Honestly? Discord did ask a rather interesting question, one that remained so even after accounting for the rather unique circumstances it was asked in. Because, his sudden, premature appearance and his impish grin aside, the Spirit of Chaos' inquiry still gave Twilight a momentary pause.
What even was that? What was that clash that she just experienced with Midnight? Their stress doing the loud talking? A lovers’ quarrel? Or something completely different?
Well, whatever it was, she would have to leave it, and Midnight’s words and gaze, for later. Regardless of whatever it actually was, Twilight knew how it must have looked from an outside perspective, like something far more interesting than a disagreement between a Princess and her assigned bodyguard. If the draconequus had been watching after all, instead of making a comment on reaction alone, seeing the two of them arguing so fiercely yet being muzzle to muzzle could only mean...
Twilight was going to start explaining, for an explanation was very much needed, but a sudden shift of movement intercepted her attempt.
Midnight, witnessing a strange, chimera-like creature suddenly manifesting in the middle of Twilight’s room, jumped right between her and Discord, despite his bandages and the shock he surely must have been in, lowering his stance and baring his fangs. His warrior’s instincts flared no less than his nostrils, as he tried to bring the most fearsome expression possible onto his muzzle.
His stance failed to frighten the Spirit of Chaos, but, witnessing such a fierce posture, the draconequus simply had to smile wider. He didn’t flinch nor back away even a little, however. His reaction was quite the opposite.
“O-ho-ho! What a brave little soldier this one is!” he praised Midnight in his natural, malicious way, looking like he was also fighting the urge to pet the stallion on the head. “Was he a gift, Princess Twilight? There’s some wrapping left on him.”
With a quick snap of his talon and a flash, Midnight’s woolen bandages changed into quite the glaring display of mismatched and tasteless compilation of Hearth’s Warming wrapping paper, gaudy just enough to give Rarity a mild aneurysm.
The stallion-turned-present looked down on himself, hissed loudly, then returned his gaze to Discord, eyes burning with keenness yet shaded with disturbance.
“Diabl! Whoever you are, stay away!” he growled at the draconequus, though the best he could manage when it came to intimidation was invoking another hearty chuckle.
“Awww! Princess, he talks! Could I take him out for walks sometimes?”
Twilight wasn’t sure whether it was Discord showing his, inexplicable, prejudice towards batponies or him randomly being even more of his annoying self... which, honestly, felt lamentably fitting, but whatever it was, it was the last straw. Especially since it appeared to be so for Midnight, too, as he prepared to pounce and protect her from this supernatural threat, despite the grasp of natural fear when facing a creature like Discord.
She put her hoof on her beloved’s shoulder. Their disagreement was irrelevant at the very moment. And... she could afford such a gesture, as she doubted that there was much room left for pretense.
To think that Discord would be the first in Equestria to know about her relationship... It almost felt like a cruel joke. Regardless, Twilight kept her voice steady and calm as she addressed the combat-ready stallion.
“Midnight, stand down, please…” she asked of him. “This is the ‘associate’ I was warning you about—”
“ ‘Associate’?! A shameful display!” Discord moaned in protest, as if she had just insulted him and fifty generations of his ancestors. Not that he really had any to speak of, she didn’t think. “Princess Twilight, how dare you, I thought we were friends!” he continued, producing a hoofkerchief from his nose. That didn’t make it look any cleaner, even before he blew loudly into it. “Woe is me, I’m an associate to the royalty and nothing more! Nothing more ever! Nevermore!”
Midnight didn’t relax witnessing such a display, not at all, but... his readiness was now marred with a healthy dose of confusion. Twilight understood that well, actually. It was hard enough for her to properly grasp the draconequus and his antics, and she had known him for quite some time now.
She took a deep breath. “Dramatic meltdowns aside, please,” she spoke, actually causing a giggle to erupt from the chaotic intruder, “this is Discord. The Spirit of Chaos.”
“Actually the Lord of it, if I see fit,” the draconequus bragged, suddenly dressed in finery that could put the richest boutiques in Canterlot to shame. Or it would, were it to stay on him for longer than an instant, actually, before melting away like a fresh painting in the rain. “Maybe then I will have a chance at friendship with the crème de la crème of Equestria!”
Even when bragging, he still complained, getting himself a tall glass of what Twilight thought and hoped was coffee, allegedly, and sipping the very top of it, with the smallest finger of his leonine paw pointing away as well. Then, of course, he made the beverage disappear into nothingness, with a loud slurp from nopony in particular.
“And your name, staunch warrior, would be…?” Discord asked when he was done. At least he paid Midnight that courtesy, perhaps not being completely focused on himself and his woes after all.
Midnight glanced back at Twilight, reluctant to let go of his position and stance, though his greatest foe at the moment was his mounting bewilderment at the draconequus’ actions, even as the Spirit offered him his paw in a greeting.
The stallion eventually managed to actually reply to the question, however unconvinced of Discord's politeness he remained. “Wentr u Rodine Maednoc, Nocferratan u Neskaza Lunee…” he declared, his voice retaining the official quality, even if Midnight himself was a bit reluctant to engage in such a conversation in the first place, and even less keen on shaking hooves with the draconequus.
Discord, quite the opposite, was much more intrigued, and happy to have a chat. Though he began by conjuring for himself… an absolutely massive cotton swab.
Which Midnight, for the briefest of moments, considered some sort of an over-sized weapon, and bared his fangs again.
Until the Spirit began to ostentatiously clean his ears with it, which definitely destroyed the illusion of direct threat.
“Do pardon me, I didn’t quite catch that,” Discord commented through the sounds of polishing glass and moving furniture which were accompanying his deep, sudden scrubbing. “It honestly sounded like you were speaking that strange jargon which Luna seems to know,” he continued, pulling out the swab's tip and producing with it something that looked like an ancient scroll with Noctraliyar alphabet on it. “Heard her swearing in it once, it actually could cause one’s ears to wilt.”
Discord’s ears did wilt, of course, in a most perturbing way, though Twilight wondered whether it was any more perturbing than Midnight’s expression at hearing the draconequus claim the Immaculate Moon used to shout expletives in Noctaliya’s native tongue.
As much as Twilight wanted this situation ending up in a civil exchange between her beloved and the Spirit, she had to step in to try and make it so.
“Discord, again, this is Midnight Wind. He has been assigned to be in my entourage for my journey here,” she explained. “I told him that you might appear, though you must understand that ponies around here aren’t really used to anypony like you just materializing out of thin air.”
“Well, I am one of a kind,” Discord praised himself with a wide smile. “By the way, it wasn’t ‘thin air’, by the way, it was more like thick, silver molasses, you know?” He grabbed the scroll which had just appeared and wrung it out, causing Noctraliyan letters and a bright, argent liquid to squeeze out and drip on the floor.
Twilight saw Midnight’s obvious shock, both at seeing a parchment being both destroyed like that and all the strange effects surrounding it, but she squeezed his shoulder a little to try and calm him down.
“Don’t worry, that wasn’t a real scroll,” she told him, not knowing whether it was true but hoping so, nevertheless. “Discord simply enjoys... visual aids when he’s talking. Illusions and summoning.”
“Right, tac, uhm...”
The stallion seemed to believe her, while still trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing. Not that it was actually the best course of action when facing the draconequus, for sometimes, as much as it pained her to say it, Twilight knew it was best to just accept things without explanation.
“Spirit of Chaos, as in...?” Midnight attempted to understand who he was dealing with anyway. “You’re not a… deity of some sort, are you?”
