> Through Changes
>  by Symphony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Shenanigans (Prologue)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clopping of tiny hooves reverberated through the halls as the young filly stopped by a doorway and peeked inside to see if the coast was clear. Nopony was there. Good. The filly tip-hoofed past the doorway and continued her trotting. There was almost nothing that could stop her as she bounded down the hallways to complete her mission. Not her aunt, not her mother and especially not her father. She giggled and fluttered her tiny wings in glee. She was now so close now to make it! She saw the door into her room wide-open. She prepared to use her magic to slam the door shut behind her, but to her horror, a goldish-grey stallion which she could recognize everywhere positioned himself in front of the door. She planted her flanks to the floor and skidded to a halt, ending up just in front her father. The stallion harrumphed and reached out with his right forehoof and flicked it twice. The filly pouted and crossed her forelegs in protest.


’‘Era...’’ Discord wasn’t exactly in a mood to play around, as he had been chasing the filly through the entire castle most of the day, as she had visited the castle kitchen and claimed some confections for her own. Before dinner. The filly made a puppy-dog look and stuck out her lower lip and making it quiver.


’‘But daaad~!’’ She tried to argue with the spirit, who just smiled and shook his head. The filly’s forelegs crossed once more as she huffed and turned away. Discord bent down and nudged her daughters back softly.


’‘You know that that look only works on the servants, your aunt and mother. It doesn’t work on me, remember?’’ He laughed as the filly smiled sheepishly and tried to look the other way than on her father. ’‘Now, the jig is up. Hand it over.’’ His expression sat in determination as he reached out once again with his right forehoof.


The filly shuffled awkwardly and cast glances on her father’s stretched hoof from time to time. She slumped her shoulders and sighed as her horn started glowing. Celestia and Luna had trained her from young age to be skilled with her magic. Even Twilight Sparkle had helped her from time to time with some spells. A null-space appeared in front of the filly, and out levitated a small tin box. The null-space pocket closed almost immediately after. She levitated the tin box to her father’s waiting hoof, who withdrew the hoof and placed the box on his back. ’‘There.’’ She huffed. She certainly had inherited some aspects of her father’s behaviour...


Discord grinned and started trotting down the hall, with Era following close behind. They had decided to name her that, as her birth pin-pointed the beginning of a new era. Era fluttered up on her father’s head and sat down with her tiny wings spread in full display. Discord chuckled as Era started telling him to go faster, but he ignored her calls for speed and continued in the same pace as before. ’‘You know that you shouldn’t run around in the castle like that. Remember when you got lost?’’ He chastized the filly on his head.


’‘But when that happened, I was little!’’ She protested in a squeaky voice, which cracked just before the sentence was finished. She pouted and laid her ears back. ’‘I’m a big filly...’’


’‘That happened two months ago, just before your birthday. Besides, you’re always gonna be little from my point of view.’’ Discord laughed as Era tried to bite his ear, who just flicked away from the filly. ’‘You’re just five years old, after all...’’ He smirked.


’’Oh yeah?’’ She said challenging. ’‘How old are you then?!’’ She grinned.


’’Oh well, I’m only Three thousand seven-hundred forty eight.’’ He smirked as the filly’s jaw dropped. ’‘It’s not a big difference, but you know, I still look good even with my age.’’ The filly snickered and punched her father playfully. They passed some servants, and all of them just rolled their eyes and smiled. It was a common sight in the castle to see the spirit walking with his daughter, as Princess Luna still had duties that needed to be tended to and her sister couldn’t do it all on her own. Era nuzzled her father’s head as he started trotting a little faster.







Princess Luna sighed and rubbed her hooves to her temples as she sat on her throne next to her sister. Today had been a stressful day, with arguing nobles and irritating Diamond Dog dignitaries roaming the court and trying to buy more space for their caves, but Luna and Celestia had been unmovable during the conversation with the dogs. They couldn’t move any further into Equestria, as then the ponies would protest and throw massive fits over one single thing.


Luna cast tired eyes to her sister, who seemed to be just as exhausted as herself. They weren’t finished with their duties yet. Oh no, they still had to go through the economy with some members of the court. It didn’t help her situation that she had gotten to know that Era had went on another adventure through the castle. Goodness knows that filly could get into trouble just as easily as her father... But she at least knew when she had crossed the line, unless her father aided in her antics time to time. Discord still had his own fun with the castle servants, guards and the occasional diplomat temporarily residing in the castle.


But Discord took great care of Era when she was working, as he taught her some of the magic he knew just by telling her how to do it, and not showing her how. He had also taken it to himself to teach her how to fly. Her wings hadn’t really grown in yet, but he was still helping her train her wing-muscles so she’d become a strong flier when the time was right. Celestia told the court member closest to her to bring the folders containing the economic reports to them. Luna sighed as she returned to the right mindset to work once more. 


But before she could start working again, the doors creaked open, making both of the Princesses and the workers inside to turn their heads toward the doors. Inside sprinted a pale cornflower-blue filly with a short, bouncing navy mane. The filly was grinning from ear to ear during the entire sprint through the room, but as she came to the staircase, she had to slow down and climb it step-by-step. Discord stepped through the doors, but not as enthusiastically as his daughter. He still smiled, though.


’’Hi mommy!’’ The fily chirped and clung to her mother’s neck. ’‘Hiya Auntie Tia!’’ The energetic filly was lifted off Luna by a navy aura and was sat down just in front of the princess of the night.


’‘Hello, dear.’’ Celestia smiled at the filly, who just grinned back. Celestia knew that the filly had been up to something, as she was smiling awfully much in an innocent manner. She winked to the filly knowingly, who rolled her eyes and continued to play as innocent as she could.


’‘Hello to you too, Era. But do you remember what your father and I said about running around on your own in the castle?’’ She looked straight into the eyes of the filly, who just looked down at the floor in front of her and kicked the floor sheepishly.


’’To not to...’’ Era said beneath her breath, while making sure not to look up to meet her mother’s chastizing gaze. Luna nodded and smiled. She was still young and still had much to learn, but one is only in her age once, so she had to learn certain things on her own. Luna placed her left hoof under her daughters chin and lifted it, making Era look up at her.


’‘Good. Now, what kind of trouble have you been putting your father through today?’’ Luna smiled knowingly as the filly started shifting her eyes from side to side nervously. Discord rolled his eyes and sighed. Oh, she had been putting him through some trouble alright... Discord counted silently to ten and smiled.


’‘Nah, she hasn’t been that troublesome...’’ He waved a dismissing hoof and Era nodded in agreement with her father. Discord grabbed the filly by the scruff on her neck and placed her yet again on his head. They had walked back to the castle kitchen and left the box there, and Era had apologized. Discord would normally never apologize, but he had to raise Era properly. If he didn’t, there would be raining hell from Luna’s direction to him.


’’We should get going and leave you ladies to your work.’’ Discord reasoned and Celestia nodded. They really needed to work in order to get this finished by today. Era squeaked her goodbyes as Discord started walking out of the throne room. ’’I have something special to show you today...’’ The spirit said mysteriously as he started walking in the direction of the royal garden. Era squee’d in anticipation, when he said that he had something to show her, it was often something totally awesome!







’‘It’s a statue.’’ Era deadpanned as she looked up at the stone ornament of a creature she had never laid her eyes on. She had been in the garden plenty of times, but she had never actually stopped to look at the statue. The statue looked like some strange animal. It had something that looked like a pony’s head, when the rest of its body was mismatched and funny. It had a lions paw and even a dragon’s tail!


’’It is...’’ Discord said breathlessly as he looked up at the statue which ignited some memories, and a reminder for his predictament. Discord looked away from the statue and sighed. He had to tell her some day, and it was better now than never. ’’Do you know what this creature is called?’’


’’I think mommy said something about draconek... Draco...’’ She furrowed her brow as she tried to think about what she had called it. Her face lit up immediately as she realized what it was called. ’‘Draconequus!’’


Discord smiled down at his daughter, and looked back up at the statue. ’‘The draconequi are a very special race. I should know, as...’’ Discord took a deep breath. ’’As I am technically a draconequus in mind.’’ The filly turned toward him with enormous eyes. She tried to say something, but not a single word came from her mouth. ’’I did many things that should never be done again, and of course, I regret doing many things. What I did back then felt...right for me.’’ Discord felt himself starting to tear up, but Era stood up against his right foreleg and embraced it, all while looking up into his eyes with her own.


’’I was, and still am Discord. The Embodiment of Chaos, Spirit of Disharmony and all-around nutjob.’’ Discord smiled weakly. ’‘But your mother made me see the errors of my ways after I became a pony. Before that, I was imprisoned in a statue. Much like that one.’’ He motioned toward the statue. The filly looked up at the statue in a different perspective, but looked almost immediately back at her father and pressed her head toward his side.


’’B-but you’re a good pony, right? You wouldn’t hurt anypony, right?’’ She asked frantically. Discord sat down, lifted her up and embraced her. The filly held him closer than before.


’’I am a good pony now. And I have never hurt anypony, now or ever.’’ He whispered to her and the filly accepted it. Discord looked away from Era and back up at the statue. It was only a matter of time before he would begin to feel the effect of time on his body, as diseases or illnesses could harm him much more efficientely when he wasn’t an immortal.


’‘Good...’’ The filly nuzzled deeper into his chest and sighed contently. ’‘You’ll always be here for me, right?’’ She looked straight into the spirit’s crimson eyes with her pink orbs. It felt like somepony just stabbed the entire poor spirit’s entity as the filly uttered those words. ’‘You won’t change right..?’’ She whispered with tears in the corners of her eyes. Discord sighed and wiped away the tears with his left hoof.


For a spirit based on deceit, destruction and lies, the next lie had to be told to spare the filly the brutal truth behind what could be Discord’s fall. He nuzzled the filly, who calmed down significantly. He looked straight into the filly’s eyes, and spoke up in an unwavering, strong, certain voice.


’‘I’ll never change.’’


A/N: And there we are! I'll try to write chapter 1 and 2 before posting any of them. Plot progress and all that jazz. Pre-read and edited by frieD195, as usual.
> Disharmony 101
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 A/N: Only Chapter 1 today as I'll be getting a new laptop tomorrow and I'll write Chapter 2 on it as soon as I got it set up and ready to go! Edited by frieD195. Enjoy!




’‘Now Era, do you remember what your mother and I taught you about creating new mass from scratch?’’ Discord paced back and forth in front of his daughter, who was sitting perched on a bench next to him.


’‘That...’’ She bit her lip as she searched for the answer. ’‘That new mass is hard to create, so the next best thing is to take existing mass and shape it for your own needs!’’ She chirped and started bouncing on the spot she was sitting. It was time for Discord’s lessons in teaching her some basic spells, and right now they were going through some theories to repeat what she had already learned.


’‘Exactly!’’ Discord beamed. ’’I trust that you know the basic compendium of a cloud already from your lessons with Twilight Sparkle, yes?’’ The filly smiled and nodded. ’‘Good. Here’s what we’re gonna do today...’’ As they were being in the garden for their lesson, Discord zipped up into the air and fetched a cloud, bringing it down to the ground for the filly to see.


’‘We’re gonna try out a simple little spell of mine...’’ He smirked and brushed the cloud softly. Era stood on the tip of her hooves, and her wings fluttered momentarily in anticipation as she awaited the answer from her father. ’‘For this to work exactly as we want it to, you’ll have to momentarily disregard Celly’s pointers on The Laws of Nature, okay?’’


’’...Okay?’’ Era raised an eyebrow. This was strange... But she’ll do it, as learning is fun!


’‘Wonderful! Now, focus on the cloud and find the threads of its mass.’’ Era nodded and went to work. The threads were the objects that unicorn spellcasters weave together to create new things. They locate the threads and tie it into other threads, molding an entirely different thread to continue from. The threads are the basic things that all unicorns and alicorns experience when they use their magic for the first time. Era had shown great ability in locating the threads and weaving them together in new possibilities. She didn’t have the raw magical power Twilight Sparkle had, but she was a quick learner.


Era stuck her tongue out in concentration as she pressed her eyes shut. Her horn was still glowing in a cornflower blue aura. ’’I found them, now what do I do?’’ She opened her left eye and looked at her father, who nodded.


’‘Find the density of the mass and enhance it, then continue to locate the guideline of the mass.’’ Discord stood back and allowed his daughter to focus. She nodded when she had finished the task. The cloud was surrounded by a cornflower blue aura, like the one around her horn. ’‘Good, now you break the natural guideline and tie it together with the density thread, the pigment thread and finally, the thread which makes it taste so bland...’’


She followed her father’s instructions until she felt some strange force emanate from the cloud which she had never felt before. She had sensed something like it around her father before, but then it was much weaker than what she sensed right now. She opened her eyes to see that instead of the cloud being engulfed in her usual cornflower blue aura, it was now engulfed by a strange golden aura. The aura poofed, and strangely enough made the sound of a duck’s quack as it did. But when she laid her eyes on the cloud, her jaw dropped further.


Instead of it being fluffy and white, it was sticky and... pink? She reached out with her left hoof carefully and nudged it. Instead of it pushing away easily as clouds always did, it floated away but some of the cloud got stuck on the bottom of her hoof. ’’Um... Did I do something wrong..?’’ She asked as she wiped her hoof. Discord smiled and shook his head. ’‘Then... What is it?’’


’‘It’s my very own spell which I created. It makes regular, boring old clouds into delicious cotton candy clouds!’’ Discord grinned. Era grinned even wider than her father. This was the best spell she’d ever learn!


’‘Cotton candy?!’’ The filly squeaked and looked back and forth from the cloud and then to her father. ’’I made a real cotton candy cloud?!’’ She giggled and took some cotton candy from the cloud, and continued to gobble it up.


’‘Yes, you made your very own cotton candy cloud! But that’s not the only thing you did with your spell...’’ Discord grabbed the cloud and shook it a few times. A brown substance started dripping from the cloud. Discord put his head beneath the cloud and got a mouthful of the liquid Era hadn’t identified yet. ’’Go on, taste some!’’ Discord waved his hoof toward the cloud. Era took a few very cautious steps toward it.


She stuck out her tongue daintily when she was standing just next to the cloud and leaned forward. Her eyes were closed almost like she expected something bad to happen. Just when the first drop of the strange rain dropped on her tongue, she squeaked and drew her head back. She smacked her lips. It was a familiar taste... A taste she should recognize everywhere, as... It was chocolate...rain... 


’‘EEEEEEEE!’’ Era squeaked and bounced around in a circle. She had made a Cotton. Candy. Cloud! The rain was even chocolate milk! She ran up to Discord and hugged him, before she darted off to the cloud and rolled around in the rain beneath it while giggling madly. Discord let a tired smile embrace his features as he sat down. He frowned as one thought battled its way to his full attention.


’‘Era...’’ He sighed. The filly sat up, covered hoof to mane in chocolate milk and cotton candy on her entire face. ’‘Let’s... not tell mommy about the cotton candy clouds, alright?’’ The filly frowned and pouted.


’‘Why not?’’ She half-whined.


’‘Because if we do... Let’s just say that I’ll be in some deep trouble...’’ Just deep trouble wouldn’t fit the description of what the alicorn sisters would do to him. Discord shuddered and stood up. ’‘C’mon, let’s go and run you a bath.’’ The filly’s ears flattened to her skull and her face became paler than what it normally was. She started backing away from him very slowly. ’’Oh no you don’t!’’ Discord exclaimed. A thunderclap rang through the garden as Discord grabbed Era and prevented her from running away.


