//------------------------------// // Ch.4 Head Games // Story: Discord's Reign // by chief maximus //------------------------------// DISCORD'S REIGN Chapter 4- Head Games Twilight slept for what felt like days after the Summer Sun Celebration. She was stirred from her slumber by Spike tossing a scroll onto her face. "That one hurt..." her living mailbox mumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Uhhh...what time is it?" she moaned as she felt her head pounding. The Summer Sun Celebration was the only time she indulged in alcohol, and boy did she regret it this year. "Wow. Twilight you look wrecked." he said chuckling at the state of his roommate. "Please stop yelling." she said holding her head in her hooves. Despite her headache, she unrolled the scroll and read its contents through her squinted eyes. "What's it say?" Spike asked heading downstairs to make some food to nurse Twilight's hangover. She let the letter fall out of her magic as she pulled Big MacIntosh's blanket over her head. She was in no mood to travel. "It's a summons...Princess Celestia wants to see us and the girls in Canterlot." she said as loud as she could so Spike could hear her downstairs. "Today?" he called back. "No! Next week!" she snapped. "Of course today!" "Sor-ry!" he called back at her indignantly. "Don't get mad at me because you can't handle your cider!" She sighed and pulled her head out from beneath the blanket, catching sight of the ragged state of her mane in the mirror. Her hairbrush levitated toward her and began fixing it while she walked down the stairs toward the smell of veggie soup and crackers. "I'm sorry Spike, I just have the worst headache." she said taking a seat at the table, still with one hoof on her throbbing head. "That's what this is for!" he said sliding a bowl of piping hot soup across the table to her. "Thanks." she said lifting the bowl to her muzzle, not having the time or energy to wait on the crackers. "If I ever try to drink any apple cider again, I want you to beat me unconscious." "If you say so." he said with a laugh sitting down across from her. After brunch, Twilight and Spike set out of the library. She squinted her eyes in the bright sunlight as her headache was somewhat better, but still nagging. "So, we gonna teleport or?" Spike asked seated on her back. "No...I don't think I can concentrate, who knows where we'd end up. Let's just get a ride with Pinkie Pie in her ballon." she said heading toward Sugarcube Corner. On her way into town, she kept catching glimpses of something out of the corner of her eye, but it moved so fast, she could never get a clear view of what it was before it disappeared, if it was actually there at all. Twilight reached the town square and reared back on her hind legs in shock, bucking Spike off her back, sending him to the dirt. Sitting on a hay bale in broad daylight enjoying a cup of tea with garish red sunglasses and large blue sunhat was none other than Discord himself, staring right at her with a mischievous smile. She gasped as Spike yelled at her from the ground. "Twilight! What'd you do that for?" he asked rubbing the lump on his head as she quickly glanced back at him and then back to the table where instead of Discord, two mares sat enjoying a meal of daffodils. 'He was right there! I could have sworn...it was him.' she thought as she looked back to Spike. "Did you see him?" she asked quickly. "See who?" Spike grunted, climbing back onto his ride. "You didn't see anypony sitting at that table besides those two mares?" she asked motioning toward where she thought she saw the spirit of disharmony. "No. But some warning would be nice next time you decide to do that." he said grabbing a handful of her mane as he rode to prevent any more head injuries.She wrote it off as the after effects of staying up all night and testing experimental cider as they continued their walk to Pinkie's house, her ballon already inflated outside the bakery. "Hiya Twilight and Spike! You guys get a summons too?" she asked, completely unfazed by the all night and day party. "Yeah, do you mind if we hitch a ride in your ballon? I'm still a little tired from the sun celebration." she said as Pinkie hopped into the basket and beckoned them inside. "Of course I don't mind, silly!" she added cheerfully as she untied the ballast from the sides of the ballon. "We just have to wait for Applejack and then we can go!" "Don't leave without me!" they heard Applejack shout from down the street as she galloped toward the trio. "Sorry Ah'm late, them cutie mark crusaders tried ta help Mac and Ah out with our chores and, well Ah don't think Ah need ta explain any further." she said out of breath as the three ponies and one baby dragon squeezed into the basket easily meant for two ponies, max. "What about Rarity?" Spike asked hopefully, enjoying the thought of sharing a