Discord the Archduke Chapter 4

"Ponyville Local becomes Archduke's First Vassal?"

"Well, I didn't expect to be on this end of things so soon," Celestia commented as she put the newspaper on the table, Luna drowning her pancakes in syrup. ""Lady Amethyst Star: Steward of the Everfree, Castellan of Castle Xaos, and Vassal of Archduke Discord?"" Celestia read aloud, squinting her still tired eyes.

"Imagine my own surprise at my herald announcing her titles," Luna retorted with a yawn. "Has her name reached your ears before?"

"She won one contest or another to attend the last Grand Galloping Gala, but that is the extent of my memory of her," Celestia mused thoughtfully.

"And yet, in a manner of days, Discord has convinced her to become his vassal, among other things," Luna pointed out as she took a bite of her pancakes.

"Yet you said she was...good?" Celestia questioned with a head tilt, bringing up a cup of coffee.

"Be it through Discord's teachings, her own experience, or just sheer talent? Discord's Steward has the showing of a well versed politician. She knows when to push and when to relent on topics while appearing amical to all she addresses," Luna explained, licking away some of the syrup off her lips. "Which reminds me, are vassals even a recognized or legal practice in this age? I have heard and seen little evidence of them."

"The practice fell to the side as businesses and private ownership became more common and powerful outside of the nobles. However, the laws are still in place to allow them to exist. After all, why swear yourself to a lord in hopes of getting your own land if you can make your own business and just buy it yourself?" Celestia pointed out.

"Would it be uncouth to say that I'm in fact a bit excited about Discord resurrecting some of the familiar past into this nigh-alien present?" Luna asked whimsically.

Celestia sighed. "I understand enjoyment of the familiar, Luna, but I am worried. The nobles have been sedated the past few generations, uncaring of their actual power so long as they kept their wealth and luxury," Celestia commented in concern. "Now that Discord is reminding them of the old ways..."

"You knew better than any he would conjure mischief and change from his new position," Luna retorted blankly. "At least we and he are at the top of the proverbial pile. I am more entertained by the thought of them attempting to bribe or threaten him than worried for all else."

Celestia smirked at that. "I wondered about that myself too. I originally thought they were not that stupid, but then I remembered who I was talking about."

"Indeed. Now, speaking of Discord and mischief, have you seen this?" Luna asked, teleporting in a sizable pile of papers.

"Dare I ask?" Celestia asked in playful exasperation.

"Amethyst Star gave this to me during the court session," Luna explained, looking evenly at Celestia. "Part of it is merely doodles, but the rest is the bill."

"The bill?" Celestia repeated in confusion.

"The bill," Luna confirmed with a nod.

"The bill for...what?" Celestia asked slowly. "Did he burn somepony's house down or something?"

"No. It would appear our dear Archduke is billing us for repairs made in our old castle," Luna elaborated with a monotone.

"Well, he'll be sorry to know that castle repairs are the duty of the castle's owner," Celestia stated, wondering why her sister was acting this way.

"Ohh, you misunderstand, dear sister. The ruler of Everfree is not billing us for fixing the castle itself, but for the items we left behind," Luna explained, her mouth now very amused. "He claims that, as it was abandon and he repaired them, he has Finder's Rights to them, on top of Fixer's Rights. Which I'm sure are not real legal codes. Regardless, he also states that he will relinquish all the items after we provide him compensation for their repairs and handling."

"...A bit of a grey area, but I did give the castle to him without stipulation and the items were indeed in it all these years," Celestia conceded with an inquisitive scowl. "Is he trying to make us pay too much?"

"Sister, if you believe I've had the time and energy to give this an in-depth study, then you are sorely mistaken," Luna dryly remarked as she stared down at the paperwork. "...I'm mildly, yet happily surprised Discord is offering to let us buy back repaired, personal affects. I half expected him to just hold it over our heads for pranks at our expense."

"Discord has some respect for the past, being as ancient as he is," Celestia remarked offhoofedly as she levitated part of the stack of papers over to herself. "Now, let's see how much he's charging us- Two-hundred bits for each stuffed animal!?" Celestia exclaimed in disbelief.

"Three thousand for both thrones. Unless my understanding of inflation and conversion of modern currency is wrong, this is actually a good bargain," Luna noted calmly as she scanned a few more items she recalled. "In fact, by my estimate, most of these items are being priced at or below what we paid for them. Considering how rare some have become, tis a bit of a steal for us. Mercifully, his delightful steward saw fit to make a separate list for the more obviously personal effects, which he is trying to fleece us for," Luna commented before glaring accusing at Celestia. "There was ONE set of very over-priced objects. He's asking a small fortunes for individual books. Curious, no?"

"...What books?" Celestia asked slowly, feeling a tinge of dread at Luna's deadpan expression.

"Allow me to answer your question with my own: Why in Harmony's name did you leave our dairies behind?!"

Celestia blinked as a dinner plate could be heard breaking in the background. "I'm only comforted by the fact that Discord is too proud to use those as political leverage."

"Yes, it will merely cost us our dignity in the long run. Because we know well he's read and committed them to memory," Luna drawled in resignation.

Meanwhile

"Good work, Amy!" Discord congratulated to the unicorn, reading over the newspaper. "Looks like you made a nice splash last night."

Amethyst held up an umbrella to block the expected burst of water that came from above. "Thank you, your royal highness," she returned with a smile. "I must say, it was rather enjoyable going over everything with Princess Luna."

Discord chuckled as he folded the newspaper out of existence, sitting in his horned throne, now situated in the less-run down castle. "So, what is my schedule for the day?"

Amethyst pulled out a notepad from her saddle and began reading. "In no particular order, you have... Chaos, Chaos, scouting the Everfree for anything interesting, more Chaos, ponies sneaking into the castle, extra Chaos, a visit to Fluttershy, a nap of chaos, pranking Rainbow Dash, annnnnnd a lunch break at 5:05."

"Lovely. But I don't recall scheduling a breaking and entering?" Discord asked casually.

"I believe it's more just trespassing since you haven't put up a new front door yet," Amethyst reminded.

"Well, I couldn't use the OLD door! We were using it for castle sledding," Discord reminded matter of factly.

"Quite so, Your Grace," Amethyst agreed without missing a beat. "Should I go see them out?"

"No, I shall be a good, responsible Archduke and see to this myself," Discord said, standing from his throne dramatically.

He then proceeded to clap his hands and sit right back down.

"There, all done!" Discord said proudly. "Amy, add this to the schedule: Make sure I release the intruders from the dungeon before tomorrow."

"Generous. I'll be sure to fit in time for some ponies to throw a fit over the lawful and reasonable use of your authority," Amethyst decided. "By the way, the bathroom on the second floor has something...living in it. I wasn't sure if that was your doing or not."

"What? No, that one isn't me," Discord said with a frown. "When you say something, do you mean a wild animal or something oozing and twitching?"

"No, no, we cleaned out the last of the moldbunnies this morning," Amethyst confirmed. "With all respect, it might be easier to see for yourself."

Discord raised an eyebrow before teleporting them both just outside a door in the castle. "This one?"

"That would be a yes, Sire," Amethyst confirmed.

Discord opened the door, hummed as he stroked his beard, and casually closed it. "Amethyst? That is a gazer."

"It did have a lot of eyes," Amethyst recalled. "Is it dangerous?"

"Oh extremely. And not native to this reality," Discord noted, looking to his vassal. "You're not scared?"

"Should I be?" Amethyst asked skeptically. "I mean, it's a bit weird, but...?"

"Oh, no. I mean these things naturally cast magic that invokes fear and confusion," Discord said, perplexed. "I think our tree in the basement is cancelling it out."

"Well, that certainly upped the property value a little," Amethyst joked. "So, are we getting rid of this or...?"

"I'm weighing the pros and cons to keeping it around. On one hoof, the look on everypony's face! On the other, all the nagging from everypony about why I wouldn't get rid of it," Discord said with a long suffering sigh, sealing the door with a snap of his finger. "I'm just going to put a feather in this and deal with it later. After I figure out how it got here, preferably."

"How did you get here, Sire?" Amethyst questioned curiously.

"I bought a cosmic ticket to the wrong world, couldn't be bothered to leave," Discord answered without missing a beat. "Anyway, pranking Rainbow Dash. Sounds like a good way to get the chaos rolling."

Meanwhile

Rainbow Dash was peacefully sleeping on a nice and fluffy cloud, her dreams filled of fast paced action and adventure.

Then, next thing she knew, she was falling to the ground.

Thankfully, the sensation of falling naturally woke up most creatures. Rainbow was already flying before she fell more than a few feet. "Wow, must have rolled around in my sleep too much!" she said with a chuckle, flying back up to land on the cloud again. "I'll just-WOW!"

Rainbow fell a few more feet in surprise as she slide off the cloud.

"What the hay?"" Rainbow said, flying up to poke it. The cloud was suspiciously stable, holding her hoof properly. She eyed it warily as she set her hooves back on the fluffy surface. It held her well enough, at first. Than it started to..."It's rolling?" Rainbow muttered as it slowly began to spin under her hooves. She kept moving to avoid falling.

Still, it was strange; clouds didn't normally rolled like this. At least, when they did, they weren't supposed to throw you off!

"Is this some new type of cloud they tried to make and nopony told me?" she asked in bewilderment. Then, as it began to spin faster, her hooves were suddenly stuck in place. "Heyyyyyyy!?"

She was suddenly spinning around and around until it felt like a rollercoaster. Then, it released her and sent her flying to the side. Before she could stop, Rainbow found herself flung into another cloud. Into, not on. The result was that Rainbow was essentially wearing the cloud…with her limbs and head sticking just out of its fluff.

She looked like a very strange sheep with wings.

"Well look at that, it's Cotton Dash!"

Rainbow turned, clumsy and awkward while in the cloud, to see Discord floating in midair and grinning at her. "What are you doing here!?"

"Just taking a picture of the rare and elusive winged prismatic sheep for Flutters~! I'm sure she'll be thrilled with it," Discord said with a grin, taking a camera out, flashing a picture, which it printed out instantly. "Darn, my lion thumb was in the way. Oh well, I have more!" he said, producing many more, better copies with a grin.

"I thought you were a noble now!? Don't you have anything better to do than pranking me?" Rainbow asked, straining against the cloud. "Seriously, what is this made off?!"

"Dream Wool. Literally the wool from the sheep mortals imagine counting for sleep. It's very comfy, actually, but also very toasty," Discord explained cheekily. "And no, of course I have Archducal things to do-"

"Is that a word?" Rainbow asked in surprise, but was ignored.

"But I'll always make time for my friends," Discord answered with a smile. "Unless it involves Twilight Twilighting over me Discording. I lose interest real fast at that point."

"Oh yeah? And just what "noble" things do you have to do?" Rainbow asked sarcastically.

"What the buck are you both doing up there?"

Both looked down, Applejack starring back at them. "What are YOU doing down there?" Discord retorted.

"I live here? And work here?" Applejack reminded, motion to the apple farm all around her.

"Speaking of which, I needed to talk to you, Applejack!" Discord said with a grim, diving down to her. He paused, stretching up his arm to grab Rainbow's hoof and drag her down, yanking her out of the cloud.

"Wow!?" Rainbow said, finding them both down at ground level. "Finally! Ugh, what does he need to talk to you with, AJ?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sugarcube," Applejack answered with a cautious frown. "What's this about, Discord? You going to say my fence is over your property or something?"

"Cidermare, Her Royal Friendness will start that argument before I do, mark my words," Discord said with a huff. "And no, I wanted to work out a business agreement."

"...Might need to get Granny for this, but keep yapping, your Archiness," Applejack requested curiously. "Wait, did Twilight say that was or wasn't what to call you?"

Discord just grinned. "Anyway! I happen to know that pests from the Everfree are a problem for you sometimes. And that problem predates my ascent to Archduke."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was like this before you took over a thousand years ago," Rainbow admitted. "Also wouldn't be surprised if you made it like that.."

"Ignoring her," Discord said. "I was wondering if you would be interested in making an arrangement. You pay the Everfree Archduchy a monthly fee and we keep everything from intruding on your farm."

"That would be kind of convenient. Timberwolves are no problem to shove off, but we occasionally get some of the bigger critters too," Applejack said in interest. "How much?"

"We'd need to have a formal contract drawn up, but how about we just shake on a special one-month arrangement?" Discord suggested with a grin. "I take care of all the beasties, and YOU pay me in a barrel of your finest cider?"

"That's it?" Applejack asked in amazement. "Wait, what kind of barrel? This going to be some kind of giant or trick barrel I can never file up?"

Discord rolled his eyes. "No, no, you supply the barrel too for your own peace of mind."

"AJ, there is probably still a prank in here," Rainbow warned.

"I know that! But it's still a pretty good deal," Applejack retorted. "You know what, I'll take a bite. Discord, you got a deal."

Applejack extended a hoof and Discord smiled as he shook it. "Trust me for once, AJ, you won't regret this.""Ponyville Local becomes Archduke's First Vassal?"

"Well, I didn't expect to be on this end of things so soon," Celestia commented as she put the newspaper on the table, Luna drowning her pancakes in syrup. ""Lady Amethyst Star: Steward of the Everfree, Castellan of Castle Xaos, and Vassal of Archduke Discord?"" Celestia read aloud, squinting her still tired eyes.

"Imagine my own surprise at my herald announcing her titles," Luna retorted with a yawn. "Has her name reached your ears before?"

"She won one contest or another to attend the last Grand Galloping Gala, but that is the extent of my memory of her," Celestia mused thoughtfully.

"And yet, in a manner of days, Discord has convinced her to become his vassal, among other things," Luna pointed out as she took a bite of her pancakes.

"Yet you said she was...good?" Celestia questioned with a head tilt, bringing up a cup of coffee.

"Be it through Discord's teachings, her own experience, or just sheer talent? Discord's Steward has the showing of a well versed politician. She knows when to push and when to relent on topics while appearing amical to all she addresses," Luna explained, licking away some of the syrup off her lips. "Which reminds me, are vassals even a recognized or legal practice in this age? I have heard and seen little evidence of them."

"The practice fell to the side as businesses and private ownership became more common and powerful outside of the nobles. However, the laws are still in place to allow them to exist. After all, why swear yourself to a lord in hopes of getting your own land if you can make your own business and just buy it yourself?" Celestia pointed out.

"Would it be uncouth to say that I'm in fact a bit excited about Discord resurrecting some of the familiar past into this nigh-alien present?" Luna asked whimsically.

Celestia sighed. "I understand enjoyment of the familiar, Luna, but I am worried. The nobles have been sedated the past few generations, uncaring of their actual power so long as they kept their wealth and luxury," Celestia commented in concern. "Now that Discord is reminding them of the old ways..."

"You knew better than any he would conjure mischief and change from his new position," Luna retorted blankly. "At least we and he are at the top of the proverbial pile. I am more entertained by the thought of them attempting to bribe or threaten him than worried for all else."

Celestia smirked at that. "I wondered about that myself too. I originally thought they were not that stupid, but then I remembered who I was talking about."

"Indeed. Now, speaking of Discord and mischief, have you seen this?" Luna asked, teleporting in a sizable pile of papers.

"Dare I ask?" Celestia asked in playful exasperation.

"Amethyst Star gave this to me during the court session," Luna explained, looking evenly at Celestia. "Part of it is merely doodles, but the rest is the bill."

"The bill?" Celestia repeated in confusion.

"The bill," Luna confirmed with a nod.

"The bill for...what?" Celestia asked slowly. "Did he burn somepony's house down or something?"

"No. It would appear our dear Archduke is billing us for repairs made in our old castle," Luna elaborated with a monotone.

"Well, he'll be sorry to know that castle repairs are the duty of the castle's owner," Celestia stated, wondering why her sister was acting this way.

"Ohh, you misunderstand, dear sister. The ruler of Everfree is not billing us for fixing the castle itself, but for the items we left behind," Luna explained, her mouth now very amused. "He claims that, as it was abandon and he repaired them, he has Finder's Rights to them, on top of Fixer's Rights. Which I'm sure are not real legal codes. Regardless, he also states that he will relinquish all the items after we provide him compensation for their repairs and handling."

"...A bit of a grey area, but I did give the castle to him without stipulation and the items were indeed in it all these years," Celestia conceded with an inquisitive scowl. "Is he trying to make us pay too much?"

"Sister, if you believe I've had the time and energy to give this an in-depth study, then you are sorely mistaken," Luna dryly remarked as she stared down at the paperwork. "...I'm mildly, yet happily surprised Discord is offering to let us buy back repaired, personal affects. I half expected him to just hold it over our heads for pranks at our expense."

"Discord has some respect for the past, being as ancient as he is," Celestia remarked offhoofedly as she levitated part of the stack of papers over to herself. "Now, let's see how much he's charging us- Two-hundred bits for each stuffed animal!?" Celestia exclaimed in disbelief.

"Three thousand for both thrones. Unless my understanding of inflation and conversion of modern currency is wrong, this is actually a good bargain," Luna noted calmly as she scanned a few more items she recalled. "In fact, by my estimate, most of these items are being priced at or below what we paid for them. Considering how rare some have become, tis a bit of a steal for us. Mercifully, his delightful steward saw fit to make a separate list for the more obviously personal effects, which he is trying to fleece us for," Luna commented before glaring accusing at Celestia. "There was ONE set of very over-priced objects. He's asking a small fortunes for individual books. Curious, no?"

"...What books?" Celestia asked slowly, feeling a tinge of dread at Luna's deadpan expression.

"Allow me to answer your question with my own: Why in Harmony's name did you leave our dairies behind?!"

Celestia blinked as a dinner plate could be heard breaking in the background. "I'm only comforted by the fact that Discord is too proud to use those as political leverage."

"Yes, it will merely cost us our dignity in the long run. Because we know well he's read and committed them to memory," Luna drawled in resignation.

Meanwhile

"Good work, Amy!" Discord congratulated to the unicorn, reading over the newspaper. "Looks like you made a nice splash last night."

Amethyst held up an umbrella to block the expected burst of water that came from above. "Thank you, your royal highness," she returned with a smile. "I must say, it was rather enjoyable going over everything with Princess Luna."

Discord chuckled as he folded the newspaper out of existence, sitting in his horned throne, now situated in the less-run down castle. "So, what is my schedule for the day?"

Amethyst pulled out a notepad from her saddle and began reading. "In no particular order, you have... Chaos, Chaos, scouting the Everfree for anything interesting, more Chaos, ponies sneaking into the castle, extra Chaos, a visit to Fluttershy, a nap of chaos, pranking Rainbow Dash, annnnnnd a lunch break at 5:05."

"Lovely. But I don't recall scheduling a breaking and entering?" Discord asked casually.

"I believe it's more just trespassing since you haven't put up a new front door yet," Amethyst reminded.

"Well, I couldn't use the OLD door! We were using it for castle sledding," Discord reminded matter of factly.

"Quite so, Your Grace," Amethyst agreed without missing a beat. "Should I go see them out?"

"No, I shall be a good, responsible Archduke and see to this myself," Discord said, standing from his throne dramatically.

He then proceeded to clap his hands and sit right back down.

"There, all done!" Discord said proudly. "Amy, add this to the schedule: Make sure I release the intruders from the dungeon before tomorrow."

"Generous. I'll be sure to fit in time for some ponies to throw a fit over the lawful and reasonable use of your authority," Amethyst decided. "By the way, the bathroom on the second floor has something...living in it. I wasn't sure if that was your doing or not."

"What? No, that one isn't me," Discord said with a frown. "When you say something, do you mean a wild animal or something oozing and twitching?"

"No, no, we cleaned out the last of the moldbunnies this morning," Amethyst confirmed. "With all respect, it might be easier to see for yourself."

Discord raised an eyebrow before teleporting them both just outside a door in the castle. "This one?"

"That would be a yes, Sire," Amethyst confirmed.

Discord opened the door, hummed as he stroked his beard, and casually closed it. "Amethyst? That is a gazer."

"It did have a lot of eyes," Amethyst recalled. "Is it dangerous?"

"Oh extremely. And not native to this reality," Discord noted, looking to his vassal. "You're not scared?"

"Should I be?" Amethyst asked skeptically. "I mean, it's a bit weird, but...?"

"Oh, no. I mean these things naturally cast magic that invokes fear and confusion," Discord said, perplexed. "I think our tree in the basement is cancelling it out."

"Well, that certainly upped the property value a little," Amethyst joked. "So, are we getting rid of this or...?"

"I'm weighing the pros and cons to keeping it around. On one hoof, the look on everypony's face! On the other, all the nagging from everypony about why I wouldn't get rid of it," Discord said with a long suffering sigh, sealing the door with a snap of his finger. "I'm just going to put a feather in this and deal with it later. After I figure out how it got here, preferably."

"How did you get here, Sire?" Amethyst questioned curiously.

"I bought a cosmic ticket to the wrong world, couldn't be bothered to leave," Discord answered without missing a beat. "Anyway, pranking Rainbow Dash. Sounds like a good way to get the chaos rolling."

Meanwhile

Rainbow Dash was peacefully sleeping on a nice and fluffy cloud, her dreams filled of fast paced action and adventure.

Then, next thing she knew, she was falling to the ground.

Thankfully, the sensation of falling naturally woke up most creatures. Rainbow was already flying before she fell more than a few feet. "Wow, must have rolled around in my sleep too much!" she said with a chuckle, flying back up to land on the cloud again. "I'll just-WOW!"

Rainbow fell a few more feet in surprise as she slide off the cloud.

"What the hay?"" Rainbow said, flying up to poke it. The cloud was suspiciously stable, holding her hoof properly. She eyed it warily as she set her hooves back on the fluffy surface. It held her well enough, at first. Than it started to..."It's rolling?" Rainbow muttered as it slowly began to spin under her hooves. She kept moving to avoid falling.

Still, it was strange; clouds didn't normally rolled like this. At least, when they did, they weren't supposed to throw you off!

"Is this some new type of cloud they tried to make and nopony told me?" she asked in bewilderment. Then, as it began to spin faster, her hooves were suddenly stuck in place. "Heyyyyyyy!?"

She was suddenly spinning around and around until it felt like a rollercoaster. Then, it released her and sent her flying to the side. Before she could stop, Rainbow found herself flung into another cloud. Into, not on. The result was that Rainbow was essentially wearing the cloud…with her limbs and head sticking just out of its fluff.

She looked like a very strange sheep with wings.

"Well look at that, it's Cotton Dash!"

Rainbow turned, clumsy and awkward while in the cloud, to see Discord floating in midair and grinning at her. "What are you doing here!?"

"Just taking a picture of the rare and elusive winged prismatic sheep for Flutters~! I'm sure she'll be thrilled with it," Discord said with a grin, taking a camera out, flashing a picture, which it printed out instantly. "Darn, my lion thumb was in the way. Oh well, I have more!" he said, producing many more, better copies with a grin.

"I thought you were a noble now!? Don't you have anything better to do than pranking me?" Rainbow asked, straining against the cloud. "Seriously, what is this made off?!"

"Dream Wool. Literally the wool from the sheep mortals imagine counting for sleep. It's very comfy, actually, but also very toasty," Discord explained cheekily. "And no, of course I have Archducal things to do-"

"Is that a word?" Rainbow asked in surprise, but was ignored.

"But I'll always make time for my friends," Discord answered with a smile. "Unless it involves Twilight Twilighting over me Discording. I lose interest real fast at that point."

"Oh yeah? And just what "noble" things do you have to do?" Rainbow asked sarcastically.

"What the buck are you both doing up there?"

Both looked down, Applejack starring back at them. "What are YOU doing down there?" Discord retorted.

"I live here? And work here?" Applejack reminded, motion to the apple farm all around her.

"Speaking of which, I needed to talk to you, Applejack!" Discord said with a grim, diving down to her. He paused, stretching up his arm to grab Rainbow's hoof and drag her down, yanking her out of the cloud.

"Wow!?" Rainbow said, finding them both down at ground level. "Finally! Ugh, what does he need to talk to you with, AJ?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sugarcube," Applejack answered with a cautious frown. "What's this about, Discord? You going to say my fence is over your property or something?"

"Cidermare, Her Royal Friendness will start that argument before I do, mark my words," Discord said with a huff. "And no, I wanted to work out a business agreement."

"...Might need to get Granny for this, but keep yapping, your Archiness," Applejack requested curiously. "Wait, did Twilight say that was or wasn't what to call you?"

Discord just grinned. "Anyway! I happen to know that pests from the Everfree are a problem for you sometimes. And that problem predates my ascent to Archduke."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was like this before you took over a thousand years ago," Rainbow admitted. "Also wouldn't be surprised if you made it like that.."

"Ignoring her," Discord said. "I was wondering if you would be interested in making an arrangement. You pay the Everfree Archduchy a monthly fee and we keep everything from intruding on your farm."

"That would be kind of convenient. Timberwolves are no problem to shove off, but we occasionally get some of the bigger critters too," Applejack said in interest. "How much?"

"We'd need to have a formal contract drawn up, but how about we just shake on a special one-month arrangement?" Discord suggested with a grin. "I take care of all the beasties, and YOU pay me in a barrel of your finest cider?"

"That's it?" Applejack asked in amazement. "Wait, what kind of barrel? This going to be some kind of giant or trick barrel I can never file up?"

Discord rolled his eyes. "No, no, you supply the barrel too for your own peace of mind."

"AJ, there is probably still a prank in here," Rainbow warned.

"I know that! But it's still a pretty good deal," Applejack retorted. "You know what, I'll take a bite. Discord, you got a deal."

Applejack extended a hoof and Discord smiled as he shook it. "Trust me for once, AJ, you won't regret this."