Well, who would have known. This chapter turned out pretty serious. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
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Twilight woke up to the cloud covered sky and the sounds of rain. The air was stale and humid, the whole day altogether seeming like a perfect day to spend doing absolutely nothing but mope around and wait for such ugly weather to move on. But Twilight Sparkle would have none of that! Lighting the fire to chase away the humid air, she woke Spike up before trotting away to look for the whereabouts of the draconequues. The draconequues in question, however, was nowhere to be found. Frowning, she went into the kitchen where Spike already started making preparations for the breakfast.
"Spike, have you seen Discord?"
"Not since last night."
Though wondering where could he be, Twilight didn't pay it much thought. After all, the Sun was still in place, plants were still rooted firmly in the ground normal and houses didn't turn into flying coaches. Instead of worrying about it, she dug into her sunflower seed sandwich as she and Spike discussed the plans for such a foul day. They both agreed it was no time for anything productive and decided on visiting a movie theater and eating out someplace nice and warm. It was going to be a nice, calm, comfortable rainy day, Twilight Sparkle figured and nothing was going to ruin it.
Still, as her and Spike sipped on a dispenser coffee in the cinema coffee shop, she couldn't help feeling like she missed out in certain aspects of fun thanks to Discord's absence.
"I wonder where Discord is." She finally spoke. Spike didn't seem like he missed him much or at all for that matter, as he waved his claw dismissively.
"Oh, he's probably at home already and wondering where you are."
"I hope so - I think he would get a kick out of the move we've just seen. I can't wait to tell him about it." She smiled to herself as she imagines Discord's face as he found out he had to miss an afternoon of fun.
When they finally got back to the library though, an ugly surprise waited for her.
"He's... not here?" Nothing but the same emptiness they left behind them greeted them back in. Twilight was only slightly surprised. Truth to be told, she was sure that Discord, once he would realize he was home alone, would transform her library into an amusement park or something... Which, she supposed, would mean he wasn't here at all. For the first time, seeing her regular library for what it was was an ugly sight.
"Where could he be? It is past dinner time."
"Well, we could go and ask around if somepony had seen him."
"No, no, it's alright. He'll probably be back by the morning. He can't be gone for good, right?"
Discord wasn't back the next morning. The morning after that either, upon which Twilight decided it was definitely the time to conclude Discord wasn't just out and about.
Twilight and Spike had spent most of the day questioning everypony in the whole city if they had seen him. Finally they found a clue; the last time he was seen was by the young Post Haste. He claimed he saw the Spirit flying to the direction of the Everfree forest one early morning a few days ago.
Twilight didn't take the news too calmly.
"Are you alright?" Spike asked her. Twilight was in her room and packing only the most necessary supplies frantically.
"I will be as soon as I find him." The unicorn replied firmly as she packed her bag with several scrolls.
"Shouldn't you ask the others to help you?"
"I don't have time to get them all and explain. Discord could be in great danger right now and I can't afford to wait for anypony." She turned to the baby dragon, a serious, determined look in her eyes. "Inform Rainbow Dash at least, she could scout it easily - Everfree Forest, remember."
Spike barely managed to utter an 'on my way' before the unicorn ran out of the library frantically. He watched as she disappeared behind the corner and through the library door and slightly panicking as he followed in her hoofsteps; though Twilight's magic was powerful, he didn't know just how much of that forest could she handle.
Getting an idea, he skipped out to find Pinkie Pie - if anyone could spread news fast enough, it was her.
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Twilight felt no regrets when she stepped into the dark forest alone, feeling chills climbing up her spine but bravely ignoring them as she moved forward. If her friends were going to come, fantastic - but she sure as heck didn't have time to organize a rescue party while Discord could be at a bottom of some ditch, or desperately stuck somewhere, or-- she shook her head, cutting off the dark thought process and proceeded.
