//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Chaotic Measures // Story: Villainous // by CrypticMetaphor //------------------------------// The day that followed would be recorded as the day that chaos fell, but not in the way one would think. It had begun as any other day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and his royal highness decided to grace Ponyville with his presence. Jasper wasn’t wearing his coat this time, in fact, he was wearing dress clothes as he casually strolled down the street with a private escort. Many ponies glared daggers at the human who in turn paid them no mind. He approached a nearby stand that had a familiar farm pony behind it as he glanced at her wares. “And just what in tarnation are ya doin here?” Jasper glanced at Applejack, “I was feeling peckish, so I decided to come purchase some of your food.” Applejack narrowed her eyes, “Why should ah sell you anything?” Jasper put on a kind smile that had a hint of menace behind it, “You wouldn’t deny your beloved ruler some nourishment would you?” Applejack was about to tell him what she REALLY though of him when Big Mac appeared at her side, “AJ, ah’m with ya on this one, but business is business. Plus he is the king,” Mac practically choked on the last word. Jasper pulled out a satchel, “Two golden delicious if you please.” The apple siblings followed through and gave the human scathing glares as he deposited his money and went on his way. Ignatius tugged on Jasper’s pant leg, “Jas.” “Yes Iggy?” Ignatius went over a clipboard he was holding, “Your meeting with The Mayor is scheduled to occur in a few minutes concerning the damages caused to Ponyville during your, quote unquote, rise to power. “ “I see,” Jasper took a bite of the apple, “alright, let’s head there now.” The royal entourage headed toward town hall as more pony’s shot glares his way. * Twilight and the rest of the girls sat and waited patiently as Fluttershy wrote her very long and somewhat wordy letter to Discord. After she finally finished, Spike took it from her and sent it on its way. “Twilight,” the alicorn glanced over at a somewhat concerned Rarity, “do you think Discord will help us?” “He has to,” Twilight glanced downwards, “I hate to say it, but he’s the only chance we’ve got.” “Well that’s a tad insulting.” The disembodied voice’s owner suddenly appeared in a flash of light. Discord was wearing aviator shades as well as a red and white floral shirt. He smelt of light sweat, alcohol, and shame. “So, I’m in Las Pegasus minding my own business when out of the blue this letter,” he revealed the offending object, “appeared on the dice table and cost me two grand. This had better be good.” Twilight sighed, “Discord, we need your help with something.” Discord then began to laugh, “Wait, wait! Let me get this straight. YOU! Need MY help? OH that’s rich!” Discord was hugging his sides as he was rolling around on the ground in utter hysterics the other ponies save for Fluttershy had scowls on their faces. Fluttershy did something that surprised everypony; she walked up and bopped Discord on the head. “OW!” Discord rubbed the sore spot, “what was that for?!” Fluttershy’s voice was stern yet quiet, “Listen, while you were gone something terrible happened. A creature known as a human came here to learn the meaning of friendship.” Discord muttered under his breath, “That was probably torture in itself.” Fluttershy ignored the comment, “We treated him nicely and with care, then he stabbed us in the back and turned both princesses to stone. He invoked the Platinum Gambit and….he’s now are king.” Discord looked slightly intrigued but bored, “And this matters to me because?” Rainbow Dash grabbed his beard, “Listen her buster, if he’s on that throne there’s no telling what he can do. Heck, he could order you to move mountains around just for HIS enjoyment.” “Nopony orders me around,” Discord laughed at the ridiculous threat, “besides I doubt he could out think me.” Twilight then flatly stated, “He has the Gem of Ages.” The color from Discords face drained, “I’m sorry, he has what?” “He found it,” Twilight advanced on him, “and he knows how to use it.” Rainbow smirked, “Like I said, when he’s through with you, you’re probably going to be a dog on his leash.” Discord became slightly agitated at that remark but then smirked, “This hoomin sounds interesting. If he pulled the wool over all of your eyes and then took the throne, I think I might have just found a worthy challenger.” Discord snapped and his vacation wear vanished, “What do you need me