She is a creature of ticks and tocks. That’s what he thinks as he looks at her smiling face over the plate of sandwiches. Ticks and tocks, ticks and tocks, nothing but endless ticks and tocks. [i]How long will this last?[/i] He tries shoving the idle thought away, like so many of the others. He watches her pour some tea and idly considers changing it to cyanide. [i]Imagine how funny her face will look when she realizes![/i] Shoved down. She makes idle conversation. Something about her friend and the lovely weather she made. He smiles back and comments on it as well, not bothering to mention how the concept of neat, orderly weather patterns churns his insides like a blender. [i]Perhaps just one cotton candy cloud.[/i] Shoved down. He tries a sandwich. It tastes like Order and Harmony, with its neat layers and ingredients added just so. How nauseating. [i]Fill it with worms![/i] Shoved down. How nice, he tells her. The food is delicious, of course. He takes the offered teacup and drains it in a single gulp. She makes no comment on this, so he improvises; the tea is now a pigeon. She loves it, and her smile makes him smile. [i]A pigeon? That’s the best I can do?[/i] That one is a little harder to ignore. She pours him another cup of tea. She can’t pour the cup into the tea, or make the sandwiches scream in agony as they are eaten, or regurgitate them whole through her ears. She’s all ticks and tocks. Soon she’ll have to go feed her animals, more creatures that require something so orderly as food and water and oxygen for their continued survival. Ticks and tocks. [i]Chaos isn’t ticks and tocks! Chaos is a tock-tock-wham-patooey-kersplow, with maybe a tick in there somewhere. This game is [/i]boring[i]. Turn her into a tree and be done with it.[/i] Shoved very far down. He can’t blame her for not understanding. Oh, she tries so very hard, the dear pony. She wants him to feel welcome and loved, because to her that kind of thing matters. [i]Chaos doesn’t need love. Chaos doesn’t need friends. Chaos is perfect just the way it is.[/i] Can she see how his smile is strained? She must, for she’s getting that look again. Concern. Such a curious concept. Such a [i]pony[/i] concept. He’s tried emulating it with some success. His efforts to be more like them improve every day. [i]Why do I even care? I could turn the entire population of this town into petunias with a snap of my talons.[/i] No, no, everything is fine. Just worried about whats-her-name. Tree Something-or-Other. Hmm. Seems she didn’t find that one funny. He still didn’t have their sense of humor down. Ponies are much more complicated than they seem. Or is that much more simple? But he finds they can be delightful once he gets to know them a little better. [i]Someday, I will grow tired to this pretending. Someday, I will realize that there’s no purpose to imitating their habits.[/i] Shove it down. [i]Someday I will remember that I am chaos incarnate, and all these so-called ‘relationships’ are meaningless, and I’ll set all of her friends on fire and laugh because her pleading and begging and beseeching and asking politely and realizing all of this is a big stupid sham will be the greatest long-running gag you’ve ever conceived![/i] His fist smashes the table. It snaps in two. She doesn’t run away. She’s at his side in an instant with hoof on his shoulder. Asks if he is hurt. He smiles. His fist unclenches. He relaxes into his seat. Yes, he's fine. Just coping with an old ache. After all, he's thousands of years her senior. She asks more questions, but he gently rebuffs her. She accepts his words, because she trusts her friend. He fixes the table, sandwich plate and tea set with a snap of his tail, and she goes to get some more hot water. She can’t just make hot water out of thin air, or produce tea with cold water, or bring Zebrica and its tea leaves into her cottage with a clap of her hooves. [i]If I concentrate, I bet I can land her cottage right on the peak of Kilequinjaro from here![/i] She is just a creature of ticks and tocks. Ticks and tocks. Tick and tock. Tick. Tock...