//------------------------------// // A Chaotic Companion // Story: A Ray of Dusk // by AlphatheGriffin17 //------------------------------// Ray expected Discord to be odd. He was made up of about a dozen different animals, had a penchant for chocolate rain and cotton candy clouds and had the power to change reality and personality with a snap of his fingers. How could anypony meet the Lord of Chaos and not expect him to be a little off? Even so, he was staring in silent perplexion as Discord sat on Fluttershy's couch, munching happily on a bowl of crispy… paper. He mentally shrugged. Perhaps it was his goat side shining through. "Discord?" Fluttershy popped her head out from the kitchen. "Oh, there you are. Listen, Discord, I just want to make sure you know that if there's anything I can do to– uh, umm, are you eating... paper?" He swallowed. "Am I? Huh, how odd of me." "Um…" She looked questioningly at Ray. "Don't ask me. I know about as much as you do at the moment," he answered her unspoken question. "You know, it's really not as bad as you'd think," Discord said. "I'm surprised more ponies don't have themselves a nice bowl of paper once in a while. Perhaps some chocolate sauce to really bring out the taste." "Well, um... I'm just heading out, so you just make yourself at home while I'm gone and don't be mean to Ray. Consider this a test of friendship and see if you can be nice to somepony," she said. "Ooh, a test!" He suddenly wore glasses and held a pen and pad. "Should I be taking notes?" She ignored this. "Will you be okay with him, Ray?" "Don't worry, he's not gonna get under my skin," he said confidently. "I'll be here when you get back." "Okay." She kissed his cheek and headed out. "Play nice, you two." "Buh-bye, have a nice time!" Discord waved her off. "Everything is fine here. Bye bye... Bye bye…" The pink robe he was wearing vanished and he slammed the door. "Now, isn't this an interesting turn of events?" Ray cocked an eyebrow. "How so?" "After what happened in the field, I'd have thought the last thing that would have happened was you being left alone with me." He grinned maliciously. "You're really counting on me not wanting to give ol' Wrath a good kick in his bright red behind." "Oh, you overheard that?" Ray asked in mock surprise. "Well yes, I am. I don't know how powerful you're supposed to be, since the only ones who really scale are the Princesses. But then, you're not the only one stronger than they are, if Wrath is any indication. And from what I can tell, you're really close to the top of his blacklist." "I really can't imagine why. Oh well," he shrugged. "You're right to count on it. After being free again, being blasted to smithereens by an angry demon was the very last thing I wanted in my day. Besides, you're far more interesting." "Am I? High praise coming from the Lord of Chaos," Ray said sarcastically. "Oh yes, you really are." He looked him over again. "I mean, it really is very surprising. Here you are, with the bestest friends in the whole wide world and a beautiful, sweet young mare as your marefriend. I have to say, they're really going to great lengths." Ray paused and looked at Discord fully. "Great lengths? What are you talking about?" "Why, to keep you here. To stop you from leaving. I suppose the most effective form of imprisonment is when one knows they're not even being imprisoned to begin with. Gotta say, I wouldn't have minded that," he added. "You have no idea how uncomfortable being trapped in stone is. Though it does make for interesting propositions for poses. How about this?" He stood on a pedestal with a bow and an arrow with a loveheart. "Or this?" Now, he had no arms and a toga was draped around his waist. "Or this?" Bent over, his chin rested on his fist and deep in thought. Ray watched as Discord cycled through numerous 'poses', each getting more odd than the last. Then he shook his head and diverted his attention out the window. "I'm not being imprisoned here. I made the decision to stay in Ponyville long before they found out about Wrath. And I'm here now because Celestia allowed it, not because I'm being forced to. She had the opportunity to actually lock me up when they all found out; she almost did, but ended up changing her mind. You've kinda missed out on a lot, you know." "I know. I suppose I need to play catch up." He suddenly held a book. "Two and a half books and have you seen the length of the chapters these days? Who has that kind of time?" With a poof it was gone. "Anyway, I'm sure that's exactly how they want you to feel. They can't have you gallivanting off and they don't want you all upset at being kept in Canterlot, so here's the next best thing. An excellent compromise, I must say." Ray turned to look at Discord again briefly, but rolled his eyes. "Whatever. The girls aren't like that. And Dusk is definitely not like that. The Princesses…" he paused again for a moment, but shook it off. "They've been around a long time, and they're smart. They do what they have to do to protect Equestria." "Oh yes, they're all about that. Sealing away close family members in the moon. Imprisoning people in stone. Tossing them into the deepest, darkest pit. Locking away ancient evil beasts inside innocent foals and fillies their whole lives. Any sign of opposition is snuffed out. Our benevolent rulers, everypony." He leaned in and whispered, "Hail Hydra." Ray leaned back from the uncomfortable close proximity. Then he scoffed. "Yeah, and then you consider the nature of the