Unforeseen Consequences - Chapter 19

“Oh, come on! Now you’re just being totally petty! As if you’re like, a thousand years old! Pfft! Gimme a frickin’ break, dude!”
>Discord had long since stopped paying real attention to me, instead he opted to focus on manipulating the countless emerging patterns in the Void’s sky while answering with a blunt, “It’s higher, keep trying” every time I gave a number.
>Now he was simply hovering around the roof of his house similarly to a swimmer floating backstroke during a warm summer afternoon.
>Maybe it had to do with the time we’ve been going at this “game” or the taunting tone of my voice, but this time his reply was completely different.
>Moving as a snake would, Discord darted towards me. Once he got close enough, he menacingly stood upright. Dude, I totally forgot that this guy was like, twice my height.
>Looking down at me with a wide smirk drawn on his face, Discord let out a hoarse chuckle, “A mere thousand years is nothing to THE spirit of chaos, my dear. It’s your problem if you don’t believe me, but regardless of the decision taken, let me tell you something: I have seen civilizations rise and vanish, sometimes by my own mischievous paw. I wouldn’t recommend to underestimate me. Are we clear, my dear Eris?’
>I thought on mocking what he just said, after all, his words weren’t far from the rambles of slums’ hobo. However, I limited myself to gulp down any sassy comeback and nodded frantically.

>Why in the world would I ever do this? Simple: I found myself terrified of him. Unlike a crazy hobo, there was something in Discord’s eyes. Something that neither me nor anyone should mess with.
>With another hoarse chuckle, Discord slowly stretched his paw towards me. I just stood motionless, watching in terror how it came closer and closer to me like a wicked fire hose. I shut my eyes until those talons patted my shoulder.
>When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted with another creepy stunt from Discord. Not only were his talons unnaturally stretched out, he had done the same with his neck. I let out a silent scream.
>Discord simply laughed at this and whispered into my ear with a tone that made my skin crawl, “Wise choice, my dear Eris. Very wise, indeed! Oh, but why the long face? If anything, this small revelation should make you feel better.”
>A’ight, I’ve had enough of being beaten around by this creep show! I pushed Discord’s ugly face away from me and flew outside of his reach.
“Oh, shut up already! What the heck have you been smoking these past… whatever thousand years?! Why the heck would I feel better? Like, are you for real, dude?”
>After reeling his body back into its usual shape, Discord gave me a toothy grin and shrugged, “Why, I thought it would be obvious, my dear. Think about it: Why would someone of my… experience go through immense lengths, such as prying into a dying world, only to choose a teenager as his apprentice?”

“Well… it’s ‘cause you’re a total nutjob? I dunno, dude! Only thing you’ve ever said about that is ‘cause I have potential or something.”
>Discord popped out of existence and suddenly materialized behind me, getting a little yelp outta me in the process, “Exactly! Any other draconequus would give up an arm and a leg to possess even a fraction of your potential! Except for me, of course.”
“A’ight, I get it already! Geez! You don’t need to be so… hold up! There are other draconequuses? That’s like, an actual thing?!”
>Discord rolled her and tapped my chin, “But of course! You don’t want to meet them, though.” His entire body rippled by the cringe, “They’re all lunatics, even more than myself. Especially my cousin. You have no idea how glad I am that you’re nothing like her.”
“Somehow you managed to make me even more confused. Like, if you have a cousin; that by the way, I totally want to meet now, then do you have parents? Does that mean I have parents? ‘cause if that’s true, then I wanna kick their butts for ditching me.”
>Instead of actually giving some answers, Discord created a small marker which he used to draw a wristwatch on his paw, “Oh, would you look at the time! I’m deeply sorry, my dear; but we will have to postpone this conversation… hopefully forever!”

