long guo All Harmonious Paths Lead to Chaos (PM for Invite)

[Blueblood]

The forces of chaos were not slow in beginning their siege upon the citadel of order in Feng’s mind.  Perhaps it wasn’t even true to call Discord the initiator in this latest round; Lian and his handmaiden had already transgressed the boundaries of decorum which directed palace life, after all.  The storm was coming, and there was now a hole in the dikes.

 

And like a snake through a garden wall, in slipped Discord.  How many ancient stories had symbolized the end of paradisal order by the presence of a snake in the garden?  Was there something in those primeval tales that corresponded to the archetypal prankster that had just entered the banquet halls?  Not being a student of mythology as such, the Watcher could bring no such thoughts to bear upon the situation, but all the mixed and subtle feelings that must have gone through the heads of those ancient storytellers were with Feng now.

 

The ticking of the draconeqqus’ words wormed like a termite through the longma’s earhole, stirring up all sorts of thoughts from the depths.  *Not facing the truth… truth about what?  What is he trying to get at?  What is he saying that I haven’t been doing?  What am I afraid of?*  That inner turmoil boiled up quickly, as many of the heated thoughts had been simmering, repressed, for some time already.  A storm of chaos was held within, it seemed, a fifth column in the citadel.  It rose, clashing with the army of order that kept him from bursting out at the dinner table, reminded him of his manners, all led by the general of discipline, who had once before surged into the chaos of the village troublemaker, and had forged something new and more out of him…

 

All of which happened in an instant, sending him up straight in a jerk.  “You know, if you actually say what you want, Discord, you’re more likely to get it from me.”  He blinked, feeling that while the words he just said were a reply to the chaos noodle, they were also a reply to himself from something deeper within.  An answer to an as-yet unarticulated question.

 

"THE EMPRESS ARRIVES AT THE HALL OF PLENTY!"

 

Feng’s attention was instantly caught, transfixed, as he rose to his hooves along with all the others at the table.  Empress Yu Yue entered, impeccably dressed, a counterpoint to his inner turmoil.  In that instant, his unguarded self was present in his expression; anyone who was paying attention would know then what was in his heart.  He knew it now himself, and he also knew now what his earlier epiphany had meant.  *What keeps me from my desire is only myself.  I must articulate the truth before I can find peace again, at any rate.*  After all, the Empress could hardly say she returned Feng’s feelings if she didn’t know what they were.  He had to ask, no, confess, before opportunity slipped away.

 

But, perhaps here and now wasn’t the best time or place.  Wafts of deliciousness had already hit his nose, focusing his body and mind on the feast to come.  The chaos within was not gone, but the first overwhelming wave had been repulsed.  “Dinner will certainly help with both of those, Xiu!”  He replied to his friend.

 

Speaking of which, another friend was on duty today.  Yanhua, the Imperial chef, had been strikingly tolerant of Feng’s attempt at a snack run in the palace kitchens, and soon the two were going on like old foalhood friends.  She had reminded him of an old playmate, but, surely, they couldn’t be one and the same.  Not the right species, for one thing.  At least, so he thought.

 

All those dishes sure sounded delicious, though!  Feng planned to have a little bit of everything tonight., and maybe to have a little chat with his other friend over the meal.  If he could pry his eyes away from Yue, of course.

[DerpRavener]

An Xiang galloped through the halls, just barely avoiding careening into one of the guards out on patrol. She was late! How could she let this happen? She didn't take enough into account! She had known about the banquet, and had thought she had given herself enough time. And yet here she was, racing to the Hall of Plenty, hope of getting there in the proper time since past. She just hoped she she could minimize the damage now. Fortunately for her she tended to keep simple robes, just ornate enough to avoid a poor representation of her station. It made it easy to change clothes, such as she'd needed to shortly before now. It also made it easier for her to run, although it still slowed her down more than she was comfortable at the moment.

 

An Xiang came to a sudden stop just before the doors into the hall. Being late was no excuse for losing composure, at least not before the empress. Standing before the entrance, she willed herself calm. It didn't work of course. How could she be calm now? But it did give her a moment to get her thoughts in order. She could at least enter the hall with a clearer mind. She took one last look at her robes, and straightened out a small wrinkle, before stepping into the hall proper.

 

An Xiang entered the hall with an apology on her lips, but it died the moment she entered the room and had a chance to see what was waiting there. Prince Lian had chosen to wear...nothing. A curious choice, and certainly not one she would have recommended, but if the prince so desired it she was not truly in a position to rebuke him. His attendant, meanwhile, was doing something rebuke-worthy: she was wearing the empress' cloths! Why? How? Though not one to make outbursts, An Xiang was tempted to make some remark on the situation...

 

...Until she saw guest for the evening. The misshapen creature, seemingly made up of a set of mismatched limbs and elements from different creatures, was seated right next to Empress Yue. Discord, the Spirit of Chaos: An Xiang had read about him. She would hardly call herself an expert, but since achieving her current position she had been reading more on a wide range of subjects, and Equestrian history was one of them. And here was this creature, this villain of legend, seated at a place of honour at the banquet.

 

An Xiang's mouth, which had been hanging open for a moment, promptly shut. She quickly came to two conclusions. First, Discord was probably all the explanation that would be needed for these and future oddities. Second, there was a decent chance her entrance would likely go unnoticed in the face these developments. Thus, in the interest of avoiding further disruption, she simply enter the hall and took her seat. She could always make her apology later, if confronted.

 

Spoiler

I was told the chancellor was expected to appear at banquets such as this one.

 

[Dubstep]

This little get together was going to prove quite interesting. All these things, the Prince's odd choices, streamed together and he hoped that every thing would go according to plan. Only time would tell of course, only time would tell. Speaking of one of the pieces, Sī Jīn had strolled in not very long after him looking...Well looking a lot lovelier than he had anticipated. Truthfully he only expected her to just wear that hanfu, but all dolled up she was quite the sight to see. Lián would have to make a mental note to teasingly compliment her later. And possibly avoid something thrown afterwards. But for now. "Ah, Silverheart, no worries at all. Thank you for the introduction, Discord and I had a chance to speak some before this little event. He's quite the fish out of water, but I've enjoyed our brief company with him. the Prince said with a smile before turning to introduce the others.

"As some have met some, and some have not met others, I'll do my best to introduce everyone to everyone. I'm sure you've already met Fēng Yīnhǎitāo, one of my sister's Watchers. The lovely young mare is Dēnglong Xiu, the Imperial Wood Synergist. Liviel Mizu as she mentioned is a friend of my sister and I, whom we had the pleasure of meeting during our time in the Monastery. Last and not least is my dear friend and handmaiden Sī Jīn. She's likely plotting revenge for my request." the stallion glanced over at Sī Jīn with a smile. Clearing his throat he turned back to Feng to answer his inquiry. "I suppose that's a valid concern. Though my intent isn't particularly a 'joke'. You've known me long enough to know how I feel about the rigidity of the court. I just hope that Yue isn't too...sour...at my choices." or at Discord's presence in one of his outfits. The poor draconequus was already having a hard time fitting in.

