> Loss of Laughter
>  by Harmony Charmer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ya Gotta Smile, Smile, Smile
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was eerily quiet on the hill where Discord sat. He wasn't too fond of hills, in all honesty. They were too difficult to climb and too easy to fall down, even by his standards. Yet, he knew that his own misgivings meant nothing. He had to wait, despite his discomfort.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there. It may have been five minutes, it may have been five hours, but who was to say? A whole day and night could have passed and he wouldn't have bat an eye. That was just how patient he was being.

Fluttershy had taught him how to be patient, he remembered. She taught him a lot of things in their time together. Yet, those lessons were going to have to wait for another day. Or perhaps more. He still didn't know.

Discord was at Fluttershy's not too long ago, now that he thought about it. Or maybe it had been long ago. Again, who was to say how much time had passed? He definitely didn't need the Princesses or their celestial bodies to tell him. He was a celestial body of his own, one that held it's own time and zone. Perhaps that was why it was slightly difficult to continue his patient behavior.

Actually, just how did he end up where he was? Did he snap his talons and teleport like usual? Or did he maybe walk, like a simpleton? He couldn't remember anymore, and he wasn't sure if he cared. Yet, there was one thing he did know:

There had been a loss.

'A loss of what, exactly?' Discord asked himself, finally attempting coherent thought. He wasn't sure if he liked doing it, yet he continued on. 'I don't even know what I'm doing on this hill, yet here I am.'

He was at Fluttershy's when it had happened. While in the middle of chasing Angel and his little critter friends with little cotton candy clouds that zapped chocolate flavored lightning, he had been having the time of his life. Fluttershy had been trying to get him to stop, but as he was in the middle of assuring her critters' safety, he was stopped abruptly by a horrific feeling... Almost as though he couldn't breathe.

He didn't know what was wrong, just maybe that he had overworked himself and that he needed a breather. Of course, since when did he ever have to take five? He was a god, for Tartarus' sake. It wasn't until his breathing had returned that he felt it.

It was like a crash. There was no other way of saying it. It was just a crash onto his entire being, causing him to feel all sorts of things he never knew he was capable of feeling. Not emotions, no, that was too preposterous even by his standards. He couldn't describe it other than that, even though he wish he could. He wasn't good at being straightforward, even with himself.

And as he recovered from the shock of it, that was when he felt it... An imbalance, something that he tried for constantly in the most discordantly way possible. Yet, it wasn't a good type of imbalance, not like the ones he caused. His were supposed to be funny and appealing to the eye, whereas this one was just... wrong.

'I've felt that sort of imbalance before, though not as heavy as this...' Discord recalled, 'I believe it was when Fluttershy and the others were trying to imprison me again...'

Yes, that was it. He felt it when he managed to turn the Elements into the opposites of their affinities. The scales that held Harmony and Chaos had been tipped to the side of Chaos, just as he wanted.

Yet, this imbalance wasn't an even imbalance. Back then all the Elements had been turned, but in this instant, it would seem that only one had been affected and not all six. That was problematic for Discord, seeing as how either all had to be one or the other in order for the imbalance to be balanced.

'So, the question at hand would have to be which Element had been affected...' Discord mused.

It hadn't been Fluttershy, which he only knew because she had been with him during his horrific crash experience. He couldn't say much for the other Elements, but he wasn't sure if he was willing to leave his place to figure out who had been affected.

'Is that why I'm here? Am I waiting for an answer to appear?'

"Discord?"

Discord blinked in shock before turning around to face whoever had appeared. He sighed. "So my question's been answered."

Pinkie Pie frowned at him. "You felt it, too? That doozy?"

Discord arched a brow. "'Doozy'? Hmm, that's not the word I'd use to describe it..."

"That's how it felt to me," Pinkie told him as she took a seat on the grass beside him, "and it told me to come here."

Discord nodded. That made perfect sense to him. "So do you know why we're here?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Not really. I just know that something is... missing, is all."

"Do you want me to take a guess at what it is?" Discord asked.

Pinkie shrugged. "I guess. Wait, does that count as one?"

Discord shook his head. "Dunno."

Pinkie sighed. "I'm not good at this... I usually know what's going on, but for once, I have no clue."

"I don't like it, either," Discord told her, "I don't know what happened, but for some reason, the balance has been tipped into the favor of Chaos. And not in the good way."

"Because only I was affected," Pinkie concluded. She looked up. "Well, not just me, I guess. I'm not the only pony of Laughter, you know. I bet Cheesy's gonna show up any second now."

"You rang?" asked a deep voice.

Pinkie and Discord turned to see Cheese Sandwich, who was wearing his poncho and hat, a small rubber chicken with a large number 2 on it sitting on his back.

"Cheesy, why are you wearing your poncho?" Pinkie asked, "It's a bit too warm for that, right?"

Cheese shrugged before whipping off his poncho and in turn his hat. "It's whatever." He looked up at Discord. "Did he feel that doozy, too?"

"What is with you two and doozies?" Discord questioned, "Is it a party pony thing?"

"It's a Laughter pony thing," Pinkie and Cheese said at the same time, not even glancing at each other.

Discord frowned. "Fine, then." He returned his attention to the horizon that was visible from their spot on the hill, his eyes boring into the sun as it began it's descent into the nighttime hours. "So do you two geniuses have a clue as to why we're here? Because I sure don't."

Cheese blinked. "You mean to say you haven't felt it?"

"Felt what?" Pinkie asked.

Cheese frowned. "That... empty feeling. Surely you felt it before?"

Pinkie pondered it for a moment. "Depends on what you mean by empty. Because I already ate and my stomach isn't empty, and I know my head isn't empty, so just what is it?" She put a hoof to her chin. "Maybe it's not just a feeling?"

