Discord stared at the water dancing in the fountain in front of him, trying very hard not to think about anything. He was able to achieve a completely empty mind after a few minutes and remained in a zombie-like state for about twenty minutes before a shrill cry of “Good afternoon Professor Discord!” almost made him jump out of his skin.
“Oh~sorry. Did I startle you?” Twilight said.
“No.” Discord grumbled. She had, of course, but he wasn’t about to admit it. If he hadn’t been so tired he would have been able to see her coming. “What do you want?”
She shook her head. “Just saying hello. I’m heading to the library to check out a book. Then a long afternoon of studying!”
“Fascinating. Please tell me more.” To his disappointment she only smiled at the sarcasm.
“Here you go, professor,” she held up a bottle of chocolate milk using magic. “I bought two. I was going to save them for my study session, but you can have one.”
Discord was more confused at the bottle than anything else. He simply stared at it, one eyebrow cocked. Twilight didn’t wait for him to say anything.
“Well, I’m off. Good day, Professor!” She trotted off and Discord watched, frustrated that he couldn’t think of one snide thing to say. When she had gone he looked back down at the bottle next to him, then returned his gaze to the fountain.
“Well, that was odd.” He said to himself.
Twilight crouched behind one of the many columns surrounding the grassy courtyard, peeking out at Discord. He just sat there, staring into the fountain.
“Come on, sir.” She whispered. “Drink the milk. You love chocolate milk. It’s right there. Just sitting right there. Just...pick it up...”
Discord rubbed his eye, trying to wake himself up. “Come on, Discord.” he said to himself. “Don’t be such a wimp. It’s just a little sleep deprivation.” He stretched, his long spine cracking in several places. The little bottle caught his eye.
Truth be told he was kind of thirsty. He glanced around just to be sure the little purple pony wasn’t in sight, then picked the bottle up with his claw. Twilight squeezed herself so far into the shady base of the column it’s a miracle she didn’t get stuck.
She held her breath as she watched him take a sip.
“Huh,” he mumbled. “That’s weird.” It tasted funny.
Please, please, please, she prayed. Don’t notice the chamomile I put in it.
He read the label on the glass and scowled. “Oh. It’s off-brand,” he said in disappointment. “Eh.” He emptied the bottle anyway, throwing it carelessly into the bushes when he was done.
Twilight fought every urge to giggle and jump with victory. She watched him fly away then crept her way out of the shadows.
Discord slumped over in his chair. He tugged at the tie around his neck and occupied his mind with thoughts of what he had to do that day. He sneered. He despised all this work. It’s not like the students would learn anything, and it wasn’t any fun at all.
“Professor Discord!”
He groaned at the familiar voice and slammed his head down on the desk. “Whyyyy. Why!” He didn’t even lift his head to look at the door. “Twilight Sparkle. You don’t even have this class today.”
“There’s class today?”
“Sometimes classes have to be scheduled for Saturday to accommodate some students’ busy schedules...ugh. What do you want, Sparkle?”
She leaned forward, squinting her eyes and observing him closely. “Are you okay, sir?”
“I’m fine,” he growled. Scowling at her. “what do you want?”
“Are you sure? You look tired.”
He glanced up at her momentarily. “Go away."
“How did you like the milk?”
“It wasn’t my brand.”
“Oh.” Twilight frowned.
“Ha. I see," Discord said. "Trying to bribe me with chocolate milk to get my life story, huh?”
“No that’s not - I just had an extra...”
“Get out. Class is starting.” Twilight almost winced at the sharpness of the command.
She tried to think of something else to say, but nothing came. “Have a good day sir.” She smiled and slipped out of the room as the first students started filing in.
Twilight returned to her room, but not before making two stops. First she went to the infirmary to ask the lovely nurse that worked there for more chamomile.
“Didn’t I already give you some?” She asked. The mare was a unicorn, short and slightly plump with soft pink mane and a pale gray coat. Her cutie mark was a series of three red crosses.
“Yes, but I’m trying to perfect an alchemy recipe and I used it all up.”
