Soon, Discord and Twilight were walking through Ponyville, side by side. Discord was smiling his usual grin, though it had a bit of manic touch. It took Twilight a while to notice, but every couple of minutes, he'd let out a small giggle or something. When she asked him about it, the being just looked at her with confusion. He denied any giggling, pinching her cheek, but it was immediately followed by another giggle.
Twilight decided to just ignore him since Discord was just generally weird. Besides, she had more pressing matters to focus on. Discord’s words worried her. Thousands? Could Discord really have such information? If so, how had he come to acquire that info? Also, why did he not trust the princesses with that information? Her mind raced, trying to piece together what Discord was up to.
“Twilight?!” A voice called out, though Twilight was too immersed in her own thoughts to truly hear it. She did, however, feel the impact of the pink pony tackling her to the ground. They rolled a couple feet before Twilight found herself pinned beneath her friend. The pink mare grinned and hugged Twilight tightly.
Twilight let herself be hugged, since Pinkie was not going to let go until she was good and ready. Sighing, she looked over Pinkie’s shoulder and saw Discord. He was peeking from behind a pink flowering tree that hadn’t been there before now. He wore ribbons on his horns and was wear a sailor outfit with a pleated skirt. While this sight of Discord, the god of chaos, in a skirt was baffling to Twilight, what confused her more was the text box beneath him.
It was at that moment, when Discord-chan saw the two together, that she realized that Twilight-senpai would never notice her. Her spring love died soon after being born, it read.
Frowning with confusion, she felt the need to reply to such a thing. “...It’s summer!”
“Hm?” Curious, Pinkie looked up and smiled up at the draconequus as he grinned down at the two mares. “Oh, hi Discord! Still making that third wall crumble?” She asked, letting Twilight go.
Discord shrugged, leaning on that same tree that had sprouted in the middle of town. “Meh, I like to keep folks entertained.” He replied, before pointing toward Twilight as she dusted herself off. “That and keep Twily over there fuming.” He laughed.
“I’m not mad.” She replied, fluffing her wings out. “Just confused.”
“So you say.” He countered, doubtful and smirking at her.
Twilight glowered at Discord but otherwise showed no other response to the being. Pinkie, however, was not put off by his words. In fact, she seemed greatly amused by it all.
“Cool!” She beamed, sitting on her haunches. “Oh, that reminds me. Are you excited?” She asked, grinning knowingly. Discord shared her look.
“I always am.” He replied, sitting in a leather arm chair and intertwining his paws as he stared down at the mare. “But I have a feeling that you have something special for me?”
“Oh yeah, I do!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping to her hooves and grinning as she trotted over to Discord. “I’ve been practicing.”
Discord poofed up a pair of sunglasses and placed them on his face, somehow managing to cover both of his eyes despite them being different sizes. Pushing them up with a single claw, the god smirked down at Pinkie.
“You are strong, young mare, but I am beyond strength.” He gloated, grinning maniacally. “I am the master of masters, the king of kings! What new tricks could you possibly show me?”
Twilight watched in stunned confusion as something seemed to buzz between the two. It was like watching the beginning of some kind of epic battle about to take place. Enraptured, Twilight just watched as the two now circled each other.
“Oh, I see.” Pinkie then stood on her hind legs and styled her mane in such a way that it ended looking like she had a fluffy pink beard. All just so that she could stroke it like some kind of villain. “So! You wish to engage in combat then? Well, I’ll have you know, I’ve been practicing since our last encounter.”
Twilight’s ear twitched as she could have sworn she heard a whip crack somewhere in the distance but chose to ignore it so she could continue to watch Pinkie and Discord compete to be the most dramatic.
“And you think you can defeat me?” He challenged, his mismatched eyes narrowing. “Seriously?”
“Balloon popping serious.” She retorted, her eyes narrowing as well. Discord cocked a hip, pushed up the brim of his cowpony hat and adjusted his belt.
“Then I reckon I can handle anything a novice like you could cook up. Ready?” He asked. Pinkie nodded and then, like she did with everything, she put all of her enthusiasm into her next words.
“Meme war!!”
