In storytelling, princess and draconequus seemed to have struck a perfect balance at last. Twilight had always enjoyed sharing her favorite tales with any pony who would listen, whether they came from books or personal experience. And she knew the many nuances that most professional storytellers understood, including the need for detailed descriptions and when to pause for dramatic effect. There was also the consideration or attention paid to the audience, and given the present company Twilight found herself emphasizing—for example—such things has the wide-eyed surprise on the faces of the faculty members turned into common houseplants during her evaluation for the magic school, or how her parents had debated why they got turned into cactus plants afterwards.
This approach worked wonderfully. Judging by the way Discord’s face lit up during her narration, and his snickers and guffaws at all the appropriate places (and sometimes unexpected moments)—Twilight had hit the mark. What also helped was how the Tree of Harmony added musical accompaniment to the tale, merry and almost twisted at parts. In some ways, it reminded her of the chaos spirit, and by the end the alicorn felt ready to burst out laughing as well. Never before had the memory appeared so comical in her mind. Twilight could only wonder at how she had missed that obvious fact before.
“Bravo, my dear Twilight.” Discord clapped his lion paw and griffin claw together, which somehow produced the same applause as a filled auditorium (alongside a few whistles). “But—” Here the cavern fell into abrupt silence, and his eyes met Twilight’s and narrowed with mischievous intent. “Can you match a story like mine?”
Despite everything, Twilight tensed at the latent challenge. However, soon her nerves eased, and the princess got lost in the same enraptured spell that sometimes overtakes those absorbed in a story. Discord must have been weaving a tale similar to his flashback where Twilight found herself amid a vivid narrative, where the chaos spirit told of his expedition to the city of Coltlantis, which at one time had stood along the distant coast in Equestria. Many of the houses and other buildings there had seemed as if they had been carved from smooth marble, or perhaps pale undersea coral—with the main palace being the most spectacular sight of all. However, what Discord had found here was nothing less than a tyrant king who had enchanted sea ponies to bind them to the land to labor upon his grandiose castle. Being opposed to such order, the draconequus set about inspiring a revolutionary spirit in the subjects. Eventually, the anger of these masses grew so intense that they laid siege to the castle, which Discord ultimately caused to fall behind the waves while the sea ponies returned to their watery homes.
Learning this reminded Twilight of King Sombra, who had enslaved the ponies in the crystal empire. Despite herself, while Discord began to wind down his story, the princess thought of the shadowy magician turned tyrant—and she began to perceive something in the haze of magical memory and narrative between the two participants. Twilight thought, for a terrible moment, that she saw a dark shape rising from the back of the draconequus, spreading clawed fingers. In another, the draconequus began to reel backwards as if in pain.
And then the Tree of Harmony brightened, and the its glow filled Twilight’s mind with a story—which was nothing less than an adventure about Clover the Clever who, along with her mentor Starswirl the Bearded, had taken a pilgrimage across present-day Equestria to a distant location to find the multi-hued Prism Flower for an important spell. All this Twilight somehow knew, right away.
Except Twilight wasn’t listening to a tale about Clover the Clever.
She was Clover the Clever, sent into the bitter winter chill with nothing except a ragged woolen cloth to keep warm.
In this way, everything else disappeared while Twilight/Clover went forth into a fairytale.
***
Clover the Clever trudged through the winter snow lying upon the surrounding forest like a heavy blanket. Her hooves had grown numb too soon after Starswirl the Bearded and she had started on their way loaded down with pots to use when gathering the Prism Flower. She did not even know where such a bloom grew and could only follow her mentor there, since he refused to tell her directly. But the place was a thing Clover had to travel to herself to understand, Starswirl had said. He had also added how having patience and the endurance to overcome great obstacles was vital for the growth of any magic practitioner. Still, as miles began to separate Clover from such luxuries as a hearth fire and hot meals it became harder to keep faith or even remember why doing this mattered.