Discord grinned even wider, then snapped his fingers, summoning a snow-white toga on himself, along with granting himself a bushy beard reaching to his midriff. He held up his talon, and something akin to a static lightning bolt flickered into existence in it.
His voice boomed with thunder. Localized thunder, at least, not loud enough to overpower his voice.
“Would you like me to be, my son?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “He’s not like your Goddess and Her Sister. He’s more of a trickster spirit, actually, and—”
“Blasphemy!” Discord claimed, again faking outrage, but causing only another expression of exasperation from her.
“... and while powerful and whimsical, he’s agreed to help me out in my mission. He has his heart in the right place nowadays.”
Midnight glanced at Twilight, then at the draconequus... who opened up his chest like a doorway and showed a very fake image of his heart. It was smiling cutely, as well.
The heart, not Discord. He was wearing a much more impish grin.
“Al... right,” the batpony summed up all what that he was bearing witness to, still trying to process what was unraveling right before him. “So he is the one passing your reply on, yes?”
“Yes,” Twilight admitted, suddenly feeling like it wasn’t the best of ideas. Letting Discord play the mailman seemed very much out of place, and yet... what was there to do? “He arrived a little earlier, however. I was hoping to meet him on my own here,” she accentuated, not that it would in any way cause the Spirit's conscience any discomfort. “As you can see, Midnight, he’s a bit... uh...”
“Incredible?” the draconequus suggested, closing the “door” into himself and instead writing a very clear and very overdone letter “i” on his chest, one that could easily fit those comic book characters Twilight had seen before.
“I’d say, actually, that he’s a bit… much,” Midnight retorted, earning for himself a hearty chuckle from the Spirit of Chaos.
“Oh, I like him, he can stay,” Discord gifted the most unlikely of praises before floating just a little bit closer to the two of them, almost invading their personal space. “Unless, of course, you would like him to leave, Princess. You looked like a mare with a pet peeve just now! And you were standing so close, like you wanted to push him away with your mighty majesty…” the draconequus added, his voice oozing sarcasm. He still conjured up a measuring tape, just to make sure his obviously accurate observation was accurate. “… but he wasn’t budging, not at all! And I wonder why. It’s like he actually wanted to be close, despite all the rage and irritation! How incredibly interesting.”
Twilight sighed inwardly. If she could read into Discord even a little bit, she had to once more accept that he knew exactly what their disagreement looked like, and that the Spirit simply wanted to have a little fun with “catching” them and forcing her to admit to the obvious truth for his own, wicked satisfaction.
It could have been worse, Twilight thought. He could have caught them both in the bath. It wouldn’t change the ultimate outcome, but there would be more red muzzles all around.
So… Twilight made up her mind once more. She gave Midnight a soft glance, one that softened further when she spotted his body tensing up again at the draconequus’ insinuations. When her beloved’s own gaze met hers, it was filled with a distinct gleam of worry, one that had replaced its earlier look of confusion. He wasn’t oblivious to what Discord was doing or suggesting in the slightest, he was simply trying to figure out how to deal with it, because… well, obviously, the draconequus wasn’t Custodian Lichen or even Rowan Berry. Their secret being revealed to him instinctively felt like a much, much greater threat to Midnight, even if the stallion couldn’t really comprehend Discord’s reach or intentions.
He wasn’t be wrong to be anxious, Twilight would agree. However… as peculiar as such a reveal, and the entire situation, was, perhaps this wasn’t going to be the most terrible of things to happen? For some reason that she couldn’t quite explain, she felt rather… at ease, letting their secret be revealed further yet.
After all, sometimes Discord’s chaos wasn’t completely unpredictable. He would have his fun, maybe blatant mockery would be on the table for some time, but he definitely understood the nuances of such a situation… right?
Or something. Perhaps it was just her trying to couch in her own mind what was about to happen, yet Twilight still had that distinct feeling of being... hopeful, considering everything. She was strangely expectant that things wouldn’t become worse with the draconequus in on the clandestine romance…
… perhaps he would make revealing it to her family, her other friends, and the Princesses easier, actually? In due time?
‘No.’ The answer in Twilight’s mind was definitely negative in that regard, but she stayed with her sudden and ultimate decision.
“If you want to ask about something directly, Discord, you very much can,” she told the draconequus boldly, holding her head high and, despite even the disagreement she had just shared with Midnight, proud and unapologetic about their relationship. About their love.
Yet her stance and her words still caused Midnight to look at her with an almost terrified recognition. He grasped her intention as firmly as he did Discord’s suggestions, and would have even protested, were it not for the fact that such a token action would have simply testified to the matter even more.
The batpony’s grimace made for an incredible comparison with the Spirit’s own expression, which was a picture of pure, mischievous satisfaction. A self-righteous one, too, of course.
“Oh, why would I ever ask you about anything directly? That would be so boring and normal, and you know how I feel about that!” he declared with that tone of chaotic sanctimony. “No, no, no, I’m pretty sure I have the answer already. And I recall that sudden, very, very crimson blush I saw on you before…”
Twilight heard a snap and suddenly felt like something was wrong. Well, if the itching feeling of rouge on her cheeks, caking her muzzle with fake color was of any indication. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything that a quick spell couldn’t fix, even before Midnight could comment on her new look, as she could only imagine the sheer volume of makeup that suddenly manifested itself on her face, though her magical interference did cause Discord to moan like an artist robbed of his inspiration right in the middle of creating a masterpiece. He visualized his desire with the stylish beret of a budding painter, tilted to the side for that extra avant-garde look.
“Gah, why would you do that? I still wanted to add a bit of mascara for that fierce, intense look of unrivaled emotion!”
Oh, Twilight was convinced that he would do just that, and it would look absolutely wonderful in all of its pretentious glory. It was such a shame that the draconequus’ canvas was her own muzzle, so she wasn’t going to let that continue.
Just like Midnight clearly wasn’t going to just stand there and witness all of it. The stallion, despite forgoing seeing Discord as an immediate and direct threat, still looked rather insulted about the Spirit’s antics, especially regarding her person directly.
“Discord,” Twilight spoke up again, hoping that a little force in her voice would actually get the draconequus to listen for at least a short moment. He had appreciated her “zing”, as he had called it previously, so maybe it would help this time as well. “As much as I usually adore playing your little games, I’m afraid now is not the time. Or, rather, there is no time nor reason for them in general, but there is especially no need for them here, for here things are clear and simple,” she declared, before stepping even closer to Midnight, towards his healthier side, and standing beside him as she decided to, without shame or reluctance, take the stallion’s foreleg and wrap her own around it in a tight though comfortable hold.
Twilight knew exactly how they both must have looked. Like she wanted them to look. So she took her time, a good, silent yet intense moment, to let the combined stance of her and her beloved speak clearly. She looked at Midnight, right next to her, her eyes conveying what she felt without restraint.
Even without that gaze the batpony had already understood her gesture, though he was still very, very surprised by it nonetheless. Yet in his eyes there was not only astonishment, but an underlying foundation of joy and dignified conviction, of relief and resolution in the face of what had been unveiled.
Both of them, together, their one and harmonious bearing supported on nothing else but love.
It strangely made Twilight feel that much stronger, facing Discord, the eccentric Spirit of Chaos, and breaking the batpony convention of lack of physical contact outside of private moments.
She also… couldn’t be more delighted to just speak plainly, pretty much right to the draconequus’ muzzle, with confidence.
