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// Morning Moods 
// Story: An Alternate Ending to A Canterlot Wedding 
// by MeadowRosePony 
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	Shining Armor stared at the ornate clock above the doors to the meeting room. According to it's decorated features, the emergency morning meeting was scheduled to begin in five minutes. Looking around the table he saw Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and several Royal Guards were sipping coffee as they waited patiently for the missing party to arrive.  
Shining Armor shuffled the papers in front of him a few times and rearranged his note taking supplies. He fiddled with his hooves for a few moments and shuffled the papers again, making sure that the edges all aligned perfectly. 
There wasn't a lot of material as this meeting was mainly one to gather information. Just the large map on the table, a thought board covering one wall, and paper and pencils for everypony. And coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. And one rather large pot-thingy that smelled suspiciously like tea.  [1] 
He checked the clock again, before getting up and marching over to his thought board on the far wall, checking that it had all the supplies he would need. He walked back to his place at the head of the table and looked back at the clock. Just three more minutes.
In the Guard, when a meeting was scheduled, you were expected to be on-time, if not five minutes early. When it was an emergency meeting, five minutes early was on-time. It wasn't like it was a surprise meeting. 
Well...It kinda was, as he had decided on it late last night after the failed intelligence gathering at the library. But the castle staff had been instructed to wake everypony (and dragon, though he had to order Bronzewing to do that) required for the meeting over an hour ago!
Finally the clock signaled the start of the meeting. Shining Armor looked expectantly at the doors. And waited. He was just about to order a messenger to retrieve the tardy ponies, when he heard their hoof-steps down the hall. 
Then the doors finally swung open.
"Let's get this party started!" Pinkie Pie sang out as she bounded to her seat. 
The others quickly found their places as Shining Armor, (not so patiently) waited for them to be seated. He had called this meeting to brainstorm ideas on how to:

 (1) Find Twilight Sparkle
(2) Stop Discord 
(3) Prevent Twilight from becoming an evil villainess bent on world domination.


 'Yeah...Thank you, Bronzewing for putting that image into my head. That's just what I needed to put things into perspective of just how badly I screwed up...' Shining thought to himself as he called the meeting to order. 
"If everypony is settled now..." Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically as Rainbow and Applejack face-hoofed, "Then I am calling this meeting to order. I have called this meeting today to come up with a plan. Obviously, the standard protocols do not and will not work in this case. So we need to come up with some new protocols. Normally, Guard meetings are closed to those who are not either guards or royalty. However...Yes Applejack?" Shining Armor asked, seeing Applejack raise her hoof.
"Beggin' Pardon, but if guards stuff is only for guards and princesses then why're we here?" Applejack asked.
It was Cadance who answered, "Discord has proven that normal methods won't work on him or Twilight. We need a new, personal approach to reach her and free her from Discord's influence. You are here because you five," (Spike grumbled) "and Spike, are Twilight's friends. If anypony will know how to find Twilight and free her from Discord's clutches, it will be you."
Cadance motioned for Shining Armor to take over. 
"What we need to do, is come up with a new plan. Using the knowledge we have about Discord," Shining Armor nodded towards the princesses, "and the the knowledge we have of Twilight," Here he nodded towards the girls (and Spike), "We should be able to create a new course of action by..."





