>This had to be a dream, right? Like, why else would I suddenly be sitting at the only seat of a movie theatre? Well, calling this place a theatre was a bit of a stretch.
>Only things as far as I could see were the big screen, my seat, and a never ending darkness surrounding everything. 
>Maybe this was Discord’s doing? But if that’s the case, then why I couldn’t speak? I thought the dude liked when I threw around a buncha questions. ‘Sides, this was way too creepy for Discord.
>I heard a projector starting up and moments later a countdown, like the ones in those ancient movies appeared on the screen. 
>Okay, that totally meant someone else was in here, right? I mean, projectors don’t start up on their own, I think.
>Screw that, what in the world was being played? This wasn’t a movie, these were just scenes happening one after the other in rapid succession without any sort of story, or direction.
>Some of these I recognized, I had to be senile not to. They were random memories of mine, of my life at the slums with Resonance. Games we played, scams we did, fights we had. 
>These scenes were intertwined with others that I just couldn’t understand. A citadel of metal overlooking a nightmarish landscape filled with beasts of indescribable shapes. An old factory of massive dimensions surrounded by layers upon layers of smog. Shady figures that resembled a draconequus but not really.
 
>There were more, much more, it’s just that I couldn’t remember them for some reason, I’m not sure why. I tried to focus, to make sense outta this chaos, but something kept me from doing it.
>It started as a murmur, then grew and grew until it became a thunderous voice that made the world tremble. It was Discord calling for me, “Eris… Eris… that was enough sleeping for one night, my dear.”
>The dream came to an abrupt end, not thanks to his voice, but because I was showered with a bucket of ice cold water. REALLY cold water.
“Gyah! That’s not cool, dude!”
>I removed the now empty bucket from my head and tossed it to a side. I found myself hovering over a puffy armchair inside of Discord’s small living room. 
>Place was just like I left it before passing out last night. Ugly green carpet, doors placed upside down and on the ceiling, an inverted staircase that lead nowhere, and a small round table in front of me with the dishes of last night’s dinner still laying on it.
>As for Discord, it didn’t take me long to find that dirty jerk. He was standing on the ceiling, sweeping it with the wrong way of an old broom. 
>Did I say sweeping? ‘Cause that’s totally wrong. Discord was actually bringing more dust, which in turn, was eaten by my friends, the dust bunnies. 
>Only weird thing I could see there is that my dust bunnies were technically doing cannibalism. Kinda creepy, but meh, I had other stuff to worry about.
>Discord looked at me with a toothy grin and waved his paw, “Good morning, my dear! I hope you enjoyed of a chilling rest.”
 
>A’ight, I could easily take the nightmare, the dust cannibalism, and even the lame furniture; but lame jokes? That dude had crossed the frickin’ line.
>I flew to him and after snatching that broom outta his grubby talons, I broke in two. Then, I picked up the fattest dust bunny outta the bunch and threw it at Discord.
“Good morning, my butt! Did you want to drown me with that early shower, you frickin’ jerk?!”
>Discord easily caught the fat bunny and threw it back at me. Then, he let out a big yawn and stretched his limbs in impossible lengths and angles, “It’s great to see that your teen angst is still intact, but right now I’d prefer to have a more relaxed atmosphere.”
 >With a snap of his talons, he caused a huge dust swirl, one so strong that I had hold with all my strengths to the ceiling and even summon a life-line rope so I didn’t get sucked in.
“THIS AIN’T FUNNY! GAH! EWW! I think I swallowed some of that stuff!”
>The swirl only continued expanding more and more, until it finally disappeared as abruptly as it had started. When I opened my eyes, I was sitting at a kitchen table.
“Well, gotta give it to you, old dude. That’s one heck of a way to dodge a conversation. Gonna have to steal that tactic.”
>This was the first time I ever set a hoof in Discord’s kitchen, and if I had to describe this place, the perfect words would be: boring as heck. 
>Unlike, well… the rest of this entire dimension, Discord’s kitchen was not only entirely normal, but very old-fashioned. It’s so boring that I ain’t even gonna bother with a description. Y’know the type, it’s in every black and white movie. 
 
