Unforeseen Consequences - Chapter 15

>I think life is a curious thing. Sometimes it can be indifferent to all of us, sometimes it can give us unexpected gifts that rock our entire world, and sometimes it can show us in painful detail how cruel some hearts can be.
>There’s no better example of this last case than the small and old pegasus-pony that was standing in front of me and Discord: Golden Freedom.
>It wasn’t exactly a surprise to see that he was accompanied by a squadron of at least 20 patrols. Of course, all of them were wearing heavy armor and military-grade blasters.
>No, what surprised, and honestly scared me a fair deal was the calm, almost joyful smile plastered on the Golden Freedom’s face.
>As for me, well, I’ll be the first one to admit that I felt a glacial chill when I first heard his voice, that pony is not what I’d call an endless source of good memories.
>Things couldn’t be more different now, though. I was burning with the desire of tearing apart that slimy slime and blow up this entire facility to kingdom come. In other words, I was incredibly angry.
>Despite my obvious hostility, Golden Freedom still spoke to me like he was greeting a dear friend or family member, “Eris, Eris, Eris! It’s so nice to have you back! Tell me, is the little Resonance with you?”
>Words cannot describe the amount of rage I felt at that moment. I spat in his direction and started flying to him.

“Just you wait until I get my talons on you! I’ll rip your ugly face off and then use it as a mantelpiece, you dirty…!”
>I was cut off by the sound of the armored patrols readying their heavy weaponry. I became completely paralyzed and the most frustrating part is that I didn’t even know why.
>My reaction pleased Golden Freedom immensely, he just looked and talked to me like I was a little girl, “Ah, ah, ah! I know that you have had your fun, but it’s time to remember your place, Eris.”
>Seriously, I had all of this magic and someone with unlimited power like Discord by my side, and despite all of the cards being stacked on my favor… I couldn’t do anything else but to cower.
>Golden Freedom sighed victoriously and chuckled, “Now that we’re going back to how things should be; would you mind telling us where in the world you hid the little Resonance? There’s a few interesting hypothesis that I would like to test with him.”
>“It’s a curious that you mentioned the child, a very curious thing indeed…” Discord finally broke out of his silence with his usual arrogant self, “Because he’s the very reason why my promising, yet unexperienced apprentice and I came here in the first place.”
>I felt like someone had dropped a bucket filled with ice on me during a blizzard. My heart started to race at an unending frantic pace as cold sweat ran down my face.
“W-What… did you say?”

>“It is as you hear, my dear. However I must ask you one thing…” Discord slowly hovered towards me and placed his paw on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring smile, “Please, don’t think that I’m doing it with malicious intentions in mind. I simply have very, and I mean VERY important questions about the young Resonance and yourself that only these mooks can answer.”
>I stared back at Discord completely dumbfounded. Nothing about his face or his voice gave me the impression that he was lying. It was the opposite, I think he was trying his best to hid a slight hint of regret.
“Okay… I mean, sure? It’s just that… Why you didn’t tell me in the first place, dude?”
>Discord shrugged and hovered past me, but not before messing up with my mane, “Quite simple! You never asked, my dear! Now if you excuse me…” He then turned to Golden Freedom, and that’s when Discord became so serious that it was a bit scary, “Give me every single piece of information that you have about my apprentice and the child.”
>Without any hesitation, the patrols immediately pointed their weapons at Discord. A couple of them went a bit further by firing warning shots. Of course, I instinctively covered my head when I heard the detonations.
>Clearly not feeling intimidated by Discord, Golden Freedom replied with a certain air of authority and dismissiveness, “I’m sorry, but I was asking my property about certain stolen goods. Unless you want to meet a less than elegant end, I’d suggest you to stay back and learn some manners!”
>I thought Discord would implode in a ball of angry and salty fire, but his actual reaction was the very exact opposite of that: He just raised an eyebrow and stood silent for a couple seconds.

