Princess Celestia carefully led Twilight through their plans for tomorrow and the important meeting they were going to have. The guest of honor visiting them tomorrow was a griffin ambassador and the meeting they were going to attend seemed to be of great importance; with the Equestria Games coming up and many of the griffins showing up both as competitors and guests, there were many arrangements to be made of cultural, security and diplomatic importance. Twilight didn't have much of a problem realizing what the meeting will be all about, though she was a bit worried of how it would look once she's actually there - still, as Princess Celestia had explained, she was going to be there as more of a consultant, considering her non-existent experience with politics and formalities like this.
After that was done with, the young Princess retreated into her temporary chambers, still going through everything Celestia had told her and checking her notes. There were several highly useful books she borrowed from the library for this occasion specifically, so she figured she wouldn't have a problem with anything tomorrow.
It sadly turned out that Twilight Sparkle knew about the Princess' actual business as much as she knew about nuclear physics. Other that the very definition and perhaps some basic facts everypony knew about the way the kingdom was run, she was unfamiliar with all the political titles, necessities, preparations and duties. She also sadly realized that unlike many other books, these were quite boring - it slightly horrified her to realize she didn't quite like politics as much as she thought she would and it scared her even more that this meant she held a dislike against a book. Her mind tried to find detailed definitions of political systems interesting, but she half felt like she already knew all that was necessary to know and the text itself simply didn't catch her interest as much as topics she'd usually read about.
With a heavy sigh and a slight headache, she decided to leave the read for some other time. The moment she freshened herself up in the bathroom, she felt much better, washing away the thoughts of the dreadfully boring book, but suddenly feeling quite lonely. She missed the mischievous Spirit that she had recently pounded into the ground, but figured he had it coming.
Well, not really. She facehoofed at the memory. She didn't know if he'd come at all today or tonight, random as he was, but hoped he wouldn't be upset with her. Though, knowing him, her being upset with him in the first place probably only amused him further. She decided not to think of it for now. Instead, she spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some magic studies of her own before descending down to have dinner. Princess Celestia and Luna were both away from the Castle that evening and they wouldn't be back until late hours, so it was going to be a lonely evening, Twilight sadly noticed.
She suddenly realized there was a continuous sound of hoofsteps behind her, which startled her. She promptly turned around, only to realize it was a guard, following her. The familiar stallion in the regular shiny piece or armour stopped in his tracks.
"Yes, your Highness?" He questioned. Twilight stared at him for several long moments before realizing why he was following her - Princesses, or anypony else of higher rank that resided in the castle, often had a personal guard or two following them wherever they went for their own safety.
"You just startled me, that's all." Twilight smiled apologetically. The guard nodded in understanding.
"I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, your Highness, but it is our royal duty, after all."
Twilight nodded back. "It's alright, I understand." She was about to move on, when she looked back at him again.
"If you don't mind, though, could you just..." She gestured with her hoof for him to come and walk by her instead behind her. He seemed a bit surprised by her suggestion, but came up to her anyway, keeping a respectful distance away from the Princess. He glanced at her awkwardly, but when he realized she noticed that, he immediately looked away, as if he'd just committed a crime.
Twilight wondered just how did the guards usually act around Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. This one almost seemed to fear her; Twilight knew better than to conclude Celestia would give any of her subjects a bad treatment.
"Are you alright?" She asked. The guard looked at her, alarmed.
"Y-yes, your Highness." He replied stiffly, stuttering in his hurry to answer her. Twilight tried really hard to stop herself from rolling her eyes. If this was the treatment she would be getting from other ponies now, she already disliked it with passion.
"Look, I don't want to sound, uh... unprofessional, but, I have no idea on what is it like to be a Princess. Let alone govern a country. And, well, I could always use a friend to help me get around." She added, her voice full of hope.
The guard was still tense at first, but then his face expression softened and he gave her a surprisingly cute smile. It was a terribly familiar smile, but she just couldn't recall if she had met him anywhere before.
"I'm sorry, I guess you're right. I should've known better and know that you're probably not comfortable with your position yet."
