Chapter 56- Safe and Sound
I'm not dead
!
… but seriously, I haven't forgotten about this. Much like with the last chapter, work as been keeping me really busy lately (had maybe 2 days off within the last month and a half). So much so in fact, that apart from having little to no time to focus on my writing, I also haven't had the chance to play the new World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth expansion, the Destiny 2: Forsaken expansion, or the Monster Hunter: World addon with the Behemoth from Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
Thankfully, as of next week, I will be starting a new and consistent work schedule, so new chapters should start coming out at a regular and quicker pace, once again.
Letting out a loud yawn, Sol winced and rubbed his forehead for several migraine-inducing reasons. Even though he was already tired from the healing he had done during the evacuation, there were plenty of refugees who had been injured that required his healing. Apart from the migraine he was suffering through from that, he also had to deal with ponies constantly asking him a myriad of questions, most of which came from the nobles who were forced to leave their luxurious homes, and were now living in a tent for the night.
As stressful as the nobles had made things for him, even with Celestia, Luna, and Twilight's aid, as the ruler of the Underkingdom, everything now fell to him. Thankfully, there was a bit of a silver lining when a pulse of chaotic magic washed through the area, and it didn't come from Eris. Though the magic didn't alter anything as it normally would, it did alert Sol, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Eris to Discord's arrival, along with everypony who had successfully escaped from Ponyville.
Knowing where her father was, Eris teleported herself over to the plateau where they arrived and gave him, Starlight, Spike, and the others a quick rundown on what had happened. After her brief explanation, she used her magic to teleport herself and the others over to the Undercity, close to the castle so they would be near by if they needed anything.
It took a moment for everypony to adjust to the sudden change of scenery, partially because apart from Starlight and Spike, none of them knew that an entire kingdom existed beneath their hooves. Another reason was the fact that they went from living in a small town, to a rather large city right next to the castle, who's streets were lit by glowing gemstones in the lamp posts. Of course, this was only temporary if they so choose, but Spike, having lived amongst them for so long, had a feeling that they would probably move out of the city to someplace similar to Ponyville, most likely the village of Subterraria located a few miles south of the city. From the way it was described to them by Spike and Starlight during their trek down the tunnel, it sounded like the closest replacement for Ponyville that they could get down here.
Tired from their journey, Discord, Starlight, Spike, and Eris left the ponies to get themselves settled down for the night, while they made their way over to the castle. Since it wasn't that far of a walk from where they were to the castle walls, Discord, now rejuvenated by his magic and having turned the cart's wheels into working wooden legs, found himself curious about this new place and decided to go along with the others' choice of walking, or in his case floating, to the castle instead of teleporting. That, and he still had to deliver Fluttershy's animal friends to her, and they voiced how they didn't very much appreciate the matter of how he and Eris had teleported them. However, as soon as they passed through the gate of the castle walls, Discord suddenly found himself regretting ever coming here.
Even if he tried, there was no way for Discord to look away from the petrified forms of the Scaleless Dragons towering over him. Staring up silently at his former friends, Discord's normally jovial and mischievous attitude quickly degraded to one of melancholy and regret at the sight of those that he had betrayed so long ago. Remember that he wasn't alone, he tried to recollect himself before the others looked back to him, but it was too late as they recalled what he had done to them.
"You doing okay?" Starlight asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. I'm fine," Discord lied. "Just reminiscing is all."
If it weren't for the fact that they could see Discord's facial expressions before asking him, they might had bought it. Instead, Starlight and Spike shared a knowing look that spoke of how neither of them believed him.
"You know," Spike began, "there are a group of doctors and scientists who are working on reversing the petrification done to them. I'd bet that since you had a claw in this, they might appreciate your help. Plus, doing this might help get you on Sol's good side as well."
Discord looked at each of the statues before giving a silent nod.
"I suppose I really should." He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. "But that will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm tired from all of that walking, and I still need to get these little furballs to Fluttershy before I can even think about going to sleep."
"I'll go on ahead and tell her while you want to bring them to the garden." Before Spike went running off, he realized he didn't know where she would be. "Uhh, anypony know where she is?"
Eris nodded. "I can sense her. I'll come with you so we can find her, together."
"Thanks."
And with that, Spike and Eris were off to find Fluttershy.
"Alright you rodents," Discord grumbled, "let's get you to your new home."
Though they didn't particularly appreciate being called rodents, they remained quiet and accepted his help anyways. With Starlight as Discord's guide to the castle grounds, the animals followed them in their walking cart down a gemstone-lit dirt path off to the right that would take them around to the castle gardens. Once they made the last turn, they were met with a sight that rivaled the Canterlot Gardens. Taking a moment to look around the garden, Discord wasn't prepared when the animals all suddenly jumped out of the cart and began exploring the gardens themselves.
