//------------------------------// // Night in the City // Story: The Diary of Discord Wimp // by ThePianoMan //------------------------------// “From there to here, and here to there…” -Ted Discord questioned himself again and again as the buckball field grew smaller and smaller as Rainbow flew him up past the clouds. “I don’t know about this!” “Ah come on, Discord.” Rainbow slowed her ascent as a flock of birds flew over them. “Sometimes you just gotta jump in the water! Don’t worry. I’ll be with you the whole time.” Discord snapped a pair of aviator goggles into existence around his face. “Alright. Let’s get this over with.” Rainbow shook Discord. “You’re not gonna learn to fly with that attitude, buster. We’ll start when you’re ready.” Discord took deeper breaths to compensate for the thinner air. “Okay! Ready!” Rainbow let go and Discord entered into a dive. Concentrating, he slowly spread his wings out and away from his body. He could feel what Rainbow had described to him earlier, the drag. Feeling out the forces working against him, he experimented with his wings and their position. Discord remembered that he had to slowly curve into a glide. Feeling the rushing air catch on his wings, he manipulated them until he was falling at a forty five degree angle. From there, he managed to level out. “I’m doing it... I’m gliding!” Once Discord was comfortable with gliding he experimented with direction change. He banked to the left and then to the right. “This is awesome!” “I knew you could do it.” Rainbow flew up alongside Discord. “Maybe one day you’ll be as good a flyer as me.” “Very funny, Rainbow.” Discord continued into a circle above the buckball field. Rainbow flew just ahead, in front of Discord. “Alright, now you need to gain some altitude. Use your wings to push yourself higher.” Discord nodded. He worked past the drag to flap his wings, but the moment he did this, he quickly realized he was in trouble. “Uh-oh.” He was no longer gliding; he was falling. “Rainbow!” He was closing in on the ground. “No. No!” Discord did the only thing he could think of. He snapped his paw as he came within feet of the ground, disappearing. Rainbow dived down and slid into a landing. “Discord!” “He’s dead!” Spike screamed. “By the sisters, you killed him, Dash!” “Woah! Woah!” Rainbow marched up to Spike. “I killed him? What do you mean, I killed him?” Twilight slammed her notebook shut. “Relax! He just teleported. Give him a second.” Sure enough, Discord reappeared on the buckball field. He was shivering, and his horn and antler had icicles hanging from them. His teeth were chattering. “C-c-cold…” Spike raced up to Discord. “Dude! Where did you go?” Discord rubbed the warmth back into his own shoulders. “S-s-someplace, c-cold.” Twilight lit up her horn and engulfed Discord with her magic. “Good thing I learned this warming spell. Though, I thought I would have to use the fire extinguishing spell first. Spike, can you grab-. Spike? Spike!” Rainbow laughed. “He’s long gone.” “Huh, what?” Spike broke his gaze from the direction his eyes had been pinned to. “Sorry, I got a little distracted.” “The towel, Spike. Give it to Discord.” Twilight eyed the folded towel sitting on the bleachers. Spike smiled, nervously. “Right.” He grabbed the towel and tossed it up to Discord. Twilight looked off in the distance. “What were you looking at?” She found it. “Oh, brother.” Twilight rolled her eyes at the group of fillies passing by the buckball field, particularly the white and purple one. “Boys,” Twilight muttered. Rainbow started to laugh at Spike. “Try to keep your tongue in your mouth, loverboy.” “Dash!” Spike tightened his claws into fists. “Stay out of it.” Discord wrapped the towel around his body and sighed at the added warmth it provided. “You still haven’t talked to Rarity?” He snapped his paw into the head of a chicken puppet. “Are ya chicken? Bah-gawk!” “Ooh!” Rainbow teased as she waved a hoof in the air. “You gonna let that draconequus step all over you like that?” Spike crossed his arms. “At least I don’t draw pictures of my crush on my homework assignments. Unlike some people.” “Boo! Weak sauce!” Rainbow hollered. Twilight shrugged. “I have to agree with Rainbow Dash. You can do better than that, Spike.” Spike stomped his foot down. “That’s it!” Turning tail, he marched off the field, towards the group of fillies. “No way!” Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “He’s not gonna do it, is he?” Discord stared on as his friend called out to the fillies. “I think he is.” They all watched as Spike spoke with Rarity, who was smiling the whole time. It wasn’t much longer until Spike waved goodbye and came jogging back to the field. “Well?” Twilight asked. A devilish smile curled onto Spike’s face as he crossed his arms. “I have a date. Dinner, Friday night after school at Gino’s. Your move, Discord.” Rainbow smirked. Spike shook his head. “No. Don’t! Just let me have this.” Rainbow sauntered up to Spike. “How exactly do you plan to afford this date, mister moneybags?” “Doh!” Spike started beating the ground. “I’m doomed!” “Relax.” Twilight pat Spike on the shoulder. “How did you get money for all your comics?” Spike seemed about ready to claw his own face off. “I mow my lawn and beg my dad for money.” Discord pulled the towel a little tighter as he thought. “What if we mowed lawns to earn bits?” “Yeah.” Rainbow’s face lit up. “We could earn some money for ourselves and to buy stuff for the Spork Ranch. Spike, you’ve got a lawnmower. I know a guy that has a spare lawnmower. Discord could use his magic, after practicing of course. But, we need a face. We need someone who can sell our services.” Spike thought. “Someone who’s smart.” “Someone who’s not intimidating.” Discord’s gaze fell in line with Spike’s and Rainbow’s. Twilight looked at them all. “Why are you all staring at me like that?” ***** “I can’t believe you’ve never been to an actual mall before!” Rainbow was flying circles around Discord, Spike, and Twilight as they rode their bikes. Spike had hooked up an old micro trailer to his bike with a broken chair for Twilight. “Discord, have you actually been living under a rock your whole life?” “Ponyville is the first place I’ve lived in that has one.” Discord rounded the corner and stared up at the almost behemoth structure that stood before him. It was bigger than the school, standing three stories tall. The parking lot was almost bigger than his neighborhood. “Wow.” Numerous signs advertised the plethora of stores and restaurants inside. At the end of the structure was the entrance to a cinema theater. And right up front, a grand archway formed in stucco held up a neon sign. Fetlock Mall. Eventually they made it to a bike rack where they locked up their bikes before entering the mall. Discord didn’t know what to look at as three stories of activity fought for his attention. He saw it all. There were clothing stores, horse shoe stores, spas, a food court, and even an arcade. “Come on.” Rainbow rushed them all towards a particular shop. Salty’s Photos & Prints. Discord asked, “What are we going in there for?” “Business cards, duh.” Rainbow explained. “If we’re gonna have a business we gotta look like professionals.” Spike nudged Rainbow. “How exactly are we gonna afford business cards.” Rainbow flew up to the door and held it open. “I got a favor to cash in on.” The shop was lined with wood paneling and lit by an almost bluish light. These walls were adorned with posters and film strip negatives. Behind the front counter was a dirty white dragon hunched over a disassembled camera, armed with magnifying glasses, tweezers, and a screwdriver. He briefly looked up. “Photo or Print?” “Business cards.” Rainbow proudly stated. “Eh.” The dragon squinted down at the disassembled camera as he put a screw back in place. “Z! Customers!” “Yes,” Rainbow whispered, “he’s actually here on time.” Discord recognized the pony that stepped out of the back. It was the stallion that Fluttershy always ate with on the balcony, the one that always sat next to her. Discord fought off that spout of jealousy that grew inside. The stallion’s blonde mane was tied up into a rough bun. His uniform vest was covered in various pins and badges. “Ooh, yeah. There’s my favorite rainbow maned pony. Still giving me the cold shoulder?” “Can it. I’m calling in that favor you owe me.” Rainbow narrowed her gaze at the stallion. “I need business cards.” “Fourteen and Sixteen’s on the pallet,” the white dragon muttered as he wiped down a lense with a microfiber cloth. The stallion groaned. “See what a stand up personality Salty is? This job is really such a drag.” “Zeph, are you gonna make us the cards or what?” Rainbow demanded. The stallion hummed in laughter. “Dashy, you don’t have to act so tough just to hide your feelings for me. What would my sister think of her future sister-in-law acting so rude?” Rainbow gagged. “Not in a million years, Zeph. And, Fluttershy would sooner lock me away in prison than let me be subjected to you like that.” Discord’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Fluttershy? Sister?” The stallion smiled. “I’m Zephyr Breeze, Fluttershy’s brother. You can just call me Zeph.” Discord mentally slapped himself. Her brother! A part of him was rejoicing that this stallion was not at all romantically involved with Fluttershy. He’s her brother. Another part of Discord was chastising himself for imagining that Zephyr was her coltfriend. A shiver went down his spine at the thought. “So,” Zephyr wagged his eyebrows at Rainbow, “just the business cards? Or did you want something more?” Rainbow pointed at Twilight. “This pony’s face, on a card, with these words.” She slammed down a notebook page with their new lawn mowing business information. Zephyr sighed. “Alright, I’ll take her photo and have the cards ready in a few hours.” ***** After scavenging the