Rarity had gone to the Crystal Empire, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had summoned Discord, Rainbow Dash and Spike had gone to the Dragon Lands, and Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer had stayed in Ponyville. While all of the other ponies had adventures of their own, Starlight and Twilight stayed in their home town, and in their home, the Castle of Friendship. But that didn’t mean they had been idle—far from that.
For days, the two ponies had been working on the teleportation machine. They had gathered what was left and what was broken; they had salvaged what they could and thrown away what couldn’t be used anymore. They had taken inventory, leaving not a single bolt that wasn’t bent or broken out, and came up with quite a list of things that were still usable.
Although the arc was completely melted down, many of the cables and wires that had snapped off were still good to use. They had taken some days to solder them all together again; a painstaking task, but they had a big coil of electrical wire now, so it had been definitely worth it. The pedestal was also okay, so they had brushed it up and marked the foundation where the arc should come, when Rainbow Dash and Spike would return with it. All of the lights were burst, so Starlight and Twilight had made sure to screw them back together, with box loads of light bulbs.
For days they had been clearing, welding, and building as much as they could, so that when everypony else would return it would just be a matter of clicking the last pieces of the puzzle into place.
A life-saving puzzle.
Twilight Sparkle had been quite silent those working days. She had said little, and when she did say something it was always something practical. An instruction, a request, an order; nothing more than that. Often Starlight Glimmer tried to cheer her tutor up with some joke, but Twilight would never laugh, and would just ignore her and continue her work. She chose the most boring and repetitive tasks, so as to numb her mind and to stop it from torturing her.
With every part she made, every screw she fastened, every plate she welded, Twilight saw Fluttershy’s innocent, sensitive face. She was never off her mind, and Twilight felt guilt eat away her mind, slowly devouring it until she was nothing but a mindless workhorse. The only emotion left in her was determination to get Fluttershy back with the machine. Determination, but no faith. She knew she could finish the machine and get it up and running again, but she wondered whether it would be too late. Besides Sauron, there would be many other dangers in that enormous forest, and they flashed by before her mind’s eye.
At the council she had held with her friends, Twilight had tried to sound as hopeful as possible, telling them that Fluttershy would probably be alright, as the Greenwood would be a normal forest. She had done that for the sake of her friends’ spirits, and during that time, she had also clung onto the hope of Radagast the Brown somehow finding Fluttershy. But she knew that was an awful slim chance, and a foolish thought, as Twilight also knew that the Greenwood was an enormous place; the maps of Middle Earth which came with the book were proof of that.
No, a thousand dangers forced their way into Twilight’s head. Fluttershy might have gotten lost in the labyrinth of trees, she might have been eaten by wargs, she might have been captured by goblins and butchered for meat—or worse—been made a slave. Fluttershy might have eaten poisonous mushrooms, as Twilight reckoned that the plants in the Greenwood would be vastly different than the Equestrian flora. The positive thoughts didn’t enter Twilight’s mind, being outnumbered by the dreadful ones. Fluttershy might be found by Radagast, or she might have made some animal friends. Those beautiful, hopeful thoughts eluded her.
Twilight could only guess at the state of the Greenwood now, and whether Sauron would already have spread its dark influence over the forest, because she didn’t know how time worked between two dimensions. Maybe one day in Equestria would be two in Middle Earth; maybe the times would run parallel to each other; Twilight didn’t dare to guess, she just worked. She worked and worked and worked, often until late in the night, allowing little rest for her mind; and when she did rest, she was sleeping on top of the part she was currently working on, only to wake up early in the morning and continue with whatever she had been doing.
Starlight Glimmer had tried to help Twilight. She had made sure her tutor ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner; had made sure she would sleep in her bed and on time (but Twilight would get up anyway, and sneak back to work); or had taken some of the tasks off her hooves—it had helped little.
And now, Twilight Sparkle looked almost as wrecked as the last component of the teleportation machine: the computer.
The thing had overloaded, and had practically exploded. It lay on the ground in a heap of glass, metal, wires, loose keys from keyboards, circuit boards, and many other components found in computers. It was the only part that would be totally irreparable, sensitive as the electronics were. But it was also the only part which they could replace and rebuild in Ponyville—in the castle itself, in fact. Not that Twilight Sparkle had a whole stash of spare computers stored somewhere. No, they had to get help for that, and so they went off to the workshop of Ponyville’s best (and only) scientist and inventor: Doctor Whooves.