What proceeded to happen was something Twilight could not even begin to fathom. Literal words were flung at each other as they seemed to do battle. And though she could only guess at the meaning of half the things they flung about, she couldn’t help but smile at the ridiculousness of the situation. It reminded her of the goof-off, confusing but so much fun to watch.
After about five minutes of this, however, both sides stood facing one another. Pinkie struggled to stay standing, wearing a black square around her neck. On the bottom, it read : Pinkie Pie, she rejects your logic. Twilight could not agree more with such a statement. Discord was kneeling, holding a circular shield with a creepy grinning (it more like a shit eating grin) face on it. For some reason, looking at it pissed her off. Despite her feelings on the matter, one thing was evident.
The ‘meme’ war had ended in a tie.
“Ah… You have gotten better, I see.” Discord panted, giving Pinkie a grin. “I’m impressed.”
“You too, old timer.” She countered, grinning back.
“Perhaps, one day, you may succeed me.” He said, relaxing a bit. This made Pinkie pout with frustration.
“But that would kill all the fun!” She whined, stomping a hoof. Discord smiled sadly, for just a moment before his regular smug look returned.
“True.” He agreed, patting Pinkie on the head. He twisted his claw in circles in her mane as he continued. “Being a god is unendingly boring.” He then lifted her by her mane until they were muzzle to muzzle. “It’s why I do so enjoy our little LARPing sessions. Same time next week?
Pinkie showed no sign of discomfort and instead clapped her hooves together with excitement. “Of course!” She chirped, twisting herself until she was released from Discords claws. Landing deftly, she grinned up at the draconequus. “But next time, Space wars!”
Discord tapped his chin, looking greatly amused. “Ah! A retro mare.” He said, nodding sagely. “I can appreciate that.”
Twilight stared at the two, both of whom seemed to have come to some kind of agreement. Frowning, she raised a hoof to get their attention. “Um… What are you two talking about?”
Discord and Pinkie stared at Twilight for a moment, shared a look and sighed before just shaking their head at her like she had missed some obvious fact.
“Nerd culture. Different tier.” They both said, in way of explanation. Twilight was still confused but had not time to ask any more follow up questions, since Discord chose that moment to leave. No goodbye, no explanation, just a wave and poof! Gone.
Twilight was still coughing up a lung when Pinkie walked over to her and hugged her for a second time. She was a lot more gentle this time so Twilight gave her a smile.
“Hi, Pinkie.” She greeted, still coughing a little. What was in that smoke and why was she coughing up sparkles? For some reason, Twilight thought this might be some kind of joke toward her.
“Hiya, Twi!” Pinkie replied, letting her go. She patted the lavender mare on the back. “Are you okay?”
Twilight waved away her concern and smiled. “I’m fine.” She stated. “But, why did you come galloping down the street like that before? You didn’t even try and slow down.”
“Well of course I didn’t, silly billy.” She agreed, unrepentantly. “How else can I give you the mother of all hugs if I don’t gallop?”
“...By just walking up to me and hugging me?” She suggested, frowning.
“True but this way was way more fun!” Pinkie giggled, hopping in place. “Didja see how far we rolled? We were all like, ‘weeeee’!”
“Yes, pinkie, I know.” Twilight deadpanned. “I was there.”
“Were you though?” She questioned, surprising Twilight. “You had your ‘head in the clouds look’ going on.”
“I have a look?”
“Yeah.” She replied, circling her. “It’s not quite like your ‘reading a book’ look or your ‘later, pinkie, I’m doing something right now’ look but true friend can tell the difference.”
Twilight, to be honest, was kind of surprised to learn that she had ‘looks’ that telegraphed her thoughts so well. It figured Pinkie would be the one to notice. Smiling fondly, Twilight pulled her friend into a quick hug.
“I’m sorry.” She said. “I was… I was too preoccupied with my thoughts.”
“You mean the thing with Discord?” She asked, curiously. Twilight turned to her, again, shocked. “I thought so.”
“Huh? He… Did Discord tell you about his plan?” Twilight asked, hoping Pinkie had more information.
“Yeah! He came by the shop to ask for my help. Bought a cake too.” She added. “It was kind of weird, but fun to bake. It had sprinkles and frosting and pencil shavings and-”
“Pinkie, focus!” Twilight interrupted. “Did he tell you about where we would be going?”
