> Discord
>  by AppleCider120
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Everfree Forest - Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the dawn of a new era in our beloved Equestria, it makes sense that a new threat would began to rear its head; thus, the following events cause them to fly full steam into our heroins, and subsequently meet their destiny in either Tartarus, or stone. This time, however, we find ourselves in a world behind a stunning crystal mirror. A world that is completely alien to their species, with the expected exception of our Princess Twilight Sparkle.

For this world is not ruled by many species, nor is their dominant race a collection of quadrapeds. In this world, we find a creature known as Homo Sapiens, or humans. And they do, indeed, possess a whole new form of magic. While they could not, for the longest time, conjur up a spell, or fly above the birds; while they could not imagine a world beyond their own, no matter how hard they would search; they always had one weapon above all, in their heads. The brain of these humans allowed them to turn the world around them against itself. In the early days, they would not simply sit by and let a meal get away. The tales of hunts lasting well past two or three sunrises fill the caves of times long forgotten. When they learned that these feral beasts could be lured into a sense of security, they learned how to change the creatures based on what they wanted to see. Many of these beasts were lucky, at one point or another. They would be pack animals, family companions, and even mutual hunting packs. Others, however, would not see the same fates; these creatures would be forever hunted. Many, to the point of extinction, or hiding.

As time progressed, these humans began to manipulate their environments into living shelters, guarding them from the very world that spawned them. They could build to protect from the outside elements, creating conditions many of the feral monsters around them could only dream of, if that. And monsters, there were many. Ancient scrolls, books of knowledge, and multitudes of respected scholars did not hesitate to speak of massive creatures wandering the lands; many of which came from the deep blues seas, wide savannas, the vast dry desserts, grand peaks, and --most importantly to our story-- the thick darks forests.

As this species evolved, they would begin inventing new competing technologies and machinery to push back each other, and eventually the monsters. Soon, their focus drifted primarily to the massive hordes of cretins that threatened their very existence. 

The deep blue seas would become burdened by massive wood, and steel structures that could sit on top of it's most powerful waves; as such, the colossal creatures inside stood little chance when humans came in multitudes that rivaled the sharks, and began to shove them even deeper into the waters, eventually driving them to starvation. The savannas held hospitality towards gargantuan lizards, and massive felines that could tear the bone from their aggressors' skin. No matter how hard the determined beasts tried to resist, the numbers of these humans became too much, and they were soon driven from the face of the planet. In their wake was a simple crimson carpet.

The desserts needed little to protect them from these newer inhabitants. Millenia of dear Mother Nature's neglect had left it dry; many times, only the simplest of organisms could thrive. To this day, little has been recorded as to the sorts of monsters that hid in the sand, but many humans have claimed that the dunes are not what they seem. This small bit of superstition still drives the humans of today away from the deserts. Though, the illusions brought about by their wretched heat are thought to be leftovers of the masters of the sand.

The mountains need none but one guardian, who would often lay for centuries in massive caverns carved into the side of these natural obelisks. Massive winged reptiles would lay in wait for an unsuspecting civilization to cause a disturbance. When the snow of the peaks began to roll, the roar of these massive creatures, Dragons, would send chills down the spines of early settlers. Many kingdoms had been destroyed by the fire, ice, earth, and simple air-based catastrophe's their bodies could generate. Alas, even a massive, moving catastrophe could not whittle the will to survive of the humans; specialists were often dispatched, in the form of a single warrior, or entire armies led by their king. Soon, the castles of the humans would worm their way into the hallowed halls of a dragon's lair.

Then came the forests. In the beginning of their times, the humans often clung close to the tight network of trees as a means to keeps away from predators. The massive trunks were often used by humans in their earliest abodes, while the remaining foliage served as a natural gate; this often kept the earliest savannah monsters away from early humans. As time drolled on, however, and humans began to multiply, even the most peaceful of Mother Nature's creations was not safe from the grasp of the world's harbingers of greed. Many nations' worth of forestry was destroyed as the kingdoms began to make their way further, and further onto their floors. 

For once, Mother Nature would not have a mockery be made of her most precious fauna. And thus, she began to infuse many segments of forestry with her own monsters. Whereas she would normally let the land form its own bond with a creature, she forced many of the humans own pets, and worst nightmares to wander deeper into the canopies, forming foes that would prove very difficult for the humans to conquer. In the early days, it was not too hard for her to keep the humans out. While she did not appreciate her world being dominated by the overgrown bipedal simians, she understood that it was her own fault to have guided their creation; thus, she did not want to directly hurt them. She did, however, believe that her creatures deserved a far fairer chance at survival. Many of her creations had been driven from the face of the earth by these creatures. By simple association, she would blame herself for this travesty.

The canines that the humans spared were the first of the creatures to begin changing. Having been by their side for virtually all their existence, she thought it would be a rational idea. And so, many wild creatures were called by her gentle voice deeper into the dark canopies. The lupines would begin to change over the course of centuries, becoming imbued with many features they now shared with their wooden kin. Their fur began to erode over the years, and bones began to warp in structure; their need for blending in vanished, as few creatures dared to cross their paths. After countless generations, the Timberwolf became the law of the deep, dark forests. Wandering in packs, and able to rebuild their wooden forms, the humans initially found it wise to wander away from the first sign of a Timberwolf's presence.

As evolution dictates, sadly, this would spiral out of control as humans began to learn a natural weakness of the Timberwolf. As with their own species, fire was a great deterrence to a Timberwolf that was in the area. As thus, when a Timberwolf became wounded, they would often light a segment of the body as it would began to reassemble. This would cause the fiery deaths of many packs, causing Mother Nature to begin work on her next monster.

The bovines that humans were beginning to corral were not as easy to domesticate as their canine brethren, she found. In many cases, a herd of cows and bulls could be disrupted with a simple storm; in the case of her new darling, it was easiest to take what the humans would miss. In many days of her watch, she had seen cattle often wander away from their herds, never to be seen by their shepherds for the rest of it's life. It was here she began to call the stragglers once more. The large creatures would wander into the abandoned worlds of primitive humans, such as their caves and camps, and would wander. This wandering was not aimless, however, as Mother began to change her children once more. As time ruled with her, she began to change their appearance. Often taking on a dark brown body, hardened horns, and a more bipedal gate, the Minotaur began to make the middle aged settler's life a living hell. 

Unlike the humans that left them behind, the Minotaurs would be known to sing for all those who had been lost to time. They had been spotted by many ancient researches even burying the dead of the humans, showing a respect that had been lost to them. While they respected the forms of the dead, they showed none of this mercy if a human settlement encroached upon their forests. The battle cry of the Minotaur could be heard from miles around, and often when the armies of a colony were not yet equipped for a war. The Minotaurs were ruthless in battle, not uncommonly beheading their adversaries, and rarely ever responding to a retreat, or surrender. As the centuries turned humans more sensible, the battles between the two would begin to waver. To the dismay of Mother Nature, however, this also brought more intelligence to the humans, and their victories began to multiply as the wars began to die down. Now they would have less conflict, but each would bring a higher chance of defeat for her Minotaurs. They were eventually driven back into the deep forests, where humans were reluctant to face them along with the Timberwolves.

But, Mother had another trick up her sleeve for the humans of early history. While she absolutely loathed the idea of killing her creations directly, she learned that she needed to create something that could turn humans against each other outside the boundaries of their countless wars. This became one of her most sinister, but necessary creations. While she grew to regret the use of the forgotten, she found them to be an important tool in her quest to force the humans to be more peaceful to each other. It began with the drawing of those she considered forgotten. Those lost in bloody wars, all but abandoned by family and society, and those simply looking for a meaning in their lives. Orphans, soldiers, scholars, philosophers, and the mentally distraught soon began to hear strange callings from deep in the woods. Sweet voices would draw them in towards the forests that their ancestors had left unscathed, and lead them into the heart of her most dangerous, but beautiful forest fauna. To their delight, the monsters that resided here seemed to view them as friends, and would leave them be during their early years.

Carpets of a mischevious blue flower, known only to the early wizards hopefuls as "Poisonous Joke", began to work on the very core of the lost humans, as they would begin to mingle, and form a strong connection over their losses, and their strengths. The philisopher's and scholars believed they were on the same plane for the first time in their history. The soldiers and orphans began to learn, and the orphans began to forgive the soldiers who may have caused their situation, as the soldiers took the young under their arms. They no longer hid under their armor, as the distraught were welcomed by all into their hearts. All this began to show the wanderers how strong love could really be in times of hardship and pain. As the years would span, the love was slowly paired with greed, and envy. The hordes of humans began to harbor the love they were getting from each other, though they were also finding it hard to recycle the delicious sensations. As such, many wanderers that found their way into established colonies began to vanish. Often times, the more mentally intact of the hordes would lure in the wanders with sublime kindness, and even treat them with undue love. When the victims would finally open their hearts to them, the more wise would give way to the mentally degraded of their society. The love of each victim was cycled thoroughly through the new hives, as the forms of these humans began to degrade. 

Gone were the variations in skin pigments, as a hard, solid black growth began to cover their bodies, and changed the color of their skin. As their bodies degraded, so did many of their mental faculties. While still quite intelligent, common speech was slowly replaced with various animalistic sounds. As their bodies began to fundamentally change, solid bone structure was slowly replaced with an exoskeleton-like composition, often giving way and forming large holes where a wound, or mineral deficient area was the focus. As they changed, the more focused began to wander again, and began changing even further. A straggler would often find a traveler, usually merchants or messengers, but including those looking for a new life, and talk to them. As they would speak, the new monsters would learn to change their outward appearances. For many, the change would be quick, as in the blink of an eye, they could look like a merchant's friend, or the form of a pack animal they would use for transportation. And this slowly allowed the new hives to form a new strategy: infestation.

It would begin small enough. Often times a lone camper, usually on "nature's call" during a stop, would leave the safety of his collective to find privacy. Once unprotected, the hive would strike, taking out the lone individual, and sending a drone in their place. More times than not, the humans would not notice, and the cycle would continue until the hive determined that the leader of the groups had been taken. Then, the hive would reveal itself to the remaining humans, often gaining immediate surrender from the party. In many cases, minor scuffles were quickly dispelled with a large collective. In a few rare cases, they would lose track of one or two humans, who began to relay these new developments to their civilizations. As the occurrences continued to grow, many humans began to come prepared with new tools. In the beginning, it wasn't impossible to stop a situation from getting out of control when the hand cannons began to take a toll; often times it was the leader, or a designated individuals who would carry protection.

Then the number of cannons began to grow. Mother Nature watched as her newest creature began to decimate large bodies of human civilizations, while in return watching as her Changelings(as the humans began to call them) were also beginning to suffer at the hands of their own cousins. As one incident reared its head, she regrettably resigned herself to simply watch as a kingdom was nearly overrun by her Changelings.

It started with a relatively new hive that had formed in the middle of a newer continent, as a human settlement was progressing not very far to the east. The Changeling hive would stick to its old tactic, only targeting traveling bands of humans, slowly making out the easiest ways to distinguish the most dangerous humans from each other. A particularly intelligent Changeling, which had been named a Queen by her hive segment(a first for the creatures), began to use her shifting abilities to mimic, and study the new kingdom as it grew beside them. It was a very peaceful beginning, as though she infiltrated deep into the nobilities neighborhoods, she restricted her growing hive to the travelers. She had a great curiosity in the humans, often wondering why they looked so familiar, yet so different to her own children. As this curiosity grew, so did her jealousy. She began to get hints of the Everfree Empire's subjects' love, and loyalty to their ruler. It was infectious, and many times she found she could easily return home to her hive, and share it with her beloved subjects. 

This became her pattern for many decades, as the societies of humans began to stagnate, and even out across the continents. While they rarely encroached further into the forests, they grew more plentiful in their own walls. As the hive's beloved Queen approached her time, establishing the first hierarchy of her species by naming a successor, she began to seed a plan to fully harness the love those human's possessed. Gone were any sentiments of her peaceful visits, as even though she came home full, her hives was beginning to grow too large; she often had to made several trips a day to feed her growing family. As her successor came of age, the queen gave her spawn a name of which the Changelings could understand: Chrysalis.

Chrysalis was the first Changeling, as Mother Nature could remember, to become anything more than her original plan of just crowd control. This one had a name, it had thoughts it could control far better than her siblings, and it would follow its mother's wishes to the grave. 

And as such, it was dutifully planned over the young princess's early years; her mother taught her all she knew, and how to get right at the heart of her new human counterparts. They would practice many hours with captive humans, often seducing new travelers until they could harness the pheromones. Often with songs, like a siren; though, as time dragged on, and Chrysalis became older, she became a natural at creating her own designs of the human females' form. She would notice that the males indulged in a stranger more often when certain features were enhanced, and quickly began to use this to trap more humans.

The eve of the first invasion came upon the death of the Queen, who now passed her title on to her daughter. The newly crowned Queen Chrysalis began only targeting human caravans that were going into the Everfree's walls, or leaving. All other paths around the forest had been abandoned, and the infestation began. Withing the first two weeks, she estimated that nearly a third of the population had been replaced with her children; with that, she sprung into action. Having noted the Everfree Queen's frequent trips without her husband, Chrysalis started to schedule her next attack. As the third week began, a dispatch of the hive launched an ambush on the human queen's two-carriage envoy, making quick work of the security detail with only one casualty. For two days, she conducted excrutiating interrogations on the captive queen, rarely giving her breaks until she began to divulge secrets of the neighboring empire.

With her newfound information, and her new body, Chrysalis took her guards with her, and "returned" to her king. Stage one of their invasion had been completed. Stage two was the least complex of the infestation, but far more brutal than the first. A couple of days after her entrance, she convinced the king to arrange a large festival in celebration of the kingdom's creation, citing the seemingly impressive peace he had maintained with the nearby forest. Unable to resist her sway, due to some of her own pheromones manipulating his mind, and the actually decent reasoning behind her request, he agreed almost instantly. 

Within a day, news had spread around the town of the upcoming event, of which merchants and bakers found all the better to set up their shops in the palace grounds. The large space was soon packed to the brim with all sorts of confectionaries, crowd pleasing carnies and freaks, merchants with goods from far away lands, and tournaments for jousting and talents. As the event was officially kicked off with a toast from the king, the disguised Changelings began to mingle with the crowd, soon becoming almost unnoticeable to their own kin when they disappeared. However, the Changelings could sense their brethren, which made it all the easier when the first distraction came.

Chrysalis had sent a messenger at the beginning of the festival, who made its way back to the forest, and alerted a minor group of Changelings to break off and follow. The rest were sent deeper into the forest with a sealed letter that was not to be opened unless two days had passed. The first horde arrived as the music began, rushing the guards at the front gate. The kingdom was too large for the citizens attending the gala to see this, but those who had remained home witnessed the gates crashing down as a massive collection of black figures with hard skin began flooding in like revenants, or the undead. Seemingly similar in gait to a corpse, and less than a handful making noises other than growls and screeches, the horde ran over the beginning of the kingdom like a tsunami, leaving a mass of green pods and some corpses in their wake.

As this was a swarm attack, they did not bother disguising as they went deeper into the kingdom, spreading out a bit more as the amount of armed in the main streets diminished, and the screeches and roars could soon be heard above some of the music, which began to die down as the noise grew. A few guards keeping a watch on the royal family ushered the king and queen into the palace, rushing them upstairs as some of the other disguised changeling began to unmask themselves. Unbenounced to the invaders, however, the humans technology had significantly grown since the early years, and many more of the humans were carrying the hand cannons, as well as the guards inside that carried much longer barreled ones. While the Changelings gained the upper hand for a time, many of the more astute humans began attacking whenever a changeling was caught in the middle of cocooning a victim. This difference in speed began to turn the tide of the invasion, and some Changelings began retreating. Chrysalis, herself, watched from the tower she was rushed to, clenching her fists as she realized what was happening.

Understanding that a retreat was likely necessary, she began to make a plan to find her way out, looking around the room nervously. The king, quite oblivious to his wife's antics, came over, trying to comfort her. The distraction made Chrysalis shudder from the love she got from him, which gave her an idea. She gave a smirk, and with a simple puff of hair as she aimed at his nose, knocked the king out with a sleeping pheromone, giving her time to think with the guards likely outside of the doors. Her mind was made up when she noticed the cockatoo in the cage across from the bed. She hurried to the window, opening it, before changing her form, and flying away as briskly as she could.

Sending out the scent for retreat to her remaining soldiers, she flew on out over the walls, as the ten Changelings left changed almost as swiftly as she had, catching the remaining fighters off guard as the invasion almost immediately halted. The Everfree Palace had been heavily damaged in the aftermath, as Chrysalis rejoined her damaged hive, hurrying them as far into the forest as they could go. They maintained the hold on their captors, carrying their hostages off with them, as the kingdom began to assess their standing, eventually making way for the king to announce the Empire would being searching for new land, citing the invasion, as well as the loss of their Queen, and countless individuals who had perished when they resisted the initial Changeling onslaught.

As the Changelings returned to their old ambush tactics, humanity learned to move on, developing new technologies to protect themselves from the hives. The Everfree Empire was soon abandoned, as humans made their ways into different nooks and valleys of the earth, leaving the dark forests to fend for themselves. Mother Nature finally decided she was done trying to force her own creations to turn on their own kind, though she would leave her current creations as she saw them fit to continue. 

As such, when the hives of Changeling's dwindled to that of just the Everfree, and the Minotaurs, Timberwolves, and other creatures began to return to their more feral natures, she turned her mind to create something new, that could balance out this unfortunate nature of her humans. This isn't to say she wasn't proud with their new developments, however, as she began to see a decline in the wars they were waging with one another. She also began to see more beautiful moments, often similar to how the original Changelings behaved upon introduction to the first Poisonous Joke flowers. Many were raising their respective funds to help less fortunate individuals; though, being just humans, not all were united in this.

As such, to balance out the nature of humans, she made her final creation. While she was destructive herself, she often pictured herself as a being focused on balance, and peace. Honesty was one of her greatest priorities, and she needed someone to keep her in check, and to stop her from overstepping her bounds in the future. Once more, she turned her eyes to the Everfree Forest. She allowed herself a moment of consideration, before settling on a lone traveler. He had no vessels to traverse in, and no one around him. She could sense no love coming from him, nor could she sense any that had been given. And he was perfect. 

A human with everything to give, and nothing to lose, if given the opportunity. And thus, a song began to play for him. A soft, sombre melody, with notes of cheer sprinkled inside. As her traveler made his way down the road, his steps slowed to a almost a tiptoe, catching his attention on the sweet notes around him. From there, he was drawn in, a wanderer just as those from all those eons ago. Broken, with no one turn to, but a song. As he approaches the source, he stumbles upon the carpet of poison that doomed his distant cousins. As he took in their beauty, and the splendor of the notes in his mind, he took no notice of his slowly diminishing movement. 

As he tried to move his body, a solid stone prison began to cover his form, soon snapping him out of his daze, and causing him to panic. Though, that panic would be short lived as his body was soon fully encased in stone, leaving him lost to his time.
> Discord - Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The one thing our dear Mother did not count on, was how mentally active humans such as this one could be. Almost instantly upon his full encasement in the stone, his mental panic filled her ears, almost with pathetic feminine screams coming from an otherwise male figure. It took her time to calm his mind, often playing that same song used to lure him towards the prison.

It started with the first day. In his new stone prison, our wanderer could see everything around him in this forest. The beautiful foliage, and indescribable creatures he would see outmatched any he had seen at home. Blue flowers carpeted the floor below him, bewitching unfortunate creatures with bizzar deformations upon contact. Unlike with him, they were not spared any mercy. The common fly would lose its wings, making him chuckle slightly at the irony of the bugs name. A rather dangerous looking spider would be afflicted with a multiplication to its limbs. He definitely found sixteen legs much more terrifying, so maybe it could go a good way in some cases. 

He could also hear quite well, despite being a solid stone mass. This gave him access to the beautiful song Mother had put into motion, as well as the voices of the creatures around him. While he was stoned, he could definitely still feel the same emptiness he had during the beginning of this day. He was a lost wanderer, unloved by many in his world. Anytime he had felt love, it was to those lost to time, and often unable to express the same excitement for him, as he did for them. This was a man after Mother Nature's own heart. His love for nature was beyond what she had seen before, and she truly despised what she was destroying by taking this man from his world, into her own realm. As it has been, she noted the human was growing weary and tired in his stone already, and began to play a lullaby, to lure him into sleep.

Fortunately for the human, unlike many of Mother's other creatures, he could produce entire realities in his mind. His dreams weren't often memorable, but more often not, he could see vividly into the fantasies his brain held. Mother Nature could sense some conflict in his mind; he was still unsure whether or not his stone prison was the dream, and that his dream wasn't real. This would be the perfect balance to breaking her beloved subject. As such, she orchestrated his dream gradually as he fell into a deep sleep. It was here that she made herself visible to him, sitting on a small landing surrounded by a hidden oasis in the woods. A small waterfall marked the backdrop, while thinning vegetation provided a natural grass bank for the human to "wake" upon.

The joy in his heart was astounding, upon his realization that this was likely a dream. Seemingly the only times the man could ever find a care was when he was no longer among his own. And he took in the unimaginable, but yet so realistic sights. He did not yet realize that Mother was sitting in the pond, watching him adore her beautiful creation. She felt so much more pride than she could ever have before. For once, there was a creature she could make truly happy, just by giving him access to something that could reasonably exist. And she made note that she would try her best not to destroy this side of him. To be her balance, she wanted to have this common adoration for her creations with him.

Soon, she began to sing a melody, trying to grasp the man's attention.

"While I lay, in the forgotten tombs of time, my love I hold you up high. Lost old soul, come lay beside, I hold you near, even nigh the night."

And true to her wishes, the sweet notes, and slightly off beat lyrics would catch his heart, and ears. He turned his head towards the human form she had created on the landing, eyeing a woman unlike any had seen before. Her hair was beyond the base of her spine, nearly acting as a blanket around her. The pearl white dress she wore was adorned with many small crystals, which accented her neck, and the ends of the sleeves. She could easily sense the flutter in his heart, as she gave him the first genuine smile she could ever remember giving.

"Welcome, lost traveler," she said warmly, "to a world lost to the ravages of time, in it's beauty. I have seen your adoration of my creations, and wish to bestow you with a gift."

The man slowly stood up, having been prone from his slumber, and stood facing her.

"You seem so familiar, yet so unknown to me," he said, quite nervously. "And until this point, I feel I am in a dream, but all my senses appear to be intact."

She gave him a nod, patting an open spot beside her in the lush grass of the landing, beckoning him near.

"Indeed, traveler," she spoke sweetly, "I wish for you to no longer feel burdened by the world of which you live. From what I can sense, your life has been no less than isolated from your own. Abandoned by your own species, yet more than willing to keep that lonesome feeling if it means you can merge back in with nature, herself."

He wandered through the shallow waters, making his way towards her as he listened to her.

"Of course," he said. "My fellow man has done no true wrong to me, but the passage of time has proven to be far too strong. I have lost loved ones, often resorting to fauna and foliage to keep me company in my times of sorrow. No, I blame none for my travesties, but myself for being unable to help it."

Mother blinked, a bit surprised by his very wise demeanor. For a young soul such as his, he let off an aura of a millennia of strife. He did not blame his own for his worries, but indeed did blame the nature of living, itself, for his burdens. She did not know how long it would take to turn his mind into that of deception, b4and every moment she would lose this very perfect specimen, she regretted. But her mind, and her every conviction told her it would be the proper thing to do for her end goal.

So, when he finally reached her, she took him into a warm embrace, hugging the human close to her. She was quite surprised by his rather frail form. Throughout the ages, she had seen the average male to be very well built, often having to hunt, build, or forage for their goods. This one was from a relatively new time, however. The lack of wars meant a lower need for fighters. Homes were often built by others for currency, and goods were often hoarded by one to help the other. Quite similar to the Everfree Empire she had seen so long ago, yet just a bit more different. They still used the creatures around them for movement, but they had made significant advances in their trade, and learning to live more in peace, and share, than they had previously.

She held the human for a period of time, before she finally broke the song of her oasis.

"My dear human," she said softly, "What was your name in your life?"

The human looked up, smiling quite genuinely. He wasn't in love, like she had thought she would have made him be. He just needed someone to treat him like he was wanted in the world, and she had suddenly filled that void.

"My name is Errant Aurora," he replied. "In our tongue, it means Wandering Lights, in loose terms."

She nodded, smiling a bit as she slowly faded from the dream, coldly leaving him alone on the same oasis, as the dream world began to collapse around him. 

"Errant Aurora," she said almost sternly, "your name will no longer be of such a human tongue, as the very degradation I sense in it is terribly unfathomable. Your light will no longer be treated as a rare display in the frigid arctics, and instead as an agent of dissidence, and discordant beauty. From now on, your name shall be Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, and Deception."

As part of her cold plan, and the renamed human started to feel quite confused as to the sudden shift from being the light, to being the very antihisis, she woke him. No longer in the land of beauty, and serenity; he once again found himself buried in the solid stone encasement in the field of blue flowers. As she hoped, it began to sow the seeds of doubt and pain in his mind. He was beginning to question which of these worlds was a dream, and which one was real.

These activities would repeat on mass. Her human would slowly begin to lose his grasp on the dream world, and the real world. Though, she did find he was beginning to find his mind trying to settle upon making these more enjoyable. He was starting to anticipate the more beautiful dreams, as they were the one point of freedom he had from the statue. As such, she made the choice after nearly an entire decade passed to begin stagnating them. No longer were the human's realities being shifted every night. They were drastically cut to once a week. Now, he was forced to stay awake for six entire days, watching as the forest would wander through its seasons. Though he was still deeply in love with the world, he was starting to grow a subtle hatred for his current scenery in the world of his stone casing.

Sensing his love for the surrounding canopies wavering, Mother carefully orchestrated an event that she hoped would even further shatter this human's sense of reality. Almost eleven years after his initial imprisonment, a wandering band of thieves and traders made their way through the woods. Mother watched closely, keeping wandering packs of Timberwolves and other creatures off of the humans, as they would eventually find the statue. Understanding it to likely be a relic lost to history, they took it upon themselves to take the artwork, and began to follow the signs that Mother laid. Often times they were clearings in the woods, or a change in the very makeup of the forest that led them deeper in, not noticing that their very world was likely changing around them. The human remained conscious of his travels, watching in splendor as the forest warped and changed around him, even more lost as to whether or not this was a dream, or the real world.

As the band found itself in a new clearing, of which Mother did her best to mimic those of the dream world she made for Discord, she failed to let them notice that a handful of their party were not who they seemed. Around a day after they stopped here, a heavy storm started to drench their campsite, trapping their carts in a thick mud, while making it very difficult for their pack animals to wander. The first night that the storm started, the first of her last Changeling hive made its appearance. The merchants and thieves were not warriors, and could do little to defend themselves from the attacking horde. The tales of the creatures had been lost over the centuries, and as such they no longer knew how to stop the revenants attacking their camp.

Discord watched in shock as in the flash of a single bolt of lighting, many of the party had transformed into black, deformed creatures that would attack the humans, cocooning a few, while dispatching the few that managed to get too far away. He watched in horror as the crowd of creatures began to grow. From a small handful, to an entire hive, the numbers grew until the group could no longer resist, and were forced to surrender. As Mother would have hoped, the human hesitantly decided that his was indeed the dream world, much to his own horror as he thought those days were gone. His usual days of lovely melody, serene scenery, and wonderful embrace were now filled with this horrific sight of strange monsters destroying humans with little to fight back.

After this skirmish ended, all that was left for him to see were ruined carts, and through the centuries that followed, the bovines and canines warping into hellish creatures, who would often get into vicious wars with the Changeling hives. He did grow to appreciate the Changeling queen, however. Dear Chrysalis, having well outlived her own mother in her age, would frequent the sight to look at the statue. She often felt she was being watched by the statue, and took to him like a friend. Mother did not plan for this, but she found it eased Discord slightly that someone was willing to talk to a motionless form of him. It almost fixed him.

And then the visits stopped. Mother did not need him fixed, she needed him broken. As she needed him broken beyond recognition of his early years, she began shifting the forest around him to prevent the aging queen from visiting him any longer, actually sensing the anger that this sparked in Discord, making Mother far too happy at the time. As the first centurie passed, since his imprisonment, she decided it was finally time to start breaking his will, and set upon him a series of events that should warp him beyond the beliefs of his former life. He had already forgotten his previous name; he no longer held love for his race, often blaming them for abandoning him. This never devolved to hatred, though, as Mother still tried to guide him. She started to taint even the dreams he looked forward to, now.

The first of many trials was the first dream he had, where she had no longer appeared before him. The music was no longer singing softly to him, and instead there was an empty oasis. No waterfall, no water even. The fish were dead in their pond, and the forest itself was a raging inferno. Fight as he might, he found he could no longer control this vivid dream as he could previously, as he had some semblance of control to change minor aspects. He couldn't put out the raging walls of fire, nor could he hope fend off the very thing he feared would appear. The first of the Changeling dream hives began swarming him. As all before him, Discord likened them to the revenant; an undead spirit who often targets someone they used to know in life. He often saw them taking forms of his old family, of which he could no longer find their names.

Losing the names of loved ones was enough for him to get slightly angry, but it got worse when they started tearing into him for losing them. They blamed him for not understanding the passages of time; they blamed him for not being able to hold on when they were growing weaker. They even blamed him for what he had never noticed. Despite the many yearss he spent in his prison, he had never aged. He had been granted a gift the ancient scholars and religious cults had sought after since the beginning of civilization. His immortality was now his crutch. They explained this to him, driving him mad as he was now no longer just out of control, he was unable to escape it from a mortal perspective; no matter if he was awake, or asleep. Now he could never differentiate between the two.

This vision of immortality took it's time on his already weak spirit. Within the first year of his new torment, his mind was broken beyond what Mother could have hoped. His love for nature would spark him back to life, but his utter hatred for his old life, and his future, would sink him back to a point he could never hope to recover; without help from the forest, he was no longer a man. 

