Tales Of Friendship

by Bluecatcinema

Chaos And Sorcery

It was a special day for Twilight Sparkle, for her lifelong idol, Star Swirl the Bearded, had decided to pay her a visit. The two were currently walking through the streets of Ponyville, catching up with each other.

"It's so good to see you again, Star Swirl." Twilight smiled.

"It's good to see you too, Twilight." Star Swirl declared. "Though I am far from done with my travels across modern Equestria, I felt like the time was right to take a break. And to catch up with the Princess of Friendship. I trust your School of Friendship is coming along nicely?"

"Well, there have been some ups and downs." Twilight admitted. "But at the end of the day, I'm proud of the work I and my friends are doing."

"As you should be." Star Swirl smiled. "You helped me learn the importance of friendship, and thus changed my life for the better. To provide the same charity for others is truly a noble cause."

"Well, I am the Princess of Friendship." Twilight fought the urge to bask in her idol's compliments. "It's all part of the job."

"And a marvelous job you're doing, at that." Star Swirl declared.

Before Twilight could reply, there was a flash of light, and Discord appeared before them.

"She certainly is, pony whom I've never met before!" He agreed. "Sorry to interrupt, but it was such a fascinating conversation, how could I possibly resist?"

"How indeed?" Twilight rolled her eyes.

"What manner of bizarre creature is this?" Star Swirl stared at Discord with a mixture of curiosity and revulsion. "I've never seen such a misshapen, asymmetrical being in all my life!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, bell hat." Discord sneered. "And who are you, exactly?"

"Discord, this is Star Swirl the Bearded." Twilight announced.

"Star Swirl the Bearded?" Discord mused. "The same Star Swirl the Bearded that you're a total fangirl of? To the point of dressing up as him?"

Discord snapped his claws, and Twilight's replica of Star Swirl's outfit appeared on her.

"Ah-heh-heh..." Twilight laughed awkwardly, mortified that her idol was seeing her like that.

"That is... A very faithful reproduction." Star Swirl admitted, after taking a moment to react. "Especially considering how few artists were able to get my appearance right in those days. Honestly, one even gave me a blue coat. Blue, of all colors..."

"Yes, our Twilight is quite the history buff, isn't she?" Discord patted Twilight on the head, pushing the brim of her imitation hat over her eyes.

"Thanks." Twilight said flatly as she readjusted her headwear. "Star Swirl, this is Discord-"

"Discord, Spirit of Chaos, at your service." Discord gave Star Swirl a business card with his face on it.

"Discord?" Star Swirl frowned. "I've heard that name before..."

"I'm not surprised." Discord smirked. "I am quite the celebrity, you know."

"If I recall, Pinkie Pie mentioned a 'Discord' among the threats you and your friends previously defended Equestria from." Star Swirl rounded on Twilight. "Is this the same Discord?"

"Yes, he is." Twilight confirmed. "He twice plunged Equestria into utter chaos, and was turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony both times... But that's all in the past." She added quickly.

"It's true." Discord nodded. "I've been officially reformed by that 'magic of friendship' Twilight likes to talk so much about."

"I see." Star Swirl mused.

"Do you?" Discord reached behind his back and placed an oversized pair of glasses on Star Swirl's snout. "An old fellow like you must have to worry about his sight going."

"I don't have that problem, thank you." Star Swirl said testily.

"Give it time." Discord smirked. "Speaking of time, it must have taken quite a while to grow that beard of yours."

"Yes, it did." Star Swirl nodded. "A fair amount of years, in fact."

"So what did you call yourself before you grew it?" Discord asked. "Star Swirl the Stubbled? Star Swirl the Peach Fuzz?" His eyes narrowed devilishly. "And what would you do if something happened to it?"

Discord grabbed Star Swirl's beard with his eagle claw, and with one swift tug, removed it from his face entirely.

"What in Equestria?!" Star Swirl gasped, surprised by the seeming lack of magic involved in the act.

"Check this out!" Discord grinned, effortlessly affixing the beard to his own chin. "Just call me 'Discord the Bearded'!"

"Discord, give Star Swirl his beard back!" Twilight ordered.

"Oh, but it looks so good on me." Discord pouted. "How about I just give him a replacement beard instead?"

Discord snapped his claw, and a large patch of moss suddenly grew out of Star Swirl's chin, taking on the size and shape of his beard.

"That does not work for him, Discord." Twilight said sternly.

