a flaw. "W-why are you here-" Celestia's sentence was cut off by a bucket of banana pudding falling on top of her. "Why, to get even of course!" The griffon said as he burst out into a fit of laughter "As the proud ruler of Griffonstone, I couldn't let such a devastating attack go without retaliation." Celestia wiped the delicious cream out of her eyes and stared at him with a mixture of shock and relief. The massive mythical creature slid down onto his stomach with his head resting on his fore-legs, still giggling like crazy. "As the princesses of Equestria I'm surprised you didn't fortify your defenses." he said as he gestured to the pillow fort in the back corner. Celestia took a few moments to recover from her shock "No… I only thought… that, well-" "I would be in a blistering fury?" he said, cocking a playful eyebrow. "More or less. I mean you know… you being-" Said Luna. She had ventured outside the safety of the bed to inspect their unique visitor. "A griffon?" he interrupted her "I was actually going to go with-" "The battle scars?" he guessed, interrupting her again. "Well really-" "Both?" "Third time's the charm." Said Luna with a sheepish grin and a shrug *Man, this guy just doesn't like others finishing their sentences does he?* Thought Celestia. Celestia took a long look at his expression. He looked as if he was listening to a story he had heard so many times that he could recite it flawlessly. He knew the beginning, the end. The characters, the plot. The villain and the man who landed flat on his ass. Despite Luna's comment he didn't looked shocked or hurt. In fact, his expression didn't waver. "I'm Mr. Griffon sorry." said Luna, "I guess I should've phrased that a little differently" The griffon waved it off "Oh don't stress over it, I'm used to it. And please, Mr. Griffon was my father, just call me Grover." he said with a smile "Oh, Well nice to meet you King Grover. I'm Luna!" She said, extending a hoof "The pleasure is mine Woona." He said, politely shaking it. "Luna." she corrected him. "My apologies, your father just referred to you as his Tia and Woona." Grover said, fighting back another laughing fit. "And I'm not quite a king , I'm-" "A prince?" Asked Luna "Well no, you look crazy old. I'd say more of a-" "Hey! I'll have you know I'm only twenty eight!" said Grover, pretending to be overly offended. "Anyways. Griffonstone has never had a king before, I'm more of a Lord if you would, keeping order has always been difficult considering our citizens are…" He tried to use the right words "Not the most generous beings. Most of the griffons keep to themselves, both their thoughts and their gold. I've been looking at various nations, hoping to find ideas to modernize our home as quickly possible, before the Draqone -" Lord Grover remembered how adamant King Nova was about keeping that little… topic from his daughters. "Before…?" urged Celestia "Before the citizens loose all signs of friendship." he said, making a hasty recovery. "Oh." they said together, buying it. "That's why I was so excited about coming to Equestria. The few times I've come here, all the residents have been so kind to each other. Whenever a pony who feels lost or rejected, they'll always come here to be welcomed and finally find friends and make their families." "Really?" asked Celestia Grover smiled "Of course. Equestria is famous for the friendships it has created, and I'm hoping to one day to unite my people the same way your father has." Celestia had never really been to another kingdom before, all she ever heard about other nations was from the fairy tales her father read to them before bed time. Was Equestria really the best nation there was? But… wasn't she always hearing whispers between the older guards and servants? Something about a deadly creature who had broken into the castle. Whenever she asked, they'd always change the subject. "But still though…" Grover trailed off "Not everyone will be accepted." That got the sisters attention. The lord's grin faded "Almost all ponies fear any creature who comes from a stream of feared creatures. There have been countless times where mares have pulled their children away from me whenever they came to talk to me. I can't remember the last time when a pony looked at me without losing color in their face. And the ones who don't run from me try to end conversations as quickly as possible." Celestia couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes, a gaze that looked all too familiar. He looked as if he had seen and endured thousands of years of pain, yet hid his agony behind pride and confident smiles. The exact same look as her father. Something about his eyes were different though, while Grover tried to push away the isolation and