The afternoon sun was well on its way, descending into the horizon, when she said her final goodbyes to the handsome captain. The quaint houses of Ponyville were in sight, along with Twilight's impressive abode. It still seemed so out of place. With a sigh, reflecting on the day's happenings, she headed for the town, humming a tune to herself.
It was on the outskirts of town that she heard another voice singing, as well. It was absolutely beautiful, melodic. The air itself seemed to willingly bend to allow it to spread far and wide. The showpony found herself enchanted and followed the voice to its source. From the undergrowth, she secretly looked into a clearing.
A small group of various woodland creatures had gathered around a very familiar pegasus. The meticulously groomed, beautiful pink mane, coupled with the way her yellow fur shone in the sunlight, left little doubt. And that was without taking into account her graceful, carefully thought out movements.
Fluttershy entered what seemed to be the final part of the song, her lyrics exchanged for a single tone. But what she could do with just that! Her voice rose to impossible heights just as she took flight and performed a pirouette in mid-air, before gliding slowly to the ground with a bow. The critters were absolutely ecstatic and the pegasus giggled.
Enchanted, Trixie decided to reveal herself, walking out into the clearing. The critters immediately took notice, though the pegasus herself was oblivious:
"W-what's wrong? Was I too loud?"
"Perhaps too amazing."
Her demeanour changed completely as she jumped into the air with a squeak, then hid her head in the grass. About as effective at hiding as ostriches in those myths about them. With a worried expression, she slowly walked closer and spoke again, quieter this time:
"I'm sorry, did I startle you?"
Her ears perked up once she heard the voice and she peeked, before sitting right back up:
"O-oh, Trixie, it was you. And no need to be sorry. Everything startles me," she smiled sheepishly as the critters nodded in agreement, before a new wave of panic washed over her face, "w-were you alone?"
"Ummm, yes."
"Oh, good," she sighed with relief, "I'm not good with crowds."
"Somehow, I am not surprised."
They shared a giggle. Fluttershy's almost made her ears tingle in delight. The pegasus pointed down into the grass, where a blanket was set in preparation for a picnic. Various fruit was on display, as well as what looked like juice:
"Would you like to join us?"
"Sounds wonderful."
The fruit was fresh and absolutely delicious. Somehow, it tasted better when surrounded by nature. Fluttershy spoke between tiny nibbles:
"So, what brings you to Ponyville? Just passing through?"
"Och, no. I was hoping to get in touch with Twilight, have a relaxing cup of tea and all."
"Oh, dear! You just missed her!"
"Huh?"
"Yes. She left for Canterlot, said she needed to look into the archives there for some project."
Trixie sighed:
"Just my luck, I suppose."
"Umm, you could always stay with us," quickly, she added, "I mean, that is, if you don't mind."
She shot the graceful pony a reassuring smile:
"That sounds wonderful, actually."
"Yay," she clopped her hooves enthusiastically, almost drowning out her 'scream' in the process, "good thing, too. He should be here any minute now."
"Who?"
The answer came in the form of a proper sea shanty, shouted behind her back, scaring away a good number of the critters present:
"Shiver me timbers, shiver me soul, yo, ho, ho!"
She turned and her jaw dropped.
A proper pirate ship sailed in the air, protruding from what Trixie could only describe as a portal in time and space. Its crew was a band of salty dogs, literally, and she could feel the stench of the seventy-seven seas from their fur. Each one of them had at least one of their legs replaced with a peg. Most had black eye patches. Only one had a hook for a hand.
The creature was a veritable mishmash of every species one could think of, with each body part completely different. Even his horns were asymmetric, yet the fashionable black hat on his head seemed designed for them. At the top of his lungs, one of the crewmen shouted:
"Land, ho!"
An anchor was thrown overboard and floated into the air like a balloon. The draconequus pulled out a set of binoculars from his ear and looked at the clearing ten feet below. He began a mighty chant:
"Avast, Fluttershy's..."
The pegasus interrupted, somehow perfectly audible above the commotion:
"Discord, we have guests."
"Oh, well then," his hook and hat turned into marshmallows and fell onto the deck. He turned to the scurvy dogs, "thank you for the afternoon, gentlehounds."
They barked in response. As soon as he touched land, they sailed back through the portal and vanished without a trace. He bowed to the two ponies, while his tail seemed to dig within hammerspace, looking for something:
"I am sorry for being late, we couldn't find the seventy-seventh sea. These old maps are sooooo hard to read sometimes. However, I did bring," his tail finally found what it was looking for, a tray with deliciousness on top. His voice grew even more excited, "the cucumber sandwicheeees!"