“Don’t try to dodge my questions, you massive jerk!”
>Discord put his butt-ugly travel hat back on as his body started to phase outta existence, “Hate to rain on your parade, but there’s this tea-party that I simply cannot miss! Ta-Ta, my dear!”
>I let out a growl and traced a circle with my paw to create a dozen chains and hooks to catch Discord.
“Tea-party my butt! Come back here, and tell me…”
>By the time my hooks n’ chains reached Discord’s position, it was already too late; the jerk had completely disappeared, leaving behind a last message that echoed through the Void, “One last thing! Be warned that I’ll turn you into a mosquito if you destroy the house again!”
“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, YOU FRICKIN’ JERK! I swear I’ll cut your ugly beard the moment you come back, you…YOU! UGH! Whatever, you ain’t worth it!”
>Gotta do what I always told Rez to do whenever things sucked: Look on the bright side, dude! I had crazy magic and an entire dimension just for myself. The possibilities were endless!
“Meh! I’ll explore around, then I’ll trash Discord’s house. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”
>Before I could set fly to the vast skies of the Void, I heard a very squeaky voice replying to me, “I wouldn’t go too far, my lady. These untamed lands are dangerous for a frail being like yourself.”
>I looked left and right, up and down, but didn’t see anyone. Totally sure that voice wasn’t a hallucination, I scratched my head and yelled.

“Hey! Who the heck said that? I’ll frickin’ show you who the frail one is after I blow up your face!”
>Something tiny tapped my hoof before the squeaky little voice replied, “Down here, my lady.”
>This was something I didn’t see coming. There was this little mouse clad in some kinda medieval-looking armor. On his back, he carried a large sword… for mice standards and a great shield with very elegant engravement of a golden cheese
>Going by the state of the armor and the many dents on the great shield, it was totally clear that the dude had seen a lot of action.
>Very cool, but he called me “my lady” and that’s a sure-fire to make my blood boil. I remembered my dork reading about knights and how prideful they were. Dunno if that applied here in the Void, but I didn’t lose anything by trying to treat him like an adorable pet.
“Well, ain’t you the cutest little fella I’ve ever seen! What’s your name, buddy?”
>My teasing worked perfectly. Crossing his forelegs, the knight mouse said “hum” that just like the rest of his reply, had this echo effect thanks to his helmet, “Excuse me, my lady; but I’m neither cute, nor a buddy! I’m the mighty Bravio! Champion of the venerable house of the immortal cheese! My feats are a legend among…!”
>So that was his name? Oh, brother! This guy right here is why I never liked knight stories. I rolled my eyes and similarly to a cat, I laid on my belly and lowered my head to Bravio’s eye level.

“Yeah, yeah! I get it already! You’re like, a super cool dude and all that! Whatever! Listen, you don’t wanna be called cute, right? Well, guess what? I frickin’ hate being called “muh lady” or “frail”! So here’s a deal for you: I’ll stop with the cute if you stop with the lame. Sounds good?”
>Bravio ponderingly tapped his helmet. After a few seconds of hearing his humming echoing through his helment, he looked up to me and nodded, “Very well, I agree to your terms, Miss…?”
>Oh, so this guy wasn’t a stubborn jerk. What a nice change of pacing. With a satisfactory smile on my face, I extended a talon to the knight mouse and shook his little claw. That said, I also took the opportunity to make some… clarifications.
“Drop the miss, dude. My name’s Eris and leave it at that, a’ight?”
>Bravio hit his chest and bowed in what I assumed was the way in which a knight bows, “A pleasure to meet you, Eris. You may be wondering the reason for my sudden intervention, but is a knight’s duty to protect a beautiful damsel from any kind of distress.”
“A’ight, there’s a few things you gotta get through that helmet of yours, buddy! I ain’t a damsel, or beautiful and trust me on this one…”
>I traced a circle with my paw, causing an explosion at a random spot in the sky. Nothing deadly, just big enough to shake Discord’s house and the rest of the island.
>Once the small quake was over, I narrowed my eyes at a surprisingly unfazed Bravio. I think so at least, like, the helmet didn’t allow me to see his face, but an explosion the size of a block should’ve made anyone to at least flinch, right?
“…I ain’t in distress.”