"Uh... yes, yes! That's exactly it!" Twilight was all but ecstatic - finally, somepony understood her predicament! And what was even better, he seemed to quickly accept the fact she didn't want to be treated like a Princess all the time. His tension was gone and he looked much more approachable than before.
"I suppose I can kind of understand how you feel," he proceeded, "I myself had only recently started working here and I felt heavily out of place at first. Almost as if all the other guards-"
"-were better than you?" Twilight finished his thoughts happily. The guard now returned her smile equally eagerly.
"Exactly so!"
The two simply stared at each other in utter content, until they started feeling weird. Twilight shyly looked away, then spoke again.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle. Glad to meet you." She offered him her hoof. He snickered as he shook it.
"Of course, I know that. I suppose you don't remember me after all, huh?"
"I'm... sorry?" Twilight grinned sheepishly again. "You do look familiar, but I just couldn't point my hoof..."
He saluted, although jokingly.
"Flash Sentry at your service, Princess."
Flash Sentry. The memories of a human male suddenly came back rushing, but she tried to shake it off as the thing of the past - as similar as they were, the two weren't the same person. But she knew this stallion. She bumped into him, two times, at that.
"Of-of course, I remember you now!" Twilight gasped. "I bumped into you once or twice, heh heh..."
"Yeah..."
There was an awkward silence again before Flash Sentry cleared his throat.
"You should get down and have some dinner. Kitchens stop working after nine even for the members of Royalty so unless you can cook yourself, I suggest you go and eat while you can."
Still vividly remembering the fire that almost caught her house when she tried to cook dinner, Twilight quickly made up her mind. "Right. Let's be on our way, then."
The two descended down into the dining room. Twilight insisted that Flash Sentry should join her for dinner - not only was he a pleasant company, but she couldn't stand eating alone in a huge dining hall that was made to accept at least 20 ponies at the same time. He tried to convince her that he wasn't hungry, but the rumble in his stomach spoke otherwise. In the end, they ate dinner together, surprising the serving ponies slightly.
"Thanks for joining me. I don't think I would prefer eating by myself. I rarely do..." She remembered Spike and realized how much she missed him at that moment.
"It's alright." Flash eyes the food on the table, feeling even more hungry than before. "Truth to be told, I skipped on dinner today by accident."
Twilight frowned. "How do you do that by accident?"
"I forgot it at home, is all." Flash Sentry blushed a bit. "I usually pack myself something..."
She snickered. "Oh. Well then, feel free to eat as much as you want."
"Are you sure that's all right? I do feel kinda too privileged."
"Don't worry about it. I know the royal cook well, ever since I was a little filly - she would not let me leave the table until she was sure I ate to my heart's content. I'm sure she'd be careful to ensure my friends get to eat as much as they want as well."
"Well, when you put it that way..." They both took generous portions of tasty dinner.
"Oh, the water..." Twilight eyed the pitcher - it was empty. She got up swiftly. "Hold on, I'll get us some more."
"Princess, please!" Flash Sentry protested loudly before taking the pitcher himself. "You've already done me a great deal of good, treating me the way you do. The least I can do is to serve you, when you need it."
"Don't say that..." Twilight guessed one can only act so much like a friend before a sense of duty kicks in, but she didn't mind. Flash Sentry seemed like he would have done it for anypony at anytime, polite and gentle as he was. Yet, he seemingly enjoyed doing these little things for her, so she didn't protest to his little signs of courtesy anymore.
They had a bit too much fun to leave early and before they knew it, the clock struck ten. Flash Sentry blinked in alarm.
"Oh, it is the end of my shift already! I better go, wouldn't want to keep my colleague waiting."
He got up and bowed to the young Princess. Before she could protest against him doing that, he quickly got up.
"Sorry - force of habit. But I won't be as forgiving with other ponies and Princesses around - I wouldn't like them to think I disrespect you." He grinned playfully and she laughed, not quite knowing why.
"Good night then, Flash Sentry. Thanks for joining me! We will do this again sometime."
"I would love to. Good night, princess!" Flash grinned at her once again before trotting off swiftly. Twilight sighed, not feeling as lonely anymore. She would have a good night's sleep today.
