Page was half asleep when he knocked on the door to the Chocolate Family household. It was now two in the afternoon, and the sun shined on his back. The warmth wasn't making it any easier to stay awake, and had the door not opened right then he would have fallen asleep at their doorstep.
Mr. Chocolate, Weiss's father was a large stallion. He had once been in the Earth Pony section of the royal guards, and his personality reflected it. He was fiercely loyal, stood on tradition often, and was protective of his daughter to an extreme. The only reason he had ever let him near Weiss is because he had the guts to stand and declare his love for her. Since that day he had tolerated Page's presence, mainly because he made Weiss happy.
"Page. My daughter's upstairs. You'd better have a good excuse for standing her up," he said gruffly.
"Yes sir. I remember her mentioning that you wanted to speak with me. Is something wrong?" Page asked, hoping that his memory of the event would do him some credit.
"Yes, but not now. Go to her first, then we'll talk."
"Of course," the unicorn nodded. He knew the Chocolate household almost as well as his own. He navigated through the kitchen and toward the stairwell. Mrs. Chocolate was a baker and a good one at that. There was evidence that she was recently at work in the expansive kitchen. A cake, that smelled like it was right from the oven, sat on a platter in the center of the counter. He hoped that he could work things out with Weiss, if not for their relationship then for a slice of her mother's famous cake.
The hallway upstairs was dark. The door to Weiss's room was open though, and provided the only light in the entire corridor. Page stepped as quietly as he could over to the light, but stopped short of walking straight in, choosing to spend a moment imagining what she might say. He could think his way out of most situations he came up with, hopefully she didn't have a curve-ball in store for him.
He knocked on the slightly ajar door and it swung open enough for him to see inside. Mrs. Chocolate sat beside her daughter, and seemed to have just been talking with her. They both looked up at the sound. When they saw who stood in the doorway the mother hopped off the bed and walked toward him, while the daughter simply stayed seated.
"It's good for you to show up dear. She just needs some reassurance. Come down when you've settled things, as you probably saw I just finished one of my cakes," said the older mare, brushing past him on her way out. As she went, his eyes were drawn to a single photograph illuminated in the hallway. It was an old picture of what must have been Mr. and Mrs. Chocolate's wedding. In the image she was smiling only slightly, and he wasn't at all.
"Page. Where were you today?"
He had forgotten she was there. He walked inside the room and tried to focus his vision. Sleep was one of the biggest things on his mind right now.
"Sorry, there was a huge breakthrough at work. Once in a lifetime it turned out-" he was cut off by her.
"You went to work when you knew that we had something planned for today?"
He bit his lip, "I wouldn't have gone if my mentor hadn't sent an urgent letter, I swear."
"How do I even know you were at work? You could have been off with some other mare!" she shouted, nearly falling off her bed.
"This again? I already told you. Even if a mare existed who was more beautiful or more clever than you I would never cheat! I love you for who you are Weiss, I just want you to remember that!" he said, his lack of sleep was starting to make him lose his temper. He stumbled a bit and regained his footing, but not before she took notice of it.
"What were you doing last night? You left work early didn't you? Why are you so tired?" she questioned him.
"What? No. I stayed up all night because his-," he cut himself off. He didn't want to mention Discord having spoke to him. He pretended to stumble again, hoping he could play his slip of the tongue off as exhaustion, "Because your words kept ringing in my head. I was trying to figure out what had you so upset so I can help you. I love you, and I want to protect you."
"Protect me? By standing me up? You have to try harder than that."
"But... but it's the truth," he whimpered. At that moment something inside him clicked, something that sparked him awake. He made the connections and realized just what the future Discord had spoke of meant. A lover who feels betrayed when their partner leaves them for their work. Who loves the other with her whole heart. By Celestia! That was why Discord had said to keep an eye on her, his actions were going to turn her into a draconniquis!
He fell to his flank and sat in bewilderment, she looked at him quizzically, "Are you left speechless? Or are you about to pass out on my floor."
