The Reign of Chaos: Discord's Story

by MisterEdd

Chapter 1-Arrival

The pre-dawn hours were a time when the sun had yet to reveal its shining visage or before the moon hid its face beyond the curtain of day. It was a time of mystery and mayhem, as well as black magic and malicious intent to the more superstitiously inclined. While the correlation between the pre-dawn hours and dark sorcery is still debated to this day, it was agreed by many that this particular time of night would forever become associated with dread and ominous fright. To all of those who would live through the forthcoming ordeal, this would become known as “Discord’s Hour.”

Violet Twinkle carefully and quietly crept through the vacant halls of the Canterlot Orphanage, the rooms basked in the gentle glow of her horn as she made her way to the kitchen for a late cup of tea. She was a middle-aged unicorn with lavender skin and a long amethyst and dark purple mane, which made her quite the catch for many of the city's most eligible bachelors. Despite the attention that she received from her many suitors-and there were many, many of them-and the appreciation that came with it, Violet was simply much too concerned with taking care of her children to devote time to romance. Ever since the death of her beloved husband Hawthorn, she dedicated herself fully to the orphanage that they'd built together, ensuring that his legacy lived on through guaranteeing that each and every child that passed through its doors were happy and provided for.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Violet watched the steaming brown liquid in her teacup swirled around as she munched on an almond cookie. She was narcoleptic, a condition she had since she was a filly and one that she managed to cope with surprisingly well, using it to plan her activities for the next day and to complete tasks she didn't finish during the day. Hawthorn used to joke that she couldn't sleep with all of the check-list items floating around in her head. Violet smiled sadly and caressed the gold ring secured to her horn. There was one thing that the couple wanted more than anything in the world and Violet blamed herself for not having it. She loved the orphans but none of them could ever serve as substitutes for a child of her own. I'm so sorry Hawthorn my love. I failed you.

There was a sudden stillness in the air and Violet threw her forelegs around herself as an unexpected chill filled the room, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as her breath came out in little puffs of mist. Her ears popped and a flash of shimmering, golden light erupted outside the kitchen window before the night returned once more to its peaceful state. What in the name of Concordia was that? With leaden hooves, she approached the front door and froze in place, afraid of whatever lurked on the other side. A magic experiment gone wrong? An evil sorcerer? Changeling scout? Ignoring the thumping in her chest, Violet lit up her horn and flung open the door, prepared to defend her children from who or whatever was waiting in store for her.

At first, there was only the gentle humming of her magically-charged horn and the steady symphony of chirping crickets echoing in the darkness. Violet began to chastise herself for being so terrified when she heard light whimpering and then a choking sob. Cautiously, she approached the wicker basket that sat a few feet away from her and slowly peered inside. What...is that? Wrapped up in a garishly multi-colored quilt, there lay what at first glance appeared to be a foal crying as it thrashed around in the basket, its mismatched arms futilely grasping at the air. Its right arm was a lion's paw while its left was a feathered bird's claw. Two miniscule horns peeked out of the creature's scalp while yellow eyes with red irises glanced up at her, begging her to do something as their owner continued to bawl miserably.

Violet had heard of chimeras-beings that were combinations of other animals such as griffins or sphinxes-but she'd never seen nor heard of one like this before. She could've run away, she wanted to run away but the infant's wailing only made her pity the creature and without a second thought, she tentatively picked up the chimera and held it close to her. She shushed it and gentle rocked it, making sure that its quilt was wrapped tight around its rail-thin body until its cries died down. There was a tiny giggle and a lion paw reached up to grab-stroke Violet's mane. She glanced down at the chimera and felt a pang of maternal affection enter her chest.

"Alright, alright, let go. Let's go inside and fix you something to eat, okay?"

