Once upon a time, a small team of journalists had journeyed to Ponyville with the goal of interviewing the teachers of the then new and up-and-coming School of Friendship. With such a colorful and varied staff to question, one would expect an equally varied assortment of answers, from guarded (“I cannot speak about this subject at this time”) to respectful and understanding (“I cannot and do not agree with Chancellor Neighsayer’s position, but I believe that he, and the rest of the EEA, has good intentions”) to rude and hostile (“What I think about Neightsayer and the EEA? I’ll tell you what I think! He and his little posse are just a bunch of *Editor’s note: we are a respectable, family-friendly publication and this was neither respectable nor family-friendly*”) to the somewhat nonsensical (“So then I said, oatmeal? Are you crazy?”).
One question of particular reader interest was that of what were the hallmark’s of a good student. Again, there was some variety in the responses, with Applejack placing an emphasis on the importance of a student’s honesty while Fluttershy chose to focus on kindness toward others for instance, but there were also a few traits of note that were repeated. All six ponies had included, in some form or wording, hardworking and an inquisitive nature in their answers. Such would imply that the model student was one with the desire to learn new things and the willingness to apply the effort necessary to acquire such knowledge, a conclusion surprising absolutely no one. The final article was eventually deemed too dull and too obvious to publish, and the team of journalists turned their focus onto the latest celebrity scandal instead.
As the due date for the final paper approached and the days for the final exams drew near, a rush of both traits could be observed from the students of the School of Friendship. The library was packed daily, filled with students and the sounds of pens scratching paper and the turns of pages. Peers could be seen quizzing each other in the cafeteria, out in the courtyard and the surrounding gardens, even as they made their ways through the halls. It was a rare sight to catch a student, especially one of the graduating class, not studying some tome, reviewing notes, or working or reworking their thesis, the sole exceptions being when sleeping or during those very private moments in the lavatory.
The staff also found themselves swamped with work as students filled their offices and bombarded them with questions on the taught material, and as the due dates marched closer, the number of students and the number of questions multiplied. Was such and such important enough to be on the final exam, would this topic be worthy of an A+ thesis or just an average A, could a certain term be clarified and then simplified a couple of degrees, would it be possible to go over the entire half of the semester worth of material that I may or may not have slept through, the six teachers of the School of Friendship dealt with all these and more all while managing their own duties, jobs, and nap schedules.
But despite it all, and perhaps due to in part to their experience with solving schedule shattering disasters and taking sporadic trips as directed by a magical map, the apple farm continued to thrive, Rarity’s business continued to produce and sell, Rainbow Dash’s position on the Wonderbolts remained uncontested, and the planned gala received a set date, a plan of execution, and enough advertising posters to decorate nearly every inch of wall space in the school. Which led to a new question for the students to ask.
“What the heck is a prom?”
Smolder vocalized the question burning in everyone’s mind as she and her friends crowded around the colorful poster right outside the library they had just left. “Is that, what, some sort of pony thing?”
Five creatures turned to the sole pony of the group who quickly shook his head. “Hey, don’t look at me,” Sandbar said. “I’ve never heard of it before.”
“Maybe it’s an acronym?” suggested Ocellus. “Ponies Racing Over Mountains?”
“Oh, oh, what about Pies Ranked On, um, Mmmm!”
“Mmm?” Gallus repeated with a quizzing look.
“Yeah, mmm!” Silverstream patted her belly and licked the edges of her peak. “You know, mmm. Or Pink Red Orange, uh, hey Yona, what’s a color that starts with m?”
The yak groaned. “Yona not want to think right now, head still spinning from study session.”
“Does the poster say anything else?” Ocellus inquired.
Smolder leaned forward and squinted. “Members of the graduating class,” she read, “come celebrate your accomplishments at the first ever gala held at the School of Friendship. Yada yada, free food and drink, something about music, formal wear optional. Huh.” The dragon frowned. “Sounds like some sort of party, I guess.”
“Wait.” The sudden addition of weight forced Smolder to her knees as Silverstream leapt onto the dragon’s back in an attempt to get a better view of the poster. “Did you say gala? Like as in the Grand Galloping Gala?”
Sandbar stared. “How do you know what that is?”
“My cousin Skystar went with her mom a couple of years ago, and she told me all about it when I went home that year for the Three Days of Freedom festival,” Silverstream explained. “And what she told me sounded amazing.”
