Yona’s brow furrowed again. She squinted at the craft before her, tracing a pattern of twig-like trees and a yellow sun woven from cloth. The sun sported a comical smile, with carefully stitched strips of yellow cloth spreading outwards from its center.
But it was no use. Try as she might, the concept, as well as the proper reaction, were lost to her.
"Yona not understand," she said, delivering her words with the utmost care so as not to offend her friend. "Sandbar likes...creepy sunshine?"
Sandbar laughed. "No, no, it's just a fun design, Yona," he dismissed, setting the craft down between his hooves. "See, the sun has a smile because that means it's a really nice day. Professor Fluttershy says it's called a doily, but they're more of an art piece than drink coasters if you ask me."
Yona scrunched her face as she looked at her own blank canvas of white cloth. Colorful trails of yarn were strewn about the table, all discarded from her previous attempts. They looked rather pathetic.
"Yona not sure doily making is best for Yona," she figured, casting her gaze at her professor as she glided around the room. Gingerly hovering from table to table, Fluttershy tended to her flock of students with care, her face lighting the room each time a doily was presented to her. "Professor Fluttershy scary good at weaving and stitching. Maybe she teach Yona's friends to weave and stitch good, but Yona better at...unmaking things, not making them."
"Come on, Yona, don't say that. You can do anything you put your mind to." Sandbar rose from his seat and trotted around to Yona’s side. "It's all about trying new things, ya know? Sewing-er, seeing what you like, and what you don't like. Here, let's take a look at what you have for string colors. Maybe I can help you paint an idea."
Together, the pair hunkered down over Yona's incomplete project, their soft voices drowning in a sea of steady chatter. One voice, however, stood out from the rest, and from the other side of the classroom, no less. There, tucked away in the corner, a petite changeling excitedly worked away, crafting a scene of greenery into her doily and emitting the occasional gasp of excitement. Across from her sat an azure griffon, his beak planted into the table's wood like an unconscious woodpecker.
"Gallus, I think I'm starting to see moss grow around your neck plumage," the young changeling teased, giggling lightly at her own joke. "Why don't you at least try? Who knows, maybe you'll like it! I sure do!"
The griffon let out a painful sigh, dramatically scraping his talons along the crafted oak until his forelegs lazily fell from its edge. There was a bonk as he replanted his face, followed by an even deeper, more prolonged sigh.
Ocellus held her laugh in with a hoof. Perhaps Gallus was more like a mopey woodpecker.
"Can we bring Professor Applejack in here?" Gallus mumbled, only raising his head so that his rolling eyes could be properly seen. "I think her side tangents about apple history are the only thing that could make this class any more boring."
"Oh, now you're going to make fun of Professor Applejack's lessons, too?" Ocellus shook her head, her mouth tightening to that of a disappointed mother. "Gallus, I haven't seen you pick up that doily once. Are Professor Rainbow Dash's lessons the only class you'll ever put effort into?"
Gallus flopped upon one foreleg and proceeded to flick and prod at his assignment without care.
"Don't blame me for only liking the exciting classes, Ocellus. You and Silverstream might find everything fascinating, but I'm not quite as easy to please."
"So I've noticed."
Gallus's eyebrows became gnarled bushes.
"The point is, yes, I need more stimulation than this." The griffon picked himself up only to slump back in his chair. "To be honest, you guys are what keep me from falling to the floor, curling up into a fetal position, and weeping in turmoil through most of our classes. Haven't you noticed that things aren't as exciting as they used to be? Just look at Professor Fluttershy. We used to have classes with her animal friends, one of which is a huge bear! How'd we go from that to this?"
He motioned a claw to the front of the room. A line of students had lined up at Fluttershy's desk, prancing in place while holding their finished work high on one hoof and displaying them with pride. Their faint giggles reached his ears, and Gallus made a cat-like gagging sound.
"Well, who knows, Gallus, maybe our next class will have something more exciting for you," Ocellus offered, returning her focus to her craft. "If there's one thing I've learned from being a student here, it's that you never know what the day will bring you."
"Uhuh, sure. At least our next class has Smolder in it. I'm starting to think I'll outlive Grampa Gruff by the time we get to experience anything exciting during class again."
A muffled crash echoed through the classroom walls, rousing the attention of every student. Fluttershy took to the air.
