• Published 20th Jul 2012
  • 5,140 Views, 273 Comments

Fragile - RealBarenziah



Twilight enrolls in the exclusive Celestial Academy, but danger lurks in the shadows. DiscoLight.

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Chapter 14 - Discord Trying To Be Sneaky

Author's Note:

Wowza! It's been YEARS! I recently took a look at this fiction I had here and found this chapter still in the drafts. I actually like this chapter a lot so I took a moment to polish it up a little for you and publish it. Apologies, it's not the final chapter, but it's pretty close. I don't have any plans at the moment to write up the last few chapters, but if I may tinker with them here and there if I need a break from my work.
Enjoy, my friends!

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

Discord shot upward in surprise and struck the ceiling with a solid plunk. He rubbed his bruised skull and peered down at mare below him. "Mahogany!" He yelled. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Just what do you think you're doing!?" She demanded again. Discord slowly floated downward to meet her where she stood amongst the wreck he had made. Mahogany's precious library looked as if it had been ransacked by a band of thieves. But the only criminal here was Discord, and she scowled at him as he smirked at her from his invisible perch inches from the ground. "My library-"

"Has been vastly improved, if I do say so myself." He flashed a devilish smile, and Mahogany's face reddened with frustration. "Every. Time." she said. "Every time...you come in here and it spells disaster for my library! Why must you be such a nuisance?" Mahogany wasn't an old pony, per se, but the flesh on her face was just loose enough to form the most hilarious wrinkles when she was angry, and Discord couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Stop that!" She demanded, to no avail.

"Oh, Mahogany, dear," Discord said, taking a breath. "You're always so much fun." Mahogany sharply inhaled a long breath through her nostrils, and held it for a little longer than necessary. When she finally exhaled, the redness in her cheeks was gone, and she seemed to be more calm. Boring, Discord thought. Mahogany clenched her teeth and said calmly, with no small amount of effort, "Perhaps you could tell me what you need, and I'll find it for you." Her annoyance was not well hidden.

"Who says I was looking for anything?" Discord chimed. A cloud of silver magic ripped a book out of his claw. He had forgotten he was holding it. "You were reading this when I came in," she said, scanning the pages before analyzing the cover. "'Insidious: True Tales of Deadly Encounters with Creatures Unknown'... A bit early for such an unsettling read, is it not?" Discord shrugged innocently. "I wasn't reading. I was just looking at the pictures."

Mahogany raised an unamused eyebrow. "That does little to comfort me. This really is a dreadful book. So many horrid stories. Why were you reading it?" Discord picked up a random book and leafed through it absently. "I wasn't," he said curtly. Not in the mood to play games with him, Mahogany sighed and decided to leave him to his own devices. In truth, she was glad to at least have something to do today. Cleaning up after Discord was better than falling asleep at the front desk. She couldn't expect anyone to come around to check anything out. As she was leaving she paused and sighed. "Poor miss Sparkle..." she said softly, so different from her usual rigid tone. Behind her, Discord lowered himself to sit on the ground. He stared blindly at the pages of the book in his hand. "She was the only one who ever came around here," Mahogany continued. Discord said nothing. Mahogany brought the grim book to her attention again. She looked sadly at the cover. "I've already looked through this, Discord. And all those books you're sitting on. I couldn't find anything. There just aren't enough details about what attacked her." When he continued to be silent, she said "I don't think I'm supposed to know, but...I visited her in the infirmary and Rosemary was kind enough to tell me."

Mahogany let the silence stagnate for moment before clearing her throat and returning to her usual disposition. "Well," she said. "It looks like my work is cut out for me today. Don't you have a class to teach?" She glanced backward in time to glimpse Discord's tail disappearing over the row of bookcases. The door to the library creaked loudly, and Mahogany found herself alone.


Morning streamed in softly through the infirmary windows. Rosemary was mixing up Twilight's nutrients for the day when Discord's head appeared in front of her, upside down. She jumped in surprise. "Discord! Here to pay a visit to your favorite student?"

