Unforeseen Consequences - Chapter 38

>Note for myself, I really gotta be aware of the hour next time I decide to do another grand narration, can’t believe I stated up almost all night. It ain’t like I could’ve just slept all morning. Discord made sure to wake me up super early with a giant horn.
>Was I feeling like I had gone through a grinder? Sure, never underestimate the power of an all-nighter, but these gummy burritos that the old man pulled for breakfast were a blast, and I was also feeling a bit pumped up this morning.
>Discord on the other side, was calmly eating those weird looking black seeds that he loved so much, while slurping the words outta the master plan for the chaos carnival. I grabbed one of the empty paper sheets, crumbled it and tossed at him.
>The ball of paper grew wings and flew away before hitting him. The old guy then gulped the last batch of paragraphs and smirked, “That was a tearable throw, my dear!”
“Ugh, leave the puns to me! But whatever, gotta be honest with you, old man. It’s super neat that you ain’t nervous about the big meeting”.
>Discord leaned back on his chair as he caressed his beard, “Why should I? You should know more than anyone else that words simply flow out of me”. After saying that, a massive stream of gurgled words flew from his mouth and back into the paper sheets.
“Yeah but like, you’re gonna be dealing with the two hags who royally kicked your old butt twice. That gotta put a dent on you, right?”

>Discord raised an eyebrow, “Thanks for the good wishes, my dear. I really appreciate them”. He then rolled his eyes and rested his head on his paw, “Frankly, there’s nothing to be worried about. All the bad blood between me and our lovely…”
“Hags”.
>He let out a small chuckle and continued, “Has been washed away. Really, you can even consider us friends”
>I groaned at the thought of those hags being buddy-buddy with Discord, but I guess that’s just him trying to make me drop the topic.
“All I’m saying is that you gotta be careful. This is our big chance, old man”.
>Still, I spun my little paw and used a little bit of magic to organize the master plan into a tidy binder with a stamp of a disco ball on it.
“So don’t go crazy… but also knock ‘em over their frickin’ socks!”
>Discord picked the binder and carefully inspected it, “Hrm? How curious, this doesn’t look like chaos magic”. He then looked at me with a mischievous grin, “I suppose you have been doing some extracurricular studies”.
>With another spun of my little paw, I levitated a blank paper sheet and made it dance around me, then it folded itself into a little paper plane that flew straight at Discord.
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, old man. That book about pony magic is great to practice the fundamentals, but it ain’t chaos. Like, I don’t get why ponies have to write so frickin’ much for simple spells! ”

>“Oh, don’t get the wrong idea, my dear. I’m simply surprised that you can use this particular branch of magic in the first place”. Discord leaned back on his chair and caressed his beard, “I suppose is another thing I will need to consider”.
“Hey old man, you ok?”
>Discord let out a sigh and floated off of his chair, “I believe is time for me to leave for the big meeting. Pray tell, my dear, what do you plan to do with your day?”
“I’m just gonna back to sleep… and then I’ll just go bother the guys at the gummy swamp. Maybe I can get them to trade some cool stuff for whatever garbage I can cast”.
>“Sounds like a good plan, just remember to be here before night time”.
“Oh-hoh! So now you wanna gimme a curfew?”
>Discord playfully rolled his eyes as a little traveling hat appeared on his head, “Absolutely not! I just… want to teach you something when I get back”.
“Sounds like a plan… but before you go, can I ask you a favor? It’s nothing big, I swear”.
>“Your wishes are my command”.
“If you come across the dork, let him know I’m doing alright, will ya? D-Don’t tell him a thing about chaos magic, though! I wanna keep that as a surprise!”
>Discord stood silent for a couple seconds before finally replying with a warm smile, “Consider it done.” With a snap of his talons, a wooden door labeled “Equestria” appeared behind him. He placed his paw on the doorknob, and tipped his hat with the talons, “Now if you excuse me, there’s a couple of princesses waiting for me”.
>Right after the old man left, I spun my paw to create a super fluffy pillow and a sleeping hat for myself. Like, I really rooted for Discord and all that but I also couldn’t stay awake for another minute. I’ll have my beauty sleep and with some luck, the old man will come back with great news about the carnival and how good that little dork is having it in Equestria.
>… … …
>… …
>…

>Another day came, and while usually you’d be marveling at another sunny morning courtesy of Celestia, today was a bit different. The skies were darkened with massive gray clouds as rain poured down onto the land. Ponies down in the city ran to find refugee under whatever building they could find, and the only sounds you could hear were the rain drops falling and the occasional thunder that also illuminated the clouds for a fraction of a second.
>In all the books you’ve read and the few movies you’ve managed to watch through a store window, rain was often used to set a more depressing and melancholic mood. You won’t deny that this effect could be felt from Canterlot, but at the same time it was also true that you felt a sense of wonder at the sight.
>Really, is not hard to feel this way when rain was such a strange occurrence in the slums. Actual rain was something that was sorta exclusive to the city, to the super elite. Poverty suckers like you were mostly stuck with this acidic green stuff that sometimes that basically ensured no one could come out until the cleaning ops team finished their work.
>More than anything you wanted to go out and play under the rain, jump on the puddles, taste drops of actual clean rain by yourself, and see something frickin’ sick like a thunder blasting an old tree or something cool like that.

>Too bad that you were stuck in your room, not because the ladies told you to not go out. Man, you loved them but that’s the kind of stuff you’d either ignore or find the way to convince them into getting soaked to the bone with you. No, you had to stay because your stomach was a darned rollercoaster at the moment.
“Man, this suuuuucks!”
>You were lying on the floor, right next to the window. Celestia had to go out to find some medicine while Luna was right beside you, sometimes rubbing your back and others placing her hoof over your forehead.
>She used her magic to levitate a pot and poured a hot green liquid on a couple of cups, “I know that you are not feeling well, my dearest Resonance but try to drink some of this herbal tea”. She giggled a bit as she carefully placed a cup in front of you, “I made it myself!”
>You looked at the cup, and… man, you loved Luna but if the stomach ache didn’t kill you, this thing looked like it’d for sure do the trick. That said, you had to be genuinely careful in turning her down. So you just moved the cup away and gave her a pained look.
“Thanks lady, but uh… I ain’t feelin’ that well, y’know?”
>That wasn’t a lie, you seriously felt absolutely terrible. Even pushing the cup away made your stomach to retaliate with this terrible feeling of someone squeezing your guts.

>Luna responded with a kind smile as she levitate the cup, and the teapot, away and placed them on a tea table, “Completely understandable, and admittedly I am not exactly the best cooker in the kingdom. However you have not eaten anything since last night. Are you certain that you do not desire something else?”
>Man, even shaking your head to say no was painful. It wasn’t even a muscular pain, it felt more like there was something inside your throat that pinched you every time you tried to move your neck.
>“I see… my dearest Resonance, could you stand still for a moment? I want to investigate something”. Luna leaned over you and carefully placed her ear against your stomach. She was barely touching you and yet, it still felt like someone had bucked you in the gut. Of course she noticed it, and tried to minimize the pain with a little caress, “I am sorry, this shan’t take long”.
>True to her word, Luna only took about a minute to inspect whatever she was looking for. She didn’t need to say anything, her face was more than enough to know that she was more worried now than ever.
“That bad, huh?”
>Luna let out a tired sigh and placed her hoof over her forehead, “Everything will be fine, Resonance…” She then nuzzled your mane with her muzzle, “I swear everything shall be fine”.
>Man, you appreciated the intention of calming you down but it sounded more like she was saying that to herself.
“I’m sorry, lady… I should’ve…”

>You were promptly interrupted by the door of your room being open with a loud slam. Celestia then entered with a hurried pace as several crystal bottles with liquids of all colors floated around her.
>It felt a bit weird to see Celestia this… serious. Her usual attitude of confidence and slight smugness was replaced by this overwhelming aura of determination and sternness, “Alright, I brought everything that might be useful to create the potion that will help us. I just have to cast a few spells on Resonance to know exactly what’s afflicting him and…”
>Celestia glanced at cups and the teapot. She put the bottles on a tea table, cocked an eyebrow and used her magic levitated the items to her. After sniffing and even tasting one of the cups, she turned to Luna and replied in a very firm voice, “Thank you very much, my sister. This sample of Resonance’s vomit will come in handy”.
>You couldn’t help but to burst into laughter while Luna just stared with this deadpan look on her face. You just continued laughing and laughing… only to be forced to shut the heck up by the stomach ache and whatever was wrong with your throat. Stupid divine justice, man!
>Celestia raised an eyebrow and took another glance at the cup, “So, this is not vomit then?”
>Luna closed her eyes and groaned. You could see a faint blush on her cheeks as she hurriedly replied, “Nay, it is not our son’s vomit! It is… herbal tea that I made”.
>Frickin’ finally Celestia seemed to lighten up a bit. She let out a chuckle and used her own magic on the cups and teapot, “Well… the thought is what matters. I’m sure our son appreciates the fact that you wanted to bring him some tranquilitea!”

>Luna slapped her forehead and groaned even harder, “Celie, please do not start with the puns”.
>Celestia let out a small chuckle and put everything back on the tea table. She then walked over to you and with a reassuring smile caressed your cheek, “Kept you waiting, huh? Sorry for that, but I’ll make up for it. Your moms will make you feel better in a minute, I promise”.
>Her face became stern as she turned to Luna, “Okay sister, I’ll do a survey spell on the abdominal area. Think you can do a secondary one just to make sure everything lines up?”
>Luna jumped back on her hooves and nodded, “Absolutely, just tell me when we are to start”.
>Without further delay, Luna and Celestia casted their magic on you. Golden and blue hues rapidly circled over your body as a warm and bizarre sensation took hold of you. It felt almost as if someone was directly touching your guts. Weird, but at least it didn’t hurt.
>Celestia called off the spell a couple minutes after. Then, she clicked her tongue as her gaze became fixated on you, “Hmmm… Resonance, I know how this is going to sound like, but don’t worry”.
“Man… that’s always bad news”.
>Luna let out a sigh and gently rubbed your back with her hoof, “That is not the case, my dearest son, we simply have to modify our approach and everything shall be back to normal!”
>Celestia patted your mane, and gave you a reassuring smile, “You should listen to Luna. Despite her looks, she knows a lot about medicine, more than most doctors in the kingdom. Give her a couple hours, and you’ll be out and about like if nothing had happened”.
>Despite the confidence behind Celestia’s words, it was hard to shake off this lingering feeling that she was hiding something from you. However, is not like you had any other option but to hope.
“I… I would like that!”
>A thunder fell close to the castle, illuminating the entire room in a flashing light. Then, a deep yet sultry voice echoed through the room, “Sorry, my little princess but I’ll have to disagree with that bold estimate. You see, I’m afraid that the young Resonance will have to wait a little more”.
 “Hey… I think… I know that voice!”
>Luna rapidly scanned her surroundings as she covered your body with her hooves. She then pulled you closer to her chest and yelled, “Discord!”
>Suddenly, the teapot started to move with gentle tugs that progressively became violent shakes. Then, the teapot shot itself upwards and started ricocheting all over the room so fast that it became just a blur in your field of vision.

>Celestia casted a golden shield made of magic just in time before the teapot hit you square in the head. It violently bounced off of the shield and crashed into the tea table, exploding into a wave of colors and confetti.
>From the colorful smoke, Discord emerged with a thunderous laughter and this sort of arrogant grin. Truth to be told, you had kind of forgotten just how gigantic he was. Sure, your only other point of reference for draconequii was Eris, and while she was big, this guy was something else.
>Half of Discord’s his body had to twist and curl around half of the entire room, and even then his antlers still managed to pierce a hole in the ceiling. Even more impressive was how he could still smoothly slither around despite all of the physical obstacles.
>He was incredibly fast too, so much that he managed to close the gap between Celestia and gently tap her chin, without any sort of resistance from her. He of course retreated and did this playful bow to her, “The one and the only! Long time no see, my lovely princesses!”
>Celestia remained immovable, and with an air of dignity and even power, she stared at Discord right in the eyes and asked, “What are you doing here, Discord?”
>Looking a bit surprised by the cold response, he raised an eyebrow and caressed his white beard, “My, oh my! You’re being awfully serious today. What happened, Celestia? Did the sun not shine the way you wanted to?”

>After receiving nothing but silence from Luna and Celestia, Discord rolled his eyes and shrugged, “To answer your question, the only reason why I came to your oh-so-magnificent presence is because we have a scheduled meeting in about…” He pulled a rusted old clock from the fur of his torso and pretended to be shocked at the hour “Would you look at that! It begins in five minutes!”
>Luna slapped her forehead and groaned in frustration, “Sweet heavens, whose idea was it to arrange a meeting with the spirit of chaos for today?”
>“It was yours, but it doesn’t matter” Celestia quickly answered before returning her attention to Discord, “I’m sorry for wasting your time, but the meeting is postponed until further notice. Have a wonderful day, and goodbye”.
>Discord stayed a couple minutes silently glaring at Celestia while his mouth was comically shaped as an O.  Then he finally burst into a small fit of anger, “What?! No, no, no! You can’t just give me the boot like that, we had a deal!”
>Much to your surprise, Luna actually looked amused by all of this. She had this huge smirk and even muttered to herself amid some giggling, “Quite the ironic coming from the spirit of chaos”.
>Celestia immediately shot a quick glare at Luna, and turned back to Discord with this deadpan look on her face, “Again, I’m sorry but all of our attention needs to be focused on Resonance, and making sure that he recovers from… his sickness”.
>“So that’s the problem then?” Discord slithered at you so fast that your brain took a couple seconds to register that he was now firmly holding you with his paw while using his talon to keep your mouth wide open,  “Pssh! Don’t be such drama queens! I’m sure that the child is…”



>After taking a good peek inside your throat, Discord retreated back just as fast. After readjusting your senses, you saw him caressing his beard with those talons while pointing at you with a trembling paw, “Hrm…very well, I’ll admit that I did not see this one coming”.
>Man, change of approach your butt! That’s word-for-word the exact same thing Celestia said. There had to be something really wrong with you to get a guy like him like this.
“That… really, really… doesn’t help, man!”
>Discord put his paw and talons on his hip while doing this obvious pretense of being offended, “Excuuuuse me, prince but what do you want me to say? Never in my life would I have expected to see somepony with a case of Gastrogall. That disease was supposed to be gone well before my time!”
“What… in the heck… is a gastro… gall?”
>Celestia used her magic to grab Discord by the beard and bring him closer to her face. She narrowed her eyes while giving him such a fierce look that managed to make you a bit afraid, “Discord, if you don’t leave now then I can assure you that there won’t be any future meeting. Am I clear?”
>In a fraction of a second, Discord completely changed into a gaseous state, and then back to his regular form.  While you had to rub your eyes to understand what went on, Discord simply moved on like nothing. He raped his paw and talons together and gave Celestia’s a wide, almost malicious smirk, “Like water, my lovely princess…”
>Just like that, Discord banished into the ether but not before letting out a creepy laughter that echoed throughout the room. Man, what was that guy’s deal?
>Celestia looked utterly unimpressed and even a tad annoying as she rolled her eyes and used her magic to clean up the mess that Discord made, “Well, that was unnecessary”.

