Discord and Twilight were down in the anti-harmonic chamber. Despite their friendship status changing, their normal routine remained the same with a few adjustments. Twilight smiled as she watched her colt--draconeques friend create chaos with nothing more than a flick of his wrist.
Ever since Twilight had first met Discord, his powers had never ceased to amaze her. He could turn Equestria upside down without even blinking, and it didn't seem to take any effort at all.
That was an aspect of Discord that Twilight envied. Twilight was a brilliant magic user, that fact was true. But, it had taken years to develop her skill, and even now, she hadn't quite reached her maximum potential. Discord, however, as far back as she had read about, had his chaos mastered eons ago.
Plus, he used to be a powerful unicorn king. Twilight could not help but feel a little jealous.
Twilight chuckled dryly.
Discord turned to her upon hearing it. He smirked, "I heard that. What's got you laughing? You're usually not one to think of my chaotic masterpieces as amusing. Even though they totally are."
Twilight waved him off with her wing. "It's nothing."
"You don't just laugh about nothing. I know you well enough to realize that you won't just laugh about anything." Discord playfully pushed her with his tail.
Twilight giggled, "Don't worry about."
Discord curled around her and put his talon around her neck, "Come on, you know you can tell me anything." He bounced his eyebrows, causing Twilight to shift her gaze somewhere else.
Twilight cleared her throat, "Get off me."
Discord smiled in that sly manner of his, "Not until you tell me."
Twilight rolled her eyes, "It's not important."
"I don't care," Discord insisted, that sly smile still plastered on his face.
"Fine, have it your way. I guess I'm just a little envious."
Discord's smile was replaced with a confused frown. He slithered off of her and sat in front of her. "Envious of what? Me? Well, that's not very surprising considering I am quite amazing, but what exactly are you envious of?"
Twilight shrugged, "It's not really anything big. I just find your control of chaos magic incredible. All it takes is a simple snap of your fingers and poof! You materialize things into thin air. It's kind of hard not to be a little jealous. But, it's no big deal, really."
Discord stared at her for a few minutes, creating an awkward atmosphere between them. Twilight coughed, "Uh..."
Finally, Discord began to laugh. This confused the hay out of Twilight. "Now, what are you laughing at?"
Discord wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, Twilight, there's a reason I saw something in you."
Twilight felt her cheeks warm up slightly, "W-what's that got to do with anything?"
Discord calmed himself before answering, "Twilight, I haven't always been this good with my chaos. At first, I couldn't control it. But, after sometime, I got the hang of it. True I gained the expertise through recklessly tormenting ponies, but live and learn I guess."
Discord stood up ready to head back up to the first floor. Twilight followed his example and opened her wings.
"Sooo," Discord began as they ascended out of the room, "Got any plans for the day?"
"Not really," Twilight said, as she placed her hooves firmly on the ground upon reaching the top. She closed the panel with her magic.
"I do have to pick up a package from the post--" Discord snapped his fingers and a package appeared in front of them. Twilight jumped back, surprised by the sudden action.
"--office," Twilight gave Discord a wryly look, "Let me guess. This is my package, isn't it?"
Discord grinned and placed his mismatched hands on his hips, "Anything else?"
Twilight rolled her eyes, "I didn't know that the Lord of Chaos would be accepting favors today. If so, I would've scheduled more. But, no, I don't. Spike and I took care of most of this week's work already. He's spending the day with Pinkie Pie, so I'm free."
Discord rubbed his hands together. "Great. Now, then, I have a question to ask you." He knelt in front of her in a dignified manner.
"Twilight Sparkle, will you join me at Trotter's Lake this afternoon for a picnic?" Discord offered his paw to her.
Twilight laughed at the sheer corniness of his way of asking her on a date. Well, might as well play along.
"Discord, I would be honored to go on this date with you." She delicately placed her hoof in his paw.