She writhed and thrashed with her forelegs, trying desperately to escape her father’s grip. It’s not fun to take baths! You get, ugh... Clean... Her struggling wasn’t noted by Discord, as he was holding her in a grip she couldn’t escape from. After a while, she groaned when she realized that it was no use in fighting against it anymore. She crossed her forelegs and pouted. Might as well get it over with...







Discord sighed heavily as he plopped down on his and Luna’s bed. He had moved into her room as Era got a room for herself, which was Discord’s old room. He had just put Era to bed, and Luna was, for the moment, with Era and talking to her. Luna and Era often talked to each other just before Era would sleep, so she could tell her mother about what she and Discord had been doing today.


The spirit had set his mind; he would tell Luna about his predictament when she returned from Era’s room. Sure, he would have to explain a few things and tell her why he hadn’t told her earlier, but it was something that was needed to be done as soon as possible. Hell, he was even slightly afraid at how she would react! Would she refuse to talk to him? Would she shrug it off as him rambling? But most importantly; would she even believe him when he told her? He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.


The door cracked open and inside walked a disheveled lunar princess with visible bags beneath her eyes. ’‘What a day...’’ She sighed. ’’...And night.’’ She added with a nonchalant roll of her left hoof and a giggle. Discord smiled weakly, reminding himself of the rather harsh subject he had to bring up.


’‘Luna, I...’’ He bit his lip and turned away from her. Luna was at the moment levitating her regalia away from her and placing it on a ponykin. ’’I have something that I have to tell you... It’s... Really important.’’ Discord sighed heavily once again, this would be harder than what he expected. His ears splayed back.


’’Oh? What is it, then?’’ She noticed how distressed Discord was and laid her forelegs over his chest and held him close.


’‘Five years ago, before the Grand Galloping Gala...’’
> Within
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: By ending with the dickiest cliffhanger known to pony fanfiction (from my view), I give you this chapter and humble apologies. I won't do it again.. Edited version, edited by you guessed it, frieD195!



''What happened back then?'' Luna asked, deeply confused. Why would Discord bring up something like that? He had to have a reason to do so, as she knew when he had something important to say or when he was just playing around. Discord looked up at her with a sad, almost depressesed expression. She grabbed his left hoof with her right hoof and stroked it.


Discord took a deep breath. This was it. He had stalled this for too long now, it was time to grab this methaporical bull by the horns. He averted his eyes from the lunar princess and looked down at the floor while sighing. ''During the day of the Gala, I was walking through the castle to get to you, but... Something intercepted me and gave me a slight detour.'' His ears splayed back from what he knew was coming. ''It wasn't somepony, it was something I didn't want to return anymore...''


Luna lifted a hoof to her mouth and her eyes widened. She knew what he meant... Discord's Periculum had returned to take control of his body again. Thank Goodness he still had the necklace at that time, and is still wearing it. ''You... You mean...''


''Yes...'' Discord interrupted her and sighed once again. ''The Periculum returned and spoke to me, but this time it was different; it didn't seek to take over my body, it gave me a...message... The message was something of the utmost importance...'' He steeled himself for what was coming. It was about time he told her, he chastized himself but there was no use in refraining from telling her anymore...


''The Periculum meant no harm, it just warned me of an event that could change every single thing as we know it, as it told me that as long as this... Necklace is on me,'' He tapped the necklace once. I... I will lose all of my strength until there's absolutely nothing left. Luna... Luna, I'm... Dying... Without my Periculum, I'm just another mortal...'' He sighed heavily and looked up into the eyes of Luna, who wasn't moving a single muscle.


The first sob wracked her body, followed closely by the second. Her entire frame shook from them, and Discord was quick to wrap her forelegs around the mare. Who pressed her head to the spirit. Discord stroked her mane and was quiet. She cried into his coat. Discord could feel every single tear drip onto his coat. He felt even worse with every tear. Luna threw her arms around him and leaned away from him, looking straight into the spirit's eyes. Even with her eyes puffy, red and stained from tears beneath them, her eyes shone with the determination only a leader can emanate.


''We...'' She gulped and wiped her eyes with her left hoof. ''We can fix this before it's too late. I... I know we can... We just... We just need some time.'' She assured herself with a nod. Discord's ears splayed back and he looked back at the floor.


''It... It may not be that easy...'' He took another deep breath. ''This pony body can't handle my full power, as ponies never were supposed to have this much power. I... I have to change back, somehow...'' Discord looked into Luna's cyan orbs. ''I have to become a draconequus again, or everything will be for naught.''


Silent tears started rolling down Luna's cheeks, she bit her lower lip and looked away from the spirit. She never expected anything like this to happen, when it should have been so obvious that without his magic, he wasn't an immortal. It could have been so easy, but she never gave it a thought. She knew however that the power within him was not to be fooled around with. He could change the cycle of the sun and the moon without issues. All it took him was a snap of his talons, and the deed was done.


The problem the two would face to save him was her own sister, Celestia. Celestia had accepted Discord in her family, but she was still cautious around the spirit. It would probably take some time for them to talk Celestia into removing the necklace.  Luna laid down on her side, and Discord laid down beside her. He wrapped her arms around her, and she did the same. She had lost him once already, and she would do anything in her prowess to keep him with him. They had to succeed, or Era would lose her father.


It wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done. Luna knew this, so did Discord. A silent agreement raced through the room that they wouldn't talk about it anymore tonight, and continue it the coming day. Discord perked his ears as the sound of magic being focused came from the other side of the door. He looked over to the door to see the doorknob lit in a cornflower aura, while the door opened slowly.


On the other side of the door was Era, but her eyes were red and puffy. Her lower lip was stuck out in a pout with it quivering from time to time. She sniffled and walked inside with her head held low. ''I... I had a bad dream...'' She whispered while standing next to the bed. Discord reached out with his forelegs, and Era sat down on her haunched and reached toward the spirit. He lifted her up onto the bed and positioned her between him and Luna.


''It's okay... We're here...'' Discord cooed softly, and the filly sighed contently and nuzzled into her father's chest. She fell asleep within a minute. Luna sighed as she realized that she had to wake up in a few hours to move the moon for her sister's sun to take its place on the sky.


Discord nuzzled the filly in return, and her left hindleg kicked thin air as he did it. ''We'll always be here...''







The next day, Era was trotting happily down the hallways in the castle. In her magic grasp were two cups she was bringing to her parents. Her father had asked her to do it, and she had done so almost immediately. A couple of eyebrows rose when the young princess trotted through the halls, but she was oblivious to them all. She was humming a jaunty song her father had taught her. She liked that song, it was funny.


She frowned and her eyes became glassy as her mind returned to the nightmare she had been having last night. The horror which spooked her dreams were a monster which looked like the statue her father had shown her, but it wasn't a statue, it was alive with golden eyes which made her wake up panting for air. It was a scary monster, and she didn't want to see it anymore... But with the mindset of a young filly, those thoughts dissappeared almost instantly and morphed into curiosity of the beverage in the cups.


She stopped and looked around to see if any servants were around, and she couldn't see a single one. She giggled and levitated one of the cups to her level so she could see the contents. It was a dark brown beverage with a really bitter smell. She frowned and stuck out her tongue from it. It wasn't nice, so why would her parents want some? It must be the taste...


She lowered the cup even further and sniffed it twice. It didn't smell very good, and it was obviously steaming hot. She blew it once, to cool it off just a little bit, then continued to look around again, there was still nopony there. She snickered and put the cup to her lips and drank some of it.


The first thing she noticed was the extremely bitter taste, which made the princess stick out her tongue in disgust. ''Eeew!'' She shook her head with her tongue out. But the strange thing was that she wanted more... She drank some more, only to end up with the same disgusted expression.


But this time, the filly's wings shot opened and started humming like the wings on a hummingbird. Her left eye twitched once, twice. A grin spread across her face as her mane sprung up in a silly mane-cut.


Caffeine does silly things.
> Caffeine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Edited by frieD195! Oh hey, I actually updated with the edited version right away!



The spirit yawned and brushed a hoof wearily through his mane. He stood up from the bed and stretched his back like a cat. He smacked his lips and walked out into the hallway, intending to find out where Era had gone after he asked her to fetch him some coffee. She had bounded off in glee, and Luna had walked to her sister's room to have a quick chat before the coming day. The implications of what he had told her last night still fresh in his mind.


Luna would of course have some questions for him, and he would try to answer them at the best of his abilities. He had told Luna, now he had to tell Celestia. But there was one pony he would have to talk to as well.


Era...


Just the thought of telling her broke the spirit. She would probably not understand at first, but she's a clever girl and would understand after a while. It was her reaction he feared, in all honesty. The look on her face as she finally understood the situation... It made Discord shudder. But where was Era? He had sent her off on her task almost half an hour ago, and the walk to the kitchen only takes ten minutes, tops. Oh, she probably got lost once again by taking a left before she was supposed to.


He sighed and walked down the hall to find her. She was his responsibility, after all. Though he wished that he could use his magic, just to be able to scry her and find her instantly, instead of checking random hallways and rooms. It wasn't an uncommon thing for her to get lost in the castle, but she always ignored that fact when he or Luna pointed it out.


After a few minutes of searching for the filly, he asked some servants and guards if they had seen seen her. Everypony said that they had just seen her earlier that morning, when she was trotting to the kitchen. Discord sighed heavily, as that meant that he had to go to Luna and ask if she could use a spell to locate the filly, but he would wait with that solution and continue searching on his own for a little longer. After walking down the hall for about five minutes, the spirit saw two empty cups lying on the floor. The cups were obviously from the castle kitchen, as they had the royal insignia. He picked up one of them and sniffed it. Coffee... He could recognize the bitter smell anywhere, but where was Era then? These cups were probably the cups she was bringing to them, but why were they empty?


The revelation hit the spirit like a ton of bricks. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Era had caffeine. Discord bit his lip. This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all! That filly was normally quite hyper, but how would she act like while fueled with coffee? Discord shuddered. He had to find her, now. Goodness knows what kind of chaos that filly could wreak upon the castle...


Discord paused right then. Hell, if she would cause chaos, she would really be daddy's girl! He grinned, but he knew that he had to stop her anyway. He sighed and started trotting down the halls once again.







The garden was usually a quiet, peaceful place. But today? Nope. Instead of it being the usual quiet sanctuary it was known to be, it was to put things lightly; disorder. The animals had been scared away, so had the gardeners. But it wasn't a monster or something like that rampaging through it, oh no.


It was 'just' a hyperactive filly fueled by two cups of coffee. No biggie, right? Well, that's what the servants thought at first, but then they witnessed the filly running around and using her magic to increase her speed even further. The guards had ordered one of the servants to fetch the filly's parents, specifically her father as the spirit would be able to catch up to her with his speed in flight. But for now they were just trying to limit her surroundings to keep her from running away from them again. Probably not the easiest thing to do when the filly knew how to teleport short distances...


''You can't catch me~!'' The filly sang as she teleported away from a guard who was trying to block her. She whooped in excitement as she yet again barely avoided being grabbed by one of the guards. This was probably the most fun she’d had in like, forever! It was so easy to evade the guards, who were becoming rapidly annoyed by her antics. Her wings fluttered because of the excitement building up inside of her. She grinned like a madmare as she noticed an opening between two of the guards which she could use to get away from the garden properly. She took the opportunity and dashed past the baffled guards.


She would just have to press on a little further, and she'd be in the clear for now. She giggled in glee as the guards scrambled to get on the chase behind the filly. Era would have none of it, and just accelerated until her tiny legs were a blur. It felt so easy to run! It was like she was stepping on thin air!.. Oh, wait... She looked down to see that she was, indeed, just running on thin air. She turned her head to see her father's glare as he held her by the scruff of her neck. She smiled sheepishly, and then started flailing her legs to escape from his grip, but to no avail. She pouted and crossed her forelegs, this was no fun at all...


Discord placed Era back on the ground and stepped on her tail just as she tried to dash away at full speed. The filly sighed and plopped down on her haunches. Yep, this wasn't fun at all... She started trashing and punching her father's foreleg, but the stallion didn’t move a single muscle.


''Let me go!'' She yelled and started pulling at her own tail with her magic to get away from him. But this wasn't working as well. Discord's eyes narrowed.


''Not until you have calmed down, young filly.'' He scolded. But Era had enough of his treatment. She focused her magic in a last ditch-effort and started levitating up into the air, with power cracking around her. Discord's jaw dropped and he instinctively drew back his foreleg, He tried to grab Era and pull her down, but he just got shocked by the aura surrounding her.


Discord knew what this was; it was Era's magic taking control in order to relieve the situation unfolding around her. It wasn't a good thing, and he knew it. The crackling power around her pulsed out dangerously twice and Discord's eyes widened. This wasn't good at all... He shielded his eyes with a foreleg, only to catch a glimpse of the power around her building and becoming stronger. Before he could even react, a shattering pulse of magic exploded from the filly. The ground shook almost as if it was an earthquake in progress,


By the time the pulse hit him, Discord screamed and flew back from the brute force. He looked down at the necklace, just to see the cracked rubies fly in pieces away from it. His eyes widened even further as the pieces of the rubies ignited and started pulsing with power of their own. It felt like time slowed down as the rubies ignited an explosion from the strong magic. His eyes were blinded by a crimson flash, followed by intense agony as the explosion rippled over his body. But just before he lost consciousness, he spotted the necklace flying away from him in shattered pieces.


Oh shit.
> 'Tis But a Scratch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Monty Python is pure awesome. Anyway, Edited by frieD195.



Discord felt his senses slowly returning to him, and it made its presence known by making some of the pain he had felt before he passed out return to him. He gritted his teeth and lifted his forelegs to his neck, where he felt several burns and a few cuts. But one detail which made him excited and terrified at the same time crept upon him.


He wasn't wearing a necklace to bind his powers. He allowed a small smile grow over his lips as he set his forelegs onto the bed again. He opened his eyes slowly, to allow his eyes to adjust to the light in the hospital room he was in. The first thing Discord noticed was that Celestia and Luna were both standing to the left side of his bed, and the Elements on the far side of the room. They were wearing their respective elements. Era was lying by the foot of his bed, fiddling with her forehooves on the sheet. One unnerving fact was that Celestia was levitating another necklace beside her. Discord gulped and clicked his tongue.


''That was quite the spectacle.'' He said dryly, and the ponies inside the room just rolled their eyes and sighed. Partly in relief that his voice hadn't changed like it did the last time the necklace came off. Era just looked straight into his eyes with big, watery orbs and a quivering lower lip. Her head was held low and her ears were splayed back. Discord spread his forelegs, and the filly charged at him and embraced him into a choking hug. At first, Discord hugged her back, but after a while he started flailing his arms and wheezing for air. The alicorn filly squeaked her apologies and glided off the bed.


Celestia coughed awkwardly and wiggled the necklace, emphasizing her request to put it on the spirit. Discord bit his lip. He had told Luna, but now it was crucial that he told Celestia before it was too late. He looked over to Luna, who had wide eyes and was jerking her head toward her sister. Discord took the hint and made himself comfortable. ''Right... Luna?'' The lunar princess perked her ears. ''Could you take Era with you and go outside for a minute? I have... Something to say that might not be suitable for her... Yet.''


Luna nodded and levitated the now struggling filly onto her back. ''But I want to stay with daddy!'' She whined and held her forelegs toward the spirit. Discord's ears fell back and he looked away from those eyes. Luna would have nothing of it, naturally and continued despite the filly who was starting to sob a little. As the door closed, Discord leaned back to the bed and ran a hoof through his mane. Hoh-kay, time to get this over with. The sooner, the better, right?


