The Steadfast Sky

by Greytercakes

XXXIV : January the Nineteenth

The Steadfast Sky : January the Nineteenth
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/


Authors Note, A Caveat: I must first apologize if things get sloppy or poorly composed in the course of this collection. So rarely do events happen so quickly, and even more rarely do we Illuminators get to observe such events firsthand. I did my best to take notes, and was able to capture a good deal of the Second God’s adventures. But in my haste to observe and capture the moments that unfolded afterwards, this collection turned into a treatise of personal observations, field notes rather than a constructed historical record.

Forgive me for my amateurish mistakes. Praise the Alicorns, may their wisdom grow ever more infinite.

~Observations, January the Nineteenth ~

On January the Eighteenth, Year Ninety Three of the Equestrian Age, at half past ten at night, the Elements made themselves known at the Shrine. Let it be written that they arrived in an atmosphere of heretics, one cultivated by our neglect. Our order had been blinded by the supposed love of the uninitiated, love solely stoked by our fire-tonged Priest, Bolster Brass. His love sought out true Loyalty, but his beliefs were cleanly sundered by the words of our Second Gods, arriving to strike him down and display for all the fact that his words as poison. Only the Alicorns know the truth of the Elements, so are they allowed to bear them, harbingers of true harmony. Bolster Brass was expunged from our order that very night, and his willingness to beg for forgiveness spared him true punishment.

Our Head Illuminator, Curling Quill, then confided in the three Second Gods, identifying them as Laughter, Kindness, and, of course, Loyalty. All are astoundingly young, like empty vessels to be filled with the wisdom we have to offer. They unaware of a great many things, as I have heard, including the true purpose of the Elements of Harmony.

I will now take a brief time to describe the Elements up close, as it is so rare we are allowed close contact with such noble creatures, especially in a time prior to their most glorious rise.

Kindness, birth name Discord, is a most unusual specimen I have yet to encounter, and it is bizarre that such a creature could have come into possession of a pony-centric artifact. He is a Draconequus, and there is little I know of their physiology and behavior. Certainly, there must be a record somewhere, and I will add them as a note if such records are found.

His behavior was not knowledge I could easily observe on my own, as he was very ill at his time of arrival. But I was given very helpful notes by the Element of Laughter. She has told me that Kindness is very playful. A ‘tricksy pony’ were the words she used, her vocabulary slightly limited with her age. She went on to say that Kindness likes to take care of himself, but very much cares for his friends in his own, often lighthearted way.

Loyalty, when asked, wondered aloud the question of why an independent creature such as Kindness could come to bear his Element. But she quickly accepted that things were acceptable because the Elements’ judgment is absolute. She is a very wise mare. I will describe her next, before moving on to the one I feel I know the most about, Second Laughter.

Loyalty’s birth name is Celestia Helios, once a Unicorn baroness born and raised in Canterbury, along with Kindness and Laughter. When presented with the truth of her nature, that she is to become a god, Loyalty withdrew to uncertainty and self-doubt, a noble and wise action. She retreated to the library in search of a book, and when Laughter went to fetch her, you could already tell quite clearly that she had grown and changed. I curse my personal lack in foresight, as she should have been provided with paper to document her glorious transformation. Her process of thought will have to be left to our own speculation.

~LOYALTY~

I heard my sister rocket out of bed barely as it began to get light. I wonder if she slept at all last night. I know I didn’t. How could I? God? Ruler of Equestria? How can I handle a country when I can barely even handle my own life? I slid off the pallet and felt the sweat cool. Tears dry.

I had no idea where my hooves were taking me. Each hoof might as well have been in space, I couldn’t feel them moving, I just saw the world slide by, blurring. I wound up wandering back to the library , a nebulous idea of that book rattling around my head. There was a book I needed to see.

I looked at the rows of carefully bound and placed books. Dozens with dark blue covers. Equestria one, Equestria two… Manuals on recipes, gilded accounts of an old war, tiny leaflet journals about this or that plant, a rudimentary guide to magic. Not sorted, merely collected, stuffed onto shelves and left to the dust.

