The Siren

by McPoodle

Chapter 30

“If there isn’t anything else, then I should return to Night Court,” Luna said, turning to the stairs. “There is still an infinitesimal chance that I might have a pony waiting to see me tonight.”

“Wait!” exclaimed Twilight, starting after her. “I wanted to know about Discord.”

Luna froze in place, her fur standing on end. She turned and stared imperiously down at Twilight. “No,” she said at last. “With any luck you will never need to know about that demon. He stole from me the last bit of hope I had left in the world. I will not allow Him to do the same with you.”

Twilight stopped herself, dropping the hoof she had raised towards the Princess of the Night. “What…what did he do?”

“It was less what He did and more what He is.” Luna said. “Discord is the antithesis of everything Pony. If, by some horrible chance you ever encounter Him, you must promise me that you will never allow Him to have His way. He can never be allowed to succeed, at anything.”

“But what does he want?” Twilight pleaded.

“The utter destruction of everything that ponies stand for. Monsters are His creation.” That last bit was tossed off, and Luna instantly regretted saying it.

“What? How is that even possible?” Twilight asked. “Monsters are the natural byproduct of light magic.” Her brain began to go into overdrive. “And Ponies originated light magic. In a pre-Pony, pre-cutie mark world, no species as vulnerable as Ponies could possibly survive if light magic were as inefficient as it is now. So this Discord must have changed the nature of light magic. But…that would mean that Discord is a god! Is that why you’ve been using capitalized pronouns? But what about our Creator? What about Harmony? Wouldn’t She have stopped Discord?”

“I’ve…got to go,” Luna said, trying to use her wings to flap her way up the steps and out to freedom. She was grasped by the telekinetic grip of the distracted Twilight Sparkle and slowly pulled down to the ground to face her.

“And that’s another thing,” Twilight continued, her eyes unfocused. “Harmony doesn’t really have any place in Pony history—She only shows up in the Oral Tradition, where there’s no way to prove Her existence. The rest of Creation consists of Science instead of Magic, of species originating from evolution and then only learning magic from Ponies, with only a few key exceptions. It’s like the rest of Equus answers to a different set of laws, a different Creator entirely…”

Twilight stopped breathing for a few seconds as her stupendous intellect re-arranged a lifetime of data, the answers to every “why?” question she had ever asked. “…And that true Creator is Discord.”

Luna bowed her head in defeat as Twilight continued.

“Discord is this world’s god,” said Twilight. “And His primary law is Natural Selection. Nothing allowed to last, especially happiness. Individuals forced by the brutality of nature to constantly turn on each other. Discord’s Nature. Love only existing as lust. The males physically dominating the females, and the females using guile to betray the males! And friendship…friendship is impossible!

“What…what must Discord have thought of Ponies when He first discovered them? An abomination! Beings that actually achieve what they want, that are actually happy? He must hate us!”

She stopped panting, the emotional parts of her mind catching up with her rational conclusions. Including the one partitioned part…

“He made us hate you! Twisted us into His cowardly tools! How dare He! I hate Him! And…” A realization then, one that nearly blew Siren Twilight’s mind. “And this hatred sickens me!”

Luna stepped forward, recognizing who it was who was speaking. She silently put a hoof on Twilight’s withers and rubbed gently.

Slowly, her breathing slowed down. She looked up at her and smiled. “Wow. You really are tall. What’s up?”

Luna laughed.

Siren Twilight mirrored that laugh. “Yeah,” she said, then looked deep in Luna’s eyes, reading her long-term intentions. “Sure. You want us? Go for—ACK!”

Pony Twilight’s face turned bright scarlet as she turned away. “I’ve…I’ve got a lot to think about. About Discord and…the other thing.”

“I’ll let myself out,” Luna said with a smug smile on her face.