//------------------------------// // Ch.18 G Minus // Story: Discord's Reign // by chief maximus //------------------------------// DISCORD'S REIGN Chapter 18-G Minus Big Macintosh couldn't get a wink of sleep. Every couple of minutes he found himself raising his head toward the barn door, hoping to see the silhouette of the mare that had been keeping him awake with worry. Each time he was met with disappointment. His constant shuffling unwittingly woke a sleeping princess across from him. "What troubles you, Macintosh?" Her whisper startled the red stallion, turning his head to her in the darkness. "Ah'm sorry princess, I didn't mean ta wake ya." "Think nothing of it, noble Macintosh." he couldn't help but wonder why she kept adding 'noble' to the beginning of his name, but brushed aside his curiosity for the time being. Her mane flowed elegantly even in the dark, the specks of light scattered throughout guiding his eyes to her regal features. "Now, what is on your mind?" Mac debated burdening Luna with his worry. Twilight had promised she wouldn't get caught, but an uneasy feeling took refuge in the pit of the red stallions stomach all the same. He reasoned that if something had happened to Twilight, Luna would be the only pony capable of doing anything about it. "Twilight...she went back into town ta find Spike." he whispered, "She forgot him when she brought y'all here." A soft gasp from the royal alicorn met his ears, "Has she lost her mind?" Big Mac exhaled sharply. It certainly seemed like it. "You could say that...but she couldn't leave the little guy back in Ponyville." he sighed, "Ah tried ta stop her, but she wouldn't hear it." Luna detected a hint of worry behind the red stallions words. The moon princess paused, crafting her next sentence carefully, "Do you care for her, Macintosh?" Big Mac blinked. Of course he did, what kind of question was that? "Ah do." The red workhorse couldn't see it in the dark, but Luna's expression dropped like a lead weight. "She's only been gone a half hour, but still..." he trailed off, taking solace in his constant companion: silence. "You miss her?" Luna asked. "Eeyup. More worry now though." The princess envied the feeling Macintosh had for Twilight. Even before she had been locked away for a thousand years on the moon, she was not allowed to fraternize with the commoners. Since her sister and herself were immune to the ravages of time, Celestia had always warned her that any kind of intimate relationship with any other pony would only lead to heartbreak. Luna understood why; she may have had a bit of an immature streak, but she wasn't stupid. She would have to watch as the one she loved grew old, and eventually died, all while she remained forever young. Sometimes she felt her gift was more of a curse. Cursed to watch a million generations come into this world, only to die off in the seeming blink of an eye. She knew the earthly pleasures of self-gratification, but had always secretly wanted a stallion to give her heart and body to. Eternity is a long time to spend without another soul to love you. Sure her sister would have been by her side, but she wanted the passionate love of a stallion, of one who would travel over glaciers, frozen tundras and volcanos simply to see her face. For a fleeting second, she felt that maybe before they were all consumed by madness, that the muscular stallion a few feet to her left could have been such a lover. Only to have her hopes shattered by an honest admission of his love for another. Luna berated herself for even thinking such a handsome stallion would be unspoken for. "I'm sure she is fine noble Macintosh." a frustrated, yet silent tear left Luna's eye. "She is a very capable unicorn." The princesses words did little to comfort the anxious stallion. A single sniffle would prove to betray her feelings to the sharp-eared draught horse. Mac had lived with mares long enough to know the difference between a sniffle brought on by allergies, and one caused by sadness. His expression dropped, realizing this was of the latter variety. "What's the matter princess?" he asked softly, turning the tables on the disheartened alicorn. Luna debated saying anything at all. What could a mortal like himself possibly know about the problems faced by an alicorn? She countered that idea with another. If they were unable to stop Discord, she might as well die unburdened by her somewhat embarrassing secret. "Nothing...I am simply having some trouble sleeping with all the dust in the air." Or perhaps not. Unfortunately for her, Mac was also quite good at detecting when mares weren't being one hundred percent honest. He had his little sister Applebloom to thank for that. "Ah don't mean to prod, but talking about it may make ya feel better." the irony of that statement was not lost on the normally reserved stallion. Luna's will finally broke. The comfort