Or at least, so she thought.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Twilight blew out all the candles and got comfortable in her queen sized bed, enough to accommodate at least five ponies comfortably. She felt warm and the overall feeling of joy and happiness overwhelmed her. Her stomach was full of tasty food, she gained a new friend and her wings folded properly without much trouble. Life couldn't be better at that moment. Contently, she drifted off into sleep.
The room was silent. Twilight Sparkle slept soundly. There was nothing suspicious or weird about the room.
Nothing but the sudden, sneaky appearance of the Lord of Chaos, sitting with his arms crossed on the Princess' bed. To Twilight Sparkle, it would look normal. To anypony else, it was a scary sight. The Spirit sitting in the dark, looking at her almost sinisterly.
"My turn, Twilight Sparkle."
Click.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Twilight Sparkle woke up with a jolt, suddenly wide awake. The room was still in the dark and it was warm - no, it was hot, too hot. She had a feeling she would boil in this room. She threw off the covers and got up hastily, rushing towards the windows. They wouldn't open - neither her magic nor her hoofs managed to open it.
The room was getting almost painfully hot, like a furnace. She galloped towards the room door and flew out gasping for the cool air. The room behind her sealed shut - she could hear a clear sound of the lock in action.
She was about to ask a guard for help, when she realized there wasn't one. It was extremely suspicious. Night shifts wouldn't just leave like that. Unless something made them.
She was thirsty. It was still hot, although it wasn't as horrible as before, but it had left her throat scratchy and dry. She could barely think from the sudden thirst, so she decided to deal with the weirdness of the situation after she'd had a drink of water. She rushed down the stairs. Then some more stairs. More stairs...
She was looping, she realized at some point. She had passed the same painting at least three times.
"What is going on here?" She breathed, by now fairly frightened. As she asked that, the stairs beneath her hooves turned into a slide and before she managed to even yelp with surprise, she found herself in the kitchen. Or at least, what was left of it. There was a sink, a table and an empty glass on top of it, all of it standing on a checkered floor in the room with no visible walls.
Her mind was by now a complete mess and she decided not to question anything - she would do so after a drink. She just needed to drink.
Her magic scooped up the glass and she tried to make the water run.
"No, no, no!" She cried desperately - the faucet didn't work. She spun it left and right. Instead of water, sand poured into the sink.
"No, not sand!" Twilight instructed mindlessly - instead of it, gravel clanked into the sink melodiously.
"I need wa-.. wa-t-... wa-!" Her tongue was stuck.
"I need some wat-eh-!" Impossible.
Suddenly, music played. A familiar song, yet sounding like a lullaby, accompanied by a music box...
♪ Make sure I'm drinking in the right
Amount of fluids day and night~ ♪
That song...
♪ I wish I may, I wish I might
Have just one little thing~ ♪
The music stopped.
What are the magic words? The voice she knew all too well asked.
"Discord, what..." Her voice croacked and her throat hurt and she immediately fell silent. She knew Discord's riddle well. A song.. magic words...She quickly made the connection and she sang the end in her broken voice.
♪ Oh, would you please, finally bring me, that tiny glass of... water... ♪
Twilight Sparkle fell asleep inside her dream and dreamed of seas and lakes and baths and ponds, of rains and floods and pools and puddles and of course, of many, many glasses... of water.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She woke up slowly. Her throat was as safe as it was before she slept, perhaps a bit dry, as it sometimes was in the morning, the air was fresh and the room pleasantly cool. It was still very early in the morning and stars have only began to go to sleep. It was all a dream. A weird, weird dream.
Then she saw the Spirit sitting in front of her, right on the edge of her bed, by her hind legs and wasn't sure anymore.
"Good morning, Princess."
"Discord?! I..." Twilight shook her head as she sat up. She gave him a stern look. "What was all that about?" She asked, not sure if he understood.
But Discord acted innocent. "You had a bad dream, no?"
"How did you...?"
"You were mumbling a bit." He quickly explained and suddenly summoned a glass of water. "Thirsty, I suppose?"
"I am, thank you." Twilight admitted, smiling weakly.
She reached for the glass with her magic and tilted it, about to sip it...
Then the water color changed. At first it became brightly green and then it swirled spinning some images she couldn't make out.
