The means by which one discerns reality from fiction can be a subjective and often fickle process. One can only rely on his or her understanding of the world. Suggesting otherwise creates the conditions by which misunderstanding can breed ignorance and delusion. Failing to be cognizant of that possibility could yield disastrous results without proper consideration. The very idea of that anything could be absolute is preposterous. And not questioning others' perceptions even more so.
What happens, then, when one is incapable of distinguishing between the two and must rely upon the biases of others to grasp that knowledge? Would it drive one mad to try as they fail to uncover truths, or would it instead cause apathy to the unfathomable? For Tim, it may be somewhere in between as he continues his journey home.
Tim had no idea where he was when he regained consciousness. There was absolutely nothing to see. He was alone, a blotch of brown in a sea of white. He couldn’t tell up from down, for there was no ground to stand upon, yet he didn’t feel the sensation of falling either.
He didn’t know how long he’d been there. Time had become utterly meaningless without a reference for him to gauge the relative span of a moment. He could describe it as being a seemingly long time.
The longer he remained there the more he began to wonder if he had finally lost grips with his sanity. Was he still in Equestria, or was he somewhere else entirely? Did he even exist anymore?
After an interminable amount of time, he’d welcome even Discord or death itself if it meant being saved from the nothingness. He was eventually rewarded with the former, and he welcomed him unquestioningly.
“The insides of your mind look dreadfully boring. Don’t you have something in your noggin to liven up the place a little?” Discord conjured a paint can and dumped it on the white backdrop. A mismatch of tie-dye colors splashed everything. Even Tim was not spared.
There was no way this could be his mind. If it were, then he surely would have been able to pick his own setting by now. Yet he continued to drift aimlessly into the abyss.
“Although, now that I think about it, my coming here might’ve caused a disruption.” Discord scratched his head with a third paw which appeared over his shoulder. “I suppose this means I won’t be able to dawdle now. Such a shame that I must spend this time actually helping you out instead.”
Discord swiped his paw at Tim, which miraculously went through him. He held in his paw a translucent, gooey-like substance. A magnifying glass appeared in his possession, which he used to inspect the bizarre essence.
“Ah yes, this is much better. Who says I need to subject myself to a mortal’s limitations in communication? This is a far superior method.” Discord beamed and flung the magnifying glass over his shoulder. That should do it. I believe I have everything I need to get you back to your time now.”
Tim arched his brow. There must have been some strings attached to Discord’s help right? Surely he wouldn’t freely offer this service.
“Don’t give me that look. I am about to send you home for your sake. The least you could do was show some gratitude.” Discord placed his wrists on his hips. A rolling pin and hairnet appeared in his paw and head respectively. “I actually do something nice for once and this is the thanks I get. Why I bothered, I’ll never know.”
Tim gave him a pointed look. After everything else he’d gone through, there’s no way he could trust him to do something until he followed through with his promise.
“Fine, I was doing it because I wanted to stay in the girls’ good grace.” Discord crossed his arms as his props vanished. He then rolled his eyes with a disinterested look. “Our little game was beginning to bore me anyway.”
Now that the lord of chaos was being totally honest, Tim could finally allow himself to hope. This nightmare was finally going to be over, and soon he’d be waking up in his own bed, fully appreciate the time he spent with his family, and carry on his life with a peace of mind.
“Right, let’s get this over with.” Discord snapped his fingers.
Together they waited, but nothing happened right away. Nothing happened at all, in fact, and Discord’s face developed a perplexed expression.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” Discord said. “Let’s try that again.”
Again he snapped his fingers, but there was still no change to indicate that he’d done anything. Discord repeatedly snapped his fingers, his actions growing more fervent with each subsequent attempt.
“This can’t be possible.” Discord began biting his fingers as he wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow. “My powers are gone. This is unprecedented!”
“Please,” He picked Tim up by the scruff of his neck and then wrung him back and forth, “you have to do something. I’ve never been so powerless to do anything. Well, except for that one time I was stone, but I swear I meant for that to happen.”
What had just happened? Tim racked his brain for answers as to why, but nothing immediately came to his mind. Perhaps it was some cosmic coincidence or karma which had Discord’s magic repressed.
“Don’t give me that look.” Discord shook him again. “For once, I’m not pulling your leg. See? I would’ve normally pulled your leg by now if I could still summon my magic.”
Gone were Discord’s playful mannerisms and language, replaced with a need which can’t be satisfied. Tim hadn’t seen this side of the draconequus. Tim wasn’t necessarily sorry his company’s loss so much as he was terrified by the implications behind the development. They were now stuck there, wherever they were, with no chance to escape.
Discord began pacing back and forth, or what passed for it anyways. He was thinking out loud to himself. “Stay calm, Discord. Stay calm. There must be a perfectly logical explanation for all of this. Reason through it, and you’ll be able to get yourself out of this mess.”
“Aha!” Discord snapped his fingers. “You have complete control of this space, much as I hate to admit it. You are likely able to negate my abilities while I’m here. Huh. One would think I’d foresee this possibility.”
When Tim offered no response aside from a shrug, Discord continued his train of thought. “It might have even been an unconscious action on your part. But now that you’re aware of it, you can undo it and we can both go on our merry way.”
Tim nodded. He didn’t know how to achieve Discord’s request, but knowing what was at stake gave him the motivation to try his best.
Instead of sending Discord from whence he came, however, the two of them were transported to the front of Tim’s house back home. They might have still just been in his mind, but it all seemed so real. He had to see his mother one last time. He began running for the house.
“Wait,” he heard Discord calling to him. “None of this real. Don’t forget where we are!”
If Tim hadn’t been so homesick, he might have been able to stop and listen to Discord’s request. His misshapen companion remained at the back of his mind, but only just barely. It was impossible to resist not going in just for a moment. He would handle Discord later.
As he entered his home, the kitchen was the first thing he could see. He found his mother at the kitchen sink cleaning dishes. She was humming softly and tapping her foot to some tune she had in her head.
The sound of his hoofsteps as he walked up to her made him suddenly aware of his form. There was no way she would recognize him like this. After remembering this was his own world, he felt silly. It shouldn’t be a problem for him to change back there. He wouldn’t let Discord ruin this moment.
His mother turned around to greet him, but Tim was devastated to find Discord there instead of his mother. Did he have to ruin even his dream world?
“Don’t look at me like this was my doing. You’re the one with all the power.” Discord, seemingly unaware of his actions, cleaned dishes and prepped dinner on the counter while he stared at Tim.
Tim may have been able to put up with all of Discord’s shenanigans in the past, but this sudden development was too much even for him. He pushed him to the ground for taking away his chance to see his mother again.
“Is that any way to treat someone who’s trying to make you dinner?” He opened his mouth to continue but stopped himself short. “Wait, why am I cooking you dinner?”
Tim waved his forelegs angrily and then slammed his back against a refrigerator. He crossed his hooves and glared at the wall with disdain.
“You’re acting as if I’m the one that did this. Okay, so this is the typical thing I would do. I’d break up your reunion, get a kick out of it, so on and so forth. But you have to believe me; it’s really not me this time.”
Tim raised his eyebrow at Discord and shook his head. He was prepared to sulk for all eternity over this. They could rot together for all eternity at this point for all he cared. Discord deserved to be trapped in this prison that long for pulling this stunt.
“I honestly don’t know how this happened. Maybe you imagined me disrupting your reunion with your mother or something.” Discord got back up and continued to prepare the meal against his own will. “Please, make it stop! Never before have I felt so powerless.”
It was hard not to relish in Discord’s plea. Tim wondered how often one got the chance to torment a god. Subjecting someone, especially one whose affinity was chaos, to disorder they had no control over was deeply satisfying.
He wondered what else could he do to get back at the misshapen monstrosity. Perhaps a snake pit could open up below him. He cackled maniacally as a hole opened up from beneath Discord.
“What the–” Discord didn’t get to finish his sentence before he fell into it.
Tim ran up to watch the spectacle. He found his unwanted companion dangling from the cliff when he peered over the side. A snake slithered across Discord’s legs, causing him to unexpectedly giggle.
“That tickles!”
The idea was too nice for him. The pit should lead to a flaming inferno instead of snakes. A fire suddenly erupted from below, causing Tim to fall back onto his haunches.
Discord stretched out his limbs and sighed. “This is much more preferable to being forced to make dinner.”
Tim, finding it impossible to torment his adversary when he actively tried to, groaned and stormed out of the house. He slammed the door forcibly and then wished for his mind to be cleared of the nonsense.
The borderless, white nothingness met him on the other side. He glanced wayward, suddenly wanting to take back his wish, but the house he was just in was already gone.
“Whew, that was a close one. Until that delightful pit of despair of yours, that was a horrible experience.” Discord was by his side again, and he wiped his brow and then looked around. “You really have a one-track mind, don’t you? Truly, where’s your personality?”
Tim would die here. He would go crazy and then be driven to suicide. Discord’s presence ensured that this was the inevitable outcome. He laid down, curled up into a ball, and trembled. He’d never be able to burn the image of the chaos being, in his mother’s clothes, out of his head.
Discord tapped his foot as he waited. “I’ll be waiting for you to get over your existential crisis so we can make plans for getting us out of this mess. Any day now.”
Though he heard him, he couldn’t process anything that was being said. He just wanted to fall into an abyss, to forget everything he’d seen and die.
They were both suddenly plummeting. Of course, since everything was like a blank canvas, there wasn’t an end in sight.
“Get ahold of yourself!” Discord violently shook Tim. “You need to dig deeper into your mind than you’ve ever gone before!”
After Tim was finally brought back to reality, if one could describe a fantastical place like this as such, he remembered their goal. He calmly placed a hoof to his chin in contemplation.
“We don’t have that kind of time.” Discord pointed at his eyes. “Look at me. Now look down. Now back to me. Now down again. You see the ground below us?”
He looked down, but it wasn’t as if one had been conjured up from the nether in the last five seconds. What was the draconequus talking about?
“That’s right, there is none.”
Tim deadpanned at Discord, who apparently felt the need to point out the obvious. What was the point of wasting more time telling him that when he could obviously see for himself? He chalked it up to another one of his quirks.
“Cut me some slack. It was the best I could come up with. It’s not as if you gave me much to work with.” Discord held out his paw as if he was waiting for something to happen. “Alas, my gags are a thing of the past.”
The draconequus seemed genuinely disheartened by his inability to introduce chaos into the situation. Though, if he were brutally honest, they were dealing with enough havoc already. He somehow even pitied the god, as if he had a warped sense of empathy liken to a disturbed masochist.
“Right, well. When I tampered with your memories to determine where I needed to send you back, your body must have had a negative reaction to my magic. As usual.” Discord facepalmed at his oversight. He mumbled something about wondering if all of this was worth the effort before he continued, “We’ll have to look at each one of them in excruciating detail to find where my powers ran off to. Oh joy, I’m really looking forward to that. Can you see it on my face?”
There definitely wasn’t any excitement on his face. In fact, Discord looked less enthusiastic than Cranky Doodle Doo, not that Tim would know this since he hadn’t met the poor donkey and would hopefully never have to.
“Well, what are we waiting for? It’s time for us to go memory hopping!” Discord’s gleeful disposition returned in the blink of an eye. He grabbed onto his hooves and then mocked picking him up. “Think of the first thing that comes to your mind.”
Tim did just that, setting everything else aside for a moment. He envisioned a memory from his childhood and locked onto it. It became as clear as the pit trap he’d fabricated back in his home.
He was on a bicycle as a kid again, traveling down the sidewalk at an incredible speed. The trees were whizzing on by him. He had to weave between them and through the yards to avoid passersby. At some point, he crossed paths with a cat who scowled at him after its tail was trampled by his wheels.
The feeling gave him an exhilarating rush. He longed for it to never end. The best part about it was that he was himself again, with hands and feet. He’d never let this fade again for as long as he–
“Nope! It’s not here. Let’s search another one,” Discord shouted.
The sensation of being himself faded. They were back into the abyss, and he was back in the body of a pony. He glared at Discord, who noncommittally shrugged.
“Take me to the next one. That last one was about as interesting as watching grass grow.”
He couldn’t suppress the eye-roll he gave Discord. Though the comment was demeaning, he tried his best to ignore it as he focused on another memory. After a few moments, it came to him.
The feel of cold metal in his hands was satisfying. He ran his fingers across smooth wheels on the underside of its carriage, resulting in a squeak. He brought it up to his face to inspect. It was an antique toy car his father used to play with.
A television was in front of him, and it changed channels suddenly, though he didn’t pay close attention to what was on. He looked over his shoulder. His father was sitting on a recliner, his eyes glued to the screen.
Tears came to Tim’s eyes. It had been so long since he’d seen his father, who left mother when he was only a child. He missed the activities they did together. Those were such fond moments; he didn’t mind staying here a bit longer and bond with his father one last–
“Not here, either.” Discord’s voice boomed, disrupting his precious memory.
They were back to falling into the abyss. Tim was getting tired of being pulled away from his memories so often. There was ultimately no way of controlling that, however.
Discord somehow always brought him back here. He was beginning to wonder if the god really had lost his powers or if he was getting a kick out of lying to him. There was no real way of verifying that though, so he had to take his word for it.
“It has to be in there somewhere. The sooner we find it, the quicker I’ll be out of your hair.” Discord rapidly tapped his digits together and stared every which way. “What I wouldn’t give for a good gag right now.”
One last time, Tim tried to focus on the precious memories of his past. There were so many images dancing through his mind by now that it was harder for him to focus. He was relieved when one finally stuck out to him, and he was able to relive joy he’d only felt once in his whole life.
A soft hand gently brushed against his own. The butterflies in his stomach churned as he squeezed the welcoming appendage. He looked up into its owner’s eyes, and he was immediately lost in them. The love behind them was magical.
Long hair tickled his cheeks as the girl of his dreams captured him in a hug. His heart soared as she whispered sweet nothings in his ear. Those three words anyone wanted to hear from their beloved. He now felt as though he were casting out into calm seas, where he would forever bask in their warmth.
When he pulled away from her at long last, it was to return her affections with a kiss. He squeezed her shoulders in his hands and pulled away slightly to see her face. He wished to live in this moment with her forever and–
Discord had yet again interjected himself into the memory in the worst way possible. Tim thought he’d been scarred before. Little did he know that had been nothing compared to this. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to sleep again.
“I’ve found it!” Discord was seemingly unaware the event ever occurred. It was most certainly better that way.
Discord held up his paws. They were encased in a magical aura which steadily grew. It looked as though he were taking in the energy. The event didn’t last long, and when he was through he bounced jubilantly. A glass of chocolate milk suddenly appeared in his paw, which he drank, glass and all.
“Yes! I have my powers back. Now we can finally go back. One elevator leading straight back to Equestria coming right up.” The being of chaos snapped his fingers and a door appeared. It opened right up for them. “Right this way. Watch your step, ladies and gents. It could be a bumpy ride.”
Tim raised his brow in confusion. There wasn’t anybody there aside from them, so what was the point behind the showmanship? He’d forgotten to stop questioning everything Discord did, to just go with the flow.
He stepped through the door, alongside his companion, into what he hoped would be the real world.
When he awoke, he didn’t immediately recognize his surroundings past his grogginess. Strangely enough, he was without the headaches he was starting to become accustomed to, which was a nice change of pace.
Everything around him was a complete and utter disaster, however. Rubble surrounded him on all sides, and he laid in the middle of a deep crater under the moonlit night.
Never before had he been witness to so much destruction. He didn’t know what to make of it. Had Discord done something again? This seemed to be right on par with his other deeds thus far.
He heard somepony say, “Did we do it?”
“I think so.” Twilight’s head suddenly appeared overhead. She peered down into the crater with a tired look on her face. When her eyes finally rest on him at last, it seemed as if she was searching for something. “What in Equestria happened?”
Tim, not sure what she meant by that, surveyed his surroundings. Other than the loose rubble all around him, he didn’t spot much to help him give her an answer. He was just as confused as she.
Thankfully, Discord was there to provide some mitigation. He never thought he’d be so happy to see him until that moment. Fireworks exploded all around the draconequus as he cheered.
“I finally got us the information we needed to send little Timmy here home.” Discord looked quite pleased with himself, and he flashed her a smile. “No need to thank me.”
“Thank you?” Twilight stomped her forehooves on the ground and then waved at the current state of her castle. “Half of Ponyville is on fire, thanks to you!”
Discord chuckled nervously upon looking around. “A minor setback, I assure you. At least nopony was harmed, right?”
“There’s a giant hole in Canterlot.” Twilight snapped.
“I can see how that can be a problem,” Discord said. “Fortunately for you, you’re talking to the very person who can undo all that damage at the drop of a hat.”
“The sun is gone!”
“See? I knew you’d see reason, and you’ll see my method of figuring out where he came from was the right one.” Discord patted his shoulder with a floating glove. “Wait, what?”
Instead of replying, Twilight just stormed away from the crater. She groaned as she disappeared from Tim’s sight.
He got up and crawled up the slope so he could get see what they were talking about. Once he caught a glimpse of what they were saying, there was only one word that came to mind. Apocalypse.
Discord glanced down at him. He suddenly and unexpectedly guffawed. He held his side and wiped a tear. “This is spectacular. You may just have all the makings of a being of chaos after all.”
Tim blankly stared at him, waiting for any of what he said to make sense. He was afraid to even ask.
“Oh come now. Surely even you would realize it by now. This is your doing. It must have happened when you borrowed my powers.” Discord teleported himself to stand as a miniature on Tim’s shoulder. “So nice of you to act in my stead. I knew you had it in you.”
“Do I dare ask what you’re talking about now?” Twilight asked. She was standing by Fluttershy, who was quivering in fear.
“It’s a long story that I’d rather not get into. Suffice it to say, he managed to procure my powers for a short time, during which I presume he did all of this.” Discord gestured to the chaos outside. Off in the distance, a stray pony ran screaming out of his house.
“How am I going to clean all this up.” Twilight slumped to the floor. “What am I going to tell Princess Celestia?”
“You mustn’t plague your mind with unnecessary questions. Consider it all taken care of.” Discord, with a single wave of his hand, reverted the state of Equestria back to its original state in a flash. “There. All done. Good as new.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that it still happened.” The way she shook her head made Tim suspect that she was seething underneath her barely contained composure. “She could banish us to the moon. Or worse!”
“Oh dear–” Fluttershy hid her eyes behind her mane so that only her snout poked through it “–you don’t think she’ll actually do that, do you? I don’t want to go to the moon.”
Tim couldn’t make heads or tails of the feasibility behind the statement, or who this Princess Celestia person was, but he was a bit too stunned to take it all in and be frightened by it. How could he have come to possess Discord’s power?
“Well, if that isn’t the biggest load of mumbo-jumbo I’ve ever heard out of you, I don’t know what is. If anyone is going to be banished for this, it will be me.”
Twilight began pacing, and she extended a hoof out to say, “Oh, you’re already doomed to that punishment.” For that, she received a deadpanned look from the master of all things chaotic before she continued, “But what about me? If I’m trapped on the moon, how will I perform all my friendship duties?!” She stopped her rant to scratch her mane sheepishly. “I couldn’t talk her out of punishing you, I mean.”
“Oh, the Royal Princess of Canterlot can shove a...” Discord coughed once into his fisted paw. When he spoke again, it was with a more level tone. “I hardly think such extreme reactions are warranted. Why, I doubt she even noticed.”
“Oh, she noticed alright. She always does.” Twilight shivered as her mind wandered to a faraway place. “But your antics are par for the course by now. Maybe we’ll get lucky. I hope.”
Tim was still in a daze. For the briefest of moments, he had unfathomable power. How was any of this possible? Just as he was about to voice his concerns, someone’s cry stopped him. “Twilight!”
Everyone turned to face the owner. A tall, white pony descended gently from the sky. What made her stand out most to Tim was the elegantly crafted regalia she wore. The frown, nigh imperceptible upon her lips, and her trained stare gave away her thinly veiled disappointment.
Once she landed, she folded her wings at her sides. “Care to explain what’s going on here?”
At this point, Tim had no idea whether she was worried or she was disappointed. He didn’t think he’d like engaging with her either way, though, especially with the way Twilight’s head slumped in remorse in response.
Then, Twilight said, “Oh... Not much. Only all of Equestria falling into a pit of despair for what could have been all of eternity without the hope of ever seeing the light of day again!”
An odd mixture of expressions showed through the white pony’s face. First, it was a look of surprise, then in disbelief which gave into amusement. “I’m not sure what I expected, honestly. Though it does explain the odd time skip a bit.”
Twilight was silent for a while before she spoke again. “Princess Celestia, I am so sorry for everything. I’m... ready for my punishment.”
“Your punishment?” Celestia giggled. “Whatever for, Twilight? You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“So you won’t send Discord and me to the moon for a thousand years?” Twilight’s ears perked. She blinked away the tears that were already forming and smiled.
“The moon?!” All composure melted away from Celestia’s face. “Wherever did you get that idea? No! Nopony else can go up there. Not after last time. The horror. The sheer horror!”
“I’d hate to break such a heartwarming experience, but someone has to point out the elephant in the room. Has Princess Celestia’s sanity flown the coop?” Discord stopped himself momentarily to be amazed at a chirping brain flying overhead. “Or is she a changeling? She must be a changeling. Oh, how delightful that would be.”
“No, it’s worse all of that. Way worse. You can’t possibly fathom the…things that Luna had to endure up there.” Celestia’s voice betrayed her.
“Ooookay...” Discord took the sky as if ready to bolt. “Let’s just leave the crazy pony alone, shall we?” And like that, he was gone with the wind.
Celestia whimpered in terror. Quietly, she said, “I don’t know what’s real anymore.”
Torn between wanting to comfort the distressed pony and chase after his only means home, Tim was stuck in place. He understood all to well that one’s grip on reality was finicky. After all, he thought he was in a world full of talking pastel-colored ponies governed by magic. That should have been all it took for him to question everything. And now, it did.