"Hey! Get back here!"
"Just let them be, Discord. They're probably bored from that trip and are eager to stretch their legs."
Discord let out a huff. "Fine. It's not like they're my problem anymore, anyways."
After Discord turned the walking cart back into a normal wheeled cart, Starlight led him inside the castle. When she did, they were surprised to see Fluttershy zipping around the corner and flying straight at them. Or, more specifically, Discord.
Seeing her coming, Discord spread his arms and caught the pegasus as she ran into him, wrapping his arms around her in a hug as she hugged and nuzzled his warm, fluffy chest. Seeing that she was no longer needed, Starlight discreetly slipped away and left Fluttershy and Discord alone.
"I'm so happy to see you made it safely," Fluttershy said.
"And I you, Fluttershy," Discord returned as he stroked her mane. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, I'm not. Thanks to Sol and the guards, none of us got hurt."
Discord's mood wilted for a brief moment. "I see... I suppose I will have to thank him, then."
Fluttershy let out a pleasant hum as she enjoyed the moment, but it didn't last long as she was here for another reason.
"Spike told me you brought my animal friends with you," she spoke, looking up to face him.
"I did. They're running around somewhere in the garden right now."
"But why? Not that I'm not thankful, because I really am, but didn't you say to not worry about them because they wouldn't be hurt by Tirek?"
"I did say that, but after some thinking, I figured that you would probably be more relaxed and happy if you knew that they were all safe and sound."
Smiling, Fluttershy lifted herself up and planted a kiss on Discord's cheek.
"Thank you, Discord. It does make me feel a lot better. I didn't doubt your words, but I still couldn't help but feel worried about them."
"Well, now you don't have to," Discord smirked, tilting his head to kiss Fluttershy. Before he could, however, he grunting in discomfort when he felt a familiar thumping against his hoof. "... although, I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind to leave this one behind."
Curious as to what he was talking about, Fluttershy looked down and saw a familiar white bunny kicking Discord.
"Angel!" Happy to see her precious bunny again, Fluttershy slipped out of Discord's hug to scoop up Angel in her forelegs with a happy nuzzle. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay. You didn't give Discord a hard time on the way here, did you?"
Seeing little bunny shake his head, Fluttershy looked up to Discord, who nodded in agreement with the rabbit's answer.
"I'm happy to hear that. I'm always worried that you two won't get along. Now, did you thank him for saving you and the others yet?"
Angel's ears drooped as he looked away in a huff, which in turn caused Fluttershy to frown with disapproval.
"Angel..."
Hearing the scolding tone in her voice, Angel let out a resigning sigh, turned to Discord, and let out a single squeak, which Fluttershy translated as "thanks".
"That's better." Nuzzling Angel once more, Fluttershy put him back down. "I'm going to go see the others for a moment, Discord."
"Yeah. You do that," he said, stifling a tired yawn. "In the meantime, I'm heading to bed... wherever that is."
"You can stay with me in my room while we're here."
"I figured that, but I still don't know where it is."
"But I do." Hearing the voice above them, Discord and Fluttershy looked up and saw Eris floating above them with a smirk on her face. "I'll go ahead and take you to Fluttermom's room."
Fluttershy blushed. "Could you please not call me that, Eris?"
"Awww, really? But it's so cute."
"Now, now, Eris," Discord spoke, "be nice to her. No need for you to tease her... even if you are right and it does sound cute."
"Discord!"
Even though he figured Fluttershy would react like that, Discord couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.
"I'm sorry, my dear. I just couldn't help myself."
Cheeks still tinted red, Fluttershy sighed and turned away. "Anyway, you can go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I'll be there after I'm done here."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
In a flash of light, Discord and Eris were gone, leaving a blushing Fluttershy alone with Angel. She didn't actually mind the nickname that Eris called her. To be honest, she actually kinda liked it. She just didn't expect it and felt a little embarrassed, but still found herself smiling at it as she and Angel made their way to the garden.
It was nearly midnight as Twilight and Sol made their way down the castle hallways, Sol's claws and hooves dragging along the way while Twilight helped him stay steady. Despite it being only a few hours of helping the ponies who had made it to the Underkingdom, with all that had happened within the hours pre and post evacuation, Sol was more than ready for bed. Heck, even the stone floor seemed welcoming at this point. Not that he would've mind sleeping on stone, but after such a long and stressful evening and night, he much preferred the comfort of his own bed. And with the help of Twilight, he was well on his way his bedroom
Now that I think about it, Twilight thought, I don't think I've actually seen his bedroom before. At least, not this one.
"Thank you for your help, Twilight," Sol thanked, drawing her attention back to him.
"It's nothing. You looked like you needed it, anyways."
