Starstep walked through the castle halls mindlessly. He wanted to avoid much thought right now, because he knew exactly where it would lead. The guys had left already, so the only reason to think about his situation was gone.

But at the same time, he couldn’t ignore everything that was said to him. Nor was his reason to think about it gone; in fact, as he got closer to Luna’s quarters, he got closer and closer to it. The guys hadn’t been the reason for it at all, they only forced Starstep to actually put thought into his problem.

The other guards nodded to Starstep as he passed by, and he instinctually nodded back, not even noticing his own reaction to their acknowledgement. They could all see that he had a lot on his mind at the moment, or that he was trying to avoid that, so they let him be. None of them were the type to pry into somepony else’s business. Luna was, though, and they had no doubt that she would get it out of him.

Starstep reached Luna’s door, but stopped. Briefly, he listened for her, to figure out if she was still awake. When he heard nothing, he put his hoof on the door, but didn’t push it open. He knew that Luna was probably in there, and she would probably ask him about what he went out and did, especially since he was late. But he really didn’t feel like talking about it.

He had been in love once before. He remembered it all too clearly: Serene, a truly beautiful red Pegasus mare. She wasn’t quite gorgeous, but in the Air Guard, most ponies aren’t. She was great at her job, a technical mare, and smart and strong, too. Over time, they fell in love, and their love was stronger than any soldier or battalion on the battlefield.

She was killed, though, when the base was attacked. The gryphons spared no one in their assault, and many of the ponies on the base were killed. When Starstep found Serene, under one of the casualty blankets, he felt a mix of emotions: anger, hate, sadness, loss. He loved her with everything he had; to love somepony else felt… wrong.

And yet, here he was, doing just that. Starstep’s stomach tightened as his hoof pushed the door forward, feeling conflicted and sick with anxiety. As he entered, he saw Luna, sitting silently on the bed, staring at the door.

“Starstep,” she said.

“Luna,” Starstep replied.

He walked over to the bed and hopped in, then groped his way under the covers and held them tightly over himself, trying to keep Luna from seeing him. If he couldn’t see her, maybe she wasn’t there.

“Starstep?” Luna said, sounding concerned. “Are you alright?”

Starstep nodded. “I’m fine,” he said. “Just… thinking.”

“About what?” Luna asked. She lay down behind him and put her hoof on his side. “You do not look okay.”

“Just…” He contemplated whether or not he should tell her the truth. He decided on part of it. “Serene. I miss her…”

“Oh,” Luna said. She couldn’t help him with that. She didn’t know what his pain was like, but she wanted to help him. Unsure of what to do, she climbed under the covers and held him as he went to sleep.

He fell asleep quickly, snoring lightly, chest rising and falling like the waves that wash over the beach. Now, he seemed peaceful, calmly sleeping next to his princess, a silly expression taking over his face.

He was a nice guy, Starstep. Ever since he first became her guard, he was always there to give her advice when she needed it and comfort her when she felt alone. He was strong, something he had proven from his early days back in the Air Guard. That was a part of the appeal he had; he was a proven individual. Anypony could rely on him.

He was wonderful; Starstep held a special place in Luna’s heart. Her best friend, yet closer. Celestia had made many jokes about the two of them, and she knew that ponies talked about them. But she didn’t care. It was worth being talked about to keep him around. He was somepony truly special.

“Special somepony…” Luna thought.

The thought was inappropriate, she knew. But then again, so was everything else about them. Their interactions, their conversations, the games they played. None of it was what the nobles would call “classy”; it was a part of why rumors went around about them.

And of course, while she was a goddess, she was still a mare. Romantic relationships had crossed her mind before as with just about any mare other than Twilight Sparkle, not counting her books. She hadn’t thought about anypony particular, to be sure, as that could lead to trouble if it ever came out. But if she were to select anypony, she would have to be with Starstep; she knew him so well and cared for him so much.

“Could I?” she wondered. “It has been so long… for both of us.”

Was it really worth it, though? There was so much that could go wrong. She knew that she would be able to do what Cadence did with Shining Armor and make him live as long as her, but what would he say? Many believe immortality to be a curse, not a blessing, Luna almost one of them. And how long would the love last? Or was it even there, really?

Luna shook her head and shut her eyes. There were times and places to think about things such as these, and right before bed, and already laying down, was not one of them. She let her mind empty and reach out to her guard and friend to share their dreams for the night, so that she could see what he dreamed of.

Discord watched the group part ways, Ryan and Mac getting on the train and Soarin’ flying off toward Cloudsdale. Fancy Pants walked home, a content grin on his face and looking classy as usual.

What else did he have to do, this night like all other nights? Watch ponies, of course. He had to admit, it was growing quite boring, but there was usually something he could find that would make up for it. It wouldn’t be Ryan and his friends this night, though, he could say that for certain.

Who else might he look at? There were dozens upon dozens of nobles for him to snoop on and play games with, but they grew boring after long enough. The guards were generally stoic with a few exceptions, and it wasn’t even like the Royal Guard actually did anything most of the time. What to do?

Discord tended to lose himself to his imagination in times such as these. There is so much to do in your imagination; you can build worlds, change people and places, make your own rules, or simply have a lack of rules. Starstep was still in the back of Discord’s mind as he let him imagination explore his part.

Starstep reminded Discord of himself and Celestia, millennia ago. Before Discord lost himself to chaos, or rather found it as his calling, he had been a very shy individual. It was true; and, like modern ponies, he went to school. He was made fun of for not being a pony in Canterlot High, but he was able to use his powers to avoid the other ponies.

Celestia had been a popular mare in her day, before and her sister became Alicorns. She was a basketball mare, something she didn’t bring up much any more. Discord had always liked her, but he was too afraid to so much as look her way when she was nearby.

But once, he saw her in a hallway, crying. He never did find out why; he just knows that she was sobbing and sad in the corner. So he walked over and sat next to her without a word. That was the day they first became friends.

Starstep’s situation wasn’t too terribly different, though the friendship was really thrust upon him without significant warning. Luna was troublingly alone at some time, and she needed a friend, so she got one. And as hers and Starstep’s lives went on, an attraction began to develop.

“I wonder how they’re doing?” Discord wondered.

Discord moved his mind’s eye with a purpose, eager to get to Luna’s chambers to see how those two were getting along. He knew Starstep’s pain; there was nothing to learn there. But he wanted to know if Starstep was destined to know Discord’s pain. The pain of never getting to really and truly express how much you love someone.

When his mind’s eye arrived in Luna’s chambers, he saw the two of them sleeping in the bed silently and cozily. At first glance, Discord thought that they were definitely ahead of where Discord had ended up, but upon further inspection, Discord concluded that this was business as usual.

He lowered his eye down to get a closer look at the pair in the bed. They were close, Luna hugging Starstep from behind, like he was going to slip away if she let go. Starstep had his wings hanging out loose, somewhat over the princess and drooping around her.

“Oh my god, just do it already!” Discord thought.

It was obvious to him, at least he thought, that the two were interested in each other. The way they treated each other in public and the conversations they had and the games they played in private were massive indicators. They nuzzled warmly like happy little ponies and were just too adorable together.

It brought Discord back to his younger days with Celestia again. Luna wasn’t often around for it, but Discord and Celestia were always close since that first day. Celestia would talk to Discord about anything that was bothering her, and with his experience, he was typically able to make her see that whatever it was, it wasn’t really all that terrible. If one of them had a problem, the other was always around.

They would hang out often and in the open, kind of showing each other off. Celestia would sneer at the kids who looked funny at Discord because she didn’t care for them. Discord would sneer at them because he was spending lots of time with a pretty mare.

As they aged and their roles and powers began to develop, they spent their time together doing various things. They would play more physical games, at times, wrestling in the grass or throwing mud at each other. When they were just hanging out, they might have gone to see a play or went out for a meal together. All the time, there was a mild undertone of romance. At least in Discord’s mind.

Discord shuddered as he thought about what came later. He could only hope that it or something like it never happened to Starstep. Discord might be considered evil, but few are evil enough to wish this fate on anypony.

The madness took Discord after the fall of the Great Ones. Something had swept through the land and altered a great many things, ripping away all magical controls from the Everfree Forest, carving gashes in the land, and raising Hell everywhere. The Northern Territories of Equestria became the Frozen North, and the once proud nations of Gryphons, Ahuizotls, and Sea ponies were razed and shredded. Mountains and gullies separated them for decades, and when they finally recovered and found each other, they were at each other’s throats.

But that was of little concern to Discord; his own heartbreak was his main point of sadness. When he was lost to the Madness, Celestia tried to bring him back. Instead of listening, the voices of Shayogo and Wrath, demented and manic, in his head, told him to strike her down. He attempted to do so, but luckily failed.

Celestia fled in tears to find her sister and the Tree of Harmony. When they returned, they battled Discord and ultimately defeated him. But the Madness had one last cruel trick to play; just before Discord was turned to stone, he was released from the grip of the voices. He had no idea what was going on as the searing pain hardened his flesh and he cried out.

He cast one last look to Celestia, who stood there, looking horrified. She finally understood what had occurred, but it was too late. Discord stood a cold, lonely statue in the middle of the courtyard, and the only thing he had left was his ability to hear Celestia wail in agony at the loss of her close friend of so many years.

Discord put it back into the back of his mind, where it belonged. He had gone slightly mad while in stone, but not dangerously so, so he turned out all right in the end. At least he had his friendship with Celestia back, and potentially a closer relationship than before, like he had always wanted and had suspected she wanted.

But was there hope for Starstep? He wouldn’t live forever, not unless Luna loved him enough to give him an eternal place by her side. Discord thought they should at least give it a try, and he also thought they would do well together. It was just a good relationship.

He took one last look at the pair. He had never gotten quite so close to Celestia, he wasn’t that lucky. Starstep probably didn’t know how well he had it there, cuddled up with his secret love. Maybe Discord should just give that a try soon? Celestia would maybe possibly hopefully kind of allow it.

He took his eye off of them and thought. Who else was there that had a relationship that was stagnant, but could easily go somewhere? Fancy was married. Soarin’ was going to be married, and soon. Big Mac was steady with Fluttershy and had something big planned. Who was left?

Ryan and Cinny were all that came to mind. Discord actually wasn’t entirely sure where the two of them stood on the grounds of a relationship. They liked each other, sure, but how far did it go? They looked like best friends, the kind you go to when you need advice on the opposite gender or something. And it was, as all people should know, the best place to look for your love is with your closest friends.

Discord launched his mind’s eye into the sky and shot it toward Ponyville faster than sound. That would only have matter if his mind’s eye had a physical element to it, o course.

It had been long enough since Ryan and Mac boarded their train that it would have already arrived at Ponyville, so Discord went on the search immediately for Ryan or Cinny. The first place he looked was, naturally, Cinny’s home. It was no different from the last time he saw it when he arrived.

Cinny was asleep inside, alone, and there were no pictures of Ryan to speak of, so Discord left her alone. They hadn’t known each other that long, he guesses, so there wasn’t that much reason for her to have a picture of him. Thinking about it, Discord didn’t know of many pictures of Ryan existing in this world. He would have to make a point of it to destroy all current ones in the world later on.

So he went on the hunt to find Ryan. He might be able to coax an answer out of the boy through sly subliminal messages via use of magic, if he was careful. Discord shot through the streets to Rarity’s boutique and into the building.

Ryan wasn’t inside, though. In the basement, there lay only the things he had left there that morning. Not even his gun was there. He must have still been out, but why would he still be out past midnight?

Discord left and made his way to Sweet Apple Acres. Ryan might have gone there with Mac for whatever reason, maybe to get some apples? It didn’t matter. Discord just hurried there to try to catch Ryan before he left.

When he arrived, he saw that the lights were on in the farmhouse and went over there. There were a few shadows dancing outside the windows, ponies by the looks of it. One was huge, probably Big Mac, but the other was smaller, maybe his sister Applejack. When he approached the window, he took a gander inside to see what was going on.

Mac and Applejack seemed to be having an argument. Applejack was leaning on the kitchen table with her forelegs crossed and eyebrows furrowed. Mac stood in a defensive position by the fridge, going through it mostly with his eyes when they weren’t on his sister.

“What were ya doin’ out so late?” Applejack asked.

“Ah was with mah friends,” Mac replied. “Ain’t nothin’ to worry about. Why’re ya so suspicious?”

“Cuz’, Mac, yer never out so late! Ah know that Fluttershy is spending the night with Dash, so that doesn’t leave me with anything to assume. What were ya doing?” Applejack narrowed her eyes further at her brother as she finished speaking.

“Mah friends and I went out to Canterlot, remember?” Mac replied. “We found our last buddy and went out to a pub. We chatted, and earlier, we saw some of the funky shops. That’s all.”

“Funky shops?” Applejack asked. Mac just opened a can of worms that he would so wish he hadn’t. Applejack let her expression calm a little bit. “Ah guess Ah can understand.”

Mac closed the fridge and stared at his sister. “What’re you thinking?” he asked, suspicious.

