//------------------------------// // Chapter XX: Tea with Chaos // Story: A Princess and Her Queen // by kildeez //------------------------------// Luna’s eyes drifted open, peering up through the goop. Thanks to her connection to the moon, she knew it was just a bit past midnight, which meant it was finally time to act. She closed her eyes again, this time focusing on a point just at the base of her horn, where her magic was produced. Though the goop drained her power before it could reach its tip and actually produce magical effects, it was still there at her horn’s base, and that was right where she needed it. After all, if you buried a coal fire beneath a few tons of concrete, wasn’t it still there, burning away somewhere out of sight? “Bind me, Chrysalis,” she mumbled, her concentration soaring. “Go ahead. Drain my magic, throw me in a cocoon, take my friends prisoner, cut off all physical connections with the outside world, you just go on ahead and try, but there’s one thing you can never deny me.” When she opened her eyes again, they glowed with a pure, white intensity. “I am the Mistress of the Dreamscape!” She hissed in a hushed whisper, her mind leaving its physical form and flying into the collective subconscious every sapient mind inhabited. The green goop and the tiny prison in the Crystal Palace were gone, replaced with a massive, unending stream, flowing beneath her hooves as she hovered in place. This stream – no, this river - was the amalgam of billions of minds, the place where all dreamers could be reached. It was an infinite, ever-flowing visual representation of billions upon trillions of hopes, nightmares, and ideas, all woven together in a perfect tapestry that was created at the dawn of time when the first primordial creature crawled out of some prehistoric soup, stood, and proclaimed to the uncaring cosmos: “I am ALIVE!” Plus, it was purple and had sparkles in it. She always wondered about that. I get the sparkles, but why purple? She mused, feeling free to drop her formal tone since she was about as alone as anypony could get without banishing themselves to the moon. Wouldn’t a rainbow make more sense? It’s a whole lot of incredibly diverse ideas and feelings and hopes, so why should it be so monochromatic? Color choices of the universe aside, the sight of the stream never failed to take her breath away. She stretched her wings and swooped down to its surface for a closer look, which on reflection was a completely unnecessary gesture, since she could just think about where she wanted to go and pop up right there, this being a dream and all. This was probably the only chance she was going to get to stretch out her wings for a while, though, even if they were just an imaginary illusion she crafted to keep her sense of self while mingling with the rest of the collective. Besides, she liked this part. As usual, the moment she dipped into the fluid-like body of the stream, her entire form quivered and tingled, as if someone wrapped her in a wool blanket and started rubbing really hard. Ignoring the tingling, the Princess searched through the river for one particular current, a specific eddy she knew like the back of her own hoof. “There you are,” she whispered, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her lips. This current swirled in tiny loop-de-loops, shimmering with hopes and dreams that reflected its owner’s wonder with the world, while sparkling with the power of the sun itself. “Hello, dear sister,” Luna smiled, swimming towards the current and plunging right into it. Immediately, she found herself in a small dining room, like something one would find in an upper-middle-class family’s home. A plain, white, lace table cloth adorned the oak table, which had three places set at it. She smiled and shook her head. Her beloved sister was getting better at dreamcrafting, but she still had a long way to go. “Sister?” Somepony asked just behind her. “Speak of the devil,” Luna shrugged, turning to face the pony with an easygoing smile on her face. Celestia gazed down at her sibling, the one eye she always kept revealed wide in shock. The smile grew wider on Luna’s face. “Tia dearest, you’ve seen better days.” “Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Celestia gasped, dropping to her knees to nuzzle the smaller Alicorn. Tears of absolute relief wetted both monarchs’ cheeks as they embraced like a soldier home from the front and his bride. “Of course I’m fine, Tia,” Luna said, her voice cracking despite herself. “Did you really think one little changeling invasion could threaten me? You survived one, after all.” “I got lucky,” the solar princess sighed, her lower lip quivering as she wiped at her tears. “I heard Chrysalis got a bit rough when she found you, and I thought…I thought…” Luna embraced her sister again. “Shhh, I’m fine, really,” she whispered, sparing the larger Alicorn from finishing the