If You Must Know
“I still can’t get over that Princess Celestia invited us for a dinner party.” Rainbow Dash mused as the train went onward.
“Why the heck not?” Applejack inquired. “Just cause we’re not pish posh like the ponies in Canterlot doesn’t mean that we’re not good enough to dine with the princess.”
“I know. I’m just not looking forward to having another dinner party with Discord.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Remember what happened last time?”
“Now, Rainbow.” Fluttershy said from her side. “You know that Discord has been on his best behavior ever since he and Celestia got married.”
“I know, I just hope we don’t have to deal with dancing utensils.”
“Well, I think it’s rather fantastic.” Rarity said, wearing one of her best dresses. “Being invited to a royal dinner has always been a dream of mine. I just hope I’m dressed formally enough.”
“I’d say you look pretty fantastic, my dear.” Spike said from the seat next to her.
“Well, that’s very lovely to hear, my little Spikey Wikey.” Rarity said before lovingly nuzzling the little dragon.
“Oy.” Applejack shook her head before turning to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “I’m just glad that you two don’t act like that.”
“Only when you’re not looking.” Rainbow Dash smirked while Fluttershy snuggled up to her marefriend.
“I am so excited about having a party with the princess!” Pinkie Pie was squealing as she bounced around the cabin. “I haven’t had a party with the Princess since the Gala! And while those stiff ponies didn’t like my improvements, with it just being the princess, it’s sure to be fun!”
“Okay, okay.” Twilight said as she telekinetically wrangled Pinkie Pie back into her seat. “Settle down, Pinkie. I’m excited that the princess invited us too.”
“I’m still surprised that you didn’t ask Flash to be your date for this event, deary.” Rarity commented to the alicorn.
“Well, somepony needed to stay at Ponyville and keep an eye on things.” Twilight replied with a shrug. “Besides, our relationship isn’t that serious yet.”
“Speaking of serious relationships,” Rarity commented as she turned to the pegasi snuggling. “How are you two doing?”
“Oh, things have been fine between us.” Fluttershy said with a cheerful smile.
“And just how well is your marefriend in the kissing department?” Rarity asked with a smirk.
“Oh, we haven’t done anything like that yet.” Fluttershy replied.
Rarity was aghast. “You two have been dating for three weeks and you haven’t had your first kiss yet?!”
“We’re taking things slow.” Rainbow Dash answered. “You know how Fluttershy is.”
“Yes, I want to wait for the perfect moment for our first kiss.” Fluttershy said as she laid her head on Rainbow’s shoulder. “I’m just glad that Dashie is willing to be patient with me.”
“Believe me, girl,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked into her marefriend’s eyes. “You’re worth the wait.”
“Sorry to ruin the moment, but we’re here.” Twilight commented as the train pulled into the Canterlot station.
After stepping off the train, the group made their way to the castle, where they were greeted by a pair of guards.
“You and your friends are expected, Princess Twilight.” One the guards said with a bow.
After Twilight motioned for the guards to rise, she and the others entered the castle. After passing through the hall of historic murals, which now included the recent additions of Tirek’s defeat and the marriage of Celestia and Discord, they found themselves in the great hall where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were waiting for them.
“Ah, Twilight!” Celestia greeted her former student. “We’ve been waiting for you and your friends.”
“Thanks, Princess Celestia.” Twilight before looking around to notice the absent of somepony. “Uh, where’s Discord?”
At that moment, Discord walked in through the side door, a bath towel wrapped around him while being held by his paw, his claw held a bath brush, and a pink shower cap was on his head.
“Tia, dear, have you seen my rubber ducky?” He asked.
“Oh, my eyes!” Rarity shrieked as she covered her eyes to block out the sight before her. Her shout had also gotten Discord’s attention as he turned to see the group.
“Why, Twilight.” He said surprised. “What brings you and your friends here?”
“Uh, we’re here for the dinner party Celestia invited us to.” Twilight replied while Spike did his best to comfort Rarity from her shock.
“Dinner party?” Discord asked in surprise. “That was tonight?”
In a flash, his bath brush transformed into a calendar. Scanning it, he came to the current date. Sure enough, it was circled with the words ‘Dinner party with friends’ written inside.
“Aaaaahhh!” Discord cried before nervously turning to the group. “Be right back!”