the hatred towards him, her father looked as if her was trying to hide pain and fear. Grover's smile returned "That is except you two and your father." "What?" "You three are the only ponies I've ever met who have talked to me for more than a few minutes." He said, shifting onto his elbows, "Either you have a heart of gold or the heart of a lion, or possibly both, it doesn't change the fact I've never seen such an act of kindness." "All we did was talk to you." said Celestia. He chuckled "Ah the voice of the innocent and untainted. You've no idea what amazing things can happen to somepony who's experienced TRUE friendship. Without it, many creatures even younger than you can suffer the most terrible pain there is." "Which is…?" said Luna, expecting an answer. "Loneliness." said King Nova. The sisters nearly jumped out of their skin "Father!" they exclaimed in unison. Even Grover jumped a little "You're just as stealthy as the rumors say." The king had been standing in the doorway. Well, more of leaning on the frame, despite the imperial performance he tried to display to others, he wasn't the most regal figure there was "Father, how long have you been here?" asked Celestia King Nova trotted into the room "Let's leave it at that I showed Lord Grover where he could find the pudding." "Oh thank you for reminding me!" Grover said as he dumped a second bucket of banana pudding on top of Luna "You too were part of my ambush weren't you?" "You sneaky little snake!" screamed Luna as she struggled to get the massive bucket off of her. Celestia was on the floor laughing her flank off "Where were you keeping that this whole time?" "Well when you're as big as me you'd be surprised what I can hide behind my wings, there was this one banquet when-" "Lord Grover!" said Nova sternly "I came to say that your guards have arrived to escort you back to Griffonstone." "Ah! wonderful!" The griffon rose to his full height "Thank you for your invitation to such a lively feast your highness, the best I've ever been to." he turned his attention back to the sisters and grinned devilishly "And as for you two, I promise to bring more ammo and reinforcements if I return." "If?" said Luna "Well I do believe I've overstepped my bounds by viciously attacking the princesses. Unless you're father would be so kind to pardon my crimes and allow to attend his next banquet, I was looking forward to that cake." The sisters jumped onto Grover's shoulders "Please Father, I want to talk to him again." pleaded Celestia "Please Father, I want my revenge on this backstabbing fool!" demanded Luna King Nova inspected the odd trio and sighed "You truly are a sneaky little snake aren't you Lord Grover." The Alicorn smiled "Very well." King Nova made an exaggerated imperial pose "Very well Grover, you are herby forgiven of your horrible crimes against my daughters and are allowed to return to my kingdom. Grover helped Nova in the little play he was putting on for Celestia and Luna "Oh thank you for your kindness King Nova, I assure you that you will not regret this decision." He said bowing. King Nova laughed "Come, I'll escort you back to the main doors." "Can't we come?" asked Luna "I think it's WELL past both your bed times." Said King Nova sternly "And didn’t I say neither of you were allowed in the dining hall tonight?" "Goodnight Father!" They said in unison King Grover smiled on his way out "Remember girls. You're kind, and your kindness could save others from the hateful." "I must say King Nova, your daughters definitely take much after you." commented Grover. "Already trying to get them on good terms with you? Possible allies for the future?" King Nova questioned. "More or less. But in all seriousness I'd like us to be possible allies now. Considering Excitium's omen about Discord, if anypony wants even a chance to survive, they must unite." replied the griffon "Still though…" "What is it?" "It's been so long since the last Draconequus attack that I've forgotten when the last one even was. And none of them has even been as destructive as Discord's wrath was prophesized. I don't know if they over estimated themselves, if they're dying out, or if there just dragging out the kill." "The last attack was two years ago on Cani." Nova spoke with such speed it was as if he rehearsed it, " Over three thousand deaths and millions of bits in damage, not to mention the strongest magicians and spells were stolen. That kind of attack was more than just for intimidation, they're continuing to collect resources for Discord. "But that was years ago. What if…" "If?" "Think about it Nova. They were making horrific attacks almost every month, abducting unicorns by the hundreds and stealing forbidden spells like shopping at the market." "Where