Nibiru: Chaos Collision

Chapters

Chapter 1: Reckless Abandon
Chapter 2: First Contact
Chapter 3: An Unusual Pet
Chapter 4: Caregivers
Chapter 5: Q & A
Chapter 6: Elements
From The Voice Recordings Of Felicity Cross
From The Diary Of Persephone Wilcox
From The Internal Ramblings Of Randy Bowing
From The Journals Of Jacquelyn Creak
From The Diary Of Tabitha Thompson
From The Journals Of Nick Hempshire
Chapter 7: Research
A Quick Message From Maggie & Luke

Chapter 1: Reckless Abandon

The sky had looked as if it were a wall of painted glass... that something had just punched a hole clean through. Only two people actually saw it happen: 16-year-old Maggie Grant and her brother, Luke. Maggie had decided to investigate the abandoned warehouse district near their hometown, [Undisclosed], and Luke had tried to chase after her. He didn't want her going anywhere near that dangerous, old equipment. After all, the warehouse district had been abandoned for over a decade, so surely it must've been falling apart!

Playing a game of cat and mouse through the district, the two skid to a halt once the sky opened up and spit something out. Whatever it was, it crashed straight through the roof of one of the warehouses and could be heard going through the floors of more than one of the building's levels until finally hitting the ground floor with a ear-wrecking SMASH! that could most likely be heard for miles.

As quickly as it had opened, the hole in the sky stitched itself closed and disappeared from sight. The two siblings glanced at each other, each knowing what the other was going to do.

"Don't you dare," Luke said.

Maggie flashed him a mischievous grin, then took off full-sprint towards the building the whatever-it-was had crashed into.

"God damn it, Maggie," he said as he took off after his sister.

Maggie had the advantage the whole time. Not only was she faster than Luke, but she'd looked up the layouts of some of the warehouses before coming here today. She may be childish, but she wasn't naive enough to go exploring dangerous buildings without knowing the lay of the land first.

The siblings were already deep within the warehouse before Luke caught up to his sister. Then again, he'd only caught up with her because she had stopped in her tracks upon rounding a corner.

Her mouth hung slightly agape, making Luke question whether he wanted to know what lie around the bend.

"Sis?" he said. "What are you seeing in there?"

"I-I don't know," was her response. It was hardly spoken above a whisper.

Luke gulped, then slowly turned his head around the corner. His heart skipped a beat as he matched his sister's gaze.

"Wh-what is that thing?" he stammered. What the two people saw was a massive crater in the cement floor. In the center of the crater was the thing that had fallen from the sky. It wasn't like anything either person had ever seen before. It wasn't a meteor or some kind of satellite like you might expect of something that fell from the sky. This thing's appearance was more akin to a demon.

Author's Note

Physical Descriptions of Maggie and Luke:

Maggie is brunette. Long hair. About 5'. Fairly small build. Soft facial features.

Luke has darker brown hair than his sister. He's also about half-a-foot taller than her. Short hair. Doesn't really style it at all, so it's often tousled. Average build. Not much particularly of note. No facial hair, either.

Chapter 2: First Contact

The two siblings had stayed perfectly still for quite some time, waiting to see if the monster in the crater moved. When it failed to, Luke turned to grab his sister's arm. She, however, had other plans. Maggie swiftly ducked below her brother's hand and started tip-toeing closer to the crater.

Before she could get too far, Luke had firmly grabbed her arm. She turned around, obviously annoyed by his interruption.

"Maggie, what are you thinking?" he whispered.

"I'm thinking," she whispered back, "that whatever that thing is could be hurt. We have to check on it!"

"Are you kidding me? That thing is some kind of monster or... demon! It's dangerous."

"How could it possibly be dangerous if it's not even awake?" she implored.

"We don't even know if it's alive."

"Just one more reason to make sure it's OK!"

"Maggie, it's not safe!"

"What if you were in its position?"

"What?"

"What if you'd just fallen through a building," she elaborated, looking at the thing mournfully, "and someone just happened to see it happen. Wouldn't you want them to check on you?"

Luke looked towards the creature for a moment, then returned his gaze to his sister. Giving off a groan, he loosened his grip on Maggie's wrist and started working his way quietly towards the crater.

His sister let out a small excited squee before following close behind.

The two carefully maneuvered their way down the sides of the crater until they were less than a foot away from their unexpected visitor. After getting closer to the creature, there were a few things they noticed fairly quickly.

First, the creature was breathing. Maggie sighed with relief upon noticing this, and started looking over the demon for any injuries. The next thing that stuck out to them was the sheer absurdity that was this monster's body. It was a crazy hodgepodge of different animal parts: a lion paw, a goat horn, a snake tail, a cloven hoof, an eagle's talon, and more! Luke looked at each individual part, quickly trying to piece together what this thing might be.

"It seems to be chimerical in nature," he said.

Upon noticing the confused expression plastered on his sister's face, he decided to elaborate.

"In the case of many legendary creatures, it means to be made of the parts of many different animals."

"Well," said Maggie, satisfied with his explanation,"chimera or not, this thing's in rough shape."

She pointed out the many deep cuts and awkwardly angled limbs she had discovered during her examination.

"Yikes," Luke said, wincing out of nothing but sympathy.

"What do we do?" Maggie asked as she reached out and placed a delicate hand on the creature's what-she-could-only-assume-was-a-shoulder.

Chapter 3: An Unusual Pet

"There," Luke said with finality as he finished wrapping another deep gash in bandages Maggie had found in another one of the abandoned warehouses. He was no doctor, but it was good enough to at least stop the bleeding for the time being.

"We should really be going now," he continued, turning to face his sister. "We'll check back in on it tomorrow."

Although she was sad to leave it, Maggie nodded in agreement. She placed a hand on its "shoulder" once again and turned to follow her brother out of the warehouse. Pausing just a few steps away from the exit, she pulled a notepad and pencil out of her coat pocket. She quickly scribbled out a note, then tucked it under her new friends claw and ran to catch up to her brother.

It was a few hours after Maggie and Luke had left that the creature finally woke from its sleep. With each movement it made, its body was racked with pain. It felt like it'd just been hit with a planet... which was pretty much the case. Finding it too difficult to stand up, the creature instead propped itself up with one of its upper extremities. Hearing the crinkle of paper under its claw, the thing looked down curiously. A note had been left with it while it slept. The painful process of looking at itself further supplied it with the information that somecreature had tried to care for its injuries, for much of its form was wrapped in bandages.

It proceeded to carefully lift the appendage holding the note up to its face.