In lieu of baby food, Violet fed her new ward some milk and almost two quarts of orange yogurt, which the little chimera seemed particularly fond of, before burping him and bringing him with her to the common room to sit by the fireplace. Briefly unwrapping the chimera out of his quilt, she inspected it, finding it made of shockingly high-end fabrics and concluding that its material and the skill with which it was made could only come from a family of wealth. She found the word, "DISCORD," neatly stitched into the blanket, which had to be the tyke's name. "Discord?" Weird name. Then again, he's a weird little thing. Discord's right leg was scaly and tridactyl while his left was furry and ended in a cloven hoof. On his back, he possessed one bat-like wing and another that was feathered and had a reptilian tail with a tuft of white fur at the end. All in all, he was quite curious looking.

Rubbing baby Discord's back, Violet smiled warmly as he purred against her chest, his mismatched hands clutching her for dear life and the unicorn briefly found herself imagining the joys of true motherhood.

"Miss Violet, what is that?"

Dawn Glimmer, a fellow unicorn and orphanage co-matron, stared incredulously at the chimera nestled in Violet's arms. She had curlers keeping her purple and blue-streaked mane up and an unmistakable half-asleep look about her. Rubbing her eyes, she peered once more at the pair and took a step forward to get a better look.

Violet carefully picked the chimera up and held him, giggling as he babbled and attempted to stand on top of her thighs. "Hello Dawn. This, urm, this is the newest addition to the orphanage. Say hi to Discord."

Dawn closed her open mouth and shook her head. "'Discord?' Honestly Violet, I would've thought you'd be more creative with naming strays. Where did you find him and more importantly, what is he?"

"First off, that's the name that was on the quilt that came with him and secondly, I found him outside the front entrance. Thirdly, I'm...not entirely certain. He's some sort of chimera. But isn't he just adorable!" As if to illustrate her point, Discord stuck out a forked tongue as he hung his head to the side, his tiny fingers flexing and unflexing as he reached for the newcomer.

Dawn smiled nervously, "Um, Violet dear? Are you sure that it's a good idea to take in this...um...special case?

Violet brought Discord back to her chest and narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Dawn, you know what our dogma is: 'Any child that enters through our door is given shelter forevermore.' We are not about to turn him away just because he's different! Discord has nowhere else to go and if his parents return, he should be in the last place they left him."

Despite opening her mouth to speak, no words came out of Dawn's throat and she thought for a minute. Finally, she said, "You're right, Vi but what if they don't? Do you really intend to keep him? I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but there's no way that he'll ever get adopted. And what about the other children? If any fosters come visiting, they'll take one look at him and decide to look somewhere else."

"I...I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," Violet stated, though Dawn's words had already worked their way underneath her skin. "He needs me, Dawn. Like you said, nopony will want to adopt him so what choice do I have? Leave him out in the cold until he dies? I won't do it." Violet defiantly stood up and held Discord against her chest. "He's mine now and I won't abandon him when he needs me the most."

"B-but you...and he...ugh, fine!" Dawn threw her hooves up and prepared to exit the room when she stopped to look over her shoulder. "Your heart's in the right place but your brain isn't. Just remember, whatever happens next is on your head. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Violet's steely gaze followed Dawn out of the room before she turned her attention back to Discord, who had fallen asleep peacefully in her arms. "Don't worry, Discord. I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe now."

Author's Note:

Yes, I based my OC Violet Twinkle off of Twilight Sparkle and there will be other characters based off of the Mane Six. Perhaps when Discord first faces Twilight and her friends, he lashes out at them because they subconsciously remind him of figures from his past? Just food for thought. Man, this chapter was a chore to get through! I tried as hard as possible to get baby Discord to be alarmingly cute. What do you guys think?

Comments

[Comrade Bagel Muffin]

And so it begins the style is a bit difficult to read, but it's nice for setting up the mood and the atmosphere. I like the premise and the way that Discord is introduced, the audience can't tell if this is his origins or if he's setting up one of his tricks. A good first chapter.

[MisterEdd]

9175884
Thank you so much!

[MisterEdd]

10380509
Really? How so?