"I love movies!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
Twilight looked up from her book and smiled as she watched her friends, as well as other ponies, gathered around Sugarcube Corner. Tonight was a special night because Mr. and Mrs. Cake had created a special treat for everyone in Ponyville: Movie Night. Twilight and her friends came earlier than others to get good seats-basically just pillows on the floor provided by the Cakes.
Twilight loved movie nights. It was something she had experienced back in Canterlot. However, though she loved it, she had always been cooped up in her room with all her books, allowing Spike to join in the special occasion without her. Her classmates have often wondered why she would simply stay put in a tower full of dusty, old books instead of having fun-as well as making friends.
But now here in Ponyville, Twilight was enjoying Movie Night more, and with friends. But she still kept reading her books.
"Reading, Twilight?" The unicorn flinched when Pinkie Pie suddenly stood by her side, gazing at her with a hard expression. "On Movie Night? Really?"
"Honestly, do you ever go anywhere without a book?" Rainbow Dash asked, rolling her eyes.
"Well, we're waiting, aren't we?" Twilight retorted as she used her magic to turn the page. "Plus, I'm almost done with this book. It's really nice if you ever think of borrowing it some time for your own enjoyment."
"I'd rather watch grass grow..." Rainbow Dash muttered as she laid on her back against her pillow.
Applejack gave the pegasus a stern look before she gave Twilight a soft expression. "Sugarcube, I love reading as much as the next book-lover, but you really need to put that there book down and just enjoy yourself tonight."
"I'll enjoy myself..." Twilight said, eyes never tearing away from her book as she turned another page. "This story is reaching an interesting conclusion."
"Give me that!" Rainbow Dash said as she zoomed over and grabbed it from her.
"Hey!" Twilight objected. She sent a few sparks from her horn, giving the pegasus a warning. She hated it when others took her books like that; it always drew something possessive in her, especially when the book was getting good.
Rainbow Dash just laughed before she closed the book and kindly gave it back to her. "Relax, Twilight. I'm just trying to get you back into the real world."
Twilight just scoffed before she began to open her book again. "I'll get back to the "real world" after I finish the conclusion."
"And what?" Pinkie Pie asked playfully.
Before Twilight could respond, Pinkie Pie reached behind the unicorn and pulled out her bag, which was full of books.
The unicorn blushed a bit. She thought it would be a good idea to bring some books over from her library house in case she ever finished one and was in need of reading another.
"Goodness me!" Rarity exclaimed, gazing at the bag overfilled with books. She gazed at Twilight sternly, her lips curved in a disappointed pout. "You really must put away those dusty, old books, darling. It's simply not right to be cooped up with so much reading and not having fun."
"I agree," Fluttershy said softly, smiling a bit. "You really have been reading a lot, Twilight."
"As well as spend your time with that journal of yours," Spike added, sitting on Twilight's other side. When the unicorn looked at him with a questionable expression, the baby dragon flinched and held his hands up in defense. "Not that I ever tried to open and read it or anything like that!" He added quickly.
"Alright, everypony!" Mr. Cake said happily as he trotted to the front of the room, a huge projector and screen behind him. "Who wants to see some movies?"
"I do! I do! I do!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, waving her hooves in the air.
"Well, let's start the movie!" Mr. Cake said before he pressed a switch on the projector. Mrs. Cake turned off the lights and all the ponies became silent as the movie started.
However, it became interrupted by a certain glowing horn.
"Twilight!" Her friends objected.
"Hmm?" The unicorn looked up from her book, her horn glowing to a certain value so it could blend with the darkness of the room. However, its glow was attracting attention, as well as disrupting the movie.
"Put the book down!" Rainbow Dash ordered. "Now!"
Twilight rolled her eyes before using her magic and putting her book back in her bulging bag. At least she finished... Suddenly, a bucket of popcorn was shoved in her face.
"Here, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie insisted, her mouth full of buttery popcorn. "This'll get you off those boring books and get into the Movie Night spirit."
Twilight had to smile. Her friends were only trying to put fun in her intellectual life. She could always read when she got home. Accepting the bucket, Twilight dug a hoof into the popcorn and began munching as she watched the screen along with her friends. It had been so long since she had done anything like this.
She watched as the screen showed a movie about a pony who was all alone with no friends-
Wait...what?
Mouth full of popcorn, eyes widening, Twilight watched as the unicorn tried, however, failed to make any friends, either she was shy or she simply didn't know how. Unfortunately, it was all in black and white, but Twilight saw that the pony was a female unicorn. The movie went on as Twilight's eyes became glued to the screen, munching on more popcorn, which she shared with her friends.
On screen, a sudden shadow loomed over the unsuspecting unicorn.
Shrieks could be heard from the crowd. Rarity and Fluttershy held on to each other, terrified of what was to happen next.
The unicorn in the movie trembled when the shadow came closer. Twilight's eyes widened even more, anticipating for what the creature was.
It had hooves...horns...a beard...
"Discord?" Twilight gasped, her mouth still full of popcorn. Luckily, no one heard her.
It wasn't Discord on the screen, or any Draconequus for that matter. It was just a goat.
Twilight gulped, having finally swallowed her popcorn as she watched the unicorn and goat become friends. Why was she thinking about Discord again? Sure, she still felt guilty about turning him back into stone, putting him back in the gardens of Canterlot, his face of horror visible for all to see...
An aching feeling in Twilight's heart emerged as the unicorn clutched the bucket closer to her, averting her eyes away from the screen. She leaned back a little, having knocked over her bag of books. One book fell out.
The Tale of Discord
Twilight groaned quietly to herself. She didn't know why she even brought that book to Movie Night when there were many others in her library house. She had already finished that one.
Yet...she couldn't stop reading it...
Twilight gazed down at the book before carefully picking it up and putting it back in her bag, careful not to disrupt the movie. She remembered the first time she found that book, it was after the defeat of Discord. She thought it would be beneficial to read about the mix-matched creature, even though he had already been turned back into stone and safely placed back in the gardens of Canterlot. She needed to gain more knowledge about him, learn more about his former rule of Equestria before the princesses rebelled against him. Twilight wanted to know if the things he done had really been that harmful as Princess Celestia claimed they had been a thousand years ago.
Twilight had already answered herself that question long before she read The Tale of Discord. Though she never admitted it to her friends, her opinion on the spirit of chaos and disharmony had grown from dislike to slight sympathy. Somewhere deep down, the unicorn knew there was a little goodness in him...
Twilight munched on her popcorn, no longer focusing her attention on the movie. Her mind was now completely summoned by the thoughts of Discord...as well as her mouth now completely addicted to the taste of buttery popcorn.
The popcorn reminded her of another encounter with Discord. It was after the failed attempt to find the Elements of Harmony in the labyrinth, after Discord tricked and manipulated all her friends, changing each of them into the complete opposite of what their element represented. After he had tricked Rainbow Dash into choosing her loyalty between saving her home in Cloudsdale or remaining with her friends and finding the elements, his little game had ended.
Twilight remembered having to struggle under Rarity's ridiculous, so-called "gem" before she threw it off her back to stretch. The lying Applejack told her that Rainbow Dash had abandoned them. How badly Twilight wanted to object to such a false truth, but the Earth pony had been right.
Before Twilight could absorb what had just happened about being deserted by their fast-flying friend, the labyrinth had fallen beneath their feet, leaving them in a center of nothing but dirt. And Discord came into view, explaining that Rainbow Dash had broken the "no flying, no magic" rule. That the game was over and he won.
Twilight had felt so hopeless at first, just watching as Discord laughed at her failure to obtain the Elements and keep a steady bond of her team. She remembered how angry Pinkie Pie was when Discord was simply laughing, enjoying the harm he had done to them. Twilight had wished the old happy, giggly Pinkie Pie was back, just laughing along when she shouldn't have. Her laughter could have soothed the situation they were in...
But no, because of Discord's tricks, sweet Pinkie Pie became serious, making herself a threat to any who laughed. And then Fluttershy took the opportunity to become cruel and infuriate the pink pony further. She laughed at her, the sweetness in her voice having changed into one that was full of venom and malevolence. Pinkie Pie had grown angry, and she and the yellow Pegasus disputed, Fluttershy's mock laughter versus Pinkie's temper.
Twilight wanted to tell them to stop, but then she noticed Applejack approach Rarity and her "diamond". More lies from the blonde pony as she claimed they all found the diamond, insisting that Rarity split it. And then-to Twilight's utter surprise-Rarity had sent a kick at the Earth pony. Twilight had never seen the other unicorn use such violence, and for greed...
Twilight had felt so helpless as she watched her friends become even more bitter to each other. She tried to call to them, snap them out of their confused and dominated minds. She just wanted them to stop; she wanted her friends back.
The laughter of Discord took her attention away from her friends as the unicorn glared at him. How angry she was that he had done this to her friends, how even more determined that she needed to stop him. While her friends continued quarreling, Twilight had stood up to him, readying her horn if she needed it.
She demanded Discord to end his tricks, claiming him as being unfair. Discord took her statement as mock offense, claiming that his tricks were consent because he was the spirit of chaos and disharmony; he claimed he had a right to do what he had done.
As Twilight remembered, before she argued against Discord, she had found him sitting on a movie theater seat with a bucket of popcorn by his side. She had to admit-to herself only-that his magic certainly could bring out many things that he desired. He had found her friends' fighting as entertainment value, enjoying his popcorn as he watched his work unfold before him.
Twilight wanted to shove that bucket of popcorn down his throat. However...Twilight didn't know why she thought this...but the way he just sat there, watching and eating his popcorn...he looked so relaxed and without any concern at all. He must have been this way a thousand years back when he had been ruler of Equestria. Quite possibly he took every trick he pulled on ponies in the past for his entertainment, treating it like a show and simply enjoying his popcorn or any other snack he conjured.
The way he just sat there with his bucket of popcorn...Twilight had grown envious that while she had been struggling to keep her friends together, to complete their quest of finding the elements, the creature of many animal parts simply sat there and enjoyed his snack. Not a problem in the world...
Twilight munched on the popcorn as she thought of how completely calm and serene Discord had been during everything. Of course, he had nothing to worry about, all the chaos around them was what he wanted, what he created, and what he enjoyed. The calm, yet amused expression on his face is what Twilight remembered the most about him...as well as the expression of horror he had when she and her friends finally put themselves together and-
Twilight shoved another hoof-ful of popcorn into her mouth, munching faster as she felt that pang of guilt hit her once again. Even though she was glad they had saved Equestria from the harm Discord had done, even though she was so proud of herself for what she and her friends had done...a little piece of her wished they didn't turn him into stone.
Part of her wished he would still be in the flesh...just lounge around and eat his bucket of popcorn as before.
He just looked so relaxed...so amused...happy as Twilight had read his expression harder...Like a little filly watching a show and just eating his popcorn, eyes sparkling as he smiled...
But now...
"Hey!"
Twilight immediately snapped out of her thoughts, her mouth full of popcorn. She turned to see Pinkie Pie look at her with an expression of shock and disappointment.
"You ate all the popcorn!" The pink pony declared, pointing a hoof at the bucket in Twilight's possession.
Twilight's eyes gazed down at the bucket. It was definitely empty, down to every crumb she somehow eaten in full. Embarrassed, Twilight blushed as she swallowed what she guiltily had eaten. The thought of Discord and his bucket of popcorn...who knew that would make her want to eat the whole bucket of popcorn that was suppose to be meant for her and her friends?
"Wow..." Twilight chuckled nervously, receiving surprised glances from her friends. "That must be some movie...it made me eat all the popcorn..." And she gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that..."
"Aw, don't worry, sugarcube," Applejack assured her.
"Yeah, it's better than you reading some dumb book," Rainbow Dash added with a smirk.
"Yeah, at least you're totally in the Movie Night spirit!" Pinkie Pie said, having converted from shock back to her usual cheerful self. "Don't worry! There's more popcorn being made in the back. Could you get more?"
"Of course, Pinkie," Twilight said with relief as she stood up, being quiet as possible and trying not to disrupt the movie.
Trotting over to the back of the room where a machine fired away at cooking more popcorn, Twilight placed her bucket on the table and grabbed the scooper. As she began piling popcorn into her empty bucket, her thoughts drifted back to what she had been thinking about while she was eating.
Discord must have eaten more popcorn than anyone, considering he was so easily entertained...
Twilight shook her head. She had no idea why she even thought of that. That sounded ridiculous as well as redundant to think about. Of course Discord loved to eat popcorn, just like he loved to eat cotton candy clouds that drizzled chocolate rain. For someone who was the spirit of chaos and disharmony, Twilight had noticed a child-like presence about him...just amusing himself and enjoying the so-called "fun" he created of their home.
Everything was entertainment to him...and he just loved to have a snack around to enjoy it more.
Twilight could relate to him. Sometimes while she read, she would feel a bit hungry and usually have either a daisy sandwich or a plate of cookies beside her. Reading was entertainment to her as disharmony was to Discord.
How would he have reacted to watching simple entertainment such as the movie she and the ponies were watching? Would he have been amused? Bored? Would he have used his magic to make the movie more interesting? Twilight had to lean more on that third question.
Finally, the bucket was filled to the brim and Twilight quietly walked over to where her friends sat. She placed the bucket in front of Pinkie Pie, the unicorn feeling that she would repeat what she had done earlier. Smiling at the pink pony, Twilight's eyes turned back to the screen.
That unicorn and that goat creature sure are good friends...
Twilight's smile faded a little as she thoughts back to what she had written in her journal. About how she wished things could have been different. About how maybe Discord could still be here and Twilight would try and reason with him...
Maybe if that happened...he would have been sitting right beside her, enjoying a bucket of popcorn with her as well...
That sounded too good to be true...
Twilight's eyes glistened a bit as she imagined it. Discord sitting by her side, amused by such a movie, sharing a laugh with her as he offered her his popcorn. The unicorn couldn't imagine if her friends and other ponies would be with them. She still kept thinking that they just wouldn't understand.
All she could imagine was Discord and herself sitting in front of the screen. Alone in Sugarcube Corner. But happy and content, knowing it would take time for other ponies to become immune to his sudden presence.
If he would ever become present again...
Sighing, Twilight reached a hoof toward the bucket and grabbed a hoof-ful of popcorn, eating to try and ignore the guilt and pathetic hope for what could have been.
He would have enjoyed this movie. He would have enjoyed it even more with a bucket of popcorn, which Twilight sadly continued eating from.
_