[Edit]: Updated some minor flow issues and grammar. Should read better now.
Nothing sapped Discord’s patience quite like a dearth of dangerous and or chaotic happenings. If he gave into his instincts, all of Equestria might find itself under a blanket of mismatched socks. Though as part of his “reformation”, such blatant displays of his fabulosity were strictly off limits — at least in this reality.
Altering his own dimension distracted him in a pinch, but it could hardly compare to his stunts in Equestria. Nothing delighted him more than fashioning their mundane world into an extraordinary wonderland. Their resident stick in the mud considered it harmless, as long as the displays were kept “to a respectable minimum”. Twilight on the other hand frequently labeled his “modifications” as an act of sabotage. Sabotage? Really? Please, if he wanted to sabotage Equestrian government, no one would see it coming, let alone miss Goody Two Hooves.
Speaking of sabotage . . . Yesterday’s visit to Twilight’s castle had provided a unique opportunity for just that. Discord leaned back on the lounge, smirking to himself. Though she tried her best to deny it, the truth seeped through the cracks as always. Their dearest Princess of Friendship intended upon researching Tirek’s magic in an effort to prevent any such spells from happening again. “Pathetic. I could do that without any research at all.”
There was the sudden addition of an all too familiar snap and the crack of magic. Soon after a scoffing, familiar voice spoke up, “You know that’s not true.”
Discord scowled at his now independently motile shadow dancing on the wall. “If it’s not my favorite shadow puppet again,” he sneered. He gave his tail a vice-like grip. “How many times have I told you not to—ah whatever.”
He reclined a little, watching various objects drift lazily about the room. Foolish as it was, Discord wished the voice were a living, feeling being rather than an extension of his magic. Humoring it, he leaned against the lounge and drawled, “Oh really? Do enlighten me.”
“How could you, the Lord of Chaos and disharmony possibly create harmony?”
Discord snorted, “Like I’d ever want to.”
A high pitched laugh emanated from the shadow. “You just told me you could do Twilight’s job better. Doesn’t that imply being able to create harmony?”
“Not every situation requires harmony.” His talon flexed, allowing the light to dance off of its sharpened surface. “It might be interesting, you know?”
“What are you thinking? Do you want to be sealed away again like some moldy old book?”
The harshness of the shadow’s voice nearly caused him to jump. “What, I wouldn’t create disharmony, I’d simply prevent harmony . . .”
It sighed theatrically. “Pathetic.”
“Pathetic? Me?” He shot to his feet, slamming his paw to his chest. “I’m the Spirit of Chaos in case you’ve forgotten!”
“Yes, yes, the all-powerful Spirit of Chaos, adhering to the rules of others and living in ‘harmony’. How chaotic of you indeed.”
“My life is better than it ever was before.”
“Better?” It scoffed, “What part of this is better? You live out your days hiding away in this dimension only popping out to pull a stupid prank or have tea parties with your friends. What happened to your ambitions?”
Discord gritted his teeth. Oh, he had “ambitions” all right. Not a day went by where they did not manifest themselves in some manner. Living for centuries with a single goal in mind had left him weak in that regard. When he finally gave into the urges, he betrayed the only real friends he ever had. Never again. “I don’t have to be in power to be happy.”
“Keep telling yourself that. But,” the shadow’s tone turned icy, “it will not last. Professing your ‘reformation’ is easy at present. However, they will hold you to it for longer than that. How will it be centuries from now, when you’ve been driven half mad from boredom? What right have they to force the spirit of chaos to bend to their statutes? Why, you could destroy them with a snap of your—”
“—Enough!” The objects around the room began to gather in a violent spiral. “I am not bending to their statutes, I’ve adopted them.”
It barked a laugh. “You haven’t adopted anything of theirs, Discord. You are the master of chaos, you would wither and die in a harmonic world!”
“There’s always disharmony, that will never change.”
“Yes, but you will be seen as a traitor for embracing it.”
“I’ll take that when it comes,” he snarled, allowing the objects to clatter to the floor. One picture caught his attention. His friends, all smiling at him as if he had not betrayed them mere hours before. Without a second’s hesitation, Twilight forfeited her power, knowing what such a sacrifice entailed.
Thanks to her, he had finally come to understand what true friendship was. A little boredom was a small price to pay for their continued companionship and trust. Still, that did not make the hours pass any faster.
Reaching out his paw, he scooped up the “souvenir” he had taken from Twilight’s library. A small, unassuming journal with notes jammed into every square inch. Summoning his reading glasses, he flipped through the pages until a circled passage caught his attention.
