//------------------------------// // Thoughts // Story: Fluttershy and Trixie, Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives // by Majin Syeekoh //------------------------------// Twilight smiled happily as she floated a book on mechanical engineering over to Snips and Snails, Snails grasping in in his magic. “Thank you, Twilight,” Snails said. Twilight nodded, still smiling. “The pleasure is all mine.” Snips and Snails nodded, then exited the library. Twilight wrote down the book they had taken out on the Out sheet, noting that it had become quite full as of late. She then felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up as she heard a snapping sound coming from behind her. “Hello, Discord,” she said through gritted teeth. “Hey yourself,” the draconequus said as he lazily drifted over to the couch and floated a book over to him. “What brings you to my library?” Twilight said, her writing becoming more rapid. “Oh, nothing,” Discord said as he licked a talon and flipped a page, “just bored, is all.” Twilight sharply tapped the period on the paper and began to write out requests for new books. “Well, if you’re bored, why don’t you do something?” Discord sighed. “That’s the thing. With Fluttershy out of town and the rest of your friends avoiding me like the plague, I’ve got nopony to play with.” Twilight’s scribbling became even more rapid. “Have you tried the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Discord shrugged, flipping a page. “I tried them already. They’re too busy doing homework.” Twilight’s quill snapped. “Apparently, it’s all the rage now. Who knew?” Twilight smiled. “Well, at least they’re doing something useful. What could be so wrong with that?” she asked as she floated over another quill pen, dipped it in an inkwell, and continued writing out requests. Discord flipped another page. “It’s not natural,” he said, upon which Twilight began giggling. Discord fixed a glare upon Twilight. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” “It’s nothing,” Twilight said between fits of giggling, “it’s just that I thought I’d never hear those words come out of your mouth. Isn’t ‘not natural’ your schtick?” Discord shrugged and turned back to his book. “Point taken,” he said, flipping another page, “but doesn’t it seem weird that they’re not out crusading?” Twilight kept writing, switching to another sheet. “Maybe they just figured that their Cutie Marks would come to them in time, like every other foal.” Discord shook his head as he flipped another page. “Don’t you see, Twilight? That damnable drug has taken away their childhood, their raison d'être...all the kids in Ponyville are acting like you.” Twilight stifled a giggle. “And what’s wrong with that, Discord? I think it’s a great thing.” Discord sighed, flipping another page. “The problem is, they’re not you. They’re goddamned kids. They should be free to engage in all the chaos they want.” Twilight shook her head. “You know, Celestia never told me what a god was.” Discord shrugged. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.” Twilight glared at Discord, then went back to her requests. “Anyway, my point still stands. Kids should be kids, not studying robots.” He then flipped another page. Twilight then looked up from her request forms to stare at Discord. “Why did you come here, anyway? Don’t you have more important immortals to be messing with?” “Eh. Not really,” Discord said as he flipped another page. Twilight looked at the book that Discord was reading. “Are you reading that upside down?” Discord nodded. “Gets the creative juices flowing,” he said as he flipped another page, “what would you do if you had one day left to live?” Twilight looked up, confused by Discord’s question. “Is that a threat?” Discord shook his head. “No, just wondering.” Twilight looked down, thinking of what she would do. She’s have to say goodbye to her parents, and all of her friends, not to mention figure out who would run the library. She’d have to squeeze in time with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance— “If you’re taking this long to think about it, you’ve failed miserably,” Discord said, flipping another page. Twilight looked up in indignation. She never failed anything! She opened her mouth to speak before she was cut off by Discord. “This is your last day. This is all of our last days.Were you thinking of groveling to your friends and family? Wrong answer. Every day is your last day, so why should you treat it any differently?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “That’s awfully nihilist of you.” “Existentialist,” Discord said as he flipped another page, “when you’ve lived as long as I do, you tend to take a warped view of things.” Twilight glared at Discord. “So I suppose you consider yourself some sort of überpony?” Discord shook his head. “Not really. I used to think I was above it all, until I developed a friendship with Fluttershy. Now I see the potential in all ponies. Take the Cutie Mark Crusaders, for instance. There they were, happily going about without a care in the world, getting good grades while simultaneously going on with their entertaining crusades. Now, it’s homework, homework, homework. The Cutie Mark Crusaders used to mean something!” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And what was that, exactly?” Discord sat up and stared at Twilight, making Twilight slightly uncomfortable. “That no matter what society tells them, they will evolve beyond the pony that they were before. Even through all their failures, they advance a bit further with each turn,” Discord said. He then laid back down on the couch and flipped another page, “sometimes, I really thought they were going to pierce the heavens.” Twilight looked back down on her request forms and started writing. “You’re talking weird, Discord.” Discord giggled. “When do I not?” Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know.” “So you should ignore everything that I’ve said,” Discord said as he closed the book and floated it over to the shelf. He then floated up to his full height. “Well, it appears I’ve given you a lot to not think about, haven’t I?” Twilight shook her head. “I suppose you did.” Discord nodded and snapped his fingers, leaving the library empty. Twilight had little time to think before the three fillies they were talking about earlier entered the library. “Welcome to Golden Oaks Library! What can I get you three fillies today?” Sweetie Belle nodded. “A book on enumerative combinatorics, please.” Twilight nodded, noting the monotone in her voice as she floated over a book over to Sweetie Belle. “Aren’t you covering this in class?” Apple Bloom nodded. “We are trying for extra credit.” Twilight nodded uneasily. “I see.” “Thank you, Twilight,” Scootaloo said. The three of them then left the library as quickly as they came, leaving Twilight in shock. She thought that maybe Discord had a point, after all...