At one point, Discord stopped by, exhausted, asked me about Kindness. I gave him the same answer I had been hearing from the librarians, scribes, whatever. The Elements say so, so there’s no questioning it. They said he was kind, so he is. Though I couldn’t stop myself from slipping and saying I think him being Kindness is crap. He didn’t need to hear that. Not with how sick he is. And not with how sick I made him look. I should have gone after him, but caught up in my own thoughts…

I don’t know, was I stupid? Being a hero was a responsibility. Being a hero was about taking care of others. It wasn’t about just doing and going where you wanted. What about this made it different. What about it, Celestia? You have been chosen to do this. This is what you are. This is what has been asked… No, there was never any asking, just assumption. Am I mad because it was just that, just handed to me? This is what you are now. What happened to choosing my own fate, my own place to be happy?

Isn’t that what a cutie mark is for? Your path of happiness…

But oh god… my cutie mark.

The sun. The sun the sun, the silly little dreamy sun, a lofty goal above the clouds. Return the light, be the light, be the sun. Isn’t that what I wanted for myself?

What girl when they’re little doesn’t dream of being a Princess? They want the fancy dresses, the nice food, the social atmosphere. Just getting what they want, all day long. But every princess becomes a queen, every child has to grow up and take some responsibility. And for a Princess, it’s ultimate responsibility. The leader of leaders, the caretaker of thousands or more.

I can’t even take care of my sister. I can’t even do that much. I can’t do this, I can’t.

What kind of system is this?

I returned to the stacks.

~¤~

It was the same book.

Not the exact book, not a direct copy. A full recreation, maybe taken from a single template. I hovered it over to a table, the same table we sat at last night, and carefully peel the cover open.

The first true page, a green field, painted on in watercolor, bright and vibrant as I remembered, emerald bound carefully between raised black lines, to separate it from the painted sky. Six figures danced among the clouds. Blue, Brown, Pink, Purple, Red, and Green. Outlined in gold, surrounded by the aura of their manes, six stallions with massive wings and horns, shining their light on all the happy ponies beneath them.

My eyes flickered over the words it accompanies. Peace. Harmony. Friendship between the tribes. Praise the alicorns, the chosen Elements of Harmony.

I turned a page.

Blue Magic, the stallion that will eventually break and abandon his country. He often listened to his tutor. However, once he disobeyed, tried a dangerous spell on a living being. It worked, but the creation offended the natural world. He is forgiven for his innocence, but punished for his disobedience. Be aware of others, but know not to harm. Praise the alicorns, their wisdom grows infinite from this lesson.

Pink Laughter, the stallion that will hide his face in a crumbling tomb. He once penned plays, but was not allowed to create as often as he liked when he inherited Equestria. He resorted to leaving his duties behind, putting strain on the other Elements as they attempted to keep up. When he returns, he apologizes, but is punished for his disobedience. There are priorities that one has, and while fun is important, one should put the needs of others first. Praise the alicorns, their wisdom grows infinite from this lesson.

Brown Kindness… The Shadow Stallion. I stared at him. His aura, his mane was like flowing blades of grass, thick and angular from his head, glittering from emerald dust. His eye, staring blankly sideways, was an inlaid blue gemstone. His cutiemark was a single swollen butterfly, painted a runny blue.

He tried to teach a speckled little dog a funny trick. But the dog is too old to listen, so Kindness tries to cast a spell over it. Kindness doesn’t know what he’s doing, and with Laughter goading him on, Kindness winds up hurting all three of them in a blast of magic. While it is noble to experiment with boundaries, it is dangerous and must be approached carefully. Praise the alicorns, their wisdom grows infinite from this lesson.

I can’t take my eyes off of Kindness casting his spell. He’s reared up on his hind legs, horn surrounded by a field of silver, painted and polished directly onto the page. Billowing clouds surround him, swirling lumps of gray and black…

I slap the book closed, a little gust of wind curling past my clenched jaw.

~Observations, January the Nineteenth ~

I spent the most time January the Nineteenth with Laughter, birth name Luna Helios and the younger Unicorn sister of Loyalty. She is, or has developed fully into the true epitome of her Element. She is cheerful and bubbly, taking her rise to godhood very well. This may come in some part from her childishness, but the fact that she is Laughter points to a deeply ingrained and long-term commitment to who she naturally is and will be.

As expected for a child who has not yet developed a cutie mark, her variety of magic is large and unstructured. While her sister has yet to discover the true abilities of the sun, Laughter has dabbled in shadow and sonic spells. She is unusually powerful for her age, but this is almost certainly due to the influence of the Element, as long term exposure has certainly had its effects on her structure by now. If the other three Elements were present, she would be ripe to ‘pop’ so to say.