>Discord then tapped his talons and paw together, and shot the Golden Freedom a huge smirk, “Oh, I’m so sorry! I made the terrible mistake of forgetting that we’re not acquainted. Luckily for the both of us, I know the perfect way to introduce myself!”
>What happened next is something is something that I really saw coming from a mile away: Discord snapped his talons, sending a bizarre purple shockwave across the laboratories and all manners of chaos broke loose.
>Like, those imposing patrols that had me so scared mere seconds ago? Yeah, they were transformed into horned rabbits, dodos, turtles and even giant sloths.
>As an added detail, all of these “woodland creatures” left the laboratories while doing a small can-can number. Where did the music come from? Who cares? This was chaos magic in action, baby!
>Amusing and adorable as it was, this wasn’t nearly enough for someone like Discord. I simply laid back and saw how the entire laboratory started to be remodeled in a domino-like sequence.
>It started with the horrible cages melting in a colorful jelly that covered the metallic floor in such a weird way that I thought it was actually sentient. The jelly rippled and bubbled until a thick carpet of golden grass sprouted from it.
>Even more impressive was how the ceiling violently fragmented and twisted until becoming what I can only describe as a caricature of a sky; one that was constantly shifting between day and night.

>My favorite part however was what came right after the shift in scenery. I cheered loudly when every single prisoner, except for Chrysalis, snapped out of their zombie-like state at the exact same time.
>Realizing that they were finally free from the company’s brain-washing, most prisoners didn’t hesitate to run away in search of an exit while a few others decided to stay for a bit more to try and comprehend the other-worldly landscape in front of them.
>Meanwhile, Golden Freedom looked like he was on the verge of a nervous attack: His mouth was wide open and unable to form a cohesive word, his eyes darted back and his entire body was shaking like jelly.
>Visibly proud of his work, Discord gently placed one his talons under the Golden Freedom’s chin and directed his eyes to him, “Hello, little pony! My name is Discord, lord of chaos; and I’ve come here to…”
>My attention was taken away from those two when I noticed, just in the corner of my peripheral vision, a young red dragon who charging straight to Golden Freedom.
>I’ll admit that I hesitated to do something right away. Like, I still was a bit angry at Discord for not telling me his actual plans until now. I mean, I thought we were on the same side!
>However, I also wanted to know the reason as to why Golden Freedom was so obsessed with my little brother.

>Yeah, there was no contest there. Discord may be a jerk a lot of the time, but whatever the company wanted with my little brother and myself was way more important.
>By the time I made up my mind, the dragon was already a few feet away from Discord and Golden Freedom. Needless to say, I immediately traced a circle with my paw and casted a spell.
>What I ended up coming up with was nothing violent or spectacular, just a bunch of very strong party streamers that’d tie up the angry dragon from head to toes.
>Thankfully, my magic worked like a charm this time. The colorful streamers materialized out of thin air, covering the poor dragon entirely and halting his attack.
>To no one’s surprise, the dragon struggled with all his might and fire against the grip of my streamers, and while he managed to turn their vibrant colors to a dark coal one, his attempts were all in vain.
>I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel bad for the poor guy, but the best I could offer him was a gentle pat and a small apology.
“Sorry, dude! I totally support the idea of ripping Golden Freedom to pieces, but we kinda need the guy in one piece. Good job on the charge, though; it was hella cool!”
>Feeling the glare of hate coming from the dragon, I smiled nervously and quickly flew to Discord who was still with the catatonic Golden Freedom.

