Order of Discord

I was surprised to find out that I hadn’t been woken up. Honestly, given the events of yesterday and last night, I had expected some stupid rule where everyone was up at daybreak. Either that, or maybe I’d just been given a pass because of the near natural disaster we’ll call ‘yesterday’. I was also somewhat shocked to find that my bed wasn’t in shambles after getting up out of it. Normally I’d be tossing and turning throughout the night, truth be told my bed back home wasn’t very comfy, but I’ve come to find I’ve had a very peaceful slumber… Why did I have a feeling that wasn’t going to last too long?

I got up with a stretch, feeling as well as hearing my bones crack as I extended myself out. I hadn’t lied that stiff for that long in years… So, naturally, my body wasn’t used to getting as much rest as it did. And it certainly had no problem telling me that. “Ah.. Ahaha.. Okay, yep. That one was my spine…” I groaned as I tried to realign myself, letting everything settle in it’s place. After the hellish part of waking up, I found myself trudging down the stairs, which went about as well as expected. I stumbled, tumbled, and then my vision was met by blackness as I face planted for what felt like the millionth time in the last 24 hours.

Rough start? Yeah. Yeah probably. That’d be the best way to describe it, wouldn’t it? Of course, my journey with the stairs wasn’t over. After getting back up on my hooves, I realized I’d completely forgotten to throw on my hoodie after getting up out of bed. “...Goddess damnit…” I mumbled softly in a sigh, heaving myself back up one of my worst enemies. What? I never left anywhere without my hoodie, and I’d feel bad just leaving Tashie’s hard work unattended. Hard work? Was it really that difficult? Gah. There’s that softness kicking in again… I threw on my hoodie with a yawn, rubbing my eyes as though that would help me open them more. Walking down stairs when you’re all groggy really makes you wish everypony was rich enough to afford an elevator.

So, let’s take a look at the mental morning check list. Getting up? Check. Well, half check. It was a struggle but I got there. Looking presentable? Well. I have my hoodie… My mane was in a tizzy as it is everytime I wake up, but a quick sweep with a hoof made it kinda tame… Bleh, I’d just throw my hood over myself in case anyone got mouthy about my appearance. So let’s momentarily check that off the list. I’d say I deserve to take a shortcut after everything that’s happened. Coffee?... Definitely not check. I could feel the bags under my eyes practically screaming for it. And, the best part? No coffee machines. That means there had to be a coffee shop out in Manehatt-

That’s right. I’m not in Manehattan. I’m now living in ‘Safe Haven’, formerly known as ‘Equality Village’ according to Starlight. I have no idea why, and I didn’t care enough to keep up with history. It was always the same headline all the time. “Elements of Harmony save Equestria from -insertMonsterAnd/OrVillainHere.exe-”. It never changed, and it soon enough got pointless to keep up with newspapers. I hate to say it, but stories aren’t interesting when they’re always happy, or always the same. I’m probably being a hypocrite. Guarantee you my journal ends with ‘And Equestria lived happily ever after’. And if it does? You have all right to find me and knock my teeth out.

Anyway, enough complaining about tabloid news and journalism that really doesn’t matter anymore. I’m setting out to find some goddess damned coffee so my head stops pounding, and I can actually keep my eyes open. Let’s pray to Celestia that I don’t get caught up in a crowd, or some other terrible garbage. I was not in the mood to be social, at least not at the moment. I’m more or less being seclusive for the safety of others. I don’t want to get a ‘hello’ and respond with a ‘get lost’. No need to paint myself in a negative light… Yet.

Disorder lit up the mad-house formerly known as the ‘Royal Castle’. Apostles in a mere uproar at the events that happened the evening prior, and all were demanding action. News had broken out after an Apostle returned from the residence of a stallion named Nightfall, saying he pulled a Houdini and poofed in a practical cloud of smoke. Said Apostle was still inside, with none other than the Empress. Discord was out, keeping track of things in the Crystal Empire. Word had gotten out that Apostles were close to bringing King Sombra back, and the King of Chaos wanted an update as to how that was going…

Inside, the Empress was having a practical interrogation with the moss green Apostle inside, who’s name was Toxic Screw. He seemed to be a little nervous, as indicated by his slight trembling as he stood before the Empress. Fluttershy carried a posture far different than her normal timid one she did with the Elements. While still possessing a bit of shyness, Fluttershy seemed to carry a demeanor that was much less forgiving, and she stared at the Apostle with a gaze that could only be described as cold. “And you let them get away?...” She asked with a quiet, yet at the same time assertive tone.

