“I dunno, Twilight,” Spike said uncomfortably, drumming his fingers across his mug of morning coffee as Twilight sipped her own in her place across from him at the table. “I mean, this is kind of a big surprise…”

“I know, Spike,” the unicorn nodded quietly, pondering. “It’s only for a little while, though. Consider it being an ‘assistant foalsitter’ for the day.”

Spike groaned into his mug, frowning.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, Twi,” he grumbled. “Discord didn’t exactly bring back a foal. I don’t even think it can be called a proper colt, really.”

Twilight sighed, finishing off her hot brew. “It’s just for today, Spike. He only asked us to wait until he had the chance to sort things out with Rainbow Dash. And after that, you won’t have to worry about it anymore. Besides,” she scolded him. “’William’ is a guest. And to top it off, despite his… odd appearance, he is still just a little colt.”

“This is Discord we’re talking about,” Spike said suspiciously, refusing to give ground. “And besides; there’s just something a little… off about the guy.”

“Probably because he’s the God of Chaos,” Twilight snorted.

“Not who I was talking about,” Spike mumbled.

“Good morning.”

Spike nearly leapt out of his scales at the sound of the light, lilting voice of William as he stood directly behind him. He let out a yelp of surprise and almost fell out of his chair, struggling to right himself and force his heart back down from his throat. Even Twilight jumped a little, but she wasn’t nearly as surprised as Spike was; or if she was, she didn’t show it quite as much.

The pale young boy with evenly parted hair stood quietly with his hands clasped behind his back, complimented by the pressed pants and crisp blue shirt. He remained utterly silent as Spike, with some embarrassment, collected himself and attempted to clean up the spilled coffee.

“Er…” Twilight started. “Good morning, William. How did you sleep, little one?” she asked kindly.

“I found the makeshift bedding relatively adequate, regardless of the insatiable urge to scratch myself throughout the night; I suspect that I may potentially possess an undiagnosed hay allergy. In addition, your guest room appears to have a draft approximately forty-six degrees and fourteen centimeters to the left of the window.”

Twilight’s eyebrows rose slightly at the boy’s speech, but she said nothing. He took this as a sign to continue.

“In conclusion, I also appear to have entirely voided the miniscule vessel of ink I was presented with. I request a larger quantity, and extensive reams of parchment; or paper, should you have it. I would be most appreciative.”

The two stared at William for a few quiet moments, after which William added “Ma’am,” as an afterthought.

“Uh…” Spike blinked.

“Very well,” Twilight nodded, evidently pleased at his extensive vocabulary. “I shall see to your request accordingly, young man. Would you care to join us for breakfast? I was just about to make some toast and eggs.”

William took a seat beside the clearly unsettled Spike, quietly pouring himself a cup of the coffee from the finely crafted pot. Did these ponies have foreknowledge of men?

“Interesting,” he mused conversationally. “You equines appear to have collected information on homo sapiens.”

“I’ll hazard a guess and assume that you are referring to humans,” Twilight’s horn alit with a violet glow as she cracked open a few eggs. “And only what I’ve gathered through inquiries from… observers,” she said cautiously. Twilight wasn’t too eager to divulge information on precisely how she obtained her information, as Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash probably wouldn’t care to go over it again.

The banter continued between them for a while, eventually drifting from Twilight’s current knowledge on humans (which William politely informed her that he would gladly share information, thoroughly pleasing her) to more benign topics, such as the weather processes of Equestria and their cycles. William seemed completely absorbed in her explanation of Pegasi and their tasks, and sipped his own coffee quietly as Twilight basked in the chance to lecture someone that was actually listening.

To Twilight, it was a breath of fresh air.

To Spike, it was one of the strangest mornings of his life.

He silently watched the pale young boy and Twilight engage in conversation, and at times, he could have sworn that he was secretly an extradimensional male alternate-species Twilight that Discord had brought along just to mess with their heads.

To William, it was both a learning opportunity and the slow but steady increase of Twilight’s positive attitude toward him.

Precisely as he had planned, of course.

“So… you’re a dad now.”

“Eeyup. I’m a dad,” Discord agreed quietly, staring up at Rainbow Dash’s bedroom ceiling as she lay beside him. The morning sunlight creeping up over the horizon peeked in through the window shades, pooling into the room gradually.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” Rainbow Dash snuggled warmly against his chest, resting her chin atop him.

“Okay, deadbeat dad.”

“What were you thinking, Discord?” she asked almost noiselessly.

“If I told you, your mortal brain might ooze out your ears,” he joked.

“I’m serious, Discord,” Rainbow Dash furrowed her brows, straddling him.

“So am I, for once,” he replied, meeting her gaze. She leaned downward slightly so as to better face him.

“Discord,” Dash said softly, a hint of sadness in her voice. “Do you have any idea what seeing… seeing him did to me?”

“I have a pretty good idea,” he replied gently, cupping her head in his paw. “My machinations are my own. Suffice to say, I believe that it is better for you in the long run, as well as for him.”

“How can you say something like that?” Rainbow Dash pressed angrily, glaring at him.