His workshop stood at the edge of Ponyville, both for practical reasons like field tests as for safety, so a sudden explosion or fire would not damage other buildings in town. Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer were walking through Ponyville together, with Twilight blinking hard against the sun—it had been a while since she had seen that big, round orb.
They walked in silence through the empty streets of Ponyville. Starlight Glimmer looked up in the sky at the beautiful sun, and then at the cheerful little houses of Ponyville, illuminated by the rays of light together with their flowery gardens. The whole town had a certain idyllic look, as if it would be summer all year long, and Starlight usually enjoyed every minute of that. Now, however, she would trade it all to see Twilight Sparkle laugh—just once.
“It’s a… a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Starlight couldn’t think of a lamer way to begin conversation, but she was quite out of ideas.
Twilight nodded, but said nothing. Her eyes were turned to the ground.
Starlight didn’t give up. “The sun is shining, the flowers growing, the birds are singing…”
“Uh-huh.”
And that was the end of Starlight’s futile attempts. She paused to think about something else.
The houses and stores they passed looked awfully deserted. Doors were locked, ‘open’ signs were turned to ‘closed,’ and nopony was on the streets—nopony at all. The silence felt strange, as if Ponyville had been turned into a ghost town.
Starlight turned her ears around, trying to catch some sound. Then, an applause, faint in the distance, reached her ears. An applause followed by a voice in a microphone, the words it spoke indistinguishable. She turned her head towards the sound, and saw some balloons rising in the air. “Hey look, Twilight!” she said, nudging her friend and pointing at the sky.
Twilight did her best to turn her eyes up.
“There must be some party going on somewhere,” Starlight Glimmer said. “Is it a Ponyville holiday or something?”
Twilight shrugged; her head drooped down again.
Now Starlight was really concerned. Twilight loved facts and giving answers to questions and spreading knowledge. Starlight’s voice became earnest. “You shouldn’t worry so much, Twilight. We will get Fluttershy back.”
“That’s not it,” Twilight said, her voice meek and croaked. “I’m scared she might be… might be… and all because of… me!”
Starlight walked closer to Twilight so she could hear her voice. “You shouldn’t place all the guilt on yourself, Twilight, it was an acc—“
“Don’t you feel guilty?” Twilight suddenly said.
Now Starlight’s ears drooped down as well. “I do, Twilight, I really do. But I also know that we have to keep our wits. We have to keep it together, or else we will make mistakes. When Fluttershy comes back, we can all say how sorry we are, but for that, we’ll have to get her back first. We cannot make mistakes.”
The words reached Twilight’s ears, and she realized that Starlight was right. They shouldn’t make mistakes. She had to keep her head clear. Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle felt like the student, who had just received a wise lesson from her mentor to clear her silly mind. “Will you help me?”
Starlight Glimmer swung a hoof over Twilight’s shoulders. “Of course, Twilight.”
And as they continued, Twilight Sparkle walked with her head raised.
After a few more country roads, lining beautiful green fields, the two ponies came around one last bend, and stopped in front of Doctor Whooves’s laboratory. It was shaped like a tower, topped by a big telescope for one of the many sciences the Doctor practiced: astronomy. There were many windows for optimal lighting during the day, and through them, curious ponies would often peek inside and guess what the Doctor was working on, which they often couldn’t.
Twilight and Starlight stopped before the door, and knocked thrice. For a moment there was silence, and Starlight Glimmer hoped that Doctor Whooves wouldn’t be out enjoying whatever party was apparently going on at the moment. But when she heard somepony stumble and say, “I’m coming! I’m coming!” she knew that her fears were ungrounded. With a smile she reasoned that if Doctor Whooves would be anything like Twilight Sparkle—a scientist—then of course he would be working on some invention instead of wasting time in the frivolities.
Starlight Glimmer was right, because the door opened, revealing the Doctor.
“Well, good morning,” he said, doing his best to straighten his green bowtie, which hung haphazardly to the right. “How can I help you?”
Ponies often came to him with broken machinery or requests, and the Doctor reckoned that Twilight Sparkle would undoubtedly need some kind of tool. Of course, he couldn’t be farther from the truth.