opposition. Shrouding Equestria in eternal night, turning the world into a giant chaos-fiesta just because, destroying anything and everything because anger. Hard to blame Celestia, when you sit and think about it." "Yes, perhaps big ol' meanies like me and Nightmare Moon got what we deserved, but what about you? You never did anything wrong, yet here you are with one of the most destructive forces in the world sealed away inside your noggin. And how does our benevolent ruler see the best course of action to keep him locked away? By putting him smack in the place where all of his closest friends happen to live. If he got out, well…" He stroked his goatee. "Just how much of Ponyville would be left, I wonder…" "I would never do anything to Ponyville," Ray said suddenly. "I would never let Wrath to anything to Ponyville. Or anypony here. He can sit and grumble and make threats all he wants, he's not getting out…" "You mean like he did with poor Queen Chrysalis?" Discord smiled at Ray's expression. "Oh yes, I've heard quite a bit about that. Like I said, just because I'm stone doesn't mean I'm deaf." "But… how? Who even talked about that?" Ray sputtered. "You know, him and her. Guards on or off patrol, ponies who visit the garden, even Luna and Celestia when they deign to drop by." He frowned. "They never even stop to say hello though. Very rude." Ray had to stop himself from swaying involuntarily. What in the name of Equestria could Celestia and Luna have been talking about that warranted bringing up Chrysalis during a walk in the Sculpture Garden? In front of Discord, no less? Given, it was possible they didn't know about him being able to hear everything despite being stone, but still… "And you know what else got me thinking? A pair of guys like you and Wrath…" That grin grew wider. "I'm willing to bet she wasn't the first, was she?" Ray froze. "Ding ding ding, do we have a winner?" An unseen audience began to cheer and confetti sprayed. "I did! I won! Oh, thank you so much, everypony! This is such an honour!" "How do you know?" Ray asked simply, his voice barren. "Oh, it was a lucky guess really. But honestly, having an entity called Wrath in your mind, is it so far fetched that Chrysalis is just another number in the body count? The big guy was racking up an impressive number before you were even a glimmer in your unborn mother's eye." He chuckled. "Whoever she is. Probably a swell gal, if she gave birth to somepony like you." Ray clicked his tongue and turned away. "So? Wrath isn't me. He kills and destroys, but that's not who I am. It's not." "Can you say that with any real certainty?" asked Discord. "When you attacked Chrysalis, was it because Wrath made you do it or was that something you did yourself? Did you want it? What about others? You weren't here last time, so you must have come from elsewhere. Why did you have to leave, I wonder? Seeking your fortune in the big city… or seeking a way to escape? Must have been something pretty bad for you to run and hide rather than stand and face it. And who is it that claims personal responsibility for whatever you did, hm? I'm not hearing Wrath speaking up at this point, which can only mean…" "Me leaving has… nothing to do with it…" Ray got a distant look in his eye. "It's because of Wrath. When it happens… he makes me. I'm not…" "You can tell yourself that all you want. But you know something, there's another difference between me and Nightmare Moon and you. Both of us admitted to what we did as our own choices. Nopony else had any say and we didn't try to deny it. Heck, even Wrathy wears his genocidal intentions like a badge of honor." His mismatched red eyes met Ray's yellow ones. "We may have been rotten, but at least we were honest about it." Ray sat there for a while, unblinking. He slowly looked away from Discord, down at the floor. Discord, seemingly satisfied, floated back toward the couch, once more flicking Angel out of the way, and sat himself down comfortably. It remained that way for several minutes before Ray abruptly disappeared in his customary flash of light. Discord grinned. Dusk continued to flick through his portion of the books that Twilight had given him. She'd told him and Spike the spell she had in mind for Discord in case Fluttershy's attempts at reforming him failed. While he understood it was necessary, he didn't really like the implications of this particular kind of spell. "That's weird." Twilight frowned while she flicked through hers. "The spell I had in mind isn't in here. Spike, where are the other books I asked you to pull?" "Right here, Twilight," he said, arriving with another stack of them. She levitated them all with her magic and hovered them in a circle, opening them all to check them at once. "I really want to have a reforming spell up and running pronto. Any luck on your end, Dusk?" "No sign," he reported. "Dusk? Are you okay?" she asked. "You've been rather quiet since we got back. Are you still worried about Fluttershy?" "I am, but that's not really my main concern." He sighed and put down the book. "I just… I don't like the idea of using this spell." "What? The reforming spell?" she asked. "Why?" "It feels rather… wrong that we're using this as a measure," he confessed. "It seems rather extreme." She raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten who we're dealing with?" "I haven't, but think about it. We're planning on resorting to magic that we'll be using to change the mind of another living being to a different way of