//------------------------------//
// Discord's Secret Past 
// Story: The Insane Art Teacher 
// by Ironskull 
//------------------------------//

"I might have known," said Twilight, her cheeked flush with embarrassment.  "That Discord.  He just can't help himself, he has to poke fun at me even when he's trying to help me.  Of course, the fact that he made a joke that originates from this world does mean that he must have spent more than just a little bit of his time investigating this place."

"Um, Twilight?" said Fluttershy.

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"I was...  er, that is to say...  would it be...  actually, never mind..."

"I think Flutters wants to pet you, Twi," said Rainbow Dash with a grin.

"Pet me?"

"It was a foolish idea, forget I said anything!" said Fluttershy quickly.

"No, it isn't foolish.  I mean, you can if you really want to."

"But I'm not actually sure I should," said Fluttershy.  "I mean, you're not just another creature, you're my friend."

Twilight gave Fluttershy an uncomprehending look.

"Are all of your pets not also your friends?"

"Oh, I they are!" insisted Fluttershy.  "It's just that, um... most of them can't talk about things that I don't even understand."

Twilight continued to look confused.  She looked toward Sunset.

"I have a feeling that I am failing to understand a difference in culture here.  My first thought is that what Fluttershy is asking isn't that different from two mares combing their friend's mane."

Sunset grinned back at her.  "The problem here Twilight is that humans don't pet one another, ever.  They pet animals, not their peers.  It's like us and the way that we nuzzle critters in Equestria.  Fluttershy here is torn.  On one hand, she doesn't want you to think that she is treating you like a critter...  But on the other hand, it looks like she actually didn't bring any of her own pets to school today.  That's a first."

"That would be because I left them at home when I drove to Discord's house," Fluttershy pointed out.  "And since I haven't actually been back home ever since, I haven't had the opportunity to be with them again."

"Fluttershy, please pet me."

Sunset's eyes shot wide open at Twilight's words.

"You're seriously letting her do that?"

"I don't particularly care what connotations the action involves.  I don't consider it to be demeaning, I consider it to be a show of affection from a friend.  I mean, if you aren't comfortable with it Fluttershy, I won't make you, but I promise you, I don't mind."

"...Okay," said Fluttershy after a moment's hesitation.  She reached down with one hand and started lightly running her hand through Twilight's mane.

"This is ridiculous!" protested Sunset, who was silently wondering what it would feel like to be in Twilight's position at the moment.

"Actually," said Twilight, "that feels really nice.  I was actually rather tense because of Discord, but Fluttershy's touch is somehow reassuring."  She suddenly wiggled her head back and forth into Fluttershy's fingers, encouraging the girl to put more vigor into it.

"Are you serious?" cried Sunset.  "Have you forgotten, we have to go and have a word with Discord!"

Twilight let out a sigh.  "Okay, you are right.  The sooner we confront him, the better."

She stepped forward and away from Fluttershy, who made a small noise of disappointment, but then she followed after her.

Sunset huffed, and then led the way down the hallway.

"I don't think Discord is in his room any more," she said.  "He said something about getting the fall formal ready.  Why he cares about that thing, I have no idea, but that does mean that there is a good chance that he is in the gym."

She rounded the hallway, and then stopped in her tracks.

Principal Luna was standing there, staring wide-eyed back at her.  She held Spike in her arms.

The two stood silently, watching one another for any sign of movement.  Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends came into view behind Sunset.  They looked between the vice-principal and Sunset nervously.

"Sunset Shimmer?" said Luna warily.

"That's me."

"What have you done?"

"What do you mean, what have I done?" cried Sunset.  "Mister Discord is the one who trapped us all in here!"

"Sunset, your complexion.  Your figure.  What happened?"

Sunset looked down at herself.  "I'll tell you what happened.  I have finally acquired what I have been seeking for years.  Take a good look, vice-principal Luna.  This is what power looks like."

"It is horrible.  You have become an embodiment of fear."

"Of course I have.  If other people will not follow me willingly, then I will keep them in line with fear.  You know of what I speak.  There is a reason that students who get into trouble get sent to your office instead of Celestia's.  There's a reason that you keep your office nearly pitch black.  It makes the student feel more like he is in an interrogation chamber than an office.  You employ fear to keep order in this school.  You know as well as I do what a potent tool it is when wielded correctly."

Luna looked taken aback.

"Is that all that you think of me?" she asked, apparently hurt.