"Now, everycreature, just remain calm," she said firmly. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. If you would please remain in your seats, I'll head outside and see what's going on-"
"It's Discord! He's in the courtyard, and he has a bunch of changelings with him! AHH! They are SO CUTE!"
The classroom erupted with chatter, and Silverstream was quickly joined at the window by the rest of the class, crowding together to get a view. Even Fluttershy, at the mention of Discord's name, succumbed to her own curiosity.
The school's courtyard, once a serene scene of students relaxing beneath the shady willows was now a scene of confusion and shock. The school's brilliant oak gate lay destroyed, shattered at the wheels of a peculiar-looking cart. Hitched to this display was a pair of even more peculiar, lizard-like creatures, vividly green with bulging eyes and wildly flicking tongues.
Various changelings were exiting the cart, their shiny shells reflecting the sunlight in a nearly successful distraction from the mayhem. They, too, looked confused. Most of them stayed by the cart whilst a crowd trickled into a mob on all sides.
Amidst this display of chaos, a familiar draconequus rose from the driver's seat. He sported an elaborate purple dress featuring confused pony faces, dangling earrings in the shape of the infinity symbol, and a rather decrepit looking chameleon perched atop his shoulder. His smile grew dangerously at the looks of amusement he garnished from his crowd. When his pet abruptly coughed up a hairball, that amusement turned into shocked gasps, and Discord fell into a fit of hysterics audible even from the student's vantage point.
"Alright, now this is what I'm talking about!" Gallus hooted, his once apathetic eyes now focused and sharp. With minimal effort, he forced his way past his peers, pressing his talons against the window and drinking in the scene below. "I was hoping Professor Dash might pop in and save us from this class, but this is way better!"
"Yona not like goat chimera," Yona said with conviction. "Yona remembers when goat chimera sent bugbear after Yona and her friends. Not fun at all. ‘Worst substitute of year’ award goes to goat chimera."
"Now that I'll agree with you, Yona," added Sandbar, peering out through the yak's braids. "But I wonder what he's doing here, and with all those changelings too."
"'What', indeed. Discord, just what are you up to this time?"
Something about Fluttershy’s tone caused every creature to turn away from the commotion outside and to her. Her expression was now serious and contemplative, and her eyes wielded a piercing glare that none of her students had ever seen from her before. Upon noticing her audience, her tension melted away, and she eyed her students with care.
"Everycreature, please stay here," she said calmly, fluttering towards the classroom door. "I need to step outside for a moment, in case Headmare Twilight needs my help. I'll be right back. In the meantime, if everycreature could help out by cleaning up the classroom a bit, I'd greatly appreciate it."
She opened the door to leave, but a voice caught her mid-air. It was a high-pitched request filled with contagious excitement.
"Professor Fluttershy, wait! Can I come downstairs too, please?"
It didn't take long for Fluttershy to find her. Ocellus hovered over the heads of the other students. She tapped her front hooves together and fidgeted in place, unable to hide her squeaky enthusiasm.
"I gotta see some of those changelings up close!"
"Discord, would you mind telling me just what in Celestia's name is going on here?"
Ah, there it was again. That delicious vexation, that sharp tone of voice, that frantic demeanor.
Oh, how he missed it.
"Why, whatever do you mean, Headmare Twilight?" Discord slunk down from his eyesore of a transport and put his claw upon his waist. To Twilight's disapproving stare, he merely puckered his lips. "I'm just doing what any good Vice-Vice Headmaster would do—chaperoning field trips!"
By now, the bulk of the school's populace had assembled in a conglomerate behind Twilight, and from out of the woodwork, the remaining Elements of Harmony emerged.
"Discord, I'm not exactly sure what it is you think you're doing," Twilight chastised. "But this is rather disruptive. Didn't Starlight give you a list of things you could do to help out the school after your last fiasco?"
Discord's lion paw waved about.
"Pish posh," he dismissed, abruptly teleporting behind two changelings and curving his body over to hug them. "That was a greatly exaggerated chore list, and we both know it. I took the hint, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be allowed to contribute a great idea now and again. You see, I went to visit the changelings today, and the adorable little bugs have just been yearning to get outside their comfort zone. I thought to myself, 'Discord, why don't you take them on a field trip to Twilight's school? No better place for bug ponies to learn more about ponies, and vice versa!' It was a very compelling argument."
