//------------------------------// // 12. The Twilight Fantastic // Story: Dealing in Harmony // by Ckat_Myla //------------------------------// She had exploded back into his castle and torn half of the library apart, huge chunks of empty space like missing teeth lined the walls. The books that once sat there so orderly were now strewn about along the floor, chairs, and tables in a mass surrounding the source of this indoor hurricane. Hurricane Twilight. There has to be something, she continued to repeat it to herself over and over again, the mantra escaping her lips every now and then in a hushed and hurried whisper. For there had to be something, some spell that could give her a way to contact him, or even to follow him to where he had returned. Even through her frenzied haze however, Twilight heard a small voice inside her that told her it was fruitless. There was no way she could think of and no way she could find to follow him if Discord did not want to be followed. But she persevered anyway, fighting back tears the entire time. How could he do this? Did he really think that this would make things better? He had left her all alone with this chaos magic inside her. All alone when she had finally accepted her feelings for him, when they had finally come together. Discord had just left, he had just tossed her and their whole relationship away, and for what? Because he thought this would keep them safe, keep her safe? Twilight had been willing to risk her safety for him, but evidently he was not. Or had it been what Discord had overheard Shining Armor say back in Canterlot that had set him off? Was it just the confirmation he had needed to believe that he truly was 'ruining her life' or whatever craziness he thought? The hurricane died down momentarily as Twilight pondered this. Maybe it really was crazy, crazy to think that this was ever going to work out. It was harming her, he was harming the world, how could she think that this would all have a happy ending? Perhaps fate hadn't planned for any of this, perhaps they were never meant to be together, but that didn't change the fact that they had been... that they were. She hadn't been meant to befriend him, but she had chosen to, She had chosen him. And maybe this was his way of choosing her. That brought her mind back to Discord, and the thought of him up there – wherever he was – beating himself up over all of this. Thinking that he had ruined her life. She was furious with him of course, but not because of that. For he hadn't, and she had to find him to tell him that. A thought then came to her as the winds of her frantic mind dissipated. A risky, half-formed thought that refused to be ignored the moment it came to her. If there truly was nothing in this library that could help her follow or even talk to Discord, maybe there was something Twilight already had that could do the trick. Something that they both shared... With a new resolve, Twilight began to ease her senses into the pool of chaos magic that still lay inside her mind. It was a dangerous thing to conceive, but if it worked, Twilight figured it would be worth it. Using the chaos magic, she attempted to find him in this unfamiliar landscape that began to unfold before her mental eye. This world was a swirl of colors and shapes, cloudy and mostly formless. Twilight thought it would be easy to find him, but even with their connection she found it to be an uphill struggle. There were seconds – glimpses – where she thought she could sense him, but she couldn't get far enough to actually reach out and get his attention. It was as if Discord were on the other side of a hazy but solid force-field. Twilight could almost see him now. She wasn't entirely sure it was him, but as far as she knew there were only three residents of this plane, so the odds were in her favor. She desperately began to mentally barrage the barrier. Again and again she slammed into it with her magic, trying to make a crack that would be noticeable by him. Discord had to hear her, he had to listen, he had to come back. In her desperation, her mental grip on the chaos magic began to slip ever-so-slightly, and reluctantly she started to pull herself back to Equus to rein it in. Her magic wobbled as she gave an involuntary flinch, and she shook herself to control her body's urge to do it again. It was a familiar feeling coming over her, a feeling that had been proceeded by a total and complete mental blackout. She concentrated even harder this time, for even if she did not remember what had occurred exactly, Twilight had seen the after effects of her chaos magic taking hold of her. She would hold it at bay, she had to. Discord wasn't here at the moment to help her rein it in. And that was the problem. She needed to focus on the task at hoof. As the darkness overwhelmed her, she thought for one hopeful second that some pony had heard her, or had seen what she had been trying to do. That gave her a modicum of comfort as she fought against the chaos enveloping her. A fight she found herself too weary to win. From up upon his original plane, Discord sat resolutely not looking downward. He stared out into the endless expanse of boring nothingness surrounding him, for he had no interest in making it look any different at the moment. It was for the best, he thought. He continued to think this constantly ever since he had arrived even though there was a small voice inside him that kept telling him he didn't believe it. Time always worked