"Sunrunner! Would you come in here darling?" Discord called.
"Yes mistress, what can your lowly servant do for your magnificence?" The doctor came in, dressed in a frilly maid's outfit and waited patiently for his mistress to tell him what she needed.
In the weeks that he had been treating "Aeris", he had grown quite fond of her. He of course was not aware that such things were in fact magically influenced and that Discord had been slowly bending him to his will. Later, when she was well enough to be released he had suggested that Aeris stay with him until her memory returned. She graciously accepted his offer and moved in that afternoon. Some said that he was simply helping her out in a tough situation. Others said that he was still treating her and needed her as close as possible. Even others said that they were in fact together as a couple. And a small minority said that there was some really kinky stuff going on in there but nopony really believed them.
"I feel like going out tonight. There's a performance of 'A Pony's Tale' in the park and I want us to go. The show is at 8:00, you will make all the arrangements. You may go now."
"Of course mistress, " he said as he started to leave. Pausing for a moment he timidly asked, "mistress? May I ask if it's time?"
Discord knew what he wanted. Part of the bending to his will involved finding out the good doctor's weaknesses and exploiting it. While the doctor didn't necessarily have one he could use, it didn't take Discord long to manufacture one. He had started molding Sunrunner to want to be dominated by his mistress Aeris. This involved the wearing of the maid's outfit while at home and following her every whim and every desire. Of course Discord also needed to give him something in return. And so, he allowed Sunrunner this one thing. Discord sighed and said, "very well slave. You may proceed."
The doctor practically sprang to attention and lavished attention on his mistresses hooves. He licked, caressed and nibbled them all over. As he did, his excitement grew as did his penis. Discord was rather neutral on the whole thing, bored would be a better choice of words but he needed the doctor kept in his place at the moment and the hoof fetish was exactly how he did so.
In the depths of her mind, Trixie screamed and thrashed about trying desperately to wrest control of her body back from the demon that inhabited it.
<<"Oh relax Trixie. I'm actually doing all this for you. The doctor needs an outlet, I personally don't care about it one way or another so you might as well enjoy it, ">> Discord teased her, his voice reverberating through her mind.
<<"You're a monster Discord! This is not the way you treat a mare!">>
<<"Can't the 'Great and Powerful Trixie' do something? Hmmmm? I didn't think so. Besides I'm just using you like you've used every other pony in your life. You might as well sit back and enjoy the show because there's nothing you can do about it. Oh, looks like the Doctor is ready for you. I'd like to stay and chat but your moaning when he does this is sooo distracting.">> And with those words Discord disappeared from her mind and she was left alone, unable to control her body yet feeling every single little thing that happened to it. She cried out in surprise when she felt Sunrunner enter her, the cries turned to moans and little squeaks of pleasure. As much as she hated what Discord was doing to her body she desperately needed and wanted these moments of intimacy even if she wasn't the one in control. These moments reminded her that she was still alive and while she was still alive she had a chance to fight back and one day maybe even win. When it was over, she cried but her tears were only in her mind.
"Thank you mistress, " Sunrunner panted as he pulled out of her.
"Draw me a bath slave and get ready to wash me when it's ready."
"Of course mistress, whatever you say, " Sunrunner trotted meekly out of the room. Discord didn't pay him any mind. He was too busy thinking of what he could do tonight when they saw the play and smiled evilly when he hit on an idea.
"Yesss! That will be perfect."
Back in Rome, the honeymooners had rented a Vespa and proceeded to tool around the streets of Rome. Twlight had tried to get a map so they could visit all the places seen in the movie but Rick had put a kibosh on those plans.
"Babe, this is all about the journey not about the destination. We're here in Rome to experience it, not to see all the places that were filmed. Yes, we'll throw a coin in the Trevi fountain. We'll see the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel and all that but we're going to do this on our terms. And if we don't see it this time around, then next time or the time after that."
And so they explored Rome, seeing the sights, taking time at the local cafes to sample the foods and wines and generally having the time of their lives. That is until they made one of their stops the Galleria Borghese. They had wandered through the gardens and the park and decided to head into the actual gallery. It was full of classical sculptures & Renaissance paintings which Rick kept a running commentary on and explaining the stories behind most of them but one thing was not what Twilight expected.