are you going with this?" "I'm saying… what if the reason the stopped collecting was because they finished? What if Discord's creation is finished and he's ready to be unleashed?" "Oh… my…" "Our clock could be ticking faster than it has before. Discord can have very well been unleashed weeks ago and he's simply left no one to tell others. It's the only reason something like the Draconequus would suddenly just stop" Said Grover grimly. They arrived at the courtyard where Grover's escorts were waiting for him. The griffon flared his wings and sighed "You're highness, I know you've been hurt the most by this tragedy, and a thousand times I apologize. I'm only saying Discord's release is a possibility. Don't lose sleep over it, but… don't ignore it either." Celestia and Luna watched from their window as their peculiar visitor flew off into the night. Despite only knowing him for a few minutes, she was sad to see him go. Luna walked out of the bathroom and a cloud of white steam escaped into the bedroom "Since when is pudding so hard to get out of fur? she asked, putting a towel around her head. "Well on the plus side you don’t smell AS bad as usual." complimented Celestia. "Besides, I think we both needed a shower anyways." "By the way? did you ever hear what the banquet was for? The guy seemed way too fun to be here for one of father's dull meetings." asked Luna as she sat next to her, looking out the window "Like always, every guard and maid gave me the whole 'It's just a meal' excuse. Father keeps on having more and more freaky guests arriving almost every month now. I still don't know why he keeps inviting people in when he just keeps upgrading the shield." said Celestia as she pointed to the outline of a green dome surrounding the capitol. She remembered father telling her he cast the protection spell around the castle not long after she was born. Every time she asked WHY it was cast he just said it was a test for Equestria's defense, she doubted it. Every passing year the shield would undergo a massive renovation that made it more and more powerful. What once started off as a small wall around the castle had turned into a massive dome that covered the entire capitol and even close-by villages. She remembered sneaking into one of the lower levels of the castle where her father was discussing the resistance of the shield with his highest advisors. As far as she knew, it was impossible to teleport inside or outside of it, there were at least fifty elite guards at every of the four entrances at all times, all forms of dark magic were cut off within an eighty mile radius , and it was enchanted with enough magic that touching it alone would have enough power to vaporize over a thousand dragons. Yeah, it made Equestria look like a complete bad-flank as her father put it. And that was over a year ago, she had no idea what it was capable of now. Still though, she had no idea why a magic of that caliber had been necessary for almost a decade now. Celestia's thoughts were interrupted by a flash off in the courtyard. "What was that?" asked Luna "You saw it too?" responded Celestia They both looked at each other and darted to their balcony that over looked the entire greenery. "What do you think it was?" "It looked like a teleportation charm, but it can't be. Even when you're already inside the barrier you can't cast that kind of spell." said Celestia "Wait. what's that?" whispered Luna. She illuminated her horn and shut off all the light in their room to remove the glare. Something was definitely down there. It didn't look like a pony of any kind, heck it didn't even look like a creature they'd ever seen before, all what they knew was something was down there and it was moving. "We should go get one of the guards." whispered Luna, turning around to run to the door. Celestia grabbed her tail "No, we were supposed to be in bed hours ago, if father finds out were awake, we're so grounded!" "I think something being INSIDE the palace is more important than- Celestia!" Celestia jumped off the balcony and glided softly down onto one of the walkways hidden behind a hedge. "You idiot!" Luna cast a spell and two sleeping decoys of herself and her sister appeared in their bed. "What are you doing?" hissed Luna as she landed behind her. "I'm seeing what that thing was of course. You coming?" "Of course not! You're insane." "I prefer the term, brave." corrected Celestia as she sneaked towards where they last saw the creature. After being caught in thousands of Celestia's mission impossible attempts, Luna was used to her sister's stubbornness and had learned to just roll with it. She followed behind her. "Do you even know what we're doing?" asked Luna "If it's a guard or servant, we sneak back to our