//------------------------------// // Separation Issues and a Chance Encounter // Story: Free to Good Home: Talking Pony // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// Mark was given the responsibility of caring for me at his place. John was a bit apprehensive of this, as it meant filling out extra paperwork to allow for a shelter employee to adopt a pet from the shelter at which he worked. I was happy to finally be leaving the shelter and followed Mark out to his blue Toyota Corolla. As I was taken out of my cage, I heard Tin-Tin say, "You lucky bitch," just before the cage access door was closed. I smiled at him and said "Sorry, Tin-Tin." "What was that about?" asked Mark. "Tin-Tin was jealous of my getting to leave," I said. "Wait, you can understand what dogs say?" he asked incredulously. "Yeah, I can communicate with them. Where do you stay?" "Up on the north side," he said. "Takes about 20 minutes to get there. I will try to drive carefully with you in the back." He buckled me in as best he could. I tried to enjoy the drive, but having been used to being in the driver's seat for so long, I grew restless. "Can you open a window for me?" I asked. He obliged, and I felt the breeze blowing through my mane. It felt good. "Thanks," I said, smiling again. Fairly soon, we arrived at an apartment building. We took an elevator up to the eighth floor, and walked a fair piece to his apartment. "Does your lease allow pets?" I asked. "Well, not exactly," he said. "But if you behave yourself, I think it'll be okay." We reached his apartment's front door and he let me in. His girlfriend seemed excited to see me. "Wow, look at that!" Mark's girlfriend said. "Who's your lady friend, Mark?" "Her name's Sarah, and we've been living together for about a year now," he said. "Nice to meet you, Sarah, I believe you may call me Twilight," I said. At this point, trying to maintain a male human name was out of the question. I figured it would make more sense this way. "Mark has been talking about you all week! I have been wanting to meet you ever since he said you made it to the shelter!" "Well, here I am. I still need some time to recover from all the abuse I suffered over the past year, and would appreciate a bed of sorts to sleep on. I am still quite tired, and I have a nasty headache that won't go away," I said. "What kind of food do you like?" she asked. "Fruits and vegetables, no meat please, and please no dog food or cat food." "Okay, I believe we can handle that. Is there anything you would need assistance with?" "Well, bathing is a bit of an issue, as I don't have hands. So would be wiping my hindquarters clean." "Hmmm. I guess we can deal with that when the time comes," Mark said, somewhat apprehensively. It finally looked like some semblance of stability was returning to my life. I was allowed to sleep on the futon in the main room of the apartment, as Mark and Sarah slept in the one bedroom. Sarah gently placed the blanket over my body as I lay down to sleep. I hadn't been this comfortable in quite a while. A new routine of sorts had started, and I was given help on practicing wiping myself after relieving myself. I got pretty good at this, and eventually no longer needed help with this matter. Sarah and Mark would take turns bathing me -- I think Mark enjoyed this perhaps a bit more than he should have, but I didn't mind all that much, as I was being given love and affection, something I hadn't received in a long time. ---------------------------- The peace and tranquility of my life lasted only a few weeks, as Mark grew bored and didn't want to handle the responsibility of meeting my needs. Both he and Sarah had full-time jobs, so I was left alone for hours at a stretch. Mark started staying out late with his friends, and coming in around 11 every night. Sometimes, he wouldn't show up at all. Sarah reached her limit, and left. Eventually, Mark got fed up and put me into his car, and drove south out of town. He turned onto South Casino Parkway just north of Tunica and dropped me off about a mile or so away from that cluster of casinos. "Don't breathe a word of this to anybody, and DON'T go back to Memphis!" he shouted at me as he shoved me out of his car. "This is not going to sit well with your boss," I said. "He's not gonna find out. Maybe someone HERE can help you," he muttered and drove off. I stood there dumbfounded. Abandoned again. I trotted towards Fitzgerald's casino, hoping someone there might be able to help me. I didn't get all that far as I bumped into someone or something. I thought maybe I heard the sound of a leather jacket being zipped up, or maybe it was my imagination or my ears playing tricks on me. Then I heard a rather gravelly voice say something to me. "Well, well, well, if it isn't ... Twi ..." he trailed off as he looked at me. He didn't seem to recognize me all that well. I turned around to see who or what was talking to me. "Who the buck are you?" I asked bluntly. He looked like a mish-mash of various and sundry animal parts haphazardly put together. "Where the buck did you come from?" "Um..." He took a moment to regain his composure. "I am Discord!" he said proudly. "I don't get it," I said nonchalantly. "No, I am Discord!" he reiterated. "I still don't get it." "I am the God of Chaos!" he shouted. I think I was starting to annoy him. "Oh, so you're saying that you're the one who turned my bucking life upside-down?" I asked, poking him with my right fore-hoof.a few times. "Have you any idea of just what the buck I have gone through for the past year or so?" "Um...no?" he said defensively, backing away from me as I continued to poke him, telling him just how miserable he made me. "Everything I have worked for is GONE! Thanks to YOU! I have NOTHING left! My life has NO MEANING! You have bucking DESTROYED EVERYTHING I HAVE WORKED ALL MY LIFE TO ACCOMPLISH!" I continued to shout at him, poking him harder, pushing him back. He actually seemed to be afraid of me. "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?" "Um...sorry?" "Oh, so you say you're sorry," I said, sarcasm dripping from my words. "THAT"S NOT GONNA CUT IT WITH ME!" "Look, Twilight, I am really sorry I messed your life up like that. What do you want?" "Reparations, you moron. What do you think I want?" "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. "Make me whole again, dummy!" "Well, I see your horn is missing ... your cutie mark? That's gone too? When did that happen?" "Some little brat broke my horn off more than a year ago, and my cutie mark left several months after that, since I can't use magic anymore." Discord's expression was one of shock and surprise. Then a grin came across his face, shortly laughter came to him. He started rolling on the ground, laughing his head off. "Discord! You think my misfortune is something uproariously hilarious? Why do you take such great delight in the misery of others?" "I'm sorry, Twilight, but this is like a wish of mine coming true. I had wanted revenge against you, and the irony of you not being able to use magic struck me as being hysterically funny!" he said, still chuckling. "I'M NOT TWILIGHT YOU BUCKING MORON!!" I poked him hard several times as I shouted this at him as loud as I could. "Wait, you say you're not her? Who are you then?" "I was a human until I woke up in Twilight's body more than a year ago! Ever since then, my life's gone to hay! And it's YOUR BUCKING FAULT!" "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he said. "But I can help you. Here, let me restore your horn." He put his lion's paw on my forehead where my horn had broken off. Somehow or other, it grew back -- and very quickly at that. I felt magic tingling from it. "How'd you like to work for me?" He then asked. "Doing what? Being a beast of burden for you? Or is it sex you want?" "Heh. I might be tempted to take you up on the latter offer, but no, not yet. I have plans for you, and I want you to do some stuff for me. I will let you live in my lair, and your needs and desires will be catered to. Since I have already restored your horn, which normally would have taken several more years to grow back enough to let you use some magic, I believe you owe me a return favor." "Maybe so, but you're the one who bucked my life up in the first place. Restoring my horn is just a start. If you want me to work for you, you need to make it worth my while." "Let me put it like this, Twilight. I am the God of Chaos, and as easily as I restored your ability to use magic, I can take it away. I can make your previous experiences over the past year seem like paradise compared to what I could do to you. Don't take me lightly, I am far more powerful than you can imagine. So, I am making you an offer you can't refuse."