When Twilight Sparkle's life grew more full of accolades, it grew more full of demands. First, she became Twilight Sparkle, the element of Magic; then she became Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. Then the savior of two universes, then the rejuvenator of the Tree of Harmony, then owner of the Castle of Friendship. The Redeemer of Starlight Glimmer, the aunt of the world's most powerful alicorn, the headmistress of the School of Friendship. So it went.

And at the end of it all, she realized that Twilight Sparkle didn't really exist anymore - all that was left of her was a series of titles, awards and obligations, and the pony that held it all together was little more than a puppet to the demands of the world around her.

And when she understood that Twilight Sparkle was as good as gone, a second option opened itself up to her: if she could unfetter herself from the glory she had worked all her life to obtain, would Twilight Sparkle exist again - not as a name attached to a role, but a pony with her own hopes, dreams and desires?

And if she did, what would come next?

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A brief story about time, reality, pseudophilosophy, self-actualization and surprisingly tasty desserts.

Cover art by KzKsM.

Part of the Re- 'Verse.

Thanks to Wanderer D, Flashgen and Door Belle for their help proofreading, editing and offering advice.

And, more than anything else, my immense thanks to GaPJaxie for inspiring, reviewing and talking to me about this story. Without him, it literally would not exist.

Twilight finds a hidden book in the Royal Canterlot Library, though she might not like what it tells her.

In this one-shot idea, Fluttershy asks her friend Discord if he would be interested in taking up the job as a teacher at the new School of Friendship. Discord agrees to teach them something if he were given a chance to test-drive it by having a few students to see if he would take up the job. What follows is a lesson on the meditations of Reniegh Haycartes.

A special thank you to DuskHeart13, The Hat Man and SashimiPony for taking the time of proofreading this.

Note: this and its sequels were written before "Matter of Principles."

This story is a sequel to Discord Teaches Philosophy

Warning: The following is currently unedited and contains a significant amount of Philosophy.

After deciding on taking up the role of a Substitute and finding out that the main Philosophy teacher is boring his students, Discord decides to step in to take up the responsibility of teaching. And he will do it by teaching it in plain Equestrian, in a way that these young students would understand. As well as in his own unique way.

Lesson Plan (in no particular order):

Socrates: His Method and How We Ought to Live ✅

Plato: Allegory of the Cave ✅

Marcus Aurelius: How Stoicism Deals with Hardships ✅

Confucius: Who is Ruling Whom? ✅

Kintsugi: The Art of Imperfection ✅

Machiavelli: In Defense of the Prince ✅

Montaigne: Usefulness of Humility ✅

Rousseau: Of Savages and Civilization ✅

Kierkegaard: Subjectivity and Truth ✅

Nietzsche: Of Suffering and Happiness ✅

Now a powerful alicorn princess, Twilight regards her immortality, her friends and the very concept of time itself.

Now with awesome Audio Reading:

Thank you SO much, Sojourner!!

Twilight Sparkle has always been frustrated with Discord. His ability to do anything, with no more effort than a snap of his claw. It shouldn't be possible. His power had to come from somewhere.
Then, one day, Twilight lets slip how she feels. Surprisingly Discord agrees to explain it to her. To give her the secret to all of his powers. If she's willing to pay the price that knowing it all will bring.

During a rather peaceful day in the Canterlot Gardens, Princess Celestia begins to wonder about the nature of Chaos. Naturally, the best way to understand something so complicated is to speak to an expert in the field.

It is only too fortunate that Discord loves to talk about his favorite past-time.

Twilight, as an alicorn, now has both pegasus and earth pony magic in addition to her well-practiced unicorn abilities. However, she has little idea how to use these abilities, and thus seeks tutors.

Applejack and Big Mac are busy with the zapapple harvest. Granny Smith tends to nap in the afternoons. And Pinkie Pie is... well, Pinkie Pie.

Fortunately, there's an Earth Pony with a free afternoon who's willing to give teaching a try... especially if it might lead to a cutie mark...

Twilight decides to ask Discord about how he uses Chaos Magic. No mage has ever successfully cast Chaos Magic because it always does whatever it's least likely to do, yet somehow Discord utilizes it perfectly. Twilight just can't help but wonder what the greatest minds in Equestria have been doing wrong.

Newly reformed and eager to put his magic to good use, Discord has decided to become a teacher and bask Equestria in the greatness that is his knowledge. Unfortunately for Celestia, he's decided she'll be his first student. Time for her to deal with a lesson about chaos theory. Hopefully she'll survive in time for the test.

Warning: You may actually learn something from this story. Or not. I'm bad at explaining things.

Thanks to Trials for all his help editing!