room." "And if it isn't?" "Still working on that part." replied Celestia. A yelp was heard just on the other side of the fountain parallel to them. "I doubt that's a pony." said Luna "Then let's get the jump on it. I'll weave around the left side of the fountain, once I have its attention, flank him." Luna didn't look impressed "You know all of this can be much simpler if we just tell an adult right?" "Shut up. I need at least one of my plans to go right today. Just sneak up on him, wait until you hear me." The sisters hugged the ground as they slid towards the fountain. With a closer view, Celestia see a pair of horns poking out from behind the bottom of the marble rim. She could make out a deer antler as well as a ram's horn but she couldn't see a match to either. Could it have been just two lost animals that had wandered into the palace? Suddenly a horrid, metallic smell snaked across her nose. A wretched smell that she always ran away from, blood. She remembered her father saying she got hemaphobia from him, he didn't do so hot around blood either. Celestia froze, what if this creature had killed something and had escaped into the castle green? Just when she was about to turn tail and fly back to her bedroom, the creature's ears perked up. It knew she was there. She panicked and jumped over the fountain and on top of her prey. She nearly had a heart attack. Celestia didn't know what was worse, it's appearance, or its condition. The creature, if you could call it that, laid helpless beneath her. All across it's body was an enigma of wounds that put Grover's to shame. His skin was torn apart in various places, both his legs were broken and half of his left ear was missing. Three recent massive scars raked across his torso causing thick, black blood to spill out and cause a puddle on the ground. A small trickle of the creatures own blood dripped from his mouth and snaked down his body. Despite his repulsive appearance and grotesque wounds, What really captivated her attention was his eyes. She had never seen anything like them. She had seen the eyes of war veterans, prisoners, killers, dragons, the ill, and orphans. None of them even compared to his. His eyes were filled with torment and agony as if he'd been burned alive for a thousand years. Eyes of someone how purposefully tried to end everything by any means necessary but had always been pulled back in, never being able to escape. She wanted to scream but she was to stunned to even emit a sound. The creature didn't respond either, in fact it didn't even move. Had its jaw not been twitching with fear, she would assume he was dead. "W-who…W…What are you? was all Celestia could even manage. It didn't respond "What happened to you?" she asked without breathing "I just want to run. I don't want anyone to ever find me again." it whispered as its eyes started to twitch shut. "I don't want anything to ever get a hold of me again." He was losing consciousness as fast as he was losing blood. Luna rounded the corner, wondering what was taking her sister so long. Unlike the other two who had kept so quiet, she let out a shrill scream that echoed across the entire castle. Celestia slapped her hoof over her sisters mouth, it was too late. they heard shouts coming from inside the castle, the guards were already coming. "What is that thing!?" cried Luna as she removed Celestia's hoof. "How should I know?" she shot back. "Let's go!" yelled Luna trying to drag her sister into the air. Celestia spread her wings to fly but she took another glance back at the creature. It had lost consciences and was slumped on the ground. "What about him?" asked Celestia "What ABOUT that thing?" said Luna in a panic. Celestia kept looking back between her sister and the creature. What was she supposed to do? Risk being close to this thing or leaving him to the guards? She had seen plenty of the guards in action before, they weren't cruel, but they were not forgiving. Celestia remembered what Grover had told them. "Remember girls. You're kind, and your kindness could save others from the hateful." She must have been out of her mind. "We can't just leave him! What'll happen if the guards get a hold of him?" "They kick him out or something! I don't care!" "Do you think they'll nurse him back to health? Cause I sure as heck don't! He needs help and he needs it now!" Luna looked as if Celestia had gone mad "You CANNOT be suggesting what I think you are." At the other end of the greenery, the gates slammed open and guards started pouring in. To Celestia's surprise, Luna levitated the poor creature up. "I hate you so much right now!" Celestia lifted up a large stone near a shrubbery that opened up into one of their secret passages "Hurry!" Luna bounded in, being