Discord is attacked by a mysterious pony with mysterious power. Turned into a frightened, infant Draconequus, Discord is found by Fluttershy.
Discord is attacked by a mysterious pony with frightening power. He is left in the woods young and frightened. Fluttershy finds the infant Draconequus and takes him in. Fluttershy cares for Discord, and Discord comes to love the pegasus. When Twilight finds a new threat and alerts the Elements, Fluttershy realizes that it is the same mysterious pony who deaged Discord. Can they get Discord back to normal? And until they do, how bad can raising the Lord of Chaos possibly be?
Discord flew through the dark night, his mismatched wings flapping lazily. It had been nearly a year since he'd been reformed and the Lord of Chaos hadn't caused any real harm to Equestria. Although he had pulled a few small pranks on various ponies. But that was just harmless fun. However, Discord had pulled every harmless prank he could think of and had become quite bored. The Draconequus had asked Celestia to be allowed to go to Ponyville to visit Fluttershy. And perhaps pull a few pranks with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.
Suddenly, something hit the Draconequus, knocking him out of the air and sending him flying into a nearby tree. Discord tried to sit up, but failed. The last thing he saw was the vague shape of a large pony before everything faded into darkness.
"Here, chicken, where are you?" Fluttershy's small voice sounded loud in the quiet night. "Come on, let's go home."
The yellow pegasus squeaked in terror as a branch snagged her mane. Panting, Fluttershy had almost decided to go back to her cottage when she heard a soft sound coming from somewhere a little ways into the woods. It sounded like...crying? The gentle yellow pegasus crept forwards, ears perked as she followed the sound.
"H-Hello?" Fluttershy asked.
The sobbing stopped and Fluttershy heard the sound of something moving in the bushes.
"I-Is someone there?" Fluttershy carefully moved the brambles aside, being careful not to poke herself on the sharp thorns.
Two large red and yellow eyes stared up at her, mournful and full of fear. The eyes belonged to a small, strange, mismatched creature that looked familiar although Fluttershy could not at the moment remember why. The small creature was caught in the thick brambles and struggled to get free when Fluttershy came close.
"Shhhh. I'm not going to hurt you." Fluttershy whispered soothingly. "My name's Fluttershy."
The creature's ears perked up as if it recognized the name and Fluttershy suddenly realized why it was familiar. It was a Draconequus. And not just any Draconequus.
"Discord?" Fluttershy asked in a shocked voice.
The tiny thing nodded slowly and moved towards Fluttershy. Or, at least, tried to. Young Discord winced as the thorns dug deeper into his flesh, drawing blood.
"Easy now, let me get you out." Fluttershy said, carefully untangling the young Draconequus.
Once free, Discord pressed his tiny, thin frame close to Fluttershy, trembling with fear and cold. Fluttershy gently nuzzled the Draconequus and crouched beside him.
"Come on, get on my back." Fluttershy told Discord.
Discord did as told and held tightly with his mismatched forelegs. Fluttershy grew worried when she felt how light the tiny creature was and hurried home.
By the time they got to Fluttershy's cottage, Discord had fallen asleep and was snoring softly. Fluttershy gently lay the young Draconequus on the couch, greatly to the displeasure of Angel, and trotted off to get a blanket. When she returned, however, Discord had woken up and seemed quite distressed. Fluttershy hurried over to the frightened creature.
"Shhhh. It's alright." Fluttershy whispered, placing one wings over Discord.
Discord looked up at Fluttershy, golden eyes large and trusting. He seemed to be trying to say something, but didn't seem to be able to. Fluttershy wondered just how young Discord had been made. And who had done this? She stored those questions away to ask Twilight tomorrow.
"Are you hungry?" Fluttershy asked, not knowing how long it had been since Discord had eaten last.
The young Draconequus nodded and Fluttershy trotted off to the kitchen. Discord decided to follow, and tried to get down from the couch. The de-aged Lord of Chaos flapped his tiny, mismatched wings and managed to get himself down fairly gently. The tiny creature hurried off to the kitchen where Fluttershy was preparing some warm milk which she then put into a bottle she kept to feed orphaned birds and other young animals.