"Date?" Discord grabbed her hoof and swung her onto his back. "Who said anything about a date? I certainly didn't."
Twilight nudged him with her hoof. "We both know what this is. Your dramatization gave it away. Anyway, onward, my steed!'' She gently bucked his sides with her hindlegs.
"Excuse me?"
"Just fly, you goof."
It was a lovely day in Ponyville. The sun was shining ever so brightly, and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Rain wasn't scheduled until the week after, so it was the perfect day for a picnic.
When Twilight and Discord arrived at Trotter's Lake, they noticed there were at least three or four other ponies occupying the lake as well.
Discord narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He scoffed, "Ponies, think they can be anywhere they want to be. It's too crowded."
Twilight rolled her eyes as she held onto Discord, who was still in the air not yet descending. "Oh, yah, this crowd of four ponies will definitely interfere with our plans." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Discord stroked his goatee, "Hmm. I think you're right." Discord smirked, "We'll have to change that."
With a snap of his fingers, the ponies at the lake suddenly gathered all their things, and headed back into town.
Twilight watched the ponies leave and shook her head. "You know, you didn't have to do that." She said as Discord landed.
"You're the one who said you wanted a picnic for just the two of us," Discord shrugged innocently as Twilight jumped off his back.
"Besides, those other ponies would have just gotten in the way. And, it's not like I hurt them or anything. I could've easily scared the hay out of them and made them leave the hard way. But, I decided not to because I know you would disapprove."
Twilight chuckled, "I see that you're learning. Anyway, now that we have the lake all to ourselves, what should we do?"
Discord snapped his fingers, "Well, it wouldn't be a picnic without food now, would it?" A picnic basket appeared along with a checkered blanket to lay beneath them.
Twilight looked at the arrangement curiously, "Hmm. Seems a little dull for a picnic with you, don't you think?"
Discord looked at her then looked down at the picnic setup. A smile slowly made its way across his face.
"My dear, you are picking things up very fast. Dull is an understatement. I would've given it my own personal flair from the beginning, but I wasn't sure if you'd appreciate that. But, I guess I can."
He snapped his fingers once more. The blanket turned into two lounge chairs each with their own unique design.
The bigger one, clearly for Discord, was orange with brown and blue polka dots. Twilight's was similar, but it matched her color scheme. Navy blue with dark purple and magenta polka dots.
The picnic basket remained the same, but Discord gave it legs, which allowed it to run around and give each of them what they wanted.
Twilight shook her amusedly at the display. "Discord, you never cease to amaze me." The animated picnic basket came up to her and offered her a cucumber and daisy sandwich, which she gratefully took in her magic.
Discord sat down in his lounge chair and grabbed a fluff of yellow cotton candy. "I know. I do have that effect on ponies."
The couple sat and talked for about an hour, discussing different things.
Eventually, Discord began to get rather bored. After all, do you really expect the Spirit of Chaos to just sit around and talk all day?
Twilight suggested that they take a dip in the lake. And, Discord couldn't agree more. But, they were going to do it his way.
Twilight sighed contently as she waded in the warm water. "Mmm! The water sure does feel good, doesn't it, Discord?" She looked around for the spirit in question, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Uh...Discord?" No reply. Twilight felt a chill go up her spine. She had a feeling Discord was planning something. But, what that something was, she didn't know and was afraid to find out.
Twilight felt a ripple in the water. She looked down cautiously, waiting with trepidation. Obviously, Discord was trying to pull a prank on her.
"Come on, Discord. This isn't funny." She swam over to shore and quickly dried herself off. Once her wings were dry, she flew above the lake, trying to get a better view.
Twilight crossed her forehooves. She sighed, "He's got to be here somewhere. Discord! If you're planning on pranking me, now would be a good time to do it!" Still no response.
"Ugh, that draconeques makes me so mad sometimes." She was about to head back to shore, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
Twilight turned her eyes towards the lake. She noticed something swimming underneath.
