Twists and Turns without Bends or Curvesby CelestialTremoloChaptersIt's Starting Already?Why does it always have to be us?What could possibly go wrong?Oh... that.It's Starting Already? The unicorn used his magic to levitate the pair of magnified binocular lenses to his eye level. The day was clear and bright, the meadows shone vibrantly, showing off the color of follows that inhabited it. Two single figures resided upon it on a checkered sheet. One was small and short; the other was tall and stretched out. Her eyes were soft and gentle; her yellow wings were tucked by her side neatly, while his eyes were still wild and uneven, but had a tameness factor to them. What’s this? the unicorn thought to himself. Discord, you’ve changed quite a bit. Indeed he had; a cheerful and genuinely happy gaze dominated his face, and his gestures were orthodox and friendly. He was so happy, in fact, he couldn’t pick up on the unicorn’s presence due to his distraction of the yellow pegasus. What are you planning, draconequus? Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. He probably would be acting on it over a long time period… time he didn’t know he didn’t have. His calmed state didn’t fool him, however. Discord had full power; he was under no spell, and was under no control, something that would prove, if anything, troublesome later on. It only made the journey he was about to make all the more worth it, however. The unicorn slipped the binoculars into his bag, and headed for the train station. His time back in Equestria, though short, now had to be terminated. The train huffed, and came to a full stop, the steel breaks making an unpleasant sound in his ears. All the passengers calmly trotted through the exit, him being the last to leave. He had set hoof into the Crystal Empire only once before, and it looked nothing like it did now. A sense of despair and hopelessness was the very existence of the atmosphere, and it manifested in the clanking chains of the residents. Now it was free and bright, the crystal ponies’ coats became the messengers of the sunlight. While the sun was still up, the castle was open to at least getting inside it seemed. As nightfall was nearing, the guards began to escort the tourists off of the castle grounds. It of course wasn’t hard to evade them. They were at their lowest moment throughout the entire day, where their job was not to watch and guard, but to escort, and before long he found himself in one of the many forbidden stairways of the Crystal Castle. It was filly’s play to reach the top of the castle, especially without being noticed. The arching diamond like walls all came to this point, where a stalactite and stalagmite met at one point of the room- one object. Even he had to stop for a moment to appreciate this ancient relic. The crystal heart; an object thought to be long lost that all the crystal ponies placed their hope, unity, and love in. He carefully approached the heart, a removed a jar from his bag. He took another look at the contents his red colored magic lifting it to his eye level; the black essence swirled from one side of the jar, to the other, hoping to get out. Using his magic, he removed it from the jar and held it in place, and to the crystal heart. “The absence of light will remain tragic,” he muttered to himself, bringing the essence closer to the heart. Let’s see if the legends are true. “Revealed to those only with the highest magic.” The spell activated and the little nightmare essence he could muster up went through the heart and the top of the tower, and the presence was quickly diluted as it spread through the air in different directions. That should keep them busy for a while. Now he removed the retractable lightning rod he had bought, and used his magic to have it stick out on the outside wall, exposed to the clear night sky. He quickly retreated from the roof and followed the hallways down to the room where he had read the other ancient artifact to be. The candles from the hallways were flickering as he passed by, making his stealth approach harder to the roaming guards with their ray of light spells, but soon that wouldn’t matter. When he came across the room, at last, he found an expected sight. Four guards lined up the wall and the door to where he wanted to go. They’re not taking any chances like last time. He was just around a dark corner that had just been checked by one of the patrol ponies, and observing the room and guards. Too easy. He cast the spell he needed. A few seconds passed by, and suddenly there was light booming of thunder. It became louder and louder, until the castle began to shake violently. The guards became aware of the commotion and looked above them to get a better listen for the magnitude. “That’s funny, I could have sworn it was a clear night out tonight,” said one of them. “It is,” another responded, also looking above, “but that is no ordinary rainstorm. It’s too powerful and sudden.” He narrowed his eyes, letting his suspicion manifest into words. “That’s magic. We might be under attack.” “The crystal heart!” the third exclaimed, a look of worry crossing his face. “Right; let’s go,” the first one said to the other three, and they charged off to the nearest stairwell up. A smirk crossed his face. This was the first victory of many he has had in a long time, and he felt good about it. The doors swung open, and it was there in the back of the room, was what he was searching for. Its reflective material glittered a powerful glow, and it showed his perfect reflection. Shutting the doors, he carefully approached the mirror. Three days. Three days to learn the fabled spell. He took a deep breath, and charged through the portal. *** “Pinkie Pie, we go through this every time,” Rarity huffed, “I’m telling you, your outfit looks absolutely ridiculous, darling.” “How is the Grand Galloping Gala ever going to be fun, unless we spice it up a bit?” she whined, blowing a party horn afterward. The unicorn removed Pinkie’s “party attire” off of her. “I didn’t spend all this time making you a new Gala dress, so you can go and ‘spice it up’. Now be a good girl and try this on.” She used her magic to levitate a freshly made product in front of the hyper earth pony. She took it and bounced off into another room. Rarity now focused on the other. “Now Rainbow Dash,” she took another good long look at her through her red glasses, “I had made more room on the dress I’ve made for you, but I would like to take a few more measurements as I make some final touches.” The pegasus relaxed, “Do whatever you need to Rarity. I’m countin’ on you to make me look as awesome as ever when we go to the Gala.” Her red eyes looked straight and steady ahead as Rarity pulled the measuring tape over her. The unicorn’s suspicions were correct; Rainbow Dash had actually grown a bit. Though she made the dress to accommodate this, she was now realizing it wasn’t enough. Wouldn’t be too much trouble however… extending the sleeves a bit, and replacing the laces for the shoes, and she should be fine. She rolled the tape up and set it aside. “Raaaarrity!” Pinkie Pie called, “the dress fits!” She trotted from the other room for Rarity to see. She took another long look to see if anything was significantly out of place. After finding nothing, she nodded and the pink pony went back to change. Rainbow Dash stretched and yawned. “I dunno how you do it, Rarity,” she said. The unicorn began sorting one of the counters. “Do what?” she asked, keeping her focus on the counter. “Make all these super duper dresses,” Pinkie Pie continued. “They’re always on par,” Rainbow Dash stated, “Even when they’re completely new!” her eyes became wide. Rarity blushed a bit, “Well it is my passion, and you girls are my friends, so I would do the best job I can to make the highest quality attire for all of you.” The sunlight’s intensity through the curtains were dimming. “Oh my,” she observed, “it is getting late; why don’t you girls head back and we’ll catch up later, okay?” Pinkie Pie had already come back and was now standing next to Rainbow. “Okie dokie,” she confirmed, and Rainbow just nodded and the two headed out the door. With the mares gone and the room not in a huge mess, Rarity retired to her bedroom, where she collapsed on her bed eyeing Opal who was napping on the floor. She spent the evening catching up on one of her favorite novels, and by the time night came, she was ready to black out. After saying goodnight to Opal, she did just that, and sleep came upon her. Rarity found herself in her very own house, but the lighting was off. There was a shadowy overtone of darkness that covered her walls and infected her floor. The air felt abandoned and forgotten. A sense of dread overcame her when she realized this was not natural whatsoever. “Hello?” she called out stupidly, not knowing why she did. Oh wait, that’s why. She felt as if she were being watched. Her house had long been empty, but yet, some feeling in the air, betrayed the void. It crept up on her back; two eyes burned into it. Waiting… watching. She whipped her head around to find her wall. “W-who’s there?” she stammered, now walking along the hall. Somepony was watching. Then its voice was everywhere. Did you miss me? It sounded familiar. It felt familiar. Envy. Enveloped in jealousy. But she shook herself off for a moment, and responded, “Who are you?! Show yourself!” You didn’t miss me, but I missed you. The house was getting darker. The presence was getting nearer. Her heart rate was accelerating as she felt herself beginning to panic. Suddenly, in the midst of a still room, one of the chests on the far side of the room swung open. She again whipped her head in the direction and noticed that there was a glowing violet-blue light coming from it. Cautiously, she moved towards it, oblivious to the presence enclosing on her. The light belong to, her most prized gem. The golden necklace shined, and the gem enclosed in the center was beaming