Look, I don't know if you speak English, or if you can even read, but I hope you're feeling better.

Me and my brother will be back tomorrow to check on you again. See you soon!

Your friend,

Maggie

'Hmmm...' it thought to itself. 'What a considerate gesture.'

With its thoughts trying to sort themselves out, the chimerical being laid its head back down on the ground and returned to the restorative embrace of its chaotic dreams.

Returning that night yielded quite the surprise for Maggie and Luke. When they returned to the warehouse, they discovered that the thing they'd helped had its eyes open.

As its attention rapidly shifted over to them, Luke couldn't help but notice the unnerving appearance of the thing's eyes. Most of the disturbing qualities lay in the fact that the eyes weren't the same size. In fact, one was almost twice the size of the other. Luke shuddered at the sight. Maggie, much to the contrary, ran up to it excitedly. This seemed to be unexpected to both Luke and the chimera, for its eyes widened in surprise.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed. "Did you get my note?"

Luke stood frozen in shock as the thing nodded slightly in the affirmative.

"Yay!" was the only response Maggie had.

Cautiously, Luke moved closer to the two other beings.

"So, you can understand what we're saying?"

It nodded its head slightly once again.

"Well..." Luke trailed off, wondering what to say. "I'm Luke, and this is my sister, Maggie."

Luke couldn't help but be excited. He was talking to a creature that might be an extraterrestrial. Perhaps it fell from the moon! No, that would be silly. There must be a reasonable explanation for this thing being here.

'I wouldn't be too sure,' said a voice in his head.

"AH!!!" he cried out in surprise, jumping back from the crater.

The creature looked towards Maggie, and she suddenly laughed.

"Hahahahahahahahaha... You're right! He does scream like a girl!"

The chimera turned back towards Luke with a bit of a smirk on its inhuman face.

'Oh great,' Luke thought to himself. 'The thing has a sense of humor.'

'You're right. It is great,' said the thing's voice in his head, 'but the thing has a name, you know.'

"OK, what's you're name then?" he asked aloud, already getting annoyed at this thing's seemingly psychic abilities.

The thing picked up one of its claws and began scratching at the ground next to it.

"D - I - S..." Maggie said each letter as it was written. "O - R - D."

"Discord?" Luke asked. "As in, 'disharmony'?"

'Yes,' said Discord's voice in his head bluntly.

"Well, it's so great to finally meet you Discord," Maggie said holding out her hand.

'Excuse me if I don't shake,' came Discord's words in Maggie's head. He drew her attention to his arms, both heavily bound in bandage wraps.

'Oh, right,' she thought back, embarrassed that she had momentarily forgotten about his injured state.

"Why aren't you talking to us out loud?" Luke asked.

Discord turned his head his way.

'Because my jaw is broken, like much of the rest of me.'

A weak "Oh..." was all Luke could muster in the way of a response.

"What can we do to help you?" Maggie asked. "Do you need a doctor?"

Before Discord could answer, Luke spoke up.

"I don't think a human doctor would be able to help him," he said. "Of all the animals he has parts from, human isn't one of them."

"Well, maybe we can take him to a vet?"

"Hmmm... Well, I suppose it might be worth a shot, but in this state its not safe to move him. We'll have to bring the vet here."

'I'm liking this plan,' thought Discord to both humans.

"Shut up," Luke said.

'Hmmm...' Discord thought, this time to himself. 'I think these two are growing on me. Let's see how this plays out.'

One internet search for local veterinarians and a walk later, Maggie and Luke found themselves leading a worried-looking veterinarian through the warehouse district.

"Are you sure your pet got hurt in," the vet paused to gulp, "there?"

This was Felicity Cross, the vet at the nearest clinic the siblings had been able to find. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties, and she hadn't stopped whining about how frightening the warehouse district was since they'd gotten here.

"Come on, Ms. Cross! He's right in there!" Maggie said as she pulled Felicity further towards the warehouse in which Discord was.

"Um, what kind of pet did you say it was, again?" Felicity asked.

Of course, they hadn't told her in the first place, but she'd get even more paranoid if they refused to tell her now.

"It's, uh..." started Maggie.

"A dog!" interrupted Luke. "It's a very rare breed from..."

"Argentina!" Maggie finished as Luke trailed off.

"Oh, really?" Felicity asked, her interest piqued.

"Yeah," Luke said in response. "It's called a..."

'Draconequus,' said a familiar voice in his head.

"Draconequus," he said, parroting Discord's made-up word.

Well, Discord was right around the next corner. Felicity gently peeked her head around, and gasped in shock.

"That's one fucked up looking dog," she said matter-of-factly. Nonetheless, she still rounded the bend and began checking out Discord's medical state.

Author's Note

This chapter introduced Felicity Cross. To better help you visualize the story, here's a brief physical description.

Taller than Luke, though only by a couple inches. Slender build. Straight, blonde hair. About mid-back length. Small bust. Wears glasses.

Chapter 4: Caregivers

"Holy shit."

This was what Felicity uttered as the Grant siblings followed her into Discord's crater.

"I thought you said this was a dog," she said.

"We lied," said Luke bluntly.

"I would hope so," the vet replied. "Otherwise, this thing's even more fucked up than I thought."

'All I need is my claws fixed up, my friends,' came Discord's voice in their heads.

Felicity screamed and jumped at least three feet into the air. Upon reentering the atmosphere, she quickly attempted to hide herself behind Maggie, even though she was the smaller of the two siblings and Felicity was taller than either of them.

"Don't worry, Ms. Cross," Maggie said, attempting to comfort the grown woman whimpering in fear behind her. "This is Discord. He won't hurt you."

'I wouldn't dream of it,' came Discord's voice.

'In fact,' he adjusted his head slightly to get a better view of her cowering form, 'you remind me of somepony very dear to me.'

Felicity's face peeked over Maggie's shoulder. She had nearly begun crying due to her fear.

"R-really?" she asked meekly. "Who?"

'I doubt you would know them,' came the reply. 'She does live in a different dimension, after all.'

"Wait, what?" asked Maggie. "You're from a different dimension?"

"Why am I not surprised?" Luke muttered under his breath.

Then, he noticed something strange about Discord's terminology.

"Wait," he said. "Did you just say 'some-pony'?"

'Oh,' said the voice. 'Yes, I suppose that phrasing must be a little weird here.'

Then everyone was distracted away from the subject when Felicity unexpectedly got out from behind Maggie and went back to examining Discord.

