Fluttershy and Discord were having tea. Delightful time for the both of them, really, especially for Discord. He took delight in showing his friend little tricks to keep the conversation going, and she was one of the few ponies who ever let him really let loose with his chaos magic.
Really, one would be surprised at how much fun for all a few flying numbers making “meep” noises could be. Or adding in a brand new color to the spectrum for a few moments. Perfectly harmless, he could assure you. Still, most of his meaner tricks were directed towards the rabbit. He 'accidentally' spilled a cup of tea that had quite literally danced a little too close to the edge of the table. He hated that bunny. It always occupied so much of dear Fluttershy's time with its annoying persistence, demanding attitude, and all around rotten temperament. He was certain it was more evil than he was. Or used to be.
The now-drenched bunny squealed in protest, catching Fluttershy's attention in the middle of a particularly invigorating conversation. "Oh, Angel, you're soaked! I hope you don't mind, Discord, I just have to wash out Angel's fur before it dries all sticky. I'll only be a minute," she promised apologetically.
Discord chuckled softly at the idea. "Go ahead. I'll just have to amuse myself with the tea set," he said. On cue, the tea set leapt up and began performing a little trapeze act. This elicited a smile from Fluttershy.
Fluttershy carefully scooped up the tea-soaked bunny and carried him to the washroom. Discord's eyes narrowed at the rabbit, who in turn stuck out its tongue at him as it vanished into the next room. You win this time, bunny. Insert shaking fist here.
As he sat and made the teacups hold a boxing match for his amusement, a piece of paper suddenly burst into existence in a flash of green fire.
It was letter, it seemed, from the princesses themselves, if the royal wax seal was any indication. In all likelihood it wasn't meant for him. What business would the princesses have with him? Aside from sealing him in a lawn ornament, of course. That left either Fluttershy or the rabbit, and he sincerely hoped it wasn't for the rabbit. It didn't deserve such special treatment.
Oh, what mysteries and secrets could be inscribed on that parchment? Discord couldn't tell, but he did know he wanted to know what the paper knew. Not that paper could know anything. So he did what any sane person would have done then. He looked left, right...
Then eagerly tore open the seal and read the letter.
Come now, like you wouldn't have done the exact same thing in such a situation.
The letter was addressed to Fluttershy, as he’d expected. It seemed to be about some manner of creature, Discord noted, that called itself Abyss. No, scratch that: She called herself Abyss.
Anyways, this creature apparently had some command over shadows, had used them to confront the princesses in a rather crass manner, and that she had some distrust for the princesses (a valid notion, he could assure you. A thousand years could give you such a crick in the neck) as well as how she had stolen some things from the castle under their very noses.
Furthermore, it noted she had a sort of dual nature: two creatures within the same body.
It seemed to stress how abusive and temperamental, and therefore dangerous, she could be.
As he skimmed the letter, the truth of the letter stood out like a sore thumb. He was no fool; he could see precisely what the princesses were really attempting with this letter. Though the letter was addressed to Fluttershy, it was really intended for none other than himself. It was a rather transparent ploy to direct his attention towards this “Abyss” creature, to indirectly ask for assistance. Perhaps they wanted him to remove any threat she posed, or gather intelligence.
However, it was not directly stated what they wanted him to do, so really he could do anything he wanted in light of this information. It certainly didn’t give any instructions on what not to do.
A big, twisted grin spread across his face.
This is going to be quite the spot of fun.
With a snap of his fingers, Discord winked out of existence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a silent trek back to the central cave room. To be honest, Nocturne and I were rather pleased with ourselves about how that had turned out. Nocturne more so than I, as the little victory parade he was doing in my head seemed to suggest. Hours after we got back, he had stopped, but there was still that feeling of smug self-congratulation that echoed in the corners of my cranium.
I, meanwhile, was practicing shadow manipulation once again. We were preparing to leave our hidey-hole and set off beyond Equestrian borders in search of the remaining Shadowborn, after all.
I needed to work on offensive and defensive skills while I could. I had no illusions that it wasn’t going to be dangerous out there; there was no telling if other creatures out there were quite as “friendly” as the ponies. And considering they blasted me on sight…
Yeah, I definitely needed practice. I did not want to end up as something’s dinner or prisoner on the first day out there.