With a less-than graceful movement, he slid along the grass towards them like a deformed ballerina. He vanished into nothingness, only to reappear right next to them wearing a pair of fashionable, golden sunglasses. Trixie flinched as he raised the tray of sandwiches, which seemed to have multiplied:
"May I interest you in a sandwich, Miss Lulamoon?"
"I, wait," she met gazes with the king of all tricksters, "how do you...?"
"Know who you might be? Oh, Fluttershy has told me so much about you. Let's see if I recall some tidbits," a plushie suddenly appeared in his arms, almost a clone of the magician, "travelling showpony, a bit full of herself, turned to power-mad tyrant," a replica of the Alicorn Amulet appeared around its neck and it put on a wicked grin, "turned into a bit of a heroine. Fighting timberwolves and other such exciting things. Sound accurate enough?"
The doll found itself shooting little fake stars at a little fake wolf. Trixie was sure that if the whole element of chaos thing ever stopped being exciting, Discord would make an excellent toymaker. She nodded:
"Accurate, if begging for context."
"And the answer to my own question?"
"I suppose I can have one."
She chewed slowly, deliberately, not taking an eye off the serpentine devil for even a second. Oh, sure, she had heard tales of his reform. But she had also heard tales of him helping out certain megalomaniacal, magic-devouring demigods. As the saying went, fool me once, shame on you. But fool me twice...
They met gazes when the creature lifted its shades. Behind those serpentine orbs, she could feel mischief. A drive to entertain oneself. But there was a glint of something else, some genuine feeling. Discord did not let her contemplate the issue, speaking out in a teasing tone:
"Now, call me a paranoid old badger, but I do believe I can tell a scornful look when I see one."
"Well," she took a swift bite from the sandwich and had to admit it was delicious, "in my defence, you can hardly blame me, oh mighty Discord."
"Oh, Discord is quite enough. No need for pleasantries among friends, after all," teasingly, he flicked against her muzzle with one finger, "unless, of course, you feel there is an underlying current of animosity?"
"If I may be frank..."
"Stop!"
Both of them recoiled from the sudden noise. It wasn't overly too loud, just about enough to be heard. Fluttershy gazed between the two with an obvious frown. The face was disarming, it immediately sent Trixie on a small guilt-trip. Discord seemed to be experiencing a similar sensation, as he suddenly shrunk in size, until he was no larger than her leg. They were allowed to relax when the frown turned back into a timid smile:
"Listen, you two. I know that, maybe, it's hard seeing eye-to-eye on some things. But if anything, I think you two are alike. Troubled pasts and a bright future! So come on, make up and just enjoy the picnic," her dose of assertiveness seemed to run out, "that is, umm, if you would be so kind."
The two met gazes:
"I did go a bit overboard with the ribbing, perhaps," the draconequus bowed slightly, "sorry."
"And I guess I should know better than to judge someone based on the past. Sorry."
"There you go!"
Chatting with the physical manifestation of chaos was a fascinating experience. Discord had no shortage of topics at his disposal, from past hilarity to present blunders. She was sure he left out a crucial detail here or there, but the talk was rather pleasant. It was most certainly nice to bounce her ideas for future performances off someone. Second opinions were common, but only rarely helpful. And whenever the topic so much as skirted along one of the other six special ponies, he was always eager to praise them in some way, it seemed. Fluttershy, most of all.
"And you should see some of the photos that were made, she looks fabulous in every one!"
The yellow pony in question looked like she wanted to just disappear:
"Oh, no, not this again! I hated doing that!"
"Oh, come off it! Here, look," a humongous yellow photo album appeared in his hands and he placed it on the ground, flicking between page after page of Fluttershy pictures, "look, these ones here! Used in advertising all over Equestria, some to this day!"
"Oh, noooooo."
The showpony looked at them for a little while. Gosh, she looked stunning, really. Timid, reserved in whichever pose she chose or involuntarily receded into. A graceful beauty. She had to agree with him:
"You looked, and still look, marvellous, indeed," Fluttershy made another ostrich imitation as Trixie turned to the mishmash of species, "you have more of these albums, I take it?"
"One for each of my friends," a small tower of similar books appeared on the ground, each in a different colour, each but a fraction of Fluttershy's. At the very top, there was an especially small tome, light blue, "don't expect anything raunchy! I have standards."
"Whose is the one on top?"
"Yours, of course!"
"Huh?"
"Oh, yes," he grabbed and opened it in one swift motion using seven hands. There was but a handful of pictures, all of them from that very day, "look, here's you stuffing your face with sandwiches, from three minutes ago!"
She looked like she hadn't eaten in a day or two. She really needed to work on her table manners. Although, those didn't apply when not at a table, did they? Ach, loopholes were glorious. Discord broke her thought process by looking at a tiny grandfather clock attached to his wrist:
"Good heavens, look at the time," he let her take a closer look at the clock. Every single point was labelled 'FUN', "it is time for our exciting deviation of the day!"
Fluttershy's face was a mixture of glee, cautious anticipation and absolute terror:
"Yay?"
"Yay! Now, let's see what we get," with an impossible snap of his one cloven hoof, a cloud of smoke engulfed the area. When it cleared, Discord stood there in a fashionable, crimson faire outfit, right next to a large, floating wheel. The wheel was divided into dozens of sections, each with a different 'prize' attached. He grabbed hold of the wheel and gave it a mighty spin, "and 'round, 'round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows! Well, maybe I do."
The two ponies spun their heads with it in a rather comical fashion, before it finally came to a screeching halt. The field was blue, with two golden words attached. High Stakes. Discord's head positively erupted with dandelions, while Fluttershy audibly gulped. With another snap of his fingers, Trixie suddenly found out she was the proud owner of a fashionable purple scarf and boots. The graceful pony's ensemble also included a coy-looking wool hat. Discord screamed out with joy:
"Oh, you look smashing, my dear fillies! Now, let's get going, shall we?"
Before they could protest in any way, they vanished with a snap of a cloven hoof.
The feeling of being forcibly transported was one you could never get used to, she reckoned. The way your gut twisted for a split second, followed by a nauseous sensation right after arrival. Finally, there was that moment of utter panic as one tried to figure out where they were. The answer to that question was rather simple, at least. They were on a snow-covered mountain in the middle of nowhere.
Fluttershy was curled into a ball, as far from the nearby cliff-face as possible, trembling with fear. Discord stood just a little bit above them on a pair of skis, breathing in the chilling air. With a satisfied sigh, he slid down towards his companions with a grin:
"Aaaah, what a beautiful day for a bit of height appreciation, don't you think?"
"Not particularly. Look at Fluttershy, for Celestia's sake!"
"Oh, but that is exactly why we are here!"
"To terrify her?!"
"No, because she is terrified. Feel free to just sit down and watch, we've got this."
Not quite convinced, she remained standing with a doubtful look. His skis disappeared and he crouched down right next to her. She looked up at him, already starting to tear up:
"It's... so h-high."
"It sure is. But nothing you can't handle, dear. Take a peek."
After a few moments and deep breaths, she calmed down and looked around:
"I g-guess so."
"Shall we give it a go, then?"
"O-okay."
Trixie finally sat down and watched the two. Discord held her front hooves and walked with her to the very edge of the cliff. He was the first to step off and floated in mid-air as the graceful one's breathing intensified. His usually wicked smile was warm and reassuring as he said:
"Now, what are you?"
"I'm a p-pegasus."
"And what is a pegasus never afraid of?"
"Heights."
"That's right! Because you have what?"
"Wings."
"Beautiful wings, at that! So come on, leap forward and fly with me!"
"O-okay."
With one last, deep breath, her hind legs bent and she jumped, her eyes closed. Instinctively, she flapped her wings and hovered in mid-air, already smiling. She opened her eyes, looked down for just a fraction of a second, then back up at her flying buddy. Discord smiled, then spoke:
"Well, now, look who's a brave pony! At this rate, we'll get rid of this particular fear before you can sa-och," she flung herself around him in a hug as gentle as falling snow, "well, now, I didn't do that much."
"Of course you did! I'd never be able to do all these things every day without you."
"Aw, shucks, I..."
"You two need your own mountain?" Trixie's mischievous grin could have been detected by a satellite.
Fluttershy emitted a soft 'eek', while Discord replied with a grin of his own:
"Oh, don't mind her, Flutters. She's just jealous she can't fly. Speaking of which."
He snapped his fingers for a change. She could feel a sudden pull on her cape, and then a strange sensation, as if... she could feel the cape itself. A brief backwards revealed that its fabrics had twisted into a pair of large, majestic wings, almost bat-like in appearance. Her immediate reaction was panic, but Discord said:
"Do not worry, it is only a temporary little trick. Your cape will be as good as new once it wears off," he beckoned her closer, "now get over here!"
