So much for dividing up the burden on telling every pony. When Twilight had returned home after her visit with Cadance, Spike had been waiting for her with another official summons from the princesses for the next day. Even if Cady were willing to explain Twilight's plan to them, she would still have to tell them face to face anyway.
She only hoped that it would go better than her attempt to tell Discord. She had the whole train ride from Ponyville to think and replay their conversation in her mind, Spike dozing lightly on her shoulder as the pastoral landscape whipped by out the window.
Twilight didn't know exactly how Discord would react, or how she even expected him to react. Would he agree with her in thinking that it was the best possible choice, would he be concerned for her and want her to stay away from it?
She had not expected him to dismiss it out of hoof so quickly.
She had caught him as he was going through his rounds of popping in on each of his homes, still not wanting to stay in one place very long. She had waited at his castle in the Everfree for hours until he finally made an appearance. There Twilight had had time to stress and fret over what he might say.
He hadn't come right out and said 'this is a terrible plan', but he wasn't the most enthusiastic about it, either. It seemed more that he didn't expect it to work on the very grounds that it wouldn't fly with the princesses.
“They'll never go for it, good luck trying to get them on board,” he had said flatly.
“Discord, this is the best plan we have, of course they'll see that,” she had told him.
“They'll see that the best option would be to kick me out of this plane for good. It's only a matter of time.”
“Why are you being such a defeatist about this?
“Because I don't think you understand the magnitude of what you're suggesting, and if those order alicorns have any sense in their combined intelligence, they'll see that as well,” for some reason that had sounded defensive to Twilight.
“And besides, giving up all of my power? Does that sound like me?”
No, it hadn't, not the old Discord anyway. But that was a flimsy argument to make.
“If it's to be able to get what you really want,” she had said. “What I thought you wanted, anyway.”
“What I want is for you to have some sense of how important you are,” he had said, which caught her off guard. “If this plan of yours goes forward and it doesn't work, where does that leave us? I'll most likely still be sent packing, and who knows what will become of you.”
“And what if it does work, have you considered that?”
“Then you'd be the new chaos being, congratulations. Your prizes are the disdain of every pony and the blame for all of Equus's problems. Either way, it's a lose-lose for you.”
There it was, Discord's true reason for his disagreement. Twilight knew it couldn't have been completely about the possible veto from the princesses, and she was touched to make the realization. It was sweet that he was so concerned for her. But most of his fears were unfounded, or at least unproven.
“Discord, it won't be the same as what things were for you.” she had said softly. “Yes, you had to prove yourself – and you still sort of do to some ponies - but if I take over for you I can show them that they were wrong about you, about chaos. I can convince them that it truly is a part of harmony and balance.”
He still hadn't looked convinced yet, so she found his clawed hand with her hoof, taking it gently. She had hoped that the physical contact might be more reassuring.
“I can handle the magic, I'm sure of it.” She was only mostly, ninety-nine percent sure she could truly handle it, but Discord didn't need an honest recounting of her confidence at the moment. He needed reassurance that this was the right thing to do, the best thing to do. That he didn't need to be afraid for her in any capacity.
“Just trust me. Like I trusted you at the gates of Tartarus, and in the desert. It's my turn to do something potentially dangerous for you.”
“It's that potential that has me skeptical,” he had said.
She then attempted to increase the reassurance in her voice tenfold.
“Hey, in either turn out, at least you'll be there to help me through the hard parts.”
“We don't know that for sure,” he said.
“But we know it won't be the case if we do nothing,” she answered.
That undeniable fact appeared to have finally sunk in for him, and after a moment he gave a small sigh, a resigned smile growing on his features.
“If this is really what you choose, then I suppose I have no choice to see it through with you. I will be here,” he then bent down to kiss the hoof that held his claw.
She beamed back at him. “Thank you, Discord.”
“And I'll be right here when they say no.”
Twilight had rolled her eyes at that. He had also refused point blank to accompany her to Canterlot, so she was making her way to the castle with only Spike as her companion, which she was used to but would have been more confident about it if she'd had him with her, too.
Spike didn't know about Twilight's plan yet either, but if he were allowed to come into the meeting with her, he would know soon enough.
She had been to Canterlot Castle so many times throughout the years, Twilight should have been used to it by now. And she was, for the most part. Only the thought of what she was about to propose set her anxiety on edge and made the usually friendly and inviting architecture seem looming and foreboding.
Twilight shouldn't be anxious, though. She believed in her plan, she had faith that it was the right decision. It was difficult to get Discord's lack of faith out of her head, however.
Entering the vast main hall, Twilight and Spike took a right and made their way towards the small meeting room Twilight was used to seeing the princesses in, but before they could reach their destination, they were halted by a voice calling the unicorn's name.
“Twilight, Twilight Sparkle!”