Twilight Sparkle gave him a knowing look and nodded, she already knew of his predictament, she was here now to help him convince Celestia and her friends. Discord took a deep breath and glanced around the collected ponies inside the room, before he spoke up. ''I am quite sure that some of you wonder why I asked you to stay here for this.'' The Elements nodded, so did Celestia, but with a puzzled look. ''Truth is, this is something I probably should have shared with you all earlier than now, but the events of earlier today may have just ensured my survival...''


A collective gasp circulated throughout room, and Celestia lost focus of her magic and dropped the necklace in her magical grip. To the surprise of the ponies inside the room, Celestia included, the necklace crashed through the floor and the floor on the level below, coming to rest two stories beneath them. ''Before you ask, yes, it's that heavy...'' Discord deadpanned before continuing. He told them about his encounter with himself, his conflicting feelings over the years, telling Luna and eventually, just how painful it would be to tell Era about his true form.


The mares with the Elements were taken aback by Discord's sudden change in demeanor. They were used to seeing him with his trademark smirk plastered on his face and his rather peculiar attitude. In fact, none of the Elements liked seeing him this way. Celestia, however was just regarding him with a raised eyebrow. She knew that he was legitimately distressed, but she still didn't like the idea of having Discord running around with his powers, as it was enough trouble to have him without them from time to time. Discord was looking at her with pleading eyes, that was a first. She bit her lip as she levitated the necklace to her once again through the hole in the floor. She twisted the necklace in her magic grip, inspecting it for damages from the fall.


Discord gulped and felt beads of sweat trickle down his brow. This was stressful, to say the least. But he still had one card up his sleeve, it was a dirty trick, but he felt compelled to use this. He took another deep breath. ''Celestia...'' He said darkly, and everypony felt the temperature drop inside the room. The princess looked at him with wide eyes. ''Remember, if you decide to put that necklace on me, you'll have to tell Era that you’ve sentenced me to certain death.'' He leaned back once again to the bed and crossed his forelegs. The temperature inside the room turned back to normal, and the Elements shivered from the sudden change. Celestia closed her eyes and sighed while placing the necklace in a null-space pocket.


Discord cheered mentally and hoofpumped. He had done it! But now he would just have to turn back into a draconequus, somehow... Fluttershy walked carefully to the bed-ridden spirit and glanced at the cuts and bruises on his neck and chest area.


''Umm...'' She said, gaining the attention of the spirit. ''Are you sure that you should go around with those cuts like that?'' She asked tentatively, while trying not to stare at his injuries. Discord scoffed and crossed his forelegs.


'''Tis but a scratch, I'll be fine when it has healed. 'Sides, I can heal it with my magic.'' He deadpanned and faked a yawn.


''A scratch?'' Fluttershy gasped. ''You had a magic explosion just next to you, there's even some fragments still in your neck...'' She kicked the floor sheepishly, but Discord just looked the other way.


''No there isn't!'' Discord scrunched his nose and his eyes darted from side to side. Fluttershy, however would have none of it.


''Well what's this then?'' She reached to his neck and pulled out a tiny charcoal fragment of the necklace. Discord just looked at it momentarily, but turned away right after.


''...I've had worse.'' He added with a roll of his hoof, but Fluttershy had decided to take the matter to her own hooves, instead of the doctor's. She looked at him with what could be equivalent to the stare and pushed down his chest toward the bed, making him lie down against his own will.


''You're going to stay here until you are all better again, understood?'' Her eyes narrowed. Discord was baffled by the sudden change in the usually frightened pegasus. In fact, it almost frightened him, so he decided not to argue with the mare. He pouted and crossed his forelegs, making himself look like a huge foal.


He decided that the exact moment Princess Celestia and the Elements of Harmony leave the room, he would heal his own wounds with his newly reacquired magic and teleport to the library, so he could perhaps find some books on shape-shifting or something similar. It wouldn't necessarily be what he would be looking for, but it may just help him in some manner.


‘But first, a quick nap wouldn't hurt.’ he reasoned and made himself comfortable. He could sleep perhaps an hour; then get to work on the next point on his mental agenda.
> Skin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I usuallly write something here, but I can't think of anything today. Edited version.




Discord yawned and stretched, he had slept more than what he expected to do. He groaned as he rolled off the bed. He lifted a foreleg and dragged it down his neck. He winced as he still felt the fragments stuck in it. He exhaled slowly and focused his magic. This could hurt...


All the fragments stuck in him started glowing in a crimson aura, and all of them started pulling away from him at the same time. He bit his lip and clenched his eyes shut, then gasped as the fragments ripped away from him. He felt several trickles of blood going down his neck. He focused his magic once again, but this time the familiar power of what was his Periculum allowed him to tap into it to be able to heal his wounds.


A crimson and yellow mini tornado appeared around his neck, and he felt the skin starting to reform, and the coat grew back out. All happened in a matter of seconds, and Discord hadn’t felt the euphoria of using his magic in quite some time. Almost six years, to be exact. He grinned as the aura around his horn faded away. ’I missed you, ol’ buddy ol’ pal...’ He thought as he walked to the door, intending to go to the library.


‘Likewise.' The periculum answered him.


Discord shrugged it off and started whistling as he trotted down the hallways leading to the castle library. The castle was almost similar to a labyrinth in some perspectives, making it easy for somepony to get lost in its expanse. Era got lost in the castle almost two times a week, due to her adventurous spirit which lead her wrong most of the time. The servants Discord met had to look at him twice to take in the fact that Discord wasn’t wearing the necklace. Most of the servants knew why he was wearing it, so a few of them became spooked but didn’t say anything.


Discord heard a sudden clopping behind him, and before he could even react, a small weight thumped upon his back. He didn’t have to look back to identify it, as he knew that it was just Era playing around. A giggle coming from his back affirmed his suspicions. ’’Hi dad!’’ Era chirped.


’‘Hello there, Era.’’ Discord stretched his wings, and the filly looked at them with wonder. The wings were muscular, as the wingmuscles had been trained to near perfection due to Discord’s habit of flying a little bit of everywhere. ’‘Did you run away from the Elements, or were you allowed to go away?’’


’‘Weeell...’’ Era rubbed a hoof to the back of her head and glanced away from the now smirking spirit. ’‘They didn’t exactly say that I could leave... I just wanted to go for a walk without them following me...’’ Era pressed her head to his back and wrapped her tiny forelegs as far as she could reach over him. ’‘Pleasedon’tbemadatme!’’ She squeaked into his coat.


’’Oh no, I’m not mad at all. I just think that you could have told them that you were going to see m-’’


’‘There you are!’’ A voice which Discord and Era reognized echoed through the corridor. It was the voice of nopony else than Rarity, the Element of Generosity. Era squeaked and hid her face in Discord’s mane. ’‘You shouldn’t be running around like that on your own, young filly!’’ The fashionista scolded, and Discord harrumphed.


’‘She was just searching for me, and she really is sorry for running off like I did.’’ Discord explained, straining to be calm even with the fashionista talking to his daughter like that.


’’I am?’’ Era asked, deeply confused. Discord coughed awkwardly, and the filly’s eyes widened. ’’Oh yeah! I am, I’m totally sorry for running of like I did. Sorry Miss Rarity...’’ She looked down at the floor from her father’s back.


’‘Now Era, I need you to go with Rarity as I have some work to do. But when I come back, I might be a little different than what I am now. Just... Just stay with the Elements of Harmony, okay?’’ He looked straight into her eyes, and the filly nodded. She hopped off her back and walked defeated over to the white unicorn. Discord nodded to the fashionista, who understood what Discord was about to do. She nodded back to him and ushered the alicorn filly to follow her. Era didn’t protest and just followed Rarity.


’‘Now darling, I have some dresses fit for royalty which I am positive that you will just adore!’’ Rarity squee’d, and Era’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Oh... No... The filly turned to her father with pleading eyes. Discord just shook his head and continued his trek to the library.


The look of pure horror was still stretched upon the filly’s face as the fashionista levitated the filly to follow her lead. She hated dresses! They were just so... Icky and uncomfortable. She started struggling against the aura around her, but Rarity just giggled and watched her go at it.


‘Like father, like daughter...’ The dressmaker smiled as she walked into a room where she kept the garments, which were pure horror to the filly. Unbeknownst to the fashionista, Era was absolutely not intending to play nice... Hell, she was the daughter of the Embodiment of Chaos and the Spirit of Disharmony! Not some little ponykin...  Era smirked as she focused her magic, making the familiar aura appear. But this time, it flashed yellow once.


-----


Discord found himself with books stacked in neat piles all around him. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, but lucky for him, he had the bookworm of the bookworms, Twilight Sparkle there to help him. She was at the moment looking through a big tome which Discord was baffled of seeing, just because of the sheer size of the book.


Discord levitated a book to himself and squinted while reading the title of the book. But what he read made him quite uneasy, actually. ’‘Err... Twilight...’’ The lavender mare looked at him. ’‘Why do we need a book titled ‘The Great Guide to Goop and Sticky Situations?’ because, I really think we can do this.’’ He glanced at the book in mild confusion.


’‘Because if we fail and you turn into some kind of molecular fluid, we’ll maybe get to know how to get you back together again...’’ Twilight smiled sheepishly, but Discord looked at her, horrified. Turning into some kind of strange goop wasn’t in the plan, so he rocketed to his hooves in panic.


’‘Buck that!’’ He squeaked in fear. ’‘Maybe I can do this on my own... I’ll just have to get the order of the build just right, so shut up.’’ Before Twilight could scold him at how dangerous and potentially deadly it was, he had already focused his magic and begun the process.


He started floating up into the air inside the library, and a strange aura which only intensified with every passing second started forming around him. He spread his forelegs, and an expression of pure, unbridled calm washed over his face. He could feel his body beginning to break down, so could Twilight. His forehooves and lower body started disentingrating. It looked like flakes of his body was breaking off. Twilight was too entranced by the spell instead of panicking. She had never seen a spell being used with such preciscion.


Finally, all what was left of his body was his head. His eyes shot open, but no orbs were there. Only an ethereal ligh shone from his eyes, which forced Twilight to cover her eyes from the intense glow. A crack of bone was heard as his snout became longer, and as he opened his mouth, all his pony teeth shrunk back into his gums, leaving only the sharpened tooth which grew rapidly in size. After that, the rest of his teeth appeared one by one. His horn twisted down back into his skull, and two irregular horns sprouted out from his skull. His mane on the top of his head shrunk back into his head, making him bald. The hairs grew out on the back of his head, and the eyebrows and his goatee popped out.


Now, his neck started growing back out. It became the same, old goldish grey. By the end of his neck, the maroon of his upper body grew, and made him look like a giant, odd snake. Another crack of bones echoed through the library, and a skinless, coatless version of his eagle talon grew out within two seconds, the skin and the fur took longer though as the flesh and the muscles rebuilt themselves around the bone. It was a sickening sight for the lavender mare, and it didn’t help very much to see his lion arm crack away out in the same fashion, but with the muscles being much more powerful on this side, it took a few seconds longer. Twilight laid down and covered her head and ears with her forelegs. She couldn’t take much more snapping of bones.


His dragon’s tail twisted itself out of his lower body, and the spines popped out. The feathers on the far back of it just grew one by one, Two cracking noises echoed at the same time away from his lower body as his legs grew out, but one of the legs sported three huge claws. The flesh and skin weaved over his lizard leg without issues, so did the deer leg. The glow in his eyes blinked once, twice and then stopped glowing. The aura surrounding him had turned from a brilliant crimson into a glowing gold hue. Discord floated peacefully to the library floor, unconscious due to the immense strain on his mind to keep up the shifting spell. Twilight marvelled at his size as a draconequus. From turning into a pony, just shorter than Luna turning into a draconequus much taller than Princess Celestia. He rolled over onto his chest, where Twilight noted his chest rising and falling in a steady beat. Twilight grabbed a piece of parchment with her magic, along with a quill and an inkwell. She then continued to write a quick note to the princesses about the spirit’s success and state. For now, she would allow him to sleep it off.


-----


The Royal Princesses had gotten word of his success, but they couldn’t leave their duty. Two hours had passed since they recieved the note, Luna was anxious to see him and ask him how he did it, but sadly, it would have to wait. Celestia was relieved that it had gone well, but she was still nervous about what would happen.


But before they could even think any more on that matter, the doors creaked open on their own, making all of the ponies inside look at the doorway. But what they saw made most of the ponies panic but made the princesses smile. Discord stood in the doorway in his full height in his draconequus form. He had his arms crossed behind his back with a neutral scowl on his face. But before anypony could react, he whipped his eagle talon forward and placed a pair of sunglasses on his head. A strange beat started playing out of nowhere, and Discord uttered three words.


''Cotton candy cloud!''


He continued to fold his eagle talon over his stomach while lifting his lion arm and shaking it while stepping forward, then stepping twice with his left leg, he continued the strange dance but this time, he stepped twice with his right leg. He crossed his arms across his chest and skipped around in the room. All of the ponies inside the room couldn’t believe their eyes. Luna started laughing and joined his peculiar dance, so did Pinkie Pie. Celestia facehoofed. Discord placed his talons to his side and started sidestepping while looking up at Celestia with a manic grin.


One thought dominated the mind of the draconequus, one thought that would surely bring some second thoughts to a few diplomats and other ponies.


’Discord is back, baby!’


> SUPER AWESOME CHAPDURR
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord swaggered across the throne room. All the mares swooned and started humping everything near them. Poor Spike was never the same. Discord looked at Luna, who was nearing an overdose of swag emanating from the spirit. "Dam gurl, u want sum buk?!" He hollered. Swag

Luna fluttered down the staircase leading up to the thrones and leaped into his arms "Totally~"

But then Luna's sister became jealous and became Nightmare Moon Sol. Discord allowed his swag to flow over the room so Celestia changed back. Suddenly, the doors flew open as Luna's daughter (Discord denied being the father to keep his rep, yo). Era spoke up in the manliest voice of manly ponykind. "Yippie-ka-yay motherbucker" And pulled out a gatling machine gun, then mowed down everypony inside the throne room with it.

Then everything exploded. Twice. Meanwhile in an another dimension, over 580 bronies plotted to beat Symphony half to death.

TEH END


Nah, I'm just messing with you guys. I was supposed to leave a note with some stuff about the next chapter so here goes: It will take sone time for it to come out, as I have a lot of schoolwork and other time-consuming things. Just hold on. I wrote this from my phone so there's bound to be mistakes. I'll delete this later. I regret nothing!
> To Break
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Edited by frieD195! Sorry for making you guys wait for it, I had some things to finish before this one. Enjoy the read!




Era trotted out through the door with a victorious smirk. She huffed and spread her tiny wings. That should show that Rarity about what she feels about dresses and that... Ugh, fru-fru stuff. She giggled to herself as she trotted down the hallway. The fashionistas' expression was on a constant replay in her mind. After a few minutes, the door opened even wider than before and a disheveled, tired and quite horrified dress maker collapsed as soon as she left the room. It was not every day you got to experience all your tools and equipment coming to life and deciding to do whatever they want to do. Rarity was in no mood to contemplate about cleaning that mess, though... She tried her best to compose herself before she had to walk back to the throne room where her friends were. After taking a deep breath, she started walking down the hallway in the direction she assumed that Era had gone. She winced as a cut on her left foreleg acted up a little, but she ignored the pain and trotted on.