romantic ballon ride with his crush, even if it was rather cramped. "Isn't she coming?" "She had some designs to deliver in Canterlot, she said she would meet us there!" Pinkie answered to Spike's disappointment. As they rose through the clouds they saw a canary yellow and multicolored streaks pass them as they zoomed toward Canterlot, not taking a genius to figure out who they were. Twilight genuinely enjoyed being among the clouds, especially on a day when she needed to clear her head. She understood why Rainbow Dash enjoyed being up here so much of the time. She rested her forelegs on the edge of the basket as it drifted lazily on the gentle breeze toward the Equestrian capital city. The clouds they passed were like marshmallows hanging in the sky, though one in particular caught her attention. It began swirling with no tangible wind to make it move, even as the other clouds around it held their shape. It was forming something, that she was certain of but she couldn't quite make out what it was. Two long columns began forming from the top of the cloud, one appeared to be spiraled and another curved with many points. The middle of the cloud elongated before she realized the impossible shape the cloud was morphing into. It was Discord! The cloud became his face as another column of water vapor rose from below and formed his lions paw, lightning arcing from his fingertips! She gasped as she tried to take a step back, but in the crowded basket she ended up knocking Spike over the edge, only saving himself by grabbing onto the rope hanging from where the ballast had been tied. "Pullmeuppullmeuppullmeup!" Spike said hanging on for dear life by one claw. "Oh my gosh Spike!" she said quickly levitating him back onto her back. "I'm sorry...I thought...I saw..." she began, but really had no idea how to explain what she had seen. It didn't make logical sense! Clouds don't just form shapes of things like that! She didn't know what to think as Spike hopped off her back and onto Applejacks. "Thanks Twilight...but I think I'd rather be over here for a while. At least till we get on the ground." he said not wanting to hurt his friends feelings, but wanting a lot more to not fall to his death. "You feelin' okay sugarcube?" Applejack asked also concerned for their normally calm friends outburst. "Yeah...I'm fine I just...thought I saw a thunderstorm." she lied as they approached Canterlot castle. She certainly didn't enjoy lying to her friends, but what was she supposed to tell them? That she had seen Discord twice today, even though he was still sealed in stone where they left him a year ago? 'What's going on with me?' she asked herself as the ballon touched down softly on the palace grounds as they disembarked. Twilight loved spending time at the palace. Something about the general ambiance of the precisely manicured lawns and the expertly trimmed gardens brought her a sense of inner peace she seemed to be only able to attain within it's grounds. Spike hopped on her back as they took a stroll around the castle to the front entrance where Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were waiting. The pegasus' were facing them and greeted them all by name as they approached, but Rarity kept her head turned away, the only thing visible being her perfectly curled violet hair. Twilight walked to her alabaster friend to greet her, and to ask if her delivery had gone smoothly. "Hey Rarity, how was the delivery?" The fashionista turned her head to face her, but instead of the face Twilight expected, she saw the unmistakeable face of Discord! She reared back on her hind legs and shrieked, taking a few steps back and charging a magic spell to cast against the Spirit of disharmony by reflex alone. Her reaction to Rarity startled the rest of of her friends and Spike, who had been thrown to the ground yet again. "Twilight! What is the matter with you?" Applejack asked pulling her back by her tail as she cast a quick glance at her, before seeing a scared Rarity with her forelegs over her head in fear. She had just seen it again! What did this mean? She knew she couldn't go on like this, she had to tell her friends what she was seeing. "I..." she began, but couldn't think of a way of phrasing what she was witnessing without sounding like a lunatic. She took a deep breath and realized that there wasn't any sane way to say this. "I keep seeing...Discord. Since I woke up today I've seen his face three times! At first I thought it was because I was out late at the celebration and had drank too much, but now I'm not sure what it is. I mean Rarity just had Discord's face on her head instead of her own!" "Am I going crazy?" she asked as the rest of her friends stared at her with varied looks of confusion on their faces. All except for Rarity, who was quite miffed at Twilight even implying she could be mistaken for that brute