//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 - What Happened Last Night? 
// Story: Fragile 
// by RealBarenziah 
//------------------------------//

The sun's light had barely broken across the horizon when Twilight awoke to find herself on the floor of the lounge with a blanket draped over her. Litter from the party was everywhere.

"Why am I..." she muttered to herself. She tried to get up, but a headache suddenly ripped through the inside of her skull. "Ugh...What happened last night?" She scoured her brain for memories, but none came. She began to panic. "What happened last night."

Twilight was able to stand after a few minutes of sitting upright, but it didn't comfort her in the slightest. She took in her surroundings: she was in the downstairs lounge, surrounded by garbage. She cringed. "Ugh," she muttered. "I hope I wasn't the one who made this mess." She cringed again as her headache tore across her brain again. She groaned nervously.
"What is wrong with me?" She took a deep breath. "Ok. Calm down, Twilight. Let's see. Yesterday...yesterday..."

Twilight retraced her steps from yesterday in her mind. "...Then I went to go study...I was in the library for most of the day...I came back and...and there was a party going on-" she gasped. She suddenly remembered the punch that Ruby had given her.
Twilight growled angrily. She was furious with herself. "Twilight you idiot!" She said. "You absolute moron! You couldn't have just ignored her, could you? You couldn't have just gone right up to bed. And now...and now...." She went silent. She couldn't remember what she had done after drinking the punch. She began pacing around the room.

"Oh no...Oh no...." she said quietly to herself. "What happened....what did I do....what did they do?" She was so afraid of what could have happened she was on the verge of tears. She spotted the blanket she had woken up under and crawled into it again, wrapping herself up cozily. "I wonder if I got this blanket myself or if somepony gave it to me. I was probably too out of it to manage finding a blanket."

Her head throbbed again and she gave up any more attempt at thinking. She slowly made her way up the steps to her room. When Twilight finally snuggled under the covers of her own bed, the sun was just peeking out over the horizon. In her last seconds of consciousnesses she closed the curtains using magic and thanked the stars there was no school on Sundays.





Twilight paced around her room. Her mane was messy and dark lines were embedded under her eyes. Her sleep had been fitful and she didn't get a moment of rest. She just couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened the night before. She shuddered at the thought of somepony taking advantage of her in that state, and it wasn't impossible. Twilight shook her head to try and dislodge any more ideas trying to take root, but it was no use.
She decided to take a walk to try and distract herself.

It was already past noon and the sun shone brightly. Many of the students lounged around the courtyard, dozing or chatting with their friends. It was certainly a beautiful Sunday. On any other day as beautiful as that one Twilight would have taken advantage of the weather and relaxed under a tree with a few books, but not today.

Walking wasn't helping. "Maybe a jog around the courtyard will help calm me down. Getting those endorphins flowing will help me feel better."
Twilight began to canter. Then trot. Then sprint. She was so intent on clearing her head that she was oblivious to the weird looks she got from the students she passed.

Discord was comfortably hidden from sight on the roof when he spotted Twilight sprinting across campus. His ears pricked in interest. 
"What could be so urgent?" He wondered, watching her run. When she finally reached the other end of campus she took a wide turn and continued running, this time in the opposite direction. Discord caught her expression as she sped past. Her eyes were wide with panic but her mouth was pressed tightly into a thin line. He knit his eyebrows together in confusion but let her pass.
When she had gone he settled back into his comfortable perch and laughed as a colt was splashed in the face by a mare after he asked her to dinner. He clearly wasn't her type.





Twilight returned to her room. Instead of feeling better, she was now stressed, exhausted, and sweaty. She ran straight up to her room and collapsed on the floor, groaning in defeat. She rinsed her face at her sink and sighed
"There's no helping this," she sat down on the floor by her bed and levitated a sizable stack of books to her side. "I'll just study to take my mind off things until class tomorrow. If I read constantly until sunset, I'll be tired enough to sleep through the night. Now let's see..."
She rested her legs on some cushions and opened a huge book of magical theories.

After a while she was so engrossed in her book she didn't notice the Discord hanging upside down from the roof, peeking in through the window. Her expression hadn't changed much since he last saw her. He quickly got bored after a few minutes of inactivity and slipped away unnoticed.





The lines under Twilight's eyes were even deeper than before. She closed her last book and put it aside. The sun had long since set and the moonlight streamed into the room. It was brighter than Twilight had seen it in a long while. She laid down on her bed and tried to fall asleep, but her mind wouldn't let her. She tossed and turned, desperately trying to silence her brain for long enough to rest, but to no avail.

