//------------------------------// // Lesson 3- Adapting // Story: Learning Is Magic // by Lucky Penny //------------------------------// The library had become a state of panic and chaos after their friend Twilight Sparkle had been taken away by Discord. Everypony in the room was hysterical, fearing any number of impossible sinister motives. Nopony knew what to do except to engage in arguing over which pony was to be blamed for this trouble as they continued to talk over each other: "This is all Princess Celestia's fault," cried Rarity. "It was her illogical idea that we release him in the first place, that utter brute!" "Now hold on there! Discord may have turned back all crazy, but don't you go blamin' the princess for it!"interupted Applejack. "She was only trying to help. She really thought he'd have a change of heart. She couldn'ta seen this comin'." "HUH! That's what you say! Me, I totally saw this coming from a thousand miles away!" snarled Rainbow Dash from above. "WE ALL DID! What did I tell you? I told you Discord couldn't be trusted! Boy, he's really done it this time!" Rainbow Dash angrily kicked at invisible foes in the air. "When I get my hooves on him!..." Everypony was now staring at poor Fluttershy, who ached to find a reason to try defending her friend. "That's enough Rainbow Dash! Now I know this looks bad, but I'm sure there must be some sort of reason for Discord to take Twilight away…who knows? M-maybe he just wanted to go for a stroll in the park, or…go to a museum together with her or-...um..." Noone was phased. "-I dunno 'bout y'all, but ponynapping doesn't seem to me like he's reformed very much," said Applejack bluntly. "I must agree with Applejack! There is simply no reason at all for Discord to just leave with Twilight in such a display, except to be, as usual, a nuisance!" snapped Rarity. "He's always causing problems, even after all of Fluttershy's attempts in correcting his behavior. Why just last week, I was working on my new spring fashion line when Discord suddenly burst into my boutique. He went and switched all the clothes from their beautiful pastel spring tones to darker colors that are only meant to be used for WINTER apparel. He ruined everything!" "That's nothing!" interrupted Pinkie Pie. "Yesterday, I was making cupcakes for Gummy's 3 quarters-of-the-month-into his-birthday-month-un-birthday-day, when he suddenly appeared, and popped all of my balloons without asking! Which he had already filled up with TAFFY!!! At first it was kind of funny, but then it wasn't-so-kind-of-funny, after having to sit in a bathtub full'a eggs, ice cubes, and peanut butter for five hours, just to get all of the super-incredibly-delicious taffy out of my mane!!" "I was wondering what that wretched smell was," murmured Rarity. Everypony's voice just grew more and more angry. Meanwhile, they all had forgotten Spike and Princess Cadence, who silently stood by in a corner of the room. Neither one knew what to say to stop the bickering or how to calm everypony down. Even when Cadence tried to speak up, no one listened or paid any attention to her. Spike decided enough was enough as he climbed up onto the table. He gave a loud whistle thru his fingers which finally was able to get everypony's attention- "ALRIGHT! Listen up! Twilight is gone and for all we know she could be in real trouble and all any of you can do is argue and shout over each other! This isn't going to help bring her back, so I suggest we start thinking of ideas and start searching for her!" The young mares bashfully hung their heads. They apologized to Spike and to each other as they began to think of all the places Discord and Twilight may have gone to. "A'wright, let's consider this practically," said Applejack, pacing around. "First off, if we were Discord, why in tarnation would we want to snatch Twilight up in the first place? He must have a reason." "To force her to help him steal the Elements of Harmony?" suggested Rarity. "No, Princess Celestia's put a protection spell upon the Elements of Harmony, and hid them better away this time, remember?" "Maybe she ought to have done that the first time around,” grumbled Spike quietly out of the corner of his mouth. He leaned against the wall, and began to eat some gems out of a paper bag- Princess Cadence glared down at him accusingly from behind. “…well you know it’s true…” he replied sullenly. "-Nah, I don't think he's after anything like that. Discord's been a pest, but he's not done any mischief on this grand a scale before. Not ever since Fluttershy befriended him anyway...He could have done this long ago. Why now? It just doesn't