Why couldn’t she have stayed home, learned the formula to duplicate the Prism Flower, and brewed up a batch for her mentor to use in his potions? What would Starswirl the Bearded accomplish by sending Clover to become a frozen pony somewhere in the snow? At least, they could have waited until the springtime. Flowers usually grew in the sprint, and during that season her breath wouldn’t turn into icicles the moment it left her mouth or nostrils—or cause the meals on the road to get so frosty they sometimes stuck to her tongue.
Why me? Clover thought.
“What is the matter, Clover?” A cheery voice rang out, and the unicorn raised her head to see Starswirl the Bearded pause from up ahead and shoot her what usually would have been a warming grin. “Don’t tell me you’re tired already.” Like his pupil, the stallion had loaded himself down with pots—although he had filled one of them with scrolls or other supplies brought along at the last minute. Given his age, the cold should have bothered him most of all. Instead, the wizard practically pranced along in enthusiastic anticipation, like always when there were magical materials involved.
“M-M-Mentor.” Clover the Clever stammered, for she was shivering. “You know I trust your wise judgment, but are you sure this trip is necessary? With your knowledge and magical talents, wouldn’t it be easier to create the flower ourselves?”
“Nonsense!” Starswirl chided, albeit in a carefree manner. “Haven’t you learned by now there are some things you cannot achieve using regular unicorn magic? Even a high-level wizard like me has to go directly to the original source sometimes. Otherwise, the magic won’t work right or fade too soon afterwards. A lot can go wrong. Remember that—“
Oh, no. Clover groaned inwardly. He’s started to lecture again. There will be no speaking with him for a while.
So while Starswirl continued on, discussing the vitality of magic and tapping into its original source. Meanwhile, Clover slogged on behind, striving only to put one hoof in front of the other and re-elevating her chosen profession. It was hard to work with this wizard, despite his jovial air and magical talents. Sometimes he made no sense whatsoever but still expected every pony to follow his lead. If he paused to explain things even on occasion, at least Clover wouldn’t have felt quite as put out.
But she had wanted to learn from the best wizard around, and to perhaps even help to raise the sun and moon a few times—despite the risk of losing her magical abilities.
“Any questions?” Starswirl asked so suddenly that Clover jerked. He had paused yet again, and the apprentice had been so caught up in her misery she had almost run into him from behind.
“None.” Clover exclaimed, automatically.
“You weren’t even listening to me, were you?” The wizard trained a firm gaze on his student, who hung her head in shame.
“Not exactly.”
Starswirl the Bearded looked stern for a moment longer, and then broke into a knowing smile.
“Well, don’t worry about it.” Starswirl patted Clover on the shoulder with one hoof. “To tell the truth, I ramble so often and at such length that oftentimes I don’t even listen to me.”
Consoled by this, Clover managed a small smile in return.
“Hmm. The weather does concern me, though.” Starswirl noted, and the pair turned to peer towards the ice clouds high above. The sprinkling of flakes was starting to grow into heavy snowfall combined with a steady breeze, and both ponies understood they shouldn’t risk moving through the blizzard that was gradually developing. “We need to find a place to wait out the storm in relative comfort.”
Clover peered around the frosty forest, teeth chattering and completely disoriented. It might have been easier to find somewhere safe, or perhaps to figure out where they were now amid this strange location if they had—
Wait a minute. That was it! Surely, they could use the map Starswirl had once drawn out of the whole region to discover where they were, and to find the closest village.
Hope swelled within her.
“Mentor.” Clover declared. “Please let us take out the map, and we might be able to find our way to safety.”
“The map?” Starswirl mused this over for a moment, like it was an absurd concept. He ruffled among the scrolls and other materials rolled up in his pot, only to scratch his head afterwards. “Do you know what, my little Clover? It is the funniest thing. I must have left the map back in my study.” He then chuckled like the wind wasn’t picking up, or the snow becoming heavier. “I’d lose my beard it wasn’t attached to my chin.”