In any case, she regaled to me the full extent of her adventures thus far, which I have attached at the bottom end of this document. Her retellings were childish and energetic, and the notes I’ve taken will probably require a good deal of extrapolation and fact-checking, from both the sources of her adventures and her fellow Elements. Both Loyalty and Kindness were unavailable at first to comment on these stories, Kindness for his illness, and Loyalty for her admirable engrossment self-reflection.

It is now that I turn my observations over to actual events. I have attached my original notes, the messy scrawls that they are, but have attempted to clean them up for a proper presentation and analysis here. I am eternally grateful to Dashing Pen, who made sure I knew how to speed write. While the observations are my own, the words spoken aloud are verbatim, and highly accurate.

~Events, January the Ninteenth, Eleven in the morning~

As stated, I had spent the morning listening to the stories of Laughter. Despite their childishness, they were endearing, and had an honest truth about them, even the parts she did not seem to understand. She told them in the primary chamber, supposedly for General Hurricane’s benefit, though her central location meant several Illuminators stopped to listen as well. I wish I was able to record the flow of her voice, but I was more concerned with keeping the facts straight at the time.

In any case, after a few hours of this, Clear Chime entered the chamber, not to listen, but to fetch one of the unicorn scribes, Glitter Dawn. Though I did not record the specific of their conversation, the gist was easy enough to remember. A fox had broken into the chicken coop, and wasn’t leaving. Clear Chime hoped that Glitter Dawn would be able to use her magic to extract the offending creature, but Glitter Dawn was equally disgusted and frightened by the presence of the beast.

At that moment, Laughter plainly demanded to be allowed to remove the creature. She explained that it was her place as a god to help those around her. Her logic was childish, but after claiming to know how to teleport via the shadows, none would stop her. Each person attending followed in her wake, wishing to witness her bragged abilities first-hand.

We easily reached the chicken coop, and all was silent within the structure. I was uncertain how many chickens we had, but a good many were clustered in the corner of the courtyard, clucking among themselves quietly. It seemed that only one or two may have been harmed, but it was difficult to tell. Two of the trailing Illuminators moved to one side of the barn to try and remove the side, the entrance we often use to access the eggs. But before it could be removed, Laughter snuck herself right into the smaller entrance built for the chickens. This, despite the protests of the Illuminators, many insisting that the fox could be rabid, or otherwise hurt her.

I remember clearly where I was. I saw her four little hooves turn themselves, body and head obscured by the structure. She said something cheerful, like ‘don’t worry mister fox!’ or something similar. Then, her hooves stopped bouncing in place, became firm on the ground. In a voice serious, quite unlike her normal demeanor, she said thusly:

“Discord?”

~KINDNESS~

I can’t move. I can’t even close my eyes. All the water kept leaking out, leaving them dry and sandy, unfocused. I think I’m dying. I stare at my paw, stiff and still beside me, and think… Well, at least it doesn’t hurt. I feel like all my insides are hollowed out, but it doesn’t hurt much.

I wonder if I’ll see Ruin in hell. But it’s stupid, why would I see him there?

I don’t want to die, I don’t want to. I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t. I know what I need, what I’ve been needing for weeks. Back at the castle, I never let it go this far, didn’t have the willpower. But out here, I had a purpose. I had a reason to just… not eat. I couldn’t, not with how Luna reacted in Stringhalt. Her horror and disgust, just with being associated with death. For her to learn more…

I don’t want to lose my friends. It just seems so close now. I could lose my friends.

But I’d lose them if I died too…

Is this what Kindness is? Self-sacrifice? But to let myself die for that philosophy… it makes me feel nasty, dirty. It’s a perversion. This choice, both choices. Why do I have to be forced to make it?

I stared at my hand, forced it to move. If I have to choose between two perversions of kindness, I think I’ll go with the one where I live.

Just my body awkward, limping along to a slow beat, cloak trailing in the dirt. Just emotion, no thought, stumbling around. What is kindness, am I kind enough to hold this Element, what would everyone think, do these librarian know? Apple knew what a Draconequus was, does anybody else here know? Do they understand why thousands of unicorns are locked up in a pen with hundreds of Draconequus? Why even unicorns specificially, I don’t know the answer to that. It’s sloppier with unicorns. Lots sloppier, that black gunk everywhere. I think I’d feel sick if I had anything left to be sick with. I’m not going to hurt anybody. Not any pony, none at all. Does that make me better or worse? What am I? Am I Kindness or a Draconequus… they’re mutually exclusive, I know they are. I know.