she was able to find in Mac's drawl made her realize how Twilight could have fallen for him. "It's just..." she began softly, more tears threatening to flood her eyes and break her down into sobs. The words about to cross her lips had never been heard by another pony. Dare she confide in a commoner? And an earth pony at that? "I..." she let out a defeated sigh as she finally showed her true feelings. "I have never known the love of another..." she whispered, Big Macintosh somewhat taken aback by her admission. "For over a thousand years...I've barely even experienced the touch of another being besides my sister." she went on, her words peppered in between barely audible sobs. Mac could certainly identify with her loneliness. Until he had gathered the courage to ask out Twilight, he had been in much the same position. Going through the motions of his daily chores, wondering if there was more to life than just looking after his family and his farm. "But...you're a princess. Couldn't you have any stallion you wanted?" he asked, continuing the growing depth of their quiet conversation. A soft exhale floated across the barn, "In reality, I suppose, but royalty mustn't associate with common- I mean subjects in such a way. To simply pick a stallion from the masses would be an abuse of power." Big Mac tried to contemplate being alone for thousands of years, but simply couldn't wrap his mind around it. He honestly felt sorry for the princess. An alicorn as beautiful as she was, unable to even know what it was like to love, or be loved by another? Truly that was a shameful thought. "Ah had no idea being royalty was such a..." Mac trailed off, searching for the right words. "Raw deal?" Luna completed, mildly surprising him with such a seemingly uncharacteristic phrase. "It's nothing for you to concern yourself with Macintosh." she said, her sporadic sniffles now coming less frequently. "My problems are my own." It pained the red stallion to know somepony was hurting, especially when there was potentially something he could do about it. The thought of a thousand years with no contact with another living, sentient being seemed like hell to a stallion whom, no matter how alone he felt in the past, still had a family, and a few good friends to make memories with. Among the other things to which his prefix nickname applied, his heart was one of them. Surely Twilight wouldn't mind if he comforted the princess in her hour of need? She had to have known by now that she and she alone held the highest honor in his heart? After all, Twilight's affection had rescued him from a tedious life of the same thing day in and day out, would it kill him to at least show Luna that she wasn't alone in this world? After a bit of self-convincing, he stirred to his hooves. Luna looked in his direction in the darkness, startled by the sound of hooves on wood. Before she knew it, the still battered features of the red workhorse stood next to her, reflected in the moonlight. Her cheeks still shined with the moisture from her eyes as Big Mac dropped to his knees, legs tucked neatly beneath him. "What are you-" "You said you ain't had any contact for over a thousand years?" he asked, cutting her off. "Yes..." she began, unsure of where he was going with this. "Ah can show ya what it's like, so long as ya promise me two things." A smile graced her regal features as she nodded enthusiastically. "Anything!" she added a little loudly, earning a 'shh' from Mac. "The first thing is, you cast a sleepin' spell on me until Twilight gets back safe and sound. When Ah worry, Ah can't sleep. Secondly..." he began wondering if his next request would come off as an insult to her character. "Ah'll lay here with you, but Ah ask that you respect what I have with Twilight. I..." he began. The next word was something he certainly didn't throw around. He had only said it to his immediate family, and never to anypony else, not even in jest or sarcasm. "Ah love her." He hated that Twilight wasn't around to hear his confession, but figured as soon as he saw her again he would pull her aside to let her know. Luna smiled at Mac's beautiful sentiment; sliding over on the hay pile she called her bed. To the red stallions relief, the moon princess was not insulted. "I'll keep my hooves to myself. This I promise, noble Macintosh." Big Mac was nearly Luna's size, fitting almost perfectly against her. The youngest alicorn had never felt more comfortable in her entire life on that hay pile on the floor of a dusty old barn, even though she was used to a life of thousand count silk sheets and the finest pegasi down pillows. The warmth of Mac's form against her back was everything she could have ever hoped for, even as she struggled to control her wing's more primitive urges. Even this little bit of contact was enough to send her soul soaring to the moon (figuratively). She gently pushed