After a few minutes of walking and talking to a few ponies, she came finally came across a familiar face. She smiled as Fluttershy came walking toward her. Fluttershy smiled and noticed the state the unicorn was in. She wouldn't.... No, couldn't make a comment about her friend's look. Besides, it was... Nice. But before she could speak up, the fashionista beat her to the punch.


“Do forgive my appearance as of now, Fluttershy dear. I had a... Surprising yet terrifying moment with Era, that little rascal...” She huffed. Oh, that filly sure had inherited some interesting aspects of her father's powers, alright... Fluttershy looked confused for a split-second, until she realized what her friend had implied. Fluttershy frowned. Era couldn't help being like her father in that aspect... She received her mother's looks and by all reasoning, got her father's colorful attitude.


“Oh, I don't mind...” The veterinarian whispered. “I just hope that neither of you got hurt, as that would be awful with all kinds of cuts and bruises... A-And-” She was silenced by an alabaster hoof making contact to her lips. She understood right away that she had been rambling and lowered her head in embarrassment. “S-Sorry...”


“Aside from a small cut, I am perfectly fine. Era managed to escape without any injuries though so I assume that it's a good thing.” She smoothed back her purple mane gracefully. Fluttershy sighed in relief. Both of them knew how protective Discord was, and there would be hell to pay if Era was hurt in any manner. The ponies shuddered in unison when they realized that the spirit had his magic back. Fluttershy shook her head and excused herself and started walking again. She had to go to the library to fetch Spike for the Princesses. They were too busy to send a letter, so Fluttershy had volunteered immediately. Rarity gave her friend a knowing smile before the fashionista trekked back to the throne room.







Fluttershy stopped by the door leading into the library wing. She felt a tug in her wings, an instinct to flee which she had developed over the years. But alas, she had made a promise and couldn't go back on it now when she was so close. Besides, it was still the same dragon she had known for years. Only bigger... More muscles and bigger, sharper teeth. A squeak escaped her lips. About four years ago, Spike had gotten into his first growth spurt, which meant that he had grown both in size but in mind as well. He had matured and laid the crush he had on Rarity behind him. She took a deep breath and opened the door.


The first thing she saw was of course the vast amount of bookshelves containing various books on all kinds of different subjects. But her vision turned to the purple dragon standing in the middle of the room with his broad back turned toward her. When he first got into the growth, he was skinny and didn't really have any muscles, but after working out with Big Macintosh on the farm he had become quite the looker. Fluttershy felt a weak blush on her face appear. She hid her face in her mane and squeaked once again.


Spike noticed the interruption and turned around. He smiled when he noticed the butter-yellow pegasus. His fangs glistened in the light, making her gulp. “Hey 'Shy! Did you need any help or are you just taking a look around?” Spike dropped to all fours and walked closer to the pony. With him getting older and taller, he found it to be easier to walk around like the ponies do. It didn't strain his back as much so it was a needed relief when he wasn't working. An effect from his training with Mac included him growing much faster than what was normal for a dragon his age. He was about the size of Big Mac, tail not included when he stood on his fours. When he was standing, he was almost a head taller than the aforementioned workpony. He didn't have any wings though, as he was a special breed of dragons without wings. Due to his lack of wings, he didn't need the slender physique of a dragon with wings. He had much more bulk than one of those dragons.


Fluttershy shook her head and cleared her throat daintily. “Um... No, the Princesses asked me to go and get you to the throne room.” She kicked the floor sheepishly. She didn't know why she couldn't look at the teenage dragon without feeling a sudden rush of heat to her cheeks. The drake furrowed his brow and shrugged while walking past her.


“The Princesses were too busy to send a letter, eh?” The dragon muttered. Fluttershy nodded and turned around to follow the dragon. “So they sent you and not one of the assistants?” He frowned. Fluttershy shouldn't have been assigned the task of fetching him like that...


“No, I um... I volunteered to go and get you...” She looked down at her hooves. Another rush of heat came to her cheeks. Spike raised an eyebrow. He knew that Fluttershy would never think twice about helping somepony, but walking through the entire castle just for that? Unacceptable... Spike stopped and laid down.


“Your hooves must be killing you right now... Get up on the scaly express!” Spike chuckled at his own joke. Fluttershy didn't seem so sure if she should do what the dragon suggested. She took a cautious step back. Spike rolled his eyes “C'mon, the Princesses are waiting and I won't take no for answer. I won't bite...” The shy pony accepted his invitation after thinking about it thoroughly. Her hooves had been starting to ache just a little bit, after all...


She climbed up on his back, being careful not to hurt him in any manner. Spike sighed. “I'm not made of glass, so you don't have to worry about hurting me. Thick scales, remember?” Fluttershy grinned sheepishly and made herself comfortable. He had imagined the spines on his back to be in the way, but they didn't bother her at all. After Spike had made sure that she wouldn't fall of, he stood up and continued walking. She expected another rush of heat to her face, but this time it only was a pleasant warmth which was quite nice to experience. She cautiously wrapped her forelegs around Spike's neck to get a better grip. Spike, however was glad that Fluttershy couldn't see his face, as then she would notice the blush making itself known.







On the ceiling of the throne room, Discord made himself comfortable sitting on a lawn-chair. A couple of the ponies gave him strange glances once in a while, though. But the Princesses ignored the spirit as they were used to his peculiar behavior. Discord summoned a glass of chocolate milk, drank the glass and used the chocolate milk as chewing gum and blew a bubble.


He was bored, to say the least. He had been a draconequus for a full three hours now, but he was still waiting for Luna to finish her duties. He groaned and tapped his eagle talon to his chin. There had to be something he could do to kill some time that didn't involve causing general havoc and chaos... Needless to say, he had a hard time thinking of what he could do. But after a few minutes, the doors opened from the outside and a pony which he dreaded to see, but was relieved to see anyway walked inside. Era trotted inside while smirking. Discord felt a tug at his heartstrings, he almost snapped his eagle talon to teleport away, but he bit his lip and hovered down to stand by four out of six Elements of Harmony.


Era trotted up to her mother and nuzzled her. Luna nuzzled the filly in return and smiled. “Where's daddy?” Era asked innocently while scanning the crowd of ponies gathered in the room. She couldn't see the goldish grey stallion anywhere. Luna took a deep breath and prepared herself for what was going to happen. Luna lifted Era onto her back. Luna looked back at Celestia, who nodded knowingly with a sad smile. Era was about to question her mother's act, but changed her mind and went with it. After a short walk, they entered an uninhabited guest room. Luna set Era down on the bed and lowered herself to her level.


“Now Era, it is important that you don't do anything rash. It may be a shock at first, but I assure you, there's nothing to be afraid of. Understood?” Luna said softly, never breaking eye-contact with the confused filly. The filly nodded and Luna took a deep breath while closing her eyes. “Discord?”


After a golden flash, a creature Era didn't recognize appeared. She didn't know what it was, but when it stood up to its full height she realized what it was. It was one of those... Draconeqi? Her father had told her about. The creature had a soft, almost sad expression. Era felt her chest raising and falling faster and faster by every passing second. She was starting to hyperventilate. Her eyes darted from side to side, and after a couple of tense seconds, she broke the silence.


She screamed at the top of her lungs.



BAM! Didn't expect that Fluttershy/Spike thing, didya? Well, I did say that I had something planned... Beware.

> Shutdown
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: The chapter became much shorter than intended... I couldn't really get in the groove to write 3k for this chapter, but have some feels anyway. Edited by frieD195.



After Era had screamed, she hopped off the bed and scrambled to get to the nearest corner to hide from the monster. Both her mother and the monster looked relieved when her wailing had ceased, but her breathing was still ragged and her eyes were darting to the beast and her mother. It took a slow step forward, and Era pressed herself toward the wall even further. ”D-Daddy!” She wailed in hope that the stallion would dash inside and make the monster go away.


All that happened was that the monster got a pained expression and glanced over to her mother, who nodded toward it. Discord took a step forward and winced as her own daughter scooted away from him even further in fear of him hurting her. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, bracing himself to reveal the needed truth to her. “Era...” He looked straight into her eyes, never wavering. “I... I am your father...” He stretched and tried to ignore the horrified expression on her face. “This is what I truly am. A protection spell which was designed to keep me trapped in my prison back-lashed when I attempted to break free. Somehow, I became a pony in the process.” Discord sighed.


“At first I was surprised, but I soon realized how easy it would be for me to sneak into towns and make my own mark upon them. My first target was Ponyville, where the Elements of Harmony lived. It took a few days for my magic to recharge, so all I could do before I was captured was to take a look around town.” He scratched his beard with his eagle talon. “Then your mother and aunt located me and brought me down. I got... Reacquainted with your mother from thousands of years being apart.” Discord sat down on the bed, but his eyes never left Era.


“About a year later, you were born and Equestria went into a new time of peace and harmony. But eventually, trouble rose when my almost complete lack of natural magic got the best of me. It was life-threatening...” Discord sighed heavily and looked down at the floor momentarily, then back at the filly. “Do you remember my necklace..?” He asked weakly. Era nodded cautiously. “You might have thought that it was some kind of regalia, but it was a collar which limited me from ever using my magic. Your aunt Celestia designed it and crafted it with her top magicians in private.”


“I changed back to this form this morning in order for me to survive. So... Do you believe me?” Discord asked with a small smile. Era regarded him in silence and bit her lip. She didn't know if she could believe that this monster was her father, but her mother trusted him enough to believe him, or maybe if she even knew that. Era looked at Luna with pleading eyes.


“He's not lying, dear...” Luna said in a quiet, comforting tone. “Do you believe him..?” Luna asked, full of hope.


“I...” Era squeaked. “I don't know... I want to-.. I don't know...” She stuttered, then glanced at Discord who felt his heart being ripped out, thrashed and spat on at the same time. His ears fell to the side of his head as Era teleported away. Discord turned around and walked toward the closed door. Luna walked to his side and nuzzled his shoulder.


“Disco-” Discord leaned away from her and walked faster through the door, not saying a single word to her. She did however notice a single tear drop from his face to the floor.







Discord wasn't angry. He was upset from obvious reasons. Being shunned by his own daughter when he revealed his true self to her. The worst thing of this whole situation was that Era was afraid of him. Discord growled and walked even faster. He had been walking in random directions for half an hour, trying to make sense of the situation. “Who was I kidding? It was obvious that she would be scared of me...” Discord rubbed his eyes with the back of his lion's paw.


“...And then I told him, 'I am a prince, not a peasant!” A snobbish voice came from around the corner. Discord groaned as he recognized the voice belonging to Prince Blueblood. Discord stopped and considered teleporting away from the snooty little bastard, but realized that it was too late when the prince waltzed around the corner with his entourage containing three servants and two guards following him. Immediately as Blueblood noticed him, a disgusted expression washed over the prince. “Just who allowed this... Dog to enter the premises?” The prince huffed. Discord balled his fists and puffed a small cloud of smoke from his nostrils. “I say, why don't you just take your little... Impurity and leave, hm?” Blueblood smirked.


Discord had enough. His fists started glowing and sparking with chaotic magic aching for a release. Discord looked over to the guards, who seemed to be fed up with the arrogant prince's behavior. The spirit grinned evilly and snapped his eagle talon and teleported, just to appear just in front of Blueblood. He crossed his arms behind his back and leaned forward ominously toward the stallion, who was glancing nervously to his entourage and sweating. “Boo.” Discord drawled. Blueblood squeaked pathetically. 


“Get away from me, you monster!” Blueblood shrieked. “Do something!” He shouted to his guards, who were actually amused from his suffering.


“Monster?” Discord held his lion paw to his chest, feigning hurt. “I'll show you what a monster truly is, child...” Discord growled and clamped his lion paw around the royal neck of the stallion, then poked his eagle talon to Blueblood's forehead. The prince convulsed and his eyes rolled, until they flashed white twice. Discord dropped him to the floor, where he started shivering and covered his head while stuttering something unintelligible. Discord smirked and leaned down, and whispered to Blueblood. “...And now you know what a monster is, whelp.” Discord growled as he stretched his back and turned away from the scarred royalty.


“What... What did you do to him?!” One of the panicked servants asked, or rather, demanded. Discord just continued walking and never looked back. 


“I showed him his former deeds, and made him feel everything that he has ever done to anypony. I showed him what a real monster is. Give him a few hours and he'll be fine, but I am quite sure that he will have some thinking to do then.” Discord snapped his eagle talon, and with a flash, he was gone.


“I like that punishment...” The same servant as before spoke up and nodded, so did the rest of the ponies around her. Even the guards broke their stoic demeanor to nod in agreement.







Spike trudged through the doorway to the throne room, where Princess Celestia and his friends were chatting about something. Fluttershy yawned and stretched her forelegs, making them pop in protest from not being used for a while. She fluttered off the drake and smiled weakly. To her own horror, she noticed that she was blushing. Spike smiled and looked up to the princess of the day, who smiled down at him. When noticing the new arrivals, a devilish grin appeared on Rainbow Dash's face.


“Where have you lovebirds been, huh?” She grinned. Fluttershy's face became a deep crimson, when Spike just became confused. Pinkie Pie giggled in response, and a victorious smile grew on the daredevil's lips. “You owe me ten bits, cowgirl...” Dash bumped Applejack's side, who just muttered something beneath her breath.


“What are you talking about, Da-” A suggestive eyebrow wiggle from the pegasus made the dragon stop talking immediately. “...Oh” He shook his head and looked at Fluttershy, who seemed to have shut down because of being so embarassed. “Look... Fluttershy and I are not a couple, and we never have been.” He puffed out his massive chest, which made the yellow pegasus snap out of her trance. “I wouldn't mind it, though...” He whispered. Fluttershy looked at him with wide eyes, then smiled and moved to stand closer to the dragon.


“Yay! When we're back in Ponyville I’ll have to throw a party for you two getting together! It will be so much fun, right!” Pinkie Pie continued her rant, but almost everypony stopped listening. Spike faceclawed. “There goes going out for a drink later on...”







Era was hiding beneath the covers on her bed, not saying a single thing. She was just lying there in silence, hoping that nopony would find her. Her hopes were diminished as a childish giggle echoed through the room. She squeaked and hugged the cover closer to her, but when nothing more happened, she removed the cover and looked around in the room, searching for the source of the giggle.


When she didn't see anything, she jumped off the bed and tip-hoofed around to get a better look of the room. She pouted when she realized that someone had just been playing around with her. Another giggle echoed, but Era couldn't believe her ears when she heard the giggle coming from the mirror. Another monster similar to the one she had seen earlier today appeared, but it was much smaller and dainty. The young monster beamed and her eyes flashed crimson. It took a deep breath, still grinning and revealed a tiny sharpened snaggletooth.


“Hi! I'm Eris!”
> Bonds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Era approached the mirror cautiously, never looking away from the playful draconequus in the mirror. Eris giggled at Era’s frightened expression and decided to joke around with the filly.


”Boo!” The young draconequus exclaimed and raised her talons in a single swift motion. Era squeaked in fear and darted behind her bed. She peeked around the edge to see the youngling rolling around on her back while clutching her sides from the laughter. Era started giggling when she thought of her own reaction. After a while, she was also rolling around on the floor.


After a few minutes, their laughter had died down to just being an occasional giggle. Era sat up and wiped her face from the mirthful tears while facing the mirror, where Eris was floating leisurely a few feet from the floor. ”Um...” Era shuffled her hooves. ”Where... Where did you come from? Who are you?”


