//------------------------------// // Lily Breeze Is Brought In For What? // Story: The NLAC Has To Deal With What?! // by Odeinoichus //------------------------------// Chapter 16 Scarlet Scribe approached Lily’s house the next day; it was early Sunday afternoon and he was feeling much better after having a rigorous back massage and meditation session with Sugarcoat. He was even willing to put up with the curiosity that was Discord and his daughter if it meant seeing Lily again. He approached the elevator and pressed the button; there were no doorbells at Discord’s house, the man and his daughter always seemed to just know when he was stopping by. Lily’s room was on the third floor, in fact, the entire third floor was dedicated to her. The elevator opened and he stepped in; depressing the number three switch he waited for the doors to close. The elevator started moving and a strange tune started playing. Scribe always felt confused whenever he rode the thing because the music wasn’t typical of an elevator - it was like something Vinyl would play: full of enough wubs to make your teeth rattle. Scribe stepped out of the elevator when it reached the third floor. Lily’s motorized wheelchair could be heard coming down the hall. Loaded with pictures of her parents and friends - not to mention - an end table, a stack of old newspapers, a desk chair missing one wheel, a large comical rubber mallet that looked like a prop from some cartoon and the head and shoulders of a gryphon carved into wood hanging above the third floor dining room; the place was decidedly a cluttered mess. Lily’s expression was full of shock. “Scribe!” Glancing down, Scribe realized he hadn’t worn his shirt again, but the one Rarity had given him. Frowning briefly, he wondered why he’d put that one back on - his morning routine had been a bit different from normal - he’d wandered out back again in the early hours to meditate and found himself unable to fully concentrate on the meditation while clothed. Then he’d had breakfast with his mother. Angel Mist had been rather surprised to see him walking around with no clothes on; he’d explained his decision to give naturism a try, just to see if he liked it. His mother, being the strict disciplinarian she was, insisted that if he was going to walk around with his manhood exposed, he needed to have it properly groomed. She promptly decided to call up her stylist to give him a trim. Scribe was utterly mortified. He’d told his mother in no uncertain terms that it was unnecessary. She vehemently insisted that it was - she would not have her son parading around naked with such a wild tuft of pubic hair. Now he found himself engaged in a private session with a hair stylist at one of the local spas. The session was designed to educate him on how to properly “manscape”. He hadn’t even known that hair stylists could, or would, offer to do that sort of thing. Back to the issue at hand: why had he put on the black shirt? Lily smiled. “You look pretty good.” Scribe sighed. “Yes, Rarity does do nice work in making complimentary articles of clothing.” “Rarity gave that to you?” Lily frowned in thought. “I didn’t think she knew you that well.” “Silver is a client of hers, she, ah… she pointed me out to her and this is the result.” It was a bald faced lie, but it would suffice for now. It was better than what he thought had happened. Lily smiled hesitantly and leaned forward in her chair. “Oh. I didn’t know that.” Scribe had spent a lot of time with her since the accident, he didn’t flinch anymore when she moved in for a hug. With a sad smile hidden from her sight he embraced Lily. “Feeling a bit better after last time?” “Much.” Lily’s expression filled with excitement. “Exams are pretty much starting next week so I finally get to go back to school!” Scribe chuckled. “That’s great.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So… I guess it’s time to spill the gossip.” Lily quirked her lips in a slight smirk and tilted her head to one side. “You think? I’m dying to know what’s been going on. How’s Di, and Silver? Is Featherweight doing a passable job at getting those shots for the paper? “Did the Sirens come back? Is Crystal Prep’s latest convert still wearing her uniform around school? Tell me, tell me, tell me!” Somehow managing to bounce in her seat with her excitement and eagerness to learn all that she could, she almost sent herself toppling out of her chair. Scribe shook his head and laughed. “Lily, you act so much like you used to. I sometimes forget that I stuck