//------------------------------// // Meeting the Inlaws // Story: Sunbeams and Chocolate Milk // by Turtwig-Tales //------------------------------// Luna had thought that she had left the library a mess before Celestia had returned the previous night. Tonight, however, she had made it resemble the result of magical fallout. Complete, and total destruction, centered in a certain area. Because now, she had a specific subject, instead of randomly grabbing a book. And that subject was the name that appeared in both the biologists’ and her sisters’ testimony: draconequus. However, her search had provided little more than it had the night before. Despite the more focused search, she was frustrated by the lack of results. Every so often she found a mention of the creature, usually something to the effect of ‘Very bad, avoid at all costs,’ which served to worry her more. Her own sister had seemed to have encountered a draconequus, and had been somehow affected by its mysterious powers, and Luna wanted to find out how to save her. So far, nothing. As she finished the final page of the final tome that had any relevance to the problem at hoof, she sighed loudly. She had run out of options, and was quickly running out of time. Not just because of Celestia’s plan to bring this creature into their own home, but she feared that whatever charm she was under would soon become permanent. “I have to think of something.” Luna said to no one in particular. “What could possibly defeat a being that seems to thrive off of pure, unbridled chaos?” She sat on her haunches, suddenly feeling exhausted. And rightly so, as she realized that she hadn’t slept since her ‘conversation’ with Tia the night prior. A growl reminded her that she hadn’t eaten, either. Deciding that she wouldn’t be able to help her sister if she starved to death, she rose from place on the floor, briefly taking notice of the impressions of her hooves had left on the floor. She would have to remember to take care of those after everything was over. Opting to stretch her stiff wings, she lifted off and took to the sky by way of a nearby window. She soared through starry sky, relishing in this brief reprieve. And then the stars were gone. Again. She stopped short in the air, nearly plummeting to the ground in shock. She feared the ‘Discord’ had destroyed them again, but the sun rocketed from the horizon, only to be literally knocked back down by the moon. The sun countered, rising again at incredible speeds, sending the moon spinning across the sky. The moon recovered quickly and charged, intent on reclaiming its rightful time in the sky, backed up by a squadron of stars. Again and again the two celestial bodies clashed, rapidly shifting the sky from day to night. Luna groaned. Discord, she thought. It has to be. Even Celestia has trouble moving the sun at normal speed, let alone at this velocity. Well, at least he’s occupied. She descended to her garden quickly, intending to only stay for a quick snack, and then back to her research. If she had any time to spare before, she had just lost it. She trotted briskly though the small assorted fields, searching for anything that seemed ripe. She settled on some apples that hung from a nearby tree. They were sweet and juicy, and exactly what she needed to continue on. After eating her fill, she moved to return to her work, but was stopped by the sound of hooves approaching. Was that Celestia? Had Luna really spent that much time working? With the sun and moon brawling above, it wasn’t hard to lose track of time. And if Tia’s back, she thought, that means…him. “Luna! We’re here!” Celestia called as she entered the room with…what she assumed was this ‘Discord.’ She wasn’t a biological expert, but she honestly couldn’t understand how this creature could possibly function with so many different body part shoved together. It…he walked next to Celestia, looking about with a grin that Luna found…unsettling. Celestia’s condition seemed to have worsened. Her coat, mane, and eyes had lost more color. She looked even more tired, and seemed to be out of breath. Though if she had noticed, she didn’t let it bother her. She even stumbled every hew steps. Yet, her empty, denial-filled grin was still plastered on her face. She trotted her way over to Luna, with Discord trailing behind examining the various plants in the garden. Celestia wrapped her hooves around her sister, their altercation from the previous night seemingly forgotten. Luna couldn’t help but notice her sister’s usual spine-crushing grip was more akin to wearing a light scarf, and returned the embrace, trying not to squeeze too hard. After