"Discord? If that's you, your prank's not going to work." She quickly cast a spell on herself, which allowed her to breathe underwater.
She quickly dove into the lake. Once she was under, her eyes began scanning every single thing down there. There was nothing incredibly interesting.
She saw a few fish and tiny plants, but beyond that, nothing spectacular.
She looked everywhere, but there was no sign of Discord.
As much as she wanted to deny it, she was getting worried.
Where could he be? If he was pranking me, I'm sure he would have done so. Oh, Discord. Where are you?
Just then, Twilight felt the lake water shift. She furrowed her eyebrows. "What's going on?"
She quickly swam back up to the surface. When she poked her head out of the water, she noticed that the lake was beginning to form into a whirlpool.
Twilight's eyes filled with panic. Last time she checked, Trotter's Lake usually remained peaceful.
She tried to fly out, but the water was starting to pick up and move in a swirling fashion.
Twilight tried to swim against it, but the water was now moving far too fast for her to get out of it.
"Oh, Discord. Now, would be a good time to show up!"
"Whee!" Twilight turned her head, but she was quickly grabbed by a blur of brown and grey.
Twilight covered her eyes with her hooves, but chanced a peak at her captor. Her eyes widened. "Discord!"
"Hey, Twilight! Isn't this awesome?" Discord smiled. Twilight noticed that he was riding a surfboard.
Her face was about to break into a smile when she remembered her surroundings.
She narrowed her eyes. "Discord, change it back."
"Awww. But, I was having so much fun. You have to admit, this it pretty fun." Discord jumped up and landed back on the surfboard with ease.
At any other time, Twilight may have deemed this is as fun. But, right now, she was not exactly in the mood.
"Discord, change it back," Twilight repeated.
"Do I gotta?" Discord whined.
His answer came in the form of a glare.
Discord groaned, "Very well." He snapped his fingers, turning the lake back into its tranquil state. He also teleported the two back on to the shore.
Twilight shook herself dry and immediately turned her attention to Discord.
Discord was examining his eagle claw when he noticed her stern expression.
"What?"
"What? What do you mean what? What were you doing? I was getting worr-uh...I mean, I was wondering what you up to." Twilight hoped he didn't catch that faux-pas.
Unfortunately for Twilight, he did. "Why, Twilight, I am flattered that you care about me so much that you would actually worry about me. Oh, come here, you!" He swiftly took her in his arms and hugged her like there was no tomorrow.
While Twilight was a bit irritated, she soon melted into the embrace. Whether she wanted to admit or not, he was like a big, soft teddy bear.
They broke the hug and smiled at each other.
"Ok, I guess I was a little worried. I mean, you did just vanish without a trace. Frankly, I shouldn't be surprised by that, considering you do that on a regular basis." Twilight mused.
Discord patted her on the head, "You know me so well, my dear."
Another hour or two passed. Twilight and Discord had gone for an actual swim. No jokes, pranks, or anything weird. Just a normal swim, well, normal for them.
It was about two o'clock. The two were lounging back against the thick trunk of an oak tree, enjoying the serenity. Discord had fallen asleep. Apparently, it was too serene.
Then, the sound of hoof steps caught Twilight's attention. She looked over to see a white unicorn, accompanied by a similarly colored cat.
"Rarity!" Twilight called out and waved.
Rarity turned her head and noticed the two. "Oh, Twilight! And, Discord? Well, hello." She walked over to them, levitating Opalescence with her.
Twilight stood up and walked over to Rarity to give her a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm taking Opal for a walk. My poor darling could really use the exercise. Isn't that right, Opal?" She rubbed her cat's head, eliciting an annoyed hiss.
Twilight and Rarity flinched. "That's her way of saying yes. Now, what are you doing here? With Discord as company?"
Twilight looked at her sleeping companion. She rubbed her neck nervously, "Well, heh, funny story actually."