"Here you go. Drink up." Fluttershy said, using one wing to hold the bottle and the other to lift Discord onto her back and carry him back to the couch. Fluttershy held the bottle while Discord drank eagerly, as if he hadn't eaten in ages.
"Easy no, you're gonna get a tummy ache if you drink to fast. How ever did you get so hungry?" Fluttershy asked with soft chuckle.
Discord, of course, didn't answer, he simply focused on drinking as much as he possibly could, his small, dragon-like tail thumping on the ground in glee. After the bottle had been emptied, Discord gave a huge yawn and Fluttershy picked the young creature up and carried him to her bed. Fluttershy lay herself and Discord down and soon fell asleep with the young Draconequus curled beneath her wing.
The next day, Fluttershy woke to see two gold and crimson eyes staring into her's. The gentle yellow mare squeaked in surprise and fell off the bed, leaving a very confused Discord sitting on the bed looking down at her with his small head tilted slightly to the side. Fluttershy remembered the events of the previous night and smiled at Discod, who grinned back, showing the single, tiny tooth.
Fluttershy fed Discord, Angel, and the rest of her animal friends and started for the door. She wanted to go to he library and see if sje could find anything that explained what had happened to Discord, why he was now a...what were young Draconequuses called anyways?
"Come on, Discord." She said, Discord followed her happily enough, tiny wings fluttering as he attempted, and failed, to fly.
Fluttershy and Discord soon came to the library, Discord now sitting on Fluttershy's back. Fluttershy knocked on the door to the library, which was soon opened by Spike, much to Fluttershy's surprise as she had thought Spike and Twilight were still in Canterlot. They weren't due to be here until tomorrow.
"Discor-oh." Twilight said, staring at the tiny Draconequus sitting between Fluttershy's wings.
"Uh...what happened to Discord?" Spike asked.
Discord glared at Twilight and Spike and leapt off Fluttershy's back, tiny wings fluttering in order to slow his descent. The small Draconequus stood tall, or as tall as he could stand, at least. He clearly was not eager to let Twilight and Spike baby him, Fluttershy doing so was fine since A) Discord had been still dazed from what had happened last night and hadn't thought of acting like he had simply shape shifted and B) it was Fluttershy, Discord trusted Fluttershy. But letting other ponies baby him did not sound fun at all.
"I don't know." Fluttershy replied, watching Discord. "I found him like this in the woods."
"Whoever did this was clearly skilled with magic to be able to use an age spell." Twilight mused, more to herself than to Spike or Fluttershy.
"Do you have any idea of who or what could have that kind of magic?" Spike asked.
"No. The only pony I can think of besides the Princesses would have to be Trixie. But she loves making a show of things, if it was her, we'd know of it."
"Do you know any counterspell?" Fluttershy asked.
"Unfortunately I do not. Age spells are advanced and difficult to learn. They also take up a lot of a unicorn's, or an Alicorn's, magic." Twilight replied, looking at Discord. "But I promise I will try my best to find a counterspell or learn to use an Age spell."
"Okay, then. thank you, Princess." Fluttershy said. "Come on, Discord."
Discord looked at Fluttershy, then to Twilight and Spike. He didn't appear very eager to ride on Fluttershy's back or anything of the sort as long as they were around.
"You don't have to call me princess, Fluttershy, we're still friends." Twilight said as Fluttershy and Discord were leaving, Fluttershy having decided to let Discord walk if he wanted to.
Twilight shut the door of the library and began searching through the books.
"Spike, where is that book Celestia gave me as a coronation gift?" Twilight asked.
"Right here, Twi." The dragon replied, holding a large leather bound book.
"Thank you, Spike." Twilight said, picking the book up with her magic.
Twilight began flipping through the pages, muttering to herself about age spells and other things Spike couldn't make out. Suddenly, Twilight stopped flipping through the pages.
