Pohjola

by Professional Horse

VIII: Hoping

Something moved behind the grey curtain of rain.

Twilight lied below the branches of a tree that she assumed was a spruce. She raised her head and looked arond her.

The bark pillars stood still. No bird or insect had braved the rain.

Then what had just moved?

She stood up, her horn glowing faintly.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

No sound besides the ceaseless patter of rain.

A dark phantom moved amongst the trees.

"Who are you? Reveal yourself!" Twilight said, the shimmer of her horn becoming increasingly bright.

Silence.

"Boo!" someone behind her shouted and shook the tree.

She yelped as the spruce rustled and jumped away from it. She turned aroud, ready to blast the ambusher with magic.

Discord stood behind the tree and laughed. "Ohohoho! You should see your grimy, shocked face right now!"

Twilight scowled. "Discord! What are you doing here?"

An umbrella appeared in his hand as he approached her. He was protected from the rain by a large shower drain floating above him, apparently absorbing all the water. "Fluttershy asked me to find you and ask you to come back home," he said and moved the umbrella above Twilights head to protect her from the rain. His colourful body seemed out of place in the rainy forest of shadows.

Her scowl vanished. "Fluttershy? Has she... forgiven me?"

"Erm... no, not really. But she still asked me to bring you home! Isn't she kind?"

She sighed. "Oh. You got my hopes up for a moment."

"I'm sorry, Twilight. But there's no reason to be so sad! It is time to go back to your friends and family!"

She stared at her hooves for a while. "No, I'm not coming yet."

He raised a shaggy eyebrow. "Why?"

"I need to... think about things. Ponder what I'm doing with my life."

Discord placed his lion paw on on her back. "Twilight, you're as depressed as back when I almost defeated you and your friends! Cheer up! This is nowhere near as bad!"

"It is," she mumbled.

"No. Twilight, listen," he said and created a chart on a stand. His raincoat was replaced with a lab coat, glasses appeared in front of his eyes and a pole appeared in his hand. He pointed at the diagram. "There are five stages of grief, and you are currently on the fouth one: Depression. But good news! Soon, you should progress to the last stage: Acceptance! Then everything is going to be just dandy!"

"I know, I first studied that model when I was seven years old," she mumbled.

"Oh, you did?" he said and the items disappeared. "Very well. But you understand what I'm trying to say: Chin up! Do you know what Rainbow Dash would do if you two switched places? I know she certainly wouldn't wallow in misery. Make her proud! Show her that just because you like books doesn't mean you're weak!"

She looked at him, pouting. "I..."

"Come on, Twilight! Don't lose hope! You overcame every obstacle with it, even me, Discord! Only few can claim to have done such an impressive feat!"

"I overcame every obstacle with my friends. They gave me hope."

"Did they, Twilight? Didn't hope come from here?" he said and lightly prodded her in the chest.

She said nothing for a while.

He sighed. "I suppose you want to be by yourself while you are on this stage, then. I understand. But surely you'll need some help from good old Discord?"

She nodded. "Yes, actually. I have no tools, food or anything."

He smiled. "Hah! Worry not!" he said and snapped his fingers. Three stands appeared nearby, each with a heavy backpack filled with items. "Here we have some impressive camping kits! Now, which one will you go for? I'd recommend the 'Grylls' model. It has the best quality-price ratio!"

Twilight smiled faintly. "I'll take it, then."

Discord clapped his hands. The stands and the other two camping kits disappeared. "Wonderful! I'm sure you made the best choice!"

She raised an eyebrow when she saw the umbrella floating above her.

"Oh, you can have that as well. I don't need it!"

"Thank you, Discord," she said. "And by the way... how's Cordie doing?"

Discord smiled warmly. "Ah, she truly is the joy of my life. Thank you for asking!"

"I'm glad you're getting along. And what about... ah, nevermind."

"Your friends, I assume? They're doing fine, don't worry."

"No, what about the citizens? How are they doing without me?"

"Oh, they're fine as well! Shining Armour acts as a regent until you return."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

He nodded. "Don't worry about it. Everything is fine in Equestria, dear! The sun is shining and the sky is clear!"

She glanced at the grey sky above. "Speaking of the weather, can you end this rain?"

"No, sorry. I can't control the weather here. I'd just anger beings who are far more powerful than me!" he said and chuckled. "Last time that happened wasn't fun in the slightest."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay. I don't think I have anything else to ask. Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome, Your Grace!" he said in an excessively posh accent and bowed. "Proud to serve the Princess! May Her glorious reign last for a truly long time!"

She smiled and chuckled.

"There we go! That's what I want to see!" he said and patted her head. "And it wasn't so hard, was it?"

"No," she said and sighed. "But still, I... it'll take a while before I can be happy again."

"Ah, it's alright. We'll be waiting for you. All of us. But now, I think it's time for me to go home. The little princess must be waking up by now! Fare thee well, noble ruler!"

He vanished in a flash of light like a soul banished from a body.

The black umbrella followed Twilight as she walked to the bag Discord had created. She opened it and checked what was inside it.

"Hmm... a kettle, pans, knives, bandages... and..."

Cheese quesadillas.

"Aaaaah!" she yelped, backed away, stumbled and landed on her bottom, accompanied by a loud thump.

She sat there for a moment, staring at the backpack.

Then she laughed for the first time in several moons.

And she savoured it, refused to let it go, enjoying every last moment of it. She laughed and laughed, tears flowing from her eyes.

Quesadillas. Of course. Somepony must've told him about her phobia.

She kept laughing until the laughter had transformed into weary giggles. She wiped her eyes and sighed.

The rainfall had stopped. Above, cracks appeared in the grey ceiling of clouds above her, sunlight shining through and returning colour into the forest. She breathed in the air that had the refreshing scent of petrichor.

Hope. A precious thing that is easily lost.

Comments

[Elsaack]

Ok, so it sonds like something happened to Dash, but not the rest. And her friends are angry with her, but not cutting her off. Hmmmm, peices of a puzzle. Still more peices to go before we start to get the shape of it.
Also, Cordy?
...did you ship Flutters?
derpicdn.net/img/2015/7/6/931567/medium.jpg
Cutest little hybrid.

[Professional Horse]

6649225 Mmmmmaybe.

[Vindicar]

...how does one acquire a phobia of quesadillas?

[Elsaack]

6649334
"Hey girls! Thanks for coming to my sleepover. I thought we would start by sitting down and chatting about our week while enjoying this new recipe I found for quesadillas-" ::trips:: "OH CELESTIA THE CHEESE! IT'S IN MY FUR AND IT KEEPS BURNING ME! THE SPICE IS IN MY EYES AND NOSE! QUESADILLAS ARE SUFFERING! EVERYTHING IS SUFFERING! THE WATER IS JUST MAKING THE SPICY CHEESE SOLIDIFY! I'M BLIND" ::runs into a wall and gives herself a concussion::
I think that's how.

[Vindicar]

6639965
Spent a while remembering where did I hear the name 'Tapio' before... ^^