"How did you do that?" Star Swirl demanded, one hoof stroking his new beard to confirm it was real. "Not even my magic can create matter out of nothing. It defies all known laws of spellcasting."

"Your laws, maybe." Discord sneered, as he switched Star Swirl's old beard for the new one. "But this Draconequus runs on chaos magic. And chaos doesn't follow any rules."

"That is not possible." Star Swirl shook his head stubbornly.

"Oh, but it is." Discord grinned, stroking his mossy beard for emphasis. "Not only can my magic do anything, it also has no limit. What does that make me, Mr. 'so-called greatest Unicorn sorcerer ever'?"

"That would make you an aberration." Star Swirl said bluntly, his patience stretched too thin. "An affront to the natural order. By all rights, you shouldn't even exist."

"Excuse me?!" Discord snarled, affronted.

"I'm sure Star Swirl didn't mean it that way." Twilight declared, trying to defuse what she had quickly recognized as an increasingly volatile situation.

"Really? Because it sounded to me like your precious Star Swirl doesn't think I deserve to exist in his know-it-all little world!" Discord glared coldly at the Unicorn wizard. "What gives you the final say on who should or shouldn't exist, anyway?"

"Pardon me if I find the existence of a being whose very essence cannot be explained by a lifetime of knowledge... Unacceptable." Star Swirl retorted, angered by Discord's petulant attitude.

"I'm no stranger to insults against my person, but I've never heard anycreature tell me I shouldn't even exist!" Discord snarled. He ripped off his moss beard and threw it in Star Swirl's face.

"Discord, you need to calm down-" Twilight started, as Star Swirl removed the moss.

"I need to get some space between me and him is more like it!" Discord pouted. "I bid you both adieu!"

With that, Discord vanished.

"Well, that was an... Abysmal encounter." Star Swirl frowned.

"Unfortunately, yes." Twilight sighed. "But as first impressions with Discord go, that could have gone a lot worse."

"Now there's an unpleasant thought." Star Swirl grimaced distastefully. "But let's not allow that altercation alter matters. We still have much to talk about."

"We sure do." Twilight agreed.

A short time later, the two were sitting at the outdoor cafe, enjoying some tea, while Twilight filled Star Swirl in on what happened during Equestria's magical crisis - specifically, the cause behind the magic drain Star Swirl had researched.

"My word." Star Swirl shook his head, a half-empty cup of tea held in his magic. "To think that somepony would use the lessons you taught them to try and conquer Equestria. And one so young, no less..."

"I know." Twilight sighed. "Luckily, some of my students who understood the true meaning of the lessons stopped Cozy Glow, saving Equestria from her schemes."

"It seems you truly have a talent for bringing out the best in others." Star Swirl smiled. "An admirable trait indeed..."

As he made to take another sip from his tea, Star Swirl noticed that the surface was bubbling madly.

"What in Equestria-?" He began, just before the remaining tea burst out of the cup, splattering all over Star Swirl. "Pfft!" He spat out some of the liquid.

"What happened?" Twilight frowned.

"Well, look at that." A voice said drily.

Twilight and Star Swirl glanced in the direction the voice was coming from. To their surprise, they saw Discord sitting at a nearby table, his face poking out from over the top of a newspaper.

"That tea just burst right of your cup." Discord said with mock fascination. "Almost like it was defying the very laws of magic, wouldn't you say?"

"Discord, that wasn't funny." Twilight glared.

"Who said it was funny?" Discord shrugged, a wry half-smile on his face. "Not me."

"So you have limitless magical power, and you used it to play a juvenile prank on me?" Star Swirl scowled.

"Welcome to my world." Twilight said flatly.

"Such accusations!" Discord gasped dramatically. "I'm hurt! Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. From what I've heard, you have a history of accusing innocents of wrongdoings..."

"How dare you!" Star Swirl snarled.

"How dare I?" Discord mocked him. "I was sitting there, reading the local paper, and you start accusing me of this and that? Of all the nerve!" he rolled up the newspaper. "I'd advise you to keep your baseless accusations to yourself, sir!"

Discord hit Star Swirl on the head with the newspaper, then vanished again.

"...Let's move on, shall we?" Twilight said awkwardly.

"Agreed." Star Swirl scowled.

Their next stop brought them to Sugarcube Corner, where Twiligt hoped some cupcakes could help take their minds off Discord's shennanigans.

"Thank you, good baker." Star Swirl said to mr. Cake as he gave him and Twilight some carrot cupcakes.

