//------------------------------//
// 2. Twilight Sparkle: Season Ending 
// Story: Rise of Ponietheus 
// by twitterdick 
//------------------------------//

	Celestia's voice chimed in, "Dear Twilight Sparkle, are you listening?"
Twilight Sparkle snapped back into reality, into her walk with the Princess in Canterlot's gardens. "Y-Yes. Yes, I am listening, your highness."
Celestia smiled. "You don't have to call me that anymore."
Twilight's crown dug uncomfortably into the left side of her head, no matter what she did to mitigate it. "Yes, I know. It's just a reflex, I can't help it."
"You'll need to learn to start. I'm not going to be around to hold your hoof forever, you know. Someday 'Princess' Twilight Sparkle won't be in a position to daydream in a lovely garden."
"I know."
Celestia then shed her authoritative pose, and leaned her head down with a playful smile. "Royalty isn't really everything its cracked up to be, isn't it."
Twilight Sparkle cracked a smiled in return, "Permission to speak freely?"
"Granted."
"Not even a little." She said, snickering. "There's so much sitting, waiting and talking. Everypony's voice is so… monotone in those dull meetings. Books on neuropharmacology have more life and excitement in them."
"Tedium can make even the most studious pony restless, particularly the ones used to regular adventure. You miss your friends, don't you?"
"I do see them less often."
Celestia sighed. "Take a break. Whatever lecture I give you now will fall upon deaf ears. Have lunch with a friend, and be back here in no more than an hour and a half."
Twilight lit up. "Thank you, thank you!"
The young princess pranced off while the elder one lingered. The mirth that had found its way into the heart of the younger had long since drifted from the thoughts of the older. Celestia inhaled in that garden, and looked northward. Bitter storms gathered far off, and more and more dark clouds gathered. The far away skies were as restless as Twilight Sparkle. The Princess dismissed rampant thoughts that clouded her head. Yet, as she shook them away, she felt as if plans were compromised. 

The garden was more quiet and peaceful than it had ever been for Twilight Sparkle. The midday sun glistened over head, and the soothing breeze and sounds of trees drifted into her eyes and nose like a symphony of sliver. She basked and reveled, if only for a few moments, as her royal discomfort faded back into the calmness of the garden. A sudden slinking was heard, and a deep voice whispered out to her.
"My, my…" it said. "The reverent Princess Twilight Sparkle moves to the garden's exit. What's the occasion?"
Twilight stopped and rolled her eyes. "Come on out, Discord. I don't have the patience for your games."
Shadows slinked together from under trees and bushes and soon Discord was at the young princess's side. He chuckled and clucked. "Whoa! Claws out today, aren't they. Just where are you off to?"
Twilight continued on her way out with her brow down low. "Celestia has granted me some time to each lunch with my friends. I'd prefer not to waste it."
"Lunch? With you? Why I'd love to!" Discord said. "Why, thank you for inviting me! I appreciate it. I mean, I was starting to get the impression that you were actively trying to avoid me…"
Twilight groaned. "Ugh. Alright. Come on!" she said.
"What's with the long face?" Discord asked as the two approached the edges of the castle. The Canterlot streets were buzzing with the usually business. The same things happening, just on a different day. Twilight normally only had time to peek out the great castle windows in-between meetings and royal training courses. The city beyond always looked the same. Discord continued, "Are you that unexcited to spend time with little old me or is royalty not all it was cracked up to be?"
"Nopony said being a princess was easy," Twilight responded dismissively.
"…'Nopony' hasn't said much of anything, has he?" Discord said.
Twilight sighed, "It's… it's just that-"
"That every day is the exact same," Discord said. "Same bed, same ponies, same food, same meetings, same lessons. It's like a crushing monotony - coupled with the paralyzing terror of knowing if you mess it up, a lot of your peers will be so very disappointed in you."
Twilight Sparkle was silent.
"Isn't it strange?" Discord continued, "It is as if all civilized life revolves around such crushing monotony and paralyzing terror. Students, workers, teachers, leaders, ageless-handsome-chaotic-creatures-forced-into-service-by-the-horrors-of-positive-emotion; we all suffer so."
"…Are you done?"
Discord sighed. "I need a vacation…" he mumbled. 
"What exactly is it that you do all day?" Twilight wondered.
"Often I sit around and contemplate the feasibility of the idea that I'm the only creature who's brain works properly. Other times I get the distinct feeling that I'm captive. Celestia keeps the guards light, but Luna sure doesn't. They've withheld a good level of trust from me, like I deserve such treatment! I can't help by shake the distinct feeling that I am hold for something…"
"Perhaps they keep you around for your philosophical insights."
