A week went by. It wasn't as boring as I thought it would be, either. There was always plenty to do and there were ways I could help. Really help. With my height and strength I could do things that no pony could do. I'm not going to say I could do them well, but I could do them. I helped with a barn raising, putting in the roof beams. Yeah. I felt, for want of a word, useful. Maybe even 'needed'. I don't know, perhaps they were just being nice, but that's how it seemed. Speaking of 'nice', the place didn't seem as cloyingly overdosed with 'niceness' as I thought it would be. I saw arguments, a few squabbles and, on one occasion, a brief exchange of blows. Even Fluttershy and Rarity had a fairly heated argument.
Okay, I'll readily admit, I didn't know the show. I didn't know whether this would have been considered 'normal' or not, but it felt wrong. Somehow I felt that this wasn't as it should have been. Even the Six were arguing. Now, sure, people disagree and people argue, but this. This just felt wrong on so many levels. Things weren't what I would have expected in a place that that Equestria had been described as. It almost felt as though what I'd seen or read, and what had been described to me was the PR reel. The glossy highlights in a tourist brochure or something.
You'll probably say I was crazy. Yeah? Tell me something I don't know. Sure, I could quite easily understand that there'd be a few disagreements, but for two ponies to argue, to the extent of nearly coming to blows, over the color of the ribbon Applejack wore in her tail? I mean, come on. This was getting crazy. And it was getting worse. I hadn't asked Luna how long Celestia and the sun had been gone, but either the rate of change was accelerating, or it had only been a few weeks.
So, here I was, stuck in Equestria and finding it a lot different from what I'd expected. Not that I'd 'expected' to find myself in Equestria, you understand, but... Yeah. Things were going crazy (or should I say 'crazier') at a high rate of speed. Things were 'darker', and I don't just mean the lack of sunlight.
There was a tension in the air, not so much a 'sense of doom' but more like a balloon inflated to bursting point. Something was about to pop. I could sense it. No, don't ask me how, but I could. Perhaps it was the sasquatch in me, I don't know, but... Just thinking about it made me nervous.
That said, I have to say that it was a nice place. The ponies were as friendly as could be, and–when they weren't–delightful. Yeah. I was, much to my surprise, getting to like this pastel place. It'd be nicer without the tension but I had a feeling that something would be happening soon.
I became good friends with Aura and her mother, Splash 'n' Dash, despite our rather hectic introduction. Despite the tension I felt, and the behavior among the ponies, they were all fairly nice to me and I was pleased to call quite a few of them 'friends'. Yeah. Despite the dark–of either type–the place was strangely growing on me. It certainly wasn't like any of the episodes I'd seen or heard of.
I recalled what Luna had said about Celestia. I felt that Celestia's disappearance had something to do with the worsening situation. Perhaps it was just lack of sunlight. It enabled the production of vitamin D, if I recalled correctly, and I wondered if that had anything to do with the current tension within Equestria. What else, I wondered, could be causing the tension and arguments between ponies that just didn't seem right.
Then I saw him. Discord. I'd heard of him and heard him described but I'd never seen an episode with him. As soon as I saw him I had the thought that he might have been a part of all this. That Discord, the sower of discontent, could be involved up to his eyebrows. What I didn't think of, at that moment, were his powers. I should have known he was powerful. I'd heard that he'd caused trouble and mayhem and that he had almost unlimited power. I just didn't think of that when I saw him.
I'd come up behind him. "Discord." I growled menacingly, even as I bent and wrapped my hand around his throat. He gasped, gurgled and choked as I lifted him up to eye level. "Discord, stop this." The speed of his 'recovery' didn't really register with me.
"Stop what?" he asked, arrogance dripping from every letter.
"Restore Equestria."
"And what makes you think it's my job? Really." An eyebrow rose significantly. He then turned into a snake.
Fortunately, the grip I had around his neck remained and the trick didn't work. He tried to bite me but my grip was too close to his head. "How would you like to spend the rest of your life sucking cakes through a straw." I snarled.
"And for what reason would you do this? Hmm?"
"Take a look around." My lips raised in anger. I must admit he seemed rather calm about it.
"I do have eyes, you know. Quite a mess, isn't it. I take it you think I'm behind it?"
"Who else?"
He thought for a moment. "This, actually, outdoes all my efforts.”
"Pah!" I snorted. "You think I'll believe that?"
"I don't care what you believe, but this happens to be true." he muttered before turning into something resembling an elephant. Now it was my turn to choke as his trunk wrapped around my neck. "I'll tell you something, Mister 'bash your face in'. I don't take kindly to such actions but, in this case, I'll overlook it."
I had to admit I wasn't really in a position to argue. This wasn't an illusion, the trunk around my neck was rather real. I must say, though, I wasn't one to give up easily. Or maybe that I'm just an idiot. "Thank you." I said snarkily. "But, again, if it isn't you, who is it?"
"I must confess to being the perfect suspect." He tightened his grip a little and I had to force myself not to struggle. "I am known for such things."