light. Her Element of Harmony! Generosity. She felt relieved to see something familiar. Her heart dropped when suddenly it crumbled and disintegrated in front of, causing her to back away. It was right in her ear. “I’m back for you, Rarity.” She yelped as her neck strained to bring her head off of the pillow. It took a moment to register that she had now awoken, and was lying in bed safe and sound. The sky outside was a purple growing into orange. It was dusk already. She groaned as she realized her entire body was stiff, and her head was aching. What was that? Where did that dream come from? It was over so quickly and yet it took the entire night from her. Well whatever it was, it will definitely hold me back today. Rarity felt sore, and needed to spruce up before she took on another day. It was important after all. The Gala was in a few. Why does it always have to be us? It was yet another lovely day in Ponyville; the pegasi had arranged for a slightly cloudy day to allow a cool breeze to pass cleanly through the town. Rarity was enjoying a morning cup of tea at her usual restaurant. Her informal wear was perfect for loosening herself up for the tight outfight she had prepared herself for the Gala which was in two days. She thought nothing further of the nightmare that she had had the night prior, since she still had work to do on her friends’ dresses. Twilight and Applejack were supposed to meet with her today at around noon, forcing her to move her “her time” to the morning. After tipping three bits for the service, she made her way to the spa with the idea of relaxation reminding her of how exhausted she was. I work so hard, she thought to herself, It’s a wonder I just don’t drop and refuse to function anymore. With the cucumber slices over her eyes, however, it was no longer a wonder. Hooves were massaging her back let loose of the worries, just like they had always been. Bon Bon had already inherited one of the massaging tables before Rarity got there, and the two engaged in friendly chatter. “Bon Bon, how are you, dear?” The mare huffed, “I really needed to be here. Glad I made it out of bed this morning,” then she brightened a little, “What about yourself?” “Much the same,” Rarity responded, “It appears the Gala stress is getting to me,” she laughed nervously. “Oh I won’t be able to make it this season.” “Oh why not?” “I had plans to go visit the Crystal Empire and take a few days off.” “That sounds delightful.” “Did you hear that they had a weird storm?” “Oh?” “Yeah it was a rainless lightning storm that came out in the middle of a clear night.” Rarity shrugged, “Maybe it was one of the unicorns that study there that had a faulty spell.” “What?” “You know… the Crystal Empire has a huge library… I’m sure the unicorns there set off spells there all the time.” “Oh. I never thought of it that way.” Rarity let herself zone out, declaring the conversation idle even though the two had just stopped talking. This year’s Gala was going to be quite the event. No interruptions like their first one, and no more saving Equestria like the last one. At last, she could see it all. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight would all be overlooking the magnificent ball room, the innocent and most importantly, sophisticated chatter of Canterlot ponies, as they danced light waltz due to the beautiful quartet on stage. Her smile was getting bigger as she imagined the scene. At last, finally the most important party in Equestria was going to be absolutely perfect. *** Applejack had already gotten used to the routine. In fact she had gotten so bored of it, that she decided to stop fighting it altogether. It was important that Rarity were to have her moment, since they both knew she would not change. The unicorn passed the measuring tapes over her back and legs. After a few moments of absolute silence, Rarity spoke. “Ah, you are still perfect Applejack. The dress needs no further modifications.” She zipped the roll up as AJ tried to figure out by that statement whether that was a compliment to the earth pony or herself. “Uh, thanks I guess,” was all she could conjure. Rarity retreated, and Twilight Sparkle tossed an awkward smile her way. Please don’t be tight, please don’t be tight, please don’t be- It was insufferably tight, of course. AJ didn’t know whether she was breathing with lungs or suddenly air just passed in and out of her skin. The usual colors were her style, a smith apple green with golden lining. While it was beautiful, AJ always felt there was no real reason for her to wear any fancy dress. It wasn’t an accurate representation of her, or anything she felt, and she had nopony specific to impress. But as she recalled earlier, Let Rarity have her moment. And Rarity was indeed having her moment. She shoved the Earth pony in front of the mirror and gave a big “What do you think?! Isn’t it absolutely fabulous?” Applejack didn’t need to look at it longer to know that of course it was Rarity’s best work, and it undoubtedly looked amazing. “It’s beautiful Rarity,” she said honestly, “But don’t you ever think it’s a bit much?” “Never!” Rarity insisted, “This is the Grand Galloping Gala. You’d be underdressing wearing anything else!” A few years ago, Rarity would have taken that as a challenge to her judgment and immediately gotten defensive. AJ really appreciated the way Rarity decided to deal with her now. “Well thank ya kindly,” she said giving a sincere look of gratitude towards her friend, and then started as quickly as possible to take it off. No offense to the dressmaker, but at that rate, AJ was going to suffocate before she even got to the Gala. She headed for the door, but was stopped by, “Wait aren’t you going to stay?” “I got some chores to do back home,” she said, “But we’ll catch up later.” “Alright then, see you later Applejack.” “Bye Applejack,” Twilight waved. She nodded at both of them and headed back. As the day was getting late, Applejack collapsed on her bed to think. The Gala was going to take place the day after tomorrow. She was going to try again with her apple stand. Sure it didn’t work the first time, but the first time she hadn’t also been through everything else that followed it. Although the last few times weren’t great successes either; she had a habit of standing outside towards the entrance and forgetting that nopony was really hungry until getting inside. Though this time she was sure to stand by that cursed buffet and pass her cart off as desert. And who knows, maybe being the wielder of an Element of Harmony that has been put in modern use would have a better chance of selling a few apple tarts or so. She chuckled to herself thinking about that. All her friends, and all they’ve been through, and she was going to go put up a good old fashioned apple stand. By the time a few hours passed by, Luna had already begun raising the moon, so Applejack thought it best to turn in. She blew out the candle next to her bed and closed her eyes. The nice cool and promise darkness overtook the consciousness, and showed her the family. AJ was in front of them, and her friends… her training grounds were right behind her. She had been breathing heavy as if excising. “So,” she huffed, “What do y’all think?” They all stared at her, clearly bored. “That wasn’t very impressive, darling,” Rarity was the first to chime in. That was confusing. “What do ya mean?” the earth pony tilted her head in confusion. “It was really boring,” Applebloom burst. She started to become very self-conscious now. “I didn’t like it one bit,” Twilight scrunched her face with disapproval. Did I make a mistake? she began to sweat now in anxiety. Well at least they’re being honest… right? “I’m sorry… I guess I’ll try to-” “That was not awesome Applejack,” Rainbow stated, becoming upset, “Don’t ever do that again.” What’s going on? “Well shoot,” she said, starting to get annoyed, “I guess I’ll just hold back next time then. I’m so happy I can count on my friends to gang up on me any time they feel as if this pony makes a mistake or two.” She was still out of breath and hung her head to try and catch it again. Then she realized all of them were slowly getting closer. She didn't know how to react to this. “Uh… guys?” she began to back up. “You really hold us back, Applejack,” Pinkie Pie chimed, bouncing, “It’s a wonder we haven’t gotten rid of you yet.” Something’s not right. The group continued to get closer. Applejack’s heart was racing in terror. There was something definitely not right about them. She was speechless by that comment though. Pinkie Pie would never say something like that. That made her stop for a moment. No, she would never say it. None of my friends would say it. “You know?” Twilight said giving a look a Pinkie Pie and then back at AJ, “That might not be a bad idea.” What?! The look in her eyes was different. Scheming; cold; and… evil. These weren’t her friends. They couldn’t be. Their pace continued to quicken now, and AJ had already backed up into the wooden fence that held the track. “Why don’t you just… disappear Applejack?” “We’ve never liked you anyway, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash had the same look as Twilight, and now, everypony else. She lunged forward quickly towards the earth pony with a vicious snarl. And with that, her eyes flung open. A dream. The mare was sweating nervously and noticed her heart rate was out of control. A bad dream. Relief flooded her nerves now, and she slowly relaxed. To her surprise, it took the entire night. The gradient of the sun streaks were just beginning to show on the horizon, while the dark sky was tinting the early purple. The earth pony’s muscles ached. She had been stiff all night it seemed, and there was no sense of rest in any ounce of energy she had. Dread overcame her as she recalled what happened in the dream. She had found out that all her friends thought they held her back. AJ shuddered and could only hope there wasn’t any truth