//------------------------------// // Building Some Character-Twilight Sparkle // Story: A Sparkling Sunset // by Ferhog //------------------------------// There were very few things that Twilight would consider more important than her friends. And all those things went beyond her personal feelings. For example, if she ever had to choose between her friends and the safety of the world for whatever hypothetical reason, she wouldn't be so selfish as to choose the former. But along with her family and her dedication to her duty as a Princess, she considered her friends to be the most important part of her life. However, that didn't mean she didn't feel like telekinetically strangling them from time to time. "Twilight, just admit it already." Rarity persisted. "You are head over heels for Flash, and this is just an excuse for you to spend more time with him." Actually, it would probably be more satisfying to drag them all into the human world so that she would have actual hands to strangle them with. "I am not head over heels for Flash." Twilight groaned in frustration. "I'm not head over heels for anyone! What does that saying even mean? 'Head over heels'? I guess I get the head part since heads are important for... well, everything. But heels? Whats that got to do with anything? Heck, we're Ponies! We don't even have heels!" "I have heels!" Spike pointed out, looking at his feet. "I think..." "It doesn't matter who has heels! I'm asking why there's a saying about them!" "Sound's like someone's trying to change the subject." Rarity sang playfully. Twilight groaned as they continued walking down the crystal hallway. Even after living in her castle for the months that she had been, it still amazed her how large it was. They had been walking for an approximate three minutes and they still hadn't reached Flash's office. It was particularly amazing since she was pretty sure that the exterior of the castle didn't look this size. Was it somehow bigger on the inside? And if so, how was that possible? Some kind of magic originating from the Tree of Harmony? She'd need to organize a study of it at some point in the future. "Inconsistent sizes are nothing new to me." Said Pinkie. "You should see Dr Whooves' telephone box. Now that's a jaw dropper." Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Pinkie with a look of shock. "Did you just read my mind?!" To be honest it wouldn't be that surprising considering all the other things she'd seen Pinkie do. Pinkie giggled. "Mind reading's got nothing to do with it Twilight. I'm pretty good at reading faces, and I can recognize your 'contemplating a scientific and magic anomaly and considering conducting a study of said anomaly' face. "Fair enough." Twilight responded, returning to her walking. "So does that mean you can read this face that says that I am NOT INTO FLASH?!" "Denial..." Rainbow Dash mumbled mischievously. Twilight let out another groan that was drowned out by the laughter of her friends. She felt almost relieved at the sight of a door at the end of the hallway with a plaque labeled 'Captain Flash Sentry' hanging from it. Hopefully they'd drop this stupid subject now that they had reached his office. Looking back on Celestia's visit, Twilight felt ashamed of what had happened. She had straight up fainted in front of her mentor and her girlfriend because she couldn't handle the stress of reuniting them. As a Princess of Equestria, she couldn't let something like that happen again. She had to strengthen herself, both physically and mentally. And for that she would need a trainer. And she could think of no better trainer than someone like Flash. She hesitated upon reaching the door, wondering if it was too much to ask. A Captain of the Royal Guard had be a daunting responsibility. Did she have the right to add more to the load he probably had to deal with? "Wondering what kind of place you want to ask him out to?" Said Rarity. "I personally think that Canterlot has plenty of romantic spots. Though you probably already knew that, given that you grew up there..." "AAAGH! I said I just need a trainer, and Flash is the most qualified pony for the job!" "Well if you really think you need a trainer, why couldn't you just ask me?" Rainbow Dash inquired. "I've had plenty of successful clients." "I can only list two, and last time I checked, Applebloom still has no Cutie Mark and Fluttershy still can't fly at anything over 3.0 wing power." Twilight then realized how harsh that sounded. "Um... no offense Fluttershy..." "It's all right, Twilight." Fluttershy replied. "I've never really cared about my physical capabilities. Unless someone else cares. Then I guess it's pretty important. Unless it isn't." "And should I also bring up the fact that I've been trained by the Captain of the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow Dash brought up. "Cause that was a thing that happened!" "Exactly." Said Twilight. "You were trained by a military captain. And