Chapter Three — One Big Mess
“Oh, come on! There has to be something.” Twilight slammed the decorative spell book shut and tossed it to the side. After an entire morning’s search, she was no closer to finding a solution than Discord was to being crowned Prince of Harmony.
Her eyes drifted to the shelf and the books’ now less-than-organized state. In the light of the midday sun, she could just make out an odd discoloration. Her heart sunk as she flew over and noted what it was. The wicked projection of crystal that formed the corner was covered in a large quantity of dried blood.
Running a shaking hoof over the stained surface, she cringed. Lack of medical experience aside, Twilight could tell just how far the crystal point had dug into Discord’s back. Why hadn’t he mentioned the wound’s severity earlier?
Zooming to the doorway, she almost ran headlong into Spike. He backed up a few steps, balancing the plate of nachos in his hands. “Woah, what’s the hurry, Twilight?”
“Discord,” she panted, landing on the floor beside her assistant.
“What about him?” Spike performed an admirable pirouette as she pushed past him. “Twilight!”
Foregoing the usual pleasantries, she pushed past him towards Discord’s room. “I don’t have time to explain, Discord’s hurt.”
“He looked fine this morning.”
Twilight halted, looking back at the dragon. “Maybe . . . but—”
“When does a bookshelf stop someone like him?” Spike chuckled taking a chip from the plate. “Come on, Twi. He can raise the sun and moon whenever he wants, transform Equestria into some kind of freaky carnival, dimension hop just for the heck of it, and you think a bookshelf’s gonna stop him?”
“But he doesn't have his magic, Spike.”
Spike rolled his eyes sarcastically, “Sure he doesn’t. How do you know he’s not tricking you?”
“I . . . he . . .” How did she know? Certainly Discord tricked her before, but would he lie about something like this? Discord’s impossibly serious expression, the terror in his eyes . . . This entire situation could not possibly be some kind of stupid joke, could it? Shaking her head, she continued less confidently, “Well, I’m just . . . just going to check up on him, ma-make sure he’s okay, you know?”
Spike shrugged, walking down the hallway once more. Without wasting another second, she went towards Discord’s room. Standing in front of the heavy doors, she somehow felt incredibly awkward. What do I say? ‘Sorry for being an oblivious jerk? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?’ Something told her neither of the two would go over well with him.
Making the decision to at least try to say something encouraging, she knocked loudly on the door. No answer. A few more tries yielded the same result. Maybe he’s asleep or, she gulped, ignoring me. She pressed her side to the cool crystal, “Discord, if . . . if you can hear me, I ju-just wanted to let you know I’m sorry about this whole mess. I saw the . . . your blood on the shelf. If you were really hurt, you’d let me know, right?” Silence.
Twilight sighed, staggering slowly down the hallway, half expecting Discord to pop out and talk to her. But he didn’t and she really couldn’t blame him. Like it or not, she was at least partly to blame for Discord’s current condition. The quicker she found a solution, the better off they’d all be.
Discord didn’t exactly care for Ponyville, but as long as his friends tolerated the place, so would he. There was nothing much for him to do there, and, given his current predicament, it might be better to lay low. So he turned his attention to the only remotely interesting location around, the Everfree forest.
The forest lacked the gaudy flair his experiments tended to create, but it did successfully manage to surprise him at every turn. Due to its less than stellar reputation, Discord had the place to himself or at least mostly to himself. His eyes drifted to the various glowing eyes peering at him from various locations in the canopy. No creature was fool enough to mess with him and they always seemed content to nestle a safe distance away to enjoy the show.
No tricks today, I’m afraid. Discord trudged through a dense collection of roots. He wanted to fly, but the strain it would place on his back hardly seemed worth the effort. As he walked, his conversation with Fluttershy drifted to the forefront of his mind.
Did they really trust him? Certainly Fluttershy trusted him, but Twilight? The alicorn’s reaction had been proof enough of her distrust. Granted, this time she had a reason to be doubtful, but would it always be this way with her? What if a serious situation came up and he needed her to listen? He snorted a laugh. Not likely.
Still, it bothered him on some fundamental level. Friend … friend is what they called him. Friends trust each other completely, do they not? How could Twilight and all the others give him that title and continue to doubt every one of his actions?
Of course, the incident with Tirek hardly helped matters, particularly with Twilight. And, now that that had finally blown over, he had dedicated himself to learning harmony and friendship. However, the more he thought about it, the more his confidence foundered. For centuries now, his purpose centered around causing as much chaos and disharmony as possible. Friends? Well, he had given up on those after . . . after what happened.
Shaking his head, he started marching through the knee deep grass carpeting the forest clearing. Of course his skills in friendship could use a tune up, but they could not blame him for that surely. After all, their early ventures in friendship were hardly more successful than his own. He had a willingness to learn from his mistakes just as much as they did. And yet, their mistakes consistently met with acceptance while his met with vehement opposition.
