Chapter 20: What About Discord?
One day, Twilight, Nyx, and Chase were inside the main library room. All the books in the room had been placed into three very tall piles.
Spike just sighed as he looked at all the books.
"Didn't we just shelve all the books in the library a few months ago?" Spike asked.
"Yes, but that was because we needed to!" Twilight replied as she took a book with her magic, "This time is just because I want to! I can it my "book-sort-cation"!"
"Is it even a real word, Mom?" Nyx asked in confusion.
"Three uninterrupted days of reorganizing books," said Twilight excitedly, "Can you think of anything more relaxing?"
"Well, claw massages, back rubs, bubble baths..." Spike listed.
"A treat at sugarcube corner, playing catch with friends, watching ducks swimming at the pond..." Nyx added before the two noticed that Twilight wasn't listening.
"You weren't really looking for an answer, were you?" Spike remarked as he slumped forward.
"She seems to do that alot when she's into something," Nyx remarked.
"You might wanna get used to it, honey." Chase advised. "It's kinda her habit."
"I even devised a better system for organizing them," Twilight continued, showing she hadn't been listening to the conversation, "It decreases the amount of time it takes to find a book you're looking for by nearly three-quarters of a second!"
"Whoa," said Spike flatly, "That much?" Spike was then picked up by Twilight's magic and she squeezed him tightly.
"Look at them all," said Twilight happily as she looked at all the piles of books, "Why, there must be at least twenty thousand books to organize!"
"Hoo!" Owlowiscious hooted impressively as he sat on a shelf and looked at those reading this story.
"Actually, you have 32,576 books," Chase replied and Nyx's jaw hit the floor.
"You actually counted them all, Dad?!" Nyx exclaimed in shock.
"That's nothing, my sweetie once counted all the books in the Canterlot Library to impress me," said Twilight and giggled to herself, "This is gonna be the best long weekend ever!"
That's when Spike burped out a letter with a white lotus flower symbol on it.
"It's a letter from Pakku." Chase said in surprise as he used his magic to grab it and read it as he was stunned.
"What does it say, honey?" Twilight asked her husband curiously.
"Pakku has got a few new members to train so he has asked me, Sokka, Clay, Sunray, and Jade to help his clan tough the new recruits." Chase said with excitement.
"Really?" Twilight asked with surprise before she smiled. "That's wonderful!"
"Yeah, it's such a huge honor to help him!" Chase agreed with a smile of his own before he turned his attention to Nyx. "You wanna come with us to the campground, honey?"
"Me?" Nyx asked in surprise before she became excited. "Yes! I would really love to do that!"
Nyx couldn't resist wagging her tail with excitement as Twilight giggled, still finding her daughter's excitement very cute.
"Alright, well, why don't you two get ready for your big trip to the White Lotus campground with Sokka, Clay, Sunray, and Jade. Spike and I will be fine." Twilight said to her husband and daughter.
Chase and Nyx nodded in agreement before they went off to get their things ready. Then Twilight turned her attention to Spike as he had a less enthusiastic expression as unlike Twilight he wasn't as much as a fan of books as her but is still supportive of her just to keep her happy.
"I'm sure we can make some time for a claw massage and a back rub too." she told Spike with a smile as she leaned in towards his eye level gave Spike more of a reason to be excited for the weekend.
"Yes! Best long weekend ever!" Spike happily replied as Twilight simply rolls her eyes in amusement as it is the only thing on Spike's mind is his reward for helping her out.
*Main theme*
The three days all came and went through in a breeze and by the time the weekend was over Twilight had just finished up her reorganization of the library. All that time organizing books was such an amazing stress reliever. Recently, Chase, Jade, Sunray, Sokka, Clay, and Nyx left a few days ago to the White Lotus clan to help out Pakku train the new recruits.
By the time the weekend was over she felt more relaxed than she had been in a while and felt better than before.
She exited the castle's main entrance as she took a deep and relaxing breath as she walked down the stairs.
Spike was close behind her as he then squinted and shielded his eyes from the bright glare the sun produced as it shined above him.
"Whoa! That strange yellow orb in the sky! What is that?" Spike asked as he briefly looked away from the sun.
"Alright, alright, so it's been a little while since we've seen the sun." Twilight said in response as she and Spike made their way into town.
"A little while? We've been in that library for three straight days!" Spike retorted as he caught up to her.
"Yes, but they were three very productive days! Even if you did take that two-hour claw massage break." Twilight replied with an amused grin.
"Hey, you promise a claw massage, I'm getting a claw massage." Spik responded somewhat defensively
"Come on, it's not like we missed anything." Twilight replied back as they continued walking to where the two are greeted by two comet like objects hurling towards them at top speed one was rainbow colored and the other was checker plaid colored.
Acting quick, Twilight quickly grabbed hold of Spike and they both ducked to avoid being struck by the incoming objects. When the dust settled the two turned around to find that the two objects were really Rainbow Dash and Discord standing before them.
"Hello, Twilight! Hi, Spike!" they greeted simultaneously while waving their hoofs and hands in perfect sync.
"Hi, Rainbow Dash. Good to see you, Discord." Twilight politely greeted them.
