//------------------------------// // Less Than Safe // Story: Less Than Chaotic // by TheTalentlessPony //------------------------------// He knocked at the door patiently; the door to Twilight's castle. Somehow, someway, here he was again; wanting to talk to the alicorn about a problem that involved himself and Fluttershy. It felt all too familiar. Even as the door opened, there was Spike, just like before, gazing up at him with a confused look. "Uh, hey, Discord," he greeted, locking eyes with the draconequus as if he was trying to discern what the problem was beforehand. Discord got straight to the point. "Is Twilight here? It's of the utmost important that I talk to her, you know." Spike blinked, somewhat surprised at the seriousness he was seeing. "Why? Did something happen to Fluttershy?" he guessed. Discord's gaze sharpened. "I don't know yet." The dragon tilted his head, a claw on his hip. "Urr... well, I guess you can see her if it's super important like you're sayin'. She's probably in the library section again. I can lead you there if you--" Discord was already moving past him. "I remember the way." "Wha--hey!" Spike's shouts were ignored as the draconequus moved down the hallways, replaying the path he had taken with Spike only days ago in his head. He was suspicious, and he had a right to be. First the voices in his head, and then Fluttershy having a nightmare like that specifically on the same day; one about 'him' no less? She had nightmares before, but they were never about him. He knew there was the obvious chance that he was wrong, but he wouldn't allow any suspicions go unchecked. Especially not now; not when Fluttershy had become involved. Lucky for him, he remembered the path perfected, arriving in the library section in only a few minutes. Twilight sat there as usual, absorbed in a book. Discord tilted his head, somewhat amused, then walked up to her. The sound of his footsteps seemed to get her attention, and she looked up at him with a puzzled expression. Slowly though, her frown twisted into a smile. "Well. Doesn't this feel familiar?" She chuckled, her book slowly floating to the floor as the magic aura around her horn dissipated, letting Discord know that he had her full attention. "So? What cha need?" she asked. Discord gazed around the room, as if searching for something. He pat his chest, then looked back to Twilight. "Do you still have it?" he questioned. "It?" she asked in reply, tilting her head. He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "My chaotic powers." Twilight's eyes lit up in acknowledgement. "Oh!" She nodded her head, then gazed at a table nearby. "It's over there, in the right drawer." Discord glanced over to the table, eyeing the drawer as Twilight directed a hoof towards it. He paused at first, almost glaring at it, then walked over and opened the drawer, pulling out the jar. "D-Discord, what are you doing?" Twilight asked, standing up and walking towards him. The draconequus shook the jar uncaringly, watching the energy swirl around, then turned to Twilight and pointed at the container with his free hand. "If I release this energy, can you contain it for a few minutes?" he questioned. Twilight blinked, not understanding him. "So, you're not trying to get your powers back? Then--" "--I have a sneaking suspicion that simply must be quelled," he explained with a shrug. Twilight raised a brow. "Um... I mean, if you really think so, I don't see why not..." The alicorn stepped back, focusing her magic on the energy as Discord pulled the lid off. Before it could cause any damage, Twilight quickly shot it with a beam of light, keeping it in place as the draconequus stared at it intensely. Suddenly, the room around him faded, and he found himself in an area made up of only white. The energy in front of him slowly transformed until it was a perfect likeness of himself. "I was dreaming... of you, but not you." Discord didn't hesitate to glare at the figure in front of him. "So, it was you then, hm?" The imposter tilted his head, pouting. "She's quite the difficult one; had so much faith in you. It was rather annoying really. It's no wonder we couldn't corrupt her with mere words," he said, lazily leaning to his side. Discord growled. "So you grew a personality and decided to go after her?" "Grew a personality, huh?" The fake shrugged. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. Maybe I've been a part of you all along and you just tore me out of you along with your powers. Maybe I was just a big ball of energy before we separated, and I grew my own mind. That doesn't really matter though, does it?" Discord crossed his arms, not even bothering to answer the question. "So you don't have a body and want me back, hm? You decided to go after Fluttershy's mind while she was asleep." He gestured his arms out to the whiteness around him. "This is some sort of mind dimension, isn't it? The only way you can interact besides poking at me with negative emotions?" The imitation put on a wide smirk. "Why, yes. And you went through the trouble of coming here to get me! Isn't that just the sweetest thing?" "I'm not here to take you back," Discord said with a huff, insulted at the idea. The fake gasped audibly and immediately pouted, though Discord didn't take it very seriously. "You've become so boring, my physically-stable-pal," the phony-draconequus stated, turning around and throwing his hands into the air. "You have no idea what you have, do you?" Discord didn't respond, slightly irking the fake, who continued anyway. "You've got a body perfect enough to contain all this power. So much chaos! We could go back to the way that things were before; back to when we ruled the world with a chaotic-fist! We could reclaim our role as the spirit of chaos and create masterpieces of nonsensicalness!" "That's not a word," Discord interjected with a glare. "Oh, you've been hanging around that library-pony far too often! Why do you insist on making friends with such creatures? You even got rid of me... ME; Your best pal for thousands of years! We flipped buildings, bent space, and distorted reality in all kinds of ways! Turn your back on those dumb ponies and we can return to that! We can enslave every pony in the world and enjoy every wonderful moment of it!" Discord's eyes widened slightly at his last line. How he said it; his tone when he spoke him. This...this wasn't him. This wasn't Discord. This had never been him. There was a malicious gaze in his energy's eyes; one that he had never owned himself. It was sadistic in a way, and it made the draconequus uneasy. Taking what the fake had said into account, he could only assume that, when they separated, Discord had taken away every last bit of his sanity, leaving none for his chaotic energy to hold onto. "You've become cruel and unfeeling from our time away," he said, placing a hand to his heart. "I'd never take you back, knowing what you'd do to the world with my body. You'd only try to burn me out and leave yourself remaining as the dominant personality." The imitation faked a frown, walking in a circle around Discord as his tail swished back and forth. "Ahh, that's too bad, you know," he said. "...But thanks for leaving the door open for me." Discord instantly flinched, the meaning clicking with him as he reached out towards his double in a panic. Instantly, he was knocked to the ground, the whiteness fading as he suddenly found himself back in the library. He grunted, looking next to him to see Twilight laying there, barely conscious as her horn flickered with magic. "Twilight!" he shouted, rushing over to her and shaking her body in hopes that it'd stir her. She groaned, slowly opening her eyes and gazing at him. "D-Discord, what happened? I was just focusing on containing it, and suddenly..." Her voice faded, her mind not seeming to comprehend the events that occurred afterwards. Discord looked over to the door next, being just in time to see a fleeing ball of energy. "I...I need to go," he told Twilight, standing up and rushing towards the door as fast as he could. "Discord! Discord, wait! What's going on!?" Fluttershy... be safe, Fluttershy!