"More than you know. I was already exhausted from healing everypony from before and after the evacuation, and then I had to stay up and make sure that everypony would be secured for the night."
"Well, at least now you can finally call it a night."
"Something I am very eager to do." Despite being with Twilight, which he always enjoyed, he couldn't help but frown a little bit. "... you know, you didn't have to stay up and help me."
"I know, but I wanted to. Besides," Twilight smirked, "if I didn't, you wouldn't even be able to make it back to your room."
"... I suppose." Sol looked around. "We're almost there. Turn right up here and you will see it."
Following his instructions, Twilight helped Sol down the hallway and took the next right. It was just like the rest of the castle hallways, except for the heavy wooden double-doors at the end of the hallway.
"Is that it?" Twilight asked, indicating with her head towards the doors at the end of the hallway.
"It is."
Helping him over, Twilight and Sol made their way over to the doors before Twilight opened them. After taking her first few steps in, she found her gaze wandering the bedroom as the candles and fireplace magically lit up the room upon their arrival. The entire floor was covered in square tiles, with tall floor candle holders spread about the room, and a red carpet that reached from the doorway to the other side of the room. Up above, a large chandelier hung above the center of the room, with two massive pieces of transparent cloth hanging from near the chandelier, over to their hooks near the bed off to the left, almost like a canopy.
While the floor was obviously made of stone, the ceiling and walls appeared to be made of carved wood, with the walls having ornamental candleholders and banners hanging from them. On the left side of the room near the corner, sat a large dress cabinet. Next to it was a circular, three-tier platform that reached from the wall to near the center of the room. On top of it laid a red rug, a king-sized bed, and a nightstand and wooden reading chair to the left of the bed. To the right of the base of the platform was a large, enchanted harp that begun playing soothing music as soon as Twilight and Sol had entered the room.
On the other side of the wall against the corner, was a bookshelf and writing desk. Right next to the desk, in the center of the room's wall, was a large walk-in fireplace, and large fur rug laying in front of the hearth. On the left side of the fireplace laid a large chest, and a stand that appeared to have been made to hold a suit of armor and one or two weapons.
But, what really got Twilight's attention was the wall on the far side of the room... or rather, the lack there of. Instead of there being a fourth wall, there was an open area that apparently led outside to what could be described as a small, private garden with a water spring in the center. As they got closer, Twilight got a better look at the eight stone pillars, four at the threshold of the room and garden, and the other four holding up an outstretched roof, along with several other pillars that were placed around the garden. The garden itself was about thirty feet wide if she had to guess, and it started at the first set of pillars closest to the stone floor of the bedroom, before it transitioned to dirt. It stretched from around the borders of the stone fence, to the fifteen foot wide pool of water in the center of the garden. Apart from the pool of water, there were flowers, ferns, palm trees, natural-looking rocks, and a pair of log benches overlooking the pond. And there, out beyond the railing and up above, was the Underkingdom bathed in the midnight sky.
"What is this place?" Twilight asked in awe.
"My bedroom," Sol replied with a tired smirk, knowing what Twilight was really asking.
"Not that. I mean this. What is this place... and are we really outdoors?"
Leaving Twilight to gaze about the garden, Sol made his way over to the stand, placed his hammer and shield on it, and began taking off his armor.
"Like I said, this place is my room, or a part of it, anyways. As you've no doubt noticed already, I like having a bit of nature near me, even in my own bedroom, so I created this a long time ago."
"Okay, but why these plants? I don't know nearly as much about plants as you do, but I do know that these kind of trees are more acclimated to more tropical climates, not the sort that we have here."
"True, but they do thanks to my magic," Sol countered, removing his chest piece and moving to his gauntlets. "I thought they would look nice, and later added the pool there for aesthetics... and for bathing. And before you ask, there's a gem at the bottom of the pond that purifies the water, so we won't have to worry about the water going stale and getting all mucky and stuff."
Twilight peered over the side of the pond and looked down to see that there was indeed a gem emanating a soft blue glow at the bottom.
"And what about the sky?"
"Remember that illusion on the ceiling of the Underkingdom?"
"Yes?"
"It's basically the same thing. What you're seeing is just an illusion of what's outside. We are still inside the castle, so nopony can fly in here or see what's going on. It should also explain to you why there appear to be random pillars placed around the garden, incase you were wondering."
"I see."
With a few more tugs, Sol removed the last few pieces of his armor and placed them on the stand. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief from finally having all of that heavy metal off of him, he looked over the armor and frowned at the dents that it bore. He figured that it was dented pretty good already thanks to Chrysalis, but judging from the scorch marks that were on it, it looked like it also got dented from some blasts of changeling magic that had hit it. Regardless of the dents, Sol was pleased to see that it still did its job in protecting him. After all, he didn't even feel the impacts from them.