to that dream. The day was going to be the last of preparation. She had to get herself ready for the Gala tomorrow. What could possibly go wrong?Twilight’s eyes slowly opened. Her muscles were aching, and her breathing was tight. This isn’t good. I wonder if it’s magic related. The nightmares were getting worse from three days ago. She looked towards Spike. Her heart lurched when she saw he was shivering; his teeth were snapped tight and his eye lids were wild as if being asleep and awake at the same time. “Spike…” she said. Nothing. “Spike wake up,” she began to get out of bed. He didn’t respond. Her own muscles didn’t respond when her hooves hit the ground and her weakness took her by surprise as she hit the ground. A billion vibrations shook her tired state both awakening her and suppressing her at the same time. She got up and walked towards Spike’s bed. “S-spike,” she wheezed, “Please wake up.” She nudged him with a hoof. It was enough. He jerked awake and gave the alicorn a stare. His eyes flooded with rolling tears and he lurched forward and hugged her neck. It’s affecting him too, she noticed, Maybe it’s a magical disturbance. No doubt Celestia would know about it by now, since she has a direct connection to Spike. “T-twilight…” he stammered through gasps. “I’m here Spike,” she hugged him back. “I know you said it would never come to pass… but it still hurts every time.” It took her a second to think about what that meant. He must have dreamed that he was abandoned by her again. As if that wasn’t enough, there was a knock heard at the front door. “Give me just a moment, okay?” she whispered, and he nodded as they broke. She trotted to the front door to spot Rarity. Oh thank goodness. She hung her head in exhaustion, “Oh Rarity, listen. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to the Gala, I’m kind of si-” “Twilight,” was the only word said by the unicorn. She looked up and almost was surprised by what she saw. Rarity looked awful. Her eyes were dim, and her mane was messy and hanging. This meant only one thing. The six of were gathered in Twilight’s Library room, which was now not as comfortable considering the walls were made of crystal rather than soft oak tree wood. Pinkie Pie hadn’t said a single word because she was too busy trying to keep her eyes open. Fluttershy was a bit more jumpy than her usual self, and Rainbow Dash was passed out cold. The entire group of friends looked defeated; they hung their heads in exhaustion and misery, and they carried themselves as if the weight of Equestria had just been put on them. “So it looks like all of you have been having them then, huh,” Twilight said aloud. Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie was the first to respond, “Only last night.” “I’ve had them for over three days,” Rarity said wide eyed, resting her face in her hooves, “Twilight make it stop,” she rushed over and threw herself on the princess, “Ma-ake it stooooopp!” she was sobbing her drama cry. Twilight looked down at her and gave her a stare. Rarity’s voice became quiet and high pitched, “I had to get another spa treatment… it didn’t help.” “Rainbow Dash get up,” Applejack said, annoyed. “H-huh, what?” she asked jerking her eyes open. “Your attention span is deader than Pinkie Pie’s rock farm-” “Hey!” “-we’re trying to fix a problem here.” Shoving Rarity off of her, Twilight continued, “Well girls, do you remember the last time all of us starting having nightmares like this?” The room became quiet as they pondered the question. Rarity came first. “No…” she said in disbelief. You didn’t miss me, but I missed you. The Alicorn looked around at where that came from. What was that? “You don’t think the Nightmare Forces have returned, do you?” Fluttershy asked quietly. Twilight only shrugged, “It’s the only reasonable explanation. But seeing how both Rarity and Luna are cleansed of their influence, we don’t know which pony they could go after next.” Applejack had a look of terror on her face, “What if they were going to come for Celestia this time…” “That would not be awesome,” Rainbow Dash said, starting to get a worried look herself. AJ stopped dead when she heard that for some reason and gave a look at her friend. They’re all really jumpy. “The Gala’s tomorrow, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said despite her tired state, “I know if I were a monster made up of bad dreams that had a habit of corrupting powerful ponies and turning them into complete unstoppable terror machines, I’d definitely want to go to the Grand Galloping Ga-la!” she sang the last two syllables. “It’s more than likely not a coincidence,” Rainbow stated, “Better go in with our Elements.” “Wouldn’t hurt, I suppose,” Rarity said, “At least now we know what we’re up against.” “Are we really supposed to take those off the Tree?” Fluttershy asked, “We just gave them back not that long ago.” Rainbow growled, “If those seeds sprout back up and turn Equestria into chaos, Discord’ll have to clean it up.” They all looked towards Fluttershy; even she couldn’t defend him in that manner. “It’s settled then,” Applejack said, “We get the Elements, go to the Gala, fight the forces, and then come back and get life back to normal.” The six nodded. Too bad it’s not going to be a normal Gala this year. *** Fluttershy hadn’t fully gotten used to going an entire night without sleep, so she was a bit slow and groggy with opening the door. “Oh well hello there, dear Fluttershy!” the draconequus swooped in to greet her, “I trust your day has been well?” She nodded with no words, as he continued talking, “Did you get that… thing I asked for?” His mischievous eyes looked up and down. She reached into her bag and pulled out a smaller one with his “request”. His eyes shone (literally) when he opened it, “YES!” and he ascended in the air, “A double decker, daisy sandwich! I’m starving!” “Couldn’t you have just made that appear whenever you wanted?” she asked, looked up at him with a hint of annoyance. He stopped for a moment and came back down with a look of sincere sorrow, “But I thought we were friends… and friends do stuff for each other right?” “Discord, yes, we’re friends, but you don’t have to starve yourself the entire day when you can get something yourself without me having to get it for you,” she said halfheartedly and looked in another direction to see where she could lay down. Now he definitely knew something was wrong. “Fluttershy are you alright?” he asked with a bit of worry in his eyes and brought the couch closer for her so she didn’t have to walk all the way there. She was grateful for that and collected herself, “Yes, it’s just that the girls and I have been having nightmares these few nights.” That triggered a spark of interest. “Nightmares?” he perked his ears and began pacing, “Hmmm that sort of magic has never been my expertise… it’s tricky stuff- very hard to detect if you aren’t ‘into’ it.” She just watched him pace back and forth. “Though nothing I-” he placed his talon on his chest, “-couldn’t get into.” That she heard. “What do you mean by that?” He stopped, and turned, “Nightmares are the result of conflict. Now,” he chuckled, “While chaos and conflict are not interchangeable all the time, they are… compatible,” a dark look overcame him, “All chaos is conflict, but not all conflict is chaos. Like this,” he manifested a cotton candy cloud with a snap of his talons. “Cotton candy and clouds do not match,” he giggled, “and yet here they are. Chaos, believe it or not is conflict becoming one with itself. The rawest form of unity and disagreement at the same time!” he made it vanish, “It makes perfect sense, and it doesn’t.” She thought about that for a moment. “Would you be able to help in some sort of way?” “But of course!” he said, “After all it’s only dark magic, and who doesn’t have that?” he leaned in closer to whisper in her ear, “After all even the Generous Rarity has had a taste of that stuff… TWICE!” he backed away, “Though say on, Luna’s level? No. After all she is cut out for this sort of thing.” We forgot to talk about that, Fluttershy recalled. “Though, I wouldn’t be surprised, since you said the six of you were having it, that the Princess of the Moon and Sun would be experiencing the same,” he thought out loud. “Haven’t you gotten any?” she asked, now a bit more engaged in the conversation. “Me? No. My magic is one of a kind,” he flipped her mane, “It has no flow or stable presence. Though not convenient when trying to perform huge magical tasks, it makes for a handy home defense system!” he look excited when he said that, and then got back to her ear, “Just watch the next time mane man Tierk tries to take magic from some pony again.” He backed away. She thought about that. “Well then maybe you can help after all.” Oh... that.“Oooh no you don’t!” Rainbow Dash said, “The last thing I want is this one in my head while I’m sleeping!” The group was back together again in Twilight’s library, only this time with Fluttershy’s dear chimera friend. “Rainbow, don’t be like that,” Fluttershy said, “I made him promise he’d behave and he’s only trying to help.” The other four had reserved reactions when Fluttershy told the plan about recruiting Discord’s aid for the nightmares. “While it’s kind of you to help us, Discord,” Twilight said, “I think we’ve got the problem solved.” That got an annoyed look, “Princess Twilight Sparkle, always so sure of yourself.” He twirled closer to her, “You thought you were getting rid of the Nightmare Forces when you were vanquishing that abomination, but then they reverted to your own friend, didn’t they?” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Celestia thought that the seeds would be held down by the magic of the tree, which I see,” he looked around, “That you’ve stripped it of, and those came up too, didn’t they?” “I see your point,” she responded, “But I still don’t see how you’re supposed to help.” He backed up, relieved to get not-as-hostile-as-they-used-to-be stares from his friends. “I’m so glad the glares on your faces aren’t nearly as harsh as they used to be when we first met!” he smiled so wide, “I could just give you all a hu-” “Discord…” Fluttershy interrupted. “Right,” he said, embarrassed, “Well if the source of these nightmares is from the Ugly Ones as you think they are, it wouldn’t be impossible for me to track it, you see. They’re proving to be much more trouble than they’re worth, and if there are still more… well… at least we’d know where to find them.” Applejack stared at him hard, “But you don’t think that it’s them.” He looked surprised, “I didn’t say that! It’s just that the lot of you is putting faith into the possibility of it being them.” “Why wouldn’t it be them?” Rarity inquired, now legitimately curious. He stared at her, “Dark magic is a vast and stretching galaxy,” he said, showing the essence of some of his own appear on the lion arm. It was pitch black and thick like tar, and quivered like it too; other forms of purple tinted energy radiated around it. “Your unicorn friend back in the Crystal Empire had control of a lot of it, remember?” That got them to stop, “And he didn’t have an ounce of Nightmare energy in him.” He could see that as much as Twilight hated to admit it, he was right. “I would tell you go to your Lunar Savior but I don’t think she’d be in any better condition than what any of you are in,” he chuckled, “Get the dream princess weak by infecting her with nightmares. Really, who writes this stuff?” “Alright fine,” Twilight said, “But you better not do anything to us.” “Hey this is helping me just as much as it is you.” “You can’t be serious Twilight!” Rainbow exclaimed, “He’s not reall-” “We have to trust him some time,” Applejack rested a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, “We might as well give him a chance, especially since he knows what he’s talking about.” “We best all stay here tonight, then,” Rarity said, “We could all leave for the train tomorrow morning together.” *** It was unlike anything else that they’ve done before. In order to not rack their nerves, since the ponies had enough to worry about already, Discord thought it best to not be there waiting for them when they all finally met up at the end of the day. He was undoubtedly curious, though, as for the source, especially if it was going to mess with his friends. He grew angry at the thought of anything making any of them upset, and only strengthened his determination to get them well again. He was waiting in the other one of the other rooms, since Twilight said he was a welcome guest in her new castle, bored on one of the couches. He stared up at the crystal ceiling preparing himself mentally for what he was about to do, when there was a yelp at the door. He looked up to see Spike holding a box of books. “Oh…” he said, “Hello.” “Discord?” Spike asked, “What are you doing here?” He sat up and stared at him, annoyed, “I’m just here to help, that’s all.” Spike glared at him. “Oh come on,” he said, and swooped closer to him, “You out of all can trust me,” he said smiling, and passed his lion paw over Spike’s scales, “Us being dragon-kin and all.” Spike grew stiff; “You’re only part drago-” Discord wiped his smile, “I’ll have you know I’m half dragon,” he said matter-of-fact-ly, “Where you do think the name dracon comes from?” and backed away from Twilight’s friend. “Dragons don’t use magic,” Spike crossed his arms. “Yes, that letter that appears from thin air every time Celestia sends you a message is the hard work of Twilight’s scientific research,” he said sarcastically, and crossed his arms in turn. Spike opened one eye at him, and after staring, just growled and moved on. “Nice talking to you!” Discord called while holding an umbrella with gloves and waving. Well at least some things don’t change. While the ponies were still all gathered in their special room with all the chairs and such, the chaos master figured it best to poke around the library. He never got the chance to observe some of the books the mysterious box gave her. Although there were a lot of new titles that he was sure that Twilight didn’t have, it wasn’t anything he was unfamiliar with. He even found a book with the Legend of the Mirror pool as a part of a list of Magical Landmarks around Equestria, which was one of the rarer ones in her library to his knowledge. To humor himself, he slid out a history book, with the one as far back as he could reach, which was the earlier recorded history of the Luna and Celestia. He began reading towards the “good part”. The chapter before it was all about the discovery of the Elements of Harmony from their beloved Tree, with no mention of his previous reign, which he thought was odd, since he was the only reason they actually found them in the first place. Must be going in order then, he thought to himself. Order. So the next chapter read: With the extraordinary Elements of Harmony found and extracted from the Tree, Celestia and Luna had now to face yet another celebrity of Equestrian Legend: Discord, the Draconequus spirit of Chaos. His powerful magic had led Equestria astray as he took the throne as its ruler. He stopped there for a second to squee; Ponies were unhappy and miserable having him there. Both alicorns saw this, and fulfilled their hearts by taking up the Elements and confronting him directly. Luna described this moment: “…[the draconequus] knew he was defeated. He had been trying to hide the Elements from us since his rule, and yet we find him out in the open. He taunted us emptily and just stood there as we corrected his existence from being the ruler of Equestria. Discord’s sinister performance was unnerving to my sister and me as we waited for something to happen in the next few days, but yet nothing did.” With Discord being overthrown and the Royal Sisters’ rule now being implemented, a few great ponies who made the Equestrian land what it is today, emerged... He kept reading expecting more, but nothing came. “Well this can’t be right,” he said out loud, looking through the book, “This can’t be right.” He tried to look for more on him, but yet that passage was all he could find. He became enraged, “I rule Equestria, turn it into chaos for moons on end uninterrupted, and the only thing said about me, is this miserable little paragraph?!” He was tempted to burn it, or dispose of it somehow, but he recalled how it wasn’t his. Now even more furious, he gently placed it back and stormed back into the room he was waiting in, and collapsed on the couch in a huff. It occurred to him an hour later after his mood dwindled to check the other history books for similar results. But what difference did it make? He never cared for the citizens and had no governmental structure so if anything was written down about the experience from one of the residents during his reign, he had no idea where it was. The only thing these writers had to go by was the sisters’ accounts anyway. That got him thinking. Well at least I know not to mess up like THAT again. *** The girls finally went off to bed; apparently they had finished discussing whatever they were talking about and so Discord readied himself. The sky was dark again; he went to the room he had the most interest in seeing: Rarity. He lay on the floor next to her bed, and tried to pry open her mind, which was a little bit more difficult than usual, but still easy nonetheless. It was Rarity’s boutique, but all dark, and dead. Discord frowned; the dark magic was able to use her own mind to recreate her own house? He kept going; sneaking around every corner, until he felt there was another presence close by. He froze and tried listening. There was sobbing of a familiar voice… seeming to come from Rarity. Hold on oh Generous Rarity, he thought with a smile, and manifested a familiar costume, I’m coming! He slithered into the main room where Rarity was backed against the wall in desperate tears; the poor mare was terrified. There was a barely visible translucent figure in front of her, with glowing eyes. The source, he confirmed. He stormed up behind it as it was whispering something to her. Then it seemed to stop. “Oo, what do we have here?” he asked out loud stretching to his full height looking at the ghostly image. It looked straight back at him, wild eyed as if it was surprised at seeing another being in the room. “You know she can be annoying at times, but she does make the best outfits I’ve ever seen!” he stretched the fabric on the costume he was wearing to demostrate, “How could you be so mean to a pony like that?” He snapped and chains came from the ground and wrapped themselves around the figure causing her to be solid. “How DARE YOU?!” it roared. Its purple and white mane was waving violently. Discord chuckled, as he got between Rarity and her Nightmare. “I didn’t miss you,” he said to it, enclosing his talon around its snout, “You really spoil the good Element of Generosity’s name.” He turned his back to the writhing mass, letting go of its head, as it tried desperately to escape the chains and faced the unicorn. It took her a minute to realize who was in front of her. “D-discord?” she managed to spit out. He smiled, “That’s quite the-” Suddenly her eyes widened, “LOOK OUT!” she screamed. He gritted his teeth as he whipped around. No time to react! Her snout snapped shut on his shoulder as her sharp fangs tore into him. A fire of a thousand volcanoes seeped into it at once. He let out a roar that filled the entire house and shoved her away from him. She flew to the other side of the room but landed on all fours, a wicked smile stretched across her face. His costume dissolved instantly. He gave her a furious glare, as he held his right should with his left arm. It was burning, and this pain was unlike any he had ever experienced before. And without warning, he was back on the floor of her room with his eyes open. What?! He looked around him, and recognized an agonizing burning sensation in his shoulder. He was back at Twilight’s castle.