>Discord took a good look at the tied up dragon before giving me an energetic salute, “Fantastic execution, my dear! Just a little bit of constructive criticism: next time, use higher quality streamers. Presentation is very important in the chaos business!”
>I rolled my eyes and punched Discord’s shoulder, he in turn chuckled and casually shifted his attention back to Golden Freedom, “Well, I think we can end my humble presentation here.”
>Looking pale as a ghost, Golden Freedom tried one last time to make sense of the chaos unfolding around him, “T-T-The ancient t-texts said… b-but this goes beyond any… So this the true p-power of a d-d-draconequus!”
>“Do you seriously think that I used all my magic?” Discord laughed loudly, “You’re a funny guy! How about you tell me about the child while I’m still in a good mood?”
>“R-Right! Y-You don’t to tell me twice.” Golden Freedom frantically nodded and walked past both me and Discord, “F-Follow me, please. The information you seek is at my office.”
>The guy didn’t even dare to look me in the eyes. It felt so good that I couldn’t help but to catch up with the Golden Freedom’s frantic pace and pat his bald head.
“A’ight, but don’t forget your place, dude!”
>My words where met with pure hatred from his eyes, and lemme tell you, it felt better than eating an entire bag of marshmallows covered in peanut butter. Life can be a beautiful thing sometimes.
>Feeling like the queen of the world, I started flying behind him while Discord joined my triumphant march not long after.

>After going through a couple of elevators, and about three or four reinforced vault doors, I came to a very important realization: we were now going through the exact same path that Golden Freedom took me during my first visit to the laboratories.
>I also wanted to slap myself for not realizing until this second visit the many… let’s call them, “unique” traits of the deeper and most secretive sections of the company’s facilities.
>There were only a few cages of different sizes in here, all of them very similar to the Chrysalis’ one; all of them connected to giant tubes at each side.
>I think Discord was feeling as curious as I was, because it didn’t took him long to snap his talons and reveal the content of these cages.
>Empty, every single one of them was empty. The only remnants left were plates of rotten food and red warning signs that read “FAILED EXPERIMENT. DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PROPER HAZARD EQUIPMENT AND SECURITY TEAM.”
>What truly got my attention, as well as Discord’s, was that each cage had an additional, and much smaller blue sheet. Each and all of these had a different serial number and a name attached to it in white letters.
>I could only read a few of these sheets, and something that immediately popped out was how weird some of those names were. You had stuff like: “Grogar”, “Sombra”, “Tirek”, “Arabus” to stuff like, “Siren #2” and “Raptorian #4”.
>At the end of the hallway and closer to the vault door I found a particular cage that sickened me more than anything else in the facilities.

>Unlike all the others, this one was perfectly clean and lacked the warning sign. However, it still had the little blue sheet which simply read: “Eris”.
>I shot a furious glare to Golden Freedom. His response was simple: a tiny, yet twisted smile that made me want to puke.
>The only thing that saved that disgusting stallion from getting his teeth pulled out one-by-one was Discord stopping me.
>He gently placed his paw over my shoulder and whispered into my ear, “I realize how you must be feeling, but please, calm down, my dear.”
>I narrowed my eyes and barked to Discord, “Are you outta your frickin’ mind?! Seriously, dude! Just take a look around you, and tell me how the heck you can say that garbage with a straight face?!”
>Holding a playful smile, Discord tugged my shoulder, “Because that pony holds answers that we still need, my dear. I don’t like it either, but that’s how things are… at least for the time being.”
>Discord finished his sentence with a mischievous wink. Of course, I got the message pretty quickly, so I smirked at him and whispered.
“A’ight, fine, have it your way, dude. I just wanna make you realize that we’re gonna bring some major point to that idiot and his band of jerks!”
>“Excuse me? What exactly do you mean by us?” Discord chuckled before taping my forehead with this paw, “The honor of tying our small visit with a nice, chaotic bow is all yours, my dear.”
>It’d be a straight up lie if I said that those words didn’t light up my mood. Like, my mind was racing with ideas on how to create a spectacular finale for this adventure.
>Too bad that, just like with everything else, Golden Freedom had to screw up this moment, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m afraid this is where our small partnership comes to an end!”

