//------------------------------// // Meetings and Memories // Story: Reign of Chaos // by AkumaKami64 //------------------------------// Discord was hardly idle despite leaving the kingdom to its first night of chaos. He had been moseying his way through the castle, making little changes as he went. Like making the white walls any manner of color schemes: Plaid, checkered, vermicular, stripes, argyle, polka dots, stipple, etc. He wasn't really paying attention, just making sure he didn't repeat the same thing. He was still deciding on the ceiling, wanting to do something akin to viewing the night sky or the ocean depths, but more unique and original. View of the core, perhaps? The floor he was saving for later, but he did change many of the carpets into disco floors or squares of randomly flashing lights…except for the Hyaenusian rug in the throne room, of course. *CRASH!* Discord paused with idle interest as something broke through a window, sliding and tumbling down the hallway. If it had been a pony through a normal window, they would have been cut to pieces without some kind of protection. Luckily, this was his castle now and more importantly, that was his guardmare and irondrake, "Well hello, Fritzy Flight! I trust you and Venhank had a successful flight?" he asked cheerfully as the window pieced itself back together. The illusioned mare turned her helmet so it was on straight again, while the irondrake started to munch on a potted plant- the pot, not the plant. "Umm, mission accomplished, your majesty?" she answered uncertainly, giving him a salute all the same. "Excellent! You ponies should adapt to things rather well now," Discord declared with confidence. "Ummm, Sire? I really don't understand," Fritzy commented cautiously, not wanting to set the king off. "Of course you don't. Standing under things is typically not too enjoyable," Discord pointed out factually, leaning down to bop her on the nose. He stroked his chin then in thought, "Unless it's the shade. Or a waterfall." "...Or a cotton candy cloud?" Fritzy tried with a weak grin. "Nice try," Discord responded with condescending approval, "Try being original next time and I'll at least give you an A for effort." He followed through on this, making a nice red "A" appear on the side of her armor. "Sorry?" the pegasus offered, not even sure what she was apologizing for and not noticing the little grade marker on her armor. "Oh, it's fine, it's fine," Discord assured good-naturedly, before waving down the hall perpendicular to where he had been going, "Just head down that hall until you find another one with a pink lava lamp wall. Follow that one and look for an exit door. If you've hit the aquarium, you've gone too far. Do not feed the sea monkeys or the moths get jealous and go on strike again," he instructed, finishing off with a stern tone. "...I'm still getting paid, right?" Fritzy tepidly inquired after a moment. If she was going along with this madness, she at least wanted to make sure she could still pay bills. "Of course, of course. First of the month this time, fifth of the next month," Discord assured with a dismissive flick of his claws. Fritzy stood there awkwardly for another moment before giving the draconequus a small bow, "Have a good night, Your Highness," she offered before heading off, hoping his directions were accurate. He smirked as he watched the royal guard take her leave. 'With all my redecorating, she never even realized just where we are in the castle,' he mentally mused as he continued down the hallway, the room he was looking for already in sight. He wasn't surprised by the lack of guards. Really, he would have been surprised if there had been any at all. Opening the dark blue door, he was more amused and less annoyed than he should have been by the overtly night-themed bedroom, complete with a crescent shaped bed. Admittedly, he'd have to give the designer props for making that, but the buyer had no sense in originality. After all, just because Luna was an Alicorn of the Night, didn't mean she needed to over sell it. "Or did Celestia order this for Luna?" He mused absently, picking up a grey dragon plushy on the bed. It was well worn, covered with so many preservation spells that anyone using magic-based sight probably wouldn't see the doll at all. "Yes, she did," A feminine voice answered evenly. Discord smirked at that and returned the toy to the bed, "Oh? Are you finally done hiding, Princess Cadence?" he called playfully as he turned to face the Alicorn in the doorway, keeping up a mask of calm sternness. "Weren't you suppose to sneak through a secret exit and help plot some resistance against my rule and get in contact with your aunts?" the god pointed out, stroking his beard. "That was the plan, yes," Cadence answered with a scowl, "Would I have even made it out of the city?" "Sorry, Amore, but no," Discord said, suddenly shoving a spoon of strawberry ice cream into her mouth. The love princess went wide eyed, instinctively spitting the treat out. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a good resistance. Helps weed out the trouble makers, among other things," he paused as Cadence blinked and looked at her new outfit in the mirror: A camouflage jacket with some sort of oval-shaped black and white helmet, "But you are a bit too valuable in the long run." With a flash of her horn, the outfit was gone, "And of what value am I to you, Discord?" She all but demanded. "About as valuable as you were to Celestia, adoptive-familial love aside," Discord answered, before leaning to the side to stare at her flank; More exactly, her cutie mark. The Alicorn said nothing, but couldn't hide some discomfort, "...How much did Celestia tell you, really?" He asked with a small scowl. "I know about the Crystal Empire, if that's what you mean," Cadence answered in resignation. "Not entirely what I meant, but that'll do for now," Discord mused, sounding a bit disappointed as he looked off wistfully. "Is this the part where you try to convince me that Celestia and Luna were the evil ones?" Cadence questioned with a glare. "This is the part where I tell you not to worry about Armor-Boy," Discord countered with a smirk. Cadence was careful not to react to that, "The guard captain? What about him?" She asked with false confusion. "Oh, very good poker face! Did Celestia teach you or is that all natural?" Discord commented teasingly, poking her in the cheek for a moment. "No, but really, I know what you two did in the broom closets." "..." Cadence blushed at that, sighing as she realized he had her, "And why shouldn't I worry?" "Because I'm a god, Cadence," Discord responded with a warm chuckle as he motioned her to walk out the door with him. "And if you're going to be a proper goddess one day, you need to take one thing to heart: We have the luxury of being able to offer far more rather than take away, thus we can accomplish so much more with tempting offers than such simple threats," he mused as he closed Luna's door, his tail pulling a zipper around the edges and making the door part of the wall. "So, bribery over blackmail?" Cadence quipped, unimpressed. "You make it sound so nefarious," Discord returned, amused. "It's no difference than Celestia safe guarding Equestria, among other things, in exchange for ruling it. They give me loyalty or accomplish other lofty tasks, and I give them suitable rewards. In the end, everyone is better off." "Except the ones that don't follow you," Cadence countered. "No, except the ones actively working against me. A subject is a type of ally; a subservient one, but an ally all the same. And an ally is not an enemy. Well, unless it's a frenemy, but still. So, the more my allies help me, the more I will help them and I use the reverse to entice them into such an arrangement," Discord continued on, almost sounding like he was trying to teach her something. "Like, for instance, instead of fearing for Lovercolt's life, I'd rather you ponder the prospect of getting him immortality." Cadence bit her lip to stop her face from showing just how much she would truly want that, "Why would I trust you?" "Why did you confront me?" Discord challenged with a smirk. "I'm the Alicorn of Love," Cadence stated bluntly. "And the 'Tyrant Discord' Celestia told you about hardly seems like a fellow that you would sense love from, no?" Discord guessed knowingly. Cadence said nothing. He was right on all counts. Unless he could fake his emotions, even to her, he did in fact have love in him…many different shades of it too. Who they were for, she couldn't tell since they weren't anywhere nearby. What that meant, she wasn't sure, other than the obvious. Discord was not a heartless monster, that much she could not deny. "Was this really necessary?" Discord asked, dragging her out of her musing as he stood down the hall and looked down at the blasted form of Venhank, scraps of metal scattered around the irondrake's corpse. Most of it was hollow and intact, except the side of the head being blown off. "I still don't trust you," She pointed out, both as an answer and a statement. "You trusted me enough to be fully aware of your presence in the castle despite having not made any indications of such, yet you didn't trust me enough to let you come to me on your own?" Discord questioned, as if he found the notion preposterous. With a wave of his claw, Venhank was reformed and reanimated. The irondrake withered on the ground for a moment before standing up, hissing at Cadence and flying down the hall. "I...have no idea what that even means," Cadence admitted in confusion. "Oh, it means he doesn't like you. Blowing someone's skull off will do that," Discord answered idly. Cadence cringed, resisted the urge to face-hoof and sighed as she let the question go, "So what becomes of me now, King of Equestria?" she asked pointedly. "I don't know, Princess, what does happen to you?" Discord countered as he grinned down at her. Cadence stared at him intently until his words clicked, "You're not going to do anything to me," she realized in slight shock and growing suspicion, "You're going to leave me as a Princess...to help win over the opinion of the ponies?" "Yes, that does make sense, doesn't it?" Discord commented in whimsical amusement as he started to stroll forward slowly, "Having you still playing a part in the government would make things easier. An Alicorn, even you, would be a comforting and familiar anchor for the masses to latch onto as they try to work through these strange and early days of this Neo-Discordian Age. And winning over your loyalty to some degree wouldn't be too hard. All I would have to do is show you how you might go about keeping your soulmate at your side instead of passing into dust. I've already sparred Twilight Sparkle, the little sister you always wanted and one day will have, so I obviously already have some brownie points with you. Likely the whole reason we're having this talk or perhaps even the real reason why you didn't flee. Really, all it would take is tutoring you in a few perks of godhood and magic that Celestia didn't tell or know about and then prove to you that I am looking out for the ponies of Equestria to some extent. Quite likely when one of the bolder nations thinks