"Did you rehearse before you found us?" Spike asked sounding rather annoyed by their antics that could have seriously injured or worse killed had they not ducked in time.
"What makes you think we practiced?" both Rainbow Dash and Discord replied in perfect sync.
"Come on, Rainbow Dash. What's going on here?" Twilight asked wanting to know what this is all about finding it very off that Rainbow Dash and Discord are getting along in perfect sync together.
Rainbow Dash couldn't contain her amusement as she bursted out laughing as she flew upwards, wrapping one arm around Discord.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Sorry. Me and Discord are just messin' around. Ha, ha! Like we do." she said with a wink directed at Discord.
"Really? Since when?" Twilight asked more curiously at this surprising development since Rainbow is not the pony Discord would get along well with. That's usually Fluttershy's job.
"Oh, Twilight. We simply had a momentous time together these past three days. You could say it was... "hiss-terical"! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" The Draconequus said as he shape-shifted his body to resemble that of a snake, a rattlesnake, making Rainbow Dash laugh out loud as well getting the joke.
"Ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha,! Sneaky snake! Ha, ha, ha!"
"Oh, oh! Just snaking around!" Discord laughed along as he "shed" his snakeskin and reverted back to his original form.
"Good one, Discord!" the pegasus said as she and the Draconequus high five one another further surprising the princess even more.
"It is?" Twilight asked, not fully understanding what the joke was supposed to be about.
"I mean get the jokes but why was Rainbow laughing like it was the funniest thing ever. How in the hay are they are getting along so well all of a sudden?" Twilight thought to herself.
"Kind of an inside joke from this weekend. You wouldn't really get it unless you were there." Rainbow Dash explained to her as flew down to her for a moment.
"Oh. Okay." Twilight said with a forced smile to try and avoid the inner awkwardness she was feeling at the moment.
"Cool. Well, uh, catch you later, Twilight!" Rainbow told Twilight as she flew off in a flash.
"Catch you later, Twilight." Discord playfully yet somewhat sinisterly told her as got into a running start before disappearing in a literal flash leaving Spike literally in a pile of dust and rubble.
"That was strange, right? Since when have Rainbow Dash and Discord had inside jokes?" Twilight asked Spike as they later walked through town still confused by what she had just saw.
"Since sometime in the last three days, I guess." Spike replied with a deadpan shrug as he bumps into Twilight's tail as she abruptly stopped hearing that.
"Hey! Nopony made you join me on my book-sort-cation." Twilight brought up he had the option not to stick around the whole weekend with her but did so anyway.
"I'm jokin', I'm jokin'!" Spike quickly and apologetically told her as they continued walking forth.
(Scene changes)
The two made their way to Rarity's boutique store as Twilight opens the door with the bell on top of the door ringing to let Rarity know she has a visitor.
"Rarity?" Twilight called out to the unicorn as she turns her head towards her who gasps upon seeing her.
"Twilight!" She greeted the alicorn as she took off her reading glasses. "You've returned from your book sorting sabbatical! All that organizing has done wonders for your complexion!" She figured it did wonders to her mood ever since she reformed.
"Thanks! It was very relaxing." Twilight said in agreement while Spike rolling eyes to the side says he didn't find it relaxing. "And we were able to clear a shelf for those old-fashioned books you wanted to donate."
"Oh, pfft, they're not old, darling. They're vintage, and they're over there!" Rarity replied feeling the need to correct her as she directed her attention to the said books she set aside.
Then she remembered something as she noticed Chase and Nyx weren't with them.
"Oh, where's Chase?" Rarity asked. "And how about Nyx?"
"Oh, they, Jade, and Sunray are off at the White Lotus clan to help Pakku train some new recruits." Twilight explained.
"Oh, now I remember." Rarity realized as she smiled. "Sokka and Clay told the rest of us that they were going since they received Chase's request to help Pakku."
Twilight and Spike nodded in confirmation.
"I've even included my favorites by former Canterlot designer to the stars Rococo Froufrou!" Rarity added as she brought the bag over and held up the book with said star on the front cover.
"Oh, that's nice!" Spike complimented.
"Him." Rarity corrected Spike that Rocco is a guy as she levitated the bag to him leaving Spike embarrassed that awkward moment.
"Both." Spike said awkwardly.
"Twilight!" Discord called out from the doorstep as he and Fluttershy walked inside. "This makes twice I'm seeing you in one day! Aren't I lucky?"
"Weren't you just with—" Twilight tried to bring up that he was just with Rainbow earlier before being interrupted by Fluttershy.
"Hi, Twilight! Hi, Spike! How was your book-sort-cation?" Fluttershy happily greeted the two.
"It was good!" Twilight answered as Fluttershy giggles
"Orange you glad you did it?" Fluttershy asked with an intended pun as she, Rarity, and Discord all laughed together.
"Orange you glad"! Oh, Fluttershy, you're a card!" Rarity laughed, finding the joke funny.
"Oh, please. You'll make me blush." Fluttershy sheepishly responded. "Sokka might get jealous."