Discord. "Discord? I know she may not have had time to prep this morning, but she doesn't look that bad!" Rainbow Dash laughed, getting a giggle from Applejack and Spike as well. Rarity shot daggers at the rainbow maned pegasus as she got control of her laughter. "No, You ain't crazy darlin'. You're probably just tired...Big Mac said you had some a his extra hard cider. I warned him not ta go passin' that 'round before he tested it himself!" Applejack said trying to convince her friend she wasn't losing her mind, though she did find her symptoms unsettling, especially the one she just revealed to them. "Maybe you're right. I woke up with a massive headache, maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me." she reasoned with herself trying to make sense of something that looked so very real to her, that nopony else apparently saw. "I got an idea! Why don't we go to Statue Park and see Discord, so you can see that he's still there. You know, to put your mind at ease!" Pinkie suggested. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. You guys wouldn't mind?" she asked sheepishly. "Course not! 'Specially If it helps you quit scaring Rarity and hurtin' Spike." Applejack chuckled. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that her friends didn't immediately assume she was crazy and were even willing to help her through her trying time. They walked to the side of the castle and saw the various other monsters of Equestrian lore frozen in a variety of poses. The ponies weren't sure whether they all had entities trapped inside them, but they knew where to find the one that did. It was in nearly the dead center of the garden, a short hedge maze leading to his pedestal. Twilight gazed upon the god of disharmony's stone look of surprise with relief. It was the same one she had remembered from a year ago when the six of them had sealed him up, and the one she had constantly been harassed by today. "See Twi? He's not going anywhere." Spike said comfortingly from her back. She took a deep breath as she finally relaxed completely. "Yup, just as solid as we left him." Applejack said knocking on it with a hoof. "Yeah...you guys are right. I just need some more sleep after we get done meeting with the princess. What do you think she wants?" "We were hoping you could tell us..." Fluttershy said smelling the roses and observing the birds singing sweetly in the trees. "She didn't tell me either...I guess we'll find out together." she said turning her back on the statue, taking one last look at it before heading back towards the front of the castle. They checked each other's mane and tail before entering the foyer of the castle as they readied themselves to be presented to the royal court. "Now presenting, for her majesty and her court, the elements of harmony, and their dragon scribe, Spike." the pegasus guard at the entrance to the throne room announced in a booming voice that carried through the hall as the large doors to the throne room opened, allowing the six ponies to walk abreast of each other on the plush red carpet. All six of them were caught up taking in the stained glass windows and nearly sparkling white columns standing like sentries along the rather extensive walkway to the throne. Twilight was the first to look toward the royals as she had seen the interior of the palace a few times before. She saw Princess Luna sitting in her usual spot on the right of Princess Celestia, but on her throne, sitting sideways in it as he used one hand to prop up his chin while examining the talons on his eagle claw, his mismatched legs hanging lazily off the side of the throne was none other than Discord. Twilight gasped in horror at the sight of the king of chaos sitting on the ruling seat of Equestria. He noticed her slack jawed stare and addressed her. "How nice of you to join me Twilight!" he said through his almost constant mischievous smile. "It's disrespectful to keep royalty waiting you know." "D-d-d..." she stammered in disbelief. She had just seen him frozen out in the garden! How could this be possible? 'It can't be...' she thought as the rest of the ponies bowed before the throne as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "What are you doing! Don't bow! That's Discord!" she snapped, charging a holding spell and firing it at him. He simply batted her spell away with one paw as she felt her friends tackle her to the ground as she caught glimpses of the guards advancing on her. Pinkie Pie quickly ran to the Princesses throne and threw herself before it in a desperate attempt to apologize for Twilight. "Please don't lock Twilight up! She hasn't been feeling well lately!" She begged trying to save her friend from the dungeons under Canterlot. "She's been seeing things! Please don't exile her!" Discord looked down at her and smiled. "Don't worry my little pony, nothing will happen to Twilight. We must see why she is under the impression that I am Discord!" He said with false concern as he stepped from the throne and toward the still struggling Twilight as Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Spike tried to keep her under control. "Twilight Sparkle, what's gotten into you?" Discord asked walking up to her. She couldn't believe it! Her friends were holding her down! Begging for him to spare her from the dungeon as if he were the princess! 