"How could it not be?" Sunset demanded.

"Fluttershy," said Luna.  "I suspect that this young fellow belongs to you."  She lowered Spike to the ground.  He hesitantly looked back at her, and then scurried past Sunset and stood amongst the girls.

"I have duties to attend to," Luna said.  She turned around and walked away.

Twilight stared at Sunset.

"How could you say something so horrible to her?" she whispered.

"I didn't say anything horrible about her, actually," argued Sunset.  "Technically, I was giving her a complement.  Actually, I am a bit surprised that she didn't say anything about the alicorn in our midst."

"She probably had more important things on her mind," said Twilight.  "Do you think that she enjoys having to punish troublemakers?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, of course she doesn't enjoy it.  But she is very good at it."

"Well, she obviously doesn't feel the same way about it as you do.  Do you enjoy making other people upset?"

"No, I don't, Twilight.  I don't do things for the sake of enjoyment, I do things because they are necessary.  Not like you."

"What?" said Twilight in confusion.  "What are you talking about?"

"Look at you. You're a princess and you're too afraid of what others think of you to tell them what they need to hear, to do what needs to be done.  What do you even do with your position?"

Twilight looked down.

"You're right.  I never asked to be a Princess.  I never wanted this."

Sunset looked at Twilight in confusion.

"You're telling me that you were Celestia's student for years and the thought never crossed your mind?"

"That is what I am saying right now."

Sunset groaned.  "Then why do you fight so hard to deny me what I have worked so hard to achieve?  The position is wasted on you!"

"That crown that you are wearing is more than a symbol of authority, Sunset.  The element of magic first appeared to me when I first discovered the magic of friendship."

"Oh, really?" spat Sunset.  "And when exactly was that?"

"It was when we used the elements of harmony to save Luna from her own nightmare, known as Nightmare Moon."

Sunsets eyes flew wide in realization.  "What?"

"Er, Twilight, what is Nightmare Moon?" asked Applejack in confusion.

"Most ponies in Equestria believe Nightmare Moon is nothing more than a fable about a monster who will gobble them up if they misbehave, similar to the boogie man in this world," said Sunset before Twilight could speak.  "But I know the truth.  Nightmare moon is a real mare, and Celestia's sister.  If there was ever any doubt, the mere fact that Luna exists in this world puts that doubt to rest.  There's a reason our vice-principal is feared."

"But what you don't know is the fact that Luna wants to be loved, just like her sister," Twilight said.  "Nightmare Moon may have enjoyed putting fear into others, but Luna absolutely does not.  That woman clearly has far more in common with the Luna I know than she does with Nightmare Moon.  And the Luna that I know detests the fact that some ponies are frightened of her.  You basically just now told that woman that she is better off as a nightmare."

An unpleasant sensation started to arise in Sunset's stomach.

"What happened, exactly?" she demanded.  "The day that Nightmare Moon returned.  Did she attack Celestia?"

Twilight hesitated for a few seconds.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She wanted to force everyone to love her over Celestia.  She was tried to cover all the land in eternal night."

"Um, I feel a little bit lost here," said Applejack.

"Oh, good," said Rainbow.  "I thought it was just me."

"Do you mean to tell me," started Sunset, "that if Nightmare Moon had succeeded, she would have taken rule away from Celestia and subjected Equestria to unending night?"

"What do you mean, 'taken rule away from Celestia?'?" asked Rarity.  "Are they school principals in your world as well?"

Sunset snorted.  "Not even close.  Celestia is ruler of the entire nation."

The human girls gasped in shock.

"Sunset!" complained Twilight.  "I wasn't going to tell them that!  They have enough to deal with as it is!"

"It doesn't matter now.  Twilight, you do realize that if Nightmare Moon had succeeded in usurping Princess Celestia and subjugating ponies, there would have been nopony left to stop her?"

"Yes, I am very much aware of that," said Twilight.  "It is an extremely good thing that I was there to prevent it!"

"But suppose you hadn't been there," said Sunset frantically.  "For whatever reason.  I would still come through the mirror, since I wouldn't know what was going on in Equestria, and when I did, I would quickly figure out that something is wrong, considering that the mirror has always been kept close to royalty.  I would then realize that I might literally be the only pony left who isn't being watched by Nightmare Moon, and therefore the only remaining hope for overthrowing her!"

Sunset's breathing was becoming heavier.  She leaned back into a wall and put a hand to her stomach, huffing.

