Turning the page, Twilight finally found what she was looking for. It was a picture of Discord. His mouth was open as though in laughter and Serenity had drawn herself looking up at him. Below were the words:
I have been trying to get some food to eat but no pony could give me any because it is so scarce. That won't matter anymore though. I made a new friend today and no longer need to worry about food...
Images blurred yet again and she felt the passing of time. Things solidified into another village scene and this time it was covered in...snow? She looked around in confusion. Snow didn't really seem to be Discord's style...then she noticed a sign by a cart containing some shriveled squash proclaiming “Mid-summer Sale!”
She sighed. Snow in the middle of summer. That was more like it.
“Sugar flakes fall doooooown among my ponies. Tasting ever so sweeeeet to my tongue. Where my poooonies are though, noooo pony can teeeeeeell!”
“Discord?” she looked up towards the familiar voice to see an even more familiar serpentine figure gliding through the air, singing his silly song.
“Sugar flakes, sugar flakes, ah my lovely sugar flakes...” he dipped upside down with his mouth open. Some flakes of 'snow' fell into his mouth and he licked them up with a contented sigh, “Aaaaaah, the sheer bliss of it all,” he turned in a full circle, looking below himself in mild irritation, “And no pony around to enjoy it but me? That's no fun at all!”
He breathed in until his chest looked as though it were about to explode. Before he could release whatever he was planning though, the sound of a giggle caught his attention. He continued holding in his breath, looking rather ridiculous, and turned his head in the direction of the sound. It was Serenity. Twilight caught sight of the young pony and frowned. She looked terrible. Thin and feeble looking, she was dancing among the sugar, greedily eating as many flakes as she could.
Twilight glanced back at Discord to see him back to normal, stroking his little beard and grinning in amusement. He twirled and sank lower in the sky, singing, “One little pony dancing in my snow. One turn, two turn, three...oh come on! Try again!”
Serenity, also noticing his presence, started spinning in response to his song but had quickly lost her balance and dizzily fallen to the ground. Discord appeared above her, laughing, “Get up little pony!”
“Yzzid oot m'i tub!”
Discord blinked and sank even lower, “What?”
“Yzzid oot m'i!”
“Ah,” Discord crossed his arms with another laugh, “You took a bite of one of thooose clouds. Easily fixed,” he snapped a claw, “There! Try it now.”
Serenity blinked and squeaked, “I...I can talk?”
“That's right!” Discord grinned, “Now get up!”
Seeing that she could speak normally again, she did get up and tried bouncing in a circle, “Whoohoo! I can talk!” before falling to the ground again because of her shaky legs. Twilight watched with keen interest as Discord hovered directly over the pony with a frown, “Now why can't you stay up when I tell you to?” his eyes narrowed, “You haven't eaten any of the purple cabbage lately, have you?”
Serenity shook her head, “I... haven't eaten anything. In a while,” she smiled up at him. Discord frowned even deeper, “And why may I ask haven't you eaten anything?”
“Well I can usually feed myself when there's food to spare,” she gestured around her, “But they have so little food and I'm not from their village so-”
“So they let you staaarve?” Discord glared around him, “Selfish ponies,” he rubbed his hands together, “They should be punished...”
“They just want enough food to eat,” Serenity ventured, “If they had more food, I'm sure they-”
“Of course,” he twirled up higher with his mismatched arms crossed, “Sharing is all fine and dandy when there's plenty to go around, blah blah blah. Here,” he pointed down at her, “I'll give these selfish ponies food and I bet they still won't feed you.”
Serenity frowned, “But I'm sure that with enough food-”
“Your faith in your own kind is touching,” Discord sounded disgusted, “But you'll see,” and he vanished with a flash. Serenity shook her head defiantly, “You're wrong. You'll see. You're-ah!”
A carrot suddenly popped into being beside her. Her eyes widened and her stomach rumbled in anticipation. She quickly snatched up the carrot, devouring it as more and more began to appear. There were more than just carrots though. Corn, apples, cucumbers and squash that actually looked good was popping into existence everywhere.