differently here, so it wasn't immediately that Discord began to sense Mort, but even when he did he ignored him. He wasn't in the mood for whatever Mort was going to say. For one, Discord doubted that Mort would come to him in a solid form to even see on his own plane, and for another, he was still resolutely not looking at his surroundings, so even if Mort had deemed this little conversation worthy of a physical form, turning to look at him was a definite no-no. Mort seemed determined to speak to him, but Discord continued to mentally block him out. He didn't want to hear that he'd done the right thing, that soon when everything returned to normal he would see that. Discord wanted to block everything else out and wallow for a while. Possibly for a few hours, possibly for a hundred years, he couldn't decide at the moment. Eventually, Discord finally sensed Mort giving up and finally leaving him alone. But soon after he sensed his fellow spirit being take his leave, Discord could sense a new presence appearing close to him, and whoever that some pony was they did not feel as easy to ignore as Mort. It was his surprise that made it difficult to ignore her, surprise and a bit impressed that she had been able to manage it. This being such a hard plane to get to and return from if you weren't from here originally. He still didn't want to see her, but as Celestia made her way over to him, sitting herself down silently next to him, Discord couldn't deny that he should at least hear what the princess had come such a long way to say. “Did you not sense when Mort was trying to make contact with you?” she asked, and Discord could see the tip of her mane waving out of the corner of his eye, but still he did not turn to face her. “I was blocking him, I don't want to hear about the greater good or whatever nonsense he wanted to tell me. Plus I think I've caused enough damage interacting with any pony. I see now that I was better off alone.” “You were never truly alone, Discord. You had my mother and then my sister and I.” “And such good company you were,” Discord grumbled sarcastically. “You know what I mean. I was better off here, away from every pony whose life I have now made so much more difficult.” “That might be true, but I do not believe they would take back any of their time with you... even now,” Celestia paused before adding that last part, as if holding something back from him. That pause almost caused Discord to steal a glance her way, but still he held back. When he made no reply, Celestia continued. “As much as I have touted to value our connection and tried to convey the importance of the balance between our powers, I don't believe I have ever truly appreciated your side of it nor the way in which you kept it up. Whenever I have mentioned balance, I had always secretly considered order to be the better, more important side. I understood it, I could control it, so for me it was the safer option, and 'safer' meant 'better' in my eyes.” She took in a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh, and Discord could sense her eyes on him, although he still did not want to meet them with his own. “I never acknowledged our true balance as what was really important. Never out loud, and never to the world which we keep in that balance. I never made an effort to dispel the world's assumptions about you and your powers, and for that... I am deeply sorry. My own personal grudge blinded me from seeing what I was inadvertently making you out to be. Had I done so from the start, perhaps all of this could have been avoided.” “Oh, don't take all the credit, Celestia. I didn't exactly make things easy for you, or for myself,” Discord replied, thinking out over all of his time as the spirit of chaos, and the things he had done to the ponies of Equus without any thought to how he was affecting them. “I took things too far, I see that now. I was blinded as well by my own quest for power, but I see now it was really just a quest to find a place to belong. Ruling them, having total power over them would never have given me that sense, that wholeness. Having known that feeling now – even for a small time – I see the monster I used to be.” “Yet we never tried to help every pony see past that,” Celestia said. “And for that, I apologize. Twilight had it right to believe in you, and to see that things could be made more fair in our balance. Moving forward, I vow to spread the word of true harmony, as she had wanted to do.” At the mention of Twilight, Discord couldn't resist, he turned his gaze towards the princess. Her eyes were sorrowful and pleading, filled with an urgency she had not betrayed in her voice. Perhaps she was trying to get her apology done first before explaining why she had truly come. He could see it in her eyes before she said it, something else had gone wrong. But he didn't interrupt. “Mort was trying to reach you, and when you didn't acknowledge him, he came to me,” she said, her voice still measured but her eyes giving her away. “He wanted you to help and for some reason he thought I could get you to listen. He said that if you didn't, he would be 'very busy'.” “Don't tell me that the anomalies haven't stopped since I left.” “They did for a while, but now--- I think you should see for yourself.” It was only his own imagination coming up with scenarios that compelled him to do as she had said. The way that she had said it, Discord assumed he should be prepared for the very worst. But it couldn't