"Is something wrong?" Discord asked. Twilight looked up at him. If there was one thing she recognized in him, it was the sincerity of what he spoke and his question was indeed sincere this time. There was no implication behind it. Did he not know what was happening to the water? "Drink up." He instructed.
He obviously didn't know. By now, he'd be aware of what was going on in the glass, the green was obvious. She glanced down. The images in the glass became recognizable, though from a different angle. It was a scene of her and Flash Sentry, having dinner, the same scene from the last night.
The water turned poisonously green again.
The wheels of Twilight's well kept mind started to turn and in a few seconds she got it. Deciding to test her theory, she changed her mind.
"I'm not thirsty."
Discord's eyebrow jumped up. "You're not?"
"No, I'm fine." Twilight confirmed.
The Spirit stared at her, almost confused. They both looked at each other with such intensity it was almost a game of "don't blink". She realized Discord was starting to get that something strange and magical had happened; and although none of them knew just how, she knew exactly what it meant and he knew exactly what she learned. It was time to put the cards on the table.
Twilight breathed loudly as it sank into her mind. "You're jeal-!" Her lips were shut tight for the second time that night magically and she gave the Spirit an angry look as he played innocent.
"I'm 'gel'? I need to learn to take compliments from you,my dear." The draconequus grinned widely.
"He just offered to bring the water! This is just childish. This whole dream ordeal was!" Twilight protested. Discord laughed.
"Now my dear, if you really thought that's all there is to such a splendid draconequus such as myself, you don't know the half of me. But then again, I think you do." He added almost cryptically, looking at her expectantly. Twilight's eyes squinted and she laughed softly.
"Let me guess, you're about to do something incredibly embarrassing, aren't yo-"
Her lips were blocked again but this time not with the help of magic nor as harshly. She closed her eyes. The sensation was overwhelming and the air of the room suddenly grew in temperature. Perhaps it was his tail, curling slightly around her. Perhaps it was merely her. She found herself not really caring. The heat wasn't that bad this time.
Discord sat back up, staring at her adorably blushed face. For a moment, he was caught off guard by the starry look in her eyes, and silence prevailed. He cleared his throat and squeezed out the next words with difficulty she wasn't aware of in the darkness.
"Is... this the sort of thing you think we're missing?"
The heat of her face became obvious on his fingers, and Discord suddenly reverted to his regular playful self, pulling away from her.
"Well, I wouldn't like to make another hole in your pretty carpet, so off I'll go! Perhaps some other time we shall discuss you and I over some tea." He ruffled her mane, as he always did before he'd leave and then clicked himself away.
Twilight gave the situation some thought and stared out the window, into the faraway first signs of the rising Sun. The weather was fantastic. She wasn't thirsty anymore.
It was going to be a good day.
Discord, oh you
D'awwwww! Nuff said.
Attend.
It sadly turned out that Twilight Sparkle knew about the Princess' actual business as much as she knew about nuclear physics
So he skipped dinner because he forgot his lunch? Nope, doesn't seem right
In this case it would be; Would have done it. Also, remember that wouldn't is an abbreviation for Would Not so you can try to practice by spelling a word completely if you aren't sure on using the abbreviation.
Sometime.
It. You are talking about what was left of the kitchen, not Twilight. After all, she still is in one piece right?
Thirsty.
Thought.
not her magic not her hoofs managed to open it.
>neither, nor should be used here
That was great, really weird, but great.
3944136
I really hate how half of these mistakes were made because my keyboard is "slightly" defunct. Then again, I'm glad it's not me. xD
Also, that "lunch" mistake was cringeworthy. -_- I'm saying it was made because of the lack of sleep and not taking credit for such hideous mistakes. *pouts*
3944572
I thought this fanfic was already classified as "weird" - what was so specifically weird this time?
That was quite funny right there.
Damn you Flash Sentry. Get him Discord! Release the pie-hounds!
No, get rid of him! He's evil, burn Flash Sentry!
3946172
3946186
That... might have been an overreaction. Seriously though, I don't like him. He ruins ALL of my favorite shippings.
3948215
I COMPLETELY feel the same way! I didn't like him since his appearance in the movie and I was completely overjoyed to read that he wouldn't be a main character/focus in Season 4.
