• Published 18th Jun 2017
  • 1,138 Views, 148 Comments

A World Above - KidatHeart5



8th installment of the "Royal Canterlot Family" series. Based on "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "The Pied Piper". A wedding is underway, but when children get kidnapped and a war threatens to erupt, a giant cloud in the sky may hold some answers.

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A Party in the Empire

“Prince Blaze Lupinus Spruce, give me that corsage right now!” 17-year-old Nova Rose shouted as she chased Blaze through the castle halls like they did in their childhood.

“You have to catch me first!” he taunted.

“Oh, that is really mature!” she retorted. “You’re acting like that 8-year-old jerk who stole my book and never gave it back to me!”

“I did so! I dropped it off at your house!”

“I meant that you never gave it back to me personally to make up for your actions!”

“And face your wrath?!” He scoffed in amusement, “I think not!”

She grunted in frustration, “Ugh! You can be such a pain in the-“

He mocked a gasp, “Such language! I’m hurt! Deeply!”

“Very funny!” she yelled back.

He then ran into a room and she followed after him.Once she entered the room, however, he was nowhere in sight.

“Blaze? Blaze?! Blaze, where are you?! There’s no way you could have disappeared like that! Now, come on out!”

Suddenly, she was tackled from behind and ended up tumbling on the floor with Blaze on top of her kissing her passionately on the lips. Between breaths, she uttered, “Blaze, that’s dirty pool…”

“Come on…you know you love me…” he softly said.

She slightly smirked with her hoof touching his cheek, “Do I know that? Yes…Yes, I do…” She leaned in for another kiss, which he happily returned.

Just then, they heard a low whistle. They turned to see Mischief coming up to them.

Mischief joked, “So have you two lovebirds been playing ‘Ring around the Castle’ or ‘Hot Lips’?”

The two of them quickly stood up and Nova took the corsage from Blaze as she explained, “Oh, Blaze thought it would be fun if I gave him chase to fuel up the romance.”

“You know, at this rate, it’s going to be like you’re the ones getting married and not Flurry and me.”

Blaze smiled, “You got a good mare, Mischief. I mean, after 70 years, you’re bound to settle down.”

Mischief retorted, “Hey, I’m 20 now, thanks to Zecora’s spell to make me age the same rate as other ponies.”

Nova chuckled, “We get it, because you can’t live without Flurry.”

Mischief was the draconequus-alicorn hybrid thought to have incited the blizzard that wiped out his parents and their kinds 70 years ago. In truth, it was the hatred both species had for Mischief and his parents’ love for each other that brought the Windigos’ destructive power upon them. When the blizzard had desolated the land and destroyed the alicorns and draconequui, the only ones who managed to escape were Mischief, Celestia, Luna, and Discord. Because Mischief had both of his parents’ slow-aging genes, he didn’t look a day over 16 when Flurry Heart found him in Hollow Shades. After he, Flurry, and five other ponies became the Guardians of Equestria, Mischief was determined not to live alone for centuries after his friends had died. As a result, Zecora cast a spell on him that would make him age the same rate other ponies did, starting with the age he looked and acted.

Mischief said, “Of course I can’t. She’s my true love. That kiss I gave her when she bit a poison apple years ago is proof.”

He could still hardly believe that he was meant to marry a princess, even though he was…undesirable to some ponies. He had deer antlers, sharp teeth, and chaotic powers. Flurry Heart was his opposite in terms of appearance. She was the most beautiful pony he had ever laid eyes on. Although they met when she was a lanky 14-year-old, Mischief thought of her as pretty. In his view, she only became lovelier in the last four years. Now that he was marrying the love of his life, he considered himself to be the luckiest hybrid in the world.

Nova remarked, “You know, I’m amazed that you and Flurry found true love in a matter of days. It took Blaze and me years to figure out we were meant for each other.”

Blaze joked, “Maybe we should have a poison apple test just to make sure.”

Nova playfully tapped Blaze’s arm as she chuckled, “Blaze…”

Mischief asked, “By the way, can I borrow Blaze for a few minutes?”

Blaze nodded, “Sure, bro. After all, I am your best colt for the wedding.”

As the two stallions walked down the hall, Nova reminded them, “Don’t be late for the pre-wedding dinner, you two!”

Blaze joked, “Yes, Mom!” He then said to Mischief, “And the henpecking has officially started. Hey, do you know where Discord is? I thought he’d be telling the whole world about the wedding by now.”

Suddenly, music rang through the air, although nopony could see where it was coming from.

Mischief deadpanned, “He is, in his own special way.”

