//------------------------------// // Bittersweet // Story: Discordant Feelings // by cartuneslover19 //------------------------------// Spike yawned as he stretched, slowly getting out of his basket before trudging downstairs. When he woke up, Twilight wasn't in her bed, so he assumed she had woken up early to do more studying and research. Afterall, Discord was still on the loose and Twilight was the most determined out of everyone to stop him. "Twilight?" He called out, rubbing his eyes. He gazed around the library, scratching his head and wondering where the unicorn was. "Hey, I know you're the most important element and all, but you can't work without a little breakfast." No response from within their home. Spike raised an eyebrow in confusion before turning toward Twilight's desk. Giving another yawn, he neared it and noticed a piece of paper lying on top. "What's this?" He asked himself before reaching over and picking it up. He was about to read, but suddenly, his nose started to itch. He tried to hold it off, gulping in his breath as his nose started to feel full as a balloon, but it was just no use. And he sneezed, which released a massive amount fire...that burned a large portion of the message in his hand. Sniffing and wiping his nose, Spike's eyes widened in shock to see only a little bit of the paper had survived. "Oh, well..." He shrugged nonchalantly, holding the tiny piece in his baby dragon fingers. "It was probably nothing anyway." He was about to crumple it into a ball and throw it into the waste basket...but something caught his eye. Squinting, Spike could have sworn he could make out a single word in the burnt piece of paper. Though it was charred and darkened from his fire breath, it seemed distinct... Spike felt his face suddenly grow pale as his eyes glazed over that single word that remained on the destroyed message. A name. Discord "No..." Spike gasped, dropping the paper onto the floor and taking a few steps back. "No...no, it can't be..." He gazed around the room in desperation. Twilight was nowhere to be seen. And her element was gone as well! "No!" Spike cried, falling to his knees in despair. He quickly grew scared, thoughts of what had happened to Twilight swimming in his mind. "I got to...I got to..." He hurriedly got to his feet, clutching his head in realization. "I got to tell the others! The princesses! Everypony!" And he immediately ran out the door _ "How can you be so sure?" Rainbow Dash demanded, her eyes widening in horror as she gazed at a vulnerable Spike. The baby dragon rubbed his arm nervously, averting his eyes as five pairs stared at him, shocked and scared. As soon as he rushed out of the library house and found the five ponies together at Sugarcube Corner, he immediately went straight to giving them the horrifying news. Pinkie Pie's blue eyes shone with sadness as she looked from one pony to another, biting her lip as she did her best to muffle her need to sob. Fluttershy hid her face behind her pink hair, eyes closed in complete sadness. Spike then looked over to Applejack, who had the tiny paper he had given them. "He's sure as night and day, Rainbow Dash," Applejack gulped, her green eyes widening as she stared at the paper in her hooves. She gazed at the other ponies, her face scrunching in a worried frown. "No..." Rainbow Dash muttered quietly, her wings drooping in total despair as her eyes fell to the ground. "Not Twilight..." Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to hide them away from her friends. "Oh, this the worst possible thing to ever happen!" Rarity wailed, small tears falling down her face as she hugged herself. "You think?" Rainbow Dash demanded, choking on her own words as she stared at the white unicorn through glistening eyes. She suddenly wheeled over to Spike, who flinched at her concerned, angry face. "Spike! Message! Princesses! Now!" The baby dragon didn't waste another second as he quickly took out a quill and scroll. He tried not to let his tears fall into the message as he furiously wrote. _ Princess Celestia gasped in horror, her magic dropping the message she just received. "What is it, dear sister?" Princess Luna asked, gazing at the older royal with concern. "It can't be..." Celestia said quietly, her eyes widening with despair as she continued gazing down at the message she just read. "What?" Luna asked desperately, standing by her sister's side and regarding the scroll she dropped. "What did Spike and the wielders of the elements say?" Celestia lowered her head, quivering with sudden fear. She gave a sad, tearful sigh as she closed her eyes, Luna staring at her with concerned ones. "Discord has kidnapped Twilight Sparkle..." _ "Oh, my baby!" Mrs. Sparkle sobbed as she leaned against her husband as he tried to comfort her. The Sparkle couple had returned from assisting some ponies far off in Ponyville, they had met up with Spike and the other ponies, assuming their daughter was among them. They had become horrified as well as scared when Spike told them everything, from the little message that held Discord's name to Twilight and her Element of Magic and Friendship having gone missing. Spike and the other five could only watch as Twilight's mother broke down in front of them while her husband tried to keep it together as he did his best not to show his tears. "Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle..." Applejack spoke soothingly. "Twilight's a strong pony, and powerful at that. Even if Discord had taken her, I'm sure as hay she could take care of him." "But wouldn't Discord have taken her horn first?" Pinkie Pie chirped in, her blue eyes blinking curiously. "I mean, last time we met Discord, he took out Twilight and Rarity's horns and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's wings, but he didn't take anything from us because we're Earth ponies and Earth ponies don't have horns or wings..." She rambled on, suddenly becoming oblivious to the