They both turned back around the corner they had just gone past to see a slightly familiar orange pegasus flapping his wings to slow himself down, coming in to land close by to them.
The orange stallion took a moment to catch his breath and adjust his guard armor, which Twilight noticed included a Canterlot helmet with a Crystal Empire breast plate.
It was only a few moments before Twilight recognized him fully.
“Flyer Fry? I haven't seen you in months,” she said, only remembering seeing him last during the whole Cloudsdale commotion. He was Shining Armor's lieutenant, and he and several other guard members had come to aid the citizens when they were trying to pull the cloud city back into the sky.
“I'm sorry if I startled you, but I had to try to catch up with you before you got too far,” he said, still sounding out of breath. “I saw you coming down this way, and wondered where you were going.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I'm here on official business for Princess Cadance, or well, mostly for your brother. He can't come to this meeting, you see. So he sent me along with the princess to give her extra protection.”
Twilight guessed that explained the mixing of uniforms, but after that mystery was solved, what Fry had actually said registered with her.
“Wait, what do you mean, 'where am I going?' I'm going to the meeting room as per my official summons.”
Fry then shook his head, “Oh, my apologies, but the meeting is being held in the throne room.”
That didn't seem like the regular protocol for a mere conference between herself and the princesses.
“May I ask why?” she inquired, polite but curious.
“Not enough room, I'd imagine,” he replied, folding his wings and gesturing Twilight and Spike to follow with his hoof. “You should come on though, they're expecting you.”
“Meeting in the throne room? Twilight, how big a deal is this thing?” Spike asked as they followed Flyer Fry back down the hallway.
Evidently even bigger than Twilight had anticipated.
When she stepped into the throne room, she understood. This was not going to be a normal one-on-one with Princess Celestia. Her teacher sat at her throne with Luna and Cadance on either side of her, but flanking the royal alicorns on a lower tier were several ponies Twilight didn't know, but could recognize from her studies of the Equestrian provinces, and a few of the ponies present were clearly delegates from other countries on Equus.
Perhaps her anxiety was correct to start showing itself as she heard her hooves clip on the smooth floor of the cavernous throne room. The enormous columns that surrounded the chamber all appeared to be pointing towards the end where all of these near-total strangers sat watching them as they entered.
Flyer Fry swooped through the air ahead of Twilight and came to rest beside Cadance as she and Spike passed two more royal guards.
“Where should I go?” Spike whispered from Twilight's side. Normally during these meetings he would wait outside, but Twilight wasn't sure where Spike should go in this instance.
“Twilight Sparkle, unicorn of Ponyville, formally of Canterlot,” one of the guards announced her as she attempted to step lightly on the floor, making her way closer to where the group of very important ponies sat. She had never been announced officially in a meeting with the princesses before, then again she hadn't attended an official event such as this before, either.
There was a tenseness in the silence that filled the room, Twilight could see from the worried, anticipatory faces of some of the delegates. She suddenly understood the need for such pageantry. Princess Celestia must have wanted to ease their worries a much as possible before she arrived, and there was not much more reassuring to ponies en mass than a set ritual.
As they grew closer, Spike seemed to decide that the lower level beneath the others was as good a place as any, and he skittered off and out of the ponies' direct vision with a hurried, “Good luck” to Twilight.
“Twilight, thank you for coming,” Princess Celestia said, Twilight could feel some warmth coming from the greeting through the stiffness of decorum. Her smile was small yet brief, however. It was clear that Twilight was expected to play along according to the rules. Informality and familiarity were not to be shown.
“Thank you, Princess,” Twilight replied, then a few seconds later remembered to bow.
“We have been discussing the recent occurrences of unknown origin that have begun happening all around Equestria, and more recently in a few of the countries across the sea, including Cheval and Saddle Arabia.”
Twilight glanced over the assembled representatives and noted the ones from the mentioned lands. They were some of the ones looking the most concerned about the proceedings.
“For the official record, please state if the following is true. Until recently you were the liaison between the princesses of Equestria and Discord, where you observed his comings and goings and reported on his whereabouts and his progress in the probation he had been set with.”
“That is correct,” Twilight answered, the stenographer pony catching her eyes for a brief moment before quickly looking back up to Celestia. She didn't think they would make the leap to Discord so quickly, this did not bode well.
“And since the end of Discord's probation, have you had any contact with him?”
“I have,” Twilight replied, feeling almost robotic with her answers. Although she understood the reasoning for it, being so official and informal with her teacher and the other princesses (especially with Cadance right there as well) just felt awkward to her.
“Do you know where he has been throughout the past month, and do you know where he is at this moment?”
Twilight shifted her weight from one set of hooves to the other. They were getting very close to asking her the question that would reveal the truth, and confirm the suspicions Twilight could sense that they had. Why else would the princess bring up Discord?