"It's a pleasure, sir." Mr. Cake smiled. "Always an honor, catering to celebrities..."

"My, how food has changed over the last thousand years." Star Swirl noted.

"I'm sure you'll love these." Twilight assured him. "They're a Sugarcube Corner classic."

Just as Star Swirl was about to take a bite out of his cupcake, his hat suddenly floated off his head.

"What the-?" As he looked up, a shower of cupcakes poured out of the hat, burying him under the confectionary treats. "Ahhh!"

"Bravo, Star Swirl!" Discord applauded, sitting in a nearby booth. "I didn't know you were a magician as well as a wizard! And such a trick... some might say it's not even possible! But what kind of spoilsport would say that?"

"Discord, you have to stop this!" Twilight yelled.

"Me?!" Discord huffed. "It was your precious idol who started it! But do you give him a good scolding? Nooo!"

"I'm not the one resorting to such childish behaviour!" Star Swirl scowled, digging his way out of the cupcakes. "You irritating, infuriating creature!"

"I'm acting like a child?" Discord sneered. "Looks like you're on the verge of throwing a tantrum yourself. How about you act your age?"

"Me?!" Star Swirl spluttered at the hypocrisy of Discord's statement. "You-! You-!"

"Easy there, old timer." Discord jeered. "Don't have a heart attack."

"Discord-" Twilight seethed.

"You don't even have to say it." Discord held up a claw in defiance. "I'll leave your precious Star Swirl alone... for now."

With a wicked grin, Discord once again vanished.

As you'd expect, neither Star Swirl nor Twilight were in the mood for cupcakes after that, so they departed Sugarcube Corner soon after.

"That spiteful, disrespectful, petty, annoying..." Star Swirl snarled, almost pushed to his limit.

"I know what you're going through." Twilight empathized with Star Swirl's situation. "When Discord's on a pranking tear, he never knows when to stop..."

Close by, Discord was hiding behind a tree, listening to their conversation.

"Oh, you know me so well, Twilight..." He smirked.

Discord snapped his claws, and a cloud moved into position above Star Swirl. It looked normal enough, but it was full of spaghetti, which Discord planned to have dropped on Star Swirl when he felt the time was right.

"How can you even consider such an inconsiderate, overbearing troublemaker to be your friend?" Star Swirl demanded of Twilight.

Twilight sighed deeply.

"I'm not going to lie." She admitted. "Having a friend like Discord can be... Trying at times. Sometimes, he drives me totally crazy with his 'jokes', to say nothing of all those sneaky schemes he concocts, some of which can turn out more than a little dangerous, and yes, sometimes enormously petty..."

"Is that what you think?" Discord narrowed his eyes. "Then perhaps you'd like to join Star Swirl for a little pasta."

Another cloud came into being, taking its place alongside the first, right above the oblivious Twilight.

"Just have to wait for the right moment..." He held up his left claw, ready to snap.

"So why do you tolerate him if he causes you such strife on a regular basis?" Star Swirl inquired.

"Because, as hard as it is to believe, Discord is better now than he used to be, and he's been slowly but surely getting better over time." Twilight confessed. "Compared to the way he used to be, Discord as he is now is a marked improvement."

"He is?" Star Swirl gaped.

"As annoying as troublesome as he can, he does have his saving graces." Twilight admitted. "He's devoted to Fluttershy, and he's been spending a lot of time with Spike and their other friend Big Macintosh during their 'guys' nights'. And as much as I hate to admit it, he can actually be quite helpful when push comes to shove."

"The word 'helpful' can be quite broad." Star Swirl raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Could you be more specific?"

"I can." Twilight nodded. "Discord has helped saved Equestria twice now. Both times, he showed true heart and friendship."

"Given what I've seen from him today, I find that hard to believe." Star Swirl frowned.

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Twilight admitted. "I'd be the first to admit that Discord is far from a shining example of friendship. But he is still learning."

"That much is obvious." Star Swirl scoffed.

"Everycreature learns friendship at their own pace." Twilight pointed out. "As headmare of the School of Friendship, I know that better than most. But that doesn't mean we give up on them. All we can do is be patient, and take pride in the fact that they learn a little more as time goes by. Discord may be a born troublemaker, but he's made a lot of progress... Even if he doesn't show it too often. But when he does show how much he's learned, it's plain to see how much friendship truly matters to him. When it really matters, he can be counted on to help those he cares about. And at the end of the day, I can honestly say that... well, I'm glad to have Discord as a friend."