“S-She seemed to be, on our side ma’am- I mean! Uhh.. Your highness…” Toxic’s voice trembled just as his whole body did, his eyes darting nervously around the room, looking at anything but Fluttershy. “A-And the charcoal colored one, he wore our symbol, he seemed fine…” The pegasus mare stomped her hoof on the floor, and Toxic nearly jumped into the ceiling. He fell to his haunches, closing his eyes while begging the Empress for forgiveness. “P-Please your highness! I or our fellow Apostles were not to know what they were up to! W-We’ll get them back here for punishment, hones-”

Silence was met, Fluttershy nearly an inch away from the stallion who felt he was in his last moments. Mercy was given, but with a price to be payed. “You walk free for now, Screwball… But if me nor your lordship see the two responsible for such a stir here soon…” She pushed him down to the floor, keeping him pinned there underneath a firm hoof. He coughed and gasped a slight bit, looking up terrified. “We’ll hang you up top the tallest tree, and let your fellow Apostles use you as a pinata… Only they’re not going to be looking for candy…” She pressed him to the floor a little harder, squeezing his chest, but leaving him just enough room to breath. “Understood?”

No more than a few moments later, Toxic was practically thrown out of the throne room, back into the hall where he fall face first, losing a tooth or two. The door slammed close, Fluttershy not even offering a gaze to the Apostles all crowded inside. Numerous of them gathered around, helping Toxic up to his hooves so he could speak. Still gasping and coughing, all he could mutter out was a simple order to everyone listening. “Find where they went… Bring them back here alive. Debts need to be paid, and I’m not going to offer up my bits to pay for them.”

The crowd of Apostles practically howled in response, cheers of joy almost sounding like broken screams. Time to set a plan in motion. The goal was simple: Find Nightfall.

Of course, the second I stepped outside my home, I was greeted by numerous ponies. You’ll never guess who was there amongst them. If you guessed Starlight, it should’ve been obvious, and you get no pat on the back from me. But good job anyway. “Well good morning there, sunshine! I can tell you’ve had a rough start, given the bruise you have there.” I groaned and forced out a chuckle. “Ha ha… Yeah, great morning. Fantastic morning. Goddess be damned, it feels like I was taking my first steps again…” Starlight grinned a little bit. Great, glad she was still seeking enjoyment from my misfortune. I love it.

“You’re lucky you didn’t have anything severe like a mission on your agenda today, otherwise, sleeping in like that is considered a luxury.” She smirked and let her posture fall a little bit, taking a more relaxed stance. Seems she wasn’t so tense, and maybe that was a good thing… “Trust me, you don’t have to tell me twice. I haven’t slept like that in decades. Or years… You can never tell sometimes. All the clocks in Manehattan always showed different times compared to another.” I heaved out a tired sigh, glancing at the light pink mare with tired and pretty much sore eyes. “Now where’s the coffee shop? Just because I’m up doesn’t mean…” My statement was interrupted by a yawn before I could finish it, though the mare caught onto what I was gonna say.

“Doesn’t mean you’re awake? Yeah. I get that way sometimes too. Though that’s mostly if I don’t get any sleep.” The unicorn mare gave a shrug, and nodded down the single road that trailed through the center of Safe Haven. The little town’s set up wasn’t really that hard to figure out. Down towards the entrance, houses lined up both sides of the streets. However, down by Starlight’s base of operations, there were all the shops and stores, previous homes turned makeshift markets and workshops. One such store was cleverly named “Toffee’s Coffee”. And that was my stop in order to check off what was next on the agenda. I guess I was going to have company too, seeing as how Starlight entered the small little ‘cafe’ with me.

