//------------------------------//
// Irk 
// Story: Within You 
// by Boopy Doopy 
//------------------------------//

“Now I will admit,” Discord started as Celestia scowled, looking down at a letter Asher had sent to her, “I thought it’d be quite humorous. I certainly had no intention of causing a rift between you and her after you tried to get her closer to you for so long, if that’s what you’re thinking. I would never!”
“I’m sure you would never,” the alicorn said sarcastically, rolling her eyes hard. “However, from this moment forward, I would greatly appreciate it if you didn’t interact with her. She has enough trust issues with me as it is, and I don’t need you to exacerbate them.”
“Oh, of course not! I would never intentionally do such a thing. You have my word that you will hear not a peep from me to her for the rest of my days. My lips are zipped.” The draconequus formed a zipper on his lips and zipped them tight for added emphasis.
“Although I must ask,” he got out from a new pair of lips he summoned to his paw. “I believe I understand that she’s not from Equestria and used to be a stallion, but does she enjoy being a mare more than she did being a stallion? Or is the opposite correct?”
“Quite the opposite. She has been much more apathetic since Prince Blueblood and I explained the traditions of Equestria to her, but undeniably does she severely hate being a mare, even as she tries to hide it now for political purposes.”
“I see. So then this wasn’t a completely random circumstance. Perhaps some of her claims have merit? Improbable, but possible.”
“What are you going on about, Discord?”
“Oh, nothing. Nothing that shall affect a thing– or rather, nothing that’s not otherwise already affected. I shan't speak another word to her, as I said. You have my word.”
“Do not,” Celestia told him again. “Your task is to build up Twilight Sparkle’s confidence until she’s able to take my position as ruler. Do not over meddle in anything else.”
“I would never. How could you think such childish antics of me?” Then the creature snapped his fingers and disappeared with a blink.



“Are you okay, Asher?” Twilight asked me while I sat at the table, looking over my shoulder to see what I was writing. I quickly covered it up, not wanting there to be more drama than there probably was already going to be. “You’re not writing something to Princess Celestia, are you?” she asked. “I thought you already sent her that letter about how you were getting ready to visit Canterlot this summer.”
“I did,” I replied, not writing while she was looking at what it was. “This is something else more important though. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t watch me.”
“Sorry. You just look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”
I still felt like I was about to have one. That whole conversation had me completely unnerved. My hooves were still shaking an hour later, and I really needed a shower to wash off all the sweat I had. I took a deep breath, and tried to straighten my mane with my hooves to calm down.
“I’m fine. It’s just…” I wasn’t about to tell her what that snake/lizard thing told me in my dreams. I didn’t need to tangle her up in whatever was going on, even if she was about to make friends with whatever it was. I’d leave that to Celestia to handle.
“I saw that thing and had nightmares about it is all,” I finished. “Thankfully Luna showed up, but heck. It was not good.”
Speaking of Luna, I needed to talk to her sometime, and get her thoughts about all of that. I knew she was free basically whenever I wanted to talk to her, and would make time for me if she wasn’t, but I wasn’t free at all times. I made a mental note to write it down later and find a day to talk to her.
“Like, honestly, and I know this is a stretch, but it, like, kind of has devil vibes from how it looks and how it sounded in my dreams. Like, just as a comparison, not that this is the actual devil.” Man, that statue was creepy, and sent a shiver through my spine when I glanced at it. I forced that thought out of my head though, finishing, “But yeah. If you could give me some privacy for this letter? I’m gonna go take a shower after this.”
She let me be, and after I finished writing, I got Spike to send it off for me before heading to the restroom to clean myself off. The hot water soaking my fur and mane made me feel better, and helped to stop my heart from pounding, but I was still kind of nervous. What on Earth was that thing, and what the heck was it talking about?
I didn’t get an answer, the letter that Spike burped out in green flames for me after the shower just being a simple assurance from Celestia that the creature, Discord, wouldn’t do anything to me again. I didn’t know how much I believed that it wouldn’t be doing anything again, since it seemed like it was on the verge of telling me something and got some enjoyment out of my anxiety, but I’d take it. It was better than nothing. 
Twilight lit up her horn and teleported both herself and the statue away a few minutes after that, leaving me alone in the library while she apparently made friends with the thing. I wanted to grab a book and try and read up on some of the stuff it was saying, but couldn’t because of class that day. Not to mention, I was still awful at reading Ponish, so without something in Unicorn Script, it was going to be a slog. I shelved the thought for now, making a mental note to visit Princess Luna when I had the time.
School was just the same as ever, although as hard as I tried to get Discord out of my head, it felt impossible. I don’t know why that experience set me off so badly, but it did. I felt like a nervous wreck the whole day, part of my concentration away from class and wondering what Twilight was doing with that thing. Why on Earth did Celestia want her to make friends with it?
“Is something wrong, Asher?” some of the Talent Discovery Association asked me during a break between Miss Cheerilee explaining quadratics I’d learned a long time ago and the history lesson she was going to give next.
“You look like you’re sick,” Scootaloo said. “Did you eat something bad?”
“No, I just had a rough night last night trying to sleep,” I said quickly. “It’s nothing.”
All four fillies looked at me expectantly with raised eyebrows, waiting for me to continue. Ten years was unfortunately way too long to know a pony and not be able to pick up that they were trying to hide something. Not that I was, but I didn’t think talking about it with them would help anything. 
I talked about it anyway. “It’s that weird statue of a creature that Twilight has to make friends with,” I started. “It was talking to me in my dreams and stuff. I’m pretty sure it was trying to assert that it was God or that God didn’t actually exist and– it’s nothing.”
