Psychedelica – Welcome to the Party
A pony story by Joseph Raszagal
As inspired by more acid, dude, much more
Chapter Two – Blue and Orange
~ ~ ~
Twilight Sparkle shivered as she approached the serpentine statue of a former foe, the cool autumn breeze twisting its way through her mane. With a twitch, her ears cupped and flattened against her head as she tried and failed to filter out the deafeningly loud music that only she could hear. Taking deep breaths to steady herself, she gritted her teeth and kept her eyes locked forward, careful not to let her peripherals get the better of her and show her more of her own distorted, hallucinatory reality than she could handle.
It had been only three months since the lavender unicorn had attempted to peek into the mind of her friend, Pinkie Pie, and the disastrous results of that mistake hadn't lessened over time. If anything, her candy-coated nightmare had only grown in strength and horror with each passing day.
She gazed down at her own hooves, their dark chocolate sheen in the midday light noticeable to her mind and her's alone. Further up her legs, the raspberry frosting comprising Twilight's lavender coat wiggled in time with the mare's every jostle and movement, a vision so disturbing and alien to her that she had made a point of organizing her workspace back in the library so that she could perform a majority of her daily tasks while either sitting down or standing ramrod stiff.
~
“Pinkie, it's too much, I can't handle it!” she screamed, tears streaming down her face.
Cradling her friend, Pinkie Pie urged, “Yes you can! It can only beat you if you let it!”
“I don't even know what it is, Pinkie! How can I fight something that I don't even understand?!”
“I told you, Twilight, it's The Party! Ever since the first one that I threw for my family back on the rock farm, there's been a party that only I can see following me around wherever I go! Streamers hung up in every tree, invisible parades marching down every street, banners draping every building, and balloons filling the sky where clouds should be!”
~
“And pink,” Twilight whispered, the memory fresh in her mind and threatening to bring her to her knees.
Risking her own sanity, she looked up to the sky, but in place of the brilliant blue that she knew to be there, her eyes took in an endless fuchsia horizon instead. Just as Pinkie had said and just as Twilight herself had come to see, great masses of balloons drifted where fluffy white clouds should have been. A never-ending snowfall of confetti sprinkled down, decorating the Canterlot Gardens in dozens of cheery colors that, like a thousand piercing technicolor beams, seared their way through the unicorn's eyes and etched themselves permanently into her brain with their unnaturally vibrant brightness.
The shivering mare wasn't quite colorblind. Rather, she was blinded by the sheer power of the colors themselves.
Gulping, Twilight closed her eyes and bit her lip, forcing herself to remain calm.
~
“Yes, and pink, more pink than anything should ever have a right to be!” Pinkie Pie replied, hugging the unicorn tightly. “I know, I see it all the time; the never-ending celebration! I know that it's bright and loud and unrelenting, but it's still just a party! You can beat it, Twilight! If anypony can beat it, it's you! You can win!”
“No, I can't!” Twilight shrieked, her whole body shaking uncontrollably beneath the pink pony's protective grip. “It's everywhere, it's everything! I can't run fast enough to escape it! Nopony ever could!”
“That's just it!” the baker sobbed, trying fruitlessly to keep herself together for the sake of her suffering friend. “I know it's too much for almost anypony else to handle, and that's all my fault, but I couldn't help taking refuge in it! I was so lonely and miserable back then, any way to overcome the boredom and the seclusion was better! You're running from The Party, Twilight, but that's not what I did! I did the opposite, I ran towards it!”
“I can't, Pinkie! I can't go towards it! It's too much, it's too pink! It feels like it'll take over and consume me!”
~
“Twilight?” beckoned the regal voice of Princess Celestia, breaking the little unicorn from her flashback and dragging her back to the present. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
In a hushed tone, Twilight Sparkle turned to face her mentor and answered, “There's an everlasting party... and like an idiot, I went and invited myself. The first thing that I did was try the medication that Nurse Redheart had prescribed to Pinkie Pie, but all that did was show me precisely why she's always refused to take it. This, all of this, this amazing and beautiful world around us. It's pink right now, pink and loud and chaotic and frightening. But those pills... those awful pills... They took all of that pink and replaced it with gray. Everything became so dull and lifeless, empty to the point that the only real way I can describe how I felt while medicated would be... numb.”
