Chapter forty three

The door slowly creeks open to the quaint little room for the royal fraternal twins. Rosebud remains in her bed quiet as can be while hugging her pony in her fore hooves, keeping both her and it warm at the same time. All the while the father walks inside, careful not to alert her of his presence and only put the plate down by her side of the bed as he brings a chair over to her. As much as he may have to tell her eventually, Discord can’t bring himself to break the moment of piece that she rests it.

The little filly has her mother’s looks and her beauty, the only trace that she is his daughter is the serpentine tail that she sports and the triple colored mane running down the nape of her neck. Yet even with that in the years to come when she matures. Discord is dreading the day when he has to take his war hammer to the first colt that grabs his little girl’s interest. Thankfully, or a blessing in disguise, his presence is brought to Rose’s attention as she rolls over in her bed and uses her skilled tail to rub her eyes.

“Daddy?” she says with eyes still squinting, once realizing that he is here the vitality comes back to her as she leaps out of the bed and almost tackles him out of the chair, using her little wings to power herself, “Daddy! You came, you came!” the youngest princess in Equestria beams while almost choking him out.

“Oh… of course I did, sweetheart,” he puts both arms around her as he holds her ever so close to his chest, glad that she is here with him. Looking across the room now and seeing the empty bed of his son, it’s something that a father may never get used to, as a single tear builds up and falls from his eyes, landing right on his daughter’s muzzle.

“Dad? What’s wrong?” she asks him after feeling it hit her and run down the side, “Is everything okay?”

“Nothing dear, it can wait till later…” he brings up the bowl off the plate with a wave of his hand as he holds her still. “Are you hungry dear? I Brought you some soup…” he hears the light growl of her stomach in response, as they both chuckle and he lifts a spoon full out, bringing it to her.

It has been quite a while sense he has fed her like this all on his own. They got so big, so fast, and have never needed him or his wife to do so after a certain point. Only thing they needed help with would be the cleanup, if they get it all over them. Though it is a nice throw back when the time comes to do so, even if it’s not the best circumstances. Discord watches proudly as a father while seeing his daughter’s face light up at the warm feeling the food gives her insides. Happy that he can at least bring some comfort right now.

“Luna says that mom should be awake tomorrow, and that she’s going to take me down there to see her,” Rose says out of the blue while Discord forms a napkin out of thin air and dabs away a few spots.

“Oh did she now?” he tries to act surprised, but then again, that is something Luna would say, “Well then we’ll both go down there tomorrow as well…” he nuzzles the end of his nose to the top of her head.

“Really!” she smiles widely at him.

“Of course we will.”

“Will Havoc be there too?” she ask, finally noticing how the other bed is still empty.

Instantly Discord’s face drops off the face of Equestria, and all the way to the core of his body he can feel a sharp stabbing pain. It’s not like the kids don’t know what death is. After all some of the books that he and Celestia would read them do have several parts where ponies, gryphons, dragons, serpents… etc. Would die from time to time. Though this time, it’s too close to home right now with this happening. ‘It… it… has to be done,’ he tells himself while mentally preparing for the flack to follow.

“Rosebud… there’s something I have to tell you,” she can see the seriousness in his eyes, and the tone in her dad’s voice already tells her that something is wrong, as he draws her attention to his face. “You… you were in the room when your mom came in and was fighting that other pony weren’t you,” he asks the obvious, not even waiting for an answer, “Rose… you were hiding, but something happened… to… your brother,” he feels the water works start to build up already behind his eyes, as he mentally starts building a dam so he can get this out.

“What…what do you mean?” she ask, not fully understanding her father’s words.

“That larger changeling that your mother was fighting… she hurt your brother…” he says softly to her, careful to put the empty bowl to the side, as she may lash out when it finally clicks. Even those few words he fed her take a moment or two to sink in with the young one.

“Is he going to be okay?” her teeth freeze where they are for a second as her mind shoots about every which way to figure out what this may mean, “Is Havoc in the hospital with mommy?”

With a gulp,

A gasp,

And finally a sigh.

The father answers her, “…No…no he’s not, Rose,” Discord feels the tear fall from his eye, as he brushes it away before it can land on her again. She will already feel her own pain and sorrow, no need to have her be the bearer of his as well. “Something terrible happened to him, and I’m afraid that… Havoc… he won’t be back, with any of us…”

Rosebud starts to quiver as her lips purse together, after she takes in what he is saying to her, “you mean… Havoc is-”

The look on her father’s face is enough of an answer to her question, as Rosebud goes from dry in the eyes to now sobbing in to his chest as he tightens the hug of his daughter in his arms. There are few things that can prepare a father for telling their own child such news, and by few, it means none.

The tears start to soak his chest as he rests his cheek on top of her head, trying to give her some sense of comfort. “It’s going to be alright, my dear, everything will be alright…” he strokes her main between his claws. Briefly reminded of a time when he would do the same thing when she was much younger to wash away the fears, “your mother and I are still here, we will always be here for you, and nothing will ever change that.”

“Why...?” she manages to ask between breaths, while keeping her head firmly buried in to his chest, “why did the mean changeling do that to him?” a steady stream of tears continues to flow out of her eyes and soak in to her father’s fur as she pulls back for a moment, “Havoc never did anything to hurt somepony else, why would this happen to him, dad?”

“The changeling, doesn’t like your mother or Equestria very much…” he tries to put in terms that she’ll understand at least, “…she wanted to hurt your mother and me, and those she cared about. So she hurt your brother…” she buries her face back in to his chest while listening to her father’s heart. Letting her know that he is still here for her.

“Is the changeling gone now? Will, will she come back to hurt you and mom, or me?”

Discord unknowingly clenches his fists, almost digging the claws in to his own palms. Trying to hide some of the tension away from his daughter, “She left Rose… for how long I don’t know,” He kisses her little cheek warmly as he picks himself up while still clenching her, and lays his daughter back in the bed, resting her side by side with her own pony. “But no matter what happens, sweetheart…” he leans in to her once more while she wraps her hooves around his neck for a hug, “…we’ll make sure she can’t harm you, or any other pony… ever,” he kisses her once more and slowly starts to pull back.

“Please, don’t go, daddy…” Rose squeaks at him when she thinks that her own father is leaving her in the room alone, “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight,” the slight whimper in her tone would be enough to plant any parent in place, though for one like her own father. She only need ask, besides, he planned on doing it anyway.

Discord gives his daughter a gentle smile in return before placing a light claw atop her fore head, “I’m not going anywhere, Rosebud…”

He takes a seat next to her bed, while leaving his lion paw up next to her so she can still touch him. Discord keeps his paw there, as she clenches it up until the point that she falls asleep, with the knowledge that her father is there to protect her, and he isn’t going anywhere. In due time both of them finally are asleep, and off to Luna’s realm.