But Twilight Sparkle suddenly found herself at a loss for words. She looked at Starlight, who also didn’t know what to say. Then she looked at the ground, or at the sky, or over the Doctor’s shoulder; anywhere but his eyes. “Eh… Doctor,” she began. “Do you remember that computer you lent me…”
“Oh no…” Doctor Whooves slapped his head with his hoof, as he instantly guessed what had happened. Then he turned around, and marched into his workshop. His voice echoed in the big room. “Oh my, oh my! That would be the second computer I’ve lost… In a week!”
Twilight and Starlight didn’t really know what to do, so they followed him inside. Soon, they became surrounded with machines, contraptions, vehicles, electronics, wood, steel, nuts, and bolts. But they didn’t pay any attention to that, they just looked at Doctor Whooves, cantering about like a headless chicken. “The second computer! For goodness sake!”
At last he slumped down on a chair next to a desk with a welding station and a dozen small devices. He buried his head in his hooves, and for a moment, Starlight and Twilight thought he was crying.
“First a DJ computer for that wild rascal Vinyl Scratch, and now my fellow scientist friend has betrayed me too!” he sobbed. “Whoever can I trust nowadays! Whoever still upholds the values of being careful with sensitive electronics!”
Starlight wanted to lay a hoof on his shoulder, to try to calm him down and comfort him as best as she could, but the Doctor continued his rant.
“But never mind, no!” he said, waving his hooves around. “’Bring it to the Doctor, he will fix it! He will get a shiny, brand new replacement so we have something new to molest.’” His voice was high as he imitated some other voice. Suddenly, he looked turned around and looked from Twilight to Starlight and back. “Well, I guess that is just my fate. The fate of a scientist.” His shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. “Alright, Twilight. I will make an exception because you are my most loyal customer. What do you need, and what do you need it for?”
Twilight Sparkle wasn’t sure whether it would be polite to immediately ask what she wanted from him—but he had asked her, after all. “We need a computer, just like the one you made me before. Do you remember?”
“Eh…” the Doctor scratched his chin. “I’m afraid I don’t, excuse me there. My memory has been quite a collection of rusty cogs lately. What did you need it for again?”
When Twilight had asked for it, she had made sure to keep her exact intentions a secret, but now she saw that she had to tell the Doctor everything, whether she wanted to or not.
Twilight swallowed. “Well, it’s for… for, eh…” She found that she couldn’t say it, and felt the image of Fluttershy dominate her mind. She sniffed. “For… eh…”
Starlight Glimmer wanted to help her tutor, so she stepped closer and said, “It’s for a tele—“
In a flash, Twilight changed her mind; her head jerked up. “Wait!”
“A telewait?” Doctor Whooves said. “What an odd name for an invention.”
“No not a telewait,” Twilight said, her eyes looking at Starlight, who became startled at the panic they showed. “It’s a tele… eh… phone! A telephone!”
“Now that sounds better,” Doctor Whooves said. He bent forward, as he felt genuinely interested now. “What does it do?”
“It, eh… It eh…” Twilight’s eyes shot at Starlight Glimmer, and they screamed, ‘help me, please!’
Starlight searched in her mind; she ended her search at the science fiction books she used to read—and still did. “It allows your voice to be at two places at the same time,” she said, trying her best to sound smart, as if she knew exactly what she was talking about. “So you can communicate over long distances without actually being there.”
“Yes,” Twilight said, and forced a smile. “Very soon, writing letters will belong to the past, and we will all use a telepone.”
“Telephone,” Starlight whispered. She too, managed the most innocent smile she could.
Suddenly, Doctor Whooves stood up and let out a loud burst of laughter. Twilight and Starlight joined in, not knowing whether the Doctor bought the lie or not.
“That’s brilliant!” Doctor Whooves said, flashing his eyes from Starlight to Twilight. Then he jumped up, and started cantering from corner to corner as he talked. “I can’t even begin to imagine what that would look like, or what great things such an invention would give us.” He closed his eyes and smiled. “Oh! There are so many ways of using such a thing. We can give it to all the rulers of Equestria, so they are always connected! Or-or perhaps we can put them in cabins and spread them across the land, so everypony can speak with everyone everywhere! And perhaps we can call those… call boxes! Amazing!”
Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer threw a glance at each other; they both expressed the same puzzlement.