>He cackled manically and galloped past the vault door, closing it behind him. I don’t think words can describe just how angry this stunt made me.
>I let out a big growl and casted a spell that while it wasn’t exactly what I had thought up, it managed to completely rust the vault door in just a couple seconds.
>What I had actually intended to do, and what came right after the vault door looked like the pipe I used to live in, was to make it implode in a glorious and perfumed pink cloud.
>Weird side-effects aside, the end result was something that I felt proud of… even if Discord had to criticize it, “This is not bad, not at all… but quite honestly, my dear; you must improve the quality of the products that you create. It gives the impression that you can only afford bootleg materials.”
“The only bootleg thing here is your ugly face! Besides, I’m still new to this stuff! This ain’t a big deal.”
>“Oh, the youth of today! How easy they forgo the importance of quality presentation! Fear not, my dear! Because I shall scrub out every ounce of laziness out of your angsty teen mind once we finish our business with our scared friend over there!”
“S-Shut up, dude!”
>I switched my gaze away from Discord and instead decided to enjoy the sight of a completely astonished Golden Freedom.
>He was shaking like jelly and had his mouth open so widely that I thought he had dislocated his jaw… not that I cared, though.

>What came afterwards wasn’t something that I’d call note-worthy. We went through long and circular corridors, down a small elevator and finally arrived to a very familiar large room.
>It was exactly how I remembered it: a control panel with lots and lots of buttons, a large window that overlooked a tall, metallic tower and a buncha screens that broadcasted six strange glowing gems incrusted in the tower.
>The only major real difference is that instead of just two losers wearing lab coats, there were like ten scientist ponies in here. Didn’t need a genius to figure out that they were here to escape from all the chaos happening in the laboratory.
>Of course, it also was pretty obvious that every single one of them couldn’t possibly be more terrified about being face-to-face with Discord and I.
>Not everything was good, though.  A little after entering this control room, I started to feel incredibly tired, to the point where I had to stop flying and rest against a wall to catch my breath.
>For a few moments the world started to spin like crazy. The only things I could recognize was the sight of Discord standing beside me, and the voice of Golden Freedom trying to calm down his coworkers.
>As for those ponies, I couldn’t make much of what they were saying, just smaller stuff like: “Test foals were evacuated”, “Security teams are on their way” and other things like that.
>Once I managed to pull myself back together, Discord patted my back and whispered, “Glad to see you’ve decided to stop slacking off, my dear!”
“You’re a big jerk! You know that?!”

>Discord chuckled before messing up with my mane, “But of course! That’s part of my endless charm after all!” His face then adopted a much more serious expression, “For real though; what happens next may not be a very pleasant conversation. So be prepared for the worst.”
>I slapped his dirty paw away from me and rolled my eyes that they almost popped out from my sockets.
“I ain’t some kinda newbie to the company’s shenanigans, you know? No need to tell me what I already know. It’s hella boring and totally kills my groove.”
>Discord silently observed me for a couple seconds before he shrugged with a small smile on his face, “Very well, just don’t go crazy with your magic at the first provocation. I’d hate to miss out on an important detail because you decided to play the edgy avenger role.”
“Eugh! Just shut up and let’s get this over with, a’ight? I’m getting tired of this stupid place.”
>Discord didn’t reply to me, he instead turned around and flew to Golden Freedom and his band of scared ponies.  He then extended his paw towards them and said with an ominous voice “I’ve had enough patience with all of you. Give me the information I want and give it now.”
>For some reason that I can’t explain, one of the science ponies decided to have a sudden surge of courage. She bravely stepped forward, and defiantly barked to Discord, “And what if we refuse?!”
>“Seriously?” Discord pinched the bridge of his nose and snapped his talons, transforming the mare into a giant toad, “Does anyone else wants a reminder? Because I can do this all day!”