sentence. “A few bumps and scrapes, sure, but the changelings patched me up alright.” “They…did?” Celestia asked, an eyebrow arching. “Well, what about food? Or anything else? Have they interrogated you yet? Oh Maker above, did they…” “Sister, hush,” Luna placed a hoof over her sister’s mouth. “No, they haven’t done any of that. In fact, the Queen and I had dinner just this past night.” Celestia’s eyebrows hunched. “You and Chrysalis had dinner,” she stated. “It didn’t go well,” Luna said with a casual shrug. “But I think she was honestly trying to apologize for the way she beat me up earlier.” “Apologize?” Luna nodded. “I don’t think their intention is to harm anypony. I think they have other plans, and want those to go over smoothly, which they can’t do if the whole city breaks out in a full-scale riot.” “Other plans,” Celestia sniffled, her brow furrowing again in thought. Her voice still quivered with her tears, but Luna could see the gears turning behind her sister’s eyes. She smiled again. It was wonderful to watch the old master work. “Do you have any idea what these other plans might be?” “Not even the beginnings of a clue, but I think I know where to start looking,” Luna gestured to the table. “I think we should discuss that over dinner, though. I see you were expecting me?” “Yes,” Celestia shook her head sheepishly as she looked over the humble accommodations. “Sorry, I know it’s a bit less opulent than we’re used to.” “Oh, it’s not bad for a beginner,” Luna reassured her, then tapped a hoof on the floor. Instantly, crystalline tile sprang into existence, covering the floor as the plain walls shrank away and expanded, giving birth to massive, stained-glass windows and gigantic, gold-covered painting frames with various masterpieces from the Canterlot Museum of Art manifesting within them. The walls converged into a vaulted point high above their heads, sprouting a humongous chandelier covered in dozens of lit candles and etched with floral patterns on each of its hundreds of gold-plated arms. Next came the table, which promptly expanded into something fit for a banquet hall, its plain legs replaced with statues carved into the likenesses of the sisters themselves holding up one end while King Aegeus and Queen Aeria, their beloved parents, supported the other. The silverware and plates promptly morphed into jewelry-studded, gold-plated versions of themselves, steaming with heaping helpings of mashed potatoes, garlic bread, and for dessert, an ice cream bar built right into the side of the table. Finally, the simple wooden chairs grew until they towered over the sisters, becoming thrones to rival their actual seats back in Canterlot: one engraved with an etching of the sun in its headboard, one with a beaming crescent moon. “Show-off,” Celestia snickered as Luna beamed up at her. Taking their seats next to one another, the sisters began their dinner quietly, with napkins on their laps and silverware in their grips. “By the way, I noticed you had three places set at the table,” Luna said between mouthfuls of garlic mashed potatoes and sips of wine. “Were you expecting somepony else?” “Well,” Celestia smiled knowingly and shrugged. “Yes and no.” Luna paused in her meal to deadpan directly at her sister. “Tia, you know I hate it when you speak in riddles.” “Terribly sorry, sister, I’ve grown used to it over the centuries,” Celestia replied, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. “You see, I am expecting someone else, but using the term ‘somepony’ would imply that he is a pony.” Luna gagged on a roll of garlic bread, turning to the solar monarch with the kind of look people usually reserved for funerals and national tragedies. “Oh, Maker above, please don’t tell me you invited him into our sanctuary!” “Invited, no,” Celestia sighed, sipping at her goblet in as dainty a manner as possible. “But I know better than to assume he’s not going to be someplace simply because he isn’t expected.” No sooner had those words left her mouth when a few loud explosions sounded outside. “crapcrapcrapcrapCRAP!” A certain someone with a British accent screamed just outside their hallowed halls. “C’mon son! We’ve almost made – Timmy, no! NO! Oh God, here comes a glass break!” Discord smashed through one of the more intricate windows astride a bicycle, a little brown mustache across his upper lip reminiscent of some cheesy 70s action movie and a white helmet strapped to his skull, right on top of his horns. Glass rained down around him, catching in his teal tank top and tight black biker shorts. “BACKFLIP INTO VICTORY!” He bellowed, narrowly dodging a swinging wrecking ball and landing on a red patch of tile, which immediately sprouted a tiny flag and exploded into confetti as a little trumpet sound played. “YEAH! 99.9999999999999% impossible, my asshole!” He screamed, arms pumping in victory. Celestia raised her goblet to her mouth to cover a smile as Luna frowned across the table at him. “Hello, Discord,” she said flatly. “What, no Happy Wheels fans here?” He asked, pulling off the helmet. “I know it’s a little dated, but still, it’s not like it doesn’t exist anymore.” Luna tiredly looked to her sister, who shrugged right back. “Just go with it,” Celestia said with another sip of wine. “That’s what I figured,” Luna sighed, looking over the bike and noticing the empty child’s seat bolted to its back. “Discord, do we even want to know why you have an empty child's seat attached to that thing?” “Wha – Dammit!