//------------------------------// // The Cure // Story: Interlude With a Donkey // by Bluegrass Brooke //------------------------------// I have some weird ideas. Some really, really weird ideas. If I posted half of what goes on in my mind, I could fill an ocean. This is on exceptionally off topic one I had the urge to write down. It's not my usual cup of tea, but I'm fond of it and it gives me the feels hard core when I read it (though what gives me the feels and what gives most people the feels might differ considerably). I've used it as practice for improving my writing, so you will notice the quality is much higher than normal. It'd better be after five hours on 1300 words . . . This could possibility occur in TCARW's universe after the book one and before book three. Not sure if I'll make this idea "canon" or not yet. Guess I'll see how it's received. Why now? Gods, why now? Discord gritted his teeth, stretching out on the aging stones and trying to calm the tremors coursing through his body. Here at least he would be guaranteed a solitary respite. Nopony other than Twilight popped in on the Castle of Two Sisters, and he doubted she would show up in the rain. His present condition would invariably lead to more than a few uncomfortable questions. A snap of his talon revealed what he knew already. The river, the very source of magic itself, had cut him off, rendering him without so much as a single incantation to his name. Every year, the block came, as sure and steady as clockwork, eventually dissipating after a few days. Though it was a ridiculous notion, he had hoped after settling into a “reformed” life, he would be free of it. But no, it had come on faster than usual and twice as painful. Must he deal with it the rest of his life? Though the he continued to fight it, the carnal urge threatened to drive him mad. “Urgh, please, someone make a joke.” Of course there was no reply save for the pounding rain against the aging stones. The once mighty wall now scarcely constituted a windbreak, allowing the rain to freely soak through his coat. It was soothing, and the only factor preventing him from thrashing around like an idiot. A kind of nostalgia came with the steady splatter of the rain against the stones. Perhaps it came from being encased in stone for over a thousand years or from knowing that this hall dated back much further than that. Whatever the reason, he was grateful for it. The tremors returned, sending up a nearly uncontrollable urge to move, to search out what he knew he would never find. He cursed to himself. Stop it! They’re dead, hell, you were dead to them when they were alive. They wouldn’t have taken you back if he had come crawling to them. Why did his body insist on resisting reason? When it boiled down to it, the urges served only one purpose; to force him to take a mate. Take a mate based solely off of some shallow lust. What a disgusting notion. And here he lied, the chief of hypocrites. Discord closed his eyes, trying to remember something, anything from his father’s lectures that might be of use. Nothing. Not a single mention of the burning desire now coursing through his veins or a method to resist it. Such a mature subject had never been brought up by Havoc. He had simply been too young at the time. Now he would have given anything to understand the cause. Could this be normal for draconequus? Then again, it might be due to the fact that he had yet to take a mate. Whatever the case may be, it frightened him to see his reason and control slipping away in the matter of hours. He desperately needed a distraction. Should he seek out Twilight’s council? He had surely upset the mare, but she still cared for him, at least as a friend. However, his present state could hardly be considered safe for any creature to be around. Then he had to consider the other issue. A pony was a far cry from a draconequus, but he had never tempted fate, always distancing himself during these episodes. With his inhibitions shot to hell, there would be no controlling whatever reaction came. Still, he longed to see Twilight, to feel her by his side. No amount of potions could compare to the medicine she gave by her mere presence. “Quit it, Discord. This isn’t like you. Crack a joke, make fun of her,” his voice lowered until it was barely audible, “something, anything . . .” “Discord?” The familiar voice drifted over, as if sent from heaven itself. Did he dare look? Slowly, he raised his head to stare at into Twilight’s lilac eyes. Though she was leaning casually against the wall, her rain drenched coat and heaving sides betrayed her concern. “There you are. You missed our less-” She paused, lowering her ears. “Discord? Are you okay?” “Forgive me for missing the lesson. I was preoccupied.” Under any normal circumstance, he would have been quick to dismiss her concern. But, today, today he needed her. His eyes fell to his talon glistening in what little light penetrated through the clouds. “I . . . I’m in pain, Twilight.” Discord flinched when she knelt down beside him on the floor. His heart beat faster than it had in weeks even as an almost uncontrollable urge surged over him. “Twilight, you need to leave,” he managed through gritted teeth. “Why?” “I . . . I can’t control myself. I don’t want to hurt you,” he added in an undertone. “Hurt me? I doubt that.” Twilight lifted his head with her hoof, wrapping him in an intoxicating dose of her sweet breath. Her eyes were filled with the un-godly understanding she seemed to possess in spades. “What’s this really about?” For a moment he wanted to deny the truth, to claim that nothing was at all remise, but he could not bring himself to do it. The words tumbled out before he could stop himself. “It’s mating season, at least I think it is.” Twilight opened and closed her mouth, murmuring something incomprehensible. Then, before he could gauge what to do next, she spoke up. “So, it’s like you’re in heat?” Heat? Do I look like a mare to you? Another wave of pain shot through him, causing an involuntary shudder. Gripping his chest, he turned to Twilight. “Much, much worse.” “Oh.” Her eyes darted away towards the entrance, then back to him. “We make potions for heat, maybe that would work for you.” “You can try,” he gasped. She patted him gently on the back. “It hurts a lot, huh?” Discord nodded weakly, watching Twilight’s horn light as she cast a healing spell on him. It was a valiant attempt, but misplaced. “Twilight, it won’t work.” “How do you-” She stopped short, gasping as the magic bounced off of him. “What? Why?” “I’m a draconequus, Twilight. We’re part dragon.” “So you’re resistant to magic!”   “Not all magic, just spells, potions are fine.” A nearly mutinous expression came over her, “But I healed you before, when you were in your Entropy form.” Realization sunk in as he stared blankly into her eyes. I never told her. “Twilight, that spell of mine, the one I use to transform into a pony. It’s . . . it’s not just an illusion.” “Now you’re not making any sense.” He sighed, continuing slowly, “It is a partial transformation, at least according to Luna. In that form, I’m sort of in limbo between a draconequus and a pony both physically and magically. That’s the reason why the spell is so painful, I’m putting my internal organs under extreme strain. Though I can constantly repair them in my draconequus form, the pony half resists.” She clasped a hoof to her mouth, beginning to shake. “You, you were tearing yourself apart from the inside? Why didn’t you stop?” His eyes met hers, and she looked away, flushing crimson. “You . . . you really loved me didn’t you?” Without hesitation, he pressed his head to hers for a moment, drinking in the closeness of the moment. “I will always love you, Twilight,” he breathed, nuzzling her on the cheek. “You are worth the pain, and I would bear it ten thousand times over if it meant remaining by your side.” Twilight did not speak, but he could feel her quivering. Reluctantly, he turned away from her, resting his head against the cool stones. “Would you . . . would you stay with me, Twilight? As a friend if you prefer. Your company is all the medicine I need.” Discord felt the mare’s slick coat press against his own. Twilight looked back at him, smiling in that soft, understanding way of hers. “I can do that.” Closing his eyes, he felt well and truly relaxed. The pain ebbed with each passing second, and, before long, he had drifted off to sleep. In the stillness of the old castle, he had found his cure. And, somewhere deep in his mind, he knew, just knew he was free of it at last.