“Ah know you an’ Flutters like to have fun, and Ah won’t judge you,” Applejack said. “If you two want to try growing something a little outside your normal crops, Ah won’t talk.”

“That ain’t what Ah meant!” Mac almost yelled. “That’s… that’s… ugh, Ah can’t talk to you. Ya don’t listen to reason.”

“What were these shops, then?” Applejack asked. “What did they sell?”

Mac sighed before he responded. “You know; souvenirs, snow-globes, random things that are pretty interesting. One of the stores turned out to sell drugs, so we got out of there pretty fast-”

“A store sellin’ drugs?!” Applejack said. “How did ya end up in a place like that?”

“It was run by some foreign fellas, nasty lot,” Mac said. “They’ve been dealt with, though. Guards took’em away.”

Applejack nodded. “Well… Ah guess that’s good enough for me.” She leaned toward him, still in her seat. “Did ya have a confrontation with them?”

“No,” Mac responded, albeit too quickly. “We just left.”

“Ya know that lyin’ to the Element of Honesty isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, right?” Applejack asked smugly.

Again, Mac sighed. “Fine,” he said. “They tried to jump us in the street on our way to the train station. We put’em down easy enough.”

Applejack got a big grin on her face. “Yeehaw, that’s mah brother!” she said.

Mac shook his head. “Just please, don’t tell Flutters. She’ll worry and fret about it and Ah’ll never hear the end of it.”

Applejack made a motion of pulling a zipper across her face. “Yer secret’s safe with me!” she said.

As interesting as the conversation was, Discord was still looking for Ryan. After a brief search of the house, he concluded that Ryan wasn’t there, and so left the premises in search of the human. He knew that he wasn’t here, and he wasn’t in any of the other places in town he normally would be, so where would he be?

Then it hit him; the forest! Ryan might be in the forest, though why, Discord could only guess at. His mind’s eye shot into the sky and blasted off toward where Ryan’s cave was.

The flight over the forest was brief, but interesting. As of the passing of midnight, it was officially March. There was still some snow on the ground, though not much, so the forest looked like a mess. Branches, hanging about the way they were when they were covered in snow and ice. There was no movement anywhere, and the forest was still frozen in time.

Discord lowered his eye below the tree line and glanced about. When you got down to the ground, that was when you saw the signs of life. Mostly small critters, skittering about, looking for whatever tiny morsels they needed to stay alive. As the cold winter recedes, and the hidden life thaws out, you never know how much that life may have changed while it was trapped under the snow.

Discord continued on, keeping his eye open for Ryan. There was a clear path through the snow that he always took here, and it paid tribute to how often he went here. He was actually coming out here less and less often. Maybe he was getting close to finishing the cave?

Discord made there in no time and looked around outside. There were signs that Ryan had been out there quite a bit, but he didn’t see the human anywhere. Rocks were scattered about in the most random of spots, like they were brought in and then abandoned. There was probably a reason for it, but everyone has some bit of madness that never quite goes away.

Discord moved his eye forward toward the entrance of the cave, but halted before moving even a few feet. Something was amiss. He couldn’t quite place it, but he knew that something was wrong. And the feeling was somehow familiar.

“I see I’m not the only guy who possesses an interest in the young human,” a voice said.

Discord’s eye spun around, but found nothing. “Who are you?” he projected.

“Oh, I’m no one important,” the voice replied.

Discord recognized the voice and knew just how dangerous it was. He released his mind’s eye, letting it face into oblivion, and then teleported himself to the location, potentially setting off all kinds of alarms back in Canterlot. When he flashed in, he took a moment to allow his eyes to adjust, then looked around again.

“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” Discord said.

“Now, you hurt me, Mr. Discord!” the voice said. It sounded like it was coming from a surround sound speaker set. “Why would you accuse me of lying when you hardly know me?”

Discord kept his eyes going in circles. “Because I know enough of you to know that you aren’t a good guy,” he said.

Discord returned his eyes to his head and looked out into the forest. Whatever it was, it was out there, watching. Ryan was probably in his cave, minding his own business. Discord would be damned if he let something happen. He turned around to see if Ryan was in the entrance.

Discord would be lying if he said he didn’t have a small heart attack when he turned around to see that the Wraith was standing between him and the cave. Discord snapped his fingers to get a little electric shock to restart his heart, but for some reason, it didn’t work. It was only when the Wraith started chuckling that Discord’s heart went back to working properly.

“Do you?” the Wraith asked. “Do you really know enough to say that I’m the bad guy? What if I’m the good guy, and you’re the one stopping me from doing good deeds? What if Ryan is the bad guy, and I’m trying to stop him, or even turn him?”

“That’s total garbage,” Discord said. “I’ve seen what you’ve tried to do.”

“Have you now?” the Wraith said. “Well, I guess there’s nothing else for us to discuss.”

“I guess not,” Discord replied.

The Wraith stuck his hands in his pockets and stood casually. “So what is your interest in Ryan?” he asked. “If I remember correctly, it’s your fault that he’s here at all right now.”

Discord frowned. “You remember correctly, I’m afraid,” he said, floating up into the air as if that would keep him safe. “I want to make up for it.”

The Wraith laughed. “Make up for it? That’s how you put it? I’m not sure you understand the severity of everything you’ve caused. Would he not be better without you?”

“Yes,” Discord replied absolutely. “Same as he would be better off without you.”

“You’re sure?” the Wraith said. “I rather believe that everything is going perfectly.”

Discord moved himself over to the spot on the wall above the entrance to the cave. The Wraith didn’t move, didn’t even turn around to see where Discord went. It was like he knew exactly hat Discord was doing, and didn’t care either. Discord was no threat to him; the Spirit of Chaos presented no danger. It scared Discord.

“And how is everything going perfectly?” Discord asked.

“He’ll be where I want him soon,” the Wraith said. “I’m just here to nudge him in that direction.”

“And what direction is that?” Discord asked.

The Wraith shrugged. “The direction that is best.”

Discord looked hard at the Wraith before him. This being, this unknown, was a void of information, sucking in anything that came close and releasing nothing. If you weren’t careful around it, you might slip and fall into its eternal grip. Nothing had ever come back from that grip, Discord could tell just by looking; that was why no one could know what was within its grasp.

“I don’t know what you want,” Discord said.

The Wraith turned around and stared at him, dead in the eyes. The stare was unlike anything Discord knew, and not at all what he was expecting. The eyes in the Wraith’s head were white. They weren’t a milky white, though; they were reflective, although there was no light to reflect at the moment.

“Does any of us know what I want?” the Wraith asked.

Before Discord could respond, the Wraith disappeared from view, leaving an unaltered landscape in his stead. Where he stood, there were no footprints, no indents in the snow. It was as if he were never there.

Discord wasn’t sure what to do, so he waited there, contemplating. There were questions abound in his mind, but he was worried about Ryan right now. He laser-focused on finding the human, turning invisible and heading into the cave.

That was where he finally found Ryan, sitting next to a fire, chewing on some bread. He bit down on it and yanked off a piece like a dog chewing on a bone. The light of the fire reflected off of his face with a glare, making him hard to look at from this angle. Discord took a seat and waited for Ryan to do something.

“Gotta build some more stuff… Gonna want it to ride out winters…” Ryan said. He didn’t say much, just muttered things to himself that seemed important.

Discord determined that Ryan was safe, and could easily enough make it home without trouble, so he left the cave and rushed back to Canterlot. He needed to get back quickly, so as to evade the wrath of Princess Celestia.

He returned to his garden in an understandable haste. When he arrived, there didn’t seem to be anypony nearby to have noticed his absence. Few ponies ever came to the gardens for anything that might result in them noticing Discord missing, and none ever went there at night, when it was cold and dark and hard to see. He quickly reverted himself back into a statue and placed himself on his pedestal.

With nowhere to go anymore, he went into his memory and thought about the Wraith. What was he, exactly? Why was he so powerful, what could he do? Most importantly, what was his angle? The mot dangerous beings in the world are those that we cannot predict.

While Discord thought, he failed to notice Princess Celestia walk into the gardens. She immediately looked to where Discord was, a relieved expression showing on her face in the moonlight. She couldn’t see any expression, since he was stone, but she could tell that he was thinking.

“Discord?” she said. She could tell that she got his attention. “Care to share where you went?”

“Nope!” Discord said, projecting his voice. “I rather think that it’s more fun to keep you in suspense.”

“I see your point,” Celestia said, a smirk forming on her face. “But I think the most fun thing is to watch as somepony has to be completely still while they see something they want…”

Discord would have blinked at the princess if his body wasn’t frozen in stone. If he could have swallowed, he could have. He understood exactly what the princess meant.

And he stood there, incapable of safe movement, watching as Celestia taunted him with everything he ever wanted.

Author's Notes:

Points to whoever can point out the cultural references I put in this one.