“ He snapped his fingers and turned to look back at the empty seat. “I lost another Timmy! Oh, Irresponsible Mom is not gonna be happy about this!” "Discord, if you could take your seat, please?" Celestia asked, patiently pointing to the smaller chair set across from her. The draconequus shrugged and snapped his fingers again, this time causing the bike, flag, gym shorts, and killer mustache to disappear. Another snap and he appeared in his seat, legs crossed, a monocle in one eye and a teacup with saucer in his claws. "Quite, dearies. I say, that business with Zimbabwe's hyperinflation doesn't seem quite able to resolve itself, now, does it?" "Ugh," Luna tossed her goblet away in favor of the bottle materializing on the table. "Dinner with the God of Chaos. What a perfectly cruddy way to end a perfectly cruddy day." "You wound me, Lulu! And the Zimbabweans!" The draconequus gasped, setting the teacup and saucer down, only to watch them both sprout tiny arms and legs and start running around the table. "Can you just be serious for a few minutes!? In case you haven't noticed, the Crystal Empire has fallen and I'm being held prisoner by the changelings!" She barked, taking a gulp from her bottle. Quite suddenly, Discord sighed. "I know," he whispered. With one more snap of his fingers, the monocle, tuxedo, and saucer with teacup (which were currently dueling it out using toothpicks as swords) all vanished without so much as a sprinkle of chocolate syrup. "Sorry about that, Luna. Just...thought I'd try to lighten the mood." Luna blinked a few times, eyeing the draconequus suspiciously. His ears folded back and he avoided eye contact, keeping his head bowed and snout pointed at the tile. "Well...so long as you're sorry," she shrugged, lifting the bottle to her lips. "Don't drink that," Celestia said quickly, grabbing the bottle from Luna's grasp. "Wha - but sister! I think I deserve a drink after today!" Luna yelled defensively, reaching for the bottle as it hovered to the larger Alicorn. "Besides, it's not real! It doesn't have to make me drunk if we don't wish it so!" "That's not what I meant," Celestia replied, upending the bottle over the table. Immediately, a snake the length of the table slithered its way out, uncoiling from inside its glass container and slithering over her plate. Luna gaped and turned an absolutely livid expression on the draconequus, steam pouring out of her ears. Discord didn't look up, but rather snickered to himself. "YOU SUNNUVA..." she started. "Oh come now, Lulu, she would've just given you a little kiss!" Discord laughed as the massive reptile glided towards him. Still chuckling, he leaned down and puckered his lips. The snake promptly reared up and gave him a little peck on the lips, releasing a satisfied little hiss. Suddenly, he jolted back and stuck a claw in the reptile’s face. "Oi! No tongue!" He screamed. "We talked about this!" Dejected, the snake hung its head and slunk off the table, gliding over the tile with a few watery trails of tears following it. "Hey, don't be like that! You'll find someone someday," he called after it, watching the snake vanish into some darkened corner. He turned back to the Princesses and shook his head, giving them a sheepish little smile. "Sorry you both had to see that. I've told her time and again that I'm spoken for, but..." "As sweet as that is - I think - can we please return to the problem at hoof?" Celestia sighed. "I mean, we do have a crisis of massive proportions brewing! There isn't a minute to waste!" "That's where you're wrong, dear Tia," he replied, grabbing his goblet and taking a quick sip. Then he frowned, the corner of his mouth falling in distaste. A bottle of chocolate milk appeared at his side and tipped over the goblet, mixing with the wine. Nodding in satisfaction, he promptly sipped his concoction and lounged back in his chair. "There's no better time to waste time than when you have no time to waste! A dear friend told me that once. Good guy. Bit obsessed with gingers, though." “Ugh, you see!? You see, dear sister!?” Luna cried, gesturing wildly at the draconequus. “He can’t take even life-or-death situations seriously! He shouldn’t be here!” Discord raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his drink. Clearing his throat for attention, he sat up in his chair, allowing his