The mare shook her head. “Nope, just asked for my help.” She repeated. “But he did say that we’re going to go and help some ponies that need our help. Discord said I might even get to have a party with them.” She squealed. The mare did love her parties.
“I see.”
“Now let’s get going!” She insisted, tugging on Twilight’s hoof. “The others are waiting for us.” Twilight let herself be dragged along for a moment before walking on her own. After a minute of silence, Twilight spoke.
“Pinkie?” She said, turning to the pink mare. “Why aren’t you more concerned about this?”
“About what?”
“About Discord. His plan, everything?”
Pinkie tapped her chin with a hoof before turning back to Twilight. “Why should I be?” She asked. “He said we’d be helping ponies and having fun.”
“But he refuses to tell us any of the details!” Twilight countered, her frustration returning. “Not who we’d be helping or even where we’re going.”
Pinkie just patted Twilight on the head as she continued walking. “Silly willy, details are just going to drag us down.” She giggled, amused. “Not everything we do is planned down to the letter.“
“Not from a lack of trying.”Twilight muttered, grimacing. She hated when her carefully laid plans were destroyed by a plethora of obstacles.
Not hearing her, Pinkie continued on without much breath. “And even when we do plan things out, rarely do they actually work out.”
“Again, not through lack of trying.”
Pinkie pulled Twilight in close for a hug. “So relax!” She insisted with a smile. “If anything happens, I trust you to be there to make everything all ordery and stuff!”
Twilight chuckled at that. “Thanks, Pinkie. That helps.”
The pink mare released her friend, pumping a hoof into the air with triumph. “That's what I'm here to do!” She clapped her hooves together. “Next up, Discord!”
“Disord?” Twilight echoed. “What do you mean?”
Pinkie stopped mid-hop and ran off, looking under every bush and behind every pony walking nearby before running back to Twilight. Even then, she looked around as if expecting somepony to appear out of nowhere. She leaned in close to loudly whisper in Twilight’s ear. “Don’t tell him but I have a super fun party planned for him. It’s just what he needs to cheer up.”
This made her ear prick up with surprise. Cheer him up? “What are you talking about? He’s been bouncing with excitement all day. Giggling to himself randomly.” She muttered the last part, still creeped out by that.
“You didn’t notice how tired he looked?” She questioned, acting like this was obvious. She pressed her face up with her hooves and blew a raspberry for effect as she continued. “He was like a deflated balloon. Fun but only half as so.”
Twilight tried to think back, curious to see if Pinkie was right. Discord did seem a bit down before but that could be explained with the fact that he was trying to convince her to come with him. He knew how she felt about him, so his somewhat sour attitude was expected. But otherwise, he acted no differently than usual. ‘Playfully’ mocking and random.
Apparently, Twilight had a ‘I don’t get it’ look as well, since Pinkie just sigh, patting her on the back. “It’s ok, Twilight.” She assured. “It’s a Pinkie thing.”
“I guess.” She sighed, accepting that, once again, Pinkie was just going to be… Well, Pinkie. “By the way, where are we going?” She asked, realizing that she was just blindly following the mare. Not the wisest of choices.
“To Applejack’s house.” She answered, hopping away. Twilight ran to catch up with her as she continued. “Everypony else is there, setting up for our trip.”
“You seem to be quite excited about this, Pinkie.” Twilight observed, finally catching up with the mare.
“Of course I am. I can’t wait!” She cheered, grinning from ear to ear. “Adventures, parties and new friends! This is going to be amazing!”
Twilight wished she could share her friend's enthusiasm. She really wished she could think things were going to be fine but something told her that there was more to this than anyone of them assumed. And not only because of the lack of information. She wasn’t too surprised about that. After all, Discord wasn’t known to be the most honest creature. He routinely lied by omission. All she could was try and figure out what Discord’s angle in all this was before anyone got hurt.
*****
After a brief detour to the cakes, apparently to pick up Discord’s pencil shaving cake, the duo arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, the sprawling apple farm run by the Apple family. As hardworking and faithful workers, Twilight expected to see at least one Apple’s up and working. Yet, the farm was near empty. Despite being usually filled with the sounds of trees being bucked and apples being loaded, the farm was quiet and void of anypony. Strange.
