#so fingers crossed everypony

[gorbo-longstocking]

so glad i had the foresight to warn there will be a longer space between chapters because work is kicking my ass

[domirine]

a mimir

[tiredcatboysinc]

Kiss by the plastic ocean

Hello everypony, today I offer Batter/reader fic. Tomorrow? probably nothing

Summary: The Batter didn’t like to stay in one place for too long, it put him on edge and made him nervous. You made him nervous. You were his player for fucks sake! You shouldn’t be standing here, you should be getting on with the damn story!

Ao3

Words: 1050

Warnings: None

The cool breeze of Zone 2 brushed past your face, a few strands of hair blowing lightly in the wind. The Batter stood silently next to you as you looked over the small cliff that led to the ocean of plastic, his arms crossed tightly over his chest with an unimpressed look on his face. You had suggested taking a small break from all the purifying, aka beating the shit out ghosts, and walking. For once, Batter had taken you on the idea and let you lead him to the cliffside. Now he was regretting his decision as the breeze blew on him, his brows furrowed heavily under the brim of his hat every time the wind blew too hard. When you suggested a break, he expected something else. He maybe thought you’d drag him to the library, at least then he could beat up any ghosts that he so happened to see.

The Batter didn’t like to stay in one place for too long, it put him on edge and made him nervous. You made him nervous. You were his player for fucks sake! You shouldn’t be standing here, you should be getting on with the damn story! Every bone and muscle in his body was tensed, holding back the urge to grab you by the scruff and pull you back to the plot. One of his fingers taps impatiently on his forearm, yet this went unnoticed by you. Your eyes were shut softly, you inhaled the scent of the air. Of course, it smelt like plastic and slight smoke, but it hadn’t bothered you yet. The scent was almost comforting to you, yet you weren’t sure why.

Maybe you had just gotten used to the smell, or, perhaps, it smelt like home. That was silly, of course. Though in a way…the scent made you feel safe, it made you feel like nothing was wrong. You decide that whatever the reason is, why ever you’ve come to like the smell of the Zones, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that you were okay with it, and you were. A small clearing of a throat knocks you from your peaceful bliss, and you open your eyes to find the source of this cough; The Batter. You can feel his eyes shooting a heavy gaze through you even though they weren’t visible. Your eyes gaze back, though your look is much softer. As your brows furrow you frown a little “What? Are you not enjoying this moment, Mr. Batter?” you question, your voice having just a tinge of mischievousness. Though the heavy sarcasm covers that mischievousness.

Batter groans, leaning his head back to the sky. “We should be getting on with the story, dammit,” he grumbles with annoyance dripping from his tone. You whine in playfulness, turning to him with a pout on your face. He doesn’t face back to you, but he knows what you’re doing. You always pouted when he complained about anything, in honesty, you pouted at anything you could. His mouth turns to a grimace, his brows furrowing even deeper than before. Another whine is flung from your lips, your pout intensifying as you whine louder. The Batter grips his arms tightly as he pulls his shoulders up, his jaw clenched tightly as he groans through gritting teeth. Batter knew you needed to start going again, but goddammit if your stupid ass pout didn’t make him want to let you do what you wanted… Another grumble leaves his mouth before he sighs out “...Fine.” and you jump with joy, literally. You giggle happily as you wrap your arms around The Batter in a hug, smiling up at him gratefully.

He turns his head away from you, pulling the brim of his hat to cover his cheeks that began to burn. “Don’t think this will be a normal occurrence, we’ve got to continue…” He mutters as his stomach turns with embarrassment. A few of the Elsen that had been sitting around the cliffside, doing the same as you, glance over as you giggle profusely. You’re almost vibrating with giddiness, so much to the point you almost don’t notice how Batter’s face is beginning to glow with a blush.

When you start to calm down, you notice his glowing cheeks as well as his poor attempt to hide it. His jaw clenches even tighter, if that’s possible when your giggling pauses. Your eyes are now fixated on his embarrassed expression, and a mischievous grin creeps up your face. You stand on the tips of your shoes, leaning as close as you can to Batter’s face. “Is someone embarrassed?” You sing out, making sure to emphasize ‘embarrassed’. He doesn’t respond, his eyes looking off into the distance as if he now finds the ocean interesting. Batter swallows harshly when your voice drops to a faint whisper, only one that someone as close as him could hear “What’s wrong, love? Did I fluster you?’

That’s it, you’ve killed him, Batter is now dead and it’s your fault. The Batter’s face is now as red as a cherry, his breathing stiffened as he slowly brings his gaze to you. You’re just so… close. It makes his heart race with how you look at him, a hidden look of yearning in his eyes. As if you could read his mind, you place a hand on his shoulder and tilt your head slightly. That stupid smirk never leaves your lips, and now, he thinks, would be the perfect time to wipe it off. A tense swallow is given from him, your stiff breaths lingering in the air.

Batter pulls his hat off, holding it to the side of your face. Effectively blocking the view from anyone looking. His free hand falls to your lower back, and he pushes you forward gently. Your lips fall into his, in a nervous, yet loved fill kiss. Of course, you reciprocate. Your hands slide up to cup his cheeks tenderly, and you feel yourself smile into the short kiss.

