//------------------------------// // Into the Hedge Maze, Bandaid! // Story: The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon // by Aegis Shield //------------------------------// The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon Part 24: Into the Hedge Maze, Bandaid! Nightmare Moon and Bandaid stood in the royal gardens of the palace, staring at the tinted black dome that had formed over the hedge maze. Discord’s magic was odd. It tingled the hooves of anypony that got near it, and numbness greeted even the slightest caress. Now and then a few forks of lightning ran back and forth across it. “I dare not enter, Bandaid, my brother will know,” Nightmare said. “But he said nothing of others going in,” she offered a cautious smile. “And I’m going in because…?” Bandaid said frownily. “My brother seemed to like you,” Nightmare said, fitting her beloved with a saddlebag. “And the palace guards aren’t going in because…?” he let that one hang as well. “My brother is many things, slayer of a pure innocent is not one of them,” Nightmare told him. Bandaid stared at her. That didn’t make any sense at all. He’d killed a third of the planet some ages ago. The stallion opened his mouth, lifting a hoof, “It’s nothing to do with your virginity, dearheart, or I would not send you in.” Bandaid blushed angrily, that wasn’t what he was going to say! “Soldiers are weapons in his eyes. If he were to see us approaching Celestia’s prison with an armload of weapons, he may torment her or make things worse,” she gestured to the black, crackling dome. “And what am I, in his eyes?” Nightmare hesitated a moment, “Well, erm…” she coughed a bit. “Your boy toy?” he said, splaying his ears and frowning at her flatly. “Something of the sort. But you know you are more and that is what matters,” Nightmare said embarrassedly. “We are not sending you to spring my sister from captivity, merely check on her.” “Make sure she isn’t being tortured or flayed alive?” he offered with a smirk. Nightmare stared at him in horror. “Er! Well I don’t think he would do that, he didn’t seem the type!” he quickly amended. “I’m sure she’s fine! Just… contained! Like you were on the moon!” he instantly winced and looked at the ground. “Shall I fetch you a shovel, to continue your hole-digging?” Nightmare said acidly. He hung his head. When he looked sufficiently sorry enough, she led him to the edge of the hedge maze. “Remember, you are there to observe and deliver the saddlebag I’ve given you. Nothing more. Do not try to free my sister. My brother will know and I don’t dare his wrath within the first week of his freedom.” “You’re sure it’s safe?” Bandaid said timidly. Nightmare slowly settled onto her knees before him so that they were eye to eye. “I would trust no other with this task, my love. Discord can be a cruel god, there is no doubt, but he does not harm without reason. Just… do not give him reason.” “I… understand,” the stallion said slowly, scrubbing a hoof through his mane to bolster his strength. “Go in, deliver, check on her, come out,” he nodded a few times, repeating the instructions over and over until he felt better. “I’m ready,” he nodded. The guards parted when the Princess and the Nurse approached. “I am sending in Nurse Bandaid to check on my sister,” she told them officially. “Remain at your posts, and be vigilant for civilians.” “Yes Princess,” the six of them saluted as one. Nightmare and Bandaid approached the black barrier slowly, looking up at the dome. “I will open the way. Don’t dawdle,” she kissed his cheek, then lit her horn. Bandaid steeled himself. Nightmare’s magic touched Discord’s. They swirled about, frolicked, twisted and whined together. Steams of molten, primal power flowed back and forth over each other like so many different blobs of paint. Black and blacker than black. The forks of lightning that worked back and forth across the dome faded for a few moments. A slit worked its way from the ground to eye-level, flapping about like the seam of a mare’s dress. The air-exchange was a bit musty, as though no breeze had gone under the dome in some time. Bandaid darted forward with a little burst of courage. Nightmare watched him go, then slowly let the barrier stitch itself back up again. Huffing a bit at the effort, Nightmare went to a nearby stone bench to wait. Fixing her eyes on the threshold where Bandaid stood, she gave her nod of approval. He heaved a great breath, then stepped out of her sight. Discord had shown him approval at the cocktail party. That would be enough to protect him. Discord, while he was of chaos, was not without reason. As long as Bandaid respected