Discord laughed, "They don't listen to me."
The uncanny nature of such a conversation with Discord pressed its weight down upon the thoughts of Twilight Sparkle, but she ignored them. Their walk from the castle grounds, through the ever stretching city of noise, of business, of motion and motion, then down to the lands beneath bristled with idol conversation - friendly conversation. Twilight Sparkle inhaled through her nostrils and out through her mouth. She didn't notice her crown sliding down into the left side of her head. It was nice for everything to be so calm and quiet.
She was ever conscious of her limited time. 'No more than an hour and a half', Celestia had commanded. She didn't have time to assemble the whole cast and she knew it. Her teeming mind had already made a decision on who to invite on this venture. Such a peaceful afternoon would surely be complimented by the soothing nature of Fluttershy - and her voice would stand an excellent foil to the ramblings of Discord, not to mention his modicum of camaraderie with her. She made the motions towards the path to Fluttershy's cabin.
"Oh, Fluttershy!" Discord cheered in a prodding manner, "Excellent choice. Your other pals are just so loud…"
There was something of a cliche in Fluttershy's cabin, like the cheapest and most prevalent pro-nature motifs from storybooks had outright come to life and consumed her home in a fit of gracious splendor that masked an insipid undertone. Apart from Discord's occasional satirical rambling and her own minimal response, Twilight found the place oddly void of activity. The only motion came from the leaves afloat in the breeze and a soft cooing from within the cabin. As she approached, the cooing congealed - transforming into soft bristles of sadness. Fluttershy was crying. 
She motioned Discord to wait, and the beast protested in word yet obeyed. She knocked on the door. "Fluttershy? Hey, are you in there?"
The cooing stopped instantly. Bumps and muffled sounds echoed from inside, then scrapes and bumps approached the door. Fluttershy answered with a forced smile. "Oh, Twilight!" she said, "It's so good to see you…"
Twilight opened her mouth to speak. A shadow moved above her.
"Boo!" shouted Discord, popping his head in from above the doorway. Fluttershy shrieked and fell back into her home. The beast threw his head back in laughter, haughty and amused at his prank. Twilight snarled, and seized the opportunity to enter Fluttershy's home and slam the door behind her. Discord snapped to reality. "Hey… hey!" he protested.
Fluttershy caught her breath. She smiled weakly at Twilight Sparkle, and moved in for a hug. "I didn't appreciate that at all. Oh, but it's so nice for you to visit, Twilight. I'm sure you must be awful busy."
Twilight responded with a warm smile of her own, "I had some time, so I thought I'd visit. Are you alright, you seem kind of down."
"Oh, it…it's nothing really…" Fluttershy said with a slight sniffle, "A lot of the animals have been behaving strangely - some have even disappeared all together! I'm simply… I'm worried about it, is all. I'm feeling a bit out of it. Oh, but I'm wasting your time… You don't get a lot of it, I'm sure."
Discord slithered in through a nearby window to Twilight's left. He was sure to be as noisy as possible. He grumbled, and Twilight paid him no mind.
"Let's talk about things over lunch - I'm buying!" Twilight said, "It'd be nice with just the two of us."
"The three of us, it seems," Fluttershy said, doing her best to smile over at Discord. She gleamed at him, "Thanks for the surprise Discord! You really gave me a scare!"
Discord let out a childish sneer, "You aren't supposed to thank somepony that scared you."
"I was being sarcastic!" Flutteshy said.
"You have to be more acerbic when your sarcastic. Say that in a smarmy, self-important kind of way!" Discord said.
"You did such a good job scaring me, Discord!" Fluttershy said with no change in tone, "How was that?"
"Erm… Well, you do have the concept down at least… B+." Discord said.
"Um, What's on earth is going on here?" Twilight wondered.
"Discord has been giving me 'sarcasm lessons'. It's where you say something that you don't mean like you mean it." Fluttershy said. 
The air seemed still as they exited. Twilight inhale through her nostrils again, and subtly choked on the aridness. She looked north. A storm, a violent one, was brewing near very tall mountains out in the distance. Clouds from all around the sky drifted as if they were being pulled that direction, like a tide in the sky - like the pull of the waves from the shore just before a tsunami.  
"Looks like a storms-a comin', Cap'n!!" Discord said in a forced accent as his gaze matched Twilight's. "That's just what your life needs, isn't it? Some heavy rain to provide a soundtrack for your dull, pointless royal lifestyle."
"I'm not too worried about it," Twilight said, "It's stormed before and it'll storm again. What's the worse a little rain can do? C'mon, let's eat."