The path under her hooves was quickly lost once she reached a certain point, so she was happy she brought her compass - even if she got utterly lost, or was for whatever reason incapable of casting her transporting spell, she always just had to head west and she would eventually reach Ponyville with ease.
The forest got darker the further she went, the trees forming a thick shield of leaves that Sun barely shined through, offering Twilight little to no light. Soon, she had to ignite her own spell to light the nonexistent path.
At some point, she decided to look at the compass - and instantly felt the heavy load in her stomach becoming even heavier with horror. The needle wasn't still - it kept turning and turning, never pointing North.She had no idea what caused the compass' unusual behavior until that very word got stuck in her mind. Unusual. Chaotic? Resemblance was close enough for her to attempt making a connection. Twilight decided Discord must be somewhere nearby. Her hopeful mind didn't have any space for doubt.
Twilight soon lost the track of time - for all she knew, she could have been in here for half an hour or whole day. She kept looking at her compass - at one point it actually pointed North, upon which she trotted back until it started acting weird again. By now, she was absolutely sure it was Disord's magic that caused this. Which meant, he was capable of casting magic, which meant he was relatively okay, at least. But why wasn't he returning home then?
The area his magic had affected must've been big, because it took her quite some time before she found a first clue - a few blue feathers. Blue as the sky. Feathers of Discord's wing. Encouraged, the unicorn trotted on faster, her hooves echoes eerily in the huge, quiet, deserted forest.
Then, before her, an unusual, unsettling scene. A tree, scratched and torn in so many ways, as if somepony tried to get something out of its core. A few broken and fallen branches. Twilight shuddered, afraid to even think what might've happened. She took a look at the compass. It's needle was spinning wildly, faster than ever. Silently she kept walking, observing the numerous traces of destruction, following its path, until she finally rounded a large, thick bush...
The draconequues was sprawled on the ground. His slowly raising and falling chest gave her a clear proof he was still alive but the position he was in also gave indication that he had been violently attacked. Where once there was that mischievous, filly-ish smile now hanged a painful grimace, the sparkly golden eyes closed into a small, tense frown, the sound of breathing short and shallow. Even his slim, long body seemed unnaturally thinner than usual and his wings, instead of being neatly folded, laid open in the dirty ground.
Without a breath, Twilight approached the Spirit carefully, eyes peeled to her surroundings. No living being seemed to be around.
"Discord?" She called with a whisper but knew she would only get silence in response. Taking comfort in the fact he was still breathing, she checked him out. He didn't seem to be actually hurt; no blood, no scars... until she rounded him and got a good look of his neck, when she got positively sick.
Two very recognizable bite marks, slightly smudged by dark, red spots. Twilight gritted her teeth as the thought of Crysalis' hive buzzed through her mind. Apparently, a few deserter Changelings liked their new home in the Everfree forest. Twilight would have to inform her brother of this; the Royal Guards were probably ignorant of the fact a Changeling, maybe even more than one, resided here.
Twilight knew how Changelings fed of their victims; once bit, the victims would have a spell released into their body, which would provide the Changeling with constant flow of their 'food', given that their victims felt any love for anypony at all. This would continue until the victim became too weak – destroying a food supply was never an option. At the very least, Twilight thought, Changelings didn't tend to have murderous intents.
Around Discord lied traces of his magic - simple examples of food. He ate when he could and when they let him but that was likely all he could in this state - weaker than ever.
Twilight calmed her breathing and concentrated. She slowly lowered her horn to his wound, then cast a spell.
Slowly, as if she was pulling out something heavy, green thick smoke-like substance started to rise out of his wound, dispersing the moment it touched the air. The curse. Being encouraged by the unexpected success of her spell, she continued. Finally done, she managed to successfully close the wound.
The expression of Discord's face noticeably changed to a more relaxed one but he still wasn't waking up. Twilight bit her lip. She was just about to try to wake him up when suddenly, something rustled in the bushes. Two brilliantly blue eyes stared at her from the darkness. In the next moment, they closed. Everything was dark for a few more moments, when before her came the exact replica of herself. Even though her double was wearing a cocky, confident smile, Twilight felt no fear. Instead, she felt rage.
"You must not remember me kicking your kind's flank back in Canterlot." She said darkly. Changeling was looking at her in confusion before recalling the mare that ruined their queen's perfect plan, upon which it let out a frightened yelp, gaining its original form back and swiftly disappeared in the dark trees. She didn't chase him - Shining Armor would take care of that once she informed him.
With another spark of a spell, Twilight managed to transport them both to the edge of the Everfree, just in time to see her friends getting out from it - it appeared they were all going in group and searched one section of the forest by one, not wanting to risk separating or getting lost. With a surprise, she noticed the sky has grown dark - just how long has she been in that cursed forest?
"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, drawing the attention of the other mares. They gathered round their friends and worriedly eyed the sleeping draconequues she brought with him. "Is... is he...?"
"He is fine. Bit by a changeling, though." She managed, letting out a sigh of relief and letting a smile climb her face, wanting to show the appreciation she couldn't word at their friends' presence.
"A Changeling? In the forest?" Fluttershy quietly managed, her voice trembling.
"Yeah, but I don't think there are many. In fact I only saw one and it escaped as soon as I glared at it." She mimicked the hard stare but it soon fell before the obvious exhaustion her eyes reflected. Applehack patted her on the back.
"Come along, sugar-cube - let us get ya home."
The farmer quickly brought about one of her carriages so they could take the Spirit back to the library. Once there, they gently set him on his favorite spot in front of the fireplace and covered him in one of his deared blankets. He wasn't however showing any signs of waking up anytime soon. Fluttershy and Applejack occupied the librarians' kitchen, Fluttershy preparing some strong tea and Applejack cooking something she called 'the tastiest of all yucky medicines' while the rest of her friends gathered round her, making sure she was alright.
Surprising everypony around her, Pinkie Pie seemed to be feeling worst of them all. She constantly looked over to the Spirit as if expecting to see him moving or doing something in line with his usual shenanigans.
"Is Discord going to be alright?" She finally dared to ask, her voice utterly devoid of her usually cheerful tone. Twilight gave her an encouraging smile.
"Of course he will be, Pinkie - he is just worn out. The Changeling's feeding process can harm somepony in the long run and Discord seems to have been the, err... food provider, for two days. Continuously, too." She looked over at the Spirit feeling the remnants of panic disappear as she finally realized: "After he gets a good rest, he'll be the same old annoying self, trust me."
Probably hearing the growing confidence in her voice, Pinkie finally gave way to her typical bright eyed look.
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It was the middle of the night and as Twilight had expected, she had troubles sleeping. Though she wanted to sleep desperately, her eyes stinging and her bed getting more uncomfortable by the second, she had to wait until the very early hours of the morning until she finally drifted off into a restless nap... which very forcefully and on the level of consciousness she wasn't aware she could possess while trying to sleep, dragged her into an entirely lucid dream by force that didn't feel natural.
She stood in a wide, grassy green field, above her was huge sky of blue lakes and fluffy white herds chasing each other. Despite it being the brightest day imaginable, there was no Sun. Breeze was blowing. Surrounding her, wherever she looked, was nothing but hills and hills of lush grass. Nothing else. Just her, green grass, blue sky and white clouds.
Without a goal, she started to walk. Despite the desolation she found herself feeling as if she was becoming one with this world of limitless skies and endless hills and living, breathing clouds... Wait. Some of those clouds were alive. In fact, they were sheep, she soon realized.
And then among all those sheep, she noticed a distinctive shade of red. A tail, hanging off a cloud that just so happened not to be a sheep. She recognized the tail of the draconequus and figured it was too bad it was all just a dream.
Then the tail disappeared and a head popped up. Though Discord seemed to be casually looking at the grass, the he noticed Twilight, he rose up and glided down next to her.