Doctor Whooves stopped walking and turned to them with an enormous smile on his face. “Of course I will help you. I do have a spare computer lying around somewhere.” He looked around, but when he couldn’t find it immediately, he turned to the ponies again. “You know, with such a revolutionary invention, I feel it is my duty as a scientist to help you. Two brains know more than one, you know? Yes! I will help you program the thing. That should definitely speed up the process, and bring the wonder of the ‘telephone’ upon Equestria in no time!”
No sooner said than done. After they found the computer somewhere hidden behind numerous other half-finished, abandoned, or failed inventions, they loaded it into a cart and rode straight back to the Castle of Friendship. All the way to the castle, the Doctor didn’t stop blabbering about the wonders of Twilight’s imaginary invention, and she and Starlight just nodded and smiled.
When at last the thing stood inside the study room, the ponies set to work. Twilight and Starlight connected the wires and cables to the computer, while Doctor Whooves couldn’t stop staring at the half-built teleportation device, and asked dozens and dozens of questions and kept guessing and guessing about the ‘telephone’s’ inner workings. Only when Twilight fired up the computer and the screens flashed to life did the Doctor fall silent, as Twilight Sparkle started to give him instructions on how she wanted the computer to be programmed.
All the while the Doctor nodded and absorbed the information, although his mind kept working on making connections between Twilight’s instructions and a possible way the ‘telephone’ might work, and found that her instructions and his thoughts didn’t match at all. Strange as he found this, he saw that Twilight and Starlight didn’t want to reveal much about their project. With a small sigh of disappointment, he realized that they wanted it to stay a secret, and set to work.
Soon, the only sound filling the study hall was the sound of hooves pressing keys and clicking buttons. The three ponies stood around the computer, each working on separate screens. Numbers and codes flashed by, which the ponies incorporated in the computer to create the software necessary to start the teleportation process.
As Twilight didn’t need to smile all the time before the Doctor, and could hide behind her screen, her ears drooped down, and her thoughts once again went to Fluttershy. She tried her best to focus on the task, but she just couldn’t. Often her gaze strayed to Starlight’s screen, and then she recalled her words and forced herself to concentrate and hammer the keyboard once again. But she struggled. Keep it together, Twilight…
They worked and worked for hours on end in total silence, until the clock struck twelve.
“Ah, wonderful!” the Doctor called, stepping away from his screen and darting towards the door. “It’s teatime! Would you all care for a cup?”
“Sure,” Starlight said.
Twilight nodded.
“Splendid!” Doctor Whooves clopped his hooves together. “I’ll be right back.” And with that, he disappeared through the door.
The two remaining ponies were left in silence. Starlight sat down, allowing her eyes a brief rest from all the digits and codes.
Twilight slumped back into a chair, and looked at the ground. All the hours of silence had weighed heavily on her mind, as many thoughts had accompanied her. She wanted to speak them out, found that she couldn’t, but then tried it anyway.
“That’s the second time I’ve lied to my friends…”
Starlight looked at her tutor. “What do you mean? The telephone?”
Twilight nodded.
“But that doesn’t matter much,” Starlight said, her voice gentle and soothing. “Just a little white lie. Besides, I found it kind of funny. I mean, we both know that such a thing will never become reality, right?” She managed a small chuckle.
But Twilight Sparkle didn’t laugh along, and then Starlight realized what Twilight meant. I wasn’t the lie itself, it was the fact that she had lied. Starlight thought she knew why. “It’s alright, Twilight. Not everypony has to know about the accident.”
Suddenly, Twilight burst out in tears. “I feel so ashamed, Starlight.”
Starlight Glimmer stood up and walked towards her tutor. “Don’t be. It was an accident. Nothing more than that. A stupid, silly accident.”
“It’s not only that,” twilight said between sobs. “I’ve lied to all of you. I’ve lied to all of my friends.”
“What? How?”
Twilight forced her voice to calm down. She waved away some tears. “I… I haven’t borrowed any magic from Discord. I’ve borrowed magic from… from…”
“You can tell me anything, Twilight.”
Gathering her strength, she finally said the names. “From princess Celestia and princess Luna.”
