//------------------------------// // Interlude Chapter 9: Back to Normal? pt.1 // Story: Emblem of Harmony: The Blazing Sword // by icebraker //------------------------------// Mark blinked his eyes open. He looked around to the sight of a very large, brightly colored room and one he had only seen once when he was getting used to the castle years ago. He was in Celestia’s room. He stood up only to fall after losing his balance. ‘That’s right. I walk on my hooves now, not two feet.’ He then saw a large mirror and walked toward it slowly, to readjust to his hooves and make sure he looked alright. ‘I hope I didn’t mutate or something. It wouldn’t make much sense but still, why take the chance. Unless it’s hands. Hands were pretty cool.’ ‘You’re just looking for an excuse to look at yourself.’ ‘I’m not (that much of) a narcissist. Geez.’ ‘Sssuuurrre your not. Now hurry and get this over with, if somepony catches you in Celestia’s room, I think the term "being in deep shit" will become an understatement.’ ‘Give me a sec. Besides, why did I even end up in here? Did I mess the spell up?’ ‘Knowing you, I wouldn’t be surprised.’ ‘Shut up Brain.’ ‘Seriously why do you keep calling me that! You know what I am.’ ‘Cause that’s my favorite name for you other than Jackass, I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out by now.’ ‘You should have gone with Sub-C or something creative like Grim, Jester, Mensmentis or anything really.’ ‘True, but I love driving you crazy as much as you love driving me crazy.’ ‘My favorite name for you is Asshole.’ Mark looked into the mirror and he smiled now that he looked like his old self. The exception being that the clothes Lyn gave him, the ones he wore in Elibe, had morphed with his form and fit him like they were made for a pony the whole time. ‘Well that’s weird.’ ‘Your cloak did the same thing when you became human.’ ‘Yah but- Shit! My cloak! It’s all dirty and has holes in it!’ ‘Well you did kinda wear it non-stop for a month while getting attacked, what? Every couple of days? Plus you took a javelin to the shoulder.’ ‘At least it wasn’t to the knee. That would hurt like a bitch.’ Mark shed his cloak and tossed it onto his bags, he then reexamined his surroundings, a gleam in his eyes as he confirmed where he was. ‘I don’t know why the spell put me here, but I wanna snoop around.’ ‘Does the phrase, “Getting sent to the moon” mean anything to you?’ ‘Come on, when am I EVER gonna get a chance like this again?’ ‘Don’t you do it.’ ‘I’ll be quick.’ ‘If I had any appendage I would strangle you with it right now.’ ‘Oh you.’ Mark smiled as he picked up his things with his TK (Telekinesis) and put it in a pile on one side of the room. He looked around for the first place to explore. He sauntered off to the bed and looked underneath for anything of interest. ‘Lets see here.....A suitcase, a banana bag, and a plushie of Philomena...I think.’ He thought as he pulled out the aforementioned objects as well as others that weren’t as interesting. ‘Ok you looked and made a mess, lets leave!’ Mark ignored the voice in his head and picked himself up from the bed. Opening the nearby cupboards, he started browsing. ‘A cake lover’s catalogue, toothpaste, Twilight’s friendship reports, “Notes on Trolling”(whatever that is), and...oh, her diary.’ ‘Don’t you dare!’ ‘Of course not! I may be snooping around the chambers of a the sun princess, but I’m not so low as to go through her diary! Who do you take me for?’ ‘Somepony who’s probably going to die a horrible flaming death by the sun?’ ‘OOOOH! That lone bookcase looks suspicious.’ ‘Seriously?’ ‘What are the chances there’s gonna be a secret passage there.’ ‘Zero to none, now get out of here.’ Mark began to examine the books carefully and noticed that all of them had a very thin layer of dust except for two. He pulled out one of the non-dusty ones. ‘Lets see...”Fifty Shades of Hay with accompanying pictures By M.O. Lestia”? What’s this supposed to be about?’ He thought before opening to a random page and beginning to read. 15 seconds later he slammed the book closed and quickly put it back in it’s place. His face turning 49 shades of red. ‘That was...............unexpected.’ ‘WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN!’ ‘Never mention or speak of what’s been seen today. Ever.’ ‘I’m sorry, I was paying too much attention to the fire I set in your mind so I can burn those memories away... hopefully.’ ‘Lets hope that the next one is not anything like...that.’ ‘I don’t think anything could compare to that.’ ‘For the love of all that is good, don’t jinx it.’ Mark hesitated before slowly grabbing the other book. Instead of it coming out though, it tilted and Mark heard some gears turning. as the bookcase opened revealing a large refrigerator and a safe of the same size. ‘I so fucking called it.’ He thought, doing a hoof-pump. ‘It’s not a secret passage, but how did you know about the bookcase?’ ‘Because if I was a ruler, why not have a secret passage, vault, etc. in my room. That’s why.’ ‘That actually makes some sense if you needed to hide DANGEROUS SHIT FROM IDIOT PONIES!’ ‘Oh, come on. I just saved a whole realm in another world. Plus I’ve got a mare/girlfriend now, I feel like I could take on anything.....except Celestia herself... lets hurry and see whats in the fridge and then get out of here.’ Mark opened the refrigerator and was met with the sweetest sight of his life. Upon the shelves were rows and rows of sweets, cupcakes, donuts, cakes of various sizes and colors, etc. ‘WOW! Somepony has a sweet tooth.’ Mark thought with a grin as he reached for a cupcake. “Ahem. Excuse me, Mark. What do you think your doing?” Came an all too familiar and stern voice. Mark froze as all the color drained from his face and well... his everything. He turned his head slowly around to see Princess Celestia looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Do you want the honest answer or my best excuse?” He said with an extremely nervous laugh. “How about both?” Celestia said, her expression not changing one bit. “I was kinda...um...exploring.” Mark said, his eyes dilating as the sun diarch took a step closer. “And the excuse?” She asked. “That you have nopony but yourself to blame. For, in my defense, I just cast the spell that had been given to me. Had the spell been more efficient I would have not ended up in this room. Every servant, noble, and other, who know me would tell YOU that I am a very curious pony and thus, was not able to resist closely examining someplace that ponies rarely ever visit.” Mark said without thinking. Then it once again dawned on him whom he was speaking to. ‘Did you really just antagonize the pony that you were fearing less than 5 minutes ago?’ ‘I panicked!.’ ‘That explain why your backing towards the fridge?’ ‘I always have a backup plan...usually. Either way, I’m just about ready to run or use pastries to fight for my life.’ Celestia snorted as she quickly brought a hoof her hoof to her mouth. Unfortunately she was unable to contain her laughter any longer as she lost face and laughed a full hearty laugh. Mark froze in confusion. ‘............What’s happening?’ ‘I don’t know. I think.... I think she’s gone insane.’ ‘THEN RUN YOU FOOL!’ Mark quickly began sprinting towards the door, but was lifted off his hooves by a yellow-white aura. He helplessly curled up sweating beads, as Celestia set him back down in front of her. A wry smile on her face. “Mark. You don’t need to be afraid, I’m not mad at you. In fact, I find your attitude very refreshing compared to the other ponies that only see me as a princess or sometimes even a goddess. I haven’t had the luxury to laugh like that in years. Though, I am honestly a little miffed you decided to go through my things...” She said eyeing the mess by her bed and her opened sweets stash. The yellow unicorn uncurled himself as he gave the princess an incredulous look. “So I’m not in trouble?” She regally shook her head. “And you weren’t going to send me to the moon or something horrible?” She shook it again and Mark sighed in relief before taking the time to ponder. “Why did the spell take me here then?” he asked. “It’s because I wanted to talk to you in private, Mark. I was worried how you may have been affected by that world and Luna informed me of your near-death experience. If you had any worries or problems you wanted to discuss, I try to be there for all my little ponies, so please, do not be afraid to speak up.” Celestia said in a motherly tone. ‘Glad she’s not mad.’ ‘I actually don’t think I’ve ever made her truly mad at me. I guess it takes a lot to cross that line. ‘And you haven’t crossed it...yet. So don’t say or do anything else stupid.’ Mark bowed respectively, “Thank you Princess. I appreciate the concern for my well-being, but I’ve been through a lot in my life. This was just another chapter of it ‘Although a very interesting one’. Probably the only parts I really needed to worry about were when I let my emotions get the best of me.” Celestia looked at the young tactician, uncertain if he was telling the truth. Mark shifted uncomfortably under the princess’s gaze until she let out a defeated sigh. “I see then. Well, Mark, now that you are back why don’t you rest before you head back to Ponyville, I’m sure that you must be tired after what you’ve been through.” “Actually, I’ve been resting for the last few days princess.” Mark paused in thought as he looked to the window. It was nighttime and the stars were out. “I think that I’m going to see Luna instead. Don’t want her to be bored at court after all.” Mark said with a grin. Quickly using TK on the bags he placed, he picked them up and started power-walk past Celestia. ‘Hurry and act natural. Act natural.’ ‘Just get out of there before she-’ “Oh, and Mark. About the state of my room...” ‘CRA-.’ ******************************************************************************************** “-AP! OW! Red, you know I hate it when you do that!” Sperze yelled as he rubbed the offended spot. “You never leave me any choice since you and my student seem to share the same attention span. Were you paying any attention to what I just said?” Bastion replied coolly, throwing the stick he found somewhere back in the woods. Sperze scratched his head, “Of course I was! You were saying something about me going and doing something. Then you mentioned that one broom-tail.” Bastion brought his hoof to his head, hoping to quell the oncoming headache. “I take it back. Your worse than Mark. What I was saying was that I wanted you to explain what was happening to King Veloran so that he doesn’t decide to use the attacks as a casus belli to go to war with Equestria.” Sperze waved his talon nonchalantly, “He prefers ‘Kaiser’ since the royals still consider it the ‘Griffin Empire’.” The burgundy stallion let out an exasperated breath, “It’s too small to really be an empire and I don’t really care what he calls himself. Do you understand what I’m asking?” The