And Mother started to "help" him, thoroughly. She first revealed her true aetheral form to him. Gone was the warm, beautiful motherly figure he had grown to adore, and fear. She was still quite beautiful, but her indescribable form bit at him with the inability to put a name to anything. She taught him who she was, what she had done to his life behind him, and to all those before him. She taught him the lives of the Minotaurs, the Timberwolves; she mentioned her mix of regret and pride in the human race, how she hated having to turn them against each other, regaling the tale of the Changeling hives' rise and fall. She also began to warp his own sense of history. She started to fill him with tales he could not recall of his own past. He was now her son, in a way. She had given him a rebirth, so to speak, and it was time to teach him what the son of a Goddess could do, and should do. It was time for him to live up to his title, and to do this, she needed to set up a great deal of trouble and strife for him to live through in the upcoming years.

To help begin her work, she once more sent him into an alternate reality. Discord could no longer determine sleep from the real world, so he simply stayed with whatever Mother would have wished it to be. His first trial was to survive an entire year within the Everfree Forest, alone. He would have no companions, dream, or reality. No creatures would wander the forests, and no creatures would exist in his world. Instead, he was to live off the land's graces. Questionable dietary scheduling, without any meats to supply him with the protein he would need. Mother did grant him the ability to find the rare fruit trees, but he would need to learn how to save them, as they would not stay ripe for long.

Discord found the first night to be the most bearable. For once, he was able to relax himself, and take in the floral beauty of the forests. Left to its own design, the forest was a splendid place to be, as long as he left the darker portions alone. Within the first few weeks, he was learning to live off the land as a farmer. It was hard work, but being such a long time lover of the outdoors, he found no issues with digging by hand, and tilling the lands. For a long time, he even used the river sticks to carve out his farmland, usually replanting them to save himself from future issues. As the month would pass, however, the sheer silence of the forest began to nag at his mind. He could not imagine that he was actually this alone. He could distract himself from the silence with a few imaginary games, here and there, and with the lovely sweets he would find from time to time and try to regrow; but the silence was now a distraction.

And so it was, in the beginning of his second month into the trial, he took his first steps into the dark segments of the forest. It was not hard to find, as a total lack of light through the thickest canopies gave it a near perfect border. He marked his way with makeshift torches that he would fashion from the land, and put in clearings. But the further in he went, the less effective these torches seemed to be. And along with lesser lights, came the low whispering of the wind through the foliage. Whispering that he could easily confuse for other voices. While he was no longer alone in his mind, he doomed himself to making friends with the voices in the wind, often talking with them for hours on end, as if they were going to talk back to him. His new friends would never answer his questions, as far as he could tell. He could rarely make out a word they were saying, with how scattered their speaking was. Perhaps it was a new language to be learned.

And with this, he began to try and learn it. Within the third month, he had discovered the processes of turning some fruits into a writing tool with some river reeds and water. With these, he would temporarily mark stones, and the occasional cave walls with his new language. Being creatively bankrupt, the most he could do was form new letters, using the old sound he was familiar with to rearrange them. Eventually, he arrived to a point where only he could recognize his own handwriting. And the voices still could not understand him. By the end of the sixth month, he was more or less gone from the language he knew, and was constantly writing in these strange scripts, leaving the walls covered in many passages that he could make.

Mother rarely ever checked on him, but was extremely proud of the progress he was making, and losing. She watched as the year slowly drew towards the end, where he started to make some new, strange concoctions in the form of very early potions. They were never anything impressive that she could not do, but often times they were indeed impressive for Discord to have made it this far without her. His runes often labeled the potions with their names and effects. Some would heal the wounds he was frequently obtaining from his messing with fire, and tree climbing. One potion even let him become slightly stronger than he was now, though only by a bit. In the end, she began to decide upon his next challenge, as he would need these potions to likely survive the next few years.

Mother knew he was not a mentally strong human. This was never in her criteria when she was hunting for a specimen. As she had noted all those eons ago, he was a loving man, with everything lost, and everything he could give. Now, she had stripped away what he was willing to give; she warped his mind to where he forgot what he lost, and changed his giving nature to that of a more reserved one. But, he was swiftly approaching the edge of what she intended by the time the first year ended.

To avoid him going too far over the edge, and becoming nothing more than a hate-filled, unreasonable monster, she started the next trial without ever making herself known to him. This trial came in the form of a surprise to Discord, as a young pup, of the previously forgotten Timberwolf packs, would approach him.

He was busy in his caves at the beginning of his second year, still writing new formulas for his potions, when he started to hear sounds coming deep from inside the networks of his cave. At first he bounced in joy, realizing that Mother may finally be returning to him, to shower him with praise for his progress. But the sounds grew louder as he went further into the caverns, and these were not the sounds of her voice. Almost a yelping sound echoed through the cave, and he could only remember one creature in the last few hundred years that made those sounds, and he became very afraid to wander into his cave.

Discord could not stop himself, though, as the pained whimpers coming tugged at what was left of his original humanity, and forced him to go deeper, soon finding himself in a large cavern that he had taken residence in previously. The cave had very high ceilings, and a hot spring down in the very bottom that had soothed his sore body on many occasions, and was one of his few comforts in the world. As he walked through, the pained whimpers soon made themselves into almost pitiful growls, and barks. Once more he felts afraid to wander any deeper, but even more so to wander in further. As he came towards the spring, he found his source of deep-seated fear. Left alone, with a leg trapped under a large fallen stalactite, lay a very young Timberwolf pup. The stalactite had severed a portion of the leg, and trapped the rest underneath. It was stopping the leg from fully reforming, and likely causing immense pain to the pup as it writhed, trying to growl at Discord.

He could not help but stare at the creature, while his body made its way over, despite objections from the young one. He looked over the stalactite. While not the most impressive, it would be too large for him to lift, even with his potions. He resorted to looking around for something to help break it, or at least shift the weight of the Timberwolf's leg. He settled on the old stalactite he was using to blend potions. It was moderately heavy, and had lasted him for several months thus far. He gathered it up, bringing it back towards the still scared, but defensive pup. It stared to whimper instead of growl, but Discord paid no mind as he started to bash the side of the stalactite plugged into the ground below. He hammered repeatedly at the large rock, even as his mixing stick began to break under the force of the strikes. Strike after strike slightly budged the rock, but almost as soon as he was getting hopeful, his mixing rock broke. 

He simply gave out an almost inhuman growl, and got to thinking, looking at the pup, trying to comfort it whenever it would snap at him. Mother assumed that the very core of human nature had to harbor love for the young, even if the young were those of the enemy; despite how often she had seen the evidence to the very opposite. Discord soon gave in to something he was not very happy to be trying, and backed up slowly from the stalactite. He got a few feet away, before running at the rock to try and use his body as a battering ram. As soon as he rebounded off from the initial collision, his body started to ache. He rushed at it again, trying with all his might to knock the rock off, or out of it's position. The pup had been resorting to whines and yelps, as though the rock would jolt in another direction, it was grinding the already damaged leg. 

With blood now running clearly from his good shoulder, and despite the intense pains he was experiencing, Discord changed shoulders, and rushed the rock one last time, finally succeeding in forcing the imbedded tip to shift enough to tilt the rock; this sent both him and the large stone crashing to the floor, him laying there bleeding heavily from his damaged shoulder, and a likely broken shoulder on the other. He quickly tried to get up, to check on the pup, as its leg was finally beginning to heal, and the detached segment worked its way back over, returning full function to the canine's leg.

The Timberwolf's wooden tail immediately started wagging at a brisk pace, as it looked towards Discord, almost looking like it was smiling as it barked at him excitedly. He gave a genuine smile, even through his pain, nodding.

"Hey," he said softly. "Looks like you're feeling a lot better, eh?"

It yipped, running around him happily, eventually nuzzling up against his leg, receiving a tentative pat on the head from Discord. "Well, come with me bud, we might both need a little something to fix ourselves up with."

He painfully picked the pup up with his bad, but better, arm, carrying it up towards the cauldron of which he was currently mixing a strength elixir. He took the contents, pouring them out into a sinkhole in the cavern, and starting on his healing potions, as his new friend sat by watching him. He pet the canine as the fluids were being mixed, alternating his broken shoulder between the tasks.

"I really feel like I need to call you something," he said quietly, grunting. "But I can't think of a name just yet."

After almost an hour, getting weaker from the internal, and external blood loss, the potion was finally ready for consumption. He put some in a bowl shaped rock he had carved, and set it in front of the pup, who lapped at it eagerly, quite clearly not being thirsty enough to try and drink the boiling spring water. Discord swiftly drank down his own bowl-full, and sat down on the floor, letting the potion do its job, initially getting rid of the pain that had been nagging at his body for the past hour. He was now quite happy with himself, and actually had a friend to talk to, even if he couldn't quite understand it. He also couldn't understand how the thing was drinking water, but he assumed the wood was likely taking in the fluid. 

He continued to stay in his spot, as the pup soon found its way down to him, nuzzling up to his side. With a smile, Discord pet the Timberwolf, surprised at how soft the wood on his body currently was. It was like a tree he had seen before, that had almost hairlike bark surrounding it. As he focused, he began to imagine the first name for the pup that he could remember from times long forgotten. A name he had abandoned, that described them both.

"I will call you Errant," he said softly, watching the pup drift off to sleep. "The Wanderer."
> Gaea Everfree and Errant - Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Discord grew to love his new friend, in the Timberwolf he named Errant, Mother Nature realized that to make him truly turn into her perfect putty, she would need to create a new adversary for him to come against within the upcoming year. With her heart set on exactly what she would need, she set about creating the perfect daughter to guard the Everfree Forest, perhaps for even the future to come. And so, as she let Discord grow with his companion, she turned her eyes to the rest of the forest, considering the best path to creating someone who would be the perfect guardian.

The first hint she took was the greenery in her surroundings. She wandered a great distance from the human, and settled her own encampment within a very lush opening, where she began to sculpt the one she would name Gaea Everfree. She began as she had so long ago, with the same process she used to bring the humans into existence, focusing her attention to the clay beneath the ground in a nearby pond. She would gather the clay into large patches, soaking them with a persistent rain as to prevent it from ever becoming solid while she worked. She constructed a being, not unlike herself; a very beautiful, human-like female, with slender legs, arms, and the intellect on par with her developing brother.

She was also slightly gifted in her height, matching up with her male counterpart quite closely, with the strength of the hardened clay giving her otherwise frail-looking frame a deceptive amount of natural strength. As Mother finally sculpted the last of her form, a fire from her breath worked to harden her figure into a solid clay statue, packed as tight as naturally possible. Following what she believed to be the perfect base, she began to focus on her daughter's appearance. Unlike most of the developed humans, who were often a great array of colours, from orange, to red, she decided upon a rarer colour for her spawn. She gave her a rather distinctive green skin, borrowing the colour from the healthy dark grass in the landing. And upon her clay base, the green formed a beautiful blend with the scenery around her.

She then turned her attention to Gaea's hair. Mother tried many combinations of the normal human pigments, but could not strike a great balance that offset her creations green skin. After observing a pond fish who had managed to wrap itself in some weed from the bottom of the water bed, she finally found the perfect resolution. Gaea's hair was created using a mixture of ivy, long bladed weeds, and even soft long grass blades. From a distance, her hair looked quite beautiful, and the grass made her hair look natural amongst the forestry. If Mother could be jealous, she would be quite upset at making her own daughter look better than herself.

All she needed now, was to cover the girl. While Mother did want Gaea to be a guardian of the forest, sometimes going completely natural was not the strength of the humans. And there, she crafted the perfect gown for her daughter. Using the thin, but wide leaves of a nearby "Elephant" grass-- she did often love the nicknames humans gave to her creations-- she fashioned the outline of the dress. She made it long enough to cover her daughter's modesty, but not so much it would hinder her movements, stopping the dress at just below her knees. To make the dress more sturdy, she borrowed the strong bark of a nearby oak tree, and lined the bottom edge, along with her arms and neck, with the bark.  She left enough space in between to allow for easy maneuverability.

Now it was time to sculpt her facial features. She decided to give the form something that Discord could appreciate. She gave Gaea the nearly perfect features of the dream form she used over a centuries ago, when humans were just out of the reach of their industrialization. Though, her eyes were given a dark brown to match the dark hues of her gown, with eyebrows that matched her flowing locks, and lips forever stained a natural rose red. Mother stood back from her creation, admiring the detail and adoration she could remember from the very beginning when she made the humans. But, she had not given the humans the gift she was about to bestow upon her own daughter. She had gifted Discord immortality, on the unspoken condition that he would form to her every wish; she had even left him blessed with his natural gifts with other creatures, who dared not harm him.

Instead, Gaea Everfree was imbued with some of Mother's own power. She had control over the blooming cycles of the forest flowers, but only within her new home; she could control the growth of any flora Mother created. She was given immortality, as to never grow past her new brother. She was also given a mind of her own, as he had been given in the beginning of his time. Gaea Everfree was to be strong, intelligent, and most of all, powerful. If it all came to a head, Mother wanted the Everfree to be protected even when the world came to an end. With a final snap of her fingers, power flowed from Mother, gifting the creation the first breath of life. And while Mother was indeed pleased with the perfection of her creation, she was not done, as of yet. She still had just a year before her children needed to confront one another. She had a lot to teach Gaea, and she was going to make the absolute most of it.



While Mother would go about her next year training her young daughter far from Discord, he had started working with Errant, trying to discern the young pup's diet, and how to properly work with him so they could both survive. After the first night, where he saved the Timberwolf, he found that the usually absent life of the Everfree was slowly beginning to make its way back into the picture. At first, he was lost in the return of his beloved songbirds, and the adorable rodents he could only dream of seeing before were now within reach outside of his stone prison. What Discord had never realized, is how dangerous it would have been.

The very first month of his new year was the time to teach Errant how to hunt with him. While Discord had grown quite used to simply consuming the foliage around him, he had also grown to miss his old diet that consisted heavily of the fish and cattle. While he was sure Mother did not appreciate that aspect of his humanity, it was one that remained, and she had curated into their very nature. The he recalled that the only bovine creatures that likely remained where the White Tailed deer, and the Minotaurs that he greatly feared. Nature would be on his side, it seemed, as Errant did quite easily prove to be capable of gathering the smaller creatures at his current size. Discord could only assume this was just their nature, though he still questioned the way Errant would be able to naturally consume these things. Once more, he attributed to some sort of absorption that the wood inside the pup would do.

So, the first night, Errant proved his worth quite quickly, gathering an easy to manage meal of some small rodents, as Discord cultivated his greens. He made the two of them a minor feast. Enough to fuel them to prepare a good cover inside the cave. Using hot and normal springs in the cave, working through the night, and into the following day, her worked to move many of his crops into the cave. He relied on much of the moss inside to serve as the base, hoping it would last long enough to make a more solid structure later on. Errant simply sat by, watching, unable to provide much more than a break buddy when Discord would get tired. During his short breaks, they would recline on a newly made bed of grasses and leaves, huddling together as if they had known each other forever.

Discord had, early on, concluded that Errant was likely a gift from Mother, as he could not rationalize, otherwise, how swiftly the young pup had grown attached to him. Though, being alone, and so young might have been a major reason on the side. Nonetheless, he would work tirelessly to provide what he could as time would carry on. After the first month, growing tired of the small game, and having to constantly go out for more food, Discord made up his mind that it was likely time to go after some White Tail. He would not rationalize going after the Minotaur, as they were herd creatures, and would likely overwhelm them within the first few seconds of an attack. Errant had grown considerably, and was now just above Discord's knee, so he was hoping that the young wolf would be able to handle some doe.

With this in mind, he gathered some small clay containers, made during the early days of his first year for water collection, and allocated a few of his strength potions into them. While he did not think he would necessarily need them, he had not hunted in a long time. Sparing enough thought to also allocated a couple of bottles with a healing tonic, Discord and Errant made their way from the cave. Sealing it off with a rather rickety wooden door, they wandered slowly into the initial clearing surrounding the cave entrance. It was no longer quiet, as it had been the year before. Insects, birds, rodents, mammals, and even some of the wandering Minotaurs were audible all around. As before, though, he did his best to avoid annoying the Minotaurs, and they likewise let him be.

Making their way deeper, he reasoned that his most rational move would to go where he had historically seen them outside of the dream realm. He made his was towards what he believed was the old clearing where the Changeling's had destroyed the band of thieves, and began to wait. While he was desperate to find the new food, he would not simply attack at the first sign. He wanted to scout the camp, and ensure that he was on the right path. Thoughts of running into the old Changelings also still ran through his mind. Maybe if he ran across the Queen, he could finally have a friend to talk with. 

But, what if Mother didn't bring her into the dreams? What if she simply brought those carnal drone-like soldiers? I fear the revenants without a queen far more than with her.

His thoughts indeed were grim upon his own possible fate, but he found himself still quite willing to press on, and set up camp in the middle of the old clearing. Most of the wooden cart had finally degraded, though much of the metal was still there, sticking out of the ground, heavily rusted. He made a conscious effort, wandering over, to see if he could pull any of the metals out, as he had been needing some new tools; iron would definitely make for a better source than his stone and clay muses. He approached the first, which appeared to be a rod from the old cart's axle. He started to pull on what could make perfect mixing stick. He needed more potions, and was more than willing to experiment on the new plants he was seeing since his emergence from the cave. He also considered trying to collect some of the old blue flower, which had been growing in new patches, forming alluring new carpets of flora.

The rod was sturdily buried beneath the ground, but the harder he pulled, the more it began to shift, so he began to twist, and stir it in circles, until it finally broke free. Unlike what he thought, this was no axle. It was a smaller rod, nearly the length of his arm. He tried to think back in his mind of what the new tool could be from, but would draw blanks the closer he got. Regardless, this was still perfect for his cauldron, and he wandered back over with errant as they sat around his camp. It wasn't much of a camp yet, as no fire had been started, and they had no discernable shelter. He wasn't planning on starting a fire in this clearing though. The smoke would likely chase any potential food away.

For several days Errant and Discord would make their trip, scouting the area, often seeing much larger potential food sources; beavers on the river, some well sized rabbits and other creatures made themselves visible. The White Tail was still elusive, however, and he was ont he brink of moving to a new camp entirely. That was until the first day of the following month. He noticed some brush moving just across the clearing, as he scouted from behind some shrubbery. And indeed, he spotted the first of the White Tail, though they were far different that what he could have recalled. The emerging buck was quite massive, coming just above his head. While the tail was indeed white, so was the majority of his coat, with some golden fur accenting his chest, and the edges of where his stomach met his sides.

This was beyond the beauty he had seen in the forests, thus far, and was truly the first to make him completely speechless. Gone, almost instantly, were any thoughts of harming this creature; of course, being that it wasn't the White Tail he wanted, that played a strong role in turning him away from hurting this deer. Instead, he motioned for Errant to sit, as they both emerged from the brush; the pup obeyed cautiously, sitting just in front of the brush, as Discord observed the large creature. His eyes widened as he saw more begin to emerge from the brush on the other side. A stunning doe, with similar coloring, followed by a few more, with fawns following them. While Discord was watching them, he did not realize that the buck had taken notice of his existence. What would happen next would catch him by complete surprise.

"I would never have imagined seeing one of your kind this far out in our dear forest," came a voice, though no lips were moving.

Discord jolted, quite startled by the clear, but gentle buck's voice. His eyes were likely wide as saucers as he stared at the creature, mouth slightly agape.

"And though I have been through many things in the last few centuries, I never imagined I would see the day that fauna would communicate with me," he said, shaking a bit. While in awe, he did not want to seem so rude to this stag.

The two shared a glance, as the stag nods slowly. 

"It seems you are not new to the forest, as your companion sits idly by," he said, wandering closer, despite the warning growls from the wolf. His eyes wandered over the human. Discord could tell by his look, that the Stag was likely used to seeing some like him; but as he had hinted, not this far into the forest. "Though, what intrigues me the most, is you said centuries, my friend. There is only myself, an one other I can recall who makes such claims, and she rarely ever makes herself visible to her spawn outside of their conception.

Discord blinked, tilting his head. "Mother was around during your creation?"

This time, the Stag looked quite surprised, stepping back a bit as his ears twitched. Discord couldn't tell if his eyes were open any wider, as their eyes were already quite big. The Stag nodded after a bit, regaining his composure, unlike the human in front of him.

"Interesting," he said softly, still not moving his lips. Discord could only come to the conclusion that he was hearing the voices in his mind. Remembering the voices also told him something else; the whispers were no longer as prominent as they had been when the forest was empty. "Stranger, I would appreciate it if you did not mind meeting with me here tomorrow. I believe we have some things to discuss."

Discord could not help but nod his head nervously. "I would not consider denying that request. Though, do you have a name I could use to reference you?"

The Stag stood straight, almost as if boasting, though it was clearly surprise. "Of course! I cannot believe I could forest such a simple thing. Though, perhaps only knowing your own species' language makes that a natural barrier. I am King Aspen, of the White Tail Woods. Though, our home was destroyed long ago.

Discord gave a respectful bow. "My name is Discord, your highness. As with you, my home likely no longer stands as I once knew it. I do express sympathy for your loss."

The king gave a soft chuckle. "I do appreciate your sympathy, but most of my herds were not alive to know of those times, so we have learned to move on."

Discord just gave a light nod, as he and the king bid a silent farewell, agreeing to meet when the sun would approach its midday peak. Errant had slipped by Discord, during their discussions, and was playing with a few of the fawns. The Timberwolf was far sweeter than the ones they had grown to know, and was patiently letting them crawl over him. The king gave a genuinely visible grin. 

"It seems you may have a gift in that pup, I would not be against you bringing him; though, I assume she is all you have." he said softly.

Discord nodded. "Wait, she?"

The king nods. "I know very little of the Timberwolf, though I do know they have a slimmer structure to the wood on their bodies compared to the males. She's also way to sweet to be a male. They are quite mischevious, like a fox."

Discord just gave a nod, giving a loud whistle to Errant, which alerted her to his voice. She carefully nudged her way out from under the playful fawns, who returned to their mothers. King Aspen and Discord once more shared a farewell, and the human waved goodbye to his new hooved friends. He then stood in disbelief, as despite the centuries Mother had been coaching him, he had never seen a talking animal. Taking quite a few nudges to get his attention, Errant finally got him to settle on returning home, and they made their way back to the caves.

The following morning brought no distractions to Discord and Errant, as the mand began gathering some items to share. He collected his potions, one bottle of each, and put them in a wooden basket he had made from things he collected on the way home. He also gathered the crops he had managed to cultivate into bearing larger fruits over the year, using a specific growth potion to  speed their cycles in the absence of pollinating insects. He had never considered himself a wizard, but he assumed he could technically use that title now; despite the lack of any actual magic, he was able to make tonics and elixirs that would have driven his old aged scholars wild.

And as such, with his clay creations, potions, and companion in tow, Discord and Errant made their way to the clearing, heading out early to try and set up the area for the two parties to be more comfortable. They made their way through their usual pathway, though Discord over the previous months had broken out enough to where a walkable path was visible when they had been scouting. It took almost an hour, with rests in between to take care of Discord's gradually more sore arms. He didn't realize how heavy all those clay pots and wood would be, and even with his slightly more built physique, he was still not a strong man. After almost four stops, they finally made their way into the clearing, with what Discord approximated to be about an hour before the guests would arrive.

He set his equipment down, and began to work on gathering surrounding wood and moss for the tents. He decided to build the shelter off the sides of a few trees, forming small canopies to protect themselves from the deceptively warm sun. And within the time he was managing to form the floors and roof with the soft grass and moss, King Aspen arrived with one doe, presumably his queen, with him. Discord spotted them on the horizon, and made note of the size of the abode he had constructed, and found it would be just perfect, if a bit large. With his happiness at this, he stood outside the structure, leaving his tools of trade inside, and giving a friendly wave when they were within a reasonable distance; they did not come from the same direction as they did the previous day, and Discord gathered they might be a nomadic herd without their old kingdom.

When they were within reach, he gave the two a bow, which they returned to him.

"Honestly, Discord," he said, chuckling. "you did not, by any means, need to go to such lengths just for us."

Discord smiled, not realizing he was showing off his teeth. "Well, I would come to hope that Mother, despite not exactly teaching me forest etiquette, would appreciate it if I brought the old school human's hospitality with me."

The king nodded, as he and his wife took point upon a motion from Discord to sit. He sat across from them, as Errant came over to the queen, sniffing her. The doe smiled, giving the bigger pup a gentle nuzzle. With tail wagging happily, she returned to Discord, relaxing on his lap. 

King Aspen chuckled. "There's another way to tell that your partner is a female. That short exchange let my mate know that could sense her fertility.

Discord chuckled, another smile forming. "Oh, so your... queen, I assume, is bearing a fawn?"

She nods happily. "As far as we can tell, yes. And we could not be happier."

Discord nodded. "So happy to hear that for you, madam."

King Aspen nods. "Indeed, and we already have a name decided upon, should it be a stag. Prince Bramble."

Discord gave a slight head tilt. "Interesting. The old humans I recall, often used the names you have for the tress. Unless Mother named you, as well."

The king gave another affirming nod.  As she did. Upon my creation, she named me after the closest tree she could find, in the Aspen trees. My mate, is Queen Fyr, though I do not recall a tree under that name. Bramble isn't a tree either, so I would say the royal family is breaking from traditions.

Discord shrugged, chuckling. "Hey, I can't say I wouldn't, either. I came from a species known for destroying the land and never giving it back; I am told by Mother that is why she plucked me from my old life. Sadly, I cannot remember that lifetime in very good detail, anymore."

The King smiled. "Would you mind giving me some small introduction on how you met our dear Mother?"

Discord nodded, beginning his tail with his introduction by the song, that he would hear all throughout his initial contact with Mother Nature. He retold his many tails of being trapped in the stone, praying for the dreams to come faster, and to never leave when hey arrived. He recounted how the dreams then began to slowly waver; never remaining constant, to the point that even today, he cannot recall whether he was in a dream, or not. He recalled how beautiful mother had appeared, and how she had coddled him at first. She had even admitted to him that her first appearance was an attempt to seduce him; but instead of treating her like the humans normally did, her took to her like a child. Discord then filled their thoughts with how the dreams changed. Going from a beautiful oasis, to nightmarish hellscapes that soon came to the point, as he said earlier, he does not know whether he is in a dream, or not.

The king and queen listened patiently, though quite surprised at how cold that Mother was concocting this human's life; her gift of immortality was seeming more like a curse to the physically young man the further he would go. Then, his tone shifted as he started to approach his first year's trial. He told about the whispers he could hear in the wind, when it would blow through the brush. How he felt he had nearly grown to understand them, going so far to write his own script, just to know he could still read and write, even if he would be the only one to recognize it. He was not upset, during these recountings, however. His voice was growing happy, as if the very irony that he had conjured friends from the wind, and used them as the pathway to create his own written script was good. 

Then he grew even happier when he brought up the most joyous of his discoveries with Errant. Though, he had thought her to be male the entire time, without any real reference, he said she was the greatest thing Mother could have given him. She had shown him unconditional love, and loyalty. She had even taught him some ways to hunt he had never considered, when it came to the small creatures. Then he hesitantly brought up what he was doing when had met King Aspen and Queen Fyr.

The royal pair could sense his hesitance with describing what he was hunting for at this point, and decided now was a good time to speak up. Queen Fyr stood, coming over nad placing a hoof on his shoulder.

"Discord," she said said kindly, "Do not worry yourself so much with this description. We understand the law of the land, and if we saw you as a threat, we would have made it abundantly clear."

King Aspen nodded in agreement. "Truthfully, me friend. I do not sense any disdain in your voice for us, and judging by the past humans you describe, you do not wish to harm something that can fully articulate its thoughts.

Discord just took a breath, nodding in agreement.

The king continued. "Then do not fear speaking the truth. While I am unsure what the future will bring, I can safely say you can consider the White Tails a willing ally, for the time being."

Discord nodded, smiling as Queen Fyr sat back beside her mate.

"Well, thanks for stopping me, then," he said, looking to them. "I decided to bring a couple of the potions that I thought would be the most important to offer as some gifts for you."

He moved the box in front as Errant shifted to give him reaching room, sitting beside him instead of on his lap. The king, nodded looking through them. "And you say you developed these?"

Discord nodded. "As I started to lose my sense of reality, I started using my runes and old knowledge of our early medicines, and decided to play around with them. I mix different plants in a small stone cauldron I have carved into my cave. The very first I developed was the growth elixir, marked with the symbol I use for our old term for foliage. When you pour a couple of drops onto the seed before covering it with dirt, the elixir interacts with the plants natural process, and can produce a budding fruit plant within two weeks. This allowed me to mix the different fruits I had been getting, and get larger ones."

He reached into the back, pulling out the examples he had made from berry plants, of which were nearly the size of plums now; and even the plant he used for making bags for certain items had much larger leaves than their original ancestors.

King Aspen stared curiously. "That is quite an impressive feat. While we could definitely benefit from this, with your help, we couldn't really do much planting with our hooves."

Discord blinked, nodding slowly. "Oh, right."

Queen Fyr smiled softly to him. "However, that does not mean we cannot trade something ourselves, my dear. My King, would you join me in a private discussion?"

The king looked to her, nodding as the two wandered out of the shelter for a minute, walking a distance out of earshot of the human. While they talked, he began to play with Errant for a bit, scruffing her hardening ears and neck, as a thought slowly began to eat at his mind with the growth elixir. 

"I wonder if you can use this elixir," he said to the canine, who licked at his hand, surprisingly not leaving any splinters in him. "Even if it was only... it is likely temporary; seeing as the plants of the next generation don't grow as quickly."

He thought about this while King Aspen and Queen Fyr were still discussing, and decided he would test this when they returned home, just to see how his little wolf would react to the growth elixir. As he made these debates in his head, the royal pair made their way back into the shelter, seemingly focused.

"We have an idea for a trade deal to make with you, Discord," King Aspen said.

Discord perked up, keeping his attention on the stag.

Queen Fyr continued his sentence. "Our herd travels almost once per week, weather permitting. Would you be willing to shelter a herd in your cavern-- if it's the one I imagine you are using-- in exchange for us bringing you new ingredients to work with over time?