“Oh my!” Starlight said. Now she understood everything. Twilight had been too ashamed to ask the princesses, who had trusted her with a fraction of their god-like magical powers, to give her more magic after the accident. In Twilight’s eyes, she had abused the power, and had instead sent Applejack and Pinkie Pie to their former enemy, Discord, to get the magic from him. She’d saddled her friends up with such a difficult task, only because she was too ashamed to ask the princesses.
And that’s why I couldn’t send that letter…
Starlight Glimmer took Twilight’s chin in her hoof and raised her head. “It’s alright,” she said, and nuzzled her tutor. “I’m sure they will get it done. Hay, if there’s one pony crazy enough to be able to reason with Discord, it’s Pinkie Pie.” Starlight looked Twilight in the eyes. “And sending Applejack with her was a wise decision of you. She will keep her in check, and make sure everything goes well and nothing strange happens. You did a good job, Twilight. And if they fail, we can always ask the princesses anyway.”
Twilight Sparkle turned around, leaving Starlight’s hoof hanging. “No we can’t.” She went back to her screen and started to push some buttons. Her screen flickered to life again.
It pained Starlight’s heart to see her friend that way, and she was just about to try and comfort her once more, when the door opened.
“A delightful day to you all,” Rarity said, stepping inside with some flair. “I have returned from my task.”
Both Twilight and Starlight turned their heads towards the door. Twilight quickly swiped away some tears.
Starlight Glimmer let out a gasp when she saw the stones. “Wow! Those look amazing!”
“Indeed they do,” Rarity said, and laid down the two shiny rocks on a table which wasn’t covered with parts. Immediately, Starlight and Twilight gathered around.
“Strange colors,” Starlight said.
Rarity looked at her reflection in the stones. “Don’t they look absolutely fabulous? I’ve named them Flutterite.”
“Good name,” Starlight said, but the name of the rocks pained Twilight’s ears.
Rarity looked at Starlight with glittering eyes. “Thank you. I had to go through a nasty and dusty mine for them, but in the end we actually had a very good time. It had been a good trip.”
“We?” Starlight noted.
A blush stained Rarity’s alabaster cheeks. “Eh… never mind. I-I-I will tell you all about my adventures later.” She quickly changed subject. “So… what are you doing? Is everything going according to plan?”
“It is,” Starlight said. “We’ve gained the help of Doctor Whooves, and at this rate I think we will finish programming the computers by the end of the afternoon. It’s all going so fast.”
“How wonderful.” Rarity brushed a lock of her mane from her eyes. “I hope the others return quickly as well, so we can put the puzzle together, don’t you think?”
Starlight Glimmer touched her chin with her hoof. “Yes. I wonder what they’re—“
But once again Starlight got interrupted by the door. It slammed open with an enormous bang; the crystal windows rattled in their frames. “Make way, make way,” Discord’s voice called through the space. “Your savior has arrived!” He was still wearing his armor.
Applejack and Pinkie Pie were walking next to him. Pinkie Pie was skipping and jumping as cheerfully as she always did, while Applejack looked pained—and that wasn’t just because of the sudden sound.
“Discord, welcome,” Starlight Glimmer said, doing her best to sound polite. “We’re glad you’re here. Now we can get to work on the crystals, as Rarity has just brought them to us.”
“Splendid,” Discord said, and dispelled his armor so he could walk better. Then, he threw a big glance at Applejack, who didn’t look back, and then at Twilight and Starlight, because he knew they were the leaders in the project. “Let’s fulfill my end of the promise, so you all can fulfill yours.”
“Promise?” Starlight said; Twilight raised her eyebrow as well.
Discord snapped his fingers, and in a flash, he teleported right in front of Twilight’s and Starlight’s muzzles, as if he wanted to amplify his words that way. “Well, of course. You see, your friends Applejack and Pinkie Pie made a wonderful promise to me. A promise which will launch me into the world of famous heroes. Oh! I simply can’t wait.”
Meanwhile Applejack and Pinkie Pie had neared, and they received many questioning glares.
“Shall I tell them, or do you want to tell them?” Discord said, his words aimed at Applejack. Of course Discord knew that she had only grudgingly accepted the offer, and he took every opportunity to rub it in her face.
But Pinkie Pie started bouncing up and down in excitement. “Oh! Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me!”
Discord let out a small sigh. “Oh, yes. Why not, I suppose.”
