Discord stared at himself in the mirror. It had been a few days since he had that talk with Princess Cadence. The talk that completely changed everything at once.
He still couldn't believe it. He, the Almighty Lord of Chaos, had a silly, little crush on the most organized being in Equestria. What made it worse, as he thought back to the conversation he had with the Princess of Love, it seemed as if he had something more than just a crush.
Discord shook his head. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since he left the Empire. Cadence said that he should tell Twilight how he felt about her.
Discord didn't love her, that would be pushing it a little too far.
But, Cadence made it seem like he saw Twilight as more than just a friend.
Did he?
Discord ran his paw down his face. How could he? Cadence said that nopony would take him any less seriously if he confessed, but did he really want that?
Discord was perfectly happy being friends with Twilight. He really didn't see the need to tell her.
And, if he did tell her, what would she say? How would she react?
If he told her and she didn't feel the same way, their friendship would never be the same.
There's no way he'd tell her.
But, a small part of him thought back to what Cadence had said.
"I understand your reasoning, Discord. But, if you don't pursue this, you might wind up regretting that you didn't. Twilight's not going to stay single forever. She's an attractive mare, a princess. A stallion is going to notice her, and she might notice him. And, when that happens, you'll probably never get another chance, unless things don't work out between them."
Cadence had a point. Twilight was not a mare meant to be single her whole life. And, there were many eligible stallions out there that could woo her.
A small part of Discord wanted that someone to be him. But, the rest of him berated that one part of thinking so ridiculously.
Discord took a deep breath, an idea formulating in his head.
If he could hang out with Twilight without having that feeling, maybe this silly crush would cease to be.
With a firm nod, Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared.
-----
In a bright flash of light, Discord reappeared in front of the Castle of Friendship.
He marched up the few stairs then opened the doors with a strong push.
He stepped inside. He had been in here a few times, but he had never quite realized how spacious it was.
Discord chuckled, "Twi sure got the jackpot, that's for sure."
His ears picked up the pitter-patter of little feet, and since there was only one creature in the castle with feet, Discord knew who was coming by.
As expected, Spike came walking down the hallway, a comic book in one claw and a half-eaten gem in the other. He was so caught up in his comic book that he failed to realize that Discord had arrived.
Discord let out an amused snort as the dragon walked past him. He quietly floated behind the dragon, trying his best not to laugh as Spike continued to be unaware of his presence.
After walking a few more feet, Spike eventually realized that someone was following him. He turned around.
"ACK!" Spike jumped several feet, dropping his comic book and gem on the ground.
Discord burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he floated in mid-air. "You should have seen the look on your face. Priceless!"
Spike took a few deep breaths to recover from the shock. When he was finally calmed down, he sent a glare in Discord's direction.
"That phrase is getting old."
Discord wiped a tear from his eye, "To you, maybe. But, it's always true."
"Hardy har har, " Spike bent down to pick up his fallen items. He rolled up the comic book and stuck it under his arm. He gobbled up the rest of his gem.
"So, Discord, what brings you around here?"
Discord shrugged innocently, setting his mismatched feet on the ground. "Nothing special. I was bored, so I decided to pay Princess Bookworm a visit."
Spike clicked his tongue, "Oh, you picked the wrong day to do that."
Discord raised an eyebrow, "And...why is that?"
Spike chuckled flatly, "Trust me when I say you don't want to see her when she's like this."
Discord scoffed, waving a claw at that, "Please, it can't be that bad."
Spike narrowed his eyes and smirked, "You wanna bet? When Twilight misses a deadline, I'd rather face the old you than her."
Discord blinked, giving Spike a strange look, "She's that bad?"
Spike nodded, "Yup. Ever since she became the Princess of Friendship, she's been nonstop busy. She's had so much on her mind. She forgot that she was supposed to deliver a lecture tomorrow at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns on how she became an alicorn, and now she's cramming big time."
