//------------------------------// // 7) Running in the 90th Dimension // Story: Learning ABCs - Aristocracy, Bureaucracy, Chaos // by Isopod //------------------------------// "With the entirety of the Ponyville out for the count for the rest of the day, the mischievous, and undeniably handsome agent of Chaos seemed to have thought he'd have the unique opportunity to be the center of Twilight Sparkle's attention, for a change." "Nonsense! You've been nothing BUT the center of my attention ever since you first moved in!" The Spirit sighed. "Yet, your dragonboy and the rest of the Ponyville's once bothersome but now, I'll admit, tolerable ponies I would even dare to call friends seem to have nothing on their mind but impeding us from doing what we should do." "There's literally no business you haven't pushed your nose into since you're here, whether by accident, design or invitation." "I'm not glad you're saying that, and I'm further disappointed that you're not asking the important question." He sulked. The unicorn rolled her eyes. "And what question might that be?" The Spirit beamed. "Well, you see, I implied there is something you and I should be doing while everypony else is minding their own business! Or in this case, sleeping." He added. "So, naturally, this is where you ask me," Discord's face suddenly very much looked like her own, twisted into a pouty grimace, " 'oh Discord, whatever do you mean by that?' " His face reverted to normal. "See?" Receiving nothing but a deadpan in return didn't stop him from adding a reply of his own: "Excellent question right there, my dear! Now I know we've had some issues lately, you and I, and in attempting to put that nasty business aside, as well as aid you in some other things, I've thought of a perfect thing!" "Well, I AM intrigued." A drumroll was heard coming from nowhere, and Discord announced: "A DATE!" Trumpets trumpeted, confetti confettied around as Twilight wondered how in the world could they possibly do such a non-existent thing, and a dozen wild white birds appeared, making rounds around the room before they all crashed into the walls, where they popped into a hundred tiny gummy-bears. "A date?" She repeated, frown of confusion following that of curiosity; however Discord didn't seem to pick up on any of them if it were to be judged by the way he clapped his hands and rubbed them vigorously, more than likely mentally patting himself on the back. "I know, I know, it's an amazing idea and I want to hear no silly little objections about it! I know you would go against it, thinking I might find such a thing much too boring for my usual taste!" "Umm-" "Furthermore, I know I may be the chaotic, wild, freedom driven persona of truly hard-to-graps ideals, dreams and thoughts but even such magnificent individual as I has to agree there is enjoyment to be found in having a little "us" time. That being said, if you're ready for our little private get-together, I would kindly ask you to grab my hand!" And so he extended his fuzzy appendage to her, not at all recognizing the array of emotions traversing Twilight's face, and taking all of it as a sign of wonder rather than anything else. It was at this time that Twilight felt obligated to break the news to him, though she didn't for the life of her have an idea how to do so gently. Lacking such knowledge - and perhaps more importantly, lacking quite a bit of common sense when it came to tactful approaches to emotions - her mouth spoke before she could think properly: "I don't do dates." "Oh." That sunken reply of his was so swift, and his change in attitude so sudden that Twilight immediately knew she had said something he didn't expect in the least. With both of them stunned, though for different reasons, silence grew between the two. A solitary cricket chirped somewhere outside the window. "What I mean is," Twilight started again, eyeing carefully Discord's hand that still hung in the mid air, ready to take her hoof, "I don't really like the entire, um... concept of dates. I've been on a few... some time ago,"she added a bit awkwardly, "and I really can't say I enjoyed much." In the days when he still didn't know Twilight Sparkle as well as he did right in that moment, Discord would have taken it as a personal offence that she would compare whatever his idea of a date was with the idea of anypony else. However, Discord had realized during this course of a few months, perhaps disappointingly quickly, how stubbornly Twilight accidentally found herself in situations when she refused to realize that anything about Discord was far from normal - unless someone would point it out to her. Knowing all that, he learned to use the same amount of patience with her much too often unrealistically simple perception of him that she had when she had to deal with whatever shenanigans he had on his mind. "But of course," he finally replied, "you wouldn't think I would prepare anything as simple as any other pony, would you?" In an instant, Twilight Sparkle face reflected realization. "True. Come to think of it, your idea of a date must be anything but whatever I can imagine." "Well then, it's settled, I hope? I have to say, as powerful and mighty as I am, my arm is starting to ache a bit." He playfully said, still hopefully shaking his hand in front of her. "... You do realize I have no idea what I'm agreeing to?" "Neither did I when you all forced me to live under your roof, and yet look how wonderful that turned out!" Stuck somewhere between a laugh and a frown, Twilight finally gave in. "Fine, fine. But you better keep us safe." "Oh dear, we'll be anything but!" The Spirit promised, and before she could utter another word, grabbed her hoof and clicked his fingers, finally leaving Ponyville in the state of utter and complete silence. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ If she were ever to describe in a written form the events that took place during the course of her and Discord's first official actual date, Twilight Sparkle figured, she'd need more than a sturdy set of quills and many, many... MANY pieces of paper. She'd need many cups of tea- no, coffee, even - a lot of patience, and a mind not warped by the many things she's seen. That last one seemed a bit out of reach. To say all that hardly meant it was boring, for she was fairly sure the excitement of their date was never going to wear off entirely, and she was all in all pleased to have a memory so worthy of the Spirit and his chaotic ways... as weird and sometimes strange-dream inducing as it was. And even so, the entirety of the date took her by far smaller surprise than the state Ponyville was in once she returned. She and Discord had hardly transported back into the town, into the middle of the town square, when the collective population of Ponyville that witnessed her return from wherever she had been literally lunged at her, and for a short moment, Twilight Sparkle feared she was about to be trampled by the angry crowd who had, perhaps, had enough of the Spirit and his shenanigans - only to have herself being lifted up into the air, the square resonating with cheers of joy. The ponies around her shouted, laughed and cried, some of them calling her name hysterically, some even choosing to bow before her presence. Such was the commotion that no one did nor could reply to her numerous questions, all of which basically narrowed down to 'what the hay is going on'. "Twilight!" The familiar voice of the young dragon broke over the crowd louder than anyone else, and the ponies made way for the Princesses' young friend. Twilight, momentarily overjoyed to finally see a well-known friendly face, was struck with terror as the face of the young dragon came into clear view. His eyes were red and tired, face spotted with dried tears and his overall appearance disheveled. Throwing herself into her hooves, the dragon sobbed into her mane, his words a mumble of various sounds rather than any reasonable terms, and as such, drawing any information out of him remained impossible. The situation was slowly annoying the initially startled princess, who didn't prefer being ignorant of anything; coupled with the general chaos around her that didn't seem as if it was going to subdue anytime soon, she felt she was slowly losing patience with her subjects. Discord cleared his throat. "Perhaps I should get us home?" "If you would, please." Twilight deadpanned. And so he would do if he didn't suddenly see his fingers getting trapped in a block of ice. Alarmed, he look around. A unicorn, a mark of snowflake on his flank, was glaring at him. Next to him he noticed another pony... and another, and another, a whole herd of ponies glaring and before he knew it, he was being subdued - or at least, letting himself be subdued, for he was nothing if not a gentleman. And vastly more curious than any being in the universe. Twilight on the other hand, wasn't as calm. "What in the hay are you lot doing?! Have you gone insane?!" "Do not worry, Princess!" One of them yelled, likely not having taken her panic as a sign to stop. "We stopped him once before, and we can do it again!" Before their young majesty could do anything about it, Discord was tied up and forced into the dusty floor of the square. His face betrayed nothing but the sort of sick curiosity one has upon encountering something entirely off. "We did it! Get her majesty to safety, quick!" Twilight was sped off into her library with an unintended slowness, for she kicked and yelled for a good long deal before finally catching Discord's very calm grin and decided the Spirit of Chaos had everything well under control. Her head low and her eyes blazing, she retreated to the library with Spike, and was finally greeted with a quiet surrounding, interrupted solely by the shouts and voices from the outside. "If somepony - meaning you, Spike - doesn't explain what's going on right now, I think my brain will implode." Twilight briskly said. Spike, so far in tears and finally getting some semblance of calm, rubbed at his face, some sort of light confusion finally dawning on him. "W-what do you mean, what's--- we've been looking everywhere for you." "... I mean- I-" Twilight paused, looking away and into nothing, for only a moment wishing she wasn't a Princess but rather a bird, or a lost cloud in the sky. The moment of serenity was but a moment, and she was just as quickly back in her library, quickly coming up with what to say with what one would call the patience of a saint. "Spike, I know I am a Princess now, and I know it might put me in unfavorable position among some who might not like it - but I don't think I've been holding this position long enough, nor made any major changes, that you should have to panic about me the moment I disappear out of town for more than five minutes." Slowly, Spike's saddened expression turned upwards to meet hers, contorted into a frown. "Five minutes?" Twilight rolled her eyes, a helpless smile forming. "Okay, a couple of hours, Spike. Since when did you decide to get so literal with me, usually I'm the one having to loosen-" "You've been gone for three weeks." It took merely hearing that to suddenly notice the thin layer of dust covering the entirety of her library. To sneak a peek of a poster of her own face, right there outside her window. To steal a glance of today's newspaper, scattered on the floor, majority of the occupied with the various iterations of a single question: Where in the world is Twilight Sparkle? Twilight Sparkle's face gave way to a worn out grimace, more than suitable for the life of a growing Princess who had in that moment realized that she would be paying heavily for those three hours of fun she had. Again, the thought of fluttering away into the sky, never to return again, came to her. She wondered if Princesses Celestia and Luna had these impulses, being far older than she was and probably having far greater issues at hand - issues they personally weren't responsible for. "Oh, the press is going to have a field day." She grumbled and made for the kitchen, knowing she'll probably be brewing tea not only for the distraught dragon but for her friends, too... as well as half the Ponyville population who knocked down the Spirit of Chaos to the ground for her. That much, she figured with a small smile, they deserved in the least.