Discord blinked, thinking deeply to himself about the sudden offer. From his very perspective, there was no reason he couldn't house them, as the cave you used was no small hideaway. And to get new plants and things to mix into his elixirs would be absolutely a fair deal; and he would also have his new friends visit often.

"While I must say," he said, smiling, "I would give you guys shelter without such a bribe, I would be a fool to deny the opportunity for our cultures to mix and learn about each other. I would love that arrangement."

The couple's eyes seemed to light up, filling Discord with a joy even he didn't recall having in centuries.

King Aspen smiled. "My friend, Discord, you do not realize what a comfort that is for us; I assure you, we will always be grateful for your hospitality."

Discord nodded happily, expressing his gratitude to the couple once more for the opportunities. While he was still hearing the whispering winds, while he would still hear the horrors of his past life in what could only be his dreams-- you can't dream in a dream, can you?-- and while he was only just a man with a long life with a Mother few men could even imagine, he did finally have something to keep him steady during these trials. He had friends; and he was going to make the most of this.
> White Tail Winter - Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord could not have been more happy with his arrangement with King Aspen's herd. Once a week, he would gain company in his large cave, and he would also get new plants to try and form new potions. That, and he could ask them more about their own lives; he opened up to them about so much, and was surprised when the king didn't share anything about his past that day. So, for the few days, he waited happily for his guests. He arranged the cave with more moss carpets, and many small awnings to make a wooden town inside his cave, leaving the center open for the children to likely play.

During the days of wait, Errant had resumed her hunting, gathering the small game for him, while he would travel the forests in an attempt to find as many types of vegetation that he could. He was quite nervous, as he never had guests before, and now he had guests that he didn't even know the diets of. He was sure they could forage off of what they wanted, but he desperately needed to make the most of their accommodations; he dearly wanted this to become a common thing.

And on the seventh day of his preparations, having grown a near farm storage's worth of foods, stored in makeshift bags, wooden crates, and clay containers, he stood at the entrance of his cave with Errant, watching for his friends. As the sun reached the midday peak, he began to hear the rustling of the brush. As sure a sign as any, it told him of his royal compatriots arrival, as King Aspen, and his Queen Fyr emerged from the brush with a moderately sized here. Discord was a bit confused, as he was sure they had a bigger collective of their kind, but decided to keep the question in his head for now. As they approached, he gave a welcoming bow, receiving one in turn.

"My friend, Discord," King Aspen spoke, quite proudly, "It is a grand day to see you once more."

Discord nods, straightening. "Well, your highness, it is always wonderful to see familiar faces once more. Being alone for the last year made me eager for a companion or two."

"Oh, far more than two, you shall see," Queen Fyr responded, giggling. "We brought one wing of our herd; we did not wish to burden you with all four.

"A wing?" Discord asked. "That is why your group is smaller than last week?"

King Aspen nods to him. "Indeed. we shall bring more as time progresses, dependant on your abilities as our host. We do not wish to bury you under out numbers if it is not going to benefit us both. This wing is of our more flora-focused families, and they have brought a marvelous collection of ingredients for your to work with."

Discord nodded in agreement, now understanding how perceptive his guests were. Though, he was far more expressive than their facial features allowed, so they could likely see the question on his face. As the gracious host he would be, he opened the wooden door to his cave, motioning them inside.

"Well, then, let's not leave you out here, too long," he said. "While I love the outdoors, the Minotaurs and Errant's cousins might not be as friendly as I am; I have, unfortunately, seemed to take shelter amongst the majority of creature's migration routes."

The herd, seeming to be of nearly twenty deer in total, followed his gestures. Once all had made it into the cave, he shut the door, and led them into the cavern, showing off the large, and expansive cave. The high ceiling, many clear puddles and two main springs proved a lot for the deer to see, as they wandered about exploring their shelter.  The fawn's were in absolute wonder, as their mothers kept close eyes on them each. Even King Aspen and Queen Fyr were not spared from it's impressive beauty; the king was even more impressed, though, with Discord's accommodations and craftsmanship with the basic materials.

"Discord, he said, almost stuttering, "I did not realize that a human could ever construct, and preserve such a natural beauty. The structures indeed resemble those of the humans I knew eons ago; the farmlands that you have somehow constructed in, and on the  upper levels are unimaginable. Mother, even with her disdain for the advance of the humans she expressed to me, would be so proud.

Discord definitely felt his pride swell at somehow gaining praise from a deer that, until now, he could only dream of seeing; but, his comment about Mother definitely caught his ear, and made him look over to the stag.

"Mother doesn't appreciate our progress?" he said softly.

King Aspen nodded slowly. "At least from the time I was created, we had talked until my kind was large enough to sustain itself. She described the victimization of her early creatures, and the many lost to time as they were hunted. She didn't loathe your ancestors for their existence, as she had made them; but she truly felt horrid that she had given your kind the level of intelligence they had. I believed that changed with you.

Discord just listened, and King Aspen took that as a cue to continue. "You see, while you were in your dreams, Mother was busy crafting other creatures along side of her meddling with you. The first hint she saw that humans could at least be swayed was with those black creatures you described. They are not, what you called, revenants;nor are they any form of spirit. They were crafted long ago, from lost humans that Mother felt could convince the humans to turn on each other, when they could not trust that they knew their closest friends.

"And why would she want that?" Discord asked softly.

"That is a very strong question, it would appear," he said. "I had also asked her that question on two occasions; on both, her reply was simply that she had not anticipated you. And you, she always talked about. She recalled your early years; how drawn to her fauna, flora, and scenery. How even when she appeared in her most beautiful form, you wanted nothing more than that motherly embrace. How you seemed to break every superstition about the human race she had formed over their development.

Discord nods, chuckling softly. "Mother is a creator. How would she have her own superstitions?"

King Aspen nods, sharing a laugh. "I have wondered the same; now that I no longer speak to her, however, it will remain a mystery. How can one, who so many claim in omnipotent, not know how her own creations would behave? And I think that's why she is trying to keep that side of you.

Discord sighed. "Truly. She has destroyed any semblance of my past that I held in my heart. From all I feel, I was not born of her hands. But, in her teachings, her methods, and her meddling, I have come to see her as my true birthright. She is my Mother, as much as it pains me to lose one I likely had eons ago; but, it confuses me as to the amount of clarity I get upon recognizing her as mine."

"Because, in the very sense of the idea, she is mother to all. The Minotaurs, the Timberwolves, the White Tail, and the White tailed.From the valley, to the depths of the seas. While from what I can tell, she may not have made the heavens; whomever made the heavens, gave her this planet specifically to play with. And she did not want to treat us as expenditures. We are her children, and as hard as she may treat us, she will always love them. Even the ones she regrets making.

Discord took those words strongly to heart as he broke out of his minor slump, perking up.

"Hey! Let's not get so down about our past, then," he said merrily. "Let's get everything ready. I need your eyes to tell me which of the foliage I have cultivated can feed your family; and then I will need your florists to teach me of your well-appreciated gifts."

With this proposition, Discord, and King Aspen surveyed all they brought to the table. To Discord's delight, all but a handful of the vegetation he grew was edible to the White Tail, and coincidentally that the few they couldn't eat were included in the gifts that the florists brought him. As he let King Aspen and Queen Fyr choose their own awning to use as their bed, the deer helped him with naming the new plants, and what the deer themselves could use them for. Then, they hinted at an insect that should be more evident this time around, called the Flash Bee. They insisted that Discord attempt to catch a few, or a hive, and attempt to use their abilities to help him; while their shocks were indeed a surprise, large animals were relatively unphased. They explained that for deer, as an example, it feels more like a mosquito bite. For a human, it may be more akin to a kick, but nothing poisonous.

Discord took that into mind as he wrote down the notes in his script, also trading information about what he was using to record the information with a few of the elder does. He said that next time they come around, he would try to have something for them for communication, should he ever have to move, or is out when they come to visit. In his mind, this first meeting was indeed very fruitful, and he was able to make one new potion while his friends were there. It was one that could aid in sleep; this turned out to be very hand for a few fawns, who would be very determined not to rest for the evening. So, by the end of their first week, he was saddened to see them having to move on as soon as they had come, but he had a good three weeks to wait; he could not hold his breath, and needed to keep himself busy. The first thing that came to mind for him, was the Flash Bees that the deer had mentioned earlier.

The day after the deer had left, he exited the cave with Errant; upon him was a notepad he had used to write down, and attempted to draw the descriptions he was given from the elders. The first idea he had, was to once more visit their clearing to use as a landmark to find his way about easier. Once they had reached the clearing, he began to survey the edges of the forest on all sides. Each edge of the clearing was surround by thick forest foliage, and made it difficult to peer through; so, he had to go into it by hand, looking for any signs of a new, or established colony. On his side was a bag for containing the bees, if they would be caught.

Everyday, he would make his trip, reaching a consecutive five nights before he finally spotted a nearly full hive just a short bit out from his own cave. Excited more so for the fact he wouldn't have to trek nearly an hour to find one, he eagerly set up some wooden posts to mark his path, and the locations. He made sure to make a map in his notepad of the paths he had taken, and used X's to mark the spots he found any signs. This would be the first hive to be marked. Now, all he had to do was lure them out. As with the common honeybee he was used to, they did not seem too overaggressive when he simply passed by as a reasonable distance. He did manage to get enough glances to catch their physiology; the almost constant buzzing was more an effect of the persistent electrical shocks that surrounded the bees in proximity to the hive, more than the actual bugs making the noise.

Most of his scouting produced little actual results, as they did not seem drawn to most of the flora he would plant nearby; that was, until he put some fruits by their hive. A handful of selective fruits seemed to draw them to their blossoms more so than others. From here, he realized he could finally start setting up a trap to draw them even further. By creating a line of fruit blossoms leading back towards the cave entrance, he finally had a process that would draw less bees, but thin out their swarms to where he could reasonably get about two or three, with minimal attacks from the main hive. After about a week, he settled on leaving one lone blossoming flower in front of his cave, keeping nearby to watch and see when a bee would finally make an appearance.

After the second day of watching, he finally got his first chance; a Flash Bee landed on the flower, and dipped inside for the nectar. Discord crawled over on his knees, clay pot ready to catch it, and clamped it down swiftly over the head of the flower to catch them both. While it seemingly worked the first time, he quickly found that the clay did nothing to stop the shock. Out of the container came a hard kick; a definite bolt of lightning from the bee shuddered his arm, making him grip the pot even tighter. He fought hard, determined to keep the one bee inside the container, and slowly crawled over towards the cave door between shocks, breathing hard. He quickly placed the bee on a stone counter when he finally crawled his way into the belly of his cave, hoping the top of the clay pot would be strong enough to keep the bee contained.

Finally having his first test subject locked up in his cave, he went to his collection, taking a minor swig of a healing potion in the event that the bee had permanently damaged anything inside. Errant and him lay to rest for a few moments, before he decided it was time to try an use the bee. He went over to his cauldron, making a smaller mixture of his strength elixir to use as the main target. His idea was to put his hand near the pot, and let the bee try to zap him, hopefully causing the mixture to do... anything!

Carefully grabbing the pot, he moved it slowly, trying not to prematurely agitate his little prisoner, and hovered it over the cauldron. With a swift motion, he knocked off the lid, and turned the clay container over, his hand just inches above the liquid, and waited. He waited far longer than many would have the patient for, and after almost two minutes, started smacking the back of the container with his had, before seeing the Flash Bee tumble out, into the mixture. To his surprise, it seemed to be that the bee exhausted itself, or simply died. He used this to make his own idea of the Flash Bee.

"Seems like their honey counterpart," he said to Errant, "their attack can do more damage to themselves than to their enemy. He shocked himself to death trying to shock me."

He just stared at the bee in his potion, before shrugging, and grabbing his old metal pipe, and starting to mix it. After a few moments, he did notice that the bee's body was quickly dissolving in the mixture, and made the red color slightly darker. He dipped his finger in it, just to see if the texture, was changing, only to find that he was feeling minor effects from his potion; all without having to ingest it. He also noticed that the mixture was starting to dissolve, causing him to panic as he poured what he could into two containers, clamping their lids shut firmly, using some wet clay to seal them off for the time being.

"So, not only does this mean that this potion no longer needs to be ingested," he said, slightly chuckling; it was a terrible tasting fluid, "but it vanishes without a container. As I cannot see any fumes leaking out of the containers. I will test this tomorrow, as I plan to capture a much more suitable collection of these bees."

Errant just watched as he mindlessly talked to her, tail wagging slowly as he cleaned up his mess, looking to her. 

"But, for now, we need to go get some food; whatcha say girl?" Discord asked.

Errant barked, hopping up to her feet, and running over as he led her back out of the cave to find their meal for the night.


Discord and Errant spent a good amount of the following two weeks, up until his guest's return, gathering bees, and mixing them into his potions once more. He would create even more variations, even garnering one that could make his body more resistant to the heat in the hot spring; this allowed him to finally take a warm bath, of which he had not had in over a century. And he felt wonderful. As the time for his visitor approach, though, he began to notice the weather beginning to hit its colder nights, as well. The previous year's winter had not been a problem for him, as all he needed was a the spring to himself, and a consistent source of nutrition.

This year, however, he had far more to prepare for. He had a growing Timberwolf, that now reached up to his chest, in addition to what would likely be a much larger herd of White Tail to host for at least the week. And so he went about, gathering dying brush, all but abandoning his Flash Bee experiments. He created some form of axe from fallen stalactites to help him cut down the weaker trees, and experimented with different ones to see which would burn the longest. While he knew smoke in such a closed off area would be a bit difficult to manage, he figured there would be a way to do it sensibly. On the finally week leading up to their arrival he began experimenting with using one of the caves natural vents to try and syphon the smoke out from the portions of the cave that the hot spring couldn't help.

The only vent he could find was a branching segment from the cave entrance; this meant one would need to walk around the fire to get in and out. While this would not be ideal if one was the frequent the outside, when it came to the snow, and defending against predators, this would be perfect. And with his collection of firewood for a usually mild winter, and plenty of food to last for weeks, he waited. After nearly one day, his friends would return, with a much larger herd than before; Discord counted up to forty before stopping. It didn't matter how many there were, he would work his hardest to help them.

To his delight, many of the young fawns had been growing, and were almost to their mothers' own shoulders. Queen Fyr, herself, seemed well developed; not as far from delivering the king what they would hope would be a prince as she had been before. He was unsure how long she was expecting before they had met.

"Once more, my dear friend," King Aspen said, clearly shivering from the cold as the first flakes of winter were beginning to fall.

Discord nodded, ushering them in swiftly. "Yeah, yeah! Hey, let's hold off on the greetings until you all get inside, and I can the fires started. You guys look absolutely freezing!"

The king nodded, as he and Fyr followed inside, Discord staying behind to lock off the entrance with a stong fire, and making his way back in with them. 

"Make yourselves at home," he said. "As before, you are always welcome to stay here. And I have to say, this is more of what I expected last time."

Queen Fyr giggles. "I cannot help but think, of how other humans would think of you. They cannot understand us as you can.

Discord laughed a bit. "Oh, I know! I probably look absolute hysterical from a human's perspective. Talking to, and housing so many fauna from the winter. Unlike them, as you noted, I can understand you. And, again, being alone for all these years has definitely made the heart grow fonder for companionships."

His newfound excitement seemed infectious, as King Aspen and his Queen Fyr were far more open this time, than before. Unlike before, they did apologize for not having much to bring in terms of their trade-- despite heavy insistence from Discord that last time was enough for him-- but they always expressed gratitude for sharing his shelter. As for Dissy, as many fawns began to nickname him by the end of the first few days, he happily harbored the venison; he could not fathom leaving them out in the cold, as many humans were willing to do with each other. More times they would talk about their pasts, though Discord could hardly remember anything more than Mother's manufactured life for him. But, as the king made very clear, accepting her way always made him more happy. And the fact that she was letting him do all this, seemingly unfettered, was exciting. 

Errant, herself, was a very excitable pup during this visit. Despite her size, she still shared the playful personality of her long lost furred brethren, and took the the fawns as her own. Often playfully wrestling with them, and helping the growing bucks with their need to fight; she also was known to cuddle up sweetly with a good few of them during their naptimes and bedtimes. Sadly, for all involved, the week seemed to go by far to quickly, and King Aspen was getting ready to head off with the herd once more. Upon the first hint, Discord stood up, tapping the king on the shoulder; something he was never known to do was to touch the king.

"Hey, could I talk to you in private?" he asked, smiling at the royal pair.

King Aspen nodded. "I am always here for discussion, lead me to where you need me."

Discord nodded, motioning the stag to follow him back out of the cave, to the entrance, which was currently barricaded by almost three inches of snow at its base.

"Alright, your highness," Discord started, "I know you whole heartedly, and vehemently want to get your group moving, what are you going to be accomplishing by sending those fawns out into such a cold winter?"

King Aspen stared at him in surprise, not quite expecting the sudden seriousness. "Oh, Discord. You know we always appreciate you sheltering us, but this is truly a traditional lifestyle we lead. I could not imagine not having the instincts to move as we White Tail frequently do.

Discord nodded. "And lead those vulnerable darlings out into a harsh winter, with no warmth? There's little food out there that I can't grow in this here; and I don't need to remind you of the wild Timberwolf packs, do I?"

While King Aspen dearly wanted to uphold the tradition, formed back when the White Tail Woods was originally destroyed, he could not easily find a hole to poke in Discord's logic. Not only were the fawns much more happy in this environment, they were definitely far more safe; their safety was chief among the things he held as his core tenants. Try as he might to think of an excuse, he couldn't help but give in to Discord's argument. Not that, in the end, he really wanted to.

He let out a soft sigh, before chuckling. "Discord, before long we're going to owe you favors we could not hope to repay.

Discord playfully bumped him as he started back into the cave. "Consider it paid for the safety of your herd. Now, come on! It's time to start prepping some snacks. I'll likely need to head out for some firewood in a bit. The week has used far more than I expected."

The stag followed the human back into the cave, announcing they would be staying until the weather and foliage were far more appealing to the White Tail's needs. While a few Elder's were worried, a good talk with Discord over dinner did wonders to calm their fears of the species future-- mainly pointing out that doing this just for one winter likely wouldn't change the very makeup of their herd.

It was about a week into their extended stay that Discord began to regain some distant memories of some traditions old humans had, according to Mother. It was of an ancient time of peace that would last for nearly a month. He shared with the deer the tails of the gifts often given to loved ones, and even to enemies. Tails of craft weaponry, pottery, and things for those to be wed gifted from their parents. It was the only time most bloodshed would stop, and the humans would be united under a common day. 

Queen Fyr nodded, cutting in. "And you, Discord, have seemingly done your Mother's best work; taking in those of us who would likely be struggling in the cold of the forests, and against the terrors of its monsters. It seems to me, that though the specific details of this lost time elude you, you do your absolute best to make sure others feel it.

King Aspen spoke in agreement. "Living up to Mother's mantra she had for you when harboring out species. She would say 'he had nothing to lose, and everything to give when he came to me',  and that she never looked back after making you into one she could call a son.

Discord stopped, nodding as he though in to himself. Indeed, he was finding himself more happy at providing for them, than himself. He had never even noticed that after moving into this cave, and making his new friends, the whispering winds no longer seemed to taunt him with a voice he could not translate. No, he could swear that in the brief silence amongst the herd that he could almost hear what they were saying. But, as he tried to focus, the chatter began again, causing him to lose focus on them.

The new two weeks were ones of overwhelming joy, with watching the fawns grow; as well as the anticipation for Queen Fyr's approaching ever faster. Intermittent with the noise, however, Discord could not chase the fact that he now could almost clearly hear those old voices; and they were familiar. They were in the distance, he knew. But they were so close to him mentally that he could almost make out their words. He didn't know what he was going to do about it, but he was going to find a way to do anything. He had learned that much about himself.
> A Near Frigid Failure - Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mother stood by as she observed her dear Gaea performing her newfound abilities with rapid ease, rarely having to stop to remember how her abilities were formed. Unlike her ''brother,'' who up to this point could only rely on his own developing genius, Gaea was more than capable of performing many of his potion based magic with her own mind. If Discord knew of her existence, Mother could only assume he would grow jealous; despite her previous reservations about him, she needed him to start following her instincts. 

In this same time, Mother began to think back on her own existence, and what she had taught her old friend, Aspen, during his development. While she would watch Gaea, thinking about her adopted son, she also remembered her past. She was a sudden appearance, unlike her own creations. She had a creator, as well; though, she never knew their name, or appearance. She had only heard their voice. It was a collection of voices sharing one mind, and one goal. Many lower gods, such as herself, were given control of entire star systems. Mother, the star system that contained her own planets, a sun, and a neighboring "nursery" of developing stars. Or, that is what she has been told, since time immemorial. 

For, apart from her sudden creation, those creators never mentioned names for her supposed brethren. No other gods did she know; she didn't know if she was even a full god herself, or just an embodiment for her creations to associate with the creators. Maybe this is what drove her to be the "Mother" she was today. Often longing to know if there were others she could have grown up beside; wishing to know if her creations really appreciated her, or if they only appreciated the highest creators. Maybe it was this that brought her to create the humans. As far as she knew, she had full autonomy over her own actions; the creators had never forced her upon anything other than her star system. Instead, she was given her own playground, and set free.

This was how she created her humans. A species, not just individuals, who could govern themselves. While she often found herself interceding, undoubtedly with selfish ideas, she tried to keep it subtle, without any true harm. Until her wars in the forests, and the subsequent Everfree Forest, she was more than happy to stand by and watch the humans spread throughout this planet, and carve their own futures. What broke her, it seems, was that she could not stand when her creation was being destroyed. While humans settled mountains, cliffsides, riverbanks, and even remote islands, they rarely actually changed the landscape. Often borrowing a few resources, such as their cliffside housing, the world looked the same. 

Not so with her forests. Her forests were the pride of her creation, if a god could feel pride. And she knew they could, why else would she have acted so horrifically to the humans when large patches of these peaceful, stoic, yet living statues were being erased. Gone was the beautiful green patchwork dotting the world; her world began to resemble the wide open plains. While she did not dislike her wide open plains, she did not like her original creations being altered by something she... created. 

"Perhaps I am far closer to a human, than my own creators," she thought to herself, as Gaea once more began to fall asleep to the sound of a lullaby; it signaled the end of a long training day, and her daughter deserved the rest. "Which is why Discord will be so important. Why I say he is my antithesis, I do not know; he will be more like me than not. I just need something to take my mind away from these truths. I made the humans; by that extension, I destroyed my own creations in the forest; in the seas; in the mountains. He will be perfect, because he will be so broken. And I do not know what the final result will be.



Discord was still in the midst of his greatest high. He had the closest thing to a family in the White Tail's herd than he could remember in his recent lifetime. Mother was relieving to call his, well, "mother"; but she was just one being. He had no siblings, and no friends outside of their circle he could call his extended family. That was until he me King Aspen, and Queen Fyr. And even more so, Prince Bramble. 

As they had wished, hoped, and prayed; as they had been seeking, likely for generations, a young stag was born in the third month since being sheltered by Discord. And he could just sense the elation in their telepathic voices when they would speak. Even for him, it was great learning experience. Within a few hours, the you fawn was up and about, exploring his new home; even Errant seemed to be happy, taking to him like she was a godmother, licking his face happily. As he had wondered, previously he did not know how long Queen Fyr had been expecting when they met, but he knew even then the excitement would be contagious.

He sat back with King Aspen, Queen Fyr, and a couple of elder does as they watched the new stag explore, and play with his half-siblings. For once in his life, Discord had something to lose, and everything to give to protect them. He would learn this lesson within the week; five days after Bramble's birth, precisely.

Discord was in a deep sleep, when a rough shaking of hooves smacked into his shoulders, causing him to bolt out of his makeshift cot.

"I'm up, I'm up!" he said, quite awake thanks to the alarming motion, but truly not mentally there.

Queen Fyr stared into his eyes fearfully, shaking. "He's gone!"

Discord looked at her curiously, looking around to see Prince Bramble still in his bed with her, but an absent King Aspen peaked his attention. 

"What!? Is he not in the cave anywhere!?" he said, trying to keep his voice down to avoid arousing fear in the herd.

"I have searched all corners, but," she said, hesitantly, "the door to the cave is wide open."

Discord stared at her, sighing as he ground his hands against his temple.

"Do you have any idea in the slightest, where he might have gone?"

The queen simply shook her head, glancing around as she saw one of the elders approaching.

"I have no clue, but I'm coming with you to look," she said, firmly. "I can leave bramble with the others, they should be fine."

Easily sensing he was not going to work her over, and get her out of that agreement, he just nodded his head. He would rather take a frightened doe, than taste the likely close wraith of an angry one. As the queen instructed the does to look after the prince, Discord gathered a few of his newest potions; he woke Errant, getting her a little bit of her favorite treats to wake her, and hurried to the gate to wait for Queen Fyr. 

"Of all the times you had to chose to run off," he said, growling a bit as the storm outside had indeed intensified. Had the door not been opened by the king, they would not have been able to leave.

Upon Queen Fyr joining him by his side, they began to trek out, trying to look for any signs of possible tracks. While the clearing around the cave would be covered, the forest just ahead would have provided a far better covering, preserving older tracks. With that, they began inspecting the surrounding brush, and more specifically, keeping an eye out for any brush that had been moved. After about ten minutes, Queen Fyr found a few of the old flowers that Discord had set out had been genuinely eaten. They took the initiative, as they did not know if this was a mark, or just a random event, but it was all they had to work with. Though, the queen could use just enough of her smell to sense some of his scent trails. 

Noting that it was unusual for him to go off without marking, she guided Discord with her scent, as Errant also tried her best to pick up on what the doe was smelling. It was almost an hour after they began their search that the pair needed a rest, and set up camp in a very strange landing; it was truly unlike previously seen. Noticing that many flora and the landscape had shifted, as the Everfree was known to do, they forced Errant to make her way back to the hideout; should all else fail and they lose their trail, she would be able to find them again. Discord gathered some materials around that he knew could burn for a few hours, hoping that it was all they would need to find King aspen.

After their rest, they began to make their way further. Lighting the newly made torches proved almost crucial for the doe, as the stronger smoke almost made it easier to pick out her mate's smell. Sending the two in a far more reasonable direction, instead of wavering, they followed it haphazardly; with their hurry they often found themselves picking the other up off the forest floor. But, none of their searching was in vain, as the path soon started to change in its appearance. The dark green forest was beginning to give way to a hard, black, stone-like material. The grass faded to allow more of this material to spread, and the pair soon found themselves face to face with large black obelisks, that were rivaled by only the trees in appearance.

Despite her objections, Discord firmly instructed the queen to stay put as he would scout forward. She simply nodded, hiding beneath some overgrown tree roots, as he made his way further into the black, obelisk forest. It was new, but Discord could sense a strange familiarity grinding in his brain, struggling to tell him what was happening. It only became worse when he began to see what he thought were faces, sticking up through the black surfaces. Sometimes on the floor, and sometimes on the obelisks, or spikes. After what seemed like a mile, he started to hear an all too familiar noise echoing through the black forest. These were not just voices, either; he could hear the old growls that used to haunt his nightmares, whenever Mother wasn't orchestrating them. 

Changelings had set up their own kingdom, deep in the forest. And if he was right, then bodies he had seen were likely their many victims, used to simply pad their walls as either a trophy, or a warning. Perhaps even both. While Discord had seem so much throughout the centuries of dreams and nightmares, he could not imagine that all these horrid dreams, and sudden bouts of joy would lead him to encounter the thing he had feared for so long. Even his discussion with King Aspen about the Changelings no being the undead failed to convince him that they weren't some nightmarish, evil spirits. 

And then he was against an obelisk as he felt something strong slam into his side. A Changeling had made its way around him as he was in this daydream state, and was staring him down like a true feast. 

"It didn't even try to trick me," he though to himself, giving the oversized, bug-like humanoid a had knee in the gut. Unbenounced to him, the rough slam had shattered his newer strength elixir.

He realized what had happened when the Changeling's shell cracked from the punch, and a green ooze began to drain from its stomach. Discord thought he was finished, but the Changeling lead out an ear piercing shriek, resulting in another being echoed by what could only be reinforcements. Taking this time to take advantage, he gave the Changeling another shot across its chest, sending it to the floor in a wheezing mess. He hated to hurt the thing, but he was not going to be bug food for them. He started to rush his way deeper in, knowing the rest of the crowd was likely making its way towards him. And right he was.

He was soon met with many Changelings who were already in the area. Using his currently boosted abilities to dispatch these Changelings, he was being slowed by their gradually increasing number. Just as the hydra he knew of from Mother's history lessons, each one he took down, brought with them another two. Discord was unable to go for more than three more bouts, before the splash elixir's effects started to wane, and he was needing to strike much harder. Without the strength sadly, his strikes would begin hurting him more, before a stronger trio of the Changelings finally manage to subdue him with a thick, green substance around his ankles; though, he still tried to act like he could fight.

"Enough!" came a call not too far from him.

He and another Changeling were about to spar when the voice came. His own strike followed through, though the attacking Changeling had pulled away, sending him to the ground, against the wishes of his ankles. He let out almost a girlish squeal, as his ankles nearly snapped under the pressure of the goo, before finally bending with him, before thickening more. Now, laying on his stomach, he could only try and turn his head in a limited motion to see who spoke. 

The source of the command made his way in through the crowd of bugs, revealing a Changeling drone with a slightly different pallette to him; he bore a bright blue adorning the holes on his body, instead of the dull black the average soldier had. He simply looked down ad Discord, with a sadistic grin.

"My, my," he said, in a low, dragging voice. "I have never seen such a valiant effort from an overgrown ape as yourself."

Discord didn't interrupt, but did give him a death glare.

"Oh, come one," the drone laughed. "You think those all-telling eyes are gonna scare me. You may be miffed, but your aren't more pissed than scared."

Discord rolled his eyes, trying to sit up. The drone kept an eye on him, motioning to a pair of soldiers, who picked the human up, allowing him to stand.

"I am Commander Styx," he said. "And who in the absolute hell are you, to think you could come in and try to take on our hive?"