Batter pulls back first, his eyes meeting yours in an equally as flustered gaze. You blink, and then you smile. “You should do that more often.” You giggle, and Batter averts his gaze quickly.

“...Only if you’re lucky.” He mumbles as a small smile creeps onto his face.

[daringdoombringer]

“The Birth of An Omen”

Transformers Mythos AU

New interest, new au everypony, and I’m COOKING. Throwing y’all into this headfirst. no prior context. First time sharing fanfiction on Tumblr, it seems to do well here. Whipped this up in like, an hour and a half the same day the idea was made. There aren’t many physical descriptions as these designs haven’t even been finalized i’m hyperfixing HARD chat. thank you Adrian Von Ziegler your Norse music is a lifesaver.

Word Count: 1107

Warnings: none though the vibes are pretty spooky

ENOUGH CHITCHAT ONWARDS WITH THE FIC!!

Starbolt sprung awake in a panic, sputtering out half-words as he sprang out of alt mode.

“Ajahdv a wh- what?! Am I- Where am-“

The Autobot froze, missiles pointed at his surroundings. He slowly brought down his arms. Composure very, very gradually coming to him through frantic eyes. Darkness. Complete and utter darkness surrounded Starbolt, there wasn’t even a discernible floor.

“He-hello??!” He frantically turned in place, looking around.

“Hello?! ANYONE?”

Silence. Barely an echo returned.

“Where- where…. …w-where am I?” The question devolved into a whisper as Starbolt anxiously hunched over, hands brought to his Spark.

“Am.. am I… …*sigh* oh what am i thinking, of course- of course I am. Not many outcomes after careening straight into a mountain, are there?!” He spat, crossing his arms. Promptly turning his chin up with shut eyes.

“Fine then, fine. Perhaps I wasn’t wOrThY of a noble death anyway!” Starbolt drawled, mockingly directed at whoever must’ve put him here.

A moment passed. Another. And another. Silence.

Starbolt stopped tapping his foot, eyes fluttering open. Confusedly looking this way and that for *any* indication of where or what this place was.

“Heh- ok. So I’m not dreaming. I… I r-really am dead. That’s… that’s what is happening right now.”

“I’m… I’m dead.” He rasped, an inevitable realization creeping up his wings. He stared at his hands, somehow still visible to his optics. Confused, he clasped them together. Touching his face, then patting himself down, thoroughly puzzled at his state. He was still… corporeal. In one piece.

“Huh… ” Starbolt observed. Going over what little he remembered before this point. He was battling a Deception battalion midair, was knocked off course- and now he was here.

He pondered, carefully putting a foot out to take a step; before drawing it right back. No, too risky. There wasn’t much to explore here, he couldn’t even see where the floor ended and everything else began. The bot nervously twiddled his fingers with wings down. Doubt crossed his face once again.

“Well then, this uh… this is… far from what I expected the Allspark to be-“

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

“WAUGH!!”

Starbolt jumped at the booming voice, scrambling backwards. He quickly took his arm and shoved it in front of his face, stopping the sudden light burst from radiating into his optics.

He brought his arm down slightly, providing his vision enough space to discover what was pitted for him next.

“WHA- WHO ARE YOU-“ Bolt’s protest was cut short at the sight.

A pair of gargantuan glowing eyes staring down at him. So large he could have easily flown between them, with plenty of room to spare. Their eerie glow faintly illuminated Bolt’s surroundings to his horror.

It was no floor he had fallen on. He was cowering in the palm of an equally gigantic hand.

Still peeking over his arm at the menacing optic gaze, shaking with abject terror. Those piercing eyes, glowing with red, divine Energon.

There was no mistaking their owner.

“M-M.. Megatronus Prime?” Starbolt finally managed to whisper. Words clumsily falling like pebbles.

“I-it’s- you? It’s… it’s really y-you?”

The gaze relaxed slightly, staring with jest at their trembling subject.

“I go by many names, sire.”

Megatron’s response was nearly purred more than said, his words twisted and distorted into something nigh unrecognizable. Yet they were said with such softness. Such understanding. They were coming from everywhere, yet nowhere, reverberating through Starbolt to his very Spark.

Bolt carefully, slowly lowered his arm. Staring in silent awe for several moments. The ultimate evil staring back.

“…. I- I uh- right. of course you do- sire… I- l-listen-“

Bolt reoriented himself to a kneel, a blubbering mess all the while. With hands clasped in prayer, he stared up at his otherworldly captor.

“I… I do not know what I’ve done to deserve your presence. You.. you see, I was a follower of Orion, I- I spent my last moments b-battling your own, I-“ Bolt was nearly to tears, optics squeezed shut at the divine presence before him.

“Please, why do I deserve this?! An afterlife upon your hands? Surely- SURELY there’s been a grave misunderstanding, L-Lord Megatronus-“

“There is no need, mortal. You have done no wrong in our eyes.”

Bolt froze. Slowly gazing up through blurred tears.

“wh.. what…?”