a moment, she pulled away and looked back to where Discord had been standing. He had vanished. The two alicorns looked around, trying to find were he had gone. Suddenly, Luna felt a weight on her back. She reared up, letting out a rather undignified squeal, and began bucking about, trying to shake off whatever was on her. “YEEE-HAAAAWWW! Ride ‘em cowboy!” a voice yelled. Luna stopped and looked at her back. And there was Discord, wearing a ridiculously large hat, a cow print vest, and spurs. Then she realized that she wearing a saddle and bridle. She could almost feel her mind stop working. Celestia sat nearby, trying to hide her giggling. It didn’t last long. Judging by her boisterous laughter, she apparently found this nonsense hilarious. As did Discord, because his maniacal cackling erupted from his place on her back. Luna spat out the bridle, giving it a look of contempt. “You must be Discord.” she said, trying her best to at least pretend to be civil. “I have heard…a lot about you.” He jumped off her back, did a triple somersault, and made a perfect landing, now wearing a sparkling pink leotard. Off to the side, a table had appeared, and seated where three smaller versions of himself in various outfits. Upon his landing, all three held up signs with the number ten printed on them, and loud cheer erupted from seemingly nowhere. He turned to face Luna, the same disturbing grin on his face. “You have, have you? Well then, that means the you have the advantage over me,” he said, “as your sister only just mentioned you a short time ago.” He glared at Celestia, who flinched in response. “And I don’t like being at a disadvantage.” Judging by her reaction and Discord’s icy tone, Luna suspected that despite his foolish behavior, he was not one to be trifled with. He snapped his eagle talons, and the room returned to the state it had been before his arrival. He glanced around the garden again. His face showed nothing. Luna could see, even if her sister couldn’t, that he was a clever one. An opponent you cannot read is a dangerous one. “This garden…it doesn’t seem like it could have grown here on its own. Everything is too…” he pawed at a nearby lilac bush, and betrayed a look of disgust, “orderly.” The poor bush then promptly let out an unnatural wail and withered away. Luna let out gasp, and a look of horror streaked across her face. She looked to Celestia for aid, but it seemed she had been distracted by a passing cloud of pink and blue butterflies. Discord smirked. “And judging by your reaction, I’d say you were its grand architect.” “I...Yes I was. And I would appreciate it if you would stop destroying it.” Her voice wavered as she tried in vain to sound authoritative. She tried to hide it, but she was fearing this monster’s power with each demonstration. He noticed, and mocked her with a false look of innocence. He even conjured a fake halo held up with wire. “Destroy? Mwah? Oh heavens no!” he continued his façade by donning a white robe, and rose into the air via a rope while strumming an out-of-tune harp. “I only have the purest and most noble of intentions for you and all you hold dear!” He gazed around the room from his vantage point, like a malevolent god. “In fact, I will help you…improve it.” He raised his talons. He was about to do something, something terrible! In desperation, Luna launched a spell at him, not caring what it was. It turned out to be a concussive blast, which sent him flying across the room. He seemed to land… A pit of dread formed in her stomach. That blast had sent him to the middle of the garden. Toward her most prized possession. The moon lilies. She galloped to the center almost in a blind panic. Then she noticed that Celestia was right next to her, and seemed to be scolding her. “Why did you do that!? He going to help make your garden better, and you BLAST HIM!? I’ll be lucky if he ever speaks to me again! Ugh, you why have you been such a pain lately! First you ruin your own night sky, and then you blast my boyfriend! I can’t believe you turned out to be such a brat!” Luna did her best to tune her after that, and to remind herself that her sister’s words were the work of Discord’s curse. …She hoped… They finally reached the center of the garden, to find a Discord standing in the middle of the patch of glowing flowers. It seemed their pollen could affect him as well, because he was glowing as blue as they did. He seemed…perplexed. As if he didn’t quite understand what was happening. Celestia began to giggle. And Luna had to admit that he looked someone humorous like that. As they both began to snicker, Discord’s eye came into focus. He