Discordant Feelings

by cartuneslover19

Outside My Window

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Twilight said happily as she trotted out of the art supply store.

Smiling to herself and humming, Twilight held her head high with pride as she carried a slightly large pack of materials she just purchased. The art supply store was having a sale and the unicorn decided it was time to put down the studying and work on her creativity for once.

She looked up at the sky and her smile widened, seeing as how the sun was shining its usual beam-and no longer using that blinding brightness. She waved a hoof as she saw her good friend Rainbow Dash zoom by in the clouds, kicking some to make room for more sunlight.

Hopefully she doesn't try and use that Sonic Rainboom to clear the clouds faster, her mind chuckled as she trotted on.
_

Arriving at her home, Twilight found her number one assistant busily dusting her library.

"But you just dusted yesterday!" Twilight laughed as she placed her bag down on a nearby table.

"Well, I just re-arranged your books, then I thought it would be a good idea to do that chore again just in case," the baby dragon smiled as he placed the duster down. He watched the unicorn dig into her bag. "What did you get?"

"Something I've always loved," Twilight said happily as she placed the materials on the table.

The baby dragon walked closer to the table and peered at the items. Paints, brushes, scissors, glue, plastic sheets, paper, and colored tissue. He gazed at Twilight with a raised eyebrow in confusion.

The unicorn laughed. "They're for making stained-glass windows," she explained.

"You cannot make a window with this," Spike drawled, rolling his eyes.

"Of course you can," she insisted as she used her magic to summon a few colored tissues. "It just takes patience, confidence, and a whole lot of mind and determination."

Though he pretended to look uninterested, the baby dragon stood close by the table as he watched her summon various items at once to begin her little project.

"See? I'm tracing a simple design..." Twilight said as she drew on a blank sheet of paper. She had drawn a heart with a star in the middle.

"Uh-huh..." Spike droned, his eyes completely focused on what exactly she was doing.

"Now we choose what colors to use for our design," she giggled playfully as she gazed at the array of colored tissue she purchased. "Hmm...well, I guess yellow and purple can work."

Taking a few tissue pieces, Twilight gently pressed her hoof against her pattern before she summoned a glue bottle.

"Not too much..." She said aloud, eyes completely focused on her work as she gently squeezed the bottle.

As the glue flowed into the colored tissue, Twilight immediately grabbed a paintbrush and began dabbing the liquid before spreading it among the edges of her design. By now the baby dragon was completely mesmerized, curious as ever to see how this 'stained-glass window' would turn out.

"Okay, now we wait a little bit," Twilight sighed contently as she peered at her nearly finished work. "When it's dry I'll cut it." She turned to Spike with a teasing smirk. "And you'll see that you can make a stained-glass window."

Spike averted his eyes and folded his arms, trying to hide his embarrassed blush. This little project seemed incredibly interesting now...

"Still don't believe me?" Twilight playfully challenged , almost sounding like Rainbow Dash. "Here's a window I made back in Canterlot."

Before Spike could say anything, the light of Twilight's magic glowed behind him. He turned to see that Twilight's magic had summoned one of the books in the library. One book, placed under section S, emerged from its slot and floated toward the two. Twilight held out a graceful hoof as the book landed delicately in it.

Opening it, Twilight took out a small, glistening object. Spike craned his head curiously, wondering what in Equestria was that she's had in her book this whole time.

"Ta-dah!" She exclaimed, holding out what was actually a stained-glass window. It shone, its glued-on tissue paper gleaming in the light of the room. It was in the shape of a castle tower, blue and white its chosen colors.

"Wow..." Spike muttered, eyes widening in sudden amazement as he gazed at the old project.

"And that's not the best part," she said in a hushed tone before trotting over to a nearby window. Ever-so-gently, Twilight pressed her old work against the glass of her window. It held perfectly as it stayed there, glistening brightly through the sunlight, possibly able to be seen from a small distance.

"Cool!" Spike exclaimed, his green eyes sparkling with excitement. "I want to do one, too!"

"Sure, of course," Twilight smiled as if she expected him to suddenly become giddy about this activity. "I bought plenty of materials for us to do together."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Spike, being a wonderful assistant, raced over and opened the door.