“We’ve both been watching you intently. You possess great speed and intelligence within your Spark. Even I will admit, you have impressed us greatly”

The Autobot was surprised at his comments. Unexpected, yet fairly true comments.

“I..l well, thank you, Lord?” He squeaked, though still decently terrified. “Im- I’m flattered, truly. Granted I wasn’t the greatest at combat but- y-you know, we’re- we’ve all got our weak spots.”

Megatron gave a single nod. Through his optics' glow, Bolt could almost make out a faint smile.

“Though, if it doesn’t bother you… may I ask- a question? A question you’ve likely expected, no less.” Starbolt asked, wings perking up.

Megatron blinked, bringing his hand a little closer.

“if… if I was really a disciple of your opposite… if I truly didn’t do anything horrible, in my life that is so, so very feeble to yours… w-why is it that I’ve appeared to you?”

Starbolt softly pleaded, clasped hands over his Spark once more.

“Out of all the Primes, why did you, deserve me? Why am I… here?”

Megatron was silent, closing his eyes briefly in pondering. When they opened again, they were narrow, almost tranquil.

“Your greatest gift is making yourself known, Starbolt. I’ve been needing someone like you. For a very long time.”

Megatron thrust his outstretched hand upwards, knocking him down. Before Bolt could react, he began to chant.

“May you be my trusted voice to Cybertron, may your wings taste freedom no mortal has known. Your valiant cries shall shake the stars, may every Spark race upon your presence!”

His rattling voice pounded in Bolt’s head, swirling through infinite blackness. Threatening to tear him apart from the inside out.

“BE REBORN, MY DUTIFUL MESSENGER!”

A brilliant burst of red and purple light enveloped Starbolt. He gave a single shocked scream, one that fell on deaf audio sensors. It ended as soon as it began. In an instant, the Jet Autobot was gone.

Megatron lowered his hand, gazing at his empty palm in triumph. He gave a smug grin, closing it into a clawed fist. He already knew where Bolt had gone, a disciple of his acquaintance no longer. The brazen god chuckled, before turning foot and disappearing. There was much to do, after all.

He had a new servant to attend to.

[discord-and-the-blog-of-chaos]

When Worlds Collide

As the camera starts out staticky, you can hear a dark chuckle. Once the static clears out, a rather strange, mixmatched, dragon-like creatures comes into view.

"Hello, everypony! Should I say everyone. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony!"

"Originally, I wasn't scheduled to make my Tumblr debut until much later, but a certain mod informed me that desperate times call for desperate measures. Something on the line of... 'notifications'?"

"Though as exciting as it is for me to show my face early, my only complaint would be the fact that I have to SHARE this blog with others. But I suppose this will have to do for now. Perhaps if things go well here, I'll be able to have my own personal blog down the line..."

"With that being said, let's get this show on the road! I've been sent here to summon several muses here that I'm sure you'll be happy to see! After all; a lot of them are people you've met before I assume?"

And with that, Discord snapped his fingers. Just like that, tons of people(and one pony), appear. They look around in confusion before turning to face the odd creature that was before them.

“UwaaaaaaAAAAAAHHH!!!”

The spikey-haired boy ran into hiding. Oddly enough, two of them looked and dressed exactly like him. One went after the more timid version to check of him, while the other had bandages, all over his torso, arms and legs(I have no sprites for that one! T_T)

"W-what that f&ck is that?!?!"

'Kyaaaaaaah! It's a monster!'

"I'm going to assume that this is the creature who brought us here. But... why?"

Discord was rather disappointed by certain reactions as he turned away.

"A simple 'thank you' would've sufficed! But I suppose most of you aren't much a fourth-wall breakers now aren't you...? How rude! To think I actually did this to help you all on your current predicament-"

Before the draconaquus could finish his sentence, a certain pink pony zoomed in and gave him a super tight hug from behind.

"GYAAAAAGH!!!"

"Discord! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you sooooooo much for bringing us all together! I'm so happy to finally be able meet all my neighbors at once! I thought it going to take like... foreeeverrr to meet a few of them at a time! And I SO thank our mod a bejillion times for this too! And that best part is... you now get to be a part of this too! This is the best! Decision! EVERRRRRRRR!!!"

"C-can someone... please give us a promo... before Pinkie Pie... breaks me in half...?"

(Hello everyone. Mod Princess here. So basically, this is a chaos blog mashing @ask-timid-makoto-naegi, @danganronpa-v3-demo-au, @your-pink-party-pony, and @sole-survivor-makoto-naegi altogether. This is being done due to the recent changes on tumblr regarding the notifications. I figured that I'd have some fun and add Discord from MLP into the blog as well.

So this is what's going to happen from here on out. Every event and starter I decide to do regarding any of my other blogs are going to start off here from now on. You also can also RP on the chaos blog if you'd like. It will just require me to use other blogs to respond depending one which of my muse(s) you are interacting with. I will also be using this blog for any and all RPs that I didn't get notified on.

Aster recommends this to me as an alternative option to constantly pinging, and so far it seems to have worked after @unofficialuserluser tested it out. So now I'm giving it a go. Fingers crossed this continues to work!