possibly be as bad as he was imaging, could it? After all he had left and taken his remaining power and influence over Equus with him. But he hadn't taken back what he had given to Twilight. He hadn't thought it would matter, but how wrong he was. Black spots were spreading over the land of Equestria, darkening the skies like so many fresh bruises upon the healthy countryside. Discord could see one stretching out over the desert, another over the swamp, and yet another over the badlands. The pattern was not difficult for him to spot, these growing pockets of chaos drew his eyes back to the largest one of all, the source from which the others had sprung. His castle that had only just begun to feel so homey was now destroyed beyond recognition, even less than the ruin that it had been when he had first found it. The whole of the Everfree forest was being consumed, enveloped by an ever-encroaching abyss of chaotic power that was coming far too close to spreading out towards Ponyville. Focusing on the center of this storm of chaos, Discord felt his insides wrench as he beheld just who this was stemming from. He hadn't needed to guess, for who else would be in his castle, no doubt looking for him? Oh Twilight, what had he done to her now? “What can be done?” he asked Celestia, fearing the answer she would give. But, if all hope was lost, surely she wouldn't have come to see him. “I have a plan, but we will need your help.” The shame of it all overwhelmed him, looking down at what had become of his brilliant unicorn, Discord couldn't stop himself from beating himself up even more. So leaving hadn't fixed everything, it had just made things worse. “I did this to her,” he whispered, feeling more the monster every pony thought he was more so than he had ever done before. “You did not mean to,” Celestia reassured him. “And we have a chance to make things right. Please return with me to Equus, and together we can do our best to save her from herself.” Discord wanted to ask if this chance that they had involved him being able to not only go back to help save her, but if he could somehow remain with her once it was all over. But that was selfish. His being there had done this to Twilight, and so even if there was a chance he could stay, he didn't want to risk any sort of hope. He would help to save the mare he cared for most in any plane of existence, but that was as far as he dared to think. From down on the ground, the storm of chaos magic encroaching upon Ponyville was even stranger than how it had appeared from above. The literal colors and shapes of things were beginning to dissipate, almost as though they were being devoured by some unseen force. The blackness that the power left in its wake was far more than simple darkness. It was an abyss, a gaping hole of nothingness that was literally a fissure in the very fabric of reality. Discord and Celestia found most of Twilight's friends doing what they did best in a time of crisis; attempting to get every pony away from the danger and towards some semblance of safety. Rarity and Applejack were the first to spot them when they appeared, the multicolored trail Rainbow Dash usually left still fading from view as the other two raced up to meet them. “Oh thank Celes--- I mean, you!” Rarity greeted them in a frenzied tone. “We've done exactly as you've asked, Princess. We've informed the townsponies of the state of emergency and have attempted to evacuate them in a timely fashion.” “It was a might easier ta get them ta listen after Princess Luna arrived to back us up,” Applejack continued. “And when it started getting' closer.” “Fluttershy has gone off to help all of her animals escape,” Rarity added with an air of slight disapproval. “Not that I am not also concerned for our smaller, fuzzier friends, but I should think getting every pony to safety first should be our top priority.” “Now Rarity, y'all know how much those critters mean ta her. I'm sure she'll be back lickety-split to help us with the next part of the princess's plan.” This conversation evidently took enough time for Rainbow Dash to return, with Fluttershy and Pinkie not far behind, the latter two still looking more worried than determined as the blue mare when she caught sight of Celestia and Discord. “Great, the princess is back, and she's brought backup!” Rainbow said, landing much more confidently than her fellow pegasus as they both came to rest at Celestia's hooves. “So what's the plan, are you gonna double-team this crazy thing with some chaos-order magic blast?” The princess shook her head, leaving Rainbow to gape with bewilderment. “I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but at this stage my sister and I have given over so much of our order magic that neither of us could even hope to balance or rein this anomaly in.” “What about Cadance, isn't she supposed to be like, Twilight's other half for this thing?” “Luna is attending to her at this moment, she is currently in labor.” Rainbow blinked at her bewilderingly, and Discord couldn't disagree. They were running out of options. “So, then Discord's here to – what - suck back up all the chaos magic?” “I'm afraid that is also something even beyond his capabilities at this point,” Celestia addressed the group at large, Discord not chiming in only because he knew the plan as well as they did, which was not at all. Their faces all fell at once at this revelation. All except for Rainbow's “But, the whole balance of the world is broken – reality