“Where is everypony?” Twilight asked, watching Pinkie look around. “Shouldn’t the Apple’s be up by now?”
“Yeah, AJ is awake but everyone else is sleeping in.” Pinkie reported. “Something about working really hard this week because of the storm from before. So they’re all super duper tired and decided to sleep in for a day, just to catch up.”
Oh, that’s right, there was a storm the other day. A scheduled one but fierce none the less. She and Spike had holed up in the library that evening, mostly because Spike didn’t like thunder all that much.
“Oh, was there a flood?” Twilight asked, concerned.
“Don’t know.” She replied, in her usual manner. “I just know they’re asleep now.”
Twilight thought about this, thinking it to be a bit strange before just shrugging it off. It did make sense. As important as their job was, working themselves to death wouldn’t help anyone involved. Twilight knew that better than anyone. Moreover, if there was a flood, Applejack would have told them about it. The fact that the Apples felt they could sleep in said a lot about the manner. Besides, it’s not like the farm would be destroyed in one morning due to their absence. Especially since the Vampire Fruit bat problem had been dealt with sometime ago.
Twilight continued with her inner thoughts as she walked beside Pinkie. This time, her thoughts refocused on her doubts about Discord. Shocker. She was beginning to wonder what Discord had told the others, if they were given any more information that she had received. On their way here, Twilight tried to see what Pinkie knew about this whole deal. Apparently, Discord told her that it was a secret and that the surprise would be even more amazing if no one knew the details. Pinkie squealed with excitement, probably imagining a surprise party or something of that nature. She and Discord did seem to share some traits. Still, Twilight still couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was happening that Discord wasn’t saying. But what could it be?
As Twilight walked, her mind preoccupied with doubts and such, she failed to her surroundings. Such as the fact that Pinkie had run off somewhere and the warning directed toward her. So when she was hit on the head by half a dozen apples, Twilight was as shocked as those around her.
"Ouch!” She cried, rubbing her head with her hoof. As she did so, she felt something drip down her muzzle. Apparently, one of the apples had been impaled on her horn. grimacing, Twilight used her magic to remove as she heard the beginning of uproarious laughter.
“Rainbow Dash!” She shouted, looking up to see not only her cyan pegasus friends but her yellow one. Fluttershy hovered beside Rainbow, who was kicking her hind feet as she laughed at Twilight.
“Wow, that was amazing!” She snickered, drifting down to help Twilight wipe the juice off her face. Rainbow looked up at Fluttershy with a grin. “Nice aim there, Fluttershy!”
“Oh! W-was that my fault?” She asked timidly, drifting down to land beside Twilight. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you like that.”
“No, I doubt you did.” Twilight assured, taking the towel from Rainbow, who was still snickering to herself.
“But I-” She was then interrupted Pinkie, skipping toward them.
“Hi, girls! I brought Twilight and… “ She stopped, looking over the scene. “Twilight, why are you wearing an apple on your horn?” This set Rainbow into another fit of laughter as Fluttershy sighed.
“I’m sorry.” She repeated, her ears drooping. Pinkie, apparently bored, had wandered off. After a minute of reassurance that she was going to be alright and that she wasn’t mad, Twilight looked over at Rainbow, who had finally taken a minute to catch her breath. Twilight shrugged, not taking offense to Rainbows amusement. She was used to it.
“You done?” Twilight asked, staring her down. They shared a look and Rainbow smiled.
“Right, right!” She conceded, flying up to stare down at Twilight. “By the way, what took you so long? We sent Pinkie to get you over an hour ago!” She stated, scowling.
“Yeah, but she and Discord started playing around and…” Twilight stopped, watching Rainbow scowl deepen. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?! Are you kidding me?” She exclaimed, spreading her fore hooves out. “We’re going on an adventure, for Discord! You can’t say you trust him, Twi.” Twilight said nothing, just staring at the ground. She felt the same way.
Fluttershy, who had been busy picking up the non impaled apples, turned to Rainbow with a disapproving frown. “Rainbow…” She whispered, though she had managed to making that whisper sound scolding.