Edit 5/5/2023 - Okay so I wasn’t informed until like… just now the the problem has been fixed. REALLY wish someone would’ve told me this sooner before I went ahead and made this blog. Nonetheless, it’s here and people are already interacting. So I’ll need to figure out an alternative. If you still want to interact, go ahead and do so.

@unofficialuser(anyone you want), @werewolf-makoto-naegi @slimemakotonaegi @ask-ghost-boys @yui-samidare-reborn (anyone you want), @japanese-ultimateautism @special-encounters (surprise me), @laylayeh @tobys-multiverse-official @lre123 @ask-ultimate-personas @ask-the-ultimate-matchmaker @alizachan @coldwisped

As always, anyone who isn't tagged can also interact

[lightboundhellhound]

i cant watch peninsula unless i buy or rent it on amazon so unless my mom lets me rent it i might not be watching this movie tonight ;-; fingers crossed everypony

[imnotgoinganywhereok]

Happy Friday the 13th!! My life is killing me lately, fitting for the date.

Dominika is now a child, and the first thing she did right after growing up was sitting at the piano to practise. She didn't even touch her birthday cake!! I suppose we have a hobby for her. Isn't she the cutest? <3 Now Baltazar enjoys her practising every time he eats his late dinners after working in his lab. It isn't much but at least it looks like he cares!! Dominika often has her nanny to mentor her so she's learning the skill faster. This is truly adorable, the piano finally has a purpose in this house. 𝄞 ✧˚ ♪ ⋆｡˚. ݁♬ ♪₊ ⊹

Baltazar, on the other hand, keeps enjoying life with newly-acquired money. Using baby Dominika as bait worked, now Bal's lovers warmed up to him again!! Visiting them and going on dates is back on the menu, everypony. Pearl really hates her marriage with Holly Alto since she's not ashamed to cheat right in front of her. I almost feel bad for Holly. Katy is the only one who likes meeting at the karaoke bar with Baltazar, which he's genuinely grateful for - he loves singing, after all. Laki is the only lover with whom Baltazar doesn't want to breed with; and his alien grandparents are verrrrry curious as to what's the reason, it's hilarious. .‧🚀˖˚⋆｡˖°⭒🛸⭒‧.˚

That's all for now. My week will be packed with more job training AND an assignment so important that they might fire me if I fail it. The managers want us to pass, we want to pass, but the "outside" company is really strict. Keep your fingers crossed I don't fumble because I intend to do my damn hardest until the end!!

[yandere--stuck]

Yandere!Discord x Celestia

"Retirement?" Discord croaked, air catching his lungs.

"Yes! It's a great idea, don't you think?" Celestia beamed. "Luna and I can finally get a well-deserved break, I don't think either of us have had one since we were foals! And Twilight will finally be able to stretch her wings, well, so to speak, and gain confidence as a ruler."

"Retirement…" Discord breathed out in a whisper. "You're retiring…"

Celestia's face fell, but only momentarily. The Alicorn perked up as she picked up a tea kettle with her magic, a pink aura surrounding it as she poured more tea into her cup. A nervous chucked bubbled up from her throat.

"Well, yes, but it won't be permanent, of course."

Discord stared down at his paw and claw, resting against his torso. A paw and claw. Just another way he's different. But, one couldn't ignore how useful they were, like holding things you love close to you. His head hung and maw hanging open in pure shock. His ears hung low and brushed against the back of his head. 

"Where will you go…? What will you do?"

"Oh, well, of course, we're thinking of doing some travelling. But, I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get there!"

Discord sat silently, letting the pony's words consume him. She… She was leaving him. Again. Just when he thought things were getting better. Just when he thought they were getting closer. Just when he thought things would be like they used to be.

A memory made his heart pang with sadness.  Sadness and grief and regret and pain… All things that could be frowned out by the numbing joy of chaos.

Nothing could hurt you if nothing made enough sense to hurt you in the first place.

… A snow-white filly with wavy pink hair and eyes of sparkling rose quartz, her legs too long for her body. A draconequus, a mischievous mishmash of many beasts, who loved her more than tragedy loved to befall both of them. Oh, how they loved to play together, how they loved to trick and fool and play pranks. It was perfect. And then it wasn't. Because she insisted that she doesn't have time for playing games anymore, Discord. She has a nation to worry about, Discord. Her people need her, Discord. 

You're a draconequus, Discord, and everypony hates draconequui and they're all murderers and hateful and cruel and they're monsters and-!... Well, okay. She didn't say that. But, it felt like it!

… So, when it came time to choose her people and her steadily spiralling and increasingly chaotic coltfriend…

She sealed him in stone.

"I'm very sorry that I didn't tell you sooner." Celestia said softly. "I figured now would be the best time, considering Luna and I were planning on announcing it to everypony else, as well."

"It's… Okay." Discord lied, pausing a moment. "... When were you planning on leaving?"

"Today, at the soonest."

"TODAY?!"

Celestia flinched, eyes wide at the draconequus' outburst. Her dining partner seethed from the opposite side of the table, panting loudly through his snout. His sharp teeth were bared and a growl built up in his throat.

