Spike, Princess Cadence, and the other ponies hurried past the Royal Guards as they made their way to the throne room. Though one of the guards had protested to their unauthorized presence, Rainbow Dash hastily replied that it was a matter of a "royal emergency". The ponies entered out of breath but managed to compose themselves before Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna. The princesses were quite surprised, however, they continued to greet their most faithful subjects-
"Your majesties, something terrible has happened to Twilight!", exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
"Discord has gone crazy-loco-moco and has pony-napped her!", cried Pinkie Pie.
"Um...now we don't know that for sure" muttered Fluttershy, "Please your highnesses, I assure you Discord means no harm to our friend. I am sure this is all just a simple misunderstanding."
Rainbow Dash couldn't believe how Fluttershy after everything Discord had done, could still defend such a horrid creature!
"Fluttershy, when will you see Discord hasn't changed? C'mon open your eyes! He's taken our friend Twilight away! Are you so naïve to really hope he's still been reformed! Princesses, we must act before-"
"Fluttershy is indeed correct, Rainbow Dash", interrupted Celestia.
Spike and the ponies gasped by this news as she proceeded on to explain that Twilight was not in any danger and under protected supervision. In fact, it just so happened that she was about to send a letter to Spike, informing him on the current matter of Twilight's new duties. Twilight's need to progress in advanced magic required new teachings under Discord, who had asked for her to remain in Canterlot so that she may study undisturbed.
"Wait a minute...so what you are saying is- ...Twilight has to stay here, all on her own? But for how long?" asked Spike, fighting back his tears.
"I'm afraid so," answered Princess Luna regrettably. "In order for Twilight to complete her studies successfully, Discord feels she needs to detach herself from all distractions."
"Oh I reckon he does!" snapped Applejack, "He is just trying to separate us- AGAIN! Why I bet that's been his plan all along!"
The other ponies agreed in an angry murmur, all except Fluttershy, Princess Cadence, and Spike who still weren't sure what to think or believe in. Princess Luna looked to her sister for assistance in calming the young mares down. Celestia raised her hoof and called for their attention-
"I understand as Twilight's friends you all feel concerned for her safety. But we assure you everything is under control.
I know his methods may seem... a bit unorthodox, but I have faith in Twilight's success."
"But Princess Celestia!" protested Spike, " Why does she even need a new teacher? She already knows magic better than any pony I know! Hasn't she already proven herself enough?"
"And you are right young dragon. But as talented as she may be, there is much Twilight has yet to learn in magic, and only Discord can help her to reach that potential," said Luna.
Unsatisfied and disappointed by their vague answers, Spike and the ponies continued asking questions. It seemed that the princesses were trying to hide something from them which only made the friends more curious and eager for the truth.
Celestia remarked that she and her sister could no longer speak for they had "duties" to attend back to.
The princesses ignored their pleas as Luna coldly escorted them out of the room. Before shutting the door, she called for Princess Cadence to return inside. Cadence frowned in confusion but nodded her head obediently as she entered back.
"Go on back to your homes. Your friend will return as soon as she has finished her studies. I assure you, there is nothing to worry about," insisted Luna as she closed the door.
Spike and the young mares were stunned. Never had they been treated this way. Stubborn and agitated, all of them decided they would stake out, and wait for Princess Cadence to return to grand throne room instead.
"This is unfair!" snarled Rainbow Dash, "How can the princesses treat us like this!"
"I must say something was certainly odd in their demeanor," thought Rarity.
"Yes, I noticed it too. But I don't know if this involves Discord...," spoke Fluttershy softly.
"Why are Princess Celestia and Luna being such secretie-meanie-neanie-pants? It's not like them at all! Veryyyy FISHY!" said Pinkie Pie with a huge pout, as she pulled out a large cooked salmon from thin air, and took a big bite. Fluttershy blinked in perplexity.
"..............Um? Where did you get tha-"
"-I bet Discord put the princesses under some kind of spell!" Applejack interrupted loudly. "Maybe that's why they were both acting so strange?"
As the ponies pondered, Spike cautiously pressed his ear against the door as he tried listening in to the conversation taking place with Cadence. But it was impossible to hear anything through the heavy wood, so Spike sat back down on the floor impatiently.