"Sorry, m'dear," he flipped, rather gracefully, and planted himself on the floor. "Just business today." Rosemary frowned. "Business?" Discord nodded and said, "Luna wants me to try and figure out what could have attacked her. Something rather powerful, no doubt. Had to be able to make it past the wards protecting the school." Rosemary shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, I suppose so. And you've come to me because..."

Discord stiffened his mouth and attempted to spew the most intellectual vocabulary he knew: "I require more data to cross-reference with suspects found in the school databases, of have a cornucopia of dastardly doodads of-"

"Oh, stop that," Rosemary smirked. "You need more information on how exactly Twilight was affected, so you can get an idea of what kind of abilities this creature has, correct?" Discord stuck his nose in the air. "Hmphf," he huffed. "You didn't say it nearly as egg-headed as you're supposed to." She laughed softly at him. "Do us all a favor and stick to your own dictionary, would you, Discord? It suits you much better."

She turned back to her army of vials and glass beakers, carefully measuring amounts of liquid nutrient, tonic, and elixir Twilight's body needed to stay functioning, and perhaps even recover. Rosemary didn't want to think about how wishful that kind of thinking was, so she instead attended to Discord's request. "I've been compiling a report on Twilight's condition for a few days now. As terrible as it is, it's actually quite fascinating." At Discord's objecting expression, she quickly added. "You see, I wrote my thesis on the biology of unicorn magic and the effects it can have on the user. Nopony ever teaches you much about the actual biology that enables a unicorn to cast the spells she can; it can be rather vague and it's not important in learning to use magic. My thesis actually has a part of it devoted to magical depletion and it's biological effects. I'll bundle it up with the report and get it to you by tonight."

"Well, that sounds like the most boring read I've ever heard of," Discord groaned. Rosemary opened her mouth to object, but Discord continued "I'll be expecting it this afternoon. Thank you, Rosemary." Without another word he slithered out of the room. Rosemary sighed after him. "Light on the jokes today, isn't he?" She glanced over to where Twilight lay. "He's worried about you. You're lucky to have such a loving friend, Twilight."


Mahogany was still straightening up the mess in her library when Luna appeared at the door. "Mahogany," Luna called. "Are you there?" The librarian stumbled out from between the bookcases and called back, "Yes, ma'am. I'm over here. I'll be with you in a moment." She carefully stepped out from the carpet of books and met Luna by the front desk. "Miss Luna," she said. "How can I be of service?"

"I borrowed this," A large reference book of magical beasts and creatures appeared in a small puff of blue magic. It floated gently down and set itself on the table. "I am returning it to your care." Mahogany nodded and pulled the book closer. She glanced over the cover and said, "Thank you. I'll add it to the pile of books that need re-shelving." Luna peered around the librarian pony's shoulder at the aisle she had emerged from. Books were strewn everywhere. It was chaos. "It seems," the princess said. "That you have your work cut out for you."

Mahogany snorted. "Do I. Discord was here earlier. I found him tearing up the place looking for...well, who knows." Luna raised an eyebrow in interest. She said, "Discord was looking through the books? What was he searching for?" Mahogany tapped the reference book with the tip of her hoof. "Actually," she said. "He was looking through books similar to this one. Didn't find what he was looking for though."

Luna didn't say anything in reply. She took a moment to contemplate, then said "I see. I have other business to attend to, Mahogany. If you require more help in the library, please let me know." Mahogany nodded and Luna departed.


Midday. He hadn't eaten yet, but he wasn't hungry. He was on a mission. Although, a good bottle of chocolate milk would have hit the spot right about then. The only place to get one was the cafeteria, and he was far too busy sneaking into the girls' dormitories to bother going there. It was easy enough, with everyone in class or on the lawn relaxing in the sun. When he reached Twilight's room he was disappointed to find it unlocked. "Oh goodie," he mumbled. "I don't have to break anything today." He slipped into the room and closed the door silently behind him.

Twilight's dwelling was utterly pristine. Everything was in its proper place. Her books were lined neatly in the bookcases, sorted alphabetically and by subject. Rolls of parchment, quills, and inkwells were stacked rather meticulously on a nearby desk. Her bedsheets were made so tightly it was worthy of military barracks. The only thing that seemed slightly out of place was Twilight's saddlebag, which slouched on top of the bed. As he rummaged through a stack of books on her bookcase he made a point to knock the bag over as he slithered by, its contents spilled over the floor. He also left one or two books upside down and sideways in the bookcase, just to liven things up a little.

Discord wasn't entirely sure why he was here. The chances of finding any clues here as to what harmed Twilight was slim to none, yet it was the last place he had to look before he was out of ideas. And also, he wanted to come here. Something about the idea of coming to this room produced a bubble of calmness in his chest, the curious sensation of stillness where chaos has swirled and thrashed about for aeons. It was maddening.

"Just needs a little redecorating," he mumbled. He messed up the curtains in the window and threw a hat in the middle of the floor for good measure. He wished she owned more clothes so he could cover the floor more, but raiding her closet would be pushing it. It was weird enough that he was in here at all. He surveyed his work and shook his head. It was time to go. As he drifted towards the door, he glanced at the saddlebag. Parchments, quills, scrolls, and books had spilled out of it over the floor. Underneath a runic dictionary was a curious little journal.

He absentmindedly plucked it from the pile, flipped open the cover, and froze at the sight of his name written on the first line.

"Discord....species: Draconequus..... Description:....."

Comments ( 27 )

Wow, I missed this thing. Didn't believe my eyes when received the mail notification 0_0

YES!!!!!! MOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMORE...

if you please good author.

Hallelujah!
thecreativewedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/l-Hallelujah.jpg

Was hoping for update for past few years, glad to see this.

Wonderful to see this back

.... Finally back, huh? Well, good to see that this isn't dead. Good on you.

Oh my gods. An update after four yeasts. Fuck yes. I love you author.

This is the first story I'll actually ask to be continued, would be heartbreaking for this to not have an ending.

Thank you for continuing this story.

devoted to magical depletion and it's biological effects

1. Its.

Also, just to note that it's better to separate each paragraph when multiple people are talking. Noticed it for the majority of this chapter but other than that... You've given our... Fragile hopes a rekindling. Hope to see more of this in the future:trollestia:

Wow it's been a while, huh? I was really surprised to see that this updated, but it's definitely a good surprise. Super good. Anyway, I'm very happy to see that this is back. ^_^

I was shocked to see this.

I can scarcely believe that this story has come back from the brink of death, though I am happy for it.

All my yes. Just take it all. Thank you soon much for continuing.

8315859
after Four yeasts, we discover its not bread yet!

:pinkiegasp: An update??!
Squeeee! :yay:
Thank youuu!!! :scootangel:
I really hope you continue this story till it’s completed. I love This fic so so much and I just want to find out the answer to this mystery, and to see Twilight wake up!

You are an amazing writer and I can’t wait to see how you conclude this fic. And I know you can’t rush good writing, so take your time.... but um, maybe this time, an update sooner than 4 years from now would be appreciated hehehe :twilightblush:

This story is incredible, I love it. And I sincerely hope you are still enjoying righting it as well. :moustache:

Whyyyyyy I have to know what happens!!!

Hello! I'm just checking in to see if there is more, which there sadly isn't. So i just re-read all of it, still amazing by the by. Hoping for more and all that. :moustache:

Amazing story, I had a blast reading it. Hopefully I get to read more of it later.

Just stoppin by ta say hi, so hello. :moustache:

This story is reeeeeeeealy fun to read, and realy well written. I hope you continue it.

this is art, i love it :heart:

Hello, This is a great story. I love how the relationship between the two was slowly developed and now emerging with this tragedy.

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