Meanwhile, Discord was going around the Crystal Empire, singing, “There’s a party in the Empire…There’s excitement in the air…Ponies pouring in from near and far… Flurry and her stallion are gonna have a weddin’…There’s a party in the Empire…Everybody will be there…So if you’re a maid or a sire…do somethin’ with your hair…

“You mustn’t wear an outfit that’s naughty! A turban that’s unraveling just won’t do…No earrings that are tasteless or gaudy…You’re gonna look gorgeous when I get through…There’s a party in the Empire…so I’m going to paint the town…If you want to see what colors are…follow me around…”

As Discord passed out newspapers to many ponies, they sang, “Flurry Heart’s gettin’ married, and it’s gonna be…the wedding of the century…”

Discord sang, “My buddy’s gettin’ married, and you’re gonna see…just how much I can do…You’ve heard of your safari bar mitzvahs…You’ve all been to a luau or a sweet sixteen…Well, none of them compare to what this is…”

The griffon chef Gustave Le Grand then sang to his staff after he sampled some of the dinner, “Ze food’ll be disgusting…by evening, zey’ll be busting…”

A trio of mares sang, “There’s a party in the Empire…and it’s got us all aglow…”

A stallion then sang, “If a hybrid could’ve come so far…maybe I could do it…”

Discord sang, “Sure, there’s nothin’ to it!”

Upper Crust, a haughty unicorn, sang, “There’s a party in the Empire…but we’re not sure that we’ll go…for although the bride is la-dee-da…the groom is awfully low…”

Discord – who had transformed himself into a unicorn – bumped Upper Crust, making her shout, “Oh!”

A guard pony who was showing tourists around the castle grounds sang, “And now we take you down to the palace…where everyone has celebrated all night long…”

A school-age filly sang, “Without villains and all of their malice…everyone’s happy!”

“What could possibly go wrong?”

Near the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, antlered soldiers clad in black armor were hiding behind the houses at the outermost edge of the kingdom.

They sang in hushed voices, “There’s a party in the Empire…and we’re gonna scare them all…”

The leader of the group sang, “While they’re all sipping matcha tea…we’ll leave not a single clue, nothing that’s big or small…”

Near the entrance of the palace, the great-grandkids of Celestia and Sombra watched their parents accept the guests’ gifts and put them on a table.

Turquoise – the daughter of Apple Jewel and Asher – sang, “There’s a party in the Empire…and the loot is pourin’ in…”

Opulence – the daughter of Dignity and Mauve – sang, “I like this wedding stuff so far…”

Oddball – the son of Screwball and Mothball – sang, “Maybe if we’re pleasant, we’ll get to keep a present…”

Fluttershy sang to Cadance and Shining Armor, “We’ve ordered just a few tasteful flowers…”

Sunset Shimmer sang, “And valets who’ll carefully park for you…”

Rainbow Dash flew down the hall and sang in agitation, “The bridesmaids have been dressing for hours!”

Rarity sang to Skater and Apple Butter when they finally found dresses to wear for the wedding, “Girls, you look just lovely, and so grown-up, too…”

Discord entered the dining room in a waiter outfit and sang, “There’s a party in the Empire…Guests are filling up the room…But there’s something missing…Yes, aha!”

Shining Armor looked around and sang in worry, “Where is the groom?”


“So why are we coming up here?”

Mischief answered as he and Blaze neared the room in the highest spire of the castle, “There’s something I want to show you and they only glow when they’re high above the ground.”

When they entered the tower room, the colts could hear the wind whistling in their ears and feel it softly blowing through their manes. They could each remember the first time they had been up here. For Blaze, he was just a child when his aunt and uncle took him up to see the Empire in its entirety. As for Mischief, he and Flurry were in this tower for one of their first dates. For both colts, the view of the Crystal Empire had been astonishing.

Blaze asked in confusion, “Excuse me? What glows this high up?”

Mischief said as he dug his hoof into his mane, “You’re about to find out.” He then pulled a small box from inside his jagged mane and was about to open it when –

“Hello?” a familiar voice rang through the tower.

Blaze and Mischief turned to see Discord floating between the pillars and holding a megaphone in his paw.

The draconequus shouted happily, “Somebody’s going to be late for his own PARTY!”

Mischief chuckled, “Hold on, Discord. I want to show Blaze this, and now that you’re here, you should see this, too.”

He set the box down and opened it with his hooves. The bright light emanating from the box blinded Blaze and Discord for a few moments before their eyes adjusted to see three clear beans that were glowing.

Blaze breathed with his eyes the size of dinner plates, “Dude…I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Discord grabbed a bean and inspected it, “I have. These beans only grew in my homeland before the blizzard hit.” He eyed Mischief and asked, “Were you clever enough to take some beans with you when you were a baby?”

Mischief shrugged, “I don’t really know. I always thought they came from the pony or creature that found me and brought me to Cauldron Bubbles.”

Cauldron Bubbles was a unicorn mare who had cast the Spell of Eternal Youth on herself so she would stay young and beautiful forever. Because of this, she raised Mischief as her own for decades and never once grew old. The two of them developed a tight bond as adopted mother and son, even after Mischief found out who his parents really were.