As she observed more and more injuries on his battered and broken form, she began to show more and more sympathy towards the admittedly frightening creature.

"Aw, you poor baby," she said when he winced in pain at the slightest movement of his tail. "Don't worry. At the rate you're healing, you should be able to at least get out of this crater in a matter of weeks."

'Oh, it won't be nearly that long, my dear,' said his voice in her head. 'Do take another look at my claw, would you?'

"Of course," she said as she drew her attention back to his eagle claw. "But may I ask why?"

'It's simple,' he said in her head. 'Once I can snap my claws without writhing in pain, everything will be alright.'

Felicity rolled this over in her head, but she couldn't seem to make heads or tails of it. Nonetheless, she took a closer look at the claw, being careful not to move it too much.

"If you don't mind me asking," she said as she worked, "what happened to get you in this state?"

'It's quite simple really,' Discord responded. 'I was having a bit of fun with dimensional travel, but I jumped through the portal before it was ready. As a result, I hit your planet. Hard.'

Felicity worked fast, and she was done patching up Discord in less than an hour.

"That should do it," she said as she packed up her things. "He should be OK to be moved in a few weeks, and his claw should only take a few days to heal properly."

She looked directly at Discord for the last part, earning a slight smile from him.

After Felicity left, Maggie and Luke stayed with Discord for a while longer. Thinking Discord might want to know more about where he was, Maggie pulled up some history articles on her smartphone.

Discord was utterly horrified by what he saw. Equestria may have villains and the forces of evil magic, but this world was so much worse. From what he'd seen of the people here so far, the last thing he expected of this world was war, corrupt governments, and weather that ravages their cities of its own fruition. The last time Equestria had seen a time of war was over a thousand years ago. These creatures couldn't seem to keep the cursed things away. The typical year in Equestria brought with it a maximum of around five or six homicides, so the number presented by this world was positively staggering!

As he gained more information, he came to a conclusion. This was not the world his kind and generous caretakers deserved. He would have to fix that.

Author's Note

Please share your thoughts in the comments! Any feedback is welcomed and appreciated, whether it be positive or negative.

After all, as another writer here on FimFiction once wrote, "As another author once stated "Comments are a writers food pellets" or something like that." :pinkiehappy:

Chapter 5: Q & A

After a couple of days, Luke finally worked up the nerve to ask Discord the question that'd been bothering him this whole time.

"Discord," he started.

The creature from another dimension looked his way, letting him know he had his attention.

"Discord," he repeated, "why did you come here?"

'Well, you see that's complicated,' Discord said in his head. 'At first, I was trying dimensional travel because it was something I hadn't done much in the past. Then, once I got here and saw the state of your world, that all changed.'

"What do you mean? Our world is fine!"

'Wars breaking out around the globe, corruption running through your societies, homicide rates the likes of which I've never seen. Even the environment itself seems to be perfectly content wiping as many of you off the map as it can. Tell me, Luke, does that sound fine to you.'

"Well..." he trailed off. "When you put it that way..."

'My mission here has changed. I no longer want to just have fun. I want to make this world better. I want it to be a world that people like you, Maggie, and Felicity deserve before I leave.'

"And how will you do that?" Luke questioned, somewhat fearful of the answer.

'Why that's simple,' replied Discord's voice. 'It's pretty easy when you have chaos magic.'

"Magic?" Luke said, not quite sure why he was this surprised. I mean, what else could've allowed him to talk to them in their heads like this. Nonetheless, the prospect of magic being real was frightening.

'Yes, chaos magic to be precise.'

"Is magic common in your world?"

'More than you could imagine.'

Luke gulped. He tried to picture the world Discord could've come from. He failed. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around the concept of there being more of these things out there somewhere. Then, he thought of another question to ask.

"Is everyone there like you?"

'No, I'm afraid not.'

"Then what are they like?"

'They're pastel-colored ponies. Some of them have horns, and they can use magic. Some of them have wings. I'm pretty sure you can guess what those are for. Others don't have either, and the nation's leaders have both.'

Luke was just listening to Discord talk at this point, jotting down notes in a pad of paper he'd brought.

'There are also other sentient species, like Yaks, Hippogriffs, Changelings, Kirin, Griffins, Dragons...'

"So there are a lot of mythical creatures living there?" Luke interrupted.

'Well, they're only myths when we're in this world, now aren't they?'

"I suppose so," Luke responded in an embarrassed fashion.

'Oh, and the animals there also seem to have higher intelligence than those I've encountered here.'

"Hmmm... Interesting."

Luke pondered all of this new information for a short time before he asked his next question.

"How do you plan to make this world a better place?"

Discord looked him dead in the eyes and flashed a bit of a mischievous grin.

'Well,' he thought into Luke's head, 'there were elements in my world that kept everything from breaking apart. If I can find a way to make copies of those elements in your world, I'm confident that it will change for the better.'

"And how do you plan to do that?"

'Simple, really. Once I have my magic back, I'll be able to create copies of the elements myself.'

"But..." Luke paused for a moment, not sure he really wanted to ask. "But what will these 'elements' do to this world."

'It's Equestrian magic. Powerful stuff. What should happen is that your people will become less violent over time. Embrace friendship more. The elements will help everyone stay safe during difficult times, and they'll supply a means of defense against anyone who threatens this more peaceful way of life.'

"Well, that sounds nice."

Luke was, of course, much more worried about Discord's plan than he was letting on.

Discord, unbeknownst to Luke, already had a pretty good idea of just how much the presence of the elements would change this world. This was going to be fun to watch.

'Hopefully, my claw will heal soon. Then, I'll work my magic.'

Chapter 6: Elements

A few more days passed without incident. After that, Felicity finally gave the go-ahead to unwrap Discord's claw, much to his delight. Felicity could not begin to understand why he was so happy when most of his body was still broken and healing.

The three humans watched the Draconequus, very confused, as he lifted his claw and snapped two finger-like appendages together. Before their eyes, Discord was completely healed. He was standing up as if nothing had been broken in the first place.

He cleared his throat, breaking everyone from their trance-like state.

"Well, I must say, it is a pleasure to finally talk to you three," he said aloud.

"What the fuck was that?" Felicity practically screamed.

"That, my dear," replied Discord calmly, "is why I wanted to know when I could snap my claws."

"And this is where I take my leave," he continued. "See you soon!"

He snapped his claws and disappeared.

Some time later, the Grants and Felicity decided to head home and see if Discord was back tomorrow.