Pink eyes trained on Discord, not willing to leave him. "Discord, I…"

Discord shook his head, eyes screwed shut, leaning against the tabletop. "No, no, this wasn't supposed to happen… I… I thought…" Discord blinked open his eyes, training on Celestia's hoof, resting against the surface. Hesitantly, he reached out with paw-

The princess quickly retracted it, flinching at the draconequus' movements.

Tears bubbled up in Discord's eyes. "Celly, I thought we…"

"Oh, Discord, is that what this all about?" Celestia sighed. The princess bit her lip. "Discord… We… We're not like that, anymore. I don't- we… We can't go back to that. So many things have happened and changed. It wouldn't be right."

A sob escaped Discord's throat, wracking through his entire body. He wrapped his arms around himself in a vain attempt at comfort. His body seized up and seemed to attempt to fold in on itself as he cried.

This wasn't fair! This wasn't right! This wasn't supposed to happen!

"Discord, I'm so sorry. I had no idea you still felt so strongly-"

Why didn't she remember? They were in love! She loved him and he loved her and they loved each other and they still do, they're supposed to! So, why-?

"But, you have to understand… We're just not those kids anymore. We can't be like that together. It would be irresponsible-"

He was good again, he was so good, he was getting better, even! So why… Why wasn't he enough? He loves her, he deserves her. And she has to love him, too! Why else would she-

"-I truly am sorry. I may have been a bit tone deaf, and inconsiderate. So many times I try to teach my little ponies to be caring and considerate of others, when I couldn't even realize the pain you must still be feeling-"

Maybe… Maybe it wasn't her. Maybe, it was just like before. The outside world, the other ponies, everything else… Tricking her into thinking he was bad for her, that he wasn't a good influence, that there were more important things at hoof. And after all this time, she still hasn't unlearnt it.

"-And for that, I am truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me. Even if we can't be together exactly like you'd want. But-"

Then, Discord supposed, the outside world will simply have to go away. Oh, Celly will get her vacation, alright.

Momentarily, a feeling of guilty gnawed at him, before he mentally cast it aside. This was good. This was right. Discord was good. This was the right thing to do.

"-I hope we can still be friends."

"No…!" Discord growled.

"What?" The hurt in Celestia's voice almost made him whimper.

The draconequus easily reached over to grab at the princess' hoof, dragging her over to press her body against his. Underneath his fur, Discord's body was alight with fiery warmth at the feeling of Celestia against him. His growls turned into purrs as he nuzzled against her.

"Discord, let go!" Celestia squirmed in his grip.

Discord chuckled, tilting up her chin with a finger. "Not this time, my dear. I let you go once, and looked how that happened. I'll never let you go, again."

The snow-white alicorn glared up at him, (oh, she was so cute when she was mad!) her horn sparking with a pink aura.

Oh no, she doesn't!

With a simple snap, her horn disappeared completely, alongside her wings. She was completely powerless and at his mercy.

Another snap, and they were both in another building entirely, much smaller than the castle, certainly. Outside the windows, Celestia saw an endless expanse of chaos, with no meaning or rhyme or reason.

Her heart beated against her ribcage. This was his dimension…

"You're powerless now, Celly," Discord crooned, nuzzling against his beloved. "And you're in my world now."

The former-alicorn seized up in fear, eyes darting about in confusion. "H- how did- why- how did you-"

Discord chuckled. "I'm much more powerful than you think, darling. The only reason I didn't do anything like this when you first banished me is because I had a soft spot for you and Lulu. I wanted to give you a fighting chance.

And now that I've changed, I wanted to be good. I wanted to reconnect naturally. I wanted to do it for you. But, no… Of course not. You don't want that. You wanted to leave me all over again!"

"Discord, please, I'm truly sorry, please, just listen-!"

"No... No more Mr. Nice Discord. Don't worry, love, you'll get your vacation. How does a few eons, just you and me, sound?"

[aintneverhadfriendslikeus]

Parcly Taxel: Some public holidays in Japan were once linked to the Emperor and the Shintō religion, such as Labour Thanksgiving Day (勤労感謝の日) which was originally a harvest festival (新嘗祭). Such references were later removed, secularising the holidays but giving them rather unusual names.

Spindle: By far the most important one is the New Year (元日), because many establishments will close for a period around this date, say five days, in what is known as Shōgatsu (正月). This can be frustrating, even for locals, since it disrupts the rhythm of everyday life that would otherwise assert priority. Closures are timed to begin after Hearth's Warming, though, so we would not face much of a problem before returning to Canterlot.

Parcly: We bought another one-day subway pass to facilitate our travels. The trains were crowded as ever during our journey to Shinsaibashi, with passenger movement bottlenecked at one of the exits in the Umeda interchange because of renovation works on an escalator. The streets themselves ringed with announcers broadcasting offers on all matter of products and ponies queueing up in response – the largest stores had queues stabbing the entrances wide open.

