//------------------------------//
// CH-34: Preparations and Surprises 
// Story: A Discorded Love (My Little Pony/Discord) 
// by JasminePosey 
//------------------------------//

"Wake up Maria!" somepony yelled, jerking the female draconequus awake. Her head thunked on the glass of the train's window and she was alert instantly.

"What'd Chaos do this time?!" she asked quickly, looking around.

Pinkie Pie stood over her, smiling brightly. "Chaos isn't here, you silly filly! Er-would that be 'draconequus'? No, it doesn't rhyme..." she trailed off.Twilight sighed, pulling on Pinkie's curly tail to sit her down. Deep in her thoughts, the pink mare had no clue she was sitting again.

"Are we there yet?" Maria asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and relaxing back in her seat.

"Almost," Applejack said. "It'll be 'bout fifteen minutes till we get there,"

"Oh," she yawned.

"You look tired Maria. Have you been getting enough sleep?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not really. Chaos is more of a troublemaker than his father. And Discord's the only one who can calm him down. That and apple sauce," she muttered.

"That reminds me, don't let me forget ta give ya Granny Smith's recipe fer her special apple sauce," Applejack said. "I'm sure the li'l one would love it."

"I probably will forget," Maria sighed. "Remind me again, why Celestia called all of us to the castle?"

"Why darling, how could you forget?" Rarity asked, appalled.

"Take it easy, sugar cube," the orange cowpony said.

"Princess Celestia wanted us to help prepare for the Gala," Twilight explained. "She said that our designs have become more popular than the usual Gala, so she started to request our help. We asked if we could take you this year so you could get a break from the kids."

"How are they doing? You know, if you don't mind me asking..." Fluttershy spoke up.

"Everypony's doing good. Screwball tries to be a good older sister, but sometimes she gets into little fights with Random,"

"Ah, just a little sisterly rivalry, is all that is," Apple Jack said. "You should see me an' Apple Bloom when we get started."

"Or Sweetie Belle and I," Rarity said with a flip of her mane.

"It's just what sister's do. But ya gotta let them know that they have ta stick together, no matter what," Apple Jack finished.

Maria felt a smile tug at her lips. "Thanks girls. You know, I'm looking forward to planning this year's Gala,"

"That's the spirit!" Rainbow cheered. "This party is gonna be awesome!"

"Party?" Pinkie perked, out of her deep thinking.

"Oh no...we got her started..." Twilight sighed.





The train pulled into the station just as Pinkie finished with her excited chatter, of which was hardly understandable by any pony, and Maria and the Mane 6 left their seats.

"I'm so, so, so excited for this years Grand Galloping Gala!" Pinkie shrieked, bouncing along the road. By this time, all of Canterlot knew about Pinkie Pie and her odd ways, from her Pinkie Sense, to her desire to make ponies smile. All the fancy mares and colts simply walked past the group, not even bothering to give a second glance.

Maria looked over Princess Celestia's castle, feeling familiar with the sight. It seemed like forever ago that she had left from here. It was then she realized that she had been married to Discord for almost seven years.

"Seven years," she mused quietly to herself.

The group approached the castle entrance quickly, the guards letting them pass without any need of verification. They walked along the halls, approaching the thrones of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"I'm glad you all could come," the sun princess said. "As you all know, the Grand Galloping Gala is tomorrow night, and I'd prefer you all to prepare it,"

"You can count on us, Princess," Twilight said.

"Excellent! Now I want you six to get started. Maria, I'd like to speak with you if you don't mind?"

"Oh...um...sure," she said.

After exchanging a few glances with each other, the group started towards the exit of the throne room, leaving Maria to stand alone before the princesses.

"Maria Firestone..." Celestia started, "How has your family been?"

"Well, thank you," she said.

"Has Discord been...causing any trouble?"

At this, Maria chuckled. "No, but Chaos takes after him. Random and Screwball are a bit...calmer in that area,"

"I'm trusting you to make sure Chaos takes control over his powers," she said with a slight smile. She stepped from her throne, Luna by her side. "I never properly thanked you for sacrificing yourself for my safe return,"

"I think you marrying us was thanks enough," Maria said.

