The Meadow
“I thought you said we had a reservation to get to?” Twilight Sparkle shot Discord an incredulous look. The two of them sat in a large, expansive meadow, empty save for a few wiry trees here and there and a beautiful white flower that dotted the landscape.
“Careful, I think your eyebrow is trying to escape,” Discord teased in reply. He paused as she quickly turned her eyes to the ground, red tinting her features ever so slightly. Stars, she’s adorable, he thought wistfully. “And yes, we do have a reservation. You’ll see.”
Her eyes shot back up to meet his. “Well, where and when is it?” She remained frigid, and a nervous ear-flick gave away her slight stress.
“You can’t bear not knowing, can you? What’s the point in it being a surprise if I just tell you? I’d much rather show you.” He turned to the winged purple watermelon behind him, and with a SNAP it was a large purple checkered blanket. “Come on now.”
“Discord, what is this?” Twilight followed him cautiously, suspicion turning into confusion.
Discord let out a deep chuckle. She probably expected an uptown Canterlot dining experience, and not what he had in store. “You’ll see,” he said with a smirk. He dropped down to all fours and settled on the blanket, back facing her. He waited patiently for her to follow him, a few moments. She settled beside him, just a few inches between them. Well that’s an improvement, he thought. It’s working through her system then.
“So…” Twilight looked all around, refusing to look at Discord. Every time she turned her head to look in a different location - bush to tree, tree to sky, and so on - her bangs bounced.
Discord let out a deep, hearty chuckle. She was so adorable when she was nervous. “So?” He mimicked her, though he drew the word out longer. He gazed at her, a pleasant look on his face. He was still, but not tense. A sense of calm seemed to emanate from him.
“Discord… why are we here?” She was still looking around, but now with more interest. Suddenly, a blue butterfly framed in white floated past her view, and Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is that a Xerces Blue butterfly? They’re extinct!”
“Ah, yes. Funny how a species dedicated to love and tolerance can drive another species to extinction, hmm? It may be gone from the rest of the world, but luckily the meadow remembers.” He reached out a talon and the blue butterfly flew right through it. “But you can’t touch a memory.”
“What is this place?” Twilight asked, staring after the butterfly in awe.
“The Meadow of Memories, as straightforward of a name you can get. Well, maybe a bit less than Ponyville.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Your dear former teacher placed many charms around this place to prevent her precious little ponies from finding it. She fears they might destroy its magic.” He rolled his eyes.
“We aren’t supposed to be here?” Twilight got up with a start. Her wings flared and she looked at Discord questioningly.
“Oh, don’t you worry your little pony head. You won’t get in trouble.” He laughed. “It’s not like she knows we’re here anyhow…”
“Discord!” Twilight yelped.
“Okay, okay.” He could barely contain his amusement. “Let’s just say I got permission.”
“Permission? From Celestia? Really?” Though her body was still wracked with tension, she visibly relaxed.
“Well, not Celestia, per se…”
“Luna!” Celestia shouted, barging into her sister’s bed chambers. “Someone has breached the Meadow of Memories! We must go at once.”
“At ease, sister. ‘Tis not a felon who has happened upon thy sacred meadow,” Luna said, not looking up from the book she was reading. She lay sprawled out on her huge bed, a cup of hot cocoa floating in her aura.
“How do you know?” Celestia’s right ear flicked. “Do you know who is there, Luna?”
“Er, perhaps.” Luna’s eyes focused on the words before her.
“Luna.” Celestia stepped forward, creeping closer and closer to Luna’s bedside. “Who is in the Meadow of Memories.”
“I promised not so say,” Luna mumbled, looking away. She set her hot cocoa down on her nightstand. “Thine anger; I fear it.”
“Luna, I won’t be mad, I promise,” Celestia soothed. “Now please, tell me who it is.”
“Not a foe,” Luna began, “but a friend. That is all my pact can allow me to say, Celestia.” The resolve in her voice was unbreakable.
Celestia sighed. Luna was not one for breaking promises of any kind.
“Then I’ll just have to trust your judgment,” she relented.
“And is that really such a feat?” Luna teased playfully.
“Oh yes, Miss THE DRAGONS ARE COMING!” Celestia laughed. She settled on Luna’s bed and poked her ear.
“That was one time!” Luna blushed like mad. She’d thought that Celestia had all but forgotten.
“And? It was still quite hilarious.” Celestia’s laugh was cut short by a letter materializing before her. “A letter from Twilight? At this hour?” she murmured as she studied the scroll. She unfurled it, not noticing Luna’s sudden discomfort. “Let’s see what this is about. ‘Dear Princess Celestia.” Oh, I thought I told Twilight she doesn’t have to address me as Princess any longer,” she tutted. “ ‘Spike here!’ Ah, it's Spike. Though I’m not sure if Spike should have to use my title either. Something to address another time, I suppose. ‘I’ve got some questions about Discord’...”