Entering their house, Maggie and Luke were greeted by their ten-year-old neighbor, Nick Hempshire. He was one of the few people who actually played a prominent role in their lives. Even their parents had been gone for quite some time now. Maggie facepalmed upon seeing him, for she had completely forgotten that he was coming over for a tutoring session today.

She was about two hours late.

Nick didn't really need a tutor. By all accounts, he was the smartest kid in school. Even skipped a few grades. The one thing he couldn't do was focus on a single subject for too long. He would be studying for schoolwork, then something would remind him of some obscure fact he'd read somewhere, and he'd go off into his books to search for it. This often led to time management issues, and that often led to full-blown panic. This is where Maggie came in. She kept him on track during his research, not allowing him to go off on unimportant tangents unless they had spare time.

Hempshire had started to look at Maggie as sort of a mentor. He loved how carefree she was. She was responsible when she needed to be, but always found time for the occasional joke or prank. Even so, Hempshire knew he could always come to her for help when he needed it.

"Oh, damn it!" said Maggie. "Sorry I'm late, Nick. I forgot you were coming over today."

"No problem, Mag. It happens."

"Ummm..." Maggie said, looking around the living room. "Did you clean?"

Nick chuckled nervously as his cheeks turned red.

Maggie once again facepalmed. This was going to be a long night, but at least it would be enjoyable.

The next day, Felicity met up with the Grant siblings at the warehouse. All three of them wanted to know the same thing: Is Discord here?

They made their way to the crater, but there was no such luck. Discord was nowhere to be found.

After a while, they once again left for the day. There was a surprise waiting for the Grants, though. Maggie opened the front door, and ran inside upon seeing a certain chimerical creature lounging on the sofa.

"Discord!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she went up and hugged the monster.

Luke closed the front door and locked it behind them. He didn't exactly want anyone else coming in and seeing the almighty monstrosity sitting on their couch.

"Why, hello, my friends!" Discord chimed cheerfully. "So lovely to see you!"

"Why are you here, Discord?" asked Luke as calmly as he could.

"Why, I'm here to give you these, of course."

He reached behind the sofa and brought his hand back out to reveal six pieces of jewelry. From what Luke could see, it looked like five necklaces and some kind of large tiara.

"Are those the elements you were talking about?" asked Luke, taking a closer look at the gems in Discord's clutches.

"Actually," he replied. "They're not."

He proceeded to toss them to the ground and hold up his claw.

"Don't worry, though. I've been doing a little recon, and I've chosen the perfect place for each element to appear."

"And as for you two," he continued, gesturing at them with his lion's paw. "I've got a special surprise planned for you. I know you'll take good care of this world."

He snapped his claw. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in the spines of both siblings, but it was over as soon as it started. Both of them were left lying on the floor from the shock of it. With another snap of his claws, Discord disappeared, leaving a note in his place.

Maggie, after taking time to recover from the unknown pain in her back, picked up the note and read it.

Dear Maggie and Luke,

Thank you so much for what you've done for me. Now it was my turn to do something for you.

No matter what comes of this, no hard feelings. Right?

I'll be in touch.

Your Friend,

Discord

P.S.: This note will self-destruct in 3... 2... 1... Boom!

As Maggie read the word "Boom!", the note turned into a land mine, landed on the ceiling, and blew up into a cloud of powdered sugar.

Author's Note

This chapter introduced Nick Hempshire. Here is a small physical description of him.

Average height for his age. Average build for his age as well. Short, brown hair. Combed neatly. Occasionally uses reading glasses while studying. Not much else of note.

From The Voice Recordings Of Felicity Cross

Author's Note

Felicity Cross
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Physical Description: [See Author's Note on Chapter 3: An Unusual Pet]
Known Family:
Rebecca (Mother)
Richard (Father)
Shauna (Younger Sister)

Felicity Cross has been recording notes to herself for years now. It's sort of an audio-diary. The following are entries taken from the recordings of Felicity Cross leading up to the day Discord appeared in the Grant household transcribed into text.

From The Voice Recordings Of Felicity Cross

It's Wednesday. Just an ordinary day at the pet clinic. As usual. Fuck, why can't something interesting happen already?

Fuck! I take it back! I didn't mean it! Holy fuck! What the hell was that thing? Those two kids came and practically dragged me to the warehouse district. They said their dog got hurt! If that's a dog, then I'm a fucking pony!

Oh, yeah. It's Thursday by the way.

It's Friday.

I got to meet Discord again today. He's really a fascinating creature. He seems to be made of parts of various different animals. I did some research, but the only thing I could find was a link to a website about My Little Pony. I didn't even bother clicking it.

Discord keeps asking me about his claw. I don't know why. It should heal faster than a lot of the rest of him, but I don't know why he's so interested in that particular part of him getting better. Oh, and it's Saturday, just so you know.

Sunday afternoon. I find myself hoping for Discord's swift recovery. Even if it takes a while to get him back on his feet, I'm going to continue showing him the same kindness I give to all of my patients. I just hope that I'm enough.

Just another Monday morning. Honestly, I'm even starting to get used to Discord! He's actually a pretty nice guy under all those scary-looking mismatched body parts.

Luke told me today that animals have higher intelligence in Discord's world than they do here. I wonder if they can talk? Wouldn't that be incredible? I wonder what they would talk about?

Today, Discord got his claw's functionality back. He used it to heal himself entirely! I mean, really? What the hell was I even doing there, then? And where did he go once he disappeared? I've got the strangest suspicion something scary's gonna happen. Oh, and it's Tuesday. I think I forgot to say that.

OK, holy shit. Holy shit. It's still Tuesday, but I just had to share this shit. Oh my god. I think I just had a conversation with Discord, but I couldn't see him anywhere! He asked me what I value the most. I said I value kindness. I don't know why he wanted to ask me that of all things, but still! He said I'd be able to understand my animals better. I don't understand why he said that, though. Seems pretty unrelated to the whole values thing, right? Well, anyways. Then he said I'd understand soon.

Knowing him, I doubt that highly.

Holy fuck, my back smarts!

God, what was up with that small of the back bullshit? Felt like someone plugged a live wire into my spine, then just ripped it the fuck out again! I was on the floor crying for like ten minutes! Of course, I'm pretty sure I could've gotten up far earlier than that, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't hurt it again. I guess I also wanted to stop crying, too... God, I am a wreck. Why do emotions always get me so......... EMOTIONAL! Well, ummm, oh dear. Did I just raise my voice? Fuck, I'm sorry.