Gallus gave the hippogriff a wary look. “So it’s not just another party?”
“Oh no,” Silverstream answered with a shake of her head. The bends of her forelegs dug into Smolder’s back as she cupped her face between her talons. “It’s like this super huge party for super important ponies, and I guess important hippogriffs. You know, I never did asked if there were any changelings, dragons, griffons, or yaks. I mean, there could have been changelings disguised as ponies, but why would they do that?” She chuckled. “What was I, oh right, the Grand Galloping Gala! Anyways, every creature there was dressed in these really pretty dresses and suits, like princess pretty, the kind of stuff Professor Rarity makes and costs like a bajillion bits.”
“That sounds pretty, ngh, pretty,” Smolder grunted from beneath the storyteller as the others nodded. The dragon flung Silverstream off her back, and the hippogriff, no worse for wear, settled to her side.
“Yeah, and there was all this food that came on these little papers that you weren’t allowed to eat too many of, but that was okay because they weren’t all that great anyways,” Silverstream continued without missing a beat. “And there was this fancy band of ponies playing all these shiny musical instruments that kept playing all these slow tunes that no one wanted to dance to, and everyone just seemed to want to stand around and talk and talk.”
“Okay, you’re starting to lose me,” Gallus said, his features reflecting his disinterest as the others around him once again nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, Skystar told me she had a really awful time,” Silverstream said happily. “At least until someone brought in the statured remains of the Storm King, and Queen Novo just started throwing things at it, and then everyone joined in until the head fell off and smashed against the floor.”
Yona’s eyes grew wide. “Things get smashed at gala party? Like piñata?”
“Yeah, but without the candy and probably a lot more cathartic.” Silverstream sighed. “I wish I got to go.”
“So is prom just another way of saying gala?” Ocellus considered aloud as she scanned the poster for any additional clues. Past the fine text and the messy graphics, she found nothing.
“You’re the walking textbook here,” Gallus said with a wave of a claw. “Maybe you were right the first time, and it’s just some made up acronym. Pretty something something Party.”
“Looks like it’s a little after the last exam day,” Sandbar said, pointing at the date scribbled on the bottom. “Sounds like a nice way to unwind.”
Soft hoofsteps could be heard, growing louder as they approached. The group turned to find Starlight glaring at a small note she held with her magic. Her features immediately soften as she noticed the students, and she put the scrap piece of paper away. “Hey, everything alright?” Starlight looked to the poster they had been crowding around. “Oh wow, Pinkie Pie works fast. I think we only finished making all those a few hours ago. I made the design myself. Not bad, right?”
The six turned back to the poster and stared at the mess of colors of shapes. They shifted their confused and questioning gazes back to the grinning Starlight. Ocellus tried to smile back. “It’s a wonderful, ah...”
“Ice cream,” said Silverstream.
“Rose bush?” Sandbar suggested.
“Dropped quiche,” declared Smolder.
“Essence of pony soul,” Yona tried.
And all Gallus could muster was a defeated shrug. “Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”
“Oh quit messing around, it’s obviously a pony dancing.” Starlight pushed forward and gestured. “See, the legs, and the other legs, and that‘s the hem of the dress, and there’s the head.”
Silverstream tapped her chin. “You know, when you point it out, I can kind of, no actually I still don’t see it.”
“So this prom, it’s supposed to be a gala, which is some sort of special party or something?” Gallus questioned. “Does that sound about right?”
Starlight nodded. “That’s right. Pinkie Pie just wanted to call it a prom because she likes how it sounds.”
The students released in unison an “oh” of understanding, complete with nods as everything became clear. “Prom. Prrrrom.” There was a snort from Silverstream.
“Anyways, I don’t suppose any of you’ve seen Discord around, have you?”
There was a visible shudder among the students at Starlight’s question. “No, can’t say we have,” Sandbar answered warily. He took a step back.
“Discord not here, is he?” Yona asked as she looked over her shoulders, her panic most apparent of the the six.
“I don’t know,” Starlight grumbled. She pulled out the note from earlier. “I found this in my office, says he needs to see me. Apparently it’s something that’ll decide the fate of Equestria.” She rolled her eyes as she set the last phrase in quotation marks with her front hooves. “So it probably has something to do with Ogres and Oubliettes or cucumber sandwiches.”
“He didn’t write down where he wanted to meet?” Ocellus asked.