the… ‘situation’, he would be safe. Inside, Bandaid stood alone. The perpetual dusk of the hedge maze’s dome and lack of wildlife made it feel very eerie. Sounds echoed without reason to, and every crunch of every leaf gave him pause and fear. Coughing aloud and remembering that he was alone, he took a deep breath. Touching the black amulet around his neck and remembering Nightie’s instructions, he ventured forth. A maze, no matter it’s complexity, was always bound by a single rule. Since he was a seasoned Ponies and Castles player, Bandaid was privy to this rule. No matter how big, how scary, or how winding the maze might have been it had a weakness. Opening his saddlebag, he pulled on a thick hoody and pulled the hood over his muzzle. He looked about to get his bearings and find the maze’s center, then hunched. Using his earth pony strength, he walked through the first wall. The leaves and sticks scratched at him, but mere shrubbery was no match for his thick clothing. Snickering a little, he went straight as the crow flies through the maze. Any idiot would have spent hours wandering about. Or maybe used the ‘touch the right wall and just follow it’ trick. But he knew better, and he didn’t have hours to wander around. If the walls weren’t solid, why respect them? He had a Princess to save! Er, check on. Check on, yes. It sounded less epic that way, really. Grumbling to himself, but not turning his nose up at his given quest, he continued on. A dozen walls. Two dozen. Three dozen. Every now and then he would check the dome to get his bearings. Since it was blessedly circular, he could just use the highest point as his compass. He pressed on, getting a little cut on his nose as he pressed through a few more hedge walls. Basically cheating as he was, Bandaid took less than an hour to reach the center and find the clearing. Stepping out into the courtyard, he peered about as he peeled off his hoody and tossed it aside. Princess Celestia stood in the center, on a stone dais raised barely an inch over the grass. The shattered remains of Discord’s stone prison lay strewn about. She stared vacantly ahead, legs planted as though she were expecting to be assaulted. “Princess Celestia!” Bandaid galloped forward to meet her. She gave no reaction. She didn’t even look down at him. “…Princess?” he said, tilting his head. He waved a hoof energetically in front of her face, fake-punched, then gave a sudden shout. Celestia didn’t bat an eye. Bandaid slowly set his saddlebag down. In all honesty he’d been expecting chains, or a cage. Perhaps a big vine monster, made of the hedge maze plants themselves. But no, she stood there unmolested, just… unmoving. It was eerie to look at. Was she turned to painted stone?! Mumbling an apology Bandaid ran a hoof across Celestia’s face, then her belly, then along her ribs. Flesh, organs, and bones all felt about right. Medical mindset coming to the forefront, he frowned at her. Was she sleep-walking? He lifted the front of her muzzle to see her gums. No blackness. She’d not eaten a poison. He pulled at one of her massive wings, but it stayed curled tightly against her side. “Wait…” he said aloud. He came back about to study her face. Now and then, one of Celestia’s features would twitch. Her eyes would flick to one side. Her nose would flare. “Are you having a seizure?!” Bandaid demanded, mouth agape in horror. Quickly running behind her, he rushed his hooves over her major muscles. Spasms. “Oh jeez, alright… ah…” he flicked through all of his medical knowledge. “Seizure patient, muscle spasms… still on her feet. Vomiting danger…” he turned quickly and used the top of his head to push her over. Legs locked as they were, Celestia fell with all her limbs outstretched. Rolling her onto her side and apologizing over and over, he took her head in his hooves. With a good deal of effort, he forced her powerful neck muscles to turn to one side. Touching her haunch and her shoulder with a hoof, he waited. Haunch twitch. Shoulder twitch. Haunch, shoulder. Haunch, shoulder. “Where are you running?” he whispered worriedly, wondering what her wide eyes were actually seeing. He touched her forehead. Warm. Fishing into his saddlebags he covered her with the quilt that had been taken from Nightmare’s bedroom. He covered her, save her neck and head. “At least this’ll rest your legs. If you’re stuck like this…” he whispered. He stroked her forehead a few times to move her mane out of her eyes. “I bet it’s some kinda spell.” He leaned over her eyes, peering into the first one and cursing the poor light. Dialated pupils. The nurse sighed worriedly. Full-body muscle lock, open eyes, muscle