"Spike, do you feel something?" Twilight asked.
"Like what?" Spike replied.
"I'm not sure, but it feels like a powerful source of magic is nearby. And I don't think it's friendly." Twilight said. "It feels like...Dark Magic."
"Like the kind we discovered in the Crystal Palace when you opened that door?" Spike asked, shuddering when he thought about what he'd seen through the door.
"Exactly, only this feels more powerful." Twilight's wings twitched nervously, as if Twilight wanted to fly away.
Suddenly, a powerful burst of magic shot through the window. Twilight knew the dark purple and green tinged colour. it was Dark Magic. Twilight spread her wings, a powerful bolt of violet magic shooting from her horn to form a shield around herself and Spike.
"Princess twilight Sparkle." A voice rumbled.
Twilight looked around, the voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. Spike noticed something laying on the floor. It was a page from the book Twilight had been looking through. How it had survived, Spike had no idea, but he grabbed the page.
"Uh...Twilight?" Spike said, handing the page to Twilight.
Twilight looked at the page. King Sombra was not alone when he took over the Crystal Empire. The Crystal Ponies would have been too strong for a single unicorn. Sombra had the help of his brother, Obscuro Noctis,more commonly known as Noctis, a powerful unicorn who had discovered a way to make himself an Alicorn using Dark Magic. Noctis was skilled in Dark Magic and was the one who taught Sombra to control shadow, which Sombra had quickly showed a talent for.
Twillight looked at Spike. "Sombra had a brother? Why didn't Princess Celestia tell me?"
"Maybe she didn't know." Spike suggested
"Could Noctis have something to do with Discord being deaged? But why would he attack Discord? Why not the princesses, Equestria's rulers? Or the Elements of Harmony, Equestria's defenders?" Twilight mused, speaking more to herself than to Spike.
"Spike, send a letter to Princess Celestia, tell her about Noctis. I need to tell the girls." Twilight said, looking around to make sure Dark Night was gone.
"Yes, ma'am!" Spike said, grabbing some parchment and writing the letter.
Fluttershy trotted towards the market, needing to buy some groceries such as veggies for Angel, always a picky eater, and some milk for Discord. The young Draconequus looked up at her quizzically when he noticed Fluttershy wasn't going to her cottage.
"I just need to get a few things, Discord. We'll head back after and you can eat." Fluttershy said.
Discord fluttered his small, mismatched wings and settled himself on Fluttershy's back, sitting up so he could observe everything going on around Ponyville. Discord knew Fluttershy was buying food for Angel, the spoiled little thing. Discord watched ponies trotting about, talking with friends or buying groceries. Young colts and fillies played together, pegasi soaring through the air while unicorns and earth ponies galloped beneath. A little ways away, a group of colts and fillies tossed a ball to each other, and Discord almost wished he could play with them, although the part of him that still remembered he was a full grown Draconequus told him no. This game seemed fun, even if there didn't seem to be any chaos or mischief involved.
Who cares? the childish part of him asked.
No. I'm a full grown Draconequus. Not a child, even if I am trapped in the body of a... Discord realized he didn't know how old he was supposed to be. Three? Four? Not much older than that, right? Well, whatever his age, the childish part of him was winning and he really wanted to play with those ponies. Maybe he could even play a few simple pranks on them!
Making sure Fluttershy was occupied with getting through the crowd of ponies, Discord leaped off her back, flapping his wings to slow his descent. He managed to land sort of gracefully and a ran off in the direction of the young ponies. Reaching his destination, Discord watched the game for a while from the bushes before the ball bounced in his direction.
"Get it!" one of the colts, who seemed to be the oldest, called to his playmates.
Discord leaped from the bushes and grabbed the ball as it bounced passed, startling the fillies who had galloped to get it themselves. The fillies hurried back to the oldest colt, presumably to tell him who'd gotten the ball. The colt trotted towards Discord, and the young Draconequus saw that this colt was quite a bit bigger than he was. The colt had a dark grey coat that was almost black, electric blue eyes, and a silvery white mane and tail. He was a pegasus and his cutie mark was a gold lightning bolt.