With that, he dashed out of the room. A few seconds later, he returned wearing the same getup and mustache that he wore during the dinner party at Fluttershy’s cottage when he was first being reformed.
“So sorry to keep you waiting.” The draconequus said in a polite manner before curtly bowing. “It took me longer than I thought to get dressed.” He then turned to Celestia. “Now, my dear, is this all our guests?”
“Not quite.” Celestia replied as she smirked at her husband’s antics. “We’re expecting two more.”
Before Twilight could inquire who Celestia was talking about, she got her answer as a familiar pair appeared behind her group.
“Shining! Cadence!” She said happily as she approached her brother and sister-in-law. “I didn’t know you would be here!”
“We thought we’d surprise you by keeping our invitation a secret.” Cadence replied as she hugged her fellow alicorn.
“And it looks like it worked.” Shining Armor added as he joined the hug. “Sorry we haven’t seen you since the wedding, but things have been busy in the Crystal Empire.”
“I know the feeling.” Twilight replied. “I’ve been dealing with quite a few things myself since I got my princess title, like finding royal guards for the castle.”
“Which reminds me,” Shining Armor said as his eyes narrowed. “How is that new captain of yours treating you?’
Twilight sighed. “He’s treating me fine, Shining. Honestly, you always said you wanted me to open up a little more when I was filly.”
“Making friends is one thing, getting a coltfriend is another.” Shining Armor commented.
“Cadence was a lot more understanding when I mentioned it.”
“Well, what do expect? She’s the princess of love.” Shining Armor snarked, earning a nudge from his wife.
“Ahem.” Discord cleared his throat. “Shouldn’t we be getting to having dinner?”
“You are quite right, my dear.” Celestia nodded. “If you would…?”
“As you wish.” Discord replied before snapping his fingers. In a flash, a large rectangular table appeared in the center of the room; the chairs automatically pulling themselves out for the ponies to sit.
“If you would.” Discord said as he motioned to the table.
“Oy, I’m getting a serious case of Déjà vu here.” Rainbow Dash said with a shake of her head as she sat down in a chair; referring, of course, to the party at Fluttershy’s cottage.
“At least we know he’s being sincere this time.” Fluttershy commented as she sat beside her marefriend.
Once everypony else sat down, Discord helped Celestia into her seat before taking his place beside her.
“Uh, where’s the food?” Rainbow Dash asked bluntly as she looked at the empty table.
“It’s down in the kitchen.” Celestia answered. “I’ll ask the servants to bring it up.”
“Don’t trouble yourself, my love.” Discord smirked. With a clap of his claw and paw, the food magically materialized on the table.
“Thank you, Dear.” Celestia smiled at her husband.
“Wait, you clapped your digits?” Rainbow Dash inquired with a raise eyebrow.
“What?” Discord asked plainly. “Snapping fingers gets old.”
“Well, in any case, let’s eat.” Celestia stated, inviting everypony to begin.
“So Discord,” Rarity said to the draconequus as she dug into her salad, trying to start a conversation. “How have things been since you and Celestia got married?”
“Seriously?” Discord asked plainly before suddenly leaping into the air as fireworks went off behind him. “I love it!”
“Yes.” Celestia said with a smile as her husband sat back down. “Things have been quite pleasant for us since the wedding. Of course, I hear that some of you found somepony special during the wedding as well.” While Rainbow Dash wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy’s shoulders, Spike placed a paw on Rarity’s leg while looking at him fondly, and Twilight blushed, now wishing she had invited Flash. Seeing the reactions, Celestia went on. “Here’s hoping your relationships flourish as well as ours did.”
“Thanks!” The four ponies and one dragon replied.
“You know, that makes me think of something I’ve been meaning to ask.” Pinkie Pie said to Celestia as they continued to eat.
“Yes, Pinkie Pie?” Celestia asked.
“I know you told us the story of how you and Discord grew up together, but how did you two meet?”
Upon hearing those words, Celestia’s fork fell out of her telekinetic grip, her mouth closed, and she looked up with wide eyes.
“Uh, Pinkie,” Applejack whispered to her fellow earth pony. “I think you brought up an uncomfortable topic.”
“I did?” Pinkie Pie asked innocently. “I didn’t mean to.”
