Spike & Discord had managed to sort out the incident with the failing lights & mood altering magic by way of public apology. Discord's way of public apology seemed to be granting each family in town a request so long as Spike deemed it reasonable. This took quite some time but everyone seemed legitimately pleased with their wish. Spike also had Discord install a lift so that the non-flying creatures could reach the surface easily to harvest the impossible fruit that seemed to replenish quite often. Spike had asked him about it & Discord explained that he was continually sending out small amounts of magic to keep everything running smoothly, this is why everything went south during his episode.
The requests took up most of the time they had before Twilight's visit. Spike kept telling Discord not to worry but the draconequus had already magically sterilized the city four times, doubled the kitchen staff for as long as she was staying, magically produced complete records of the city since it's creation, & quadrupled the size of the palace library in an attempt to impress her.
"Discord, you need to calm down. It's not like she's going to turn you back to stone or anything." Spike said to the chimera who was currently repainting the palace by hand for some reason.
"I know that! But she's never liked me! If we're going to work out I need to show her that I'm really a good guy." Discord stated looking at Spike.
"Why do you think that? I don't care if she doesn't like you, we still have a shot no matter what she thinks." Spike said taking the paintbrush from Discord.
"You mean that?" Discord said with his best attempt at puppy dog eyes.
"Yes, now change the walls back to normal. All the orange plaid is giving me headaches." Spike said pointing at the offending wall. To which Discord smiled sheepishly as he snapped his fingers.
"Now, did you tell the cooks to make veggie lasagna? That's Twilight's favorite dish." Spike inquired.
"Yes, but I still think making it myself would have more meaning to her." Discord said slightly irritated.
"No, not until you learn that not everything needs sugar or chocolate or whatever." Spike said in a similar fashion with a wag of his finger at the ancient child.
"You liked my licorice spaghetti though." Discord countered.
"Yes but I can digest anything, Twilight can't." Spike said flatly.
"It's surprisingly difficult to argue with someone when they know you're not about to turn them into a radish. I miss the old days sometimes." Discord said sighing.
"Tell you what, tonight goes off without a hitch & you can have another kiss when mom leaves. Sound good?" Spike asked blushing slightly.
"Do you think Celestia would notice if I sped up time a little?" Discord replied with complete seriousness.
"That would be a pretty sizable hitch Discord." Spike said through a smile brought on by the spirit's enthusiasm. The two continued on with some more idle chatter for awhile until it was time for Twilight to make an entrance. Spike placed the paper with the odd designs on it in the center of the throne room at 6:59PM exactly. Within a second's accuracy the air began to shimmer & then the familiar light & sound of teleportation occurred in a flash that left a purple alicorn in it's place. Twilight scanned her surrounding & looked at the two tall draconian figures before her.
"Spike, Discord, It's good to see you again." she said in a slightly hesitant tone.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle. What's it been? Seven years?" Discord said in a matching voice while avoiding eye contact.
"Yeah, that sounds about right." she answered also avoiding the much taller figures gaze.
"Sooo, how about we head to the dining hall. Dinner should be about ready, & that should give us time to talk." Spike said trying to cut through the tension in the room. Both of them merely nodded & Discord took the lead. The walk was silent until,
"So, Discord... your palace is much less... random than I expected." Twilight said trying to ease into conversation.
"Yes, I based it off of Atlantis' capital building. It was a beautiful place, you should ask Luna about it sometime." Discord stated still worried about the evening.
"You mean it was a real place?" Twilight asked genuinely intrigued, which Discord picked up on.
"Oh yes, I visited it often before it sank. A tragic incident with the tides, they were nearly as advanced as Equestria is now."
The two chatted away about history & myth like old friends until they reached the dining hall. Spike could only smile at this but didn't pay much attention to their conversation as it seemed a bit dull to him. They were seated at the table to one corner, Discord's kingdom had no nobles to speak of so the impressive table was terribly wasted. The awkward silence seemed to catch it's second wind at this point, but after a moment Twilight slew it once more.
"So... Spike informed me of the situation but I assume it's been resolved since you two seem to be getting along well?" She asked with some hesitation.
