King Discord had control over many things within his kingdom, from the richness of the soil, to the geography of the land upon which his cities sat on, and even to the very weather itself. However, about 20 years ago to be exact, King Discord decided he would release his control over the weather and the climate. In doing so, the creatures of Chaosville would band together and prepare for the changing of seasons. This would be done in various ways, for the transition to the season of spring, creatures would melt the snow and the ice and use it to water seeds and crops. For the transition to summer, crops would be tended and skies would be cleared so that the crops could grow and get plenty of sunlight. For the transition to autumn, crops would be harvested and stored for the coming winter. Finally, for the transition to winter, snow would cover the soil to prevent the cold air from drying out the rich soil.
It has been two days since the events of Wishing Game have taken place. In that time many of the royals have calmed down and King Discord has proceeded with his next plan of action for the ball. This next event would be aiding the citizens of Chaosville in the transition from autumn to winter. The princes would pair up with three partners and help out a town or village of their choosing. The event would take place over the course of three days, and the first one to do the most good in their town and/or village would be given a reward of their choice.
"Are you sure I cannot convince you to stay?" King Discord asked the young yak, Yona, as her luggage was being carried by hallow armored guards into the Yak carriage she had arrived in on the day the ball began.
Yona looked to King Discord and bowed before answering, "You're highness, Yona is very happy that she was able to spend time with everyone here in Chaosville. But now that the Yak Kingdom will be given supplies to help it recover, there is no longer a need for Yona to stay."
"I see," King Discord, in his pony form, nodded as he approached Yona. "Then before you leave, allow me to do one thing before you go."
"Of course!" Yona beamed. "I will do anything after the gracious gift you will have given to my kingdom."
King Discord placed his hoof on Yona's head, his eyes glowed with magic as he searched for something within her. After half a minute passed by, King Discord removed his hoof and gave Yona a warm smile. "I wish you a safe journey on your trip back, take care." King Discord bowed as he took his leave.
As he made his way towards the large gateway that led to his castle, the doorway bursted open as Cheese Sandwhich bolted towards Yona. "YOOOOOOOOOOOOONA!" He cried as he embraced her in a great bearhug.
"CHEEEEEEEEESE!" Yona yelled back, returning his hug with a bear hug of her own, practically crushing Cheese.
"You're not really leaving, are you?" Cheese asked with the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster, his lip slightly quivering.
"Yona must return home," Yona explained, "now that the Yak Kingdom will be able to get repaired, Yona must help out her fellow yaks." She stated before giving Cheese a saddened look. "Yona is very sad she has to leave best friend Cheese Sandwich behind."
"Oh don't you worry," Cheese dismissed, reaching into the pocket of the saddle he was wearing he pulled out a book with a symbol on it, "here, this is a magical book." Cheese said, as Yona took it, as he began to explain how it worked. "Whatever you write in the book, I can see in this book," Cheese said, pulling out another book with a different symbol on its cover," and vice versa. Here, I'll show ya." Cheese demonstrated by taking a quill in his mouth and writing something on the first page of his book."
Yona's book flashed with magical light as if to indicate she had received a new message. She opened the book to the first page where she saw the message that Cheese Sandwich had written her.
"Newth book, whom may thoust be?"
Yona giggled at Cheese's message before embracing him in another hug. "Thank you, Cheese, I'll be sure to write to you everyday."
Seeing the warm and cheerful smile on Yona's face made Cheese smile too, so long as she was happy then his job was fulfilled. And that was good enough for him.
In his throne room, King Discord looked out of his window to one of the towns he ruled over. He looked at his reflection in the glass at the his true form. He thought to himself what he wondered every time he looked at his real self in the mirror.
'What would they do if they saw me like this?'
Naturally their first reaction would be confusion, followed by horror, followed by resentment. This is how it was for all that would see who he truly was.
'We are all monsters, Discord, some of us are made into monsters by the actions and sins we've committed and some are just born to be one. But you Discord, you are unfortunate because you were destined to become one.'
The words of an old friend echoed in King Discord's mind, well not so much as a friend as he was more of an old...ally.