It's Starting Already? The unicorn used his magic to levitate the pair of magnified binocular lenses to his eye level. The day was clear and bright, the meadows shone vibrantly, showing off the color of follows that inhabited it. Two single figures resided upon it on a checkered sheet. One was small and short; the other was tall and stretched out. Her eyes were soft and gentle; her yellow wings were tucked by her side neatly, while his eyes were still wild and uneven, but had a tameness factor to them. What’s this? the unicorn thought to himself. Discord, you’ve changed quite a bit. Indeed he had; a cheerful and genuinely happy gaze dominated his face, and his gestures were orthodox and friendly. He was so happy, in fact, he couldn’t pick up on the unicorn’s presence due to his distraction of the yellow pegasus. What are you planning, draconequus? Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. He probably would be acting on it over a long time period… time he didn’t know he didn’t have. His calmed state didn’t fool him, however. Discord had full power; he was under no spell, and was under no control, something that would prove, if anything, troublesome later on. It only made the journey he was about to make all the more worth it, however. The unicorn slipped the binoculars into his bag, and headed for the train station. His time back in Equestria, though short, now had to be terminated. The train huffed, and came to a full stop, the steel breaks making an unpleasant sound in his ears. All the passengers calmly trotted through the exit, him being the last to leave. He had set hoof into the Crystal Empire only once before, and it looked nothing like it did now. A sense of despair and hopelessness was the very existence of the atmosphere, and it manifested in the clanking chains of the residents. Now it was free and bright, the crystal ponies’ coats became the messengers of the sunlight. While the sun was still up, the castle was open to at least getting inside it seemed. As nightfall was nearing, the guards began to escort the tourists off of the castle grounds. It of course wasn’t hard to evade them. They were at their lowest moment throughout the entire day, where their job was not to watch and guard, but to escort, and before long he found himself in one of the many forbidden stairways of the Crystal Castle. It was filly’s play to reach the top of the castle, especially without being noticed. The arching diamond like walls all came to this point, where a stalactite and stalagmite met at one point of the room- one object. Even he had to stop for a moment to appreciate this ancient relic. The crystal heart; an object thought to be long lost that all the crystal ponies placed their hope, unity, and love in. He carefully approached the heart, a removed a jar from his bag. He took another look at the contents his red colored magic lifting it to his eye level; the black essence swirled from one side of the jar, to the other, hoping to get out. Using his magic, he removed it from the jar and held it in place, and to the crystal heart. “The absence of light will remain tragic,” he muttered to himself, bringing the essence closer to the heart. Let’s see if the legends are true. “Revealed to those only with the highest magic.” The spell activated and the little nightmare essence he could muster up went through the heart and the top of the tower, and the presence was quickly diluted as it spread through the air in different directions. That should keep them busy for a while. Now he removed the retractable lightning rod he had bought, and used his magic to have it stick out on the outside wall, exposed to the clear night sky. He quickly retreated from the roof and followed the hallways down to the room where he had read the other ancient artifact to be. The candles from the hallways were flickering as he passed by, making his stealth approach harder to the roaming guards with their ray of light spells, but soon that wouldn’t matter. When he came across the room, at last, he found an expected sight. Four guards lined up the wall and the door to where he wanted to go. They’re not taking any chances like last time. He was just around a dark corner that had just been checked by one of the patrol ponies, and observing the room and guards. Too easy. He cast the spell he needed. A few seconds passed by, and suddenly there was light booming of thunder. It became louder and louder, until the castle began to shake violently. The guards became aware of the commotion and looked above them to get a better listen for the magnitude. “That’s funny, I could have sworn it was a clear night out tonight,” said one of them. “It is,” another responded, also looking above, “but that is no ordinary rainstorm. It’s too powerful and sudden.” He narrowed his eyes, letting his suspicion manifest into words. “That’s magic. We might be under attack.” “The crystal heart!” the third exclaimed, a look of worry crossing his face. “Right; let’s go,” the first one said to the other three, and they charged off to the nearest stairwell up. A smirk crossed his face. This was the first victory of many he has had in a long time, and he felt good about it. The doors swung open, and it was there in the back of the room, was what he was searching for. Its reflective material glittered a powerful glow, and it showed his perfect reflection. Shutting the doors, he carefully approached the mirror. Three days. Three days to learn the fabled spell. He took a deep breath, and charged through the portal. *** “Pinkie Pie, we go through this every time,” Rarity huffed, “I’m telling you, your outfit looks absolutely ridiculous, darling.” “How is the Grand Galloping Gala ever going to be fun, unless we spice it up a bit?” she whined, blowing a party horn afterward. The unicorn removed Pinkie’s “party attire” off of her. “I didn’t spend all this time making you a new Gala dress, so you can go and ‘spice it up’. Now be a good girl and try this on.” She used her magic to levitate a freshly made product in front of the hyper earth pony. She took it and bounced off into another room. Rarity now focused on the other. “Now Rainbow Dash,” she took another good long look at her through her red glasses, “I had made more room on the dress I’ve made for you, but I would like to take a few more measurements as I make some final touches.” The pegasus relaxed, “Do whatever you need to Rarity. I’m countin’ on you to make me look as awesome as ever when we go to the Gala.” Her red eyes looked straight and steady ahead as Rarity pulled the measuring tape over her. The unicorn’s suspicions were correct; Rainbow Dash had actually grown a bit. Though she made the dress to accommodate this, she was now realizing it wasn’t enough. Wouldn’t be too much trouble however… extending the sleeves a bit, and replacing the laces for the shoes, and she should be fine. She rolled the tape up and set it aside. “Raaaarrity!” Pinkie Pie called, “the dress fits!” She trotted from the other room for Rarity to see. She took another long look to see if anything was significantly out of place. After finding nothing, she nodded and the pink pony went back to change. Rainbow Dash stretched and yawned. “I dunno how you do it, Rarity,” she said. The unicorn began sorting one of the counters. “Do what?” she asked, keeping her focus on the counter. “Make all these super duper dresses,” Pinkie Pie continued. “They’re always on par,” Rainbow Dash stated, “Even when they’re completely new!” her eyes became wide. Rarity blushed a bit, “Well it is my passion, and you girls are my friends, so I would do the best job I can to make the highest quality attire for all of you.” The sunlight’s intensity through the curtains were dimming. “Oh my,” she observed, “it is getting late; why don’t you girls head back and we’ll catch up later, okay?” Pinkie Pie had already come back and was now standing next to Rainbow. “Okie dokie,” she confirmed, and Rainbow just nodded and the two headed out the door. With the mares gone and the room not in a huge mess, Rarity retired to her bedroom, where she collapsed on her bed eyeing Opal who was napping on the floor. She spent the evening catching up on one of her favorite novels, and by the time night came, she was ready to black out. After saying goodnight to Opal, she did just that, and sleep came upon her. Rarity found herself in her very own house, but the lighting was off. There was a shadowy overtone of darkness that covered her walls and infected her floor. The air felt abandoned and forgotten. A sense of dread overcame her when she realized this was not natural whatsoever. “Hello?” she called out stupidly, not knowing why she did. Oh wait, that’s why. She felt as if she were being watched. Her house had long been empty, but yet, some feeling in the air, betrayed the void. It crept up on her back; two eyes burned into it. Waiting… watching. She whipped her head around to find her wall. “W-who’s there?” she stammered, now walking along the hall. Somepony was watching. Then its voice was everywhere. Did you miss me? It sounded familiar. It felt familiar. Envy. Enveloped in jealousy. But she shook herself off for a moment, and responded, “Who are you?! Show yourself!” You didn’t miss me, but I missed you. The house was getting darker. The presence was getting nearer. Her heart rate was accelerating as she felt herself beginning to panic. Suddenly, in the midst of a still room, one of the chests on the far side of the room swung open. She again whipped her head in the direction and noticed that there was a glowing violet-blue light coming from it. Cautiously, she moved towards it, oblivious to the presence enclosing on her. The light belong to, her most prized gem. The golden necklace shined, and the gem enclosed in the center was beaming light. Her Element of Harmony! Generosity. She felt relieved to see something familiar. Her heart dropped when suddenly it crumbled and disintegrated in front of, causing her to back away. It was right in her ear. “I’m back for you, Rarity.” She yelped as her neck strained to bring her head off of the pillow. It took a moment to register that she had now awoken, and was lying in bed safe and sound. The sky outside was a purple growing into orange. It was dusk already. She groaned as she realized her entire body was stiff, and her head was aching. What was that? Where did that dream come from? It was over so quickly and yet it took the entire night from her. Well whatever it was, it will definitely hold me back today. Rarity felt sore, and needed to spruce up before she took on another day. It was important after all. The Gala was in a few.
