-o-
Glaring at the intruder sitting in his Ready Room, Picard was very much aware of the hot disdain seeping ever so slowly into his mind. Tightening his grip on the object held in his hand, he absently took note of the fact that the mug was far too warm. A strong desire to rid his flesh of the pain immediately tore through him, and the urge became reality as he placed the cup down on the table. As it connected with the flat surface, an audible 'thunk' reverberated around the room, cutting through the silence.
Never letting his gaze leave the other man - if the being could even be called that - Picard's expression twisted into a scowl as he attempted to calm his rage. Cool irritation was far easier to handle, and it would give his speech more composure. Allowing anger to take control of his voice, making him shout and scream in obvious fury, was not a good way for an officer of his calibre to express his needs and wants.
"Get out, Q."
A sardonic frown marred his features when, in reply to the order, Q smiled. That only added fuel to his frustrations, but he would not allow Q the satisfaction of knowing it. Narrowing his eyes as he stared at the dark haired entity, Picard forced back the malicious comment that desperately wanted to escape his throat.
Q's grin simply widened, almost as if Picard had spoken his thoughts out loud anyway.
Watching in silence as Q reached out for a random item on the table - an old book that had not been opened in decades - Picard waited with little patience as Q tossed it up in the air, before catching it with a practised ease. He continued to do this a few more times, seemingly taking enjoyment out of the mediocre act of juggling a single object. Was Q bored?
Picard sneered. Q's run in with the crew had not ended on a happy note; he found the entity's lack of interest in this moment to be utterly repulsive. Could Q not show even the remotest bit of empathy? He'd already created enough havoc today, and Picard didn't need to be psychic to know that Q would do nothing to help sort the mess he'd essentially caused. So, why was he still here? Could he not leave them be? Was it too much to ask to have him go away and never return?
Of course it was. The Universe was not alive, nor was it intelligent, but there were times that Picard felt it was mocking him by playing some giant, cosmic joke on his ship.
It took a moment of them both standing there, awkwardly looking at each other but not saying anything, for Q to realise that Picard was not going to offer a more grand reaction to his presence. Rolling his eyes, Q threw the book up one final time, before it vanished mid-air, only to reappear back on the table less than half a second later. Giving an almighty sigh, Q stepped backwards and leant against the heated wall of the room. His lips were set in a thin line as he eyed Picard with something akin to resentment.
"Honestly, Jean-Luc, I would have thought we were past this discourteous hosting by now. You do disappoint me."
Picard lost the battle he'd been fighting since Q's initial arrival on the Enterprise. Until now, he'd managed to prevent his emotions from taking hold, but there was only so much he could bear. It didn't help that Q's voice was like nails on a chalkboard to his ears.
"What do you want, Q?" he asked, tone vicious. He knew that his features were contorted in an ugly, unfriendly manner, yet he couldn't bring himself to care. "Haven't you already taken your fill of amusement from tormenting my crew today?"
Q raised an eyebrow as his mouth parted slightly in a mockery of shock. "Why, mon capitaine, you expect me to leave without even saying goodbye? What do you take me for?"
Staring at the aggravating creature for what felt like an eternity, Picard could not for the life of him come up with a reply. What could he possibly say? Any sentences that exited his mouth would just be ridiculed and tossed aside as nonsense, or worse, manipulated in a way that would allow Q to make Picard out as the bad guy. Although Picard didn't really care if Q twisted his words - he honestly didn't give a damn about the omniscient arse, or his opinions - he didn't want this conversation to go on any longer than was necessary either.
This was a war that was impossible to win. Picard's foe was someone who didn't even realise that his actions made him more of an enemy than a friend.
Though... Did Q really want to be on amicable terms with him?
Picard closed his eyes and tried to clear his thoughts. How could one creature be so infuriatingly hard to understand?
Q sighed again; the soft sound made Picard reopen his eyes so he could properly look at the person who was the cause of his growing headache.
"Are you-"
Cutting off mid-sentence, Q stood there blinking dumbly, before he glanced up at the ceiling with a frown. This gave Picard reason to pause. Watching Q with a growing curiosity - what on Earth was he looking at? - a flood of questions poured into him as Q's frown deepened drastically.
Suddenly, his eyes flashed with a startling bewilderment. "What?"
Picard's eyebrows creased as concern filled him. "Is there a problem, Q?"
Something had taken Q's attention, quite abruptly, and Picard wanted to know what it was, and whether it was a threat to his crew. Surely there couldn't be another crisis today? How much bad luck could he have in just a few hours?
"What are you talking about?" Q asked, once again addressing nothing but thin air.
Picard was about to repeat his question, when Q's expression suddenly became blank and unreadable.
Oh dear.
Q's gaze rapidly shot back down until their eyes were locked. He looked rather odd without his features lifted in his usual show of smug superiority. Picard had to stop the words that wanted to leave his mouth. He was getting more worried by the second, but he needed to remain calm. Just because Q was acting in a peculiar fashion, didn't mean the apparent problem involved the Enterprise in any way.
"Alas, my dear Jean-Luc," Q said, his pitch unnaturally high. "It seems the Continuum require my assistance with a..." He paused, licking his lips, as though tasting the syllables with his tongue.
He snapped his fingers in triumph as the correct word came to him. "Sibling."
Picard frowned. "What are you talking about, Q?"
A smirk made its way onto Q's face, though the light joy didn't reach his eyes. "And here I thought conversing with you would be the highlight of my day. Until the next time, Captain!"
Then, without another word, Q disappeared in a bright flash.
Picard shook his head in bemusement, contemplating whether or not he should celebrate this dramatic change of events.
He sighed. Perhaps another time would be best suited. After all, he still had a lot of clean up to take care of.
-o-
"Princess-"
Sharp laughter cut Twilight off, and she sent the perpetrator a disapproving glare. Discord paid it no mind, choosing instead to continue on with his gleeful guffaws. By now, he was practically doubled over, clutching at his sides as mirth filled him.
Twilight grunted. "Prin-"
The sound of laughter increased, gaining a volume that seemed unnatural in how obnoxious it was. Was he deliberately trying to make her complaints unheard? Probably. Twilight fumed.
"Will you stop it!" she yelled, flaring her nostrils as her wings splayed out.
Growling when he ignored her, she gritted her teeth and prepared to tackle him. Her legs were bent, her eyes narrowed and focused in on her target, and she was about to take the leap when something stopped her.
Suddenly, Discord froze in place. His limbs stopped moving, almost as if they'd been hit with a paralysing spell, and his eyes widened in an abnormal display of surprise. Then, not a second later, his entire body convulsed. Twilight stared at him with a parted mouth, wondering what in Equestria had gotten into him.
The uncontrollable shaking was over in moments, leaving Discord sitting on the floor; his features were twisted in what she could only describe as complete bafflement.
"Is everything okay, Discord?" Celestia asked, speaking up when no one else seemed willing to.
He shivered, shaking his head. Whether it was in response to Celestia's question, or just an action to clear his head, Twilight didn't know. Watching patiently for him to explain what had just happened, Twilight felt a strange swell of concern rise within her when his gaze snapped to the window.
Discord frowned. "What in the world was that?"
-o-