you in that thing.” Lily punched his arm. “Quit acting like this was your fault! I wasn’t paying any attention to the rules when I crossed the street.” Scribe flinched at the contact and briefly nodded. “Alright, alright! Sorry I brought that up again!” Ducking under the Griffon, he started down to Lily’s room. “Anyway, I’ll do what I can to fill you in. But honestly, I don’t know nearly half as much as I should. I only started paying attention to it a bit late in the game.” Lily smiled. “That’s ok. At least I won’t be going back completely uninformed.” Turning she shot him a glare. “Seriously though: is Featherweight better at my job than me?” Scribe laughed again and shook his head. “Relax, Lily, Di isn’t about to replace you. Featherweight is decent enough in a pinch, but nobody can match your compositional abilities when it comes to taking good pictures—except Photo Finish, but she works for the school Yearbook Committee so, yeah.” Rubbing the back of his neck he moved over to sit on Lily’s bed. Lily positioned her wheelchair next to the bed and pulled herself clear out of it so she could sit next to Scribe. Scribe’s face flushed, and he watched her nervously. “Lily, why do you always want to sit next to me?” Lily rolled her eyes. “To be friendly, of course. It never bothered you before.” She eyed him curiously. Scribe slowly nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Um, guess I’m still getting used to things.” “With me?” “Er, no…” Scribe fidgeted slightly. “Ok, so first bit of news. I have a girlfriend now.” Lily’s eyes widened in surprise and she broke into a huge grin. “Scribey, you sly dog! Finally convinced Diamond to take a chance on you?” “Hell no!” Scribe recoiled slightly. “Er, um, for one thing it would have upset Silver Spoon if she was still trying to get Diamond. For another… well, let’s just say I’ve begun to feel the stirrings of rebelliousness concerning Di and leave it at that.” Lily sighed. “Only took you two years.” “What?” Scribe turned to study Lily’s profile, but she wasn’t letting anything obvious show in her expression. Lily glanced up briefly to look him in the eye. “So, who’s the girl?” “Lemon Zest. We got together at a party on Friday and things just sort of… clicked. I’ve known her as a friend to my cousin for a long time, longer than you and the others. I guess I finally realized I had feelings for her.” Scribe smiled fondly and shook his head with a look of wonder. Lily giggled. “Most relationships tend to start out that way. Remember Lyra and Bon-Bon?” Scribe blinked. “You mean Sweetie Drops?” Lily grit her teeth tightly and shook her head. “I refuse to call her that, no matter how many times they try to make us.” Scribe shook his head confused. “Who are they?” “Sorry, I’ve been spending so much time here I think Grandpa Discord’s S.U.E. senses are starting to rub off on me.” “S.U.E?” Scribe had absolutely no idea what the acronym meant, though he could recall Screwball mentioning it. Pinkie Pie’s face appeared suddenly in Lily’s vanity. “Sudden Unexplained Exposition!” “Gah!” Scribe tumbled over backwards. This resulted in him colliding with the wall and falling sideways across the bed as he groaned in pain. Lily glanced between him and the vanity with a bemused smirk. “I thought you were used to Pinkie’s antics by now.” “Kind of.” Scribe rubbed the newly forming bump on his head as he pushed himself up onto his elbow and glared at the now empty mirror. “I don’t know what kind of magic she has that lets her do that, but I seriously wish she wouldn’t pop in places suddenly without warning. It’s bad enough that she did it at Friday’s party. I wasn’t expecting it here.” Lily giggled. “Nobody expects the Pinkish Inquisition.” Scribe groaned. “That was a terrible joke.” Lily brought her hand up to cover her mouth as she laughed openly at Scribe’s antics. Scribe couldn’t help himself and he started to chuckle along with her. Screwball walked in and glared at the mirror. “Now I have to clean this again.” Scribe stared confused. Screwball took the vanity mirror off its moorings and walked out of the room without saying anything further. “What?” “Don’t ask.” Lily shook her head and tumbled down so she was laying across from him. “What else is new?” “Nothing much - I attended a pretty decent party on Friday, but it was for Di’s plans to foil the CMC’s little club.” “What club?” Lily pulled herself closer to the edge of the bed and nudged her chair into a better position for when she wanted to get back into it. Scribe bit his