Summoning up my willpower, I called upon the shadows that danced and flickered in the lantern light. A small stream of shadow trickled upward steadily, slowly. I frowned. It wasn’t nearly enough.
Faster, I urged, More shadows.
The shadow seemed to surge at my request, distorting in the air as though it was being strangled by invisible hands. It wobbled violently in the air, and fell apart. Drops of shadow splashed down against the cave floor, receding back into their normal state.
I sighed with a deep frown, burying my face in my hand. No good.
One hour. I had put up with one whole hour of this bull-crap by that point. Over thirty consecutive failures. Sure, I could summon up a basic shadow tendril just fine. But when it came to summoning actually useable sizes and speeds, it was like the shadow outright rejected me.
Memories of Nocturne’s effortless command of the shadows when he was in control taunted me. I could clearly picture how he’d zipped about the room at neck break speeds, and despite all my effort, I was no closer to that level than an hour ago. It was absolutely infuriating. Why can’t I do this?
Centering myself, I called out as calmly as I could. “Nocturne, could you please help me out now?”
I already told you, Nocturne said for the umpteenth time, It’s a matter of willpower. The shadows will only move faster and expand if you will it to.
“I’ve tried that. It keeps breaking or whatever,” I countered with a hint of disgust.
Look, it’s not that hard. The shadows will obey if you accept them as an extension of yourself. Be part of the shadow, rather than apart from it. Openness is critical. He spoke as though it was obvious.
I rolled my eyes with a groan. “Stupid cryptic advice,” I muttered under my breath. Give me something that will actually help me figure this out instead of a bunch of riddles.
“Ah, but cryptic advice is the best kind. I use it all the time!” replied a voice from within the cave.
My heart skipped a beat as I jolted up in alarm. I tensed, eyes darting around to find the source of the voice. There was an intruder here. There was no telling what they were going to do.
There was a flash right in front of me, leaving behind a… creature floating in midair with an amused grin and confetti fluttering everywhere.
Seriously, what the heck was I supposed to call this thing? It looked like someone had mashed together at least five different species of animals to get this. It had a snake tail, two different kinds of horns, a lion paw, an eagle claw… I don’t really feel like mentioning all of it.
My mind went blank, trying to process this, and Nocturne seemed just as dumbfounded as I was. I stared, opening and closing my mouth awkwardly as though trying to say something. It just stared at me in amusement, its yellow eyes fixated on me.
Finally, I found my voice. “Who and what the hell are you?” I asked.
“Oh, where are my manners?” it said in a decidedly male voice with a slight accent I couldn’t quite place. He gave a bow with a flourish. “Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, at your service.” As he said it, little fireworks shot up and burst over his head, spelling out his name in bold colors. He certainly didn’t seem one for subtlety.
Something clicked in my mind. I’d heard about him in the lecture of doom before. Discord was a draconequus that had caused trouble and spread chaos, and was sealed in stone for it. If memory served, he was supposed to be reformed right now for the side of good.
What the heck was he doing here? And how did he find me?
He eyed me expectantly. “And you are..?”
I looked at him warily, returning his gaze. “I call myself Abyss,” I replied flatly.
Discord hovered in the air, his paw on his chin. “Well that may be, but that’s not really who you are, is it Katherine? Or do you prefer Kate?” He gave a sly look.
I stiffened. He knew my name. I hadn’t uttered my name since I got here, at least not that I knew of. How the hell did he know what my name was?
Your real name is Katherine? Nocturne asked in surprise.
I ignored Nocturne, choosing instead to glare at Discord. I didn’t like him, coming in here while acting so nonchalant, revealing information about me as though he knew me.
I didn’t like where this was going at all.
“Get out,” I growled in a low, menacing tone.
Discord just laughed at me. “Well, you’re a dangerous one, aren’t you?” He remarked with amusement, ruffling my hair with a clawed hand. I swiped at him, but he vanished before I made contact. He reappeared situated a few feet away.
“Why, you’ve practically got me shaking in my boots.” A pair of boots appeared on his feet, and he vibrated violently.
I folded my arms across my chest, not amused.
His face fell as he saw I wasn’t playing along with his little joke. “There’s no need to be like that,” he said grumpily, twisting in the air, returning a stern look with exaggerated features. "I was just poking a little bit of fun at you. Old habits."
He melted to the ground, then sprang up with a businesslike desk with a tuxedo on. He scooped up papers, and eyed me seriously. “Seriously, though, I’ve come to talk seriously with you about something serious.”