Fluttershy clapped happily as Trixie spread her newfound wings, jumped, and then soared.
They materialised before a quaint little cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville, the darkness of night their only companion. It was a simple building overall, but put together just right. It was surrounded by a small army of bird houses and other dens for various critters of various sizes. Fluttershy was still giggling as she headed for the door, her two companions in tow.
Trixie asked:
"Are you certain it is okay for me to stay here for the night?"
"Of course, it's the least I could do for a friend! Now," for the briefest moment, she sang a deep tone. A squirrel suddenly appeared from a nearby tree, an ornate key tied around its neck, "thank you, Fuzz!"
The critter squeaked something in reply, then scurried off. As soon as she pushed the key into its hole, a scratching could be heard on the other side of the door. Opening it revealed a fuzzy little critter, his fur white as snow. His big, floppy ears stood at attention and he hopped repeatedly before Fluttershy finally grabbed hold of him:
"It's good to see you too, Angel," she turned with the bunny towards Trixie, "Angel, this is Trixie. Say hello."
The adorable bunny suddenly shot her a horrific glare. Its paw suddenly moved to his face, his digits clumsily pointing at his eyes, before he pointed back to the showpony. The draconequus leaned in closer and whispered:
"Don't be fooled. I am quite sure he's a disguised demon."
"I'll keep that in mind."
They both put on their best smiles as they were ushered inside. A few leftover cucumber sandwiches and a lovely cup of tea later, they were quite ready for bedtime. What a day.
The full moon shone brightly in the night sky, accompanied by a thousand stars. There was something incredibly enchanting about moonlight. Where the sun was a warm, loving mother, the moon felt like a devoted friend, looking out for you in even the darkest corners of the world. Trixie welcomed such a companion as she stood alone in Fluttershy's kitchen, bathed in moonlight.
She couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts raced within her head, fought for her attention and made her question things. Too many doubts about past choices. The tea kettle screamed for attention and she quickly deactivated the fire under it, then poured herself a cup. Fluttershy had such a wonderful selection of tea available. Almost overwhelming, really. Eastern Lily would do for now.
She grasped a spoon with her mind and stirred. So absorbed was she in her own thoughts, it took her a few seconds to register footsteps. A deformed, but not frightening figure entered the kitchen, and smiled at her. As always, the smile made his one prolonged tooth jut out at a strange angle. Somehow, that made the smile seem cuter, rather than repulsive. The draconequus walked by her and poured himself a simple glass of water from a prepared jug. After taking a sip, he spoke:
"I see someone is a nocturnal animal. You should go live with the bat ponies."
"I am not, truly. It's just," she sighed, "so much has happened today and..."
His mischievous gaze suddenly seemed... not colder, per se. Just more serious. He leaned in just a bit closer and spoke, his tone a little off, as well:
"And you are doubting your past decisions."
"Aren't I always. Wait," they met gazes, "how do you know that?"
He stood upright, a good several feet taller than her, and replied:
"Och, I know so much! I practically know more about my pony friends than they know about themselves," he raised both hands to the ceiling, "why, sometimes I would almost describe myself as an instigator, gently nudging them towards making the plot progress in the correct direction," she was giving him a doubtful look, "though I am sure that is just me being silly. Now, to the matter at hand. My friend has a problem. I like fixing problems almost as much as causing them."
"And how exactly do you intend to do that?"
"Good, old-fashioned communication!"
She suddenly found herself on comfortable, sizeable couch of a crimson colour. Discord sat in an ornate chair, some would have said throne, a pair of rose-tinted glasses on his nose, plus quill and parchment in his hands. He coughed rather convincingly, then said:
"Now then, there are two basic methods at my disposal. The first involves you talking extensively about your problem. The second involves answering yes or no to specific, extremely personal questions based on information you had previously locked in your soul and thought unreachable by anypony else. That one is faster."
"I... I guess the yes and no, then."
"Splendid," he scribbled some notes onto the parchment, "let us begin. Your current dilemma is due to a friend from childhood."
"Yes." she complied without prompt.
"The divide between you was caused due to a competition, wherein your friend stopped at nothing to try and win, even going so far as to cause you harm."
"Y-yes." it felt so strange, just having her somewhat-secret past being told by someone else.