At last, after what seemed like hours, the doors opened again.
"...Thank you, Princess Celestia. I will inform Shinning Armor of the news. Good day to you both," said Cadence, bowing her head to the princesses. She looked very sad.
The doors creaked loudly before shutting behind her. She approached the young mares with a sorrowful stare which made the ponies grow even more concerned, for they never saw Princess Cadence so distraught before.
"Princess Cadence, is everything alright?" asked Rarity
Cadence had said nothing for she was too lost within her own private thoughts to reply to her question.
"What did the princesses say to you? Is Twilight gonna be ok?" asked Spike worriedly.
"Everything is fine," said Cadence mechanically, "As Princess Celestia and Luna have already mentioned, they have it all under control."
She continued staring off unable to focus on their questions. The ponies could see her face had lost some color and her eyes looked as if she had wept.
"Cadence, what did the princesses say to you? Why aren't they telling any of us what's really going on?" interrogated Spike.
Cadence remained silent. She lowered her head and when she tried to speak, she stumbled on her own words.
"I'm...I'm sorry, I must go now. I have to return back to the Crystal Empire, " she said while lightly brushing past Spike. "Twilight will be ok on her own, you will just have to have faith in her... Goodbye."
And with that, she spread her wings and flew hurriedly out of sight leaving Spike and the young mares more bewildered than they were before.
***
Twilight, unaware of her friends presence within the castle, was waiting impatiently for her new instructor to arrive.
She started to dig her hoof anxiously into the ground wondering what was taking Discord so long. She thought bitterly of these new circumstances and couldn't believe she was about to learn magic from her former sworn nemesis. Twilight begrudged Princess Celestia as she angrily mumbled to herself, "How could Princess Celestia do this to me? How could she let Discord just take me from my friends and home like this without even having the chance to say goodbye?"
She stomped the ground angrily trying to hold back her tears. She didn't know when she would see them ever again. She just couldn't forgive Celestia's abandonment at a time like this. Twilight tried convincing herself that it all must be for the greater good for Equestria, but it was impossible to do so when she herself didn't even know what that meant. Everything always seemed to be a secret or a hidden lesson with Celestia, and though as her former student she wanted to remain loyal to her majesty, all she felt was anger.
She gazed up at the castle remembering the faraway times she had once locked herself in her own room, spending her whole life studying and nothing else. Now with her friends gone, and far from Ponyville, these forgotten feelings of isolation and loneliness seemed alien to her. Twilight shook her head and tried to not think of such thoughts. Instead she attempted to think of the positive, such as her intrigue for Discord's spells, for he surely was powerful; '-That is if Discord ever finally decides to show up to teach at all!' Twilight thought bitterly.
As if on cue, a large chalkboard suddenly appeared along with a large teacher's desk. Twilight who was unprepared for the surprise, became startled and without watching for what was behind her, she stumbled and fell over a small student's writing desk.
"Good morning aspiring pupae!" chided Discord with glee.
Twilight couldn't help but stare at Discord's ridiculous attire which caused her to painfully choke down laughter. Discord was now wearing a pair of thickly rimmed spectacles that kept sliding off the bridge of his muzzle because they were much too big. On his chest he fashioned a nauseatingly green blazer patterned with bright purple polka dots: It was so hideous that Twilight imagined Rarity crying out then fainting over such a garish piece of clothing. A pocket watch that was severely cracked hung carelessly from Discord's breast pocket, and on his neck he wore a bow tie that was orange. To poor Twilight, he looked more comical clown than intelligent professor. She could only gawp up in amazement at him:
In his claw, Discord held a giant red mug with an inscription that read, "#1 teacher" on it. He took a large gulp which he then immediately spat its contents out with disgust out in front of him-
"PBBBFFFFFFFT! YECK! CIDER! Why do ponies even drink this foul substance?" he said angrily with a toss of the mug over his left shoulder. (Twilight shuddered as it exploded in the distance.) "Now then! Let's all get settled into our desks."