thinking, one that's a far cry from how they usually behave. Remind you of somepony?" Twilight gasped when she caught his meaning. "It isn't like that though. We're not like Discord. We're using this as a last resort, not as the first option and we're not doing it for fun or for malevolent ends. We're doing this for the good of everypony else." "It won't seem that way from his perspective," replied Dusk. "Justification for a method often leads to its abuse." "We're not going to start reforming everypony in Equestria after we're done!" exclaimed Twilight. "It's just for Discord! And you've used similar magic before!" "My mental suggestion spells are only ever used for little things, minor deviations from normal actions. Not full blown personality rewrite," he insisted. "Even then, I'm still not wholly confident using them." "Celestia wants Discord reformed. If Fluttershy can't manage it, we won't have any choice," she argued. "Are you seriously saying that Discord shouldn't be reformed?" "Of course not!" he snapped. "But I know how it feels! To have somepony get inside your head and twist everything inside to their ends! You girls may not remember it all that well… but I do…" He hung his head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to lose it. I know this needs to be done but… I don't like that this is how we might do it." "It may not come to that," said Twilight gently. "Fluttershy may be able to manage it. But if she can't, this may have to be our only option. Please tell me you understand that." He nodded. "I do and I'll still help you, of course. But that doesn't mean I have to like it." "I know." She came up to him and hugged him. "Sorry. I understand why you feel this way. What Discord did to you was more horrible than anything. But it's good you're able to put that aside for us." "Thank you," he said sincerely. "How do you feel about this, Spike? Spike?" They turned to see the dragon rubbing his stomach and grimacing unpleasantly. "Spike? What's wrong?" Twilight hurried to him. "You're not sick are you?" "I'm fine," he grunted. "Just a bit of a stomach ache." Dusk smirked. "Been at the ice cream again, have you?" "No!" he cried. "Just my stomach hurts a bit. Don't worry, I'll be fine." "Are you sure?" asked Twilight. He nodded in response. "Well, okay. If it doesn't get any better, let me know, alright? But if you have been pigging down on ice cream again…" "I swear I haven't, really!" he repeated. "So uh, reforming spell, huh?" "Yes." Twilight let the matter drop. "Come on, let's get back to it." "Um, Twilight?" Dusk picked up one of the books she'd set down. "I think we may have a problem." He indicated the page it had fallen at. Between the displays of text and accompanying images, there was a frayed and uneven edge that looked like the page had been torn out. "What? Oh no!" Twilight hurriedly flicked through a few others. "Princess Celestia may have cast a spell on the Elements, but she didn't cast one on the books! Everywhere I thought I'd find the reforming spell...!" She showed them. Every book had a page torn out of it. There was no doubt in any of their minds who was responsible. "Fluttershy's cottage! Now!" Twilight commanded. They didn't hesitate to bolt out the door and gallop full pelt toward their friend's home. When they got there, they were shocked to find that it wasn't where it should be. The house had been ripped from the hill. A glance up revealed it to be revolving around in mid-air. "This isn't good. Fluttershy?! Can you hear me?!" A moment later, she hovered down from her house whilst carrying a very dazed Angel Bunny. "Fluttershy, what's going on? Are you okay?!" "We're fine," she said quickly. "Everything's going great. Isn't it, Angel?" The rabbit chittered dizzily and stumbled away when his owner set him down. "Where's Ray? Is he up there?" asked Dusk. "Actually, he was gone when I got back. I was about to go and look for him, but then I saw what Discord was doing…" She looked concerned. "I hope Ray's okay." Dusk was momentarily worried. Why would Ray leave after he agreed to help watch Discord? Had something happened? He put it out of his mind for now. He could check on Ray later and more immediate concerns were at stake. "We need to get you out of here, Fluttershy, away from Discord." Dusk looked up at the rotating house. "It's good we came along when we did, because it appears he's just as bad as he was-" "Oh, but you're wrong! We're making great progress!" she insisted. "Seriously?!" all three of them asked. "I'm earning his trust by giving him a little space to be himself," she explained. "Hate to break it to ya, but he used that 'space to be himself' to tear out all the reforming spells from the library!" Spike held up a book to illustrate his point. "That does explain the paper eating…" she murmured. "He ate them?!" Twilight groaned in frustration. "But we aren't gonna need a spell. He's already really considering being reformed! He said so," she told them. "And you would take him at his word?" asked Dusk sceptically. "If I'm going to be his friend, I have to start by giving him the benefit of the doubt! Tell you what. Bring all the ponies over for a dinner party this evening, and I'll bet his manners will have really improved by then, " she suggested, flying back up to the door. "I'll even get him to put the cottage back on the ground first." Twilight sighed. "Alright. Dinner it is. Come on, guys. Let's go and tell the others." "As much as I admire how sincere she's being about