The Princess suppressed a shudder as she empathized, remembering all too clearly how alone she had felt in the moments immediately following Luna's banishment; the look of terror etched across her dear sister's face as the raw, unbridled power of harmony was unleashed mercilessly upon her.
“Completely and utterly numb,” Twilight repeated, her voice strained as a whole slew of emotions waged war within her heart. “It felt like I wasn't even alive.”
Looking up at the petrified statue of Discord, the unicorn let out a frustrated sigh and concluded, “I'm not Pinkie Pie. I can't wrap my brain around how she manages it and I'm fairly certain that I'll never quite understand. But there still has to be a way, some way for me to cope and live with this insanity without resorting to those pills again.”
More memories flashed through Twilight's mind, bleak and somewhat blurry recollections of a world devoid of any color. The days that she had spent under the medication's groggy spell had passed like a video tape set to fast-forward, bits and pieces of each day missing and entirely impossible for her to recall. What she could remember, the ones that stuck out to her the most, were those moments she had spent with the five ponies that she cherished most. Her friends surrounded her from all sides, each trying in vain to coax some life from her. She even remembered both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie eventually breaking down into tears after several heartfelt attempts again ended in failure, but for whatever reason, Twilight just couldn't bring herself to care. It was kind of them, for sue, but the efforts were futile to begin with so what was the point? She was lifeless, a husk merely shaped like the mare that they loved. If anything, the fact that they couldn't bring a smile to her blank face no matter what they said or did made complete sense to her. After all, the dead can't smile, can they?
“Twilight?” asked Celestia, kneeling until she was at eye-level with her student. Blinking back to reality, the unicorn met her teacher's mournful, pleading gaze with a rather pitiful one of her own. “Answer me this one question, my Faithful Student, and answer me true. Is attempting what we're about to do, something so preposterously dangerous that it very nearly breaches beyond the point of reason, really a better alternative to the medication?”
Blinking away fresh tears, Twilight's voice hitched as she said, “Princess, if I continued to take those pills, you wouldn't receive any more friendship reports from me. There wouldn't be any more friendship for me. There wouldn't be anything, anything at all. I'd be an empty shell.”
The diminutive mare hung her head and pressed a hoof to her chest.
“I think... I think I'd r-rather~
Twilight's throat tightened, the words refusing to come out.
Her heart thundered impossibly fast, its thudding beat roaring like a pounding drum-roll in her ears.
Biting her lower lip, she eventually croaked, “I think I'd rather die.”
Celestia closed her eyes and draped an alabaster wing across her crying pupil's shoulders as the weak whimpers steadily devolved into wracking sobs. In no such hurry to follow through with their plan, she stayed that way for some time, sheltering Twilight in her embrace for as long as the lavender mare needed.
Forcing herself to stay strong for her ailing student's sake, the Princess quietly stated, “Then there is no other choice. As much as I wish you were not, I believe you are correct, Twilight. If there is anypony who can help guide you through this madness, it is the Master of Madness himself.”
“He'd appreciate the irony, I'm sure,” chuckled the librarian, her voice drained of all humor.
Taking to their hooves, Twilight's as unsteady as a newborn foal's, Celestia and her troubled charge trotted over to the statue still looming over them.
“I have spent many a sleepless night contemplating just what exactly we should do with him,” spoke the goddess sadly. “His power is great, perhaps too great, but when regarding the danger of that power with the proper respect it quickly becomes all too clear just how much good Discord could potentially do for the world... much as he once did.” Shaking her head, she added, “He wasn't always like this, Twilight. You should have seen him all those years ago, before his madness overtook him; before Luna's claimed her not long after. Words fail to describe him back in those far-flung days of yore, but I suppose the closest would be resplendent. One of your closest friends, Pinkie Pie, often reminds me of the draconiquis that he once was. He lived and breathed to see the world around him smile.”
Another wisp of wind blew through the gardens as a single tear slid down Celestia's cheek, the mask of strength she had promised herself she would maintain beginning to crumble.
