Garrett opened the double doors to the endlessly white room. The ODST drop pod was still there, waiting. He entered in the company of Starswirl and his parents.

“You sure about this, son?” his mother asked.

“I am,” Garrett replied. He took a seat in the drop pod and strapped in. “I’ll miss the steaks here... It’s all vegetarian back there.”

“Well, at least Equestria has alcohol, if I remember correctly,” Starswirl chuckled with a friendly smile. “What made you choose to go back, anyway?”

“I lost my will to fight,” Garrett replied. “Let’s just say that I saw something that made me get it back. It’s just like training, really. Fall down, there’s nothing to do except to get back up and keep going. Besides, my family’s still out there. There’s still a chance for me to see them again, and I’m willing to take that bet.”

“Hmm...” Starswirl rubbed his chin with his hoof. “Note to self, then. Activities with the soul in the physical world can affect the individual in the spiritual world.”

“Got everything you need?” Garrett’s father asked.

“Guns, armor, a body, and a particular need to take down a spirit of chaos and freak of the night,” he replied.

“You’re forgetting one thing,” his father said, pointing to Garrett’s heart. He then pointed at his own. “Just remember, all right?”

Garrett nodded with a small smile, remembering exactly what he told to Sarah. “Got it,” he said before closing the hatch.

“See you again, son,” his father mouthed out to him before he, his mother, and Starswirl gave salutes. “We’re proud of you.”

Returning the gesture, Garrett gave another small nod before starting the drop.

Due to the recent success in eliminating Garrett from the picture, Discord savored the pride and seized the opportunity to kick back and relax, and Nightmare Moon allowed herself to disconnect from him and survey the effects of their last acts in Canterlot Castle.

As the first item on her agenda, Nightmare Moon opened Garrett’s coffin with magic and took a look at his body. He was still motionless, silent.

“Sad to see so much potential gone and wasted,” she said to him.

She caressed his hair like a dog. “You would have made a very fine warrior under my-- our rule. If everything went according to plan, Equestria would understand true power and peace, both Luna and Celestia would be defeated and preferably dead, nopony could stand in the way, and I would have made Discord a fool for entertainment every single day. And you?”

Her face moved closer to his. “You would have been my king, and I would have given you your own personal army to train and everything you’ve ever wanted.”

Garrett’s eyes suddenly opened wide, and he gave a gasp for air, breathing heavily.

Nightmare Moon drew back in shock and disbelief, blinking a couple of times in the process. “So, you’ve decided to come back,” she said, regaining her composure.

Garrett tried to get up, but Nightmare Moon quickly reacted by placing her hoof to cover his mouth, silencing him and forcing him back down. He tried to shove her away with his arms. However, due to the prolonged inactivity of his cells, his body was weak and numb, so his strength was weaker than a foal’s. Helplessness quickly filled him, knowing that he was completely at her mercy.

“Shh,” Nightmare Moon hushed, easily feeling dominant like a predator. She continued holding him down and used her magic to gently unbuckle and remove parts of his armor from the waist up, exposing his top half.

“My my, it is quite an interesting thing to have a view such as this,” she added while admiring the image of the undersuit outlining his lean, sculpted muscles and running another hoof down his chest and abs.

Garrett was feeling his heart pump so hard to the point where he could see his chest rise and fall with every beat.

“Are you familiar with my legend?” Nightmare Moon asked.

Having no other options, Garrett cooperated and nodded in return.

“Celestia and I fought,” Nightmare Moon said, “and she defeated me with the Elements of Harmony.”

Garrett started to feel the same dust-like feel crawl up his arm. He turned and found a form of Nightmare Moon’s magic moving up his undersuit, slithering like a snake.

“Following her way of justice, she then banished me to the moon for an eternity,” Nightmare Moon continued, “but I escaped a thousand years later.”

Garrett felt her magic crawl to his neck and position itself on the back of his head.

“That justice system still has influence today,” Nightmare Moon said with a small smile.

She lowered herself down to the point where she was almost nuzzling him by the ear. “And, knowing Celestia,” she whispered, “it’s exactly what you’ll get.”

Garrett felt the magic pierce his head like a needle again, filling his skull with a cold sensation. Flashbacks of Nightmare Moon’s past flooded into his mind. He saw and felt memories of pain and isolation for a thousand years, anger that grew with each passing decade, and they all corrupted his thoughts down to the core.

He screamed in agony, but her hoof on his mouth kept him shut, yelling a muffled cry for help that would have never come.

To Nightmare Moon’s ears, however, she somehow heard a scream that sounded like he was begging, “Please! Please! Stop!”

Finally, she let him go. Garrett coughed and gasped for air. He tried to land a punch on her, but she stepped back on time, and he fell down to the floor with a loud thump, breathing heavily.

“You better be honest and take responsibility for your actions. Celestia doesn’t like liars.” Nightmare Moon turned around, walked away, and chuckled. “Enjoy your sentence, Garrett, and I look forward to inviting you for tea.”

With a flash of light from her horn, she teleported away.

Turbulence heaved a sigh as she opened the door to the room that contained the Longsword. She silently read the designated numbers on the side of the wing while she thought of solutions to drain out her unpleasant thoughts and memories. Maybe some of Applejack’s cider or something... she thought to herself. I know I still have a barrel of it somewhere.

A sudden thump made her senses snap back to attention. With her training kicking in, she proceeded to the exit and popped her head outside, scanning the area, only to find out that the marble hallway was deserted. She checked the other doors and surrounding areas, yielding the same, quiet result, save for another patrolling guard every now and then.

Her imagination and hopes then turned to the Longsword. The closer she came to it, the more the voice of her doubt echoed in her mind.

He’s gone, her mind said. He’s dead.

By the time she came to, she was already at the boarding ramp. A loud, dry cough easily killed her doubts, followed by heavy gasps. Instantly, Turbulence sprinted up to the second level, and there, standing with his weight against the wall, was Garrett, breathing and alive.

He was busy kicking off the remaining parts of his armor and switching to off-duty clothing, staring at Twilight’s medal while he was at it.

Turbulence refused to believe her eyes. She bit herself just to check the possibility of dreaming, only to feel pain and to see a mark.

“...Garrett?” she awed.

Before he could have turned, Turbulence abandoned her helmet and leaped to the air. A surprised pegasus clad in full royal guard armor had more than enough force to tackle him down to the ground. She wrapped her forelegs around his torso and hugged him with enough power to make him struggle to breath.

“You’re back!” she cheered on and on, tears leaking out of her eyes. She pressed her ear on his chest and heard his beating heart, which was more powerful than ever, and it was so strong that she literally felt it lift her head up as well.

She helped him up, with much of his weight on her, but he sat back down on a foot locker.

“Come on!” Turbulence cheered. “Let’s show everypony!”

With a smile on her face, she leaped away from his side, but the sudden clinks of chains made her skid to a halt and wash away the look on her face. She placed a hoof on a pocket of her armor, and she felt her blood run cold. Her restraints were gone, stolen. Turning around, Turbulence found Garrett holding the hoofcuffs, dangling from his hands, his face void of any emotion.

Slowly and silently, Garrett stood up and secured the four rings to his ankles and wrists, the length of the chains barely allowing him to stand straight.

News was known to everypony within the castle in the span of ten minutes. The moment Celestia heard about it, she immediately dropped everything and found herself sprinting down the hallways at full speed. Her first stop was the Longsword, but she found no one there, other than an empty coffin. Looking everywhere else, from the gardens to the barracks, Garrett was nowhere to be found.

An answer finally came when she passed by a prison cell and found Turbulence outside it. She was facing the steel bars, silent and with her head lowered. Galea was next to her, also being quiet.

“Galea? Turbulence?” Celestia asked, coming to their sides. “Why are you-”

Her heart sank when she realized that Garrett was inside the cell, sitting on the bunk bed and staring at the floor in front of her hooves.

Immediately, she placed her hoof on Turbulence’s shoulder and made her turn, looking at her straight in the eye.

“Why?” she asked, her voice in a mix of stern and worried.

Turbulence was silent.

“Your highness,” Galea said, trying to defend Turbulence, “his guilt is barely making him murmur a word. He takes full responsibility on... everything that happened, including him falling into Discord’s influence to harm you. I’ve seen individuals become as affected as him. He’s becoming more dangerous to himself than we are to him. We can help him by isolating him from anything that he could use to harm himself, keep him under watch-”

“I will not make him feel like a prisoner again,” Celestia snapped, interrupting him. “Let. Him. Out.”

“It’s unlocked,” Turbulence murmured. “We never locked it... and don’t intend to, your highness. He says he’s following the UNSC rule book... and applying the ‘light’ punishment... to ‘save’ us the trouble.”

Celestia paused for a moment, silent. She sighed and shook her head. What are you doing to yourself, Garrett?

“I need to talk to him alone,” she finally said.

The two nodded, and they immediately proceeded out the door.

The moment Celestia opened the door with magic, Garrett immediately stood up and turned around, facing her. Only, he refused to look at her in the eye.

“Garrett?” she asked, stepping inside.

With each hoofstep that Celestia took, Garrett limped back a pace.

“Don’t you remember me?” Celestia asked, attempting to assure him.

The only time she managed to close the distance was when Garrett had his back flat against the wall.

“We’re your friends,” Celestia said, extending a hoof. Garrett tensed up, as if expecting a blow. Once she took notice, she immediately pulled herself away, a knot forming in her gut.

Finding no other words to say, Celestia went out of the cell. Once she passed by the metal bars, she gave another look at Garrett, only to find him still in silence, sliding his back against the wall and falling to a sitting position, bracing himself. He looked like a dog kicked around by its owner too much, defeated and broken. We’ve lost you... a thought in her head said as a tear formed in her eye.

Expecting no answer, Celestia left him, closing the door while she was at it. Outside and in her front, she spotted Downburst sprinting down the hall, skidding to a halt in front of her.

“Your highness, is... is it true?” he asked, panting. “Is Garrett back?”

Celestia closed her eyes, turned around, and walked away.

“Uhh... princess?” Downburst asked.

“Don’t tell Twilight and the rest. In fact, don’t even let the news go beyond this castle. He’s too...” her words faded away.

“Too what, your highness?”

“...Scared.”

With a loaded sack slung on her back, Turbulence bowed before Celestia and Luna. “Princesses, I need to tell you something.”

“Go ahead,” Celestia said as she was reading one of Twilight’s friendship reports.

“Remember how doctors visited Garrett a week ago and said that he needed to rest for five days?”

“Yes,” Celestia replied.

“We never visited him again so he could properly rest, if that is what you are wondering,” Luna said.

“There’s a... problem to that. He was in the same position throughout those five days, which was of him with his back facing us... and he didn’t move at all within that time span.”

Celestia instantly switched her attention from the report to Turbulence, raising an eyebrow while she was at it.

“I found out why,” Turbulence said grimly. She reached into the sack and pulled out a black torso with an ODST shirt. Then, placed it on the ground, revealing that it was stuffed with hay. The pants were also filled and a wooden ball that had a net to serve as fake hair, was more than enough to be a false head. “He’s gone missing.”

Panic-stricken, both Luna and Celestia sprang from their seats. “When did you find out about this?” Luna asked, her tone leaning to the serious side.

“This morning,” Turbulence replied. “I flew out to look for him and found-” she gulped “-nothing.”

Celestia gasped and covered her mouth with her hoof. Luna stood there blinking and with her jaw hanging. Fear filled them like spiders crawling up their legs.

“I went back to his cell and found this.” Turbulence reached into the sack again and pulled out an old book. She then opened it to a page and offered it to the princesses.

Celestia picked up the book with magic and, together with Luna, inspected it. They easily understood it explaining the early history of Equestria and the Elements of Harmony and noticed carefully that it was altered with a pen.

...Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her him permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria ever since.

On the side of the page, a short sentence was scribbled.

For the better.

-Garrett

“What’s our next move, your highness?” Turbulence asked.

No answer came. Celestia remained silent, staring at the book. It was hard to see what was going through her mind because all she was doing was blinking.

“Search his ship,” Luna finally ordered to break the silence, already making her way. “He must have left some clues behind.”

The coffin and gifts inside the Longsword were removed, and all the equipment and gear left were covered with sheets to prevent dust from gathering, as per Garrett’s request prior to him locking himself up.

They began pulling back the sheets from everything, inspecting every detail.

“The armor and gear have not been touched,” Turbulence added, scanning through the small armory. “He left behind his knife, his kit... basically everything he needs to survive in the wild”

Celestia and went up ahead to the second level.

“Perhaps he has left a clue,” Luna said as she followed, going up the ramp. “Maybe a message or--”

“He never left,” Celestia interrupted, staring straight at the strange glass container that nopony ever understood.

Luna tilted her head in curiosity. The moisture forming on the glass obscured the image of whatever was inside. She went to Celestia’s side and felt her blood run cold, her hooves freezing themselves to the floor.

“Is there something wrong?” Turbulence asked, going up the ramp as well. “Did you find any-”

She came to a halt, her jaw hanging as she was looking straight at the tube.

“...Garrett?” Turbulence gasped, staring at him.

Garrett was inside the glass chamber, a thin layer of ice forming around him. He was frozen like a popsicle, unconscious. A message was left on his terminal.

Your work done for you.

-Garrett

The screen next to the cryo-tube showed another message.

TIME UNTIL DEFROST: NOT SPECIFIED

Celestia stared at another screen and tapped on the massive text labeled as “WAKE” with her hoof.

Almost immediately, the cryo-tube hummed to life. A fine mist began to descend above Garrett’s head. The ice on him slowly faded away. His frozen appearance was slowly being replaced with flesh and life. Once it was all gone, the canopy opened. He stirred and lifted his eyelids, staring straight at Celestia. After a quick stumble to get back to his feet, he blinked a couple of times to get his senses back. Rising, he sat back down at the foot of the machine.

“Why?” he finally asked with guilt, the first words he ever said to them since coming back to life.

“You deserve none of the punishment you are giving to yourself,” Celestia said, her words never reaching to him.

With that, Garrett got up and walked out, rubbing the back of his lowered head with his palm.

Night covered the castle like a blanket. Luna hid in the shadows and silently watched the central tree in the gardens. Garrett came into her view, and he took a seat next to the trunk. She revealed herself to him, and he gave her a long look.

“Garrett, I thank you for following my request to meet here,” Luna said. She sat down next to him. He turned and made his back face her. “Why are you like this?”

He did not offer a reply.

Luna sighed. “I know that we have gone through many… unpleasant events in the past, and I—“

She lost her words as she noticed an image on the back of Garrett’s head, and it took the exact same form of her cutie mark, glowing dark violet like the stars of the night.

“How did you get that mark?” Luna asked, reaching over. The moment the tip of her hoof came in contact with the mark, a cold surge of energy traveled up her foreleg and stopped at her head. Nightmare Moon’s memories—her memories flashed before her eyes.

She remembered her pain, anger, and sufferings that rotted in her while she was at the moon. The rage of being a monster to many again and an icon to fanatics came back, and the last image she recalled seeing was of Nightmare Moon pinning Garrett down and giving him a taste of what his supposed punishment was.

By the time she came to, Luna found herself flat on her back and on the ground, and Garrett was gone.

Celestia sighed in the observation room, watching Garrett stare at himself on the mirror. He was in the exact same cell he was in after being captured.

“Sister, I need to tell you something,” Luna said, walking straight inside the room. “Garrett’s mind has been poisoned by Nightmare Moon’s magic. It explains why--”

“Luna!” Celestia shrieked, her jaw hanging from her head. “What happened to you?!”

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. “I do not understand. What are you talking about?”

Celestia made a mirror appear with magic. Luna felt her gut churn as she saw herself. The hoof she used to touch Garrett had a vine-like strand that reached from there to her temple, pulsing and glowing purple like it was alive. “What... what happened to me?”

A guard suddenly appeared on the door. “Your highness!” he shouted. “Discord has been spotted! He’s on his way to Ponyville!”

The look of guilt in Garrett was rapidly replaced with a look of excitement. A fire suddenly sparked to life in his eyes. It quickly turned into a blaze feasting for revenge, the instincts of the tiger feasting to pounce its prey. His lips formed into a smirk. Celestia and Luna suddenly felt the presence of Nightmare Moon’s magic, growing ever more powerful.

“Bring it,” Garrett growled all too clearly.

He proceeded out of his unlocked cell and sprinted down the halls to the Longsword, bashing open each door, his boot echoing throughout the passages.

Both Celestia and Luna looked exchanged looks at the same time and shouted simultaneously, “Garrett!”

They bursted into sprints, charging down the halls in hopes to beat him to his ship, their hearts threatening to burst out of their bodies. Luna, however, had to slow down to a halt. The vine-like strand on her side began to pulse with pain like it was burning. She touched her temple with her hoof and moaned.

Celestia started to slow down, but Luna quickly raised her hoof up to stop her and said, “Do not mind me! Just go!”

She went on, following Garrett. Hoping to slow him down and make him come to his senses, she used her magic to try to grab hold of him, but an invisible force shrugged it off like it was nothing. Having no other choice, Celestia continued sprinting after him, but he was going down the halls with so much speed to the point where it made lifting the sun up without magic sound like an easier job. He escaped her sight in seconds.

Garrett quickly ran up the ramp, already feeling every cell in his body thirsting for action. He came to a halt when he saw Galea, Turbulence, and Downburst waiting for him inside the Longsword.

“Mind getting out of my way?” Garrett asked. “I’m kind of in the mood to shoot the living daylights out of someone.”

“Look,” Galea said, “we understand that you’re part of the branch that allows you to do whatever it takes to win, almost nothing holding you back, and--”

“Just get to the point,” Garrett interrupted.

“We want in, Garrett,” Downburst finally said. “All three of us, simple as that. All of us here in Canterlot are taking too long to act. We need to hit the enemy fast and hard like you with nothing holding us back.”

“Give an order, and we’ll do it,” Turbulence added.

Garrett switched his attention to Galea. “Even you?”

Galea took a deep breath. “Awaiting your orders... sir.”

A small smile formed on Garrett’s face. “Let’s just make sure it’s clear. No matter what I say, you will carry out my orders. Every. Single. One.”

The three nodded.

The sound of hooves from the hallways outside reached Garrett’s ears. “All right, your first orders are to close the door to this storage room and seal it with a spell so that no one can enter. Yes, that means even the princesses.”

They gulped, realising just how extreme Garrett wanted them to be. An aura of magic glowed around Galea’s horn, followed by the undeniable sound of a door locking.

“Done,” Galea said.

“Next,” Garrett continued, “Galea, teleport the three of you to Ponyville, then clear the town out as much as you can by any means necessary. When I get there, I don’t want you to fight if I’m there. You might end up hitting me. Understood?”

“Understood,” the three of them replied before Galea teleported them out of sight.

Garrett strapped on his armor, scanning through each part to make sure that they were still in good condition, which they were. When he placed on his left shoulder pauldron, he paused for a moment to look at his reflection, the phoenix feather and ace of spades grabbing his attention.

Just then, he heard an army of hooves bang on the door to the storage room.

“Garrett! Don’t do this! It’s a trap!” Celestia shouted, trying to blast the door open. “Open the door!”

Garrett paused for a moment and gave another look at himself and the phoenix feather, then at the ace of spades. He lowered his head. “Sorry, ma’am...”

He reached over to the terminal and made it close the ramp of the Longsword, sealing off the noise.

“...It’s personal.”

Moving to the small armory, Garrett reached for his ammo and placed his magnum into its holster. Suddenly, his helmet detected energy readings dramatically rising, followed by the sound of hoofsteps climbing up the ramp.

Instinctively, he yanked his shotgun out of its rack, loaded a few shells, and aimed it straight at the visitor.

“...You!” Garrett murmured to the red windigo-like pony, staring at him.

Instantly, he pulled the trigger, but it refused to move like it was a solid part of the gun. He threw it aside and drew his magnum, yielding the same result. Reaching for his knife, he expected to hear a sound similar to it being removed from a whetstone, but it was as if it was glued to his armor. As a last resort, he stepped forward and threw a punch, but an invisible force held him in place like he was a piece of concrete, leaving him in a state of suspended animation of him midway through him giving the blow.

“Will you stop and listen for once?!” the pony growled, stomping down a hoof before letting Garrett go.

Cooperatively, Garrett lowered his fists.

“You know you can not defeat Discord and Nightmare Moon alone,” the windigo-like pony continued.

“Hey, the least I could do is distract them to give enough time for everyone to escape,” Garrett retorted.

“That is not the point. You need help to take both of them down, and I am willing to assist.”

“Last time you met me, you tried to kill me. Why should I trust you now?”

“Correction: I attempted to purge the impurity in you. Now that you are back to a state where you are in control, I can offer my assistance to you fully. So, do you accept?”

Night descended upon Ponyville in a blanket. Lit up like lightbulbs, the stars shared the sky with the moon in a beautiful mix, giving the sensation that somepony painted them to place. All of the residents awaited right next to a train for evacuation, with three guards overseeing the operation.

“All right, single file lines to each door!” Galea shouted, motioning them with the assistance of Downburst and Turbulence.

The majority of the residents were in shock and confusion. Thoughts of having Discord return to the town for another round of chaos easily became the motive to pack up and leave. One by one, the passenger cars were filled, with each passing second giving the three guards more and more relief.

“Nice to see everypony cooperating,” Galea said to the mayor, who had her head sticking out of the window of the last carriage.

“Almost,” she said, pointing a hoof to a group of six mares standing behind the three guards.

“Miss Sparkle and company, get on board this train. Now,” Galea ordered, pointing a hoof to the door, where Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom were looking at Applejack with worry.

“Sis, we gotta get outta here,” Apple Bloom pleaded.

“Sorry, Apple Bloom,” Applejack replied. “But I ain’t gonna let Discord slip by with his plans again.”

“Exactly,” Twilight said, staring straight into the eyes of Galea.

“Hey, where’s everypony?” an all too familiar voice said. “There’s no more life to this party anymore!”

“Discord!” nearly everypony whimpered. Almost immediately, those still outside the train scrambled to get inside, pushing and shoving each other in, but Twilight and the rest still held firm.

“...I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle,” Galea said, drawing his crossbow with magic. “We were told that our orders are to be carried out by any means necessary.”

Everypony watching had their jaws drop. Fluttershy whimpered and began backing off.

“Get on board,” Galea ordered, already aiming his crossbow.

“You can’t do this!” Rainbow Dash shouted, readying her stance. “You’ve got us ready to help on a silver platter, and you’re just throwing it away!”

With no other options left, Galea quickly lifted them up with magic and floated them into the passenger car. Twilight tried to fight back with her own power, but she was too late to react when the door shut before them, enforced with a glowing aura.

Downburst shifted his attention to Big Macintosh. “Stallion, do not let them through.”

“...Eeyup,” he replied, stepping in between the six mares and the way out.

“Don’t do this, Big Mac!” Applejack growled. “We can defeat Discord an’ stop him from makin’ a mess of our own town! You know that, don’t ya? So, step outta the way an’ let us handle it!”

Memories of Discord ruining the farm and making a fool out of everypony returned to Big Macintosh’s mind. With the rumor of strange monsters on the horizon, he found no comfort in thinking of them as a thing for entertainment.

“Nnope,” he replied, shaking his head.

“Oh, it’s on!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She and Applejack grabbed hold of Big Macintosh with their forelegs and attempted to push him to the side, but he refused to move an inch like a metal pole.

“It’s for your own good,” Turbulence added before signaling the train operator to leave.

The train crawled its way to a start, and it quickly gained speed as it followed the way to the safety of Canterlot, leaving behind a mist of steam and smoke.

“So, party of four, then.”

The three guards spun around, their bodies tensing up.

As the mist dissolved, a figure on two legs slowly melted into view. Discord stepped forward, revealing himself in his pure, draconic form. He was holding a watermelon on one hand, scooping up bites with his nail with the other, completely ignoring the fact that he was eating the tough rind and seeds.

“What’s the matter?” Discord asked jokingly with a mouthful of seeds and watermelon bits. “Scared to fight just one draconequus?”

They held their stance still, low and ready to attack, but it was easy to see they were holding back.

“You know, let’s wind back the clocks a few months ago,” Discord continued, scooping up more pieces of watermelon. “You would have been opening fire and hitting me, but you’ve suddenly stopped. What’s the matter? Lost your melons to fight or something?”

Discord made the watermelon rotate on his palm, revealing that he was carving out a human face on it with his nails.

“Get it?! Melon? Fight?” he laughed.

Everypony was as tense as ever.

“How about a magic trick, hmm?” Discord made a table with a pencil standing on top appear before him, floating in the air with his magic. “Now, I’m going to make this pencil disappear.”

Turbulence and Downburst set up storm clouds with their wings.

“One...” Discord smiled.

Galea set his crossbow sites.

“Two...”

The watermelon began glowing with an aura of magic.

“Three!” Discord smashed the watermelon into the pencil and table, but the moment they came into contact, the entire set up turned into strawberries. His force brought the pile to the floor, blowing bits of red fruit gore everywhere. “Ta-da! It’s gone! Like magic!”

“You make me sick...” Turbulence grumbled.

Discord reached down and picked up a handful of the mush, scooping it straight into his mouth. “Want some--”

“All right! That’s it!” Galea shouted, aiming his crossbow. Pumped full of rage, he fired one bolt, hitting Discord right at the cheek, making him collapse to the ground on his back.

Downburst and Turbulence gasped, looking straight at Galea.

“...Captain?” Turbulence asked.

Galea paid no attention. Walking straight next to Discord’s face, he inspected the damage. Somehow, it looked as if his face was misaligned, and where the bolt hit had a gash, glowing white. He was still breathing, though, eyes fully open and staring straight towards the night sky.

Lowering his crossbow, Galea nudged Discord’s face, feeling an odd sensation of pushing a mask.

“Something’s not right,” Galea murmured.

With a glow of magic around his horn, he lifted up the supposed mask by an inch, and it came off just like one. Discord’s limbs started to fade away like ashes blown by the wind, revealing grey figures as remnants. Tension was rising in everypony with each passing second. Slowly, the dissolving dusts reached all the way to the head, and only then was Galea able to completely remove the false face. It, too, disintegrated, revealing a completely different individual who was clad in armor with the exception of a helmet, breathing and alive.

It was Garrett.

The real Discord was sitting on top of a rooftop, unseen and watching the action in front of him. He was holding a sword with the blade resting on his shoulder, glimmering and glowing with a violet arcane rune in the form of a crescent moon on the center of the hilt. Stars were dotted along the fuller, giving off the same lights. Clad in his Nightmare Moon armor, his teal eyes glared even brighter like a machine that turned on.

“Now that’s quite interesting,” he commented, standing up. “Time for the real host to start.”