Discord panted softly, already losing almost all of his adrenaline. "I am Discord, and I was looking for a friend of mine, who's trail led to the edge of your strange lands... I also didn't take the liberty of attacking first."

"Oh, we know you didn't attack us," Styx said. "But, you did manage to take down a considerable number of our siblings. While that is commendable, I have no doubt that even your claims of defense will sit well with the queen."

Discord perked up, eyes widening as he suddenly realized that one of his very hopes for this world, dream or not, was indeed coming true.

"Did you say queen?" he questioned, almost enthusiastically.

Commander Styx nodded, not picking up on the increased emotion of the human.

"Yes, our Queen Ch--"

"Queen Chrysalis!?" he interjected, now clearly excited about this new revelation.

Commander Styx stopped himself from continuing his monologue, now finding his eyes focusing directly into the humans, with an almost intense, but maybe fearful glare. But, he was still quite angry, and he tried to let that show.

"And just how in this world," he growled, "does an outsider know that name?"

Discord began to laugh happily, and soon hysterically. His sudden burst of joy made many of the drones slightly cringe, as it sounded as if the man had truly lost his mind.

"Oh, sir," he chuckled, putting a bit of sarcasm on the end of the title, "just tell the queen that her statue has returned!"
> A Cold Bargain - Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the initial shock of Discord's request finally worked its way through Commander Styx's mind, he changed his expression to that of a simple glare; he was quite annoyed at their captive's boldness to request anything from them. As if he head any room to bargain, having seriously injured many of the Changelings.

"And why, amongst any semblance of reason," he said, "would we allow such a dangerous, vile creature such as yourself to come anywhere near our queen? Do you wish harm upon her?"

Discord chuckled quietly, still lost in his apparent luck-- in that his old "friend" actually existed in this world. 

"Would it surprise you at all, if I said no," he answered back. "I would wish any harm upon her highness. She may not understand until we meet again, but I know her far better than many of you would."

This time, it was the commander's turn to let out a laugh. "You would dare insist you know her more than her own children?"

Discord pursed his lips, thinking. "You know what, fair assessment of my statement. But, let me rebuild it; I say I know her far better than any other being from outside your apparent kingdom ever should."

Commander Styx still chuckled at the naivety of the human, but thought carefully; he wanted to enjoy this human's disappointment at the stone cold shoulder their queen would have. 

"Very well, human," he said, grinning. "While I do not believe our mother will give you even a moment of her time after she finds out what you have done, we shall take you to her. You are only going for my amusement, but perhaps if you get lucky, she may give you a lesser punishment."

Discord nods to the commander. "Well, if we are going to go that far, tell her my name is Discord. She will no doubt be unable to place the name, as I never revealed it to her."

With a nod, and a snap of his fingers, the entourage of Changelings forced Discord to follow them; clearing the goo around his feet, and now just binding his hands. As they marched with him, the crowd generally remained silence, though the commander could still be heard chuckling to himself from time to time.

Discord decided to take this time to ask one question that had been bothering him. "Commander, would you mind if I asked a few questions, myself?"

Commander Styx simply gave him a nod, marching the group ahead.

"Thank you," Discord replied. "As I was first wandering into this area, I noticed than many portions of the black substance, or stone, had human carcasses buried into them. How are they made?"

Commander Styx did not answer the question, to Discord's disappointment. It seemed he was giving him permission, but not playing into the human's games. This time, instead of being ignored, Discord felt the urge to stare at the commander, more specifically his eyes. And so he stared, much to the commander's discomfort. While he was not unused to being looked at, Commander Styx did not appreciate how almost judgemental this human's eyes were. Discord finally turned away just as the commander felt he was going to snap at their captive.

"So, from what I gather," Discord said, "it is some sort of substance you guys secrete. Not you specifically, but a specific group of your hive; it comes out as a black gel-like liquid, and cements when exposed to some moisture. I assume either rain, or fogs can be a catalyst after letting it set for a few moments."

The commander stopped in his tracks, along with the other Changelings beside him, turning to give him a very stern stare.

"How did you do that, ape?" he said, growling loudly.

To his own surprise, Discord felt more confident at having cracked the stoic commander's demeanor. He wasn't afraid at all. But, he couldn't answer this question with any substance. He simply chose to stare at the Changeling, and got what he needed from some unknown source.

"Honestly, Commander," he answered, "I have not the slightest clue. When you decided not to answer, I felt some natural tug to just look at you. Then, I started hearing some strange whisperings as you started to get a bit more agitated."

"If you try to read my thoughts again," Commander Styx spoke sternly, with a deadly glare, "I will personally deliver your head to the queen on a pike made of our stone!"

Discord blinked, taken aback by the commander's defensive stance, but mostly his accusation of though reading.

"Well, I promise not to do that," Discord said, giving a two handed salute. "But, that means I need to do some research as to whether or not my potions are having some effects on me."

"Potions, human?" Commander Styx asked. "From what the queen has spoken of, humans long ago were very interested in natural magic; aside from us, however, they could not generally harvest it."

Discord nodded in response. "I use flora and some insects to produce them. So, I somewhat steal the natural magic from the surrounding area."

The commander seemed to relax, but motioned of his drones to go forth, as the band of Changelings with a human in tow approached the palace. Discord had not noticed the structure at first, but as they cleared the thick forest of the black, stone obelisks it became much more distinct from the surround delta. Discord began to refer to them as blackstone, being the most descriptive, albeit most uncreative name he could conjur for the time being.

Discord walked inside the large palace doors, which were adorned with different shades of this blackstone substance. While it was all the same, the many different hues of black, and shades of gray produced stunningly distinct artworks on the doors, walls, and columns. As the band approached the throne room, a much more vertically impressive Changeling stood in front of her throne. Discord's heart fluttered some; as, despite the current circumstances, he could see this was indeed the object of his early attention back when her majesty would use him to air her grievances and sorrows.

As they came within a decent distance, the collection stopped, and all knelt for the queen. Discord, aside from being smitten, still found the time to follow their suit, giving the queen her well earned respect.

"Rise, my children," she spoke aloud, though softly enough to her young. "And stranger, remain kneeling until I say otherwise."

Discord gave a nod. "As you command, my queen."

She chuckled softly at his formal nature. "A drone came ahead of your escort, ape. They spoke in detail about how you were able to take many of my children down during your initial arrival. While I would say it was otherwise impressive, these are my children, and a mother would do a great disservice if she didn't express her anger at her children's aggressor."

Before Discord could question her statement, he found himself back on the ground following a firm brush of what felt like wind. Neither the queen or her soldiers had moved, and he was left very confused.

"What was that?" he said, almost immediately, looking around.

"That is called magic, human," she said, still scolding him. "And it is only a fraction of what I can use. While I would revel in destroying you for even daring to harm a single one of my dear Changelings, the messenger also alerted me to something you had said. You mentioned a statue."

Discord worked his way back onto his knees, giving a nod. "Yes, your highness. It may have been long ago, and I do not blame you if you had forgotten of it; but, I remember it quite strongly, and your name is still fresh in my mind, Queen Chrysalis."

The queen was silent, her eyes growing in surprise for a moment, before returning to their scolding appearance. "Human, if you do not clarify how you came across my name, and held onto it for all this time, I will destroy you. You have one chance, do NOT test me."

Discord smiled, giving a nod as he stood, despite her having not given him permission. He thought back to the days after the band of thieves and merchants had been destroyed. Hoping to gain great wealth, they lost everything during one storm. While they lost it all, Discord found himself discovering something new, in the queen herself. He tried thinking back to the days she would come; either escorted by her guards, or without. Those days were long, but they were filled with eye opening tails; Discord learned about natural magic. He learned as much about the Changeling queen as he could, though not much about their nature itself. He had still referred to them as revenants for so long, that he had disregarded the one that had broken that very mold. And there, he came upon one particular evening; she had often came to him with tails recounting her failures, and how she had felt her soldiers would see her.

Then came her true thoughts. How would her mother feel about her, now? Discord focused him mind one one of her most vocal periods, where she almost seemed to pray to her mother, the first queen.

He looked into Chrysalis's eyes, and began to recite what he could recall.

"Mother, as the years have past, I feel I have only failed you more. Your patience and strength held our nation of children together through the eons, even when our hive became the last to stand the test of time. Even now, I fail to understand our intentions; as though I fail repeatedly, our children remain faithful. I still follow your rules, your guidance, and insistence on keeping to the shadows. My failure in taking over the old empire taught me to never take one the humans, in their own heartlands--"

"--but even now, I question whether it was what you would demand," Chrysalis finished, staring intently.

Discord smiled. "Queen Chrysalis, my name is Discord. I was the stranger locked inside that hellish stone prison; I could still hear, and see all that was happening around me. I could not help anyone; I couldn't respond, yet you came to me time and time again. What was your motivation?"

She sighed, shooing away her children, so the two could speak in private; despite insistence from Commander Styx, who left after receiving a very serious stare from his queen.

"For once, in my many decades as queen, I had found something that resembled those of the past. The main difference being that this statue resembled both species enough for me to pretend it was one of my children. You would likely question why I didn't just speak to my own about my troubles; but, as you could likely see upon your arrival, not many of my Changelings are very articulate."

"So you resided in the one you hoped could understand above even your own Changelings," Discord added.

The queen nodded, smiling. "While I am quite miffed by the fact that you did harm some of my Changelings, I understand they were likely the aggressors. It is just in their nature."

Discord gave a shrug. "I tried not to kill any of them, if that comforts you any. Just to put the fear of Mother Nature into them."

She seemed to question his statement, but moved on to a more pressing question. "As for that, Discord, what did bring you into our home? As far as I know, even for long-lived beings like ourselves, we should not have a ton to offer you."

Discord nods, straightening, getting a bit more serious. "Well, Queen Chrysalis--"

"For you, Discord, drop the title," Chrysalis interrupted. "You have no clue how dull it gets to hear nothing but 'Queen' every day for the last few decades."

He nodded. "As  you wish, Chrysalis. Now, as to my intrusion, I was actually following the trail of one of my dear friends. He is a large white dear named "King Aspen", and his trail died off at the edge of your kingdom."

The Changeling nodded her head. "Indeed, we do have the White Tail. We were unaware that he was anything other than a straggler; we did sense a large amount of pride and love, so we went for him. I assume it is not you, whom he shares this love with."

"Your assumption is right," Discord replied. "I am here on behalf of his mate, Queen Fyr, and their newborn son Prince Bramble. And I have come willing to bargain, or even simply trade to see his safe return; though, from what I have learned over the last few weeks, I might not have much of what you would desire."

"I see potions, and can sense some lingering on you," Chrysalis said. "And from how Commander Styx behaved behind you, I take it you have some natural magic of your own."

"This time, I will disagree," he answered, smiling. "While I do believe I was able to read Styx's mind briefly, it had been the first time I would have ever attempted it. Though, I am not otherwise magically inclined, outside of my concoctions. I am beginning to sense that these potions may have some lingering affects, but i will have to do some research on that front."

Chrysalis nodded, thinking for a moment. "Then, my dear, what would you have to trade? We do not need potions, and we have our own magic."

Discord nodded, thinking to himself. Magic would be useless, as they could cast it themselves; they did not need the potions, as she noted they have magic for themselves. He did not see any reason to try and trade food with them, as they did not consume the same sort of things that he would. But he did have one thing he could trade.

"My Queen," he said firmly. "I am willing to trade places with King Aspen; I wish his to be returned safely to the shelter I have made for his herd. And while I would be giving myself in return, I do wish for one more thing on top of it."

"Would this extra be to your advantage, or mine?" she said, smiling slyly.

"It would be for the White Tail," Discord answered. "I have a shelter for them in a cave, only being warmed by a spring, and a fireplace at the entrance. My only request is that I be allowed to return to replenish their supplies once per week."

Chrysalis nodded slowly, thinking. "Did Queen Fyr come with you, to find her mate?"

Discord nodded. "I left her beneath an overgrown root, at the edge of the empire."

"Go on, and bring her here," she said sweetly. "We will inform them on what you have decided to do. And what will be coming for the time being."

Discord nodded, giving her a bow, smiling. He then turned his attention as he left, joined by Commander Styx for guidance. The two stayed relatively silent, and Discord knew it would take time to get into any good sort of friendship with Commander Styx. However, he questioned how they were going to keep him alive long enough to fulfill his weekly promise. 

"Commander Styx," he said, "might I ask a question you would actually answer?"

The Changeling nodded. "For once, I will answer your inquiry, human."

"I offered myself to the queen, in place of your current captive," he said, "on the condition that I be allowed to return once a week to help them replenish their supplies. Seeing as how you have dealt with past humans, how would the Changelings live up to that end of the deal?"

The commander smirked. "Well, I just lied to you. I will not answer that, Discord. Instead, I will leave it up to my queen to. Anyone whom she would allow to drop the formalities, as I could hear from beyond the door, clearly has her best side."

Discord nodded, arriving at the large tree, crouching below. "Your highness?"

The doe, who had long fallen asleep, opened her eyes to see her dear friend, tailed by the large Changeling guard. Sensing her fear, the guard held up one hand.

"While under any other circumstances," he said calmly, "this would be cause for alarm; I am simply here to guide you towards your mate, and allow him to return home."

It took some more convincing from Discord, featuring a warm embrace, and a promise of her safety, to get her to finally emerge, and follow the two. For once, Commander Styx opened himself to some conversation, though only to the doe. Discord figured he was getting some feeding from her strong emotions for her mate, so he resigned to listen to them. When they arrived back in the palace, Chrysalis stood with King Aspen by her side. Though weak, having been imprisoned in a sleep-inducing state, she explained, he would be back to full health within an hour. After he was strong enough, they would be allowed to leave.

King Aspen was worried, however, as he could sense something with Discord that was different. Any other being would have fare more difficulties negotiating the release of a Changeling's food source, if they didn't become part of it, themselves. Then Discord told them what they dreaded to hear.

"I offered myself to Chrysalis, in exchange for your release, King Aspen," he said, not allowing an interjection as he raised his hand, to which Chrysalis offered a continuation.

"While I will warn you Discord, to never read my mind without my permission in the future," she said, poking his shoulder, "this is not going to be the same as it was with you, your highness. As Discord was curious, this will be a different way for him to feed. While with you, I was feeding off more carnal love, the idea I have for Discord will leave him free in movement; in a sense, he will be my might, until time comes that I no longer need his assistance. His love, is quite pure; I will not likely be able to describe it more than how the Changeling's nature treats it. He will still be allowed to return once per week, as he has informed he that he has been sheltering you for the winter. That should give you the idea."

Queen Fyr seemed to relax a bit more, nodding slowly. "I believe I understand. What about Errant, Discord?

"She will need to remain with you," he said. "She is a strong protector, and I believe as with me, she would give her own life above those of the herd's. Just, try not to overreact when she brings in her own fauna to eat."

Queen Fyr nodded, and King Aspen dejectedly decided to drop his argument. 

Discord smiled. "Though, next time I visit, I will be stealing back some of my potion ingredients. I do still want to practice, and to see if I experience anymore changes due to them."

And as they came to say goodbye, Discord watched his friends be escorted off into the distance, hopefully back to their home. He stood by Queen Chrysalis, likely to be here for a good portion of not just winter, but a majority of his year two trials, should Mother permit it. While he definitely was going to miss his friends, even with the frequent visits, he hoped he could create a good alliance with his new Changeling "family" just long enough to go free at the end of their cycle.
> Her Rock - Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord now stood silent in the throne room, with the Changeling he had honestly missed for all those decades. Not initially missing her due to any love for her specifically, but for her companionship. Now, he had her for an unknown length of time; he did have to swap places to save a friend's life, but he could not see anything wrong the end result. 

His friends had disappeared over the horizon, leaving him in a moment of silence; until he felt a pair of soft hands on his shoulders.

"Are you alright, Discord?" ask Chrysalis, nuzzling the top of his head.

Discord smiled at the affection. "Could be better, but as for right now, I'm perfect. I have finally rediscovered my friend of old; and have helped a relatively newer friend out in turn."

Chrysalis sighed. "Oh, how I wish I could have known of you all those years ago; how close we could have become."

"Well," he added, "we have plenty of time for storytelling, don't we? Why don't we try to remember those days, and relight that old sense of security?"



A few years after the failed Everfree Empire invasion

The younger queen prided herself on her steel determination, and outward resiliency; even though mentally she was burdened, she felt enough comfort in the company of her mother's children. Her own children of the hive were not quite as plentiful, and likely could not understand her few frustrations. It wasn't but a couple of years after her failure inside the walls of the lost kingdom, yet the results of it began to weight her mind down with each new attack on traveling caravans and parties.

The hive had no problem capturing these humans in their small groups; and the realization dawned on Chrysalis that her loss of their biggest opportunity would likely have made even her own patient mother sick. She would say this, trying to confide in the few guards that could even speak. But, the replies were always the same, though she did appreciate them to some degree.

"Your mother would never think so lowly."

"You were a learning princess, and were handed the reigns at an unfortunate time."

"Will you quit blabbering and act like a queen?"

That specific line always got her reared up, and ready to go. While most other Changelings were too afraid of her, the elder guards always gave her that metaphorical kick to get back into her roll. But, as time would dictate, as she would grow, those Changelings of her mother's brood would pass on; and after only a decade or two, none of her new children had ever experienced that failure. So, once again, she fell into her recurring depression, with no common bond beyond their blood connecting them. And she felt she would never grow out of it, agin.

That was, until a raid, during a particularly horrid storm. Her closest guards had sounded the alert of a strange phenomenon; where the storm seemed to be only covering a section of the forest. In addition, most of their old migration paths were disappearing within moments. Taking these as a sign to move, Chrysalis told her slightly confused commanders to lead the legion towards that very storm system. They trudged deep into the midst of the storm, through the mud, and rising waters in the region. After a few miles in, they came upon the camp. It was clear form the start these were not welcome beings, with stolen goods strew upon the ground if they could survive the rain, to make room for the thieves the huddle inside the carts.

As they had done with so many caravans before, the Changelings waited for the groups to begin splitting off. And it took time, as expected; none of the humans were too willing to venture from their shelters just to get soaked. The one advantage this gave the hiding hive was that the humans didn't have to wander far from their carts to be out of the others' eyes. The replacement of the humans was easy to start. They would simply wait for a human to come and relieve himself, and strike. The method was always the same. Within perhaps a few hours, just over half of the crew was no longer who they seemed. 

And it would prove that patience was a great ally, as the rain finally slowed to just that of a strong drizzle, giving the huddlers a chance to get out of their carts. The rolling thunder still remained, and one cue from the queen, and a snap of her fingers paired with a flash of lightning, the horde revealed itself. To the horror of the thieves, they were well cornered by the Changelings, and only one tried to fight back; only then he found himself planted in the dirt with a foot on the back of his head. Surrender was ensured within moments, and the humans were soon finding themselves cocooned, and put to sleep by the various pheromones these creatures let out.

Chrysalis instructed her hive to begin moving the cocoons north, as she had some idea as to what would be next for her children; meanwhile, she stayed behind to examine all that the cretins had left behind. Even though she despised the humans, she felt that she had done them a great service. Not only had the thieves been stopped, now they were being removed from society in a relatively peaceful manor. And the things they had stolen?

Perhaps she could have taken the artifacts and jewelery to a nearby road, but she wasn't too excited to meet another band of humans. Instead she resigned to examine the things they had stolen. Pottery, paintings, unusual tools, and him. During their rush to get shelter, the thieves had lain a statue of some human, with a surprised expression, laying in the nearby ground. While she could not have known that the statue was alive at the time, she felt by all means that it saw her. And she couldn't bear to see it sinking into the thick mud; opting to carefully shift the stone so that he was now standing, somewhat more stoically. The expression on his face made any attempt to seem strong impossible, but he was far more presentable now. 

And the young Queen found herself strongly drawn to his visage, for untold reasons. As before, she felt like she was being watched. Even though the eyes presumed to stay still, she felt they were following her. If a normal human had dared eye her with that sort of expression, she would savor them particularly for lunch in an instant. This one, however, had an aura about it. Even through the stone, she felt pain, and suffering. She would have never known the true hell the being behind that stone shell was experiencing; but, she felt him hurting worse than herself.

And so she began to feed off of that. Chrysalis began to talk to him.

"The artist behind your creation," she said lowly, soaking in the slowly dying rain, "is no doubt to be remembered through history for you. Why do I feel these things from you? I can sense fear, I can also sense adoration, and then hopelessness. I can feel true discord in your creation."

She paced around the statue, before sitting on a nearby bank.

"And yet," she continued, "I don't feel those things towards me. I feel like you can only exude these emotions, and not that anyone could ever know towards whom they are directed. Above all these, I sense dejection."

She continued on, mentioning her own fear of rejection had her own mother were to see her now. She uttered the old worry that Discord would recite to her all these decades later. That he could always remember, despite having lost her for so long; he could remember them despite having no idea whether he was awake, or asleep, alive or dead. And even though she would express that she felt some sort of love for him when they would finally reunite, for now she felt nothing but adoration.

Chrysalis would often remind herself of the statue, again. "Oh, but for a queen to feel this way of such a lowly stone; perhaps I could find this artist and have him fix one for me, before I feast."

Her visits to the figure would last for years, none of which she would bother counting. And then the forest did its most dirty work. It changed, once more. She had noticed these shifts before, as well when it would have changed to lead them to the clearing for the first time. Her discovery of this change, when she could no longer find her passage to her companion, filled her with anger, at the offset. The foliage and terrain she had destroyed upon the realization that her only real friend was gone had destroyed all she would have come to know. Her only refuge was gone from her, and she was filled with a hatred for the forest they had called home for the eons. And then she felt the heartache. She found herself on the ground in the middle of the destroyed forest, almost physically hurting from her loss.

"Why am I feeling this way about a stupid rock?" she would admonish herself. "No matter how you feel, queen, it would never have shown you the same appreciation. It could never answer your pain with its own. You were so lost in your own world that a rock felt more relatable than your own damned hive!"

She groaned, throwing herself to the ground in a bout of what she could only imagine were tears. She had seen them for years on the faces of some of their victims, and yet had never been brought to the brink of her own. What she could never have known is that the forest was only a small part of her pain; not that there was a being with questionable motives trying to create its own progeny from that very structure she adored.

Current Day

Discord could recall much of what Chrysalis would recount to him, and knew that it was likely now or never for him to explain what had been occuring; no matter how likely it was she would not believe it. He had to believe that she had trust in him, knowing where he had come from.

Discord sighed, currently being held in the queen's arms in her chambers. "I will tell you truthfully, my queen, that neither of us were truly ever in control of those moments. I doubt you will understand completely, but as long as you promise to keep your mind open, I will fill you in on it. I can sense your tension, so I believe it's my turn to tell a tale."

Chrysalis nodded slowly. "I would never be able to consider anything else, Discord; indeed, I did work myself up recalling those years, but I have tried to move on."

He nodded, smiling. "As you should, and shall."

He took a deep breath, turning over so he could look at her as he spoke. 

"I would like to ask first, if you have ever heard of Mother," he said softly.

Queen Chrysalis thought for a moment, before slowly nodding. "While not directly, I believe I have heard tales of her from the many travelers I have passed through. Though, she seems more a figment than anything solid."

Discord nods. "I assure you, my Chrysalis, that she is far from a mental creation. As I sit here tonight, recalling what I can of my past, I can tell you truthfully that my name was not Discord, forever."

Chrysalis kept herself quiet, nodding for him to continue.

"My name used to be Errant Aurora," he continued. "In the time that the Equestrian tongue was developing-- Mother has told me that it has evolved quite a bit since our primitive years-- it translated roughly to 'Wandering Lights'. Errant for wandering, and Aurora are a spectacle known in the frigid north that appear every so often. So, Wandering Lights fit me, as I would find myself in many different towns in my life. I met Mother many moons ago, in an unconventional manner. She played a song that lured me into a bed of a gorgeous blue flower. It was this flower that created my stone prison; and why you found me with a rather unimpressive expression."

The pair chuckled at the recalling of his face. It was pure terror, though neither could remember the last time a human's mouth and eyes would ever stretch that far open.

"And as I explained, I could see, and hear all," he continued. "At first, it was serenity. When I would become tired, Mother herself would lure me into these dreams with scenery that only an artist could imagine. The biggest difference between Mother and the artist, though, was how real her creations in the dream realm were. I was but a lowly man, at this time. As she described me, I was a man with nothing to lose, and everything to give. The one thing she adored above all, though, is that I-- as a human-- adored her creations almost as much as she did."

"I loved her fauna, I loved the foliage, I loved the breezes and the terrain that filled my line of sight in all directions. And we grew to enjoy each other's company. While she initially was trying to seduce me to her, using the form of a stunning human female, I could not put myself in that trap. I viewed her more in the manor as her name would imply. I had finally found my Mother, amidst all my loss, and loneliness."

Chrysalis could feel the assortment of emotions Discord was combing through as he spoke. His joy, his sorrow, and soon, his anger.

"But, the very first night," he continued, "she started me on a path to something I did not even believe was a direction a human could take. She gave me my new name that first night, and has never called me Errant. Before I could even question it, she woke me again, so I could find I was back in my stone prison. She had told me, that my name was 'Discord,' and added 'the Spirit of Chaos, and deception'. And from that moment on, she has been working diligently. She has destroyed all memories of my past, and of the life I led before. She began calling me her a son, and the antithesis to herself. She began showing me horrific things; her forests burning, the actions of man on both the battlefields and in their own cities."

"And my mind began to wander. There were times where I could not decide whether I was in the dream world, or if I had awoken. Even to this day, the very question haunts me. I cannot tell, because they both feel just as real. And this was caused by her next phase, which was to change the pattern. Originally, it was prison, and almost every night a dream. Then, for nearly an entire decade, she halted me to simply one dream every seven days. Then, once a month. She would then swap them. I would be in dreams for days at a time, and in my stone prison for just hours. Then, one day, she said I would be facing a series of trials."

"The first year I spent in this forest, I was entirely alone. I don't know how she did it, but I assume she had changed the forest so that I could only find myself when I searched. There were no creatures, not even to pollinate the flora. The only friend I had, and that continue to haunt me right now, where whispers in the wind. The winds in the year would range from little whispers, to outright howls, that I still can't understand. But, despite being so alone, and lost to their language, I decided to prove to Mother that I could still function. I began working on my old knowledge of agriculture."

"For the first few months, while I was struggling with the voices, and the silence, I became a farmer. I tested various plants, and weeds, trying to find what I could consume, and what to avoid. In all honesty, I spent many days sick, more often due to ignorance. But, as time progressed, I did begin seeing that some plants were a lot safer when either cooked, or paired with others. Then one day I decided to grab on of those fateful blue flowers."

Chrysalis blinked. "You actively searched for the Poison Joke?"

Discord nodded, chuckling. "Despite every fiber of my being, and instinct, I went forward with them. I would use outstretched wooden creations to safely pluck them. I had been preparing a fruit mixture for drinking, and wasted the nectar of the flower in that pot.My greatest weakness has always been my curiosity; but, that day, it turned into my saving grace. I didn't think much of it, at first. The cauldron-- I will proudly say I made it initially from clay found in the streams-- began to smell unsavory as I was mixing it. With the scent, I could not fathom ingesting the horrid drink, so I opted to dump it out nearby."

"The next day that I came out, many of the wild berries, a few weeds, and even a sapling, had grown significantly. The small berry bushes were clearly ready to pick-- though I would learn that they just weren't far off from the beginning--, the sapling had grown significantly taller, and the weeds were up to my waist. After some more experimenting, and close calls with the Poison Joke, I realized I had my first potion."

Discord continued his tales, recounting his year alone, with his development of his own runes; his discovery of his Timberwolf pup, and his eventual introduction to the White Tail deer, and the Flash Bees creating his splash elixirs.

"And, the splash elixir that broke when I came in, gave me the strength for a time to ward off the hive," he finally finished.

Chrysalis just sat, staring at him intently. "As you know, Changelings can sense emotions, and I often use this to detect any sort of hyperbole, or exaggerations. I can't help but believe what you have been telling me. And to think that our very creator has been trying to turn you into a being of chaos."

"I honestly feel like it wouldn't take much to finish me," he said, sighing. "Even now as we sit hear, I hear the voices in the wind, and I hear their unidentifiable tongue. Whenever night falls, and silence follows, they grow louder, and I am forced to listen. The nightmares that have followed from my past still occur, and there's nothing I can do to stop them. And for that, I feel as if I am not in a dream. I have never heard of dreams, within dreams, so I must be awake."

Discord and Chrysalis simply lay in silence for minutes at a time. While she did have little problem feeding off the love he seemed to harbor for everything, despite his hatred for the path he was forced to follow, she couldn't help but feel hurt for him. Was she even a real being, herself? He had never mentioned breaking out of the stone, so perhaps this was all a dream, again. But, as she had heard him say, he had dreams even now. So he had to be awake, for sure.

Despite her worries, she was being fed, nonetheless. She could feel his love flowing steadily, though somewhat weakly; and though she could be snark and mention his end of the bargain, she felt more than comfortable letting this slide. The Queen's statue had returned, and she could sense nothing but love in it.
> From Sun Up - Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord shared an amazingly peaceful night with his old friend. While he still suffered from the voices, the warm embrace offered to him by Chrysalis in the old, stolen bed served to do him wonders. For the first night in many, he did not have any nightmares. He felt safe, for once in, what seemed to be, a lifetime. Perhaps it was actually lifetimes. Discord had definitely felt as if he had been alive long enough to live two generations of humans, but he had lost count. Maybe it wasn't as long, and he was psyching himself out.

But, he did not linger on those thoughts; instead, he focused on the surprisingly loving creature in the bed beside him. When he had first seen the Changeling species all those years ago, he could not begin to believe that they could harbor anything less than malice. For as he used to call them revenants, he believed they were vengeful spirits, that could be for nothing more than to haunt him. Then this outstanding specimen arrived, and turned his focus away. Of course, it took some talking with King Aspen to finally break it through to him they were, in fact, not the undead.

