Discord floated lazily before a television set in his home nestled in the warm corner of the chaotic realm he dwelled in. It was a fine day, if a little boring. Wait, what was that?

He clicked a remote he hadn't been holding a moment before and a brow raised. "Is somepony making chaos? This much?! And they didn't invite me?!"

You are not invited.

Discord waved the floating words away, dispersing them like fluffy clouds. "Who asked you? I tolerate your little 'storytelling' business, but this is too far. How can you not have me involved in this level of delicious chaos?"

I did not forbid you, either. The players did not summon you. You have no reason to go besides cheating.

Discord scowled at the words. "And who's to say I'm above a little cheating?"

We have an accord, and its power is greater than either of us.

"Don't give me that!" Discord leaned dangerously at the words, one eyeball extending comically from his skull. "You, master of perverting the rules for your sick little games. The way I see it, I noticed it on my own, fair and square. I can react to it if I want, so there." He snapped his fingers and turned his head up and to the side, satisfied with his snub.

If you insist on this, remain clear of the players.

"Why should I?"

A favor.

Discord laughed in almost a roar, a paw on his belly as he shook. "A favor? Now that's grand. When did we have anything approaching cordiality?"

I will arrange a new player, just for you. One who will not wither and collapse under your tutelage. Take him and do as you please. You can challenge Celestia herself.

"Come again?" Discord raised a brow. "How am I going to 'challenge' good ole' Sun Butt with a random human?"

She's grown quite proud of raising a new generation of alicorns. Perhaps it should be your turn to give it a try?

Discord rubbed his chin with a talon. "I'll consider it. Oh, very well. I'll let your precious little 'players' tackle things on their own. I'll just go from the other end where they won't see me. Happy?"

Acceptable.

Tabitha led the way, with Bubbles and Dark behind her just a little to the left and right. The shrieking of the tortured hallway grated on all their ears as Horpip banished the hellscape inch by inch and let them press onwards.

A muffled whimper came from the door ahead and to the right, drawing Tabitha's attention just a moment before a fresh pseudopod rushed down the hallway towards them. She could see the horns of her unicorn allies glow, but she couldn't be sure it'd do anything in the end, so she raised the bone spear and took a firm step forward as she shoved it ahead.

It struck true despite her inexperience and sunk several inches into the flesh that resisted like hard clay. It writhed with discomfort and coiled around the injury before slapping at Tabitha, leaving a stinging welt across her chest and shoulder. "Son of a---" She didn't know if it was a son or daughter and didn't really want to.

A trio of arrows seemed to appear from nowhere, embedded deep in its unnatural hide. A glance back revealed Spring already reaching for more.

Horpip drew out a very brightly-polished and antiquated pistol. "Damn elves, bows are outmoded." He leveled it with the fitfully twitching tentacle and everything became a ringing as it belched in a deafening bang its fire and fury. The spray of buckshot ripped through the thing, creating a spray of its foul ichor that hissed and boiled against the walls it had been splattered against.

The tentacle snapped back, withdrawing from them with a speed that did not belong to such a thing.

Tabitha nodded with grim resolution. "Good job, all of you. Did anyone else hear that?" She gestured with her spear where she had heard the whimper even as her eyes glanced to see what door numbers they were passing. "It's the couple!"

"Couple?" asked Bubbles, raising a brow.

Dark hissed softly. "I had concerns, a siren living here, but she has caused no issues. We should help them, of course."

They pressed forward as quickly as Horpip's powder allowed them to reclaim the building from the creature. As they reached the door, they saw it was overgrown with boils and oozing pus as if alive and very unwell. The powder did not banish that away even as the building around it was set to right with that unnerving crying.

Tabitha spun the spear around and knocked with the flat end on the clearest part of the door she could find. "Anyone in there?! It's Tabitha, we're here to help you!"

"S-save... him..." came a strangled and hoarse voice.

Tabitha growled at it. Acting half on instinct, she spun from the door and lashed out with her hind legs, smashing it with a satisfying thump and a sickening spray of that puss. The door groaned and wobbled, but remained standing. "You're my damned door, open!"

Her order, rather than her kick, seemed to be the deciding factor. She could feel it, a pressure in her mind that she wrestled against. It had a frightful power and threatened to overwhelm her, but memories of her life in that building, of the trust her parents had passed on to her to care for it, and how much it meant to her came flooding to the fore. She met the force and gave a mental heave.

It fell.

The wounds and misery fled the door, and it swung open before them. "Caretaker, bitch," she huffed under her breath as she drew big gulps of air to regain her balance.

Spring raised a brow at the display. "You are growing into your element, alpha."