bottom lip in sudden concern; he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to tell her, but since she was going to be back at school and the chances Di might get her involved. After shaking his head, he knew what he had to do. “Apparently Vice-Principal Luna and Ms. Cheerilee let them start up this little thing called the NLAC. “Basically, it’s a naturist club for the students at CHS; Di is so upset she’s been trying to expose it to the entire student body and faculty. She really hates Sweetie Belle for some reason.” Scribe sighed. “Personally, I think it’s the same reason she got me to inadvertently hurt you. Sweetie Belle is actually… pretty good-looking. Believe me, I’ve seen her.” Scribe’s cheeks burned red after that admission. Lily stared at Scribe as she absorbed the information bombshell he’d just dropped on her. Slowly, she propped herself up into a slight leaning position, and stared at him. “They actually got away with making a legitimate naturist club on campus?” Scribe nodded mutely. “And Di wants to expose it?” Lily averted her eyes and briefly fingered her snowflake shaped pendant deeply in thought. “She and Silver Spoon split up because of it. Apparently, Silver Spoon likes being a naturist. I may have also—decided to try it out…” Lily would have gotten up if she could, but she was trapped on the bed, lying across from one of her closest friends. Utterly shocked that he would even dream of admitting such a thing. “You’ve been to this club too?” “Of course he has!” Both of them glanced in shock at the bedroom door to find Diamond Tiara standing there. “Di!” Scribe nearly fell over himself as he scrambled to get to his feet. Lily stared at her former friend with a frosty gleam in her eyes. “Hello, Tiara.” Diamond Tiara strutted into the room with a honeyed smile on her lips. “Good to see you’re already inducting Lily into the club, Scribey.” “I thought you were staying at your grandmother’s house!” Scribe did his best to keep his tone even. “I was. She convinced me that mother might be able to assist us in getting proof, which is why I have this.” Diamond held up a small device in one hand. “That’s a spy camera.” “Yep!” Diamond grinned mischievously as she approached her friend. “And the both of you are going to attend the club this coming Friday.” “We’re what?” Lily pushed herself up on her hands and stared in open contempt at Diamond Tiara. “Who even let you in here?” “Now, now, Lily. I know we’ve had our differences in the past—” “You caused my paralysis because you were jealous that I was prettier than you!” Lily accused; gritting her teeth together in anger she wished she had access to Grandpa Discord’s ability to teleport people. “All I did was get Scribe here to douse you in apple cider and call you hurtful names in front of the class.” Diamond flicked her hair back and stared at the pair of them in obvious disdain. “You were the one who was foolish enough to run into oncoming traffic.” “I wasn’t thinking clearly because my feelings were hurt and I was humiliated, you cunt!” Lily erupted in rage. “Do you honestly think I’d just set aside all of that and work with you to expose some stupid naturist club?” “Be thankful that I still keep you around.” Diamond’s statement sounded as if she thought Lily should appreciate her gesture. Scribe had had enough of Diamond’s attitude and her sudden appearance. He was tired of drama and fed up with Di’s entire convoluted plot. Marching up to her, he grabbed the spy camera and flung it to the floor. Diamond’s eyes widened in shock and she stared at the now damaged equipment in total disbelief. “Scribe.” Lily stared at her friend in obvious shock. “I've put up with you for a long time now, Diamond Tiara. I’ve had enough of your bullshit!” Scribe stood his ground, moving to put himself between Lily and Diamond. “Your spiteful attitude goes against the very essence of what CHS now stands for; many have embraced naturism, but even more have chosen to embrace the message of Princess Twilight – ‘Friendship is Magic’.” Diamond grit her teeth and glared daggers at Scribe. “It seems I’ve lost you too then,” she noted coldly. “You lost me the day Lily Breeze was put in that chair. I’ve just been stupid enough to stay by your side, hoping that you could somehow give me a leg up. I’ve put up with a lot of your shit. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I accepted that this was just the way things had to be—if I wanted to make something out of life.” Scribe took a step forward, unsure what he intended to do. But suddenly, he felt a surge of protectiveness swell in his chest. “And I won’t allow you use Lily. I don’t care if I’m protecting their stupid club or not. Lily is still my friend!” Diamond rolled her eyes. “Do you seriously expect me to buy this routine?” Scribe stared at her confused. “What?” “Scribey, you’re dressed in black and confronting me. I would say something cliché about you portraying the stereotypical bad boy, but I don’t feel I have to.” Diamond smirked. “It was almost believable, Scribey, but I know you all too well.” “Diamond, you’re not making any sense…” Scribe stared at his friend wondering why the sudden personality change. He thought he’d actually been accomplishing something, but now it just seemed he’d blown up for no reason - or something was manipulating her. Discord appeared in the doorway at that moment with a brief smirk, a lone canine poking out beneath his lip. “I do declare! There is ever so much drama going on! Is everything alright, Lily my dear?” “I think so, Grandpa.” Lily looked between Diamond Tiara and Scarlet Scribe wondering if this was an ability Discord hadn’t revealed before. She could see a strange green mist surrounding Diamond, while Scribe was quite dull and very hard to make out; his shape fluctuating with a dark shadowy overlay. “Diamond, I believe your mother was calling from the front drive.” Discord smirked as he knelt down to pluck the broken spy camera off the floor. Passing it to her he was careful to hide the sudden repaired state of the formerly destroyed piece of equipment. “Of course, Mister Discord. Nice to see you again.” Diamond smiled serenely and headed out of the room for the elevator. “You two don’t forget what I was saying: next Friday you’re both going to help me expose Sweetie Belle to the entire student body. It’s what that freaky pervert wants anyway.” Diamond left without another word. Lily glanced between Scribe and her grandfather nervously. “Oh don’t worry. Nothing to be alarmed about, I assure you.” He waved his hand in front of Scribe’s face and watched as the young man collapsed. It was almost as though he was a puppet who’d suddenly lost his strings. Lily reached over and touched her necklace. “Grandpa, what are you doing?” “It’s my fault, my dear. I should have warned you. That talisman of yours contains certain abilities. They’re tied directly to your emotions. I’m afraid young Master Scribe and Diamond Tiara were being affected by it.” Discord laughed slightly and quickly put the boy back on the bed where he’d been before Diamond Tiara walked in. “This talisman was about to make Scribe blow up in front of Diamond Tiara and make him throw away his… dreams?” Lily stared down at her friend in concern. “Rest assured that it won’t happen again. I made certain of that.” Discord patted Lily’s shoulder encouragingly and turned to leave. Lily reacted instinctively and tried to reach out to stop him. “How will I be able to go to school tomorrow if this thing is tied to my emotions?” Discord waved his hand dismissively. “It’s perfectly safe. Sunset Shimmer and her friends will prevent it from affecting anyone. Now, you just enjoy your little visit.” “Diamond will expect us to help her.” Discord stroked his beard. “I’d suggest playing along with her. She’s in for quite the show-stopping surprise next Friday. It should help put an end to everything.” “Then… you know about this club?” Lily couldn’t believe the utter impossibility of this coincidence. Discord snapped his fingers and once again stood next to the bed. He laughed openly and brushed a hand through Lily’s hair. “My dear, it’s my business to know. Like I said: enjoy spending some quality time with your friend. I have a Board Meeting to attend, but I’ll be back in time for dinner. Screwball’s still here in case you need anything.” Snapping his fingers yet again, he found himself still standing next to the bed. With a sigh Discord turned around and walked out of the room. Lily fingered the pendant around her neck nervously and glanced at Scribe. Slowly he blinked his eyes and looked around. “Uh, did I doze off?” Smiling without any meaning behind it, Lily shook her head. “I think you just zoned out. So you’re a naturist now, huh? Can you tell me more about it?” Leaning forward with an attentive and eager expression, Lily tried not to think about what had just happened, and instead wanted to keep an open mind about this new issue cropping up. In the super-secret - ‘Lily must never know about this workshop’ - Screwball poured a strange