As if on que his sister's arrival, and thus that of Qing's as well, was announced. Well. Time to see what sort of level of talking to this would net Lián. It took Yuè only a brief moment to notice...and even briefer of a moment still to shoot that look at him and Sī Jīn. Yep. Sour as an unripe persimmon. There would be much smoothing over to do. For now all he could do is shoot an apologetic smile over towards his sister and her poor over stressed assistant. All that could be done now really was to take his seat and try to enjoy the evening. He had no intent of causing actual mischief, only a slight stir, after all. Soon the formal opening remarks were done and the chef, and thus the food, was on its way! Yanhua's cooking was always something to drool over...when not in civilized company that is, but regardless it still made ones mouth water at the briefest of sniffs. It didn't help that the Prince had forwent breakfast to make it home early.

[Zeig]

 

It went on. 

 

And on.

 

And on.

 

But of course it did. This was a celebratory banquet held in Prince Lián's honor, and the Head Chef would have had to have been senile not to go all out with the courses. The list of foods seemed to blend into one continuous speech as Xiu gazed steadfastly at her plate, save a quick, flitting smile aimed at Fēng's equally quick response to her previous statement. But otherwise, no, yes - with each listing of a new food to her served to Her Imperial Majesty, Xiu tapped down on the instinctual retort that rose in her brain, that foalish cry of how she could fix it better, tastier, more extravagant. 

 

...In her own, humble opinion.

 

Despite the thoughts running rampant around her brain however, Xiu still managed to pick up on the Prince's blanketed introductions of the ponies at the table, and couldn't help the faint flush of prim pleasure as her name was brought forth. Even if the Prince was merely being polite and playing the part of a gracious host, it didn't make the compliment any less flattering. That, at least, was enough to distract the pink Qilin for a while, alongside the Chancellor's sudden appearance at the head table. Xiu whispered a very quiet "Chancellor," towards her as means of greeting, but otherwise kept as silent as the dead, waiting for the Head Chef's food to be tasted by Her Imperial Majesty.

 

Or rather, but her hoofmaiden. 

 

 

[Windwright]

Sī Jīn smiled demurely at the other guests as the prince introduced everyone around. Of course, she knew some already. Liviel, Feng, Silverheart, and it would be hard to mistake Discord for anyone but who and what he was. Which left only Xiu, who she wasn't familiar with as she should be. She studied the mare over the silk fan she spirited from somewhere on her person, but mentally filed her away for now.

 

She was grateful, at least, that Liàn was taking credit for the outfit, even if she'd insisted to the dressing mares that she be in full makeup and that she wear accessories so as not to cheapen the regalia even further than wearing it already did. She giggled politely at Feng's rebuke and the prince's response to it in her introduction. Oh yes, he would pay for this later.

 

"The Empress arrives in the Hall of Plenty!" boomed a voice from the back of the Hall. Sī Jīn stood and turned to bow as low as was safe in the hanfu. She didn't dare look the Empress in the eye right now. Not until Yù Yuè was seated, and she took her own place again.

 

Bèn dàn! The look the Empress gave told her just how far over the line she was right now. This was not great, though admittedly the occasion itself prevented the Empress from a public upbraiding and would allow Sī Jīn to come up with a way to hopefully blunt some of that. She was grateful for the fan though, as it gave her a way to hide the worry in her expression. She feathered out a subtle little wave. An old signal she'd used with Yù Yuè. -I acknowledge fault- it said. She had to hope it was enough, for now, and that the Empress even remembered the gesture. It wasn't one she used often on its own.

 

She listened to the dishes the cook had prepared and mentally nodded. A dim sum style meal was difficult to slip poison into, since you could not know who would eat what. Unless you knew the pony well, of course; she had a pretty good idea of what Liàn would end up with and was preparing herself to grab the same dishes. She knew better than to speak before the Empress, especially in her current mood, had had a chance to taste the food and finish the traditional ceremony, but the looks she was cataloguing between the cook and Feng, and Xiu and Feng, and Feng and Silverheart? Oh yes, she could certainly sew a little of her own brand of mischeif once the conversation got started, and with the right words, she might be able to draw even Qing and An Xiang into things, which should hopefully amuse Yù Yuè.

 

Laughter, that was the way out. She had to lighten the Empress' mood, somehow, or she'd end up on a boat back to Neighpon faster than she could say 'Dàoqiàn'.

[Bellosh]

 

Out of the corner of Empress Yuè's eye, she noticed Sī Jīn waving her fan in a very peculiar manner. It took a moment before it dawned in Yuè's head that it was one of their old signals they devised between the three of them. Ah yes, the apology signal. That must have meant that indeed it was all Prince Lián's doing. Not that it absolved Sī Jīn of all responsibility, but it would make forgiving her easier for the Empress.

 

While thoughts of her brother's hoofmaid still swimming around in Yuè's mind, Qing whispered assurances in the royal qilin's ear. The Empress quietly nodded in acknowledgement, letting Qing assume her place until her services were needed again.

 

Like well-maintained clockwork, Palace Chef Yanhua and samples of her food appeared before the Royal Table when bidden to do so. As always, all the choices sounded tantalizing to the Empress. For some reason, the Zha jiang mian seemed particularly appetizing on this night. "By all means," Yuè answered Yanhua in the affirmative; "A chef has the right to know first-hoof how her food is appreciated."

 

Empress Yuè brought her hooves together in a single, thunderous clap. That was the signal for the servers to begin laying out all the food onto the tables! The royal qilin waved Qing on over and instructed; "I'll start with the Zha jiang mian with shrimp dumpling soup, if you don't mind." It was considered improper by courtly etiquette for a Heavenly Daughter of Dragons to have to make her own dish; that was the work of servants. Furthermore, it was additionally the role of the Personal Assistant to take a sample of everything before it reached the mouth of the Empress. Somebody always needed to ensure that the entirety of the imperial sovereign's meal was fit for consumption. To serve the Empress a poorly cooked dish... was truly unforgivable!

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

Oh? The prince had gotten a chance to speak to Discord already... someone was becoming quite the social butterfly! It was good to hear that Discord was actually getting along with some of the royalty here. Perhaps the draconequus will wind up viewing Long Guo as something of a clean slate for his reputation, a chance to remake himself and how others viewed him... preferably not in some strange way like turning himself into egg and re-emerging as some posh version of himself. Honestly, that mustache looked so wrong on his muzzle.

 

"I'm glad to hear he's made such a good impression, You Highness. I'm sure that Lord Discord will prove quite a fun presence in Long Guo while he deems fit to stay." The stallion would look over to the robe wearing noodle with a smile and a look on his face that would seem to be asking 'right?'.

 

With Lian introducing the ponies at the table, Silver's ears perked up to take in the names and match the faces. Feng he'd not gotten to speak much to, but he'd felt some strange, subtle friction with the stallion that seemed to go without words needing to be spoken. Silver's mane tussled as he bowed his head in feng's direction in his greeting. Miss Denglong Xiu had quite an interesting title, wood synergy? He'd have to read up on that, or better yet. "Wood Synergist?" A tilt of the head would follow, "Miss Xiu could you tell me about that? I'm still quite unfamiliar with more than a few aspects of this land, What does your occupation entail?" Liviel  he recognized from int he garden before, he had to admit she was one of the most pleasant diamond dogs he had ever laid eyes upon and with such lovely white fur! A smile curled on his muzzle as he bowed his head politely to the canine companion. A hoofmaiden, somehow Lian didn't strike Silver as the type to have hoofmaidens. Faulty assumptions on the parts of this foreign visitor aside, Silver would incline in his head politely to her.

 

When the food arrived, Silver would look for a moment and try to figure out what he was going to try. He had his mind currently set on the Zhoo... the Zhing... the zhoop... The Noodles, with mushrooms, and the bean-paste. Curse these difficult to mentally pronounce food names! For now Silver would wait for the empress to eat first before beginning, himself.

[DerpRavener]

So far so good. The chaotic nature...hmm...of the current set of circumstances, combined with the recent arrival of food, meant that An Xiang's hope was well founded. She was barely noticed as she entered the hall. Or if she was noticed, her faux pas was being either forgiven or ignored. Regardless of what the answer was, she was thankful.

 

Only one of the dinner guests reacted to An Xiang thus far. The imperial physician, Denglong Xiu if she remembered the name, gave her a quiet greeting. She hadn't spoken to the other qilin as much as she perhaps should have. In retrospect, there were a number of official ponies in and around the court she wished she'd gotten to know better. But wishing she'd done things differently wouldn't be any help now. The chancellor returned the greeting by nodding back and, unsure whether referring to the other mare by title would sound snide, she replied with a quiet “Hello.”

 

Now with her entrance taken care of, An Xiang sat in silence for a moment, not quite sure what to do with herself. Eventually she realized, that if she was going to find herself in this situation, she may as well make what she could of it. After staring forlornly at the food in front of her for a moment, she turned back to Xiu, and spoke in a hushed tone. “Er, I'm afraid I'm a little out of the loop. We're...hosting the spirit of chaos?” Though she kept her voice quiet and measured, hints of concern and distaste were evident in it. She knew there would be celebrations with Lian's return, but this was an unwelcome surprise.

[Dio]

 

Qing looked on quietly as the last of the dinner party filed in. Even the High Censor herself was among them, bearing a similar reaction that Qing had. She had yet to truly get to know most of them in her short time in Miss Yue’s employ. Between her organizational work and attempting to establish work relationships, Qing found herself overwhelmed at times. While she would have preferred to return to her quarters for a long soak in a hot bath with nary a soul to question her, Miss Yue’s dinner came first.

 

She sighed. It was going to be a long night.

 

But it was finally time to step out of the shadows for a moment. The head chef arrived with a massive assortment of foods, all of which made Qing’s mouth water in spite of her otherwise sated hunger. Miss Yue announced her selections, which were quickly brought to her by the servants. Qing glided silently to her side, leaning down and reaching with a wing for a pair of chopsticks with which to sample the Empress’ food.

 

While taste-testing for poison was largely rendered obsolete by passive measures that did not result in the potential death or debilitation of palace staff, it was still tradition for the assistant to perform the taste test. Qing speculated that it was to keep the chefs on their hooves lest they displease the Empress. In any case, she was at little risk of harm; if anything she was in a happy position to taste the first fruits of the night’s cornucopia of plenty.

 

It was all Qing could do to prevent her eyes from going wide at the first bite. Truly Chef Yanhua had been a grand hire for palace staff, as her stir fried noodles were simply divine. They got Qing’s immediate stamp of approval and seeing as there were no adverse reactions or strange aftertastes, Qing was certain there wasn’t anything in the way of poison.

 

The next item was not quite so straightforward. It was a wonder why Qing had never before tasted shrimp. In spite of her education and worldliness, she had always passed on it. Something about consuming bug-like creatures harvested off shore didn't quite sit right with her. That said, in soup form it wasn't quite as unsettling; decoupling the strange crawling-swimming creatures from the peeled and cooked bits wrapped in dough and floating in soup made it much easier to… swallow.

 

Or it should have, had Qing been able to do so for subsequent bites. A curious burning sensation followed immediately after ingestion. Qing turned her head away and quietly cleared her throat, at first thinking it a bit of ornery phlegm. But the burning persisted; in fact, it got worse. This was not the burning of a tongue that had tasted something too hot or too spicy. In her stomach, whatever vile thing she had just swallowed began to churn, making her grimace briefly in discomfort. Something was seriously wrong.

 

All the prior thoughts of poison and taste-testing for the Empress raced through Qing’s mind again at light speed. Oh no. No no no no no. This couldn’t possibly be poison. There were wards. There were safeguards. There were staff -- her staff -- that were supposed to prevent this!

 

What was she to do? If it were a plot against the Empress, she would surely need to know. But what if it weren’t and Qing was merely overreacting to too much spice for her to handle? Her wing trembled and she dropped the chopsticks, the silvered finish on them clattering as they struck the floor.

 

“I-I am t-terribly sorry, Your M-Majesty.” Qing barely managed to rasp a hoarse whisper through the reaction. “I-I feel ill...”

 

Looking closer, it would immediately become apparent that Qing’s throat and cheeks were beginning to swell...

[Blueblood]

While many sitting around the table were made nervous by Discord's mere presence, Feng found himself growing rather more comfortable with the Draconeqqus' presence.  After all, he had behaved himself for five consecutive minutes, quite an accomplishment by his standards.  Sure, there had been those whispering words, but Discord hadn't answered back to Feng's own, and really, given the bit of wisdom that those worming syllables had dug up, the longma was inclined to think of them as the healthy sort of earthworms Xiu kept around in her garden.

 

His attention was on the food, though of course, no one could be served before the Empress.  Except, of course, for the Empress' taste tester.  His keen eyes were on Qing as she sampled the dishes before her, the noodles proving excellent (as if he ever had any doubts towards Yanhua's cooking.)  Once she got to the shrimp soup, however, things seemed to be going wrong.  The grimace, her words of feeling ill, the swelling around her throat and cheeks...

 

"Poison!"  Guards by nature have a permanent minimum of paranoia, particularly when their job is to protect a particular pony, or qilin, in Feng's case.  In his Watcher's mind, the sequence of events was ready-made for publication.  A poisoner had attempted to assassinate the Empress, the taste-tester intercepted it, the perpatrator must not be allowed to get away.

 

In a burst of energy, he leapt up on to the table, accidentally upsetting poor Xiu's table setting, fixing the whole table with his gaze.  "Nopony move!  We have to ensure whoever it was doesn't get away!  An Xiang, I need a list of every newcomer to the palace in the past four weeks.  Yanhua!  Can you speak for everyone in the kitchen?  Discord!"  The frantic longma paused, staring into the yellow eyes of the chaos dragon, lost for words.  "Um, uh... help?  You can help.  Yes.  Don't wan't new friends to die, after all."

[Zeig]

 

Xiu didn't...quite flush, but it was a very near thing. 

 

Imperial Wood Synergist was, after all, really a very fancy way of calling her a healer, and it was always somewhat bemusing when a pony asked for clarification. If they had been by themselves, Xiu would have undoubtedly tried playing up her role in the Imperial Palace in an equally impressive way to match her title. As it was, doing so in front of company seemed in poor taste, and grasping. 

 

"Ah, my work is not as...complicated as the title would suggest, Silverheart xiānshēng," Xiu demurred, with a duck of her head that nevertheless failed to dislodge her carefully rolled mane. "I, uh. I utilize and manipulate the Wood aspects of the Harmonious Paths to serve as Her Imperial Majesty's healer." A succinct explanation, precise and accurate. Hopefully, the silver-maned Unicorn would not inquire about specifics - quiet and modest she may be, but a discussion on the properties of Wood breaths could entice her into conversations that far extended a pony of her station, especially sitting at the head table in the Hall of Plenty.

 

But before Xiu could properly devise a diversion - who was he, for example? She knew his name but little else. A well-met and honored friend of Her Imperial Majesty from over seas, perhaps? - her attention was robbed by none other than the Chancellor herself, leaning over to speak with her. Xiu felt herself hunch inwards slightly, momentarily displeased to find herself engaged by the Chancellor...until the mare asked a simple question, and suddenly her interest was explained and simultaneously relieving. 

 

"Yes, Chancellor," Xiu answered under her breath, with a quick glance towards the spirit in question, "I believe Her Imperial Majesty made his...acquaintance, sometime in the afternoon." That was about the extent of her knowledge on the subject and the most information she could give to the other. She hoped it was enough to satisfy. 

 

Because there were, quite suddenly, other things to preoccupy herself with.

 

Namely, her silverware flying off the table. 

 

Xiu had never been very physically inclined, so she was fairly pleased that she managed to at least catch the plate, after juggling it for nearly five seconds. The side bowl and chopsticks were not so lucky, clattering to the flooring in disarray. They mostly went unnoticed however, as Xiu began to realize exactly what had caused the upset, and by the time Fēng's frantic yelling finally starting making sense in her distracted mind, her field medic training had kicked in.

 

"To the infirmary, quickly!" the pink Qilin instructed, ignoring Fēng's order to stay in place as she moved to the green Qilin's side, slipping a hoof around her in an attempt to hoist the hoof maiden off her seat. A quick, cursory Wood breath across the other mare's face would send an immediate cooling sensation to the otherwise inflamed cheeks and throat, but poisons were a tricky thing, and a pony's body was delicate and intricate. No amount of brute force healing would flush out a poison - the mare needed time and rest, and she needed her infirmary to work. 

 

And without so much as a 'by your leave' for the Sovereign of Ten Thousand Years, Xiu began to lead the other mare away, towards health and recovery.

 

[[ Exit ]]

 

 

 

[Bellosh]

 

Empress Yuè waited patiently for her personal assistant to give the signal that it was okay to eat the dish. When no such signal was forthcoming after several seconds, the royal mare raised an eyebrow in concern; "Qing?" There was nothing however that could have prepared Yuè for seeing Qing's face begin to bloat, as if the longma had been struck spontaneously with internal combustion. The Empress's eyes opened wide, the qilin's mouth concealed by a hoof to conceal her horrified gasp!

 

Yuè's muffled cry, along with Feng's exclamation of poison was all that was required to foment turmoil within the Hall. Try as Feng did to organize the chaos around him, he was only a low-ranked Imperial Watcher with no authority to speak of. Other bodyguards higher up on the chain of command, along with senior members of the royal retinue, barked their orders loud and clear:

 

"Sound the alarm!"

 

"Put the entire Palace on lockdown!"

 

"Apprehend the kitchen staff for questioning!"

 

"Seize all food and drink as evidence!"

 

"Take in the Head Chef for questioning!"

 

"Escort the Empress back to her chambers at once!"

 

All through the pandemonium, the Empress was shell-shocked by the scene around her. An... assassination attempt? Less than a year into her reign, and somebody out there already wanted to bring it to an early end. Yuè couldn't believe it; she'd done nothing to ruffle any feathers. Who could wish to do such an awful thing to the qilin mare like poison her... and be willing to harm innocents in the process?

 

Thus it was so that Empress Yuè couldn't focus on her surroundings; not on the hollering of courtiers and nobles engaging in panicked gossip. Nor on the Imperial Watcher thrashing the royal table in the name of collecting evidence. Or the threatening-looking bodyguards surrounding Chef Yanhua. All the Empress could do was silently allow her hoofmaidens to start ushering her away from the table and all her guests.

 

"Your Majesty, you must be lead to safety!"

 

Sigh... what choice did the Empress have at this point? With the banquet in ruins before it properly began, what good would it do for Yuè — adorned with mobility-inhibiting royal regalia — to stay, get in the way, or potentially place herself in further jeopardy....?

[RexDraco]

Discord had, honestly had enough. He had come to the country to look for a friend of his and offer a little something to make up for the lost time during the Cherry Blossom Festival, but since his arrival he has been met with naught but strife and discourse. While one could protest to his very being inviting such things he was a god of chaos. His madness has purpose, it had reason and it certainly did not stand as a difficult process to understand once one stood in Discord's place. It seemed these long has no respect for gods or visiting dignitaries. After all he was a friend of the princess and then some! He looked down to his state of dress and glowered. Ninjas led by loud, arrogant Chamberlain and an Empress with as much tact as a pin slipping from a cork board. This wasn't a game he wished to play any longer. While many a time ponies were hapless victims to his disruptive quirks it did stand to reason he never did reach such a point that he tired of himself. He had been able to greet Livel and even have a short talk with Prince Lian. He teased the guard a bit while opening his eyes to the troubles he twisted himself, but the spirit received not an ounce of respect, or fear, since his arrival.

 

Goodness not even a moment of peace to enjoy the odd flower here and there! If this was a land of Harmony it seemed to sorely lack any sense of harmonious pride.

 

“You know Silver…” he pressed his paw and claw tips together, head turning slightly to the unicorn guard. “You two really are fit to be seen together… though it seems she even outshines you when it comes to -- order.” He regarded in a hushed tone.

 

But what did he mean by that? It was clear the spirit's mood sunk lower and lower the more time he was given to think about it. Advanced? Harmonious? This country was far from it. Had he his way he could certainly twist their knickers up in knots. He didn't now and it seemed these barbaric dragon ponies forgot that. Surely tales of his heroism in aiding the defeat of Tirek, or participating in the Changeling Invasion. He had been ruminating over the actions of the long over his time here and for him it has been mere seconds to their hours and yet in all that time they failed to see the folly in their actions. How far they make an enemy of him rather than a friend. A truly simple concept by the way the Mane put it and yet across the seas it comes in such short supply.

 

The spirit had been filing the claws of his talon. His ears perked up when Feng wailed for help. Head turned his ruby gaze toward the mare. Tossing his file it would vanished into feathers and Flutter to the ground. If they were given chance to respond it really would only further prove that when things of the clamorous sort did so occur the overtly Harmonious perpetrators knew not what to do when change did come about. In a flash he vanished and reappeared hovering just behind and above the sickly little made. The predator looked to take claim of his prize: head cocking and his claw and paw just peeking from beneath the sleeves of the borrowed vestments, courtesy of Lian. As much as they would claim he was no Long: the way the spirit floated silently over the maid like a brewing storm gave push a sense of dread as he had been pushed to his limit by their faithless, humorless and unbendable ways.

 

“I remember a kingdom like this once… law. It sheltered itself under the divine principle of order, respect, authority of one…” Not to say monarchies were bad, but without the sound voice of a pony to contest your ideas it was little better than leaving a foal in charge of playground law. “This is precisely what I meant and yet you failed to heed my warnings. Safe inside your castle and unaware of the dangers on your doorstep.” He reached out a paw, claws sliding from the furry nubs as he held it over the pinkening maid. “You know naught what suffering you bring by following your -- Path with such stringent authority that come a visitor from the West as powerful as I and you treat with disrespect.” His voice was deep, but loud enough to push through the clamour of the growing party. “What would you have done were it the Princess of Friendship, or even the Princess of Love had been the ones to wander into your little school? Of those two who love to nose around, the former especially around books… I must say I am a little underwhelmed. For those that declare themselves avatars of such a principle, of such righteousness you’ve done little to show me why this path is right… that dictates such clamour over a strange visitor. One who could turn rocks into gold and apples into oranges.” Though the latter event would have certainly pulled a festering dismay from a certain pony he knew. The thought made him grin.

 

Those devilish fangs peeking from his lips as he reached out to attempt and brush back a strand of the qilin maid’s mane as it seemed to just be all over. “You see, thus far you have proven that without chaos -- “ He looked around the room.

 

Feng, who could nary punctuate his sentences appropriately -- found himself shackled by his own, disheveling loyalties between peace and panic.

 

Silverheart found himself attempting to play advocate to a beast who was a keen example of what Friendship could do, yet resisted in allowing the chimera to attempt and draw friendship from the Empress who held contest with his jovial jabs.

 

Livel, ever calm, had been wholly accepting of the odd noodle, even scolding his unusual antics stirred by his temper from the disrespect. But she had still the sense to turn a bark to the Empress who pushed and denied the spirit’s advances.

 

Si Jin seemed to be playing her own games. While Discord would normally abide by such fun ploys, he had found she had little resolve to regard him with so much more than a glance. She seemed more keen on being mischievous. And whole Discord could support such a role it too seemed tarnished by the sight that was this monarchy.

 

Denglong Xin with about the same ability to respond with a simple greeting, or even a hoofshake. Being met with silence, while applicable in the past as a tyrannical terror of trouble -- these days it seemed quite rude! But there was her hurried escaped. It seemed many of them seemed incapable of handling chaos in any shape or form…

 

Feng struggled, fought to be what he was not and ever as the spirit sought to aide him there was only so much he could interfere with. He could only open the guard’s eyes, albeit forcibly. …he means well.

 

Yanhua -- was yet still a bystander. And not in a positive way. How she looked in his direction… how she too failed to live, instead choosing to live vicariously through the food she cooked for them...

 

Lian was jovial in his greeting and arrival and even appearing to such an event underdressed! He was good laughs, but alas it seemed the warming welcome arrived too late. His own blood had assured him there was something peculiar ahoof and made it difficult to accept without the fear of overall rejection. Better the gaggle than the gander.

Yue herself had gone up and over to ignore the spirit and make him feel most unwelcome with her cold regard and aggressive forum upon meeting. At the very least he could tell Squall ninjas did indeed exist, if only for the sole purpose of guarding mares from the warm and friendly greetings of a god!

 

And then there was Qing… Delong’s magic seems to have passed. He watched its aether pull and grasp frantically at wisps of energy between searching for the tangible presence of the poison that seemed to rapidly consume the foolish maid, who was too quick to eat and nary concerned with her Empress’ well being to first check upon its contents.

 

“Oh poor Qing. A flustered, freckled maid.” He lowered his head and tone to whisper the next few words to her, sprouting doubt already seeded. “I can understand how hard it is now for you. Closed off in that tightening husk of a shell, struggling to not trip and fall because -- the Path you walk is not a straight one.” Patting her back he sighed and moved to rest his paw and claw on her shoulders, raising his voice, once more, to an audible pitch. “I can be assured they would have continued to panic over that which isn't theirs to understand -- well you would certainly have been on the receiving end of their unstructured clause for calamity. Their misunderstanding of chaos.” He held his eagle’s claw close to her skull.

 

The jagged limb was covered in avian scaling and was sleeved from the elbow up to the shoulder in thick, brown feathers. The crooked hook of a hand looked menacing up close, hardly the caring tenderness one would expect of a caregiver. But that was part of this whole problem, wasn't it? A lack of expectations. The sharp talons that tipped the digits were able cut through the vanity of existence itself and rend holes in reality themselves, yet he moved them with such carelessness in close vicinity that one would have to fear their flesh be pricked at a moment's slip. “Their inability to accept chaos leaves them with an ineptitude to predict it.”

 

And so, with fangs bore and jaws parted: he did look as if he would show them just how dangerous chaos could be! His claw came down upon the poisoned mare with such speed that none would, stand likely, able to halt him -- though they certainly could try and may verily succeed! His paw's foreclaw and thumb would grip her ear between the squishy vice of his kitty pads as the talons dove forth to wretch from the cartilage flap the half-chewed shrimp before tossing into a bucket that appeared on the table. The bucket splashed when it landed and the cooked shrimp would flounder about before going belly up: a white flag raising from its crustacean form. Discord let his paw and claw pat the mare’s shoulders after dusting off his palms.

 

“I wouldn't let a new friend fall to the folly of such panic.” He assured before looking up to the empress. “Fare thee well Empress. I am remiss to admit that such is losing battle for true Harmony here…” He waved and poofed, the hanfu pooling to the ground. He would reappear by the chamber doors and bow most obnoxiously. “Wǒ xiān gào cí le. Shī péi le.” ((“Pardon, I must leave first. Sorry for leaving.”))  He offered, being the quick learner in the language and to prove how much of a show off that he was.

 

Opening the door the spirit would make move to head out. He did pity the poor fools who pandered to an idea that could be changed. He paused a moment, paw rest upon the door. He thought about the things he's learned. And while, sure, h could very well reduce the crowd into a gaggle of flailing chickens to prove a point it was sometimes not easy for ponies to change. He scratched his beard a tick, shifting his weight to look back.

 

“A moment of serendipity… It isn't about who's right or wrong. Nopony has it right, but there are times when you lot are too self righteous to realize that, in the end, it doesn't matter. You need a little more faith and to listen to your heart's more often.” That was otherworldly knowledge right there.

[DerpRavener]

Just what the evening needed, the very food itself turning on them, as if in rebellion for being eaten.  Qing, as the official taste tester for the empress, was having an issue with shrimp dumpling soup.  Or perhaps it was more accurate to say it was having an issue with her, causing her to struggle with her grip and her face to puff up.  It somewhat reminded An Xiang of an allergic reaction, which she knew from a family member who also had one.  But surely, even if they the role was purely ceremonial now, they would have screened the imperial food tester for such things, right?  Right?

 

Regardless of what the answer would turn out to be, due diligence must be done.  Even if the whole thing would turn out to be a relatively harmless prank, a possibility that An Xiang thought increasingly likely given who their dinner guest was, this was still a threat to one in the imperial retinue, and thus indirectly a threat to the empress herself!  And that's why, when Feng suddenly demanded a list of relatively recent visitors to the castle, the chancellor was inclined to agree.  “Er, yes.  Of course!”

 

Though, it helped the decision that such a course of action would require An Xiang to leave the hall, and she would be able to do in the name of defending the empress no less.  She could carry out her duties, and get a much needed break from the chaos of the day.  She turned to the doors and made for them at a brisk trot, seeing no need to gallop as anything she'd find would remain waiting for her, and be found over the coming days.

 

An Xiang was given pause when Discord started to rant.  She could only be thankful that it wasn't a loud, garish affair, but words that said were anything but reasonable.  They'd served him dinner, he the apparently ignorant destroyer of nations, and yet they were showing him disrespect?  Somehow the evening showed that Long Guo adhered too closely to order, when it was chaos that ruined the affair if anything did?  And he went so far as to insult the Equestrian princess, they would blatantly ignore laws, go where they pleased without so much as asking a guard, and completely ignore any who objected.  The chancellor couldn't help but be a little insulted on their behalf.

 

An Xiang had been sufficiently stunned by the 'speech', that she didn't think to reply until he had already left the room himself.  It was just as well, if she'd kept her presence of mind she would have held her tongue anyways, and if she didn't she didn't want to think of what might have happened to her.  She waited a few minutes after Discord left the room before shaking her head and moving toward the door once more, if a little more slowly now to give the spirit more time to move off.

 

Spoiler

An Xiang will have reached the door by the time of her 'next turn'.  If anyone wants her to stick around, or has an idea of something she could do or add to in the thread, feel free to have a character call her back, otherwise she'd be out of the room by the time I'd be up next to post.

 

[Dubstep]

After the delightful smelling meal had arrived at the banquet table a serious of events transpired. A rather frightening serious of events if truth be told. It wasn't but a couple of moments after Qing had sampled his sister's food that something odd besat the poor mare. Something in the shrimp soup was causing her a fit. At first Lián had simply assumed she couldn't handle the spice of the soup. But when her reaction had went from mild to severe, it became quite obvious that it was as simple as too much seasoning.

Before the Prince could ask Sī Jīn for confirmation of his suspicions however, the call of 'Poison!' rang out from a perhaps a touch hasty Feng. That call however was enough to set the guests and the retinue into panic...and not the entertaining kind that came from a practical joke or jape. 'I swear to the Ancestors...' he thought as he rubbed his face. 'If they try to blame Discord for this chaos, words will be had.' Sure the draconequus was one of chaos. But he was of chaos, not malice. The chances of him being the cause of this were slim to none. And really? Of all the ponies here, none of them have seen something like this before?

Lián watched as Discord approached Qing as he gave an impassioned speech. It was true that Long Guo had for a long time had been growing more stagnant, more authoritarian. Their late father had tried, bless his soul, and Yuè despite paving the way to more open interaction with the lands beyond their home was still held back by the staunch traditions and 'rules' and 'proper' behavior of the land. Times change and with the changing of time so must the people. As Discord dislodged a shrimp from within Qing, the Prince dearly hoped that if it would remove any doubt as to the spirit's intentions. So too did the now flopping and soon dead once again shrimp confirm Lián's suspicions. The qilin watched sadly as Discord made his exit. With a little sigh he glanced over to Sī Jīn. "Could I ask that you go and speak with him? I feel the need to play a dose of damage control." he said as he rose from his chair, making his way over towards the crowd of bodyguards near Yanhua. "Move along, move along." he said as he shooed off the frankly now quite confused bodyguards.

"Really now. Has no one among you here ever seen an allergic reaction?" the stallion shook his head and after making sure Yanhua wasn't going to be bothered any further, made his way towards where his sister and her retinue were trying to whisk her off. "I mean honestly." he glanced between the senior members and Feng as well. "Do not get me wrong. That you all would worry so greatly about my sister is good...or I suppose some of you are more worried about The Empress than Yuè...Either way. To fall into such panic and disarray like this? Some of you acting like chickens without heads." he glanced up at Feng who still stood on the table. "Chaos is a part of every day life. Nothing ever goes exactly planned. I applaud everyone's quick reactions, but even in situations that may be frightening, you must keep a cool and level head. Poison does not work that way. Had it been poison you'd have had even less time to panic over the situation. Now please, let us continue the meal in peace. No one is at fault here except for the shrimp and I believe they've already been punished enough by being cooked." the prince said with a chuckle.

 

[PyroBlaze]

Liviel really wasn't sure what was happening anymore... Well, she could tell Qing was having some sort of reaction to the food, and it seemed to be on the allergy side of things, but it was much too crazy now for her to be able to get over to the mare. Good thing Discord was there though, as he managed to remove the offending seafood during his speech. Once it was over, the dog sighed to herself, standing to head out after her friend. 

 

"Sir Discord, could you wait please?" She asked as she jogged after him to catch up. "I am sorry your time here has not been a pleasant one, but in life one must take the good and the bad... perhaps I can show you some of the better parts of this nation, to make up for what has transpired, and to spend more time with my friend." She offered, smiling over at him gently. 

[Windwright]

Sī Jīn listened idly to the chatter around her while the traditional pleasantries were exchanged and Qing stepped forward to taste-tes-Aiya! The hoofmaiden stands from her seat with as much deliberate haste as she could manage without being obvious about it. The chaos allowed her to snag a dumpling from the serving tray and get back into her seat unmolested, her fan covering her muzzle while she tested it herself to identify the...poison..? 'I don't taste anything.' she thought to herself as she chewed. When it didn't provoke a reaction, she swallowed. When THAT failed to cause a reaction, she suddenly understood.

 

A quick nod to Lián confirmed the theory he seemed to have reached already, and she stood to obey his directive to seek out Discor-oh. Liviel had that covered too. Well. If she didn't need to assassinate an assassin, and she didn't need to diplomate...diplomacise? quell the spirit of chaos's (completely understandable) frustrations...

 

A laugh broke through the tense air. Not a quiet chuckle or a demure giggle, but the delighted sort of laughter the Ancesters usually gifted only to foals who were first discovering the joys of life. A triumphant squeal of jubilation. Sī Jīn laughed and dabbed at her eyes with a kerchief. "Goodness, well done Lord Discord! That poor crustacean looked so small there at the end. A wonderful trick!" she exclaimed, less for the draconequus's ego, though she hoped it would help Liviel's efforts, and more to clear the tension before someone said or did something that they'd regret. She fanned herself as if all the excitement were getting to her, though the makeup she wore was as perfect as it had been when she walked in, and added "If this was the main course, I cannot WAIT to see what Shèngjià has planned for dessert!"

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

 

Yanhua was quite proud of her culinary accomplishments this night. Already she was sure that the guests were going to love it! Each dish had been carefully prepared by her and her staffs hooves, with her overlooking each stage to make sure everything came out perfect! BY her fluffy ancestors this dunner was going to be absolutely per-- Why was Qing making that face? Why was she falling over... WHY WERE HER CHEEKS INFLATING?! The chef felt like she couldn't breath for a few seconds, but soon she took a step forward spoke up in a worried tone, "Q-qing?" Her attempts to see to the taste tester were cut short when a series of shouts made her jump! She looked around in a panic as bodyguards yelled out orders.

 

The first one was going to make her ears hurt, the second seemed a bit much, the third was entirely unnecessary, the fourth  made her jaws drop as she watched them carelessly start to shovel her work away in other dishes, the fifth was alarming enough to make her open one of her eyes when she yelped aloud, "Questioning?! Wait- wha?!" Oh no. This couldn't be happening, this was very very bad, If they made her promise to tell the truth then she'd have to! If she let it slip about her past she could say goodbye to Feng, Goodbye to Wuya and all she'd worked for. What if they sent her back to the forest?! No, No she would NOT be going back into that big lonely empty place again! While she'd spent her time in her mind panicking she was already  surrounded on all sides.

 

"F-Feng! Help! You'd know I'd never poison anypony!Don'tletthemputmebackinthewoodsagain! I'll do whatever the empress asks just not there again!"

 

When guards parted, the panicked cook immediately clung to the source of the voice who ordered them to leave her be. She felt rather... surprised to see that it was Prince Lian who had come to her rescue. Surprised enough she failed to catch herself clinging to him like a scared filly until she let go and coughed into her fetlocks, "Um... Th-thank you, Your Highness." The cook let out a relieved sigh as the alarm in her mind died down to a silence. Then she turned a guard looking away from her and stuck her tongue out at him in a display of only mild childishness. When he glanced back she was back to her normal business and scooting carefully away from the guard crowd and a little bit closer to Lian.

 

 

The multitude of events that had just transpired left Silverheart at a loss for words. The spirit of chaos and disharmony telling him that he and the empress had a common-ground in their aspirations of order. Discord's declaration o departure and the revelation of poisons that was disproven when the prince made a sensible observation that hopefully put someof the guard and guests alike at ease. 

 

The stallion thought for a moment and got up from his seat to approach Yue. The stallion carefully moving between the small crowd o guards around her and speaking in a hushed tone to the divine empress. "In the interest of being more flexible hosts... perhaps you and I might speak to your chaotic guest in a more private setting. It's clear that fancy dinners and rulesand ceremony are not the type of thing that Discord could be his most personable. If there are any issues than I will take full responsibility. If anything a more unstructured interaction might be good for diplomacy."

 

 

 

[Blueblood]

Feng may well have started the whole ball of chaos rolling, but the very instant that he did, it slipped from his control like a snowball dropped down the side of a mountain.  It just picked up speed and material, eventually running over the terrified innocents, to his horror.  He froze, and began to stammer as the implications of his hasty judgment crashed down upon him.  Ranging from the questioning of the chef...  "No wait, I didn't say Yanhua-"  ...to Discord's sudden outburst against perceived slights... "Hey, hang on-"  .... And finally, Prince Lian's dismissal and calming of the whole situation.  "Ah, um...."

 

It began to dawn upon the young longma that he had perhaps made a great big blasted fool of himself.  For one thing, he was the only guest now standing on the table, one hoof planted firmly in the middle of a noodle dish (and it said something about the evening that his literal faux pas here was far from the most disruptive element at this feast).  Everyone was looking at him, except for those who had left the hall in a panic, huff, or relief.  He couldn't see Xiu anywhere, what stories An Xiang would tell about him to his boss made Feng shudder to imagine, and their honored guest was about to leave, no doubt wreaking some grand mischief he felt the situation justified on the way out.

 

The Watcher hunched over, a deep red tinging the brown and gold upon his face.  "Ahem, well, your highness, there have been poisons known to mimic the effects of an... allergic reaction."  His expression changed to a glower at Lian, briefly, as he saw him embrace Yanhua.  Why did Feng feel a twinge of jealousy at the sight?  His emotions were in a flux, and they had quickly shifted from embarrassment to anger, as he attempted to salvage his reputation as a guard.  "Although, if you think that a monk's training is as good as an Academy Education for the sacred role of guarding your sister, you can feel free to do my job for a month.  I fancy I'd make a better Prince than you would a guard!"

 

Welp, so much for damage control.  Given how proud Discord would be of the chaos this young longma had caused, it was perhaps time that somepony politely but firmly put him to bed.  Without supper.

[Bellosh]

 

When Discord's voice began bellowing forth, the Empress turned around and stood to listen. There was still a crisis afoot, so why was the chaos spirit... lecturing? What did the Harmonious Path have to do with Qing's apparent poisoning or Sī Jīn's ill-advised clothing? Granted, it had come to Empress Yuè's attention before the Banquet that contrary to impressions made by the overzealous City Guard, Discord had in fact obtained permission to enter the capital's Inner Ward (strange as it seemed in the royal qilin's mind for a self-proclaimed master of chaos to play by mundane rules), so there was that particular black mark to make amends for at a later date.

 

But was it REALLY necessary to call out the Empress at this delicate time??? Such blatant RUDENESS! And to have the gall to make the Empress lose further face by WALKING OUT on her? Well, Discord wouldn't be getting far as long as the Imperial Palace remained on lock down... at least not without his magic. But still... seriously. At least the guest had the decency to help Qing before teleporting his way to the door; that was the only thing saving him from an immediate counter-rant by the Empress.