>The knight mouse sighed before ceremoniously clearing his throat, “Pardon me, Eris; but there has been a misunderstanding. If you recall my words, it shall become obvious that I never questioned the raw power of a draconequus. Only a fool would ever do that.”
“So then what’s the big problem, dude? I’ll just use some magic to mix up the butt of the sucker who tries to mess with me. ”
>Bravio shook his head, as his squeaky voice became grimmer, “Physical challenges are not the problem here, Eris. The Void has many ways to twist one’s mind. Carelessness only leads to madness in this wretched place… my colony stands as a testament to that.”
>Geez, dude! This poor fella has gone through a lot of garbage, hasn’t he? As much as I wanted to explore the Void, I just didn’t have the heart to leave him wallowing in sadness. I ain’t no jerk.
>I sighed and after hovering to the edge of the roof, I looked down at the knight mouse with a little smile drawn on my face.
“Know what? Maybe it’s a bad idea to go exploring today. Like, the weather kinda sucks and I’m sure Discord’s gonna show me the place anyway. So, here’s an idea! Why don’t you stick around while I practice my magic, huh?”
>Bravio pointed at the sky and vehemently shook his head, “My apologies, Eris; while I wear the finest armor that my colony ever produced, it simply would not serve of any protection against the destructive powers of a draconequus.”

>I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes. This guy was more mistrustful than my dork. Guess I just gotta lure him in with a good hook. Attitude was also important for this, so I tilted my head and gave him a little smile.
“Who said anything about blowing up stuff? I’m already incredible at that. What I wanna do, is to create things with my magic. So here’s a new deal, you rate the stuff I make, and if you like them, then you can keep ‘em. Does that sounds good for the oh-so-mighty Bravio? Oh! And you can give ideas if you wanna!”
>The knight mouse ponderously tapped his helmet, before looking up at me and nodding, “I accept your offer, fair Eris; and if it’s not too much to ask, could you start by creating a piece of cheese? As shameful as it is, I’m starving.”
“Puh-lease, it ain’t a problem at all! One order of the smelliest, tastiest cheese coming right up!”
>… … …
>… …
>…
>Know what? Despite everything, these past couple or so hours could’ve been way worse. Getting your mane cut to oblivion certainly sucked, but on the other hoof, Luna and Celestia were so frickin’ cool, man!
>The way in which the scissors, water sprayer, and mane comb, all controlled by Luna’s magic; elegantly flew back and forth as they trimmed, and groomed your already decimated mane, never stopped blowing your frickin’ mind.
>At this point, you had already given up in putting any sort of physical resistance. Instead, you had opted to hide your honest amazement at this showcase of magic while making sure that your stance on the manecut was absolutely clear.
>You puffed your cheeks like balloons and put up faked annoyed glare. Needless to say, it was a very useless move from your part, but still better than admitting defeat.
>Luna’s dedication was nothing to sneeze at either. The only times when she stopped her show was to clean off whatever droplets of sweat appeared on her forehead, even then, she’d use her magic to do that.
>Sometimes Luna would gently roll her eyes, and with a half-stern and half playful stare she’d say, “Oh, my dearest Resonance! We would not be in this situation had you been taking a better care of your mane.”

>It’d definitely be a crime if you didn’t mention Celestia’s awesomeness. Not only she has been holding you in mid-air during all this time, but also made every single string of hair that got cut to pop like soda bubbles.
>Even more amazingly was how she, unlike Luna, managed to see through your act from the get go. Every now and then Celestia would lean forward to whisper into your ear stuff like, “Tone down the frown a bit or Luna will tell you’re faking it.” Or, “Stiff up the muscles around the cheeks, that way nopony will notice how wowed you’re at my top quality magic.”
>Everything felt so frickin’ unfair. You wanted to be mad at these mares for taking away your super cool mane, but they were so good at making that task impossible.
>Finally, Luna flew the scissors back into the doctor’s bag and proclaimed in a triumphant voice, “Hah hah! The mane and the horrors that lurked within it have been vanquished! Now, my dearest Resonance is more adorable than ever before!”
>You felt gravely offended by those words. So much, that your left eye twitched as memories of Eris calling you adorable, and pinching your cheeks assaulted your mind.
“Oh, c’mon! I ain’t adorable! I’m cool! C-O-O-L! Why is that so hard to get? I mean, it’s just four… wait, something ain’t right here. Why I’m still floating?”
>You turned to Celestia, who had a smug half-smirk drawn on her face. There was a variety of shampoos and soaps levitating around her neck, “Why don’t you tell me? Would you like the floral shampoo or the fruits extracts one?”