There, off to the side. was a statue of a woman holding a golden apple above her head. Rick walked up behind her as he had a habit of doing, hugged her from behind and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Twilight squirmed happily in his arms, enjoying the feeling of being totally protected when he was around.
"Do you know the story behind this one?" Rick asked.
"No, but I'm guessing you do."
Rick chuckled a bit and started on his tale. "This is the event that led to the Trojan war at least that's how the legend goes. It was at a wedding and the Goddess Eris, at least that's her classical Greek name, wasn't invited because she was a bitch and always caused trouble. So she had a golden apple with "to the fairest" inscribed on it. She threw this into the crowd and the three goddesses that were there Hera, Athena and Aphrodite all fought over which one of them would get the apple. Well, Zeus didn't like the fighting so he told Hermes to bring the apple to Paris who was the most just of all mortals. The three goddesses each promised Paris a gift if he would give them the apple making them the fairest of them all. Hera promised to make him the king of Europe and Asia which at that point in time was most of the known world. Athena promised to give him the ultimate wisdom and skill in battle. And Aphrodite promised to give him the most beautiful woman in the world as his bride. Well, he chose Aphrodite and as a reward was granted the hand of Helen of Sparta as his wife. The problem is, Helen was going to marry Menelaus at the time. So at the wedding, Menelaus was called away, Paris wound up spending the night with Helen and then took her away with him to his city of Troy. When Menelaus found out, he gathered all the men together and launched a thousand ships to bring her back and this led to the Trojan War."
"If this is a Greek story, why is she here in Rome?"
"The Romans, at least the rich ones, were all tutored by the Greeks and they adopted the Greek gods and goddesses giving them all Roman names. So Zeus, the king of the gods was renamed 'Jupiter'."
"Like the planet?"
"Exactly. Others like Ares, god of war was renamed Mars. Hermes became Mercury. Aphrodite became Venus, Hera became Juno, and Eris over there became Discordia."
Twilight froze at this point on hearing that name. She got very quiet and Rick felt her tremble a bit in his arms.
"You okay babe? " Rick asked, not quite sure what was wrong with Twilight. When she didn't respond he turned her around and looking into her face asked, "Twi? What's up? You're starting to freak me out a bit."
She shook herself a moment and said, "I'm okay, it's just the name threw me for a moment."
Rick thought for a moment and realisation dawned on him. Early on in their relationship, when they were still just friends, Twilight had told him of the Elements of Harmony and of the time they used them to defeat not only Nightmare Moon but Discord as well. "Oh, it made you think of Discord? From what you've told me he's been defeated and sealed in stone once again. Besides, " he said pointing at the statue, "this was just an anthropomorphic representation of strife. It's not supposed to be taken like this was a real goddess or anything."
"I suppose you're right, " Twilight said, not sounding too sure of herself. She covered her mouth as she yawned broadly. "Maybe I'm just a little tired. Do you mind if we go back to the hotel, maybe take a nap?"
"You'll make any excuse to get me into bed won't you?" Rick asked with a smirk.
"Did I say you had to join me?" Twilight replied archly while raising one eyebrow and with only the barest hint of a smile on her lips.
"Ouch! Somebody is getting better at this, " said Rick as he placed a hand over his heart. They kissed and made their way out of the gallery.
Back in the hotel, Rick set the alarm clock for 1 hour and joined Twilight in bed. Too tired to actually do anything they just lay in each other's arms until they both fell asleep. About 30 minutes later, Twilight shot up in bed and screamed. Rick immediately woke up and set about trying to calm down his hysterical wife. She was babbling on and on about Equestria and Discord.
"Twi! Look at me, look at me! You're okay, we're in Rome, on our honeymoon. We went to the gallery, you saw the statue of Eris and it freaked you out. This is what gave you the nightmare."
"No, Rick. This was completely different, " she said in a haunted voice. "Discord is back in Equestria and there's nopony there to stop him."
"Twi, how could you know this? You had a nightmare. That's it. You're okay now. Maybe you'll feel better if you talk about it."