“Midnight Wind and I are a couple. And we intend to stay that way, despite the fact that we are currently keeping it under wraps, to avoid upsetting the local traditions.”
Perhaps the added explanation took away some power from the declaration, but it was what it was. She wanted to make things clear and transparent, especially for such a convoluted creature as Discord...
... whose expression turned from mischievous, maybe a little malevolent, to neutral, then to curious, and finally to amazed.
“Wow…”
Well, that much was enough to cause Twilight to thoroughly shudder. She managed to stun the draconequus with the news…
“… you of all ponies...”
… oh, no, no she didn’t. He was just regathering his strength back to ridicule her. Well, Twilight was not really surprised, after all—
“... I’m so happy for you!”
... what?
“Huh?” she somehow vocalized the surprise inside of her. Out of all the things she was anticipating and already preparing to respond to in her head, an expression of support and joy was not even close to the first thing she expected.
And yet… the force of hope in her grew, just a little bit. She could feel its warmth, its pulse, right in her chest, especially when she witnessed the draconequus actually chuckling, along with snapping both his paw and his talon, and even the tuft of hair on his long tail, in an exotic celebration, one which was caused birds, rose petals, confetti and very, very small iterations of Discord to appear, with the last possessing white pegasus wings and bearing miniature bows, ready to shoot heart-shaped arrows all over the room.
Midnight, keeping still and holding onto Twilight’s foreleg maybe a little bit firmer at that point, leaned towards her just a little. “… what, ab Bogine, is going on?”
“You tell me,” she replied, trying herself to make sense of the celebratory kaleidoscope of joy before her very eyes.
Discord, in the meantime, produced something that looked like an elongated trumpet from... someplace and took a deep breath which inflated his chest to epic proportions. Yet, fearing the sheer volume of that upcoming note, Twilight flailed her foreleg about to try and stop him. She miraculously did, but that did not seem enough to stop the draconequus from celebrating altogether.
“To be honest, Princess Twilight, I thought you would never get to this point! Goodness gracious, what joy, haha!” Discord claimed, organizing a round of applause from all the little versions of himself before they dissipated into soap bubbles, quickly changing shapes into little, pinkish hearts floating all over the chamber. “You were always so keen on those books of yours, you seldom went out, you didn’t party! I mean, I’ve heard about your dancing skills!”
His remark suddenly caused Twilight to feel rather self-conscious. Were her abilities so lacking? Why had nopony ever told her?!
Well, the draconequus had already accepted it is as a fact and continued unabated. “You never looked like that kind of a pony at all, one to actually have a serious relationship! I feared you might go your whole life without ever giving these things a shot!”
“Now, wait!” Twilight suddenly felt the need to explain things, especially with Midnight’s curious, though still confused, gaze right on her. “I wasn’t that sheltered and antisocial!”
“Are you kidding me?” Discord protested, disappearing in a flash and then returning to reality right next to the stallion, his paw around him like they were bosom buddies for life. “However did you manage to achieve this, my batty butty? You simply need to tell me your secrets! Had she been any less social before getting into that Friendship business, I would have been able to run rampant across Equestria unmolested! She would’ve been too busy to stop me, with her locked in a dusty archive of some sort, researching, studying, romancing her scrolls maybe!”
There was another snap and Twilight suddenly found herself covered in a thick layer of fine powder, the smell of Canterlot Library. Well, her eyes did water a little bit at the familiar scent, she couldn’t very well deny it, though it might have just been an allergic reaction to the sheer volume of dust. Thankfully, one shake later it all disappeared whence it had come. Judging by the remaining whiff… the Arcane Treaties section.
In the meantime, Midnight, finding himself right next to Discord, looked remarkably tense, especially with the draconequus’ leonine paw around him. Thankfully, the Spirit was being somewhat mindful of the bandages, which prompted the stallion not to react in any sudden way. That was probably a good thing, since him striking the Spirit for being too close and getting hoofsy would have been both problematic and entirely inefficient.
Instead, the stallion inhaled to calm himself and opened his lips, trying to sound as polite and diplomatic as he could, considering his specific tone. “Despite what you are claiming, Honored Spirit of Chaos, I’m certain that the Honored Princess—”
“Oh, he’s still using your title even if you’re an item?” the draconequus pointed out with a true rascal's grin. “Kinky.”
Twilight was suddenly of the mind to send Discord in a flash of possibly burning light right back to that chaotic realm which he called home... but she still needed the Spirit to pass her response back to Equestria. So, for the moment, she had to make do with her own face burning up instead.
“As my assigned bodyguard he’s being respectful to me in the presence of a stranger,” she tried to explain, but the draconequus just blew a raspberry in return.
“An ‘associate’, now a ‘stranger’! What is this?!” he cried, almost pushing Twilight aside to stick his head in, right between her and Midnight. “We’re all the best of friends here right away, aren’t we? You might not get this yet,” he told the stallion, nudging him a little, thankfully avoiding the bandaged side, “but all friends of Twilight are very close and special friends of mine, too! Doesn’t really translate that well with ‘coltfriends’, but I’m not going to start getting exclusive when such a scenario is happening! And for Twilight!” Discord claimed, putting on some dark glasses and, of all things, popping up the collar on the vividly red silk shirt of a mares’ stallion he was suddenly wearing. “So, tell me, colt, how did you do it? Where did you meet? Have you given her flowers yet? And how about, you know…?”
Twilight wasn’t even going to even try to imagine what Discord had in mind considering the tone of that “about”, but thankfully Midnight was around to address that issue, still keeping his cool still and keen to reply, feeling the Spirit squishing his face from the side and being visibly uncomfortable with it.
“You will respect a Nocferratanu space.”
... that definitely wasn’t a reply Discord was expecting. But, considering the tone, he… decided to comply, nevertheless.
Twilight wasn’t certain if the draconequus felt any respect towards… well, anypony, with the exceptions of Fluttershy and maybe Princess Celestia, but he definitely shouldn’t have been intimidated by a Nightguardian. Still, the Spirit made his acquiescence known by conjuring up three plush chairs and a small coffee table, making the chamber even more cluttered, and depositing everypony on those new places. He was mindful, at least, to have Midnight appear sideways, without pressing him into the piece of furniture and inadvertently irritating his wounds.
The stallion wasn’t oblivious to suddenly finding himself sideways relative to everypony else, and as much as he was fighting the irritation of the moment, he nodded in Discord’s direction in recognition.
And in answer. “Well, it began in a library...”
“Of course it did!” The draconequus rolled his eyes. Thankfully still inside his head, because Twilight had seen him actually going through with the expression before. “Let me have a guess, you were borrowing a book, it fell down, you both touched it at the same time and the rest is history!” he claimed, conjuring a hefty tome to fall down on the small table and completely flatten it with a loud crack.
If Twilight wasn’t mistaken, the title was something along the lines of “How Corny Can This Get?” But, despite it, the draconequus seemed genuinely pleased about it all, and keen on expressing it.
“Again, I am so happy for you!”
Twilight, suddenly finding herself with a pristine cup of fragrant tea in her hooves, though it hadn’t been there a moment ago, wanted to put it down… though she couldn’t possibly force herself to use a book for a table, even one conjured up by Discord. So it was either levitating it or holding it. Ah, well, she opted for the latter.
“That is… very pleasing to hear, Discord, but… why?” she presented the less-than-intricate question, causing the Spirit to chuckle heartily.