griffin stood up and cracked his neck with a grin, “Loud and clear. Besides, I think I’ve still got enough influence to make him consider peace talks, whether or not I have to beat him till he does.” “Please don’t.” “Alright, but when I see you again I’m going to get that rematch you still owe me. Ya hear?” Bastion rolled his eyes, “I probably won’t have a choice as long as you don’t die before then.” Sperze laughed as he launched himself into the air with a powerful flap of his wings, sending dust and dirt flying as well. “I don’t think anything short of you or an army could kill me Red.” Bastion heard as he watched the large griffin fly away. Armored Bastion turned away towards the location he knew Canterlot lay. ‘Hmmm...I’ve been gone for five days now and I have much more time than I had originally thought I’d need. It’s best that I get back to Celestia with this news. Maybe I’ll even be able to see Mark’s return. I hope the princess wasn’t serious about setting the destination to her room. Knowing Mark, that’s just asking for some kind of trouble...’ ******************************************************************************************* “Mark, where are you? I swear if you surprise me like last time, I’m going to leave.” The black pegasus filly called out to the seemingly empty room that was their hideout and hang out spot. The only reason she knew her friend was there was from the poorly hidden saddlebags. “Crystal, you know that I hate getting called that.” Marked Defiance said as he popped his head (upside down) out of a nearby air duct on the ceiling. “And besides, I do have a surprise, and it’s awesome.” “How did you even get in there?” “Magic and lottsa grease.” The little unicorn said with a smile. “Just a sec, let me just wiggle around so- AAAAAGGHH!” Crystal giggled as she watched her friend slip out of the duct with unexpected speed. His coat and mane caked with a dirt and dust, with splotches of grease. Marked quickly recovered himself and ran up to his friend who in turn lifted off the ground with her wings, hovering away from the unicorn. “Nu uh. Your not getting near me covered in that.” Crystal said as pointing a hoof at the colt. “Then how are you supposed to get this.” Marked grinned, using his TK to pull 2 slips of paper out of his saddlebags. He levitated one slip to Crystal who grabbed it and started reading. As she read, her eyes widened, “Mark, this is-” “Yup. I got two tickets to Canterlot, one for me and the other for you.” Crystal looked between Mark and the ticket, “H-how did-” Mark smirked before taking a melodramatic pose and looked to the non-existent distance, “I had to pay for them with my body.” “WHAT! Why would you do that?!” Crystal yelled as she landed on her rump, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Marked mentally slapped himself several times, before frantically trying to calm his friend down, “Cr-Crystal calm down. It was a joke! Kinda. Let me explain!” Marked Defiance stopped and stared though when the pegasus mare began snickering, “ *pft* Hehe, I got you. Your too full of yourself to actually sell your body. Besides, only a weird filly molester would do something like that, and you try to stay away from those kinds of ponies.” The yellow unicorn just gave his friend a flat and unamused look as she continued snickering. “The pony who gave me these actually was dressed kinda weird, but he was alright. All I had to do was beat him at chess and he said he’d give me something good." “Seriously?” Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow. Marked smiled and nodded, “Seriously. And look at this, I got my cutie mark!” He said as he practically threw his flank into his friend's face. Crystal smirked as she shoved him aside, “That's nice, and you obviously won. But how did you get the other ticket then?” “MAGIC!” It was Crystal’s turn to give the unamused look. Smirking, the unicorn continued, “Actually, I said I’d only go if I could bring a friend who’d be able to stay with me.” “And since I’m your only friend you decided to bring me along with you. You know if he really is a crazy pony...” “Which is why I’d bring a reliable replacement and/or meat shield should things go badly.” Marked said grinning. Crystal just returned his grin, “And where I’d fly away into the distance, leaving you behind.” Marked laughed, “So...are you coming?” “I told you, I always wanted to go to Canterlot.” “And you’ve never told me why.” “The view, the clothes, some important research... I’ll leave it to your imagination. Was there anything else?” “Yup. I’m supposed to meet him at a fountain in the town square when we arrive. I don’t think he’s a bad pony, but if things do go sour I know that Gambit’s guard training is in Canterlot...somewhere...so we can find him and get his help if we need it.” Crystal watched as Marked then gave a far-off look, lost in his own thoughts. It had been almost a year since Penned Gambit had left to train as a Royal Guard. Sure they wrote to each other every few weeks, but they hadn’t actually seen him since he left. Out of the ponies that Crystal met, Gambit was her second favorite. Her expression softened as she began to help wipe the dirt off of her friend, “Even if nothing bad happens, I think that you should still visit him. I’m sure that he would appreciate it, he is your brother after all.” Marked gave Crystal a warm smile, “Thanks. It will be nice to see him again. I just hope that he hasn’t forgotten me after all this time.” Crystal rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove, “You’re an idiot, you know that. Of course he wouldn’t forget you. You’re too annoying to forget.” Marked made way to return her shove but Crystal sidestepped with her hoof out, causing unicorn to trip and fall. Without hesitation, the mare swiftly and easily pinned him to the ground giving him an alluring smirk as she moved her head closer. “And you’re too slow as well.” The colt’s cheeks took on an orange tint from blushing, as he made eye contact with the filly pinning him down. He had always known his best friend was pretty but recently something was changing. She had been occupying his thoughts more and more, and he didn’t know why. In fact, the only reasons he really considered going to Canterlot was to see his brother and because he remembered Crystal saying she wanted to go there. “Mark, did you at least get the name of that pony?” Asked Crystal, snapping Marked out of his thoughts. Marked closed his eyes in thought for a moment before replying, “Yup, he said it was Armored Bastion or something like that.” ******************************************************************************************** It was approximately 9 am as the element bearers waited on the empty field for their friend. Twilight was restless. Some time last night Spike had received a letter from Princess Celestia informing her that Mark was back and coming to Ponyville in the morning. Unfortunately, she and Spike were asleep when they received it and only read it an hour ago after they had woken up. This didn’t leave Twilight much time to prepare for his arrival. It also didn’t help that she was the cause for Mark’s disappearance as well. “What if he’s angry? Oh, he probably hates me for what happened!” Twilight said to herself as she paced a dirt line in the field. “Calm down sugarcube. Mark may act like a varmint sometimes but he’s a good pony at heart.” Applejack said, trying to reassure her friend. Rarity spoke up as well, “Applejack is right dear. I’m sure Mark may be a little irked, but I do not believe he would hold a grudge against you. By the way, where’s little Spikey-Wikey?” “Spike’s sleeping in today. And why wouldn’t he be mad, I sent him to a different world entirely!” Twilight said, her anxiety causing her mane to curl in some places. “Twi. Chill out. He’s cool by now. Probably.” Rainbow said drowsily as she lounged on a cloud. She wasn’t used to waking up this early. Twilight was about to respond but was interrupted when Pinkie ran past her and started waving frantically. “HI PRINCESS LUNA!!!” Everypony turned their heads and sure enough they saw Princess Luna’s carriage approaching. As it appeared last nightmare night, the carriage was gothic in appearance and pulled by two of her lunar guard. Unlike last nightmare night though, there were a couple of bags on a miniature trailer in the back.The carriage landed nearby the group as Luna stepped off and smiled at her friends. “Hello Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Fluttershy. It is good to see you again.” Luna said in the RCV, causing Rainbow to fall of her cloud, Fluttershy to ‘eep’ and the others to look at the princess, stunned. “Pr-Princess Luna... You don’t need to use the royal canterlot voice anymore. Remember?” Twilight said as she rubbed a hoof along her ear. The lunar princess smiled, “I know. I’m sorry for startling you all, but it was a request by Mark that I greet you that way.” At the mention of the pony’s name, Twilight and the rest looked around the princess and her carriage, but saw no sign of him. “Uh, Princess. Where is Mark? Ah don’t see hide nor tail of him.” Applejack said, as she continued looking around, as if she missed something. “He was sleeping earlier, but I had woken him as we came closer to Ponyville. He mentioned wanting to repeat something.” The girls looked each other, hoping that one them knew what the princess was talking about. Fluttershy spoke up quietly, “Um, princess, do you know what he meant? If you don’t mind me asking that is.” Recovering from her short fall Rainbow stood up and spoke, “It’s probably one of his pranks or something. Whatever it is, it better be awesome.” “Maybe we can figure it out. I mean what’s he most likely to do again?” Mark said casually next to Twilight, as he mockingly rubbed his chin in thought. Currently the tactician was ‘au naturel’ since he was a pony again, he only exception being a band he wore around his foreleg. Only Fluttershy and Pinkie seemed to notice him for now as they gasped. Though Pinkie added a large smile and wink. “Well, Luna said he was repeating something, but he’s done a lot during his stay in Ponyville.” Twilight said, too busy in thought to realize the obvious. Rarity and Applejack then noticed but were shushed when Mark put his hoof to his lips. “What left the biggest impression on you when it came to him?” Mark asked. Twilight closed her eyes, going deeper into thought. “Probably when... I have to give him a whack with a stick.” Rainbow noticed and the everypony quietly giggled when they saw Mark’s face fall flat from Twilight’s comment. ‘You’d think she’d learn the first time.’ ‘Well maybe I’m just that good.’ ‘No. You’re really not.’ Mark stepped in front of Twilight and laid on the ground as if to take a nap, “Well, be sure to tell me when he gets here, I’m sure that he has quite the story to tell. Also he really doesn’t have any ill feelings towards you. It was an accident after all.” “Ok Mark, I’ll be sure to-”, Twilight’s eyes snapped open looking at the yellow unicorn. “MARK!” she shouted before tearing up a bit and hugging him. “Hey Twi, I missed-” But the air in his lungs was forced out of him, as the rest of the mares suddenly trapped him in a group hug. “G-girls....can’t.....air!”. ******************************************************************************************* “THERE’S NO CUPCAKES!?”, Pinkie shouted in surprise. After receiving his group (death) hug, he told everypony that he wanted to tell his story in the library, where they could get comfortable and where he could set his bags down. He invited Luna to stay, however, she politely excused herself, saying that she had other royal duties to take care of. When Mark’s story began it started off ok, but about a quarter of the way through he had to tell them (especially Twilight), to save their questions until after he was done. When he finished, the first question asked was from Pinkie Pie, who wondered about the sweets in Elibe. One thing led to another until Mark let it slip that Elibe probably didn’t have cupcakes. “Sorry Pinkie, I didn’t see any indication that cupcakes existed in that world.” “What was it like being a human?” Asked Twilight, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she levitated a quill and notepad nearby. Mark could tell that there were numerous thoughts going through her head right now. “Well it-” “What specifically did you look like? Was it difficult adjusting to new muscles or anything? Do you think you could give me comparisons between them and ponies?” Twilight interrupted before Mark could answer. “If you wait a sec I-” “Were there really horses and horse-pegasi?” Fluttershy asked, surprising Mark that she had actually spoke up. “Yes, but-” Rainbow flew up to Mark’s face, “Did you really fight bandits and other bad guys?”, she asked in a awestruck tone. Mark opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it as Twilight asked another question that he didn’t really pay attention to. “Uhh, girls ah think yah might be overwhelming Mark.” Applejack said, though only Fluttershy seemed to back off, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. ‘At least Applejack underst-’ Suddenly, Mark was being shaken by Pinkie, “Don’t tell me they don’t have donuts, pies, and-” Mark decided to ignore her rambling as he began to think. ‘I’m not going to be able to talk if this keeps up.’ ‘Then tell them to shut up.’ ‘They’re my friends, that would be incredibly rude. I have a much better idea.’ Prying loose from Pinkie’s grasp, he slowly inhaled a large amount of air before shouting. “PENIS!” He smirked and almost broke out in full out gut-wrenching laughter at the shock that registered on the girls faces. ‘Well that was effective.’ Mark heard a noise from upstairs, “Hey, what’s with all the shouting? I was having a good dream about Rari- MARK! You’re back!” Said Spike, as he walked down the stairs. “Hey Spike, you just missed my story. Anyways...” Mark said giving the baby dragon a hoof/claw bump before clearing his throat. “Now that it’s quiet in here why don’t we take turns with the questions instead of bombarding me with them.” “Heh, sorry about that.” said Rainbow, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. “Sorry Mark, It’s just... you went to another world full of sapient beings that can use magic, then you helped stop a treacherous plot. It’s amazing. I don’t know if any other pony could have done what you did.” Twilight said. Spike tilted his head in confusion, “Huh?” “Yes darling, it’s just like a fantasy story. Knights, dastardly villains, princesses-” Rarity said her voice trailing off as she began to get lost in her imagination. “Wait, what did I miss?” asked Spike. Mark raised an eyebrow as he thought about it again, ignoring poor Spike, “Well technically, Lyn’s a noble lady, not a princess but you’re right, it was kinda like a fantasy story.” “All that’s missing is the romance.” Mark’s heart skipped a beat as Rarity continued, “It’s too bad that Lady Lyndis didn’t find love, it would have made your adventure that much better.” Mark shuffled nervously, though he wasn’t ashamed to be in love with Lyn, he didn’t want to make it public knowledge either. Especially around the one of the town’s biggest gossips. “Rarity, that’s probably the least of Mark’s concerns. Ah’m more worried about all that fight’n they had ta do.” Applejack said firmly, getting everypony’s attention. Spike’s head swiveled between everypony, “Seriously, what’s going on?” He whined. Mark turned to the purple dragon, “Sorry Spike. Twilight or I will get you updated later. It’s a pretty cool story.” “That’s right! Beating up bad guys, fighting evil, those were the best parts!” Rainbow said as she stood on her hind hooves and began to shadow box. Mark sighed and he looked to the floor in regret, “Unfortunately, not all of them were ‘bad guys’ remember? I already told you about Eagler and some of the other soldiers we fought.” The room went quiet and sullen after Mark’s grim reminder. ‘Great. Now I’m a killjoy.’ ‘Bassy must be rubbing off on you.' ‘Gee, I hope not.’ He felt something soft and warm on his back. He looked and saw that Fluttershy had placed her wing over him as she spoke in her soft voice, “You did what you could Mark. I mean it must have been hard and scary with those big meanies and a-assassins and-” Mark could feel her trembling as she struggled to continue. ‘WHY IS SHE SO DAMN ADORABLE?!’ Mark placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s head and began to ruffle her mane with a warm smile. “Thanks Flutters. It’s just sad that people had to suffer for one man's ambition is all.” He looked around the room, the girls still had sullen expressions with Pinkie's hair somehow flat and deflated, though Fluttershy was blushing a bit from Mark's ruffling. ‘You still need to lighten the mood in here.’ ‘I could tell a bad joke.’ ‘Lets just stick with giving them their souvenirs/presents.’ ‘Maybe I should have done that first. It may have saved me from getting bombarded by questions.’ “OK! I think that it’s time for presents.” Mark said in an overly cheerful tone as he continued to ruffle Fluttershy’s mane. ‘It’s just so soft!’ “OH! OH! Is it your birthday? Why didn’t you say so? Next time you need to tell me so I can throw a surprise party for you, silly.” Pinkie said, her hair poofing back up in excitement as she somehow pulled a cannon out from behind a bookshelf. Mark’s eyes widened as he waved his free hoof frantically to stop her, “WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! Pinkie stop! I mean I brought souvenirs for you all, that you’ll probably like. That’s why I have all those bags.” “Okie dokie lokie.” Pinkie responded simply as she pushed her party cannon out the door. Mark reluctantly stopped ruffling Fluttershy’s mane (which was now a bit messy) as he moved towards his bags. Opening the nearest bag he looked through it and pulled out a small axe and a slightly smushed box with his magic. “Okay, first off, Pinkie this box is yours and AJ gets this axe.” He said as he gave the items to their recipients. Applejack furrowed her brows, “Why the hay did ya decide tah get me an axe?” “It’s a hand axe. Their multi-purpose, can be thrown well, you own an farm with trees, and said farm is located relatively close to the Everfree. I don’t see the problem.” Mark said absently as he watched Pinkie immediately start scarfing the special cinnamon sweet rolls he had bought. He shook his head, amused by her antics, and moved onto another bag. Using his magic he once again lifted the items out of it. This time a knight’s helmet and a book. “For Rainbow, a helmet that belonged to one of Caelin’s greatest knights ‘Liar’, and for Fluttershy, a book on all the known animals in Elibe.” he said, once again giving items to his friends. Rainbow eagerly grabbed the helmet and tried to wear it. But it didn’t fit when she tried to get it on since it was made for a human. “Mark, the front’s too small. I can’t wear this!” ‘Huh, I guess I have to be wearing the clothes or whatever for them to reshape.’ “In that case, why don’t you go to a blacksmith’s and melt it down to make yourself something 20% cooler.” Mark said with a hint of sarcasm, as he moved towards the next pile of bags. Rainbow looked at the helmet in thought before shrugging, “Mmm, nah. It’s still cool. Besides, I’d have to take time out of flight practice to go all the way to Canterlot for a blacksmith.” “That’s right, I forgot there’s no blacksmith here in Ponyville.” He responded, opening up a bag before closing it and levitating it towards Rarity. “And for the lady Rarity, I have a dress and my clothes. It might help give inspiration since they’re from another world and all that. I also have a request.” “And what would that be?” Rarity asked as she pulled out the dress and Mark’s old clothes, a twinkle in her eye as she inspected the ‘alien’ designs. Mark opened a bag next to him and pulled out his beaten up cloak, “Can you fix my cloak? I really liked it, but it’s kinda worn out at this point.” Rarity gasped, and almost dropped her gifts in shock. “OH MY! It’s absolutely dreadful! All that dirt and those holes!” She said as she immediately brought the cloak closer for examination. “But what’s this stain here?” “Thaaat... would be my blood.” Mark said awkwardly. Rarity jumped back in disgust before folding the cloak up and tossing it elsewhere, “No need dear Mark. I will make you a better and even more magnificent cloak than before. It shall-” Mark shook his head, “Rarity, no. I appreciate it, but I like that cloak. It’s sentimental and just has more character now. Can you please just clean and fix it?” he pleaded. The ivory mare looked between Mark's puppy eyes and the discarded cloak several times before letting out a defeated sigh, “So be it Mark. Thank you for these other clothes, I already have ideas for something exotic in my next line of attire.” “Wait, if they get those things, then who gets all this other stuff?” Spike asked as he pointed off-handedly the other 3 bags. Two of which stuffed almost to the brim with whatever they held. “The small one’s mine, but those two...”, he pointed a hoof at the two full bags, “go to Twilight.” Mark said with a grin as he levitated the bags over. ‘Oh, she’s gonna love this.’ Twilight gave the tactician a curious look, “Mark, what is-” Mark’s grin widened as he began to pull out the first bag’s contents. “First we have, ‘Elibe, A History’, ‘Legend of the Eight Heroes’, ‘Nomads of the Sacae’...” Mark continued, pulling out book after book, each subject ranging from geography to culture. Twilight’s eyes widened, her mouth agape as she watched Mark stack the books in front of her finally . “M-M-Mark this is-” ‘I like where this is going!’ ‘Keep at it. DO NOT RELENT!’ Mark quickly opened the other bag, “Now moving onto the magic, we have a fire tome, thunder tome, healing staff, an energy ring...”, Mark said as he unrelentingly emptied the bag in front of Twilight until that too ran out of things. “Unfortunately I couldn’t find any unbiased books or tomes that dealt with dark magic. That would have made it more educating. Twi? You there? Helllooo?” Mark said as he waved his hoof in front of Twilights face. The lavender unicorn in question just stood there eyeing all the objects that laid in front of her. “This-the-I-Mark-it-*SQUEE*!” *Thump* Everypony in the room watched as Twilight swooned from being overwhelmed by her two favorite things in the world. ‘That wasn’t what I was expecting.’ “Um...whoops.” ******************************************************************************************* “Hey Twi....Twilight...Twilight Sparkle...Twilight Sparkle, am I gonna have to slap you silly until you wake up.” Mark said as he, Fluttershy, and Rarity fanned the lavendar unicorn. “What happened?” Twilight asked as she blinked open her eyes. “Well... I may have taken it a bit too far when I got curious how much excitement you could process at once and the result is that you’ve been out cold for the past 10 minutes. Sorry about that.” Mark said in embarrassment. Twilight picked herself up, shaking her head a couple of times to make the slight grogginess go away. “I-It’s ok Mark. You meant well. And there’s so much information I could get out of those books and then if I research those tomes!” She said as her voice began to rise in excitement, her breathing increasing. Applejack walked over, “Hold on there, sugarcube. Ya just woke up, don’t be overexciting yourself again. Ya hear?” “Sorry, hehe.” Twilight said in embarrassment. “Did I miss anything important?” Mark shrugged, “You didn’t miss much, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were just getting me up to date on what you girls have been up to while I was away. Dash said something about Fluttershy making a new friend last week, but everypony seems to kinda dodges the question whenever I ask who it is. Do you mind telling me why?” Twilight rubbed her hoof along her temple, “He’s trying to turn over a new leaf, but he’s always pulling pranks or being random and unpredictable.” “Other than the new leaf part, you know that sounds an awful lot like my description right? Are you saying I have a clone somewhere?” Mark asked with a mischievous smile. “I wish it was that easy. At least we can handle you. But Disc- I mean Fluttershy’s new friend is really hard to handle and always shows up whenever any of us says his name. He likes the attention.” Rarity answered “Oh, please don’t be too harsh on Discord, he’s still trying to fit in. He’s a good draconequus at heart.” Fluttershy said. Suddenly a large *POP* was heard in the room. Every head turned to the source and was met with the sight of Discord covered in bubbles. He was wearing a bath hat and holding a bar of soap and a scrub brush. “My, oh my. Couldn’t wait until after my bath to see me?” He said in his usual mischievous tone. Everypony but Fluttershy, Mark, and Pinkie groaned at his arrival and statement. The latter two actually snickering while the former was blushing at having interrupted her friend’s hygiene. “Oh my! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your bath Discord.” Fluttershy said. Discord just rolled his eyes, his first and so far only real friend, just couldn’t seem to get his jokes as much as he wanted her to. With a snap of his talons, the bubbles and the things he was holding/wearing, disappeared in a flash. “Why’d you stop, you missed several spots and I’m sure that the girls could have used the show.” Mark said in a sarcastic tone, drawing the attention of the entire room. Discord grinned mockingly, “Oh a new pony! How exciting. Are you sure it wasn’t yourself you were referring to though?” ‘Did he just-’ ‘Oh, it’s on now.’ Mark returned Discord’s grin, “Well, well, I didn’t know you rolled that way. I’m already taken, but I’m sure some other stallion will make you very happy once you meet him.” “I see. Well why don’t you rest a bit. I’m sure that Big Mac has made you very sore at this point.” Discord responded as he began floating towards the yellow unicorn. Applejack’s eye twitched at her brother being brought into this conversation. Mark started walking towards Discord, “Nope, Big Mac’s as straight as a pin. The girl I like is extra special.” The tension in the room increased as the two got closer to one another, “As special as your I.Q.” “Even more so.” Discord and Mark now stood face to face. Icy blue eyes locked onto yellow ones. The bystanders to the exchange looked between the two, hoping a fight wouldn’t break out. Twilight and Fluttershy were about to separate them when... “PFFT, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-” Discord began to laugh, Mark following in suit. Immediately shattering the tension that they had built up. Pinkie joined in on their laughter (even though she didn’t understand what was so funny). Discord managed to catch his breath, “Ah, this is great! Finally a pony that understands my sense of humor almost as much as I do. What’s your name?” Mark raised a hoof so he could have a minute, as he began taking deep breaths to calm himself. “Marked Defiance. I’m surprised you don’t remember me.” Discord rubbed his beard in thought, “Oh? Was there something worth remembering about you?” “Well....” ******************************************************************************************* “Come on Blueblood. Go for your usual afternoon