And while he loved nothing more than the close embrace of the queen, he had a bright, glaring yellow light in against his closed eyelids. He was ready to rise for the day, just to see if the either his ingredients, or anything important to him had made the trip back after watching Aspen and Fyr leave the day before. And so, he turned, hesitantly looking over the sleeping queen's face, before leaning in and kissing her forehead.

To his surprise, she hummed a bit as if she had been awake already, with a clear drowsiness in her voice. "My dear Discord, I do appreciate the morning snack."

Discord chuckled softly, nuzzling against her cheek, not really knowing if a human should do that. He had never really seen relationships between bipeds for eons; he had only seen the affections that the White Tail, and Errant would give him. He began to hope it wasn't too primitive, or strange to do so.

The queen seemed not to mind, returning the affection to him, kissing his forehead in retaliation. "I take it you're quite ready to get up out of bed, dear?"

Discord nodded. "If my queen would allow it, even though she may not wish it."

She gasped in a feigned shock. "Oh dear, working against the queen's own will! That is definitely quite daring of you! But, of course, we speak in jest. I am quite sure you will require some sustenance that we do not quite frankly have with us. Mother, my previous queen, said she had never heard of the Changelings eating anything other than love, so I might need to let you out to hunt for breakfast."

Discord just shrugged, sitting up as the Changeling reluctantly released her embrace from him. "If your soldiers brought back anything with them-- though I do not recall if I expressly asked them to-- then I should have no worries."

He stood up, stretching out his arms, letting them crackle as he looked around the room. "My queen?"

Chrysalis gave a soft hum in response.

"Do you and your hive happen to hold onto articles of clothing that you happen upon during your raids?" He asked, blushing a bit. "While I will not complain about your habits, us humans tend to enjoy consistent covering."

While he definitely wasn't naked, his clothes had been damaged from the fight he had participated in yesterday. Chrysalis couldn't help but laugh a little. Indeed, her hive never wore clothes in their kingdom; though, their bodies resembled more so silhouettes than their original human forms. It was almost as if they were wearing skin tight formed suits, though nothing was shown off, nothing was hidden. 

"We do, my love," she answered. "After we get you stuffed, I will lead you to the chambers so you can look for something slightly more presentable."

He nodded, watching as she got out of the bed, and walked over to another room. "Follow me through here, to the main corridor. While it may be a bit confusing, there is a quicker path to the main throne room. Thus, it also leads to the hall we use for consuming our usual meals. Any foods my children have brought back will be stored there."

Discord nodded, following the queen through hallways of varying structure and height. While inconsistent, and uneven, it was large enough that more than a few individuals could fit in their halls. The lack of any external decorations was made up for in carvings in the walls. It wasn't a terribly long walk before they were making their way down a single staircase, into the rear of the main throne room; the doorway brought them out from behind her main throne.

"I will give my guards the command to construct you a seat beside me," she said. "If you are going to be here for the duration of our feeding, you will be with me at all possible times."

They arrived in the main meal hall after some more walking, and as Discord had hoped, there were a few bags of vegetation off to the side. It appeared the White Tail had shown them what he could eat, what he used for their growth, and even a few of his potion ingredients sat beside them.

"This is wonderful," he said, smiling. "I was right to trust the White Tail to do such a thing, even if I hadn't thought of it."

Chrysalis smiled, nodding. "Now please, get your fill, my dear Discord. I hope to meet you back in the throne room so we can get your new clothes; I will be trying to show you the grounds of the kingdom. This will also serve to let my children grow accustom to your appearance."

He nodded, gathering some of the fruits and vegetation, and mixing them together with some of his makeshift tools in a bag. He had learned how to make a form of ball from some of them; they were absolutely delightful, and did wonders to alleviate any of his hunger. He ate his meal happily, and soon made his way out to meet his queen. With a little bow, he smiles. 

"I am quite ready, my dear," he said happily, giving her a soft kiss on her hand.

Chrysalis smiled gleefully, and took his hand in hers, walking with him down into a lower section of the palace. Discord was exposed to many of the castles designs down below; and there was a sort of museum, or trophy room, where they kept major artifacts taken from the human caravans over the years.

"If you do not mind me asking," Discord started, "how long ago was this structure conceived?"

Chrysalis nodded. "I believe we started the day or two following the attack on the thieve's caravan. I know it was many years before the main throne room, and my living quarters was finished."

Discord nodded. "Indeed. Perhaps while I'm here, if I could be allowed to help gather some wood and things, I could assist in helping plan the layout of future sections a bit more consistently."

She looked to him, raising what was likely an eyebrow.

"I mean," Discord answered her silent question, "I can likely set the wood up, with measurements, so that you can make more consistent walls, and sizes in your palace. So, you wouldn't have to duck through one door every few rooms."

The queen nodded, thinking. "As you bring that up, it now amazes me that we had never borrowed from you human's buildings we had seen in paintings, and the old empire. If you would not mind doing that, whenever we plan to expand, I would allow it."

Discord nods happily, smiling. He would at least get to do some work; and he could focus on something to distract him from the damned voices. They pair reached the intended room after a few minutes of walking. They hadn't rushed, opting to simply hold each others hands, and walk almost shoulder-to-shoulder. They would have made an interesting site if either the early humans, or Changelings ever laid an eye on them. And clothes, they did have. Discord had anticipated that the hive wouldn't have kept too many of the clothing, being that they never needed it; but, the collection would rival those of the old the theaters. There were clothes upon clothes in the room, and Chrysalis let his hand go, smiling.

"Well," she said expectantly, "go ahead and pick your poison, my dear Discord. Though, do not plan to wear them just yet; I would like you to wash up in a nearby spring. While I do love your company, you smell worse than Changeling larvae."

Discord blinked. "I hope you don't intend to show me that analogy."

Chrysalis giggled, watching him as he soon turned his attention back to the clothes, sorting the clothes according to their specified wearers gender. "Not yet. I would like you to get used to the hive, before I show you the portions a human might find a bit revolting."

He just nodded, trying to focus on clothes that would be comfortable, but sensible. One of the first items he lay eyes upon with a simple pair of pants with a tie string in the middle. A bit of modesty was to be appreciated, though he could find nothing in a color more dull than the brown. His next choice was a dulled white shirt with buttons along the front. Classy, but still quite comfortable to wear in the relative cold. He did finally make note that the snow hadn't been as bad in the kingdom as it was in the surrounding lands, accepting that it may have been Mother protecting the Changelings; they didn't seem to hold their heat in too well. To accent his clothing, he found a long, luxurious fur coat in a stunning red. No doubt made from a collection of fox furs, he would have otherwise been revolted at the thought. But, it was still cold, and though he may work, it would keep him warm. And last, he happened upon a worn pair of leather shoes. Nothing to show that they were worn by anyone higher than the old peasants, but more comfortable than the lack of shoes he had now.

Once he made his picks, he came over to his queen, who had been observing the clothing of the ladies and mistresses he had set aside while sorting. Discord smiled softly, chuckling. 

"I bet you would look amazing in a few of those. Though, the brighter colors would be the best option to match your body."

Chrysalis nodded, smiling a bit. "I am surprised how calm you are acting about taking clothes from the deceased. But, yes, they do look rather lavish."

Discord thought about what she had just noted, nodding slowly. "Well, of course I'm not too worried. They weren't..."

He stopped in mid sentence, just realizing what he was about to say. He was about to hint that the only reason he wasn't bothered by it was they it wasn't him. Had he really fallen to the point now, that he could rationalize profiting from his own kind's misfortune by playing the game of chance?

"They weren't what, Discord?" Chrysalis asked, sensing the near immediate change in his aura. 

"They weren't," he tried to continue, resorting to lying to the very one he thought he would always be truthful with. "Well, they couldn't have all been very good individuals. So, allocating their good to my advantage shouldn't be too bad of an idea."

The queen, nodded, still not convinced, but happy that he was talking again. "Very well, let us head out to the spring. I can let you pick out a gown for me later. Perhaps my Changelings would like the change of pace."

Discord smiled, imagining the black skinned queen in a beautiful dress, before shaking his head. "Yes, let's go get me clean. It should be a fantastic way to start the day."

He followed her once more, trying to make sense of landmarks in the palace to try and learn the pathways. The different shades of lack, grey, and even some nearly transparent walls were accented with long-burning torches, it seemed. It did allow him to see enough, but he would decide that it would be in his best interest to make some form of a map. This time, it did not take as long to find the spring as it had the previous few locations, and Discord sighed happily, setting his assortment of clothes aside.

To his surprise, though, Chrysalis made her way ahead of him, dipping her body slowly into the crystal clear waters of the spring. He was quite hesitant to continue with her, until she assured him that she had seen countless bare humans in her time as queen.

"Where do you think the clothes came from?" she said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Discord battled with himself mentally for a few moments, before deciding that it wouldn't matter, and removed his clothing as well. After a few moments, he dipped his toes in the water, slowly lowering as he joined the queen for his bath. He was still quite nervous, and was sure she could sense it; but, he didn't focus on that, he just focused on relaxing in the water. 

"I have a few springs back in my cave," he said to her. "One is so hot that I have to use my heat resistance tonics to bathe in it; I would not doubt if some sort of lava pool wasn't too far from it. It steams enough that an actual fog can form in the cave under the right conditions."

Chrysalis nodded, smiling. "That is not uncommon in the Everfree. I do believe there is likely a source underneath the surface, as there are a few caves around with similar atmospheres. I have even witness a sort of rainfall during the moderately cool months. I assume you keep it warm enough that the water can't return to the ground."

Discord nodded. "Probably the fires and natural vents. I did have one surprise with a light drizzle, but that didn't last long when the heat of the entrance bonfire filled it."

The unusual couple continued to talk in banter about the things they had witnessed with the springs, and Discord began to wonder. 

"I often will perform most of my tonic and elixir experiments in the cave," he said. "Perhaps maybe fumes, runoff, or similar has tainted the hot spring. Maybe that could also explain my abilities to read someone's mind."

Chrysalis nodded in agreement. "Magic, as I have come to think of it, does seem to have some polluting properties if it is left to accumulate in a single place. Many of us blame this event on the creation of those Poison Joke flowers."

Discord shrugged. "I do know Mother created them, but perhaps that pollution can cause them to grow in exposed regions."

After a moment, he lay his head back to continue relaxing; as much as he could, anyway, until he felt a pair of hands began to work a substance into his hair. He opened his eyes, looking up to see Chrysalis in front of him, spitting a substance out of her hand, and spreading it into his long hair. He hadn't even realized how long his hair had become. Or how white it was, now. While definitely a bit nervous of having the queen so near to him in his current condition, he let her continue, curious as to what she was using.

Chrysalis smiled, sensing the silent inquiry. "This particular substance is a special gel that only I can generally produce. A few years back, I learned that it is very good for cleaning the horridly thin hairs on my head; I often wonder if that's what it's even for, but I'm testing to see if it works for you. Hopefully this beautiful white mane of yours doesn't fall away."

Discord chuckled, rolling his eyes. "So, I'm your little experiment right now? Very well, it does feel very good how you are massaging it into my head."

Chrysalis nodded, smiling as she continue to bathe his head with her gel, which was just as green as anything else they produced. How they could tell the difference in what they made was a mystery to all but their maker, and the occasional genius who tries to explain everything. Discord, for one, did not complain. Her hands were a magic of their own, and were a relaxing, but firm comfort.

"My queen?" he asked softly, as she began to rinse his hair clean with the spring water. Upon hearing her hum in response, he continued. "I am sure you sensed it, but I didn't tell you the truth back in the clothing room. I had originally had the thought come to mind that 'it wasn't me' that those clothes had come from, and it disturbed me greatly that I have come that far."

Chrysalis nodded, initially going to let him continue. When he did not, she spoke up. "From what you have told me, this is likely one step of many in the direction that your Mother is wanting you to go in."

He nods, sighing, clearly a bit angry, but settling down almost immediately. "Mother's plan is coming to fruition in time, I just have to work with it. I will concede to that should it happen."

Chrysalis nodded, soon starting to rub another substance into his upper abdomen and chest, making him open one eye to watch her. 

"Do not worry, I will only cleanse your upper half, Discord," she said, smiling. Though, the human before her wasn't a physically impressive specimen like many she had seen before, she didn't particularly care. She was almost worried for him, with how thin he was; but, she had also learned in short time that humans came in so many sizes, it wouldn't matter one way or another.

After giving him a good scrub down on his torso, Chrysalis moved out of the water, helping him out of the spring as she resorted to letting the air dry her off. Discord would do the same, though not as comfortably, as he would lay on a nearby patch of dried moss with her. After drying off, he began to assemble his new suit of clothes, and was quite impressed that the brown didn't clash too harshly with the rest of his clothes. Where this sudden urge to match came from, he did not know, but he definitely felt like he was ready to take on the day for a change.

Or, at least long enough to meet the rest of the hive.
> Through Sun High - Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The new clothes served Discord a long enough moment of happiness to allow Chrysalis to embrace him from behind, and take him back into her arms. She relished in the moment of his uplifting aura, taking it into herself as she wished to break him from his self-pitying; she was already tired of the loathing. After a moment, ended with a kiss on his cheek, she once more took his hand, effectively starting to pull.

"Now, let us go out to the courtyards," she said as happily as she could. "Let's get you a bit of refuge from your loathsome attitude, and let you meet your new family."

Discord chuckled, more than happy to let the queen distract him, and following her happily.

"Family, my queen?" he said, tilting his head as they walked on.

She shrugged, giggling. "Since you are effectively just my new mate, despite our inherent incapatabilities, you are to be treated as our equal during your stay, by my children."

Discord rolled his eyes as he went with her. Indeed, if she had originally planned to take him in the hopes of any sort of procreation, she would have been sorely disappointed. To his relief, however, she did seem to also realize the futility of such an idea; they enjoyed their embraces enough not to care about such minor things, regardless. Discord assumed that is what the drones, or maybe Commander Styx were responsible for. As he contemplated these ideas, he followed the queen out of the depths of the palace, and out the front entrance to view the courtyard; he had only passed through it as a prisoner previously, and never got a good look at it.

As he would predict, being as artistry was likely not a core requirement of the hive, the surrounding courtyard was not very effectively decorated. It was simple enough to make out from the rest of the black structures, though apart form the human faces he could see in the "walls" and the floor, there was no decoration. But, a courtyard was a courtyard, by designation. And the Changeling's treated it as such, congregating in groups as some pairs of the hive were out likely building their own little homes. From what he could tell, this was a relatively new project. The palace likely was not completed too long before he arrived, as the number of Changelings currently outnumbered the small abodes.

"Perhaps I could also help them construct their little houses," he said. "Help them at least maintain a little space in them, and not have to be subject to the mercy of the blackstone."

Chrysalis nodded, observing her children working, and relaxing. "Perhaps. And that finally gives me a name for the substance. Despite our time using it, we could never appropriately label our substance. Though, the name blackstone should have come to us sooner than now."

Discord shrugged, kissing her cheek. "Well, I doubt it was high on the list of priorities. You have food, shelter, and a changing, dangerous forest around you. Names are the least of your issues."

The queen just looked at him, giggling. "All those years with your Mother have truly made you quite a perceptive being, from what I have observed. Always able to think of some reason that some things come to pass, and that time may forget all together."

The man shrugged. "Perhaps it is part of her plan. I won't complain at the opportunity to better perceive her world."

As she would hum in agreement, she would also raise her hand, as a loud snap would echo from her fingers in a simple gesture. Her hands were capable of quite a soft touch, but the hard black covering of her skin made her snaps much louder. Discord could picture it like a cricket. The creatures were small, but were capable of making loud chirps by just grinding their legs. For Chrysalis, it served to alert her surrounding children, and bring them to attention in front of them.

Chrysalis smiled, and Discord could feel the aura of pride emanating from her. "My children, the time has come at long last that your queen has found a suitable suitor; and despite our incapatabilities, I would insist that you try to associate this one human-- and him alone-- as one of your family."

Commander Styx, and a pair of others passed her message on to the less language gifted of the hive. The hive shifted in mass, bowing to one knee; Discord had assumed it to be for their queen, but realized that Commander Styx and his lower ranking soldiers were facing towards him form their positions. Out of just respect for them, he gave them a bow in return, sensing another swell of pride, but from almost the entire horde of Changelings in front of him.

Chrysalis smiled, motioning for them to rise. To this motion, Commander Styx's group let out a series of soft chirps, to which the hive stood once more.

"Perhaps you should hang around them for a few hours," Chrysalis said, putting a hand on Discord's shoulder. "Commander Styx, I'm sure has nothing really to do, so having a mediator would probably benefit you greatly."

Discord looked to the commander, who just gave him a nod, and answered the queen. "It would no doubt give him a chance to somewhat smooth things over after yesterday's events."

Discord found himself no true reason to question their logic, or the request from his queen; as such, as she left to return to the palace, he remained with the commander as the hive either returned to work, or to their resting spots.

"So, Commander," he said, looking over to the guard. "How would you suggest we go about meeting the hive?"

"Please, just drop the titles," he said, sighing. "As our queen has likely told you, the titles can become so droll when they're used all days. Besides, outside of our formal meetings, we don't really even use them."

Discord nodded. "Sounds fair enough to me, Styx."

The Changeling nodded, smiling a little. "I'd also like to let you know a small detail, that I am unsure she has shared with you. Most love that the hive can feed on goes through her first. While she reserves the main intake, her passive magic disperses what she no longer needs to the hive."

Discord nodded, thinking. "So, I'm here until she can get her fill, and can full distribute it to all of you?"

Styx nodded. "Exactly. So, my first suggestion as the we start with the Changeling's she has already shared some of the aura with. She wasn't exactly full, but she did disperse some of it to us at the top of her command to let us know it was happening."

"Is that why I also don't feel anything happening to myself?" he asked curiously.

"Indeed," Styx replied. "There is a difference in the different types of love, or just general positive we can absorb and feed on. For the Queen, she requires a more concentrated amount. A close embrace, a kiss, or any other forms of affection feed her the strongest. Then, lower Changelings such as ourselves receive what you might refer to as the 'filtered' portions. To make an example for you, just picture a river. While you do see most of it above ground, there are sometimes areas that water closer to the bottom may start to seep through. While this isn't always the case, it is one of many reasons why the springs are sometimes so perfectly clear."

Discord nodded. "I understand that quite well. So simply, if she gets fed, she feeds you guys."

Styx nodded. "Exactly my point. Now then, since we were fed first, we will work down the line, and introduce you to a few of the more vocally gifted Changelings. Then we will grab one of our more basic drones at the end of it, and see if they can sort out some sort of communication with you. Knowing that you can read either minds or auras, you might be able to work that way."

Discord nodded, as Styx directed him to one of the more impressive table-like structures off to one side of the courtyard. The human made his way over, sitting down and waiting patiently for his "welcoming party" to talk with him. As he waited, he took some time to observe the surroundings. As one would expect, there were indeed many drones outside, working on the houses, and swapping with those who had been resting; what he didn't really seem to notice, were the many smaller Changelings. Considering they were likely the young of the hive, it occured that it shouldn't have surprised him much to see them. In fact, many of them were quite cute, as their big eyes almost seemed to make up a majority of their faces.

Then one made its way over to him, eyeing him curiously. Barely coming up above his knee, this one had to be especially young. He tried to put on his best smile as he carefully leaned forward, brushing his long white hair out of his face.

"Hey, little one," he said softly, with a bit of a chuckle. "How are you doing?"

The little one tilted its head, almost seeming to chirp at him. Discord could barely hold his smile back. This small thing resembled a human so much, but was also so different. The young one's huge eyes, and lack of vocal ability made his hard almost sort of flutter at the sheer pureness of it.

"Well, my name is Discord," he answered the chirping little one. He could not determine whether it was a male or female, though its mannerisms predicted male. He did not particularly care, either. "Do you have a name that you go by?"

The little one chirped at him some more, coming a little closet to him, examining the facial hair on Discord. One more thing the human had neglected was keeping his face shaven. The young Changeling reached up, curiously stroking at the bit that hung down from the man's chin, making Discord smile at his curiosity.

"Eris, you said?" he asked the child, gently holding his arms out, hoping it would get the idea. 

Indeed, it seemed they did, holding up their arms for him to gently pick them up. Discord was amazed at how similar to a human child this Changeling was behaving; but from what King Aspen had described about the Changelings having once been human centuries ago, he shouldn't have been to surprised. It was one more thing he had found he was prone to forgetting. These used to be his own species. Perhaps that is why he found it so easy to connect to them. It was the closest thing to his own species he had seen in many lifetimes.

He held the little one on his lap as it chirped, answering it back as Styx and his fellow ranking Changelings finally made themselves visible, walking through the courtyard. Discord didn't bother putting the little one down, though; he was rather enjoying its company.

"Ah, I see one of the younger ones has found her way over to our quest," Styx said, smiling, though Discord could sense he wasn't too happy about it, for some reason.

Rustling the little one's hair playfully, he smiled. "Oh, she? That helps me a bit. But, indeed, Eris found her way over to me, and has been a great bit of company during my wait."

Styx raised an eyebrow up at this. "Eris?"

Discord nods. "Yeah, that's what she said her name was."

Styx looked to his companions, and they turned away to talk to each other for a bit. After a second or two, they turned back, taking seats at the table, as Discord bounced the little one playfully; she was giving excitable chirps whenever she was bounced.

"Well," Styx started, "it's good to see that you can quite easily understand the drones. And I am also glad to see you seem to know how to treat them."

Discord chuckled, nodding. "My Mother told me that Changelings and humans share a common ancient predecessor; I think it's why the queen and I have so little problem connecting as we are."

The commander nodded, and the group began their general discussions. Styx would introduce his companions, who each were simply known by their names, rather than holding any titles. With Commander Styx, he had two female guards, Sky, and Stella; they also had one Changeling who had been recently promoted, in the young Lancer. Discord could sense a very good connection with their names almost always having the sound of an S in them. Though, perhaps it was just coincidence of the ones he was talking to. The discussion began with introductions, and soon made their way to the guards questioning the human on his past. As with their mother, they could sense when he was telling the truth, and when he had to fill in spots he didn't remember. Not often did he ever seem to outright lie, to them, however.

Their curiosity peaked when he began to mention his own mother, the very creator of their kinds.

"She created everything around us," Discord said. "If you see a species in mass numbers, she created the initial two; she hand guided the planting of trees, the formation of the mountains and forests. The seas and desserts were also her personal playground. And, from what I have been taught, when she grew upset with my race a long time ago, she created your ancestors; she lured in humans of old who lacked any real love in their lives, and guided their evolution into your early Changelings."

The groups of Changelings at the table would listen patiently, as Discord would speak as he played with the young female in his lap. Mostly bouncing her on his knee, he eventually had her to the point of nearly falling asleep as he simply massaged his hand on her scalp. Like her queen, the strands of hair were very thin, and likely fragile. When the young one passed out completely, Sky took her from him, and carried her to what she called the nursery. 

Then, it was the Changeling's turn, describing their hive dynamics. The first was their structuring and hierarchy. The term "commander" did indeed highlight the uppermost authority of the hive, apart from the queen; it also highlighted whom Chrysalis would also chose to expand the population. The three accompanying the commander were just as responsible for the rest of the hive as him, though. They were messengers, mediators-- as the more primitive Changelings were still prone to infighting--, parental figures, and even judges. As they described it, had Discord in fact not known Chrysalis as he would have claimed, they would have been responsible for coordinating his punishment; from the draining, to the subsequent cementing in the palace grounds. Then, the question at the top of Stella's mind came to the front.

"So, your Mother," she said, voice not too dissimilar from the queens, "is trying to groom you to be some sort of successor?"

Discord shook his head. "Not exactly. She wants me to be the balance for her. She sees herself as the epitome of harmony, and peace. To maintain that balance, and to keep her focus, I am being relentlessly tested and tried until I can break to the point of being the spirit of disharmony, and destruction. In other words, the 'Spirit of Chaos, and Deception.' I do feel it working, and it is strange. I know it is happening, and though I try to remain happy, I know I can't stop the change. She's going to do something to me, one day, and I will no longer be this caring, free man. I will be dangerous beyond human belief."

The Changelings just listened, sensing he needed to vent some of his worries.

"And what I hate most, is I fear that it will come at the cost of those I love the most. Errant, my companion; while I would absolutely love to have her forever, I understand canines have relatively short lifespans. I have come to terms with the possibility of losing her. The White Tail are my greatest friends, aside from the hive; but, I know one day they will leave the cave, and Mother may return for me before we would meet again. And as for the queen, I adore her above all else; but, as with the White Tail, Mother will likely come to take me back. I just hope to live up to my end of this bargain before then."

The impromptu meeting would continue with the Changeling's also expressing their own concerns; many times they were concerns of their appearance to the queen, though some questions did regard what Discord would think of his own sanity. If he felt the voices were on purpose, being just the wind as he said. He would concede that perhaps they weren't, but their consistency, and the complexity of the pitch and tone led him to believe they were there for a reason. Being quite annoyed by the gloomy atmosphere, Styx would steer the conversation away from those subjects. Instead, the discussion began to focus on Errant, and how Discord came to tame the Timberwolf. His unspoken alliance with the Minotaurs, who kept their distance from him, as he would from them.

There was also the discussion of his potion making, and the different ability to read their expressions so well. It had been decided that he was not reading their very minds; but, his ability to pick out what they were thinking, without so much as a peep from them, was impressive to the lot. He would also begin to try an experiment a little, as the group wanted to see if the human could now pick up on natural magic tricks. Though, apart from the hives biology, it seemed he was doomed to find something more attuned to his own body. That was until he was brought to focus on one of the commander's suggested targets: a wilted rose.

While not particularly rare, he had said, roses were not very commonly found blooming this late into the winter; it was a byproduct, no doubt, of the magic pollution throughout the years. Discord would focus on the flower, trying to think on how he could possibly fix it without his growth potion, before he considered an action he had seen since he arrived in the kingdom.

With his mind focused on the rose, primarily, he raised up one of his hand. His pinkie and index folded into his palm, as his middle finger rested on the face of his thumb, while the index finger sat idly by. And with a simple motion, and the snap of his finger, the rose returned to its pristine form, almost instantaneously.
> To Sun Down - Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord stared intently at the rose as it sprung back to life, surprised beyond even back when Errant have appeared out of thin air. The Changelings at the table with him, who had offered the rose, seemed a bit surprised as well; though, theirs seemed to be more in excitement than any other applicable emotion.

"If what you tell us of your Mother is true," Commander Styx said with a soft laugh, "then you definitely are taking after her for your initial developments. If you'd like, we could try other items as well."

Discord just sat in silence, longer than he intended to. After finally noticing he was getting worried stares from his comrades, he took a deep sigh. He looked at them with a smile. 

"I think I am fine with that, for now," he said. "I really feel like I should be returned to the queen, for now."

The group agreed, though made Discord promise to start assisting with the construction work, tomorrow. With their plans laid out, and the sun in the middle of its downward path in the sky; shadows, as a result, were growing longer, and Discord did not want to leave his mate for too long. After finalizing their plans with a few salutes from the guards, and a little bow from Discord, they made their separate ways. 

Discord was a bit hesitant to traverse the palace alone, but felt he might have a decent sense of direction. He walked in through the front gates, and took a quick right, following the diagonal hall until her arrived in the throne room, once more. Chrysalis was seated with a few of the other female guards, just talking with them. He approached giving her a little bow. 

"My queen," he said, with a bit of his deepest voice manageable.

Chrysalis smiled, giving the motion with her hand to disperse the group talking with him. "Hello, my dear. How did you find the hive?"

With a playful little smirk, he shrugged. "Well, I just went where my eyes seemed to want to look! Without these big old eyes, i doubt I would find much of anything."

Chrysalis just rolled her eyes, getting up from her chair, and sauntering over to him. "Continue that sort of jest, and the next kiss might have a tongue come back on the withdraw."

Discord gave a low, subtle laugh as he looked up at her; he still wasn't quite used to being the shorter one, for once.

"In all seriousness," he continued, "they were quite welcoming to me. Styx and the other guards talked with me around the big courtyard table, and I learned one of the little one's names."

Chrysalis seemed to mentally perk up at this. "Oh? So, can you understand the drones?"

Discord shrugged. "I was able to understand the chirp's of one of the young females. I gathered that her name was Eris, and I also learned the children love being held."

She gave a little smirk. "Oh, really?"

The man nodded, shrugging. "I picked her up, and had her set on my lap for a good portion of the talks with my friends. I just treated her like I had known humans would play with theirs so long ago, and her aura was filled with nothing but joy."

Chrysalis smiled, hugging him. "Would you wish to try to try and raise young Eris? Perhaps we could teach you how to help with their rearing while you are here."

Discord looked at Chrysalis, leaning into the embrace happily. "Am I that obvious?"

"I could feel it as soon as you came in," she nodded. "I could sense your usual self-pity, and loathing; but, along side it was a very strong, positive sensation."

He nodded, thinking to himself very briefly, before kissing her on her lips, this time. The sudden affection did catch Chrysalis off guard, though she happily leaned in when she realized what was happening. She followed suit as he closed his eyes, and eagerly fed off the affection. As she had let him know during the first night, for the most part, he felt fine; though, he did begin to feel a light bit of exhaustion. Using this as a gauge, he waited until the moment he felt his legs were going to give out, before pulling back; he found himself looking to catch a bit of his breath. Chrysalis was also a bit winded, but used her currently superior strength to hold onto him as he tried to recuperate.

"Would you like to have a meal, while I send the guards back to try and find Eris for you?" she said softly, nuzzling the top of his head. 

Discord nodded, leaning into her nuzzles. He held on as his body was taking some time to regain its strength. "I think that would be absolutely wonderful. A meal, then some cuddling with the young one before bed."

Chrysalis hummed in agreement, holding him until he was able to demonstrate standing under his own strength. With this, she left him in the throne room, as he made his way to the left.This was hopefully the right way to the dining hall. He regretted not informing her of his new ability with the rose, but he had something he could try another test on. Some of the grape-like plants he would feed on grew on a sort of vine. He was sure they probably shared a similar development, but they were different enough that he was certain they were not grapes. 