“Of course not, because that would make too much sense,” grumbled Starlight. “You didn’t see anything out of place in the library? No flying books or three-dimensional paintings?” She sighed as the students shook their heads. “Alright, thanks anyways. Good luck with the studying.”
Farewells were exchanged, and they separated, Starlight continuing her search in one direction as the others began making their to the dormitories in the other. Only a few steps had been taken before Sandbar’s ears twitched. “Hey, what’s up?” Gallus called as Sandbar turned to look behind.
“I thought I heard something,” he said, failing to notice the stones dance across the floor and fill the hole that suddenly opened up beneath Starlight Glimmer‘s hooves. “Guess not.”
And with a shrug, Sandbar continued on, leaving Starlight to glower at the draconequus sitting across from her, separated by a crystal, round table. She barely registered the others around her. A cinnamon roll, dejected from having its musical number utterly ignored, lain motionless and untouched even as the draconequus munched loudly on his own.
“I’m getting the feeling that you’re upset,” Discord said, his mouth full of pastry and tea. “Mad even. Are you mad? You’re mad, aren’t you?”
Starlight batted away the flying tea cups tapping at her horn. “You think?”
“Well, even for a pony who would start an entire village under the banner of equal mediocrity just because her friend moved such as yourself, that does not make much sense.” Discord swallowed, and Starlight watched as a visible budge travelled down his body, all the way to the end of his tail; it wasn’t the first time he reminded her of a snake. “After I went out of the way to get you since you took so long making us wait.“
“I would have here sooner if you bothered leaving a location in your note,” Starlight replied with gritted teeth.
“I would’ve figured such a talented and clever unicorn like yourself would’ve just used a locator spell on the note. I mean, it’s what Little Miss Great and Powerful over there did.”
Starlight followed Discord’s gesture toward the blue unicorn at her side. The unicorn frowned as she swished her cape over her shoulder with a loud huffed. “The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you use her title with the respect and reverence it deserves. And also more tea, with cream this time.”
“So now that everyone’s here, could we maybe get started?” said the tall figure on the other side. Starlight turned to find two familiar changelings, both larger specimens than Ocellus. The lighter colored one who had spoken, his chitin lime with a carapace of a darker shade of green shielding much of his torso, had an uncertain smile on his face that demonstrated his confusion and nervousness. The slightly smaller changeling, his coloring of a much darker blue, however displayed a much more hostile appearance, his features frozen in a snarl. The large, red stallion sitting between the angry changeling and the spirit of chaos he was glaring at rubbed his neck nervously.
Starlight waved. “Hey Thorax, Pharynx,” she greeted.
“Hi Starlight, I hope this isn’t taking too much of your time,” the lime changeling said.
“Me? Please, you’re the one that has to run an entire hive. Hey, it’s been a while, Pharynx.”
“Hmph,” was all the darker changeling managed, his eyes still focused on Discord.
Starlight turned back to Thorax. “Is, ah, Pharynx okay?”
“Oh, Pharynx just, he thought Discord was kidnapping me and followed us here.” Thorax chuckled weakly. “He, well, you know, doesn’t really trust Discord all that much.”
“As no one should,” the Great and Powerful Trixie muttered.
“Well excuse me if I remember what happened to the hive the last time he came around,” Pharynx growled. “He left us defenseless from magic and our entire world upside down.”
“Which, we agreed, was good for us all in the end,” Thorax insisted.
“I’m not sure why I’m the one being singled out here,” Discord said, clutching his chest with his paw. “Those three are just as responsible.” Light suddenly beamed down on Thorax and the two unicorns.
Pharynx’s frown deepened. “Please. My brother’s harmless, and I can deal with those two. You, however, are a problem.” The changeling flashed his teeth.
“How flattering.” There was an audible crack as Discord closed his claw around a large fly swatter.
“Pharynx, I told you, Discord’s a friend,” Thorax assured with a sigh.
“Wasn’t exactly friendly of him to throw you into that bag and drag you all the way here.”
“Isn’t that what you did to Starlight and I when we first met?” Trixie notes.
“Yeah,” Pharynx admitted with a shrug, “but I wasn’t trying to be friendly.”
“Oh, now this I have to hear.” Tea spewed from Trixie’s lips as Discord suddenly appeared behind her and rested his chin against her shoulder. “And here I thought you were an escape artist.”