3948326
Same here. I feel like he is an OC that some horrible writer inserted for a bad romance story.
3944752
Well, the whole Flash Sentry bit wasn't "bad", but it seemed really unnecessary since it was already established last chapter that Discord was going to prank Twilight in some way, so it was more like a shoutout to the movie instead of actually being part of the story about Discord and Twilight.
It was also pretty jarring to have the reference to "Three's a Crowd" when you didn't actually have that episode in your story. I felt like the episode would definitely have gone differently in this story, so skipping past it entirely feels really weird, as that episode had huge amount of interaction between Discord, Twilight and Princess Cadence, the pony that would definitely notice something between the two of them and tease them or help them. Or both.
Well that was interesting. Discord is jealous at the prospect of FlashLight, and he is jealous whether he admits it or not. It's in his name, Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony, so of course he'd be prone to a bit of greed and envy.
He'll just have to get over it, however. Such things are not befitting of a prospective prince.
And now word from your friendly neighborhood grammar police
Proper tense is important; the proper form of "will" when using Past tense is "would", and all contractions ending in "-'s" use "is", not "was", and so should only appear in dialogue and the present tense.
3950380
Seeing as I'm writing an AU story, I'm taking liberty on when which episode took place. They don't necessarily have a set place in the timeline, anyway. As for the actual plot of episodes, I do plan on referencing some of them, especially ones with Discord in them, in later chapters. I don't know if you noticed, but in the first chapter I mentioned Discord eating one of Twilight's books, which, in the show, took place in the episode where Discord only got reformed (and before he was even reformed, at that). I'll take my own shot at what might have happened during those episodes, but I will most likely be fairly vague, unless a better idea comes to my mind, which I doubt - I don't want to stick to retelling the episodes, anyway.
As for Flash Sentry, he isn't in the story merely for kicks, but more for the development of Discord's character, so to speak. (that wasn't last I've written of him, as much as some of people out there dislike him)
3968418
Okay, I understand that re-writing previous episodes because they have Discord would be hard, but couldn't you use a more like-able punching bag OC?
Like a super talented black and red alicorn prince of music, comedy, flying and magic?
3964280
Oh, great tip! I often get lost in my own writing - so much, I forget which tense i started writing in. Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
3968448
Bahaha, I do get your point, but in my defense, I don't really resent Flash Sentry at all - If anything, I think his only problem is lack of screen time. I can't really hate a character if his only problem is that he didn't have enough time to show us who he is. That's the problem with writers, not with the character. But I'm rambling at this point and that's a whole new discussion.
If I decided on using an OC though, I'd probably use mine. He's not that much of Gary-Stu, I think.
Well the only reason I dislike Flash Sentry at the moment is because I don't want him to steal Twilight away, or have her like him I guess. But Flash Sentry in himself isn't so bad. It's ok as long as Discord and Twilight's relationship develops further. Because I really love the relationship between the two. I know it isn't a very popular ship, but the way you portrayed them in the last story... well, it's my favorite fanfiction on Fimfiction since I stumbled upon it like a year ago! Your writing is like music~ it flows together like a melody, and I just really like it! So please keep writing! I am enamoured.
so yeah... and so far, this story is pretty amazing as well!! Don't be discouraged ^^
I'm still waiting for Twilight's parents, Celestia, Luna, and the rest of Equestria to learn of their relationship. Especially Celestia's reaction... I just... I can't wait for it.
3989716
Aww, thank you so much! You inspired me to start finishing my next chapter! I'm sorry if it seems a bit slow, but I realized I write better when I take my time - and I don't wanna hurry this up too much. :D Thank you for your kind words again.
I Absoultely love this!I just finished reading "Learning ABC's" the first one, and. Just love how it's developing.Discords and Twi relationship isn't too cheesy, but not too ignorant.Then you added some extra Sentry there, which is fine by me.And Discord actually acts like Discord and Twilight actually acts like Twilight.Then you add that touc of comedy to a secret-relationship thing, considering Romeo and Juliet. :P
And then you have "A little glass of water please, a fresh presses hankie if I sneeze, some tea with honey from the bees, whenever you can brew it."
