The Matrix of Friendship

by MrSp33dy123

3| Stars and Stripes

Author's Note:

This chapter has a lot of feels, so I thought this might be a good song to play while listening.

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Author's notes at the top today, mainly for the music.
Boy, 3 days, 3 chapters. I think I'm going too fast. I want to have longer chapters, and I think I did quite a good job on this one. And now, the story is over 5,000 words! yay!
Apologies for the Dragon Ball Z reference, I just couldn't help it. Many, many more references are to come, however.
I really hope I didn't butcher Discord's character. I mean, we've seen him be a heartless derp, but then, in more recent times, he goes to extreme lengths because of Fluttershy. I hope that people don't get too angry over the Discord/Luna ship

This chapter is a really great anchor to expand my universe. We now know that humans exist, and that Equestria shares the same moon as Earth.

Live long and prosper,
-Sp33dy

The Matrix of Friendship
Chapter 3- Stars and Stripes
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“Oh Discord, you’re not dead.”

The Princess of the night lowered herself to the…ground, or rather, non-existent floor, giving her feathered wings a slight ruffle before folding them onto her back. Her flowing blue and purple mane, complete with thousands of tiny stars, looked like the night sky.

Discord was less than pleased to see her. He just wanted some time to himself.

That’s what I want. Isn’t it?

He just lost a friend. He needed some time to himself. To mourn.

“What are you doing here?”

“I am the princess of the night, as such, it is my duty to go into ponies’ dreams.”

“I’m dreaming?”

“Yes, Discord.”

Luna paused, and beckoned Discord to come with her.

“Come, we shall take a walk.”

Discord was confused, and for him, that was a rare occurrence. If something was confusing, it was chaotic. And chaos wasn’t confusing, it was fun.

“Bu-but there’s nowhere to walk!”

“That is because you haven’t imagined anything yet.”

“What…….?”

Luna thought for a moment. She looked up and down Discord, he felt as if she was staring into his soul, those cyan eyes piercing his mind. “Discord, have you ever had a dream before?”

Discord was ready to say ‘Of course I have!’ but, he realized, he actually hadn’t. He’d never thought he was missing out on anything, though. Why dream where he could do whatever he wanted in real life, anyway?

“…..No, I suppose not.” Discord was surprised at how his voice sounded melancholy.

Ugh, I hate that emotion.

“Dreams are wonderful. They bring a new perspective to life, and they allow us unlimited imagination. The dream world is every bit as important as the real world.”

Discord was distracted by something else. Luna decided it was time to step it up.

“Discord, imagine something. Anything.”

Discord closed his eyes. His faced contorted into a look of intense concentration… nothing. He opened his eyes before looking to Luna and rolling his eyes.

“One does not simply defy the laws of physics, dearest princess.”

Luna internally chuckled at the irony of the comment. She smiled at Discord. “Here, let me get you started.”

The infinite darkness suddenly washed away, replaced with a clear starry sky. The ground was replaced by a fine grey powder, with no trees or bushes to be seen. In the sky, where the moon would normally be, was the world of Equestria.

“This place look familiar?”

It did. He had never been there, even in his extended lifetime, but he had seen it from afar-the peaceful grey globe that seemed like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. It felt infinity far away- there, but never reachable.

“Yes, yes it does.”

The two stood in silence, taking it all in. After a while, Luna let out a sigh.

“I haven’t been here in a long time. Ever since Nightmare Moon’s defeat-MY defeat, coming to this world gauges deep wounds of sorrow in my heart.”

Luna looked towards Discord and their eyes met. “But I brought you here because this is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I thought this would give you some inspiration for your own imagination.

“It lacks chaos...” Discord thought about what he said for a moment.

It was as if Luna had read his mind, asking him the question so he didn’t have to. “Why do you like chaos, Discord?”

What is so great about chaos?

Discord formulated an answer. “It’s interesting… exciting. It’s never the same, and you don’t know quite what to expect. There is so much to chaos, than just what’s on the surface.”

Luna smirked. “You’re going to love this place, then.”