Beyond it was what appeared to be a diseased insect's nest, with chitinous outgrowths in irregular patterns coming from the wall, dripping fluids of unidentified nature, and the stench... It was like the room was some creature's belly, and it hadn't eaten well on top of it.

Even more pressing was the form of the siren in her native form, bound by countless wet tendrils to the wall. Blood seeped from her nose, mouth, and ears and the blood looked horribly thick and tainted with the green of that alien force. She looked up at them with clouded eyes and gave a spastic cough, spraying the ground with blood-flecked green slime. "Save... him... please..."

Bubbles turned as green as the filth seeping from the poor mare. She retreated back into the hallway to make a new mess.

Dark pressed forward with a scowl. "Be still."

~Is this the adventure you sought? Does her suffering please you?~

~What? No. Let's save her.~

~Saving her does not make us better. Preventing her from ever needing saving would have been better. A Warlock's job is best done when no one ever knows we were needed.~

~Well she needs our saving now! I get it, really...~

~We will speak more, later.~

With her thoughts settled, Dark began quickly extracting the siren from the tangled mess with careful flicks and pulls of her magic. "Where is your husband? If it hurts to speak, don't. Wait until I finish freeing you."

The siren raised a hoof, an action that became easier as more and more tendrils were freed from her. "It took... It took him down the hall. Please..."

Tabitha reached out a hand and placed it on the siren's shoulder. "We're here. We aren't leaving until that thing's dead or gone. We'll find him."

Dark drew the siren free of that prison of the wall. "You should rest. Go to Tabitha's office and we will come when this matter is dealt with."

She tried to rise to her hooves and slumped to the ground. "I can't... leave him..."

Spring put a hand on the siren's snout. "Your desire to protect your mate is commendable, but we've accepted that responsibility. Rest." It was a command, and that hand pulsed with green magic that rushed into the siren. Her eyes fluttered before she sank and faded into sleep.

Horpip rolled his eyes. "For all your horse fucker friend knows to negotiate, what's this now? Two favors, two of 'em, given for nothing in kind. What's the world coming to?" He shrugged his shoulders as he headed back into the hallway. "Let's be done with this."

Bubbles was out there, looking less ill. "What's your problem?"

"What's my problem?" He huffed at her. "You damn horses don't know or care about the rules of things. You get a favor, you give a favor, that's how it works. Everything's nice and even, or you don't ask for a favor in the first place."

Bubbles shrugged lightly. "So? You don't want to do it, don't. It works both ways. I ain't heard nopony forcing you or somethin'." She thrust a hoof at him. "You made your own choice, don't throw the blame for it on us like we own you or somethin'." She raised a brow. "Unless you like that idea."

He burst into rowdy laughter. "Oh, have mercy. Spring." He turned to face her. "I think this entire building is blighted. I'm catchin' whatever ya caught before. A damn horse just schooled me."

Spring leaned forward. "I would say it's far past time, but let's try to remain focused on our task. Whatever our differences, we will set them to the side until our lives are no longer threatened."

Horpip gave an emphatic thumbs up. "I can agree to that. Let's show this thing a lesson or two painted in blood. I'm in a good mood for that.

Tabitha stepped out around Spring, her tail twitching fitfully. "Glad you two are feeling chipper. We have a job to do." Her knuckles clenched around the spear she held. "Let's get it done."

Bubbles trotted up beside Tabitha. "You're looking... angrier and serious-er than usual."

Tabitha raised a brow. "Why shouldn't I be? We're fighting, what, that space squid or whatever it is." She resumed the walk down the hallway. "It's fighting one of my tenants, abducted two of them, and is probably doing horrible things. This stops."

"Mortal minds, crumble." The voice seemed spoken, but it had not been. All eyes rose to what seemed like a floating eel with a maw full of teeth, no two pointed in the same direction. With an unearthly shriek, it was as if a rain of blows came upon their psyches, driving them back and dimming their visions.

Except Dark. She was disconnected from her body, crumbling to the ground.

But they were not asleep.

~We have to recover,~ hissed Dark in her head, facing Paul in that dark mindscape, though Paul looked like her.

He nodded quickly. ~Look, you have more experience, and this isn't a game. I'll guard you, you act.~

Dark blinked in surprise. ~You do not wish to act, in this moment of 'potential glory'?~

Paul smiled. ~It's as you said. They may never know I helped, and that's alright.~

Dark returned the gesture slowly. Perhaps her mental roomie could be lived with. ~Let's save them.~

Her eyes snapped open even as the others collapsed, helpless, bleeding from their eyes, and likely not far to much worse.

It was time to act.

Author's Notes:

Well, lots of things happened there, I think!

I hope you liked it, typos and all. Lemme know!

I'm in Texas now, by the way.