//------------------------------// // 3) A Discordian Night's Dream // Story: Learning ABCs - Aristocracy, Bureaucracy, Chaos // by Isopod //------------------------------// Princess Celestia carefully led Twilight through their plans for tomorrow and the important meeting they were going to have. The guest of honor visiting them tomorrow was a griffin ambassador and the meeting they were going to attend seemed to be of great importance; with the Equestria Games coming up and many of the griffins showing up both as competitors and guests, there were many arrangements to be made of cultural, security and diplomatic importance. Twilight didn't have much of a problem realizing what the meeting will be all about, though she was a bit worried of how it would look once she's actually there - still, as Princess Celestia had explained, she was going to be there as more of a consultant, considering her non-existent experience with politics and formalities like this. After that was done with, the young Princess retreated into her temporary chambers, still going through everything Celestia had told her and checking her notes. There were several highly useful books she borrowed from the library for this occasion specifically, so she figured she wouldn't have a problem with anything tomorrow. It sadly turned out that Twilight Sparkle knew about the Princess' actual business as much as she knew about nuclear physics. Other that the very definition and perhaps some basic facts everypony knew about the way the kingdom was run, she was unfamiliar with all the political titles, necessities, preparations and duties. She also sadly realized that unlike many other books, these were quite boring - it slightly horrified her to realize she didn't quite like politics as much as she thought she would and it scared her even more that this meant she held a dislike against a book. Her mind tried to find detailed definitions of political systems interesting, but she half felt like she already knew all that was necessary to know and the text itself simply didn't catch her interest as much as topics she'd usually read about. With a heavy sigh and a slight headache, she decided to leave the read for some other time. The moment she freshened herself up in the bathroom, she felt much better, washing away the thoughts of the dreadfully boring book, but suddenly feeling quite lonely. She missed the mischievous Spirit that she had recently pounded into the ground, but figured he had it coming. Well, not really. She facehoofed at the memory. She didn't know if he'd come at all today or tonight, random as he was, but hoped he wouldn't be upset with her. Though, knowing him, her being upset with him in the first place probably only amused him further. She decided not to think of it for now. Instead, she spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some magic studies of her own before descending down to have dinner. Princess Celestia and Luna were both away from the Castle that evening and they wouldn't be back until late hours, so it was going to be a lonely evening, Twilight sadly noticed. She suddenly realized there was a continuous sound of hoofsteps behind her, which startled her. She promptly turned around, only to realize it was a guard, following her. The familiar stallion in the regular shiny piece or armour stopped in his tracks. "Yes, your Highness?" He questioned. Twilight stared at him for several long moments before realizing why he was following her - Princesses, or anypony else of higher rank that resided in the castle, often had a personal guard or two following them wherever they went for their own safety. "You just startled me, that's all." Twilight smiled apologetically. The guard nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, your Highness, but it is our royal duty, after all." Twilight nodded back. "It's alright, I understand." She was about to move on, when she looked back at him again. "If you don't mind, though, could you just..." She gestured with her hoof for him to come and walk by her instead behind her. He seemed a bit surprised by her suggestion, but came up to her anyway, keeping a respectful distance away from the Princess. He glanced at her awkwardly, but when he realized she noticed that, he immediately looked away, as if he'd just committed a crime. Twilight wondered just how did the guards usually act around Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. This one almost seemed to fear her; Twilight knew better than to conclude Celestia would give any of her subjects a bad treatment. "Are you alright?" She asked. The guard looked at her, alarmed. "Y-yes, your Highness." He replied stiffly, stuttering in his hurry to answer her. Twilight tried really hard to stop herself from rolling her eyes. If this was the treatment she would be getting from other ponies now, she already disliked it with passion. "Look, I don't want to sound, uh... unprofessional, but, I have no idea on what is it like to be a Princess. Let alone govern a country. And, well, I could always use a friend to help me get around." She added, her voice full of hope. The guard was still tense at first, but then his face expression softened and he gave her a surprisingly cute smile. It was a terribly familiar smile, but she just couldn't recall if she had met him anywhere before. "I'm sorry, I guess you're right. I should've known better and know that you're probably not comfortable with your position yet." "Uh... yes, yes! That's exactly it!" Twilight was all but ecstatic - finally, somepony understood her predicament! And what was even better, he seemed to quickly accept the fact she didn't want to be treated like a Princess all the time. His tension was gone and he looked much more approachable than before. "I suppose I can kind of understand how you feel," he proceeded, "I myself had only recently started working here and I felt heavily out of place at first. Almost as if all the other guards-" "-were better than you?" Twilight finished his thoughts happily. The guard now returned her smile equally eagerly. "Exactly so!" The two simply stared at each other in utter content, until they started feeling weird. Twilight shyly looked away, then spoke again. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. Glad to meet you." She offered him her hoof. He snickered as he shook it. "Of course, I know that. I suppose you don't remember me after all, huh?" "I'm... sorry?" Twilight grinned sheepishly again. "You do look familiar, but I just couldn't point my hoof..." He saluted, although jokingly. "Flash Sentry at your service, Princess." Flash Sentry. The memories of a human male suddenly came back rushing, but she tried to shake it off as the thing of the past - as similar as they were, the two weren't the same person. But she knew this stallion. She bumped into him, two times, at that. "Of-of course, I remember you now!" Twilight gasped. "I bumped into you once or twice, heh heh..." "Yeah..." There was an awkward silence again before Flash Sentry cleared his throat. "You should get down and have some dinner. Kitchens stop working after nine even for the members of Royalty so unless you can cook yourself, I suggest you go and eat while you can." Still vividly remembering the fire that almost caught her house when she tried to cook dinner, Twilight quickly made up her mind. "Right. Let's be on our way, then." The two descended down into the dining room. Twilight insisted that Flash Sentry should join her for dinner - not only was he a pleasant company, but she couldn't stand eating alone in a huge dining hall that was made to accept at least 20 ponies at the same time. He tried to convince her that he wasn't hungry, but the rumble in his stomach spoke otherwise. In the end, they ate dinner together, surprising the serving ponies slightly. "Thanks for joining me. I don't think I would prefer eating by myself. I rarely do..." She remembered Spike and realized how much she missed him at that moment. "It's alright." Flash eyes the food on the table, feeling even more hungry than before. "Truth to be told, I skipped on dinner today by accident." Twilight frowned. "How do you do that by accident?" "I forgot it at home, is all." Flash Sentry blushed a bit. "I usually pack myself something..." She snickered. "Oh. Well then, feel free to eat as much as you want." "Are you sure that's all right? I do feel kinda too privileged." "Don't worry about it. I know the royal cook well, ever since I was a little filly - she would not let me leave the table until she was sure I ate to my heart's content. I'm sure she'd be careful to ensure my friends get to eat as much as they want as well." "Well, when you put it that way..." They both took generous portions of tasty dinner. "Oh, the water..." Twilight eyed the pitcher - it was empty. She got up swiftly. "Hold on, I'll get us some more." "Princess, please!" Flash Sentry protested loudly before taking the pitcher himself. "You've already done me a great deal of good, treating me the way you do. The least I can do is to serve you, when you need it." "Don't say that..." Twilight guessed one can only act so much like a friend before a sense of duty kicks in, but she didn't mind. Flash Sentry seemed like he would have done it for anypony at anytime, polite and gentle as he was. Yet, he seemingly enjoyed doing these little things for her, so she didn't protest to his little signs of courtesy anymore. They had a bit too much fun to leave early and before they knew it, the clock struck ten. Flash Sentry blinked in alarm. "Oh, it is the end of my shift already! I better go, wouldn't want to keep my colleague waiting." He got up and bowed to the young Princess. Before she could protest against him doing that, he quickly got up. "Sorry - force of habit. But I won't be as forgiving with other ponies and Princesses around - I wouldn't like them to think I disrespect you." He grinned playfully and she laughed, not quite knowing why. "Good night then, Flash Sentry. Thanks for joining me! We will do this again sometime." "I would love to. Good night, princess!" Flash grinned at her once again before trotting off swiftly. Twilight sighed, not feeling as lonely anymore. She would have a good night's sleep today. Or at least, so she thought. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Twilight blew out all the candles and got comfortable in her queen sized bed, enough to accommodate at least five ponies comfortably. She felt warm and the overall feeling of joy and happiness overwhelmed her. Her stomach was full of tasty food, she gained a new friend and her wings folded properly without much trouble. Life couldn't be better at that moment. Contently, she drifted off into sleep. The room was silent. Twilight Sparkle slept soundly. There was nothing suspicious or weird about the room. Nothing but the sudden, sneaky appearance of the Lord of Chaos, sitting with his arms crossed on the Princess' bed. To Twilight Sparkle, it would look normal. To anypony else, it was a scary sight. The Spirit sitting in the dark, looking at her almost sinisterly. "My turn, Twilight Sparkle." Click. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Twilight Sparkle woke up with a jolt, suddenly wide awake. The room was still in the dark and it was warm - no, it was hot, too hot. She had a feeling she would boil in this room. She threw off the covers and got up hastily, rushing towards the windows. They wouldn't open - neither her magic nor her hoofs managed to open it. The room was getting almost painfully hot, like a furnace. She galloped towards the room door and flew out gasping for the cool air. The room behind her sealed shut - she could hear a clear sound of the lock in action. She was about to ask a guard for help, when she realized there wasn't one. It was extremely suspicious. Night shifts wouldn't just leave like that. Unless something made them. She was thirsty. It was still hot, although it wasn't as horrible as before, but it had left her throat scratchy and dry. She could barely think from the sudden thirst, so she decided to deal with the weirdness of the situation after she'd had a drink of water. She rushed down the stairs. Then some more stairs. More stairs... She was looping, she