glowing liquid over the vanity mirror and started to scrub it while her eyes continued to swirl in her head. “I should have seen that coming.” Discord frowned as he entered the room. “I do wish that little pink reality breaker would stop popping in and out of places. Naturally born teleportation talents are such a nuisance.” Fortunately, Lily and Scribe thought it was just the Pinkie from this world, they didn’t need to know or concern themselves with the fact that Equestria’s version of the pink party menace occasionally found herself following the rules of funny, and his pen pal’s viewing pathways across the dimensional divide. “Everything’s ok now upstairs, Daddy?” Screwball glanced over briefly at her father while she finished removing the taint of Pinkie’s magic from the mirrored surface. “It is indeed. I really should have remembered that little quirk of Snowfall’s pendant.” Discord shook his head. “Anyway, I’m off to meet with the Board, keep an eye on our young charge and her guest.” “Roger, wilco!” Screwball saluted once more and resumed her work on the mirror. Discord plucked his talisman from his lapel and dipped it in the magic solution to help recharge it. “With all this mystical stuff going on, some folks might not appreciate it. But with that statue busted in front of CHS, Starswirl’s protection spells have been weakened enough to allow a bit of magical leakage. We really should do our best to get that horse statue repaired.” “Maybe you could ask Scorpan for help?” Screwball suggested. “Perhaps I will. Anyway I’m off to that Board meeting.” Replacing his lapel pin and snapping his fingers Discord teleported away. Screwball completed her task with a final flourish of the cloth, and headed back towards the ‘totally not a secret entrance’ hidden behind the kitchen stove. She made her way to the nearest escalator, intending to return the mirror, and then help lighten the mood for Lily who was probably feeling just terrible about almost causing an incident. Spoiled Rich watched her daughter leave the elevator with a disturbing smile on her face before heading towards the car. With a concerned glance aimed at the house, she held the door open for Diamond as she hopped back in. “Hello, Mother. Mister Discord told me you wanted to see me?” She glanced up at Spoiled with a dopey looking smile. Spoiled narrowed her eyes in concern. “Did you inform Lily as to your little plan, my dear?” “Oh yes, mother. She and Scribe were both there discussing his little foray into the world of naturism.” Diamond burst into hysterical giggles; she buckled into her seat and dropped the spy camera beside her. “Everything will go swimmingly.” Spoiled was deeply concerned at the sudden attitude shift in her daughter. Diamond had been very reluctant to even approach Lily Breeze. Something told her that more had happened inside. Perhaps Discord had done something, but how? Mister Discord knew of magic, but wasn’t supposed to have access to it. “Back home, Miss?” the driver wondered as he glanced at them from the front seat. “No. Back to Mother’s house.” Spoiled smoothed her skirt slightly and examined Diamond who was gazing out of the window with that big goofy grin on her face. “Perhaps the mystery surrounding the Board of Regents is something I should be taking more interest in.” The driver started the car up and headed down the driveway. Diamond giggled again and ran her hand through her hair. “It’s going to be so much fun once I finally expose Sweetie Belle and put her back in her place!” Discord strode through the many halls of City Hall: he hadn’t enjoyed having to take direct action. Unfortunately, it was a little too soon for Scarlet Scribe to start developing a backbone. The problems of being more self-aware than most, due to his particular brand of mystical abilities, he had to keep things in order lest too much chaos be unleashed too quickly. His Equestrian counterpart was the embodiment of Disharmony. Here, in this world, it was necessary for order to be maintained. That was the true purpose of the Board of Regents. They had been a minor governing board, simply working under the great King Bullion. When his daughter had assumed the throne and Equestria first made contact with this particular dimension, it had set in motion the beginnings of a truly wondrous thing. Discord smirked and tugged at his tie. “Quite a bit of a mess these days. Equestrian Magic is beginning to desire free reign. It makes our job far more difficult. Fortunately, the pieces are all in place, and my