A yawn was heard from behind them. They turned around to see Discord waking up.
He stretched his arms before noticing the extra pony. "My dear, I thought we agreed no outside--Oh, Rarity, I didn't realize it was you. My apologies." He got up and walked over next to Twilight.
"Hello to you, Discord. Now, if I may repeat myself, what are you two doing here?" Rarity asked.
Twilight was hesitant to answer, "Well--"
"Oh, that's an easy one. We're on a dat--Ow!" Twilight elbowed him hard in his shins. It wasn't like she was ashamed she was on a date with Discord. Far from it. But, she wanted to tell Rarity they were an item in a more subtle way.
Rarity raised an eyebrow, "Uh, pardon?"
Discord glared at Twilight but understood what she wanted.
He looked down at Twilight and nodded. He then turned to Rarity, with a completely serious expression. "We're on a date."
Twilight stiffened up. She was about to hit him but decided against it.
"Discord!"
"What? You shouldn't be ashamed of something like this." Discord replied innocently.
Twilight sighed. She looked at Rarity, who was surprisingly silent.
"You two are on a..."
Twilight slowly nodded.
"Does this mean that the two of you are...?''
Discord nodded vigorously, "That's right!"
Rarity's face broke into a huge smile. She squealed, "Oh, I'm so happy for you two." She ran up and hugged both of them.
"Twilight, I'm so proud of you. You actually confessed. I'm so happy!" She wrapped her hooves around the purple alicorn.
"Well, actually, it was Discord who confessed first."
Rarity released her and looked at Discord.
Discord rubbed his claw on his chest and looked at it. "That shouldn't come as a surprise to you."
Rarity smiled, "Well, I'm guessing you took our advice, then. I'm very happy for you two. He's not who I envisioned you with, Twilight darling. But, if you're happy, then I have no reason not to support you two."
"Thanks, Rarity. That means a lot to me." Twilight kicked Discord's shins once more.
"Ow! You know, if you want something, you could just ask. But, yes, thank you, Rarity. Now, if all that's done, I'll be heading back to the tree. You're welcome to join me, Twilight." Discord winked and headed back over to the tree.
"I should be going, too. I think Opal's had enough exercise for the day. Bye, Twilight. I wish you the best." She gave her lavender friend a hug and headed back into town.
Twilight and Discord had basically spent the entire day at the lake. But, their perfect day was soon drawing to an end.
Twilight was leaning against Discord as they noticed the sun begin to make its descent.
"Looks like Lulu's raising the moon a bit early today. Tia must have had quite the field day. It's only half past six." Discord commented, looking at a watch that suddenly appeared on his wrist.
"I can only imagine. I may be the Princess of Friendship, but that's probably nothing compared to the responsibilities of the Sun Princess. She is the supreme ruler of Equestria, after all." Twilight sighed as she thought of her beloved mentor.
Discord scoffed, "I'm sure it's not that hard. I had no trouble ruling Equestria."
Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well, next time I see her, I'll make sure to tell her that."
Discord chuckled, "I look forward to hearing the outcome of that conversation."
Twilight giggled and sighed as she leaned into his side. "I had fun today."
Discord smiled and put his talon around her. "So, did I. A year ago, I would've thought that to be impossible with you. You were nothing but a big stick-in-the-mud. But, you've taught me that the impossible can be made possible." He squeezed her tight.
Twilight wrapped her hooves around his midsection, "And a year ago, I never would have pictured myself doing this. You were nothing but an annoying nuisance I couldn't wait to be rid of. But, you've taught me that anypony or anyone can change for the better."
Discord smiled and kissed the top of her forehead. "Funny how this has only been our second date."
Twilight lifted her head and kissed his cheek, "Yes. But, it definitely won't be the last."
They stayed in each other's embrace as they watched the moon slowly make its way up into the clear night sky.
Twilight and Discord's relationship was truly beginning to form, and it would only get stronger.