"Oh, don't worry about him. I'm sure he won't mind since he's away with Chase and the others. You do seem to be turning a shade of..." Discord said as he gasps as he literally turned Fluttershy into a "…orange!"
Both Fluttershy and Rarity laughed again at the orange joke as Discord pulls the steam as the orange layers peeled off of Fluttershy returning her to her normal form leaving both Twilight and Spike still confused that both Rarity and Fluttershy are laughing along with Discord's jokes even the old ones that have run their course.
"Oh, sorry, darling. You see, we were at Sweet Apple Acres and, uh, ooh, how to explain..." Rarity apologized and struggled to explain what they did over the weekend.
"Well, let me try and paint her a picture, dearest." Discord offered to explain to the unicorn.
"Not quite the type she might look for." Spike remarked with a blunt look as Discord with the appearance of Bob Ross paints a picture of Sweet Apple Acres.
"You see, we were all at Sweet Apple Acres, and I ended up turning the trees into the most— " He explained before turning back into his normal tone of voice and bumped the painting away with his tail. "Oh, who am I kidding? I simply can't do it justice. You really had to be there."
"We would've invited you to come along too, but we didn't want to interrupt your organizing. We know how important it is to you and Chase." Fluttershy apologetically told the alicorn.
"And I'm sure it was much more important than the fun that we had." Discord added with false reassurance as he hugs Fluttershy and Rarity.
"I appreciate that..." Twilight still calmly and politely shrugged it off to assure them there are no hard feelings. "Speaking of books, I should get these on the shelves."
Twilight was about to leave when Discord used his magic to have apple and oranges float around in a circular formation to make it look like he is juggling them as Fluttershy and Rarity laugh at his antics leaving Twilight and Spike still confused.
(Scene changes)
As Twilight and Spike walk through town, Twilight wonders to herself what happened over the weekend that is leaving room for her friends bonding with Discord more so than usual. Could they have done something very great something that Twilight cold never ever imagine?
"Hmm. Rainbow Dash bonding with Discord, Rarity finding something he did genuinely funny... Must've been some weekend." Twilight said to Spike feeling a little left out.
"Somepony sorry she missed it?" Spike asked with a hinted smile that she is jealous.
"Of course not." Twilight simply answered although she knows the answer is yes but not the way Spike thinks as they hear Applejack and Pinkie Pie laughing from inside Sugarcube Corner.
Wondering what's going on she quickly heads over there and sees them laughing and rolling around on the ground.
"What's got you two in hysterics?" Twilight asked them as Discord appears again just after eating a cupcake.
"Oh, we were just reminiscing about the best weekend ever!" Discord answered.
"He's everywhere today, isn't he?" Twilight told Spike in a hushed tone.
"Oh, now where was I?" Discord recalled. "Ah, yes, we had just finished our soup, and then Applejack said…" Discord explained as he turned his head into Applejack's head. ""Peanut butter hoof? Yuck, not even with jelly!""
Both Applejack and Pinkie laugh at Discord's antics while Twilight still looks confused not getting the joke.
"Eh, I don't get it." She said still lost at the sight.
"It was hilarious! I wish we'd taken a picture for you!" Pinkie replied as she approached her.
"Oh, well, this should do!" Discord responded as he tap-danced wearing peanut butter jars as shoes causing Applejack and Pinkie Pie laughing again at his antics.
"I guess that's funny?" Twilight said with a forced small smile while secretly looking aside downcast.
"Well, seems this has become quite the... sticky situation" Discord joked again as he looks at his peanut butter coated feet with Applejack and Pinkie Pie both still laughing.
"Sticky situation!" Pinkie Pie laughed.
"Aw, shucks, Twilight. We haven't even asked how your weekend went. Clay has also said that he was with Chase and the others that had volunteered to help Pakku at the White Lotus clan to train new recruits." Applejack said as she addressed her at getting over her laughing.
"It was fine!" Twilight simply replied while hiding and masking how she truly feels about their fun with Discord.
"And yet you look so glum." Discord noted as he looked at her upside-down for the upside-down smile. "Does somepony need a huggy-wuggy?" He asked her in a mock baby-like tone as he hugged her and stroked her mane and horn.
"I am not glum. I'm glad! I'm glad you all had such a good time together." Twilight politely replied as she broke up Discord's affectionate gesture. "Having inside jokes can really create a lasting bond between friends."
"I'm just sorry that all this bonding happened while you were holed up in your castle." Discord replied in a sad tone although Twilight could see through his act.
"Heh. Oh, don't you worry about Twilight." Applejack reassured her as she gently nudged Discord to stop giving her a hard time. "Bet you and Chase were in hog heaven organizin' all them books. Again."
"I'm sure I had just as much fun as the rest of you." Twilight replied as she calmly lied through her teeth as she turned to leave.
(Scene changes)
"I can't believe I missed out on all that bonding!" Twilight voiced out in disappointment once she got back to her castle.
"Everypony was getting along so well with Discord and they understood his jokes perfectly while I didn't." Twilight voiced her thoughts out loud as Spike eats red gems. "Sure it was something I had to be there in order to understand the joke but they all had fun without me or Chase. I'm pretty sure if he was here he would agree on this."
