Twilight Sparkle the Dragon

by PlutoMilo

Discord's Lessons - Rules

When Discord said 'next week', Twilight expected seven days from that date. After all, wasn't that the definition of a week? So it was to Twilight's unfortunate surprise that Discord popped into the middle of the library on a Wednesday wearing pool floaties, flippers, and a snorkel.

Twilight froze with her quill suspended over her parchment for so long that the quill dripped.

"It's been a week?" Twilight asked stupidly, blinking rapidly and checking the clock.

"Expect the unexpected!" Discord sang, throwing pool noodles around, "Come, my apprentice, we shall learn the proper form of teleportation. Outside please!"

"But-" Twilight glanced back at her essay and watched it burn to a crisp courtesy of Discord, "Wha-?!"

She was left holding her quill over a scorch mark on the desk, "Discord!"

Discord wagged a finger, "I am addressed as Master, young apprentice,"

"My essay!" Twilight fumed.

"You'll get it back in due time Twilight. Now come! Outside we go!" Discord bopped her on the nose and suddenly they were standing in the middle of a grassy field near Ponyville, "When I am through with you, I should hope you can manage to teleport like so,"

Twilight placed a claw on her chin, deciding to throw off her annoyance for the time being, "The sensation of magic is still the same as unicorn magic, but the actual act of teleporting is a lot different. There's no surge of magic, it's almost like preparing the spell and casting it, is in the same action,"

Discord promptly took off his sleeping mask when Twilight finished talking, "Are you the teacher here?"

Twilight frowned but shut her mouth.

"Wonderful! Now," Discord flapped his mismatched wings, "Now to learn Chaos Magic, I want you to take all the rules you know about magic and forget about it,"

She blinked, stunned into continuing her silence.

"Then," Discord continued, flying upside-down, "I want you to make new rules. They absolutely cannot match the rules you already know. Once you've made them, they become rules you cannot ever break on pain of death,"

He looked at Twilight expectantly as if waiting for her to spout rules right then and there.

"How do I forget about rules?" Twilight demanded, finally speaking, "That's like asking me to forget how to write!"

Discord straightened and thought before saying, "We can start small then, just like forgetting how to spell something, if you want to use writing as an analogy, you can try and forget how a rule works. Teleportation isn't that difficult, unlike changing the properties of an object,"

"Well I need to think about this don't I?" Twilight huffed indignantly, "All this just to teleport?"

"But of course, my dear apprentice. Didn't you need to learn all the rules before learning to teleport with unicorn magic?" Discord made a point, "You needed to understand the rules, know what they did, and how they worked before you even attempted teleportation correct?"

Twilight nodded. She'd been a studious little filly and studied almost obsessively until she'd been turned into a dragon and adopted Spike (her priorities had shifted a bit once she realized she was the sole caretaker of a child). It'd taken years of reading and Celestia's guidance before she even attempted to teleport. She wondered if the dangers were the same.

Unicorn teleportation was dangerous if done without proper preparation and power. Most unicorns never even attempted teleportation simply because of the dangers.

Discord continued, "So what better way to learn than to make the rules yourself? You'll know exactly what they do, how they work, and the limitations of it. There are five rules you must create that encircle the five elements: fire, water, death, life, and magic,"

Since Twilight continued to look stunned, Discord settled himself back on his hooves and patted her head, "Come now Twilight Sparkle. Nothing is impossible," then he continued in a surprisingly more gentle manner, "This lesson can always wait, neither of us is going anywhere for a while. I can come back next week to hear your rules,"

"But don't I need to start forgetting rules before I make them?"

Twilight's head twisted up to look at Discord like a lost child's. Yet at the same time, Discord spied determination sparking under the surface. Something in the old draconequus' heart melted. A genuine smile stretched across his face.

"I knew I made the right decision when I made you my apprentice. Good luck with your rules. I will be back next week. Expect the unexpected," He patted her back and she reappeared back in the library, essay, and quill still in claw.

It nearly took Twilight a full minute to register she was back in the library and set her writing utensils down. Her essay lay forgotten as she flipped a random piece of parchment over to start her draft of her rules.

---

Four days later, the second floor of the library was covered in so many crumpled balls of paper that it looked like it'd rained down from the ceiling. Twilight slammed her quill down on the tabletop so hard that quill splintered in her grip and the entire table wobbled and collapsed under the force. A quick spell fixed it, but Twilight still glared down at the paper.

When Discord popped into existence, he narrowly dodged the blast of fire Twilight sent his way. He poked his head out from his improvised bomb shelter created from pillows.

"How go your rules, apprentice? The fire makes me think it's going well!"

"I don't even know how to start!" Twilight roared sadly, "The rules for the rules are too vague!"

Discord blinked, "But that is the point, my apprentice! It gives you room to interpret to your own wishes,"

"You can't give me examples, Chaos Master?" Twilight gritted out.

Discord mimed wiping away tears, "Oh my apprentice has finally called me Master! And no Twilight Sparkle. That takes away the fun. You need to be creating, making, and following the rules!"

Twilight glowered at her teacher and slumped over on her desk again, "It just isn't possible to forget the fundamental rules of magic,"

Discord simply sat upon nothing as he waited for his apprentice's lightbulb moment to go off. When it did, he conjured a lightbulb and lit it. He watched on in amusement as she swatted the bulb out of the air and then scrambled to pull sheets of blank parchment toward herself.

"I can't forget about them. Would it still work if I simply ignored them, Chaos Master?"

"I suppose," Discord agreed skeptically, "Though I do not know how you would manage to ignore rules without forgetting about them in the first place,"

"Well it's not like I'm going to give up unicorn magic completely," Twilight said, voice growing louder in excitement, "Yes! This could work. I'll create my rules Chaos Master, but I refuse to forget about the old ones,"

A grin slowly spread across the immortal's face as he watched Twilight's quill fly across the papers, "Next week then, apprentice?"

"Try two days, Chaos Master," Twilight nodded confidently, "I am an expert at ignoring rules,"

"Splendid,"

---

A few hours later, Twilight had finished drafting her first rule: fire. Her master had said it was up to interpretation. Her first rule was about her own fire.

Letter-fire wouldn't be able to transport objects bigger than her own mass, nor could it transport nonsentient life.

The last part had her doubting herself since most living things that housed a brain wouldn't dare stay still long enough to burn up completely into letter-ash. She was half a mind to call herself crazy, but knowing her master, these rules were supposed to be like that.

If she wanted to send a couple of hundred pounds of paper to Celestia in one go, who was to stop her? Heck, if need be she could totally transport Spike some-place else if he stayed still long enough and clearly gave consent.

But she could not and would not set animals on fire just for the sake of moving them. A bunny wouldn't know what was happening and more likely die of a heart attack from fear. Plants were more ambiguous but Twilight also refused to set them on fire unless they were dead already.

Twilight was unsure if this rule would apply when she blew out her letter-fire from her mouth, or when she invoked her Chaos Magic into it. For all she knew, she'd have to do a claw snap and whatever she wanted on fire would spontaneously catch fire.

She went to bed very satisfied that night. However, halfway through the night, she threw her covers from herself and hurried over to her desk once more. Spike groaned from the bed and turned away from the candles Twilight lit.

In the early hours of the morning, Twilight created her second rule: water. Once her quill was back in the inkpot, she readily called herself a crazy dragon as she looked over the rule.

In her presence, water would be sentient and would be able to take whatever form it wanted, so long there was enough water to create it.

She wanted to laugh. Drinking water in the future would be fun. She wasn't sure if this rule would end up being a blessing or a curse. Time would tell, she reasoned.

Seeing the sunlight filter through the leaves that made up her roof, Twilight saw no reason to go back to bed and hastened to make herself some tea before she keeled over on the spot.

Spike woke up a few hours later with a steaming breakfast waiting on the table for him and his mother nearly claw deep in parchment. Knowing better than asking why she was awake, he thanked her for the meal.

Twilight smiled at his eager expression as he devoured his pancakes before continuing to mutter to herself about the properties of her third rule.

Life and Death were the hardest ones so far. The two others had been easy. Just a simple crazy or imaginative idea and the rule was done (with a little minor tweaking). Life and Death were delicate matters.

Her first instinct was to veer off into necromancy territory but the more logical part of her mind stamped that thought out before it could get out of claw. The dead were supposed to stay dead, no matter how their manner of leaving the living plane was initiated.

Her third rule encompassed both Life and Death: Her Chaos Magic wouldn't be allowed to become the cause of a sentient being's death nor could it extend or save its life.

When she finished, she had a sinking feeling that this rule would come and bite back when she wasn't looking. But she refused to allow more leeway. Life and Death weren't things to tamper with.

The last rule regarding Magic had been easy. After all, she literally housed the Element of Magic within her. A few check-ins with the tiny subconscious inside and the rule was done and dusted.

Her Chaos Magic would only be limited by her imagination and the parameters of the other three rules.

---

It was with great excitement that Discord popped in exactly one and a half days later. Her master was decked out in an obscenely colored cape that changed hues at random intervals. The changing colors weren't ever easier on the eyes than the last. The goggles on his eyes made them bulge out in a bug-like fashion, but somehow, Discord pulled the look off well.

He took one look at his student and then a party horn went off. Confetti rained down from the ceiling and disappeared before ever touching the floor. The lights went off and a disco ball lowered from where the lights were. A second later, music began to play.

"This is a library," Twilight managed to say before getting swept up into a celebratory dance, courtesy of her mentor.

"Congratulations my apprentice!" Discord exalted as she squeaked incoherently from the speed he swung her around at, "Your rules have been set and they are quite good if I do say so myself!"

When Twilight was steady once more, the confetti, disco ball, and music vanished as fast as they sprang into existence. Despite the circumstances, a smile pulled at her mouth.

"Yes Chaos Master. Thank you for being so patient,"

"Now I can give the lecture about teleportation," Discord gleefully exclaimed, "No more rough and tumble, limb disembowelment here! No sir-ree!"

Twilight didn't even blink when Discord took the two back to the empty field. She laid down and made herself comfortable, ready to absorb the new information like the knowledge sponge she was.

Author's Note:

I am so sorry for the late update, but I got writer's block when I attempted to think of what rules Twilight should have lol. I didn't want to suddenly make her too OP. After all, she still has a lot of villains to fight :>

Comments

[The A I]

This can only go well. But i have a feeling discord is going to say something along the lines of "simply will yourswlf there!"

[Joe Toon]

Let me get this straight, Twilight was a Unicorn before she became a Dragon? Did it happen during her exam? Is that why Spike is a pony?

[Twilight_Shimmer]

I think Discord would approve of the rules Twi set for Life&Death

[KvAT]

10980415
This was based off a story where it is the case, so most likely something happened that swapped Spike and Twilight's species.

[Halloween Spirit]

It was with great excitement that Discord popped in exactly one and a half days later. Her master was decked out in an obscenely colored cape that changed hues at random intervals. The changing colors weren't ever easier on the eyes than the last. The goggles on his eyes made them bulge out in a bug-like fashion, but somehow, Discord pulled the look off well.

Ah I see that Discord borrowed a robe from Sarumon the White(Many colors.)