"Yeah. Like now. Restore Equestria. Now!" I told him.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "Or what?" he sneered, "You'll wriggle?"
"Why?" I snarled, ignoring his question. "Why destroy Equestria like this?"
"Because it might be fun?" He said with a mocking smile. "But, no. This is not mine. My powers have their range. The sun and the moon are far beyond that."
"And what about all the arguments going on, The fights, the... the discord. Are you trying to tell me that you, causer of trouble and torment, don't have anything to do with this?"
He frowned. "I'd actually be happier if I were.” He sounded genuinely puzzled.
“Oh?”
“Then I'd know what the hell was going on."
"Don't try to tell me you have no idea what's going on." I muttered.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Very well, I won't. I don't, but I won't tell you that."
There was silence for a moment that seemed to stretch forever. "Are you really telling the truth?" I asked.
He looked at me wryly. "For once in my life, I'm not joking. I have not the foggiest notion as to what's going on. As I said, I wish I did."
"Damn!" I muttered.
Again, a laconic eyebrow rose. "You wanted to bash my face in that much?"
"I wanted to get to the bottom of this that much. That's what I wanted." I grumbled.
"And look where it got you."
"Yeah. In trouble as usual. Just like my theme song."
"Your theme song?"
"I'll tell you about it later."
He dropped me unexpectedly and I landed on my butt. He changed back to what I guessed was his normal shape. "I went easy on you." he told me. "But for one reason and one reason only."
"What's that?" I muttered, climbing to my feet and resisting the urge to rub my throat.
"Because I guessed why you wanted me. As you said yourself, I'm the perfect suspect. But to tell you the truth. I'm as much in the dark - pun very much intended - as anyone. You may or may not choose to believe that, but it is, strangely for me, the truth."
I looked at him. I'd heard about him of course. He was a trickster, an agent of chaos and a deceiver of many. Was he deceiving me, now? I really had no idea. "Your word as a gentleman?" I asked.
A smile flickered. "Not that anyone would call me a 'gentleman', but I understand your meaning and... Yes. You have my word."
"Any ideas?" I asked.
He actually laughed at that. "First you try to choke the truth out of me, then you ask politely? And they say I'm the troublemaker?" He looked at me, that eyebrow raised. The eyebrow lowered. "Whatever it is, it's far more powerful than I, as much as I hate to admit it." He looked around and, rather to my astonishment, he looked nervous. "Whatever or whoever is doing this, could destroy Equestria entirely. I may be mad, but I'm not insane enough to do that." There was a pause. "Anyway," he continued, more quietly. "I wouldn't want to destroy a friend."
I blinked at the thought someone like Discord could have a friend. "Yes." he said, mockingly as he noticed my expression. "It is a wonder, isn't it. But she proclaimed herself to be my friend. Despite all I had done to her and the others."
"Who?" I asked, unable to stop myself.
He looked at me. "I wouldn't tell you, but Equestria is dying. I can feel it. I, Discord, who can twist reality on a whim," his voice, which had risen to a crescendo, then dropped. "can only watch." He turned to me with a bleak smile. "Her name, is Fluttershy."
"You said you can alter reality. So why can't you save her? Save Equestria?"
"No. Not even I have that power." Another pause and then, in what sounded very much like a burst of total desperation. "Don't you think I'm trying?" He paused a moment and shook his head. His mouth twitched into a wry smile. "Yes, I, who did my best to destroy friendships. I, who did my best to destroy the Elements of Harmony. I am doing all I can, all I can, to save one who would call me her friend."
It was almost painful to watch. A bitter laugh erupted from him. "Yes. I, Discord, arrogance personified, with power almost beyond measure, am about to lose my one... and only... friend."
His head bowed onto his chest and he sat there, immobile for many minutes. I didn't say a thing. "I could have killed you, you know." he said eventually. "I could have turned you into liquid fire. I could have toasted you on lava. I could have... But I didn't. What's the use? You're going to die anyway, when Equestria destroys itself."
I looked at him. "You given up, Discord?"
He glared at me, fire in those eyes of his. "I have," his voice was barely above a whisper, but all the menacing for it, "done everything I could. I am doing everything I can do. The reason Equestria still exists is because of me. Without my power, Equestria would be dust and my friend... my friend would be gone. But that brings up another issue. My powers aren't what they were. Whatever is doing this is also affecting the magic I can wield."
I sat for a moment. "Well, sitting around won't get things done." I must admit, after talking to Discord I could only feel more depressed about the situation than I already had been. If Discord, as powerful as he was, could not stop it, what hope had I? I heaved myself to my feet, "See you later, Discord."
I started to walk off. "You're it, you know." Discord's voice sounded behind me, stopping me in my tracks. "I do not know how, I do not know why, and I do not know when. But what I do know is that you will be the one to decide the fate of Equestria."
I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh. There was stillness for a moment. "Thanks." I muttered sarcastically, before resuming my walk. I heard Discord chuckle behind me.