He was about to take a sip of his own beverage, though he must have suddenly realized that he hated tea, because a snap later he was holding his favorite chocolate milk and enjoying it for a moment through a long and convoluted straw, which was emptying the glass from the bottom up.
When Discord continued, he still had the happiest grin one could imagine right on his lips.
“I could go spend forever talking about the profound elation of being in love!” he claimed, then almost put one of his fingers down his throat and chuckled once more. “But I’d rather be honest and truthful here! Nothing, absolutely nothing introduces more wonderful and satisfying chaos to one’s life then suddenly sharing it with another!” he explained, clapping to himself again, for once no strange phenomena following. “To fear for the other’s well-being, to hope to see them again after an adventure, to over-think everything in hopes that you have not offended your partner, and to show your feelings in random gifts given for no reason whatsoever!”
Seemed that Discord had a… very specific approach to love, even if Twilight found portions of what he was saying rather sweet. Also genuine, to her surprise, as she was expecting absolutely anything but not this level of sudden support from the draconequus.
Perhaps, again, his chaotic being escaped her reasoning. For the better this particular time.
“Well, I am… very thankful for your enthusiasm, Discord,” she told him, as showing him this sort of gratitude was an absolute must. With stipulations. “I’m not sure what to think of you considering me quite so unable to have a working relationship, but—”
“Speaking of which!” the Spirit interrupted her, slurping the remnants of his chocolate milk and folding the glass neatly before hiding it in his pocket, one right in his fur. “Your paramour here is definitely an interesting one, if I do say so myself! The way he was looking at you when I arrived, with that intensity and irritation! And what he said just now? O-ho-ho!”
Discord gave a hearty laugh at his own observations, at which, as Twilight could see, Midnight’s expression soured notably. Whether out of shame or wounded pride, well, that she couldn’t yet tell.
The draconequus, apparently, could. “Just look at him, so fierce and serious. Actually, come to think of it,” Discord added, knocking himself on his head which produced a sound of a janitor’s closet being reorganized, “I think the way you spoke to me the last time we met can be connected to him! It simply must have been the result of him rubbing off on you and—”
“Kwo, kirwe?!”
Midnight almost jumped out of his magical seat, which forced Twilight to frantically wave her hooves. She was still holding the cup, however, so the movement was far more modest than she planned.
“It’s a figure of speech, it’s just a figure of speech!” she let the stallion know, as his expression clearly showed where his thought process went after that particular sentence had happened.
Could Twilight feel any more embarrassed about how this meeting was going?
Discord, of course, cared precious little about the outrage. Or, rather, derived his own pleasure from it instead.
“Yes, indeed, quite the deliberate one too!” he revealed with yet another of his impish smiles. “Twilight here is showing some very, very captivating backbone!”
Midnight was still glaring intensely at the Spirit, while Twilight was left wondering if Discord still meant the trait of her character or something more.
… she hadn’t gained weight on this fruit diet, had she?
The draconequus spoke again, crossing his mismatched arms behind his head and sinking deeper into the plush seat, closing his eyes for a brief moment.
“And if her new form comes from spending more time with you, my new, fanged friend, then I commend you on your choice of style!” the Spirit claimed, sounding rather casual. “A brooding warrior seems like a very popular pick among mares, an all-time classic!”
Discord opened one of his eyes and observed Midnight’s reaction for a breath. Or rather, observed the stallion himself, seeking something specific about him. Twilight could have sworn that he had a glint about his gaze like a father figure would.
Not that she would necessarily want the draconequus trying to take that role after learning of her romance! She was an adult mare!
Midnight also wasn’t pleased with that strange stare of chaotic scrutiny, and was about to speak up, but the Spirit intercepted him with another one of his many chuckles.
“Yes, I can definitely see that! A morose veteran? With a knavish grin? I see that little wrinkle next to your lips, you definitely enjoy your lopsided smiles! Mares love to see it!” he claimed, wagging a finger at Midnight. “Add to it a little bit of a dark past that she can heal, a touch of firmness and fierceness that she can tame, uff! Muy caliente!” he added with a peculiar expression of his own, fanning his muzzle which was suddenly more red. “Just a little bit more of that keen, piercing gaze of yours, which you seem to want to skewer me with it, and even a cloistered scholar like Twilight will be all over you like it was all planned out!”
Midnight was again willing to add something to the conversation, but hearing such a summary caused his mouth to just hang open for a moment, like all the words were stolen from him in but an instant.
That made Twilight speak up with the firmness that Discord seemed to enjoy. Not that she wanted to be a source of his entertainment, quite the opposite. She hadn’t missed how what he had said had clearly struck her beloved so deeply, almost seeming to knock the wind out of him.
“Stop tormenting my coltfriend,” she told the Spirit, and that union of strength and a small smile actually managed to have Discord sit straighter and grin himself, recognizing her demand.
“Oh, fine, fine, I just wanted to make a good first impression!” the draconequus claimed, shrugging dismissively, as was his habit. “He’s just so intense and tense! It’s not that I don’t like it, but everybody needs to loosen up from time to time, put some neat chaos into that order!” the Spirit added, almost apologetic.
Almost being the key word, as Twilight knew better than to believe that observation. She also kept glancing Midnight’s way, as her beloved remained where he was, motionless, staring at Discord with an expression of…
She couldn’t tell what it was. She had seen that gaze from her stallion a couple of times before, and it was, once more, impossible to discern. There were emotions in it, definitely, but… Twilight wasn’t going to place any bets on which ones. One thing was for sure, Discord had gotten to Midnight, piercing him deep, and she was confident to at least wager which exact words had been so damaging.
Yet the draconequus, oblivious to what he managed to achieve, kept talking in the meantime.
“And what I was talking about is completely true, for some reason you mares really like stallions that are tough and even a little dangerous! Especially the ones that can show a little bit of backbone, go around with their head held high! I mean, there is some strange sense to it, actually, do you know that even lobsters—”
“Discord.”
“I mean it, there are rules in place that seem like an antidote to chaos and—”
“Discord,” Twilight repeated herself. Not louder, but more ardent. As much as she would actually be intrigued by the draconequus’ reasoning, there were other matters to deal with. “Your enthusiasm is welcome and appreciated, but please be mindful. Midnight is unused to your antics, even if they are your way of being welcoming.”
She was expecting the stallion to concur and support her at least somewhat, but he still seemed to be going through whatever spell of confusion Discord's words and actions had laid upon him.
It was worrying, but she could understand what lay behind his shock. She would have a few words with Discord about it.
Still, likely feeling her stare on himself for a moment longer, Midnight finally shook his head, before glancing back at Twilight with that same, strange gaze, something flickering deep inside of it.
“Ia ecus, I was… I… see that I am in the presence of somepony beyond my understanding,” the stallion spoke up, his voice managing to sound natural, despite the tumult still in his eyes.
“It’s fine, you’ll learn to appreciate me! And my insight!” Discord replied with a smile, though whether it was helpful was a little doubtful.
“I…” Midnight tried to respond to that in kind, but just shook his head, his thoughts clearly racing and forbidding him from feigning the pleasure of a dialogue with the draconequus. “We shall see, I suppose. Uhm…”
Twilight, seeing her beloved’s bewildered state returning, got up from the plush seat. She finally put the teacup down on the real table in the chamber, then approached the batpony with a slightly concerned expression clearly manifesting on her muzzle.
“I’ll handle Discord now… Can you get me that food you have mentioned? I’ll enjoy it after I’m done here and we’ll talk about this later, alright?” she offered, feeling genuinely bad about witnessing Midnight taking the brunt of… well, of the draconequus. There was no other way of explaining that.
