//------------------------------// // Open your eyes, // Story: Dear...Princess Celestia? // by Distorted Flare //------------------------------// Well, that was... interesting.” I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck as Twilight silently fumed in front of me. The brief walk back to the library had been awkward, the silence only broken by the repetitive crunching of gravel as we made the short journey. Twilight's tail angrily flicked back and forth, a sharp snort making me flinch. The mare was livid and for some reason it seemed to be my fault. I had stated my innocence yet the mare refused to speak to me. A rosy blush adorned her face as she occasionally turned to glare at me. ‘Wouldn't be surprised if she thought I was going to assassinate her in the back, the paranoid mule.’ I mentally sneered. Granny Smith was a kind elderly mare, and had shown great hospitality, but dear Solaris could that mare be blunt. The questions she came away with during lunch left me wishing I could disappear off the face of the earth. Questions of herding with both Twilight and Applejack had resulted in loud protests from Applejack and left me sputtering like an idiot. The situation had only been made worse by Twilight’s reaction. The mare had been deathly silent, her accusing glare somehow trying to pin me for the embarrassment we were all feeling. Had it stopped there maybe I could have salvaged the situation. But it had gotten much worse when she had delved into the best techniques in bed and asking when she could expect great grand foals. Though the look on Twilight's face had nearly been worth the embarrassment. Despite her initial anger I had struggled to hold back my mirth as her anger quickly turned to humiliation. Luckily for us, Applejack managed to change the conversation about a small infestation of arrow ants causing problems over in the west fields. Twilight volunteered the two of us to at some point this week to help remove them. Arrow ants were strange creatures. They were incredibly aggressive and had a bite that many had described as being struck by an arrow. They were fast and could decimate an entire orchard if they were not removed. Maybe Butterscotch- I mean Fluttershy could sort the problem out, I mentally pondered. Given the mare’s love for animals it would look bad on our part if we just exterminated them, but magic was one of the only sure fire ways to remove an infestation regardless of size. Reaching the library,Twilight took the key out of her bag and unlocked the door, stepping inside to carelessly throw the bag away and heading straight for the bookshelves “I want to see if we can get any information on inter-dimensional travel. Maybe one of these books can help us get you home,” Twilight instructed as I happily pulled a few books from the shelves. Finally, something that I was good at: reading. No having to explain myself, no having to deal with awkward conversations about herding, just some nice easy reading. Nothing would go wrong. --------- A few hours later --------- “Where is it?” Twilight growled, snorting as another book was carelessly tossed across the room. Weak rays of light shone through the library window hitting my eyes as I squinted. I gave a small flick of my head, the curtains leaping together as the mare gave a throaty sigh of relief. The sun had been bugging the two of us for the last few minutes yet neither of us had had the energy to shut them till now. I watched the mare sleepily grumble under her breath as another book was thrown aside. Around three o’clock the summer heat had reached a dangerous temperature and many vendors and ponies retreated inside The two of us had been working for two hours poring through book after book. Two hours was nothing most of the time, but with fanning ourselves doing little to cool us down and the open windows giving no refreshing wind, we were exhausted. Our fur and manes were matted with sweat and, to be honest, it was miserable. Sluggishly rubbing her eyes Twilight looked up at me sharply as I hastily looked down. The party was still six hours away and already the two of us were drained. I was honestly tempted to grab some shut eye. I groaned as I pushed the book away, a strong migraine coming on as the words in the book started to blend together. Twilight gave a defeated sigh trotting over to the couch. Jumping up, she seated herself next to me. Her head slumped onto a book as she sighed. “Nothing,” she grumbled, her eyes peering up at me as I tilted my head in confusion. “There is nothing on multiverse or inter-dimensional travel,” Twilight groaned, throwing her hooves over her head as I chuckled softly. Snorting, the mare lightly bit her lip. “Rarity will be stopping by this evening. So try and behave!" Twilight informed, yawning as she slumped the blistering heat making it hard to work. With a small snort at the behave jab I turned to rest my head on the armrest closing my eyes as sleep claimed me. ___________________________________________________________________ “Ah.” The sound came out as a hiss . My neck stiff and sore as I sleepily yawned. The sharp twinge of pain sparked from my neck, eliciting a groan from me. Stretching my body I paused, feeling something heavy against me. Sleepily turning my body, taking care not to stretch my neck, I inhaled sharply at the sight. The mare obliviously continued to snooze next to me, her head buried into my neck as she mumbled unintelligently in her sleep. Her hooves wrapped around me, a small string of drool running down the side of her mouth. ‘She is kind of cute’ I mused, looking over the peaceful mare. Shaking my head at such thoughts, I tried to gently remove her hooves. Like a snake her hooves only seemed to constrict, pulling me closer to her as her mouth latched onto my ear. A yelp escaped my lips as she gently bit and nibbled on my lobe. ‘This is so wrong,’ I mentally cried, struggling to escape her vice-like grip. I froze as I felt the mare's body relax, a yawn coming from her as she licked her lips. Twilight’s eyes opened slowly, the mare squinting as she shook her head. Looking at me the mare tilted her head in confusion. “Dusk Shine what...” Twilight mumbled, her eyes darting down to her hooves wrapped around my body. With a strangled yelp the mare propelled herself away from me, her wings batting me across the face. The blow caused me to lose my balance. Falling onto the floor I grunted in pain, my back and head sore as I sat cradling my spinning head. “What were you playing at?” Twilight spat her cheeks, a deep crimson as she glowered at me. Affronted by her accusing tone, I jumped to my hooves, my body still sore. I had been innocent here, and for her to instantly assume it was my fault... “Hey I was not the one getting freaky with my ear,” I growled, a small string of saliva still present to my lobe. If it was possible, the mare seemed to turn a brighter shade of red. Hastily wiping her mouth, she glared at me. Huffing, she turned tail, stomping off towards her room as I stood confused and angry with the temperamental mare. “Was I that aggressive back home?” I pondered, placing books back on the shelf. ‘Why was Twilight so mean? I try my best to be nice to her but she seems to have to jump on my case for anything. Did she honestly dislike me being here so much? I had, after the initial shock, looked forward to learning from her and discuss magical theory. But so far, Twilight had been nothing but hostile towards me. I understood that my presence interrupted her life and being a princess she had duties to deal with, but was she not at the very least curious of my being here? Shaking my head, I finished organising the books, grimacing as I caught a whiff of myself. The summer heat had left me sweaty and matted. Grimacing I decided maybe a shower should be my first priority. ___________________________________________________________________ With a small squeak the handle of the shower turned. There was a small pause before the first drop hit my fur, the droplet running down the side of my muzzle. With a gentle rumble, the pipes shook briefly before spraying forth a torrent of hot water. I let the warm water run down my body, the sensation helping to sooth the stress of the day. My biggest worry was the fate of my friends. How were they dealing with my sudden disappearance? Had Eris broken free of her prison, was Equestria now under her control. I knew that neither Eris nor Discord could be trusted but part of me was honestly tempted by his deal. But at what cost, potentially allowing Discord to plunge this world into chaos? Grabbing a bottle of shampoo I closed my eyes as I dumped a quarter of the liquid onto my head. Sitting I scrubbed hard making sure to cover as much of my body as I could. The aroma of peach filled the bathroom as I went to work on covering my lower half. Steam cloaking the room in a white mist as I happily hummed. Satisfied I wrapped a towel around my torso, shivering as the cold air nipped my exposed body. No longer smelling like death and feeling refreshed I decided that getting out of the library may do me some good. If only to stay out of Twilight's mane. ------------------- Twilight’s POV ------------------- “Uhh! Arrogant, stupid, stallion!” I growled, punctuating each word with a violent slash of my quill. My checklist now torn in places and useless I threw it carelessly aside. What I could not understand, was why Celsetia had insisted that Dusk-shine live with me. Could he not stay with the princesses, heck I would let him live with Chrysalis. I mentally ranted pausing as I imagined his reaction to the manipulative bug queen. “I was not nibbling on his ear.” I huffed, throwing a dangerous glare Spikes way as the drake tried to hide his laughter. The dragon had been teasing me for the past half hour over my embarrassing predicament. And Dusk Shine that colt had the nerve to claim that it had been me in the wrong, the nerve. Why did the stallion infuriate me so? The answer was clear but I did not like to admit it. It was because he was me. All the qualities that I dislike about myself on display for me to see. Whilst true there were only a few years between us, I had matured greatly in that short time. With him I saw what I used to act. Freaking out over the smallest things, panic attacks over trivial matters and above the way he idolised his mentor. ‘Surely I had never been that much of a flank kisser’ I pondered, moving a few books aside as I placed the new one down on the oak table. Though the worse part about him was that he came across as an insufferable know it all. Which being honest did not reflect well on me. But despite that I saw in him the same traits that I held dear. “Maybe I am being too hard on him.” I mused , my magic gently swishing the quill back and forth. “Boy troubles?” A mocking voice spoke questioned. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I searched the room for the source. A low chuckle rang out as my eyes darted back and forth looking for my unwanted visitor. “What do you want!” I growled in no mood for his antics. “Why must you Alicorns always insist that I want something? Can’t a draconequus simply pop in to see a dear friend.” The childish voice responded. Turning I flinched as Discord's face appeared on my book, his eyes peering back at me. With a grunt his arms shot out like a jack in the box, gripping the sides of the book as he pulled himself out.His body twisted and turned as I backed away. Squeezing and turning Discord forced himself out. With a small pop the book was flung across the room as before me stood the last creature I wanted to see. His body was comically white, text zipping back and forth across his body as they spelt out ludicrous words some seeming to be gibberish. “Because you rarely ‘pop around’ unless you want or need something.” I retorted, smiling smugly as his cheery expression vanished. “You wound me Twilight.” Discord pouted. “Why must you always be a kill joy?” He finished, the text on his body swirling to form a rather unflattering outline of an alicorn with a six star cutie mark on its oversized flank, the word ‘nag’ writing itself repeatedly across his body as I bit my tongue. I tried to suppress my anger at the infuriating prankster, not wanting to give him more ammunition to use against me. “Enough with the games Discord. Why are you here!” Stomping my foot I felt the floor crack slightly beneath it. “Oh fine, I came to see if I could speak some sense into you. You are close to the princesses. And I know you are less than thrilled with our little friend. So I wanted to see if you would be willing to speak some sense into Fat flank and broody,” Discord finished. “And what makes you think for one second I would help you with this? You messed us around with the plunder seeds and then had me and Cadance waste time trying to find an imaginary cure for you. Why in Equestria would we restore your full power. How do we know you would not simply revert to causing full scale chaos? What assurance do we have that you would not betray us? We barely managed to stop you when you were still weak from your imprisonment. Only this time we do not have the elements of harmony to stop you.” I retorted not believing the audacity of this creep. “Well had your precious mentor not seen fit to restrict my power in the first place, then I might have been more cooperative,” Discord retorted snidely. “The prospect of having friends should have been good enough reason for you not to act out Discord.” I retorted taking a angry step forward. “Friends? You mean friends that refused to give me the time of day, until Celestia forced dear Fluttershy to be my warden? The same so called friends that have never been pleased to see me.” Discord retorted his playful tone gone as he gave me a cold calculated look. “And what reason did we have to want to be your friend? After you nearly tore my friends and I apart you should be lucky we gave you a second chance. And so far every time you have appeared you have caused us hassle. Think Discord when was the last time we humiliated you, or tried to make you feel small. Fluttershy may have been blunt with you but she was never malicious or cruel like you are” I finished steaming at his audacity to imply we were bad friends. To my great surprise Discord seemed to wince rubbing the back of his head. Looking away he muttered something under his breath his hands fidgeting slightly. “That is neither here nor there.” Discord finally spoke up deflecting my argument as I sighed. “ As I said my deal is absolute and non negotiable. Either break my seal or poor Dusk Shine is stuck here. The only way to send him home is the same spell that sent him here. And to my knowledge there is only one being who can perform it. Can you guess who it is?” Discord questioned a large neon sign spelling out ‘ME’ appearing on his chest as he gave a triumphant smirk. He had me there. Even Celestia and Luna had shown no knowledge of how to get Dusk Shine home and they, next to Discord were the most powerful being in Equestria. But I could not agree to this not until I was sure of Discord’s “reformation” I prayed that Everfree Castle would have something, anything to prove discord wrong. If there was a way to get Dusk Shine home without Discord then I had to find it. ____________