hind legs to fall to the floor. When he spoke again, it was quick, his words like bullets out of a machine gun. “Currently, the Crystal Empire is occupied by no less than two full-strength divisions of changelings, just based off the sheer amount of extra chatter the psychic waves coming off the city have been radiating. Don’t ask me how I can tell, I just can. This means their numbers stand at somewhere between twenty and thirty thousand, which unfortunately rules out the possibility of a frontal assault, seeing to it that there is simply no way to neutralize that many changelings before any hostages are killed – yourself included, Princess.” Luna stared at the draconequus, her jaw agape, as he looked to her with the sorriest, most apologizing look she had ever seen on anypony’s face. Up until that moment, she thought it impossible that the Lord of Chaos might be honestly concerned for her safety, and while that millisecond of a look hadn’t completely reversed that assumption, it at least put a chink in her armor, making her think twice about his attitudes towards everything. Then he was back to staring passively into his drink, watching the chocolate milk as it swirled around in the wine and made funny little shapes. “This would leave some form of commando assault aimed at infiltrating the Palace and neutralizing the Queen herself in the hopes of cowing the rest of her army, but we all know the unlikelihood of such a mission succeeding. Changelings are, by their nature, master infiltrators, and as such we should assume that they are skilled in the ways of counter-infiltration. On top of that, every entry point I've attempted thus far has been covered in enchantments and alarms that even I don’t recognize, making a covert assault impossible. Of course, there is the possibility of smuggling the team in with one of the supply caravans, but I again return you to the natural abilities of a changeling and what that could mean. The likelihood of such an operation failing would be high, and if it did, there’s no telling what could happen. The caravans are a fortunate piece of mercy from Chrysalis, a mercy that I don’t think we should test. “So with the military options eliminated, this leaves us with far less conventional solutions: chief among them being Tia and I confronting Chrysalis ourselves. Of course, this in itself has shortcomings and unknowns, including the possibility that Chrysalis might still best us. She’s already bested you, Luna. It’s obvious that she’s found some great source of power, and is using it to her advantage. And even if we do beat her, such a battle might still take time, time which she could use to turn the Empire into a bloody graveyard and leave us with the same problem the first proposition possessed.” “We could try the Element Bearers,” Celestia offered helpfully. “They’re already in the city. All we have to do is smuggle their Elements to them and gather them together!” “That wouldn’t work,” Luna sighed after a nice, long gulp of wine, making sure she felt every single moment of the alcohol burning its way down to her stomach before releasing the bottle with a satisfied little hiccup. “Chrysalis has already captured Pinkie and Fluttershy, and I haven’t a clue where she’s keeping them.” Celestia looked to her sister, her eyes lighting up with almost as much happiness as when she'd first seen the younger Alicorn. “So…Twilight…” “Might still be free,” Luna shrugged. “I just don’t know. Sorry, Tia.” “Ah,” the older mare sighed and drooped in her chair, her wings folding back behind her body. “Not to mention smuggling the Elements possesses risks all its own,” Discord added, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “You’d have to locate each of the six bearers at the same time, and figure out how to bring them all together without attracting a smidgeon of attention. Meanwhile, you’d have the most powerful weapons Equestria has left running around behind enemy lines. As it exists, Chrysalis only has a couple ponies, possibly more, though that’s just conjecture at this point…“ he added, looking to Celestia, who closed her eyes and nodded in understanding. “…however, add the Elements themselves into the mix, objects of incredible power and historical value to our nation, not to mention a major morale booster to the public, and…” He trailed off, allowing the sisters to fill in the blanks. “So, where does that leave us?” Celestia asked. Discord guzzled the remainder of his drink and sighed. “I have absolutely no idea. There are just far too many unknowns for us to formulate a plan. We don’t know if Chrysalis will follow through on her threats to the Empire’s populace, we don’t know where the Element Bearers are or their condition, we don’t even know what the changelings are doing here. It could be a plan to distract the majority of Equestria’s armed forces in the isolated north while the remainder of their swarm