“Not exactly where he has been, but I know he's been traveling,” she said. “And yes, I do know where he is currently.”
“Could it have been possible though - in your opinion - that during his travels that he could have visited the towns and countries of the delegates here today?”
“It is possible, Princess,” Twilight answered, taking a risk at disrupting the decorum of the proceedings, she added, “But may I please take this moment to clear things up, on his behalf?”
“You may,” the princess replied, at least not outwardly objecting to the request.
“It is true that these anomalies have indeed begun occurring since Discord's reappearance from stone, and that the more recent events have coincided with his recent travels. He has informed me that his continued existence on our plane has been having an adverse effect on our magical fields, and that has manifested in the strange occurrences cropping up all over the world.”
The unicorn then turned to the assembled representatives, trying to ease their worries with her own reassuring tone. “But please believe that Discord was not targeting your homes purposefully. He was merely attempting to stay as far away from any densely populated area in order to prevent any undo instances of chaotic imbalance. And even when they did occur without a conscious effort on his part, he did his best to fix them before they could incite a panic.”
At her words, the ponies assembled all began to talk over each other as they all scrambled to question her.
“But what about the magical fields?” asked one mare near the end of the row.
“How far off is this imbalance?” came another.
“Can he simply not just rein it in?”
“What do you propose we can do to adjust this imbalance?”
The questions were coming in from all sides, Twilight wasn't sure which to address first. She started to turn her attentions towards one pony, but then another would begin shouting their questions at her. She was beginning to feel even more overwhelmed than she had been already. That was when Princess Celestia raised her hoof to silence the crowd.
As the ponies all fell into silence again, Twilight was slightly relieved. The relief was short lived, however, by what she heard Celestia say.
"So all of this is Discord's fault?" the princess questioned, this being the only thing that she had evidently gleaned from Twilight's words.
"It isn't really as simple as that, Princess,” Twilight tried to explain. “Or rather, yes that he is the cause - but - he isn't doing any of it consciously. It's all his mere presence, his influence.”
"But he has admitted to being the source of all of the added chaotic occurrences?" Princess Celestia asked, again pointing to the bottom line without appearing to hear the rest of the explanation.
"Yes, Princess, but if you'll notice he has been cleaning up after himself whenever a new anomaly crops up. From what he's told me it appears to be something even he can't control," she tried to rephrase her statements again, hoping that the princess might this time catch that Discord wasn't completely to blame. "It's a side effect of his continued existence on our plane."
Princess Celestia continued to hear her out, paying her student at least the attention she was accustomed to, if only Twilight felt more like what she was saying was being listened to rather than merely heard. That she was not used to.
"I realize that quick action now could prevent any potentially progressive problems, and finding a solution for preventing his excess chaos energy from wreaking havoc hasn't been easy. Once it was made clear to me what the cause was I tried to think of some other solutions, but in the end... we could only come up with two."
"By 'we', I assume that you mean Discord and yourself," the princess asked. Her expression had grown far less warm, but at least there was some dialogue happening.
"Yes, Princess," Twilight answered. "We tried to discuss the best possible scenarios, we tried to come to some sort of arrangement that would make everyone happy."
"Why then is he not here alongside you to present your solution?" Princess Celestia questioned.
At this, the unicorn's ears drooped as she thought back to Discord, hiding out and sulking, he had warned her that things would go about the same as they were now in her audience with the princesses.
Now Twilight was growing to understand why he kept saying that. Even if he had wanted to come along, Twilight didn't think she'd blame him for not doing so. She certainly wouldn't want to meet with some pony who - sadly she had to say - appeared to have it out for her no matter what.
"We... sort of disagreed on which solution to present to you," Twilight said. "He isn't as hopeful about the plan I have, the one that has the full support of Princess Cadance."
She had added that last part in the hope that it would give her plan a bit more weight in her princess's eyes. She was the one who had divulged Princess Celestia's own plans for the both of them to Twilight.
Princess Celestia turned her gaze to the side of her throne where Cadance sat, and Twilight noticed Princess Luna turn questioningly to look at her as well. Cadance only smiled back at them, confident as ever about their decision. She nodded to affirm Twilight's statement, and then smiled encouragingly back to the unicorn.
"Thanks to her, I now know of the honor that you yourself had been considering the two of us for. Choosing us from all of the pupils you took under your wing - from all the ponies in Equestria - is something that I can not find words to describe my feelings for. And had things gone completely as you had planned, I know that I would accept your offer in a heartbeat to succeed you and Princess Luna as the new order beings."
Both Celestia's and Luna's eyes went wide at her words, they looked even more shocked that Twilight knew of their plans than they had about Discord or the anomalies.
"I realize that this isn't the way you wanted this offer to be announced, and that these circumstances are not what you had planned for, but please don't blame Cadance. She was only trying to help."
She then went through the basics of what she and Cadance had discussed. That Cadance could still take on the mantle of order being and help succeed both princesses, and that - since Twilight was already carrying some of it within her - that she should take on the power that Discord controlled and become the new chaos being to help balance out the world's magical energy with Cadance.
All through her speech she had observed the princesses' expressions, trying with ever more growing anxiety to read any sort of positive feedback in them. Cadance continued to be Twilight's cheerleader, nodding and looking towards Celestia and Luna at the right moments. Luna seemed reserved but receptive. She made no real reaction until the unicorn reached the part that involved Discord and his chaos magic.
It was Princess Celestia that Twilight watched for the most, however. She wanted to impress upon her teacher the importance of her plan and the need for a quick decision, but she also wanted to convey her own personal feelings towards it, that this was indeed her idea, hers completely, and that she wasn't being coerced in any way.
Once she had finished, she could sense some of the delegate ponies wanting to speak again, but halted by their own rules for the proceedings. They had already broken the rules by speaking out of turn once before, they did not want to do so again.
“This is the solution you came up with that you saw fit to present us with, Twilight?”
“Yes, Princess.”
“May I ask what other solution did you and Discord come to? You did mention that you came to two conclusions.”
Twilight blinked up at the princess, for she hadn't wanted or thought she would even need to bring up the other option. She thought that this was the best one, the one that would meet their approval.
“That would be for... for him to leave our plane, Princess.”
“And why was this not also brought to our attention for consideration?”
Twilight wasn't sure how she should respond to that. She did not want to break the formality of this event, but there seemed to be no other way to voice her feelings.
“Because it was not the fairest option,” she had settled on that, but inside she had really wanted to say simply that she had not wanted to.
“Perhaps not the fairest, but the most simple, and the one that would benefit most every pony involved.”
Twilight did a double take, a silent 'what' forming on her lips. This was eerily similar to something she remembered Discord saying himself when he explained – in his own backwards way – his own plans to leave before she vetoed them. But whereas his words were tinged with regret and resignation, her teacher's were filled with a kind of obviousness as if she had proposed that the sky was blue.
“Beneficial for every pony but Discord,” she said, losing her care to remain impersonal and maintain decorum.
“Considering the lives of every being on Equus - and considering his involvement in the imbalance – neither his opinion nor happiness about the solution are relevant.”
Twilight could not believe what she had just heard from her own teacher, her own monarch. The pony who had inspired her to find friendship and who had helped her see its importance. This pony was now telling her that some pony's feelings weren't relevant?
This had certainly been what Discord was trying to get at. No matter how much good he did to counter it - no matter how much she vouched for him - the princess would just continue to only see the worst of him.
"But I thought the whole point of allowing Discord to live among us was to help him see the good in every pony. After all that he has shown you that he has grown, that he has changed, that he has come to see that good... how can we not extend to him that hoof to help him remain here now?"
"That deal was conditional on the grounds that Discord present no harm to any pony. That was before we knew that by his mere continuance here that he would have such a profoundly harsh chaotic effect on the world," the princess tried to explain her reasoning, but it rang out hollow in Twilight's ears.
"But my method will fix all of that, and allow him to remain with no further harm to Equestria," Twilight felt herself losing her composure, the words she longed to say - to shout - burned inside of her. She resisted, but she couldn't stop her voice from cracking with the strain.
"Twilight, as much as I admire your selflessness, I do not feel that you have a clear grasp on the gravity of what you are proposing."
Even though she knew Princess Celestia hadn't meant it that way, Twilight felt indignant all the same. Did the princess really think she hadn't given this as much thought as possible?
"No Twilight, I feel that the best course of action would be to end this arrangement with Discord, and have him return to his original plane. This would allow everything to return to normal."
Twilight felt her heart sink, this wasn't an official decree, was it? No, she hadn't stated as such, so they were still in a discussion, there was still a chance.
"But Princess, I know that this is a risk, but I am prepared to take the chance," her voice growing rapid, close to pleading now. "If you're concerned about my safety you could be with us during the transference."
Princess Celestia regarded her now with some measure of pity, a pity that just served to insult Twilight more.
"Twilight... I don't believe that you could handle it."
As softly as her words were spoken, Twilight felt them as stabs upon her heart. Was she really concerned about Twilight's skill? Did this have anything really to do with the princess's confidence in her abilities, or was this just her continued campaign against her supposed enemy, Discord?
"And I believe that I could handle it far more than if Discord were being forced to leave!" the sharp words had sprung from Twilight's lips before she could think about them. They rang out through the cavernous hall, shocking all three princesses into silence. The ponies assembled whispered among themselves. All eyes were on Twilight.