>Discord then gave a tired and annoyed glance at the speechless ponies, “Good! That means we can finally get to the point. I’ll want two copies of whatever files you have on the young Resonance and one for Eris, please!”
>The giant toad croaked and all of these ponies including Golden Freedom rushed to their computers. With an honestly impressive speed, they produced three somewhat thick booklets. Two with a blue cover and a third one with a red cover.
>Without any delay Golden Freedom handled the booklets to Discord and cleared his throat, “Here’s everything that you asked. Now please leave so we can end this horrible…”
>“Hold on, my quadruped friend. We’re not done yet” Discord quickly grabbed the booklets out of Golden Freedom’s hooves, making the later to flinch and retreat.
>“Let’s see what we have here.” A pair of thick reading glasses appeared on Discord’s face. His eyes darted back and forth as he started flipping the booklets’ pages.
>Once Discord was finished reading or whatever that was, he ate the reading glasses and tossed the three booklets over his shoulder.
>My instinctive reaction was to catch the booklets, but they simply vanished out of existence right before my talons could reach them.
“What’s the big idea, dude? I thought we came here for those things! Why would you… hey! Are you even listening to me?!”
>I clenched my talons and flew to Discord’s side. Then I started to angrily poke his chest until I realized that he wasn’t moving, or paying me any attention. Instead, his furious gaze was fixated on Golden Freedom.
“Hey… is everything a’ight?”

>Discord slowly shook his head and gently pushed me away, “I’m afraid the answer is a big no, my dear” He puffed embers out of his nostrils and hovered to the now horrified ponies, “It’s the biggest no in this side of the multiverse”
“C-Come on. Stop trying to scare me, it ain’t funny anymore.”
>My heart felt like it was gonna burst outta my chest as Discord towered over the defenseless ponies and readied his talons for what it was surely one last devastating spell, “I suppose we have a different sense of humor then.”
>While I hated the company and everything these ponies represent, there was something deep within me that simply prevented from just doing nothing.
“WAIT!”
>I threw myself and held Discord’s talons with all my strength. He didn’t try to shake me off, instead he raised an eyebrow at me, “What do you think you’re doing, my dear?”
“Stopping you from becoming like these knuckleheads! Come on, Discord, you’re…”
>“Oh, dear goodness! I have to stop this before it’s too late!” Discord teleported out of my grasp and proceeded to book my muzzle, “I was asking why you didn’t use a spell to stop me. You didn’t really need to go for the cliché peep-talk.”
“B-But… you were gonna evaporate those suckers.”
>Few times I’ve seen anyone cringe as hard as Discord did at that moment. His face contracted and his body coiled in all sort of ways before he patted my head and calmly replied, “I’m very well aware that a colorful imagination is an incredibly important asset for someone trying to tap into the arts of chaos, but you my dear… well, you really have to learn how to not take concepts to the extreme.”

“So you ain’t gonna turn them into itty-bitty pony bits?”
>Discord’s face adopted a green color as his body trembled with such force that one of his horns fell off. Once it stopped, he put the horn back to its place and took a deep breath, “If you still haven’t figured it out, the answer is no. I was going to make our old friend here to tell you what he planned to do with the young Resonance… and on that note!”
>Kind of like a long hose, Discord’s arm stretched and picked up Golden Freedom like a small dog. It then retreated back with the pony still firmly held in his grasp.
>All weirdness aside, Discord shot a furious glare at Golden Freedom and growled at him, “Why don’t you tell my apprentice here what’s that “Project E” all about?”
>The only reply that came out from Golden Freedom was a little yelp, “T-The what now? Sorry, but that name doesn’t ring any bell. No, sir!” His eyes went back and forth from Discord to me and sweat started to run down his face.
>Clearly annoyed by this, Discord shook him vigorously and put him closer to his face, “I’ll heavily recommend you to not test my patience any further. Tell my apprentice what you planned to do with the child!”
>Golden Freedom gulped and narrowed his eyes, “Great things. The kind of things that two destructors like you would never understand.”
“Know what, dude? Screw you! I want some clear answers and I want them now!”