“And from what I understand, you’re anything but serious,” I replied.
He sprang up in the air with his arms spread wide, “Guilty as charged!” The tux and desk literally danced off. He teleported nearby dressed as a mail carrier. “Though really, you might find what I have here quite interesting.”
He dangled a piece of parchment inches from my face. Annoyed, I snatched it out of his paw and began reading.
It was a letter, addressed to Fluttershy. About me. How “dangerous” I was. The further I read, the more furious Nocturne and I became. My teeth clenched, grimacing, and my fingernails tore into the parchment.
“This creature..? Take caution..?” I hissed through my teeth as the letter crumpled in my hands. “Why..?” I growled. We had done nothing. We had done nothing and this vile piece of paper… Nocturne’s fury and mine were in perfect stereo, feeding off of each other’s anger. It churned and boiled inside me. I shook with rage, blood boiling, teeth gnashing in this unending stream of disgust at the sisters, at the ponies, at Discord, this letter that reeked of betrayal to the treaty I had honored in spirit and law. I was ready to erupt, explode; I wished I could set fire to the room around me and charbroil everything within. The shadows churned in tune with my sea of emotion, dancing about the room in a frantic flame-like fury, poised to strike and slash and crush and destroy everything around them.
“Oh, it was probably to get me to find you,” Discord replied cheerfully.
Nocturne, the shadows, and I grew unnaturally calm.
“What?” I asked flatly.
“Oh, well, they probably thought that I could do some damage if I was informed about you. I’m not a pony, so technically I could do their dirty work according to that little agreement of yours.” He replied cheerfully, slicing his finger across his neck as his head fell of his neck into his waiting tail. “At the very least, cause you enough trouble that you wouldn’t have time to be ‘evil’,” the disembodied head replied, “Actually rather clever, if you think about it.”
The room was completely still for the briefest of moments.
Nothing existed, not a noise, not the slightest quiver.
Not even a single, solitary thought.
There was nothing but quietness.
Absolute silence.
Nothing else.
Nothing.
“… Are you quite alright?” Discord asked, replacing his head on his neck with a confused glance.
No response.
Then…
I released a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. I slowly, very slowly, painfully, excruciatingly slowly, turned to Discord with a bright, polite smile on my face. I remarked cheerfully, "Oh, no, don't mind me. I'm just a little bit-"
My tone was suddenly deadpan, and my gaze hardened into a cold neutrality born of incomprehensible rage, my eyes blazing violently, “-absolutely livid.”
“Ooh, such temper!” Discord exclaimed gleefully, pinching my chin. “I bet you want to get back at them, don’t you? Take justice into your own hands, give them their just deserts and all that. I can help you scheme, too. I’m thinking small pranks working up into massive chaos. Oh, this’ll be fun!” A long scroll of paper unrolled onto the floor, and a quill pen appeared in his hand. “First, we’ll need skin cream, a few flamingos in flamenco outfits, several thousand gallons of ice cream-”
“No.”
Discord stopped cold. He put his hand to his ear, which grew impossibly large. “Come again?” he asked.
“I. Said. No,” I repeated.
Nocturne exploded. What do you mean “No”? Nocturne yelled in my head. The two of us trusted them to keep their end, and they blatantly abuse a loophole to send an assassin-!
“I agree with the little screaming shadowhawhosit. Nocturne, I think it’s called,” said Discord. His voice turned deep. “Search your feelings, Kate, you know it to be true.”
I didn’t even glance at Discord, but quietly noted that he had been able to hear Nocturne. “Don’t let your rage get the best of you, Nocturne.” I said calmly, “Think.”
But we should get back at them! Strike before-
“Think,” I repeated, more forcefully this time. “You’ve been here since that day in the cave. You’ve heard everything I have. There’s something off here. Find it, Nocturne. Use your head.”
We… But… Nocturne gave up, realizing I wasn’t going to budge on this. I could feel the gears turning in his head. Then, an epiphany as two and two finally added up. Discord wanted us to get angry.
I nodded. “Exactly. Isn’t that right, Discord?”
Discord pursed his lips, avoiding my gaze while tapping his index fingers together.
I eyed Discord carefully. “You’re a manipulator who enjoys it when others don’t get along. A creature of, as you put it, ‘Chaos and Disharmony.’”