>Now this was something you simply couldn’t argue against. Your coat not only had this bizarre light green color that you’ve never seen before, but it was also covered in crusts of mud, grease, grass and even dry blood.
>Seriously, it was mind blowing that Luna and Celestia didn’t puke their guts out considering how much physical affection they’ve given to you.
>That said, you were gonna agree to this bath on your own terms. You looked at Celestia right in the eye while putting up a “serious business” face.
“Know what, lady? I’ll take the first one! I rather smell like flowers than food all day.”
>Celestia playfully rolled her eyes, and tapped your muzzle, “What a funny coincidence. That’s exactly the same one I use!” She chuckled before looking at her sister, “Hey, Luna! I’ll take care of the crusts and whatever else is stuck in the coat. You can deal with the mane and tail.”
>Luna politely shook her head and made her way to the exit door, “Actually, Celie; I want to leave this task to you, there is a few details that need to be taken care of.”
“I don’t wanna sound rude here, lady… but, are you bailing because you’re afraid that I’m gonna stink super hard?”
>Kinda amazing how smug Celestia got. That smirk on her face was something else, “No, is because she’s lazy. You wouldn’t imagine how hard it’s to get her flank out of bed.”

>A bright red blush appeared on Luna’s cheeks. Her wings unfolded and her face looked more like a flustered filly, “L-Lies! All lies! I simply want to fine-tune a couple of elements for today’s activities!”
>Much to your amazement, Celestia’s smugness increased tenfold by simply wiggling her eyebrows and elegantly combing her ever-flowing mane, “I didn’t know that’s how ponies called taking a nap. Oh! And there’s a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres’ cider in the diner’s pantry. I seriously hope to find it there after I’m finished here.”
>Luna stormed out of the bedroom, but not before replying in a very dignified, almost pompous way, “Good to know! Now I can have a repayment for MY pastries that YOU wobbled up last week!” Then, she slammed door.
>Celestia rolled her eyes and shook her head. She then raised her voice to call to Luna, “Just don’t set the entire diner on fire again!”
>From the hallway, you heard Luna’s yelling back at her sister not with her usual melodic voice, but with this thunderous yell that made the entire room to shake, “IT WAS ONE TIME, CELIE! ONE SINGLE TIME!”
>After letting a tired sigh, Celestia murmured to herself, “One time this month, you mean.” Her eyes became wide open once she realized that you were still there. With a nervous smile, Celestia scratched the back of her long neck, “Oh, I bet this was… awkward. Y-You don’t have a problem with a bit of sibling’s banter, right?”

>The way in which those two bickered made you remember all those times when Eris and you would do the same things. Maybe that’s why you replied with a whole heartedly laugh and a wide smile.
“Why the heck are you asking that, lady? Of frickin’ course I’m cool with it! I actually kinda liked it! It reminds me of… someone.
>It ain’t like you didn’t want to talk about Eris and how amazing she is, but the last thing you wanted was to destroy the current mood by feeling all sad about your sister not being here.
“Uh… anyway, I ain’t gonna judge you. I’m super cool with whatever stuff you and Luna like to do! I mean, why wouldn’t I?”
>With a heartwarming smile, Celestia levitated you her and gently caressed your mane, “You’ve no idea how thankful I am to hear that, Resonance. Let’s go, I still have to give you that bath.”
>You were levitated to the bathroom. There, Celestia took off your goggles and placed them in the sink. Then, she gently placed you inside the bathtub.
>It was a bit disappointing that instead of swimming in a bathtub filled with bubbly water, like the ones in Eris’ magazines, Celestia turned on the shower and that’s it.
>At least the water’s temperature was frickin’ perfect! Seriously, it felt so good! And that’s not even mentioning how Celestia massaged your head as she applied the shampoo.