Twilight looked around confused, wondering who else Discord was referring to since it was only the two of them in the garden. Recalling that he was just a nonsensical creature, she reluctantly humored him and sat down at the one solitary desk:
It was much too small for her. As the chair creaked loudly under Twilight's weight, her knees buckled painfully, for this was a desk meant for a young filly or colt, the sort of desk for a pony who belonged in magical kindergarten. But somehow she managed to tightly squeeze in, as her face turned red with humiliated annoyance.
The chalk began to levitate as it spelled out on the board, "Mr. Professor Amazingly Handsome Genius".
Twilight groaned loudly as her head flopped down on top of her desk. ("Oh for goodness sake!")
"Let us begin with a roll call," Discord said while adjusting his glasses pompously. "Ahem!- Twibite Spackle? Is there a Twibite Spackle present here? Twibite Spakle?... Anyone?...Twibite Spackle?"
Twilight groaned again and covered her face. She reluctantly raised her hoof.
"Ah, there you are! You know Miss Spackle, you must learn to be more vocal. Looks like I'm going to have to mark that down on your permanent record." A clipboard and a quill appeared in his hands, and he began to scribble as he drawled out loud-
"Not cooperative in class."
"Huh? B-but Discord!"
"That's MISTER Professor Amazingly Handsome Genius to you, young mare!" he said and started to scribble again, "Disrespectful in class-"
"This is ridiculous!" protested Twilight when her desk gave a final creak before completely falling apart. She gave a loud yelp while hitting the hard ground. Discord 'tsk-tsk'd, as he picked up his notepad once again.
"Really Miss Spackle? It's only the first day of class and you are already standing in as class clown? Disrespectful AND disruptive in class!"
"This is going to be a nightmare", mumbled Twilight.
"Oh come now, my delightful pupae!" he said with a snap of his fingers which made the desks and board disappear. "If you keep taking your studies so seriously, you won't ever succeed in my class! Did you bring that apple I asked for?"
Twilight nearly forgot about the apple, originally believing it to just be another one of Discord's tasteless jokes. She searched her saddle pack, and luckily found one she had in there already for lunch. She placed the apple into his paw which he then set onto an old tree stump.
"Alright. I think we shall start with a few simple warm-up spells. Turn that apple into an orange. Think you can handle that, my dear?" he replied, suddenly materializing behind her looking smug.
"Easy", said Twilight with a confident smile at him.
With a bright glow from her horn and a bit of a spark, she turned the apple successfully into an orange. She had tried this spell once before but this was the first time she could be happy with the results. Discord examined the new orange and gave an approving nod. Taking a bite of the fruit, he chewed in silence for moment before saying,
"Not bad, but it's wrong."
"Wha-what?! But I turned the apple into an orange, just as you instructed!"
"Indeed, but only in appearance. Here, see for yourself."
He revealed the bitten half of the orange for Twilight to better inspect. At first she saw nothing wrong with her work until she noticed that within the peel it was in fact an apple still. Twilight gawked in disbelief over such a mistake. She had performed the spell several times, and just couldn't accept that she'd missed all this time this one detail.
"Hm, an 'orangapple' is interesting..." Discord commented to himself as he took another bite. "You see Twilight, you may know how to do magic, but you have yet to learn how to be ...magical," he said with a cryptic smile.
Discord held up the orangapple and returned it back to its original form, placing the fruit back onto the same stump.
"Do it again," he commanded.
Twilight sighed but did as instructed. She focused on the apple harder this time, only to receive the same results as before. She tried the spell several times more but the orange remained an apple still from within. Discord was now growing impatient and bored with his new student. Deciding he had seen enough, he made the orangapple vanish with a snap of his fingers.
"Well I know now not to rely on you to make me a fruit salad for my next dinner party!" he huffed.
"I'm trying Discord!" Twilight panted, "I'm doing my honest best here, if you would just-"
"There is no time for showing patience! You should at this point be past transfiguration spells!"
"Maybe you should start acting like my teacher then and help me!" she shouted and stomped her left hoof.
"And maybe you should stop acting like a helpless young filly and start thinking outside your little box!"
Twilight narrowed her eyes angrily, as she stomped up close up to him. "And what does that have to do with magic!? Magic comes from long years of practice, dedication, and-"
"And imagination! interrupted Discord, "Which is what you completely lack, my dear."
"How?" she snapped.