"Who're you?" the colt asked, glaring down at Discord. "What're you?"
Discord stared up at the colt, suddenly feeling like this wasn't such a good idea after all. This colt was much bigger than he was, if only he wasn't trapped in this form! Then he could just snap his talons and the colt would be flying lopsided for the rest of the day. But even if his magic wasn't as strong in this form, maybe he could still defend himself?
"I asked what are you?" the colt repeated impatiently.
"I asked what are you?" the colt repeated impatiently.
Discord stared up at the colt defiantly, determined not to let the colt see his fear. He stood at his full height,though even then he wasn't very tall in this form. "I'm Discord, a Draconequus."
The colt laughed, "If you're Discord, why are you so tiny? No wonder the Elements could defeat you!"
Discord leaped at the colt, his small talons sinking into the colt's shoulder as well as his small claws.
"Ow! Let go!" the colt yelled as Discord perched himself on the colt's back, talons making small scratches in the colt's dark grey coat.
"Spark!" one of the fillies, a pegasus who seemed to be the colt's sister, cried in surprise.
The colt, Spark, bucked and spread his wings, leaping into the air as he attempted to throw the small Draconequus off. Discord held on tightly, though now he was digging his talons and claws into Spark's flank for fear of falling. Sinking his talons deeper into Spark's flank, Discord crouched low on the colt's back, trying to keep himself from falling. Then Spark folded his wings and dived towards a tree, his intent was clear, get Discord tangled some branches and he'd be rid of the Draconequus and the sharp talons digging into his neck and flank, which were causing thin trails of blood to run down his coat, bright ruby against dark grey. Discord forced himself to release Spark and began frantically flapping is tiny wings in an attempt to slow himself down.
A streak of violet flashed through the young Draconequus's vision and he landed gently on something soft. Wings flapped on either side of him, their colour a light violet. Discord realized who his rescuer was, Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight crouched down, allowing Discord to leap off her back. The princess then turned to the young ponies, "What in Equestria is going on here?"
The ponies parted and pointed at the dark grey pegasus who had just landed and was currently fixing his messed up mane. The colt looked up as Twilight approached and quickly bowed.
"What happened?" Twilight asked. "And why did you let this young Draconequus nearly fall to his death?"
"He attacked me!" the colt defended himself. "I was only trying to get him off!"
"By flying high into the air and allowing him to fall?" Twilight asked, glaring down at the colt.
"I meant to just get him tangled in a tree, I didn't know he'd let go!"
"And what if he had fallen out of the tree?"
"At least he wouldn't have gotten killed if he fell out of a tree."
Twilight looked at Discord, who seemed to have only just regained his bearings. "And why did he attack you in the first place?"
The colt shrugged. "I don't know."
"Princess?" a young unicorn filly timidly spoke up. "The Draconequus caught our ball and Spark Flyer got mad and asked him who he was and what he was."
Twilight looked at first Discord, then Spark Flyer.
"The Draconequus said his name was Discord and Spark laughed and asked why he was so small and said no wonder the Elements could defeat him so easily." the unicorn finished.
"Thank you...uh" Twilight looked at the filly.
"Harmony Rhythm." the filly said,
"Thank you, Harmony Rhythm." Twilight finished before turning to Discord and Spark Flyer.
The Draconequus and colt crouched low under the princess's gaze.
The Draconequus and colt crouched low under the princess's gaze.
Fluttershy galloped over to the scene, she had discovered Discord was missing and had searched almost the entire market with no luck. Until she saw Spark Flyer, a pegasus colt who often bullied younger or smaller ponies, zoom into the sky while a smaller figure held onto him, drawing thin lines of blood from Spark's neck and flanks. She had realized what must have happened and galloped/flew as fast as she could. Only to find Twilight standing over the young troublemakers with a serious expression.