"Hi, Twilight!" Little Apple Bloom greeted as she trotted into the house.

"Oh, hello, Apple Bloom," Twilight greeted, her eyes widening in surprise. "What brings you here?"

The filly smiled. "Well, me and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were just trying to get our cutie marks when something bright caught our eyes," she explained before pointing a hoof behind her.

Twilight followed the little filly outside her door and sure enough there stood both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, gazing at something in awe. Her eyes moved in the direction they were gazing at and she realized they were gazing at her window with the stained-glass image shining for them to see.

"It's so pretty!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, her green eyes sparkling.

"It's as Rainbow Dash would call it," Scootaloo said excitedly. "20% cooler!"

Twilight blushed with embarrassment, flattered by the young girls' compliments. "It's just a stained-glass window..."

"I want one!" Scootaloo demanded as she raced over and gazed at Twilight square in the eye.

"Me, too!" Apple Bloom added, eyes pleading at Twilight.

"Me, three!" Sweetie Belle stomped her tiny hooves in desperation.

"Oh, really?" Twilight asked, eyes blinking in surprise. "Well, there's a lot more supplies, and I wasn't in for studying right now, so why not come in and make your own?" She motioned to the doorway where Spike stood.

"Yay!" The Crusaders cheered before galloping into the library house, barely trampling over a stunned Spike.

Twilight casually walked back into her house to find the fillies seated in front of her table, all well-behaved and ready to start working.

"Well, then..." Twilight cleared her throat before she used her magic to summon white paper. "Each of you should draw your own design you'd like to make into glass." And she placed a piece of paper in front of each before giving out pencils.

"That's easy!" Scootaloo said with pride as she began sketching. Tongue sticking out the side of her lips, the young pegasus became engrossed in whatever she was drawing. "Ta-dah!" She said proudly, holding up her design.

"Wow, Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle said, nearly finishing hers. "That's a nice boat!"

"Boat?" The young pegasus repeated in distraught before looking back at her design. "It's suppose to be a scooter."

Twilight immediately came to her aid with an encouraging smile. "Boat or scooter," she assured, "your window will look very nice and unique."

"You know what?" Scootaloo smiled a bit as she continued gazing at her drawing. "It does look more like a boat!"

"Look at mine!" Apple Bloom said as she held up her drawing. "I drew a house!"

"And I drew Opal!" Sweetie Belle added, holding her paper up, which showed a drawing of Rarity's stubborn cat. She looked at her drawing, her smile fading a bit. "Well, sort of..."

"Oh, that's a lovely drawing, Sweetie Belle," Twilight assured her. "It'll look even more lovely once you paint tissue over it." She summoned some tissue paper and placed it in front of the Crusaders. "Now you girls can choose your colors."

"Oooh!" The fillies said in awe before they attacked the pile of tissue with desperate hooves.

After choosing their colors, Twilight instructed them how to use less glue while being able paint enough to cover all their tissue, which was now over their designs. Using her magic, Twilight used an example paper and swished her brush around atop of it.

"Brush gently," she instructed. "Pressing your brush too hard could ruin it."

"No problem, Twilight!" Apple Bloom assured. "I'll be as gentle as I've ever been in my whole life!" And with that said, she took her brush in her mouth and began to dab at the tints of glue on her project. The other fillies followed her example.

Twilight watched proudly as they became so imbibed in their work. It reminded her of when she was a filly herself, having been introduced to the activity when she began her studies with Princess Celestia.

"Let me know if you three need any help," the unicorn said as she walked away from the table. She walked across the room toward the tiny table where Spike was doing his own project. "And how are we doing here, dear Spike?" She asked, her voice smooth as silk as she gave him a teasing look.

"This is harder than I thought..." The baby dragon muttered as he slammed his cup of glue down. He gazed down at his work with annoyance, having brushed too hard that it ripped a few tissues into the white paper.

"Aw, don't worry," she cooed as she pushed the glue cup closer to him. "Just try again. There's plenty of paper, Spike. Second time will be better, I'm sure."

