Discords renascent

by Vidhwansak

Just another day

Just another day

(As you may have noticed, this is the first non-dual chapter release. This was mainly due to the fact that I have writers block on the next segment, namely, the spell that's going to be used on Discord. It just feels like it's rather empty, so it'll be awhile until I add enough detail to feel satisfied enough to release it. As a lame apology, here's a filler chapter that should tide you over until I can send out the next dual chapter release. Sorry!)

In a small apartment room in Manehattan, there was a female pegasus on the floor, muttering softly to herself. Upon closer inspection, one can hear the words that she spoke, and they were not the words that one would have liked to hear, as they were words that many a pony would have blushed from the intensity and creativeness of stringing such words together. Eventually, after a long period of muttering death threats and other unsavory words and phrases, the pegasus slowly got off from the floor, walked over to her computer, and with a shaking hoof over the mouse, decided to see how badly her story was butchered by the ponies that happened to read it. She would have barely a day to write a chapter before Gydina went and posted it on that silly site! Vidhwansak knew for a fact that her previous chapter wasn't written out exactly the way she intended, and now she was distraught at the idea that lots of ponies over the internet saw all the mistakes she made in that chapter, and decide to assume her as an 'amateur writer'. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"It's alright, Vidhwansak, surely they wouldn't have attacked you that badly...After all, it's just a story, right? There have got to be more than a few bad stories here, and mine isn't that bad...Is it?" At the end of her sentence, she winced. So much for bolstering up her confidence. With a soft application of pressing her hoof down on the mouse to click on the story, she braced herself for what was undoubtedly going to be the worst possible thing she was going to see in her life, and how she'd forever be shamed for even thinking about writing it down.

Surprisingly enough, the story wasn't rated very low. It even had a few encouraging comments! A good sign, the pegasus thought, and she slowly scrolled down the comments, taking the time to read each one. She even took the time to answer a few of them, and she was so relieved that her story wasn't all that bad as she thought of it to be. Finally, she smiled. It wasn't bad! Sure, it wasn't good, either, but that was alright with her. At least her story wasn't butchered by thousands of ponies demanding her head for writing complete and utter garbage.

However, she still wasn't happy with Gydina. Now she had to add writing the story to her schedule, and between working in the weather patrol and having to look after Gydina, she wasn't exactly going to have a lot of free time on her hooves. Then again, she mused, she wrote the story in her free time, so it wasn't a total loss. With that, the pegasus logged herself off the site, taking the time to commit the name of the website to memory so that she wouldn't have to rely on Gydina logging in for her in the future.

Afterwards, she walked over to where the book "The return of the third Alicorn" was, and picked it up from the floor. Unfortunately, the book slipped from her grasp, and it hit the creaky floor with an audible thud, which made the pegasus wince. She didn't like loud noises, and unfortunately for her, she was living with a unicorn that was anything but quiet. Shaking the thought of what she'd do to Gydina later, she picked up the book again with firmer hooves this time around, and walked over to the sofa. The pegasus opened the book up, and flipped through the pages. It wouldn't hurt reading a little bit more for some more inspiration to her story. As she turned a page, however, a thought crossed her mind.

Perhaps she could find some inspiration from other writers? Perhaps an idea she could work into her story? She flew over to her computer, excited, leaving the book unattended for now. She could always return to it, she had another week before she had to return it to Manehattan's library. Logging back into the website, she searched through a few stories, not sure what to expect of them. Not really going anywhere by simply reading their descriptions, she decided to narrow her search a little. She placed the tags 'alternate universe' in, and after some consideration, added 'dark' to her search. It wasn't as if she wasn't going to find anything too scary right?

Her gaze was drawn to a story labeled 'Cupcakes'. Interesting. From the description, it looked as if the author was deliberately encouraging ponies to NOT read the story. What really caught her attention, though, was the name of the author. She couldn't help but giggle at it. Sergeant Sprinkles? How cute! It must have been made by a little colt that dreamed of enlisting in the royal guard! There was no possible way this could be as scary as the description read! Clapping her hooves together, the pegasus accepted the challenge of reading this so called 'Grimdark as buck' story. It couldn't be too bad, could it? She smiled, applied pressure to her mouse, clicked on the first chapter of the story, and started to read, declaring a challenge.

"What, scare me? Give me everything you got!"

