Discord Rules

Chapter 4

Suspicion

Look, a town! Pinkie Pie’s voice shouted inside their collective mind.

Twilight had noticed at the same time. A small town, about half the size of Ponyville. She shuddered. She still had to get used to the idea of what Discord had transformed Ponyville into. It’s very dimensions warped minds and drove ponies hysterical. It was a miracle they had gotten away from… that place unscathed.

This place seems to be inhabited, Twilight noted, seeing movement among the buildings. Pinkie quickly hopped them over to the town without a second thought. As they moved toward the town, Twilight noticed that the place was filled with only ponies, for some reason. There were no other species, and there were no mutants.

When they reached the outskirts of the town, ponies began to notice them. They soon had attracted a large crowd, most of which were too afraid to approach. They must be think we are one of Discord’s monsters, Twilight concluded, after a second of thought. Even over only the two-day journey the alicorn had set out on, they had already fought off several vicious mutated… things. It was near impossible to even tell what they were before Discord had taken over.

Pinkie walked them over to the large crowd, while, at Twilight’s urging, staying an acceptable distance from the villagers. Twilight cleared their throat, causing several of the townspeople to tense in fear, then said, “There is no need to fear. W‒er, I do not wish to harm you.” Her declaration, and the absolute surety in her voice made some of the townspeople nearby sigh in relief, and relax, before realizing what was going on and tensing up again.

Overhead, a flock of purple floppy forks flew through the liquid spoon cloud, raining kitchen utensils on the townspeople, who paid them no mind. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut apart, which a nearby house decided to demonstrate by cutting some tension out of the air with its chimney, then eating it. The glares of the townsfolk burnt holes into the rainbow colored grass floating above the alicorn, which proceeded to consume itself with a vengeance.

A lone figure stepped out of the crowd, apparently a respected person, as the other villagers parted quite quickly for him. He called over from a fair distance away, “What are you? You seem to be one of the monster’s creations, but never before has one demonstrated the ability to speak any known language,” he examined the alicorn from his position, “and you seem to be friendly, at least.” He looked into their eyes, and saw that they had fragmented pupils, which the alicorn had only noticed recently, when a traveller had pointed them out to them. The stallion seemed vaguely perturbed by them.

Twilight blinked, then spoke, “I do not know what I am. I cannot remember anything from before Discord’s reign‒,” several townsfolk gasped in shock, apparently frightened by Discord’s name, “‒but I do not believe that I have any reason to hurt you. I also think that the reason you have not seen any intelligent creations of Discord is because they have all moved on to the town known to them as ‘Twister’. It is apparently a haven for us.”

The stallion appeared to think for a moment, then turned and asked, “Why have you not gone there? You said it is a haven, yet here you are. Is there something wrong?” He stared suspiciously at the alicorn, before adding, “Also, before I forget, what is your name? If you have one, that is.”

Twilight panicked, then conversed quickly with her friends’ thoughts. They agreed on the simplest story, the truth, or, at least, part of it. Twilight looked back up at the stallion, who was staring curiously, then said, “I am on a mission that I believe may end Discord’s reign of chaos. For reasons I cannot disclose, I must be the one to carry out this mission, and I cannot tell any of you what it is. And my name?” Twilight closed her eyes, then looked back up, “Is Harmonia.”

“Reasons you cannot disclose, eh?” the stallion glared at the newly dubbed ‘Harmonia’, “Hm… I suppose if you don’t stay long we can let you stay. And, how long do you plan on sitting here? I can’t imagine it being very comfortable.” He chuckled as Twilight started, not realizing that she had been sitting in the same position for their entire conversation.

“Thank you, and I only plan on staying the night, if I am not somehow trapped here overnight!” She raised her voice at the end of the sentence, turning to glare at a group of aggressive-looking ponies holding what looked like restraints behind their backs. This time, it was Twilight’s turn to chuckle at the bewildered look on the stallion’s face. “That reminds me, what was your name?”

The stallion glared at ‘Harmonia’, making her back up with the force of his stare, “I don’t think it should matter to you. You are only staying here for the night. You. Shouldn’t. Care. You got that?” Twilight nodded frantically, wondering why he was suddenly so hostile. Perhaps he didn’t like his name? Or maybe he still suspected that she wasn’t being honest? Or… was it both?

Nevertheless, afterward, the stallion calmed down a great deal. He led Harmonia to a small, seemingly poorly-off inn, which made sense, as there probably weren’t many visitors from out of town. The innkeeper looked up from her work, saw the potential customers, and ignored any danger they might have posed to her, “You want to stay in this inn? I-I-I can get you whatever you want! Whatever you want! We don’t get much business ‘round here, so I’ll always be free!”

Twilight, more than a little perturbed by the mare’s excitedness, and a starting to get a little worried about her friends, whom she hadn’t heard from in a while, decided to get this conversation out of the way as soon as possible. “Uhh… yes! I would like to rent a room in this… lovely inn for one night!” She grinned nervously, hoping the conversation would end quickly. Twilight noticed that the stallion had disappeared on her, leaving her here alone.

“Only one night?” The mare seemed to droop a bit, before perking back up, “Well, one night’s better than nothin’! I’ll show you to your room right away!” She grabbed Harmonia around the neck and practically dragged her to the room. “Here it is! Sleep tight!” Giving another grin, the innkeeper disappeared back down the steps.

Finally, I’m alone. All right… is anyone here? Rainbow Dash? Pinkie? Applejack!? Rarity!? Fluttershy!? Where did you all go!? Am I all alone in here? Twilight, panic-stricken, began to sob. There was no reply.

Author's Note

So sorry this chapter took so long! I had real life to do (I know, what a waste of time, right?), anime to watch, and annoying ideas to put down. I also had a really bad case of writer's block (my first so far, blegh), and really needed some inspiration. I finally found it when General Mumble released his new album Monsters x Magic. For some reason, it really inspired me. Anyway, yes, I did have to leave you on yet another tense moment, as peaceful endings are just boring. :3