However, just as the cracks began to form, they quickly sealed themselves shut again, bowing before the might of the sun as the goddess representing it refused to allow herself the comfort of her own tears.
Tersely, she thought to herself, “You can weep later, but not now. Your student needs you, she needs her mentor, she needs her Princess, the Reagent of the Sun, to protect her. You will not let her see you succumb to an old, resurfacing wound. It can be tended to and re-bandaged once we are through with this. For now, buck it. Be a big mare, soldier on, and trot the wound off. You've done it before in too many wars to count and you can do it again right now.”
Several seconds of nature punctuated silence passed through the gardens as the monarch forcibly slowed her breathing and took control of herself.
In reverence, Twilight simply closed her eyes and turned away, seeing both her teacher's pain and her desperate desire to keep it hidden under wraps for her protege's sake. Twilight had performed the same emotional feat many times before while dealing with heavy situations with her #1 Assistant, Spike. The little dragon, though quite mature for his age, was still just a baby dragon. Every time Twilight was faced with breaking truly bad news to Spike, she had always maintained a strong face for him and dealt with the situation as delicately as possible. The death of a young colt friend of his that he met shortly after his and Twilight's move to Ponyville had really put the lavender unicorn through her paces. Handling the grieving dragon with a tenderness that one would think only a mother could, she somehow succeeded. No matter how much it hurt her to do it, to see the little dragon like that, she stood strong for him whenever he needed a shoulder to cry one.
The unicorn empathized and kept her gaze averted out of respect, waiting instead for Celestia to get back into motion and bring things to a start.
“This day has come too soon,” the goddess eventually spoke up, allowing herself one last admonishment. “Though I've long wished to somehow show my old friend that chaos and harmony can coexist if they simply tried, I can't say that I wanted to see that day come about quite like this.”
Forcing a smile, Twilight offered, “If it's any consolation, I'm not very happy with the circumstances either.”
“That's the nature of a real problem, I suppose,” Celestia returned, a rare edge of sarcasm in her tone. “So seldom do they obey a tight schedule.”
With a huff of frustration, the monarch cast away her tumultuous thoughts and lit her horn, bringing her magic to a sharp focus.
“Touch your horn to the stone,” she commanded softly. “You needn't do or think of anything more. I will handle the rest.”
Mentally preparing herself, Twilight took one last nervous look around at the eternal party raging across the whole of her world. With a gulp, she closed her eyes and did as she was instructed.
~
Moments later, the lavender unicorn opened her eyes and found that she was somewhere else entirely.
A void of seemingly-endless pure white stretched outward in every direction, a realm barren of anything with the small exception of its population, the number of which had doubled since Twilight's arrival.
The librarian gaped, her mouth hanging open in shock, as standing nonchalantly in front of her was none other than Discord.
A voice deep in Twilight's mind hastily noted, “Okay, while it seems like The Party wasn't able to follow me here... wherever here is, I probably should have done more to remind myself just who I was planning on confronting.”
Noticing the unicorn's blanked state of mind, Discord took advantage of the opportunity by going straight for the theatrics.
“Really now, Twilight,” he chided, waggling a single claw in much the same manner as a teacher scolding a student, “you bested me, the King of Chaos, and yet you let yourself fall to this?”
With a sweeping gesture, Discord materialized several balloons and a small cloud of glittery confetti.
“I expect better from my vanquisher. I mean, honestly, do you even know what this has been doing to my self-esteem? I dare say, I haven't been able to look at myself in the mirror. Well, actually, there aren't any mirrors here, but I wouldn't have been able to were there some.”
“W-what?”
“What do you mean, 'what'? Surely you didn't think that these events would unfold without my knowledge? It's really quite boring being cooped-up in a stone statue, you know. Nothing to do, no chaos to wreak. I pass the time by watching either Celestia and her sister bumble around the castle or you and your friends bumble around Ponyville. You should really consider bumbling a lot less, by the way.”
“...W-what?”
A second or two later, Twilight shook her head vigorously as she overcame her initial shock.