Eris giggled, as if Era’s questions had the most obvious answers. ”I’m you, silly!” She dropped to the floor and pouted. ”Well... Not exactly you, but I am still you in a way!” Eris cheered and once again levitated.


Era stared at her with her jaw hanging. ”You...huh-buh... How?!” Era questioned and moved away from the mirror and jumped up to her bed to make herself look bigger. ”You can’t be me! I’m already me!” Era paused and rubbed her chin with a free hoof. ”...I’m confused...” She admitted in defeat.


Eris tapped her eagle talon to her chin while thinking of a good way to explain. A lightbulb poofed into existence above her and flashed, then disappeared. ”Let’s take our dad as an example...” Era whimpered and her ears splayed back. ”Maybe that wasn’t a good example... Oh well, you see, our father was never an actual pony. He wasn’t lying when he said that strange magic changed him, you see. Everypony was shocked when they got to know that he had changed, and now he's back to his normal self. He might look a little scary and sound different, but he's still the same in behavior. Trust me. I think you should go see him, as you kind of ditched him...”


Era whimpered once again at the thought of seeing him again, but if Eris said that it would be okay, she could give it a try. Era gave the reflection a stiff nod, then ran out from the room. Eris waved as the young alicorn slammed the door closed behind her. Eris' expression shifted from a friendly smile into a sadistic grin as her body grew into its rightful size. She ran her lion paw through her hair and chuckled. She stepped through the mirror and took a deep breath. She looked around the room and her eyes fell on a framed photograph next to the bed. On the photo was both of the princesses,  Discord and Era. She traced a careful claw down Discord, then threw it at a nearby wall.


“Tricking that kid was too easy... Now to claim my price...” She said to herself and snapped her eagle talon, transforming into a castle servant. She smiled as she left the room, revealing a slightly sharpened tooth.







Discord was lying on a bench in the royal statue garden, near the spot he had been occupying when he was still a statue all those years ago. He sighed and rolled over onto his back and dragged his eagle talon down his face. The talk with Era had not gone as planned. He was thinking about a way to try again. 'Turning back to a pony? No... Then I'd had to go through with the trouble of being a mortal again...' He growled and facepalmed. 'This is impossible! The only way I can talk to her is if she comes to m-'


“Um...” A tiny voice squeaked.


'Huh?' Discord turned his head to see Era standing next to the bench, shivering like a leaf in the wind. Discord stood up from the bench and laid down on the ground next to Era, making himself as small as possible. He winced as Era took a careful step away from him as he moved. “It's... It's okay, I won't do anything, Era...” Discord stammered. “If you have a question, don't hesitate to ask me.”


“I... I thought you said that draconeqi were bad...” Era took a careful step toward the spirit, who didn't move a muscle in fear of scaring her. “Are you a bad pony..?”


Discord sighed and rubbed his neck with his lion paw. “There was a time when I was bad... But when your mother was with me again, I became better over time. I was never perfect, but I tried my hardest to become good... And... And when you were born... I... I pulled everything together to give my little filly absolutely everything she deserves...” Discord smiled sheepishly. Era's lower lip quivered for a couple of seconds when no words were spoken between the them. Without warning, Era darted toward Discord and jumped toward the spirit. Discord caught her mid-air and wasn't able to say another word as Era embraced him in a crushing hug.


Era tried to apologize, but all she could say was some blubbering nonsense. Discord hushed her and reassured the filly that there was no need to apologize. They stayed in the same position for several minutes, until Discord nudged the filly and spoke up. “Hey... Wanna go and prank auntie Celestia?” Discord asked with a knowing grin.


“Would I ever!” Era chirped and trotted away toward the castle entrance with a spring in her steps. Discord paused momentarily, smiled, then followed her. He was just as eager as the filly in pranking Celestia. Goodness knows that was some time ago he did something like that...


On a rooftop nearby, a serpent-like creature grins and disappear in a golden flash, as it had just learned the weakness of its prey. Discord froze and looked around. He had sensed something... He couldn't really say what, but it felt familiar. He shrugged and continued walking after Era. “Strange...” Discord muttered.







Princess Celestia was walking to her private quarters, as she was more than ready to take a well-deserved nap so she could continue her duties in a few hours. As she rounded a corner, she saw the familiar shape of a purple drake leaning toward the wall with his arms crossed. Celestia smiled as she walked closer. She hadn't talked to Spike in private for years. ''Hello, Spike.” She greeted him.


Spike jumped, as he had been lost in thought when the princess talked to him. He cleared his throat. “Hello, princess. Sorry for my reaction, I wasn't really paying attention to anything...” A sheepish smile appeared on his face. Celestia laughed and shook her head.


“Oh Spike... You don't have to be so formal when you're with me. You can call me Celestia.” Spike nodded, then looked away from the princess for a couple of seconds. Celestia sighed. “I haven't been able to talk to you in private for years, Spike...” She looked away from him. “What kind of mother would do that?”


Spike tensed and walked toward Celestia. “Stop thinking like that, you were always great. You taught me so much when I still wasn't in Twilight's care. Hell, if you wouldn't have made me her assistant, I wouldn't have met any of my friends! Point is, you are the best mother a dragon like me could have... Just... Just don't belittle yourself anymore, okay?” Spike smiled, and Celestia followed suit. She pulled him into a hug with her strong wings. “Ugh... moooom...” Spike whined, but his grin shattered his facade of faking the whine.


Celestia released him, took a step back and sighed. “You have grown so much over the years...” Celestia excused herself and continued her trek to her quarters. Spike watched her walk around another corner and leaned back toward the wall. That's when he noticed that the door was slightly open, and Fluttershy was staring at him with wide eyes. Spike groaned as he realized that he had some explaining to do.


“So... Do you want the long version, or the short version?” He said as he walked into the room Fluttershy had been given for her stay in Canterlot. He laid down on the bed, and Fluttershy joined him, but much slower.


“Long version... I-i-if you don't mind, th-that is...” She curled up into a ball and squeaked. Spike rolled his eyes and ran a claw through her mane.


“Well... I started off as a cute little purple and green egg...”







Hours later, Discord closed the door to Era's room in a gentle motion and sighed. He smiled as Luna walked toward him. He leaned down and nuzzled her when she was within his reach. Luna sighed contently and leaned toward the spirit. “Seems like everything was solved...” Luna said and continued walking down the hall. Discord joined her and held his arms behind his back.


“I wouldn't jinx this. This author is a tricky bastard.” Discord said dryly. Luna looked back at him as if he was crazier than usual. She decided not to question him and rolled her eyes in exasperation. Discord followed Luna into their shared room. Luna removed her regalia and placed them on a nearby ponykin. Discord just hopped onto the bed and sprawled out his limbs as much as possible. Luna pouted and placed herself to rest her head on his left shoulder.


Discord rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around Luna, who held herself close to him to share his warmth. The scenarios which had occurred during the day repeated themselves in Discord's thoughts. But just before he succumbed into slumber, he heard the sound of glass being crashed and Era screaming. He shot up to his legs in an instant and teleported himself to her room.


The sight which greeted him was gruesome. Glass was everywhere and the entire room was in a state of disarray. Toys laid scattered everywhere in the room. But worst of all, Era was nowhere to be seen.


All of the inhabitants of the castle was awoken by the roars and wails of a heartbroken father who had lost his only child. 






A/N: Ta-daaa! Here it is! Now, about the Celestia/Spike thing, it's my headcanon. When Twilight was still too young to take care of baby Spike, Celestia was up to the challenge and raised him, teaching him how to use his firebreath for sending mails and shit.

Also, I'm just gonna go and hide in that bomb shelter over there... Yeah....
> We're No Heroes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the day after Era's abduction, and Princess Celestia, along with the Elements of Harmony were discussing the abduction, and what the reason for such an act would be. Discord wasn't there with them, neither was Luna as the latter had to use a spell to subdue and the Spirit, who had went on a rampage after his discovery. After that, Luna had returned to her room and hadn't come out yet.


When they searched the room afterwards more thoroughly, they had found a small note with strange icons and scribbles Princess Celestia had never seen before. Spike leaned toward the wall where he was standing and sighed. ”Left out... Again...” He thought bitterly. He had no assignment, or any idea what to do. He was stumped, and he hated it.


Era was a nice kid. She wouldn't even hurt a fly, and that was what upset him the most. He growled, dropped down on all his fours and stomped through the halls of the castle with smoke coming from his nostrils. When he grew, his temper changed as well. The added thought that he had the strength to rip a pony into pieces was unsettling as well.


”I gotta do something to help... I just can't drag around here all day when Era's on her own with some creep...” He muttered. ”Wait a minute...” He paused in mid-stride, turned around and bolted through the hallways with a massive grin.


”I got it!” He barraged around a corner, barely avoiding colliding with a servant who seemed to be less than excited to have a teenage dragon running toward her. It didn't take long for him to get where he wanted to be, namely Era's room.


He returned to his usual bipedal stance and opened the door slowly while holding his breath. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to be there after what happened, but he could care less at the moment. When the door was completely open, he saw a familiar shape sitting on the bed with his talons in his face, leaning forward.


”Go away...” Discord muttered miserably. He had awoken from Luna's spell five minutes ago, and this room was the only place he wanted to be at the moment, preferably alone. Spike however didn't listen and took another step forward. Discord stood up and his talons lit up with chaos magic aching to be released.


Spike ignored him and searched the room with his enhanced draconic senses. If the ponies would have missed something, he would easily notice it. He closed his eyes and allowed his senses to roam the room. Discord regarded him with an arched eyebrow. Spike felt... He felt Discord's powerful presence as his chaos energy was hard to miss, but there was something else... It was a weak trail of chaos energy which lead through the window. It was almost like Discord's, and it could be easily mistaken as it, but this was just too weak. ”Era...” Spike muttered and opened his eyes.


At the mention of her name, Discord snapped to attention. ”What about her?”


”I think I can track her... She leaves a trail of magic after her, and I can sense it. It's... Nothing certain, but I think it could be worth a shot.” Spike explained. Discord grabbed the drake by his shoulder with his lion talon, then raised his eagle talon to snap his claws. Spike tensed. ”Uh... Shouldn't we tell Celestia?”


Discord paused and stroked his beard, shrugged and grinned. ”Nah, I'll just grab Shining Armor and then we'll go!” Spike protested and told the spirit about the note which had been found. Discord's brow furrowed. ”Well, you go get the note while I collect some ponies we could bring. Wonder if Big Macintosh is available...” He muttered when he disappeared in a golden flash.


It didn't take long for Spike to realize that Discord had a plan.


He shuddered.







”Ah have a feelin' we're not just gonna go out fer a drink as usual t'day.” Big Macintosh drawled to the unicorn.


”Yeah, but Discord really needed our help with this and I think it would be a low blow to refuse to help him with whatever he's doing...” Shining Armor sighed. ”Considering what happened with Era just yesterday...”


”I have a bad feeling about this...” Spike's eyes darted from side to side. He had managed to 'borrow' the note from the princesses, but he didn't like it one bit. ”I wonder when Discord's gonna arrive...”


As if on cue, the draconequus appeared within a flash. He grinned. ”Glad to see that all of you could make it here today!” He clapped.


”Yeah... It's not like we had a choice to be here or not...” Shining Armor added sarcastically while rolling his eyes. ”You just teleported next to me, grabbed me and teleported away with me.”


”Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded sagely.


”Quiet, you.” Discord scowled at the unicorn, who shrunk back. ”The reason I called you here today is because of the... Events... which occured yesterday...” Discord stared at a distant point, then shook his head. ”Anyway, we're going to search for Era with the help of Spike, who can track her magic somehow. The reason why Shining Armor is here is because of his expertise in defensive magic. Big Mac is here because his sheer strength is impressive.” Discord turned away from them with his talons behind his back. ”I'm here because I'm an ancient evil with no regard for safety or sanity. It's a perfect mix!” Discord beamed.


The ponies and the drake glanced nervously at eachother, but shrugged it off. Shining Armor stepped forward. ”So, my sister and her friends are coming as well? Their teamwork and the Elements of Harmony can come to use, from a strategic point of view.”


Discord thought about it. He was right... The Elements of Harmony could help them with this, but a group of eight ponies and two bipeds would not be a good idea, as they would be spotted easier. ”Nah, I'm sure we can do this on our own juust fine!” Discord grinned. ”Now, off we go!”


The ponies and the drake glanced at each other again, but this time in uncertainty. All of them had a very bad feeling about this...


Discord, however didn't notice how uneasy his companions were as he teleported the group away from the castle.







An hour later, Fluttershy was walking around the castle, searching for Spike. He had left without telling her where he was going, and she was worried that he might have gotten lost in the castle. She squeaked in terror as she bumped into a decorative suit of armor, and darted away unnoticed.


She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Twilight Sparkle exiting a room down the hall, and was currently walking toward her. ”Twilight knows Spike better than anypony! She must know where he is...” The pegasus reasoned and walked over to the unicorn ”Hello, Twilight..!”


”Oh, hello Fluttershy! Say... Have you seen Shining Armor anywhere? I can't find him... He's not in his office...” Twilight sighed. She had looked forward to spending the day with her brother.


”Oh... I haven't seen him after this morning. And I was going to ask if you had seen Spike. Have you seen him? If you haven't, I don't mind... I was just... eep...” Fluttershy hid her face in her mane.


”Fluttershy, you don't have to feel awkward that you're dating a dragon who's pretty much my little brother! But...” Twilight stopped, leaned forward and spoke in a low growl. ”If you break his heart, I'll break your spine...” Twilight leaned back and sighed. ”Now, when that's out of the way, why don't we search for the guys together?” She trotted down the hall. Fluttershy didn't protest and followed the lavender unicorn.







Luna walked toward her sister's quarters with her head hanging. She hadn't felt this miserable in several years, and to top it off, she couldn't find Discord anywhere. She was on her way to Celestia in hopes that her sister knew where he was at the moment. As she opened the door to Celestia's room, she noticed the alicorn lying on her bed with her regalia lying tossed away on the floor next to her. ”Celestia...” Luna comforted and climbed onto the bed, which creaked in protest.


”She's gone... She was in our castle, under our watch and still they got her, Luna... I failed... I failed protecting one of my subjects, my niece is currently scared and lonely somewhere...” Celestia leaned to her sister for comfort, and Luna placed her wing on her. Luna sighed. Whenever there had been some kind of natural disaster or accident, Celestia would shut off like this. She'd drop the facade of being a wise leader and just mourn. Luna didn't dare to think how Celestia was when she was all alone, when Luna was still banished.


”She'll be fine... Era is a headstrong filly, and she knows what to do in tight situations. Don't you remember how she would demonstrate her offense spell she had taught herself on Discord?” Luna chuckled, and Celestia laughed momentarily at the memory of a scorched and ashamed Discord.


”And by the way... Have you seen Discord anywhere lately? I can't find him in the castle, even when I attempt to scry him. Maybe he went out to have some time alone...” Luna sighed.


”No, but strangely enough, both Shining Armor and Spike are missing as well... Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy told me this earlier, and both of them seemed to be worried about them...” Both of the princesses got lost in their own thoughts, but both of them snapped back into attention when they realized something horrifying.


”Discord got a plan...” Luna said in a barely audible whisper. Her dark coat seemed to be a bit paler from the thought.


”Oh... Oh dear...” Celestia shuddered. This... couldn't be a good thing.







”The trail ends here, I can't sense it any further than this. Sorry, Discord... ” Spike lowered his head.