her neck back against his own, startling him a bit as he caught some of her magnificent mane tickling his nose. Before he let Luna enjoy his company too much, he inquired about their deal. "About that sleeping spell..." "Oh! Right, my apologies." she whispered, casting the soft glow over his eyes. The stallions eyelids drooped as his worry for Twilight replaced by a confidence that she would soon return with her dragon assistant in tow. A gentle snoring let Luna know her spell had worked. She wanted to thank Macintosh for showing her this feeling, something she had yearned for in the countless eons she was stranded on the moon, and even before that. With a quick, levitation spell, she moved the unconscious stallions foreleg across her shoulder, to simulate an embrace. It wasn't much, and Luna knew it wasn't even real, but it was enough for her. This was all she needed to be happy, if just for a night. She held a permanent smile as she drifted off into one of the most wonderful slumbers she had ever taken. "Ms. Sparkle!" Twilight's eyes shot open, identifying the source of the voice demanding her attention. "Eyes forward!" It was a male voice, though the accent seemed to be of Buckingham in origin. A proper professor's accent if ever she had heard one. She found herself sitting in a desk much too small for her, her hind legs sticking out awkwardly from the sides as she tried to sit in it comfortably. After a bit of uneasy shifting, she finally directed her eyes to the front of the classroom. She remembered the decor as her old kindergarten class from when she had just been enrolled in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Only instead of the kindly old mare she remembered instructing her, Big Macintosh sat behind an impossibly large wooden desk, a monocle over one eye, and a tweed jacket adorning his broad shoulders. "Pay attention Ms. Sparkle, the test is about to begin." she hesitantly obeyed, unnerved by the proper accent. A packet of papers appeared on her desk, as well as a quill and ink jar. "Begin." Twilight flipped open the test and found the first question. 1) What is your name? The unicorn grinned, ready to add another aced test to her records. She quickly filled it in and moved on to question two. 2) Describe the flavor of light, and calculate its mass using only the materials provided. Explain your answer. Twilight looked back to her desk to see the materials provided waiting for her, consisting of an empty toilet paper roll, a ball of string, a rolled up newspaper and a packet of ketchup. Her expression sagged in disbelief before her attention was drawn away by a whisper from her left. "Psst." She glanced over, Owlowiscious sat next to her in a desk, inexplicably using his wings to grasp a pencil. "What's the answer to number one?" her pet owl whispered loudly. The impossibility of everything around her completely lost on Twilight's dreaming mind as she acted the way she normally would under such bizarre circumstances. Twilight ignored the question, trying to figure out how to calculate the mass of a stream of subatomic particles with such a random assortment of items. "PSST." "What's the answer to number one!" "Figure it out yourself!" she whispered back angrily. An impossible test was one thing, but Twilight couldn't stand cheaters. "Ms. Sparkle!" Twilight gulped loudly, looking up from her test at Professor Macintosh glaring at her from behind his monocle. "Is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class?" "N-no sir..." "Need I remind you that talking during an examination is considered cheating?" the red stallion responded dryly, taking a toke from an inexplicable pipe appearing between his lips. A loud bang interrupted the tension as none other than princess Luna burst through the classroom door. "Headmistress Luna!" Macintosh exclaimed. "I understand there is a filthy cheater in this room." she said, maintaining her normal speaking voice. "Oh no headmistress, everything is fine-" "You dare lie to me Macintosh?" Luna seethed, strolling into the classroom. "For that you must be disciplined!" Twilight looked around the room, vaguely noticing the random assortment of students that had been surrounding her were gone, leaving only the three of them in the classroom. Professor Macintosh cleared off the surface of his desk with one strong hoof, sending all manner of papers, books and pens clattering to the floor. Luna literally threw Mac onto his back atop the desk, straddling him. Quite an impressive feat for a rather lithe alicorn, considering Big Mac's size. She lowered herself until she was practically laying all her weight on his firm chest. "What of the cheater headmistress?" the red stallion asked, his forelegs wrapped around Luna's shoulders. "Shall we give her an 'F'?" Luna drug her foreleg along professor Macintosh's chest softly, "I'll give you an 'F'..." she said seductively. Try as she might, Twilight found herself unable to look away. "No, something lower." Twilight swallowed nervously again, still inexplicably bound to her seat. 