counterpart’s little experiment will soon do what Starswirl long hoped we could accomplish for those three Sirens when he first sent them here. “And to think, all it took was a few nudges and a hint here and there. The whole naturism angle was unexpected, but it has been rather entertaining. Ha! Yes, it’s a spicy meatball!” “Will you get in here already?” The barking order from the current Mayor of Canterlot broke Discord of his inner musings. “I’ve never been a fan of puppeteers,” he grumbled under his breath. Pushing the large and ornately carved doors - decorated with centaurs and gargoyles - open, Discord strode into the shadowed circular room. “Of course, Tirek. I’m here.” He flung his arms out in a theatrical gesture, a delighted smirk spreading across his face, and a twisted gleam in his eye. “Good!” One of the cloaked persons seated around the circular table reached out and pounded a gavel onto the hard onyx surface. “I hereby call this meeting of the Canterlot Board of Regents to order.” A spotlight clicked on above the heads of each member seated around the table revealing ten seats. Four of them were absent of bodies, and the remaining six housed a collection of people dressed in long brown cloaks, which happened to hide their features. Discord rolled his eyes at the cliché and took his place at the seat behind the large dais located next to the table. “As head of the Board of Regents I cast magic missile.” One of the cloaked group snickered at the comment. “You didn’t roll first.” A lithe feminine arm rose and pointed up at Discord. The person spoke in a bored tone, but the hint of a smile could be detected, and her eyes shone green. “Do we always need to start off these meetings with frivolous nonsense?” the gavel wielder demanded in an irritated tone. Discord leaned forward, resting his chin in his hands, and smirked playfully at the assembled people. “As long as you insist on wearing those silly robes we shall start these meetings however I feel like. You look like a bunch of boring, old monks.” “Tradition-“ “Has no place in such modern times!” Shucking her robes off, the obsidian-skinned woman with the green eyes - who had spoken earlier, revealed herself. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders, long stunning shocks of green, and she leaned back basking in the feeling of adoration coming off most of the others. Smirking, a young man with brownish gray skin and a matching head of much darker brown hair was the next to remove his robes. “Well, if Chrysalis is just going to take it all off.” “Scorpan.” Chrysalis grinned at the Deputy Mayor. Folding his arms across his large barrel-chested frame, the man holding the gavel grumbled under his breath. Plucking her robe off next was a slightly younger woman compared to the others, she was obviously nervous. This was her first time officially attending one of these meetings. She didn’t know what to expect. “Well now, new blood?” Discord’s lips spread wider as he grinned down at the young woman. “I wasn’t aware any of you were recruiting.” “As Lore and her sibling fell, it stood to reason that new recruits were necessary.” Speaking in a sibilant like tone, the final member yet-to-speak, removed his robes to reveal a gray-skinned man in his late fifties with strong chiselled features and long black hair. His eyes shone with a sickly purple light. “Oh, Sombra! It’s only you.” Discord sighed as he slumped back from the others. “I thought you were still imprisoned.” “Attempting to seduce minors only has a light sentence, not one for life.” Sombra smirked darkly. “Besides, it was perfectly legal back when we first ruled this place, and it would be rather difficult to explain why I wasn’t aging to the Warden or his staff.” “I had him paroled.” Tirek at last removed his robe, revealing a dark red-skinned gentleman with black hair, graying slightly at the temples. He was impressively muscular, especially for a man in his early nineties. Discord frowned as he studied the mysterious young woman. “Who did you conscript into our secret cabal then?” “I’m surprised you don’t recognize her.” Sombra chuckled. “This is Radiant Hope.” “The very girl you were accused of seducing!” Discord glared disapprovingly at Sombra. “She’s perfectly legal now, and still quite interested.” Sombra chuckled as he swatted the rump of the full-figured form sitting next to him. “I don’t care how consensual things are! This is a T-rated adventure and you’re supposed to discuss any potential recruits with me first before you start