Pinkie Pie jumped forward, and onto the table with the Flutterite. Like a medieval announcer, she said, “Hear ye, hear ye. For Discord shall lend his super-duper-amazing-tele-tastic teleportation magic to activate the machine. Then he shall enter the realm of Middle Earth and save Fluttershy from the evil grasp of the Dark Lord Sauron. Oh, and it will be awesome. Hear ye, hear ye!”
Discord let out an applause, which he amplified with his magic so that it sounded like a crowd full of listeners. “Bravo! Bravo! I couldn’t have done it better myself.”
“WHAT?!” came the baffled outcry from Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity.
“Yes, it’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Discord said, completely (or deliberately) missing the meaning of the yell.
Starlight was the first to recover from the news. “Discord, can we have a little private moment? A private pony moment?”
“Well…” Discord looked at his watch, which he had conjured up a second ago. “Oh, look! It’s quite past teatime. How about I go and make some tea for you all and leave you to your ‘private moment.’”
“How wonderful,” Rarity said. “Chamomile tea for me, if you please.”
“Of course.” Discord turned around, snapped his fingers, and teleported away to the other side of the door, once again making a point about his teleportation magic.
Immediately, all gazes fell on Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
“How in Equestria could you have made such a promise?” Rarity said, more to Applejack than to Pinkie Pie, for she knew that Pinkie did strange things—but Applejack? “How could you be so careless?”
Applejack frowned. “I wasn’t careless; it was the only option we had. Only when Discord would be the one going through that machine, did he want to give us some of his magic. We had no choice.”
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing, as she saw what she had done. She hadn’t realized that it would be such a big problem; it had been an impulsive decision, as were all her decisions. She hung her head down, when she felt some guilt bubbling up. “I’m sorry everypony.”
“Don’t be, Pinkie Pie,” Starlight said. “I understand the situation, and I’m sure Twilight does too.”
Twilight nodded. “Yes.” She didn’t speak any more words, because her mind was already racing with options. She was the one who had placed her friends before such a hard task, convincing Discord. And now she felt the responsibility weigh down on her shoulders, together with all the guilt and shame her mind had gathered the past days. It almost became too much for her.
“What are we going to do?” Rarity asked, looking at everypony in turn, and ending her gaze at Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight looked up. “I… I don’t know,” she said, her voice soft as thoughts lingered in her head. “We can’t possibly let him go through that portal. Goodness knows what will happen.”
Applejack took off her hat and nodded. “That’s what I thought too.”
“Then do you want to… betray him?” Rarity said.
That was the most obvious thing to do, but Twilight shook her head. “I’m not sure. Discord is our friend… kind of. But I know that making him angry is a bad idea, especially with his ‘reformation’ process.” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut as if the doubt pained her. “Oh! I wish Fluttershy were here. She knows Discord through and through, and she would definitely know how he would react if we would break our promise.”
“So you are going to break it?” Applejack asked.
Pinkie looked pensive. “Well… he didn’t Pinkie promise, so…”
Rarity thought it quite an unladylike thing to do, but she didn’t speak.
Thinking along with her tutor, Starlight couldn’t come to a solution herself, and left it up to Twilight Sparkle to decide.
There was silence. A pensive silence, like the one at the council of ponies. Everypony thought, but everypony’s mind reached a dead end. The decision lingered in the air; it was simply too difficult.
Then, Twilight veered up, as an out-of-the-box idea struck her. “I… I think I’ve got something, everypony. I don’t know if it will work, and I’m sure it’s not a very good solution, but I don’t think we have a choice. With the parts that are left, I can—“
Suddenly, the door once again opened with a slam, and in marched Discord.
“Here we are again!” Discord yelled, as he led the way. “I hope you enjoyed your private moment!”
Doctor Whooves was walking behind him, pushing a tray with steaming teacups. “Hello, everyone,” he said, and put the tray down on the table. “I’m terribly sorry it took so long, but I got a bit lost in this enormous castle; I have never been here before, after all, but I only realized that after I saw all of those winding hallways. Luckily I found this nice gentle… eh…”
“Draconequus,” Discord said.
“Draconequus,” Doctor Whooves continued, “and he showed me the way. What a nice friend he is, isn’t he?”
To that, everypony looked each other in the eyes, but nodded their heads after a second, hoping that Discord wouldn’t see the hesitation.