“Oh I see,” She trotted over to a group of white cabinets and started to rummage through them. “What kind of potion is it? Chamomile works best in relaxation potions.”
“Yes! Yes, it’s a relaxation potion.”
The nurse used her magic to pull a jar of chamomile out from the cabinet and began spooning a generous amount of it into a smaller jar.
“Trying to deal the stress of your studies, huh?" she said. "Some would call that drug abuse.”
“No! No! Not at all! I take my studying seriously and budget my time accordingly. I don’t really get stressed out enough to-”
“Calm down dear, I was only joking.” She capped the small jar and brought it over to Twilight. “Do be careful, though. There have been cases of overdose on relaxation potions, and if brewed incorrectly it could do serious harm.”
“Don’t worry it’s nothing that potent. But I’ll be careful.”
“Good. Here you are.”
“Thanks Nurse Rosemary.” Twilight took the jar and trotted out of the infirmary. On her way back to her room she stopped by the cafeteria to pick up a few more bottles of milk.
She was just leaving when a spunky mare with orange mane suddenly blocked her path.
“Hey there!” She cried, a huge smile on her face. “The big dance is next week! Make sure you get your fancy-wear together!” She pushed a flyer into Twilight and bounced away without giving her the chance to say anything.
Twilight took a look at the flyer. It was just as the mare said, there was a big school dance happening next Saturday in the grand hall.
“I didn’t even know this school had dances.” She shrugged, folded the flyer, and continued on her way.
When she was in the safety of her dorm room she began blending the chamomile into the chocolate milks, making sure to put a higher dosage.
When she was done she recapped the bottles and gave them a good shake. “There. Maybe that will be enough this time.” She summoned a small chilling orb and placed the bottles inside. “There. That will keep you nice and cold until Monday.”
Twilight spent the rest of the day studying, as usual. When it came time to put down her book, she tucked the flyer for the dance into the pages as a bookmark. She looked at it a moment.
“Hm...” After a moment she shook her head at the flyer and closed the book over it.
She had read her way through the sunset, which would have looked beautiful from her window. She sufficed to get a view of the night sky before heading to bed. As she was observing the light dancing on the water of one of the fountains, a dark shape suddenly darted by it.
"What was that?" She gasped, pressing her face against the glass. After a moment the shape returned. It floated around a moment, then settled it's serpentine shape into one of the benches.
"Discord?" She whispered. He was far away, but there was no mistaking that long body with mismatched wings and horns. It was definitely Discord. He just sat there and looked into the fountain. Twilight sighed. "Oh, Professor. You really need to get some sleep."
She stayed up a while, thinking he might slither off to his room at some point, but he just hung around the fountain. Eventually Twilight was too tired to keep spying on him and went to sleep herself.
When Monday came around Twilight tucked the bottle of chocolate milk into her bag and sat through Alteration class.. After everypony had left, she held up the bottle to Discord. She received a heavy eye-roll in return.
“It’s your brand this time - I think.”
“I don’t want it, Sparkle.”
“Sure you do!” She set the milk down and started for the door. “Good day, Professor!”
Discord sighed heavily when she had gone. The milk was there. I might as well drink it, he though. He uncapped the drink and was about to take a sip when he stopped. It smelled odd. He took a small swig. That taste. It was the same as before, but stronger. He knew that taste.
“That’s chamomile.”
Twilight trotted down the path that skirted the inner courtyard of the Academy. It was a beautiful day, and all the gardens were bursting with life beneath the bright yellow sun. Students lounged on the lawn and sat by the fountains. Twilight saw a pair of mares playing in the water before a teacher nagged them out with threats of detention.
She was passing by one of the bigger gardens when something swept through the air and caught her eye. Stepping out onto the grass, she looked up and saw Professor Discord sitting on the stone above. His pinkish red tail was sweeping back and forth was probably what had caught her attention.
He seemed to be watching something amusing, so she asked "What are you doing, Professor?"
"Ah, Miss Sparkle," he said. "You're just in time to see Bastion partake in his daily courting ritual. It's kind of hilarious."