"We're trying it out to see how it goes but what with running the city we haven't had a date or anything." Spike said much to Discord's relief. Twilight was visibly unsure about this but didn't condemn their decision. Instead they were quiet as a diamond dog brought out a large rectangular covered dish. It was then placed adjacent to the three & the lid was removed. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw a gorgeous looking lasagna steaming up from the dish. The diamond dog cut pieces for each of them & took a place at the wall behind Discord to await any instruction. As they began eating Twilight was visibly pleased by the dish. After awhile however her curiosity began to eat at her.
"Discord since you're entering a relationship with my son I'd like to know more about you." Discord obviously began to sweat at this but Spike unbeknownst to Twilight shot him a reassuring look.
"W-what would you like to know?" He managed to stutter.
"Where do you come from? Do you have any family?" she asked in a semi serious tone. Discord sighed but answered none the less.
"I was born in Equestria long before ponies came to it, I had started traveling the world by the time your ancestors had migrated here. Eventually I returned to find your race here." He said with a seemingly sad note in his voice.
"Really? I wouldn't have guessed that, what about family though?" She said genuinely curious.
"My mother was a powerful demon named Echidna & my father the most powerful creature in existence & the son of the earth herself, his name was Typhon. I was the youngest of twelve children though none of us looked like each other at all. all but a few of them were killed, but they have many descendants running about still. I haven't seen Mom & Dad in nearly 3000 years but they're immortal so I know they're alright." Discord said. His ears were flat on his head & tears were forming in his eyes. All was silent for a moment as no one knew what to say. Spike had been just as unaware of this story as Twilight & was now just as silent.
"I'm sorry I brought it up,but who would do such a thing?" Twilight asked before she could stop herself.
"Ponies. Ponies saw my family as monsters & destroyed the ones they could because they were afraid of them. All but me because I was away, Cerberus because they tamed him to guard Tartarus & Cadmea who could never be caught thanks to her magic. Dad is imprisoned under a mountain & Mom is in hiding deep underground being protected by Grandma Gaia. That's why I decided to rule over the ponies for so long before I was turned to stone, I wanted revenge but I didn't want to hurt them" Discord said without any emotion at all in his voice.
"I-I wasn't aware that you had such a history. I'm sorry that I brought it up, That must have been a hard time for you." Twilight said sincerely as she recovered from the shock.
"Don't be, my family wasn't like pony families. They did whatever they pleased, stole from each other, fought, & there wasn't any care between us. That's why I left, I wanted away from them so badly. But they were still family, so I overreacted to their fates & caused loving families pain. It took those same ponies to help me realize how wrong I was." Discord said his expression brightening a little. Spike had never seen Discord like this before, serious & sad with heavy doses of regret. Spike had never seen eyes so old looking before, they were the same as always but seemed so different while he talked about his own history. It seemed like he was seeing the immortal for the first time as what he really was, a sad clown trying to hide behind painted on smiles & childish games.
The dinner progressed normally enough afterward & the plates were taken away by various staff. Discord himself materialized the desserts, Twilight received a piece of black berry cobbler, Spike a slice of jewel cake with butter creamed pearl frosting, & Discord a large bowl of cotton candy flavored ice cream with chocolate sprinkles.
"How did you know what we wanted for dessert?" Twilight said over the sound of Spike greedily gobbling down his 24 karat confection.
"Magic." Discord said smiling as he clamped his hands shut & then parting them creating a small rainbow.
"That's as in depth as your going to be about this isn't it?" Twilight asked flatly.
"Most likely." Discord said before devouring his treat bowl & all. Twilight merely sighed & began enjoying her cobbler, which she had to admit was excellent. The conversation soon picked back up after the delicious treats were gone but Twilight soon tired & was offered a suite upstairs to which she accepted. She planned on seeing the city itself tomorrow but said she didn't intend on revealing it's location to anyone that didn't need a place to call home. As Spike & Discord headed to their own rooms Spike stopped the draconequus.
"Discord, you did great tonight. You didn't need to tell her all that if you didn't want to though." Spike said with a caring expression.
"If this is going to work I need to be completely honest Spike, & even though it hurt I feel better talking about it after keeping it to myself for so long. & without you there I wouldn't have been able to do it." Discord said with a sincere smile much different from his regular maniacal grin. Spike pulled the draconequus into a kiss which was accepted eagerly.
"You definitely earned that." Spike said as he passed the speechless chimera & entered his own chamber. Spike climbed into his bed & adjusted himself until comfortable.
"I'm becoming my mother. The more I learn, the more I want." He thought to himself as he drifted to sleep with a smile on his face.