revealing the true nature of this Equus.” Discord curled his lip in obvious disgust at Sombra. Sombra grimaced. “I know. She found out about most of it on her own. Although, she always was a clever one.” “Really?” Discord was extremely interested now judging by the expression on his face. Radiant Hope grinned briefly as she continued to fidget nervously amongst the legendary figures before her. “After graduating Crystal Prep I started to pursue an interest in the field of Psychokinesis. After witnessing all of the things Mister Sombra could do with his mind while he was in charge of the school, I felt like I needed to understand it. That led me to discovering that magic is all too real.” Sombra beamed proudly at Radiant’s words. “Did I not tell you that Crystal Prep nurtures intelligence?” “Whatever.” Discord waved his hand noncommittally. “Let’s just get the formalities out of the way. Any old business?” Scorpan frowned slightly as he leaned forward. “Local law enforcement is still on top of everything. However, there’s been some concern at this sudden crackdown on illegal substances at parties. Chief Zheria has expressed concern that the younger generation may be targeted by someone or something specific.” Discord nodded briefly. “Naturally, every generation or so has such issues and concerns. We maintain the order of the world. Assure the Chief that there is nobody out there stupid enough to target the children.” “Nothing to report on my end, aside from the usual gossip. Being in charge of the entire entertainment, fashion and media industry is extremely dull.” Chrysalis examined her nails with disinterest. Sombra chuckled. “Verily.” “Canterlot has become the epicenter of magic in the world.” Tirek paused and glanced at his triangular shaped talisman. “Aside from those items Starswirl left in the care of the ruling body.” “Yes, yes, we all know about that.” Discord flicked a speck of dust from the dais in front of him. “What’s your concern this time?” Tirek grit his teeth angrily and slammed the gavel down on the desk. “Miss Shimmer and her band performed live at some local band competition! They exposed more outsiders to the existence of magic when they channeled traces of their Equestrian counterpart’s powers!” “Great gargling gummy-bears!” Discord rubbed his hands together excitedly. “I sense an opportunity to erase memories. I relish messing with people’s minds!” Sombra rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and I only live for cryssssstals.” “Apparently, your doppelgänger was quite taken with them before he was blasted into non-existence. Or ‘off-air limbo until they have a good enough story reason to bring you back’, whichever comes first.” Discord laughed at his private joke. “You’re not taking this seriously enough!” Tirek snapped. “Sunset Shimmer and her compatriots have exposed more of the populace to magic! I warned you that we should have corralled those young ladies when the Elements touched them, but no! You insisted they wouldn’t be a problem.” Scorpan jabbed his index finger into Tirek’s larger chest. “Your attempts to control the magic are the problem, brother.” “We all know that if you tried to take the magic for your own, you would be classified as a threat by Starswirl’s monitoring spells. Meaning, somebody would have to take you down.” Discord grinned pleasantly at the thought of witnessing a battle between Sunset and Tirek. Tirek snorted and rose to his feet showing his impressive height. He glared down at Scorpan and waved his hand around in a slightly menacing gesture. “I have maintained order and discipline amongst the populace for over a thousand years! You all know the gift Starswirl presented us; each of our talismans grants us a particular ability. It slows the ageing process to the point where a century is but one year. “We have served the wishes of that old fool and his favorite queen for the past nine hundred and ninety-eight years. And now we’re supposed to trust this world’s magical order to a handful of teenagers led by a criminal refugee from a land full of rainbows and cupcakes?” “What’s wrong with cupcakes?” Discord popped one into his mouth and chewed it slowly savoring the taste. Tirek slapped his forehead and ran his hand down his face in obvious frustration. Chrysalis quirked her brow in amusement and resumed filing her nails. Scorpan sighed and leaned into his chair without bothering to intervene. He was used to confrontations between Discord and his brother. Sombra turned aside and grinned at Radiant Hope. “This