"I knew it! You are jealous!" Spike called out feeling his thoughts on what Twilight is feeling is correct before he became serious about the other part. "And yeah, Chase would agree with what you said."
While Twilight knows that he is right about her being sad about being left out. Jealousy wasn't the answer.
"Spike, I'm the Princess of Friendship. If I was feeling upset about missing out on an experience would've helped me with my Princess of Friendship duties, jealousy isn't the answer for that." Twilight calmly replied as Spike tossed another gem into his mouth.
"Come again?" he asked with his mouth full and looking confused and deadpan himself.
"If our friends could enjoy three full days with Discord that much, it must have something to do with the specific things they did together!" Twilight thought as she thought of an idea of how to get the answers of what happened. "If we could find out what those things were, it could be a real breakthrough in the science of friendship!"
"I guess so. But Chase might smack you in the head if you might do something stupid." Spike responded as he was about to eat another gem before being interrupted by Twilight teleporting right in front of him.
"I know so!" Twilight replied with a bright smile. "You thought our book-sort-cation was fun? This is gonna be even better!" Then she added sternly. "And Chase will not smack me stupid for this because he's my husband and he loves me."
Spike could only look on with disinterest with whatever Twilight has in mind to find out the answers she seeks.
(Scene changes)
The princess later stood on top of a bench in the middle of the park where her friends gathered together while Spike, who was standing by her side, held a clipboard and quill ready to write down some notes.
"Thank you for coming. I wouldn't have asked you here if it wasn't important." Twilight told everyone in attendance.
"I love important!" Pinkie Pie happily replied.
"I just want to know how these funny moments you shared came to pass. I can use this data to help advance friendships all over Equestria." Twilight explained to them while hiding her true motives.
"Well, I like the sound of that!" Applejack said, sounding eager as the others voiced their immediate agreement to the idea. "If Clay was here, he would agree too!"
"Perfect. Let's start with the snake." Twilight began her project as she turned to Rainbow Dash and Discord who both try and fail not to burst out laughing to no avail.
"I don't know if I can get it out! It's too funny!" Rainbow Dash said in-between laughs.
"Oh, but we must! It's for the greater good!" Discord told Rainbow before calming down so he can narrate the events. "It started when we were helping Granny Smith with her garden..."
"Uh, I reckon you mean my sister Apple Bloom." Applejack corrected him.
Eh... All you Apples look the same." Discord just shrugged off the correction seeing no different from any pony in the Apple Family before continuing. "And then Rainbow Dash saw a snake!"
"I think it was a garden hose." Fluttershy giggled as she recalled the memory.
"It was a hose snake. Super deadly." Rainbow Dash explained.
"I recall it being a large stick that looked like a hose that, in turn, did in fact resemble a snake." Applejack voiced her thoughts as she recalled the memory.
"Point is, we galloped away." Pinkie said as she got close to the bench Twilight and Spike were standing on.
"And it chased after us!" Rainbow said as she flew downwards bumping into Pinkie causing her to fall onto the ground from the impact.
"So let me get this straight." Twilight politely interrupted as she tries to piece together what they are saying. "You were all helping out at Sweet Apple Acres…" She said as Applejack nodded yes to confirm it. "…Then Rainbow Dash saw what she thought was a snake but was really a large stick that looked like a snake and a hose." She said as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash nod to confirm it.
"We literally trotted for our lives. Isn't that hilarious?" Discord explained to her seeing that Twilight seems to have now gotten it.
"Oooh!" Twilight said in realization. "I think I get it now."
"I guess you had to be there." Fluttershy admittedly told her as she walked up to her as Twilight got an idea in her head.
"It's all right, Fluttershy I think I get it now." Twilight explained as she thinks over another idea of how it makes more sense. But I think it would help if I was there so I can understand more about what happened over the weekend."
"But you weren't." Rarity told her confused of what she meant by that. "And it's already happened." Rarity's eyes widen at what she thinks Twilight's is suggesting. "Ooh, are you suggesting…"
"Time travel?!" Pinkie smiled with glee while wearing an orange jacket, sunglasses and a watch around her wrist.
"Absolutely not!" Twilight firmly shot down the idea to confirm that's not what she had in mind. "Time travel is not something to be messed with. We simply need to recreate everything that led to these jokes."
"Oh, what a brilliant idea!" Discord immediately supported the idea. "Shall we begin with the lunch date that kicked off the glorious weekend you missed out on while Chase, Jade, Sunray, Sokka, Clay, and Nyx left for Pakku?"
"Yes, let's." Twilight said with a smile thinking she is now going to get more of the answers she seeks.
(Scene changes)
Back at the cafe in town, Twilight examined the table they had eaten lunch at the start of their weekend wondering if it was exactly where they all met wanting more precise results and answers.
"Are you sure it was this table?" Twilight asked her friends.
"Uh, does it really matter?" Rainbow Dash asked as if one small thing makes a difference.
"When it comes to science, everything matters. One change to the equation could ruin the experiment." Twilight replied yes it does.
Discord pondered for a moment before teleporting to another table.
"Ohhhhhh… it was this table here."