The large, red stallion opened his mouth. “Um—“
“Right, right, thank you, Big Mac. Catching up can wait.” There was a flash of light, and Discord returned to his original seat. “Fellow saviors of Equestria, plus the shining example of nepotism, meet Big McIntosh. Big Mac, lesser saviors of Equestria, and also that one bug whom no one invited.”
Big McIntosh and Starlight shared a nod as Thorax waved and Pharynx and Trixie rolled their eyes. “Can we get on with whatever this is?” Trixie grumbled. “I had to postpone a show in Manehattan for this.”
“Well, as I wrote in my note,” Discord began, “this is a matter that could decide the fate of Equestria.” The surrounding lights dimmed, casting a shadow around them and the table. “A matter I can only trust with the lot of you.” He clapped his claw against his paw, and a spotlight appeared over the center of the table, lighting up small paper cutouts of a familiar dragon and unicorn. “Now don’t freak out, but it would appear that Spike finally asked Rarity out on a date, as in a date as more than friends, and in an utterly unexpected turn of events, she did not turn him down, and I’m stuck cutting the Apple family’s lawn for a month.”
The reactions varied, from victorious jubilation from Big McIntosh to Thorax’s cheery surprise to the complete and indifferent confusion shared by Trixie and Pharynx. “Wait, how do you know about that?” Starlight inquired.
“What, were they trying to keep that a secret?” Discord started to laugh. “I keep a spare ear around the school to make sure I’m not missing anything important. You did make me vice-head after all.”
“Okay, refresh my memory,” said Trixie. “What’s a Spike?”
“He’s Twilight’s dragon assistant,” Starlight explained. “And Rarity’s one of Twilight’s close friends. She makes dresses.”
“Oh. No wonder I don’t know who those are. Why is their love life so important?”
Discord leaned forward, his claw and paw clasped together. “Because we need to find out when that date is and ruin it.”
Again, the responses Discord received were mixed. There were stares of bored disappointment to stares of horror and uncertainty. “You interrupted my tour and kidnapped the ruler of a nation for this,” Trixie said slowly, hoping that she had somehow misheard and that a correction would soon be made.
“Ruin their date? Why? I thought you and Spike are friends,” exclaimed Starlight. Her front hooves clicked against the hard crystal table as she leaned in.
“Oh come on, I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you.” Discord turned to the red stallion next to him. “Big Mac, surely you understand the stakes here.”
The stallion simply shrugged and shook his head. “Nope. I mean, you’ve helped with me and Sugar Belle before. Can’t think of why you’d want to mess with Spike and Rarity.”
“Maybe, maybe Discord’s afraid of being left out?” Thorax suggested. “I know I’d feel pretty awful if my friend started spending more time someone else instead of me.”
“Or maybe...” Trixie smirked at the draconequus. “Maybe Discord’s upset he’ll be the only bachelor left in his little group.”
Starlight rubbed the end of her chin in thought. “Hmm, Trixie might be onto something. Discord, you’re not feeling jealous over this, are you?”
“Me, jealous over another fool who’s fallen prey to the wiles of the opposite gender and to the chemical composition you lesser beings willingly enslave yourselves for and make more tolerable by giving it a cute little term like love?” Discord scoffed. “Please, I happen to enjoy my independence and free time. This has nothing to do with any feelings of envy.”
“Then this is about?” Trixie prompted, waving a hoof.
“Okay, do you have any idea how many times Captain Wuzz and Sir McBigguns have had to save some poorly disguised Rarity clone?”
“Sir what now?” Starlight asked.
Discord pointed to Big McIntosh now adorn in black armor and equipped with a large blade on his back and an unicorn horn on his head. Discord, meanwhile, was wearing a tunic and sporting a flowing mane of light blond hair that seemed to fly with some nonexistent breeze. Starlight brought her face into her hoof. “So this is about Ogres and Oubliettes.”
“Of course this is about Ogres and Oubliettes!” Discord slammed his fists against the table. “And I will not have my fantasy fulfilling experience become highjacked by someone else’s fantasy. Look, I can tolerate the occasional romantic delusion; like Big Mac said, I’ve helped with him and his mare.”
“Romantic—hey!”
“But can you imagine what would happen if Spike and Rarity actually got together?” Discord pointed toward the table’s center, at the paper cutouts. Spike now wore a green cape with a matching wizard hat and an appropriate gray bread, and Rarity was wearing a garish, blindingly pink dress. Paper figures of Big McIntosh and Discord as they currently appeared had joined them.