Her eyes prickling with tears, she stared down her princess - her mentor - with more harshness than she had ever done. She could see Princess Celestia had noticed as well. In all of their years together as teacher and pupil, not once had Twilight ever raised her voice in such a way.
Part of her wanted to take it back, to stand down and bow in apology. For this was her princess she was addressing, but the larger part of her won out. She remained strong and confident in her righteous anger even if it was an insult to the three dignitaries before her.
"Forgive me, Princess," she consented to say, yet still barely containing the fire inside her. "But this is profoundly unfair. Discord has tried his best to keep his word because he wants to stay. He has found a home here, he's found friendship. Deep down that is all he's really wanted, all he really needed. And you want to take him away from all that, for what?"
Princess Celestia did not take her eyes from Twilight's, even as they bore into her. She seemed at a loss for words, which Twilight was glad about since she wasn't done.
"I have already presented you with a solution that would conceivably fix everything. A plan that - yes I agree - has some risks to myself, but the risks are only to myself. I'm willing to take on any potential factors that might arise, because I don't want to give up on him, like you so clearly have."
From Celestia's other side, Twilight could see Princess Luna cover her mouth in shock, then turn to see her sister's reaction. From the side with Cadance Twilight could see her sister-in-law covering her mouth as well, with both hooves. She however had her gaze trained on Twilight and the space around her. She looked like she might just explode with a completely different emotion than Twilight had.
The princess in the middle though - the one Twilight was directing her full indignation towards - had remained still. She looked back at Twilight with her wide eyes that to Twilight had always been filled with so much wisdom, but were now filled with the light of a new realization.
This was a side of Twilight none present had seen before, least of all Princess Celestia. They all waited with baited breath for how she would respond to her student's new burst of uncooperative insubordination.
Twilight herself was even curious, but she masked it well. It was crucial that the princess understand why Twilight was acting this way, and why the alicorn's actions were so deplorable.
It was a long moment before her teacher spoke. No more pity in her voice thankfully, yet now a kind of hushed awe, as if the realization she had come to was finally sinking in.
"You are willing to do this - possibly risk your own life on top of that of all the creatures in Equestria - all for him?"
"Yes, I am willing to do anything for him," she answered with clarity and confidence. "Because I love him."
Twilight had felt the words rising up from her core, filling her up just as the feelings she had for him did, but this time she did not stifle them. These were the feelings - the words - that she had been battling with for all this time to admit to herself.
She couldn't admit them when Discord had so creatively expressed his own feelings on that night a month ago, she couldn't admit them to Cadance who had clearly already seen they were present, and she couldn't even admit her feelings to him when Discord had finally reappeared and she knew he still wanted to stay with her.
So why in Equestria was now the time she chose? Now, in front of the princesses and the guards and all of these ponies from all over Equus, now she chose to admit her love for Discord to herself, to actually say the words out loud? To herself and the world now, she guessed.
The princess stared down at her student, attempting to hide what she was feeling at that moment, to not register the shock and utter (in her mind ) righteous anger welling up inside of her. The anger not directed towards Twilight, but at the creature whom Twilight spoke of. This… this insane plan of hers, and how she was referring to him… it was not what she had considered when Twilight had appeared before her.
Her mind went back to a conversation with the draconequus, what felt like years ago now when this entire mess that was his re-reappearance had begun.
‘Which is it that bothers you more Celestia, that your favorite student essentially has a part of me residing inside her now, or that someday she may actually want to tap into it?’
‘…and being the maternal figure you know she sees you as, you would never refuse her of something her heart desires, even if you don’t approve of it.”
It did not matter if Twilight was presenting this--- this absurd notion as something she had thought of. Celestia could see where it had really come from. She cursed herself inwardly, for she had really begun to believe it. Especially following his heroic sacrifice play during his pony transformation. She had truly begun to trust that Discord might have changed, that he might truly only desire a life of harmony and balance here on Equus. But she had been played the fool, as had her dear student.
She dismissed herself as politely as she could from the conversation, and left to summon Discord as swiftly as possible. She knew he wouldn’t answer, but that did not matter. It was his location she sought, for she was going to go to him. She would force him to spill every bit of this plan he’d evidently had burning in the backdrop of their encounters this entire time.
The Everfree Forest, well at least he was somewhere convenient.
She appeared the next moment with a flash of light and enough anger exploding from her to fill the entire main hall of his 'castle'. This ancient home that she had shared with her sister, now nearly entirely transformed to suit Discord's particular tastes.
Although she had expected his home to have even more of an upside down, annoyingly vibrant appearance to it. If the landscape Celestia had seen of his was any indication. Once her burst of illumination had faded, the only light remaining in the vast chamber were the smaller torches on the walls near the front, and the rest cloaked in darkness.