this whole thing, I really have my doubts," voiced Dusk on the way back. "It's only been a few hours since we left them and I can't see any major changes occurring between now and when we come over this evening." "I suppose it's relative to how effective her approach is to him," reasoned Twilight. "It can take as short as an hour or as long as a year to make a friend." "That's rather dependent on how one open is to friendship and whatever else they may have in mind," replied Dusk. "Deception is Discord's fealty." "I know. Still, I can't help but wonder if there really is a chance it's working," she said. "You gave Sombra the benefit of the doubt, even after only just freeing him and we did the same with Luna." Dusk chuckled. "You know, that's rather like what Ray said to me before." "But they were just corrupted by dark magic that you guys managed to get out of their system. They weren't inherently bad," said Spike. "Plus, in Luna's case, some of that dark magic was thanks to Discord. Dusk got the same too with Doom. He was always rotten." "Well, we'll keep an eye on him tonight and we'll all be there with our Elements," said Twilight. "If it really does seem like Fluttershy has managed to have an effect on Discord, then great. If not, we'll see if we can't resort to some other measure." Dusk nodded silently, but what Twilight said had got him thinking. While he, Luna and Sombra were indeed rescued from dark, corrupting influences, as much as he hated to admit it, they weren't entirely innocent. Doom had come from Dusk's negativity, his anger and bitterness at never having friends and that he'd kept deep down inside. Nightmare Moon had manifested from Luna's spite and jealousy towards her sister. Sombra's dark persona from his own feelings of frustration and inadequacy at being king. Those darker parts hadn't come from nowhere. The potential for the darker parts of themselves was there. They all existed, even if it wasn't on the surface, like Ray had once said. It seemed far fetched, considering all that he had done to them but did Discord too have the potential to be good just as they had the potential to be bad? Celestia had told him how, a long time ago, she'd considered him a friend, one who made her laugh. She was even the one who'd set them to this task. Did she truly believe Fluttershy could be the one to reform Discord? He remembered what had happened with Doom and what Ray had said to him before. Perhaps… As much as he might not want to, a small part of him told him to keep an open mind about this while they split up to spread the news of what was happening. When he went to tell Ray, the stallion seemed rather distant and opted out of the dinner. "Sorry," he murmured. "I have some stuff I need to think about. See you." He'd then closed the door without another word. Dusk was concerned, but he decided to leave him to his thoughts. He understood the need for one's own space. Later that evening, they were on their way to the dinner party. Things were rather on edge, but they'd all agreed to come, barring Ray. Dusk was keeping a very important thought in mind: either stay silent or stay composed. If Discord did try to goad him, he would try to appear amiable and unaffected by what he said. Hopefully, it would work. The door opened to reveal Discord, dressed in a fine suit with a pencil moustache. "Oh, our pony guests!" He rolled out his tongue like a red carpet and sprang up at the end, bowing to them. "We're so delighted that you've come. Please, do come in." He'd 'decorated' the house for the occasion. Every angle and proportion of the walls, ceiling and floor was warped in some way, like it was melting. The floor was set with the same blue chess board pattern in it was when he was in power last time, the ceiling was a dirty purple and the walls a grassy green. A golden candelabra hung above an imperfect circular table, set with red velvet cushions and gold plates. "See what a beautiful job he did helping?" Fluttershy beamed. "Discord set the entire table himself. I'm so proud." Discord appeared in place of one of the coat hangers and reached for Twilight's crown. "May I take your... hats, ladies?" "You may." Dusk stepped between them, so Discord took his trilby. "Thank you, Discord. That's very courteous of you." "Hmm, it's no trouble," he grumbled. Behind him, Dusk heard the others contain sniggers. They took their places at the table. In a rather unfortunate turn of events, Dusk found himself sat between Twilight and Discord. The former grimaced sympathetically, while the latter looked rather pleased. "I've prepared the meal. Discord, if you wouldn't mind?" asked Fluttershy. "Of course!" He briefly wore a pointed hat and sported a long white beard. "Let the feast… begin!" Their meal appeared on their plates. A small apple pie and a pastry stuffed with mashed potatoes. "Enjoy. Oh, this is all rather pleasant, isn't it?" smiled Discord. "All of us, sitting down together to dinner like this. I really think this whole reforming thing is working out, don't you? But wait, where's Fluttershy's arm candy?" "Goodness, you're right!" Fluttershy looked around the table. "Where's Ray? I didn't notice he hadn't come." "I'm afraid he's rather indisposed, Fluttershy," said Dusk. "He said he had a lot on his mind." "Oh, that's a shame." Discord's eyes glinted. "I do hope it's nothing too bad. Oh well, let's play a little catch up! Fluttershy's had me all to herself and I haven't even had the chance to speak with any of you at all." "An' that's