>As you were submerged in a sea of relaxation, she started talking in a calm yet subtly excited tone, “You know, Resonance; I’ve been thinking a lot about yesterday’s incident with the shelf. Do you know how common it is for a unicorn to do what you did?”
“Uh… I honestly have no frickin’ clue. Only ponies I’ve seen doing magic are that weirdo mare with the thick eyebrows, Luna and you.”
>Once Celestia was finished with your mane, she used a small sponge to scrub your back. Man, the water dripping down your body looked more like something you’d see coming from a sewage.
>Celestia didn’t mind, though. She kept cleaning you up while calmly speaking, “The answer is: it’s very unusual, especially for a colt of your age. In fact, it’s so rare that the number of ponies that I’ve seen with this amount of raw magic in the past thousand years is a single digit. This is including me and Luna… mostly me.”
“Yo! This is the first time I like being called a frickin’ weirdo! Man, I can’t wait to… Hold up! What was that thousand year thing all about? You talking about history books and stuff, right?”
>Celestia shrugged and squeezed the sponge out of that nasty looking water, “Not really, as a scholar in magic myself, I’ve been very close friends with every single of these ponies. I even dated one of them… easily one of my biggest mistakes in the last 200 years. Never go out with a pony whose sole purpose in life is to make a spell that makes moustaches thicker.”


“Yeah, that sounds like one heck of a terrible idea! But that ain’t the important part! There’s no frickin’ way you’re that old.”
>Like a little filly, she rested her head on her hooves and blinked naively with a playful smile on her face, “I know! I look like a 600 year old filly, right?” She then chuckled, and proceeded to use her magic to disintegrate every crust in your body, “But seriously, I’m 1237 years old, and in case you’re wondering, Luna’s 1225. It’s funny, though; I thought that we already told you this.”
>You looked at her right in the eye with complete bafflement, and proceeded to angrily flail your hooves around. Amazingly, Celestia casted a teal orange barrier that prevented her from getting splashed.
“OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T! I WOULD’VE REMEMBERED THAT MY PARENTS ARE OLDER THAN ANY BOOK I’VE EVER READ!”
>A warm smile appeared on Celestia’s face. However, she ultimately shrugged and finished to clean any remnant of dirtiness in your coat, “Oh, well! Mistakes were made. Now that you know my age, we can go back to the subject of your magic.”
“Wait! How does it feel to be beyond ancient? Can you talk with mummies? No, wait! I’ve a better one! Do they put all the candles in your birthday cake, or they just put it in front of the sunrise?”
>Celestia rolled her eyes and turned off the shower. Then she levitated you out of the bathtub and gave you an unamused look, “Har, har, har. Very funny, Resonance. Listen, I have scheduled an appointment for next week with the best school of magic that Equestria has to offer. My school!”

“Nah, lady! I don’t do schools! I like magic and all that cool stuff, but I’ve always rolled with learning on my own terms. Way better than going to one of those jails.”
>You could see Celestia’s pride being hurt a bit. Only briefly, though. She quickly covered your head with a towel and started drying your mane a bit harshly, “Too bad! Everything has already been arranged, and MY school is far from being a jail! In fact, it’s the best school that Equestria…! No! The world has ever seen!”
“Something tells me that I don’t have much of a choice here.”
>For some reason, temperature in the room had increased. The reason for this, as you discovered once Celestia removed the towel from your head, is that she was using her magic to evaporate all the water from your coat.
>Before you could point out at how incredibly awesome that was, Celestia tapped your muzzle and used a mane comb to groom your mane, “That’s correct, my little rebel! Every foal needs to have an education, and by the sun itself, you’ll have one!”

