Hesitance. He rarely hesitated, but he knew what he was about to do. He felt obligated and really wanted to do it, but his feet wouldn't move any closer to the door.
He grimaced. This was for Fluttershy. He couldn't get cold feet now.
Keeping her in mind, he finally moved towards the door and knocked; he didn't need any other motivation.
A few footsteps were heard from the other side of the room, and the doorknob turned slowly before the door opened up. Spike stood in its place, gazing up at Discord with a confused expression.
"Uh, Discord? What are you doin' here?" he asked.
This feels familiar somehow...
"Me? Why, I just came to pay Princess Twilight a little visit in her castle, that's all!" Discord replied, shrugging casually.
"W-well, yeah, I figured," Spike muttered. "I just mean... what are ya doin' here, at the doorstep? Usually, you just teleport wherever you feel like."
"I can't decide to be polite for once? Pft, honestly. For friends, you don't give me much credit!" Discord argued, pretending to be completely insulted.
"Alright, alright. Just... c'mon in," Spike said, rolling his eyes somewhat as he stepped aside to allow the draconequus entry. Discord smirked, walking inside and heading down the hall.
"Twilight should be in the library section," the dragon muttered, almost to himself, running in front of Discord and leading the way for him.
A nod was all Spike got in reply, though it wasn't like he saw it since he was looking straight ahead.
Discord continued to follow the dragon through the castle until they reached the so-called 'library section'. He wouldn't really consider it a library, but most of Twilight's books had been burned up when her house was destroyed, so he threw away his possible opportunity for teasing and walked ahead to the young mare sitting on the floor, her eyes locked on the book in front of her.
As Discord stopped, her gaze slowly drew away from the pages. She mumbled his name with a confused tone, then averted her eyes towards Spike, who left the room without much of an explanation; not like he had one though.
Twilight raised a brow, then looked back up at Discord. "You entered in an awfully quiet manner."
The draconequus gave her a small pout. Could he go five minutes without somepony questioning his means of entry?
Nevertheless, he sat down if front of her and gazed at her very seriously.
"I require a favor, Twilight," he said.
The alicorn blinked rapidly at his tone. Though usually taking his words very lightly, with a tone like that, she had an odd feeling that, whatever he needed, it must've been extremely important. And... "Twilight"? Just "Twilight"? It wasn't often that he didn't refer to her with the "Princess" added onto the beginning; not that she was complaining, as she saw him as a friend and would always prefer to be called by her first name only, but still...
"U-uh, sure, um..."
Twilight looked around for a place to put her book, then slowly stood up and walked over to an empty shelf. She seemed slightly nervous, but it's not as if that was a surprise to Discord; he had never used such a tone with her before.
The book was delicately positioned to where Twilight could easily see it again, at which point she turned to Discord and trotted back over, awkwardly sitting down on the floor and swishing her tail around to find a comfortable position.
"...S-soooo..." Twilight mumbled under her breath, tilting her head back as she gazed absentmindedly at the walls. "What's this favor that you need?"
Discord remained silent at first, his eyes scanning the surrounding "mini-library". Twilight twiddled her hooves slightly, being a bit uneasy from not knowing what he was thinking.
"This won't do," he said.
"...Won't do?" Twilight repeated questionably.
"We'll need a bigger area; bigger radius."
"Why?"
Discord didn't respond, and Twilight twitched an ear in mild annoyance. She didn't mind doing him a favor, but his aloof attitude threw her off completely.
"A...alright then," she said with a bit of suspicion, standing up as her horn glowed vibrantly.
In an instant, the two were teleported to the throne room. Twilight looked around to make sure it was 'spacious enough', then sat back down.
"Okay, so what do you need?"
Discord was quiet, then clapped his hands, a small card of sorts appearing in his hands. He stared at it, then handed it to Twilight, who stared at it skeptically.
"...A thank-you card?" she questioned, seeing the large 'For You' written on the front.
"Open it," Discord beckoned, urging the alicorn on by pointing to the card in an almost insistent manner.
Twilight frowned at him. "...You're acting funny... which is already a strange statement considering that your usual attitude is centered around comedy..."
When he didn't respond, she gave a worried sigh and dropped her gaze back to the card. "But, well... you asked, so..."
Her horn glowed, grabbing hold of the cover and pulling it back.
However, her magic holding the card suddenly broke off. She grew confused at first, as the inside of the card was blank and there didn't seem to be anything special about it.
But no. That's when it happened.
The card sparked with green and purple electricity, and a swirling ball of magic slowly rose from the card, surrounded in a dark randomly-colored energy. It grew larger and larger, eventually out-growing Twilight, who stared in shock. Wind slowly began to pick up around the two, and Twilight jumped back as her mane began to viciously whip around her face.
"S-sweet Celestia..." she uttered, her voice quiet and stunned. She stared for one last moment, then rushed up to the card, grabbing it with her hooves and forcing it shut. The energy got sucked back in, and she took a second to breathe before gazing at Discord, sitting down to help calm herself.