It was enough to see most of the far wall and surrounding area, where she found Discord sitting sideways on the throne he had no right to be filling, examining a glass of half-drunk chocolate milk and for once not looking like he had expected her, but more that he was lost in his own thoughts. The princess dreaded what sort of state the being's mind must be, she wondered how he ever managed to sift through all of the nonsense jumbled within it to even look so contemplative.
The flickering of the torches reflected off of his glass as he turned it in his clawed hand, and it danced on the other empty glasses littering the floor at his feet. And the ones surrounding his seat. And the ones covering the table separating his tiny empty glass army from her.
“So, I take it Twilight has told you of her plan,” Discord said, not at all hinting at surprise that Celestia had come. He continued to turn his glass, watching the light in the reflection. There was nothing in his posture that betrayed any pleasure in seeing a plan coming into action, no smirk of malevolent glee that he was clearly three steps ahead of every pony else, proving he was the most clever one in the room.
But surely on the inside he was. Celestia was not going to take in his little show. Not now.
“Yes, she told me, but do not think for a moment that I would believe it to be her idea,” Celestia said with authority. Her tone did not change his expression, and still his focus remained on his drink. He took another sip as she fumed.
“I was wary when this all began, when Twilight took on the task as liaison. But I said nothing, for she seemed to be willing, and it appeared to be going well. Then when Luna and I needed your help and you refused, we tried another more direct way to try and aid in your adaptation.
“There was a part of me then that had hoped – a very small part, mind you – that you truly had learned from Twilight, and then from your experiences as a pony. I hoped for the sake of our shared task, and for the sake of this world and the ponies living here. Mostly though, I attempted that hope for my student. She always assured me that you could learn, she has always been your greatest ally. You know that all of these probations, tests, and compromises given to you have been given to you because she has the ability to see a potential in you I have never been able to.
“It has been difficult for me to see that potential due to my own inability to trust you. I have tried to put aside my own personal feelings towards you because I had actually hoped that my centuries of hating you would be proven wrong. I wanted you to show me you had changed, and so you did, or so I thought.”
Amazingly through her ranting, Discord was not rolling his eyes or looking impatiently at an imaginary watch in an attempt to make her get to the point, but he did finally glance in her direction, watching her as he had his now nearly empty glass.
“How long has this been in your plans? Do not think I have forgotten the conversation we had the day I visited you along with Twilight in the desert. What you said about 'returning the favor' to her? Was this all a ruse simply to gain her trust and eventually to teach her this power of yours?” Her voice was growing sharper, angered by her worry for what he had planned for the young unicorn and furious embarrassment at herself for not following up on her suspicions at the time.
“What are you going to do to her? What were you planning on doing with her, did you think that with that power you could control her? Was this some way to separate her ties with her friends, or to take over this land with the aid of a second chaos being? I should have known that had not been merely a symbol or an invitation to trust. Did you really think I would not figure this out? This must have been the performance of a lifetime for you, Discord.”
The draconequus just kept watching her fume, but this wasn't good enough for her anymore, the alicorn was becoming more furious that he wasn't saying anything. By now he should have at least given her some form of sarcastic retort, or a jabbing insult, or backwards hint at his plans.
Discord finished his glass in one last sip, looked down into the empty glass, and then threw it down to smash into several of the others circling the throne. The glass shattered and for a moment the fragments were scattered across everywhere, but in an instant they were all completely whole again, yet still sitting close and on the floor.
“Always so quick to jump to conclusions, Celestia,” he said tiredly, and with barely any amusement at all. “You said it yourself though, this was her idea.”
“And I wonder who put that idea into her head,” Celestia fired back, now not caring about his apparent mood, it was all probably a mask or possibly just disappointment at being found out. “How long have you been planning this? Was this your first thought when she shared her sympathy for you? When she found the courage to stick up for you, was this all you were really aiming for, to use her trust to manipulate her?”
He had the audacity to look insulted at this accusation, but it only spurred the princess on. Thinking of her poor, dear student being so fooled by the likes of him... and knowing now just how deeply her feelings had become for him.
“Did you anticipate that she would grow to care for you so much, or did you not even think about that? Did you even care for her, or that you were playing with her emotions in this manner? The same qualities that you professed to admiring in her – and that you claimed to have learned to appreciate in the ponies of this world – it was all just a means to an end, wasn't it? A long play for the only thing Discord wants, which is to do whatever he wants. Never mind the ponies you hurt along the way.”
Discord was looking angrily at her now, he sat up correctly in his seat, both mismatched front limbs clutching the arms tightly.
“This is what you really think of me, is it?” he said. “Well, I always knew you had your not-so-hidden disdain for me, Celestia. It's not a big secret that you are not my favorite pony either, but after all of the things I have had to do - bending over backwards in my attempts to conform to your little rules - all so I could have just a little place where I wasn't so bored, so alone. After all that has happened over the last year, is this really what you come back to?”