From The Diary Of Persephone Wilcox

Author's Note

Persephone Wilcox
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Physical Description: App. 5'3". Shoulder-length wavy red hair. Very thin build. Moderate bust.
Known Family:
Piper (Mother)
Rock (Father)
Brock (Older Brother)
Trey (Older Brother)
Ron (Younger Brother)

The following are entries taken from the diary of Persephone Wilcox leading up to the day Discord appeared in the Grant household.

From The Diary Of Persephone Wilcox

Tuesday
Dear Diary,

What the fuck was I thinking moving into this place? Four housemates. Four! I mean, Cheryl and Rob are alright, but Tom and Knocker have records, dude! And I mean bad records. Knocker's gotten into a lot of bar fights, and they don't call him "Knocker" for nothing. Tom's a total psycho, and he likes to steal my underwear. Seriously, that's just weird dude.

Even though Cheryl and Rob are nice, I wouldn't really trust them enough to not lock my doors at night. I mean, I guess Cheryl's fine, especially when she breaks out her "special brownies," if you know what I mean. Drugs. I'm talking about drugs.

Wednesday
Dear Diary,

I just got pulled over, and I was high as a kite. A flash of pink and a scream of pleasure later, I managed to get off easy with a ticket, but you know how it goes.

I missed another party tonight. Stupid finals. Study, study, study... Well, guess what? All work and no play makes Persephone a cranky little bitch! I'm going to tomorrow's party if it's the last thing I do!

Thursday
Dear Diary,

I didn't go to tonight's party. Fuck you, Algebra!

Also, caught Knocker wearing my underwear. Now I know why Tom steals 'em! LOL

I'm blackmailing them with a photo of it. I'll delete it when they return my underwear.

Friday
Dear Diary,

Most my housemates are out for the day. I'm helping Cheryl make some "cookies." I got some good jokes in while we worked. Got some laughs outta Cheryl. Feels good. Always feels good to make people happy. Make 'em smile. Make them laugh. It's the best. Cheryl and I spent the whole day together. First we baked, then we got baked. It was a good day.

Saturday
Dear Diary,

I've decided that if I can't attend any parties this week, I'M GONNA THROW ONE NEXT WEEK! Monday night, y'all. I'm pulling no punches and goin' all out on this party.

Knocker got into another fight, and Tom just HAD to go down with him. Dear god, I swear the only way those two could become good people is if they somehow started their lives over from scratch!

Monday
Dear Diary,

My party was a flop. A bunch of people said it looked more like a preschooler's birthday party than a college party. Their comments were kinda hurtful. OK, really hurtful. At least they got a few laughs out of it. That's what matters most. That's what matters most.

Tuesday
Dear Diary,

I know I say this a lot, but this time I really mean it. I just had the craziest trip of my life! I thought someone was talkin' to me, even though noone's there! It's was SUPER spooky, man. The voice, it was talking straight to me. It asked me what I valued most, and I told it the exact truth: Laughter, my friend. laughter makes my world go round. It talks again. It's like, "you'll be able to understand reality better" or some shit. I don't have a fucking clue what that's supposed to mean, but it sounds fun. Anyways, the voice guy said that I'd understand soon. Understand what? Fuck if I know! He also told me that, thanks to him, the party would never end. So... yeah, definitely a weird trip.

Wednesday
Dear Diary,

I would say my back still hurts from when it got shocked earlier (or whatever the fuck that was), but honestly I feel better than I've felt in a long-ass time. I mean, I really feel great! I feel great and I'm not even high! This is awesome! I'm on the top of the world!

From The Internal Ramblings Of Randy Bowing

Author's Note

Randy Bowing
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Physical Description: About 6'3". Very fit. Slightly muscular build. Short brown hair.
Known Family:
Wendy (Mother)
Bo (Father)

The following are thoughts taken straight from the head of Randy Bowing leading up to the day Discord appeared in the Grant household.

From The Internal Ramblings Of Randy Bowing

Thursday

Felicity still can't believe I agreed to take the office job. She always thought I'd become some kind of famous athlete, or something along those lines. I guess at some point I did to.

Well, little Sandy has been trying to do those scooter tricks again. I thinks she looks up to me as, like, a big brother or something. Well, I guess there are worse people to have joined to your hip.

Friday

It's days like this that I regret taking this job. It's SO boring. I literally fell asleep at work today. Slept until my alarm went off to tell me my shift was over. Nobody bothered to wake me. Nobody cared that I fell asleep. Not even my manager.

Saturday

Just a day of relaxation. Tomorrow I'll get a good workout, then I'll be back to work on Monday.

Sunday

Had to leave for my workout later than usual because Felicity showed up this morning. Wanted to talk about something with a friend she knew'd listen.

I'm pretty sure she's insane. She told me she's been looking after some kind of demon. Nonetheless, she's my friend. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Just 'cause I think she's loopy is no reason to betray her trust.

Monday

My manager, Margaret, came by my cubicle today. Nothing bad, just came to chat. Even asked me to come get a few drinks with her and some of the other coworkers tomorrow night. She's good people. Not too fit, but the heart to make up for it.

Tuesday

Went for drinks with Margaret and the guys earlier. Apparently, she got into a fight with some guy called Knocker, so we had to lea-

Whoah, what the fuck? Who the hell is talking to me?

What do I value most? That's an easy one! Loyalty. What do you mean "I'm gonna be faster than I ever could've dreamed"? What do you mean "I'll understand soon"? I don't understand shit!

God, what the fuck was that? Fuckin' weirdo.

Wednesday

Just got back from taking Sandy to the ice cream place. She was so excited to go, and I just couldn't say no and break her little heart. I care too much about the kid. Besides, it's not li-

GAH! Holy fucking hellfire!

God. Fuck. That felt like a goddamn cattle prod being shoved into my spine! Holy fuck!

From The Journals Of Jacquelyn Creak

Author's Note

Jacquelyn Creak
Age: 8
Gender: Female
Physical Description: Average height for age. Long, curly red hair. Freckles. Pale skin. Slightly pudgy.
Known Family:
Hannah (Grandmother)
Grey (Older Sister)
Priscilla (Twin Sister)

The following are entries taken from the journals kept by Jacquelyn Creak leading up to the day Discord appeared in the Grant household.

From The Journals Of Jacquelyn Creak

Wednesday

Why'd I have to be born into such a stuck up family. My twin sis is alright, but Granny and Grey are plum ridiculous. Grey can't wait to try on every dress in her closet every morning, just to choose the one she feels is the prettiest. Makes me sick. Granny at least pays attention to things other than appearances.