'Lower than an F?' "Give her a G minus!" Luna instructed, casting a glare right into the unicorns eyes, but not before laughing maniacally. "As for your punishment, Ms. Sparkle..." Luna turned her attention back to the aroused stallion beneath her, laying a few kisses on his chest. Her eyes locked with Twilight's, seeming to know the hurt the entire scene was causing the lavender unicorn. "You have to watch!" Both of them began to laugh before Twilight finally regained her wits and bolted from her desk towards the back of the classroom. She ran as fast as she could, but the end of the room stayed the same distance away from her, no matter how hard she tried to reach it. The thought of Mac together with Luna instead of her put tears of frustration and betrayal in her eyes as the scene around her blurred. She didn't dare stop running as the feel of firm tile beneath her hooves soon softened to what felt like grass. As the laughter from her tormentors faded away, she felt herself slow to a trot, then to a walk. The young unicorn tried to get her bearings as she caught her breath. The classroom she had been in was nowhere to be found, instead she found herself on a grassy hill, overlooking hundreds of thousands of identical hills surrounding it. A cool breeze blew across her forehead, simply grateful to be out of that horrid room. At the top of the hill, she spied the unmistakable outline of a workhorse wearing a yoke, seated against a tree on his flanks facing away from her. She slowly walked up the grassy knoll, hoping to find a normal Big Mac waiting at the top. "Hello Twilight." he said looking toward her as she sat beside him. Not a whiff of any coltfriend thieving lunar princesses in sight. "I missed you Mac." she said leaning against him, feeling his muscular foreleg wrap around her shoulders tightly in a way she found so comforting. "Did you see?" he asked, seeming to ignore her sentiment. Twilight looked up to his eyes, though they were focused on something in the distance. "See what?" He lifted his other hoof and pointed toward two meteor looking objects rising into the sky, one leaving a bright trail of the visible spectrum, and the other just behind it burning like the white hot fire of a thousand suns. "They're saving the world." he added. Twilight was beyond confused at his nonsensical answers, but the fact that she was merely dreaming was still lost on her unconscious mind. "Applejack ain't too happy 'bout it, though." Twilight looked to the big stallion again in confusion. "Applejack doesn't want the world saved?" she asked softly. "She just wants what she had. What we all had." After a moment of silence, the two objects rising into the sky met, creating a blinding flash. Twilight awoke with a start, startling both Celestia and Spike as the early morning sun began to cast it's rays across the ground. After a few gulps of air, Twilight realized that indeed she had freed Celestia last night in the library. An overwhelming sense of joy came over her, unable to do anything but smile. The monarch returned her affection with the motherly gaze Twilight was so grateful to see again. "Good to see you again Twilight." she said warmly. Twilight threw formalities to the wind and wrapped her forelegs around the still laying princesses elegant neck, taking the monarch a bit by surprise, but returning the embrace all the same. "I'm sorry it took so long to free you." Twilight whispered, happy to at least have taken a first step on the road to defeating Discord. "I'm just grateful you were able." Celestia responded. Twilight released the princess as Spike walked between them, wearing the elements of harmony around his neck as well as her tiara on his head. "What was your nightmare about?" he asked curiously. "How did you know I had a nightmare?" Princess Celestia stepped in to explain, "Short term exposure to Discord's fog brings about nightmares in the unconscious mind. It prays on even your most hidden of fears." "You took a shot to the ear in the library before the princess brought us here." Spike added. "Oh...well...it was weird, let's just leave it at that." Spike's stomach demanded he begin searching for gems, leaving Twilight an opportunity to question the princess about her bizzare dream. "Princess...is there any chance dreams caused by the fog...mean anything?" Celestia smiled, as if Twilight had just told her a mildly amusing joke. "No, generally the fog simply brings about your fears and presents them in dream form." The princess' eyes flicked upward, noticing the expanding of the pink clouds from Ponyville. "It's no longer safe here. We must get to the other element bearers." she said rising to her hooves. "Where are they?" "Sweet Apple