“I doubt that. Look around you.” He waved his hands out in front of him and turned around 360 degrees, to emphasize his point. “Where’s the chaos?”

Luna smiled at Discord. “Come, we shall take a walk.” She stood on 3 hooves and beckoned him to come with her.

Luna started walking. The moon’s surface was a soft powder, yet as she walked, he hooves didn’t sink down too far into the dust. Her silver royal shoes were still spotless as she walked.

Discord joined her on their walk.

“Look into the sky, Discord. What do you see?”

“…stars?” Discord wasn’t sure that was the answer she was looking for.

“Stars, you’re right. But what I see, are worlds. Each one, like our own, but different in some way. Do you know how many stars there are?”

Discord made a rough guess. “Over 9000?”

“Look into a patch of the sky, one where there are no stars in it. In that patch, are more stars. And if you look into a clear patch there, there are even more stars in that. It goes on forever.”

Luna stopped walking, and Discord followed suit. “Right now, in that single patch you’re looking at now, there are trillions of stars…worlds.”

Discord was speechless. It was beautiful. In each world, was something new, something exciting, something… unexpected. And boy, were there a lot of worlds.

Discord finally spoke “Snifff… It’s beautiful.”

The princess of the night let out a sigh, not of sadness, but of contempt. “It is, isn’t it?”

As if to prove her point, the night sky suddenly lit up. Flying across it, were 13 flying stars, each with a beautiful shimmering blue tail. They all collided at one point, exploding in a wondrous cloud of colour, like a galactic fireworks show.

The pair watched in awe as it slowly dissipated. Finally, after the last of the colour disappeared from the sky, Luna spoke up. “There’s one last thing I want to show you.”

Luna’s horn glowed a dark cyan as moon dust started to fly into the air around them. The dust spun into the air forming a small tornado, obscuring all visibility, before it was released from its magical control, and slowly drifted to the ground.

The two were standing on the edge of a small cliff. The ground in front of them dropped about 30 feet before flattening out into a massive basin.

“That’s the sea of tranquility.”

Discord looked confused. “But… there’s no water.”

“But… there once was. The sea of tranquillity is a lunar mare.”

“Mare?”

“It’s Latin for ‘seas’.”

“Wha-“

“It’s an ancient language. Nopony knows where it came from. But this is not what I wanted to show you. Come, follow me.”

Luna crouched down a little before springing into the air. Without the help of her wings, she flew through the air, and down into the sea basin. She hit the bottom with a soft ‘poof’.

“The moon’s gravity is much weaker than that of Equestria’s.” That somewhat fixed the look of confusion on Discord’s face. “What are you waiting for? It's fun."

Discord jumped. He flew into the air just as Luna did, and slowly arced down into the basin. He hit the ground and sunk into the moon dust a little.

“We have some ground to cover. Watch this.” Luna grinned. She hadn’t done this in a long, long time.

She leaped into the air like before, but on contact with the ground, she bounced back up. Discord watched, and it eerily reminded him of Pinky Pie.

THAT pony is a mystery.

Discord realised how fast Luna was going, she was getting away fast. He leaped into the air as Luna did, and very quickly, he was going very fast. The feeling of weightlessness was amazing.

In almost no time at all, he arrived next to Luna. She was focused on something. Discord followed her gaze to a certain object- one that was very out of place.

“What on earth is that?” Discord had never seen ANYTHING like it.

“In my time here, nothing ever happened, the sea of tranquility lived up to its name. Then, one day, an object descended from the sky, carried on a staff of flame. I hid from it, not knowing what it was. It landed, and for a long time, nothing happened. Then, a white being emerged from it. The being descended the ladder, before walking a few feet and planting a flag in the ground. Eventually, another white being emerged from the object, and they walked around, holding weird contraptions and picking up various rocks. They then retreated back into the object, and after a day or so, it separated, and half of it flew up into the sky. They left this all behind.”

Luna looked at Discord. “There are other beings out there like us, Discord. And one day, I want to meet them.”