“Tac… Tac, hwalba knaze, I can do that,” the stallion replied, looking at her even as he was getting up. “Will you be… alright with…?”
“Yes, quite alright,” Twilight promised, gently smiling Midnight’s way. “I have some experience,” she claimed, glancing at Discord, who was still in his seat, a sudden halo of light brightly shining over his head and attempting to make him look pure, virtuous, and completely innocent.
Which, at least for Twilight, was achieving the opposite effect.
The batpony nodded, maybe not totally reassured, but at least willing to trust her. “Alright, I… I’ll send Yazembe Acine for some food and then wait until it’s… the right time to come back,” the stallion promised, giving Twilight a customary, if rather disoriented, salute and trotting out of the room, still in a daze, especially when glancing back Discord’s way, though then his confusion was mingled with distrust.
After the doors were locked behind the stallion, the draconequus wasted no time in making all the additional furniture disappear with a snap. He then pointed over his shoulder. “This guy! This guy does not know how to take a compliment, I swear, I meant nothing else by that!”
Twilight was… almost inclined to believe him. However, she still had to shake her head and address what had just happened, for the sake of her beloved.
“Whether you wanted to laud, cajole or whatever other word you would use for your approach, Discord,” she told him, looking the Spirit dead in his eyes, “Midnight did live through a tragedy. I don't think he took well to you mentioning a ‘dark past’, even inadvertently.”
The draconequus made a face. One that some might have interpreted as actually remorseful, even. “Oh. Well, my bad, I suppose,” he admitted, but his eyes were strangely keen as he was meeting Twilight’s own stare. “A question, though… did your love actually heal it?”
She would normally interpret such a question as a taunt of some sort, but… something about the Spirit’s tone and that gaze told her that was definitely not the case here.
She looked at nothing in particular for a while, deep in thought. Between Dusk Stream’s death, their conversations, the Legatuum… and now Dusk Tarn, she had to try and be somewhat objective at least. But the answer still felt affirmative.
“I… believe it did, yes,” she admitted, finding herself smiling just a little at realizing that. “At least somewhat. It’s not a closed topic, no, those things rarely just… vanish. But I think I have managed to help him after all, support him in coming to terms with what happened.”
She heard a short laugh.
Quite different from all the chuckles that Discord so enjoyed, it saw her attention immediately returned to the draconequus, who was observing her with a remarkable amount of focus. And a remarkable amount of stoic calm, very much unlike his chaotic nature.
“You know, Princess Twilight,” he spoke, leaning forth to bring his beaming, snaggletoothed muzzle to her level, “I might be the Lord of Chaos, finding such sentiments rather cringe-worthy,” he admitted further with a mighty grin, “but even I cannot just change, nor can I ignore, some truths about the world. I’m topsy-turvy, but I’m not delusional, right?”
He didn’t give Twilight a chance to reply. Yet that was a good thing, since the sentence that followed made her stay silent and think for a while longer, indeed.
“Love does hold a great power.”
Now, that... that was... that was... definitely something extraordinary to witness and hear. A fact she tried to convey, in response to his declaration.
“… that was…” she did try to speak, but she found herself at a loss for words after all.
Of all the things to hear from the Spirit of Chaos, Twilight wasn’t expecting that one in the slightest. And here she thought that she was prepared to anticipate all of the draconequus’ antics.
“That was… very deep, Discord. Beautiful, even.”
“I’m a little bit more than just pranks and hilarity, Princess Twilight,” he relied with a wink, before his gaze returned to its normal, mischievous state. “Yet speaking of love holding great power… Should I understand that you would very, very much prefer for me not to say even a word to anypony about your little, nocturnal dalliance?”
Of course. This was, after all, Discord she was ultimately talking to, so… Twilight really should have expected it. And she did, to a degree, but hoped that she could avoid these “negotiations” altogether with some luck on her side. But no amount of sentiment nor chance was going to change the draconequus’ nature, no?
“I... won’t lie, Discord, things between Midnight and me... are precious. To me, to him, to us both. I would very much prefer for the knowledge of our relationship not to spread any further for now. It’s not just a mere ‘dalliance’, by the way, it’s far deeper and more important to me,” she revealed, a little downhearted that she had to explain the matter, and even more so when she reminded herself that there were still the convoluted and prejudiced local customs she had to deal with. “Not to mention that I will have to tackle the batpony approach to the matter alongside Midnight, when the right time comes,” she added, trying to stop herself from immediately delving right into worries about all of the obstacles in their path. “Honestly, if everything goes our way… I would like to explain how it all happened to the Princesses, those I care about, and eventually to Equestria myself. So I would very much prefer for this to be kept a secret and—”
“Done.”
Twilight blinked. She looked back at Discord with unbounded distrust in her eyes, though found only a joyous gaze in return. Peculiar.
“It cannot be that simple,” she responded to his sudden declaration, still fully expecting for it to be a trap, or just her ferociously mishearing him.
Yet the draconequus only winked back and repeated himself, kind of, conjuring up two flags.
“D. O. N. E.”
He accompanied his declaration with a set of semi-recognizable movements, though Twilight wasn’t sure if they actually meant the letters which he had just invoked, or maybe were just a call for help of some sort…
Which was ironic, since she felt like she was the one needing aid in this situation after all and, miraculously, Discord was the one actually ready to give it...?
“Honestly, I would love to be the bearer of this news,” he told her, turning upside down in midair, but still smiling like mad, “since I can only imagine the reaction of everypony hearing that you have found yourself a fierce, strong, grey-coated, bat-winged, and fanged stud of a stallion. Of course, as you surely can imagine, I would simply have to add a ton of details which would absolutely make dear Celestia flip, if she isn’t going to do so already with what you will be bringing back! Or whom! Not to mention Luna might have a thing or two to say! And, oh, oh! Your friends too, surely!” he continued to count, making Twilight progressively more anxious. “And Cadance, she’s going to have a blast, isn’t she? And dear Shining Armor, I can definitely see him shooting daggers at your poor Midnight,” Discord speculated further as his irises turned into a pair of sharp blades for a second. “Did I mention your parents as well? So many ponies to be shocked and appalled!”
“Then…” Twilight replied, still unsure about the point he was trying to make if he wasn’t going to spill the beans. “… why won’t you just do it? You seem to relish the thought of everypony being aghast...”
“Oh, Princess, Princess, Princess,” Discord responded, turning right side up again, but not without leaving his body absurdly contorted, “or should I say ‘Twilight’, because it will make me more believable? Whatever. Why would I ever do such a thing? Didn’t you hear me saying that love has great power?!”
“Seemingly over me, since you seem to be focusing on the blackmail aspect of it right now,” she told him frigidly, but that only made him bite his lip a little with his snaggletooth.
“Maybe,” he told her cheekily, “but, nevertheless, I’d rather keep this little thing a secret. Like a good friend,” he claimed, leaning back a little, which would normally put even more ridiculous strain on the already absurdly stressed spine, were it not for the Spirit’s mutable nature. “A good friend who would also much prefer, for his own entertainment and joy, to see you trying to explain it all to everypony. I want to see genuine reactions! I heard one can make a fortune on that,” Discord added.
A number of said various responses, ranging from horror to borderline hysterical excitement, rolled over the draconequus’ muzzle like he had suddenly became one of those weird gambling machines from Las Pegasus. Twilight wasn’t sure if she was reassured or frightened by the prospect of dealing with all of her loved ones taking the news at the same time and producing such a wide arrangement of exhilarated faces.