Acres." Twilight answered. "I can teleport us there." "Thank you Twilight, but if it is all the same to you, I'd like to stretch my wings a bit." The alicorn kneeled in the grass, beckoning the two of them onto her back despite the protest of Spike's stomach.. A beat of her magnificent wings and they were off into the sky, toward the safe haven of Applejack's farm. "Ahem!" Mac's eyes fluttered open to the sound of his sister's cleared throat. Her expression was none too pleased with the situation she had discovered. Mac quickly withdrew his foreleg from across Luna, sure he hadn't put it there when he slept. Out of options, the stallion tried the tired line that every male, regardless of species used any time they had been caught in a compromising position. "This ain't what it looks like." Never in the history of time had those words ever convinced any female it was true. "Macintosh. Might Ah have a word with you?" Applejack hissed through gritted teeth. 'Uh oh. Full first name again...' He got up softly, so as not to wake the sleeping princess, and followed his sister outside the barn. Once they were around the side of the barn, Applejack hit him with both barrels, "Just what in tarnation do you think you were doin' in there?!" "Ah weren't doin' nothin'!" he answered defensively. "It didn't look like nothin'!" the muted orange earth pony said, holding a mix of disappointment and anger over her features. "All this time Ah was worried about Twilight hurtin' you, when I shoulda been keepin' and eye on yer wonderin' hooves!" "Now wait just a damn minute!" Big Mac said sharply, raising his voice for the first time Applejack could even recall. "Don't you think for a second that I would betray Twilight like that!" he nearly barked, causing AJ to back down, even recoil somewhat. Her brother never yelled. He barely raised his voice at all, so she figured his relationship with Twilight must have meant a lot to him. His sharp rebuke helped ease her concerns that her brother was a playboy. The anger in Mac's eyes faded as quickly as it had risen, knowing he would have assumed the same thing had he been presented with such a scene. "I'm sorry for yellin'...but you know I would never cross that kind of line." Applejack felt just as guilty for immediately jumping to the worst conclusion without considering his side of the story. "Ah'm sorry for accusin' ya Mac." she admitted, gathering a white cloth soaked in an old Apple family remedy for cuts from just behind the barn door. "Sit down here, it's time to clean them cuts." she instructed as Mac sat down beside her on his flanks, quietly dreading the cold sting of the antiseptic against his wounds. After a few winces, the red stallion sat still as his sister dabbed the cloth over his injuries. Big Mac's thunderous outburst had stirred a certain sleeping pegasus from her rooftop nest, still with a sleeping filly tucked beneath her wing. Unable to move without waking Scootaloo, she tuned an ear in the direction of the Apple siblings. She certainly wasn't proud of eavesdropping, and would have gone back to sleep if Big Mac hadn't uttered a rather enticing question. "What's goin' on 'tween you and Rainbow?" Applejack stopped what she was doing and set the cloth down so she could answer. "She...we...I'm not real sure how ta tell ya this Mac." The workhorse's soft eyes grew concerned over what potential trouble his sister could be having with her young relationship. "What?" he asked softly, Applejacks eyes looking everywhere but into his. Rainbow braced herself from the roof, her unconscious muscle tightening gently rousing Scootaloo from her dreams, before she eventually settled back down. "You remember the tornado?" "Eeyup." "Remember how we all thought that Sleet Fall fella caused it after he admitted to it and all?" he nodded. Applejack let out a heavy sigh, seeming to have made peace with the idea, but still not ready to be as close to Rainbow as she had been. "Rainbow caused the tornado. Sleet took the blame so she could keep her job. Heaven knows why, but he did." Mac eyed his sister in disbelief, "How do you know it was Rainbow?" "She described everything that happened like she was right there with us in the cellar that day!" she snapped, a bit of anger rising in her voice. Mac held his stoic silence as he considered what she revealed. "Well, I suppose that is unfortunate." AJ looked at her brother's battered features in shock, "You ain't mad?" "Mad? Why would I be mad?" he asked earnestly. "Because Rainbow killed our parents!" The sting of that one sentence cut the cyan pegasus deeply. She blinked back a tear threatening her magenta eyes in the early morning sunlight. "Did she do it on purpose?" he asked calmly, always the cool and rational customer. Sure he missed his parents, and would do anything to have them alive again, but he knew blaming others for their death, or hating