He reached into his bag from earlier, taking off the last few of the fruits, and scarfing them down before he began to focus on the plant. It was now barren; there were no blooms or fruits. He did not recall if they had leaves, in particular, but the vine had no other sort of protrusion. As earlier, he held his hand up, trying to maintain the shoulder height had had used before, and snapped his fingers once again. Instead of replenishing, as the rose had before, the vine's fruits regrew gradually in front of him. The plant went through an entire germination cycle, ending with what appeared to be perfectly ripe, and even slightly larger fruits. He plucked one off the vine and ate it cautiously.

He was so wrong about before; these were definitely some sort of grape-like fruit. It tasted like one of the many varieties of black grapes, but these were a plump variety. That, or this magic had enhanced them, somehow. And, like the aristocrat he sometimes liked to make fun of from the olden days of the humans, his brain went to the thought of wine. And so, with another snap of his fingers, a large clay bottle appeared in place of the vine. He looked at it in surprise, popping open the top of the canister, and looking inside; within, he saw a dark coloured liquid, with a somewhat sweet scent. With a curious swig, what came over him with the taste of a perfect grape wine.

He could not imagine what the queen would think if she were to see this, but he decided that he would surprise her with the whole display. After he indulged in a decent meal, he grabbed a pair of the remaining grapes and went back to the throne room to patiently wait for his queen and their companion.

Would this technically make me a dad? he thought to himself, having waited a few minutes. Like, I know we are separated by years of Mother's guided development, but the queen and I are not compatible as those common ancestors. I'll say yes, screw the technicalities... Why am I feeling so different?

Discord had to stop this train of thinking he had developed in the past few hours. He felt so different than just the day before; his thoughts were far more free, and seemingly more sassy than he could ever remember. The sound of a growing series of chirps broke his mental glass wall, and made him lift his head up. In the midst of his apparent daydreaming, he had made his way into the queen's chair, while she was now approaching with the excited little Changeling. The little one's aura changed quite quickly; she was initially just happy from the affection of their hive mother, but it grew even more excited when she noticed her friend from earlier.

Chrysalis shuddered, feeling this aura quite strongly, and set the little one down on her feet as Discord let a smile greet his lips. He came off of the throne, coming down to floor level with the little one, and got down on one knee; he held out his arms with a smile. Chrysalis watched curiously, figuring this was a human behavior. Almost seemingly on cue, the little one chirped happily, rushing over; she nearly tackled the taller man to the floor with her hug, as he caught her as she jumped. 

"Aha!" he said, happily. He tossed her up briefly, before catching her on the downfall. "Well, did you get a good nap, earlier?"

Eris smiled, chirping and lightly growling at him.

"I'm glad to hear that, dear," he said. Chrysalis could sense another form of love emanating. This was vastly different, and even seemingly as potent as the others she was used to. Discord looked to the queen, looking her confused face over.

"I believe what I may be emanating would be something exclusive to parental love," he said, as if she had asked him the question. "The hive is probably quite accustomed, maybe even naturally adapted, to having the young around. And the battle-hardened philosophy probably overtook any of the old parental nature. I can see you love your hive, but I don't know why you aren't emanating the same energy."

Chrysalis nodded, realizing she also wasn't able to feed off this love as directly as Eris. It was like a feed for the young, and that could definitely be put to use. "Perhaps we could visit the nursery, tomorrow? Not the hatchery, yet, but it seems giving that sort of love doesn't drain you."

Discord nods. "I have some construction work, tomorrow; but, after that, I should have free time. And that's likely because that for humans, parental love is generally unconditional, in the ideal families."

"There are some that don't fit the ideal pattern for your species?" Chrysalis asked, a bit concerned.

"Shockingly more often than one would consider," he said, sighing softly. "And while I can't remember my life from before-- praise Mother for that-- I can feel it in the whispering winds and nightmares; I definitely escaped from something when I finally left my kind behind."

Chrysalis and Discord would play with Eris, as Discord would teach Chrysalis some of the ways the human parents would interact with the young. While it was so natural to him, from Chrysalis' perspective, Discord could sense that it was so alien to the queen to be so close and personal with her young. 

"Though, would you like to see a magic trick, my queen?" he said, remembering the likely now squashed things he had hidden in a bag.

She looked to him curiously. "Have you found a new ability while I was gone?"

"More so while I was gone, earlier," he said.

With an enthusiastic nod from Chrysalis, Discord smirked; hopping up to his feet, and carrying Eris with him as they made their way to Chrysalis' chambers, he brimmed with excitement, and minor worry. He just hoped the trick would work for a second time. After an excruciatingly long walk, he playfully tossed the young Eris onto the bed, illiciting a squeak from her. The smile did not fade, however, as Chrysalis sat beside her.

"Are you familiar with wine, Chrysalis?" he said, putting on a curious accent, not quite sure where he was getting it from, either.

Chrysalis nodded. "I have enjoyed a few bottles stolen from caravans throughout the decades."

Discord clapped happily, pulling the bag out of waist of his pants. 

"Now, sadly," he started, "the grapes are likely squished, but that is of little concern."

He removed the two mashed fruits from the bag, getting juice on his hand almost instantly. The two Changelings in his audience gave him full attention, their eyes focused on the grapes. While he was sure he could likely turn these grapes into wine as well, he wanted to give them a show! He flourished his hand a bit, dramatically forming the positioning needed for a solid snapping sound, and gave out the louder finger snap he could manage. Thankfully, the rooms acoustics gave it a heart snap!; and with that snap, the deformed grapes started to slowly inflate. The juice around them began to seep back in, as if the squashed fruits was being sent back in time.

The next snap, preceded by him swapping hands with a clumsy two-grape juggle, resulted in the fruits gaining slightly in their size. Chrysalis stared as they were almost the same size as Eris' little pupils. For the finale, Discord tossed the two grapes in the air, snapping once more. Without so much as a flash of light, but a blink of an eye, a pair of colored clay containers landed in his hands.

"We've got a nice, fresh, grape wine for the adults," he says, winking to the queen, who eyes the red container he highlighted with a wiggle. Chrysalis responded with a happy little coo. He shook the slightly smaller pink-ish container. "And regular grape juice for the lovely little lady."

Eris tilted her head curiously, chirping at him a few times. Discord's eyes widened.

"You've never had grape juice!?" he said, almost in shock. "Well, if you are able to consume this, tonight, your mother and I are going to have to dedicate an entire day to learning what wonderful things I could make for you."

Chrysalis giggled, watching him interact with her child. He set the red wine container aside, using his freehand to gently cup Eris's little chin. "Alright, here it comes, sweetie!"

The little one, opened her muzzle expectantly for the drink as Discord carefully guides her in drinking it. After a test drink, the little one chirped excitedly, her aura flaring up again, making Chrysalis smile wide.

"Indeed, Discord," Chrysalis giggled, "it appears that you will never have a free day while you are here."

The man shrugged, essentially feeding the young Changeling the sweet grape juice like the baby she was. "As I said before, for the children, it's unconditional. If I am going to serve as a sort of help to feed the hive-- being that we seemed to have found another food source for the young--, then I feel I must help you guys establish something far more sustainable than just a few people."

The queen blinked. "If you could ever find a way to permanently feed us, I don't know how we could ever repay that."

"One word! Unconditional."

He smiled, as while she was drinking, the little Changeling had fallen asleep in Discord's arms. With a happy sigh, he settled the little one beside him, knowing the queen would likely want him against her as usual. Chrysalis grabbed hold of the red wine container, as Discord grabbed what looked like a couple of cups beside her. 

"Water cups, I assume?" he asked.

Chrysalis shrugged. "Water, or the occasional wine. Sometimes Styx needs to loosen up after a long day before we procreate."

Discord shrugged, taking that as a good enough response. He poured as even an amount as he could between the two, and they began to drink heartily. Discord was encouraged to smile when Chrysalis said it was by far the most pure wine she had ever tasted, and they both happily went at the whole container. Tonight was not going to keep the magician awake with the sound of voices, as the wine served as the perfect catalyst to knock him out with his mate.
> The Best Laid Plans - Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mother had grown quite proud of her new creation. Gaea Everfree was developing beyond expectations, and becoming very proficient with her new powers. She did hold Gaea on a slightly higher pedestal than she did Discord. This was not due to their prowess, entirely; instead, Mother was simply more proud of something she directly created from her planet. Whether or not Gaea would understand when the final trial came would be a different story, however. She had only mentioned Discord in passing, and very generally. 

She would make hints to Gaea's "long lost brother", and said they would meet when the time was right. Gaea, to Mother's delight, wasn't the type of creature who would pry into her reasoning. The questions were rare, and if Mother made a hint to the girl that it was not time to know, she would drop the subject. She could clearly sense her daughter's frustration, too. The girl wanted to learn everything. Ever gift she was given, she would look into ways to expand her knowledge and power.

Mother would talk with her daughter as Discord finally came to the end of his second year of trials. The two would walk into the ruins of the old Everfree Empire, and explore as they spoke. Gaea, ever so intrigued by everything, was delighted when mother invited her into the old throne room of the palace. The old city was a reminder to Mother how intelligent her human children were. Though the small things were gone, or decaying beyond recognition, the building's themselves were hardly tarnish.

As Gaea was lead into the throne room, and followed Mother Nature's gesture to sit upon the old chair, she anticipated the kinds of answers she would receive to her many questions. And to Mother's predictions, the questions were usually short, with longer explanations required on some. 

The first was about the earth, and how Mother had come to create it. Mother answered truthfully.

"In full honesty, my daughter," she said softly, "I did not create this planet, nor the stars and neighboring worlds we see, and that humans are working towards seeing more of. Instead, even I was a creation of another being. No one amongst us-- me and my family of gods and goddesses-- has ever met our true creators. Apart from their voices, and their directions in choosing our star systems, we hardly know anything of their existence. However, as I just said, they directed us in choosing start systems. The children they made could either wander the stars to find their own, or the creators would give us one they felt need to be great."

"And they gave you this one?" Gaea said, all the curiosity in her eyes.

Mother nodded proudly at her daughter. "Indeed. I could not decide, for the lifetimes of me, choose a system. There are countless in this universe! I would never have been able to see them all within the lifetimes of any known star. Instead, they pointed me to this one. Of all the systems they created, this one developed a quite rare specimen of a planet. Every other planet in this system, due to a lack of interaction, developed specific atmospheres. Every one has something that make it unique. But, this world developed traits that it could share with them. The mountains, the deserts, the tundras and valleys, the storms, the very weather cycle itself! This planet shares this with many others in the universe. And with that, it was my only choice. I have let all the other planets run their own course, but I carefully crafted this one to house as many creatures as I could possibly dream of! And that, my dear Gaea, is how this planet came to be. Not by my hands alone, but by the guidance of the creators, and my imagination with one world."

Gaea nodded, feeling like she understood fully, but now feeling like she had more questions developing in her young mind. Though, they only had this one day remaining before Mother was to meet this new being; she would refer to the creature as him, and that Gaea would likely come to adore him after his trial. But, she wanted that question for last, and instead asked about the human species.

"Mother?" she said. "You have told me many nights that the humans, while not your most numerous creation, is your most impactful. How did the human species come along?"

"The humans, my dear, are one of the main reasons I had originally chosen this planet," Mother said, smiling. "Well, as I had told you of your creation, I shall teach you of theirs. Now, keep in mind, while I did create them completely different from you, you are still quite human, yourself. Now, do you remember the chimpanzee that you had learned to grow food for earlier last month?"

Gaea would nod in response.

"Well, that chimpanzee shares a common relationship with the human's own oldest predecessor. I created a plant, that whenever I focus my magic on it, would appear in patches; no matter where these patches grew, they would stay. These flowers, of which the humans call "Poison Joke", are like an extra hand for me. While I accidentally lost my ability to be specific about many things they do on their own, when I work in tandem with the flowers, I can guide the evolution of an entire species."

"Accidentally?" Gaea said, with a little giggle. 

Mother smiled, shrugging a bit. Your humans are truly going to rub off your mannerisms on me!

"Oh, of course, my daughter. While most humans would never imagine it, except for some tribes that were lost in time, a god is not known by their own peers for being perfect. It is why the human species, and some lesser ones, are so imperfect. I made them all, in the beginning, as a rough copy of myself. When the first of the old simians were ready, I sprouted up countless carpets and patches of the Poison Joke, directing my power to directly influence their slow changes. Despite my immense power, it still took hundreds of thousands of years for many of them to look remotely anything like me. But, I wanted it this way. I put some of my own power into those plants so they could work perfectly in sync. But, as I said, I accidentally made them one of the most dangerous plants in the world if interacted with improperly."

Mother giggled to herself. "Which is precisely the reason they haven't been around you. I could not risk my perfect creation being inadvertently derailed by a flower. That would be hysterical, but it would also be unfortunate. In the human's later years, however, I had become slightly upset. I had given them free will, and the ability to learn anything; and with that, many tribes began to not only destroy the land, but each other. Oh, to describe the wars of old would make me relive the hatred I had harbored. I created these beings in my likeness, but I did not make them in my own personality. And they have driven many of my ancient creatures to vanish off the face of this planet."

Gaea stared intently. "Why would they do that, Mother? Did they not enjoy your world?"

"Oh, on the contrary, Gaea. While it may sound quite arbitrary, they love the planet. The problem occured when they started creating tools. They began to build shelters, like this Empire. Then, there were more human populations, and more destruction. So, one day, I got to work. This Empire used to be a sprawling city; there were many humans in it, upwards of easily tens of thousands. But, my dear Changelings, as I had described before, decimated them. The newest Queen enacted an old plan from her mother to try and overthrow all, and steal their very essence. While it did backfire, the hive destroyed enough that the humans chose to outright abandon the old structure."

"So, this used to house many humans?" Gaea asked. 

Mother nodded, smiling. Gaea could sense a little bit of remorse from her mother. She remembered the many nights she could hear the goddess talking idly, on how she realized she was truly the aggressor of many of these events. By mere association, she knew she had destroyed many of her own creations. So, Gaea looked to ask her the big question.

"Mother?" she asked. "Who is he? You said would meet one day, and though I know you said not in a few months, you said this next year would be it. So, who is this individual?"

Mother nodded, taking a deep breath. She had promised her daughter any questions would be answered tonight, and she would deliver.

"The man I have been referring to," she said, "used to go by the name Errant Aurora, many years ago. Long before your existence, but not too long after the destruction of this kingdom you sit in. I was still in a phase of creating a creature that could rival the humans in destructive habits. After the Changelings, I was still determined to make it human-like, so it would also have the intelligence. And there he came, wandering down an old pathway, out from an the empire. I do not know what he was doing walking in the middle of nowhere, and I do not know if I ever will; however, I felt he was the perfect one. Just as I gave the Changelings the ability to sense most emotions, I could sense his pain. He was definitely hurting, though not that many could tell. His aura was lacking in spirit; he was alone, and quite upset with his predicament."

"But, I could see a small sliver of hope in his soul. He had a love for the natural world, and he walked as close to the forests as he could, without leaving his pathway behind. So, without thinking-- other than my plans for the human race-- I began to lure him with song. It was a tune to match his aura; it was depressing, with notes that glimmered with hope. He took to it almost immediately, and wandered into the trap of Poison Joke, where he soon turned to stone."

Mother waved her hand to form an image on a nearby wall, using her memories to reconstruct many points of the timeline.

"He was afraid at first," she continued. "And for me, I started to question my very methods almost instantaneously. Here was a creature that truly did appreciate my world, and I just ripped him form it without his personal provocation. The first night, I decided upon a new name for Errant; I gave him the mantle of "Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, and Deception". Up until the time I created you, he wasn't too keen on it. And, in fact, he was mentally strong; impressively so, even. It took me almost twenty full years to finally break him down to the point where he was malleable. But, I didn't destroy him completely. He loved my creations, and I made sure that stayed. When he was ready, and his mind was fully erased-- this is why I'll never know why he was alone on that road-- I rewrote his history. He sees me truly as his mother, as you do."

Gaea perked up a bit. "So, I sort of have a brother, then?"

Mother nodded with a brighter smile. "For now. He is going through his trials, and from what I observed his first year, he is doing wonderfully. He learned to harvest my plants for natural sorts of magic, and has a set of runes only he, and myself, will ever understand. After our session tonight, and after you sleep, I will do one more observation. I will need to invade his memories, to see if he will be ready for the second-to-last phase. But, yes, you have a brother; though not related by blood, you are truly both my children."

Gaea accepted this answer gleefully, resulting to ask more questions until the sun began to reach its low point in the sky, where she began to tire. Once she had full fallen asleep, Mother took her daughter to the palace's old chambers; with her intervention, the old room had remained relatively unscathed, apart from the wear of time. She lay the girl to rest, leaving her note as she went off to find her Discord.

After almost an hour, she found him. She saw him with the nearly full grown Timberwolf pup, followed by a young dark humanoid figure beside him. Intrigued, the old goddess took the form of a bird, and began to trail them.

Discord

Discord's final month had been the best of his life, from what he could have ever remembered. He had served his "sentence" with the Changelings, working to help them build their own little city. They learned farming basics, looking for what they could, and couldn't drink. Most importantly, though, he had managed to work out a new form of feeding with the hive. Despite initial objections from some, he started to encourage the queen to share more, starting with the low ranks. After teaching them the different types of love on could express, from intimate to parental, they were able to manage a system where they no longer needed to lure newer victims on a near daily basis. While they would never be free from requiring humans, it would likely be a full month before they ever need emotions for food, again.

As for his relationship with the queen, it ran its course. Chrysalis and Discord truly cared for each other, and Chrysalis adored him even more with how he was able to raise the younger Changelings; though, she still could not understand their chirps and other language. Their incompatibility led to a decline, however. Discord could still share the love he needed to for his agreement the time before, but she could not reproduce with him. Therefore, once a month had full passed, Discord and Chrysalis coordinated his return to his friends in the cave.

Though, one little creature wouldn't let him go. Little Eris had become absolutely entrenched with the human. Queen Chrysalis could even see it as the little one was with him. As with all Changelings, they all loved their queen; Eris's affection for Eris as a parental figure was beyond what she could provide, however. So, a new deal was reached. Discord would be able to watch after little Eris until she reached the point that her need for the parental love of Discord faded. Mother would later recount that she did not remember ever delivering Chrysalis to this world; she simply decided that Discord was starting to gain some strength in this dream world, which gave her some relief.

As the final days of winter came, the White Tail had grown very fond of their human, and Changeling companions Errant was over the moon at the return of her friend. For the longest time, after their arrival, Discord even briefly seemed to catch the eyes of a few of the growing does from the heard; though, King Aspen was able to assist him in talking them out of such an idea. Prince Bramble had grown into an amazing young stag. While he was a little curious, and somewhat of a trickster, he did maintain many of his father's personality. The king expressed on occasion that he hoped this could mean Bramble would lead his own herd, one day.

Discord, on another front, had returned to his potions and magic. He showed off his new magic to the deer, showing how he could regrow some of the plants almost instantly. Though, he did learn that if he didn't have a specific pathway in mind, that the regeneration would be different. He found this out, with the grapes. One path would show the grapes appear back on the ends of the vine with a soft swelling sound; the sound could be compared to the pumps of the old blacksmiths. The other path, while he was focused, shown the grapes growing normally, though in rapid development.

This random magic remained his only magic, however. For now, he could not understand how he could apply the effects of his other potions to his world. He didn't mind this, though. He discovered he could regenerate some of the burned-out logs if he timed it right. But, to his surprise, the living things were not the only one's that were effected.

Today, he was alone with Errant, and Eris. The White Tail had moved on, due to the warm weather starting to work its way back in; the Changelings had released him from his oath, and he was now with his only two family, once more. He was oblivious to the fourth member, though, as he and the others walked into the cave, ready for bed. The dark was perfect cover for Mother, who flew in ahead. A close eyes was kept on the trio, who gave Mother a quite nice view of how her creatures should have been getting along from the beginning.

The joy in their eyes, especially those of Eris, showed something she had long since forgotten about Discord. Her old suspicion of him having "nothing to lose, but everything to give" was blatantly true here. The amount of love from that human, for the spawn of an entire different set of two creatures, would likely have been enough to revive her faith in the humans. Mother, however, had not been keeping her eyes on the outside world during these trials, and her time with Discord; nor during the creations of many of her creatures. She did not see, that outside the forest, time had moved on. 

The humans, currently, were no longer engaging in the overabundant wars. While not quite at peace, they no longer sought out the violence that their ancestors knew. Mother knew none of this, however; she simply had a plan, which was ready by the time the trio had made it to sleep. In her avian form, Mother made her way down to the old hot spring, and observed it. Often disregarded by Discord, potion spills and dumping had notably changed the nature of the pool. While undetectable by the current human and his companions, the pool had dangerous properties, with how many potions had been mixed into it. But, Mother still needed more, that she could add herself.

She just required one last spell. With a huff of her breath, and a subtle stir with a light wind, she imbued one last bit of magic into the spring. The result of the additional magic was almost immediate. The temperature of the spring plummeted, while maintaining it's clearness. As the minutes dragged on, the pool began to slowly take on a surface sheen. While still pure in appearance, one could now see itself in the water's surface.

As you prepare for the next trial, my son, Mother said to herself, I do not want you to lose your love for those around you. Though, this new friend will likely test you in every way imaginable. My dear Discord, may you manage to keep your temper, and keep your heart cool; for when you touch this liquid, you will learn the power of the Mirror Pool.
> Time For Two - Chapter 11
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Even with his little Changeling huddled up with him in their bed, Discord still found the morning to be somewhat unbearable. This was nothing to do with his past, or his uncertain future; this was just a human thing. And it seemed that Eris shared his "enthusiasm", as she lightly growled at him when he tried to shift her so he could get up. So, instead, he opted to lay where he was, looking to see if he could find any scraps of his food laying around to regenerate. 

Discord finally realized he could seriously abuse this power when all was over; a shop that could endlessly regrow its food would make him a rich man for the rest of the planets history. This was also the first thought about returning to humanity he had since he was taken so long ago. How would he even fit in, again? From what he could gather during talks with the White Tail, the humans had moved on quite well since he disappeared. From what he could tell, now, however, was a new year starting. Noticing some unusual scratching on a stalagmite in his cave, he saw that Mother's message was clear. 

This is your third, and final year. For this, two trials will take place. As with your second, I will not give you any indication as to what the next six months hold, nor the next six. IF it takes you that long to complete the tasks.

With this, he worked on his strategy for working his way out of his bed. Eris was proving slightly difficult, but with some managing with Errant, he finally managed to get the little Changeling to cuddle up with the canine. Triumphant, he made his way to his counter, clearing up some of the mess to start making breakfast. Knowing Eris was likely full, he simply made her some of her favorite grape juice; for Errant, a few vegetables to go along with whatever she might hunt down when she was ready to move about.

Much to his dismay, and likely starting to wear on her, Errant was beginning to become far more independent. Especially during his last two months of the previous year, she would leave him be for often up to a couple hours. Sometimes it was even a full day before she returned. Discord hated to admit it, but he felt she was getting ready to leave; and while he knew it would hurt him, he wouldn't stop her.

While you raised her, Discord, he thought to himself, it is almost her time. She had grown well under you, but you can't hold onto a wild animal. Maybe she'll be the one Timberwolf Eris won't have to look out for.

And he knew it was time to shift some focus to the Changeling. As young as she was, Discord figured her distant human curiosity might still be innate. He had to start watching her if she ever wanted to leave the cave to play. He knew the wolves and Minotaurs respected him, but they would likely not show Eris the same courtesy.

If you think about it, Discord, he thought again, maybe that was one of Mother's gifts. You could understand the young Changelings when others couldn't. You could understand the White Tail; though, that could also be some of their magic at play, too. They seemed to harbor something they weren't showing fully. Perhaps like Mother, you could try communicating with the Minotaurs.

This thought made him chuckle a bit. If they didn't tear him limb from limb upon trying, he couldn't definitely give a shot at trying to learn about other species. Errant could be an easy ticket to help him calmly approach the Timberwolves while the Minotaurs already seemed to respect his boundaries. All of them knew he was in this cave, and did nothing. Perhaps they had tried to speak to him before. 

Why not try talking to Errant? he thought, eyes widening as he hadn't even considered that before.

This thought, and even some of the whisperings voices in the wind, would speak to him until he heard shifting from the bed. Glancing over, he say Eris sitting up in the bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Daddy?" she said softly, looking around.

Hearing her little voice call him that made him nearly fall over, whenever she said it. Discord loved nature, that was true; he loved Errant with all that he could, as fleeting as it now felt. But Eris had grown on him unlike anything else. He would never understand it, but he felt that maybe this is what Mother felt like. She had clung to him so tightly, and seemed so elated whenever he finally starting calling her "mother" in a more familial sense, than if trying to talk to a goddess. If this is how she felt, Discord never wanted to lose it. 

"I'm just fixing us some breakfast, Eris," he said, smiling brightly at her. Though he hadn't noticed much before, the White Tail did mention that since they had met him before, his smile seemed a little wider. But, it never seemed to bother anyone else. "Did you sleep well, last night?"

The little on nodded, leaving the warmth of the Timberwolf behind, and climbing off the bed, stretching out slowly. Errant was soon following, now much larger than before. She was full grown, and Eris looked even smaller when the canine stood next to her, stretching out her own body was well. Discord knew it would be just a bit before Errant was ready to head out, so he set her some water, and a little bit of a strength potion; he was now curious if she was ready for bigger game, so he wanted her to be strong enough to take them on.

Eris, meanwhile, came over to their little makeshift table; it was constructed from the usual wood and stone. With some help from his Changeling friends, during one of their last visits before his full departure, they did help him make some more solid looking furniture. He even took a few from the Changeling Queen's old collections, and used the Changeling's blackstone substance to solidify the body of the tables. Eris watched as Errant wandered out, tilting her head.

"Where's the puppy going, Daddy?" she asked, yawning.

"Oh, she's becoming quite a big girl," Discord answered, bringing the little one her grape juice. "She likes to hunt for her own food, now. She used to hunt for me, too, when I first got her."

"How did you get her?"

"Well, in a sense I found her. Do you remember the tales of Mother I would sometimes tell you and the other younglings?"

Eris nodded slowly.

"Well, she gave me Errant. It was in the blink of an eye, as well. One second she wasn't even in existence, as Mother had me in my first trial. But, the moment the first trial was over, I could hear whining coming deep from within the cave! This little pup appeared out of the blue with a stalactite holding her in place."

"Oh, wow!" Eris said, giggling. "Just like magic?"

Discord nodded. "Exactly like magic. Well, it was magic. Since the entire year before that, I had no living things to interact with for a year, beside the plant life."

As Eris drank her juice, and Discord started to eat his breakfast, the mood in the cave could be felt shifting. It used to be a dark thing for Discord. Even with his friends visiting, and the sleepovers, the aura always had some hint of hopelessness. Now that he has someone to fully adore, he has so much less of that old aura in his head. The whispering still held on just enough to make sure the hopelessness remained, but much less so, now. He could genuinely smile for the little one in front of him. And her smile seemed quite genuine as well. 

Changelings are definitely prettier when they are happy, he said to himself, watching the little one drink as he finished his meal. Errant was almost on cue as Eris finished; as Discord had hoped, she was dragging in some larger food as well. Instead of some small rodent, this was a large deer. To Discord's surprise, it was a white tailed deer, like they had been struggling to find when they met the White Tail. The grey coat wasn't like the stunning, quartz-like ones of this deer's cousins.

Discord laughed, clapping. "There you go Errant! That's a good girl!" 

He walked over to her, patting her wooden head, making her tail wag. His conversation with himself from earlier shown itself again, and he looked down to Errant as he ate. He started to try and focus on her, though he felt like he wouldn't get too much if she was engulfed mentally with the food.

"Errant," he said softly, "do you understand what I say most of the time?"

The canine's wooden ears pricked up. "Sometimes I do, but I get lost when you start talking about your potions and stuff."

Discord stared, eyes widening slowly. Errant felt his stare, and stopped her eating, staring into his eyes. This little staring contest went on for a few minutes, catching Eris's attention when she noticed it. 

"Um," she said softly, "why are you two looking at each other like that?"

Discord looked into the dog's eyes, smirking. "Well, that's good to know. I guess my long talks about the potions put you to sleep?"

Errant's tail returned to wagging. "You just... well, yeah. I'm not exactly capable of using more than what you offer me. How are you doing this? You never understood me before!"

Discord chuckled. "Well, magic pollution is the culprit. I've dumped so many concoctions into that old hot spring that some side effects have started making themselves known. I don't know how my particular potions didn't make it a death sentence, being that they contained so much of that blue flower. But, I'm feeling good about where it's taking me!"

Errant went back to eating. "Good! Now I don't have to smack you every time I need to go out of the cave."

Discord nodded, remembering easily how often he has felt a hard wooden leg hit him in the side of the head during a nap, or in the middle of the night. 

"Yeah, that's a bonus," he said, looking to Eris, winking.

"Oh, you can understand her?" Eris said, giggling. While she seemed generally surprised, Discord hadn't quite revealed how he understood her so clearly now.

"Well, yes," he said, motioning the Changeling over. When she came close, he pulled her onto his lap. "It's like you, actually."

"Me, Daddy?" she asked, tilting her head.

Discord nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure you noticed, but some of the higher Changeling's could not understand you or your sibling's speech. For them, and me, it comes out as chirps, sounding like a bird or a cricket sometimes."

"So, you can understand me, but they can't?" she asked.

"Exactly," he kissed her forehead softly, making her giggle.

"Well, guess it's a good thing I decided to come with you!" she smiled. 

Discord shrugged. "I guess so! Could you imagine not being able to communicated with your own family? Though, I guess it is more strange that you have a stranger from an entirely different lifestyle that can talk back to you."

The trio sat and talked for quite some time through the morning, becoming an intermediary between the Changeling and the Timberwolf. Eris was delighted to learn more about her favorite canine, while Errant was surprisingly posh in her speech. Though, the speech was more of a telepathic sense ability than direct speech. Discord was unsure how to classify the distinction between them. With Errant, he could only understand her telepathically; with Eris, it was more along the lines he knew exactly what the chirps and other noises meant. 