“Er, what I meant to say was,” she corrected herself, tracing back the conversation to something that had stuck out, “you've been watching me?”
With a toothy grin, the draconiquis replied, “But of course, and you're almost always the most fun to watch. Overreacting in response to just about everything, you. It makes for great television.”
“Tele-huh?” she questioned, blinking confusedly.
“Just an interesting little invention you'll see quite soon,” he chuckled. “A friend of yours will practically fall into your lap with a whole mountain of interesting little gadgets for you to tinker with. All you'll have to endure in trade for the technology is his rather dour company.”
Pressing a hoof to her head, Twilight groaned and regarded the fortune-telling with a fair amount of skepticism. After all, though it had been her intent from the start, she was still speaking with Discord. Taking his words with a grain of salt was a necessity.
Rolling her eyes, she quipped, “Well that's something to look forward to... I guess. Whatever, I hope I'm up to the task.”
“By then, you will be up to any and every task,” Discord retorted, grinning.
“And just what is that supposed to mean?” questioned the purple mare with a snort.
“Oh, nothing. Just that things will change very soon and the changes will in turn change you. For the better, depending on how you look at it.”
“How do you look at it?”
“Who, me? Well, I've always been a glass half-full sort! Can't you tell? Trials and challenges abound, especially whenever you're around, my dear. But to answer your question, I think you'll come out on top. You're not the type to give up easily.”
“No I'm not.”
“Ah, which brings us back to why you've come to visit!” said the draconiquis, clapping his claws together cheerfully. “You're options are running out, aren't they? There's a bit of chaos running through your mind and you're not ready to give in and embrace the insanity. Oh, but what was it you said shortly before you popped in to see me for scones and tea? You'd rather die? Twilight Sparkle, I'm disappointed in you. Surely a studious mare such as yourself knows, that's about as final and finite a way as somepony can give up. Once they make that choice, they can never try again.”
Lowing her head in shame, the unicorn whispered, “I'm not proud of what I said, but... it's just too~
“You don't need to finish,” Discord interrupted, pulling the unicorn's face up to meet his. “Hypocrisy of the mortal variety is rarely anything less than an incredibly complicated matter.”
A hushed silence fell between the two as Twilight looked up into her former enemy's eyes.
They glimmered with an understanding that sent chills down the mare's spine.
“Discord, I know that I came here seeking your aid, but this is all too strange,” she sighed, the strain and exacerbation showing on her face. “Are you... really trying to help me?”
Grinning, he shrugged and said, “Yes.”
Twilight tilted her head.
“Well, uh, and please excuse the rudeness, why are you?”
Discord's expression softened somewhat as he considered his guest's simple question.
“It's an odd sight,” the unicorn found herself thinking again, “seeing him with a look of empathy on his face.”
“What do you think my feeling are regarding Celestia?” asked the draconiquis suddenly.
Twilight's mouth hung open for a moment. She hadn't expected to hear that.
However, before she could reply with another baffled “What?”, her host shushed her with a claw pressed to her lips.
“Rhetorical question, my dear, I'm setting the mood to tell you a story.”
The purple pony's left ear twitched in annoyance.
“Oh, do your worst,” Discord chuckled, grinning and rolling his eyes. “I may not possess much power, if any at all, while locked inside this infernal place, but neither do you. So remember, once you've exhausted yourself flailing around at me fruitlessly, I'm still going to tell you the story.”