a bad thing?" Applejack muttered. "So then, Dusk old boy, how are you? How's your dear brother these days?" he asked. "Will there be any chance of him paying a visit?" "Discord…" growled Twilight warningly. "No, he's fine, dear," assured Dusk. He kept a conversational tone. He knew Discord was trying to get back at him for his hat trick. "I'm afraid he won't be joining us either. He's permanently vacated his normal place of residence." Discord raised an eyebrow. "Uh, beg pardon?" "He's not in here anymore." Dusk rapped his head and smiling pleasantly. "Long story short, he has his own body and his own life to lead. It's much better, really. I was just keeping him tied down here, but now he can live up to his full potential. He's out in the world now, travelling with a showmare. Isn't that grand?" Discord appeared perturbed for a moment, but he managed to fake a smile. "Why, of course. I just hope he doesn't forget his roots," he said with a slightly dark tone. "I don't think he will," replied Dusk. "Well, this looks delicious. I think we should tuck in before it gets cold." Dusk glanced across the table to see Rainbow smirking at the display and Twilight smiling proudly at him. He relished a moment at being able to manage that and took a bite of his food. The dinner started out relatively pleasant. Discord seemed to be willing to be helpful, making a gravy boat behave like a dog and letting it pour Pinkie a helping on her food. Then Rainbow called it creepy and it poured some right into her lap. He tried entertaining them with dancing candles, but Rainbow blew them out. Whatever she had to say was stopped when they started hitting her. The fish-shaped soup tureen started spraying soup at them when Twilight called it fishy. Even Dusk got a spray of it. All the while, Discord was protesting his innocence, claiming the activities of the sentient table and tupperware to be either accidental or just that the ponies had bruised their newfound egos. Fluttershy seemed determined to defend him while Rainbow kept trying to tell her he was just deceiving her so she'd never use the elements against him. "You see what I'm saying, right, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked after she'd covered the tureen with a metal cover. "Fluttershy!" "You know what I see? I see that Discord's far from perfect, but I also see none of you giving him a chance!" she retorted sternly. Dusk threw in his complaint with the others, saying that he hadn't really done or said anything on the matter. "What's gotten into you?! Why do you keep cutting him so much slack?" demanded Rainbow. "Because that's what friends do," she answered, placing a foreleg around him. Discord's reaction wasn't lost on them. He lost the rather smug smile he had before and his expression softened to one of pleasant surprise. "We're friends?" he asked. "Why, of course!" she replied happily. "I can't remember my house ever being this lively before you came along." "Oh... Well, I've... never really had a friend before. Not for a… very long time," he added forlornly. "Well, now you do!" She took his hand in both her hooves. He pulled away, but Dusk was amazed to see, along with everypony else that Discord was… smiling. It wasn't a wicked or a sadistic smile like he usually had. It was a genuine, happy smile at being called Fluttershy's friend. Even his eyes were shimmering faintly. Then, Angel arrived with some bad news which he had to mime for them to understand. Sweet Apple Acres had been flooded. Knowing who was behind this, they all left the party to see the state of the damage. And what a state it was. The beavers had built a pair of large dams that blocked off both the rivers. Such was the extent they'd constructed them that the entire orchard was flooded to the tree tops. Fluttershy tried talking to them, but it was no use. "You see Discord's behind all this, right?" asked Rainbow. "Oh, of course I do!" she snapped. "Do you all think I'm a silly, gullible fool?" They all murmured and muttered ashamedly their answers. "Well… less so your gullibility, more his capacity to deceive," replied Dusk. "I know that! I'm not stupid, Dusk!" "Yes, sorry," he said quickly. "I've just been trying to gain his friendship any way I can, so he'd come to trust and listen to me!" she explained angrily. At that point, Discord arrived on the scene. He was water skiing, pulled along by two fish soup tureens. "Time to see if it worked," she said. He left the water and starting drying himself off. "Fluttershy, oh, there you are. A sight for sore eyes." "As you can see, there's a big mess down here at Sweet Apple Acres," said Fluttershy sternly. "Oh, yes. Awful business, that. Mm." His concern was anything but sincere. "It is awful. This is Applejack's home, and it's being destroyed by innocent creatures who would never be acting this way if it weren't for your reckless behavior. You need to fix this," she ordered. "Oh, yes, very well, I will fix it. I only ask one thing in return," proposed Discord. "Yes?" "I ask that you never use your Element of Harmony against me. As a sign of our friendship," he added, pressing his fingers together. Dusk shook his head frantically at her, along with the others when she looked to them. This was clearly a trick. But she made her decision. "I will never use my Element of Harmony against you," she swore. She removed Kindness from around her neck and tossed it to Spike. "Excellent!" He snapped his fingers and there was a bright white light. When it faded, all