them because of it would do nothing to bring them back. Applejack huffed, "No..." she hated when he used that darn logic of his to muddy the issue. "You think bein' mad at her is goin' ta bring them back?" the red stallion asked. He was leading to something, but Applejack already got the point. "Alright, alright Ah get it." she said, picking up the cloth and placing it none too softly against his face, causing him to wince again. If she couldn't stay angry, she could at least have a touch of revenge this way. Rainbow could have flown off and kissed Big Mac at that moment, had it not been for Scootaloo potentially falling off the roof if she tried. She promised herself that if they made it through this, and Applejack still cared about her, she would do something huge to repay the big stallion. Applejack's glare melted into a more caring expression as she dabbed the last of his cuts. "No wonder Twilight fell for you, ya big softy." Big Mac's eyes shot open wide. "Twilight! Where is Twilight?" The muted orange earth pony had never seen or heard such urgency on the stallion's face or in his words before. "I thought she was in the barn?" Big Mac's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. If she hadn't come back, then that meant... He shook the thought from his head and dashed back in the barn to look for her, figuring her to still be asleep somewhere inside from being out all night. Rainbow sat back, relieved that Applejack's brother had talked some sense into her before running into the barn about something; she had stopped listening after AJ said she got the point, and was happier than she had been since their little spat in Cloudsdale. She felt a small nose rub against her ribs, followed by a soft yawn. "Mornin' Squirt." Dash said as Scootaloo stood up and stretched her short wings and legs. "Sleep alright?" "Yeah," the orange filly added with a yawn. A loud grumble from her stomach betrayed her hunger, the last time Scootaloo had eaten was the lunch she had at school yesterday. Rainbow smiled at the filly's embarrassment, nudging her onto her back and hopping down from the roof of the barn. "C'mon kiddo, let's see what we can scrounge up to eat around here." Rainbow trotted over to the barn. Everypony else was already awake, woken by Big Mac's frantic searching. The cyan pegasus stopped for a moment, frowning. Had the big guy lost something? What was he looking- Applejack skidded to a halt in front of her. "Did you see Twilight leave last night?" she asked breathlessly. "No...I didn't see anypony leave the barn." she admitted sheepishly, after all, she didn't physically see anyone leave...but she also had her eyes closed at the time. "Where'd she go?" Dash asked, finding her concern for their, as she put it, 'adorkable' friend. "Mac said she went back into Ponyville ta get Spike!" Rainbow's expression dropped as Scootaloo hopped off her back. "We have to go get her!" "That would be unwise." A voice from behind the two of them stated rather plainly. "Discord's fog controls Ponyville now. To venture in would ensure you would never return." Luna added, stretching her wings and tucking them neatly by her sides. "His what?" "As Discord's power grows, it manifests itself in a silver fog that drives any within it to insanity." she explained, "To enter into the alpha zone or any other outlying areas without the proper protection would be suicide." "We have to do something!" Rainbow insisted, "We can't just leave her out there!" "I don't think we have to worry!" Pinkie said bounding out of the barn and pointing a hoof skyward. The other's gasped in unison, as none other than princess Celestia herself soared gracefully over the tops of the trees lining the road into town, with Spike and Twilight seated on her back. A quick descent later, and the element bearers were re-united with their elements and their princess. "Dear sister...I knew Discord couldn't keep you imprisoned forever!" Luna said happily, nuzzling her sibling affectionately, Celestia returning it. "Actually, it was Twilight who set me free." she said, smiling at her star pupil, making her blush a considerable amount, "She deserves the credit." After an appropriate amount of greeting, they adjourned to the barn to figure out their next move, while Big Macintosh took the fillies inside the farmhouse; but not before getting a chance to speak to Twilight on the porch, away from prying ears. "Sorry for not coming back last night." the lavender unicorn said, guilt heavy in her voice for making him worry about her. "It's okay Twilight. You're back now, that's all that matters to me." he answered softly, earning a nuzzle from the filly he found occupying his thoughts even when she was right in front of him. "While you were gone, I did some thinkin'..." he began, his heart jumping to his throat like it was the first time he had asked her to dinner. "Uh