Why does it always have to be us? It was yet another lovely day in Ponyville; the pegasi had arranged for a slightly cloudy day to allow a cool breeze to pass cleanly through the town. Rarity was enjoying a morning cup of tea at her usual restaurant. Her informal wear was perfect for loosening herself up for the tight outfight she had prepared herself for the Gala which was in two days. She thought nothing further of the nightmare that she had had the night prior, since she still had work to do on her friends’ dresses. Twilight and Applejack were supposed to meet with her today at around noon, forcing her to move her “her time” to the morning. After tipping three bits for the service, she made her way to the spa with the idea of relaxation reminding her of how exhausted she was. I work so hard, she thought to herself, It’s a wonder I just don’t drop and refuse to function anymore. With the cucumber slices over her eyes, however, it was no longer a wonder. Hooves were massaging her back let loose of the worries, just like they had always been. Bon Bon had already inherited one of the massaging tables before Rarity got there, and the two engaged in friendly chatter. “Bon Bon, how are you, dear?” The mare huffed, “I really needed to be here. Glad I made it out of bed this morning,” then she brightened a little, “What about yourself?” “Much the same,” Rarity responded, “It appears the Gala stress is getting to me,” she laughed nervously. “Oh I won’t be able to make it this season.” “Oh why not?” “I had plans to go visit the Crystal Empire and take a few days off.” “That sounds delightful.” “Did you hear that they had a weird storm?” “Oh?” “Yeah it was a rainless lightning storm that came out in the middle of a clear night.” Rarity shrugged, “Maybe it was one of the unicorns that study there that had a faulty spell.” “What?” “You know… the Crystal Empire has a huge library… I’m sure the unicorns there set off spells there all the time.” “Oh. I never thought of it that way.” Rarity let herself zone out, declaring the conversation idle even though the two had just stopped talking. This year’s Gala was going to be quite the event. No interruptions like their first one, and no more saving Equestria like the last one. At last, she could see it all. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight would all be overlooking the magnificent ball room, the innocent and most importantly, sophisticated chatter of Canterlot ponies, as they danced light waltz due to the beautiful quartet on stage. Her smile was getting bigger as she imagined the scene. At last, finally the most important party in Equestria was going to be absolutely perfect. *** Applejack had already gotten used to the routine. In fact she had gotten so bored of it, that she decided to stop fighting it altogether. It was important that Rarity were to have her moment, since they both knew she would not change. The unicorn passed the measuring tapes over her back and legs. After a few moments of absolute silence, Rarity spoke. “Ah, you are still perfect Applejack. The dress needs no further modifications.” She zipped the roll up as AJ tried to figure out by that statement whether that was a compliment to the earth pony or herself. “Uh, thanks I guess,” was all she could conjure. Rarity retreated, and Twilight Sparkle tossed an awkward smile her way. Please don’t be tight, please don’t be tight, please don’t be- It was insufferably tight, of course. AJ didn’t know whether she was breathing with lungs or suddenly air just passed in and out of her skin. The usual colors were her style, a smith apple green with golden lining. While it was beautiful, AJ always felt there was no real reason for her to wear any fancy dress. It wasn’t an accurate representation of her, or anything she felt, and she had nopony specific to impress. But as she recalled earlier, Let Rarity have her moment. And Rarity was indeed having her moment. She shoved the Earth pony in front of the mirror and gave a big “What do you think?! Isn’t it absolutely fabulous?” Applejack didn’t need to look at it longer to know that of course it was Rarity’s best work, and it undoubtedly looked amazing. “It’s beautiful Rarity,” she said honestly, “But don’t you ever think it’s a bit much?” “Never!” Rarity insisted, “This is the Grand Galloping Gala. You’d be underdressing wearing anything else!” A few years ago, Rarity would have taken that as a challenge to her judgment and immediately gotten defensive. AJ really appreciated the way Rarity decided to deal with her now. “Well thank ya kindly,” she said giving a sincere look of gratitude towards her friend, and then started as quickly as possible to take it off. No offense to the dressmaker, but at that rate, AJ was going to suffocate before she even got to the Gala. She headed for the door, but was stopped by, “Wait aren’t you going to stay?” “I got some chores to do back home,” she said, “But we’ll catch up later.” “Alright then, see you later Applejack.” “Bye Applejack,” Twilight waved. She nodded at both of them and headed back. As the day was getting late, Applejack collapsed on her bed to think. The Gala was going to take place the day after tomorrow. She was going to try again with her apple stand. Sure it didn’t work the first time, but the first time she hadn’t also been through everything else that followed it. Although the last few times weren’t great successes either; she had a habit of standing outside towards the entrance and forgetting that nopony was really hungry until getting inside. Though this time she was sure to stand by that cursed buffet and pass her cart off as desert. And who knows, maybe being the wielder of an Element of Harmony that has been put in modern use would have a better chance of selling a few apple tarts or so. She chuckled to herself thinking about that. All her friends, and all they’ve been through, and she was going to go put up a good old fashioned apple stand. By the time a few hours passed by, Luna had already begun raising the moon, so Applejack thought it best to turn in. She blew out the candle next to her bed and closed her eyes. The nice cool and promise darkness overtook the consciousness, and showed her the family. AJ was in front of them, and her friends… her training grounds were right behind her. She had been breathing heavy as if excising. “So,” she huffed, “What do y’all think?” They all stared at her, clearly bored. “That wasn’t very impressive, darling,” Rarity was the first to chime in. That was confusing. “What do ya mean?” the earth pony tilted her head in confusion. “It was really boring,” Applebloom burst. She started to become very self-conscious now. “I didn’t like it one bit,” Twilight scrunched her face with disapproval. Did I make a mistake? she began to sweat now in anxiety. Well at least they’re being honest… right? “I’m sorry… I guess I’ll try to-” “That was not awesome Applejack,” Rainbow stated, becoming upset, “Don’t ever do that again.” What’s going on? “Well shoot,” she said, starting to get annoyed, “I guess I’ll just hold back next time then. I’m so happy I can count on my friends to gang up on me any time they feel as if this pony makes a mistake or two.” She was still out of breath and hung her head to try and catch it again. Then she realized all of them were slowly getting closer. She didn't know how to react to this. “Uh… guys?” she began to back up. “You really hold us back, Applejack,” Pinkie Pie chimed, bouncing, “It’s a wonder we haven’t gotten rid of you yet.” Something’s not right. The group continued to get closer. Applejack’s heart was racing in terror. There was something definitely not right about them. She was speechless by that comment though. Pinkie Pie would never say something like that. That made her stop for a moment. No, she would never say it. None of my friends would say it. “You know?” Twilight said giving a look a Pinkie Pie and then back at AJ, “That might not be a bad idea.” What?! The look in her eyes was different. Scheming; cold; and… evil. These weren’t her friends. They couldn’t be. Their pace continued to quicken now, and AJ had already backed up into the wooden fence that held the track. “Why don’t you just… disappear Applejack?” “We’ve never liked you anyway, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash had the same look as Twilight, and now, everypony else. She lunged forward quickly towards the earth pony with a vicious snarl. And with that, her eyes flung open. A dream. The mare was sweating nervously and noticed her heart rate was out of control. A bad dream. Relief flooded her nerves now, and she slowly relaxed. To her surprise, it took the entire night. The gradient of the sun streaks were just beginning to show on the horizon, while the dark sky was tinting the early purple. The earth pony’s muscles ached. She had been stiff all night it seemed, and there was no sense of rest in any ounce of energy she had. Dread overcame her as she recalled what happened in the dream. She had found out that all her friends thought they held her back. AJ shuddered and could only hope there wasn’t any truth to that dream. The day was going to be the last of preparation. She had to get herself ready for the Gala tomorrow.
What could possibly go wrong?Twilight’s eyes slowly opened. Her muscles were aching, and her breathing was tight. This isn’t good. I wonder if it’s magic related. The nightmares were getting worse from three days ago. She looked towards Spike. Her heart lurched when she saw he was shivering; his teeth were snapped tight and his eye lids were wild as if being asleep and awake at the same time. “Spike…” she said. Nothing. “Spike wake up,” she began to get out of bed. He didn’t respond. Her own muscles didn’t respond when her hooves hit the ground and her weakness took her by surprise as she hit the ground. A billion vibrations shook her tired state both awakening her and suppressing her at the same time. She got up and walked towards Spike’s bed. “S-spike,” she wheezed, “Please wake up.” She nudged him with a hoof. It was enough. He jerked awake and gave the alicorn a stare. His eyes flooded with rolling tears and he lurched forward and hugged her neck. It’s affecting him too, she noticed, Maybe it’s a magical disturbance. No doubt Celestia would know about it by now, since she has a direct connection to Spike. “T-twilight…” he stammered through gasps. “I’m here Spike,” she hugged him back. “I know you said it would never come to pass… but it still hurts every time.” It took her a second to think about what that meant. He must have dreamed that he was abandoned by her again. As if that wasn’t enough, there was a knock heard at the front door. “Give me just a moment, okay?” she whispered, and he nodded as they broke. She trotted to the front door to spot Rarity. Oh thank goodness. She hung her head in exhaustion, “Oh Rarity, listen. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to the Gala, I’m kind of si-” “Twilight,” was the only word said by the unicorn. She looked up and almost was surprised by what she saw. Rarity looked awful. Her eyes were dim, and her mane was messy and hanging. This meant only one thing. The six of were gathered in Twilight’s Library room, which was now not as comfortable considering the walls were made of crystal rather than soft oak tree wood. Pinkie Pie hadn’t said a single word because she was too busy trying to keep her eyes open. Fluttershy was a bit more jumpy than her usual self, and Rainbow Dash was passed out cold. The entire group of friends looked defeated; they hung their heads in exhaustion and misery, and they carried themselves as if the weight of Equestria had just been put on them. “So it looks like all of you have been having them then, huh,” Twilight said aloud. Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie was the first to respond, “Only last night.” “I’ve had them for over three days,” Rarity said wide eyed, resting her face in her hooves, “Twilight make it stop,” she rushed over and threw herself on the princess, “Ma-ake it stooooopp!” she was sobbing her drama cry. Twilight looked down at her and gave her a stare. Rarity’s voice became quiet and high pitched, “I had to get another spa treatment… it didn’t help.” “Rainbow Dash get up,” Applejack said, annoyed. “H-huh, what?” she asked jerking her eyes open. “Your attention span is deader than Pinkie Pie’s rock farm-” “Hey!” “-we’re trying to fix a problem here.” Shoving Rarity off of her, Twilight continued, “Well girls, do you remember the last time all of us starting having nightmares like this?” The room became quiet as they pondered the question. Rarity came first. “No…” she said in disbelief. You didn’t miss me, but I missed you. The Alicorn looked around at where that came from. What was that? “You don’t think the Nightmare Forces have returned, do you?” Fluttershy asked quietly. Twilight only shrugged, “It’s the only reasonable explanation. But seeing how both Rarity and Luna are cleansed of their influence, we don’t know which pony they could go after next.” Applejack had a look of terror on her face, “What if they were going to come for Celestia this time…” “That would not be awesome,” Rainbow Dash said, starting to get a worried look herself. AJ stopped dead when she heard that for some reason and gave a look at her friend. They’re all really jumpy. “The Gala’s tomorrow, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said despite her tired state, “I know if I were a monster made up of bad dreams that had a habit of corrupting powerful ponies and turning them into complete unstoppable terror machines, I’d definitely want to go to the Grand Galloping Ga-la!” she sang the last two syllables. “It’s more than likely not a coincidence,” Rainbow stated, “Better go in with our Elements.” “Wouldn’t hurt, I suppose,” Rarity said, “At least now we know what we’re up against.” “Are we really supposed to take those off the Tree?” Fluttershy asked, “We just gave them back not that long ago.” Rainbow growled, “If those seeds sprout back up and turn Equestria into chaos, Discord’ll have to clean it up.” They all looked towards Fluttershy; even she couldn’t defend him in that manner. “It’s settled then,” Applejack said, “We get the Elements, go to the Gala, fight the forces, and then come back and get life back to normal.” The six nodded. Too bad it’s not going to be a normal Gala this year. *** Fluttershy hadn’t fully gotten used to going an entire night without sleep, so she was a bit slow and groggy with opening the door. “Oh well hello there, dear Fluttershy!” the draconequus swooped in to greet her, “I trust your day has been well?” She nodded with no words, as he continued talking, “Did you get that… thing I asked for?” His mischievous eyes looked up and down. She reached into her bag and pulled out a smaller one with his “request”. His eyes shone (literally) when he opened it, “YES!” and he ascended in the air, “A double decker, daisy sandwich! I’m starving!” “Couldn’t you have just made that appear whenever you wanted?” she asked, looked up at him with a hint of annoyance. He stopped for a moment and came back down with a look of sincere sorrow, “But I thought we were friends… and friends do stuff for each other right?” “Discord, yes, we’re friends, but you don’t have to starve yourself the entire day when you can get something yourself without me having to get it for you,” she said halfheartedly and looked in another direction to see where she could lay down. Now he definitely knew something was wrong. “Fluttershy are you alright?” he asked with a bit of worry in his eyes and brought the couch closer for her so she didn’t have to walk all the way there. She was grateful for that and collected herself, “Yes, it’s just that the girls and I have been having nightmares these few nights.” That triggered a spark of interest. “Nightmares?” he perked his ears and began pacing, “Hmmm that sort of magic has never been my expertise… it’s tricky stuff- very hard to detect if you aren’t ‘into’ it.” She just watched him pace back and forth. “Though nothing I-” he placed his talon on his chest, “-couldn’t get into.” That she heard. “What do you mean by that?” He stopped, and turned, “Nightmares are the result of conflict. Now,” he chuckled, “While chaos and conflict are not interchangeable all the time, they are… compatible,” a dark look overcame him, “All chaos is conflict, but not all conflict is chaos. Like this,” he manifested a cotton candy cloud with a snap of his talons. “Cotton candy and clouds do not match,” he giggled, “and yet here they are. Chaos, believe it or not is conflict becoming one with itself. The rawest form of unity and disagreement at the same time!” he made it vanish, “It makes perfect sense, and it doesn’t.” She thought about that for a moment. “Would you be able to help in some sort of way?” “But of course!” he said, “After all it’s only dark magic, and who doesn’t have that?” he leaned in closer to whisper in her ear, “After all even the Generous Rarity has had a taste of that stuff… TWICE!” he backed away, “Though say on, Luna’s level? No. After all she is cut out for this sort of thing.” We forgot to talk about that, Fluttershy recalled. “Though, I wouldn’t be surprised, since you said the six of you were having it, that the Princess of the Moon and Sun would be experiencing the same,” he thought out loud. “Haven’t you gotten any?” she asked, now a bit more engaged in the conversation. “Me? No. My magic is one of a kind,” he flipped her mane, “It has no flow or stable presence. Though not convenient when trying to perform huge magical tasks, it makes for a handy home defense system!” he look excited when he said that, and then got back to her ear, “Just watch the next time mane man Tierk tries to take magic from some pony again.” He backed away. She thought about that. “Well then maybe you can help after all.”