the water that flooded the farm was frozen over. "There, much better! I do prefer ice skating to water skiing! Don't you?" Discord skated past three doppelgangers of himself sat at a desk. A non-existent crowd cheered his performance while the three doubles gave him perfect scores. "Discord! That's not fixing it!" She jumped onto the ice after him. "Why, I oughta...!" She slid right by him. "Where are you going?" he asked mockingly. "What's wrong, pal?" "Don't call me your pal!" "Oh, pfft, come skating with me, and we'll let bygones be bygones," he said, offering her a set. Spike joined her, holding Kindness for her. "Here you go, Fluttershy! Game on!" "He fixes this or he goes back to being stone!" called Twilight. "Princess Celestia will understand!" Though he had been quietly observing up until this point, Dusk suddenly felt the need to speak. "You know something?" Everypony looked at Dusk. "I actually started to think there might be a chance for you. Do you know why?" "Oh, please, do go on." Though Discord's response was sarcastic, he did. "Doom. He found a friend too, in that showpony I mentioned. When he hurt her, the guilt was so much, so foreign to him, that it physically hurt him to experience it. This might be wishful thinking, but I like to think that, wherever they may be, Trixie is helping to make Doom a better pony because she's become his friend and we all know what Doom is like." He gazed at Discord. "Ray once said to me that light and dark are two sides of the same coin in life. I've seen and experienced proof of that. I had some small inkling that if Doom could be changed by friendship, perhaps his old master could too. But I suppose it really was just wishful thinking." Was it his imagination or did Discord look slightly perturbed in the wake of this? Fluttershy was certainly caught in a dilemma, looking from her element to the skates that Discord held for her. But in the end, she was resolute. "I made a promise not to use my element against him, and I'm going to keep it." They all gasped and groaned. Yet even while he shook his head, Dusk still pondered something. What was it that Fluttershy had in mind here? It seemed she was handing Discord's victory to him on a silver platter, something the lord of chaos agreed on. He laughed mockingly. "You see? She wants to have fun with me because we're friends. She can't use the elements against me because we're friends. I'm free forever!" "Not. Your. Friend!" Fluttershy snarled, throwing the skates away. "Who cares? I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm Discord, the master of chaos!" He skated next to her while she stalked off angrily. "You think you can boss Discord around? You think I'm just going to turn all this back because you say so? Because if I don't, I'll lose the one friend I've had for a thousand years?" That was when something seemed to click in his head. His triumphant sneer was gone. His victorious demeanor drooped. For a long while, he gazed in the direction of the skates Fluttershy had abandoned. Dusk could even faintly make out the beginnings of tears in his eyes. "Well played, Fluttershy. Well played." He skated sadly to one of the trees and sat on it. When his hands joined together, his magic spread from them. In that instant, the ice flood melted away, the dam that caused it was gone and the beavers were returned to normal. Sweet Apple Acres was green and lush once again, all thanks to Fluttershy. They all galloped up to her and cheered. Dusk gave her a hug, during which she took the time to whisper something in his ear. "More than just wishful thinking." He nodded faintly and smiled proudly at her and she back at him. They looked to Discord when he appeared before them, looking contrite. "I liked it better my way, but... I guess when you're friends, you can't always have things exactly your way all the time, eh?" he said. "That's right. Thank you, Discord," she said sincerely. "Thank you, Fluttershy. And… I'm sorry. To all of you." Once again, Dusk felt his mismatched eyes linger on him, but without the malevolent intent. He stepped forward and looked right back. "I'd be willing to tell the story in more detail about what happened to Doom, if you'd be willing to listen. There's a few things I'd like to clear up about it and him," he said. "I suppose I could." He held out his lion paw. "Friends?" "Maybe that's pushing it a bit right now but in time... " Dusk reached out with his forehoof. "Fri- AGGGGGGGH!" His body jolted and tensed from the small electric shock that coursed through his body, accompanied with Discord's laughing. "Discord! That wasn't very nice!" scorned Fluttershy. "Oh come now, Fluttershy," he protested. "Reformed or not, I'm still the master of chaos. Would I expect you to stop taking care of animals or for Pinkie to cease her own chaotic tendencies?" "He has a good point," agreed Pinkie. "Guess we can't expect a change overnight." "I, meanwhile, have had months and years," said Dusk, once he recovered. Discord raised an eyebrow at this, which went even higher when Dusk conjured a disembodied hoof with his colour magic. It mimicked a few actions, which Discord tried to interpret. "Yes? Yes? Hm, up, down. Side to side? What's your point?" The answer came when Dusk moved the hoof from right to left and slapped him across the face. "Ow! What?! Did you just…?" "I did," replied Dusk. "A lot's changed while you've been gone." "I can see that," he chuckled, his wicked smile returning. "And I thought that friendship