situation before her. "But even if Discord did take Twilight's horn, I'm sure Twilight could take him down with her own hoofies, though I never seen her fight with her hoofies before..." She tapped a hoof to her chin and pondered. Mrs. Sparkle wailed and cried harder, the pink pony's monologue having been useless to comfort her. The four ponies and Spike glared at Pinkie Pie, who shrunk under their eyes as she gave an apologetic smile. "Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle," Applejack swallowed hard, gazing at the distraught couple. "Ignore most of what Pinkie says-" Hey!" The pink pony retorted. "But I promise you," the apple pony ignored her, "we will find Discord and make him give back our Twilight. We'll all work together and make sure that varmint gets what's been coming for him." She gazed up at the clear, blue sky, her green eyes shining with determination. "Everypony will." _ Soarin''s eyes widened and his jaw fell as he looked over the message the princesses had sent him as well as all of Cloudsdale. "Oh, no..." He gasped, not noticing Spitfire stand by his side and gaze at the note in his hooves. "Poor Twilight..." He bit his lip, his green eyes filled with worry. "That Discord!" Spitfire huffed, stomping a hoof against the cloud-covered ground they stood on. "As if it wasn't bad enough he turned some of our clouds into cotton candy, he had to go and kidnap an innocent pony!" Soarin' gulped as he lowered the message. "We...we got do something..." He stated quietly. He turned to Spitfire. "What do we, the Wonderbolts, do?" "What everypony is doing," Spitfire said, "keep an eye out for this Discord jerk, and see if we can find Twilight Sparkle anywhere!" "Way ahead of you!" He exclaimed as he immediately dropped the note before spreading his wings, the other Wonderbolts fully-prepared behind him. The green-eyed pegasus pulled his goggles over his eyes as he and the rest of the Wonderbolts bolted into the sky, other pegasi following behind them, their determination matching the one in Soarin's eyes. He bit his lip, hoping Twilight could protect herself from that terrible Draconequus until he or anyone else could find and rescue her. _ Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle as he and several other Canterlot ponies gazed at the message that hung on a lamppost. His eyes widened in distraught as he read it over, his jaw falling slightly before closing it with a hard swallow. "The Element of Magic and Friendship..." He spoke softly, worry seeping in his tone as his head lowered sadly. "Poor, dear Twilight Sparkle..." "I say!" Upper Crust exclaimed in distraught as she gazed at the sign. "A search for this mare? Honestly, that job is much too difficult to do! Even if all of such ponies from that country town known as Ponyville would take the time to find this single pony, I highly doubt it will be of much use!" "Oh, very right, dear," Jet Set told her with a nod. The other Canterlot ponies murmured among each other, having as much doubt as the couple showed. Fancy Pants' eyes widened, stunned that his companions would think such a way, considering yesterday's encounter with the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Without a word, the high-class stallion stamped a hoof onto the pavement, creating a loud thump that immediately brought the noise to a halt. All ponies gazed at him, confused yet slightly astonished. "Listen to yourselves!" He huffed. "Have you forgotten that dear Twilight Sparkle is one of our kind? Born a Canterlot pony yet holding a heart dear for Ponyville?" His eyes narrowed a bit. "What bother does it make that this search be proven difficult? Everypony helps everypony, that you should all know!" He regarded Upper Crust and Jet Set, who stared at him with expressions mixed with surprise and slight fear. "Forgive me, my friends," Fancy Pants sighed, "but for harmony, for the princesses, for Equestria, for dear Twilight Sparkle, I will give as much help as I can give." Upper Crust nervously fiddled with a strand of hair that let loose from her styled mane as she shifted her eyes to her husband. "Well, dear, I agree with Fancy Pants, don't you?" Jet Set nodded vigorously, forcing a smile. "Why, yes, dear!" He stated quickly. "I'll get my hooves dirty, I swear I will!" _ Twilight let out a tired sigh as she kept walking, her bag feeling heavier with every step. She had been traveling all night since she left Ponyville, and by now it felt like the afternoon. She was exhausted beyond belief, but she felt she needed to keep going. Wherever she was going. Her surroundings were completely new to her, despite it was all a forest of trees and nature. But it definitely wasn't the Everfree Forest; that was far away by now... Twilight breathed out heavily before stopping by a nearby tree and placed her bag down. She laid against its strong wood, the shade giving her comfort. The unicorn laid her head back, gazing toward the sky, her eyes glistening with slight disapproval. "What am I doing?" She suddenly asked aloud, gazing up at the blue sky. "Oh, maybe I should have planned better!" She wondered if the others had found her note by now. Oh, how worried she was to imagine their expressions of disbelief to realize she was going to take on Discord all by herself with only her element as her weapon! She turned to her bag where her crown was safely stored with the rest of her small belongings. She was exhausted, aching, and feeling quite miserable at the moment. Was she even going to find him? "What was I thinking?" Twilight muttered to herself, placing her face in her hooves in despair. "Where would Discord be in all of this? He could be hundreds of miles away by now and still going!" "Or seconds away and still close to you." Twilight let out a frightened yelp but turning her head in all directions, wondering where that voice came from. Suddenly, something popped out from high above the tree was she leaning against and it stretched out for her eyes to meet red and gold ones. "Discord!" Twilight exclaimed, her back pressing against the tree as she gazed at the mismatched creature in disbelief. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle," he chuckled before he flew down from the tree and stood before her. "My, you look exhausted..." He observed her tired state. "You look like you just went through a day long marathon." The unicorn broke away from the tree, now standing on all four hooves as she neared him slowly. "It's been a marathon since you came back," Twilight muttered, her eyes nearly hiding the glare on her face. Discord raised an eyebrow at her, slightly confused by the hostility that shone in her purple eyes. "Hmm, you don't seem to be in a happy mood..." He leaned his face closer to hers to gaze at her curiously. "Are you upset?" Twilight felt her face heat up as her teeth clenched in rage, her eyes narrowing into slits as she glared at him. "Upset?" She demanded angrily, startling him a bit. "You suddenly pop back, saying you were never encased in stone, shower others with your so-called gifts, and you ask me if I'm upset?" Discord leaned back, his eyes slightly widening as he held his mismatched hands up protectively in front of him. He gazed at her with utter confusion. "Well...are you?" He asked, his tone melting into slight concern, though Twilight didn't notice. Twilight suddenly let out a frustrated shout, stamping her hooves against the ground as her face became even redder. Discord merely watched her, slightly confused yet amused. She looked like a dragon after some clueless pony had awakened it...Discord thought he saw fire in the outraged unicorn. "I take it has a lot to do with me?" He asked quietly. Twilight growled, barring her teeth in fury. "It has everything to do with you!" She shouted, pointing a hoof at him. Discord was a little taken aback by her accusation, but he remained in place. He gave a deep sigh as he folded his arms. "Look, I know my entrance was a little surprising, and, of course, there's having turned Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world..." "Of course, there's that!" Twilight spat. "You...you...jerk!" She shouted angrily at him. "I had a feeling you'd call me that," He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he averted his eyes. "Not just a jerk!" Twilight grunted. "You thief! You liar! You...you..." She let out an angry sigh. "You non-stone numbskull!" She nearly choked on those words, her throat burning from so much shouting. And her face felt extremely hot as of her eyes, which were aching with something wet. Oh, in the name of Equestria, Twilight begged herself she wouldn't cry! Why would she cry? "Okay, that's pushing it a little..." Discord said with slight disapproval, holding himself tighter. His eyes softened as he gazed at Twilight. "My dear, why are you even here if you think I'm some 'non-stone numbskull'?" Twilight swallowed hard, her throat aching even more. "Why else?" She spat. "To make sure you don't harm my friends!" Before he could say anything, Twilight reached into her bag and took out various things. He simply watched as the unicorn combined them all together: a football helmet, a life-jacket, and combat boots. Twilight glared at him as she slipped the helmet over her head with her magic. As soon as she was done, she held her ground, as if ready to attack Discord any moment. The Draconequus did his best not to laugh as Twilight stood before him. She was dressed head to hooves in her chosen armor, looking like someone being used as a test dummy. The corners of Discord's mouth twitched and he fought off the urge to smirk as he saw Twilight's blazing purple eyes behind her football helmet. His belly was aching from trying not to laugh at the sight of her. Twilight took no notice of his near-laughing state. She just glared at him as she lowered her head to ground, as if ready to pounce him. "I'm ready for you, Discord..." She growled. "And I'll fight you, whether or not you take my horn again!" Discord's near-smile disappeared as he gazed at her with confusion. "Come now, Twilight, when was the last time I have ever taken your horn?" Twilight's eyes narrowed, her lips in a slight pout as she continued glaring at him. "Oh, you're never going to let that go, huh?" Discord let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, it was only for a short time..." "And so is this meeting!" Twilight shouted as she stamped a hoof on the ground. "Just go, Discord!" The Draconequus was slightly taken aback by her request. "Leave? But what about you?" He gazed at her attire to the bag she had carried. He doubted there was much to provide for her, especially in these woods. "What about me?" Twilight demanded angrily. "Just...go!" She growled as she jerked her head at him to leave her sight. Discord simply raised an eyebrow at her, then he silently turned on his heel and casually walked away from her. However, his eyes still remained on her expression of rage as he put more distance between them. "You know, Twilight Sparkle," he said in a nonchalant yet slightly hurt tone, "I just wanted to make sure if you needed anything." Twilight shook her head, still glaring at him. "I don't need anything from you." For a quick moment...why did Twilight suddenly feel that wasn't the truth at all? Discord let out a sigh, simply shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Without another word, he snapped his fingers and he disappeared in a flash. Gone. Again. The unicorn held her angry gaze, regarding the area where Discord had just vanished. Her eyes were still narrowed, her lips were still in a pout, and her face was still red from letting out so much steam at the Spirit of Disharmony. Suddenly, her expression melted into one of despair as she lowered her head to the ground, her eyes drooping as her bottom lip quivered with complete guilt. "Way to be friendly, Twilight..." She muttered to herself. _