There was a low squeak and Twilight looked behind her to see a stallion's head poking out from one of the houses. He looked back and forth in shock then shouted out, “He's gone! And there's food everywhere!”
At his call many others poured out of their dwellings, exclaiming over the food.
“There's so much!”
“We can feed our families!”
“But what if it's another trick?”
A pony stared at Serenity who was eagerly starting on a long cucumber and yelled, “Nothing's happening to her! It must be safe!”
“Gather it up and bring it inside quickly!”
At those words more residents left the houses with baskets and bags. The produce on the ground quickly disappeared into these baskets and bags and was brought into the houses. Serenity soon found herself alone and surrounded by nothing but sugar crystals crushed into the ground, “Hello?”
“Heeellooo.”
Serenity flinched as Discord appeared in front of her with a raised eyebrow, “Well? What are you waiting for? Go ask for some food.”
Looking determined, she shakily stood and started towards the nearest door. Closely observing Discord, Twilight noticed his skeptical look as he watched the pony walk; his paw and talons placed on his hips with a disapproving air.
“Excuse me?” Serenity knocked on a door, “Excuuuse me!”
The door cracked open, “Who is-oh.”
Serenity smiled, “Hello, I was wondering if you could spare me some food. I'm really very hungry and I haven't-”
“You're the one Discord was talking to.”
She blinked, “Discord?”
“Yes,” the speaker sounded hostile, “We saw you talking to him just a little while ago. Who are you? One of his spies?”
“What?” she looked behind her but Discord was nowhere to be seen, “I didn't know that was-”
“You didn't know?!” the voice scoffed, “Where are you from?”
Serenity's ears drooped, “I-I'm from Daisyville...”
“Daisyville? What are you trying to do? Steal our food? Well you can't have any!” the door slammed shut and the now muffled voice could be heard saying, “That pony from Daisyville was trying to run off with our food!”
Shock and disappointment flitted across Serenity's face, “But I...I...” tears started forming in her eyes, “I'm just hungry...”
“Oooh, my poor, poor little pony.”
Twilight scowled up at Discord who lounged on the rooftop above, “I told you they wouldn't give you food even if they had it.”
“But...but why?” Serenity sniffed and hiccupped. Discord rolled onto his stomach, his paw resting under his bearded chin, “Because they're selfish. They have no sense of generosity. Oh, tsk, tsk, tsk, don't cry tiny pony,” tears had started pouring down Serenity's face, “I much preferred it when you were dizzily dancing and eating my sugar. Here, look up.”
Still sniffing, Serenity tilted her head up. Discord was dangling his eagle arm over her, rubbing his talons together to make more flakes of sugar drift down from them. They gently landed on her face and skinny body. The tiniest of smiles began to appear and Discord chuckled, “That's right, no need to be upset because of some stupid ponies with no sense of enjoyment. Come now, smile!”
Reaching down he started tickling her under her chin. She immediately started laughing, “Ah! St-sto-stop! Ah hahaaa stop it! Whoohahaha!!”
“Not until you answer me one question,” Twilight didn't trust the cunning expression on his face, “What are you going to do now?”
“I-I don't know!” Serenity managed to gasp through her laughter, “Move on?!”
“Oh no, no, no, no, no,” he stopped tickling her and flashed behind her, “That simply won't do,” he appeared to think about it for an exaggerated amount of time while Serenity recovered from his tickle-attack. Twilight glanced around, noticing the occasional eye peeking out at the scene, and wondered what the villagers thought of what they were witnessing. They obviously hated and feared Discord but why didn't Serenity? Was it because she was so young and all alone?
“I got it!” Discord picked Serenity up, “I'll take you to my amaaazing palace where you can eat anything you want and have all the fun you can handle!” he grinned at her like a lunatic, “You like games right?”
Serenity nodded, “Love them.”
“Excellent!” Discord exclaimed, letting go of her and dramatically flinging his arms into the air, “We'll play tons of games! Pulling pranks by day and plotting by night!” he put his paw and talons on his face, “I can see it all now: Celestia's face. She would never see it coming. HA! Priceless!!”
