Dense fog enshrouded the castle ruins on a hilltop deep in the Everfree Forest, as if in an effort to bury the past evidenced therein. It hid dangers like a rickety bridge that seemed ready to give way beneath the slightest pressure, along with a myriad of not-so-friendly plants and creatures who used the thick cloak to their advantage. The same magic found throughout these woods—and which kept the clouds, plants, and animals thriving without pony intervention—now inhabited the dilapidated palace.
Where order had left, chaos prevailed. It was only natural. Still, a certain stagnancy existed here that gave Discord Goosebumps along his long, slender back. He shot these away quickly enough with a water pistol, yet the unnerving sensation remained.
Discord didn’t care for stone fortresses. They reminded him too much of his cold statue days spent in the Canterlot gardens, and afterwards in some unknown place, which must have been deep in Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s present castle.
The second entombment had seemed worse. Locked up after a taste of creative freedom with nothing to do.
In hindsight, Discord had probably deserved it. Although the draconequus wouldn’t have confessed this feeling to anypony.
His griffin claw lifted, talons itching with an inner urge to change just one detail of the castle ruins—perhaps to a lovely shade of lavender that boasted pink polka dots, and featuring rubber walls that would essentially convert the dismal location into one giant funhouse. It could look out onto a waterfall and spring of chocolate milk, making the perfect vacation spot. And this was only the outside.
Ah, Discord could make the place a lot better…
But then his lion paw yanked his griffin claw down, because somehow Discord figured his handiwork would attract too much attention. And for the first time, he far preferred to lay low for a while.
Besides, he had a date.
So Discord ignored the ruins and drifted down past them, into the gorge winding in a tangled mess about this section of the Everfree Forest. On the way, he tried to spruce himself up a bit, spraying a breath freshener into his mouth, brushing his teeth, combing his dark mane, curling his eyebrows, and doing his nails.
Just a few small courtesies.
It wasn’t like he was meeting up with Fluttershy, after all.
“I’m here, my dear.” Discord intoned upon reaching his destination. His voice echoed about the large cavern, finding no pony but a grand crystal tree towards the back. Upon the bark were marks of the sun and moon, and it carried the Elements of Harmony on the tips of each branch—except for the sixth, star-shaped element that occupied the center and joined all the parts. Small white flowers, transparent and radiant, covered the surface at odd points, matching their host in beauty.
Yes. Discord had to admit the Tree of Harmony was easy on the eyes, although even the lord of chaos had trouble defining exactly why he felt drawn here more often over the last several days. Years ago, the very concept the tree embodied would have repulsed him—and Discord should have thought nothing of plucking the Elements from their respective places, scattering them, and enfeebling the magical plant. That is, if the Tree of Harmony would have let him come close enough to do so, which it hadn’t during the period before lending the Elements out to the princesses.
Now the Tree of Harmony greeted him like an old friend, seeming to grow a little brighter at Discord’s approach. A faint musical melody filled the thin air, warm and inviting, while the fragrance produced might have been a mix between honey and blueberry muffins. This was particularly strong at close range. However, this sweet sound and scent had first lured Discord here around a week ago, right after the whole Tirek incident.
***
Guilty pangs still gripped the draconequus whenever his mind ventured back to the foolish alliance made with the escaped prisoner from Tartarus, when Discord thought he had chosen a future with the freedom to reap unlimited chaos over friendship. Instead, Tirek had used him to tear Equestria apart before turning on him as well.
He had never felt so vulnerable.
That incident had opened the spirit’s eyes in many ways, least of all what to he owed to Fluttershy, Twilight, and the other ponies (another hard-to-admit fact). Untold joy really had overwhelmed him at seeing the ponies restore balance to the land, and something that might have been pride at their collective strength—and then gratitude when Twilight had included him in a group hug.
That should have ended everything, with the friendship lesson learned and Discord returning much wiser to his free-wheeling lifestyle touring Equestria (and parts beyond). He was used to letting things remain in the past and pushing on ahead in a relentless, carefree way.
Then the shadows started to come.
This was the only way Discord could have described the phenomenon. His dreams had always been chaotic, which was how he liked them. But beginning on the evening after the ponies banished Tirek, the strangest things would happen. It was suddenly hard to fall asleep, even from up high in his thinking tree. And when he at least managed that part, Discord would dream of vague shadow things drawing close about him, only to jerk awake with in a heavy sweat and pulse racing.
Odd indeed.
Furthermore, the same troubling and uncharacteristic question would await him upon waking:
Who are you, Discord?
Discord was Discord, of course, the lord of chaos and spirit of disharmony. He had the power to do many incredible things most ponies couldn’t fathom, and he had seen wonders galore throughout the centuries.
But somehow this didn’t seem to satisfy the question. It kept assailing him like a pesky paraspite, refusing to leave no matter what response Discord tried. And each time, he came away feeling something was wrong.
This question, combined with the peculiar dreams, had made the next two or three days and nights hazy affairs. Discord couldn’t remember whether he had just drifted about in a slow-moving daze or actually done anything. It was true he often surprised himself, but usually Discord would enjoy the surprise afterwards. And he couldn’t trouble Fluttershy or the ponies about these issues. They were having well-deserved fun amid their celebrations, and Discord would feign have disrupted his friends or caused unneeded worry for them again.
It was on the third night when the Tree of Harmony first called out to him. The vague shadows had tightened around Discord again in a tortured dream, when soft music broke apart these visions. He remembered a shapeless light appearing, reaching out a tendril-like arm to grip his lion paw and led him away.
Discord came to his senses the following morning, curled about the base of the Tree of Harmony and feeling refreshed at last.
Since then, he had slept in the cave—which seemed to keep the shadows at bay most of the time.
In addition, the Tree of Harmony seemed to want to tell Discord something important. Its melody was gentle and kind, yet he could sense a certain urgency as well.
What was it trying to say?
That is what Discord meant to uncover.
***
Meanwhile, Twilight soared over the EverFree Forest. If Discord had business near the Castle of the Two Sisters, she wanted to find out what was happening. For whenever the chaos spirit appeared in or around Ponyville, major events tended to follow. His mischievous ways always kept you guessing as to what might come next, although Twilight found nothing particularly wrong with this. Pinkie Pie was the same way, along with the rest of her friends.
It kept things interesting.
What concerned Twilight, while she descended through the fog and shivered under its sudden chill, was how Discord had disappeared soon after the main celebration right after her palace had emerged. With all the activity surrounding the visiting ponies and countless festivities, she had assumed he was off somewhere in raucous glee alongside Fluttershy, or causing light-hearted havoc for Celestia or Luna in Canterlot. It was only much later that Twilight had realized Discord had been nowhere to be found during these events, which was worrying.
The incident with Tirek must have been particularly traumatic for him. What if something was wrong?
About 15 minutes remained before Twilight was due to meet her friends at the castle. Perhaps she could invite Discord to join them in decorating the counsel room. The palace may not have provided him with a chair, but he could still add some touches to the place. Afterwards, perhaps they could talk.
He was her friend too.
Twilight landed at the bottom of the gorge, where she heard a subtle melody coming from the cavern where the Tree of Harmony stood. It began low, started to grow, and then continued to vary in frequency. Drawing closer, she thought she could smell wildflowers, honey, and was that soap?
The fog gave way, and Twilight peered into the cave to find—
Discord humming as he flew about the Tree of Harmony, scrubbing its various parts with the utmost care. A bucket of water, from which nice, large bubbles drifted upwards, stood upon the chest Twilight and her friends had opened to access Rainbow Power. A flowerbed stretched along the wall, and a picnic blanket and accompanying tea set lay across the floor.
Huh. You never knew what to expect from Discord.
“Do you enjoy that, TOH?” Discord asked, using the tuft of his tail to brush off some dust along the trunk.
In fact, Twilight wasn’t sure what to make of this sight. When had Discord started to clean the Tree of Harmony?
How long had he been doing it?
Regardless, he seemed to enjoy the work. The Tree of Harmony glistened under his care as well.
Discord dropped the rag into the bucket. The bucket lifted. And in a single swift motion, the water inside lurched towards Twilight.
Thankfully, the alicorn was able to avoid getting splashed by dropping to the floor and letting the current swish past overhead.
“How very becoming, Twilight Sparkle.” Discord said, a smile tweaking his lips. “Sneaking up on ponies and gawking at them. What would Princess Celestia think?” Another rag appeared in his lion paw, which he used to begin drying process. “How about you, TOH?”
“TOH?” Twilight asked, reaching her feet and coming inside.
“The Tree of Harmony, of course. Apparently, she enjoys a proper polish. No pony has done so in years, though, much to her dismay.” The rag vanished, and Discord turned to Twilight.
“I see.” Then Twilight started aback. “You can speak with the Tree of Harmony?” This was a possibility she hadn’t even considered, that the Tree of Harmony could communicate.
“In a sense, I suppose.” Discord replied, gesturing to the flowers and picnic set. “As you can see, I am making good headway.”
There must have been some method to this madness. Twilight studied the arrangement, pausing when she noticed Discord giving her a calm, quizzical look. It caught her off-guard—having gotten used to his nonsensical demeanor—to find him suddenly studying her in such a serious manner.
“Can you hear any music?” Discord asked. “Or smell anything unusual?”
Unusual. Twilight threw another glance at all the stuff. What did Discord mean?
“I don’t hear any music.” She answered at length.
“Interesting.”
An awkward pause followed. Well, that is, awkward for Twilight. She couldn’t have spoken for Discord, stroking his small white beard and studying her like she had turned into some sort of puzzle to figure out.
But then Twilight remembered why she had come in the first place.
“Discord, listen. We’re getting ready to do the interior design for the counsel room at noon, and I wanted to come invite you to join us.”
For a moment, Twilight thought Discord would accept. Enthusiasm glimmered in the red irises of his yellow eyes—and a wistful expression crossed his face. His bat and bird wings fluttered. And then, for some reason, his gaze slipped back toward the Tree of Harmony and all this faded.
“Why, thank you very much for the offer, my dear Twilight.” Discord said. “But the palace gave each of you honored places in the council room, to organize as you choose. And you know how I feel about order. I will kindly pass this time.” His arms detached, ushering Twilight back toward the mouth of the cave. “You’d best be on your way, before I get blamed for keeping you. It is almost noon. Off you go.”
“Ah. All right.” Twilight hesitated, and then realized she had only a minute or so left to rush back to the palace. “I’ll see you around then, Discord.”
“Likewise.” Discord sounded distracted, lifting an ear to listen to some tune only he could apparently hear.
So Twilight flew off to meet with her friends, wondering to herself all the while.