is broken – how are we supposed to fix it if he can't just suck it all back in or something?” “You did not let me finish,” Celestia said, which perked every pony's ears, their eyes alighting with hope. “What I meant was that Discord will not be able to re-absorb the chaotic power alone.” At this, the chest that had once held the Elements of Harmony appeared floating above the ponies assembled, hovering in the princess's magical aura and coming to rest on the ground in front of them. “Even this I believe to be a long shot,” she admitted as she opened the chest to reveal the six pieces of magically-linked jewelry. “However, as time is of the essence I believe it to be our only real option. As these were forged by our mother, they should have enough magical force – while used in conjunction with your own bonds of friendship – to put everything right again.” Almost instinctively, three of the five friends reached for their own necklaces. Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy all donned their elements without question, possibly used to trusting Celestia implicitly. Discord could see Rainbow and Applejack hesitating, and perhaps for the first time Discord found himself in agreement with them. It was all well and good for the Elements to be present, but for them to ignite and do any sort of good, they needed the Element of Magic. It was a fact that Discord himself was about to point out when Applejack beat him to it. “But what about Twilight? How exactly are we gonna use the Elements on her when we need her to get 'em started?” “That is where Discord will come in.” Discord did a double take, blinking with surprise and trepidation at the alicorn. “Pardon me?” “Yes, I believe that Discord could – in this one instance – fill in as the Element of Magic.” When Discord and the others continued to look perplexedly at her, she elaborated. “Twilight is the friend that the five of you all rallied around, the one that brought your group together as friends in the first place. She also as it happens is the one to have exchanged powers with Discord.” “Um, exchanged?” Fluttershy piped up, to which the princess nodded. “It is my belief – or possibly my hope – that when Discord was imparting his chaos magic to Twilight, some part of her own magic was also being given back to him. That coupled with the friendships you have each formed with him throughout his time here should be strong enough for this plan to work.” Discord thought that sure was a lot of 'hoping' and 'maybe-ing' from one of the most powerful beings on this plane. It did not instill much confidence in this plan of hers in his mind. But nevertheless, he figured it was the best plan they had at the moment, and Celestia was right about one thing--- time was of the essence. The longer they waited and tried to think of another plan, the more corrupted Twilight would become, and the more of Equestria would be consumed by the chaos storm. Then there was also the matter of his friendships with the five ponies before him. As his gaze fell upon each mare in turn, each with a newly regained hopeful glimmer in their eyes, he wondered just how strong their individual bonds with him had become. Would they be strong enough? To his surprise, they all seemed resolutely resolved, and even confident in this idea. “Why of course they will be,” Rarity nodded firmly. “we've all come to regard Discord in a much better fashion than we once did.” “Yeah, he's fun,” Pinkie chimed in. “Even if he doesn't make it rain chocolate anymore.” “I certainly have come to forgive and accept him,” Fluttershy stated. “It took me a bit longer than the others, but I got there, especially after what y'all did for Ponyville and Cloudsdale the last time things got screwy,” AJ continued the affirmations. “Eh, I guess he's not so bad,” Rainbow admitted, donning her necklace and flying up to give Discord a jovial slap on the shoulder (the same shoulder that she had once fixed for him when he had injured it). “Plus it's the best plan we have, so let's do it.” Gathering in a semi-circle, the ponies all began to ignite their elements while Discord stood near the center of them, still holding Twilight's tiara. He wasn't certain if he actually had to put it on its head to get it to work or if it would suffice just to hold it, but he didn't want to keep the rest of them waiting, especially since time was of the essence. He focused intently on feeling the others with his mind, sending out his emotions in the way in which he hoped was the right way to go about this. He had seen them do this at least twice - three if he counted when Celestia and Luna had done it – but he had never actually focused or had any way of knowing how exactly their friendship magic was accomplished. He supposed he should focus on the 'friendship' aspect of it, and suddenly, he felt himself tap into their emotions almost at the very thought. This elaborate, stream-of-consciousness method of magic was foreign to him, but Discord began to pick it up quickly. Evidently all of the ponies – his friends, he should say – each focused their thoughts and emotions on the bonds they had with each other, and with him. They came to him in little flashes of memory, tiny moments from each of them that signified those bonds. From Rarity, it was the time when she had made him that stylish vest and pant set while he was a pony, from Rainbow Dash it was their conversation just after the Smooze began attacking, from Pinkie and Fluttershy came the