Ignoring his guests grumble, the God of Chaos cleared his throat and began, with as much whimsy as possible, “Long, long ago, in an Equestria so very different than the one from which you hail, there were two royal sisters and their odd, quirky friend. The sisters would show their friend the beauty of the sunrise, the majesty of the full moon, and the brilliance of a night sky painted masterfully with a slew of stark constellations contrasting against the millions of other shining motes of light gleaming off in the cosmic distance. And in return for showing him such wonders, their friend made them smile. He told jokes, threw celebrations, and played pranks that left everypony in stitches. But as time went on, their friend's jokes grew grander and greater in scope. Possessed with an immense power not unlike the two goddess sisters that he sought to make smile, he soon found that the funniest jokes he was capable of could only come at another pony's expense. Years went by and his japery became crueler and crueler, pranks performed at expenses that sometimes left their victims gravely injured. But still, so sure that there was no match to equal his preferred stye of comedy, their friend embraced the fact that if there was a laugh to be had, somepony must in turn suffer. After scheming for some time, he erected himself his own castle and declared himself King, a position of power that would leave the entire kingdom at the mercy of his comedic obsession. When the two sisters could no longer tolerate their former friend's actions, they took it upon themselves to bring his rule to an end. They faced each other in battle, the prankster using all of his power to force the sisters that he still thought of as friends to see the light and finally share in his manic laughter, just as they once did so many years ago. However, determined to bring an end to his chaotic reign, the sisters unleashed their secret weapon, the raw power of harmony itself, and petrified the one that they had once so very intimately known, turning him to stone. The elder sister shed a tear as the statue toppled to the ground, lamenting the loss of one she had known dear and deeply loved.” With a cough, mostly used in terms of segue, Discord added, “That's the fanciful way of wording it, and admittedly it's always been my favorite way of telling the tale. To go into further detail would likely send more than a few shivers down your spine. Know this, Twilight Sparkle, they toppled me from my throne for a reason. I did many a terrible thing, and oh, each one was hilarious. Side-splittingly, breath-stealingly, fall to the ground and roll left and right hilarious. But the fact remains, they were at the same time some of the most awful, unforgivable, inexcusable acts ever committed upon Equestrian soil.”
“You're... telling me to keep my eyes on you, I guess?” Twilight pondered aloud.
Idly twirling a claw through the air, the god answered, “Perhaps. It's just always more fun when an intellectual such as yourself has all of the facts in order.”
Her mental cogs and gears spinning, the unicorn locked eyes with Discord and asked, “You wanted me to know that you were once somepony I could have called a friend... but no longer are.”
After a second or two of chewing on her own words, she came to a confused conclusion and questioned, “Why?”
Tossing his arms out in a wide gesture, the draconiquis smirked and offered, “No reason, really. Perhaps just for the sake of offering you a little insight into the mind of the one who is essentially, giving the current circumstances, your psychiatrist.”
Shaking her head, the purple mare sighed, “Or you're just trying to get into my head, trick me into sympathizing for you, and just generally confuse me.”
“Oh, but of course!” came Discord's hearty laugh. “That goes without saying!”
“Still,” Twilight said as she shook her head, “it sounded so sincere. So... private. The thing is, Discord, I've faced you in battle before and I've seen what you can do to things like the very concept of sincerity. You have the power to take something noble and pure and twist it into an ugly mockery of what it once was supposed to represent. So, and you'll have to forgive my rudeness again, it's all more than a little difficult to believe. It sounds like a faerie tale.”
With a distant look in his eyes, the god nodded and chuckled, “The greatest love stories always seem like faerie tales, don't they?”
“Love.”
The word bounced through the lavender unicorn's head for several long moments before she gained the courage to press forward with her question.
With wide eyes and a suddenly dry mouth, Twilight took a deep breath and quietly said, “You loved her.”
“Discord...” the purple mare though to herself, her brain almost breaking in light of the revelation, “...was in love with the Princess.”
Huffing, Discord closed his eyes and stated, “And, against all odds, she returned the sentiment. For a time, it was wonderful. I had the physical manifestation of the sun to warm me as I sat beside her on even the coldest of nights, and she had the essence of chaos given physical form right there with her to always ensure that she wore a happy smile.” Growing quieter, as if in reverence of what he was about to say, he continued, “When it all fell apart, when I discovered the true beauty that came from untamed chaos, she was the first to stand against me. It hurt, it cut deep, but in my own silly way I still managed to hold onto my love for her. Even as she took to the sky and faced me, glaring at me with eyes full of contempt, to me that bond we shared was still there. Somehow, strange as it may seem, I even felt that bond tempered stronger than ever. At some point, she became my rival. I would play a prank, unleash a storm of calamity upon some unsuspecting village, and she would come to stop me. Pay no heed to the textbooks taught in your schools, my little pony, our games went on for centuries. And even though she came at me with all of her solar might during our every battle, making it more than clear that she would have killed me had it ever come to that, I can't deny that our clashes will forever remain some of my fondest memories. Even as I grew stronger over the years, she would never fail to take her stance before me, ready to lay down her life for the ponies she wished to protect. And I must say, though our moral compasses had come to differ too greatly for either of us to agree on much of anything anymore, I can't deny that I always appreciated her willingness to die for the sake of her subjects. She was always at her most beautiful when she stood bravely before me, light shining off of her coat as she summoned the power of her burning orb to aid her in battle. My former lover, my rival; a pony capable of both kindness and fury unparallelled.”