"A fine question, my student. Here, I'll provide a visual example for you; look up," he said pointing to the sky.
Twilight hesitantly looked up to see the sky had grown suddenly bright. After adjusting her vision, she could see a large fiery comet blazing towards them. She gasped in horror at Discord's magic, fearing that the comet would soon hit and destroy all of Canterlot.
"Now 'Lil' Miss Princess', what do you do?"
"I-I-..." she stammered frightfully, "I...turn the comet to ice!"
The comet as if on command, now was no longer a large fire ball but an enormous iceberg hurtling through the atmosphere.
"Oh, brilliant! At least now Canterlot doesn't have to worry about a giant fire ball anymore. Bravo!" he said with sarcasm while clapping.
Twilight bit her lip and began to tremble. Her forehead beaded with sweat as she thought feverishly for another solution.
"I...destroy the comet! Blast it to pieces!" she shouted excitedly, shooting a ray beam at it.
The comet suddenly burst, but this plan had failed too, now with fiery melting ice rocks raining down.
"Hm...better, except now Canterlot won't be impacted by just one large comet, but several slightly smaller ones. A fine job I must say."
"Then...I turn them into just one small comet!" The comets meshed together, and shrank half in size, as Discord adjusted his spectacles and played with a calculator:
"Hmm. At its current speed and location, once it hits the ground, it'll only probably create an earthquake of 3.5 magnitude-if my calculations are correct..."
Twilight continued devising spell after spell, but with every attempt made, she found she had only made everything worse than before. The comet was now so close it looked as if it would fall right on top of them. Its shadow enveloped the sun, making Twilight scream while covering her eyes. She ducked her head and curled into a ball, shivering with fright as she awaited her demise...
Twilight felt something small bump her right on the head, causing her to let out a small yelp. Nothing happened. Twilight sat back up, rubbing her eyes in confusion- She looked around searching for the comet or any traces of destruction but all appeared normal as usual. She then noticed a small apple beside her. She picked it up and inspected the fruit carefully, wondering where it could've fell from since there were no apple trees nearby. Bewildered by the comet's disappearance, Twilight didn't notice Discord's face had appeared onto the apple which smiled up at her whimsically.
"You see now, Twilight? It's so simple you fail to even recognize the answer when it is staring you right in your face!"
He returned back to his body with the apple now in hand. He smirked as he took a bite from the fruit and then said,
"You could have turned the comet into a pillow, or a feather, or rather just send the comet back into space! But ohhh nooo- it's not complicated enough for you, IS IT?"
Twilight continued to rub her head embarrassed that she could not solve something so simple. Her pride and stubbornness however made it difficult in admitting and accepting her mistakes to Discord.
"Still don't believe me?" he said, "Here, I'll provide another example!" and with a sly smile Discord snapped his fingers once again.
Twilight felt the ground suddenly shake under her hooves as she slowly turned her head with anticipation to glance behind. A large hydra emerged over the hills as its horrible growl echoed in the distance. Twilight's legs trembled as the hydra began charging towards Canterlot castle terribly.
"Discord!!!!" she cried out in horror.
"So, what do you do now, my FAITHFUL student?" he said with a mocking chuckle.
Twilight glanced about frantically while gathering her thoughts together. The sudden pressure made her head boil and ache. She then realized that maybe magic wasn't the solution to the problem as she remembered back to when she had encountered a hydra once before.
"I-I get Rainbow Dash to-"
"She's away at the Wonderbolt Academy," interjected Discord.
"Well, then I get Applejack to-"
"Applejack is at some family-rodeo-reunion-thing-whatever..." he said with a yawn.
The hydra was approaching quickly as it let out another mighty roar which shook the ground. Twilight continued stumbling over all the possible solutions she could think of in order to save Canterlot, but with each idea Discord would immediately shoot down...
"Oh! I would get Pinkie Pie to-"
"Pinkie Pie is busy being Pinkie Pie! Honestly you will have to think better than that," he retorted while rolling his eyes.
"Well I can get Rarity-"
"She's having one of her hysterical fits over some dress or fashion issue," he said now playing poker with his four other cloned selves at a small table. One of the Discords had just dealt a royal flush; winning the game upon which he happily grabbed all the chips into his greedy arms.
"Then I would call Fluttershy-"
"Oh come on now, really?" he said now irritated with Twilight, "Stop relying on your friends to always help clean up your problems! They aren't even here!" He snapped his fingers and made the other Discords and poker table vanish. With an angry huff he approached Twilight, the sky suddenly became dark with the low rumbling of thunder in the distance. Growing weary of the lesson, Discord made the hydra disappear-
"Do you honestly think your friends will really always be there for you? Be sensible!"
"You're wrong Discord!" Twilight said defensively. "My friends would never abandon me! They'll always be there for me."
"My how narcissistic of you, to think that your friends don't have private lives of their own. Their sole purpose and duty in life is to serve you and only you, your majesty!" he said sarcastically while curtseying for Twilight.
"That's not what I meant!"
"Why I bet they just stand by their little doors all day long; just waiting to be summoned by you! Hm...Now doesn't that sound like somepony we know?"
Discord snapped his fingers again which had brought back the hydra from before as the creature let out an angry roar while continuing back on its path of destruction.
"So Twilight. Your friends are far from here and aren't able to assist you. There is a very disturbed hydra heading this way and Canterlot is counting on you, ALONE, to fix this problem. All your years of magical tutoring and you can't even stop a rampaging hydra on your own without the magic of friendship!" he said with a mocking laugh.
Twilight had just about enough with Discord's constant jeering and taunts. With an angry burst of magic, Twilight released a beam of energy up at the great beast. The hydra stopped charging as all six of the heads looked at each other worriedly before slowly expanding like a balloon. Its body continued to swell and grow before finally exploding with a loud BANG! Twilight panted and ground her teeth fiercely.
"Sheesh, that was unnecessarily cruel of you," commented Discord, " I give you a score of...eh, three or four at best."
"Why are you doing this to me Discord? You are supposed to be helping me learn magic but all you have been doing thus far is tease and mock me for everything I do!" exploded Twilight, "I haven't learned anything yet except that you are just a great big JERK!"
"It's hardly my fault, I can't help it that I'm stuck teaching such a narrow-minded student. You give me nothing work with!"
"The fate of Equestria is counting on me- on you rather as my new teacher! What kind of mentor are you anyway?"
Discord was now stretching out in his cloud hammock not paying any attention to Twilight's complaints which only made her more aggravated with him.
"There you go again, always quick to point out everypony's faults except your own." He let a loud yawn, put on some sunglasses, rolled over and continued- "I keep telling you magic doesn't come from reading your silly books or your magic of friendship-nonsense, but you refuse listen to me."
"Why should I listen to you when you treat life as if it's all just a game? You don't take anything seriously Discord!" said Twilight.
Discord hovered over Twilight as he began clapping enthusiastically-
"By George, I think she's got it!"
"Got what?"
Discord chuckled as he suddenly grew in size scooping Twilight up into his left palm, "That life is a game, which for once, your answer is correct! You see Twilight, life is indeed like a game- ...like chess or something, and so is magic. It has rules, and you only excel when you learn to break all of them. You think I'm playing along but you are wrong my dear. It is YOU who is trapped by playing this senseless game, which I wisely left a long time ago."
"What are you talking about?" asked Twilight.
"If you ever hope to truly understand magic you must abandon and disregard all forms of rules and laws that define it!"
"You can't do that Discord! That's...well...RIDICULOUS!"
"No, relying on your friends as your main source of magic is what's ridiculous! Can you honestly expect them to always be there for you? What if something happened to them, what if you were separated from them and were all alone? You are useless and weak otherwise because you aren't self-reliant, and they are holding you back from your true potential!"
***
Meanwhile on the other side of the castle's garden, at that moment Twilight's friends had found that their search for their friend had proved to be unsuccessful thus far. They had searched high and low throughout the castle grounds, but nopony was able to find Twilight or Discord. They had felt the odd shakes and heard strange roars from within the castle. Spike pointed out that all the ruckus must be from Discord. However once they arrived in the garden, all the commotion was gone and there was still no Twilight to be seen. The trail and hopes in finding their friend was now dwindling, and just when the ponies were just about to give up, Pinkie Pie had heard Discord's faint yet unmistakable laughter. The ponies galloped on further into the garden following his and Twilight's voices until they finally found their friend in the middle of a quarrel with Discord. Spike called out to Twilight, but she did not hear him because she was focused still on their heated debate:
"My friends are what give me my magical power, Discord!" shouted Twilight.