you are currently one of the most promising athletes in Equestria. I need to get trained by someone of that level. Do you see the connection?" "I guess." Rainbow Dash agreed. "Still doesn't mean that you aren't just using this as an excuse to some spend time with Señor Sentry." She then mimicked the sound of a strumming guitar through humming. "I disagree." Said Pinkie. "To answer Twilight's question of whether or not I can read that face that says she isn't into Flash, I can confirm that she isn't. Besides, I'm personally in the Sunlight camp myself." "Sunlight?" Uttered Applejack in a confused tone. Pinkie raised an eyebrow at her. "Sounds like someone needs some more exposure to the shipping community." "I have a few distant cousins in the apple shipping business if that's what you mean." "Ha!" Spike laughed. "If that's what you think of when you hear the word 'shipping', you have some maturing to do." He then received a raised eyebrow from every mare around him. "What?" It occurred to Twilight how off topic things had gotten. "I think I'm just gonna knock now..." "Go ahead. I don't mind." All sound disappeared as everyone turned their heads to find Flash standing right behind them. He looked at all their surprised stares casually. "Something wrong?" "How long have you been standin' there?" Applejack asked. Flash shrugged. "A couple of seconds. Maybe a minute." "Well, why didn't you say anything?!" Asked Twilight. "Isn't it like... part of the gentleman's code not to interrupt a lady or something?" Flash answered. "What, you don't have any questions as to why a bunch of Ponies are hanging around outside your office?" "I'm used to finding groups of pretty mares queuing up outside my digs, so I don't exactly have any questions to ask." "Well, you can't argue with that." Said Rainbow Dash. "So then, completely disregarding what I just said about having no questions to ask, what do you need?" Twilight stepped forward. "Well you see... I was wondering if..." She hesitated again, wondering if she had the right to burden him. "Let me guess..." Said Flash. "You want me to personally train you to become physically stronger so that you don't end up passing out during stressful situations like you did during your recent meeting with Celestia. Is that right?" Twilight's mouth gaped slightly open in shock. "Has... has everyone just gained psychic powers recently? How did I miss out?" "It's less psychic powers and more deductive reasoning." Flash explained. "Your little 'incident' has become a popular topic of discussion with the Guards here, and it's probably gonna leak out of that social circle pretty soon. I figure it won't be long before the masses start calling you 'Princess Collapsia' or something." Sweet Celestia, it was worse than she thought. "And I figured that there isn't really any other reason for you to be here than that." He continued. "Hence my conclusion." "I wouldn't say that's the only reason she'd be here." Said Rarity playfully. Flash eyed her suspiciously. Afraid that Flash was about to get involved in her friend's misunderstanding, Twilight moved on with the subject. "So I think you understand why I feel that I need to make myself stronger." She explained. "If I can't deal with that kind of pressure, people will start losing their faith in the Princesses. I need to make sure it doesn't happen again. So... can you help me?" Flash's gaze turned to the ground as he thought about the request. After a quiet moment, his attention returned to Twilight, his head shaking apologetically. "Sorry Princess, as much as I'd love to help, this isn't really the best time. You remember the incident at the Griffon Kingdom?" Twilight's friend's all looked at her with concern. It was no secret that she wasn't too fond of her experience there. "Of course." She replied. "Well it turns out that as the guy in charge of the military operations during that event, a lot of the responsibility goes to me. And where there is responsibility there is... paperwork." A dead silence ensued. "That's rough, dude." Said Spike, who had many past experiences with the evils of paperwork. Flash's eye twitched, his mouth stretching into a weak smile that told stories of unspeakable pain. "You don't know... the half of it..." He walked forward, Twilight and her friends stepping out of his way. With a trembling hoof, Flash swung the door open, revealing a sight that would cause even the bravest of ponies to cover in fear. It was as if the whole of the Everfree Forest had been converted into paper, and that paper had been given to Flash. Whatever his office normally looked like, it was invisible under the countless sheets that bathed the floor. The only thing that really stood out from this paper pool was a wooden desk, but even that had piles of paperwork stacked on top of it. And some of the piles that weren't on the desk were so great that it would have been no surprise if it was revealed that Lord Tirek himself was concealing