“Well, this is new,” I said to myself,” for a while, the setting of a grim, yet clean hospital has morphed into a trashed hallway of someone’s house. The green walls were replaced with Cheshire red and violet wallpaper. I couldn’t help but take notice of the pictures hanging on the walls. Some of them were in frames while others were just drawings that looked like they were done by a foal that was only head up on the walls by tape.
The floor, as I noticed, was littered with bottles, toys, crumpled paper bags, and torn music sheets. And the carpet I was walking on looked like nopony had vacuumed it in months.
“Discord,” I called out, “Are you here?”
“Go away!” turning to the source of the sound on my right, I found in a child, with his back turned away from me and looking out a window in a room that looked like as if it fell into disrepair. Cushions on the couch had been taken out and tossed about. A picture frame of what I assume a very young Julius Disc, and even more amazing, the human form of his mother, where the glass on it had been smashed. Even the stand-up piano didn’t survive in the evidence of a post-violent affair as not only that some of the keys were missing, but there was an ax that was buried in the side of it.
I stepped inside the room, knocking a few bottles over, which the “cling” got young Julius’s attention, “Didn’t you hear what I said? I said leave!”
“What happened here?” I asked, waving over to the chaotic mess in the room.
“Mom ran away, that’s what happened!” He snapped at me, “Those bullies were right! I’m just a huge freak, so mom drove off, and she’s never coming back ever again!” I was stunned, if not completely speechless. The young Julius was fighting hard to keep his tears back, “Just go away, nobody wants me anymore. Nobody wants to be friends with me o-or that anybody cares.” He slumped back to the window, his body shook before he started to bawl his eyes out.
“Julius,” I said, taking a few steps forward, “I had no idea at all. I’ve never-”
“I SAID LEAVE!” Julius screamed, picking up a pair of scissors and threw it at me, luckily he missed, “GET OUT!”
He started to throw everything at me from whatever he could get his hands on. I spotted what looked like a front door and ran for it as things “Thumped” and “Crashed” behind me. I flung the door opened and quickly closed it before he threw his broken family portrait at me.
After shutting the door, I looked around my surroundings to find that I was on the porch of someone’s home.
“I’m still surprised that you’ve decided to come over,” I heard Discord’s voice. I turned to find that this wasn’t him, but another memory of Julius’s. I saw him and Fluttershy’s human counterpart sitting down at a stand-up piano with a teapot and cups on top of the instrument.
“Why’s that?” human Fluttershy inquired, “Has anyone even came by to say hello?”
“Nowadays? Nope,” he replied as he poured himself some tea. “Even with Celestia rehiring me, everybody is keeping their distance from me. Perhaps they think I’m unstable or something. Which brings up the question of why you’re here, to begin with? Last time I’ve checked, you’re doing pretty well in my class.”
“I’m not here for the art class,” she confessed, and Julius raised an eyebrow.
“Come again?”
“I just think it’s rather unfair that everybody has been outright avoiding you. It just seems to me, if you don’t mind of me saying, that it’s like you don’t even have any friends.”
“I don’t,” Julius responded before taking a sip of his tea. “I just have students, co-workers, and my bosses that have given my job back.”
“Well, do you want to be my friend then?” Fluttershy asked, and I saw Julius being completely taken aback at this.
“What?”
“I’m asking if you want to be my friend,” the shy counterpart of her pegasus self said before taking a sip out of her cup, “That is if you want to anyway.”
“You want to be friends with an old weirdo like me?” Julius asked suspiciously. “You’ve probably had already heard about my reputation of a literately insane teacher.”
“So?”
Julius blinked… and blinked again, “So? Look, I already know how this is going to end, every time I reach out my hand for companionship, they either leave, go straight to jail, locked up in the puzzle house, or I end up working for them. Trust me, no one in their right mind would ever want to so much be my friend.”
“I would, I mean, I have my Angle Bunny who’s quite… demanding, so I don’t think being friends with you would be too much trouble on my part.”
Ah, I see, this must be when Discord’s counterpart friendship with Fluttershy must have started. But I must keep moving to find the Discord that I know.
Stepping off the porch to figure out where to go from here, I spotted a little alleyway which at the other side showed the halls of the high school. Curious, I went down to see where this new path would take me.
At the end of the hallway was the entrance to the school’s office. As I noticed walking in, the office where the sectaries’ were was decorated in hearts, and a banner saying “Happy Valentine’s Day!” If I didn’t know any better, it has the feel of a Hearts and Hooves day.
I spotted, facing towards my counterpart’s office, Mr. Disc holding with his sweaty hands a yellow envelope. “Come on Julius,” he said to himself, “You can do this. Just walk in and ask.” He took a deep breath before opening the door. Curious, I followed inside.
“Good afternoon Ms. Boss,” he said walking in. I saw on my counterpart’s desk a very familiar sight, piles of paperwork while the other me was bent over signing away.
“What do you want Julius?” she grumbled, “I’m a little busy here at the moment.”
“Are you, by any chance, planning on anything this evening?”
“I do actually, filing the rest of this paperwork by tonight.”
“Really? Don’t you let Luna take care of-”
“I can’t,” she interrupted, “All of this has to be signed and reviewed by me. So whatever you had in mind, forget it.”
“But,” Julius confident smile retreated, “It’s important too.”
“Can’t it wait?” she questioned. Somehow, this conversation seems vaguely familiar to me. She added: “Or could you ask someone else?”
“No it can’t wait,” he said, “Nor can I ask someone else about it, it requires you.”
“I’m sorry, but whatever it is, I just can’t do it today.”
“But I haven’t even told-”
“Julius, I’m busy,” my other self interrupted.
Julius nodded, “Alright, sorry that I’ve bothered ya,” he said with a hint of bitterness before walking out of the office and throwing away the envelope.
What was he trying to do here? And what was in that envelope? I went over to the trash bin and picked up the envelope that had my name on it. After opening it up, I was completely caught by surprise to find that inside was a note in the shape of a red heart.
“Happy Valentine’s Day Boss,” it read, “If you’re not getting buried in school stuff or if you don’t have a date for this evening, would you care to join me at the Red Rose at 7:20 tonight so I can be your valentine?” This got me wondering about several things, it was clear that the note is meant to ask, well, my other self on a date. But what does this mean? Does it mean that at one point Discord had liked me, but if that was the case, why didn’t I hear any of this before?
Perhaps this memory had already told me why, he tried, but I wasn’t listening.
“Celestia?” I quickly turned around and put the not behind my back to find the other Applebloom, still holding onto her string trail, “Have Y'all found the other Mr. D yet?”
“I’m afraid I haven’t,” I answered, “And by the looks of things, you haven’t either.”
“No luck yet, but the more Ah go around this place, the more Ah learned about Mr. Disc that Ah didn’t know about befor’.”
I agreed.
“Say,” Applebloom added, “Ya haven’t seen any of the others yet have ya?”
“No, in truth you’re the first that I’ve run into.”
“Um, could Ah follow ya around fer a bit?” she asked, “This place is a bit crazy and Ah was hopin’ Ah won’t be alone here.”
I nodded, “I understand, come on, let’s go this way.” I pointed to a door that leads to my other sister’s office.