>With a frown on his face, Golden Freedom pointed out at the many screens displaying the ever glowing gems, “Remember the elements? Those are not mere pieces of jewelry. Their nature is far from it. Every ancient text describes the elements as holders of untold power. Enough to restore this dying world. Enough to subjugate any and all opposition. Enough to ascend.”
“Oh, come on! Gimme a break, dude! Are you honestly telling me that you believe everything that a buncha dusty scrolls say? Pfft! And here I thought you couldn’t be crazier!”
>“Oh, but their power is real! You have been witness of it!” Golden Freedom chuckled, “Why do you think that this facility still has power despite the destruction you have caused? What do you think caused your small moment of nausea? Everything was thanks to the elements.”
>I gave a quick glance at the monitors before holding Golden Freedom by his bald head.
“A’ight, let’s say that all that babbling ain’t a bold-face lie. Why the obsession with my little brother? I mean, you already have that stupid tower-thing, right? It ain’t like a colt is a match for that.”
>After a couple of failed attempts at breaking out from Discord’s grip, Golden Freedom shook his head in defeat, “True, our reactor is nothing short of a marvel in engineering, but it’s… unstable to say the least. We can’t use the elements beyond minimal capacity without causing a total meltdown. In order to unlock the true potential of the elements, we need very specific ponies.”
“Hold up there! How can you know that Rez is one of those ponies? I mean, it ain’t like you jerks did some tests on… Oh!”

>“So you paid attention!” Golden Freedom happily clapped his front hooves, “At first we thought that he would be a promising candidate for the magic program, but on further inspection that colt showed a compatibility with the elements like nothing we’ve seen before! What a shame that you had to take him away before we discovered his true potential.”
>I looked deep into Golden Freedom’s eyes before turning to Discord. My mouth trembled and cold sweat was running down my face.
“H-Hey, Discord! Don’t just stand there! Tell this jerk everything he has said is a big, fat lie! I mean… there’s no way this can be true, right?”
>Discord didn’t look at me. He let out a heavy sigh and tossed away Golden Freedom, “I have visited many worlds, my dear. Despite their myriad of differences, it’s always the same: destined heroes, granted with magic long before they were born, rise to strike down those who threaten their world.”
>As he slowly got back up on his hooves, Golden Freedom and shot me a disgusted glare, “Threats just like the scum we have gathered in these facilities. Scum just like you, Eris!”
“W-What?! That ain’t true!”
>“I’m afraid it is, my dear…” An awry smile appeared on Discord’s face, “It’s ironic when you think about it. The only reason why you and Resonance became akin to siblings is due to this world being so rotten that destiny stopped having a meaning.”
“So if everything was like, you know, normal, then my little brother and I…”

>Discord nodded, “Would’ve been sworn enemies, yes.” He then placed his paw on my shoulder and cleared the tears that had started to run down my face, “My dear, there’s no point in thinking about “what if” scenarios. What matters the most is…”
>“I’M SORRY TO INTERRUPT!” Discord and I turned immediately at Golden Freedom who was now by the control panel. “But your destruction has come to an end!”
“You little rat!”
>Golden Freedom pressed a few buttons and then smiled to me, “I know. However, this is the only way to save the world from the likes of you.”
>It started with a buzzing noise coming from the tower and the elements in the many monitors glowing more than usual, only to then stop completely for a couple seconds.
>Just like a bad omen that you’d read in a bad book, the automated system announced in a static-ridded message, “Warning. Reactor overload detected. Evacuate immediately. Repeat. Reactor overload detected. Evacuate immediately.”
>That was all it could say before a series of short but powerful quakes hit the facilities, each causing more destruction than the last.
>The metallic tower buzzed louder than ever as it shot strong lightning bolts at every direction, cutting through the walls and ceilings like a hot knife through butter.
 >Almost by reflex, I quickly encapsulated the scared ponies, and toad, inside a giant beach ball to prevent them from being crushed by the crumbling ceiling or being fried by the lightning bolts.