Celestia stopped reading out loud and quickened her pace. Her eyes tore through the words, eating up Spike's words hungrier than a starved wolf. When she was done, she rolled the scroll back up and set in on the bed.
“Luna.” Her voice was stone cold. She got up, back facing Luna.
“Tia, please, I-”
“When were you going to tell me that TWILIGHT WAS ON A DATE WITH HIM?”
“Well if you have permission, then I guess it’s alright,” Twilight conceded. “But if we get in trouble, I’m blaming you!”
“I believe you.” Discord winked. “But that doesn’t mean they’ll find me.”
They shared a laugh, smiles dancing across their features like birds in the sky.
“So any extinct creatures, we’ll find them here?” Twilight watched as the butterfly fluttered past again, which brought a curious smile to her face.
“Why Twilight Sparkle, you simply aren’t thinking big enough! Now, can a pony only remember other living things? Tell me, what is everything you remember about getting up this morning?” As he spoke he grabbed a nearby flower, its white petals giving off a soft glow.
“What do you mean? I woke up at 6:30 AM, just like every morning.” She watched as Discord twirled the flower in his paw. Its petals flowed outwards, further and further, until they flew off altogether and burst into silver dust. The glittery dust hung in the air around them like a curtain of millions of tiny stars.
“I need you to think harder, Princess.” Discord swished his paw around the stilled airborne dust. “Close your eyes.”
“I don’t see how-”
“And that’s just it, Twilight. You don’t see.” Although his composure remained playful, he growled his words. “Now close your eyes.”
Twilight frowned. Closing her eyes… that would leave her vulnerable. Surely that would be when he’d spring whatever trap he had planned. Then again, something so predictable was hardly his thing. So with a deep breath and a quick prayer to the Sun, she closed her eyes.
“What was the first thing you heard this morning? Was it the melodious song of the birds outside your bedroom window, or perhaps your assistant calling you to breakfast? What was the first thing you felt? Were you refreshed after a good night’s rest? Or maybe you were disappointed that you left the dream world so soon? What was the first thing you smelled? The fresh lilac sitting on your nightstand?” He paused, letting his questions sink in. “Now tell me, Princess. Describe your morning to me.”
“I - this is silly.” She laughed nervously. Her eyes still laid shut, but she could imagine the smirk on Discord’s face.
“Only if you think it to be. Go on.”
“Okay…” She thought back to her morning’s waking moments. “The very first thing I remember this morning, the thing that woke me up, was the sound of birds. They weren’t singing, but screeching. It sounded like claws on a chalkboard.” Twilight shuddered. “I couldn’t go back to sleep so I got up and checked the time. It was only five minutes until I was supposed to get up, so I went to check my agenda for the day. I remember being upset about the fireplace installation being delayed until next week since it was a chilly morning.” She stopped for a moment, trying to recall anything else of note. “Oh, and I think the window was open.”
“Well that’s something at least,” Discord grumbled. “You can open your eyes now, it worked.”
“It worked? What-” Words failed her as she opened her eyes to see that they were now on the floor of her bedroom. What was even more shocking was the pony that was currently occupying her bed - herself. She looked around, trying to find some sort of sign that they weren't actually in her room with a possible changeling.
“Calm down, it’s just a memory remember? If you look hard enough, you can see that the carpet is really just grass. We haven’t gone anywhere.”
Sure enough, Twilight became aware that they were still resting upon the purple picnic blanket, and the ground was still covered in grass. She could see through the walls, the room being only a ghost of the real thing.
“If you’d done a better job, it’d be harder to tell,” Discord muttered, though a smile still lit up his face. “But here is a sparkling example of just what the magic here can accomplish. Wonderful, isn't it? In theory, a creature can project any memory if it’s strong enough. A deceased loved one, a sequence of events, a picture. Anything.”
He used his tail to swish away the fragile memory, and the projected image dissipated around them. He turned his gaze upward to the stunning array of stars. "Even the sky can be remembered. And, more specifically, the night sky is one all creatures tend to remember the most. Constellations, the phases of the moon, meteor showers..." he paused, looking at Twilight for a moment.
Twilight remained silent, processing Discord's words.
"Or a certain comet I heard somepony is just fascinated with," Discord said with a sly smirk.
"Discord." Twilight looked up at the dark night sky, toward the pristine, pale white moon. "Why here? Why bring me to this extraordinary place instead of someplace easy?" she asked suddenly. If this were the trick, where was it? It would have to involve them being alone... nothing in that area fit with Discord's character at all. Without anypony to embarrass her in front of, what was the point? It did sound like they weren't supposed to be there, so maybe...