‘I have developed a power draining spell akin to his own. If my calculations are correct, then I should be able to create the counter-spell from this one.’
A wicked grin stretched across his face as he imagined Twilight’s reaction to having her magic drained by a spell of her design. Such a spell could hardly be permanent after all. Stressing their newest princess always proved entertaining, especially if she thought the spell’s effects would last longer. Why, after his little test was over, he might even get her to lighten up and relax. At the very least, it would give them both a good laugh.
As Celestia’s former student, Element of Magic, and princess of Equestria, Twilight dedicated her free time to the pursuit of knowledge. Researching spell after spell all night led to some interesting discoveries after all. Those who didn’t know any better might assume her to be obsessed. Her friends thankfully knew her better than that.
Books and by extension libraries might be her favorite retreat from reality, but her focus would always be on her friends. That didn’t stop her from sneaking away whenever her duties allowed. This evening’s task revolved around adding the finishing touches to the castle’s library.
Despite her best efforts to fill it with books, her new library remained woefully underwhelming. Shelves upon shelves lined the walls, holding a respectable number of books, heck, their contents would have filled up the Golden Oaks Library twice over. However, the sheer volume of the chamber and its incredible storage capacity made that task seem nearly insurmountable.
Twilight levitated up the latest addition to the family, a faded pink cookbook gifted by Mayor Mare herself. Upon the news of her home’s destruction, the townsponies had rallied together to donate their favorite books. The memory still brought tears to her eyes. After a parting hug, she shelved it with a decided finality.
With that book safely in its place, she was officially caught up with stocking. “Finished!” Her ears drooped a little as the exclamation bounced off of the crystalline walls. No matter what she did, the place always felt empty.
The soft patter of Spike’s feet announced his presence long before his face poked around the corner. “Is it safe?”
Twilight couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Really? “Safe from what, Spike? Books?”
“No, Discord.” Spike gritted his teeth, looking at the shelves as if expecting the draconequus to materialize behind one any second.
“Are you sure?”
“I saw him, Twilight!”
Great, just great. The last time Discord “popped in,” he had disrupted her research, stollen her notes, and successfully traumatized Spike by apparating in his bed. Then there was the incident with the fruit bowl. Needless to say, his visits remained less than pleasant affairs. “What does he want this time?”
“Who knows? All I know is that he popped into the pantry and vanished before I could talk to him.”
“Well, guess we’ll hear about it soon enough . . . We always do,” she murmured as an aside.
“You heading to bed? It’s already eleven . . .”
“Not yet,” her eyes fell to the large tome resting atop the nearest cushion, “I want to work out the kinks on this reflection spell.”
For a moment, it looked as though he might protest, but shrugged in an off-hand way. “Suit yourself, but I’m going to bed.”
“Night.” After he left, she settled down in her favorite reading nook. Try as she may to focus, her mind continued to wander. As Element of Magic, spell creation presented a unique and engaging challenge. This spell in particular required an immense amount of research and focus to achieve anything resembling results. “I need my other notes . . .”
“Other notes you say,” a familiar, grating voice echoed around the library as a familiar journal toppled onto the nearest cushion.
Discord. Twilight leapt to her hooves, lighting her horn. Bracing herself, she waited for the childish Spirit of Chaos to reveal himself.
Sure enough, with a loud crack and a cloud of noxiously sweet smoke, Discord appeared, donned in what looked to be a lab coat and goggles. “Good evening, Twilight,” he drawled, voice laced with an artificial honey that made her skin crawl.
“Come here to return what you stole?”
He clutched his chest in a mock offended manner. “Why Twilight, I’d never steal anything from my friends.”
“Uh-huh.” I don’t have time for this . . . “What do you want, Discord?”
“Why do you think I want anything from you?”
Twilight could have easily listed a hundred reasons why. Despite what he claimed, Discord never stopped in unless it benefited him in some manner. She made a beckoning motion, “Cut to the chase, I’m trying to study.”
Huffing, Discord stood up straight, looming over her as usual. “Is that any way to talk to your friend who's come all this way just to help you out?”
“I doubt that,” she snapped.
He tisked, waving a talon in her face. “Don’t be so quick to dismiss my help, Twilight. I am endowed with powers you couldn’t begin to comprehend.”
“What kind of help, Discord?”
“The fun kind.”
“Uh-huh.” Discord’s definition of “fun” hardly correlated with her own. “Not interested.”
“But it’s a spell to calm your nerves and help you focus on that research of yours.” He batted his eyes, sticking out his lip. “Please.”
