> Discord's Gate > by Ponyess > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Episode: 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discord is sitting in a chair, sobbing.  He is alone and has none to cheer him up. “I am bored, I am bored, I am bored!” I think. “If I was any more bored, I would be turning into a board; right now!” I ponder. The Ginseng tea had floated back into the package, quiet and shivering in fear.  The glowing napkins, now folded as regular, normal and very boring napkins and  barely glowing at all. While everything is in place; mostly where they had been left, scattered all over the home of the Draconiquus. Of course, of course; the blue flu had served its purpose, it had proven the point and settled the matter once and for all.  Twilight Sparkle had actually gone to the edge of Equestria with Cadance; just to cure is illness, even if that had been arouse all along.  Yet, they did it, and just for him.  Despite the way Discord had been acting and been rude and mean to everypony. The rouse had been fun, a little, kind of; but it had been used, used up, it could not be used again.  It would not be fun. I need something, something new; fun and exciting!” I ponder, looking around. Furniture scattered about, as if dropped where they lay and then promptly ignored.  Nothing fun to be seen, and no inspiration to be found. “I could have invited Fluttershy over for a cup of tea, but I did that yesterday!” I ponder. Of course he could have, if not for the fact that she had just been over and was on a new adventure.   Furthermore, Discord himself was not in the mindset, where he would have been comfortable and safe around his dear friend at the moment. On second thought, the agreement was binding him to the here and now.  It was not binding him in the past, or outside Equestria.  The flimsy excuse could only carry him so far, of course. “Wait, what if I visit Starlight Glimmer, and borrow a trick, or two from her?” I exclaim, as I scan the room, looking anxious and worried. “Of course, no Pony could hear me here, in the privacy of my own home.  I am not even in Equestria, right now!” I ponder. “I need to see exactly how far Ponyville will extend in the coming decade or so!” I tell myself, calming down slightly, as I had managed to reassure myself. I pull up a door before me, step through and stand in the town-hall of Ponyville.  I take a few steps forwards and open the cabinet, picking up the drawings of Ponyville, ogle through the content and put the papers back where I had found them. With little more than a thought; a door appears in the room, while the old door through which he had arrived slowly vanished into the thin air.  He opened the door and stepped through, finding himself a dozen or so years before the sonic rainboom had taken place. The castle is still abandoned and in the same disarray as it had been since the two Royal sisters had abandoned it.  The battle between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon had not been kind to the stone castle, and neither had the time of disuse. “As I thought, this is a safe place to start from; even if it is not quite the safest place in Equestria, but it is safe for a Draconequus like me!” I ponder; as I look around, scanning the space around me. Of course, very few Ponies would date traverse the realm of the Ever free, considering what was known to lurk there.  The Timber wolves among them. I follow the chosen path, to the location I had decided upon before I set off to the past.  There is a clearing, with a path leading to Ponyville.  Not that it was common for Ponies to trot along the path. “Let me see, just like Fluttershy, I would like to see cottages in which a Pony could feel safe!” I speak, to the quiet space of the clearing. With a snap of the fingers, the first cottage appears.  On the door, an image of a Cutie Mark had been carved, the mark of Twilight Sparkle.  Another snap, and the next cottage appears, only this time it is marked with the three signature balloons of an Earthpony known as Pinkie Pie.  Just that she was not known by this name, just yet. Cottage by cottage appears, on the right side of the road in town.  With a new snap, there is a sign at the entrance of town; Pony Dale Friendship. “I should have named the town ‘Draconequus City’, or something; but I just can’t come up with a reason for doing that.  Other than stroking my ego!” I ponder. “This place needs more, more cottages and more!” I pronounce. Snapping new cottages into existence.  Starlight Glimmer and Trixie come first.  Another for Treehuger and the next for Tempest Shadow.  Then I add Colouratura, or RaRa and then Songbird Serenade, just for the fun of it.  Why not, who is to stop me? There needs to be something more, something different.  I add a doghouse for Spike, then for Bunny.  Neither are dogs, but who gives a flying feather?  I certainly don’t.  I am in the mood for a few jabs in the side and some friendly chaos.  Something to enrich the small town of Pony Dale. “A town requires functions.  A Library for Twilight, a Cafe, for Pinkie Pie.  Cotton Candy cafe, just as a silly jab and nod to the past no Pony but possibly Pinkie Pie could possibly know of.  A boutique in which to buy dresses, for Rarity, and a shop in which to buy pet care products, for my dear Fluttershy.  How could I resist?  A Carousel and a Boutique for Rarity.  