himself in them. "Property damage, injuries, repairs, insurance, finances, international affairs, FREAKIN' ELECTRICITY BILLS! SOMEHOW IT'S ALL GOING TO ME!" Flash cried in despair, "I'd say I didn't sign up for this shit, but ironically signing is LITERALLY THE ONLY THING I'M DOING!" "Jeez man..." Rainbow Dash said with sympathy. "I think I can actually feel a gravitational pull coming from all that. "And I thought that Applebuck season was a hefty workload..." Said Applejack. Flash's face displayed nothing but horror and despair. "Sometimes I come back and... and I swear there's more of it than there was last time. My theory is that paperwork has finally learned how to breed." Looking at this Tartarus level punishment that had been inflicted on the poor stallion, Twilight felt sorry that she had ever considered asking Flash to train her. "So like I said Princess..." Flash said, looking back at her. "Sorry that I can't help you." "Oh no, Flash you don't need to apologize for anything." Responded Twilight. "If anything I should be the one apologizing for trying to take time off you." He tried his best to genuinely smile. "It's all good. Not like you knew about this. But I am sorry that I can't help out right now. Now if you'll excuse me... I have work to do. So you in a few years..." With that, he carefully flew into his office, remaining airborne so that he wouldn't step on any of the papers. Twilight had one last look at him as he stared at his workload with terror before she closed the door. "Poor guy..." Fluttershy whispered. "No wonder he was nowhere to be seen in season 5..." Said Pinkie. "If he doesn't become an alicorn after finishing all that, I think I'll lose my faith in Ponykind." Rarity expressed. Twilight turned around to face them all. "Looks like I'm gonna have to find another trainer." "Well aside from me, there are probably a bunch of Royal Guards with... more free time..." Rainbow Dash said. "Then I guess that there's always Bulk Biceps..." Twilight felt the ground vibrate softly as a familiar voice suddenly boomed through the air. "Why look for mere mortal assistance... when you can receive training from an all powerful spirit!" In a bright flash of white light, Discord was then standing between Twilight and her friends. Atop his head sat a white cap that matched his T-shirt. Around his neck hung a whistle, while a pair of sunglasses lay over his eyes. "Coach Discord, at your service!" He declared. "No." Twilight instantly responded. "Why not?!" Discord protested. "I'm completely qualified! I'll have you know that my collection of Equestria Games medals includes thirteen silvers and eleven golds! And I earned them fair and square! Do you know how much I had to pay that antique store?! And they say I'm a villain!" "Look, it's not that I don't trust you, Discord..." Twilight explained. "It's more that I'd like this to be taken seriously, and you treat taking things seriously the same way most people treat doing the dishes." Discord's shoulders lowered glumly as his expression saddened. "I don't know, Twilight..." Rainbow Dash began. "Maybe looking for help from ordinary Ponies was the wrong idea. I mean, you are an alicorn. Someone like Discord would be much better, since they're actually on your level." "Exactly." He agreed, reverting back to a happier demeanour. "That actually sounds about right to me." Applejack joined in. "I reckon you should go for it." Twilight considered what they were saying, but remained hesitant. A more powerful individual was probably more suited to be her trainer than a normal Pony. But this was Discord they were talking about... "I think you'd do a great job as Twilight's trainer." Fluttershy told Discord supportively. "He certainly wouldn't be the worst..." Rarity considered. "Though he's certainly no Flash Sentry. Not a strong, brave, charming..." Her voice began to drift off dreamily. "...Handsome, kind, gifted... actually, Discord's great. A much better option than Flash. Twilight, you should definitely spend several hours probably alone, training and likely bonding with Discord. Not Flash. Because he's a better option. Discord." "Then... it's... settled..." Spike said slowly, eyeing Rarity with concern. "Discord's our man!" "Agreed." The others said in content unison. "Great! We'll get started right away!" Said Discord. "Don't I get a say in this?!" Twilight asked. "Twilight, this is the option that we think is best for you." Rainbow Dash insisted. "So of course you don't get any say in it." Discord walked forward, putting one arm around the Alicorn while extending the other as if to gesture towards a vision visible to no eyes other than his own. "Come, Twilight. Before us lies a path most men fear to tread. The path of pain. The path of hardship. The path of sorrow. The path... of exercise." On a blank side of the wall appeared a wooden looking door, the words 'Inevitable Exhaustion Migraines' written across it in clear black letters. The