Sometimes I just want to escape from this stupid catering business. What's the point of selling food if it ain't fresh anyways? It just doesn't make sense. That's not even to mention the fact that Granny advertises the company as farm-to-plate. More like farm-through-a-dozen-or-so-processing-plants-to-us-to-plate. Makes me sick. Lies. That's all it is. Lies.

Thursday

Ran into a young lady today. Name of Tabitha. I decided to call her Tabby. Real nice lady. I don't think she likes my family much, but that's fine by me. I don't like 'em much either. 'Cept Priscilla that is. My twin sis is real good people, though she tends to spend a lot of time with a friend of hers. Sandy, I think her name is. Not that I mind. Alone time is just what you need sometimes.

Friday

Grey took FOREVER to choose a dress this mornin'. That's not to mention the time she took to do up her hair. It doesn't even look that nice. Why the heck would she spend so much time on it?

Saturday

Grey says she's gonna take me to some kind of art exhibition on Monday. I guess I'm a little interested. Hopefully we won't have to stay there long.

Sunday

Grey got all gussied up for church, as always. I wear nicer clothes to church, but that's it. No way am I paintin' my face like her. Covering those few flaws and blemishes. What's so wrong with being flawed? If you act like you're not flawed, you're just lying to yourself. Lies. Her face is a lie. The family business is a lie. Lies surround me. They permeate into me. The least I can do is not add any more molehills to the mountain.

Monday

I found out Grey lied to me this morning. It was just a little thing, really no big deal. But at the time, it was a big deal to me. I ran out of the art exhibition before it even began.

On the bright side, I ran into Tabby again! I think she and I could be good friends if we tried. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Tuesday

You know, the strangest thing happened today. I was just sitting with my twin sis, an' I hear a voice calling to me. It asks me what I value more than anything else. I say honesty. Prissy asks who I'm talking to. Apparently she couldn't hear it, but it kept talkin'. Said I'll be able to grow actual fresh food. Said I'll be able to fix all my family's lies. Said I'd understand soon.

Honestly, I don't need to understand. If it turns the lies my family spews into the truth, then bring it on creepy disembodied voice. Bring it on.

Wednesday

Dagnabbit! My back's still aching something fierce after that shock I got to the spine earlier. I haven't a clue how it happened, but the dang thing was near debilitating!

On a brighter note, I ran into Tabby earlier. We talked for a while and we both agreed that we should try out a friendship. I think she an' I are gonna be right good friends.

From The Diary Of Tabitha Thompson

Author's Note

Tabitha Thompson
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Physical Appearance: About 4' 9". Average build. Large bust. African American. Long, curly black hair.
Known Family:
Fiona (Mother)
Clay (Father)
Chloe (Older Sister)

The following are entries taken from the diary of Tabitha Thompson leading up to the day Discord appeared in the Grant household.

From The Diary Of Tabitha Thompson

Wednesday
Dear Diary,

I'm afraid I still can't find my inspiration. The art exhibition is next Monday, and I still haven't a clue what I'll create.

I would ask my sister for help, but she's still babysitting that Sandy girl and her friend from the Creak family. Oh, dear, she certainly is getting awfully attached to those girls, isn't she? Well, despite Chloe's indifference to my struggles, I will keep moving forward... as soon as I have any inspiration, that is.

Thursday
Dear Diary,

I ran into a member of the Creak family today. Not the one my sister sometimes watches, but it was undoubtedly her sister. Well, one of them, anyways. The younger sister. I think her name was Jacquelyn, if I remember correctly. She was very kind and polite, although she didn't carry the distinguished air much of her family does.

Anyways, I have yet to find my inspiration. I tried making a scarf based off of the nearby bridge, but it turned out looking simply dreadful. At least I was able to put it to good use. I gave it to a homeless man I came across on the way home from the studio. I also gave him some cash. It was truly the least I could do for someone less fortunate than I.

Friday
Dear Diary,

Yet another failed attempt at finding my inspiration. Perhaps I should try using different materials?

Chloe is watching those little girls again. I wonder if Jacquelyn is with them.

Saturday
Dear Diary,

Dear god, the deadline to enter the exhibition is tomorrow! I tried painting, sculpting, crocheting, GAH! I don't know what else to try. Everything I've made so far has been as dreadful as that scarf I crocheted for the homeless man. Speaking of which, I saw him again today. He looked so happy, walking around in the scarf I gave him.

Sunday
Dear Diary,

Well, it's uninspired, but it's done. I decided to try making a dress. It was actually a lot of fun. Looking at it, I can tell it's no prize winner, but it's still something I created with my own two hands, and that should count for something.

Monday
Dear Diary,

On my way to the exhibition, I ran into Jacquelyn again. We struck up a quite pleasant conversation then went our separate ways. If she weren't so much younger than me, I'm sure we could be great friends. Then again, why should age get in the way of friendship? Chloe doesn't let it stop her, and she's older than I am!

That settles it. If I come across Jacquelyn again, I'll do my best to befriend her.

Now, oh god, where to start with the exhibition. Well, for one, the homeless man I gave the scarf to was there. He and I exchanged pleasantries before he awarded my the third place ribbon. It turns out, he's one of the judges! Yeesh! Guess I've gotta learn not to judge a book by its cover.

I'm 100% certain that if I hadn't accidentally befriended that judge, I would've have even placed. My work was uninspired. Even so, I guess being generous comes back with good karma sometimes.

Tuesday
Dear Diary,

I think I may be falling ill. Just a while ago, I heard a voice talking to me, but nobody was there. It asked me what I valued above all else. I said generosity. It said I'd be filled with inspiration. I'll believe it when I see it. It said I would understand soon. I don't believe it.

Wednesday
Dear Diary,

I don't know what happened to my back earlier, but it hurt quite a bit. My back is still aching.

Good news is that I ran across Jacquelyn again today. She agreed to make an attempt at being friends. Overall, in spite of the searing pain to the backside, I'd say it was a fairly good day.

From The Journals Of Nick Hempshire

Author's Note

Nick Hempshire
Age: 10
Gender: Male
Physical Description: [See Author's Note for Chapter 6: Elements]
Known Family:
Sharon (Mother)
Mike (Father)
Shane (Older Brother)
Ben (Younger Brother - Adopted)

The following are entries taken from the journals of Nick Hempshire leading up to the day Discord appeared in the Grant household.

From The Journals Of Nick Hempshire

Monday

Ben said his first word today. Too bad Shane had to miss it. He was on patrol duty when it happened, so I suppose it can't be helped. Oh, well. I suppose that's one of the disadvantages to being a police officer.