Twilight simply shrugged as she and the others made their way to the table Discord is at.
Everypony all sat around the table together with Discord kindly pulling the chair for Fluttershy to sit before taking his seat. Twilight was the last to take her seat.
"Alright, so you sat down at the table, and then what happened?" She asked her friends as Rariry spoke up as she levitated the menu with her magic.
"Oh, well, first I expressed my displeasure with the design of the menu. It—"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just noticed something." Discord interrupted.
"Yes?" Twilight asked.
"The tablecloth. It isn't the same color as the one the restaurant used on the day in question."
"…Really?" Twilight asked to make sure he is telling the truth.
"He's right!" Rarity confirmed as she remembered. "The tablecloth was red! I remember because it clashed with the font on the menus."
"I don't suppose that means we're gonna need to get a new tablecloth, does it?" Applejack asked seeing a potential time-consuming task before they can properly recall the events to Twilight.
"Oh, most definitely." Discord answered as he touched the cloth to make it magically change from white to red in just a matter of seconds.
"Ok." Twilight simply replied with a shrug while impressed by his magic trick.
"One change to the equation could ruin the experiment. Twilight said so herself." Discord repeated Twilight's words as he briefly appeared with Twilight's mane, horn, and wings on his head before changing his appearance into one where he wears a lab coat. "Anything stand out as being different? Anything at all?" He asked the others as Twilight looks on deadpan hoping to move forward with this.
"Um, I've noticed a couple of things." Fluttershy spoke up with her hoof raised in the air.
"Me too!" Pinkie Pie added.
"Excellent!" Discord exclaimed as he magically had a notebook and quill appear in front of Twilight so she could use it. While a little annoyed at Discord for dragging this out she still smiled in satisfaction that she will at least get what she wants out of this.
Rainbow Dash would work on moving a specific cloud that was over them on the day they had their lunch just so everything about the sky is precise.
"A little to the left! No, my left!" Discord instructed Rainbow using orange sticks while wearing goggles and an orange vest while Twilight takes notes as Pinkie makes her observations of the scene. "A little bit more... Oh, no, no, no, no, no, a little more right!"
"The cloud over our table looked like an ice cream sundae!" Pinkie Pie pointed out to Discord who simply stretched out the cloud, transforming it into the ice cream form that it was that very day.
"Perfect!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she slightly stuck out her tongue stuck to the side of her face.
Next, Discord inspected the temperature of the soup with a thermometer.
"No-no-no-no-no, this is barely room temperature! Garçon! Garçon, over here!" He called out to someone as a Discord duplicate exited the cafe, dressed as a waiter while Twilight still carried on taking notes.
Finally, everything was in perfect order as they reenacted each and every moment from their weekend, up to the moment when Discord started tap dancing on jaws of peanut butter. But even when learning everything she got out of it, Twilight still couldn't find the humor in any of this as she was completely deadpan by his antics even though the rest of her friends were finding the humor in it.
"No? Nothing?" Discord asked her when she showed no reaction.
"Oh, no. I think I get the jokes now." Twilight reassured him with another forced smile it's not the case as she speaks her thoughts as she looks aside for a moment before turning back to the others. "Although, are you sure there's not something you've missed? Some other detail about your lunch together that you're forgetting? I just want to make sure I got everything."
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel we've been pretty exhaustive in our attempts to recreate every single detail of our previous encounter." Discord told Twilight as the rest of the group agreed with him.
"Yeah, Twilight. If you don't get it by now, I don't think you're ever gonna get it." Rainbow Dash told her as she flew over to her.
"But it is really important that I figure this out. It's for the good of all Equestria!" Twilight responded that there has to be something more to this still feeling this is not adding up right.
"Well, perhaps we should have another look at the data we've collected." Discord said as he examined the magically collected data with a ticker tape machine and wearing professor-styled clothing from the long paper that came out of the machine.
"Of course! There is one last variable that we haven't accounted for." Discord gasped in realization as he slapped his forehead.
"What?" Twilight asked with a hopeful smile.
"You!" Discord replied with an ominous smirk
"Me?" Twilight looked at him in confusion as she spots his expression.
"You weren't there observing us. No matter how hard we try, we can't possibly recreate our weekend of fun exactly as it happened because you'll always be watching, and you weren't there with Chase." Discord told her with the rest of her friends seemingly in agreement with him.
"He makes a good point." Pinkie Pie agreed with Discord which didn't really help Twilight at all.
"If there is anything this experiment has proven it's that moments of levity and bonding between friends simply cannot be recreated so that others might share in the experience. Chase would have to agree." Discord further explained to Twilight.
"He makes another good point." Pinkie Pie agreed with again.
"Oh, don't worry, darling. I'm sure there'll be plenty of other chances for you and Chase to share in the kind of frivolity we had with Discord while you were away." Rarity tried to comfortably reassure her as she and the others walked off.
"Yeah, and I'll bet they'll be just as hissssss-terical!" Rainbow added as she moved her arms like a snake before laughing her way along.
"Abouslety!" Fluttershy said in agreement as she and Discord walked away together.
As she watches her friends walk off she sees Discord secretly smirking again at her direction as he sees through the facade she is putting up to hide the truth from her friends.