Cheese nodded. "You're right, it's not a physical thing. It's more of link type thing. Kinda like us?"

"Oooooh," Pinkie drawled, "so you're saying that this weird thing we're feeling is like our link as Laughter ponies?" She froze. "But, if we're feeling an empty feeling and it's about somepony who's a Laughter pony..."

Discord's eyes widened. "Somepony's gone." His ears flattened against his head. "That's not a good thing..."

Cheese nodded his head. "I've felt it before, and I think you have, too, Pinkie." He bowed his head slightly. "Only this time, this Laughter pony was a stronger influence..."

"Like Ponyacci?" Pinkie asked, "He's a strong Laughter pony, too."

Discord held his arms awkwardly. "I'm not sure I like how this feels... And I don't think I like that it was somepony that caused this huge imbalance..."

Cheese frowned. "And I think I have a pretty good idea as to who it could be... I read the paper this morning and found out about somepony real famous dying recently."

Pinkie flinched at the last word. "It wasn't Ponyacci, was it? He just opened up his school for clowns!"

"No, he wasn't a clown," Cheese told her, "well, not all the time, at least. Only when it was necessary."

"Does it matter what he was?" Discord asked, sounding a bit bitter, "He's gone, isn't he?"

"And it's scary..." Pinkie murmured, "I haven't felt something like this since Granny Pie passed away..."

"That doesn't mean we have to sit here and mope about it," Cheese told them, "I know that when I die, I don't want a funeral or something sad. I'd want something super fun and happy, while still respecting why it's happening."

"Same here," Pinkie admitted, "we had a funeral for Granny Pie and it was too sad for her, so I ended up having a personal party between her and me at the grave."

"We didn't even know him!" Discord snapped, "We didn't even know this guy and you're talking about planning his funeral?"

"Of course not," Cheese said, "that's his family's job." He pulled out a noisemaker from behind him and put it in the side of his mouth. "But, it's our job as Laughter ponies to honor him. Because without another Laughter pony to help, we got a lot of work on our hooves if it means we can maintain the balance."

Discord blinked. "Wait a second, are you saying that you're going to try pick up where he left off?"

"No, we'd never do something like that," Pinkie told him, "we're just making sure that we do our jobs the way we're supposed to and make sure that everypony is happy. Maybe not the way he made them, but they'd be happy nonetheless."

Discord gave them a shocked look. "You just want to... keep living? Even though there's been a huge imbalance like this?"

Cheese looked up to the sky, which was turning into a flurry of colors as they sun continued it's descent. "To live. To live would be an awfully big adventure."

Pinkie frowned. "You stole my line."

"How can you two be so OK with this?" Discord asked, "How much are you willing to bet that lots of ponies are sad over this? Even though they can't feel it like we can, that guy was someone's family! Someone's friend!"

"Death isn't the enemy," Pinkie told him, "and even though it's hard, we have to treat it with dignity and maybe even a little bit of humor... It's what we have to do."

"Smile, smile, smile," Cheese said.

"Even when you're hurting all the while," Pinkie concluded.

Discord was silent for a moment, not sure what to say or make of the two ponies in front of him. Finally, he laid on the hill, a somewhat broken look in his eyes. "I never realized how much work you Elements put into your affinity... And even though this guy is gone, you're gonna keep making ponies laugh?"

"It's what we do," Cheese told him.

Pinkie bowed her head. "Even if our hearts a teensy weensy bit broken because of it..."

"So, Discord," Cheese said, "do you want to come with us? We could use some help with this."

Discord didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked up to the heavens, a thoughtful look upon his features. He looked up at the darkening sky intensely before he said anything. "One time, I had a friend that was a genie. He was a total nut, but he was an awesome nut."

"Is this a joke?" Pinkie asked, "Because I know every genie joke in existence and I don't think I know one that starts like this."

Discord shook his head. "No, it's not a joke, even though I think genie jokes are hilarious." He looked back up at the sky. "Anyway, this guy was awesome. I never had a friend like him, and he knew it, too. He liked to make people happy, even if it cost him some of his own happiness." He sighed. "All he asked was that the last wish his master made was that he be free from his role, so that he could live happily."

"And nopony did?" Cheese suggested.

Discord shook his head. "He lived in that stupid lamp for thousands of years and all he wanted was to be free. Finally, after a long time of bouncing between masters, he met a guy who fell in love with a princess. And even though it was a bit crazy for awhile, in the end, my friend was free."

He looked back down at Cheese and Pinkie. "What I'm saying is, after a lifetime of making everyone happy, he was freed from his prison."

"So you're saying that this isn't really a bad thing?" Pinkie asked, "That even though this is really sad, he's free now?"

Discord nodded. "Death is a sad thing, but like you said, it isn't the enemy. We have to treat it like we would any situation and take our best crack at making it not so sad."

Pinkie smiled. "You'll help us?"

"Definitely." Discord gave her a weak smile. "My genie friend had a little saying that stuck with me for the longest time, and I think I should share it with you two. He said, 'You're only given a little spark of madness. You must'nt lose it.'"

"Well, if madness makes ponies happy, then I'll keep the fire going all night if I have to," Cheese said.

"Me, too!" Pinkie proclaimed, "Let's get a move on, you two! At dawn, we arrive in Manehatten!"

As the two party ponies trotted down the hill, Discord looked up to the sky once more, then blinked as he took in the sight of the moon. Time really flew by, didn't it?

"Well, I guess it's history, huh?" Discord said to no one in particular, "Or is it mythology?" He shrugged. "Who cares? All that matters is right now, I guess. Because right now, like Genie, you're free."

And with that, Discord walked down the hill and caught up to Pinkie and Cheese, completely unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching him from the sky.





"Made ya look!"