'What is going on here?' she thought. "Into me?! You! You're Discord!" she said again as her friends still held onto her tightly. The god of chaos snapped his fingers, and Twilight felt the grip her friends held on her freeze, along with everything around them, save for himself and herself. She shook free of her companion's grasp as they fell over, still as statues. "What's the matter Twilight? Don't you recognize your princess?" he said smugly as she glared at him. "You're not my princess!" she snarled, "What did you do to my friends?!" she demanded, seeing them frozen in place with looks of concern on their faces. "I simply stopped time. You know, perspective has a lot to do with why you're about to be locked away in a dungeon. From your perspective, I'm Discord, the spirit of disharmony and assassin of logic. But from theirs..." he said snapping his fingers, causing a full length mirror to appear in front of her. "I'm dear Princess Celestia!" he said in his best imitation of Twilights voice, joining her in front of the mirror, the reflection showing herself standing next to the sunlight princess. She didn't understand...how could he be able to make everypony in the palace not see the real him but her? Last time he could only make a few ponies see things for what they weren't...how could he have that effect on the entire royal court? "W-why? Why are you doing this? How did you escape?" "Please, one at a time my dear." Discord scoffed at her first question. "Why? Do I need a reason? Though I suppose if I had to put a label on it, being sealed for a thousand and one years in stone is enough to make any fellow go a little...stir crazy. But that's just a bonus really. Once creatures become self aware, they always try to rise up out of the disorder around them. You build some civilizations, cities, towns, countries to try and elevate yourselves from the other animals, but in the end, what are you really? Just lucky. You hit the evolutionary lottery and now you think you're so much better than the hydras, the dragons, the griffins and all the other filthy mortals trying to impose their rules on a lawless world." Discord continued his monologue, slowly circling the confused unicorn. "So I guess you could say my reason, if you must know, is to show you all the true nature of yourselves. You think ponies obey the laws because they want to? Ha! They do it because if they don't, they'll be punished! Deep down inside all of you, if your precious society were to collapse tomorrow, do you think everyone would join hooves and work together to rebuild? Or do you think they would fight tooth and hoof for theirs, and to hell with everypony else? Plus your dear Princess and I have a bit of a history." He said turning away from her, knocking one of the guards over for his amusement. "You're wrong Discord, ponies are inherently good! We get along because of the morals that guide us! Not because we fear punishment!" she retorted sharply. "Morals. Now there's a straw pony argument if I've ever heard one. Forgive me, but I'm going to use some...ugh...logic." he said, the word logic spilling from his mouth as if it were poisoned. "Where do you get these, morals of yours?" "We're taught them as we grow! What difference does that make?" she said growing tired of the god of chaos' games. "Stay with me Twilight. Now, you're taught them by your parents? And it's safe to assume the laws of Equestria were based on these morals yes?" "Yeah." "And who makes the laws?" "...The Princess." "That's right! And what, pray tell, gives the princess the authority to make the laws? The fact that 'she's the Princess'? That's just a title. One she bestowed upon herself I might add. Your whole system is based off the personal morals of one alicorn. Seems pretty lucky that she came to power instead of Luna, no?" "I guess...What does any of this mean?" Twilight demanded. "It means that she started your whole society with guidelines and rules, unquestioned because she was the most powerful. Now, I'm her! At least that's what everypony else believes. The inmate is running the asylum now, and in order to tear down your societies facades, I have to introduce a new set of morals...a more, natural set if you will. You see Twilight, when you suspend the rules of the game, it's no longer a game. It's just nature. Those who want to take, take. Those who want to kill, kill. Those who