Discord didn’t particularly care about such an unease. “Why would I ever spoil such a wondrous moment for myself, you simply know I will be watching!” the Spirit added when his muzzle finally stopped in place... and after he spat out a considerable mound of shining bits, which fell all over the fluffy rug. “That’s going to be so rich! And!”
He paused dramatically, but Twilight wasn’t going to let the silence reign, even if it was traditionally considered as golden as all the coins rolling about.
“And... what else?”
Discord twirled himself back to normal and gathered all the winnings from his own shenanigans, pouring them right back into his head through his goat horn.
“And! I will have, at least for a while, the unrivaled joy of knowing something they all won’t!” he happily declared, grabbing the last remaining bit and flipping it in the air. “After all, knowledge is a treasure, isn’t it?” he asked rhetorically, catching the coin and making it disappear with a flick of his paw. “Of course, I will be parading around the place with the face of somepony that knows a great mystery of sorts, but you can rest assured, Princess Twilight, that I will keep them oblivious for my own delight, no matter how much they will beg me to say but a word more!”
Now that was something that could be at least somewhat trusted, Twilight thought, especially considering Discord’s grin and those delinquent glimpses in his eyes. Stepping to the side, though, she paused to think for a second, as such an approach to the matter was not absolutely perfect. Especially since one particular scenario came to her mind, one which she had to present to the draconequus in one more question.
Because there was one force that Discord surely hadn’t thought of. Twilight would dare to think that it had greater power yet than both of the Princesses combined.
“And you won’t say a thing even if Fluttershy asks you very politely to tell her?”
The Spirit visibly shuddered, which Twilight would mark as a little, personal victory. The draconequus’ eyes quickly escaped to the side, though loyally returning when he whistled for them to do so. He pondered for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck, before finally exhaling dramatically.
“Ugh, point taken,” he finally responded, twirling his goat beard around his talon in thought. “Well, alright, I suppose I will employ some moderation, although I detest the very thought. Perish it, I say!” he cried out, summoning another, transparent version of himself that suddenly clutched its chest and collapsed on the ground. “But…!” it declared, being sucked back into Discord proper. “I also really don’t want to ruin this for myself.” He grinned and pointed casually at Twilight. “And for you, you know! I will repeat myself here, I am really happy for you!”
Well, that would have to suffice when it came to Discord promising to be somewhat discreet. Yet, for the same strange and hopeful reason that had inspired her to accept the Spirit's knowledge of her love for Midnight, Twilight was willing to take her chances with the draconequus. After all, if she really didn’t have any other choice, putting at least some trust in the one remaining option was a way forward.
“As much as I am genuinely thankful for your enthusiasm, Discord... and the self-serving sympathy,” she admitted, eliciting another hearty chuckle from the draconequus, “there are things we still have to discuss.”
After all, that was the initial reason for the meeting with him, right? So Twilight approached her luggage and brought forth from it her response in the aura of her magic, looking at it intently, as if she was holding her very own well-being in the grasp of her spell.
Which, perhaps, wasn’t so far from the truth, since her reply would help shape Equestria’s stance regarding the suddenly revealed batpony threat. And her country’s safety, alongside the possible future partnership with Noctraliya, rested very much on Twilight’s shoulders.
She paused. She had been planning on checking the writing once more, and it suddenly felt like a much more important idea. Maybe she still had enough time to do so.
She could actually achieve two things simultaneously, knowing herself.
“Listen, I’m just going to go through it again—”
“Oh, of course, like you haven’t done it thrice already. Or quarce, rather. Quince, perhaps?” Discord replied, throwing his head back in hopelessness. The crack in his neck caused Twilight’s mane to stand on end. But then he suddenly looked to the side and spoke. “Look at you, learning some new words here!”
She… wasn’t sure what sort of an invisible audience he was addressing there and then, but trying to understand that felt like it would possibly, if not probably, prove damaging to one’s sanity. So she, instead, approached the table and placed the parchment on it.
“I’ll still do it,” she said with confidence, her eyes already skimming through the first paragraph, as she was certain that it at least didn't need the editor's quill. “In the meantime, how about you tell me why, exactly, my initial letter arrived in Canterlot damaged? You said… and vividly showed me, that it was burned, no?”
“Why, yes!” Discord admitted and Twilight immediately felt the weight of his muzzle on her shoulder, causing her to almost instinctively cover the text with her forelegs. “Hey, I wasn’t peeking, I swear!” he lied, but was well aware that she realized it immediately. So he instead sighed and sat opposite of Twilight.
Which meant, in the draconequus’ case, supporting himself right on the wall, sideways, like the world’s most variegated spider.
“Celestia explained it to me. Somewhat.”
“Somewhat?”
“Well… you know how it is with me and listening, actually,” Discord admitted with a shrug. “But she did mention, alongside Luna, that your message...” He sniffled all of a sudden. “That your... your message wasn’t going to make it,” he told Twilight.
His voice was suddenly very sad, and when she looked up, the draconequus had dark clothing on and was desperately clutching a black hat in his paw. He was still horizontal, however.
“I take it from the touch of the dramatic that the letter was meant to be contained?” Twilight inquired, not at all mindful of Discord’s faux mourning. “The noctrali planned to stop me from contacting Equestria completely, is that it?” she asked, curious.
And distressed, very much so. She was expecting at least a certain amount of fair play from her hosts, considering the nature of the talks and her mission. Said fair play should have included diplomatic messages being protected by what could be called a universal custom.
Was the Covenant so keen on leaving her stranded in their land for additional advantage? Was it to help with a possible strike? Or was it to make Equestria... or, more precisely, the Princesses, worried enough to make a move of some sort first? Maybe bait them into doing something that could be construed as a provocation later…?
Twilight stopped reading the text before her, squinting hard in thought. Was such a clandestine plan a possibility here? And, more importantly, was it the Covenant’s decision… or was just one of the Lords was behind it? She quite vividly remembered having discussed the very idea of writing and sending the letter back to Equestria with Lord Midnight Eye, who had genuinely acquiesced to her demand after she presented her arguments, and, for all intents and purposes, had decided to help her in the end. Not to mention his current stance on her romance with Midnight. The Lord surely would not let her create the reply only to have it stopped midway. So, the question remained, was the attempt to stop the message altogether another one of Azure Mist’s schemes?
Perhaps her beloved had been right. Disguising the message as a secret one could have hidden it well enough... even if it would have created other problems at the same time. Still, Twilight had to keep it in mind for the possible future. Maybe not to utilize this idea, but to remember it and be somewhat relieved that there was an alternate solution to the matter of further messages, involving a certain, curved dagger in the hooves of her love.
Lost in thought, she almost missed Discord’s actual response to her question, now that he had shed the grim look and was relaxing sideways on the stone wall like it was a sunny beach by the sea.
The sudden whiff of coastal air included.
“Yeah, stopping it from reaching old, stuffy Canterlot seemed like the idea. That’s what I kind of listened to, I suppose,” he revealed, yawning a bit and stretching out on his invisible but most comfortable hammock. “There was also something about somepony being directly responsible for it surviving the perilous travel. As I understand it, conscience is meant as a universal thing,” he added, closing his eyes. “I wouldn’t have said so but a few years ago, you know? Bit strange to say that still! It’s amazing, the new tricks you and your friends have taught this old draconequus.”