realized at some point. She had passed the same painting at least three times. "What is going on here?" She breathed, by now fairly frightened. As she asked that, the stairs beneath her hooves turned into a slide and before she managed to even yelp with surprise, she found herself in the kitchen. Or at least, what was left of it. There was a sink, a table and an empty glass on top of it, all of it standing on a checkered floor in the room with no visible walls. Her mind was by now a complete mess and she decided not to question anything - she would do so after a drink. She just needed to drink. Her magic scooped up the glass and she tried to make the water run. "No, no, no!" She cried desperately - the faucet didn't work. She spun it left and right. Instead of water, sand poured into the sink. "No, not sand!" Twilight instructed mindlessly - instead of it, gravel clanked into the sink melodiously. "I need wa-.. wa-t-... wa-!" Her tongue was stuck. "I need some wat-eh-!" Impossible. Suddenly, music played. A familiar song, yet sounding like a lullaby, accompanied by a music box... ♪ Make sure I'm drinking in the right Amount of fluids day and night~ ♪ That song... ♪ I wish I may, I wish I might Have just one little thing~ ♪ The music stopped. What are the magic words? The voice she knew all too well asked. "Discord, what..." Her voice croacked and her throat hurt and she immediately fell silent. She knew Discord's riddle well. A song.. magic words...She quickly made the connection and she sang the end in her broken voice. ♪ Oh, would you please, finally bring me, that tiny glass of... water... ♪ Twilight Sparkle fell asleep inside her dream and dreamed of seas and lakes and baths and ponds, of rains and floods and pools and puddles and of course, of many, many glasses... of water. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ She woke up slowly. Her throat was as safe as it was before she slept, perhaps a bit dry, as it sometimes was in the morning, the air was fresh and the room pleasantly cool. It was still very early in the morning and stars have only began to go to sleep. It was all a dream. A weird, weird dream. Then she saw the Spirit sitting in front of her, right on the edge of her bed, by her hind legs and wasn't sure anymore. "Good morning, Princess." "Discord?! I..." Twilight shook her head as she sat up. She gave him a stern look. "What was all that about?" She asked, not sure if he understood. But Discord acted innocent. "You had a bad dream, no?" "How did you...?" "You were mumbling a bit." He quickly explained and suddenly summoned a glass of water. "Thirsty, I suppose?" "I am, thank you." Twilight admitted, smiling weakly. She reached for the glass with her magic and tilted it, about to sip it... Then the water color changed. At first it became brightly green and then it swirled spinning some images she couldn't make out. "Is something wrong?" Discord asked. Twilight looked up at him. If there was one thing she recognized in him, it was the sincerity of what he spoke and his question was indeed sincere this time. There was no implication behind it. Did he not know what was happening to the water? "Drink up." He instructed. He obviously didn't know. By now, he'd be aware of what was going on in the glass, the green was obvious. She glanced down. The images in the glass became recognizable, though from a different angle. It was a scene of her and Flash Sentry, having dinner, the same scene from the last night. The water turned poisonously green again. The wheels of Twilight's well kept mind started to turn and in a few seconds she got it. Deciding to test her theory, she changed her mind. "I'm not thirsty." Discord's eyebrow jumped up. "You're not?" "No, I'm fine." Twilight confirmed. The Spirit stared at her, almost confused. They both looked at each other with such intensity it was almost a game of "don't blink". She realized Discord was starting to get that something strange and magical had happened; and although none of them knew just how, she knew exactly what it meant and he knew exactly what she learned. It was time to put the cards on the table. Twilight breathed loudly as it sank into her mind. "You're jeal-!" Her lips were shut tight for the second time that night magically and she gave the Spirit an angry look as he played innocent. "I'm 'gel'? I need to learn to take compliments from you,my dear." The draconequus grinned widely. "He just offered to bring the water! This is just childish. This whole dream ordeal was!" Twilight protested. Discord laughed. "Now my dear, if you really thought that's all there is to such a splendid draconequus such as myself, you don't know the half of me. But then again, I think you do." He added almost cryptically, looking at her expectantly. Twilight's eyes squinted and she laughed softly. "Let me guess, you're about to do something incredibly embarrassing, aren't yo-" Her lips were blocked again but this time not with the help of magic nor as harshly. She closed her eyes. The sensation was overwhelming and the air of the room suddenly grew in temperature. Perhaps it was his tail, curling slightly around her. Perhaps it was merely her. She found herself not really caring. The heat wasn't that bad this time. Discord sat back up, staring at her adorably blushed face. For a moment, he was caught off guard by the starry look in her eyes, and silence prevailed. He cleared his throat and squeezed out the next words with difficulty she wasn't aware of in the darkness. "Is... this the sort of thing you think we're missing?" The heat of her face became obvious on his fingers, and Discord suddenly reverted to his regular playful self, pulling away from her. "Well, I wouldn't like to make another hole in your pretty carpet, so off I'll go! Perhaps some other time we shall discuss you and I over some tea." He ruffled her mane, as he always did before he'd leave and then clicked himself away. Twilight gave the situation some thought and stared out the window, into the faraway first signs of the rising Sun. The weather was fantastic. She wasn't thirsty anymore. It was going to be a good day.