//------------------------------// // Chapter two // Story: Love for all // by Thestoryteller //------------------------------// There were two places Flash liked to spend his time, on the training grounds, where he practices his skills in self defense, and in the library where he reads books on history. Though there were times when he would feel inspired by what he read and then write something of his own. But today he was reading the itinerary for the upcoming ball which would take place in two days. As Flash was reading, he was interrupted by a metal object colliding with his head which rammed his head against the podium. "OW!" Flash groaned, rubbing the red welt that formed on the back of his head. He whipped around and his eyes fell on the culprit of his pain. It was a steel sword that is sheathed in its leather scabbard. His gaze trailed up to see his brother, Soarin, flying with a bored expression on his face and a sheathed sword by his side. "Fight me." Soarin demanded. "Not now, Soarin." Flash responded, turning back around to continue reading. Soarin flew above Flash and poked him with the tip of his scabbard. "Come on." He poke Flash again. "Come on." Every time Soarin said 'come on' he would poke Flash. "Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on." "KNOCK IT OFF!" Flash roared at Soarin. ... "Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on." Soarin continued to poke Flash. "Soarin," Flash began, grabbing Soarin's sheathed sword, "you do realize that the ball is in two days." "Uh huh." Soarin nodded. "And that father tasked us to be ready for it." "Uh huh." "...you do know that a ball is a gathering of royalty and nobles to marry others to form alliances right?" Flash asked, suspecting that Soarin thought that the ball was some kind of fight. It wouldn't be the first time. "Uh, yeah." Soarin stated matter-of-factly. "It's just...fighting helps me relax." Soarin admitted. Flash eased up on Soarin when he admitted that. "I see...well, I wouldn't say that there's much need for stress." Soarin scoffed as he landed. "Have you seen the guest list?" Soarin asked, naming off just a few names. "Prince Blueblood is gonna be there." "He better stay clear of Sunset." Flash chuckled. "Fleur Delis." Soarin added and Flash cringed. "Oh, Fancy isn't gonna be too happy to see her." "Gilda, from the Griffon empire and her mysterious brother, Vox." Soarin added. "I'm keeping you away from them." Flash said, knowing all too well that Soarin would get into a fight with them the moment they showed up. "Fair enough, fair enough." Soarin agreed. "But that's just a few names, who knows who else is gonna be here." "Lightning Dust is coming." The mention of her name sent a shiver down Soarin's spine. "...If you need me, I'll be hiding in the nearest closet." "Well on the plus side," Flash quickly added, holding the sheet with all of the guests names, "Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Rainbow Dash are gonna be there." That put a smile on Soarin's face. "Ah yeah, I can't wait to meet up with them." Soarin rubbed his hooves manically. "First thing I'm doing is challenging Dash to a race, this time I'll win for sure." Flash chuckled, remembering the times when Soarin and Rainbow Dash would race one another almost 24/7 every time see came over to visit. Every time Soarin would lose to Rainbow and, Soarin being his determined self, he would challenge her again and again. Unfortunately, Rainbow was called into duty for the Lunar Empire and had to leave to tend to battle, so it would be nice to meet up with her again. Flash continued on with the list, “It’s also interesting how many creatures are being sent. The griffons are sending two of their emissaries whereas the Yaks are only sending one. There are also some names on here that I've never heard of, some new royalty, or noble, or servants." Flash said, handing Soarin the list. "Look at this, even Twilight Sparkle herself is attending." "Sounds glittery." Soarin rolled his eyes. "There are so many creatures coming here to try and create an alliance with Chaosville." Flash paused for a moment, staring blankly at the sheet. "Why do you think Father is doing this?" Flash finally asked. Soarin tilted his head, perplexed. "Whatda mean?" He asked. "King Discord said he's doing this to stop the war." Flash turned around to face Soarin, "I don't think so, Father has never done something like this with us involved." "What?" "I mean..." Flash stumbled, trying to find the right words. "Father has always done reckless things like this, he stopped the war between the diamond dogs and the minotaurs by turning a mountain into rice. But all of those times he's never done something like that with us, his children, involved.” “What are you talking about, course he has.” Soarin pointed out, “remember how you and I were in charge of negotiations with that one country.” “This is different,” Flash stated, “Discord has never been one to stick to traditions but here is following the age old tradition of ‘alliance-by-blood’.” Soarin rubbed his chin. "Hmmmm, you're right. That is strange." "I don't think this ball is about stopping a war, I think it's about something else entirely." Flash pondered. "Oh no, I know that look." Soarin grimaced. Flash had a habit of solving mysteries, whether they be big or small he wouldn't stop until he learned the truth. This was why Flash had an interest in history, for he was obsessed with learning of the past