Twilight appreciated the sentiment, though the information he provided wasn’t anything she couldn’t have figured out on her own.
So... it had been luck that made the message actually get to Canterlot. Or... had it been an “inspired coincidence” instead? Because Princess Celestia suggesting that conscience had seen it through meant that it must have been a batpony that saved the letter. Somepony that had received the orders and thought them unreasonable, or maybe out of place? Were the orders for destruction counterfeit and they figured it out?
Twilight smirked just a little bit. If it had been good fortune and divine providence at work... it must have meant captain Sunfall Ordain, right? Perhaps she had been told to hide the main batpony plan, but when faced with the demand to destroy the letter she had decided to stop herself at the last moment, remembering that brief but meaningful meeting with Twilight…?
No, that would have been all too convenient.
Returning her attention to her report, Twilight deemed that the paragraph on her current observations looked fine, though she had to put a dot over an “i” at some point. But other than that, she was rather pleased with her response in general. She hoped it was painting the right image for everypony back home.
Yet, as her thoughts ventured all the way back to Equestria, another matter came to the forefront of her mind.
“Could I have a personal request, Discord? Aside from what we have already covered?” she asked, briefly, looking up from the parchment again.
“What’s in it for me?” she heard the immediate response, the relaxing draconequus not bothering to react otherwise, though she could simply feel his gaze from underneath his ridiculous sunglasses.
“Cannot it be an act of good will?”
Now that earned her a blown raspberry. A literal one, which floated from Discord’s paw and then stuck its tongue out a second later with another derogatory sound.
Still, Twilight persisted. “I just wanted to ask whether it wouldn’t be a problem for you, aside from the letter, to assure everypony that I am doing well. Nothing more than that. I’m sure Spike is worried, not to mention the girls,” she admitted, with that small sting in her heart over not seeing her friends for quite some time now. “Surely you could do that much for me, please?”
Discord lowered the sunglasses just a little, looking at her askance. “As a ‘friend’, maybe, but as an ‘associate’ or one of the other positions you insulted me with...”
Twilight was about to argue and even apologize to him, but the draconequus just unglued himself from the wall and sat down on the table’s side, causing it to bounce a little. That almost make the ink spill right on the pristine response, which would have been a catastrophe and a half if Twilight had ever experienced one, but she miraculously managed to prevent it from happening without even a drop being spilled.
Not that the Spirit cared much about it. “Are you sure you don’t want me to worry them just a little more instead? Like I did to your prime stud?” he asked, more impish in his tone than necessary. “You know, I’m amazed at how ready he was to stand against me when he thought I was a threat… and then how meek he got as soon as I talked about ‘wuv’,” Discord claimed, his eyes suddenly turning very pink and heart shaped. But then a shadow turned his muzzle intense and fiery, while he crossed and uncrossed his legs in a strange, deliberate fashion. “It’s like he has an issue with basic instinct.”
Twilight couldn’t be bothered to keep looking up at his antics, instead finishing the last paragraph if her report, and being rather glad not to find any grammatical errors ruining it. No offense to Discord, but this seemed a bit more important than trying to grasp or battle with his reasoning.
“Noctraliya’s a hard place to live. Just to survive in it noctrali have to be a tough race. You could go outside and witness the Valleys if you want an example, the sheer effort put into ensuring there’s enough food for everypony is something to bring wonder and understanding of their rugged tenacity...” she commented.
Then paused and gave Discord a very firm stare.
“Don’t.”
“I’m not teleporting anywhere through that silver molasses unless I really need to, too much bother,” the draconequus responded nonchalantly, though she was aware the matter of the strange barrier was not to be disregarded.
“My point is that, with his past trauma and the taboo of us being together...” Twilight tried to explain, while Discord began fanning himself after hearing that expression of hers, the leathery-winged heart inscribed on his fan seeming to flap with every stroke. “... and with how different our cultures are, you pointing all of it out to him surely had an effect.” She paused, blinking. “Why am I even explaining it to you, you’ve seen it yourself and you’re just teasing me now!”
The conclusion made Discord grin. “Don’t mind me.”
“I don’t,” Twilight responded in the tone of a solemn vow, rolling up the parchment, “as long as you will help me out. Help us all out.”
She made her judgment. The reply was good enough. She couldn’t deem it absolutely perfect, however, but… that was because the situation wasn’t perfect either. Yet it would suffice in its current form, and hopefully cause some exhales of momentary relief, before the undertaking of necessary actions, ones that involved calm calculations and delicate preparation…
Or was that Twilight’s wishful and perhaps too strategic thinking? She doubted it was that bad, she was just putting the experience she had gathered during her quest to good use.
“Thank you for helping out, Discord, whatever your reasons might be,” she told the draconequus when he slithered down from the table and levitated before her in the middle of the chamber. “When it comes to further messages, I suppose we will figure it out,” she pointed out, passing the letter to the Spirit as soon as she had secured it with both a seal and her magical signature.
“That we shall,” he responded, graciously accepting the letter. He then produced a feather duster out of the ether, swiped it across the parchment, and gave it a strange, but quite captivating sheen, like one on freshly cleaned and polished furniture. “I’m certain they will want to inform you if something more happens. If you want to talk to them before that... well, if you got lucky once, that means you’ll get lucky again and you won’t leave us all waiting for the doctor to let us know whether your message will make it,” Discord claimed, causing Twilight to actually laugh.
“That is not how chance works, you know. It should be much more chaotic than that, no?”
The Spirit grinned widely. “In the natural randomness of things, predictability can sometimes be the true embodiment of chaos,” he declared. “Do stay safe, Princess Twilight. Annoying Celestia is something of a hobby, but having you around pushes me into true art!”
“Well, then I have no choice but to do my best,” she told him, somewhat sardonically, but she knew that he actually enjoyed that. “Do you need some help through the strange barrier again?”
“No,” he said whilst nodding.
So, in a moment of irony, Twilight found herself shaking her head but meaning ‘alright’ with it.
Still, even knowing he’d have her aid, Discord prepared himself still, which in his case meant sharpening up his fingers and talons on a summoned grinding stone, getting ready to snap.
She had to add her own focus to the attempt at teleportation, reaching out to the arcane currents around and hopefully creating enough of a gap for the draconequus to squeeze through comfortably, past the strange, silvery essence. Though, truth be told, Twilight prioritized success in this endeavor to the Spirit’s comfort during it, wanting for the message to reach its destination as soon as possible. She believed the night to be slowly coming to an end, if her internal clock had any say in the matter.
Perhaps both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would still have enough time familiarize themselves with the letter in the morning still, which would be optimal, and put Twilight’s mind to rest.
Now, however, it was time for resolve and concentration. Last time she had aided Discord she had acted mostly on instinct. That and panic, which caused her to just reach out to lend Discord some arcane might, enough to form a small breach in the strange, mystical barrier. But now that Twilight could actually take her time to gather her power... she could immediately take note and observe something peculiar.
Or, rather, feel something peculiar, almost in her very core, crying out towards the world around her.
There was... a definite resonance. A strange and inexplicable harmony of unknown sound and substance, one that Twilight could feel as she plucked at the arcane power around her. Almost as if, while reaching out to add her power to Discord’s, somepony or something out of nowhere allowed her to do so. To take a sip of refreshing drink from an unknown source, sweet in a way that she couldn’t fathom.
At the same time, a burden manifested in her heart, as if the granted favor for the draconequus was out of complete and utter necessity, causing a strange feeling of guilt to come over Twilight’s conscience.