The pegasus shook her head. “Nuh uh, I’m not going to let you convince me he’s anything but a liar.” She retorted, crossing her forelegs. “He may be your friend but I still don’t trust him.”
“Rainbow!... “ She shouted, though it still sounded too soft be be classified as such. Still, the mare flinched at the echo and took a step back, feeling guilty. “Oops, um… I…” She stammered for a minute, just before taking hold of some kind of confidence within herself. Staring up at Rainbow, she continued. “I just don’t think you should so rude. I mean, no matter how you feel towards him, he is trying to help some ponies and…” Rainbow held out a hoof to stop her.
“Tsk, fine. I’ll be polite.” She promised, looking none too pleased. “I still don't like it but a cool pony doesn’t talk about others behind their backs.”
Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow, sadly, as if a bit disappointed with her friend. Staring at the ground, she whispered. “I just don’t think Discord would lie about something like this.”
“Sure, but you are the only one who believes that.” Rainbow replied. “I still think this is a trick but on the off chance this is legit, I’m tagging along.” Without another word, Rainbow flew off into the orchard, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy alone.
The two of them sat in relative silence after that. Twilight turned to Fluttershy, who was sadly picking up the apple that had hit Twilight before. She briefly debated over whether to bring up the previous conversation, but chose not to. To be honest, she agreed with Rainbow’s suspicions. There really wasn’t any reason to assume Discord was being entirely honest, but she knew Fluttershy would disagree. She wasn’t gullible but she was the mare most willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“What are you girls doing?” Twilight asked, curious. “I thought you were preparing for this trip of ours.”
Fluttershy, apparently relieved at the change in topic, replied with a wane smile. “We are. Applejack said that we would require food for the trip, so she asked us to pick some apples while she organized everything.” She explained, pointing toward the barn.
“I see.” Twilight muttered as Fluttershy turned to leave. Twilight nodded and turned to leave before calling Fluttershy back. “Fluttershy!?” The mare turned back to Twilight. She looked away. She really was going to just let the matter go but… she couldn’t. “What… what do you really think about all this?”
“What do you mean?” She asked, frowning. “About Discord?”
“Well that too but…” Twilight stopped, not sure how to proceed. “It’s just, despite the fact that Discord hasn’t told us anything, you don’t seem that bothered by it. I know you trust him and all but…”
At first, the mare said nothing, just continuing to stare at her sadly. Then she sighed. “I trust Discord.” She stated with no shame. “I know you girls don’t but I do. So I’m not worried about that.”
“But you are worried.” Twilight guessed. Fluttershy nodded. “But if you’re not worried about Discord, what are you worried about?”
“The ponies that need us!” She stated, as if this was obvious. “There are ponies that need us and… I don’t know if we can.” She admitted, curling up into a ball. “We can bring food but that won’t save anypony unless we can find a place for them.”
Fluttershy continued to pour her heart out as Twilight looked on, distressed. Had she been so blinded by doubt that she had forgotten that there were possibly ponies out there, dying? Not once since she heard the news did she even think about the notion that there might actually be those in need. Pinkie had, planning out fun things she would do to cheer up both Discord and those ponies in distress.
Staring at the ground, Twilight listened until Fluttershy stopped, apparently done. After a moment, she spoke. “I should go.” She heard the lightest of flaps as she figured the pegasus floated upward. “Rainbow still needs the basket in order to carry all those apples.” Twilight said nothing in return. Taking that as a dismissal, Fluttershy flew away.
All alone with her thoughts, Twilight tried to think about what Fluttershy had said. She had just assumed Discord was telling the truth, something Twilight couldn’t do. Then again, Fluttershy understood Discord much better than the rest of them. How, she wasn’t sure. Understand Discord? That was impossible. The guy was way too random to get a clear picture of. Just then, she heard a loud clanking sound. She turned around to see Pinkie hopping about, chasing a butterfly with a bucket in her mouth. When she realized Twilight was staring, she stopped, waved happily and went right back to her activity. Twilight smiled even as she shook her head in confusion.
Then again, she thought, walking toward the barn. I used to think the same of Pinkie Pie way back when we first met. She supposed that a Draconequus, who is also the embodiment of chaos, couldn't be so random that comprehension is impossible.