”Ah, don't worry about it! At least we have an idea of where she could be. But I have to say, this place feels... Familiar somehow.” Discord mused as he walked toward what seemed to be an ancient stone pillar hidden beneath all the vines. With a snap of his talon, the vines withdrew from the pillar.


Discord remembered the marks on the pillar, and visions of fire and destruction clouded his minds, he even heard a few distant screams to remind himself of his deeds in this jungle. ”That's... not possible..!” Discord shook his head.


”What's not possible?” Shining Armor asked and took a step toward the pillar where Discord stood frozen.


”We're... We're by the entrance to the Equii Jungle, former residence of the Draconeqi... I thought this jungle was burned down thousands of years ago!” He tore his eyes away from the pillar and to the jungle they were about to venture into. ”I don't remember all the dangers here, so be careful and stay close to each other, alright?”


”Sure.” Spike nodded


”Alright.” Shining Armor nodded as well.


Big Macintosh turned to the jungle slowly, chewed on the wheatstalk in his mouth slowly, then to the group he was traveling with. He shrugged. ”Eeyup.”


”Well then, off we go!” Discord took a heavy step forward, only to step down into something mushy and warm with his lizard leg. ”Ew...”


The ponies and the dragon glanced at eachother once again, questioning their own judgement in deciding to join the spirit on his mission. But same as before, they just shrugged and followed. 


Nothing could go wrong in an ancient, undiscovered and dangerous jungle when your guide is the Spirit of Disharmony and the Element of Chaos, right?


...Right..?

> Reveal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

”I don't see what's so bad about this place...” Shining Armor commented and Big Macintosh nodded in agreement. Discord, who was floating ahead of the group turned around so he was facing the unicorn stallion while upside-down.


”Oh, it's not too bad once you get used to all of the poisonous plants littered practically everywhere. The predators here are nothing short of vicious, stubborn pricks though. I'd watch my back if I were you.” Discord shrugged and flipped back so he could see where he was floating. ”Practically everything here can kill you if you give it a dirty look...” Discord chuckled as the rest of the group gulped.


Spike, who was concentrating groaned in frustration. ”It's impossible to pinpoint her location... There's just way too many different sources of magic around here...” Spike rolled his shoulders. ”Seems like we're gonna have to search for her the old-fashioned way.” The drake remembered that he had the 'borrowed' note still on him. ”Almost forgot...” He gave the note to Discord, who raised an eyebrow but continued to read the note.


”This... This is ancient Equestrian, an old draconequi version of it...” Discord felt a cold dread latch onto his heart like a vice. ”That's... Impossible! It has to be a logical explanation for this!” Discord started breathing faster.


”Calm down, tell us what's on that there note.” Big Macintosh spoke in a commanding voice. ”Start wi' translatin' it for th' rest if us.” Mac sat down. Discord took a deep breath and ran a claw through his beard.


”My ancient equestrian is a bit rusty, but I'll give it a shot.” The spirit cleared his throat.


”The time has come for you to stand up to what you did to our glorious race. I will bring justice to the lost, and you will pay with your life due to all the lives you took on your rampage.” Discord paused momentarily while glancing up. ”I needed a way to scare you out from your hiding, so I kidnapped your half-breed daughter right from under your nose. Unless you want her to be harmed, you will come to the Temple of the Matrina, alone...”


”Temple of the... Matrina..?” Shining Armor looked absolutely clueless. ”What the hay is that, and where is it?”


”The Temple of the Matrina is the Temple of the Godmother. The Godmother was believed to be the creator of this world and the universe around us. From her tears she created the seas, from a piece of her own skin she created the landmass. And finally, from a drop of her blood she created life.” Discord shrugged. ”It's kind of like draconequi kindergarden stuff. But this means that we're facing off with another draconequus...”


That made the entire group gulp in unison. Spike bit his lip, eager to think of something else than that slightly horrifying notion. ”Heh... Wonder what the girls are gonna think about this...”


That made everyone in the group think of what their respective wives and close ones would think about them running off to fight a draconequus in an unknown jungle.


Now all of them were completely and utterly horrified of the berating they would recieve once they returned to Canterlot. If they would return, that is...


”Now then, the temple is in the dead center of the jungle and I have no idea if the guardians of the temple left any kind of traps. It's gonna be a blast...” Discord grumbled. The drake and the ponies weren't comfortable with the idea of ancient traps, but the thought of what they were there for boosted their resolve and followed the Spirit of Disharmony into the vast unknown before them.







Celestia groaned and levitated several stacks of papers off her desk momentarily, but sighed and placed them down when she didn't find the note there. ”Where is it...” She muttered. She didn't even look up from her task at hoof as the door opened and her younger sister walked inside.


”What are you searching?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. Celestia stretched her neck to look at her sister and blew a bang out of her face.


”The note we found in Era's room... Twilight Sparkle found a book on ancient languages and she was going to cross-reference it to see if she could find anything of use. But I can't seem to find it anywhere...”


Luna rolled her eyes. ”Sister. Discord, a dragon and a stallion are missing. Those two are also his drinking buddies. It is obvious that Discord borrowed the note before he left...” Luna raised a hoof to her mouth to hide her grin as it dawned on the solar princess. Celestia's eyes narrowed.


”Oh, once I get my hooves on that little...” Celestia gritted her teeth, and Luna placed a comforting hoof on her sister's shoulder.


”Calm yourself, Tia... Remember, I get to talk to him first when he comes back. You can have what's left of him afterward. You also have to reprimand Spike for leaving without your permission, remember?” Luna smiled in an eerily calm manner. Celestia almost felt bad for Discord.


Almost.







”Ugh, I can't believe Spike would leave without telling anyone of us!” Twilight Sparkle threw her arms into the air dramatically. ”Oooh, once I get my hooves on him he'll be sorry...” She sat down.


”Um... I'm also worried about Spike, but I think he-”


”And to top it off, Shining Armor left with Discord as well! I can't believe anyone of them! What can they even hope to accomplish in leaving without us?” Twilight ranted. Fluttershy walked toward her friend and tried to calm her down.


”Twilight, Discord and Shining Armor are grown up... They can take care of Spi-”


”At least Big Macintosh has enough sense in him to know when he's supposed to sit back and take it easy...” Twilight sighed. The rest of the Element of Harmony, sans Applejack watched the situation as it unfolded in complete silence.


Fluttershy had enough of her friend's rambling and walked up to the lavender unicorn and placed her right forehoof to cover Twilight's mouth. Twilight was taken aback, but didn't struggle against it. 


”Now you listen to me, Twilight. Shining Armor is the captain of the Royal Guard. That means he can and will defend Spike, as he's almost a big brother to him as you are Spike's sister! Spike is a dragon, for pony's sake! He's growing to become an apex predator. And Discord... Well, we all know how crafty he can be, plus he has his full powers again. Do we really have to worry about them?” Fluttershy huffed.


Complete silence encompassed the room. You could hear a pin drop as everypony stared at the usually shy little pony who currently was trying her best to hide in her mane. ”U-um... If... If it's okay with you... eeep...”


”Well, that sure was... Interesting, to say the least...” Rarity raised an eyebrow. ”But Fluttershy is right. All of them have certain perks and abilities. I am quite sure that they will be alright. Don't worry, Twilight.” Rarity hugged the bookworm.


”Yeah! I mean, Discord has his super awesome chaos cotton-candy making magic, and Shining can make a cool shield which nopony can breach! Spike has his super cool firebreath too!” To emphasize her point, Pinkie roared. It sounded impressively enough like a dragon's roar, and instead of flames, she shot a stream of confetti from her mouth. Screw logic, it's Pinkie Pie. ”Oooh! I'll have to throw them a party when they come back” She bounced out from the room, whistling a random tune.


Applejack trotted into the room with a growl while muttering something. She looked up at her friends and sighed heavily. ”Ah just got word from th' farm tha' mah brother had to leave fer something...”


Twilight's right eye twitched. ”So... Big Macintosh is gone as well..?”


”Ah guess so... What, Why? Did Ah miss somethin'? Applejack looked genuinely confused.


Twilight's eyes narrowed and her face turned into a dark red. The girls felt the temperature in the room rise by every second passed. Twilight looked almost like she was ready to explode.


And then everypony learned that it's a very bad idea to make Twilight Sparkle angry.







Shining Armor and Spike walked a bit behind Discord and Big Macintosh, who was arguing about apples. Shining rolled his eyes. ”So...” He began. ”You and Fluttershy, huh?” Shining Armor smirked as Spike stumbled. ”I have to say I'm proud of you...” He snickered.


”Um... W-well, you see, when I started growing, I became faster and stronger so I offered to help more ponies than Twilight and Rarity... Fluttershy needed help with her animals and uh, we started talking more and more...” Spike scratched his neck sheepishly.


”I thought you had a thing for Rarity..?” Shining raised an eyebrow.


”Eh, I had been chasing after her since I came to Ponyville. It took a while for me to understand that she was way out of my league, though...” Spike sighed.


”She turned you down, huh?” Shining Armor frowned.


”Brutally.” Spike nodded.


”You know, when you ladies are finished gossiping you could hurry up a bit.” Discord said over his shoulder. ”We have to keep moving, as if we stay at the same place for a long time something unpleasant will surely stumble upon us.”


The drake and the pony hurried to catch up to the others. A comfortable silence fell on the group as they continued walking. Discord started humming a tune. A sudden rustle in a brush nearby made the entire group snap at attention to the single shrubbery.


No one said anything, and after a solid minute of complete silence, a pony walked out from it. Discord couldn't believe his eyes. ”Luna..?”


A ragged dark blue alicorn stepped forward and beamed, then pounced Discord. ”I'm so glad I finally found you, Dissy!” She sighed and nuzzled into his coat. Discord scowled. That wasn't Luna...


Discord wrestled away from the supposed lunar princess and brushed himself off. His eagle talon started glowing in a faint, golden aura. He raised it, then brought it down to the cheek of the pony infront of him with an audible slap. With the magically re-inforced slap, she flew back a few feet.


The rest of the ponies and the dragon stared at Discord in complete shock mixed with horror. But before they could say anything, Discord raised his eagle talon to silence them. ”Wait for it...” He muttered.


After a few tense seconds, Luna started flickering with green flames. A slow, but steady trail of green magic passed over her entire frame, revealing the parasitic creature beneath the disguise. Long, slender legs with holes appeared and instead of a flowing star-filled mane, a sea-weed green mane which hung down her shoulders appeared. The chitin shell of the bug-pony glimmered in the sunlight as did her tattered wings.


Discord raised an eyebrow. ”Well, that was new...”


Spike lowered onto all his fours and a feral snarl escaped him.


Shining Armor took a step back. He recognized the creature, it was the same who brainwashed and used him. ”Oh hell no...”


”Ee...yu-..nope?” Big Macintosh was confused.


The changeling struggled to stand up, and glared at Discord who was mildly amused by the scene unfolding. ”How... How did you know?” She bared her fans.


Discord shrugged. ”The real Luna would have blasted me from here to Ponyville as soon as she would have seen me and she never calls me 'Dissy', unless... Unless she has some uh... suggestive things in mind...” He wrinkled his nose. ”By the way, you reek of shapeshifting magic, even when you're disguised, I can sense it.” Discord raised a his eagle talon and waggled a finger. ”One does not simply trick the Embodiment of Chaos, you know...”


”Bah!” The changeling exclaimed. ”You got lucky, you overgrown lizard!” She spat.


”I find that offensive.” Spike raised a claw. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, which set on Shining Armor who was trying his best to not be seen.


”...You!” She growled and stomped toward him. ”You were the one who defeated me and my army!” Her wings fluttered. ”Oooh, I am going to enjoy this...” An evil grin stretched over her face.


Big Macintosh decided that he had enough of the bickering, so he stepped forward between the unicorn and the changeling. ”Eeenope.” He rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck and assumed position to take her down.”A gentlecolt never strikes a lady, but Ah think ye earned it this time, missy...”


Macintosh charged the dumbstruck changeling.
> Temptation, Thy Name Is Black-Bug-Horse-y-ish Thing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chrysalis couldn't believe her bad luck. First, what she thought would be an easy meal ended up slapping her across the face. Second, she met the stallion who used his love magic to evict her and her hive from Equestrian soil. Third, she just got tackled and sent flying by a massive earth pony stallion.


She was almost amazed at how much she could think of before she made contact with a tree, face first. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her head of the pretty little birdies circling it, growled and stood up and faced the stallion. Discord gasped and harrumphed in a poorly executed attempt at not laughing at the changeling queen. Big Macintosh snorted a small cloud of smoke from his nostrils and hoofed the ground impatiently.


With a victorious ”Eeeyup!”, Mac charged once again toward the changeling. Chrysalis rolled her eyes and sidestepped. Big Mac charged past her and headbutted a tree instead of harming the queen. Discord burst out laughing, slapping his knee and fell down to his back, rolling around whilst barely being able to breathe. Big Macintosh collapsed after his stylish move.


Discord looked up to see Shining Armor and Spike glaring at him. Discord sighed and snapped a claw, teleporting himself to stand next to Chrysalis. Discord cleared his throat and hesitantly gave her at pat on the back.


”You do realize that you have pretty much no chance at all with defeating us, right?” Discord raised an eyebrow. Chrysalis opened her mouth to retort, but was silenced as Discord held a claw to her lips. ”It was a rethorical question. First thing's first, I'm Discord. Spirit of Disharmony, God of Chaos and I look damn good with sunglasses.” He snapped a claw and the aforementioned headwear appeared on his face.


”That little fella over there...” Discord pointed at Spike, who crossed his arms, puffed out his chest and glared at Chrysalis. ”He's pretty much princess Celestia's son. I shouldn't have to point out the fact that he's a dragon, which means that he has quite a short fuse and he can do a nice trick with that flame of his.” Discord lowered the glasses and looked straight into Chrysalis' confused eyes. ”He can send anything to Celestia... Anything...” He whispered. ”Oh, and I should mention that the lavender unicorn you sent down in the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot is also pretty much his sister.” Chrysalis gulped at that.


”The next participant in our merry little gang is prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire.” Discord grinned. ”I believe you lovebirds have already met before in a more... Controversial setting...” Discord pointed at Big Mac, who was standing up on shaky legs. ”That freight train of a pony is Big Macintosh Apple, also known as 'Big Mac'. If you have failed to notice, he could easily find out what's in your head with a well-placed punch.”


”Alright, I give...” Chrysalis muttered and scooted away from Discord. ”I will not bother you anymore with my presence, so I shall take my leave at once.” She started walking to the treeline. She looked back over her shoulder at Discord.


”I never heard from you again afterward, Dissy...” She said with a sly smirk and disappeared into the heavy shrubbery.


”What was that about?” Spike raised an eyebrow as he asked Discord, who was whistling innocently.


”NothinginterestingreallynowcomeonwemustcontinueTALLY-HO!” Discord continued down the path at a brisk pace, not looking back at the ponies and the drake. They glanced at eachother momentarily, chuckled and followed Discord.


”Let's not tell Cadence about this...” Shining Armor begged. ”You wouldn't want to know what she said she would do to that changeling queen the moment she got her hooves on her for destroying her wedding...”


”Deal.” Spike nodded.


”Eeyup.” Big Macintosh nodded.


”Awesome.” Shining Armor smiled.







Meanwhile in the Crystal Empire palace, princess Cadence's ear flicked unvolintarily and she froze.


A guard noticed her sudden behaviour and voiced his concern. ”Your highness, is something wrong?”


Cadence blinked. ”No... Well, I don't know. It feels like something I really should know about just happened somewhere...”