An Animal-shelter for my dear, lovely Fluttershy!” I point out; as the buildings pop up, like mushrooms growing from the wet ground. On second thought, all the buildings do look as if they had been gigantic Mushrooms, in the colour of the Pony they represented, and the top hat the mane colour.  There is even a school and a few other shops.  Just in case, and something to kill of a few minutes of my time.  I could not really stand boredom very well.  At least some Ponies had come to learn this the hard way.  Realizing just how bad it is and how dangerous it could become. “Scoob scoob.  Scoob scoob, scooby-Doo!” the voices of a group of Seaponies sing, on the radio at the Cotton-Candy Cafe; making Discord chuckle, at the silly song. Maybe I should visit my dear friend, Fluttershy and her bunny Angel; but first I need to give Twilight Sparkle a little gift as a friendly jab and a poke in the chest!” I point out, as I pull myself from the jolly tones coming from within the cafe. I walk up to the door, open and step right in.  No need to knock or worry about anyone being home.  I have just created the cottage, but never bothered to populate the building.  Of course, I still do close the door after myself. I take the stairs on the right, up to the second floor.  I open the first door, marked as Twilight Sparkle’s room and step into the room.  Only this time, I don’t bother to close the door to her private room. I find a nice and comfortable bed, made for a single Pony; a mare and the Alicorn Princess of Friendship.  I see the nightstand beside the bed and chuckle momentarily. Just as the entire cottage is built out of wood, just as Fluttershy’s original cottage; this cottage and all the following once are built out of the same type of wood.  It may not be an exact replica of her home, but close enough to make due; besides, only one of these cottages is built for Fluttershy anyway.  Why make them identical, when the Ponies who supposedly live in them are not?  I am not into conformity; I am the Spirit of Chaos, after all. Being chaotic, is not the same as being rube.  Knowing the occupant of this room, I snap my fingers and observe as the manual to the gift I am about to give her is appearing on the nightstand.  A solid book; for a Pony used to read manuals and user guides, aside from tomes of learning and the fictional story thrown in for a moment of fun. I snap my fingers once more, and a box containing my gift appears on the bed.  This is a pair of very special boots for Twilight to wear.  I chuckle at the thought of the purple mare reading the book and exploring the gift; nNow she can be punching her very own holes in the air, as well as in the fourth wall. I turn my back on her bed and walk out of the room, careful to close the door behind myself.  Casting a glance on the second door, marked for Spike, her assistant and adviser; a young dragon she has known all his life. Had I followed the path around the upper level of the cottage and taken the stairs on the left; I would not have ended up where I begun, which is kind of the joke of it all.  I turn back the way I came and walk out of her home, only opening the door as I step out and closing it after myself. I follow the road, stopping at Fluttershy’s cottage.  I open the door and step right in; knowing she is not there, just as the white bunny  named Angle and all the critters in her care is neither. I know Fluttershy’s room is the first and Angel’s in the second, what is in the next, I have no care.  Maybe she could have a guest sleeping over, or a special somepony.  None of my business at this time.  I do not care.  I ignore the second floor; since it is basically identical to the cottage, in which Twilight Sparkle lives. The ground floor is basically looking exactly as it does, in the cottage she lives in.  I have been there, and I have seen it.  Nothing new for me to see. I open the door to the cellar, and walk down the flight of stairs.  Doors to small rooms, to the right and left; doors just like any other, and the once she has in her home.  Nothing new, and nothing interesting. At  the end of the path; there is another flight of stairs, identical to the one I had just descended, as I walked down to the cellar in the first place.  If I walk up this flight of stairs, I would be finding a cottage identical to the one I had just left; the difference, is that everything is mirrored.  Of course, if I walk out the door at ground level, I would find myself in a different world, altogether.  For now, I make due and walk back up the stairs I came.  Satisfied with the cottage, I had given her. Of course, I am satisfied with all the cottages and the other buildings I built to complete the small village of Pony Dale.  Maybe I am just a little bit less bored as well.  I have also spent a moment of time, making it closer to the moment I will see Fluttershy once more.  There is but the one thing left to do, creating the treasure hunt, for Ponies to find this place in just the right time.  Not right now, of course.  But, I guess I could leave that for another day, another tomorrow. With the project finished, and the village of Pony Dale completed, I am done and ready to go home.  No point in staying.  I walk to the middle of the living room in Fluttershy’s cottage, snap my fingers and disappear from the cottage.  I reappear in the middle of my living room. “There, mischief managed!” I exclaim, chuckling at the silly little prank I just pulled off. --- --- ---