Oh... that.“Oooh no you don’t!” Rainbow Dash said, “The last thing I want is this one in my head while I’m sleeping!” The group was back together again in Twilight’s library, only this time with Fluttershy’s dear chimera friend. “Rainbow, don’t be like that,” Fluttershy said, “I made him promise he’d behave and he’s only trying to help.” The other four had reserved reactions when Fluttershy told the plan about recruiting Discord’s aid for the nightmares. “While it’s kind of you to help us, Discord,” Twilight said, “I think we’ve got the problem solved.” That got an annoyed look, “Princess Twilight Sparkle, always so sure of yourself.” He twirled closer to her, “You thought you were getting rid of the Nightmare Forces when you were vanquishing that abomination, but then they reverted to your own friend, didn’t they?” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Celestia thought that the seeds would be held down by the magic of the tree, which I see,” he looked around, “That you’ve stripped it of, and those came up too, didn’t they?” “I see your point,” she responded, “But I still don’t see how you’re supposed to help.” He backed up, relieved to get not-as-hostile-as-they-used-to-be stares from his friends. “I’m so glad the glares on your faces aren’t nearly as harsh as they used to be when we first met!” he smiled so wide, “I could just give you all a hu-” “Discord…” Fluttershy interrupted. “Right,” he said, embarrassed, “Well if the source of these nightmares is from the Ugly Ones as you think they are, it wouldn’t be impossible for me to track it, you see. They’re proving to be much more trouble than they’re worth, and if there are still more… well… at least we’d know where to find them.” Applejack stared at him hard, “But you don’t think that it’s them.” He looked surprised, “I didn’t say that! It’s just that the lot of you is putting faith into the possibility of it being them.” “Why wouldn’t it be them?” Rarity inquired, now legitimately curious. He stared at her, “Dark magic is a vast and stretching galaxy,” he said, showing the essence of some of his own appear on the lion arm. It was pitch black and thick like tar, and quivered like it too; other forms of purple tinted energy radiated around it. “Your unicorn friend back in the Crystal Empire had control of a lot of it, remember?” That got them to stop, “And he didn’t have an ounce of Nightmare energy in him.” He could see that as much as Twilight hated to admit it, he was right. “I would tell you go to your Lunar Savior but I don’t think she’d be in any better condition than what any of you are in,” he chuckled, “Get the dream princess weak by infecting her with nightmares. Really, who writes this stuff?” “Alright fine,” Twilight said, “But you better not do anything to us.” “Hey this is helping me just as much as it is you.” “You can’t be serious Twilight!” Rainbow exclaimed, “He’s not reall-” “We have to trust him some time,” Applejack rested a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, “We might as well give him a chance, especially since he knows what he’s talking about.” “We best all stay here tonight, then,” Rarity said, “We could all leave for the train tomorrow morning together.” *** It was unlike anything else that they’ve done before. In order to not rack their nerves, since the ponies had enough to worry about already, Discord thought it best to not be there waiting for them when they all finally met up at the end of the day. He was undoubtedly curious, though, as for the source, especially if it was going to mess with his friends. He grew angry at the thought of anything making any of them upset, and only strengthened his determination to get them well again. He was waiting in the other one of the other rooms, since Twilight said he was a welcome guest in her new castle, bored on one of the couches. He stared up at the crystal ceiling preparing himself mentally for what he was about to do, when there was a yelp at the door. He looked up to see Spike holding a box of books. “Oh…” he said, “Hello.” “Discord?” Spike asked, “What are you doing here?” He sat up and stared at him, annoyed, “I’m just here to help, that’s all.” Spike glared at him. “Oh come on,” he said, and swooped closer to him, “You out of all can trust me,” he said smiling, and passed his lion paw over Spike’s scales, “Us being dragon-kin and all.” Spike grew stiff; “You’re only part drago-” Discord wiped his smile, “I’ll have you know I’m half dragon,” he said matter-of-fact-ly, “Where you do think the name dracon comes from?” and backed away from Twilight’s friend. “Dragons don’t use magic,” Spike crossed his arms. “Yes, that letter that appears from thin air every time Celestia sends you a message is the hard work of Twilight’s scientific research,” he said sarcastically, and crossed his arms in turn. Spike opened one eye at him, and after staring, just growled and moved on. “Nice talking to you!” Discord called while holding an umbrella with gloves and waving. Well at least some things don’t change. While the ponies were still all gathered in their special room with all the chairs and such, the chaos master figured it best to poke around the library. He never got the chance to observe some of the books the mysterious box gave her. Although there were a lot of new titles that he was sure that Twilight didn’t have, it wasn’t anything he was unfamiliar with. He even found a book with the Legend of the Mirror pool as a part of a list of Magical Landmarks around Equestria, which was one of the rarer ones in her library to his knowledge. To humor himself, he slid out a history book, with the one as far back as he could reach, which was the earlier recorded history of the Luna and Celestia. He began reading towards the “good part”. The chapter before it was all about the discovery of the Elements of Harmony from their beloved Tree, with no mention of his previous reign, which he thought was odd, since he was the only reason they actually found them in the first place. Must be going in order then, he thought to himself. Order. So the next chapter read: With the extraordinary Elements of Harmony found and extracted from the Tree, Celestia and Luna had now to face yet another celebrity of Equestrian Legend: Discord, the Draconequus spirit of Chaos. His powerful magic had led Equestria astray as he took the throne as its ruler. He stopped there for a second to squee; Ponies were unhappy and miserable having him there. Both alicorns saw this, and fulfilled their hearts by taking up the Elements and confronting him directly. Luna described this moment: “…[the draconequus] knew he was defeated. He had been trying to hide the Elements from us since his rule, and yet we find him out in the open. He taunted us emptily and just stood there as we corrected his existence from being the ruler of Equestria. Discord’s sinister performance was unnerving to my sister and me as we waited for something to happen in the next few days, but yet nothing did.” With Discord being overthrown and the Royal Sisters’ rule now being implemented, a few great ponies who made the Equestrian land what it is today, emerged... He kept reading expecting more, but nothing came. “Well this can’t be right,” he said out loud, looking through the book, “This can’t be right.” He tried to look for more on him, but yet that passage was all he could find. He became enraged, “I rule Equestria, turn it into chaos for moons on end uninterrupted, and the only thing said about me, is this miserable little paragraph?!” He was tempted to burn it, or dispose of it somehow, but he recalled how it wasn’t his. Now even more furious, he gently placed it back and stormed back into the room he was waiting in, and collapsed on the couch in a huff. It occurred to him an hour later after his mood dwindled to check the other history books for similar results. But what difference did it make? He never cared for the citizens and had no governmental structure so if anything was written down about the experience from one of the residents during his reign, he had no idea where it was. The only thing these writers had to go by was the sisters’ accounts anyway. That got him thinking. Well at least I know not to mess up like THAT again. *** The girls finally went off to bed; apparently they had finished discussing whatever they were talking about and so Discord readied himself. The sky was dark again; he went to the room he had the most interest in seeing: Rarity. He lay on the floor next to her bed, and tried to pry open her mind, which was a little bit more difficult than usual, but still easy nonetheless. It was Rarity’s boutique, but all dark, and dead. Discord frowned; the dark magic was able to use her own mind to recreate her own house? He kept going; sneaking around every corner, until he felt there was another presence close by. He froze and tried listening. There was sobbing of a familiar voice… seeming to come from Rarity. Hold on oh Generous Rarity, he thought with a smile, and manifested a familiar costume, I’m coming! He slithered into the main room where Rarity was backed against the wall in desperate tears; the poor mare was terrified. There was a barely visible translucent figure in front of her, with glowing eyes. The source, he confirmed. He stormed up behind it as it was whispering something to her. Then it seemed to stop. “Oo, what do we have here?” he asked out loud stretching to his full height looking at the ghostly image. It looked straight back at him, wild eyed as if it was surprised at seeing another being in the room. “You know she can be annoying at times, but she does make the best outfits I’ve ever seen!” he stretched the fabric on the costume he was wearing to demostrate, “How could you be so mean to a pony like that?” He snapped and chains came from the ground and wrapped themselves around the figure causing her to be solid. “How DARE YOU?!” it roared. Its purple and white mane was waving violently. Discord chuckled, as he got between Rarity and her Nightmare. “I didn’t miss you,” he said to it, enclosing his talon around its snout, “You really spoil the good Element of Generosity’s name.” He turned his back to the writhing mass, letting go of its head, as it tried desperately to escape the chains and faced the unicorn. It took her a minute to realize who was in front of her. “D-discord?” she managed to spit out. He smiled, “That’s quite the-” Suddenly her eyes widened, “LOOK OUT!” she screamed. He gritted his teeth as he whipped around. No time to react! Her snout snapped shut on his shoulder as her sharp fangs tore into him. A fire of a thousand volcanoes seeped into it at once. He let out a roar that filled the entire house and shoved her away from him. She flew to the other side of the room but landed on all fours, a wicked smile stretched across her face. His costume dissolved instantly. He gave her a furious glare, as he held his right should with his left arm. It was burning, and this pain was unlike any he had ever experienced before. And without warning, he was back on the floor of her room with his eyes open. What?! He looked around him, and recognized an agonizing burning sensation in his shoulder. He was back at Twilight’s castle.