Twilight watched her for a while.

"Would you have done it?" she finally asked.  "Would you have attempted to save Equestria from Nightmare Moon, if it had come to that?"

"What choice would I have had?" Sunset answered.  "If there was any chance that I could succeed, then I would have to!  I mean, the element of magic probably wouldn't even be around, but I am still powerful in my own right.  I mean...  Good grief, I...  I feel...  I don't know what I feel!  I mean, in comparison, my getting angry at Celestia seems... petty!  Who would even give a hoot whether I was a proper princess or not?  It wouldn't even matter, all that would matter is that I would stand up to her!  And ponies..."

Sunset sat down against the wall.

"Ponies would finally respect me.  Not because I become a second nightmare moon, but because I'd be a hero...  Assuming I actually could ever win against Nightmare Moon.  But even if I didn't...  They'd still remember my name.  They would know that I was the pony who had the nerve to..."

Sunset trailed off.  The strange feeling inside her gut was getting worse.  Something was definitely wrong.

"It doesn't matter," she said, shaking her head frantically, and standing up.  "It's no use pondering what might have happened.  We still have a job to do."

"So..." said Spike.  He glanced at Sunset nervously.  "I get the feeling that I missed something."  He then looked at Twilight.  "And it looks like I missed the big moment too, huh?"

"Unfortunately for you," said Sunset.  "Although, you wouldn't have got it either.  Come on, let's go find Mister Discord."

"I can't carry you in my bag anymore," Twilight said to Spike.  "It turned back into a pair of saddlebags.  You'll just have to stay by my side this time."

"Well, that's a relief!"





Discord was in the gym as expected.  

Sunset was actually surprised to see that Discord hadn't actually taken down anything that Pinkie Pie had decorated the room with beforehand.  The room still had the same party balloons, streamers, disco ball, and props as before.  There was however a table with a tea set on it.  Discord stood in front of it, talking to a seated Principal Celestia.

"What are you two up to?" Sunset asked suspiciously, running up to Discord and Celestia.

Celestia gave Sunset an astonished look, no doubt because of her appearance, but Discord answered immediately.

"We were just discussing possible last minute changes," Discord said.

"Sunset Shimmer, what happened to you?" cried Celestia in shock.

"Don't you worry about that, Celly," said Discord.  "It seems that I'm not the only one with magic around here.  Ever since my own power was awakened, magic around here has kicked into overdrive.  Like that, see look at that!"

Discord pointed behind Sunset.  Sunset turned around and realized he was pointing at Twilight, currently in alicorn form.

"Twilight Sparkle, am I right?" said Discord.  "Sunset told me that you were in truth a pony."

"Discord, we've come to talk to you," said Twilight.  "Your magic is incredibly dangerous.  You need to stop using it so thoughtlessly!  People are going to get hurt!"

Discord waved a hand at Twilight and she immediately lit up her horn.

"And you especially need to stop trying to use magic to change our minds!" she cried.

"Look, this magic is still new to me.  I only just unlocked the part of my mind that lets me use it.  Here, have some tea."

Suddenly a mug of steaming hot tea appeared in Discord's hand.  He offered it to Twilight.  Twilight hesitantly accepted it.

Sunset looked at the tea set in confusion.

"Why do you even have a teapot if you're just going to magic the tea into existence anyway?" she asked.

She cautiously approached the table.

"This is pretty good, actually," said Twilight, after taking a sip.  "Now, Discord.  If you claim that part of your mind was 'locked' before, that just brings up another question."

Discord raised an eyebrow at her.  "What question is that?"

"Why would that part of your mind be locked off from yourself in the first place?" said Sunset in realization.

Discord stopped to think.  He stroked his beard.

"I have no idea," he admitted.

Suddenly there was a commotion.  Sunset had removed the lid from the teapot and found that it strangely didn't contain tea at all.  However, a frog wearing a top hat and holding a cane had leapt out and started to dance on the table, causing her to cry out in alarm.

"Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal!"

Everyone stopped to stare at the bizarre spectacle.

"Send me a kiss by wire!  Baby my heart's on fire!  If you refuse me, honey you lose me, then you'll be left alone!  Oh baby telephone and tell me I'm your own!"

The frog ended his song and sat back onto the table in the position a frog would normally assume, and then hopped away.

"Bravo!" cried Pinkie Pie, clapping.

Sunset turned to Discord.

"...Why?"