"Well, Princess, I know you have an affinity for studying the stars when your muzzle isn't shoved in one of Celestia's hoof-picked magic tomes. They fascinate you, don't they? You enjoy their beauty and revel in their mystery."
She could feel his gaze resting on her cheek, as light as a butterfly, waiting for a response. She continued to look on, keeping her interest focused on the many stars hung above. Had he really noticed such a thing? Twilight knew she tended to be quite obvious with her likes and dislikes, but the way he spoke...
"So, Twilight," he began again, not waiting any longer for an answer, "if one can harness the power of the meadow, access its memories I mean, they can view each and every night sky recorded since the beginning of time. I know you'd probably pick the spell up with ease, but based on your performance with your own memory, I think it'd be much safer if I did all the memory projection tonight."
Was this it, then? Was he going to torture her with a memory? Was he trying to get her hopes up, only to smash them to pieces? Was he trying to frame her for breaking and entering of this obviously sacred meadow where apparently nopony was supposed to be? Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, a million possibilities shooting around her mind at once.
Think, Twilight, THINK! She told herself. There has to be SOMETHING, anything! There's no way he'd do this just to be nice, just because he likes you...
"Twilight, are you alright? You look ill."
Twilight opened her eyes to Discord's worried face, something that rarely showed itself to other living creatures. She was slipping. Quickly, she straightened herself up, regaining her relaxed composure.
"I'm fine," she answered with a small smile, "just a little tired. So, even Starswirl's Comet then, even though it hasn't been 500 years yet?"
"Yes, that's right." Discord frowned slightly for a moment. "But we aren't fast forwarding to when it next passes through Equestria's skies; we are looking at previous times it's come by, seeing what's already happened. Which time shall we project tonight, Princess?"
"The day Starswirl the Bearded himself first laid eyes upon it," she spoke decisively, pushing all paranoia far from her mind. If she only relaxed, she might have some fun. Like back on the carr- er, watermelon.
"Hm." He blinked. "Alright, let's see, without a specific year I'll have to-"
He was interrupted by a huge BANG and a blinding flash of light.
"DISCORD!"
Well I'm back, I guess! Sorry, I've been extremely busy, but with Summer coming up chapters should be updating much faster.
Thank you so much for waiting! 
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Oh God...
The sun is coming... and she's coming in HOT...
Oh, Celestia... Please don't ruin this. Pretty please?
"Hi, Celestia! A slice of raspberry torte and a cup of tea, hmm?
*Le gasp*
SHARKISHA YAAAAAAAAAS IT'S BACK!!!!
Nice chapter by the way, I really want to see where this goes!
Aww... Is Tia jealous? She is?! D'awww!!!
A fun chapter, I hope the next one is soon.
And a cliffhanger... Now we have to wait till the next chapter to know what will Celestia do with Discord...
So Twilights trying to win one over Discord, He appears to be earnestly trying to woo her and Celestia is understandably worried/mad about the whole thing.
It's like watching a train wreck. I just hope that a) discords not trying to trick twi and b) twi doesn't hurt discord out of spite/competition.
INCOMING MURPHY'S LAW CONSEQUENSE!!!!
Oh merde!
5932385
And Equivilant Exchange.
god damnit Celestia -.-
but HOLY CRB
FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER as i saw a new one is up i was exploding with excitement :DD
hope we dont have to wait as long for the next as for this one ;3
Wow. What a story. I love the dynamic and the development. I really want to see the next installment.
This line worries me. A lot.
5933127 By the way that Dissy is genuinely trying to be nice to her, I really hope he means the reaction to where they are and the whole situation is working through her system
lol. Celestia is like...
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/259/085/ca2.jpg
I'm riveted. I so want to know where this is going!
5932179
Giggity.
5935010
That was beautiful ;w;
That's so sweet! Really good story!
No! Bad tia!!! BAD!! She was just falling to him! *harnesses the power of the nightmare and banishes Tia from whens she came!*
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vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/villainsrpg/images/c/c8/OBJECTION.gif/revision/latest?cb=20120420021547
Discord doesn't share the fantabulous sharp hairstyle that Mr. Wright has, so the comparison cannot be valid! Instead, I believe he looks more like this fellow:
us.123rf.com/450wm/hannadarzy/hannadarzy1312/hannadarzy131200027/24213109-scared-white-cat-with-yellow-eyes-in-a-knitted-suit-on-black-background.jpg
5933127
5933837
nationalpostcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/franco18.gif?w=500&h=200
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Luna:
iambrony.dget.cc/mlp/gif/131930314212.gif
5938123 Goddammit, Pumpkin Spice!!
Like it's any of Celestia's business who Twilight dates.
Way to run the mood, Tia
Lovely little chapter though, it was all just so calming
Wait, what's working through her system.