seem right," sighed Applejack, taking her hat and fanning tiredly at her worn out face. "…-But still. Where in the world would that crazy beast go off to?" Applejack wondered aloud to herself. She stared out the window, far across the horizon of Ponyville. The sun was nearly almost done setting, and Princess Luna could be seen faraway as a silhouetted dot in the distance, as she began her evening schedule. It was just beginning to turn a rich deep familiar purple in the north-eastern sky… 'Oh Twilight. I just hope yer okay out there,' Applejack thought sadly. "Wait a minute," said Cadence, "I've just remembered something Discord had said: ......Didn't he mention something about going to ...Canterlot? I think that he had..." Everypony pondered in thought as they tried to recall from their memories. But it was all such an unexpected turn of events, that it all was a blur, it had happened so quickly. Since at the moment there were no other leads to go by, Canterlot seemed like any good place to start. "Then what are we waiting for?" cried Rainbow Dash "Yes, let's not waste anymore time!" agreed Cadence. Everypony nodded in agreement, as they anxiously made their way out the door, and raced on to Canterlot with great speed. *** Princess Celestia was meanwhile just making final preparations before finally leaving for Ponyville when with great surprise, Discord had appeared and with Twilight before her. "Special express delivery for Princess Celestia!" said Discord with a quill and clipboard in hand, which he presented over to Celestia. "Sign here, here, here, and- here!" he said while grinning as he held out an open paw. "What, no tip?" "Discord, I wanted to personally speak to Twilight myself." "Yes, yes. But I thought it would be much quicker this way. You mares do take an awful long time before leaving the house!" Celestia scowled unhappily as she continued to scold him on the matter of defying her orders. Twilight meanwhile stood dazed and baffled by everything that had just happened. One moment she was at home with all of her friends, and now she was standing in the presence of the princess and Discord. "Princess Celestia, would you please tell me what is going on here? Why did Discord intrude into my house and why has he brought me here?" Celestia rose and approached Twilight, her expression was stern and serious which made Twilight all the more uncomfortable. "My dear Twilight, I apologize on the behalf of Discord for his brash behavior," she paused and stared back at him displeased. "That was not what I had intended for." Discord shrugged, and did not seem in the least bit sorry for his actions. He rather enjoyed Celestia's displeasure. She turned her attention back to Twilight as she continued on to explain the importance of their meeting. "It is with great regret that I must inform you that Equestria's very existence may soon be jeopardized. You are still so young and have so much yet to learn in your duties as a leader, however I'm afraid I have no other choice but to ask of you of such a heavy request." "Leader?" stuttered Twilight, "I don't understand Princess Celestia, why is Equestria endangered? What can I do to help?" "In time all will be explained, but for now what is important is that you must be prepared for what is to come. You must begin your training in advancing towards the next level of magic. It will contain a great deal of dedication and focus, but I have no doubt that you will succeed." Twilight remained speechless; she was bewildered by Celestia's instructions and of her secrecy on the matter. However she knew that there must be a good reason for confidentiality and did not want to question Celestia's motives. Celestia would never mislead her and so Twilight nodded her head in agreement. She was prepared for what was to come and had complete faith in her mentor. "I am ready to continue my studies under your guidance, Princess Celestia." She bowed her head to her, but Princess Celestia she had noticed, still seemed troubled by something. Celestia hesitated before speaking again as she struggled in finding the right words. Discord however, was immensely enjoying her reluctance and distress. "That's another matter I must inform you of. You see...unfortunately, I will not be able to remain as your teacher. With Equestria now vulnerable, I have special duties that are in need of my attention. I'm afraid I won't be of very much help if I cannot be attentive solely to you. Which is why Discord will now be overseeing your studies." Twilight gasped in horror by the news. She couldn't believe Princess Celestia would allow for this as she angrily stomped her