Celestia sighed. “It’s quite alright, Pinkie. It’s just remembering those times back then are still painful to me, considering what they preceded.”
“Oh.” Pinkie said with realization. “Well, in that case, never mind answering the question.”
Celestia shook her head. “No, you’re all entitled to know this. After all, I shared the story of my past with Discord. It’s only fair to tell you how it began.”
Twilight then spoke up. “Personally, I always did wonder how you met Discord, but I didn’t want to cause you discomfort over the subject.” Twilight then shot an accusatory glance at Pinkie Pie, who smiled embarrassingly.
“I was kind of curious about that myself.” Applejack said.
“I always wondered how somepony as refined as you met such an interesting creature.” Rarity stated.
“I wanted to know the story, but I didn’t want to pry.” Fluttershy spoke up. She then looked to her marefriend.
“Doesn’t matter to me either way.” Rainbow Dash said with indifference.
“Well, Tia.” Discord said to his wife. “It seems that everypony is unanimous in wanting to hear the story. Care to elaborate?”
Looking out to the group in front of her, Celestia cleared her throat to begin.
“Wait! Wait!” Pinkie Pie cried to stop her before looking to Discord. “Could you please…?”
“Not a problem.” Discord replied. In a flash, a bucket of popcorn appeared at Pinkie’s side, much to her excitement.
“Hey! I want one!” Spike cried. Another flash and Spike had a bucket as well, which he immediately dug into.
“He’s your coltfriend.” Rainbow Dash whispered to Rarity.
“Yes, well, he’s entitled to behave a little childish now and then.” Rarity replied defensively.
“Ahem.” Twilight coughed to get her friends’ attention. Once things were silent, she turned to her former mentor. “Go ahead, Princess Celestia.”
“Well,” Celestia began. “It happened centuries ago. Before I met Discord, my life wasn’t very interesting. Unlike now, I wasn’t allowed to socialize with my subjects, so I was, to put it simply…bored.”
“You found life as a princess boring?” Rarity asked shocked. “I would never have believed it.”
“Trust me, Rarity,” Celestia spoke to the unicorn. “Being a princess isn’t as fun and amazing as you’d think. I think Twilight can attest to that.”
“Well, it can certainly be stressful, that’s for sure.” Twilight commented. “However, my friends help me forget that.”
Celestia sighed. “Well, unfortunately, I didn’t have that luxury when I was a filly. I didn’t even have any friends. I always craved a little excitement in my life.”
“No offense, but I think these days, you got more than you bargained for.” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“Ironically, yes.” Celestia nodded. “But back then, I’d give anything for my life to be livened up. Then one day, I got my wish.” Smiling, she turned to her husband, who was shining brightly, courtesy of the light he had conjured up.
Celestia then turned back to the group. “It happened when I was four and Luna was two. I had decided to sneak out of the castle to check out the lands outside. Luna, worried about me, followed. Unlike me, she had taken to the primped and polished life as a princess and didn’t approve of my decision. Little did she know that we would discover something that would change our lives forever.”
“Come on, Luni!” Young Celestia said as she led her younger sister through unknown mountains. “Don’t you want to know what could be here to discover?”
Huffing, Young Luna followed her sister up the cliff. “Celly, wait up! This is dangerous! We could get hurt or worse!”
“Luni,” The alicorn filly said to her sister. “We’re immortal. We can’t be killed.”
“Still, as future princesses of the sun and the moon, we have responsibilities!” Young Luna said.
“Ah, they can wait.” Filly Celestia said with a gleam in her eyes. “Right now, I want to see what’s at the top of this mountain.”
“Eventually,” Adult Celestia narrated. “We reached the top of the mountain."
“Okay,” Young Luna huffed as she dropped her flank on the rocky surface. “We climbed the mountain. Now can we go back home?”
“Wow.” Filly Celestia wasn’t paying attention and instead was looking into a large cave inset in the mountain with awe.
“Uh, I don’t think we’re allowed in there, Celly.” Filly Luna said.
“Oh, come on, Luni.” Young Celestia said to her sister. “This could be fun.”
“But there’s no telling what could be lurking in there!”
“Exactly.” Filly Celestia said as she began walking into the cave. “And what better way to find out than by looking inside.”
“Celly, wait!” Filly Luna cried before racing into the cave after her sister.