"Why not?  Besides, I didn't make him do that."

Sunset was at a loss for words.

"Okay," said Twilight.  "I don't know what just happened, but I really need you to take this seriously, Mister Discord."

"Fine, I'm listening."

"If we assume for the moment that you are indeed the only real person in the world, then there are only two explanations that I can think of that you would have the power to create the world and then lose it," said Twilight.  "The first possibility is that you accidently locked yourself away from your own power because you were clumsy."

"Hmm.  Well, that's not a pleasant thought," said Discord.  "What is the other possibility?"

"The other possibility is that you locked yourself out on purpose, and then made yourself forget that you had done so, and also made yourself forget why you did it."

"But why would I do that?"

"I don't know," said Twilight.  "But if that is indeed what happened, then you must have had a good reason for doing so, right?"

Discord hesitated.

"There's no other explanation?" he asked uncertainly.

"If we assume that you are correct in your proposal that you are the only real consciousness in the world and that the world is your creation, then the cause for anything and everything can only fall upon your shoulders," answered Twilight.  "The only detail that is uncertain is whether you did it on purpose or on accident."

Discord hesitated again.

"However,  if we don't assume all of that, then there is another possibility.  It is also possible that you are wrong about the world and everyone in it being a fabrication of your mind, in which case, the you no longer take blame for bad things that happen due circumstance."

"Well, it's an interesting thought," he finally said.  "But there is no way of actually answering it, is there?  Once I finally figure out why my magic isn't affecting you, bygones will be bygones."

He lifted his arm up and pointed at them again and Twilight threw a shield up.

"Mister Discord!" cried Fluttershy reprovingly.  "Why are you doing this?"

"Fluttershy," said Discord in soft surprise.  "I didn't realize you were here already.  You're awfully easy to miss when you are literally hiding behind your friends."

"Please, answer my question, Mister Discord."

"Look, all I want is to ensure that everyone has a wonderful day today," said Discord, crossing his arms.  "I don't see why you girls are so determined to make sure that that doesn't happen!"

"Have you noticed that every single person who is trying to stop you is somebody you have failed to brain control?" demanded Rainbow Dash angrilly.  "Look Mister D, you are a cool teacher and all, but that is just completely not cool at in the slightest!"

"Rainbow Dash," said Cellestia.  "I am helping Mister Discord of my own violition."

"That's just what he wants you to think!" cried Rainbow Dash.

"What exactly are you helping him with?" asked Sunset.

"We were just discussing the idea of removing gravity from the gym and turning the floor and walls and ceiling to rubber."

"Ooooh!" said Pinkie Pie, clearly intrigued by the idea.  "That sounds like fun!  Like a giant bouncy castle!"

"Precisely!" said Celestia.

Sunset turned to face Discord.

"I know our principal.  She would never be in favor of an idea like that if you hadn't done something to her."

"Well, it is a good idea, is it not?"

"No, as a matter of fact, it is not.  Crazy people like Pinkie Pie might like the idea, but some of us take the fall formal seriously.  But that isn't even the biggest problem here.  You've not only made her think that your idea is a good one, you've also made her think just like you."

"Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?"

"Discord, you might not realize it, but you really don't want to craft everyone around you into a replica of yourself.  'A replica has no originality, and therefore no value.' "

Discord winced.  "Ouch.  Way to turn the tables."  Then he started to get angry.  "Listen here, you brat!  That concept doesn't apply when replicating perfection, and if you would just get that through your thick skull-"

"Mister Discord!" chided Fluttershy.  "Have you forgotten everything that happened to you all those years ago?"

Discord immediately calmed down and had the decency to look at least slightly ashamed.

"What happened all those years ago?" demanded Sunset.

"Fluttershy..." said Discord helplessly.  "You promised me that you would keep this a secret!"

"I know," she answered in despair.  "But I can't just sit by and let you do this."

Discord hesitated.

Finally, he came to a decision.

"Alright.  I can tell that you are torn.  I don't want to force a conflict of interests, so you don't have to tell them.  I'll tell them myself."

He sighed and then clapped his hands once and a blue armchair appeared behind him, which he let himself fall into in a heap.  He remained motionless for a bit, but then finally looked up and saw nine pairs of eyes watching him expectantly.

"Here, sit down," he said before clapping again and summoning a teal sofa underneath them, startling them.