memory of fixing up his now demolished castle, and from Applejack – the last he felt to accept him - a memory they had not even shared of seeing him with her brother and hearing from the stallion what they had spoken of. These memories mixed in with the feelings of closeness an understanding gelled into a tangible something of which he could latch onto, something that he could focus his power alongside the others to form a way to meet their goal, which was to quell Twilight's unintentional maelstrom. A light began to ignite from each of them, and the beams all shot out at once to swirl and combine into a rainbow of color and power. A united power hitting the unicorn chaos being in full force. Cutting through the swarm of chaotic energy to reach their beloved friend, Discord and the other five focused on pulling Twilight from the eye of the storm. They each reached out with their minds and emotions to grab hold of her, mentally and physically. They pulled her flinching, seizing body closer to them, and as Discord found himself in the center of the group, he reached out his clawed hand towards her, grasping her foreleg and pulling her limp but still shaking form into an embrace. His hug was tight and purposeful, and soon the others had joined him as well, grouping around Twilight and hugging her tightly. Each was still willing their mental and emotional powers together to bring their friend back, and each hoping they were not too late. The vast emptiness of the chaotic power that was engulfing everything still swarmed around them, but they held their vigil. It felt like eons before any change could be felt, but soon they could sense a faint pinprick of light in the darkness. Twilight's friends focused on that, and soon the light began to grow, and their group began to sink slowly back down to the ground below them. They could sense Twilight's energy through the chaos, and soon they could feel her reaching back for them They could feel her fear as well as her despair that she had not been able to keep it under control, and Discord could have laughed at how sorrowful her emotions had become when none of their friends were in any way sending off emotions of blame towards her. Finally, when they could feel Twilight letting go of her feelings of blame did the chaos storm begin to actually subside. Discord then reached out and attempted to begin the transference. The chaos magic resisted, as if unwilling to leave Twilight's body and mind. He tugged on it like a stubborn dog as he also tried to send off her own magic that he had received back to her. She gratefully accepted her magic, the magenta glow of energy absorbing back inside her, but still the blue chaotic energy dug in its heels, refusing to budge. Discord could feel Twilight's assumptions that she just might burst from all of the magic crowding inside of her. Once they were all safely back on the ground, the others broke the connection, it was all up to Discord now. The chaos storm was still subsiding, and Twilight's eyes no longer glowed blue, but even with all of these good signs, Discord could still feel the power's unwillingness to come back to him. He tried to pull back as much as he could, but it was only a fraction of the amount that he had given her in their sessions. It wasn't for lack of Twilight trying to give up the magic. Discord could feel her trying to send it back his way, but it would continue to almost magnetically come right back to her. She pushed, he pulled, but only less than half of the magic actually made its way back to Discord. Their friends could only watch the attempt, their part having already been completed. Frustratingly, Discord broke his connection with Twilight and the pair of them panted, gasping for breath as they both tried to acclimate to their current levels of magic. When both Discord and Twilight could compose themselves, he could see Twilight looking out to each of their friends with a grateful yet weary smile. “Everyone... thank you,” she said, still with a hint of lament that she had not been able to fix things herself, but grateful all the same for her friends coming to her rescue. “Don't mention it,” Applejack said, reflecting the caring, forgiving smile that found its way across the faces of all five of the ponies assembled. Discord could see tears welling in Twilight's eyes as her friends grouped around her, pulling her into another group hug that mirrored the embrace of just a few moments before. Discord joined them on the outskirts of the hug, but soon their warmth dissipated as the others left and only he remained, still clinging to Twilight and Twilight clinging right back. He waited until Twilight was finished, for it was more than evident that she needed this hug. And Discord was definitely not opposed to it, either. Once she had finally let him go with a sigh and another watery smile, the weight of the situation they were still in settled back over them all. “So--- did it work, the whole transference thing?” Rainbow asked, to which Discord could see Twilight's face fall, ears drooping. His own gaze dropped to the ground regretfully for a moment. “No,” she answered with a sad shake of her head. “Discord tried – and he got most of it – but for some reason it was like it just didn't want to go back to him.” The mood of the group dropped considerably. The elation that they had all felt at being able to pull Twilight from the storm of her own making was dampened by this news. They all knew that without a