Now free from the weight of his armor, Sol made his way over to the pond and lazily trudged from the shallow end of it into deeper waters. Once he was up to his neck, he submerged his head completely and allowed himself to relax, letting the water cleanse him of the sweat, dirt, and other debris from his day, which was quickly purified by the gem so it wouldn't contaminate the water. After several long seconds, Sol emerged from the water, feeling much cleaner and slightly more awake than he did going in.
"Ahhh. Much better," he sighed in relief and freshness, having completely forgotten for a moment that Twilight was right there. "Oops. Sorry."
"N-No. It's okay," she said with tinted cheeks.
Blushing himself, Sol lit his horns and cast a spell that quickly dried himself off.
"I know I said it before, but that spell is really quite convenient."
"I know, right? After having water poured over my head so many times, I decided to go look for a spell that would quickly dry myself off. And as a bonus, it saves us on having to use towels."
Sol smiled and stretched himself out as he felt ready to finally call it a night. But, before he could think about that, there was one last thing that came to mind.
"Hey, Twilight?"
"Hmm?"
Sol's eyes drifted between his bedroom doors and the bed.
"Where do you plan on sleeping while you're here?"
Twilight blushed. "Um... well, I hope you don't mind, but I was hoping I could... stay here?"
To Twilight's mild surprise, Sol chuckled.
"Not at all." Lighting his horns, Sol closed the doors to his room. "Actually, I was kinda hoping you would say that."
Twilight smiled and followed Sol over towards the bed. "I just didn't want to automatically assume I could or anything."
"Assume all you'd like, Twilight. You are always welcome."
Pulling back the silver comforter and white bedsheet, Sol moved in under the covers from the right, while Twilight slid in from the left. With the two of them settling in, Sol slid the covers up to their necks and let his head rest against the pillow. However, as soon as his head touched the pillow, all the days exhaustion finally caught up to him, and within seconds, he was asleep, much to Twilight's amusement.
Giggling to herself at the sight of Sol falling asleep so quickly, Twilight shimmied her way over to Sol and hug him, cradling his head against her chest while stroking his mane. Unfortunatly for her, as much as she was enjoying this peaceful moment, she found herself feeling tired as well as a squeaky yawn escaped her. Feeling her eyes growing heavy, Twilight lit her horn and extinguished the candles lighting the room, leaving only the fire in the fireplace to dimly light the room as Twilight followed Sol to sleep.
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A nice, simple, beautiful little chapter. What a nice way to comeback
I very well understand that life just happens so I said before and I'll say again, as long as you keep making great content then It'll always be worth the wait. Keep up the good work my good man
P.S. Nice use of the Monster Hunter World Soundtrack
Ahhh, a nice relaxing chapter after the hectic few chapters before this
"Hanging"
"BEEN"
So it's tree related?
I think Twi meant to say Okay...
a vary somber chapter, time for everypony to unwind.
9159277 Thanks. As for the MHW music, I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it, and would find myself spending a good 10-15 min. just listening to it. Also, as you've probably noticed, I based Sol's room off of the private suite, minus a few details.
9159331 9159333 Thanks for pointing those out.
9160085
what platform do you play MHW on? im on xbox myself
9160085
Yeah, I thought the room sounded familiar
9160115 PS4.
9160085
no prob
Warning: maybe spoilers?
9180656
*zips mouth shut*
Wait, but the Equestria Girls movies have been out for so long that my comment can't possibly be a spoiler for that. So that only leaves...
P.S. You've already seen the EqG movies, right?... Right?
9182396 Yes. I have seen the EQG movies. That 'spoiler' was actually for your question about Blueblood.
9182623
As Pinkie would say, okie dokie!
I'm looking forward to that scene, now. Well, all I can do is read on.
9184901
I just kinda dislike most fan versions of Twilight. She usually seems insensitive, rude, and pushy, and way too focused on testing absolutely everything.
Any way I can help with the story
9236348 Thanks for the offer, but I'll get the next chapter done... eventually. Been a bit hectic these last few months with working 6-7 days a week, and whenever I do get home from work, I'm too tired to write/type.
Ok take your time
9186134
The words: feeling pinkie keen...
9259094
Wat?
You know I keep on coming back here to ask when the next chapter is gonna be out but then I remeber; oh wait he said that he didn't have much time off from work, so yeah I look forward to reading the next chapter no matter how short or long it is
I find myself wondering.
If Discord can separate a piece of himself and magically declare it his daughter, can Eris decide t magically retroactively declare Fluttershy her mother, and perhaps take on some physical or personality trait of Fluttershy’s to make the relationship clear to others?
I can imagine it now,
“Dear, did we hear you right?”
“‘Our’ daughter?!”
*Flutterparents faint in a heap*