careful not to hit their newest tagalong's head on the way in. Celestia watched them rush down the tight space into the darkness. This was her last chance to change her mind and throw the creature back outside, was this right? More importantly, was this sane? Those two things really didn't go together for her. She took one last look outside just as a guard was about to round the corner and lowered the stone behind her. ---- "I forgot how foolish that decision was." said Luna rubbing her temple. "In my defense, you didn't protest that long." responded Celestia. "Princess Celestia!" said Applejack "Ya'll BROUGHT Discord into the palace?" "I'm pretty sure we're ALL wondering what the heck did that to him. I seriously doubt an angry mod could've done that to him. And where did those no good Draconequus run off to?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I know! Oh that poor darling!" cried Rarity "No creature deserves to ever be hurt like that!" "Why'd you take him in? And more importantly, why would you waste such perfectly good pudding?" demanded Pinkie Pie. "You MET King Grover?" asked Twilight eagerly. Fluttershy couldn't muster a question. When she saw Discord in such a beaten state, she nearly had a breakdown. Oh what pain was in his eyes!... His eyes. The yellow pegasus managed to swallow back a sob "What was with his eyes?" she asked Everypony looked back at her and then back at the princesses. "Wait… she's right." said Twilight. "His eyes weren't yellow and red…" "They were white and purple and he also had TWO fangs instead of one." continued Rainbow Dash "In fact, they looked perfectly normal… actually looked kinda weird seeing him like that." "Same answer as always. We're getting to that." said Luna. --- Celestia started casting every healing spell she could possibly muster. The sisters had brought their patient into the lowest part of their hide out, a large library that had tiny entrances so small nopony else could get in. The creature was actually doing surprisingly well for what his previous condition was like. Even before the sisters had made it back to their hideout, he had already stopped bleeding and some of his smaller wounds were already starting to close up. Still though, he wasn't looking good. Luna had ran to the emergency ward the second she had dropped him off on the center table. She said a few weeks ago she had noticed a book containing spells for patients in critical care and it could be just what they needed. They were forbidden to go anywhere even near the doctors' spells but this was an acceptation. "Come on come on." pleaded Celestia. Celestia failed nearly every medical spell father had taught her and she wasn't doing much better here either. Luna was the better healer but she was the only one who knew where the book was and had to leave Celestia behind to do what she could. The creature was still unconscious and none of spells were doing anything, she couldn't even cast a single one. "Move!" yelled Luna as she bounded into the room with a book as big as her, "What's he look like so far?" "None of my spells are working!" said Celestia frantically "Hurry!" "Shhhh! Let me concentrate." said Luna as she quickly skimmed over a spell. "Alright this one looks like it's going to keep the wounds at bay, but that's it…" "Hurry!" demanded Celestia. Luna illuminated her horn "Let's hope this works." The moment the spell touched the unconscious stranger, a small jolt of yellow magic sent Luna flying backwards into Celestia. "Oof! What the heck?" asked Luna while she rubbed her head. "Talk about an ungrateful little… what?" The sisters stared speechless as the creature's fur illuminated yellow. Every wound glowed white as they closed back up, both of his legs moved back into place and his ear regenerated it's tip. His eyes opened just as the light died down. He sat up and stared at his hands without saying a word. "Was that you?" Celestia asked Luna. "Couldn't be, my magic's blue." The creature snapped his head towards the sisters and his face lost color. He screamed and stumbled off the table. "Whoa! Easy easy." said Celestia. He started losing it "I'm sorry! I'll leave! I didn't- I just!" Celestia stood up a cautiously approached him. "Hey, hey." she said gently "Calm down, you don't have to do anything, if fact you shouldn't do anything considering how banged up you were." "I!" The creature's expression changed from shocked to confused "…what?" "We're saying take it down a few notches ." said Luna "Wait, you aren't… going…" "What?" asked Celestia "going to attack me?" he asked *Okay, this guy's weird* thought Celestia "No." said Celestia "We just helped you. How else do you think your wounds healed up? By the way. How'd you get like that anyways?" He