"Courting ritual? What are you talking-"
Twilight followed his gaze and saw a strong looking unicorn standing in front of a scrawny pegasus. It didn't take much observation for Twilight to realize the unicorn was picking on the little one. Every so often he'd glance back at a group of mares and flash a devilish smile at them, often received with overly girlish giggles.
"Oh," she said in a heavy tone. "I see."
"Why so disapproving, Sparkle?"
"It doesn't make any sense to me," she said, scowling. "I mean, why would those mares think that guy is attractive for picking on that pegasus?"
"Don't ask me. Women are one of the great mysteries of the world."
She rolled her eyes. "Apparently. I'm a mare and even I don't get it. How did you like the milk?” She changed the subject rather suddenly. Discord handed her the recapped bottle. It was still full.
“I’m not a fan of chamomile-flavored milk.”
Twilight took the bottle back. “Chamomile? That’s weird I didn’t even know they made chamomile flavored-”
“They don’t.”
“Oh. Well...then how-”
“You’re an awful liar, Sparkle.” Discord didn’t look at her. His gaze was fixed on the fight.
Twilight tried to think of what to say. “Are...Are you sure you don’t want-”
“Keep your drugged milk, Sparkle. I don’t want it.”
“It could help-”
“No. It couldn’t.” He used that venomous tone again, and Twilight wasn’t sure how to continue.
“I see.” She said quietly, returning her own gaze to the fight.
They both watched as Bastion's taunts became more and more forceful. Suddenly he gave the pegasus a threatening push. When the pegasus did nothing in return Bastion pushed again, this time with enough force to knock the little pony on the ground.
Twilight let out a disgusted noise. "Alright, I can't take this anymore." She started toward the ponies.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm putting a stop to this."
"Why? You won't get any thanks for it." She paused at his words and gave him a quick look before continuing on.
Discord watched as Twilight broke up the fight. He couldn't quite hear what she was saying, his tiredness often affected his hearing, but the way she was scolding Bastion reminded him of an overprotective mother. Bastion shook his head and went on his way, making sure that the mares were following him before departing completely.
Twilight turned around to see to the little pegasus when he suddenly yelled "YOU STUPID MARE!"
That, Discord did hear.
"THANKS A LOT!" he continued. "Now everypony thinks I need a mare to defend me. And not just that! YOU! The scholarship mare." He spit it like it was a curse word.
"I was trying to help you-" Twilight began.
"I don't need your help!!! Get out of my way frizz-face!"
The pegasus plowed past Twilight and retreated into the school. She made her way back to where Discord sat, neither defeat nor sadness in her expression.
"I told you he wouldn't be grateful," Discord said.
"I know," Twilight said. "I knew he wouldn't be. I actually kind of expected him to say something like that."
Discord's ears twitched in surprise. "Then why did you help him at all?"
"I don't know," she said thoughtfully as she began to walk away. "I guess..." She trailed off.
"What?"
She looked at him. "I guess sometimes we all need to be shown a little kindness, even if we're not grateful for it."
Discord sat in silence as she walked away. After she disappeared around a corner he said to himself,
"Meh. Sounds froo-frooey to me."
He lit from his perch and slithered off in the opposite direction.
Saturday nights were a popular time for students to throw parties, and the following Saturday was no exception. There were plenty of quiet, harmless get-togethers happening around campus, but students like Ruby Spice often held parties too. There was always loud music and questionable substances involved. If she wasn't so good at hiding and running, the faculty would have caught Ruby by now and put an end to these extravaganzas.
It just so happened that Ruby decided to throw her party that Saturday in the lounge of Twilight's dorm building. Someone had slipped something in Ms. Emerald's tea and she was out cold in her room. Had Twilight known that they had done such a thing she would have never associated them. When she returned from a late afternoon at the library she found the air pulsing with painful music and the whole lounge clogged with students. The music sounded muffled from outside; someone must have cast a soundproofing spell. A poor soundproofing spell, perhaps, but it worked well enough to make the music less conspicuous.