He put on a false smile. “Whatever do you mean?” He asked, feigning innocence.
“I mean that, in some way, you’re just as bound to be good as we are. You were hoping you could convince us to spread chaos for you by making us angry at the sisters.” I remarked pointedly, not taking my eyes off him.
He squirmed a bit under my scrutinizing glare, before sighing and drooping. “All right, fine.” He folded his arms and pouted defensively. “So what if I was? You can’t blame me; I haven’t had a good dose of chaos in ages.”
He put his hand to his forehead and wilted dramatically. “I’m going into withdrawal! Oh, woe is me!” He slumped on the ground miserably. A headstone and a few flowers sprung up.
I regarded him apathetically, and then shrugged.
“I don’t, actually. You’re following your nature, balancing things out. I understand,” I stated as though it was completely obvious.
Discord stopped pretending like he was being gagged by ‘the Man’ (quite literally with a ribbon labeled “THE MAN”) and stared at me in shock. “You do? Really?”
I nodded. “The way I see it, chaos and disharmony are actually necessary in certain amounts. Just like order and harmony, things turn out badly if they’re too extreme. Chaos and disharmony are actually good things, if you think about it.”
Discord was speechless. I had to admit, he looked pretty funny with the way his jaw hit the floor with a loud ‘clang.’ It was even funnier when he bent over to pick it up off the ground.
“I’ve always thought that both order and chaos were elements of progress. Chaos is good for instigating change and making things a little more fun. But order makes sure that that the positive progress chaos works towards becomes routine and protected. Likewise, disharmony can manifest as differing opinions, which result in better ideas and concepts arising through debate when they finally harmonize. In other words, you represent concepts that keep things in balance.”
Discord found his voice right then. “You think I’m a… good thing..?” He mumbled.
“You’re the spirit of concepts which are good things when working together with their antitheses, Imagine if everything was perfectly harmonious. It’d be like a hive mind. So… yeah,” I replied with a shrug. “You’re cool, so long as you don’t go too nuts with it.”
Discord paused. Then he smiled. “That’s certainly an interesting thought,” he mused, curling up in midair. “I don’t recall ever hearing such an opinion of me before.”
Just then, a silent thought crept into my mind. A small, mischievous, evil little idea. I smiled darkly. “Actually, now that I think about it… you were right, Nocturne. We should take revenge.”
“WHAT?!” Discord and Nocturne exclaimed in unison, making my ears feel like they were ringing both inside and out.
“Don’t get me wrong; I’m not thinking anything like large scale chaos or violence, but I’m still very angry. And this letter is a really underhanded move, so I'm going to hold a grudge for a long while. Both of us are going to need a little payback to stay grounded. So…” My face twisted into a sly grin. “Let’s say they knew I found out about the letter and that Nocturne and I were quite livid. And we did nothing.”
Nothing?
I nodded. “Absolutely nothing. And that’s the beauty of it. They’ll worry over nothing. And they can’t do anything direct to us, so long as we do nothing, or else they’ll lose their political credibility as ‘peaceful, benevolent rulers.’ Let ‘em work themselves into a frenzy for about ...a day or so, then tell ‘em we’ll do nothing.”
Nocturne paused. Do you think it will work?
“If they’re paranoid enough to send these in a far-fetched effort to play off a technicality… Yeah, I think this prank of ours will work,” I replied with a devious grin. "I'll forgive 'em after."
Discord’s face twisted into a smile so wide it threatened to split his face in half. “You’re rather interesting, aren’t you?” He chuckled. “I think I like the way you think.”
I studied his face. Was that a glint of respect I saw in his eyes just then? He coughed, averting his gaze. “Well, I suppose I might be capable of assistance. Play the part of the messenger boy, so to speak. After all, I’m rather curious as to how this will play out.”
He glanced sideways at me, and I saw a strange look cross his face. His smile fell. He quickly turned away from me, muttering to himself. Maybe it was just me, but he seemed almost conflicted about something. His eyes appeared on the back of his head, glancing at me, then popped back into place.
Suddenly, his mutterings were over with, and he whirled around to face me again. “To be frank, I’m supposed to be a good boy now. Use my magic for good, or whatever,” He waved his claw about, “So I might be willing to help. Perhaps.”
I stiffened.
Something seemed off about how he said that last part. He almost seemed like he was being nice just moments ago but now…
“Though, I must ask, don’t you find it hard to trust anyone? Especially Miss Katherine in your case, Nocturne, considering… Well, she’s never really been open with you, has she? Never quite let you get close?”
And there’s the other shoe.
Damn it, I actually thought things were going to go smoothly there!
Why can't things be simple?
“What do you mean?” I asked defensively, “I talk to him, share what I’m thinking when I have to. Hell, I even share a dang brain with him!”
Discord smiled at me maliciously, pulling out a mask that looked like my face from thin air. “True, but there’s something you keep hiding from him and from yourself, isn’t there? You’re not really, showing the true you, now are you? Something you’re shutting him out from. Friends don’t do that now, do they Nocturne? Especially ones so close as you two are. So to speak.”
They… don’t..? Nocturne asked uneasily.
“Nocturne, don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to get under your skin. Create tension between us,” I warned.
“Oh, but you should, for there’s so much to tell!” Discord exclaimed, pulling out a book with my face on the cover and tapping a page. “For starters, what about her past? Surely she’s shared something about her past with you. After all, you told her your whole life story…”
Nocturne was silent, feeling uneasy. I hadn’t shared much of anything, had I?
Discord looked at me in mock sympathy, shaking his head. “Oh she hasn’t? How sad.” The book changed into a little booklet labeled “Healthy Friendship Scoring.” He marked something in the book. “Minus 3 friendship points. Really teetering on the edge, there…”
“Stop picking on us.” I hissed.
Discord ignored me and continued speaking to Nocturne.
“Let’s be blunt, here: has she told you anything about herself beyond what she expects of you?”
Nocturne perked up at this. She’s told us she does not know much about magic. He offered hopefully. She’s said we’re her friend, that she’ll keep her promise to protect us. That she’s not from this world, and that she’s not sure if she wants to go back to her own. He listed off proudly. I smiled.
“Yes, but has she ever told you why?” Discord countered, stroking a mustache that had suddenly appeared on his face, “Or anything personal for that matter. Her home, her friends, her family?”
If hearts could really sink, Nocturne’s would have been at the planet’s core just then.
If looks could really kill, the glare I gave Discord right then would have made him erupt into a giant fireball of doom. I bit back at my anger, forcing myself to remain calm and neutral. Wearing the mask once again.
But that didn’t stop Nocturne from noticing. He noticed, all right, and reeled in realization. Distrust began welling up within him, a deep wariness of the person he thought he knew.
Me.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Your friendship scores aren’t looking too good,” Discord remarked, marking in the booklet once more. “I’m not even sure you even qualify as friends at this point.”
I growled, averting my gaze.
Come on! Am I the only one here who can see the kind of crap he’s pulling here?
I lashed out at Discord. “How would you know anything about us, huh?” I yelled with an accusatory glare.
The booklet vanished in a puff of smoke and a crooked grin. “I’m Discord, spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, of course!” He announced with a loud fanfare.
With a wave of his hand, a cup appeared out of thin air. “And the best kind of chaos comes from when someone is in discord with themselves!”
He reached the cup towards where my heart was, and a vile-smelling green liquid began pouring out from it. I took a swing at Discord, barely nicking him, but he vanished before it connected. He reappeared across the room, calmly taking a sip from his glowing teacup. “Mmm. Denial and doubt. Absolutely delicious.”
He snapped his fingers. “Ah! That reminds me. I need to get back to tea with Fluttershy.” He glanced at his wrist, which now had a watch spinning wildly out of control. “Before I leave, though, one last question for you, Kate: Who are you, really?”
“What kind of bullshit question is that? I’m me!” I yelled back defensively.
Discord gave a sly smile. “Are you really? Are you really just who you say you are?” He waggled a clawed finger. “You’ll never get anywhere now without that silly little thing ponies call trust.”
Then he winked out of existence, and I was left alone with Nocturne and horrible, deafening silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fluttershy flew back from the washroom with a shivering damp puffball that had once resembled a rabbit cradled in her hooves.
Discord was sitting quietly in his seat, entertaining himself with a pillow that was now more gelatinous than fluffy.
"I'm sorry that I took so long," Fluttershy apologized, "I hope you weren't too bored."
"Not at all!' Discord replied cheerfully. "I was on my absolute best behavior."