Discord saw Fluttershy and zipped to her side, pressing his small body tightly against her, as if Fluttershy might save him from Twilight's gaze. Most of the other fillies and colts had quietly slipped away except for two young fillies, the young unicorn who had told Twilight what had happened, Harmony Rhythm, and a pegasus who seemed to be Spark Flyer's sister, judging from their similar colouring. Harmony Rhythm had a light pink coat and light lavender-streaked with light blue mane and tail and light blue eyes. Discord liked her a bit, she seemed friendly, if a bit shy.
"Harmony Rhythm and..." Twilight trailed off as looked at the other filly expectantly.
"Ice Spark" she said.
"Harmony Rhythm and Ice Spark, you two can go." Twilight finished.
The two fillies turned and trotted off, Ice Spark spreading her wings and soaring into the sky after a quick glance at Spark Flyer. Harmony Rhythm glanced at Discord, then at Twilight, then turned and trotted away. Twilight turned her gaze back to the two young troublemakers and proceeded to launch into a long lecture that could only have been even more tedious had the princess had graphs and charts to go with it.
Finally the princess finished her lecture and dismissed the two troublemakers. Spark Flyer glared at Discord, spread his wings, and shot off into the sky like an arrow from a bow. Discord for his part, simply followed Fluttershy as they headed back to the pegasus' cottage. He was annoyed that the childish side of him had won and he was annoyed at Twilight's lecture and the alicorn herself. A lecture from Twilight was the most boring thing ever, and as the lord of chaos, Discord hated being bored. Soon,though, his thoughts took a different turn, towards Harmony Rhythm. She was pretty, he had to admit, although he knew that he would have to find a way to forget her once he turned back to his full grown form. She was only a filly and he was a couple thousand years older than her. Even he wasn't that inappropriate.
As Fluttershy and a young Discord returned to the pegasus' cottage, they were blissfully unaware of the danger that was coming to Equestria. A threat that was planning much worse than simply turning the lord of chaos into a child.
A young, dark colored unicorn stepped carefully around a patch of poison joke, grimacing at the bright blue flowers. Oh, how she hated the Everfree Forest. She trotted toward a large oak tree, its trunk blackened as if it had been burned.
"Lord Noctis." The unicorn called, bowing.
"Ah, my faithful servant has returned." A deep voice echoed from the tree as shadows swirled around it. "Tell me, is the fourth princess, this Twilight Sparkle dead?"
The unicorn swallowed. "N-no, sir."
The shadows swirled faster and crimson eyes appeared. "And why not? Did I not order you to kill her?"
The mare shivered and crouched low. "Y-you did, master. B-but s-she is more p-powerful than we anticipated. S-she shielded herself from the blast!"
The shadows retreated slightly. "And what of the Draconeqqus?"
"His powers are weaker in this form, my lord. It will be easy for you to defeat him once and for all."
If shadows could smirk, these certainly would have. "Good." A dark chuckle. "With their little guard dog dead, the Princesses will be more vulnerable to an attack."
The shadow seemed to be talking more to himself, like somepony reciting the day's shopping list. The unicorn remained silent, having learned that interrupting her master often unleashed terrible fury. Lord Noctis still was not powerful enough to truly rise and form a corporeal body, but his wrath was still frightening and she had no wish to awaken it. Oh how she longed for the day when she would not have to run errands for what was essentially a shadowy fog surrounding a dead tree in the middle of the Everfree. There was no way for her to escape this though. She had sealed her fate when she had been a filly, separated from her parents during its siege by Lord Noctis and King Sombra.
Discord laughed happily as Applejack trotted around Fluttershy's cottage with him on her back. He found himself enjoying childish games and activities more and more the longer he was in this younger form. After the attack on her library , Twilight had decided it would be safer if the Mane 6 stayed together for a while. Sweet Apple Acres had been their first choice to stay, but Fluttershy pointed out that Discord seemed most comfortable in her cottage.