Most of them didn’t understand, but they all nodded along anyway and gave sympathetic looks. ‘God’ was a conversation I had a long time ago, and I’m pretty sure none of them believed me about it or really cared, minus Sweetie Belle, and Silver Spoon allegedly, according to her. But neither of them really cared, not much beyond, ‘huh, maybe you’re right about that’ before switching the conversation, understandably. Heck, I, for better or for worse (probably for worse) largely stopped thinking about him, too. A lack of routine doesn’t really breed much faith. Nor does being turned into a pony.
“Is that the one my sister said she had to make friends with?” Sweetie Belle asked. “The way she talked about it made it seem super creepy. I would have nightmares if I had to sleep in the same building as that thing.”
“Did Princess Celestia ask her to make friends with it?” Silver Spoon asked. I knew where she was going with the question because she was about the only pony I talked to Celestia about. She knew how I felt about her, even if the anger I had before was now more just apathy and mild annoyance these days.
“Yeah, apparently. I don’t know what the heck she wants to do with that thing, but I imagine it’s something.” I sent a look her way to silently add the thought, Hopefully something good.
“Oh hey! You know how we can figure out our special talents, guys?” Apple Bloom suddenly broken in. “We could try and get out marks in friendship making!”
I was not enthused by that idea, and had no intention of being around that thing while Twilight and her friends were trying to make friends with it. It didn’t stop Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, and Sweetie Belle from all agreeing it was a good idea.
“I’m probably gonna hang back on this one, guys,” I said definitively. “If you wanna do that, go ahead, but that thing gives me the creeps.”
“If you say so, Asher. After class, the Talent Discovery Association is gonna make friends with a big scary monster!”
“And probably teach it a lesson about giving Asher nightmares, too,” Sweetie Belle added. I felt a little embarrassed, but smiled at the fact that they were just that quick to come to my defense. 
Suddenly though, a thought came to me. I didn’t say it out loud, nothing other than ‘I need to speak to Miss Cheerilee about something’, but it was one I was glad I thought of. Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow again curiously, but I waved her off with a hoof, knowing she was going to want me to tell her about it later.
Cheerilee was at her desk eating lunch and reading a book when I stepped in. She gave me a friendly wave to draw me closer, and didn’t look bothered that I was interrupting what was her break, too, thankfully. Not that she was the type to get upset about something like that.
“Hey, Ashley,” she greeted me as I made my way to her desk. “Need help with something?”
“I was just wondering if you knew anything about a creature called ‘Discord’,” I started. “I mean, I think you know about how Twilight’s gonna try and make friends with the thing.”
“Yes, I do,” she replied, “but if you’re worried, I don’t think there’s anything to be nervous about. I’m certain that Princess Celestia knows all about it, and is keeping a close eye on her to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
Wasn’t that the understatement of the year? I was certain of that, too. In fact, I was pretty sure she was watching everypony all the time, like that book Nineteen Eighty-Four. At least, she would if she could. I knew that much.
 “Well, I was wanting to know his history and stuff, if I could get it,” I asked. “I mean, I still suck at Ponish and all, and Twilight only gave me a very basic, one sentence rundown of that creature. I was hoping you could go more in depth?”
“I can go over it for you after class,” she told me. “Although I think that would be a great opportunity to practice some Ponish with you if you were still not the best at it. Most fillies half your age have it down perfectly well, and it’d be a good thing to study up on if you really want to be a politician like your friends seem to say.”
That would’ve been annoying to hear from her if I weren’t half expecting her to brush me off. It seemed like with Cheerilee, there was always a fifty-fifty shot of her basically ignoring me when I asked for something. Still, I pressed on, hoping to get something from her right now.
“Well, he’s not a god like Twilight said, is he? He’s just another pony like Cele– err, Princess Celestia, right?”
“Hmmm… I have heard him called a god before, and he is known as the ‘Lord of Chaos’. I don’t think it’d be too far a stretch to consider him a god. After all, it took the Elements of Harmony to bring him down. Not even the princesses themselves could do it alone.”
Man, that was not what I wanted to hear. But I kept my nerves down and continued on.
“Also, what exactly are ‘features’? They sounded like deities when I heard about them before.”
“Quite the studious young mare it seems you are, Ashley,” she complimented, not that I knew anything about what I was asking. “If you can’t read Ponish, how did you learn about all this stuff already?” I shrugged, and she said, “Well, features, to put it very simply, are just properties of the universe. Things like Harmony, Order, Chaos, Symmetry– there’s six of them, although I can’t quite remember what they all are.”
“They’re, um- they’re not deities, are they?”
“I guess they could be classified as them. I think Discord might be the physical manifestation of Chaos, actually. I’d need to do a little digging and get back to you on that. It's been quite a while since I've studied up on something like that, let alone had a foal ask me.”
Yeah, that wasn’t really what I wanted to hear. I was all sorts of confused about everything now, and a lot more nervous. I did know a little bit more though, which was good, although I wasn’t sure how much that was going to help me any time soon, if at all. All I really did was manage to get my anxiety flared up for no reason. Great.
“Hey,” the teacher said kindly, getting out of her seat to put a hoof on my shoulder. “There’s absolutely nothing to be worried about, Asher. I promise.” Before I could object, she continued, “I remember you telling me about that deity you believe in when you were still a young filly, but if that’s what you’re concerned about, I’m certain they’re watching out for you right now.”
I wasn’t sure about that, and knew Cheerilee was just trying to appease me and make me feel better, but I accepted her words anyway. They helped, a little bit.
I was going to have to hold on to them because the day was going to be a strange one.
Why on Earth is this coming up right now though? I wondered silently. What’s Celestia trying to accomplish with all of this?