want give, well they don't last very long. Think of it as a grand social experiment if you must. What happens when you remove the strong stone framework protecting a castle? Will the wooden interior be strong enough to hold it together? Or will it collapse in on itself? I can tell you which my money is on." he finished, laying bare his intent to not do anything to physically destroy Equestria, but to allow conditions to exist so it could tear itself apart. Twilight tried to take in all he had revealed, but found her mouth hanging open slightly as Discord flew over and closed it for her with a talon. "Speechless? The learned Twilight Sparkle? My, my these surely are the end times aren't they?" he mused snapping his fingers and having a throne appear behind him, taking a seat and summoning a bag of popcorn with a straw sticking out of it, taking a long sip. "What makes you think we won't just seal you up like we did last time?" she asked after regaining her wits, her uncertain voice taking on a strange echo in the frozen throne room. "You really don't think I'm that stupid do you? A year is a long time to hatch the perfect prank." he said trying on Celestia's various royal jewelry in the mirror he made appear. "Besides Twilight, you're the only one who can see me. If you'll recall, everypony else just sees sweet old Princess Celestia. Try attacking me like you did a few seconds ago, and I could have you imprisoned for life! Maybe even your friends too! Guilty by association and what not." he mused, switching between many different hats of varying size and shape, not paying any attention to his prisoner. "But...why me? Why let me see you?" she asked, her inquisitive nature overtaking her confusion. "You sentient beings and your logic. Always trying to impose order and see patterns in a universe that is truly chaotic. I find it kind of cute really. Sure you may be able to build a civilization for a good few thousand years, but eventually..." he said casting a glance over to Twilight. "It all comes crashing down from whence it came. Chaos, order, then back to chaos." he smiled, "Weren't you listening?" "But to answer your question, what fun is running Equestria into the ground if no one knows you're doing it? I assure you it's been hard keeping my normally erratic nature in check, but it will all be worth it soon enough." Discord said settling on a large bonnet before removing it from his head, taking a bite out of it then tossing it away. "What if I gather the elements of harmony together again? You can't stop all six of us!" He turned to look at her with a smile, but realized she was serious. "Oh, you mean the ponies currently begging me not to throw you in a dungeon to rot for the rest of your days? The ones who think I'm the real Princess Celestia? Them? How exactly do you think you'll convince them to believe you? You don't exactly have a spotless mental health record." he said referring to her fear of tardiness, though how he had known about that she was unsure. With a snap of his fingers, he replaced another hapless guards face where his cutie mark was, and vice versa. "I...uhm..." she wasn't sure. How could she expect them to take her word for something there was proof of right before their eyes? She would have to prove to them this was Discord...but how? "Now tell me your thoughts on some of these new titles I've been thinking of while I was waiting on you." he said as a scroll and quill appeared in his hands with another snap of his fingers. "I've got 'King of Chaos', 'Lord of Lunacy', 'Bishop of Bedlam'...Ah, 'Illustrious Potentate of Insanity'! Oh I quite like that one." he said as Twilight ignored him, still in thought. "I don't know how, but they'll believe me!" she contested as he rolled up the scroll and put it in a flap of fur forming a pocket on his goat leg. "I'll figure out a way and stop you just like last time!" "Even if you could, I assure you the elements of harmony are quite useless now." he said with another snap, producing the six elements before her on a royal purple pillow. Instead of the brilliant shine each of them had every other time Twilight had seen them, this time they appeared dull and unpolished, like they had been weathered for years. "They won't work without the one who created them." Discord added. She suddenly realized she had been so wrapped up in questioning him, that she had forgotten about the real princess! "What have you done with her Discord?!" she shouted at him, the echo bouncing off the stone columns and arched ceilings eerily. "That my dear, was my greatest jest yet! I honestly thought you'd never ask!" he said grabbing the bottom of a stained glass window pane and rolling it up as if it were a curtain. With a snap of his fingers, the sun retreated and the moon hung in its place. He took a quick glance at her, then pointed a talon toward the moon, admiring