Twilight didn't look convinced. Rick offered to pour her a glass of wine, realised he was a little hungry and suggested they get room service. If nothing else it might take her mind off things. A quick call to room service and he placed their order for some antipasto and a cheese plate. Service was very fast but then for the price they were paying for the room and the food, it was expected.
Once they had sat down and Twilight had taken a few sips from her wine glass she started.
"It just seemed so real. It's like, I was back in Equestria but I was only observing. Almost like I was watching a movie and couldn't do anything to change things. But the really weird part is, it was Discord and yet it wasn't Discord. He was wearing a mask and a costume and nopony could see who he really was. It's funny, now that I think of it, it almost makes me think he looked like Trixie. Remember my old fillyfriend who took advantage of me?" Twilight asked.
"You mean that one that screwed you over, raped Dash's mind and almost got me killed? Yeah, I kinda remember."
Twilight looked sadly at his side and the scar that made it impossible for either of them to ever forget that night. She sighed and continued. "Discord was there, dressed as Trixie and there was another pony there as well. But he had that pony tied up in strings and was controlling him like a marionette. And again, nopony realised it. They were in a park, watching a play and Discord just started working on the audience but not by making thing strange like he did last time. No, it was like he reached into their minds and just started... pulling on them. One pony started yelling at another to stop chewing so loudly. A couple started arguing about finances. A filly just started harassing all the young stallions she could find, not caring if they were with a filly already or not. Within a matter of minutes every pony including the actors were fighting and at each other's throats. Even the police when they showed up were caught up in it. Then just like that, it was over and the fighting just stopped. Discord withdrew from their minds but the damage was already done."
Rick chewed absently on a slice of prosciutto wrapped melon as he listed to all this. Twilight was still a vegetarian but didn't fault him for eating meat although he knew she didn't like it when he did. But c'mon, it's prosciutto wrapped melon. Not eating it would be a crime. He swallowed and took a sip of his wine. It worked remarkably well with the antipasto and as an aside thought they'd really have to look into shipping a couple cases back home.
"Twi, I'm pretty sure this was all just a dream. I mean think about it. Discord was defeated. Trixie was defeated. Discord wearing a costume looking like Trixie but nopony realised that. The marionette pony. All of this just sounds too fantastic to be real. My guess is you've been really stressed the past few weeks, creating your ID, getting married, selling the house then coupled with the jet lag and the statue today and it's no wonder you had a nightmare. If you want, we can take it easy for the next few days, maybe join a tour group and have them shuttle us around. Instead of travelling around Europe we just spend a week in Tuscany before heading out to Barcelona to catch the ship?"
Twilight just stared at him for a moment before asking, "how do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"How do you always know to say the right things to make me feel better?"
Rick smiled at the compliment and then just shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I just get you on a deeper level or something. But regardless of that, Twi, I just want you to be happy and when it comes to making you feel better I will do anything in my power to do so." He looked deeply into her eyes and took her hand in his. "You mean the world to me Twi. I would follow you to hell and back and I'd protect you every step of the way if need be."
Without letting go of his hand, Twilight stepped around the small table, sat on his lap and wrapped her arms about him as his went around her. Her problems forgotten for the moment, she got all the solace she needed just by being in his arms. He was right. It had just been a bad dream. She was on Earth with her husband, Equestria was in a universe far away that they could never get back to so worrying about such a thing didn't make sense.
Back on Equestria, Discord was having a good day. He had been able to control many ponies at the play and had gotten things to escalate to the point where the police had been called and order had finally been restored. Oh, but it wasn't over. Seeds of doubt had been planted in more than one mind, it wouldn't take long before those seeds sprouted and the strife would once again take over. One thing did bother him though. During his time there it felt like he was being watched. He didn't actually see anypony but there was no mistaking the feeling. Trixie was no help, she just cried throughout the whole process and begged him to let her go.
Discord closed his eyes and silently reached out to all his puppets, fanning the flames of hatred, anger and jealousy that were like the sweetest music to his ears. This wasn't as effective as his old chaos magic but it was satisfying in its own way and it was a lot harder to trace.