A sudden loss of balance jolted him uncomfortably back to reality. His reaction was too slow, and he toppled over face first onto the damp grass. The resulting, searing pain in his back caused him to cry out. Groaning, he turned back to see the root that had tripped him. Smooth, Discord, real smooth.
He made to stand, but the pain made him reconsider. This morning’s aches and pains had if anything grown worse not better. More than likely, it formed an integral part of the healing process. That did not make it any more bearable, however.
Judging from the lack of sunlight penetrated from the canopy, his little hike had led him to the deeper part of the forest. With a bit more effort than he cared to admit, Discord walked over to the nearest tree, leaning carefully against the mossy trunk. Eveloped in the cool and the silence, he might have been relaxed if not for the stinging pain from the gash.
Ironic that his encounter with Twilight led to physical pain on his part. Generally, their little chats ended up irritating him on some fundamental, emotional level. Friend or not, Twilight rarely seemed pleased with his visits. Of course he loved spending time with her, particularly since her overreaction to his pranks bordered on hysterical. Hanging around with their resident friendship expert also doubled as a lesson for him. However, her rejection of any of his suggestions, constant irritation at his presence, and lack of creativity always left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.
Running his paw across the damp grass, he murmured, “I do try, you know.” The words bounced around the clearing, before returning to him like a dull affirmation. His audience had started to abandon him as the novelty of his presence wore off. What did he care for the wide eyed stares of forest animals anyway? He received more than his fair share of those walking through Ponyville on any given day. Only that the ones he received there were far less pleasant.
He snapped, half expecting the trees to turn to liquorish. Nothing. Snorting in frustration, he slowly rolled on his side, trying to find some position that did not aggravate the pain. Some rest and everything would go back to normal. One spell could hardly slow him down for long.
Twilight paced the hallway hooves clattering against the smooth crystal surface. The research had occupied her mind for several hours now, but her dedication had been replaced by worry. After a thorough sweep of the castle and Pinkie Pie’s testimony, it became apparent that Discord had left. But to where and for how long remained anypony’s guess.
Despite her best efforts to control her wayward imagination, the image of Discord collapsed on the side of the road somewhere kept cropping up. That hardly seemed likely. And yet, she grew more restless with each passing minute. If he wasn’t hurt, then where was he?
“I’ve got to look for him.” She cantered over to the door, only to slide to a stop halfway. “No, no, Twilight. He’s more than capable of taking care of himself.” The urge to do something threatened to tear her apart. Her hooves tapped a nervous tattoo that rang in her ears. “Relax, Twilight, relax.”
At the sound of the front door, she spun around so fast she nearly fell on her face. Discord walked in, closing the door behind him. Thank Celestia! She galloped over, perhaps a little too fast, actually sliding into his chest. “You’re back!”
She felt him twitch against her, then his hands push her back a few inches. “Of course I am.”
Her eyes darted to the bandages then to his face. Though he appeared his usual self, there was a hint of exhaustion in his eyes that never used to be there. “Are you okay?”
“Huh?” Discord pushed past her, walking down the hallway. “Of course I’m fine,” he called without so much as glancing her way.
Don’t ignore me. Twilight trotted over to him, marking his pace. “Where were you? I was worried sick.”
He wheeled around, staring incredulously at her. “Why?”
“I er,” her eyes flickered to the bandages, “your wound.”
His tail twitched like an angry cat’s. “I told you it’s fine,” he snapped.
“No it’s not!” Twilight reached out to touch the bandage, but Discord sidestepped so fast she nearly fell over. “Discord! Let me help you.”
“I’ve already had enough of your ‘help’, Twilight.”
So that’s what this is about? “I said I was sorry. Geesh, it was one stupid spell, quit blowing everything out of proportion!”
“It’s not about the damned spell, Twilight!” Discord’s voice boomed so loudly in the empty hall that she instinctively clutched her ears.
Recovering, she stood straight, eyes flashing menacingly into his own. What’s gotten into him? He’s never this angry. “What is it about then?”
“You wouldn’t care to understand,” he mumbled under his breath.
“How many times do I have to tell you, I do care, Discord!” Once again she tried to examine the wound, and again he lept away from her. “Discord, please. I saw your blood on the shelf. You might be fine normally, but without your magic it could be serious.”
Discord snarled as if contemplating a snide retort, but slowly relaxed. “I am fine, Twilight. I would seek your assistance if I thought I required it.” Without another word, he turned back around, walking down the hall again.
Twilight wanted to press the matter further, but given Discord’s current mood, it seemed best to leave him. Just as she was about to walk away, he tripped, catching himself before walking off again. Twilight’s heart jumped at the display of weakness.
Equestria knows that she wouldn’t want to appear weak to anypony. That had gotten into a tight spot more than once. Discord? Well, he had all the more reason to hide it and pretend to be fine. Being one of the best actors Twilight had met, he shouldn’t have any problem doing that. For him to slip up like that . . . Sorry, Spike, but there’s no way he’s faking it, not this time.
Ever since she had been a filly, there remained a kind of unspoken rule in their family about going to bed with unresolved issues. Shining Armor always made it a point to “set the record straight” before calling it a night, even after their worst fights. Twilight longed to have such resolve come to her as easily as it did to him but it rarely did.
Lying on her bed, she withdrew the piece of parchment, resting it flat against the covers. Throughout the day, she had skirted around the elephant in the room. Now, ignoring it proved impossible. One letter, one simple letter to Celestia. In the course of a few hours, that prospect had morphed into some kind of dreaded assignment.
Crunch time had come at last. Sighing, she raised her quill in her magic and began to write.
‘Dear Princess Celestia,
I’m afraid I some bad news.’
Twilight snorted. Understatement of the century.
‘As you are well aware, I have been studying Tirek’s magic intensively. I already told you about the spell I developed to mimic his magic and my attempts at a reflection spell.’
Her mind drifted back to yesterday evening and the blood this morning. Shuddering, she turned her attention back to the parchment.
‘Discord thought it would be funny to use the spell on me. I reflected it with the half-finished spell and it managed to drain his magic. Apparently he still has magic, but it’s nothing close to what it’s supposed to be. I hoped the effects would have worn off by now, but they haven’t. Also,’
She paused, taking a long, collected breath.
‘the force from the spell threw him into a shelf. From the blood, it seems like a deep wound, but I can’t get him to let me examine it. He keeps saying it’s okay, but I’m starting to worry.
I need your advice.
Sincerely,
—Twilight Sparkle’
That should do it. Twilight was halfway to the door when she paused, the letter still held fast in her magic. Sending the letter would be admitting not only to herself, but to Celestia that she was incapable of handling a magical mishap she caused. Then there was Discord’s injury. What kind of Princess of Friendship slams her friend into a bookshelf?
Her legs grew weak at the thought of disappointing Celestia. Her eyes fell to the letter once more. Would it hurt to put off sending it for a little while? After all, though Discord had lost his magic, he claimed to feel fine. That little slip . . . well, it could have been anything. No need to worry Celestia over something so trivial. After all, given a few days and some intense research, she would have everything sorted out like usual. Placing the letter in her dresser, she crawled back into bed. It would work out, it always did.
Celestia lay on the dias, allowing her hooves to dangle above the sprawling garden below. Though, that was of little consequence tonight. Tonight, the only view she needed was her sister’s nightly display. Her nights paled in comparison to its radiance. That added to the moon without her sister’s mark made it all the more mesmerizing.
For the first time in centuries, the night sky relaxed her. Now, it did not seem so strange to rest under the stars and think about how far they had come, how far they had fallen . . . Celestia shuddered, remembering Tirek’s rampage. If not for Twilight, all of Equestria would have been lost. All because of him.
Still . . . she could not be angry, not really. Not after what she had done to him. What she did was far, far worse than anything he could ever do to her. The stars swam together as she contemplated the irony. I treated him the same as you, dear sister. Perhaps his betrayal was my punishment after all.
Celestia shook the thought away. I don’t need this right now. Leave the past in the past, it is better that way. Remembering it would only cause unnecessary pain.
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Fantastic. I've been looking forward to more Twicord from you. TCARW is one of my favs on this page. Waiting for next chapter. Very curious about where this will go.
Enveloped
Oh ho ho, I smell backstory! Both Discord and Celestia talked about 'that time before', I wonder if their history here is in any way close to the history they have in TCRW.
backstory time
Oh Twilight, I thought you'd learned that lesson already.
6045025 hehe *grin* you'll have to see ^^
6045278 nope haha that still will take . . . a lot of chapters xDD
6045796 you tease! grumbles
6045846 mehehe there is much more i could tease with but i wont muhaha ^^
this is pretty interesting, how dark do you plan on taking this considering you have the tag and i have not seen much to need it so far?
6049567 Glad it's interesting! Hmmm. As far as dark goes, this is very mild for me. It's mostly in flashbacks that it's dark. Though, there will be some tension/injuries later on, I wouldn't consider those bits "dark." It's nothing compared to what I have planned for my TCARW series.
6049625 ok, just wondering, there have been a few darker stories that i have had to stop reading just cause they were affecting me to much.
A quite interesting story so far. I am liking this story from what I have read so far and can't wait for another update to see where you will take this story! Keep up the good work.
As usual, great work. Its a real pleasure to read.
I did spot a typo:
You're missing a "have."