Discord walked up to the object. It was gold, and stood on 4 thin legs. On one side, words read “UNITED STATES”, accompanied with a flag of red and white stripes, with blue and white stars.

"I wonder what that means..."

The two looked into each other’s eyes, and wonder consumed them. In that moment, time slowed down. When they looked away, they were no longer on the moon, but rather, they were in a green meadow. The birds were chirping, and the stream was flowing. The all-too familiar wooden cottage was there, where it always was.

Discord was, in an instant, reminded of how this whole mess started in the first place.

Luna wore a poker face. “Looks like my inspiration worked.”

Discord was just staring at the ground.

“Discord, is something troubling you?”

He appeared to be distracted by something else.

“Discord?”

“What? Oh sorry, did you say something?”

“There’s something troubling you. Am I right?”

Discord was considering what to say. “Well…ummm-” Discord trailed off, but eventually, he spoke. “Let me show you.”

Discord led Luna into the cottage. He opened the door, and let himself inside. He walked through the house, going into every room in the house. He walked upstairs, going through all the rooms before coming back down again, and sitting down on a couch. He gestured his hands as if to say “well there you go”.

“I don’t understand, what’s wrong?”

“Notice who’s not here.”

“Fluttershy?”

“Exactly.”

“What happened to her? Why is she not here?”

“She’s dead.”

A long silence overtook the two of them. It was as if time had slowed down-no- stopped.
Eventually, after an eternity Discord spoke up. “What happens to ponies when they die?”

Luna waited a few seconds before replying, carefully choosing her words. “Nobody truly knows. But I do know one thing. When a pony dies, they leave a part of who they are within their friends. Friendship knows no limits, not even mortality. While Fluttershy was with us, she gave us all kindness. She helped to show us what it’s like to have a good friend.”

Luna looked at the floor, and then to Discord.

“She left a part of herself within you, Discord. Before you met Fluttershy, you thought friendship was a pathetic pursuit. Now, it’s the thing you value the most.”

Discord began to shed tears. Unlike previously, like the time he was sick, these were not fake. These were all, too, real.

Luna walked over to Discord. “Stand up.”

Discord was now positively sobbing. “Sniffff- why??”

“Just do it.”

Discord stood up, still wondering why Luna had asked him so. She walked up to discord, reared up onto her hind legs, and wrapped her forehooves around Discord’s back, in a hug.

“You need this.”

“….Sniff…..“

I don’t want to lose my only true friend!

Resting her head on Discord’s shoulder, Luna spoke up, as if she had read his mind. “Sometimes, Discord, you have to face your fears. You feared not having your friend anymore, so you tried to prevent it. You need to face up to the fact that Fluttershy is dead.”

She paused before continuing. “And now, you have room for a new friend. A friend that can help you become a better person, just like Fluttershy did.”

She finally let go of Discord, stepping back a little and falling back onto her front hooves. “I’m sorry, but I have to go and check on my sister now. Your little fight was quite destructive.”

“How… how do you know?”

“Those are answers for another time. Just know that I have my ways.”

“Wha-you’re not mad at me?”

“No. I understand what hate and bitterness can do to people. You regret fighting Celestia, and you’ve learnt a valuable lesson.”

Discord smiled, for the first time in what felt like eons. “Thank you, Princess.”

The princess returned the smile. “Please, call me Luna.”

And with that, she was off. She walked through the door before spreading her wings, and flying towards the moon. She disappeared out of sight quickly.

Discord was left in the empty cottage, alone.

What Luna said was true. The death of his best friend was the worst thing that he had ever experienced. But Luna gave him a feeling, the same feeling that Fluttershy gave him.

She was right. He did have a new friend, one that helped him become a better person.

For that feeling, was love.

Comments

[MrSp33dy123]

"The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others they love them while they're alive."

I wonder where that quote is from....

[lord baron]

6054344 i dont know, but i have another quote on humanities base instincts:

the thing that defines us as human is our ability to be inhumane to each other

again, probably not so much a quote as a proverb, but still philosophically interesting