“As we trotted deeper into the cave, Luna continued to request we leave.” Adult Celestia continued. “Eventually, it began to happen.”
As Filly Luna stayed by her sister’s side, Celestia’s horn lighting up the cave, the princess of the moon nervously looked from side to side, half expecting something to pop out at any moment.
"See, Luni?" Filly Celestia asked and continued their excursion into the cave. "There's nothing bad in here."
"I don't know" Young Luna replied. "I feel like we're being watched in here."
Indeed, unbeknownst to the two fillies, thousands of eyes were shining on them in the dark. However, when the two fillies stopped to examine the area around them, they were gone.
"I think you're letting your nerves get to you, Sister" Celestia comforted her younger sibling while they carried on.
"Or at least that's what I thought was the case" Present day Celestia narrated.
As the two young princesses traveled further into the dark cave, Luna continued to feel uneasy. A few times, she thought she heard what were hoofsteps behind her, only to turn and see nothing there. Also, there was a strange chill that had come over her entire body and wouldn't leave. Trying to get her mind off of the strangeness until they got out of the cave, Luna happened to look at the cave wall and saw what appeared to be a large serpent shadow with huge teeth appear above the shadows of the two fillies from behind.
“Celly!” The filly of the moon cried. “Look!”
Young Celestia looked to the side, but the shadow was gone.
“It-It was right there!” Young Luna stated. “A huge monster’s shadow was right above us!"
Before Filly Celestia could calm her sister down, a series of bright flashes filled the cave, followed by an ear piercing shriek.
“Go away!” A disembodied voice cried.
“Wh-What’s going on?!” Young Celestia cried fearfully.
Suddenly, a humongous pony head with bull horns appeared before the two fillies.
“Aah!” Filly Luna cried as she jumped behind her sister.
“Go away!” The head cried in a booming voice that sounded like thunder.
Eyes narrowed, Fily Celestia stood to defend her sister from the creature. Her horn glowing bright, she shot a powerful sunbeam at the head. The instant it came in contact with the face, the head disappeared.
“Huh?” Filly Celestia asked in surprise.
“Where…Where’d it go?” Filly Luna asked as she stood up.
Before the filly of the sun could reply, a small voice came out of the darkness.
“You heard me! Go away!”
“Who...Who said that?” Filly Celestia asked as she approached the source of the voice.
“No one!” The voice squeaked from behind a large rock. “Leave me alone!”
“Curious as to the source of the voice, I looked behind the boulder.” Adult Celestia narrated. “And found a peculiar sight.”
Crouched in a ball was the strangest creature Young Celestia ever saw. It had the head of a pony, but the rest of its body wasn’t. It had a lion paw for a right hand, a talon for the left, a left goat leg and a right dragon leg, a snake tail, bat and eagle wings, antlers, and a serpent-like middle.
A few seconds later, Young Luna slowly appeared. When she saw the small frightened creature before her, she was shocked.
“What in the world is that?!” She cried.
“I…I don’t know.” Filly Celestia answered as she studied the creature.
“For some reason,” Adult Celestia continued. “I found myself quite fascinated by the mysterious being.”
“Go…Go away!” The creature squeaked.
“You heard it.” Filly Luna said. “Let’s get out of here.”
Instead of leaving, Filly Celestia leaned closer.
“Leave me alone!” The strange creature cried as he backed into a corner.
“Don’t be afraid.” Young Celestia said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Seeming to believe her words, the small creature calm down and looked to her curiously.
“Celly! Don’t get too close!” Young Luna protested.
“What’s your name, little fella?” Young Celestia asked the creature, not paying attention to her sister’s warning.
“I’m…I’m Discord.” The creature introduced itself. “Who are you?”
“I am Princess Celestia and this is my sister Princess Luna.” The filly of the sun said before examining Little Discord further. “I’ve never seen an animal like you before. What are you?”
“I’m…I’m a draconequus.” Little Discord replied.
“Well, you’re the freakiest thing I’ve ever seen!” Young Luna cried.
Her words seem to upset Little Discord, who bowed his head in sadness.
“Luna!” Young Celestia scolded her sister. “That wasn’t nice!”
“That thing tried to kill us with that head he made!” Filly Luna yelled.