Twilight simply stared up at the rogue god, the information almost impossible to take in. It took a second or two, but after closing her eyes and counting down from ten, she lifted her eyelids and waved a hoof, beckoning for the amalgamated creature to finish.
“If you ever live to be as old as I am,” mused the draconiquis, the wistful nostalgia leaving his expression in favor of his usual playfulness, “I'm sure you'll understand. But that's not the point, or at least it isn't right now. Tell me, Twilight, having heard my story and knowing about me what you do now, how do you think I feel towards you?”
A short silence settled over the two of them before Twilight narrowed her eyes keenly and answered, “Another rival.”
Discord smiled.
“Rivals and enemies are not necessarily the same thing, mind you. The two are not mutually exclusive. While it's certain that I would like to someday see you standing in my place, a statue frozen in defeat, I can't say that I could take any joy in the knowledge that something or somepony else defeated you. Especially something so paltry. You're my foe, the mare that beat a god at his own game! Have some pride! You're stronger than this! If you're afraid of this party in your head, afraid that it's going to overwhelm you, then be the neighbor that shuts it down! Slam you hooves on their door and demand that they turn the music down! Call the police! Heck, you're high enough in Equestrian society to merit a bit of authority of your own, Princess Celestia's personal protege, aren't you? Buck the damn door down and start hoofing out citizens arrests!”
For a short smattering of seconds, both draconiquis and pony stared at each other with neutral expressions. Shortly thereafter, however, they both fell onto their backs laughing up a storm.
It took a moment for them to recover, but having been the first to regain control, Discord raised and eyebrow and questioned, “Ah, but we can joke another time. You're hear to learn, correct? Well then, little Sparkle, listen closely. If you think just because I seem to possess a complete mastery over chaos that this makes me the only one with the ability to manipulate it at all, well now, you are sorely mistaken. Some are born with it, some grow into it, and others research it enough to learn it. That right there is a great example of chaos in and of itself, really. Its power and its effects, they can crop up at any given time and with any given pony.”
“But I don't want it!” Twilight protested, gritting her teeth. “Any of it!”
“Well that's too bad, because it wants you,” the god snickered.
With a tired groan, the unicorn shook her head.
“Just know this, Twilight Sparkle. Chaos is a powerful thing. It can and will overwhelm you if you let your guard down. Fight the good fight and stand your ground. Harness its might wisely.”
Biting her lip nervously, the mare hesitantly retorted, “You didn't harness it wisely.”
“Oh, but I never intended to in the first place. Never even crossed my mind! But you... I can tell that no amount of persuasion could ever bring you over to my side of the argument, not unless I cheated a bit anyway. You would only ever proceed with caution. In the end, I'm a fan of all chaos; big or small, unrestrained or controlled.”
“I suppose those are the perimeters in which you admitted to taking a personal interest in Pinkie Pie,” she commented offhoof.
“Yes, I suppose I did take a shine to her,” Discord laughed. “So much fun, that one. Even more fun to break, though I suppose you wouldn't understand that, would you?”
Stamping a hoof, Twilight asserted, “Not in the slightest.”
“Then it can't be helped,” the draconiquis drolled. “Perhaps one day, once I'm free again, and trust me when I tell you that I most certainly will be free again, I'll try to show you the light. I'm giving you my best advice now, but rest assured, knowing that the power of chaos pulses within you, I'll work my hardest to force you to see the pure bliss that comes from tossing care to the wind and wielding it freely.”
“And I will resist and defeat you again.”