twitching, fever, phantom sensory reactions… “What did Discord do to you?” he whispered. Bandaid flinched, his hooves jumping to his mouth. Thousands of miles away, Discord’s ear turned. =-=-=-=-=-= Discord turned his head in the middle of conversation. “Hmm?” His all-seeing eyes expanded at the pupil until they were coated black. His gaze pierced stone, earth, metal, flesh, and distance until he saw the poor mortal invoking his name. “What’s this?” he said. Chrysalis looked up with interest. “Someone invoke your name, brother?” “Yes. I must cut our visit short, I’m afraid,” he turned and gave her a genuine smile. They embraced and he patted her back. “I’ll visit again soon, promise!” he clucked. “But I’ve matters to attend to. Keep an eye on Sombra for me. Tah!” he waved, then snapped his fingers and vanished. =-=-=-=-=-= Bandaid had backed himself into a corner of the courtyard, looking around with beads of sweat on his brow. Both of his front hooves were cupped over his mouth. His eyes flicked back and forth. Nightmare had warned him. To speak her brother’s name-! “Is to turn his gaze upon you!” A mind-reading spell crashed across the nurse’s vision and the god of chaos himself BURST into existence. The stallion eep’d in horror, flung back by the displacement of air. Righting himself, he put his hooves over his head in case lightning should come slamming down upon him. “D-Discord!” Bandaid said, aquiver at his presence. “We meet again, my little pony,” Discord said. “The healer with half a brain. Must’ve lost it if you’re in here snooping.” The child of Faust snapped his fingers. Bandaid’s skull flipped open as though on a lid, exposing the tender organ beneath. He screamed, not in agony, but in terror. “Oh no, it’s still there.” Discord smirked, turning his back on him to inspect Celestia. “She’s still here, I see. Not planning on rescuing the Princess, are we? That’s a little cliché, even from a Pony’s and Castle’s player like you…” he trailed off, his black eyes scanning the past hour or so. No such rescuing plans, not even from Nightmare. “Hmm, fair enough,” he mused. “D-Discord, please…!” Bandaid mewled, trembling and trying not to let anything precious spill out of himself. “M-my head!” he didn’t dare lift a hoof, didn’t dare move. The open air stung a bit. “Of course,” he snapped his fingers again, poofing out of the air and re-appearing right next to him. The stallion tried not to flinch away. “Just making sure you’re not getting any bad ideas in that little head of yours,” he smiled, leaning to look at the exposed brain. “Heh!” he reached and snapped the hinged skull-top closed. The seam vanished. Bandaid collapsed to his belly in relief. He touched his head, feeling about. Everything seemed normal again. Reaching, he levitated the saddle bag that lay on the ground to himself to inspect the contents. Nothing suspicious. “You’ll pardon me if I’m a little cautious. I’m no fool as some might portray me. Celestia will no doubt be a bit… miffed, when she gets out. I don’t plan on being around when she’s released.” “Y-you’ll let her go, though, right?” Bandaid braved, not daring to rise to talk to him. “I’ve no reason not to. It’s not as though she’s committed some heinous crime,” Discord smiled at him sideways. “Once all my siblings have heard my side of things, she’s as free as a bird. I’ve already given my word.” He put a forearm over his forehead. “Does no one trust my word?!” he sighed dramatically. “Did you have to do… all this?” Bandaid whispered worriedly, coming and kneeling next to the ailing Celestia. She’d not moved nor made a sound in all the commotion. “You’re hurting her.” Discord dropped his silliness for a moment, “Yes. I am.” He said frownily. Then the silliness came back and he chuckled, floating along through the air and leaning on his elbow. “And if I’m seeing the past correctly, Mother’s Eyes and such,” he stopped to turn his black eyes back to yellow and red. “Nightmare sent you in here?” “Yes,” Bandaid nodded. “You said she couldn’t come in here, but you didn’t say anything about me.” “Ah yes. I should’ve been more specific,” Discord said, rolling his eyes. “I understand dear baby sister worrying about big sister,” he smiled. “It’s only natural.” He slowly snaked an arm around Bandaid’s shoulder. Bandaid eyed the curved griffon claws drumming on his fur. “You know what that’s like, right? Worrying about your sisters?” “Oh. Er. Yes, I do. I have six of them,” Bandaid tried to smile. “I know you do. I’ve seen them.” Discord said conversationally, touching the side of his face with a lion’s finger. “O-oh,” Bandaid said, an icy chill going down his