He burst out laughing as though from some private joke. Serenity, having landed on the ground with a thump, merely looked up at him with a look of curiosity, “Are you really...Discord?”
He immediately stopped laughing and stared down at her, “What? You don't know who I am?”
Flashing away, he reappeared on another rooftop sitting in a ridiculous-looking throne. Striking a pose, he proclaimed, “I am indeed Discord! King of ALL Equestria and Lord of Chaos!!” lightning momentarily blazed in the sky as he leaned forward, “And who are you little pony?”
Serenity's mouth hung open at his display but she quickly recovered. Running through the leftover bits of sugar, she jumped onto the mostly empty squash cart, struck her own pose, and declared, “I am Serenity! Explorer Extraordinaire and Eater of Clouds!!”
The smile on Discord's face widened as a faint sound started drifting from the houses and Twilight heard him mutter, “That settles it.”
Serenity suddenly disappeared and plopped into his lap, “You shall be my Princess of Chaos until I say otherwise! How does that sound?”
He looked inviting, even to Twilight, but the hopeful expression that had appeared on Serenity's face vanished. She frowned and began sliding off his lap. He scowled and picked her up, “Now wait a minute. What do you say?”
She mirrored his scowl and growled, “NO thank you.”
“WHAT?!”
There was a flash accompanied by the sound of shrill, panicked cries and Twilight found herself surrounded by clouds with the sun shining brightly in her eyes. What had those sounds been? Had Discord done something to the villager ponies?
“And here I was thinking we got along so well. State your reasons for refusing me pony and they better be good. I don't like being told no.”
Twilight blinked in the light, eyes adjusting to reveal the silhouettes of Discord and Serenity as they floated in the sky.
“You said I could stay with you until you said otherwise. I'd rather not go with you at all then.”
“So you'd rather starve than come with me?”
“If it's only for a little while, then yes.”
“Why?!”
“Because I don't want to get settled down just to get kicked out on a whim!”
Silence. Twilight felt a growing respect for Serenity. She seemed far wiser than her age dictated.
“Explain pony.”
“Well...after my daddy died, Lemontart took me in. She was nice to me until I was big enough to start doing things to help her in the garden. I did my best but...gardening is NOT my special talent. If anything, it's my UNtalent. When it became clear I was incapable of helping her, she kicked me out on my own. So, I'm used to being on my own now and I'd rather stay that way than get used to being taken care of and kicked out again. Get it?”
“Oh boo-hoo,” Discord's form drifted around the filly, “If that's all, you can stay with me as long as you want.”
“Really? I can? You won't ever kick me out?”
His eagle arm went up, “Cross my heart and hope to cry. Now come!” he grabbed her and there was another flash. Twilight rubbed her eyes and looked around. It was...a giant ballroom! The walls pulsed with moving clouds, giant white columns sparkled like sugar, and the flooring was rainbow-colored. She took note of the individual tiles that moved and floated around. Crouched on one such tile was...
“Celestia?” Twilight tried to step forward, forgetting she couldn't move. It was Celestia, though she looked far younger and...her mane and tail was an aqua-ish color?
“Welcome to my palace of chaos! Here you can walk along the walls when bored with the floor and eat all the clouds you want! They're melon-flavored today.”
She looked to see Discord standing not too far away, holding little Serenity up just as Celestia had described. He tossed her up, laughing, “Just don't fall through any holes you make while snacking!”
Serenity laughed at his comment and started walking in the air with ease, “This is great!”
“I know,” he smugly replied and turned around, “Ah, my dear Celestia, those buckets you're wearing are very becoming. They bring out your eyes.”
Twilight tried not to snicker to herself as Celestia looked down at her hooves that, amazingly, had buckets on them. She glared up at Discord, stomping one of her bucketed hooves, “That's NOT funny.”
“Oh,” he smirked down at her, “Isn't it? Ooooh Serenity!” he called, “Tell me, are those bucket-shoes funny or not?”
Serenity stopped her floating about and looked at Celestia. She tilted her head, her cheeks started to bulge, she tried to hold it in...she failed.