And so, the girls found themselves hanging out in Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow, Applejack,Pinkie, and Rarity had been surprised when they walked into the cottage to be greeted by a very young Discord, but had all reacted positively. Rarity found Discord simply adorable-though the Draconeqqus didn't take so kindly to her. Most likely because the unicorn had insisted in dressing him up in a few outfits she claimed made him look even more adorable. Rainbow tried to act cool and aloof, but the cyan pegasus had nuzzled Discord a few times when she thought no one was looking. Applejack and Pinkie seemed to handle the young Draconeqqus the best besides Fluttershy. Most likely because both mares had experience with children, AJ having raised Apple Bloom-with the help of Big Mac and Granny Smith-and Pinkie having babysat the Cakes' twins, Pound and Pumpkin Cake. Twilight had some experience, having raised Spike, but she wasn't quite as experienced as the two earth pony mares.
Applejack kept one eye on her young rider, ensuring the young Chaos Lord didn't fall off her back. Discord had fallen once, but Rainbow had had quick enough reflexes to catch him before he could hurt himself. After that, the orange mare had instructed Discord-who insisted on riding again with pleas of "Up, up!"-to hold on tightly to her neck. Now, however, Discord was yawning tiredly, his red and yellow eyes blinking rapidly in an attempt to stay awake.
"Ah think that's enough for today, sugar cube." Applejack said, folding her forelegs beneath her body to allow Discord to dismount.
"But 'm not tired!" Discord protested with a yawn.
Applejack chuckled and nuzzled to young spirit gently. "Ah think it's your bedtime though."
Discord pouted as Fluttershy trotted over and gently picked him up by the scruff of his neck. The girls had learned that Discord seemed to like being picked up like this, instinctively curling his mismatched hind legs and tail closer to his body like a kitten or a puppy. Twilight-after managing to find a book about the creatures of Equestria and the surrounding lands-had figured out that Draconeqqui often carried their young in this fashion.
The gentle, yellow pegasus carried Discord into her room and over to the crib AJ had lent her after being told of Discord current state. The crib, a simple wooden one marked only by an apple shaped hole carved into the end, had been Apple Bloom's when she was born, but the filly had long since outgrown it. It was tall enough that Discord couldn't climb out unless he flew and the young Chaos Spirit's wings were still to small to get him more than an inch off the ground.
Discord, despite his previous protests of not being tired, promptly curled up beneath the warm blanket Fluttershy spread over him and whined softly for his bottle. Twilight, having followed Fluttershy into the room with a bottle of warm milk floating beside her in a field of lavender magic, handed it down to the exhausted child. Discord held the bottle with his talon and paw and sucked at it hungrily as his eyes began to drift shut. Fluttershy nudged a small parasprite plushie closer to Discord and quietly slipped out of the room after Twilight to join the rest of her friends as they played a few games and then, one by one, dropped off to sleep.
The young unicorn crept quietly along the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. She could see the warm glow of lights coming from the humble cottage up on a nearby hill from her hiding place. Her dappled grey coat blended well with the lights and shadows of the Everfree as she staked out the yellow pegasus' cottage. As soon as she saw an opportunity, she was to signal the shadow pony waiting nearby and the shadow pony would slip into the cottage and eliminate the Chaos Lord once and for all. She threw a glance in the direction of the shadow pony; she couldn't see him of course. The creature could fade into the shadows with ease, having been created by Noctis from a combination of shadows, the corpse of some nameless stallion, and a complicated spell of Dark Magic. The creature knew nothing but fear and pure hatred. It was primitive, really; it didn't seem to be able to think for itself, the thing only followed the orders given to it with no questions whatsoever. She almost found it pitiful, but she remembered the thing was only alive because of her master's magic.
The light streaming from the windows of the cottage went out and the unicorn mare waited patiently for a few more moments before shooting a faint bolt of magic from her horn that fizzed away quickly. The sound of rustling leaves could be heard and she soon spotted the dark figure move quietly to the house. The creature could move with alarming speed and agility as it moved from shadow to shadow.