launches a strike on the homeland, but I doubt it could be something so obvious. The Home Guard's units have had time to mobilize to defend Equestria, and Chrysalis must know this. We’re missing something, and damned if I know what it could even be!” “Luna, you mentioned something about another changeling plan before, didn’t you?” Celestia asked, turned to her younger sister. Luna nodded. “It’s just a feeling I had, based on the actions of the changelings since they've occupied the city.” “Care to elaborate, Lulu?” Discord asked, refilling his glass with whipped cream, fava beans, and a nice Chianti. “They don’t look like they’re preparing an attack to break through our forces surrounding the Empire, but at the same time they don’t appear to be settling in for a terribly long occupation,” the Night Princess explained. “I’ve noticed them surrounding the Crystal Palace with some sort of goop, but that’s it. Plus, none of the changelings brought any cold weather clothing with them, and only those on patrol have even raided clothing stores for anything. It seems like they have something going on in the Crystal Palace, and when it’s finished, they plan on bugging out.” “Oi, leave the puns to the professionals,” Discord said with a little grin. “Sorry, that was unintentional,” Luna sighed, a hoof massaging her temple. “Do you have any clue what they might be up to in the Palace?” Celestia asked hopefully. “Sadly, no. They’re keeping me locked away in some smaller room in the dungeons, and since the changeling occupation, I’ve only seen bits of the upper floors and the dining hall.” Suddenly, a blast of heat bombarded her, rolling around her face and stifling the air in the room. She turned in surprise as Celestia reared up in her seat, her mane transforming from an ethereal, flowing rainbow to a roaring curtain of fire as hot as the surface of the sun. “She locked you in the Crystal Dungeons!?” She barked, flames rolling off her seat. “That little bug bitch! I’ll…” “Calm sister! I’m inside some magic-sapping cocoon! It’s really somewhat comfortable, in its own way!” Luna gasped, holding up her hooves to calm her sibling. At that, the flames retreated, leaving behind a pattern of scorch marks and a few errant flames with the alicorn at their center. Taking a few deep breaths, Celestia calmly sat back in her seat. “If you say so, Luna,” she seethed. “But if Chrysalis thinks she’s going to walk away from this, she has another thing coming.” “Criminy, and I thought Lulu was the emotional one,” Discord mused, quietly taking a sip of his drink while leaning back in his seat. Immediately, a curl of flame jetted across the table and hit him square in the stomach, spilling him head over hoof/talon as he spat out what drink was in his mouth. “Kidding, kidding!” He gasped, pulling himself to his feet and cradling his head. He resettled himself in his chair, shaking his head to clear it. “Okay, this resolves a few unknowns, but it still leaves us with one very important question: just what is Chrysalis planning that requires her to occupy the Crystal Empire?” “Again, I have no idea,” Luna replied sadly. “But I might have some clue as to where we can find out: the Queen’s dreams.” Immediately, the draconequus and elder Alicorn lit up, not even noticing that she'd announced this plan with all the enthusiasm of a high school jock at a Dungeons and Dragons convention. “Brilliant, Lulu!” Discord gasped. “Why didn’t we think of it sooner!?” Celestia gasped ecstatically. “Because there’s one tiny problem,” Luna replied. “I have no idea where in the dream-stream Chrysalis’s dreams would be, or what her subconscious current looks like.” The other beings’ expressions fell every bit as quickly as they’d risen. “Oh,” Celestia sighed, her mane drooping. “I guess that makes sense: otherwise, you’d have seen something like this coming, right?” “Trust me, it’s not for lack of trying,” Luna grumbled. “The idea to find it hit me the moment Cadence and Shining Armor said their vows, and I’ve been scouring the collective subconscious for it every night since.” “Darn,” Discord sighed, swirling his drink in his grasp. “So, back to square one?” “Looks like it,” Luna shook her head out of frustration. “I swear, if there was just something we knew about her, something personal that only she would know, something that would make her mind stick out amongst the others…” It hit her all at once. She had just leaned back, ready for another sip at her wine, when she sputtered against it. “Curse me for a fool,” she muttered. Celestia cocked her head. “Sister?” “I know something,” Luna said. “I know one word that will light her mind up like the Northern Lights.” “You do!?” Both Celestia and Discord gasped. Luna nodded. “Of course, it helps that we know she’s in the Crystal Empire,” Luna added. “That narrows it down, and I think I might have a way to make her stand out just so.” “Well? Out with