I could never do what he does. I'd just get stuck over-analyzing every situation until it's too late to act on it. I've got to get better with things like that. I think spending time with Maggie is helpful. She always seems to act on instinct, so we do well to balance each other out.

Tuesday

My classmate Susie keeps trying to get me to tutor her. Gah! She's so persistent that I might have to agree just to get her to STOP ASKING!

I guess I shouldn't be so pessimistic about it. After all, tutoring her wouldn't be difficult, and she is kind of cute. I guess I'm just reluctant because I'm afraid me tutoring Susie would interfere with my tutoring sessions with Maggie.

Then again, I'm starting to feel more comfortable in my studies. Perhaps I don't need Maggie to tutor me anymore. Either way, I don't think Maggie would take that very well. Tutoring me has been one of the few constants in her life ever since her parents passed away. I don't wanna take that from her, but I suppose it's still something to consider.

Wednesday

I discovered Maggie writing something about helping a "demon" in one of her notebooks today. This was worrying. What if she has gotten involved with the occult?! No, never mind. Just nervous rambling. There must be some logical explanation. I'll ask her about it tomorrow.

Well, good night diary scientific journal.

Thursday

Maggie is definitely hiding something. She totally evaded the subject when I asked her about the demon. Maybe she really is doing something occult. Well, I'll try to find out more if I can.

On a higher note, I agreed to tutor Susie, and she was so happy she hugged me. I overheard one of the teachers nearby saying it was "adorable." I suppose tutoring someone won't be a bad thing. Maybe it will help me get further outside my comfort zone, like Maggie and Shane keep suggesting.

Friday

Tutoring Susie went went well today. I helped her with her mathematics, and she requested my help coming up with science project ideas. I'll be honest, I still don't know why she wanted me to tutor her in the first place. She's just as smart as I am. Does she really struggle that much? I guess I'll have to ask her some time.

Sunday

Maggie was doodling what I can only assume is her "demon" in her notebook today. At least, that's sure what it looked like. I can't help worrying. I don't want anything to happen to her. She's my best friend.

Monday

SUSIE JUST ASKED ME OUT!!!

I don't know why I'm surprised. I always suspected she had a "thing" for me, but I never expected her to actually act on it! I haven't accepted yet (mostly because I panicked and fainted), but I'm planning to tell her tomorrow that I accept.

Now, on a more sour note, Maggie is still keeping secrets about this "demon," and I think Luke might be in on it too. Gah! Why can't she just tell me what's going wrong on?!

Tuesday

I accepted Susie's offer today. We're going to the movies on Frid

I'm hearing things.

Earlier tonight, I tried to write today's entry. I scribbled the previous attempt out because this is more important right now. I don't know why, but I started hearing a voice while I was writing. It asked what was most important to me. I said "friendship." I don't know why it asked. It said that I would be able to understand the impossible. I don't know what it meant. It said I would understand soon. I doubt that highly.

I hope this doesn't have to do with my investigations into Maggie's demon.

Wednesday

God, is my back sore!

I saw Maggie and Luke talking to somebody in their living room tonight. I couldn't see who it was, but they seemed friendly towards whoever it was. Then, I saw them both fall to the floor at the same time I felt a bolt of pain through my spinal column. I collapsed to the floor as well. My back has been sore ever since.

I never saw the guest leave. Maybe they're still there. I'll go over there in a little bit to find out. I'll use the excuse of my back hurting and me needing to borrow an ice pack. Yeah, that'll work!

I'll let you know how it goes, Diary Journal.

Chapter 7: Research

[Nick Hempshire]

It was a simple plan. Go to Maggie's house and ask to borrow an ice pack for my sore back. While there, see who their mysterious guest is. Also learn what I can about Maggie's "demon." That way, I can be sure that she has nothing to do with the occult, or that weird disembodied voice from yesterday.

"Where you goin' bro?" Shane asked as I opened his front door.

"Oh, uh, I just have a question for Maggie!" I replied nervously. "It shouldn't take long."

My older brother gave me a skeptical glance, but eventually allowed me to leave the house.

Crossing the street, I noticed something peculiar. I could no longer see into the Grant household's windows. They appeared to be coated with something from the inside.

'Well if that's not suspicious,' I thought, 'I don't know what is.'

Nonetheless, I approached the door and rang the doorbell. As had become customary, I didn't wait for anyone to answer. I tried to open the door and let myself in, but it was locked.

I could hear frantic noises from within the house, but nobody seemed to be interested in letting me in. After waiting for a little bit longer, I reached down between two of the wooden boards making up their deck.

"Sometimes," I said, pulling out a key, "it pays to be a nosy neighbor."

Sliding the key into the door, I slowly opened it. I jumped back in shock as Maggie appeared in the doorway, keeping it closed most of the way. I was more than a little bit surprised by her appearance. She was almost covered from head to toe with some kind of white powder.

"Hey, Nick," she said nonchalantly, blowing a strand of powdery hair out of her face. "What's up?"

"Um..."

How the heck was I supposed to respond to this? She's covered in some kind of powder, and she's just acting so calm about it! Wait, is the floor covered with it, too?

Sure enough, I'd just noticed the floor beneath Maggie's feet. The one that had most certainly not been white a little while ago.

"Oh, I was just," I hesitated for a moment, realizing just how awkward this situation had quickly become, "hoping I could borrow an ice pack. I had some back pain a little bit ago, so I want to ice it."

"Oh, I, uh, I see..." she started to shift her eyes from side to side. A few beads of sweat formed, causing a small amount of the white powder on her forehead to coagulate from the moisture.

"May I come in?" I asked.

"Oh, uh, I..." she stumbled over her words. "Sure!"

Pushing the door open, I finally got a clear view of the room. What I saw made my eye twitch. The entire room was covered wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor with the same white powder. Looking over towards the kitchen, I saw Luke attempting to wash the stuff off of himself.

He mostly just succeeded in making it coagulate onto his skin.

"Is this," I started as I wiped a finger along one wall and carefully placed it in my mouth. "Powdered sugar?"

"We think so," Maggie replied.

Looking around the room once more, I took notice of the fact that Maggie and Luke were alone. When had their guest left?

Oh, well. I suppose I'll have to work my way up to asking about that. First, though, I was going to ask about something more important. The demon.

"Maggie, I've been meaning to ask," I started in a conversational tone. "What have you been hiding from me?"

Maggie proceeded to freeze, which was ironic since she'd just opened the freezer to retrieve an ice pack.

"What... what do you mean?"