door opened slowly, revealing nothing but bright white light. "Bye." Said a waving Pinkie Pie. "Have fun." Said Fluttershy. "Break a leg!" Rainbow Dash called. "I'm sure it'll regenerate or something.... Alicorns can do that right?" Twilight stared into the light, which reminded her of the common interpretation of the afterlife. That could NOT have been a good sign. "Help me..." She whimpered to no one in particular as Discord pulled her into the white void. *** When Twilight thought about getting her body trained, she thought more about where she'd get it from and less about where she'd do it. If anything she just subconsciously assumed that it would be done in some part of the castle. After all, there had to be at least one training hall in the seemingly limitless rooms it had. But she never put much thought into it, mainly because she didn't think that the location mattered. Of course, she had never even considered the Crystal Mountains to be a possible location. Discord claimed that the reason he had chosen the mountains was because they were renowned for serving as the training grounds for the Shaolin Ponies. Having studied and read about the Shaolin Ponies a while back, Twilight understood this, but it didn't stop the area from being SO DAMN COLD! It certainly wasn't the coldest part of the crystal mountains, as the snow covering the rocky grey terrain was barely more than a white sheet, and there wasn't even any snow currently falling. But the wooden stool that Twilight was sitting on almost stung with how cold it was. And though her fur usually did a great job keeping her warm, it was essentially useless against the freezing mountain air. Thankfully, Discord had been nice enough to summon a black hoodie for her, the particular colour being a nice touch since black was good at absorbing infrared energy. But even with this act of kindness, Twilight couldn't help feeling frustrated with his choice in location. Though admittedly Discord's choices frustrating her was nothing new. Discord, still in his coach outfit, stood in front of a large whiteboard, pointing at a variety of diagrams with a ruling stick. "Now then..." He began, tapping the tip of his stick against a diagram of a bunch of fruits and vegetables. "One of the many secrets to a healthy body is a healthy diet. There is one thing I have to say about the foul trap that is obesity, and that is that it puts the kill in kilograms." "Um... are you saying that I'm fat?" Twilight asked in concern, looking down at her body self consciously. She did look a bit chubby, or was that just her hoodie? "Oh no, I'm not saying that you're overweight in any way... though to be fair you could loosen up on the pancakes... but a true Royal must have strength! Power! Ripped abs that cause even the mightiest foes to kneel in fear!" He dramatically threw away his ruling stick, which grew six legs upon hitting the ground before scampering away. "I think I'll just settle for being fit enough to take stress, thanks." Twilight responded, trying to ignore the thought of herself with Bulk Biceps' body. The whiteboard behind Discord disappeared in a bright flash, and in its place stood a glass containing a mysterious liquid on top of a small metal and glass table. "Remember Twilight, the substance of a healthy balanced diet is a healthy balance of substances!" Discord announced. "Try saying that multiple times fast. It's... actually not that hard, what am I talking about? But that's not the point! The point is that you need the appropriate amounts of each food category. Minerals! Protein! Carbohydrates! Sugar! Vitamins! Pizza Hut! The good stuff!" Walking over to the table he picked up the glass. The substance inside looked like an unappealing beige colour. He held the drink up proudly. "In order to simplify the process of healthy eating, I, the mighty and intelligent Discord, have created this special concoction I appropriately named the Discord Drink! It contains the perfect balance of all these elements and poses no danger to your body! Drinking this at least two times a day is guaranteed to set you on the course to fitness." He turned his head to face Twilight directly, pointing his finger upwards and sporting a professional facial expression. "DiscordDrinkistrademarkedbyDiscordAnyviolationofcopyrightwillresultinlegalactiontakingplaceDiscordDrinkisnotresponsibleforthechaoticdistortionofrealityBatteriesnotincludedIfyouhaveanyissueswithDiscordDrinkthenscrewyounoonecaresaboutyouropinionunlessyou'realawyertowhichI'mthenverysorrypleasedon'tsueme." Discord silently held the drink in front of Twilight for a few seconds, the only present sound being the lightly blowing wind. "Um... seems legit?" Twilight expressed with a bit of confusion. "It's more than legit!" Discord proudly claimed, holding his chest high. "It's Discord approved, bitches!" "Meaning I'm dead." "Pffft, it's not going to kill you." He assured her. "Or at least it shouldn't. I don't know, I haven't tested it. Consider yourself ninety nine and a half percent safe." "I guess I've heard worse odds..." Twilight said, taking the drink with her magic. She took a closer look at the liquid. It's colour looked even less appealing up close, resembling expired milk. It's thickness didn't help either. The sight of it reminded her of vomit, and given it's apparent contents that wouldn't have been a very surprising twist. Even if it wasn't toxic in any way, it was probably going to taste horrible. 