Applejack noticed his smirk. She turned to Twilight Sparkle who was looking down in sadness. The cowgirl felt that she should comfort the princess since they're both close friends.
Clay said he, Chase, Jade, Sunray, Sokka, and Nyx will be arriving real soon a few days ago for today. Applejack thought with concern for Twilight. Maybe they can help Twilight out.
(Scene changes)
Back at the castle, Twilight looks over her notes and even looks at the exact events that transpired while she was away from her crystal orb in secret but she still couldn't piece everything together.
"Could it be possible that they really don't value me as a friend anymore?" Twilight asked herself as she put her crystal orb away back in her room as she makes her way to the throne room. "No, no it can't be that!" Twilight then said as she still firmly refuses to believe it.
Twilight herself knows that her friends do forgive her and value her as one of their best friends but it seems that they were able to befriend Discord in a simple heartbeat like her friendship to them didn't really matter.
"I'm not buying it. Not for a second. There is definitely something else going on here, Spike!" Twilight told Spike as she paces around in the throne room while he eats up more red gems.
"Or maybe there isn't, and you should just drop this whole thing and admit that you're a little jealous!" Spike suggested that there are just some things that can't be explained.
"Even if I'm not able to laugh at what happened, I should be able to figure out why they find it funny. Why they think they had this amazing and hilarious time together. But I can't figure it out! It doesn't make sense!"
"Some things just can't be explained." Spike could only say to Twilight in response the best he can.
"Our friends think something great happened to them while I was away, but no. It was something awful!" Twilight angrily responded causing Spike to drop the gem he was about to eat as she comes to one last idea up her hooves to confirm her suspicions are true or not. "If we don't break the spell they're under, who knows what terrible things could happen?!"
"Spell?" Spike asked in confusion.
"Come on, Spike! There's no time to lose!" Twilight urgently told Spike as she forcibly dragged Spike away with her magic but quickly came back to grab the bowl of gems for Spike to snack on while on the way.
(Scene changes)
At the train station the friendship express made its way to the station before it screeched to a stop. Chase was the first to walk out followed by Clay, Jade, Nyx, Sunray, and Sokka.
"Boy, that was some rookie training, guys." Chase said with a smile. "Pakku must've been very pleased to let us help him out with the new recruits."
"Yea, Ah say this made him happy for us to be there to assist him." Clay agreed with Chase.
"It was so awesome to see the campground and the White Lotus clan being reborn again too. The warriors there were amazing." Nyx added with a smile. "I really loved it!"
Jade, Sunray, and Sokka nodded in agreement.
"With the new recruits, we'll have a good chance of stopping the Quinkan again." Sokka said with a determined look as well as a smile on his face.
That's when Applejack walked into the scene.
"Howdy, ya'll!" Applejack greeted.
"Honey!" Clay shouted in joy as he and his wife hugged each other lovingly.
"Hi, sweetie." Applejack said with a smile as she and Clay kissed on the lips lovingly.
"Applejack, we weren't expecting to see you here." Sunray greeted the orange pony with a smile.
Applejack smiled in return before she became concerned for Twilight. Chase was the first to notice this.
"What's wrong, AJ?" Chase asked with a concerned look.
"Well, Chase. It's your wife." Applejack replied back worriedly.
Chase blinked before he narrowed his eyes, knowing something was up.
"Tell me what happened." Chase said sternly as Applejack began telling them everything involving Discord.
(Scene changes)
At Zecora's Hut, Twilight had just explained to the zebra everything.
"Zecora, what do you think? Can you undo Discord's magic?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"In what way can you tell that they are indeed under a spell?" Zecora asked curiously as she was working on her
"They're having fun with Discord, that's why!" Twilight protested.
"Ah. A friendship with Discord is truly a shock. But who says it is something that we must block?" Zecora replied
"Trust me, they would never laugh like that unless something magical was involved. It's not that funny. I know funny." Twilight said.
Zecora sighed as she passed the bottle of potion to Twilight Sparkle.
"Alright. This potion will break the spell, then you will be able to tell." Zecora instructed.
Twilight Sparkle smiled in relief and happy. As she was about to turn, she found Applejack standing on the entrance.
"Applejack, what are you doing here?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Aren't you at home resting and sleeping?"
Applejack sighed.
"Twilight, I saw everything. And believe in me, what we did before is real and not spell. Discord really is our friend." Applejack said.
"Are you sure? Coz I still think Discord is behind it." Twilight replied with suspicion.
"Twilight, look at my eyes," Applejack said calmly. Twilight Sparkle looked at her gentle and calm eyes. She continued, "What do you see, Twi? Did you see I was under a spell? Did you see I would lie to my best friend after everything she has done for me and my home? Did you see me just to ignore helping you? Did you see me for not being honest?"
Twilight Sparkle looked closely at Applejack's eyes while thinking carefully. Her cowgirl friend shown to be firm, calm, caring and even honesty.
"No, you wouldn't," Twilight Sparkle said in defeat. She sighed, "You were right, Applejack. And I was wrong. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, sugarcube. It's okay." Applejack assured her with a gentle smile.