back. He tried again to smile but he was failing. He was trembling too hard. Discord’s elongated body was slowly settling in a broad circle around him. All the red flags in his head were rising and fast. He pulled out of Discord’s one-armed hug. “A-And I can tell you probably don’t want me here so I’ll just, eh heh heh, head out. Yeah?” he started walking backward, leaving the saddlebag, leaving Celestia. His eyes stopped for a moment on her, and a wave of guilt started to wash over him. He hadn’t been able to do anything at all. “Of course, be on your way,” Discord appeared out of the hedges behind him, grasping his shoulder with a sly grin. “Deliver a message to my sister for me?” Bandaid gulped, then nodded slowly. “When I tell her to stay out, I mean stay out.” His griffon arm grasped the stallion’s shoulder, and lightning fast his lion paw came out to break his leg with a terrifying crack of bone. Bandaid let out a shrieking scream, falling onto his side. Discord stood over him as he writhed, frowning. “My leg!” Bandaid cried. “MY LEG!” Very little blood flowed, but the pain was like a super-heated fire-poker. His radius (bone) had been messily snapped, grinding against itself and the muscle. “Ohh! Oh!” He turned over himself, then fell the other way. He choked on his own spit, then turned and vomited violently. “Now go,” Discord said. “I’ve more important things to do than watch you crawl about.” He snapped his fingers and a cloud formed up around Bandaid’s midriff. It rose up, ghostly, out of the ground and lifted Bandaid bodily like he was a Pegasus. With a puff of his cheeks like he was blowing on soup, he sent the stallion on the cloud towards the edge of the hedge maze. When Bandaid’s crying and yowling was out of earshot, he turned to inspect Celestia. “Food, blankets, a book and quill and ink. They must’ve thought you were camping, Cellie,” he said with a devilish smile. “They should know better.” =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Nightmare sat bolt upright when she heard the first cries. “Guards!” she shouted, jolting from the stone bench to her feet. It was almost dusk, and the end of the day brought dark news. Bandaid floated through the dome as though it wasn’t there, astride a grey cloud. As soon as they could reach it, the armored ponies brought it before her. “My leg!” Bandaid cried, for it was bent in all the wrong places. “Discord was here! My leg!” he shouted. They crowded about him with field medical supplies, splinting him as best they could. Shoving a bamboo stalk across his mouth so he wouldn’t bite his own tongue, they set the bone. His scream of pain sent shivers down Nightmare’s spine. “Oh Bandaid,” Nightmare held him from behind while they worked on him. “Forgive me! I was a fool! I sent you to such torment! Oh Faust! Oh Mother!” she wept and clung to him. Each tightened bandage made him curl in agony and they had to hold him down. When they’d dosed him with a fast-acting pain medication, the groggy stallion groaned and lay against her. The cloud dissipated. “H-he says everypony stay out,” Bandaid whispered. “D-discord says nopony can go in there to Celestia…” he tucked his head under her chin. “I was a fool…” Nightmare whispered miserably. “Using you to reach my sister…” “Sh-she’s comatose… I think… he’s got her under a spell. She’s not moving,” Bandaid managed. A stretcher was brought in to bear him away. Mending a bone was well within the powers of the unicorn doctors in the palace, but the agony certainly sent its own message. “My brother is angrier than I thought,” Nightmare whispered her apologies over and over, “If he’s taking his frustration out on innocents.” She coddled him, walking alongside the stretcher as he was bore into the palace by a small team. “I am so sorry.” “H-hey, I’m back here now,” Bandaid said to soothe her. “A mended radius is a… what, five-hour spell?” he asked the guards around him. They gave him no answer, focused on keeping him safe and getting him to help. Nightmare nodded, still very upset. Bone-mending took serious magic, not every medical practice had access to such powerful doctors. But they did live in the palace so such unicorns were certainly present in the medical wing. He gave a mare-ish yelp when they went up the stairs and he got jostled a little on the stretcher. =-=-=-=-=-=-= Bandaid was resting in the medical wing, blessedly happy on a few choice pills while the bone-mending spell took its time. Nightmare Moon was in her private chambers, angrily brooding over the thought of her brother. She sympathized, but her sympathy only went so far. Celestia was not being visibly harmed, according