'For Sunset...' She thought to herself as she quickly chugged it down in hopes of getting as much of it in her body before the taste hit her. Admittedly, Sunset didn't have much to do with the situation, but it was probably the thought that would have given her the most courage, so she went with it. Twilight prepared herself to retch, but no retching happened. It didn't actually taste that bad. Probably the best comparison would be to compare it to a liquefied bread. It wasn't exactly tasty, since it was so plain, but at least it was bearable. "This is... actually pretty OK, Discord..." Twilight complimented him. "Of course it is." Discord replied, crossing his arms smugly. "And there's plenty more where that came from. You'd be surprised how easy it is to collect Diamond Dog saliva." "Diamond Dog WHAT?!" "Figuring out how to get all those substances into one drink was a difficult process, but I eventually realized that the saliva of a Diamond Dog was perfect for the job since they consume all those ingredients on a regular basis." He explained. Coming to terms with what she just drank, Twilight tried to spit out whatever was left in her mouth. Maybe it would have actually been more appealing if it had actually turned out to be vomit. "Can we..." She spat out a bit more. "...just get on with the physical stuff?" Discord looked slightly offended by Twilight's reaction to his creation, but shrugged. "If you insist." With a snap of Discord's fingers the world around them very briefly disappeared in a flash of white. After it subsided, Twilight initially thought that they were in a new location, but was quick to see that they were still at the Crystal Mountains, just with a big change in what was around them. It was difficult to tell whether or not they were on the same exact mountain as the ground seemed to be a lot flatter, but this may have just been another result of Discord's magic. The table was gone, replaced with a large jogging track that surrounded a great collection of sports equipment such as javelins and shot puts. Above them, a series of large rings were floating in the sky. Discord was now dressed in a drill instructors outfit, complete with sunglasses over his eyes and a bunch of medals that Twilight doubted he actually knew the meaning behind attached to his buttoned up jacket. "PRIVATE SPARKLE!" He shouted at her intimidatingly. "DROP TO THE GROUND AND GIVE ME ONE HUNDRED PUSH UPS!" Twilight found his army voice to be unexpectedly scary. "Um... are we really jumping right into this? Shouldn't there be... like... warm ups or something?" "I SAID GIVE ME ONE HUNDRED, PRIVATE SPARKLE! DO YOU WANT YOUR WINGS CLIPPED OFF?!" "NO, SIR!" She cried back nervously, dropping to the ground and bushing her body up and down with her legs, counting how many times she did so. "AFTER THIS I WANT YOU TO GIVE ME ONE HUNDRED SIT UPS! THEN ONE HUNDRED SQUATS! THEN A TEN KILOMETER RUN! REPEAT THIS PROCESS EVERY DAY FOR THREE YEARS, AND NO BEING IN EQUESTRIA WILL MATCH YOU'RE STRENGTH!" "Are you serious?" Twilight asked nervously while progressing through the push ups. The prospect of doing that sounded grueling, but certainly plausible. "THAT DEPENDS! HOW MUCH DO YOU LIKE YOUR LIKE YOUR HAIR?!" "What?" Twilight asked in confusion. "HOW MUCH DO YOU LIKE YOUR HAIR, YOU SISSY LITTLE SACK OF SHIT?!" "I LIKE MY HAIR A LOT, SIR!" Twilight responded in fear. "Oh..." Discord replied, taking off his sunglasses. "That's not gonna work. Doing that training course inevitably results in baldness. Guess we'll have to try something else." After finishing with the hundred push ups, Twilight moved on to various other exercises. She managed to lap the jogging track four times at jogging speed before tiring out and moving on to using the equipment. She spent several hours going through the different sports, from the aforementioned javelin and shot put, to the discus and even hula hooping. Once she had spent consistent time on all of them, she tried the air exercises, flying through courses in the sky marked by the floating rings while Discord timed her speed. After spending another few hours on this activity, she had finally exhausted herself to the point where a break was needed. Twilight sat on a wooden bench, chugging down a bottle of water. Her hoodie was feeling a little thicker with all the sweat that it had absorbed, and her whole body was pulsing with aching pains. It actually felt kinda nice, since it came with the feeling