full transference of the magic, that meant that the anomalies would continue, and that something like this might very well happen again. This also put a dent in Discord's plan to leave again, for how could he do so now knowing full well that Twilight could explode like this at any moment? If the chaos wouldn't leave her, then he shouldn't either. But that still meant that the anomalies would continue due to the influence from him and Twilight's inability to contain her half. That still meant that he was a danger to her life, her world. The ponies all looked to Celestia for some sort of insight, but even she appeared at a loss for what to say or do. “There does not appear to be a clear answer to the problem,” Celestia said finally, looking concerned an slightly grave. “When we last encountered a problem of this magnitude, our solution was to seal Discord away in stone to help control his flow of chaos to better balance it, but I do not believe that would be an option that any pony here would want for either Discord or Twilight,even if I were still able to perform such an act.” Her words seemed to dash any faint glow of hope that might have arisen in the ponies assembled, and the group would have continued to fruitlessly grasp for some sort of solution, were it not for Luna's arrival at that very moment. Discord saw Luna land softly beside her sister, and Celestia regard her with a questioning look. Luna smiled despite the overall mood of the group at large. “I see that you were able to calm the chaos raging within Twilight, that is a relief, yet why do I not sense any joy among you?” Luna asked every pony, and Celestia explained their situation in just the same way as she had done to the group. Luna's smile turned to a frown and she nodded with understanding, then looked hesitant to speak again. “Then perhaps now would not be a good time to share the good news I have brought.” Celestia gave a small smile, and she appeared slightly brightened by her sister's remark. “On the contrary my sister, I feel we could all use some good news at this moment.” Luna returned the small smile with one of her own. “Cadance has successfully given birth to a filly.” Every pony's ears perked up at this announcement. “The foal is healthy, they have named her Melody. And what is more she appears to have absorbed the order magic that we had been giving to her mother.” “Wait,” Twilight asked, glancing from one princess to the other. “You mean that Cady's foal actually absorbed the magic you were transferring into her?” She blinked, and Discord could tell that she was trying to figure something out. “That must be why things were so easy for Cadance when she was taking on the power of order. It was because she wasn't taking it on at all, her filly was.” “So, does that mean that this filly is the new order being?” asked Rarity, looking to the princesses. “It would appear so,” answered Luna. That appeared to complicate things even more. Back when it had been just he and the princesses, Discord hadn't been able to keep their powers in balance due to the fact that they had been so much younger and less-powerful than he. He just couldn't slow down his chaos to match up with the order coming from two young fillies, even if he'd wanted to. And now even if she wanted to, there wasn't much hope that Twilight would be able to control the chaos magic enough to keep balance with a foal. It would be an even worse balance were he to take his power back as well. So the problem that stood before them now was not only who should take on the mantle of 'spirit of chaos' but who could also do so while being able to balance their powers with that of a newborn? Discord glanced from Twilight to the two alicorns before them, puzzling at the problem and looking through them more than at them. And then – suddenly – an idea struck him. A half-formed thought that was gradually growing within his brain that came to him so fast he blurted it out without fully giving it any thought at all. “I've got it! Twilight, let's make a baby.” Every pony's gazes suddenly whipped over to him, each of them looking confused and some looking outright shocked. The two princesses however, looked more than a bit awkward, and after a moment - as Discord's words hung in the air – Luna turned to her fellow alicorn. “My sister, let us go and--- see over the area for any leftover anomalies,” Luna said quickly and pointedly to Celestia. “Good idea,” Celestia replied. With that, the princesses flew off to check the landscape to see if the immediate danger had passed, leaving Discord with Twilight and their friends, his offer still hanging in the air. When the phrasing of his suggestion came back to him coupled with the faces of every pony present finally registered with him, Discord elaborated. “What I meant to say was, I think that we should try and create a new chaos being. Out of the powers we both have inside of us.” “Um--- what?” was all Twilight asked. “We could do it in the same way that Harmony once did when creating Celestia and Luna. It would be a being made for the balance but also a being made to live here." He could tell that Twilight was still getting over the shock of this proposal, but at this moment he didn't care as much as he normally would have. He had brightened at the idea. He now understood how she must have felt when she had come up with her plan to take on the chaos power in the first place, that he had found the absolute, most perfect solution. “Discord, I--- I