>Luckily, Discord did the same for the both of us. When it came to Golden Freedom, he didn’t move a single inch from his position, but instead observed the tower with child-like wonder.
>It’d be impossible to describe how relieved I felt when all of this came to a sudden stop. Sure, the control room looked like a bomb had gone off, a couple ponies were crying, but I was alive, same as Discord… and even Golden Freedom came out unscathed from all of this.
>How much I wish that everything had remained like that.
>I sighed in relief and still trembling from the shock, I turned to Discord.
“So that was it, right?”
>There wasn’t an answer from him. His eyes were wide open and completely fixated entirely on the metallic tower.
>The only way I got a reaction was when I punched his arm somewhat hard, making him snap outta whatever he was thinking.
“Hey, dude, I asked a question! Is the creep show finally over?”
>Discord slowly shook his head and gulped, “I’m afraid we don’t have time for your great finale, my dear. We must get out of this world before it’s too late.”
“What are you talking… about? What… the heck?”
>I couldn’t finish that sentence. That odd sense of tiredness and nausea had come back in full force, and with it, the sound of an engine starting.
>Using all my strengths, I turned around to see a strong light coming from the many and wide cracks of the now metallic tower.
>Not more than a second went by when the light engulfed the tower, and despite its own radiance, I could clearly see the six gems floating in front of me.
>My consciousness started to fade, but I could clearly see how Golden Freedom and his ponies were absorbed by the light, and how these gems turned into a coal black color before dissolving entirely.
>Last thing I remember was the sight of a portal being opened and Discord’s voice telling me, “Don’t worry, my dear! Everything will be just fine.”
>Then, everything went dark.
>… … …
>… …
>…

>To describe what I dreamed would be a fool’s errand. Most were strange, almost alien images mixed with blurred memories of times past.
>I remember seeing a small fraction of a cartoon being played at the display of an electronics’ store that I used to watch from afar when I was little.
>There was also the first time I met Resonance. The poor colt had been crying for so long that he sounded more like a goose than a pony. He didn’t speak a single word for two whole months, but the memory of making him laugh for the first time brought warm to my heart.
>However, I also saw landscapes like no other, not even the Void. Dark mountains under a perpetual thunder storm overlooked a citadel of metal, stone and fire.
>This nightmarish sight disappeared into a black abyss and gave way to a series of images that played like if I was watching a movie going on fast-forward.
>Cloaked ponies performing a ritual for an evil-looking king. A vast desert whose only signs of life was an ominous structure that resembled a castle filled with holes. A quiet, rustic town built at the edge of an ancient forest. A powerful city of many waterfalls sitting on the top of a majestic mountain.
>Finally, it brought me to a grass field that extended for miles upon miles. The gentle wind caressed my cheek as it made every grass blade dance at its tune. A familiar presence behind me.

>I turned around and dropped to my knees. It was my little brother, my Resonance who was standing a few yards in front of me. The sun at his right, the moon at his left, and a smile, the warmest of all, on his face.
>Neither of us moved nor spoke a word. We just looked at each other before Resonance, happier than I’ve ever see him, turned away and galloped to a crystal tree behind him.
>As a soothing light started to blind my sight, I could see each of the elements firmly encrusted into the crystal tree’s branches.
>That was the end of my dream. When I woke up, I found myself sitting on a puffy armchair and warmed by the blue flames of the nearby chimney. This was Discord’s house.
>“Ah! So the sleeping beauty has finally awoken!” Speaking of the devil, Discord was sitting in front of me, eating black seeds from a little bag, “I suppose that you must have many questions, my dear.”
>After letting out a little yawn, I scratched my head and stretched my limbs.
“You’re right on the spot with that! Like, did you watch me sleep all this time? ‘Cause that’d be on a whole new level of creepy. Even for someone who’s already creepy as heck like you, dude.”
>Discord’s sole reply was pure silence. His expression made it clear that he was being completely serious for once.
>With a heavy sigh, I dropped my head and averted my gaze to the blue flames in the chimney.
“Gimme some time, dude. I don’t wanna think about most that stuff now. I just ain’t ready yet. Only thing I’m worried about is if those crazy jerks can reach my little brother and me“