examined himself, awestruck "Usually they just…" He stopped short " It doesn't matter how they healed and neither how I ended up like that." he stated as he stood up He wasn't in good shape, even with his wounds healed. He had a very slouched stance, his shoulders were tight to his neck and he had to bend at the knees. He was scrawny and hadn't been eating well, his skin hugged his bones so tightly that she could make out his rib cage. His dark grey hair fell across his face in clumps covered in dirt, blood, sludge and other things she didn't care to know. A few of his claws were broken. His scales looked dry and cracked. He had bags under his eyes and his teeth were yellow and green. Worst of all he looked and smelled like a sewer. "You want to know what does matter right now?" asked Celestia "A bath." Celestia turned on the faucets to their enormous tub. Thanks to their maze of secret passage ways, the sisters were able to bring their visitor to their bathroom undetected. "Believe us, we don’t like 'em, but afterwards you feel amazing." said Luna He stared as the hot water filled the shinning marble bath to its rims. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked as he observed the several strange smelling bars along the rim. "You need a looooooong rinse off. Use a few bars of soap if you need to." said Luna There was a long silence "…I don't really know how to use those." he said awkwardly. Celestia knew it, he never bathed before. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, he had already been through so much. She giggled at his cluelessness "Don't worry, I'll help you." Luna raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" she asked rather defensively Luna knew it would be just faster to roll with it "Suit yourself." Luna yawned "I'll be in bed." She removed her crown and walked into their bedroom, closing the door behind her . Celestia turned her attention back to the timid creature who was looking around the bathroom with a vacant expression. "By the way, My name's Celestia." she said happily extending a hoof to shake. He flinched at the sudden extent of a pony's hoof and pulled his hands close to his body. "What's your name?" she asked cheerfully "Why are you asking that? Are you interrogating me?" he asked with a bit of fear "I'm introducing ourselves to each other of course." She suddenly looked concerned "Oh no… Do you not have a name?" He stared at her "…Discord...I think" "Well Discord! Do you want to keep smelling as bad as you are now?" Again, he just looked at her with an empty and confused expression. "Um… that means… you should get in the tub." "Oh." Discord eyed the water cautiously as steam filled the room and condensed on the mirror. He glanced at Celestia and then carefully tapped the water with his goat hoof. Immediately every muscle in his body relaxed. Celestia studied her new, peculiar friend and his movements. He must have spent so many years in the freezing cold and outdoors for so long, everything she was showing to him was probably as incredible as it was strange. Discord slowly lowered himself into the tub and let the steamy water go up to his chin as he let out a sigh of relief. It felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted of his shoulders and crushed to pebbles. He gradually put his entire head under the water and let the water soak across his face and flow through his hair. He resurfaced after a few moments only to see that a large amount of dirt and grime had come off by simply being in the water. This was more than peace, it was bliss. He had been through so many blizzards and fallen into frozen lakes that froze his fur solid without any way to warm himself. He'd usually have to wait till spring or risk going into a village in order to warm himself, but this? The hot water was like the gods themselves were washing away his pain. Celestia smiled curiously at his reactions "Alright then Let's get you cleaned up." Celestia touched a bar of soap to his back. Discord immediately yelped and scrambled away from her touch. She frowned. *Guess he doesn't quite trust me yet* she thought while also respecting his bounds. Discord stared at the small white pony in front of him. He had been beaten hundreds, no thousands of times by them… by ponies… could he really trust her? Then again… if she was going to hurt him she wouldn't have brought him here… He warily made his way back to the edge she was on and turned his back to her, allowing her to continue. Proud of how she gained his trust, she gently pressed the soap against his shoulders and began to make circular motions, working away at the filth the caked his body. Celestia watched as the suds from the bright white soap turn a dark brown and slipped down his