"Maybe so," she smiled, her grin as bright as the sun's rays. "Still, I'd like to thank you properly,"

"You're welcome, Princess Celestia," Maria bowed her head slightly. "Princess Luna," she addressed the night pony.

"Nice to see you again, Maria Firestone," Luna said.

"Now that I've said what I was going to, you may go assist Twilight and her friends in the preparations," Celestia said.

Maria nodded, walking out of the room. When the door shut behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her mismatched feet padded against the hall floor as she made her way to the main room, where the Gala was always held.

The mane six were busy as bees; Pinkie Pie was shooting her party cannon randomly, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were hanging streamers from the ceiling, as well as replacing the dusty curtains with bright blue curtains, and Rarity and Applejack were began setting up the stage and the tables. Maria busied herself with tying the curtains back with a teal rope. She began to hum as she worked, getting into a steady rhythm. 

After a few hours, the room was almost fully prepared. Apple Jack insisted that they took a break. Celestia had suggested that they stay in the castle over night, and finish the preparations tomorrow, just in time for the Gala. Maria had already stated that she wasn't going to attend this year, but was glad to stay at the castle for the night. She used a she sent a message to Discord, letting him know that she would be staying in Canterlot.

Meanwhile, with Discord...

Screwball covered her ears with her hooves, trying to block out the excessive crying that was coming from Chaos. Random had fallen asleep, laying peacefully in her crib. Chaos, however, was incredibly unhappy that his mom was absent, and sadly not even Discord was able to calm him down this time.

"Daddy, make Chaos stop crying!" Screwball complained.

"I'm trying!" he said. He had to respect Maria for her patience, as well as his parents, wherever they may be, for if he was this much of a handful...

The male draconequus had tried everything -- from trying to feed him apple sauce, to singing him a lullabye, quickly resorting to pleading, and eventually attempting to bribe the baby draconequus with a few bits he found between the cushions; nothing seemed to work.At the moment,  he was rubbing the sides of his temple in order to soothe the raging migrane that had erupted. He hoped Maria would return soon.

It was then the letter from Maria arrived. Discord read it over quickly, almost passing out from the news. Now that Maria was staying over at Celestia's castle, he would have to care for his children for the night, as well as half of the afternoon until she returned. 

"Oh dear Celestia, is this punishment for all those years?!" he cried, leaning against the wall. The paper was crumbled, falling to the floor. "Please make it stop, please make it stop..." he prayed.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Screwy?" Discord muttered.

"Chaos stopped crying," she said. Discord perked, looking into his son's crib. It seemed that Chaos had wore himself out by crying.

"Oh thank goodness," he sighed. He motioned for Screwball to be silent as they left the room. As soon as the door shut, Random began to wail. Discord slammed his head against the wall, groaning.

"I'll get the chocolate milk," Screwball sighed, heading to the kitchen.





The next morning, every pony was up early, finishing the preparations for the event.

Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, and Maria took over the food preparations, Rarity and Fluttershy finished up the dresses for the princesses and themselves, and Pinkie Pie was everywhere, ready to explode with excitement.

By early afternoon, the food was finished, so everypony took a break.

Maria decided to wander the hallways, remembering all the events that took place here. She still found it odd that all this was real. Marrying Discord? Making friends with the Mane Six? Attending a party planned by the famous Pinkie Pie? It was all so crazy when she stopped to think about it. But she was long past believing that it was a dream.

Lost in her thoughts, Maria failed to notice one of the guards trotting down the hallway, whom had his own distrations. The two knocked into each other, sending the pony backwards.

"Hey!" he yelled, his helmet twisted so that his eye sight was cut off. Maria squealed, kneeling over to help the guard up.

"I'm so sorry!" she said. "I get lost in my thoughts sometimes,"

The stallion stood to his hooves, fixing his helmet. "It's fine. I'm kinda used to getting knocked over-" he stopped when he saw the female draconequus. "Maria?!"