Twilight cocked a skeptical brow, one so high that Applejack stifled a chuckle from a few yards away. She stepped forward.
"So let me get this straight. You were feeling left out that Starlight and Trixie visited the changelings without you-"
"Very inconsiderate of them, right? Thank you."
"-so you decided to visit the changelings yourself, without letting anycreature know in advance."
"Well, hold on, now. I knocked on your office door, but it said, 'out for a hayburger', so I figured I shouldn't bother you. One doesn't simply get in the way of Headmare Twilight and her favorite lunch."
Twilight paused just long enough to shake her head.
"Now you've come back from the hive to give me a headache, right after I sent Starlight over there to keep an eye on you."
"A happy accident, I'm sure."
With pressure pulsing in her temple, Twilight allowed the air to grow quiet while she massaged her forehead. She did her best to ignore the smug grin plastered high atop that snake-like head, but it was burned into her eyelids.
"Discord, are Thorax and Pharynx aware of what you're doing?"
All eyes turned to the newly-arrived Professor Fluttershy. The pegasus had ascended to the draconequus's height, now floating just in front of his face. The two shared eye contact for some time. Discord tapped his claws and paws together as Fluttershy patiently awaited the inevitable confession.
"Well, they knew I was spending time with the multicolored masses, so I wouldn't say they're completely unaware of it."
"Discord."
"I may have volunteered a random assortment of bug ponies for a field trip without immediately consulting the Wonder Twins about it, yes."
"Discord."
"Alright, I also may have left a wagon-sized hole in the side of the hive. Carlos and Ralphie got a little too excited, I'm afraid." The draconequus patted the heads of his chariot lizards, his claw elongating to an absurd length to do so. "I'll admit it's probably my fault for giving them too many bison flies before the trip. The things are practically catnip for rippeleons."
"Discord!"
Discord threw up his appendages in defeat.
"Oh, very well, then. I'll add 'apologizing to the beetlemeese' to my to-do list, post-haste."
He then sidestepped the pegasus, his gangly head curling around her as he did. "Honestly though, everycreature should be thanking me. The changelings do mean to mingle, to get out and into Equestria. It seemed to me they needed a good jumpstart, seeing as they've hardly stepped hoof outside their cozy little hive since the defeat of Queen Meanie. I'm simply providing them an opportunity to stretch their buggy wings."
To emphasize, the spirit gently pulled on the tips of a drone's wings, flexing them from their carapace for all to see. The poor drone looked as if he'd been caught bathing, his amber cheeks tinting to a rose shade.
"We appreciate the sentiment, Discord, but as usual, you seem to have a knack for disrupting whatever’s going on." Twilight had re-entered the fray, her calm expression reflecting her newfound composure. "The last thing I want to do is discourage you from trying to help out with the school, but I need there to be some...common sense. Yes, I realize the irony here. I need you to have a focus, a precise purpose for your visits and ideas, Discord, if you expect the school's staff to run with them."
An uncomfortable silence blanketed him from all sides, but Discord's brimming confidence held strong. His pearly whites sat on a darkened face shaded by the sun overhead, and Twilight felt her brow clench on reflex.
"Oh, but Headmare Twilight, this field trip does have a precise purpose," Discord purred, rising off the ground to sit back in thin air; a display of suspicious smugness. "The changelings are not here to simply be witnessed, or hold up adorable little signs that say 'love us, we don't bite anymore'. They are here to mingle, to make friends. Just think how excited our good boy Thorax will be once he sees his bug ponies are out mingling, and he didn't even have to attend a tea party for it to happen. In fact, the only thing we need for it to happen is..."
Twilight studied him, waiting for an explanation that never came. When the aged draconequus gave a subtle nod of his head, his white eyebrow sprouted from it, taking on a life of its own as it waved through the air.
It took the alicorn a moment to realize that the eyebrow was, in fact, pointing.
"Mom! Dad! W-what are you doing here? I never thought you'd come all this way to visit me at school!"
The subtle tension in the environment was lost from everycreature's memory. A different kind of scene had begun to unfold before the courtyard. A small, light blue changeling buzzed into view, her compound eyes wide. She peered across the yard with an insatiable glee, spotting two particular changelings just left of Discord's wagon.