huh." she responded, waiting for Mac to finish his thought, though not without secretly finding his nervousness to be the cutest thing she had ever witnessed. He cast his emerald eyes down to his hooves, as was his nervous habit before feeling a purple foreleg lift his chin to face her "My eyes are up here." Her words were comforting, and seemed to be the only thing that could comfort him anymore. "Ah don't normally say this to just anypony...but...Ah love you Twilight. I'm sorry it took you puttin' yourself in mortal danger for me to realize it...but it's true." "I..." For one of the few times in her young life, the unicorn was at a loss for words. Someone out there loved her? The nerdy, quiet girl from Canterlot who would have chosen her books over companionship nine times out of ten if given the option? In secret she had always dreamed of what it would be like to know there was a stallion out in the world who wanted nothing more than to be with her as much as possible, to give her everything he could stand to give without a second thought or hesitation. And finally, after all those frustratingly real dreams of herself being whisked away by a stallion in shining armor, hers had finally arrived, though instead of armor, he wore a simple workhorse's yoke. The nervous smile girls often get when they are on the verge of tears of joy graced her lips as she tried to fight looking like a blubbering filly in front of him. Mac's own nervousness began to get the better of him as he waited on pins and needles for a reply. "Somethin' the matter?" "No!" she nearly shouted, not wanting him to even think that for a second. "It's just...I never...thought I'd..." words continued to fail her as she looked into the comfortable warmth of the eyes she lost herself in the first night she laid with him on the blanket under the stars. What she considered their first 'not a date' date. "What?" the red stallion asked, his concern more than evident in this one word alone. It was then she knew that the stallion before her was hers and hers alone. That the strong, powerful stallion who had taken the beating that gave him the lacerations across his handsome face had done so willingly, and would a thousand times over to keep her from harm. Everything seemed to click into place as Twilight's tongue untied itself, allowing her to give him the answer he had been yearning for. "I love you too Mac." Discord sat on the railing of the balcony, playing a somber tune on an inexplicable violin. His eyes closed as he swayed gently with the melody, his lions paw expertly caressing the bow across the strings while his eagles talon plucked delicate chords on the neck. This was easily the most sensical thing he had done to date, playing music while Canterlot burned beneath him. The occasional wail of misery accompanying his solo as a nervous guard approached from behind the black curtain leading to the rest of the now warped and twisted castle. The royal guards were sworn allegiance to the crown, and at the time of his takeover, most vowed to fight Discord to the death. Only the god of chaos did not wish unnecessary bloodshed to mar his beautifully chaotic castle. A fate worse than death was in store for those who attempted to rise against him; total and complete immersion in their darkest fears until the end of time. After making crying, screaming lunatics out of a few of the mightiest royal guards, the rest quickly fell in line behind their new master. After all, what choice did they have? It was either serve Discord, or take their chances...down there. Before the guard could utter a word, the chimera stopped his playing, as if he knew there was another in his presence. "Yes?" Discord asked calmly. "R-reports indicate that your power has completely swallowed Manehattan." the pegasi guard stuttered, more afraid than he had ever been before in his life, "Only outlying villages and towns remain free of the fog, sir." Discord smiled, throwing his violin and bow to the ground between them in a puff of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, to the messenger's horror, two royal guards appeared, coughing and begging forgiveness for whatever crimes that had committed against the deity. "Learn the proper temperature at which I take my teacups, or next time I will throw you off the balcony." They apologized profusely, and thanked him for giving the two of them a second chance as they bolted back into the castle, leaving the stunned pegasi's mouth agape in shock. "You're dismissed." he said, a quick salute and he too disappeared behind the curtain from whence he came. Discord hopped off the balcony and set his hands against the railing, looking toward the few columns of smoke rising from the eastern metropolis of Manehattan. He smiled. Finally. He held all the cards, and every string was firmly in his grasp. Soon it would be time to make the puppets dance.