The sun was setting over the peaceful town of Ponyville, the residents all curling up in their respective beds for the coming night, with a select few cuddling up against their special someponies. Yet, in the halls of Twilight Sparkle’s castle, one being, if he could be called that, was wide awake and musing to himself about the nature of the universe. After all, when one is a living carpet, what else is one to do but ponder the meaning of existence when one has no need for food, drink or sleep?

Carpet Sense had his mismatched eyes closed as he muttered to himself, pondering the meaning of Order and Chaos in the world he had found himself to be a part of. Tasked with keeping the residences under his watch on the straight and narrow, and with powers of almost equal magnitude as the Lord of Chaos himself, one could wonder why Carpet Sense simply lay on the floor and allowed himself to be tread upon like a common rug. Yet in his very core, he knew as a carpet it was his duty to protect the floors, and thus the buildings themselves, from any kind of harm, be it from the residents or from outside forces. Logically, that also extended to the inhabitants of said dwellings, although for the not-life of him he couldn’t figure out why mortals seemed to act in such illogical manners on an almost daily basis.

He was just about to use his copy in Princess Luna’s private quarters to ask about his ponderings, when he sensed something just outside his realm of influence in Ponyville. In other words, directly outside the front doors of Twilight’s castle.It was a dark presence, fueled by chaotic monstrosities that made his counterpart look tame in comparison. While Discord was Chaos incarnate, at least his brand of chaos could be balanced out by his own Order. No, this was something worse, darker and more powerful on a fundamental level.

Necromancy.

His eyes opened in the darkness of the castle foyer, a frown crossing his lips as the trio of dark magic signatures drew closer to the castle and towards his realm. He didn’t know what had brought these dark mages to his domain, but he knew one thing for certain. He wasn’t going to make the mistake of letting them leave if they dared to cross into his territory. He closed his glowing eyes to hide himself, blending in with the tiles of the floor as the doors to the castle opened, a trio of indistinct forms entering the foyer under invisibility spells that made them almost undetectable.

Almost.

Nightshade couldn’t believe their luck.Not only was the castle unlocked, but from initial scans, not a single guard was present inside the entire building, meaning that their targets were completely unprotected while they slept. The dark grey unicorn followed her companions into the foyer, shutting the door behind them with a soft kick of her hind hoof, her bright amber eyes taking in the surroundings as she dropped her invisibility spell. Her fellow assassins, Black Rose and Violet Shade, followed suit as they looked about the crystalline castle they found themselves within.

“Would you look at this place,” Violet whispered as she walked over and placed a hoof against one of the walls, “we could make a hundred spell shards from just one wall of this foyer, let alone what we could accomplish if we fragmented the whole castle.”

“Focus on the mission, sis.” Rose muttered as she walked over and cuffed her sister over the head with one hoof, “We have our orders and we need to get moving if we want to avoid being caught out in the open come sunrise.”

The lavender unicorn nodded, her silver eyes taking in the rest of the foyer as her pitch-black sibling walked back over to Nightshade.

“So, what’s the plan?” She asked as Rose walked up, keeping her voice low so as to avoid an echo in the cavernous space.

“We make our way up to the private chambers, dispose of the auramancer and the Princess, and then we make sure that there aren’t any witnesses to our actions.” Black Rose grinned as her sapphire eyes narrowed in sadistic glee, “That means nopony in this building wakes up tomorrow morning, or ever again.”

Nightshade nodded, stepping in line on Rose’s right as Violet met up with them and followed their group into the castle proper. Yet as they were just about to start climbing the main staircase, Nightshade felt her hooves somehow get stuck to the ground beneath her.

She grunted and struggled to free herself from the seeming trap, but no matter what she tried, she couldn’t detect a spell at work or any sort of physical glue. The grunts and hisses of her companions confirmed her suspicions. All three mares were trapped, and Nightshade felt a shiver run down her spine as a disembodied voice echoed around the room.

“That, was most unwise.” A dark and sinister laughter followed the statement, and Nightshade felt a very large lump form in her stomach as she felt her legs begin to tingle with unfamiliar magic.

Black Rose grunted as she struggled to free herself, “Let us go you freak!” She hissed out, somehow managing to keep her voice low but still fill it to the brim with venom. “Where in Tartarus are you anyway?”

The voice seemed to take offence to Black Rose’s comment, because the room erupted in bright flashes as electric sparks arched over Rose’s body, her scream of agony muffled because her mouth had been magically sealed shut.

As the charge stopped flowing, Rose gasped as the force holding her mouth shut released its grip, her breathing ragged and her legs shaking as she struggled to stay standing. Nightshade felt cold terror run through her heart as she imagined what crazy things this being could do to them, given none of their magic seemed to have any effect on whatever it was that had them.

“I must insist that you keep your voice down.” The voice said with eerie calm, “My hosts are asleep right now, so do your best to scream quietly. We wouldn’t want to have somepony interrupting this little party, now would we?”

Violet tried and failed to free herself by blasting the floor with a beam of concentrated magic, her efforts rewarded with a shock similar to what Rose had experienced. Like before, her mouth was clamped shut to muffle her scream, her eyes wide in terror as the unknown magic gripped her body like a toy.

Finally, Nightshade couldn’t take it anymore, “What is it you plan to do with us? Are you just going to hold us here until the Princess and her pet monkey come to get us in the morning?”

The sinister chuckle that answered her question made her eyes shrink in terror, “Oh far from it, my uninvited guests, I don’t plan on any of my hosts even knowing you were here tonight. You see, I am a caretaker of sorts, and having them know that somepony snuck in during the night to kill them would be bad for their mental health. So, I am sad to say, you are no longer welcome in this castle. Feel free to enjoy your last moments of mortal life. You won’t be able to do much of anything once I get through with you.”

