//------------------------------// // Double Trouble // Story: To Be Truly Happy // by KiaraKovu123 //------------------------------// Pinkie had finished her breakfast and Discord had finished his Pinkie looked over at him, “So, what’s we gonna do today, Dissy?” she asked with a grin. He grinned back and flew over to her, landing beside her on the water bed. “The Crusaders should be waiting for us in Ponyville. Wouldn’t they like to come here?” Pinkie nodded and Discord continued “So, we’ll go back to Ponyville, find them, and take them here!” Pinkie giggled. “This is gonna be so fun! I can’t wait! So, when do we leave?” they suddenly disappeared and re-appeared just outside of Ponyville. Pinkie looked around but didn’t see Discord; all she saw was some brown Alicorn next to her. “Um, excuse me, did you happen to see-” “Ah, Pinkie!” he said with a laugh, “It’s me! You don’t remember this disguise?” he asked, making her blush. “Oh, I guess I do! Nice to see ya again, Discount! But I can still call you Dissy, right?” Discord nodded. “Yep, so, shall we look for the Crusaders, then?” Pinkie asked. Discord nodded, “Let’s!” -- Luna stood beside her sister looking out the window of the throne room into the statue gardens. “Aha, that looks much better, doesn’t it?” Celestia asked her little sister, pointing to the statue of Victory that had been fixed moments ago. Luna nodded in agreement. “Should you like to take a walk with me today, in the gardens, sister?” Celestia’s purple eyes sparkled and Luna smiled. “Should we?” the night princess giggled, “We’d love to, Tia.” The elder of the two smiled and escorted her little sister out of the front hall of the castle, pausing to inhale the frosty winter air. Luna blinked and looked around the gardens, which were far to the right. One statue was missing, Luna already knew. But the previous night, she could have easily made a copy of it so her sister wouldn’t notice. Luna would have to remember a hard spell that even Unicorns as advanced as Twilight had a hard time doing. And how could she get a chance when she was suppost to be walking beside Celestia for the whole time? Luna gulped, knowing they would come to Discord’s former position some time, Celestia would notice, that was for sure. “Is everything alright, Luna?” Tia asked her little sister, who was sweating a little. Luna jumped a little at the question but slowly turned back to her sister. “Ahahaha, yes. We are feeling…j-just fine!” Luna said with a twitch of her eye. Celestia could see through that fake smile but decided to ignore it. “Alright, then…” Celestia started walking towards the labyrinth, thinking Luna was tagging along. But Luna stayed behind for a few moments. Once her older sister was out of earshot, Luna let out a relieved sigh and darted after her sister, who was already walking in the entrance. Celestia turned to her and Luna slowed her pace, acting like nothing had ever happened. She put on a fake smile and Celestia grinned at her and continued to walk. Luna was starting to get a headache from all of her thinking of what she should do, but she still must act as Luna-y as possible in front of her sister. She puffed her chest out and pretended to survey the vicinity; Celestia gave her a quizzical look and Luna replied with a nervous giggle. Celestia stopped walking and stared at her little sister with her eyebrow raised. “Are you alright, Luna? Is something wrong?” Luna blushed and took a few steps forward. “Er…n-no, nothing is wrong…nothing at all!” Luna said, picking up her pace a little. “Why would you think that?” Celestia’s horn glowed and she teleported in front of her sister. “You aren’t acting right, Luna. What’s going on? You can tell me.” Celestia smiled fondly. Luna bit her lip and trotted past her sister, trying to find the spot where Discord’s statue used to be. “Nothing is wrong! It’s j-just the statue of Victory…uh…i-it doesn’t look the same!” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “We haven‘t even seen it up close yet…” Luna ignored her remark and went from a trot to a canter. Celestia sighed and rolled her eyes, Luna had never acted like this… as the younger of the princesses swerved around numerous bends and turns, she came to the opening where the statue garden started. Victory, Friendship…her eyes scanned the statues. It was not until she turned a bend when she spied Discord’s empty pedestal. She smiled and tried to remember what the original statue had looked like, then her horn glowed a pretty navy blue and the statue began to reappear. Celestia came to the entrance of the garden and noticed Luna using her magic. “Luna? What are you doing?” she trotted up to her frantic sister. Sweat dripped down the night princess’s face but she kept up her magic, the statue became more and more visible. Luna glanced at Celestia, who was only about four yards away. Three, two, one… Luna was just about to finish off the statue when Celestia peeked around the corner. Luna almost fainted and waited to see what her sister’s reaction would be. “Luna…?! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” her sister shouted in the royal Canterlot voice, making Luna’s magic fail. Her sister almost never used her shouting voice, but when she did, she was usually mad. Very mad. -- Meanwhile, in Ponyville. Pinkie darted around the town in search of the CMC. Alicorn Discord kept his distance and searched the perimeter instead. Pinkie trotted up to him, shaking her head. “Nopony’s seen them for hours. They said they were going to explore an abandoned cave.” Discord frowned. “Hm, do you know which cave?” he asked. Pinkie was dumbfounded by this question and then she shook her head. “I’ll go ask.” She darted away and came back in milliseconds, “It’s about a mile from here. Everypony’s too afraid to go in so the cave doesn’t even have a name.” Pinkie grinned slyly and trotted past Discord. “I’m not! Come on, let’s go!” Discord nodded and flew after her. “Why are they afraid to explore it? Is something in there that could hurt you?” Pinkie just shook her head and then frowned. “Uh, well, everypony says there’s this really weird gust of wind that comes from somewhere in the cave. Really, I don’t see what’s so scary about that. When I was a filly, my parents were rock farmers and we went in caves like that all the time.” Discord smirked. “A rock farmer?” he laughed, “What in the world is that?” Pinkie rolled her eyes, “Everypony I’ve ever told asks me the same question!” she said with a sigh. “It’s basically a job where you collect rocks and age them until they’re ready to be sold. Some of the most famous statues in the Canterlot gardens are made from my family’s rocks.” She smiled fondly. “I have two sisters, you know?” Discord looked a little surprised, “No, I didn’t know! What are their names? No, no! Let me guess!” he tapped his head with a hoof, “Tammy and Angel?” Pinkie giggled and shook her head, “Uh…Delia and Sapphire?” Pinkie smiled and shook her head. “Give up?” “Me? Never! Um, Dot and Fiona?” “Nopey dopey! Give up now?” Discord let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes, then smiled at Pinkie. “Yeah, I guess so.” Pinkie smiled and bounced along beside him. “Blinkie!” she said in-between a bounce, “And Inkie! They rhyme with my name! Our parents were smart to name us that, huh?” she said with a giggle. Discord smiled and spread his wide wings. “Very!” he chuckled and flapped his wings, flying up to the height that Pinkie was bouncing. She giggled and stopped in mid-air, making him look around to see how the hay she was doing that. “How do you do that?” he asked her. Pinkie just shrugged and continued hopping. He rolled his eyes at her randomness, but then again, he was just as cocky as she was. That’s why they were so perfect together. Pinkie looked up at him and smiled with that same cute smile she’d had when they first met. He blushed as he recalled the moment where he admitted that Pinkie was his personal favorite. Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Why are you blushing?” she asked with a grin. Discord decided they were far enough away from Ponyville so he transformed into a draconiques again and flew up beside her. “Uh, well…” he scratched his head and thought for a moment but Pinkie seemed to read his thoughts and nuzzled him “Aw, you’re so cute!” he blushed even more and Pinkie snickered. “I knew it! You were thinking about how cute I was, weren’t you?” Dissy deadpanned and looked her in the eyes, making her laugh. “Right?” He smirked and scooped her up in his arms, making her grin wildly, she loved hugs and he knew it. “I sure was, you’re clever, how’d you know that?” Pinkie gave him a mischievous grin and shook her head. “I have no idea! Well, actually I do have one…” she stared deep into his eyes, “You get that look whenever