-While this is happening-

Gydina walked throughout the streets of Manehattan, she wondered if she should buy something for the pegasus that she broke earlier that morning. The problem was, the unicorn didn't want to be caught dead in the type of stores buying the type of stuff that the pegasus would remotely want. She didn't have a clue to the pegasus' tastes, despite living with her for...What was it, a few months, now? Sighing, she turned up the volume on her headphones, the music quickly drowning out any background noise she could still hear from Manehattan. She liked her music, it was easy to get lost inside it and have thought drift around hazily...

That's it! She could've jumped up with joy and scream at having a solution that avoided having the pegasus killing her when she got back to the apartment, but in Manehattan, not only was doing such an outburst of emotion like that was unwelcomed, it also made for a lot of misunderstanding between you and any police ponies that were just happening to blend into the crowds. Still, it didn't stop her from smiling inwardly to herself.

Music, and the kind that she couldn't resist! Sure, while Vidhwansak detested having to listen to the 'garbage' Gydina listened too (Although in her defense, Gydina argued that the pegasus' music tastes were too bland), the unicorn was certain she could find at least one CD album that she could buy for the pegasus that would calm her down. She walked down to a store she frequented regularly, with a bright neon sign that, if one could see clearly at for more than five seconds, would've seen that it read 'Scratchy Records'. This was the store that Gydina visited for all her music related needs, so surely she would find some section dedicated to...That gross classical stuff that Vidhwansak listened too. Seriously, did that pegasus ever go out and listen to the good stuff?

After searching through the few classical CD track albums the store had, she finally found a track that she thought wouldn't make her ears bleed and yet would agree with the picky pegasus back at the apartment. It was a bit pricey, but it wasn't that bad, compared to other tracks available in the store. She paid twenty-five bits for the CD album, and stored it in her backpack carefully. After looking at how many bits she had left (Ten of them), she decided to spend her day walking around Manehattan, after all, by the time the evening rolled by, Vidhwansak was sure to have calmed down enough to be in an agreeable attitude. She hoped, anyway.

-A few hours later-

Back at the same apartment room in Manehattan, a pegasus was once again on the floor, although this time, instead of muttering words and death threats that were meant for a certain unicorn, she was now whispering words that expressed her terror and confusion at reading the horror that one could call a story. How does somepony write such a vile thing and live with themselves? The pegasus would never again be able to look a cupcake without remembering the horror that came with the story.

The pegasus whined as she attempted to press herself further into the floor, wanting something to distract her from the story. Vidhwansak screamed and jumped up in the air as she heard creaking from the floor, which, as she would later realize, came from the attempt to become one with the floor. She immediately fled into the kitchen, pressed herself into a corner, and stared with wide eyes everywhere, at everything. Other than her screaming earlier, it was completely quiet. Deciding that the coast was clear, she thought that some comfort food would be nice, and would hopefully take her mind off the story she just read. She slowly got up from her corner, walked over to the refrigerator, and opened it up. Sadly, her gaze immediately snapped over to the last thing she wanted to see, a clear plastic carton that contained cupcakes.

Quite a few ponies were startled by the sudden scream.

-A few more hours pass by, and the evening comes down upon Manehattan-

Gydina whistled happily to herself as she walked back towards the apartment room she grew so fond of now. With the CD album that she had in her backpack, there was no way Viddy was going to kill her now! At least, she hoped. There was always the possibility that the pegasus would kill her on sight without giving her any time to show her the gift the unicorn had bought for her, but Gydina dismissed the likelihood of that happening. After all, Vidhwansak didn't seem like the type of pony that would immediately attack on sight, no matter how angry she was. Gydina also had suspicions that the pegasus liked her a little more than as a friend, but Gydina didn't want to press her on that. She'd eventually come out with it, and Gydina was more than happy to watch the subtle signs of the pegasus trying to make Gydina notice her a little more.

As she reached the door, and knocked, she had this odd feeling that the pegasus didn't have a nice, relaxing time by herself. Gydina shrugged the feeling off, and knocked again. She was just being paranoid, nothing scared the pegasus. After waiting at the door for three minutes, an impatient unicorn decided to pick the lock with magic. Although what she was doing was considered illegal to any pony passing by, she wasn't about to wait for Vidhwansak to return from wherever the hell she was. She grinned as she heard the magical click she was waiting for, which signified that the lock was open.

"Finally, I'm in!" Gydina opened the door, and walked into the living room, gently laying her backpack on the sofa. She yawned, and decided that she had a bit of a craving for something sweet. She then remembered the cupcakes she bought a few days ago, and smiled at the thought of having one right now. It wasn't meant to be, however, as she walked into the kitchen to reveal a rather disturbing scene. Vidhwansak was passed out on the floor, with cupcakes smashed everywhere. Gydina took the scene in with horror, and then stifled a giggle. It just looked so silly, especially with bits of cupcake stuck to the pegasus' coat. Gydina nudged the pegasus gently, wondering how much alcohol the pegasus drunk to have assaulted a bunch of cupcakes.

"Viddy? Viddy, you awake?" The pegasus immediately looked up, fear clearly evident in her eyes. Upon seeing Gydina, Vidhwansak immediately backed off away from the unicorn, her wings fully extended in a protective measure. Confused, Gydina wondered what happened during the time that she was away to have scared the pegasus like this, and why her cupcakes were all smashed on the floor.

"Viddy...It's alright, it's just me, Gydina. You know, the unicorn that drives you crazy? C'mere, I won't hurt you." The unicorn slowly approached the pegasus, and just managed to wrap her hooves around Vidhwansak's neck before the scared pegasus attempted to fly off. Vidhwansak tried to break free of the hug, but slowly, with Gydina muttering reassuring words, the pegasus hesitantly returned the hug, softly at first, and then with a fierce grip that surprised the unicorn.

Gydina awkwardly held Vidhwansak in a hug, and waited until the pegasus finally loosened her grip, complete with an awkward silence between the two. She wondered what scared the pegasus so much, there usually wasn't anything that actually fazed her. After the silence extended to a few more minutes, during which the pegasus began to clean up the smashed cupcakes, Gydina spoke up softly.

"Viddy, what happened while I was gone? And why do my cupcakes look like they've been homicide victims?" The pegasus flinched, and pointed at her computer.

"I...Was reading a story off that site you posted my story on, and the cupcakes reminded me of that story..." It didn't take Gydina long to realize just what the pegasus had read, and rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly in despair.

"I could have warned you about that, not all stories here are nice and warm, Viddy. But my cupcakes, seriously?!" The pegasus disdainfully pushed past the unicorn, not wanting to argue with Gydina.

"Whatever. I'm going to go take a shower...Also, Gydina, don't buy anymore cupcakes. I don't want to see one for at least a month." Gydina's heart dropped. No cupcakes for a month? More unusual and cruel punishment from the pegasus! She seriously considered returning the album she bought for her, but eventually decided against it. If anything, Vidhwansak needed something reassuring more than ever, she remembered the first time she herself read cupcakes.

So, the unicorn waited for the pegasus to return from the shower. As she waited, she pulled out the CD album that she bought. It was a nice mix of classical music and the 'trash' that she herself liked. At least, if the pegasus didn't like the music, it was the thought that counted, right? She placed the CD inside one of the computer's disc drives, and started to play the first song. Gydina adjusted the volume just enough that the music would travel far enough to the bathroom, where Vidhwansak was taking her shower. Gydina then just realized how tired she was. Walking around Manehattan did that to you. Knowing she couldn't fight it, the unicorn hastily scribbled a note, and placed it on the computer's keyboard. Satisfied, Gydina walked over to the living room, her steps sluggish. Yawning, Gydina laid down on her sofa, and soon enough, she fell asleep.

Vidhwansak, upon hearing some decent music play while she was in the shower, wondered if the unicorn had finally appreciated the more classy side of music. Those horrid songs Gydina listened to were nothing but loud, senseless noise. As she came out of the shower, however, with her mane still damp, she noticed that the unicorn was sleeping. She must've gotten tired from walking around Manehattan all day, the pegasus mused. She knew she would be.

Turning her attention around towards her computer, she noticed a CD album she'd never seen before, as well as a note. As the next song played, the pegasus took a closer look at the album. It was an album she'd always wanted to buy, but never actually considered saving the bits for it. She then looked at the note, and smiled. With messy writing, it read 'Please forgive me, Viddy?'

Looking back at the unicorn sprawled on the sofa, the pegasus walked over, and whispered softly to Gydina.

"I forgive you."

She kissed her horn, and then walked back to her computer, where, with the company of a new track full of music to listen to, started to write the next chapter of her story.