should be entertaining, my sweet.” “I don’t know. When I first discovered the secrets of Equus, I didn’t expect this to be the result.” “Oh, they get like this every decade or so,” Chrysalis revealed. “Mostly when these heat waves start up. Tirek’s mood has often been swayed by his environment. It’ll blow over relatively quickly.” Radiant Hope glanced down briefly. “Is that why we’re all… naked?” Tirek glanced at the newest member in shock. “You didn’t explain to her the rules of the Board?” Sombra fidgeted slightly and brushed a hand through his hair. “I was—ah—busy re-establishing my seat of power with the School District!” “They re-hired you after you blatantly made sexual advances on a minor?” Scorpan demanded incredulously. “I may have told them I was Sombra the Twelfth, son of the late unlamented Sombra the eleventh who died in jail.” Sombra rubbed his neck with slightly flushed cheeks. “Being the new superintendent of schools is pretty important if we hope to contain the spread of Magic through MyStable accounts and the like.” “Here, here!” Discord clapped jubilantly. “Radiant, seeing as how you’re new blood, it’s important you know the rules. I’m certain Sombra informed you as to keeping magic contained, avoiding revealing to the public at large that the folks in charge are nigh immortal, mystically empowered beings from the distant past and all that jazz. However, there’s one rule that has been unwritten in the Board’s charter since its founding.” Discord grinned, plucked his fake reading glasses from his pocket and unfurled an aged parchment. “I quote: ‘the Board of Regents, Founded on this year - Five hundred and Two - during the Year of the Horse shall be governed wisely and justly by its members. “To which, when in attendance of the meetings to discuss relevant business, shall be sky clad in deference to Starswirl the Bearded, out of respect for his station as Chief Wizard of Her Royal Majesties’ Court. Signed, Queen Platinum’.” Radiant Hope stared with mouth ajar at the massive info dump she’d just been given. Sombra chuckled and leaned over to place a hand on her shoulder. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “We only agreed to it because the crusty, old bastard refused to put anything on except a robe and that ridiculous hat. Trust me. No one enjoyed seeing his wrinkly, old junk dangling about.” “Think crazy, naked Dumbledore,” Discord said with a chuckle. “Ugh.” Tirek slumped back into his seat losing most of his rage. Scorpan smiled with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Brother, as I recall you weren’t complaining when Snowfall, Lore and her Majesty were present on the Board.” Tirek blushed ever so slightly and wrapped his arms over his chest again. “Starswirl never liked to wear clothes and you just decided to play along with him out of friendship?” Radiant wondered. “I suppose that is a sound explanation.” Sombra nodded. “Then why’s Discord still wearing clothes?” “That would be the addendum in Unwritten Rule three hundred and sixty four, sub-section nineteen B.” Tirek coughed to clear his throat. “Just… look it up later. We’ve wasted enough time with all of this pointless exposition.” “Too true.” Discord waved his hand and summoned the gavel. Slamming it onto the dais he grinned broadly. “Any new business?” Everyone settled back into their seats and leaned forward on the table prepared to discuss what was new and perhaps alarming. Discord however glanced over his shoulder and shot a wink at nothing in particular – he waved one hand over his lapel pin and everything seemed to fade to black. In Equestria, Discord tossed his popcorn container away and glared. The unpopped kernels toppled everywhere in Starlight’s room. “Oh come on! It was just getting good.” Starlight blinked several times trying to make sense of what she’d just seen. “That was—” “Amazing!” Trixie flung her forelimbs out wide and she laughed. “The Great and Powerful Trixie finds these strange hairless apes quite amusing.” “How come that version of Chrysalis is in league with the villains of Equestria?” Thorax wondered. Discord shrugged. “No idea, Thorax. Technically, they aren’t the villains of Equestria. We’ve been over this multiversal theory business five times since the show began, do pay attention.” Discord sighed and glanced at the mess he’d made out of frustration. “I guess our ‘movie night’ is postponed for a little while. So…” He snapped his talons creating a world of cardboard and living toys. “Anyone up for a game of Ogres and Oubliettes?”