Perhaps it is that simple, he said to himself. Errant doesn't have a language, but Eris does? Is it that simple, or is there no solid explanation?

As noon came around, Discord looked around as the group started to become a bit bored of their current situation. Breakfast had been eaten, leftover meat had been stored, and a little Changeling was full of energy after her juice. After thinking of some of the spots he knew around the area, he figured he'd make a trip to a section he had not visited to frequently. There was a section of the forest he could see form the top of his cave that seemed to house many of the Minotaur camps. And not too far from those camps, was an stunning lake, which had almost crystal clear waters.

While the Minotaur herds did frequent the area, he had also seen packs of wolves and other creatures there. After suggesting that they go for a swim, and feigning shock that neither of the pair knew how, he settled upon that as their goal for the day. Before the day was out, he would teach Eris how to swim; biology permitting, that is. So, after packing some snacks, and checking outside for any signs of foul weather, the trio went on a hike. It took longer than Discord had anticipated, but they soon found themselves in front of the wide expanse. Though, they also found themselves within eyesight of a major party of Minotaurs on the banks.

Some were relaxing in the sunlight, while a few were bathing in the water. Not wanting to cause a fuss, he motioned to the pair to stay put in their current section of the woods; he would see if he could talk to the beasts about sharing the water. He warned them that if anything happened, return to the cave, before adding to return to the hive.

With his instructions clear, he walked out into the clearing around the lake. It was in fact as beautiful as it appeared from the top of the cave-- which was a decently sized hill. Perhaps that explained the large ceilings of the natural structure. As Discord made his way out, he turned towards the herd, and started walking to them, keeping his hand down to avoid being seen as a threat. The Minotaurs did not notice him at first, as it was a bit of a distance; thinking back, he probably would have been fine. But, this was for Eris and Errant's safety, not his; the Minotaur knew Discord in passing, but they didn't know the other two.

At first, all seemed to be well, as he approached, he got down on a knee, so he could be noticed without calling them out. And, in fact, they seemed okay with his appearance. Then he decided he would need to speak to get their attention.

"Excuse me," he said out loud, shuddering a bit at the stares he was receiving from a few of the larger bulls. He gave them a little bow. "Would you approve of my small group bathing on the other side of the lake?"

The groups bulls looked to each other, and they seemed to nod as one made himself more presentable, in a sense. He stood a bit more straight, walking out of the pack, and towards the human, who remained on a knee. The large, brutish-looking bull looked down at the human, who looked at him. Without a word being spoken, Discord stood slowly.

"It is an honour to meet you," he said. "You said your name was Iron Will?"

The two stared a bit of a share, the human clearly taking in what he said; the fact that he said their lead bull's name made the others of the herd turn to look at the pair.

"Indeed, we are a small group," Discord answered. "It is me, my daughter, and our companion."

A little bit of a glare came from the bull's eyes, with a following snort.

"Not at all," Discord said, raising his hands defensively. "I have not come into contact with any humans in over one hundred years, Iron Will."

Another grunt followed, with the bull crossing his surprisingly human-like arms.

"Yes, I am over a century old," Discord said, chuckling. "I am estimating close to roughly 150, but I haven't had much reference.  As for my guests, the first one is a Changeling toddler, and she is of no threat; she does not feed on anything more than me."

The bull gave a nod, followed by a more firm grunt.

"I understand your likely apprehension," Discord said, "being as I have seen your past bouts, but I can assure you our pup will not come in to harm you or your herd."

The bull seemed to be getting more angry, stomping a hoof.

"Yes," Discord answered, a bit hesitantly. "But, as I said, she will not be a threat to your herd."

The two shared a decently extended period of stares, almost a full minute.

"It would take me some time to explain how I came to take care of her," Discord said. "Do you know of the goddess, Mother Nature?"

The bull snorted, almost as if mocking him.

"Iron Will," he said, giving a slight grin, knowing he was about to start digging a hole, "I can assure you, having not seen you in my one hundred years in the Everfree--"

Discord went to a lower tone, chuckling. 

"You are no sort of god," he finished.

The bull groaned, letting out a loud moan.

"Indeed," Discord answered. "I should know, as Mother has made me. I told you my name, but not my purpose. I am Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, and Deception."

The bull leaned in, almost seeming to grin.

"Indeed," Discord said. "It makes sense that you could question all that I have mentioned here with that sort of title. Deception is not an easy skill to master, but honesty is. And if you wish to test my title, then I must challenge you to a 'Battle of the Gods', minus one."

With this statement, Iron Will let out an almost roar-like moan. He walked back to his herd as Discord looked around for something to place, wandering over and inspecting some sticks on the ground nearby. He made sure they were sturdy, and grabbed the two largest that he could scrounge. In case the bull wanted to battle with weapons, he threw them on the ground between where they had been conversing. After his discussion with his her, he returned, talking with him again.

Discord listened to the rules that the bull laid before him, nodding to show that he was listening.

"I can easily follow those rules," he said, smirking. "While I did intend to disrespect your assertions of godliness, I will respect your herd's traditions; being the challenger, it is only right."

With just a nod of agreement, Iron Will looked down at the sticks, and back to Discord.

"I wasn't sure what you battled with," he said, shrugging. "These were just in case your combat rules were weapon-based. But, I can handle a hooves-on approach."

Iron Will and Discord nodded in agreement, and turned their backs, walking several steps in the opposite direction. As they reached the supposedly appropriate distance, they turned back to face each other. Discord was ready, as was the massive bull. One of the other bulls came to stand halfway between, raising up a red object to serve as the starting motion. 

Discord chuckled, having still been talking with Iron Will as they waited. "I am not the kind of man to walk away from a challenge. Just don't be surprised by the results. Tell me, are broken legs a problem in your herd?"

A few moments of silences passed.

"Indeed," Discord said. "While those are the rules, I cannot guarantee that I will completely follow them."

Before the bull could return a response, the mediator dropped the red stick, at which point Iron Will dipped his head down, starting to rush at Discord. Discord did not move, however, keeping his eyes on the logs as the bull approached them. To the herd, their leader was moving like a wad from the human's hand cannons. Discord, though, could easily track his movements, and before the bull could cross the stick barrier, he snapped his fingers. 

Making sure to focus on what he wanted in that moment, knowing the true randomness of his unfocused magic, he kept his focus on the logs. In the split second from the snap, to the bull stepping between the logs, time seemed to move slow for Iron Will. First thing he knew, he was barreling at high speeds towards the still human; last thing he knew, he was face down in the sand, without a broken leg. 

Contrary to Discord's assumed intentions, the base of the missing twigs on the log instantly formed a harmless snare; Iron Will's leg was caught in the snare, sending him harmlessly onto the sand of the lake's banks. All of this, without harming anything more than Iron Will's pride.

iron will did struggle briefly, as Discord came up to him calmly, leaning over with a smile. 

"Surrender," he said. It was not a request, but a command. For just this instance, he was going to use his status to take what he needed; though, as he would later reflect, maybe it was a bit childish to do just for a swim.

Iron Will battled with the strong snare, trying to break free, only for Discord to make it repair itself whenever a bit of the limbs would show signs of stress. Soon, the bull started to relax, and Discord finally let him break out of the wooden snare. 

"This is why I asked you about your leg," Discord said. "I originally planned to just break your leg, but with how serious it was to you, I decided to do this. Unlike your herd's traditions, I do not take pride in taking another's life at this time. I am a spirit of chaos; I will play with that definition as I see fit. For me, I am not an agent of death, I just make things interesting. Therefore, I offer you mercy."

He then turned to the herd, having heard some of their chatter.

"And do not dare cast Iron Will out," he said. "I could hear your discussions over there. While I understand your traditions, your clan did not anticipate what kind of person I would be. If you intend to cast him out, you will have to answer to me, understand? I could have easily used these logs to take him down permanently, do not make me turn that threat to you."

After a moment of observing their expressions, the man let out a sigh, letting his shoulders drop. 

"Look at me Iron Will," he said sternly, though a bit exhausted with his little outburst. "I did not intend for it to go this far. I offer my apologies for insulting your heritage, but we came to a very childish conclusion to a simple request. My trio and I would like to swim in the pond opposite from your clan, and you have my promise that they are of no threat to you."

Iron Will stood, sharing a bow with Discord, though Discord's eyes widened.

"If they will let me," Discord said, "I would love to introduce them to you."

After a few moments, Discord nodded, turning, and coming back to his companions. Eris and Errant had made their way a bit closer to watch what he was doing. He knelt next to them.

"They will allow us to swim in the lake," he said, smiling. "In fact, they want to meet you, two. So, we won't be completely alone for the time being."

After they agreed on their approach, Eris, Errant, and Discord returned to the site of the herd, where they began to mingle with the group. To Discord's surprise, they were quite welcoming outside of battles. While he did have to intervene a couple of times on Iron Will's behalf, the new friends he made were quite quick to embrace their new friends. Though they showed apprehensions towards Errant at first, they worked their way past their experiences, and some began to play with her.

As he expected, Eris stole the show, a bit. She was more of the focus of the cows and younger Minotaurs, but Iron Will and his entourage of bulls did seem to appreciate her sweet demeanor. Discord did learn of some of the minor skirmishes the Changeling's used to have with Minotaurs, but that they hadn't had trouble for almost two whole months. Discord filled them in on what he had been doing, and the herd declared him the peacekeeper. 

Well, Mother,, he said to himself, I hope your are quite pleased with this. Your creatures are no problem for me to work with; makes me hesitant to try working on the humans if I ever meet them again.

After a few hours of discussion, and teaching Eris the basics for swimming-- which she actually picked up quite well--, the trio finally made their way back home. Arriving at sundown, Discord decided now would be a great time to start taking their baths. Being so young, Discord did not want to try and cook Eris in the hot springs yet; so, he settled with bathing her in the smaller clear spring. Using some of the gel he was gifted by Chrysalis, he polished the young one's carapace, shining her up nicely. He left her in there to let her bath some as he went back to the hot spring.

He got himself bare, dipping himself down into the spring carefully, stopping in surprise. The spring was not hot, as it usually was. It was still moderately warm, but was no longer bubbling and steaming. Despite the offsetting change, he continued, bathing himself completely, relaxing in the water. Eris soon made her way out of the water, and over to Errant, who started to tongue bath the little one; Discord soon followed suit, putting on another suit of clothes that Chrysalis had sent him. The queen insisted on sending him the full wardrobe of male clothes from her stash, gifting him a decent supply of clothes to make himself more presentable in the future.

All seemed to be going quite well, and Eris and Errant were waiting for him in the bed; but, Eris's eyes weren't focused on him. She seemed to be looking behind her father, and he watched to see if she would look at him if he stared long enough. Sure enough, he got a glance, but she turned back to whether she was seeing. Upon following her gaze, Discord turned to see what her, and now Errant, were seeing.

Standing at the edge of the formerly hot spring, where Discord had just been, was another man. Fully bare to the world around it, stood Discord, again. This one was a bit strange, as this one's hair was white. He was the same height, and he had everything Discord did. But, this wasn't him.

"Daddy," Eris said softly. "Why are there two of you?"
> To the Edge of Sanity- Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two Discords stared each other down, both with wildly different expressions on their faces. The true Discord was full of disbelief, and a bit of fear around his aura; the duplicate had an understanding, yet sinister smirk on its face. Eris came up to her father, grabbing hold of his pants leg.

"Daddy?" she said softly, almost whispering, "Who is that?"

Discord shook his head slowly, putting a hand in front of her, defensively. "I do not know, Eris."

The copy chuckled, wandering over to the clothes drawer. His laugh was one of a narcissistic nature, almost taunting Discord with its tone.

"Oh, Daddy doesn't know?" he said, imitating the little Changeling's whine.

The copy dressed himself comfortably, no longer exposing himself to the elements and his unprepared to-be hosts. When he was fully covered, he turned to the three, walking over slowly. The grin on his face unsettled Discord beyond anything before; so much so he could not even find the vocabulary to describe this unusual fear he was feeling. The two stared each other down, again; one with confidence and cunning, the other with fear and defensiveness.

"Come on, me," he said, looking the group over. "Do you ever look at your reflection in the water, Discord? Do you not ever catch a glance in the crystals of this cave?"

Discord just mutter a bit, before finding his words. "How are you me? What happened to that water?"

The copy held up his palm to stop the questions. "Okay, let us start from step one, okay? I am also Discord, you dolt. Though, being that it would be confusing for both of us to be called that in our little story, I will go by Drocsid, okay?"

Discord took a breath, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Drocsid, okay."

"Now, Discord," he said, firmly, dropping the grin, "I am here to make your life a living hell, in all honesty. You needn't worry, I'm not here for your dog, or your weird kid."

Discord's fear almost completely fell away from him as he felt a bit more protective; he was sure it wasn't good at first, but now that the potential threat made itself clear, he needed to do everything he could to protect his family. He let out an almost inhuman growl at Drocsid.

"Oh, you imbecile," he said, chuckling to himself. "Mother doesn't want this side of you, yet. You need to be conditioned; you need to be broken."

Drocsid lifted up his hand, snapping his fingers loudly; much louder than Discord could do currently. First, he could not tell what had been done, but he noticed that Eris wasn't making her little chirps and whimpers. He glances around, turning to find the pair frozen in solid stone.

"ERIS, ERRANT!" he shouted, staring at the statues, before trying to run to them.

Drocsid grabbed Discord's collar, and threw him back to the ground near a stalagmite. 

"Ah, ah, ah," he said, mockingly. "We have work to get to, my friend."

Drocsid started to laugh as a dark cloud began to envelope the two beings. Discord glanced around, hurrying to his feet.

"What are you doing, you prick!?" He shouted, defensive once more, and a bit fearful of the cloud.

"Taking your mind somewhere it can be worked with," Drocsid replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, if you are mentally strong enough for it, anyway."

Before Discord could send out another question, the cover was complete. The two Discord's stood face-to-face, as the two times before. There was no light, yet they could see each other clearly; there was no sound, other than their breathing. Discord could notice one more thing apart form the overwhelming lack of anything. The voices in his head had stopped.

"You see, Discord," Drocsid started, "Mother has decided that you are not quite living up to her specifications for a 'Spirit of Chaos' to do her bidding. So, I am going to break you, as much as I can. We're going to play games, maybe you can do that, right? Or has this past one and a half centuries led you to forget what those are?"

"I was never one for the children's games," Discord said, backing up a but from the copy. "You should know that, if you are a copy of me."

"Indeed, I should," it answered. "But, whoever said I was a copy? Perhaps I did lead to that implication, but no. Discord, the spring you used to create me has a name, from Mother. She called is the Mirror Pool."

Discord's eyes widened. "So, your the exact opposite, but in the same body?"

"Oh Mother," Drocsid said. "Thank the creators he has a brain my size. Yes, you slow fool! I am you, but worse! Though, in Mother's case, I am what she wants you to be; just worse. You get what I'm hinting at."

Discord nodded, running up to the copy, and swinging a punch at him. Drocsid didn't try dodging, taking the full brunt of the haymaker to the side of his face, sending him to the floor. Discord shook his hand, as the copy slowly stood up, laughing off the hit.

"Hey, not bad," he mocked Discord, straightening his jaw. "But, I'm quite good at that, myself."

With a speed Discord had never conceived of, outside of the dream realm, Drocsid closed their relatively short distance; he delivered a shot to Discord's chest, sending him back a distance. With the breath knocked out of him, Discord held his chest, slowly making his way back to his feet.

"Oh come on!" Drocsid groaned. "That was just one hit! Then again, you aren't at your desired state, yet. That probably hurt like hell, eh?"

Discord just grunted in response, holding up his hands in a couple of fists, expecting a good fight. Drocsid simply shrugged his shoulders, knowing the outcome of going hand-to-hand with himself. He once more rushed Discord, turning his own speed down to match the more human of the pair. Discord was no brawling expert, as evident by the Minotaur challenge he participated in, but he knew enough, he felt. When Drocsid came in close, he grabbed the attackers arm, and threw him to the ground. Attempting to follow with a kick, Discord followed the body to the black ground, watching in disbelief as the body fell through the darkness as if there were no floors.

He straightened back up, glancing around to see where he had gone, finding Drocsid behind him; before he could fully register the clone's location, he found himself being knocked to the floor as well. As the time went on, Discord could feel Drocsid beginning to up his speed, and his strength. Within the span of what felt like a handful of minutes, he found himself going from mostly offensive, to primarily defensive tactics. He would avoid all the damage he could manage, only to find himself back on the ground with each head of steam he seemed to find. He soon was resorting to holds; when he could get a grip, he would grasp Drocsid in a choke-hold. 

For a few more moments, this form of defense was working, apart from Drocsid constantly seeming to vanish whenever the original would find his way around the attacks. Drocsid started to do the same moves, pulling out some holds that Discord could not imagine would be effective. At one point, Drocsid had his original counterpart locked in a hold in which his arms went under Discord's, and wrapped back to the back of his head. Discord was trapped for a good amount of time, trying to think of some way to break the hold, which was proving far more difficult than he thought.

Discord didn't know himself to be a dirty fight, but in the end he resorted to his last technique, and scooted up far enough to kick his leg back; his strike landed square between Drocsid's legs, causing him to let out a girlish squeal. He vanished once more with a childish whimper, before coming back at Discord some more. Starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, Discord started to use more and more desperate tactics. Fingers to the eyes, a hard bit on the nose, and other things were not off the table as his filthy moves began to let him gain some momentum.

But, Drocsid was ready to play these games, too. His first move of revenge came in the form of sand into Discord's eyes. Discord was both blinded, and highly confused as to where his copy had managed to get sand when they were likely still in the cave. The human fought his way through the stinging in his eyes, and another series of holds from Drocsid, before managing to jam a finger in the copies ear. Drocsid let out another squeal, running off once more. He tried to do a second filthy trick, by throwing what appeared to be dandelion seeds into Discord's face. At first, it seemed to work, but Discord got the fantastic idea to use his trick from the earlier afternoon.

When the copy rushed him from the front, Discord tossed his own handful of the seed in front of himself, and snapped his fingers; this ensnared the copy in an overgrown form of dandelions, servings as rope to hold him in place. Discord flopped to the ground, trying to catch his breath for a bit, watching Drocsid.

"Okay, okay!" Drocsid growled. "I'll give you this one, dammit, just let me out of this sh--!"

With another snap, the vines of the overgrown dandelion broke, sending Drocsid to the ground. Discord smirked a bit, panting as he felt good about himself. Drocsid was far from finished, though, as he started to grin a bit. A wisp of smoke began to cover the clone, until it fully enveloped him to the point where Discord couldn't see anything. After what seemed like minutes, the smoke dissipated, exposing a young human girl, from a time long forgotten by the human.

"And who is this?" Discord asked, raising an eyebrow.

Drocsid's voice echoed with a chuckle, as the girl spoke quietly. "Have you truly forgotten about me, Errant?"

Discord stared, eyes opening a bit as he stared at the figure, even growling. "How do you know that name, human?"

The clone stifled a laugh, chuckling. "Oh, started taking the role seriously, today, hm? Calling fellow humans such a simple title, while you called yourself a god to that Minotaur."

Discord ignored him, as the girl spoke again. "The name Errant is long forgotten by all of humanity, it would seem. Do you not remember my face, brother?"

The man blinked, staring at the girl closely, slowly shaking his head. "Drocsid is doing a poor job at reminding me. My Mother has cleaned me of my past."

"Errant," the girl said, tearing up a little. "How can you forget me? Was I not around long enough for you to care about me?"

"I am sorry," he said softly. "What is your name?"

"Static," she said softly.

Discord blinked, head pulling back a little at the sound of the name. "Aurora?"

She nodded, smiling shyly. "Static Aurora. Roughly--"

"The 'Still Light'," Discord finished. "Though, our intentions were more likely to mean sort of stoic, or stable."

He thought hard as he could, shaking his head. "My supposed sister can remember my name, but I cannot remember my life with her."

The form began to change again, surrounding with another dark grey cloud. Before long, a much older woman appeared before him. This one had long since seen her time, with long grey hair, and a wrinkled form.

"Lost as you were known to be," she said wearily. "So lost know, you probably don't even recognize me."

Discord nodded his head in agreement. "That would be a correct assumption, madam. I do not recall you."

"You disappeared on the eve of my death," she said softly, whispering. "I had been sick for so long, but you couldn't handle anything of the sort; you always lived up to your name, my son."

Discord stared at her, giving her a little shrug. "As my supposed sister before; this spirit pretends to know me, but I have no memory with her. Though, the pain does remain in my mind."

"Then our Mother, truly is not worthy," she said sorrowfully, before she was blanketed by the dark as well. 

The clouds dispersed once more, revealing a man clad in ancient armor, of which Discord was sure had not been relevant in centuries. 

"My son," it said, with a similar whispering voice to the females before. "To be on the way to becoming a god, to be against his own flesh."

"While I understand now what Drocsid is doing," Discord said, more sternly, "let it be known that I cam from a time where humanity did not exactly deserve its mantle on the planet. Mother is simply looking to rectify this."

"So she is no longer worthy of our praise," said the ghost, vanishing. 

Once more, the smoke came, and left; this time, leaving Drocsid in their place. "You recognized them all, didn't you?"

Discord clenched his fists, growling as he punched the empty air, expecting a hard floor. 

"Of course I did," he said softly. "Of course I would recognize my own flesh and blood, you morally bankrupt apparition. How could I not remember the sister of mine who drowned in the creek near our home? How could I forget the father that never returned from the battlefield? And how, oh how could I forget the mother that gave everything to keep me safe? Of course I remember their face, and their destinies. But no, I do not have any memories of the life I had before!"

Drocsid nodded, smirking. "And doesn't that just eat at your mind a bit? Did their whispering voices not sound familiar to you?"

Discord looked at him angrily, about to ask him what that meant, when the voices began to speak again. The whispers he had been hearing since the very beginning of his trials; the voices that seeming taunted him, and brought him his nightmares when he had no one to talk to. And they were no longer speaking in their old tongue. Just as his forgotten family had before him, the voices had grown a new tongue, and a new language. He could understand their messages, and he hated them. Gone were the days of trying to guess what they were saying; now, they taunted him with their scorning accusations. 

And he accepted their scorn, taking the pain as he felt he would have deserved it. Drocsid simply grinned, having the dark room fade from around them as Discord succumbed to the night that had blanketed the forest; Discord fell asleep on the hard ground of the cave, while Eris and Errant watched from their stone prisons. 

As the days went by, Drocsid would continue to make appearances to the human. In the beginning, it was always at night. He would come once every few days, catching Discord off guard. They would always fight, as well. In Discord's mind, there was nothing to do to defeat this bastardization of his own subconscious. He would fight as valiantly as he could, only to be trapped by the evil clone's mind games, and have his heart, and mind broken further. Though, to his credit, Discord was not an easy human to break. Mother had given this copy all the tools it needed to "fix" her son just right, and make him so much more malleable; but, the original's mind was not an easy nut to crack.

But, it was slowly working. As time drolled on, and the visits became more frequent, Discord not only began to find more tricks up his metaphorical, and literal sleeves; he also began to learn to talk down his own fears and his voices of the past. And it was upon the last night fo the first six months, that Discord finally got the answer to this torment he needed. After his usual battles with Drocsid, concluding with a devastating mind game that pitted Eris against Discord's own morals, the human broke the rules that Drocsid had seemingly laid out for his reality.

Upon trying to fade the void as Discord was falling asleep once more, the human used a snap of his fingers to keep Drocsid in place; the clone's hands were now covered with stone, preventing him from using his magic any longer. Discord slowly approached the clone, grinning widely.

"You know," he said softly, "you did what Mother wanted you to do. And, I know what she was intending, but I know she is also very patient. If I have to go through these trials again, she no doubt will shove you back into the line-up, and try to break me further. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong in that assessment, and my time will be over if she can't fully break me, but I know this! I know you may look like me; you may act like me. You could probably even get away with being me, if I would allow it."

His voice rose a bit as he pushed the clone onto his back, growling.

"But! You are not me. While I can feel some changes being brought about by these painful trials; while I can feel my power somewhat being more manageable. While I can see the faces of my past, and now put a name to them; Errant is dead. Well, me as Errant. My dog's alive, if you don't remember. Anyway, that life is dead. I am not some human, who has to rely on some damned pity-story to work my way up to some sort of level. As far as I am concerned, I have come as far as I have ever wanted to; I didn't even know I wanted this power. Hell, maybe Mother indeed knows best, because I can feel the need to gain more. But, I will do it at my own pace. And I won't have some second rate nightmare, who has overstayed his welcome, dictate how I live."

Discord grabbed the imposter by the hair, starting to drag him back to the pool. Drocsid started to squirm, even as the tugging hair hurt him greatly. "What do you think you are doing, you idiot!?"

Discord did not dignify the bastard with a response. He dragged the dead weight to the pool, and used what new strength he had to toss Drocsid back into the Mirror Pool, garnering screams of horror from the clone. As he sunk down, and finally submerged, Discord looked to the pool, and snapped his fingers. Within a matter of moments, the reflective pool began to lose its sheen, and the temperature once more began to rise.

Turning back to his companions, his anger and resentment began to fade, as he saw the stone began to chip away. He walked his way over to the statue as Errant and Eris began to squirm, breaking free of their prisons, and storming over to him, taking him to the ground in affection. As they once more came together as the family they were just six months prior, Discord notice one thing that gave him some peace, if just for now.

The voices were silent, and the wind had died.
> Nothing to Give - Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night that followed Discord's half-year long torture was not to be tainted by anything more than the sunrise, the following morning. The quiet, and the escape from his past demons provided him with nothing more than blissful peace. And in addition, Discord also lay near the two beings that had brought him the most comfort since he had met Mother. Eris and Errant were irreplaceable; though Discord did concede that the time for one to part had approached.

The morning began is it had before. Discord struggled to shift his way out of bed without disturbing Eris, while working with Errant to give her a new body to huddle up to. Following up with preparing breakfast, Discord prepared the last of the meat that Errant had collected; Discord managed to salvage the meat with a bit of his newfound regeneration techniques. Though he felt nothing but pain during his torment, the few abilities he picked up over the first half of the year would likely bring him endless resourcefulness.  Though, he still did not feel like he was quite where Mother intended him to be.

Eris, Errant, and Discord gathered around their table once more, eating as family again. While they ate, Discord could not help but watch Errant, and scrub her wooden head. He had always been affectionate, but Errant sensed he knew what she was thinking.

I am sorry, Master she spoke softly.

Discord shook his head. "Don't you ever be, you overgrown stack of twigs. I knew this would have to happen some day. In the midst of my war with that imposter, I had to work my way up to being able to let it happen."

"What happened to you in those dark spheres. Daddy?" Eris asked, finishing her juice.

"That creature showed me a past," Discord said, "that had long since been laid to rest. Of a family I no longer recalled, and of a life that I had no interest to remember. He used my distance friends and family, and even those closer to me; he was working to break me down. Instead, though, I found the strength to prepare for what the future may bring. As with today, too."

Eris tilted her head. "What does that mean, Daddy?"

Discord looked to Errant, who licked his cheek affectionately; he hadn't let her do that since she was small. He always found it so repulsing, as her tongue was not flesh. He tongue wasn't exactly wood, either. Instead, it was the texture of thin wood fibers, moist and curled up into a twisted thing that barely resembled a tongue. But, today, he needed her reassurance.

"Well, Eris," Discord started, "Errant has grown into a find specimen of a Timberwolf. She came to me when I needed a companion, and stayed with me through the loneliest of times, and the darkest of nights. When I had nightmares, and the voices would not leave me alone, she was there to comfort me."

He sighed, pulling the large beast into a firm hug.

"But, today it is preparation for a new life," Discord said softly. "We are going to be trying to find a Timberwolf pack, to see if they will accept her into their clans. If not, she will go off to try and find any wanderers."

Eris blinked, whining quietly. "She has to leave?"

Discord nodded slowly, smiling. "And it won't be easy for me, either. But, we have nothing to offer, anymore. My nightmares are gone; my demons are dead. And she is a fully grown Timberwolf, now. She needs to be with her own, and we need to help her find them."

Errant nodded. Though, how will we find a pack, Master? It isn't too many more days before their packs will likely be more dispersed for the warmer months.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Discord said to her. "During our second year in the forest, I had been looking for patterns in their migrations routes. More than likely, we will be returning to the lake we met the Minotaurs, to see if we can catch them. Before I learned how to understand you guys, I wouldn't have been able to plan this out; but, now, it is something I can do with ease."

While breakfast was toned down a bit, as the news breaking caused a more depressing aura to fill the cave, Discord was relieved to see that Eris was taking it relatively well. She hadn't had much time to grow too attached to the canine, seeing as they had only spent a handful of days not sealed in stone. So, with the silent agreement, Discord began to gather some things for them. He decided to pack some patchwork towels for Eris, as a swim in the lake might make it easier for her to relax her mind. Though Errant would be gone, he would have Eris for likely years to come.

As the sun approached the its peak in the sky, Discord huddled the three of them together, and began marching in the direction of the crystal clear waters of the Everfree's prominent lake. Along the way, they would make stops to admire some of the fauna beginning to emerge due to the changing seasons. Small rodents, and often young deer would cross their paths, keeping the mood up high for them as they finally reached the edge of the water. And it was just as beautiful as it had been the months prior, almost crystal clear to the bottom, with a bit of reflectivity from an angle.

Discord and Errant helped Eris get her footing capably into the waters, and started to help her try and remember how the Minotaurs had helped her learn to swim. Within minutes, the little Changeling was happily wading in the shallow waters, as Discord and Errant relaxed on the more shallow sections where they could sit. It would be some time before the expected pack of Timberwolves began to make themselves known in the area. Though Errant was large, Discord was still astounded by how massive the males of a Timberwolf pack were. He simply stared in awe as the first, almost hut-sized beast came into view, followed by more as they left the brush at the edges of the forest. 

He could see that they noticed the young female he was relaxing with, and felt their glowing eyes upon him as well. Feeling now was as good a time as any, he motioned Errant to stay put, and stood. Taking a soft breath, still quite nervous about approaching these creatures, he started to walk over to the pack. He stopped at first, when a loud growl began to emanate from the leader, but decided to put on a more confident walk as he came near.