As soon as she could do that, she knew that maybe, just maybe, she could look past her doubts and think beyond them.
*****
Twilight was just getting close to the barn when she heard a loud thud followed by a shout. Worried, she rushed toward the entrance, galloping as fast as she could. Bursting through the barn doors, Twilight opened her mouth to call out to her friends but stopped as she saw what was happening within.
Rarity and Applejack arguing. How shocking.
The two mares stood in the far back of the barn, glaring at one another. Strangely, Applejack looks slightly shinier than usual, like she was glowing. As Twilight crept in further, she saw that, rather than being her usual orange, Applejack was gold. Before she could ask why, their words started to register.
“Again with this?!” AJ complained, looking annoyed but not really all that mad. “Couldn’t ya have saved this stuff for some other occasion?!” She asked, trying to wipe her coat. From the looks of it, the earth pony was covered in gold powder or something. Where the powder had come from, Twilight had no clue. Though she did feel a bit bad for AJ. That must be uncomfortable. Even as she tried to wipe the powder off, the stuff refused to come off. Rarity flipped her violet mane out of her face as she stood her ground.
“I do apologize, Applejack,” she said, her high society voice making her apology sound both insincere and genuine in equal parts. “But I must say, you do look quite exquisite like that. It’s definitely a look you should try sometime.” She suggested, giggling as Applejack glared at her. Worried that this might escalate, Twilight decided to make her presence known.
“Hey, girls.” She called out, coming closer. There was a moment of shock just before the duo smiled in greeting. “Everything okay? I heard a loud noise before and I was worried somepony got hurt.” She explained before looking over at Applejack. She really shouldn’t mention it. She knew what reaction she would get but Twilight couldn’t resist. “So... you look shiny.”
Applejack sulked a bit at the joke before rolling her eyes. Rarity giggled, earning a glare from AJ. “Well, you do.” She pointed out, stepping forward. “Anyway, both instances are my fault, really.” Rarity admitted, always one to take the high road in matters like this. “We were just setting up for our trip and-“ Applejack took that moment to try and shake the golden dust from her fur like a dog. Some of the dust misted around them, hitting Rarity and coloring her slightly golden. “Applejack!” Rarity wailed, seething. Applejack hollered with laughter as Rarity strutted away, off to clean the powder out of her mane and coat.
“Sorry about that, Twilight.” Applejack said, grinning. “Rarity wanted to bring some of this here gold powdery stuff with us for some reason and some fell on me. Ah didn’t mean to worry ya like that.”
Yeah, that sounded like something Rarity would do. Nodding, she watched as Applejack went back to work, still covered head to hoof in gold powder. As she watched, her mind wandered back to Fluttershy and her words. She wondered about how Applejack felt about all this. Was she worried about Discord or was she worried about the ponies? Twilight stood there, unsure of what to say before the earth pony spoke.
“Ya have something to say, right?” Twilight looked up, staring up at her friend.
“How did you-”
“Ya have that look on yer face.” She stated. “Yer ‘ay wanna ask something but don’t know the words’ look.” Twilight stood there, shocked. Just how many ‘looks’ did she have?! Seeing her expression, Applejack came closer and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Ah know ya, sugarcube, ya have something ya wanted to talk about, right?”
Twilight stared at the ground, conflicted but knowing Applejack would understand, she let it go. “I…. I don’t trust Discord. And none of us should at this point.” She stated, confident in her words. “He’s lied to us before! Like with the plunder seeds and when he was apparently sick. They were lies of omission but still lies. I don’t understand what his game is though. He usually has some underlying plan, but I can’t figure out what it is.” She ranted, pacing the floor. “But…”
“But?” She pushed, her expression not changing.
“But, am I wrong for feeling that way?” She asked, staring up at the ceiling. “I… I was so focused on trying to figure out what Discord was lying about that I didn’t even entertain the thought that he might have been telling the truth about these ponies.” She confessed, laying her head on a hay bale.
Applejack continued to watch her friend, sighing softly. “Ah know how ya feel. I felt the same way back when he pretended to be sick. Ah kept thinking ‘he must be lying. Why else would he be here?’” She said, shaking her head. “That just might be a habit we have toward him, being the snake he is.”