Twilight groaned and rolled out of bed. She sat at the window and looked over the grounds. They were beautiful in the moonlight. 
She bit her lip. "I know it's against the rules," she whispered to herself. "But maybe a short midnight walk will help me."
Being careful not to let the door creak, or the stairs groan under her hooves, she sneaked her way to the courtyard. 
She was walking one of the northernmost paths when a sudden movement in the shadows made her take cover behind a pillar. 

She peeked out from her hiding place to see a familiar form slithering its way through the air. Discord stopped at one of the fountains and settled into a bench. 
Discord, she thought. I totally forgot he'd be out here. 
She leaned out from her hiding place to get a better look at him. He sitting, like usual, at the fountain. He was slumped over, and he was turned away from Twilight. She couldn't see his face.

"What is he doing?" She whispered to herself. His ear swiveled and she clopped a hoof over her mouth, cursing inwardly. When his ear returned forward she tiphoofed slowly from behind the pillar, then darted to a bush that was closer to the fountain. She peered through the leaves, but she wasn't satisfied with her vantage point and began looking for a new hiding place.
Discord suddenly sighed, and Twilight paused.
Come on, she thought to herself. Since when are you the kind of pony to spy on others?. She took a step toward him.

"You're not allowed out after dark, Sparkle."
Twilight froze, but Discord didn't turn around. He only stared into the water, like usual.

"I know," Twilight said, approaching him. "I couldn't sleep so I thought-"
"Unless you want a detention I suggest you go back to your room."
Twilight stopped and took a good look at his face. He wasn't wearing his tie and in the darkness the lines under his eyes looked even darker. He broke his staring contest with the water and looked back at her. Her eyes still had that panicked look in them.
"You look terrible," he said.

"Ha," she said. "I've kinda been...stressing out."
"Is that why you were running around campus like a crackpot on the loose?" He looked back at the fountain.
"I thought exercise would help but..." she scratched her hoof nervously. "There was some kind of party last night and-"
"I didn't ask what was on your mind and it's not like I really care and I should really just give you three weeks detention for breaking curfew, but I know you won't go away until I tell you that I was there and I took care of it."

"You- what now?" Twilight said.
Discord sighed, "I was at the party. It took them quite a while to notice me but it was worth it to see them scurry around like a mob of startled chickens when I announced myself."
"Wait. You broke up the party?" She asked urgently.
"Isn't that what I just-"
"Did you see me!?" She interrupted. "What was I doing!?"
She had somehow ended right up in Discord's face and he pushed her away saying, "For goodness sake, calm yourself. I... may have seen you." He stuck his nose in the air and thought about what lie he should tell her. Drugs? Misconduct? Colts? There were so many choices.

"May? MAY? Oh, please don't do this to me professor. Did you see me or didn't you?"
Discord looked absently down at the mare. Her mouth was set into a quivering line but her eyes were panicked and she looked on the verge of tears. There was a subtle trembling in her stance and he could almost hear her heart pounding. He let her tension hang in the air a moment, then sighed in annoyance.
"Yes, I did see you."
"And?"
"Oh, don't worry. I broke everything up before you did anything rash."
Twilight nearly collapsed with relief. "Oh," she sighed. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that." She sat down with another sigh. "What happened, exactly?"

"Oh, you know. The kind of behavior one would expect from a mare that's been drugged. You just seemed drunk, really. I'm surprised you drank from that cup at all, knowing you."
"I know," she sighed. "I don't know why I did it."
"I was stupid of you to trust Ruby. Especially after she attacked you in the hallway."
"I know, it was- wait. How do you know about that?" He only shrugged in reply. "It was dumb. She was just..." Twilight trailed off.
Discord raised an eyebrow.
"It's not a big deal. I'm fine. It was just a silly thing." She changed the subject. "What are you doing out here?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm allowed out here. Go back before I have to take extreme measures."
"Tsk. That's the third time you've threatened me with detention, sir~" She suddenly yawned. "But, ok. I think I'll be able to sleep now. Professor," she waited for him to look at her again before saying, "Thank you."

She trotted into the darkness without waiting for or expecting any reply from him, and he didn't give any. When she was gone completely he muttered to himself, "Ugh, that was a perfect opportunity to make some fun." He stretched his back and rose into the air. "I must be getting old; I'm going soft."

Discord and Twilight weren't the only ones out that night. A mare named Garnet was sneaking back from visiting her boyfriend in the male dormitories. She had sneaked back to her dorm in the night before and she wasn't afraid of being caught until a shadow suddenly shot across her path. It was gone before Garnet could see who it was, and she ducked behind a pillar in fear of being discovered breaking curfew.
She hid long enough to start thinking that her tired eyes were playing tricks on her. She cautiously stepped out of her hiding place and started back on her way home.

She hardly took two steps before something struck her violently. Garnet was attacked so quickly that she didn't have any time to scream before a flurry of blows made her lose consciousness.