“What choice have I, Discord?” she asked. “The world is falling apart – falling to chaos – and all of that only began happening after you started living here. And then my student comes to me with this 'plan' that she supposedly created to mend the bond between the two of our powers by taking on the very power you wield? Yes, even after all of this and all I have seen you do or heard Twilight say... I have to come back to this possibility because you are who you are. Don't pretend to deny that this does sound an awful lot like you.”
“I don't deny that,” he answered. “But the truth remains that none of this was my intention,” she prepared herself to scoff, but he interrupted. “Refuse to believe it all you want, because you are right that this imbalance has to do with my presence. But try – in your supposedly infinite wisdom - to entertain the notion that none of it has been on purpose.”
He was right, she didn't believe it, not at first. Celestia did know that what Twilight and Cadance had said about the imbalance had been true. It was chaos that was overpowering order.
She and her sister were children of a spirit being, specially made to be able to exude their power without harming any pony. Never before had a fully fledged spirit being come to stay here with the mortal ponies. It did make some sense that he could possibly be having an effect on the world without meaning to.
“But what about Twilight,” she asked, still with ammunition to fuel her anger. “What could you possibly be trying to prove with using her, thinking she could actually take on this power? Do you not care what it could do to her? You were lucky the first time with your 'show of good faith' that she was able to withstand it.”
At this, Discord's face mirrored her own, one of the few times when he actually showed Celestia his side of their mutual loathing the way any normal pony might. This should have given her reason to be cautious, but he didn't scare her right now.
“This has never been done before, it could have potentially fatal side effects on her, or do you simply not care about that? You would play with her heart and possibly kill her just so you could stay here?”
At her words, the glasses littering the floor and the surrounding area all exploded at once, shards of glass flying every which way. They zoomed in all directions, but most of all towards Celestia, which she shielded herself from easily. The floor now sparkled with bits of dangerously jagged sharp objects and small puddles of chocolate milk.
“Blame me for this all you want princess, but never claim that I don't care about her,” he said with actual rage in his voice, nearly enough to rival her own. “Why do you think I have been traveling around for all these months? Yes, it gets boring being confined to my little prisons, but notice that I have been far from Ponyville. I have been attempting to separate myself from them – from Twilight – so that maybe I could find a way to fix our little problem.”
The princess then remembered the incidents all over Equestria and most recently in other parts of Equus. The strange happenings were always quickly dealt with before any pony could try and fix it themselves.
“So you really were cleaning up after yourself,” she said. “And you did not return to Ponyville in an attempt to spare them from your influence?”
“Don't sound so underhanded now, do I?” he said matter-of-factly. “And perhaps I was also banking on them forgetting about me, allowing them to return to their natural state of hating me that was sure to come. Whether or not through any actions of my own. Because once word gets out that all of this is my fault – well - all the good work Twilight has done for me goes out the window.”
Discord wasn't mentioning that it was not only Twilight's attempts to give him some good publicity, it had been his own apparent attempts to adapt and learn that had won him the favor of both Ponyville and Cloudsdale, that had won him the friends and allies he now enjoyed. If this had all been a trick, then those things wouldn't matter to him, but then again neither would his being hated... and Celestia certainly didn't think he would react that strongly at her accusation about Twilight.
“So you really do care what they think?”
A flicker of his usual self crossed his features as he rolled his eyes. “Not really, not all of them. I'll admit that it wasn't terrible having some of them count me as a friend, or stop at least outwardly stating their disdain for my powers. But as you have so often reminded me, this is my home now as well, so I should do my part or whatever.”
“And the only thing you can think of is to allow Twilight to take on your power?”
“Still your assumptions keep you from hearing the truth,” he said sarcastically, though still holding his glare as sharp as the glass at her hooves.
“This wasn't my plan. My plan was to leave. After our last little adventure I was going to go back up there,” he gestured impatiently upwards towards the ceiling.
He must have noticed Celestia's eyebrows raise, because he continued with more animation.
“That's right, I was leaving. I was... informed that this whole 'accidental influence' thing might happen if I stayed here, so I was willing to leave and let your little ponies have their plane.”
“Then what stopped you?” Celestia said, but she felt she already knew the answer.
“Twilight,” he said. “Perhaps it was because I didn't really want to go but wanted to hear the reasons why I should, since – no doubt – she would tell me. Perhaps I was looking for a reason to go, because I had anticipated that she would tell me to go. I never would have thought she would give me a reason to stay.”
Celestia blinked at him. Twilight Sparkle had told him to stay? Surely she must not have known the full extent of this choice. “But you did not tell her what you already knew was going to happen?”
“It was a selfish move,” he answered. “Again, Ms. Sparky seems to always put her fellow ponies before herself, but I know that she would always strive for the fairest option. I didn't want to burden her with the knowledge of what this choice could mean. Had she known, she may have only been asking me to stay out of her want to make things fair for all of us.”