“Do you feel the same now?” Twilight asked, staring up at her. The mare looked around, as if embarrassed before speaking.
“A bit, so ah understand how ya feel but…” She let out a long suffering sigh. “I’m honestly more concerned about where we’re going rather than who's taking us. I mean, we don’t know these ponies or why they are out in the middle of nowhere.” She exclaimed, pointing out the barn doors. “Now ah not saying ah don't want to help them, cause ah do. What ah saying is, we don't know what we are getting ourselves into. Ah admit though, ah do think there is somethin' Discord is hiding from us, and ah sure it has somethin' to do with them starving ponies but ah don’t think he’s lying this time.”
“She’s right, darling.” Rarity said, walking over. Her mane and coat were as pristine as ever. How she cleaned herself of powder so fast, was a mystery. But now, here she was, giving her two bits. “These are ponies lives we’re talking about. Surely Discord wouldn’t stoop so low as to trick us with such an outrageous and morbid lie.”
“I suppose.” Twilight conceded, standing up. “I’m guessing that you feel the same as AJ?” She asked, turning to Rarity.
“Um… Not exactly.” She replied, using her magic to fix Twilight’s mane, which was covered with hay. “To be honest, I don’t know how to feel about Discord. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“Why?”
“Because there are more important things to worry about than him, darling.” She claimed, smiling at her work. “As I said, I don’t think he’d lie about this so I’m thinking about the ponies in need.” She said, frowning. “I do wonder if they will even let us help.”
“Why wouldn’t they want help?” Applejack asked, just as confused as Twilight.
“Why would they accept help from us?” She countered, beginning to pace. “I mean, if they are starving, they must know that remaining in one place is dangerous. So why remain away from Equestria? Did they try and get rejected? Or are they so used to rejection that they just figured we would do the same?” The unicorn continued to pace as her friends watched her.
“You’ve thought a lot about this, haven’t you?” Twilight said, walking over. She placed a hoof on Rarity’s back. “Look, I don’t think it was anything like that. Maybe they just can’t move right now or something.”
Rarity turned her gaze to Twilight and let out a breath, looking as if she were trying to compose herself. “Perhaps, but we won’t know that until we look into this.” She proclaimed, looking calm. Looking out the open doorway, she continued. “I do hope they don’t just turn us away.”
Twilight hated seeing her friend so melancholy. “Rarity, I-” She began, but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Discord.
"So, is everything ready?" Discord called out, standing at the door. He was leaning against the frame and eating an apple. Behind him were Rainbow and Fluttershy carrying in another cart full of apples. Rainbow looked annoyed, so Twilight figured they had a conversation. That and the fact that Rainbow was soaking wet for some reason. She raced inside to grab one of the clean towels lying around.
“What happened to you?” Applejack asked Rainbow, staring up at her. “All ah asked ya to do was buck some apples.”
“I was!” She exclaimed, defensively. “It’s just… I got a bit hungry and decided to have one as a snack. Then it exploded.” Everyone was still confused as to how she got wet.
Pinkie, ever the knowledgeable one when it came to weird stuff, gave an explanation only she could. “Oh, I know what happened!” She cried out, popping out from one of the hay stacks. “Dashie was bucking the trees and all and then tried catching them in her mouth, but Discord turned them into water balloons.” She laughed, smiling as she exited the stack without any of it sticking to her. “So they exploded and made her all wet.”
“Yes, Pinkie, I know.” Rainbow seethed. “I was there.” Twilight then drowned them out as she and Discord stared at each other. His eyes gazed into her, knowingly, as if he knew something she didn’t, which was definitely possible. But there was one thing she did want to know.
”How long have you been standing there?” She asked, walking up to him. She kind of hoped he hadn't heard her talk about him behind his back. While she still didn’t trust him, she felt guilty about talking about him behind his back.
As if reading her thoughts, Discord smiled. "How long? How long do you think, Ms. Princess of Friendship?" He countered, walking past her. “Oh, this is for you.” He said, tossing her a present. The box was purple and green and moving. Catching it in her magic, Twilight rushed to open the box to find Spike within. As soon as the box lid was lifted, the small dragon leapt out and clung to Twilight’s face. He then crawled over her head and hid in her mane, shivering.