Determined, Spike grabbed a few sheets of paper and began tracing again. Smiling at him, Twilight went to her study desk where a second project was waiting for her to finish. She smiled as she gazed down at her drawing, and how excited she was to turn it into a beautiful piece she would place on her window.

Twilight's eyes glazed over the drawing as she took a few sheets of colored tissue and gently placed them on her drawing, delicate with her style to get the design just as she imagined it. Finally, after placing each tissue in its chosen slot, the unicorn grabbed a brush and dipped into her cup of glue. Ever-so-gently, she dabbed at her work, lightly stroking the edges so the tissue would shine.

After finishing her gluing, Twilight stood back and admired her work. She smiled in satisfaction as she gazed at her design she couldn't wait to place on her window for all to see.

"Wow," Spike said, standing beside her as he gazed at her work. "That's a neat design, Twilight. What is it?"

"Oh, just an Everfree tree," Twilight said proudly.

"Um..." Spike squinted one eye as he gazed at the design in confusion. "Actually, it kind of looks like some sort of dragon..."

Twilight's eyes widened before she looked back at her work. Her mouth fell in horror.

"Well, I'm not really sure if it's a dragon..." Spike scratched his head, completely unaware of Twilight's stunned expression. "I mean, I don't think dragons have mismatched horns...those are its horns, right? And the feet look kind of...well, they're different as well. Better yet, nothing matches. It's like a confusing puzzle you put together, Twilight." He gazed up at her when she didn't respond. "Twilight?"

Twilight's ears seemed deaf to Spike's voice as her eyes gazed at the design she had created. Spike was right. It looked nothing like a tree. The dark redness of the tissue resembled a body of some sort...different colors as well were added for specific parts...it seemed to have eyes...

"You again..." Her voice was quiet and hoarse as she gazed at her design with complete apprehension.

"Huh?" Spike looked at her with confusion.

Twilight immediately realized that Spike was beside her as she gave him a nervous, assuring smile. "Nothing, Spike!" She said quickly. "I think I just went overboard, that's all!"

"Suit yourself," Spike rolled his eyes as he walked back to his table, "maybe it'll start looking like a tree once it dries."

As soon as he was back to his work, Twilight wheeled back to her project, eyes blazing with annoyance and frustration.

Again...her mind thought bitterly, why am I always thinking about him?

She gazed at her design, looking at all the little details she added to perfect her style. No doubt she had put time into creating the contrasting feet, the arms, the horns, even the wings. And when it came to the body, Twilight immediately recognized how she managed to turn the red into different shades to try and make an exact reference to-

Twilight placed a hoof against her forehead, feeling like the biggest fool in all of Equestria. How in the name of Celestia did she go from making a simple tree to making a stained-glass window version of him?

"Discord..." Her voice hush but serious as her gaze hardened at the sight of her work.

Another memory entered her mind as she reflected back on the day disharmony began. When she and her friends were summoned by the princess to discuss the chaos that was reigning all throughout Equestria. She could recall the look of horror on everypony's face when they realized the elements had been stolen...Pinkie Pie was of no support when she took a quick stroll outside for more chocolate rain. How annoyed and upset Twilight was with that pink party pony despite having held her expression of complete shock...

Twilight had felt so scared and worried, especially for her dear teacher who was trying desperately to figure out where the elements were.

And that's when they heard him.

That dark laughter was terrifying, and Twilight had felt even more scared than Fluttershy was as her eyes traveled from every corner of the castle. She wanted to face against this creature, despite her growing fear. She got her wish when all eyes fell on the stained-glass windows.

Discord...though just a window image, he was still fearful to look at. Twilight could remember the anger bubbling within Princess Celestia as she glared hard at her old enemy, eyes threatening as the Draconequus just laughed at her.

For someone who represented the spirit of chaos and disharmony, he had acted as if he were at some big party and he was the center of attention. He simply messed around with the designs of the windows, poking fun at them. And when it came to the pictures of her and her friends...

"I wish he didn't dance on my head..." Twilight muttered quietly to herself, feeling that her stained-glass image had been 'infected' by chaos itself.