his handiwork. "How's that for poetic justice hmm?" "Y-you...banished her?" she stuttered in shock. Princess Celestia was the most powerful being in Equestria! How could he have managed to defeat her? "Ha! Just be grateful I didn't send her to the sun!" he said happily, walking away from the window. "You should be happy Twilight! No more friendship reports, no more royal traditions or any of that nonsense, and no more silly visits for you to obsess over!" he added gleefully as he floated along beside her, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "This...this can't be real...it can't be happening..." she said on the verge of a breakdown. "Pfft. Real. What would you know about real? How do you know anything is real?" he asked, gasping as a twisted idea hit him, floating up next to her as she shed silent tears for Princess Celestia. "What if nothing is real? What if everything you've ever known is a lie?" he whispered into her ear as the throne room began to slowly melt around her. The columns began to drip as if they were made of wax, the colors of the tapestry and ornate stained glass running together as they slowly moved toward the floor, as did the guards and even Princess Luna. She watched in horror as her friends slowly descended into piles of goo, melding with the shades of everything else slowly reaching the amalgamation of colors pooling on the ground. "What if there's no one else out there? What if it's just been me, and you, your entire life? What if every interaction you've had, every friend you've made, every lesson you've learned, every stallion you've loved...has all been a figment of your imagination? What if in the whole entire universe...there were only two beings...you...and I?" his voice seemed to come from everywhere, Twilight no longer able to see him. Her vision blurred as she struggled to refocus it, finding herself now standing in the ruins of the palace, the magnificent vaulted ceilings and spires that once reached proudly toward the heavens now collapsed and broken shells of their former glory. An unearthly fog covered the ruins of Canterlot as she looked around frantically for something, anything to tell her this wasn't really happening. "Perhaps the real Equestria fell a thousand years ago, and your fragile mind couldn't take living in such a desolate world, so your imagination made up Canterlot, Ponyville, Equestria and everything you ever thought you knew. The few books that remained you read over and over, until your mind was so warped that you eventually conjured up five friends and a baby dragon to keep you company as you lived in a burned out tree on the edge of a town that had died eons ago. Playing and pretending amongst the rubble in your own little bubble of insanity that things weren't as bad as they truly are. Your own twisted mind trying to protect you from the harsh reality that in the real world, there is no magic. In the real world, you have no friends. In the real world, no one cares for you, and in the real world...you're the only one left." he said, his voice echoing endlessly around the ruins though he was still unseen. A mirror appeared before her and she gasped in terror as did the pony that was her reflection. She looked old and battered, her once brilliant purple mane now matted, grey and missing in places and the lines on her face told the story of many years of hardship. She recoiled in disgust and horror as she turned to run down the tattered old carpet she was sure was a bright red mere seconds ago. She dashed away from what used to be the throne room and out of the decrepit castle until she got to the edge of the cliff on which the castle was perched. The elegant waterfalls flowing from the palace having long since dried up, the bushes and gardens all dead or overgrown, the statues having been weathered to unrecognizable monoliths as vines clung haphazardly to their frames. She could see almost the rest of the kingdom, or at least what remained of it. The tall buildings comprising Manehattan still stood, though chunks of them were missing as smoke rose from the horizon, some of the buildings even appeared to be floating in mid air; Discord's trademark. Her heart sank as she looked to Ponyville. The simple homes and shops turned upside down, some floating as the buildings in the distance did, and some simply burned out shells of their former selves. In all of the kingdom there wasn't a trace of another pony, and looked like there hadn't been for some time. The only life being the crows and buzzards circling silently overhead. The thing she found most disturbing about the entire experience was the lack of sound. No wind, the sound of her hoofbeats were even absent. All she could hear was the ringing in her ears, and Discord's voice when he finally addressed her. "So you see Twilight. Reality is what I make of it. You and your friends