Now the snow and freezing wind blasts were not the coldest things Clover knew. She stood there stunned for a moment, expression inscrutable yet wavering. A slight quiver was the only evidence the unicorn was still conscious.
“Well, every trip is bound to have its hiccups. Wouldn’t you say so, Clover?” Starswirl clapped a hoof on Clover’s back, the bells of his robe jangling in time to the clanging pots on his apprentice’s back. “Fortunately, I have just the solution to our predicament. If you will allow me to explain—.”
“Argh.” Clover groaned, causing Starswirl to stop mid-sentence. “I apologize, my great mentor, but I cannot take it anymore. From now on, how about I lead the way?” The unicorn stalked past the wizard, moving toward the gathering mist. “If we search carefully, perhaps we may find some alcove or den in which to stay warm for the evening.”
“Huh. Clover, perhaps you should slow down.” Starswirl raised a hoof as if to stop her, yet Clover wanted no part of it at the moment.
“We have to rush ahead and find a suitable place to shelter soon, or else—“
“I’m only looking out for you.” The wizard interjected. “You will regret it if you go forward too quickly.”
“Forgive me, Mentor.” Clover continued onwards, feeling in some selfish way satisfied at finally asserting herself. “The winter storms will wait for no pony. So you can just—Woah!” The ground beneath her hooves seemed to give way, and Clover plummeted down what appeared a deep chasm with snow, bits of stone, and dirt falling about her.
In her desperation, Clover hadn’t noticed the drop. Starswirl the Bearded had probably seen it up ahead and tried to stop her. That would be just like him, to know everything.
What had she done? Ponies considered her mentor wise for a reason.
“I am sorry, Mentor.” Clover murmured in genuine regret, dropping into darkness.
When Clover regained awareness, she lay before a glistening crystal tree. Life-giving warmth radiated from the great start at its center, as did the bright gems attached to the ends of each branch. It was nice and peaceful here, though the unicorn could hear the faint howl of wind in the near distance. Before the tree, form dark as a silhouette, was Starswirl the Bearded—standing among a wide patch of flowers that shimmered as a whole like a flattened rainbow. Waves of color moved across the petals, bathed in the light produced by that arbor. Perhaps it was this, or sheer gratefulness to still be alive to see such a sight, but Clover felt happy from the very depths of her being. Never again could she feel the same joyous thrill as among these Prism Flowers, for they could have been nothing else.
A glad whinny escaped her lips, which she slapped a hoof across in embarrassment. Yet Starswirl the Bearded heard, lifting his head as if in deep thought. However, when they saw each other, Clover could tell the old wizard had been worried sick.
“Clover the Clever, my dear pupil.” Starswirl said.
That sealed it. Starswirl only called Clover by her full name whenever he got concerned over the unicorn’s welfare.
“I am all right, Mentor.” Clover assured him, reaching her feet. “This is the place you were looking for, wasn’t it? The original source where the Prism Flowers grew.”
“Yes. This is the cavern wherein resides the Tree of Harmony, a remarkable site in Equestria.”
“The Tree of Harmony.” Clover mouthed the words.
“There exist in our world a menagerie of different magical resources, which are ancient and take many forms. But for Equestria, the Tree of Harmony is among the most important. It affects the lives of every pony here in subtle ways, helping to move us in the right direction.” Clover could discern the star from the Tree of Harmony reflected in Starswirl’s gaze, and her mentor spoke as if from a dream.
“You speak as if the tree is alive.” Clover said. “If what you say is true, then why do so few ponies know about this wondrous tree?”
“Because ponies are not ready for the magic the Tree of Harmony possesses, and they do not need it yet. The tribes themselves are still relatively new to this land. Your friends and you guided them here together.” Her mentor responded, sounding proud. “And the true impact of what you have done will take time to unfurl. But I believe that someday, the Tree of Harmony will begin to make its presence and magic known in order to protect Equestria as ponies continue to thrive and need more of its guiding light the way you did. And when that happens, this will be a time when great entities must thrive here and learn how to defend it against powerful foes who would seek to snuff out everything it represents. This, I predict.”
Once again, Clover failed to understand what Starswirl meant. However, she let his prediction go unchallenged. In fact, she accepted his cryptic answer and used her magic to begin gathering flowers.
“Equestria is such a strange land.” Clover commented, while her mentor and she worked. “I hope we can clear away all this wilderness and make ponies feel safe. It moves without any pony working spells or doing anything, which—if I may say so—is a little intimidating.”
“This wilderness contains a great deal of magic.” Starswirl replied. “That constant change and sense of individual will are as much a part of harmony and this land as the tree—though neither can be without the other. It is important to maintain a balance between the two.”
“I suppose you are right. Hmm. What are you doing, Mentor?” Clover asked, for the wizard had gone to a corner of the cave, a little beyond the Tree of Harmony, and was using his magic to remove an odd tangle of vines from something. She came over in time to see Starswirl uncover another star, similar to the one that adorned the tree yet dull and dirty. “Wha—what does this mean? Is there supposed to be another tree?”
“Of course not, my faithful pupil.” Starswirl drew close to the star. “This is a part of the Tree of Harmony as well. However, I can tell the magic must have left here a long time ago.”
“Where is it now?”
“Even I cannot say.” The wizard said, seeming to mediate on the matter for a while longer. An eternity passed before Starswirl turned back to Clover. “A great wizard must admit when he doesn’t know how things will turn out. It keeps a pony honest.”
They shared a laugh over this, and after filling their pots with Prism Flowers they shared their tale with the Tree of Harmony before spending the rest of that night as only the closest of companions can do—talking of matters simple and grand until they each fell asleep under the tree’s protective branches.
***
Twilight came to herself, sitting upright in the cavern before the faded campfire. It took a few moments to remember why the princess was here, or even who she was after being part of such a vivid story. How or why it had happened was still hazy. The last thing she could recall was telling stories with Discord, and his account of Coltlantis.
Discord.
The chaos spirit was in a similar position opposite her, eyes bright yellow as if in a trance. Twilight rushed to him without hesitation.
“Discord, wake up.” Twilight shook the draconequus. “Can you hear me?” Thankfully, this movement seemed to do the trick, and
Discord blinked back into awareness with a bit of a groan. He rubbed his brow.
“What an experience.” Discord said. “My head is pounding.” Miniature mallets beat upon his forehead in illustration. “Remind me to tell TOH to warn us before she does something like that again. Maybe if I can get my head on straight, I’ll feel better.” He twisted his head around on his neck. “Ah. There.”
“I can’t believe it.” Twilight murmured, focused on the story they had just seen. “The Tree of Harmony sent us a vision about Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever, visiting this place so long ago. And I even thought that I was Clover.” She shivered, despite the cavern being quite warm. “Did that really happen? Did Prism Flowers really used to grow in this cavern? Where did they go?” There was something else. Another detail she was still struggling to recall. She couldn’t so she tried another question instead. “We received a vision. But how? It didn’t seem to come right from the Tree of Harmony. It was almost as if—“
“The Tree of Harmony filtered the story through me to you.” Discord finished for her. “Taking advantage of the magic I was using to relate my other tales. Argh.” He rubbed the bridge of his snout. “If I had known TOH would do that, I might have stuck to telling you my story out loud.”
“That was interesting magic.” Twilight said, wonderingly. “You were putting images, sights, and sounds right into my mind. It was a little like when I drank the recall potion Zecora gave me to see the past, though I wasn’t lost or simply watching the events as they happened. I kind of understood them better with your narration. How did you do it?”
“Well, it is one of my many talents.” Discord puffed out his chest in pride. “Perhaps I could teach you sometime, among several other tricks.”
“I would like that.” Twilight bounced on her hooves, feeling a little giddy. Learning magic like this, with which she could tell a story or recall a memory in such a vivid way, was truly an exciting idea. “I would like that very much, Mentor.”
The word slipped out by accident, causing Twilight to blush despite herself. It must have been due to the story told by the Tree of Harmony, which she would have to consider later. The vision had been overwhelming, and she needed sometime to process everything she had seen within it. And, Twilight could tell, did Discord from the icepack atop his head. Apparently, he had missed her slip of the tongue, which was relieving—although, for some reason, a little disappointing.
Even so, Twilight might have asked for a short lesson right then and there, until she noticed with some shock that it was already late afternoon. Princess Celestia would be getting ready to retire anytime now, and have Princess Luna take over for the evening.
It was time for Princess Twilight to act.
“Discord, let’s go to my palace.” Twilight announced. “There is something I want to show you, and I think you’ll enjoy it very much.”
“Ooh. What is this?” Discord looked smug. “Are you inviting me for some kind of slumber party, perhaps? Fluttershy often asks me to do that, and we stay up baking, knitting, giving each other makeovers, and playing games most of the night—you know, as good pony friends apparently do.”
Fluttershy had had Discord over for slumber parties? Twilight remembered how excited she had been to have her first slumber party with Rarity and Applejack, and how little she had known about them. But knitting and baking? Oh, well. This was Fluttershy after all.
“Well, not a slumber party.” Twilight said at last. “But you will still enjoy it, all the time. We’ll fly over there.” She went to the cavern mouth, spreading her wings and preparing to take off, only to realize a moment later that Discord hesitated to do the same. “What are you waiting for?” She shot him an encouraging smile. “Come on, friend.”
This appeared to be the right thing to say. Discord took off after Twilight, although she noted with some perplexity the chaos spirit flew with wings folded tightly to his sides. By the time they arrived at the palace, however, Twilight had set this aside and felt giddy for an entirely different reason while leading Discord to the doors of the council room. She caught a quizzical look on the draconequus’ face from the corner of her eye, and then used her magic and swing open the doors wide.
***
“Surprise!”
Came the resounding chorus, with party favors exploding and squealing. And what Discord saw inside the council room was nothing less than utter chaos. A creative mash-up of colors and memorabilia decorated the walls, along with streamer hanging down at odd angles from the ceiling and small woodland creature running about. Some pony had set up tables along with punch bowls and party favors, alongside a huge cheese log at the end. He saw racks of clothes, a medal display case, and a barrel of what smelled like apple cider.
Most surprising of all, however, were Twilight’s—and his—friends greeting Discord with huge grins on their faces.
“What is this?” Discord heard this muttered, only to realize soon afterwards that it came from his own mouth.
“Why, it’s nothing less than your super, duper special friendship fun party!” Pinkie Pie bounced around him once before springing up to put on Discord’s party hat. In one more spring she had stuck a small plastic horn in his mouth as well. “You won’t believe how long it took us to put everything together. But we did it all for you!”
“You should have seen what a commotion it was in here.” Rarity added.
“We had to put all our heads together.” Applejack said.
“Even though figuring out what you would like was easier than you’d think.” Rainbow Dash interjected. “Fluttershy helped.”
As if on cue, Fluttershy flew forward and right into Discord’s arms. “Oh, Discord. We got so worried when we realized you had disappeared during all the festivities, and we wanted to make sure you were okay.” She gave him a final squeeze before pulling back and gaining a slightly sterner expression. “Don’t do that again, please. If something bad had happened to you, and we didn’t know about it—I’d feel just awful.”
“I’ll try not to make a habit of it, Fluttershy.” Discord said, truly repentant. He still clearly had a lot to learn, although saying this clearly appeased the yellow Pegasus.
“I thought all our friends were busy today. Didn’t you say so, Twilight?” Discord glanced at the princess.
“They were.” Twilight agreed. “Almost every pony went to spend the day with those who had given them their keys for the chest.”
“And we came back, with souvenirs and gifts.” Pinkie Pie flung streamers into the air, some of which landed on Rainbow Dash.
“Pinkie.” The blue Pegasus warned.
“Oopsie.” Pinkie returned, before pressing on. “But Twilight asked if we would be able to come back to the palace in time to throw you this party.”
“Meanwhile, I started the preparations and checked to make sure the design was just right.” Fluttershy said. “The baking also took a long time.” She pointed a hoof to a buffet-style layout atop one of the tables. “It was so much fun, though.”
Twilight had known about the event the entire time. When Discord reflected on this, he should have known. That must have been the reason she was grinning from ear-to-ear earlier that morning. It was the undeniable mark of mischief ahoof.
“Perhaps you’ll make a good student of chaos yet, Twilight Sparkle.” Discord simply commented to alicorn, low enough that only she heard.
“I look forward to learning what you have to teach.” Twilight responded, guileless.
The celebration that followed was among the most memorable Discord would ever have. Alongside the ponies, he played any number of games from pin the tail on the donkey where all of them had to chase Pinkie Pie around the room to pin her tail back on, to apple-bobbing (which Discord easily won every time without resorting to his magic). Then there was a cider-jugging contest between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, which Rarity declaimed as a little gross to watch yet Discord thoroughly enjoyed. In the end, Twilight judged that they both dropped at the same time and had tied.
Fluttershy regaled the draconequus with updates on her animal friends, such as how certain bird chicks had finally hatched from their eggs, and the fact that she had a new fruit bat pet. She even invited Discord over for another slumber party the following week.
In-between all this, they ate, laughed, and had fun in general. Discord would never have created the ponies with causing such mayhem and loving it. Each pony also told of the wonderful day she had had with their key-giver, sharing the souvenirs they had brought home.
By the time they had gone from panting in excitement to yawning from weariness, Discord thought his happiness complete.
But then Twilight and the rest took him downstairs, where there were a series of rooms. The princess opened the door to one spacious room and said:
“By royal decree, I am giving your own special guest room to stay or live in if you choose. We left it empty so you can do whatever you like inside.” Twilight must have seen how gratified this gesture made Discord, despite everything. “Fluttershy said you kind of wander around Equestria without a steady home, but we hope you can come to think of Ponyville as your hometown.” Discord remained still. “What do you think?”
The huge hug Discord gave the ponies was his response.
Even so, long after the ponies had left for their homes and Twilight retired to her personal chambers, Discord left for the cave where the Tree of Harmony stood. But a truly glad feeling surged through him, at the kindness of his pony friends.
“I don’t deserve it.” The chaos spirit said, shaking his head.
And somewhere, deep in his mind and the shadows, an echo stated:
“You don’t deserve it.”
***
In her hut, deep in the Everfree Forest, Zecora the Zebra made the final preparations to brew a large cauldron of potion for ponies in need of some botanical help. She had spent all day collecting different herbs and plants from the woods, along with some water and other ingredients from the shops in Ponyville. However, something in the air had bothered her all the while, which even one as wise as she had trouble defining. The forest seemed far too still and quiet.
To create the potion she needed, Zecora had to first mix together certain liquids into a light broth. The magic inherent in both of these gathered from amid the vegetation was supposed to (with a small poof) turn a light greenish hue and bubble when combined. But tonight that poof failed to happen, and the colors from the liquid were dull and lifeless.
“This is troubling, when my cauldron isn’t bubbling.” Zecora muttered, pouring the other ingredients in the cauldron. Yet the magic, for some reason, wouldn’t work quite right. Testing the bottled sample of the potion on a houseplant, it caused the sprout to jerk a little without any other effect. “Strange, this is indeed.” The zebra noted. “Perhaps some mischievous deed?” That would explain the stillness in the forest.
Moving to a shelf filled with the books that comprised her private library, Zecora pulled out a volume that had never failed to help her when encountering such difficulties and began to read.