Blaze interrupted, “Hold on. You mean Cauldron Bubbles never found you to begin with?”

“Well, she found me on her doorstep, but that’s just about it. I have very blurred memories of what happened between the blizzard and her finding me. All I can remember is a purplish long creature with orange hair.”

Discord stared at him in confused disbelief before he asked, “That’s it? You can’t remember the beans in your baby memories?”

“Look, I only knew about them when Mom told me that they were with me when she found me.”

“Then how come she didn’t use them? They can grow into beanstalks of extraordinary height.”

Mischief smiled, “That’s probably because of the chaos powers the draconequui had.”

Discord chuckled, “Indeed.”

Blaze asked Mischief, “So you can’t remember whether or not you had the beans at all when you escaped the blizzard?”

Discord said, “When I last saw him during the blizzard, he most definitely did not have the beans with him. Then again, I probably didn’t think to look. I was too busy trying to get out of the blizzard myself.”

Mischief suggested, “Maybe the purple creature got the beans from one of the draconequui.”

Discord scoffed, “Nonsense. Nopony, except on special invitation, was allowed to view the glory of the draconequui’s homeland.”

Blaze added, “Or that of the alicorns’?”

“Oh, fine. So the land was shared. Anyway, nobody could’ve gotten the beans without setting even one hoof on the land. The only way the beans could’ve gotten out of the land was if a draconequus had taken them and skedaddled.” He then realized something, “Wait a minute. They were taken by another draconequus!

“Yes, I followed her out of the land before I lost sight of her. I searched for her until I had to go back home.” He sighed in deep regret, “I never saw her again.”

Mischief consoled, “I’m sorry. She must’ve been important to you.”

Discord nodded sadly as he rubbed his arm, “She was.” He then waved his hands and said in a voice devoid of sorrow, “But let’s not dwell on that right now. We’ve got a party to get to!”

Mischief then asked slowly, “Discord? Do you think that Mom and Dad would’ve been happy with me getting married?”

Discord put his paw on his shoulder and smiled, “M.C., if your parents were here right now, they would be as proud of you as I am.”

Mischief said, “Thanks.”

In that moment, he could not have been happier to call Discord his foster father. Ever since he learned of Mischief’s existence, Discord was willing to teach him everything about being a draconequus. A couple of years after Mischief was found, Discord asked to be his foster father. The antlered colt gladly accepted, knowing that this was the first time he ever had a father figure in his life. For Discord, it was like having a son. Despite their hostile past, they got along easily more often than not.

Mischief then gazed out between the pillars and wistfully said, “I just wish they could see this.” He then sang, “There’s a party in the Empire…and the party’s all for me…Just look, you guys, at where we are…and how our dreams have come to be…”

In her bedroom, Flurry Heart was dressed up all nice for the dinner. She then sang contentedly, “There’s a party in the Empire…and I can’t believe it’s true…After all this waiting, here we are…We’ll finally get to say ‘I do’…”

“I’m always going to have a family…”

“I’m always going to have my true love…”

Flurry and Mischief both sang as they imagined their one love right beside them, “Someone who could just understand me…”

Blaze loudly sang to bring Mischief out of his thoughts, “Hey, come on, Mischief, she’s all you keep thinking of!”

Discord sang, “There’s a party in the Empire…and it’s starting right away…Let’s get you dressed ‘cause you’re the star…Hey, come on, it’s your special day…” He then challenged Mischief, “Follow the leader!”

When the draconequus proudly strode to the edge of the tower room, Mischief and Blaze copied his moves with smirks on their faces. As all three of them put their hooves over the ledge, they dropped down and began to fly over the Crystal Empire. Discord had his wings, Mischief floated, and Blaze enveloped himself in his magic.

As the three of them flew over the great kingdom, the crowds below sang, “Mischief is getting married, and it’s gonna be…the wedding of the century…Amazing how Mischief could have come so far…”

Discord sang, “They’re finally gettin’ married!”

Cadance sang, “They’re finally getting married!”

Shining Armor sang in an almost-dazed way, “They’re finally getting married!”

Oddball sang, “Look at all these presents!”

Flurry sang while she leaned out her bedroom window, “We’re finally getting married…”

Blaze sang to Mischief, “You’re finally getting married…”

Mischief sang happily, “I’m finally getting married…”

The crowds and a choir of Discord clones sang, “They’re finally getting married in the kingdom here in the no-o-o-o-o-o-o-orth! To the kingdom here in the north!”

Author's Note:

CartoonNerd12 helped write Blaze and Nova’s chase scene at the beginning of the chapter.

The song in the chapter is “There’s a Party Here in Agrabah” from Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

The magic beans are a reference to the TV show Once Upon a Time…in terms of appearance. :raritywink: