Discord and the Mane Six boarded the next train for Hollow Shades. Twilight Sparkle brought along books about the strange place she hadn’t been to before. Rarity brought along outfits and camping equipment (which Applejack hauled) in case they should ever “camp out in those dreadful woods”. The group could only groan in exasperation. During their train trip, Twilight came across an interesting section of one of her books. “Hey,” she said, “it says here that there’s an event that only the residents of Hollow Shades get to see. When the sun sets on the longest night of the year, an alicorn appears and creates an aurora borealis known as the ‘Winter Lights’.”
“Ooh! That sounds colorful!” Pinkie Pie jumped up. Fluttershy agreed, “And pretty, too.” “That’s an awfully nice thing for one of the princesses to do for them,” Applejack smiled. “But it says here that they don’t know who the alicorn is,” Twilight explained. “All they ever see of this pony is the horn and the wings. But I can tell you this much: I don’t think it was one of the princesses.”
Discord slammed his fist into his claw and deduced, “Then it must be Teardrop! Who else could it be?” Twilight interrupted him, “Now, hold on. We don’t exactly know if it’s her, yet.” “Oh, come on, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash flew over her. “You haven’t seen any other alicorns besides the princesses, yourself, and Teardrop, have you?”
Rarity said, “Well, I suppose Rainbow Dash is right. Teardrop could be the one who’s creating the Winter Lights.” She gasped at a revelation and continued, “But what if it could be that sorceress Zecora sent us to find?! What if she’s an alicorn, too?” Discord chuckled, “Oh, come on, Rarity! You can’t be serious?
“How could the sorceress be an alicorn? That picture of her definitely shows her being a unicorn!” Twilight pondered, “Yes, but Zecora said that the sorceress wasn’t really a unicorn. She just had magical powers at birth. Maybe she became a unicorn later in life?”
Rainbow Dash suggested, “Or maybe it’s Queen Chrysalis disguising herself so she can trick us again. I think she’s got Teardrop held captive and is using the Winter Lights to feed off the happiness of the ponies living in Hollow Shades!” Fluttershy was hiding under the bench and shakily asked, “Why did you have to remind us of her?” Discord knelt down beside Fluttershy and scolded Rainbow Dash, “Rainbow Dash, you’re scaring Fluttershy! Me, too, for that fact.”
Twilight said, “Oh, you guys. Zecora wouldn’t send us to find this sorceress if she knew it was Queen Chrysalis.” Applejack agreed, “I think she’s right. This sorceress must a very reliable source if Zecora wanted us to find Teardrop.” “Right,” Discord stood up. “She might be our only hope of ever finding my sweetheart again!”
The Mane Six looked at him with wide eyes. Discord stammered, “Err…of finding Teardrop again.” He smiled nervously and shrugged his shoulders. However, Rainbow Dash scoffed and shook her head, “Yeah, right. We know you’ve got it bad for Teardrop. Who’s blaming you?”
“So?” Discord retorted. “What if I’ve got it bad for Teardrop? I’ve got nothing to hide. She’s the only alicorn who truly understands me, who is funny, compassionate…” He sighed as he continued in a dreamlike tone, “…charming, gorgeous, radiant…”
He soon took notice of the Mane Six, who looked at him with smirks. “Oh, darn!” Discord muttered as he face-palmed with his claw. “I blew my own cover!” Twilight reassured him, “Don’t worry, Discord. We’ll find her.” Fluttershy agreed, “Yes, and I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again.” Discord smiled half-heartedly, “I can only hope so.”
That night, Discord had another nightmare.
He was searching all around for his fair Teardrop. “Teardrop?!” he called as he looked all around. He was in a bright surrounding, nothing but yellow light. Then, he heard a distant call. “Discord?!” it cried. “Is that you?!”
His heart fluttered at the sound of her voice. He ran towards the direction it came from. “I’m coming, my dearest!” he shouted. He was so joyful when he heard her call again, “Where are you?! I need you!” “Don’t you worry, sweetheart!” he replied. “I’m on the way!”
Then, he saw her.
She was laying on her fours facing a bright light. He leaped up and changed into superhero attire in mid-air. He landed near Teardrop and said, “Da-da-da! Super Discord is here! You have nothing to fear, darling.” “Oh, don’t I?” her voice spoke in a menacing tone. “Huh?” Discord said in confusion.
Teardrop stood up and turned towards him. What he saw was horrifying. Teardrop had glowing red eyes and her mane and tail became like Nightmare Moon’s mane and tail. “Did you really think I was interested in you because you were funny?” she asked as her voice became distorted. Discord stepped back in fright and hurt. “No…” he whispered.
“Well, I just used that opportunity at the ball just to get close so I can…” she explained as she lowered her horn. It emitted a dangerous red glow with orange sparks. She continued, “…eliminate you!” As she said that, she shot at Discord. He saw that he was turning into obsidian and cried, “Teardrop! Don’t do this to me! NOOOOO!”
He woke up with a yell. This yell was more anguished than frightened. He was so shaken up from his nightmare that he was trembling to his core. Luckily, he didn’t manage to wake the Mane Six. At that moment, he felt like he needed to go outside for fresh night air.
Princess Luna had been scouting the fields outside of Canterlot for any trace of Teardrop. She did, however, spot a train with a strange figure on the roof of one of its cars. She flew down towards the train only to see that the figure was not an alicorn. It had a horn and an antler. It also had a slender body with mismatched wings, legs, and arms. In that instant, Luna knew exactly who it was. However, when she descended onto the roof of the train car, she also knew that something was up with him.
Discord was lying across the roof in a manner of being…sorrowful. She thought that this was unlike Discord, so she walked slowly towards him. “Discord?” she asked. “Is there something of matter?” Discord turned his head only so slightly and mumbled, “Like I didn’t know it was you, Princess.” Luna paused, and then asked again, “Is there something bothering you? You should not keep your emotions bottled up, like I once did.”
He could not deny her the truth of his pain, so he sat up alongside the edge of the roof and sighed, “I’m worried about Teardrop. What if she turns against me? What if how she acted before was all just a big charade?” Luna sat down beside him and saw their shadows touching the rail tracks. She remembered how she had been in her sister’s shadow before her fall and despite all that had happened, her sister still willingly loved her. She smiled at the thought of such a love and wondered if Teardrop and even Discord were going through that themselves.
She reassured him, “If you feel deeply for Teardrop, then there might not be any doubt she feels the same way about you. Only a love like that is hardest to hide.” Discord wished he could believe Luna, but he wasn’t sure. No…not “unsure”. It was more like “afraid”. He was afraid to take her advice because if he did and Teardrop rejected him, he would break into a million pieces. He couldn’t take that chance.
He scoffed, “How can you be sure of that, Luna? You’re Luna, the Princess of the Night, not Cadance, the Princess of Love.” Then, deep within himself, he felt a heavy pain. It wasn’t like any physical pain, but this was so emotional that it felt very real. He couldn’t bury it, for he knew what it was. It was the pain of potential heartbreak that could come should Teardrop reject him. It was mixed together with his fears and anxiety.
As much as he hated to admit it, Discord knew that Luna was right. At this, he thought snidely, Aren’t all alicorn princesses? Discord could only sigh, “All right, you’ve made your point. But what should I do about it? Can I just go up to Teardrop, bring her back to Canterlot, and ask her to marry me?”
Luna looked at him with wide eyes. This made Discord chuckle at the idea, “Of course I won’t! But how can I tell if she loves me? I am, after all, a draconequus. Surely, nopony can ever expect to marry one! Pshaw! I can marry whoever I love, and I love Teardrop!”
At that moment, he realized that he had just confessed his love for Teardrop. But of course, almost instantaneously, he remembered how the other ponies reacted when he disguised himself as a stallion. He hadn’t fooled any of the mares with his disguise, so why wouldn’t it be different with Teardrop? He felt a familiar swelling inside him that he could not contain. Before he knew it, he blurted out, “But what if Teardrop won’t love me? What if it’s all…”
At that point, he could barely get the words out and tears were brimming in his eyes. He managed to choke out, “…a lie?” He leaned back on his left side with his paw and claw clutching at his heart. Luna felt sympathy for him as he struggled to keep his emotions and doubts at bay. She knew what it felt like to be in such pain. She didn’t think she would ever be loved again after she transformed into Nightmare Moon and back. However, if she had been fortunate enough for the ponies to love her again, then perhaps it would take a special somepony to love Discord.
Her heart felt a pang of sympathy as she looked at Discord’s bent body. It shook as Discord tried to hold back his sobs. All Luna could hear were sniffles, but that was enough for her to do something. She put a hoof on his shoulder and he turned his head to her. She saw the tears edging his eyelids and Discord gasped as a tear slid down his cheek. Luna caught his tear with her hoof and used her horn to levitate it. “If you truly love Teardrop,” she told him, “then you’ll know just by showing her how much you care.”
Discord slowly began to smile and Luna flashed one back. She gave the tear back to Discord as he held it in his paw. He looked at it and realized that Teardrop could interpret the emotions it was shed for should Discord fail to find the words to describe what he felt. In that moment, he knew just what to do with it. “You know,” he said in a cheerier tone, “Teardrop can colorize this tear to know exactly what I was feeling moments ago. That might convince her I love her deeply.”
He chuckled quite mischievously, but then remembered that there was a princess present. He looked over at Luna, who looked ambivalently, and chuckled nervously, “I mean, I’m sure when she looks at this tear, she’ll know how affectionate I am for her. Who knows?” He cupped his claw underneath the paw that held the tear and pulled them close to his chest as he continued, “I might just win her over.”
Luna warned him, “Remember, Discord. Your tear might reveal to Teardrop how much you feel for her, but you must try to earn her love without manipulation or crocodile tears. That tear alone will not make her fall in love with you that easily. True, it may make her more sympathetic towards you, but for both of you to be happy, you each must accept and trust the ponies you truly are. If the love between you is true love, then you must see inner beauty within each other. I may not be an expert in love, but I can have Princess Cadance offer you advice.”
Discord suddenly became uneasy and embarrassed. He shook his head and waved his claw as he quickly said, “No, no, no! I don’t think you need to tell Cadance that it’s me.” He chuckled slightly and continued, “Why don’t we make this just between the two of us, hmm?” Luna looked uncertain, but then sighed, “All right. We’ll keep this a secret until the time comes.”
Discord’s ears perked up as he said, “Oh, wonderful! Thank you, Princess Luna! Oh, you’ve been too kind!” She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “I know.” She bid him good luck on his journey and flew off. Discord looked once again at his tear and conjured up a vial. He placed his tear inside and looked hopefully at it.