>Celestia threw the mane comb to a side and with a triumphant look on her face, she levitated a small mirror you, “And done! What do you think, my little heartbreaker? If you ask me, you’re quite the looker.”
>Man, for how long are these mares planning to keep blowing your frickin’ mind? Your frickin’ coat was shinier and more colorful than you’ve ever seen it. Heck! You didn’t even know that this was your frickin’ coat color!
>Sure, there were a lot of visible bruises across your entire body, and a few somewhat large scars around the chest and lower hooves areas, but, man! You looked pimpin’.
>This isn’t even touching on your mane and tail! You had a couple bands in them! You never ever knew that! And what Luna did with her stylist skills was frickin’ perfect.
>The tail was kept short and simple, but the mane, man! It no longer was the giant, puffy mess of before. Far from it, it was short, a bit messy, but with a whole lotta style.
“Holy blazes! What kinda crazy magic did you do, lady?! I can barely tell that’s me in the mirror!”
>Celestia shrugged as she gently put your goggles around your neck, “I just used regular shampoo and a lot of love. Let’s go, and give Luna the surprise of her life. I’m sure she’s going to adore you! I know I do!”
>… … …
>… …
>…
>Well, this day could’ve been way worse. Bravio really didn’t hold off in asking me to create stuff, mostly knight related equipment, but it’s ok, the dude was actually quite nice, if a bit melancholic.
>I just wished he stayed for a bit longer. The little fella gave me his farewells and left mounted in a four-winged parrot. How curious that happened mere minutes before Discord showed his old face. Too curious to not be a coincidence.
>It would be a lie if I said that I didn’t get hella bad vibes when Discord arrived. The old coot didn’t say anything at first, he simply snapped his talons and teleported us to inside his house.
>To be more precise, it was a small wooden hallway, sorta like a cabin in the woods. Nothing especial about it other than a buncha of simple wooden doors, and what looked like a trapdoor installed on a wall at the end of the hallway.
>Of course, I opened my mouth to ask what the heck was going on, but Discord placed a paw on my lips and with a wide grin he said, “Ah, Ah! Surprise comes first. Teen angst comes later.”
>With an explosion of serpentines and confetti behind him, he opened one of the doors and exclaimed with a lot of fanfare, “TADA! Welcome to your new room, my dear! Or should I say, your old room? I suppose it’s a matter of perspective, wouldn’t you agree?”
 >My heart skipped a beat. Beyond that door was an exact replica of the old industrial pipe I lived in with my dork. I was too blown away to form any coherent word.
“This… I can’t… How”

>Discord placed his paw on my shoulder and gently pushed me inside, “Amazing, I know. However, I didn’t go through all the trouble of moving the entire place, and re-allocating it inside my home, only for you to stand here. Check the room, tell me if there’s anything missing.”
>He didn’t have to tell me twice. I flew around the room like a maniac. I rolled in my dork’s bed, and it still smelled like dead fish. I rummaged through his toolbox and bookshelf, all of his things were left intact, even his little busted radio!
>I jumped like a little girl on the mess I called bed, it felt as stiff as always. My collection of travel magazines that I kept under it was there, all the jewelry that I crafted with tin and aluminum was in the painted boxes I called drawers.
>Heck, the light series that we hung all over the place were recreated to perfection. Same faulty bulbs and everything. I turned to Discord with teary eyes and said with a broken voice.
“Thank you, Discord. I love it. I love it so much! How did you pull this off, dude? Like, everything’s a perfect copy of my old home!”
>Discord calmly shrugged and put up a super exaggerated act of him being offended, “A copy, you say?! Puh-lease! The lord of chaos doesn’t only does originals! I simply moved it to my humble home a bit after you went your forced beauty-sleep. By the way, do you want to see all the souvenirs I got that world? I’ve got a lot of things from that cute facility.”