body and into the water below. Discord was in a trance, he watched the grime and water go down the drain trying to make sense on why she was doing this for him, especially why a pony was doing this for him. Not just freeing him from the filth but welcoming him. After working on his fur for only a few minutes, Discord's natural fur color became clear, his main color was a dark mahogany and his hair was a soft, silky white. His claws was a bright golden and his Lion paw was surprisingly soft. She noticed a thick patch of dirt left on his left shoulder and pressed down rather hard to remove it. Discord cried out in pain and pulled away. Just by touching it she knew it was full of tension. "Discord, I know it stings, but your muscles are so tight, they're so bad I doubt it's healthy. Just let me help loosen them, I PROMISE you'll feel better." Pleaded Celestia. "You'll be able to walk better and sleep better." *Sleep better?* he asked himself. He reluctantly returned to her. "This'll sting just a bit at first." said Celestia. She pressed both her hooves into his shoulders and slowly began to rock back and forth. Discord gritted his teeth in pain and clung onto the other rim of the tub as Celestia continued. After pushing for a few seconds she buried her hooves deep into the muscle of his shoulders causing him to bark in agony. Suddenly, Discord felt a burst of relief. He felt as if a valve had been unclogged in his shoulders and energy was flowing through him, and he felt that literally. Celestia could feel a release in his shoulders and felt something coursing through his body. Was that… blood? Had his body been so tight and under so much tension that it cut off circulation? Well whatever it was, it was doing wonders. Discord's shoulders moved from their hunched position to the straight fashion they were supposed to be in. Only three words managed to escape his lips "Thank you…Celestia." Celestia worked her massage of magic across his entire body, freeing up all tension in his body. They spent at least the next half hour with Discord holding onto the rims of the bath out of throbbing pain only to be followed by sweet relief and another course of liquid moving through his body. What was that moving through his body? It wasn't one thing, it was like energy itself was moving throughout his body, making it's long awaited arrival to his body parts that needed it. After the session, they realized how close they were in the end. Celestia had climbed completely in the bath with him to get better leverage. He turned around to thank her for making him feel like he'd been blessed by the gods only to see that they were practically touching noses and she was as red as a rose. "Celestia…?" She quickly tried to play it off "Do… do you feel any better?" "I've never felt, like this before." "Loose?" she asked with a grin. "Happy." They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity of silence. "Let's get you some rest." said Celestia. "What?" he asked confused. "Let's go to bed." she said raising an eyebrow "I…I can stay inside, here… tonight?" he said, trying not to get his hopes up. "Tonight? Discord you don't look like you have any place to stay. I won't dare let anypony ever lay a single hand on you again, I'll make it my personal goal in life so you never have to undergo the pain you've felt before. From now on, this is your home." she said proudly. Discord was speechless, either from the kindness she was showing him or the fact she didn't know just what he'd been through. "Close your mouth so you don't catch bugs." said Celestia "You need to get some shut eye." Celestia hopped up on the massive bed she shared with Luna and pulled the covers over herself. She waited for Discord to jump up to, only to see that he was huddling in a corner and laying his head down to sleep. "Discord!" whispered Celestia. He raised his head up. "Come on!" "Huh?" "I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor. Get up her." Discord was shocked, was there any limit to this pony's heart? He climbed up onto the bed and slowly pulled the covers over himself the same way he saw her do. Being so accustomed to sleeping on rocks his whole life, this was heaven. He felt the weight of the plush covers intoxicate him into a blissful sleep, the last thing he saw before drifting off sleep was Celestia smiling at him. For years, from the moment he'd been born. Discord had been haunted by a horrific nightmare. A dark creature, a creature that looked just like him only bigger, a creature that claimed to be his father haunted him. It controlled his thoughts, warped his mind, showed him doing horrific deeds and enjoying every moment of it. For the first night in his life; not a single nightmare, not a single one.