I know I hurt so badly right now. Even if the pain is just emptiness, it just… hurts.

I don’t have answers to anything important. I no longer know what to think of myself. And I don’t know how I got here. Why I’m here, that’s easier. It’s a little wooden hut, raised off the ground with a little ramp up to an open doorway. Slightly taller than me, straw and feathers strewn around the bottom.

I scrambled up the ramp, wriggle my way in through the little doorway. I probably only fit because of how thin I’ve gotten, how starved. Three fat hens cluck inside the tiny house, eyeing me, suspicious. I know they are. I can see the body language… all these animals, they’re aware. They can’t speak, but they can communicate. They can understand. I wish they didn’t. I wish they didn’t give me those eyes…

I take a deep breathe of that fetid air, gulp back a mouthful of spit, and jump on one of the clucking birds. I pin it in place, not knowing where I get the strength to do so. I dig my jaws around its neck, knowing it’s kindest to let the creature die quick.

~Events, January the Nineteenth, Half Past Eleven in the morning~

I pulled out my paper, dropped down to the cobblestone, and prepared myself for observation. I suppose I didn’t know what else to think at that moment, what else I should be doing. It was beyond my understanding why Kindness would be in this situation, beyond my right to analyze. I only observed.

“What are you doing in here?” Laughter asked.

“What does it look like?”

“It’s dark.”

“You can see through it,” he growled.

“I don’t want to.”

Quietly, just within my hearing, “Of course not.”

Clear Chime stepped forward.

“Prince Discord? Are you alright?”

“No!” He swore at the Illuminator, then things were quiet to me. Later, after confiding with Clear Chime, the scribe quietly relayed to me that after his question, Kindness had begun to cry under his breath.

“You must hate me now,” Kindness said aloud.

“I don’t hate you,” came Laughter’s reply.

“I’m a… I eat meat.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why do you think?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“You do.”

“No, I don’t!”

“Of course you do! What do you think I ate, all of the Draconequus ate in Canterbury?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t you?! It’s obvious isn’t it? What else would a carnivore eat?!” Laughter mumbled something, to which Kindness spat back: “Have you ever seen me eating grass?!”

“Well I saw you eating apples and carrots and stuff!”

“Probably why I survived this long! Haven’t touched meat since Canterbury…”

“Well, that’s good!”

“That’s why I’m half dead Luna!”

“Oh…”

My pen hovered over the page, waiting for the Elements to speak again. They did not for a good while.

“Well?” Kindness snapped, voice raspy.

“Well what?”

“Well what are you going to do about this?”

“I don’t know.”

I could hear him hiss words, but, behind on my scrawling, I was sadly unable to record his words.

“No!” Laughter shouted, clearly able to hear Kindness.

“Then what do you want to do with me?!”

“I don’t want to do anything! I don’t… I don’t know! I don’t know! Stop looking at me!” Laughter forced her way through the coop door, screaming for her sister Loyalty as she charged past our group.

My notes grew a little hysteric at that point as well, and their confusion can mostly be disregarded. I considered this argument a corruption of the Elements, which is altogether untrue and heretical in nature, Alicorns forgive me.

~LAUGHTER~

I’m usually very sure of what I think. I don’t like not knowing what I think. It’s like I’m not thinking anymore. Seeing Discord hurt, a limp form with two little lights for eyes. Yet he stood over a dead body, a ripped open skin… I had never seen something that looked so much like nothing, yet so clearly used to be something. It’s like my brain turned off then. What am I supposed to think about this?

I don’t know anything. That’s all I can think with my brain off. I don’t know any single thing.

I need my big sis.

~Events, January the Nineteenth, Quarter til Noon~

While my notes are mostly unhelpful and ultimately become discarded, I remember clearly what we Illuminators did next. Glitter Dawn successfully removed the side of the coop and exposed the Prince Kindness all to see.

I remember very distinctly his appearance as we opened the coop. Even under his cloak, we could all see clearly his thin, scraggly form, and rabidly fearful would be an accurate description of his eyes. The poor Prince had been badly damaged by his hunger. He flinched in the light, snout and paws painted red with an empty carcass at his feet.