"I understand you have had troubles with humans in the past," he said loudly. "However, this is nothing more than me coming to make an acquaintence, and offer a treaty from myself."

"A treaty with the ancient enemies of the pack?" the large wolf spoke. His voice was deeper than many Discord had heard, and it was a strong one. "In what life would you expect us to ally with the slayers of our clans?"

"Quite simple, Splinter," he said, winking, "I am not a human like you will ever have met in your lifetime."

The wolf stepped forward, barking at him defensively. "How did you know what to address me by, you fool?"

Discord held out a hand in a stop sign, focused back towards his own wolf, who had started to approach in his defense.

"And how did you manage to tame one of ours?"

Splinter was angry, Discord could see. This alpha more than likely was quite old, himself, being that he could remember some of the old struggles that humans had with them.

"She has simply been serving a life debt," Discord said. "I saved her as a pup, and reared her for the last year and a half."

"So you are the one who we had seen in the caves," Splinter said, seeming to relax somewhat. "I do recall seeing the young wolf, but I assumed she was from another pack."

Discord shook his head. "It will take a few moments to explain our situation, and how she came about. But, I will guarantee there is a chance you will NOT believe a word of it."

"First, what is your name, human?" Splinter asked firmly.

Discord gave a slight bow, giving his recently adopted sly grin. "My name is Discord. I am the Spirit of Chaos, and Deception."

He felt proud of himself, for that introduction. He no longer felt so reserved in revealing his full title; not that he had been asked enough to really get used to revealing his role in this world. Splinter, however, seemed to scoff at the notion.

"An overgrown monkey, such as yourself," he said, "carrying such a bold title? You better have the proof needed to back up your story for me to believe this."

Discord nodded. "All I would need to do, is lay hand on your head, Splinter."

"I will NOT be touched like those filthy domesticated bastard wolves you humans are so chummy with."

"Very well, then if you do not believe me, that is all upon you," Discord said. "Errant was found within my cave about a year after my arrival into the Everfree, and months after I settled in the cave. She had no pack, and she was quite feisty for a pup. In the cave, she managed to become entangled on the floor with a stone spire speared through her leg. I was but a lowly potion maker, at the time, so I had to break both of my shoulders to break the rock off, and free her. Since then, she has lived with me; she has hunted by my side, and served as family."

Splinter simply looked at him, his anger from earlier still apparent. And Discord was not patient, as he just rolled his eyes at the silence.

"Oh, okay," he said, letting out his own growl. "How about this? I hate fighting to make my point, so I will prove my point to you. If I can get my hand on top of your head, without you being able to lay a scratch on me, then you do as I say for a few minutes."

Splinter smirked. "If you think you can lay a hand on me without a fight, then try your damnedest, ape."

Discord nodded, smirking as he stood in place, letting the massive beast gain his defensive stance. Though he wanted to make an example of the wolf, he wanted to make sure Errant would be protected in this pack. And so, with a snap of his hand, the wolf found himself stuck in place as the human walked over to him. He wasn't visibly bound by anything, nor was he stoned; instead, Discord paralyzed the wolf, simply tapping his head upon reaching the necessary distance. With another snap, the wolf was freed, but stood in surprise.

"How did you do that, Discord?" he said, his deep voice slightly less so, now.

"I may be a spirit of deception," Discord said, "but that doesn't mean every word out of my mouth with be a lie. In fact, sometimes the best chaos can be created from the truth. However, we had a deal."

Splinter sighed, nodding. "Very well, do what you must."

Discord nodded, placing his hand on the wolf's head, causing them both to stiffen. Following his own, Splinter's eyes went into a bright white state as they stood their for some time. Errant had made her way gradually closer, leaving Eris to play in the shallows of the lake. After what seemed like ages, though only being for a few moments, their trances broke. Discord stepped back form the wolf.

"True to your word," Splinter said. "You were not telling a lie. You are not like the other humans I have grown to know over the centuries. You would not harm a creature in this forest, and you earn my respect. But this action makes me feel like you were lying about simply becoming allies."

Discord smiled, shrugging. "Well, I just didn't tell you the full truth. Being that she is a full grown wolf, I was hoping that I could find a pack that would take care of Errant."

Splinter looked to the approaching female, then to Discord. "Do you have nothing more for her?

"I do not, Splinter," Discord answered. "I have raised her to the best of my ability, but her independence from me has grown for quite some time. While she will always be with me, I feel it is time to return her to her own kind; even if she wasn't exactly brought about by conventional means."

"This is very unconventional, indeed," the alpha said. "And under any normal circumstances, and outside would not be allowed within a group. But, seeing the heart you have for her, and the stories I feel she may have to tell us; seeing that you truly feel you cannot offer her anything more, we will do what we can to fit her into our lives."

Discord nodded, smiling bright, turning to start to call Errant over. Upon turning, he saw the canine sitting right behind him, almost head height. Letting out a girlish squeal, Discord jumped.

"Holy Mother!" Discord screeched. "Do not sneak up on me like that, Errant!"

Earning a laugh from the pack around him, Discord clenched his chest, panting; though, Discord paid her back by plucking a lead off a branch on her head, making her squeak.

"M-Master!" she yelped, playfully snapping at him. "Do that, again, I dare you!"

Discord chuckled, scooping the large pup up into a hug, with surprising ease. He held the embrace for a moment, before setting her down, smirking. 

"Oh hush," he chuckled. "Don't need you heading into your pack as a pile of twigs, silly."

Eris watched from a distance, making her way onto one of the towels to watch her daddy introduce her brief friend to her new family. Though she did feel a little sad, as she could still sense Discord's aura from earlier, she did see that Errant and the pack were happy, as they could be. But, the sound of rustling leaves behind her caught her attention, making her pivot to look into the forest.

Discord spent his last few moments with Errant, while also talking with some of the others in the clan, meeting other pups, and making a sure friendship with the clan. On top of this, he got promises from the leader than they would stop by the cavern whenever they made their way by it in the future. With this in mind, Discord embraced Errant one last time, and turned to leave. He no longer had his companion, sadly; but, now he had a pretty little thing on the bank of the lake that would have his full attention for many years to come.

"My love for one is spent," Discord said to himself. "Well, no; that's not exactly fair to tell yourself. You will always have room for more. Whenever you see her, your life will probably light up more. But now, there's a little bug that needs to be reared. She loves you more than you can probably feel, and she seems to be getting along with the strange woman on the bank."

Discord stopped, eyes widening at this. Indeed, Eris was happy, talking to a green-themed woman standing on the edge of the lake. The woman had the little one in her arms, playfully bouncing her in her hold as Discord approached hesitantly.

"Um, hello?" he said firmly, though trying not to sound as defensive as he felt.

The woman looked up to him, smiling sweetly. As with the few handfuls of humanoid females he had approached since his second year, she was gorgeous; and that was putting it lightly. Her elegance reminded him strongly of Mother. And unlike the many he had met before, he didn't feel threatened by her, just confused.

Eris giggled, smiling at Discord. "Daddy, you never mentioned you had a sister!'
> The Goddess and her Spirits - Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The green woman looked at Discord with soft, soothing eyes, making the human relax a little; though, he was still quite nervous of Eris being in a stranger's arms.

"Well, Daddy?" said the woman, giggling. 

Discord simply stared, before getting his mind back together. "Well, I can't have a sister, Eris. My only sister died over a hundred years ago."

The woman gently held Eris out to Discord, who happily took the little Changeling into his arms.

"And he is right," said the woman. "But, before that, let me introduce myself. I am Gaea Everfree, guardian of the Everfree forest."

Discord took a breath, trying to calm himself. He was starting to feel quite rude, just staring Gaea down like a prude.

"Apologies, Madam," he said, clearing his throat. "I just haven't seen another human in such a long time, without outside interference."

Gaea waved off the apology. "There is no need to be sorry, Discord. Yes, I know your name, I'll explain it soon. And honestly, this is still outside interference; though, it is much less vindictive than the last."

"The last?" Discord asked.

Gaea nodded. "We will have time to discuss this over dinner, dear brother. Do you know where the ruins of the old Everfree Empire is located?"

He shook his head, trying to think of such a place, but coming up with nothing.

"Very well," she said. "I am not surprised. Mother mentioned putting a perception barrier around the walls of the city to prevent passersby from seeing it. It keeps your brain from even registering that it exists in your line of sight."

Discord just nodded, rocking Eris in his arms. "So, would you like me to follow to this city?"

Gaea simply nodded, turning away to lead Discord away from the lake. While rightfully hesitant to follow the stranger out, Discord could sense no ill intentions from her; though, he did sense a decent amount of joy in her aura. So, against all of his instincts, he started behind her with Eris in tow. They followed the woman out through the forest, which changed into easy pathways for them with a wave of the woman's hands. Mother's influence was clear in this being, and perhaps that is what made Discord sort of relaxed around her.

The first stop they made was the cave. Gaea instructed, and eventually had to insist, that Discord get ready to move everything, but nothing he would not need. She assured him food was plentiful where they would be going, and that they would have a good room there. Once more, against his instincts, Discord agreed with her; they packed up the things they needed from their old cave. Something began eating at Discord's mind as they came to the entrance, as he turned back to it. Without a word, Discord snapped his fingers, and collapsed the entrance of the cave. He finally sealed himself, and the world, from the magic in that cave. No more mirror pool, and no more potions. He would never need those again.

Eris took a bit of a lead ahead of Discord, as her and Gaea talked on their trek back through the brush, away from their previous home. Gaea would glance back to Discord every once in a while, making sure he was keeping up, and trying to make sure he was being kept in the loop with their conversations. Though she did worry somewhat about his seemingly lost expressions, she knew the reasons behind it. While only two years had passed for Discord, it had moves so slowly. Being in a forced confinement was likely detrimental to a human's psyche. And while she knew exactly what Mother had planned, she had a little pity for the man who was supposed to be her brother.

"A soul tattered by loss," she said to herself. "Losing so much, yet still a soul with everything to provide, as Mother described. But, I can feel her affects, too. He is far less controlled by his inhibitions. If he was taught to let go, and be a bit more free, perhaps I could help in the end.

Almost an hour after they left the cave, the trio came upon a large, marble-like wall, surrounding a massive city. To Discord, it was a bit odd to call a city an empire, but he was sure there was simply some definition he was not privy to. And though visibly decrepit, Discord was in awe at its relative majesty. Many of the stone structures that resembled shops and houses from his life eons ago lined the inside streets; and all this was simply visible from their hilltop vantage point.

Without her lead, Discord started to walk towards it slowly.

Eris tugged lightly on Gaea's gown. "What's Daddy acting like that for?"

Gaea smiled, lifting the little one, once more. "Your father is simply seeing something he has not had the opportunity to observe in over one hundred years. He likely lived in a place quite similar to this, only to lose it when his path to becoming a Spirit was started."

"A Spirit?" Eris asked. "Like, a ghost?"

Gaea smiled, nuzzling her as they followed Discord to the gates. She was content to let the human take in this familiar, yet different world.

"While they do share a name," Gaea said softly, "the Spirit and the Ghost are quite different. Are you aware of Mother Nature, child?"

Eris nodded, smiling. "Daddy mentions her a lot when he talks for a long time."

"Good, then you know she is a goddess?" Gaea asked. After receiving a nod. "Well, in our world, there is a structure. Similar to how your hive was set up, you see. You have the creators, who are the true gods. No one alive, dead, or beyond has seen their face. Even beings like Mother have never seen them; but, she was made by them, and she has heard their voices. Mother, while a goddess to this world, is what is known as a demigod; she has many of the powers of the creators, but she is not all knowing, like them. Then you have beings like your father, and I; though, we have taken different paths."

"To be Spirits?" Eris asked.

"Exactly," she smiled, tapping the Changeling's nose. "A Spirit is hard to put into a single definition. In my case, I was created by Mother for the sole purpose of protecting the Everfree Forest. I was planned, but I wasn't first. Discord was not in the initial plan. He was not directly created by Mother's hands, though she eventually found him. She has been trying to rebuild him into his new life. He is to be a Spirit of Chaos, and Deception."

Eris giggled softly at that. "He's not too good at lying."

Gaea smirked at the little one, pinching her ear. "That's because you and I have the ability to see past his outer shell. But, normal humans do not have that ability."

"So what is Daddy's purpose?"

"He just needs to loosen up, a bit," Gaea answered, shrugging. "He's got the mind for it. He can lie, to a human; he is very protective of the forest, and his loved ones, too. But, he is not meant to be just an evil monster. He is to balance out the human's violent nature."

Upon seeing the look of confusion in Eris's eyes, Gaea continued.

"Humans have not always distanced themselves from the forests," she said. "They used to destroy the forests in excessive quantities, often discarding what they didn't use. Mother originally created the Timberwolves, then the Minotaurs to stop them. When that didn't work, she created the Changelings."

Eris giggled. "Did we work?"

"You worked far better than the other two," Gaea said. "Though, over time, the humans began to show how intelligent they were. They carried new weapons, and were very dangerous if they didn't follow a strict tactic. Though it worked, Mother needed something more. Originally, she wanted Discord to be a counter to herself. She saw herself as the pinnacle of honesty, and peace. So, she lured in your father, and began changing him."

"What about you?" Eris asked softly.

"As for me, Mother decided after some time that perhaps those traits weren't exactly truthful of her. She was honest, yes, but her creations were anything but peaceful. The humans are a perfect example. While you have examples of good beings, like your father, the humans' destructive nature was all her fault. So, while she decided to keep Discord, she started trying to keep more of his good side. His love for everything around him that wasn't human has remained. And I am simply his chosen companion. I call him my brother, but we are not even slightly related; only by Mother's decree. I am Gaea Everfree, Spirit of Protection."

"So, Mother didn't want to counter herself, anymore?" Eris asked.

"Essentially, yes," Gaea said. "All will be explained around dinnertime, but in short, she no longer wishes to force a balance that can't be kept. For the time that she sees and can sense, true peace will never be plausible."

As the girls spoke with each other, Discord was lost in his own world. Very often he would detour into one of the abandoned buildings, trying to make sense of the signs, and other things. While he could not read the lost language, he felt like he could understand it; he simply figured his magic could fix this later, when he would be able to focus better. After some time, the girls would take the lead as he wandered. He finally shook himself out of his stupor, hurrying to catch up with them, and making his way up to the palace doors.

"This is where the original royal couple would have stayed, Eris," Gaea explained to the youngster, having been giving the Changeling a history lesson of the forest and city.

"It's so big," Eris side, her wide eyes scaling the height of the turrets and towers.

"It is, indeed," said the woman. "It is actually quite a marvel of human ingenuity from the time period, too. It is actually older than your father."

Eris nodded, keeping her eyes on it until they were too close to the main gates. Gaea snapped her fingers, in a manner quite similar to Discord's, and opened the gate with her magic. While appearing to be solid wood, the Spirit of Protection had formed the door with her own provisions; Discord was indeed impressed as he observed her work her magic.

"This is all so impressive to see," Discord said. "Though, I must ask, why are we here?"

Gaea nodded. "I shall get your food prepared first, Discord. I believe the next few hours will be of a vital importance to you, and you need not miss it."

Without another word, and a simple wave, Gaea was covered in a thick envelope of plants, before they opened back to reveal she had vanished. This left Discord and Eris to themselves in the main hall. With nothing to do, they began to explore the palace, hand-in-hand. They would explore the old structure's architecture, and artworks. Discord found himself being able to recognize some of the flora that was present in some images, though it looked a little different than he was used to. Eris was more interested in the statues of different animals. She had likely never seen horses, or even the dogs that the humans had; and she was intrigued by them more than her father.

Their exploration did not last more than an hour, however, before Gaea began to hunt for them. She eventually found the pair looking out over a balcony near the old soldier's barracks. Rousing them from their trances, she motioned them to follow her to the dinner table. Discord and Eris followed Gaea through the massive halls, which seemed to be frozen in time; they soon reached the dining hall, and Discord stopped as he looked at the head of the table.

In the main seat, sat the figure of a woman he had not seen since his imprisonment in the stone casings.

"Mother," he said softly, smiling widely at the woman. 

Mother smiled at Discord, standing as her son came up to him, hugging her as firmly as he could manage, head resting on her shoulder.

"My son," she said warmly. "I have missed you more than you can understand; but be aware than I was always within earshot of you."

As they embraced, Mother looked to Eris, who looked was staring at her confusingly. She kept her hold for a second, before letting Discord go; he took his seat at the table, just to Mother's right. 

"Hello, young one," she said, smiling at the Changeling. "What is your name?"

"E-eris," the youngling said quietly.

"Well, Eris," Mother said, "I am Mother Nature, though all my creations and their offspring call me Mother. I feel, however as there is a more appropriate world for my son's child to call me, isn't there, Discord?"

Discord nodded. "We called our next closest ancestors our grandparents; grandmother, and grandfather respectively."

Gaea smiled, playfully pushing the little Changeling forward. "Go ahead, give your grandmother a nice hug, Eris."

The Changeling nodded, coming up to Mother, who was not a small woman, and hesitantly held her hands up to her. Happily, Mother picked the young one, bringing her into a warm embrace. Eris could not describe how she felt, but the instant the woman held her, her nervousness fell away; she felt as relaxed as if she had known this woman all her life. Mother sat at the table with Eris in her arms, as Gaea orchestrated the food to be set out on the table; to Discord and Eris's surprise, the ones setting the table were simple forest fauna. Deer would bring the main dishes with their teeth holding the plates out, and smaller primates would bring the trio their drinks. Eris got her usual grape juice, though there was an unusual bright green fruit situated in front of her. Gaea simply told her it was a newer fruit that she was told Changelings would love.

There was very little discussion as the four began eating. The only interruption to the silence was Eris, who would ask Mother a question, and receive a vague answer in response. It was not an atmosphere of discomfort, however; in fact, the aura in the room was nothing short of blissful. But, for the moment, there was nothing to say. Discord and Eris found the food to be fantastic, and Eris's fruit seemed especially good. Though, Discord tried a bit when he was offered, and nearly wretched upon tasting it. But, the family, together at last, ate as they had always been meant to. 

Eris fell asleep not too long after finishing her meal, with Discord finishing his soon after. Discord could tell the night was not done yet, however, and remained where he was as Gaea offered to put Eris to bed. Mother smiled, putting her hand on his comfortingly as they waited for the other to return. Once Gaea took her seat again, the silence was finally broken.

"Discord?" Mother asked softly.

"Mother," he answered happily, kissing her hand.

She smiled at him, seeing that he was still somewhat intact.

"My son, it is time for me to tell you what is going on," she said, looking between the two of her children. "Do you remember what my plans were for you, originally?"

"From the decade of relative silence, you would say you want me to be your antithesis," Discord answered. "You wanted me to be something to counteract your honest and peaceful nature."

"Good boy," she said, smiling. "However, something has changed since then. I began to look at myself, and converse with my own morality. While I do still hold on to the veneer of honesty, I can say confidently that I am not peaceful. The human's own nature is not too far off the path that I paved for them; they were originally made in my own image. The human race was given free will, and the ability to almost infinitely grow their wisdom."

"Originally, I held the idea of a species that could govern itself proudly. But, as I taught you, it didn't always stay that way. I will not burden you with the same old history lesson as before. You are quite aware of human history, right?"

Discord gave her a nod. "Of course, Mother. I could not forget."

Mother winked. "I would hope not, having hammered it into you for so long before the trials. But, this is a strange period of time I found myself. The last few days before I sent your 'sister' to retrieve you from the depths of the forests, I had also spent some time returning to my old job of observing my creations. And the humans have changed, for the better, it seems."

Gaea nodded to this, getting a look from Discord.

"It would appear the humans have found some sort of equilibrium. While still no where near an outright peaceful species, they have learned to lessen the amount of wars they engage in; many of the forests have even remained for long past what I would have expected them to. I will keep this easy, my son. The world has moved on to the point that I no longer wish to make you into the being of pure evil that I had intended. I no longer need an antithesis that has no one to counter."

Discord nodded to her, clenching her hand in his gently. "If I am to be relieved from my gifts, I will willingly do so, Mother."

The demigod smiled, nodding. "While that was my original though, Discord, I had a good talk with Gaea. Though I never made you a known commodity to her until tonight, I did get a good amount of advice from her innocence. Therefore, my son, I have one simple task for you. Well, this task can be carried out how you see fit, and you can add parts if you want to."

Discord simply listened to Mother, nodding to let her continue.

"I have seen the last few months," she said. "And you have done things I would never have though possible. Your peace with the Minotaurs, the Timberwolves, and the Changelings. You even adopted a young Changeling as your own, and were willing to let your closest companion go despite being through everything together. You have developed incredible natural magic, without my intervention, and some while you battled yourself. So, my son, your final trial is this: loosen up."

Discord blinked, tilting his head. After all that build up, she just wants him to loosen up?

"Yes, my son," she said. "I don't need an evil being capable of terrorizing villages. You are a Spirit of Chaos and Deception, and you will be for as long as I can manage to keep my hold on this star system. But, your nervousness has been holding you back. You need to be willing to just go out and do things without being pushed to do it. You did well with Iron Will, and Splinter, I will concede. But, you need to be willing to be spontaneous. What kind of chaos can you achieve with being so nervous to just follow a beautiful woman like that around?"

Discord blushed a bit at that, about to speak.

"Yes, I know I said you are siblings," she continued. "Or, I hinted at it. But in all honesty, the only thing that connects you two is knowing my name. So, for your final trial, Discord, Gaea will be here to get you to be more open to just being free."

Discord nodded slowly. "So I need to--"

Gaea and Mother both piped up to him this time. "Yes!"
> Loosen up! - Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contrary to Discord's lifelong assumptions, simply being spontaneous was a lot harder than one would initially think. Being one that often kept to himself in his past life, even just opening up to the creatures around him was hard to do. Now, he had another three individuals around him that would be helping him to try and open up. Mother needed him to be at a point where he would be open to disrupting the human's lives from time to time, but not to the point of Drocsid, who would have been open to just destroying their lives.

One of the first excersizes Mother initiated was leaving him locked in an old courtyard behind the palace. From what her and Gaea could figure, this was likely a field used for bare-knuckle fights, and maybe even gladiatorial combat. Gaea resorted to using her immensely strong vines to cordon off any of the entrances, so he could not move. As Mother tended to Eris for the day, Gaea sat in the upper deck seats, keeping her eye on Discord as he simply explored his surroundings. Mother did not allow anything inside, either. She wanted to see what he would do without company, before putting Discord in the state of mind to do anything in a crowded place.

So there stood the man, a newly ascended Spirit, thinking. What could he do? For all he can remember, plant-life is a majority of his power. So, he looked around the grounds of the courtyard, which had been covered in coarse sands and dirt. He would brush away layers when he felt something may be growing, unsure whether he could simply conjur up a tree out of nothing. Then, he thought back to his six months with Drocsid, and to the first battle in which he got the being to submit. He had made dandelion vines sprout, yes, but he had the seeds thrown at him by the other. But, where did Drocsid get them? Discord never stocked up on plants he did not perceive as edible. Perhaps Drocsid was able to simply wish them into existence.

And so, he readied his hand to snap, before thinking. Perhaps a little flourish would make things better? Beforehand, he rarely ever lifted his hand to snap, but maybe a little flair would help him relax about the idea. And so, this time, with a smirk, he looked to Gaea. 

"Hey, Sister!" he shouted to her, getting her to look his way. "How about some of this!?"

As he raised his arm, he did a little twist of his writs; his palm flicked from down, to up, followed by a loud snap. Following his flair, a massive oak tree sprouted out from underneath the courtyard floor, reaching well above the open roof. Gaea let out a little giggle.

"I mean," she said, snorting, "it's better than what you had going, you dolt! Even I flick my wrist when I snap though. Don't be stealing much more from me."

Discord bowed to her, chuckling. "Oh, now come on! A flick of the wrist is hardly unique, even though you added the snap. Though, with your control over the plants, have you ever considered using them to do the trick for you?"

Gaea shrugged, leaning back in her seat. "Well, unlike you, brother, I do not need to snap my fingers to cast my spells. There's a good chance you don't, either, but I think it's more fun when you can hear it."

Discord nods in agreement. He had not tried casting his spells without making his middle finger slap his palm, after sliding off his thumb. He also could not think of a more pronounced way to cast a spell. If a room was silent, all would hear it. If it was too loud, only him, and those closest to you, would hear it. That was almost as chaotic as you could get. And plus, a snap was often used to get someone's attention. 

Being a Spirit of Chaos, Discord decided being the center of attention was probably the intention from Mother. In a sense, she was turning him into his own antithesis; he used to loathe being the center of any sort of events. He would often find his way out of gatherings in his old home, and even his human mother had difficulties getting him to come to a dinner table if there were more than just their family. And now here he was, happy to gain attention from a woman who hadn't known more than an evening and one morning. Though, he also reasoned he had just been missing human contact, and this specimen of a woman was more than he could resist.

I mean, Discord, he said to himself, be careful, she is your sister-in-Spirit. Blood means little here.

Though admonishing himself, he decided to try another spell; unfortunately, it was again nature related. He snapped his finger with a little spin of his body, causing the grains of sand and dirt to be replaced with a tightly packed floor of lush green grass. Gaea rolled her eyes, thinking.

"Discord!" she called form her seat. "While Mother and I love your gardening skills, Mother also wants you to expand on your skills. I'm supposed to be the forest Spirit, not you."

Discord nodded, thinking to himself. "What do you suggest?"

"Try anything, honestly. See if you can create someone from the ground, like Mother can do," Gaea said. "I mean, from what I see, she has made you almost as strong as her."

Discord shrugged. "I don't know if I can create my own humans, Sister."

Gaea rolled her eyes. "Okay, quit calling me 'Sister,' Discord. While I understand the idea, being that we have a common mother; we are disconnected by over 150 years of time. We have no blood relation. Just call me Gaea, and I shall call you Discord. Or maybe Dissy, if you'll let me."

Discord nodding, thinking over what she said. And she wasn't wrong. "Very well, Gaea, you may call me whatever you wish."

Gaea nodded, smirking. "Alright, Bastard."

Discord stopped in place as he was getting ready to try another trick, and turned to look at her. He tried to keep a straight face, but was struggling not to burst out at her little malicious compliance.

"Well, Street Wife," he said, winking. "Two can play at your games."

"Ah, ah, ah," she said, waving a finger at him. "I didn't say you can call me anything other than Gaea, unlike you, Beef-for-Brains."

He rolled his eyes. "Hey, now you have officially lost pet name privileges, Miss Gaea."

The Spirit feigned shock, putting a hand over her heart. "Oh, boy, you wound me!"

Their spat continued for a few minutes, before they began running out of retorts. Being that Gaea was not raised a human, she lacked a lot of the good comebacks a man like Discord would have gained with his years of experience. Soon, the fun died down, and Discord would return to his tasks. He still had difficulties thinking of what he should do to make this anymore interesting, until he had a thought come to him mind.

Turning towards the large tree, he once more snapped his fingers. As he did, a Poison Joke flower sprouted at its base. Gaea watched closely, unsure as to what he was thinking of doing with such a dangerous flora. To her surprise, the proximity of the flower to the tree was starting to affect the larger plant. While the grass immediately adjacent to the flower began to turn a blood red in color, the tree's trunk began to turn from brown, to an almost solid green. The texture was changing, as well; it shifted from the rough bark, to a solid smooth barrel. Gaea realized what was occuring as the tree's leaves began to change into roses, and small spines started to protrude from the trunk and limbs. Discord had turned the massive oak tree into a hysterically proportioned rose bush. Impressive once more, but disappointingly plant-based.

Before Gaea could voice her annoyance, Mother came into the arena, with Eris following along. Discord smiled at the two, getting rid of the blue flower before Eris could get too curious. 

"From what I could see in the tower, Discord," she spoke warmly, though seemingly a bit more serious, "you have grown an impressive amount of power with my nature. But, as Gaea said to you, I need you to try and open up to something more interesting. Therefore, I need you to follow me, for some time. I am going to need to provide you with something important."

Discord nodded, leaving Eris with Gaea as Mother led him out of the coliseum, and back into the palace. 

"My son," she said firmly, "I do sense your wish to apologize, but do not. I am not blaming you for anything; in fact, I am overjoyed with how you have come along. But, your connection to the nature is somewhat overpowering your ability to think about just acting on more than just plants. Do you not remember your growth potions; do you not remember the strength potions?"

"I do, Mother," Discord said softly. He had never really considered them for his spells.

"Did you ever find your gift of flight?" she said, catching a very surprised glance from her son. "Yes, my son. As a Spirit, like Gaea, you have the ability to fly. As do all the demigods and their Spirits. But, before that, I am going to give you and Gaea a gift to help you for the next hundred years."

"Another hundred years of trials, Mother?" Discord said, raising an eyebrow. 

"In a sense, Discord," she said. "But not quite. Instead, your task is to revive this Empire. You may use all the resources you have come to create, discover, and those in the future to your advantage. Discord, you and Gaea are going to be ruling this Empire, without outside interference. The forest's perception spell will be reinforced by my magic, as I need to return to my roll as a watcher."

"For since the beginning of the planet, I was involved with creation. I could never let my planet just follow its own path. And now, I have a creation that will forever be able to protect itself, and its inhabitants. This Empire is in this forest, having been hidden for the eyes since its rulers departed. And so, by the time the day is over, my son, you will rule side-by-side with Gaea for the next century. I will no longer interfere in my creations' lives, their history, and their development. Perhaps, over time, after your final trial, you will be seen as gods by the humans once you finally emerge; well, you, anyway. Gaea will stay put, as it is her duty. You, however, will need to find your way in the world."

And so, with her intentions made clear to Discord, and to Gaea over dinner, Mother stayed for this last evening, before vanishing from the old Palace. With this, she left her greatest creations to rule over her last vestige. Mother Nature's time had come to an end, and she now resided in the stars of her system. She had doomed herself to watch, likely until the end of the star system's life. 

For now, the Spirit of Chaos, and the Spirit of Protection, set about creating a new world for their own, with a little bit of help from two tiny hands.


End of Book 1