As she stared at him, a delightful idea came to the forefront of her mind. Why not humor him? Then, just as he cast whatever stupid prank spell he was cooking up, she would reflect the spell right back at him. Perfect. She let out a long, slow breath, “All right, I’ll do it. But, ditch the outfit, I don’t want to feel like a lab experiment.”
“Deal.” With a loud crack, his costume disappeared. Smirking in that smug way of his, he raised his talon theatrically. “One, two—”
Twilight didn’t wait for the last count. Focusing all her energy on the reflection spell, she braced for impact. A lilac shield appeared around her just as the wave of chaos-based magic slammed into it. One of her personal favorites, the spell could withstand an incredible amount of magical pressure, absorbing it until it could be flung back at the target.
This time however, the pressure bent the shield closer and closer towards her. No matter how much magic she poured in, Discord’s matched it. One last try. Focusing all her concentration on the center of the spell, Twilight allowed her power to pool. With the force of a great slingshot, the magic shot towards Discord. The resulting recoil sent her flying into a pile of cushions.
A sickening thud announced Discord’s contact with the nearest bookshelf before being joined by the cacophony of heavy tomes slamming into the crystal. Opening her eyes, she stared at the still settling contents of her bookshelf.
Smirking triumphantly, Twilight rose to her hooves, prancing over to the pile of books. “Not today, Discord.”
Silence. Snorting in frustration, she started to levitate the books aside. Discord was laying on his stomach, looking blearily up at her. Twilight rolled her eyes, “Get up, Discord. I know you’re not hurt by that.”
Rather than the usual condescending remark, Discord stared hard at the books, then at his sides, before finally focusing back on her like some dejected puppy dog.
Can’t believe you lost, huh? “Quit pouting. Geesh, I wouldn’t have had to do it if you played fair.”
Discord made to stand, but slid on the books, falling on his face. After a long moment staring at his side, he mouthed something. Then, he locked gazes with her and spoke in the softest tone she had ever heard him use, “What did you do to me?”
Making to scold him for playing around, Twilight stopped cold upon noting his expression. Being the neary embodiment of pride, Discord seemed immune to self-doubt. But he just gaped at her, eyes awash with unmistakable terror. “What did you do?” he repeated in a small, shaky voice.
“I reflected your spell back at you.” It was all she could think to say.
“It . . . you . . .” Discord cleared his throat, voice growing more firm, “You concentrated all your magic in one spot to combat it?”
Twilight gulped, “Yes.”
“Damn,” he murmured, more to himself than to her. “This isn’t good.”
“Why? What’s the problem?”
He shot her a withering stare. “The problem, Twilight is this. What do you think happens when an ordinary spell is interrupted?”
“It dissipates, or, reflects given the defender’s choice of incantations.”
With an exaggerated, slow breath, he continued, “Now, tell me what happens when an untested spell fueled by magic as powerful as my own is intercepted and rebounded upon the user?”
“Er . . .” What did happen? The thought had never occurred to her, after all, she didn’t exactly duel powerful mages on a daily basis. “I don’t know.”
“It magnifies the spell’s effects, Twilight,” he snarled through gritted teeth.
“Magnifies its effects?” Instinctively, her eyes began to dart all over Discord but nothing seemed out of place. What’s he so dramatic about? “You look fine to me.”
“Am I?” He gave her a mock bow, then continued in a sarcastic drawl, “Congratulations, Twilight, you’ve successfully taken away the Spirit of Chaos’ god-like powers. Thanks to you, I have been reduced to the magical prowess of a mere mortal.”
There’s no way. “That’s impossible! I . . . nopony could do that . . .”
“Tirek did.”
She thought for a moment, then her eyes suddenly went very wide. “Wait! You wanted to take my magic away like Tirek?!” she squeaked as confusion, disbelief, and anger vied for control.
Discord raised a paw in defense. “Relax! I only planned on doing it for a few minutes. Just long enough for you to notice and freak out a bit. Then I would have given it back right away. Promise.”
“If that’s the case, then you should be back to normal in a few minutes.”
“But I’m not, ‘back to normal,’ now am I?”
Her mind scrambled for some explanation, any explanation. “You’re faking it.”
Discord pinned his ears. “I am not faking it, Twilight,” he stressed each word as if explaining the obvious.
The blood began to rush to her ears. This was all some big joke, it had to be. “Stop lying, Discord.” A little rebounded spell couldn’t take away his magic, could it? She waved her hoof over him, “You’re fine! Go on, do one of your stupid dimension defying tricks.”
Rolling his eyes, he held up his talon. A familiar snap echoed around the cavernous room, but there was absolutely no visible effect.