Discord squinted his eyes, crossing his arms, "I don't get it. Why is it such a big deal? Doesn't she know?"
Spike shrugged, "I asked her the same thing, but she wants to make sure her explanation is crystal clear. She claims that there are parts that she doesn't fully understand yet. She was up all of last night, and you can be sure that's she not going to sleep tonight either."
Discord stroked his goatee with his paw, "Perhaps I can offer some insight for the frazzled princess."
"Heh. Good luck. She's in the library. Have fun. I'm heading over to the comic book shop with the Crusaders. Later." Spike waved goodbye then ran out of the castle.
Discord stood in the empty corridor, unsure of what to do.
He shook his head, "The little guy was obviously exaggerating. How bad can she be?"
-----
"...why did I ask that?"
Spike's warning turned out to be quite accurate.
The library was in a state of absolute chaos, which didn't really bother him. But, knowing whose castle this library was located in made him somewhat concerned.
Nearly every bookshelf was empty, its contents were scattered all over. Books covered the ground as far as the eye could see.
Discord floated above the Book Sea, trying to locate the purple alicorn.
Eventually, he spotted her, and what a mess she was.
She was hunched over several open books, her attention obviously drawn to each of them.
Her usually neat-and-tidy mane was sticking up at odd ends. Her feathers looked like they hadn't been preened in weeks. Dark bags lay under her eyes, indicating major sleep loss.
Discord had been wanting to see her chaotic side, but he didn't expect it to be this chaotic.
Discord cautiously approached her. He lifted a claw, about to speak.
But, she heard him coming.
Twilight quickly turned around, brandishing her horn and pointing it directly at the draconequus. Her eyes were narrowed, a snarl spread across her face. Her messy wings were spread out wide.
Discord held his arms up, "WHOA! WHOA! Friend here!"
Twilight's eyes lost their vicious look. She relaxed, her wings folding back up.
She sighed, "Oh, it's just you, Discord. A little heads-up would've been nice. I could've laser beamed your head off."
Discord carefully landed, taking good care to keep a safe distance, "You probably would have."
Twilight levitated several bookmarks and placed them in her books. She closed the books and turned to Discord.
"What do you want, Discord? I'm extremely busy."
Discord chuckled, walking a wee bit closer but still keeping his distance, "Really? I never would have guessed. Spike mentioned your predicament, and well, as your friend, I'd like to help."
Twilight stood up on all fours, shaking her head, "I doubt you're going to be able to do much."
Discord put his hands on his sides, "You doubt my ability? I resent that remark, Ms. Sparky."
Twilight rolled her eyes, turning back to her books, "I don't have time for this."
Discord's eyebrows flattened as he floated over to her. "Spike was right. You are bad."
She ignored him, opening up her books again.
But, Discord closed them again.
Twilight's head lifted, and her eyes were narrowed once again, "Do you want to lose your head?"
Discord backed off, holding his hands up, "Hey, hey. No need for violence here, dear Princess. I am here to help."
Twilight's eyes softened, "You really want to help?"
The Spirit of Chaos rubbed the back of his neck, "Sure, I mean, I have nothing better to do."
The purple alicorn gave him a smile, much better than the nasty scowl she had earlier.
She sighed, "Well, if it means this much to you, I guess you can stick around. Thanks, Discord."
Discord gave her a smile back. But, the feeling he had been hoping to avoid started to reappear. Discord shook his head to prevent his mind from traveling elsewhere.
He clasped his hands together, "So, what has caused the eruption of Mount Chaos?"
Twilight chuckled flatly at that, "Celestia sent me a letter yesterday reminding me that I'm due to give a lecture at the School for Gifted Unicorns."
Discord nodded, his arms crossed against his chest, "Yeah, I got the rundown from your dragon bro. About your ascension, right?"
Twilight gave a nod of her own, "Uh huh. But, I've been so busy lately. What with the Cutie Map popping up and the formation of the new Friendship Council - "
"The council that consists of you and the girls?"