A flash erupted before her eyes. One of brightness, of silver and of raspberry, finally waking her from this strange, overwhelming feeling.
Discord was gone, a wayward ‘toodles’ still echoing in Twilight’s ears as she tried to figure out what exactly she had just felt.
Was it a new resonance of a kind she hadn’t before observed? Because she had been actually shown the existence of that quicksilver-like phenomenon, that barrier of unknown origin? She touched her horn, checking its temperature and whatever vibrations remained from lending the draconequus her power, but... nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Yet still, with what she had learnt with Discord’s help, she needed to remain aware of the unseen force around her, though she doubted that she could ask anypony in Noctraliya about its true nature.
She wondered if she would be able to reach any answers on her own, actually, using the tomes she had with her and her education...
Her body made its stance on the matter known with a feeling of a knot being tied in her stomach. She was definitely not going to hit a breakthrough with how hungry she was. The draconequus’ departure and her concentration dropping even ever so slightly allowed her body to remind her that she should have been very, very keen on actually getting herself a meal first and foremost, leaving other worries for a later time. After all, she had a reason to exhale herself, too. The contact was established, some grievances were passed along, information would reach the correct recipients. It was a reason to celebrate, even if moderately, with a hearty, late night dinner.
Twilight tentatively unlocked her door and looked outside, searching the corridor for anypony that could help her, namely Midnight, and mercifully finding him immediately. He was pacing slowly by the next room’s entrance, his expression pensive and determined. However, the moment his eyes landed on her, the shine in them melted the tension from his muzzle.
“Iau lumn…” he as much as whispered, trotting rapidly in her direction.
The worry in his voice suggested what Twilight needed to say. “It’s alright, Midnight. Discord’s gone now.”
He gestured for them to venture back in, and though clearly was reassured by her words, his gaze still checked all the corners for the draconequus before the stallion spoke up again, having locked the doors behind himself. “Bogine, cronae uai,” he uttered a small prayer, shaking his head, “that was… I’m not sure what that was, but I won’t forget it until the night of my pyre,” he revealed, looking at Twilight intently. “How come you even know such a being?”
“That would be a long story, let me tell you, Midnight,” she admitted with a somewhat abashed grin. “Listen, about him and—”
“Nye, please, my light,” the stallion interrupted her, but unlike the last time his gestures and tone were diplomatic and tender, the love he bore her washing away the strange bitterness that had infected their earlier argument. “I have… made very questionable decisions and very out of place things happened due to my… what I mean is...” He stopped, trying to gather his thoughts after all. “You know that I love you and… and now this… ‘Discord’ knows as well, and won’t he...?”
Twilight stepped in Midnight’s direction to take his hoof in her own. That hoof turned out to be the bandaged one, as it was closer, but she took great care with it, wishing to add some gentleness to soothe this quite nervous moment.
“Midnight, don’t worry, please. First of all, Discord might be a Spirit of Chaos, and a mischievous one at that, but he did promise to be discreet about us. For his own, selfish reasons,” she admitted, making another face, “yet that is also why I trust him to keep our secret safe after all.”
“A-alright, I see, but is he… what’s the word, kirwe… p-privy to many secrets, then? Does he see them without effort?” the stallion asked, looking at Twilight with a healthy dosage of worry still. That peculiar flicker in his eyes was definitely one betraying great distress.
“Well, he has his own, almost impossible to grasp perspective, but he’s far from being omniscient,” she assured her beloved, though she quickly realized that he didn’t quite catch the word. “I mean, he’s not like the Judging Sun, for example. His gaze cannot pierce somepony’s soul and spot one’s sins, not that our love is one,” she reassured Midnight further, still holding on to his hoof. “Anyway, the point is he’s powerful enough to help me here, and even though he doesn't know everything, there was no point in hiding things. He figured it out seeing us in the middle of arguing like we were.”
The batpony bit his lower lip. “I know and I…” He stopped himself again, looking right into Twilight’s eyes with that piercing, transfixing gaze. That strange flicker definitely subsided, even if the general worry remained. “I might have panicked a little. And, previously, I might have acted irrationally as well, I just…” He kept looking at her, even as he was searching for words. “I’m trying to protect you. I’m sure I have told you that more times than there are ancestors in the night’s sky, but I do mean it. And I feel like a fool, stumbling along, trying to figure things out as I am going. This isn't me trying to absolve myself of my anger and distrust from before, it’s just…”
“Midnight…”
“It’s old habits… Old practice and experience, perhaps I should say…” he admitted, with his gaze finally escaping to the side. “What I want to say is that… I’m sorry. For how I am. For all.”
Twilight smiled just a little. “That sounds like a rather general apology, Midnight… but I will take it. I know you mean it from the heart and that has to mean something.”
“That I do. And... and I hope it does,” he told her, looking back at her again and sighing. “I have done what you have asked me to do during the meeting with your… uhm… very strange and worrying ‘acquaintance’ and sent Rowan Berry to grab some food. She should be arriving soon enough,” he told Twilight, trying to bring a small, fanged smile to his muzzle. “You must be hungry.”
“Starving, yes,” she told him. On impulse, she leaned in to give him a little peck on the cheek, as well as give his hoof a gentle squeeze. “We’ll talk more about what we were discussing tomorrow, perhaps, hopefully with clearer heads. And no,” she reassured beloved further, “this is not a threat. I just want to make sure everything's crystal alright, okay?”
Midnight nodded, accepting her stance with clear relief. Not complete, not with the words she’d used, but relief, nonetheless. “I would want that to happen as well, iau lumn, believe me. It’s just that... some things just don’t know how to suddenly become alright. Don’t want to, due to their nature,” he admitted.
That was a little enigmatic coming from him. But Twilight did mean what she had said, she really wanted to avoid a fight and would rather have Midnight explain things to her more, openly and willingly. Last time they had been open with each other they had shared a beautiful conversation, with her learning even more about the sort of stallion she had fallen in love with. She hoped to repeat that scenario this time as well, for she could recall that Discord had interrupted Midnight right as he was about to say something clearly vital to him.
For the moment, Twilight trotted over to the table to return the inkwell back to her luggage… but when she reached for it, she spotted that she had somehow managed to get the black solution right on the sole of her hoof.
“How clumsy of me…” she muttered to herself, shaking her head. It was most unlike her to be careless with ink like this, long study sessions in Canterlot libraries had taught her that well. “Midnight, check to make sure I haven’t stained your bandage, I suppose I must have spilled a little ink at some point.”
“Hmm?” the stallion hummed, looking at her, then at the material around his own hoof. “... ah,” she heard him vocalize. “Don’t worry, that’s fine. I suppose I should ‘change’ before the meal anyway, I’ve been in these things the whole night. And I might have sweated a small lake when dealing with that diabl. I will be right back.”
Midnight admitted that without looking her way, keen to leave to take care of his dressing. Twilight could understand his reluctance. Revealing his discomfort over meeting Discord was a discomfort for his warrior’s nature, even if the Spirit could put fear into a pony without even actively trying to in particular. So she let the stallion out with a small smile, hoping that he would be able to get his bandages changed, and bring back the meal, sooner rather than later.
But speaking of her hunger, or rather the reason for it, as soon as Midnight left, she turned back to the table, hoping that she hadn’t stained the reply in any way at all. That would make her feel absolutely horrible!
Yet Twilight found no evidence that she had, and she couldn’t for the life of her recall when she had been so clumsy as to stain her hoof...