Unforeseen Consequences - Everyone screws up

>“The pleasure is all mine!” Sunburst readjusted his glasses before shaking your hoof with a meekly grip “And let me tell you, that’s quite the advanced spell for somepony of your age! Strarlight told me a little about your magical skills but I’ve to say that I didn’t believe it until now.”
“Yeah… about that… better not get your hopes high, buddy. I’m still having troubles with the amount of magic I use for my spells”
>Sunburst let out a little gasp in excitement “Oh! Then I can be of help!”
“Really? How so?”
>The guy smiled as he cleared his throat “You see, I helped Princess Flurry Heart was having a similar problem, only that in her case, it got so bad that she destroyed the Crystal Heart by accident and… heh, heh, almost buried the Crystal Empire under a never ending blizzard”
“I’m gonna make a wild bet here, you got this magical advisor job because you came with a spell that fixed the Crystal Heart and another one that helped the little Flurry with her magic problem, right?”
>Sunburst nodded nervously “Pretty much, yeah. My point is that I can use the same spell to make you get rid of your problem. What do you say, Anon? It wouldn’t take long and I can tell the Princesses how to cast it.”
“Well…”
>So with this spell you could finally use your magic at will and not worry about having stupid magical short-circuits when using a simple spell, it did sound tempting but…”
“What you’re telling me sounds super awesome, but… you also said that you could teach my moms the spell, so I’m gonna use my cooltastic mind again and deduce that this is something that needs constant patching.”

>Sunburst nodded again “That is correct, the spell wears off more or less after a week of being casted.”
“Then I’m gonna have to decline the offer. Don’t want to sound rude or anything, I trust my moms with my life but… yeah, I want to be able to master my magic because I earned it, not because somepony else is constantly baby-sitting me.”
>Your mom Luna walked to you and caressed your mane “I completely agree. I am proud of you, my child”
>Your mom Celestia placed her hoof on your shoulder and gave you a wink “You made very wise decision, my dear. Just like your dear mother would have”
“And I did it without being as old as you… ARGH!”
>Your mom Celestia gave you a pretty hard bonk on the head and groaned “Don’t ruin the moment, please”
>Everypony in the room laughed as you rubbed your head. You let out a frustrated groan but ultimately joined them in their laughter.
>After that, all of you spent the rest of the day just talking about all sort of topics. Glimmer told you that she and Sunburst were childhood friends as well as her plans to go back to her town once spring arrived.
>Your mom Celestia took the time to write a bunch of letters and send them to Canterlot Castle, or so you assumed. Meanwhile, your mom Luna and Twilight asked you a bit about the hive, the changelings and even Chrysalis, but they always took caution of not getting into darker territories.
>And hey! Shining Armor and Cadence did come back with your now favorite foal, Flurry Heart! Of course, things had to end at some point.

>When your moms lowered the sun and raised the moon, everyone else started to leave the room. Twilight, Sunburst and Glimmer decided to go to the Empire to grab a knack and buy some books. Cadence and Shining had to basically rip the now sleeping Flurry Heart from your head since she attached to it harder than the strongest tick.
>While your moms did stay a bit longer, they still had work to do, so they tucked you in bed and gave you a goodnight kiss.
>And so… you were sent to a nice dream, free of worries and filled with hopes… or so you would’ve thought.
>No matter how much you tried, you couldn’t fall asleep. Now that you were alone in the darkness of this room, many thoughts started to linger in your mind… and they weren’t exactly pleasant.
>Your failure to detect the real changeling’s plan, endangering and most surely traumatizing Royal Blood, your friends’ minds becoming Chrysalis’ toys, the horrible cocoon treatments… Cherrywood seeing all of that…
>It was like your chest was being crushed by all of your mistakes and the suffering that was caused because of you… and with that, came the hypothetical scenarios.
>What would have happened to your moms had Chrysalis succeeded? Heck, what would have happened to Flurry Heart? You didn’t want to think about it, it was too scary and yet… your mind kept bombarding you with horrible images of the future that you almost provoked.
>You rolled in your bed and hit your head time and time again, trying to make these images go away, but it was futile, every time you tried they came back with a worse scenario, and every time, the conclusion was obvious, it would’ve been your fault.

>At the end, you gave up on sleeping and buried your face in the pillow so you could scream and cry without anyone hearing… or so you thought.
>Because in the middle of your pathetic sobbing, you felt something caressing your mane. It wasn’t a hoof, not by a long shot, it felt like a claw or rather, a talon.
>Then, you heard Discord’s voice talking to you with a soft tone “I was under the impression that when a big bad villain gets defeated, you ponies throw a big party with confetti and streamers and sing a cheesy pop song. Seems like you decided to break the norm, my little prince”
>You didn’t lift your face from the pillow nor stopped your crying. You only shook your head and said with a miserable tone.
“Those things are for actual heroes, Discord. It was my fault that all of this happened. I almost got everypony destroyed or enslaved. I don’t deserve anything… I tried my best and…I’m sorry… I’m a failure.”
>You heard Discord sighing heavily, then he patted your mane and said “Do you really plan to spend the rest of your life burying your head in that pillow?”
>You slowly nodded and hugged your pillow even harder
“Yes, I will do less harm that way!”
>Discord groaned this time and said with a more annoyed tone “I really don’t like the prospect of talking to your back, so I promise you, my little Prince. If you don’t take that silly face of yours off of that pillow in this instant, then I will transform you into a midget emu!”
“…”
>Discord growled this time “Well? Do you want to live in some poisonous desert, too?! Because trust me pal, I can pop that thing into existence!” Man, he was angry

>You sighed and replied with a defeated tone.
“Alright Discord, you win”
>When you looked at him, the first thing that was obvious is that you weren’t in the Crystal Empire anymore. Nope, you were at the Canterlot Castle’s throne room.
>On a quick glance, you were sitting at your mom Celestia’s throne while Discord was in front of you, looking down at you with a very stern face.
>That was impressive to say the least, or so you would say if his chaotic shenanigans were still new to you.
>So you wiped off your tears, and sniffled a couple times while looking down at the floor.
“At least get your biology facts straight… Ostriches are the birds that burry their heads in the sand. Emus are just giant gooses that can run super-fast.”
>Discord crossed his paw and talons and huffed “Don’t get all smarty-pants on me! I can make Emus bury their heads in hot chocolate if I want them to!”
“I know…”
>Discord let out a tired sigh and rubbed his temples. Then, he snapped his talons, making a chair made of black seeds to appear by his side.
>He didn’t use the darn thing of course, Discord ate the chair and then sat in mid-air, crossing his legs.
>Finally, Discord rested his head on his paw and asked “Anon, do you really think that these things always go so smoothly? Like do you really believe that you are the only pony who has had a hard time dealing with a big honcho like say… a certain draconequus that has the power of bending reality at will?”
>While continuing looking at the floor, you frowned and shrugged.

“I dunno…”
>Discord floated to the middle of the room and in a bombastic way he said “Of course not, boyo!” Geez, he even made confetti to explode behind him
>The lights went out completely, only to be followed by a bunch of reflectors that highlighted the stained glasses.
>The heroic scenes were now changed for some serious bad situations, all of them animated in a very poor way.
>A much brighter reflector illuminated Discord who was now wearing a yellow tuxedo, and holding a cane with a cartoonish replica of Twilight’s head.
>Then, he winked at you and pointed at each stained glass “Take our dear Twilight for example. The amount of times where she was almost defeated is hilariously high. Nightmare Moon? She won that by a pure luck realization. Chrissy? Puh-lease! Cadence won that by casting the all mighty power of cheesy love. King Sombrero? It was literally a lucky throw. Moi? HAH! If Celestia hadn’t cheated she would be a lovable gray sour-puss by now… well, she would be gray. Oh! And don’t get me started about your mothers… I mean… our lovable Princesses. We would be here the entire week if I had to list all the times where they blew everything up!”
>You let out a sigh and shook your head
“Where are you going with this, Discord?”
>Discord rolled his eyes and chuckled “Isn’t it obvious?! Every time that something bad happens in pony-land, the so called heroes has messed up things royally. Heck, Tirek almost transformed Equestria into a giant parking lot thanks to a tiny slip-up from yours truly”
“Oh yeah… I remember hearing something about that before the chaos carnival”
>Discord pinched your cheek “Yep! And if you want my not so humble opinion, your little rodeo with Chrissy is one of the smoothest save-the-kingdom shenanigans this draconequus has ever seen. The fact that you are still a little weirdo colt makes it all the more impressive”

>You leaned back and thought on Discord’s words… and well… you felt dumb now because he was one hundred percent right. Not only that but…
>You also realized that, if you kept blaming yourself for everything, then everything that you told to Chrysalis would have been nothing but empty words.
>You messed up, sure, but now you had to get back on your hooves and learn from your mistakes. To accept that there were things out of your control and that even with all the difficulties, you still made a pretty good job.
>Thorax and the changelings were now free to live however they wanted to, Chrysalis kind of opened up to the idea of getting help, Flurry was safe… everything was fine now.
>You gave Discord a smile as warm as the sun and nodded
“Well, guess my weirdo uncle slapped me back into reality once again. Thank you, Discord, I really needed that. You really are…”
>Discord held his talon and gave you a smug smile “Ah, Ah, Ah! Save the cheesy speech for other time, my little prince, because I still have one last thing to tell you!”
>You raised an eyebrow and made yourself comfortable in the throne
“You want advice on how to win Fluttershy’s heart?”
>He shook his head “Nah, I have that figured out” For just a second, Discord’s face became as red as a tomato, but he shook it off and gave you a stoic look “Funny boy… No, I was going to say that I have a surprise you… and it’s right behind curtain number uno!”
>You heard drums redoubling as the reflectors highlighted a red curtain with a neon number “1” floating above it. Then, Discord snapped his talons, making the curtain to disappear in a pink explosion.
>When all the… purple smoke went away, your heart raced at a hundred miles per hour, your mind went blank and your mouth wide.
>Because Discord’s surprise was a very confused yet cute looking Cherrywood.

