//------------------------------//
// Chaotic Dreams 
// Story: Friendship is Shining: Multi-Pink-Cation Problems 
// by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle's horn glowed with magic as she levitated the copper gears around her.  The mechanical pieces slowly floated in the air around her, orbiting the filly and her teacher.  Each piece would move in front of Twilight, giving her a chance to study the part and compare it to the blueprints placed on the wall.  Some would continue on, returning to their magical orbit.  Others would be inserted into the large brass frame, be interconnected with the others.

Piece by piece, the frame was filled with the mechanical pieces.  Gears were spun and attached, interlinking as they were locked into place.  Springs were coiled and attached, creating tension.  Screw were inserted and tightened to hold everything in place.  Finally, jewels of red, blue, and purple were placed in slots one by one.

With the last one -- a large, dark blue (almost black) gem -- in place, the machine was completed.

"Well done, my student," Princess Luna stated.  "You have done an excellent job, and the orrery is properly assembled. We are quite proud.  We are quite proud of thee."

"Thank you, Princess," Twilight said, giving a bow.  She had to keep herself from grinning excitedly or dancing in place.  The past month had been so exciting since she had become Princess Luna's student.  It was amazing having a princess teach her about magic.  She had always hoped to be a royal student, and now it was happening.  It was a dream come true.

"Now are you ready to turn it on?" the princess asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

Getting up, Twilight turned toward the orrery.  Tongue slipping between her teeth, she concentrated as she drew on her magic and poured it into the machine.  As it was charged, the gems began to light up, each representing a celestial body in the night sky.  A ticking noise filled the air as the gears began to turn and move.  One by one, the rings rotated, mirroring the movements of the moon and stars as the nights passed.

It was incredible to see.

Then it became cheese.  Mice and rats appeared out of nowhere and covered the entire cheese orrery before vanishing, leaving nothing behind.  Not even a crumb.

Twilight stared at the spot the machine had once been, ears flopped back and eyes wide.  Her mouth open and closed, small squeaks coming out each time.

"W...wh...wuh...wha....what?" she finally managed to ask.  "What?  What?  What just happened?"

"We-e-e-ell..." a masculine voice purred out, "if I had to guess, I would say that it was just too gouda to pass up."  He then started chuckling.

The sound of that voice and the laughter caused Twilight to tense.  A chill ran up her spine as ice ran through her veins.  Slowly, she turned around, looking toward the source of the sound.

There, floating in the air, was Discord.  With a grin, he held up his lion's paw, waggling the fingers in greeting.

"Hello again, my little pony," he said.  "Did you miss me?"

"How did you get free?" Twilight squeaked out, turning to face him directly.

With a deep sigh, Discord rolled over onto his back.  Throwing his head back (down?) dramatically, he placed the back of his eagle talon against his forehead.

"Alas, I have not," he groaned.  "I'm still trapped in my little stone prison, locked away in some vault deep under the castle."  He let out a sigh.  "And let me tell you, it's even more boring than the first time.  At least then I could feel the sun or rain, or even listen to some birds or the occasional pony talking, however dull it may have been."

Twilight stood there, listening to what the creature said and taking the time to process it.

"So... if you're still stuck in your prison, that means--"

A horseshoe fell to the ground with a loud thud, causing the filly to jump as she stared at it.

"That's right!" a tiny Discord said as he stood in the center of the shoe.  "You, my dear Twinkie Sprinkles, are dreaming, and for some reason, I am once again able to enter it."

Twilight's eyes narrowed as she looked at the miniature form before her.

"A dream, huh?"

Her gaze narrowed further as her mouth pulled into a wicked smirk.  Leaning forward her horn lit up with magic.  A rolled up newspaper appeared, covered in Twilight's aura.  The paper swung forward to smack the tiny draconequus, sending him flying across the room.  He bounced off the wall with a rubbery boing before continuing on into another wall, the ceiling, a third wall, a floor, and out the window.

A small chuckle escaped the filly as she watched Discord disappear.  That had actually been kind of fun.  And she felt a little better.  Still not as happy as she was in Ponyville, but not as angry as she had been since moving back to Canterlot.

The air popped as Discord once again appeared, back to his normal size.

"Well," he huffed, "I must say that I'm surprised and a little impressed."  Leaning down, he smirked.  "I didn't think you had it in you."  Reaching down with his paw, he ruffled her mane.  "Good for you, Spackle."

"It's Sprinkle!" Twilight snapped as she shoved the paw away.  "I mean... Sparkle!  My name is Twilight! Sparkle!"  She glared up at him, scowling.

"I know that," huffed Discord, crossing his forelimbs.  "But if I start getting ponies' names right, they might start to think I --" he shuddered and made a disgusted face "-- care about them or something."  Opening his mouth wide, he stuck out his tongue like he had a bad taste in it.  "Ugh!"

"Such would be ruinous to the reputation of the lord of chaos," a feminine voice called out.

"Exactly!" Discord called out, turning to face the new arrival with a grin.

The draconequus turned to ice, clear enough to see through.

"We assume this is supposed to be 'frozen in terror?'" Princess Luna asked as she moved closer.  One wing reached out, brushing across the icy surface.  "Shame we can not so easily silence him in the waking world."  Her eyes narrowed as she placed a hoof on it.  "Tell us, Twilight Sparkle, do you think we should tip it over?"

Twilight gave a shrug.

"If you think it will make you feel better?"

Luna pressed the hoof against the ice more, the statue starting to tilt.  Then, with a sigh, she stopped, stepping back.

"Nay," she sighed.  "While tempting, seeing Discord shatter would give us no sense of satisfaction."

After reverting back from the ice, Discord sagged, letting out a sigh.

"So disappointing.  And here I was hoping that you would keep some of that darker attitude."