you think about something pink and fluffy.” He blushed and suddenly realized how fluffy her mane was, fluffier than any mane he had ever seen, no doubt. “See? There’s that look again!” Pinkie said, throwing her head back in laughter. Dissy laughed a little, too and enclosed her in a tight hug. “You know, Pinkie, I meant it when I said you are my favorite pony.” He smirked and nuzzled her. She nuzzled him back and snuggled into his fur. “I know.” She nodded, “You’re my favorite stallion.” Discord gave her a quizzical look and Pinkie blushed, “Heh, oops, species difference, right.” Dissy gave her a peck on the cheek and smiled. “That doesn’t matter, Pinkie. All that matters is that we love each other, who cares about the species difference when I’m sure you’re the most fantastic mare around.” Pinkie giggled and lowered her eyebrows in a sly smirk and a chill ran up Discord’s spine. “Maybe I am…I don’t even know. But what I do know, is that you’re the most perfect stall- er, draconiques I’ve ever met! Uh, the only one I’ve ever met, actually.” She said with a tiny giggle. Discord nuzzled her again and then looked up, his wings stopped and he landed on the ground. Pinkie leaped down and grinned back up at him. “I guess this is it.” She said staring at the cave in front of her. Discord nodded and sniffed the air, something didn’t feel right. Pinkie looked up at him, “You ok?” Discord glanced at her then back at the cave, “I’m fine…but I think we should be careful, let’s hurry and find the girls.” Pinkie cocked her head and nodded. “Okey dokey lokey…” she said with a hint of suspicion in her voice. She trotted into the cave and Discord studied her every move, she looked back at him. “You coming?” Dissy lowered his eyebrows and nodded, he followed after her. All of a sudden, the cave seemed to get a little darker and Pinkie looked around. “Uh, what’s going on?” they both heard a low chuckle and who but Tyranny stepped out of the shadows. Discord lowered his ears and growled, he leaped in front of Pinkie and she looked from him to Tyranny and back again. Tyranny chuckled and took a step towards Discord, “It’s been eons, Discord. Tell me, how have you been?” he started to encircle Discord with a smirk on his face. Pinkie shuddered in fear and sat down. Discord didn’t answer, only stood on his hind legs and glared at Tyranny. “What do you want?” he asked the black Unicorn. Tyranny smiled and eyed Pinkie. “None of your beeswax. Who’s this cute little mare you’ve brought with you?” he walked up to Pinkie and she smiled slightly. Discord blushed. “Knock it off, Tyranny!” Tyranny clicked his tongue and studied Pinkie, “Hm, I should like to have you here with me.” He said, to Pinkie’s infinite embarrassment, she blushed wildly and looked at Discord. “Back off! We only came here to look for three fillies named Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. I don’t suppose you’ve seen them.” Tyranny shrugged. “Ah, perhaps I have. Oh, yes, I’ve seen them…” he said, turning to Discord with a smirk and swatting his tail in Pinkie’s face, which made her scoot away from him. “And I am assuming this little friend of yours is titled ‘Pinkie Pie’, correct?” Pinkie didn’t answer but Discord nodded once. “We came here looking for them.” He growled, “And if you’ve done anything to hurt them…” he took a step towards Tyranny, who smirked and looked over at Pinkie, who glared at him. “Hm, well, I’m not telling you where they are.” He said with a smirk. “You tell us right now or else!” Pinkie shouted. Tyranny laughed. “Hm, feisty. That’s the way I like em’! But you should really calm yourself, you’ll be seeing them very soon.” He then fired up his horn and Pinkie was surrounded with a blue magic aura, she squealed and paddled her hooves frantically in an effort to free herself. Discord didn’t know whether it was protective instinct over Pinkie, or just some reflex, but he pounced forward and pinned Tyranny to the ground. Tyranny laughed evilly and Pinkie disappeared. Discord was shocked. “Where is she!?” Dissy demanded. Tyranny smirked and teleported out from under the draconiques. “Haha, fine, I’ll tell you but I’ll only tell you my way…” Discord immediately recognized the words as his own and grimaced. “A weighty choice is yours to make, the right selection or a big mistake, if the wrong choice you choose to chase, there will be many consequences you will have to face.”