“He wasn’t trying to hurt us.” Young Celestia retorted. “He only wanted to scare us off so we wouldn’t find him.” She then turned back to Little Discord. “Are you all alone in here?”
Whimpering, Little Discord nodded and said “Yes.”
For some reason, Filly Celestia didn’t like the idea of leaving this poor creature alone in this cave. After thinking, she said “Why don’t you come home with us?”
As Little Discord’s head perked up, Young Luna cried “Celly! Are you crazy?!”
“Luni, it just doesn’t seem right to leave him in here without a home.” Young Celestia replied while still facing Little Discord.
“You…You really want me to come with you?” Little Discord asked.
“Sure.” Filly Celestia nodded. “Our parents won’t turn you out. They’ve taught me that it’s important to show kindness and compassion to all creatures.” She then extended a hoof outward for Little Discord to take. “What do you say? Will you come with us?”
After considering her words for some time, Little Discord slowly reached his talon out and grasped the hoof.
“From then on,” Celestia concluded. “My life was never the same.”
“Wow.” Twilight said in wonder.
“That was an amazing story!” Pinkie Pie cried.
“Sounds like a unique way to start a romance novel.” Rarity commented.
“Never would’ve thought Discord was like a frightened colt when you were young.” Applejack imputed.
“Extending a hoof of friendship out to a creature she didn’t even know just because she felt sorry for it?” Rainbow Dash pondered out loud before turning to Fluttershy. “That sounds similar to how we met.”
“Amazing, huh?” Fluttershy replied, entranced by the beautiful story she had just heard.
“I gotta say though, I’m surprised Princess Luna disagreed with you on the matter.” Twilight stated.
“Ironically, she had a good point.” Rainbow Dash muttered to Applejack, only to receive a glare from Fluttershy.
Princess Luna sighed. “Except my behavior was based on his appearance and not his personality. Even now, I feel ashamed of how I acted back then.”
“So, when did it stop?” Twilight asked the princess of the moon.
“Well, even after he had come to live with us, I was still adamant about him staying. But we eventually became friends after he made my third birthday a memorable one.” Princess Luna replied.
“Well, after you took me in, I had to do something to win you over, Luna.” Discord said with a smile.
“Uh, Discord?” Fluttershy asked as she raised a hoof politely. “I hate to ask, but what were you doing in that cave all alone?”
Now it was Discord’s turn to close his mouth and look up with wide eyes.
“I have to admit,” Celestia said out loud. “I never thought to ask that. Why were you alone in the cave, Dear?”
Discord then began sweating bullets.
“I got to say, I’m curious about where you came from myself.” Twilight piped up.
“Ooh, I want to hear another story!” Pinkie Pie cried.
“Uh, I don’t know if you all have noticed this, but I think we’ve touched a nerve.” Applejack said as she pointed at the spirit of chaos.
Sure enough, he had a solemn look on his face. The ponies hadn’t seen such a look on him since the time he felt bad about betraying them to Tirek.
“Discord?” Celestia asked tentatively.
The spirit of chaos sighed. “I had hoped that question would never come up.”
“If it’s that’s painful, you can pretend you didn’t hear me.” Fluttershy said nervously.
“No, no.” Discord shook his head. “Tia told you her story. It’s only fair I tell mine.” He turned to his wife. “I’m afraid I’ve been keeping secrets from you, my dear. Fortunately, thanks to Twilight’s spell, in addition to regaining my memories of our past together, I also remember my life before I met you.”
Everypony looked expectantly at Discord, curious about his unknown past.
“This will require visual aids.” The draconequus began.
In a flash, the table had disappeared and everypony was standing while floating in midair, glowing blue for some reason as well.
“Wait, what’s this?” Rarity inquired while the others tried to get their bearings.
“I remember this trick.” Twilight said. “He did this with me when we first met. Don’t worry, it’s just a vision.”
Discord smirked. “Very astute, Twilight Sparkle. Anyway, to begin.” The area around them began moving, as if they were flying through the air. “I’m sure you’re all familiar with how Equestria was founded.”
“How can I forget?” Applejack asked. “Rainbow Dash hammed up her performance during the pageant we were in.”
While Rainbow glared at the cowpony, Discord continued with his tale.
“Well, unbeknownst to the pony tribes, there was a kingdom far away from them.”
The ground stopped moving and the group found themselves above a vast land with the strangest buildings they’d ever seen.
“The Kingdom of the Draconequui.”
“Wow.” The ponies said in amazement.
“Our land was commanded by King Ragnarok who ruled with an iron hand. Literally. His hand was made of iron.” Discord continued as he pointed to the castle in the center of the land. Out on the balcony stood a draconequus dressed in the tackiest robe the ponies had ever seen. It took everything Rarity had to keep from throwing up in disgust.
“Since our powers allowed us to have anything we wanted, there was never any fighting.” Discord continued his tale.
“Wow.” Rainbow Dash said in surprise. “Never would’ve thought you came from a peaceful race.” That earned an elbow to the ribs from Fluttershy. “Well, I didn’t!”
“Our land never stayed the same.” Discord went on. “With our magic, we were able to make our kingdom anyway we wanted.”
The group then watched as the kingdom constantly morphed, going from a land made of ice to a loud city that could put Las Pegasus to shame to a world that looked futuristic.
Discord then brought the group down to the ground where they saw hundred of draconequui walking around. While they all had horse heads, the rest of their bodies didn’t look like Discord’s. Some had chicken legs and dragon hands, lion tails and hornet wings, and bull horns and alligator bodies.
“Oh, that’s my uncle Schroedinger.” Discord pointed out a draconequus with lion and wolf legs. “There’s my grandpa Quantum Leap,” He pointed to another with scorpion claws. “And that was my dear friend Non-Sequitur.” He pointed to a third that had a kangaroo’s pouch.
“Uh, they don’t look quite like we imagined.” Rarity commented.
“What? You thought all draconequui looked like me?” Discord asked with a smirk. “Please, none of them had looks as good as mine. Anyway,” He directed them to one of the misshapen houses. “This was my home.”
Teleporting inside, the group saw a pair of draconequui. One looked like Discord only he had a cliche villain goatee and mustache. The other resembled a succubus.
“Those were my parents Rancor and Eris.” Discord explained before Rancor called the family for supper. In rushed a flood of draconequui teenagers and children who Discord named as they came in.
“Those were my sisters Pandora, Strife, Elazor, and Disarray and my brothers Entropy, Paradox, Anarchy, Mayhem, Havoc, Ruin, Upheaval, Dispute, and Bob.”
“Bob?” Applejack asked confused.
“He was the oddball in the family.” Discord explained before the tiniest draconequui in the family came running after his big brothers and sisters. The group could plainly see who this was.
“As you could see, I was the runt of the litter.” Discord explained. “Still, I was deeply loved by my family.” As if to prove the point, little Discord was lifted into the air by Rancor.
“What happened to them, Discord?” Fluttershy asked.
Discord sighed. “It's not pretty, Fluttershy." he said as the vision of the happy family faded away. "One day, against my father’s orders, I went exploring the outer rims of the kingdom.” The group then found themselves hovering above a mountain as they watched Little Discord crawl up it. “I had just reached the top of it and went exploring in a cave when it happened.”
In an instant powerful winds howled through the lands and thick clouds appeared out of nowhere.
“The snowstorm of the first Hearth’s Warming.” Twilight said with realization.
“Yes.” Discord nodded solemnly. “The storm took the entire land by surprise. Even with the combined magic of every draconequui, the storm was too powerful.”
The group watched in horror as the storm buried the Kingdom of the Draconequui until it was covered in ice and snow.
“By the time I had come out of the cave,” Discord said sadly as the vision of him as a child looked out over the tragedy, his eyes overflowing with tears. “I was the last of my kind. Everyone I knew: my family, my friends. Gone.”
“Oh, no.” Twilight gasped.
“Yes.” Discord nodded as the vision showed his past self crouched against the wall of the cave, both scared and depressed. “I took refuge back in that cave for a long time. I didn’t know how long it was till the snowstorm stopped, but I refused to leave. Without my family, I was too afraid to do anything. I used my powers to scare off any creature that came too close. Until the day I met Celestia and she offered me a new home and family. The rest…is history.”
The group then found themselves back in the main hall of the castle.
“That…That’s one of the saddest stories I ever heard!” Fluttershy began crying. “I never knew you went through something so horrible!”