hoof in defiance. "Discord? But Princess Celestia, he can't- you can't possibly mean- why HIM?" "Well that was rude!" sneered Discord. "I appointed him as your new teacher because I believe he has great experience and knowledge of magic that will be of use to you with the dangers to come." "This can't be!" protested Twilight, "Please princess, this must be a mistake-" "I assure you there is no mistake in my decision! I had you and your friends use the Elements of Harmony to release Discord from stone and to reform him for this very task. This is no request Twilight, it is an order. If you ever hope to succeed in your studies and be able to protect Equestria from harm, then you must obey my instructions!" Twilight lowered her head miserably which made even Discord feel a bit sorry for her. Celestia felt guilty for lashing out at Twilight the way she had, but she was just so troubled with the pressures of protecting her subjects that the urgency of the issue caused herself to panic. Celestia lowered her wing and tapped Twilight gently. Her voice was now softer and with sincerity she then said, "I understand that these new circumstances are difficult for you to suddenly adapt to. It's not easy for me to have to force you into a situation like this, but I wouldn't do it had I felt there would be nothing for you to gain or benefit from. Discord- has an odd way of teaching, but you just have to trust me on this." "But I still don't understand Princess Celestia. Why can't you tell me what these dangers are?" "As I mentioned, all of your questions will eventually be answered. But right now, I need you to just focus on your studies and do well. When you have completed your training, what happens next will be discussed more thoroughly." Twilight, still unhappy with Celestia's answer, nodded her head and agreed to study under Discord, so as to not disappoint her or further endanger Equestria. "This is going to be so much fun! You and me, teacher and apprentice! Doesn't that make you feel...oh what is that odd word your friend Pinkie mentioned?" chimed Discord ecstatically. "Was it...'excitous'?" "I'm sure my friends will be very 'thrilled' of the news," grumbled Twilight unenthusiastically. "Yes, I believe they will be too, after you return from having completed training here in Canterlot." "Wait- what do you mean after my return? We aren't going back to Ponyville?" Twilight looked to Princess Celestia for help. Celestia made an attempt at objection but Discord interrupted making sure she hadn't the chance to speak- "Indeed, my student. You see as your new teacher, I will be making all the decisions and necessary preparations. In order for you to succeed in your studies, you must be focused with no distractions. Besides Ponyville is so cramped and restricting!" "But my friends-" "Will be fine on their own without 'miss princess' in training trotting about. And if you study hard enough, the sooner I'll get to retire!" He drew Twilight's face closer to his and scowled ferociously: "So let's not do anything that may get a certain pony held back and sent to Magical Kindergarten, kapishe' ?" Twilight waited for Celestia to intervene but the princess hadn't uttered a word or made any attempt of protest. Twilight knew something wasn't right which made her all the more distrustful of Discord. But until she knew just what that was, she reluctantly agreed. "Now I expect to see you downstairs in the castle's gardens with a shiny red apple prepared on my desk!" Twilight continued to mutter nasty remarks under her breath as she dragged her hoofs across the floor. Before leaving she stared one final time at her once beloved mentor before exiting the room. She saw in Celestia's eyes an unexplainable feeling of what was perhaps sorrow. Twilight began to gallop to the gardens as Discord had instructed. He smirked over at Princess Celestia who returned a reproachful look. "Is it really necessary to put her through all this, Discord?" "Remember princess, my rules-my ways, otherwise Twilight here will have no teacher." "Very well. But then I ask of you to keep everything I have spoken to you about the Shadows as a discretion. When I see fit to it, I will tell her everything myself." "Everything?" asked Discord slyly. Celestia didn't respond to his comment as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Whatever I think needs to be told, I will tell Twilight myself. Understand? Now go on, your student is waiting." "Of course. It was a pleasure doing business with you- your majesty." He bowed and laughed mockingly before vanishing from the room, leaving Celestia alone to her dark private thoughts.