>She was looking super cute with your goggles on her forehead and a red handkerchief around her neck… “A-Anon?”
>The moment your bat saw you, she became teary eyed and flew to you as fast as her wings allowed her to “Sweet Luna! It’s really you!”
>As she snuggled her head under your chin… Cherrywood started beating your chest pretty hard “You idiot! Featherbrain! Dummy! You know how worried I was about you?! Don’t you ever dare to do that again!”
>Despite the beating, you hugged her back and nuzzled your chin on her mane. Then you whispered into her ear.
“Glad to see you haven’t lost your attitude… and I’m sorry… Out of anypony in this world, you’re the last one I want to worry”
>Cherrywood snuggled into your now wet chest “I’m so, so happy to see that you are okay… when I heard that… WAIT” She jumped out of your hug and gave you a baffled look “Did you just say… Anypony?”
>You raised an eyebrow at her and slowly nodded
“Yes… I did… what about it?”
>Her confusion suddenly changed for complete worry “What the heck is wrong with you? You don’t say “anypony” like, ever! Oh, no! Chrysalis must have fried your brain!” She then lookd at Discord “Mr. D, can’t you do anything to fix Annony’s weirdo brain?”
“What?! No! My brain is still the unstoppable machine that has always been! It’s just that I now want to say anypony, everypony and that kind of stuff!”
>Cherrywood cringed hard by what you said and her worried face changed for one of disgust “*HIIIISSSSS* and it’s freaking me out, Anon! So change it back, BEFORE MY HOOVES MAKE YOU!”
“But why?! Why are you so bothered with me wanting to talk and act like a normal pony?”
>You suddenly felt something playing with your mane, and a super sexy voice replying to your question “You just answered your own question, dork. It’s simply not in your nature to be normal.”

>Eris was comfortably “resting” in mid-air and looking down at you with a wide grin on her face. You raised an eyebrow and gave her a stoic face.
“Good to know that everypony I know thinks that I’m a massive weirdo…”
>Cherrywood immediately threw herself at you and started shaking you pretty hard “*HISSSS* I TOLD YOU!”
“Alright! Alright! You win!”
>“Good! And you better keep it that way! Now, move a little! This throne actually looks comfy” Cherrywood nodded satisfied before pushing you so she could sit at the throne by your side.
>You rolled your eyes and let out a tired sigh.
“Geez, it’s like everyone thinks that if I start acting like a normal pony then I’d explode or something”
>Eris shrugged “I dunno, dork. I don’t really know another guy who would go through the ex-Queen bug’s beauty treatment, take it like a champ and then try to make friends with her” Then, her entire body started glowing with different colors like a Christmas tree “And let’s not forget about the walking light show that you become at times.”
“Oh yeah… uh… Discord, mind telling me why my cutie mark shot another light to who knows where? It’s starting to make me nervous”
>Discord let out a chuckle and shook his head “And spoil the surprise? HAH! I’m sorry, my little Prince, but that’s not how this draconequus roll… besides this is one of those things that you have to discover on your own. Is it frustrating? Sure! Is it cryptic? Of course it is! But it’s important that you are the one who uncovers the secret”
“C’mon, man! Why do you gotta keep this as a secret!”
> It was actually Eris the one who answered this time. “That’s the way the chaotic cookie crumbles, my cute little dork.” She quickly slithered her way to Discord’s side and gave you a wink “But don’t worry, I’m sure that you’ll find your answer sooner rather than later.”
>You rubbed the back of your head and shrugged

“I can’t win when it comes to you guys…”
>Cherrywood hugged you very hard and happily said “Of course not! Now you better sit tight, because you are gonna tell me everything and I mean E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G that happened in the changeling hive, and don’t you dare to spare any details!”
“Alright, but only if you tell me how you managed to make the drone’s power cell to survive Chrysalis’ anti-magic throne”
>Your bat giggled and waved her hoof dismissively “I just used an empty crystal and charged it with that Thorax’s guy magic, then I asked Mr. D. to put a bunch of antennas around the anti-magic field and other places so the signal would be strong enough to transmit to our lab”
“Huh… so that is why Discord went missing in the first place”
>Cherrywood shook her head “What? Of course not! Mr. D. was thinking that he could take on the entire hive without his weirdo magic! What a dummy, right? Anyway, I stopped him right before he poofed away and asked him nicely…”
>Discord crossed his talon and pawn and huffed “More like forced me…”
>Cherrywood rolled her eyes and giggled “Whatever! It stopped you from becoming a gooey wall decoration, and that’s what matters!”
>Eris let out a heartedly laughter and slapped Discord’s on the back “Seems like you’ve been had, Daddy-O!” She then shook her head and shrugged “But seriously, that little drone will be missed. Dunno what would have become of pretty little me without that ting… and the crazy blue laser pony’s magic… and my little dork over here.”
>“Yeah, Yeah! We all were close, those are old news!” Cherrywood said with an annoyed tone before looking at you with expectation “I want to hear everything about the hive! That Thorax only told me boring stories”
>And so, the night went by telling stories, laughing, playing, yelling… everything was fine now. There were still many questions left unanswered, sure, but at least for this moment, you were just going to enjoy your life and try to not put so much blame on you.