to Bandaid. Merely comatose and contained while he told their siblings what had really happened when he’d reversed gravity on Equis. No doubt Chrysalis knew by now, so his only other stop was Cadence in the Crystal Empire. Her temper told her to meet him there in the frozen north and teach him a painful lesson. But, instinct told her to stay her hoof. Something was off. Something was different. Perhaps being imprisoned in a statue for a thousand years had finally snapped his fragile sanity. Mother’s Eyes or no. Discord never went out of his way to hurt those that didn’t deserve it. A new wave of guilt hit her. She’d banked on Discord’s mercy and bet the love of her life. What if he’d decided to tear him in twine and send her the halves in the mail? She hunched, squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth at the thought. The goddess of wine and lust stared at her glistening horseshoes in troubled thought. She had Bandaid to think of. And Celestia. Could she topple Discord? Neigh. He was too powerful, and would certainly see her coming. The best she could do was stay out of his way and do as he said. Protect her own. Celestia would know what to do once she was free. If she was freed, that is. =-=-=-=-=-=-= Cadence stared when she arrived at her royal luncheon. She’d been looking forward to the crystal melon harvest this year. She had a bit of a weakness for them, and had been going through fruit salads like crazy lately. But when she arrived at this lunch, she had no such melons. The long table had been turned from crystal to wood. The columns had been replaced with candy canes. The healthy food had been replaced with a fudge fountain, Hearth’s Warming candies and gingerbread. “A wonderful city you have here, Cadence! I’m proud of you!” Discord sat in her chair at the head of the table, waving a hot chocolate mug enthusiastically. Cadence stared, slack-jawed for a few mind-blown moments. “Uh… friend of yours?” Shining Armor asked from her side. “Oh I didn’t send word ahead!” Discord rose, setting his mug down. “I am Discord! Cadence’s big brother! God of Chaos, Child of Faust, and am I glad to see you!” he threw his arms around Cadence. She hugged him numbly, trying to take it in. “Er…” Cadence said, not really registering it all very well. “Nice to meet you?” Shining Armor said, for it came out like a question. He looked at his wife for confirmation. “I didn’t know you had a brother.” “Most don’t,” Discord said huffily. “When one god or another ends up imprisoned we tend to fall into myth for a while. You remember how things were with Nightmare Moon.” He folded his arms. “Celestia is certainly fond of her extensive incarcerations, isn’t she Cadie?” “I-I… wouldn’t know.” Cadence said carefully. “Welcome back. Glad you… made yourself at home.” She leaned with a frown to see her dinner table had been replaced with sweets. As a mare that was trying very, very hard to get pregnant the past few months, she’d been abstaining. Partially to stay desirable to her husband, partially to keep her body nice for creating new life. “I do have a habit of inviting myself over, don’t I?” Discord amended, touching his chin with thumb and forefinger. “Nice to meet my new brother-in-law as well!” he went to shake Shining Armor’s hoof. Shining, taking a cue from Cadence, smiled cautiously. He watched the strange, puzzled-together creature help himself to a ginger-bread pony. A gingerbread train choo-choo’d by in the background, dropping off several small packages to a gingerbread train-station before it moved on around the table. “You look… good! Celestia let you out?” Cadence said, giving him a more genuine hug this time. “Not exactly,” Discord snickered, scratching the back of his head. “But, what’s done is done, and I have much to tell you.” “Oh?” Cadence said. She looked at the dinner table again. “Perhaps over dinner? Ah… normal dinner?” she added. Discord sighed as though she were no fun, snapping his fingers. All the sweets and magic finery vanished, leaving a boring old fruit-salad spread in its place. They seated themselves. Shining Armor politely toasted to Discord’s return, keeping conversation while his wife reeled. “So, ah, what brings you to the Crystal Empire?” the Prince-Consort asked with his most charming smile. “Clearing my good name, sir, just wait! It makes for a great story!” Discord turned his water to white grape juice, conjuring three ice cubes and a flobber worm into the glass as well. He drank the glass and set the juice down again, ice and all. It held its shape, much to Shining’s shock. “Do tell?” Shining asked with interest. “Well, you see…” End of Part 24