food court for change, Discord found a pay phone to call his mother and inform her of his whereabouts. After that, he went to join Spike at the comic shop and game store. The store had just about everything Spike described to Discord. Shelves that reached the ceiling were loaded with comics, tapes, and collectibles. There were two arcade machines rigged so anyone could play for free. A record player behind the counter played music that fed into the rest of the store. As Discord entered the store, he was pleased by the greeting from the employee behind the counter, “Welcome to Faustian Comics. Is there anything you’re looking for? Brute Force? Flash Magnus?” “Do you have the latest issue of Flash Magnus?” Discord got excited as the employee almost instantly had a copy out for him. “How much?” “Only two bits.” Discord rejoiced as he pulled out three bits. He gave the employee the two cleaner bits as he took the comic. “Thank you.” “Discord!” Discord turned around to find Spike across the shop, waving him over. Making his way through the crowd, he could see ponies and dragons were hovering over a small table set up with a small map and little pewter miniatures. Getting closer, Discord could make out a griffon who had his side of the table blocked off by two binders that had been taped together. The other three who sat at the table were checking sheets and charts. There was a game of sorts going on, and every player had a set of dice. Discord had never seen dice with more than six sides before. “Discord.” Spike grabbed his arm. “They’re playing Ogres & Oubliettes, that game you said your teacher mentioned. Come on, they’ve just entered the tomb of Scorpan.” Discord blinked at that. “What does that mean?” “I don’t know, but it looks cool.” Spike pulled Discord towards a spot where they had a clear view of the game. The griffon laid out a new map and adjusted miniature furnishings. This new layout was a large open space with the players pieces at one end and a sarcophagus at the other. “Before you lays the final resting place of Scorpan. As you step into the room, the torches light themselves. You can see ahead, the stone coffin containing the remains of this tomb’s namesake. Atop the coffin, is the Sword of Destiny.” The surrounding crowd began to whisper amongst themselves. One of the players spoke, an earth pony with braces. “I move up to take the sword.” Before he could move his piece, the player next to him stopped him with her magic. “Wait.” The unicorn surveyed the map. “It could be a trap. One false move and our journey will have been for nought.” She turned to the third player. “Wizard, is there some spell you can cast to check for traps.” The dragon smirked. “I cast fireball in the middle of the floor.” Before he could be stopped, he rolled a clawful of six sided dice. The griffon cocked his eyebrows. “Aside from the scorched floor in front of you, nothing seems to have been triggered or set off.” “Hmm.” The dragon nodded as he scratched his chin. “Obviously, if there are any traps, they are beyond even my superior methods of detection.” The unicorn turned to the earth pony. “Paladin, be my guest.” “Yes your highness.” The earth pony pushed his piece forward. “Hold my ale while I fetch that sword.” Discord couldn’t take his eyes off the game as he watched every part of it. From the way the players placed their character’s fates at the mercy of a dice roll, to the way the griffon narrated the game like a stage play that unfolded at the will and choices of the characters, Discord wanted to do more than watch. He wanted to be a part of the game. He wanted to know how it all worked and how to play. ***** “Huh.” Spike eyed the business card as he and Discord walked back to their bikes. “Twilight looks very different without glasses.” Discord stuck his stack of them in his bag. “I’m just glad they look good.” He looked around the darkening, empty, parking lot. “Yikes, it’s almost night. How long was that game going for?” “Long enough that Twilight and Dash had to find us before they left.” Spike jumped at a leaf that blew across his face. “This place gets really creepy at night. Come one, I know the shortcut back to our neighborhood.” Once their bikes were unlocked, Discord and Spike went full force, pedalling as fast as their feet could push. They were racing against the setting sun as they squeezed through bushes into a canal. It hadn’t been raining, so it was dry for the most part, but the dried muck from years past still held a subtle stench. As hard as Discord and Spike tried to beat the dying of the light, night soon drowned out the light. “Uh, Discord?” Spike slowed down when he couldn’t see very far ahead. Discord freed up his paw. “On it.” He snapped two lamps into existence on their handlebars, lighting their way. “Wow. Even with lights, this canal is creepy.” Spike slowed his pedaling again when a sound caught his attention. “Wait. Is that water?” Discord perked