“And so we have saved the Princess Schmarity!” the little paper Spike squeaked cheerfully. “Now to spend the next few hours describing in painstaking detail me and Ra—Scmarity’s romantic dinner and subsequent make-out session instead of slaying skeletons and monsters, just like last time. And as always, you two can watch. Roll for initiative!”
“Kill us!” paper Sir McBigguns and Captain Wuzz squealed with equal cheer.
“I’ll never enjoyed another Ogres and Oubliettes guys night again,” Discord sobbed, pulling out locks of hair. “Ever since I gave up taking over Equestria and throwing the land into complete and utter chaos, those nights and Fluttershy’s tea parties are all I have left. You might as well turn me back into stone.”
“Is that an option?” Trixie and Pharynx said together and in turn receiving stern looks from Starlight and Thorax respectively. “Only kidding,” Trixie added with a soft chuckle while Pharynx’s silence spoke volumes.
“So, everyone on board?” Discord asked as he scanned around the table. “Great! Now we first need to find out when this date is, which will be Starlight’s job. Then it’s just a matter of making sure everything goes wrong. Trixie, just be yourself and—“
“I’m not taking any part of this,” Starlight Glimmer declared. “It’s completely selfish, unmoral to the point that I’ll probably lose my guidance counselor job if Twilight ever finds out I even heard about this, and really, like really, shortsighted.”
“Shortsighted?” Discord repeated. “Okay, I expected the first two objections but shortsighted? Me, shortsighted?”
“You clearly didn’t think this through. What do you think’ll happen if you do go through with this and succeed?” Starlight’s horn lit up, and there was a blinding flash. Once the light had faded and vision returned, all returned their gazes to the center of the table. The Rarity cutout had disappeared, and the paper Spike had lost his beard and wizard costume. Instead, he wore a tight black shirt with torn sleeves, and his eyes were painted the same dark color. His smile was replaced with a frown, and he seemed to cast a shadow over the other figures.
“The heroes are crushed by the unbearable weight of this cold, cruel, loveless world,” the Spike cutout droned. “With no hope or purpose, you lay down your weapons and sit there, contemplating the pointlessness of it all. Success is fleeting. Happiness is an illusion. Hearts are meant to be broken, and dreams are born to die unfulfilled. What’s the point of continuing on? Game over, love is dead.”
“Liebe ist tot,” Sir McBigguns and Captain Wuzz cheered. “Und wir haben es getötet. Wie sollen wir uns gegenseitig trösten, die Mörder aller Mörder?”
Discord opened his mouth only to close it. After a moment, he tried again, and again his mouth closed without any words leaving it. “Okay,” he finally managed, “first, don’t touch my stuff. That was rude, and I don’t know how I feel about you hijacking my props like that, mostly because I’m a little busy trying to decide which outcome is worse.”
“Second one,” Big McIntosh answered with absolute conviction.
“Must be if it can make a changeling cry,” Trixie said, pointing.
“Nah, it’s really not that hard,” Pharynx grumbled as he gingerly placed a foreleg over his brother’s shoulder in reluctant support.
“It’s just so depressing,” Thorax sniffed. There was a snap, and a handkerchief appeared next to him. “Thank you.”
“Look, why don’t we just leave Spike and Rarity to their date, alone, without any influence on our part, and see what happens?” Starlight suggested. “We can always deal with aftermath later.”
“What, you mean just wait for the problem to manifest itself and solving it then instead of identifying the potential causes and trying to prevent the issue from ever becoming one?” Pharynx asked.
Discord shrugged. “That’s the Equestrian way.”
“Well then this has been a colossal waste of my valuable time,” Trixie huffed. “Discord, take me back to Manehattan. My adoring fans are waiting.”
“Fine. Just take the door on the left and you’ll end up in the same janitor’s closet you came in through.,” Discord directed.
“Ha, no. The Great and Powerful Trixie will not walk through that dirty, rundown public restroom a second time. You will take me directly to my wagon.”
“I’m beginning to remember why we don’t hang out.” Discord snapped his fingers, and Trixie disappeared with a flash. “And don’t worry,” he added, cutting the remaining unicorn off as she opened her mouth to speak. “I sent her exactly where she asked.”