"Well, I know you've been hiding something, and I know it has to do with whatever 'demon' you've been trying to keep me from knowing about. So..."

"You told him about Discord!" Luke practically exploded at his sister.

"Of course not," she said calmly. "Although, you just did."

Luke took a glance towards me. I agreed with Maggie by nodding in the affirmative. He facepalmed.

Sadly for him, his facepalm sent up a small cloud of powdered sugar from his face, making him sneeze violently.

"Discord?" I asked. It sounded familiar, but from where?

"Well," Luke said after recovering from the powdered sugar, "You might as well tell him now. Not like he's gonna give up on asking. The kid's curiosity is a curse."

"Yeah," said Maggie. "He fell from the sky in the warehouse district! We nursed him back to health!"

Nick wasn't really listening anymore. He was trying to place the name Discord. He knew he'd heard it before.

"He said he was from another dimension, but I don't know if I believe that," Luke chimed in. "I mean, a magical world full of sentient ponies is a little hard to believe, isn't it? Sounds like a cartoon."

Wait, sentient ponies? That's it!

"Because it is!" I exclaimed.

I received confused looks from both Grant siblings.

"What are you talking about?" Maggie asked.

"Discord! The lord of chaos! Reformed villain of Equestria!" I rattled off.

"Uh, how did you know that?" Maggie asked.

"Wait, wait, wait. Villain?" said Luke.

"Wait, you're trying to tell me," I started, "that you're claiming to have nursed Discord back to health without knowing what he was?"

"Nick, just tell us how you know who Discord is!" Maggie said. She seemed to be getting a bit upset.

"How about I just show you?" I said.

I walked to Maggie's bedroom, which was not currently covered in powdered sugar. I sat down on her bed and turned on the TV. Going to Netflix, I selected the first episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season 2.

Maggie was now sitting next to me, while Luke was watching the screen while leaning against the door frame.

As the episode got underway, I was surprised by the lack of questions I was receiving. When the screen first displayed Discord, trapped in his stone prison, Maggie shot up into a standing position and paused the show.

"Holy shit!" she proclaimed. "That's Discord! Well, I mean, it's a statue of him, but still!"

I looked over to Luke, who was leaning slack-jawed against the doorway. He was as pale as the powdered sugar still covering most of his body. I honestly thought he was going to faint.

I took the remote from Maggie and fast forwarded to the part of the episode once Discord is speaking to the Main 6 in Canterlot Castle.

"Oh my God," said Luke. "He even sounds like himself."

"Wait," I said, still trying to figure out what the heck was going on, but glad to be included, "you mean Discord actually sounds like that?"

"More or less," he replied.

"Wow. I guess when they said they cast the perfect VA, they weren't kidding."

"Ummm..." Maggie started. "Why does he sound so... nefarious?"

"Because at this point in the show," I replied, "he was a villain."

After the episode ended, they asked me what other episodes Discord was in. Due to the fact that I knew this would take a while, I excused myself to go ask my brother if we could make it a sleepover!

"Sure," Shane said after I'd asked to spend the night at Maggie's.

I gave him a hug as thanks and headed towards the door.

"Hey," he called out, stopping me in my tracks. "What's that stuff on your shoes?"

"It's, uh... powdered sugar," I said, forcing myself to not sound believable. This was going to be priceless.

"Oh, really?" Shane asked. "Come on, bro. Bring one of those sneakers over here."

"OK," I said, making myself sound dejected. I walked over glumly and handed over my right shoe.

Shane looked at the powder for a moment before swiping some off with his fingertip and pressing it to his tongue.

His eyebrow perked up in confusion as he tasted it.

"This," he started, "this is actually powdered sugar, isn't it?"

A wicked grin overtook my face. I may not be one for pranks, but anything I could do to throw my brother's mind for a loop was fine by me.

After returning to the Grant household and helping them clean up the powdered sugar (by choice), the three of us had a My Little Pony marathon until it got late. After that, I had to go to sleep. After all, I had school tomorrow! The only reason Shane had OK'd the sleepover was because he knew Luke could be trusted to get me to school on time.

I wouldn't have believed them about the demon had I not seen their reactions to Discord's appearance in the show. This was going to take a lot more research. My nerves were electrified with excitement!

A Quick Message From Maggie & Luke

Hey guys! Um, well, you don't know me yet, but I still wanna start things off on the right foot, you know?

So, um, my name's Maggie. Well, I guess you probably could've pieced that together from the title of the chapter, eh? Well, even so, it's a pleasure to meet all of you!

Ummm... Let's see. What do you need to know?

Oh, yeah, um... I'm 16 years old. Um. Me and my brother, Luke, are going to do something really stupid in the next chapter, but don't worry! Everything will work out just fine... Right?

Well, uh, anyways... I guess I can see if Luke wants you guys to know anything about him before the story starts.

Ummm... Dang it! Where is he?

"Hey, Bro! You gotta come talk to the readers! The story's gonna start soon!"

Hmmm... So you're the ones who are going to be reading our story. I was curious to see who all would turn up, but I have to admit you're not what I expected. God, this is so weird. Why are we even sharing this story in the first place?

Well, I guess that if you didn't skip this chapter, you probably want to know a little bit about me. My name's Luke. I'm Maggie's admittedly overprotective, 21-year-old brother. She likes to call me a stick-in-the-mud, but I'm just a little overly cautious.

Also, you'll have to excuse my sister. She was probably really nervous to talk to you all, wasn't she. She can get a little... um... excitable, I guess you could say.

But hey, nobody's perfect. I can assure you I'm not. I just hope to the gods, the old and the new, that this story has a happy ending. It is our story, after all.

If it doesn't have a happy ending, then what does that mean for us?

Author's Note

Hello, everypony!

I'm sorry, but the author was unavailable to write the author's note this time around, so I guess I'll just have to improvise.

I... am Discord. If you're reading this story, that means you're going to be seeing a lot of me in the near future. Good for you!

You all might want to know what kind of role I'm going to play in this story, but why would I spoil the surprise! Suspense can often breed the best kinds of chaos, after all.

Am I the villain? Am I the hero? Am I a concerned third party? Am I something completely unrelated to all of those things? Who knows? I sure don't! The story's not even written yet. What do you think I am? A fortuneteller? No! I'm the lord of chaos! A god of mischief! Nopony can control me unless I allow them to, but I'm interested to see what this author has in mind. After all, he's written some pretty chaotic pieces already! So take the wheel, writer! I'm excited to see where you take me!

And now, for something completely different.