For a moment, none of us knew what to say either. My hysterics, heretical as they were, explain clearly what I’m sure the lot of us were thinking. He is our new god of Kindness, and this, for most of us, was our first encounter with him. In a moment of such weakness, in the lowest point of his life. Glitter Dawn shakily joked that the first gods had their problems as well, and everybody followed her in a laugh. Another of the scribes, Gilded Brush, urged that the Prince remove himself from the coop, remarking its filth. Kindness did, and I was relieved to see him hang his head in shame.

It was a mistake, is all. He has the wisdom to see his sins, and will grow more the wiser from this happenstance. He mumbled apologies at this time, expressing sorrow for the chicken. Explaining how close to death he was. He even attempted to describe the feeling, curled tightly around himself, clutching his cloak tightly around his stomach. While I wish I could recreate the sound of his voice, the pain of his description, I cannot. I offered Kindness my pen and paper, to record him feelings on the matter. But he returned to me a sour look, and mumbled that he would only soil the paper.

One of the Illuminators returned with a soaked washcloth and offered it to Kindness. He took it with his thanks and began to cleanse himself.

Before Kindness had a chance to even set aside the damp cloth, Loyalty bore herself into the courtyard, Laughter directly at her heels. And from the stiff way Loyalty held her body, she clearly meant business with Kindness.

~LOYALTY~

The sun the sun the sun. Did I really think that it was all just about the real sun? That all I ever wanted was a clear sky? How did I think I was going to accomplish that? What did I think that entailed? Fairy tale wishes and a bit of good luck?

I wanted this. I wanted this, I did. I’ve always wanted to be in control, I just never thought I had the ability to. I always wanted free the sun… no, not just free it. I wanted to be that sun. I wanted to be free to shine, the brightest thing in Equestria. The giver of life and protector of those under my warm rays. I love them, I love everybody. Even the mean ones, the stupid ones. Spit Shine and Pith, just lost little foals under my warm and loving rays. I can take care of them. It’s what I want. I want to take care of everybody.

I get it now. I don’t know if it’s strange to not get a cutie mark for this long, but I get it now. I know why it appeared when I saw that sun. I know why.

And I will live for my people. I can feel my jaw clench tighter. How dare that selfish, selfish beast of a Stallion hurt Equestria for this, for nothing. He was chosen for his Kindness, but clearly he didn’t have the heart to bear it. He was a false god, and that’s why he fell to his nightmares. That’s why he’s hurting people. I’m better. I’m stronger. I am Loyalty, and my loyalty to all living creatures is who I am, plain as the cutie mark I bear. Plain as day should be, and was above the heavy clouds of oppression.

I feel the Element beat on my chest, or maybe my heart thumping into the Element. Does it matter which? We are clearly one in the same. That’s who we are, that’s who I am. The Sun. I am the Loyal Sun.

I shake the tension from my shoulders and hold my head high. I folded my legs tight and snapped into the proper pose, the pose I had let myself fall out of all these weeks sleeping on dirt and filth. Celestia, you are a Princess. Start holding yourself like one.

And just then, Luna dove between my legs, shivering like a leaf.

~Events, January the Ninteenth, Noon~

Again, on instinct, I dropped to the pavement to record the ensuing conversation, eliciting some strange looks from Loyalty. She scanned the attending Illuminators, and her posture shifted slightly, tightened even further.

As with Laughter, her first word was Kindness’ birth name.

“Discord.”

“Morning, Celestia…”

“Do you mind explaining yourself?”

“I was dying.”

The conversation devolved, but Alicorns forgive my short sited mistake, at that time I had run out of ink. It was but a few moments I missed searching for my spare well, but in that time the conversation quickly devolved into a battle of words.

“And you know what?” Kindness spat at Loyalty, “You’re just being confrontational! What is your actual problem here?!”

“C…Confrontational?”

“You’re just looking for something to be wrong!”

“That’s because something is wrong! You killed a living creature! How many deaths have you been hiding from us?! Is… is that why you even came into our house in the first place? Were you looking to snack on Luna when you invaded her room?”

“Never! I would never even think of doing that!”

“I wish I could believe you…”

“Hasn’t this past couple months proven it to you enough that, that you, that the both of you mean the whole world to me? We’ve all thrown away our old lives for this friendship…”

“A friendship you abused by lying to us constantly—!”

“Okay stop.” Laughter stepped between the two, voice level and controlled.

“This was my problem to handle by myself!”

“And we see how that turned out!”

“Stop!” Laughter cried, “Stop it!”