glared at them, silencing them both. “So, you think this is funny, do you?” he growled, any joviality he had had gone. Celestia began to back away, trembling even more that earlier. “I-I…You…It’s kinda…” she stuttered, too afraid to properly form a sentence. “You do think this is funny. Don’t you?” he said again, with enough force to send them both sprawling backwards. He began to stretch and swell, growing greater in size and length. His eye burned with hellfire, and the glow flew off him, as if in terror, and changed to an angry shade of red, making it look like fire swirled around him. “Well, if you think this is so funny, then how would you like it if the joke was ON YOU!?” he inhaled, and released a breath with the force of a hurricane at them sending a maelstrom of pollen at them. The wind clawed at Luna’s eyes, and each bit of pollen that struck her felt like an arrow strike. When the winds calmed, Discord stood in his normal size amongst the flowers, which had now lost their lovely blue glow. Luna looked at hooves, expecting to bear that glow. But she didn’t. In fact, what she saw astounded her. Her colors had inverted themselves! Her coat had become a sickening green, and her mane a rotten orange color. Her colors, her beautiful colors that reminded her of the night sky she tended, the one physical thing about herself she treasured, ruined! “What…what did you do?” she said half-consciously, hot tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Discord polished his claws on his chest fur with a smug grin. “Oh, I simply changed the effect of those flowers to play a little prank on those who wander into their patch. I believe I have fulfilled my promise of improvement. And improvement deserves an improvement on the name.” He stroked his beard. “How about…Poison Joke?” Nearby, Celestia could be heard in uproarious laughter. Her horn had doubled in length, and resembled a wet noodle, and her wings had become miniscule, rendering them useless. “Oh my goodness, Lulu! This is wonderful! Those flowers are some much better now, aren’t they?” She said in between bursts of laughter. Luna stared at her sister. How…How could she say that? She knew how much work she had work she had put into them. Had Tia truly fallen so far that she couldn’t remember? Or did she simple not care anymore? Her tears began to flow unrestrained. However, through her sadness, something else began to surface. Rage. How dare Celestia ignore her feelings!? She KNEW that those flowers were her pride of the garden. She KNEW that she prided herself in her coat. She KNEW that she WOULD NEVER RUIN HER OWN NIGHT SKY! And now she was laughing her!? As her anger grew more intense, she felt that she was about to boil the tears off her face. Discord, ever the observant, noticed her. He pulled Celestia close. “Well, my dear, I’m afraid I must take my leave. It seems your sister is about to blow.” He snapped his talons, and there was a bright flash of light. When it cleared, he had vanished from the room. Celestia stared at Luna. “What did he mean? Are you angry or something?” She wanted to respond. She wanted to yell, she wanted to knock the sense back into her sister. She wanted to do something. But the way Celestia stared at her, with eyes once filled with the light of intelligence and wisdom now blank and vapid. Looking at that empty gaze, her rage suddenly vanished. To see the sister she had admired so much reduced to the level of a love struck adolescent simply drained her. As she walked slowly away from the garden, she heard Celestia calling after. She didn’t care. She was too tired, too numb. After a time, she realized that she had wondered back to the door to the library. Within, she could see the remains of her fervent research, and wondered if she should continue the effort. Why bother? Sister obviously doesn’t want to return to her original self. She thought forlornly. She doesn’t even know that there’s anything wrong. What could defeat a beast that can make a pony such as my sister the exact opposite of herself? She stopped. “Wait…Opposite? That’s it!” she exclaimed. Feeling renewed, she rushed to the library and lit her horn. Books and tomes flew about, some removing themselves from the table, and others took their place. “If you fight fire with fire, you just make a bigger fire.” She said to no one as she flipped through various books, knowing exactly what she was looking for. “In order to counter fire, you use water. Its opposite.” She soon found what she was looking for. An old weathered storybook that their parents had once read to them. Luna smiled as she read the title. The Tale of the Tree.