his ears up. He could hear it too, but looking at the canal under the lamp’s light, he could see it was still dry. “There must be a drain or something somewhere.” A shadow on the wall of the canal up ahead came into view. The sound of the rushing water got louder. “Hold up.” Spike stopped by the shadow, which was now clearly an indentation that framed an iron grate. The iron grate was padlocked shut. Discord felt every hair on his body begin to stand up. “Spike I don’t like this.” Spike had stepped away from his bike, up to the iron grate. “This padlock, it’s new. It’s not a city lock either.” Discord could hear something else over the running water. “Spike. Come on. Let’s go!” “Hang on.” Spike jiggled the lock, half expecting it to be unlocked. “What are you worried about?” Looking up, Spike yelped at the matted face pressed against the grate. “Help. Help.” “Gah! Oh my-.” Spike stumbled back until he tripped over his bike. Discord peered through the dark. Adjusting his bike, he shined the lamp at the face. It was a unicorn, a stallion. His face was white with a brown patch of fur around his eye. “Sir? Are you alright?” He could tell the unicorn had some sort of suit on, unusual for sewer workers. And, he was covered in a strange green goo. “Please, hel-.” the unicorn’s eyes grew. “Oh no. He’s coming! Run!” A hoof wrapped around his throat before he could scream any longer. “Hush now.” A face appeared behind the stallion. It was the same face, brown patch and all. “You’re scaring the children.” The unicorn screamed for the last time as he was dragged into the darkness with the rushing water. Discord yanked Spike off the ground in a panic. The moment the dragon was back on his bike, they both took off down the canal with more determination than before. Spike mumbled shouts to Discord as they came closer to the bridge that carried the street leading to their neighborhood. “Did you see that? His face! It had his face!” Discord regretted looking back. Behind them was the unicorn, but it really wasn’t. “Spike, pedal faster! And, don’t look back!” The unicorn came closer and closer. He was closing the distance, and his legs didn’t even so much as twitch. Spike screamed as the unicorn appeared right in front of them. “Discord!” Discord saw the whites of the unicorn’s eyes as he snapped his claws. Only, those eyes were beginning to glow green. “Adios, creep!” The unicorn disappeared in a flash along with everything. Spike looked through the black void that surrounded him. “Where are we?” “I don’t know.” Discord swallowed his words as a massive eye opened next to them. The edges of the eye were almost indistinguishable. Discord shrugged at the sight. “I’ve seen worse.” He readied the return snap. “My house.” When the flash of white dissipated, Spike and Discord slammed their brakes, trailing a tail of smoke as they rolled up into the driveway of Discord’s home. Catching only a momentary breath, the two dashed inside. Their bikes were their last concern in that moment as they barreled down the hall into Discord’s room. After shoving the dresser in front of the door and flipping the bed frame over as cover, they awaited for what might come next A knock came at the door. Discord and Spike yelled as they hid behind the bed. “Um, Discord?” Discord slowly popped his head up. “Mom?” “Wait.” Spike yanked Discord back down. “What if it’s a trap? What if it’s him?” Discord held his breath as he stepped over the bed. “Yeah, mom?” Redheart’s voice came through, a little irritated. “Son, you left the front door wide open.” Discord loosened up. “It’s her.” He shoved the dresser away from the door so he could open the squeaking door, revealing Redheart and Donna. Spike screamed. “Look out, it’s one of them!” He launched a pillow at Donna’s face. The griffon’s face wrinkled as she growled under her breath. “Oh,” Spike sighed with relief, “it’s just you.” “Donna came over to wait for you, Spike.” Redheart looked at the dresser behind the door and the overturned bed. “Uh, do I wanna ask?” Spike brushed himself off. “About what? The giant eye or two face?” "Giant eye?" Redheart blinked in amazement before coming to a conclusion. “Discord. Did you try to teleport again?” Discord nodded. “It seemed like an emergency.” “I’ll say.” Spike muttered. “Well are you both alright?” Redheart went into nurse mode, looking both Spike and Discord up and down. “We’re fine, mom. Honest.” Discord looked down at the floor, mostly to make sure his legs were still attached. They felt like spaghetti after pedaling for his life. “I’m sorry we were out late.” “Whatever.” Donna picked her beak with a claw. “Hurry up Spike. Let’s go, I don’t want your father to be all worried. He gets hard to deal with when he’s worried about you.” Redheart reluctantly followed Donna into the hallway. Spike elbowed Discord. “You weren’t going to tell her about two face?” “No,” Discord lowered his voice, “I think we should tell the Professor.”