>“A reasonable concern, but that scenario is quite impossible to say the least, my dear.” Discord calmly replied as he rested his head on his paw, “The only way to travel between worlds is through the Void itself. I hope you weren’t planning on doing another trip to your old world, because I personally made sure to cut every access it had with the Void.”
“I mean, that sounds super nice and all, but what if those evil jerks find another way to get in here, though? ‘Cause trust me, the company is made up of a bunch of salty schmucks. They’ll do whatever is in their dirty hooves to get back at us for all of the mess we caused.”
>Discord waved his talons dismissively and munched a couple seeds, “No one enters or leaves the Void without me knowing. If they decide to pay us a visit, then we’ll show them how good of a host we can be.”
“Yeah, but what about…!”
>“Resonance?” Discord replied with a half-smirk and chuckled, “Oh, please! That colt is safer with his new parents than you are with me!”
“So… Rez’ mom and dad… are those two that strong or you’re just playing with me?”
>“Mothers…” Discord playfully remarked as he finished the last of his seeds and tossed the bag away, “And yes, those two mares may look nice and friendly, but the power they hold, and the…resources at their disposition are something that only a fool would treat lightly.”
“That sounds… cool.”
>“Kind of, those two aren’t exactly my favorites, but I’m sure they will do a great job as Resonance’s parents. All that is left is for you to decide what to do next.”
>I didn’t give a reply right away, instead I looked down and away from him; staying silent for a few minutes.

>The answer itself was simple, the problem was the stupid amount of guilt I felt about certain details. However, I guess it ain’t right if I don’t come clean about everything.
“I had planned to double cross you, know that? I was gonna use my magic to steal Resonance back and then take over my old world as some sort of psycho Queen…”
>Much to my surprise, Discord laughed at my answer as he produced a new bag of seeds, “Yeah, yeah! That’s why you have to use your chaos magic in a constant manner, it gets to your brain otherwise. Gives you crazy thoughts and all that. Just be glad you haven’t hallucinated a giant talking mouse. That’s when things get really bad!”
“How can you be so chill about this? I just said that I had planned to sucker punch your ugly, flat butt!”
>“Because that’s not the end of the story, my dear!” Discord warmly smiled at me, “I know there’s more to what you want to say. So please, continue…”
“A’ight, dude. If you’re chill with the idea, I wanna stay here and learn how to use my chaos magic. I wanna see more of the cool things that the Void has and meet whatever weird creatures live in it. I wanna have amazing stories to tell Resonance when I see him again, and more importantly… I wanna have a nice dinner and someplace to hit the sack. I’m tired and hungry as heck.”
>Discord shrugged and stood up from his armchair, “Fair enough! I don’t have any problem in fulfilling those demands. Follow me, my dear! I’ll treat you to the best food you’ve ever had! And then, we’ll see about your room! Just… keep in mind what I said about chaos magic getting to your head, okay?”
“You weren’t kidding about that?”
>“Not at all! Especially about that pesky mouse! I can’t even muster his name without worrying about hiring a lawyer.”
>For the first time in what felt forever, I laughed genuinely. So much that a couple tears formed in the corner of my eyes.
>I jumped out from the armchair and after punching Discord’s arm… I gave the guy a hug.
“Thanks, Discord. I thought this was gonna suck, but… I’m glad to have you as a teacher. Even if you’re a total creepshow.”
>Discord hesitated, but ultimately ended up returning the hug “I’m not sure if you should be this calm, especially considering the training I have in mind, but… I’m glad to have an apprentice like you, my dear.”