made my reality a living hell. And now I've simply returned the favor! Karma truly is a barrel of laughs isn't it?" his voice echoed through the barren landscape as his red eyes and face appeared on the moon. She took a few steps back from the face of the cliff when she felt cold stone bump against her flanks. She turned to see what she had hit, and would regret she had. Six tombstones, all worn and crooked sticking up at shallow angles out of the ground, bearing the faces of those who lay below carved into each, an expression of anguish across them all. She read them one by one. Fluttershy Applejack Rainbow Dash Pinkie Pie Rarity Spike All that was written underneath them were the words: Left to die by Twilight Sparkle More began rising out of the ground behind them, having more names of those she knew scrawled on them. Big MacIntosh, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Princess Luna...The headstones continued to fill the land in front of her as tears of fear and sadness mixed in her eyes and down her cheeks. Each marker still baring the same phrase: Left to die by Twilight Sparkle She backed up to the edge of the cliff, feeling her hind hoof slip against it as she turned around to face the sheer drop. "Looks like there is only one way out now isn't there?" he said as he watched her forelegs shake a few pebbles loose, sending them plummeting to the fog below. She felt her legs become almost limp as she stood at the precipice, petrified in fear. What choice did she have? This twisted new world made her question everything she had ever thought to be real. She was in the palace a scant few minutes ago, now she was in a post apocalyptic wasteland with only herself...and Discord. Had it always been like this? What if he was right? What if he was just her imagination? What if she was just his? Was she finally starting to crack? Or had she already, and was only now coming out of her delusional state? She took a step away from the ledge, unsure of what to do. "Oh, you're no fun. I guess if you want something done right..." he said appearing behind her as she bumped her flank into him. "You see Twilight, madness is like a boulder sitting on the edge of a hill. You don't need the strength to lift the boulder to set it in motion, sometimes all it needs...is a little push." he whispered, that same grin he had always held still present on his face. With a quick shove, she found herself plummeting to her death, her heart racing as she anticipated a sudden stop against the rocks she knew were waiting for her. A bright flash lit her vision as she screamed, bolting upright and looking around her. She was back in the library, Big Macintosh's blanket still wrapped around her. "Gah! Twilight what's the matter!?" Spike shouted clutching his chest having jumped out of bed after her screaming awakening. She looked at her number one assistant with worry in his eyes, she was still gasping for breath and her pillow was soaked in sweat, or tears; she wasn't sure which. Her eyes shifted around the room, the sunlight shining in through the window that always woke her if she tried to sleep in late as it cast itself over the shelves and perfectly aligned spines of her books. Was this real? What if it was just another one of Discord's tricks? She had to know for sure, but how? "Spike, what was the last thing you remember doing?" she asked as she finally caught her breath. "I remember having apple cider at the Sun celebration...and then I woke up here with you screaming bloody murder!" Twilight took a deep breath and continued her inquisition. "So you haven't received any letter's from Princess Celestia?" "No. Why?" Spike answered, genuinely wondering why she would be asking him a seemingly random series of questions. "No reason." she sighed, flopping back onto her pillow, forgetting it was rather wet. She grimaced having laid her mane in moist fabric, but dismissed those concerns as she thought back on what had to have been a dream. 'It felt so real. Was it just a nightmare?' No dream in her recent memory had ever felt that real. The sense of dread and hopelessness she had experienced still clung to the back of her mind even as she lay in her bed, fairly certain that this was reality. She heard Spike's footsteps on the hardwood floor as he headed down to make breakfast, jarring her from her thoughts. Her stomach grumbled loudly as she looked down at it between her forelegs. 'Well, no use trying to decipher horrific nightmares on an empty stomach.' Discord fans, accept my deepest apologies for making you get through the shipping before a story entitled Discord's Reign had anything to actually do with Discord. For those of you keeping score at home that is two chapters named after late 70's rock songs. If you would still like to toss your spoiled vegetables at me, my hours in the Ponyville stocks are from 3-6pm.