The scene came full circle as the two changelings turned to the familiar voice and mirrored a smile as bright as Celestia's sun.
"There's our sugarbug!" a grayish-blue drone exclaimed, letting out a laugh as Ocellus darted across the clearing like a slung arrow. "There are so many students here. I was starting to look around for your comfort forms!"
Instinctually sitting back upon her flank, a turquoise drone with bright pink highlights opened her hooves and embraced the speeding blur once it came to her. While Ocellus pressed into the familiar chitin, the pink drone gave out a series of content chirps and laid her chin on her nymph's head. The world grew still, and sighs of adoration spread in a consecutive chorus.
"How are you doing, Ocellus?" Spiracle asked sweetly, raising her head to make eye contact. "You must be busy with your studies lately. We haven't heard from you in almost a week."
Ocellus adopted a sheepish little smile. Her father, Carapace, sat by quietly.
"Well, um, I-I'm sorry," Ocellus said, her anxiety readily reminding her of the hundreds of onlookers. She found comfort and confidence in her mother's vibrant eyes, however, so she fixated there, and her bright smile returned. "I have been busy, but not just with classes. I've been busy with my friends, as well! In our spare time, we've been working on a bunch of cool projects and exploring a lot of the more interesting places around Central Equestria! I'm sorry I haven't written as much lately. But hey, soon we'll be on break, and I can come home for a while!"
Spiracle nodded, invested from beginning to end. When Ocellus finished, she turned and eyed her mate with a knowing look.
"You don't have to apologize, sugarbug," Carapace said, gently rubbing a hoof across his nymph's head and messing with her decorative dorsal fin. "We know you couldn't be in better hooves here, but that doesn't mean we still don't worry, sometimes. I think we might’ve gotten a little too used to your letters every few days, also."
"I'm glad things are going so well, though," Spiracle summarized, sending a thoughtful look towards Twilight and garnishing a warm, respectful one in return. "Carapace and I are blessed to have you, just as we are blessed to have this opportunity for you. I'm so happy you're making the most of it, Ocellus. You'll have to tell us all about it during your break."
Carapace joined his mate as they tightly embraced their nymph together. A stamp on an already perfect envelope.
Transfixed, Twilight failed to notice the light tap of a hoof against her flank. Upon a repeated attempt, the alicorn jumped, wheeling toward a modest green changeling standing just to her side.
"Um, so sorry, Princess Twilight," he said meekly, rubbing his leg. "I didn't mean to startle you. My name is Elytra. This probably seems sudden, but I just wanted to say that I'm actually good friends with Ocellus's birth changelings and that I have nymphs of my own. If your school gives tours, would it be possible to request one while I'm here? Of course, I've heard of your school before, but our internal community teaches most changelings. This, though...seems really nice. I want to see if it's something my mate and I would like for our young ones, too."
Other nearby changelings overheard him and nodded in agreement. A small but enthused group of changeling parents had gathered before the alicorn could even form words.
"I'd like to request the same. Thorax has such high hopes for us to become a part of Equestria, and a large part of that is through making new connections," said a tangerine female, offering her hoof to Twilight. "If a school built by the princess of friendship can't help emulate that future and guide our young towards it, I don't know what will."
Twilight reached deep into her own throat for words, but they wouldn't come up. She flattened her lip, struggling to choke back tears. Swallowing, she gave a rather jagged nod before taking the offered hoof and locking eyes.
"I would be honored to give a school tour to anycreature looking for a place for their children to grow. Please allow me a moment to get our students and faculty back to their classes, and I'll give all of you a tour, personally."
Nodding, the small group dispersed, many of them joining Ocellus and her family, while others took the liberty of speaking to faculty members. Twilight was left to stare after them, and watch in wonder as changelings laughed along with Pinkie Pie, discussed class material with Fluttershy, and became enthralled by Rainbow Dash's enthusiasm.
"So...a 'random assortment of changelings', huh, Discord?"
Twilight pivoted to find Applejack casting a sly eye at Discord, who continued to sit in thin air, casually flipping through a manifested newspaper. Upon being called out, Discord unmade his newspaper in a flash of light, revealing that same smirk from before. This time, Twilight couldn't help but smile back.
"My, my. Mingling and school recruitment? Today is just full of happy accidents. I don't know about you, but I'd say that's two points for Vice-Vice Headmaster Discord."
