Finishing up his oatmeal, Discord smacked his lips together and sighed appreciatively, wondering when it was since he last ate so much. Despite being told it was what "peasants" were fed, it was honestly the best oatmeal that he'd ever had. He took his bowl and spoon to the kitchen and was about to set them down when he fell under the hard gaze of the cook. She was an older mare with a copper-colored coat and a messy dark brown mane with stripes of silver, her face haggard and worn out from years of nail-biting stress. Slamming down a newly-washed flagon, she placed a hoof on her hip.
"You done?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Discord replied timidly and shook as he felt the cook's practically bone-chilling stare. Not wishing to be in be in the same room as the moody mare, he chuckled nervously and dashed out of the kitchen while the cook shook her head disapprovingly. Making his way down the corridors, Discord stared at the ornate columns and high ceilings, his little mind blown by the sheer enormity of it all. Something's...off. Realizing where he was, or rather, where he wasn't, he abruptly looked around and gasped, "Wait...where am I exactly?"
After a run-in with some less-than-cheerful royal guards, Discord sped into the royal library at full speed, his breaths heavy after such a rush. Bursting through the doors, he panted, "Sorry I'm late! I'm here now, Star-..."
He stopped to find Star Swirl in the middle of tutoring two young unicorn mares and immediately shut his mouth upon seeing the wizard's disapproving frown. The mares also stopped to glimpse at the newcomer, though their faces each held a different expression. The bigger and older of the two possessed snow-white fur and a pink-colored mane, her pink eyes staring annoyingly at Discord as she let out a derisive snort. It was her sister, however, that drew the draconequus' gaze, his heart slowly halting its beats. She was dark blue and also had a mane that seemed to defy gravity, only it was Persian blue and flowed past her like a small curtain of night. Unlike the other mare, this one smiled at Discord and her cyan eyes twinkled with a kind of good-natured amusement that made it impossible to turn away.
Star Swirl shook his head. "Well, I suppose it can be daunting the first time navigating the castle on your own so I'll forgive you for your tardiness. Discord, this is Princess Celestia and Princess Luna-" The two bowing when their names were mentioned; Celestia gave a curt nod of her head while Luna did a little curtsey and giggled, much to her sister's annoyance. "-and they are my other students. Your Highnesses, this is Discord and he will be joining us from now on."
"Really, Star Swirl? We have to train with...this?" Princess Celestia asked disdainfully, refusing to look Discord in the eye or even acknowledge his presence. "What is he anyways?"
"Celestia, there's no need to be rude!" Princess Luna admonished, giving Discord an apologetic look. "I am so sorry...Discord, was it? My sister can be quite...abrasive but she-..."
Princess Celestia stomped a hoof on the floor. "Luna, you should not be apologizing on my behalf, especially when I gave no such indication that I was considering it! I mean...just look at him! Why is he even here?"
"Because your mother ordered it," Star Swirl interjected, immediately silencing the squabbling siblings. Clearly, whenever the old stallion spoke, his word was the last. "As her royal decree, Discord is to be instructed by me in the ways of magic, to teach him to control and hone his unique gifts." As well as to keep a very close eye on him. He may not know it, but there is more to him than meets the eye. He was still somewhat spooked by last night's discovery, unable to fully believe their luck (or misfortune) at not only finding the world's last draconequus but also a royal at that! The wheel of Fate doth spin in strange directions. "Now then, let's continue with our lesson. Luna?"
The dark-colored alicorn nodded and focused on a stone dodecahedron, her horn faintly glowing a cobalt blue aura. That very same aura began to surround the dodecahedron and it began to steadily rise in the air, though the look of strained concentration on Luna's face coupled with the beads of sweet gathering on her brow made it evident that she was struggling with the task. The stone object wobbled and then tumbled to the floor, Luna sagging onto her haunches to catch her breath. "I...I'm sorry, Master. It was just...too heavy," she gulped atop wobbling legs.
"Now Luna, what have I told you about weight? The weight of an object is inconsequential compared to focus, concentration and willpower. If you believe it to be too heavy, then it will remain too heavy. Understood?"
"Yes, Master," Luna replied sadly as she sat in a chair far from the center of the room.
WELL THAT WAS PATHETIC. THE GIRL LOOKS AS THOUGH SHE COULD BE KNOCKED OVER BY A GUST OF WIND.
"Quiet," Discord hissed.
Star Swirl turned sharply. "What was that?"
"Um, nothing, Mister Star Swirl."
He eyed Discord suspiciously. "While we are training, you will address me as, 'Sir' or 'Master' and while not studying or practicing, you may call me, 'Star Swirl.' Is that clear?"
Discord saluted and grinned, "Yes sir, Master!"
Beneath his stoic expression, Star Swirl was beaming on the inside, somewhat amused by Discord's energy and enthusiasm. However, as a serious mage and teacher, he had a certain appearance to keep to if he wanted the respect and discipline of his students. "Good. Celestia, you're up."