"Why are thou here?" Luna demanded.  Her wings spread out wide as her horn lit up and eyes glowed white.  The fabric of the dream world rippled, shifting under the power of her magic in the realm.

With a snap of his lion paw, Discord was suddenly bare-skinned from the neck down, save for a pair of boxer shorts that were both polka dots and plaid.

Twilight shrieked out in horror, covering her eyes.  Considering this was not a normal dream, she was probably going to remember such a terrifying sight for years -- decades -- to come.  She was probably going to have nightmares for the rest of her life after that.  That is if she is ever to sleep again to begin with.

"Search me," Discord said.  There was then another snap and a flash.  "Far as I can guess --"

Twilight felt herself get grabbed and picked up.  She let out a squeak as she was lifted off the ground, feeling something fuzzy against her eyes.  Risking opening her eyes, Twilight found herself being held up against Discord, who was once more properly covered.

"-- my dear little friend here must have done something that let me into her head again."  Gripping Twilight's mane, Discord lifted it up, removing the top and revealing the filly's brain.  Putting it back on, he set her down with a sigh.

"This stuff is a lot more impressive when not in a dream," he grumbled.

"Again?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.  She turned toward Twilight.  "Such an event has happened before?"

"Yeah," Twilight answered.  "Right after Shiny and his friends turned him back to stone."

"And hath thou done anything which may draw his attention since our meeting?"

Twilight shook her head, replying, "no, ma'am."

"Well, whatever the reason," Discord stated, "the important thing is that I'm here now, and am looking to enjoy this for as long as possible."  With a grin, he rubbed his claw and talon together.  "Now then, what shall we do?"

There was a snap and blinding light.  When everything was visible again, Twilight herself as flat as a drawing.  She was still able to look around, but seemed otherwise unable to move.  From what she could make out, she was in some fancy outfit, and in one of the upper corners was a J and a... red diamond?

Looking around, she found Luna, who was a Queen of Spades, and did not look to happy about it.

"Cards?" Discord asked, on the Joker card where he was riding a unicycle and dressed in dark red and neon green.

There was another flash.

Twilight was back to being her proper three dimensions, standing on a green square with START written across it.  Something about her looked wrong though.  It was like... instead of hair, she was something smooth and glossy, like a toy.  Princess Luna was in a similar state, made all the stranger by how her normally waving mane and tail were stuck in place.

"Board games?"

A shadow suddenly appeared above Twilight, making everything darker.  A bolt of panic shot through her, making her want to run, but her knees would not bend.

There was a loud boom and the ground shook beneath them -- knocking Twilight onto her side in the process -- as a pair of six-sided dice landed nearby, bouncing and rolling before coming to a stop.

"OR!"

In another flash, Twilight Sparkle found herself sitting in what looked like a soapbox derby car: a dark purple colored one with a blank white circle on the front.  On one side was Princess Luna, sitting in a dark blue cart that had a crescent moon surrounded by black clouds on the sides and front.  On the other side was... a gorilla with a neck tie sitting in... a barrel with a hole cut in it and wheels attached?

Beneath the carts was what looked like a rainbow, running forward ahead of them like some sort of road.  There were no barriers that Twilight could see, and beyond the edges were nothing but empty space.

"How about a race?" Discord said from behind Twilight.  For some reason he was dressed in a red shirt, a red hat with an M in a white circle on it, blue overalls, and had a big, black mustache.

Something in Twilight suddenly snapped as her frustration got the better of her.  A scowl formed on her face as she glared at Discord, her horn lighting up once again.  She took a hold of the cart in her magic.

"Why don't you just GO AWAY!?"

With that last part, she sent the cart and Discord flying into the air.  The draconequus screamed out as he went further and further into the empty space around them.  As he vanished from sight, a single speck of light like a star twinkled, playing a single, crystalline note.

With a flash, they were once more in the classroom they had started in.

"What brought that on?" Discord asked, brushing himself off.

"YOU RUINING MY LIFE!" Twilight bellowed.  "If you hadn't attacked Ponyville, my parents wouldn't have gotten scared and forced me to come back to Canterlot!  I had friends!  I had a coltfriend!  But because of YOU, I had to leave all that behind!"

With that last part, Twilight exploded.  In her place was a white coated filly with burning red eyes, and flames for her mane and tail.  The air around her shimmered with heat as she glared at snarling with rage.

As quickly as it appeared, it vanished.  With a sigh, a now normal looking Twilight Sparkle flopped onto the floor.

"Well, you seem to have quite the fiery temper," Discord stated.

"Discord," Luna said as she stepped between him and the filly, "perhaps it is time thou left."

"....Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii--"

This was kept up for over a minute.

"-- iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!" Discord huff.  "But before I do, one thing."  He snapped his paw and business card appeared between Twilight's front hooves.  "Here.  Good for one -- and I mean only one -- small favor.  As in a very minor one with a lot of restrictions on it.  Don't expect much though.  Even if I do decide to actually grant it, not much I can do from my little stone prison."

Then with a snap of his talon, he was gone.

"Interesting," Luna said softly.  "While not a proper apology, it did seem to indicate at least some regret in his actions."  She tilted her head.  "Perhaps there is hope for him, yet."

"Yay," Twilight huffed.

Turning around, Princess Luna looked down at the pouting filly.  As a leader of Equestria and elder pony, she felt that she should do something to help make Twilight feel better.  Unfortunately, nothing came to mind.  At least, nothing she had not said earlier that day (or was it yesterday?).  Yes, she had dealt with emotional issues in the past, but this seemed out of her purview.

One idea did come to her.

Moving closer, Princess Luna laid down next to Twilight.  One great, blue feathered wing stretched out and reached down, wrapping around the filly and pulling her close.

It felt... nice.