With a colorful variety of discussions and questions behind her, and her faculty now finishing up the day's classes, Twilight began her slow retreat to her office. Her hooves ached, and her wings gave similar complaints, but they didn't spoil her pleased little smile. Today had evolved in a way she could’ve never foreseen, and now the alicorn had a stack of paperwork to humor.
Twilight opened her office door and was greeted by a familiar silence. She sighed to herself and closed the door behind her, making her way to her desk. There, sitting in the center, was a laughable stack of papers, and a curious sticky note attached to the top. Twilight sat down and levitated the note up to eye level.
Twilight,
These are your new student catalogs and a bunch of other important-looking stuff. Sorry, I was only able to tell if it was important-looking or not.
As per the note you left on my bed, you wanted these to be gathered before the end of the weekend. I didn't have time to file them for you, but I figured you'd be fine with that. It's your favorite part, after all.
If you need me, I'll be in Ponyville this weekend. Discord and Big Mac have been giving me stink-eye over the fact that we haven't played Ogres and Oubliettes in weeks. I also want to try and invite Thorax if he's not too busy.
Always happy to help,
Spike
Twilight laid down the note, giggling to herself. Thorax. She could scarcely imagine to what extent Thorax was stressing. Discord's antics had clearly bypassed her good friend and faithful student, as she had feared, which meant the hive must have borne witness to quite a fiasco. By now, Discord had surely returned the changelings he effectively kidnapped, but whether or not their absence or return was even noticed was unknown to her.
Knowing Thorax, she'd have a letter on her desk by Monday, filling in the blanks.
As Twilight wrapped her quill in magic and set her sights on her weighty task, there was a sudden, sharp knock on her door.
"Um, yes, come in."
Before the door had even opened properly, a voice she recognized all too well filled the office, and a mane of blue and purple filled her door frame.
"Twilight, where's Discord!?"
Starlight Glimmer entered the office with a stagger, disheveled and wild-eyed. A few stray twigs poked out from her mane, dirt sullied her coat all over, and she wore a look of panic. Her horn glowed at the ready, primed to cast spells of fantastic and terrible power at a moment's notice, and her right eye seemed to have a twitch.
Twilight put a concerned hoof to her mouth. Little did Starlight know it was hiding a giggle.
"He's not here, Starlight. You can calm down. Please, tell me what happened."
"It was a wild goose chase, Twilight, all of it," Starlight muttered, taking a deep breath and straightening out her mane as she passed by a mirror. "One moment, he was freestyle dancing with some of the changelings, and then the next thing I know, he tore a hole through the wall with that...darned wagon, and off he went, into the horizon with a dozen of them!"
Twilight's gaze drifted to the brilliant orange mane of Sunburst as he also entered the room, panting raggedly and seemingly on the verge of collapsing. The stallion took refuge in one of the modest chairs by the door, where he readjusted his haphazardly strewn glasses.
"Of course we followed him," Sunburst clarified, meeting Twilight's curious stare, "but he was several steps ahead of us the entire time, literally. There were numerous wagons, Discords, and sets of changelings, all taking different routes to Ponyville. Even with Starlight's cloning spell, they were too slippery. Most of them outran us, and the ones we did catch turned out to be scarecrows."
Twilight blinked. "You mean, fakes?"
"Well, yes, but I mean actual scarecrows too." His orange magic pulled his glasses before his face, and Sunburst cleaned them with a cloth. "Starlight blew out the wheel of one of the wagons, but when it came to a stop and we got a good look at it, it was full of straw imitations of Discord and a bunch of changelings."
For whatever reason, Twilight thought a bag of popcorn would be perfect at this point. She leaned on a hoof and looked at Starlight.
"What about Thorax and Pharynx? Were they aware of any of this?"
Having regained her composure, Starlight set aside a conjured comb, now riddled with the foliage once inhabiting her mane. "I don't think Pharynx is aware of anything that happened after they started having their play. He and Thorax came out from some side chamber, and Pharynx immediately headed off somewhere. Thorax, though, saw the whole thing. He was frantic and was about to soar off after them himself, but I assured him that we'd take care of it. I told him Discord was our responsibility."
Twilight rose from her desk, glancing out the window and at the sun, still crowned upon the blue sky. A moment of silence followed as her guests watched her with bated breath.
