//------------------------------// // Ch.5 Long Tall Twilight // Story: Discord's Reign // by chief maximus //------------------------------// DISCORD'S REIGN Chapter 5-Long Tall Twilight After breakfast Twilight removed a book from the 'M' section, gently floating it on the ground in front of her. She settled herself on her reading pillow and opened the book to about one third of the way through. 'Mythical and Magic Entities of Equestria' 'Dilong...Dipsa...Dirawong...Discord.' she thought stopping on the entry for the Spirit of disharmony. "A draconequus by nature, not much is known about this mythical creature's origin. Some believe he is as old as time itself, while other more conservative estimates say he is most likely only as old as 1020 years, as the first record of his existence has been dated to sometime before the rule of Princess Celestia. His powers include the ability to bend the laws of physics and space-time at will, and to conjure items out of seemingly thin air. It is not known wether or not the items must already exist, or if he can manipulate matter in order to create objects. Aspects of his personality include a constant need for the illogical and a contempt bordering on hatred for the logical and orderly. The source of his power is widely believed to be the misery and confusion of others. For example: under his rule, widespread disharmony across the land of Equestria grew his strength to unreal, almost invincible levels before being sealed in stone by Princesses Celestia and Luna via the elements of harmony. While he sees himself simply as the antithesis of order, his tricks sometimes border on the dangerous and thus make him a mortal threat to any seeking him out. According to legend, he is sealed inside the statue of himself inside the gardens of Canterlot palace, watched over by guards at all times." "Well that didn't tell me anything new." she said aloud to herself, still wondering what the dream she had could have meant. "You want to tell me why you nearly made me have a heart attack this morning?" Spike asked taking a seat next to her, leaning his back against her side. "It was just a nightmare." she sighed, still unsure if that's all it was or if it was some kind of omen. "Must have been some nightmare." he added snacking on a pile of gems he had pulled down from the cabinet. 'You don't know the half of it.' she thought as a knock at the door echoed through the library. "I'll get it." Twilight said almost relieved to have one of her friends, or really anypony stop by after that disturbing dream. She got to her hooves allowing Spikes head to hit the floor without her to lean on. The door opened to reveal a red stallion digging his front hoof into the ground nervously, he obviously didn't hear her answer his knock. 'I forgot Big Macintosh said he was going take me out!' she thought panicked as he looked up, somewhat startled to see her. She knew she must have looked horrendous, but couldn't just run away to fix her ruffled main and tail. "Oh! Hello Ms. Twilight...I...came by to, um..." he stammered in uncertainty. No more than five minutes ago he had worked out every word he was going to say, and when he was to say it. Now all that planning had gone out the window, and left him stuttering like a nervous colt in front of her. Twilight shared his apprehension as she opened the bottom door. "Come in Big Macintosh!" she invited in her best confident voice. She didn't have the aid of cider to bolster her courage this time, she would have to rely on her personality. Something that she was fairly reluctant to try. The earth stallion carefully wiped his hooves and stepped into the main room of the library. There were more books here than he had ever seen in one place before. He was by no means averse to reading, but never really found time with all the work he did around the farm, him being the only male strong enough to do most of the more difficult and strenuous labor. Spike sensed it was about to get rather mushy and girly in the main room, so he quickly retreated to the loft after greeting their guest. "Excuse me Big macintosh, I'll be right back." Twilight said following Spike up the stairs before he could get a word out. He could hear her searching for something above him as the rummaging sound abruptly stopped. He noticed the book open on the floor and the subject of the page it was turned to. 'Discord? Wonder what Twilight would want with that feller?' he thought as she descended the staircase, starling his nose out of her book. He noticed her mane was now straightened and combed, bouncing with her shoulders as she descended each step. Her tail seemed much more perky than it had when he got there, the dark red stripe really jumping out from the rest of her violet locks. It was dark at the time of the Summer Sun festival and he was glad he finally had the opportunity take in what was in his eyes, the most beautiful mare in town. "Ms. Twi- err, Twilight...you didn't have to do all that." he said blushing at the thought of her wanting to look her best for him. It may not have been much, but since all he lived with were girls who didn't particularly care what state he saw them, it was a welcome relief. "Do what? I just brushed my mane and tail." she admitted, though in truth she had brushed it, sprayed it with de-tangler and given it a quick once over with a bottle of MareShine Rarity had lent her. He was right though, she wasn't about to let him see her look like she'd just wrestled a hydra. He took a seat on the end of the couch as she joined him on the other side. "So..." she began, her nerves now threatening to erase all the confidence she had spent the last few minutes trying to build. 'Mac, you're a dang stallion! The strongest in Ponyville! Real stallions say what they want ta the mares they want! Now pony up and say what you came here ta say!' he berated himself, his pep talk giving him the courage to speak. He took a deep breath and exhaled before he began. "You remember when I told you I wanted...to...take you out?" he said, his confidence evident in the first few words, but waning toward the end of the sentence. 'How could I forget!' she thought, even though she had just forgotten five minutes ago. She barely contained the mile wide grin threatening to break out onto her face. "Yes, I remember." she said calmly, her words belying her unbridled excitement bubbling just beneath the surface. "Well, I was wonderin' if...you had no plans later..." he started, unconsciously breaking eye contact with her. 'Eye contact!' he reminded himself, moving his head back to eye level with hers as what he feared came true. Her eyes had the remarkable ability to clear any and all thoughts from his mind, whether he wanted them to or not. The soft sapphire spheres filled him with a contentment in his heart he had never felt before, as if something that was missing in his life was being filled completely by her gentle gaze alone. Under her cute button nose a smile traced her lips as he couldn't help but return a slightly flustered grin of his own. 'Aww, he's nervous! That's so sweet...' she thought watching the toughest and strongest stallion in Ponyville stammer nervously over his words. Seeing him like this helped give her the confidence to complete his sentence. "I would love to go out with you tonight, Big Macintosh." she responded softly. The earth stallion smiled quietly, his brick red cheeks even showing through his coat, happy that the mare he had growing feelings towards wasn't just interested in him because of his extra hard cider. "Mac, is fine Twilight." he said softly. "When should I come by for you?" he asked, the only confident sentence he had gotten out since his arrival. "I'll be ready by around eight." she answered. "Until then Ms. Tw- I mean Twilight." he said as she leaned over from her side of the couch, putting her forelegs on his right hind leg. "Until then Mac." she whispered giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. She felt like she had just put her lips to the outside of a cup of hot chocolate, his face feverishly red now as he stood up from the couch and bid her goodbye. His heart raced as he left the library, so fast he almost felt the need to break into a run outside to burn off his excitement. She laid over the length of the couch on her back as she watched him leave. 'That was bold Twilight!' she praised herself, recalling having read in her book 'Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Courtship (but were afraid to ask)' that most stallions find a mare making a move to be quite a refreshing change of pace. Even if her definition of a 'move' was just a kiss on the cheek goodbye. She reveled in her newfound confidence as she hugged the throw pillow Big Mac had been sitting against with her forelegs, the smile she had kept suppressed now bursting on to her face in a toothy grin as the haunting dream she had was all but forgotten. She caught sight of Spike leaning against the railing lining the second floor, a look of disgust on his face, typical of the young dragon whenever her friends began girl talk or anything fashion related. "That'll be you one day Spike!" she called to him from the couch as he pointed a claw into his open mouth walking back down the stairs. "You can keep all that mushy stuff down here." he said as he began cleaning up the kitchen. "What'd Big Macintosh want anyway?" "He asked me on a date." she said happily sitting upright on the couch before her left brain reminded her of a very important if not buzz-killing fact. She had never been on a date before! A new wave of stress washed over her as her thoughts went a mile a minute. "Oh no! What am I going to wear? Should I wear anything? What if he does but I don't? Would I look like a tramp? What about my mane? And tail? Spike what do I do? I've never been on a date before!" she lifting him up off the ground in her forelegs and shaking him in panic. "A book! There has to be a book on dates in here somewhere!" she said searching frantically through every book in the 'D' section scattering them about one by one. "Twilight!" Spike shouted after being unceremoniously dropped onto the hardwood floor, getting her attention as she was now up to her forelegs in a pile of books beginning with D. "You could keep ruining the library trying to find a book, or you could go ask a pony who's been on a few dates." he suggested beginning to pick up some of the books she had flung around the room. "That's right! Rarity will know what to do!" she said climbing out from the book pile she created. "Sorry about the mess Spike...I just really want this thing between me and Big Macintosh to get off to a good start." she admitted lowering her ears in embarrassment over the way she had just been acting. "It's okay. Now shoo so I can get this place put back together." he said carrying an armload of books up the ladder. Twilight stepped out of the library and down the road towards Rarity's boutique, drinking in the warm summer's day as other citizens of Ponyville went about their daily routine. While she walked, her mind drifted back towards the visions in her nightmare. The sound of the birds chirping sweetly in the trees and the dull mumble of distant conversations assured her that this was real, but the seed of doubt Discord had planted still nagged her. Surely her imagination wasn't powerful enough to keep her in a constant state of delusion. She ran into Fluttershy putting a baby bird that had fallen from it's nest in a tree back in its place when she greeted her. "Hello Twilight, lovely day isn't it?" she said landing softly in front of her. "Yeah, it's nice out." she said, still distraught by the faces she saw on the tombstones in her dream, especially Fluttershy's. "Is something bothering you? You know you can always talk to me about it...I mean...if you want." Fluttershy had an uncanny ability to pick up on subconscious queues, and Twilight was certainly not immune to her powers. 'Well, it couldn't hurt. It was just a dream.' Twilight reasoned as she motioned for the shy pegasus to walk with her. "I had a nightmare last night." she began as Fluttershy let out a soft gasp. "Angel gets nightmares sometimes, then I let him sleep with me. I secretly enjoy it...the cuddling I mean, not the nightmares..." she added timidly as she continued. "Right, well this one was...I don't know how to explain it. It felt so real when I was dreaming it...I woke up screaming, and nearly scared Spike to death." she admitted as the pink maned pegasus kept pace with her. "Oh my...that does sound scary. What was it about?" she asked inquisitively. "I'd rather not say...but trust me it was pretty frightening. I just can't get it out of my head, no matter how hard I try. I've got a date tonight with Big Macintosh, and I don't want to ruin it by looking over my shoulder for Discor-" she tried to stop herself a letter short, but it was too late. "D-Discord? You had a dream about...him?" she stuttered nervously, his name alone striking fear into the caring pegasus' tender heart. "Well...yes. I might as well tell you the whole thing..." she began, regaling her with every horrific detail she could remember, against her better judgement. By the end of her story, Fluttershy's walk had slowed considerably as some color had drained from her normally rosy cheeks. "T-that...um...I...I have to go Twilight." she said, fluttering away as Twilight's ears dropped in regret, having probably scared her friend out of her wits. "I knew I should have kept that to myself." she sighed, mentally kicking herself for not considering Fluttershy's overly sensitive nature. She stopped at a fruit vendor's cart and bought slice of watermelon, eating it quickly as she walked, savoring its flavor and texture, certain that she would have no way of making this feeling up. 'No...it was just a dream. After all crazy ponies know their crazy...right? Right.' She knocked gently on Rarity's home business as Sweetie Belle opened the door. "Hi Twilight! Rarity's in the back filling some orders, come on in!" she said, the filly having a pin cushion strapped to her back as she heard her sister calling for her pins. "Who was at the door Sweetie Belle?" "Twilight." she said as the white unicorn held a blue and green ribbon in front of her, trying to decide between the two. Rarity stopped what she was doing and turned to greet her friend. "Hello Twilight! What brings you to Ponyville's fashion capital?" "I've got a date tonight, I want-" Rarity cut her off as her eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh, you want an elegant dress to stop Big Macintosh dead in his tracks! Come darling, I've got just the one!" "No, It's not that!" she said digging her hooves in as Rarity attempted to push her behind her changing curtain. "I just want some advice, I've never been on a date before..." she admitted with a touch of embarrassment in her voice, though she was fairly certain her lack of dating experience wasn't a secret. "Oh. Well that's fine as well! Sweetie Belle be a dear and go play with your friends for a while." "But I want to know about dates too!" she complained as she stamped her small hoof on the ground demandingly. "Sweetie Belle, you're far too young to be concerning yourself with colts. Now gather your friends and go crusade for your cutie marks." she instructed firmly, the little filly hung her head but reluctantly headed outside. "Care for some tea, Twilight?" Rarity asked pouring two cups. "Sure. So, what do you...do, on a date?" Twilight asked, figuring the best way to get straight answers was not to beat around the bush. Rarity smiled as the teacups hovered toward her, taking a sip of hers before setting it on an end table and finding a seat on her fainting couch. "Well Twilight, it all depends on where you go. Since this is your first date, I wouldn't expect too much. Your main goal here is to have fun, and see if you and Big Macintosh go together well." she stated very matter-of-factly. "Physical attraction is one thing, but if you don't connect on a deeper level, a fling is all you could ever hope for." This information helped somewhat, but she still had a few concerns. "Okay, but what should I do with my mane? I mean, should I try to style it? Or should I wear jewelry? And how do I wear my tail?" Her flurry of questions amused the elder unicorn as she took another steady sip of her tea. "When Big MacIntosh asked you on your date, how did you look?" "Pretty much like I do now..." she answered, not sure where she was going with this. "That's the Twilight Big MacIntosh asked to accompany him to dinner, so that's the Twilight you should be. Yourself." "There's no point in pretending to be something you're not to try and impress somepony. That will just lead to you living a lie, or him falling in love with one. Neither option is very desirable." she continued, Twilight fighting the urge to start taking notes. "Now, having said that, there's no harm in putting a little work in your appearance." she said getting up from the couch and levitating some mane and tail care products her way. "Before your date arrives, give your mane and tail a quick wash with this, and he'll swear he's dining with Princess Celestia herself!" she added as she put them in a bag and Twilight grabbed the handle with in her mouth. "Thanks Rarity!" "Not a problem my dear, and do come by after and tell me how it went; I just adore our visits." Twilight teleported back to the library, startling Spike as he had just put the last few books in order on the shelves. "Get any advice?" her dragon roommate asked as she set the bag down on the table. "Be myself..." she said somewhat disappointed. "Well that shouldn't be too hard. You've been yourself practically your whole life!" he joked, eliciting a chuckle from his roommate. As the minutes ticked by, the closer it got to eight o'clock, the more nervous Twilight felt. By the time the hour had rolled around, she was on pins and needles. A knock at the door made her heart skip a beat as Spike went to answer it. She hadn't changed too much about herself, save for a dark red flower in her mane she had plucked from the bushes outside the library. She took a deep breath and walked behind Spike as he looked to her one last time to make sure she was ready. She nodded as he opened the door. But instead of a tall, dashing stallion awaiting her escort, two royal pegasus guards stood in the doorway with two more hitched to a chariot, their armor gleaming brilliantly in the moonlight. "Twilight Sparkle, by order of Princess Celestia, you are to come with us to Canterlot castle at once." the grey one on the right commanded. "What? Can't this wait a few hours? I've got plans tonight!" she protested. "We have been given permission to treat you as hostile by the Princess if you don't comply." he stated authoritatively. "Hostile?! The Princess would never..." then she recalled her dream. Of course the real Princess wouldn't treat her this way! A lead weight dropped in her stomach as she realized that at least some of the nightmare had to have been prophetic. "No, there's no need for that. Let me gather my-" "You are only to bring yourself and nothing else, by royal order." the pegasus stated again in the same demanding monotone. She had to act quickly, she turned to Spike and whispered "Tell Big Macintosh I had to go to Canterlot on business, and I'm sorry. If I'm not back by tomorrow, tell the other's I've been kidnapped by Discord." Spike had a look of utter confusion on his face. "What?!" he repeated before she boarded the chariot, flanked by the two guards who had come to retrieve her. As the chariot rode off into the night sky, Spike could still only stand there with the door open, mouth agape. After a short flight, the chariot landed in front of the large castle doors. As she exited the chariot, another guard hastily affixed a magic absorbing shackle to her forelegs. That was the final nail in the coffin. The real Princess would never do this to her. She was her favorite student! She didn't know how, but she was now certain that behind those doors sitting in Celestia's throne would be the chimera from her nightmare. She was right.