>Heck, even the walls had these small floral patterns that complimented the bird ones in the windows’ curtains. One thing popped out, though. There were photos of a pegasus mare held on the fridge with heart-shaped magnets.
>No idea who she was, but ain’t she a cutie? Pale gold coat, beautiful blue eyes with a hint of shyness in them, and a rose pink mane that was just to die for. Gonna have to pester Discord about this gal later on. 
“Dude, I get you’re old, but gimme a break! This place looks like straight outta a magazine for grandmas. Maybe it’ll look better after I…”
>I was cut-off by a very, and I mean VERY, serious sounding Discord, “If you appreciate the fact that I haven’t transformed you into a flea yet, then I’d suggest to not even think about finishing that sentence, my dear.”
>I’m not sure how or when he got here, but Discord was now sitting at the other side of the table, reading a blank newspaper. He wore one of those weird hats that you’d see in a cooking magazine and an apron that read “Chaos the cook”
“A’ight, y’know what? Whatever rocks your boat, dude! I ain’t gonna open that can of worms. Just tell me, those pantries have any food in them? ‘Cause I could eat like, a whole whale right about now!”
>Discord turned a page from his blank newspaper before replying in a bored tone, “I’m actually not sure. Their contents vary depending on the day, or the weather, sometimes it’s about whether the mailpony arrived or not. You can try your luck with them, or eat the breakfast I made for you. It’s your choice, my dear.”
 
“I should’ve seen this one coming. I’ll take my chances and go with the breakfast, so if you don’t mind… oh.”
>I didn’t need for him to point me out at the bowl filled with soda and chips that suddenly appeared in front of me. I smiled and drank everything down in one go.
>After placing the bowl back on the table, I looked at Discord who was now drinking the newspaper, “Aaah! Nothing like a dose of fresh news in the morning! Isn’t that right, my dear?”
“Talk for yourself, dude! Never been a fan of those, nothing but bad stuff in them. Y’know what I like, though? Cool chaos magic! Can’t wait to see what you have in the cards for today!”
>Discord ate the whole newspaper in a single much before making that cheesy cook outfit to disappear, “Then I’m afraid that you’ll have to keep waiting, my dear; because I have nothing planned.”
“Come on, dude! Yesterday you went on and on about how hard my training was gonna be and now you come with this garbage? Pfft! Talk about lame.”
>Clearly uninterested in my anger, Discord reclined forward on his seat and rested his head on his paw, “I didn’t lie about anything. There’s a very harsh training regime waiting for you, special remark on harsh. However, even a draconequus deserves a free day or two every once in a while. So just relax, my dear. Who knows when an opportunity like this will arise again?”
>This guy was obviously getting lazy on me, even his reply was lazy trash. I snorted and crossed my arms, all while glaring at him.
 
“Oh, puh-lease! Don’t you dare talk to me about relaxing! I don’t need no free day for that, ‘cause I’m always chill. Heck, some could even call me a master in relaxing!”
>Caressing his white beard with his paw, Discord raised an eyebrow at me, “Are you completely sure about that, my dear?”
“A hundred and one percent! Now quit being lazy and let’s do some magic!”
>Discord rolled his eyes before standing up from his seat and stretching his limbs, “Here comes the teen angst again. Quite impressive considering that little… how do mortals call it? Ah, yes! Nightmare! I’m sure you dreams were quite the ride last night, my dear.”
>Feeling a small headache, I placed my pawn on my forehead and let out a small groan. Small flashes of that weird dream came and went through my mind.
“Kinda? Like, I know it was wild, that’s for sure. It’s just… I can’t remember much other than some weird places here and creepy figures there. Everything felt so real, though. Sorta like if I was watching through a dusty window. I really dunno, dude; you ever had something like that?”  
>When I raised my head, the kitchen was gone. Instead I was now sitting at the roof of Discord’s house. A faint smile appeared on my face at the sight of the ever changing purple sky of surrounded by the floating islands.
 
>Discord was hovering by my side, wearing a nasty brown traveling hat, “Can’t say I have, my dear. Maybe you just need some time to clear your mind from what happened yesterday… or maybe you’re simply constipated after eating all of those spaghetti tacos. Honestly, who knows? The mind of a teenager is something that I rather not deal with.”
>Screw that stupid company and their stupid creepy experiments. Maybe he was right, but that didn’t cheer me up one bit. I buried my head in my arms and murmured.
“I know… but I still wanted to do chaos magic, y’know?”
>I felt Discord’s paw on my shoulder, when I looked up, he was giving me this sort of baffled look, “Excuse me, but what in chaos’ name are you talking about? Look around you, my dear! This is the Void! Nothing’s going to stop you from practicing the fundamentals or pestering the locals, or do both! Trust me, my dear; you can literally spend a couple hundred years in here without ever getting bored!”
>I let out a small chuckle and combed my mane. Sure, he managed to make me feel better, but this guy really needed to read a dictionary.
“I don’t think you’ve an idea of what “literally” means, dude. Like, you’re super old but not THAT old. No one is.”
>Discord tapped his talons and pawn together as a wide grin appeared on his face, “Is that so? Well then, here’s an idea: why don’t you guess my age? If you’re correct, then… I don’t know. You’ll get a cookie or something.”
“All of this ‘cause you’re too much of a baby to admit you screwed up? Fine! You’re like fifty or something.”
>He shook his head and let out a sound that I think was supposed to be a giggle, “Not even close. Try again. Here’s a hint: It’s much higher than that.”  
>… … …
>… …
>…
 
>A full-moon amid a starless sky illuminated the humble stage like a pale spotlight. The location was a vacant lot in the slums, same one where you and Eris used to run that little show.
>You were standing in the center of a play for a crowd of shadowy, pony-like figures. No matter how hard you tried, moving or even speaking was impossible.
>The play finally started with your parents leaving you in that alleyway without a hint of remorse in their faces. Only sounds to accompany the scene besides the thunderous cheer of the crowd were your desperate cries.
>A change of scene happened and the crowd went silent. Your parents had been replaced with a shapeless shadow that spoke in Eris’ voice, “Whoa there! What’re you doing here, lil’ fella? This ain’t a place for someone like you to be!” The crowd booed.
>With each subsequent scene, the crowd of shadows would jeer every time a good memory popped up, but then would cheer uncontrollably whenever you got hurt, either physically or emotionally, by someone.
>Finally, the climax came in the form of patrols taking away Eris and giving you the beating of a lifetime, the weird tests that the social workers made you go through, and of course, the dreaded company’s orphanage. 
>All of this pleased the crowd immensely, they would laugh and cheer at every hit you took and at every drop of blood that came from your muzzle. However, they would soon find out that this wasn’t the end of the play. 
 
>The crowd went silent when Discord materialized from thin air, and finally broke into a riot the moment that Luna, and Celestia, illuminated by the radiance of the crystal tree, made their triumphant entrances.
>All the violence among the crowd exacerbated as the moonlight got brighter. The shadow ponies kept violently ramming into each other, fusing upon contact and melting into an strange black liquid. 
>Before long, the audience had morphed into a giant dark glob of sharp teeth and claws slowly advancing towards the stage. You still couldn’t move, but even if that wasn’t the case, you were just too tired to do so.
>Last thing that you remembered was the pale moonlight growing until it engulfed the entire world, disintegrating everything except for you.
“GAH!”
>You opened your eyes, soaked in cold sweat and grasping for air. Everything had just been another nightmare. Thank goodness.
>You were inside a fancy bedroom at Canterlot’s castle, resting on the floor by the large window. Perfect to see the sunrise giving birth to a beautiful new day in Equestria. 
>As soon as you stood up and wiped the sweat away, you heard a couple of gentle knocks on the door, followed by Luna’s melodic voice, “Good morning, dearest Resonance. May we come in?”
>Stumbling and almost tripping more than a couple times, you galloped to pick up your goggles from the tea table at the center of the room. Then, you called at Luna.
“H-Hold on! I’ll open the door for you!”
 
>After placing the goggles around your neck and doing a poor job in combing your mane, you rushed towards the door and opened it from pair to pair.
>Well, ain’t this the perfect fix for such a terrible dream? Luna and Celestia were at the other side of the door with a plate of those “pancakes” held within the latter’s magic.
>There was also this doctor’s bag that Luna was levitating with her magic, but it ain’t like you cared. It probably had something to do with their jobs or whatever.
>Man, you forgot how tall these two were, especially Celestia. You had to basically drop your head back just to being able to see her face. Regardless of this, you still wanted to appear as cool as possible to them.
“Wassup, Princesses! Wait… you said to just call by your names, right? Sorry about that slip up… but is that the right thing to do, though? I mean, it’s not that I don’t like them! It’s just that… uh, sorry, I-I dunno what I’m saying. 
>Well, it didn’t take a rocket-scientist to deduce that you screwed up the “cool guy” act. Best course of action was to divert the subject in a smooth fashion. Those pancakes were probably the best way to achieve this goal.
“A-Are those for me?”
>Celestia playfully rolled her eyes before gently tapping your chest with her front hoof, “Really smooth there, tiger.” 
“I know, right? I can be super… cool… dang.”
>You turned your back on them in a useless attempt to cover your embarrassment. Dumb, sure, but at least you saw that plate of pancakes elegantly landing on the tea table. Magic’s so cool, man.
 
>Celestia chuckled and sat behind you, placing her hooves around your body. It’s kinda funny how small you were in comparison to her. It was like a mare holding a small toy. Not like you were complaining, though.
>In many ways, this brought the warm memories of those rare occasions when Eris would coil around your body, gently scratching your ears with her talons, until the light of the night sky lulled you into sleep. 
>Maybe that’s the reason as to why you decided to throw away any sense of pitiful pride, and instead opting for nuzzling into Celestia’s oh so soft coat. Curious, it wasn’t until now that you noticed how much she smelled like books.
>As Celestia traced her hoof along your chest, she lowered her head to speak in a soft voice, “I’m fine with whatever way you want to call me. Just don’t be formal, please. I don’t really want to hear those titles from my son. If you want some ideas; why not something rad, like broski?”
>You know, Celestia was a pretty amazing mare. Not only she could do amazing stuff like ruling a nation, or controlling the frickin’ sun, but she had also managed to make you cringe so darn hard that it physically hurt.
>Thanks to all the heavens that Luna came to the rescue. She frowned at Celestia and quickly pushed her to a side, “Please, ignore my sister. Sometimes she can display more than a few embarrassing habits.” 
>Celestia stretched her limbs in an exaggerated fashion before replying with a somewhat arrogant shrug, “What can I say? I couldn’t resist.”
 
>Luna let out a tired sigh as she disapprovingly shook her head, “Celie, how many times do I have to repeat myself: Young ponies do not like when adults use those mannerisms.” Then, she turned her gaze at you with nothing but kindness in her eyes, “With that in mind, my… eccentric sister is correct. With the exception of formal titles, feel free to refer to us however you desire, my dearest Resonance.”
>Your ears dropped as you rubbed the back of your head. Man, why do you gotta screw up so much?
“O-Okay, uh… and sorry. I’m still new to this “having parents” business.”
>Celestia placed her hoof on your mane, her face irradiated with a heartwarming smile. She gave you a small wink and tapped your chest, “Hey! That’s something we have in common! We’re actually pretty new to being parents. Now, why don’t you eat your breakfast before it gets cold? It’s on the house.”
“Know what, lady? I’m gonna take that offer. It ain’t like I get to have a breakfast every day.”
>While you were busy stuffing your face with that heavenly food called pancakes, Celestia’s gaze became fixated with the bed. Then, she turned to you with an eyebrow raised and asked, “Hey, Resonance; I know this is an odd question, but why you didn’t use the bed? Something wrong with it?”
>After filling your mouth with the last remaining pieces of the pancakes, you energetically shook your head and gulped the food down.
 
“Oh, that! Y’see, lady; I kinda can’t sleep without having the sky above me. That sounded crazy, right? Uh… how do I put it? I really like seeing the stars before closing my eyes, and then I like waking up with the sun hitting my face… uh, is that weird?”
>Luna used her magic to remove any trace of food from your face, before resting her head on her hooves and giggling, “I actually believe is quite beautiful, my dearest Resonance.”
>Celestia messed your mane a bit and chuckled, “You’re a little over thinker, aren’t you? Guess that’s another thing we have in common. I was just being curious, that’s all. Oh, and by the way! I’m glad you like the sunrise. Takes a lot of work to make it “just right”, you know?” 
>She gave you a quick kiss on the forehead before turning her gaze to Luna, “Hey, sister! What do you say if we give Resonance that little “surprise” we talked about?”
>Your ears immediately perked up in excitement. With a huge smile, you started hopping around the two mares like a small rabbit.
“Oh, man! Oh, man! Are we going back to that huge library?!”
>Celestia rubbed the back of her long neck as her eyes darted back and forth, “Not exactly, it’s more of a… Luna? Mind giving me a hoof here?”
>You noticed Luna using her magic to open that doctor’s bag. From it, she levitated out a couple of incredibly sharp looking scissors, and a water sprayer made outta some sort of crystal material.
>This reveal also brought memories of your times with Eris, just not the good ones. You narrowed your eyes at Luna and Celestia, and adopted a defensive position.
“Call me crazy, but I get the feeling we ain’t going to the library.”
 
>Luna slowly walked to you with a smile that while kind, it hid some nervousness. The scissors and water spray floated behind her, “My dearest Resonance, please do not get the wrong idea. We are absolutely doing this for your own personal good.”
>Gosh darn it, man! Eris said the same thing whenever she tried to cut your mane! These two might be super cool, but this stuff was outta limits.
“I KNEW IT! You wanna give me a manecut! Well, guess what, lady?! No one has ever been able to do that, and it sure as heck ain’t gonna change today! Adios, ladies!”
>You grabbed the pancakes’ plate with your mouth and threw it with all your strength against the ceiling, shattering the former in a million pieces. Using that distraction, you made a leap to the door.
>Needless to say, it was all for naught. Celestia’s golden magic enveloped your body and held you in place while in mid-air. Super awesome, but also incredibly frustrating.
“Aw, c’mon! Using magic is cheating!”
>Celestia rolled her eyes and gave you a half-smirk, “Oh, and that little stunt isn’t? I’ll give you props for the fast-thinking, though. That’s a skill that I wish a certain student of mine could have.”
>It was kinda weird experience. You could freely move any part of your body, but no matter how much you struggled, that golden aura still levitated you towards Luna with the same ease as those pancakes.
 
>Once you were floating right in front of Luna, she let out a sigh and gently rubbed her muzzle against yours, “Oh, my miniature rascal! There is no need to worry. It just so happens that I am a very skilled stylist. I swear that you will love your new look.”
>Dang it, man! You didn’t want to use it, but these mares had left you with no other recourse. It was time to use your secret weapon: The puppy eyes! 
“Please, lady. Don’t make my mane go away! I know it ain’t perfect but it’s the best lunchbox I ever had. Keeps all kinds of food warm and moist like nothing else.”
>No one, no even Eris had been able to beat such an ancient technique! Now it was a matter to wait and see their will crumble under the power of the legendary puppy eyes!
>However, and much to your despair, Luna’s reaction ended up being quite different from expected. Her jaw trembled as she turned wide eyed to an equally dumbfounded Celestia, “Celie, hold him tight.” With a snap of the scissors, she turned to you. Her eyes were filled with fire, “That mane must be vanquished.”
“What? This is impossible!”
>You tried to get away from the incoming scissors of doom, but you couldn’t move anymore. It was like Celestia’s magic suddenly turned into the strongest rope you’ve ever dealt with.
“No, not the mane! NOT THE MANE! NOOOOO!”