it, Sister! Don’t keep your Tia out of the loop!” Apparently, that doesn’t extend to monsters like my kind, does it? Luna bit her lip, started to speak, then closed her muzzle again. Chrysalis’s hurt glare burned in her mind’s eye. “If it’s all the same to you, Tia, I’d rather keep that private. This is something that can only be handled by me and me alone, after all, and I would appreciate your trust on it.” Celestia blinked, obviously not expecting that answer, but that little prod at Tia trusting her got Luna what she wanted. “Okay, Lulu, I trust you,” she said quietly, easing back into her chair. "It still sounds too simple," Discord frowned, the goblet rising to his lips again, but more out of habit than a need for sugar-filled Anthony Hopkins references. "It's all we have," Celestia said, staring down into the barely-touched mashed potatoes on her plate. She sighed; garlic mashed potatoes were usually her favorite. "I move we reconvene again tomorrow evening, to go over anything Luna might have found... "...or not," she added quietly, disguising the words and the worried look on her face with a well-timed spoonful of mashed potatoes and a few carefully-coordinated movements of her wings and forelegs. "Well, I guess I should get started," Luna said, pushing away from the table. "Time is wasting." "Oh, Lulu, you've hardly even touched the feast you've made for us!" Celestia said. "It's not real, Tia. Besides, I should really get to work. Finding this dream might be our best shot at stopping Chrysalis and saving the Empire!" "I should probably get going, too," Discord sighed, standing up from his chair, which promptly exploded behind him. "I've got to get up early if I want to plant stink bombs in the officer's mess before anyone gets there." "And that's my cue to wake myself up," Celestia said, taking a final, dainty sip of wine before folding her napkin on the table and standing out of her seat. "Oh, come now Tia," Discord pouted, a pogo stick and a helmet materializing in his grip with little poofs of talcum powder. "Must you always spoil my fun?" "Who said we weren't gonna have fun when you woke up?" She asked, a sultry little half-smile on her muzzle. "Well, you just...oh!" His eyebrows raced up near his horns, continuing on far past his head to hang out a few yards over his scalp. "Oh! Princess, you! Just...you!" "Hurry up," she cooed, leaning onto the table and puckering her lips seductively, her wings splayed out behind her. "I'll be waiting." "Hoo-hoo!" He grinned as he mounted his pogo stick. "AH'M GON' GET LAID!" He sang happily as he pogoed right out of the room, blasting a hole through the wall. Just then, a massive bouquet of harpoons went whistling right by his head. "Missed me!" He yelled, disappearing into the nether waiting for him outside. Luna shivered as he left. "I nearly forgot you two were together during all this." "Yeah," Celestia smiled sheepishly. Just outside the hole Discord had disappeared through, a few loud explosions sounded, the ground rocking with each blast. "MINE FIELD DODGE!" He screamed amidst the near-cavalcade of explosions sounding all around him. A few flecks of plaster drifted onto the sisters’ snouts from the ceiling, dislodged by the blasts. "I will never know what you see in him," the Night Princess grumbled, shaking her head after the draconequus as he disappeared into the distance, dodging floating mines, automated crossbows, and flying minivans. Celestia just smiled and nuzzled the smaller Alicorn again. “You’ll understand when you fall in love, sister,” her tone grew searing hot, her voice reaching temperatures to rival her sun. “And you will get that chance, if I have to fight my way to the Crystal Palace and pull you out of there myself.” Luna clenched her teeth. She loved her sister dearly, but when she got angry, the Princess of the Sun was scarier than a manticore duct-taped to a grizzly bear. “Hopefully, that won’t be necessary. If we can figure out what Chrysalis is up to, we can force her out without anypony firing a shot.” “Good luck,” Celestia whispered, giving her sister a little kiss on the forehead. “And be safe. Please.” “I’ll try my best,” Luna replied with a little wink, and then she spread her wings out and took off, propelling herself back out of the dream sphere and into the great, subconscious stream. Fanning her wings, she hovered in place and twisted in mid-air, looking back at her sister’s dream current. As she watched, another stream split off her sister’s gentle yellow flow, this one a deep brown, chocolate milk oozing off its surface as it corkscrewed in the stream. She rolled her eyes as the little current twisted and turned, eventually spelling out “WHATTUP MOONCHEEKS” in cursive before suddenly rocketing up to the stream’s surface, signaling its owner’s waking. “How very mature, Discord. Very well-put,” she mumbled to herself, flapping deeper into the stream.