"A mare named Snowflake." Discord replied, gazing out the window at the snowy peaks in the distance. "She picked me from that gutter, took me into her home and nursed me back to health. At first, I was merely taking advantage of her hospitality; telling myself I was just playing along even as the nature of our relationship became more... intimate. But looking back, I think I did genuinely care for her." He sighed deeply at the memory. "Celestia was not idle during this time however," He continued, a certain hardness entering his voice. "By this time, she had discovered my whereabouts. She knew she could not simply send in her Royal Guard, so she hired Griffin Mercenaries; experts in tracking and retrieving ponies of interest. When they arrived in Snowdrift, I had been there for several weeks, but I knew it would not take them long to flush me out. I decided I would take my chances in tundra, partly due to an unwillingness to simply wait for the inevitable, and partly to keep Snowflake out of it. I never told her my true identity, or that I was planning to leave, but the last part at least she must have guessed; the night before I left... well..." Discord coughed. "I'm sure you don't need me to spell it out for you, given the reason for this tale." He looked down, sadly. "That was the last time I saw her; I fled to the wastes at the break of dawn. Alas, a single weakened Draconequus is no match for a wing of experienced Griffin mercenaries, and I was caught before the day was out. By the end of the next day, my imprisonment had resumed. I cannot say with certainty what happened between that night and you being discovered on that doorstep, but I do know that Snowflake was a servant at the Royal castle, and that it was well known that the Royal couple had been trying to conceive an heir for some time..."
Frozen sat back upon his haunches as he received this news; the answer had been right in front of him this whole time.. Snowflake, the royal stewardess, was his mother and he had never realized it.
"She was the king's stewardess and advisor. I saw her sometines, and she was always so kind to me. I never realized she was my mother.."
"I see," Discord said, distantly. He wasn't sure what to make of that; He supposed it was good that Snowflake got to see their son, but it must have pained her to watch him being raised by others. That was, assuming she didn't just want to forget their time together... "Did she seem... happy?" He asked, hopefully.
"Yes and no," he said, "somehow I must have always wondered why she looked at me the way she did. I could tell she had lost someone important to her; she spent long periods alone, walking in the palace gardens. If she is still there, she may be waiying on your return until this very day."
"Perhaps," Discord said, slowly. He'd thought about it many times since, but he was still unsure how she'd feel; it was a long time ago, and it's wasn't really even him she'd fallen for. "Maybe one day I'll return, but..." He looked at Frozen. "Would you... would you come with me? I am truly sorry now that neither of us could be there for you like we should have been, and it's probably too late to make up for that, but I'd like to finally get all of this out in the open. I'm done hiding."
"Of course I will dad," he said gently, "i'm never letting you out of my sight again! I and, hopefully Xarame, will be right behind you."
Discord burst out laughing. "Oh! Why do all the important moments in my life read like the start to a bad joke? 'Two Windigos, a Draconequus and a Zebra have a family gathering,'? Ha! Priceless."
"Me too," Frozen said softly. He patted discord upon his back, "So do you suppose there is a way we could make Xarame immortal, should she and I work out?"
Discord looked at Frozen seriously as he thought carefully about his answer. "There would be a few ways for her to achieve immortality, but most come with drawbacks, so such a transformation is not to be taken lightly. It would have to be her decision, and her mortal mind may have difficulty adjusting."
Frozen nodded gently, "It is something I will discuss with her, should we ever become more than friends."
Discord smiled, an air of levity returning to his face. "At the very least, we should be able to stop her from talking in those damned rhymes all the time."
Frozen laughed gently, "Yes, that might get old after a while! I never understood why Zebras do that!"
"I believe it's due to the way their language is constructed," Discord said, stroking his goatee in thought. "But it doesn't translate too well. It can be very difficult to get a straight answer out of them sometimes..."
"I remember visiting their kingdom some time ago. They have a beautiful language, even if it is next to impossible to understand."
"Yes, rather fitting I'd say." Discord said, nodding in agreement. "They are a strange people, and often ostracised; I think that's why I feel such empathy towards them ." He sat by the fire and looked at Frozen. "Now that that's all out in the open, I feel we should really get to know each other a little better; we have centuries to make up for, after all. Why don't you start? I'd like to hear more about your travels..." (They're going to have to kill some time until Met and Xarame wake up again, so they can either talk some, or we'll just skip forward, up to you.)
(We can have them talk for a bit!) "Well, after my initial exile, I left equestria and sought to travel as far from snowdrift as I could get. It was, inadvertedly, how I stumbled upon Chineigh, which seemed to be the culture that influenced me the most. I learned their language and intergrated into their soceity, learning their ways of magic, herbology and alchemy."