She didn't pay much mind to the dream-Discord until he pulled on her mane.
"Ow! What gives?!" She rubbed her neck.
"Just had to show you I was real and not a figment of your imagination by producing some pain." Discord said with a teasing smile. She blinked and, deciding not to give a flying dime about anything this one time, allowed herself to leap at him and squeeze him as much as her hooves allowed. While not exactly pleased, he returned the awkward hug with a pat on her head.
"You must've been awfully bored without me." Discord teased, chuckling. However, he was unpleasantly surprised when he noticed a few rare tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" The Spirit asked. "I though this original return of the wonderful and magnificent me would be anythign but tear inducing."
"You know, they teach us there is no such thing as dumb questions but then there's you to prove me wrong." Twilight sniffed loudly and she laughed, wiping her wet eyes before the tears could spill over. "Just what were you doing in Everfree anyway?"
Discord shrugged. "I was bored."
Twilight deadpanned. Then kicked him in the flank with force he didn't know she was capable of.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"I was worried about you, you dolt!" Twilight started in that good old, bookish tone.
Discord laughed but it only seem to worsen her mood, so he made a quick job out of it and finally assured her. "Oh fine, fine, mother Twilight, I promise to ask for your permission first next time. Wouldn't like to be grounded for a week." He snickered at his own pun. Twilight barely contained a straight face. "So, how is it that you got a Changeling in your midst? Not been doing our job, have we?"
Not dignifying his taunt with a reply, she instead said: "Some of them must've deserted their Queen."
"I am not surprised. Chrysalis wasn't exactly the kind of leader anypony would want - nor my charm, not looks, nor skills."
"How about your blabbermouth?"
"Such a retort! This is the kind of Twilight Sparkle I've grown to love and cherish!" He sang out as sarcastically as he possibly could as he clapped his mismatched hands. "Come, let us bicker some more on our way to the realm of awaking."
It was basically exactly what they did - though Twilight protestes such a waste of time, he protested back and soon dragged her into a completely pointless discussion about his utterly meaningless arguments until she felt her head swimming and just like that, she found herself back in her bed, the noon Sun shining on her sheets.
When trotting down to the Spirit in front of the fireplace, she wasn't surprised to find him not half as well as he seemed in dreams. Still, he managed a tired smirk.
"Welcome back." Twilight whispered with a comforting grin. Discord just nodded before grabbing both the water and the food that waited by his side during the night and devouring both in a second before flopping back on the floor.
"I am... so tired."
"You'll probably have to spend a few days resting. Being a food container of a Changeling for two days could mean severe health damage to regular ponies. You're holding up pretty good."
Before she could even finish the sentence, Discord was asleep again, quietly snoring. Now that he was safe and sound, back in her home and on his way to recovery, Twilight could finally think properly about all the things she felt that day, all the crazy thoughts that ran through her head and all the fights her stupid, stupid heart lead with her brain.
When she first wrote those words in her diary, it was easy to dismiss them - they were obviously written on a whim and she barely ever recalled them. But... what now?
The draconequues was simply becoming too good to be true. Of course, it was her goal, teaching him of Harmony, becoming his friend; but feeling something that was possibly something more than a friendship? It just didn't felt right. It didn't feel... proper.
What had changed? Was it because they simply bonded so greatly? Was it because she liked to see him happy? Were both of those assumptions leading to something greater?
"You truly are the Lord of Chaos, Discord." The mare mused out loud, a deadpan in her voice. "I hope you're proud." Yesterday, as she searched the Everfree for her chaotic friend, she constantly tried to imagine her life without the troublesome Spirit she came to respect and cherish so greatly, the life that resembled those two short days he was gone. Living was easy without him before, yet it was so painful to imagine life with the emptiness he would have left behind.
In the end, Twilight realized her feelings wouldn't matter. As long as the Spirit was safe and as long as he kept offering her his friendship, Twilight knew she could be happy.
She could handle it.