He looked away from her momentarily, his tail twitched behind him as he seemed to ponder for a moment. “Maybe I didn't tell her because I wanted to know for sure how much that care she professed to have for me was. Honestly I expected her to tell me to go, I hadn't thought she cared that much.”
“And now she is willing to take on something that could potentially harm her for you, is that not proof of her care?”
“After she found out I figured she would be angry with me, and I was right. I didn't think that she would then choose to be selfish as well.” He looked up from his contemplation towards her again, and there was something in his tone, something written on his face that caught the princess off guard.
Sincerity.
“This was not my idea, Celestia, and I don't like it any more than you. But she thinks this is the only way to keep me here with her and still retain balance.”
“Wait, you don't like this?” she asked, bewildered.
“Why would I? You know how much I enjoy this power, it is all I have ever known. I'd be giving it up for good, and that is one of the last things on my list of things I want to do. I had a taste of a life without my powers thanks to you, I wouldn't want to repeat that.”
That sounded like the old Discord. Concerned with his power and his inability to create chaos through this plan.
“Then there's Twilight. She believes she can actually withstand it and control it. I agree we have been lucky she's been able to contain and control what little bit I have given already. I know she is strong, she's strong in many ways... but I worry she isn't strong enough for this.”
The alicorn felt her anger continuing to fade with another surprised raise of her eyebrows. She blinked at his words. “'Worried', you are actually worried for her?”
“Well of course,” he said as if it were obvious. “The unicorn just keeps sticking herself in these situations to help me, she needs to have more sense. She needs some semblance of self-preservation. Even if she is able to withstand a full tradeoff of my power, I don't want to be the one who did it to her if it went wrong.”
Through the haze of her anger, Celestia had not noticed that note of concern – true concern – emanating from her former enemy. It was so strange to sense it now, to see it so plainly upon his face, to hear it now in his words about Twilight. Celestia had been so convinced that all of this was a plot, a trick, the thought hadn't crossed her mind that Twilight's feelings for Discord weren't his manipulations. That they were real and what was more, reciprocated on his part. She could not have thought him capable.
And yet, here he was. Concerned for some pony else and not only showing it, but willing to give up something he cared about most – his own power – and being conflicted about it because it might hurt Twilight. It suddenly occurred to her that Discord really had been proving himself again and again, but that this was the first time it truly resonated with her.
It was a hard realization for the princess to make.
“You did once say that you thought about teaching her to wield the power you gave her,” Celestia said after a moment, finding herself for some reason sounding a bit reassuring. She was just as surprised as he looked. “You could teach her to use it, and then perhaps... gradually add to it.”
“Once near the start of all this, yes. I had thought about it. You had been right though – and you know how much I hate saying that – she didn't want to use it. The only time had been when I needed her to seal the gates of Tartarus. Eventually though I forgot about that offer, because I didn't want it to harm her. She didn't need it, and there was a chance that it might alter her somehow. After all, I have this stuff coursing through me all the time and look at me. I didn't want to rock the boat and mess up that extraordinary mind.”
“So then, how do we proceed?” Celestia asked, her anger almost completely gone now. “If neither of us cares for this plan of Twilight's, how can we in good conscience continue with it?”
“For one, it appears to be our only real option, or the only option that she'll accept. And she is right, it could work. It's not the best of odds, but there is a chance it won't end badly.”
“And for another?” she encouraged, feeling that Discord had another reason coming, and hoping it was one that was a touch more convincing.
“As much as we don't care for each other, we both care for Twilight. We both want what's best for her, but we also want her to be happy. Even if what she wants is something we disagree with.”
Celestia nodded, her lips disappeared into a fine line as she contemplated just how many things Twilight had decided upon she disagreed with but would need to get used to.
“And we would both be there for her, beside her as she learned to control it.”
That was also true, even if Celestia would be busy with helping Cadance do the same thing. She would need to (and want to) be there for both her proteges. Discord would be her teacher for this, but she had been Twilight's teacher first. She wasn't quite ready to let go just yet.
“If you truly are willing to try this, then I shall agree to it as well, but I propose a compromise between us. I am to be informed at every stage of the process, and I am to attend at least your first attempt to ensure things run smoothly. In return I will not interfere with your part in this plan, I will... trust your judgment.”
This had not been the outcome Celestia had in mind when she first appeared before the draconequus – far from it – but if they were both doing what was best for Twilight, then it turned out to be the best one. Even if the princess had to come into a deal with some pony she never thought she would agree with.
For a moment, she almost thought about shaking hooves with him to confirm it, but she thought better of it. They weren't there just yet. Instead she nodded again, her mane shaking a tad in its eternal wave.
“This is going to be interesting,” Discord said.
no doubt, she thought.