“Ha! Good show, that is exactly what I wanted to hear!”
“I kind of guessed that... You're a strange one, Discord.”
“I take quite a bit of pride in it. However, it seems our time to chat has come to a close. I can feel the magic building. Celestia's preparing to pull you out.”
“Oh?” questioned Twilight, unaware.
“Knowing her, the first thing she'll do is take a peek into your mind to see if I've tainted you or some such nonsense,” Discord snickered as he levitated up into the empty air and reclined against a hammock that wasn't really there. “Do be a dear and humor her though, hmm?”
“It isn't as though I have anything to hide,” the unicorn remarked as she turned and began cantering off into the endless white distance. “You didn't even try anything. You even admitted that while you're stuck in here you can't.”
Appearing before her in a flash, the god again pressed a claw to his lips and said, “Shhh, it's more fun this way. Besides, even if you tell her you're fine, I know Celestia. I know her well. Just as I told you, there was a time in which she trusted me implicitly, but that time has long since passed. She never will again, I fear. Though for good reason, I suppose. Trusting me can lead to some very messy results.”
Contemplating both that and the words hanging on the tip of her tongue, Twilight eventually asked, “Discord, would you... mind if I pop back in every once in a while for, how did you word it earlier, a visit for scones and tea? I'd like to know more about this power and how I can better chain it down.”
“Chain it down!” the draconiquis chortled, grinning widely. “Good choice in words. Trying to anger me?”
Grinning back, the purple mare admitted, “Maybe just a little, but back to my question. Would you mind?”
“Of course not. It gets rather lonely in here, you know. The only other I have to share my thoughts with is myself, and he gets so boringly predictable after a while.”
“I'll... say it again. You're a strange one.”
“And I'll repeat myself as well. Thank you for the compliment!”
Finally feeling the beginnings of a spell wrap itself around her, Twilight turned back to face one of the most dangerous creatures she, as well as many others far greater than her, had ever encountered.
“Looks like you train has come into the station, eh? Do give Celestia my best regards!”
With a sigh, the unicorn replied, “I have absolutely no idea how she'll take that information, but alright. You've helped me a lot, the least I can do is relay a message. I'll... be seeing you around, Discord.”
Smiling earnestly, the god bowed and said, “It was a pleasure having you, Twilight Sparkle.”
As the purple pony's body began to glow with a radiant light, something nagging at the back of her mind forced her to speak up while she still could.
“Discord?” beckoned Twilight, turning around to face her foe one last time.
Appraising her with a forced expression of boredom, he answered, “Yes?”
“For what it's worth, I can't say that I forgive you for what you put all of my friends through... but I do wish that it didn't have to be like this.”
The deity regarded her critically before dropping his mask and grinning.
“Perhaps one day, near or far into the future, things will change,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “That's what I embody after all, random happenstance and change. But be careful. Hope is a dangerous thing. It can hurt just as much as it heals. Still, I can't say that I don't hold out hope as well. She didn't give it to me when we last saw each other, obviously, but I spend every day wishing she had. It was of the few things that made this joke of immortality worthwhile.”
“It?” questioned Twilight, genuinely perplexed. “What's was it? What did you want her to give you?”
But before her question could be answered, the light emanating off of her reached a critical mass and the lavender unicorn disappeared in a flash, no trace whatsoever left behind.
Sighing, Discord looked up, where a sky might have been had there been anything in his empty void of a prison save for himself.
“Her smile,” he uttered quietly.
~
With a disorienting pop, Twilight awoke to find herself sprawled across the ground at Celestia's hooves. Blearily, the mare stood and shook herself of her dizziness. Taking a quick note of her surroundings, she confirmed that her nightmare had indeed returned along with her. However, as she looked up into the worried eyes of her mentor, a courage that she hadn't felt in months surged through her.
“Was Discord of any assistance?” came the monarch's soft inquiry.
Grinning despite herself, Twilight nodded her head and said, “We talked for quite some time. About all kinds of things too.”
“And what of his advice?” Celestia repeated.
Smirking, the lavender unicorn shrugged and answered, “To channel Rainbow Dash here, he told me to suck it up and stop being a wuss.”