walk. Come on.” Mark whispered to himself. Currently the tactician-in-training was sitting in a tree with binoculars as he eagerly waited for the prince to walk through the outdoor hallway. “My my, what do we have here?” Came an unknown voice. Mark turned his head and almost jumped in shock as he saw a strange creature floating nearby, watching him as it lounged in midair. Whatever it was seemed to be made up of other, different, creatures. In fact it looked like the statue he occasionally glanced at in the Canterlot Gardens. “Um...Hi? Did you need something? I’m kinda busy here.” Mark said as he returned to looking towards the hallway. “I’m just wondering why there’s a unicorn laying on the ground.” The creature said before snapping it’s talon and laughing like a maniac. “A unicorn on the-?!” Mark couldn’t finish as a tree branch suddenly grabbed him and threw him into the air. “UMPH! OW! Who do you think you are, you jerk?!” Mark yelled after landing on the ground hard. “Why I’m Discord of course.” The draconeaus said inspecting his talon. Realization dawned on the unicorn, the fear evident in both his expression and tone, “W-Whatever! Just please stay away from my cupcake over there, I’m saving it for something.” Mark said, pointing a hoof at the hallway he was watching earlier. Discord narrowed his eyes and smiled evilly, “Well don’t mind if I do.” He said before snapping his fingers and disappearing in a flash. Mark picked himself up and dusted himself off. Dropping his facade, he grinned. “Sucker.” ******************************************************************************************* “...Then you came back, covered in all sorts of pastries, and cast a spell that gave me a second mouth which spoke only my inner thoughts.” ‘Ah, good times.’ ‘For you maybe.’ Discord scratched his chin, “Yes I do remember that now. Your probably the only pony to single handedly get one over on me... other than Celestia all those years ago.”
 “Is that a compliment from the spirit of chaos himself? I’m flattered.” Mark responded sarcastically. “Actually it was more of an observation.” Discord said, somewhat annoyed. “In all seriousness though, it’s nice to meet again on better terms. Friends?” Mark said, holding his hoof out. Discord smiled, not one of his mischievious or devious smiles, but an actual warm smile like the day he realized Fluttershy really wanted to be his friend. He took Mark’s hoof and shook it. “Friends.” “That...That turned out much better than I had hypothesized.” Twilight said, wide eyed at what had just occurred. The two pranksters turned and looked at the dumbstruck mares. Apparently they hadn’t thought Mark and Discord would become friends so quickly, or even at all. Mark gave a shrug, “Well what do you expect? I’m an incredibly likable pony.” “And saying that, ya ruined the mood.” Applejack said, shaking her head with a smile. Turning back to Discord, Mark poked the draconequus in the chest playfully, “Just make sure you behave yourself. There’s a time and place for everything, and Equestria doesn’t need any harmful chaos right now.” Discord looked thoughtful and responded carefully, “Well as the spirit of chaos itself, I can sense the chaos in the air. Something’s going to happen and I’m surprisingly not going to be the cause of it. So as my new friend, I just have one thing to say. Be prepared.” “Wait what do you-” But before Mark finished, Discord smiled deviously and snapped his talons, disappearing in a flash. “Sonofa-” “I FORGOT TO ASK FOR A CHOCOLATE MILK CLOUD!!!” Pinkie yelled in despair. ***************************************************************************************** She ran, not looking back. She could hear the buzzing as they got closer. Spotting a large hollow log, she quickly scrambled inside it and held her breath. It wasn’t even twenty seconds before the changelings charged past her hiding place with extreme velocity. Waiting ten more seconds, she gasped for breath, a few tears escaping her eyes as she remembered how it came to this. She gave herself a quick look over through her bright green eyes. Her wing was broken, she could feel how messy her teal mane was, and it was painful to move with the bruises and cuts that littered her body currently. Slowly she then turned towards what she believed was the south, wiping her tears away, she began running again. The mare needed to get as much distance from them as possible.. She ran and ran. Not even noticing as day turned to dusk. Suddenly the ground seemed to attack her. No, her legs had given out on her. She hadn’t fed in over two days, hardly enough energy to even walk, but she had pushed herself far past her limits. Too far. Her vision was starting to get blurrier, but she did see a black and white blur enter her vision. Was this it for her? Did she go through all that just to be eaten by a predator? Were their sacrifices for nothing? “OH MY GOODNESS! What has happened to you?! It must be a lot, for what you’ve been through.” The blur said in a zebrican accent as it dropped a basket in surprise. The mare felt herself being picked up carefully. Maybe this wasn’t the end. Not yet. “I’ll take you to my hut, your wounds are no game. But please, while consciousness holds you, tell me your name.” She thought for a moment, trying to keep the darkness at bay. Then she remembered the name she hadn’t thought she’d ever hear much less say again. She managed to say it in a whisper before the shadows consumed her vision. “Cr-Crystal Orchid.”