“Ew, of course not! Burn that stuff, give it to someone who’s not me, I don’t care! Why do you gotta ruin the moment, dude?! Whatever, thanks for the gift. I love it like you’ve no idea.”
>Discord chuckled and readied his talons for a snap, “Good to know, and just as a clarification: Don’t get the idea that I did this out of some sort of petty paternalistic feeling. I’m only doing my labor as a teacher to ensure that you have a way to relax after a day of harsh training.”
“Oh, look at me! I’m the big lord of chaos and I like to act like a tough jerk, grrr! I know it’s gonna be tough! You’ve said the same thing like a million times already! What about if we talk about something else? Tell me, did you give those files to Rez’s parents?”
>He vehemently shook his head and grinned, “It’s never a bad thing to keep in mind. As for your question. No, my meeting with those two mares doesn’t happen until next week. Now, if you excuse me, my dear. I’ll take my leave now. Ta-Ta!”
>Discord snapped his talons and disappeared in a small puff of purple smoke. I didn’t care one bit if his training regime was the toughest thing ever. For now, I was happy and nothing else mattered.
>After dropping on my bed and opening one of my magazines. I looked at the light series and yelled.
“Go choke on your own beard, you old fart!”
>… … …
>… …
>…

>It was a bit ironic that after a whole day of trying to sneak into the back gardens of Canterlot Castle, you were now being brought in the best way possible: Carried in Luna’s hooves like a frickin’ plush toy, with her occasionally snuggling into your mane. The fact she was flying just made it all better.
>Meanwhile, Celestia was flying right by your side, carrying a small cubic basket covered by a folded blanket on her back. Whatever was inside that thing, it smelled stupidly good.
>However, you found something incredibly weird as the three of you made your way into the back gardens. Whenever a pony, Luna and Celestia were approached by a non-Guard pony, they would refer to you not like their son, but as their guest.
>Of course, and like she has done before, Celestia read your thoughts like an open book. Once the three of you were well deep into the gardens, and away of anyone’s sight, she leaned close to your ear and whispered, “I know how it looks like, and trust me, I hate it too. However, we cannot call you our son until a public announcement has been done. Again, I absolutely hate this, but there’s not much we can do about it. Please, forgive us, Resonance.”
>You let out a sigh but understandably nodded. These two were most likely the biggest, and oldest, figures Equestria has to offer. The news about them adopting a frickin’ stray pony like yourself would flip the entire country upside-down.

“I don’t really care, y’know? Seriously, as long as I’m with you two, you gals can call me a frickin’ alien. I’m just curious, though… when are you ladies planning on breaking the news to everyone?”
>Luna snuggled into your mane, and after a kissing your cheek, she whispered, “We will let you know as soon as all formalities are arranged, my dearest Resonance. We just ask you to keep the secrecy with anypony outside the Guard.”
“Eh, don’t worry. It ain’t the first time I’ve have to keep my mouth shut. That said, remember that filly from yesterday? Cherrywood, right? She already knows. Is that gonna be a problem? As in, is that gonna get ME in trouble? Because I swear it wasn’t my fault! Her mom spilled the beans right away!”
>Celestia tapped your muzzle as she set her hooves on the green grass, “Not at all, that foal is a very special exception. One that I won’t tell about until it’s time, I like to keep surprises like that. Now, onto our picnic!”
>Luna gently placed you on the ground, and after nuzzling once more on your mane, she pointed at a nearby pond by an elm tree, “Celie, I think that we found the perfect spot.”
>As Celestia and Luna used their magic to set blanket under the tree. You looked back at the mighty Canterlot Castle, and noticed something incredibly weird. Something that you swore wasn’t there when you looked at it from the city’s streets.
>Located at the east and closest to the edge of the mountain, stood the remnants of the tallest tower in the castle. The sight was just bizarre, man. Like someone took a giant knife and cut a huge semi-circle out of the tower, leaving only a small bit of the pointy roof and the base. What the heck happened here, man?