"I wasn't there. I missed out. And seeing you having all these jokes I wasn't a part of and couldn't understand made me..." Twilight paused for a second.
"Jealous?" Applejack asked bluntly.
"No. The Princess of Friendship can't get jealous." Twilight argued.
"Sure you can, Twilight, and none of me or our friends begrudge you for it. I'm sorry if me and girls made you feel left out." Applejack responded back with a glare.
"You didn't do anything wrong. You're allowed to share things that don't include me." Twilight said.
"And you're allowed to feel a little jealous about it. You just have to be able to admit it and not try to make us recreate everything that happened when you weren't around." Applejack said with a giggle.
Twilight Sparkle giggled in amusement as well.
"I guess you're right. So, we should head back and tell the girls how I feel."
Applejack smiled.
"Ya, we better. We actually want you be there but Discord suggested not to. Next time, we bring you along." Applejack assured her friend again.
"Wait? What?" Twilight Sparkle asked in shock. Applejack turned to her. She continued, "You want me to be there? Discord convinced you and others not to?"
"Well, yeah. He said not to disturb you because you were busy with your weekend. So, I don't see..." Applejack stopped as she realized what and why Twilight Sparkle was in shock. She remarked in anger, "Why that no good snake!"
Twilight growled in anger.
"I know. I can't believe it either." Twilight said angrily.
"Well, you're not the only one feeling the same thing, honey." A familiar voice said from behind Applejack, making her and Twilight turn to see Chase, Jade, Sunray, Clay, Sokka, and Nyx standing at the doorway.
"Chase, Nyx, Sunray, Jade!" Twilight gasped in relief and joy.
Chase and Nyx approached Twilight, hugging her lovingly as the purple alicorn mare returned the favor.
"Listen, guys." Twilight began. "I can explain…"
"We don't need to know anymore." Chase said with a glare. "I'm having a feeling Discord is just doing this to you so that he can make you feel jealous since we were in the library all weekend."
"Yeah, I think this has gone far enough for him to make you feel bad and humiliated." Clay said with an angry look.
"That jerk is just trying to make himself look good in front of our friends." Jade added bitterly. "He's nothing more than a liar."
"I really hate what he's done to you, mom." Nyx added as well.
"So what are we gonna do about it?" Sunray asked with a glare. "That jerk is just a real bonehead!"
Zecora approached as she took the bottle away from Twilight Sparkle. She smiled a bit.
"If the joke is on you done by him, why not bring the joke on him back? There's an old saying to return a favor to him - payback." Zecora said in amusement.
Twilight Sparkle, Chase Young, Jade, Young, Sunray Steel, Nyx, Clay, Sokka, and Applejack thought for the moment. They realized what Zecorad had said. They all turned and looked at each other. They smiled with each other deviously. They're gonna like this plan.
"Well, I'd say his jokes are about to change their course." Chase said smirking deviously. "I think it's time we teach that lamebrain a lesson."
The others smiled in agreement with him.
(Scene changes)
In the early morning at Castle of Friendship, Twilight, Chase, Jade, Sunray, Nyx, Sokka, Clay, and Applejack called all of their friends to the meeting chamber. They explained to theirs about what Discord did for the last six days. The rest of the Mane Thirteen nodded in agreement as they decide to trick him.
"Hi, Twilight! The gang mentioned we'd all be hanging out together today!" The familiar voice called. Everyone turned to meeting chamber's entrance. Twilight Sparkle gave Discord a glare. He continued while dancing in his peanut-butter bottles, "Yeah! The peanut-butter-hoof gang!"
Everyone remained silent for the moment while glancing at him. Discord was surprise as he thought they would like his joke.
"Is there something you wanna tell us?" Twilight Sparkle asked. Discord was confused. She continued, "Like why didn't you invite me to hangout?"
Everypony glared at Discord.
Discord chuckled uneasily while turned his mouth upside down.
"You knew? Well, I didn't think that they should interrupt you. But now I see that we should have. Oh, I feel just terrible." Discord said, mockingly smiling.
"You don't look like you feel terrible." Pinkie Pie remarked.
"You didn't suggest not inviting Twilight because you wanted to make her feel left out, did you?" Applejack demanded.
"Of course not. That whole jealousy thing was just a happy accident." Discord said.
Discord chuckled as he painted his greenish paint on the art block of gentle Twilight Sparkle into an angry and mad jealousy mare.
"Certainly we can all agree that Princess Twilight learned a valuable lesson here – that even she can have feelings of jealousy, that she should recognize said feelings rather than trying to pretend that she doesn't have them."
Twilight Sparkle, her husband, her daughter, her brother and sister-in-law, and her friends gave Discord an annoying glare.
"Mm-hmm. Did I get the tiniest bit of glee out of watching her try to recreate our weekend of fun in the name of science? Oh, most definitely! But what's important here is that it was never my intent to make Twilight feel jealous. That's something that the old me would have tried to do." Discord said.
Discord then made a copy of himself looking rather evil and dastardly and then shoved the copy away.
"Orange you glad I've changed?" Discord asked the group as he made it rain oranges. This time however, not a single pony laughed and just glared at him.