“S-Spike!? Are you okay?” She asked, concerned. When he didn’t reply, she glared at Discord. “What is this? Why did you trap Spike in a box.”
“That, is your assistant, I remember correctly.” He answered, not sounding the least bit ashamed. “I figured you’d want him with you, since you might be gone for a bit.” He turned to the others. “I was going to get your pets, so you wouldn’t be lonely, but that was not possible.”
“Not possible?” Rarity echoed, confused.
“Yes, well… Me and Angel have a tenuous truce going on between us, so I won’t touch that.” He explained, vaguely waving his arm about as if the air was supposed to finish his explanation. “Your cat is a bi- bit of a handful. The dog is too loud and Gummy? He’s too philosophical for my taste. If I have to listen to him describe what may or may not be the meaning of life again, I will go crazy!”
Everyone just stared at him, not completely understanding him. Then again, that was pretty much the usual reaction he received. Twilight, not about to let the matter slip, continued.
“And why was Spike in a box?”
“Oh, that!” He said, nodding. “I may have spooked the little guy a bit before, appearing from the folds of his blanket. He fainted so I tucked him in and even put a little roof so the sun wouldn’t wake him.” Twilight didn’t buy that and she knew Discord was aware of that, but he continued anyway.
“We expected you quite a while ago.” Rarity pointed out, watching as he passed them by.
"I apologize that I took so long, but I had something I needed to do before we left.” He stated, lounging on one of the support beams. “If you were so impatient for me to arrive, all you had to do was call. Or, was it that there was something you didn't want me to hear?" He finished, looking down at Twilight, who met his glare with one of her own. So he had heard her. Figures.
Discord smirked down at her. Before another word could be said, Applejack called out to him.
“Hey! Now that you’re here, what’s next?” She asked, sitting on her haunches. The draconequus snapped his fingers, melting himself down and appearing in front of all of them.
“Good question! And one I shall be pleased to answer.” He said, smiling down at them all. “But first, I need something from you.”
“And what’s that?” Rainbow questioned, still a bit wet.
“An answer. And it is one you must answer now." He said, looking about the room. "Do you trust me?"
"Huh?" the group said in almost unison. Twilight wondered why he asked this. He knew she didn’t and she doubted he was ignorant of the others. The only one who didn’t distrust him was Fluttershy and probably Pinkie. So why…?
"I'm asking you all, do you trust me?" He repeated. "Because after this, there is no turning back." He circled the group, his tail extending in length and wrapping around the mares. Soon he had them in his grip, staring down at them with a half serious, half sarcastic grin. "This will be your last chance to get out of this. I need you all to trust me or else this will never work." He dropped them, turning his back on the group. "So... Do you trust me?"
The girls stood up, brushing hay and dirt off them. Not surprisingly, Pinkie pie spoke up first.
"Sure, I do!" She cried, as bubbly ever. "I trust you, Discord, my fellow LARPer!" It took a minute for the rest of them to figure out what she was talking about and even then, only Twilight kind of understood it. Discord chuckled.
"You know I trust you." Fluttershy said softly but confidently. She smiled at his back and Discord made a sound that made it obvious he was happy about that.
"I'm not planning on letting our past get in the way of the present so I'll trust you." Applejack said, stepping forward. Discord shrugged but nodded.
"I, as well." Rarity answered, elegantly stepping forward. Rainbow crossed her hooves over her chest as she hovered over the rest of them.
"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt but-," she started to say but was interrupted by Discord.
"But nothing. Trust me or leave." He countered, staring her down. The two stared each other down for some time before Rainbow let out a huff.
"Fine! I trust you!" She spit out, obviously reluctant. “Happy now?”
"Quite so." Discord chuckled. He then turned to Twilight, who had yet to say anything. "Well, Princess?" Discord pushed, looking over his shoulder at her. "How about you?"
Twilight frowned at him."You already know my answer." She stated. He already knew how she felt. Anything else would be a lie. And he knew that. Discord turned around with a smirk.
"Yes, but I want to hear it from you." He replied.
Twilight shook her head and stared up at Discord.. "... I trust you." She lied.