He was thrown back into reality by her voice. He wouldn't let that happen, not on his life. He looked up with a smile and chose to alter the truth, "I quit work in the castle today."
She was shocked to say the least, "You mean-"
"Yes, whenever you want and wherever you want. I'm free to spend time with you. I thought that it was unfair that I couldn't be with you as much as you wanted. I have the rent on my house paid off for the next year already. Hay, if you want you could even move-"
"You quit your job in the castle... for me?" she asked, why was she still confused about it?
"Yes."
"W-well then... thank you... I've wanted to be with you so much lately, that I've been inventing the worst possible thoughts to try to rationalize things," she said with a small smile.
"I'm here now, don't worry," he spoke softly and moved close. He took her hooves in his and sat on the floor, "Do you want to do something tomorrow maybe?"
"Well there's that orchestra playing in the Canterlot Theater-"
"Say no more!" he said with a smile, things were looking up for once today, "Do you prefer to sit close to the performers or farther back?"
"Oh, tickets at all would be nice. I've loved orchestral music since I was just a little filly. Maybe if I had been a unicorn like you I would have ended up playing a violin or cello," she said, imagining being on a stage with a classical instrument.
"Don't give up on a dream just yet. I know that one Octavia filly you like is an Earth pony also, and she plays the cello. Maybe you can too," he was so very glad that the conversation had come down from a boiling point to this comfortable temperature.
"Yeah," she watched him stumble again, "Maybe you should get home and get to bed. I...I'm sorry if what I said yesterday kept you up all night."
"No problem, I haven't passed out yet you know!" he said shakily.
"See you tomorrow then?"
"Yeah, see ya tomorrow," he responded and shared a quick kiss.
He left the room smiling like a deranged idiot. He had not only gotten his love to see the light, but he had also began his quest to see that she never became a draconniquis! Everything was going according to plan and Discord wouldn't escape again. He almost walked right past Mrs. Chocolate without a word.
"Not going to stay for cake dear?"
"Sorry, I have to get my hooves on some orchestra tickets. Then I'd really like to get home, I was kept up all night," he responded. He felt as though his legs would give out underneath him.
"Oh, well be careful getting home dear. Perhaps I can send a slice over for you," she said while stirring a pot of boiling vegetables.
"That would be nice Mrs. Chocolate."
"So I take it you and her worked things out?" she asked, looking away from the vegetables for a moment.
"Yes ma'am. She was glad to hear that I quit work at the castle," he spoke, trying to readjust his vision.
He hardly even saw her approach, but felt her wrap a hoof around him. "Thank you dear, you don't know how much that means to her. She's always so worried about you."
He began walking toward the exit, "I'm as happy as she is, I've missed spending the kind of time I used to with her. Now we won't have anything stopping us."
"Well I won't keep you any longer. Go on home and rest, you deserve it."
"Thank you Mrs. Chocolate. Have a nice day," he said, opening the door with his magic.
"You have a nice day too Page."
He stepped out into the afternoon sun and sighed with relief. Everything had gone much better than expected. He started to make his way to the local theater, but before he was even steps away from the house he saw something in a nearby puddle. It reflected the window to Weiss's room. He spun around and looked at the window himself. Inside was Weiss's shadow and one other. The other was tall and bulky, almost definitely her father. They stood there for several minutes and Page could do nothing to understand what they were talking about. He saw Mr. Chocolate's shadow move toward the door and open it, but before he exited he turned to add in a last remark.
When Mr. Chocolate did that, and ear bursting sound filled the air, and Page spun on his hooves to find the source. He watched in disbelief as a purple cloud appeared over the castle and a red lightning bolt shot down and struck a place in the gardens. He knew the exact place where it had struck too. His breathing became heavy and he had to stop himself from dashing to the palace. Somehow Discord was still getting closer to freedom.
He had to get in contact with Ink, he would know what to do. He would send him a letter, and hopefully get some information. Things would be alright, they would work themselves out and Weiss would be fine. For now he had to focus on getting those tickets.