Twilight hummed happily to herself as she trotted down the hallway of her underground palace. They really had done a terrific job creating it. The walls around her shimmered and glistened in light of a thousand miniature stars that Discord had strewn against the ceiling. A slight breeze flew through the corridor, just strong enough for her to feel it fluttering against her coat and lightly lifting her mane.  The crystals beneath her hooves clinked a soothing rhythm that encircled her entire being, leaving her very relaxed and peaceful. All in all, this was one of her favorite passages in her new home. She grinned as the doors before her swung open at her approach.
'Of course, being the way to the library is a big point in its favor.' Twilight thought to herself as she entered her library. She trotted past rows of books on their polished shelves. Perfectly organized works of genius placed exactly where they belong. Hundreds of thousands of pages, each of them pristine. Even the worn manuscripts and ancient scrolls were perfectly preserved, with each and every individual sheaf of paper encased with a special spell to prevent further aging and damage. 
Yes, her library was in perfect order. Twilight smiled softly to herself, it had been very sweet of Discord to create this oasis for her. There wasn't a single bit of chaos or disorganization in this room. It really showed how much he cared to be able to put aside his chaotic urges to single-clawedly create Twilight's dream library. 
Her old friends were wrong, Discord has changed and he can be good. This proved it. 
With a decisive nod of her head, she picked up the book that was closest to her and went to go read it in her nook. It was a sheltered place, a lowered bench filled with pillows she could lie down on surrounded by some of her favorite books. She curled up on a large burgundy one, (even the colors and sizes of the pillows were chosen to perfectly compliment their surroundings) and opened her book.
"Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone" Twilight read out loud and then gave a soft laugh.
"I remember when Rainbow first read this book..." She chuckled as she remembered the shenanigans her friend had gone through to keep the fact that she found a book she liked to read a secret.
"Oh, Rainbow  Dash... Why didn't you just ask for a copy? I do live in a library after all."  Abruptly Twilight stopped laughing. Her smile fell from her face as she left her memories and jolted back to the present. 
"Or I did. Anyway, I used to." She muttered. Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts, but she still couldn't focus  on her book. With a sigh she put it aside and picked up a different one. She flipped through a few pages but found that she wasn't all that interested in reading anymore. 
Twilight stood up and started to pace in a circle. "This is ridiculous! Just because one book made me remember a two-faced ex-friend doesn't mean I can't enjoy another one."
"I'm probably just hungry. Yeah, that's it. Hard to read on an empty stomach,...." Twilight chuckled weakly. Suddenly she began to feel a bit lightheaded. Her stomach growled, as if to affirm her last statement. 
"Get a grip, Sparkle!" Twilight snapped as she steadied herself. "Now is no time to be losing your head. That's Discord's job."
Discord's head rose up in a puff of smoke, "You rang?" He asked as the rest of him appeared with a flash of light. 
Twilight laughed nervously, "No, no. I was just thinking out loud, that's all."
"So that's why my ears were burning!" Discord exclaimed as he pulled off the offending appendages and blew out the small flames spouting from them. "All good thoughts, I hope?" He asked as he twisted them back on his head. 
Twilight chuckled at his antics, "I was just going to the kitchens to get a bite to eat."
"Why don't I poof us there right now?" Discord asked, raising a claw to snap. 
"No no! That's fine, I'd rather walk." Twilight said hurriedly, not eager to experience another one of Discord's dimension-hopping brain-scrambling mind-screwing body-part dis and relocating teleport. 
Discord shrugged, "Suit yourself, but call me if you change your mind."
With a tip of his hat and wave of his hankie, Discord disappeared with his trademark puff of smoke and loud pop as several laws of the universe were broken. 
Twilight shook her head to clear it as she walked out of the library. Her new top-hat toppled off and landed on the floor next to a large floor length mirror. Twilight sighed and shrugged off her new suit jacket and slipped out of her shoes. As she folded the clothes with her magic into a neat pile she felt an eerie sense of De Ja Vu. It took her a moment to place it, but looking at the shiny satin tie she was placing on top of the neatly folded pile, she realized that this was an awful lot like one of Rarity's dress fittings. You didn't really have a choice, when Rarity got an 'Ideaaa!' you'd find yourself modeling one of her creations before you knew what happened. Whether you wanted to or not.  
"Aargh!" Twilight groaned, "I have got to get over this! I am not going to waste my time obsessing over a selfish ex-friend!" 
With a decisive nod and a determined lift to her step, Twilight marched out of the library and through the corridors towards the kitchens. 
She walked quickly, her hoofsteps clattering on the crystal tiles in her haste to get to the kitchens. Occasionally she would take a detour from her set path. There were little passageways around the hallways that Discord has had fun with. That way, If Twilight didn't particularly feel like swimming through jello, or walking inside out, she could simply go around and do it the boring way, (as Discord put it). 
It took longer, but she made it to the kitchen without too much hassle. The doors swung open ahead of her as she approached. As she stepped inside spotlights shined down on her and spread out to illuminate the entire room. It really was a gourmet kitchen, with a few additions of course. 
For one thing, everything in the room was checkered. There was every color imaginable, green and purple, orange and blue, yellow and red. Even black and white. 
It made Twilight dizzy just to stand there. Deciding against shaking her head, (it probably wouldn't work, and just make her even dizzier besides) Twilight walked over to the cabinets. Given that the kitchen is Discord's domain, she was accordingly cautious as she prepared her food. 
She still managed to be buried with berries, assaulted by seasonings and coated in cocoa. But after a few frustrating moments and some questioning of her sanity, she was able to make a simple daisy sandwich.
Well..., maybe not that simple, but she was pretty sure it was edible. 'After all, such things as colors and textures are merely aesthetic details. They don't compromise the integrity of the food served. Right? Right.' Having thus convinced herself of the edibleness of her food, Twilight carried it back to the library. 





[1] Its actually called a samovar and was a gift from the Kabardain Ambassadors and tea is a wonderful beverage that Shining Armor would never dream of disparaging.  [2]
[2] On a completely unrelated note, there is a reason Shining Armor stays on Princess Luna's good side.