"Alright.  So here's the deal.  I used to be a teacher here at this school years ago.  I still taught an art class.  But I was not a nice person.  Not at all.  I actually believed that my own art style was the be all and end all of all art.  Anybody who preferred anything else was automatically wrong.  Now, obviously I don't believe that any more."

He suddenly stopped speaking, apparently being surprised by his own words.

"And that all by itself really should tell me something, if I was thinking clearly!"

He waved his hand at Celestia.  Twilight prepared to try to stop whatever he was about to do, but then realized that he was simply dispelling what he had done to the principal already.  Celestia blinked in surprise, but did not otherwise move.

Discord continued speaking.  "But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Like I said, I wasn't very nice.  Although you would never have been able to get me to admit it at the time, I would make up things about my artwork that supposedly gave them deeper meanings, and then criticize other people for not understanding that hidden meaning.  But the truth was that I was willing to make up just about anything to make myself look good.

"People usually only barely passed my class, and the stress that I caused them also affected their other classes as well.  Many of the students outright hated me for being such a jerk and presumptuous snob.  But the worst thing about it was that I liked the fact they hated me.  I wanted them to hate me."

"You wanted everyone to hate you?" cried Rainbow Dash in confusion.  "But why?"

"I can't explain the reason, Rainbow Dash.  All I know is that making others angry was a delightful little game to me.  And the principal of the time wasn't about to fire me either.  I had him fooled into thinking that I was actually as great as I said I was, that I was a fantastic art teacher and that the students were just too mediocre to understand it.

"You can imagine then how I panicked when he moved on to the school board and two former students of mine became principal and vice-principal."

"Celestia and Luna," Sunset marveled.

"Got it in one.  One of the first things that Celestia did when she stepped up was try to talk some sense into me.  I didn't listen, so she fired me."

"Did you find another job?" asked Applejack.

"I was able to live comfortably enough by selling commissioned artwork to the 'elite of Canterlot'," Discord said, his voice dripping with obvious sarcasm.  "They are every bit as presumptuous as I was, and I hated them for it.  They had extremely specific ideas about what they wanted from their commissions, and I was forced to do things their way for a little while until I figured out that they were actually susceptible to my little 'deeper meaning' scam.  I started to show them some of my own works and I would make up some nonsense about a hidden meaning, and they bought it.  And I mean they bought it both figuratively and literally.  I'll be honest with you.  Getting fired was the best thing that could have happened to me as far as my finances went.  I was able to sell that garbage for a lot of money.  It's how I paid for my house, in fact.  But on the other hand, I hated the people I was working for.  I hated them because they thought that they were somehow better than me.  And so, even though I used the profits to comfort myself as best as possible, when it came down to it, I was honestly pretty miserable.

"That all changed when a young neighbor of mine started poking around.  Fluttershy here, in fact."

The other girls gave Fluttershy various looks, and she hid in her hair to avoid looking back.

"I was pretty awful to her.  Not actually surprising, considering that I wasn't nice to anybody.  But the weird thing was that she would keep coming back, even despite everything I said to her.  Strangely, I started to keep track of the times when she tended to show up just so that I could be ready for her.  I was still saying awful things to her every time I saw her and it turned into a kind of game for me.

"I don't even know how it happened, but somehow we started discussing those snobs that I was working for and I expressed my... dislike for them.  And then, to my astonishment, I learned that Fluttershy didn't exactly approve of them either.  I suddenly stopped being such a jerk to her and started keeping track of how she was doing in school.

"That went on for a few years, until one day, something happened that changed me forever.

"I was talking a walk in the city park, but I had sat down on one of the park benches to relax for a bit.  And I overheard a conversation.  It was a group of college kids discussing an abstract statue that they have on display.

"Everything that they said about it was wrong.

"Out of habit, I started to get up and give them a piece of my mind, but I stopped when I realized that I suddenly wasn't feeling right.  It felt like my insides were being twisted, leaving me feeling queasy.

"I realized that, for the first time in my life, yelling at those kids wasn't going to give me any pleasure, nor was it going to make me feel superior.  Instead, just thinking about doing it was actually making me feel nauseous."

Sunset Shimmer's eyes flew wide open at this.  She once again started to feel an a sense of unease in her stomach.  It was exactly the same sensation that Discord was describing at that very moment.

Discord continued on, oblivious to Sunset's discomfort.  "I instead decided to listen to what they were saying, to try to see the stupid statue from their perspective.  It actually didn't work at all, I never could understand why those kids liked the thing.  But I did find it interesting to hear their opinions anyway.