“To her wagon?”
“Yes.”
“In Manehattan?”
“The one and only.”
“In this dimension and this timeline and this time period?”
“No alternative universes or time travel involved,” Discord assured. His grin was just a little too wide. “Exactly where she asked.”
“And yet I’m still worried,” Starlight muttered with a shake of her head.
“We should probably get going too,” exclaimed Thorax. “It’s been, well—“
“A complete waste of time and effort that could have been better spent on securing our borders or stabilizing our relations with the other nations or drilling holes into our legs?” Pharynx offered.
“Nice. I was going to say it was nice seeing everyone here again,” Thorax finished. “We should do this again some time. Oh, and be sure to let me know how Spike’s date turns out. I’ll have to congratulate him properly. Or, um, comfort him if things go badly.”
He and Starlight exchanged waves and goodbyes, with another snap from Discord, Thorax, Pharynx, and Big McIntosh vanished along with the crystal table. “Welp, guess that’s that,” Discord said as he stretched upward, toward the ceiling somewhere above the shadows. The light had disappeared with the table, and even with her horn lit, Starlight could see little.
“Aren’t you forgetting somepony?” Starlight demanded.
“Can’t you teleport yourself?”
“Not without a point of reference. I don’t even have an idea of where we are right now.”
Discord sighed. “You unicorns and your magic rules, I don’t even know why you bother.” He became to march forward. “Come on,” he instructed.
Starlight followed Discord through the darkness, barely in sight by the light of her horn. Her pace gradually went from a walk to a trot to keep up with the draconequus, and her breathing became labored from both the physical exertion and the growing panic of being left behind. As she was about to call out and request for a slower pace, Starlight noticed a slim light at the end. Discord had stopped at the light, and as she approached, she found herself staring at a door, slightly ajar and with light seeping through the small opening.
The door swung open, and Starlight found herself stepping out into one of the School of Friendship’s halls. She turned back and stared into the room she had just exited. Buckets, brooms and mops, and shelves of cleaning products stared back. Several questions popped into her head and danced on the edge of her tongue, only to be silenced after Starlight reminded herself of who was standing next to her. She turned and watched Discord tap his foot against the hard floor, his features twisted in annoyance as if stones beneath his mismatched feet had offended him.
“I see gravity’s still mandatory,” he said, voice dripping with disdain. “Honestly, I’m beginning to think the position you gave me was little more than a cheap ploy to wrap up some lesson on making sure your friends aren’t being left out.”
“Well, you’re welcome to make gravity optional at the prom.”
“I suppose that’ll suffice,” Discord conceded with false reluctance. “And what’s with that name? Is it supposed to be some sort of acronym? Post-traumatic Rescues Of Millennials? Pink Rhinos Often Mingle?”
“It’s, just roll with it,” Starlight said with a sigh. “And we’ve agreed right? No interfering with Spike and Rarity’s date, okay.”
“Yes, yes, no meddling.”
“I’m serious. You know this is a big deal for Spike and, and you’re glowing.” Starlight blinked. “Why are you glowing?”
“Glowing? I’m not glowing.” Discord looked down. Light emanated from every part of his uneven body. “That’s odd. I’m not doing that.” He turned to Starlight. “Are you doing that?”
“Not me,” she assured with a shake of her head. “Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m glowing! How am I supposed to feel?”
“Okay, okay. Just let me think.” Starlight shuffled through her thoughts, looking for the most rational explanation. Her brain was still trying to reconcile rational and Discord when a blur of blue entered the hall and passed by, followed by Spike.
“Rainbow, stop!” the dragon called out. “He’s over there.”
The blur returned. “Okay, good, we found you,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing at Discord. “And you are glowing. Great. We all need to get to Twilight’s castle ASAP. Come on ponies, and, uh, you, we’ve got a crisis on our hooves.”
“I didn’t do it,” Discord immediately declared. “I’ve been with Starlight this entire time.”
“Wait, does it have to do with why Discord’s glowing?” Starlight asked.
“Maybe, probably?” Rainbow looked to Spike.
“Definitely,” Spike said. “Look, Princess Celestia is here, and she’s already with Twilight, and she can explain it way better than we can. Just, they found Starswirl the Bearded and, well...” He swallowed and looked over his shoulders. Even with the halls devoid of potential eavesdroppers, the dragon still lowered his voice.
“It’s Tirek.”