“Easy. Orphan, Rainbow Dash. He just looked so sad!”

Rainbow Dash pushed down hard on his chest, staring a hole in him.

“You know what I meant, Discord.”

For a long moment, he merely held her loosely as he tried to find the proper words.

“I’m not asking you to do too much, in my opinion,” he stated slowly, returning her stare. “All I’m asking you to do is give him the chance he never would have gotten otherwise.”

Dash’s gaze softened momentarily, and she returned her head to his chest with a sad flump.

“… He looks so much like him, Discord,” she struggled eventually, and he could tell that her voice was beginning to crack. “I don’t know if I can. I don’t know. I don’t know if Pinkie even can. I don’t know how you could ask something like this of me – me, of all ponies. I don’t know why you would do this to me.”

“Because if I didn’t,” Discord responded, tilting her head up tenderly to kiss her again. “Then I would hate myself for the rest of my days, knowing that you could never truly find peace.”

After a long while of each of them simply listening to each other’s breathing, he quietly added “Besides; single dads get way more nookie.”

“… You’re a devious bastard,” Rainbow Dash grinned, hugging him tighter as he kissed her back.

“Don’t I know it.”

“Yeah, but you’ve got to admit; it is at least a pretty nice sunrise, eh, Billy?”

“William,” the pale young boy corrected his adoptive father, sitting adjacent the grinning draconequus on the grassy knoll as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. “And I find such sentimentalist values both repugnant and time wasting.”

“Bah,” Discord rolled his eyes. “Kids these days.”

They sat in silence for a while, watching as the sun powered into the sky ever so slowly. Or at least, until Discord began pointing a talon at it, wriggling the sun back and forth across the horizon. He cackled, eventually releasing his grasp on the glowing orb.

“Haha, boy, Celestia’s going to be infuriated,” he chortled, tail snapping back and forth like a metronome.

“I assume that you brought me here for a reason?” William asked drolly, evidently unamused by Discord’s antics.

“Wha~at?” Discord shrugged innocently. “Can’t a good father take his new son to see a sunrise without arousing suspicion?”

“No.”

Discord harrumphed crossing his arms.

“Poo. Yeah,” he shrugged again. “You caught me. I’m not really much one for sunrises, either.”

William rolled his hand expectantly, deadpanning as he awaited the draconequus’s final explanation.

Discord sighed heavily, a pained look appearing on his face.

“Look, kiddo.”

“William.”

“Yeah, that too. Look, I’m going to be… going away for a while,” he tapped his talons together guiltily.

“You’re abandoning me in an entirely different world.”

“No, no,” Discord scoffed. “Not abandoning. That’s such a harsh word. I’m just going to be really, really, really, really distant for a while. God of Chaos is a full time job, you know.”

At William’s narrowed gaze, Discord added “If you must know, I’ve got some unfinished business to attend to.”

“And I can’t stay with you?”

The child honestly did look disappointed, and Discord fought against his emotions in favor of his task.

“Not where I’m going, kiddo. I’ll be back before too long; you just behave yourself, get along with other kids. Make some friends, listen to your mother, take out the trash on Tuesdays.”

“Hold on, what?” William stood suddenly, confused. Discord righted himself as well, cracking his back and spiraling into the air, and snapped his talons. The moment he did so, several dozen enormous books full of documents burst from the air, dropping heavily to the ground around them.

“Yep,” Discord beamed. “Every single Tuesday,” he flicked his wrist and displayed a small sheet of paper to him, which he recognized as the same one that he had himself signed. “It’s in the contract.”

William spluttered, evidently flustered as he attempted to catch up to this latest development.

“I-you can’t- that doesn’t – that’s not how contracts work!”

“But you si~igned it,” Discord said in a singsong tone, wiggling it floppily in front of his nose before flicking the paper into the air, where it fizzled and vanished. “And I don’t know when I’ll be back, so remember to spread mayhem and destr- I mean, be on your best behavior,” he grinned weakly, spinning into a circle to grasp his own tail. The moment he did so, he vanished with a flash so brilliant that it left spots dancing in Williams eyes for several long moments.

And, for the second time in William's short life, he was left standing completely flabbergasted. He stared idly at the spot that Discord had been only mere moments ago, sheets of legal documents filtering quietly through the air like so much snow. He stood stunned for a while, still attempting to process the information.

Did he say ‘listen to your mother’?

Rainbow Dash finally cleared her throat, prompting William to whirl on the spot. She chuckled, softly placing a cerulean wing over his frail shoulder. In silence, William walked alongside her as she pulled him a little closer, the rising sun behind them casting a small shadow before them.

“Come on, kid. Let’s go getting you properly introduced.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“There’s a good boy.”

Alas, this is the end of the Chronicles 8.
That doesn't mean there's no sequel, of course.

Author's Notes:

Because this story was essentially finished for NaNoWriMo, this is technically the end of the line.
No more Chronicles 8.

... However, that doesn't mean that there isn't totally going to be an entire sequel novel.
I'm such a bastard.
WARNING TO ALL READERS: If you thought that CHRONICLES was dark... hoo, boy.