The mare at the counter smiled and waved as we walked in, the atmosphere seemingly quiet and peaceful. At least there was no bell above the door like there was at the ‘Clothing Store’. Starlight immediately wandered over to the counter, taking my hoof to drag me over as well. Guess there was no looking around just yet… “Starlight!” The mare at the counter greeted happily, and the two embraced in a gentle hug over the counter. I felt myself smile, and the voice inside my head sing-songed “Softie~ Softie~” I wanted to die. This is what a true want for death feels like right now. I needed coffee, and I needed it as soon as possible.

“Who’s your friend over here? He seems to be new!” The mare behind the counter exclaimed with joy, and Starlight chuckled as she introduced us to each other. “Nightfall, this is Toffee Espresso. Toffee, this is Nightfall.” I gave a sheepish smile at the slight introduction, and managed to give a wave and a timid “Hey there, Toffee”. She quickly smiled and gave a lengthy introduction, nearly taking her own breath away. Might just start calling her ‘Caffeine Crazy’ at this point, the mare was about to jump through the roof with energy. “You look exhausted, dearie! Oh! I know just the thing! Starlight, are you going to take the usual? Ah, what am I talking about, of course you are! Hence the reason why it’s called ‘the usual’!” And with that, the mare bolted off into the back, leaving me and Starlight in awe.

“I’m uh… I’m gonna guess she’s normally this crazy?” I asked to break the awkward silence, Starlight going to respond, but instead just nodded and said in a sigh: “Yeah… Yeeeaaahhh… She can get a bit out of control sometimes. Though I suppose it’s good for ponies. The uplifting attitude gives some ponies a bit of morale, so it seems.” I rolled my eyes and glanced at her. “All she’s doing is making my morning headache worse… She’d better not put anything poisonous in my drink, otherwise I’ll come back and haunt her to death.”

Sooner rather than later, the mare who was practically bouncing off the walls resumed her station at the counter, sliding both me and Starlight our drinks. Starlight caught hers with grace, expecting it to come sliding towards her, where I nearly dropped mine because, you know, I expected her to hand her my coffee like any sane pony would. “Nightfall, that right there is my mama’s homemade mint-chocolate mocha, with two shots of sugar and creamer just for you!” She said with an all too eager smile. I was shocked, mostly at how much energy she had this early in the morning. “Do… Do you ever sleep, or are you just a non-stop crazy machine with no off button?” I found myself muttering, but Starlight quickly covered for me with an awkward chuckle. “We both thank you for the drinks Toffee, see you soon!”

As we wandered away from the counter, Toffee made a little ‘call me’ gesture towards me, followed by a snort and an all too happy giggle. “Sheesh… She has more energy than half the Apostles do, and those guys are literally insane in the membrane.” That garnered a chuckle out of Starlight, and she grabbed a seat at a nearby table, gesturing for me to sit down with her. I took my seat, and heaved a sigh as I did so. “Something tells me you’re here to discuss more than just how my morning’s going. I mean, I know I’m interesting to an extent, but the spotlight can’t always be on me I suppose.” I said with a small smirk, which was met by an eye roll. “Charming. Real charming.” The mare playfully teased with a grin, and I found myself shrugging in response. Eh, at least I gave it a shot.

“Well, why don’t you take a sip from your drink there, and then we’ll talk once you’re done being so grumpy.” She sing-songed, taking a sip from her own drink. I happily obliged to her suggestion, and wasn’t afraid to admit I was grumpy. Why shouldn’t I be? I was tired, sore, aggravated, confused, and so much more. I chugged down nearly half the cup, my eyes practically springing open after the warm drink hit my system. Nightfall.exe was now running at full power, baby! “Holy Hell… That Toffee chick really knows how to make some good stuff… I could drink this by the gallon if given the chance.”