"I'm-I'm sorry, Twilight," Starlight started, her face and her tone growing melancholic. "It was my responsibility, and I failed. He had an answer to everything I tried, was in total control of every situation, right through to the end. Even with Sunburst, I-"
"Starlight, don't worry about it." Twilight gave her friends a reassuring smile. "All I needed was for the blanks to be filled in, and you did just that. I'm not disappointed or upset, really. If you want the short and sweet of it, everything turned out fine."
"But he--wait...they did?"
Twilight nodded. "I'll explain the details later, maybe when I'm a little less exhausted, but yes, everything turned out well. By now, I’d imagine Discord has returned the changelings to their hive, where they can relieve Thorax's worries themselves. Admittedly, it wasn’t the smoothest of afternoons, but in retrospect, it could’ve gone a lot worse."
As if a mighty weight had been lifted from their backs, Starlight and Sunburst let out dramatic sighs, slumping themselves over and letting themselves relax for the first time that day. For a time, the three ponies sat in each other's company, taking in the sun's warmth through the windows.
"So...I don't think I'm a great match for dealing with Discord," Starlight offered to the room, offering a chuckle.
Twilight mirrored her, moving closer to the pair. "I should apologize, Starlight. It probably would’ve been a better idea to send Fluttershy instead. She seems to be the only one who can talk sense into Discord. Princess Celestia called that long before I ever did, yet I always forget to utilize it."
"It's not your fault. We were short on time, and I was sitting right there in front of you. I'm just glad that everything turned out well. I was inconsolable on the way over here. Just ask Sunburst."
Two pairs of expectant eyes shifted to Sunburst. He cleared his throat.
"'Twilight's gonna flip! Pharynx is gonna flip! Sunburst, we have to get those changelings back right now!'" he mimicked, setting all three off into giggling fits. "I'm actually glad you picked Starlight to go, Twilight. If you hadn't, I'd never have gotten to tag along. I learned so much about the changelings and their new culture. Even a bit about Discord, himself. Plus, even when it's hectic, going on an adventure is always fun with a friend."
Starlight fawned audibly.
"Even if the intention wasn't successful, we all learned something today, even me." Twilight looked back at the impending stack of papers calling her name, her stare reflecting a journey in thought. "I'll give him this; shenanigans aside, Discord is a much more helpful friend than I typically give him credit for."
The trio fell back into silence. Having caught their breath, Starlight and Sunburst eventually stood back up, eyeing the princess curiously. Though her focus fixated on her work across her desk, she had yet to budge.
Starlight exchanged glances with Sunburst.
"Well, I think I'll head back to my office, as well," Starlight announced, making a motion for the door. "I have to tie up a few loose ends before I head home and take a long shower. I didn’t count on running a marathon today."
"Since I'm already in town, I might poke around for a bit before heading back home, myself," Sunburst added, following Starlight's lead. "A pleasure to spend a bit of time with you again, Twilight. I look forward to doing it again!"
"I guess I'll see you at home, Twilight?"
After so many times being disturbed, Twilight's thoughts were not to be torn asunder this time. With a content smile, she trotted behind her desk, gently pushing aside the stack of student catalogs in favor of a fresh scroll. Her magic ignited, puppeteering her quill to life, and she gave a parting nod to her company.
"Absolutely, Starlight. I'll be home in a few hours. I want to stay late today to finalize some things, myself. And enjoy Ponyville, Sunburst. Let me know if you grab any juicy antiques before you head home!"
The two finally took their leave. Twilight stared thoughtfully at her ceiling for a few moments, her quill rotating in place until she grinned and began to scribble upon the aged parchment.
Dear Thorax,
I realize this is rather sudden of me, and I know that you're probably busy as of late, judging by your lack of recent letters, but I was inspired by something today and wanted to reach out.
I may have some ideas for the next step the changelings could take in their efforts to reach out to Equestria, something with a deeper impact than dinners, parties, and casual events. If you can find the time, we should schedule a meeting this upcoming week. Spike's been itching to play his board game with you, anyway, so I figured I'd offer the castle, and we can all make a day of it.
I'll go over the details of my inspiration there, but, just to field a question...
How do you think the changelings would feel about returning to Canterlot soon?
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle