//------------------------------//
// Seven-Discord 
// Story: Nightmare 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

	Discord was bored. That wasn't unusual when he had spent the better part of the month twisting people into ponies and paving the way for the rulers to arrive. How much fun it had been making some of the highest members of the government turn into soldiers and scholars for the New Lunar Republic, giving them the means to make unbreakable cages to house the Elements. But then they had lost the only Elements they had captured during an attack by the ever bold Changeling Swarm and their Queen.

How he despised the changelings and their Queen. They were making things harder for him to really enjoy the game, with the constant bombing they were doing on their enemies. Sombra had turned the tide against the Swarm by using his hate to corrupt the heart, but who knew how long that would last? Nightmare Moon, on the other claw, had been caught by surprise and had her entire caravan blown apart, the vehicles mostly, while the soldiers were scattered. Evidently Chrysalis deemed Nightmare Moon the immediate enemy, otherwise the city would have been crawling with soldiers looking for him.

Discord looked up from his table, the top of his grey hood covering his eyes, and he scanned the crowds of people walking around the street. He could have easily summoned up a cloud of chocolate milk and rained it down on them, but then the real Pinkie Pie would have appeared and started drinking it. She would know he was close at hoof and would stop at nothing to find him, likely to make the entire city become covered in the drink. Then he spotted the perfect target to practice his chaotic powers on.

Two guys were arguing over some random instrument, something that he couldn't see from his current position, and it looked like they could break out into a fight at any moment. Near them was some drunken idiots that were shaking, likely due to the amount of beer they had shoved down their throats for the last couple of hours. All Discord had to do was snap his fingers and the chaos would begin, but he had the feeling that someone - no, somepony, - was watching him.

He snapped his fingers and the drunken idiots charged at the two arguing bystanders, engaging a fight as the first punch hit someone's face. The instrument, turning out to be some sort of small guitar, was smashed over the head of it's owner by a drunkard, the strings and wood breaking on impact. People ran and others cowered as blood was spilt, making one guy receive a cut lip and another a cut on the head thanks to a broken bottle to the head. Discord grinned and returned his gaze to his drink, one of the best wines he had tricked the bartender into serving him, when he heard the fighting suddenly stop.

The woman from earlier, the same one that seemed to be following him ever since he had seen her at his poker table, was standing over the fallen men. Whatever she had done was already over, making him wonder if she had actually been following him or if she was following a similar path to his own. She marched back to her table, which had been behind his at the time, shuffled through the bag she had left behind, tossed some bills on the table, and left without leaving anything personal behind.

He shrugged, returning to his drink as he pondered the fact that he was seeing the woman all over the place. Maybe after some more mischief on some other unsuspecting targets he might figure something out about the stranger and how to deal with her. For now he would drink, rip some more people off, and see how much more money he could drain out of the people he played against.

~Later, Celestia's apartment~

"Ugh, I shouldn't have interrupted that fight."

That was what Celestia had said the moment she had shut the door behind her, locking it so she and her guest wouldn't be disturbed. She set her bag on the counter next to her and removed her golden bracelets, slipping them on as she made her way to the table in the living room. The curtains were drawn back, making it so that it was dark in the room so if anyone was looking they wouldn't be able to see her and her guest. She couldn't let others see her in her golden attire, otherwise people would know she had arrived and then Discord would come after her.

"Oh Tia, you know you can't help but stop any fights when you see them," said her guest, who happened to be a fully grown changeling, the size of Celestia's pony form, and was resting on the couch, "but if we are to succeed in our mission we can't let Discord know that we're actually here. I'm sorry for bombing your sister, but she isn't willing to listen to reason and we need the Elements to clear her mind."

Celestia was engulfed in a slightly bright light, one that allowed her to shift into a more comfortable form, namely her alicorn form. Her white coat and brilliant three colored mane and tail returned, giving her a sense of normalcy in the time of chaos. Her horn and wings grew back to their original size, taking her necklace and her crown from their hiding place and attaching them in their normal places.

"I'm not kidding Chrissy, Discord will know we're here sooner or later," Celestia continued, sitting on the couch as she noticed that her guest was staring at the computer she had brought with her, "How are Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash doing?"

"Their chosen handler reports that they are fine and that they are currently heading here," Chrysalis answered, her eyes solely focused on the screen, "Look, I'm sorry for stealing one of your followers away from you, but you are going to have to reveal yourself at some point. The Solar Empire needs to act before the New Lunar Republic claims victory over Discord and I'm doing all I can to stop them while gathering the scattered Elements."

"Any news on where the rest of the Elements are?" Celestia asked, hoping that they might be closer then what they really were.

"The real Pinkie is supposed to be somewhere around the city, likely lurking in Discord's shadow as well," Chrysalis spoke, scrolling over her notes she had been writing down on the screen, "Rarity is in one of the shops somewhere in the city, but where I do not know. Applejack could very well be anywhere, seeing how I haven't heard anything about her yet. And Twilight is supposed to be Utah with her brother and her sister-in-law. I have some of my soldiers silently gathering them up and I'm hoping that Discord doesn't notice our movements."

Celestia looked out the small crack in the curtains that allowed her to overlook the sky, watching the moon slowly rise in the distance. The moon reminded her of her sister Luna, the kind hearted mare that had succumbed to the darkness and then had been restored thanks to Twilight and her friends. Now, thanks to Discord, Luna had succumbed to her darker and more evil alter ego all over again, the dreaded Nightmare Moon.

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight were still missing, which made her worry. Without the Elements of Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic itself they had no hopes of changing her sister back to normal, much less taming Discord. They needed to make sure that the Elements reached Las Vegas without delay, for every day the six of them were apart the stronger that Discord would become. And at the rate things were going they were going to need the combined power of the Solar Empire, the New Lunar Republic, the Swarm, and Discord to beat down Sombra and his twisted empire.

Celestia and Chrysalis silently hoped that the soldiers would keep Twilight and her friends safe before Discord made his move against them all.