At a bar we had Chinese pork noodles with cabbage and karaage (唐揚げ) chicken for lunch. It seems that the ticket system for placing orders is gaining in popularity, perhaps as a gratification for increasingly impatient, multi-tasking ponies. Exiting through its back door, we encountered a quiet alley, an oasis of calm in an endless desert of chaos.

Spindle: Structured chaos, you mean? Crossing into the shopping street in Shinsaibashi, the bridge beside the Glico mare and the adjoining street of Ebisubashi (戎橋), regardless of what time it was or where we were, I could make out two opposing streams of heads with the left side coming towards me, the same orientation as Japanese cars and trains on roads and tracks. Within each stream, lateral movement was kept to a minimum, except when reaching for a store.

Parcly: After eating so much for lunch I felt queasy, my eyes refocusing over and over on the next junction or zebra crossing or pony in my path. Everything beyond five metres ahead was a blur; my larger Twilight-sized alicorn frame and the shelters reflecting noise back down weren't helping either. In the end I managed to reach a beanbag indoors and lie flat on it, the polystyrene balls shifting to nuzzle against my wings. When I felt recharged, I had to brave just fifteen more minutes of congestion…

…and stepped out of Miyakojima, tension discharging into open air. Convenience stores in Japan are not only everywhere, but also packed with services from photocopying to oden to chairs. I walked into the second-nearest instance across the road, bought tiramisu as a reward for my recent efforts and basked in the peaceful silence enveloping the remainder of my way home.

Spindle: Rain settled in when we opened the door, its pitter-patter keeping both of us awake for a little while. Parcly soon gave in to her bottle's gentle pull, her brain subliming, swirling inwards and mixing with her heart. I followed suit once this had happened.

Though windigos have evolved their technology in leaps and bounds, they still remember their role in creating Hearth's Warming and are loved by ponies for that. The trio who chased the leaders of the old earth pony/pegasus/unicorn tribes – Beppine, Katiwi and Sivyalel – were also some of the first windigos, born when the winds of winter circled around an enchanted mountain. When they were burned by the fire of friendship, the remaining windigos realised they could help then-new Equestria remove its most hateful ponies by lifting them into spirits. Conversely, the ponies knew they could keep the windigo population in check by letting those who were ready cross over via the fire, which became a Hearth's Warming tradition. However, because I had fallen for Parcly, I became immune to the fire, thus truly immortal.

Parcly: I released myself at half past seven, well into the night (indeed one of the longest by its proximity to the winter solstice), then showered. I still hadn't had dinner, so what would I eat on this special eve?

Fried chicken. In Japan, turkeys have to be imported and are hard to come by, so this local food is substituted instead. I heard Scootaloo say that it all began when a pony in a chicken suit went to a school near Hearth's Warming and started dancing, whence every other school followed. We had all parts of the chicken (fingers and nuggets included) purchased from different sources, as well as oden, beancurd sushi and a chocolate log cake!

Spindle: Happy Hearth's Warming, everypony!

[estro-gem]

Black and White in Grey: Chapter 8

Author’s note: I was on a roll and thought I might post the next chapter as well!

I’ll have to warn you about STRONG-ISH LANGUAGE in here. I couldn’t bring myself to keep it all clean. I did attempt to warn you, even though I know that most people skip the author’s notes... oh well...

This was a fun chapter to write, so I hope it is just as fun to read! Things get steamy, but not in the way most would think - fellow gutter minds, hahaha!

Lets go! Enjoy!

CHAPTER 8: IT’S NOT FUN AND GAMES, UNTIL IT IS

This was not happening. This was not happening.

It’s hard to explain, but Discord wasn’t joking when he said he wanted to catch up with her. Or rather, for her to catch up with him… in the Dream Realm…

She lost Discord in the Dream Realm.

She wasn’t prepared for him to suddenly jump in head first – when he said that he wanted to ‘get the ball rolling’ – as he put it. He left her with a poke the her muzzle and a cute ‘You’re it’ before teleporting away. Since she felt the foreign presence calling from the far-away Dream Realm, the pony knew it was Discord.

It wasn’t really her fault, but Luna scolded herself for not taking it as a given that the Lord of Chaos would pull a stunt like this. What an ass. He was roaming the minds of her subject freely now, and probably driving them to madness as he went. Well, not without driving her to madness in the process.

He just knew how to get under her skin.

As she chased his presence dream throughout dream, he only left her a single glance at him before he jumped into someone else’s dream. It was infuriating how he seemed to run circles around her. The princess was scrambling around in her own realm like a headless chicken, with the intention to find Discord and prevent him from doing anything dumb, all while checking the subjects’ dream for nightmares.

She actually stopped her chase with the crazed spirit just to take care of a few distressed subjects that were, in fact, terrorized by nightmares. It took 3 subjects with nightmares, for her to notice that Discords movements in the realm had frozen during those times along with her.

It confused her, but it mostly fueled the fire within her even more. The blasted, petty, irrational, competitive side of her felt almost offended that he felt the need to wait for her to finish her duty as princess, before continuing their ridiculous chase. The subject was left almost confused.

She was the Princess of the Night and this was her realm.