was going to put a damper on things. The game, Mr Noir, is on." Dusk tipped his hat in return. Perhaps playing the game would be entertaining. To say that Fallen was displeased would be an incredible understatement. Several days ago, he had left the sanctuary with Snick and Slash, purpose in his stride and determination in his heart. Another recruit was to be added to their troupe. A pony named Osteo, with very unique abilities that would suit his purpose. Then, he'd felt it. The ward he'd set up on Samore's door was forcibly disturbed. That meant she was trying to escape. With sharp orders to the twins, they doubled back to the base with all deliberate speed. The distance and the desire to remain undetected meant it still took great deal of time before they arrived back, almost two days after he'd initially felt it. By the time they did, he recieved some very disturbing news. Samore had escaped. Sting had a hoof in it, though the precise details seemed to escape him. Not that Fallen accepted such excuses. What mattered was that they'd let her escape. Tube had sent Edge, who had been partially damaged during her escape, to find her, but he had been unable to go beyond the mountains due to his appearance. Sting had gone out to search too. He'd followed her tracks to the foot of the mountain where they'd suddenly stopped. Some scuffs in the dirt told him she had taken off. She would be next to impossible to track while she was in the air. Even then, she had a great lead on them. Now, Sting suffered the full extent of Fallen's displeasure. "Incompetent lackwit," he growled whilst holding Sting in his magical aura by the throat. "Dost thou even have the faintest inkling of what thou hast done?!" .He tossed him across the room and he smacked into the wall. For a moment, Fallen considered giving him another scar to match the one he already had. But sadly, he still needed the idiot intact. "I… I am sorry, sir," he choked. "I… I don't know what happened." "Indeed." Tube was there too, with a clip pad. "A customary examination reveals trace amounts of some sort of pheromone in his blood system. The effect would have made him very susceptible to suggestion by whomever was secreting it." "The princess's work, no doubt." Fallen rounded on Tube. "And why did thou fail to take this into account?" "M-My lord," he stammered. "I-I-I didn't know sh-she was capable o-of-" "Silence!" he snapped. "I have lived a thousand years in Tartarus and even I have sufficient knowledge that certain insects can secrete a scent to attract mates! Not only that, but thy modifications on Edge failed to stop him from being taken by surprise! Thou gavest me assurances he would be a capable guard!" "H-He was s-s-supposed to b-be, my lord." Tube was up against a wall now, having backed away from an advancing Fallen. "I-I-I will make the n-necessary repairs a-a-and modifications." "See that thou dost, else I will leave thou in such a state that thou wilt have to match him in bodily modifications," he threatened, his voice lowering. "This turn of events is… most unfortunate." "Oh? What's all the commotion here? Did I miss something?" All heads turned to the sound of the voice coming from the doorway. Ligne Grace stood there, still draped his his cloak despite being indoors, leaning against the frame with his ever-present smile pervading his features. "Merely reminding Tube and Sting what should happen if they forget their roles. Something that thou should bear in mind as well, Grace," he added. Grace, however, was unperturbed, maintaining his easy-going half-lidded gaze as though he had not a care in the world. "My, trouble in paradise? I've hardly been here over a week and you're already attacking your subordinates. Curiosity is getting the better of me. What happened then?" Fallen rounded on Grace, bearing down on him. "Do not test me or we shall see if thou will remain as aloof when one of thy... props lies in splinters." He noted the flicker of fear on his face. "A very valuable guest has left our hospitality without permission to do so." A thought occurred to him. "And where wast thou when this event transpired, Grace?" The expression returned. "Me? Oh, I was out and about. I did happen to see Sting here exiting this lovely base of yours with another changeling in tow… would that happen to be-" "And thou didst not intervene?!" rumbled Fallen. "Should I have?" Grace responded smoothly. "Forgive me, but I was not made aware that this 'guest' of yours was actually a prisoner, nor was I made aware that nopony but you and your sneaky friends are allowed to leave. I thought perhaps that Sting's mate was here as well and they were simply going out for a stroll. Hardly my fault." "Possibly. Yet, instead of informing thyself by asking another, thou decided that thy pastime was of greater importance," retorted Fallen. "If that is the case, perhaps I should take measures to remind thee of thy true priorities. Edge has yet to have his new skills showcased properly. Perhaps a little practise on the targets thou would provide?" The remains of said pony stepped forward with heavy metallic clangs. Fallen nodded curtly and Edge began to march in the direction of Grace's quarters. "Wait!" he suddenly cried with his eyes widening, and moved to obstruct Edge. The metal pony merely pushed him aside and carried on. Instead, Grace turned to the master. "Peace, Fallen. Do not target my hard work just to make a point! If it helps, I do apologize for not taking action. I'm not the type to be