Twilight furrowed her eyebrows, "Those thrones were arranged that way for a reason."
Discord snorted, "It could just be the style. The typical Ye Ole Roundtable from a foal's storybook."
Twilight raised an eyebrow, "You know that when Equestria first started out, the first High Council consisted of six ponies arranged in a roundtable fashion."
Discord shrugged, "That fashion became outdated eons before I took over."
Twilight groaned, "We're getting off topic. You made me lose my train of thought. Where was I?"
"Why you've been so busy?"
She clapped her hooves, "Ah, yes. Anyway, once I became the Princess of Friendship, I announced to the Ponyvillians that they could come to me with their problems. Of course, I didn't take into account how many ponies would come to me daily. I'm surprised I've been able to take a few days off."
Discord clicked his tongue, "Yeah, I hear ya. Princess Sunshine had me sit in a court session a while back. I don't remember much of it because I fell asleep at the second petitioner's request."
Twilight grunted, blowing a strand of mane from her face, "I'm tempted to fall asleep during some. Don't get me wrong, I love helping ponies, and I'll do whatever I can to help them. But, some of these problems I feel like they can handle themselves."
Discord shrugged, "That's ponyfolk for ya. They'll take any opportunity they can to meet with royalty. Even the Ponyville ponies, whom you've known for like years."
Twilight nodded, "I know, right? Anyway, I completely forgot about my lecture tomorrow. So, I've doing some research on alicorns."
Discord raised an eyebrow, "Some?" He gestured to the Sea of Books that surrounded them.
Twilight blushed, "It's a very extensive topic."
Discord chuckled, shaking his head, "Twilight, you are blowing this thing waaaaay out of proportion."
The young princess raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"
Discord nodded, "Yeah. There's no need to blow up about this. And, there's no need to get all stressed out about it either." He pointed to her frazzled look. With a snap of his finger, Twilight was back to looking like her unstressed self.
Twilight huffed, "Well, if you think it's not a big deal, why don't you give me an explanation?"
Discord chuckled again, "Sure. But, no copycats. Plagiarism is a no no." He wagged his talon at her.
Twilight smirked, "That would imply that your explanation is actually worth plagiarizing."
Discord stuck his tongue out, "You'll be eating those words soon enough."
He snapped his talons, giving himself the look of a teacher. He wore thick black glasses. A red tie hung around his neck.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Uh - "
Discord wagged his finger at her, "Ah ah ah. No talky. Now, be a good student and let Mr. Discord educate you."
-----
"And, there was this bright flash of light, then PRESTO! We have a new alicorn. Namely you. Any questions?"
Discord looked expectantly at the alicorn and smirked when he saw her staring at him wide-eyed and dropped-jaw.
Discord rubbed his talons against his coat, bearing a smug expression, "It seems I've left you speechless."
Twilight blinked, shaking her head. She put a hoof to her head, "Wow. You made it sound so simple."
Discord crossed his arms and nodded, "Mmhm. In a nutshell, Ol' Beardy wrote a spell to bring out one's destiny. Never finished it. You did. Destiny fulfilled. One song later you're an alicorn."
"Huh. It doesn't sound so complicated when you put like that."
Discord grinned, "It never was. You, Miss Perfection, were simply making a mountain out of a molehill. Whatever that means."
Twilight stood up, a sincere smile on her face, "I guess you're right. Thanks for the help, Discord. I didn't expect it from you, but sometimes help comes from an unexpected source."
Discord waved a paw, "It was nothing - Whoa!"
Before he knew it, Twilight had her hooves wrapped around his neck.
Discord nearly blushed, that warm feeling coming in strong. But, he managed to return the hug.
"All right, all right, you're welcome. No need to go all sappy on me."
Twilight released him, flapping her wings to keep her in the air.
"Hugs are not sappy, Discord. They're signs of true friendship. I mean, if you didn't like someone, why would you hug them?"
Discord chuckled, "I guess you have a point there."