Some Love

Discord awoke, still cradling Meredith in his arms. A dull pain in his side alerted him to his current presence on the floor. He had yanked the cloth off from the table in his sleep, and it lay entangled about his legs.

Yawning loudly, he gently moved Meredith to the side of him, and whipped the tablecloth off of him, causing it to disappear as he did so. He smiled down at Meredith, reaching his paw over to gently caress her handle.

“Sleep well, my love? I, for one, had the most fabulous rest. A dream full of rusty taps and trip through the most wonderful meat locked filled my night...” Discord sighed dreamily, his paw sliding further down Meredith’s shaft. “And... I think you were there!”

Discord’s brow furrowed slightly, his paw continue to creep further down the mop. “Yes, yes you were... you were there, my dearest, I met you riding on a tap of the most glorious rust...” Discord’s paw had moved down to the screw, but it was clenching up now as he did so. His eyes were wide and haunted, almost as if he were gazing into the face of some sort of unknown horror that he could not place. The air around him began to shimmer, and the sound of static filled his ears as—

Discord pulled his paw away from Meredith, which had become entangled in her yarn. “Oh dear, Meredith, you’re a bit of a mess. This won’t do, will it? No, not at all. Come with me, my sweet; we’ll get you cleaned up.

Discord sat with Meredith on the far end of his grotto, where a crack in the wall spilled a small stream of water down into a little pool. Strange, white bulrush plants and phosphorescent lilypads populated the edge and top of the pool, while sightless crayfish and cave fish swam in the depths. Even a few small, grey carnivorous frogs lurked by the edge, licking their slimy lips as they contemplated their next meal.

“Oh Meredith, sometimes I think that you keep yourself unwashed just so I’ll have the excuse to wash you myself!” Discord said with a chuckle, snuggling up against her.

Meredith said nothing.

“Of course, I don’t mind...” Discord said, lifting Meredith up by her handle and slowly pushing her yarn towards the little waterfall. “I always enjoy giving a nice, sensual massage, to make sure you’re as clean as we can get you...”

Discord pressed Meredith into the water, and nodded as he saw the water carry away the evidence of her soiled state. “Oh, you dirty, dirty girl...”

Discord moved his paw down into the mess of yarn, rubbing it through thoroughly and with much dedication. He would pause, taking extra care to run his paw over each individual strand of yarn to clear at anything left behind from last night’s sensual extravaganza.

“Now now, Meredith, don’t be complaining; I know that it’s painstaking, but you want to look your best for the Princess, don’t you? How can you expect to show off if you’ve got the residue of a night’s passion tangle within your yarn?”

The sound of water splashing against her yarn was the only sound that came from Meredith.

“I know this is a poor excuse for the chaos I was once proud to call my own, but I feel like I am... taking a new direction. Maturing, as it was,” Discord explained, removing Meredith from the stream and examining her water-engorged, dripping fibers. “A more subtle mess, if you will. It’s a challenge: cause strife and unrest through carefully placed shows and actions, instead of running in with my usual bravado. This may sting a bit, beloved.”

Discord took his paw and grasped Meredith’s yarn, and squeezed hard on it, slightly dirty water pouring from within his first and into the rock below. “Sure, there’s less of a show, but isn’t it time for my act to stand down for just a moment? Let others satiate the audience, and then come back brighter and bigger than ever. It’s strategy, Meredith, something I’ve forgone for far too long. Think of the things that could come from intelligent chaos!”

Discord pulled his paw away, and looked over the efforts of his wringing. “Yes, you look quite marvelous, quite marvelous indeed. I think you alone will be setting the blush of jealous on Celestia’s face.”

Discord leaned Meredith up against the cave wall, and closed his eyes. Bringing his arms up, he snapped both his paw and talon, and in a moment, he was standing there in his chosen attire. The suit was mostly unremarkable—simply being a black suit that was modified to fit his body.

“The simplicity is key,” Discord said to Meredith, knowingly. “Were it flashy? Entertaining, but not a winner. Subtlety, you must remember, subtly...”

Meredith, a mop, gave no response.

“You don’t need to hide it from me, Meredith,” Discord chided. “I can tell you’re impressed. And Yes, I agree—I do look dashing.”

Discord took Meredith by the handle, and lifted her freshly cleaned yarn off of the ground. “Shall we head off, dearest?”

Discord sauntered across the grotto, back towards where the dance-floor-turned-dining area was. The table had been removed, as had the chair and all evidence of last night’s meal. The pile of rocks with the stacks of vinyls and the gramophone had also been removed.For all intents and purposes, it was simply a stone slab at this point.

Discord stepped right into the center of the yellow light that filtered down into his grotto. “Ready to head up?” he asked the mop in his grasp.

Meredith did not answer.

“Alrighty! Next stop... beautiful Canterlot Gardens!

Discord kicked off against the stone, and stretched his wings out. The two of them soared through the air, approaching the crag upon which the only entrance to the grotto could be found. It wasn’t a long climb, but the anticipation mounting within Discord made it seem to him as though he and Meredith were gliding through molasses.

When the rock reached an arm’s reach away, Discord reached out his talon, which was not holding Meredith, and grasped the rocky ledge before him. His legs swung down and braced themselves against the curve of the ceiling, and his hooves settled between grooves to give him strong foundations.

Discord hoisted himself up, and squinted against the light pouring in from the outside. It was much brighter here.

“Almost there, Meredith... out first sojourn out from the grotto in far too long, the sun almost blinds me...”

Discord could now find stable footing, able to crouch as he crawled towards the lip of the cave. He gently placed Meredith out, careful to keep her yarn above the ground through levitation brought on by a snap of his talon, and he crawled over the last bit of rock into the outside world.

The sun beat down on the landscape before them—but then again, so did the moon. The sun was frozen in the sky on its way down west, but still in a height one would associate with the strong afternoon. The moon was on the opposite side, in the east, climbing up. The whole orb was visible, yet looked strange and dull in the golden sky that had come when the day met the night.

The ground was golden too, but that was the most pleasing thing about it. Bare of any vegetation, the landscape before Discord and Meredith was scorched and blasted, the dry clay and dirt cracked and infertile. Rocks jutted up here and there, but for the most part, it was an empty expanse that stretched across to a ledge that once overlooked Equestria.

To Discord’s right was the largest piece of scenery that deviated from the wasteland. Looking as though someone had carelessly crushed it underhoof, as one might to an anthill, the whole palace was simply sun (and moon) baked marble. The glorious towers, the great halls, the rooms and parapets and stained glassed windows were all laying in a heap that one could vaguely attributed to the approximate size of Canterlot Palace.

“Ah, just as I remember it!” Discord said with a grin. “I swear, you go away for a little while, expecting things to change, but... nothing happens!” He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “And the princesses wonder why I feel such a burning desire to liven things up with a bit of chaos.”

Discord clicked his tongue, and beckoned with his talon. “Come, Meredith! Let’s not keep the Princess waiting.”

He took long strides towards the crumbled ruins of the palace, Meredith floating behind him.