 

That, and Prince Lián blurting out the true nature of Qing's ails. A... mere allergic reaction? Yuè's knowledge of health-based subjects was only at a basic level, her studies at the Monastery having been focused elsewhere. However, a read of Sī Jīn's face indicated that the Prince knew what he was talking about. One approving nod from Empress Yuè later, and the rest of the guards and servants seemed to buy her brother's explanation without question.

 

All except Feng, too stubborn to know when to keep silent. "Feng," the Empress barked at him with a mild hint of disapproval in her voice; "Notify the other Watchers that I'm lifting the lock down and that everything is to return to normal. You won't be needed here for the rest of the evening." That blasted bodyguard had caused enough problems for one day. Maybe two weeks being taken off active duty will set him straight when it comes to unwarranted overreactions.

 

Now came Silverheart, bearing advice. Yuè sighed quietly; "Very well. Tell Discord that I'll grant him a private audience tomorrow." The royal qilin glanced back towards Discord, her eyes laced with weariness and shame, wondering whether her old confederate Liviel could get through to the chaos spirit. Then just maybe this banquet can still be salvaged... maybe....

[Dio]

 

A veritable typhoon of activity erupted around Qing as guards scrambled, retainers panicked, and the entire court gawked at her. Tears dribbled down her cheeks, partly from the reaction and partly from sheer embarrassment. Oh what a scene she had caused. Oh what horrid luck this had been; the ceremonial role of poison tester suddenly becoming an actual tester!

 

Suddenly, she caught a shadow upon her and looked up to see Discord towering over her. Qing shrank even further, her tall frame seeming to telescope in on itself as she looked up in wide-eyed terror. Everyone was watching and now she was finished. A lone sob caught in her throat as she closed her eyes and involuntarily took a step back.

 

At least this horrid delirium would soon end whether it be by being rent in twain or corroded from the inside out by poison. She waited a beat, but neither came. She opened one eye to find Discord standing over her, a single shrimp in claw. His speech was not directed to her, but to the rest of the court. He casually flicked the shrimp away.

 

Shrimp. Of course. Shrimp. This was the classic reaction of a shellfish allergy. Oh if only she had known ahead of time. How had she not encountered this as a child? Or even in academy? Qing’s cheeks burned hotter if it were even possible. Her own ineptitude had fired a cannon into the Miss Yue’s evening. She didn’t know how she was ever going to live this down but she knew needed to get out right now!

 

Her stomach suddenly rumbled as if in agreement and Qing knew that departing sooner rather than later would be necessary before she left a mess in the dining hall.

 

“Your M-Majesty,” she rasped again. “I-I feel very ill and must take my leave. My deepest apologies for everything that has happened!”

 

With the hurried apology, Qing rushed out the door as quickly as she could muster and made a beeline for the nearest washroom.

 

[Exit]

[RexDraco]

The poor little cook, a victim of her own disharmony. A calamity within the kitchen! An uproar in the casserole. It was a wonder sometimes how such statehoods got along with such ideals of harmony when so many creatures lived in chaos. Harmony and order were as different as carrots and bananas. Bananas, like most tree fruit, needed the light of day to grow big and healthy. Carrots, and all the like, seemed perfectly capable of growing in the darkness of soil. Try to force a carrot to follow the natural order of s banana or vice versa and neither would survive. It was the same for a kingdom. Forcing it to abide by a single way of life impeded the growth of many of the fruits and vegetables that inhabited the land. Consumable metaphors aside there was a reason he compared the Long to carrots…

 

Though one, marvelous thing did present itself in all of this. Feng, oh Feng. Did the pressure of trying to be a banana get to you? One could almost hear the snake's whisper in his ear as he sought to confirm what it is Feng feared most. The tittering aspect of an all knowing god, or perhaps a scheming joker: ‘If only I had spoken up sooner…’ than perhaps it would not have come to this, but as such the draconequus held no such spell over the guard. It was his own doubt which spurred him. It was a serious lesson to be considered and one the spell words would have not necessarily revealed if it had not been eating away at Feng in the first. Convention as it was to disregard personal feelings for duty, yet it seemed naught but to placate a set of laws and forget the simple fact that -- mortal beings felt as deeply as gods and could set fires with passion alone.

 

The spirit peeked down between his dangling legs, the floating chimera finding a certain, white Diamond Dog trying to abate his growing dismay over the situations at paw. While he was used to ponies that considered Harmony as part of their lives there we a certain sense of chaos that seemed to accompany their attempts which, therein, created a degree of balance. For a statehood that toted being the balanced center of the ponyverse it seemed awfully stagnant and full of panicking posies.  He wiggled his toesies and rolled so he properly face the canine. At least as properly as he could provide: floating in a seated position with his hind legs crossed knee over knee and forelimbs tucked over his chest like a pouting foal.

 

The chaotic lord loomed over the smaller Diamond Dog, his eyes narrowed. How tooth decayingly -- sweet. He supposed if one requested a second chance he could not very well deny such on principle. He floofed out and sighed before reaching beside him to pull out a chart which revealed a basic diagram of the noodly god. He used a pointing stick to indicate the area that was his heart, which seemed to grow two sizes. “You’re lucky I am a generous creature.” He snapped the stick flat, letting the pull down chart flutter up and vanish in a flash of light. “Fine. But you Long know not how to throw a party. Far too much allergy by sea food and not enough confetti.” he rightly complained.

 

Who threw a party without confetti?! He would follow the Diamond Dog back to their seats, but totally switching it up by sitting on the canine’s seat, patting his lap for her to totem on. His ears pinned back as he expected something fantastic to happen. His bushy brows quirked. “Where did Qing go?” Oh it seemed he knew the maid’s name. Discord was nothing else if not polite in learning other pony’s names. A name had power over a pony after all!

[Blueblood]

If the hot shame collecting in his cheeks wasn't warm enough now, the rebuke from the Empress was enough to completely break the lava floodgates.  If all the lights in the palace had darkened, the guard's blush would have been visibly luminescent.  "V-very well, your majesty.  I will... take my leave now."  Never mind that he hadn't eaten, he just wanted out.  Honestly, taking on a bit of punishment would ease his conscience; if there was one thing in the world he couldn't stand, it was being an embarrassment to the Empress.

 

Of course, there was more than one thing he couldn't stand.  Another was being bad to a friend, and it didn't take him long to realize that he had nearly gotten Yanhua in big trouble.  That wasn't good.  He would have to apologize to her later, once all this had blown over.

 

And then, finally, there was Discord.  What could he say?  Looking back on tonight six months from now, Feng would realize just how much of his mental clarity and sanity this evening of chaos had preserved.  Right now, all he could see was the chaos... and a light, from the future, that had once been shrouded in darkness.  Passing by the noodle on his shameful retreat, the longma looked up at the dragonequus... and managed a smile.  "Thank you."  He whispered, and trotted off, leaving the field in disarray.  Not his finest hour, perhaps, but he could only go up from here.  Right?

 

~Exit Feng~