There was a sound of snapping fingers, and suddenly Nightshade was all alone in the castle, her sisters in crime having suddenly vanished without a trace.

Nightshade openly wept as she imagined what kind of horrors awaited her now that her companions were gone, but to her utter shock, she found that her hooves were no longer stuck to the floor. As she lifted each on in turn, her eyes wide with disbelief, she suddenly became aware of a large presence that was hovering behind her. She slowly turned around, her ears pressed flat against her head as she looked up and beheld the true form of her tormenter.

Gazing down at her with mismatched glowing yellow eyes, was none other than Discord himself, albeit a bit flatter than what the stories told. Nightshade nearly wet herself in fright, realizing that she was way in over her head. Thinking of nothing better to do, she threw herself to the floor and covered her head with her forehooves, begging for her life with every fiber of her being as she spouted random apologies in the hopes of keeping her life, and possibly her sanity.

Shaking like a leaf, Nightshade stiffened as she felt a claw run under her chin, slowly lifting her head and body until she was hovering impossibly before the Lord of Chaos, her entire body somehow held in place by his single claw.

“Now I am going to tell you this only once,” the flattened chimera said in a deathly soft voice, “tell your precious leader that if she sends any more of her little fillies into my domain, I will do more than simply make them vanish into thin air. I will burn her house around her until there is nothing but ash. I will drive her coven and its allies to madness with nothing but a thought. I will do everything in my power to make sure you all live just long enough to regret ever having heard my name. And I will enjoy tearing your little club apart piece by agonizing piece until there is naught but rubble left behind.” He leaned in close until his muzzle was pressed against her own, “Do I make myself clear?”

Nightshade nodded frantically, tears streaming down her face as she was lowered to the ground. She barely had time to get her hooves under her before she turned and fled, her exit only making a soft muffled click as Carpet Sense slowed the slamming door with a quick burst of magic. Nightshade raced into the night, heading back to the Everfree with every intention of never setting hoof in Ponyville again. Her heart raced like wildfire as she entered the dark wood once more, her mind filled with all manner of horrible images of what the Lord of Chaos might do to them if they messed with what he perceived to be his. She had no way of knowing that the real Discord was somewhere off in the far reaches of his own dimension, watching the chaos unfold over the Equestrian nation like a blanket of power as he munched on a bag of popcorn.

Discord chuckled to himself as he sipped on a large soda, the curly straw making a whistling sound as he sucked the fizzy beverage in enjoyment, “Oh well played my little creation. Well played indeed. For a being of Order, you sure know how to stir up chaos when you really set your mind to it.” He shrugged to himself as he changed the channel on his TV set, “Eh, must be my influence leaking in from when he was my body. Oh well, let’s see what’s going on with the latest Star Trek, never can get enough of that old boy Q.”

The following morning, Celestia walked down her castle halls like any other day, and yet, something seemed to be slightly amiss as she made her way down to the dining room for her breakfast. New drapes, colored black and violet, were hanging on either side of the windows in most of the exterior hallways. They fluttered slightly in the morning breeze as the wind blew in through the open windows, and yet for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why they were there. She hadn’t ordered any new drapery for the castle, and she hadn’t heard anything from her sister concerning the idea either.

She glanced down at Carpet Sense, who was lying on the hallway floor as usual, “Did these drapes get put up last night?”

The living floor covering nodded his head, “Indeed, they’re a new addition that I thought might liven up the look of the place a bit, a contrast to the white and gold you seem so fond of around here.”

One of Celestia’s eyes twitched as a strand of her flowing mane sprang out with an audible Twing, “And why exactly did you do this without getting me or my sister’s permission?”

“Who said it was me who put them there?” Carpet Sense replied, “I simply said I thought they would liven the place up a bit. I never said anything about putting them up there.”

Another strand of Celestia’s mane sprang out, the twitch of her eye becoming noticeably stronger, “Then pray tell, who put them up if not you?”

Carpet Sense grinned, “Now where is the fun in telling you when you could simply ask one of the staff? I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have any problems explaining to their Princess how new drapes seemed to appear out of thin air all around the castle.”

Celestia ground her teeth, reminding herself that losing her temper would most likely destroy the castle but would do little to the indestructible floor covering before her, “Very well, I shall ask them, but if you had anything to do with this and are lying to me, then I promise I will hang you out with the sheets and drapes every time they need to be cleaned for the next month.”

Carpet Sense visibly shivered at the thought of being near those horrid abominations, “You have my word, Celestia. I am being completely honest with you. No need for drastic measures.”

As Celestia walked down the halls towards the dining room, Carpet Sense smiled to himself, feeling a little kick at being able to mess with his host so easily. “Must be something left over from my counterpart. Although I must say,” he muttered to himself as he looked up at the swaying drapes, “you do make lovely wall coverings when you get past all the mental anguish you must be feeling. I wonder what it must be like, trapped in an inanimate object while still retaining your mind?” He shrugged to himself, letting his mind wander back to his musings as he lay there on the floor.

The screams of agony and the pleadings for release going unheard by anypony else, as what remained of Black Rose and Violet Shade gently swung in the wind, trapped forever in a form not their own. Unable to die and unable to be heard by anybeing other than the one who had cursed them with their new forms, they soon realized that they were going to be there for a very, very long time. The pain and suffering would be the least of their worries as the months, years, and eventually decades went by, slowly driving them to madness as the only constants in their new existence were the pain, the Princesses, and the ever-watching eyes of Carpet Sense.

Author's Notes:

*Shivers from head to hoof* Whoa boy, this one gave me the chills. I can definitely say I would never want to get on Carpet Sense's bad side, wouldn't you agree? Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this little side chapter and I look forward to seeing you all again in the next one.

As always, see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.