suspicious of my apparent 'allies' such that I question their every move. In the future, I will endeavor to be more… aware of my surroundings." Fallen waited deliberately until Edge had left. Grace tried to make after him, but a gesture to the twins had him held back. Although they couldn't see what Edge was doing, Grace was trying even more to escape from Snick and Slash's grip with greater urgency and panic. The twins themselves appeared to be struggling with him; apparently his meagre appearance was deceptive of his strength. Only when he looked to be on the verge of trying to hurt the twins did Fallen put a stop to it. "Halt!" The metallic hoofsteps stopped and Fallen regarded Grace. "In the future, see thou dost improve. For now, the damage will be merely… cosmetic." There came a sound of metal scraping against wood and a clatter of something wooden being tossed aside. Edge strode back out and stood at rigid attention. Grace appeared to be frowning, but soon shook his head and tsked. He seemed to be in indecision as to go check the damage immediately or stay. "So…" Fallen had Pian and Zhan release him and looked down at him. "Am I clear, Grace?" Grace remained silent for a moment before sighing heavily and getting back up and dusting himself off. "Crystal, Fallen," he said without any trace of amusement. "I am thy leader, not thy friend," he reminded him. "Address me as 'sir' or 'my lord'. This will be thy only reminder and any other such requirements will not be verbal. Now again, am I clear?" "Fine. Yes, sir." He didn't reply this, but turned away from Grace. Insolent whelp. But he had dealt with other such attitudes when he was a captain. Discipline would be no issue. Fallen began to ponder their next course of action. It might be possible to find her again, but she was a changeling on the run. It wouldn't be difficult for her to blend in, not to mention she already had a large head-start. Still, there had to be some way they could- Something else alerted his senses. Being an alicorn, he'd discovered his body was sensitive to great shifts in magical power. He was able to feel the energy of Celestia raising the sun and Luna painting the night sky with her stars. Even the power of the Crystal Heart was something he could faintly feel. So when he sensed a surge in energy that could only be chaos magic, he knew it could only mean one certain thing: his former master was free once more. His frustration simmered even more. He knew not how Discord had become free again, but he no longer considered himself a slave to the Lord of Chaos. He had his own agenda now and Discord would surely try to find him once he learned of his escape, if he hadn't already. His power would surely be felt by Discord, since it was due to his magic he had made this ascendence to alicorn. Which meant… "Master?" Tube's voice did nothing to temper him. "I-Is there something wrong?" "Many things in this world are," he responded curtly. It would be best if they knew. "Discord is free." "The Chaos Lord?" Tube looked almost ecstatic. "W-Why, what joyous news indeed, my lord!" "Silence!" he snapped. "His presence is anything but positive! He will only try to interfere with our efforts now and he will most likely be able to find me if I depart from the sanctuary again!" "Ah. I see." Tube was mercifully silent before he spoke again. "M-Might I make a suggestion, m-my lord?" "See that it is quick and in aid to us or thou wilt be hard pressed to make suggestions in future," he warned. "U-Um, perhaps I c-could leave in your s-stead!" he stammered rapidly. "W-With this new d-development, s-someone will h-have to continue recruitment!" "I see." Fallen turned very slowly to face him. "And dost thou recall what transpired when last thou performed such a task, Tube?" "B-But these are ones you have s-selected yourself, m-master," replied Tube quickly. "I-I would merely be finding t-them for you, n-nothing more. Surely, u-under the circumstances… it is preferable?" Fallen didn't say it outloud, but he did have a point. It didn't help whenever he was reminded that it was due to him he was free to begin with. A pathetic coward as this… at least he was dedicated to the cause. "Very well then, Tube. If thou wishest, thou may," he decided. "I will provide thee with instructions on thine course of action. Snick and Slash will accompany thee. Consider it penance for thy previous errors, Tube." "Y-Yes, master," he said, with a quick bow. "I will not fail you!" "No. You will not." His helmet shifted to Grace. "Thou will also commit to the same task, Grace. Prove to me thou art capable of more than perfecting thine art." Grace looked vaguely surprised, though it was difficult to tell with his relatively mono-expressive face. "Certainly, if I am to be so suddenly placed on the leaving roster, then I must perform to my fullest…" He trailed off when he caught Fallen's cold glare on him. He shuffled slightly. "Right. Apologies. Yes, sir. Allow me to go prepare my things… as well as fix whatever is broken…" he muttered, walking off back down the hallway. "Fallen, sir?" Sting saluted sharply. "Allow me to assist as well. I will attempt to locate Samore. I assure you, sir, I will not-" "Precisely. Thou will not," he interrupted coldly. "It is because of thee the princess was lost to begin with." "But-" "Thou will remain here and I will hear no more of it. Thou hast committed a large enough blunder without another to accompany it." With that, Fallen turned and left for his meditation chamber.