Giving her sister a watch-how-I-do-things smirk and eyebrow wag, Celestia took up an offensive stance and stared intently at the dodecahedron. A bright golden aura shimmered around her ivory horn and traveled to the stone object, pulling it into the air and surrounding it with a blazing radiance. It began to twist and rearrange itself like a large puzzle block until it formed into a cube and gently came to rest right back where it started, much to Celestia's delight. She stepped back to admire her handiwork and, once satisfied with the end result, gave a deep bow and trotted back to her seat. Luna, meanwhile, gritted her teeth as Star Swirl clapped his hooves together and nodded respectfully at Celestia.
"Well done, Celestia! Once again, you've proven yourself a most apt pupil. Well done!"
Noticing the envious pain written across Luna's face, Discord leaned over and whispered, "I thought you did a pretty good job," adding in a wink and a thumb's up which lifted her spirits somewhat. Ironically, the dark-themed mare was much more warm and inviting than her colorful counterpart and this intrigued Discord immensely. The two smiled at one another and Discord could feel a funny fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach. His heart seemed to slow down and speed up when Luna opened and closed her long dark eyelashes. Whoa, is it just me or is it really hot in here?
"Discord, it's your turn."
The gruff statement snapped Discord out of his blissful stupor. "What, me?"
Star Swirl rolled his eyes and shot a beam of bluish-gray energy at the cube, twisting and morphing it into its previous polyhedron shape before pointing a hoof at it. "Yes, you. I want you to levitate this object and transform it into another shape, similar to what Celestia did. Of course, it should be no problem compared to your throne transmogrification feat."
Six pairs of eyes studiously watched Discord, observing him as though he were a butterfly in a glass jar. He scratched the back of his neck anxiously. "Well, the thing is, I...don't know how to do that."
To his shock, Star Swirl began laughing, a deep, roaring laugh that bounced the bells on his hat around. "Ah, a student with a sense of humor? This is a new one. However, as much as I enjoy a good joke every now and then, I'm asking you to apply your magic to the dodecahedron here."
"B-but I'm not joking! How do I change the object's form?"
The wizard's mouth quickly formed into a frown. "You-you're serious? But what about the house of cards or-or-or the glass sculpture? Are you telling me that you did that on a whim?"
"I didn't know what would happen! I just concentrated on the object and poof, it kind of...did the rest."
Rubbing his forehead hard, Star Swirl incoherently grumbled before clapping his hooves together. "Discord, when you use magic, you must focus on your target and only your target. Don't just think of it and expect something to happen. You must picture the object in your mind and imagine the result. Here, give it a try."
Discord looked uncertainly at the stone dodecahedron and sighed, figuring that it was a fight he wasn't going to win. He focused on the stone, getting a mental image of it in his mind's eye as he lifted his paw towards it. The stone wobbled and flipped onto its side before levitating six inches above the floor. Come on, come! Turn into a cube!
YOU ARE EXTRAORDINARY SO WHY NOT SHOW IT? WHY ACT LIKE THESE INSIGNIFICANT SPECKS?
You're not helping! Discord mentally shouted, losing focus on the object and straining to keep his concentration. There was a bright flash of light and to his horror, Discord watched as the dodecahedron became a pile of bananas, which promptly collapsed onto the floor. He buried his face in his hands, unable to face his teacher or block out Celestia's uproarious laughter. He peeked through his fingers to find Luna smiling warmly at him and mouthing, "You did a good job." This brightened his spirits a little though he still had to contend with Star Swirl's look of disapproval.
Star Swirl shook his head. "Your attempt was valiant and despite the impressive transformation spell, you failed to do what I asked. We will reconvene for another lesson later on in the day. Dismissed." He then patted Discord's head and trotted out of the library, followed by Celestia, who purposefully shouldered her way past Discord with a "Hmph!"
Discord hung his head in shame. Well, that was a complete disaster.
WAS IT? YOU DON'T NEED HIS APPROVAL YOU KNOW.
"I'm sorry about my sister," Luna said softly. "She really isn't that bad once you get to know her."
"Aw, it's no big deal. The kids at the orphanage are way worse than her."
Luna stared guiltily at Discord. "You're an orphan? Gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Discord shrugged and scratched the back of his neck, blushing as the familiar fuzzy feeling returned in his stomach. "It's okay and thanks for apologizing, even though you didn't need to."
Luna rubbed her pastern with one hoof. "Well somepony had to. You're really nice and you don't deserve to be bullied, especially not by Celestia." She brushed some of her dark blue locks out of her eyes, an action Discord couldn't help but watch with pure fascination. Luna, meaning, "Moon." It was perfect considering her mysteriousness, soft dark beauty and external brilliance. A lovely name for a lovely mare.
Coming to the realization that he'd been staring, Discord cleared his throat. "So, uh, the castle's quite something. Do you think...maybe you could perhaps, um...show me around?"
The mare smiled warmly, "It'd be my honor."