“Bwahahahaaa!” she burst out laughing and Discord bent over backward to look into Celestia's face, “See? I was right and you were wrong.”
Celestia turned away from him in disgust, “I hate you.”
Discord straightened and Twilight noticed a hurt look briefly flicker across his face, “How cruel of you to say my dear, and after all that I've offered you,” he twisted around her, forcing her to face him, “My offer still stands. Think of it,” he drew a claw down the side of her face, “Ruling Equestria beside me as Queen of Chaos. It can't sound that bad.”
“I should be ruling Equestria anyways!” Celestia spat, “You're the one who took it away from my family, the rightful rulers of Equestria, in the first place!”
Twilight had never seen Celestia look so bitter. She and Discord locked gazes, their eyes narrowed in mutual discontentment. He abruptly spun away from her. Looking unconcerned, he walked away with his arms swinging limply, nose in the air.
Serenity watched all this with wide eyes. Twilight couldn't tell how much of what happened she understood. The pony bit her lower lip as Discord plodded past her, remaining silent. As though realizing something, he stopped in mid-step and looked down at her. His expression remained aloof as he waved his talons toward her, “Celestia, this is Serenity. She's my new princess and must be treated as such. Take care of her will you?” saying that he continued walking...down until he had sunk into the clouds. There was a moment of awkward silence then Celestia opened her mouth with a smile.
Before she could speak, Discord's lion paw came out of the cloud he had gone into and, moving it like a mouth, his voice said, “Oh, and Serenity? Be sure you don't catch Celestia's cold. It's terribly infectious and has the unfortunate side-effect of killing one's sense of humor. Tootles!” his paw disappeared back into the cloud with a pop.
There was another awkward silence as both females were probably wondering if Discord was still around. Eventually, Serenity giggled, “He's funny.”
Celestia rolled her eyes, “He certainly seems to think so,” smiling kindly, she walked over to the young pony, “So, little one, why did Discord bring you here?”
Serenity beamed, “He's going to let me stay here and take care of me.”
“Oh really?” Celestia tossed her mane back, “Did he say that?”
Serenity nodded.
“I wouldn't put weight into what he says,” Celestia sighed, “He probably only brought you here in order to pull pranks on you for a while. Goodness knows that must be why he keeps my sister and I around.”
“I think you're wrong.”
Celestia looked surprised by the filly's statement, “And why do you say that?”
Serenity bit her lower lip and attempted to toss her short, messy mane back like Celestia had, “I think...he didn't like seeing me starve. And I think he keeps you around because he likes you. He said he wanted you to be his queen. I don't know about your sister...to make you happy maybe?”
“Hm?” Celestia ignored what she said about her, “You were starving? Was there no pony to help you?”
“There were plenty to help me after Discord made all the food appear,” Serenity looked down in sadness, “But they wouldn't give me anything because I was from a different village.”
“What?” Celestia stomped a hoof and flinched at the metallic sound it made, “These stupid buckets! I hate them!” she bucked them off and they went flying into the air and stayed there. Serenity frowned, “Why did you say you hated him? I think you hurt his feelings.”
“Huh?” Celestia was still glaring at the buckets, “Oh, don't worry about him. He has no feelings to hurt.”
Serenity's frown deepened, “I don't think-”
“Alright then!” Celestia cheerfully floated over to her, “First things first: however long you're here, know that I am here for you. I can act as your big sister!” she happily pranced around her, “You must meet my little sister Luna! She needs a fellow pony friend. Also,” she looked her up and down, “A bath. You need to be bathed and then I will comb out your mane and uh, your...tail?”
Serenity blinked and looked back at her tail, wiggling it, “What's wrong with it?”
“Well it's so...” Celestia's eyes roved around before blurting out, “Scruffy.”
“Scruffy?”
“Yes, it looks as though most of it was ripped off. All that's left looks like a messy bush.”
“Oh,” Serenity blushed, “I, uh-”
“Don't worry about it,” Celestia gestured to her, “Follow me and I'll help you look as cute as you can be.”
Serenity's eyes widened in confusion but she followed closely after Celestia.