"Recently, and by that I mean earlier on this very day, you met that somepony again. You saw them turned into something you never thought possible, consumed by bitterness and hate. And you wondered, had you let them win on that fateful day, would things have turned out different, perhaps for the better?"
"Yes." with every answer, she became more sombre.
"And finally," that mischievous smirk was back, "does it even matter?"
She lay there for a good while, just contemplating that question. So deceptively simple, so deviously complex. Discord rose from his chair-throne and made his way to the kitchen table, grabbing hold of the jug of water. Several dozen toothpicks floated onto the table and assembled themselves into a tiny bridge. Holding the jug with both arms, he continued:
"Allow me a visual metaphor. The bridge is the present. The water represents events in your life," he poured the jug onto the table and she almost yelped. The water behaved nonsensically, as if it were a river, forming a few waterfalls before slowly snaking their way under the bridge, "your life goes on while the water keeps flowing," conveniently enough, the water in the jug finally ran out, "but I ask you, where does the water go, after it passes your bridge?"
She used basic knowledge to find the answer:
"The... sea?"
"Very good! And this case, that sea is called," he moved the jug just in time for the water to flow into it. Soon enough he gathered all of it and showed her the jug. It was now marked by the symbol of a half-moon and magic wand. Her cutie mark, "Trixie Lulamoon. Whether the water was good or bad is irrelevant. In the end, it still creates who you are. And that is something nopony can avoid."
"And... dwelling on the past does nothing but make my road to the future harder."
"Very good! And?"
"I should not try to fight the flow or some other metaphysical wisdom? Is that what you're going for here?"
He burst out laughing, almost spilling the jug onto the ground:
"Bah, not quite, but close enough. I may have been just a tad bit pretentious during the whole thing."
"No, I needed that. Someone to go over the issue with me. Someone to talk to."
"Never keep things like this bottled up. Worse results than firecrackers in a crystal. Believe me, I've tried," he suddenly grabbed his cloven hoof and detached it from the rest of his body, then extended it for a hoofshake, "I'd be more than happy to help you again, friend."
She shook it with a smile:
"I'll be sure to take you up on that offer, friend."
"Splendid! Now, come on, we should return to bed. Fluttershy might think we were stolen by gremlins or somesuch," Trixie chuckled, "you laugh now, but that actually happened once."
"You're joking."
"It is true! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! I just went for a nice midnight walk and I found her looking for me with a candle in the cold."
"That silly worrywart."
"I know! Poor thing had sniffles for a few days afterwards!"
They chuckled together, before tip-hoofing to their beds. She could hear what could only be fluttershy snoring. Light breathing, followed by an almost bird-like exhale. It was like she was singing tones subconsciously.
Celestia, it was good to do things like in the good old days. To just get locked in the Canterlot Archives for the entire night, researching, locating and identifying. There was something innately calming to it and felt as natural and effortless as breathing. Truly something everypony should try out at some point.
Another dusty old tome floated back to its spot on the shelves and the young princess allowed herself a sigh. No luck so far and with the size of the archive itself, it could even take a few days to find mention of that one specific thing Glint had said. Tiamath. Why did it sound so familiar, like she had brushed over it on some random other book hunt?
None of Starswirl's tomes seemed to contain it, though. Powerful magic based on time and even some forbidden practices from his rebellious youth, tolerated only because of his further accomplishments? Sure, those were readily available in the restricted part of the library. But nothing on this one word.
It belonged to some deity-esque entity, she was sure of it. Glint's speech patterns would imply as much, anyway. Bah, if only they knew more about dragons in general. In the end, her best bet may be just going with Pinkie and asking Glint directly. And then, something clicked in her head.
Perhaps it hadn't been Starswirl's publication. And not a thoroughly scientific piece, either. Perhaps it was... that one. The alicorn rushed over to another of the shelves, where several surviving works of Starswirl's pupils were kept. Invariably less protected than the wizard's own tomes, many such works had been lost to the sands of time. She found it after a mere extra hour.
Lucretia Stargazer's Comprehensive Almanac of Myths and Unconfirmed Tales. A result of her countless travels into the untamed wilds of Equestria and beyond. The cover was rather colourful, depicting various creatures that had been debunked or successfully found since the tome's publication. As with the several dozen prior books, she flipped to the register under T. That letter had few entries, thankfully for her.
There it was, right above Traxex. Tiamath, with several categorising words and phrases next to it. Draconite, Greater Deity, Creation Myth. See also: Equinox, Ebon. Twilight squealed in delight. She had so much reading ahead of her, how exciting!