No rival ever had to wait on her in her own realm. She didn’t care how messed up that sounded. She was determined to catch that menacing draconiquus – and scold him for wasting her time. She was angry… but when Discord started taunting her in the brief moments she caught up to him, she was pissed. Fueled with a goal and furious for a reason.

She loved it.

Discord would leave comments, like, “Get with it, sleepy head!” or, “You can’t even catch me in your dreams!”

For the longest time, the pony stayed silent, only focusing on trying to hit him with a non-fatal energy blast – at least enough to just startle him – but soon gave in to the burning need to snap something back at him, “Maybe I’d be more eager to stop you if your insults weren’t so predictable!”

Oh, that struck a nerve and Luna saw it. She knew that would get to him.

The Lord stood frozen in an open meadow with clear skies, his fingers in mid-snap – about to jump to another subject’s mind, when he heard the insult the princess spat at him. He looked positively startled and, much to Luna’s satisfaction, deliciously insulted.

He gasped, “What a nerve you have! Calling me, the Lord – the embodiment of Chaos itself – predicta…” Discord couldn’t bring himself to even finish the word. He was too caught up in the smug smiled of the dark princess. If Discord was faking this, he was a damn good actor.

“Oh, but it was only the first word that came to mind, Lord Discord!” she said in a mocking concern. In her mind, she was just a relieved as she was smug that the chase was over, but she milked what she could from his stupor, “There are many other adjectives suitable for my name-calling towards you! Like… boring! Dull. Bland. Shall I continue?”

The look on his face was priceless. He seemed so out of his element – wordplay intended! Luna soaked in the shift in his expression, from surprised to determined. She gotten to him, she already won. Everything about to follow, was just an added bonus. If Discord wanted to extend their banter by trying to pull his ego out of the hole it dove into, she would accept any comeback he threw at her.

“Princess, your fire is a sight for sore eyes.”

Maybe, except that comeback.

What the hell did that even mean? That was so random, coming from him. His expression was one she wouldn’t be able to imagine any day before now. It was odd, but so intriguing. She wanted more of this… whatever she had brought out of him.

It almost threw her off her game, but she tried matching his stance with one step forward, “Well, little cults that toy with fire get their fingers burned.”

“Oh? But I can’t resist – can’t keep my claws at bay.” Discord said lowly, taking a step of his own towards Luna, hungry eyes boring into hers, accompanied with a smirk, almost making her flustered for a reason she couldn’t comprehend. Her expression wouldn’t falter though.

“What else is there to expect from someone with no self-restraint?” Luna smugly said, stepping towards him once more. Closer. She needed him closer. No matter how much this sudden change of pace made her wonder about the funny tension in the air.

“You are one to tell me I have no self-restraint… after hunting me down like a predator?” Discord questioned, his voice still lowered and quiet. Stalking towards her, making her almost blush. Why?

“As any predator…” Luna paused, noticing how close they were, standing but a two feet apart, “…I have an acquired taste.”

She was almost certain that she didn’t control her own tongue anymore. She didn’t know what came over her, but she couldn’t stop. This whole situation was pulling her into something that just didn’t seem to ever be satisfied.

“Is that so, princess?” Discord practically purred, bending down just above her level, making Luna internally quiver in anticipation.

This was getting… very… interesting.

“What the hell, guys?!”

An unknown voice suddenly broke the noble’s intense gaze they held, only to look at the mare that interrupted them.

Cadence. This was the mind of Cadence. They were in Cadence’s dream, the princess of love. Her comment fell on an odd place of Luna’s insides, feeling embarrassed that they were caught, even though, in her mind, it was just aggressive banter.

It was nothing to be ashamed of.

“Anyway…” Cadence spoke up again, seeing that neither of the two culprits were going to, “Discord, I wanted to talk to you? You know, in private… about that thing…?”

“Oh, right! That thing! We can talk all you want once you’ve escaped Dreamland!” Discord said, his playful, normal tone ripping what had Luna lulled moments ago, out under her hooves like a blanket. She was also confused by Cadence’s request. She couldn’t ponder too long about it, as there was a shift in Cadence mind.

“This is a dream?” the Princess of Love questioned, earning a nod from both of them. She spaced out for a moment, “Wow… can I do stuff, like shape-shifting and change the grass into a pit of dry beans?”

“You can try, yes…?” Luna said with a cringe. This was all weird!

“Changing things and manipulating common laws of nature is my shtick! You darn lucid dreamers…” Discord mumbled, crossing his upper limbs like a stubborn child, “Why would you go with dried beans, anyway?”

Cadence scoffed with no real bite, “Are you kidding? Have you ever put you hoof into a sack of dried beans? It feels so good.”

“It’s said to be therapeutic.” Luna added in agreement, before shaking her head, to focus, “Discord, we should probably go.”

“What? But I wanted to teach Cadence the fundamentals of chaos!” Discord whined, causing Luna to roll her eyes. Her horn glowed as she prepared to teleport herself to the waking realm.

Before they knew it, the deities, were in the throne room once again. Discord’s arrival was delayed, as they each teleported themselves. The princess check the clock and found that her shift was as good as done. Her eyes widened. Her subjects… she had neglected them!