"And then I realized that it didn't even matter anyway.  Who cares what one piece of artwork says to them, or to those Canterlot snobs, or even me?  Art is nothing more than a way of expressing yourself, and it really doesn't matter if other people see it the same way I do, or if I see it the way that they do.  Either way, it gives us something interesting to think about, and that helps keep life from getting boring.

"And it was at that moment that I realized that I should not only value other people, but I should actually be nice to them, and nurture their creative spark.  Because I had at least as much to gain from doing so as other people do.

"There isn't much more to tell.  Fluttershy quickly figured out that I was a changed man, and I admitted to her that I still detested the Canterlot snobs and wished that I had my old job back.  She was in high school by then, so she simply walked up to Celestia and asked her to give me another chance.  She came over to my place and we talked, and then I got my job back.  That's that."

There was a moment of silence as Discord finished his story.

Twilight suddenly spoke.

"There is just one thing that I don't understand."

"What would that be?" asked Discord.

"You claim that you now believe that you are the only real person in the world.  There is logically no reason to care about other people after all.  And yet, you still do.  Why?"

Discord stroked his beard.

"You're right.  But I've never been a particularly logical person, to tell you the truth.  Even though everyone else might not be real, there is still one fact that I can't escape.  If I treated you all the way that I treated you back then, it would make me feel like a piece of garbage.  In fact, I was still feeling that way even just using magic to alter your minds, but I ignored it because I was so sure that everything would be fine once I had everyone under control.  But I don't think that bad feeling would ever have gone away, would it?  It would still be in the back of my mind forever, even as everyone around me enjoyed themselves."

He looked down at the ground.

"Furthermore," he repeated.  "If I force everyone to like me with magic, then I also remove their creative spark and replace it with my own.  Even if everyone else really is just a subconscious extension of my own mind, they still are more valuable to me when they are propagating their own ideas rather than my own.  ...  Blast it, why did I forget about that?  Why must my brain be so limited?  This is all too complicated to keep it all in mind all the time, and now I find myself in defiance of my own values!"

"It's not entirely your fault.  You simply weren't-"

Whatever Twilight was about to say was cut off by the sound of a very audible noise of distress from Sunset.

"GRAGH!" she cried out in agony, clutching at her chest.

"Sunset!" cried everyone simultaneously.  They stood up and gathered as close to her as they dared.

It was obvious that Sunset's transformation was fluctuating out of control.  Her skin appeared to bulge outward and inward again, and seemed to be turning grey.  Her wings were receding, as were the points of her ears and nails.

"What's happening?" cried Celestia in alarm.

"I have no idea!" cried Twilight.  "Nothing like this has ever happened before!"

"ARGHHHHHHH!"

Sunset reached up to the crown upon her head and yanked it off her head.  Sparks of purple lightning shot from the crown and into her head as she did so (or perhaps from her head and into the crown), but she ignored the pain.  Her only concern was getting the thing off of her head.

Once she had it in her grip, she stood up from Discord's magical couch and pulled her right arm as far back as she could and hurled the crown across the gym as far as she could throw it.

It hit the far wall and fell clattering to the floor.

Sunset's form had stabilized to look like her old self, and she was curled up on the floor, sobbing.

The clattering of the metal crown rang in her ears.

She opened her eyes and looked up and saw everyone in the whole room gathered around her and staring open mouthed at her in complete astonishment.

She quickly scrambled to her feet and looked at them all for a moment.  They simply stared back.

She started to back away from them, only to remember that she was surrounded when she backed into Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

She whirled around to face them, but they continued to stare back.

Suddenly, she shouldered past them and ran out of the gym, freely crying out in despair as tears rained from her face and to the floor.

After she was gone, they continued to hear her cries reverberate down the hallways of the school.

Finally, they could hear her no more.

"So, that just happened, right?" said Rainbow Dash in shock.

"I've never seen her like that before," said Rarity uncertainly.

They watched as Twilight ran to where the crown had fallen and then levitated it into the air with magic.  She didn't put it on.  Instead, she brought it with her as she returned to the group.

"Come on girls," said Twilight.  "We need to follow her."

"Ah don't think that she wants to be anywhere near us," Applejack said.

"I think you are right, but she needs us anyway," said Twilight.  "Assuming that you can refrain from trying to hurt her even further for what she did to you."  She looked at Rainbow Dash.