Twilight would have quickly made her way up to her room if Ruby hadn't spotted her.
"Twilight Sparkle!" She cried with delight. Twilight raised an eyebrow as the mare approached with a friendly smile. "Hey, there, girl. Glad you could make it."
"Make it?" Twilight asked. "Sorry, I-"
"Hey everypony Twilight's here!" Twilight tensed up as everypony in the room started greeting her and smiling. It all felt wrong.
She was swept up in a flurry of ponies all inviting her to dance, talk, hang out, sit here, sit there, try the cake, and so on. Twilight had no idea what to do with it all. She just stood, listening to all the yelled conversations swirling around her and tossing out timid answers whenever someone asked about her day, her studies, her favorite subject, and such. Why was everyone making such a fuss?
Suddenly Ruby called, "Hey Benny, get my friend Twilight some punch for me, would you?"
"Punch?" Twilight said. "No, I don't need any-"
"Here you go, Twi," A cup of cheery pink liquid was placed in her hooves. "Try it, it's great!"
Now my dear reader, you are probably thinking that there is no way that Twilight would drink a random drink given to her by a group of ponies that has openly disliked her, sometimes violently so. What you must understand that when one is placed in an environment of overwhelming peer pressure, one is driven to actions that one would never take under normal circumstances. If you were hanging out with your friends on the street, for instance, and each one one of them was smoking a cigarette, you would be inclined to do so yourself even without them pressuring you.
So please understand that when Twilight drank the punch that was given her she wasn't entirely in her right mind or within her usual sphere of reason.
Ruby and her colleagues watched with cruel pleasure as the substance they had placed in Twilight's drink slowly take effect. Her balance started to go first. Then her shyness. Then her reason. She nuzzled several ponies, danced like a fool, and eventually giggled and leaned against a stallion. The stallion, who frequented Ruby's parties and was in his right mind, had a few ideas about what to do with the mare leaning against him.
The record that was playing ended, and a pony got up to change it.
"You know," Discord said from his seat in the corner. "I do believe parties like this are illegal."
The party flew apart like a school of fish fleeing from an attacking predator. Discord sat, indifferent, as he watched the students run away. He chuckled when some of them tripped or knocked things over, but he didn't pursue them. In about fifteen seconds the room was cleared. Bits of rubbish, cans, plates, and leftover snacks was all the evidence that was left. Ruby had been sure to take any illegal things with her during her flight.
In the middle of the floor was Twilight. She didn't seem to have noticed everyone abandoning the party all at once.
She merely glanced around, in a daze. When she caught sight of Discord her mouth spread out in a stupid, watery-eyed grin. Discord frowned at her condition.
"Discoooooord!" She slurred loudly. "Fancieee meetin' you here."
"Sparkle," He said, raising a brow. "You're not well."
"Me? I'm just dandy!" Discord scowled at her. "Pffffft, don't gimmie that look, sir."
Twilight started hobbling over to where he sat. She teetered dangerously, but Discord tilted her back upright with his tail.
"This all must be so boring for you," she drawled. "I mean, as the spirit of chaos~" her sentence was interrupted by a large yawn, and Discord's veins suddenly felt like ice. "This must be so..." Twilight laid down. "boring...." She shut her eyes and began to doze.
"Why do you know that?" He said quietly. Twilight made a small noise as if she was trying to answer but too far into sleep to do so. Discord scowled at her, and her ear twitched in her sleep. Discord took a blanket from the nearby couch and tossed it over Twilight.
As he was leaving she snuggled under the blanket and muttered "Thanks." He paused for a second, then he shook his head and left the building behind.
Discord, knowing that it was useless to try and sleep, especially after Twilight's episode, floated around school grounds for a while, lost in thought. Further into the night, as he was sitting at one of the fountains, he glimpsed a shadow dancing around the edges of his vision.
He didn't have the energy to try and pinpoint it. Instead he lit into the air and slithered off. He felt a little peckish and thought it would be fun to raid the kitchens.