“What was that?”
“That was my attempt at turning your floor into cheese.”
“It didn’t work.” Oh, Celestia . . . “It . . . it’s really gone.” There had to be some mistake, her magic couldn’t have caused this, could it? And yet, there was no denying Discord’s impossibly serious expression and lack of tricks. The longer she stared, the faster her heart pounded. This can’t be happening! “It’s not gone permanently, is it?”
“I don’t—I doubt it.” For an instant, his eyes flashed with uncertainty before being masked once more. Shaking his head, he snapped again. In an instant, every one of the books zoomed back to the shelf, leaving him lying on the floor. “I can still use my magic, just . . . not to the extent I’ve grown accustomed to.”
“I’m so sorry, I—”
“Save it, Twilight. What’s done is done.” Finally getting to his feet, Discord walked carefully over to her. “Given time, its effects will dissipate. However,” he pointed to her sides, “I’m more concerned with the effect it will have on you.”
“But I reflected it!”
Discord shrugged, “You felt the recoil. That had to do something.”
“I don’t notice anything different . . .” Her body felt the same as it always had. Heck, she even felt better than usual. How? It didn’t make any sense.
“It probably isn’t major, but I thought I’d warn you.” With a parting wave, Discord started toward the door.
As he walked, she couldn’t help but notice how unsteady his steps were. Why doesn’t he just teleport like usual? Did I take that away too? Then, before she could ask, he fell hard on the floor.
“Discord!” She cantered over to examine him closer.
As soon as her hoof reached out to him, he pushed it away. “I’m fine.”
“Like hell you are!” Twilight knelt beside him, stroking his back despite Discord’s resistance. The warm, sticky substance made her flinch. In the light of her magic, she could make out a jagged gash. A large quantity of blood had already matted the hairs and some still trickled slowly down.
Her heart pounded still faster. “You-you’re hurt! Let me—”
“No!” Discord pushed her away, this time with enough force to send her staggering backwards.
“Please let me help. It’s my fault.” Trying to touch him again resulted in a painful slap from his tail.
“You’ve helped enough,” he breathed through clenched teeth.
Urgh! Stubborn old goat. “I can’t let you go wandering around like this,” she gestured to the still dripping wound. The wound she caused. He didn’t trust her to help, and honestly she couldn’t blame him. Still, there had to be something she could do. “If-if you don’t want me to help, then at least stay until you’re better. Please,” she whimpered.
Discord’s eyes darted from his back to her. Then, with a heavy sigh, he nodded. “Very well. I suppose I could stay for one night.”
Smiling weakly, she held out a hoof. He did not take it, but stood on his own, walking slowly towards the door. A part of her wished he would stop being so stubborn and ask for help, but that was about as likely as his becoming the next Princess of Equestria. Glumly, she trotted up to him. What do I do now?
Cold? I shouldn’t be cold. I don’t get cold. Discord blinked awake, staring at the darkened room around him. He tensed until realizing who it belonged to. Oh, right. Groaning, he allowed his head to fall to the checkered quilt with a soft thud.
The heavy bandages wound around his midsection felt like the stranglehold of an anaconda, but they did lessen the pain somewhat. Pain, really? Discord never thought that would be possible, not like this anyway. Moreover, a simple reflected spell and run-in with a shelf caused it. How pathetic was he?
When the spell had hit him, he had felt weak, but it hardly compared to his current condition. Every inch of his body felt incapable of anything more than a slight motion. That, compounded with the overwhelming separation was driving him mad. His world didn’t just have magic, it swam in it. Now it trickled around him like a dying brook.
His ear twitched as he heard hoofsteps and the door swung open. Twilight’s head poked cautiously around the corner. “Discord?”
He raised an eyebrow. Did she have any idea what time it was? “Yes?”
“I thought I’d check on you.” She crept closer with all the air of a filly about to prod a manticore with a stick. “How’s your fever?”
“Fine.”
She rolled her eyes, “You’re still shaking.” Before he could argue the point further, he felt the weight of several blankets over him. A sly grin parted her mouth, “You know, if you were cold, you could have just gone under the covers.”
“I hate covers,” he grumbled, avoiding her gaze. A part of him wanted to scold her further, but the exhaustion had already set in. He closed his eyes, hoping she would take the hint. It worked, as he heard her hoofsteps and the door closing softly.
Some spell this turned out to be. Under any other circumstances, such a feat of ingenuity from Twilight would have been hilarious. A rebounded prank held endless fun possibilities, a rebounded, untested spell did not. Being bored might not be such a bad alternative after all . . .This is where the shadow comes in