“Luna, please!”

“Discord won the argument. He’s right.”

“There is no winning or losing an argument, Luna,” Loyalty stated, “That’s not how things work!”

“Well I finally know how I feel. And I still trust Discord. I didn’t like seeing him hurting. And as friends, we’ve got to help him find a way to handle his problem.”

Frankly, I was ecstatic to witness a fight among gods, and the nature of this battle was biblical to behold. Yet, at this point Curling Quill made his own entrance into the courtyard. Preoccupied with the grand events unfolding before my eyes, I missed initially Curling Quills comments. But it was then that Curling Quill informed the watching Illuminators of how to look at the scene unfolding in front of us, very proud that he was wise enough to interpret the events.

Curling Quill explained Kindness’ moral quandary as a boon. His desire for meat clearly connects him to the savagery of the animal world. And with this boon, he can more clearly understand the worldly vision of kindness, encompassing a great number of people, not just ponies. His wisdom is invaluable, and clearly he is to preside over the Earth and Worldly Matters, as his predecessor did before him. This is juxtaposed with Loyalty, who bears the cutie mark of the sun, and clearly presides over the Sky and Heavenly Matters. It is no wonder then that the two would fight so, as Heaven and Earth are never meant to touch. It is practically expected of them to be at odds.

Almost as an afterthought, upon looking at the three Elements, he also claimed that Laughter’s interference pointed her to be the presider over the domain of the Mind and Emotion. The role previously held by First Generosity, as I feel I must point out.

While the explanation properly assuaged the fears of all the Illuminators around me, I must continue to describe my observations of the Elements. For their reaction was not relief, nor did they continue with their argument. Forgive me for admitting weakness in our Elements, but at that time they exchanged wordless looks of a painful confusion, praise them. They had the wisdom to question even the most trustworthy of sources, though I do hope their wisdom sees them to the truth behind Curling Quill’s words.

Curling Quill offered our Prince the spoils of our fishing trips, as we must often catch these fish in order to make ink. Kindness quietly accepts before leaving with the other two Elements. As I was to eventually learn, they retreated to their room.

I do hope that these records find some use. Praise be to the Alicorns, and may the Second Gods find peace in this troubled time.

~Conclude Events, January the Nineteenth, Three in the Afternoon~

Curling Quill, A Final Note: This collection of facts and observations is very useful, and your initiative to take them far exceeds any of the other Illuminators’ present. We will use it as reference when we construct the official record.

Comments

[Doctor Agon]

FIRST!
Really great! =D Can't wait for more!!!

[Ghosted Note]

Perhaps the most depressing part of this story is that Discord is Kindness.

Good work.

[Professor Plum]

I've got to say, I was mildly confused at the start of this chapter (I thought those were author's notes at the top)
Still, high standards as usual. Wished we'd heard more of Celestia shouting, but I suppose this way works it out neatly.

[im not here anymore11111]

this was a nice change of pace, it takes time to explain the views of an observer as well as show more character development. There wasn't much in the way of plot in this chapter, but I imagine that is because this chapter is the characters making sense of their place and getting ready to transition to the next part of the story. In an earlier chapter it was mentioned that there are bearers for the other 3 elements so I imagine the next major plot development will have the characters embark on the journey to find these 3 other bearers.

[Csquared08]

That was a really interesting way to tell this part of the story. Well done

891207
I know right? I'm wondering how this isn't going to get a Sad or Tragedy tag by the end of this, what with Discord going evil and all

[Arcshod]

I couldn't help but think. . . "Given Discord and the Shadow Stallion, what's going to happen to Fluttershy?"

[Professor Whooves]

893006
Discord didn't "go evil"; he just got hungry. Frankly, I was hoping that someone would state explicitly that draconequui eat ponies. I was looking forward to the fallout from that.
EDIT: Ah, you meant at some point before the end. That's fair.

[Discord_Sparkle]

893524
Let's just say.... stay out of her shed

[browncoatbrony]

This one caught me off guard, in a good way. having somepony document the story from the outside is different and a cool addition. what i don't like/get is why when you switched the story to the other characters it said their element not their name why is that? i would go with its what the scribe had documented of them but its what the charachter does. it's 'prolly simple but some clarifying would help

[Greytercakes]

895296
It's definitely a metanarritive choice. There is no real in-story reason.

[Quantum_Shift]

for crying out loud...
Horses (and ponies) have been known to eat meat. In fact, horses that don't get a varied enough diet will attack and eat small mammals like squirrels. So stop freaking out, Celestia! Jeez, he's just malnourished...