that they can make a move on these lands now that the sisters have been dethroned. At which point you'll find the image of a monster from your aunt's warnings to be unrecognizable from the king you've come to know." He stopped, looking back at the Alicorn, who looked back with open shock as he systematically broke down how he could win her over, to an extent. And the worst part was that even after hearing him lay all of that out, leaving it for her to suspect it, she had to admit...it would probably work. "Yes, those are all very logical, sensible reasons for me to keep you involved, Mi Amore Cadenza," he agreed with himself, smirking with slasher-toothed teeth...before grinning mischievously, "But in all truth, I just like having you around. Deities are rare in terms of coming to be one, and it's always fun to help the newly ascended through their formative years as they shed their mortality more and more," he confessed cheerily. "Now, as much as I'm not a curfew type, you really should go to bed, Princess. You look exhausted." And with that he left, an immortal mare staring after him in incomprehension of what was just said to her, really. She came here, expecting to be mocked, maybe imprisoned or threatened and hoping to get some clue into what his intentions were. Instead, she got a very cryptic message of what she may or may not have to expect in the future. Once the ancient deity had left the area, Cadence let out a breath and sighed heavily, "...And I have no idea where my room is anymore, great." Meanwhile It was all over. The six mares floated in midair, with their eyes a glow. Power ran through them and each other, Harmony made manifest into a prismatic beam. The God of Chaos sat so smugly upon his throne, unwavering belief in his victory. More than one of them took great joy when he looked again and saw his wide eyed and fear engulfed stare as he saw what was happening, what was coming for him. The rainbow struck him dead on and his chimeric form began to twist and turn in terror as he became stone once more, fear and disbelief permanently etched into his face. They descended onto the green-again ground with mile wide smiles and a few smirks before they started cheering and celebrating at the sight of their town and home being normal again, even as Discord's statue fell... And crumbled into dust. "Umm, was that supposed to happen?" Applejack asked in surprise as they stood in awkward silence. "I...don't think so," Twilight answered uncertainly and uncomfortably. She never imagined the Elements killing any living creature, to be honest…not even Discord. Was the statue that delicate last time? "Did we...kill him?" Fluttershy asked nervously, the thought probably breaking her heart. "Maybe he just turned into a statue of dust this time?" Pinkie Pie suggested as she pronked forward curiously- *CRASH!* -slamming her nose into a seemingly invisible wall, "Owowowowowo!" She cried as she rubbed her nose. "What the buck?" Rainbow called, scowling as she flew over to the party-pony and reached out to a solid, flat surface. She raised an eyebrow, as did the others behind her, before she firmly knocked on it. *Creeeee*SLAM!* "No..." All at once, their home and their victory fell away. Literally, as four prop walls, one with a fifth wall for the ceiling-sky attached, fell away to reveal the Chaos Capital of the world still stood proudly before them. And right on the hill, greeting them, was the empty throne of the tyrant. "No." "No way!" Rainbow yelled in disbelief as Rarity and Fluttershy took a step back in fear and shock, Applejack's jaw dropping, unable to hide her own terror for a moment while Pinkie Pie just stared with wide eyes. "W-what is this? How is this possible?!" Twilight cried out, her world seeming to spin and evaporate around her. Cold, terrible dread crawled up her spine when she felt two different set of claws on her withers, breath in her ear and a soft whisper from what sounded like evil itself at the time, "Did you really think I'd give you a chance?" "NO!" Twilight screamed as she awoke with a cold sweat from her sleep. In a frantic moment of desperation, she looked outside her window. To her dismay, she saw enough to confirm it wasn't a nightmare. Besides being back in her old bedroom at her parent's Canterlot house, she could see pink clouds against the night sky. If that wasn't enough, the stars moved about and preformed a silent comedy montage featuring a pony, a giant iguana with a top hat and what she could only call a squirrel-bat. With a depressed sigh, she rested her head on the windowsill. This was Discord's Equestria now, and that wasn't likely to change soon. "Twilight!" her mother and brother yelled as they rushed into the room. "We heard you scream, what's wrong?!" Twilight Velvet asked as they looked around vigilantly. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" Twilight assured with her hooves raised. Seeing their calm, she let a sigh pass through her lips, "Just...a nightmare, I guess." "Oh Silly-Twily-Filly," Velvet cooed, walking over and hugging her daughter comfortingly, "Is this about what happened?" she asked sympathetically. "LSBFF, if you already told ME to stop beating myself up over not being able to stop the bucker, then you can't either," Shining reminded with a forced smile as he joined them. "You weren't the one Princess Celestia entrusted this with..." Twilight murmured into her mother's coat, swallowing down tears. "Twily...," Shining started with a sigh, glancing to his mother who nodded, "The Princess entrusted me to protect her, Canterlot and Equestria as a whole. Buck, safeguarding Equestria is in the oath all soldiers take. So, technically, I'm the bigger let down here," He pointed out. Velvet sighed at that, "Can you both stop insulting yourselves? Night Light and I are just thankful you both came out of this unharmed," She requested soulfully as she pulled Shining into a hug as well. The siblings were thankful she didn't word it as Discord's mercy, even if that was what it was in the end, "...Speaking of Dad, where is he?" Twilight asked curiously, perking her head up. Velvet rolled her eyes at that, knowing the cause, "He's got a soap-cold," She informed flatly. "...Soap-cold?" Twilight asked with a twitching brow. "Yes, every time he sneezes, a torrent of bubbles shoots out his nose. But thanks to those pamphlets, we at least know to cure it with paprika," Velvet explained, watching as her daughter processed that. Twilight groaned and rubbed her skull, "Oh...my brain is going to commit suicide, I know it." *WOO-BOOP!* Twilight's eyebrow twitched at that, "Did...did it just turn to day?" She asked in resigned dread as the sunlight poured through the window. "Almost evening, by the looks of it, but, yes," Shining Armor informed with a fake smirk. "In fairness, sunrise was too far away from now," Velvet mused wryly, "Come on, let's go have some breakfast...or supper, or...Buck it, it's been a bad day, we're all having whatever deserts we have on hoof," the mother decided, hoping to cheer her children up some as she headed down to the kitchen. They smiled for her. They didn't feel better yet, but they appreciated the gesture enough to act a little. "...You sure you're alright?" Shining asked once they were alone. "No, no I'm not," Twilight admitted with a scowl, "The Princesses won't stop until they reach the boarder. They should make it in time, but how would we get in contact with them?" "What about Spike?" the elder sibling suggested, getting a head shake. "Discord no doubt did something to him. If the spell works, it'll probably just go straight to Discord," Twilight answered in distaste. "I'd try it if I didn't think he'd pretend to be the Princess to fool me and I am not in any way prepared to emotionally handle a situation like that," she admitted. She was well aware of her own issues and flaws. Shining sighed at that, "And I'm not sure what contacts I have in the army and elsewhere haven't abandoned their posts due to....everything. I'll have to make a few letters of my own when things calm down a bit." "...What do you know about Ivory Haze?" Twilight asked with a frown. "Nothing. I mean, I've seen him plenty of times when guarding a court of law, but his name never came up to my knowledge in anything else," Shining answered honestly. "So, Discord is lying?" Twilight questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Possibly. But even if he is, what could he want with a former judicial court scribe?" Shining pointed out. "I don't know, but...with those charges, even if they are fake, Discord could have a pony killed," Twilight muttered distastefully. "Twilight, he can kill anypony if he really wanted to and make it look like an accident, why go through this pretense of a legal trial?" Shining asked, both her and himself. They both sank into an uneasy silence before both quietly deciding to drop the topic for now. "...Be careful, Shining," Twilight said after a moment, "I know you're going back out there, and to him." "You're the one stuck on community service," Shining retorted half-heartedly, getting a momentary smile from her, "Just keep your head down for now. Discord is probably going to keep you and your friends close at hoof for now, so if anypony will get an idea of what he is up to, it will probably be you six." Twilight nodded absently. The situation seemed less oppressive than it did last night, but it was still bad to her. Celestia and Luna would be out of Equestria soon. Hopefully they had some foreign allies who could aide them in this. Discord had all of Equestria under his thumb and was playing some odd mind game of letting his chaos loose while giving everypony instructions how to handle it all. And there were still two more mysteries: Why had the elements failed them? Was Discord's taint still in them despite their personalities being back? No, that didn't seem right. Discord implied that he never gave them a chance to begin with and they had a chance against his mind games. So what did Discord do? Did...did he know something about the elements they didn't? Something like a source or weakness? Not only that, but...there was something odd about his throne. Not just the horned chair but that entire setup he made after his victory. It just...didn't fit his style. It was so edgy, so serious. And they would have initially expect that from a villain like Discord and that was why it didn't make sense. His unsettling nature came from bizarre appearances and odd effects on reality, along with a wacky personality. All of which actually made it easy to forget how intimidating and powerful he was sometimes. But that throne was everything she had come to not associate with Discord. Or was that his twisted joke, making a diabolical seat of power after they had gotten used to the goofiness? She slapped her forehead to quell the rising headache; she didn't need that right now. She was going to go downstairs with her brother, enjoy stuffing herself with ice cream with her family, and forget that Discord was king for at least an hour...then decide if she was heading back to Ponyville or not, for today at least. And now she had to try and NOT let her mind be plagued with worry over her friends in said town…great.