As playful as he was as he swished around in every window, Twilight had seen vengeance in his eyes, determined to continue what he had done a thousand years ago before he had been turned into stone. His voice, before sounding eager and teasing, had started out as dark and threatening; she could sense how 'upset' he was about what Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had done to stop him.

There wasn't time to think over whether or not he had his so-called right to be furious with them as Twilight glared at his image, demanding where he placed the elements and such. But he took her temper to his amusement as he bragged about how he knew each of her friends' elements. He taunted Rainbow Dash for her loyalty to her friends and the princess...and when he said he would challenge that loyalty, Twilight felt her spine shiver with fear.

He ran through elemental descriptions quickly with Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy. When it came down to her and Pinkie Pie, he said his favorite was Pinkie's. The unicorn had not been surprised, as he loved to laugh...at anypony that suffered his tricks.

But when he told Twilight that her element was the most powerful of all, friendship and magic...Twilight had to admit she was a bit flattered. But she ignored the fancy comment, trying not to get distracted as she tried to create a plan to find the elements and bring him down.

She could remember the exact words he said before she and her friends had began their quest.

The unicorn turned to see the fillies and Spike completely absorbed in their work. Sighing with relief, the unicorn quietly used her magic to pick up her journal. Opening it, she summoned a quill and immediately began to write.

"Twist and turns are my master plan..." She quoted as she wrote down the words. "...then find the elements back where you began." She made sure to put quotation marks as well as write down Discord's name down below.

Recalling that memory, Twilight remembered how determined and curious she was as he made that riddle. They way he said it...it was just so...dark and intriguing...And when came that event after he took away the labyrinth and her complete-jerk-of friends began quarreling with each other, she could recall how he somehow flashed both him and Twilight back to that memory scene, hearing his riddle once more. As amazed as Twilight was that he could do such a trick, her mind had been completely focused on the riddle as her ears became attuned to the words. How upset and confused she was...and she had felt Discord smirk down at her as she saw the image of her and the others listening to the riddle.

Twilight twirled the quill a bit as her eyes glazed over the words she had written. Why in Equestria did she she even write them? Perhaps to remind herself more of the past events that happened not too long ago, to reflect on how manipulative and tricky he was. How dark and serious he was in contrast to his mischievous and playful nature...

Though Twilight had been focused on the whole 'find the elements and save Equestria' plan, she had taken a little time to study Discord as they all stood in the room, gazing at the stained-glass windows.

He was just so surprising...able to merge into windows and become one with the glass images. Twilight had to admit-to herself-that that was quite impressive. How proud and flamboyant he was as he swam through the pictures as if it were a sea of color...and he did so while taunting them. His mocking words, his laughter. Twilight wanted to grab the nearest object in the room and throw it at his smirking, stained-glass face...hoping to see him shatter and merge into something else she could throw at.

Imagining that, Twilight had to admit that sounded harsh. She must have been thinking about that after the mix-matched creature had offended Princess Celestia. If he offended her, he offended Twilight. Twilight had to smile at how loyal and strong Rainbow Dash was, willing to fight a glass image to get ahold of him for saying such harsh things to the princess.

But Discord was just being as he always had been, Twilight had to admit. Cunning, playful, manipulative, childish, and ever so calm about such major situations...the unicorn often wondered how he could always seem so serene even when threatened to be stopped. Everlasting confidence and a fast-flying mind is all Twilight could come up with to define his being.

Twilight gazed from her journal back to her stained-glass design. It was drying up now and it almost definitely looked like him. Twilight felt a little sweat pour down her face before shifting her eyes back to Spike and the Crusaders. They were deep in conversation, waiting for their projects to dry and await the next step from her.

Sighing, the unicorn gazed back at her journal and immediately wrote something down.

Voice so discreet yet eager and cunning within the surface. He could make stories interesting with that voice.

Twilight chuckled a bit, gazing at her latest journal entry. If things had turned out different, maybe he would have told stories. He would make them interesting, adding his own little perks to the stories and perhaps have ponies hang on his every word. Or scare them away...

Placing a bookmark between the pages, Twilight closed her journal, planning to write more later. She gazed back at her project, having grown to accept the fact that what she had not intended to make was now her own. Picking it up in her mouth, Twilight walked over to the fillies' table and smiled at them.

"So, how did we do?" She asked after putting down her window, her voice cheery.

"They're looking great, Twilight!" Scootaloo said happily as she pointed a hoof down at their designs. "This is way more fun than the arts and crafts in class!"

"Yours looks really funny!" Sweetie Belle giggled, pointing a hoof at her design. "Is it a bear or something?"

"Something like that..." Twilight said, averting her eyes. She smiled brightly. "Now it's time to cut!" She summoned a few scissors and placed them in front of each. "Don't cut too fast. Patience is very much needed in this project, like when you have to wait for the glue to dry."

"You got it!" The little pegasus nodded before she grabbed her scissors and carefully began to cut.

Spike gazed over at Twilight's design, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I was wrong," he stated, "that definitely does not look like a tree."

"I'll take your word for it," Twilight said intellectually as she gazed at her work. "Still, it...it's n-nice, isn't it?" Her voice quavered a bit when she said that.
_

Sweetie Belle's eyes sparkled as she gazed at her finished piece displayed on the window. Her stained-glass image of Opal was better than she had hoped for.

"So pretty..." The little unicorn said in awe as she and the Crusaders stood close to gaze at their work.

Twilight smiled at them before turning to see Spike gaze at his finished work. It was an image of a pile of jewels.

"It's really nice, Spike," Twilight told him sincerely as she gazed at his piece. "Great job."

"Thanks," Spike blushed. He looked over and gazed at her piece, which was displayed just below his. "Yours, too, even though it's not a tree..."

The unicorn laughed. "Still, it's pretty much art." She turned to see the little mess they all made earlier. Bits of glue dribbled down the table unto the floor, tissues were either scattered or crumpled, and tiny pieces from cutting sprinkled the table like a cupcake. "We better get this cleaned up," she announced before turning to everyone. "Care to help?"

"Of course, Twilight," Apple Bloom said eagerly, "we made the mess, we'll fix it."

"Who knows?" Sweetie Belle added. "Maybe we'll get cutie marks for cleaning up!"

"A cleaning cutie mark?" Scootaloo scoffed. "Kind of boring..."

Twilight laughed as she watched them set right to work. They were still so young, yet they were so eager and determined. It reminded her of when she was a filly, studying while on the other hand trying to obtain a cutie mark. She had hoped to get one before attending her school...she considered herself the luckiest filly ever to gain such a cutie mark while meeting the princess face-to-face. She could remember how excited and happy she was, bouncing around...

She knew these children were very special, helping one another in succeeding their goal. She knew in her heart they would get wonderful cutie marks. It was a possibility that a filly could get a cutie mark for simply being a wonderful friend.

It was the thought of these fillies and their high hopes that made Twilight suddenly wonder what had happened to them during Discord's reign of chaos throughout Equestria.

They were safe, Twilight told herself with assurance, at they least didn't suffer as my friends and I had...

Smiling to herself, Twilight came over to do her part of the clean-up. There was still so many supplies left for more stained-glass windows-

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Twilight raised an eyebrow before she motioned for Spike to go answer. The baby dragon raced over and immediately opened the door.

And there stood many other fillies from the Crusaders' class.

"Oh," Twilight said in surprise. "Hello, kids."

"We saw your little decorations!" One of the fillies exclaimed excitedly. "I want one!"

"Me, too!"

"Same here!"

Eager voices rang out as they all gazed at Twilight, their eyes pleading.

"Oh, boy..." Spike rolled his eyes, a broom in his hand.

"It's really fun!" Scootaloo told them. She pointed a hoof at Twilight. "Twilight taught us how to make windows, and there they are! On the window! She'll show you how it's done!" She smiled up at Twilight. "Right, Twilight?"

Twilight just smiled at the children, feeling her heart beat with the knowledge that she would be showing these young ponies an activity she loved to do when she was a filly herself.

"Of course," she said sweetly before motioning to the table behind her. "Everypony find their place so we can get started."

Cheers erupted as the fillies galloped past her, past a distraught Spike, and sitting in front of the table. They all gazed in awe at the various supplies used to make such a project.

"It'll be a bigger mess for us to clean up..." Spike muttered to Twilight, his green eyes gazing at all the fillies with slight annoyance.

Twilight giggled. "Oh, Spike. They'll clean up afterwards."

Suddenly, she felt her stomach growl. She blushed with embarrassment when all eyes turned to her, having heard such noise that sounded like a lion's voice.

"Oh, well, would you look at that," she laughed. "It must be lunchtime." She smiled at all the kids. "Who wants snacks while they work?"

"We do! We do! We do!" The fillies cheered.

"Spike," the unicorn began as she turned to her number one assistant. "What do we have that we can serve our guests?"

"Hmm..." The baby dragon began as he looked at their food stocks. "Well, we can serve cookies."

"A good start," she nodded, "and what's to drink?"

"Well, the only thing we have right now is chocolate milk."

Suddenly, Twilight's calm posture fell as her purple eyes widened. She felt herself twitch as her lips curved into a slight frown.

"Twilight?" Spike asked, noticing how uncomfortable she looked. "Um, is chocolate milk okay?"

Twilight immediately shook her head, trying to clear her head of what sudden realization hit her. She put on a nervous, desperate smile at the baby dragon.

"Chocolate milk sounds fine," she said, her voice sounding too cheery.

"Okay then," Spike said as he set right to work in preparing snacks. "Uh, you want me to make tea for you instead?"

"That would be wonderful..." Twilight said with a sigh of relief.

Twilight watched as the fillies set right to work, the Crusaders showing them what she had instructed earlier. Despite her recent surprise and near-lunacy, the unicorn smiled. She felt so proud of herself that these young ponies were enjoying this activity; it made her feel like a kid again.

Twilight turned and gazed back at her window, at the recent work the Crusaders and Spike had made. Then her eyes fell on her image.

Studying it now, the image that so much resembled Discord looked intriguing. The posture was showy yet discreet, showing the playful and manipulative character the Draconequus had. It glowed as the sunlight fell upon it. As if he could pop out any moment...

Suddenly, another memory flashed through her mind. It was after the defeat of Discord, the princess created a stained-glass window in their honor for such bravery. All six of them...combined in the Elements of Harmony...their magic of friendship defeating the chaos and disharmony that nearly ruined them and their home...All of Equestria cheered for Twilight and her friends as they all gazed at the window, amazed by such praise and honor.

Though Twilight was proud of herself for saving all of Equestria and being so highly admired...a little bit of her felt regret.

The image of Discord on that new window made her have second thoughts...about whether or not she could have done something much more than imprisoning him in stone. Yes, the whole 'use power of friendship' plan was definite...but it was the plan afterwards.

If things had turned out different...the princess could have made a different window in their honor. A better one.

Twilight sighed as her ears lowered before she continued gazing at her work. She seemed so distracted that she didn't even hear the excited voices of the children behind her. She just gazed at her image...gazed outside her window...

...as if she was waiting.
_

Comments

[NuclearRainboom]

Are there any differences between this version of the story and the one you posted on fanfiction.net?

[NecromancerX69]

oh 4 the love of Luna stop teasing us and make this one a romantic story it is actually more 4 it than just friendship.
pretty please, PLEEEAAAAASEEEEEEEE.......

also keep up the good work.

[Gypsy]

so this starts setting off at chapter 14/15? Wow that's a long ways to go but I'm not complaining, still want more

[CluelessDetective]

You finally brought his chocolate milk of glass in this story and his window! This chapter makes me actually want to see more of her guilt, even though it's getting annoying.
Keep this story up!

[SpiritTrax85]

93110
That's the idea. [/The Room] Now, we play the waiting game.

[Samsam1155]

Moremoremoremoremoremoremoremoremoremoremoremomomomorerereremore

[cartuneslover19]

92973Sort off...

[cartuneslover19]

92973Sort off...93025I don't know...maybe I'll add romance as another tag.

[BrotherConsus]

Slightly repetative but interesting

[DerpTape]

93163
Ehh, the waiting game sucks. Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!