As night fell, the odd group decided to set up camp next to a small creek. Discord had spawned a few tents and supplies. ”So... How long is it until we're at that temple?” Shining Armor asked. Discord ran a claw through his beard.


”Well... If we continue at the same pace as today, we should be by the temple around this time tomorrow. But in order to do that, we'd have to get going early in the morning.” Discord shrugged. ”I would recommend that we would go around half the distance left tomorrow, so we can relax and prepare ourselves to face off against that draconequus, whoever it may be...” He sighed. ”Let's just go to sleep and worry about it tomorrow...” Discord trudged into his tent, leaving the rest mildly confused.


Discord laid down and put his talons beneath his head. He hated to admit it, but he was afraid of who, or what he would be facing in the temple. He feared that the draconequus could be one of his childhood friends... He shuddered and closed his eyes, sighing. It didn't take long for him to fall into a restless sleep.


He heard somepony tap their hoof to the floor slowly. He opened his eyes and took a look around, only to see that he was in the throne room back in Canterlot. It was obviously a dream, but a strange one. ”Wait a minute... If I'm dreaming, who was tapping a hoof to the floor..?” He thought. The answer came as somepony cleared her throat and Discord gulped, coming face-to-face with nopony else than princess Luna.


'Oh crap...' Discord forced a smile. ”Well hello there, dear!” Discord looked around nervously. ”How are you here? I mean, this is my dream, right?”


”You seem to forget that I'm the princess of the night, meaning that I protect my sister and I's subjects as they sleep, helping them handle nightmares and so forth.” Luna took a daring step toward Discord and poked her hoof to his chest. ”You better have a good reason for ditching me like that after what happened...” Her ears splayed back.


'Dammit, I knew that I forgot something...' Discord thought bitterly. ”Don't you worry, Luna. I got this under control. I translated the text on the note that was in Era's room. Her foalnapper wanted to get to me by taking from us... And to make things worse, the one who sent it is a draconequus like me, possibly with the same strength as me or possibly stronger then me...” Discord sighed. ”It's currently waiting for me at the Temple of The Matrina.”


”Where is that exactly?” Luna asked, ”I will dispatch a unit of my lunar guard and join them on their way to you.”


”No!” Discord raised his voice without even noticing it. ”You will stay in Canterlot, because this is my mistake. I pulled Era into this mess, and I intend to face what I have done, only so I can save my daughter... I don't know what could happen... I just...” Discord wrapped his talons around Luna, who started stroking his short mane in an effort to calm him down. ”I just can't lose any of you again...”


”It's okay...” Luna hugged him back. ”I'll stay in Canterlot and do the best I can to keep you updated of what's going on in our end, as long as you stay in touch with us. All you need is some kind of paper and Spike can send it directly to Celestia.”



”That's good to know. I promise that I'll let you know as soon as I get Era back.” Discord nodded.


”So, did anything interesting happen on your way there?” Luna asked. ”Have you encountered some kind of monster or anything like that?”


Discord's eyes shifted from side to side. ”Uh... No. We've been lucky so far, we haven't been attacked or attacked any monster. Nope.” He scrunched his nose.


Luna's eyes narrowed. ”I get a feeling that you're not being completely honest with me right now, Discord... Is it something you want to tell me right now?” She took a step forward and Discord gulped.


”You see, I really should get some proper sleep now before we head out again tomorrow early in the morning... ” Discord smiled sheepishly. ”So... I'm gonna go ahead and take my leave now. I'll keep you and the rest back in Canterlot updated on our progress as we go! Ciao!” After giving Luna a peck on the cheek, Discord faded away.


Luna sighed and her ears fell back. ”Be careful, Discord...” She closed her eyes and focused her magic, taking herself back to Canterlot where she would continue her duties.




> Vengeance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Era wiped her face with a hoof and shivered. Her eyes were puffy and red, her mane was disheveled and her coat was matted and filthy. She heard the telltale clopping of a hoof, then claws tapping the floor. She backed into the corner and made herself smaller. She knew that there was no use in trying to use her magic, it would only give her a headache.


Fresh tears threatened to roll down her face as the creature she feared approached. She wanted her daddy to help her make the evil thing go away... Eris sneered and snapped a claw, making a plate of food clatter to the floor in front of the halfbreed. No use in having it go hungry, after all.


Eris left the room the filly occupied and closed her eyes, allowing her senses to encompass the area surrounding the temple. She sensed a single, powerful entity make its way closer. She didn't have to think twice to realize that the disturbance was Discord. She smirked and  teleported herself to the entrance of the temple.







”Stupid vines...” Discord muttered as he untangled his tail from a stubborn vine. ”Useless weeds...” He stuck out his tongue and wiped his forehead with the feathers on his tail. He looked up to see the spires of the looming temple which was his destination. He had left the rest of the group behind half an hour ago for them to wait on his signal. He snapped a claw and teleported a short distance to the top of a nearby tree.


He balled his talons to fists and held them up to his eyes, effectively using them as binoculars. He clicked his tongue as he saw nothing of interest, or any sign of another draconequus. Out of the blue he felt a sudden spike of magic from the temple and narrowed his eyes.


He dropped from the tree and shot a beam of pure magic, disintegrating all the vines and trees in the way of his trek to the temple.


”Nature be damned.” He chuckled and skipped the last bit to the temple. Just as he was about to take the first step up the stairs to the doors, they creaked open ominously. Discord took a step back and his magic flared to life around his talons. He knew that the being that opened the door was a draconequus, as he sensed the special kind of magic that pushed the doors open.


When the door was completely open, he couldn't see anything in the dark. That was, until two golden orbs with a crimson center flared to life and a blast of magic shot from the dark, hitting him square in the chest. Discord tumbled back and gritted his teeth. He heard laughter coming from the entrance, and slowly lifted his head with a growl.


His magic flared to life in two miniatures explosions around his talons as he prepared to blast his aggressor three laps around Equis. An unearthly glow came from his eyes as he stood to his full height. He snarled as he noticed a shift in the darkness and lifted his eagle talon to fire.


Out from the darkness walked a young female draconequus with her hands behind her back. Discord's resolve faltered as he realized that the draconequus was probably around her teens. ”Where is my daughter?!” He boomed.


The teenager just snickered and regarded Discord with an amused smirk. ”Oh, she's around here somewhere...” She descended the steps, her talons still behind her back. Discord snarled and raised his talons to fire. He started charging up a shot.


Eris suddenly brought her talons forward, and in her lion talon was Era hanging in the scruff of her neck. The glow in Discord's eyes vanished and the magic surrounding his talons flickered and died. ”No, I wouldn't do that if I was you.” Eris held forward her eagle talon, and shot another beam of magic at Discord, who grunted in pain.


”Let her go.” Discord simply said. ”Let Era go, and I will be at your mercy.” Eris regarded him with a raised eyebrow.


”Well then, I will release your halfbreed daughter, then you will do whatever I say. Are we clear?” Eris lowered Era to the ground. When Discord nodded, Eris dropped Era. Era wasted no time and bounded toward her father and jumped up to his arms, her wings fluttering.


”I'm sorry for taking so long, Era...” Discord said as he hugged her. Era just whimpered and held him closer. ”Now Era, I will send you to Canterlot and mommy, okay?” Era nodded and yawned. ”Dad loves you, never forget that.” Discord bit his lip. Era nodded again and nuzzled his shoulder. Discord relucantly raised a talon and snapped it, teleporting Era to safety.


Discord took a moment to compose himself, then turned to Eris with a cruel grin. ”Now to deal with you....”







Princess Luna bit her lip as she paced around the room. She didn't like Discord's plan one bit, but she would have to trust him to do what he thinks is the best. Her ears splayed back, she still hadn't recieved a message from Discord to ease her worries.


She jumped as a sphere of magic appeared above the bed. She couldn't believe her eyes as the light faded and Era descended to the bed, fast asleep. Luna stared at the filly, mouth agape. She couldn't believe it; Discord had actually managed to do it. Luna laid down carefully next to the filly and held her close. Era shifted slightly, but settled in her mother's embrace.







Discord ducked as a bolt passed overhead, barely missing him. He gritted his teeth and returned a bolt of his own toward the teenager. She evaded it with ease. Discord growled. ” Who are you?! How is it possible that a brat like you can best me?”



”I am Eris and because unlike you, the blood that flows in my veins are from a long line of warriors. Not some trickster who got lucky with a shaman.” Eris sneered. Discord's eyes narrowed, but a small smile escaped him.


”Here's something about tricksters, kid...” Discord held his talons behind his back as he approached Eris.


Discord pursed his lips and whistled twice. The bushes near the treeline rustled, then to Eris' suprise, a massive red earth pony barreled forward and tackled the stunned teenager. Shining Armor teleported forward from the forest. The tops of a few trees rustled, then Spike leaped from one of them with a ferocious snarl and landed next to Discord.


He leaned over her and smirked. ”We always have another trick up our sleeves...” Eris gritted her teeth in rage, but smirked as a plan formed.


Golden spheres formed around the males and lifted them away from her. She stood up and brushed herself off. After that, she looked straight into Spike's eyes. ”Well, well...” She said, moving toward the dragon. ”A drake, in the company of ponies and a coward.” She scratched his chin, and Spike snapped at her claw. She moved her talon leisurely away from the rows of teeth, avoiding injury. She sauntered away from Spike, flicking her tail at his snout. 


”Get off me, creep!” Spike bellowed. Fire rose up his throat, and a massive blast of fire was sent toward Eris, who teleported away out of harm's way. Spike growled and dropped to his fours and barreled toward her. He slashed madly with his claws at her and much to his fury, she evaded every single one of his swipes.


”Oh, he can bite.” Eris giggled. Spike's eyes narrowed. Discord placed a talon on the drake's shoulder and shook his head. Spike looked up at the spirit, then let out a deep breath and turned away from Eris.


Discord snapped a talon, and the group, along with Eris was surrounded by a large golden dome. Eris growled and prepared to pounce, but Discord held up his eagle talon and Eris was held back by his magic. He charged his magic, until he released it and teleported away.







The Canterlot Royal Garden was unusually quiet this day, nopony had visited, and nopony was even bothering to stay there for an extended period. The only ponies currently in the garden were Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle.


”At least Era is back to Canterlot... That means that Discord's scheme is working so far...” Fluttershy said, feeding a squirrel. Twilight sighed and nudged a yellow flower with her right hoof.


”I know, but... I can't help but to feel worried... What if Spike is hurt? Or Big Macintosh? And I don't know what Cadence would do to Discord if Shining Armor would come back injured...” Twilight sighed once again. ”I just... I just don't know what to do, and I feel bad for not knowing what to do...”


Fluttershy embraced her friend in a gentle hug. ”I know that you're worried, and I won't lie and say that I'm not. B-but I trust Discord to bring them back safely.” Twilight smiled, and hugged Fluttershy back.


”Yeah.... Discord is well... Discord, but he does hold his word when he really mean it.” Their exchange of feels were interrupted as a giant flash appeared above them.


A massive golden orb appeared where the flash had been, and inside the orb were Discord, Spike, Macintosh and Shining Armor. The orb disappeared, and Discord shot forward, crashing into... another draconequus. Shining Armor's horn flashed, and Big Mac and him reappered on the ground beside Twilight and Fluttershy.


Spike held his arms out wide, gripping a statue and swung around in a loop, then kicked off from the statue with a ferocious snarl. He landed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as he reared back, held his talons to his side and roared with all his might, then slammed down to all his four legs and snorted a cloud of smoke from his nostrils.


”That's my dragon...” Fluttershy said dreamily with a sigh.


The ponies' eyes were drawn back to Discord as his talons flashed white, temporarily blinding the other draconequus.


”Twilight! Get the other Elements of Harmony, this is gonna get ugly.” Shining Armor barked as his horn flashed to life. She nodded and disappeared in a purple flash. Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind a bench. Mac snorted and ground his hoof to the ground. Magical blasts began shooting in every direction from the dueling draconequi. Shining Armor raised a shield before any major damage could be done.


After a minute, Twilight returned with the rest of her friends and levitated five necklaces and a crown. She put the crown on her head and passed out the respective elements to the ponies. Spike snarled, tired of standing on the sideline as Discord put himself on the line.


Discord leaped onto a nearby statue, then ran along it and jumped with all his might toward the fight. He smirked as he tackled Eris out of the air, then spun around mid-air and landed on his back. Quicker than the eye, he flipped himself over so Eris was beneath him. The teenage draconequus growled and a blast of magic shot away from her, sending Spike flying away from her. Spike collided with a statue, breaking it. He slumped down next to it, motionless. A sizeable gash ran over his forehead, and several cuts ran along his back.


Discord stared at Spike, mouth wide-open in shock. The sounds around him became muted and unclear. The only thing he could hear was the mocking laugh coming from Eris. His fists started shaking in anger, and with a roar that chilled everypony to the spine, he launched herself at the shocked teenager. His eyes glowed ominously, a neutral  frown on his face. He latched his talon around her throat and lifted her off the ground.


Eris tried everything she could to shake him off, but Discord remained immobile, just tightening his grip on her throat. Her breathing came out in pathetic wheezes as Discord continued to choke her.


”Enough!” A voice boomed. Discord's ears perked.


That voice... He remembered that voice... The glow in his eyes faded rapidly, and he turned his head to see Luna holding a hoof to his shoulder. He looked to Eris to see her face blue, and she was clawing at his talons in a last-ditch effort for air. Discord dropped her unceremoniously and turned to Luna.  She embraced him and told him that everything was fine. Discord released a shuddering breath.


The Elements of Harmony glanced at eachother. ”Should we... y'know, blast her or something?” Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.”


”I'm not sure, Rainbow...” Twilight answered her friend.


Eris shuddered as memories returned to her...






”Eris! You must hurry, he's here soon!” Her mother called to her. Eris scurried after her mother as fast as she could. Her mother turned back and lifted her up. She held Eris close as she walked into the temple, where Eris would hopefully be safe from the insane draconequus.


”Where... Mom, where are you going?” Eris said, tears threatening to fall. Her mother wiped them off with a thumb and smiled sadly at her daughter.


”I must help them defend. Stay here and wait for me to return. Do not come out to anyone else... And remember, Eris...” Her mother lifted Eris' head so they looked at eachother. ”Wherever you go, whatever you do... Your mother will always love you.”


Several hours had passed since her mother had left her. Eris stood up from where she had been hiding and walked carefully to the main door of the temple. With a creak, the door was pulled open by her magic.


To her horror, several trees were on fire. Beside the crackling of the fires, the forest was completely silent. She heard the flapping of wings, along with a mad cackle disappearing in the distance. She panicked and teleported herself to the village where she had lived her entire life.


She choked back a sob as several draconequi laid motionless and bloody. Every single hut was on fire, or completely burned to the ground. A pitiful groan from another draconequus came from behind a burning hut. She ran behind it, and screamed...


Her mother laid there, clutching her stomach in indescribable agony. She cracked her eyes open and turned to Eris. ”I... I told you to s-stay i-in the temple. E-Eris...”


”Mom!” Eris ran to her mother and laid down beside her. ”We have to get help! We'll make you better again!”


”It's... It's too late for me, Eris...” Her mother rasped. ”You... You have to stop him... Stop Discord... Whatever it takes, you must stop him before he does any more damage...” Her mother laid back with a heavy sigh.


”I... I can't do it alone...” Eris said, hugging her mother tighter.