Discord was standing stalk still, his claw still holding in place, ready to snap... But he couldn't do it, for Twilight's words had touched him deeply.

"Typical." He shook his head resignedly. "She always seems to find some way to spoil my fun..."

Unnoticed by Twilight and Star Swirl, the two spaghetti-laden clouds floated away.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't still have my doubts." Star Swirl admitted. "But if you believe Discord deserves the benefit of the doubt, than so do I. I know from experience that I should trust your judgement."

"Thank you." Twilight smiled.

"In fact, I actually wouldn't mind him making another appearance right now." Star Swirl noted. "If only so we can straighten matters out..."

"Oh, really?" Discord grinned.

Discord disappeared from his hiding place, then reappeared right in front of Twilight and Star Swirl.

"Ah, there you are!" Discord feigned surprise, acting as if he hadn't been spying on them. "Star Swirl, I have something to say to you."

"As do I." Star Swirl declared. "I feel as though I may have overstepped my bounds-"

"No, no, this is my reparation." Discord cut him off. "On reflection, I believe I overreacted just a tiny bit. I regret any inconvenience I may have caused you."

Twilight gaped in surprise. Even though she had just finished singing Discord's praises, she was still stunned that he had chosen to make ammends at that very moment.

"Let's say we both had a part to play in today's unfortunate events, and leave it at that." Star Swirl said fairly, offering his hoof.

"Deal." Discord smiled, accepting his hoof.

Twilight smiled widely, happy as always to see friendship succeed in the end.

"Well, I think I've intruded on your visit with Twilight enough for one day." Discord declared. "So I think I'll leave you to catch up. But do let me know when you'll next be in Ponyville, so we can properly get to know each other."

"I would like that." Star Swirl admitted. "perhaps I could see more of these... unique magicks of yours. If you wouldn't mind, of course?"

"Oh-hoh, just try and stop me!" Discord chuckled. "Until then!"

Discord vanished once more.

"What a... unique fellow." Star Swirl mused.

"Unique." Twilight repeated. "That may be the best way to describe Discord. For better or for worse, there is nocreature else like him... but that's one of the best parts of friendship. Being able to accept others despite, and even because of their differences."

"It seems you've taught me another lesson, Twilight." Star Swirl chuckled. "Makes me wonder if all our encounters will follow suit..."

"I certainly hope so." Twilight grinned. "Now, how about we take a another shot at those cupcakes? I have a feeling we won't be interrupted this time."

"I would like that very much." Star Swirl smiled.

The two friends made their way back to Sugarcube Corner, set on giving their fares another try.

As the day neared its end, Star Swirl prepared to depart Ponyville.

"As always, it was good seeing you, Twilight." Star Swirl declared. "But I really must be returning to my travels."

"Good luck on your journey." Twilight told him. "And now that you'll always be welcome here."

"Of that, I have no doubt." Star Swirl beamed.

With that, Star Swirl departed the town, slowly but steadily walking into the distance. Just before he vanished from sight, Discord appeared beside Twilight.

"What a day it's been, eh, Twilight?" He mused.

"You could say that again." Twilight agreed.

"Oh, by the way..." Discord leaned downward, whispering into Twilight's ear. "I heard what you said about me back then."

"I suspected as much." Twilight admitted. "It seemed a little too much of a coincidence that you chose the moment right after to make peace with Star Swirl."

"What can I say?" Discord shrugged. "Your words really struck a chord with me. I... appreciate what you said. Really, I do."

"I meant what I said." Twilight pledged. "You may be an annoying troublemaker most of time, but there are moments where you actually prove yourself a good friend. Today, for instance."

"Now you're just flattering me." Discord grinned. "But I guess I do owe you one. So here's a tip: be careful entering your castle library next Tuesday. There might be a little... surprise in there."

"I'll keep that in mind." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"Anytime." Discord smirked. "And be sure to let me know when our now-mutual friend returns. I have quite a show I intend to put on for him."

"I'm sure you do." Twilight nodded.

"I really should start practicing." Discord noted. "Ta-ta!"

Discord vanished once again. Twilight returned home soon after, acknowledging once more how different friends could be, and how those differences could make a friendship even more special.

Comments

[SuperSonicHeroes]

I have seen so many headcanons where Star Swirl has dealt with Discord previously that seeing them meet for the first time in the Present is a bit surprising. Seeing such a unique creature with unique magic would be surprising for anyone.

[OmniFox]

What if Twilght encountered a Cheese Ladybug?