“Now that might actually cost you something.” The light pink mare chuckled softly and glared at me with a sincere smile. “I know there’s a lot going on right now, and I can’t even imagine what this must feel like for you. But trust me when I say we need you now more than ever… And that we all appreciate you fighting the good fight.” I felt my spirit rise a little bit, and felt the corner of my mouth rise to form a grin. “Heh, not sure what I can contribute that would-”

Starlight stopped me mid-sentence, as she seemed to do regularly. I’d like to get more statements out, if at all possible? Maybe? No? No voice of opinion from me? Okay. “You know how they operate… You’ve lived in a city that’s been ruled by The Order for so long, and you have more knowledge on them than we possibly ever will.” I leaned back in my seat, curious and afraid as to what she would need the knowledge I had for. “I suppose so, but I’m not a book full of ‘The Order’ knowledge, you know.” Starlight grinned and responded “I don’t expect you to be.” Good. At least I wasn’t being put on some kind of huge pedestal.

“You’re going to be a huge help Nightfall, and you’re the kind of pony we need on missions against The Order…” I blinked in shock, and gulped down a little bit more of my mocha as my brain processed what she said. “I’m sorry, missions? What, what missions? I’m not joining some kind of crusade, you’re practically lining me up for death!” I took a deep breath and let myself come back down from my cloud of anger, nodding towards her. “Explain, please..” I mumbled in a much more calm tone of voice. Starlight gulped and regained herself after my short outburst, explaining exactly what she meant by missions. “We’re taking ponies away from Discord by infiltrating The Order, taking his associates away from the inside out. Once we take away enough-”

“The king won’t have an army to lean back on… You can sweep the resistance back in and take cities and towns by force…” I mumbled, and the noticeable grin on her face meant that I had caught onto what she was saying, and quite quickly if I might add. Go me, chalk that up as a brownie point! “You know Manehattan inside and out, and you have a general idea as to how Apostles patrol the area. With that kind of knowledge, and a little bit of scouting, we can find an opening and take it back. One city at a time, until we reach Canterlot…” Starlight said, and I could tell by the expression on her face that she was in deep thought. “These missions are no easy task… The Apostles have keen vision, and if Discord happens to be in the area he’ll notice you in a heartbeat. We’ve lost so many, and gained so little…”

I smirked a little with some playful confidence. “You haven’t gained a lot because you don’t have an Ex-Order member on your side. Err, rather, you didn’t. Now that you do, I’d say we have a pretty good shot. Of course, I’m not going to be able to do it alone… Not that I’m suggesting anything, but if we could possibly recruit a few more unlucky souls like myself, we might just have a shot at taking back Manehattan…” Starlight’s eyes beamed, and practically twinkled with hope. “We do that, well I’d say we have a foolproof plan that just might be crazy enough to work. One by one, we take Equestria back.” Heh, you know, it felt good to be a leader… Maybe I should do it more often.

“Crazy enough to work…” She softly echoed back, a smile creeping on her face as she seemed to have a renewed sense of joy. Oh goddess, what did I do?... Starlight practically jumped out of her seat, beaming over at Toffee with a bounce in her step. “Toffee, get your things ready, and get Whiskey, Panda Paws, and Band-Aid… Meet me at my home in an hour... ” Toffee gasped and covered her mouth, leaning over the counter eagerly. “Does this mean?...”

Starlight nods and cracks a grin, pulling me out of my seat as she practically dragged me out of the ‘cafe’, calling back to the mare. “I think it’s time we send you guys on a mission.” Toffee pumped a hoof into the air, practically dancing around her little store as I was dragged away. So much for the rest of my morning agenda… I guess now I was going to lead a mission to take back Manehattan.

There were two outcomes to this, either I lead the charge successfully and we finally gain some ground against The Order. Or it’s all futile, and I guess we die as martyrs for The Phantoms of The Resistance… I wasn’t just throwing myself down a rabbit hole, I was throwing myself in a fire that would surely do more than burn me. Well, at least Starlight was right about one thing, today was definitely going to be longer than yesterday. Hell, the day already felt longer than yesterday, and it was just getting started. Better prepare myself for company… Guess I should grab some popcorn while I’m at it too, huh?

The Resistance train’s next stop? My hometown of Manehattan… Oh boy, here we go...