“Dang.” Applejack said solemnly as she took off her Stetson in respect. “To lose your entire family, let alone your entire species. That’s brutal.”
“You poor thing you!” Pinkie Pie cried as she threw her hooves around Discord’s neck.
Twilight and Rarity were the only ones who had nothing to say while Rainbow Dash comforted her marefriend.
“Man, that was harsh.” Shining Armor said as he put a hoof around a crying Cadence.
“Discord,” Celestia said solemnly. “I never knew you had endured pain equally to what I suffered in the years I lived without you and Luna at my side. To think you had this bottled up inside you for all these centuries.”
“It’s all making sense now.” Twilight pondered out loud.
Everypony looked at her, not know what she was talking about.
“Uh, what do you mean, Twi?” Applejack asked.
“Ever since Princess Celestia told us the story of how Discord became evil, I wondered how whatever dark force that corrupted Princess Luna also affected him. Now I know.” Seeing the puzzled looks on everypony’s face, she continued. “You’ve all heard the story of Nightmare Moon, right?” She turned to Luna. “This mysterious dark force preyed on your jealousy of your sister. That’s how you transformed into Nightmare Moon.”
Princess Luna stiffened a little before nodding. “It’s true. I did envy the fact that ponies enjoyed my sister's sunshine but not my moonlight. Fortunately, I have put that behind me now.”
“But what’s that got to do with Discord, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, clearly confused.
“Wouldn’t you feel a twinge of bitter resentment if your species was all but wiped out while another kingdom endured?” The lavender alicorn inquired.
Rainbow Dash, along with the others except Discord and the princesses, paused.
“I guess I would.”
Discord chuckled, getting everypony’s attention. “You read me like a book, Twilight. It’s true. I did think it was a bit unfair that you ponies survived that storm while my people perished. I guess that’s what made me susceptible to whatever erased my memories and turned me evil.”
Approaching her brother-in-law, Luna spoke. “I can tell you from experience, Discord, that having hate in your heart is not a good thing. It’s nothing but poison.”
Discord sighed. “A shame we found out the hard way, huh, Luna?” He turned to his wife. “I’m sorry, Celestia. Perhaps had I told you this in our youth, we could’ve avoided everything that kept us apart. Please forgive me.”
Celesita looked to her husband. “I should apologize as well, my love. If I had asked about your past before we met, maybe you would’ve been willing to share it with me and gotten it out in the open.” She sighed. “I’m also sorry about your people. It’s really a shame. Perhaps had we discovered your kingdom before it was too late, we would’ve formed a pact of friendship and ponies and draconequui would be living together in peace now.”
“That’s a creepy thought.” Rainbow Dash muttered at the idea of living side by side with creatures like Discord.
Meanwhile, Discord was looking to his wife with a sad smile. “Thank you, Tia. Still, it’s sad being the last draconequus.”
“Well, don’t worry about that.” Celestia said mysteriously. “You will soon no longer be the only one of your kind.”
Discord pondered Celestia’s meaning, and when he found out, his jaw literally hit the floor. “Tia, are you saying…?”
Smiling, Celestia turned to the rest of the group. “I was so wrapped up in all this storytelling that I almost forgot the reason I invited you all here.” Everypony looked to her, not know what her announcement was. Then they heard it.
“I’m expecting a foal.”
In an instant, everypony started cheering.
“Tia, that’s wonderful!” Discord cried happily as he hugged his wife.
“Congratulations!” Fluttershy said happily. “Now you’ll have a new family, Discord!”
“What she said.” Rainbow Dash smirked.
“I hope it’ll be adorable.” Rarity commented before mumbling to herself. “All things considering.”
“This is truly a wonderful occasion.” Twilight said with a bow. “Congratulations to both of you.”
“Wait a minute!” Pinkie Pie cried as she realized something. “If you’re having a foal and Discord’s the father, then that means that you…”
Her words came to a halt as an orange hoof covered her mouth.
“We all know what it means, Pinkie.” Applejack said embarrassed. “No need to say it out loud.”
After everypony had a laugh, Princess Luna raised her glass.
“This calls for a toast!” She called out, getting everypony’s attention. “To my sister and her husband, and their new foal!”
“To Celestia and Discord!” Everpony cheered as Discord happily put the pain of his past behind him while looking forward to his future.