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Discordant
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“I still think that Aries should have been dealt with,” Discord said unhappily, tapping his claw against his arm, as he stood in front of Celestia on her throne, “That spell he used is far too dangerous to be used again.”
“How many times do we need to go over this?” Celestia sighed, wishing Discord would go bug her sister, “We need to keep things in this world as positive as we can right now. Lopping off somepony’s head would send the wrong message.”
“My goodness,” Discord chuckled at her rather colourful word choice, “You’ve thought about it then? The benevolent Celestia has considering something as horrendous as decapitation?”
Celestia grunted in response, leaning her head back against the rest at the top of her throne.
“Well, I can hardly blame you,” Discord grinned, floating himself next to the throne and lowering his volume, “If somepony tried to hurt a student of mine, I would have much less control than you do.”
“Would it make you happy to see me lose my composure?” Celestia asked, in an incredibly composed manner, “To see me so filled with anger, that I take somepony’s life, or declare a war?”
“Well, of course—“
“To see me essentially become… not me.” Celestia said, “Then again, if I were to ever reach that point, I wouldn’t really be Celestia anymore, if you ask me.”
“So you’re telling me that if you were to lose your mind, it wouldn’t count?” Discord asked, his eyebrow raised.
Celestia smirked back to him, “Maybe the day will come. But when it does, the pony you know me as now won’t be around anymore.”
“Why do you insist on taking the fun out of everything?” Discord huffed, sitting down and crossing his arms, “To be honest, as much as we both might think it, I’m not waiting for you to lose your mind. If you go postal, your first order would be to have my head chopped off.”
“Exactly,” Celestia nodded, returning to her original position in her chair, “So don’t upset me.”
Discord’s smile only grew more at the faux-threat.
“You’re much more fun than most ponies give you credit for,” Discord chuckled, “However, that doesn’t change my opinion on what should happen to him.”
“I’m aware,” Celestia nodded, “But the fact is, he’s locked up, and everypony exposed to the syphon has been given a clean bill of health.”
“One of the mares were subjected to it directly, right?” Discord asked.
“Yes,” Celestia nodded, “Applejack was exposed to the spell directly, but her Element of Harmony was able to overcome the effects.”
“Is that so?” Discord asked, scratching his chin, “That’s something we should keep in mind.”
“Why’s that?” Celestia asked, tilting her head.
“Well, if that spell were to ever be detonated on a massive scale, the Elements of Harmony would be able to use their magic, even if the rest of Equestria couldn’t.” Discord explained, “Of course, the syphon could be improved, strengthened… so I suppose we won’t know the full scale of it until the day comes.”
“You talk about it like it’s a certainty,” Celestia shook her head.
“I have a nagging feeling is all…” Discord said, his tone lowering more than Celestia found comfortable, “But never mind that, why don’t we get back to talking about—“
“Princess!” Twilight called, entering the throne room before stopping dead in her tracks, “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt—“
“You aren’t interrupting, my student,” Celestia said gracefully, somewhat annoying Discord, “What can I help you with?”
“Well, everypony’s done with the hot spring, and we were wondering if we could head back to Ponyville tonight, instead of tomorrow.” Twilight said, looking to her teacher with her usual soft smile.
“Are you sure, Twilight?” Celestia asked, “I was going to have the group of you pampered for a day or two. Help you take a break from all of this chaotic nonsense.”
“Nonsense?!” Discord scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air, “I take offence to that statement!”
Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the god of chaos, and his sincere reaction to what Celestia had said.
Walking forward, Twilight closed the rather large gap between the three of them as she spoke, “Honestly, I think we all just want to get home and lie down in our beds for a few day—“
“Oh, my!” Discord said suddenly, lighting up as Twilight came before the two of them, “Let me be the first to congratulate you!”
Twilight tilted her head, “I’m sorry?”
Discord opened his mouth to explain his reaction, and how it had been in regards to the magic pooling in her belly, but realized that she might not be aware of it at this early point in its cycle.
“Well?” Twilight asked.
“Oh… I- I just wanted to congratulate you on besting that spell!” Discord chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck, “Now would you look at the time! I need to get going!”
Before either of them could say otherwise, Discord had teleported himself off to some unknown location.
“What was that about?” Twilight asked.
“It probably has something to do with the conversation we just had,” Celestia shrugged, “However, if you truly are wanting to go home early, I can have that arranged for you within the hour. You can ride the bullet train back to Ponyville. You’ll be home before sundown.”
“Thank you, princess.” Twilight smiled.
////
“This is perfect!” Discord clapped loudly in the dark room he had brought himself to, “If she has a baby, then we might be able to save her element!”
“Discord… why must you always disturb my sleep when you wish to celebrate something?” Luna asked from her bed.
“You’ll want to hear this, your highness,” Discord said, snapping his paw as every candle in the room lit up.
Sighing, Luna sat up in her bed and gave him a sceptical look, “By all means, please tell me what it is that I wish to hear.”
“Twilight Sparkle has a little Alpha in her,” Discord said, losing the princess instantly with his cryptic wording.
“Is this some form of rude joke?” Luna asked, shaking her head as she tried to wrap her tired mind around what he had said, “Because I think I’ve heard this one…”
“No,” Discord shook his head, and rolling his eyes, “Twilight Sparkle is carrying a child.”
That woke Luna up.
“Pardon?” She asked, her eyes almost bugging out of her skull, “I- I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
“You did,” Discord shook his head with a growing smile on his lips, “She conceived the child last night.”
“How could you know so fast?” Luna asked, “A mare doesn’t usually find out until several weeks have passed.”
“I’m the god of chaos,” Discord said, waving his claw dismissively, “A lot of magic goes in to making the spark that leads to a life. I can sense it in abundance from within her. There is no doubt.”
“So… what does that mean for her element?” Luna asked, having never heard of an element of harmony giving birth.
“That…” Discord said slowly, tapping his chin, “Is a good question.”
“But you said we might be able to save her,” Luna recalled, tilting her head and suppressing a yawn.
“Well yeah,” Discord nodded, “Anything could happen when a baby’s involved! I had an idea of what was coming for Twilight before… but now with this baby, I have no clue!”
Luna was starting to understand.
“Before I was fairly certain that I’d have to take the Element from her,” Discord explained, “But now? All bets are off! Magic suppression and maternal instincts go hoof in hoof! I’m very excited to see what happens when Twilight’s chaotic side comes to pay us a visit again!”
“…as am I.” Luna said softly, hating that she agreed with Discord on something that seemed so sensationalist.
“Well, nothing we can do about it right now.” Discord said, stretching his arms and flopping down in the bed next to Luna, “We’ll just have to wait for the day to come.”
“Should we tell my sister, and Twilight?” Luna asked.
“Not yet,” Discord shook his head, “Let’s not complicate their lives with that news until it becomes crucial. Twilight has enough on her plate as it is, and if she finds out she’s pregnant, her blood pressure is going to go through the roof.”