"No way," asserted Rainbow.  "If I lashed out at her right now after that then I would feel like a piece of garbage."

"Then we better go after her.  Except for you, Pinkie Pie."

"What, why me?" complained Pinkie.  "You think that just because I'm all hubbly bubbly happy fun most of the time that I can't help you now?"

"No, it's not that," assured Twilight.  "I think you should stay with Discord.  There is still a fall formal to plan, and I think that you are just the person to help him add some finishing touches."

Discord raised an eyebrow at Twilight.  "Now you want me to use magic?"

"If you keep what Pinkie Pie and Principal Celestia say in mind then I'm sure that it will be a wonderful time for everyone.  Just make sure that if you do use magic that the other students don't realize that you have magic.  It's supposed to be a secret.  Not a very well kept one so far, but at least make the effort."

"Fair enough," said Discord.  "I mean, I guess I won't be keeping them all here forever after all..."

"Oh, and you might want to apologize to Principal Celestia in the meantime.  And Luna."

Discord rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.  "Yeaaaaah, I was kind of dreading that part."

Celestia gave Discord an uncertain look.  "Perhaps you could begin by making sense for once and telling me what in the world is going on here?" she asked helplessly.

Discord sighed.

"Alright.  So, this is going to sound completely crazy, but..."

Twilight decided to leave Discord be for the moment.  She turned to her friends.  "Pinkie Pie, one more thing."  She levitated the element of magic over to her.

"I think it might be a good idea to keep this thing far away from Sunset for the moment," Twilight explained.  "Hold onto it for me?"

Pinkie stared at it in surprise, and then snapped to attention and brought a hand up to her brow in a salute.

"You can count on me!"

"Thank you."

Pinkie grabbed the crown out of the air and then stuffed it somewhere into the recesses of her hair.

"Nobody but me will ever find it now!" she whispered conspiratorially.

"So, er, does anybody know where Sunset went?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"No, but I think I can figure it out," answered Rarity.

"Really?  How?"

"She left a trail of tears behind her.  We can follow it."

Rainbow Dash felt a wave of pity come over her.

"Oh..."

The last of Twilight's tea was left on the table, undrank.





The tears turned out to lead into Discord's classroom, but Sunset was not inside it.  They continued following the trail to Discord's closet.

The girls all looked at one another in confusion, but Twilight opened the door.

None of them expected to see a green hallway with a wooden floor on the other side.

Sunset was lying in the middle of the floor a short distance down the hall, sobbing.

"Sunset," whispered Twilight, loudly enough to be heard.

Sunset looked up at them, but showed no reaction to their presence.

Twilight motioned for the others to stay put and slowly approached.

Once she was next to Sunset, she sat down on the floor.

Sunset spoke first.

"You said you were going to make Mister Discord realize what it was that he really wanted."

Sunset stopped speaking and started sobbing more, but Twilight waited for her to continue.

Sunset tried continuing on, but she was finding it even harder to speak.

"I don't know whether... you meant for it to happen or not, but I realized that what I thought I wanted isn't what I really want either.  But it's too late.  I've burned down too many bridges.  I can't ever have what I really want now."

More hesitation.

"When I was Princess Celestia's student, she showed me the mirror and asked me what I saw when I gazed inside.  ...  I saw myself... as a princess.  That was when I decided that I should be made a princess.  Celestia... disagreed.  I came to feel like she was keeping me on a leash, reeling me in whenever I tried to seize that destiny.  But that isn't what she was doing at all, was it?"

She turned her head back to facing the floor.

"There are very few ponies who deserve to be a princess less than I do."

She let out a laugh, albeit, a bitter one.

"What an irony.  The pony who didn't want to become a princess in the first place was the best choice for the job after all."

"Sunset..." began Twilight.

The broken girl looked at her, almost pleadingly.

"What do I do with myself now?"

"Actually," said Twilight, "Don't assume that you've burned all of your bridges just yet.  I think I have an idea."





"Sooooo... Mister Discord."

"Yes, Pinkie Pie?"

"So you can use magic to do whatever you want, right?"

"Not quite, it seems, but quite a bit, yes.  Why do you ask?"

"Can you turn me into a flamingo?"

"What?  Why do you want to be a flamingo?  Is it because they're pink?"

"Nah, I just want to know what it's like to stand on one foot all the time."

...  "You know what?  Sure, why not."

Discord waved a hand at Pinkie, and then there was a flash of light.