"...T-that was—"
"—Yes. It was," Discord said nonchalantly. "The window to all of my chaotic powers."
Twilight looked down to the card, now stroking it as if it was a lost kitten. "...No... no no. What..."
Her eyes darted about before she locked eyes with him. "What brought this about?"
She paused, then set the card down as she rose to her hooves. "Discord. We said that it was okay... we forgave you."
The draconequus was silent. Twilight blinked in confusion. "That's... not what this is about?"
Her eyes sparked in acknowledgement. "This is about Fluttershy, isn't it? You feel bad..."
Discord chuckled at her. "Are you saying that my powers are the only thing that make me Discord?" he asked. "A draconequus who's helpless without his chaotic control?"
Twilight gasped, putting a hoof to his hand and shaking her head. "No, no! Absolutely not!"
The two grew silent, and their gazes slowly drifted back to the card.
"...You realize what you're asking me to do," Twilight murmured, moving back towards the seemingly-innocent piece of paper. She sat back down, her hooves gingerly holding the card once more.
"Yes. Do whatever you want with it," Discord told her. "You can even keep it in a box and store it away somewhere; you don't have to take it for yourself."
She shook her head slowly. "You're... you're asking me to take away your magic. Without it, you'll—"
"—Be doomed to die like everypony else?" Discord interrupted with an amused tone. "This shouldn't be hard for you to grasp, Twilight; the thought of true immortality. Tell me... how long would it take you after all your friends had gone... for you to wake up one day and not have the motivation to leave your bed?"
Twilight breathed up, her hooves becoming shaky as she thought about it. "...B-but... I don't want to hurt you. Taking someone's magic without proper care—"
"—Princess," Discord said sharply, though almost in a taunting way. "I have lived far longer than you ever will," he explained with a roll of his eyes. "No amount of pain you inflict upon me could be more excruciating than the countless years I had spent alone."
Twilight bit her bottom lip, a shaky hoof going up to grab the card's edge. "...There's really no getting around this then, is there?"
Her horn glowed, and a small jar and lid appeared next to her. She considered giving one last look to Discord to ensure that he was positive about this, but she already knew the answer.
Without hesitance, she opened the card and jumped back, her horn surging with magic as Discord's chaotic energy began to emerge again. Twilight stood firm, firing a beam of light that caused the ball of misshapen colors to twist and bend to her will. She smirked confidently, trying to stir some hope within her that she could do it, but suddenly shook with fear as she heard Discord cry out from beside her.
Her eyes darted over to him, but she knew that she couldn't stop. If she called out to him, he would only insist that she continue.
The draconequus stiffened and yelped as he felt every bone in his body become sore and aching. His hands clenched, and he gritted his teeth while staggering backwards, his sense of balance thrown off completely.
Twilight shut her eyes, unable to watch her friend be in pain as she contained more and more of his magical energy. She backed up towards the jar, then viciously swung her head to the side. The energy propelled towards her, landing safely in the jar before she shut it tight.
In the end, she was left panting, her body shaking from the constant screaming she was hearing in the background.
The screaming...
Instantly, Twilight jerked her head toward Discord, who laid on the ground, barely moving.
"Discord...? Discord!" she cried, rushing over to him and running her hooves across his hands.
"It's done. Discord, it's done, it's okay now!" she said, panic overtaking her as she feared that she might've injured him beyond repair.
However, after a moment, his lion paw came up and gently grabbed one of her hooves, earning a small gasp from her. "D-Discord...?"
The draconequus stirred somewhat, giving a loud cough before opening his eyes and gazing at her.
"...S-syke?"
Twilight deadpanned, then laughed weakly. "You... you really got me there," she whispered, although knowing that this was no joke; she would at least entertain him with the idea.
Discord motioned his hands toward the floor, then pushed himself up into a sitting position. He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. His gaze softened, as though he was relieved; like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. His head turned to the jar of his energy, watching it whip around sporadically.
A small smile then passed over his lips. "Just promise me that you won't give that to Pinkie Pie; she'll do far more damage than I have ever done."
Twilight allowed herself a giggle. "I promise."
She backed away and allowed Discord to stand, though he was shaky and uneasy.
"New dance?" Twilight asked, a small smile passing over her own lips.
The draconequus dusted himself off, chuckling at the alicorn. "Of course! I'm practicing it for Fluttershy. Do you think she'll like it?"
An unspoken "yes" filled the room, and Twilight breathed a small sigh of relief.
"You really haven't changed," she said. "...Would you like me to teleport you to her?"
There was no point in asking. Discord had already turned away from her and began walking out the door. The alicorn smiled, then turned as Spike rushed into the room, looking panicked and worried.
"I-I heard a bunch of screaming! Is everything alright?"
Twilight's gaze softened at the sight of her assistant. She sat down, pulling him into a gentle embrace as the sound of her front door closing echoed through the castle.
"...I lied. He has changed. He really has..."