>On the other hoof, Luna was relatively serene, heck you could even notice a hint of relief behind her eyes. A sentiment that was corroborated by the way she spoke, “Usually I would agree, however this helped us to discover the disease that is afflicting our son”.
>Celestia scowled at the whole thing as she finished placing all of the debris in the tea table, “We just have to find out how it was cured in the first place”.
“Yeah… how about you ladies… throw me a bone here. Just… tell what the heck… is wrong with me”.
>Celestia clicked her tongue and turned to Luna, “Ahm, sister? You know way more about medicine than me. Why don’t you take over from here?”
>Luna replied with a deadpan stare but nonetheless turned to you with a forced smile on her face, “We are dealing with a disease that was supposed to have been eradicated a long time. While I know this might sound omnious, gastrogall was not a lethal disease, just… a very painful one that could take weeks to recover from”
“WHAT?!”
>She let out a nervous giggle as she started to rush every word that came from her, “P-Pay no attention to that little bit of trivia, because there is also good news! Hah Hah! Rejoice my son, for the cure to your affliction was discovered a long time ago! We simply have to find the right book and all of your pain will be washed away!”
>You looked at Luna, then at Celestia. Gosh darn, man those two might be old as heck, but you weren’t stupid. You narrowed your eyes at them and groaned.
“You… don’t what book to... look for… do you?”
>Celestia scratched her head as her face sort of frowned at the thought, “The castle’s library should have something useful”. She then walked up to you, and with a reassuring smile on her face, she kissed your forehead, “Don’t worry, my little son. You’ll be out of this before you know it!”

>A couple hours came and went, and now your room was filled to the brim with all sorts of old scrolls and books written in weird languages you had never seen before, there was a faint smell of humidity in the air too.
>In the middle of a mountain of books laid Luna and Celestia, desperately flipping through whatever they came across. They tried their best to cheer you on from time to time, but it was evident that their efforts were proving to be futile.
>The pain got frickin’ awful too. Now your stomach felt like if something was ripping your guts from the inside. Your throat was somehow even worse, not only moving your neck sent these horrible stings throughout your body, but it felt like you had a bunch of marbles stuck.
>Of course, you weren’t going to rub this on their faces or anything like that. Those two were clearly working as hard as they could… and by this point you barely had the energy to move.
>It didn’t much longer for Luna to stand up and let out a tired sigh. She then walked up to you and combed your mane a bit, “My dearest Resonance, I must to return to the library to see if we have missed some key information that could lead us to the cure”
>Celestia closed an old book that she was reading and stretched her limbs, “Meanwhile, I’ll go to the diner and make you something really good that’ll ease the pain”.
>Luna gave you this apologetic glance as she held her forehead against yours, “I apologize, but we shan’t leave you alone for more than a few minutes”.
“…S-Sure… I-I can hold up”.

>Both of them held you in their lovingly and warm embrace, one that you wished had lasted an eternity but sadly ended in just a couple minutes.
 >The moment you loving parents left and closed the door, a new one materialized on the floor and slammed open, “Finally, I thought they would never leave!" Discord hoped from the door on the floor, dressed like a surgeon from your world. He was quickly jolting through a wooden paper holder as he proudly said, “Young Resonance, Dr. Discord will see you now!
“D-Discord?”
>Discord threw the holder right at your face, and upon contact it transformed into a giant band aid that covered your mouth, “Ah, Ah! No talking allowed while the Doctor is working!”
>You frowned and used what little strength was left in your body to remove the band aid.
“What… the heck are you… doing… man?”
>Discord didn’t reply, instead he slithered at an insanely fast speed and firmly held you with the tip of his tail. “Now we shall begind with our careful cross examination!”
>He pulled out a bunch of random medical equipment from who knows where and started flailing it around your body so fast that you could only see a giant blur. Before you could throw up from the motion sickness, Discord abruptly stopped and with a talon raised he proudly proclaimed in a fake professional tone, “Well, after a careful examination, and as a great doctor, I can safely say that you...are sick!"
“You… don’t say?”
>Discord crammed all of the medical stuff inside a tiny doctor bag that he produced from his beard and tossed it away, “Yes, and this is rather urgent too. We must operate now!” He snapped his talons, making a red light appear above the frame of your door. Before you could ask what the heck was going on, he gently tapped your muzzle and grinned from ear to ear, “Do not worry, though!  I don't need your insurance!”