“Well as fun as this was, Lulu, I’m beat.” Discord said, yawning, “You sure put up with a lot more than I remember.”

“I didn’t put up with anything!” she said worried, “I didn’t attend to my subjects tonight! I let myself get distracted by you – and it’s not like I can just go back and fix it, because everyone is waking up soon! I need to –”

“Oh, Lulu, you are such a character!” Discord laughed, Luna too panicked to be mad at his careless attitude. He calmed down, still smiling, “We tore through everypony’s mind tonight! We were on fire! You covered every nightmare like a pro and nothing stood in your way.”

“Everypony?”

That’s right, the chase! She chased Discord through every dream of everypony sleeping that night. In a normal shift, she could cover half the kingdom and cover the other half the following day.

But this time, she managed everpony. It was huge! She didn’t even feel as if she was working, it all just flew by… because of the Lord of Chaos, Discord. He made it happen. He made her forget about almost everything that was bothering her for a whole night.

She just took about 12 hours to realize it.

She looked up at Discord and smiled – there was no use containing it. Discord’s smug expression faltered as the dark princess lit up. Smiling at him – for him. He couldn’t help but give his own genuine smile back.

That fire. It captivated him.

“Thank you, Discord. That was… something else, wasn’t it?”

“Do you expect anything else from me?”

They shared a short laugh, before falling into a definite, awkward silence, which Luna felt obligated to brake, “Let’s not do that again any time soon.”

“Agreed. See you next week.”

“What?”

Discord didn’t reply. He was already gone.

Next: Chapter 9

Previous: Chapter 7

Masterlist

[jenny-xj9-wakeman-moved]

Fame and Misfortune Aftermath

Jenny heading back to Ponyville as she was visiting Dragon Lord Ember for Twilight. Her danger alarm was going off on the way back to town.

Twilight: I swear what happened while I was awa... ?!

She saw a mod of rabid ponies infront of Twilight’s castle. Useing her optic function she scanned each and every ponies.

Twilight: Canterlot... Fillydelphia... Manehatten.... why are these ponies here?

She carefully lands on the balcony of the castle and walked in. Then in the table map room she saw the mane 6 and Starlight.

Twilight: Jenny. You’re back.

Jenny: Yes. What the heck is going on outside?

Twilight: We may have published our journal so that other ponies can learn about friendship that we’ve done.

Pinkie: Only except that it backfired into burnt cake and now every pony is in a fit.

Applejack: We have fans wanting to meet up...

Rarity: Criticize us...

Rainbow: Adore us...

Fluttershy: And even  telling us how we should act for them.

Starlight: Not to mention this caused a lot of tension. We kinda waiting until they all calm down.

Jenny: Oh that’s why my danger alarm was going off. 

Twilight: I guess. Can you show them out?

Jenny: I can try.

Twilight: [smiled] Thank you.

The robot girl headed to the front doors of the castle. Opening the doors she saw ponies having cross fits with each other. She exhaled and took her megaphone system out.

Jenny: ATTENTION PONIES!

They stopped and saw her and listen. The mane seven were the balcony listening.

Jenny: As captain (and friend) of Princess Twilight, I here by order every one to please back away from the perimeter of the area.

Canterlot press pony: And you are?

Jenny: [took her megaphone away] Jenny Wakeman. State your business, and occupation please. [arms cross. then to the ponies, stern look] I’m going to make this clear. No one, and I mean, NO ONE is speak out of turn. [then back to him] Continue sir.

C.P.P: I’m from the Canterlot Press, press reporter. I read the book from cover to cover. And the question I gave to Twilight, is why she even moved here in the first place.

Jenny: [nodded, then brought up a big LED screen to the side of her showing what happened to the mane 6] So your saying if Twilight never came here, then it means you wanted Nightmare Moon for everlasting night?

C.P.P: Wha... n

Jenny: [looking at her digits on her fingers] Or even ever lasting chaos?

C.P.P: Ma’am please...

Jenny: Or even a changeling invasion?

C.P.P.: of course no....

Jenny: Or even Tirek taking EVERYPONIES’ magic away? [arms crossed] Sir, I’m highly offended you would actually THINK that Princess Twilight wanted to stay in Canterlot. If it wasn’t for Twilight, then no pony would be safe from the devastation that came to them.

C.P.P: .....

Jenny: Besides, friendship is the most important to Princess Twilight and her friends. And what they, and I, have seen. Is a rather display of being over hyped of what they done to help each and everypony. And you can’t forced to what they don’t want to become. Heck, even I’m flawed. I wanted to fit in as a teenager, but I even had to balance that as a super robot hero.

There were some murmurs that she could be right.

Jenny: Also I bet each of every one of you here is flawed in your own way when you think about it.

huh. she has a point.

guess so.

yeah.

And with that, ponies started to leave and soon the area was cleared.

Jenny: [sighs, sat on the stoop and laid back] uuuuuuuugh.....

Twilight: [trots up to her] You okay, Jenny?

Jenny: [opened her eyes to her, turned and booped her nose] -.-; You owe me big next time, princess. [she got up and walked to go recharge inside]