When's the next update?I just love a good shipping story.We all know how most take a sad turn.:( Although some stay on the right track, although the end.And that is highly a matter of opinion.So, KEEP WRITING!You have support from many "Learning ABC's"
Fans!:D
He wasn't gel, he was jelly.
(Someone had to)
4051557
Oh wow, thank you so much for your wonderful words and extended commentary. Comments like this really only further inspire me to continue writing. This sequel is being updated a little slower because I want to make sure everything is perfect and that I'm not writing merely for the purpose of updating - plus, my English has updated quite a bit, so I'm very picky about what I write. :) Please be patient, but know this fanfic will be updated, and probably soon.
4065117 oooh!as long as it's being updated.
"First Published 23rd Dec 2013"
How can I have NOT seen this before!?
I'm going to start reading this right away!
4078294
I have an impression many of my previous readers don't know about it yet or simply stopped caring, probably because I started a sequel that I then promptly deleted a few chapters later because it was lame as Hell. They probably gave up on me. :D
4080553
Just tag it as sequel. There is sequel-notification on faved stories.
4081044
I'm not sure I know how to do that. :|
4084098
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7410519/ScreenS/sequel.png
Just type "15322" in that textbox.
I've been waiting ages for this sequel. I'm now eagerly waiting for the next chapter.
About damn time I caught up on this.
So, Discord is jealous because Twilight spent the evening with Flash Sentry? Well, maybe if he hadn't... suggested something to her on the way, he would have been have dinner with Twilight.
4084121
Thank you!
Wow. Having read the sequel and ABCs in one sitting I just can say that I'm grateful to see you still working on more chapters, I like your characterizations very much(and your discord is genius, and well characterized like few authors can actually do.). Also you are the second author to pull off as discolight pairing that works, "Search for the sun" and it sequels were the first ones i read that were any good at all.
Yours is the best one, though, in both characterization, storytelling and the fact that I almost were 12 hours straight reading without breaks. It is that good. I couldn't help but see many of the scenes playing out in my head and see how close they felt to actual posible scenes on the show. Also I liked the light touches of romance the previous story had, at first it seemed going too fast but you managed to correct it and created a masterpiece of slice of life and comedy with one of the best written romances I have read in this site.
You have a few grammatical mistakes in each chapter. but it was an extremely enjoyable experience,
I hope to read a lot more of you!!
4146935
Dude, come on, you're embarrassing me.
Seriously thank you, though, it means a lot to me. I'm a bit slow with updates now because of college and stuff, but it is being worked on. I'm also very appreciative of the fact you find it simialr to the atmosphere of the original show, as that IS what I'm trying to achieve.
Thank you once again, hope you'll enjoy the future updates.
Ooh!Almost forgot.*clears throat*
Twilight is related to the royal family.
You see, Cadence is Celestia's and Luna's adoptive neice.So when Shining Armour married Cadence, Twilight became sisters-in-law with Cadi.This caused Celly and Lulu to be Twily and Shining's aunts.
Well, more like adoptive aunts in law. :)
And as I said before, keep up the brilliant work!
there is one "her" too much
Love what you do. A kiss, at least!
I loved your story(s) in its entirety even with the typos and misspelled words. Are you non-american by the way? I mean no offense, and I know that if you are indeed american, it sounds a bit rude, but parts of your writing seem a bit odd in word choice and phrasing - not that that's a bad thing I'm just curious. As often as you probably get this, your work is wonderful and very absorbing!
Discolight is still the best pairing.
Hope to read more from you soon!
4407002
Hi, thank you for leaving me a comment and for enjoying the story, I'm sooo glad you are! I am a non-American indeed. Though I thought my English has improved to the point where these mistakes aren't as noticeable, lol. In comparison to the first part, this seemed much more polished. Could also be I'm subconsciously mixing in some of the expressions from my language, so it looks weird.
Thank you for the comment, I'll give extra attention to my writing!
Mixed feelings here because I'm a flashlight shipper first and foremost, but it was a cute chapter. Poor jelly discord.
Flash.... The bane of any shipping with Twilight... We meet again...
And the amount of nopes that day has soared to phenomenal levels.