”You can do it, Eris... It's in your blood...” Her mom coughed, and a spurt of blood came in her second cough. ”I... I will always be with you... Mommy loves you, Eris...” She coughed up more blood, and her eyes rolled back as her arm fell away limply from Eris.


Tears ran freely down Eris' face as she closed her mother's eyes. She turned with a snarl to where she had heard the cackle come from earlier. On that day, on that very moment, she swore revenge.







Eris glared at Discord, growled and stood up. Her magic flared to life. Discord stood with his back turned to her. ”I have come too far... I have lost too much to stop here...” Eris said, loud enough for Discord to hear her. Discord turned to her with a raised eyebrow. ”You killed my friends!” She screamed. ”You stabbed my father in the back and left my mother to die on her own!” Tears ran down her face. ”No, I won't stop until one of us bites the dust here and now...” Her eyes narrowed.


The ponies stared at Discord in complete silence. Discord's eyes softened. ”Yes... Yes I did all those terrible things in the past... It haunts me everyday, so I make jokes to avoid the white hot agony that is my guilt.”


”You know nothing of the pain you have caused me, traitor... And now, you will die!” Eris launched herself at Discord. Before any of the draconequi could react, a massive rainbow shot into the air from behind Discord.


Discord's eyes widened as he saw the rainbow come down toward Eris. Eris stood frozen, staring up at the oncoming magic in horror. She closed her eyes and shielded her face with her talons. She heard a magic flash from a teleport and felt someone hold her. She opened her eyes to see Discord standing over her with a small smirk.


”Hold still, and keep all your body parts beneath me unless you want to become half garden decoration...” Era nodded, too stunned for words


The rainbow hit Discord in the back full-force, and he arched his back and screamed. His eyes were screwed shut as he felt the stone gradually overtake his body. He heard Luna screaming his name just before his head, along with his ears were covered by stone.


In the end, a statue of Discord fell to its side with a heavy 'thunk', burrowing itself into the ground due to the force.


Complete silence were in the royal garden. The Elements of Harmony stared at the unexpected result from their attack with their mouths agape. Era got to her feet in silence, staring at Discord's imprisoned form with her mouth hanging as well.


”He... He...” Eris stared at his still form. ”He got in the way of the Elements, who were aimed for me...”


”Discord may have done many terrible things before, but he has been working for several years to improve his reputation and change his ways...” Luna said as she held a hoof to Discord's cheek. ”So, he decided to take your punishment away from you  and claim it as your own. You suffered enough already...” Luna said softly as she glanced up at Eris, who twiddled her talons nervously.


”Come, we must speak to Celestia about this. I'm sure that she can have a solution to this so we may free him from his imprisonment.” Luna said as she levitated Discord. ”Or else he might become cranky...” Luna muttered. Eris nodded weakly and followed Luna, just staring down at the ground. She refused to look up at anypony. She could, however feel the glares being sent her way from the ponies.


> SUPER DUPER AWESOMERER CHAPDURR
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord, who was now a stone statue screamed "fuk dis shit" and them the stone explodered off his frame. he continued to slap the shit out of eris who began to cry like a baby. celestia screamed words my mom doesnt let me say and punched discord.  discord punched luna, who punched era, who punched shining armor. shining punched twilight and twilight punched big mac. big mac began to cry and before he ran off, he punched fluttershy. fluttershy punched the still out cold spike.

Then everyone started pumching spike because he couldnt fight back

then they watched lots and lots of porn and lived happilyer ever afterer

then era explodered

TEH END
> Consequence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eris shifted slightly, nervously glancing up at the solar princess who seemed to be less than friendly at the moment. She understood why she recieved that cold shoulder from the diarch, though. Eris closed her eyes and sighed. She never meant for this to actually happen like it did.


How was she supposed to know that Discord had relations with one of the Equestrian Royals? Let alone a child with her? She did admit that it was in slight panic she kidnapped Era as a last-ditch effort to make Discord come out on his own. She did not expect him to bring company, though. Especially a young dragon.


Her gaze shifted slowly to the statue of Discord. He stood up, back arched and his face twisted and frozen to a scream of agony. His scream was still ringing in her ears. The one detail that stood out to her, though was that even with his shifted posture and twisted face, he still held his arms forward protectively. Eris hadn't said a word after the fight in the garden. Even when a small part of her cheered and sang in utter joy that Discord was encased in stone, another part of her just felt empty and guilty.


Celestia cleared her throat. Eris' head snapped to her. ”Kidnapping a foal...” Celestia started as she stood up from her throne and started walking down the stairs to her throne. ”Sending threats, blackmailing and nearly killing Spike, who I consider to be my son...” Celestia's eyes narrowed. Eris gulped and shrank under the gaze of the princess. As soon as Celestia's glare had focused at the teenager, her eyes softened. ”What happened to you?”


Eris rubbed her eagle talon slowly, looking down at the floor and bit her lip. Celestia raised a hoof and placed it on her shoulder. Eris closed her eyes, took a deep breath and prepared herself recount her tale to Celestia.







Spike felt himself slowly waking up. The first of his senses to fully awake was his hearing. But at this moment, he'd honestly take being unconscious.


”Honestly darling!” Rarity exclaimed, ”Spike's been interested in me since he first came to Ponyville! Therefore, I should by all right have first dibs on him!” Rarity huffed.


”Oh yeah?” Fluttershy answered, Spike almost curled up in a ball as the tiny yellow pony snarled. ”What about all those times you just used him to make him do all your heavy lifting and small tasks around the room.”


Rarity huffed. ”Oh come on...”


Fluttershy didn't back off her assault. ”And now you only visit him in the hospital because you saw him fight that other draconeequs and became interested in him, only because of his strength and looks!” Fluttershy breathed heavily. ”You don't see Spike for who he really is, his personality. You just focus on his looks...”


At that, Spike decided to crack his eyes open. The first thing he saw that on his left, laying a hoof on his hand sat Fluttershy, glaring death at Rarity who was sitting on the right, staring down on the floor with her ears splayed back.


On the other side of the room, Big Macintosh sat and shifted his eyes between the two mares, obviously too scared to say anything unless he would suffer the rage of the ususally quiet yellow pegasus. He had a bandage wrapped around his head and a tiny, pink band-aid with Hello Filly marks on them on his right cheek.


”Hey Fluttershy...” Spike coughed a bit. The two mares gasped in unison and turned to Spike. ”Don't be that hard on Rarity. Yeah, I know she may have done some bad stuff in the past. But that's just the thing. The past.” Spike scratched at the bandage on his back, but his talon was swiftly slapped away by a yellow hoof. Spike pouted.


”Don't scratch them...” Fluttershy said, very relieved to see Spike conscious so soon. ”A-are you sure you can just let that go?”


Spike nodded. ”She's obviously regretting all of that, and seeing me injured must've triggered that.” He shrugged. Rarity agreed.



”That's what I was trying to say, I just couldn't find the right words for it.” Rarity added. She stood up from the chair. ”I'll leave you two alone... You know, just to give you some privacy.” Rarity walked away with her head hanging. She heard some whispers from the two, obviously directed at her.


”Rarity!” Fluttershy called at her. Rarity paused and turned her head to them. ”There's a lot of him to go around... So, you want to share?” Fluttershy said, her entire face burning red. ”I-I-I mean... We both c-can be in a relationship with him...” There was the Fluttershy Rarity knew. The seamstress smiled and joined them by Spike's bed.


Spike's grin had never been as big as it was right now. 'I thank all the deities, holy or unholy for the gift I am about to recieve.' He thought, nearly giggling in glee.


Meanwhile, Big Macintosh stared at the situation unfolding with his mouth hanging open. The wheatstalk he had been lucky to find, dropped from his mouth and to the floor. His eyes were as wide as plates. The curtains to the dragon's bed closed with a blue shine of magic.


”That ain't fair...” Mac muttered. ”Lucky son'uva gun...”







”What were you thinking going to an unknown jungle with Discord, of all ponies?!” Cadence shouted at Shining Armor as she paced back and forth in front of the bed he was sitting on.


”Duty, dear.” Shining answered simply, holding his thousand yard stare he had learned from being a guard.


”Did you even think about what could have happened to you out there?” Cadence stopped in front of him, glaring at him.


”Yes, dear.” He replied, still holding his stare.


”Well, would you mind telling me why you left on such a short notice?” Cadence huffed as she sat on the bed next to him.


”Era got kidnapped by another draconeequs, Discord asked for help. With 'asked', I mean teleported into my office, grabbed me and teleported away.” Shining glanced at Cadence. He smirked. ”Don't worry, Era is back safely and is currently sleeping. The draconeequs is contained. Not a problem...”


Cadence sighed in relief. ”Oh, that's good to hear...”


”There kinda is one thing though...” Shining scratched the back of his head. Cadence turned to him. ”Discord is uh.. a statue again...”


Complete silence. That was, until Cadence found her voice.


”WHAT?!” 


Shining Armor shook his head to clear himself of the ringing. Yeah, this is gonna hurt... Bracing himself, he put on his best charming smile.


”Yes, dear?”







Celestia sat quietly, listening to Eris as she was talking about how she survived on her own and dealt with being one of the two last draconequi when the other was an insane beast at the time. Celestia had to admit, Eris had valid reasons to loathe Discord.


As her tale had finished, the Elements of Harmony, along with Luna had gathered in the throne room. Eris stood still, staring at the floor and occasionally glancing up at the ponies.


”And do you regret kidnapping Era?” Celestia asked.


”I really do... I-I panicked when I couldn't just get a hold of Discord. So... So I had to resort to that. I'm really sorry.” Eris sniffled. Gone was the proud warrior, instead a mere child had taken its place. It's almost as if she had forgotten her own age when she had to force herself to be an adult from such a young age.


”So, I have decided on what we will do.” Celestia said. Eris bit her lip and looked up at the solar princess. ”First, we will release Discord.” Celestia turned to Twilight. ”Twilight, if you may?”


The lavender scholar stared at her teacher. ”Um... How do I do that?” Celestia rolled her eyes.


”Just use the Elements on him again, it's like turning on and off a lightbulb.” She said. Twilight nodded and focused her magic to the crown she was wearing. It started glowing, along with the necklaces her friends were wearing.


The standard massive rainbow of magic erupted from the six ponies, twirled in the air and shot down to the statue of Discord. The rainbow surrounded the statue and started circling it faster and faster, creating a rainbow tornado. Bits and shards of stone flew in every direction and as the rainbow faded, Discord stood there, hunched over and panting heavily.


”Oh boy, that certainly is an experience...” Discord snarked. ”Honestly, couldn't you have done that a bit sooner? I enjoy being stoned as much as everypony else, but there is a limit you know...” He pouted and stuck out his forked tongue at Celestia, who already had second thoughts about releasing him.


”You do realize I almost considered leaving you as a statue, right?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. Discord grinned, teleported to her side and gave her a hesitant one-arm hug.


”Oh come on, you wouldn't leave your beloved brother-in-law in stone for longer than necessary!” Discord patted her on the back, then floated over to Luna, who had a small, relieved smile. Discord looked around the room, until his eyes rested on the now very withdrawn Eris.


”Eris, was it?” Discord said, gaining the attention of the younger draconeequs. Eris looked up at him and nodded. ”Would you like to have a word in private about this?” She nodded.


Discord floated down to the floor next to her and walked out of the throne room, holding the door open for her with his magic. As the door slammed close behind them, an awkward silence ensued which lasted for almost ten minutes.


Eventually, Eris broke the silence. ”...Why did you do it?” She looked up at him, tears threatening to fall.


Discord sighed heavily. ”I... I was broken mentally. The first actual friend I had was ripped away from me. I never fitted in with the other draconequi. I was shunned and pushed aside because I wasn't noble or had clean blood in me... Not... Not even my mother wanted me to hang around. Not to speak about my father, the abusive waste he was.”


”So... When my only friend left, I was all alone again. And something... Something just snapped in here.” He tapped a claw to his head. ”I still suffer from it, trust me. And the regret that I carry on my shoulders as well. It just... Hurts.” Discord finished with his eyes closed. A sudden weight to his midsection brought his attention back to reality.



”I-I'm sorry... I didn't know what happened to you... After you left...” Eris said as she hugged him even tighter.


Discord hesitantly brought down his talons and patted her on the back. ”You know...” Discord said. ”If you want to, I can arrange for you to stay at the castle so you won't have to be alone anymore.”


Eris looked up at him with a small smile. ”I'd like that... Uncle.”







Meanwhile in the throne room, Luna and Celestia were alone. Twilight and her friends had retreated to their respective rooms in the castle. A comfortable silence reigned over the room, until Luna spoke.


”You know, I did know that you weren't serious about keeping Discord in stone.” Luna smirked.


”Oh come on, Luna. If I would have deemed it to be the only option I would have done so.” Celestia answered calmly. Luna's smirk grew even wider.


”You're so full of it, I can see it on you when you lie. Admit it, you like Discord.” Luna's smirk had grown into a grin. Celestia huffed and whispered something. ”What was that, I didn't quite catch that...”


Celestia's ears splayed back and her face turned a bit red. ”Okay. I find Discord acceptable.”


”Mmhmmm...” Luna raised an eyebrow.


”Okay, alright! I like Discord. He makes life at the castle a bit more interesting! Are you happy now?” Celestia asked her  younger sister with a huff.


”Oh yes, very.” Luna's grin never faltered.


The door to the throne room opened and Shining Armor walked inside, nursing his right eye which now had an interesting shade of dark purple around it.


”What happened to your eye, Shining Armor?” Celestia asked, genuinely concerned.


Shining sighed miserably. ”...Marital counseling.”








Later that evening at a Canterlot pub, four patrons sat next to the counter, each holding a beer in their respective claws, talon, hoof and magic. Spike sat at the far right, a dopey smile plastered to his face and an empty look in his eyes. Big Mac sent him an occasional glare.


”What happened to your eye, Shining?” Discord asked. ”Trouble in paradise?” Discord smirked. Big Mac chuckled.


”The joy of being married to a princess.” Shining said, rubbing the shiner he recieved.”So...” Shining Armor started, taking a swig of his beer. ”What's up with Spike?”


Discord glanced over at the dragon, who sighed and his dopey smile got bigger. Discord brought his talon in front of the dragon's face, waving it back and forth. He then snapped his talon four times right next to Spike's ear, but no reaction came from the drake.


”Ah know what's up with him...” Big Mac muttered. ”He bagged Fluttershy an' Rarity at th' same time.”


Complete silence emenated from the group. Discord and Shining's eyes widened significantly. Discord whistled. Shining gave Spike a strong pat on his shoulder. ”Atta boy, Spike!” Shining grinned.


After another few minutes of silence that was only broken when someone tapped a hoof or a talon to the counter to get a fresh beer, Spike had finally composed himself enough to speak without a drawl.


”So...” Spike rubbed the back of his neck. ”What do we do now?”


The group glanced at eachother, until Discord stood up and made his way to the door. ”I have an idea... Come on. On your hooves, chop chop!” Discord teleported behind the rest and pushed them to the door.


”Where are we going?” Shining Armor asked, choosing not to protest.


”Gentlemen... Tonight, we steal a Titan class Royal Airforce airship and go to Griffhalla!” Discord said bravely, thrusting a claw to the giant ship docked to the mountainside.


”But... We're drunk...” Big Mac said with a raised hoof and to make his point clear, he hiccupped.


”Oh come on, as if that isn't the worst thing we've done...” Discord said with a lazy wave of an arm.


”True...” Shining shrugged.


”Sounds awesome, actually.” Spike agreed.


”...Ah need another drink...” Big Macintosh groaned.