and understanding its meaning. "When I asked him about his sudden interest in love, he talked about how love is chaos. Perhaps he's losing his power and needs us to create chaos in order to restore power. Or maybe-OW!" Flash yelped as Soarin poked the red welt on the back of his head. "None of that, I’m not in the mood for any of your conspiracy theories." Soarin stated flatly. "Look, one way or another, this ball is gonna happen. So you can either camp up in here and waste time speculating about 'what ifs' or you come with me and get your flank handed to you in sword to sword combat." "I'll take the former." Flash chose and Soarin sighed. "Very well," Soarin said, unsheathing his sword he held the handle in his teeth, "you leave me no choice." Flash watched in horror as Soarin grabbed one of the books from a nearby shelf and tossed it into the air. He took his blade and sliced the book in two, a bookmark glided to the floor as it just so happened that Flash was in the process of reading said book. Flash's left eye twitched, he kicked his sword up and grabbed the hilt with his teeth and unsheathed his sword. "You are so dead!" Flash roared through gritted teeth as he lunged at his brother. Sunset Shimmer's room had a queen sized bed in the back center of her room, sheets tucked nicely and the pillows arranged neatly. Two windows on the back wall, each visible from the side of the bed. Two nightstands stood beside the bed with scented candles lit. A dresser with a tall mirror on the far side of the room, a comfy chair beside a bookshelf on the other side of the room. Sunset shimmer was watching her reflection, pulling out dress after dress in an assembly line fashion as she compared each dress to the last. She would also try on jewelry to see what would match with what, or to see if it was too much or too little. "Hiya, Sis." Cheese Sandwich greeted. In response to his greeting, Sunset fired a bolt of magic at Cheese. Who pulled a frying pan out of his mane and used it to deflect the bolt. The bolt bounced across the walls of the rooms before it sunk into the floor. Sunset sighed in defeat and turned to face her brother. "What?" She frowned. "Well, I just so happened to hear that you're trying on several dresses for the ball but can't decide upon which one." Cheese assumed correctly. "So I've come to provide some help." Sunset opened her mouth to protest but found it to be easier if she let Cheese help her. She turned back around to the mirror and let Cheese do his work. "Isn't this more of a job for Fancy?" Sunset asked. "Fancy is busy trying to teach Johnny how to be a proper pony." Cheese said, rummaging through the several dresses in Sunset's closet. "That must be going terribly." Sunset chuckled. "For the last time." Fancy repeated, pinching his nose. "You eat the salad with the salad fork." “They're all forks!” Johnny pointed out. “Each fork is different,” Fancy began to explain, “your first fork is your salad fork, its longer so that way you can pick up lettuce, your next fork is your appetizer fork which you use for your appetizer, you third fork is your entree fork which you use for your main meal, and lastly is the dessert fork which you use, in case it wasn’t obvious, for dessert. Do you understand?” Fancy asked. Johnny looked down at his dish of salad and to the four sets of forks beside the plate. Irritated, and not losing eye contact with Fancy, Jonny scooped up all of the forks and used all four to stab into the salad and ate the pieces of lettuce with a loud chomp. Fancy facepalmed. "You said it." Cheese answered, pulling out a dress which he thought would work but after comparing it decided it didn't. "So you're taking this whole ball thing well." "But of course," Sunset grinned with pride, "it is my responsibility to be the most proper and ladylike." "Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Morningstar." Cheese muttered. "What was that?" Sunset glared. "I said, let's try this one." Cheese suggested, holding up a teal dress with a long skirt which Sunset used her magic to put it on her. She admired herself in the mirror, the teal blue complimenting her orange coat. "And...wear this." Cheese held up a gold necklace with a red ruby as it's center gem. "There ya go, just gotta fix up your hair and then everything will be all set." Cheese smiled. "Wow, thank you Cheese." Sunset thanked. "Anytime, Sis." Cheese smiled warmly as he took his leave. "Cheese, hold on." Sunset said, making Cheese come to a halt. "Yes?" Cheese asked. "I just have to know," Sunset began, "You're always smiling and so optimistic. How do you do it?" "Well, Sis, I'll tell you how." Cheese said, getting up close to Sunset he revealed his secret. "I lie to myself." He whispered. "I tell myself everyday that everything's gonna be alright, but I'm lying." Cheese admitted, placing a hoof on Sunset's shoulder. "And I don't know how much longer I can keep it up." Cheese said, still wearing his warm smile. "Have a good day, Sis." Cheese said as he exited the room. Today was the big day, the day in which Chaosville would welcome its quests for the ball. Discord looked out the window and saw the several carriages that were arriving at his doorstep. He cracked his knuckles and used his magic to transform himself into a stag. He wore a green suit, black pants, and a green cape with the Chaosville symbol on it, which was a circle with eight arrows coming out from all sides. "Showtime." Discord grinned.