"YUCK! What you just said was so sentimentally sweet it makes me gag."
"I don't need to prove anything to you. Remember it was I who defeated you and turned you back to stone, if anything you're magically my inferior!"
Discord fumed at this reply. He growled quietly to himself, but then with a calm smirk he then said, "True, but you were only able to do that with the help of the Elements of Harmony. I bet you couldn't do that on your own!"
Frustrated by Discord's criticisms, Twilight viciously spat, "I knew enough magic to defeat you then as I could easily do now! I don't need your pointless lectures or you as my teacher! You are pathetic and bitter because you have noone in all of Equestria who would ever want to be your friend or your student for that matter!"
Discord stared at Twilight stunned and insulted by her comments, but before he could respond, Spike's voice called out for Twilight once again which this time she definitely heard. She peered from Discord's palm and saw her friends who were now all calling out her name from down below. Smiling happily by their arrival, Twilight teleported herself back onto solid ground where her friends greeted her excitedly.
"Girls! Spike! I'm so happy you are here."
"Of course sugarcube!" smiled Applejack.
"We wanted to make sure you were safe," said Rarity.
"And that Discord here wasn't trying anything funny!" snapped Rainbow Dash as she gave an angry glare up at Discord high above.
With a sheepish shrug Discord said, "Why I am offended Rainbow Dash!" before returning back to normal size. He then grabbed Twilight close to his chest and with a huge grin replied, "Why we are getting along swimmingly! Twilight and I were just having a very insightful discussion; in which I do believe we are making excellent progress." Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly.
"Aw, I'm so happy and relieved to hear that," smiled Fluttershy, "I'm proud of you both! See Dashie, Princess Celestia and Luna were right after all."
Rainbow Dash frowned unconvinced by Discord's lies and murmured to herself, "Hmph! That so?"
"Yes, we are doing quite well! Twilight is coming along beautifully! I am indeed impressed. In fact, you all arrived just in time for my next very special demonstration!"
The ponies looked at each other confused before Discord snapped his fingers: Spike and all of Twilight's friends vanished. Twilight gasped in horror as she frantically paced around the garden-
"Girls? Spike!? Discord, what have you done with my friends!?" she cried.
"So you think you don't need my help. Think that you're sooo perfect at magic already, is that it?" he said smugly while filing his claws. "Why don't you re-materialize your friends back yourself then, hmm?"
"WHERE. ARE. MY. FRIENDS. DISCORD?" Twilight demanded as she stomped her hoof.
"Relax Miss Princess," he said offering her a Banana Daiquiri with a pink paper umbrella. "They are in no harm, (for now...) but that all depends on how quick you are to rescue them."
Discord turned the Daiquiri into a bubble wand and with a deep breath, a large bubble gracefully floated up to Twilight's face. Peering into the bubble she discovered that her friends were inside huddled together fearfully within the darkness that surrounded them. Twilight gasped and started calling out their names in a desperate attempt that they could hear her, but it was useless. With a sharpened claw, Discord popped the bubble and with a hearty chuckle said,
"They can't hear you! I've transported your friends into a place far from here and the only way to save them is if you can prove to me that you really don't need my help in teaching you magic," Discord shook a pair of dice in Twilight's face which he then threw onto the ground. The dice rolled for a bit until they fell onto 'snake eyes'. A tiny Discord was now sitting on one of the dice and with a calm smile he reached out and theatrically proposed:
"If you can beat me in a sporting magic duel, I will bring your friends back and allow you all to return back to Ponyville safely. And I will even graciously excuse you from your lessons explaining to Princess Celestia that you are well trained and ready."
"Do you promise you won't hurt my friends?" asked Twilight with a suspicious glare.
"I Pinkie Pie promise!" he said while crossing his heart.
With no other choice or say, Twilight nodded her head and agreed to accept Discord's challenge. With a delighted burst of laughter, Discord snapped his fingers once again; transporting Twilight and himself out of Canterlot and into a strange foreign dark place...