Anyways, thsi fic is absolutely amazing, and I await the next chapter eagerly!

[Greytercakes]

896072
Really!?
I looked up a lot of stuff about proper horse care and never ran across that Though I guess if you're properly caring for a horse, it shouldn't have to come to that in the first place... I have honestly never heard that before!
I guess I could handwave away the derp by saying it never occurs to the civilized ponies, but that is a true hiccup on my part, and knowing that probably really undermined the chapter. So I apologize for that!

[Quantum_Shift]

896245
No need to hand-wave it, It was me ranting at the character, not at the author. If Celestia had the time to do any serious research she'd know about it.
With civilized ponies, it wouldn't happen
Wild horses eat meat sometimes, when they aren't getting enough of a few types of proteins.
It's very rare even in poorly-cared for domestic horses, because all purchased feeds are given a spritzing of protein to up the cost and keep the horses healthy and less likely to randomly bite a hand because it looks like a chipmunk for a moment.
It's more of the Illuminators not getting it that kinda threw me. Being farther away from civilization would likely leave at least some times of year forcing a little bit of meat eating in near-starvation conditions.
And Pegasi would almost indubitably eat meat, because pure vegetable diets don't work for anything that spends a large amount of its time in the air. In fact, it's common thought that the Pegasi are the introducers of using Chickens to get eggs, for the protein, which would lead to cakes and pastries when Earth Ponies and Unicorns start experimenting with the usages of said eggs.

[Greytercakes]

896272
The Illuminators are only a day's travel from Stringhalt, and definitly not in the middle of nowhere! And though they are used to catching and killing fish for their ink, you also have to note the circumstances Discord committed this deed under. The Illuminators thought he was a fox, a mindless, bestial thief. He is caught literally red handed with a corpse torn to shreds beneath him. Even if the ponies did occasionally eat meat themselves, can you picture one of the Illuminators biting into a raw fish flopped right off the hook?

The Pegasi, I won't say too much about...

[Quantum_Shift]

896332
heh.

And sorry, I thought they were farther away than that (I have poor spatial reckoning. Sue my genetics)
yeah, I understand the freaking out to a point, but Celestia's respond is (while completely in character for her) far too overreactive. This isn't a stab at you, it's a jab at her, because she's taking this way harder than she ought to.

again, not aimed at you the writer, because she' entirely in character, it's just that her character would feel betrayed by this act.

And for the Pegasi... well, they'd have to be nearly predatory in nature until they begin integrating with Earth Ponies to get that farming thing in hoof.
there's good reason that the Pegasi have always been seen as the more aggressive and warmongering of the three tribes, as any sentient species with a liking for meat inevitably will be *ehem*HUMANS*ehem* simply because the need for meat requires a territorial view far more vicious or likely to be a contest to permanent injury than a primary herbivore's.

Also, there is no animal in the world that solely eats plants or meat, everything eats a mix. Carnivores simply eat almost exclusively meat, and Herbivores eat almost exclusively plants.
And fungi eat them both! (after death, of course)

[Black TearsWolf]

Noooooo Discord Discord you better live and do something badass

[TheManWithTwoNames]

Celestia, you'll be a bum about anything, won't you?

I did love the Illuminators' interpretations of everything. It bordered on hilarious at some points when they see these same arguments we've known for so long as mighty confrontations of gods. You know I always love to see this story~

[Melancholy]

The bit I found most depressing? "We will use it as reference when we construct the official record."
The 'official record' is usually nothing like the truth. It's now quite clear anyway, but this just cements the fact that all those poor foals have done is move from one prescribed frying pan into another.

[city street]

I really like the story, keep writing more please!

[Sparityluvr]

Dang why do I keep doing this??? I really really love this story, but I keep forgetting about and when i remember, theres like 4 (or more) more chapters...

[Telly Vision]

Coincidence discord returns January 19

[Zweiterversuch]

GreyPotter!!!
I'm going to mess you up!!! (In a good way)
Just wait a few hours. I'll be sending you a video soon! (Of course not a rant or anything like that...kind of a present for this wonderful fanfic)

[ANearPerfectStudent]

Both Discord and Fluttershy were Bearers are Kindness...
No wonder they got along...
(Keep Calm and Flutter On)
Well played, Well played...