Maria was confused at first, then recalled an earlier time when she had seen that sea green coat before. "Silver?" she asked.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten me already," he said, feigning hurt.

"Not at all!" she exclaimed. "It's just been a while,"

"Like, seven years long?"

"Yes. So whatcha doin' here?"

"Picking up some paper work from the Chief. After you left, I was sent to Hoof Camp to train to be a soldier," he said. "It was rough, I'll admit, but it was totally worth it when I was sent to Maneraq for a while. So how have you been doing? Getting ready for the Gala?"

She shook her head. "I'm just helping to decorate and stuff. After everything's done, I'm gonna head back home. Discord's probably losing his mane by now,"

"With what?"

"Chaos, Random, and Screwball, though I can imagine that Chaos is the source of most of the trouble,"

"Wait, what? Who are Chaos, Random, and Screwball?"

"Oh, you weren't here, were you? Those are my kids," she said.

Silver Knight's eyes widened. "Kids?"

"Yeah. Discord and I got married almost seven years ago," Maria explained. "You must've been in Maneraq at that time."

He stared at her. "You...married...that creature?!"

Maria was surprised at his outburst. Then she was offended. "Creature? " she spat. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm the same thing he is!"

"No -- you're completely different from him. You shouldn't have married him, Maria."

"What does it matter to you who I marry? It's my choice!"

"He doesn't deserve you!" Silver shouted. "Discord should've stayed in his stone prison!"

Maria was fuming. "I don't know what you're problem is with Discord, but-"

"My only problem with Discord is that he stole you from me!"

Maria paused. "W-what...?"

"I...I love you Maria," he said quietly.  "But you're...married to that-that monster. You shouldn't be with him!"

Maria sighed. "Look, Silver, I don't think of you in that way. I'm sorry that you feel that-" Silver didn't let her finish; with a sharp heave of his wings, he shot up to eye level with Maria, catching her off guard and pressing his lips forcefully to hers. It was a quick kiss, and when he pulled back, he stared deep in her eyes.

"Don't tell me you didn't feel anything," he muttered, attempting to caress her cheek with his hoof.

Smack!

A angry red hand print grew on Silver Knight's cheek. Maria's glare almost set him on fire.

"How dare you?!" she spat. Having nothing else to say in her rage, she stormed off, leaving him there with a mark across his face. She roughly wiped her mouth off repeatedly with the back of her hand. She felt sick, and a deep hatred began to resonate inside her towards Silver; how dare he violate her like that?

In the midst of her anger, she burst into the kitchen unintentionally, startling her friends.

"What's the matter, sugar cube?" Apple Jack asked, worried about her friend's change of mood.

"Goodness! Are you alright?" Fluttershy questioned.

"What happened?" they asked her, gathering around her.

Maria sighed. "I'm just gonna head home, I'm not feeling so well," she said softly. "Please let Celestia know that I went back home,"

"Will do. You just get some rest," Rainbow Dash said.

"Thanks girls," Maria said. She left the castle quickly, teleporting herself all the way back to her home in the Everfree Forest.

She opened the main door, breathing a sigh when the door shut. "Discord, I'm home!" she called out. She didn't realize how much she missed her family until now. All she wanted to do was hug her kids and be with her husband; anything to forget the horrid act that Silver pulled.

But she recieved no answer. In fact, the entire castle was silent, which was odd.

"Discord? Screwball?" Maria searched through the house, stopping when she saw someone standing in the doorway. It was Discord.

"Oh! Discord, you know not to scare me like that!" she sighed. "How are the kids?"

"The kids?" he repeated. "They're all upstairs, taking a nap. Not like you care."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I care about our kids?"

"Why?!" he asked, stepping towards her. She stepped back, frightened by his sudden change in tone. Something was wrong, and she could feel it. "Let me ask you why, Maria!"

"Why what?"

"Why you betrayed me!" He said, hurt. Maria felt her sickness return.

"What are you talking about?" She asked slowly. He stood over her now, arms crossed over his chest as he confronted her.

"I saw you kiss that stallion." He said lowly. 

(To Be Continued...)