"I said, Orange you glad I've changed?" Discord repeated and made it rain oranges once again. The others just kept glaring and Pinkie coughed into her fore-hoof.
"Orange!" said Discord as he made the oranges stop falling, "Like the ones at the Applejack farm! I-I mean, from this weekend!" There was no reaction.
"No? Nothing?" Discord replied, "Really? I thought you'd find this hisss-terical!" Discord then turned his tail into that of a rattlesnake and shook his tail at Rarity's face.
"...Yes, no, Discord," said Rarity, pushing the tail away. "I think these jokes have run their course."
"Only way we'd find them funny now is if you put us all under some sort kind of spell," said Pinkie.
"Come on, you'd have to be a complete crazy pony to think he'd do something like that!" said Twilight, "What are you gonna say next, Pinkie? That we all have to drink some weird potion to break the spell?"
Everypony broke out laughing. Discord just looked puzzled.
"W-W-What's so funny?" Discord asked puzzled.
"Come on, Discord," said Rainbow, "do we really have to spell it out for you?" The others laughed again.
"We can't help it if we're feeling rather enchanted," said Nyx. The others laughed louder.
"Good one, Nyx!" Chase chuckled.
Discord just looked confused and also a bit uneasy.
"I-I-I don't get it," said Discord, "Somepony want to tell me what's so hilarious? Anypony? Hello?!" The others just kept on laughing. Discord even tried knocking on Pinkie's head, but was ignored.
"I'm talking to you!" said Discord, "You! And-and you and you! W-W-What's funny about spells? Or being enchanted? I mean, I really don't get it, I feel left out and I feel really bad about that..."
Discord then shrunk down in size and looked rather sad. Spike then walked up to him.
"Sorry, buddy," said Spike, "Guess you had to be there."
"Maybe next time you'll think twice before making one of your friends feel excluded from all the fun," said Sokka.
It was then an orange magically appeared. Discord looked at the fruit and noticed Twilight and Chase just smirking at him. Discord then returned to normal size and grabbed everypony in his fore-legs for a large group hug as they all laughed themselves silly. It could be assumed Discord had learned his lesson.
(Scene changes)
Later that night, Twilight and Chase were in their bedroom as they looked out the balcony, cuddled up with one another.
"Well, that was a busy day," said Twilight.
"Yeah, at least now Discord will realize not to make everypony feel left out." Chase added.
"I'm really glad that you and Nyx weren't there to see what a fool Discord was turning me into, Chase." Twilight said as she rested her head on her husband's shoulder as he held her lovingly.
"Well, I'm not the type of pony he should mess with." Chase chuckled with a smile. "That idiot really needs to know that I'm way too smart for him."
Twilight giggled in amusement.
"Yes, that is so true." Twilight said as she giggled some more and recomposed herself. "So how was your time with Pakku?"
Chase thought about it as a flashback was scene at the White Lotus clan's ninja training ground. On one part Clay and Sokka were teaching some of the new recruits on meditating, finding their inner peace. Jade was teaching another group of the new recruits about mind and body. Sunray was teaching another group of finding their inner strength by breaking the wood in pieces. Finally, Chase and Nyx were with Pakku as they were helping the leader train the other group of new recruits on practicing their katas.
The flashback ended as Chase had thought about his time in the White Lotus clan with his siblings, his daughter, and his friends.
He then smiled.
"Well, let's just say, it felt good to be a teacher for a while." Chase said as he gazed upon the stars of the beautiful night sky. "But, it's a real responsibility to have and it's not that easy."
Twilight smiled as she nuzzled his neck.
"Good thing you had Pakku by your side since we'll be able to have more allies on our side to stop any evil we encounter, especially the Quinkan." Twilight said with a smile.
"Yeah, and maybe someday we may be teachers together. You and me." Chase said with a smirk, making Twilight's eyes sparkle as she smiled excitedly.
"Ooooh." Twilight said excitedly. "I'd love that very much to teach ponies all about ancient traditions and prophecies. As well as training them in martial arts as well."
Chase chuckled in amusement.
"Remember, honey." Chase said to his wife. "Being a teacher is more than just teaching class, wisdom comes from experience. And with power comes great responsibility. Being a teacher won't be that easy. But together, we'll be able to learn very much."
Twilight looked silent for a moment before she smiled.
"Yeah, you're right, honey." Twilight said as she and Chase shared a kiss on the lips. "All we can do now is wait until that moment comes for us to take on."
Her husband nodded in agreement.
"And you wanna know what I really wanna do right now?" Chase asked.
"What?" Twilight asked with a cute smile.
"Just watch the stars with the most gorgeous pony I married in my whole life." Chase replied as he gave Twilight a loving smile.
Twilight giggled as she and Chase shared a loving nuzzle with each other before they gazed upon the stars as a shooting star soared across the night sky.
Author's note: Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait, but I had somethings I needed to take care of as well as handling my job. Here's a few twists for you to look at. I really hate Discord and he is just not nice to Twilight that much. When we get to Season 9, be prepared for Chase's anger towards him. And trust me, it ain't gonna be pretty.
Peace out!