For a moment, she could see the silhouette of a stallion ghosting along the cottage wall before it slid effortlessly through a slightly opened window.
Applejack rolled over in her sleep and opened her green eyes slightly. The other Element Bearers were fast asleep still, and the orange mare wondered what had pulled her from dreamland. She was about to settle down again when a sound from Fluttershy's bedroom alerted her. A quick glance at Fluttershy confirmed the pegasus was sound asleep on the couch still. Applejack stood and trotted quietly over to the bedroom door, peeking in thinking that perhaps Discord had woken up. But the kid was still softly snoring in his crib.
Now Applejack was really alert. Ears shoved forward, she stepped lightly into the room, careful not to let her hooves make too much sound. She caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eye and turned toward it, but there didn't seem to be anything there. Yet every bone in her body screamed that something was amiss. Another movement caught her eye and this time, moving with lightning reflexes, she managed to catch a glimpse of a shadowy figure seemingly gliding across the floor-right toward Discord's crib.
"Oh no, ya don't." Applejack whispered, following the figures movement before she leapt at it, surprised to feel a sold body beneath her powerful hooves.
Or almost solid. The thing had bones and muscles, but it's flesh was smooth and almost seemed to flow. And seemed transparent as Applejack could see the creature's skull through the shadowy covering.
"Twilight!" She called, no longer caring if she woke Discord. "Princess, get in here quick!"
A moment later, Twilight and the others hurried into the room, manes mussed from sleep.
"Applejack what is-" Twilight trailed off when she saw the creature pinned beneath the earth pony's hooves.
"A shadow pony? But I thought..." Twilight walked over to the creature and examined it closely, only to be driven back by a hind hoof kicked in her direction with enough force to cave in her skull.
Twilight reacted instantly, lowering her head as a lavender glow surrounded her horn. Applejack leapt lithely out of the way as a powerful bolt of magic was fired at the thing. The shadow pony let out a shrill sound like the sound of a howling wind mixed with a whinny before it disintegrated, leaving only the skeleton of a full grown stallion behind.
A cry from the crib told them Discord had woken and Fluttershy hurried over to comfort the young Draconeqqus while the other four mares moved to examine the skeleton. Rarity looked as if she were about to faint and decided to join Fluttershy in soothing Discord back to sleep.
"What was that thing?" Rainbow Dash asked, stepping closer to the skeleton laying on the floor.
"A Shadow Pony." Twilight replied. "They were created by King Sombra during the siege of the Crystal Empire, but they were thought to have been destroyed with him."
"What Ah'd like to know is what one was doin' creepin' around the room with Discord." Applejack said, glaring at the bones as if making sure they weren't going to reanimate.
"My guess is it was trying to kill him. But why?" The violet alicorn lifted a rib bone with her magic and examined it. Shadow Ponies were drones. They were bred-created-to obey orders."
"So the question is, who ordered this...thing to kill Discord." Rarity said from where she and Fluttershy were trying to soothe the young Chaos Lord back to sleep.
"And why!" Pinkie added, surprisingly not quite as bubbly as she normally was. Apparently even Pinkie disliked being woken from her sleep in the middle of the night.
"I think we should keep our elements on until we know more about this threat." Twilight told her friends. The other Bearers agreed and Twilight trotted to the ornate chest that she carried the Elements in, handing each gem to its respective Bearer.
"Is it done?" The deep voice echoed from the shadows of the large elm tree.
The unicorn shook her head slightly. "N-no, sir. The Elements...they're guarding Discord!"
There was a noise like a thunderclap and the shadows formed the shape of a tall unicorn stallion. Noctis stood over the mare, glowering at her. "The Elements are no more than normal ponies! How is it that they could defeat a Shadow Drone?"
The mare shrunk down, ears lowering. "T-the new princess, Lord Noctis! S-she is well versed in magic!"
Noctis gave a low growl. "This new princess is becoming a thorn in our flank. Something must be done with her and her little posse."