'Harmony brings light, peace, nourishment, and beauty to this world. But chaos, chaos only brings suffering, war, disease, and death. Your magic, no, your very existence on this world is like a weed choking the life out of a garden. You are a monster, Discord, and your appearance is only proof of that fact.'
The words of an old enemy rose to the surface of his thoughts, causing King Discord to clench his claw and paw in rage.
'A monster is a being that is pure evil, a being that will take whatever they want, do whatever they want, and rule over whatever they want. A monster is someone that has no care for the wellbeing of others, that will use and manipulate anyone and anything just for the sheer joy of it. You and me, Discord, we are not monsters. We are so much worse than any mere monster.'
The words of someone very hateful to King Discord emerged and upon remembering them, something inside of King Discord snapped when he remembered the evil laugh that that old enemy gave.
"I!" King Discord rose his arm. "AM!" He cocked his fist. "NOT!" He flung his arm and punched the wall, the whole room shook, loose dust fell from the ceiling, a small crater appeared on the wall where King Discord had stricken the wall. "A MONSTER!" He declared, breathing heavily. He removed his lion's paw from the wall, hissing in pain at the sight of the blood and bruises that were starting to form.
"Um...are you okay?" A small voice asked.
King Discord froze when he heard the voice, at first, he thought that one of his children saw him and the mere thought of that made him a nervous wreck. He slowly and hesitantly turned around to see that the source of the voice was none other than Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus looked to King Discord with a worried look, King Discord let out a sigh of relief that his true self had not been revealed.
"Oh, it's just you." He grumbled.
Fluttershy saw King Discord's injured paw and flew up to it to inspect it. "Oh you poor thing." She said in a calm and reassuring tone. "Don't move, I'll be right back with a med-kit."
As if by magic, a first-aid kit dropped from the ceiling and landed right into Fluttershy's hooves. Although Fluttershy was confused as to how a first-aid kit appeared, King Discord knew that it was the work of the castle's magic. He looked over to where he had struck the wall to see the damage he had dealt had been instantly repaired. When he looked back to Fluttershy, she had just finished putting a healing ointment on and wrapping his paw in bandages, with a pink bracelet keeping the bandages together. King Discord was surprised at how she was able to apply the first-aid both efficiently and quickly.
"There you go." Fluttershy slightly smiled at her work. "I added the bracelet as a keepsake for you to remember me."
King Discord admired the work she had done, and at a remarkable speed, his pain had faded and if anything his paw felt better than ever! "Thank you," was all he could say to show his appreciation, "Now then, I assume you want some kind of compensation for this. Name your price."
"Oh no," Fluttershy waived, "I didn't do it for a reward, I did it because you seemed in pain."
King Discord didn't believe her, but when he used his magic to see her true intentions he was surprised to see that they were all based on kindness of her heart. She wasn't doing it for a reward or for appreciation, she did it because she believed that it would help Discord. She was truly kind, and her kindness made King Discord at a loss for words.
"Are you feeling any better?" Fluttershy asked, wondering if the bandages needed any adjustments.
"It's fine." King Discord answered, pulling his paw away from Fluttershy.
"That's good, so long as you're not in pain I'm happy." She beamed.
Once more King Discord was confused by the pegasus, she had no doubt seen his anger and him striking the wall with his magic. She had seen his true form and his true self and yet she treated him with nothing but kindness. Was there something wrong with her? Did she have a mental illness that made her incapable of feeling fear? Was she blind? These questions crossed Discord's mind but when he looked into Fluttershy's mind he saw that there was nothing wrong with her, mental-wise, and there was no spell or curse on her that made her this way. Her actions were the cause of her true self, nothing more, nothing less. Which begged the question; why?
"Why are you not afraid of me?" King Discord asked.
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.
"Look at me," King Discord indicated to himself, "I'm the equivalent of an artwork done by Picasso if he was on crack. Not to mention that I have godly power and could easily snuff you out of existence with the snap of my paw." He said, holding up his paw. Only to switch to his eagle claw when he remembered that his paw was still bandaged.
"But would you?" Fluttershy asked.
King Discord was taken aback by her response, "Well...no, mainly because you haven't done anything for me to warrant your destruction."
"Then I don't have anything to worry about." Fluttershy stated. "I don't have to be afraid of you because there's nothing for me to be afraid of."
Despite her answer, King Discord was still in disbelief. "But what about my true form? Surely you must be sickened by it?"
"Oh no, I would never think that." Fluttershy said. "After all, your real form is actually quite beautiful."
Discord's cheeks turned a hint of red, he turned around to hide his embarrassment and cleared his throat. "Anyways, shouldn't you be helping Fancy Pants with the change?"
Fluttershy's eyes went wide in shock and realization. "Oh my gosh, that's right!" With that, Fluttershy flew out of the with haste.
King Discord didn't know when it had happened, but at some point he had grown...closer to Fluttershy. It wasn't until after she had left that he realized she spoke to him in the same way a friend would speak to another friend instead of how a servant would speak to a king. He couldn't lie to himself, he had taken a liking to Fluttershy and wanted to know more about her. He couldn't explain his reasons as to why but it was a feeling he had that he just could not sway. He looked to his bandages, more specifically, to the pink bracelet that she had given him as a keepsake, a smile grew across his face at the sight of it.
Choasville was home to many cities/towns/villages, however there were five main cities in Chaosville, and each city lived in its respective land/climate. The first city goes by the name of Rivenwell, the city that lived within large forests and greenery. Its population consisted mostly of deer and ponies, but it was also home to many other species and races. Rivenwell's forests were lush with beautiful and healthy vegetation along its sparkling and pristine rivers.
The second city goes by the name of Stormcrow, the city within the clouds. Stormcrow was a city built upon a floating island that consisted of buildings made of stone, steel, and some were even made of clouds. The city was responsible for a majority of the weather in Chaosville and its population consisted majorly of Pegasi and Griffons, as well as several other kinds of flying species/races.
The third city goes by the name of The City of Dale, a modern city with tall buildings, long asphalt roads occupied mostly by carriages, and markets. The city was the capital of Chaosville and sat nearest to the castle, and it was famous for having the most diverse population out of its sibling cities.
The fourth city goes by the name Erebor, the city under the lonely mountain. It was a city that comprised of buildings made of rich and rare metals and jewels and was the source of much of Chaosville's production. Its population consisted mostly of Diamond Dogs and Dragons along with the occasional earth pony or griffon. A large majority of the creatures that inhabited Erebor were workers and/or miners.
The fifth and final city goes by the name of Hobbiton, the city in the hills. Hobbiton consisted mostly of hills and farmland and was famous for having its houses built beneath and inside hills. The population of Hobbiton consisted mostly of earth ponies and Minotaurs who were farmers or workers.
Each had their own representatives which would assist the city during the changing of seasons. For Rivenwell it is Flash, for Stormcrow it is Soarin, for Dale it is Fancy Pants, for Erebor it is Cheese, and for Hobbiton it is Johnny. Sunset, however, was in charge of the planning and organizing the majority of the castle, however King Discord took over for her role after her incident.
The city of Rivenwell was famous for its lush and wonderful greenery, it was a beautiful land of buildings combined in harmony with the landscape of nature. Houses were built into the large and thick trees with paved roads connecting them to other houses. The city was alive with all kinds of creatures, a majority of them wearing clothing due to the colder temperature. It was in this town that the leaves of several trees had fallen and their branches now bare. It was in this town that Flash Sentry, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer were working on preparing the town for the winter.
This consisted of several tasks, the first and most important being the removal of water from all pipes and spigots. Mainly the pipes and spigots that were exposed to the cold air, as the water inside of them would freeze and warp the pipe system. Needless to say, the job was best suited for those with magic who could pull the water out from the pipes via levitation magic. Twilight and Starlight were doing so with one of the main pipelines that was gushing water into a large water container that would be used for storage.
"Something on your mind, Princess?" Starlight asked Twilight, gaining her attention.
"Huh?" Twilight, somewhat absent-minded, looked to Starlight. "Oh, um, no everything is fine." She answered.
Despite the different classes both Starlight and Twilight existed in, with Twilight being a Princess and Starlight being a servant, both Twilight and Starlight had a friendship that was deeper than such classes. Starlight knew Twilight well enough to notice when she had her mind on something, and at the moment she easily noticed that every so often she would steal glances at Flash Sentry.
"Twi, you keep looking at Prince Flash Sentry." Starlight pointed out, Twilight opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it upon realizing who she was talking to.
"Is it really that obvious?" She asked.
"Painfully." Starlight answered. "If you like him so much you can always ask him out." She teased, to which Twilight's cheeks turned a slight shade of red.
"I-, no!" She hissed, "It's not like that."
"Oh really?" Starlight smirked.
"Really." Twilight answered. "It's just...something happened that I haven't been able to get off of my mind."
"Do tell." Starlight said, as the last drops from the pipe emptied into the container.
"Well..." Twilight began, "it all started when he and I left the hospital. There was a crash and then all of the sudden the...what did you say it was again?" Twilight asked, the name of the creature she encountered escaped her mind.
"An Eevee." Suddenly Sunset appeared, using her magic to move the filled water container onto the large stack of other water containers. "It was a pokemon, a type of creature that isn't uncommon to find here in Chaosville."
"Right, thank you." Twilight thanked.
"No problem," Sunset smiled warmly to Twilight, her attitude changing significantly since her discharge from the hospital, "why do ask anyways?" She inquired.
"Well..." Twilight trailed off, before a realization appeared before her, "actually, Princess Sunset, you've known Flash the longest so perhaps you can best help me with this."
"With what?" Sunset asked, tilting her head.
"Has Flash seemed...strange lately?" Twilight asked.
" 'Strange', how?" Sunset asked. "I'm going to need you to be more descriptive, Princess."
"Right, sorry," Twilight apologized before continuing, "what I meant was, and this could just be my opinion, but it seemed like Flash has been rather...distant lately ever since that Eevee appeared. Which is why I was wondering if that Eevee was important to him?"
"Oh...yes." Sunset's gaze avoid Twilight's. "Let's just say that Eevee...brought up some old memories for him." Sunset answered. "I'd tell you more but I don't think it's really my place to say."
"That's quite alright." Twilight waived. "I was just curious is all, my bad." She apologized for no reason.
"Excuse me." Flash interjected, as he landed next to the three alicorns. "Sorry to intrude, but could I borrow you for one moment Twi- I mean, Princess Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight looked to Starlight for an answer and her response was shooing her to go with Flash. To which Twilight faced Flash and said, "Of course, lead the way."
"Great, follow me." Flash gave a small smile as he took off and Twilight flew with him. As the two flew, Flash flew closer to Twilight so that way he could speak to her. "Um...Princess- gah! I mean Twilight." Flash facehoofed as he was having trouble remembering to address Twilight in an informal manner (An issue similar to the author).
Twilight couldn't help but giggle at Flash stumbling, "Don't worry, you'll get there eventually."
"Sorry," Flash sheepishly grinned, "anyways, what I wanted to say was...I'm sorry."
"For what?" Twilight asked, genuinely confused as to what Flash was apologizing for.
"Well...lately we haven't had enough time to work on the Stoned Assistant, what with everything that's happened recently I'm pretty sure that the last thing you'd want to be doing is grunt work like this." Flash said.
"Actually," Twilight began, "I rather enjoy this."
"Really?" Flash exclaimed.
"Yep," Twilight nodded, "I mean, yes I do want to work on the Stone Assistant with you," She admitted, "but I know that duty and responsibility come first, which is why I don't mind something like this."
Flash smiled at that. "Oh thank Chaos, and here I thought you were upset with me."
"Why would you think that?" Twilight asked.
"Oh look, we're here." Flash quickly said, dodging the question.
The two landed in front of a wagon that was full of bags of salt and magical minerals that were designed to prevent the roads from freezing.
"I hope you don't mind, but we need to shower the roads with these salts so that way they don't have any ice when winter comes." Flash explained.
As Twilight grabbed some bags with her magic, she noticed that a large and firm hand grabbed the bag she was levitating.
"Ah, sorry." Twilight quickly apologized, releasing the bag. Upon doing so, she saw who had grabbed the same bag as her and her eyes went wide with shock. Before her stood a very large and very menacing looking male minotaur with black fur, deep red eyes, and several visible lower jaw pointy teeth. His left horn was a stub while the right one had a twist in it. He wore pants and a shirt but there were some scars that were visible on his arms and especially the three lined scar that went across his face.
"No, no," the Minotaur apologized, "the fault is mine your Highness."
Twilight didn't respond, instead she just starred at the large and menacing Minotaur with eyes as wide as dinner plates. For she knew all too well who this Minotaur was.
"You're...you're..." Twilight tried to speak but couldn't.
"Ah, Bill!" Flash greeted the Minotaur with a smile. "How've you been?"
The Minotaur gave a warm, yet scary, smile back to Flash, "Flash Sentry, always a pleasure to meet my favorite customer."
"Oh, right," Flash indicated to Twilight, "Bill, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, this is-"
"Bill the Butcher." Twilight answered.
Bill's smile faltered slightly, "I see my reputation precedes me." He joked.
"Um...Twilight, I hope you don't mind, but Bill is rather sensitive to that title." Flash requested of Twilight.
"But he's-" Twilight began to protest.
"It's perfectly alright, Flash." Bill said, "it's only natural." Bill said as he took several bags of salt and walked off to sprinkle them on the streets.
"That's-" Twilight began, only for Flash to cut him off.
"The infamous, Bill the Butcher." Flash began, "a master torturer, soldier, and executioner that served during the Great War. Until he left his position and came here to Chaosville."
"Why is he here?" Twilight asked, keeping a watchful eye on Bill.
"He could no longer bear the weight of the crimes he committed and came here to Chaosville to start a new life." Flash explained. "After all, Chaosville is the land of opportunity and second chances."
"But...he's a murderer." Twilight stated bluntly.
Flash opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by Bill, who returned after eavesdropping on their conversation. "Let me explain." Bill said, taking a knee before Twilight Sparkle. "Your Highness, I was a proud soldier of my kingdom, and when the Great War began I was called and I answered. I did what was ordered of me and never disobeyed my orders until I realized that what I was doing was wrong. I regret my decisions, they will haunt me for the rest of my days, but I left so that I could do something good. When I came to Chaosville, I was met with distrust and hatred from everyone." Bill then looked to Flash with kind eyes. "But then, Flash Sentry came to me and greeted me with kindness and compassion. He did not care of my past sins, but instead welcomed me as a new friend." Bill then pointed to a large shop that sold all kinds of meals for all kinds of creatures. "It was thanks to his kindness and friendship that I was able to open my shop and continue with my real passion, which is cooking. I've had many from all corners of Chaosville come and try a taste of my cooking, and Princess, you are more than welcomed to come and grab a bite whenever you wish, on the house" Bill grinned, before standing up and getting back to work.
Twilight stood there in awe, her mind still processing what she had just heard. She looked to Flash in order to confirm what she had just heard. "You...befriended him?" She asked.
"Well..." Flash rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a slight blush on his cheeks, "I mean...he's a good creature and it didn't seem fair to rob him of a second chance. After all, Chaosville was founded by slaves, workers, and traitors who wanted a better life. I like to think that everyone deserves a second chance, no matter what they've done."
That statement made Twilight smile, having a new-found appreciation for Flash she grabbed some bags of salt with her magic and asked Flash, "tell me more about Chaosville, I'd be more than happy to learn more."
Flash grinned ear to ear upon hearing that, finally having someone to appreciate his interest in history and stories as much as he did. Both Twilight and Flash spent the rest of the day chatting while working, unaware that they were being watched.
Within a dark and unknown room, the unicorn by the name of *Malt Cetio* watched both Twilight and Flash smiling and talking with each other. As he was watching, he was petting the Eevee that had been encountered, he knew the emotional attachment that Flash had to it as well as the memories it must've brought up. A sinister and devious grin grew across the face of *Malt Cetio* as his plan was slowly coming to fruition.