don't know. There's just too much to consider.” “What's there to consider? It would be the best option to rid yourself of the chaos power and remove my influence.” “Yes but, it wouldn't just be a new chaos being, Discord. It would be---” “Our child, yes,” Discord nodded. “I thought that after your conversation with your brother that would be something that you wanted.” “I--- but---,” Twilight stammered. “Yes, maybe someday. But I didn't think I'd have to be considering it now.” “It is the only solution that I can see,” Discord said as Twilight continued to gape and blink. “You wanted me to trust you when you came up with the last crazy-sounding plan, I would appreciate it if you would do me that same courtesy.” “But you only reluctantly agreed to my plan,” Twilight reminded him. “Well, you could always do that,” he replied. “I trusted you, Twilight. I simply ask you to trust me now. If it fails, we'll handle it, but this is something I need you to do with me.” “But the last time you tried it, you made the Smooze.” “Last time I didn't have you,” Discord said, reaching out his hand again, offering it to her as if that would signify her acceptance of his plan. That was true, but Twilight wondered just how much of a difference that would really make. She knew that the chaos power would not go willingly back to Discord, and she could not exactly keep it inside of her for obvious reasons, but to use their combined powers to create a new being just for this world? Would that really fix everything? Could it indeed be plausible? It was so absurd to even consider, and yet they had no other options that she could see. Twilight considered Discord's words, and she decided that he was indeed right, at least about how she should trust him in this instance. Perhaps something absurd was just the thing they needed at this moment. Twilight paused for one more moment,and then nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Let's do it. I'm still uncertain about it, but I trust you.” “That's all I ask,” he replied as she placed her hoof in his claw. “Wait,” Pinkie interrupted, actually holding up her hoof to get their attention as if she were in school. “Are you telling me that you're going to make a baby right here, right in front of us?” Twilight laughed a little nervously, her friend made it sound a lot more unsavory than it really was. “Uh---yeah, technically.” “Yes, I'll finally get to find out where babies come from!” Pinkie cheered. Then when every pony looked over at her with questioning – bordering on bemused – expressions, she giggled and waved her hoof at them. “I'm just kidding,I already know that.” Giving a softer laugh and shaking her head at her friend, Twilight turned back to Discord with more than a slight amount of concern. “So, how do we actually go about it?” she asked. To which Discord replied with a wink. “Just follow my lead.” Discord then closed his eyes, hoping that Twilight would do the same. It must have been the connection they both shared with the chaos magic and their more recent shared experience with friendship magic that had left the two being able to sense each other's emotions with all the more clarity. But Discord also felt it might be necessary to explain as he went along, just in case. He began with a thought, picturing clearly in his mind what the perfect chaos being would look like, what they would be like. Remembering his mistakes from the past and bearing in mind what it had taken Harmony to create her daughters, Discord focused his power on the care an love he had grown to feel not only for Twilight, but for his friends and the world at large. A numbness began to come over his limbs, and he could feel his limbs disappearing as they had begun to do before. It was the trade-off that Harmony had made for the creation of Celestia and Luna, her 'death' for their 'birth'. “Oh no you don't,” he heard Twilight say, and he soon felt her hoof wrap around his claw, pulling it back into being. Adding her magic and her love alongside his, Discord could feel his body starting to become solid once more. Bringing her thoughts into his own, Twilight poured her power into Discord's mental picture of what their progeny would look like. She had some very precise ideas as to what he – for she stood firm in her thoughts that it should be a he – should be like. Most of his outward appearance she left up to Discord, but he could feel Twilight's insistence on his other characteristics. A love of learning, naturally. A curiosity for this world that he would soon be keeping in balance. A compassion for all the creatures that lived on Equus. And from Discord, a good amount of mischievousness, just so he wouldn't be boring. When they opened their eyes at last, it was to see a tiny form taking shape. Multiple colors of matter coalesced into a small, pony-shaped lump that floated for a moment and then glided down to the earth and landed softly before them. Twilight let out a sigh, and Discord could sense as to why, he had felt it as well. The last ounce of chaos magic had left him, as hers had left her too. Discord felt only a little empty without it, and only for a second. For when his gaze left Twilight's to find the now-squirming bundle of fur and feathers before them, he felt that emptiness fill to almost overflowing. The bundle rolled over, unfurling his massive wings as he lifted his head to look up at them. He looked up at them with Twilight's eyes, and smiled a tiny-fanged version of Discord's smile.