that she had worked hard. Discord, now wearing his own grey hoodie, sat himself next to her, offering her a sandwich. "So what species of saliva can I expect to find in this?" Twilight asked, taking it with her magic. "Hey, I can make normal food." Discord protested. "I just don't like doing that." Twilight took a reluctant bite of the sandwich, and was pleasantly surprised to discover how normal it tasted. Butter, cheese, and tomatoes. A simple but delicious combo. It was completely possible that there was some kind of undetectable but disturbing substance hidden among all that tastiness, but she chose to just ignore the possibility of that in favour of simply enjoying getting to eat after all that work. "So Twilight, I happened to have overheard that little conversion regarding Flash earlier." He asked giddily. "What's up with that?" "What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked, looking at him in suspicion. "I mean that the girls seem quiet convinced that you like him." Discord continued. "Romantically speaking." Twilight looked at him like he was an idiot. "Discord, you of all people should know that I don't feel anything towards Flash. Well.. not anymore at least. I've moved past the whole High School crush phase." Discord summoned his own water bottle and took a drink from it. "So how does it feel letting them jump to conclusions like that instead of letting them in on you and Sunset's secret?" Twilight closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "I hate keeping something so important from them, but... I just don't think its the right time yet." Each one of her friends gave her a reason not to share her secret with them. Applejack couldn't lie. Fluttershy was susceptible to peer pressure. Rarity loved gossip. Rainbow Dash had issues with pride. And Pinkie was notorious for being unable to keep her mouth shut at important times. "Frankly, I'm amazed that all of Equestria doesn't already know the secret considering you found out." Twilight told him. "The chaos that it would cause sounds like the kind of thing you'd want." Discord initially looked a little hurt, but quickly gave her a friendly and sincere smile. It the kind of look she didn't get from him often. "I admit that I'd love to do it..." Discord explained to her. "The kind of chaos that would ensue would be nothing less than a party for me. But... I can't betray your trust like that. Not again." Twilight was a little confused at first, before realizing what he probably meant. "Are you talking about the Tirek incident?" "Well, there's not many other incidents I could be referring to." Discord said, looking slightly ashamed. "Even after betraying you and Equestria, you still considered me a person worth saving. You were still willing to call me your friend. For that reason I owe it to you to keep your secret. It's basically the same reason I've done all this for you as well." He gestured to the training course around him. Twilight looked at him in amazement. Yes, she did acknowledge him as a friend, though she could get really annoyed with him at times. But she never imagined that she meant that much to him. She rubbed her hoof against his back comfortingly. "Discord... I'm grateful for what you've done. Not just for keeping the secret and helping me out now, but for everything else you've done for me and Sunset." "What do you mean by that?" He asked. "I mean all the counseling you've given her." She explained. "She told me that you were the one who pushed her to meet with Celestia again. You were even the one who helped her come to terms with her feelings for me. You might say that you're the reason she and I are together now. And then there's the fact that you helped her understand the situation with... her soul..." Twilight went quiet at the thought of Sunset's problem. Discord didn't say anything for a moment either. "What do you plan to do about it?" He asked. "You said yourself, it's pretty much irreversible." Twilight responded sadly. "All we can do is help her fight it." She looked at all the exercise equipment and courses around her. "Y'know, we could do the same thing with her that we're doing with me now. That might help." "I suppose it would." Said Discord looking at it himself. Helping Sunset with her problem was one of the only things on Twilight's mind these days. She didn't want to be naive and think that she and Sunset would be together forever, but she just couldn't help it. Having Sunset in her life was like having a whole new side to her life entirely, a side that she couldn't imagine a future without anymore. And once they made it past this obstacle, they could move on with their relationship. At that point they could let their friends in on the secret. And eventually, maybe in a few days or a few decades, they could reveal it to the world. And then... Twilight smiled. She knew that she and Sunset would make it through this together. And she had a feeling that Sunset knew that too.