to do.” * The meeting with the mayor to Jasper was mind numbingly boring. He was tempted to just set something on fire to just ease the boredom, though he was curious why such thoughts entered his mind. He would have to look into potential research into the effects magic has on humans. At the moment, he was sitting on his throne glancing over his invitation to the summit when a flash appeared in front of his throne. “Discord, I had a feeling they would send you,” he lowered his invitation with a welcoming smile, “welcome.” Discord raised an eyebrow, “You were expecting me?” He smirked as a small black dragon handed him a glass of chocolate milk, “thank you pint size.” In one swift move, he downed both the glass itself and the milk. Jasper leaned back, “Of course I was. Though I was wondering if they would get desperate enough to summon you to do theirdirty work. Tell me though, why are you here anyway, the REAL reason.” Discord floated in midair, “Well it’s simple, you’re a potential threat to this land as well as little old me. If you were to wreck the place, there wouldn’t be enough left for me,” he then gave a light cough. Jasper half smiled as he folded his hands on his lap, “And what’s stopping you from taking the gauntlet of my arm right now?” Discord rolled his eyes as he pointed at the item in question, “The fact that it’s gold, which is-“ “Magic kryptonite, I know.” Discord raised a talon, “PURE gold is, that little thing just has gold coating, am I right?” Jasper pointed at the spirit, “Congratulations.” Discord landed and bowed, “Thank you,” he lightly coughed again, “man it’s musty in here.” Jasper paid the comment no mind as he stood up, “So banter aside I’ll state this, there isn’t room in this world for two villains. So with all due respect, shove off.” Discord laughed, “Make me.” Jasper glared at Discord, “You know what annoys me most about you, human? You lack creativity, so you have the throne. What now? Rule with an iron fist? Take other kingdoms? How painfully predictable.” Jasper felt a slight stabbing sensation in his head as he suddenly snapped, “YOU KNOW NOTHING!” Both the spirit and the black dragon cringed as Jasper shook his head, “What the…” Discord glanced at the gem and then at the Gauntlet, “Ah…now I see why you don’t look drained. It’s draining something else,” Discord clapped giddily, “Oh this is going to be entertaining.” Jasper looked to the side, “THIS won’t be entertaining, because you won’t be around.” Discord casually began to approach him, “What are you going to do strike me down or-“, he then began a massive coughing fit. Jasper turned his back on the spirit, “You know Discord, I had a tad bit of a hypothesis,” Jasper took a seat as Discord slowed his coughing, “Gold proves to be quite formidable to magic users when in a solid state. But one thing I was curious about was this.” Discord’s vision began to swim as Jasper inhaled, “If it can affect magic users in certain ways externally, what happens if the gold goes internal?” Discord’s eyes widened, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?” Jasper smirked, “Guess I’m not as predictable as you thought I was. Before you arrived, I gave my guards the day in the barracks. After that I released gold dust throughout the room, BUT I isolated the throne area and the small surrounding area in a powerful barrier.” Discord narrowed his eyes, “I was wondering why that was there.” Discord then snapped his fingers to wreck the barrier and bury the human in snakes…only for a small fizzle to emit from his talon. “OH, so that’s what it does.” Discord then became fearful as the human rose slowly from his seat, “Now Discord, quick or slow?” * The ponies of Ponyville gathered in the square a few hours later as Jasper stood before them on a large platform with a sheet covering something behind him. “Citizens of Ponyville,” the ponies put their full attention on the hated monarch, “I am well aware that certain factors have made you all grow to feel less than amused with my presence. But accept this token of my gratitude, a new center piece for the town square.” Jasper nodded at Ignatius who pulled the sheet down. Discord was frozen in solid gold with a look of absolute terror on his face. Fluttershy’s scream cut through the din as Jasper walked off the podium and approached the six mares. All six of them glared with tears in their eyes as the human stopped in front of Twilight. He flicked her nose, “Bad bad work Ms. Starbuck.” He then turned sharply on his heel and left the now somber town as he headed back to Canterlot.